Hard choice (Dark clouds before sunny weather - Book 2)

Chapter 2

Wei Wuxian was driving the car but he could not help but to check in the back mirror every so often how was Mo Xuanyu doing. The boy had been nervous this entire morning and he wanted to make sure that he would not slip into outright panicking.

Wei Wuxian could and definitely would not blame him. He understood how the child felt. They had just taken him out of his home, away from his family, everything must have been foreign and frightening to him. Not that they were actually doing anything out of the ordinary, they just had a nice weekend and were now driving to school. However, to Mo Xuanyu, all of this must have been so very different from his usual routine.

After all, until now, he had had to take care of all the household chores – he did not even have to confirm this fact verbally, Wei Wuxian could see it in the way he would just itch to help him but was too afraid to intervene too much in the household – and school had probably been the last thing he thought about. Although he must have been a good student to keep his grades up even when living in such an environment and probably hardly ever having time to study in peace.

Now that they had taken him away from his family and he was living with them, everything was truly new to him. Wei Wuxian had been prepared to stay at home with him and let him rest some more. Perhaps even help him with his studying and introduce to him a new daily routine step by step. But when he had seen how excited A-Yuan had been, he had believed everything would be just fine.

Or at least he hoped it would. A-Yuan was holding the boy's hand and the other in turn was squeezing his as if he was looking for a lifeline when being stuck at a raging sea. It was both pitiful and adorable at the same time. A-Yuan was doing such a great job of supporting Mo Xuanyu, Wei Wuxian should praise him later.

He stopped the car when they arrived at A-Yi's preschool. "A-Yuan, A-Yu," he turned back at the boys and smiled, "can you wait here for a minute? Me and Lan Zhan will just quickly talk to A-Yi's teachers and come back so we can arrive to school in time."

A-Yuan immediately agreed: "Of course!" Then he turned towards his younger brother and patted his head with the hand which was not being used to calm down Mo Xuanyu. "A-Yi, have a great day at school and learn a lot, alright?"

A-Yi nodded as well, his cheeks a little puffed out in a pout: "Big Brother A-Yuan, I am always being a good boy and learning diligently. Just wait, once I will go to a real school like you, I will be even better than you!"

"Of course, of course," smiled A-Yuan indulgently, he had always had a soft spot for his baby brother after all. "I look forward to that. Now, wish A-Yu a good day too and be off on your way."

A-Yi obediently stopped pouting, smiling happily after his brother placated him. "Big Brother A-Yuan, Big Brother A-Yu, have a good day at school!"

Wei Wuxian had to smile to himself. He could not believe how adorable his children were. They were both very mature for their age and also very considerate of others. He did not even have to be worried how they will take the news about Mo Xuanyu living with them for an undetermined period of time from now on.

It was just this morning that he had received a call from Wen Qing. She informed him she had filed all the necessary documents for authorities and that he and Lan Zhan had for now been granted a temporary custody of the child. At least until the case could be investigated and decision would be taken about Mo Xuanyu's fate away from his abusive relatives.

Needless to say, We Wuxian had been over the moon with happiness. Although he had been a little older when the abuse against him had been discovered, he had still hated being send to an institution. Even for that short period of time while the investigation had been ongoing and the authorities were looking for a foster home for him.

He would not wish that for Mo Xuanyu. Temporary custody in a real family was way better than becoming one of the many children that an institution's worker had to take care of. Moreover, the boy seemed to have been greatly impacted by his time with his family, Wei Wuxian believed that it was in his best interest to have someone close to him who could understand what he had experienced and could at least guess what he was currently going through. He would make sure that the child started to feel at home in his and Lan Zhan's family the fastest possible.

Lan Zhan got out of the care at the same time as Wei Wuxian. He opened the door for their younger son and A-Yi all but jumped out of the car. He seemed really excited to go to school today despite being reluctant to part ways with Mo Xuanyu earlier in the morning. The promise that they would be able to play some more when school was over must have helped.

Wei Wuxian smiled indulgently when A-Yi waited for him to circle the car and join his side. Then, he stretched his hands up, he wanted both his dads to take them. He was a little spoiled perhaps, the preschool building was not even twenty steps away from them, but who could ever refuse him anything when he was acting this adorably?

Moreover, after just taking Mo Xuanyu in, Wei Wuxian had decided he needed to pay attention and spoil all three of his children unless he wanted one of them to feel left out. After going through something unpleasant himself, he strongly believed that every single child should live in a loving, harmonious and understanding environment where people would pay attention to their needs and listen to them. They should never be alone or sad.

If he could only manage to teach his children one thing, it would be this. He would never let them feel unwanted, unloved or overlooked. And he knew he needed to show Mo Xuanyu a good time and love the most of all. He did not think the boy had ever lived in an environment suitable for children. He was adamant on changing this, if even for a short while until the authorities would reach their decision.