Untamed Hearts

Chapter 7

Wei WuXian sat at the edge of the pier, dipping his feet into the water, letting his toes create small ripples. He and Jiang Cheng always did this when they were teenagers. They had chased each other down the docks barefooted, played in the shallow ends of the lake and pushed each other playfully into the water. And Shijie would watch them from the pavilion or from the shore with a warm smile on her face.

I miss her...I will never stop missing her.

Wei WuXian thought, smiling sadly to himself. He didn't notice Jiang Cheng coming to sit next to him until he felt a light punch on his shoulder.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing really," Wei WuXian said quickly, staring down at the ripples his feet are making in the water.

"I miss her too. A-Ling never got the chance to meet her and he feels the same hole in his heart as we do." Wei WuXian closed his eyes and this and looked away.

"I know we always eat her soup, but should we go to a restaurant for today?" Jiang Cheng suggested, breaking the silence. " It...just doesn't feel the same. Especially not today..."

"As long as we keep her in our hearts..."

"Isn't there a new restaurant in Yunmeng? I heard the food there is unbearably spicy, even for local folks," Wei WuXian sat up with a gleam in his eyes, the sad memories quickly pushed away.

"Sounds like your kind of restaurant," Jiang Cheng grumbled. Wei WuXian only laughed in response.

"I guess you will have to pay again this time. Unfortunately, I am still poor, in my last life and this life!"

"Liar!" Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. "What happened to all the money you got during your wedding? Don't tell me you spent it all on Emperor's Smile and rare spices?!" Wei WuXian looked away guilty and got shoved into the water as a result.

"Hey, rude!" Wei WuXian sputtered, deliberately splashing water towards Jiang Cheng in retaliation.

"Stop it or we'll both have to walk into the restaurant soaking wet!" Jiang Cheng complained.

"You pushed me into the water first!"

"You were asking for it!"

They both glared at one another for the longest time before Wei WuXian started laughing.

"Well, we can both get changed and leave then."

"Hong Mei and her brother haven't awoken yet, but I'll have Jiang

He walked back to his room to change into his usual black robes, but put on a dark reddish-purple ribbon in his hair and tied his clarity bell to his waist. When he left the room, Jiang Cheng was waiting for him by the front door.

"You're going to pay half of the bill. No arguments."

"Fine fine," Wei WuXian laughed. They continued onwards to town. Merchants greet them from their stands as they make their way around town. Soon they arrive at the restaurant and take their seats. They ordered their dishes and drank alcohol as they waited.

"We should invite Sect leader Nie to drink with us next time. It'll be just like when we were at Cloud Recesses," Wei WuXian said cheerfully. Jiang Cheng doesn't reply but there's a solemn look on his face as he nodded.

Same, but also not the same....

"So Nie Huaisang adopted a daughter. I never expected that."

"I expected that more than him getting married," Jiang Cheng replied.

"To be honest, I never expected you to get a partner either, but you managed to find a great partner."