An Almost Lan

Chapter 8

A/N: AU and OOC, just a reminder.

Thank you for your votes and comments, they really encourage me!

Thanks to @CALActorsTypist on Twitter for editing this.

Jiang Yanli's POV

She watched in amazement the commotion around her, finding somewhat unbelievable that this place was currently her home. A full year had already passed since her mother's wedding to Uncle Qiren. She had been very skeptical of that union when her mother announced it to her brothers and her, but in the end, that marriage had proved to be a true blessing for her family, especially for her mother.

It was almost a miracle that she had a moment to reflect on the past year of her life. She felt like she was standing right in the eye of a hurricane, with a sea of people moving in a wild disarray of paths and intentions around her. Preparations for her mother and Uncle's first wedding anniversary party were well on their way as a small army of florists, chefs and decorators were getting everything ready, all of them marshaled and commanded by none other than Madam Jin.

Her mother's best friend made sure they all had proper formal attires for the occasion, she even helped them to pick suitable presents. Their shopping trip had been memorable and more than one time, she or Lan Huan...A-Huan had to act as the voice of reason to dissuade one of their brothers from getting an unsuitable gift. They both had a hard time convincing A-Ying that a remote control plane toy was not an appropriate anniversary gift. Well, at least until Lan Zhan just told him it wasn't a nice gift after which Wei Ying had just abandoned his idea.

Her brothers...as her mind wandered freely it was inevitable for Jiang Yanli to think about her brothers, the four of them. How they had started as two families and how quickly they had merged into one.

Vividly remembering the wedding ceremony a year ago she felt like a fool for ever doubting the marriage was going to work for everyone. The first sign that heralded the success of Madam Jin's idea was the smile that adorned her mother's face as they 'returned from their honeymoon'. Only she and A-Huan would still refer to their comeback using air quotation marks when they were alone. Both of them were aware that they had never left the manor. A little bit of feigned innocence had never hurt anybody in her opinion.

The first days after their moving into the Lan manor had been exciting not only because of the change, but also because Lan Qiren or Uncle Qiren as everybody called him now had been more than generous in her opinion, letting them pick whatever design they wanted for their bedroom. Everyone got their dream bedroom, even A-Huan and A-Zhan who were allowed to re-decorate at their heart's content. It had been a highly intelligent move from her uncle to ease them into their new routine.

A year after their move, she could appreciate how that single action had promoted their involvement into one another's life and tastes, since they wanted to explain why their bedroom was the most awesome to the rest of their siblings. They had spent so much time together without their adults those first days that it had helped them bond.

She needed to be sincere to herself and admit that she had been a bit dazzled at first by A-Huan's looks, both of them being almost the same age. It had made her self-conscious and a little awkward in their first interactions. After the initial phase, she recognized him as a kindred older sibling soul and it allowed them to bond as true older siblings after that. They had formed a team to protect their younger brothers even from themselves and in a way they became accomplices.

A-Ying and A-Cheng had always had a love-hate relationship that was not easy to understand for a passerby, but once A-Huan and A-Zhan understood that there was no real hostility in their bickering and rants about each other, it was easier for everybody to avoid the awkwardness their yelling matches provoked at first. She also noticed how the competitiveness A-Chang used to feel towards A-Ying had been slowly disappearing. Sadly, it was directly related to the time her father had been dead.