Because of You

18

It was later in the evening after everyone returned from town. Yanli again, met up with Xichen at his place.

"Did Wuxian tell you what happened?" Xichen asked.

"He told me that he suddenly felt his heart hurting as he sat next to Wangji," Yanli answered, "he doesn't have any memory of his past life but it's like his subconscious does and his body is reacting to it. He then told me, he may be adopted but he isn't a true blood heir and he shouldn't get mixed up with Wangji."

"What did you tell him?" Xichen asked.

"I told him that he is as much an heir and me and A'Cheng and if I hear him shame himself again I would beat him over the head," Yanli explained.

Lan Xichen chuckled, "that might not be the best approach in having him stop berating himself. He just need as much reassurance as possible. He has been accepted into your family and just like the past, he probably worries about losing it. As someone who lost their parents, I can understand how he feels. It's hard to accept another family without feeling like a burden to them. So he just needs to keep being told that he is not a burden. No matter how many times he has to hear it or it needs to be said. It's always a way to give him some sort of reassurance."

"The letter you once sent me, is it really true that your father just threw you out of his house, quite literally?" She asked.

"It is, I had a minor head injury from that," he said, "and because of that incident, Shufu sat down with me and listened to everything I had to say. All of the past, all of Wei Wuxian's past and his pain and how he is so interested in Wangji. Shufu is actually wanting to try and help the two this time. He will try to be lenient with him but if he acts out in class I do not know what will happen."

"Have you thought about maybe sitting in every once in a while?" Yanli asked, "it might help remind your uncle to stay calm...though I am not sure if he is going to cause any trouble this time. As you saw, A'Xian has changed a bit even though he has no idea of his past."

Xichen nodded, "yah I saw...and the whole comment about girls?" He asked.

Yanli giggled, "come on, I had to. A'Xian didn't know what to do."

"It was clever I will give you that," he said, "after you went after Wuxian, I told Wangji to try to ease up on him a bit."

"Thank you, but I'm sure your brother will do his best," Yanli said.

"I do need to talk with him again though. His reaction to the Jasmine comment," Xichen said.

Yanli giggled, "I saw that, I thought I could smell vinegar."

Lan Xichen laughed, "which is why I want to speak with him. I want to tell him if he has an interest in Wuxian, he should really look into it. Talk with him and spend time with him. Wangji needs to learn what his feelings are," he said.

"I know...would you like me to talk with him?" She asked, "maybe talk with on what it feels like to like someone?"

"You could try," he replied, "maybe he will listen to what you say."

"I will see what I can do," she said, "what if you speak with A'Xian."

Lan Xichen blinked, "why?"

"Because, if you want A'Xian to get comfortable in a new place, he needs to know that there is stability here. If he is to get close to Wangji, I'm sure he'd want to talk to you for advice. As you know your brother most. Plus, I think it would be nice to see that he has a big brother figure around for him," Yanli explained.

Lan Xichen nodded, "alright, so you will talk with Wangji, and I will talk with Wuxian."

"Sounds good," she said and looked outside the window, "it's getting close to curfew."

"Let me walk you back to your guest room," Xichen said.

Yanli nodded. The two walked happily in silence to Yanli's guest room, "so tomorrow is the greeting ceremony, let's hope it all goes smoothly," she told him.

"I agree with you, I will see you tomorrow then?" He said.

Yanli nodded and smiled at him, "good night Zewu Jun."

"I think you can call me Xichen," he said, "and good night to you."

"Call me Yanli or A'Li," she said.

"Very well, good night A'Li," he said.

Yanli went into her room and Xichen walked back to the Hanshi. He decided to take a detour just to check to be sure everyone was back in their rooms for curfew. As he was walking he saw Wuxian sitting on a bench by himself.

"Wei Gongzi?" He asked approaching him.

Wei Wuxian lifted his head now being highly alert, "ah, Zewu Jun, I was just thinking about some things. I didn't know it was getting late," he said.

"It's alright," he said, "why not come with me and we can talk."

"Um, okay," Wuxian replied and followed him to the Hanshi.

"Come sit," Xichen said kindly.

Wuxian nodded and sat down across from Xichen, "w-what did you need me for?" He asked.

"You are not in trouble, Wuxian," he said calmly.

Hearing Xichen say his name so casually, Wuxian felt a bit at ease, "okay," he said.

"I've been speaking with your sister about some things, she seems to care about you a lot," Xichen told him.

"She does," Wuxian said, "she helps me with my bad nights, talks with me, makes food for me."

Xichen smiled but then felt concerned, "what do you mean by bad nights?"

"I have nightmares a lot, especially if I don't have Jasmine nearby," Wuxian said, "at first, they were nightmares about my parents but then they became different."

"How so?" Xichen asked.

"I would see things that seemed like they could happen but they didn't," he said, "like, I dreamt that I was falling from very high up. I'd fall for a long time and then a cloud of resentment would catch me. I'd wake up just before I'd hit the ground."

Lan Xichen got worried. He knew what he saw was his past. Was that his way of remembering?

"Just so you know, if you need to talk to anyone, feel free to come to me," Xichen told him.

"Thank you," Wuxian said and saw it was past curfew, "am I going to be in trouble for being out past curfew?"

Lan Xichen smiled, "you can just stay here tonight."

"Are you sure?" Wuxian asked.

"Of course," Lan Xichen told him.