Fluffy WangXian Oneshots

Masquerade of Hearts Part 2

Jiang Cheng was still gazing venomously at his mask, and Wei Ying half thought it would burst into flames with his intensity.

They were riding in the back of a limousine together with Nie MingJue and his younger brother, Nie Huaisang, who was also doing a piece on cultural diversity but Wei Ying thought that was just an excuse to get invited. It helped if your big brother was going out with one half of the hosts.

During the whole week, other staff members had given Wei Ying envious looks, some even sidling up to him to trade favours and jobs for the chance to go, but Nie MingJue was his boss and had expressly insisted he go.

Not that Wei Ying minded at all, in fact he was rather looking forward to seeing what the famous Lan residence would like from the inside. The Lan brothers were already on the Forbes list of one hundred, proud supporters of gay rights in America, and Lan XiChen was the face of their charity, a work set up to help children all over the world.

The man looked like a God, Wei Ying had seen a few photos on his boss' desktop, and he was definitely eye-catching.

However, not much was known about the other elusive Lan, Lan Wangji. In contrast to his brother, he rarely went outside of their mansion, unless it was for business purposes, otherwise he was a recluse.

That was all anyone knew about him.

Wei Ying found that intriguing. What could be the reason? Was he deformed in some way, that made him feel uncomfortable going out in public? Or was it simply an introvert tendency? Or was there something else, that no-one knew about?

Wei Ying was pretty sure Nie MingJue knew something, but as his employee, it was not professional to ask, and Wei Ying knew that if it bothered him enough, he could find out anything he wanted about the multimillionaire.

He had other things on his plate though, and enough things to worry about.

There was definitely something up with his brain, because the night before, after he had woken up from yet another nightmare, his mind had gone back in time...only he couldn't quite remember where, or what he had been doing. But he remembered more a feeling from there, a feeling of being utterly content, at peace with himself...and one other. A feeling of coming home after a long absence, tired from his travels and finally able to rest.

"You look tired." Jiang Cheng commented under his breath.
"Nightmares still bugging you?"

Wei Ying laughed awkwardly, but the sound was sad.

"When have they not?" He muttered.

There was no time to talk now.

The car lurched to a standstill, before the doors were flung open and a barrage of lights exploded in their faces, especially at Nie MingJue, who protected the rest of them with his broad chest blocking the cameras from taking pictures of the interior behind him.

Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng hastily put their masks on, checking their tuxedos before stepping out of the vehicle. They were the last to exit, and as a result, not the focus of the cameras still flashing away at the Nie brothers.

"Were we supposed to bring a date to this thing?" Jiang Cheng whispered next to him as a red-carpet and photo opportunity platform greeted them. They watched Nie Huaisang pose shamelessly, his fan complimenting his green mask to perfection. His suit was of plain black with dark green lapels and a single feather was tucked into his handkerchief pocket.

Wei Ying looked at his own tuxedo, black with black rhinestones on his lapels, with a scarlet silk shirt. His black tie was slim with a pocket square that matched, trimmed in red edging. And his mask was a mix of the two colours, fitting perfectly on his face, so his silver eyes stood out, like gemstones in the night. His voice-activated recorder sat in his pocket, ready to be put to good use. He eyed Jiang Cheng in his purple clothes, all different shades but somehow making it work.