A *very* handsome man, with long wet hair, wearing only a bathrobe
“So sorry, there’s been a mistake, I thought this was my room but I guess it’s not!” WY says, & rushes back out
He checks the plaque on the door: 5203
He checks his keycard: 5203
Probably this is his fault and not the handsome man’s, he thinks, but he can’t figure it out without asking
“Um, I’m really sorry to bother you, but this actually *does* seem to be my room?”
They compare tickets, and compare keycards. It seems they’re both assigned to 5203.
“But there’s only one bed,” WY says, confused.
On the way, they do introductions. Lan Zhan doesn’t seem to be much of a talker. Wei Ying nervously fills the silence —
“What did you decide?”
“What?”
“How many condoms did you decide to bring?”
LZ, who did not bring any condoms (because, correctly, he expected there would be a large supply in each stateroom), decides that he likes WY quite a bit
“Haha, Lan Zhan, thanks, but anytime something screws up, it’s probably on me somehow,” WY says. “That’s what my foster mom says, anyhow.”
“Ah, no,” the woman says. “You misunderstand, Mr. Wei. There are no other rooms available; this cruise is full.”
Lan Zhan can see that WY is starting to panic. WY apparently wears his emotions on his face. LZ, who does not, turns back to the woman and says, calmly, “Thank you. We will accept the complimentary tickets, and resolve this amongst ourselves.”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan says, tentatively, because he is not good at this sort of thing. “This need not be a problem. We are both single. You are very attractive, and …”
What Wei Ying hears: Go and find someone else to shack up with, and leave me alone
What Lan Zhan hears: I am politely telling you that I’m not interested in you
Then the dinner bell rings.
“It’s no problem!” Wei Ying says, again, and LZ thinks he might be about to say he can just take a plate to go, so LZ quickly turns to the waiter and requests another place be set & another chair brought out
Lan Zhan silently agrees, as he watches Wei Ying chatter brightly, but WY has made it clear he’s not interested
Some of the others at the table have said they’re going to a particular lounge on the tenth deck that has a reputation for good drinks, good music, and a chill atmosphere
What he means: I do not drink, do you still want me to come?
What Wei Ying hears: I do not want to hang out with you, thank you very much
“Ah, cool, Lan Zhan! I’ll see you around, then.”
He heads back to the stateroom and lies down, and waits for Wei Ying to come back.
So, that’s that, then, Lan Zhan thinks. Wei Ying has clearly found someone else’s room to sleep in — someone else he wants to sleep with.
A day goes by like that: they see each other at meals —
LZ goes to the pool. Visits the library. Goes to a viewing lounge on an upper deck and watches the turquoise waves, drinks tea. Reads a book. Spends another night tossing and turning in the big bed.
It’s fine, he thinks as he runs through the pre-dawn chill, it’s just 5 more days, he’ll visit some islands and take in the scenery and eat —
He manages to half-wake Wei Ying. “What … I … Lan Zhan, what’re you doing here?”
But when he tries to put the pyjamas on Wei Ying, WY groans, sleepily mutters “So cold, I’m so cold, hold me please” and pulls at Lan Zhan’s hand
“Wangji? How’s the cruise?” LXC asks. “Met anyone interesting?”
“I am sorry, brother, I can’t talk,” Lan Zhan whispers. “I am looking after Wei Ying.”
He hangs up.
[LXC]: Who is Wei Ying?
[LXC]: Wangji don’t ignore me
[LXC]: Wangji? I hope this means you have met someone
[LQR]: Answer your brother! He has called me twice already to speculate about your love life
“I can’t stay in here, Lan Zhan,” he says, as LZ spoon feeds him. “You don’t … this is your bed.”
“It is your bed too,” LZ says. “You cannot sleep in a deckchair, Wei Ying.”
LZ brushes WY’s teeth (“my mouth tastes yucky, Lan Zhan”), helps WY lie back down, lies down in his own silk pyjamas, and turns out the light
“Good night, Wei Ying.”
Lan Zhan pulls back, even though he would very badly like to lean in. WY’s lips catch him on the chin, instead.
“You are sick, Wei Ying,” LZ says, gently. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
“I think so. I’m feeling much better, thank you, Lan Zhan. You really didn’t have to look after me, you know! You don’t owe me anything.”
“It was not a matter of owing you. It was just what I should do.”
What Wei Ying hears: you are a burden that I have taken on, because I am a good person
But Wei Ying agrees, this time, because he *does* want to play shuffleboard with Lan Zhan
(“Lan Zhan that’s cheating! I saw you push the disc with your foot!”
“I did not. It was the wind”) and then they go swimming, and then back to the viewing lounge, where they talk about their lives (jobs, siblings, dreams),
Lan Zhan says, firmly, “Yes. I would like to come.”
“Lan Zhan? You alright?”
“He’s drunk, mate,” the bartender says.
“After one glass? No wonder he doesn’t drink”
“Lan Zhan, you stay here,” WY says, as he props LZ against the wall to open the door to the room, but LZ, suddenly more alert, says “No, *you* stay here”, pats WY on the cheek, and kisses him
So when the cruise ship docks they go off together and go snorkelling, sailing, shopping.
“You sure you don’t want some of this hot sauce, Lan Zhan? It’s soooo good”
“It is a little spicy for me, Wei Ying”
“I should call my brother,” LZ says, after they finish eating, because their conversation about their siblings has made him feel guilty
“Oh, good idea, Lan Zhan, I need to call my sister and thank her for sending me on this cruise!”
“Oh, it’s good? But, uh — funny story …” he explains about LZ, how they were put in the same room accidentally and how WY really, really likes him, but how LZ isn’t interested in him like that
“Oh, well, on the first night he gave me the brush off? He said it would be easy for me to find another room to sleep in, and so …”
“What did he actually say?”
“That means he likes you, didi.”
“Oh no, he could never, jiejie! You don’t understand how wonderful he is!”
“So, Wangji? Who is Wei Ying?”
LZ explains everything, about the deckchair and WY’s illness and getting drunk and *kissing* WY, and how he hasn’t met anyone else but doesn’t want to meet anyone else but WY
“He did not know what was going on,” LZ says. “And he made it clear that he was not interested, on the first night, when I propositioned him.”
“Tell me *exactly* what you said,” LXC says, because he knows his brother.
“That he wanted me to find another room and leave him alone.”
“You see, Wangji? Perhaps you could tell him how you feel, and this time, do it *clearly*?”
“The same room? And only one bed?” the man beside LZ says, laughing. “That was a stroke of luck, hey?”
He stands. “I think I will go back to the room, now. Wei Ying?”
And he puts out his hand to Wei Ying, an invitation.
LZ leads him to the stateroom, and when they go in, LZ decides that it is best to be absolutely, one hundred percent, totally clear:
“Lan Zhan, I — really? Oh, I — ”
It’s not clear who leans in first, but it doesn’t matter because now they’re kissing, and LZ is pressing WY up against the door, hands tangled in hair, and —
“It was fate,” LZ says, after the 4th time WY says (distraught at the idea), “if they hadn’t screwed up we might never have met!”
There’s only one chair, as usual. Lan Zhan starts to ask for another one, but —
“No,” WY says, and sits on LZ’s lap all night.
“I will not need this,” LZ says. “I am no longer single.”
WY gives his to Jiang Cheng.
The next year, the cruise produces another love story.
On the first night, they role-play the way they met, but with improvements:
“Oh, I’m sorry, I think this is my room!”
“It is also my room.”
“But there’s only one bed?”
“Perhaps we could share …”
(And yes, their stateroom number says “I love you, Zhan” in kadian)