When Top/Elite class Lan Heir Lan Wangji finds himself being drawn dangerously close to the new cleaner at his workplace, Low class orphan Wei Wuxian.
Where Lan Wangji is an investment banker with a silver spoon and an open secret. Wei Wuxian is a...
“We all know why we’re gathered here today, so let’s get this out the way. Merger. We’re joining teams with Wen Corporation,” the gray haired man in a stuffy suit clasped his hands and looked out at the exclusive audience expectantly. Formal, enthusiastic clapping followed.
“A great achievement, all thanks to Mr. Lan’s wonderful guidance and negotiation. So let me get into the nitty gritty...”
Lan Wangji spun his pen. In meetings such as these, there was ‘Mr. Lan’, ‘our capable Lan Xichen’ and ‘Lan Wangji’. It didn’t interest him in the slightest where the company went. If it ran into the ground the next day, he felt he couldn’t care less. Nonetheless, he was expected to attend, keep up appearances and to advance. Lan Wangji leaned back slightly. The aged man droned on. The men around him were much older than him. All gray and wrinkled with needlessly pricey wrist watches. None of them respected him, but they paid respects to his name.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw hazy movement outside the glass doors of the meeting room. He dared to glance. The cleaner was dutiful in his work. He wiped sweat off his forehead with his cloth. Stretching straight, Weiying brought his arms above his head and tilted his head back. His neck ached. He took the chance to wipe sweat from his neck as he stretched. This was just the first level of the day - level 40. He sighed.
“Weiying!” a voice with a light timbre bounced off the walls, “ah, you’re here too!”
Xu Yang walked quickly towards the cleaner, clutching his bag and laptop. Weiying regarded him cautiously, unsure if he was still angry about last Friday.
“I’m sorry I raised my voice at you last Friday,” Xu Yang’s shoulders dropped slightly, “I really was in a bad mood.”
Weiying was taken aback. He’d bumped into Xu Yang and spilled coffee all over his costly clothes yet Xu Yang felt the need to apologize to him. He bowed quickly,
“No sir, the fault was mine!-“
“Not at all!” Xu Yang grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back up, “it was just an accident. You poor thing, you were working so late too.”
Weiying blushed at the genuine remorse in Xu Yang’s eyes. Xu Yang smiled back coyly and reached inside his bag to pull out a small waxed paper bag. He pushed it into Weiying’s hands.
“I don’t know if you know what this is but-“
Weiying peeked inside, “Dragon’s Beard Candy!”
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He gasped. The candy took him back to his childhood. His father bought them for him if he did well in his tests. Before...
Weiying beamed gratefully. His vision of Xu Yang became blurred through building tears. Xu Yang felt heartened at the pure expression of joy. Such little things can make little people so happy. He placed a hand on Weiying’s head, ruffling his hair.
“I know, I used to love these as a kid. I used to save up all my pocket money just to spend it all on the street vendors!” He chuckled.
Weiying was under his spell again.
“Every time I see you, there’s something sweet involved,” Xu Yang added, stroking his chin, “first pastries, then the spilled coffee, now Dragon’s Beard Candy”
Weiying laughed along with Xu Yang politely. In his mind, he was two feet off the ground.
“Anyhow, I mustn’t spoil you with sweets like this!” He nodded, indicating his departure.
“Next time, I bought something savory!” He gave Weiying a warm smile and waved goodbye as he strode away.
Weiying bowed deeply, holding the small paper bag close to his racing heart. Why, oh why was he such an angel of a man? Weiying carefully put the bag in his pocket. With renewed enthusiasm he pushed his cart down the hall.
Lan Wangji felt nauseous watching the sickly sweet smile plastered on Weiying. What had Xu Yang given that has brought him such joy? He didn’t think Xu Yang would mix so easily with people of the lower classes with onlookers around.
“I guess he’s taken a special shine to Weiying,” he thought, tilting his head back to the front of the room.
The aged man was just halfway through. Spinning his pen, Lan Wangji frowned.
“Maybe the man Weiying had imagined was Xu Yang and not me?”
The hypothesis was interesting and evidence seemed to add up. Weiying had looked at Xu Yang like a cat looking at cream. That stupid, senseless smile like Xu Yang had just handed him the world. The pen nearly dropped out of his hand, he caught it deftly.
“Mr. Wen Ning will be done soon, Lan Wangji...” Mr. Lan’s gravelly voice cut sharp, interrupting the presentation, “and anybody else who wanted to know. Or here’s an idea!”
Mr. Lan leaned forward on his elbows, steepling his fingers. His grave, dark eyes looked directly into Lan Wangji’s.
“Since this affects not only your livelihood but also that of thousands of my employees, perhaps you should be paying it all of your attention.”
Lan Wangji bit down hard in an effort to control his temper and put his pen down. He returned his father’s steely stare with a tight smile,
“Of course, this is absolutely riveting. Please continue, Mr. Wen Ning.”
Mr. Lan’s eyes shifted upwards. He had a faint scowl on his face. He unclasped his hands and nodded at Mr. Wen Ning.
“Uh- yes,” the aged man cleared his throat before continuing.
Never, Lan Wangji thought, had he lost his focus like this. Not for a fling-to-be. He listened to the monotone talk and scribbled down what he thought were important information. His mind drifted back to Weiying and Xu Yang. Never did he have to compete.
