Way too untamed, way too wild

A whole new world

Lan Wangji was sorry that the boy was until now having only bad experiences with the town. He had wanted to show him that the world outside of the Burial Mounds had much to offer but the world apparently decided not to cooperate with him today.

He sighed and took hold of Wei Ying's hand, the one which had not been injured. He gently pulled him towards an empty back alley and sat him down on an abandoned wooden box. Without saying anything, he massaged the injured hand gently, trying to get blood flowing through it again.

He did not even notice that the boy was observing him all this while until he asked with a small voice and Lan Wangji snapped his head to look at him: "Lan Zhan, what is paying? The lady looked really angry, just like always. If I paid, would she had been fine with me taking the cake? I only wanted you to have a taste, I did not know I was doing anything wrong."

Wei Ying's voice was very apologetic and Lan Wangji did not like it in the slightest. It was not his fault that he had lived away from the world, coped up in the Burial Mounds, and did not know the first thing about how markets and buying thigs worked. He was nothing to apologize for, nothing at all. It was Lan Wangji who should have explained and kept a better eye on him. Although this was not the first thing he wanted to show the boy from the outside world, since the other had asked, he would help him understand.

"Wei Ying is not at fault here. I should have explained. The lady wanted to receive something in exchange for the cake. That is how markets work, you cannot just take things and not pay for them."

He would have liked to explain in more details but he was not sure Wei Ying would understand the notion of money and business in its entirety. So he only contented himself with this much, looking for the boy's reaction. The other looked pensive for a long while.

Then, Wei Ying's smile was back as he proclaimed, apparently proud of himself for getting the point: "So if I have given the lady something in return, she would not have yelled at me, right? I am sorry I have caused you trouble, Lan Zhan. I did not know."

Lan Wangji's chest tightened when Wei Ying was again blaming himself for something he could not have known at all. He shook his head and repeated: "Not Wei Ying's fault." This time, the boy remained silent and did not try to negate his statement which Lan Wangji counted as a clear victory on his side.

Although only until the boy started asking questions. The Second Jade knew they were coming but still could not prepare for them: "I see now why the people were always so angry with me, I never paid them... Should I pay for everything I want in the town? Even the things the children need to survive? Like the milk for A-Yuan? And what should I pay the with? I have nothing I could give them... Would offering help count as paying? Should I also pay Lan Zhan for bringing food? What should I give you?"

And there it was, the question Lan Wangji dreaded the most. He should have probably explained better after all, now Wei Ying was clearly thinking that he had to pay back for everything. But Lan Wangji did not need nor did he wanted to be paid for buying food and other necessities for the children. He simply did it because it was the right thing to do. What should he do now? How should he get the boy to understand these small nuances?

First things first, he had to convince him that he did not need to pay him: "Wei Ying, you do not have to pay me. I did it because I wanted to. You only need to pay for the goods which are being sold at the stalls, not kindness and gifts anyone offers you." He took a deep breath, not letting Wei Ying cut in and continued answering his questions one by one: "Even the things you need to survive needs to be paid if they are not offered as gifts. To pay, you can use other goods to exchange or offer your help with something. People in this kind of town would probably accept that as payment easily enough."

Lan Wangji fell silent, letting the boy process everything. It was crystal clear that this was a whole new world for him. One that Lan Wangji could only let him get a glance at since his explanation was still very much lacking and only scraped the surface.

Wei Ying looked pensive for a long while, so long in fact that Lan Wangji was starting to get worried if he had not made a mistake after all. Luckily, the boy spoke in a serious voice just then: "Lan Zhan, thank you for explaining. I will be more careful from now on." There was a short pause and then Wei Ying wondered: "But what should we do now? You said there were commissions you needed to pick up, do we need to pay for those as well? I have nothing I could offer except for my help..."

It was very sweet how Wei Ying was thinking of them as 'we' now, at least in the context of picking things for the children. However, Lan Wangji did not like at all how the boy was getting restless because of his inability to help him pay. He did not want to wake these kind of thoughts in him when he had explained how buying and selling worked.

He shook his head fondly and reassured the other: "I will pay for the goods, I have already offered to give the children what they need as a gift, no need for you to pay anything. Not to me, never. But if you want, I can give you something that you can pay with so you can also buy things you want."

Wei Ying cheered immediately at his words and exclaimed, all excited again: "Thank you, Lan Zhan, you really are the best!"

Then the boy went running back onto the main street and to the stalls he did not get to inspect yet. It took a little longer than Lan Wangji had expected for them to pick up all the commissions he had made in the morning and to finish the whole tour of every stall in the town. Just as he had promised, when Wei Ying looked like he really wanted something, Lan Wangji would give him money so he would be able to pay for it.

Each time, Wei Ying thanked him and when he got his purchase, he would happily explain why he had wanted it and which of the children would be overexcited to get that particular item. In the end, he brought something for each of them including Wen Qing and Wen Ning, he even selected a straw butterfly for A-Yuan and a pristine white handkerchief for Lan Wangji. The only one he had forgotten was himself.

When Lan Wangji realized this, he felt sad and asked the boy: "Wei Ying, what about you? What would you want?"

The boy looked at him as if he had gone mad: "Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, I have already gotten a gift from you."

When Lan Wangji looked at him with questions in his eyes, not at all understanding what Wei Ying was talking about, the boy gestured towards his new clothes. "I already got these robes from you and you have shown me around the time, I had a great time, what else could I possibly want?"

Lan Wangji shook his head in utter disbelief. Just how selfless could the boy be to think about everyone else but himself? He suspected that it was precisely because of the other's sweet nature that he had never once complained about his living condition, only about how hard it was for the children.

When Wei Ying was off to look at the merchandise in another stall, very well behaved by now and not reaching to touch anything, Lan Wangji went back to the previous stall where the boy had been admiring some simple musical instruments which the seller was taking one by one and performing on them to attract customers. He had noticed how Wei Ying's eyes sparkled when the seller was playing on a simple wooden flute.

He decided that he would buy it for the boy as a surprise. Perhaps if Wei Ying would want, he could teach him how to play some simple melodies. And if they had more time, they could also play in duet, just for the pleasure of performing together.