Tempting Fate

Chapter 06

A/N: Hey there! I am baaaack with chapter 06!

I know a lot of you are angry with Jiang Cheng at this point but bear with him please 🥺

Secondly, today we have Wei Ying's reunion with his favourite brother out of all of them!
It's so much fun to write a character who is usually evil as a good person.

Thirdly ❗️❗️ Anyone watching Douluo Continent?? I'm addicted to it! Tang San is so pretty and adorable!!

Fourthlyyyy, i started watching Produce 101 season 1, Yibo is just so?? Cute?? He's such level headed mentor but he is scary ain't gonna lie lol

Moving on! I hope you like this chapter!

Ps: we will meet Jin Guangshan and his circus clowns in the next chapter!

(I haven't slept a wink in almost three days (i'm an insomniac) so as usual, if there are any mistakes or errors please do point them out to me as this is not proofread. (Its 4:17am really)
But for now, have fun!

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Lan Wangji, as the youngest leader to ever run one of the three feared mafia families, demanded respect everywhere he went, whatever he did, he was known to have an imposing figure, unrelenting in the decisions he had to make, but the same feared Hanguang-Jun stood in front of a young man, a man he never thought he would meet again, with all his fearsome aura melted away,

"Lan Zhan"

The name itself was enough to get him moving, his legs carrying him towards his little sunflower, but once he reached the foot of the bed, he was suddenly unsure of what he was supposed to do..

"I missed you A-Zhan"

Before his brain could process his actions, he was moving fast, arms going around the skinny figure and bringing him into a bone crushing hug, closing his eyes as tight as he could, he wished for the tears to go away,

"A-Zhan missed his Xianxian too... so much.."

He didn't expect the man to return his hug but to his surprise the younger man draped his arms around him, hugging him as equally as tight,

"How are you Wei Ying?"

He asked once they pulled away,

"I'm scared"

The tiny voice in which the boy spoke in pained his heart to hear, he knew that this whole ordeal was extremely unfair to Wei Ying, being ripped away from his safe sanctuary so suddenly, being brought back to a place where he held some of his most bitter memories, there was nothing more Lan Wangji wanted than to break the door and let the boy out, but he needed to tread carefully around Jiang Cheng. Whatever was said and done at the end of the day, Jiang Cheng still was the leader of Yunmeng, he still was his older brother's husband.

Lan Wangji knew that any rash decisions he were to make, would most probably result in an interclan war and it would put his brother's marriage in danger if it comes to it, furthermore, the youngest of them was traumatised enough that he didn't want to make things worse,

Whatever he had to do, he had to be smart about it,

His train of thoughts got cut off in the middle as he felt Wei Ying shifting, moving to a position so that he was sat to the side, placing his head on Lan Wangji's shoulder, his heart threatened to melt more and more at the sight of big silver eyes blinking up at him,

"What have you been up to while I was gone?"

Lan Wangji felt the on coming stretch of a smile from a mile away,

"Got busy working, Huan-ge and I took over Gusu Lan, was looking for Wei Ying, repeat... what did Wei Ying do?"

He spoke while carefully threading his fingers through the locks of messy black hair,

"For the first few years I lived on the streets, then I met the owner of the apartment I was living in, he let me live there for free until I got the job at the cafe, they helped me get into a university.. kept missing you, my parents, Qiren shifu, Rouhan shifu, Chao-ge, Huan-ge... everyone.. Lan Zhan.. can i ask you something?"

"Anything.. Wei Ying can ask me anything"

He felt the younger wriggle in place,

"Does Jiang Cheng still hate me?... but if he still hates me why did he bring me back here?"

The silence was starting to make Lan Wangji squirm in place,

"Jiang Wanyin... doesn't hate you.. I don't think he ever did.. he didn't talk to anyone after you ran away, for years, the doctors said it might have been shock but none of us were sure. Huan-ge got him speaking again and he spent more years apologizing and trying to mend his relationship with his parents and your parents but the damage was too deep to be undone at that point. He didn't know that I was looking for you as well, when he found out.. he went berserk.. we almost had a fight.. he spent years looking for you.. there were days we would find him black out drunk in some club, crying about Yanli-jie and you.."

After a beat, he spoke again, this time, sternly,

"That does not mean what he is doing is right. Wei Ying is an adult, he will always be the baby of us all but you are still an adult. Jiang Wanyin keeping you here without your consent is barring on all that we have learned growing up."

Wei Ying sat up again,

"I don't think I hate to be here, it's... it's nice to be with my parents, Yi-ma, you.. all of you.. I just don't like being locked inside this room without any freedom.... Lan Zhan... do you think you can talk to Cheng-ge? At least to let me out of the room? I promise you I will not run away"

"Wei Ying.."

How he could explain it to the younger man that Jiang Wanyin and he were no longer friends was beyond him..

"I will try. I will talk to Huan-ge. But Wei Ying has to promise me you will not run away again.... please"

The moment the younger's eyes casted down instead of meeting his own, Lan Wangji knew he was about to take a big risk by trying to talk to Jiang Wanyin, but he had made a promise to his Wei Ying and no matter what the outcome was about to be, he had to at least try,

He didn't fail to notice the way Wei Ying's eyes were beginning to fall shut, warmth and affection for the younger man pulling on his heart strings by the way he was trying to fight the onslaught on adorable yawns.

"Wei Ying should rest a little. I will come by later."

He spoke as he helped the man to lay down, pulling the covers up to his cheeks..

"Thank you Zhan-ge"

Was the last sleepy mumble he heard while he let the door close behind him, sparing a heated glare at the buff man standing guard at the door..

'Now to tackle Jiang Wanyin..'

With a deep breath, he walked towards the office where he knew Jiang Cheng was at, stopping in front of the door and bracing himself for the inevitable shouting match that would soon follow, entering into the room, he was beyond glad that it was only the Jiang heir in the room, whose face screwed up in annoyance at his entrance,

"We need to talk"

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Jiang Cheng was putting up with two types of headaches... one that actually made him feel like his brain was trying to backflip its' way through his skull and one that took the form of one Jin Zixun.

The only thing that kept him from pulling out his gun and shooting the man dead on the spot was his husband's tight grip on his forearm and the unexpectedly supportive presence of Lan Wangji, who thankfully took the initiative to lead the tortured meeting, but the ever present smirk of the Jin's face was beginning to test his patience,

Next to the annoying bastard sat Jin Guangyao. A man that he hated and respected at the same time. He had no problem with the smaller Jin but their presence on the particular day was certainly not expected, but as the leader of Yunmeng, it was his duty..

One of his subordinates knocked on the door, temporarily bringing them all a break from the rambling Jin Zixun was throwing around about why they should allow Lanling Jin to do business in their territory, but one look at the new comer's face was enough to tell him that whatever news he had brought with him was anything but good,

"Hanguang-Jun, Zewu-Jun, Young master Jiang, pardon the interruption but he hasn't touched the food we got him in two days.. your parents are beginning to worry"

The ambience in the room took a swift turn and launched straight into one of alertness the moment everyone of them heard the word "he",

Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji zeroed their eyes of the two Jins, evidently daring them to say a word, while Jiang Cheng had gone completely still, eyes full of worry darting back and forth between the two people sitting in front of them,

He dismissed the man with a quick wave as soon as he noticed a smirk appearing on Jin Zixun's face,

"My my.. are the twin jades and esteemed Sandu Shengshou hiding something? Or... someone?"

The fierce protectiveness he felt was only increased more when he felt the two Lan brother standing up from their own seats along with him, but before he could get a word in, it was Lan Xichen that spoke first,

"I do not believe our personal matters are that of an importance to Lanling Jin. I apologise for the abruptness but we will have to have this meeting some other time. Now if you'll excuse us, we have to go. Lan Jingyi will 'see' you out"

Jiang Cheng's happy moment by seeing Jin Zixun going red in the face lasted only for a split second, face going back to a look of concern once the three were outside,

"Wangji. May be you should check on A-Ying?"

But the younger Lan only shook his head,

"Best if Jiang Wanyin did so"

The Jiang heir found himself nodding along in agreement, taking a few steps towards his brother's room only to come to a stop when Lan Wangji's voice was heard again,

"Jiang Wanyin. Remember what we talked about"

—

For the whole three weeks that his brother had been brought back, every time that Jiang Cheng walked into the room, he did so with an aura of authority and power radiating off of him. But ever since the day Lan Wangji had came into his office demanding that they had to talk, something in his demeanour changed,

Because instead of his usual powerful aura, now it was one of nervousness, he pushed the thoughts to the back of his head as he opened the door and walked inside, freezing in his spot when he saw a concerned looking Wei Changze and a worried Cangse Sanren looked up at him from their spot on the bed, but his eyes were trailed on the sickly figure sitting in the middle of the bed,

A quick look around the room confirmed that, yes, his brother had indeed been refusing to eat, he pushed aside his concerns once again, looking the two parents directly in the eye,

"Please leave us. I would like to speak to him alone"

The way his brother's hands fisted tighter in uncertainty and the way his parents looked at each other in concern only broke his heart even more, but in order to talk to the younger Wei, he had to get him alone,

"I really wasn't making a request shifu"

He watched as Wei Ying gave them a small nod, waiting until they both left the room to make a move to get closer to the bed,

"Are you trying to kill yourself?"

He didn't mean for it to sound angry but he just couldn't help himself,

"Why do you care?"

It was then that Jiang Cheng came into a cold realisation that Wei Ying actually thought he hated him..

"Why do I- A-Ying... Can I sit there?"

He made his voice softer, after all he had promised the annoying Lan to try and see things from his brother's perspective. He gingerly sat on the corner of the bed once he received a small nod of confirmation,

"I'm... I'm sorry A-Ying.."

His heart was beginning to get lighter with each word, but he knew his brother didn't trust him quite yet, if his wide eyed look was anything to go by, he wanted to stop, he wanted to stop and leave the room but once he saw the hopeful glimmer in the younger's eyes, he could no longer stop himself,

"I have no excuse for what I did, I lost- 'we' lost our sister and I almost killed you and... and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness and I know I'm being a complete asshole right now by keeping you here against your will. It's just.. I spent years knowing and regretting that my baby brother almost died because of me.. my baby brother ran away from home because I couldn't control myself.. I lost everything I loved.. I know you did too. When Xu-ge said he saw you in Yiling the other day I wanted nothing more than to run away from you myself, because I couldn't bring myself to face you after all that I did... but then I saw you and all I could think of was 'this is my only chance to have my brother back' and I'm sorry for doing this to you.. I really am.. but in some twisted way having you here makes me feel safe that you're alive, it's a sign for me to know that I can keep you safe.. it's a sign for me to at least try to fix things.. even if they are beyond the point of being fixed.. I know you hate me for this and It's okay.. I can take your hatred every single day... I can be the bad guy every passing minute if it means you stay here safe and sound.."

By the time he was done, the younger of them had tears streaming down his face and he was clutching the sheets harder,

But his minutely moment of braveness faded as fast as it appeared as he wiped off the tears on his own face and stood up, moving away from his brother as the stoic expression washed over his face once again,

"Please eat your food before I come in and check again. If you don't you can forget about seeing your parents for a while-"

A booming voice had them both flinching before he could finish his sentence,

"Jiang Cheng!"

Turning his head, he came face to face with a furious Wen Rouhan closely followed by an equally furious Yu Ziyuan.

"What is wrong with you?! Is there-"

This time it was Wei Ying's meek voice that cut through,

"Yi-ma.. shifu.. Jiang ch- i mean Cheng-ge wasn't saying anything bad i promise.. can one of you help Xianxian eat please?"

With a snap of a finger the two adults seemingly forgot about Jiang Cheng's existance, rushing to fuss over the boy on the bed,

for the first time since he brought Wei Ying back, his brother had called him 'ge' again.. it was a bad start but to him it was a start nonetheless,

Wen Rouhan shot out an arm to grip his own as he was leaving, stopping him midway,

"I know you think it's too late to fix things but believe me... it's not"

The man spoke softly, giving him a gentle smile..

—

The Jiang heir sat in between the two Lan brother and Wen Xu, going over the shipment plans for the upcoming week when the unfortunate door of his office slammed opened once again, followed by a livid voice screaming out his name,

Even before he could understand what the commotion was, all he could see was the blur of red and black attired before he was unceremoniously yanked out of his chair and the next thing he registered was the throbbing pain in his left cheek,

"Jiang Cheng you fucking asshole!"

The look on Wen Chao's face screamed murder, the man had arrived back from his long trip only to hear about the incidents that had taken place while he was away, but the moment he heard about the way Jiang Cheng was treating his baby brother, all his self control had flown out of the window,

Now, Wen Xu and Lan Wangji was trying to hold him back while Lan Xichen tended to his wincing husband,

"Are you even human?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!"

The man kept rambling, never even thinking to let any of them get a word in,

"And the three of you! Are you fucking kidding me?! He doesn't have a brain but where is yours?!! Xichen! Wangji! I thought better of you! You should be grovelling at his feet begging for forgiveness but you simply locked him up in his own room?! Was he the one traumatised or was it one of you?! Unbelievable... all of you!"

Before any of them could respond, the younger Wen shook then off of him as he rushed down the hallway, knowing perfectly well that the three brainless idiots were following him equally as fast,

The anger and the frustration he felt all day long instantly melted away once he barged into the room where Wei Ying was, startling the youngest from where he was seated near the window, who ended up looking at him with wide eyes, lips moving but no word was coming out,

He was across the room the moment he heard his name being called in a broken cry,

"Chao-ge"

His own tears fell as fast as they could when the boy leapt off his chair and launched himself in to the Wen's arms, clinging to him like a child would and crying in to his neck, Wen Chao moved them with ease so that he was sitting on the bed with the smaller of the two sitting to his side, still clinging to him and crying his heart out,

"Oh A-Ying I'm so so sorry little one! So sorry! I'm so sorry they hurt you.. I'm here now.. I promise you no one will hurt you again when I'm around.. do you trust me?"

The reply was nearly unexpected,

"I missed you so much gege"

Wen Chao could only hug the boy tighter, glaring at the three men standing near the door, silently daring them to say a word,

"Do you promise?"

He quickly changed his attention to the koala like figure clinging to him,

"Promise you what A-Ying?"

"Promise me that no one will hurt me again?"

Oh how he wanted to punch the three men in the face once again... how could they have even thought it was a good idea to keep the boy by force? When it was as clear as day that he was petrified,

"A-Ying.."

He coaxed the smaller man to look up at him, gently wiping the steady trail of tears,

"Has your Chao-ge ever broken a promise he made you?"

He could only chuckle at the adorable sniffle and the little head shake,

"Then rest assured. No one can nor will they even think about hurting you again.. I promise you that"

He was still furious, he wanted to march over to the three men and give them a piece of his mind... or just punch them all in the throat, but the moment he made a move to get up he heard the youngest of them let out a pitiful whine as his grip on his arm grew tighter and he snuggled closer to the man who was as close as a father figure to him since the day he could remember,

The peace, however was short lived as Lan Jingyi stood in front of the door, hesitantly calling out to them,

"Zewu-Jun, Hunguang-Jun, Master Jiang and Master wen, really sorry for bothering you again but we just got word from our guy in Lanling Jin"

Even though Wen Chao knew it was important, as it was every time they got news from their insider in Lanling, there was absolutely no way he was going to ask Wei Ying to let go of him, instead he faced the three leaders of the two clans, voice steely as he spoke,

"I'll stay with A-Ying.. go see what he has to say and you can update me later"

The meeting was important but hearing his little brother's content happy sigh was worth missing any meeting that would come across..

Wen Chao could only hope he had enough strength to fix the situation before it got any more worse than it already was, but for now,

He made a promise that he would never let anyone hurt his baby brother again,

And Wen Chao was never a man who made empty promises..

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A/N: I'm sincerely hoping none of you are mad at me lol

I hope you liked it!

What do you think Lan Zhan spoke with Jiang Cheng? And who do you think is the guy inside Lanling Jin is?

Please let me know what you think about this chapter!

Any suggestions and ideas are all welcome!!

See you next time!

Stay healthy and stay safe my lovelies!!