Solstice Souls Book 2: Black Fire, White Flame

Adaptable Truths

Lan Zhan's POV

Lan Zhan knew in that split second that Wei Ying was about to push him back, taking the full might of the sword that threatened their lives, and he was just about to pull him away when they heard the familiar voice of Wei Ying's father, Wei Changze.

That relief was palpable.

The adrenaline running through his veins was real as Lan Zhan tried to calm down, not just for himself but for his soulmate too. Emotions were high not only for them at having found Wei Ying's parents, but there was definitely something wrong...

Wei Changze was either injured or exhausted from fighting...

As Wei Ying bent over to tend to his father, Lan Zhan saw Cangse Sanren caress his hair and welcome her child.

While this was normal and made the obvious love that burned brightly between the compact family shine even more vividly, Lan Zhan could not help feeling a pang of wishful yearning.

Oh, to have this kind of love with his own parents!

To enjoy this easy love, because it was easy, and it was Wei Ying who made it so. The way he joked and played around with both of his parents, it was refreshing and joyful. Perhaps Uncle Qiren might have frowned and said it was disrespectful, but Lan Zhan knew better now. There wasn't a trace of disrespectfulness in Wei Ying's tone, not even the slightest, and while it might have looked like an ordinary camaraderie between two marked age differences, Lan Zhan understood that being able to laugh in this tricky situation lessened the tension dramatically.

And by doing that, by making his parents laugh, Wei Ying effortlessly made them more alert, more focused on what they had to do.

In fact, it was not effortless.

He could hear the stress in Wei Ying's voice, trying to convince his proud father that it was totally alright to accept a piggyback ride, that it was necessary even, and that was the magic of his husband-to-be. For any parent, especially those in the prime of their years, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to allow their child to carry them.

But in this case, they had no other choice; they needed to get out quick, and without being discovered.

Wei Ying could assess any given situation and make it his, be in full control of whatever was happening in such a way as to achieve what he wanted with minimum delay, and the least ruffling of feathers.

It was a credit to his parents too, who of course influenced his upbringing.

Lan Zhan wondered how his life would have been different if he had been allowed this much freedom. And yet, that freedom had been taken away not only from himself and his brother, but from his mother and father as well. In the latter's situation, sure he had enforced it upon himself, but it was confinement nevertheless.

And no matter how much Lan Zhan tried, he could not imagine a life with both of his parents, like this.

It was too different to how he had been brought up, and that time had gone.

No use thinking about the past.

Footsteps right outside the door, brought Lan Zhan back to the present like a bucket of cold water to his face, and he warned Wei Ying. When Wei Ying asked him to carry his mother...it was an honour that Lan Zhan took very seriously. This was the woman who gave birth to his beloved. Without her, there would be no Wei Ying. In fact, the same could be said about Wei Changze.

Both Wei Ying's parents were precious to Wei Ying, so therefore by proxy, they were precious to Lan Zhan.

He reverently picked up Cangse Sanren in his arms. Her injuries did not allow her to rest upon his back leaving his hands free. And Lan Zhan knew that they better not get caught, because he would have to put her down if it came to a fight, and that could potentially cost them valuable seconds.