[曦澄 | XiCheng]: The Fear Of Falling In Love [~PART 1~]

[113.] Everything about you resonates happiness.

NOTE:


Inspiration for the chapter's title:

Muse  –  "Bliss"

Art by the amazing Mono!

https://www.instagram.com/mono.no.ko/

twitter: @/elchangofeliz

Used with author's kind permission. 

****

The following week was pure bliss for Jiang Wanyin. It was now Lan Huan's turn to be all clingy and needy, and they would be absolutely inseparable. 

The Gusu Lan Clan Leader had to deal with correspondences and visits from representative from other Clans, as the news of the Cloud Recesses burning had reached almost everyone now, and people were asking whether there was a new war brewing up.

Lan Xichen would spend the nights making love to his husband, and the days  –  working in his study. But, inevitably, Jiang Cheng would be there, next to him, sitting at his feet, touching, hugging and caressing him almost constantly, and receiving, oftentimes unconscious, petting, as Zewu-Jun craved to make his little kitten happy, even when they were not in bed.

People, Hanguang-Jun included, would be amazed, or frown, at this arrangement, but Lan Xichen cared not. His hand was always resting on his lover's waist, or shoulders, or back, always reassuring him that he was there, that they were together. 

To the repeating requests for a  tête-à-tête  audience, he would reply softly:

- I have no secrets from my husband. You can say anything you want to say to the both of us. Moreover, he is the next Yunmeng Jiang Clan Leader, as you surely must know, so this concerns him too.

This would shut people up, and always make Jiang Wanyin blush. Almost everyone was sulking at him wearing the white-and-blue Gusu Lan robes anyway, but he didn't mind; he was proud to show the world he belonged to his husband fully. Often, he would look up, amazed, at how calm and polite Zewu-Jun managed to stay, even when people were trying to provoke him quite on purpose. He liked to think that he was giving him some peace of mind with his presence, some strength.

He found it so mesmerizing that Lan Xichen practically lived two lives, had two faces  –  he was extremely emotional and tender when they were alone, knowing he could afford to relax and let go; but with strangers he was a completely different person, diplomatic and patient, living up to his reputation of someone reserved and cool-headed. 

He bit his lip, realizing that perhaps not all of the Gusu Clan training was so bad.

***


The House was very much astir, as the servants were too busy to prepare everything for their Master Lan's birthday, and also  –  take care of Clan representatives, or Leaders, or envoys. Jiang Cheng was having fun, observing Zewu-Jun's housekeeper going a little too crazy about managing it all. 

Whenever he was not with Lan Xichen, he would spend time with his nephews and his brother  –  Lan Wangji often accepted visitors together with his brother in his study. He used to like to just observe them interact and play, but now he was watching closely to gather experience  –  he knew absolutely nothing about raising children, and his own parents were not too brilliant an example of how it was done. He wanted to be a great father to his little one, too often worrying that he would fail, as his own childhood was too broken. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, miraculously, were great fathers, and to three  boys nonetheless.

The construction works at the Cloud Recesses were still going on, and Lan Xichen used it as a good excuse to politely ask the Clan representatives to stay at the nearest town in terms of accommodation. The usual practice would be to offer accommodation at the House, as most of them would be coming back for Hanguang-Jun's birthday celebration soon, but Zewu-Jun wanted peace and quiet for his husband. Most men were not too happy to travel to and fro in the deep snow, but respected Lan Xichen's decision. 

The first time Sandu Shengshou heard this, he looked up at his husband, surprised  –  he knew too well that there were more than enough spare guest rooms in the huge estate. But then his eyes brimmed up with tears  –  Zewu-Jun was thinking about his family first: him, and his brother's children. 

His heart filled up with tenderness; he knew he would never find a better father for his own children. 

Lan Huan was perfect.