Sit Softly On Your Shoulder

Chapter 20: Doing Research

Lan Zhan comes in early the next day after dropping Mianmian off at the airport. He and she aren't the sentimental type; they are close without the emotional attachment, and it's an arrangement that has worked beautifully for them so far. They don't even hug, and that's a mutual unspoken rule between them. Lan Zhan goes with her to drop off her luggage and get her checked in, and she gives him a little wave, he tilts his head in response and then she's gone, through to the security checks.

The drive back is tinged with melancholy, but if Lan Zhan was asked why, there's nothing he could put his finger on and claim it to be the reason for his mood. The flat seems awfully quiet, and it's way too early for Wei Ying to come around; although the day he moves in can't come fast enough. Perhaps Lan Zhan shouldn't have mentioned it so soon after they confessed their feelings to one another. But then, he's always been the impatient kind of person when it comes to something he wants, and he definitely wants Wei Ying.

It's not even the physical side of their relationship that comes to the forefront of his mind. Wei Ying has broadened his emotional horizons, so to speak, and that's monumental by itself, but his willingness to be available whenever Lan Zhan needs him is on another level. Suffice to say, Wei Ying ticks all his boxes even before Lan Zhan HAD boxes to tick.

So Lan Zhan decides to potter around in the shop and see what changes Mianmian and Wei Ying have brought about in his absence. The strangest thing is, he thinks while watching the shutter slowly creep upwards, is that he feels closer to his mother whenever he's working in what used to be her space than even in the apartment above the shop where his mother actually lived.

Listening to her recorded messages has also become easier. Maybe it's because he's had almost a month of time to get used to the idea of hearing her voice, maybe it's also because the choice was taken out of his hands and all he could do was lament his metaphorical hands being tied - since the old laptop remained in the UK while he was in Suzhou, he was forced to wait. It has helped a lot, XiChen asking him to send copies of her files, something he figured out how to do when he was waiting for Mianmian to get out of the shower. XiChen was asleep now, but when he woke up, it would be a nice surprise. Lan Zhan has also forwarded the picture files too. If XiChen shares all of this with their Uncle Qiren, then that'll keep them too busy to stick their noses in his and Wei Ying's business for now.

Lan Zhan hadn't been joking when he'd suggested that he and Wei Ying keep this time for themselves for now; if all goes according to plan and Wei Ying agrees to marry him, then the family back home is going to turn their event into a circus and then, there'll be nothing they can do about it. This quiet time to enjoy themselves and each other is a gift, one Lan Zhan fully appreciates and wants to relish for as long as possible. He is going to romance the hell out of Wei Ying and get a yes out of him, based on their mutual agreement and wishes, and Lan Zhan is willing to stand against his own family if that's what Wei Ying wants.

The problem is, he knows what Wei Ying is like, right down to the stuff ingrained in his marrow. Lan Zhan's had a good six months to be by his side and observe Wei Ying's kindness, his overall compassion, the bravado he's too quick to hide behind, and the way he simply offers himself up when he thinks his own needs do not matter as much as somebody else's.

So this is going to be their time, Lan Zhan vows to himself, just as his fingers press the switches down for the lights.

The brightness in the shop is what immediately alerts him that everything is not what it should be, at least, not the way he'd left the shop a month ago. There are beautiful LED fairy lights in uneven loops and turns around hundreds of photos held up by tiny little pegs on a fishing wire. He cannot help himself; his feet walk forward devoid of personal wish, looking up at each one in awe and wonder.