“Hey buddy, we’re going to be late if you don’t make a move on. Can’t you just get the salon to do your makeup together with your hair? Just put a mask for god’s sake—” The owner of the loud booming voice neared the two frozen men at the door and paused, his eyes looking Yixing up and down before flashing him a grin.

“Ah, new PA. Welcome to hell. Grab his stuff by the table and meet us in the car.” He clamped a hand down on Kris’s arm and pulled him roughly towards the door. “Hurry up!”

Automatically, Yixing moved into the room to search for that table the manager mentioned, his head full of muddled thoughts of disbelief. He was going to be Kris Wu’s personal assistant? How – the – – did that happen? Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was God giving him an opportunity to get Kris to explain things to him.

A small flash of silver caught his eyes just as he grabbed the mobile phone and the wallet off the table. Yixing bent down to inspect, hand patting blindly on the carpet underneath the dressing table when he finally touched an object.

It was a ring. With KrisYeol engraved on it. This was… confusing.

“Don’t you dare get drunk later, Kris,” warned the man from earlier as Yixing reached the car. “The last thing we need is for you to go blabbering about the engagement – oh hi, PA! I’m Kris’s wonderful manager, Chanyeol. Did you get his ? Dump it on his lap. What’s your name?”

An overwhelmed Yixing bowed slightly and nodded, barely shutting the car door behind him when Chanyeol sped out of the gates. The manager’s name sounded a little familiar but Yixing was far too stunned to think. He held the wallet and the phone out to Kris in the front passenger seat, keeping his eyes onto the back of the manager’s head instead.

“Y – Lay. My name is Lay,” Yixing said and offered the manager a small smile. “Nice to meet you, Chan…yeol.”

Hold on. Chanyeol? KrisYeol? He bit his tongue in surprise and shot the silent actor a look.
 

“Don’t be intimidated by the guy,” Chanyeol said cheerfully. “He’s just in one of those bad moods because he has to look pretty for the charity event tonight. I’m sure you know who he is right? Kris Wu?”

“I heard plenty about him,” replied Yixing, “So much that I feel like I know him personally.” He noticed with grim pleasure that Kris fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

It was fifteen minutes past 8 – hopefully fashionably late instead of just late – when they arrived at the hotel where the charity auction was to take place. Chanyeol told him to wait in the lobby while the event was going on, leaving Yixing more than two hours of free time.

He was more than happy to comply. It was easier for Yixing to think without Kris in his line of sight. He missed the older male dearly and had so many questions for him but he had no idea what to start with. After all, wasn’t Kris avoiding him?

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Yixing left the hotel for the café across the road. Waiting with a cup of Hoji tea latte sounded better than waiting in a 6-star hotel with y receptionists glaring at him for being underdressed. He dug his phone out from his bag as he sat down at a table by the window, blinking at the 7 missed calls on his screen. Blocked number. Hmm. It couldn’t be…?

 A shadow fell upon his table and with the shadow came his large cup of Hoji tea latte. “Zhang Yixing, trust you to not pick up your phone,” the clear voice above him accused. Before Yixing even looked up to see who it was, a grin formed on his lips.

“LULU!” he exclaimed delightedly, jumping up from his seat to envelope the slim blond in a tight hug. “Why are you here? Aren’t you in China? How do you know where to find me?!”

The other man laughed at the unstoppable questions and pulled Yixing to sit next to him. Luhan was an extremely close friend whom Yixing gotten to know in the entertainment agency they were trainees in, years ago, and found that they had quite a number of common interests. It never ceased to confuse Yixing why Luhan chose to leave the agency when he was given the chance to debut but according to Luhan, he decided that photography was more his forte than singing and dancing in front of an audience.

“I just came back this afternoon because of an assignment,” Luhan said, nodding across the street at the hotel Yixing just left. “Was taking photos on the red carpet for some magazine. Oi, I’ve been trying to call you for the past 2 hours. Did you set your phone on silent again?”

Yixing nodded sheepishly, wrapping his hands around Luhan’s arm to cling onto it like a koala. “I was working.” He hesitated. It wouldn’t be smart to tell Luhan he was working for Kris after the last conversation they had. Which reminded him. They hadn’t exactly ended their talk on a good note the other time. “Are you angry at me? I… didn’t mean to swear at you that day.”

Luhan ruffled Yixing’s hair with an affectionate smile, comfortably draping his arm around the latter’s shoulder before stealing a sip of his latte. “You know I’ll never be mad at you.” He cleared his throat. “I actually have a favour to ask… I came here so quickly I forgot to book a hotel room. Can I stay at your place?”

Crap. “I got kicked out of my apartment,” he said meekly. “I’m currently renting a room at a friend’s house… but I’m sure he doesn’t mind if you sleep over.” Yixing raised an eyebrow at him. “If you’re not picky about my disorderly bed, we can share.”

“God, Xing, do you not make your bed if I’m not there to bug you?”

Yixing at least had the decency to blush a little. “What’s the point of making beds if I’m going to sleep in it again?” he argued and would have added more to support his case if his phone didn’t vibrate then. He glanced at the text message and untangled Luhan’s arm from his shoulder. “I have to head back to work. The guy I’m staying with – Baek Hyun – wants to meet for drinks later – you have to come along. I’ll text you the address!” Rambling done, Yixing stood up with a goodbye pinch to Luhan’s cheek, quickly escaping before the latter could execute revenge on him.

His smile faded a little as he returned to the hotel. Back to seeing Kris and possibly getting answers to the several questions he had for the other. Yixing still wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, working with Kris, and it was depressing that if he had not gotten this job, maybe he would not have the chance to see him ever again.

The event was wrapping up when Yixing reached the hotel. He ducked his head as he stood a little further away from the door of the ballroom where the prestigious guests were leaving, just in case there were celebrities from the agency he used to train in recognized him.

“Chanyeol, you listening to me? I want a new personal assistant…”

“Wae?” Yixing heard the manager ask, sounding a lot louder than he was in the car. “I like Lay. He doesn’t talk much. And he hasn’t asked you for a signature.” Chanyeol hiccupped. “Not starstuck. Good for him.”

“No, it’s just that he’s –”

“Are you drunk?” Yixing interrupted, stepping forward to show himself to the two tall men. He didn’t spare Kris a look despite the anger slowly boiling within him. It had been so difficult to find a job –Yixing really didn’t need Kris to sabotage this for him. “I can drive Kris back.”

Chanyeol brightened considerably at the suggestion (in fact, Yixing was startled at how huge a grin his lips could form) and nodded in gratitude. “Great! I’ll take a cab back… you two can run along.”

A jolt of electricity shot through Yixing as he grabbed Kris’s elbow determinedly and directed him to the carpark. Damn it. It was difficult to deny his attraction to Kris when like that happened but Yixing felt incredibly stupid to still want the latter when he obviously moved on.

“By the way,” Yixing said, as casually as he could, “Nice meeting you too, Kris Wu.”

Silence.

 His blood boiled. Yixing in a deep breath as he practically shoved Kris into the passenger seat (not an easy feat, considering how much taller and stronger the actor was) and stormed over to the driver’s seat, slamming the door hard and taking satisfaction to see Kris cringe.

“I would greatly appreciate it if you do not get me fired,” Yixing said through gritted teeth. “It hasn’t been easy looking for a job with a criminal record.”

“Xing—”

“Don’t!” Yixing exploded, tightly gripping the wheel until his knuckles turned white. “Don’t. Call. Me. That. You obviously want to act like we are strangers so don’t.” He drew in another shaky breath. “I need this job to keep my Visa. Please don’t ruin that for me.”

If Yixing wasn’t in this situation, if this was some fictional drama, he would have found it laughable that he was at Kris’s mercy now.

“I wasn’t trying to—”

“Whatever,” he snapped. “If you have the time to come up with excuses then I supposed you’ve already came up with one to explain why you moved without telling me or why you haven’t been contacting me.”

Yixing watched Kris from the corner of his eyes, disappointed that he said nothing. He pulled his gaze away from him, blinking rapidly to clear the tears blurring his vision.

“Okay,” he said softly and turned the key in the ignition to start the car, feeling his heart twist together with it. “I get it.”