Hu Chuntian's Weakness

Mo Aini covered his mouth, mouthing the words 'Be quiet' as he waited for the teacher to leave. Nushen High lockers are very big, but still not spacious enough for two people.

It can fit them, but the cramped space made them entangle together dangerously close that any movement would cause noise. The two of them could only hold their breaths and hold still.

"He's gone." Mo Aini relaxed and let go.

Then he noticed how much Hu Chuntian was hyperventilating, his chest going up and down like crazy. He can feel his frantic breath on his chest.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mo Aini started to worry.

Hu Chuntian shook his head. "No...Nothing... Huff... Da Ge, let's get out of here."

Mo Aini tried to push open the locker but then...

"Shit! It's locked!"

"What!?" Hu Chuntian yelled.

"It won't..... budge..." Mo Aini did all he could but the metal door wouldn't open. "Don't panic, I got this."

But Hu Chuntian's eyes were bloodshot, and he started blindly kicking and jostling about like a fish out of water. Mo Aini even got punched in the face.

"Ow! Hey, stop that! We'll be fine, just let me—"

"We're stuck, Da Ge!" Hu Chuntian's pulse was 200 beats per minute. "No one can hear us and we'll be stuck here until we suffocate!"

"That won't happen—Fuck!" Hu Chuntian kicked his knee. "Just calm down!"

"I can't calm down! I'm going to die!"

Mo Aini blinked when he heard this and realized something. "Hu Chuntian... are you claustrophobic? Did you experience trauma on being stuck in closed spaces before?"

Hu Chuntian's breathing slightly slowed down when he heard this, and he nodded his head shakily.

Mo Aini sighed and hugged him. "You're not going to die. So calm down and hold still. Breathe slowly and deeply with me."

Hu Chuntian remained agitated, yet accepted his embrace. "That will lessen the air that we have in this space, or increase the heat until we suffer from hyperthermia, and who knows how long we have left before we di—"

"No, don't say that word. Don't think of anything else. Focus on my voice." Mo Aini tried his best to pull out his inner therapist and spoke gently but firmly on Hu Chuntian's ear. "When I count to three, you breathe in. Okay?"

The scared Tiger Emperor was still skeptical but followed his lead.

"Breathe in... Breath out... Breathe in..... Breath out....." Mo Aini guided him to at least eight sets of breathing exercises until he felt his heart rate improve.

[We didn't know User Mo Aini could be so persuasive at helping someone having a panic attack. Are you sure you don't want to work in the psychological field?]

(I'm just copying what I saw from an anime before, it's actually taking all my willpower not to panic when A-Tian is panicking.)

"Are you okay now?" Mo Aini checked on him. "Is there anything else you need for me to do to help you stay calm?"

"Tell me we're going to be fine and we'll get out of here." Hu Chuntian said weakly, his voice a little rasp but steady now.

"We will. Either the owner of this locker will open it during lunch break, or I'll manage to find my way around this stupid door." Mo Aini consoled him. "Just wait for a little while."

Hu Chuntian did wait and closed his eyes while waiting for the goddamn door to open.

Mo Aini had tried multiple things but was careful not to accidentally hit his companion who had just gotten over his shock of getting stuck. He fiddled with the other side of the lock, but his palms are getting sweaty. As Mo Aini was about to kick again, the locker door swung open...

"Well, this is unexpected." The newly-elected student council president, She Haoran, raised an eyebrow at the two entangled men on his locker.

"Thank god, it's the president!" Mo Aini steeped out and Hu Chuntian followed. "Why was your locker open anyway and why did it got locked all of a sudden!?"

"It was a trap for anyone who tries to steal my belongings." She Haoran explained with a straight face. "The moment something enters, like a hand, it will automatically slam shut and alert me on my phone so I could catch the thief on the spot."

She Haoran chuckled. "Haha, I was expecting burglary, but what I got was PDA. Well then, that's 2 hours of community service for the both of you."

She Haoran pulled out two detention slips out of thin air with a sweet smile.

(Fuck, I really hate when he does that fake smarmy smile!) Mo Aini sulked as he took the detention slipped and bowed sheepishly.

"We're sorry for our misbehavior, President She Haoran. We won't do it again!"

He gestured Hu Chuntian to bow, who was in a daze to resist any command from his Da Ge. "Oh. Yeah, sorry."

Then Hu Chuntian mouthed, 'Why are we bowing and not denying the PDA accusation?'

Mo Aini mouthed back, 'So he wouldn't know that we skipped class!'

"Ah, it's you." She Haoran regarded the blond delinquent once they lifted their head up. "I've tolerated you for a while because you clean up the trash from other schools, but this is out of the line. Do your own business in private."

"Yes, Mr. President." Hu Chuntian replied with sincere formality.

"Now that I know it's you, you were probably skipping class then, eh?" She Haoran's smile grew wider and rewrote new detention slips. "Alright, let's change it to four hours."

Mo Aini: "Huh!?"

Hu Chuntian: "Thanks."

Mo Aini: "HUUUUUHHH???"

She Haoran: "You're welcome. Have fun!"

Incredulous, Mo Aini watched Hu Chuntian just accept the more severe punishment and part ways with the president like nothing happened.

"Come on, Da Ge. We have to eat lunch fast and then do community service."

Mo Aini ran after him. "Whoah, wait! What was that all about!? 4 hours of detention would make me miss a whole day of classes!"

"And that's exactly what I wanted." Hu Chuntian grinned from ear to ear. "We have an excuse to practice sparring now, Da Ge!"

"That's not what detention is for! And since when did you and She Haoran knew each other personally?"

"Mr. President and I had a deal because more and more Shenling flies are swarming in recently, some even threatening his credibility as a president. We came to an understanding that more detentions and suspensions are like a form of payment for me. In exchange, I do dirty work for him."

Hu Chuntian whistled. "To everyone else, he looks like he's disciplining a school menace. But actually, I'm more or less his hitman. He would make one crazy politician someday, don't you think?"

"More like scary. Damn, he really is a cunning little snake who can compromise everything." Mo Aini said. "Hm, but a lot of people would be attracted to that kind of brainpower and skill."

Hu Chuntian suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Do you admire the president, Da Ge?"

Mo Aini was confused. "Huh? Why did you ask?"

"Because I admire Da Ge a lot, so I want Da Ge to admire me as well." Hu Chuntian frowned. "You shouldn't admire that kind of person who only knows how to hide his true intentions. It's better to find a ruffian who is honest and doesn't mask himself with an angelic facade. Someone like—"

Mo Aini grinned. "Like you?"

"Yeah, like me!" Hu Chuntian said proudly.

Mo Aini could not help it and laughed heartily while ruffling his hair. "Every time you do this, it's just so hilarious!"

"Every time?"

"Don't think too hard about it, let's just eat." Mo Aini patted him. "This admirable Da Ge will treat you to a meal!"

-----------------

"Shouldn't I be the one treating you to a meal from what happened earlier?" Hu Chuntian looked at the two orders of mapo tofu.

"I'm you're Da Ge, you're my Di Di*, so I treat you the meal." Mo Aini parted his chopsticks. "And besides, that was nothing. I was the one who got us stuck there in the first place."

"Still.... you didn't have to do all that for me. You could have just not cared about it. Maybe you would have gotten us to escape before She Haoran caught us." Hu Chuntian said.

"Lil bro, you've been kicking and punching me." Mo Aini placed a piece of tofu in his mouth and munched it. "How can I not spare a moment to help you calm the fuck down?"

Mo Aini has a point, and so Hu Chuntian went quiet, observing his kind-hearted 'big brother' as he ate his meal.

He has a sinking feeling on his stomach because he has never been one to let his guard down so easily, especially those who do things for him without anything in exchange. Yet why does he trust Mo Aini so much? Why does he feel like he could tell him anything?

"Do you know why I'm don't like cramped spaces, Da Ge?" Hu Chuntian's lips moved without him thinking.

"Dunno. You wanna tell me?" Mo Aini said with a food stuffed on his face. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Really, I don't need you to feel grateful or indebted to me."

"I... I just want to... Since no one ever knew about that before." Hu Chuntian gulped, regretting that he said anything yet kept going.

He's really putting himself in a vulnerable position here, and if Mo Aini turned out to be a scum, he may use it against him, but he doesn't care. "When I was a kid, my parents almost left me in a car. "

"Why did they just neglected a kid like that?" Mo Aini knitted his eyebrows.

"They were having an argument. They argue all the time, really." Hu Chuntian said. "I just stay quiet when they do that. They were so into yelling at each other that they forgot about me. I was stuck in the car for 8 hours and passed out...."

"It was so hot and my lungs felt like they were on fire that I thought I was going to die. If it weren't for the driver checking for his phone inside.... Heh, who knows how long it will take for them to find me? Or worse, my corpse?"

Hu Chuntian laughed it off, but his eyes flickered from the traumatic memory.

Mo Aini felt his heart clench just from this story and the look on Hu Chuntian's face. He wanted to reach out and touch his hand, but they're in public. And he's just trying to be his friend, nothing more.

So after much hesitation, he just settled on patting his head once.

"I won't say anything if you don't want me to. But just know that I appreciate you telling me about this." Mo Aini said.

But deep inside, he has a lot of things to say.

(FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT PARENTS! WHO THE HELL WOULD LEAVE SUCH A CHILD ALONE IN A CAR FOR FUCKING EIGHT HOURS!???? GOD I JUST WANT TO STRANGLE THE BOTH OF THEM AND ADOPT THIS GUY—)

"Thank you, Da Ge." Hu Chuntian smiled, a very light yet genuine smile that would make anyone want to protect him. "It's unlikely for that to happen now and I've learned to grow a strong pair of lungs to call for someone, not to mention fists that can easily punch windows and doors. But I still panicked like a child all over again."

"It's alright. You weren't trained to let go of that fear. What you experienced is not easy to get over with." Mo Aini said. "I promise I won't let you get stuck in that situation again."

"Mn." Hu Chuntian nodded. "But hey. Out of all the people to get stuck with, getting stuck with Da Ge isn't so bad."

"Aysh, don't get so chummy and finish your meal!" Mo Aini said, looking away.

If Hu Chuntian's weakness is closed spaces, his is probably any sign of affection.

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