Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

The Subtle Art Of War

Two days before graduation, Wei Ying disappears.

On the first day, Lan Zhan keeps hoping to see him, but the absence of his winning smile and vivacious presence only carves out an emptier space next to him. He goes through the motions with a distracted air, making up excuses in his head as to why Wei Ying is late today.

Maybe he had an interview at the art supply shop he regularly visits, since they were advertising for part-time staff? But then, he would have mentioned it to Lan Zhan, he's sure of it. By lunchtime, when Wei Ying still doesn't show up, Lan Zhan hangs around Luo QingYang who luckily gets the hint and tells him that she hasn't seen Wei Ying all day, but she's willing to ask around.

"It's probably something silly," she laughs, "like sleeping through his alarm. You know he's not a morning person."

That's true so Lan Zhan goes to attend his afternoon classes feeling a little better. But the thing is, Wei Ying would have messaged by now, even if he was planning to bunk off school. It was their thing. Lan Zhan went around reciting the rules and Wei Ying went around breaking them. Like you do. So what if he found the more flamboyant and genius loopholes to do it? Maybe that was part of the attraction. The proverbial bad boy acting out, and the school goody-two-shoes drawn to him like a baited catch on a fishing line being reeled in.

But if that was all it was, Lan Zhan thinks he would have been able to resist. He could have stomped on any feelings as they spurted forward like anxious daffodils duped by a false spring and bursting from the warmth of the earth only to be killed by a sudden frost. Wei Ying is smart, and when he's awake, highly productive. He could give this school and all the kids and all the teachers a run for their money.

By the time he realised what exactly he felt for Wei Ying, it was far too late to do anything about it. Lan Zhan finds his senses are highly attuned to Wei Ying's presence, and the lack of it is making his gaydar go haywire. He knows something is wrong.

So where is he?

He tries Wei Ying's phone again for the thirteenth time but frustratingly, there's no answer. His intuitive suspicion is validated when Jiang Cheng, Wei Ying's adopted younger brother, comes looking for him.

"Where is he?" He shouts it out in the middle of a busy corridor, and just for a few seconds, all noise dies a sudden Death.

Lan Zhan doesn't like him. He's brash and entitled, often berating Wei Ying for some perceived slight or the imaginary fault of making his family lose face. He's always criticising Wei Ying for something, and how can that ever be alright when in Lan Zhan's Wei Ying shaped space, the man is perfection personified? A hundred times better than his obviously adopted family member? So, Lan Zhan has very little patience reserved for the Purple Plum.

He doesn't answer immediately because his brain has had three valuable seconds to work out that Jiang Cheng also does not know where Wei Ying is. That is Bad.

"Well?" Jiang Cheng does not have any patience, which is another red flag.

"I haven't seen him today. But you live with him." Yes, it's an accusation. Yes, Lan Zhan is past caring.

"He snuck out last night while everyone was asleep." Jiang Cheng scuffs the floor with his sneakers, biting out the words as if they personally offended him. "He left a note."

"What did it say?"

"That he was leaving the keys to the house under the flowerpot by the door."

"That's it?"

Jiang Cheng throws him an irritated look.

If Wei Ying left his keys, that meant he wasn't planning on coming back anytime soon. That frightening thought makes Lan Zhan's skin go cold. What if he never sees Wei Ying again? He's stepped forward before he can think, gripping Jiang Cheng by the forearm.