Chapter Text
Things between him and Wei Ying ended almost eight years ago. It had been eight years and he had spent the seven years out of the eight in denial and the eighth year irrevocably in love with a married man.
The day they broke up wasn't the last day he saw him, he knew that there was never going to be a last encounter with Wei Ying, after all; he was dating Wei Ying's brother after breaking up with him in a brutal manner. Lan WangJi knew for a fact that when he got into a relationship with Jiang Cheng, that he was going to see Wei Ying more often than he thought. He knew that there was going to no end to the discomfort that they were going to feel every time they were going to come across eachother.
They were not in a relationship after all, and he had chosen Jiang Cheng, Wei Ying's brother as his partner after he ended things with the former. Back when he was in love with Jiang Cheng, or so what he thought felt like love; he did not wait more than a month to get into a relationship with him. Jiang Wǎnyín felt no remorse or whatsoever when he decided to leave his brother behind and get into a relationship with Lán WangJi, his brother's ex. There was no regret in his eyes and that should have been his red flag.
Lan WangJi hated how he judged the man so quickly, moreover; he hated the man he had become. He broke up with Wei Ying, not in the most of conventional ways out there. It was sudden and quick, it was fuelled with anger and a furious exchange of words which ended with Wei Ying in tears and Lan WangJi shutting him out completely after giving him a clean chit of all the things that he hated about their relationship.
It was never about him when he chose to confront Wei Ying, it was about him and the way he was.
He was so in love with Jiang Wanyin at that part of his life that he hadn't cared for Wei Ying, his first love (now perhaps his last) even once.
He hated the man that he had become that day, after he told Wei Ying that their relationship wasn't working out he knew that he should have left after giving him the reason behind it. He never should have told Wei Ying that he hated the way he was. He made Wei Ying hate himself and it wasn't Wei Ying who told him that, it was Wen Qing who had made it very clear to him that he no longer had any place in their lives. Especially after how he treated Wei Ying.
“He is happier than ever and you have no fucking place in his life anymore.”
He made Wei Ying hate himself and it was all his fault. He shouldn't have told him that he did not like the way he talked when he was with others, he should not have told him that he did not like the way he behaved, he shouldn't have told him that he did not like his wanton disregard towards the rules of their society. He should have stopped when he saw tears trailing down Wei Ying's cheeks, but he didn't. He wanted to make Wei Ying see the shortcomings that he really had, he wanted to make Wei Ying feel the need to improve himself so that he found someone better by changing himself for better. He was so irrevocably in love with someone that he had forgotten about his first love.
Lan WangJi saw himself as failure now that he looked back at the time when he said those words to Wei Ying, he had no rights to tell Wei Ying to change himself.
Lan WangJi knew that he had no rights to do that but he did it anyways, it was at the spur of the moment when everything had spiraled out of control. He knew whatever he said was not true, not even a word of it. He seemed to have forgotten the life which Wei Ying showed him, the one which the people around him failed to show.
He was not thankful or courteous to Wei Ying, he was quite the opposite to him. He wonders how things would have gone if he had told him that he had fallen for Jiang Cheng long ago, he knew that things would have gone downhill if he had told him that they were pinning for each other even when he was already in a relationship.
It was not a surprise when he came to regret everything after he realized that his marriage of four years was over. What was supposed to have ended with a simple crush; perhaps even a small fling had lasted for four years in a marriage. It had finally come to an end.
And it was not in one of the most conventional ways that he had realized that he no longer loved the man that he was married to, he realized that he no longer loved him when he saw him once again.
His heart raced, it felt like electricity rushing through his veins, Lan WangJi felt as if time stood still when he saw Wei Ying once again. It was not their first encounter in years, it was the first encounter in his life when he realized that he was in love with him, that he always had been in love with him.
He was just too blind to see the truth. With his need to be with a filial man and to have his uncle's approval, he had morphed himself into someone completely different and Wei Ying had only tried to show him what life truly was, he couldn't believe what he had done.
There was nothing that could be done anymore, Wei Ying was no longer a part of his life. He was already married to someone who was better than him, the news which always surrounded him said so. The way he treated Wei Ying said so, the way he was aroind him, he had seen it for himself too. He had seen enough to know that he was with someone a thousand times better than him.
The said man was different. By different he meant a lot of things, his name was Huang Zhao. Hate would be a strong word to say what he felt for him, it was envy. Because he had gotten whatever he had always wanted in his life. The happiness and the stability that he desperately craved for.
From what he had heard about the said man he was the sole heir of his father's pharmaceutical empire. The Huang pharmaceuticals was a multi-million dollar enterprise that had never seen a downfall before, the owner has worked his way up to be one of the most influential businessmen in Asia. His wife stood in the same league as him, she owned a law firm which unsurprisingly backed the Huang pharmaceuticals and all the enterprises owned by the man.
Lan WangJi learnt about Huang Zhao when he didn't know that Wei Ying was involved with the said man. It was his uncle who told him to get to know more about the said heir who had just returned from France.
According to the news, it was announced that the man was taking a much-needed break from modeling after being involved in a controversy that had something to do with him smoking. He was certainly not involved in any other controversy considering his history with various men and women.
The scandal he was involved in was a simple one, he smoked a cigarette before a photoshoot. That was pretty much it. When he looked further he realized that people did not have an issue with him smoking, they had an issue with his age. He was only twenty-two years old, he had only turned twenty-two a week before the scandal.
He understood why his uncle wanted him to look further into the man's profile, they were the same age and it meant that the competition was going to be between them and the others about the same age as them once they take over what they had been training for years.
There was something different about the man Lan WangJi noticed it pretty quick. He didn't think of it as something unique because it wasn't. The young heir was living his life to the fullest, unlike the others. And that was what made him different from others.
Huang Zhao was not like the others and he made zero effort to fit in their world.
Someone had once used the term a walking red flag at him once. Apparently, The man was a walking red flag when it came to the unconventional methods he used to get what he wanted.
He was born and brought up in France, he had a lavish upbringing he only made it obvious with his lifestyle. Everything about this man was odd and it had a very simple explanation.
Huang Zhao did not like to fit in. He made everything simple and effortless, and it was all because he did not care enough to impress the society by fitting in. He did not follow the social norms a rich heir was supposed to follow.
He was the textbook definition of how a person was not supposed to behave, and Lan WangJi surprisingly always received the front row tickets to see that.
Lan WangJi did not care about him even though things about him were everywhere. He was in love and he was with the man that he wanted to be with. He couldn't see further the fact that his uncle approved of his relationship.
The said old man hated Wei Wuxian, with every cell in his body he resented the former ever since he was young. He could not digest the fact that his son was dating that menace of man, he did not back off on a chance to slander the boy.
Wei Ying did not seem to care that the man talked bad things about him and his actions, Lan Zhan at times thinks that it was what made him fall for him first which later came to change. He was carefree and knew how to live his life to the best without any regrets, people envied him for living his life.
Wei Ying lived the best he could and he ruined it for the worst, and there was no turning back this time. Because that would mean that he could get another chance with Wei Ying, and that was impossible now.
He was so lost in love and the approval that he received that he forgot what living was. With Jiang Cheng, when he had the approval that he wanted every day was a bliss.
His uncle appreciated the man for some reason, he was well-behaved and followed rules. His appearance was pleasant when they met the former for dinner parties and social gatherings. As for Wei Ying, he was himself with no filters. He did not disrespect anybody or barge in unless he really had to, he did not talk unless he felt like he should. He was himself, happier and loving his life with no regrets.
According to his family, the common etiquette put in simple words was, no matter how unjustified and pathetic it is, to remain silent is to be filial. To be filial is what they wanted and Jiang Wǎnyín came off as the most filial person to his family.
He always remained silent when he was around people, he never talked unless he was talked to. He respected his elders no matter how blunt or rude they were during social gatherings. Though he could see his gritted teeth being morphed into a smile he never said anything about it, because he was so in love with the man.
At one point in their marriage, Lan WangJi seemed to realize that Jiang Cheng was good when it came to stifling his feelings and pushing them back, the stifled anger eventually came out and it happened at the wrong times but it happened right on time for Lan Wangji to see and get a good chunk of it.
He thinks that it was enough to create rifts between them in their marriage, and it did. Even though it was bliss for the first year and a half, Lan WangJi knew that he was only ignoring things to keep their marriage alive.
The more they argued, the more he got to see a whole new side of his husband, he hated how late he was to see that. He knew that it was coming to an end, but he still wanted to keep going and put more effort into their marriage. Jiang Cheng was horrible, and he meant every word of it. But he still did not want to give up.
Sometime he felt as if he was stuck with an obnoxious man and there was no way out.
The man showed him a whole new side of his after they had gotten married, Lan WangJi blames himself for not noticing it sooner. Jiang Cheng had always been like that, it was him who had gotten to the point where it was too late to even realize and ponder.
Jiang Cheng was just like his mother, he was as selfish as her. He was as petty as her. Those two factors he could ignore, but he could not ignore how emotionally abusive he was.
He had a tendency to cry the wolf and there was a high chance that he did not even realize that he did. Jiang Cheng was a self-absorbed narcissist who had already assumed who thought a bit too much about himself.
When Wei Ying used to live with him, he wasn't the same; he had developed an inferiority complex and it was thanks to his abusive mother who only ever verbally berated him. Once Wei Ying was gone from their lives, his life must have taken a flip overnight because he was sure that it wasn't the same Jiang cheng that he had once fallen in love with. His problems had made him a monster and it was all for the worst.
The Jiang Cheng that he used to know was a caring man, he cared for others. He was kind mostly and peaceful not involved in anything possibly wrong. Was it all facade this whole time? If it was he had to give it to his soon-to-be ex-husband, he had won big time.
He should have known that something was wrong when he saw his mother look happy and in pure joy after he broke up with Wei Ying to be with Jiang Cheng. It was perhaps what they had wanted the whole time.
They openly abused Wei Ying when he went over to their house for dinners after they got married and even when they were dating, it was always the mother and son talking about how Wei Ying owed them his life. And it was all because they had taken him from the child protection services and given him whatever he stood for at this point of his life.
It was them who hadn't wanted him to work for their family, and yet when Wei Ying had moved on and had gotten a very well paying job thanks to his intelligence; it was them, the mother and son who couldn't move on seeing the man getting his life together and living it to his best.
He always looked over at Jiang Fengmian and Jiang Yanli to see if they were going to say otherwise but that never happened. They only silently ate as the mother and son bad-mouthed Wei Ying. Sometimes it got a bit too much, too much that Lan WangJi hated that he had to put up with it.
The reasons that they had when it came to hating and slandering him were quite dumb. He considered him ungrateful, and he was considered ungrateful because he no longer served the Jiangs and their business. When it was Yu Ziyuan who had made it plenty clear to the boy that she did not want him anywhere near her family's business. Had they expected him to beg for a job?
He was hated because he had chosen himself over serving his so-called family.
Lan WangJi wanted to know if they cared about all the sacrifices that he had made for them before he had left. Were they even going to acknowledge the horrible things that they did to him in the name of raising him?
‘He is ungrateful. He should have stayed back instead of working for those bastards.’
The urge to roll his eyes was a strong feeling as they drove back to their home. Did Jiang Cheng know how horrible and obnoxious he sounded?
What left him horrified was how dumb some of his reasons were. It was always that Wei Ying was the son of a servant and that he should know his place. He seemed to have no other reason other than saying that he owed it to his family.
Sometimes it started with him saying that he had given his dogs away because Wei Ying was chased and bitten by dogs when he was lost for weeks after his parents' tragic death.
The answer was always in the long annoying speech that he made when he couldn't keep it with himself any more, Wei Ying was lost in the streets, and he was chased by dogs, he was bitten by grown dogs with sharp canines. He was a starved and a scared child when he had just been found. The system should have done him some justice and taken him somewhere else, it was what he thought when he thought rationally ignoring Jiang Cheng's side of the story.
It was truly pathetic how he cried the wolf and placed himself as the worst sufferer of the consequences when Wei Ying was brought home.
He hated how everything was about Wei Ying around him, the latter came to realize that it was perhaps the mother and son who still felt insecure about the various achievements that he made out there in the world for everybody to see.
Jiang cheng's lack of self-worth was not Wei Ying's fault, it was because of his mother and it was his lack of self-worth which turned him into the monster that he fell out of love with.
It wasn't just how he treated others that made him fall out of love. Lan WangJi remembers being dragged to places and made to do things that he wasn't comfortable doing anymore, all for the sake of his reputation. The answer which he received from Jiang Cheng when he asked was simple, it was because he did not want to lose his face in front of their potential clients.
Jiang Cheng was an open book, he was someone who he could once read and understand. That wasn't the case anymore. Jiang Cheng was a monster who abused the power he had.
Things only got worse from there and almost five years later it was over. He didn't think that what started as small arguments could turn into pure hatred from his side.
"What do you mean?", Jiang cheng asked him taken aback by what he had just heard.
Lan WangJi grit his teeth, "You are a horrible man."
"This is over. I am done."
With that, he took off without letting his soon-to-be ex say even a word. He got in his car and let out a long sigh, the argument they had just had was only going to get worse if he hadn't said what he wanted to. He could no longer stifle his feelings anymore, this marriage between them was just a political deal at this point. He couldn't put up with Jiang Cheng anymore, at least now that he realized where his heart was.
He started driving with a heavy heart with no intentions to look back anymore. The loveless marriage was now over, he didn't care if their families wanted this so-called political deal to continue because his partner was a perfect Lan family member.
His marriage was going to end even if he hadn't fallen out of love, his marriage ended almost a week ago. That was when he realized that he had fallen for someone else and that someone happened to be his ex.
This entire time he had been thinking about Wei Ying, he had been thinking about him so much that when he was thinking of all the reasons why he was divorcing his soon-to-be ex, Wei Ying became a vital part of it. The way his family treated him came to be the one which he shed the most light on.
Lan WangJi regrets that he hadn't realized it soon enough, but even if he did; it was too late. He broke Wei Ying, with his words and his actions. Even if he wanted to go back there was no way that Wei Ying was going to take him back.
He was very late at this point, Wei Ying was already married and he was happier than ever.
He still remembers the first time when he realized that Wei Ying was in a new relationship, it was more than a year after their relationship was over. Looking back at that specific day he thinks that he must have been the first to know, he could see just how much Wei Ying tried to dial it down as much as he could but his partner was of no avail.
He was happy to see that Wei Ying was finally in a relationship, he was happy after their break-up; and that was what Lan WangJi had been wanting to see. He still hadn't realized his mistakes, the people around him, more precisely his family and his boyfriends; were too keen on telling him that Wei Ying would not take it to his heart and that he will move on. Because that was all he always did.
He had blissfully ignored the horrible things that they had to say and believed that the break-up mustn't have hurt Wei Ying much, he had only told him how he felt truthfully. A part of him felt guilty that the man he liked at that point in his life was his ex's brother.
What he couldn't believe at the moment was who Wei Ying was involved with. It wasn't apparently just any measly employee who worked in the Huang pharmaceuticals. It was the red flag itself that he was supposedly involved with.
It was the man who he was supposed to be wary of, the heir of the pharmaceutical empire his father had created, the man who did not simply care for things around him. It was Huang Zhao who Wei Ying was dating.
He hated how much he remembers about that day. He remembered being happy, Jiang Cheng was next to him it was him and his mother who had come on behalf of the Jiangs and as for him, it was just him and his brother.
Lan Xichen did not have anything against Wei Ying, he remained courteous and smiled at the younger just like he did in the good old days, and greeted him. Wei Ying did the same for him, he made it simple and professional, unlike the days when he considered him as his own brother.
They took their seats in the conference room silently and waited for the director to arrive.
As he talked to Jiang Cheng he did not fail to take a look at Wei Ying, it had been a while since he had seen him. Especially since the anniversary party fiasco.
Wei Ying looked like a changed man, he was no longer pale or skinny. He did not wear oversized hoodies to hide his skin, he was not skinny with sunken eyes deprived of any sleep. He was glowing and looked healthy for his age unlike before; he looked happy. The best part about him was that he no longer looked anxious around Yu Ziyuan who at that moment was looking at him with a glare and disappointment in her eyes. She was never going to get over the supposed betrayal.
Lan WangJi noticed that Wei Ying had gotten red highlights, and his hair was still tied into a small bun he noticed that his hair had been trimmed but not too much, it was trimmed enough for his hair to be able to get tied into a small bun.
Wei Ying was looking into his phone, too concentrated to notice that people were looking at him. Lan WangJi didn't realize why they looked at Wei Ying as if everything depended on him. Their eyes looked almost desperate behind their neutral faces.
Turns out it did. Turns out Wei Ying was no measly employee working for the Huang pharmaceuticals.
It turned out that when it came to work he could chew people alive and get their worst weaknesses out in a span of a few seconds.
How could he forget that Wei Ying was born a prodigy, he used to date that man, he regretted forgetting that Wei Ying's intelligence was no joke.
Wei Ying was given no work to do for the first forty-five minutes after the director walked in to start the meeting. The conversation between the delegates went smooth and Wei Ying continued to look stare at his phone.
Huang Zhao sat right next to him, the man did not care about getting dressed in a formal suit, he wore a blazer on top of his attire to match with the others. Lan WangJi was sure that it was his father who made him wear that to the meeting. He did not seem to care about the meeting too, he looked into his phone equally concentrated as Wei Ying was.
"Our annual turnover in the Pharma business is of a whopping 450 million yuan, this year we expect to see a 25 percent increase in our sales.", The delegate representing the Jin's said looking too proud, it was perhaps not a trait. Looking proud of the littlest things was probably an inbuilt feature of every human who worked for the Jin's.
"Wrong.", Wei Ying did not look up from his phone and corrected the man. The director looked at Wei Ying with a coy smile on his face. He understood what was happening now, Wei Ying talked when he felt like it and that was only to correct or ask questions. He was technically the director's legal team in one person.
"What do you mean?", Jin Guangshan looked at him, annoyed and surprised at the audacity he had to stop the meeting in the middle.
Wei Ying paid no attention to him, "The Jin pharmaceutical sector only managed to make 200 million yuan with over 80 million yuan in debt because of several failed products."
Wei Ying cracked his knuckles and still did not look up, he really must have been doing something important because even the director who looked at him with a proud look did not bother to say anything.
"Your quarterly one statement shows that you only managed to make 10 million yuan. With the help of celebrity endorsements, you made 90 million yuan in the next. The third fiscal quarter was practically of no use because the Jin pharmaceutical received a lot of backlashes. In the fourth quarter, you surprisingly made 50 million yuan."
The way Wei Ying ended the sentence gave the Jin's some hope. To them it was a great improvement, to Wei Ying it was simply a good way to test the waters to see just how efficient they were.
Lan WangJi had to agree. The Jin's numbers were pathetic and nothing to be proud about.
"You are 2 billion Yuan into debt because of your new and apparently very effective drug. Your investors who offered you the money as venture debt with let's say about 2 percent interest.... "
Wei Ying stopped for a few seconds to calculate. He looked away from his phone for a few seconds to calculate but Jin Guangshan was quick to slam his hands onto the table to stop him from saying any further.
"And what makes you think that's a bad thing?!", Jin Guangshan asked infuriated by the man's argument. It wasn't even an argument, Wei Ying had simply stated facts. If it weren't for the director's mercy he would have been long asked to leave.
Wei Ying looked at the director and he only received a nod, it was an approval of sorts that he received from the man.
Wei Ying sighed and looked at the man face to face, Huang Zhao put his phone down for the first time in an hour. Lan WangJi noticed a pattern there.
"If you can't pay a measly sum of two billion Yuan that you borrowed from your investors, how do you expect to be affiliated with the Huang pharmaceuticals?", Lan WangJi wasn't going to lie, if that question were asked to him he would have felt hurt but moreover he would have left embarrassed.
Jin Guangshan turned red in embarrassment but that certainly didn't stop him from making a fool out of himself once again.
"How much did the oh-so-great Huang pharmaceuticals make last year that makes you talk with so much ego."
There was barely any ego in his tone, Wei Ying had no emotions on his face as he stated mere facts.
Wei Ying smiled at the old man and cleared his throat.
"Oh he fucked up.", He heard someone behind him say and Lan WangJi swore he heard a few people agree.
"Yes, intern Wei! Why do you have so much ego!", Huang Zhao asked him with sarcasm evident in his tone, it was so much that even the director had to look away.
"Shut up son.", Huang Zhao looked at his dad and rolled his eyes.
Wei Ying cleared his throat once again and looked at Jin Guangshan who couldn't put up with Wei Ying's words anymore.
"Huang pharmaceuticals recorded their highest of nearly 191 billion Yuan last year. Which indicated a profit of 60 percent.", He set the paper down on the table and asked Huang Zhao to pass it over to the man who sat frozen in his chair.
"We aren't a rookie in this field Mr. Jin. The Huang's are politically backed and not by a bunch of celebrities who have no idea of what they are doing."
Things went pretty smoothly after that moment of silence. Wei Ying continued to stare at his phone and do whatever he was doing earlier and Huang Zhao was back at it too.
"Son tell me more about the Yao pharmaceuticals Q3 turnover."
People were surprised when Wei Ying was the one who looked up first whilst Huang Zhao continued to stare at his phone with an unknown emotion written on his face.
"Son?", Somebody asked up after mustering the courage. From what they knew Wei Ying used to be an intern who had just been promoted a few weeks ago. Wei Ying had no relation with the Huangs or whatsoever.
"Uh-", Huang Zhao looked up and pointed at him.
"I am the real son.", He said clarifying a lot of things at once, his blue orbs twinkled when he pointed at Wei Ying after.
"He is also the son. But he actually makes him proud.", Huang Zhao hissed all of a sudden and looked under the table he looked up and let Wei Ying knew how betrayed he felt. None of them seemed to notice that, they were too busy laughing at what Huang Zhao had said a few seconds ago.
"20 million Yuan, with an annual turnover of 350 million yuan. They must have seen a profit of about 30 percent with the majority in loss.", Wei Ying gave his boss the accurate numbers once again leaving the delegates shocked. The ones who already knew Wei Ying remained rather calm and retained themselves in their seats. Lan WangJi saw just how much some people tried to stop themselves from asking Wei Ying questions.
At the same time when he looked to his right he saw Yu Ziyuan looking unhappy, he concluded that she didn't like how Wei Ying did not acknowledge her presence, he did not bother even looking at her.
The meeting went on smoothly after that and Wei Ying went back to whatever he was doing. He stopped the delegates every now and then to ask them questions that were very well appreciated by the director and the others. The questions he asked were plain and simple, he looked polite with a friendly smile as he asked the questions that came first in his mind.
It was as if Lan Wangji was seeing a whole new version of Wei Ying, but he could never come to a proper conclusion about his assumption. Perhaps Wei Ying was always like that? Perhaps he had never seen that side of his when they were in a relationship.
They were young and dumb and their relationship lasted only for three years before he decided to end it once and for all.
"There's no way that he remembers all the numbers that well.", Someone finally decided to speak up against Wei Ying. It was a South Korean delegate, a friendly woman in her fifties. Wei Ying seemed to recognize the voice but paid no attention to it, he did not forget to give her a quick smile. He was brought to the conference room to ask necessary questions and not answer unnecessary ones.
"Don't you see that phone in his hand! He is obviously using his phone to give us the numbers.", Jin Guangshan got excited when he realized that he could give Wei Ying a good setback after what he did a few minutes ago.
Huang Zhao laughed at the dumb assumption that the old man had just made and continued to pay no attention to him.
Director Huang sighed and whispered something into his assistant's ears. His assistant let out another sigh and got off her seat to go check what he had just asked her to.
"What are you doing?", She walked up to Wei Ying's chair and made him show what he was up to. Huang Zhao was the first to put his phone away, it was quick, and judging from the look on his face he was very much involved with Wei Ying.
She clicked her tongue and groaned, Wei Ying looked at her innocently and showed her what he was up to. The woman seemed to have gotten used to whatever Wei Ying was doing at this point because she did nothing except for walking away from him.
"Uno. He's playing Uno."
Wei Ying looked at her, his mouth parted open in betrayal. He did not expect this from her of all the people in this world.
"It's fucking Uno. He's playing Uno with your son.", She muttered under her breath only a few heard her whisper fuelled with anger and irritation.
Lan WangJi wasn't sure why he smiled at that specific moment, Wei Ying hadn't changed one bit. He was still the same and he did not recognize that at that moment. A part of him felt warmth looking back at that specific time.
"That's too much attitude you are showing boy!", Wen Rouhan was a big, bulky man and everything about him made him look scary. Behind his dangerous looks and his horrible profile was hidden a man who was just scared.
“I don't pay him enough, If he's doing something worthwhile as he solves our problems I don't see why not.”, The director silenced them for good. Wei Ying knew that they were only going to make him feel uncomfortable with their barely hidden glare and hate if he continued to play Uno, he set his phone down on the table and opened his file to stare at it for another hour.
He was going to beat Huang Zhao's ass later.
“I am willing to pay him ten times more, why don't you let him go."
It was the South Korean delegate once again, she was a good friend of the director thus came the disrespectful tone. Director Huang looked at her with a blank look on his face, it was his turn to look betrayed. He had already come to terms with her need to have Wei Ying on board with her company, she had always tried her best to poach the Twenty-One year old to come work for her, she had even offered him things which was possibly not offered in a normal pharmaceutical company.
But Wei Ying was not so easy to poach, it wasn't his first job offer and he knew that it wasn't his last one. He had already made it clear that he wanted to stay where he felt the most comfortable and that was working in the Huang pharmaceuticals, he expressed how apologetic he was and let her know that he was still not done with his studies. Working for director Huang gave him the time and space to keep his studies going.
He also wanted to let her know that he couldn't be of much help since he was only good with numbers and not the ways of the world.
"He's quite comfortable with his lifestyle.", Hana, Director Huang's assistant put it plainly but with a professional smile on her face.
"What?"
Hana pushed back the urge to roll her eyes, she was going to demand a raise after this. She was done cleaning up the mess that Wei Ying always created.
"He's rich."
His lifestyle when overlooked by his co-workers made them conclude that Wei Ying was filthy rich.
Seeing his fancy attire, he was dressed in Ralph Lauren. And the rings on his right hand screamed of expensive.
There was a ring on every finger of his left hand except for his ring finger. Wei Ying had long fingers which only made the rings on his fingers look even better.
Wei Ying pushed his swivel chair back to get the hell out of the conference room but one glare from Mr. Huang's assistant made him sit back down.
All eyes were now on Wei Ying who didn't understand why they felt the urge to look at him of all the people in the conference room. They were here to make more money and not stare at him.
"Of course he is. Have you not heard of the people who raised him? The Jiangs are sitting right here.", Jin Guangshan pointed at the Yu Ziyuan and her son who were seated in front of him. Yu Ziyuan gave an innocent smile, Lan Wangji didn't think that her smiling like that was humanly possible.
He knew what she was thinking right now, Yu Ziyuan was a predictable woman. Her hatred for Wei Ying was nonsensical but it was easy to predict what she thinks inside of her head. Lan WangJi held nothing against her except for the unnecessary hate for her adopted ward. She was a cunning woman, which made her perfect for the business industry. He had to give her that at least.
"The boy was raised by the Jiangs. Of course he is wealthy."
Wei Ying always had the last laugh, it was known throughout the Huang pharmaceuticals, at least by the ones who have met him.
"Stock market.", Wei Ying gave him a simple answer and went back to look at his papers.
Lan WangJi could feel the embarrassment Yu Ziyuan felt at that moment. All eyes were on her, it was already well known that Wei Ying had voluntarily left the Jiang family and moved out when it was a good time for him. With the answer that Wei Ying had just plainly given others, he had only made it obvious that the woman was indeed not a good parent.
After all what type of a cruel person would treat their adoptive ward the way she did. It was well known that she was an abusive parent, especially a horrible guardian to Wei Ying.
Especially after a video of her abusing Wei Ying surfaced on the internet, her reputation had taken a big hit.
It almost ended the woman's career but it was still because of Wei Ying who had refused to file a complaint against her after claiming that it wasn't what it looked like.
His statement was enough for the woman to get back to her career, this time around she knew that whatever she wanted was not going to float ang linger. Her reputation had been ruined and it was going to take a long time for her to get her old life back.
It was after a long, silent, and a very uncomfortable pause that the meeting started once again.
That was when Lan WangJi saw it, he saw Wei Ying and Huang Zhao. Sitting side by side, their actions were different from the normal employee-boss relationship.
Wei Ying's hands were shaking, he understood that he was anxious about something. He didn't expect anybody to notice it, the actions were quite discreet even though they sat far from the problematic delegates.
Huang Zhao was holding Wei Ying's hand under the table. His warm hand engulfed Wei Ying's shaky ones.
Seeing that he knew that they were definitely not just friends, or that Huang Zhao was just Wei Ying's boss's son. They were in a relationship, a secret one at that. Their actions only made sense.
Lan WangJi was secretly happy that day upon the quick realisation and equally relieved that Wei Ying had moved on.
Eight years later he realized that he wasn't. Not anymore.
"Teach your employee how to behave. He was very rude!", Huang Zhao recognized the man from a few hours ago. Wei Ying exposed the man's business in just two minutes. It was one hell of a scene to watch given how Wei Ying made jokes out of the man's entire career after he questioned his credibility.
He looked at him with a worried expression on his face, the people who had just started walking out stopped in their tracks to see how he responded. Wei Ying had walked out the second the meeting got over and left without looking back; he could hear the sigh relief and the groan once he made his way outside before anybody else did.
Huang Zhao cleared his throat, "Why don't you go tell him that? I can take you to him."
It was clear that he was sarcastic, but not everybody got the clue. Surprisingly the director of Baling Ouyang was not one of them.
"Aren't you his boss? Teach him some manners!"
Huang Zhao laughed when he mentioned the word boss to him, his father's assistant who was right behind him visibly bit back a laugh.
"The boss?" He asked looking serious. Had he been so daft that he didn't realise one precious detail.
"I was sitting here because of the air conditioning."
Huang Zhao laughed at the man's shocked face and walked away with his hands in his pockets.
"18th floor! You'll meet him there!"
With that, he left disappearing into the crowd of people who were leaving. The man stood there flabbergasted unable to find words to spout even though Huang Zhao had already left.
It was the first time Lan WangJi had seen someone talking to others without any regard for their position. He wasn't rude, he spoke whatever came to his mind.
He meets him outside, standing outside of his father's company clad in a jacket different from the one he wore inside. There were men standing behind him and he could only assume that they were there to protect him.
He looked unbothered as usual, in between his fingers was a cigarette which he lit not long after . He sure had some guts, Lan WangJi had to give him that. Even after almost jeopardizing his career he still had the guts to smoke a cigarette, which almost ended his career.
He doesn't see Wei Ying walking outside of the building and smacking the man's head with his fists balled up.
Lan WangJi hated how much he remembered about that day. He hated when the realization dawned upon him, he was never happy and he did not think that he was going to be anymore. He couldn't stop thinking about the biggest mistake of his life, and he doubted that he was going to ever stop regretting what he could have had.
He hated how much he remembered. He drives past the cafe where he used to go on dates with Wei Ying, the younger was always so happy back when they used to be in a relationship. He was like a ray of sunshine, he fought back against the unjust, Befriended him, showed him a whole new world and he had chosen to leave him in a cruel way.
Lan WangJi chose the calm before a storm and utter darkness over the ray of sunshine.
On a sunny day, he realizes that he was kept in the dark for a long time. It was all thanks to Jiang Yanli who had told him the truth by mistake. The reason behind Wei Ying not visiting the Jiang family anymore was not because he was busy with his work.
It was rather a smartly executed plan that his boyfriend had made to keep him away from the Jiangs.
Huang Zhao had gotten a restraining order against the Jiang family after the video of her abusing him surfaced online. He hadn't made a big deal out of it when he signed the papers, nobody knows when it happened either.
In the affidavit that he had to sign, he had provided a video of Yu Ziyuan misbehaving with him and Wei Ying standing on the sidelines trying to do damage control. Huang Zhao was a smart man, rather too smart for his own good.
The restraining order left the Jiang's in shambles for almost a year, according to Jiang Yanli who had initially told him the whole truth, Huang Zhao had dropped the restraining order against them right before he visited the Jiang manor with Wei Wuxian for the first time.
Lan WangJi knew that there was a reason behind Yu Ziyuan acting so chummy with someone, it was either that she was friendly with him because of the money and copious amounts of wealth that he brought to the table or that she had done something awful to them.
In their case, it was a lot of things that later came to light.
"You should visit more often.", Yu Ziyuan looked up from her dish and smiled at the pair sitting in front of her. Lan WangJi and Jiang Cheng, along with Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan were also present for the brunch that Yu Ziyuan was hosting.
One could say that she did her best and had gone all out with the preparation. However, Huang Zhao still remained unimpressed by her attempts. She was clearly trying to win him over and he understood why. He was not going to go easy on her, that was never happening.
Huang Zhao smiled at her and for a good second there Yu Ziyuan could only think that she had won him over.
He picked his knife up and cut into his steak, he did everything gracefully and added perfection to it. His table etiquettes were great, Yu Ziyuan told him how they had certain similarities when it came to their table manners. Huang Zhao paid no attention to that comment and continued to eat.
"You know how restraining orders work right, Ms. Yu?", It was barely audible, he wanted to keep it between them. Yu Ziyuan paled a bit when he mentioned the restraining order.
"100 feet away.", He added and set his knife down to take a sip of wine.
"You don't know how far I had to go to take the restraining order back.", Wei Ying slapped his hands to stop him from going further. Huang Zhao did stop when it was made clear that Wei Ying did not want to hear him talk like that anymore.
No matter how much time had passed, Wei Ying was always going to be indifferent towards his so-called family. Lan WangJi could see it in his eyes, it wasn't the respect that made him remain docile in front of them. It was the fear. Wei Ying had always feared the Jiangs. Even when they were dating, when Yu Ziyuan made it clear that Lan WangJi shouldn't be dating a low-life like him.
He hated it. He hated how he ignored all the red flags around him.
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Their relationship gets exposed almost two years after they started dating. That was almost a year after the Jiangs along with him found out about their relationship. Everybody's in a frenzy when they find out that the controversial heir of the Huang pharmaceuticals was in a relationship with his father's favorite employee.
Lan WangJi had to agree that they had done a great job keeping their relationship a secret for two years. Huang Zhao's social profile was not a joke, if he had learned something about that man over the two years the Lan's were partnered with them it was the fact that Huang Zhao could pull a lot of strings to get his work done. Not only was his social profile a big thing, once his career took off after his big scandal things only got a thousand times better for him.
Their relationship gets exposed in not the most conventional ways, Wei Ying looked uncomfortable when he was forced to walk through cameras. His boyfriend seemed to have no control over the situation.
Wei Ying must have hated something like that happening to him. His profile gets spread on the internet faster than any flash news the next day. The damage control was almost impossible because the world now knew everything about him. There was no going back and changing it after that.
He thinks that something good had also happened with it, Wei Ying didn't need to hide his relationship with Huang Zhao anymore. And he was right about it, they did not need to hide anymore.
Every time he sees them together he learns something new, every time he saw them together he felt an unknown emotion that he could not comprehend. He only told himself that he was happy for them and that he was even happier with Jiang Cheng.
He doesn't think it's a tragedy that hits Wei Ying almost half a year later. He simply doesn't know how to figure it out at all.
It was confusing. He could only piece things together once he gets the news one by one.
Seeing Wei Ying's pictures, dressed in a black suit at his grandmother's funeral made him feel a lot of things. It was his last living relative, the one who he had been looking for. None of them would have expected something like that to happen.
Jiang Cheng and his mother did not have anything good to say, as usual, Yu Ziyuan kept on saying how it was well deserved, that an ungrateful man like him should never get to see anybody of his blood. He didn't know how to feel about it when he saw Jiang Cheng agreeing with her. He wasn't a horrible human, Lan WangJi knew that. But at that moment, he didn't know what to feel about him agreeing to something that horrible.
When he sees that Jiang Cheng does send his so-called condolences by the end of the day, he was slightly relieved. Moreover, he was worried about something else at the same time.
Seeing Wei Ying stand under the rain surrounded by people who were not his family made him feel rather guilty. Even though he was notified about the news of Wei Ying's grandmother passing through his brother, who in turn got to know about it from someone else.
But, Wei Ying was not alone. He was right there. Huang Zhao was right next to him with an umbrella over Wei Ying's head. His face looked worried and sad, a mixture of many emotions. Worried because Wei Ying had no emotions written on his face and sad because even during such a thing he did not get any privacy. He was not allowed to mourn the loss of his last living relative in peace.
Huang Zhao must have regretted dragging Wei Ying into a lifestyle like that. Wei Ying's life was no longer his, he was constantly judged, it was not because of his intelligence or his vast knowledge of things. He was judged because his boyfriend had chosen a man like him in his life.
Something deep in his heart and his mind told him that it should have been him who should have been next to Wei Ying or at least been there for Wei Ying. He didn't think he was in the right state of mind when he thought that.
He had broken up with Wei Ying and given him his reasons plainly and clearly. He had been ruthless with his words, at that point of his life he felt that he needed to behave the way that he did when he broke up with Wei Ying.
Wei Ying had decided that he didn't want the Jiang's and him there, that was his decision. He wanted to respect that.
They were never informed about the death of his last family member. They found it out by themselves. Yu Ziyuan's reaction wasn't pleasant. Not being invited to attend the funeral started off some very unpleasant rumours about her relationship with Wei Ying.
Jiang Cheng and Lan WangJi got married by the end of the year. Lan WangJi had decided to propose to his long time boyfriend during an intimate dinner on their anniversary.
It was a beautiful ceremony, Lan WangJi did not want any of it in reality. He wanted to get married to the love of his life in a small ceremony with just family involved or register their marriage and move on with their lives as married couple after that.
But, it wouldn't be a dramatic wedding if a Jiang family member isn't involved in it. The Jiang family makes a big deal out of it, and Jiang Cheng seems to be happy with it. He didn't mind it as long his soon-to-be husband was happy.
Lan WangJi realises his second last mistake at that moment. It was all about Jiang Cheng being happy, it was never about him. It had to be always about Jiang Cheng.
The same way, Wei Ying's mistake was always trying to keep him happy and never caring for himself.
It was and it always will be a flawed relationship if it's one-sided and thinking about someone else's happiness.
Wei Ying comes to their wedding, he also brings his boyfriend to the wedding. Just because his brother was marrying his ex, he did not act bitter over it. Rather he looked happy, it was the happiest he had ever seen Wei Ying look. He didn't look burdened with responsibilities or the so-called debt his adoptive parents had bound him to.
He looked happy, and the man next to him, his boyfriend, looked just as happy as he did. Wei Ying's boyfriend stole the show away as he usually did. Not that he cared, he was happy that he got to marry the man he once deeply cared for.
He was deeply in love with him. He did not care if anybody else had decided to steal the spotlight; even though Huang Zhao wasn't possibly doing anything to attract any attention towards him.
Wei Ying greets him and his brother. He looked friendly and polite. Jiang Cheng looked happy that day, the brother's hugged eachother; and Wei Ying congratulated him looking excited for them. It didn't take long for him to realise that Wei Ying was indifferent towards him now.
He has moved on, a very long time ago. He didn't know how to feel about that. Their encounter felt more of a professional one. Things weren't the same anymore, and it was ngeer going to be after that.
Wei Ying did not forget to greet his uncle and aunt, and no matter how bitter Yu Ziyuan looked; Wei Ying gave her his best smile and walked away after being done with their conversation that lasted less than a minute.
He doesn't bother staying afterwards, he leaves with his boyfriend as soon as he is done greeting the rest not forgetting to wave at them for one last time before he left. Unlike his boyfriend, who hadn't even bothered congratulating the newlyweds, Wei Ying left with courtesy and respect.
It was sad to watch him leave early, but somewhere at the back of his head Lan Wangji knew what Wei Ying's actions meant.
He was always going to be grateful for the help and the support that the Jiang's provided him throughout the years but, that was all. Respect and courtesy was all he was going to show them, the familial feelings were long gone. The Jiang's were nothing except the guardians that he had a long time ago, who were now reduced to something way lower than that.
What of him? Lan WangJi caught on with things pretty quick. He knew that he no longer meant anything to Wei Ying, he was likely someone from his past which he doesn't bother overlooking even once.
Wei Ying had come congratulated the two people who meant absolutely nothing to him and left.
His partner followed him from behind, not too far. He came to a stop and gave them a smile, a really warm one full of happiness and well wishes for them.
Lan WangJi saw nothing superficial about his smile intended towards them. His smile was almost professional, like the ones he usually gave the paparazzi or the media. His smile meant something which he couldn't comprehend at that moment, he did not care enough for it by the end of the day. Because he was happy.
He did not forget how there was something very odd about that man. Everything that he did, every single decision that he took had an ulterior motive behind. He was indeed as ruthless as people described him, why would he not agree to that particular trait of his when he received the front row tickets to watch the man in action everytime.
But, Wei Ying never saw his ruthless side. That side of him only ever came out when Wei Ying was not present around him.
With, Wei Ying by his side; Huang Zhao was as normal as the day gets. There was a recurring smile on his face, there was something in his eyes that could be nothing lesser than admiration for his partner. He remained silent, letting Wei Ying talk first and deal things the way he wanted and always supported him.
That was only when Wei Ying around. When he wasn't, the monster within him came out. It was a sham and it was gone with not even a speckle of humanity in his eyes once Wei Ying was gone.
Something monstrous inside of him unleashed itself, and Lan WangJi finally realised just what he had been asked to be aware of. Though his anger was never inflicted on him, even though they have had a few bitter exchange of words between them.
It made him feel a sense of relief at times knowing that, he was never at the receiving end of whatever it was that came out of the man's mouth when he was ticked off. His title at that particular moment was perfect, he was indeed a corporate monster. He was worthy of the title. Not for the wrong reasons, rather for just the right amount of reasons.
“You are asking me to give you money for some valuation you probably came up with in your dreams.”, A cruel laughter followed not long after.
“It's either that you think I'm stupid or that you think too much of yourself.”
The man standing in front of him looked anxious, his face almost deathly pale being confronted by a man who hadn't yet inherited even a percent of his father's inheritance and yet, here he was; with his father by his side who looked at him with a sense of awe on his eyes as his son got back at an incompetent excuse of a man.
“ None of you will leave this room till I get an answer.”
The few seconds of silence did not last when he shushed the stuttering man to answer what seemed like a very important call.
“What's up Xian-bun? Everything alright?”, The unkind tone that he was using to reprimand the former was suddenly gone. The man who was on call right now was suddenly back to the way he was around his partner.
He got off his chair and glares at the cowering man before he waves it off letting him go.
“Have you had your lunch?”, He walked outside leaving a little over twenty flabbergasted potential investors, both in awe and; a sudden respect for the man.
“He's talking to my son-in-law. I'm sure he'll be back soon.”, Huang Jun, his father lied very well knowing that his son wasn't coming back anytime soon. His son was most likely on his way back home to see his husband.
Not long after his assistant walked inside and whispered something into his ears. Huang Jun remained calm and the rest waited for a reaction from the man. Nothing came.
The man smiled after a few seconds, "Seems like I have to continue you this meeting now.", He didn't tell the rest where his son was and continued anyway.
“Why don't you continue now. Tell me how you came up with these god awful numbers?”
And just like that. For as long as he could remember meeting Huang Zhao, he saw either of the two sides that he had.
He had always kept things civil and calm between them. Whenever they talked no matter just heavy things were, Huang Zhao kept things civil and it was all because of Wei Ying.
But, now? That wasn't the case anymore. Especially after what Jiang Cheng did. The humanity that the man showed the Jiang's for years had officially come to an end. His patience had hit the blunt and it was perhaps the most rage he had felt in years.
After what Jiang Cheng did, Lan WangJi was surprised to see that Huang Zhao had stopped after punching the Jiang heir. But, that was certainly not the case.
Huang Zhao was making the Jiang's go bankrupt, and he was making it slow and painful. So that the world could watch one of the most prominent families of the industry go through the humiliation of losing everything that they stood for.
After what Jiang Cheng did, it was well deserved. And, he did not care if the said man came after the Lan's after he was done with the Jiang's left in the ruins of what he was doing right now.
Huang Zhao was out for blood.
It was truly mesmerizing how one man can create a storm so big that the world waited anxiously to see what he was going to destroy once he was done with the Jiang's.
A carnage was about to happen, and Lan WangJi finally understood what true love was.