The world is still such a bright place

Chapter 62

Note: This chapter contains mild description of a panic attack, please be warned and proceed at your own discretion

It had been a few days since the whole misunderstanding with Jiang Cheng happened and Wei Wuxian was now spending all his free time together with all his friends. He still had a hard time believing he was not dreaming, all four of them were so nice to him, not shunning him out because of his condition but instead accommodating it so much in fact that he barely noticed any discomfort or awkwardness.

Since Nie Huisang and Jin Zixuan already knew how to approach him, it was no news to them. Although probably still inconvenienced, they did not say even a single word about it. It must have been much harder for Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng to get used to it. Wei Wuxian was pleasantly surprised to experience first-hand just how kind the daughter of the Yunmeng Jiang clan was. In fact, she was doing so well that the Gusu Lan sect disciple did not feel awkward or left out even for a second. It was nothing short of a miracle for him. She even gave him an endearing nickname and told him to call her Shijie.

On the other hand, it had proven to be much more complicated to interact with her brother. It was not that they were so different from each other. Wei Wuxian found out with no small amount of surprise that now when he was not afraid to let his true character be known and was able to speak freely, he enjoyed chatting with the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir greatly, although not as much as with Jin Zixuan. The only challenge for both him and Jiang Cheng were a few awkward moments when the other had forgotten that Wei Wuxian was blind and wanted to show him something or asked whether he had already done something which would be completely impossible for him.

But overall, they were getting along quite well. At least after Wei Wuxian understood that Jiang Cheng's anger and grumpy rumbling was not directed against him on purpose, the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir just could not help himself. With this knowledge, the Gusu Lan sect disciple was not afraid of him anymore and even started to joke with him and played a few pranks on him. It got him some shouting but he was able to shrug it off every time, not minding Jiang Cheng's moods, just as his sister suggested.

Until now, they have spent all their time in the Jingshi where he was feeling safe. Today however, they have agreed to take a short stroll outside and to have their afternoon tea in a form of a picnic under the wide sky and afternoon sun. It took Wei Wuxian a while to agree since he had been worried that he would be inconveniencing them because of his slow pace and how messily he ate. Despite having almost a lifetime of practice, he was still having troubles with chopsticks, it was incredibly hard to not spill or drop anything because he could not tell where exactly the other ends and the food were.

Jiang Yanli, the kind soul she was, assured him that they did not mind, but he was still feeling restless. It was the only point which clouded his immense happiness and excitement. During the last weeks, he was experiencing so many new things, he was now feeling like he was finally starting to live as a normal person. Or as normal as he could, given his condition.

He was sitting on pins and needles through the lectures today, not able to wait. Luckily, his uncle seemed to have decided to ignore his unfocused state. Finally, Lan Qiren announced the end of the lectures and left. Wei Wuxian did not wait for all the guest disciples to leave this time and jumped up from his seat immediately after that.

"Wei Ying, careful," reprimanded him Lan Zhan with a hint of smile in his tone.

He nodded to show that he had acknowledged his brother's warning. Although he had become a bit distracted since he had sensed that Jin Zixuan was also getting up and was now coming closer to him. Any public expression of over emotional state being forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, he regretted that they were not able to hold hands or be seen too close to each other. No matter, they would just have to hurry and be out of sight as soon as possible, then no one would mind their behaviour.

In his excitement, he forgot to pay attention to his surroundings and be careful like Lan Zhan reminded him. He had turned too quickly to go meet Jin Zixuan and he bumped his knee on the corner of his table. Not expecting having his leg almost knocked away from under him, he staggered dangerously, trying to catch his balance again. It was to no avail, he was falling.

He braced for the impact and the inevitable pain, he was sure he would land on the table and since he could not see where exactly, he could not try to avoid the collision. However, it never came to that.

Suddenly, he felt warm arms wrap around him. He started panicking immediately, he felt like he was being trapped, just like all those times a certain man in the Koi Tower came to find him. His heart was now racing like crazy and he was having hard time breathing, cold sweat covered his body from head to toes.

He started fighting the arms holding him in a frantic attempt to free himself. After a second however, he remembered that struggling always only made things worse and he stilled completely. His body was now only shivering as he waited for a punishment which would of course be coated in gentle reprimanding words and explanations of proper discipline. He had prepared himself for the worst.

Nothing like that happened. Not even after several seconds which he spent holding his breath and praying that he had stopped in time. Perhaps the man did not notice he had tried to resist him.

Instead of a rough voice however, he heard another familiar one, more melodious and soft, and definitely more welcomed. He could hear that Jin Zixuan was very distressed and worried: "Wuxian, are you alright?"

Only now started the Gusu Lan sect disciple taking in his surroundings again. No, he was not in a busy street in the Koi Tower, the commotion he heard around himself were only disciples leaving the Lecture hall. The hands which were wrapped around him tightly were not big and rough as he remembered, they were thinner and warmer. He felt soft fabric rub against one of his cheeks and when he finally took a deep breath, he almost drowned in a smell of peony flowers, the smell he came to associate with Jin Zixuan.

Now that he knew he was definitely not in the Koi Tower but in the Cloud Recesses and he was not being held with ill intentions, he started calming down. He was taking deep breaths and willed his heartbeat to go back to normal. It worked and after another few seconds, he could actually unglue his face and hands from Jin Zixuan's robes and turn to reply: "I am fine, thank you, Zixuan. It could have been a nasty fall. I should really be more careful."

He heard a sigh of relief and the Lanling Jin sect heir answered: "That is a relief, I was afraid I have hurt you when I grabbed you so suddenly."

Wei Wuxian smiled and snuggled closer to the other's chest, completely forgetting that they were still in the Lecture hall and that there could be people around. "I know you would never hurt me," he stated with absolute conviction.

He felt very comfortable right now and did not want the Lanling Jin sect heir to ever let go of him. They have never been this close, all they had done was holding hands so far. But now that Wei Wuxian knew how good it could feel to have someone he loved hugging him, he wanted more of it.

His wish was however not granted because the next second, Jiang Cheng's slightly annoyed voice made him sit up straight: "Wei Wuxian, Jin Zixuan, what are you doing over here? We were waiting for you to come to the tea."

Supported by the Lanling Jin sect heir's hand, the Gusu Lan sect disciple got up and faced the intruder. "Of course, we are coming," he smiled at Jiang Cheng and let himself be showed the way by Jin Zixuan's discreet hand on his elbow.