He Jun is so startled by the words that for the first few moments, he doesn't move.

His thumbs return to the screen and taps away.

“For what...?”

He erases it.

“There’s no need?”

He erases that too and then tries again.

“What exactly are you sorry f-“

Zhihan’s explanation however comes before he can send his. 

“For the candle holder. For throwing it at you. That was incredibly dangerous and juvenile.”

He Jun releases a strained breath.

“It was a rough day for me Jun ge.”

He Jun eases more comfortably into the couch and sends his response.

“It’s alright Gou Zai Zai. I’m fine. It’s in the past.”

“Don’t call me that.” Zhihan’s response comes and the smile is wiped off He Jun’s face.

Don’t call him what? He thinks back. Gou Zai Zai

“Why?" he asks and keeps his gaze on the screen for Zhihan’s response.

However, it doesn’t come. Another five minutes later, and he is simmering with annoyance. He throws the phone to the couch and returns to the leather recliner. There, he picks up the second script and begins to flip through it. It is another thirty minutes before he looks up again, and that is because he cannot really tell what the story is about since he has been unable to focus for the majority of the time. It’s something to do with lawyers and a homeless man but none of it is enough to hold his attention.

Fully annoyed now, he rises and heads back to retrieve his phone, fully intent on calling Zhihan to curse at him.

He meets that indeed Zhihan has still not responded, despite having read the message.

Is he busy? He Jun wonders. Or is he too tired from his day?

He falls back to the couch and rests his right ankle on his left knee. Then he pulls up Zhihan’s contact card, his thumb hovering over the call button.

It’s been almost a year since he has done this, but the prospect of not hearing any further from Zhihan tonight feels like it will be too much to bear.

Just before he takes the plunge however another thought comes to mind and he is rescued from himself. He types out another message.

“I heard about your dance show. Are you enjoying it?”

Zhihan’s response is so immediate that his stomach flips.

“You ‘heard‘?”

“Yes,” he replies. “Nini sent me one of your videos today.”

Once again the message immediately, cannot be recalled. It has been read but yet no response comes. 

 He Jun continues carrying the conversation. “You danced really well. I was impressed.”

“Which one did you see?” Zhihan replies.

“The dance battle. With Jackson.”

“Mn,” Zhihan replies, and He Jun is tempted to use the Si Di joke again but he holds himself back.

“It’s fun,” Zhihan adds, and He Jun nods. 'Fun for you but torturous for the rest of us, he can’t help but think.

"Alright,” He Jun concludes.

He wants to ask about Zhihan’s ankle but he has already mentioned that he received one video today and it was about the dance battle. His ankle being injured is a completely different episode.

 "Goodnight,” he says and takes his gaze off the screen.

His eyes move around his space as he thinks of what next to do. He has the sudden urge to write a song... about anything, but he still feels too restless.

Painting then?

His mind will wander.

Zhihan?

The suggestion comes to mind and his breath hitches.

Fuck, he curses and gets off his couch.

He heads back out to the balcony so that he can cool down, however just as he sits a message comes in from Zhihan.

It is not a text message but an attachment so he opens it up.

It is short, just over a minute long, but afterwards he is grinning from ear to ear.

“You met Boubou?” he texts back rapidly.

“Yeah,” Zhihan replies. “I was so fucking excited.”

He Jun can only imagine. Zhihan has long held a deep-seated admiration for the french dancer’s talent and has mentioned this in passing to him several times.

 “He is on your team right?” He Jun asks.

Another video comes in and He Jun opens it. In it, Zhihan is climbing the wall of Boubou’s waiting booth with a ladder just to get the chance to lobby him into joining his street dance team. The other captains however ambush his efforts but eventually, Zhihan wins Boubou's favor for one reason.

The other captains were eloquent with their quest to recruit Bouboo but Zhihan, in his barely adequate English, just cocked his head and unleashed the cutest of smiles at him.

He Jun's heart thunders in his chest. He replays the video over and over again and then clicks the phone off. He bends over, his head falling into his hands.

Fuck, he curses, as his entire body begins to heat up again.

He rises to his feet and heads over to the balcony’s edge. There, he stares out at the night sky and soon another message comes in.

He clicks it open to see that it is yet another video. This one is of Zhihan in the practice studio as he tries to recruit another dancer. This one however is female. He is told through the device in his ears to say the most outlandish things to her which makes the dancer dumbfounded as to what is going on.

Zhihan however cannot set anything straight because he will be breaking the rules of the game otherwise.

So he makes a complete fool of himself, courtesy of the instructions he is receiving, and then leaves the dance room mortified. Eventually, however, he bursts into a sudden bout of giggles in the corridor and He Jun feels like he has been rammed against a boulder. Or a boulder has been rammed against him? Either way, his body feels like it is shutting down from being overwhelmed with emotions too intense to name.

He has never seen Zhihan laugh this way. With complete abandon and immeasurable delight. He replays the video at least a hundred times after that and it is enough to stop his brain from functioning with caution.

He calls Zhihan and after two rings, the boy picks up.

“Let’s have dinner,” he says. “When next you’re here. I’ll cook something for you.”

Zhihan goes silent and He Jun feels fear. Has he made a mistake?

Is this the wrong move?

He should have just gone to bed. He is about to somehow take the invitation back however when Zhihan responds.

“I’ll be in Guangzhou this weekend. Brand shoot. I’ll come over after I’m done.”

“Alright,” he says and quickly ends the call. He shuts his phone down after that and tries his hardest to breathe properly.