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Chapter Twelve
“Wei Ying…”
“!!!” Panic and disbelief arises in Wei Wuxian’s heart the second Lan Wangji dropped those two words. It was as if he was hit by the strongest explosive, sending tremors in his head and leaving him with no words to utter.
It couldn’t be! What had gotten wrong for Lan Wangji to come up with a different idea? He was sure that he didn’t say anything that gave himself away. However, Lan Wangji’s eyes right now reflected the conviction that would never allow Wei Wuxian to believe that he only thought wrong, that Lan Wangji had not recognized him.
Wei Wuxian’s arms slightly tightened, causing the child in his hold to suddenly cry as though feeling the distress of his mother. This grabbed the attention of both adults, disturbing them from their current stalemate.
“A-A’Yuan!” Wei Wuxian worriedly exclaimed, swiftly letting go of Elder Heiying to rub his son’s back.
Lan Wangji’s eyebrows creased seeing how the person before him was restlessly cradling the child with her petite body. But his attention was quickly snatched by the object that rolled to the tip of his boots, a black dizi.
Lan Wangji picked up the flute, looking at it without saying a word. He remembered that the woman’s flute was still plain when they met in the foot of Mount Yiling. It was clearly the same flute, but now added with exquisitely carved strange incantations.
Lan Wangji shifted his gaze back to the mother and son duo with a face that still appeared relatively calm, but his hand tightening around the flute showed how he wasn’t completely unaffected by the current situation.
The woman had been distracted by the child’s cries. She was anxiously trying to coax her son and did not notice Lan Wangji’s extended arm handing back the black dizi. Lan Wangji could only retract his hand and stood next to them in silence.
A group of nosey passerbys noticed the situation on their side. Seeing a cold man unaffectedly looking at the distressed woman who was pitifully hugging her crying baby, they started chattering among themselves. Perhaps it was how subdued the Gusu people were or because they considered the man’s Gusu Lan cultivation robes, but no one tried to point their fingers or circle around the family. Nonetheless, the chattering was still there.
One passerby asked, “What’s happening here? The child cried so hard, it scared me to death!”
The matron beside him whispered, “Probably some callous head of the family scolding his wife and son.”
Someone was not even ashamed to make up a bended speculation out of what he had witnessed earlier, “That’s right, the wife was drinking tea upstairs when her husband demanded her to go down. It should be a case of a control freak husband.”
“How are you so sure that they are a family. The lady and the man look so young.”
The matron scoffed, “Can’t you see that they are cultivators? Their appearance might not be their actual age.”
“And I can clearly see that they are old enough for the coming of age ceremony!”
“That’s right! There’s no doubt that they are one family! Look at the child in that girl’s arms. The man is definitely the father. Their faces look as if they’re carved out of the same mold.”
Another passerby, maybe because he wasn’t Gusu’s local was courageous enough to speak loudly, “Someone was so heartless enough to scold his wife and son in the middle of the street?!”
His company had noticed what Lan Wangji was wearing and sneered, “What if he’s part of a major sect? One should still have some moral!”
A woman who wasn’t just there to gossip but was truly concerned spoke to Wei Wuxian, “Young Madam, don’t be afraid. Gusu Lan Sect is known for their righteousness. You should file a complaint if your husband is abusing you!”
“Ah?” Wei Wuxian had been occupied of his son’s tantrums and had not paid attention to the surroundings. He looked up in bewilderment as he realized that the stranger was talking to him.
The woman thought that she understood the young lady’s confusion, “It doesn’t matter if you love him, you should still care for your and your child’s wellbeing!”
Husband? You love him? Your and your child’s wellbeing? Wei Wuxian finally understood what was going on. He glanced at the poor man standing emotionlessly amidst the people’s misunderstanding. He seemed somewhat at loss. It was also maybe because he was so shocked this time that he didn’t utter a single word of denial.
Wei Wuxian lowered his head, trying to hide his eyes that were already teary from the forcibly held laughter.
It was a relief that no one had recognized the identity of this husband-abusing-his-wife they were talking about. If they knew that he was their Gusu’s Lan Wangji, the righteous among righteous, exemplar among exemplars Second Jade, how would they react? Wei Wuxian loved it whenever Lan Wangji was push into a corner, but he feared that someone would really recognize Lan Wangji. After calming himself, Wei Wuxian reluctantly decided to help the miserable man out of his current predicament.
Wei Wuxian waved his hand and even smiled brightly to reassure the crowd, “It’s not what you all think. It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.” And maybe because mischief was deeply carved on his bones that he couldn’t stop himself from adding, “Aiya, my husband is just not good in expressing himself. However, it’s not his fault that our son cried, right Fujun?”
“…” Wei Yuan suddenly halted his cries while Lan Wangji wordlessly met the gaze of the woman who was fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Hehe! You can’t say a word, huh? One of the rare moments where the Second Jade of Lan didn’t speak because he didn’t want to but because he was literally speechless?
But Wei Wuxian once again underestimated Lan Wangji. The man’s eyes staring at the woman slightly narrowed as he agreed, “Mnn.”
“Mnn?!!” Wei Wuxian almost choked to death. He coughed a few times before he stared at Lan Wangji as if the man had grown an extra head.
Lan Wangji’s lips turned upwards unnoticeably, “Mnn… Furen.”
“…” Wei Wuxian with a red face near cinnabar was at lost for words. Touching his nose, he wondered how Lan Wangji had turned like this. He could even make such statement without batting an eyelid! Lan Wangji couldn’t just say those words that were bad for his fragile heart! Wei Wuxian couldn’t understand what’s happening!
Wei Wuxian failed to notice that all of these started from his own mischievous actions that required the mannerly Second Jade of Lan to take drastic response.
Meanwhile, seeing that the wife seemed not really being bullied and could already afford to flirt with her husband in the broad daylight, the passerbys finally left the family alone. Some thought that she was only afraid of her husband, but since it looked like she didn’t want to admit it, they also reluctantly left.
The matron spoke before leaving, “Such a beautiful woman, how could she be bewitched by such cold man?”
“The husband was even more beautiful than her, maybe she was tempted by his beauty.”
Lan Wangji, “…”
Wei Wuxian saw how Lan Wangji’s eyes twitched and finally felt comforted, the pink on his face slightly fading. He was stunned when Lan Wangji suddenly faced him, raising a hand which held a black dizi. Wei Wuxian tried to recall why Chenqing was with Lan Wangji as he reached for it. But his mind blanked the moment Lan Wangji’s fingers lightly brushed against his. Was it just Wei Wuxian’s imagination or Lan Wangji seemed revenging for what he did in the foot of Mount Yiling?
Lan Wangji lowered his gaze after giving back the flute to Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian noticed the other’s trembling lips as he slowly uttered, “Wei Ying…”
Wei Wuxian frowned with a forced smile. All the tingling in his heart immediately vanished into thin air. It was as though he was submerged into the cold pool of his bloody cave, waking him to face his current predicament.
How could he let himself be carried away and tease Lan Wangji? How could he forget that all this commotion was because Lan Wangji had called him by his real name? His ability to be distracted was really something, wasn’t it?
Wei Wuxian sarcastically praised himself as he denied, “I’m not…”
Lan Wangji raised his head. His face was still the same placid face but Wei Wuxian didn’t know why he thought that Lan Wangji was somewhat looking helpless.
Lan Wangji, “…Do you know him?”
“Ah?” Wei Wuxian was momentarily at lost. Lan Zhan he... So this was what Lan Wangji was meaning to ask?!! Wei Wuxian rejoiced. Ah, it was probably the case. Wei Wuxian was just overthinking! He even made his son cry and now the child was pitifully hiccupping.
Wei Wuxian’s creative mind immediately worked for an excuse as he gently patted Wei Yuan on the back. “…Gongzi, I didn’t know someone with the name Wei Ying, but I did come here to search for someone with a surname Wei, my uncle. Do you perhaps know someone named Wei Cangze?”
Very good Wei Wuxian. Lies! Lies after lies!
Lan Wangji frigidly spoke, “Wei Cangze is Wei Ying’s father.”
His honest words, when it reached Wei Wuxian’s ears, felt like an insult. But perhaps Wei Wuxian was just feeling guilty for his lies that he couldn’t help but overthink.
Wei Wuxian, “Oh! What a coincidence! So yourWei Ying is my cousin? No wonder you are so interested in knowing me.”
Lan Wangji said nothing, but Wei Wuxian did not notice that the tip of the man’s jade like ears were now as red as beet.
Lan Wangji rigidly shifted his gaze to the pitiful child in the woman’s arms. The adult and the child’s eyes met. Lan Wangji’s hand slightly raised as though he was deliberating on whether he should offer to carry the child. Coincidentally, he noticed a street vendor selling some wooden toys on his field of view. He put down his hands and walked away
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