WangXian Forever 5

Chapter 1 Treasures

Wei Ying sat high up among the branches of the Great magnolia tree, a bloom twirling between his fingers, watching the soft breezes play with the sturdy leaves. The sound of them rustling gave peace to his heart, and he closed his eyes, drinking in the sweet scent of newly opened ivory flowers.

He came here to think.

It was incredibly calming, sitting above the regular happenings of Cloud Recesses, able to see everything but not be directly involved. And he wanted to be alone right now.

He wasn't comfortable keeping anything from Lan Zhan. This was his problem; he wanted to tell him so much, but the opportunity never arose, or if he finally summoned enough courage, the moments were stolen. These days, it was hard to be able to talk to his husband alone, and the only times they spent together was at night.

Wei Ying missed Lan Zhan.

He missed travelling with him more than anything, because when they were on the road, they were together.

Clan duties, he thought bitterly. The Lan brothers should definitely think about getting assistants, like Jiang Cheng had.

Speak of the Devil.

"What are you doing up there?" Jiang Cheng shouted from below.

Wei Ying opened his eyes, and sighed, having found no solution to his problem yet. He flicked the flower at Jiang Cheng, who scowled and rubbed his nose, irritated.

"Hi Cheng Cheng!" He waved and smiled. It was so good riling him up. "Where are you going?" He asked, when he saw the towel tucked under his arm.

"The Cold Pond. Huan said it will be good for my health." He shuddered. "It's so cold, though."

Wei Ying grinned down at him. "Chicken! I dare you to stay in there for an hour!"

"I'm not a chicken, and an hour is nothing!" Jiang Cheng shouted back. "You're on. Come and find me in an hour's time, then."

Wei Ying scoffed at him and plucked another flower, with the intention of using it as ammunition, Jiang Cheng understood too quickly and left.

"Father?"

Wei Ying nearly fell off his branch. He was going to have to look for another place. This one was getting too crowded.

"Little rabbit!" Wei Ying beamed at her and opened his arms.

The little girl had found a way to climb up to him; of course he was going to keep her safe. She burrowed into his chest, not really saying anything more, and he knew something was on her mind. He fingered the lock of white hair, fallen out of her bun as if it didn't want to be tied up. This was yet another thing he had to sort out.

They didn't know what had happened to her, the day she had saved Lan Zhan. Her irises had turned white, this one lock of hair too, and her voice, a deeper octave. As if she was possessed by...what?

The sound of her sniffling brought him out of his thoughts.

"What's the matter, little rabbit?" He patted her back gently.

"I miss the beach...and the sea...and our holiday." She whispered. "I miss father, too. Why is he so busy?" She sighed, and snuggled closer.

"I miss him too." Wei Ying said, sadly.

"I miss the people we met there, I miss my aunts and my uncles, especially Daden Yaonu. I miss the smell of the salty air, I miss playing in the sand. All of it. You know what's funny?" She wiped her face on his robes.

"What?" He wanted to let her talk and get it off her chest.

"I felt like I belonged. There, with them. Not like here."

Those last three words struck fear into his heart.

Li XiWang was still sleeping with them, but she had her own room built next to theirs. After the failed experiment with the rainbow and the pot, the renovations that were made to the Jingshi were substantial. But they still didn't want to send Li XiWang to school just yet.

Wei Ying was scared of that. He didn't want his daughter to be bullied, even though Uncle Qiren had assured them that it would not happen again.

He was an emotional man, perhaps the opposing balance to his husband, who felt everything and showed nothing. Wei Ying couldn't help showing everything he felt. And the fact remained, he felt things far more strongly these days.

But if his little rabbit continued to struggle with being accepted, would she want to leave Cloud Recesses? Leave him?

His arms tightened of their own accord. He didn't want her to go.

"Brother Wei?" XiChen called out, in that graceful way of not shouting, but allowing his voice to carry. "Ah, Li XiWang! I'm glad you're together. We have visitors. Could you come with me to greet them?"

Wei Ying was definitely going to find somewhere else.

He jumped out of the tree holding his precious bundle who giggled infectiously, when they landed softly, not a hair out of place.

This was yet another thing he had to tell Lan Zhan. Who happened to be walking towards them right now.

His golden eyes lit up when they saw Wei Ying, who put Li XiWang down and bounced towards him. Wei Ying reached up and kissed his cheek, silver eyes twinkling back.

Lan Zhan saw his brother take their daughter's hand and start leading her away, so he held onto Wei Ying's hand and pulled him closer.

Wei Ying wrapped his arms around Lan Zhan's neck and rubbed his nose affectionately against his husband's, before angling his face and fastening his lips to those pink ones, ever ready to open up for him. This was a sad kiss, one full of sorrow and regret, and Lan Zhan pulled away, shocked when he tasted the saltiness of his tears.

Golden eyes blazed with questions. "Wei Ying?"

Wei Ying laughed awkwardly, wiping his eyes with his sleeves.

"Ah, it's nothing, Lan Zhan, don't worry about me."

But Lan Zhan gently took his sleeves away, replacing them with his thumbs, holding his face.

"It hurts when Wei Ying says that. Like you don't matter to me." Lan Zhan kissed his still leaking eyes, ignoring the gasp, and not letting him protest, he kissed his husband deeply.

If there was one way of communicating that Lan Zhan found easy, it was this. He only had to think of everything he was feeling, and his lips did the rest, because without fail, his Wei Ying understood. Every time.

So he poured his love into this contact, and asked him why he was sad, without using words.

"Didi?" XiChen called out, without looking back.

Lan Zhan wanted to ignore him. Wei Ying needed him. Now.

"Can we talk about it later? It's okay, I can wait." Wei Ying took his arm and they started following his brother.

But Lan Zhan could feel his heart breaking at those words. Wei Ying shouldn't have to wait.

*****

A/N

Hello everyone!

Welcome to Book 5. I hope you like it so far, and thank you with all of my heart that you're still with me!

Have a great day/night wherever you are, and rest well.

Tomorrow is another day, hopefully filled with chocolate, hehe.