Thread by @husbandlwj

wangxian au where wwx is at one of his relatives' bday party and finds a boy playing chess, who wins against EVERYONE. suspecting he's cheating, he decides to challenge him to a game of cards but when lwj is surprisingly clueless, wwx realizes it'd be much more fun to teach him.

the reason why lwj is not familiar with the game is because it's a modern version, not the traditional one. he doesn't /tell/ wwx he doesn't know how to play it but wwx can see the confusion in the creases of his forehead, the little frown on his lips. it's actually kind of cute.

wwx doesn't say anything about it, not until lwj hesitantly chooses the wrong card. he laughs, amused and shakes his head, explaining why it wouldn't work but lwj just stares at him with question marks written all over his face. wwx's smile widens, "i can teach you, you know?"

lwj raises an eyebrow so he elaborates, "i used to play this game all the time with my siblings when we were kids — which is not that long ago — but my brother would get so mad at me for always winning. sometimes he flipped the table and my stepmother got really mad so she forbid

us to play around the house," he scoffs, "didn't stop me from teaching my best friend and destroying him AND my brother at this game at school." he brags, not bothered by the way lwj's frown deepens. "aiyah, c'mon, chess is your thing, this is mine. i learned a lot watching you

play. it's only fair that i return the favor. what do you say? this party is so boring anyway, it's not like we're missing anything." he says, lowering his cards, pouting when lwj still looks skeptical, "please, lan zhan, i promise i'm a good teacher!" he raises three fingers.

lwj's eyes scan wwx's face, from his sparkling gray eyes to his lips jutting out and he must find some truth on his expression because he nods slowly. wwx beams at him and drags his chair closer to lwj's, their shoulders touching. when lwj flinches at the touch, wwx looks up.

"ah! sorry, i didn't mean to get on your personal space but if i'm going to teach you i need to see your cards." he explains, softly. "we'll be playing normally, i'll just tell you what kind of cards you can use to defeat me and you go from there, ok?"

"mn." lwj says at last.

they start slow. lwj doesn't ask questions but since wwx is sitting right next to him, he's able to read his microexpressions. sometimes he even feels bold enough to grab onto lwj's hand and adjust his cards. lwj moves away fast at the first few times but after he's lost to wwx

twice he decides he might as well let wei ying do what he offered to. so, in the next few tries, he lets wwx hold his hand, lets him lean into his space, rest his head against his shoulder and bump their thighs. they're both too focused to realize what it must look to outsiders.

when lwj finally wins, wwx is so happy he throws his arms around lwj, congratulating him, "you did it, lan zhan!! i knew you could do it!!"

but not even his giddiness at successfully teaching lan zhan can stop him from turning red once wwx realizes what he's done, "...oh."

he swallows and pats his back, laughing dryly before pulling away but just as he's saying, "sorry, i wasn't really thinking—" strong arms come up to hold his waist, preventing him from ending the accidental hug.

lwj says, "mn. all thanks to wei ying." and now wwx is the shy one.

he clears his throat and realizes he has no excuse to stay close to lwj now that he already knows how to play and reluctantly drags his chair away, "so, let's see if you can defeat me without help." he says, playfully and ignoring how his heart seems to be beating faster.

as expected, lwj wins every game after that. he becomes such an expert that he starts using the tricks wwx himself taught him /against/ him and so smoothly, wwx is impressed! he was bluffing when he claimed to be a good teacher (or is lan zhan the best student?) but he's amazed.

wwx is so happy for him he can't even complain about losing. when he says, "you won, lan zhan!" for the third time lwj narrows his eyes at him, like he's thinking /how can you be happy if you lost?/ so wwx explains, "well, i taught you myself. in a way it's like i'm winning too."

lwj's eyes widen, lips parted in surprise but he turns away, his ears a beautiful shade of pink. when wwx giggles he finishes the current game with another victory. his golden eyes flare, "keep playing."

wwx is delighted to find out he's so competitive, "come at me, lan zhan."

he's glad he ended up agreeing to come to madam yu's niece's birthday. if he'd stayed at home, he would've never met lan zhan, he would never find his perfect match.

"lan zhan," wwx says, "when we finish this game, can you teach me to play chess like you?" he asks, hopeful.

lwj places his card on the table and for the first time since wwx has seen him at the table with the other guys, calculating his every move on the board, his lips curl into a soft smile, "mn. i would like that."

wwx's grin is bigger than his but just as bright, "me too."

— THE END —

so this was a really random thread inspired by something that just happened to me (i taught a really cute guy how to play a cards game and felt really giddy because i'm a good teacher) and i've been busy today so i wanted to post a thread for you guys, hope you liked it 🥺❤️

OH and in case you wanna know which game i'm talking about it's UNO LMAO i've always been an expert at it but the guy turned out to be a really good student and a nice friendly company today 🤭