Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

Come Back To Gusu With Me Part 9

In the time it takes for Lan Daifu to arrive, Wei Ying has gotten dressed, and they all relocate to the sanctuary where it affords more privacy than the infirmary.

The late afternoon sunshine is hazy and provides no actual warmth, but it makes everything look prettier. Yesterday's storm has left disciples and servants having to clean up the debris of wet, strewn leaves and branches spreading out past the perimeters of their host trees, covering the ground in shades of gold, bronze and red. The path is still wet in some places, especially under the leftover leaves dripping with moisture.

Wei Ying shivers, and Lan Zhan pulls him closer, pleased that the rosy glow on his face is caused by himself. Lan Zhan runs warm anyway, and he doesn't need to use his core to maintain his temperature.

Once they go inside, XiChen starts feeding the brazier with wood cut into smaller pieces while Lan Zhan begins the process of heating water for tea.

"A-Ying, I understand if you would prefer Shufu not knowing anything, but please know that he will ask us about you. What would you like us to tell him?" XiChen asks, returning to the low table where Healer Fei is sitting on one side next to Lan Daifu.

Wei Ying sits right next to Lan Zhan, and they've left a space for XiChen to sit with them all.

"Maybe you could give him the short version, afterwards," Wei Ying decides after thinking about it. "I don't want to be there for that," he adds quickly, just in case.

"Understandable," Lan Daifu replies, throwing him a wink.

This! This is the reason why Wei Ying wants her here.

"If you have any questions, can you please wait until I've got most of it out?" He asks, glancing at everyone.

They nod, and it's a reassurance he needs. It helps that as soon as they sat down, once Lan Zhan finished pouring the tea for everyone, he immediately reached for Wei Ying's hand under the table. It's the kind of silent support that Wei Ying has learned to appreciate recently. He still can't believe that he and Lan Zhan are on another page altogether, entirely of their own making, and though he wants to think about it more because it's still a shocker, now isn't the time for that. Doing this, telling these people what happened to him is taking all the courage he's mustered up, and everything else must wait.

"Where should I start?" He asks no one in particular. Then he's surprised when Lan Zhan speaks first, beating the others.

"What happened after I left you in the care of Jiang WanYin and Jin ZiXuan?"

Wei Ying takes a deep breath and nods to himself. He can do this. It's clear that Lan Zhan blames one or both for Wei Ying's situation, probably leaning heavily towards Jiang Cheng. But that's why Wei Ying needs to be honest with them. So he begins talking.

"I was still unconscious when you left to return to Gusu. When I woke up, I was back in Lotus Pier." He remembers seeing the silly but endearing doodle he'd carved into the headboard of his bed of two boys kissing and smiling when he saw it because it meant he was home. "My ShiJie made soup, and Jiang-Shushu said the Wens were taking the credit for killing our tortoise friend." Wei Ying rolls his eyes. He remembers telling his family when they asked for the truth about who killed the beast in the cave, that Lan Zhan had done it, and Jiang Cheng's face was priceless when he'd contradicted him, saying that Lan Zhan had told him Wei Ying had killed it. But now that he thinks back to that first day after his return, he recalls the look of envy in Jiang Cheng's eyes that he'd quickly tried to hide when Jiang-Shushu praised him for the heroic act. Madam Yu had overheard him, and that set them off on another argument, with her throwing out wild accusations at her husband and him storming off somewhere, hopefully a lot more peaceful, and that left Wei Ying having to perk up a frosty Jiang Cheng, who was upset because once again, Wei Ying had taken away the attention that should have been on him, attention from his parents that belonged to him. Now, Wei Ying skims over this quickly, his loyalty to his family making him not want to paint them in a bad light.