Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

A Tick Tock Story

The last half hour is always the hardest, Lan Zhan thinks, staring at the antique grandfather clock in his office, a priceless antique bought hundreds of years ago from Switzerland. The second hand moves loudly, and sometimes when the room is silent, that's all Lan Zhan can hear.

Tick Tock...tick tock...tick tock.

It keeps in time with his heart, an anxious beating in his chest as he signs off on important documents, getting nearer to the end of the pile.

He has five minutes to spare when there's a knock on his door and then Luo QingYang, his secretary, walks in.

"Are they ready?" She asks, smiling.

She always seems to be smiling, and Lan Zhan can't understand it. Even in this dreary, grey place where everything looks the same, she smiles. Hers is the only splash of colour in an otherwise dull and boring office room, and suddenly, Lan Zhan is tired of it.

Tired of the expensive oak desk with the real leather writing part, tired of the antique chairs for visitors, though they are a waste of space because no one except Ms. Luo comes here, and sometimes, his brother.

Lan Zhan is tired of looking at the grey walls and the beige carpet, the matching furniture and the sameness of it all. He glances outside from this high level and sees a grey skyline with supposedly impressive looking buildings, all grey and foreboding. All of this greyness is threatening to choke him, steal his breath and make him weep with it.

"Um, Sir, I have something to show you," she says, holding out her phone.

At his glance, she grabs an alcohol wipe from the box on his desk and wipes it down before putting her phone in his hand.

"Do you remember him? We used to go to school together, you, me and him!" Her voice carries on speaking, but Lan Zhan is no longer listening to her...because he's staring at his greatest rival, Wei WuXian.

*****************

At age sixteen, Lan Zhan knew exactly where he was going. His life was perfectly planned out along with his daily schedule, and he was, if not happy, then definitely content with it.

5.00 am: wake up and shower.

5.30 am: meditation.

6.30 am: exercise and yoga.

7.30 am: breakfast.

8.00 am: review homework/study

9.00 am: school.

12.30 pm: lunch.

4.00 pm: end of school, extra tuition.

6.00 pm: home and dinner.

7.00 pm: homework/studying

9.00 pm: bedtime.

Routine was good. Routine was important, as his uncle made sure to emphasise to him daily.

They had rules in their home that Lan Zhan adhered to, not because he liked them or agreed with them but it was more of an ambivalent attitude; there was no reason not to conform to how their Uncle wanted both the Lan boys to grow up, and Lan Zhan wasn't a confrontational person by his nature. If it caused less problems, then why wouldn't he remain silent at mealtimes? So what if his uncle expected him home by six every evening? It wasn't like he had anywhere else to be, right?

His lack of a social life was worrying only to his brother, who made the mistake of bringing it up straight after dinner. But because no one else showed any interest in speaking, or voicing an opinion, the conversation died a lonely death.