Revised 04/05/22
The following morning arrived with all possible haste, incurring the worried and fretful hurrying of the guest disciples as they prepared restlessly for the GusuLan lectures that were to come. In the midst of the bustling crowd of various colour was Wei Wuxian, a carefree smile present on his joyful visage, and a fond Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng following in tow.
His bubbly mood seemed to spread to many others who witnessed such a carefree smile; their anxious atmospheres quickly morphing into one of positivity as they gave the Jiangs their greetings, hiding amused chuckles behind coloured sleeves.
Wei Wuxian failed to shove down the incessant grin in his tone, and bright twinkle within his eyes, even as he attempted to wrought forward an air of mystery. "Jiang Cheng, Shijie! You will never guess what happened last night!"
Jiang Wanyin pursed his lips unamusedly, "Okay...? And?"
Jiang Yanli smiled, even as she mercilessly elbowed her brother in the ribs, "You seem very happy this morning. Whatever happened, A-Xian?"
"Well," Wei Wuxian began, eyes glossing over dreamily as he recalled the events from the previous night. "Ah, what a beautiful night it is, thought I, which is why I eventually found myself leaving my room to appreciate the beautiful moonlight."
"Wei Wuxian, you realise you could have gotten punished for that, correct? ...You did read the rules, didn't you?" Jiang Wanyin remarked, an unamused twitch to his lips.
" 'Course, 'course I did," Wei Wuxian waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "So I left my room to venture outside and appreciate the beautiful-"
"As you've already said. Please get to the point-"
"A-Cheng!"
Jiang Cheng released a grunt of discomfort. "Ouch- Jie!! Why did you hit me?"
"Let A-Xian continue. What happened next, A-Xian?"
"I had two jars of Emperor's smile left from when I'd bought them in Caiyi town-"
"Tch, of course you did."
"Jiang Cheng, are you still angry about me not giving you a jar?" Wei Wuxian queried at the other's silence. "So I ventured to a nearby rooftop, and made myself comfortable. Truly a beautiful night, thought I, settling down and tearing the lid from one of the jars. Really, this next part was a coincidence, but-"
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
Wei Wuxian felt his heart stop. Directly meeting his gaze without a hint of discomfort were a pair of glowing golden irises, illuminating the darkness of the night, narrowed in anger as they stared through Wei Wuxian's soul, as if picking him apart piece by piece and disclosing his every secret with a mere glance.
Wei Wuxian's breath unconsciously hitched as he caught a whiff of sandalwood among the gentle breeze of the night; it blew the pair's ebony locks into the wind, as if defiantly flowing against time's rhythm with a valour known to few. The new presence was seemingly a Lan, for their attire and forehead was adorned with the colours of the clan, clouds embroidered into the fabric with a graceful nature that only proved to enhance his beauty.
"Uh, Wei Wuxian, did you just fall in love with someone you just met? Please tell me you didn't, because I am not having you married into another clan and leaving me to run the sect alone. And no, before you request a formal marriage, my answer remains the same."
Jiang Yanli rolled her eyes with a slight chuckle, "A-Cheng, always so dramatic. You know how A-Xian is; a romantic such as he wouldn't..." She slowly took in Wei Wuxian's dreamy expression, and added, "...A-Xian, don't tell me you.. A-Xian?"
"Um.... Hello!!"
The beautiful man with beautiful eyes and beautiful hair spoke–and OH, what a beautiful voice he had– "Who are you?"'
"I am Yuandao!" Wei Wuxian nodded with a serious expression as he continued, "I have come on an adventure to your humble abode. Apologies for my infiltration, however, I-"
"What in the Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian? Yuandao?! Did you just- Go away, this is embarrassing. Just wait until mother and father hear of this."
Lan Wangji's glare intensified ten thousandfold as he raised his sword threateningly, "Who. Are. You."
Wei Wuxian gasped, dramatically clutching a hand to his chest and squeezing it tightly, "I, Wei Ying, merely wished to enjoy the beauty of such a fine night, drinking wine and forgetting my sorrows under the moonlight! Surely someone such as you wouldn't attack me for such an... such an innocent thing!"
"Wei Ying..." Lan Wangji murmured, eyes flickering in recognition. "You are Wei Wuxian of the YunmengJiang clan?"
Wei Wuxian gasped once more, "You... You know me?! You?!"
"And of course it's Lan Wangji," Jiang Wanyin cried, raising his hands in a dramatic gesture. "Of course. You're dead. You're so dead, Wei Wuxian."
"A-Cheng!" Jiang Yanli chided, "I'm sure Lan-er-gongzi... didn't mind."
"Jie, you really are too partial, you know that? He just introduced himself as Yuandao and broke who-knows-how-many-rules?! Are we even talking about the same person here?!"
"Alcohol is forbidden in Cloud Recess," Lan Wangji voiced. "As well as leaving your quarters at such a late hour. Please return, I will see for your punishment in the morning."
"Eh? Forbidden?" Wei Wuxian scrunched his nose in distaste. "Who would forbid such a thing? They've got to be really crazy..."
Lan Wangji, however, recoiled in shock, something that was quickly replaced with a flare of anger. "Insulting elders, triple guilty."
Wei Wuxian pursed his lips in obvious regret. While he wanted to tease the older(or would it be younger?) Lan, he never intended to incur such a hateful gaze, really.. Angering him had never been part of the plan, anyways. "You are the Second Young Master of the GusuLan clan, correct?"
"...."
"Well, as a fellow Young Master–" The title burned like acid as it escaped Wei Wuxian's mouth. "–surely you understand such a worldly desire as drinking. But really, I heard that Gusu's 'Emperor's Smile' tastes absolutely divine, which is why I propose that you let me have a little sip and only then will you arrest me. Deal?"
"Attempting to bribe a law enforcer. Quadruple guilty."
Wei Wuxian exhaled a loud huff before pursing his lips into a pout. "So you really won't let me get away, will you?"
He sent the other a cheeky grin before running backwards with the intention to escape. Lan Wangji, as expected, began to follow him with newfound vigour, swords unsheathed as the pair sprinted across the rooftops, blades colliding repeatedly, resounding throughout the otherwise silent night.
Wei Wuxian eventually snugly seated himself down on one of the buildings' rooftops, and, tearing open the lid to one of the jars, he chugged the contents into his mouth messily. He paid no mind for the remains that trickled down his neck, into his clothes, and down his chest–'on second thought, he'd have to get that washed later.'
Lan Wangji stood there and watched, helplessly, as the young teenager who had overpowered him broke rule after rule; something that terrified him to the very core.
"Uncle will hear about this..!"
Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes with a snicker, pausing in his actions to speak, "Tell your uncle; tell your brother; tell everyone! Because I. Don't. Care!! I don't care what you do!"
Lan Wangji simply stood there speechlessly, "....!!!"
"Wei Wuxian, you really have guts." Jiang Cheng sneered. "Daring to provoke one of the twin jades.. You're looking for death!"
Wei Wuxian grinned, "Jiang Cheng, If that's looking for death, then I'd already be dead too many times to count!"
"Yeah, mostly by the hand of me!!" Jiang Wanyin countered, chasing after the giggling Wei Wuxian as they made their way to the Orchid Room.
* * *
The lectures began with a Lan reading out the many 3000 rules to the guest disciples, who were visibly growing increasingly bored by the second. Wei Wuxian, having been punished to copy them multiple times in his past life, could proudly say that knew them off by heart and could recite them without a pointer nor the use of a scroll.
Another yawn escaped his throat, and he hastily covered it with a hand as a pose to hide his boredom from the Lans. 'I didn't get enough sleep last night. Maybe I should take a nap later..'
On the spur of the moment, successfully interrupting Wei Wuxian's thoughts, the sound of a bird's gentle chirping failed to escape his notice as he instinctively glanced towards the source of the sound. Beside him, in the dark colours of the Nie clan, was Nie Huaisang, his young visage innocent and carefree, an obvious contrast to the he from after the war.
Wei Ying furrowed his brows, teeth pulling at his lip as he tried to remember how they first conversed as friends. 'Ah, this was when I first met Huaisang, wasn't it? Now just how did I start this conversation...?'
After exhaling a heavy sigh, he flashed a smile at the (not so) timid boy, "What's this?"
Huaisang glanced around the room, as if to check whether someone was looking, before he said in a small whisper, "I found a Canary on the way. What do you think? Isn't it nice?"
"Yeah. Pretty cool." Wei Wuxian replied, leaning forwards to get a better view of the bird. At the same time, however, he felt the presence of a stare burning through his back; someone was watching him.
Knowing who it was before he even looked at them, Wei Wuxian grinned, sending a sly wave to Lan Wangji. The Lan scoffed(!!) before expressionlessly turning away, his glare not yet subsiding.
Watching their interaction, Jiang Wanyin couldn't help but think, 'And there he goes, annoying Lan Wangji... Wait, is Wei Wuxian a cutsleeve? There's no way... He can't be! Wei Wuxian is not a cutsleeve!'
Jiang Wanyin eventually decided that Wei Wuxian, in fact, was not a cutsleeve, and (as much as it pained him to admit) he was simply being ignorant and delusional.
* * *