One Night Changed Everything (PAUSED)

1

Wei Wuxian blushes and hides his face shyly "Hush, don't say things like that its embarrassing."

Bai Zhi laughs and grabs his hand, walks to the door of the hotel and calls for the car to take them to the party. "You are so cute when you blush" he whispers as he waits for Wei Wuxian to get into the car. He gets in and Bai Zhi closes the door and get in on the other side.

Wei Wuxian looks out the window and sees the scenery change from the city center to more neighborhoods and then to luxury homes until they get to the mansions and estates on the outskirts of the city. He turns to his boyfriend "Wow you said this guy was a high-paying client but I didn't think he was stinking rich, it looks like he has more money than my uncle. These houses are probably twice the size of our house, damn babe you really got a good client with this guy. You will be a well-known artist in no time with this guy backing you and buying your pieces, I'm really proud of you." He smiles at his boyfriend feeling really happy for his future success.

Bai Zhi nods smiling "Yeah I lucked out with this guy, he is loaded and is willing to spend his money on all kinds of art including some of the more risqué pieces I have drawn." He wiggles his eyebrows at Wei Wuxian.

He grimaces "Oh he likes that kind of stuff? I mean, if you have a buyer beggars can't be choosers at our level right now but I still don't see how you can draw all of that stuff, I would be mortified if I even tried to draw anime porn. I'm not knocking you or anything, you have paying clients for your work and that's fantastic but I personally just couldn't do it."

Bai Zhi taps Wei Wuxian's nose "That is why I have more clients than you do, it's alright though, it's what has allowed us to go on this trip and pay my bills. As long as I have clients willing to pay me for my artwork, I will keep drawing it. Sooner or later, I will be able to sell my serious works and not have to do the anime porn anymore to get a paycheck."

Mr. Lan, we should be at Mr. Li's home in just a few minutes is there a set time that you would like for me to call you to retrieve you?"

Lan Wangji looks up from his phone "No, I will call you when I am ready to leave, I would prefer it if you remained close though so that I can leave at a moment's notice. I don't like gatherings and I hate parties but this is a potential client with a large contract at stake and I want this project."

The driver nods "Very good, I will find a place to park and make sure we are not blocked in so we can leave whenever you are ready."

He nods then puts the phone to his ear "Lan Jingyi tell me again why I have to attend this party. This could have been taken care of at his office instead of a party."

"Hanguang Jun, he insisted, he said he likes to get to know the people he works with on a personal level so he can better judge who they really are. It should be a pretty bland party, he said it was a pleasure party so it's probably nothing more than cocktails and snacks. A bunch of stuffed shirts talking about boring crap er I mean business stuff and you can leave in like an hour tops."

Lan Wangji sighs "Remind me again why you are my assistant instead of Lan Sizhui?"

Sounding indignant he huffs "Because he is Zewu Jun's assistant and I'm the only other junior qualified to know business secrets and junk. So, you got me and it's rude to say you want Sizhui instead of me, it makes me feel like you don't value me as an assistant and that hurts Hanguang Jun, it really does."

Lan Wangji sighs "Alright I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like it sounded. Take the rest of the night off and I will speak to you tomorrow."

Lan Jingyi scoffs "Fine, have fun at your boring party, I will talk to you tomorrow."

Lan Wangji shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. He loves the kid to death, but he is just so rambunctious, they just don't mesh well. He is right though, he is the only other one that has been trained to be an assistant at the firm. He puts a note on his phone to make sure that one of the senior architects takes the time to train a few more people in case something happens and Jingyi can't perform his duties. They need at least two backups trained in case either he or Sizhui cannot be there to do the job.

The car pulls up to the mansion and there are lights on in every room making the mansion look lively. He looks over the soft off white marble and sighs resigned to getting this over with as quickly as possible. The driver opens his door and he steps out of the car and walks up the stairs to the entryway.

A man in an expensive Italian suit greets him with a bow "Mr. Lan I'm so glad you could join me this evening, I'll be honest I am quite surprised that you would agree to attend this kind of thing, you don't seem the type."

"Mr. Li thank you for inviting me to your home, indeed, I don't often find myself at gatherings such as this but how could I refuse such a kind offer for you to host me at your home? I think we can both agree that collaboration is beneficial for both of us." He nods politely.

Mr. Li smiles "I did not expect such eloquence from someone of your age. I find that those of us who are older tend to misjudge the youth of today. You are what? Twenty and yet you comport yourself as if you were someone ten years or more your senior. I like that, it shows that you have the maturity to handle business seriously."

Lan Wangji nods and bows slightly "Yes I am twenty and I feel that I am not your typical twenty-year-old, I have been head of our firm for two years now and I have nearly tripled our business in that time. We can talk more about this later, I see you have more guests arriving."

Mr. Li smiles at him and waves his hand "Yes please come in, enjoy yourself, we can always discuss business at another time."