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Zhao Yunlan walked into the SID whistling. Life was good, the sun was shining, Da Qing looked lachrymose, and Wang Zheng giggled knowingly.
“What?” Zhao Yunlan asked.
“Last night must've been very nice for you,” Wang Zheng said.
It had, even if he hadn't gotten laid, like she probably thought. Da Qing had likely blabbed everything already, and Shen Wei had promised to reintroduce himself, so Zhao Yunlan leaned over Wang Zheng's desk, winked conspiratorially, and said, “He's moving in with me today! To think, from hereon out, I will have food home-cooked by my soulmate every day.”
Wang Zheng nodded and smiled. “That does sound appealing.”
Zhao Yunlan walked to his office to do the day's paperwork. If Da Qing hadn't wailed in public about it already, telling Wang Zheng would ensure that this gaggle of gossips would know all about it. Hopefully Chu Shuzhi wouldn't need medical attention.
Communal lunch was roujiamo with meat on a stick on the side, since Wang Zheng's concept of a proper meal was ordering an entire boar and tearing into it, and one could only talk her down that much. Everyone was also staring at Zhao Yunlan doubtfully, but afraid to say anything even if they'd like to.
Before he could tease them about their sudden tongue-tiednesss, a familiar crackle of dark energy surprised him. “Veifþrkehtkvezdrk! Welcome! We weren't expecting you.”
Shen Wei always held his head a bit downcast as the Envoy, but the small smile was still visible. “I have received information on the Mountain-River Awl.”
“That's the next Hallow,” Zhao Yunlan explained to his team. He considered how to act around his soulmate in a professional context. The window for a welcome kiss had passed, but an arm around the shoulders would still fit and be less fraught than an arm around the waist. He cautiously slung his arm over Shen Wei's shoulders. Shen Wei leaned into it fractionally. Good. “We ordered food; Brother Black is welcome to eat it.”
“Thank you.” Shen Wei took one of the skewers and the opportunity to discreetly shuffle closer to Zhao Yunlan. In between bites, he explained, “The Dixing archives contain some descriptions of the Awl's usage. It can be used to strip the energy body out from the physical body and give it a form, creating a ghost of sorts.”
Da Qing frowned and said what everyone was thinking. “Energy body ... Wang Zheng?”
“...me?” Wang Zhen asked.
Shen Wei nodded. “If you could tell us the circumstances you became one, it would be immensely useful.”
“But I don't remember anything, not even my original name!” Wang Zheng said.
“Hey, it's okay, the damn cat has Alzheimer's, the two of you can do group memory regaining therapy.” Zhao Yunlan ignored Da Qing's objections and told Shen Wei, “We found her in the Northwest mountains while we were hiking. Does that help?”
Shen Wei turned thoughtful. “That should narrow things down somewhat. I'll start some more inquiries.” He ate the last piece of meat on the skewer and delicately set it down on the table. “That concludes my business here. Does anyone have anything to bring to my attention?”
“Congratulations on finding your soulmate!” Guo Changcheng said. “May your love last forever.”
“Thank you,” Shen Wei said after a lot of befuddled blinking.
“Lord Envoy,” Da Qing said, “there's a very suspicious professor at Dragon City University. We've found him at several crime scenes, and you probably aren't aware of this, but he and the Chief have been flirting with each other-”
Shen Wei took a step closer to Da Qing; Zhao Yunlan let his hand fall off his shoulder. Shen Wei stared at Da Qing consideringly. A short burst of dark energy swirled around him, and then he was in his Professor Shen clothes. Today's suit was plaid. “What makes you think I wouldn't be aware of it?” he asked in his Envoy voice.
Da Qing and Guo Changcheng fainted in unison onto the couch. Everyone else was suddenly weak-kneed and nonplussed.
“You should see your faces!” Zhao Yunlan wheezed out while guffawing.
Shen Wei turned away from the table so that only Zhao Yunlan could see his face; he was doing his best not to smile and failing. After a moment to collect himself, he went to soothe Chu Shuzhi's potentially ruffled feathers. Zhao Yunlan would've complained about Chu Shuzhi's lack of respect for his actual employer, i.e. Zhao Yunlan, but he was much too busy laughing at Da Qing getting pwned.
“I should go back to the University,” Shen Wei said when Zhao Yunlan had recovered enough to stand.
“Of course. When should I pick you up?”
“At five?”
Zhao Yunlan nodded. “At five it shall be.” He spotted Shen Wei furtively glancing at the food. “Here, have a roujiamo to go. I can't have my soulmate starving, now, can I?”
Shen Wei was flustered but accepted the sandwich. “Thank you.” He leaned forwards to peck Zhao Yunlan's lips. “See you at five.” Then he portaled out of the SID while happily nibbling his roujiamo.
Zhao Yunlan sighed and stared goopily at the spot his soulmate had vacated. When he turned around, he discovered that Chu Shuzhi had fainted onto the couch as well.
At seven minutes to five, Zhao Yunlan pulled up to the parking lot nearest to the University staff dorms. He'd had to restrain himself at work so as to not arrive half an hour early.
The Sun shone, the birds chirped, and Shen Wei's beautiful face peeked from behind a corner. Zhao Yunlan's lips pulled into a smile with no conscious input from him. “Hi,” he said to the best person in the entire universe.
Shen Wei ducked his head and smiled. “Hi. Uh, I realized that my wardrobe won't quite fit into the promised two suitcases. I hope that won't be a problem?”
“We can make as many trips as necessary,” Zhao Yunlan reassured him. “Let's start with the book boxes?”
“They are the heaviest,” Shen Wei agreed.
Between the boxes of books (Shen Wei claimed to have moved most of his to his office), two suitcases, and big trash bags of clothes, the back of the Jeep was full. It did fit a driver and a Shen Wei, though, even if Shen Wei had to carry his wok and knives in his lap.
Of course, they had a problem at the other end – namely, where to place all of Shen Wei's stuff.
Much like a goldfish, Zhao Yunlan and his gunk had grown to occupy all of his territory, and merging households necessitated finding places for Shen Wei's gunk. Perhaps they should simply give up and find a new, larger place together.
In the meanwhile, though, Shen Wei's boxes had to go somewhere. “Uh, the kitchen is easy territory; you can clean it out and reorganize it whatever way you want. Feel free to toss anything you don't have a use for. I'll hang your suits in the wardrobe.” Then they'd have to figure out where to install bookshelves, but first things first.
The wardrobe was thankfully very generous and mostly empty due to Zhao Yunlan transferring his jackets to a different closet; only a few suits hung from the bar and Shen Wei's fit in nicely. He even managed to clear a shelf for Shen Wei's casual shirts by rearranging the damn cat's human stuff a bit.
“Yunlan, do you have a desk?” Shen Wei called out.
A desk. Uhh... “I guess? It's in Da Qing's room, though, and he sort of sleeps on it. It's covered in cat hair and clothes.”
“Do you not bring work home, then?”
“I just sit on the couch with the papers on the coffee table.”
“That sounds very unergonomic.” Zhao Yunlan could hear the frown on Shen Wei's voice.
Utterly charmed, Zhao Yunlan went back out to hug his soulmate, who was frowning at the couch in question. “I don't write over the table, if that's what you're concerned about.” He placed his arms around Shen Wei and kissed him on the mouth when he turned in Zhao Yunlan's arms. “If I have to write anything, it's on a laptop.”
“Computers,” Shen Wei sighed.
“It's okay, Brother Black, I can do all the household stuff that needs the internet.”
Shen Wei smiled. “Thank you. Where should I place my books?”
“Uhh...” Zhao Yunlan frantically looked around him. He had his booze cabinet which he could empty and move the contents of elsewhere, and his various lamp collections could likely be consolidated as well. “I could put my booze collection elsewhere and if your books don't fit, we can buy some shelving.” Which brought to his mind- “Do you drink?”
“No,” Shen Wei said with an air of finality.
“I have to do some drinking to schmooze with people due to the job,” Zhao Yunlan cautiously said.
Shen Wei paused for a moment from removing bottles from the shelves. “Pay mind to your poor liver,” he said. “And always come home.”
“I don't think I could stay away if ‘home’ has you in it,” Zhao Yunlan confessed. He started moving bottles to a cabinet that had enough room to fit at least most of them if he squeezed.
Shen Wei ducked his head and smiled. “What would you like to eat?”
“I am not picky on the menu; getting even the simplest dish made by you would be a delight. If you want an opinion, tofu would be nice.”
“We'll have to buy groceries,” Shen Wei said.
“Let's go together once we've put up the books.” An idea struck Zhao Yunlan. “I'm curious, actually – how does someone who can teleport do the shopping? Do you shop like us regular humans, or do you hop around the city buying the tofu from the best tofu store and the vegetables from the best greengrocer and so on?”
“A bit of the latter, though I do try to buy more than one item per store. Portaling takes energy and I'm restricted to stores near low-traffic spots.” He slotted a book onto the shelf with finality. “We should eat soon. Let's go shop and finish up later.”
Zhao Yunlan gladly rose and took Shen Wei's hand. A sea of tingling static passed over him, and they were in a nameless back alley.
A few steps brought them to a busyish street Zhao Yunlan recognized as holding several stores that sold food components. “You're amazing,” he said and squeezed Shen Wei's hand. Shen Wei preened.
Zhao Yunlan insisted on paying for all of the ingredients. He furtively scrubbed the sink and toilet while Shen Wei did the cooking.
“So, what is your Dixing power – making food taste perfect?” Zhao Yunlan asked once he'd taken a bite of the exquisitely spiced tofu, blinking up through his lashes.
Shen Wei ducked his head and smiled. “The food was prepared without any use of Dixing powers.” His expression turned to a more businesslike one. “My power is learning. Any Dixing power I see used, I can mimic with study.”
Zhao Yunlan couldn't resist pointing at him. “Of all the powers in the universe, my soulmate's is the most useful, in addition to the coolest!”
“It has come in handy,” Shen Wei said, definitely enjoying the praise.
“Does the learning also extend to picking up other skills quickly?” Zhao Yunlan leaned forwards and dropped his voice to a sultry tone. “I'm sure a motivated student like you could easily pick up pleasure.”
Shen Wei was left flustered and speechless. “Ah-”
“Too soon?” Zhao Yunlan didn't get a response. “When I said ‘whatever you want, whenever you want’, I meant it, and I'm willing to wait as long as you need. I'm not going to dump you just because I didn't get my dick wet on the third date.”
“The idea ... has appeal, but the reality seems daunting,” Shen Wei volunteered, then immediately broke eye contact and piled some food on Zhao Yunlan's plate.
“Leave some for yourself as well,” Zhao Yunlan lovingly chided. He kissed Shen Wei's forehead, as it was conveniently located, and let conversation drift back to the tofu.
After dinner, Shen Wei washed the dishes while Zhao Yunlan finished up the Great Lamp Migration. The space freed by that was quickly taken up by more of Shen Wei's books. Looking at the ones still left in boxes, Zhao Yunlan supposed that a man needed indulgences, and if his was clothing then Shen Wei's was books.
Finally it was time to settle down for the night. Belatedly, Zhao Yunlan realized that there was only one bed, and sleeping together in even wholly noneuphemistic fashion was a very large jump in intimacy for someone who'd never dated before, even if they were soulmates. “Uh, Veifþrkehtkvezdrk, if you're in the bed, would you prefer if I slept on the couch or in the bed with you?”
“In the bed,” Shen Wei immediately answered to Zhao Yunlan's great relief.
“Then I shall be Brother Black's personal hot water bottle,” Zhao Yunlan declared.
Shen Wei huffed with fond exasperation. He'd taken off his glasses and shrugged out of his suit jacket. Enthralled, Zhao Yunlan watched this man who suddenly looked completely different.
At Shen Wei's raised eyebrow, Zhao Yunlan realized he'd frozen. “Could you bring your face over here?”
There was a noise of inquiry, but Shen Wei stepped closer. Though he was in just an undershirt and boxers, revealing some very tantalizing musculature, Zhao Yunlan's hands only went to his face, cradling his head as his lips pressed gentle kisses all over. The closed eyelids, the bridge of the nose, the temple of the skull, all were gently worshipped by Zhao Yunlan's lips.
“You look different without the glasses,” Zhao Yunlan explained. “And I want to appreciate all of you.”
“Really.” A smile played at the courners of Shen Wei's lips.
“Yes really.”
Shen Wei sighed fondly. “Come, let's sleep.”
“Aren't we supposed to brush our teeth first?”
Shen Wei stared at Zhao Yunlan as if he'd proposed standing upside down while reciting another department's code of conduct. “Brush teeth?”
“Remove plaque buildup for dental health?” Zhao Yunlan tried.
“So that's what they did in the bathroom,” Shen Wei absently said as if he had just received a great revelation.
“Do you do that?” Zhao Yunlan asked. “If you don't, you might want to start. Or are Dixingian teeth that different?”
“I think I use my healing powers to that effect? They're always on, so I don't need to dedicate a time to cleaning my teeth.”
“Fair enough,” Zhao Yunlan sighed. “I'll brush my teeth. Ensconce yourself in the bed as much as you like. I'll come and curl in with you.”
He very conscentiously walked to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then reeled at the changed scenery on the way back. It'd take some time to get used to the new surroundings.
“Where would you like your hot water bottle?” Zhao Yunlan asked Shen Wei as he turned off all but the bedside light.
“In bed with me,” Shen Wei said, but a touch of hesitation on his voice revealed that he knew he didn't know what question he was supposed to be answering.
“Do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?” Zhao Yunlan clarified.
Shen Wei thought for a moment. “Big spoon,” he said, and at least Zhao Yunlan didn't have to explain the spoon analogy to him.
“Okay!” Zhao Yunlan chirped and crawled into bed. Shen Wei immediately did his best octopus impression as soon as Zhao Yunlan was within reach. He had to squirm to turn off the light.
Any plans to spend the day lying in with his sexy soulmate were dashed by his phone ringing insistently at an hour of the day early enough that it had to be serious. With a loud groan, Zhao Yunlan answered the phone with what was supposed to be “What now, damn cat?” but came out more along the lines of “Whaurghhhp.”
“Missing persons case,” Da Qing said. “A Zhou Weiwei disappeared from her and her fiancé's apartment.”
“I'll be right there,” Zhao Yunlan said and cut the call. He turned to Shen Wei, who was propped up on an elbow next to him. “Missing persons case. I have to go.”
“Call me if you need me,” Shen Wei said.
“...you don't have a phone.”
Shen Wei raised an exquisite eyebrow. “Perhaps you recall the incense?”
Oh. “Uh, sure, I'll pack the incense.” Zhao Yunlan kissed his lovely soulmate goodbye.
Zhou Weiwei had disappeared into thin air. There wasn't much Zhao Yunlan could do save tell him the SID was doing its utmost and try to prepare him a bit to the eventuality that his fiancée wouldn't return. Not that he needed to do much after what Da Qing and Guo Changcheng had said.
Ji Xiaobai cried into his hands. Zhao Yunlan sighed. “Was she your soulmate?”
“No.” Ji Xiaobai swallowed. “My soulmate's another woman; she's kind of not my type, but we get on well and run a photography studio together. She was supposed to be my best woman.”
“Maybe you could call her and ask for her advice,” Zhao Yunlan suggested.
Ji Xiaobai wiped his eyes with his sleeve. “I'll call her,” he said. “Thank you.”
Perhaps she'd know how to console him, perhaps she wouldn't. Either way, she'd be an improvement over the SID. “We'll go investigate,” Zhao Yunlan said and left Ji Xiaobai to his tears.
“It's really weird,” Zhao Yunlan told Shen Wei over dinner. “Zhou Weiwei disappeared and then came back at the end of the day, insisting there was absolutely nothing amiss and refusing to talk about it.”
Shen Wei placed another meatball and some bok choy on Zhao Yunlan's plate. “But was the person who returned truly Zhou Weiwei?”
“Exactly.” He placed a meatball on Shen Wei's plate and picked up his hot and sour soup. It tasted excellent. “Zhou Weiwei has had several odd incidents happen to her before as well. In the bathroom, in the living room, getting wedding makeup... All of these have one thing in common-”
“-the mirror,” they said in unison.
“So, Brother Black, do you know of any mirror-related Dixing powers?”
Shen Wei ate a slice of mushroom as he thought. “There are as many Dixing powers as there are things under the Sun,” he finally said. “I would have to take a look at the mirror myself.”
“I think I can explain away our consultant wanting to take a look so the experience doesn't repeat,” Zhao Yunlan said.
Shen Wei made a little happy noise as he dug in. Zhao Yunlan felt his heart swell at just how adorable his lovely soulmate was. That degree in Ancient Scripts had been so worth it.
“You're so good to me, Veifþrkehtkvezdrk,” he said.
“I'm glad to have found you,” Shen Wei said with a most adorable little smile on his face. It was too cute; Zhao Yunlan wanted to say “aww” out loud.
Better concentrate on the food. Zhao Yunlan was nothing if not a shameless flirt, so he praised his wonderful Shen Wei's cooking skills all the while as he ate. Shen Wei's ears reddened and he looked like his heart were exploding with joy – exactly how Zhao Yunlan wanted him.
They dealt with the dirty plates in concert, Zhao Yunlan drying them and putting them away after Shen Wei washed them. He found it easy to settle into a comfortable rhythm with his soulmate.
“What do you usually do in the evenings?” Shen Wei hesitantly asked when they were finally done.
Zhao Yunlan shrugged. “Work late, mostly. Sometimes I go drive my motorbike or go clubbing.”
Shen Wei stared at him as if he were concerned, then said, “I usually work late or read a book. Should we do something together?”
The standard date activity would probably be watching a movie. Given Zhao Yunlan's setup, they would have to do that snuggling on the bed. But appealing though that might sound, curiosity burned Zhao Yunlan. “Would you like to tell me more about your childhood over tea?”
“On one condition – you need to tell me about your childhood, too.”
A series of unwelcome memories flashed through Zhao Yunlan's mind. But did his soulmate not deserve to know? “I'll make us tea,” he said.
Tea was a minor indulgence of his, so he had a fair selection to pick from. He eventually picked the Dragon Well tea and measured some into the gaiwan after he'd washed that with heated water, then cleaned the tea of dust and its bitterest edge by pouring the hot water onto it and immediately out of it. He poured more water in, waited, and poured the tea into the fairness cup. He transported all of it to the coffee table.
Oh yeah, he was supposed to tell Shen Wei about his childhood. He delayed by pouring tea into the small drinking cups and waited for Shen Wei to ask a question.
“You're into tea?” Shen Wei asked.
“Yeah. Got it from a college dorm mate; he was a tea snob and converted me as well.”
“It's good.” Shen Wei smiled and cradled the tea cup in his palms. He waited a minute or so for Zhao Yunlan to say something before softly asking, “What was your childhood like?”
Zhao Yunlan swallowed. “Dad was always busy and never was home. He skipped all my graduations, too. Mom tried to get him to come home and pay attention to me, but he never did; he was always too busy with the SID. Then mom got held hostage by some Dixingian criminal and dad chose killing the guy over saving mom.” He'd started to lose control of the tone of his voice, so he emptied the fairness cup to Shen Wei's tea cup and brewed another batch of tea. The gaiwan burned in his grip where he'd placed his fingers slightly too close to where the tea was poured out, but he persisted through the pain.
“I was fourteen.” Zhao Yunlan emptied his teacup. “Ever since ... I think dad's annoyed the guy took mom as a hostage, not me. He liked mom, I think, but I'm just a useless disappointment.”
“You're not a disappointment,” Shen Wei blurted out. “You're smart and kind and excellent at dealing with people.”
Shen Wei was staring at him, intense and devoted, and Zhao Yunlan didn't know what he'd done to deserve it. He swallowed. “Dad doesn't think so,” he quietly said.
Shen Wei set his tea cup down with a clink. “I do.”
What could one say to that? A slight smile tugged at Zhao Yunlan's lips. “Thank you.”
Shen Wei slid an arm around Zhao Yunlan's shoulders and curled up with his head on his shoulder. “You are a wonderful person and I want to spend my entire life with you.”
“That's good, since you're never getting rid of me,” Zhao Yunlan said. He pressed a kiss to Shen Wei's forehead, set his tea cup on the table, and rearranged himself so he could better embrace Shen Wei.
They sat like that for a long moment, leaning on each other in dynamic equilibrium. Zhao Yunlan felt his heartrate go down and tension seep from his muscles.
“Aren't your glasses digging into your face?” he eventually asked.
“I get to cuddle you,” Shen Wei said, but did get up. His glasses were askew, lending him an adorably baffled look.
Zhao Yunlan straightened them. “There.” Shen Wei blinked slowly. “But, adorable other half of my soul, what was your family like?”
Shen Wei laughed. “My gene-father died when I was young, of some sort of illness, I think. My mother remarried soon after; my stepfather is the only father I remember. I had two little sisters. Grandmother would visit, occasionally, and argue with mother in Dixingese. My aunts would do the same.” He smiled sadly. “They'd try to teach me the language but my mother said it would only confuse me and I should learn the language the humans used.”
Zhao Yunlan knew enough about language loss and generational conflict that he knew he wasn't qualified to counsel Shen Wei over being cut off from his ancestors' tongue. “How much do you remember?”
“I can count to two?” Shen Wei frowned. “Or perhaps they're ordinals. ’ied and ner, in any case.” He poured himself tea. “I think mother had a falling out with her side of the family. And we were young when we were sent to see one of father's sisters for didi's cough. I never saw nor heard of any of them after the meteor hit.”
“You had a brother as well?”
Shen Wei froze. “I ... do.” In a rush, he added, “It's a complicated situation. I'll tell you about it later.”
Zhao Yunlan took in the change of tense and Shen Wei's panic. “He's alive?”
“That would depend on your definition of ‘alive’, I suppose,” Shen Wei said. “He can answer questions and pontificate at length, at any rate.”
“Huh.” It did sound interesting, but so did all of Shen Wei. Zhao Yunlan could wait. “What were your relatives called?”
Shen Wei smiled apologetically. “I don't remember much. Mother was called Šeǧndieþhftervdrš, though she let people call her Ke Shendie. Father only ever had a human-style name, I think. My sisters ... the older one was called Grabby.” He frowned. “I think we used names differently, then – more people who went by nicknames, less codified usage.”
“Makes sense.” The codification was in part due to computerized systems and censuses. “What about your brother?”
“’iedznrvezdrk,” Shen Wei answered without hesitation.
“Do you think it had a connection to your name, since you're twins?”
“Perhaps; didi was quite sickly, though, which meant people were less willing to utter his name.” Shen Wei smiled. “I assume that's a common enough phenomenon, my dear anthropologist?”
“You caught me,” Zhao Yunlan said with a laugh. “And yeah, illness will cause a bunch of things sometimes related to names. Did anyone suggest renaming him?”
“Not that I know of, but I was but a child.” Shen Wei sighed. “In hindsight, I think mother and father could've done more to help him, but it's hard to know how much they were constrained by lack of resources. I remember grandmother arguing with mother, probably about Ye Zun – the adults thought he'd die – and then she came to sit vigil. She sang a lullaby, too.”
“Do you remember the tune?” Zhao Yunlan softly asked and filed away the name “Ye Zun” in reference to ’iedznrvezdrk.
Shen Wei's eyes grew glossy, as if he were looking through the ten thousand years separating him from the past. “Kehvezdrk, kehvezdrk, znrdieþhftervdrk,” he slowly sang. “Riehdkerkheþrdrh, rieǧkeǧ’etnšeǧkr. Veifþrkehtkvezdrk, zrvhftervdrš, keǧdieþsrfdrk, ’iedznrvezdrk, ǧer’iedznrvezdrk.”
“Your voice is beautiful.”
Shen Wei ducked his head. “Thank you,” he quietly said. “It... I think grandmother came up with it on the spot.” He entwined his fingers with Zhao Yunlan's. “So many people, all long gone.”
Zhao Yunlan squeezed his hand. He couldn't figure out what to say, so he let his presence be a comfort.
Some minutes later, Shen Wei relaxed and curled up against Zhao Yunlan. “Don't go,” he sighed.
“Trust me, I'm not going anywhere,” Zhao Yunlan said. He arranged himself into a position more conducive to snuggling. “You're not allowed to leave me either, okay?”
“I don't intend to,” Shen Wei said, sounding endearingly attached.
“Good. Let me brew some more tea?”
The water in the kettle had cooled beyond the optimum point, so Zhao Yunlan had to reheat it before he could brew another gaiwan's worth and pour the tea into their cups. They sat in silence, leaning against each other, brewing and drinking tea until the leaves produced only lightly-colored water.
Sunday morning dawned with Zhao Yunlan discovering himself lying on Shen Wei, who was awake and petting his head. “Good morning,” Shen Wei happily said.
“Morning,” Zhao Yunlan muzzily replied.
“I thought we might have mantou for breakfast?”
Zhao Yunlan's stomach rumbled. “Sounds good.”
Shen Wei snorted. “I'll have to get up before I can make breakfast.”
“I changed my mind, let's skip breakfast and cuddle instead,” Zhao Yunlan said and held on to Shen Wei more tightly.
“Don't you know breakfast is the most important meal of the day?” Shen Wei chided, but spent several long moments more petting him before squirming out of bed.
Zhao Yunlan settled against the pillow. It wasn't Shen Wei, but it did smell of him.
He must've dozed off again, as he woke up again to the delicious smell of steamed bread. He stretched and rolled out of bed to go brush his teeth. Once he was done, he went to hug Shen Wei from behind. “Good morning, Veifþrkehtkvezdrk,” he said, snuggling his face into the crook of Shen Wei's neck.
Shen Wei turned off the heating element and reached back to pat Zhao Yunlan's thigh. “Good morning, Yunlan. Would you like a mantou?”
“Darling, I will eat anything you make.” He sealed the sentiment by pressing a kiss to Shen Wei's cheek.
Shen Wei was so pleased he was practically purring as he lifted the mantou out of the steaming baskets and onto a plate. Zhao Yunlan made tea, and they ate breakfast at the high table. Happiness buzzed through him.
While Shen Wei was dealing with the dishes, Zhao Yunlan thought. “What sorts of mirror-related Dixing powers are you aware of?”
“There are several categories. Assuming it's something related to substitution ... there are powers that allow shapeshifting based on an image or reflection, a type of which could result in the target being trapped in a mirror. Another class involve hiding someone in something, such as a mirror. There are more.”
Zhao Yunlan nodded. “Let's see. Zhou Weiwei was spooked by mirrors in several locations...”
His pondering was interrupted by his phone ringing. “What?”
“Chief Zhao, Ji Xiaobai told me that the person who came back isn't Zhou Weiwei!” Guo Changcheng said.
“Ah. I'll come take a look.” Zhao Yunlan lifted the phone from his ear. “Want to poke at a mirror?” he asked Shen Wei.
“I'll clean up and come later,” Shen Wei said, momentarily summoning his glaive to tell him just which clothes he'd turn up in. Also because he was a colossal drama llama.
“I'll be right there,” Zhao Yunlan told Guo Changcheng. “Is anyone with you?”
“Chu-ge's here,” Guo Changcheng said.
Someone actually useful should things go south, then. Zhao Yunlan cut the call and departed with a goodbye kiss.
“I saw her go into the mirror, just like this!” Ji Xiaobai demonstrated.
“Okay, we believe you,” Zhao Yunlan hurriedly said before he could topple the mirror. “Let's take a look.”
He'd consulted the SID archives, which revealed that sometimes such “special” mirrors could be activated by shining a light on them in the dark. He told his minions to close the curtains and shone a torch on the mirror. If it didn't work, they'd just have to wait for Shen Wei, but-
The mirror rippled. Their reflections disappeared.
Zhao Yunlan led the way in. The mirror opened up into a space similar to the room it reflected, but with sparkles in the air and objects floating amongst them. It was beautiful, in a way, and spectacularly odd. Ji Xiaobai plucked a ring from the air.
“Where did you put it?” a woman's voice said.
“It's not yours! You're never getting it!” an identical voice replied.
They were probably talking about the engagement ring; Ji Xiaobai had mentioned Zhou Weiwei not wearing it and was currently staring hard at a ring in his hand. Quite gutsy of this Dixingian, taking over a woman's life at the eve of her marriage. Not terribly smart, either. In fact-
Zhou Weiwei erupted out and into Ji Xiaobai's arms. “Xiaobai!” she said, sounding appropriately thrilled.
“Weiwei!” Ji Xiaobai replied, pulling her into his arms. “Are you hurt?”
“Xiaobai?” an identical Zhou Weiwei said from the doorframe the other one had arrived from. Unlike the first one, she didn't cast a shadow. Zhao Yunlan glanced at the ground to check. He, Chu Shuzhi, and Guo Changcheng all cast shadows. The second Zhou Weiwei must be the Dixingian whose realm they were in.
Chu Shuzhi must've made the exact same observations, for he took a step towards her. Zhao Yunlan stopped him with a raised arm.
“Weiwei?” Ji Xiaobai looked between the two women. “But...”
“Don't you recognize me?” the Dixingian one asked.
“Quick, let's get away from that horrible monster!” the human one said in his arms.
She was too late: Ji Xiaobai had let go of her and was drifting towards the Dixingian. “Weiwei,” he breathed.
At that moment, however, a large dark cloud brewed in the middle of the room before exploding and sending them all staggering backwards. Zhao Yunlan hit the bed and came to rest in what could only be described as a seductive lounging position.
In the epicenter of the explosion stood Shen Wei in Black-Cloaked Envoy getup. “Brother Black!” Zhao Yunlan enthusiastically greeted him. “I'm glad you could come.”
Shen Wei coolly surveyed the room. Ji Xiaobai and the human Zhou Weiwei were baffled; the mirror girl-
“She let me!” the mirror girl cried out, bowing in supplication. “I've been stuck in this mirror, and she said she was tired so she let me run her life while she rested in here. I never forced her!”
“Don't listen to that monster's lies!” Zhou Weiwei immediately told Ji Xiaobai.
“No-one is a monster due to their origin; only their actions,” Zhao Yunlan said. He was rewarded with an adorable suppressed smile on Shen Wei's face. “I think we should continue this conversation outside the mirror. Is it possible to get both of the ladies out at the same time?”
Shen Wei closed his eyes and summoned dark energy into his palms. “Yes,” he said. He sent dark energy into the mirror; it started swirling. “The rest of you should go out first.”
“Right.” Zhao Yunlan gathered his underlings and shepherded them and Ji Xiaobai out. They stood awkwardly in the bedroom, waiting.
Ji Xiaobai was still clutching the ring. “What...”
He didn't know about Dixing. “Deep beneath Dragon City, there lives a people who are remarkably humanoid in appearance yet occasionally have special powers. They mostly keep to themselves. The SID exists to send any who misuse their powers to face justice in their own judiciary.”
“Oh.” Ji Xiaobai swallowed. “Is it possible for them to be in relationships with humans?
“Yes.”
Zhao Yunlan heard the familiar sound of a portal behind him. He turned to see Shen Wei with both of the women.
“This woman was placed inside a mirror at a young age,” Shen Wei explained. “She then turned into its most frequent user's reflection, able to follow her from mirror to mirror at will. They should now be able to both live in the real world.”
“Thank you,” Zhao Yunlan said and suppressed the desire to scratch under Shen Wei's chin.
“As she has not misused her powers, she is free to remain in Haixing,” Shen Wei added.
The human Zhou Weiwei objected. “But she took over my life! All of this, the house, the man, the engagement, should've been mine to begin with!”
“And yet it wasn't,” Shen Wei frostily said. “This concludes my involvement with the matter.”
“Take care,” Zhao Yunlan said as his lovely soulmate portaled out.
Ji Xiaobai sat down on the bed. “Did I actually...” He swallowed. “Show me your wrists,” he suddenly demanded.
Both Zhou Weiweis rolled up their sleeves, confused. Zhao Yunlan peered over and realized they had different soulmarks. He raised his estimation of Ji Xiaobai a notch.
Ji Xiaobai took hold of the Dixingian woman's hand. “Did I really fall in love with a, a-”
“Dixingian,” Zhao Yunlan supplied before Ji Xiaobai could stuff his foot in his mouth. He dusted off his jacket. “This is the end of the official SID involvement in the matter. What you do next is your decision alone. Don't do anything you'd end up regretting.” He led Chu Shuzhi and Guo Changcheng to the door, but paused at the precipice. “If you need assistance with the paperwork, we can help,” he said. He handed the Dixingian woman his business card and walked out.
They went down to the street in silence. “What do you think will happen to them?” Chu Shuzhi asked.
Zhao Yunlan sighed. “If that Ji Xiaobai has any sense in him, we'll get a call to help the mirror girl set up an official identity and the original Zhou Weiwei will move on.”
“And if not?”
“Then we cannot help them.” He unlocked the Jeep. “Let's go back to the SID. I want to go tell my soulmate just how cute his face is, and I need to do my paperwork first.”
To Zhao Yunlan's great surprise, Shen Wei – or rather, the Black-Cloaked Envoy – was at the SID, sitting on the couch and sipping tea. “Veifþrkehtkvezdrk!” he exclaimed.
Shen Wei put down the teacup. “How did it go?”
Zhao Yunlan sat down next to him and impulsively threw an arm around his shoulders. “Ji Xiaobai realized it was indeed the Dixingian girl he fell for, and now they're sorting things out. Let's see how it ends.”
“Mm.” Shen Wei leaned fractionally into Zhao Yunlan. “Her father ... was a subordinate of mine.”
This sounded like a big and important confession was brewing. “He died?”
“He was part of an expedition to find the Hallows, like Wu Tian'en. For a reason I'm not aware of, the expedition was ambushed and most members died. Wu Tian'en woke up and found employment. The leader...”
Zhao Yunlan squeezed him tighter. He made an encouraging noise.
“The leader turned to a path of evil,” Shen Wei continued. “He used his powers for selfish purposes and pursued only his own gain. He ran amok in Haixing, evading authority.” Shen Wei was silent for a long while. “He killed your mother,” he quietly said.
Zhao Yunlan bit down his first responses – that his mother's killer was dad rather than some random Dixingian, why the hell was Shen Wei dropping this on him now – and swallowed. “Guilt isn't hereditary,” he hazarded.
If not the right thing, it wasn't the wrong thing to say, either. Shen Wei relaxed against Zhao Yunlan and sipped some more tea. “I asked her if her father had told her anything about the Hallows. She mentioned mountains to the North; it seems he'd found hints of the Awl's location.”
Of course it had to be the one they already had a clue for. “So there are other clues for the Awl's location which other actors can discover.”
Shen Wei nodded. “We should move soon. The inquiries I've sent should soon bear fruit.”
“You hear that?” Zhao Yunlan asked the SID, who had until now been carefully looking elsewhere. “Get ready for a road trip.” He was greeted by universal groans.
Before he could toss something nonbreakable at Da Qing, however, Shen Wei rose. “Time to go home?”
Zhao Yunlan couldn't help but smile. “Sure. I'm sure even this bunch of idiots can pack appropriately, given enough time.”
Shen Wei snorted and transformed back into his day clothes. Zhao Yunlan let him lead him over to the car.
They did groceries on the way home. As their morning had been taken over by the mirror girl case, there wasn't any time to cook before lunch, and Zhao Yunlan insisted on picking up a few baskets of takeaway dim sum as well. He laid them out on the coffee table and patted the couch next to him when Shen Wei had finished putting the actual groceries in the fridge.
“Do you think they'll work out?” Shen Wei quietly asked.
Zhao Yunlan sighed. “Depends. Ji Xiaobai might be spooked about the whole alien thing and ruin any chances of a relationship with either of them, or he might get over it fast enough that he won't chase off the mirror girl.” He gazed consideringly at Shen Wei. “You seem to care a lot.”
Shen Wei gave a brief and polite smile as he pushed some dumplings at Zhao Yunlan. “I ... would like for them to succeed.”
“Invested in your own interpecies relationship, eh?” Zhao Yunlan smiled and kissed Shen Wei's temple. “Don't worry, we have fate on our side.”
“I suppose we do.” With that, Shen Wei exhaled and turned his sights to the food.
He picked up a dumpling and lifted it to Zhao Yunlan's opened mouth. Zhao Yunlan closed his mouth, the dumpling and Shen Wei's fingers inside, and licked the fingers.
That was followed by more hand-feeding, both of them picking up dumplings and rolls in various flavors and feeding them to each other. It was fun to eat like this, the dim sum's flavors blending with those of Shhen Wei's fingers, and Zhao Yunlan loved it when Shen Wei enveloped his fingers with his mouth.
Finally, they were done with even dessert. The steamed sponge cake had come with chocolate sauce, a stripe of which was left on Shen Wei's chin. “There's food on your face,” Zhao Yunlan said.
“You'd better lick it off, then,” Shen Wei replied.
Zhao Yunlan laughed helplesslly and obeyed, He licked off the small piece of chocolate sauce, then gave in to his base desires and licked more of his locely soulmate's lovely face. Not that his lovely soulmate objected – Shen Wei was practically leaning in.
“Did you get all of it?” Shen Wei softly asked.
“Just a bit left,” Zhao Yunlan lied, and kissed Shen Wei's nose. “There. That's it.”
“Thank you for your face-cleaning services,” Shen Wei said.
“Mm.” Zhao Yunlan pulled back a bit. “I have a declaration to make.”
Shen Wei raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what would that declaration be?”
“Your face is cute.”
Shen Wei laughed, loud and warm and adorable, and Zhao Yunlan dove to kiss him. He pressed his mouth to Shen Wei's forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin, until Shen Wei regained his composure and kissed him back.
They spent a while like that, mouth against mouth, nibbling on each other's lips and twining their tongues. It was gentle and fun, and Zhao Yunlan loved Shen Wei's breath on his skin.
“I suppose this is all part of your devious masterplan,” Shen Wei murmured against Zhao Yunlan's lips.
“My devious masterplan to make you happy, yes,” Zhao Yunlan replied and pressed a decisive kiss to Shen Wei's lips. “Anything in particular you'd want to do during the afternoon?”
“As long as I get to spend it with you.”
Zhao Yunlan ruffled Shen Wei's hair. “I thought we could cuddle on the bed and watch a movie?”
“Certainly.” Shen Wei kissed him and straightened his glasses. “I'll put away the trash while you set it up.”
“Sure.”
Zhao Yunlan rose from the couch and went to twiddle with the TV screen. He watched movies like this occasionally, so he'd done all the setting up already. He scrolled through his movie library and queued up a silly popcornable disaster movie.
“What are we watching?” Shen Wei asked.
“I though we might watch something light?” Zhao Yunlan said. “It's a stupid disaster movie with questionable plate tectonics and people being silly in an entertaining fashion, and also a volcano. Or we could watch something else?”
“I don't have anything to base suggestions on, so let's go with the volcano,” Shen Wei replied. He kicked off his shoes and set his glasses on the bedside table before curling up in bed.
If Shen Wei were bored by the movie, well, Zhao Yunlan would just get that much more cuddling. He pressed “Play” with a smile and went to cuddle his lovely xiao-Wei.