The more serious he was, the more Wei WuXian couldn't suppress the desire to make mischief within him.
He knocked lightly on the black porcelain bowl with his finger, letting out crisp sounds only the two of them could pick up. Hearing the noise, Lan WangJi's eyes moved a few unnoticeable inches towards him.
Wei WuXian knew that no matter how much Lan WangJi's eyes shifted, he wouldn't miss a single movement of his through the corner of his eye. And so, he lifted the bowl and pretended to take a sip. Turning it in his hand, he stopped where Lan WangJi drank, and covered the edge of the bowl with his lips.
As expected, although Lan WangJi's hands were originally placed properly on his lap, right now his position still hadn't changed, but the fingers quietly hidden underneath the white sleeves curled up slightly.
Seeing this, Wei WuXian felt his heart grow wings. Momentarily relaxed, he was just about to lean against Lan WangJi uncontrollably when a harsh cough suddenly came from Lan QiRen. Wei WuXian immediately straightened his half-slanted body, returning to the proper seating posture.
Only a while after the soup had been finished was the main course finally brought forth. On every table were three dishes placed in small plates, either green or white. They were no different from the food served when Wei WuXian was studying here. After all these years, apart from the increasing bitterness, there was no change at all. Partly because of geography and partly because of personality, Wei WuXian liked strong tastes, especially spice, and regarded meat as a necessity. When faced with such plain dishes, he didn't really didn't have an appetite, munching them down without even knowing what he ate. Meanwhile, Lan QiRen's eyes swept by once in awhile, glaring at him just like back when he taught him, ready to pick on him and make him leave at all time. It was because Wei WuXian was abnormally well-behaved that he couldn't do anything and had to give up.
After the tasteless meal, the servants took away the plates and tables. As usual, Lan XiChen started to summarize the recent plans for the sect. But after listening for just a few sentences, Wei WuXian began to feel that he was a bit absent-minded. He even remembered two night-hunting locations wrong and didn't realize after he spoke, causing Lan QiRen to throw a couple of sideway looks at him and puff his goatee into the air. A while later, he finally couldn't help but interrupt him. Fortunately, the sect banquet finally ended, although somewhat hastily.
A dreary beginning, a dreary process, and a dreary ending-Wei WuXian was forced to be dreary for over two hours. There was neither delicious food nor good entertainment. It was so suffocating that he felt he'd had fleas on his body for half a year. And even afterwards, Lan QiRen strictly called Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi away, likely going to give them a lecture again, and two of them at once at that. He had no-one to mess with. After he strolled around a bit, he spotted a few juniors walking together. Just as he was about to greet them and snatch them away to have some fun, however, something changed on Lan SiZhui, Lan JingYi, and the rest of the juniors' faces the moment they saw him. They spun around and proceeded to leave.
Wei WuXian understood. He ventured to a somewhat more secluded piece of woods. He waited for a while, and the kids from back then finally snuck out again. Lan JingYi, "Senior Wei, we did not ignore you on purpose, but Sir said anyone whoever talks to you will copy the Lan Sect's rules from top to bottom..."
'Sir' was the honorific by which all disciples and cultivators of the GusuLan Sect referred to Lan QiRen. Any mention of 'Sir' meant him and only him. Wei WuXian gloated, "It's fine, I knew. It's not the first day your Sir is fireproof, thief-proof, and Wei-Ying-proof. You've seen his success rates? He probably feels like his well-nurtured cabbage was dug up by a pig*. It's only natural he's a bit more fiery than usual, hahahaha..."
