Letting go of self-restraint 5 - Great happiness in a small package

Chapter 35

Jiang Cheng just arrived at the Koi Tower with Wen Ning. Their journey had been uneventful and their welcome warm. He was looking forward to the second birthday of his older nephew very much. The party was scheduled for the evening and everyone was running around in a frenzy of last-minute preparations.

He even brought a gift, although a different one that he had initially had in mind. He had prepared a skilfully carved wooden sword at first. But Wen Ning had kept him from the idea saying Jin Ling was still too small to play with it yet. Instead, he was left with a stuffed dog toy. Also a good choice, if you asked him, the child would for sure love it. He had had when he had been younger. He also had a surprise gift for A-Yuan – an adorable and delicate stuffed bunny toy – so his younger nephew would not feel left out even if it was not his birthday just yet, he still had a few months left to that occasion.

However, not everything was all perfect, it was simply in the air. One figure was missing in order to make their sibling reunion complete. No one said anything aloud but it was clear that it was on all their minds. The question was simple really, would Wei Wuxian come to the party or not? Would he be fine or would he be beaten by his fears and not able to leave the Cloud Recesses?

As soon as Jiang Yanli with Jin Ling in her arms was called away to check on the status of the preparations, Jiang Cheng finally let himself show his worry. And just like always, it came out us grumbling and harsh words. Though he could not fool anyone, the only person with him now was Wen Ning and he knew him only too well.

"I swear, just where is that idiot brother of mine with his always obnoxiously caring husband and little A-Yuan? Are they keeping my nephew away from me? I hope he is just going to show up fashionably late and let me scold him within an inch of his life. Both Yanli and A-Ling will be sad if they do not come. If that idiot is hiding in the Jingshi, I should go and drag him here."

Wen Ning, the perfect husband he was discretely put a hand onto his lower back and started massaging it to calm him down. He must have also been worried about Wei Wuxian but still chose to keep his mind clear, unlike Jiang Cheng's.

"Now, now, A-Cheng. There is no need to go to such lengths. I am sure Young Master Wei, Second Young Master Lan and A-Yuan are already on their way here as we speak. You read his last letter too, did you not? He was saying that he would not miss the birthday celebration for the world."

Jiang Cheng was not completely convinced, so Wen Ning continued presenting sound arguments and making him realize how foolishly he had sounded in his worry: "Anyway, if you went to retrieve him now, and he was already flying here, you would just miss both him and the whole party. We should just sit tight and wait for him. Second Young Master Lan will take care of him on the way."

That was true and Jiang Cheng had to relent in the face of pure logic: "Wen Ning is right. Even if I flew at full speed and searched the skies, I would not be able to easily find three people out there. It does not mean however that I am not worried about that idiot. If he is once again overthinking everything and had gotten cold feet, he would hear it from me for not coming and making A-Ling sad on his birthday."

He huffed in acknowledgement of his husband's words and it made Wen Ning smile softly at him. Sometimes, the Omega reminded him of Jiang Yanli so much it was almost unfair. And he knew as well as her how to struck him in the best spot and make him calm down at every occasion.

"Should we go inside now? I believe there is a small boy who is waiting for his birthday present." Wen Ning half teased half asked him, waiting patiently for his decision.

Right at that moment, as Jiang Cheng was looking up at the sky one last time before he would begrudgingly agree to go meet Jin Ling, he saw something appear in the distance. At first, he thought it was just a bird, it was a very small point and very far away. It was all he needed to stop and remain in place, waiting to either confirm or refute his hope that his brother was finally coming. And indeed, it did not even take a whole minute for the point to become bigger, an unmistakeable sign that it was no bird at all, but rather an approaching cultivator. Or several of them flying closely to each other.

After another minute, the point became two, one black and one white. There was no doubt on his mind at this point about who was coming. Wen Ning stood by his side the whole time, squinting his eyes so he would be able to see better. Soon, they could even recognize the features of the already known figures as they were approaching closer and closer: Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and A-Yuan had arrived.

A weight of worries was lifted from Jiang Cheng's shoulders at once. Despite his earlier comment about going to fetch his brother himself, he was glad that Wei Wuxian could come of his own accord. It meant that he was finally getting over whatever trauma had kept him cooped up in the Jingshi for so long. Jiang Cheng was happy for him. And for Jin Ling who would now have a playmate and would surely have the time of his life showing his home to a very curious A-Yuan.

The rest of the two days of celebration became a blur for the Yunmeng Jiang sect leader. Later, he would only remember Jin Ling and A-Yuan toddling around under supervision of their parents and playing with the stuffed toys Jiang Cheng had brought as gifts. There were also a lot of good food and alcohol, just as you would expect from the lavish and rich Lanling Jin sect. He also had long conversations with just about anyone, Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan included. All in all, it was a great celebration and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it very much.

Jiang Cheng would never admit it aloud that he was sad two days later when came the moment to say goodbye to his siblings. Their time together had been truly enjoyable and two days seemed like too little to properly catch up on everything that was going on in their lives. Moreover, the children were growing up so fast that he was afraid the next time he would see them, they would already be starting their cultivation training.

However, the separation could not be helped. They each had their own sect to take care of and their duties would not wait for them forever. Well, Wei Wuxian's maybe could – Lan Wangji was probably pampering his husband so much that he was doing everything in his stead – but Jiang Cheng's surely were not. Being a sect leader was no small task, never mind the still ongoing restructuration of the mess his parents had left him with.

He felt Wen Ning's hands coming to hold him around his waist as he waited for the other to mound the sword with him. Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately for Jiang Cheng? – the Omega did not have enough spiritual energy to fly back to Lotus Pier on his own. The Yunmeng Jiang sect leader was going to enjoy this as well. It was one of his small pleasures to be able to carry his husband on his sword and show him that he could take care of him in any situation.

"A-Cheng, do not forget!" his brother shouted after him when he was taking into the sky. "You have to come to the Cloud Recesses for A-Yuan's birthday party."

The invitation was well received on Jiang Cheng's part and he could not keep a smile from appearing on his lips. He would get to see his nephews soon after all. It was a deal and he was already planning whom he would leave the command of the Yunmeng Jiang sect to in his absence.