entigral or just super fluff gym meet cute - uh butcher nmj? Librarian lxc? Children’s librarian lxc?
BEHOLD, I WROTE A NIELAN.
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The new guy had been coming in regularly for around two weeks now, and seemed determined to become another permanent feature at this gym. Which was… good.
Nie Mingjue wasn’t proud to admit it, but he too had been very sceptical in the beginning, assuming that this new guy would come two or three times, realise that this just wasn’t the thing for him, and then stop coming for good. But then, he hadn’t looked at him with disdain like some other members of the gym (never that), and so had actually been relieved to see himself proven wrong. It had been two weeks, and the new guy still came in every other day, ready for another workout, with a friendly smile to spare for everyone that crossed paths with him.
Today too, the new guy was here again against all previous expectation, and Nie Mingjue redoubled his efforts lifting weights as he carefully resisted the temptation to turn his head after the new guy had walked past him with a polite nod of his head.
It was rude to stare, even at a gym like this, where the biggest dudes occasionally engaged in friendly competitions to determine who truly was the biggest and strongest of them.
(Nie Mingjue wasn’t always the biggest, but he definitely was the strongest. It wasn’t bragging if it was the truth.)
The new guy wasn’t like that at all. Though his workout gear revealed toned shoulders and strong arms, he lacked the bulk that made guys like Nie Mingjue look so imposing. This new guy was built along slimmer lines. Still fit, but clearly not aiming for a bodybuilder look.
Some of the other guys had taken this to mean that he wasn’t very strong, and had scoffed behind his back. But they had quickly been taught better when Mr. Newbie had started lifting weights.
The man could certainly lift. Like, really lift.
Even Nie Mingjue had been impressed.
Nie Mingjue didn’t really dare to approach the man, though he couldn’t help but be curious about him. He was friendly, with mild, polite mannerisms that seemed to be so at odds with the way he trained; an intensity and focus that spoke of determination and a clear goal that he must have in mind.
Whenever the man passed him by, he would nod at Nie Mingjue, and Nie Mingjue would nod back in acknowledgement. That had been the total of their interactions at the gym so far. He didn’t even know the man’s name.
But even though Nie Mingjue didn’t know the man or his name, he couldn’t help but keep looking at him out of the corner of his eyes. Nie Mingjue kept watching him, fascinated by the seemingly effortless elegance that he brought to exercises that looked very different when the bros at the gym did them. Nie Mingjue tried not to notice how nice the man’s hair looked in a braided ponytail, or how nicely his shirt stretched over his chest while he lifted weights. He wasn’t supposed to be watching at all, after all.
It was ridiculous, really. He was here to work on his own fitness, not ogle other men while they were training.
With a disappointed huff, he chastised himself for letting himself be distracted like this in the middle of a training session, and returned to his exercises with even more effort.
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After finishing an intense training session that left no more room for idle thoughts of pretty men, Nie Mingjue headed back towards the changing room, his mind now occupied with the thought of showering. He quickly slipped out of his training gear and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water pour over him with a sense of relief and completion.
He had just started to wash his hair when another person entered the shower. Looking towards the entrance, Nie Mingjue hastily averted his eyes, because the man entering the shower was no one other than the newbie, entering the communal shower completely naked (of course, it was a shower). He didn’t allow his eyes to linger, but one moment had been enough to ascertain that the man’s excellent physique extended to all parts of him.
Now feeling distinctly less relaxed, Nie Mingjue hurried up with his shower and left hurriedly to get dressed. He was usually fine with being naked, and had no issue being around other naked guys, but being in the shower with a man like that… nothing to make you more self-conscious than a really attractive man. He was usually confident about his own appearance. Not right now, though.
But Nie Mingjue didn’t have much more time than slip into his underwear and shorts. Just when he had sat down to slip into his socks, the new guy also returned to the changing room, now (thankfully) a towel slung around his hips.
And Nie Mingjue, unable to check his impulse, looked up. And inadvertently locked eyes with the new guy, who was already smiling at him.
“I think we haven’t been introduced yet,” the man said, and his voice was calm and smooth. Like one of these ASMR things that Huaisang had shown him once. “My name is Lan Huan.”
“Nie Mingjue,” Nie Mingjue replied, and couldn’t think of anything else to say. He fidgeted with his sock and added, “Nice to meet you.”
Lan Huan smiled again, as if there had been something amusing in his reply.
“You seem to be here rather often,” he observed.
“I like to let off steam after work,” Nie Mingjue answered.
“Oh? What do you do?” Lan Huan asked. And then, as if sensing Nie Mingjue’s apprehension, he added, “If you don’t mind me asking.”
Nie Mingjue sighed. He didn’t really like talking about this topic, because there were lots of… unprocessed emotions still there.
“I had to take over my father’s business at a young age,” he eventually replied, his tone more curt than he’d really like it to be. “The business is doing well, but it’s a lot of hard work.”
“Ah,” Lan Huan answered, and smiled a sympathetic smile. “That is quite a big responsibility.”
He nodded once to himself, as if he understood what he was talking about.
There was something so earnest about it that Nie Mingjue found himself asking a question of his own, without really thinking about it.
“And what do you do?”
Lan Huan smiled again, and this time, it was a joyful smile.
“I am a librarian,” he announced. “I specialise in children’s books.”
Nie Mingjue raised an eyebrow almost against his will. Sure, that kind of job fit perfectly with his mild character, but was totally incongruent with the training that he did.
“My family has a holistic approach to personal improvement,” Lan Huan explained, apparently interpreting Nie Mingjue’s look correctly. As if that actually explained anything.
Lan Huan noticed his evident scepticism and chuckled.
“My brother and I were encouraged to excel both in our academic studies and in martial arts when we were younger,” he added, pronouncing the ‘encouraged’ in a way that suggested that there had been little choice in the matter. “It’s different now, but the training has become a habit. I don’t use it to hunt down people that have late fees. Generally.”
That had Nie Mingjue laugh almost against his will. Damn the man, he was not only handsome, but also smart and funny.
Completely out of Nie Mingjue’s league.
“My father had never much left for academics,” he offered. “But he took me to the gym as soon as I was able to lift a dumbbell. And here we are.”
“Here we are, indeed,” Lan Huan replied with the sweet smile that Nie Mingjue was becoming accustomed to far too quickly.
They were silent for a moment, and Nie Mingjue looked up at Lan Huan, trying not to notice the low-hanging towel or the very nice, toned chest above it.
This man was everything that Nie Mingjue was not. Technically, he should have resented him for it.
If only things were so easy.
“So,” he said awkwardly, clearing his throat. “Are you in a hurry after this? I could go for some coffee.”
Lan Huan smiled again, and this time, there was something in his eyes that glittered with what might be private amusement.
“I am more of a tea person,” he said. “But as things are, I am free after this.”
And with that, he turned around and walked to his own locker, on the other side of the room.
Nie Mingjue tried not to stare too much at that very nice back.
But these shoulders were definitely worth a look.
He should, he mused as he distractedly pulled on his second sock, probably go to libraries more often. Maybe Lan Huan would have a few suggestions for him. Over tea. Or something.
Love your blog! and OMG thank you for calling out JYL's death as lazy fridging for man pain, I agree so hard. | Also if you are so inclined and able to answer - after watching *cough*hundreds*cough* of youtube vids, I saw one that mentioned in the subtitles that Gusu was a former/ancient name of Suzhou? Is that true? Do the other locations have modern day equivalents? Learning so much from this fandom \o/
Not sure how far out of the actual show's sphere you're gonna go but you absolutely NEED to watch Xiao Zhan perform Faded/Titanium mashup-as a duet!!!! he DJs!!!!!- which happened on a singing competition show he was on. YouTubedotcom /watch?v=X3pcrVzGNaU for just the song, search "Our Song" for the show, which is 10/14 eps English subbed so far. Two of the other competitors sang on TU character album! XZ sings a Chinese version of an ABBA song! TGIFFFFFFF
OOOOOO I saved it to my UT Extras playlist for future use 😈
ZOMG OST! I'd suggest just listening to the char album first, bc trying to follow the lyrics at the same time is A Lot. I think most/all the char songs on youtube have [fan] translations, & ofc the beautiful visuals. hunxi-guilai here on tumblr did translations (with footnotes!) which name the singer, which character(s) the song goes with (not all the actors sang on the album) etc; they are called "PL translations" on their pinned post.
Hi, I have a question: I wanted to request a vid but the song I'm thinking of is kinda spicy - the Salt 'n' Pepa song "Whatta Man"
Would you consider that NSFW? If so I won't send it in.
Thanks, love yall!
Hello!
We don’t consider the song as NSFW so please feel free to send in your request! The NSFW part was more so aimed at requests for fanart and/or fanfiction.
Granted, the reason I’m answering asks at three am is that I just woke up with major tooth pain, so it’s off to an inauspicious start, but at least that pain was from grinding my teeth, so it should fade now that I am heavily medicated 😅
ok this is too much fun, more tropes! 1) bodyguard AU 2) sugar daddy 3) student/teacher 4) woke up married [vegas, forehead ribbon, what have you]
Sorry for the late reply! Also I can't find the orignal rating system (my tags seem to have stopped working properly), so have my own rating system instead!
1) Bodyguard AU: A
Solid stuff, love it when the original dynamic allows for it. Lots of potential for pining, second-guessing, and overstepping professional boundaries. Almost dying for each other is a definite requirement for this.
2) Sugar Daddy AU: A
Again, a really good trope (I just suck at writing it), with lots of potential for pining with a healthy dash of misunderstandings! "Oh they're just doing that because I pay them", "Oh they are getting tired of me and will replace me soon," ALL GOOD.
3) Student/teacher: E
Uh, I'm a teacher and do not enjoy entertaining such ideas even hypothetically. :/ That's a power imbalance I definitely do not feel okay with, and you'll never see me write anything like it.
4) Woke up married: C
So this trope can be enjoyable if it's done very well, but if it resembles shitty comedies like "The Hangover" there's a 200% chance I won't enjoy it. Stuff like Vegas also usually involves getting blackout drunk, which is likewise a thing I don't enjoy, either in fiction or in real life.
I mean, what's not to love?? It's a fun trope, and there is so much opportunity for PINING. Also there are lots of different versions - two people pretending to be dating, pretending to me married, someone paying someone else to be their partner, the possibilities are many!
I also think that it's a trope that works with almost any pairing, so that's a plus. :D
