Chapter Text
Jin Guangshan was dead.
Shortly after the band was informed the News spread all across the country.
Now that the boss of the world's greatest record company was dead, his son, Jin ZiXuan, finally had to take his role as the company's leader.
“My condolences, ZiXuan.” Wei WuXian felt the urge to be nice to his brother-in-law for once, though the man in question waved a dismissing hand at him.
“Oh no need for that. We all know he was an asshole and a mess of a father. All I worry about now is how I manage to run the company. With a new born baby at home it isn't that easy. I'm sad I have to leave A´Li so much alone now...”
WuXian punched him lightly on the arm with a grin.
“You will figure it out, rich boy. It's your legacy right? You were born for this shit. Besides... you can always count on help from the best band under your contract.”
ZiXuan raised his eyebrow. “You mean that Garage punk band that hit number one of the charts two weeks ago? I don't know man, I actually never talked to them personally.”
“Asshole.” WuXian stated with a huff, though he was glad everything seemed to stay the same between them.
The two of them never managed to become friends, though they worked around that brother-in-law-thing quite well and them pestering each other became something like a soothing routine. The fact that ZiXuan was now more or less his boss didn't bother WuXian very much once he tested the waters and found out they were on the same page.
“Did you figure out how to solve your artistic problem?”
WuXian sat on the sofa flipping a coin up and down. It came to ZiXuan that this guy just wasn't physically able to sit still for more than five seconds.
“Huh? Oh... well. Yes. I had an idea and set something in motion, though I'm not sure it works out like I want.”
ZiXuan was intrigued by that vague statement.
“What do you mean, you set something in motion?”
He was greeted with the usual cheshire cat smile WuXian always wore when he was scheming something. It made ZiXuan just a little bit uncomfortable.
“I may need the help of someone for my project. Though that someone may not be convinced by now. But he will. No one is immune to the charme of the Yiling Laozu. You can trust me”, he framed the statement with a wink.
The man in front of him nodded.
“I don't. But right now I have other problems to solve, so just don't ruin everything while I keep care of the company.”
ZiXuan got up from his seat, ready to go.
“I will meet up with Meng Yao. Though he’s just my half brother and dad didn’t care much about him, he knows more about this company than anyone else. I made him my first advisor. Figured it wouldn't harm anyone. I will tell him you work on a way out of your art block.”
“I don’t have an art block!” WuXian sounded scandalized over the term.
The mention of Meng Yao’s name made WuXian frown. He hadn't met Meng Yao very often by now, but something inside of him told him something was wrong with the guy. Everyone knew he was one of Jin Guangshan's many bastard children. A smart guy, always polite, always smiling, but WuXian felt uncomfortable with his whole presence.
He didn't like the thought of Meng Yao being in charge of vital decisions in the company and he decided to maybe keep an eye on that.
*
The moment WangJi had texted WuXian, the Rocker almost flipped. He jumped up and down the rehearsal room like a bouncing ball while Wen Qing and Wen Ning shared some confused looks with each other.
They were aware that this wasn't a common reaction for one professional simply getting a confirmation for a cooperation from another professional. Though both silently decided to not tell WuXian. He should find out for himself.
It didn't get much better when the person in question arrived at their rehearsal room.
WuXian's smile was as bright as the sun and he was literally vibrating and looked like he was about to explode every moment.
Wen Qing recognized their lead singer had chosen the tightest clothes he could find today, a black pair of ripped skinny jeans and a black tank top with a red lotus flower that flowed neatly down his sculpted torso. WuXians eyes were surrounded by black kohl which emphasized his eyes and for once the hair in his ponytail looked actually combed.
His intentions were obvious to everyone watching – but not himself.
Wen Qing sighed.
WangJi on the other hand was the pure opposite. His stone face didn't betray a hint of an emotion. He simply stood in the room with a rather stiff posture, looking around and taking the image of the room in. His whole appearance seemed entirely out of place.
The room was an average rehearsal room for a rock band. No windows, which made it rather dark overall, the walls were decorated with various band posters and there were empty bottles of beer and other drinks scattered everywhere.
The rapper with his clean white and bright blue clothes standing in the middle of that mess looked like a weird surreal painting.
WuXian stood next to WangJi, appearing clearly a bit nervous.
“Well... first I should introduce you to the other band members. Guys: this is the great Hanguang-Jizzle.”
“We know this already, WuXian. We watch the news, you know.”, Wen Qing deadpanned at him.
“Right... so. These are the members of The Burial Mounds.”, he gestured at each member during his introduction.
“This is our bassist, The Ghost General, his actual name is Wen Ning.
That ´charming lady´ over there is his sister, Dr Sexy , Wen Qing.
On the guitar is Granny Wen . She doesn't need a cool nickname, she's badass enough.
And this is Black Radish , Wen Yuan, our keyboardist.”
Yuan gave WangJi a warm smile. “It's an honor to meet you Mr Lan... uhm I mean... Hanguang-Jizzle.”
WangJi didn't say anything but gave them a short polite nod, which they assumed to be his way of saying hello.
For a moment his gaze was fixed on the man at his side. He looked down recognizing the almost shamelessly tight clothes. It was far from what he was used to, though not unpleasant to watch. Not in the slightest.
His eyes found WuXian's and suddenly he felt a knot in his throat. Usually he didn't talk much because he simply had nothing to say to other people, but this was different. Wei WuXian was different.
When he looked at the musician he felt the urge to say a thousand words at once and at the same time all words got stuck in his throat and his head felt empty.
After an unnerving amount of silence he held up the USB device.
“I wrote.”
WuXian blinked at the device that was held in front of his face. He needed a moment to process the words, then his eyes went wide.
“You... oh! You mean a text? For the song?”
“Mn.”
“That's cool! The text I wrote for it was of course just something to sing along the melody. I concentrated on the chorus, because I thought of that to be my main part. I have no clue about rap texts, you know!”
The statement was accompanied by a lighthearted laughter that immediately made WangJi’s knees feel weak and he had the urge to run.
“Mn.”
Wen Qing came up and took the device out of WangJi's hand. Much to his surprise, she looked at it and sent it flying over her shoulder.
“We don't need this anymore, since we already know how to play the song. How about we start and you show us what you got, maestro.”
Lan WangJi's face was still solemn, but his eyes showed a dangerous glimmer. The band members took their places on their instruments and WuXian grabbed two microphones, one of them he held up to WangJi.
The rapper still felt uncomfortable. He never made music with someone outside his family. These people were total strangers to him and they didn't have any clue about rap music. He asked himself if this really had been a good idea at all, but suddenly was torn out of his thoughts as the guitar started playing the first accords.
He closed his eyes, focusing on the music, the beat. WangJi took a deep breath and started.
I watch how the moon sits in the sky in the dark night
Shi-ning with the light from the sun
And the sun doesn't give light to the moon
assuming the moon's going to owe it one
With every word WangJi started to feel more comfortable.
It makes me think of how you act to me
You do favors
then rapidly, you
just turn around and start asking me about
Things you want back from me
He listened to the instruments accompanying his lyrics and it was surprisingly easy for him to follow the sound of the guitars and drums, not much difference to the usual beats from the turntables.
I'm sick of the tension, sick of the hunger, sick of you acting like I owe you this
Find another place to feed your greed, while I find a place to rest
When he ended his first part he opened his eyes and found WuXian staying in front of him, microphone in a tight grip as his rich voice started to fill the room with the chorus of the song:
I wanna be in another place
I hate when you say you don't understand!
I wanna be in the energy, not with the enemy
A place for my head
WangJi gasped. His mouth fell slightly open. He heard WuXian’s voice recorded on the MP3 before and he’d listened to it more than once while writing the lyrics, but it was an entirely other thing to hear WuXian sing for real. In front of him, eyes sparkling with that challenging gleam fixed on his own gaze.
WangJi felt dizzy.
Though he almost missed out on his next rap part he started on time.
When the music stopped everyone in the room was silent.
WangJi tried to focus on anything except the distracting person in front of him, who – again – just sent him that dazzling smile.
He took a look around and caught the sight of the other band members. Their eyes were wide and each of them held a funny expression WangJi couldn't read.
Wen Qing was the first to speak.
“Wow... that was... wow... this was amazing. I never thought it would work out that well, but you two are insane...”
“Told you he is amazing!” WuXian beamed at her.
“Something missing.”
WangJi ignored the praises and walked over to inspect the keyboard. He liked the sound of the instruments paired with his rap, but he still felt something was missing. It still sounded too much Rock ´n´ Roll and not like what he had in mind.
He tested a few buttons on the instrument and spoke to Yuan without looking at him.
“You ever tried turntables?”
Yuan shook his head no. “No Mr. Lan, but I'm quite good with techniques. You want more beats in the music, right? I think I can figure out how to create that.”
WangJi gave him a pleased nod. At least the boy seemed rather clever. He should make sure to get him some turntables next time he came around.
When he turned around WuXian stood right behind him. Close, too close. WangJi swallowed, well aware of their sudden proximity.
“Your text. It is very good.”
WangJi tried to focus on some point at the wall while giving an answer.
“Just took what you wrote. Altered it a bit. Needed more... flow.”
WuXian grinned. “Right. Flow.”
He turned around, grabbed the microphone again and shot WangJi a challenging look.
“You rappers are used to freestyle right? In my world it is called jam session. Dr. Sexy gives us a beat and we just roll with it.”
The rapper blinked at WuXian, his face showing a rather unimpressed expression.
“Boring.”
“Hah!” WuXian threw the microphone at him. “Let's see how boring this is.”
They had been in the rehearsal room until it was late.
They made some freestyle jams, with WuXian giving his all until his voice felt hoarse. WangJi showed them what he was capable of and even Wen Qing was fascinated about how fast he was actually.
They showed WangJi a few more of their new songs and considered if they might fit in a concept like this.
But the single was their main focus. They decided to work on it during the next weeks regularly and alter it until everyone was pleased with it.
WuXian escorted WangJi on his way out of the building after they finished for today.
“WangJi? I'm glad you decided to do this with us. Not only because it can be the rescue for the band, but also because I think it is an amazing project.”
“Mn.” WangJi didn't know how he should respond properly to this. It indeed was an amazing project. And spending time with WuXian was kinda amazing too.
“We could make a change in the music world. But... I also really like working with you.”
“Mn.” Again, no words left him. WangJi felt rather helpless.
Like on autopilot he started moving and walked to his car, parking at the front of the building. He took a deep sigh before he was able to open his mouth.
“See you in a few days. Wei WuXian.”
Then he drove away, leaving WuXian alone with a big goofy grin on his face.
“He said my name.”
*
WuXian opened the door to the band's rehearsal room with a cheeky grin just before WangJi didn't even have a chance to knock.
“Welcome Lan-shazzle Wangjizzle!”
WangJi regarded him with an unimpressed expression and said nothing in return.
“Too early for cute nicknames?”
The rapper decided to ignore WuXian's teasing and walked just past the still grinning man inside the room.
WuXian considered teasing him a bit more for a moment, when WangJi walked straight into Yuan's direction, coming to a halt in front of the young man who just turned on his keyboard.
Yuan sent him his trademark warm smile as he greeted him.
“Hello Mr. Lan.”
WangJi's face was as bland as always when he addressed Yuan.
“You, come.”
Then he just turned around and walked out of the door again.
Yuan was confused for a moment, but dropped the cable in his hand and followed the man out of the room.
WuXian turned to give Wen Qing a questioning look, but the woman just shrugged her shoulders.
After a while WangJi and Yuan entered the rehearsal room again with a few big devices stacked over another in their arms.
They dropped them on a table next to the keyboard and now WuXian recognized it as some turntables and a mixing console.
Yuan observed them with excitement in his eyes, what didn't slip WangJi's attention.
“For you.”
“That's so awesome!” Yuan stated happily, but then his face turned flustered. “Though I have not the slightest clue how to use them. I think I need some time...”
“I show you.”
With that WangJi was already about to connect the devices and plug them in.
After everything was ready he started to show - more than explain- the different buttons and how to use them.
Yuan and WangJi were occupied with the turntables for quite a while. Wen Ning and Granny Wen were busy restringing their instruments and in the meantime WuXian and Wen Qing read through some of the newer lyrics and notes.
WuXian glanced at WangJi and Yuan from time to time, which Wen Qing recognized. They both had been surprised that WangJi was actually talking with Yuan. Not more than necessary, but more than the average two word sentences. He seemed to be very pleased with his task to show Yuan his new devices and looked oddly at ease doing so.
“He might be a weird guy, but it seems he likes A'Yuan.”
WuXian snorted. “Of course he does. Everyone loves A'Yuan, he's precious and literally radiates love.”
Wen Qing chuckled. “True.”
She observed the face of her lead singer for a moment until she continued in a teasing tone.
“Are you slightly jealous that Yuan is taking his attention away from you for once?”
WuXian shot her an almost mortified stare.
“What the hell are you talking about?! I'm glad he's doing good with the members of this band!”
Wen Qing chuckled.
“Yes. Sure. And you just have a purely professional interest in him. As a musician.”
“What are you implying?”, he frowned at her.
“Nothing. But I saw your notebook lying on the table in the kitchen and it was suspiciously full of cloud doodles and little hearts and stuff like that.”
His eyes went wide in horror. “You witch! How could you! This is my personal notebook.”
Wen Qing chuckled again.
“I didn't read it. It was just a joke, but now you just confirmed my theory. You can lie to yourself as much as you want, but you can't lie to me, WuXian. Besides: if it helps, I think he likes you too.”
WuXian crossed his arms in front of his chest and huffed.
“Bullshit.”
Though his eyes looked way too soft when he took a glance at WangJi who was regarding Yuan's first trials with the turntables.
When Yuan felt he knew the basics, they decided to start today's session.
They started to perform their song again and figured which sound would fit best. The other members had to admit that adding the turntables and the mixing console was indeed a very good idea.
It gave the song a unique sound and helped to make the perfect fusion between their raw rock sound and WangJi's hip hop style.
A perfect crossover.
The following days they almost camped at the rehearsal room, only going home to sleep and shower.
Yuan was a fast learner. He didn't take long to manage the turntables and mixing console and started getting creative with it. It was obvious he had a lot of fun with this.
He stood behind his turntables presenting a wild mix to the others and finished it with an excited:
“Call me DJ Black Radish now!”
WuXian chuckled.
“Look what you've done, Hanguang-Jizzle. You've ruined a perfect young man and tracked him down your weird hip hop culture. I'm sure he will soon start to wear a reversed baseball cap and some way too big baggy pants and greet us with phrases like ` yo homie ` and `i s everything fresh , bro´. Or he starts talking in rhymes, sounding like a poem no one gets and then...”
He stopped mid sentence when his gaze fell on WangJi. The rapper sat next to him, a bottle of water in hand. His eyes were cast on Yuan and the turntables and the corner of his mouth twitched and raised upwards just slightly. It was a motion that could have gone almost unrecognized if it wasn't as rare as watching a unicorn jumping from a rainbow.
“Oh my god.” WuXian sounded amazed. “WangJi. You... you are smiling.”
WangJi didn't say anything and took a sip of his water, which didn't stop WuXian in his excitement.
“Did I really make you smile with my stupid babbling? Oh my god, WangJi! Do you have a funny bone for real? Or did you just experience a slight stroke? Should I call a Doctor...?”
WangJi huffed in annoyance. “Ridiculous.”
“Yeah. Just call me ridiculous.” WuXian stated with a broad grin. “But it doesn't change the fact that I actually saw you smiling at my lame jokes and I will dwell in this moment forever.”
*
Lan Qiren really began to doubt his leading skills in the clan. He utterly failed to convince XiChen to drop his saxophone and JingYi seemed to be a lost case.
The moment when he heard about WangJi's new project he felt his soul leaving his body.
“Metal Music?”
WangJi looked at his uncle, face expressionless.
“Nu Metal.”
The man blinked at his nephew.
“Nu Metal.”
“Yes.”
Qiren closed his eyes and raised his hand to pinch his nose. The fact that WangJi was as reticent as always didn't help this situation in the slightest.
“So. XiChen told me it's about mixing their metal sound with your hip hop style and you added some turntables?”
“Correct.”
With a deep sigh Qiren leaned back in his chair.
“Is everyone in this family going crazy now? What about good old school rap music? Isn't that worth anything anymore? Do all of you have to be extra all of a sudden?”
As expected WangJi didn't answer and Qiren knew that his nephew was exceptionally stubborn, even for a Lan.
That's why he decided to let the topic go. It was only one single. Nothing to worry about. As soon as this experience was behind WangJi he sure would be coming back on his tracks again. WangJi couldn’t cope with strangers for too long and Qiren was sure he would soon have enough from working with a metal band.
After two weeks of band rehearsals, altering the lyrics and adjusting Yuan's new skills to it, the song was finished and well practiced.
They were ready to record it.
WuXian was just up and about to call his brother-in-law.
“We need the recording room! I will ask ZiXuan when we are able to have it. He will definitely like this!”
Right after he ended his sentence his mobile rang.
YanLi's name appeared on the display and WuXian frowned.
“Wait... are they able to read my mind now or what?”
He raised the phone and answered the call. It took a few moments and suddenly his eyes went wide.
“He had what?”
…
“How is he... Oh I'm glad to hear that... Yes, of course I will come over right away... I'm at your apartment in about 20 minutes.”
As he ended the call WangJi and the Wen's looked at him with a mix of curiosity and worry.
“ZiXuan. He is in hospital. It seems some maniac ran him over with a car and he' s badly injured. He just had surgery and is at the intensive care unit now, but the doctor's say he will make it.”
“Oh no! How is YanLi doing?” Wen Qing asked, her voice sounding deeply concerned.
“She's at home with the baby, now. I will go to watch after her. Sorry guys.”
“Go.” WangJi said in what could be almost interpreted as a soothing tone. “We will take care of the rest.”
WuXian smiled at him and the others, before he grabbed his coat and went out.
*
XiChen held a glass of whisky up to Meng Yao before he took a seat next to the man on the sofa in his living room.
“It's great you have that important position now in the company. I'm glad your half-brother saw more potential in you than your father did.”
“It is.” Yao stated with a smile. He took a sip from the whisky and turned his body to XiChen one arm propped up on the sofa cushion.
“And how about you and your uncle? Rumors have it he thinks about retirement. That would mean you could step up as the new Clan leader and head of the GusuLan record company.”
“He does. Though... I told you I need some time now. The time with you is precious to me and I fear I wouldn't have much time if I'd adopt that task now. And I want to find my own style in music. I'm tired of what I'm doing, I want to try something new.”
Yao frowned. He didn't see that coming. Sure he was aware XiChen wanted a hiatus from making music, but he thought he would definitely become the new head of GusuLan soon.
“But, is your Uncle okay with it?” he leaned in a bit more, touching XiChens arm just slightly with his fingers. “And of course I treasure the time with you.”
XiChen's eyes were planted on his and Yao smiled an almost shy smile at him.
Suddenly an idea seemed to cross his mind.
“How about... It's just a random idea that came to me, but... how about you do it. You let Qiren retire and become leader. I know the tasks are a lot, though if we would erase one of them...”
XiChen frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean. I'm thinking about increasing Jin Records somehow. I already talked some ideas over with ZiXuan. And maybe if we would fuse GusuLan and Jin records...”
XiChen shook his head. “There's no way we could do that. GusuLan records was founded by the Lan Clan decades ago and should stay with the Clan. Our numbers still run high and there's no need for us to give it up.”
“I know, I know,” Yao answered with an innocent look. “I just thought it would make things easier for you.”
XiChen leaned in pressing a chaste kiss on Yao's lips.
“Thanks for your concern, but I will handle this myself. Promised.”
The next moment Yao's phone was ringing, the number of the record company blinking on it. He rolled his eyes and tapped on the screen putting the call on loudspeaker.
“I hope there's a good reason to disturb me during this time of the day...”
“ I'm sorry, Sir.” the voice said. “But it couldn't wait. Something happened that might require your presence in the company right away.”
Yao and XiChen frowned at the mobile screen.
“What happened?”
“ Mr. Yao, Mr Jin Zixuan had an accident a few hours ago. The council talked things over right away and they came to the conclusion it would be best if you, Mr. Meng, would take the place of the company's head for now.”
Yao and XiChen shared a shocked look with each other before Yao told the man on the phone he would be in the company in about half an hour to discuss everything with the council.
XiChen felt confused and also expressed some worries about Jin ZiXuan since he knew the man had a family with a newborn.
Though of course he didn't question the decision of the council in the slightest, feeling quite proud about his lover's sudden advancement.
They shared some more kisses before Yao left the apartment.
It still annoyed him that XiChen didn't plan to take over the Clan and GusuLan records. Though he figured he might find a way to deal with that, especially with the younger brother going astray with that nuisance Wei WuXian and his goddamn band.
Overall everything was going according to plan, so he felt quite pleased as he made his way to his record company.