Untamed Hearts

Chapter 10

"Jiang Chengg."

Jiang Cheng sighed and gave his brother an annoyed look. Lan Xichen had left early in the morning to go to Qinghe so he was left alone with Wei Wuxian again.

"What?"

"You're not going to tell me what happened last night?"

"I told you it was nothing." He looked away and concentrated on pouring tea.

"I can tell when something's wrong," Wei Wuxian nagged.

"I'm not talking about it," Jiang Cheng replied tightly. "I got sect leader duties to take care of. Are you returning back to Gusu?"

"Jiang Cheng! Don't try and change the subject! You scared me last night. I only left because Xichen was there."

"I said I'm not talking about it!" Jiang Cheng snapped, his irritation flaring up. He stood and stormed out from the bedroom before Wei Wuxian could say anything else. As he walked out of the room, he bumped into Hong Mei.

"Sorry," Jiang Cheng said hastily. He disappeared into his study and didn't come out again until noon when he ate lunch.

"Where's Wei Wuxian? Has he eaten yet?" He asked one of the servants.

"Young Master Wei left this morning. He said he'd be back before evening," They replied.

"I see," Jiang Cheng said.

"And sect leader, he left his flute behind. He only brought his sword."

"Oh." Jiang Cheng didn't find anything strange about that. He knew Wei Wuxian was practicing both demonic and regular cultivation in a way, but nowadays, he preferred his sword.

"Should we send someone after him?"

"Wei Wuxian can take care of himself," Jiang Cheng answered, turning his attention back to his paperwork. His brother indeed comes back before evening, just in time for dinner in fact. He held a jar of alcohol in one hand and a basket covered in a blanket in another.

"ChengCheng!" Wei Wuxian called, waving his arm. Jiang Cheng scowled at the nickname.

"I have a surprise for you. Come over here!"

"What did you do now?" Jiang Cheng groaned, crossing over to the courtyard in quick strides just as Wei Wuxian pulled the blanket off the basket to reveal what was inside. Jiang Cheng froze in his tracks. A small gray creature leaped out from the basket right onto his path.

A cat?

"Is that... a cat?" Jiang Cheng sputtered, his earlier annoyance replaced by shock.

"No, it's a chicken," Wei Wuxian snorted with the audacity of an added eyeroll. "Of course it's a cat! What else could it be?"

"Why in the heavens did you buy a cat? Who is it for? There's no way Master Lan would allow you to bring it back!" Jiang Cheng wanted to facepalm so badly.

"It's not for me. It's for you! And I found it abandoned on the street so I didn't have to pay."

"I still don't know why you got it for me." Jiang Cheng stared down at the cat who had started battering her paws at his robes. Then she started weaving around his legs, soft rumbling sounds emitting from her throat.

"Huh, she seems to like you. She clawed my hand when I tried to pick her up earlier. I only managed to coax her into the blanket with food." Wei Wuxian huffed.

"You don't seem to have a charm with animals," Jiang Cheng snorted. He bent down to pick the cat up and she started purring even louder. "You can barely handle Lil'Apple."