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“You seriously have to do this?” Jin Ling complained as he trailed the other boy. “Such a menial job, shouldn’t some servants, or some younger disciples doing something like this?”
Lan Sizhui carried two heaping baskets of carrots. Although he seemed fine carrying its weight, Jin Ling couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty not offering to carry one, which was ridiculous because it was such a dumb chore anyways.
Sizhui only looked at Jin Ling, smiling. It was bright enough that he had to look away, his cheeks heating.
“I’ve always done this when HanGuang-Jun is away,” Lan Sizhui said patiently. “Wouldn’t you help Sect Leader Jiang if he asked you to help him, even for something like this?”
Well of course he would, complaining the whole time, but that didn’t mean he was going to admit it out loud. He scoffed, crossing his arms.
After the events of Yi City, Jin Ling had been intending to stay with the other disciples as long as possible to avoid his uncle’s wrath, but once Lan XiChen had appeared, he’d insisted for the Lan disciples to return to the Cloud Recesses to recover after such an event.
Of course, Jin Ling wanted to make a run for it, but Lan XiChen had insisted he come as well. Something about it being on Jiang Cheng’s request—clearly Jin Ling hadn’t been hiding his movements as well as he thought he was.
Since when had his uncle and ZeWu-Jun been so close anyways?
He ended up following the other disciples, reluctantly. With the combined presences of Lan Wangji and Lan XiChen, he didn’t dare refuse.
Somehow, he ended up spending most of his time in the Cloud Recesses with Lan Sizhui. For no particular reason of course. When Lan Jingyi asked him about it he cited it to the fact Lan Sizhui was clearly the Lan Sect disciple with the most potential. It was a learning experience. Right.
Definitely not because of other reasons. Like his kindly nature. Or his radiant smile. Or his laugh.
No, nothing like that. Definitely not.
Lan Sizhui stepped around a couple bushes, the path opening to a large clearing.
Jin Ling's jaw dropped.
Dozens of rabbits littered the clearing, hopping around, some snuggling, a few even chewing on blades of grass.
“Why are there so many?” Jin Ling gasped, voice cracking embarrassingly. Lan Sizhui laughed, walking right into the middle of that mess. The rabbits congregated at his feet, tripping over each other to follow him.
Clearly, they recognized him. Or at least, recognized the baskets meant feeding time.
“HanGuang-Jun has had them for nearly twenty-four years now,” Sizhui said matter-of-factly. “Rabbits… breed a lot.”
Jin Ling eyed the rabbits sniffing curiously at the hem of his robes. “…I can see that,” he muttered before carefully making his way past the dozens of rabbits toward Lan Sizhui.
Which, of course, went south almost immediately as the pests refused to get out from underfoot. He stumbled, then tripped.
By some miracle he didn’t fall on any of rabbits, falling face first on the grassy ground. He groaned, feeling rabbits starting to scrabble at his side’s, climbing onto his back.
“I’m going to kill them and eat them for meat,” Jin Ling said darkly. Only the fear of HanGuang-Jun's fury was stopping him from tossing the rabbits off of him.
Stifled laughter. Jin Ling raised his head to glare at the other boy, who was covering his mouth with a hand.
“Sorry,” the white robed boy said, although Jin Ling could see the obvious signs of a smile at the corner of his mouth. “I just—didn’t expect this.”
Jin Ling scowled, his ears going red.
“Shut up and help me!” he snapped, a second away from exploding as a rabbit begin sniffing his face. His vision became a blur of white, fur sticking to his lips.
A few seconds later, the rabbit in his face was lifted. He spat rabbit fur out of his mouth.
He wish he hadn’t left Fairy behind. Then maybe he could scare the rabbits.
“How do you eve—” Jin Ling started, raising his head, but once his eyes took in the sight before him he was speechless.
Lan Sizhui was kneeling in front of him, smiling softly. The way the sun bracketed his head, plus the whiteness of his clothes made him look like a god that had walked down from the heavens.
Jin Ling swallowed with difficulty.
“They’re just curious,” Lan Sizhui said, stroking the rabbit on the head, making the creature’s eyes slit with contentment. Jin Ling felt strangely envious.
Eventually, he put the rabbit down and began moving the rest of the rabbits off of Jin Ling. “They like new people. In fact, when I was a child, I ended up buried in a pile of them. It was kind of scary.”
Jin Ling sat up once the last rabbit was removed. He couldn’t look at the other boy—the image of a little Lan Sizhui buried in a blanket of black and white rabbits was too much for him.
“Jin Ling,” he raised his eyes just in time to see a rabbit tossed into his arms.
“W-what?” Jin Ling yelped. The rabbit wriggled in his arms, discontent. “What are you doing?!”
“Calm down,” Lan Sizhui soothed. “Here, carry it like this.” The boy took hold of Jin Ling's wrists, rearranging them so that they bracketed the rabbit properly. His touch made Jin Ling burn.
“O-okay,” Jin Ling managed to stutter out. The rabbit stared up at him, as if it knew exactly what he was thinking.
“And here.” The white robed boy picked up Jin Ling’s hand, gently, and placed it on top of the rabbits head, guiding him with one stroke down the rabbits head. “They like it around the ears, especially.”
Lan Sizhui was watching the rabbit, eyes all soft and shining, smile curled carefully at his lips, genuine like the rest of him. He gave out those smiles so freely, Jin Ling realized, like they were something to be shared, despite each one equally shining.
Jin Ling blinked himself out of his thoughts. What was he thinking?
“Ah,” his voice cracked. “L-Let go of my hand.”
Lan Sizhui blinked, as if out of a trance.
“Oh,” he said, cheeks colouring a little. “Sorry.” Lan Sizhui let go, slowly, lingering, and that’s it Jin Ling had to get out of there.
He stood up.
“I just remembered—” Jin Ling stuttered. He couldn’t look Sizhui directly in the eye. “Ihavetodosomethingbye—”
He ran out of there like a coward, leaving a confused, doe-eyed Lan Sizhui behind.