Xiantober Day 7 - Biker!Xian except here Wei Ying is a high schooler who gets a bicycle so he can woo Lan Zhan by giving him rides home.
Now an expanded oneshot!!
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Wei Ying spends months saving up his lunch money, stealing tiny morsels of food off his friends' plates until Lan Zhan finally takes pity on him and brings double portions of his lunch to share.
This is all perfectly well and good, and Wei Ying is absolutely not affected by Lan Zhan's seemingly infinite kindness and his cute little blushing red ears every lunch period when he silently offers Wei Ying the red lunch box that matches his own blue one perfectly and has to be brand new since Lan Zhan has never owned anything that wasn't white, blue, or grey.
No, Wei Ying cannot let this get to him, as impossibly adorable as it is. Because he has a plan in mind and it has to be foolproof.
It's cleverly titled: Wei Ying's Ten Step Plan to Make Lan Zhan Realizes He's In Love With Me.
(Maybe he needs a shorter title)
The point is, he'd come up with this plan with careful consideration for each step.
He started off easy with step 1; get Lan Zhan to sit with him for ten minutes without getting up and running away in an angry huff.
Sure it wasn't easy persay in that Lan Zhan at first seemed to despise being even in the same vicinity as Wei Ying, but! Now, Lan Zhan can sit with him for a whole lunch period without even the smallest angry twitch in his jaw. Sometimes Lan Zhan even waits for him outside of class so they can walk together to their usual table outside.
All in all, Operation WY10SPTMLZRHILWM (still too long of a title, hm) is going swimmingly.
He's made it all the way to step 6, which coincidentally is the most expensive on his list (Except the expensive roses and suit and maybe aquarium he's going to need to rent for their first date but he's letting himself be realistic and wait to think about that one)
But step 6 is extremely important because in this step, Wei Ying is going to show Lan Zhan that Wei Ying is responsible and can provide for his impossibly perfect boyfriend.
This is especially tricky because Lan Zhan is actually the most prepared person in the entire world and never needs anything. He even carries an extra pair of socks in his backpack. And another pair in his locker in case Wei Ying needs one!
There is one way Wei Ying can provide for Lan Zhan though.
You see, Lan Zhan walks to school. It's not a terrible distance, but it's at least twenty minutes each way.
And Wei Ying, well he may not have a car like some of their more well-off classmates, but he at least knows how to ride a bicycle.
Madam Yu had refused to get him one when he'd asked and Jiang Cheng refused to share "for your gross flirting ugh", so Wei Ying just starved himself for a bit and he now has enough for a second-hand bike of his own!
(Plus there's the added benefit of eating food prepared by
Lan Zhan, which pretty much sends Wei Ying's heart rocketing to space every time. We'll call that Step 5.5.)
He sneaks out of class early one day to buy the bike from the shop, carefully evading Uncle Four's questions about why he isn't at school. This is more important!
Lan Zhan has orchestra today, and so he has some extra time to get used to his bike but not enough if he wants to look super cool. Plus Lan Zhan will be carrying his violin with him which means Wei Ying will be extra helpful by helping transport both of them home safely.
He's had his eye on this bike for a long while now. It's one that was sold to the shop and in need of repairs and that Uncle Four had been fixing slowly with Wei Ying hovering with a watchful eye.
It's body is painted bright red with golden accents that maybe remind Wei Ying of someones eyes but okay can anyone blame him?
He'd even managed to find a little basket to attach to the front with Uncle Four, who throws in a loud bell for free (which is going to be perfect for annoying Jiang Cheng with heh).
With his sick new ride secured, Wei Ying heads out.
He is, admittedly, a little bit rusty with his biking skills. It's been a few years after all, but hey with a little practice he'll be fine! He only almost hit two old ladies, and he said sorry and they didn't seem too mad, so!
He does get a bit caught up in trying to get used to the thing and remember skills he'd learned years ago (whoever said you never really forget how to ride a bike was WRONG), which means he's late for the end of extra curriculars.
He gets to the school gates as his classmates spill out, some of them greeting him and trying to ask him about his bike, but he brushes them away, distracted.
He can't spot Lan Zhan's familiar silky braid at all and his heart starts to sinks, until he hears the daintiest little throat clearing cough ever coming from behind him.
It is, of course, Lan Zhan, and Wei Ying is struck as he always is by the way Lan Zhan glows in the setting sun, his eyes reflecting the light and practically mesmerizing enough Wei Ying forgets how to speak.
"Wei Ying," Lan Zhan's perfect voice calls out, and gosh Wei Ying could listen to him say his name forever. "You were not at practice."
Oh yeah, Wei Ying had to ditch his orchestra practice too. It's okay, all in the name of love!
"Aha, yeah. sorry! I had to go grab something, but check this out! Wat do you think?"
Lan Zhan's gaze travels up and down the bike, and Wei Ying is about to preen when instead of Lan Zhan giving him a look of pure adoration his expression remains completely neutral.
Instead, he hands Wei Ying his case with his flute, and ah, apparently he forgot that too.
So much for responsible...
Wei Ying, feeling a bit dejected, doesn't say anything even as Lan Zhan waits for a while, before he starts to turn and walk off. That's when Wei Ying kicks himself and the bike stand into high gear and chases after him.
"Lan Zhan! Wait! Let me give you a ride. As, um, thanks."
Lan Zhan blinks at him and Wei Ying's bike (He should give it name, hm. He doesn't know. Whatever...actually...), as if trying to assess if that's actually a good idea (Which, hey! Don't say that about Whatever!)
He quirks a devastating eyebrow as if to say "Are you sure?", to which Wei Ying responds by taking both their instrument cases and tucking them into the basket where they just barely fit. Lan Zhan looks concerned, but Wei Ying doesn't let him say anything, instead tugging on his arm so he can come over to the back and sit behind Wei Ying.
Wei Ying initially imagined Lan Zhan perched on the handlebars in front of him, but Lan Zhan had another growth spurt over the summer making him taller (which, swoon!) so Wei Ying settled for having Uncle Four install in extra large seat so they could share.
This also comes with the benefit of having Lan Zhan wrap his arms around his waist, which makes Wei Ying feel a bit queasy with excitement but is very appealing at all.
Except when Lan Zhan takes a tentative seat, he doesn't grab Wei Ying's waist at all. Instead, he holds onto the bottom of the seat, as if that makes for a better holder and Wei Ying can't stop himself from pouting and saying "Hmph..."
"Wei Ying?"
He shakes it off and says, "Nothing!" before pushing on the pedals to get them in motion.
It is... more challenging than he thought it'd be. When he was planning this out, he'd pictured it like those dramas where the handsome male lead took the quirky female leading a leisurely bike ride through next to a beach.
In reality, he's huffing and puffing trying to cart the weight of two grown boys. Up a hill.
Yeah it's way harder than he'd thought.
"Wei Ying, are you sure you're okay?"
Wei Ying really hopes his laugh doesn't come out as crazed as he thinks it does. "Yeah, totally! Just, uh, gimmie, a mo, mnent."
It's gonna be at least ten minutes uphill like this, and Wei Ying is starting to feel nervous, especially when they go over a bump that jostles their instruments and Lan Zhan has to reach over and take hold of their straps.
As he does, his hand brushes against Wei Ying's sweaty grip and making him startle, losing control of the bike so it careens off the road.
Luckily, with Lan Zhan's incredible athletic reflexes, he's able to grab Wei Ying, along with their instruments, and get them off the bike safely...before it crashes into a tree.
Wei Ying stands there stunned, holding the back of his hands behind his head as he stares at the culmination of months of careful saving, dented in the front with a wheel that may be in need of replacement.
When Wei Ying doesn't say anything or move, Lan Zhan approaches the tree in his place. He lifts the bike away, revealing that yup, that's a dent.
Naturally the basket falls off too, of course.
Wei Ying crouches down on the ground, dropping his head into his hands and releasing a groan that makes some of the birds nearby fly away.
He wants to laugh. He wants to cry. He kind of wishes he'd been the one to crash into a tree instead.
He settles, apparently for a string of incredulous hysterical giggles. They must be concerning enough that Lan Zhan crouches down in front of him.
Wei Ying makes the mistake of looking up to see Lan Zhan's adorable face scrunched up with concern and his braid sliding off his shoulders and just looking so cute, and he buries his head again and lets out a groan that's even louder than the first.
"Wei Ying... are you alright?"
"Me? Alright? Ha!" Yup, he definitely sounds crazed now. "I just spent months of money i've been saving on a brand new bike that I broke not even a full day in and with nothing left to fix it! And! I crash it with you on the bike which means I almost hurt you, and that would have been awful! And you didn't even put your hands around my waist like in the dramas!"
"Why would I hold your waist like in the dramas?"
"Because that's what all the love interests do when their boyfriend is giving them a bike ride!" he wails, not entirely paying attention to his words.
Lan Zhan is, however. "...Boyfriend?"
Wei Ying stiffens, plays the last few seconds again in his head, and buries his head in his arms and mumbles, "Shit....you weren't supposed to hear that."
Lan Zhan doesn't say anything, which is very good because Wei Ying has decided he's going to stay right here and never get up again and maybe if he tries hard enough turn into a stone.
But Lan Zhan won't leave him to his misery, apparently. Ugh, why did he have to fall for such a decent guy?
"Wei Ying. Whose boyfriend?"
Deciding it's too late to change anything and that he might as well get this over with so he can dig his own grave, Wei Ying comes clean.
"No boyfriend. At least it wasn't supposed to be, yet." He's finding the rocks on the ground very interesting right now. Shiny. "It was...part of my ten step plan."
"...Ten step plan for what?"
Wei Ying mumbles eloquently into the sleeve of his sweater, "To get you to like me..."
There, that's it. He's finished. It's a good thing he didn't spend any time worrying about that name anyways.
"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan...doesn't sound mad or disgusted.
Wei Ying feels something grab onto his arm and pull it away from his face, realizing at the last minute that it's Lan Zhan who's doing the touching and pulling.
He finally gets a look at his expression and it's, wow, it's intense. The most serious he's ever seen Lan Zhan look. It feels like his gaze will melt through him.
And his ears are a screaming bright red.
Lan Zhan says, as if his words are the most important thing he'll every say, "Boyfriends."
Wei Ying blinks at him. "...Huh?"
Lan Zhan nods. "Mn. Boyfriends, yes, us. We should be boyfriends."
The hysterical laughter comes back, but it's tinged this time by a fluttery feeling of hope that makes Wei Ying feel like he might float away. "Lan Zhan? Are you sure? Do you know what that means?"
Lan Zhan moves his grip on Wei Ying's arm so that he can gold his hand and takes ahold of Wei Ying's other hand as well. "Yes. It means that I want to be Wei Ying's boyfriend and he wants to be mine."
Wei Ying's lets out a squeal that's practically a screech and it's only thanks to Lan Zhan's secure grip that he hasn't fallen onto the ground yet.
"So, does that mean you like? Like, like me, like me??"
Lan Zhan's eyes are sparkling. "Mn, I like Wei Ying. Like him, like him."
And then, just to make absolute sure, he bridges the little gap between them and kisses Wei Ying's smile, sweeter than anything could ever be.
After they've finished and decided they're both very good at kissing, if they say so in their limited experience, Lan Zhan helps Wei Ying walk his bike back to the shop, holding both their bags in his grip.
(His boyfriend is so strong, and wow! Boyfriend! Ah! So much swoon!!)
"So I didn't need my ten step plan after all! But I worked so hard on coming up with it!" He shows Lan Zhan the plan he'd written on his phone.
Lan Zhan read through it carefully before saying, "Wei Ying, I've loved you since Step 0." Then he leans forwards and kisses the stunned look off Wei Ying's face, the corners of his own mouth lifting in a dazzling small smile in return.
It turns out they won't need the expensive aquarium date after all. Hm, though, if Wei Ying starts saving up now maybe he'll have enough for their one year anniversary...
(and then WY saves up enough to fix his bike by helping U4 out since he already knows anyways and LZ continues to make sure his bf is fed and not skipping any meals the end)
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In February US company LanzaJet, which produces sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from ethanol, announced that it intended to build a second, larger plant on US soil.
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was a "big influence", says Jimmy Samartzis, its chief executive.
The second plant would add to its facility in Soperton, Georgia - the world's first commercial scale ethanol-to-SAF plant.
"We have a global landscape that we are pursuing…[but] we have doubled down on building here in the United States because of the tax credits in the IRA, and because of the overall support system that the US government has put in place."
Signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, the IRA, along with the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) enacted in November 2021, are intended, amongst other things, to funnel billions of federal dollars into developing clean energy.
The aim is to lower greenhouse gas emissions, and incentivise private investment, to encourage the growth of green industries and jobs: a new foundation for the US economy.
With a 10-year lifespan, and a cost originally estimated at $391bn (£310bn) but now predicted to reach over $1tn - the final figure is unknown - the IRA offers new and juicer tax credits, as well as loans and loan guarantees for the deployment of emissions reducing technology.
The tax credits are available to companies for either domestically producing clean energy, or domestically manufacturing the equipment needed for the energy transition, including electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries.
Consumers can also receive tax credits, for example for buying an EV or installing a heat pump. The tax credit for SAF producers like LanzaJet is new in the IRA and, offers between $1.25 to $1.75 per gallon of SAF (though it only lasts five years).
Complementary is the BIL, which runs for five years and provides direct investment largely in the form of government grants for research and development and capital projects. Under the BIL, about $77bn (£61bn) will go to clean energy technology projects, according to the Brookings Institution which monitors the law.
One company to benefit so far is EV battery recycling company Ascend Elements.
It has won BIL grants totalling $480m (£380m), which it is matching a similar amount in private investment to build its second commercial facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
"[The IRA and BIL] are massive investments… larger than the infrastructure related provisions in the New Deal," says Adie Tromer from the Brookings. "There is a clear sense that America has become more serious about transitioning to a cleaner economy."
While rules for some tax credits are still being finalized, tens of billions in actual public spending is flowing into the economy, says Trevor Houser at the Rhodium Group, an independent research provider. Rhodium, together with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, runs the Clean Investment Monitor (CIM) to track US clean technology investments.
According to recently updated CIM data, in the 2023 fiscal year, the federal government invested approximately $34bn (£27bn) into clean energy, the vast majority through tax credits.
The extent to which the policy instruments are so far spurring not just announcements - of which there are plenty - but real extra private investment is harder to know: clean energy investment has been on a general upward trend anyway and the IRA hasn't been around long. But experts believe it is rising.
Total clean energy investment in the US in the 2023 calendar year including from both private and government sources reached a record $239bn (£190bn), up 38% from 2022 according to the CIM data.
Clean energy investment in the US, as a share of total private investment, rose from 3.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 5% in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The IRA has had two main positive effects thus far, says Mr. Houser.
It has "supercharged" private investment in more mature technologies which were already growing very rapidly like solar, EVs and batteries.
It has also, combined with the BIL, led to a "dramatic growth" in investment in emerging climate technologies like clean hydrogen, carbon dioxide capture and removal and SAF. While the total magnitude of those investments are still relatively small compared to the more mature technologies, "the IRA fundamentally changed the economics" says Mr. Houser.
But the IRA is failing to reach some parts of the green economy: so far it hasn't lifted investment in more mature technologies which have been falling like wind and heat pumps, though Mr. Houser notes things may have fallen further without the IRA.
On the industry's mind is the fate of the laws, particularly the longer-to-run IRA, should there be a change of government in the US November elections.
Repealing or amending the IRA (or BIL) would require Republican control of the Presidency, Senate and House - though wholesale repeal would likely face meaningful opposition from within. The rub is many of the projects that the IRA is incentivising are being or will be built in Republican states or counties.
Yet a Republican president alone could potentially frustrate things for example by slowing or deferring loans or grants, or amending the rules which serve the laws. "A Trump presidency would definitely chill the atmosphere and possibly more," says Ashur Nissan of Kaya Partners, a climate policy advice firm.
The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and purveyor of hard-right ideas for the next conservative President, advocates repeal for both the IRA and BIL. For the organization's Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a former Trump administration official, it is fiscally irresponsible for the US, with its vast deficit and debt, to be spending like this.
It is also time, she says, that renewable energy such as solar and wind, into which subsidies have been poured for years, stood on their own feet.
Yet others argue the US can't afford not to do take this path. And the point of the loans program is to take risks to help unlock new solutions that scale. "It would be failing if there weren't any so called 'failures' within it," says Richard Youngman, of Cleantech Group, a research and consulting firm.
Meanwhile, the US's approach is putting competitive pressure on Europe to do more.
Some European clean energy manufacturing companies are now building facilities in the US to take advantage of the tax credits that otherwise would have been built in Europe including solar panel maker Meyer Burger and electrolyser manufacturers Nel and John Cockerill.
"The US wasn't a market for some of these companies in the past because Europe was more active," says Brandon Hurlbut, of Boundary Stone Partners, a clean energy advisory firm.
The EU's Net Zero Industrial Act (NZIA) is expected to enter into force this year. It doesn't involve new money, but seeks to coordinate existing financing and introduces domestic favourability for the first time - putting in place a non-binding target for the bloc to locally manufacture 40% of its clean energy equipment needs by 2030.
In the UK, chancellor Jeremy Hunt has made clear he isn't interested, nor can the UK afford to copy the IRA's approach in some "distortive global subsidy race" and will stick to other ways of helping. The Labour party recently scrapped its $28bn green investment plan seen as a stab at leaning into an IRA style policy.
A global audience will be watching as the US's clean energy juggernaut unfolds. And if it leads others to ask what more they can do to produce clean energy products - even if just for reasons of economic opportunity - it will be good for humanity's sake, says Mr. Hurlbut.
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