Solstice Souls Book 2: Black Fire, White Flame

Soul Searching

Lan Zhan's POV

Baoshan Sanren entered, a cheeky smile playing upon her lips.

"Just checking." she smirked.

"We're not kissing all the time!" Wei Ying protested, his face redder than a ruby.

Since Lan Zhan was fifty percent responsible too, he looked down, his ears on fire.

"So...are you gonna tell me what that was back there?" She was looking at Lan Zhan now, a shrewd glint in her eyes.

Wei Ying stood in front of Lan Zhan, arms crossed over his chest in a defensive pose.

"No. We don't have to tell you everything, Grandma." And then he bowed as well, to lessen the effect of his impudent words.

Baoshan Sanren was so shocked, she sputtered out a laugh, and then she followed it up with a flick of her finger against Wei Ying's forehead.

"Watch your mouth, A-Xian! You're still a baby to me, and don't you forget it." she says incredulously. "You know..." She taps her nose, thoughtfully. "He wasn't like this before...not until he met you." She points a finger at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan steps back unconsciously, looking anywhere but at her.

"Grandmother, don't bully him." Wei Ying says, in that flirty way of his.

"Very well." She laughs once more. "I'll let you off this time, but just make sure you don't lose control again. Sort yourself out, up here." She taps the side of her own head. "And what happened to him?" She jerks her chin towards Jiang Fengmian who has passed out on the floor.

"He clocked out soon after you all left. I swear! I didn't touch him!" Wei Ying says with a naughty grin. "But to tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson or two. How can he be a Sect Leader and make such bad choices?" He shakes his head disapprovingly.

"Will he remember any of this?" Lan Zhan asks Baoshan Sanren.

"Hmm...honestly speaking, I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine." she admits reluctantly.

"Well then, now is your chance. Wei Ying will never get another opportunity as good as this one." Lan Zhan bends and whispers this in his ear.

Wei Ying turns around in surprise, eyes wide with shock.

"He's not wrong." Baoshan Sanren beams at them. "It would be a shame if he hurt his head after drinking too much and started hallucinating...and what a pity that there's no way to prove whatever he ends up thinking..." she tuts in fake sympathy.

"But I'll feel bad." Wei Ying shakes his head at them. "And someone has to be the adult. I don't even know what's happening to you two!"

"Sweet boy...what he did to you, it is unforgivable. His actions will not go unpunished, mark my words." She's utterly serious as she cradles Wei Ying's face in the palm of her hand. "And this is how we both feel. We're just encouraging you to let go of pent up feelings...that's all." She winks at Lan Zhan as if he is her co-conspirator.

Wei Ying nuzzles closer, smiling.

"There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you." She adds fiercely, her voice thick with emotions.

"I know, grandmother. I...I missed you." Wei Ying admits.

Lan Zhan likes watching them. These interactions remind him of when he was younger and his mother showed him care and showered him with love. Maternal figures have been strangely absent from his life ever since his mother passed away.

"Mother! Aren't you coming?" Cangse Sanren pokes her head around the corner, grinning at them. She waves the cups in her one hand, and the two jars of wine she can hold in the other. "We're going to play drinking games!" she says with a snicker. "Wanna join us?" She's looking at Wei Ying, but the invitation is open to both of them.