The line between love and obsession

The fight

It was a fine Wednesday afternoon, two days after his encounter with Wei Ying, and Lan Wangji was having difficulty concentrating on anything that wasn't thoughts of Wei Ying.

This was his first meeting, with Jiang Cheng from Jiang Enterprises, after he officially joined the company. During the meeting he just had, he had to muster everything in him to focus, his thoughts constantly drifting towards Wei Ying.

"Do you want to grab lunch with me," Jiang Cheng asked, once the meeting was over.

Lan Wangji barely knew the man in front of him, even though he had seen him around since childhood, but Lan Wangji would have lunch with a stranger if it meant he didn't have to endure another miserable lunch alone.

"Sure," Lan Wangji replied.

And that brought them here, in this fine restaurant, awkwardly seated across one another.

When they met last time, Lan Wangji had wanted to ask Wei Ying on their long overdue date, but in the end decided against it.

Firstly, he had offered to help him, and he didn't want Wei Ying to feel that there was an ulterior motive behind it. He wanted nothing more than for Wei Ying to trust him.

Secondly, he didn't even know if his love was reciprocated, to begin with. Wei Ying didn't owe him anything, not even seconds of the awkward moments while rejecting him. Lan Wangji had loved Wei Ying, as purely as another person could love someone, so he didn't want to lessen his love by making Wei Ying feel obligated to him in any way possible.

"Excuse me," Lan Wangji said, as he heard Jiang Cheng say something.

"I said this feels like a date. Do you know your uncle and my mom are trying to set us up together since forever?" Jiang Cheng said.

"Jiang Waynin, I suggest you have more achievable dreams," Lan Wangji spitted those words out of anger.

Jiang Cheng wore a perpetual frown, and somehow, much to Lan Wangji's dismay, it grew much deeper. His hand holding the spoon was shaking slightly with rage.

"I'm sorry, Jiang Waynin. I'm a little distracted. I don't mean what I say," Lan Wangji said, trying to ground the war that might brew.

Jiang Cheng's angry frown lessen a tad bit after hearing that.

"It's fine. You really do look distracted. Are you alright?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"I'm fine"

"Hmm. First of all, Lan Wangji, if I have to go on a date with a Lan, it would be your brother, not you. I have had a crush on Lan Xichen since middle school, and I have always disliked you. And second of all, I just came out of a serious relationship, and I'm in no hurry to get into another one. It's just my mother who thinks I'm mopping around all day after my breakup and suggested I ask you on a date. I firmly told her no, by the way," Jiang Cheng snapped.

The waitress came with their food at that exact moment, rice and tofu for Lan Wangji and lotus root and pork rib soup for Jiang Cheng.

"I'm sorry again and sorry about your break up too. Did you and your boyfriend break up mutually?" Lan Wangji asked once the waitress left their table.

"It's a she. No, she broke up with me. She broke up with me because she thought my negativity was affecting her aura,"

Lan Wangji felt bemused, but quietly began eating, without questioning it further.

"If you have a mother like me, and if you become a newly appointed CEO of a big company, then I would love to see how long anyone would be able to put a facade of constant cheerfulness anyway,"