He was not pleased. Of course he was not. Then again, when was Lan Qiren ever actually pleased in anything which Wei Ying did? The answer was never. Not that Wei Ying had ever truly cared whether or not Lan Qiren got mad at him. Everyone always got mad at him, and it should have been no surprised to anyone that a person like Wei Ying coming into the Cloud Recesses, where there were 3000 rules was a bad idea in general. Not that Wei Ying was not happy for the knowledge which Lan Qiren had imparted, or the library which, despite the belief of many, Wei Ying had indeed made use of, but the other always had held some sort of grudge against him. Though he may not know what that grudge was, he could not really bring himself to care all that much either. He figured if the other was ever so determined to hate him, he would, and that there was very little, and next to nothing for Wei Ying to do that would change the other's mind, so why really bother? Some people simply refused to see what they were doing, and the hypocrisy in themselves.
Still, he had to admit, firing the other up was incredibly fun. It also helped that he managed to gain several reactions all in one! Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren. Lan Zhan was as emotionless as usual. Though Wei Ying swore that he saw a sort of slightly annoyed look and narrowed eyes shoved his way for a mere second before the blank face was once more replaced.
They were both soaked to the bone. This had been Wei Ying's intention, of course. Then again, he himself had not intended to get wet, but he wanted to mess with Lan Zhan! He always wanted to mess with Lan Zhan and these ways were always the best. Plus it was getting sort of stifling. Nobody was talking, they were just marching forwards. It was unnerving to him, so he did what he did best, in all ways...he caused a distraction. Lan Zhan was the perfect victim for this distraction too. In many ways, and for many reasons. Not at all the most being the fact that Lan Zhan looked absolutely godly whilst wet. Not that he did. Wei Ying would deny vehemently if any asked him that he actually believed seeing HanGuang-Jun soaked actually was incredibly wonderful of a sight, which only the gods themselves would be able to do better. Then again, there were times which Wei Ying was certain that Lan Zhan was secretly a god, and decided to just hide his identity. It made a ton of sense.
Lan Zhan held his hand out, and grasped Wei Ying's wrist, gently pulling him up and out of the water.
"Why did you do that?" Lan Xichen asked, knowing that his brother would not do so. His brother would simply go along with anything which Wei Ying did, unless perhaps they were in the privacy of their own rooms. Besides, Lan Xichen was actually curious about why Wei Ying had actually done such a thing.
"I dunno. Lan Zhan was tense. I wanted to loosen him up." Lan Xichen blinked, mind blank. For a moment, he could not even understand what in the world it was that Wei Ying was actually saying. Lan Zhan had been...tense? He had not even noticed. It was not something that he was used to, having someone else manage to read his brother better than himself.
"Tense?" Lan Xichen asked once more, hoping for a bit of clarification. This was something which Wei Ying gladly provided not too soon after Lan Xichen asked.
"Yes, did you not noticed?" Wei Ying asked, with a tilt of his head. Indeed, Lan Zhan had been a bit tense. He was nervous about what others in the Cloud Recesses would think, but more importantly, he was worried about Wei Ying. The other had been acting so helplessly normal that Lan Zhan could not help but wonder how long he had been forced to act normal. He was worried about how many times Wei Ying had woken up scared and alone. How often Wei Ying had woken with a scream in his throat and tears flooding his vision. He was curious how often it was that Wei Ying was left to suffer alone, scared, and panic clawing at his throat. How often he was forced to push past it, push past all of the negative things just to help others around him. He was worried about Wei Ying. He was worried and scared for the other, and there was this fear that Lan Zhan would be unable to help him right. It terrified him that he may be unable to help Wei Ying.
It was that fear that Wei Ying felt. It was that uncertainty which Wei Ying tried to distract him from. Though Lan Zhan was grateful for it, the fear did not go away entirely. Nor did the uncertainty. He was worried for Wei Ying. He did not even have to know what happened among the Wen Clan to know it was bad, to know that it had traumatized Wei Ying beyond anything which had happened to him before. He could see it. He could see it in the way Wei Ying desperately called out his name in his sleep. He could see it in the way that Wei Ying followed his movements with his eyes, watching him carefully. He could see it in the way that Wei Ying watched him, ever so carefully, and obeyed him, quickly, and barely with a question or a comment. He noticed it in how Wei Ying shunned all physical contact that was not him. He noticed it in the way Wei Ying was quieter, his voice was softer, more uncertain of himself, more...more timid. Lan Zhan did not need to know what Wei Ying had gone through during his short time with the Wen clan to know that it was bad, whatever it was. He did not need to know to know he would fight to protect him.
Lan Xichen only answered with a smile.
Perhaps he did not know Lan Zhan as much as he had believed he had. Or perhaps Lan Zhan had changed more than he had seen.
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The Dark's Light
قصص الهواةWei Wuxian was a mischievous person. Everyone knew it. Upon going into the Coud Recesses to attend the 3 month lecture, this was something Lan Zhan had learned well, especially since he himself was often the target. Still, Wei Wuxian was definitely...
