Wild Creatures

Chapter 142

"Well, I'm glad he reminded you about what he had hidden away from you." Wei Ying tells her.

"So am I, Haizi. So am I."

"Do you think he was just waiting for us to discover what the HeartStone could do, like he knew we would need the extra help so he hung around? And now that he's kind of gone, do you think he'll be reborn again? And if so, would you consider meeting him again?" Wei Ying is as usual, thinking on his feet. His words have tumbled out as soon as he had that idea, and it's clearly something his grandmother hasn't considered before.

"That's such a lot of 'what ifs'!" She's astounded, and Wei Ying thinks it's good that she hasn't actually dismissed the idea. She taps the side of her nose thoughtfully. "I really don't know. I wouldn't mind having him as a companion in my life," she muses, getting used to the thought. "But I doubt I would want more than that now. People change and grow, and so do their needs." She pockets the love letter and closes the hidden drawer.

Wrapping the box again in the red silk brocade, she hands it over to Wei Ying.

"Think of this as an early wedding present from me."

"Grandmother! We can't!" Wei Ying tries to give it back to her, but she gently pushes it into his chest.

It's clearly such a personal item to her, and her selfless gesture feels too much.

"Listen, child. The person who made this gift has passed away, the person who this gift was made for, has also passed away. I have no attachment to it anymore, and that being the case, I sincerely believe it belongs to you now, both of you. Use it as it was intended to be enjoyed, and make new memories. That is all."

She leaves them sitting there in a cloud of her sweet floral perfume, the only evidence of her ever having been there.

******************

"No."

"Please, Didi! It's tradition. You cannot see your intended until you marry. Wei Ying will sleep with either myself or Uncle in one of our adjoining rooms, and you can stay here." XiChen wasn't going to budge on this.

"I don't like it."

"WangJi-"

"XiChen-Ge, please, can I talk to him?" Wei Ying enters the room, already dressed in his pyjamas.

"Very well. I shall be right outside," XiChen says, and they know it should be taken as the warning it is.

No hanky panky.

But the moment he steps outside of Lan Zhan's room, Wei Ying gently pushes Lan Zhan to sit on his bed. Then he climbs on top of him, straddling his lap.

"My love-"

Lan Zhan pouts.

Wei Ying is here in his arms, freshly showered and filling his senses with warm vanilla and bergamot, perhaps a mix of his body wash. He is everything Lan Zhan could possibly want, and admittedly, personal time with just the two of them has been sadly lacking, these past few weeks.

It's not fair. He does not want to spend even a single second away from Wei Ying, and in his mind, it really should not matter, especially since neither of them are innocent in the traditional meaning of the word, and that being the case, there should not be a reason they have to sleep separately, Lan Zhan thinks petulantly.

Wei Ying covers Lan Zhan's mouth with his hand, giggling brightly.

It remains Lan Zhan's favourite sound in the world.

It's right up there, next to the way Wei Ying smells of vanilla and lotus flowers. Though the boys are very close to it, and the girls might even be beating them because they have that clean, newborn scent that all babies do.