baby it's cold outside (WangXian FF)

7

Ever since morning, Lan Wangji was thinking about the beautiful long haired man with the silver eyes, and whether he would come to disrupt his morning ritual.

The man was pretty distracting when he approached him last night with… well, a long awaited proposal.

But still, he would not easily give up to some kind of a big shot from a big city who thought they could flattened the historical building to build a shopping mall or something. He'd rather starve than to sell it to some nouveau riche brat who thought that owning a palace was a new 'it' achievement and then just letting it rot away afterwards. The palace contained too much history to be treated that way, and if he had a say – or money – he would not sell this place, ever.

He was so deep in thought and he was not concentrating on repairing the broken window until the hammer almost hit his thumb.

"Are you okay, Wangji?" Luo Binghe looked at him with surprise on his face, because this was the first time he saw the man act like this. He was usually so calm and collected, but today he looked quite disturbed.

"I'm fine. I'm just going to take a little break." He put down the hammer and the nail and he went inside to brew his favorite tea.

He sighed when he saw that the supply of the tea was already dwindling, and he knew that he wouldn't be able to purchase another batch, since the tea was very expensive and he didn't have the extra money. He knew that soon enough, he had to resort to the commercial tea.

But for now, he would enjoy the process of making the tea step-by-step, just like how his father taught him. It helped him to focus and to center his mind, and he would definitely need the calm if the famous author was going to come as he said.

He just had uncomfortable feelings in his stomach when he talked to him yesterday, although he didn't know why. He never had this kind of mixed feeling before and it unsettled him.

Anyway, he just had to wait and see if the man really wanted to buy the castle or he was just all talk like the others before him.

Wei Wuxian walked to the palace because he wanted to do the sightseeing thing to see the area where he would be staying soon if the deal was on.

His manager and his lawyer were still enjoying their rest because of the amount of alcohol they drank last night. He chuckled because the last time they did this kind of stuff was when they were back at the college. It seemed that their alcohol tolerance was not improving at all, he could always single handedly outdrank them all. But then again, alcohol was always his preferred vice, and he was content with it.

While walking slowly, he felt that the air was different here. They're fresher, colder, and he could feel that something good was brewing in the air. Perhaps it was the sign that he was meant to be here.

The thought lifted his mood, so he smiled and then he yelled loudly into the air, then he twirled around before he purposely fell down on the thick snow and made a huge snow angel while still giggling happily.

He looked at the clear sky and the odd-shaped cloud and tried to reach them when suddenly two heads appeared in his line of sight. He was quite surprised to see the two little boys who looked identical but one with the look of mischief on his face while the other frowned in worry.

"Mister, what are you doing here? Are you crazy?" The mischievous one poked his cheek while the other pulled him away.

"Jingyi, we should not talk to any stranger!" He whispered very loudly and Wei Wuxian could hear it.

"But I saw his face inside of auntie's book, you know, the one where she hid under the pillow?" Once again the boy called Jingyi poked Wei Wuxian's cheek. "Are you dead, Mister? Do you want some hot chocolate with whiskey like my aunt likes?"

Wei Wuxian couldn't help but laugh at the kid's words, and he jumped back up on his feet to see them better.

The kids moved back a few steps and watched Wei Wuxian pat his jacket with curiosity in their eyes.

"Is that real fur?" The brat came closer and pointed at Wei Wuxian's black fur collar. "Bear fur?" He gasped and Wei Wuxian really really wanted to squish his chubby cheek.

And he did.

The other boy, who was hiding behind the naughty one, suddenly came out and bit Wei Wuxian's hand.

"Let go of my brother! You pervert! I will ask my uncle to put you into jail!" He hit Wei Wuxian's hand repeatedly, until Wei Wuxian grabbed his collar and pulled him up until he was hanging in the air and flicked his forehead.

"Brat. Who did you call a pervert?" Wei Wuxian pressed the boy's nose and the boy tried to punch him but Wei Wuxian just laughed because the boy was punching empty air.

"Mister, please put my brother down, he was just trying to protect me, please?" The mischievous boy, Jingyi, pulled Wei Wuxian's pants and his eyes were glassy from tears.

Wei Wuxian looked at him and the other boy and sighed. Then he put him down.

"Brats, why are you out here alone? Where's your parents? Your aunt? Uncle?" He looked at them and the boys looked like they were around five years old with identical faces and one in white, the other in a blue hat. Probably the only thing that could tell them apart.

The boys hugged and then they suddenly cried.

"We don't have parents anymore, they died in accidents a long time ago, and now we live with our uncle and aunt…" They continued to sniffle and Wei Wuxian's heart constricted with pain.

His own parents were gone when he was young and he was taken by the friend of the family who treated him… less than good. Thank god he had Shen Qingqiu and Hua Cheng, and as soon as he was of age, he left and never looked back.

"It's okay, babies." He gathered the two boys in his embrace and kissed the top of their heads fondly. "Cry all you want, and then you have to be strong and be there for each other forever. Okay?"

The boys quickly wiped their eyes and then hugged Wei Wuxian, while he carried both of them up and continued the walk to the palace, while wondering where the hell the boys came from and how would he find their aunt and uncle.