Drunken Mistake

DM 35

"What happened A'Ying? Why are you so lost in thought. Don't let Lan Zhan bully you. He is a spoilsport if there was any. The only thing he is good at is studies," Lan Huan assured.

'And gaming, and music, and martial arts, and calligraphy, and sex," Wei Ying thought. He shook his head as images from that night came to him and he shivered, not in fright but in excitement. He was still taking the painkillers three days after the event but Lan Zhan didn't remember a thing, which was good because Wei Ying was embarrassed by it.

Lan Zhan was sitting in the park with a book as Lan Huan and Wei Ying played ball with the other boys of the neighborhood. Lan Zhan's eyes often drifted towards Wei Ying, who smiled brightly. He hated it, hated the fact that Wei Ying's complete attention was in the game, on the boys playing the game with him. These were boys he had grown up with, those with whom he had not interacted properly in several years. Most were a few years older than him. They were there to support him when his mother passed away. He was too young to understand and he hated the look of pity in their eyes. He became silent after that, an extreme form of introversion, his psychotherapist believed. His attention went into more productive activities like music, martial arts and studies. He excelled in his studies so much that the teachers called his uncle to tell him that he was well past his grade and should be put in a special school. The only one that existed nearby was in Nanjing. He was transferred to the school at the age of eight and had spent six years there and was supposed to graduate the following year. He planned to pursue his college education from Nanjing as well. But now, with Wei Ying here, his plans were changing. It was a pity that Wei Ying was too young to understand what he was to him, a home coming that had ceased to exist since his mother passed away, a gap left to be filled that his Shufu never learnt to cross, one that never existed between his Shufu and Huan ge.

Wei Ying positioned himself to catch the ball hurtling this way. He stood before Lan Zhan, his back to him. Wei Ying recalled what happened the last time Lan Zhan was behind him and it sent a flutter through his heart and he closed his eyes. The ball was about to hit him when Lan Zhan rushed over and caught it with a single swoop. "Be careful of what is mine," Lan Zhan warned Wei Ying, who blushed at the statement.

"A'Ying, what happened?" Lan Huan asked, coming closer.

Lan Zhan showed him the ball and bounced it up for his older brother to catch as he pulled Wei Ying and made him sit beside him. "Caught the sun. Shade will help," he replied.

Wei Ying nodded and blushed as he felt Lan Zhan's warm touch over the pulse point on his wrist. He knew that Lan Zhan could sense the palpitation in his heart. He noticed the miniscule smile on the corner of the older boys lips and smiled uninhibitedly. This smile reached his eyes as they twinkled with joy and mischief.

"Why don't you play?" he asked Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan showed him the book he was reading. It was a math puzzle he was engrossed in. Wei Ying read the puzzle and his ears perked up. He took out the pen tucked in Lan Zhan's shirt pocket and started scribbling at the edge of the page as Lan Zhan nodded fondly. Wei Ying bent down, lying on his stomach over the soft grass as he grew more engrossed in the problem. Lan Zhan brought out a writing pad for him to continue when the blank space on the page was all covered. Lan Zhan lied down beside him, his head resting on his hand as his eyes alternated between Wei Ying and the writing pad which was being filled by Wei Ying's illegible scribbling. When

Lan Huan turned to the two boys he noticed the imperceptible smile on Lan Zhan's lips, the softening of his eyes as Lan Zhan reached forward to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Wei Ying's ears. At that Wei Ying turned towards Lan Zhan to say something excitedly and Lan Zhan replied almost as enthusiastically. Lan Huan smiled too. Lan Zhan had always been isolated because of his intellect. The realization that he had finally met his match made him rest assured that there wouldn't be anymore loneliness in the life of his didi.

"You're good at this," Lan Zhan remarked.

"I'm not graduating school at fifteen," Wei Ying pointed out. "But mathematics and computer are my strong forte. I suck at Chemistry and Biology," he admitted.

"You left out Physics," Lan Zhan mentioned.

"I am ambivalent towards it. I don't have much of it in my curriculum. What I have feels like either general knowledge or basic arithmetic. I have looked at higher level books and they too are mostly the same," Wei Ying replied.

"But you know trigonometry and calculus at twelve years of age. How?" Lan Zhan asked.

"I guess it's because I grew up in a house of scientists. I think I did my first differentiation soon after my first division. It was organically included by my parents and I cherish it," Wei Ying explained.

"You must not have many friends in class," Lan Zhan commented.

"How did you figure that out? Do you think I am a showoff?" Wei Ying defended.

Lan Zhan calmly shook his head. "We're soulmates. We're the same. We have classmates, not friends. Am I right?"

Wei Ying gave Lan Zhan's statement a thought and nodded. "We are soulmates," he agreed.

"So the answer is d. But the book says that it's c and therein lies my confusion," Lan Zhan pointed out to the sum Wei Ying had just solved.

"Did they provide a solution?" Wei Ying asked.

Lan Zhan shook his head, pursing his lips. "Only the starting equation that we both used and the final answer," he informed.

"Then let's write a letter to the publishers. They may resolve our issues," Wei Ying suggested.

"What's the chance of them replying, to begin with?" Lan Zhan asked, skeptical.

"How will you find out if you never try? Experiment leads to data that leads to conclusion. That's what my father used to say. Let's experiment and send that mail. I'm sure there will be some result even if not immediate," Wei Ying replied.

Lan Zhan nodded, getting up. He look towards Lan Huan and shouted. "Huan ge, we're headed back to the Jingshi. We have something important to do," he urged.

Huan ge nodded encouragingly. Lan Zhan asked Wei Ying to come up to his room and he closed the door. That was when he felt the atmosphere change. The letter never got written that day. Lan Zhan did end up writing that letter and it was weeks later, when Wei Ying was no longer living in Hanshi and Lan Zhan no longer a part of Cloud Recess.

A/N Another filler chapter. I am trying to establish the source of Wei Wuxian's trauma. Please bear with me and vote and comment.