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

Chapter 13

"Teacher, please, do not tell my family about this..." whispered Mo Xuanyu almost inaudibly while clinging to him and shivering all over.

Wei Wuxian's heart almost broke into a million pieces seeing this precious boy so scared again. He had thought they had already passed the worst stage but of course it would not be so easy. And why would it even? After a lifetime of being neglected and abused, of course Mo Xuanyu would not be out of the woods with just a few days of normal life. He must have now been scared to death that he would be blamed for getting injured or something similar.

Wei Wuxian briefly thought back to the soccer game and was asking himself whether he had done the right thing in encouraging the boy to join in. Perhaps he had been too hasty. He had forgotten that Mo Xuanyu's injuries from his time with his family were not even properly healed yet, and he had told him to go run around and strain himself. What kind of a parent was he? He should have been more aware and mindful of the situation. This one really fell onto his head.

He knew he was perhaps panicking too much, but he could not help himself. Had it been anyone else, he would not get this stressed over a few scraped knees and palms, it happened all the times with boys, he had learned that very quickly with A-Yuan and A-Yi. However, when it came to Mo Xuanyu, he did not want this child to suffer even as minor of an injury as this. He had already been through enough as it was.

And, he was even more worried if the boy had not aggravated his previous injuries by any chance. That was why he was now running with him in his arms, straight to the infirmary. Wen Qing should still be there, she could examine him and if necessary, Wei Wuxian was ready to take a trip to a hospital immediately.

He was running through the hallways and earning himself several surprised stares. He did not mind one bit at the moment. He just wanted to have someone look at Mo Xuanyu's injuries the fastest possible.

Wei Wuxian knew the boy had been in a great distress and he had been whispering reassurances to him all this while. And if he himself also needed some to calm himself down, well, no one needed to know. Especially not the child. He had enough on his plate to worry about.

But that single whispered pleas made Wei Wuxian stopped on the spot and look down at the trembling and fragile body he was holding in his arms. His eyes were swimming with tears that he refused to let fall, he could not crumble now, Mo Xuanyu needed to see him strong and confident of his answer.

He took a breath and somehow managed to smile when he immediately reassured: "A-Yu, do not worry. Of course, no one will tell your family, do not be scared, alright? I only want Wen Qing – the school nurse, you remember her, she had looked at your injuries before – to do a quick check up. Just in case anything is wrong. I am sure she will bandage your injuries for you and also give you a candy for being brave. So, do not worry A-Yu, everything will be just fine and we can then go to the supermarket and buy everything we need for our evening feast."

He was not sure which part of his rumbling worked, but Mo Xuanyu's eyes were no longer full of fear by the time he stopped talking. He was still shaking, but Wei Wuxian guessed it could not be helped. After all, the boy had just had a terrible scare, was injured and in an unfamiliar situation. Anyone would be distressed under such circumstances.

In the heat of the moment, Wei Wuxian leaned down a little and kissed the boy's forehead, just as he would do to his own children when they needed more reassurance than what he could offer with words alone. Sometimes, the simple gestures worked the best.

And it was a success this time as well. When Wei Wuxian stood up straight again and smiled at the child in his arms – it was easier now, he had managed to calm down as well – Mo Xuanyu's eyes were filled with wonder and surprise instead of fear.

A little comically, as if he had never been soothed in this way before, which was probably the correct guess, the boy reached out his hand and touched his forehead. His eyes went even wider and his mouth parted in a silent surprised "o". He looked positively adorable, albeit the picture was tainted in Wei Wuxian's mind by the knowledge of the child's past. Part of him thought that it was very pitiful how surprised Mo Xuanyu was with such small and common expressions of affection and love.

"Everything will be fine. Your guardians will not get to know a word about this. Or about anything else that happened or will happen." Wei Wuxian repeated with more seriousness and reassurance than before, making himself a mental note to spoil the boy rotten from now on.

Mo Xuanyu relaxed just a little bit in his arms and stopped clinging to him for dear life. Relieved, Wei Wuxian continued on his way to the infirmary. Internally, he was cursing the school founders to have not thought sufficiently about the layout and constructing the infirmary so far from the playing ground where children usually got injured the most often. As it stood, there was quite a long trip between the two and at this moment and he hated this fact.

Finally, he arrived in front of the correct door. He was slightly gasping for breath and his heard was racing like crazy, partly due to his rush and partly because despite showing Mo Xuanyu a strong and reassuring parent façade, he was still worried out of his mind. He knew he was probably exaggerating, but it was better than underestimating any underlying problems or injuries which could have long-lasting negative consequences.

Without as much as knocking, he all but kicked the door open while announcing himself: "Wen Qing, I need your help!"