Detention With You || Link Click AU

Cheng Xiaoshi was exhausted. After a long day of basketball practice, he was ready to crash into bed, maybe scroll through his phone for a bit, and then sleep like a log. He reached into his bag, searching for his dorm key.

Nothing.

His heart sank. He dug through his bag again, checking every pocket. Then he patted down his uniform, his hoodie-anywhere the key could have been. Still nothing.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath.

He thought back to where he could have lost it. Maybe in the locker room? On the court? He had been so focused on practice that he hadn't paid attention. Either way, without his key, he was locked out for the night.

With no other choice, he went to find a teacher, hoping for a spare key. Unfortunately, the teacher he found was the last person he wanted to ask-Mr. Zhang, who had never liked him.

"You lost your key?" Mr. Zhang raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "That sounds like a personal problem."

"What? But-"

"You should be more responsible. The school doesn't just hand out replacement keys like candy," Mr. Zhang said, dismissing him. "Come back in the morning."

Cheng Xiaoshi stared at him, mouth slightly open in disbelief. "So you're telling me I have to sleep outside tonight?"

"Not my problem," Mr. Zhang replied with a shrug before walking off.

Cheng Xiaoshi groaned in frustration. "Unbelievable..."

Now what? He had no key, no way into his dorm, and no teacher willing to help him. He considered his options-he could sleep on a bench somewhere (terrible idea), sneak into the school gym and sleep there (also a terrible idea), or...

His mind immediately went to Lu Guang.

Would he even let him stay over? Lu Guang wasn't exactly the most welcoming person when it came to surprises. But at this point, Cheng Xiaoshi didn't have a choice.

With a sigh, he pulled out his phone and sent a message.

[Cheng Xiaoshi]: Bro. Emergency. I lost my key. Let me crash at your place for the night.

A few seconds later, the read receipt popped up. Then came the reply.

[Lu Guang]: ...How do you even manage to lose your key?

[Cheng Xiaoshi]: Not the point! I'm gonna freeze to death, man. Help me out.

There was a long pause. Then, finally:

[Lu Guang]: Fine.

Cheng Xiaoshi grinned. Victory.

___

*Lu Guang's dorm*

Cheng Xiaoshi lounged on Lu Guang's bed, flipping through his English textbook with an exaggerated look of concentration. Lu Guang, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow. Since when did he study willingly?

Grabbing a towel, Lu Guang sighed. "I'm going to take a shower. Don't touch anything. And don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

Cheng Xiaoshi gave an innocent nod, but in reality, his mind was already scheming.

As Lu Guang turned to leave, Cheng Xiaoshi smirked. "Want me to join you?"

Lu Guang froze.

His entire face flushed red in an instant, but instead of reacting, he quickly turned away and disappeared into the bathroom, pretending he hadn't heard a thing.

Cheng Xiaoshi grinned. That was way too easy.

When Lu Guang stepped out of the shower, he walked into the room with just a towel wrapped around his waist. Cheng Xiaoshi's face immediately turned bright red. He wasn't used to seeing Lu Guang so... exposed. His eyes couldn't help but linger on the way the towel hugged Lu Guang's waist, the droplets of water still trickling down his skin. He quickly turned his gaze away, his heart racing.

"It's not like I like boys, right?" Cheng Xiaoshi muttered to himself, trying to reason. He'd seen plenty of teammates half-naked or even fully naked in the locker room during basketball practice, and it didn't faze him at all. So why was it that seeing Lu Guang like this made him feel so flustered?

Lu Guang walked over to him, seemingly unfazed by his state of undress. He glanced at Cheng Xiaoshi and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Cheng Xiaoshi, feeling his face burning even more, quickly cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. "N-nothing," he stammered, quickly turning his attention back to his textbook, pretending to focus on it as if it were the most important thing in the world. His mind, however, was anything but focused.

Lu Guang, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice the way Cheng Xiaoshi was acting-his flushed face, his awkwardness-and decided to tease him a little. He leaned against the doorframe casually and gave him a sly smile. "Like what you see?"

Cheng Xiaoshi blinked, his heart racing. He saw this as an opportunity to get back at Lu Guang, or at least turn the situation into a joke. Without missing a beat, he smirked and replied, "I prefer you having nothing on."

Lu Guang's eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by Cheng Xiaoshi's bold response. His face flushed, and he immediately averted his gaze, not expecting Cheng Xiaoshi to hit him with that. "Idiot," he muttered, shaking his head as he grabbed his clothes and went to get dressed, a small, amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Cheng Xiaoshi watched Lu Guang walk away, his heart still racing. He couldn't believe what he just said, and yet he couldn't help but feel a little proud. At least he'd managed to keep up with Lu Guang's teasing, even if it had embarrassed him to no end.

It was late into the evening, and Cheng Xiaoshi finally decided to take a shower, feeling the exhaustion of the day catching up to him. He had been trying to push away all the thoughts of Lu Guang, but somehow, they kept creeping into his mind.

"Hey, do you have any comfy clothes I can change into?" Cheng Xiaoshi asked, rubbing his neck as he looked around.

Lu Guang, still sitting on his bed, nodded and tossed him a plain, comfortable shirt and some sweatpants. "Here. Don't get them dirty," he added, a bit more seriously than necessary.

Cheng Xiaoshi took the clothes and went to the bathroom. As he stood under the hot water, he couldn't help but think about Lu Guang again-especially how he'd looked earlier, with just a towel around his waist. His mind wandered to the teasing comment Lu Guang had made.

"Wait, why am I thinking about him like this?" Cheng Xiaoshi muttered to himself, his face flushing. This felt wrong-wrong in a way he couldn't quite explain. He quickly shook off the thoughts and focused on finishing his shower as quickly as possible.

Five minutes later, Cheng Xiaoshi dried his hair and stepped out of the bathroom, wearing the clothes Lu Guang had given him. They were soft and comfortable, and for some reason, they made him feel at ease, even though his heart was still pounding from the awkwardness of everything.

Lu Guang, already in his own pajamas, looked at Cheng Xiaoshi with a raised eyebrow. "Did you even shower properly in five minutes?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Cheng Xiaoshi grinned, trying to sound confident. "Of course. I'm just efficient. You couldn't stand 5 minutes without me?" he teased, smirking.

Lu Guang rolled his eyes but couldn't suppress the small smile that tugged at his lips. "Sure, whatever you say," he muttered, turning toward the bed. "It's bedtime."