Sit Softly On Your Shoulder

Chapter 28: Perfect Partners

Breakfast is served at seven in the morning, and Wei Ying knows he's only able to make it at this time, because he and Lan Zhan headed to bed earlier yesterday than normal. He hopes this kind of timekeeping isn't expected of him on a regular basis because it might just be impossible. However, he doesn't voice his concerns because while they're on the horizon, they don't have to be addressed yet, and he's also gambling on the good news he and Lan Zhan are going to share with Uncle Qiren and Lan XiChen soon.

Right after this bizarrely silent breakfast time.

It's one thing to hear about how Lan Zhan's family don't talk during their meals, and a totally different experience to witness it first hand. Even chatting and having one-sided conversations with Lan Zhan up until now through the duration of whenever they've shared meals isn't enough to prepare Wei Ying.

Thankfully, Lan Zhan is sitting right next to him, and they can message each other as they've always done, by tracing the characters on each other's palms.

Are you alright? Lan Zhan messages, throwing him a discreet worried glance.

Don't worry, Wei Ying traces back. Even if it's awkward, he wants to protect Lan Zhan from his own feelings. But Lan Zhan has always been able to tell when he's bothered by things.

The situation vastly improves once Shufu and XiChen invite them into the main living room. There's a plastic lidded tub on the central coffee table that Uncle Qiren opens. He lifts out an old dusty looking yearbook, though Wei Ying is surprised that it is clean when it's handed to him.

"It's alphabetical, so your father will be nearer the end." Lan Qiren tells him, smoothing out his whiskers. "Wei. Cangse is nearer the front."

"Why did our grandparents send you abroad for your education, Shufu?" XiChen asks him.

"It was fashionable. All the main families were doing it." Lan Qiren is definitely uncomfortable saying that!

"So...you were trendy," XiChen snickers.

Lan Qiren does an excellent job of pretending he's not there.

Lan Zhan is just glad his face stays as it is. XiChen can be quite funny when he wants to be, but at the same time, he's not sure if he wants to forgive his brother so easily. Shufu was right yesterday when he mentioned putting family first, and even if XiChen was advised to get a report on Wei Ying, he could've said no. He could've trusted Lan Zhan to know what he was doing. It's one thing to be protective, a role XiChen has always taken to heart, but another to overstep boundaries and in this case, Lan Zhan does feel attacked however benevolently, and not just on Wei Ying's behalf. Wei Ying hasn't mentioned the digging into his character again, but that might not mean he's over it.

Lan Zhan liked it when he said they were going to hate Yang Zichen together.

It's a unity that tells him Wei Ying takes his feelings seriously, a consideration when he's forming his own opinion, whereas XiChen just brushed Lan Zhan's concerns away as if they didn't matter. He just hopes that whatever issue it is with Yang Zichen doesn't come back to bite XiChen on his backside and make him regret his trust in the man.

"Oh."

Wei Ying's soft exclamation brings Lan Zhan back to the present where his finger is tapping underneath a gorgeous young lady. Her bright dark eyes are shining mischievously and her mouth...Well, that's Wei Ying's mouth, is smiling as if someone has just told her the funniest joke ever. It's definitely Wei Ying's smile, but on Wei Ying's face, it's somehow brighter, magnified like staring directly at the sun. He's made that smile his own, lit up from the inside with his own luminous soul.

"You remind me of her," Uncle Qiren says quietly.

Lan Zhan catches Wei Ying's tears with his white handkerchief, shifting closer so he can wrap an arm around his shoulders. Wei Ying bites down on his bottom lip to stop himself from crying.