Live Again, Love Anew

Chapter 18- After the Conference

Summary

A timeskip. The plan moves forward.

Beginning Note

A short timeskip. Next chapter will be really exciting!

Wei Wuxian

It's been a month since the conference, and many things have happened.

For one, Lan Xichen now lives in the Jingshi with them, with the Hanshi being kept as a place for Lan Xichen to work on private Sect matters. Initially, it was nice. Lan Zhan was able to see his brother more, and with Lan Xichen's polite demeanor, Wei Wuxian let him try to fill the shijie shaped hole in his life.

But then a big problem arose. With Lan Xichen with Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan so often, for meals, downtime, and study time, they couldn't talk about the future and their current mission, much less randomly leave to investigate when any excuse they made up would be instantly seen through. Lan Xichen was a child, but he was also a few years older than them and smarter than the usual people they had to fool. And even if they outsmarted Lan Xichen, his well-meaning Big Brother Instincts had almost got them caught when they were three minutes late to lunch and Lan Xichen had come to look for them.

Then Lan Xichen's birthday came and went. They had dinner with Uncle as celebration, and Lan Xichen was given a xiao made of white jade by Uncle, since he had graduated from using practice flutes. Wei Wuxian gave Lan Xichen a drawing of the magnolia tree outside the Library Pavilion and Lan Zhan gave his brother a pressed gentian from outside their mother's house.

And then the first snow came. Both nightly and daily temperatures dropped, and a good few inches of snow layered the ground come morning, making their excursions more dangerous and more easily trackable. They could no longer make excuses when their footprints were an obvious beacon in the snow.

Because of both of these things, their investigation ground to a screeching halt. Wei Wuxian was only able to visit Aunty Yue during nightly snow storms, so that his tracks would be covered by morning, but they couldn't be too severe or he risked hypothermia without his golden core to keep him warm. Aunty Yue was worried, but she knew he was stubborn and that she couldn't stop him. She always gave him tea, and wrapped him in a warm blanket by the stove, and then sent him on his way with an extra cloak.

They also couldn't move as easily during the day. If they set up a playdate in the women's quarters, they had to go, and they couldn't snoop around much less tracked areas, because it would be clear someone was where they shouldn't be. It effectively cut down their investigation areas to just the women's quarters, with rare excursions to Mao Fenfang's rooms when she was busy.

Things between Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan were also... awkward. Wei Wuxian had said some things at Lotus Pier that, now that they were back at Cloud Recesses, he barely had the courage to look Lan Zhan in the eye. He insulted Lan Zhan's mother. If someone insulted Wei Wuxian's mom he would probably break their nose.

So when they get home, (Wei Wuxian has to stop for a second after that thought. Home. Cloud Recesses as his home.) Wei Wuxian expects Lan Zhan to yell at him, to hit him, to something , But Lan Zhan just... moves on . He doesn't hurt Wei Wuxian or even talk about what happened, and he helps with the investigation like usual, and still cuddles with him at night, even if he would probably be more comfortable cuddling with his brother in the second bed. Lan Zhan just goes back to his life like nothing happened and Wei Wuxian doesn't know what to think about that. So he just follows Lan Zhan's lead. He doesn't mention it in conversation, he doesn't demand Lan Zhan punish him, and he lets Lan Zhan cuddle up to him in the night, even as he felt Lan Xichen watching them curiously for the first few nights, until he came to accept his brother sleeping with his new friend instead of his family as just another fact of the world, like the sky was blue, and that the snow was cold.

When Wei Wuxian's sixth birthday rolls around, they have dinner together again, and Uncle gives Wei Wuxian a painting set with some special paper, explaining that he saw Wei Wuxian was interested in painting at Lan Xichen's birthday dinner, and that he deserves a painting set to call his own, instead of making due with calligraphy brushes and copying paper.

Wei Wuxian almost cried at how sincere and awkward Uncle was when handing over the gifts. He knew that Uncle hadn't known him long, so it seemed he was worried Wei Wuxian wouldn't like the gifts, or that his observation had been incorrect. Wei Wuxian was quick to dispel his worries, thanking him and offering to paint him a picture of anything he wanted, and poor, poor Uncle had turned bright red and blurted out 'snow'.

"How am I supposed to paint snow? Isn't it just white?" Wei Wuxian had asked, feigning actual confusion and curiosity, trying to keep a straight face as Uncle turned even more red.

He then laughed himself hoarse while Uncle stiltedly explained that he wanted a picture of the magnolia tree now that it had snowed, then Uncle had to physically restrain the urge to yell at Wei Wuxian for breaking rules.

-----

Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan were laying in bed, as it was long past curfew, but they weren't sleeping just yet. It had started snowing just before curfew, and it was still very light, meaning it was the perfect time for Wei Wuxian to visit Aunty Yue. But Wei Wuxian wanted Lan Zhan to come with him.

"Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian whispered. Wei Wuxian felt Lan Zhan's hands clench the back of his robes before releasing. Wei Wuxian took that chance to roll over and face Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan was quiet and just blinked, waiting for Wei Wuxian to speak.

"I have to visit Aunty Yue tonight, while the snow's still light." Wei Wuxian continued, still whispering. "I want you to come, too."

Lan Zhan glanced towards his brother on the other side of the room.

"Don't worry about him." Wei Wuxian says. "I always give him special tea when I sneak out, so he'll stay asleep for at least a few hours no matter how much noise we make. But Lan Zhan, I need you to come with me."

Lan Zhan nodded and sat up, but Wei Wuxian stopped him from getting off the bed. "Wait, wait, Lan Zhan! I enjoy your company, but you're not coming with for no reason."

"Why?" Lan Zhan asks, genuinely curious.

"Ah, well..." Wei Wuxian trails off uncertainly. Lan Zhan's brow furrow. "We're running out of time." Wei Wuxian whispers again, even if he doesn't need to be quiet. Lan Zhan looks down to his lap. "I think we need to tell Aunty Yue the truth." Wei Wuxian says after a pause. "We can't see her as often now, and if something happens, or if someone new visits, she needs to know that she has to tell us, so we can help her." Lan Zhan stays quiet. "Come on, Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian urges. "We need her cooperation, and if anyone will believe us without proof, it's her."

Lan Zhan gives a shuddering sigh and looks up. "Mn." He nods.

"You'll come with?" Wei Wuxian says excitedly.

Lan Zhan nods again. "I have proof. She will believe us."

"Wait really?!" Wei Wuxian exclaims. "What proof?" Lan Zhan just gets off the bed and grabs his robes. "Lan Zhaaaaaan!" Wei Wuxian goes after him, grabbing his own robes. "I'm your friend! Can't you tell me?"

Lan Zhan stops at the door, a cloak over his shoulders, and looks back at Wei Wuxian. "You will find out when we get there. Come."

Wei Wuxian whines and follows Lan Zhan out into the snow.

End Note

Thoughts?

On a side note, I'm thinking of making a discord for this fic where readers can share theories, talk about the story, or just chat about the fandom. I'm open to ideas, but I'm just wondering how many people would be interested. Even if its only a few, I'll probably still make it, the channel will probably just function a little differently. So just leave a comment if you're interested or if you have suggestions.

Anyway, see you next week!