Once upon a lifetime

Abnormality - Part two

Revised 13/11/22

Hello! Apologies for the delay, I assumed I'd already published this on hallowe'en.

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Jiang Wanyin could very confidently say that he was a rational, astute person of order. He sized up the situation before making a decision; he made a decision before he acted; he also got his older sister's advice before acting—something he, unfortunately, couldn't do here. Which meant there was no way he could battle his problems presently.

As he sat beside the windowsill, Jiang Wanyin released a long sigh.

"What's removed the colours from your days, Jiang-Xiong?" asked a familiar airy, warm voice. Jiang Wanyin glanced at the face of Nie Huaisang, who looked as inconspicuous as ever behind his fan.

"Huaisang," he said. "A pleasure." In all honesty, he thought Nie Huaisang was very weird.

They'd formally met towards the beginning of their days at Cloud Recess—he found Nie Huaisang on the floor outside of the library while going to fetch Wei Wuxian back from writing lines. His first thought had been to apprehend the boy and then question him as to why he'd been spying on Wei Wuxian.

"N- No! I was just g- getting some books to- to study!" Nie Huaisang had insisted hastily. "And... Well, Brother Xichen told me I need to study more if I want Da-Ge to stop yelling at me..."

"Brother Xichen?" Jiang Wanyin said questioningly. "You know Young Master Lan on a personal level?"

It was then that Jiang Wanyin became aware of Nie Huaisang's status as a Young Master of the Nie Clan. He's seen him a few times at formal events, but they'd never spoken face to face—not really. He shouldn't be expected to remember every face he sees at those social gatherings

They became... friends (so he says hesitantly) after that. One thing he concluded from their supposed "friendship", however, was that Nie Huaisang was strange. And also had a weird obsession with fans.

"Don't look at me like that, Jiang-Xiong!" Nie Huaisang complained, a small whine present in his voice. "You look as if you're thinking back to the time we met and wishing you'd left me alone and never spoke to me. It's a really strong look, you know." He was also terribly sharp, for that was exactly what Jiang Wanyin had been thinking.

"It's Wei Wuxian..." said Jiang Wanyin slowly. "He's being weird—not that you'd know, for you don't know what he was like before—but it's as if he's a totally different person."

"Have you checked him for possession?" Nie Huaisang prompted.

"Are you suggesting that an evil spirit is possessing my brother?!" barked Jiang Wanyin, furious at the accusation. Nie Huaisang went pale.

"I just wanted to help," he murmured, slowly fanning himself. "It was merely speculation..."

Jiang Wanyin rolled his eyes, "Anyways, as I was saying, he's acting differently recently. For example, he doesn't spend time with me—Instead, he hangs around with Lan Wangji! And- he doesn't even sit with us at meals—because he's sitting with Lan Wangji!!"

"Can I give my honest opinion?" said Nie Huaisang tentatively. "You know—without you getting at my throat, I mean. Just an opinion. That's it."

Jiang Wanyin raised an eyebrow, to which Nie Huaisang released a long breath. "Okay, so I think you're just missing Wei-Xiong too much, not used to him spending so little time with you—"

"I do not miss him!" Jiang Wanyin exclaimed, and then paused. "...OK, maybe a little." He added as an afterthought.

His confidence gradually rising, Nie Huaisang began to smile. "Yes, so I think the reason you hate Lan Wangji is—"