Lan Zhan studies the photograph properly.
Wei Changze is smiling at the camera, and he looks happy. There's a lot of him in Wei Ying's features too, though not as blatantly obvious as his mother's traits. It's just a quirk of his eyebrow, and the way his head is tilted, cocked to one side.
But it's Wei Ying's mother who is most puzzling. Cangse Sanren isn't looking at the camera at all, in fact, she's staring back at the fountain.
Wei Ying stands up to go closer, to see where her finger is pointing.
"Who took this picture?" Lan Zhan says, after finding his voice.
"Do you think this is important?" Baoshan Sanren asks sharply. She, too, gets up to join Wei Ying. She slings an arm around his shoulders. "Why?"
"She's not just looking at the fountain..." Wei Ying follows her gaze, but he honestly can't tell what it could be. From this angle, she could be pointing at either the dragon or the wizard. "And I really don't know, but we visited there yesterday, and Grandmother, I swear something was pulling me to that fountain."
Lan Zhan takes a picture of this photo, just in case they need it for reference, later.
Wei Ying yawns, alerting him to his boyfriend's fatigue.
"What time is it?" Wei Ying asks, sleepily.
"Eight." Lan Zhan answers him.
"A-Yuan! And JingYi!" Wei Ying is suddenly alert. "Grandmother, we have to go home! But..." he blushes hard, "can we come back tomorrow? There's still so much I need to ask you. I have so many questions!"
She pulls him into a tight hug.
"Of course, you can come back. I'll send Xiao XingChen to collect you...what time?"
"After we drop the children off to school." Wei Ying decides.
"So...would you...do you think I can meet them? Your children?" Baoshan Sanren looks almost shy about asking this.
"Yes, absolutely!" Wei Ying squeezes her tightly, his eyes wet at the implications of what she's suggesting.
This is what families do. They visit each other, they spend time together. He's going to have a normal family, for once, one that he can call his own.
"When?" She asks eagerly.
"Saturdays are usually homework days. But Sundays are family days, and what could be better than our kids meeting their great Grandmother?" Wei Ying's face hurts from smiling so widely.
"Then let's do that." Baoshan Sanren hugs him one more time before they leave. "My boy..." her loving voice says warmly.
Wei Ying keeps it safe in his heart all the way home.
**************
Xiao XingChen drops them off outside the apartment building.
They're feeling safe and happy after listening to the familiar melody on the way back. Lan Zhan remembers to text MianMian that Wei Ying is safe now, and he lets Huaisang know that too. XiChen is also there, and he seems to know what happened, because he accepts Lan Zhan's shortened version.
"See you on Saturday night, Didi," he says, signing off.
That's when Lan Zhan remembers that they have an award ceremony to attend that night, too.
But there's no time to do anything else, because from the moment they arrive inside the apartment, the children run to them and they're smothered in hugs and kisses.
"They wouldn't eat without you two." Wen PoPo explains, looking relieved that they're back.
"Oh, my sweet little radishes!" Wei Ying kisses them both on their cheeks and hurries to the kitchen, where Wen PoPo has five place settings.
They don't want her to ask questions, so Lan Zhan says he needs to lie down for a bit, just so he doesn't have to pretend to eat in front of her. He removes his plate and cutlery, and goes into their bedroom.
He uses the time to visit the websites that Huaisang recommended and ends up ordering something special for Wei Ying. Then he spends the rest of the time studying the photo of Wei Ying's parents outside his home.
He can't get past the feeling that they're missing something, something really important. But it seems to be an ordinary photo, except for the fact that Cangse Sanren should be looking at the camera. Wei Ying is right: what is she pointing at?
And who took the picture? Was it anyone they know?
He didn't even know that Wei Ying's parents had visited them in the Lan mansion, and if anyone would know more about that, then maybe these were questions for Da Tuzi or Shifu. They definitely needed to revisit Uncle soon, if for nothing else than to tie up loose ends and start getting some answers to questions. It's a nice thought to wonder about his and Wei Ying's past being somehow connected like that, though.
It's a sweet thought to think of them as being destined to be together.
But so far, the list of questions was only getting longer and the feeling that they were running out of time was wearing on his nerves.
Lan Zhan keeps an ear out for noises that tell him the children have finished eating.
He knows they would have been worried, because this is the first time in a long time that neither himself nor Wei Ying were home to be with them; the last time they saw each other was way back in the morning when they had dropped the kids to school. Even if Wen PoPo was here, parents made a difference.
He missed them, too.
The afternoons were spent together with the children as they made fun shapes and vehicles out of Lego. It was their time, when not even Wei Ying was there, and Lan Zhan enjoyed interacting with them.
A-Yuan and JingYi surprise him by running into the room and climbing up on the bed to kiss his cheeks and pull him up, so he can help Wei Ying read them a bedtime story.
Wei Ying beams at the three of them, as they put the kids to sleep.
Wen PoPo is just spreading out her blanket on the couch when Lan Zhan leads Wei Ying into their bedroom, after saying goodnight to her too.
It's late for everyone, but this doesn't stop Lan Zhan from wrapping his arms around Wei Ying as soon as their door closes.
"My love." Wei Ying gasps, nuzzling closer.
He could feel Lan Zhan's desperation slowly increasing as the evening wore on, and it's only now that they're alone, that he can express what he's feeling.
"Why did you do it?" Lan Zhan growls right next to his ear.
Wei Ying shivers, so turned on by that, and Lan Zhan's dominance. He knows that Lan Zhan is really worried about him, but he's only human.
"Do what?"
Lan Zhan stares back at him as if he's crazy.
"You left with a stranger. I want to know why. Have you no sense of self preservation?" He asks, incredulously. "Do you know ..." Lan Zhan lets go of him to pace, biting back the harshness of his words. Right now, he really wants to bite something. Or someone.
Deep breaths...he counts in his head as he slowly calms down, and then he's back in front of Wei Ying, gentler this time.
"You have no idea what was going through my mind when that Jin asshole was accosting you. Then that guy pulls out a sword!" Lan Zhan knows he's complaining, but he's justified.
"You know, it's kind of funny when you swear..." Wei Ying looks apologetic when Lan Zhan glares at him. "I'm sorry, my love. I really am. But Xiao XingChen said you were in danger and -"
"WHAT?" This growl is even deeper, and way more dangerous.
"Lan Zhan! You'll wake the children up!" Wei Ying hugs him even tighter.
Lan Zhan is vibrating with anger. He's livid.
It takes Wei Ying pushing him down onto their bed and weighing him down with all of his body, for Lan Zhan to finally calm himself down. He listens to the sound of Wei Ying's heart beating and regulates his own breathing to match.
"One day, you're going to see, I'm no helpless maiden." He promises Wei Ying.
Wei Ying giggles at that, and it's this sound that makes something settle in Lan Zhan's mind and body.
There was a time today, when he actually feared never being able to hear that again, his favourite of Wei Ying's sounds. To never be able to hear him talk again, to never be able to hold him like this.
Lan Zhan flips them around and he stares deeply into much missed beautiful silver eyes. They stare back at him, holding the secrets of all the stars in the Universe, shimmering like liquid mercury.
"Do not trust anyone," he begs.
"I know you're right. But Sweetheart, if I hadn't gone with Xiao XingChen today, we never would have found my grandmother. Look at everything we learned today."
"Wei Ying got lucky this time," Lan Zhan concedes. "Huaisang helped."
"I bet you were about ready to attack the Wens, right?" Wei Ying giggles again, when Lan Zhan looks down because he's embarrassed.
"That's why I asked my grandmother to fetch you."
"While you got drunk."
"I wasn't that drunk. But boy, was that strong stuff. She called it Emperor's Smile and either that was something liable to strip paint, or my tolerance level has decreased." Wei Ying smiles up at him.
"Emperor's Smile, you say?" Lan Zhan asks him.
"Yeah...why?"
"Uncle Qiren told us about it a long time ago. It was an ancient drink, only found in Gusu. That means, whatever she made you drink, it was very old, and very potent." Lan Zhan explains.
"Well, that makes me feel so much better. Doesn't old wine get more potent as time goes by?"
"Mn."
Wei Ying yawning loudly prevents Lan Zhan from asking him any more questions, though he has many up his sleeve that need answering. And he wants to ask Wei Ying something else, something much more of a personal nature.
But it can wait.
His man is tired, and Lan Zhan just wants him to rest for now.
Everything else can wait until tomorrow.
****************
Wei Ying jerks awake in the early hours of the morning. Lan Zhan is right there, still holding him when his silver eyes open and look at him. They remind Lan Zhan of a moonlit lake, with hidden currents swirling just under the surface. Magnetic and just as stunning as dark diamonds, Wei Ying makes a noise and suddenly, he's burrowing closer into Lan Zhan's chest.
"Mn?"
"I dreamt...maybe because yesterday, that Jin guy had asked me about Mrs Lan. I dreamed about her just now. Where do you think she is?" Wei Ying's voice is muffled.
"If she's clever, she will have evaded capture. If they were asking about her whereabouts, then it stands to reason that they don't know where she is, either. Mr Lan is still missing, unless they have him. But Wei Ying must be more careful from now on. If they know enough about you to accost you during the day, that means they are getting more daring." Lan Zhan kisses the top of his head.
The more he thinks aloud, the more things are starting to make sense.
"Meaning?" Wei Ying's lips find a small uncovered section of his skin, kissing him back with adoration.
Lan Zhan can tell, he's still sleepy. But he carries on talking, making his voice gentle and soothing, despite the subject matter.
"If we have so many questions, doesn't it stand to reason that the others would also have their own? What are they going to do to get their answers? How far are they willing to go?"
"Don't worry, my love," Wei Ying slurs as his eyes close once more. "I won't go anywhere without you. Love you." His voice fades as sleep takes him once more.
"Good boy." Lan Zhan's arms tighten around him, irrationally scared for him.
He had never felt this way before, this blind love that one hundred percent believed in Wei Ying so much.
In fact, he could separate his life into two compartments: before Wei Ying and after he met Wei Ying. Being turned into a vampire...sure, it made a difference to his life, but nowhere near the impact Wei Ying had on him.
The Lan Zhan of before was a closed off person, not really interested in anyone, or anything outside of his work.
But through living with Wei Ying, this Lan Zhan had learned how to love. Not just the romantic kind of love, but the nurturing kind, too. And A-Yuan with his gift for hugging, also born from Wei Ying.
This beautiful man touched so many lives and made them better, almost effortlessly and with ease. But who would look after him in return?
Lan Zhan wanted to be that guy, the one that was there for him, no doubts.
He wanted to be there for him, to take Wei Ying's worries away, to feed him and look after him forever. He was optimistic too, that there was going to be good things on their horizon, coming their way.
Today would yield more fruit by way of chatting to Baoshan Sanren. Lan Zhan closed his eyes, silently making a list of questions for her.
Today, they were going to be prepared.
***************