Parallel Lines (Until They Aren’t). Zhang Lurang (When I fly towards you - Cdrama) X Reader
Warning: emotionally reserved reader, academic pressure (I think), emotional repression, social isolation, unrequited crush (Zaizai), subtle heartbreak, quiet jealousy, slow burn romance, emotionally oblivious reader, mutual pining, soft angst, sibling emotional sacrifice, introverted reader, platonic-to-romantic development, understated affection, mild emotional pain, no explicit content, canon-typical stress, reader struggles with emotional expression.
🎪✨Ringmaster’s Slightly Frazzled Confession✨🎪
So here’s the thing. I did rewatch the Chinese drama to get this man’s personality just right. Studied him. Observed him. Squinted intensely at the screen. And I think I got it… maybe. We’re at a solid 50–50 (or not lol), give or take a braincell. I tried my best to follow the request without bending it too much, but somewhere along the way I fear I dropped the plot. In the writing. In my head. Possibly under the tent seats. It happens. The circus is loud. Still, I truly hope the lovely soul who asked for this enjoys it, despite the mild narrative acrobatics and my momentary disappearance into delusion. Signed with crossed fingers and dramatic flair, your Ringmaster 🎭🖤
Masterlist BuyMeChaos
Zhang Lurang swears he doesn’t believe in love at first sight.
He believes in equations, in patterns, in rhythm… not in dangerous heart-skips the moment someone opens a classroom door.
But then you walked in.
Zaizai’s twin, the one she never talked much about.
A walking winter breeze calm, closed off, sharp eyed, backpack zipped with military precision, movements minimal and efficient. You didn’t look at anyone for longer than one second, but for Lurang, that single second felt like getting hit by lightning that hadn’t been approved by the weather department.
The class whispered. Someone muttered “She looks scary…”
Another whispered “She’s the twin? But they’re totally different?”
You didn’t react. Just found an empty seat, dropped silently into it, opened your book, and mentally left the planet.
Lurang’s chest did a soft, traitorous flip.
Zaizai noticed immediately.
Of course she did. Sisters have a private cloud server of intuition.
She watched Lurang staring at you like someone discovering a new math theorem that suddenly made the universe understandable. At first she thought he was confused. Then she realized. Then her heart sank in that tiny, private way that hearts sink when they know they’re about to step aside.
Because Zaizai liked him.
Had liked him.
But Zaizai also loved you.
So she swallowed her disappointment, pressed it into a tight little origami shape, and became the official captain of Operation Get My Sister a Boyfriend Who Stares At Her Like She’s The Answer Key.
The first attempt happened during lunch.
Zaizai dragged Lurang and the friend group toward an empty corner of the cafeteria. You were already there, quietly eating, reading a physics article on your phone as if food had no flavor and the world had nothing to offer except knowledge.
“Jie!” Zaizai chirped. “Come sit with us today!”
You blinked once. “Why?”
“…Because we’re eating lunch?”
“That doesn’t explain why I need to join.”
Lurang bit back a smile. He admired how you questioned everything like you owed nothing to anyone.
Zaizai nudged your tray. “Because it would make me happy.”
That one sentence cracked your armor. You sighed, stood, and followed them.
The group greeted you. You nodded politely, expression still flat.
Lurang sat across from you.
And offered his water bottle completely without thinking.
“You didn’t bring one,” he said.
You stared at it like it was a quiz question you disliked. “How do you know that?”
“You always only carry your books. Never drinks.”
You blinked. Once.
Twice.
Zaizai saw the flicker of something warm behind your eyes.
Lurang saw nothing but beauty.
You took the bottle gently. “Thank you.”
Zaizai almost screamed PROGRESS.
He kept trying, in quiet ways.
Helping you reach a book on a high shelf before you even asked.
Walking slightly behind you after school so you wouldn’t have to deal with crowds alone.
Leaving sticky notes on your desk like invisible feathers
“Page 114 has a better explanation.”
“You dropped this bookmark.”
“Don’t skip lunch.”
You never confronted him about them.
But you kept each note in the back pocket of your notebook like rare artifacts.
One afternoon, Zaizai set up her masterpiece.
Her plan was simple fake a study session, trap you two in the same space, and then “accidentally” leave.
You arrived first, immaculate posture, hair falling like deliberate shadows.
Lurang arrived second, holding two cups of milk tea because “in case your sister doesn’t drink the first flavor.”
Zaizai arrived third and vanished with supernatural speed, mumbling something about forgetting a charger.
You exhaled slowly, realising the setup.
“She’s trying to pair us up,” you said flatly.
Lurang swallowed hard. “Is… is that a problem?”
You turned your head and studied him. Not the way normal people look.
You analysed him.
Measured his sincerity.
Checked whether his gaze wandered.
Checked whether he fidgeted.
He didn’t.
He just waited. Steady.
“…Why do you keep doing things for me?” you asked.
His lips curved, soft as sunrise. “Because I like you.”
Direct. No scripts.
You blinked slower this time. Processing.
“You don’t know me.”
“I want to,” he said, voice warm but careful, as if approaching a skittish animal. “I want to learn you. The way I learn formulas. Patterns. Things that matter. I like…” He hesitated. “The way you never waste words. The way you focus. The way you don’t pretend. Being around you feels quiet in a way that doesn’t scare me.”
Your heartbeat stumbled.
Once.
Twice.
“…I don’t date,” you said honestly.
“I can wait,” he answered even more honestly.
Silence stretched between you. But it wasn’t cold.
It hummed, like a quiet library where someone sits beside you not touching, but always there.
You finally reached out, took the second milk tea, and opened it without a word.
That was your version of yes.
Lurang smiled like someone who just got accepted into his dream university.
Zaizai peeked around the doorframe.
Saw the milk tea.
Saw the soft atmosphere.
Saw your expression barely softened, but softened.
Her heart pinched, but she smiled anyway.
Because that quiet warmth between you and Lurang?
You deserved it.
End…..
🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪🎪
🎪 Ringmaster’s Warning: No Copycats in This Tent 🎪