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Wei Wuxian eagerly watches the gathered juniors as they cautiously take their seats around the table.
“What’s this then?” Jin Ling, pokes at the giant plate of fried doughballs as if they might bite him.
Wei Wuxian slaps the young man’s hand away faster than he can retract it. “Training,” he explains simply, and the four juniors all look at each other cautiously.
“It looks like food, Senior Wei,” the one in purple says. Wei Wuxian isn’t actually sure what his name is, but he likes him. Spunky. Talks back to his own dad. That’s the kind of behaviour Wei Wuxian can get behind.
“It’s both,” he magnanimously explains, and delights in the way their faces seem more and more cautious- except Sizhui who seems to be composing himself like a proper Lan. Lan Zhan’s influence on Sizhui combined with Wei Wuxian’s own trickery mixed into the most perfect of deviants. Butter would not melt in his mouth and Wei Wuxian loves him fiercely for everything he represents.
“How is it both?” Lan Jingyi asks bravely and Wei Wuxian is delighted by this too. Slowly slowly the juniors are becoming formidable. In a few years they’ll even be capable of some of the things he did in his youth. Where they’ll go after that? Wei Wuxian can’t wait to find out. The cultivator world could do with the shaking they’re going to give it.
Wei Wuxian leans in like he has a great secret to tell, and when he waves impatiently for them to join him, they all cautiously lean in as well. “Truth or dare,” Wei Wuxian tells them. Their disappointment is beautiful, only Sizhui doesn’t lose face.
“Why is it always something ridiculous with you?” Jin Ling demands angrily, and Wei Wuxian picks up one of the dough pieces and eats it quickly. His expression twitches minutely but Jin Ling see’s it and he points an accusing finger into Wei Wuxian’s face, “What is this food?!”
“Ah,” Wei Wuxian waves his anger off unaffected, “they’re the dare,” he makes a grand motion at the pile of doughballs and the juniors all look cautious. “Or you can choose truth.”
“Who said we were playing?” Jin Ling fights back always itching to argue.
Then the kid in purple reaches out and tries one of the doughballs in a very flattering (but misplaced) sign of trust. Surprisingly it pays off, and he chews away at the food and tells the others, “They’re quite good.”
“Yes yes, very good,” Wei Wuxian agrees, “but you have to do it in order. You started with a dare, so let’s see what Sizhui would like to do. Truth or dare?”
Sizhui looks at the pile of food and Wei Wuxian then very deliberately says, “Truth.”
Jin Ling squawks and Wei Wuxian beams.
“Okay,” he agrees happily, “have you ever broken a Lan Sect Rule?”
Sizhui doesn’t flinch, “Yes,” he says steadily and Lan Jingyi makes a noise of betrayal.
Wei Wuxian looks at the other Lan and says, “Did Lan Jingyi also break that rule?”
“One question per go, is that not how the rules go?” Sizhui replies before his friend can have a heart attack in fright.
“Of course, of course,” Wei Wuxian placates then nods to Jin Ling who is sitting directly next to Sizhui.
“Dare!” Jin Ling snaps as if furious and Wei Wuxian waves at the pile of doughballs magnanimously. Jin Ling shoves one in his mouth and chews aggressively, and then all at once he blanches and lunges for the tea at his elbow. The ensemble watch in shock as Jin Ling gulps down cup after cup, and only after he’s recovered does he stare in horror at Wei Wuxian and ask, “What was in that?”
Wei Wuxian puts on his most innocent of expressions and asks, “Did you not like it? I made them myself.”
All the juniors, including Sizhui push back from the table in a hurry and Wei Wuxian is slightly offended. His cooking really isn’t that bad! “Now,” he moved onto Lan Jingyi, “Truth or dare?”
“What’s in them, Master Wei?” Lan Jingyi asks as politely as he can.
Wei Wuxian lounges against the table and takes another from the pile to eat. It’s got a good kick of chilli to it, probably one of the ones Jin Ling ate. “It’s a selection, some chilli, some salted fish, some sweet bean paste, and some with nothing in them. So, truth or dare?”
“Truth,” Lan Jingyi replies, shoulders slumping in resignation.
“Have you kissed the person you like yet?” The juniors all make protesting noise at the invasiveness of the question and Wei Wuxian pouts and points at the table of doughballs. “Or you can change your mind and go with dare.”
Lan Jingyi’s expression is torn, and begrudgingly he reaches for the closest doughball. He scrunches his face up tight and chews while his contemporaries watch in fascination. When he swallows it down his only dry criticism is, “A little salty.” It loosens something in all of them and then one of them laughs and before anyone can be sure who it was they’re all laughing, the kind of laughter you only have with family and close friends. The kind of laughter that infects everyone listening until everyone’s laughing too much to remember what started them off, or why they’re laughing, only that they can’t stop laughing and that too becomes funny.
When the laughter eases off, the kid in purple, reaches out for his own doughball without prompting, but Wei Wuxian stops his hand. The table gets curious, quiet, and Jin Ling says, “No way,” under his breath a little too loudly.
“Truth,” Wei Wuxian tells them deliberately. It causes a scuffle as all the little juniors huddle together out of hearing to debate what to ask him, and while he waits Wei Wuxian eats another of the doughballs. It is decidedly unpleasent, and he notes not to put the salty fish in next time he does it.
When they come back with their verdict it’s Lan Jingyi who asks, “Where did you really get Little Apple?”
Wei Wuxian, tilts his head, thinks about the question and what it means that that’s the one they all settled on. He feels his heart swell for his little juniors. Then loudly and with a gasp he says, “Why ask such a scandalous thing. Dare dare!” And goes to eat a doughball but the plate is snatched away before he can get it.
“Truth!” Lan Sizhui insists formally and Wei Wuxian is unable to deny the little turnip anything.
“I liberated Little Apple from servitude in his time of need in a town near the Mo family’s home.” Then whip fast before he they can try and ask for more, “Truth or dare?”
The game goes on, the questions that do come out are juvenile and ridiculous, they never ask him anything but the most ridiculous of things and he pretends not to want to answer but is enjoying the game too much to deny them such simple answers.
By the time Lan Wangji arrives the plate of doughballs has been reduced by half, and nearly all of them have had to swallow at least two chilli paste one. The juniors look like it’s time to pack up, but instead Lan Wangji folds himself into the space next to Wei Wuxian and joins the game. Like Wei Wuxian he opts for truth even though he tries the doughballs when he finds out Wei Wuxian made them, but none of the juniors have the gall to ask Lan Wangji any of the best questions so Wei Wuxian takes over and laughingly embarrasses everyone except Lan Wangji who never flinches from anything he asks.
When the plate is empty Wei Wuxian is full and happy, and is filled with the warm feeling of a task accomplished. He leans against Lan Wangji and decides it was a good day.