An Almost Lan

Chapter 18

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, remaining errors are all mine.

He woke up in stages, completely disoriented. The dimmed lights of the cabin were not helpful. Trying to move, he felt restrained in his lap, he moved his gaze to find out why he couldn't move freely. At first he found nothing but an unfamiliar blanket covering him, removing it he found the culprit: a seat belt.

Still in a haze he wondered 'why am I wearing a seat belt?' Then he remembered. He was in a plane. The soft snoring coming from the neighboring seat made him turn his head towards the source of the sound, Xue Yang was lost in his slumber. Right, of course. Then, everything came back to him at once, like a landslide that threatened to suffocate him.

***

After Wei Ying's declaration of his need to go home, Xue Yang sprang into action. He ran towards the housemaster's quarters and unceremoniously knocked on his door. Still sleepy but obviously alarmed by the insisting knocking, the man opened the door. Xue Yang informed him about the call Wei Ying had just received.

Their housemaster decided to call the school administration office to find out if the school had been contacted by Wei Ying's family. The person on watch declared it was probably nonsense, but still opened the school's official email account to verify it. Surprisingly, Wei Ying's family had contacted them to authorize Wei Ying's return.

'Crap!' was the first thing crossing Xue Yang's mind. This didn't look good at all. Thinking on his feet, he called one of his guardians and explained the situation to him. Song Lan agreed to contact the school and Wei Ying's family to get them plane tickets to depart as soon as possible.

In the end, it had been Yinzhu who coordinated with his guardian to get them tickets in the next departing plane. Wei Ying had been worried sick about the news he had just received, but Xue Yang didn't press him for information. He knew his friend. He would tell him when he was ready.

Both of them packed in a rush, taking only the essentials with them, the horse jumping team said they would be waiting for Wei Ying to return, but Xue Yang was not entirely sure that would be possible.

Xue Yang kept glancing at his friend, who looked beyond worried. It was a shame, whatever it was it had thrown Wei Ying into some kind of mind fog. Well, the only thing he could do for him was to take care of the tasks needed for them to go home. The rest...well, they would have to figure it out once they were there.

***

Lan Zhan's voice had been the one he heard on his phone. A hesitant "Wei Ying," in a deep tone had completely awakened him. The rest of the conversation, if you could call that a conversation, was the delivery of devastating news.

"Uncle Qiren is in the hospital. He had a heart attack. I think you need to come home."

He didn't even remember if he acknowledged Lan Zhan's words. If he had at least said 'mn' or something. This was a nightmare, unfortunately it was a very realistic one. He just kind of remembered ending the call and answering Xue Yang's question by saying that he needed to go back home right now.

Wei Ying needed to be there, he needed to see Uncle Qiren. He hoped...no, it was better not going there. Keeping his thoughts positive, he was determined to stay calm until they arrived at the hospital and finally knew what was going on with his uncle's heart.