Sit Softly On Your Shoulder

Chapter 19: Quiet Attention

The next day, Wei Ying is up early and loaded with a to-go drink tray with two piping hot cups and one cold one and a bag full of pastries. It's not only to return Mianmian's favour, but also because he wants to see Lan Zhan this Monday morning before they start work. Lan Zhan has implied that he's going to be busy today, so Wei Ying wants his Lan Zhan fix before having to deal with the customers.

It's not that he minds the retail work. On the contrary, he enjoys chatting to the people who pop by with different requests and ideas, and he likes making some of those come true. But there's a part of him that's still suspended in disbelief about himself and Lan Zhan, and he wants a tiny bit of reassurance that yesterday wasn't a whimsical daydream on his part.

He lets himself into the deep blue door protected hallway and goes up the stairs, noting how quiet it is compared to the home he's just come from. In the Wen household, Wen Qing and Wen Ning had just returned from their night shift, and Wen Popo had finished her breakfast and wanted to lie down for a nap. Wei Ying was getting ready to drop A-Yuan off at the daycare nursery, which he attended every morning. Today, Uncle Four would be going to collect him and bring him home. So it was a hubbub of activity compared to this serenity.

He knows Lan Zhan is awake because the man gets up at five am. without fail, something they need to discuss at some point.

"Hello!" He says brightly upon opening the last barrier between himself and Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan, the veritable God among men, is already walking towards him with a hungry look in his suddenly dark golden eyes. He's not even blinking. Wei Ying feels his belly flip-flopping like a desperate fish starved of oxygen, his eyes unable to look away from this gorgeous hunk. He might even be trembling on the spot, but who cares about that?

The flat carries the scent of sandalwood from the burner in the living room next to Lan Zhan's laptop, and Lan Zhan must already have spent a significant amount of time near it because the spicy-sweet scent only gets stronger as he reaches forward to take the things out of his hands.

Wei Ying spots a wild and in-her-natural-habitat Mianmian sneak behind them to retrieve her share of breakfast and with an apple turnover in her mouth and her strawberry frappuccino in one hand and a thumbs up with the other appendage, she slinks off to the guest room and closes the door behind her.

But Wei Ying has no spare thoughts available to linger on her, not when Lan Zhan takes him into his arms and proceeds to steal the air away from his lungs with his beautifully soft lips, urgent and demanding, and then giving instead, letting his tongue lick the seam of Wei Ying's mouth before delving in to taste the sweetness inside.

His fingers have latched onto Wei Ying's hips, pulling him flush against his own body, and Wei Ying hopes there will be bruises, a reminder of Lan Zhan's touch while they're apart. He gasps at a particularly concentrated nip under his jaw as Lan Zhan very considerately lets him catch his breath.

"Good, ah, morning, Sweetheart," Wei Ying murmurs, his eyes still closed.

"It is. Now," Lan Zhan replies, taking his hand and leading him to the couch where he had been seated just before Wei Ying's arrival. He picks up their breakfast with one hand and then organises the drinks and the food next to his laptop, situating Wei Ying across his lap.

"Is this alright?" His deep voice whispers right next to Wei Ying's ear, his hot breath travelling down his neck, making Wei Ying shiver in response.

"Yeah," Wei Ying says with the softest look, letting his arm hang across Lan Zhan's shoulders as they begin eating breakfast. "You know, I was having a hard time getting used to this, getting used to us last night. I felt like a schoolgirl with her crush. I was just kind of thinking about you and me."