Wei Ying stared at him, the newcomer who was behaving as shifty eyed as a pickpocket, his gaze darting from one side to another and remaining tight-lipped all the while.
Baoshan Sanren lost her patience immediately.
"A-Xian, please explain where you got the video footage from, and what you saw," she barked, without looking away from the youngest one in the room.
Wei Ying almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
"Huaisang sent us the first links and then immediately after that, F4keSt0ries sent another, saying that the clips had been taken down almost as soon as they had been put up. Which supports your theory about Wen Rouhan controlling all media about vamps. But, it doesn't explain why we saw you working next to Wen Ning in Wen Laboratories that Sunday when we visited with A-Qing. Or your jacket." Wei Ying crosses his arms over his chest, unblinking and staring at the young man, who was clearly out of his depth.
"Part of that, I can help with."
Wei Ying was surprised that his grandmother intervened, when she was definitely angry at him.
"Warm Sky is our Tech wizard. He's the one who completed background checks on you and everyone you interact with on a daily basis. He's also our mole," she made a face at that last word, finding it distasteful, and making Mo XuanYu smile, "inside man, in Wen Laboratories." Baoshan Sanren corrected herself. "So, please explain yourself. Why do you own that jacket?"
"It belongs to a gang. I don't wanna say the name," he says, sullenly.
"Why not?"
Wei Ying thinks the boy should start singing like a canary if he doesn't want his grandmother to start losing her shit. But he's very interested in what the youngster has to say.
"It's kind of top secret."
Wei Ying snorted with disbelief, catching the same look on Lan Zhan's face.
"You might want to rethink wardrobe choices, if you and your gang wish to remain anonymous." Lan Zhan says, quietly pointing out the obvious.
The boy blushes, his whole face pink to match his vibrant hair.
"They found me on the streets, after the Giant Asshole threw me out of his home. I had nowhere else to go, and was pretty much starving." The boy was mumbling.
"Giant Asshole?" Wei Ying doesn't want to interrupt but he's at a loss to wonder who it could be.
"Jin GuanShan." Baoshan Sanren supplies.
"His name keeps popping up far too frequently to be a coincidence." Wei Ying adds, brow furrowed in thought. And he didn't miss the fact that this kid had also been homeless for a while, much like himself. Absent parents were the same as being an orphan; dead or alive didn't make that much difference if they weren't there at all.
Poor kid.
Wei Ying couldn't really blame him for being on edge and untrusting of them in general, despite the mystery surrounding the kid and his grandmother. Baoshan Sanren was showing just as many opposing, confusing but good traits so far.
"What does your gang do?" Xiao XingChen demands.
"We hunt vampires...well, they do." Mo XuanYu looks down at his feet.
Baoshan Sanren makes a disgusted noise.
"Don't you think you and your gang should stick to what you're good at?"
"They're good at it!" The boy protests, his stance utterly defensive. "There's strength in numbers, you know. They've battered lots of them."
"How many of you are in the gang?"
"Enough," he purses his lips before chewing on them, uncertainly.
"And do you join in with them?"
"No. I have to wait until I put on more muscle. Plus it gets tiring. Working as an intern and then coming here." He yawns loudly.
"Tell me you know that there are at least three vampires in this room?" Wei Ying asks him, mostly out of frustration for his ignorance.
"Yeah, yeah, but they're the good ones. We don't have an issue with them. It's the ones that behave like overgrown leeches who we have a problem with. They're growing in numbers exponentially, you know. Wen Rouhan is cultivating an army." The boy shifts from side to side nervously. His eyes flicker towards Lan Zhan and Wei Ying, but his face remains impassive. "They're out of control, too hungry to have any control, and no one to supervise or help them."
"So you said. Have you any updates on where they're keeping them? Or why he's going to such lengths? What's his endgame?" Baoshan Sanren asks him.
She begins to pace, a serious look in her silver eyes.
"No idea. So far, it's everything I've overheard from the other people in the break room, or by the water cooler. Can't beat that spot for gossip." The kid looks proud of himself.
Wei Ying feels something softening towards him. He's just a child, really. A teenager with skills surpassing his age, but a kid nevertheless. He's still talking.
"But something's changed." Mo XuanYu says eagerly. "They're shutting down some labs, and making them into production line spaces instead. There's an excitement in the air, and Ning-Gege won't tell me anything more than, 'I should just concentrate on what I'm there for'. The few times I managed to slip away, he found me almost immediately. He and Wen Qing are constantly on edge these days. She definitely used to be calmer, but now the slightest thing can set her off." Mo XuanYu sighs. "I dunno if I'm more scared of her or the vamps."
"That's worrying." Wei Ying shouldn't have let that slip out of his mouth, because four pairs of eyes turn towards him. It was funny and yet, chilling.
Again, the question of Wen Qing's loyalty came up.
"The thing is, you have to prepare yourself for the possibility that she's on Wen Rouhan's side. A person isn't just good or bad, you know. They can be more of one and less of the other." Baoshan Sanren advises him.
"I know! But I really don't want her to be bad!" Wei Ying regrets his outburst because it immediately earns him a disapproving look.
"That's the fastest way to get hurt. If she's really with Wen Rouhan, don't you think she's going to use your love for her against you? You're more likely to believe her if in your head, you've convinced yourself that she can't possibly be bad." Baoshan Sanren comes to lay a warm hand on Wei Ying's shoulder. "I'm only trying to protect you. And I'll say this as a great piece of advice: actions speak louder than words. When in doubt, and you will be, just watch what she does. You'll have your answer in seconds."
The trouble was, Wei Ying didn't want to confront her about this. He didn't want to be in this position.
To know that the person he had come to see as an older sister, one who helped him take care of this new adopted family, and in a purely platonic way, co-parent Wen Ning and PoPo with A-Yuan...to know that she was on the wrong side?
He did not want to find that out.
It was easier to ignore that part, rather than rip off the bandaid and see the bloody wound left behind.
"Do you think we should storm the building?" Xiao XingChen asks her.
"Another tough question. Too early, and we lose the element of surprise, too late doesn't even bear thinking about." She shivers with anticipation. "For now, let's be on our toes. We should be ready to attack, if they make a move first."
Xiao XingChen nods, a flicker of disappointment flashing in his eyes before it vanishes.
"A-Yu, the gang thing, try not to worry about it so much. You're so much more valuable in your current position at Wen Laboratories. Try and figure out a way to contact us if you're inside and they throw down. Meanwhile, tell your gang peeps to keep a low profile for now. There's no point in them rushing to their slaughter for nothing, not when the result could be them having to fight against their loved ones because they've been turned." She's pacing, literally thinking on her feet. "Or, even inadvertently giving the game away to the Wens. It might be better not to force their hand without us being fully prepared."
Wei Ying admires the way she thinks, like a general in command of her own army. But he still has a question.
"How come you can't use your phone there? What's the reason?"
"Everything is encrypted. There's no mobile signal, and any Internet usage is highly observed and restricted. They have telephone lines, though. But we'll see." Baoshan Sanren turns to the boy. "Just be careful. I've gotten used to having you around now. Don't make me regret it." Her words might be coarse, but it's obvious that they're coming from a place of love. "You may go."
Mo XuanYu hightails it out of there, faster than a caught mouse.
Wei Ying catches a glimpse of his infamous jacket, a vivid turquoise dragon writing and twisting on a black leather background.
"It wouldn't be too hard to find out more about his gang," Wei Ying murmurs. "Just find out where they get their jackets made."
Lan Zhan hides a laugh behind a snort and a clearing of his throat.
Baoshan Sanren returns to her seat on the floor, gracefully tucking her feet under herself.
"Probably, but for sure, it would be a waste of resources. Especially now, when there's something in the air." She licks her lips, and for a single second, Wei Ying sees the vulnerability on her young face.
But it's gone so quickly, he's left wondering if it was there to begin with.
His grandmother has vanished and Baoshan Sanren, formidable Vampire in-charge-of-many-lives and running-a-large-covert-operation is back, with her thinking cap on.
Lan Zhan's alarm goes off along with Wei Ying's, and as they both switch their phones off, they go in automatically for a kiss, before Wei Ying remembers himself and where they are.
His grandmother is giving him a questioning look, and there's no way Wei Ying is about to admit that somehow, he and Lan Zhan have conditioned themselves to kissing whenever it goes off.
His face is red enough as it is, and if he had to actually use words to explain, he fears he might really burst into flames out of embarrassment.
"A-Yuan and A-Yi," he says instead, rather lamely.
"Of course," she says smoothly. "I'll stay here and work on this." She gestures to the pile of papers written in Lan Zhan's neat and perfect calligraphy.
They take their leave and return to the car park with Xiao XingChen escorting them.
Lan Zhan cannot resist the urge to say something, still smarting after the other vampire used him as a lure to take Wei Ying away from him. He doubts if he will ever be able to let it go.
Definitely not today.
"So...you and Song Lan, huh?"
"What about us?" Xiao XingChen narrows his gaze at Lan Zhan, speaking through clenched teeth.
"Are you in a relationship?" Lan Zhan tries to keep all emotions out of his voice, and the result is an exceptionally polite tone.
"No. Not yet." It's bitten out, frustrated. "But I'm hoping it will be something similar to what you both share."
"That would require some honesty, no?" Lan Zhan isn't a cruel person, but he's astonished that, given the depth of feelings he can sense from the other vampire, Xiao XingChen hadn't done anything about it, when he had the chance.
Xiao XingChen merely glares back at him, this being a sore point obviously.
"Yeah, Uncle XingChen, you should just go for it!" Wei Ying enthuses, oblivious to Lan Zhan's petty thrill. "You'll never know, if you don't try. With me and Lan Zhan, I couldn't stop myself." He goes on to gush about their relationship completely innocently, while Lan Zhan smirks.
Xiao XingChen is looking increasingly green.
They wave goodbye and get into Lan Zhan's car.
Mission accomplished, Lan Zhan thinks, watching Xiao XingChen watching them back in the rear view mirror.
Let that be a lesson to him not to try and split up himself and Wei Ying, ever.
**************
The children are excited about tonight's dinner.
Lan Zhan told them it's moo shu vegetables with fried rice, and there's back and forth between them, questions and answers that feed their growing curiosity.
Wei Ying fades out of it, his mind going over everything they've learned over the past two days. It feels like weeks have passed instead of mere days, a vomiting up of so much information that his head starts to hurt.
He's leaning back, looking out at the blurry view and trying to find some peace in the middle of this data storm.
There's some connection between his parents and the Lans, otherwise why would his family go and visit them, even sharing his mother's lullaby? Lan Zhan knew it, and it was no surprise that his grandmother knew it, as well.
It's something that makes him feel warm inside.
To think he might have met Lan Zhan when they were babies? It was the cutest thing! Lan Zhan must have been adorable as a round baby!
And it makes the chasm in his heart that much smaller, to have this connection with his parents and their past. Would he ever stop missing them?
He doubted it.
His thoughts bring him to the memory of that grotesquely beautiful fountain, violence captured in an enigmatic scene. Who was the dragon? And the wizard? Why did he have a garland of skulls around his neck? And what was his quarrel with the dragon? Wei Ying definitely needed another look at that masterpiece.
And what was the deal with their butler recognising his locket?
Maybe Da Tuzi had more answers than Lan Qiren?
Maybe he could get the butler alone to ask him some questions. Wei Ying wasn't sure how close the butler was with the Lans, but surely the man would feel more comfortable talking to someone who didn't pay his wages?
"Can we go and see Uncle Qiren tomorrow? During the day?" He suddenly blurts out, interrupting a conversation about peas and sweetcorn.
And then he blushes, realising he's the cause of the sudden silence.
Lan Zhan brings their joint hands to his lips.
"Whatever Wei Ying wants."
It makes him feel infinitely better, to know he has Lan Zhan's unconditional support.
Lan Zhan being with him, while it might not directly change the current situation in a big way, felt much less lonely. Wei Ying shuddered at the thought of having to do everything by himself, not only managing his home life, but navigating through the other part, the whole mess regarding his extended family and the bad Wens.
Of course, this brings him back to the question of Wen Qing.
The lump in his throat grows so big, and he's concentrating on not crying in front of the children so hard, that he's only vaguely aware of Lan Zhan parking the car, and their consequent return to their apartment.
The children take off their outdoor shoes, swapping them for home slippers, and race off to do their homework. Wen PoPo hands Lan Zhan a curious package, not flat suggesting papers, but lumpy.
Lan Zhan takes one look at Wei Ying's face and takes him straight into their bedroom. He makes Wei Ying sit down on their bed and leaves, returning with a glass of water and a jug.
He makes Wei Ying drink three glasses worth of water before he's satisfied that Wei Ying is sufficiently hydrated.
He returns the jug and glass to the kitchen, and Wei Ying hears him and PoPo chatting about the evening's meal, PoPo insisting she wants to help, and Lan Zhan acquiescing to her request. There are the quiet, domestic sounds of rustling plastic as Lan Zhan shuffles through the vegetable section in their refrigerator, PoPo asking about the size of cut veggies, and then Lan Zhan comes back to sit next to him.
All it takes is for Lan Zhan to lift him onto his lap, one smidgen of kindness and the dam breaks.
Wei Ying bursts into tears, trying to muffle the sounds of his sobs, not wanting to worry anyone who might overhear him.
It's a wave of grief that leaves him floundering in doubt, like a piece of driftwood being pummelled against the boulders on the shore.
All throughout, he can hear Lan Zhan whispering words of encouragement, of hope, of telling him that everything will be alright. His arms hold Wei Ying firmly against his chest, supporting both physically and mentally, giving him what he needs. Wei Ying rubs his tired, gritty eyes, hoping this is the end of it.
"I'm sorry," he says, missing the answering frown on Lan Zhan's face.
"Never apologise for what you feel." Lan Zhan tells him fiercely.
His lips are resting on top of Wei Ying's head, wanting to comfort his beloved in all ways.
There's nothing he wouldn't do for this beautiful, caring man, too good for this world.
"It's just that...I don't want to believe she's bad." The tears start falling again and Wei Ying is frustrated with himself. "This is the person who sat with me while we both nursed A-Yuan through colic, through teething fevers, every time I thought something was wrong with my son..." his voice fades out with the memories of those times. "I don't want her to be bad, Lan Zhan!" He knows how desperate he sounds.
To his surprise, Lan Zhan huffs out the tiniest of laughs.
"What's so funny?" Wei Ying demands, crossly.
"I apologise. It's just that, to believe whatever we want for a person to be, that's what they have to be like, it's amusing. Wei Ying isn't responsible for how others feel, or what they do as a result. Wanting it, does not make it so." He smiles to soften his words.
Wei Ying smiles, wiping his eyes for the last time.
As usual, Lan Zhan instinctively knew what to say to make him feel better.
"I know. And when you put it like that..." he sighs again, more out of exhaustion than anything else. "I'll try to remember that."
Lan Zhan picks up his little parcel.
"What's that?" Wei Ying asks him, sparking his interest.
"A possible present." Lan Zhan says, cautiously.
Wei Ying immediately hears the uncertainty in his voice, and immediately, his finger goes under Lan Zhan's chin to move his face back. Looking into Lan Zhan's gorgeous golden eyes, Wei Ying brings their lips together for a sweet kiss.
It has the added benefit of calming them both down, cleansing their minds of anything negative that might be growing.
If there are doubts and concerns, it isn't about each other.
Wei Ying has never felt so confident about his feelings, the fact that he loves Lan Zhan so very much. Lan Zhan has become a part of himself in a way that Wei Ying never imagined before. He can feel Lan Zhan's love for him in every hot lick, every swipe of his tongue in his mouth, a promise of togetherness, forever.
He's breathless as they part, but he frowns when Lan Zhan still won't meet his eyes.
"Lan Zhan, my love. You can tell me anything," he promises.
"But this is going to make Wei Ying flip out." Lan Zhan says, honestly.
The slang term coming from his beautiful lips makes Wei Ying snort with laughter.
Lan Zhan will take that over a hurt and crying Wei Ying, any day. It's definitely a preferred improvement.
"How do you know? You haven't even shown me what it is yet!" Wei Ying protests.
Lan Zhan slices the plastic open with a sudden appearance of a talon which disappears just as fast, and then there are two pale blue velvet pouches sitting on the palm of his hand.
The action is hot.
Wei Ying imagines himself being held down with those same talons, all five in each hand, the danger so close and yet so far because no matter what, Lan Zhan would be so careful so as not to hurt him.
"Wei Ying is not thinking about the package." Lan Zhan accuses him, rightly.
"I'm thinking about A package, and you're right, not that one." Wei Ying giggles.
The sound makes Lan Zhan smile fondly, even as he says, "focus."
"Alright." Wei Ying bites his bottom lip, trying not to laugh.
But it makes Lan Zhan's light eyes grow even darker, a rumble of a growl teasing from his mouth.
Wei Ying stops it immediately, giving in to his laughter. This playful banter is just what he needed to ease the ache in his heart. He makes a real effort to be serious now.
"Show me. What's in there?"