The Mad Ҡìղց

Lan Wanji's life. 3

Wanji's frustration grew each day. He had tried to distance himself from Wei Ying, hoping the space would help him forget. Yet, the harder he tried to push away his feelings, the stronger they became. His longing for Wei Ying was a constant ache, gnawing at his insides. What was once a desire to be close had turned into an obsession—one that left him angry, unstable, and even dangerous.

Wei Ying had been ignoring Wanji's calls for weeks, cutting off any avenue of communication between them. It stung more than Wanji could admit. He had once felt so close to Wei Ying, and now he was met with a cold, silent wall. With no way to reach him directly, Wanji sought the only connection left: Cheng.

Cheng was Wei Ying's younger brother and someone Wanji still considered a friend. Maybe, just maybe, if he stayed close to Cheng, Wei Ying would remember him—or at the very least, see him. The only problem was that Cheng lived with Wei Ying and Victor, his husband. But Wanji didn't care. Desperation clouded his judgment.

Every weekend, Wanji made his way to their home, uninvited but persistent. He'd sit in the living room, playing video games with Cheng, as if nothing was wrong. The atmosphere was awkward, and tense—especially for Victor, who could feel Wanji's unspoken intentions like a storm brewing just under the surface.

Victor tolerated it for as long as he could, but on the fourth weekend of Wanji's unannounced visits, he snapped. During a pause in the game, he walked into the room, his face flushed with anger.

"What do you want coming here every weekend?" Victor demanded, his voice sharp.

Wanji didn't even look up from the screen. "Cheng is my friend. And the last time I checked, he lived here."

Victor let out a bitter laugh, mocking Wanji's feigned ignorance. "Wei Ying doesn't love you, he never did. Stay the fuck away from my husband."

At Victor's words, Wanji's heart twisted painfully in his chest, but he covered it with a sneer. "I know he doesn't love me, but do you know why he loves you?"

Victor stiffened, unsure where Wanji was going with this. "At least he loves me. I'm the one he's married to," Victor said, twisting his wedding ring with a smug smile.

Wanji's laughter was hollow, a sound born of bitterness and heartbreak. "Let's see how long your love will last."

The air was thick with tension, and for a moment, no one spoke. Cheng, who had been silent up until now, couldn't take it anymore. "Victor, enough!" he snapped. "Let him be."

Victor spun toward Cheng, disbelief written all over his face. "Whose side are you on? I'm your brother-in-law, and besides, he started it!"

"You started it by asking what he's doing here," Cheng shot back, his eyes narrowing.

The sound of the front door opening pulled their attention toward the hallway. Wei Ying stepped into the room, his expression unreadable. Victor immediately ran to him, tears streaming down his face as he buried himself in Wei Ying's chest.

"What happened?" Wei Ying asked, his voice filled with concern, but Victor kept crying, not bothering to explain. Both Wanji and Cheng exchanged confused glances, unsure what to make of Victor's sudden display of emotion.

Wei Ying turned his gaze toward Wanji, suspicion flickering in his eyes. "What did you do to him?"

Wanji's face tightened in disbelief. "Why do you immediately assume I did something to him?" he asked, his voice calm but tense.

"Why wouldn't you?" Wei Ying shot back.

Cheng stepped forward, his frustration finally boiling over. "Wanji didn't do anything! Victor provoked him by asking why he's here."