WangXian Forever Book 10

Chapter 23: Home

It feels like it's been forever since they left Cloud Recesses, but it was only yesterday.

Wei Ying makes them appear just outside the ivory pillars, the beautifully simple creamy white columns of their home. He doesn't even have to say anything; Lan Zhan already knows why Wei Ying picked this place.

It's because in the past, they always passed through these beacons of comfort twice when embarking on any journey that led them away from home, and although theirs is a symbolic return, it is no less poignant.

Wei Ying has always been sentimental like that.

However, there is another, more important reason he loves coming here.

This is where he saw Lan Zhan for the first time ever.

All those years ago, so far away in time that it feels like another lifetime, and in so many ways, it really is.

Witnessing his arrival and feeling awed, the most beautiful, captivating, impressive man walking towards him, Wei Ying thinks he will never be able to forget that moment. It was but a split second of time, and somehow, his entire life changed irrevocably.

It's a place of nostalgia, as precious as the first snows of winter, and Wei Ying treats it as reverently as entering a temple. There's a lump in his throat and tears prickle at his eyes, and yet he knows they come from a happy place.

Lan Zhan squeezes their hands, a touch of reassurance and love. Still, he pulls Wei Ying closer into a warm hug, his lips pressing sweetly at his temple.

"Hugs are underrated," Wei Ying says, his fists clenching white robes tightly at Lan Zhan's back. He needs this, the closest contact to believe that it's real. Lan Zhan is really here in his arms, and they do belong to each other.

They've been through so much, splitting up and coming together countless times, and Wei Ying doesn't want to remember any of that. For a time, he even saw their lives as two separate paths, running parallel to each other and never meeting in between. Two straight lines.

He's finally at peace now, and there is nothing but joy and love in his heart. Even their current mysterious problem can't douse his happiness, one that overflows deep inside him. It's like liquid gold that reaches into the furthest parts of him, from the crown of his head to the tips of his toes, and even to describe it as happiness feels unsatisfactory, because this feeling is transcendental. It's a kind of bliss without any limitations.

"Mn. I am beyond grateful and happy that Wei Ying chose to live here." Lan Zhan admits.

"My home is wherever you are," Wei Ying replies, and it's an epiphany.

Yes, it was a conscious decision to come and live here, what with Lotus Pier feeling foreign without his ShiJie there anymore, and Jiang Cheng's frosty, spikey love making him feel like a stranger.

But he has always been connected to Lan Zhan, and therefore, he would have gone anywhere with him; it didn't have to be here. It could have been anywhere.

"It is the same for me." Lan Zhan tells him sincerely. "If Wei Ying didn't want to live here, I would have followed wherever you led. I cannot be without you."

Wei Ying presses himself closer, loving the way Lan Zhan's bigger palm cradles his head, the other arm tightly wrapped about his shoulders.

There's a polite cough, and they reluctantly separate again, though Lan Zhan doesn't let go of his Wei Ying.

They'd totally forgotten about the sentries, both of whom are now looking anywhere but at them, and no doubt were startled when they had appeared out of the blue.