Silent and lonely world (Dark clouds before sunny weather - Book 1)

Chapter 4

Wei Wuxian was watching his son with pride. It seemed like he had taken it quite literally to invite all his friends to his birthday party, there were so many children on their garden right now. He was glad, he liked it when things got lively.

He had been greatly surprised when A-Yuan had brought even the silent and lonely boy from his class, tugging at his hand in order to make him follow him to their house as the group walked down the street. Wei Wuxian could not pay too much attention to Mo Xuanyu at that time since there were too many children he needed to watch out for. But once they have arrived to their house and the children started to have their fun, he could glance at the boy from time to time.

He had always been worried about him, ever since he started teaching his son's class at the beginning of this semester as a supply teacher for his sick colleague. It had only been two weeks or so and he had yet to get to know the boy better. He tried asking around but all he got were some nonspecific comments that he was a quiet one but studied well in general. That did not quite satisfy him, there was something around the boy which was bugging him. He nearly seemed too well behaved and he did not join on any of the fun, neither did he touch any foot until now, at least as far as Wei Wuxian could tell. Mo Xuanyu really was an enigma and he worried about his greatly.

He was just in the kitchen, preparing some more lemonade for all the children, they had to drink something if he did not want them to collapse. It was hot today and they were running around and jumping in the jumping castle like crazy. Not that he would even think of reprimanding them, it was his son's birthday and he was glad the child was enjoying it to the fullest.

He had seen him several times coming up to Mo Xuanyu and asking him something, probably trying to get him to join the others but all he had received was shaking of the other's head. The boy never moved from his spot. He was still sitting there when Wei Wuxian came out to the garden again and put the freshly made lemonade on the garden table. Some kids immediately run to take a glass and thanked him for preparing it, he smiled at them in return.

Lan Zhan came up to him and hugged him, humming in his ear to let him know that he was back. This was perfect. He told his husband to watch the children for a while and filled a glass with the lemonade and put in some ice. Then he went to where Mo Xuanyu was sitting in the shadow of the house, far away from all the other children. He must have been hot, at least judging by the fact that Wei Wuxian himself was and he was only wearing a short sleeved T-shirt and shorts. The boy had a blazer and long trousers. Wei Wuxian was asking himself why he had not yet switched to summer uniform like everyone else.

As he got closer, the boy visibly startled and looked at him with what seemed like wariness and perhaps even fear? Wei Wuxian's mind started ringing in alarm. The boy had never been scared of him during the classes, he was only sitting in his place, taking notes diligently and stuttering his responses when he was asked a question. He had always been nervous but this was going way too far, he looked like a frightened animal with how he was clutching his knees to his chest with his hands.

Wei Wuxian tried to ignore his bad feeling, perhaps the boy was just a little bit overwhelmed and nervous with so many loud kids around. Wei Wuxian smiled at him to reassure him and asked: "Can I sit next to you?"

He did not wait for an answer and sat down, a little farther away from the boy than he would have with another child. He did not want to make him even more uncomfortable, not when he was watching his every movement and was so tense he could spring up to his feet in a matter of a fraction of a second.

Wei Wuxian's smile did not falter when he offered the glass of lemonade to the boy: "You are Mo Xuanyu, right? Here, drink something, it would help you to cool down a bit."

He was waiting for the boy to take the glass. It was a long while before he did, still staring at him with cautious eyes. When he had the glass in his hand, it seemed like he bowed to Wei Wuxian while thanking him, his stutter even worse than ever. The adult could not understand why the child would be bowing to him, it was such an odd time to employ this old custom.

But he quickly let go and watched as the boy drowned the glass thirstily. He could now see sweat on his forehead and his cheeks were flushed from the heat.

"Why do you not take off your jacket?" asked Wei Wuxian, concerned that the child would faint.

Mo Xuanyu looked at him in what seemed like horror and shook his head vehemently. This was actually the liveliest Wei Wuxian had ever seen him. He did not want to distress the boy more, no matter why he thought taking off his jacket was so scary. He would first need to calm him down and then ask him again, hopefully with better results.

"Why are you sitting here all by yourself? You should go join the others and play with them," suggested Wei Wuxian another topic. Surely the boy would be too hot running around and would put his clothes away himself.

There was a long silence. Mo Xuanyu looked first at the children and Wei Wuxian could see that he was observing them with something akin to want, then he lowered his head and shook it slowly, muttering something against his knees. Wei Wuxian could not quite hear him but he would have sworn that it was something like "I should not."

He frowned, confused by the boy's reaction. It was clear he wanted to but for some reason probably did not dare to. Wei Wuxian pressed the topic a bit: "You do want to though?"

He wanted to make sure, the boy was confusing him greatly, much more than during classes. Could it perhaps be that Mo Xuanyu was not comfortable around his classmates? Could it be that he was being bullied at school? Maybe because of his stutter? Wei Wuxian's alarm was back. If this was the case, he would have to help the boy.

He however never got to hear Mo Xuanyu's reply as he was startled by a child's crying. And not just any child, he realized that it was Lan Jingyi. He looked at Mo Xuanyu and told him: "I will be right back, wait here."

Then he jumped to his feet and went to the direction from which he heard his younger son's cries. He was sure it was nothing Lan Zhan could not handle, but he wanted to check the situation to reassure himself that his son was alright. Then he would go back to his conversation with Mo Xuanyu, he promised himself. He would not leave a distressed child alone.