Chapter Text
When the call ended, everyone sat and waited for Nie Huaisang to arrive with Wen Qing. While they waited, they decided to talk. "Okay, so far, we know that Jin Guangyao is manipulating our memories of Mo Xuanyu, we know Mo Xuanyu is in a painting, we know our pasts, what else do we know?" Wei Wuxian asked, looking at everyone.
"We know A-Sang apparently knew about all of this before us, but i'm not sure how long he's known, or why he never said anything." Jiang Cheng said. Zizhen perked up. "Maybe he didn't say anything because Wen Ning wasn't awake yet?" He suggested. Wen Ning nodded at that. "That could be possible. Though, there is one thing i'm curious about." He said.
"What's that?" Wei Wuxian asked. Wen Ning looked at Jin Ling and Jingyi. "How did you know to come look for me?" He asked them. Jingyi rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, uh, Jin Ling kinda had a dream about us from our past lives." He said. Jin Ling nodded, and took over from there. "We were hiding you in Cloud Recesses, and the dream ended when we saw some array in the sky." He said.
Wei Wuxian's eyes went wide. "I remember that array! One of Jin Guangyao's followers drew the array to try and kill us all, but it didn't work as it was intended." He said. Jin Ling frowned. "So what happened after that...?" He asked. By the silence that fell across the room, he assumed no one remembered.
"We'll figure it out." Jin Zixuan said, watching everyone nod. Jingyi heard his phone go off, and checked to see who was calling him. He froze once he saw the contact name, and it didn't go unnoticed by Jin Ling. "Jingyi?" He asked, looking to see who was calling Jingyi. When he saw the caller ID, he frowned and looked at Jingyi. "Ignore it." He told him.
Jingyi looked at him, eyes wide and filled with terror. "I-I can't, if I ignore him, he'll know something's up." He stuttered. He hadn't realized he was shaking until Jin Ling hand both of his hands in his. "Jingyi, don't answer it." He said.
"I have to..." Jingyi said, then moves his hands out of Jin Ling's grasp so he could answer the phone. "Hello...?" He answered. "JINGYI, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE BACK AGES AGO YOU STUPID BRAT!" A loud, angry voice said over the phone. Jingyi could see that despite not being on speaker phone, everyone could hear his father's voice.
"GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW! YOU HAVE A VISITOR COMING SOON!" Jingyi's father shouted. Jingyi froze at that, eyes wide and clearly close to panicking. A visitor coming to their house could mean a lot of things, but if the visitor was for Jingyi? Well, he knew what that meant, and he didn't want to go through that again.
Tears gathered in Jingyi's eyes, and he tried very hard to calm himself down. Before he could say anything, Jin Zixuan snatched the phone from Jingyi's hand, and Jingyi looked at him. He was shocked to see that Jin Zixuan hadn't been the only ones reaching for the phone. Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian, and even Jiang Yanli were reaching for it as well.
As Jingyi felt Jin Ling's arms around him, he couldn't help but to lean into his touch as he tried to get his breathing under control. "He won't be going back to that hellhole." Jin Zixuan told Jingyi's father, and Jiang Cheng managed to put the phone on speaker, probably so he could tell him off too, Jingyi wasn't sure.
"Who is this?" Jingyi's father asked, already using a more polite tone. Jingyi knew that tone. His father used it anytime he tried to make people think he was a good person. "Jin Zixuan. Your son is dating my son, and I know all about your treatment towards Lan Jingyi, so drop the innocent façade." He said, his tone dangerous.
On the other end of the call, everyone could hear the scoff coming from Jingyi's father. "Your son has poor taste if he's dating that pathetic rat." He spat, and Jingyi bit his lip as he snuggled closer to Jin Ling.
"Call him a rat again, and I'll make you wish you were never born!" Jin Ling shouted, and Jingyi was shocked to see the amount of anger in his eyes. Before Jingyi's father could say anything, Jin Zixuan cut in. "As of right now, Jingyi will be moving in with my family. I'll make sure you never harm him ever again." He said.
"And if you value your sad, miserable life, you won't try anything! If you do, I'll break every god damn bone in your body!" Jiang Cheng shouted. "HOW DARE YOU! YOU CAN'T KEEP MY SON FROM ME YOU-" Jingyi's father shouted, only to be cut off by Jiang Yanli.
"You will be dragged to court for your treatment towards Jingyi, mark my words. If you have even the slightest bit of concience, you'll turn yourself in willingly. Though I have no problem doing things the hard way. Goodbye." She said, effectively hanging up on Jingyi's father. She then took the phone and blocked Jingyi's father so he couldn't call or text.
Jingyi was stunned into silence. He could only stare at everyone in the room. "Jingyi...?" Sizhui called out, gently wiping away his friend's tears. When did Jingyi start crying? "It's okay, your dad won't hurt you anymore." Jin Ling said, keeping his arms around Jingyi.
Jingyi was about to say something, but a gentle touch on his cheek pulled his attention to whoever was holding his face so gently. Jiang Yanli gave him a soft, reassuring smile, and kissed his forehead softly. "You're safe now, I promise." She told him.
Jingyi felt a huge weight being lifted off his chest, and he found that he could breathe a little easier. He hid his face in Jin Ling's chest, and let himself cry. The next thing he knew, everyone in the room, even Jiang Cheng and Jin Zixuan, all huddled close to hug him.
When a knock came at the door, everyone pulled away, except for Jin Ling. Wei Wuxian went and opened the front door, seeing Nie Huaisang and Wen Qing. He smiled at them. "Huaisang! Wen Qing! Welcome!" He shouted happily, letting them inside. Once they both stepped inside, they stopped and took in the scene in front of them. Jingyi, although not crying as loudly as before, still had tears in his eyes.
Wen Qing was happy to see her brother, but she was also worried about Jingyi. She could see that something was wrong. Jingyi's eyes still held some fear and pain in them. Huaisang, on the other hand, when seeing Jingyi's tears, frowned deeply. He had walked in, holding the painting he had bought.
He carefully handed the painting to Jiang Cheng, before walking over to Jingyi. He knew what that kind of fear and pain meant, for he had seen it on a different student about two years ago. "Lan Jingyi?" He said. Jingyi wiped his tears away. "Yes...?" He asked. He almost jerked back in surprise when he saw Huaisang's eyes darken with anger. "Who do I have to kill?" Huaisang asked, his tone angry and dangerous.
Nie Huaisang, who didn't always show his anger, now looked as if he was ready to kill someone with a single glance.