Under The Lake

8. In Which Wangji Is Lazy For The First Time.

Wangji woke up feeling unexpectedly refreshed. Opening his eyes ever so slightly, he was faced with the ceiling of the Lan healer's den.

Hearing the sound of hushed voices from the other side of the room, he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"Sect Leader Lan, Young Master Lan is stable now." The hushed voice of the healer said in an apprehensive sort of way, which made Wangji think there must be something more to it.

"But?" Xichen asked in a serious voice, his eyes focused on the figure of the small man before him.

"Young Master Lan's body temperature is far lower than normal. To put it frankly, he's colder than ice, and with a temperature like that..." The healer shook his head and furrowed his brows in deep thought.

"It's not good, but it's very strange as well. Despite his body temperature, he doesn't actually appear to be sick."

Ah, right. They would catch onto that if he entered the healer's den. Well, at least they haven't figured out why he's so cold.

"He threw up and passed out," Xichen said quite matter-of-factly.

" I've never seen anyone throw up that much, let alone Wangji."

"Yes, well, although I believe the cause of that might be overwork." The healer stroked his beard as though he was questioning the legitimacy of Wangji's illness.

"Overwork?" Xichen did a half gasp, as he looked over at the not sleeping figure of his brother.

Wangji cheered inside his head that he had managed to fool the Lan healers. The drugs had left his system as fast as they had entered, so it would be a lot harder to pinpoint the cause.

"I asked some disciples; it seems that Young Master Lan had done all the work intended to be shared out between at least twelve people. None of the disciples offered to help either and simply left him to do all the work." The old healer said in a somewhat sympathetic tone, as he put a hand behind his back.

"I suggest at least two full days of bed rest with absolutely no disturbances."

"I see." Lan Xichen sadly said, looking over to his brother lying still on the bed before leaving.

Wangji heard the cherry oak doors close and a small shuffling of feet coming closer to him.

Wangji felt a hand on his wrist and then one on his forehead, while he heard an amused huff,

"Young Master Lan, I know you're faking it."

Wangji's eyes shot open as he looked at the now amused face of the healer as he just stroked his beard while chuckling.

"It seems that you have utilized a classic but effective strategy by ingesting a vomit-inducing pill. I'm assuming you fainted due to an overdose. Your efforts to conceal it as fatigue were well executed beforehand, showcasing your aptitude for acting, Young Master Lan. "

Wangji sat up in the bed and looked down, thoroughly ashamed. Of course, they would be able to tell if he was faking it. The Lan Clan had some of the best healers around, of course, they would be able to tell whether or not somebody had taken a vomit-inducing pill. How could he be so stupid and full of himself to think that he would be able to fool someone with such a simple trick? This man had probably seen this trick a million times before, he'd be able to recognize the symptoms in a heartbeat. Oh, go, how could he be such an idiot?! This man was probably going to call his brother back any second, and then all of Cloud Recesses would know that Lan Wangji tried to skive out of doing work by making himself throw up. And over his uncle's beloved begonias at that! His reputation would be shattered! Oh, god, he was doomed, he couldn't do something as simple as get out of doing work! And then he wouldn't be able to go to Tangshan, and he would miss the meeting, and then they would start to suspect him, and he would never be able to take down the Flame Chamber, and then he wouldn't be able to swim in peace ever again because he'd always be

"Young Master Lan, do not fret. I shall not tell anyone about this." The old man wryly huffed as if he could hear Wangji's chaotic inner dialogue.

Wangji looked at him with a slight eyebrow raise, while the man laughed again.

"Anybody else, and I would have ousted them and given them harsh punishments. But I am sure you of all people have a relatively good reason to want to skip the first day of lectures. "

Wangji let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. So his plans weren't ultimately thwarted. Although, he'd rather that nobody knew.

"However, I don't remember low body temperature being a side effect of such pills, Master Lan." The man sternly said, while Wangji looked anywhere but at him.

"Young Master Lan, I sense a certain aloofness from you. I hope you don't mind me saying that. If there is a reason behind it, please know that I am here to listen. However, if you can promise me that it is not detrimental to your health in any way, I shan't pry any further. "

Wangji thought about it for a few seconds and then seriously nodded while looking the man in the eyes.

"Well then." The man huffed as if he wasn't expecting that answer.

Well, who would expect that sort of answer?

'Oh, yes, I'm borderline hypothermic, but I'm perfectly healthy'.

"I'll leave you to your own devices in that case." The man ambled over to the door and shut it behind him.

Wangji sharply leaned back, his mind consumed by a whirlwind of thoughts.

That could have gone very badly, he thought to himself.

Well, all he had to do now was lounge about for a whole day and a half, then.

Worse problems to have, really.

Eventually, Wangji just decided to ignore his impeccable body clock and sleep through the entire day and into the next.

By the time he woke up, he assumed that the sect heirs and senior disciples would be arriving at this very moment.

It was his responsibility to assist them in finding their designated chambers and provide support to those who requested it. He would have spent the entire day on his feet, diligently carrying out his tasks and making a valuable contribution.

Right now, he would be preparing for the gift-giving ceremony tomorrow.

And here he was, not helping anyone and lying in bed.

He never thought he would ever think this, but skiving off was one of the best things he had ever done.