The Werewolf Next Door | WangXian

Chapter 23 - Fight Back

In a class cramped with foul, boisterous students. The constant popping of bubble-gum from the loner-girl in the back seat. The back and forth tossing of scrabbled paper from the two nerds beside him. And the annoying clicking sound coming from the wannabe bad-boy in the far left, Wei Ying kept his head down, scribbling away in the small notepad. 

It's been an hour since he'd been taking down pages and pages of notes the class teacher, Mr. Chang, left for them to complete while he was away on an official teacher's business. And although Wei Ying kept his focus on the whiteboard ahead, his mind was elsewhere, wandering back to last night's date with Lan Zhan and how refreshing it was to come to terms with his feelings. Yet, despite understanding he now has a soulmate, there's a skeptical voice - at the back of his head, that keeps telling Wei Ying he need not rush when deciding on marking Lan Zhan for life.

When another hour passed by and the bells began ringing, signaling the end of school for the day, Wei Ying remained unmoving from his desk. Having far too many last-minute assignments to hand up, Wei Ying figured it's best if he stayed back to complete them - or at least try. 

However, not wanting Jiang Cheng to wait for him, or Lan Zhan to worry, Wei Ying pulled the cellphone out of his back pocket and messaged both his brother and Lan Zhan, informing them he needed to stay back after school, and he'll be late. 

Since it was a normal thing for Wei Ying to do, Jiang Cheng paid him no mind, and although Lan Zhan seemed unbothered by the simple text. His heart did ache despite Wei Ying telling him that he's going to be cautious.

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Stepping outside, Wei Ying could sense that there's something around the corner that doesn't feel right. Call it werewolf instincts, but there's something - possibly someone lurking around the corner. Cursing himself for having left school so late, Wei Ying adjusted the leather straps on his backpack and started walking through the empty streets. 

Each step he took, the sound would bounce off the stone covered sidewalk, and although dusk crept in, the feeling of being watched never went away. A part of Wei Ying - the little voice at the back of his head kept telling him to run and hide. But he didn't. Instead, Wei Ying laughed at his silly thoughts and went on his way, for he was no coward. 

As Wei Ying took a right turn, passing by the rank dumpster and nearing an abandoned alleyway, that's when fear and a bit of nervousness crawled in, nudging at his insides until he could taste bile rising up his throat. By now, the sun already went away, leaving behind an eerie gloom in the skies. 

Sniffing the air, wanting to be sure he wasn't being followed, Wei Ying's heart sank when his worries were confirmed that he wasn't alone. There's someone else. A distinct smell of sweets, perhaps cotton candy? Wei Ying wasn't sure, though he thought so. 

Heaving a heavy sigh, Wei Ying gulped and began speed walking past the deserted area. However, before making it past the second dumpster, a crunching sound, followed by a burst of childish laughter came from behind him, instantly stopping Wei Ying in his tracks. 

Xue Yang, "Well, well, well. If it isn't the baby wolf." 

There, decked out in all black and hair nicely tied in a tight ponytail, Xue Yang stood. A menacing smile plastered upon his smug face as he swallowed the last bit of chocolate bar he'd been munching on. 

"Why, are you afraid, baby wolf?" Xue Yang teased when Wei Ying stood frozen in place. "I know Xichen's little brother can be foolish sometimes, but leaving you unguarded seems to top the cake, don't you think?"

When Wei Ying remained unresponsive, a burst of mocking laughter willed Xue Yang's mouth for a second time, before he wiped the smirk clean off his face and pulled a dagger - no more than four inches out of pocket, and began stalking toward Wei Ying. "Well, I'm glad you're scared baby wolf, cause you should be."