The Werewolf Next Door | WangXian

Chapter 19 - Days Without Lan Zhan

Wei Ying needed space to think, and when he went home that day after his little meltdown, he pondered a lot about his crude behavior toward Lan Zhan. 

Although he might've behaved irrational and jumped to conclusions, Wei Ying tried reasoning with himself that his attitude was justifiable. No, he knew it was. 

However, when looking in the mirror and Wei Ying found himself staring into a pair of purple eyes, the thought that Lan Zhan was right troubled him deeply. Not because he hated Lan Zhan, no. If anything, Wei Ying often looked up to and praised Lan Zhan. It's just the feeling of butterflies when Lan Zhan's around. Was it because of the mating bond? Or was it of his own free will? He did find Lan Zhan attractive way before all this mess, but still.

Wanting to rid his spirit of Lan Zhan, for the time being, Wei Ying pushed the thought of his super hot werewolf neighbor out of his mind, spending the first day without Lan Zhan's presence behind closed doors, watching crappy rom-com shows till his eyes turned red. 

When Lan Zhan showed up the following night, Wei Ying ignored him by refusing to answer the door. 

On the second day of Lan Zhan's absence, Wei Ying went to school, craving the entire day about the idea of telling Huaisang and Wen Ning about him being a werewolf. In the end, Jiang Cheng talked him out of it by smacking some sense into his head once or twice. It worked, but Wei Ying wasn't sure how long that would last, for wanting so desperately to reveal himself kept biting at his bone.

When he got back home that day, Wei Ying was surprised to find not only Lan Zhan but Xichen as well, waiting at his front door. Still refusing to talk to Lan Zhan, Wei Ying asked Jiang Cheng to cover for him while he snuck off, heading over to Huaisang for an unexpected sleepover. 

That night, for the first time, the mark upon his neck burned like wildfire, resulting in an unpleasant, sleepless night.

On the third day, Wei Ying thought Lan Zhan would show up again. It was a shock to Wei Ying when no one came knocking at his front door. The fourth day was the same, and so was the fifth. And the sixth and the seventh and the eight. 

By day nine, the beginning of Wei Ying's upcoming tantrum session had begun.

Left with mixed emotions, Wei Ying frequently bickered with Jiang Cheng and wondered why he missed Lan Zhan more than he thought he would. And if Lan Zhan claimed he cared, and they shared some unbreakable bond, why did he stop coming over? Did Lan Zhan lose interest? Is that why he's been ignoring Wei Ying all of a sudden?

Day twelve, the bite mark upon his neck turned a bright red, mostly from the tremendous amount of scratching he'd been doing. It bothered him so much, Wei Ying went out of his way, seeking advice from Xichen when Lan Zhan wasn't around. 

Wei Ying discovered it's a werewolf thing that only soulmates shared when missing each other, and Wei Ying found it to be annoying as hell, and the worst part was, Lan Zhan wouldn't feel the same since he had no mark, leaving Wei Ying to suffer on his own. 

Wei Ying went on spending his days, blaming his crud behavior on the soul mark Lan Zhan left on his neck. 

Soon, two weeks jumped by, and still no sign of Lan Zhan showing the least bit of interest. Wei Ying grew irritated. So much so that while walking home after school, he would regularly kick the sides of Lan Zhan's trash containers, hurling garbage on the street. When done, he would peep through the back window later on and watch Lan Zhan clean it up. It happened so often that it eventually became a daily routine.

And though Wei Ying thought Lan Zhan no longer cared, unknown to him, Lan Zhan too, had been constantly peeping through his bedroom window, whenever Wei Ying passed by the house after school, for Lan Zhan still cared. He assumed Wei Ying needed time, so Lan Zhan gave him just that Wei Ying so carved. The question now remained, how much space was too much?

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Day sixteen of no Lan Zhan, Wei Ying, Jiang Cheng, and Huaisang skipped school during lunch break to go hang out at the new kid's park that's been the talk of the town lately. Although there were more adults than children, it wasn't much to look at considering the hype it's been getting. 

Food trucks and ice-cream carts, the only thing that seemed to be out of the ordinary was a gigantic fountain at the center. Still, a dull park was better than none. It's a shame Wen Ying didn't tag along. Something about not wanting to get in trouble kept him back in school.

"Sooo, I've been thinking," Wei Ying plopped himself down in an empty chair under the umbrella table. He'd just bought himself and the gang cheesy sandwiches and sodas, considering they were the cheapest items on the menu. "Since I'm that one fun friend out of the bunch -" Jiang Cheng tsked, earning an eye roll from Wei Ying. "As I was saying, things have been a bit dull lately. And as you all know, since I'm number one in the fun zone department, I've decided to throw a party - tomorrow. Yay."

Wei Ying's grumpy mood hadn't gone unnoticed by his friends. Not forgetting his lack of energy to do anything Jiang Cheng deemed 'productive' had been lacking. All he does was slouch on the couch, mess up Lan Zhan's front lawn with garbage, resulting in him spending hours by the window hoping to get a glimpse of the man Wei Ying once thought he never wanted to see again. 

Since nothing worked in gaining Lan Zhan's attention, Wei Ying decided things were about to change. It's time to turn over a new leaf if he wanted to annoy Lan Zhan with the goal of gaining the werewolf's attention. And what better way to go about doing so than being the neighborhood's nuisance.  

Considering Lan Zhan hated noise, Wei Ying planned on driving him insane with the amount of music he planned on blasting. Lan Zhan would have to come over, and when he does, they'll finally get to see each other again, and maybe Wei Ying might reconsider going out with Lan Zhan since he couldn't seem to get the white wolf out of his head. The plan was foolproof. 

"What makes you think I'm letting you tarnish the house, just so you can throw some shitty party that no one wants to go at?" Jiang Cheng said, earning a disagreeing nod from Huaisang. 

Wei Ying huffed, "What makes you think no one would want to come, Jiang Cheng, I'm the party master, tell him Huaisang," Wei Ying beckoned, bumping shoulder into Huaisang.

"That's right! Bro Wei is the best when it comes to party planning," Huaisang chimed in, recalling the disaster he once called the best birthday ever. "Remember the birthday party Bro Wei had thrown me last year? It was a huge hit. Everyone showed up, remember bro Wei?"

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, you mean the one where everyone just showed up because of the fake advertisement Wei Ying placed all over the internet claiming strippers will be there. Oh, not forgetting the free beers. I guess the two of you forgot the part when the whole school turned up only to be greeted by canned juices and some idiot in a clown costume. That's the reason why everyone hates you two. Yeah, no party. Not gonna happen."

Wei Ying lifted a finger in the air, ready to object to Jiang Cheng's claims, only to recall them being the truth. Huaisang's party last year was indeed a trainwreck. "Oh, come on, Jiang Cheng, it'll be different this time, I promise." Wei Ying crossed his fingers and faked a pout. "I'll stop slouching."

Jiang Cheng sighed, knowing he'll probably come to regret his decision, "Fine, but whatever happens, you're taking responsibility."

"Deal," Wei Ying beamed, almost jumping off the chair. When Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, Wei Ying winked toward Huaisang, who gave two thumbs up in return. 

Later on, when they were leaving the park, Wei Ying swore he'd seen someone looking strikingly similar to Lan Zhan wearing a black-covered hoodie in a distance as if hiding behind one of the park pine-oak trees. When the figure disappeared within a blink of an eye, deeming it to be nothing more than mere imagination, Wei Ying shrugged his shoulders and walked away. 

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