#Catching Chen Qing Ling

[pumpkinpaix]

The 2019 Chinese drama The Untamed (CQL) quickly became a massive phenomenon, drawing millions of viewers in China and beyond. Its resonant story, rich cast of characters, and striking production captured audience attention globally; its paratexts and fandoms helped keep that attention sustained. What made this particular mix so compelling, and what can The Untamed show us about increasingly transcultural media flows? Catching Chen Qing Ling explores how The Untamed has been translated, produced, distributed, watched, and remixed. Contributors offer multifaceted insights on the path from subcultural writing tradition to highly profitable entertainment media, as well as some of the challenges such change engenders. From fan translations and digital labor, to the 227 Incident and issues of censorship, this collection explores some of the questions raised by The Untamed’s enduring resonance and considers what it might mean for the future of transcultural media.

Stay tuned for more information and contributor spotlights in the coming days!

(FAQ) (all posts on Catching Chen Qing Ling)

[lesbianspirals]

my copy just arrived today, i'm so excited to get to read it!! major kudos and congrats to @pumpkinpaix and all the writers, editors, and researchers that made this a reality. 谢谢！

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

I AM NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF A 400-PAGE LONG BOOK OF ACADEMIC ANALYSIS ABOUT MDZS (both the novel and CQL, as well as the wider danmei sphere, internet authorship, fan reactions in both CN and non-CN spheres, and so many more interesting things – there are photos of the contents list below) >:DDDD

I only got it this afternoon so have only read the (quite long?) excerpt available online and pages I came across while flipping through, but everything I've read so far is really interesting and well-written. If you're interested, it's promoted on the blog of @pumpkinpaix, where there are also chapter spotlights with comments from authors of each paper/chapter about them and about MDZS in general (which is how I found out about it, one came up in tumblr's 'based on this tag you follow...' recommendation), as well as FAQs (including where to buy it, though I did link that at the start). Alternatively, all posts about it are in the tag #catching chen qing ling!

I really recommend it, especially if content about MDZS interests you! and I promise I haven't been told to advertise this it's just something so so cool... a collection of academic work about MY FAVOURITE BOOK... and I know people do follow me for meta/analysis so this might be the sort of thing people looking at this blog will be interested in..?

[marisandini-chu-blog]

EPISODE 5 TBHX REACTION GUYS!!!

Now, a bit of preface because I found that I like sorting out my initial thoughts before the episode.

So... something about me you should know is that I'm the type of gal who avoids trailer like the plague. It's a hit or miss when a trailer can cross spoiler territory or not and I love going into an anime blind without reading the sypnosis. Only the genre, just so I can set my expectation.

But after the first 2 episode of TBHX, I found out that there were multiple trailers (or PV in this case) for multiple heroes so I tried watching Nice's PV.

And I left afterward, feeling regret that I didn't watch the PV first because BOY! THAT PV WOULD HAVE STRUCK DIFFERENTLY BEFORE AND AFTER I WATCH THE SERIES!!! I WANTED TO FEEL THAT ROLLER COASTER OF EMOTION!

I immidiately watch the rest of the other heroes' PV. E-Soul seem to have some sort of... Time Shenanigans involve? His PV gives of a Flash and Reverse Flash vibe, but Reverse Flash is himself.

I am definitely looking forward to the mysterious Ex-Hero turn Villain, and the implication of perhaps our current Hero X is not the only person who could bend reality.

If Hero X turn reality into colorful, chaotic space.

Our may be Big Bad turns things to negative space, creating a reverse reality.

Anyway, there's also the mysterious appearance of E-Soul at the end of the last episode. But I feel like the whole scene can easily be misleading with how focus we are in Lin Ling's PoV. So making assumptions and theories seemed too premature. Thus, I've been working hard to avoide any E-Soul theories.

So without further ado. Let's begin...

...

I...

Mr. LH0, sir, dude. There's only so much 'what the fuxk' I can give before I'm tired at being blinsided

It's a strong start, I'll give you that! Not everyday I start my Sunday Morning with a gunshots and newly orphan about to be traficked

Oh, wow... the scene is very Bruce Wayne coded on this one

YANG CHEN!!! WE'VE GOT A NAME!!!!

Wow, E-Soul is old... so is this a case of legacy hero? Like Miles Morales where he inheret the hero name?

Oooooh!!! I thought he lied about having a job. But instead he's just shy about performing in children's show. Understandable. Especially when it's a source of insecurity compare to a more succesful classmate. Urgh, I feel you, buddy.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA THE SHOW GOT A DRESSING DOWN BY A KID.

Even worse though, it's one if it's by an arrogant child. But he ain't just any child, it's hero nerd! AND ACTUALLY HAS GOOD POINTS!!! HIRE THE DAMN CHILD!

I love the Pomelo so damn much. His critique is fair, gives feedback, and actually appriciate the perfomance. He simply has a child-level emotional maturity when conveying it.

Ooooh, and he's Xia Qing's brother...

OOOOOOH, and she's asking you out...

I'll say this now. Pomelo is the best character here. You damn right he's good at reading vibe!

LH0 i swear if anything happens to him....

Fifth generation suit... so it's known that he's a legacy hero that never shows his face... or people assume he just changes suit every now amd then to improve himself... and no one knows it's the same person or not

Oh God, Yang Chen, you insecure boy... it hurst so much seeing it because I've been in those shoes before...

Of course the 0 Trust Value isn't chosen, even if they're not heroes, the Trust Value could help with cloud alone

YANG CHEN!!! DON'T LET INSECURITY KEEP YOU FROM ENJOYING YOUR TIME WITH PEOPLE! YOU'RE SABOTAGING YOURSELF!!!

LH0 DID I NOT WARN YOU ABOUT TOUCHING THE KID!!!!

Oh no... I can't unsee Bicycle Man from OPM with that getup 😅

MOTHERFUCKING YANG CHEN JUMP OFF AN OVERPASS! LET'S GO!!! YOU CRAZY BOI! CATCH UP WITH THAT CAR!!!

Is he safe?! Is MY CHILD SAFE?!?!

YANG CHEN I BELIEVE IN YOU!!! GET UP AND KICK THEIR ASSES!!!

YOU GOT YOUR FIRST BELIEVER! I'M SO PROUD OF HIM!!!!

And can I just say the dramatic anination of the 0 turning into 1? So satisfying to watch. Truly climatic.

Oooooh, he always, at one point, face his back to the audience to protect them... Yang Chen is so precious!

YA DAMN RIGHT THAT'S HIS BEST PERFORMANCE!!

Okay, Shang Chao. I know you're supposed to be the source of Yang Chen's insecurity, but you keep appearing everytime, it's getting annoying dude. Let the kid have his moment

Wait... is Shang Chao actually gonna be important?! Did he see a video of Yang Chen being a hero and immediately want to promote him to get credit of finding him?! He's not just gonna be a plot device?!

And that is episode 5 of TBHX. Wow, that was good. Really fast pace, but I knew that going in, since we only have 3 episodes of him.

Alright, list of things that need to be addressed.

One, why the hell is Pomelo is targetted for kidnapping? What does his family even do?

Two, there's a lot of overlap between Lin Ling and Yang Chen as insecure man who try to find confidence in themselves. Though I appriciate there's still distinction. Yang Chen, you could feel is still an insecure young adult that he self-sabotage himself, while also in the middle of establishing his future carrer. In contrast to Lin Ling, who is a jaded overworked employee who thinks he has exhausted every option in his life that he can only vent his frustration or consider jumping off a building. I'm looking forward to how Yang Chen achieve heroism to stay contrasted from Lin Ling.

Three, I'm speculating here. But is this MG competition to find E-Soul actors is to routinely find replacement for E-Soul throughout generation?

What an irony and so in line with TBHX if the mask that was supposed to represent the trust between hero and the people was suppose to hide another lie. Very typical.

So typical in fact, I'm worried there's more to it than what I could fathom.

Four, Lucky Cyan is prominently mentioned. Which leads to first explicit display of Trust Value influence culture outside of heroism. Which makes me question if Lucky Cyan is acting as both a hero and musician. Or did people only trust her as far as being a good musician before she found ways to be a hero with the ability that she has.

It certainly could impact someone's self-worth if there's an explicit display that nobody can rely on you on anything. Oof, would that be a gut punch. My mental health would not be able to take it.

Anyway, that's all. Thanks for reading my self-indulgence reaction!

[veliseraptor]

November Reading Recap

Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer. Either I'm not smart enough to follow this book or it's just not terribly coherent as a novel, and either of those is equally possible, to be honest. I am finding that I like Vandermeer's earlier work on the whole more than his later work, though.

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle. A fun romp. It didn't blow me away, or anything, but it was a lot of fun.

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle. I remain most attached to the move adaptation of this novel, unfortunately, so that's always in my head when I'm reading. But despite that, or maybe because of it, this novel still delights me. It's like a warm blanket.

Catching Chen Qing Ling: The Untamed and Adaptation, Production, and Reception in Transcultural Contexts ed. by Cathy Yue Wang and Maria K. Alberto. I was very excited to read this book! I was thrilled when I saw that a collection of academic essays on The Untamed was coming out. Not all the essays in the collection are created equally, naturally, but I particularly appreciated the ones about the morality police in the fandom and the one focusing on (the violence of) translation to English. What I missed from this specific volume was more analysis of the text itself as a literary object, but that wasn't the remit of this collection, and I certainly hope that more studies will be forthcoming.

Cassiel's Servant by Jacqueline Carey. Mostly this book made me want to reread the Kushiel's Legacy series; I'm not sure if that is praise or an enticement of this book itself. I wasn't enchanted with it on the whole, though that might be because Joscelin was never the character I was most attached to. I would read the shit out of an alt POV from Melisande.

Golden Witchbreed by Mary Gentle. Finally finished this book after stalling out on it for literal months. It was interesting! Conceptually and in execution. It did feel very much like it was written in the 80s (which it was), though without the kind of objectionable stuff I would've expected. A review of it did describe it as having a "leisurely opening" which I would say is accurate.

Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton. I really liked The Spite House so I definitely wanted to pick up this one, and while I liked the former more this was also a really fun take on vampires unlike what I've read before. I'm picky about my horror (I'd say I don't like most of what I read) but I'll bestow the "horror I actually liked" crown on this one.

Persians: The Age of the Great Kings by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones. For a book that was really emphasizing that it was going to lean on Persian sources rather than Greek ones for a less Greek-biased version of Persian history, it certainly felt like the author ended up relying a fair amount on Greek sources. That being said, I learned more about the (early) Persian Empire than I have before, so it was edifying in that way, if not a particularly outstanding book.

Blood of the Old Kings by Sung-Il Kim, trans. Anton Hur. I'm very glad to see that this book is apparently the beginning of a series and not finished, because while I enjoyed it as a whole the ending felt a little rushed and far too neat for me. So hopefully that will be complicated in further volumes, which I probably will read. The use of dead necromancers to power an empire is, on its own, a very neat worldbuilding conceit, and I think that (interesting worldbuilding) more than character is the appeal of this work to me.

Remnants of Filth: Vol. 5 by Rou Bao Bu Chi Rou. I continue to really enjoy this one despite the fact that the initial lure has abated somewhat in the course of the plot. I'm excited to see where this goes - this volume included a plot twist I definitely didn't see coming, which is always fun. It's not my favorite danmei I've read but it is a standout.

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones. I don't know quite why I keep reading this series when I'm not really a slasher fan and it is clearly tailored toward the slasher fan. I mean, it's certainly meant to have broader appeal as a horror novel, but it is a slasher first and foremost, and I'm just not that into that subgenre. I think it's because I want to be into it. I can recognize a good book when I read one, though; just not for me.

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones. On the other hand, the above all being said: I actually really enjoyed this one! It was certainly playing with a lot of the same tropes but in a more, idk, playful sort of way that I enjoyed. Definitely heavy lampshading, so if that doesn't work for you then this book won't. But for me at least, it did what it was trying to do.

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester. I'm looking forward to hearing what people in my book club have to say about this one. I will say that the rape felt unnecessary and it definitely read like sci-fi written in the 50s by a man. I don't think I can say that I liked it. I'm not sure I can say I hated it, either, but I definitely didn't like it.

Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko, trans. Julia Meitov Hersey. I've had this one on my shelf for a long time and it was good to finally read it! For someone who says she doesn't read a lot of 'magical school' books I've certainly read a lot this year, but this one is probably the most interesting and definitely the most inventive of what I've read. Not necessarily my favorite, but I'm fascinated by what the author is doing. I know there's a sequel, and I'm torn on whether I want to read it or not; I'm curious where the author would go, but I'm also satisfied with the story as it's left at the end of this book.

Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire by Priest. Possibly my favorite danmei I've read, and at this point I've read a few. It's not going to trigger my fic writing brain, I don't think, but that's mostly because it already gave me so much of what I wanted. It's very, very good in terms of the story it's telling, the themes of monstrosity and human weapons are right on point for what I like, and the plot is pretty damn tight and good at not sprawling the way some danmei is prone to. Fucking fantastic. I can't share the translation I read, but it's being published by Rosmei in English starting in January 2025.

---

I'm currently reading Challenger by Adam Higginbotham for a little bit of nonfiction (my first in a while, you may notice); after that I'm not sure what I'm going to read. I'm traveling at the end of this month, so it'll be a little dependent on what's on my Kobo/if the sequel to Feast of Souls by C.S. Friedman arrives in time/what books I find that I want to read at my parents' house.

[youhideastar]

WujiWatch: CQL Rewatch Episode 23

Long time, no WujiWatch! But I’ve been reading Catching Chen Qing Ling and it’s put me in an analytical mood about The Untamed again. Picking up where we left off...

Episode 23 has at least two iconic Wangxian scenes: Lan Wangji’s visit to a recovering Wei Wuxian’s sickbed to play Clarity, and the “I am not Wen Ruohan” conversation on the same clifftop where they will meet again in the last moments of Wei Wuxian’s (first) life. One thing I didn’t realize until this rewatch is the way those two scenes are tied together; that the second one picks up, thematically, where the first one left off.

The Clarity scene is interrupted by the screams of Wens being rounded up (and perhaps killed on the spot) and the shouts of their pursuers. Wei Wuxian immediately looks disturbed and asks what’s going on; Lan Wangji says, “they’re hunting down the rest of the Wens” and looks not disturbed at all. I am very good at interpreting Wang Yibo’s microexpressions by now, and this dude is 0% bothered. That is especially striking since the very next scene is all about (among other things) Lan Xichen being very disturbed at the prospect of murdering Wen civilians. By this point in the drama, Lan Wangji has made some progress toward moral nuance—but it’s all specifically Wei Wuxian-focused. His view of the rest of the world is still very black and white. The Wens are bad, so it’s appropriate for bad things to happen to them. End of story.

That’s how the Clarity scene ends, and then, as mentioned, we have the scene where 3zun and Jin Guangshan debate the treatment of the surviving Wens. After that, we have the clifftop scene—and what I’d forgotten is that the first line of dialogue in this scene is Wei Wuxian asking Lan Wangji, “What do you think of the people here [in Nightless City]? Who is good and who is bad?” The fate of the defeated Wens is still very much on Wei Wuxian’s mind. And it’s still a matter of no concern for Lan Wangji: he ignores Wei Wuxian’s question. He doesn’t want to talk about the larger events happening in Nightless City – he only wants to talk about, and help, Wei Wuxian. This foreshadows the scene in the rain at Qiongqi Dao – the moment when the hero of the common people looks at a group of starving, abused civilians and says to Wei Wuxian, in effect, Let them die—because otherwise, I’ll lose you.

(One other note from this episode that passed me by in every prior viewing, although maybe everyone else knew it: Lan Wangji knows the Yin Tiger Seal is made out of Yin Iron, very early on. In the clifftop scene, Wei Wuxian admits the sword he found in the Xuanwu Cave was made of Yin Iron and that he refined the Yin Tiger Seal out of it (albeit in one of his bullshit “What if I told you…” phrasings), and Lan Wangji confirms that he knows by asking, “Since you knew it was Yin Iron, why did you use/refine it?” While everyone else in the drama is resorting to innuendo and suspicion—and while Wei Wuxian is denying it to everyone else—Lan Wangji knew the truth all along.)

[merinnan]

20 Questions for Fice Writers

Thank you to @kholran for the tag!

How many works do you have on AO3?

83

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

1, 684, 988

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I primarily write for Daomu Biji, and also have active WIPs for Guardian and Mo Dao Zu Shi/Chen Qing Ling. Some of those DMBJ and Guardian fics are crossovers with Granting You A Dreamlike Life and Mo Du, although I haven't written anything solely for those fandoms.

Previously, I've written for Star Trek, Sailor Moon, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, World of Warcraft, and A Court of Thorns and Roses. I've also written a Star Trek/Hello Kitty crossover, but I don't really count that as writing for the Hello Kitty fandom.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Those who fear darkness have never seen what light can do (1, 043)

Cat's Paw (764)

The Path to Paradise Begins in Hell (721)

All's Fair in Love and Tomb Raiding (646)

A Knight in Bloody Armour (582)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I always mean to, but I'm really really bad at it. My backlog for comments to respond to is... embarrassingly long. I will eventually catch up, though!

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Silent Graves

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

TBH, most of my fics have happy endings. I couldn't say which one is the happiest.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Rarely, but it has happened. One of the biggest reasons why Nevermore is still incomplete is because a nasty comment on a snippet I posted here just killed my desire to write at all for awhile.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, but I find it awkward and prefer to let my co-writers write those parts. Current smut is M/M or (M/M/M). In the past, I have also written F/F and F/M.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

That would be the aforementioned Star Trek/Hello Kitty crossover, The Story Freya Made Me Write.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

The Death of Zoisite - translated to Russian

Those who fear darkness have never seen what light can do - translated to Russian and Mandarin

Wu Xie and the Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - translated to Russian

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Many times! @xantissa and @alxina are my usual partners in crime, @epicwalrus and I have plans for sequels to the fic we co-wrote last year, and Unlearn the Way Of Being Strangers was co-written with 10 other writers from the Yucun Discord server. Some of my Star Trek fics were also co-written - most of the crackfics were co-written with Occy, and one was a round robin fic written by several of us on the alt.startrek.creative Usenet forum.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

That's a difficult one! I'm going to say pingxiesang, since @xantissa and I pioneered that one, but I'm also very partial to pingxie by itself, as well as weilan and harumichi.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

A Court of Azeroth and Prythian. All the fuckery with Blizzard Activision really killed my interest in World of Warcraft.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Spelling, grammar, dialogue

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Description

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I use words here and there, but that's about it. For one, I don't feel confident enough in my knowledge of other languages to write dialogue in any of them. For another, most of my readers also do not have enough knowledge of the language to understand without a translation, and I find that usually makes for clunky writing/reading.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Star Trek

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Another hard one. I was able to narrow it down to a handful, but I couldn't decide between these!

Stand in the rain, stand your ground

The Zhang Identity

Cat's Paw

Qinghe Jue

It's a lovely day in the tomb, and You is a horrible shibie

[sunshine304]

Six questions meme

I got tagged by @three--rings to do this in, uuuhmmm... 2023. XD Found it again while going through my old likes, sorry for being two years late. XD

RULES: Answer the questions then tag some peeps you want to get to know better/catch up with.

Last Song: Not really sure where my car playlist was... One of the last was APT. by Rosé & Bruno Mars.

Last Show: The Residence. Loved it!

Currently Watching: Still need to finish Legend of Fei, that's been on hiatus for a while. Otherwise, I'm not in the middle of anything rn.

Currently Reading: Started Catching Chen Qing Ling. Other than that it's fanfic currently. Finished something by metisket today and am still read the epic A Narrow Bridge by jolassalle & frameofmind.

Currently Playing: Nothing. I don't play video games anymore and never was much of a gamer anyway.

Current Obsession: Still stuck on The Untamed and fanbinding.

Not tagging anyone. If you wanna do it, consider yourself tagged! ;D

[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

[image id. gifset of wangxian pairing from the untamed/chen qing ling with text overlay:

gif 1 (lwj. monochrome. he's in that scene with his fine blue robes in the yiling marketplace): happiness

gif 2 (wwx. same scene. walking to lwj. shifts from b&w to color): is a butterfly

gif 3 (lwj. full color. in the rain. it's THAT scene & he just about to drop his umbrella): try to catch it like every night

gif 4 (lwj. full color. only his hand in frame. umbrella slipping from his grasp): it escapes from my hand

gif 5 (lwj. shifts from color to monochrome. his face tipped up into the rainfall): into moonlight

end id]

"If he's as bad as they say Then I guess I'm cursed" — Happiness is a Butterfly, Lana Del Rey The Untamed (episode 27 / episode 28)

[pumpkinpaix]

We are super excited to announce that the CFP that was going around back in the day is here! 

More information forthcoming, but for now, you can catch our listing on Peter Lang's page.

[illgiveyouahint]

The Twin Heroes of Yunmeng

[romchat]

I've read several chapters from these two:

Queer TV China edited by Jamie Zhao

Televising Chineseness by Geng Song

Citations-wise it seems Geng Song has had a major influence on (English language) Chinese media studies, particularly around the topic of masculinity and nationalism. But I think my favorite reading so far has been "Disjunctive Temporalities" by Alvin Wong (in Queer TV China) where he categorizes queer media across the Chinese diaspora into different "logics" of queerness. What I appreciated about his chapter is it gave me language to analyze why we can see so much audience disagreement when evaluating whether or not a piece of media is good queer rep.

And then I haven't read these yet but they're on my list:

Celluloid Comrades by Song Hwee Lim

Catching Chen Qing Ling edited by Yue Wang and Maria Alberto

Sentimental Fabulations, Contemporary Chinese Films by Rey Chow

I’m especially excited about Catching CQL because of how it analyzes fandom dynamics within and between diasporic Chinese and non-Chinese audiences.

This time last year, I was in the throes of obsession with The Untamed and didn't expect a year later I'd be reading academic papers on wuxia and jianghu.

[seekingthestars]

« farewell. »

[bristolsketches]

I’m rewatching CQL for the fourth time this summer and so far it’s been 3 episodes (1.75 of which they haven’t even met/re-met yet????) and Wuji aka the Passionate Love Song that LWJ wrote and named after his and WWX’s ship name Like A Bro has already played 7 times and honestly I think that’s very cash money of them

[linglynz]

Lan Zhan...tha- it's seriously too flirtatious to say out loud.

[dormantchrysalis]

Untamed Spring Fest (1/30) - April Fools

+ Fic:

Title: Trickster

Pairing: Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian

Timeline: Post-Canon, Married!Wangxian

Words: ~2730

Summary: Wei Ying’s always had a mischievous streak a mile wide. Wangji adores that part of his husband too, just like everything else.

Read at: AO3 or Below!

Being Chief Cultivator is a burden Wangji willingly shoulders.

Their society is built on a lattice of unfair prejudices and judgements, ignorant selfishness and unbending orthodoxy. It has brought ill-fate to the unconventional like Wei Ying and Mo Xuanyu, nurtured the crookedness within those like Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao. Wangji finds meaning and satisfaction in dismantling the prevailing injustice of the cultivation world and in shaping a fairer future.

He is always happy to hear from lower cultivators and the common folk, to help them with problems that the big cultivation sects and leaders would have typically dismissed as beneath them. Despite being Chief Cultivator for less than two years, he has already gained a reputation for being unbiased and just in providing aid, as a person who both the powerful and ordinary can seek out for help in the time of need.

He takes pleasure in that thought, feels quiet pride in being useful. In the changes he’s already managed to bring about.

However, there are times like this past week, where he only feels irritation and frustration when it comes to his work.

He sighs over his parchment, the stroke of the alphabets he’s writing a tad bit forceful, as his mind drifts to yesterday morning’s fruitless meetings once more.

Sect Leader Yao has been back in Cloud Recesses for the past week (again), demanding interminable meetings with the Chief Cultivator (again), all for trying to leverage unreasonable and selfish concessions for his own Sect (again).

Yesterday’s meetings had tried on Wangji’s patience enough that he’d actually let himself complain petulantly to Wei Ying after dinner last night, seeking to be coddled by the love of his life.

(Shameless! And also, a violation of at least 14 Lan Sect rules!

But then again, Wangji hasn’t cared about shamelessness or rule-breaking when it comes to Wei Ying for a long time.

Besides, considering that Wei Ying had insisted on a warm, relaxing bath after listening to his complaints, surrounding Wangji in the pleasant scents of fragrant oils and the comforting circle of Wei Ying’s arms, drowning him in affectionate kisses and gentle touches... Wangji certainly has no regrets at all about any of these particular rules being broken.)

Wangji’s lips quirk a bit as he thinks of his newly-wed husband of less than three months, joy suffusing his heart.

He hasn’t had as much time to spend with Wei Ying as he’d like this past week, due to how much of his time Sect Leader Yao has monopolized.

(Yet another thing for Wangji to despise the man for.)

He sighs, putting down the quill and leaning back in his seat, taking a deep breath.

He will have to meet with Sect Leader Yao again this afternoon, for no doubt more ridiculous demands. Harboring hatred for others is forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, but Wangji thinks he comes close to breaking that rule every time he talks to Sect Leader Yao.

He is setting aside all his work, preparing to head to the dining hall for lunch, when there’s a rapid pattering of footsteps just shy of an outright run, in the corridor leading up to his office.

The next moment, one of the junior disciples stumbles in, looking harried.

“Hanguang-jun!��� she says, slightly breathless as she bows to him. “Sir, there’s a problem at the dining hall between Sect Leader Yao a-and Senior Wei! Sect Leader Yao, he…” she trails off, looking slightly panicked but Wangji is already up and heading for the door.

“What has happened?” he asks on the way as the junior disciple struggles to keep up with his long strides. He slows down the slightest bit to let the poor child catch her breath enough to answer him.

“Sect Leader Yao is accusing Senior Wei of poisoning them, Sir!” she says, sounding bewildered. “They arrived early to partake in lunch and his entire Sect went into a coughing fit as soon as they started eating, Sir!”

“Thank you,” Wangji politely nods to the girl, then leaves her far behind as gives up on walking to fly straight to the dining hall.

What greets him there is utter mayhem.

The entirety of the Yao Sect appears incapacitated at some level, coughing and choking, with food splattering their robes and the floor at their feet. All are red-faced and clutching at their throat. A few even seem to have fainted.

In the middle of the chaos stands Wei Ying, idly twirling a pair of chopsticks, listening with an exaggerated look of concern as Sect Leader Yao yells in his face.

Wangji clears his throat.

Immediately, the Sect Leader turns from berating his husband towards him.

“Chief Cultivator!” Sect Leader Yao bellows, coming towards Wangji. “I demand justice!”

It’s hard to take him seriously, considering he has what looks like a glop of congee down the front of his ostentatious robes. It’s only due to Wangji’s extensive practice in remaining blank-faced that he manages to not crack a smile.

(It’s slightly more difficult than usual though, because he can see Wei Ying in the background smirking devilishly towards him, and the need to return that brilliant smile is hard to quell.)

“How can I assist you, Sect Leader Yao?” he asks, courteous as always, forgoing pointing out that the man also has drying congee on in his beard. Entirely for politeness’ sake, of course.

“Your husband is attempting to poison us!” Sect Leader Yao exclaims, red-faced and indignant. His Sect members, most of whom are still prostrate on the floor, let out whimpers and groans of agreement.

Wangji quirks one elegant eyebrow.

“That is a grave accusation, Sect Leader,” he says. “Do you have any proof that Wei Ying is up to a nefarious scheme?”

“He is the Yiling Patriarch, isn’t he?!” one of the Yao Sect members on the floor yells, writhing. “His very existence is proof enough! You Lan Sect may have been bewitched under his spell but the rest of us are still – mmf mmmffhh mffhhh!”

Wangji turns an arctic glare from the Silenced disciple to Sect Leader Yao, who is gaping between his Sect member and Lan Wangji like a mute goldfish. At Wangji’s glare, the Sect Leader takes an involuntary step back.

“Unfounded accusations are forbidden in the Cloud Recesses. Hysterics are forbidden. Dangerous falsehoods will be punished by 50 strokes of the discipline ruler.” Wangji lists severely. Sect Leader Yao gulps and takes another hasty step away from Wangji.

“I… I’m not –,” he stutters, before gathering himself together. “We are not lying! How else would you explain this!” He gestures towards his still-prostrate Sect Members on the floor, though they all seem miraculously less incapacitated now than they were mere seconds ago.

“It’s the food!” one of them blurts, looking immediately worried for his own safety as Wangji turns his gaze to him. He shrinks in on himself. “The congee! The Yiling Patriarch himself told us he made it for us and look at it, Hanguang-jun! It must be cursed, not fit for human consumption! It will burn a man’s bowels within seconds!”

With emphatic nods, Sect Leader Yao points to the large pot of congee in the middle of the hall, guiding Wangji towards it. “See for yourself, Hanguang-jun!”

Wei Ying materializes on Wangji’s other side, looking exaggeratedly-wounded and stricken.

“Lan Zhan, these accusations are unbearable!” he says, swooning dramatically at Wangji’s side. (Wangji does not bother pointing out that excessive emotions and theatrics are also forbidden in the Cloud Recesses.) “Oh, how they hurt my poor heart! I was merely trying to be a good host, as the husband of the Chief Cultivator. Merely wished to do my duty and welcome the visiting Sect Leader with food from his hometown!”

He turns to Wangji, face set in a look of profound distress. His eyes, though, are twinkling in a way that Wangji has grown to be both fond and wary of.

“Didn’t you tell me yourself yesterday, Hanguang-jun, that Sect Leader Yao was displeased by the hospitality he received this visit?” Wei Ying demands, tearful. “That he complained at the insult of the partner of the Chief Cultivator not personally hosting him as a visiting Sect Leader?”

He turns back to Sect Leader Yao, pouting. “I was merely fulfilling your wishes, Sect Leader Yao, and now you complain about that too? Ah, what is a poor man like me to do? Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t! Is there no justice left in this world anymore – ?!”

“Wei Ying,” Wangji warns, and Wei Ying immediately quiets down on the dramatics.

Sect Leader Yao is purple in the face by now. “You – you,” he splutters. Wangji takes a step away from the man, pulling Wei Ying with him, to avoid the spittle flying from the man’s mouth. Quite undignified of the other man, Wangji thinks in reproach.

“How is this hospitality?!” Sect Leader Yao roars, gesturing at the room at large. “How – how is this toxic food reminiscent of our hometown?”

“I grew up in Yunmeng!” Wei Ying protests, tears gathering in his eyes. (Wangji, despite knowing this is all an act, has to resist the urge to comfort his upset-sounding husband.) “I know better than most what food from the area is supposed to taste like!”

He turns to Wangji, and to other Lan Sect members who have steadily been arriving in the dining hall over the past few minutes, imploring.

“You know how many times I’ve complained at the blandness of the Gusu cuisine! At Yunmeng, we flavor our food generously with peppers and hot mustard!” He points with a flourish to the congee. “So, I merely flavored the congee with some spices, grown with care and love in my very own garden at the jingshi, to share with our esteemed visitors!”

He hides his face in the robes at Wangji’s shoulder, seemingly overcome by anguish.

“And to be accused of such heinous things for my caring actions!” Wei Ying bemoans, desolate.

One of the newly-arrived disciples giggles at the door and is hastily shushed.

Wangji himself is slightly struggling to not let his amusement bleed through in his expression. Slightly.

“Flavored?!” Sect Leader Yao is beside himself. “You – you call that – Chief Cultivator! Taste it, taste that wicked concoction for yourself and judge if any sane man would provide it to eat for anyone he doesn’t intend to harm!”

A fresh bowl materializes next to Wangji and he takes it, walking forward to ladle some of the congee for himself. It looks perfectly unassuming, perhaps a little more yellowish-red than usual.

But Wangji has an idea what might be coming.

He girds himself and lifts the bowl to his mouth.

It takes about every single ounce of self-restraint he possesses to not visibly wince and choke as the volcanic explosion of spices hits his tongue. Wangji chews hastily and gulps, discreetly swallowing a few more times to get rid of the searing heat in his mouth.

“Well?” Sect Leader Yao demands.

Wangji takes an extra moment for his numbed tongue to be functional. He turns to Wei Ying, who is grinning, wide and downright evil at this point.

(Wangji is smitten.)

“It tastes like the Yunmeng food Wei Ying prepares for meals at the jingshi,” he states, deadpan.

And he isn’t lying. Wei Ying does cook food at a spice level most sane people would consider hazardous.

Sect Leader Yao appears to be choking on his own spit.

Wei Ying reaches forward, taking the bowl of acrid congee from Wangji’s hands and finishes it off in two large gulps.

“Delicious,” Wei Ying says with relish and Wangji almost winces in sympathy for Wei Ying's internal organs. “See, Lan Zhan? I was just trying to do my hostly duties, as the only spouse married into the Lan Sect at the moment! I had no malicious intent! And to think, Sect Leader Yao would so heartlessly and cruelly besmirch my name and throw back my kind actions in my face.” Wei Ying brushes off a stray tear from his eye, looking pitiful and sad.

“Yeah!” comes a voice from the entrance to the dining hall, and when they all turn towards it they find, predictably, Lan Jingyi. “It’s very rude of Sect Leader Yao to accuse Hanguang-jun’s husband like this, in his own home! Senior Wei should demand justice for making him lose face!”

Sect Leader Yao is dangerously purple by this point.

“Mn,” Wangji acknowledges. He turns to Wei Ying. “Do you demand recompense, Wei Ying?”

“Ah, no, no, Lan Zhan, it is quite fine,” Wei Ying is magnanimous in his mercy. “I only request that Hanguang-jun grant me the honor of hereafter being the sole person in Cloud Recesses to tend to the Yao Sect’s comforts when they stay with us. I’d like to make up to them for any unintentional discomfort I caused with my actions today, by serving them with all of my attention every time they’re visiting us! I believe this hospitality is the least I can do, as the Chief Cultivator’s husband!”

“It is granted,” Wangji nods, grave.

Wei Ying, with a grin that is borderline vicious, gives a formal bow first to Lan Wangji, and then towards the Yao Sect.

Sect Leader Yao looks back, pale and trembling, like someone just walked on his grave.

Later that afternoon, Wangji reads in his office, waiting for Sect Leader Yao and his group to surround him once more with their unreasonable squawking in the name of an afternoon meeting with the Chief Cultivator.

However, even after fifteen minutes past the meeting time, the man and his lackeys are nowhere to be seen.

Wangji is just about to get up and send a messenger to ask after Sect Leader Yao when there’s a knock at the door.

He looks up to see Wei Ying leaning casually against the threshold, giving him a wide, pleased smile. He is glowing with self-satisfaction.

Wangji smiles back, cannot not return a smile that radiant from Wei Ying.

“Sect Leader Yao sends his apologies, Hanguang-jun,” Wei Ying says with a put-upon tone of regret. “It appears some urgent matters came up with his sect’s affairs back home and he must hasten to return! He sends his apologies for not taking leave from you in-person!” Wei Ying stalks in, practically bursting with suppressed mirth now. “He is unsure if he’ll even be able to return to visit us again before the Cultivation Conference over eight months away! He sends his heartfelt regrets.”

“Mn,” Wangji replies, that one syllable filled with all the affection and gratitude in the world.

Wei Ying’s gaze softens as he looks down at Wangji at his desk, fondness softening the edges of his smug smile. He kneels down, crowding against Wangji’s side, and places a kiss as gentle as the beat of butterfly wings to the corner of Wangji’s mouth.

“So,” he says, taking the report Wangji was reading from his slackened grip and discarding it carelessly on the desk. His grin promises endless rule-breaking in Wangji’s immediate future.

(Wei Ying’s always had a mischievous streak a mile wide.

Wangji adores that part of his husband too, just like everything else.)

“So, since the great Chief Cultivator doesn’t have any scheduled meetings for the rest of the day,” Wei Ying says. “What do you say we head out to Caiyi for a bit of merrymaking? I have barely even seen you all week, Lan Zhan!” He twines one of Wangji’s sleeves coquettishly around his fingers, batting his eyes at him.

(Ridiculous!

Wangji is helplessly charmed.)

“You’ve been so busy this week. C’mon, Lan Zhan, just one evening?” His tone is coaxing and entreating as he pushes closer to Wangji, eyes wide with hope.

His wheedling is so unnecessary. As if, at this point in their lives, Wangji is capable of denying Wei Ying anything.

(Wangji will bring down the stars, if Wei Ying asked. He will fight the whole world, sacrifice his honor, his life – if Wei Ying asked.

The fact that he never will ask is yet another thing that Wangji loves about him.)

So really, just one night playing truant, to walk colorful market streets with his husband, watching Wei Ying’s eyes and smile outshine the brightness of the lamplights?

As if Wangji is even capable of saying anything else to such a request, except –

“Mn.”