Work Text:
She was at it again.
Jiang Cheng noted with irritation, thoughts interrupted by her accidental raise of her voice for the umpteenth time.
…
Okay, it was not the umpteenth time today. It was only her first time today.
But if Jiang Cheng was to add it all together, starting from the first day she joined… Well, Jiang Cheng couldn’t be bothered to count, but it was far more times than Jiang Cheng would’ve liked.
He flipped to the next page with a little more aggression than usual, as a small way to vent his growing annoyance with his now junior colleague—something that earned him a quick glance from her.
Oops.
Might’ve been too loud.
His rationality told him that. But his emotions only scoffed at that: It was still softer than her voice, though.
Granted, she was not actually in the wrong. It was lunch hour. People can do whatever the hell they want to in their lunch hour. In their line of work, where work-life balance was practically non-existent, Jiang Cheng would advocate for his colleagues making full use of it, rather than overtime.
He was the one who chose to be doing said overtime in the breakroom, so honestly? He asked for this. Jiang Cheng told himself rationally, eyes still glued to the papers he was flipping through at the coffee table.
“Sorry about that. That was my boyfriend.” She said once she was done with the call.
Yes, I know.
Jiang Cheng flicked a glance up and gave her a professional smile. “Had another fight?”
Yu Xin just gave an apologetic smile, though it was clearly laced with awkwardness. “Yes, he went and planned a concert day on a day we agreed to meet.”
Jiang Cheng didn’t ask for details, nor was he interested in his ex-girlfriend from high school’s current love life. But he was already used to Yu Xin’s tendency to overshare.
Despite her constant awkwardness when facing Jiang Cheng (Jiang Cheng shared that awkwardness in the first few days she joined the company, but it was quickly dispelled seeing how she was much more awkward about it than him), she didn’t seem to have any reservations about sharing her love problems.
If he was still a teen, he would’ve shown his irritation on his face, bluntness was a core trait of his, Gu Fei had once told him. But now, in their workplace, facing his ex-girlfriend-turned-colleague, Jiang Cheng…
“Guess he forgot.”
Was as blunt as ever.
But at least, he didn’t show his irritation in his face. Jiang Cheng would call that character development.
Yu Xin sighed, dejected. “He did. Maybe he just doesn’t care.”
Jiang Cheng did not want to be the person Yu Xin unloads her love issues to. But it didn’t seem like he had a choice. He didn’t give a response, but Jiang Cheng knew that wouldn’t stop her. In all the previous times, Yu Xin would still continue then, elaborating on—no, reminding him—all the previous times something similar happened. Jiang Cheng got ready then, to zone out, like all the times he did before.
But surprisingly, Yu Xin stopped. She eyed him. “You know, you’ve changed.”
This stopped Jiang Cheng’s drifting mind, pulling him back to the conversation. He raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Quite a lot, actually.” She added, “The old you would’ve snapped at me.”
“Well, I can’t be a lawyer if I still can’t control my emotions.”
“That’s true.” She admitted. Then, after a beat, she asked then, quietly, “Is it… because of your boyfriend?”
Jiang Cheng stopped, closing the file then. A couple of weeks ago, he had told her he was attached now too, and after that initial shock—and Jiang Cheng supposed, mental grappling that her ex wasn’t 100% straight—she never spoke of it again. A surprise to Jiang Cheng, because in his mind, she had always been the talkative, gossipy type that tried to get every information out of him. His admission to her came with the expectation that she would yell at him, asking him questions in that dramatic way in fiction, whether he was gay the whole time. But that never came.
He could say the same about her, he realised then. She’d changed.
“No. I just grew up.”
That wasn’t necessarily the truth. Gu Fei had a part in it. But as the years passed, he grew more aware that while Gu Fei was one of the main forces, he wasn’t the cause. (Why did so many women tend to simplify things to love matters? Jiang Cheng wondered) Ultimately, he was simply in a better place, mentally and physically.
“I guess they do say that time is the only constant.”
The conversation steered in another direction after that. Maybe because Yu Xin sensed that Jiang Cheng had no intention of sharing about himself.
But even after that, her words remain stuck in his head.
Time is the only constant.
Was it?
When Jiang Cheng was back home from work at nine-thirty p.m., the first thing he saw was Gu Fei, in his homewear. His white tank top, paired with a pair of black shorts that accentuated the lines of his muscles. An outfit Jiang Cheng had seen Gu Fei wear hundreds of times already throughout the past couple of years. Easy to wear, and also easy on the eyes.
A sight that might not make a certain part of him rise up anymore, but was still one that makes all the tension in his body go all out.
Although of course, he was pointedly ignoring the pair of pink, fluffy rabbit house slippers on him.
Until Gu Fei ended it by jabbing a finger at a pair of orange, fluffy cat house slippers by the shoe rack.
Jiang Cheng sighed as he removed his shoes and slipped his feet in. “Er Miao bought them?”
He had seen these slippers before. Gu Miao had shown them to the two of them a few times, but she always held herself back from getting them. Although their finances were no longer as tight as they were in high school and university, Gu Miao had formed the habit of being thrifty. Even if the two of them insisted it was fine to make the purchase, she would adamantly refuse. And once, even got mad at them, when they made the decision to get the item that Gu Miao thought was too pricey.
And these sets of house slippers were one of them. And Jiang Cheng himself, quietly prayed that they would never get a discount or a sale like this.
Gu Fei nodded, grabbing the black work bag from him. “It was buy one, get one free.”
Jiang Cheng paused. “Then where’s the extra one?” There was no way she would settle for just three pairs, if she could get the fourth one for free.
Gu Fei eyed Jiang Cheng, slowly, in a way that gave Jiang Cheng a bad feeling.
Before Jiang Cheng could reach the answer himself, Gu Fei dropped it. “Gave it to Wu Yi. A the white cat design.”
Jiang Cheng’s eyebrows twitched.
Of course. Of course. Of fucking course.
“Whatever. He can use it at home then.” It was Gu Miao’s policy to not let things go to waste too.
Gu Fei’s eyes remained on him. “It’s for his use here, at our place.”
“...”
“Er Miao says he could use it here when he comes to visit, since he already has a few pairs of house slippers.”
Jiang Cheng had to suck in a deep breath.
Something that got a chuckle out of Gu Fei as he moved to put Jiang Cheng’s work bag aside.
By the time Jiang Cheng sat down at the dining table, his mind was still chanting to himself, “He didn’t do anything wrong, he treats Er Miao well.”
“Doesn’t feel like you can ever get over your protectiveness of her.” Gu Fei commented with a chuckle as he sat down with the reheated supper.
“Like you aren’t.” Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow and picked up his chopsticks.
He was exaggerating, of course. Gu Fei hiding his negative emotions was simply a part of him, and Jiang Cheng knew that he had a similar sentiment to him the first time Wu Yi showed up, but seeing Jiang Cheng’s inability to tone down on his overprotectiveness, he had mellowed out. And delegated himself to the role of calming Jiang Cheng down if anything.
Always a peacemaker. Jiang Cheng thought.
He had made a comment to Gu Fei once, that he was always one, deep down, even when he was still the delinquent king of the steel mill.
“Pan Zhi said you became a peace lover now, but I think you’ve always been like that.”
At his unprompted conversation starter the moment he stepped foot into the apartment, Gu Fei looked up at him briefly before returning to polishing his work shoes. “You think I was peace-loving when I threw people against trees?”
He scoffed then. “That’s just because you were stressed out. People do things unlike them in stressful situations.”
Chuckling, Gu Fei shook his head, shuffling away to make space for Jiang Cheng to make his way into the kitchen.
“People are like onions.” Jiang Cheng decided to continue halfway through putting the groceries away. “You peel them, and underneath that exterior, there’s another layer. But doesn’t mean you’re different, it’s just a different side.”
“Are you saying this because you have an onion in your hand right now?”
“Maybe.” Jiang Cheng looked at his hand and stored the onions away.
“You know how people like to say ‘time is the only constant’?” Jiang Cheng started after swallowing the piece of sliced beef.
“Who?” At this point, Gu Fei was used to his conversation starters that came out of nowhere, and knew well that it was often the result of another person’s offhanded remark.
“Yu Xin.”
Gu Fei raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You want to say that you lost your feelings for me and regained your feelings for her?”
Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes at this poor display of jealousy. He had been putting in less and less effort in pretending to be jealous. Jiang Cheng would give him a failing grade. “You know that I never cared for her.”
“Do I? You see her for a longer time than even me nowadays.”
Fine. He can get some extra points for this. “Because work’s been busy and we both have to be in the office. She’s in a steady relationship.”
“With a boyfriend she always complains to you about.”
“Like I’m one of her girl friends that she shares your problems with.”
Gu Fei was about to open his mouth again, but Jiang Cheng shot him with a glare.
“Shut up.”
He laughed then. “I just wanted to say, time does change things. Things can never be at a standstill. But not everything. Er Miao still loves green. We still jokingly pretend to be jealous. You’re still buying too much beef over other red meats.”
“Hey.” Jiang Cheng interjected, putting down the sliced beef and reaching for lettuce. As if that meant anything.
“Sure, I don’t play the guitar anymore. The strings broke after that time I tried playing it to you. And you don’t play the piano anymore. But still.”
Gu Fei stopped then. Probably because whatever’s on his mind was too mushy to say. But Gu Fei didn’t have to.
“But we’re still us?” Jiang Cheng finished the sentence for him, but a quick shiver went through him once the words were out. It was too corny for him too. But Jiang Cheng at least had the trait of speaking without thinking.
Gu Fei nodded.
“Quite philosophical now, aren’t you, Gu-laoshi.” Jiang Cheng quipped, relaxing.
“Not as much as Philosopher Jiang.” Gu Fei laughed. “Sometimes, the things you say sometimes makes me think you should be born in an earlier era. Philosophers were all the in thing back then.”
“Maybe I was one in my past life.”
“Why isn’t Er Miao back? It’s 11.”
“She had dinner plans with her class, remember? After dropping the house slippers, she told me she was going karaoke after.”
“She’s going karaoke?????”