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I.
It wasn’t as if Wei Ying was the first person to think of it: gathering everyone he knew on his birthday and eating something special. It’s just that not everyone has as many friends and acquaintances as Wei Ying does.
And today, he planned to bite into a hot chili pepper in front of everyone at the party – so his soulmate would immediately understand what they were signing up for for the next week (and for the rest of their life, because who in their right mind would reject a soulmate found on the very first day of turning twenty?).
Besides, not everyone has their birthday on Halloween – a holiday that has been growing more popular every year, even here in China. That was exactly what turned Wei Wuxian’s birthday into a large-scale party, with no fewer than eighty guests expected to attend.
Lan Wangji stands by the staircase, watching the spacious hall of the Jiang family mansion slowly fill with people in costumes and masks. Classmates, friends from the sports club, Wei Ying’s childhood friends…
Their families have always moved in the same circles, so they share many mutual acquaintances. All of these people came to celebrate Wei Ying’s birthday – and, at the same time, to see whether they might be his soulmate, since he decided to turn it into a show.
Wangji still hasn’t decided whether it is a gift or a mockery from the gods – knowing that somewhere in the world there is a person destined just for you. An ideal partner. A lover. The other half of your soul.
But what if you never meet them? What if they were born on the other side of the world, and the only thread connecting you is the taste of whatever your soulmate happens to be eating?
And it lasts only a week. On one hand, that is such a short time to find your person among billions of others. On the other hand, perhaps it is better that this trial is limited to just seven days, because Wangji is certain it is a trial, not a blessing.
Take Wei Ying, for example – all his food is so red with chili that Wangji feels indigestion just looking at his plate. Not that he seriously believes he could be Wei Ying’s soulmate, but…
“Lan Zhan, you’re here!” Wei Ying exclaims, leaning over the staircase railing. Wangji looks up, unable to look away from the joyful smile blooming on the birthday boy’s face.
For some reason, Wei Ying is holding a flute, which he waves carelessly. “If my family hasn’t lied to me in the most shameless way all these years, there should be about forty minutes left until my ‘birth.’ Are you ready?”
Wangji only gives a noncommittal “Mm,” and Wei Ying just laughs. Then, squinting mischievously, he asks, “Lan Zhan… have you thought about what you’d do if you turned out to be my soulmate? You’d never be able to get away from me then!”
“Ridiculous,” Wangji mutters, secretly glad that Wei Ying can’t see the tips of his ears turning red from the heat. But Wei Ying just laughs, disappearing again into the second-floor landing, where Jiang Cheng’s annoyed voice can be heard.
Wangji watches the spot where Wei Ying’s head had just been and can only hope that the longing in his gaze isn’t too obvious to those around him.
Within a minute, Wei Ying’s laughter could be heard approaching again, followed by quick footsteps descending the stairs. On the last four steps, he jumped over the railing and landed in front of Wangji with a loud, “Ha!”
He straightened the folds of his black-and-red hanfu before looking up, freezing as he admired Wangji. Under Wei Ying’s studying gaze, Wangji caught himself wanting to adjust the white ribbon around his head, completing the image of an ancient spellcaster.
Considering that paired white costumes had been suggested by Xichen, that Nie Mingjue was a close friend, and that Nie Huaisang could hardly not know what Wei Ying planned to wear… it all seemed like another attempt by the older brother to nudge them closer together. And thank the heavens, Wei Ying had no idea, his wide smile spreading across his face.
“Wow, so that means we’re both ancient spellcasters?!” He circles Wangji in admiration, inspecting the long sleeves and flowing hem, lightly tugging at the end of the ribbon, then stopping again in front of him with a mischievous grin.
“Too bad the color is so mournful, as if today isn’t a celebration but a day of sorrow. Oh, I know! You’re our pillar of virtue and piety, dressed in shining white, and I…”
Wei Ying waves the flute, clearly part of his costume, then bites his lip thoughtfully, instantly drawing Wangji’s full attention to the way his teeth press against the soft pink curve. Wangji flinches slightly when Wei Ying snaps his fingers and exclaims, “And I’m the dark spellcaster, breaking a thousand rules just by existing! For example… a necromancer! I raise the dead from the ground while playing the flute! And your entire order fears and hates me…”
Wei Ying twirls the flute from one hand to the other, looking so tempting that all Wangji can manage is a flustered mutter:
“You can’t even play the flute.”
“Ah, Lan Zhan, that’s just details! Besides, I’m sure I can do better if I try again. Last time Jiang Cheng said…”
“Wei Wuxian, if I hear you torturing the flute again, I won’t care that it’s your birthday – I’ll throw you out of the house!”
A stern voice comes from the second floor. Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes and mutters with just his lips, “killjoy.”
“A-Xian, where did you put the birthday cake candles?” Yanli’s voice calls from the kitchen.
Wei Ying springs up, and just at the doorway, he throws Wangji a wide smile that makes his heart skip a beat, raising his brows playfully as he says,
“Lan Zhan… would you go against your entire order for me, hmm? What if they suddenly banned necromancers?”
“Wei Wuxian, your sister is calling you!” comes the voice from the second floor again. Wei Ying laughs and disappears into the kitchen doorway.
Wangji stays standing, his heart pounding, realizing with a shiver that… yes, he would go. The moment Wei Ying laughs, flashes those eyes, and calls him along, Wangji wants nothing more than to follow, to always be by his side, never letting go.
And that’s precisely why – because Wei Ying behaved like this with everyone, joking, teasing, provoking… Wangji could never allow Wei Ying to find out about his foolish crush.
If only they were soulmates…
II.
An hour later, Wei Ying scans the crowd gathered in the hall, dazzling them with a wide smile. Then he lifts a small, bright red chili pepper in his outstretched hand, clearly enjoying being the center of attention:
“First of all, thanks to everyone who came today and even bothered to wear costumes!”
The crowd responds with a pleased murmur, and Wei Ying continues cheerfully:
“Secondly, don’t be too upset if you were hoping to be my soulmate but don’t feel anything right now!” He waves the chili and laughs. “For those disappointed, we’ve got cake, plenty of alcohol, and a heated pool in the backyard. Hopefully that eases your sorrow a bit…”
“Just eat already!” someone calls impatiently from the crowd.
Amid approving laughter and teasing, Wei Ying bites into a sizable chunk of chili pepper — one that should set another person’s mouth on fire. His soulmate’s mouth.
And even though most of the guests don’t seriously think they might be Wei Wuxian’s soulmate, a tense silence falls over the mansion as everyone listens carefully to their own sensations.
And Wangji… suddenly tastes it.
But instead of the fiery heat he had expected, Wangji’s taste buds respond with a light, herbal-sweet aftertaste – which disappears the moment he swallows in surprise.
Wei Ying scans the crowd with his curious gaze, lingering just a moment on Wangji, who is using every ounce of self-control to keep his expression unreadable.
“Well, the chance of meeting your soulmate today was only eight percent anyway,” Wuxian finally says, shrugging playfully. He turns around, powering up the music system behind him and cranking the volume to the max.
The previously quiet crowd springs to life as the first bass beats thud against everyone’s eardrums, and the birthday-and-Halloween party at the Jiang mansion begins in full swing.
Almost immediately, Wangji’s taste buds are hit by an unusual flavor – gently fruity, tangy, slightly off, yet recognizable, even though he can’t smell it. His soulmate is drinking alcohol, which makes sense – it’s his birthday, after all.
The thought of some unknown person – someone who, if Wangji ever meets them, could become close and dear – scratches unpleasantly at his heart. Even if that person would be perfect in every way… Wangji wants Wei Wuxian. Only him. He wants to be with him, to feel the sharp, burning sting of his unbearably spicy food…
He feels upset, and angry at himself for it. After all, there was never the slightest chance that Wei Wuxian – cheerful, lively, the life of any gathering – could be his soulmate. So why does his heart feel so heavy now…?
Wangji catches a sympathetic look from his brother, standing next to Meng Yao and Mingjue, and that only makes him feel worse. He turns away, wondering how long it will be polite to stay before heading home. He’d left a gift for Wei Wuxian on the table set aside for the many boxes and parcels, and he’d already congratulated him personally that morning. There’s nothing holding him here in this house full of people having fun to loud music. Nothing, that is… except…
His eyes find Wei Wuxian, laughing at someone’s joke, his body shaking so much that he nearly spills the wine from the glass in his hand.
It’s unlikely the birthday boy would even notice if Wangji left, which means there’s nothing left for him to do here.
III.
On Monday, they’re sitting at their usual table in the dining hall when Wen Qing appears, setting a tray down firmly in front of Wei Wuxian. She addresses him with a determined expression:
“I’ve been thinking all weekend, and I finally understand why the whole chili idea seemed so dumb from the very start.”
Wei Wuxian, at that moment, is sneaking a shrimp off Wangji’s plate — something Wangji is no longer surprised by or tries to stop; Wuxian does this often, taking food from Wangji's plate even though his own tray is full of all kinds of dishes.
He lets out a mock protest, Wen Ning casts a questioning look at his sister, Nie Huaisang even glances up from his phone for a moment, and Jiang Cheng simply nods in agreement — after all, he’d thought the whole fuss Wuxian made was a stupid idea from the start, as he’d been saying repeatedly over the past month while they prepared for the party.
Wangji, however, doesn’t react outwardly to Wen Qing’s words, still caught in his own personal crisis: it’s been three days since he first tasted someone else’s food. His soulmate — born on the same day as Wei Wuxian by some cruel twist of fate — has been eating strange things all this time.
From time to time, Wangji can clearly pick out familiar notes in the cacophony of flavors: meat, seafood, rice, vegetables… all with the same odd fruity-spicy aftertaste. It’s as if his soulmate is drizzling some mysterious sauce over every bite. Could his soulmate really be living in a completely different culture, where people eat entirely different kinds of food?
“…That was a brilliant idea!” Wei Wuxian protests, waving his chopsticks dramatically, a shrimp clamped between them. “At least now I know for sure that none of you are my soulmate, so I can cross about two hundred and fifty people off the list.”
“We don’t even have space for more than a hundred people in this house,” Jiang Cheng replies gloomily.
Wei Wuxian just shrugs.
“Well, I also did a little asking around on Weibo… Posted a couple of things on the university bulletin board… With a margin of error on age — let’s say about ten years, from sixteen to twenty-six… That leaves… umm… roughly one billion suitable people. We just need to somehow survey them all…”
Jiang Cheng shoots Wei Wuxian a doubtful look, but seeing him clearly joking, he frowns again and returns to his plate. He’s just not in the mood today: after lunch, he has an important midterm, and all his thoughts are stuck on that.
Meanwhile, Wei Wuxian continues with unrestrained enthusiasm.
“Well, I was thinking we could make an app where people mark their birthdays, and then… what they eat over the course of a week. And those who can taste their soulmate’s food mark what they taste. If your food matches someone else’s, you get a notification.”
Wei Ying bites his lip thoughtfully. “Of course, there’s the economic side — how do you make investors’ money back if the average user only uses the app for a week in their entire life… Hm, and maybe we should simplify the tastes to standard flavors?”
Jumping from topic to topic, Wei Ying mostly addresses Wen Ning, the only one paying close attention. “We all know people are lazy, and not everyone is willing to log every single bite… But if we make big buttons: ‘Sour!’ ‘Sweet!’ ‘Spicy!’… Yes, that’s the idea. And of course, we’d need to account for…”
“That’s exactly my point!” Wen Qing finally interrupts the verbal flood. “Spicy isn’t even a taste!”
“What?!” Wei Ying waves his hand in surprise, and with a soft plop, drops the shrimp he’d been twirling in his fingers into the glass of apple juice – unfortunately, Wangji’s glass.
“What do you mean?” Wei Ying asks dramatically, clutching his chest.
Wen Qing rolls her eyes and explains, as if speaking to a child.
“Your tongue has taste buds for the basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour, salty… and recently, people started talking about a new taste called ‘umami,’ but it’s hard to find in its pure form. Get it? There are no taste buds for spicy, because it’s not really a taste at all!”
“Capsaicin in the pepper is just trying to burn your mouth. That’s pain, Wuxian, not taste,” Wen Qing shakes her head. “So even if your soulmate was at your party, watching you give yourself gastritis, there’s no way they could tell they were your soulmate — after all, how can we know the taste of chili without the accompanying pain? Oh, and by the way, if you ever do meet your soulmate, ask them – purely for scientific curiosity – what chili actually tastes like. It’ll be fun.”
And just like that, Wangji suddenly realizes what has happened.
It happens in an instant, as if something clicks in his mind, piecing together scattered fragments into a complete picture.
The wave of emotions that crashes over him is so intense it sweeps away all his restraint and self-control, as Wen Qing’s worried glance confirms. Her expression shifts slightly, from puzzled to understanding, while disbelief, tentative joy, fear, overwhelming confusion, and pure delight – rising from somewhere deep within – seize Wangji completely.
He realizes he can’t take his eyes off Wei Wuxian, who at that moment is loudly lamenting that he won’t be allowed to throw another party – and, besides, there’s no way they’ll get everything organized in the few days left of his soulmate week.
Wei Ying talks, while his fidgety hands reach for Wangji’s glass of juice, trying to fish out the shrimp that fell in. First he uses his chopsticks, and when that fails, he resorts to his fingers.
Finally, he manages to fish out the long-suffering shrimp and pops it into his mouth. Wen Qing’s lips curl into a teasing smile as she addresses Wangji, who’s still dazed by everything that’s happening:
“So… how’s the shrimp, marinated in apple juice?”
Wei Ying lifts his head to answer, but freezes with his mouth open when Wangji, his lips pale, finally utters:
“Acceptable.”
Every face at the table turns toward Wangji, and a hush falls over them. It feels as if their friends have even stopped breathing, only shifting their astonished gazes between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.
“Lan Zhan…” Wei Ying finally says, his voice low, and has to clear his throat to continue. “You didn’t… you didn’t tell us that you’d started tasting flavors.”
Wangji stares at him, lost, not knowing what to say. How could he explain to Wei Wuxian that just five minutes ago he hadn’t even dared hope that Wuxian might be his soulmate? How could he convey his reluctance to tell anyone how upset he’d been that the flavors he tasted didn’t match what Wei Wuxian was eating…?
Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that Nie Huaisang has raised his phone, apparently recording what’s happening at the table right now—but Wangji has no energy to protest, completely focused on Wei Wuxian’s face, trying to read his verdict. Does Wuxian believe him? Is he disappointed that, it seems, they really are the soulmates the universe itself had destined for each other…?
“You… could have at least told me,” Wei Wuxian says softly, keeping his gaze fixed on him.
“I just… realized,” Wangji replies.
“Yeah,” Wei Wuxian smirks. “Who would’ve thought I’d get the choice of that flavor so wrong? By the way…” He tilts his head, mischief dancing in his eyes. “So… what does food with chili taste like?”
“Strange,” Wangji answers honestly. It feels as if the edges of reality have blurred, separating him and Wei Wuxian from everyone else, because the only thing he can see right now are Wei Wuxian’s shining eyes and the hopeful expression on his face. Even the background hum of the dining hall has faded away.
“Lan Zhan… you understand that I wasn’t joking when I said I’d never let you go if you turned out to be my soulmate, right?” Wei Wuxian hesitantly places his hand on the table, just inches from Wangji’s, careful not to touch, giving him the choice to bridge the final gap.
“All right,” Lan Wangji nods seriously and covers Wei Wuxian’s hand with his own, intertwining their fingers.
“All right,” Wei Wuxian echoes, his incredulous gaze following the clasped hands. “Very, very all right. Lan Zhan…” He lifts his head, and Wangji, as always, feels himself sinking into the stormy depths of his eyes. “I like you. I really, really like you. And I have for a long time…”
“It’s like some incredible secret,” Jiang Cheng mutters under his breath, rudely yanking Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji out of their little world. “So?!” He raises his hands in a conciliatory gesture as the others shoot him annoyed glares. “He hasn’t shut up about how amazing Lan Zhan is since the first day he met him. Honestly, I thought the universe had broken these past three days, since they weren’t soulmates yet.”
“Jiang Cheng, I knew it – deep down in your grumpy heart, you’re a romantic after all, ” Wei Wuxian wipes an imaginary tear, turning to his brother, while keeping Wangji’s hand firmly in his own.
The warmth of his hand grounds Lan Wangji in the turbulent flood of emotions still sweeping through him. Wei Wuxian’s warmth brings calm and understanding. This is how it will always be.
Soulmates, finding each other across all worlds.