Work Text:
Lan Wangji did not do one-night stands. He did not spend time in bars talking to strangers, trying to gauge out signs of interest to take them home later, or use any kinds of dating apps to arrange late-night meetings for a quick fuck when he felt the urge. What he did with Wei Ying was a one-time thing, a deviation in the usual order of his carefully scheduled life.
There had been so many variables that he could have never taken into account. His brother convincing him to go with him to a bar to celebrate his promotion. The noisy group a few seats over, the loudest of whom laughed in a way that sunk into his very core. The way that man noticed him looking, and after a confused moment of blinking, had given him the brightest, most obnoxiously playful smile.
He’d come over, and his brother, the traitor, had made himself scarce. Wei Ying, he had introduced himself, and then he’d claimed that Lan Wangji was flirting with him. Badly, at that. You know, when you’re giving someone bedroom eyes, you’re not supposed to look threatening.
Lan Wangji had never been accused of giving anyone bedroom eyes. He’d been annoyed, and completely charmed, and annoyed about being completely charmed. Wei Ying had told him to buy him a drink. Not offered to do so himself – told Lan Wangji to buy him a drink, and he had, eagerly, because all higher functions had left his brain.
Wei Ying had talked a lot. It seemed to come naturally to him, the wit, the teasing. He talked about his sister having had a baby last month, and how it was the cutest, fattest baby on earth, and you should come see him sometime, Lan Zhan, you would love him!
Lan Wangji had not been convinced, but he’d nodded all the same. He supposed an offer given at a bar was not expected to actually ever be realized. He kept nodding, as Wei Ying talked more and more about his life, which, to Lan Wangji, seemed a whole lot more interesting than his own. A brother who got easily angry, a sister who made the best soup in the entire world. His projects that he did casually alongside working, that sounded too brilliant to be the afterthought they clearly were.
The more Wei Ying spoke, the more Lan Wangji was convinced he was dealing with a siren. Someone especially designed to make him forget every single rule of the household he’d grown up in, where discipline was strict and falling to emotions like this prohibited.
Lan Wangji had bought him another drink, heedless of the rules carved by habit in the back of his skull. Yet, by the fourth one though, almost two hours later, he’d hesitated.
Wei Ying’s eyes had widened at first, but then he’d immediately followed it with a mischievous grin, narrowed eyes. You don’t want me to get too drunk, do you? Whatever reason could you have for that?
Lan Wangji’s ears had turned red, and he had cast his eyes, aware of the presumptuousness. He wondered if Wei Ying knew that Lan Wangji was not this kind of person. He did not take people home. He did not have one-night stands. He had never wanted to, before. It was only that Wei Ying had ignited something inside of him.
What he’d surely thought was a match was actually a bonfire. Lan Wangji was burning up.
And then Wei Ying had laughed, but it had sounded a bit breathless, and his cheeks were flushed when he’d leaned in to whisper into Lan Wangji’s ear a question, er-gege, would you like to take me home?
Lan Wangji had taken him home. Lan Wangji had taken him to his apartment, and as soon as the door had closed behind them after a strangely tense taxi ride home, he’d pushed Wei Ying against the closest wall and kissed him.
He fucked Wei Ying twice. The first time almost in the hallway, but then Wei Ying had said some shameless comment about Lan Wangji treating him like a word Lan Wangji would not repeat, so he had brought him to his bedroom. There, Wei Ying had said more shameless things, whispered dirty, depraved words between moans while Lan Wangji worked him open and tried to not lose control. It was impossible, after feeling what it was like to be inside him. Wei Ying had not stopped saying shameless things.
In the morning, he’d woken up at his typical time at five o’clock, and made breakfast for his still-sleeping guest. Four hours later, Wei Ying had woken up in a panic, said something about having promised to help a friend with a move, and rushed to put on his clothes.
Before he’d run out completely, Lan Wangji had asked for his number. Wei Ying had stopped, pants halfway up his thighs where the skin was mottled with purple, and then he’d smiled so brightly all the anxiety over such a question dissipated. Wei Ying had taken Lan Wangji’s phone, quickly typed the number in, and then finished dressing in record time.
Now, the day after, the message Lan Wangji had sent two hours ago remained unread.
Lan Wangji:
Thank you for the other night. Would you be amenable to meeting later this week?
It was, of course, fine. He did not expect an immediate response, as he did not know Wei Ying’s schedule, or even how long it would take for him to usually respond to these kinds of messages. The restlessness he felt was another thing entirely, devoid of any logic his brain could provide.
Lan Wangji had not done this before. He had not taken anyone to his home like this. He did not know the protocol. He had waited a day to contact Wei Ying, and even that had tested his usually admirable patience. The fact that Wei Ying had somehow pushed all the wheels inside his head out of place was not surprising him at this point: the few hours they had known each other were enough to convince Lan Wangji there was never a thing he could’ve done to prevent this immediate infatuation.
Though, as hours ticked by, he started getting more impatient. He did not check his phone mindlessly or any such thing. He would hear the notification, should Wei Ying reply, and being impatient about it would be of no help. To distract himself, Lan Wangji meditated.
He did not get a reply the next day, either. On the third day of silence, Lan Wangji debated sending another message but came up with nothing else to say. He wondered if Wei Ying could be so busy for three days that he had no time to check his phone.
But Wei Ying had given him the number, after all, so it should have been fine. Or perhaps he’d changed his mind afterward. It was impossible to know.
Lan Wangji’s patience ran out on the fourth day, and he called.
He was given the automatic error message. Wei Ying had given him a fake number.
-
“Did you have fun last weekend?” Lan Xichen asked that Friday at the cafe near his apartment. He was drinking one of the special autumn spice lattes Lan Wangji did not care for. “You were talking for quite a while with the smiling young man.”
There was a teasing tone to his voice that Lan Wangji made a valiant attempt to ignore. “Mn.”
“Did you get his number?” Lan Xichen asked, patient as ever with getting information out of him.
In truth, Lan Wangji hesitated in his answer. He had asked for a number, and he had been given one. Not a working one, but a number all the same. Then, it had not been Wei Ying’s number. He would not be lying when he replied, “No.”
His brother gave him a fondly exasperated look – likely thinking he had not even attempted to ask. It would not have been an unfair assumption to make. Lan Wangji did not ask people’s numbers. He was sometimes given them, or asked his own, though what he’d learned to do in those cases was to give a polite rejection.
“You seemed to get along so well,” his brother said. “I do not often see you so focused on someone.”
Lan Wangji inclined his head. He’d been enthralled, of course. Captivated by Wei Ying. Like, no doubt, many others. Perhaps he had merely been the latest on the long list of people Wei Ying had given his fake number to.
His brother, ever so perceptive when it came to reading Lan Wangji’s mood, clearly noted something was off. Though he seemed to attribute his sullenness to something else, as he continued, “Ah, it is unfortunate that there is no way to contact him.”
He thought about the message, still unread, sent to a number that belonged to no one. To appease his brother, he nodded. It was not a lie.
“Well,” Lan Xichen mused, “perhaps you’ll see him again at some point somewhere.”
Lan Wangji nodded again. The possibility, however slight, was always there. Unlikely as anything else.
“And if you do, you shouldn’t waste the opportunity again,” Lan Xichen said.
To be fair, Lan Wangji had probably gotten just as much out of this particular opportunity as was possible. Wei Ying had perhaps not wanted to see him again, but for that one night, Lan Wangji had had him. He did not know how many people usually got that far.
In fact, he would rather eat screws than know.
Instead of voicing any of this, Lan Wangji hummed his answer, and his brother moved on to other topics. Wei Ying did not come up again in the conversation. It was better that way.
-
Not long after that, Lan Wangji got dragged into another social gathering by his brother. It was often this way, when his mood was bad. Lan Xichen had the tendency to take note of any fall in his general satisfaction levels and then do his utmost to make Lan Wangji feel better.
Often he did this by means that proved successful. He bought Lan Wangji new tea that he liked, or shared a memory with him about their mother. Something simple yet effective.
Lan Wangji was not entirely convinced of his brother’s strategy this time. Going out to eat with Nie Huaisang sounded like something Lan Wangji might have actually audibly objected to in the past. He did not know how his brother could’ve ever gotten the idea in his head that Lan Wangji would enjoy something like this.
“He asked for us,” Lan Xichen had insisted as if that had ever been something Lan Wangji was taking into account when rejecting these invites. “It would be rude to not go. Just this once, Wangji.”
It had not taken much for Lan Wangji to cave in. His brother could be persuasive when he wanted to.
It was curious, though, that Nie Huaisang had invited them both. Lan Wangji was certainly aware of the fact that his brother was well-liked by most people, but he had always gotten the impression that Nie Huaisang was somewhat nervous around Lan Wangji. Or did not know how to react to Lan Wangji’s silence, at the very least.
Once, when Lan Xichen had asked him to join only to spend most of the time talking to Nie Mingjue, leaving Nie Huaisang and Lan Wangji alone, he’d broken the silence with So I have this friend, and I think you guys would be great together. You know, if you ever wanted to get set up.
Lan Wangji had only continued sipping his tea silently. Nie Huaisang had immediately given up and taken his phone out.
Today, Lan Wangji had prepared himself to merely eat without taking part in the conversation, pretending the people around him didn’t exist until Lan Xichen deemed he’d had enough socialization, after which Lan Wangji would leave just as quietly as he had come.
As they found their way to the restaurant they were supposed to meet at, Lan Wangji immediately clocked the reason he’d been asked to join. At the corner table, where Nie Huaisang was holding court, there were other people sitting with him as well. A woman who looked distinctly annoyed, next to a man who looked even more annoyed and loud about it, and then next to them –
Lan Wangji had not realized he’d frozen until Lan Xichen’s palm patted him on the shoulder, an amused tone to his voice as he said: “Oh, I forgot to mention. Huaisang brought some of his own friends as well.”
There he was, just as full of life as he’d been two weeks ago. Wei Ying was laughing, of course. He was arguing with the angry man, though clearly only to show off his rhetorical skills, rather than to pick an actual fight. His clever tongue was made for causing trouble. For others, for himself. Lan Wangji had personally delivered the consequences of using that tongue only a while ago.
He looked beautiful, just as he had the first time Lan Wangji had seen him. Eyes twinkling, hands in motion.
“Perhaps–“ he started, but then Nie Huaisang’s gaze flew up to them.
“Oh, they’re here! Xichen-ge, Lan Wangji, hi!”
Whatever mock argument Wei Ying was having with his brother was promptly forgotten, as he turned to look at Lan Wangji with his eyes widened. For a long second, they did nothing but stare at each other, a moment of curious stillness. Lan Wangji’s heartbeat thundered in his ears.
Lan Xichen’s hand patted him again, and Lan Wangji forcibly shook himself out of his momentary madness.
They were both adults, were they not? Lan Wangji did not know much about one-night stand etiquette, but he certainly knew what it meant when someone gave him a fake number. He would not push his company on Wei Ying, as it was unwanted. They could pretend, for this one dinner, to be perfectly normal adults with no sexual history, and that would be that.
Wei Ying, seeming somewhat flustered, flashed them a wide smile before giving Nie Huaisang some sort of a look Lan Wangji could not read. It involved mouthing something, as well as excessive eyebrow movement.
The angry man turned to Wei Ying with a frown on his face, opening his mouth, though Wei Ying seemed to whisper to him something along the lines of ‘shut up, Jiang Cheng.’ Lan Wangji wondered if he had been one of the people in the bar Wei Ying had been with before talking to Lan Wangji. He could not recall any of them.
His brother, who had not realized the magnitude of this mistake yet, went and sat next to Nie Huaisang, which left Lan Wangji only one seating option. Right next to Wei Ying.
As he settled at the table, he wondered what excuse he could use to get out of the situation faster. Yet, whatever lie he would come up with could potentially be immediately ruined by the presence of his brother. Lan Xichen seemed intent on this dinner happening. Lan Wangji tried not to blame him. He did not know.
“I hope you did not wait for too long,” Lan Xichen said, and Nie Huaisang shook his head.
“No, no, the rest of us were early.”
Lan Wangji said nothing. He could feel Wei Ying shift next to him. The table was too small for the six of them. His arm was almost touching Wei Ying’s arm. He’d touched the entirety of Wei Ying’s body, yet this one piece of contact felt like it was sucking all air out of his lungs.
Lan Wangji shifted away.
“Da-ge didn’t want to come, though he did tell me to say hi to you,” Nie Huaisang continued. “This is Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin, and Wen Qing. We went to school together.”
Lan Xichen smiled warmly, and Lan Wangji nodded at them. It seemed almost unbelievable that Wei Ying had been only one contact away this whole time. He wondered if things would have gone differently, had their first meeting not been set in such a context. If he could have asked him out properly, rather than take him home after one conversation at a bar.
His brother and Nie Huaisang engaged in casual small talk, while Lan Wangji’s side of the table stayed quiet. Wen Qing had taken her phone out and was seemingly texting someone. Jiang Wanyin’s eyes kept jumping between Wei Ying and Lan Wangji.
“Haha, what a coincidence,” Wei Ying said suddenly enough to surprise Lan Wangji, though low enough that Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang’s conversation did not stop because of it. “Us meeting like this again. Who could’ve known we shared a friend?”
Lan Wangji turned to look at him. There was still the slightest touch of redness over Wei Ying’s cheeks, but he seemed to have collected himself quite well. Perhaps he’d had practice meeting his one-time lovers accidentally like this.
He tried his hardest to not let the bitterness show. His brother would be able to spot such a thing immediately, which would reveal more than anyone here needed to know.
“Mn,” he said. It was surprising, indeed.
Wei Ying cleared his throat. “So, ah, have you been busy lately?”
Small talk. Lan Wangji could handle polite small talk, and not be petty about it. He could also look Wei Ying in the eye and not think about the shape that his plush lips took around a moan. His lips, enticing as they were, looked most beautiful stretched in a smile, in any case.
“No,” Lan Wangji replied easily. He had not been busy, which added another layer to the disappointment over the conclusion to their entanglement, as he had very little to do to distract him from it. “And you?”
“Oh, you know.” Wei Ying waved his hand. “Anyway! Enough about me! Lan Zhan, really though. You haven’t been, say, drowning in work? Unable to do anything but worry about your job?”
Next to Wei Ying, Jiang Wanyin sighed. Lan Wangji did not know if it was because of the overly specific questions, or the way Wei Ying leaned forward while asking them. Neither seemed sigh-worthy things to Lan Wangji. Perhaps he was missing context.
“No,” Lan Wangji said, and from the way Wei Ying’s smile faltered momentarily, he wondered if he had somehow given the wrong answer. But when the grin came back, it was just as bright as it had been before, so Lan Wangji might have imagined the whole thing altogether.
He was over-analyzing, of course. He wanted to look at Wei Ying’s face and see either deliberate malice that would justify any pettiness from Lan Wangji, or secret regret that would lead to Wei Ying apologizing and asking for another chance with him.
It was all nonsense, of course. Delusional. Wei Ying had played by rules Lan Wangji had not been familiar with and was now feeling petulant about. The least he could do was leave the dinner with his dignity intact, pretending nothing had ever happened.
Before Wei Ying could reply, the waiter arrived, and they made their orders. Lan Wangji got himself a mildly flavored vegetable dish. He could not help noticing that the dish Wei Ying ordered seemed to include an amount of spice that a man weaker than Lan Wangji with the same taste buds would die trying to digest.
He noticed this and immediately attempted to forget it. He had no right to hoard observations of Wei Ying. People did not do this to their one-night stands.
“So, Wei Wuxian, Jiang Wanyin,” Lan Xichen said next. “I hear your sister had a child recently?”
“She did! Last month,” Wei Ying replied, his eyes lighting up the same way each time he talked about his sister. “A healthy baby boy!”
“How wonderful,” Lan Xichen said, smiling his most genuine smile. “I presume I will have to wait a while still to become an uncle. Wangji is without a better half.”
Ah. Lan Wangji could immediately see what his brother was trying to do. He leveled him a pleading stare, but Lan Xichen only smiled serenely.
“Wouldn’t Lan Zhan be the better half of any whole, though?” Wei Ying asked, the same teasing tone from their night together ever-present.
“’Lan Zhan?’” his brother asked, still delighted.
“Oh, Lan Zhan and I,” Wei Ying started, and then seemed to remember some sort of a one-night stand protocol, because he glanced at Lan Wangji, looked a bit panicked for a second, before finishing, “have met. A few weeks ago? Or days, who keeps count of these things, hahaha!”
Lan Wangji did. He kept his eyes resolutely forward, though he could not help hearing another sigh from Jiang Wanyin.
“I see,” Lan Xichen said as if he had not been there, present when Wei Ying had come up to him at the bar. Wei Ying’s memory might have been terrible, but his brother’s was not. “So are you single, too, Wei Wuxian?”
It was almost miraculous how the obviousness of the question seemed to fly over everyone’s head. Perhaps Lan Xichen’s general amicability was enough to distract from it. Lan Wangji wanted to first apologize profusely to Wei Ying, and then leave.
Despite himself, he still wanted to hear the answer. Wei Ying had flushed slightly again.
“He is,” Jiang Wanyin stated curtly. “Twenty-second year in a row.”
Lan Wangji could not look at Wei Ying. No serious relationship during that time? Did it mean that Wei Ying only ever had occasional one-nighters, and was interested in nothing more? Was that why he had given Lan Wangji the fake number?
Lan Wangji had never dated anyone either. He had never felt the desire before. Not until Wei Ying.
“Don’t worry, Jiang Cheng, I’m sure you’ll catch up with me in no time,” Wei Ying replied with a mock-sweet tone that seemed to hold some real sharpness to it. It disappeared as he continued lightly, “Yes, I’m single!”
“Not for long, I’m sure,” Lan Xichen said. “I bet there is a long line of admirers waiting for the chance to ask you out. Anyone who’s interested should act quick!”
It was truly a rare occurrence, but Lan Wangji felt a powerful urge to throttle his brother. It took him a few slow, measured breaths to let go of the agonizing feeling.
Wei Ying only laughed, though there was a strange ring to it.
“Do you have a type?” Lan Xichen asked, and Lan Wangji wondered again how such an invasive question could sound so innocuous coming from his brother.
Wei Ying glanced at Lan Wangji, no doubt feeling just as uncomfortable with the topic as himself. No one else at their table could realize just how awkward a conversation this was. They had not witnessed Lan Wangji pressing Wei Ying into the mattress for hours. They did not know about the fake number.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Wei Ying said, in the end. “I think they should be fun, right? Someone fun!”
No wonder Wei Ying had not given him his real number. Lan Wangji was not fun.
Even his brother seemed to realize this, as he only said, “Ah.”
“Pfft,” Wen Qing said, not lifting her gaze from her phone. “Fun? You don’t like fun, you like steady.”
“What? No, I don’t,” Wei Ying objected.
Wen Qing glanced up. “You have the most vanilla, milquetoast nuclear family fantasies. You want a kid and a garden plot and mortgage.”
“Well, I mean –“
“You once said that your dream partner is a good parent,” she said. “And remembers to pay the bills when you don’t.”
“Fine, fine, maybe you’re a little bit right! But that’s completely beside the point,” Wei Ying stated. “You can be both steady and fun!”
Wen Qing raised an eyebrow, so Wei Ying continued, “Like Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan’s steady and fun.”
Lan Wangji, who had not known he was fun, glanced first at his ever more delighted brother, and then Wei Ying,
“Oh? How is he fun?” Jiang Wanyin asked. “You talked for a few hours. Did I miss something?”
Wei Ying opened his mouth, then closed it, clearly realizing that whatever was going to come out of his mouth would have been a bit too revealing. In the end, he only said, “Can’t you tell what kind of a person someone is from talking to them for a while? In any case, Lan Zhan’s fun, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.”
He tried to think back to that night at the bar. Had Lan Wangji been fun? He’d talked to Wei Ying much the same as he did with everyone else. Which was, overall, very little.
Only, Wei Ying reacted to him quite differently than the rest of the people. When Lan Wangji had said something wry, Wei Ying had laughed. He’d put his hand on Lan Wangji’s arm, and he’d laughed and teased and continued the conversation effortlessly.
Every now and then, he’d seemed to read Lan Wangji’s mind, and then answer the thought rather than the silence. Don’t give me that look, Lan Zhan, I definitely put it back once I was done using it! It’s not stealing, it’s borrowing, and it was for the common good!
In any case, Lan Wangji felt it necessary to say, “Wei Ying is fun as well.”
This caused some flush to rise up back to Wei Ying’s cheeks. “Lan Zhan, warn a man! How do you sound so sincere?”
“I’m glad to hear you enjoyed each other’s company,” Lan Xichen said, crashing Lan Wangji back to Earth.
What was he doing, entertaining the conversation like this? Wei Ying was clearly being the way he was back then, sociable and kind and flirty, but without truly meaning any of it. He could evidently ignore their shared night in order to survive the situation without embarrassing either of them. It did nothing for Lan Wangji to get flattered over things said in passing.
Thankfully, the waiter came back with their food just in time to stop the conversation from spiraling into a disaster. From that moment onward, Lan Wangji only ate his food silently as was customary in their family. His brother mentioned this to the others, making Lan Wangji’s excuses for him, and no one bothered him about it, of course.
Wei Ying did not stay quiet when he talked. In fact, it was a miracle he ate at all, with the way he engaged in the conversation so actively. His posture was improper, always leaning too much one way or the other. Lan Wangji was constantly aware of the shape of him, the warmth of his body, and the space he so easily took. He had to shift away multiple times to prevent their arms from touching.
Wei Ying and Jiang Wanyin first had an argument on whose dish was better, which was concluded with Jiang Wanyin declaring all food Wei Ying ate a crime against humanity for its spiciness. Wei Ying was most likely going to say something that would’ve angered Jiang Wanyin more because Nie Huaisang decided it was time to chime in with a mention of a romantic movie that had come out recently.
They all had varying opinions about it. Wei Ying had liked it. Lan Wangji thought about going out to see it, to see with his own eyes all the reasons it had compelled Wei Ying.
He wondered what compelled Wei Ying. Other than, apparently, steadiness.
Thinking about it was futile, of course. The whole dinner was an experiment in slow mental torture, and Lan Wangji was here only to witness how completely normal Wei Ying could be about them having had sex, and then never going on a date afterward.
“I think it was great! Who doesn’t like love at first sight? Who doesn’t like a handsome man pining after them?” Wei Ying asked, and then elbowed Lan Wangji. “Right, Lan Zhan?”
For the first time during the conversation, Lan Wangji felt deliberately slighted. Was Wei Ying mocking him? It certainly seemed that way. Was it so obvious that Lan Wangji was pining after him? Was it so obvious that he’d been sold after the first time? Perhaps it was. He had asked for the number, after all.
He did not give a reaction to Wei Ying, holding onto that feeling of offense. The silence stretched a bit too long, and then Wei Ying said, tone light, “Ahah, well, it’s not for everyone!”
When Lan Wangji glanced up, Jiang Wanyin was glaring at him.
The conversation moved on. Wen Qing was asked about her new job at a local children’s hospital, and Lan Xichen was so interested that he momentarily forgot his mission to set Lan Wangji up with a man who had already rejected him.
It came up that Wei Ying did voluntary work at the hospital as well, entertaining kids with his flute. Inside Lan Wangji’s chest, an emotion had a tight grip on his lungs. Lan Xichen, back to being focused, immediately shared the fact that Lan Wangji did volunteer work with children as well.
He could not look at Wei Ying, but he could feel the look he was being given.
It went on much like that for what felt like hours, but surely couldn’t be much more than one. The topics shifted, and Lan Xichen found ways to praise Lan Wangji, and Wei Ying accidentally happened to sound just as impressive without even having a hype man with him. In fact, with Jiang Wanyin and Wen Qing present, the effect should have been quite the opposite.
Lan Wangji thought that he had almost survived the dinner without much damage, until the moment everyone was done eating. Jiang Wanyin’s glare was still on him.
“So, what’s Lan Wangji’s type?” he asked. “I mean, since we’re talking about that and all.”
They were not. That particular conversation had been dealt with at the start of their meeting. Still, Lan Wangji leaned on politeness – he felt Wei Ying’s curious gaze on him.
As Lan Wangji had never put much thought into ‘his type’ until his type had started talking to him at a bar two weeks ago, it took him a moment to come up with an answer that was not merely a name.
“Fun,” he said. A stolen answer. True, as well. Wei Ying was fun.
The answer did not seem to impress Jiang Wanyin. Lan Wangji did not know what he’d done to deserve the hostility, but with the way the man talked to Wei Ying, he could not help but return some of the animosity. No matter how careless of other people’s feelings Wei Ying was, he deserved respect.
“Oh? What kind of fun?” Jiang Wanyin asked. “Easy?”
Wei Ying choked on something, starting to hack. Nie Huaisang let out a nervous burst of laughter, while Lan Wangji could not stop himself from starting to glare openly back.
“Easygoing, certainly,” Lan Xichen said, always ready to smooth out any wrinkles in conversation. “We were not raised very liberally. Carefree attitude does seem quite attractive.”
“Really? I had the impression Lan Wangji was very unconcerned with things himself,” Jiang Wanyin stated, the hostility obvious to all present.
“Jiang Cheng, give it a rest,” Wei Ying snapped.
“Things?” Lan Wangji asked.
Jiang Wanyin shrugged. “People.”
“The first impression might not always be accurate,” Lan Xichen said quickly, now almost frowning. Lan Wangji knew he took it very personally when someone disliked his brother. “We have all our own ways of showing we care.”
“Exactly!” Wei Wuxian said.
“Sure,” Jiang Wanyin said, not sounding convinced. “So how do you show you care, Lan Wangji?”
Lan Wangji’s glare had sharpened a degree by each insinuation made, and could not help the freezing tone when he replied, “By talking plainly.”
“That’s a great quality in a man,” Wei Ying said, clinging to the light tone like he could singlehandedly veer the conversation back on a comfortable track.
“Really? I had the feeling you were the exact opposite! Like someone who likes to lead people on,” Jiang Wanyin stated, harsh and mocking, still not paying attention to Wei Ying.
“Ignore him, he’s being weird,” Wei Ying said immediately to Lan Zhan, before turning to Jiang Wanyin. “No one’s leading anyone on, Jiang Cheng! Some people are casual!”
Jiang Wanyin did not give Wei Ying even a glance, keeping his angry eyes on Lan Wangji. “Wei Wuxian saved his first kiss for twenty-two years. Does that sound casual?”
There was a flash of movement, and then a piece of spice-slathered meat hit Jiang Wanyin’s face with a splat and dropped onto the table. For a still second, their whole group was shocked silent. Then,
“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Wanyin snapped, wiping his face.
“Mind your business,” Wei Ying shot back, and for the first time, Lan Wangji could see that he was angry. Jaw squared, chin up.
“So I have to watch you mope and whine, and then this guy just –“
“Jiang Cheng,” Wei Ying cut in, tone cold. “I’m not asking again.”
Jiang Wanyin glared, first at Wei Ying and then Lan Wangji, with equal measure.
And while Lan Wangji could not be sure of the details, it was evident what the cause of the conflict was. Jiang Wanyin clearly knew something had happened between them, though to which extent, he could not tell. Perhaps he was not aware it had been Wei Ying who gave him the fake phone number. Perhaps he disliked the thought of his brother having casual affairs in the first place.
In any case, Lan Wangji had no interest in causing Wei Ying any more trouble than he had already. He should have most likely turned away at the door when he had noticed Wei Ying’s presence here the first time, but it was hopefully not too late to fix that mistake now.
“Please take care of my share,” he told Lan Xichen, whose eyes had gone wide. Lan Wangji would pay back later. “Excuse me.”
He took his coat, and no one called him back when he made his way out.
-
Before he had walked too far off from the restaurant, someone caught him by the arm. Wei Ying, out of breath, pulled him around to face him. His ponytail had become loose, strands of hair framing his face. He’d clearly rushed after him.
Under the street lamp in a relatively empty street, Lan Wangji blinked at him.
“I’m sorry!” Wei Ying said immediately, then added a little calmer: “Lan Zhan, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that.”
“It’s fine,” Lan Wangji replied. Wei Ying’s hand was still gripping him, the hold on his jacket tight. As if Lan Wangji would just leave if he let go.
“He had no right to speak to you like that! It was unreasonable,” Wei Ying continued. “I told him to apologize, but I don’t think he will. Jiang Cheng is so stubborn!”
“It’s fine,” Lan Wangji repeated.
Wei Ying let out a breath. “And I’m sorry for – for that whole – you know it wasn’t meant to be like an ambush or anything? I didn’t know Nie Huaisang had invited you! I swear I’m not weird, I haven’t been stalking you, alright?”
How Wei Ying could think Lan Wangji would’ve gotten that impression, he had no idea. Not answering Lan Wangji’s message was the clearest sign of disinterest one could give, surely.
“I just – I might have mentioned you, you know, afterward, so it’s clear that it gave Nie Huaisang a certain idea,” Wei Ying said.
Lan Wangji blinked. “You talked about me?”
“Yes, ah, I did.” Wei Ying nodded. “A little.”
Lan Wangji stared. Under the scrutiny, Wei Ying grimaced.
“Fine, a lot. But, okay, I,” he confessed, “I didn’t – I think you’re a great person. I liked you a lot. I mean, I liked talking to you, and, you know.”
He wasn’t sure if he knew. Wei Ying probably meant the sex. Which Lan Wangji had liked as well. As well as Wei Ying himself.
“...I see,” Lan Wangji said. “I feel the same.”
“Haha, yeah, I thought so too,” Wei Ying replied. “And I get that it doesn’t necessarily mean anything and that you were just having fun! Who doesn’t like to have fun?”
Lan Wangji nodded, though a bit confusedly. Out of the two of them, was it not Wei Ying who had been expressly seeking something casual and fun?
“I just never do that kind of stuff, so I wasn’t aware of all the courtesies, or, ah, customs? So I took it maybe a bit too seriously when you asked for my number,” Wei Ying concluded.
Lan Wangji stared. He did not know which statement made his head feel dizzier; that Wei Ying did not do one-night stands, or that Wei Ying had supposedly taken him asking his number...too seriously? He felt like someone had hit him in the temple.
Neither of these things made any sense in the context of everything Lan Wangji had thought he’d known.
“You…” Lan Wangji started, and the redness over Wei Ying’s cheeks deepened, his eyes flitting away.
“Ah, I mean, Jiang Cheng wasn’t kidding about that first kiss,” he said. “Or, you know, my first time. Congrats, I suppose?”
“What,” Lan Wangji said flatly. His heart was going to beat out of his chest. Wei Ying had been…? They had been each other’s firsts? Lan Wangji felt like he needed to sit down.
Was Wei Ying not supposed to be a bold, boisterous person who had multiple lovers a week, who gave out fake numbers and broke hearts left and right?”
“That’s probably an unfair thing to say at this point, isn’t it? Aiyah, I’m sorry, Lan Zhan, I really am! I just wanted you to understand why I…” Wei Ying cleared his throat and looked away.
Unfortunately, Lan Wangji needed everything spelled out for him because nothing of the past few hours was making any sense.“Why you…?”
“Expected you to call,” Wei Ying said.
Lan Wangji stared. He felt like he could do very little else.
“I did.”
“What?”
“I did call.”
Lan Wangji pulled out his phone, found the conversation, and then handed it to Wei Ying, the screen showing his message that had gone unanswered. Wei Ying looked at it with wide eyes.
“I sent you a message the day after,” Lan Wangji said. “When you did not respond, I called. The number does not exist.”
He clicked his own name on Lan Wangji’s screen. Looked at the phone number.
“…I wrote the number wrong,” he said, so quietly it seemed like he was talking to himself. “That’s supposed to be a four.”
“...What,” Lan Wangji asked.
“I wrote the number wrong,” Wei Ying said, eyes bright and wide again, and mouth spreading into a grin. “Lan Zhan, I can’t believe this. You really wanted to see me?”
“Yes,” Lan Wangji said, without hesitation.
“You liked me?”
“Yes.”
Wei Ying’s smile turned a bit teasing. “You weren’t disappointed in my performance?”
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji sighed, agonized.
“I really wanted you to call,” Wei Ying said. “I wanted you to call so bad, I sat around and waited for your call for days, and when you didn’t I moped so much Jiang Cheng shouted at me!”
“I am sorry.” Lan Wangji truly was. He had been moping as well. The thought of the two of them having wanted to reach each other and then being upset when it had not happened would have been almost amusing if it hadn’t been so unpleasant to experience.
“No, it was my fault,” Wei Ying insisted. “Lan Zhan, aiyah! You were such a gentleman, and then I ran off like that in the morning!”
“You had prearranged plans,” Lan Wangji said. “I understood.”
“But you thought I’ve been ignoring you this whole time,” Wei Ying said. “Oh, no, that dinner just now was even worse than I thought! Jiang Cheng thinks you’re a terrible person! He thinks you led me on!”
Lan Wangji shook his head. It was nonsense, of course, the mere thought of Lan Wangji not being entirely bewitched by Wei Ying.
“To be fair, he’s had to deal with me these past days. I should warn you, Lan Zhan, I’m not this likable at all times. In fact, I can sometimes be pretty insufferable!” Wei Ying leaned closer, grin wide. “Er-gege, do you still want to take me out?”
Such a question, after all that torment. “Ridiculous.”
“Mm-hm, I’m extremely ridiculous! Silly, and loud, and –“
He took Wei Ying by the lean waist and pulled him in, and Wei Ying came with a yelp that quickly morphed into laughter.
“And so, so, so ridiculous! Though I’ll stay for breakfast this time,” Wei Ying finished, like Lan Wangji needed any more convincing. Like Lan Wangji would let him leave again like that.
He kissed him, then, mostly because this was something Wei Ying apparently welcomed, and Lan Wangji could now do. His lips were just as soft as before, though the spice of the food was still lingering, so the kiss, while sweet, did not last too long.
Not that Lan Wangji wouldn’t gladly burn his tongue for the pleasure of another kiss with Wei Ying.
“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying said then, lips close enough to his own to feel his breath.
“Mn.”
“Did your brother try to set us up just now? It seemed like he did.”
“...Mn.”
Wei Ying laid his head against his shoulder, laughing. “And mine was trying his hardest to scare you off! Hahahahah!”
While Lan Wangji was certainly not able to so instantly let go of his dislike, he at least understood now where Wei Ying’s brother had come from. If the impression had been correct, Lan Wangji would have sided with him. Wei Ying deserved a call.
“Impossible,” he only said.
Wei Ying smiled. “Hm, that was definitely mortifying. Let’s never do that again, okay, Lan Zhan? Let’s only get along!”
“Mn.”
“Now give me your phone,” Wei Ying said, the corners of his eyes crinkled. Lan Wangji was so glad to be holding him. “I’ll write the number right this time.”
-