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Sizhui was sitting on the porch of Orchid Room, reading a scroll when a shadow blocked the light of the sun above him. Sizhui lowered the scroll, and looked up, feeling his lips quirking up in a smile.
”Hanguang-Jun!” He greeted his father, hopping up from his position. Lan Zhan smiled at his son, patting the top of his head affectionately.
”A-Yuan, have you seen Sect Leader Jing?” Lan Zhan asked, and Sizhui frowned.
”Isn’t he supposed to be at the Library Pavilion?” Sizhui mused, touching his chin. That year the annual Discussion Conference was held at Cloud Recesses, which meant all the sect leaders were present. ”I haven’t seen him since breakfast,” Lan Sizhui said eventually with worry in his voice.
”I see,” Wangji said with a frown. Sizhui didn’t like that, so he spoke up:
”I can search for him!” He requested with a determined look. ”Please, go back to your guests, a-die!” Lan Zhan smiled at him once again, then left after another head pat. ”Now, if I were A-Ling, where would I go to hide?” Sizhui asked to himself as he stepped down from the porch.
Within ten minutes, Sizhui visited all the places he thought his friend would be in Cloud Recesses, without any results. He ran his fingers through his hair, and let out a string of quiet swears. As he looked up at the sky and the swimming clouds it occurred to him that Jin Ling loved watching clouds whenever he felt overwhelmed – and there was only one place around Cloud Recesses when he could do that without interruption.
”It has to be it!” Sizhui said with a nod, then sprinted away – although running was for bidden. When he reached Back Mountain, he immediately spotted out his friend – who wasn’t watching the clouds. Yin Ling buried his face in one of the bunnies’ fur, clearly crying. Lan Sizhui walked closer to him, then crouched down. ”A-Ling?” He asked quietly, not wanting to startle the other.
”A-Yuan?!” Jin Ling yelped nonetheless, letting the bunny go. ”What are you doing here?” He asked, rubbing his eyes.
”Well… you have disappeared, and everyone is worried-” Lan Sizhui started, but the horror in Jin Ling’s eyes stopped him.
”The conference… Jiujiu’ll kill me!” He all but screamed, but when he tried to stand up, Sizhui grabbed his shoulder.
”A-Ling, what’s the matter?” He asked, and Jin Ling’s eyes became cloudy again. He turned his head away, then answered.
”Today’s the day of the anniversary of my parents’ deaths,” he said, and Sizhui felt his jaw dropping. ”Actually, they died on different days, so we decided to celebrate on the day of my mama’s death,” the younger explained, sniffling.
Shizui took a deep breath as he sat down beside his friend. He really wanted to help him, but didn’t know if it would make the situation better or worst. Despite his worries, he started speaking.
”You see, I didn’t know my parents either,” he said, and Jin Ling peaked up at him. ”The only thing I know is that they were killed because of the sins Wen Ruohan’s sins,” he continued, but then a smile appeared on his lips, ”however, I don’t regret it at all.”
”How come?” Jin Ling asked, interest piquing up.
”Because I have the best parents in the whole word,” Sizhui said with a light smile, and Jin Ling frowned.
”You mean Hanguang-Jun and Senior Wei?” He asked, and Sizhui nodded. ”But they aren’t your real parents!” He protested, but the smile on the other’s lips didn’t falter.
”For me, parents are people who are always there. When you need help, they help you. When you need comfort, they comfort you. When you want to learn something new, they teach you – and they love you more than anything else,” Sizhui finished with a sigh, then looked his friend straight in the eyes. ”Does Jin Ling have people like that?”
Jin Ling pondered a bit, then nodded. He raised up two of his fingers, then quickly bent one of them.
”But he is my uncle…” he mumbled, and Lan Sizhui beamed at him.
”Extended family counts just as much if not more. They can be less biased,” he chuckled, then frowned. ”I am sorry for Liangfan-Zun,” he said, but Jin Ling shook his head.
”Don’t be, he was-” he started, then trailed off. Was his uncle really that bad? Yes, he had done horrible things to others, but till Guanyin Temple he had never laid a hand on him. He even gave him Fairy! ”-misunderstood.” He finished eventually, and Sizhui nodded with a small smile.
All of the sudden, they heard nearing footsteps, then turned around in syncs, seeing Zewu-Jun nearing them.
”There you are!” Lan Xichen said with a relieved sigh. ”Everyone is getting worried.” He told them as the two boys hurried up to him.
”I am sorry, Zewu-Jun,” Jin Ling apologized, bowing his head. The other man only smiled, patting his hair lightly.
”Don’t worry, A-Ling. Everything is okay,” he said.”Your uncle is really perturbed, though. He had already wowed to break your leg at least ten times.”