#so i took wei ying away from him and smacked wangji in front of a sun motif. something something light bringing lord.

[3cosmicfrogs]

Here comes the sun.

[sincerelystranger]

Omg!! I love your new piece, it depicts grief more realistically. Lwj of course cannot be the same and happily forgets 13 years of grief. I can’t wait to read the finished piece. And if your muse strikes, please write a fluffy, funny modern au piece of wangxian to see how lwj’s love changes or deepens or evolves without grief.

Thank you so much, and I’m sorry it took me forever to answer this! First, I want to preface this by saying that I don’t think that there is wangxian for me without grief. I think grief played a pivotal role in LWJ’s feelings towards WWX and if he hadn’t experienced true loss, he probably would have been content to be WWX’s best buddy for the rest of his life lol

That being said, I did write something stupid because I thought it seemed like a good idea in my dream: 

--

Wangji isn’t eavesdropping. 

He isn’t.

His stupid classmates are just talking loudly. He can’t help but to hear them.

He can’t.

A small crowd of boys are gathered around Wei Ying’s desk - because Wei Ying is bright and fun and popular - and Wangji is sitting alone, revising his notes and definitely not paying attention to their conversation, because he doesn’t care. 

He doesn’t. 

“I heard Nie Huaisang from class 2A is gay,” one of the boys says. The other boys around him snicker and elbow each other. 

“You think that’s true?” one of them asks, he shivers dramatically, “I guess I should steer clear of him.” 

The boys all laugh, and Wangji sneaks a peak behind him to see if Wei Ying is laughing as well. He’s relieved to find that he’s not. Wei Ying looks bored, his face in his hands, staring blankly out the window. 

Wangji is relieved that Wei Ying isn’t laughing and he doesn’t know why. But he is. Relieved. 

“The Nie’s are freaking rich though,” another boy says, “I’d totally do him if he let me drive one of his cars - did you see what he rolled up in today!?” 

“Gross,” another boy laughs, “What if he wanted to do you?” 

“Ew, no way!” 

They all laugh again, and Wangji looks back again to make sure Wei Ying isn’t laughing too. He doesn’t quite understand why it’s so important to him, but he feels unspeakably relieved to see that Wei Ying isn’t laughing along with the others. 

Wei Ying stands up suddenly and kicks his chair in. The force knocks the laughing boy off his desk. 

“What do you think Wei Wuxian?” one of the boys asks, still snickering. 

Wangji isn’t eavesdropping. He’s not, he’s not, he’s not. And he doesn’t care what Wei Ying says. He doesn’t. 

“Mm, I think Nie Huaisang is rich and handsome and way more fun than you lot,” Wei Ying says easily, walking towards the door. 

“Wait where are you going?” the boys ask. 

“To talk to Huisang’s brother!” Wei Ying responds brightly, a huge smile on his face. “I’ll let him know that you guys will apologize to Huaisang, okay? Hopefully he goes easy on you.” 

With that he walks out of the classroom, whistling a song that makes the tips of Wangji’s ears go hot. 

The boys dumbly stare at each other, still crowded around a now-empty desk. 

“Wait who’s Huaisang’s brother?” one of them asks. 

“Nie... Nie...”

“Nie Mingjue.” 

There’s a split second of silence before they all start running out of the classroom, falling over themselves comically. 

“Wei Wuxian!” they yell out desperately, limbs flailing in their rush to catch Wei Ying. “Please - we were just! Please! Wei Wuxian!!” 

---

Wangji isn’t waiting for Wei Ying at the gate. 

He’s just standing there to admire the view... of the houses across their school. They’re nice houses. It’s nice to admire them. 

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Ying says, throwing an arm across Wangji’s shoulders. “You ignore me all day at school but here you are, waiting for me! I’m getting mixed signals here, Lan Zhan.” 

Wei Ying laughs delightedly and his breath is warm against Wangji’s cheek. 

“I do not... ignore you,” Wangji says, desperately hoping that Wei Ying thinks that the redness of his ears is from the cold. 

“You totally do,” Wei Ying says, “But it’s okay. I’ll forgive you since you wait for me.” He removes his arm from Wangji’s shoulders and Wangji pretends he doesn’t miss the warmth. 

They start walking, side by side, and Wangji doesn’t count how many times their arms brush together - he doesn’t. 

“Did you really talk to Nie Mingjue?” Wangji asks lightly. Just to make conversation - not because he cares. 

“You heard that?” Wei Ying asks. He sighs and shakes his head. “Idiots - all of them. I can’t wait to graduate this stupid school.” 

They are idiots, but Wangji isn’t in any hurry to graduate. Wei Ying has big dreams. He’ll probably leave their city after they graduate and only come back for holidays and... 

Well, Wangji isn’t in any hurry. He likes walking home with Wei Ying after school. Even if he has to deal with idiots all day. 

“I didn’t talk to Mingjue,” Wei Ying continues, “But they did apologize to Huaisang.” He smacks Wangji on his arm and laughs brightly. “You should have seen Huaisang’s face, Lan Zhan! He was so confused!” 

Wei Ying’s laugh and bright and beautiful and Wangji gives himself a honest moment to admire it. His fingers tingle strangely and he has this sudden desire to press his thumb against the corner of Wei Ying’s lips and... 

“You should be careful,” Wangji says, trying to reign himself back down to reality. “They’re idiots but they can be... cruel.” 

Wangji remembers what those idiots had been like before Wei Ying came to their school. Quiet and shy Wen Ning, whose only defender was his ninety pound older sister and whose only sin was that he was poor and timid. 

Wangji had known what the boys were doing was wrong - and he had told them. But the school administration had done nothing and it was against the rules to fight, so what could Wangji do? 

It was against the rules. 

It was against the rules and Wangji had been content with that until Wei Ying had transferred to their school.

Wei Ying, smart and charismatic and more than ready to break every rule. He had been the bane of Wangji’s existence at first. An annoyance Wangji could not understand. The rules were simple. Why was Wei Ying so eager to break them? 

Wangji didn’t understand - and if he’s honest, he barely understands now. But Wei Ying had taken one look at Wen Ning, had seen Wen Ning being pushed around only one time, and decided enough was enough. 

Wangji can still remember how Wei Ying’s jaw felt in the palm of his hand, as Wangji dabbed medicine on his cheeks and the corner of his lips. Can still remember the way Wei Ying’s fingers felt in his hand as Wangji dabbed ointment on his bloody knuckles. 

“You’ll be suspended,” Wangji had said softly, afraid to say what he really felt. Afraid to admit that he was sorry that he didn’t join Wei Ying in his fight. 

Wei Ying had smiled at Wangji then, and maybe that was the moment Wangji had... 

“Will you miss me, Lan Zhan?” Wei Ying had asked mischievously. 

And Lan Zhan didn’t answer then, because it was against the rules to lie. 

Wei Ying had been suspended, and those idiots had been hospitalized. Wangji had been nervous when they all came back, but maybe it was because those idiots were true idiots, or maybe it was because Wei Ying was handsome and charismatic and undeniable, but after they all came back to school, the idiots began following Wei Ying around like some stupid fan club. 

It surprised Wangji how quickly the opinions of those idiots changed, but he was grateful for it then.

Remembering it now makes a strange nervousness creep up in his stomach. 

If those idiots can change their mind so quickly... Their current good opinion of Wei Ying might... 

“Ehh, what do I care about those idiots. They have fewer brain cells than I have fingers,” Wei Ying says. He knocks his shoulder to Wangji’s. “You worried about me, Lan Zhan?” 

Wangji resolutely looks forward and does not answer because lying is against the rules. 

Wei Ying snickers and knocks his shoulder against Wangji’s again. “We’re not at school, Lan Zhan, you’re not allowed to ignore me.” 

“I do not ignore you,” Wangji answers instead. 

“Then eat lunch with me tomorrow. I’m tired of eating with those idiots.” 

Lunch? With Wei Ying? 

But... 

“They... do not like me,” Wangji says stiltedly, feeling awkward and uncool and everything Wei Ying isn’t. 

“We don’t have to eat with them! We can eat together - just us. Or maybe with Wen Ning too, if I can find him,” Wei Ying says excitedly. 

It really isn’t a good idea and Wangji really should say no. It’s enough that Wei Ying walks with him after school. It’s enough that their houses are close enough together that they can even walk to school together. It’s enough. It’s enough. 

Wei Ying’s reputation might... suffer, if he’s known to be close friends with Wangji... who is uppity and a known rule follower and no fun at all to be with... 

“I use my lunch time to revise my notes,” Wangji says, and it isn’t a lie. He does revise his notes... 

Wei Ying wilts dramatically, puffing his cheeks and pouting his lips like a child. Wangji doesn’t find it at all adorable. He doesn’t. 

They’re almost home now and Wangji has to consciously move his feet so that they don’t slow down. 

They stop in front of the gate to Wangji’s house, Wei Ying turns to face him. 

“Should I open the gate for you, young master?” Wei Ying asks playfully. 

“Boring,” Wangji replies. It’s not cute. It’s not. 

Wei Ying smiles widely up at him and Wangji has to remind his hands to remain at his side. They’re not allowed to grab Wei Ying’s perfect face and bring it close to Wangji’s. They’re not. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says. 

“Tomorrow,” Wangji nods, trying his best not to sound too eager. 

“Try to revise all your notes today so you can eat lunch with me tomorrow, okay?” 

Wangji turns and opens the gate instead of replying. 

“Try, okay!?” Wei Ying yells after him. 

Wangji walks up the steps to his door and only then does he allow himself to turn and watch Wei Ying walk away. 

Tomorrow. 

He doesn’t plan to eat lunch with Wei Ying tomorrow but... 

But he does revise all of his notes. 

[featherfur]

Museum Bonding

Characters: Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng

Warnings: Blood and arguing, Modern Au, Sometimes You Just Gotta Punch It Out

Words: 4.5k

Summary: Wei Wuxian wants his brother and fiancé to get along and decides to leave them alone at a museum. It works, but it takes a few punches and a near heart attack for Wei Wuxian. Apparently, punching fiancé's is a family tradition.

Read me on Ao3, Ko-Fi is on Sidebar

“Wei Wuxian you need to come get your fiancé this fucking instant.” Jiang Cheng’s voice hissed through the phone as Wuxian put it to his ear.

With a soft sigh, Wuxian grabbed a spoon and continued his stirring before he bothered to answer Jiang Cheng’s begging. Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan were supposed to be bonding while Wuxian helped Yanli finish cooking. He’d only been gone for two hours and apparently they were already at each other’s throats.

“Chengcheng, please, what did he do? You know you can’t treat him like me, he and his brother aren’t like us.” Wuxian hummed, thinking about the well-mannered Xichen fondly. They really were so much more lowkey in their arguments.

“I hate you, I hate you so much and I hate him… We’re… bonding and I don’t like it.” The way Jiang Cheng howled it into the phone, Wuxian would have thought he was being actively killed rather than just wandering around a museum.

Wuxian laughed so hard he dropped the spoon onto the floor and had to fall back against the counter. He tried to stifle it with a hand to his mouth but it did nothing to stop the flowing giggles.

In the other room Yanli gave him an alarmed look but that just made the giggles turn into wheezing. Even Jiang Cheng’s angry growling in his ear did absolutely nothing to help cut off the endless stream. He tried his best, he really did, but this was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard out of his brother and he would remember this for years.

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan’s voice came through the phone, sounding almost as distressed as Jiang Cheng and the laughter only increased.

“Wa-wait…” He wheezed, fumbling around for the spoon and taking the second to grab a clean one to suck in a few breaths. They sounded so upset at getting along, what was Wuxian supposed to do?

“Okay, okay, I’m… I’m back.” Wuxian still snickered to himself as he started stirring again at Yanli’s pointed look. Pregnant and missing her husband was not leading to a happy Yanli and Wuxian did not want to be the one at the bad end of her disappointed face.

“Can I please come stay with you?” Lan Zhan said, and if it was anyone else Wuxian would have said it was a whine but of course his amazing Lan Zhan would never.

Suppressing another round of laughter, Wuxian shook his head and smiled at the pan instead. Was it cheesy of him to still be so excited and fuzzy-feeling whenever Lan Zhan said anything about being with him? Yes. Would Wuxian ever stop? Nope.

“Lan Zhan.” Wuxian finally said, trying his best to use a stern tone that definitely wasn’t working. “Jiang Cheng, you two are supposed to be bonding. Why is that so bad?”

The phone scratched and made a shuffling noise before Jiang Cheng’s voice came back.

“Did you know your fiancé loves art history?”

Wei Wuxian nodded to himself, wondering why that was a big deal. Was Jiang Cheng just grumpy that Lan Zhan knew more about the paintings? Or maybe Lan Zhan had corrected the guide, that had happened the last time they’d gone together.

“Xichen is a well known artist, I’d be more confused if Lan Zhan wasn’t interested in it-”

“Did you know that your brother loves art history?” Lan Zhan’s voice cut in and that was news to Wuxian.

“Uh, no? Jiang Cheng hates it, he failed three art classes in college. Had to get a job and everything to pay for them because his mother wouldn’t pay for them.”

“I didn’t-” Jiang Cheng’s voice cut off and Wuxian just knew his fiancé was giving Jiang Cheng a glare of absolute loathing for daring to lie even if it was to get along with Lan Zhan. “Wuxian, I did not fail three classes.”

Jiang Cheng’s voice dropped into the lowest hiss as if someone was going to crawl out of the walls with his mother to yell at him again. It had not been a good two years and even Jin Zixuan had been trying to offer Jiang Cheng money to just take a different elective so he could pass. Jiang Cheng, like usual, had been too damn stubborn to admit defeat and had just re-taken the same classes even when his parents had cut the college fund.

Wei Wuxian understood not wanting to admit to that, especially when the Jiang name held prestige in the fashion industry, and if it was anyone else then Wuxian would be happy to lie. Not to Lan Zhan though, never to Lan Zhan.

Wuxian opened his mouth to inform him of just that, when Jiang Cheng cut him off with an embarrassed confession.

“Tell your perfect fiancé to stop looking at me like that… I didn’t fail the classes, I didn’t want to graduate yet and have to go into the business so I lied and said I failed them. No one looked at my transcripts, I took a different class each time, I didn’t realize you actually believed that bullshit.” Jiang Cheng confessed sullenly and Wuxian wished he was standing beside him so he could kick his ass.

“You what?” Wuxian howled at the phone, dropping it onto the counter and pressing the speaker when Yanli ran into the room in a panic. “You tell Yanli-jie what you just said right now.”

“No wait- She’s going to be ups-”

“A-Cheng.”

“Fuck.” The phone went silent and Wei Wuxian wondered what silent conversation Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng were glaring out. If it wasn’t for the fact that Yanli was now in this, he would be driving over there just to watch it go down.

“Okay… fucking… You remember when Mom kicked you out? You left and you said ‘don’t be a pushover when I can’t protect you’.” Jiang Cheng started and Wei Wuxian wailed dramatically, smacking himself in the face.

“I meant don’t let Jin Zixun talk shit, I didn’t mean… Lan Zhan, smack him for me! Twice!” There was a moment of almost audible mutual glaring. “Jiang Cheng, oh my god, oh my god. This is why she hated me, I turned you into a disgrace.”

“Shut up, I have two Master’s degrees from it even Jin Zixuan only has one.” Jiang Cheng shouted back before shuffling came over the phone and Wuxian realized Lan Zhan was probably shoving him out of the quiet museum.

“Enough yelling,” Yanli sighed softly, “A-Cheng, what are you talking about?”

It took a moment but finally Jiang Cheng’s voice came through at a much softer tone.

“I… wanted to get back at Mom for kicking Wuxian out, and I wanted to major in Art history anyways. Dad said that I had to go into business to take over Lotus, the only difference for the degrees were three classes so I just… Did both of them. Told Mom I’d failed to make a point, I’m perfectly fine at fucking up my life without Wuxian in it. Wait, why am I even having this conversation?”

“That backfired real fucking quick didn’t it.” Wuxian growled, he could see Jiang Cheng’s wince and the stubborn set to his shoulders.

How could his little brother be so stupid? He could have just done classes on the side, there was no need to get back at his parents. Wei Wuxian never held that against them, never! If he’d known it was all a stupid childish grudge that caused Jiang Cheng to get kicked out of the house for two years, he would have dragged him back and apologized himself.

“Shut up, I loved those classes! The only part of college that was fucking worth it. Don’t give me that look Lan Wangji, not all of us get to do what we want with our lives.”

“I did not give you a look-”

“You did, it’s the same fucking look you give me every time you see me. Like you have no fucking clue how your perfect precious Wei Ying came to be so amazing with me as a brother, like you’re disgusted with having to see me exist or fuck up-”

“I have not once-“

“Hey hey! You two stop it, both of you now. Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, can you please walk away for me?” Wuxian barked into the phone, trying to be louder than their arguing but he had no idea if either of them even remembered that he was still there.

“-give a fuck if you hate me, you’re-”

“I have never said that I-”

“He’s my fucking family and I-”

“Wei Ying is-”

“Lan Zhan! Jiang Cheng! Come on you two please stop fighting, guys I swear I will cry.” He tried again but the growling didn’t stop for even a second.

“-I don’t care! Who do think gives a damn about you-”

The call ended with a rather concerning cracking and Wuxian’s head fell directly into the cupboard. Even the pain wasn’t enough to get him to actually concentrate, what just happened?

One moment they’re getting along, and apparently bonding to the point that both of them were actually worried and now they’re screaming at each other because of a lie that wasn’t even involving Lan Zhan! A lie that was completely and utterly Wuxian’s fault for pissing off Yu Ziyuan and somehow convincing his brother to go insane by trying to tell him to not let Jin Zixun kick him around.

“Jie…” He turned to her, eyes wide and hopeful. She would be able to tell him what to do or atleast what was going on. Right?

Even Yanli looked completely taken aback, her mouth moving soundlessly. They stared at each other, both trying to figure out how to fix this.

Atleast when Wuxian had punched Jin Zixuan he’d been fourteen, not twenty eight and in public. Was this going to be a tradition? Was Yanli going to sock Jiang Cheng’s future spouse?

The front door creaked open with a soft call from Jin Zixuan and they both snapped back to themselves.

“A-Xuan, I need you to drive A-Ying to the museum. I have to keep the food from burning.” Yanli said immediately, grabbing the spoon to stir before things started to burn. Jin Zixuan’s face came around the corner looking rather like a kicked puppy at the lack of greeting.

If it wasn’t a matter of life and death, Wuxian might have actually thought it was cute. But it was so he didn’t care and simply grabbed his arm to drag him out. Yanli was too far along in her pregnancy to be running after the two so Wuxian didn’t mind going alone anyways.

“Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan got into a fight,” Wuxian finally explained as he shoved his feet into his shoes. That got Zixuan’s attention and he picked his keys up again and let himself be pulled out after a quick declaration of love towards Yanli’s stirring form.

“A fight? I mean Jiang Cheng I understand, but Wangji?” Jin Zixuan looked even more bewildered than Wuxian felt, but that didn’t stop him from freezing until he’d scowled Jin Zixuan into a mumbled apology.

“Just… Just get us there and we’ll explain everything over dinner.”

Wuxian tried to call Lan Zhan the moment he was in the car, tapping his feet anxiously against the bottom of the floor. For once, Zixuan didn’t bother to complain about it and just drove a little faster when the phone reached voicemail.

“Are you sure it was a fight? Don’t give me that look! Wanyin has a temper but he doesn’t just attack people… That aren’t you.” Zixuan amended and Wuxian hid his face behind his hands with a loud groan.

That was true, Jiang Cheng had a temper but he’d also been running Lotus LLC. for years and knew how to keep himself calm. Which meant that either Lan Zhan had said something truly unforgivable (for Jiang Cheng atleast) or Lan Zhan threw the first punch.

Wuxian couldn’t even say that it was impossible, Lan Zhan was more than a little overprotective of him. If Jiang Cheng said the wrong thing or it sounded like the wrong thing…

“Oh my god I’ve ruined my family a second time.” He said desperately, wanting nothing more than to just be home, preferably in the arms of his fiancé.

“Hey, hey, if something happens it’ll blow over eventually.” Zixuan said awkwardly before a very hesitant and flat hand patted Wuxian’s head. “Right? Family no matter what, even if you break someone’s nose, I said that before right? Remember you hated me and now you don’t.”

“Oh god Jiang Cheng’s going to break Lan Zhan’s nose and he’s going to hate the rest of my family.” Wuxian cried, pressing his hands firmer against his face so he didn’t actually start sobbing. If he was the reason why the love of his life hated his family then Wuxian would never be able to forgive himself or feel like he deserved to look at any of them.

“No- I… No you don’t hate me, and I don’t hate you and I’m making this worse.” Zixuan cursed tried to squeeze Wuxian’s shoulder comfortingly before he focused on the road, trying to figure out when he started actually caring about Wuxian and his partner.

__

Dark hair took up most of Jiang Wanyin’s vision as he blinked rapidly, the tears still pricking at his eyes. He tried to sniff but agony just shot up his nose instead and he groaned angrily.

“How bad is it?”

Lan Wangji’s hum did nothing to assuage his fears but a second later pale eyes met Jiang Wanyin’s and the man nodded.

“It’s not broken.” Lan Wangji finally said, carefully pressing a few more napkins onto the bloody mess. Jiang Wanyin swatted his hand away and moved to hold it himself, tilting his head to follow Lan Wangji’s movements to the bench beside him.

“You,” Jiang Wanyin started with a bump to Lan Wangji’s shoulder, “have a hard fucking head. Welcome to the family.”

Lan Wangji bristled like an angry bird before he blinked and realized that Jiang Wanyin was grinning at him. He was trying to be friendly.

Lan Wangji quietly reminded himself to tell Xichen just how much he appreciated having a mentally sane brother.

“I’m sorry I broke your phone.” Wangji finally said, looking down at the shattered screen in Jiang Wanyin’s hand.

“Don’t worry about it, I broke yours too when you fell on it… Wuxian’s going to have a heart attack though.”

Lan Wangji winced at the reminder, Wei Ying was incredibly attached to both of them and the last thing he’d heard was Lan Wangji headbutting his brother. Then he winced again at pain rocketing across his face, and reached up to tenderly press against the freshly bruised skin on his eye.

“Oh, right, lemme see.” Jiang Wanyin didn’t bother to wait for permission, just reached over to turn Lan Wangji’s face over.

It took every ounce of Lan Wangji’s patience not to headbutt him again, but after taking a punch to the face it really wasn’t worth it. Besides, if Wei Ying came over while Wangji was fighting his brother it would make things that much worse. He could barely fathom that not even fifteen minutes ago he and Jiang Wanyin had actually started to like each other and now they were both bruised and bloody.

“I didn’t hit hard enough to worry about cracking your skull, so you probably don’t need an X-ray, but if it stays a sharp pain I’d go in anyways, or if you can't move your eye.” Jiang Wanyin said knowledgeably, Lan Wangji wondered how he knew so much but at the same time he didn’t really care about that right now.

“Are you saying that you pulled your punch?” Lan Wangji said blankly. That punch had hurt, and Jiang Wanyin had pulled it?

“Of course I did, If I didn’t you’d be on your way to the hospital with a broken nose and a cracked eye. I grew up with Wuxian, do you really think we never got into scuffles? Got to the point, Dad signed us up for classes so we’d punch other people instead… Never stopped us though.” Jiang Wanyin said fondly, dabbing at the still bleeding nose and leaning back into the bench now that his examination was over.

“Why would you fight your brother?” Lan Wangji was aghast, of course Wei Ying had told him about some of the fights he’d gotten into when he was younger, but he’d never realized how physical he meant. He couldn’t even imagine punching Xichen, or, heaven forbid, Xichen punching him.

“Why wouldn’t I? Oh right, you were raised properly.” It didn’t sound sarcastic so Lan Wangji didn’t react. “Sometimes you just get pissed off and you have nothing else to do but to tackle your idiot brother until Jiejie comes over to help. Don’t look at me like that, Wuxian broke my arm, twice. And the second time wasn’t even my fault.”

Jiang Wanyin’s head turned toward him with an almost evil mirth.

“You got grown-up Wei Ying, I got feral Wei Wuxian. Do you know how many times that little shit would pick fights then bolt back to hide behind me when he realized he was out-sized or out-numbered? Another reason we had to take defence classes, even if we were outnumbered, if we had each other’s back we weren’t going down easy. This way we stopped coming home bloody.”

Again Lan Wangji didn’t say anything, just sat quietly and watched the park in front of them as he thought. Wei Ying had told him multiple times that Jiang Wanyin wasn’t like Xichen, they communicated differently. Lan Wangji had assumed that meant that he was probably more like Nie Mingjue but atleast Nie Mingjue could compliment Nie Huaisang to his face instead of half hearted insults.

Wei Ying said they were bonding, and they had nothing to do until Wei Ying arrived so perhaps…

“You said… You lied for him?” Wangji finally asked, wondering if it counted as an attempt at friendliness.

The laughter drained from Jiang Wanyin’s face immediately and his lip curled slightly like he wanted nothing more than to bare his teeth. If he was looking for another fight Wangji wouldn’t give in a second time, that would only hurt Wei Ying more. Yet Jiang Wanyin’s voice was soft and strained like he was forcing himself to speak and it was painful.

“Mom kicked him out after a fight with Dad. She wasn’t really mad at Wuxian but she couldn’t do anything against Dad but she knew kicking him out would hurt him. Jiejie was already living with her husband and I was off to college so she couldn’t actually do anything but yell over the phone. So when the opportunity to rub it in her face that Wuxian was the reason I was so good in classes showed up, I took it. Wanted to hurt her for hurting him.” Jiang Wanyin’s face slipped into a mask of guilt and shame, even two years out of college and the full owner of Lotus he still couldn’t believe he’d been so shitty to his mother. She’d only wanted the best for him but he wanted his family together and when one went missing he cracked the connections to the rest of them. In the end Yanli was the only one he talked to all those long years of college until the beginning of his last semester when Wuxian returned.

“Your parents cut you off?”

“Of course they did, wasn’t Mom though. She thought I was sick or just rebelling, which I was, but Dad was pissed. Still surprised he even remembered I existed once I left the house.”

“You paid for college yourself?”

“Eh? No, I got a scholarship in the first place, parents paid for my business administration degree and the school paid for my art history degree. Do you think I’d be so good at design if I couldn’t pass an art class? The extra scholarship meant I needed another year and a half of school unless I wanted to stuff it all in at the same time. Kept me out of the house long enough for that idiot to come back… Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have gone.”

Lan Wangji couldn’t stop himself from frowning as he looked at the man avoiding his gaze. He really couldn’t get a read on him, which in itself wasn’t that strange he didn’t get most people, but Jiang Wanyin had literally just told him something even Wei Ying didn’t know and Wangji still didn’t know what was going on with him.

He wanted to put Jiang Wanyin firmly in the ‘I only accept they exist when Wei Ying asks me too’ but he couldn’t help but remember the hour and a half prior when they’d been debating painting styles from the 18th century, it had been almost as much fun as speaking with Xichen over painting archetypes. Now he also knew that Jiang Wanyin hadn’t wanted Wei Ying to leave and waited for him to return to the family. As much as Wangji wanted to hate him for all the arguments between the brothers and for not fighting his mother to keep a roof over Wei Ying’s head, he couldn’t quite bring himself to feel it.

“... I..” Wangji started, mentally chanting ‘this is for Wei Ying’, “I do not hate you.”

“Oh that’s a relief.” Jiang Wanyin said sarcastically but he didn’t glare so Wangji took that as a good sign.

“Earlier… When you said no one cares about Wei Ying and I-”

“I meant the gay thing, Wuxian’s always so touchy about it like I didn’t have to share a room with him for thirteen years and hear him when he saw Nie Mingjue for the first time. I thought you were arguing about that.” Jiang Wanyin said so flippantly that Lan Wangji actually felt bad for head butting him.

“Wei Ying is not a disgrace to you or anyone else.”

“I don’t care about that. Who gives a damn about you and him?”

As Wei Ying would say: Oops.

“I see how fighting works now.” Wangji said with a nod to himself. After throwing a few punches, they were both now too tired to argue in the same way and could only listen and communicate. That made a lot of sense even if Wangji would prefer that Wei Ying never need to throw a punch ever again.

Jiang Wanyin gave him a wide eyed look before he barked out a laugh and shook his head as he stood.

“Uh Huh. Sure you do, atleast you and Zixuan will have something to bond over. Wuxian really did break his nose when we were fourteen.” Jiang Wanyin was still smiling at that and Lan Wangji realized he would never understand anyone in his husband’s family. Not really.

“... Xichen has a painting that was recently added to this museum’s collection.” Wangji said, wondering if the olive branch would be taken. They’d started arguing and debating on every painting and hadn’t even managed to get halfway through the actual museum before they’d both had the panicked realization they had started to like each other.

Jiang Cheng gave him a narrowed eye glare before he tossed the bloody napkins away and shrugged.

“Let’s go see it, who knows when Wuxian’ll show up.”

Half an hour was how long it took and Wuxian nearly screamed when he saw them.

“Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, your face! Jiang Cheng, how could you- Chengcheng your face?!” Wuxian had gasped, holding onto Lan Wangji’s jacket and looking more horrified then the time he’d watched a documentary where the fox ate a rabbit. “You two! How could you- I cannot believe you two- Why are you both looking at me like that?”

Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji shared an amused glance, keeping quiet over Wuxian’s admonishing. Jiang Cheng passed over the drink he’d been holding to Wuxian’s hands and successfully distracted him from his staring.

“Your fiancé has good taste in coffee.” Was all Jiang Cheng said, walking toward Jin Zixuan instead and leaving the dramatics for the one who signed up for it.

“Your brother has rather interesting ideas on color theory.” Lan Wangji said to Wuxian, his lips only twitching into a more fond smile at the hand waving and bewildered look on his fiancé’s face. “We have bonded.”

“You… broke each other’s faces.” Wuxian cried, holding the drink in one hand so the other could cradle Wangji’s cheek and gently stroke over the unbruised skin. “I’m so so so sorry, Lan Zhan, I didn’t realize he’d punch you or I never would have left-”

“There’s no need for apologies,” Lan Wangji said pointedly, gently reaching up to take Wuxian’s hands and press a kiss to the fingertips, “besides, I hit first. It was a misunderstanding. It has been cleared up. I believed him to be looking down on you, he believed me to be ashamed of my relationship with another man.”

“You two.. You two are never allowed to bond again. If I wanted you to punch each other I would have sent you to Huaisang’s brother’s gym to box it out.” Despite his words, Wuxian had relaxed considerably and spared a glance over his shoulder towards his brother. “So… You don’t hate him?”

“No. I do not understand him, but I know he cares about you. That’s all I need to know.” Wangji said with another kiss to his fingertips.

“That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard… Well other than when you confessed, and when you proposed, and when you say my name and-”

Wangji shook his head, shutting him up with a kiss that Wuxian was more than happy to reciprocate.

Jiang Cheng glanced at their disgusting affection and then the very awkward looking Jin Zixuan.

“... Go ahead.” He finally said with a suffering sigh. In seconds, Jin Zixuan was in his face, carefully checking his nose. The moment they’d found out that Yanli was pregnant Zixuan had devoted himself to all forms of emergency medical training just in case anything happened to their baby. In doing that, though, had somehow unlocked his need to use that towards anyone he considered family.

“Okay it’s not broken, and Lan Wangji… I’m sure Wuxian has that handled.” Jin Zixuan said after glancing at the couple and Jiang Cheng really couldn’t blame him.

“Why are you here anyways?”

“A-Li yelled at me to drive Wei Wuxian here.” He said pathetically, like there couldn’t be anything worse in the world than Yanli yelling at him. And he was right.

“Hmm, we should probably call her and tell her that we’re not dead. I broke my phone and Lan Wangji’s.” Jiang Cheng said, holding out his hand for Jin Zixuan’s phone. Jin Zixuan looked like he didn’t trust him but a moment later he gave in and passed it over.

“Uh… I hope you two are getting along now.” Jin Zixuan said, trying for an awkward smile. “I’m glad my family is getting along.”

“You’re not good at this.” Jiang Cheng said bluntly and Jin Zixuan shook his head rapidly.

“No I’m not. Please call A-Li, the stress isn’t good for the baby, and I mean all three of us.”

“God, I hope I die alone.” Jiang Cheng sighed as he clicked on the contact and started to herd Jin Zixuan out of the gallery before the two behind them started getting handsy.

[lithalwrites]

Sometimes Life is a Romcom

Chapter 9

Wei Ying had been expecting a large house, but his eyes still widened when he finally reached his destination. It was time to practice the piece for their history project, and they were doing it at Lan Zhan’s place. It was the first time Wei Ying had come over, and he was already thinking about a million of ways to tease Lan Zhan that day.

He walked up to the gate and pressed the bell, fully expecting a butler to open the door. Instead, he was greeted by Lan Zhan, smiling kindly at him. He blinked, and realized it wasn’t Lan Zhan after all, and he was saved from having heart attack at the thought of Lan Zhan smiling kindly at anyone. This man looked very similar to Lan Zhan, if Lan Zhan’s eyes had been half a shade darker, and if he knew how to smile. “Hello. You must be Wei Ying. Please come in,” he said. Even his voice was kind.

“Hi,” Wei Ying said. “Nice to meet you, Lan Zhan with a pretty smile. I don’t know who you are, even though you know who I am.”  

“I’m Lan Xichen,” the man introduced himself, looking very amused.

“Damn, the Lan family has great genetics,” Wei Ying said. He probably shouldn’t have said that out loud, but it had slipped out before he could stop himself.

“Why, thank you,” Lan Xichen said. It seemed like he was much more laid back than Lan Zhan was. Wei Ying followed him to what was probably a sitting room. “I will let Wangji know you’ve arrived. I hope your project goes well.”

“Thanks,” Wei Ying said. As soon as Xichen was gone, he jumped up and started to examine the things on display around the room. Everything seemed very expensive, and he was almost afraid to touch things. Almost, but not quite.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan’s voice startled Wei Ying, and the delicate glass ornament he had been examining slipped from his grasp. Wei Ying dove for it, smacking his chin on the ground but managing to save the ornament, which he held tight in his hand. He scrambled to his feet and put it carefully back on the shelf before turning around. Lan Zhan stood frozen with a tray in his hands, eyes wide.

“It’s not broken!” Wei Ying assured him. Lan Zhan visibly relaxed.

“Your chin?” Lan Zhan asked.

Wei Ying touched it and winced a little. “Oh, that’s not broken either. I figured you’d be more worried about the ornament.”

Lan Zhan set the tray down and poured out some tea, handing the first cup to Wei Ying. “So proper. I met your brother. He’s much prettier than you.”

“Please tell me you did not flirt with my brother,” Lan Zhan said, looking scandalized.

“Don’t worry, it was hardly flirting,” Wei Ying waved his concerns away. He sipped the tea. It had strong hints of apple, and Wei Ying didn’t hate it. So far, Lan Zhan had taken him to three different places, and Wei Ying was still uncultured in the ways of tea. He was frankly surprised that Lan Zhan hadn’t given up yet.

“This tea isn’t bad,” he said. “Where are we playing?”

“In the music room.”

“Oh my god, you have an actual music room. How rich is your family, Lan Zhan? Man, I was really onto something when I saved you as Young Master Lan in my phone. It suits you so much, Wangji. Is that your nickname? It’s so old and fancy. Young Master Lan, that’s still what you’re saved as, by the way,” Wei Ying said. “What am I saved as?”

“Headache,” Lan Zhan said.

Wei Ying cackled. “You gave me a nickname, Lan Zhan. Be careful, if this keeps up, you’ll fall in love with me.”

Lan Zhan tilted his head. “Or vice versa.”

“Lan Zhan, I can’t believe you quipped. I’m so proud of you,” Wei Ying said, his grin splitting his face. “But don’t worry, you have nothing to worry about.”

“Did you practice?” Lan Zhan asked. Apparently, he had had enough of idle chitchat.

“You have so little faith in me. Of course, I practiced,” Wei Ying said. He pulled out his flute and waved it at Lan Zhan. “You’re going to be blessed with my playing today, so you better appreciate it.”

Lan Zhan ignored him in favour of standing up and leading him to the music room. There was a number of different instruments set up in the room. Wei Ying wondered if Lan Zhan played any of them other than the guqin. There were also a few instruments he had never seen before. This room probably contained several millions worth of instruments. Wei Ying was awed.

“Let’s start,” Lan Zhan said, getting into position. Wei Ying dropped down next to him, sitting cross-legged.

“Ready when you are,” he said.

Lan Zhan nodded, and started to play. Wei Ying watched as his slender fingers expertly moved across the strings, and the first notes of the piece floated through the air. Lan Zhan played a few bars, and then stopped abruptly, frowning at Wei Ying.

“You missed your entry,” he said.

“Ah, sorry,” Wei Ying said. “I was distracted. Start again. I won’t miss this time.”

Lan Zhan took a deep breath, possibly to let go of his irritation at Wei Ying, and started again. This time, Wei Ying payed attention, and didn’t miss the entry. The first playthrough was very bumpy, with several mistakes, all of them Wei Ying’s fault.

“I think I got it. Let’s go again,” he said. Lan Zhan nodded, and they started from the top. The second playthrough was marginally better, but not as good as it could have been. The problem, Wei Ying realized, was that he wanted to watch Lan Zhan play, and that was distracting him. He put his flute down. “You know what? You play the whole thing on your own once, then I’ll do the same, and then let’s put it together.”

“Fine,” Lan Zhan said. He played, and Wei Ying watched. He didn’t know why it was so interesting to watch Lan Zhan play, but it was. The piece itself sounded quite nice, and Wei Ying was really excited about them making their parts work together.

He played after Lan Zhan was finished, and then they tried to play it together. Their third and fourth attempts were much smoother than before, but Wei Ying could tell Lan Zhan was not satisfied yet. “Should we record now?” he asked, just because.

Just as he had thought, Lan Zhan gave him a look that told him what he thought of that idea. “No,” Lan Zhan said, as if his glare hadn’t been enough of an answer.

“Just thought I’d ask. I should get going now. It’s getting late, and it’s a bit of a walk to the bus stop, and a long bus ride,” he said.

He watched Lan Zhan’s expressions go through an interesting set of changes, all only minutely different from each other. He finally settled on pained reluctance, and offered, “I can drive you.”

“Oh,” Wei Ying said, drawing out the syllable and widening his eyes, teasing. “Such a caring project partner. Are you concerned for me?”

Lan Zhan’s expression shifted to the much more familiar glare. “Walk, then.”

“No, no, thank you so much for the offer, my kind Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying said. “I will gladly accept.”

Later, when they were in the car, Wei Ying glanced at Lan Zhan as he drove. He drove like he did everything else: with all his focus. Wei Ying found himself smiling at Lan Zhan’s intensity. Before he could think too much about that, he grinned and said, “So… Young Master Lan Wangji, eh? What a fancy name.”

Lan Zhan kept his eyes on the road, but his lips curved downward a little. “My grandfather wanted it for me,” he finally said. Wei Ying was surprised he had bothered to offer an explanation at all, but maybe he was embarrassed of the name. Although he looked more angry than embarrassed.

“Aww, don’t be mad, Lan Zhan. It fits you perfectly. Can I call you by it?”

“No.”

“You break my heart.”

“Someone ought to,” Lan Zhan replied.

“Oh my god, Lan Zhan! You’re secretly sassy. I can’t believe this,” Wei Ying said, laughing. “Wow. This is a whole new side to you. You sassed me multiple times today. Amazing.”

Lan Zhan pulled up in front of Wei Ying’s building, and Wei Ying climbed out. “Thanks for the ride, darling! Drive safe!”

Lan Zhan glared at him through the windscreen, and Wei Ying cheerfully waved at him before running inside.  

Read on AO3

[mihanada]

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

(back to masterpost)

Oooh boy was this a wild chapter. but! this is also the end of this arc! So tiny!

Chapter 62: Evil (Part 2)

“Wei WuXian had clearly been a bright, high-spirited boy...Yet, this person was entirely enveloped in a cold, dark energy. He was handsome, yet pale-faced, his smile eerie.”

D:

Here it is, the transition from Wei Wuxian the first disciple of the Yunmeng Jiang Sect to the Yiling Patriarch.

“All of the flesh on his legs had been sliced off, piece by piece. And, likely… all of the flesh had been eaten by himself!”

Hey. Hey. Just in case you forgot that this novel was low-key gross and gory.

This is some great horror material. And remember when Wei Wuxian mentioned that he of all people would know about torture methods? (I forgot when he said this, but he did.) WELL. This is the source of that statement.

He was really going for both physically and mentally breaking Wen Chao here, and it succeeded big time.

Imagine how Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji watching from above must feel? It’s like Wei Wuxian is a totally different person.

“...half of Wei WuXian’s face was in the light, the other half in the dark.”

is the symbolism smacking you in the face yet

“Holding what he had fed it in its mouth, it turned around and sat down. Hugging his leg, it chewed fiercely as it glowered at Wen ZhuLiu with cold, glistening eyes.”

yikes it’s the scary baby again. why is it always scary undead babies.

uM eating Wen Chao’s fingers.

(so just how did this happen anyways...was Wen Zhuliu too far away to get to Wen Chao and Wei Wuxian tortured him during that time, or was Wen Zhuliu occupied with fighting some corpses or. It’s likely that Wei Wuxian let them run away like I mentioned last chapter. gotta employ that psychological warfare!)

“Wen ZhuLiu, “I can’t fail to repay the debt I owe their generosity.”

i mean, at this point I think it’s been paid in full what the heck did they even do for you.

“Why is it that the debt you owe has to be repaid at the expense of others!”

idk I just like this line. Also, it hits a sore spot, and he loses a bit of his composure and gets angry.

“Burned skin was naturally weak to begin with...The uneven, bald head immediately became a bloody, bald head.”

how is Wen Chao still ALIVE. being a cultivator has its downfalls, probably their bodies are a little sturdier than regular people. which is not a good thing.

Also, with Wen Chao being pitiful and wailing in fear this entire chapter, it creates some weird dissonance.

On one hand, you don’t feel pity for him, he’s a terrible person.

On the other hand, who deserves this level of torture inflicted upon them?

The more you read, the more excessive it becomes.

“The ghoul child, however, had bit out an entire chunk of the flesh on his hand and spat it out. He continued to devour the palm.”

this is a lovely image. your core melting hand can’t help you now.

“Wen ZhuLiu’s large, heavy body had been lifted up by the surging whip and was now dangling in the air.”

Ok, a lot happens in the span of these two paragraphs. I did a little cheer when Jiang Cheng managed to get ahold of this guy. He deserves more than a little catharsis after what he went through.

“At the same time, Wei WuXian’s pupils shrunk. He took out a flute from beside his waist and spun around, standing up.”

To his credit, his first reaction is to recall the ghouls/corpses so they don’t attack the wrong people.

“He looked down at Suibian and only responded after a pause, “… Thank you.”

there’s something seriously wrong here, if the torture and controlling corpses wasn’t enough of a hint. That lackluster, soulless response.

“Although the sentence itself seemed to scold him, his tone was full of joy.”

my heart kinda started breaking here. Jiang Cheng seems so happy to have him back, he is willing to ignore all the things that are wrong about this boy he grew up with. And that is not a healthy thing for anyone involved, but realistically, after what they’ve gone through would you expect any other reaction?

“A few moments later, he struck him as well, “Haha, it’s a long story, it’s a long story!”

And now Wei Wuxian tries to answer in kind, tries to act like his usual self.

“...threw me to some hell of a place to suffer.”

If you would have elaborated here...maybe it would have given them some context for what happened to you. But, Wei Wuxian is the type to conceal his suffering for one reason or another, whether it’s to protect others or just because he doesn’t need to justify himself to people. So, he won’t elaborate. It’s done and gone, what’s the point in playing the pity party when they’ve got other business to attend to?

the ghouls are really creepy though. 

“If I say that I found a mysterious cave somewhere and there was a mysterious book that a mysterious expert had left, and then when I came out I was this powerful, would you believe me?”

you troll. you tragic troll.

“Jiang Cheng murmured the words ‘as long as you’re back’ a couple of times before hitting him again, “You really are…! You live on even after being captured by Wen-dogs!”

D: this is also breaking my heart ok.

“To play around, play with them until they die. Straight up killing all of them at once would be too easy on them. Much better killing them in front of one another one by one, one slice after another.”

deefinitely getting unhinged here.

and it really is sad, when you consider who he was before all this terrible shit happened.

“He wanted to protect him, but I wanted to make him see how in his hands, Wen Chao would become more and more distorted, unlike a man but also unlike a monster.”

So the torture was Wen Chao’s punishment. The releasing them and chasing them down was Wen Zhuliu’s punishment.

it’s fitting isn’t it. after Wen Zhuliu’s hands caused so much grief, ripping people’s cores from them, in the end the person he wanted to protect also disintegrated under his touch. but, also perhaps a reflection of what happened with Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng turned into a shadow of himself due to those hands, although he was alive he was already dead inside, and Wei Wuxian couldn’t do anything to help him (until he did, but before that)

“It is not that I want to denounce him.”

This starts Lan Wangji’s really bad communication skills.

Lan Wangji might be seen as the epitome of a righteous cultivator by everyone in-story, but he’s actually quite the flawed person. This is one of his faults. If he could actually explain himself clearly, would this chapter have ended in such on such an uneasy, awkward note?

“Wei Ying, for cultivating an evil path you would eventually have to pay. Throughout time, there has not been a single exception.” “The path would not only damage your body, but your heart as well.”

This is a good example of a passage where the context of the sentence really matters.

How could Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng take this as anything but Lan Wangji criticizing him for demonic cultivation? If you just read those words, you can’t tell if Lan Wangji has another motive.

That’s what I like about this story’s narrative. Technically, you know just as much as the main character does. Really, if you didn’t know Lan Wangji was the love interest and already had a small crush on him, how would you ever interpret this differently from Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng?

“Wei WuXian, “I can pay.” “Of course I can control it.”

I love his youthful confidence and resolve. it’s so foolish, but so fitting.

“After all, on the topic of how my heart is, what could other people know about it? Why should other people care about it?”

this is sad stop ripping my heart out Wei Wuxian

1) he doesn’t think himself worthy of other people’s affections or love, platonic or not, he doesn’t think anyone would care about him

2) the question of: can we really ever know the content of another’s heart?

“Lan WangJi paused. He had suddenly been angered, “… Wei WuXian!”

I’d be kind of angry too. Even objectively, do you really think no one cares about you? the answer is, well, yes in a way. Wei Wuxian can clearly see that Jiang Cheng at least was happy to see him. Yet, in Wei Wuxian’s eyes, his status is as a servant and Jiang Cheng is the “Sect Leaer”, who doesn’t have to worry about his subordinate’s heart.

“The two knew how to continue each other’s words ever since they were young. Now, one sentence after another, the argument flowed seamlessly...”

knowing this all goes to hell later makes me sad

They used to get along so well.

“Hearing this, Lan WangJi’s expression froze. He looked up at Wei WuXian, the lump at his throat trembling, “I…”

probably a response to: “No matter whom he goes back with, it wouldn’t be you.”

but, again, bad communication skills.

“They had both showed him expressions of either despair, anguish, or deep-set hatred. However, right now, their faces above him had the same cold smile, the same cold eyes.”

the symmetry is really nice

“Wei WuXian, “Of course it’d be with a certain thing gone.”

>.>

they went there

“The eyes he looked at Wen Chao and Wen ZhuLiu with glistened, and his grin was both excited and cruel. Jiang Cheng had on him the same expression. Both of them had been buried within the overwhelming pleasure of revenge. Neither had the concern to deal with an outsider.”

You again get that weird mix of satisfaction and dissatisfaction. It’s disturbing, or disconcerting at least.

“The night had passed. The sun in the sky was about to rise.

And the sun on the ground was falling.”

a very simple, but impactful few sentences of description.

The real sun in the heavens is rising.

But the false sun on earth is falling.

(quotes from ExR’s translations)

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