The Werewolf Next Door | WangXian

Chapter 30 - Rattle Drum & Xue Yang

As the evening sun went into hiding, and twilight fell, leaving behind patches of scarlet and lilac lying inside the clouds, one after another, the street lamps outside lit up.

While baked bread and nighttime dinner of shrimp-noodle and casserole filtered throughout the three cross streets of the quiet neighborhood, the youngsters hurry home when their mothers yell out their names.

Soon, all doors were sealed shut, and all the windows locked. The scent of dinner no longer lingered - sealed within their respective homes.

However, inside Lan Zhan's home, there was no gathering by the table for nighttime dinner and no happy laughter to accompany along with it. Instead, the air, a quietness lingered. A calmness before the storm.

Upstairs in the attic where all the cardboard boxes and hidden drawers were, Wei Ying hissed for the tenth time when a speck of red appeared at the tip of his finger. A cut he'd received from the bottom cabinet while searching for something that might be of use to them when Xue Yang arrives.

Wei Ying sucked on his finger until the blood disappeared. Smiling gleefully at the lack of redness, he went back to rummaging through the cabinet stacked with chunks of uninteresting papers belonging to Lan Zhan.

Unbothered when the fragrance of richly aged sandalwood engulfed the tiny basement, Wei Ying began humming. A song all too familiar to Lan Zhan's ears.

The sound of Wei Ying humming made Lan Zhan stop in his tracks and staggered a step back, taken back by the sudden song as if Wei Ying made it simply for his ears.

Wei Ying listened, cheeks tinted pink, pleased by Lan Zhan's reaction. He knew the song had affected Lan Zhan since the first time he sang it. Although he never thought it'd play that much of an impact. As he continued humming and mouthing at the words, Lan Zhan's feet still stood grounded.

Wei Ying peered over his shoulder and smiled, all teeth. Unknowingly melting Lan Zhan's heart in the process. "So, are you just going to stand there and admire my handsomeness?" Wei Ying asked. "Or are you going to help me look for your secret stash?"

Lan Zhan smiled, sighed, and replied, "Did you find anything interesting?"

Wei Ying pouted, "No."

"You know, you never said the name of that song," Lan Zhan said as he took small steps toward Wei Ying, greeting him with a kiss to the lips.

"Hmm," Wei Ying hummed, satisfied. "That's because It's a secret, my Er Gege." Lan Zhan knitted his brows in displeasure. Isn't part of being soulmates meant never keeping secrets from each other?

Fortunately, Wei Ying immediately took notice and pinched the bridge of the stone-faced werewolf's nose. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Wei Ying laughed. "I never thought of a name. What do you think we should call it, Lan Zhan?"

Lan Zhan frowned deeper. "I. I don't understand. Call it?"

"Well, technically, it's my song," Wei Ying replied. "I made it up back when I was in foster care. Before Jiang Cheng's parents adopted me."

Instantly, Wei Ying's mind slipped into an ocean of memories from those bitter nights of being on the streets, chased by stray dogs while searching for scraps in dumpsters before being picked up one day and tossed into an orphanage like some wild animal, waiting to find its forever home.

It was there, swallowed up by loneliness at the young age of six, did Wei Ying start mouthing words under the sheets when the lights were switched off till he formed a melody. A melody that's been kept a secret up until that night when he found Lan Zhan crying inside his bed because of Xichen's injury.