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

Chapter 14

Note: Child abuse in general, sexual child abuse and neglect are mentioned in this chapter, no explicit description though, please be warned and proceed at your own discretion

Lan Wangji was looking at the closed door to A-Yuan's room, standing next to his overly worried husband. He could clearly see that Wei Ying was truly beside himself with worry and he could understand that. It had not been all that long since his husband was in a similar situation as Mo Xuanyu, of course given that their suspicion that the child was being abused was correct.

But he had little doubts on this matter, Wei Ying's intuition in this area was unparalleled, probably because he had gone through it as well.

Lan Wangji's heart was heavy as he scoped his husband into his arms and hugged him from behind, showing his silent support. Her could feel how tense his husband's body was and it was clear that he would not be able to relax until he made sure Mo Xuanyu was fine. Or at least taken care of and not in pain, judging by how long it took Wei Ying to recover from the trauma and his memories, years in fact and there were still some bad days until today, Lan Wangji was unfortunately sure that it would take a lot of time for the boy to actually be at least fine.

He trusted Wen Qing to know what she was doing but he still had his ears open for any crying or whimpering coming from the inside of the room. If that would happen, he would not hold his husband back from going sooth the child. He himself was on edge ever since he had seen the blood stain on the couch.

Suddenly, he remembered that he should probably go back downstairs and try to clean the blood or cover it with something before one of the children from the birthday party would find it and would get a shock. He should also go back and look after the children, he did not want any more accidents.

But he could not will himself to let go of his distressed husband any time soon, he needed him at the moment. A-Yuan was already a big boy, and a very smart and mature one too, surely he would come find them if anything happened. They should focus on Mo Xuanyu for now and see how the boy was faring.

With so much blood lost, Lan Wangji was not surprised the boy had fainted earlier, he was worried for him because the injury surely could not have been just a minor one. And with how beside himself his husband had arrived home after trying to drive Mo Xuanyu to his house, he must have discovered something truly terrible there.

Finally, after an eternity of waiting, Wen Qing came out of the room with a grave expression. She closed the door behind herself quietly and turned towards them. Lan Wangji did not think it possible, however, Wei Ying's body tensed even more in his arms. He held his husband a little tighter and gave him a soft kiss on his nape in an attempt to calm him down a bit. Just as he had expected, it did not do much.

"Is there somewhere we could talk? Privately." Wen Qing asked and she was all business. Apparently the case was even worse than they had feared.

Or perhaps only than he himself had feared because Wei Ying's head slumped forward and he gave out a big sigh before gesturing towards Lan Jingyi's room which was just next door to A-Yuan's bedroom. Lan Wangji gave his husband's waist one last gentle squeeze and let him go, never stopping holding one of his hands. Wei Ying welcomed the gesture but still did not look at him.

He opened the door to the room and let Wen Qing go in first. She sad at the small chair by the table and Wei Ying and Lan Wangji sat on Lan Jingyi's bed, side by side, Lan Wangji's hand still holding his husband's, the other one around his waist.

Without any prompting, the nurse revealed what she had found out: "The boy was definitely abused, and for a long time at that I fear. There are some bruises everywhere, just what you would expect, some half healed lacerations as well. He is underweight and probably malnourished as far as I can tell. He would need a full body check-up at a hospital, also X-Rays to see if he has any broken bones or fractures.

That is however not the worst of it. He was bleeding from his backside. He had been raped. I am no expect in that field so I cannot say if it was the first time or if this was going on on regular basis as well, just like the physical abuse, but it was definitely not a good sight. I could not do much for him right now. I put some ointment on the worst of it and I have cleaned his backside. He will definitely require more thorough medical attention later.

What I am worried about the most is the damage that had been done to his mental state. Even though he had not showed anything until today, I am sure it affected him. The question is how much. He would need a psychologist to assess the damage. He definitely cannot be sent home, he needs a quiet place with understanding guardians, preferably someone who has experience dealing with abuse and its after-effects. I will go back to school immediately and fill a report. This needs to be investigated and reported to social workers."

There was a long silence in the room after Wen Qing's speech. Lan Wangji was finding it hard to breathe; it was much worse than he had expected, much worse than he had ever dealt with. Together with the information about severe neglect that Wei Ying had told him earlier, it was a miracle the boy was still able to act normally at this point.

He wondered why no one had noticed anything wrong until now. He had heard that victims of rape and sexual violence could hardly walk after the abuse and would be in much pain, especially if the assault had been so severe that it had made them bleed. How could have anyone overlooked that with Mo Xuanyu?

Even he had seen the boy walk and he had not noticed anything too suspicious. Lan Wangji's blood froze at a dark realization. The only way the boy could act as if nothing happened was that he was actually used to it. That would however mean that he had been abused on regular basis like this as well. Lan Wangji could not imagine how he would have felt if any of his boys would have been subjected to only a single assault from a stranger, not even talking their own family doing that to them. No child deserved such treatment, no one did.

Moreover, he was very sure that Mo Xuanyu had not said anything because he had been threatened not to. Just as Wei Ying had been all those years ago. Lan Wangji remembered clearly how devastated his husband was when the truth about his abuse came to light, and he had not even been sexually abused!

After hearing all of this, he knew what Wei Ying would suggest even before his husband had opened his mouth: "Wen Qing, I would like to keep the boy here, if possible. Until we find him a better home at least. He had said his aunt and uncle are on a week long holiday so they would not know, we have a few days to put everything in place. I cannot let him go back. He showed me what he called his room. He is living a garden shack! With nothing inside, just a dirty thin mattress and his school books..."

Wei Ying's voice became a whisper until it disappeared completely, replaced by a soft sob. Lan Wangji pulled his husband closer to him and started rubbing his back soothingly. He wholeheartedly agreed that they should keep the boy here for now. If only for observation so they would be able to complete the report for the authorities. But more importantly, just as Wei Ying had already stated, Mo Xuanyu needed a safe place to recuperate, and they would provide one without hesitation.

"Of course, I have already guessed you would suggest this. I think it is the best course of action for now. I will put it as my recommendation in the report. And I guess since the boy was here for your son's birthday party, he must be friends with A-Yuan. It could only help him to ease up a little with someone his own age around him." Wen Qing nodded before she scowled and looked regretful: "I would have of course noticed earlier, if I had ever seen him before today. I am sure that I have never seen him during any of the physical examinations. I guess that his parents just did not want him to see any doctors. But still... It is quite bad I say."

She then turned towards Wei Ying and spoke directly to him: "Wei Wuxian, it is great you have noticed this. I am afraid that without you, no one at school would have noticed for a long while still. His injuries are carefully hidden from view and I am sure that until now, he had been behaving as any other student in the class. I would say it was his lucky today."