Jiang Cheng, Wei Ying, Huaisang, and Wangji attended silent study time, with Lan Qiren as the supervisor.
His steely eyes scanned the room, and his head moved almost robotically as he surveyed every student with the utmost diligence. However, it seemed the quartet of troublemakers were just too fast for his assiduous eyes.
Lan Qiren's eyes always moved just a second too late as Wangji threw neatly folded notes like they were throwing knives, always landing perfectly inside his friend's palms.
Lan Qiren also didn't seem to notice the smiles on the faces of the other three boys as they looked at the well-drawn comic illustrations of Grandmaster Lan.
Everyone in the room was too concerned with avoiding Grandmaster Lan's piercing gaze that they didn't even see the fast-paced hand signals being shared between the four as break time loomed closer and closer.
Lan Qiren couldn't find the source of his discomfort, but kept a lookout for trouble. For weeks now, he had been waiting for Wei WuXian to start some form of mischief, as his mother had. Lan Qiren had a pile of letters from Madame Yu, giving testimony to the boy's untamed nature, and useful tips in catching the little outlaw red-handed. But nothing.
It was most frustrating.
The dismissal bell came, and despite watching closely, nothing happened. If Cangse Sanren was anything to go by, Wei Wuxian would be a million times worse. His mind returned to all the times that frustrating woman played endless pranks on him and disturbed the peace. He stroked his goatee, thankful for the fact that it was still there, and watched all the students leave,
However, he was shocked to see that his prized nephew was walking alongside that little black and red mischief-maker. Not just him, that Jiang Clan heir with anger issues and the Nie Clan heir who never knew anything.
They were actually walking side by side like they were in some sort of play!
This wasn't good, his nephew may be perfect and obedient now, but Lan Qiren remembered the times when he was younger. He would stay up late and sneak around places where he shouldn't be. He would always talk back and question the rules as well. No doubt from his no-good mother's side of the family.
But it was fine; he managed to get all those habits out of him and whipped that boy into shape. He was The Twin Jade of Gusu Lan now. Right now, he just needed to focus and prepare for the upcoming discussion conference. If anything were to happen, Xichen would handle it.
He was sure that no trouble would be made inside Cloud Recesses.
"Sang-ge, you cannot fail this year. Not with having a Study group headed by Lan WangJi himself! Think about it?!" A senior Nie disciple said as he confronted Huaisang while he was heading to the stream in the back hills.
"This is the Lan Wangji we're talking about; there's no one in the world who's more diligent and rule-abiding than him; there is no way that you'll fail. You definitely get a passing grade."
Huaisang just looked at him with raised eyebrows and took a sharp breath in as if to say, 'Yeah, about that'.
"Yeah, definitely, sure thing. I'll totally pass, for sure." Huaisang haltingly said as he fanned himself harder and harder.
If anyone ever found out, it would be a shock and a half.
"... When did you get that fan? It's really nice, nicer than the ones you have at home." The senior disciple asked as he eyed up the fan and mouthed the words written on it.
"You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain; I smile and make no reply, for my heart is free of care. As the peach blossom flows downstream and is gone into the unknown, I have a world apart that is not among men. Huh, that's unusually profound for you. Where did you buy it?"
"Oh, this um, it was a gift from... a friend, a pen pal." Huaisang invented." Yeah, a fan maker from Jiangnan, um anyway, gotta go! Those books won't study themselves, bye!"
Huaisang speed-walked away as he went back to his friend group.".. Since when does he have a pen pal?"
"Hey, Nie-Xiong, what was that about?" Wei Ying asked as the four were back to walking side by side.
"Phew, don't even ask."
Jiang Cheng smirked looking at Sang-ge's red face made a guess"Is your brother is happy that you will pass this year for sure. Hahahaha, getting private lessons from Lan WangJi hahahaha, lessons in how to be a snob maybe! "
Lan WangJi raised an annoyed eyebrow at the jab, but just huffed.
"Fine then, I may be a snob, but at least I dont have a secret romance with my robes." Wangji quipped as he covered a wry smile with his hand.
"I do not! They smell like Lotus Pier, I live in Lotus Pier, whats the issue?!" Jiang Cheng yelled back as he crossed his arms.
"Ok, ok guys! Enough fighting how about I teach you how to catch fish? Mmm Sang -ge? ZhanZhan?"
"Stop calling me that! " Cried out a blushing Wangji, as he covered his face with his sleeves.
"Fine then, from now on I'm calling you JiJi!" Wei Ying clapped his hands together, while Wangji looked ready to die of embarrassment.
Cloud Recess back hills filled with the sounds of four different laughs. The trees shivered and swayed in delight at hearing such joy and gently swayed to watch the group.
"Nobody move." Wangji put his hands up, his eyes following the golden carp like a hawk. He carefully went over to the rocky edge and slowly reached out."I can get it; I swear I can get it."
"And the reason you want to get it is?" Jiang Cheng scoffed as he sat down.
"I'm...hungry. Just a little bit-agh!" Wangji started but stopped as he slipped forward and fell into the water.
"Ah, JiJi, oh no! Haha"Wei Ying doubled over laughing as he saw Wangji soaked head to toe in the water.
"Ji-Xiong, I thought you said the clothes were waterproof." Huaisang giggled from behind his fan.
"Partially! I'm still working on it!" Wangji huffed as he tried to get out of the water but was weighed down by the weight of his robes and fell backwards.
"Pftph, so much for the elegant Young master Fuyu. "Jiang Cheng scoffed.
Wangji raised a poignant eyebrow as he aimed his water-soaked sleeve at Jiang Cheng, giving him a well-aimed water slap.
"Hisss! Why would you do that?!" Jiang Cheng wailed as he wiped the droplets off his face."Who's the snob now, huh?" Wangji huffed.
"Oh, it is on!" Jiang Cheng rolled up his sleeves as he approached the water's edge.
"Oooh, water fight, water fight!" Wei Ying started chanting.
Jiang Cheng jumped down into the water and filled up his sleeves and gave Wangji a huge face full of water with such force that he fell backwards into the deep end.
After a few seconds, he didnt resurface.
"Lan Zhan?!" Wei Ying jumped into the water and started frantically wading around.
"Where did he go, i could have-?" Jiang Cheng started but never finished as he found himself dragged underneath the water.
"Victory is mine!" Wangji yelled triumphantly as he emerged from the water.
Nie Huaisang laughed at the water battle taking place until a wall of water was sent his way. Throwing his fan into a nearby tree, Hauisang let out a battle cry and yelled
"Oh you almost ruined my fan! It's on you losers!"
Inside Lan WangJi room were four sets of robes draped everywhere drip drying. All four were down to their inner robes, three were watching the fourth in concern. With a confused looking face and bewildered tone
"Ji_Xiong ...what... are you doing with your hair?" Huaisang slowly asked as he watched Wangji put his hair into endless small plaits for no apparent reason.
"I don't know; I saw it in a book I bought from the Far Southwest. Apparently, these are called box braids." Wangji replied as he started on another small long plait.
"The far southwest? That sounds interesting." Wei Ying mused as he draped himself over Wangji's large chiffon couch.
"Why are they called box braids? There's nothing square about them whatsoever." Jiang Cheng said as he chewed on some snacks.
"I don't know, ask the Far South Westerners. But I figure once I'm done, it'll look awesome!" Wangji cheerily answered as he continued braiding.
"I can even put ribbons and charms in them as well. Ooh, should a launch a hair charm line? Maybe I'll do that."
"That seems like a lot of effort for a hairstyle." Jiang Cheng said as he ate another rice puff.
"Well, I guess, but, hey, I'm bored... And finished!" Wangji proclaimed as he finished off the final plait. Standing in front of the full length mirror Lan WangJi was admiring himself and smiled hearing Wei Ying say
"Looks good JiJi! Really shows if your face! "
"Still say its too much work for a hairstyle... But it's different alright." Jiang Cheng tilted his head and squinted at the back of Lan WangJi head before asking, "How did you keep them so straight and tight to your skull? You didn't even look at the mirror!? "
"Just out of curiosity, are you going to walk around Cloud Recesses like that?" Huaisang asked.
"...Oh... Yeah... not. Ill take them out later before bed. I just wanted to try them."
Shrugging WangJi shook his head, admiring the many tiny plaits and ideas of hair jewellery filled his head. Wei Yings smiling face filled the mirror as he played with a few strands then said
"It's too bad JiJi I like this look on you. Add some sparkle, and you'll be too pretty to look at! "
WangJi ears burned as red as WuXians cheeks when Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang made faces and groaned complaints.
" Ack! Enough of that! How about a game while our "waterproof" robes dry enough to walk back to our rooms. "
" It's a work in progress!"WangJi stomped his foot before saying
"Rock Paper, scissors?"
"Sounds good, ey JiJi, let's go first!" Wei Ying happily proclaimed.
Huiasang and Jiang Cheng watched irksomely as Wei Ying made his move a second after Wangji and kept losing on purpose.
"Aiya, Lan Zhan, you win again!"
"Wow, JiJi, you're so good at this!"
"This is sickening." Jiang Cheng grounded as he screwed up his face like he just ate a lime.
"This is love." Huiasang ruefully shook his head, as he crossed his arms.
"Oi, Wei Wuxian, are you trying to give us all diarrhoea with all this dog food you're shoving down our throats." Jiang Cheng yelled at the disgustingly lovey-dovey pair.
"Just because you're miserable, doesn't mean I have to be. Just let me pamper my ZhanZhan!" Wei Ying huffed while Jian Cheng made a squawking noise.
"Wei Wuxian!" Jiang Cheng yelled and threw a book which Wei Ying barely dodged, while he
Nie Huaisang was laughing as he watched Wei Ying chase Jiang Cheng around the room while WangJi blushed some more.
Lan WangJi groaned as he rolled over in bed; for some reason, his scalp was throbbing and burning. Reaching up, his fingers felt the many tiny plaits of braids and groaned again, deeper in annoyance.
'I fell asleep right after they left! I Guess Jiang Cheng was right. I did pull them too tight to my scalp... Ouch, ohhhhhwww sniff'
As quickly as he could, he undid the many rows of waist-length hair, not really paying attention, only in a hurry to relieve his throbbing scalp. When done, he gently but vigorously rubbed his scalp and finger-combed his tresses. Yawning in relief as tingles flowed down his scalp, he went to get dressed. Passing the mirror, he jumped in fright.
In the mirror was a version of himself, one wearing his sleeping robes but with the biggest, hugest mop of curly hair.
The huge mass of ringlets gently fell down his back like the weeping willow in the back hills.
Whimpers left his throat as he tried to push the mass down, only for it to spring back and look fluffier. Desperate, he grabbed the brush and quickly tried to brush it straight, but the frizzed curls fought back. WangJi now had a sea of wavy curls with a comb somewhere in it.
"No, no, no! This can't happen, not now; why now?!"Wangji said as he paced up and down his room, resisting the urge to pull at his hair, as that would only make things worse.
"Out of all the days, it has to be a study day?! Oh, god, Uncle is going to boil me alive!!"
Wangji stared at himself in the mirror as he breathed out a rather dramatic shaky breath with tear-rimmed eyes. Sure, it looked really nice, but not in these circumstances!! Letting out a small scream, he threw a pillow across the room in frustration. The problem with using concealment magic meant that when he wasn't, his emotions were amplified, and if he didn't find a way to calm down an emotional drama-filled meltdown was going to break lose.
"No, no, I can't lose my head. I'm a Lan and a FUyu." His voice cracked at the end as he caught another glimpse of himself in the mirror.
"Lan Wangji, don't you dare cry!" He croaked as he tried to fan the tears away. He was literally shaking at thinking about what his Uncle would do to him. Even worse, he could practically hear the whispers of the disciples as the aspect of having to walk around dawned on him.He was startled as he heard a melodic knock on the door.
"WHaT Is IT?!" He said with way too much emotion and quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Um, JiJi, are you alright?" Wei Ying whispered as he pressed his face to the door.
"Why did he yell?" Huaisang asked, sounding concerned.
"It's you guys?" Wangji went over to the door and leaned in.
"Uh, who else would it be?"
Jiang Cheng scoffed, while Wangji could almost hear the scowl on his face.
Feeling relieved Wangji quickly opened the door and dragged them all inside before slamming it shut.
"Why did you drag- Oh gosh." Jiang Cheng just put a hand over his mouth as his eyebrows went so high they almost disappeared into his hairline.
"Not a single word," Wangji said with an icy gaze that could freeze over even the depths of hell and set fire to a blizzard as he glared at Jiang Cheng.
"What happened?" Huaisang whisper yelled from behind his fan.
"I don't know okay?!" Wangji screeched as he clenched his fists. " I just woke up and took the braids out, and then this happened!"
"Well, you look really nice!"Wei Ying said as he started playing with one of the ringlets; Wangji suddenly started sobbing with his sleeves covering his face.
"Ay, Ji-Xiong, it's really not that bad."Huaisang awkwardly said, while Jiang Cheng just looked at the floor.
"Not that bad?! NOT THAT BAD?! Nie Huaisang, are you blind!?" Wangji yelled in between sobs.
"Look, just try and calm down a little, eh? You know, uh, crying never got anyone anywhere, yeah."Jiang Cheng said, somewhat surprised that he was comforting a weeping Second Young Master Lan.
"Yeah, JiJi, Jiang Cheng's right. We'll figure something out for sure. You can say I did it as a prank " Wei Ying gently patted Wangji's shoulder.
Wangji quickly tried to pull himself together and wiped his puffy face the best he could, and took a sharp breath in, hearing."No! Not you Wei WuXian, Grandmaster will tell Mother!"
" We have to do something A-Cheng! He needs our help."
" I didn't say we won't help, it just can't be you! I'll do it!"
Wei WuXian made a rude noise, crossed his arms, and sneered" And how will that be different than me taking the blame?! It's the same to Madame Yu, and you know it. "
" Xian-ge is right it can't be either of you. "Nie Huaisang stepped between the two in an attempt to calm the two while his mind whirled with a crazy idea, but it'll be the only way out.
"What am I going to do? My Uncle is going to murder me, and everyone is going to think I'm weird." Wangji downtroddenly sniffed, his eyes looking rather red.
"Well, you kind of are weird." Jiang Cheng muttered while Huaisang elbowed him.
"I can't even fit a headpiece on." Wangji went over to a chair and put his head in his hands, his mop of wavy curls bouncing and shimmering in the light as he did.
Nie Huaisang began fanning himself and pacing.
" Maybe we can get away with it if we say it's my fault. Let's say I was supposed to be working on some Cloak talisman homework." Huaisang thought hard as he paced up and down the room. " If I say that I messed up the brush strokes and it backfired and Ji-Xiong got in the way, nobody would question it."
"But.. then you would get in trouble." Wangji raised his head and looked at Huaisang.
"Eh, it's fine. Nobody expects anything from me anyway." Huaisang waved off.
"Hey, don't say that; you may not be great at sword fighting, but you're probably the smartest person here." Wangji softly smiled with his eyes said while Huaisang went a pretty pink colour.
"Uh, well, um, either way, I think it's a good plan. Grandmaster Lan already blacklisted Wei-Xiong, and Jiang-Xiong has to uphold expectations, and so I'll get into less trouble than the rest of you."
"That, uh... Thanks, Huaisang." Wangji breathed out, slightly relieved that he wouldn't die at his uncle's hands today. But still, it was going to be one long day indeed.
Wangji tried to ignore the burning stares of everyone inside Cloud Recesses. On most days, he lived off of attention like it was his life source, but right now, he wanted nothing more than to shrink to the size of a mouse and disappear under a rock. He managed to get his forehead ribbon on and tied his hair up in a ponytail, but it felt like he had a lion's mane rather than hair.
'Just leave your body Wangji, just leave your body. You're not here, not here; you're in a pond filled with banknotes. ' Wangji repeated repeatedly in his head as he was on his way to see his Uncle.
He did his best to ignore a strangled yelp that came from a pair of disciples that caught a glimpse of him as he walk past. But no matter how hard he tried to put up his concealment magic, it only came out in tiny waves. That wasn't good at all. If he couldn't get it under control, he was going to crack; he could feel it. He felt like he was about to burst from stress and pressure; his head spun.
He jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand tap his shoulder. Looking up, he relaxed slightly when he saw that it was just Wei Ying.
"Lan Zhan, it'll be fine, I swear." Wei Ying assured him as they all walked side by side.
Lan Qiren couldn't believe the absolute incompetence and bumbling ineptitude of that Young Master Nie. How does someone manage to turn a simple cloaking talisman into something like that? It's the most basic talisman that someone can learn; even an eight-year-old could figure it out. But no, he had to be special; now, his nephew looked like this.
Thank God his hair was still there, at the very least; he sighed as he stroked his goatee, once again, thankful that it was there.
Lan Xichen was struggling to hide dismay at the curls, and delight of WangJi making friends. Nie Huaisang was a quivering mess, profusely apologizing and repeatedly saying"I don't know; I truly don't know!"
"Shifu, while it is an unfortunate result, it does show progress on Young Master Nie's part. He did make a change in appearance, just not a cloak."
"True." Lan Qiren irksomely huffed as he glared at the boy. " Nie Huaisang copy the cloaking talisman 200 times after the class. WangJi, take today to meditate in the cold pond. The rest of you go to class."
" Yes Grandmaster. "
"Yes, Uncle." Wangji bowed low.
Lan Qiren let out an audible huff as he did, as his curls seemed to just bounce around at any slight movement.
Well, I survived.'
Wangji felt rather drained as he walked to the cold springs with his brother. His concealment magic flickering, he struggled to maintain his patent Ice Jade look.
"WangJi, it's a good thing that you are making friends, but do not forget that you are a Lan. Try not to pick up too many bad habits. It's best to maintain the order within Cloud Recesses."
'Oh my god, why is he such a Libra? Just mind your damn business.' Wangji held back the urge to roll his eyes to the heavens. Every time his brother tried to talk to him, it was always like this. 'Maintain the order' and 'Try not to upset Uncle'.
God, he was sick of it. He couldn't stand how patronizing his brother was, maintaining the rules, hah! He didn't even know anything, not a single clue about what he's had to go through throughout the years, and yet all he ever did he put on that stupid cheery smile that made Wangji want to punch him in the teeth; instead he tightened his grip on Bichen.
'Why don't you maintain the order within Gusu?' Wangji clenched his jaw as the two kept on walking. I'll run away to Jiangnan and rule the fashion world. How does that sound?'
"You've been rather close to Young Master Wei recently." Xichen said as they walked side by side."Mn," Wangji replied, now walking just the slightest bit faster, desperate to get to the Cold Springs and away from this conversation.
Xichen looked at him curiously as Wangji started absentmindedly playing with a strand of his curly hair.
"I like Young Master Wei; he seems to be intelligent, but his rebellious ideas will lead him into trouble. Be careful, Didi, in leading him to a better path while here in class. Uncle especially seems to be taking an interest in Wei WuXian."
'Yeah, well, you can tell Uncle to keep his eyes off my man.' Wangji inwardly sassed as they went up the stairs to the Cold Springs, his hair bouncing with each step he took. 'But why is he taking an interest in him anyway? That doesn't sound good.'
"Gosh, Young Master Nie really did mess up that talisman, though." Xichen gave an amused half-huff as he looked at Wangji's animated locks.
Wangji cast a frigid glare, the intensity of which could have chilled even the hottest inferno, while Xichen shrunk a bit.
"Mn."
"I am sure your hair will return to normal soon. I'll leave you now, I have a meeting. Remember Didi, it's best to maintain order, even when enjoying one self with friends."
WangJi bowed to his brothers back, saying" Mn, WangJi will remember. "
The misty fog and light scent of the Cold pond did nothing to calm Wangji. Feeling exhausted, he let out a heavy breath as he slumped down on the rocks, grateful that his brother was gone.
God, he was tired. Not just today, he was tired of everything, tired of having to keep his head down and hide. Why was it so frowned upon to have an interesting personality in the Gusu Lan Clan anyway? Is being a little eccentric going to bring about the end of the world? He didn't think so.
The clouds slowly rolled past as Wangji counted them. One cloud, two clouds, three clouds, three thousand rules. Four clouds, five clouds.
Wangji just lay down and skimmed at the sky with a glassy look in his eyes. He was unhappy, but at the same time, he was elated. For the first time in his life, he had friends inside of Cloud Rececces.
'This year wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.' He smiled to himself as he drifted off into the land of dreams.
"Pst, Lan Zhan, ZhanZhan, Lan Yanshi." Wei Ying stood over Wangji's sleeping figure as he poked his cheek.
"Mn, go away." Wangji squirmed about in his sleep as he swatted away Wei Ying's hands.
"JiJi, Zhan-er, dearest Lan, bunnie, angel, sweetheart, kitten ."
"Oi, snob, wake up before I puke at this idiot's pet names." Jiang Cheng sneered as he pushed Wangji with his foot.
"Huh?! What's goin' on? " Wangji jolted awake and looked around, quickly moving all the bouncy curls away from his face.
"Geez, Ji-Xiong, I didn't know you were such a heavy sleeper." Huaisang laughed from behind his fan.
" If you think you're not helping write 200 perfect talismans, you're insane!"Grumped Jiang Cheng as he pulled Wei WuXian away from the curly-haired jade.
"Wei WuXian enough with the kissy face, blech! Try to have some face!"WangJi blinked at the three boys setting up food along with stacks of paper and brushes and bickering.
He blushed hearing."Looking at such perfection, why worry about face!"
"Can you please give a warning before you say stuff like that?!" Wangji was as red as a beetroot as he spluttered about
"But JiJi~ it's fun watching you get all flustered!" Wei Ying laughed while Huaisang gave another all-knowing smirk.
"Yes, yes, you two are in love; get screwed the both of you." Jiang Cheng scowled as he opened numerous brown paper bags filled with chicken wings and braised pork bits.
"..Where did you guys get all of this? There isn't a single gram of spice in all of Gusu." Wangji confusedly asked as he eyed up the saucy and fragrant meats.
"Shuobei Tavern," Huaisang answered as he laid out some osmanthus cakes and sugary tanghulu.
" Once I told the owner I was getting an order for Young Master Fuyu, he gave me some free dessert."
"You went to Jiangnan? Just to get some lunch?" Wangji owlishly blinked.
"Eh, why not? When your friend has a magic teleportation mirror, you gotta take advantage of that sort of stuff." Jiang Cheng huffed as he made himself comfortable on the smooth rocks.
Wangji blinked hard and just looked at the huge spread of flavorful and mouthwatering food that he never thought he would ever get to eat inside Cloud Recesses, let alone with company.
"Well, come on then, you cant write talismans on an empty stomach! Let's dig in!"Wei Ying cheered as he went straight for the Mighty Dragon chicken wings, seemingly untraumatized by his previous experience with the sauce.
Wangji just continued staring at them all, each with smiling faces, so glad that he was a part of it.
"Eh, save some for me. Ooh, Spring pancakes with duck!" Wangji's laughed as his mouth watered as they all broke out chopsticks and dug into the small feast before them all.
Wangji smiled, watching Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng argue over whose portion of tanghulu was the biggest while Huaisang sneakily stole the last meat bun from under their noses.
This feeling of being included wasn't something all the taels in Jiangnan could buy.
'Well, it looks like I really did make friends inside Cloud Recesses.'