Chapter Text
Vista Hermosa was bursting with energy. Everyone had poured out onto the street, chatting, laughing. Children ran around the plaza, chasing after balls, kites and dogs, bumping into everyone that dared be on their way. Lan Zhan made that mistake, almost dropping the flowers and fruit he was carrying in his arms when one of the kids almost shoved him out of their way. Everyone around him was smiling and waving at him as he passed by. He acknowledged them with a nod. After a while he arrived at his destination: His uncle Lan Qiren’s cheese stand. Today was the day that Vista Hermosa celebrated its anniversary, welcoming people from all the neighboring villages to come and try its cuisine, its services, its beauty. Upon arrival at the stand, Jiang Yanli immediately ran up to him and took some of the fruits and flowers from Lan Zhan’s arms and they both set on placing them on the stand.
“Uncle.”
“Lan Zhan!” as soon as Lan Zhan was within range, his uncle patted his shoulder as greeting “Where were you?”
“I was fetching fruit to decorate the stand.” He and Jiang Yanli finished placing the flowers and fruit in an artsy manner.
“Lan Zhan, you can’t just leave me alone when there are so many people!” a man approached looking interested, “Here sir, take a sample please!” said Lan Qiren, Lan Zhan handed the man a platter with all kinds of cheese for him to try. Lan Qiren addressed Lan Zhan again “You know you can’t just leave me, you’re my right-hand man.”
“Uncle,” Lan Zhan got closer to Lan Qiren, “you need to get used to the idea that I will not be around.”
“Ah, yes; I know, I know. It’s just...” Lan Qiren looked down, placing both hands on Lan Zhan’s shoulders. “all I want is for you to get married, start a family, and for you and your wife to take charge of the business.” His sad look had Lan Zhan almost moved, almost.
Thing is, Lan Zhan could never fulfill his uncle’s wishes. As much as he loved his village and its people, he desired, just for once, to leave it all behind, go to the capital, get on a plane and travel the world. That fact about him, everyone in the village and their mother knew about. But there was another tiny little detail...
“Uncle, I have said before, I have no interest in having a wife nor kids,” said Lan Zhan, gently removing Lan Qiren’s hands from his shoulders. He wasn’t afraid of stating that fact about himself so openly, knowing that no one would take it seriously. Lan Qiren sighed and placed his hands on his hips.
“And there we go again, just you wait, Lan Zhan, you never know when the perfect woman might steal your heart.” He said with a cheeky smile, wagging his finger at Lan Zhan.
“Not going to happen.” Lan Zhan distracted himself with a small flower, trying to put an end to the conversation.
“Hey, sir Lan Zhan, there are good girls here.” Jiang Yanli piped in, placing a hand on his arm.
“I know.” Lan Zhan put his hand on top of hers, he couldn't help but let out the tiniest of smiles at Jiang Yanli’s innocence. Lan Qiren placed a hand on his shoulder once again and looked him directly in the eye.
“You say it’s not going to happen, but just you wait, Lan Zhan, just you wait.”
--
The trees passed by faster and faster, taking Wen Qing’s thoughts with them. Her mind was troubled. Running miles per hour. Her past, her future, how her father figure had shaped both of them for her. Her little brother...
“So, what’s the name of the village, again, Miss Wen?” asked Wei Ying, from the driver's seat.
“Vista Hermosa” said Wen Qing, a little grumpy at her thoughts being interrupted.
“Pretty name! And it seems that we’re arriving, because the Vista is getting very Hermosa.” Wei Ying laughed, Wen Qing rolled her eyes at the stupid play on words and gave him an annoyed look. Wei Ying nervously shut up, but immediately spoke up again. “Well, with all due respect, Miss, you’re very lucky. With just one call from Mr. Wen you already have a man ready for you, meanwhile us plebs have to do so much just to get a look from someone. Mr. Wen must really care about your happiness, to get you a date just like that.” Wen Qing sighed, exasperated. Wei Ying was such a bone-head.
“It’s not a date, Wei Ying, it’s a business. And just so you know, Wen Ruohan has never cared about my happiness. But you can never say no to him, or he’s even willing to take your loved ones away from you...” Both she and Wei Ying stayed silent for a minute, until Wei Ying broke the dense atmosphere.
“...Yeah, the man is complicated, no one can deny that, but you know, father figures always want what’s best for their children!” Wei Ying smiled at Wen Qing through the rearview mirror, “Give your date a chance! You never know, maybe he’s handsome, charming, and you like him and maybe you two end up falling in love!” Wei Ying was way more excited about the complete fiasco than he should be.
“That’s never going to happen, Wei Ying.” Wen Qing was getting grumpier by the minute.
“But why not, boss? Don’t be such a pessimist. Look, maybe even I find myself a girl in this village that changes my life.” Wait a minute.
“A girl?” Wei Ying liked girls?
“Yes! Why not? You think it’s pretty?” Wen Qing shook her head in confusion.
“Who?” She completely lost track of the conversation.
“Villa Hermosa!” Wen Qing rolled her eyes, her mind back on track.
“VISTA Hermosa, Wei Ying. And I couldn’t care less, nothing will ever compare to Paris...”
--
Lan Xichen loved the anniversary of Vista Hermosa with all his heart, ever since he could remember he’s been excited about it. Seeing everyone come together to show off the best they’ve got to the neighboring villages, singing, dancing and laughing all day long. It never failed to put a huge smile on his face.
“Darling, can you help me out please?” Lan Yi’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. When he looked back at her, all he saw was a pile of cheese being barely held in Lan Yi’s arms.He couldn't help but laugh.
“But, aunt Yi, we shouldn’t put more cheese!” He still grabed the cheese from Lan Yi’s arms and piled it up on the stand.
“Why not?” she looked at him as if he’s grown a second head.
“There are already too many, don’t you think?” he smiled at her fondly. He could never, ever, get tired of her shenanigans.
“I just want to show the village all of our variety, that’s all,” she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, playing innocent. Lan Xichen’s smile grew even wider.
“Or maybe what you want is for your cheese tower to be taller than uncle Qiren’s,” he gestured towards the man. Lan Yi gaped at him like a fish.
“What-- No! Never! I just want to showcase all of our hard work.” She turned her back to Lan Qiren’s stand, going back to rearranging the cheese.
“Have you guys seen the amount of people at Qiren’s stand?” Jiang Cheng came running towards them. Lan Xichen gave him a look that made him shut up. Lan Yi looked absolutely defeated. “Ah, well, I mean... They’re only looking, they’re not buying anything. I saw it with my own two eyes.” Jiang Cheng grabbed one of the grapes decorating Lan Yi’s stand and shoved it in his mouth to keep it occupied.
“And who cares what Uncle Qiren does?” said Lan Xichen in an attempt to cheer Lan Yi up.
“Who cares? Not me, not me. What I want to do is show everyone that, while not having a third of the opportunities that that man has had, we’ve pushed ourselves forward.” She gave Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng a big hug.
It was true, Lan Qiren had always been a privileged man, what with his dairy shop being handed down for generations, and his name known all over the village and beyond. Meanwhile Lan Yi had built her reputation from the ground up when she was younger, no family to give her a name that mattered, no heritage to give her the money that she needed, everything that she had had been won with her own two hands, and that was why Lan Xichen admired her so much. That, and the fact that she had raised him after his parents died. A bit of sadness settled in his heart, so he hugged Lan Yi and Jiang Cheng impossibly closer.
“Right, right! And who knows, we might just win the award for the best cheese this year,” said Jiang Cheng, getting out of the hug.
--
Back at Lan Qiren’s stand, Lan Zhan was counting some of the earnings, when he looked at Qiren he realized that he was looking closely at the scene unfolding in the neighboring stand, his eyes set on Lan Yi.
“Uncle.” No answer “Uncle?”
“Ah! Lan Zhan.” He went back to counting the money he had on his hands “Is there something you wanted to ask? Need help to count the money?” Lan Zhan just looked at him, “What?” Lan Zhan looked at where Lan Yi’s stand was, seeing his friend Lan Xichen laughing along Lan Yi and Jiang Cheng. Lan Qiren noticed and his eyes opened like plates.
“What? Noooooo. Her and me? No! We’re just rivals. She has her dairy shop, I have mine. There’s always competition,” he laughed nervously. Lan Zhan tried to think back to a time where his uncle and aunt Lan Yi didn’t have a rivalry. He came up empty.
“Mn.” Lan Qiren gaped at Lan Zhan and pointed a finger at him.
“I forbid you from having such thoughts, Lan Zhan! That woman is unbearable, irrational, and completely crazy!” Lan Qiren scoffed, going back to counting the money.
“Mn.” Lan Zhan had never considered aunt Lan Yi to be unbearable, irrational, nor crazy. On the contrary, she'd always been a big part of his life.
“I know she’s your best friend’s aunt and that you appreciate her very much. But I have tried to better things with her many times and she just won’t have it!” Lan Qiren spread his arms wide, exasperated.
--
Jiang Yanli walked up to Jiang Cheng, who was on his way to retrieve more cheese for Lan Yi’s stand. She put a hand on Jiang Cheng’s arm. When he turned around and realized who it was the atmosphere immediately got unbearably tense.
“So, how did you guys do with the sales?” asked Jiang Yanli, smiling, trying to ignore the black cloud on top of Jiang Cheng’s head. He looked away from her, a frown on his face.
“Not better than you. Don’t rub it in, would you?” he pulled his arm away from her touch.
“Jiang Cheng, I was just asking” she argued, taking a deep breath.
“Well then, don’t ask” Jiang Yanli was about to speak when Lan Qiren walked up behind her, eyeing Jiang Cheng.
“Yanli, could you please go grab more cheese? We’re running out” said Lan Qiren, grabbing a sad looking Jiang Yanli by the shoulders comfortingly.
“Jiang Cheng, did you find the boxes?” Lan Yi approached, asking just to break the scene up.
“Hello neighbor! How are the sales going?” asked Lan Qiren mockingly, pushing Jiang Yanli aside.
Lan Yi gently tapped Jiang Cheng’s shoulder signaling him to follow her, Jiang Cheng gave Jiang Yanli a murderous look, and they both left. Lan Qiren scoffed, then turned to Jiang Yanli.
“Hey darling, you need to stop trying to make things better with that boy, you will only hurt your poor little heart even more.” He grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her around and gave her a little push. “C’mon, go do what I told you.” When Jiang Yanli left, her eyes were wet.
--
“Qiren.” Came from behind him. Lan Qiren jumped a foot in the air, then turned around and laughed when he realized who it was.
“Wen Zhuliu! My good friend!” He pat Wen Zhuliu’s shoulder, “How have you been? How’s your boy?” Wen Zhuliu smiled a little.
“Jin Guangyao is fine. Enjoying the party, just like everyone else.” His smile went away when Lan Qiren put an arm around his shoulders.
“Ah, yes, yes! Guangyao has become a fine young man. No one could guess that he used to be such a dirty little stray before you and Wen Xao took him in. I couldn’t ask for a better friend for my Lan Zhan.” Lan Qiren shook Wen Zhuliu, he scoffed and pulled away. Lan Qiren was unfazed, “I can already see it, Wen Zhuliu, the boys we’ve raised with so much love settling down for good, starting a family. Little grandkids running amok. Even though my Lan Zhan won’t shut up about leaving my side.” He put his hands on his hips and shook his head.
“Maybe he just needs to find someone that would make him want to stay,” said Wen Zhuliu, thoughtful.
“Ohohoho that is already done!” laughed Lan Qiren, elbowing Wen Zhuliu’s arm.
“What.”
“I have found the perfect woman for my Lan Zhan, and she’s on her way here!”
--
Dread had finally settled in Wen Qing’s heart. The trees passing by were no longer a comfort but a sign of how much closer they were getting to the village, the village that would end her life. The village that would trap her forever. She either agreed to the arrangement and started a relationship with the man assigned to her and lived eternally unhappy, or she refused to be part of the stupid deal and ended up... she didn’t even want to think about it. All she knew was that her little brother, Wen Ning, was at stake.
“How do you know that it isn’t your lucky day and you end up finding the man of your dreams here in the village?” said Wei Ying, looking at Wen Qing through the rearview mirror, taking her once again out of her thoughts.
“No.” She rolled her eyes.
“C’mon don’t be like that. You’re such a beautiful young lady!” he gave her one of his signature smiles, the ones that always made her flustered.
“Wei Ying!” Wen Qing put a hand on her cheek, trying to hide her blush. It was stupid, how his shameless flirting still got to her. They weren’t kids anymore; it shouldn’t be a thing.
“Look, I know what we will do. In the next village we will stop and buy some good old alcohol to calm down your nerves,” of course alcohol was one of Wei Ying’s first ideas.
“Stop it, Wei Ying. Why do you like to talk so much! No one has asked for your opinion, all I’m asking for is just one second of silence!”
Wei Ying shut up; Wen Qing went back to looking out the window. Just as she was about to sink back into her thoughts...
“...I mean; I was just saying.” He shrugged.
“Uuughhh...” Wen Qing laid her head on the backrest, looking at the car’s ceiling for some kind of sign to not throw herself out the car right about now.
“It’s just that sometimes just one shot solves all our problems,” Classic Wei Ying. Wen Qing’s eyes hurt for how hard she rolled them “and maybe that’s what you’re missing, so you can stop being shy and arrive at the village with confidence to meet your man,” he puffed up his chest trying to make her laugh, but she was not having it.
“Who said this was about shyness?” shyness was the last thing on her mind.
“Well, I could’ve sworn you’d be terrified. So what’s the deal? You think you’re not going to like the guy? You don’t know him, give him a chance! C’mon tell me, how do you like your men?”
“Shut uuuup” Wen Qing covered her face with her hands.
“You like them blonde, tall, skinny?”
“Stop it, Wei Ying. Shut up!” she grabbed a little strand of Wei Ying’s hair and pulled.
“Ow! C’mon boss, we trust each other more than anyone. Don’t get mad, just tell me. What do you prefer? Short, brunette, chubby?”
“Nothing! I prefer nothing!” Wen Qing couldn’t take it anymore.
“What do you mean? What kind of men do you like then?”
“None! I like none! I. Don’t. Like. Men.” She enunciated each word by slamming the front seat.
The car stopped abruptly. Wei Ying turned around to look at Wen Qing, he looked like he'd seen a ghost.
“What...? You’re a... a lesbian, Miss Wen?”
Wen Qing just nodded.