Once upon a lifetime

New Beginnings - Part one

"I'll do that," he said determinedly, nodding his head.

Lan Wangji regarded him. "Wei Ying, let's go to the lecture. It should be starting in a few minutes, and we should be on time if we are quick."

Lan Wangji said that as though they were far away, but really, it took only a few steps for them to actually get there. The disciples were swarming in, the five colours of the major Clans blending in and looking very vibrant amongst the sea of white, which was the Lan Clan.

He skipped in happily, then sat down without a whisper, and it was as though he was a ghost. Even Nie Huaisang, who was seated right next to him, took a few minutes before his eyes registered who was there, and he snapped his neck in his direction so quickly Wei Wuxian winced.

"Y- You!" he exclaimed, waving his closed fan at him, at a loss for words. "Wei-Xiong!"

"Hi!" said Wei Wuxian happily, waving his hand very quickly.

He turned his head, and he saw his Shijie staring at him already, her eyes glassy and she looked like she was about to cry from happiness. Although, the lecture had already started, and she clearly didn't dare speak. All she did was smile at him warmly and mouth his name in that familiar manner that never failed to make him grin.

"Ghosts are conniving spirits, created only from the souls of dead humans. In order to sustain their incorporeal form, they must frighten a person until their consciousness fades with fear," said Lan Qiren monotonously. "This means the person's spirit will surge, giving the Ghost an easy opportunity to suck out their Yang energy. The most practical way to defeat a ghost is to use a certain talisman such as this, however..."

Wei Wuxian droned out Lan Qiren's aging voice and glanced around the room. He found a few wide eyes staring at him, such as Jiang Cheng's, to which he either waved at or blew a kiss to. In the end, he looked at Lan Wangji, and was surprised to see his eyes already on Wei Wuxian.

For some reason, Wei Wuxian felt immensely embarrassed and didn't dare flirt with him. Instead, in a moment of inspiration, he summoned a small paperman talisman and sent it across the classroom and onto Lan Wangji's hand.

Lan Wangji looked back at the front of the Orchid Room, and Wei Wuxian grinned as he started playing with Lan Wangji's fingers on the table. They were long, thin and dexterous, and though Wei Wuxian was no master, he could confidently and appreciatively say they were quite pretty. Then he climbed up his sleeve, barely holding onto the thin outer robe, but as Lan Wangji sat as straight as one's back could allow, he inadvertently slipped down the robe and lost his grip.

Before he could fall, Lan Wangji quickly caught the talisman in his hand and gently brought it to his shoulder. Wei Wuxian giggled, making the paperman walk towards his ear and he whispered into it: "Er-Gege, this Wei Ying is really so bored! What can he do to entertain himself?"

When Lan Wangji didn't reply, Wei Wuxian used the paperman's small hands and he started playing with Lan Wangji's long hair. He was messing around quite a lot and almost pulled on Lan Wangji's forehead ribbon; Lan Wangji appeared to realise this, for he huffed and grabbed the paperman, then put it down on his shoulder once more.

"Lan Zhan, you're smiling!" Wei Wuxian exclaimed with glee. It wasn't much of a smile, but his lips were slightly curled, and if that wasn't progress, then Wei Wuxian was not surnamed Wei! He quickly reached forward and the paperman's thin hands climbed Lan Wangji's face and pulled on his lip. Really, Wei Wuxian had just meant to tap the corners to prove a point to Lan Wangji, but for some reason, when touching the lip, Wei Wuxian felt as though he had just done a very intimate act and he stopped, quickly climbing off of Lan Wangji.