baby it's cold outside (WangXian FF)

21

Oh.

Wei Wuxian was surprised by the kids’ wishes.

No, he was taken aback and flabbergasted by the unselfish request from the tiny kids who only wanted their uncle to be happy.

As long as he remembered – even as a child – he did not have this kind of unselfish wish toward anyone. He just wanted to be rich and buy all the things he wanted for himself and make himself happy, because he knew that no one would want to give him anything – especially not his foster family.

His earliest memory from his childhood was the nonstop beating from his foster brother, and the constant verbal abuse from his foster mother and sister.

They would beat him black and blue, and lock him up in the dark and dank basement without food and water for a couple of days until he felt like he was on the verge of dying. Then they would give him a piece of stale bread and warm water and act like they were giving him a gift by not letting him die.

When the foster father was home, he would give him food and water and lock him in his room – the attic with a small bed and a pisspot, instead of the basement – just because he was afraid of his wife.

Wei Wuxian did not understand why they took him in when they did not love him. At least, he had a better chance in the orphanage.

He ran away from home when he was ten and he survived by pickpocketing rich people by day up until he was fifteen and became interested in writing just because one of his fellow pickpockets – a young girl – loved to read romance books they often found in trash. She taught him how to read and to write, and he found a way to unleash everything that was in his head.

At first, he started to write some young adult short stories, and he got first prize in a youth competition. Then he started to write more seriously in the shabby place that he and a dozen others lived – when he got a letter from a publishing house requesting a meeting.

It was the first time he met Shen Qingqiu – who observed him and then without any question, took him into a small but clean service apartment that belonged to the company – and told him that he could live there as long as he signed a contract with Shen Publishing House.

Wei Wuxian never agreed to anything that fast, and since then, Shen Qingqiu always took care of him – including telling him to change his originally more serious genre to the adult action romance that produced so much money for all of them.

After he promised the kids that he would tell Santa about their wishes, he immediately looked for Shen Qingqiu – who was lounging like Cleopatra in front of the fireplace – with Luo Binghe beside him, talking about the origin of the food he brought for him.

He looked like he was about to die from boredom, but he suddenly lit up when he saw Wei Wuxian.

“Quick, ask me to leave with you!” He hissed at Wei Wuxian behind his huge fan. “This man talked about probiotics and fermented food ever since I praised him on his kimchi!”

Wei Wuxian looked amused at Shen Qingqiu’s words and he chuckled.

“That sounds so dirty coming from you.”  Then he turned to face Luo Binghe. “Hey, Binghe, may I ask you something?”

“Sure!” His face looked so happy that Wei Wuxian could literally see his tail wagging. That man was so in love with Shen Qingqiu that he felt pity for him, after all, Shen Qingqiu’s nickname was The Devil.

“I want to give Lan Zhan a present for Christmas, and I need your help to do it. In fact, I need everyone’s help. Would you mind helping me to do it?”

“Of course! But what do you have in mind?”

“Well, it’s a bit grand, but all you need is to prepare the kids for a weekend trip to the city and we’re all going to a shopping spree there!” Wei Wuxian beamed and Shen Qingqiu exclaimed happily.

“I’ll pack and book our hotel for the trip. Six adults and two kids?” Shen Qingqiu whipped out his phone and started to dial his usual international hotel branch at the nearest big city to book their penthouse.

“Yes. Just book the penthouse as usual for the weekend. Reserve the complete facility too.”