Chapter Text
Most days of the year are unremarkable. They begin and they end with no lasting memory made in between. Most days have no impact on the course of a life. - 500 Days of Summer, Narrator
“Don’t be fucking late for school!” Jiang Cheng’s voice booms in Wei Wuxian’s head as he dashes towards the gates of Cloud Recesses High School.
Earlier that morning, Wei Wuxian was kicked out of the car by Mdm Yu for “being a bad influence to Jiang Cheng” after he joked about how he was going to test the boundaries to see how rigid and traditional Cloud Recesses could be. Despite all the begging and attempts from his siblings to speak up for him, her edict was final. As such, his 15-minute cushy car ride turned into a 30-minute sprint to school. What a way to start your first day at a new school huh?
Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng just transferred from Lotus Pier High School, and it is their first day at Cloud Recesses. Cloud Recesses is the top educational institution in the country, headed by the Lan Educational Group. Their focus on academic excellence and stellar curriculum have produced many generations of academic talents. Jiang Shu-shu had to tap on his connections to get his son, Jiang Cheng, and Wei Wuxian into the school for their final two years of high school. Cloud Recesses is well-known for their 3000 school rules (supposedly adapted from the Lan family’s own family rules) — which Wei Wuxian is not looking forward to, at all.
In retrospect, Wei Wuxian knows he was kinda asking for it when he made that comment earlier that morning. Since Jiang Shu-shu took him in eight years ago, Mdm Yu had never liked him. She will always find all sorts of excuses and reasons to punish him or exclude him from family activities. In fact, she was — and still is — bitter and furious when Jiang Shushu broke the news that Wei Wuxian would be transferring alongside Jiang Cheng.
Shaking off the thoughts of the morning’s events, Wei Wuxian makes the last dash towards Cloud Recesses. As he arrives at the school gate, he is greeted with the sight of heavy metal locks on the latch. He quickly pulls out his phone to check the time. 8.03am. “Oh come on, it’s just 3 minutes. Cloud Recesses truly lives up to their reputation!” he laments to an imaginary mob.
As he looks up at the iron gates that stands firmly before him, an idea strikes Wei Wuxian. He darts his eyes around his surroundings. After he ascertains that the coast is clear, he tosses his bag over the gates and proceeds to climb the frame of the gate. Once he is at the top, he carefully leaps off the gate, and retrieves his bag. Wei Wuxian heaves a sigh of relief that he has managed to get into school without much trouble, he then dusts off his bag a little before making his way towards the main school building.
Just as he is about to open the door, he hears a deep voice coming from behind him.
“Stop right there.”
With a huge smirk on his face, Wei Wuxian turns around, all ready to charm his way out of trouble — just like he always had before. There, standing before him, is the most beautiful person that he had ever seen. The boy, slightly taller than him, possesses facial features that are gentle — almost jade-like. His eyes pierces through Wei Wuxian with a quiet intensity; his gaze conveying both too much, and nothing at the same time. The boy has a cool aura surrounding him, almost to the point where it feels intrusive to demand his attention or be in his presence. At the same time, he exudes such sophiscation and grace, that easily makes him the focal point of any space he was in. Wei Wuxian is intrigued. “Wow,” the words escapes Wei Wuxian’s lips before he realises it.
While maintaining a stoic expression on his face, the boy asks, “What is your name?”
“Ah! If you just wanted to know my name, you could’ve just asked. You don’t have to resort to this! My courtesy name is Wei Wuxian. A pretty boy like you can call me Wei Ying!” Wei Wuxian flashes him a smile and places his hand on the boy’s shoulder.
The boy shrugs Wei Wuxian’s hand off his shoulders and gives a look, that can safely be interpreted as disdain. “The new transfer student. You’re late. Come with me to the principal’s office.”
Holding out his phone, Wei Wuxian pouts at him and retorts, “Look, it’s only 8.10. Classes don’t start until 8.30. Technically I’m not late? Also, why should I follow you? What if you’re trying to abduct me?” He leans his face closer to the boy and mouths, “Maybe you’re trying to keep me to yourself.”
Now that he is standing so close to the boy, he can see his features even better. His eyes are glistening in the morning sun, reflecting a beautiful golden-brown shade. His skin is fair, and barely has any blemishes, even at such a close distance. There is a whiff of something pleasant — sandalwood maybe — that fills the air between them. Is it even legal for someone to be so good-looking?! Wei Wuxian thinks to himself.
Despite his seeminly unflappable demeanour, the close proximity between the two seems to make the boy look slightly uncomfortable. He steps to the side and walks ahead to push the door open. “Ridiculous. Come with me,” the boy says, as he strides down the corridor with his hands behind his back, in the direction of the principal’s office.
Wei Wuxian contemplates running away to class at that given moment. He had been warned by the Jiang siblings about what a stickler for rules the principal, Lan Qiren is. This is not how he wants to start his very first day in the school.
However, something about this boy really draws Wei Wuxian to him. He knows that he will probably regret this later, but acting on impulse is his brand. Without further thought, he trails behind the boy, following his angel of death into the pits of his looming doom.
“Hey! Pretty boy, you still haven’t told me your name!” Wei Wuxian shouts out. If he is about to die, he may as well die knowing the name of this beautiful, intriguing stranger.
The boy pauses to turn around and stares at Wei Wuxian for a moment, as if he had not expected that question.
“Lan Wangji.”
Lan Wangji knocks on the door of the principal’s office.
“Come in,” a stern voice instructs.
The door opens and Wei Wuxian comes face to face with a stern-looking man, sitting with a perfect straight posture at his meticulously organised desk. He has the same stoic look that Lan Wangji has, and Wei Wuxian is starting to realise that this may be the sort of crowd that he will be surrounded by for the next 2 years.
Lan Wangji walks up to the desk, and gently bows at Lan Qiren. “Shufu, this is Wei Wuxian. One of the transfer students. Jiang Wanyin had already arrived earlier this morning. Also, I saw Wei Wuxian climbing the school gates into school earlier.”
Wei Wuxian's mouth hangs agape as he just manages to put two and two together. Shufu? Is Lan Wangji, half of the Twin Jades? Well that explains a lot… Maybe something about the common surname and Lan-brand-stoicness should have been a clear giveaway.
The Twin Jades are well-known in the upper society to be blessed with unparalleled beauty and intelligence. Their parents passed on when they were young – for reasons that were undisclosed — and they have been raised by their uncle, Lan Qiren since. Lan Qiren is the head of the Lan Education Group, and principal of Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian has heard about them mostly from his elder sister, Jiang Yanli, with some unfiltered commentary on the side from Jiang Cheng. She had shared that the elder Jade is studying medicine in the prestigious Gusu University, while the younger Jade is said to be the top student here at Cloud Recesses. The Twin Jades are described to look very similar but has completely opposite personalities; with the elder Jade having a smiley and approachable demeanour and the younger Jade being aloof and unapproachable. What are the chances that Wei Wuxian would be acquainted with Lan Wangji on his very first day here?
Lan Qiren nods his head to acknowledge his nephew before gesturing him to take his leave. “Thank you, Wangji. You may return to class first. I will speak to Wei Wuxian. Please let Zhang Lao-shi know that I will have him back in class before 8.30am.”
“Mn. Goodbye, Shufu.” Lan Wangji bows again, before making his way out of the office.
Once they are alone, Lan Qiren turns towards Wei Wuxian and stares at him with a look of disapproval. “Uniform all tucked out. Climbing the school gates. Late for your classes on the first day. What impropriety is this?”
Attempting to get out of trouble the best way he knows how, Wei Wuxian chuckles, “Heh Lan-xiaozhang, there was a slight hiccup this morning… Moreover I was only 3 minutes late, surely that is acceptable?”
Lan Qiren's eyes widens with annoyance at Wei Wuxian's response as he chides, “Unacceptable! School prepares you for life. How can you be trusted upon to do more important things when you can’t even be on time for school?”
“No offence Lan-xiaozhang, but being on time doesn’t guarantee competency, does it?” Wei Wuxian argues.
Exasperated by the insolence, Lan Qiren massages his temples as he thinks of an appropriate response. This Wei Wuxian is really proving to be quite a troublemaker. Never in his twenty-five years of being in education has he had a student with such a penchant for challenging authority and rules. He has heard of Wei Wuxian’s exceptional academic records and giftedness in music before today, but nobody had thought to warn him about his…behaviour. It is going to be a tortorous two years with this boy.
Lan Qiren gets up from his seat and walks towards Wei Wuxian. “Jiang Fengmian assured me that both your brother and you would be on your best behaviour in your time here… I am sure you are aware that we don’t usually accept transfer students?”
Before Wei Wuxian even has a chance to butt in, Lan Qiren continues, “Wei Wuxian, our school have produced many top lawyers, doctors, engineers, bankers, and musicians. What they have in common is that they've followed the principles of the Lans.”
He strokes his beard as he glares at Wei Wuxian and questions, “Also, have you not read the entire school manual given to you before the commencement of the school term?”
A cheeky smile flashes across Wei Wuxian's face as he thought back to the time when Jiang Fengmian passed the manual to Jiang Cheng and him, the moment he was officially offered a place in school. He had merely taken a peek at it then threw it aside. It is sitting on his table doubling up as a paperweight now; where else could you find something of such substantial weight the you would not bother to move, for free?
Without much thought, he blurts out, “Pardon me Lan-xiaozhang, there are simply too many rules…3000 is just–”
“Preposterous! You will serve detention after school and copy the school rules 10 times. The number of days you have to serve detention is dependent on how long you take to copy them. Please report to Room 203 after school. Hopefully that helps you familiarise yourself with our many rules. You are dismissed.”
“Ah 10 times? That's too—”
“You. Are. Dismissed.” Lan Qiren commands. His words are final. He walks back to his desk and ignores the protests from the boy.
Sensing that he will not be able to get out of this, Wei Wuxian drags his feet out of the office. He will find other ways to hopefully get out of his detention. Maybe charm whoever oversees the detention to let him off easy.
Lan Qiren lets out a huff as the boy exits his office. Jiang Fengmian took him in...Wei Wuxian…could he be…?
Wei Wuxian's demeanour and figure of speech somehow reminds Lan Qiren of an ex-classmate of his, Cangse Sanren. She was one year his junior when he was studying at Cloud Recesses, but had gotten quite a reputation for her love of sparking too much joy and laughter, in the otherwise solemn classrooms. Despite being a victim of some of her harmless pranks, Lan Qiren did remember her to be a quick-witted and bright student, always eager to help others in need. In fact, she once stood up for Lan Qiren when he was taunted by a student from another school.
They never kept in close contact but Lan Qiren did hear about her marrying Jiang Fengmian's right-hand man, Wei Changze. Life in the upper society is as such, the word always gets out, even if he does not actively seek out the information. Lan Qiren also did read in the news about their tragic death.
Lan Qiren knows he may be reading too much into it but this Wei Wuxian bears such a resemblance to Cangse Sanren. If Jiang Fengmian took him in, could that mean…?
It is probably fate if it is truly the case. Lan Qiren can only hope that Wei Wuxian has taken on the positive qualities that his mother possessed, and less of that troublemaker bit. Though, based on today's string of events alone, his hopes seems rather dashed.
As it turns out, the chances of Wei Wuxian being acquainted with Lan Wangji is very high indeed.
Wei Wuxian steps into his classroom, and there he is, sitting in the middle of the class – Lan Wangji. For a moment, everything in the background seems to fade away. All Wei Wuxian can notice is Lan Wangji, sitting upright with a straight (and perfect) face, looking down at his textbook. He is quickly interrupted by the teacher, Zhang Laoshi greeting him and urging him to sit down before the class begins.
Wei Wuxian quickly scans the classroom to figure out the best possible seat he could take to stay out of the teacher's sight. He can see that Jiang Cheng has found a seat right at the front of the class. He makes a mental note to laugh at Jiang Cheng about being a teachers’ pet later today. He quickly finds a perfect spot and made his way towards the empty seat at the other end of Lan Wangji’s row.
As he took his seat, a chirpy voice suddenly greets him. “Hello there! You must be Wei Wuxian. I’ve heard a lot about what you were up to this morning. Very bold of you to make a statement on your first day of school. My name is Nie Huaisang.” The boy, Nie Huaisang, slips a packet of chips under Wei Wuxian’s table. “Wei-xiong, you must be hungry after all the events from this morning. Accept this welcome gift from me. I think we could make very good friends”.
“Indeed, Nie-xiong.” Wei Wuxian waves the packet of chips from under his table as he takes his seat beside Nie Huaisang. He opens the packet of chips as quietly as he can and reaches into the bag to take a piece of chip. When he is sure that no one else is looking, he quickly pops it into his mouth. He turns to look at Nie Huaisang and gives him a thumbs up. “Thanks Nie-xiong,” he mouths, earning a wink in return. He cannot be more thankful to find another normal human being in what seems to be a land devoid of fun and life. Wei Wuxian senses that he has found a partner-in-crime in Nie Huaisang. Maybe school is not going to be that bad after all.
Midway through the class, Wei Wuxian starts to get bored. He has finished his packet of chips long ago. He already knows everything that Zhang Laoshi is going through in the math class. His glimmer of hope — Nie Huaisang — quickly dashed, because the other boy did not want to get into trouble in school, and worse, with his terrifying brother.
While looking around aimlessly, his eyes unknowingly catches view of Lan Wangji and comes up with a plan to fix his boredom. Wei Wuxian takes out a notepad from his bag and scribbles on it hurriedly. He scans the classroom to check to see if Zhang Laoshi is looking his way before scrunching the paper up and throwing it in Lan Wangji’s direction. From beside him, Nie Huaisang gives an amused smirk. “Wei-xiong, give it up. Lan Wangji is like the physical manifestation of the Lan Family rule book.” That does nothing to stop Wei Wuxian from trying.
…
…
Lan Wangji feels something hit him but remains unfazed. Until it hit him the second time, third time….and by then, he begins to simmer with irritation. He turns his head slightly to the right to identify the source — the boy from earlier today, Wei Wuxian, grinning back at him with a wave. He bends over to pick up the paper balls that has gathered around him and opens one of them up. “‘Hi Lan Wangji, we meet again! ❤️” He scrunches the paper again and leaves it at the corner of his table, making a mental note to throw them away at the end of class.
A dilemma arises within as Lan Wangji contemplates reporting it to Zhang Laoshi. He decides to give Wei Wuxian a chance for now. Knowing Shufu, Wei Wuxian must have been sent for detention to repent and reflect on his mistakes. Perhaps he is just unfamiliar with the school rules.
Lan Wangji recalls some moments from his childhood where he has also broken some rules unknowingly. When he was four, he learnt the rule: Restrain your joy — no celebrating excessively, even if you came in first place in the race. When he was five, he learnt the rule: Honour your teachers and respect the elders — it is not right to correct your teacher publicly for saying something wrongly. When he was six, he learnt the rules: Do not grieve in excess, restrain your woes — when his parents died in a car accident and he was told not to cry loudly at their funeral. By the time Lan Wangji was seven, he had already committed the 3000 rules to memory. Every time he broke one of the rules, Shufu would punish him by tasking him to copy the rules. By now, he has long developed the self-discipline to carry out the punishment for himself. Rules and structure have grown to be a huge part of his life and a source of comfort. “Wei Wuxian needs time to learn. Be easy on others,” Lan Wangji reminds himself.
Except, it is such a challenge to be easy on Wei Wuxian. Especially when he can be so loud and out there.
“Zhang Laoshi, no offence but do we have to learn about integrals?” Wei Wuxian suddenly laments out loud midway through class. Loud enough for everyone to turn to look at him.
Clearly, also loud enough to get Zhang Laoshi's attention that he pauses himself midway through his explanation. “Wei Wuxian, I was told that you were the top of your class in math at Lotus Pier, surely you can’t be finding integrals challenging? Or are you having trouble adjusting to the academic rigour here at Cloud Recesses?”
In that instance, Lan Wangji notices Jiang Cheng turning his head back and shooting a death glare at Wei Wuxian. He mouthes loudly, loud enough that he was almost talking, “Wei Wuxian! What are you doing?! Stop it at once or…or I'll break your legs!”
Wei Wuxian ignores the threat from Jiang Cheng. He merely waves his hand and chuckles, “Ah! Zhang Laoshi, you are mistaken. I have no trouble understanding integrals at all. Just thinking that differentials are like little cute rabbits but integrals are like devil’s incarnates, designed with the function to torture.” Wei Wuxian bursts out laughing and then quickly added, “Ha-ha-ha! Sorry for stalling your teaching. I just had to make that comment. Please go ahead.”
Ridiculous, Lan Wangji thinks to himself. Lan Wangji can see that Wei Wuxian is getting on Zhang Laoshi's nerves, and understandably so. He can also see that Jiang Wanyin’s face is as black as charcoal, and he looks like he is ready to personally drag Wei Wuxian out of the classroom.
Zhang Laoshi remains composed as he clears his throat and says, “Then Wei Wuxian, you tell me. A cylindrical water tank with a radius of 2 metres is being filled at a constant rate of 3 cubic meters per minute. How fast is the water level rising in the tank?”
Wei Wuxian pauses and looks deep in thought. Everyone in the class is staring expectantly at Wei Wuxian at this point. He shakes his head almost mindlessly and purses his lips.
Zhang Laoshi shakes his head in contempt. He turns towards Lan Wangji, points to him and asks, “Hmph, then Wangji, would you like to solve it for us?”
Without missing a beat, Lan Wangji stands up and nods his head. “Mn. First step, we should recognise that the rate of change of the volume over time, is related to the cross-sectional area and the rate of change of height. Next, we can then set up an integral to find the total volume at a given time. Thereafter, we relate this volume back to find the height. Finally, we can differentiate to find the rate of change of the height.”
“Perfectly said.” Zhang Laoshi nods his head in agreement. The class applauds in agreement, impressed by Lan Wangji's academic prowess as always.
With a thoughtful look on his face, Wei Wuxian stands up and adds, “Ah wait a minute. It’s not that I did not know how to solve that. I was just thinking how much happier I would be to solve it using differentials? I mean with differentials, we can just directly relate the rate of change in volume to the rate of change in height. Since the radius would never change, we could still differentiate it and find the answer, isn’t it?”
Lan Wangji’s eyes widens in disbelief. He replays Wei Wuxian’s explanation in his head, hoping to find a flaw – but there was none. He has not considered using a different method to solve the question. He had assumed that Wei Wuxian was just being disruptive, but now it seems like he does know what he is talking about.
“Wei Wuxian! We are now talking about integrals. Please put aside your preferences and opinions and solve it as it is. Sit back down.”
For the rest of the class, Lan Wangji tried his hardest to maintain focus but he could not stop thinking about this new transfer student. In the solemn grounds of Cloud Recesses, in the company of usually compliant students, Wei Wuxian stuck out like a sore thumb. The worst part is, he seems to know his stuff. He just seems to relish in the attention from others, and in creating trouble.
Soon after, the school bell rings. Lan Wangji watches as Wei Wuxian, Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng hurries out of class while laughing. He suppresses the urge to stop them from running in the premises. Instead, he packs his bag and makes his way out of class.
He still has a detention class to oversee.
Wei Wuxian steps into Room 203 and is surprised to find Lan Wangji sitting at the table at the front of the class.
Damn it.
He had hoped to get some lenient teacher that he could work his charm on, and somehow get out of his detention earlier than intended. Now his hopes of that seems quite slim, or close to none.
He pauses for a second to look at his tormentor. For all that is worth, Lan Wangji is very charming, and also very smart. Just a little…fuddy-wuddy. The boy's eyes are closed, and his fingertips taps lightly against the table. Wei Wuxian watches as those fingers moves delicately across the table, as if an imaginary piano is in front of him.
At that moment, Lan Wangji opens his eyes and notices Wei Wuxian standing there, looking intently at him. Strangely, he feels a weird sensation building up within him that he could not quite pinpoint. He can feel his face burning up, and there is this odd feeling in his chest. It is nothing like what he had ever felt before. Is it anger? Irritation? Is he having a heart attack? Probably not. He is probably just not used to having someone else pay such close attention to him, and not be frightened away by his cool aura.
Shaking whatever it is that he is feeling off, Lan Wangji stands up and greets Wei Wuxian with a nod. “You are here. Shufu asked me to supervise your detention.”
Next, Lan Wangji picks up the book and stack of papers in front of him and passes it to Wei Wuxian. “This is the manual. You are to copy it 10 times. You may sit at the table there. You may leave in three hours, at 5pm sharp.”
Dragging his feet to his seat, Wei Wuxian plops down on the chair and opens the manual up. He stares at the words on the page and finds them glaring right back at him, almost in ridicule for the plight he is in.
Right away, he notices that he is already breaking two rules, just by sitting in this chair – Have a proper posture, sitting inappropriately is prohibited. What kind of ridiculous rules are these? He sneakily takes his phone out from his pocket, and snaps a quick photo of the book in front of him. He types the caption “Life sucks :(” and sends it to his group chat with his siblings. He then forwards the same picture to Nie Huaisang and keeps his phone back in his pocket.
He looks out of the window and wonders what Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang are up to now. Nie Huaisang had suggested going to a comic book store that was a 10-minute drive away. Wei Wuxian has been wanting to go so badly to check out some of the new comic books that had been released. Unfortunately, he is currently stuck in stupid detention. Wei Wuxian’s phone suddenly buzzes and he steathily hides his phone under the table and looks at the photo Nie Huaisang had sent of Jiang Cheng and him holding a cup of boba each, sitting at the back of what looks like a limousine.
Nie Huaisang: Wei-xiong, wish you were here xoxo
Nie Huaisang: Jiang Cheng sends his love too
Nie Huaisang: NO YOU SUCK AND DESERVE TO BE IN DETENTION
Nie Huaisang: He’s kidding! He was just talking about how you would love the boba here too.
Nie Huaisang: We will scout the entire Gusu to find all the fun places so you can join us when you’ve regained freedom!!!!!
“Nie-xiong ah, Nie-xiong…” Wei Wuxian mutters under his breath as he prepares to type a reply.
“No phones in detention,” a familiar voice warns sternly.
Wei Wuxian looks up to see Lan Wangji standing in front of his desk and looking down upon him. He hurriedly keeps his phone in his pocket and gets back to the stacks of paper in front of him. “Ah-ha-ha, sorry Lan-xiong, I’ll get started on the copying. Right away!”
The next hour passes by, so slowly. Wei Wuxian fears that he may become one with the chair if he doesn’t move anytime soon. He can feel his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. His arm and hands are also getting sore. He is convinced he must be in the Bad Place, or some variation of it. This has to be what hell looks like for people like him — stuck with menial and tedious tasks for all of eternity.
He peeks at Lan Wangji, still seated at the front of the class, and wonders how the boy looks as fresh and as focused as he was at the start of the detention session. He must be inhuman… I am truly in hell, he thinks to himself.
A rude awakening hits him at that instant as he comes to the realisation that this was only the first day of his detention. And he is getting nowhere with the copying. With his face scrunching up in absolute misery, Wei Wuxian puts his face down on the table and gently knocks his head against the table in agony. At the rate that he is copying the rules, this will take months to complete.
“Wei Wuxian?” Lan Wangji suddenly calls out.
Flinching at the sudden sound of his name, Wei Wuxian quickly sits back up to find Lan Wangji standing in front of him, looking down at him. Again. He jolts up and straightens his back, trying to look all prim and proper — like a Lan. “Sorry sorry, I’m just getting too tired.”
“Mn. You may take a break if you’re getting tired.”
A thought flashes through Wei Wuxian’s mind. He smiles cheekily at Lan Wangji and pokes his hand, “Ah Lan-xiong, actually, would you like to help me copy some lines?”
Lan Wangji lets out a huff. Wei Wuxian's petulance and apparent liking for taking the easy way out really needs fixing. He has supervised many detentions before, but he had not seen anyone who had the cheek to ask for help with their punishment. With a slight furrow between his brows, he answers, “Ridiculous. This is your punishment, not mine.”
Wei Wuxian presses his palms together and gives a huge pout. Sulking and pouting has gotten him out of much trouble in life so far, this may also work this time. “Please Lan Wangji…Lan-xiong…Lan er-gege…If you help me copy some lines, I will do anything you ask me to do!”
For reasons that are unbeknownst to himself, Lan Wangji feels his ear tips burning up again. Is this what anger feels like? It is not like him to react so strongly to anything, this Wei Wuxian truly tests the limits of others. He quickly turns away, and walks back to his seat, hoping that Wei Wuxian had not noticed his turning red.
Wei Wuxian sticks three fingers up in the air, as if he were swearing in and exclaimed out loud, “I promise I will stop disturbing you if you help me copy just one copy! I really promise!”
Without batting an eyelid, Lan Wangji replies, “No. Get back to copying.”
“So cruel, Lan-xiong!!” Wei Wuxian whines, kicking his legs like a child throwing a fit.
“Mn.” Lan Wangji directs his attention back to his book in front of him, making it clear he is not intending to entertain Wei Wuxian any further.
Wei Wuxian sighs and goes back to his copying. This is going to take a long, long time.
“Detention on your very first day. You’re really all about attempting the impossible & breaking all the records huh?” Mdm Yu sneers as Wei Wuxian steps in through the front doors of the Jiang Mansion.
What tough luck. Wei Wuxian has been actively trying to avoid bumping into Mdm Yu. Jie-jie had given him an all-clear text before he made his way home, but somehow she came back home earlier than expected. Guess he cannot avoid her after all. He exhales sharply and retorts, “I arrived on time, but the gates were already closed.”
Mdm Yu's face flushes with anger. “Spare me your excuses! If you weren’t always talking back and behaving like a know-it-all, you wouldn’t have been kicked out of the car this morning! Would’ve thought you would have learnt to keep your mouth shut by now…”
**Mdm Yu pulls out a long braided whip from the drawer. With a swift, practiced motion, she directs the force of the whip against the floor. The whip hitting the ground right where she had intended — right in front of Wei Wuxian.
Since childhood, Wei Wuxian has grown so used to these scoldings and whippings that he barely flinches anymore. Whether he runs away in fear and pain, or stands still and bear the brunt of the whippings, it did not matter. The outcome stays the same. Mdm Yu is hell-bent to punish him, and she will, no matter what.
Just then, Jiang Yanli dashes out of her room and shouts, “Ma, don’t! A-Xian didn’t mean to be late!” She tugs at the sleeves of her mother’s dress, hoping to spare her adoptive brother some time to escape.
Mdm Yu's frown deepens upon seeing her daughter. It infuriated her to no ends that Wei Wuxian shared such a close bond with her two children, especially to Jiang Yanli. She shoots a glare at Jiang Yanli and snaps, “Yanli! You ought to stop siding with that brat. What will people think about that? Move aside!”
Fearing for his sister's well-being,Wei Wuxian gives Jiang Yanli an assuring nod and says, “Mdm Yu, punish me if you want to. Leave Jiejie alone.” Like a practiced routine he knew by heart, he takes a few steps forward to stand right in the path of the whip. He looks Mdm Yu square in the eye and smirks slightly. “Go ahead.”
Jiang Yanli steps back and hugs her elbows tightly, shaking in fear. She knows that there is little she can do to stop her mother. She closes her eyes tightly and braces herself for the familiar cracking sound that never fails to send chills down her spine.
Seeing the smirk on Wei Wuxian's face only angered Mdm Yu further. She hates the boy and his guts, and how he continues to make trouble for her with everything he does. To her, Wei Wuxian is like a cockroach — you can try to step on it, squash it, smash it, kill it in the most cruel of ways; it will still resurface, again and again.
“Huh! Playing the hero as always. If I don’t whip you till your skin breaks, my name is not Yu Ziyuan!” Mdm Yu flicks her wrist up to swing her whip at Wei Wuxian. The sound of the whip striking Wei Wuxian’s skin echoes through the quiet hall. His face winces in pain as he grits his teeth in anticipation of the next hit. Jiang Yanli kneels to the ground in fear, burying her face in her palms. She sobs quietly, for fear that her cries will anger Mdm Yu further.
As if encouraged by his reaction, Mdm Yu whips him once more, with more vigour this time. This strike lands harder than before, cracking open the skin on his arm. Wei Wuxian bites hard on the inside of his cheek to suppress a scream as he falters back a step. He quickly steadies himself on his feet again. He will not let Mdm Yu have the satisfaction of catching him in a vulnerable moment.**
Just then, a booming voice comes from behind them. “San-niangzi, what is this commotion about?” Jiang Fengmian walks up beside Mdm Yu and places his hand on her wrist, gently lowering her arm down. “That’s enough. A-xian, go to your room. Yanli, go get the helper to dress his wounds.”
Wei Wuxian nods in the direction of Jiang Fengmian, thanking him for his timely arrival. Jiang Shushu is the only person who is capable to stopping Mdm Yu in these situations. Jiang Yanli rushes up to him at that moment and gently pulls him away. “Come A-xian, come with me. Let's get away from here.”
As Wei Wuxian is pulled away by his sister, he hears Mdm Yu screaming at Jiang Fengmian in a distance. “You always tolerate that boy! And you expect people not to believe that he's your bastard child? If he messes up in school once more, I will personally throw him out into the streets again, where he belongs! You can be sure of it!”
Hearing that, Wei Wuxian resolutes to keep his behaviour in check so as to not put Jiang Shushu or his siblings in a difficult spot. Though that will probably be more challenging than ever in Cloud Recesses. Maybe if I manage to get into Lan Wangji's good books, I will be able to steer clear from trouble? He dismisses that idea as a foolish thought. Regardless, he knows he is treading on thin ice with Mdm Yu and he does not want to be the one who is left out in the cold.
“A-xian, are you okay?” Jiang Yanli asks as she rolls up the sleeves on Wei Wuxian’s arm to examine the extent of damage. The lash of the whip has left behind a laceration on his left arm. It is bleeding but it doesn’t look deep enough to cause any damage to his nerves or tissues.
“Don’t worry Jiejie, it’s not as bad as it looks, I’m okay!” Wei Wuxian forces a wide smile to ease the worried look on his sister’s face. He hates seeing Jiejie so upset.
Jiang Cheng has mastered the art of tuning out whenever these confrontations happen at home, masterfully staying away from these situations until they are over. Yet, Jiang Yanli dashes out time and again to try and salvage the situation or attempt to save Wei Wuxian from punishment.
Just then, a familiar stomp enters the room, with its accompanying brash voice filling the room immediately. “I see you’re not dead!” Jiang Cheng shoves an ice towel at Wei Wuxian. “Seriously, didn’t I tell you not to be late? In the first place you should probably just learn to shut up in A-Niang's presence. Why don't you fucking learn? You're just asking for it if you ask me.”
“A-Cheng! Be careful not to hurt A-xian! His wound is still bleeding” Jiang Yanli chides, picking up ice towel and slowly dabbing it over the other whip marks. Bruises are already beginning to form.
Jiang Cheng grunts in annoyance at his sister's reaction. “A-Jie! He’s not going to die from it.”
Jiang Yanli shoots a look at her brother. She doesn’t like it when her brothers joked about death and dying. Call her superstitious, but this is a huge taboo for her.
Brash as he is, Jiang Cheng still cares very much for his sister. His sister has to be his favourite person in the world and he too could not stand seeing her upset. Sensing that his words had made her feel just that, Jiang Cheng quickly tones down. He pats Wei Wuxian on the shoulder and adds, “Besides, isn’t he always boasting about how strong he is? Right, Wei Wuxian?” He gives Wei Wuxian a knowing look to play along with him.
Catching on to that cue, Wei Wuxian chuckles. “Yes, I'm the strongest in this household! But haiya, even the strongest man in the world deserves to be treated with love by their Jiejie, am I right?” He leans in towards Jiang Yanli playfully, like a cat asking for pets. With a sheepish look on his face, he whines, “You know Jiejie, poor Xianxian hasn't had anything to eat….”
Jiang Cheng leans in on the other side of his sister and joins in, “A-Jie, I'm also getting quite hungry….”
Jiang Yanli heaves a sigh and looks lovingly at both her brothers. She obviously knows what they are up to. “Don't you think I know both of you well enough? I already told the helper to get the food ready, she should be back with it very soon.”
As if right on cue, the helper enters the room with two large bowls on a tray. The fragrant aroma fills the room, and the two boys' face lit up immediately. Jiang Yanli removes one of the bowls from the tray and places it carefully in front of Wei Wuxian. “Come A-Xian, I cooked some lotus root with pork ribs soup for you. Drink it while it’s hot.”
“Tsk! A-Jie, sometimes I wonder which one of us is your real brother…” Jiang Cheng grumbles, his eyebrows deep in a furrow.
“A-Cheng! Don’t say that.” She turns to look at Wei Wuxian, “A-xian, we may not be related by blood but you know Jiejie loves you all the same.” She takes the other bowl of soup and places it in front of Jiang Cheng. “A-Cheng doesn’t say it much but he loves you a lot too. Now, drink up, both of you.”
Wei Wuxian forces a smile and scoops a piece of pork rib from his bowl and put it in Jiang Cheng’s bowl. “For my good Didi. Sorry for being late today even though you explicitly reminded me not to be.”
Wei Wuxian knows that Jiang Cheng has always felt threatened by his position at home so sometimes Jiang Cheng would act out a little. Mdm Yu compares Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian all the time, and that has really taken a toll on Jiang Cheng’s confidence; that has affected their relationship as well.
Whenever Wei Wuxian gets into trouble, Jiang Cheng will fly into a rage because of the backlash that follows. Jiang Shushu always sides Wei Wuxian, and that only makes Mdm Yu even more disgruntled. And sometimes, she takes out her displeasure by putting Jiang Cheng down further.
If not for Jiejie, maybe their relationship will be way worse. They are definitely quite close, but Wei Wuxian knows at the back of his mind that he needs to tread carefully so as to not make Jiang Cheng feel worse about himself. Wei Wuxian knows that deep down, his brother is just a child who wants to be loved, accepted and acknowledged. So if he can make his brother feel better by sacrificing a bit of himself, what harm is there in that? For family harmony, he reminds himself.
Jiang Cheng begrudgingly accepts it and gives a slight smirk. “I'll thank the heavens if you can stop causing trouble for us! Can't you see how stickly the Lans are? Please no more playing the hero and disrupting the classes with your jokes like you did in math class today!”
Wei Wuxian bursts into laughter recalling the events from earlier in the day. He teases, “Aiya Jiang Cheng, I will try ok? But A-Jie, did you know? Jiang Cheng sat RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE CLASS, like a teachers' pet. HA HA HA. New school, new you, huh?”
Jiang Cheng scrunches his face and glares at his brother, “Hey….I…I just wanted to follow the lessons better ok? Not everyone is a genius like you. Why don't you tell A-Jie about how you said differentials are like cute rabbits? What was that? It's not even funny!”
“Hey! I stand by what I said! Integrals are like the monsters in your closet that kept you up at night when you were seven!” Wei Wuxian pokes back.
“You…you—”
Jiang Yanli shakes her head lovingly, smiling softly at the scene of her brothers bickering away behind her. It always comforts her seeing her brothers get along, even if it usually involves a war of teasing words. “Boys, boys, hurry up and drink the soup before it gets cold.”
The boys nod and devour the soup quickly, as the warmth from the hot bowl of soup fills their hearts. It has been a long and emotionally-draining evening for all of them, and they deserved some semblance of love and comfort that they can only get out of each other.