Chapter 1 – Hello

你好
（一）Point index finger of dominant hand to the person you’re addressing
（二）Create a fist with your dominant hand, put your thump up

Wu Yifan balanced cooked rice and Gongbaojiding to a table, the green plastic chopsticks clattering against the metal of the tablet when he placed it onto the wood. The sound made his friends Zitao and Luhan flinch and they looked up to him in surprise.
“What’s wrong?” asked Luhan, when Yifan sat down and sighed heavily.
“I’m screwed, that’s what’s wrong,” he answered.
Zitao and Luhan exchanged a look, then Tao said:
“Okay. So. Do you want to be a drama queen about it or do you want to tell us what’s going on?”
“First of all: you, I’m not a drama queen.”
Tao sighed and drew his attention back to his lunch, which was a huge bowl of noodles with eggs and tomatoes.
“Second of all: I’m behind with my credits. I lack ‘extracurricular activities’. If I don’t do anything this semester, they’ll kick me out.”
“Oh,” Luhan made and Tao seemed unimpressed.
“So. Just join a club?” he suggested, after slurping on his soup.
Yifan groaned. He hated the clubs the PKU provided. Sure, the basketball club wasn’t bad, since he liked the sport, but apparently that didn’t seem to be enough for the examination authorities who had called the young man in earlier for a talk on his academic future. They had made it too clear: If he still wanted to be a student of this university, he needed credit points. They didn’t care how he gained them, as long as he had them together by the end of the semester.
“I really really don’t want to do this,” he mumbled, not feeling very hungry.
“Clubs aren’t that bad, and there are plenty of them, you’ll find something that you will like,” Luhan said optimistically and gave him a huge smile.
“Ugh,” was Yifan’s answer, before he shoveled the chicken into his mouth.
They only had thirty more minutes before the next classes would start.

Two days later Yifan strolled down the campus with Zitao, enjoying the excellent autumn weather. September and October where the best months to be in Beijing, because there was a lot of wind that kept the smog away – the reward were sunny days with clean air and pleasant temperatures, something that was rare in China’s capital. When November would be here, the temperatures would drop immensely and then their misery would only be beginning, since the winters in Beijing were long and very, very cold.
“Hey, can we stop to get some milkshakes?” Zitao asked his friend and Yifan nodded.
The area on PKU’s campus with all its cafeterias and small stands was one of their favorite spots. Especially Zitao had a thing for the milkshakes a young married couple made. They sold a lot of fruit throughout the year and used them also for their drinks. Zitao was one of their best customers, sometimes he even got one milkshake for free. Most of the time, Yifan got the extra one, and he couldn’t really complain about that, since he was a student and free beverages were always welcome. While they stood in line for the drinks, Tao’s eyes locked with a note that somebody had stuck to a lamp post.
“Hey, Yifan, wasn’t your grandmother deaf?”
“Ummm… yeah. So what?”
“So you know how to use Sign Language?”
“Well, when she was still alive I did. But I haven’t used it in ages; I guess I’m a little rusty. Why the heck are you asking?”
His friend tore away the note that had caught his attention and handed it over to Yifan.
“They’re looking for someone to help deaf students, it sounds like some sort of Buddy-program.”
“Dude…” Yifan said after he had skimmed the note, “I don’t have time to be a buddy for a deaf kid. I have enough to do with my stupid major already.”
Tao clicked his tongue and responded:
“Stop it already, you’re not in the position to brag about freetime, since you haven’t even joined a club yet.”
“Clubs !” Yifan cut Tao off, but Tao wasn’t having anything of Yifan’s attitude.
“Take a closer look, I think they said something about credits somewhere.”
Yifan rolled with his eyes and read the paper more carefully this time. Tao was right – there was a possibility to get credits for the whole thing. And when he saw how many they offered, Yifan’s mouth dropped.
“This…!”
“This might save your lazy , my dear,” Tao sing-songed and grinned widely as Yifan immediately took out his phone and dialed the contact number.
“I owe you one,” Yifan mouthed and when a young woman picked up the phone, Yifan turned away and it was Tao’s turn to place his milkshake order – he went for Banana today.

Basically the next day, Yifan was already way in too deep to back down. It wasn’t like he was really fond of doing the whole thing, but he needed the credits and that way he didn’t have to join a club. As it turned out, the Peking University had been critized for not doing enough for their disabled students and the chairmanship reacted with creating this buddy-concept where ‘normal’ students helped the handicapped ones out, be it in class (if their schedules were allowing it) or in everyday campus life. When Yifan said he knew Chinese Sign Language, the woman he had called was stoked since they had a deaf kid on the list but nobody who knew how to interpret. Yifan was called into their office the next day and ten minutes later he had walked out, the paperwork being done and a paper with his new buddy’s phone- and QQ-Number in his hands. After dinner he sat on his bed in his dorm room, while Tao and Luhan were munching on some chips watching the new episode of Pretty Little Liars. Yifan hated that show, but his other two friends were addicted to it. At first it had been Luhan who had told them about it and he had annoyed them until they gave in and watched the first season together with him. Tao was immediately hooked, even though he never admitted it. And since the Wifi was best in Yifan’s room, they met up every Wednesday night to watch the new episode, even though Yifan did not really approve.
“Have you contacted your buddy already?” Luhan asked casually, while they were watching one of the show’s main characters getting a new threatening message from the show’s villain (Tao commented: “NO STOP IT! Leave her alone!”).
“Not yet, I don’t know what to say,” Yifan replied.
“Just ask him to meet up, it shouldn’t be that hard.”
Yifan made a face, while Luhan took the paper from the night desk and looked at the picture of the guy.
“Oh, he’s cute.”
“Yeah, did you expect deaf people are ugly?” Yifan snapped and took away the note.
“Woar, chill, it’s not like I made you do this!”
“Oh god, LUHAN, A is in the house, A just entered the house! And I think they’re going to kill Spencer!!” Tao squealed, grabbing Luhan’s thin arm.
His attention immediately snapped back to the show and Yifan rolled his eyes. His friends were such losers. Then he took another look on the paper and had to admit that Luhan was right. This guy was cute, but that wasn’t really a miraculous achievement because on campus the only decent looking people where the Korean exchange students. The Chinese male population on campus was the weirdest thing Yifan had ever witnessed. Most of them looked like they never changed their pajamas and just walked around in them for a few weeks and it creeped Yifan out. While Tao and Luhan almost died of a heart attack because of the scene that was flashing across Yifan’s laptop, he pulled out his phone, added this guy to his Wechat Account and typed a message:

                Hello! I got assigned to be your buddy, I think you know what I’m talking about. My name is  Wu Yifan.

He didn’t really know what to say else, so he just added a random smiley, to make it look like he was actually nice (he went for a waving penguin) and hit send. After five minutes, he got a reply:

                Hey! Thank you for doing this, I almost lost hope they would never find someone. I’m Zhang  Yixing, nice to meet you! When are you free for a meet up? :)

Tomorrow was Yifan’s free weekday where he didn’t have to attend any lectures, so he simply typed:

                I’m free tomorrow, whenever you’ve got time.

It seemed like Yixing hadn’t even closed the chatroom, because he immediately wrote back.

                Is 3pm okay? In front of the library?

Yifan shot a look at his friends, but they were completely oblivious to their environment. They grabbed each other’s arms and stared at the monitor, completely mesmerized. With a last eye roll he turned back to his phone.

                Yes, that’s fine. See you tomorrow!

After Yixing thanked him once again for doing this and he told him that he was looking forward to their meeting, Yifan’s phone stayed silent.
“Ya, Luhan, I contacted that guy, are you happy now?”
“Shhhhh, Yifan, I don’t have time for you right now!” Luhan shushed him, not even turning away from the screen for one second.
Yepp. His friends were a bunch of losers.

“Ah ,” Yifan cursed while he made his way to the library where he was about to meet Yixing. He was running late, but mostly because a lot of students were heading to class in the other direction and Yifan had underestimated the mass of people that made it almost impossible to get through. When he finally reached the building, Yixing was already there. He wore a jeans jacket and carried a MCM bag (a fake one, from one of the markets here in Beijing) around. His hair was a little lighter than on the photo, but Yifan recognized him immediately. He was smaller than him and he looked very nervous, but he lived up to his picture, in fact, he seemed even cuter in real life than on his photo. When Yifan headed towards him, he cracked a relieved smile.
“Hello, sorry I’m late,” Yifan said, using his hands to communicate also, and immediately added, “I haven’t used sign language in a long time, so I might be rusty, sorry.”
He wasn’t sure if his hand movements were correct, but Yixing just smiled wider and answered:
“It’s okay, I can help you out if you need it.”
Yifan was really bad at smalltalk with hearing people, so he was especially awkward around Yixing. They looked at each other for a few moments, then Yifan asked:
“So, do you have any plans? Do you need help with something?”
Yixing’s smile did not fade the whole time. He seemed too happy to be with someone who he could finally communitcate with.
“To be honest, I wanted to meet you here because I really need help. I got a new student ID but something is wrong with it when I want to lend books. And I tried to let them know but it seemed like they did not understand what my problem was.”
Yifan grunted. He knew very well what Yixing was talking about. He himself was a victim of the new IDs that didn’t work properly and the unfriendly women in the library who always acted like this wasn’t their problem, when in fact it was, because they were in charge for it.
“Okay, I get it, let’s go in.”
When they entered, Yixing pulled out his ID and Yifan took it.
“I’ll handle it.”
Yixing nodded thankfully and followed behind, a little scared, since his last encounter with the ladies at the information desk had been a very unpleasant event. Yifan headed to one of the three employees, put Yixing’s ID on the desk and said:
“We have a problem with this one.”
She looked up and remained unimpressed, but at least she did not send him away like others used to do.
“Okay. What’s the problem?”
“My friend here cannot lend any books.”
She eyed Yixing who stood a little offside, then turned back to Yifan and said:
“And your friend here cannot tell me in person?”
“Not unless you know Sign Language, no,” Yifan responded and Yixing snorted.
The woman sighed heavily, took the ID and shuffled over to another computer that was attached to an ID-card reader. She placed Yixing’s ID on it, then hacked something into the machine and two seconds later she came back.
“If it’s still not working, come back and we’ll have to give you a new one.”
“Okay, thank you.”
While they excited the library, Yifan gave Yixing his ID back.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. If it’s still not working, you have to apply for a new one. But I can help you with that, too, so don’t worry about it.”
Yixing frowned for a moment, but then he smiled again.
“Let’s just hope it works then.”
When they stepped out on the main street, the smaller brunette had another question:
“I’d like to treat you to some coffee but I have no idea where to get a good one around here.”
Yifan laughed – Yixing had blushed a little when he had admitted that and somehow it was just too cute to handle.
“When did you get here exactly?”
“Two weeks ago when the semester started. But I don’t live on campus, I’ve got an apartment in Wudaokou, so I have no idea about anything around here.”
“It’s okay, I’ll show you round. The only coffee shop on campus that makes good coffee is called Paradiso, let’s go there.”
Ten minutes later Yifan and Yixing sat in the shop that was somehow a cheap Starbucks knock-off. Light Jazz music was playing and students, mostly Koreans and Westerners, sat in front of their laptops and tried to study. Most of the Chinese who had snatched a place in one of the armchairs were taking a nap, forgetting about their coffees in front of them. Yifan had brought two cups of the hot beverage to the small table in the corner where Yixing had waited for him and then they started talking.
Yifan found out that Yixing was from Changsha and he had enrolled at the university’s art school to get his degree. Yixing also told him that he had been born with a severe hearing loss, and at first he wasn’t sure whether to leave Changsha and his parents to study up north in Beijing, but he figured that he’d better start living his own life, even though he had a huge handicap. He had found a relatively cheap apartment fifteen minutes away from campus, because he clearly didn’t want to share a room with five others like it was common in the dormitories, and he was getting along well so far living alone. However, he still had immense problems with university, so he had signed up for the new buddy-program. As it turned out, Yixing was also capable of lip-reading, which explained why he had laughed when Yifan had talked to the librarian before. In fact, he also knew how to vocalize words, since he could indeed hear some sounds and noises (when they were loud enough), but ever since the neighbour’s kid in Changsha had called him out on his horrible pronunciation when he was 14, he did not dare to try it again except when he was around his family or close friends. They spent almost two hours talking to each other and Yifan realized his Sign Language was better than he had imagined before. It took him not too long to get it all back together and he was kind of proud of it. Yifan had made plans to meet Tao and Luhan for dinner in front of their favorite cafeteria and asked Yixing to join them, but he had declined politely – he didn’t like crowded places like cafeterias.
“Okay, so, when shall we meet again?” Yifan asked him.
Yixing seemed happy when Yifan indicated he wanted to see him again and he replied:
“Whenever you want to.”
“Have you been to any of the sights here in Beijing?”
Yixing shook his head no.
“Okay, shall I take you to the Forbidden City on Friday? It might not be as crowded as on weekends and when we go in the afternoon, most of the annoying tourist groups are already gone.”
After a while Yixing agreed on going, even though he didn’t seem to be completely positive about the trip. They arranged to meet at three in front of the subway station, then they parted. Yifan headed for dinner, Yixing headed home.

“So, how was your date with the cute deaf guy?” Luhan asked, as they shared a big pot of Malahuoguo and he picked out one of the lotus roots that had been boiling in the spicy sauce.
“His name is Yixing, okay?”
Luhan nudged him, to indicate that he didn’t mean to insult anyone and corrected himself:
“So, how was your date with Yixing?”
“It wasn’t a date. I helped him fix his ID at the library.”
“Oh god, they really have to do something about those stupid IDs, none of them are working properly,” Tao threw in and searched for the pieces of pork in the pot.
“And afterwards we had a coffee at Paradiso. We talked. He went home. That’s it. I’m taking him to the Forbidden City on Friday,” Yifan reported matter of factly and ignored Tao.
“Is he nice?”
“He seemed to be nice to me, yes.”
Luhan looked at him with high expectations on his face but Yifan just stared back and asked:
“What do you want?”
“Is there anything else to tell?”
“Sweet Jesus, Luhan, you’re annoying. As I said: We met, we talked, end of story.”
“I just thought.”
“Don’t think too much,” Yifan adviced and then Tao brought them back to reality:
“There is no pork in this one. Luhan, I told you to get pork.”
“No, darling, pork is bad for your body. I put in some extra chicken.”
Tao grunted, and shoveled down the rice. Luhan refrained from asking Yifan about every little detail of his meet up with Yixing and after a few minutes of awkward silence, in which Yifan was kind of mad at Luhan for being so nosy and Tao was kind of mad at Luhan for not putting pork into their dinner, Luhan sighed heavily and said:
“Okay guys, I’m sorry. Are you really mad at me now?”
The thing with Luhan was – you couldn’t be mad at him for long. Yifan smiled and said:
“No, it’s okay.”
“Yeah, I just saw you put in quail’s eggs. We’re good again.”
Luhan smiled, and put his quail’s eggs into the bowl of Tao.
“Here, have mine. I don’t like them very much today.”
Tao looked up and his face lit up in joy.
“Really?”
“Yeah, take them all.”
“Aaaah, Luhan, thank you so much!”
Yifan scoffed and shook his head. Yeah. His friends were really a bunch of losers. But he had to admit that he liked them a lot.

A/N: "BUT WAIT YIXING COULD HEAR IN THE PROLOQUE?" - Yepp. I know. That's part of the plan (yes, I actually have a plan where I'm going with this, isn't that great!).
I got the idea from this video by the way: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxeArEGPZJg (it's super hilarious, but also very cute, you def. should watch it).
And yes I said there'd be an update every week but since the prologue did not give away too much I decided to update today and not on Tuesday. So I'm going to update every Friday, or at least I'm trying to do so, hahahaha. Enjoy! (Or not, idk)