Wednesday starts off ordinarily.
There is nothing to signify that anything extraordinary is going to happen, or the repercussions of what is going to happen will be such a small discovery.
It is like throwing a small pebble into a still lake and watching the ripples continuously affecting the surface.
The pebble was probably not even aware of its impact; neither was it in any way in control of what would happen. It is an unwilling and ignorant participant in the whole act…and such is the case of certain people.
Hindsight would certainly beg the question: had anyone known what would occur from each single act of theirs, would they have continued to behave in the same way?
The Game of Life has always been a gamble.
But even if everyone plays to win, there can only be one winner… and someone else has to be the loser.
Such is the law of dynamics.
And Balance is the Key.
Breakfast time in the Wei family apartment is always a rushed affair. It has and probably always will be such.
Discreet and hurried kisses which mean more now with the added ingredients of love and desire are scattered in between getting ready for the school run.
When Wei Ying returns, domestic duties fuel the usage of the limited time available.
Lan Zhan makes Wei Ying a packed lunch to take with him to his first job, and then the rest of the time is spent going grocery shopping and tidying up the apartment.
It's past three when Lan Zhan finally gets a chance to sit down and examine the curious pictures of last night, which are on his phone.
The symbol seems to be incredibly important.
Why would someone go to such extreme lengths to use a special paint? Obviously, to only appear to those who would suspect its existence…to those actively searching for it…but what does it mean?
A short vertical line with an upside down smile, and two dots underneath.
This is frustrating on a whole other level because Lan Zhan knows it must be crucial.
Like having a name on the tip of his tongue, the answer is just out of reach…
He hears Wei Ying coming up the steps just as Lan Zhan boots up the computer. He leaps over the couch so that he's by the door exactly when it opens. He gets to see the beautiful shock in those lovely silver eyes, just before Lan Zhan pushes him up against the back of the door.
It is an unspoken agreement to kiss.
Wei Ying is pliant in his arms and they both let out a groan of satisfaction when he jumps up into Lan Zhan’s arms. Wei Ying is a welcome weight in his hands and Lan Zhan loves the simplicity of this: the feeling that everything important to him is right here.
Wei Ying deepens the kiss with his added height, and Lan Zhan is lost in this tender embrace. The scent of vanilla and lotus flowers lingers all around him, intoxicating and mesmerising. All of his attention is on this lovely man, gorgeous and captivating. Lan Zhan is consumed with need, his lips kissing down a silky throat.
"Um…Lan Zhan…?" Wei Ying breathes out.
"Mn?"
"A-Yuan…?"
Lan Zhan stops.
There's a quiet knock on the door.
If Lan Zhan could be embarrassed, his face would be red, and his ears aflame.
He pulls the door with such strength that it groans on its hinges.
A-Yuan is standing there obediently, a smile on his face and backpack in his fingers.
"Welcome home." Lan Zhan says, mortified that he'd actually closed the door on this beautiful child.
"A-Yuan…sorry, Zhan Gege got a bit carried away." Wei Ying, on the other hand, is embarrassed. His face resembles a tomato left outside in the sun.
They're both apologetic and Wei Ying picks his son up, kissing him all over his face.
A-Yuan just smiles, going into his room.
"Oh. My. God! I can't believe we just did that!" Wei Ying hisses, half in disbelief and half in embarrassment. He gently smacks Lan Zhan’s arm. "This is your fault!"
"Mn." Lan Zhan has the good grace to look contrite.
"I can't believe we left him outside! Wait till A-Qing finds out about this! She's gonna have my guts for garters…" Wei Ying says with certainty.
"No one has to know." A-Yuan says, suddenly pushing a Lego brochure into Lan Zhan’s hands.
Both adults turn to look at the most innocent smile on the six year old.
"Doesn't this one look good?" He actually even points to a specific model.
"Oh…my…God…my baby has turned into a little conman!!!" Wei Ying cannot believe this!
"What about this one as well?" Lan Zhan offers, knowing full well that he's bribing a kid, and not feeling the least bit guilty about it.
Wei Ying throws his hands in the air and stomps off into the kitchen.
***********
Later, the three of them are sitting around the little table in the kitchen.
A-Yuan is doing his homework and occasionally asking them for help, while Lan Zhan is searching up symbols on his laptop. Wei Ying divides his attention between the two of them, and munching on the fruit and carrot sticks that Lan Zhan has prepared.
And then he has a brainwave.
"Um…may I?" He asks Lan Zhan, who is more than a little bit frustrated at nothing of importance turning up with his research.
"Mn." Lan Zhan pushes his computer towards Wei Ying.
He watches those lovely fingers glide over the keys impossibly fast and accurately.
Lan Zhan has to sit on his hands, because it's such a turn on and there's a child present, otherwise this searching for clues was going to go very differently…
"Symbols didn't do anything…what about signs…" Wei Ying bites his bottom lip and Lan Zhan has to look away.
How is this fair?
Is this attraction normal? Or is it accentuated by his baser instincts? Would it have been any different…before? Before, when he was a human being?
Lan Zhan gets the feeling that he would have been attracted to Wei Ying no matter what. But the question here is, what would the strength of it have been?
There are very few times Lan Zhan feels out of control.
And he's still learning about himself.
It's also highly frustrating that he doesn't know what to expect. There's no one to explain things to him, to tell him what's likely to happen to him. There's no one to guide him, to show him the ropes.
He must rely on himself, on his own temperament and nature, and control himself when it seems like he could lose it.
To not let the uncertainty become debilitating.
"Got it!" Wei Ying lets out an exclamation of surprise.
Lan Zhan is brought out of his reverie with the subtlety of a bucket with ice thrown over him.
He scoots his chair closer and leans over to see what Wei Ying is pointing at.
"I went from symbols to signs to glyphs…and the ones in the sun glyphs seemed too angular…and then I found Moon Glyphs. And then…bingo!" Wei Ying points at the characters on the screen.
"But then…that means we have a problem." Lan Zhan says, pointing to the shape identical to the one on his phone.
There, right in front of them, is the vertical line with the upside down smile and two dots under it…and underneath, one word stands out: BLOOD.
**********
There is a silent agreement between them not to talk further about this in front of A-Yuan, for obvious reasons.
But as Lan Zhan cooks dinner for the two who would be able to actually eat it, Wei Ying cannot help but whisper some covert questions his way.
"Do you think more than one of them uses that…place?"
"Do they have their own language?"
"Where else do you think they might meet?"
"How many of them actually are there?"
It's that last question which stills Lan Zhan’s hands, just before he adds the rest of the rice to the stir fry. It's the last of the ingredients before seasoning, since the vegetables are already nicely cooked.
No food is wasted though, and Lan Zhan throws Wei Ying a warning look before dishing out the food in three containers. One for A-Yuan, two for Wei Ying.
He'll take one with him to work, when he goes.
Wei Ying luckily only has one mouth, and Lan Zhan is grateful for the momentary peace, as he can safely process everything they've learned in the past forty-eight hours, while Wei Ying eats.
They tidy up together, washing dishes and wiping in silence, ever conscious of the child in their care and not wishing to traumatise him by talking openly of something he shouldn't learn about, at least not yet.
Tonight, they're on their own.
Neither Wen Qing nor Wen Ning are coming this evening, and Lan Zhan wonders how he will be able to collect Wei Ying from work later on. It would not be a good idea to leave A-Yuan on his own in the apartment, even if he's sleeping.
Wei Ying leaves at six thirty, armed with his food and a bottle of water, and one last kiss.
Lan Zhan plays with A-Yuan and tonight, they make a Bat-Mobile from the already extensive collection of pieces.
A-Yuan asks him to sing once more, after his bedtime story.
There is so much peace to be had in these small, seemingly inconsequential activities and Lan Zhan treasures each moment. Especially when A-Yuan yawns and raises his chubby arms.
"Zhan Gege…" he says, barely able to get the words out, eyes too heavy to open.
Lan Zhan leans down and gets a warm kiss in return.
That warmth spreads all the way down to his chest and he feels as if a cherry tree has blossomed in the cavity where his heart should be.
This kid…this kid is a miracle.
And there's nothing Lan Zhan wouldn't do for him.
************
It is way past eleven thirty when two things happen.
There's a knock on the door and then it opens to reveal Wen Qing.
For the first time in his life, Lan Zhan is delighted to see her.
And then, before either one says anything, Lan Zhan’s phone beeps and it's a call from Wei Ying.
"Lan Zhan, don't worry, I got a lift from my friend." Wei Ying says immediately.
Lan Zhan has to tell himself to calm down.
He had been all too ready to scoot out of the door and run to wherever Wei Ying was, so he would not have to walk home alone.
"I'll be there in less than five minutes now." Wei Ying adds.
"Mn." Lan Zhan doesn't want to say anything more in front of Wen Qing, and of course it doesn't stop Wei Ying from sending a whole load of emojis, some of which Lan Zhan has had to Google in order to find out their meanings.
He smiles like a teenager at his phone, though.
Wen Qing was out of breath when she entered, which meant she was in a hurry but Lan Zhan didn't know why. And he didn't think they were close enough for him to ask, so they stood watching each other in a tense silence, until Wei Ying came back.
"A-Qing!" Wei Ying beams at her, walking in and hugging her immediately.
Lan Zhan thinks Wei Ying may just have won the award of bravest man on the planet, after that.
Wen Qing is hardly soft and cuddly.
"I thought you couldn't make it tonight?" Wei Ying pulls her over to the couch to sit down.
"I thought that too…but…There were complications with the samples of blood you gave me. I need more, from both of you."