I continue to get 3AM inspiration for this.

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The loud, rather high pitched scream came from The Rich People's table, apparently, and everyone in the canteen had their eyes on the scene. Zitao, who was on his boyfriend Kris' lap just a few moments ago, was now standing up to the side of the table. His eyes were wide, and so was his mouth, and his finger was pointing at something on the table, shaking visibly.

Kris was still sitting down, a worried expression on his face. He seemed to be saying something, but our table was too far away (again, really far corner table, away from civilization and without a good view of anything but Chanyeol, way to go Baekhyun) to hear what he was saying. Zitao continued to point, shake his head, and point some more, until eventually Kris stood up to confront and comfort him. Joonmyun was surprisingly calm, still eating his meal without a care in the world.

"I'm gonna go over and see what's happening," I announced, and stood up to walk closer before any of the other guys can stop me.

I popped my head a tiny bit beside some of the other people who have crowded around the table, but still surprisingly leaving a rather perfect circle around it. Really? Nobody wants to move an inch closer? Maybe three inches closer? Are the people allergic to the smell of money and gold or something? 

"Yifan," Zitao whined, "tell Joonmyun to stop eating that!"

My ears perked up at the all too familiar words; they were speaking in Chinese, my mother language, and even if it's only been half a day here in this new school, I gotta admit hearing Mandarin again was like a well needed cold drink on a hot summer's day. Plus, did he call Kris Yifan?

"Tao, there's nothing wrong with what he's eating," Kris explained, gently. The people around the crowd looked confused, but they stayed standing around them anyway, as if the longer they stand around, the more Chinese they'll suddenly understand.

"It's inhumane," Zitao hissed, glaring at Joonmyun's plate.

Joonmyun, despite all the commotion, continued to chew on his food. I tiptoed a bit to see past the hoard of shoulders and tried to get a glimpse of his plate- it looked like chicken. Except tinier. Pigeon, probably.

Kris sighed loudly, "you know the things we eat back in China are worse--"

A small laugh escaped my lips because hey, that wasn't a lie, but the little laugh made the whole crowd turn towards the source of noise: me. 

I froze when I realized I caught the attention of Kris and Zitao as well. Almost immediately, the crowd of people parted until only I was seen, right smack in the middle, looking like a deer caught in head lights. Somebody pushed me forward too. I gulped.

Zitao glared at me, his eyes darked than usual, and when he spoke, it was in slightly accented Korean, "are you laughing at me?"

Kris seemed to forget all about his discussion with Zitao, because he was looking at me with rather cold eyes as well, almost like some warning to let me know that if ever I were laughing at Zitao, then it would probably be a good idea to run far, far away. I could always reply back, though, and just tell the truth. What could possibly go wrong? 

"N-not really," I found myself replying back in Korean, before I realized: these guys were Chinese. They're my people. I continued in Mandarin, "I just find Kris' words to be true. The food back in China can get rather weird."

Ah, yes, the magic of Mandarin. Almost immediately, Zitao's face softened into a very, very, very bright smile. (Who said he was scary again?) A little smirk even found its way on Kris' face, but it vanished just as quickly. Zitao looked like he was about to make his way towards me, but Kris extended a hand to block his movement, eyes suddenly cold again.

"You're Chinese! I'm so happy there's more of us here," Zitao started to say in rapid fire Mandarin, apparently ignoring Kris' arm across his chest, but staying in place anyway. "I thought it was always going to be Kris and I here, and well okay there's Yixing but he has his own little group and we don't entirely get along with them. You're Chinese though! Which family do you belong to? The Chua clan? My family does business with them. Or maybe the Chang clan? I don't see your face in business parties though."

It took me a few seconds to realize Zitao probably thinks I'm really really rich. Well, he's really really wrong.

"I, uh, I don't belong to any specific... clan..." I started to say, and I saw the happy smile on his face falter a little bit. "My name is Luhan. Xi Luhan."

Kris released the block on Zitao, but only because he probably realized Zitao wasn't going to approach me anymore. A frown was set on his face.

"I've never heard of the Xi family before. What does your family do?"

Before I could answer, the bell rang. Saved by the bell. I never thought that actually happened in real life, but I sure am happy that it did. The crowd around us, that I almost forgot was there, started to move away. Joonmyun got up from his seat, and rejoined the other two, apparently completely unaware of what just happened around him. He looked at me puzzled, then to Zitao and Kris, before he started walking. Almost immediately, Kris and Zitao followed, and it was like the whole conversation never happened. Together, the three of them had some kinda Golden Trio vibe going on. 

But what was up with that?

I looked around to the people heading out the canteen, and caught the eye of Oh Sehun. He looked just as confused as I felt, but probably for different reasons. When he realized we made eye contact, he merely rolled his eyes and looked away. Pompous git. 

"WHAT IS WITH YOU AND INITIATING CONTACT WITH THE HOLY GROUPS, LUHAN?" 

Baekhyun was beside me again, a look of complete shock on his face. Paired with the huge glasses, it looked rather comedic. 

"Yeah, man, what happened?" Minseok asked, "one moment you were sitting with us, the next you went to join the crowd, then next thing we know you're frolicking in a field of Chinese daisies with Zitao and Kris."

Frolicking in a field of Chinese daisies?

Jongdae was the only one who looked amused about everything, though. He laughed, clapping a hand on my shoulder, "you have guts, Luhan. First you step on Oh Sehun's shoe, then now you're conversing with The Rich People. What is it with you and breaking the status quo?"

"Please don't tell me we're going to break out into song and dance in the middle of the cafeteria," I groaned.

"We could," he replied cheekily. "We're not called the Drama Geeks for nothing."

I really hope that was a joke.

"So, Luhan," Baekhyun said, disturbingly close to my ear, and I already knew what he was going to ask next.

"What was it like talking to the members of The Rich People?!"

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Again, 3AM inspiration.