innocent lotus flower

I Miss Him

Lan Wangji had always believed he knew what he wanted.

For years, he had convinced himself that he loved Ning Xi—the girl who had saved his life. She had been the one who stayed by his side when he was kidnapped and injured. She gave him a jade pendant and called the police when he was unconscious. From then on, Lan Wangji thought he owed her everything: his heart, his loyalty, and even his future. So when the time came to marry Wei Ying, the boy his family had adopted for business reasons, Lan Wangji felt nothing but cold detachment.

Now, months after Wei Ying had finally disappeared from his life, something strange was happening.

He missed him.

It started subtly. He would walk through the mansion and catch himself looking into corners as if expecting to see a flash of red—the color Wei Ying often wore. He would hear the faint rustle of clothing or soft footsteps in the hall and his heart would leap before his mind reminded him that Wei Ying was gone.

He tried to ignore it.

No. It wasn’t Wei Ying he loved. It was Ning Xi.

At least, that’s what he kept telling himself.

But Ning Xi had changed. Ever since Wei Ying left, she was no longer the sweet, kind woman he had fallen in love with. She vanished from the house for days without explanation, returning with a sour temper and snapping at the staff. She no longer waited for Lan Wangji in the halls or asked about his day. When Wei Ying had lived in the mansion, Ning Xi had clung to Lan Wangji constantly, never letting him out of her sight. But now… it was as if she had become someone else entirely.

Even the servants had started to fear her. Her cruel words, unpredictable rage, and dismissiveness made the once peaceful mansion heavy with dread. Several of the older staff, who had worked for the Lan family for decades, had quietly resigned. No one wanted to stay around Ning Xi anymore.

Then came the day that cracked everything open.

Lan Wangji returned home earlier than usual, hoping to catch some quiet. Instead, he was greeted by a strange sight—Wei Ying’s luggage dumped outside the front gate as if discarded garbage.

He stared at the bags in disbelief.

“What is this?” he asked sharply, catching a maid as she passed.

The maid looked startled, then bowed respectfully. “Sir, these belong to Master Wei Ying. Madam Ning Xi instructed us to get rid of them.”

The words hit him like a slap. Get rid of them.

Lan Wangji didn’t know why—but the idea of discarding Wei Ying’s belongings made his stomach churn.

“No,” he said firmly, his voice dangerously low. “Take them back inside. If she asks, tell her I gave the order.”

He turned on his heel and stormed into the house, eyes blazing. “Where is she?” he demanded from the nearest servant.

“She just left, sir.”

Of course she did. She always left.

His fists clenched. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. He had thought that once Wei Ying was gone, he and Ning Xi would finally have their chance to be happy. But instead, the house had grown colder, emptier, and the woman he had believed was his savior had turned into a stranger.

That night, unable to sleep, Lan Wangji did something he hadn’t done since Wei Ying left—he entered his former room.

It was silent and still, filled only with shadows and the faint scent that Wei Ying always seemed to carry: sandalwood and something light, like wildflowers after rain. His things were in disarray, evidence of someone throwing them out in a rush. Lan Wangji snorted at himself.

What did you expect? That he’d be here? Waiting? After what you did?

He had blackmailed Wei Ying. He had threatened him, hurt him, forced a marriage out of convenience while giving his heart to someone else. He had driven him out like trash. And now, walking through this quiet, abandoned room, he hated himself.

Just as he was about to leave, his foot bumped into one of Wei Ying’s bags. It tipped over, and clothes spilled onto the floor. With a sigh, he knelt to gather them, but his hand stilled when he saw something glint in the mess.

A necklace.

No—the necklace.

His breath caught.

He picked it up, trembling, and recognized the delicate jade pendant shaped like a half-moon. It was the exact match to the one Ning Xi had given him years ago—the one she claimed to have lost during the kidnapping incident. But this one… this one had clearly belonged to Wei Ying.

A cold sweat broke out on his back.

Heart racing, Lan Wangji bolted to his bedroom and threw open his drawer. He dug through until he found the other pendant—the one Ning Xi had handed him in the hospital. Hands shaking, he held them side by side.

They fit.

Perfectly.

Two halves of a whole.

His mind spiraled. If Wei Ying had the other half… if he was the one who saved him… then…

The room spun.

When Lan Wangji had awoken in the hospital after the kidnapping, Ning Xi had been at his bedside. She told him she had saved him, called the police, and given him the jade pendant. At the time, he had no reason to doubt her.

But now\...

Had she lied?

The dizziness worsened as realization flooded him. The person he’d been cruel to, discarded, treated like nothing—for the sake of someone who may have deceived him—might have been the very person who risked everything to save his life.

Wei Ying.

The name rang in his ears like a plea. He sank onto the bed, both halves of the jade pendant clutched in his fists, as guilt crashed over him like a tidal wave.

He had lost him.

And for what?