Beautiful (Between a rock and a hard place 2)

Chapter 3

And thus started the best days of Lan Wangji's life so far. Although he still had to share his Wei Ying with the world and could not have his smile and beauty, both external and internal, only for himself, he was still very happy. He would purposefully assign Wei Ying to copy even more rules and the younger boy who had by now understood his intentions would also break rules just to be able to spend more time with him.

Everything seemed to be running smoothly and they could somehow make out in the Library pavilion and steal kisses from each other when no one was around. Lan Wangji was over the moon with happiness because Wei Ying was returning his feelings.

If it was not for one little problem. Most of the times, the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple was not searching for physical affection, he never initiated it himself. Lan Wangji had noticed this fact but did not comment on it as he was hoping that Wei Ying was only shy and needed some more time to come out of his shell. So instead, he would offer comfort, gentle touches and hugs which was what the younger boy seemed to be craving. They could take this slow.

They had to as they could not exactly declare their feelings in front of the whole Gusu Lan sect and the cultivation world by extension since the guest lectures were not yet finished and there were many young masters and ladies from different sects as well. For now, their relationship had to stay hidden and Lan Wangji could not steal Wei Ying only for himself.

Still, there were moments when Lan Wangji wanted to do just that, and immediately. Sometimes, the younger boy would behave oddly, especially after spending time together with Jiang Wanyin or in his room. Lan Wangji could pretty much guess that the problem was the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir himself. However, he had yet to discover that necessary piece of evidence that Jiang Wanyin was in fact abusing his brother.

It was mortifying to be this powerless. He had actually already tried talking with his brother but Lan Xichen could not help either. All he could do was promise to try and have Wei Ying change rooms, but even that would require more time to convince their uncle to allow this as it was not customary for the guest disciples to require changing rooms half through the guest lectures. That day, Lan Wangji left in a very foul mood.

He immediately headed to the Library pavilion where he knew Wei Ying would most probably already be waiting for him. And if he was not, he decided to just go search for him, not that he would have to look for long, he knew perfectly well that he only needed to find Jiang Wanyin and Wei Ying would inevitably be glued to his side. The only time the Yunmeng Jiang sect heir was not around was during the periods Wei Ying was serving his punishments.

For once, the younger boy was already waiting for him and Lan Wangji's mood cleared slightly. He looked well, not trembling or avoiding his eyes as he sometimes would do. And more importantly, his smile was genuine, illuminating the whole room as if sun had left its place in the skies and had descended into the mortal world.

Lan Wangji did not wait for another second and he headed directly towards Wei Ying and scoped him into a tight hug, kissing him hungrily. He could not wait anymore, he had to make sure that Wei Ying was alright and that Jiang Wanyin had not hurt him any more, at least not for the day.

Instead of snuggling closer to him and relaxing, Wei Ying however tried to draw himself back from his embrace. Lan Wangji frowned internally and held him even tighter. The younger boy squirmed still some more before he understood that Lan Wangji would not let him go. Not any time soon anyway, he knew he would have to eventually, but not just yet.

"Lan Zhan," came a quiet voice from his chest. It was small and hesitant, but filled with fear and panic for some reason. "We cannot do this, not now and not here. What if someone sees us? What if Jiang Cheng will come check on me? He would..."

Wei Ying stopped abruptly but his body started trembling slightly, it was clear that he was afraid of whatever Jiang Wanyin would do to him if he found them in such a compromising situation. Lan Wangji waited for his beloved to start talking again, to continue and explain his circumstances and the nature of his relationship with his brother, to confess that he is being abused so Lan Wangji could finally help him for real, not just offering comfort but actually making a difference.

But Wei Ying's lips remained sealed after his initial speech. Lan Wangji frowned even more now, it seemed like he would still not get anything even today. He decided it was time to perhaps push forward so he gently and cautiously prompted: "Wei Ying..."

The silence was deafening and Lan Wangji lamented the fact that the younger boy's body went now completely rigid in his arms. Long lost was the comfortable silence in which they would sit around and Wei Ying would not fear being seen with Lan Wangji. The Second Jade could not understand it; if he was the one who feared for whatever reason his brother, he would have happily accepted all the help he could get. He would not be scared of accepting support and love Wei Ying seemed to crave so much. But in this aspect, the young boy seemed to not be willing to change his opinion.

After what felt like an eternity to Lan Wangji, Wei Ying straightened up as much as he could since he was still holding him tightly to his chest and said in a cheerful voice, as always pretending to be fine and completely disregarding how bad he had felt just seconds ago.

"Ah, Lan Zhan, it is fine. There is no need to worry. I can take it, no matter what. I like being with you like this. I still cannot believe that someone is actually loving me and caring for me, much less the Second Jade of the Gusu Lan sect. What did I do to deserve such an honour?"

Lan Wangji did not like it when Wei Ying spoke about himself in such a derogatory manner, he never seemed to value himself or to accept his own feelings and the fact that he could feel bad. It was breaking Lan Wangji's heart. He drew the younger boy closer to his chest, to the point where it could be painful for him as he was crushing him a bit but he wanted to show he cared. He was just opening his mouth to gently scold Wei Ying and reassure him that he indeed loved him and that there were no conditions to his affection, but the younger boy already continued and the perfect moment for interrupting him had passed.

Wei Ying teased: "But Lan Zhan, what would the strict and uptight Gusu Lan sect say about you showing your emotions this openly? Is there not a rule against that? Or several for that matter? I am sure that your uncle would get a heart stroke if he saw us like this. I would be copying rules until I really die of boredom, he would not tolerate the notorious troublemaker spoiling his nephew's reputation."

Lan Wangji thought about it for a bit. When put in this way, it could really be dangerous to be seen hugging Wei Ying and kissing him. If Lan Qiren knew, he would surely assign someone else to watch over the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple's punishments and what would Lan Wangji do then? His already scarce and short time with his beloved would be reduced to nearly nothing. He could not have that.

He released the younger boy immediately and stood up, offering a hand to help the other do the same. Wei Ying watched him with a mix of relief and pain, it was clear that he had not wanted to actually be released from the embrace and had only teased for a good measure. Then it seemed to have downed on him and his expression changed to resigned for a moment before Lan Wangji reached his hand even further and the Yunmeng Jiang sect head disciple finally took hold of it.

Wei Ying was observing him with curiosity now. Lan Wangji started dragging him away in the direction of the back mountains. If they could not be left in peace in the Library pavilion, they would just hide from the world there and continue what they had started without any prying eyes watching them. He could finally have his beautiful and precious Wei Ying only for himself.