✧𝔻𝔼𝕍𝕆𝕋𝕀𝕆ℕ~ 𝒶𝓃𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃~✧

✧Wen Ning- Follower✧

A/N- This cutie deserves some appreciation. He's honestly just so cute and nice... I literally love him so much it's not even funny.

EVER SINCE Wen Ning had been resurrected, he didn't seem the same. As one of his great friends- you were friends with his sister, Wen Qing, and had become one of his friends through her- you were concerned for him. When you went to Wei Wuxian and voiced your concerns, he called them groundless, saying that Wen Ning was completely fine.

"Is it normal for him to run at your cries, to follow every word you say?" you retorted sharply.

You hated how your friend who previously did what he wanted and wouldn't help others at every beck and call, became nothing more than a pet for the Yiling Patriarch. And he wasn't even treated kindly! Rather than only calling him when he needed serious help, Wuxian delighted in calling him to do everything for him, even do a simple job like carrying turnips to town to sell. By the time Wen Ning was done with all the work, he was exhausted, and would fall asleep on the hard ground, constantly being trodden on by the other Wens, who didn't watch where they were going in their haste.

After many days of watching your friend get taken advantage of, trampled on, and injured- you could see bruises on his deathly pale skin from where the people had stepped on him- you had had enough. When Wen Ning came back from town, instead of letting him lie down on the ground, you ran up to him, and you told him to follow you, which, of course, he did without question. You led him to the place in the mounds where you slept, cocooned in warm blankets, and told him to sleep there.

"B-but where will you sleep?" he asked, in his usual stammering and shy manner.

"I'll sleep on the ground right next to you, so if you need me, you can just wake me up. Does that sound okay with you?" you asked.

When he didn't respond, you added, "I just wanted to make sure you weren't trampled on anymore. Doesn't it hurt to be stepped on?"

"Y-yes, but I-"

"Then it's settled. You'll sleep in my bed from now on, so you won't be hurt any longer. Nobody walks in this part of the Burial Mounds, so I won't be trampled if I lie down here. Is that good?" you asked, repeating your previous question.

Wen Ning nodded in response and slipped into the thick red cocoon of Wen clan clothes that you had repurposed as your blankets. He hummed happily when he felt the warmth, and after a few minutes of his gentle humming, both you and him fell asleep comfortably.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"WEN NING!"

The loud voice of Wei Wuxian awoke you from your slumber, and you hissed in rage when you realized how early it was. When the sun wasn't even up but just peeking from behind the clouds, he needed to wake you and your friend up?

"A...A-Xian..." Wen Ning whispered in a husky voice. You noticed the emptiness in his eyes, the emptiness that was always there when he got ordered to do something. It was like his free will disappeared, and he was forced to obey.

Within an instant, he was up on his feet and running. He was surprisingly fast, and you struggled to keep up with him. But you managed to run with him all the way to the entrance to the Burial Mounds, where Wei Wuxian was waiting with 2 bags of turnips.

"It's the dawn, so the markets are opening again," he said, throwing a bag of turnips to Wen Ning. "In the early mornings, we can get paid more for our produce. Let's go, Wen Ning!"

When he noticed that you were there, he frowned. Ever since you had yelled at him about how badly he treated your friend, he had never liked you. Well, since you were there, you might as well carry your weight. He flung the other turnip bag at you, but unlike Wen Ning, who was ready and willing to catch it, you just let the bag land on the ground, making him rage at you.

"You foolish person! Can't you do anything right? I wonder why you're even a member of this family, with the disgusting attitude you have! I might as well just kick you out right now!"

You laughed at the irrational anger Wei Wuxian harbored towards you. Just because you felt like it wasn't your responsibility to carry a turnip bag, he had called you a fool and said he would kick you out of the clan. Very well then. You wouldn't give him the honor to kick you out. You would make the decision yourself.

"Well then," you said to him, ripping your Wen headband off and throwing it on the ground. "I secede from your 'family,' and I hope I never see you again!"

You noticed the shock in his eyes. He hadn't been expecting for you to react in such a way. He bent down and retrieved your Wen headband from the muddy ground, staring at it for a long while before sighing and saying, "If that is what you wish, so be it. You're forbidden to enter Burial Mounds, even as an escort to someone else. You've just doomed yourself to an uncertain and quite probably painful future. If you die young, don't blame me."

Wuxian turned away with a scoff, as if you meant nothing. As if you never had meant anything.

You heard soft whimpers from behind you, and turned around to see Wen Ning running towards you, tears streaming down his cheeks. You stretched out your arms and let him grab you, holding you so tight you thought your ribs would break. He was sobbing and stammering at the same time, so what he was saying was barely understandable to you.

"N-n..n-no... y-you... n-no... go..."

"A-Ning," you said. The title you called him by only broke his heart more, and he began to claw at your back and wail pitifully, like a bereaved widower.

"No! No!" he yelled.

Then he turned to Wuxian and said, clearly and lucidly, "I am no longer your follower. I am theirs now."

He pointed to you, and you felt happiness surge in your heart along with a strange yet vivid wave of guilt. You were taking Wen Ning away from his family and everyone he loved, just because you were being foolish and choosing not to follow the rules of a man you considered to be a complete idiot. This wasn't fair for poor Ning.

"Wen Ning. You don't have to be a follower of anyone. But, if you want to be the Yiling Patriarch's follower, continue on with what you want. I won't make you go with me. Your sister is here as well, and she loves you very deeply. I won't-"

You were cut off by Wen Ning pressing his lips to yours. At first, the contact was shy and slight, but as you pushed back against him, he got more violent, and soon you were lying on the ground with him on top of you, biting at your lips and making your already sensitive lower lip red with blood.

"A-Ning, this is wrong!" you protested.

Thankfully, he listened, and got off of you before anything serious happened. But Wuxian had seen the entire thing, and he was livid.

"You monster! Wen Ning, how could you treat another being like that? Maybe I should have never resurrected you! If this is how you treat others- forcing yourself on them without their consent and making love to them in public- then you should be dead!"

Hearing the man he served yelling at him like that made Wen Ning have an epiphany. He realized how cruel Wei Wuxian really was, and how kind and wise you were being in freeing yourself from this toxic environment. He gave Wuxian one last evil glance, then took your hand and said, "Let's go."

That day, you left Burial Mounds.

And you never looked back.