ETERNAL DESTINY ( LAN WANJI & WEI WUXIAN UNTAMED)

CHAPTER 33

Months passed and Lan Zhan was still being bullied by that boy and still refused to tell his brother, at times he would come home with cuts and bruises or his robes being torn and he would still keep quite. The bullying got worse when Lan Qiren spoke to the parents of Lan Zhan's classmates and that the all the kids in his class called him a cry baby, they teased and they would sometimes throw his books on a tree but the worst was when they dragged him behind their classes and tied him to the thorny bushes which resulted in him coming home late, with scratches and his robes torn badly. The boy would pull Lan Zhan's long thick black hair and push him to the ground and after doing such act be would help him stand up and ask him " Lan Wanji, could you be my friend" with a wide smile on his face. Of course Lan Zhan would not answer him but the more he didn't the more the boy abused him and say he was full of himself or that he was too arrogant because his uncle was a clan leader.

He didn't like it that Lan Zhan was too composed than he was, too excellent in his studies than him even if he was two classes higher than Lan Zhan, that he didn't know if Lan was mute or just too arrogant to speak and he most definately didn't like how Lan Zhan kept his cleanliness. He would be thrown to the dirt but when he stands up he would lightly dust himself up and the dirt would miraculously vanish, he was so myste8for the boy to understand and the boy hated that about him. Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen would worry everyday about what kind of injuries Lan Zhan would come home with and there was nothing they could do about it, he even asked his uncle not to talk to the kids parents about him, he stated " I don't want it to look like I'm getting favoured because I'm using my status as the son of a former clan leader and a nephew of the current clan leader" that was it, that was the first time Lan Zhan had directly spoke to his uncle and Lan Qiren was happy about it so he stopped calling the parents to complain. He wanted more than ever to grow closer to Lan Zhan but he also didn't want him to be bullied. He started being hard in Lan zhan by giving him too much work during classes training his brain and at the same time refusing to give the bullies a chance to do so outside.

He had already told the elders that he would be teaching Lan Zhan's class to end the bullying of his nephew and other kids and the elders thought it was a good idea for him to see it himself because Lan Zhan would not say anything about it. He would shout telling Lan Zhan to stay behind and read or write the clan rules and would go home when all the kids were gone before he went back home. Lan Qiren saw how hard Lan Zhan was working to meet his standards when he was already perfect but he never even once complained about anything. Lan Xichen had thought that Lan Zhan would not be able to take it since he was bullied in classes and his uncle being hard on him. He felt helpless that he would sometimes go out to the back of the mountain in his favourite spot and cry his heart out where no one would hear.

Lan Zhan had noticed his brother's behaviour change and he was more worried about him than anything that was happening to him. He didn't care how everyone treated him, he didn't care if he was hurt or if the worst would happen to him but...his heart ached when he saw that his brother was slowly changing and somehow becoming more silent than usual. It was true that Lan Xichen didn't like to speak unless when necessary, but he was more talkative to his brother to keep the brotherly balance. He thought that if he wasn't the one to talk, then his relationship with his brother would go nowhere because he was the best when it comes to being silent.

One afternoon after coming back from classes Lan Qiren gave Lan Zhan countless tasks like reading all the Lan clan rules and copy them after reading. Lan Xichen didn't mind if his uncle was to give Lan Zhan those tasks but what was slowly breaking him was the way his uncle would tell him to do it, his tone was unpleasant for Lan Xichen to bear. It wasn't harsh but rather loud, too loud for Lan Zhan's liking and he was heartbroken, he didn't like anyone talking to Lan Zhan like that, not even his uncle. He had declared to himself and his mother that Lan Zhan was his responsibility and he would do anything, even the impossible so that Lan Zhan would be comfortable. So as usual he left the house after hearing his uncle tell Lan Zhan to copy 60 Lan clan rules because he couldn't bare the fact that he couldn't tell his uncle otherwise. So he went to his usual spot behind the mountain and cried his heart out.

Lan Zhan finished his tasks and went out to look for his brother, he looked everywhere but couldn't find him. He sat on the cut grass further from the path leading to the cold spring where, this side of the clan was a bit further from people to ensure privacy to the people who get into the cold spring. Since only cultivators were the only ones allowed and no one else, it was empty most of the time. They either hated the cold or they weren't sustaining any fatal injuries for them to heal their wounds in the cold spring. So..he sat there and for a moment he was heartbroken , he blamed himself that he was the reason his brother was not with him, that he had upset him so much so that he didn't want to see him. He felt helpless for a minute for not being able to find his brother, until...