The Last Phoenix

Chapter Four

There was no way he'd dare even glance at such a thing ever again.

No one had known that he snuck Emperor's Smile inside the Cloud Recesses as well.

If his uncle had known, he would've thrown a fit.

Lan Wangji would immediately be punished, whether he lifted a jar to his lips or not. 

Just the smell of it made him grimace.

He didn't understand how Wei Wuxian could enjoy such a wine, or any alcoholic beverage at all. 

If the Prince knew about it, he would most likely be shocked, but also amused, as he had done it multiple times.

He still purchased it outside of the Cloud Recesses, though.

He wanted to take something that reminded him of the Prince, and the wine he hadn't once opened made Lan Wangji think of him without fail.

His brother never punished him, even when he knew he deserved it.

Lan Wangji still believed that Wei Wuxian sees him as a friend. He never thought that Wei Wuxian wanted him to be a friend before he arrived to Yunmeng, but it was much better than nothing at all. 

The Prince was moping around quite a bit when the Princess told him that he was nowhere to be seen.

The hope in his eyes was crushed when Jiang Yanli had told him the opposite of what he asked.

"Did you see Lan Zhan anywhere?!"

Lan Wangji wanted to tell him that he was really there and that he was the one laying down with a sprained foot.

But he felt that saying that would also cause a bit of a scandal.

With multiple people. 

He really didn't want to join Wei Wuxian with the Queen.

By what he knows of her, she hates Wei Wuxian. 

And because of that, Lan Wangji doesn't like her.

"She said that once you can move around again, she wants to talk, Pretty-Gege," the Prince had said at the foot of the bed.

Lan Wangji wanted nothing more than to get up already and leave.

The only time he would do so was to use the bathroom.

Wei Wuxian must've seen the horrified look on his face, because he laughed and added, "She's not so bad!"

Lan Wangji, for the first time, rolled his eyes and told him softly, "She hates you." 

He has spoken with Wei Wuxian quite freely now.

His anxiety had gone down, but when it came to the Prince asking to show him his face, he would become silent. 

The Prince of Yunmeng sighed and rested a hand on Lan Wangji's lap, which definitely made him jump.

All he did was laugh at every reaction he had to his teasing and touches. 

He knew that Wei Wuxian would laugh even more if he could see the red ears.

Lan Wangji could tell that he wanted to take the mask off himself, but he wouldn't dare invade the privacy of someone like him. 

"She does, but she still cares about me!"

Lan Wangji doubted it. He knows she'd throw Wei Wuxian out on the streets if she could and would never let him back in, no matter what.

He never knew the truth about why she hated him, so he couldn't completely judge her.

She may have had a reason.