"This island is so beautiful," Zhan said after they finished their food and were enjoying their coffee. They were sitting at the cliff's edge, and he was crouched down near the rocks where the waves were crashing.
"You still haven't explored the entire island, "Yibo said, mentally kicking himself. He couldn't take his gaze off Zhan. "One of these days, I'll take you around the whole place. There's the jungle and the area where the wild animals roam, like the Tamaraw. I'll show you the stream right in the heart of the jungle where you might spot a young deer sipping water. And if you're lucky, you could even catch a glimpse of the last two monkey-eating eagles."
Zhan looked back at Yibo. "How did Lan Wangji come to own this island?" Yibo frowned. Zhan's reply was totally what he expected. He was expecting Zhan to get pleased and excited since he was proposing something special that he hadn't offered to anyone else, not even to Ziyi.
Zhan's cousin is one of those privileged to be invited to Villa Shi Ying. And didn't even consider bringing Ziyi along to the spots he was telling Zhan about. And here he was, all he could think about was Lan Wangji. And for the life of him, Yibo couldn't understand why.
"What's up with your obsession with my grandfather? Why do you have to keep bringing up his name so many times since you came to this island," asked Yibo with annoyance in his tone.
Zhan turned his gaze back to the ocean to avoid Yibo's scrutinizing gaze. "I-I just find your grandpa really intriguing..."
"In what way?" Gradually Yibo's brows furrow together. "It's just almost a week since you arrived here in China. And the very first day you arrived on the island, you went straight to the mausoleum. And I can't believe that you left the hotel in bad weather just to track down Grandpa's mausoleum right after arriving!"
"I was just taking shelter there when the heavy rain hit me. It was so dark that I didn't even realize I was in a mausoleum." Then Zhan forced an airy smile. "And many people find it interesting to learn about those who have been dead for a while. Like heroes, for instance. Even digging into their lives..."
"Seriously, those are heroes!" Yibo almost snapped. "We are talking here about my grandfather, a private individual. And when we kissed this-"
"We didn't!" Zhan jumped in, his cheeks turning bright red.
"Didn't we?" Yibo smirked.
"Oh, please, must we talk about it?" said Zhan with a slight sigh. "It was a mistake. I hope you will forget about it."
"You whispered my grandfather's name while I was kissing you!" Yibo couldn't be deterred.
Zhan glanced around to see if anyone was listening, but everyone was too busy with their meals or chatting.
"You called out his name when you saw me at the door yesterday," Yibo added. "As if you mistook me for Lan Wangji. And you haven't even had a chance to see the photos of Lan Wangji in his youth for you to mistake me for him."
You're wrong, Yibo. I've seen your grandfather in person. If I had chosen him, we wouldn't be having this conversation now.
Zhan sighed. "I-I have seen his photographs..."
"Where? Did mom show you?" Yibo asked, and Zhan shook his head. From the determination he could see on Yibo's face, he was sure he wouldn't stop until he was satisfied with his answer. Zhan decided to tell him half the truth.
"W-Well, Daddy had an uncle... He was actually my grandma's second cousin. He passed away a few weeks ago at over ninety..."
"What's your dad's late uncle got to do with all this?"
"I inherited his house in Beijing. H-he left it to me, and that's where I stayed after I got off the plane." He looked at Yibo. Impatience all over his handsome face. "You probably won't believe this, but he... he was Lan Wangji's first love."
"What?!" Yibo exclaimed.
"His name is Wei Wuxian, and I've got his diary. I found it in his room, and it tells all about his history with your grandfather."
"Are you sure he was referring to my grandfather? Lan Wangji?" Yibo asked in disbelief. From what he knew, Shi Ying was Lan Wangji's first love and spouse.
"The diary's at the villa. You can take a look if you'd like."
Yibo hesitated for a moment and then replied, "That doesn't really clarify why you confuse me with my grandfather."
"G-Grandpa Wuxian has old photo albums at his house. T-there is a photo of your grandfather." Zhan wasn't even sure that Lan Wangji had a photo in those old albums. He hadn't looked at them. But he was sure that Lan Wangji had a photo in Wei Wuxian's old albums.
"Isn't it funny how small the world is?" Yibo commented after a bit, shaking his head. "And this family fully thinks that Shi Ying is Lan Wangji's first and only love. I might want to read that diary one of these days."
Yibo didn't bring up the fact that Lan Wangji had a diary stashed away in the basement of the villa, that he found in the drawer of the old desk, along with some of the old man's belongings. He found the basement when he was only three years old, when his family was in danger, and Quiren hurried him out of the villa. Yibo still can't figure out how he managed to hide in the basement back then. And now, he's come to realize that his parents are completely unaware of that basement.
But Yibo had the feeling that his dad also knew about it. And Quiren knew where Yibo got his mom's gifts every year for their wedding anniversary.
Yibo cleans the basement regularly because spent a lot of time in there. And to his amazement, he found a hidden passage that connected the basement to Lan Wanji's room, which he now occupied. He was ten years old when he stumbled into that secret tunnel by accident.
"Lan Wangji got married to Shi Ying when he was twenty-eight. And he has old photos in the villa. I can show them to you one of these days." Yibo's voice was light when he spoke again, but Zhan still noticed a flicker of doubt in his eyes. Zhan lifted his cold coffee and took a sip.
💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️💚💛❤️
"Would you mind, Ma'am, if... if I invite Zhoucheng to the party tomorrow night?" Zhan asked Carmen last night before dinner.
Zhan notices Yibo violently look up out of the corner of his eyes. So as Ziyi, who was on his left side.
"Oh, I don't mind at all, Zhan," Carmen replied with a smile. "That was very remiss of me. I completely forgot you had someone with you at the hotel. Do invite him for me, Zhan."
"In the past years," Yibo chimed in, furrowing his brow, "your anniversary celebrations with Dad were mostly private, just for the family."
"Things really change over the years, you know, son." Carmen smiled sweetly at her son. "It's been ages since your dad and I threw a party. For the last eight years, we've just celebrated our anniversary alone. So, having some guests at tomorrow's party doesn't bother us at all." She then turned to Zhan. "Invite him, Zhan. I'll call the hotel to arrange a service pickup for Zhoucheng."
"Thank you, Ma'am." Zhan couldn't help but steal a glance at Yibo, who looked pretty grim.
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