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When Jiang Cheng wakes up on Friday, he wonders if he can get away with simply not getting up. It’s not like his parents are going to notice—at least until Jiang Cheng doesn’t show up to the doctor’s appointment his mother made for him—but he fears that Lan Qiren might notice.
Jiang Cheng isn’t sure what exactly Lan Qiren will do if he doesn’t show up at school today, but Jiang Cheng finds that he’s unwilling to worry him more than he really has to and especially more than he already does.
So he gets up, his wrist painfully throbbing probably more due to his emotional state than any real pain, because his wrist hasn’t hurt like this in a while now, but Jiang Cheng shakes it off.
He already bought a splint to put onto his wrist as soon as the cast is off and his mother left again, because he knows it’s too early to get the cast off. He knows and the doctor will know and yet they both will do what his mother orders.
Jiang Cheng thinks he can count himself lucky that his parents aren’t home that much, so he will have lots of time to wear the splint without igniting his mother’s anger over it.
When Jiang Cheng is done brushing his teeth he takes a moment to just stare at himself in the mirror. He looks tired, but he always does, and he thinks it’s mighty unfair that otherwise he looks fine, when he doesn’t feel fine at all.
“You can do this,” Jiang Cheng tells himself and then he abruptly turns away from his reflection.
He is not sure he can.
Wei Wuxian hasn’t been home at all this week, and Jiang Cheng can’t even blame him for it, seeing as how his mother was home more often than not, mostly to remind him that he has the appointment today.
Jiang Cheng doesn’t even want to imagine what’s going to happen if he misses it.
He feels detached from himself as he goes through his day, but the clock keeps ticking down and the time of his appointment gets closer and closer.
He only has two more hours when he sits down for lunch at school, but he can only stare at it. Jiang Cheng doesn’t feel like eating at all, and he doesn’t feel like moving, and he checks for the fifteenth time if he packed his splint.
“Jiang Wanyin,” someone suddenly says from beside him and Jiang Cheng startles badly enough to nearly knock over his bottle but he manages to catch it at the last moment.
He used is injured hand for that, though, and the throbbing pain in his wrist tells him that such a sudden movement wasn’t appreciated at all.
Jiang Cheng will have to be so very careful once the cast comes off.
“Wanyin,” the person says again, much softer this time, and this time Jiang Cheng manages to turn his head towards the voice.
“Oh, Lan Xichen,” he breathes out and then wonders why he would be here.
He’s at college already, not at school anymore so there should be no reason for him to be here.
“What are you doing here?” Jiang Cheng asks, immediately wincing when he realizes how rude he is being, but Lan Xichen only smiles at him and puts a hand to his shoulder.
“My uncle wants to see you, come on,” he gently says without actually answering the question and Jiang Cheng nods immediately.
He hasn’t seen Lan Qiren much this week, didn’t dare to go over after the family dinner—too confused by what had happened that evening—and he misses it. Misses Lan Qiren, if he’s being honest.
Jiang Cheng wonders if his parents will be out on the weekend again so that Jiang Cheng might have a chance to go visit Lan Qiren.
“Are you alright?” Lan Xichen asks about halfway to Lan Qiren’s office and Jiang Cheng startles, too lost in his thoughts.
“Sure, yeah, I’m fine,” he rushes out, but he hunches in on himself when Lan Xichen only gives him a look that tells Jiang Cheng exactly how believable he sounds.
“Why does Headmaster Lan want to see me?” Jiang Cheng asks, hoping to divert Lan Xichen’s attention from him, but when Lan Xichen only gives him a look, Jiang Cheng drops his head.
“You know he doesn’t want to be called that by you,” Lan Xichen tells him, is almost gentle in his correction and Jiang Cheng nods.
“I know,” he whispers but he can’t bring himself to simply say Lan Qiren’s name, because Jiang Cheng already feels unstable and he fears he’s just going to burst into tears.
“Okay,” Lan Xichen says, clearly understanding more than Jiang Cheng actually wants him to but before he can say something else, they have reached Lan Qiren’s office.
And he doesn’t look too happy.
“I’m sorry,” Jiang Cheng says on reflex, even though he’s not entirely sure what he did to receive such a look and Lan Qiren immediately gentles his face.
“Jiang Cheng, my nephew told me you have an appointment with a doctor today, is that right?” Lan Qiren asks and Jiang Cheng throws Lan Xichen a betrayed look.
“Yes,” he still says and it only seems to sour Lan Qiren’s mood.
“To take off the cast?”
“That’s what my mother wants,” Jiang Cheng says as nonchalantly as he can.
“And the doctor will comply with that?” Lan Qiren wants to know and Jiang Cheng huffs out a bitter laugh.
“He has been the family doctor since before a-jie was born. Of course he knows better than to tell her no,” he tells them and he can see how both Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen stiffen.
“Then you’re not going,” Lan Qiren decides and Jiang Cheng gapes at him.
“Of course I’m going!” he says, even though just a few minutes ago he wanted nothing more than to skip that dreadful appointment.
“You’re not!” Lan Qiren says, much more vehemently than Jiang Cheng is used to from him and Jiang Cheng presses his lips together.
“My mother will not allow this,” he says, tries to make Lan Qiren understand what a tremendously bad idea this is, but Lan Qiren only shrugs.
“If she wants you to attend that appointment so badly, she can come pick you up here herself and then she can bring you to the doctor my nephew knows,” Lan Qiren says and Jiang Cheng can only stare at him.
“I already called Wen Qing. She pencilled you in for an appointment today and I can promise you that she will not just go along with what your mother wants but do what’s actually best for you,” Lan Xichen chimes in and Jiang Cheng turns around to him.
“You clearly don’t know my mother,” he tells him, because he doubts there is anyone out there who wouldn’t fall all over themselves to please Madam Yu.
“You clearly don’t know Wen Qing yet,” Lan Xichen only gives back and Jiang Cheng can tell that he already lost that fight.
Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen don’t want him to go to the appointment with his mother’s doctor and so it seems like he’s not going.
Jiang Cheng finds it quite hard to swallow around the lump in his throat.
~*~*~
It’s five minutes before the appointment with the doctor when Jiang Cheng’s phone chimes.
He holds it up, because he doubts Lan Qiren wants him to answer it, and just like he expected Lan Qiren takes the phone out of his hands.
He accepts the call and puts it on speaker.
“Jiang Wanyin, where the hell are you? You better not be late!” his mother’s voice rings out and Jiang Cheng flinches.
“Your son is not coming,” Lan Qiren easily tells Madam Yu and there’s a surprised silence on the other end of the line.
“Lan Qiren?” Madam Yu then asks and Jiang Cheng frowns at how easily Madam Yu recognized him.
“Yu Ziyuan,” Lan Qiren gives back, and Jiang Cheng thinks he might be missing something here.
“What do you mean he’s not coming? Of course Jiang Cheng will come, he has an appointment.”
“An appointment he will not be present for. We’re taking him to another doctor. You’re welcome to meet us there, he’ll send you the address,” Lan Qiren says, and then he simply hangs up on her.
Jiang Cheng can only stare at him.
“This is the address,” Lan Xichen says and hands Jiang Cheng a slip of paper.
Jiang Cheng takes it with numb fingers and then dutifully types the address out to send it to his mother.
“She’s going to be furious,” he whispers as he sends the message and he finds that his fingers are slightly shaking.
“Let her be,” Lan Qiren decides. “There is nothing she can do to you,” he goes on and while Jiang Cheng wishes that were true, he knows it’s not.
She’s his mother; there are a whole lot of things she can do to him and Lan Qiren has to know that.
“Don’t worry,” Lan Xichen says from his side. “It will be fine.”
Jiang Cheng fails to see how that might be true, but in the end he only nods.
He is already late for the appointment, and his mother already knows he’s going to a different doctor.
This might as well happen now.
~*~*~
“I really hope you’re my patient and not just another nuisance in my hair,” is what Jiang Cheng is being greeted with when they arrive at the doctor and if this is Wen Qing then she’s certainly much more fearsome than Jiang Cheng expected her to be.
Instead of answering her, he only raises his arm with the cast, and her eyes immediately go softer.
“How long has it been?” she asks and this time it’s Lan Qiren who answers for him.
“Four weeks.”
“Then what the hell are you doing here, that’s much too soon to take it off,” Wen Qing immediately says, her scowl firmly back in place as she crosses her arms over her chest.
“Well, you see—” Lan Xichen starts, but then there’s already a commotion outside that tells Jiang Cheng that his mother has arrived.
“That,” Lan Xichen finishes with a nod towards the door that flies open a second later.
“What is the meaning of this,” Madam Yu demands to know and Jiang Cheng is very ashamed to admit that he steps closer to Lan Qiren in face of her anger.
“Who are you?” Wen Qing asks, very calmly, though Jiang Cheng gets the distinct impression that she is anything but.
“I’m his mother,” Madam Yu says and points at Jiang Cheng. “And you will get over here right now,” she then orders and while Jiang Cheng drags his feet to do so, he doesn’t really have a choice.
“His mother,” Wen Qing says with a searching look at Lan Xichen who only nods. “Fine, whatever. Why are you here today?”
“We wouldn’t be if Lan Qiren didn’t meddle in things that are not his business,” Madam Yu hisses and then slightly pushes Jiang Cheng forward. “His cast needs to come off,” Madam Yu tells Wen Qing who goes very, very still at that.
“I heard it’s only been four weeks,” Wen Qing gives back and Madam Yu scoffs.
“So more than enough time to heal. Get it done.”
Wen Qing looks at her with a raised eyebrow and Jiang Cheng has never seen anyone as unaffected as her by Madam Yu’s anger.
“I’ll have to x-ray it to decide that,” Wen Qing finally says and Madam Yu sighs.
“Do what you must, as long as that thing comes off,” she says and gives Jiang Cheng one last push.
Wen Qing shares a look with Lan Qiren but before Jiang Cheng can decipher it, Wen Qing whisks him away into a separate room.
One without the equipment to do an x-ray.
“What about the x-ray?” Jiang Cheng dares to ask and Wen Qing silences him with a look.
“I don’t need an x-ray to know that it’s two weeks too early to remove the cast,” she tells him. “It stays on.”
“Oh,” Jiang Cheng says and looks down at his feet because he already dreads what’s going to happen when they get back outside.
“Is she abusing you physically?” Wen Qing suddenly asks him bluntly and Jiang Cheng freezes in his shock.
“No?” he gives back and he is very aware of how that sounds.
Wen Qing only looks at him until he finally shakes his head and gives a more definite no.
“Great, so it’s only the emotional abuse and the neglect,” Wen Qing says and Jiang Cheng wishes he could disappear, he’s so ashamed that a complete stranger can see it this quickly.
“I’m a doctor,” Wen Qing softly says when she notices how quite Jiang Cheng is. “I specialize in children, actually. You get an eye for it, and there are other parents who are much better at hiding it,” Wen Qing explains and it does nothing to make Jiang Cheng feel better.
“Do you want me to call the authorities?” she asks then and at that Jiang Cheng immediately shakes his head.
“No,” he chokes out, because that really is the last thing he wants.
Not because of his mother, but he fears that when they take him away from her, he won’t be able to see Lan Qiren anymore either.
“Fine,” Wen Qing says with a sigh. “Here’s my number, if you ever need help with anything. The authorities act a lot quicker if it’s a doctor who alerts them, but I’m sure Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen already have a good eye on you.”
“They do too much,” Jiang Cheng mutters and Wen Qing scoffs.
“They are doing exactly the right amount, it seems,” she says though then she hums, clearly considering something. “Maybe even too little,” she then decides and points at Jiang Cheng.
“You’re going to stay right here,” she tells him and promptly marches out of the room again, leaving the door open so that Jiang Cheng can hear every word that is being said.
“And?” Madam Yu asks Wen Qing at the same time Lan Qiren asks the same and Lan Xichen silently steps into the room, standing close to Jiang Cheng.
“The cast will not come off,” Wen Qing tells them and while Lan Qiren lets out a very satisfied “Good” Madam Yu is suspiciously quiet.
Jiang Cheng knows that it only ever gets this quiet before she erupts.
“How dare you,” she hisses as if on cue. “I am his mother and I order you to take it off right this instant,” she says but it doesn’t seem like Wen Qing is impressed with her at all.
“Are you a doctor? Do you have a degree in that field? No? Then shut the hell up,” she snaps at Madam Yu. “The cast stays on and if you order me to take it off one more time I will call child protection because of medical neglect,” Wen Qing says and it clearly stuns Madam Yu into silence.
“I told you,” Lan Xichen lowly says and gently brings their shoulders together. “Wen Qing would never allow for the cast to be taken off this early or bend to you mother’s wishes.”
“What’s your recommendation?” Lan Qiren asks.
“Two more weeks with the cast and then physical therapy,” Wen Qing says immediately and Madam Yu only scoffs.
“You got a problem with that?” Wen Qing wants to know and Jiang Cheng can just imagine the look Madam Yu sends her.
“If you would take the cast off now he wouldn’t need physical therapy.”
“If you don’t get out of my eyes, you’re going to need physical therapy,” Wen Qing shoots back and Jiang Cheng is pretty sure no doctor is allowed to speak to patients or their guardians like that.
He can’t find it in him to mind it too much, especially when Lan Xichen snickers next to him.
“This will not be the last of it,” Madam Yu threatens but Wen Qing continues to be unimpressed by her.
“If I hear that the cast came off before the six weeks are over, I’m going to call the authorities on you. If I hear about any further mistreatment of him, I’m going to call the authorities on you. If I hear that you’re forbidding him from seeing the Lan’s again, I’m going to call the authorities on you,” Wen Qing lists off, and Jiang Cheng’s eyes start to burn again.
“Fine,” Madam Yu scoffs. “If the Lan’s want to keep him so badly, they should. It’s not like he is ever useful.”
At that Jiang Cheng tries to make himself as small as he can, even though Madam Yu is not even in the same room as him, but Lan Xichen puts his arm around his shoulder and while it’s still not easy to hear this, it might be a little bit better with someone on his side.
“Gladly,” Lan Qiren speaks up as if he just waited for that. “We’ll be by to pick up all of his things. Do not expect to see him at your home anymore,” Lan Qiren says and Jiang Cheng can just imagine the glare on his mother’s face.
“I am still his mother! I am still his guardian, don’t you forget that!” she hisses at Lan Qiren, who seems to stay calm in face of her anger.
“Only as long as no one pokes their nose into your parenting decisions,” Lan Qiren sweetly says. “So if I were you, I would simply agree to my decisions regarding Wanyin, because otherwise there might just be a scandal waiting to happen when child protection comes knocking on your doors.”
Jiang Cheng hadn’t known Lan Qiren could be this ruthless, but it is a pleasant surprise.
“This will not be the end of it, Qiren,” Madam Yu tells him, but Lan Qiren is clearly unimpressed.
“We will see, Ziyuan,” he gives back. “Don’t forget to be at home in an hour so we can pick up his things,” he reminds her, and then simply walks away from her, right into Jiang Cheng’s room, who starts to cry the moment he sees him.
“You’re coming with us now,” Lan Qiren says and pulls Jiang Cheng into a hug. “You’re not going back there,” he decides and Jiang Cheng clings to him as he sobs into his shoulder.
“Okay,” he somehow gets out and then Lan Qiren simply lets him cry until his tears dry out.
“I do have other patients, you know,” Wen Qing suddenly says with a sigh and Lan Xichen laughs.
“We’ll be out of your hair in a moment,” Lan Xichen promises her and Jiang Cheng moves away from Lan Qiren, who doesn’t mention the wet spot on his shirt at all.
“Thank you,” Jiang Cheng says to Wen Qing, who levels him with a look.
“I expect you back here in two weeks,” she tells him. “And I also expect you back here if you run into any other problems with her,” she then tacks on and Jiang Cheng can do nothing but nod.
“Let’s go home, Wanyin,” Lan Qiren says, and Jiang Cheng tears up again, just thinking of going home to something that isn’t his huge, empty hostile house.
“We’ll stop by your house to get the things you need, and then I’ll make us dinner.”
“Okay,” Jiang Cheng agrees and trails after Lan Qiren when he walks away.
If this is how he gets a family who cares about him, then he figures it might just all be okay.