Wild Creatures

Chapter 31

There wasn't time to look at that message now; they had to go and pick up Wei Ying from the coffee shop.

And maybe because it had taken F4keSt0ries over twenty-four hours to get back to them, Lan Zhan felt on edge. They needed any help they could get at this point, but at the same time, he was filled with trepidation.

It was exactly like ripping off a bandaid.

Whether the plaster was taken off slowly, easing it away from the skin, or roughly pulled away in half a second, it was going to hurt. That was unavoidable.

The tension of knowing this fuelled his choice.

So Lan Zhan closed his laptop for now, and decided he would look at the message from F4keSt0ries later, when they got back with Wei Ying.

An image of Wen Chao flashed in his head, from last night.

The man had behaved just as well as the son of a multimillionaire might; full of arrogance and entitlement...but the look in his eyes as he lay on the floor...Lan Zhan couldn't get the feeling that he knew something...out of his head.

But what could it be?

This thought stayed in the back of his mind, even as he shepherded the kids into his "cool car" as JingYi insisted it should be called now. His enthusiasm was contagious and both A-Yuan and himself were greatly cheered by JingYi's comments on different sports cars. He was very knowledgeable too, and Lan Zhan wondered why.

Apparently, so did A-Yuan, because his next question was, "why do you know so much about cars?"

JingYi went all quiet.

Lan Zhan wished he had switched on his radio beforehand...and now it would be awkward if he suddenly did that.

"Look?! What's that car?" A-Yuan suddenly pointed to a red ferrari on the other side, and the moment vanished.

But it was certainly something to think about.

JingYi had been alright today, perhaps not as animated as he usually was, but certainly happier than last night.

Having a dysfunctional family was traumatic for anyone, let alone a six year old, but throw in an abusive and bad-tempered parent, too? That would be terribly upsetting for any kid. Perhaps they could try and talk to JingYi afterwards, and get him to open up a bit, and see if they could help him more.

Lan Zhan pulled up outside the Coffee Carousel and within seconds, Wei Ying was in the car and greeting the children with excited enthusiasm...until he caught Lan Zhan's eyes.

He grinned mischievously.

"And what about me? What kind of a greeting shall I get?" Lan Zhan murmured so the kids in the back couldn't hear him.

Wei Ying blushed immediately.

Lan Zhan raised a brow, a contented smirk on his face.

He put the car in gear and drove, leaving Wei Ying still spluttering.

Payback was fun...

************

The kids were still excited about their newest Lego additions, and ran off to play, leaving Lan Zhan alone with Wei Ying.

Lan Zhan spotted his laptop on the coffee table and remembered the message from F4keSt0ries, immediately freezing.

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying asked him, worried suddenly.

"F4keSt0ries replied." Lan Zhan took his hand and brought him over.

"Wait." Wei Ying pushed him down on the couch and climbed into his lap. "Before we do anything serious, I believe someone asked for a greeting." He smiled, his hands coming up to rest on Lan Zhan's shoulders, and then up to hold his face.