Infinite

The storm

"Hello. Welcome to my humble home. Very glad to have you, Brother,  Master Lan. Will your guest be joining us anytime soon?"

"Yes, he is caught in the traffic." 

"Of course. No worries. The table had been set, let me start us off with drinks. What would you all take?"

"A martini" Chimed in Lan Xichen. "Water please" that was Lan Zhan's voice. 

The host turned towards the third guest and spoke with a gentle smile "And master Nie Huaisang, what will you have?"

"Um... water too... please.." Came the hesitant answer. 

"Fantastic! Bartender, I hope you got that. Drinks please!"

He saw the man in the white shirt nod and begin to pour two chilled glasses of water and served them to the guests. He then proceeded to make Lan Xichen's martini. 

"Sir?"

"Yes Feng?"

"Your other guest has arrived sir."

"Marvellous. Let him in and take his coat."

"Yes sir."

Shortly after the woman left, a tall dark figure walked into the dining room. 

A minute after there was the noise of breaking glass... And everyone turned around to see what had happened.

Lan Zhan had dropped his glass of water and had started apologising. "My mistake. I got distracted."

His brother held a snide smile behind his martini glass and looked at his younger brother with a small twinkle in his eyes. 

Lan Zhan almost rolled his eyes and proceeded to get up to welcome his date. He composed himself before buttoning up his jacket and walked with wobbly legs. 

The said 'date' was clad in a steel black 3 piece suit with a white shirt and a brilliant red tie. The suit hugged his body in all the right places as well as the wrong places which made Lan Zhan do a double-take. He had a pair of shiny black oxford shoes to go with the suit and charming red rhinestone cufflinks. His hair was pulled back in a sleek bun at the back and there were no stray hairs. 

The only thing off was the slight stubble that he had from not shaving for a few days and mild eyebags due to not sleeping well. But that did nothing to diminish his look... if anything it made him look dark and suave. 

007 needed to take notes. 

He looked like a man on a mission. And Lan Zhan was having a hard time keeping his mouth shut. 

He walked towards him and gently touched his shoulders to introduce his boyfriend to the guests in the room. 

Suddenly there was a loud ringing...

"mmm..."

He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock beside him. It read 17:00 in bright blue letters.

This had become a routine for a while now... waking up from vivid memories of time spent with Wei Ying. Mostly during the days when he had left a lasting impression on him. 

The first time they had kissed... the first time he saw Wei Ying dancing... the first time they had made love...

That dream had been the hardest to wake up from... he had hated waking up from it. He hated the reality and wanted to go back to seeing a warm body cuddled up next to him.

He sighed and decided to call his editor. She had left him multiple calls about work and he had not responded to any of them. He had been ignoring work and it was becoming a habit. 

He shot her a quick text and told her that he will come to visit her to talk tomorrow. He looked outside the window to see dark clouds and knew it would rain.

"How fitting indeed..."

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The lights blazed past his eyes... There is no one in the road other than him. It was the wind and him... that was all that existed in those moments. He finally exited the tunnel leaving the fluorescent lights behind and heading back onto the open road. 

The tunnel opened up to a bridge which was constructed over a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was frigid.. with the storm clouds gathering in the far distance like a dark cloak over the cliff. It would only take a few hours for the clouds to move to the bridge, if he doesn't cross it soon he would be swept away with the wind. This he knew... yet he slowed down to a halt at the corner of the bridge by the railing and dismounted his vehicle. 

He could feel the tiny droplets being swept over because of the wind direction. Taking off his helmet he finally greeted the stormy skies with equally intense dark eyes. 

They held secrets. 

His mind naturally went back to the past months and how they had affected him. He thought back to the conversation that he had with Jiang Cheng...

-----------Flashback : begins-------------------

"Do this and you will have a place back in the family."

"You cannot seriously expect me to do this... You have officially lost your head brother."

"Do not call me that!!" He thundered. "That ship has long sailed when you failed to take responsibility for your actions."

"......" He stood there with his head hanging low. There was a speck of dust on the impeccably groomed rose bushes and he focussed on that instead of the man that stood in front of him. 

"Take responsibility now. It's not too late... Do this and be welcomed back into the family. Fail and you know what happens... You are a smart man Wei Wuxian, make smart decisions for a change. Because the stupid ones have cost this family a lot. You OWE this family for what we have done for you. WHERE is your LOYALTY?!!" 

The scream echoed throughout the beautiful labyrinth of trees and disappeared into the night. 

"Why me?..."

"Do not ask answers to questions you already know the answer to. And you are good at what you used to do. Suddenly you are an upstanding citizen of the country, is it?? HA! Don't kid me..."

A burst of mirthless laughter escaped his lips.

"You do not have time to think about this. Make a decision now. 5 minutes"

And he had. He had made the decision. 

The garden was a spectacular maze of wild jasmine and roses with tall cedar trees surrounding them and running between them. One could easily get lost in them.

Just like how he had gotten lost in the consequences of his decisions... Uncle Jiang used to often tell him that regret is a powerful thing. Even more powerful than love and faith. 

He finally understood why...

-----------Flashback : ends--------------

He stood there admiring the cliff... and for a brief moment wondered what it would feel like to jump. 

Would he drown? Would the cold suffocate him? or would the fall itself break his bones that there would be nothing left?

This could all end in just a moment. 

He was an excellent swimmer... that was a problem. He would have to go against his body's natural instincts to swim to the shore. That was going to be hard... he was a survivor. Always had been... it was against everything he believed in to give up his life. 

The clouds kept getting closer and closer... Thunder boomed through the sky like a looming warning for him to get away from the bridge. He heeded that sound and put his helmet back on. 

He mounted the sleek back vehicle and revved up the engine. He could see the rain getting heavier and heavier and decided to do the smart thing and leave.

------------------------------To be continued..........................