Red Rose [Never Let You Go, Again Book 3]

11: Susu's Darker

"A-Ying!"

"Mn?" Wei Ying looked up into the petrified gold eyes. "A-Zhan? What is it?"

"A-Ying, you... Are you unwell? Was it the sceptre? A-Ying?"

"Aish," Wei Ying chuckled and pulled his husband down to him by the collar until their foreheads touched. "A-Zhan, calm down! I'm alright, it's just that I'm a bit tired with a lot of teaching. And I've been looking for talismans to protect us all from the sceptre, it's exhausting me."

"Draining you."

"A-Zhan..."

"A-Ying doesn't sleep at night?"

"I... How do you know?"

"A-Ying looks sleepless, fatigued. How did I not notice you not in bed?"

"Ah," Wei Ying laughed awkwardly. "I stuffed a pillow into your arms so you won't feel much of a difference. Honestly though, am I that soft? Because you barely twitched!" He grinned.

"Mn."

"HUH! LAN ZHAN!"

Lan Zhan smiled, glad to see the colour returning to his face. Mental stress? Lan Zhan decided to try to cheer him up further. "A-Ying's my bunny. Bunnies are soft."

"Lan Zhan..." Wei Ying was slowly but surely crimsoning.

"A-Ying's like Rouruan. Rouruan's soft. A-Ying's soft."

"Lan Zhan, you're buttering me up a lot today! Did something bad, naughty boy? Accidentally flirted with a girl? Or what are you saying all this for?" Wei Ying grinned as his face finally flushed scarlet. His silver eyes were sparkling with laughter, the dreary illness in them long gone.

Lan Zhan smiled with relief. "A-Ying gives me flowers everyday, so I'll sweet-talk everyday."

Wei Ying laughed. "So you yourself accept it's sweet-talk! Fuddy-duddy!" He kissed his husband's forehead.

"Bunny," Lan Zhan smirked and captured the younger's lips.

**********

Knock! Knock!

"Come in!"

"SUSU!" Meilien tossed open the door and ran in with someone else.

"A-Xuan?" Wei Wuxian beckoned the two over to the table. "What are you doing here, young man?"

"I wanted to see Susu!"

Wei Wuxian grinned. "Really? Or you wanted to see where Meilien disappears to at the end of every month without staying to play with you?"

"Er..." Zhao Haoxuan pursed his lips and looked away.

Chuckling, Wei Ying turned to Meilien. "Little Lien?" He raised his eyebrows, clearly asking whether she forgot their deal about not bringing anyone — including her own father — into their class.

"Susu..." Meilien bit her lip. "I can't help it, he's got something to ask you..."

Wei Wuxian turned to Zhao Haoxuan. "A-Xuan?"

"Susu, I was wondering... I want to be a demonic cultivator, too!"

"HUH?" Wei Wuxian shouted.

"You don't need a core to be a demonic cultivator, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"Everyone knows how Susu gave his core to Sect Leader Jiang and then went into demonic cultivation. Meaning you don't need a core, right?"