Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Music And Memories Part 12

Well, this is unexpected, Mo XuanYu thinks as they bow to greet each other, and then it's his turn.

"Mo XuanYu! Although it's nice to meet you today after such a long time, I must admit to my surprise when A-Yao said you were staying with my brother here, in the Cloud Recesses," Lan XiChen says smoothly, as they too, greet each other politely. His honey-coloured eyes are friendly but cold.

Not at all like Lan Zhan's lovely golden eyes that always seem to be radiating warmth and affection. But maybe that's because Lan Zhan has never hidden how he feels about Mo XuanYu, how he doesn't care at all about his identity problem, neatly sidestepping the issue via bypassing it altogether. XiChen can afford to show how he really feels too, and it takes Mo XuanYu a few seconds to recall that Lan Zhan had been cut off from his brother because this guy refused to believe in the sincerity of the feelings he held for Wei WuXian.

Mo XuanYu has luckily kept his arm in the crook of Lan Zhan's elbow, so he feels the exact moment when the man next to him goes rigid. He squeezes the muscles under his fingertips and smiles outwardly, hoping Lan Zhan doesn't react adversely.

"I'm surprised too, Lan XiChen," he replies easily, because he IS surprised. No, shocked is a better word. From what he's saying, he must have met the real Mo XuanYu at some point, but here's where this Mo XuanYu can play up his injury. "You'll have to forgive me though. I only know about you through Lan Zhan and the few times he's mentioned you vaguely. I had a head injury some years back and there were complications that keep flaring up out of nowhere. It messed up my memory big time." Mo XuanYu can feel more than one pair of eyes on him and Lan Zhan, but he dare not look away just yet.

"Lan Zhan? So familiar already," XiChen remarks, looking between them.

"Easier to remember than Lan WangJi," Mo XuanYu lies smoothly, quickly.

Why the hell has Lan XiChen turned up out of the blue like this? Is it such a coincidence that the timing of it is so crucial, just when they were coming to talk to Lan Qiren about him? Mo XuanYu hates coincidences because they rarely turn out to be harmless, or without severe consequences.

Just looking at how his body and that of the original Mo XuanYu ended up in the basement of Koi Tower is the major one. Both there to be disposed of, discarded.

"Ah, why don't you come in? It's great that you're here and we didn't have to come and find you, Didi," XiChen carries on, opening the door wider. "It's time you met my new husband, Jin GuangYao. A-Yao, this is my baby brother, Lan WangJi."

Shit, shit, shit! And, what the fuck??

This is the man they suspect of murdering Mo XuanYu. When did they get married? Did they elope?

Mo XuanYu smiles broadly back at him, hating the way his own hands are trembling. Get it together, Pal, he tells himself, because this is a man who doesn't miss a trick. He's going to know as soon as Mo XuanYu says anything out of character or anything not quite right. Above all, he's got to pretend harder than ever that he's got no recollection of anything remotely useful to the authorities, that he can't remember anything that would incriminate the Jins and specifically this guy, at all.

Speaking of which, they need to tell Mianmian about this as soon as possible. She may not know that both XiChen and Jin GuangYao are here, and that they're married. She'll know what to do.

Jin GuangYao's eyes are the sharpest, glancing at Lan Zhan almost casually before fixating on Mo XuanYu with a scrutiny reserved usually by a surgeon about to dive into a patient's insides with a scalpel.

"A-Yu," he says warmly, pulling him into a hug.

Mo XuanYu wants to cringe back from him, but he forces himself to hug the smaller man tightly, ignoring the waves of Lan Zhan's disapproval rolling off him like a physical thing. "Ah, Gege, you're also going to have to forgive me, too. After the accident, my brain is just not the same. I'm afraid, at the risk of sounding rude, I just don't know who you are. I mean, obviously, we've all heard of you, but I'm a little starstruck realising you're my older brother." Mo XuanYu really leans into it, playing along. It's a frightening thought that he's only been left alive because this stranger, the half brother of the real Mo XuanYu, who also possibly may have wanted to kill him, has only left him alive because Jin GuangYao believes he's not a threat.