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Why does anyone ever let Jin Zixuan speak?

Wei Ying ends up being very nervous in the hours before his date with Lan Zhan. He drops off a-Yuan at his sister's, and the boy is very excited to play with his little cousin, Jin Ling, while Jiang Yanli is positively ecstatic about her didi going out on an actual date. And Wei Ying is happy to have made her happy, until he talks to his brother-in-law.

"So, who is this guy, Wei Wuxian?" Jin Zixuan is big on courtesy names. Wei Ying thinks it's part of his narcissism, thinking of himself as a old-timey lord or something.

"I met him at Target." Wei Ying flinches, expecting Jin Zixuan's judgment and he is not disappointed.

"Really," his brother-in-law's tone is dripping with distaste. "Shouldn't you be more cautious, though? Aren't you a bit famous now? You should really look into these people's backgrounds."

"I know his name," Wei Ying shrugs. "That's enough for me."

"What is it?" Jin Zixuan is typing on his smartphone.

"What?" Wei Ying asks, his patience waning.

"What is his name?" Jin Zixuan enunciates each word in an exaggerated fashion. God, Wei Ying hates him. "I'm sure you haven't even done a basic Google search, have you, didi?"

I'm not your didi, Wei Ying almost barks out but restrains himself. He forces a smile and politely says, "It's Lan Zhan."

"Lan Zhan?" Jin Zixuan whips up his head. "Of Lan & Associates?"

"I don't know?" Wei Ying is surprised. "Do you know him or something?"

"Hold on," Jin Zixuan starts typing furiously, and hands his phone to Wei Ying. "Is this him?"

It's a picture of Lan Zhan, looking very distinguished in a pastel blue suit, his face impassive. But Wei Ying thinks he can see a hint of annoyance in the way his brows are slightly scrunched up. Ah, what a man his Lan Zhan is! Wait, his?

"Stop mooning! Is it him or not?" Jin Zixuan interrupts his reverie.

"Yes, it is him." Wei Ying resists the urge to stick his tongue out at the peacock.

"Fuck!" Jin Zixuan all but yells, eliciting a 'shhh' from Jiang Yanli who has just re-entered the living room.

"A-Xuan! The children could hear you!" She smacks his chest. Ugh, why are they being soft even when she's admonishing him, Wei Ying scowls, looking away.

"A-Li!" Jin Zixuan is practically jumping. "Wei Wuxian has scored the most eligible bachelor in town! Or maybe second-most, at worst!"

"Huh?", the siblings look at each other in confusion.

"Do you remember Lan Wangji, the gentleman we met at last year's gala for starving kids in Africa?" Jin Zixuan asks his wife.

"Ah, Jin Zixuan, you sound a bit too happy about starving kids in Africa, man." Wei Ying quips but Jin Zixuan is uncharacteristically unaffected by the jibe.

"Uh, yes, I think?" Jiang Yanli nods. "He was with his brother and uncle, right?"

"Yes! Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren!" Jin Zixuan finally turns to Wei Ying. "They run the city's top law firm! And Lan Wangji is possibly the best corporate lawyer in the market right now. I can still remember his article in-"

"A-Xian," Jiang Yanli places a hand on her husband's shoulder which is their polite shorthand for shut up for a sec, babe? "He seemed like a nice, polite man when I met him. I'm sure you'll enjoy the date."

"A-jie?" Jiang Yanli's tone alerts Wei Ying. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" She all but squeaks. "It's just that... He seems a bit serious for you? His family is kind of conservative, too."

"Really?" Wei Ying runs his hand through his hair. "He seemed pretty chilled out when I met him... Maybe he's like that in a professional setting?"

"What? No, no, Wei Wuxian, I went to college with him!" Jin Zixuan interrupts. "He's a straight arrow, if there ever was one! I remember he was dating one of the other nerds- um, top guys in our ethics class, this guy called Xiao Xingchen, who is a professor at Harvard now, I think? Yeah, anyway, they dated for like, a year? We all even hung out together, went on double dates," He turns to his wife. "I didn't know you then, sweetheart."

"Your point is?" Wei Ying really feels queasy now and it's definitely not because of a-Yuan's goldfish crackers that he munched on before they left the house.

"Well, it's just that they were together for a long time but they were always very prim and proper with each other and they didn't even seem too affected after they broke up. And Lan Zhan's uncle was actually in favour of the match and everything! So, hard to imagine him with..." Jin Zixuan gives Wei Ying a pointed once-over. "Maybe Lan Zhan has changed. A lot."

Wei Ying really wants to punch the smirk off the man's face. And yet, all he does is politely smile at his perfect sister and her sad excuse of a husband. He thanks them for taking in a-Yuan for the night and heads out.

Everything that Jin Zixuan has told him is whirling around Wei Ying's mind. Lan Zhan seems way out of his league now, much more than he felt last night. Even last night, and before that at Target, he had felt a bit insecure about the handsome man being interested in him, self-described comedic depressive extraordinaire. He looks down at his feet as he walks to the Chinese restaurant they've picked for dinner, which is just three blocks away. A few hours ago, he had thought he looked pretty cute in his light pink cashmere sweater, black slacks, paired with red leather boots that he had borrowed from Nie Huaisang. The boots had a cool dragon on the side and Wei Ying usually felt very confident when he wore them. But now, after looking at Lan Zhan's picture, what with the guy looking like the epitome of grace in his smart-law-person suit, and learning all about his very, very smart ex-boyfriend, Wei Ying almost didn't want to reach the restaurant. Maybe Lan Zhan thinks, he, Wei Ying, is some creative genius artsy-guy because how he looks? And doesn't realize that he actually just writes elaborate jokes for a living? Maybe he thinks Wei Ying is a mature and responsible person, what with him being a father? And fuck, Wei Ying hadn't even brought up the whole 'this is not meant to be casual' thing when he called Lan Zhan last night. The man probably thinks Wei Ying is just down to clown or whatever. Not that someone as cool as Lan Zhan would actually talk like that, not even in his head.

Aiyah, Wei Ying thinks as he gives his name to the maitre d' and is led to a table in the corner of the opulent restaurant, why do we ever let Jin Zixuan speak?