Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

His legs were shaking. The chair in front of him was empty, he had been waiting for the man to arrive for at least five minutes. His tensed shoulders made him drowsy, eyes unfocused, mind set on the memories. 

Three days. The store had survived in his hand for three days before the youngest son of the Wen family broke in. He had no actual proof that could blame him, but the damage was done. His family’s cafe had been half engulfed by fire. He had said he would take care, he had assured his parents they could rest easily and take a month vacation. Everything would be alright, what could happen? This. This could happen.

In his hands, the paper with the budget had been squished. For a business which he couldn’t run until it was rebuilt and a man like him who lived in a small studio apartment it was a huge load of money. 

“Good afternoon.”

Jiang Cheng shivered. His tone was polite and distant, but his cold voice surrounded him. The wolf sat down in front of his prey, smiling almost menacingly.

“Good afternoon.” A-Cheng flashed him a sheepish smile, not being able to put up with a fake front for long.

“My brother told me you are here seeking a loan.”

“I am.”

“Tell me how much.”

Jiang Cheng cleared his throat, his grey vest and white shirt couldn’t hide the clear power this man held. Against his bouncing leg he smoothed out the creases of the paper before sliding it on the table. 

He grabbed it smiling. His eyebrows shot up, he chuckled. “They are stealing from you.” 

“I know. But it is the only construction site that can work fast.”

“I can offer my services. I have some involvement in a company that can work fast.”

“How much would it be?”

“It will be half the price.”

“Half of that? I am willing to pay that.” Jiang Cheng nodded, excited to know it wouldn’t be such a harsh pay.

“But… I have interests for this service, since I will be financing it all.” XiChen smiled even brighter and A-Cheng shrank, holding his breath for a few seconds. 

The bank had rejected his attempts in getting a loan since he couldn’t prove he had access to the trust funds of the store, calling his parents would bring them back to China and they wouldn’t be happy with it. He was too old to be scolded. There was nothing to do but nod. “What are the terms?”

“Fifty percent of interest. And I have a deal to propose to you.”

“A deal?”

“Mn.”

~~~

He didn’t want to go out. His legs felt naked, it was tight and uncomfortable and too much for him. Jiang Cheng was used to wearing all of his hair in a bun, seeing only half of it being held by two pins only made him realize he needed to cut it off already. It was waist length and troublesome. He had refused to wear make up and Lan XiChen had accepted it without a fight, it was already a lot to wear a fucking qipao and pretend to be a pretty woman to even have to learn how to do make up. 

At least the shoes were comfortable. He looked down, sighing at the sight of his bare legs. It had been two hours of nightmare. Normally, the waxer had said, it would only take an hour at most, but he had moved so much it took even longer. He had a new air of praise for his previous partners who waxed themselves entirely.

“Are you ready?”

Jiang Cheng’s head snapped, looking at the door as if he could kill him with his eyes. 

“Yes.” He walked out.

“Purple does suit you.” Lan XiChen smiled from ear to ear. “I brought you this.” He raised one of his hands, a light blue mask placed on his palm. 

“What for?”

“To conceal your face. Since you won’t do make up I don’t think you would like people finding out you dress as a woman. Although… with that body, you have nothing to be ashamed of.” The way his eyes wandered through his body made A-Cheng want to put his hands around himself as a protection. 

“I don’t. I will put it on.”

“And this.” He pulled out of his back pocket a long envelope. “All women must carry one. I thought it would look elegant with your hands.”

“What is that?” He grabbed the envelope with his other hand. 

“A gift from me.”

Jiang Cheng scowled slightly and used his fingers to break the paper. Out of it came a beautiful fan. It looked expensive.

“Why are you giving me all of this?” He opened the fan to look at the hand painted picture.

“To distract others from your natural beauty. And the thought of you fanning me when I ask you to was something I found cute. I expect you to bear a bitter expression while you do so as well. It will make you look even more astounding.”

“You-”

“I?” Lan XiChen’s eyebrows raised, perfect white teeth showing. 

“You are unbearable.” Jiang Cheng sneered, snapping the fan close.

“Only someone like you would have the guts to call me like that.”

“Kill me if you so much want then.” His body tensed up, despite his harsh words, he was scared. He knew well about his reputation. The man carried a gun on him all the time. No businessman carried a gun on him, but he wasn’t a businessman, he was a terrorist. With his dirty money he had bought his way into powerful connections, and he had half of the city’s politicians eating from his hand. Or else, how would he be able to move money so easily?

“That would be a waste of beauty and bullets.” XiChen put one finger under Jiang Cheng’s chin, the latter one unhooking his face and turning to the side. His face was scowling and his arms were crossed, portraying his true discontent with the current situation. “Your hairpins are crooked.”

“Are they?” A-Cheng frowned, he had looked at himself plenty to make them even, yet he had failed. 

“Mn. Allow me.” XiChen pulled one out gently before he could refute. His fingers grazed his temples and ears as they ran softly over his hair, pulling half of his hair up in a bun that wasn’t too tight. Both pins secured in place. Jiang Cheng turned to see himself in the mirror once again. “Would you like some help with the mask?”

“Please.” He knew manners, and knew when not to bite. XiChen placed it on his face gently. What am I doing? The strings were tied on his back. The man knew softness somehow. 

“There. Beautiful.” Jiang Cheng was stunned, eyes searching for his reflection. Their eyes met through the mirror and the man didn’t seem to be joking in the slightest.

“What are you saying about a man? Absurd.” In his twenty seven years of life never had he ever heard such a bold praise, let aside it came from a man.

“Beauty comes in multiple ways. And you must look as stunning as you can be. You will be accompanying me throughout the day. I would rather have an eye candy than an eyesore.” Jiang Cheng sighed, without much to comment. “Now we need a name.”

“A name? What is wrong with mine?”

“Would you really want me to call you Jiang Cheng?” When his head tilted sideways, his long ponytail swayed with him. 

Everytime he spoke it like that it gave him shivers, perhaps it wasn’t for the best. “What do you want to call me?”

“I don’t know, Měilì (美丽 - beautiful)?” He asked, smirking. “Meimei, come here.”

“No way. I am not being called Měilì. Nor Meimei.”

He chuckled. “Well then… mmm… How is your business called?”

“Lotus Pier (莲花坞 - Liánhuā Wù). Why?” Jiang Cheng looked at him warily.

“What about Lian (莲 - lotus)?”

“That... ” He had nothing against it, it wasn’t as weird as being called beautiful. “Fine.”

“From now on, you will be called A-Lian.”

Jiang Cheng looked at himself in the mirror, opening the fan. He hated it. And what he hated more was the fact he didn’t hate it as much as he thought he would. He would bring up Lotus Pier from its ruins, even if it cost him sweat and blood… and time with the city’s most dangerous thug.

Chapter Text

On the third day of attending Lan XiChen, A-Lian's peculiar beauty had her in the mouth of the Lan subordinates.

“She is gorgeous, have you looked at her waist?”

“Yeah, but she isn’t my type. She had kind of like a manly back. And seems to have arm strength as well.”

“Who cares?” Another one of the Lan subordinates chimed in. “Have you seen her hips? Round and plump, perfect for bearing a child. Besides if she had arm strength doesn’t that mean she is used to cooking?”

“I would kill one of the Jin shitheads just to have one night with her.”

“We are not allowed to kill them, the boss said that, you know.”

“I know. But I would break the peace for her.”

“Do you think she really cooks? I would like to try something. Mmm, just imagine her cooking in only an apron. With an ass like that...”

"Do you think the boss would mind if I asked her out?"

"You don't even know her full name. You just want her in bed." They all laughed.

"A man has its needs too." They all were laughing happily.

"Of course, he has an outstanding body. One any man could desire." Lan XiChen chuckled, walking past his men towards his office. "But you wouldn't be able to handle it, he is more than what it looks to be." He flashed them a smile before entering.

~~~

The deal was for one month, the same month it would take his parents to come back and the store to be rebuilt. He had no job besides developing recipes as he waited for that to happen, but he had plenty of free time to do so. Lan XiChen had clearly stated a nine to five schedule, and Jiang Cheng was a bit thrown off by it. He had nothing to complain as regards to that so he didn’t. Yet, what he hated to most were the luscious stares of others when he wore that tight dress. He felt like speaking in his manly voice and scaring them away, but he wanted to save face.

Swallowing his pride, he asked the only person he knew who could aid him. Well, actually, there were two people who knew about his current situation, one being Lan XiChen himself and the other being Lan WangJi, his younger brother. It was his brother who drove him back to his apartment every time after his shifts. At first, changing in the back of the car was uncomfortable, but since he knew the windows, including the one in between the front and back seat, were tainted it made him a bit less anxious. 

“Could you… um… It is weird hearing them speak about me so… lavishly.” His conviction was lost mid sentence, just when those lazy eyes laid upon him. When he seemed disinterested in something, his gaze lost his usual sparkle, yet when their eyes met, the spark came again as if always ready to play with his A-Lian. 

“I could. But you won’t like it. So I won’t do anything a lady doesn’t want.” He smirked.

“Whatever is fine, as long as they stop staring. Everytime someone gets inside they just blatantly stare at my ass. It is weird, only your brother gives me a break.” A-Lian, well, A-Cheng sighed as he prepared that day’s tea. One thing he could take advantage of serving him tea was that he could brew new mixtures and see how good or bad they did.

“Mark your words then. I will use whatever method I have in hand to stop them.”

“I...” Jiang Cheng regretted even opening his mouth. He felt like he had sunk deeper in his own mess. Somebody knocked on the door, Jiang Cheng looked back as his boss, looking for the approval nod. When he moved his head he understood. As instructed, 'she' opened the door now in character: bowing at those who came in, serving tea and remaining silent. However, this time it was different. 

"Hahah Lan Zhan you don't have to be so stiff."

A-Lian froze, it was a voice he knew very well. The jingle of his hairpins became present when his head bobbed up. It was his brother.

"Good afternoon to both of you, WangJi, Wei WuXian."

"Brother."

"Lan XiChen, good afternoon." Wei WuXian straightened up and bowed respectfully.

"What has brought you two here?"

"I am just here accompanying, Lan Zhan."

"I am aware, Wei WuXian. The question was addressed to my brother. Would you two like some tea?"

Wei Ying remained silent. "No, thank you. We are leaving right now."

"Oh, what a pity, Lianlian's tea is delicious." His hand reached out, a smile that made his eyes shimmer as he stared at the one being mentioned. "Come with Huan-ge, A-Lian." He patted his lap.

Hiding half of his face -and scowl,- behind the fan he walked his way to where his boss was. "I am a bit hot. Fan me." XiChen moved backwards, legs together to allow him to sit comfortably. Jiang Cheng swallowed his pride and sat. To refuse the invitation he would have to use his voice and Wei WuXian would spot him right away. 'She' began fanning him. "What is it that you want to tell me? Speak." One of his hands surrounded A-Lian's waist, resting on his hips, the other one caressed his uncovered knee. His fingers were rough, strong. He had Jiang Cheng's skin covered in goosebumps and his mind wondering how his hands had turned so calloused just to focus on something else. 

The youngest Lan lost no time. "Jin GuangYao has our master plaques."

The hand caressing Jiang Lian's knee stopped moving abruptly and the smile that played in his lips was gone. "Was he the one behind that visit the other day?"

"I believe he had an accomplice. I forwarded all the information to you already."

"Give me my phone." It was resting on the other end of the table. A-Lian reached at it, giving it to him straight away. "You may leave. Call Hong-er in." 

"Mn." He turned to his partner and they bowed goodbye. Lan XiChen looked into his phone, opening the link. It was on a site Jiang Cheng couldn't recognize, it looked shady. Yet, the picture that came with the file made him frown. The fan was violently closed and he squished it until his fingers became white. "It was that bastard who helped Wen Chao burnt down my business. I know him." He spat with hatred pumping in his veins.

"So you know this Xue Yang?" XiChen looked up, not questioning him for getting his nose into something he was not supposed to look at. 

"Uh eh… yeah… he was in the security footage the police lost."

"If he is the one that burnt down your place of course the police would have lost it." He chuckled. "Wen Chao must have ordered it. You don't have a back up?"

"We gave everything to the police."

"You are naive, Lianlian. Things don't work like that in this city." 

Jiang Cheng frowned, annoyed by being called naive. He wasn't naive. Before he could refute him, the door was knocked. A-Lian wanted to stand up but he was held in place. "Stay still and spread your legs a bit for me. We have to solve your problem with them speaking." He whispered to his ear, making him shiver. He hid his ear behind his hand, they were always sensitive. Lan Huan chuckled. "You can hide that charming scowl of yours behind the fan I gave you."

"Wha-" Jiang Cheng was interrupted mid sentence.

"Come in." Lan XiChen said in a loud clear voice. A-Lian hid his face behind the fan, eyes in the man who entered. He recognized a couple of them by sight only, he could not call names.

Their eyes went straight to the woman sitting on their boss’ lap. XiChen’s hand moved to caress his inner thigh and Jiang Cheng looked at him, stunned. Not even the fan could hide his blush. Lan Huan smiled at the bare sight, going as far as to let out a chuckle. He gave the soft leg a squish before taking his hand out. His smile faded when he looked at his men. “Now that you are here, I have an important thing to announce.” They were all listening, some stealing glances to the woman by his side. “Jin GuangYao stole our master plates.”

Gasps and groans were heard. “Boss… Is it okay to discuss this in front of her?” One of the subordinates flashed A-Lian a disgusting look.

“Don’t worry Su She. I trust her to keep her pretty mouth shut. Isn’t that right, Lianlian?” 

A-Lian nodded, scared to speak out. 

“Well. I wanted all you to know we will keep the peace treaty as it is, only attack if you get attacked, or else, pretend you know nothing. Was I clear enough?”

“Understood.”

“Good, then, all of you scram. Except Su She. You will stay.”

“Yes, boss.” The one who had seen 'her' with contempt before stayed in place as the rest bowed their leave. 

When they were only three in the room, XiChen spoke again. “I have a special task for you.”

“I am honored.”

“Spare me your sweet words. I am not in the mood.” He said frowning as he looked at his cellphone. “Investigate what happened in the entry to our warehouse last week. You will take two men with you. I will inform you of who they are via the normal means. You must be ready to depart in half an hour. That is all. You can leave now.”

“Understood. Excuse me, Boss.” He bowed before turning around.

“Hold on.” The man froze, before turning to face them once again. “You forgot to bow your goodbyes to A-Lian.”

A-Lian frowned, it wasn’t necessary. 

“My apologies to the lady. A-Lian.” His smile was forced and both Jiang Cheng and the subordinate were uncomfortable with the exchange. When he finally left, XiChen sighed. “These men do not know manners.” His hands retreated from A-Cheng’s body. “You can stand now.”

Jiang Cheng stood up immediately. “Was it necessary to touch me so much?” He scowled, groaning.

“Or course, or else my men would have kept pestering you.”

“Your brother wasn’t pestering me, there was no need to touch me then.”

“In case you did not notice, dear Lianlian, Wei WuXian avoids looking at me. I am aware he is wary of my presence ever since I pointed my gun at his forehead. If there was a place in the room he would not look at would be me, and you seemed to catch his attention straight away. I thought you would be thankful if he didn’t recognize you.”

“You...” Jiang Cheng’s blood froze. “You… You pointed a gun at my brother’s forehead?” He whispered, staggering a step backwards. 

Lan XiChen glanced at him, before smiling gently. “Yes, I did. Just before I warned him not to play with WangJi’s feelings. He did not seem to be aware of how serious he was and I was not going to stand here letting my brother be played with.”

Jiang Cheng shivered. Just thinking of having spent the last minutes anywhere near the man, let alone his lap, made his stomach revolt. 

“It is already quarter to five. I will take you today, I have a task for WangJi.” XiChen said as he stared at his phone, unaware of A-Lian’s feelings. He placed the phone next to his ear before stating a brief command. “WangJi, follow him.” His phone call was short and straightforward. The poor baker dreaded to be dependent on him. “Okay, gather your things. We will go right now, or I will be late.”

After taking deep breaths to calm himself, he opened the door on the side of the room to access where his belongings were. “I will get changed and-”

“No, change in the car. I need to go. Now. Let’s go.” The man grabbed his gun, putting it on his belt and storming off after putting his long grey coat on.

Jiang Cheng had to follow him with his backpack in a rush, not being able to refute him. He followed him until they reached a car. The same tinted windows on the outside, yet, there was a problem. “Um...” When sitting on the back seat, he could see Lan XiChen. “Where is the opaque glass?”

“Mn? Opaque glass? This is my personal car, I don’t have that.” The click from the seatbelt finalized his sentence.  

“How am I.... supposed to change?”

Lan XiChen laughed, the car engine opening. “Well, you take your clothes off, and then put the other one on.”

Jiang Cheng was annoyed, almost to the brink of conniption. “I know how to change, don’t give me that crap!” He spat. “I usually get changed in the privacy of the backseat knowing your brother cannot see me. What am I supposed to do now?”

“Nobody is going to be able to see you besides myself. Just get changed there. Are you embarrassed of me seeing you in your underwear? I am quite aware you are a man, don’t worry, you have nothing I haven’t seen before.” Jiang Cheng was about to refute when he heard the last sentence. “Unless the missy is too ashamed, in which case I can just drop you off in your house dressed as a woman. It does not affect me in the slightest.”

He was enraged. He was no missy, and he wasn’t embarrassed either. Frowning, he struggled out of the dress. It still hurt to stretch to reach the zipper but he had gotten used to it after a week. The hairpins were off second, hair falling disheveled over his face. His gaze connected with the rear mirror, finding two dark eyes staring at him. XiChen looked away and to the street, unbothered. “I thought you worked at your family’s coffee shop.”

“I do. I serve and bake.” He took off the dress completely, sliding his pants right on. For the qipao he had to wear tight underwear and displaying his package was a bit uncomfortable. 

“I see.” XiChen remained silent, and Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, what was it with the weird questioning? When he looked down, he realized. In his chest was a scar from side to side. One ugly slash that had remained with him throughout years. He put on his t-shirt, suddenly conscious of it. 

“Are you going to ask?” A-Cheng said, now fully dressed.

“Are you going to tell?” XiChen stopped at a traffic light, eyes finding the almond irises again. Jiang Cheng looked through the window, sitting in place. ”I thought so.” The car began moving again, turning in the last corner to his place.

He moved to pick up his dress and put it away, still having the comfortable flats on. In between the clothes fell a small white thing. Frowning, he picked it up. It was soft, and when turning it around there was a pink fabric as well. The oval shape puzzled Jiang Cheng. “This was on your floor.” He said, hand extending to the front seat. The car parked before XiChen turned.

“Oh,” He exhaled, smiling, as if relieved. “There it was. I almost flipped my house around trying to find it.” XiChen reached out to grab it, looking at him with a soft smile. “Thank you. You can now get off.”

“You are… welcomed?” He moved, getting out of the car. Jiang Cheng was left confused, wondering what had just happened.

Chapter Text

Monday morning he arrived at the beautiful office of Lan enterprise. He dreaded having to set foot inside, but he only had fifteen work days left. He could work with it. If he was able to pull through successfully then right after he could be freed from the debt. His pride wasn't as worthy as his family business. 

He was already dressed as a woman, walking gracefully to the entrance, he was allowed to go in immediately, as usual. Nevertheless, this time he had matters to attend. Walking straight to the entrance desk, he took out of his bag a big tray filled with fresh pastries he had baked. Before today, he had practiced his best to achieve a female voice, to go along with his costume. “I am trying a new recipe, would you mind trying these and telling me what you think? They are tangerine pastries with a layer of dark chocolate on top. Beware if any of you is allergic to those ingredients.” 

The man was surprised and stared at her. It was the first time A-Lian had spoken to any of the subordinates. He didn’t use his voice because it was deep and clearly manly and he didn’t want unnecessary attention over himself. However, A-Cheng was not aware that feeding men with delicious pastries would do nothing but feed their internal fire and interest in the woman herself. 

A-Lian did them. Later, everyone launched themselves to devour them, some with more concealed excitement than others. The rumors of her being the boss’ woman made her more desirable. Something forbidden. No one had the balls to attempt anything on her though, their lives were more precious. 

Jiang Cheng entered XiChen’s office after knocking. “I brought you something to accompany tea.” He said in his regular voice as he left the smaller tray next to the tea set. 

“Is it sweet or savory?”

“Sweet, but if you prefer I can bring savory tomorrow.”

“What do I owe the pleasure to?”

“I am trying a new recipe, and since you have a lot of men willing to try my cooking, as I’ve heard, I am willing to give it a try. See what flavors to launch when we reopen.” He explained briefly.

Lan XiChen let out a wholehearted laugh, head tilting backwards. “Well, I wouldn’t have expected such a move from you. You are indeed a businessman, A-Lian.” He smiled. “I haven’t had anything to eat since this morning, would you mind brewing some tea and joining me to try them?” He said, more polite than usual. 

Jiang Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. At first, he had thought he was laughing at him, but it wasn’t. It was the first time someone called him a businessman. Everyone around him was used to him trying his best, so praises were scarce. ”Sure… Today I brought green tea, nothing fancy.” He opened the jar he had brought in that day.

Following his newly acquired routine, Jiang Cheng steeped the tea and brought it to his desk. He placed one pastry in front of him using a napkin as a plate and brought one for himself. After the tea had set for enough time, he poured it into two cups. “Enjoy then.” He skipped the sugar for himself, since the pastry was sweet enough, and instead of watching XiChen pour two teaspoons of sugar he only did one. His scowl must have given him away, since Lan Huan smiled and explained briefly. “I don’t want the tea to overpower the pastry.”

They ate in silence, A-Lian fought the need to stare at him to see his reaction while trying it, yet he could not help but glance a couple of times more than usual. “What do you think?” He asked as soon as he saw his Adam’s apple stopped bobbing as he swallowed. 

Lan XiChen chuckled, smiling before licking his lips. “I do not speak while eating, Lianlian. You will have to wait for my verdict.”

Jiang Cheng sighed but smiled as he shook his head. “Fine.” He drank his tea without paying him much attention, instead, he focused on the notepad he had brought. Taking the pen attached to it, he began jotting down neatly the recipe he had made. The original paper had flour, stains and crossed out measurements. 

They kept a comfortable silence in between them. To Jiang Cheng’s liking it was a bit too sweet, he would try lowering the amount of juice he had used. Perhaps adding some tangerine zest would make it less sweet and a bit tangy.

"Are you the one in charge of cooking at Lotus Pier?"

"When my jiejie can't, yes."

"I can see why. That was delicious." XiChen patted his mouth clean. "Perhaps a bit less sugar would be more appropriate, but that is a personal opinion."

"Would you be willing to try them if I put on the zest?"

"Sounds nice. I would."

A-Lian nodded, writing it down. "Perfect. I will do something else for tomorrow to clean your palate and bring the recipe back on wednesday so you can try it again."

"Should I be waiting for snacks every day?"

"Are you willing to try my food?" A-Cheng asked curiously.

"If you are willing to cook for me."

"We have a deal then." Jiang Cheng smiled. Having some mobs as his guinea pigs was not something he had ever expected, but he didn't dislike it.

The good mood was cut off when the door was knocked.

A-Lian stood up, picking his teacup and cleaning the table before going and opening the door after XiChen nodded. "Wangji. Have you found them?"

"Mn. They are dead."

XiChen sighed, A-Lian inhaled. Who had died?

"He did it?"

"Mn. I could not stop him, pardon me brother."

"I suspected we had a mole… It is not your fault, WangJi. It was mine. I thought they could stop him."

"What are we going to do?"

"Give the bodies a proper burial, we will have the funerals at our expense. As usual."

“Understood.” The youngest Lan nodded before leaving.

Jiang Cheng looked at Lan XiChen, unsettled. He didn’t want to speak, the man was clearly distraught. XiChen closed his eyes, leaning his forehead over his crossed fingers. A-Lian sighed softly, stepping lightly until standing by his side, gently patting his back. The man tensed up and 'she' doubted whether to take his hand out or not.

“What are you doing?” His voice sounded rough, agitated.

“My condolences…” The man looked up at him, a puzzled look with tired eyes. A-Lian looked away, talking gently, slowly so as not to piss him off. “You seem… to treat your people as your family. You must be upset. I am sorry if I went overboard.” A-Cheng took a step aside, but before his hand on his back could retreat, he grabbed it.

“Thank you.” He sighed. “Don’t worry.” XiChen smiled softly, chuckling a bit. “Lianlian is so considerate. No wonder all of my men want to have you as their wife.”

“You-” Jiang Cheng pulled his hand away, embarrassed of being teased. “You are shameless.”

His smile grew into a smirk, eyes connecting with A-Lian’s. “You can even cook… And with hips like that you seem ready to bear children.”

Jiang Cheng blushed, grabbing his fan and hitting him in the shoulder. “Shut up!”

“Also that ass...”

“Lan XiChen don’t you dare finish that sentence!”

“Oh, how nice to see Lianlian be fierce. Tell me, what will you do to me if I finish that sentence?”

“I… I...” His arms crossed. “I will feed you so much sugar you will get fat.”

The criminal’s lips pursed as his eyes shined before he let out a big laugh. “Please, go ahead. I might ask you to do extra so I can take them home with me.”

“Whatever. Who says I will?” He puffed his cheeks turning around, the man only chuckled again. A-Cheng was aware he lacked strength to fight him, let aside that he had a gun, there was no physical aspect in which he could beat him. As regards to what he could do mentally, he doubted he was as dumb as he played to be.

~~~

“A-Ling!” Jiang Cheng ran after the small three-year-old. ”Don’t climb up there without telling me! Jiujiu has to supervise you.”

“I am big jiujiu, Jin Ling can climb. Jin Ling is strong. Baba said Jin Ling is strong.” He smiled, moving one of his arms.

“Jiujiu is going to talk to your baba. A-Ling might be strong but it doesn’t mean you can do everything.” Jiang Cheng frowned, moving his hands to carefully surround him and catch him if he fell.

“Baba is good. Jiujiu don’t fight baba.” He kept walking over the metal structure that resembled a dinosaur without even doubting his steps.

Kids were everywhere. Jiang Cheng was having his day as a nanny and was enjoying it fully. Now that he had free weekends he wanted to try spending more time with his nephew. He used to be too immersed in workload to be able to do so even though A-Ling loved him so much. “Jiujiu won’t fight baba, we will just have a small talk.”

“Okay.” Jin Ling jumped from the end, landing perfectly before sprinting towards the swings. Jiang Cheng chased after.

Walking away from them he caught a figure he thought he recognized. A small child the size of Jin Ling by his side. He frowned, moving to see it he could actually be that man. There was no way. In the end, when the man turned it wasn’t XiChen. He shook his head. It seemed impossible.

“Jiujiu, push me!” Jin Ling asked smiling.

“How do you ask?”

“Please.”

“Okay, now jiujiu will.”

He moved to pay attention to his nephew, no longer wanting to think of that man. A-Cheng doubted he could be good with kids.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng closed the door, frowning.

“What happened? Lianlian seems to be thinking.” XiChen asked as he cracked his neck, massaging his nape with his fingers. His eyes were closed but he was clearly paying attention to the one on the other side of the room.

“Ah? Um sorry. I don’t have a saying in your business.”

“If I am asking, then you do have.”

“Well...” Lying didn’t seem right, but he was a bit worried about angering him with his thoughts. He tried to put it gently. “He seemed… to know a bit too much. Don’t you think?”

“A-Yao? What makes you think that?”

“He… What you told him didn’t seem to surprise him. And his words gave me the feeling… he knew well what he was saying.”

XiChen smiled. “You have a sharp sense, Lianlian. I think the same. But we must play fools for a bit longer.”

He arched his eyebrows. “If you don’t trust him, then why did you allow him in your office?”

“If I didn’t, he would know I don’t trust him. And we don’t want that. We need his guard low, you see. But I am afraid you might be endangered now he has seen you. Perhaps you know too much.” Jiang Cheng felt his body freeze. Was that a… threat? "I will have people following you to watch that you are okay."

A-Lian looked back at him, amazed. "Ah..  uhm… thank you." A-Cheng nodded. He was actually going to take care of Jiang Cheng's wellbeing. It was really considerate of him. 

That day, it was the elder brother who took him back home.

As he changed, XiChen's eyes were respectful -or that was what Jiang Cheng thought, actually, his driver enjoyed stealing glances at his body, especially after noticing he had a snake tattoo on the back of his neck.- They didn't exchange any words on the way, A-Cheng felt unsuitable to talk to him after seeing his sour face. Little did he know the furtive looks wouldn't stop.

XiChen barely said goodbye, driving the same path back as his head went through what he had just seen. Su She was getting into one of the Jin's cars. It was a bitter truth he was both pleased and displeased to find out.

~~~

That day's treat was a savory one. He had prepared mini scallion pancakes. They were tasty, vegan and easy to eat. He had made a smaller batch than usual, but he knew the men would like it anyways. Jiang Cheng had to admit he loved to hear their praises and critiques on what he cooked. He had brought some of his business' cards telling them about how good the food was and that they should go as soon as it got fixed to try more. Ignoring their jobs, clients were clients.

Perhaps drawing mobs to the business wasn’t the best thing. The inconvenience of them asking for A-Lian might be worse than he expected. He figured that if any of the men came, he would just tell them the truth and hope they would come around. There wasn’t too much he could do if he thought about it.

Jiang Cheng walked to the boss’ office. He carried another tupper along with some new herbs to make him try. It was just a simple blend of mint, ginger and lemon zest. Tangy and sweet to go with the savory pancakes. Luckily, he and Lan XiChen had come to a silent agreement. After a few days of bringing snacks, he found the man waited for him every morning to eat breakfast. It made him happy and giddy, like each and every regular he had at the coffee shop. Perhaps he could become a regular as well.

He set foot on the office and went straight to his corner where the electric kettle and the set of teacups were. It was his corner, only for him. XiChen had settled it after he arrived. With time, he began feeling comfortable with what he had to do. The dress was just a disguise, and he had to serve people as if they were customers. Now instead of serving and cooking throughout the day, he cooked during the afternoon and served during the day. It wasn’t anything that he hadn’t done before -if he ignored the dress part-. 

When the lustful stares stopped, it became sort of like a personal tea and snacks service. The company was good as well. He was used to the comfortable silence falling between them, sometimes the man would listen to music and Jiang Cheng would pay attention. If 'she' got lucky, he would hum, even sing. When A-Lian had no actual work, he was allowed to read, or text. Furthermore, the view from the back window in the side room was gorgeous and he loved to just go there and stare. The freedom he felt he had in his job was an easy way to be fooled by the nature of the deal. At least what he knew to be true was the progress of the coffee shop remodel. He couldn't lie about that when Jiang Cheng saw it with his own eyes.

Escaping his thoughts, he set the tupper on the table. Lan XiChen was already there. “What am I going to be fed today, Lianlian?”

“Scallion pancakes. They are vegan.” He smiled proud of himself. “As regards to the tea we will see if you can guess what flavor it is.”

“So you are making me guess?”

“I am. It will be fun to test your palate.” Jiang Cheng touched the kettle. It was already tempered. “Did you boil the water?”

“You always come at nine, I thought today we could save some time. I do my exercises in the morning and today I am particularly starving.”

“Oh, so you were waiting for me?”

“As always. Lianlian has become part of my routine.” The man yawns slightly.

“Rough night?” Jiang Cheng said as he poured two cups of tea.

“Mn. I had to attend some things and I couldn’t sleep properly.”

“Oh, I thought you didn’t do business at nighttime.”

Lan XiChen smirked. “I don’t.”

“Ah, I get it now. That type of busy.”  A-Lian cleared his throat a bit uncomfortable.

“Do not get the wrong idea.” His boss chuckled. They both sat in front of each other with a cup of tea in hand and delicious, -and slightly cold,- scallion pancakes.

Somewhere along the way, Jiang Cheng had come to realize he was getting too used to the man he had in front of him. Besides that time he had caressed his legs, something he tried not to wrap his head around too much cause it made him shiver, he had kept his distance and his manners. He felt comfortable being around him because the man didn’t seem to pose an imminent threat to him. That said, he had to force himself to remember he had a gun always on him.

Words weren’t much of an aid, so when reality slapped Jiang Cheng’s cheek, he felt really startled.

“Hide here,” XiChen had said before gently moving him to the side room. Refusing felt like it would lead to the man shoving him inside forcefully so he complied. “There is a metal trunk in there, get inside immediately and don’t open it until you hear my voice or until twenty four hours have gone by.”

“Wha-”

“Listen to me.” XiChen whispered. “I have no time to argue. If you don’t want to die then comply.” He took the gun from his back and A-Lian heard a metallic clack. Jiang Cheng forgot how to breathe as he stared at it. “Go, now.” XiChen opened the door and pushed him inside.

It took a couple of numb seconds for him to understand what was happening. With the first shot his blood froze, his eyes darting nervously in search of the trunk. It was hidden under some books he then left on the floor. Breathing in he squirmed his way inside. Closing it, it was tight. His knees were pushing against his ribs, he could barely inhale deeply. Jiang Cheng closed his eyes, counting to ease his mind. Even though he most probably knew what was happening outside, his mind was a buzz. His back hurt, cold and tense.

Having baked for nearly ten years by now, he had an accurate sense of time passing by. But now, with no light besides that from the three small holes on the sides of the trunk, he felt like his senses were impaired.

Four hours.

It was already close to five in the afternoon. When the lid was lifted, light seeped through blinding him. “Get out.” He groaned in a huff voice. Jiang Cheng wasn’t used to being ordered around, but he honestly was too confused to even talk back.

His hand reached out and grabbed him helping him up gently. “Are you okay?” XiChen asked, sighing.

“Yeah...” Jiang Cheng whispered, his throat slightly dry.

“Let’s go. I will take you home now.” He looked at his watch and only then did Jiang Cheng notice his usually white shirt was completely bloody. The Lan tried to wipe a dried, brownish mark from the round glass. covering the time. It was futile, so he sighed.

“Quarter to five.” He whispered.

XiChen hissed looking around. “Do you have a phone on you?”

“My things.” Jiang Cheng turned to look at where he always left his backpack. The room seemed to have no further mess than what he had done in getting inside the trunk.

“Put your jacket on, we are going.” He opened a door on the side and took out a long coat wrapping his bloody body entirely. “Lend me your phone.”

A-Lian took out his unlocked phone and gave it to him before putting on his jacket. Lan XiChen cleaned his fingers on a handkerchief he took out of his black coat and typed a number. “Uncle,” He spoke holding the phone in between his shoulder and ear. “I will not be able to make it, will you go in my place?” When the empty magazine hit the ground Jiang Cheng felt chills. His back was pushed by a gentle hand and he began walking close to him. He was directed to the parking lot. The way out the building sent him chills, was that a body they were dragging? He tried not to wrap his mind around the new stains on the way too much.

“Are you going to get changed?” Lan XiChen asked as he sat on the driver’s seat. He moved slower than usual.

“You seem to be in a hurry.”

“I am.” XiChen erased the whole call history from Jiang Cheng’s phone before returning it.

The man in a dress sat on the seat next to him. “Let’s go then.” He put on the seatbelt and waited for the man to do the same, yet he didn't. XiChen began the car, one of his hands resting on his lap with a hold of the gun.

What used to be a fifteen to twenty minute drive turned into a sloppy ten minute trip. A-Lian took off his mask hiding it inside the backpack along with the hairpins. He now needed to take off the dress to finally be freed from his fake persona. They did not talk on the way, they barely exchanged glances. The car parked in front of his building. “Go.” He said.

“XiChen...”

“I said go.” He leaned over the man and opened the door, growling. His hand moved to touch his chest. The long black coat opened slightly and A-Cheng was left speechless. He had seen his shirt stained by blood already, but the deep crimson made it evident now.

“You are bleeding.” Jiang Cheng gasped.

Chapter Text

The man sat on his bed. Jiang Cheng practically ripped off his annoying and tight dress and slid himself into his pajama t-shirt. “Take this off.” He stood in front of his boss, undressing the black coat slowly. “Do you have someone you can call or something to help?” It was obvious the hospital was a no-no.

“I don’t… do you have gauze? I just need to clean it.”

“I have some stuff.” Jiang Cheng walked to the bathroom to retrieve his first aid kit.

As he returned, he gazed at a bloody mess he was. There was a deep cut on his side and a red mark on his arm. “What happened to you?” A-Cheng gasped.

“I am getting old.” Lan XiChen chuckled, but groaned. “I cannot avoid all of the bullets.” 

“You were shot?”

“Why did you think I made you hide in the trunk?” He asked, smiling. There was a playfulness and softness in his expression that made Jiang Cheng feel like a child. 

“We need to get you to a hospital. If you were shot...”

“There is no need. This is just a knife slash, I wasn’t stabbed. And the bullet grazed me, I don’t have anything to be taken off of me.”

“I cannot help you here. This is beyond my abilities.”

“Hand me the things. I will do it. I need to cauterize the wound and stop the bleeding.”

“Hold up,” That meant burning. Jiang Cheng panicked. “Press the wound so it doesn’t bleed.”

He went to grab his phone. XiChen tried to take off the shirt but struggled to do so. Jiang Cheng called Wen Qing and dropped the phone next to Lan XiChen to help him strip. “What are you doing?” He asked, his eyes focusing on the phone.

“She will help you.”

“Cancel the call.” His face was pale, but his smile was no longer and his eyes were fiercely staring at the baker.

“Trust me in this one. She is studying to be a doctor.”

“Jiang Cheng, I am not asking.”

“Neither am I,” the shirt was dropped on the floor and he used one of the gauzes to press the wound. “If you want to drop dead do so outside my building. But here you will get help.”

“Then let me go.”

“Sit down and trust me on this one.” He was getting annoyed at how stubborn the man was. There was no actual obligation to help him, yet, he couldn’t allow the man to leave like that. Especially knowing he wouldn’t take proper care of himself.

“A-Cheng?”

“Wen Qing, I need your help. A huge favor. We will pay you,”

“We?” Lan XiChen frowned as he looked  back at him.

“You are loaded, do you want to die for money?” Jiang Cheng whispered. “Come to my house, A-Qing, please.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My friend is bleeding a lot. I need help. Bring your doctor stuff.”

~~~

Embarrassed should be the last thing he felt at that moment. However, when he allowed Wen Qing into his house, he wasn’t thinking about how he had a half naked man on his bed bleeding profusely and he himself was in only a shirt and some boxers. It did him not cross his mind how fucked up everything looked.

“She is a Wen.” As they turned to where his bed was, Lan XiChen sat pressing his wound with one hand and holding the gun with the other. Jiang Cheng froze.

“XiChen!” He squirmed, alarmed. “Put that down.”

“I am not related to the Wens you are thinking of.” She said calmly looking back at Jiang Cheng with clear questions in her eyes. “Do you need help or are you going to keep pointing the gun at me?”

The mob looked at them. “Put that down.” A-Cheng said in between his teeth.

To say he was tough was an understatement. Despite the fact he had groaned and huffed in front of him before as he moved, as Wen Qing stitched and took care of his wounds he made no sound. Next to her, Jiang Cheng helped with cleaning the extra blood. Lan XiChen was still wary of them but he allowed them to help him.

While cleaning, the baker realized he had a handful of small scars spread across his whole chest. Yet, they were covered in noticeable black ink. The tension and fright of the moment had made him focus on the blood so much he didn’t see the tattoo.

Wen Qing gave the man directions and flashed Jiang Cheng a warning look before leaving. 

Lan XiChen was still resting on his bed in his hands, his bloodied shirt. "You won't save that." Jiang Cheng told him, walking to the kitchen next to the bed.

"I know…" He sighed. "I am just  wondering what will I return with."

A-Cheng put on the kettle. "I believe I can lend you something." He strode to his wardrobe. "I am not sure it will fit you, perhaps it will be a bit too tight." Taking some shorts for himself, he fetched what he was looking for

"You live in quite a small place." XiChen pointed out, his voice didn't give out any disapproval. 

"Well, I live off my salary. Currently off my savings." He sighed bummed out by the reminder of his current situation.

"You didn't buy this? Interesting." Jiang Cheng turned to see him staring.

"Why is it interesting?" A frown was placed in his face.

"I would expect you to live off of your parents wealth. You do have a big business in town."

"I am too old for that, besides, it is their money, not mine." His eyes scanned his tattoo a few seconds before delivering the t-shirt. The sound of boiling water distracted him, when XiChen took the clothes he went to make some coffee for the both of them. Wen Qing had told him to take an anti inflammatory medication and he couldn't do it with an empty stomach. He served one cup and heard him huff. Turning, he asked: "Are you okay?"

"It is a bit tight." He was clearly struggling to move.

Jiang Cheng put down the kettle and approached him. "Be careful or you will open your wounds." He scolded him tugging the shirt carefulĺy down, helping him to put through his wounded arm. "Is it too tight on the arms? Does it hurt your wound?" The sleeves' edge seemed to be pressing a bit much on his noticeable muscles.

"It's okay. Thank you." He said staring at the man who was now squatting in between his legs. His smile was tired, he was clearly struggling.

"Stay awake. Don't sleep. You shouldn't with that amount of blood loss. Here I've made some coffee you can drink to wake up. I have some painkillers and the pills she told you to have."

XiChen nodded and blinked lazily. "You are so good with me, Lianlian." He moved to touch the gun and Jiang Cheng had chills. His fingers just touched some things before putting it on his back. "Thank you for helping me, tell me how I can pay your friend later. I am willing to buy her silence."

"I don't think she wants that." He stood up, putting distance in between them. “She will scold me, but probably won’t take your money.”

“They say I am a very convincing man.”

“Please don’t bother her. If you wish to pay her I can help you take the money to her.”

“Fine, thank you.” He nodded and sat up touching his bandages wounds lightly. The shirt was indeed tight on him.

Jiang Cheng finished the coffees and gave him the cup. “I have some fruit, you need to eat something before taking the pills she suggested to you.”

He smiled. “Do you have an apple I could bite into?”

“Sure.” Jiang Cheng went to grab one.

“Whose t-shirt is this one?”

“A friend of mine forgot it here.”

“A friend? Is this safe to wear? Won’t he mind?” A-Cheng hasn’t turned around yet he could feel a gaze in him that made him uncomfortable.

“He is just a friend. And he left it here. Don’t think too much into it. Just because I wear a dress-”

“I am aware.” He interrupted. “I made you wear that dress.”

“Yeah. Doesn’t mean I like weird things.” He drank from his cup and delivered the apple.

“Depends on what you consider weird.”

“What I consider weird? Well, for instance, why did you make me wear a qipao?” He sat on his couch staring at him. “That is weird.”

“Perhaps.”

“Will you answer my question?”

“When our deal is over, ask me again. I will answer.” He chuckled.

“Why then?”

“So you can get mad at me for it and it won’t affect your work.”

“Get mad?” Jiang Cheng’s eyebrows arched.

“Mn.” He nodded. Jiang Cheng’s phone rang next to the man. XiChen turned his eyes to it, grabbing it before him.

“Hey-”

XiChen raised one of his fingers at him, keeping him in place as his injured arm took the phone to his ear. “Uncle.”

So that was why he answered.

“Thank you. Mn, I will go home right now. Did you have problems?” A small pause as he nodded. “Perfect. I will be there in a bit. Give me twenty minutes.” He ended the call. “Erase the number.” He said standing up and walking up to the man.

Jiang Cheng unlocked his phone and did as he was told. He was also given the half full cup.

“I am taking the apple if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead. Hold on.” He stood going to his drawer. A-Cheng opened it and took out some pills. “Take them.” XiChen extended his palm. The eyes of the young baker almost fell out of his head when he saw him dry swallow. “I could have given you water for that.”

“I don’t have time. Don’t worry.” Lan XiChen put on his coat slowly and grabbed the apple biting into it. “Goodbye.”

“See you tomorrow?” Jiang Cheng half said, half asked. He wasn’t sure if he was to return the day after.

“See you tomorrow.”

As he sat there, alone, he realized he hadn’t asked. From what he could see, it was a big bold tattoo, but dry blood had stained it and he wasn’t sure of what it was. What he did know, was that it was big, covering the left half of his chest. It must have hurt.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng squished the envelope in between his hands. He doubted she would accept the money, especially if she knew where it came from. She wanted nothing to do with shady people, and A-Cheng had dragged her into it out of desperation.

That day, he had only come to work for an hour and a half. As soon as he set foot in his office, XiChen slid an envelope in front of him. He then asked when she was free so he could drop A-Cheng to pay her, XiChen was conscious that he wouldn’t be accepted near her.

As a shield, A-Cheng had brought some of the new pastries he had baked so as to charm her to let him in. 

“Jiang Cheng.” She said, stepping aside for him to enter.

He gulped.

Wen Qing and A-Cheng had developed a good friend’s relationship. But now, it didn’t feel normal, especially given the fact she usually called him A-Cheng and not Jiang Cheng. The only reason he had called her was because he panicked, and among everyone he knew, she was the one he trusted would help. She in fact did; in the few hours he had shared with XiChen that morning, he had seemed alright.

His mind was already worked up, thinking whether his boss would like what he had prepared for him that day or not. A drinkable blend of everything he could find would work for injuries. It had somehow turned alright. Ginseng, walnuts, cinnamon, ginger, lotus seed, berries and jujube. XiChen hadn’t commented much on it, rather accepting.

“Jiang Cheng.” Wen Qing spoke again. “Are you going to come in?”

“Oh, yes, I am sorry.” He nodded and walked in. “I brought you pastries.” A-Cheng said, as if that would help.

“I didn’t know you delivered them in manila envelops.”

“Yeah… about that...” He cleaned his throat. “XiChen wanted to pay you for yesterday.”

She raised her open hand, stopping him. “Spare me the talk. I am not taking the money. Would you like some tea?”

“Wen Qing...”

“Jiang Cheng, I am not involving myself with them. And you shouldn’t either. They are dangerous.” She poured water into a kettle before turning on a burner.

“I know. But-”

“But you still called me to go to your house.” Having heard that, he remained silent. There was nothing he could rebuke. She sighed softly. “I have to ask, what was he doing in your house, A-Cheng? What do you have to do with them? I am worried for you.”

“It is a long story.” A-Cheng sighed as well.

“Sit, I have time.” Wen Qing was a master in avoiding bullshit. And the youngest Jiang could only avoid the topic for so long.

Jiang Cheng sat heavily on the chair, taking out of his backpack the container with the delicacies. He found himself baking more and more often, immersing in it to ignore the stress of his daily life. “Remember I told you I had to close the store?”

“Yes. You said it was for remodeling.”

“Well… actually… it is rebuilding.”

“What happened?” His friend put a plate in front of him so he could take out the food.

“The back of the building was burnt down. By one of Wen Chao’s subordinates.”

Her face twisted. The only thing her and that branch of Wens had in common was a surname. Her parents had long separated themselves from such a dangerous side. It cost them their life to do so. And knowing the aversion she had towards mobs, A-Cheng felt even worse for his rushed thinking. 

“Why?”

“That, I do not know. It was probably another thing Wei WuXian did...” He sighed, rubbing his face. “He doesn’t know I know… but he is dating Lan Wangji.”

“And you are dating Lan XiChen.” She stood up to turn off the heat and prepare tea with the already boiled water.

Jiang Cheng choked on his own saliva. “I am not!” He hurriedly spat. “He is my boss. I am not dating him. Or in any non-work relationship.”

“You were lacking clothes when I got there.”

He chuckled but it was a dry, nervous laugh. “Let me explain.”

“Go ahead. Is chamomile tea okay?”

“Yes… well...” Jiang Cheng struggled to put his thoughts into coherent words. Wen Qing remained silent and it made him a bit more nervous. “I needed money to fix it before our parents returned from their vacations and the bank wouldn’t give me a loan so… you know.”

"Didn’t your parents help? I thought you had savings.”

“I couldn't tell them. They would return right away. I rather tell them once the deal is settled. If my mom suspects it has to do with Wei WuXian it could get him kicked out, and I don’t want that.”

She shook his head. “Go on. How did you end up working for him? And what is your work exactly?”

“I am working for him to pay off the debt… he has me working serving him and his visitors tea. But just until the rebuild is done. I don’t have that much left.”

“Just serving tea?” She frowned. “I do not know the sum you needed but I doubt just serving tea is payment enough.”

“I swear that is it… Well… there is something else.”

“What?”

A-Cheng cleared his throat again. A tea cup was placed in front of him and he drank from it. “He kind of… made me wear a dress.” He whispered the last part, looking away.

Yet, it wasn’t as low as he needed it to be for her not to listen. “A dress?” She blinked looking at him. “Jiang Cheng… What is all of this about? Don’t you find it weird?”

“What can I do, A-Qing?” He whispered, defeated. “I already accepted the deal. And I am halfway through.”

“I am going to say this again. They are dangerous.”

“I know, but he hasn’t done anything to me.”

“Yet." She stated sternly. "He hasn't done anything to you yet.”

“He has protected me, A-Qing.”

“Was he protecting you yesterday?”

“Wen Qing… He really does.”

“What has he done to protect you?”

“He has sent people to look after me so I don’t get killed… and yesterday he hid me and protected me from the attacks.”

“So he is protecting you from trouble he has gotten you involved in?”

“Yes, but he could have killed me instead of sending someone to protect me.”

“That would have been easier, you say?” Wen Qing raised her eyebrows looking at him.

“Exactly.” Jiang Cheng smiled feeling he had gotten his point across.

“Then, why is he taking the hardest road?” She said, sipping her tea. He was rendered speechless. That, he didn’t know. “Why is he protecting you instead of killing you? Why was he in your house? Why is he so good with you? Dressing as a woman and serving tea does not equal the money needed to pay for a full professional kitchen like you had. And you are just doing it for a month you say. You are not sleeping with him, you are not giving him anything in return.”

“This is a deal...”

“I know it is a deal. And that is what gets me worried. You have an unequal deal in which you aren’t returning much, and trust me, I know these people want something in return.”

“What is your point?” Jiang Cheng felt goosebumps, he became defensive.

“Has he said something that could be interpreted as if he’s gotten a liking to you?”

Even though he refuted, the time it took him to answer was the answer itself.

When he had entered her apartment, only one of them was worried. When he exited, they were both concerned. At least Jiang Cheng could feel at ease having gotten her to take the money. It was his only consolation…

~~~

Since XiChen had told him to take the rest of that day off, he came the next day. “Good morning.” A-Lian said after closing the door. “How are you feeling?” The electric kettle was turned on.

“Good morning.” Lan XiChen was reading some papers on his desk with a pen in hand. “I am better. How is my Lianlian doing?”

Jiang Cheng huffed shaking his head, he had taken quite a liking in calling him Lianlian. “I am doing fine. I was also asking about your injury.”

“I know. It is quite better. Or does my Lianlian need me to strip to see? I don’t mind, as long as you undress as well so I don’t feel lonely.”

His eyes were still on the papers. A-Cheng shook his head again. “Why are you like this?”

“You seem to feel more at ease when I joke about our relationship. You forget I overpower you. If you wish for me to stop, I will.” XiChen looked up, their gazes meeting. “I am okay, Jiang Cheng. You do not need to worry. I have gone through worse, but your friend was quite diligent and I am healing faster than expected.”

“I am glad.” He sighed softly. A-Cheng’s eyes wandered over him briefly, he was hesitant to ask. He began brewing their morning tea automatically, while inconspicuously peeking at him.

“What is on your mind, Lianlian? I can feel your stare over me.” 

“Uh,” Jiang Cheng was stunned to have been caught red handed. He cleaned his throat. “Um… I brought red bean buns and matcha tea.”

“That sounds delicious, I cannot wait to try them.” XiChen placed the papers aside, waiting for the food. His hands were intertwined as he leaned his elbows and body over the table. “And why were you staring at me? Are you really that worried about my injuries? I can still protect you if necessary.”

“That is not… it.” Inhaling deeply, he placed everything on the table. “I was… wondering about your tattoo.”

“Oh. About my tattoo. What about it? Are you surprised someone else has one?” He asked playfully. As usual, two teaspoons of sugar were placed on his tea.

Immediately, A-Cheng touched his neck. “You saw it?”

“Naturally. You’ve undressed in the back of my car several times.” The way he calmly said so while staring directly into Jiang Cheng’s eyes made him embarrassed. Why did he always had to make things sound so… naughty?

“Me and my brother did them a few years ago.” He explained as he caressed his’.

“Do you two have the same?”

“Mn. He also has it on the back of his neck.”

“Interesting.”

“What about you?” A-Cheng inquired.

“I will tell you if you tell me why you helped me with the injury.”

Jiang Cheng was not expecting him to ask about it. “Oh, well. It is simple. I would feel uncomfortable if I didn’t. I couldn’t let you bleed to death. I still owe you money.”

Lan XiChen laughed while smiling. “You have an honest heart, Lianlian.”

“It is your turn to answer now.”

“I have a tiger tattooed, it represents the year I was born. It is in between clouds to represent the Group.”

“Oh, it was a tiger? It is quite big.”

“Mn. It has a purpose.” The man said as he reached out for one bun he had been delivered.

“A purpose?” 

“Yes.”

“May I know?”

“It is big enough the only way to make it disappear is to either burn my entire body or dissolve me in acid. If not, Wangji will be able to recognize me immediately.” He said calmly as he sipped his tea.

Jiang Cheng stared at him in awe. Was he joking? The fact he did nothing to show he was perplexed him. After that, he bit into the bun and A-Cheng knew the talk had ended. As long as he was eating, he wouldn’t reply.

Their silence was only broken when the door was knocked, A-Lian stood up to fulfill 'her' role. “Yes?” He asked, opening the door.

One of the subordinates gave him a letter. It was a handwritten letter. He frowned at the sight of who was issuing it. Young Souls: Children's Center. “Thank you.” He replied with a sweetened voice.

His shock was amazingly lesser than the one he found in XiChen’s frozen smile at the sight of said name. Breathing slowly, Lan XiChen grabbed the stack of paper by his side and passed it on to his ‘assistant’. “Deliver this to the desk in the front for me, please.”

There were no further words needed, he was clearly pushing him out of the room.

Chapter Text

When Jiang Cheng came back, Lan XiChen had a phone in his hand. He had finished eating and the letter was back again in the envelope. "Good morning, this is Lan XiChen calling." His voice sounded charming as he smiled.

Jiang Cheng frowned deeply. When he had left five minutes ago, the man was extremely alert, now his mood had changed completely. He signaled A-Lian to keep silent.

With nothing else to do he retrieved his cup and pastries from the desk to leave them in the small table in the corner where the electric kettle laid. He sat opening his bag and taking out his recipes book and notepad. A-Cheng always managed to gather inspiration from them, changing one thing or two from the original recipes.

However, what he began writing down wasn’t recipes or directions, but things he began hearing from the conversation. Eavesdropping wasn’t nice, especially when you had a criminal as your boss, but Jiang Cheng felt uneasy. He told himself he needed to know if he had to be careful around him so as not to upset him or if he shouldn’t worry.

“I am glad to hear that. Yes. Oh, I see. You do not need to worry... I have something peculiar to ask to the miss, would you tell me if the sum that you received was the following? I was a bit worried it wouldn’t reach you completely.”

Jiang Cheng was barely hearing him at first, yet, when he said sum he found it odd. He frowned in the book’s direction, listening with attention and curiosity. His eyes almost bursted out of his face when he heard the number he was reciting.

“Oh, it is? I am glad then. Yeah. this is my company’s number. Would you like my personal number?” He nodded. “I can give it to you no problem… Thank me? There is no need really. I am glad to help. I heard the center accepted donations.” He glanced at the computer screen. “I had to help, of course… On monday? Sounds wonderful. If you come to the company I can receive you over in the morning, does ten o’clock sound fitting? Perfect.” He jotted something on a paper on the desk. When he lowered the phone A-Cheng knew the phone call had ended. XiChen laughed and shook his head.

“Did something happen?” A-Lian asked as if he wasn’t interested at all.

“Your friend is quite astute, isn’t she?” He flashed A-Cheng a smile that made him uneasy.

“Friend? Do you mean Wen Qing?” His back straightened up, now alert. “Did she… do something?”

“I wouldn’t have expected this to turn out this way. She is far beyond my expectations.”

“XiChen?” Jiang Cheng asked slightly scared by the implications of what he was speaking about.

“Your friend refused to be paid.”

“What do you mean? She accepted the money. I know. I delivered it to her.” Unconsciously, he defended her, feeling as if her becoming someone astute was troublesome to the man in front of him.

“She gave the money away to the Center… under my name.” Their gazes met. “Everything I gave her.”

Jiang Cheng was flabbergasted, partially because of what Wen Qing had done, and partially because he had found out how much XiChen paid her to keep her quiet. “What… are you going to do?” He asked while looking down, his fingers caressing the cooking book’s cover slowly, to hide his shaking hands.

“What can I do? The money was already donated. I don’t particularly mind since I already had thought about that money as out of my pocket, I am just wondering why she would refuse it.”

“Please don’t… be mad at her. She probably thought they needed it more than her. She has an aversion towards… you know.”

“People like me. I know. I read her file. I wasn’t expecting her to refuse the money since she has university debts, but it seems she wasn’t what I expected her to be.”

“File?” A-Cheng frowned.

“Mn. I have her information here, family, date of birth, studies, basic things.”

“Why do you have a file about her?”

“Your friend was involved with the Wens, furthermore, she helped me with my wounds. I needed to see how her knowledge about my condition would affect me. I take care of myself. After I read her parents got killed by Wen Rouhan, I wasn’t sure she would like to be involved with me but money is usually well received by those with debts.”

“She isn’t like that… I must say I thought she would receive the money just because she didn’t want to inconvenience me.”

“She had to know I would know about this.”

Jiang Cheng didn’t know how to respond to that, instead he ventured to ask. “So what are you going to do about it?”

“The miss said the kids wanted to give me thanking gifts, so I agreed to see them on monday.” He sighed while smiling. “I must inconvenience A-Lian and ask her for some help.”

“Help? What can I help you with?” He asked, confused.

“I will need a bit more baked goods and things to cater to the children on monday.”

Jiang Cheng was a bit surprised hearing that, but he couldn’t help the smile. “I can help with that. I might know a thing or two about what children like. However, I must know if there is someone with a special diet so no one feels left out.”

“As my Lianlian says… I will ask immediately. When do you need me to pick you up to buy the ingredients?”

“Pick me up?”

“I have to pay for the ingredients you will use.”

“Oh, okay.” Until that point, he was the one paying what he brought… although, most of the ingredients came from the store since he had to use them before they went bad, it was still his pocket money. He hadn’t expected the offer, but he wouldn’t refuse either.

Chapter Text

For the first time, Jiang Cheng was driven to the supermarket to pick up produce. He was used to either driving himself or sending Wei WuXian to go on his own. Despite his line of work, even XiChen seemed to behave like a normal person. He had even brought his own bags, to do groceries for himself. A-Cheng was amazed by it, but he soon shook his head and just chuckled at his own absurdity. He was a person after all, of course he would at least know how to shop for himself.

He was in a good mood, luckily, he had come as a man without the need for a disguise. Jiang Cheng jumped down the car and grabbed his stuff. This was his favorite store after all. He saluted the security guard on his way inn, followed by an inconspicuously dressed Lan XiChen. “You are not wearing a suit.” He pointed out as they both grabbed carts.

“I am not working.”

“Oh, you don’t wear suits always?” The man shook his head. “Then where are you hiding it?” He asked curiously.

“Where am I hiding what?” XiChen looked at him smiling.

“Nothing.” He turned to look at his shopping list.

Lan XiChen leaned in, whispering next to his ear. “I hide my gun somewhere Lianlian wouldn’t dare to look at.”

Jiang Cheng jumped a little out of surprise. Immediately, his eyes went to the mob’s crotch. Low and raspy, his chuckle made A-Cheng’s skin have goosebumps. He swallowed and looked away. “Don’t play me, or I will spice what you eat.”

“Will you? And what makes you think I won’t like it?”

He looked at XiChen with his eyebrows arched. ”Really? I know your palate is mild. I have been feeding you for a couple of weeks now. I can take a guess.”

“Seems like I’ve been caught.” He smiled again.

Jiang Cheng shook his head and turned towards the shopping list. “I was thinking of doing butter and jam cookies, tanghulu with shanzha and white lotus roots, and roasted almonds for the sweet. And some char siu pastry and dumplings as the savory… Or should I do mahua?” He turned to see XiChen, who looked at him in slight awe. “What?”

“You are going full out.”

“Of course, I am not only feeding your crew but also children. I need lots of food.”

“Will you be able to do all of that on your own?“

“Oh, you sure have no idea of how much we cook daily.” He chuckled. “I will make it on time, don’t worry. But probably Mahua will not be suitable to make in quantity in my kitchen.”

“Would you like some help?” The man said as he pushed the trolly.

“Will you be able to keep up with me?” A-Cheng smiled to avoid laughing.

“I can at least manage to try.”

“Fine. We will see how long the boss manages to stand before quitting.”

XiChen began putting ‘normal people’ things into his cart, to avoid being too nosy, Jiang Cheng began grabbing all of the ingredients. Next to him, the man took out his phone, seemingly to call someone. “Hello? Yes...” As A-Cheng grabbed another flour package he could hear a woman’s voice on the other side of the phone. “I was calling to know if we have milk. Yes… thank you.” Jiang Cheng’s eyes brows cooked upwards as he looked at him. XiChen caught his eyes. “What?”

“I didn’t know you had a partner.”

Lan XiChen chuckled. “Is Lianlian worried about my love life?”

“Not at all.” He cleared his throat.  

“I will tell you if you want to know.” It seemed dangerous to ask.

“It is not necessary.” Suddenly ashamed of being too intrusive, he turned to finish fishing for the ingredients. Once on the cash register, XiChen did not doubt to take out his card. Lan Huan. It was an interesting name. A memory flashed in his mind… "Come with Huan-ge, A-Lian." He shivered remembering his sugary voice and he suddenly wanted some distance from the man.

Those few seconds of distraction were enough for the man to pay and grab all of the bags on his own. “Let’s go.” Jiang Cheng was surprised to see him grabbing all the bags.

“Let me help you.” He asked.

“Sure, grab the car keys to open it.” XiChen replied totally unbothered. He had six bags of heavy groceries and did not look like he was doing any actual work.

“It must be heavy.”

“It is okay. I can carry this much. Come on.” He said pushing the door with his back and using his foot to stop it from closing so Jiang Cheng could come out as well.

“Where are the car keys?” 

“Front pocket, my left.”

He ignored the uncomfortable thought of having to rummage in a man’s pants and just did it. “Are we going directly to my apartment or are we going to yours?”

“I will leave you at your place, drive to mine and then come back once I finish putting everything away.”

A-Cheng nodded.

~~~

“You just need to turn this on and whisk around, it is not that hard, right?” Jiang Cheng instructed him as if he was speaking to a child.

The man had his hair up in a bun and an apron above his clothes. A-Cheng had prepped him so he could cook properly. XiChen could at least use an electric whisk. Couldn’t he? “Remember to add the ingredients slowly, careful with the flour or it will go anywhere.”

Once it was time to add the flour, in A-Cheng’s kitchen it snowed. “Slowly, you said?” XiChen tried to take off the flour from his face.

It took one look to the man for Jiang Cheng to begin laughing out loud. Lan XiChen sighed and laughed at himself as well. A-Cheng helped him clean up a little before he went to the bathroom while his partner finished with the first batch of cookie dough. He had to weight the bowl to know how much flour was left and eyeball it slightly. The almonds were ready so he took them out of the over and with the help of a piping bag he began pressing the dough out to make star-shaped cookies.

“Do you need help with that?”

“Do you know how to use one of these?”

“I can learn.”

He was so eager, A-Cheng couldn’t let his ego down. “Fine. Come here, I will teach you.” XiChen approached and he grabbed his hands. “You grab this and then press hard with your hand. Remember to squeeze this part so it doesn’t spill from the upper part. Follow my hands so you can learn how to move.” He guided him, teaching him how to press and how to cut the dough flow. “You push with this hand, slowly. Grab this part carefully or it will spill upwards.” His fingers were good at pressing. “Now stop pressing and rise up.”

It took a couple of attempts for him to get it right. While he finished pumping that dough, the baker began a second batch to leave ready. XiChen was definitely fine.

“Oh.”

Jiang Cheng turned to see him. The dough was all over the hand in which he was supposed to grab the piping bag’s knot. He sighed, shaking his head and letting out a chuckle. “I won’t even ask if you know how to make caramel.”

“I am useless, aren’t I?” He smiled apologetically.

“You can do coffee.”

“That bad?”

“I shall say... ” He used a spoon to grab the dough that could be saved. “Stick to your guns.” Jiang Cheng smiled while looking at his eyes.

He nodded after laughing. “How do you drink your coffee?”

“Two teaspoons of sugar and a dash of milk.”

“I will do coffee then.” XiChen smiled.

“Sounds fine by me.”

Once the little inconvenience was out of the way, he could work way faster. XiChen helped him by giving him the stands to leave things drying, the racks for the cookies. Everything he had gathered from the cafeteria that his sister hadn’t left on her own house. They had to empty the cafe while they did the remodeling.

“You work fast.”

“I am efficient with time… but don’t feel bad. I have been working in this for the past eleven or twelve years… Asking you for this level is like asking me to carry a gun.”

“I do not only know how to carry a gun.” He cocked an eyebrow while sipping his coffee.

“I do not know if I need to ask.”

“I have two degrees as well.”

“What about?”

“A music degree and a law degree.”

“Law and music?” Jiang Cheng didn’t know which to be more surprised about. “Really? Which instruments do you play?”

XiChen smiled until he felt his phone move, as he looked at the screen his expression gloomed. “We will have to continue this talk tomorrow if you will excuse me.” He stood up. “Some business suddenly appeared up.”

“I thought you didn’t work on weekends.”

“I don’t.” His mood was icy. Kneeling, he raised his pants, showing one of his tall boots. A small gun was slid out of it. “I will take my leave. See you tomorrow.”

Jiang Cheng did not ask any further.

“See you tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

“Don’t you think the mask will make them look at me too much?” Jiang Cheng asked in front of the mirror. 

“Probably, would you like to take it off for today?”

“I will look too manly and I don’t want them recognizing my face.”

“I could help with that.”

“How? Will you play a song for me to morph into a woman?” He rolled his eyes finishing his hair.

XiChen chuckled. “Lianlian is sure playful today, what about some makeup?”

“No thank you, I would rather be looked at.”

“And I don’t play music to make magic, even though I admit I wish I had such capacities, I am barely a humble musician.”

“I was wondering what instruments do you play.”

“Plenty, such as piano and harp, but the one I like the most is the vertical flute.”

A-Cheng’s eyebrows trembled, a scowl threatening to pop. He side-eyed the man, was that some sort of cheap joke? “Is that so?”

“Mn, I have been told I am quite good at it.”

“By who? Past lovers?” After a couple of weeks together, A-Cheng had learnt how to thicken his face slightly.

The man smiled, “what exactly is my Lianlian thinking? I am strictly speaking about a flute, a qin xiao.” 

“You actually play the flute? Do you have any kind of recording about it? I am curious.”

“What will A-Lian give me in return?”

“Forget it.” Jiang Cheng scowled and left the side room of XiChen’s office. “I will be going to the meeting room to set the trays of food in order before the kids arrive. Don’t be inappropriate in front of them.”

“I won’t. You do not need to worry.” He smiled while nodding, returning to his desk to drink his morning cup of tea.

A-Lian sighed and left before he could continue mocking him. It was kind of stressful feeling the man play around so much. These children didn’t need to be around someone as dangerous as him, but he couldn’t say that. He could only hope those manners the man had in front of others weren’t a bluff.

~~~

“Gege is nice.” The little girl smiled while touching XiChen's face.

Jiang Cheng fought to keep his mouth closed, he was not expecting the man to be good with children, let alone like them.

“You are nice too, xiao-er.” He gently patted her head while grabbing her chubby hand to take it away from his face. His smile was genuine as he propped her on his knee carefully.

The kids were devouring A-Cheng’s food and he was glad; but his attention on how these tastes were amongst little ones was diminished greatly by a big bulky criminal rocking a little girl in his arms until she laughed. 

While doing so, XiChen talked camly with the woman in charge of the orphanage to which the donation had been made. They seemed to know each other, which was weird. However, everything surrounding Lan XiChen was turning weirder and weirder, so A-Cheng didn’t seem to be that surprised. From the head of one of the scariest criminal organizations of the city to a “normal” man good with kids who disliked overly spicy or overly sweetened things… He had to admit that from moment one when he was told he was supposed to wear a dress he knew the man had something peculiar going on in his head.

His train of thoughts was stopped when a sticky chubby hand touched his. A-Lian looked down to encounter a thin and almost shabby boy next to the girl that used to be on XiChen’s lap a few moments ago. “Yes?” A-Lian asked with a soft girly voice. After a few days training it with XiChen he managed to pretend well if he kept it monotone, it helped when interacting with the others in the building.

“Pretty gege said you were the one who made the food.”

“Yes, I was. Is there a problem with it?” A-Lian kneeled carefully in front of them to be at their height while he smiled. They reminded him of Jin Ling a bit, especially the shy boy next to the girl, it made him heart soften a bit.

They both shook their heads. “No, it was tasty tasty!” The girl spoke effusively.

One soft voice echoed her words. “Mn, really.” Her friend next to her nodded timidly.

“I am glad to hear that. What did you enjoy the most?”

“The cookies.” The girl said.

“The dumplings… I like pork.” The boy said.

“What are your names?” A-Lian asked as he reached over to the table to grab one of the napkins in the display.

“I am Chunhua (春花), he is Gan (敢).”

“How pretty, I am sure you will both grow to suit your names very properly.” Somehow, both, especially the boy, found themselves proud of being told that. “Xiao-Gun, you have some sauce on your face, allow me to clean it for you.” He showed him the napkin on his hand. Gan looked a bit embarrassed, but earnestly closed his eyes so he could rub it off. A-Lian placed his fingers gently on his chin, tilting his head and cleaning his cheek. “There you go. Now you are clean.”

“Am I clean, jiejie?” Chunhua asked, wanting some attention.

A-Lian looked at her. “Mnn… Here, I will clean you too.”

That gathered some of the other kids attention, and one of the grown ups who couldn’t help but smile softly. “Jiejie did these candy?” One of the other kids showed one of the tonghulu sticks.

“Yes, I did.” A-Lian nodded.

“They are really good.”

“This too?” Somebody else asked.

“Mn.” He nodded again.

XiChen smiled even more and spoke out. “Lianlian did all of the tasty things you have eaten today. If you liked it, don't doubt she will be happy to hear it out.”

The kids began telling him all of the things they liked and Jiang Cheng was flooded with more attention than he could manage. It took a small scolding from the director of the orphanage to settled them down, A-Lian was sat next to them on the table and they all began asking a lot of questions. Jiang Cheng did not mind to answer them, all except the one he was least expecting.

“What is jiejie’s name?”

He blanked. Should he use his surname? Should he invent one?

“Lan Lianhua. That is her name.”

Jiang Cheng’s eyes sprang open and he looked at him. The. Nerve. The woman that came with the children eyed 'her'. She seemed to be surprised but smiled at A-Lian in a way that made Jiang Cheng want to hide himself. He wanted to kill Lan XiChen right then and there.

The rest of the event was more peaceful, by lunchtime they were gone. He wanted to discuss that name but XiChen had to leave.

A-Lian went to clean the dishes in the building’s kitchen and cleaned the meeting’s room, then he took a lunch break and by the time he came back there was not much time left to the end of his shift.

“I need to talk to you.” He said, solemnly. 

Everything that he had been thinking the past hours flew out the window. “What happened?”

“I need your cooking skills for this Friday. We are having an event.”

“This Friday? What is the event about?”

“I’ve arranged to have a celebration for Children’s day.”

“Oh.” That friday was the first of June. “How many people will there be?”

“I don’t know yet. We are to expect at least two hundred people.”

“Two hundred people? There is no way I can do so much food on my own.”

“I know. I’ve made arrangements to use an industrial oven but you will probably need your siblings, I will be hiring all of you.”

“Do you have a menu in mind?”

“Not really. I have spoken with the orphanage and they are lacking money, so we are going to do a charity event so people can come and donate.” Jiang Cheng was in shock, until the next words came out. “It would benefit both the charity and the company’s image.”

He sighed, there was an ulterior motive, but at least it was something good. “I wil speak with my crew, we will see if we can do it.”

“Good, I will pay you everything, both materials and for your services. Do you need to take these days off?”

“Yes, I will. When will we go and buy produce?”

“Tomorrow sounds good to you?”

“I will speak to my suppliers and work a menu tonight. Although, I still need to ask if my people are free. We are a cafe, not a catering service, it might not work out.”

“There is still a chance, tell me before midnight if you accept the offer. This is my payment.” He slid a paper towards him.

The number was high enough to make the man pale. “This… I think this will suffice.” It was more than enough, they were going to work hard but it wouldn’t be for nothing, besides there was a good cause behind it. His jiejie would probably agree even if they were only given the ingredients, it was in her motherly instinct.

“Go change, I will take you home early so you have time to arrange everything.” 

Jiang Cheng nodded and left to the side room. ”We will need a signed contract before we start.”

“I will have it redacted by tomorrow.”

With that, the man was even happier to get changed. He used his hoodie to cover his head, he didn’t want to be seen next to the man. “You go first, my car is parked where usual.” XiChen threw him the keys and turned to a paper stack on his desk.

A-Cheng nodded and walked out of the room and went straight into the parking lot, he took out his phone to text both of his siblings. Perhaps with the extra money they could have some savings for produce when they opened up.

“What are you doing here?” A question out of nowhere startled him. When Jiang Cheng turned a man threw himself onto him, he dropped the keys to the floor and threw a punch. When the man growled and took a step back, he could recognize who it was, Su She. He wanted to stop him but didn’t know how.

All it took was a moment of doubt and he was taken advantage of. He felt his body smashed against a wall and his face pressed forcefully. A-Cheng fought, moving his leg behind him, kicking him. Su She growled and Jiang Cheng froze when he saw a gun pressing on his forehead. “Be still!” He shouted. “Now answer me, what are you doing here?”

“Oh my my… Su She I didn’t expect you to be here.” XiChen sighed, his steps hurrying closer.

“Boss… This man got inside here. I don’t know how but I’ve stopped him. How should I proceed?”

“Release him.”

“Alright… what? Release him?”

“Mn, release him. You sure don’t want to hurt my Lianlian, don’t you?”

Su She was silent for a few seconds, but his hand surrounding Jiang Cheng’s neck receded. “Your Lianlian? Is this...?”

“Shh… It’s a secret.” When Jiang Cheng turned around he saw XiChen winking. “I was taking her home.” Su She stared at the tall man frowning, in his face disbelief was present. “Su She, put the gun away. Don’t scare him.”

“Is he really A-Lian?” He obeyed the order.

“Yes, I am.” Jiang Cheng sneered in the female voice he had. The one who had just attacked him paled. A-Cheng glared at XiChen. “You said nobody would be here. I don’t want this to be known.”

“Don’t worry. Su She won’t speak, isn’t that right, Su She?” His smile towards the other was menacing.

“Mn. I will be dead silent, boss.”

“Good. Or else I will have to make you comply with your words. And we don’t want that.” He chuckled, his eyes not shining, as if dead.

Jiang Cheng suppressed the need to shiver. Shut up or be killed. That was a terrifying statement. He was suddenly reminded of that talk with Wen Qing. He had never been threatened like that by him. Why?

That question haunted him on the way back.

Chapter Text

“Woah,” he breathed out as he raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t had many expectations about an event that came up unexpectedly barely four days prior, yet, as he settled the plate down, his eyes wandered around the giant gymnasium. An inflatable castle and a ball pit stood out immediately. On the side, there was a large table shorter than the others where there seemed to be different bundles of things.

A-Cheng couldn’t ignore his curiosity and he approached it. He smiled softly as he leaned to grab a bundle of popsicles. These had red and black dots, which meant they were for playing Tiu-u, a game he knew by heart because Jin Ling loved playing it with him. It had taught him how to recognize different numbers and to count up to six. There were multiple sets of popsicles, meant for multiple pairs of kids to play.

On the floor, over two joined foam tiles, were two little felt disks. It looked to be for playing Throwing the square. Next to them were more of the same sets, around twelve or thirteen. The man had arranged the games to be plenty indeed. They could play it in teams if they wanted and many children could enjoy them at once.

Behind the table and protected by a net wall, there were some shuttlecocks placed on a table for children to have enough room to kick them; next to them was also a basket filled with different sized balls.

XiChen came in next to his sister, carrying one box of desserts carefully. Jiang Cheng waited until his siblings were far before speaking to him like normally. “You have exceeded my expectations, I must say.”

“What an honor.” He chuckled. “I told you I wanted to make this for at least two hundred people. Besides, the thirty two children from the orphanage are coming, and this is a special day for them, they must enjoy it.”

“I didn’t expect you to actually care that much.”

“As I was speaking to the director I found out they were short on funds and she was really grateful for the donation she received. I would imagine children had been suffering said lack of funding, don’t you feel they need some happiness?”

A-Cheng was left dumbfounded, since when was this man so keen on making children happy? It did not look to be the same person he had met. “Who would have known you would have a soft spot for children.”

“They are more sincere and purer than most adults. In the job I do those two qualities are nonexistent. Don’t you feel it can be refreshing to be around them?” He placed the items in the box out. “Oh, you have made new things.”

“I imagined tanghulu was unsuitable for a playground, they would get sticky fingers so I chose otherwise.” Jiang Cheng helped him set the things on the table in a proper display.

“Were you three tight on the short notice?”

“My people were happy to be paid for working. The month’s lack of work affected everyone.”

“I see… But you will soon go back to it.” XiChen smiled softly for just a few seconds.

“I cannot wait, this time around I realized how much I really miss it.”

“You miss it?”

“I too find it odd, since I haven’t stopped baking really.”

“Mn, I see.”

“Have they told you something about the repairs?”

“It must be completely ready for next Wednesday.”

“Just five more days and I will be freed.”

“Mn… just five more days of Lianlian to go. If you will excuse me, I need to go speak to Wangji.”

“Go ahead, I will finish here.” XiChen walked straight to his brother and A-Cheng searched with his eyes for his’. Surprisingly, he found him close to the second Lan. Wei WuXian went back to business as soon as he saw Lan XiChen walking close to them, catching Jiang Cheng’s gaze and smiling before approaching him. “What is there left to do?”

“This is the last box we need to unpack.” Their jiejie said softly as she placed a small plastic box which contained some gluten free cupcakes. This time around they had accommodated their menu to a broader public, remembering to make some additions to those with special diets.

“I think we are done here after that then.” Jiang Cheng said.

“Won’t we stay?” Wei WuXian asked, almost pouting.

“Do you want to see children play?”

“It will be lively.” With that smile of his Jiang Cheng would have believed he wanted to play with the kids, but he knew it was probably because he wanted to be around his –not so – secret partner.

“I have asked A-Xuan to bring A-Ling. Will you stay, A-Cheng? Mister Lan invited us to.“

“If Jin Ling is coming too then I guess I could stay as well. There are Tiu-u popsicles on that table over there.”

Yanli smiled even more. “He will make you play with him for sure.”

“I wouldn’t mind that.”

"He will be happy." She said looking around. "It seems a lot of people are expected to come."

"Yes," he had to stop himself from using his name. "Mister Lan stated at least two hundred, that is why we were asked to make food for four hundred."

"Lan Zhan said they expected people would like to donate since the entrance is free."

"The pamphlet said there would be a raffle, the price being a package full of games." Yanli smiled.

"Is that so? I didn't know." Jiang Cheng glanced at Lan XiChen. Was it only to raise the company's reputation? There seemed to be a lot invested here.

'For me?' He vaguely thought before quickly dismissing that idea. There was no way he owed money and an orphanage didn't work as a money laundering station, or at least it didn't look to be.

What connection was there?

"Excuse me, I will go speak to Mister Lan." A-Cheng said ungluing himself from his siblings before walking to Lan XiChen. "XiChen, may I ask something?"

The man turned to see him, with a gentle smile on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

Jiang Cheng shook his head, thinking whether it would be proper to ask or not. Before he could, someone else joined them.

The first to arrive, even before the opening of the big gymnasium doors was the same lady he had seen on monday, the director. She caught XiChen's attention immediately.

From up close, now that Jiang Cheng didn't have to avoid her gaze so as not to be exhibited as a man, she looked to be older than he had thought. At least mid fifties.

"Lan XiChen, Lan Wangji, good morning." She bowed. "I am sorry, mister, what is your name?" She politely asked as she looked at Jiang Cheng. 

They exchanged names and greetings politely. "I came early as you asked me to, which was the matter you wanted to discuss." Her eyes looked around.

"I wanted to ask details about where to deposit the money we will raise today."

"Oh, I see…" She nodded. "I am curious, will he come today?"

"I am afraid he is sick so he is resting. Don't worry, you two will be able to meet another time." He smiled, shaking his head. "Would you mind discussing the money matter with my brother?"

"Not at all. I don't mind."

"Follow me, miss." Lan Wangji said walking next to her to take her away.

Jiang Cheng got distracted. "Who was she asking about?" When he turned his gaze back at XiChen and his politically correct smile, he realized it wasn't his business. He cleaned his throat. "That is you want to tell."

"She is an old acquaintance of my uncle. But he won't be coming in today."

"Oh." A-Cheng nodded. Perhaps this was all to please his uncle. When his doubts had been settled he realized he was being stared at. "What?"

XiChen's eyebrows moved slightly. "Was that what you wanted to ask me?"

"Ah, oh no. What I wanted to ask…" It took a couple of blinks to remind himself of what he had come to ask. "What am I supposed to do today?"

"You are here as Jiang Cheng."

"I know."

"Then, your job is to enjoy. I was informed your nephew is coming too. He will most likely want to play with you."

Jiang Cheng scowled. "How did you…"

"Your sister was keen on praising me for setting this up and told me she was bringing her child as well."

That relaxed his factions greatly, he even smiled. "Yeah, jiejie was greatly pleased with the idea of fundraising for the children."

"I am glad. Let's hope more people think the same about it."

"They will."

To that, XiChen only mellowed his smile before nodding. 

Time later, machines for coffee and tea were settled on a corner of the gym; and the bleachers were cleaned thoroughly. Just when the clock marked 12 o'clock, Lan Wangji and Wei WuXian opened the doors for the hoards of parents and children to enter. And the fun began.

Chapter Text

Parents and children spread everywhere. Among those who came in, Jiang Cheng could spot several of XiChen’s subordinates, with their partners and children hand in hand.  It was interesting, and a bit comical, that he knew exactly who each of them was but they brushed past him without recognizing him. Who knew a mask could be such a good disguise?

“Don’t stare at them for too long, else they will start setting their eyes on you.” XiChen said as he walked to stand next to him while looking at the door. “I have competent people.”

Jiang Cheng swallowed. “Understood.” He avoided the impulse of looking at him as he talked.

XiChen saluted those who he knew while keeping his closeness to Jiang Cheng. It felt uncomfortable not speaking to him, -since that was mostly what he had done when next to him for the last weeks on end,- however, without a topic to go directly into, rambling would evidence he had some sort of relationship with the Lan. He stayed put, waiting for his brother-in-law to bring his dear nephew.

Before he could see him, he felt him crashing against his leg, small arms wrapping around his thigh. “Jiujiu!” A-Cheng couldn’t not smile fondly as he looked down. “A-Ling.” He caressed the boy's head before picking him up. As he was doing so he noticed the boy’s hand had a number in black ink on it, he frowned curiously.

“Jin ZiXuan.” Lan XiChen spoke tensely, catching A-Cheng’s attention quite fast. He glanced at his boss to then find his in-law smiling forcefully back.

“Lan XiChen.” The Jin responded.

“I am glad to see you come here, with your child.”

“I was told by my wife this was a charity event. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I am hosting the event, I believe I should be here.”

“You are hosting the event?”

“I am.” He nodded.

“I wouldn’t have figured it out. It is a nice event.”

“A-Xuan!” Yanli called him as she came and smiled towards his husband.

“Mama.” Jin Ling made grabby hands towards his mother.

“How was my A-Ling behaved? Mister Lan, this is my husband, Jin ZiXuan and my child, Jin Ling. He is the one I was speaking about.” Jiang Cheng stepped towards his sister to allow her to pick up her child.

“He resembles you greatly.” XiChen became polite as he nodded with a tranquil smile.

“No need to introduce us, A-Li. We know each other.” Jin ZiXuan said.

“You do?” Yanli was puzzled. A-Cheng remained silent, but interested.

“I do business with his brother and father.” Lan XiChen explained briefly.

Jin ZiXuan looked at his wife’s eyes. “That kind of business.” He warned her. It was a clear sign of his rejection towards XiChen. The youngest Jiang knew that Jin ZiXuan had left that life years ago to marry his sister, he had no relationship with his family and with their shady business whatsoever.

“…” Jiang Cheng swallowed a bit, as he saw how XiChen’s body became stiff as his eyes squinted slightly. If he seemed soft a few seconds ago, now A-Cheng was scared of the meaning of that smile.

When her sister held the child, A-Cheng came up with a distraction to break the mood. He reached out to touch XiChen’s bicep, to which he received an intense stare that slowly mellowed into a calm expression. “Hey, XiChen…” With his chin he pointed to where Lan Wangji was walking. “Your brother seems to want to talk to you.”

Lan XiChen blinked as he turned to look at that direction. “You seem to be right. If you will excuse me, I will go see my brother. Please do enjoy the day here. Do not mind me.”

Jin ZiXuan eyed him but remained silent. Jiang Cheng ignored that look and glanced around trying to find the third Jiang sibling. Unexpectedly, he found both Wen Ning and Wen Qing, almost merged with the crowd, next to his brother.

He signaled his sister before taking off in that direction, the least he could do was salute his friend and her brother. “Good morning.” A-Cheng smiled towards the… he thought only the siblings had come, but as he looked down, he found a small boy probably around Jin Ling’s age. “Oh, and you are, little boy?” He kneeled next to him to be able to face him. The boy seemed a little shy and moved a bit before speaking his name clearly.

“A-Yuan.”

“Jiang Cheng! That is A-Yuan! He is Wen Ning’s little cousin. The one I told you I helped babysit with him.”

“You mean you watched Wen Ning take care of him while you played?” He smirked.

“He did help.” Wen Qing’s brother spoke out for his friend.

Jiang Cheng wasn’t there to quarrel over a silly topic, he was rather interested in getting a word out of his friend. Pushing his own knees with his hands he propped himself up. “You have come to celebrate?”

“We have made our donation for the orphanage and we also bought one ticket to the raffle.”

“Mn, they said here it is.” The small boy extended his hand, only to show the back of it having a number on it.

“They used a stamp on him and they also gave us a paper in case he erased it accidentally.” She explained.

“I see, you must be pretty excited to win, right?” He remembered A-Ling’s hand having a number as well, so it made sense now.

“Mn. I want to show my Granny.” A-Yuan nodded.

“Are you here to make new friends, A-Yuan?” Wei WuXian asked as he took the boy’s hand.

“I want to see the games.”

“Why don’t you and Wen Ning take him to play? I would like some time with Wen Qing to catch up.” Jiang Cheng asked politely as he looked at her.

She nodded. “I will catch up to you later. If I don’t, I will be sitting next to the left side of those bleachers.”

“Okay.” Her brother nodded and left along Wei WuXian and the kid.

“What do you want to talk about?” She went straight to the point.

Jiang Cheng made sure nobody was listening and even lowered his voice to talk to her. “Why did you give away all of that money?”

Wen Qing sighed and started walking slowly so he could walk next to her. “Why would I want to keep all that money?”

“It would help you to pay you student loans.”

“I do not wish to have dirty money, the children needed it more than I did.”

“You donated it in his name.”

“I guessed he would have figured it out even if I tried to hide it, so I didn’t. Besides, everyone knows he is rich, I am not. It would make sense if he were the one to donate such a sum rather than an indebted medicine student.”

“What if he got mad about it? You know these types of people are not the nice and understanding kind.”

“I do. Do you?” She asked back, stopping on her tracks. “Do you know what kind of people you are dealing with?”

“I do...” He cleared his throat. “And this is not about me, it is about you. You were lucky he didn’t mind.”

“Even if he did mind I was safe anyways.”

“Are you crazy? How would you know that?”

“You.”

“I?”

“He wouldn’t do anything to upset his new plaything.”

“Plaything?” That word made JIang Cheng have goosebumps all over. ”I am not his plaything.” He chuckled dryly.

“You may think you aren’t, but by the way he looks at you, it is clear as day that he is more than interested in you.”

“Bullshit.” He shook his head hugging himself. “That would be pretty much impossible. My life is everything but amusing. The most interesting thing about me is how indebted I am.”

Wen Qing looked him dead in the eye. “You don’t need me to know it. You already do and it shows in the way you are acting. But continue to believe what brings you peace of mind.”

“Wen Qing...”

“I won’t entertain this conversation any further with someone who is as stubborn as you. I took my chance and I survived. There will no longer be any backlash, rest assured. I do know these people.”

He opened his mouth to reply, nevertheless, only a breath of air exited it. What was there for him to say? He had already expressed his worry and was blatantly rejected by her, even to the point of being criticized for his own current actions. Something came to mind. “I only have five days of work left.”

“So?”

“In five days our relationship will be finished.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “A-Cheng… Your contract might end after those five days, but your relationship with him will not. Do you think he will give up on you? Do you think the loan will be that easily paid?”

“But-”

“You are lucky if he gets tired of you and forgets you.”

There was no winning against her. Jiang Cheng felt his mood go even more sour. Was he going to stalk him forever? He shook his head again. There was no way the man would find anything amusing in him besides the fact he could bare to use a dress and be his assistant. Anyone could fill his position, even bringing him snacks everyday. It just meant… “Jiujiu!” Jin Ling giggled as he saluted him. He was running around, followed by a line of kids who were holding onto each other by their shoulders. Jiang Cheng was thrown out of his thoughts and he waved back out of habit.

By the looks of it, they were playing Catch the dragon’s tail , and since Jin Ling was the head, he was in charge of catching the last kid on the line. All it took was a glance at his nephew’s enormous smile to have him gently smiling as well. Nothing made him happier than seeing him happy.

He cheered for his boy and he ended up winning, all the kids were either grinning or pouting but they seemed to have had fun. While he was walking to pat his nephew in the head and praise him for having won, the little one’s attention shifter pretty quickly. Some of them even went running to get closer. Jiang Cheng’s eyes followed them. He was amazed to find Lan Wangji surrounded by a bunch of children whose intense stares were all on him, on his hands specifically.

What he held was nothing too astounding, it was just one chopstick. It wasn’t the object itself that brought so much engrossment, but the way he handled such. Jiang Cheng was thrown back to a talk he had had which made him shiver slightly in concern for his brother.

“My brother can do this with knives. He does like daggers a lot as well.” XiChen had said as he balanced a coin, moving it from his index finger to his pinky and back in a quick pace. “You would be impressed if you saw.”

Well… he was in fact impressed. Yet, the fact he knew he did that with knives and was now showing it to children spooked him out. The man wasn’t doing anything particularly bad, so he would let it be. He soon found himself engrossed in it as well, vaguely reminiscing about how years ago Wei WuXian liked to play around with his pencils like he said drummers did with drumsticks.

Then, the stick flew off his hand. A-Cheng was startled for a moment, his eyes following it and seeing how Lan XiChen, placed a few good meters apart, caught it without looking. All the little kids cheered amazed. The man, who was calmly talking with A-Cheng’s sister, smiled and threw it back without a second glance. Even Jiang Cheng had to hum in praise.

Soon after, Lan Wangji decided to add one chopstick to the game. Easily once again his brother caught them. "Try three now." He said, glancing at his brother with a side smile before continuing with his talk with Jin Yanli.

Jiang Cheng’s brows shot up and he had to laugh as such a display of cockiness. It turned into his breath getting stuck on his throat as that same side smile was directed at him for a few seconds. The public broke in even boisterous claps and cheers while Lan Wangji continued with his tricks.

The public, especially children, were caught in the games and were easily distracted, everyone except Jiang Cheng. He, instead, got stuck replaying both every move the man directed towards him and his friend’s words. It took some conscious effort to gently avoid him the rest of the day.

Once the afternoon glows of sunshine began being present through the windows, they decided it was time to settle the raffle winner. They cleared up part of the bleachers and someone handed Lan XiChen a microphone. Next to him, Lan Wangji held a jar filled with papers, clearly the copies of those which were handed to the tutors of the children who participated.

Jiang Cheng decided to join his nephew’s side, who was brimming with excitement of being able to win a prize; Particularly because it turned out the prize for the raffle had turned out to be a bag full of toys: one of each that had been displayed that day for the children to play with -with the exception of the ball pit and the inflatable castle-. Lan XiChen explained that he would take out one number at random and the child with said number had to come forward with their parent or tutor to claim the prize. He also thanked everyone for coming and donating, explaining the toys that were left would be gifted to the orphanage as a children’s day gift, something which those children celebrated happily jumping and hugging each other. It  was endearing to say the least.

Jin Ling was growing impatient by the moment, and when the time came to take out the winner he was fidgeting noticeably in place. And… the winner wasn’t him.

The kid who had won ran joyfully to the stage, as Jiang Cheng was too focused on his nephew’s little pout. He looked to be about to cry. “A-Ling… it is going to be okay...”

“But… but I didn’t win.”

It took a few minutes of reassuring the child it was okay to not always win, his sister was holding her child and rocking him gently to make him smile. In the end they avoided the tears, but the pout was still on full display. “It is okay, A-Ling. If you are well-behaved at school your jiujiu will buy you a Tiu-u for us to play. Okay?” 

“Really?” The boy’s pout was softened as he looked at him.

“Really.” A-Cheng nodded.

“Thank you, jiujiu! A-Ling loves you.” He said, moving himself to hug him. Yanli smiled fondly and mouthed a thank you. Jiang Cheng was as relieved as her, but he now found himself in trouble. He would have to see if he was going to buy him one or if he was going to make him one, his budget was tight. Despite it all, he was going to 100% give him one to keep that beautiful smile on him.

Chapter Text

Monday morning came and Jiang Cheng was beaming with excitement. Five days more to go and he would have to kiss that fucking tight dress goodbye; Although, he had to admit that it wasn’t as awful as he had imagined it to be. He had gotten used to it, but that didn’t mean he liked it, not at all, not in the least, not in the slightest…

“Lianlian, you have come.” XiChen walked past a zoned out Lan LianHua and startled him out of the zone with a soft tone and a smile.

“Ah, eh.” He tried to lower his heartbeat that had gone wild out of adrenaline. “Good morning.” A-Lian said after shaking his head and clearing his thoughts.

“It is a good morning now. What did you bring today?” He asked.

It took a couple of seconds for him to unclutch his tight grip on the container in between his hands. "I made tofu pudding. With homemade soy milk. I wanted to bring a ginger syrup to accompany it but I ended up burning it and you wouldn't have liked the spice so I brought soy sauce."

"Sounds delicious. I don't recall having tasted the savory version before."

"I hope you like it."

XiChen opened the door to his office. "Come in."

"Thank you."

"Would you like me to brew the tea?"

"It is okay, I will do it."

"Is Lianlian afraid I cannot do as much?"

"You made decent coffee the weekend before the last."

"Thank you."

"But… today I brought something special. And I wanted to brew it myself."

"What is it?"

"I bought special tea leaves for today." Jiang Cheng showed him the bag tag he picked out of his backpack.

XiChen read it and had to laugh. "Gunpowder tea?"

"Mn. It is also called pearl tea. It is because of the way the leaves are rolled." He poured the water on the kettle, set it on the stand and lowered the lever to turn it on. "I will show you, give me that spoon please."

XiChen moved and got the spoon for him. A-Lian took out one teaspoon. "See? They roll each individual leaf and it makes them look like small pellets. These are green tea leaves, they say this technique gives them an earthier and tangy flavor. I wanted to try them and thought you would too."

"Then I will wait at my desk." He nodded before taking off his coat and walking to his side room to hang it. "Shall I take this?" XiChen picked up A-Lian's backpack.

"Please." He was used to hiding his things there too.

It took a couple of minutes for them to sit. However, before they could try it, XiChen received a call from a number that made him frown. “Excuse me. You can eat. I need to attend a call.” Before A-Lian could think to argue, he stood up and left to the side room, closing the door.

Despite being hungry, he waited for him patiently. He knew he would have done the same for him and he wanted an excuse to see how he would react to the tea. If he were to finish his breakfast first, then he wouldn’t need to sit in front of him and he tested him -someone with the mildest palate he had ever met,- to know how the general public would take the new ideas.

After a couple of minutes of fidgeting to keep his hunger in place, he exited the room with a solemn face expression. “Is everything alright?”

“Mn.” He nodded, walking back to his chair. “I will have to ask you to do a late shift tomorrow, will that be alright?”

“Late shift? Why?”

“I will be hosting a meeting later than usual with my clients. And earlier I have a reunion with one of my clients which I don’t want you to attend to keep their privacy.”

“You have clients?” He whispered a bit surprised. “Do I need to keep a low profile with them?” ‘Are they dangerous?’ Was what he wished to ask, but it would seem improper to do so.

“I do.” He chuckled. “I am a lawyer. Although it may not look like it, I founded my business under clean money.” Jiang Cheng remained silent, yet, his scowl was more telling than words. “Would you like to know?”

He weighed the pros and cons of knowing such information. “Clean money, you say?”

“Mn. I am a lawyer. I am the one they call when they need to do a contract, and most of my clients like the certainty of knowing they can ask for contracts for personal needs and I won’t disclose said information.”

“I didn’t know lawyers were able to do contracts from scratch. I thought you were only capable of reviewing them.”

“We are legally allowed to. And it helps if the contract is done by a lawyer because it avoids possible future legal disputes. A proper lawyer is trained to address and forewarn clients about holes in contracts.”

“So you started doing it.” He nodded while absorbing said information. “That is quite smart.”

“Thank you. However, I cannot attribute said credit to myself. I was encouraged by one of my university professors. He saw my background and my grades and decided it would be proper to teach me further while exposing me to his clients. He wanted to retire and thought I would be a good heir for his contacts.”

“Well, that chance came to you because you must have excelled in your studies. Else, I don’t fathom he would have trusted you with them.”

XiChen smiled. “Ah, to be praised by my Lianlian feels strangely rewarding.” He chuckled while leaning closer to him. “I must say I also had great help from my Uncle.”

He cleaned his throat, looking away. “He helped you?”

“Mn. I come from a family of mostly lawyers, including my Uncle. It was natural I became one as well. Perhaps that could have influenced my professor’s choice.”

“So you decided to grow your family’s business too?” That caught Jiang Cheng’s attention. He felt the same. Even if he hadn’t been passionate about cooking he would have given his all to better his family’s business.

“I wish I could have. But sadly it all went into bankruptcy after my father died. It was my Uncle who kept on working on his own to maintain us.”

“My condolences.” Jiang Cheng bowed slightly. “I have asked something I shouldn’t.”

“I do not mind telling you about it.”

Perhaps it was the way his long lashes batted slowly, or the way his eyes shined as they stared back, or his posture, something, if not all, gave Jiang Cheng the feeling there was something else hidden behind those words. Nevertheless, he wasn’t brave enough to venture into it.

It took a few seconds of silence for him to think of a way to go back to a safe conversational topic. ”From what time to what time tomorrow?”

“It would have to be from six to nine. I will escort you back home. Don’t worry about the lack of hours, a late schedule especially last minute when I am asking you to host will probably tire you out even more than working here for eight hours.”

Jiang Cheng had to laugh. “You seem to forget I work in a cafeteria.” He smiled. “That is my usual job.”

XiChen smiled back. “My apologies. You will be well suited for the job. About the food, I intend to ask someone else for it, you needn’t worry about it.”

“Very well. I will come as a woman then. Should I use this qipao?”

“Perhaps a waiter uniform will be more suitable. I will have someone prepare that for you.”

“And what about my mask?”

“Would you mind if I asked you to put on some makeup?”

Jiang Cheng frowned, it wasn’t as if he had much of a choice. “Only if the uniform was pants.”

XiChen nodded with an even bigger silly smile. “Very well. I intended on it having it already, but if you would like it better that way then we are settled. In which case I would ask you to come by at 5.30, to have you prepared before the guests arrive.”

“Understood.”

“Now, if you don’t mind, we should start eating. I am hungry.” He said, to which Jiang Cheng nodded. The man was hungry as well.

Once their breakfast was over, A-Lian had begun picking up what they had used. He went to leave them on the side to then take them to clean them but XiChen stopped him. “I have something to give you.”

“Something to give me?” Jiang Cheng frowned.

“Mn. I also request for your apologies for having overheard and meddled in it, I just thought this will only make him look up to you even more.”

“Excuse me, but I do not understand.” A-Lian’s whole body turned to look at him.

XiChen took his briefcase and opened it up. From inside, he took out a wooden black box that looked beautiful, and a bit expensive, and handed it to him. “So you can fulfill your nephew’s promise.”

Jiang Cheng settled down the plates and grabbed the box confused. Inside, there were domino pieces, two of each. The words nephew and promise didn’t take long to answer his question. “Wha… XiChen? Why are you giving me this?”

“I saw where you live. And you have told me you live off of your savings. Take it as a payment for making my breakfast for these past weeks.” He smiled.

“Ah um… Thank you.” Jiang Cheng didn’t know what to say. He had thought of buying one but hadn’t gotten into it. This one… was well crafted and looked to be resilient. Perfect for his boy to play Tiu-u. “You didn’t...”

“I wanted to. You don’t own it to me. I hope it makes you two happy.”

Jiang Cheng might have wanted to refuse, but it was that smile, that expression… He wasn’t dumb. He needed to put an end to it, before it escalated even more, but their dynamic… his job… everything… What would happen? He was scared.

The conversation was dropped when they heard the door was knocked. XiChen’s features tensed up and A.Lian knew to put up the facade. 

“Come in.”

“Boss, he is here.”

Lan XiChen stood up and glanced at A-Lian. “I hope Lianlian will forgive me for my answer but I must leave to attend pressing business. I don’t know when I will be back. However, you might leave once your hours are finished. About tomorrow, I will email you all the details before seven o’clock. Do not worry.” He nodded and he left.

It gave him time to think about the gift. Once he was alone he looked at it once more and smiled softly. Despite it all he could be sweet, but he wasn’t the one who XiChen should aim that sweetness towards.

~~~

“Thank you,” XiChen said as he grabbed the bandages his worker had given to him. “I will ask you this only one more time.” He turned to Su She as he unwrapped the bundle to let it fall as a long rectangle. “Do I look that easily deceived? I wonder.” His right hand wrapped the bandage around his left fingers three times. He took that out of his hands and folded it to have a long and thin pad he put over his left knuckles. 

There was no answer.

“I am talking to you.” His eyes had still to set over the man who had thought betraying him was something he would escape unruffled. He wrapped the cloth over the pad and around his hand once, twice around his wrist and then began wrapping his fingers individually as if time wasn’t ticking.

“I am not in the mood to pull this up, Su She. You killed two of my men. What did they do to you?” XiChen stared at him, with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and a coldness that could give you frostbite. He walked in front of the chair and tipped the man’s face upwards. “Are you going to speak?”

Su She had the guts to spit on him.

XiChen’s smile twitched. He stepped back and adjusted his position. Swing forward and his left fist landed on Su She’s cheek. It had been a while since he had hit someone, his body was a bit more tense than usual. “I know you are working with Jin GuangYao.”

Ah, there it was. He could clearly observe a glitch in his expression, the fright crossing his eyes wasn’t inconspicuous. XiChen beamed. “Oh, you thought getting into his car in broad daylight was discreet enough?”

There was rejoice in his voice. The knowledge of him being scared of being found out was pure bliss. “You seem to have forgotten who had the power here. You thought too highly of yourself, Su She. I am saddened to have to let go of such a capable lawyer as you are, you have done well for us, however, you know how this is. You are lucky I forbid my people of killing you. I want you to send him this message: I know your every move.”

Su She nodded fast. “Now, repeat what I have just said. You have five seconds. One… two… three… four… ” XiChen glared at him. “Five.” It took a second for him to breath in and breath out. If the Lan wasn’t careful enough he could fracture his mandible and that would be trouble. This time, the punch landed on his eye. That should hurt enough to make him speak.

And it did.

By the time Lan XiChen had decided he had finished with him, his wrist hurt slightly. He put on a glove carefully and walked to the side of the room, opening the briefcase he was handled over the countertop. “This is a fine choice.” With the glove on, he grabbed the gun and walked back to the now passed out man on the floor. He was helped with the other glove and he kneeled next to him. 

“Remember, you were here resting on your day off and he barged in. You can beat him up a bit more but don’t go overboard. Else you will not be able to say it was in self defense.”

“I understand, boss.”

“I know you do. I will be leaving then. I need to go back to my office.” XiChen finished with imprinting Su She’s prints on the gun and handed it to his subordinate. “Call the police. If they bring you trouble, call for Chief Nie and hand him your business card. He is one of my clients and I have treated him well in the past, he will know that we are there to handle things legally. At least, that is what he will think. Do not try to pull those connections unless necessary.” He left and got into his car, driving back to the office.

There was nothing that could have brightened his day more than entering his office to see Lianlian humming to a song as he jotted something on his notebook. “I have returned.”

“Did the business go well?” A-Lian looked up, and XiChen noticed he wasn’t wearing the mask.

“Exceptionally well.” The man smiled softly. 

Chapter Text

When he was asked what her name was 'she' blanked. Lan XiChen was looking at him after he had finally come out fully dressed. Luo QingYang had been very nice and treated him nice, except the part in which he had his eyebrows plucked. She supposedly knew how to do makeup well enough for Jiang Cheng to end up unrecognizable. The feeling of something plasticky and powdery was unsettling to say the least, but as the mirror was shown in front of him, not even A-Cheng was sure of being able to recognize himself. Jiang Cheng praised the woman, internally raising his appreciation for women and what they had to do to look better. 

Nevertheless, he was expecting XiChen to praise him and his appearance as well, not ask him that. It wasn't that he wanted to be praised, yet, he had grown accustomed to the man flirting with him every chance he could, it seemed more natural than he had expected it to be. He had to stop his train of thought from unsettling him deeper and closed his eyes frowning to think of a proper answer.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, think about it. My clients know not to ask me too much, but I cannot speak for them and their mouths in your presence.”

The woman next to them raised her eyebrows, she chuckled softly when XiChen looked at her. “I will take my leave, Mister Lan.”

“Of course, one of my subordinates will take you back home.” He nodded.

“Thank you. Remember, A-Lian. Don’t wash your face unless you want to take it off. I didn’t use waterproof makeup so you can remove it easily, but it is also easy to rub off. Be careful.” She pointed out while looking at him.

“Mn. I will take care, thank you.”

“You are welcomed. Goodbye.” She waved them goodbye before leaving through the door.

Jiang Cheng stared at the door and then fixed his clothing.

“Don’t worry, Lianlian. She will not speak about this. She has worked with me for a few years now.”

“So she is used to putting makeup on men?” Getting into his working persona, he smirked sarcastically.

“No, she does my housework. She is a simple girl.”

A-Lian scowled, vaguely remembering that time in the store. “So she was the one you called for milk.”

XiChen frowned slightly, his eyes seemingly lost for a few seconds until he nodded. “Oh… you remembered that? Is Lianlian thinking about me that much?”

“I am not. It was just a glimpse. I don’t care, but I can put things together. I pay attention, only rude people don’t.”

He chuckled. “I could answer your question if you wanted to know.”

“I already know… She isn’t your partner, else she wouldn’t have called you Mister Lan.”

“Who says I do not have a partner? She isn’t the only woman in my life” He made a pause to then smile even bigger, it seemed a bit cheeky. “Nor do I lack men.”

“Is that so? So both Lan brothers have that inclination.” A-Lian turned around to leave the mirror where it was originally. “This one doesn’t dare to comment on it.”

“I don’t fancy anyone. However, I was never one to close myself to exceptional people.”

“Exceptional people you say?” He giggled, shaking his head. “I don’t think I should know about that.”

“I don’t need to speak more.” His eyes contemplated him softly, a small smile placed beautifully on his face. “You already do.”

A-Lian looked back. Their eyes met and he answered with silence. Jiang Cheng already knew. Lan XiChen hummed, stretching his arm in an L shape he spoke. “I shall guide you to the room.”

“What’s the arm for?” He half-complained but grabbed it anyways.

“An excuse to be hugged by my Lianlian.” He chuckled. “I didn’t think you would comply.”

A-Lian felt that retrieving his arm was impolite, but his grip became stiffer. “What’s gotten into you?” He whispered trying to use his female voice as they left XiChen’s office.

“There is no need to pretend anymore. You only have four more days working here. I wish to enjoy your company fully.”

“You know I have to go back to work.”

“I do. Tomorrow you will be able to look at your store fully finished.”

“I will.” He beamed with a thrill of excitement.

“Mn.”

His lack of response was unusual, yet Jiang Cheng couldn’t play unaware, he glanced at him, trying to decipher how to proceed. It had been a long time since he had forgotten he was walking on eggshells with the man. Perhaps the safe atmosphere lingering in between them had clouded his judgement. The beam was long gone, replaced with a concerned purse of his lips. He reprimanded himself.

XiChen was the first to pull off the lock of their arms. “This is the room.”

Rather than a meetings room, it looked like a cozy living room. Sofas, armchairs, and a divan spread orderly surrounding a couple coffee tables. Earthy colors and refined wood with a dark ambiance made the night feel present even if there were barely any windows visible. On the side was a table filled with snacks and a coffee machine, a tea dispenser, hot water… the man had thought of everything. Even if it was a private reunion, he had outdone himself.

It felt somehow informal… evidencing his close relationship with the clients that night. XiChen had even come without a coat. He looked handsome with just a vest and a shirt, like those photos A-Cheng saw when he walked past a store that had a model’s sign. He didn’t realize he was staring until his eyes met his arched eyebrows and partial smile. Quickly, he recomposed himself and arched his back properly. “What am I supposed to do?”

He guided him throughout the simple plan that evening. 'She' would offer drinks and food to the guests. And could take a break whenever he wanted as long as he told him beforehand so he wouldn’t have to worry about not seeing him. 

When the first pair of guests arrived, XiChen excused himself from the conversation with him and turned to attend his clients. A-Lian was surprised to recognize some influential people exchanging greeting and smiles with Lan XiChen. He wasn’t unaware of his power over the city, his name had been intertwined in much gossip, some of which came from Nie Huaisang and Wei WuXian’s mouths; however, the extent of it had never been brought up so bluntly before. Breathing deeply, he pushed his feelings aside and began his work as a silent caterer.

“Oh, I see there is a beautiful lady here, accompanying us.” One man looked at her with curious eyes.

He pretended not to notice the conspicuous ogles from others. “Good evening.” A-Lian bowed respectfully after having used his sweetest and gentlest female tone possible.

“May I know the miss’ name?” 

Lan XiChen looked at him, and he blanked for the second time that day, looking back at him. He had been too preoccupied with other issues and completely forgot to come up with a name. The rushed beating of his heart was confused for shame rather than panic as his face began turning red. He swallowed, ungluing his eyes from XiChen and looking back at the man. In a glimpse of lack of judgment, he blurted out what he knew. “My name is Lan Lianhua.”

More than one pair of eyes turned to XiChen, to which he chuckled. “A-Lian.” There was no reprimand in his voice nor his eyes.

“You must be indeed lucky, young man.” His seniors laughed with him as XiChen’s eyes were focused on A-Lian.

He recognized his mistake and turned to escape from the attention. He would need to apologize properly. It seemed to not take too long for that word to expand in between the other clients that arrived later on, since no one else asked 'her' for his name. A-Lian ignored the curious glances others gave him while talking.

Luckily enough, XiChen always interceded in said conversations to make them lose their interest in the only woman standing in the room. The man had made it clear he didn’t want them looking at his woman, how much or how little did Lan Lianhua fit the title of “his” was not something anyone seemed to question. Clearing up his mess was something he couldn’t do, he could only hope Lan XiChen would either know how to manage it or not care as much.

The end of the night was getting closer and closer and he had suggested A-Cheng should sit down and rest his feet as Lan XiChen guided the last of the guests outside. He let his hair down to massage his scalp and went to the bathroom to finally clean his face free of makeup. Now A-Lian was gone.

He was taking his time in coming back, Jiang Cheng decided he should help clean up. It began with piling up the empty trays of food, then the cups, then cleaning up, putting things in place… Everything that could be ordered was ordered and everything that could be cleaned was cleaned. XiChen thanked him for it and they walked up to his office to gather their things, he was driving him back home.

“Was it rough today?” Lan XiChen asked.

“Not at all...”

“I am glad it wasn’t.”

“Hey… XiChen...” Jiang Cheng put on his coat. He would change once he got home. “About the name thing...”

“It is okay.”

“Won’t it bring trouble to you?”

“I would not mind if it were true.” He smiled while glancing at him. “You should change.”

“I am okay like this… Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“I will deal with it once the time comes. Perhaps say you are a distant cousin helping me out for the night. It has a solution, you needn’t worry about it.”

“Okay.” Jiang Cheng exhaled. “If you are fine with it then I won’t keep probing on the subject.”

“I wasn’t expecting you to use that name.” He chuckled.

“Neither was I…” A-Cheng admitted with a soft smile of his own as he picked up his backpack and put it over his shoulder. “It came a bit more natural than I expected it to.” He leaned on the desk.

“Is that so?” He had gathered all of XiChen’s attention with that.

“Yeah.” Jiang Cheng even smiled looking somewhat ashamed. “Perhaps it was all that My Lianlian you had going on.”

“Did that affect you?” He put on his coat and walked closer to him.

“I won’t lie. At first it really made me uncomfortable. But now I just don’t mind.”

“What’s changed?”

“Well, I guess I want to believe I know you better.”

“And what have you found out that makes you think that? If I can know, of course.”

Jiang Cheng had to laugh at that, what he thought was absurd but he was tranquil. “You are not as bad as they say you are. And I know you won’t do anything I don’t want.”

“Is that so?” XiChen smiled back, his eyes focused on A-Cheng.

“Yes.” He nodded.

Lan XiChen remained silent for a brief moment. “And what do you want now, Jiang Cheng?” 

“I want you to take me home, XiChen.”

If Jiang Cheng had looked up, he had seen the man’s eyes shine with a spark, but he didn’t. “Are you sure you want that?”

A-Cheng scowled and looked up with a smile. “Of course I am sure... why wouldn’t a-” His nape was cupped gently by a big hand, his face closed the distance and he felt his lips over his.

His grip on his backpack faltered, making it fall over the desk with a small bang. Jiang Cheng opened his mouth in surprise to gather air and he felt his tongue slide in. His entire body was covered in goosebumps. Trembling, he placed his palm on his shoulder closing his eyes. Lan XiChen’s arm was surrounding him in a strong grip. When his brain sent a second alert through his body he pushed, and pushed again, harder, his nails scratching him unintentionally. And XiChen moved away. Both their bodies were tense.

“Jiang Cheng...” His voice was harsh and A-Cheng was almost frozen in place out of fright. His cheek was reddened where he had scratched him… He was dead. He was so dead.

“I am sorry.” He whispered feeling terrified. ”I am sorry…” Every time he spoke his voice was lower and lower. He grabbed his backpack, closing his coat over himself. “I am sorry.” 

Lan XiChen was just standing there, looking back at him without uttering a word. The Jiang could not look at his face long enough to know the consequences of his actions before he ended up running down the stairs and out the building. He was already a good pace ahead when he heard him shouting, “Jiang Cheng!”

The night embraced him as he hid his body under the coat, still shivering. He sent glances from time to time towards the entrance of the building, afraid of him following. It was inevitable to bump into something with his reckless walking. “I am sorry, I am sorry.” He repeated as if chanting something. 

“Don’t be. I am sorry.” Jiang Cheng stopped, alarmed by the threatening tone of who he had encountered. He was a few centimeters shorter than him. All it took were two confused blink from A-Cheng for him to grab his hair and shove him against a wall. “So you are his bitch?”

His heart skipped a beat. He recognized that face almost instantly. It was Xue Yang. The same bastard who had burnt his coffee shop down. Jiang Cheng was forced to raise his chin when he felt the knife be pressed against his neck. It began piercing his skin.

The tears he wanted to let out were held when he stared at him furiously. His feeling of helplessness was increasing and he was shaking, almost to the point of madness. In a moment of pure hatred he spat on him. Everyone pushed him and used him and he wanted to just punch something. He closed his eyes sobbing with shaky breaths. Everything was happening all at once.

“Jiang Cheng!” He heard his voice and he didn’t know if he wanted to scream or just perish. 

“Shit.” Xue Yang cursed and released him. 

XiChen’s steps almost echoed those of the other. Jiang Cheng’s legs gave out and he hugged himself. He couldn’t stop himself from howling anymore. His presence next to him only made him shrink his body in a tighter hug. “Please… Please just leave me alone.” He begged.

“Jiang Cheng… I didn’t...”

“Please...” he knew that is he had to say it once again, he would probably break apart.

“I will take care of this...” Lan XiChen spoke solemnly.

At that point, there was no answer he could mutter. HIs deadly grip on himself did not subside, not when he heard his steps leaving, not when he heard the car, not when he heard him closing the door.  

He had contacted Wen Qing, sending her a message for help and his location. He did not talk, he did not respond to her questioning, to her scoldings, to her directions on how to treat his neck’s cut… He slept in her apartment that night, well, he spent the night there, but he couldn’t sleep.

~~~

“What is it boss?” Su She asked.

“A finger.” Jin ZiXun replied looking at him as if he were dumb.

Jin Guangyao sat in front of the envelope, remaining silent until both of them shut up. “This isn’t a finger,” he said, stern.

“It isn’t? It looks like a pinky” They both scowled, clearly confused.

“This is a warning.” His eyes looked back at Su She. “Your idea of pursuing him crossed the line.”

“Is it Xue Yang’s?” The one being spoken to asked while looking at the handkerchief again.

“Guess we know now whose body was it on the news.” ZiXun mumbled.

“He will probably come after you, Su She.” Guangyao didn’t look bothered.

“Me?”

“It won’t be too hard to figure out who knew who his A-Lian was.”

“What should we do now?” ZiXun asked.

“There is nothing left to do. We must wait.”

“For what?”

“For the beast to come.”

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng stared at his phone. He was waiting for him to call, for him to reach out. The screen lit up and he hugged his knees tighter, closer to his body. It was Wei WuXian, he could see it wasn’t his name.

He had skipped that day’s shift. His qipao was drying next to his bed, within sight. Everything except the bathroom was within sight in his apartment. A-Cheng forced himself to gulp down a cup of tea and eat some congee, else he would probably pass out from hunger.

Just three days, he had tried to convince himself. I can pay that, he thought. I can ask how much it is. I can work my ass off.

That Wednesday, there were no signs of XiChen attempting to call him, nevertheless, instead of easing him, it made him more alert. He decided he would head to solve his problem the next day.

Five minutes till nine o’clock, he typed on his phone the address he was at and sent it to Wen Qing. She was the only one who was currently aware of what he was doing and where he was. If… something were to happen to him then she could help… He blinked remembering those powerful figures he had seen Tuesday night. I am screwed. Wasn’t the chief of police there? I am really screwed.

Silently, he pondered if he should have come with the A-Lian outfit, but it was too late to go change. Breathing in deeply, he walked in and asked to see Lan XiChen. It seemed the man had no intention of moving to take him with XiChen, so Jiang Cheng said he came in the name of A-Lian. He wanted to scoff hard when he saw the man move noticeably faster just with the mention of her.

He felt like déjà vu. His legs were shaking. The chair in front of him was empty, he had been waiting for the man to arrive for at least five minutes. His tensed shoulders made him drowsy, eyes unfocused, mind set on the memories.

Three days. There were only three days of work left when the series of unfortunate events began. He had not expected everything to end up like it was and his answer had been a blatant reject, but the damage was done. His family’s cafe was completely built, he knew that much. He had said he would take care and had almost fully successfully done so. It was naive to believe everything would be uneventful. Everything would be alright, what could happen? This. This could happen.

“Good morning.”

Jiang Cheng suppressed his need to shake. “Good morning, XiChen.”

“Why are you here?”

He swallowed, feeling his mouth dry. “I am here to pay my debt.”

XiChen raised his eyebrow, scanning him. “I must assume you are not here to work as my assistant anymore, taking into account you are not dressed as a woman.”

A-Cheng squished his hands into fists trying not to get too nervous. “I am here to pay for the days I have not worked.”

“And how much are you going to pay?” XiChen decided to sit down in front of him, his hands placed properly over the desk as he stared right into him.

“I don’t know. Whatever you thought my day of work was worth.”

Lan XiChen smiled, but it looked like he pitied the man rather than being happy for his obliviousness. “What if I said your presence here was priceless? What would you pay then?”

The man almost choked on thin air. “I… I wouldn’t know. I just… I want to pay the debt. With whatever it takes.”

“Don’t say whatever.” XiChen scowled and Jiang Cheng froze. “You know with people like me those words can be the worst thing you can speak.” It felt like being lectured. “I don’t have time for this. It’s enough. You do not need to worry, your debt has been paid. There is no good in asking you for money when you already barely live on your savings. You have worked enough and plenty to make it up to us. I won’t bother you anymore, you may leave.”

“I still owe you those workdays...” Jiang Cheng muttered afraid he would ask for a higher price than he could pay.

“You don’t… You don’t owe me anything anymore, Jiang Cheng.” He wanted to tremble under the sound of his name in that voice. “I won’t take any payment from you. I have messed up your life enough, I would like you to still believe I won’t do anything you don’t want to.” A-Cheng looked up to see a small reddish scratch on his cheek.

“Aren’t you mad?”

“I am. But I am not mad towards you, I am mad at myself.”

“At yourself?!” He frowned, unable to understand.

“I broke your trust and scared you away. Just when Lianlian was feeling comfortable enough to even smile gently towards me. It is indeed a disgrace.” He smiled chuckling softly. “But what is done cannot be undone. I have made myself responsible for it. I will not bother you any longer. I hope your business can grow and you can keep making delightful recipes. About you attacker, don’t worry I have already solved the problem. I am planning on personally handling your safety from the side, since you have been endangered because I made you work for me.”

“Solved the problem? What do you mean you solved the problem?”

He looked at him, and for a moment, there was a frostiness glazing his warm look. “I sent them a warning, whoever tries to injure you will be dealt personally by me.”

Jiang Cheng’s eyes lowered to his hands, to see the pale skin discoloured yellow. His blood became icy. “What did you do?”

Lan XiChen looked at him, remaining silent for a few seconds. “You must know first, Jiang Cheng, the only thing I regret in this world is breaking your trust.”

That did not soothe him in the least. “Lan XiChen, what did you do?” Jiang Cheng grabbed the edge of the desk feeling his heart pounding on his throat. His family, his business, his everything flashed before his eyes as he tried to figure out what the man was capable of.

He sighed softly and took out his cellphone. What Jiang Cheng saw was the same page he had seen when his brother had visited that time. It had Xue Yang’s picture and file. “What is this?”

“He won’t bother you any longer.”

A-Cheng blinked a couple of times as he processed the information. The page was no longer grey but was red. “What… Why is it red?”

“That means he is dead.”

His hands holding the phone began shaking, he looked down, reading the information of him. The death date was written… it was… it was… the sixth of june… that meant… it was the day before. “What have you done?” His voice broke down and he tried his best not to drop the phone while placing it on the table. “Oh Gods… what have you done, XiChen?”

“What needed to be done.” 

You are a monster. He didn’t utter a word, but he didn’t need to. Every thought of his was placed on his face.

“Do not feel guilty about this. He looked for it himself. And you weren’t the only reason there was, hadn’t it happened what happened on Tuesday, he was already seeking for an early end.”

“You killed someone...” Jiang Cheng repeated almost breathlessly.

XiChen remained silent.

“Are you… me?”

Lan XiChen laughed, but there was no actual joy in his expression. “I won’t. You are safe. So is your family. Even if I wasn’t involved, Wangji cares for your brother and keeps you all under his gaze.”

Somebody knocked on the door. The criminal looked at his phone’s time. “It is time for you to leave Jiang Cheng, there are no more ties between us, you can rest assured I won’t be bothering you any longer.”

He stood up in autopilot, without knowing what else to do. By the time his mind came to a halt, he had absentmindedly walked all the way to his store. He still owed Wen Qing thousands of explanations for having scared her so much that evening, but he felt like he was about to crumble down. He did the only thing he knew that could keep him together: work.

~~~

“That is our deal then, I will protect your family from them, but you will spy for me.” XiChen sat back on his chair while making direct eye contact with the woman. She nodded. “You will get me my plaques back and be rewarded. We have a deal.”

~~~

“A-niang! A-die!” Jiang Cheng smiled seeing them lower their suitcases in the entrance of their house. He was holding Jin Ling while walking to help them. Yu ZiYuan held her grandchild with a smile. “Has the business done well?” She asked while making A-Ling giggle with gentle tickles.

Jiang Cheng breathed in deeply, he had a lot to explain. 

Luckily, they took it pretty good, at least better than they all had expected, only saying they would use all of their resources to reopen the store and get as many customers as they could. It took a couple of weeks to settle down and get back to the amount of business they used to have. The major inconvenience they had had was the fact the new recipes brought up new customers, some of which recognized A-Lian’s recipes.

The first time Jiang Cheng heard one of his customers asking if A-Lian worked there he panicked. When Wei WuXian came asking who she was, he had to lie and say they were asking for their jiejie. Nothing became as useful as having Wei WuXian helping him scare away those who could actually expose his previous work. While he thought they wanted to break apart their jiejie’s family, A-Cheng worked his way to convince them all she was unavailable to be seen. His parents didn’t suspect a thing either. It would all die down as long as he and Wen Qing did not speak aloud about it.

Nevertheless, things were never that easy, were they?

Chapter Text

One year later...

XiChen stared at the table before raising his gaze towards Nie Mingjue. "I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I came here as soon as I found out about this. I will not disclose which of my clients gave me the information since I want to keep professionalism, however, they were willing to come to the police when the investigation has taken place and they feel they will be heard."

"XiChen, you know I need more than a testimony to open an investigation of this calibre. I am willing to see through it, but unless I am granted a chance to speak with your client I won't be able to move the strings needed to investigate the Jin family."

"My client was expecting this to happen. They forwarded me a picture to bring to you. I have sent you the digital copy and I have also printed it myself. I know little about the money making business but it does look like a master plaque for money. It looks identical to the bills we have." He used his cellphone to send the photo and then from his briefcase he took out a printed version.

Nie Mingjue wasn't an easily movable man, he had known that since years ago when he himself had been investigated by him. They had formed a strange bond after that, XiChen was found out to be cleaned and the man had somewhat relaxed around him and his nice disposition each time he came to be involved in muddy waters along his clients. However, the fact he was willing to investigate one of the power families in the city it meant that he was already suspicious of them.

XiChen internally smiled, he left the building pleased with the way things were going. He had already accepted having lost those plaques, his business was to be done some other way. A couple of thousands if not more needed to be moved to influence those in the upper parts. He knew which wine to buy for the old Wen, it was time to speak more about the deal they had.

~~~

Jiang Cheng sat on the couch, it was a nice warm sofa in a nice warm home. He could tell his brother couldn't have bought this on his own. A-Cheng wondered how rich the Lan's were. At least he would have someone to hold him if he was ever in a money problem, Lan Wangji seemed to be actually invested in him.

"Here you go." Wei WuXian smiled, a little out of breath, as he gave Jiang Cheng his cup of tea.

"It is a nice place. I am glad you two were able to move in with no problem." He was actually relieved. After all, his mother finding out he was dating a man was the last straw needed for her to kick him out of the house. At least he could still work in the coffee shop, they were doing marvellously and they needed the help.

"Yeah, Lan Zhan took me in... I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner about us." He chuckled as he sat on his boyfriend's lap. "But we had to keep it private."

"It is okay." They were disgustingly stuck to each other. Jiang Cheng was surprised to see him sitting so comfortably in a man's lap. Wasn't it uncom... in his mind a forgotten memory sparked. He shivered with the ghost of the sensation of a hand caressing his inner thigh.

Someone knocked on the door and Wei WuXian stood up to open it. His smile froze for an instant and Jiang Cheng felt his hair crisp up with a bad omen. "Good afternoon."

"Hello, XiChen." Wei WuXian smiled awkwardly as he allowed him in. Jiang Cheng tried his best no to let his body show how tense he felt.

"I brought a gift for you two, I was told you didn't have many appliances."

"Brother." Lan Wangji stood up to greet him. Jiang Cheng grabbed his tea with both hands, trying to calm himself. His eyes averted him at every cost. It had been a year since they had last interacted with each other, but his presence had never left A-Cheng's life fully.

Every time he made a new recipe; every time he cooked what he had came up with during that time; when he recognized one of his workers; every time he saw a girl in a beautiful qipao; when he played Tiu-u with A-Ling; even cookies brought him to the thought. He was a murderer and knowing he used to like him made him want to run away.

Even with the timespan of a year he was surprised to find himself so conscious of his presence. He tried to ease himself with some comforting thoughts. 'Perhaps he has forgotten me. He has moved on to someone else. He wouldn't remember a ridiculous man who crossdressed for money. Or perhaps he saw how dumb it was to want me. He should have gotten a woman. He is handsome enough for that, or a man. Whatever. That girl who worked at his home was pretty. Wouldn't he date her? Well he said he wouldn't then... but things change, right?'

"Good morning, I am Lan XiChen. Pleased to meet you, may I know your name?"

XiChen was standing in front of him, and as he forced his stare up he saw him smiling. So they were playing this pretend game? I don't know you and you don't know me. Nothing happened. Jiang Cheng's brain took a few seconds to process that and he nodded gently. "I am Jiang Cheng, Wei WuXians's brother."

"Oh, I've heard plenty of you." He even knew how to act surprised. "It is nice to finally meet you." That marked the end of their conversation as he sat not so close to Jiang Cheng on the couch. He invested mainly in the couple.

The way he wasn't hovering over A-Cheng and treated him with distance had him wondering if he was an excellent actor or if he had a fever dream in which that month wasn't real. There was no familiarity and he found himself not knowing how he felt about that.

A picture of Xue Yang flashed in his eyes and he found himself fidgeting in place. Did Lan Wangji... have all of those practices? Did his brother know? He remembered that time they both appeared in Lan XiChen's office. It didn't look like he was oblivious to it. How could he not care? Did he work for them too? He wanted to ask but it was nor the time or the place.

Wei WuXian stood up going to the kitchen to boil more water for XiChen's tea and Lan Wangji followed suit. When he placed his hand on his brother's hip Jiang Cheng thought it was time to look away for some peace of mind.

"You look better with your hair down and loose."

It came like a slap in the face. He wanted to squirm but stopped himself. His eyes looked at the man without thinking before moving elsewhere. "I don't know what you want me to reply to that." He crossed one leg over the other ashamed.

"There is no need for you to reply." Jiang Cheng glanced at him inconspicuously. Lan XiChen was only able to stay silent for so long. "I am sorry about that night."

A-Cheng looked back, stunned. Why was he apologizing for that again?

Wei WuXian's head popped up from the kitchen's door frame. "Would you like something to eat?"

"No, thank you. I should get going." He stood up cleaning imaginary dust from his lap before searching for his jacket with his gaze.

Lan XiChen did not know how to get a clue apparently, not reaching out for him but still speaking. "A-Lian, I meant what I said."

Jiang Cheng refused to answer and gave his greeting before leaving. Wei WuXian was left standing there, the gears in his mind spinning with the hint of a memory. As he was preparing some food he was shocked still when he recalled who A-Lian was.

She was... wasn't she was XiChen's girl? His partner, apparently, Lan Zhan had said she was his assistant but no assistant sat on his boss' lap unless... The money. Wei WuXian's eyes sprang open, and he almost dropped what he was holding. Did he...? Was he...? What did he do to get the money to reopen the store after it was burnt down? He had told them he was working a lot and he knew.

Now the business they had got involving the man seemed to be less of a petition from Lan Zhan for him and more a business he was unaware of. Lan Zhan had asked him and his siblings to cook for Children's day last year but they had signed the contract with Lan XiChen... Wei WuXian began trailing in his horrible memory to try to recall everything.

What had Jiang Cheng done?

~~~

Jiang Cheng breathed in deeply, setting foot inside the doors of the company. He had brought what he was meant to give back in a bag. He had wished he could have just left the bag there but when the entrance guy called someone he was told XiChen told him to wait in his office.

Reluctantly, he went to where he was told. He would just return the dress and leave, nothing more, nothing less. The man wasn't there and he sat, forced to wait for him. Bored, he looked around. Things were exactly the way they had been a year back and it made him... nostalgic?

It was obviously due to the different recipes he made. Wearing a fucking dress wasn't something he looked forward to doing and the mask always made him sweat a bit and it was uncomfortable. He considered if he would go back to having his hair partially up. It wasn't as bothersome for his scalp as having a tight and proper bun, but working with food he didn't want to fill it with unwanted hair.

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting." Jiang Cheng turned around abruptly, scared by his voice.

Lan XiChen crossed the door as he tied his hair in a high ponytail once again. He looked like shit, making A-Cheng frown.

"What happened to you?" He asked, visibly worried of seeing the man wounded. There was blood seeping through his white shirt and it brought flashbacks of what had happened before.

"Work." XiChen smiled apologetically. "Tell me what you want."

"Uh... Aren't you hurt?" The man blinked surprised. Did he really think a talk was more important than treating his own wounds?

"I can deal with this." XiChen closed the door and sat on his chair, his face twitching slightly as he opened a drawer of the desk and took out what looked to be a medical kit.

"Are you serious?" Jiang Cheng frowned as he saw him trying to take off his clothing. His hand seemed to be having a hard time with buttons. "Why are you bleeding so much?" He stood up going to aid the pitiful man. In his mind he was absolutely crazy. "Your priorities are set way off XiChen, you need to address this first."

XiChen chuckled slightly but groaned. "I might have popped one of my staples off."

"Have you called a doctor?" Jiang Cheng was alarmed.

"He said to sanitize and wrap the wound so it doesn't bleed as much, he is on his way."

"And you still want to talk to me?" He put his hands on the aid. "You really need to set your priorities straight, XiChen." A-Cheng repeated, shaking his head. He took out some alcohol and rubbed his hands with it to sanitize them and grabbed gloves to put on. His mind didn't feel like asking why he had so much material to aid injuries. XiChen took off his shirt and left it on the table.

"I cannot say I am sorry."

"Where is your wound?" He asked. The injured pointed to where five staples could be seen and Jiang Cheng began pouring peroxide over it, having no regard for his pain whatsoever. "Are you injured elsewhere?" He said rubbing the injury off with a cotton piece really slowly, more like patting, to not make him squirm. Incredibly enough, the man made no sound even when the bubbles showed it must have ached.

"Let me take my pants off."

Jiang Cheng backed off to allow him to undress. There was a more superficial wound there and he checked it didn't need help by kneeling in between his legs. "This seems to be fine." His attention went back to the other wound, using the already ruined shirt to clean the blood surrounding it. "Who did you fight this time to end up like this?" He sighed. "You know what? Don't answer me please. I do not want to be involved."

Lan XiChen laughed again, seemingly in no pain now. "You haven't changed."

"You seemed to have not changed either." He pressed a clean gauze against the wound, making him groan again. With a pleased smile he asked him to hold in in place while he cut the tape to secure it in place. "How long will the doctor take?" A-Cheng looked up and found the man's intense stare over him. It wasn't hard to figure out what his eyes showed.

"I don't know."

"Were you planning to bleed to death or what?" He avoided his gaze looking down, only to realize he set his eyes on the man's crotch. The baker swallowed, realizing he was now kneeling in front of a bleeding almost naked man. How did this happen? What was he doing?

His eyes tried to find a safe place to look at, and found himself lost in the tattoo he had seen just once before. From up close this time he could notice it was indeed a tiger as he was told and the tail led to... He stood up, embarrassed and uncomfortable of their closeness. "I came to return the qipao." Jiang Cheng tried to finish what he had come to do.

"I must admit I regret two things." Reluctantly, his gaze moved to see the man's face. At least that was safe to look at. "The first being to have kissed you when you didn't want it. And the second being to have made you wear a mask. Seeing you blush now is a show I didn't know I needed."

The. Balls. The. Man. Had. Jiang Cheng hadn't realized he was blushing but was now aware of what the heat of his face meant. He turned to not face him and his straight face. It must be bullshit. Every inch of skin in his body had goosebumps and he wanted to flee from how uncomfortable he felt. He set the bag on the table. "Here is the dress. I have done my duty here. I will take my leave." Quickly he grabbed his things and walked to the door.

"Good bye, A-Cheng." He didn't need to look back to know he was smiling.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng nodded to the server that came. There was a client asking for him. He was attending the register for those who came to buy something to go and making sure the display was filled with their product and arranged in an appetizing way. Looking at the server he asked her to finish putting things in place and got the table's number.

She gave him her device to order the man's food. It wasn't unusual for Jiang Cheng to serve from time to time, sometimes he was sent to deal with rowdy customers. As he approached he began growing suspicious. His long jet black hair was down, a white ribbon holding a couple of strands of hair out of his face. "Good morning, may I know what are you doing here?" He put on a customer service face and stared at the man.

XiChen smiled. "Nice to see you again, A-Cheng."

His eyebrows twitched as he heard him calling him by his name so nonchalantly. He didn't know if he would rather be called Lianlian or that, at least A-Lian wasn't as personal.

"I would like to order a..." He raised the menu again before closing it. "Matcha tea and an orange chocolate pastry."

Jiang Cheng wanted to refuse to take his order but business and personal life needed to be separated in his mind. "Something else?" He typed the order on the device, it was an easy and usable menu with buttons.

"Yes, I would also like to speak to you."

"I am working."

"It will be quick, or I can wait until your shift is over, whichever you feel pleased with."

If he waited then he doubted he would be able to ignore him and end the talk. But if it was now... work could be an excuse to leave when uncomfortable. He sent the order and then crossed his arms over his chest, putting imaginary distance between them. "What do you want to talk about?"

"These are yours" XiChen leaned in to grab something from his coat. A small box was slid in front of the table.

"What are those?" His eyes were set on the box, frowning. Lan XiChen opened the box and the two beautiful hairpins he used to wear were shown. "I don't want them"

"I am not going to have them back, would you like anyone to steal them?" He looked up straight to Jiang Cheng's eyes. Having spent time with him he could somewhat read his determination and stubbornness in his eyes. He sighed.

"Whatever" Jiang Cheng figured it would be easier to be freed of him if he took them. In his head he thought he could just give them to his sister or her mother to wear.

In the end... he couldn't. He had had an entire day to do it, even after XiChen left he still hadn't had the courage to approach her sister and give them to her, much less get close to his frowning mother and casually give them away. A-Cheng had just thought about how filthy it felt, it was something he would rather hide, besides, what was he supposed to say when they asked where he had gotten them? Lie and say he bought them? It was terrible.

The day of work had ended and Wei WuXian was closing the store. He freed his hair from the bun massaging his scalp. Walking to the bathroom, he cleaned his face with cold water to freshen up a little, and when he stood with his back straight he saw his reflection on the mirror. Maybe it was time to cut his hair.

He grabbed one strand of it, twisting it and thinking about it. The box of the hairpins was still in his apron's pocket, he wondered about it. Taking it out he stared at it, should he? Since he was alone he decided to satisfy his curiosity. With his fingers he twisted half of his hair in a bun and he used the hairpins to keep it in place. He scrutinized his reflection. Your hairpins are crooked. It felt like somebody was whispering behind his ear. He shivered, covering it with his hand. Are they? Mn. Allow me.

Jiang Cheng shook his head trying to keep his mind in the present. He retried the look and the hairpins seemed more even.

"Jiang Cheng." Wei WuXian's voice was heard on the other side of the door along with a knock. "Look who is here searching for his jiujiu."

"Jiujiu!" He heard Jin Ling as well.

Jiang Cheng smiled and dropped the box into his apron's pocket and opened the door. "A-Ling."

His brother's expression was slightly shocked but he smiled. "And those?"

"Oh," A-Cheng realized he still had his hairpins on. "I was trying them out."

"They look good on you."

"Jiujiu pretty." Jin Ling hugged his leg.

"Thank you A-Ling."

"You should wear them more often."

"They are a bit feminine... I don't know."

Their jiejie came from the kitchen along with her husband. "A-Cheng." She sounded surprised. Her face turned into a smile as she got close to them. "Is this a new look? It suits you very well."

"Thank you." Jiang Cheng felt somewhat uncomfortable from the attention. He greeted his in-law.

As they took him home, Jin Ling said he liked the hairpins multiple times. Especially because they had "the things that jingle and make a nice sound and look pretty". When Jiang Cheng said he would wear them to take him to the park he looked to be really really happy. Maybe he could get used to wearing them, just from time to time. They made Jin Ling beam. He was actually looking for excuses because he himself liked them as well.

~~~

“Don’t you see how capable your son is?” Yu ZiYuan was already quarreling with his husband. “He handled the business all on his own and was able to make a deal to rebuild it.”

Jiang Cheng was uncomfortably sitting on his parent’s couch. He hadn’t been in his childhood house for a while and now didn’t seem like a nice comfortable situation. He had found himself fueling, without wanting it, another fight.

“Mother… please.” He begged for her to stop. “How did you find out it was the Wens who burnt down the store? Not even we knew.” Jiang Cheng lied.

“Wen Rouhan approached us and said his due apologies. He said he found out one of his sons was responsible and wanted to settle the matter privately. You said you had to work hard to gather the money for rebuilding but we were unaware of how much it had cost. You must have worked hard.” Yu ZiYuan praised side-eyeing her husband.

He felt even more unsettled. “Yeah… I got a good job.”

“What did you do?” His father asked.

A flashback of everything that had happened while working with XiChen crossed his eyes. “I… um… I baked for a business man, and became something like a personal chef and he paid me very well.” He lied trying to use a half truth. In fact, he had cooked for XiChen but it was mostly breakfast.

“Is that so? Who was it? We need to make sure to thank the man fully for helping you out.” Yu ZiYuan nodded. “Not everyone is capable of getting such a good job in these times. Perhaps if he is interested we can get him as an investor.”

His mother wouldn’t let go of a good business deal even if Jiang Cheng begged her to not ask. Each hair on his entire body crisped when he saw his father agreeing with her. They were to invite him to dinner to thank him for everything.

“Will you tell us who? One must be grateful.” Her mother said while nodding.

How did it come to this? She was asking but it didn’t seem like he had any chance to refuse.

Trying to not speak under his breath he muttered as coherently as he could. “Lan XiChen.”

Both of his parents sat still. He would certainly have to do a lot of explaining. 

“Is he involved with Wei Ying’s partner by any means?” His father asked after having gulped down the reply.

“He is Lan Wangji’s older brother.” A-Cheng had no face to keep looking at them anymore.

~~~

XiChen scowled slightly as he received a call. “Excuse me.” He told Wen Ruohan before picking the phone up. “Hello?”

“Boss, I am sorry to disrupt your meeting, but you told me to call you immediately if he wanted to reach out to you.”

Lan XiChen smiled pleased. “Yes, please pass his call on.”

On the other side of the line his voice was heard. “Uh, it is not necessary I can leave a message I just...”

“But that would be no fun, Jiang Cheng. Wouldn’t it?” Lan Huan’s smile grew bigger as he grew silent. He must have not expected to be directly connected to the man in question. It was obvious he was avoiding him, else he would have called directly to his cellphone.

He heard him gasping gently. “Good morning, Mister Lan.”

“You do not need to be so cold with me, A-Cheng. We’ve known each other quite well, haven’t we?” Wen Ruohan arched his brows at the suggestive tone he was using. “I will stop mocking you now, I must say I am in the middle of something. What was it that you wanted to ask?”

“My… my family wants to meet you.”

“Your family wants to meet me?” He glared at the man in front of him. “May I know why?”

“They want to thank you for giving me a job and helping with the reconstruction of our shop.”

“Oh.” His expression relaxed. “Have you told them what your work here was? Or did my lianlian make up a lie?”

He could almost see his scowl in the back of his mind as he heard his tone of voice. “I told them I was like a personal chef to you. Please, just reject the invitation so I can tell them I tried.”

“There is no way I would reject it. I would love to meet your parents.”

“But...”

“You can tell the details to the person you spoke with before. He will know when to schedule a proper date.”

“Wait, XiChen. Don’t hang up.”

“Yes?”

“If you are going to come… please… don’t tell my parents what happened… please.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry.”

“Okay. That’s it. I don’t know how to go back to the other person... ”

“Don’t worry. I will make the connection. Goodbye, A-Cheng. See you soon.”

“Goodbye, XiChen.”

The call ended on his side and he put the phone down. “I see why you asked me to come forward.” Wen Ruohan chuckled.

Without moving his head or his smile, his eyes gazed at the man once again. “His safety in under my care, do not even think about trying to do anything.”

“I wasn’t. I complied with my part of the deal.”

“So did I. The money that I gave you to repay what your reckless bastard did was more than enough to pay for your service. You got a signed contract that ensures your image won’t be ruined by his stupid thinking and I got to return the money to them.”

“It was a hefty sum, how can a simple lawyer like you get so much money?”

“We are a firm of lawyers who work with high end clients. I do not need to disclose to you how much money we do, mayor. Unless you are accusing me of not paying my taxes properly.”

“I wouldn’t dare. There is probably no better lawyer than you in this city.”

“At least we agree on one thing.”

“What am I supposed to do now? Is this how our deal will end? You will just give me the contract and the money to send to them for free? I am not dumb, I know this means I own you.”

“You were just a means to my end. I am not planning on doing any further exchange with you.”

“Is this your way to get your name out of the investigation for money theft captain Nie has?”

“There is no way to directly get my name out of the investigation without looking suspicious, and you must know that.”

“I can pull contacts here and then.”

“Please refrain yourself from doing it. I will eventually not be that important.”

“You are quite capable, child. I am amazed.” He praised.

“Mister Wen, I just wanted to make sure you had fulfilled what we agreed on. I do not want to engage in further business with your person. I do not need your compliments, you won’t be on my good side. Not mine and neither my brother’s. You see, this business and the people behind them are quite important to us both.”

“Is this a threat?”

“More so of a warning. It would only be a threat if you were scheming something against them already.”

“Fine. I will oversee the Jiang family’s peace. Is this all you wanted?”

“Perfect. Very well, Mister Wen. Have a nice day.”

The man stood up, clearly annoyed at being disrespected, but XiChen didn’t care to put up the facade any longer. It would be known to everyone that anyone who dared lay a hand on any of them would lose said hand. That, to say the least.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng could see right through his parents’ intentions. If they were seeking an investor for their business, then they would have to make the best of them to please him. Wei WuXian and Lan Wangji were invited, as if that same Lan hadn’t been the reason they had used against Wei Ying to kick him out. A-Cheng was in charge of inviting them since his mother seemed to be unable to bear talking to him on the phone and his father showing affection towards his adopted son would only end in chaos.

In the end, Jiang Cheng ended up managing everything from the invitations to the menu, since he already knew what would suit Lan XiChen’s palate the best. His sister came early to help him cook. The dinner was to be held in the family’s house.

There was nothing he could do to avoid him coming, and he couldn’t possibly admit he had been working with a criminal, well aware of the terms in which their deal had been made. It was already too late to try and mend things, he had no way of not going with the flow. Everyone in the house seemed to know what type of business the Lans managed except his parents and A-Ling.

He made a lovely full meal completely vegetarian, with complimentary sauces that were spicy to cover his family’s spice intake. It wasn’t fancy, nor was it too elaborate, but he knew XiChen would like it anyway. If he were to be there he would probably say something dumb like ' it comes from your hands, how can I not like it? '. He huffed, feeling slightly flustered. The man wasn’t even there and his thoughts were inevitably lingering around him. It was unavoidable, after all, what he needed to prepare forced him to have him in mind.

His sister gave him a glance when she had heard the water on the tap running for a while without any other sound. He snapped out of his thoughts and began helping to clean the kitchen. The vegan pie was already in the oven and they just had to clean the dishes.

“Are you okay, A-Cheng?” She smiled as she approached him.

“Yeah. Don’t worry, jiejie.” He flashed her a smile.

“Okay.” She smiled back and left towards the dining room. He breathed in deeply. At this point he had come to realize the city was too small to hold such a potential man away from him; It took him a year of running to realize that as he was backing off from him only a wall was behind him.

“Are you afraid he will tell Uncle Jiang and Aunt Yu what your work was?”

Jiang Cheng almost lost his grip on the plate he was holding, startled as he looked at the kitchen door where Wei WuXian was standing. “What?”

“He called you A-Lian… And then you came wearing those hairpins. It took me a while to realize.”

A-Cheng stopped breathing for a couple of heartbeats. “What do you mean?” He smiled, or at least he tried to, his face and hands twitching.

“Did he force you?”

“Wei WuXian.” He said weakly, looking away.

“I will keep him away if he-”

“ Wei WuXian, ” Jiang Cheng harshly spoke, his throat somewhat dry. “What can you do? You are dating his brother, you must know.”

“I can ask Lan Zhan...”

“Don’t get involved in this. I am fine… He… He didn’t do anything to me. I am fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t want you to get involved in this. It is my problem.”

“You are my didi, I want the best for you.”

“Wei WuXian, what can you do?” Jiang Cheng lowered his voice, his tone tense and resentful. “He already said he pointed a gun towards your head to threaten you already.” His brother seemed to tense up with that reminder. “He didn’t force me, I needed the money. I was his assistant but I didn’t do anything illegal nor was I involved in any of his businesses.”

“What about the dress…? And… You sat on his-”

“Shut up.” Jiang Cheng covered his mouth looking around, worried of being heard. “It was part of the deal, he didn’t do anything to me. That concealed my identity.”

Wei WuXian looked at his eyes, his hands lowered Jiang Cheng’s. “What are you going to do?”

“Avoid him at all costs. As much as I can.”

“What does he want with you? Is he still bothering you? I can try and...”

“I don’t know, but don’t meddle. If Lan Wangji were to have to choose between you or his family, are you sure he would choose you? I don’t want you to get into trouble. I can deal with this. Tonight A-Niang and A-Die invited him here. This might also benefit you, since they invited your partner as well. Keep quiet, if worst comes to worst and he ends up being an investor, it doesn’t mean he will be directly involved with the business nor that we will have to see him everyday.”

If it weren’t for their sister coming to tell them the man had arrived, then the conversation wouldn’t have died down there. Jiang Cheng dried his hands on a tablecloth and gave it to Wei Ying for him to clean his face. When covering his mouth he forgot he still had water on them from cleaning the plates.

He didn’t give him time to rebuke and left the kitchen after checking on the pie to see how long it had left.

While he was wearing a casual outfit, he encountered the man in a light blue suit, his hair half up in a ponytail, half down over his shoulders and back. When he took off his long coat Jiang Cheng saw only a vest and a plain white shirt. It wasn’t as formal as a full suit but it still made him look handsome and refined.

“Good evening.” They exchanged their greetings, Lan XiChen’s eyes wandering close to Jiang Cheng for a couple more seconds than the rest. His parents seemed impressed with how handsome he looked, somewhat quite similar to the boyfriend their adopted son had gotten.

"Good evening." Jiang Cheng greeted him with a small nod. He had just come to say hi, he turned to go back to the kitchen to take care of not burning the pie.

Of course, it had nothing to do with the uncomfortable feeling he had whenever he felt his gaze be on him. It was clear as water he was still nowhere near over him, and A-Cheng couldn't hold his intensity without squirming. He was flattered, he wouldn't lie. It had been a long time since he had felt someone into him, but he didn't remember anyone absorbing his all just like XiChen did.

A vague memory of that intense gaze right in front of him flashed in his mind, the heat of the kitchen emulated the heat of his breath and a shiver ran down his spine. He shook his entire body to make that feeling disappear. Not panicking, he went to check on the food. He worried about him getting feelings for the man, yet he quickly discharged the idea. Sexuality aside, he wasn't interested. It was probably the intrigue of his wholehearted and passionate feelings that made him unable to stop thinking. What was so good about himself to make him so interested? Jiang Cheng knew that if he asked him, he would answer without hesitation. Honestly, he didn't want to know.

He took out the pie, already fully cooked and heard the doorbell. Smiling, he placed the food to cool over a tablecloth and went to greet his beautiful plump nephew.

The not-so-plump child was currently hugging his grandma lovingly and almost beamed when he saw his jiujiu coming.

"Jiujiu!"

"Hi A-Ling." He had grown quite a lot, his child belly had evened out and his legs were long and thin. His face wasn't as full as before but he could still pull his little cheeks.

"Jiujiu… your hair." He said when Jiang Cheng picked him up.

"What happened to my hair?" He frowned gently, he was wearing it in a bun, like normal.

"You don't have the pretty hairpins on. Like mama."

Yanli was wearing her hair in a bun like him, held in place by a luxurious hairpin that was obviously a gift from her husband.

"Oh, ah yeah. I had to cook today, I needed my hair up."

"Oh okay. It looks nice too." His little face betrayed his mild sadness, a soft pout getting in place.

"It is okay, jiujiu will wear them next time."

"Do you really like wearing them?" The kid was so innocently asking that Jiang Cheng didn't realize he was digging a pit for himself.

"Yes, I like them a lot."

Next to them, the talk between his parents and Lan XiChen had died down. They were pleasantly speaking about family and children, but XiChen's attention had switched to the side. "I am glad you like them." The man replied softly.

A-Cheng was startled, having forgotten for a second he was the one who had given them to him. He smiled softly, ashamed of being found out. I don't want them, he had said, like a liar. 

“You gave him the hairpins?” Her mother seemed to have caught on what was happening. At first, when she had caught her son using them, she had deeply frowned. As soon as Jiang Cheng showed them to her, pretending to have added lotus to his normal uniform, she seemed to like the idea of hair accessories having the store’s symbol. With her questioning, a lot of things from his line of work could be deduced in just a couple of words, and Jiang Cheng knew fear. His back was covered in goosebumps as he tensed.

“I did.” Lan XiChen replied nonchalantly. “He used to use his hair in a bun all the time so I gave him the pins as a parting gift. I thought he would like them despite them being somewhat feminine, the lotus reminded me of his store.” The answer was smooth and didn’t leave room for further questioning. Jiang Cheng had received them a few days after their deal had been made, so he wasn’t sure of the real meaning behind them. He was unable to know how much of a lie that had been, and became suspicious of how the man spoke.

After that, Jiang Cheng told them the dinner was ready and that he was going to plate the food so they had to take a seat at the dining table. The meal was filled with heartfelt praises from the eldest Lan and plain chat about business after the rebuild. It was actually Lan XiChen who ventured to ask if they were interested in branching into a second shop over the after-dinner tea. A-Cheng’s parents were pleasantly surprised, having expected to have to venture into the topic themselves.

The delight in their faces was visible, praising Lan XiChen silently. His mother was the first to agree, asking what the man had in mind so they could discuss it.

“I wasn’t sure what would be suitable for the market, I don’t know if the city is big enough to require two coffe shops of the same brand, but perhaps we can venture into more product selling and less public attendance.”

“Is that so? Do you have any product in mind or do you suggest we move our menu to another store for selling?” Jiang Fengmian asked.

“Well, I must admit I have one particularly difficult but rewarding type of product in mind.” He smiled as if shy, glancing inconspicuously towards one particular Jiang. Jiang Cheng avoided his gaze by taking a sip of his tea. “I want to sell Gunpowder Tea.”

A-Cheng almost spat his tea out, avoiding coughing to make his astonishment go unnoticed. However, before his heart could settle down, his mother spoke. “That is indeed a laborious business, my son has been lately experimenting with rolling green tea leaves to make that type of tea. We would just need a bit more personnel taking charge of doing the task. What do you think, Jiang Cheng?”

All the gazes except that of Jin Ling who was playing silently on the side with his blocks turned towards him. He didn’t know where to look and ended up looking at what looked to be their future business partner. “It is a lot of work… Do you want to open up a shop exclusively about gunpowder tea?”

“Perhaps a tea leaves shop. Being gunpowder tea the star of it but not the only product. Depending on how you process the leaves of the main plant, you can get the four types of tea. I know most of gunpowder tea is commonly made of green leaves, but perhaps we can experiment with other types of tea, for instance, oolong perhaps. I know not every tea can be treated like that, but we can also try and venture into tea mixtures. Either selling by the kilogram or in individual tea bags.”

“You seem to have given it quite a thought to the idea.” Yu ZiYuan praised.

“I must admit I found that tea can be more than a mere drink when your son worked by my side. It was him who actually introduced me to gunpowder tea.”

“Did he?” Jiang Fengmian seemed surprised.

The smallest Jiang wanted to fuse into the couch and disappear. “Mn, A-Cheng said I was his guinea pig since he tried a lot of new combinations but his cooking was excellent.” XiChen was smiling openly.

“It wasn’t so successful all the time. I made mistakes...” Jiang Cheng tried to rebuke. 

“Up to this day I know my workers still like to go to your store to eat.”

Yu ZiYuan hummed smiling and began talking when A-Cheng excused himself to go to the bathroom. The rest of the night they talked about business, agreeing to meet after to arrange contracts and paperwork. 

When the time to go came, Jiang Cheng ended up accepting Lan XiChen’s offer to go back home, under the attentive eyes of his parents. Once inside the car, the ride didn’t last too long in the silence. A-Cheng couldn’t bear not to speak.

“If you are doing this to collect the debt let me tell you...”

“I am not.” XiChen interrupted him. “That debt has been repaid.”

“By who?”

“By you.”

“When did I repay…? Do you mean… the kiss?”

Lan XiChen raised his eyebrows. “No, not at all… It was repaid with your work. You only missed three days, but the rest of the days you worked diligently enough. And you had a great excuse not to show up the next of them.”

“Really?”

“Really. I must say that A-Lian was indeed of great help.”

“I didn’t do much.” He muttered under his breath.

“I think you did more than enough, your presence was greatly welcomed. Furthermore, it was nice having an eye candy in my office, something nice to look at. Just the sight of you made everyone happier. Don’t you think?”

Jiang Cheng trembled under how creepy that sounded. “I wouldn’t be able to tell.”

He chuckled. “Pardon me, I forgot this talk isn’t good with shy people.”

“This is the type of talk shameless people have.” A-Cheng mocked back.

That made him laugh wholeheartedly. “I guess you could call me shameless. I am not afraid to voice my feelings.”

“I like to keep mine private, thank you very much.”

“You are not that good at concealing them I must say. They are written in your face, even back when you wore a mask I still could feel your mood.”

Jiang Cheng looked at him, frowning. “No they aren’t… are they?” He questioned trying to think about it.

La XiChen chuckled. “They are. At least they are for me. But I might be prone to pay more attention to you than others.”

“What a useless habit. I am not that important.”

“I do not find it useless. You know you hold importance in my life. And I take into account what you say. I have even sorted out my priorities properly.” He smirked half-coquettishly, half-mockingly.

“Sure, now you will say some bullshit like I am your first priority.”

“You are not. But you aren’t far off from the top, A-Cheng.”

If he were to say A-Cheng was his first priority, but having placed him in a realistic spot made the answer he planned to tell him be choked in his throat. They remained silent, one tranquil, the other almost on the brink of shaking. He wanted to refute but didn’t know what to say. The question “why?” lurked in his head, grazing the tip of his tongue several times before he refused to voice it out. Jiang Cheng could hear the sincerity in his tone, and his mind warned him of not asking something he couldn’t bear to have answered. It would be probing too much into a matter he didn’t want to keep mentioning in the first place.

When XiChen left him in his place he just told him to sleep well, and he replied with something he couldn’t remember. His mind was long elsewhere, turning and twisting the few words he had said that night. When reality came, he sighed. “That scheming bas...” he didn’t dare to finish the sentence. It was like that, effortlessly, how the eldest Lan got his place in his life once again. He grunted, throwing himself into the bed.

Chapter Text

A contract, a sold out sign, a building and a few more trainees and Jiang Cheng found himself in front of a Tea business. Before all the licenses were approved and everyone knew how to work, they couldn’t sell anything, so he had planned to use that time to prepare every blend and flavour they would sell and coordinate with Wei WuXian on the designs of the boxes.

They chose to make a box with the thirteen new tea leaves they would sell. It was a way for people to taste test their merchandising and choose which flavors suited their palates best so they would come buy. The design was a six petals flower with six leaves and a center. Each of the tea leaves they had were placed in two satchels in each slots. It looked beautiful.

“What do you think?” He asked, picking up the box for him to see with a huge smile plastered on his face.

“I think this is perfect, I am a bit jealous of people getting something handmade by you.” Lan XiChen smiled.

A-Cheng frowned huffing. “I am being serious. This is about the product, please concentrate.”

“Our product is marvellous, else I wouldn't have invested in this business… Perhaps you need a bit of time to relax. What if we try the newest blend?” He coaxed.

“You just want to eat.”

“Of course,” the man smiled brightly. “Everything you prepare is delightful.”

His eyes became thin slits, not hiding his suspicion. “What are you trying to get, Lan XiChen?”

“Nothing… If they see you one might think I was pestering you… I am just trying to help you relax and enjoy your hard work. We open next week and we have already done everything. For once, you should enjoy this time to relax before the free time becomes short.”

“I cannot relax for that exact same reason. Everything should be perfect. This business is over my shoulders, do you understand the pressure I am in?”

XiChen shook his head, still smiling. “Excuse me.” He stood up and surrounded the counter before going into the kitchens.

“Hey! Where are you going?!” He complained.

“To get you tea while you are working.”

“Lan XiChen you are not allowed in my kitchen.”

“I can make a decent cup of coffee, you said it yourself.”

“But making tea is not the same as making instant coffee.” Jiang Cheng followed him worriedly.

“I won’t burn your kitchen, you can rest assured. And even if I do, I can afford to pay for its arrangements in time.”

“Only stupidly rich people can afford to make such childish and unnecessary spending. Here, let me. Which tea do you want?” He placed himself in front of the only stoves there were available in the kitchen. They were mostly for personal use since they didn’t use them to process leaves.

“I would love to try gunpowder tea.” He smiled.

Jiang Cheng glanced at him silently. “Didn’t you try that one already?”

“I did, but it was a long time ago.”

He turned on the stove and filled a kettle with water before placing it over it. “Wouldn’t you want to try something new then?”

“I want to try this blend made by you, let’s see how it compares with the tea leaves you brought to me back then.”

Silently, he allowed that information to steep in his head. The last time he had made tea for the two of them it was this same tea he was preparing today, he watched the water boil as the kettle whistled gently.

“Why are you trying to be so good to me?” It was weird for the man to be so persistent when he had blatantly rejected him multiple times already. “Am I really that fuckable for you to want to do all of this?”

Lan XiChen chuckled. “Are you really prepared to know that answer?“

I don’t know. “Speak.” He asked.

“I will answer one of your questions if you answer one of mine.”

“Fine, want to ask first?”

“Do you find me repulsive?”

Jiang Cheng was taken aback, perhaps his rejection had been too harsh.”Not really.” Was the first answer that came to mind. They had returned to the way they communicated more than a year ago, but now they were set in a different place and Jiang Cheng was doing all of the hard work while Lan XiChen played more of the assistant role.

He suddenly came to realize that even knowing everything the man had done… he could still speak to him like nothing had happened. A-Cheng found himself lowering his guards and was alarmed, how had this man charmed him to feel safe?

“Then I will answer yours. I do not think of you as only fuckable to put in on your terms. I wouldn’t push myself to such boundaries for something so superfluous as a one night stand, even with your looks. This business was something that benefitted me financially in the long run and was able to get me close to you. I hope you can warm up to me and eventually I can capture that stubborn heart of yours for once and for all but I will not force it. But yes, you are indeed very fuckable.”

He got shivers with that last sentence. That word gave him the creeps and he regretted having used it in the first place. “Fine, whatever. You didn’t need to tell me so much.”

“Can I ask something personal?” The man saw A-Cheng finishing with the tea.

“I will not...” A-Cheng stopped himself thinking it through. “I will reply only if you tell me why the hell did you make me wear a dress? And I don’t take ‘it was to conceal your identity’ as an answer.”

“Sounds fair. I will ask first then. How did you get that scar across your chest?”

Jiang Cheng sighed, slightly surprised that he even remembered he had it. “I used to be childhood friends with Wen Chao. But once, we were playing in an abandoned building after we had escaped from his nanny and he accidentally slashed my chest with a rod while we were playing with them like swords. He was really regretful… our parents had a fall out after that and then we split ways. Luckily it wasn’t that serious, just a superficial scar.”

“I didn’t know you were involved with the youngest Wen.”

“It was really over twenty years ago.”

“I see…”

“Now it is your turn to reply.”

“I will but you have to promise not to get mad.”

“That means I will most certainly get mad. Speak, stick to your words.”

“Alas… I will face the consequences.” Jiang Cheng nodded, waiting for his answer while he blew the steam off his tea. “Why did I make you wear a dress? Well… back then I truly thought it would piss you off and I felt like messing a bit with you, to see how prideful you were. Most of the loans I make are towards nasty people who spend more than they can afford but you actually were seeking money to fix a mistake that wasn’t yours. And you even bravely put up with it. Not many men have the guts to dress as a woman and knowing you were that willing to save your restaurant awed me to be honest. Besides… I must admit your hips look good in tight clothing.”

With a face fully flushed half out of shame, half out of anger, Jiang Cheng had to stop himself from dropping the tea over his head. “It is my fault for having expected you to take it seriously.” He groaned, massaging his scalp.

“I cannot say I am sorry since I don’t regret it at all… However, doing so did teach me a lot about your character and I was impressed.”

"You…" He was always mixing the compliments with embarrassing things. A-Cheng's feelings of smacking him and thanking him always collided and he felt frustrated.

"I?" XiChen arched his eyebrows. 

Before he could speak an alarm rang. Lan XiChen was slightly startled. "Oh, I have to go. Thank you for the tea." He ended up gulping it in one go.

"Where?" Jiang Cheng frowned.

"I will tell you all my secrets once I've managed to enchant you." He smiled, winking at him. "Goodbye. See you on Sunday so we can prepare for Monday's launch day."

"See you?" Jiang Cheng was confused. When the man left he sipped his tea for a moment. He grabbed his phone, quarter to five. Did he have a meeting at five?

Looking around he found himself alone. He decided to close and go home, he had been working since 6am and was time for a break.

I've closed. He sent the message to the group chat of the new business. Taking a step back, he admired the building. It was his business, for him to manage, and his parents trusted him. He smiled softly looking at it all.

It came to him. This was made because XiChen knew he was trying it out… he hated to admit it but he needed to thank the man for it.

"Why are you so good to me?" He sighed softly before zipping his coat up and heading back home walking.

Chapter Text

The last thing he would have expected was the man to barge in on his house at 3 am on a Saturday night. Well, Sunday morning. He was almost scared to death when he was woken up by someone when he lived alone.

His screech was shushed by a big hand. "It is me, Lan XiChen, I need you to get dressed as soon as possible and give me your sister's home address now. And your phone so I can call her."

Jiang Cheng's voice hadn't even woken up and he could only blink in a daze, frightened to the core.

"Jiang Cheng, now." There was no trace of a smile in his face as he looked at him straight into his eyes. He had a really bad feeling about the entire situation. Shakily, he grabbed his phone, the charger cable popping off with a tug as he forgot to unplug it. He put his password and gave it to him while he moved to sit. XiChen was dressed in casual clothing, nothing like his proper suits and usual high ponytail. "How do you have her saved?"

Jiang Cheng reached out to his phone, squinting at the bright screen as he typed 'jiejie'. "Good, now get dressed."

He had no room for arguing, almost too shocked to move as he saw Lan XiChen calling her sister.

Using his hoarse half-awoken voice he complained. "It is three am!" He made a shush sign and pointed at the wardrobe.

A-Cheng stood up to fight him but he could help but flinch when he saw the expression on his face. It was then he realized that this man who could kill was now standing in his previously locked apartment. The door had no signs of forced entry and there was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary besides a man in tracksuit pants and a tank top carrying a grim face.

The amount of questions piling up in his head made his body cold with a sense of grave danger. It was obvious he wasn't going to reply so he had no other choice than to follow suit. What is happening?

"I am Lan XiChen, I know you might be somewhat disoriented just having woken up but I need you to pass the phone to your husband right now."

Jiang Cheng blinked confused. Why would he need to speak to Jin ZiXuan? It was clear as water that they had no relationship at all, if anything they had had a really tense encounter last year during Children's day. A-Cheng remembered having to make a mental note to separate them back then.

"Get your guns right now and your family somewhere safe, Jin GuangYao is going towards your house and so is my team." He held Jiang Cheng's phone in between his ear and shoulder while he typed something on his own phone. He approached the startled man and gave him his phone. It said "put the address" in a message. Jiang Cheng had barely had time to process a thing but was already moving his shaky fingers to grab the phone. "See you soon."

He ended the call and didn't hand that phone to Jiang Cheng, instead he turned it off and left it on the table. From his pocket he took another small one. "This is a burner phone, I will hand it to you with my phone number on it. You musn't call anyone with it besides me, here."

They exchanged phones, Lan XiChen sending the warning message to his team. Jiang Cheng hadn't even picked up a pair of pants yet he was given so much information that his head felt dizzy. "XiChen…" he whispered, blinking.

The man hummed as he walked to his closet and took out a sweater and a pair of pants. 

"What's happening?"

"I will tell you after everything is done." He held his hand and sighed. They crossed gazes for a second and in his eyes there was that intense and warm affection. Jiang Cheng found himself soothed by the feeling of normalcy it brought to him, at least he wasn't the cause of his annoyance… which meant he was safe. XiChen broke eye contact and gave the back of his hand a soft peck. "I was finally able to get an invitation into your life and this happens, the things I do for you." He said with a half smile.

What do you do for me? A-Cheng wanted to ask, but was unable to do so when he grabbed the sweater and started helping him get dressed. The pants he put on himself but XiChen skillfully put on his socks and tied his shoes.

Then they went downstairs after Lan XiChen made sure he brought a coat but did not put it on. "You might be wondering how I entered your apartment," he began in a low voice as they went down the stairs. "And you will not like the answer. I have a spare key to it. Which I will not give back in case I need to barge in again. I will only do it when you are in absolute danger, you are probably not eased by it but I care more about keeping you safe than comfortable."

His honesty was brutal and Jiang Cheng didn't know what to think about it. He felt he could think he was protected by him… but was he protected from him? His line of thinking was blurred as he got into a car. XiChen got in next to him, closing the door and giving the address of his sister to whoever was driving.

"Put this on and then the coat. Just to keep you safe." He picked up a vest from a big bag on the floor, along with a helmet.

A-Cheng frowned but when he shoved them in front of him he still put them on. It was a padded vest, quite sturdy.

"This is a bulletproof vest, keep it on until I say otherwise. Understood?"

Bulletproof vest? Jiang Cheng's mind went blank.

Lan XiChen grabbed his chin, making their eyes connect again. "I need you to say you understand, this is crucial. You need to be safe, and obey me. I can only protect you if you obey me."

"Understood." He whispered in response.

"Good." His hand let go as he placed one over himself as well. "I will take you and your family to one of my properties, do not leave it until I say everything is clear. This man will protect you and your family as well, and I have more people waiting at the apartment you are going into. After everything is settled I will call you directly to that phone."

“Where are you going?” Jiang Cheng’s hand reached out in panic to grab his arm. Right now, he felt disoriented, distressed and confused, the only known safe place to him was none other than right next to the dangerous man itself.

Lan XiChen smiled softly while cupping A-Cheng’s cheek in his hand. “Don’t worry, I will come back as soon as all of this is finished. I need to take care of this personally.” His thumb was calloused, Jiang Cheng could notice as he felt it stroked his cheek. His back broke in a cold sweat, realizing what it looked like.

“I know you will.” A-Cheng scoffed looking away. He couldn’t help but gaze at his lips, he was scared of being abruptly kissed again. “But… be careful, okay?” He mumbled reticently. There was no need to look at him to know he was smiling, but he still couldn’t not look. “The launch is right around the corner.”

XiChen laughed out loud. “I wouldn’t dare get my hopes up thinking you would be worried for my well being outside business matters, ah. What if I said I needed a kiss to come unscathed out of this?”

Jiang Cheng mouthed unintelligent halfwords, his cheeks puffing as he pushed the man away with the same hand that had grabbed him. “Go die then!” He answered ashamed and annoyed. Being in the brink of this situation he still had the guts to play with him and his emotions.

“Who will be there to force you out of work so you don’t outdo yourself then?”

“I am able to do so myself.”

The driver cleaned his throat, interrupting the conversation. “Boss, we’ve arrived.”

XiChen nodded and looked back at Jiang Cheng. “Get your family to place the rest on, there is a small one as well for your nephew.”

“Okay… thank you.”

“Stay here, don’t come out.” He looked back to his subordinate. “I am leaving him under your care. Protect him as if he were your most beloved person, I don’t have to tell you what will happen if even a hair is missing from his head. Was I clear?” Jiang Cheng’s heart was stuck in his throat.

“Yes, boss.”

XiChen did not reply back before leaving the car with another bulletproof vest on his arm. Jiang Cheng stopped himself from reaching out, he curled his fingers hiding how much they were shaking. There was an invisible pressing force threatening his and his family’s lives and he was still left in the dark on the entire matter, forced to rely on the only person who he knew could handle it.

His mind was utter chaos, and he snapped back into reality when he realized the door was being opened. It was his sister, carrying a sleepy A-Ling in his favorite car pajamas.

“A-Cheng!” She cried out softly, smiling as if relieved of seeing him. “You are safe.”

“XiChen brought me here.” The door was shut from outside and a woman got in the copilot seat. It was another of XiChen’s subordinates.

She spoke. “Please put on the vest and the seatbelts.” The engine began running.

“Where is Jin ZiXuan? And where is XiChen?” A-Cheng had a bad feeling about them.

“Boss will help Jin ZiXuan deal with the problem. He said to tell you to not worry, he won’t...” The woman had to clear her throat before hammering the finishing nail on Jiang Cheng’s casket. “He said to tell you he wouldn’t die just because you didn’t kiss him.”

Jiang Cheng froze, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he wanted to die out of shame. His jiejie finished putting her and A-Ling’s vests silently and he couldn’t be more grateful.

“Jiujiu.” A-Ling smiled half-awake, hugging him when Yanli placed him in between them with his seatbelt on.

When they were settled the car began moving, it felt like a smooth ride, but no one inside was anywhere near relaxed.

~~~

“They are here.” Jin ZiXuan said.

“Yes, they are.” Lan XiChen smiled. He grabbed the gun he was handed, taking it with his left hand.

Jin ZiXuan frowned gently. “Aren’t you right handed?”

“You use your gun on your right hand. If I shoot from my left then you can say you were shooting with both hands.” It was clear he meant to erase his presence from the house entirely, even holding one of Jin ZiXuan’s registered weapons. It came in handy that the man was a security personnel from a big important gubermental facility.

The other nodded and positioned himself squatting behind the kitchen island. XiChen did so too, pointing his gun at the backdoor.

“Let the game begin.” He whispered, smiling wickedly.

~~~

“A-Xuan!” Yanli stood up from the couch as soon as she saw Jin ZiXuan enter the apartment. Jin Ling who was playing Tiu-u with Jiang Cheng raised his head and smiled excitedly.

“Baba!”

Jiang Cheng glanced at him momentarily before searching for the second head to appear behind the door. The family of three greeted with hugs and kisses but A-Cheng didn’t feel less tense. He patted himself, clutching the phone in his hand when he found it. Turning the screen on he saw there was still no communication. Why was Jin ZiXuan here?

He stood up, his vision blackened and his head hurt out of dizziness from the sudden movement yet he still walked towards him. “Where is he?” He managed to speak without groaning. The light of the day didn’t hide the black half-moons under his eyes. He had been the only one unable to sleep even in the slightest. At least he could feel at ease knowing his sister had nodded off after they received the news that everything was over and both Jin ZiXuan and Lan XiChen were alive. That had been hours ago and they were told to wait since they still had to deal with the aftermath of everything. The police had arrived and explanations needed to be given.

The expression on the man’s face was not good. He lowered his voice so his child wouldn’t listen. “He was shot, he was carried to the hospital in an ambulance a couple of hours ago...”

Jiang Cheng’s ears stopped listening.

Chapter Text

“He was shot, he was carried to the hospital in an ambulance a couple of hours ago. The police refused to tell me more of his state as I was being questioned.”

“Which hospital?!” He held onto his clothing without noticing. 

"I don't know." Jin ZiXuan seemed startled.

"A-Cheng…"

Jiang Cheng turned to the guards. "Where is he?"

They looked at each other but just shook their heads in response to Jiang Cheng. "Listen, do not fuck with me." He muttered so as to avoid Jin Ling hearing. "I know you know where he is and I have to know."

"It is still not safe to go out." It was the same woman that was in the car.

"I don't fucking care. If you even stop me I will do my best to make you all fall and we can all go to jail together because nothing that requires me to sneak out of my bed at 3 am is legal!"

"Please, Mister Jiang calm down, we do not wish to…"

"You calm the fuck down." He hissed. He walked towards his things, taking them all and  stomping his way towards the door. He checked one more time his family was safe before trying to exit. Someone held the door down, receiving a dead glare from Jiang Cheng. “Let go."

"I can't."

A-Cheng huffed. "Fine." The first thing he did was to call his brother from the burner phone. It took a couple of times to answer.

"Wei WuXian." He spoke. There was a rummaging sound and he could hear his brother asking someone to give him his phone back.

"Jiang Cheng! How are you? Are you okay? Is jiejie okay?"

"Give the phone to Lan Wangji, everyone here is perfect, including Jin ZiXuan."

"What? Why?"

"I need to know where XiChen is."

"Jiang Cheng! You shouldn't-"

"I am not asking you! Pass the damn phone!" His patience broke.

His brother whined but complied. "I cannot tell you where brother is."

"Lan Wangji. I am begging you. I need to see if he is okay."

"Brother is undergoing surgery."

He felt his legs wobble. If he hadn't sat down right then, he would have probably fallen to the floor. Against all odds, his already pale unslept face became paler. "Surgery?" He mumbled repeating what he had just heard. Lan Wangji did not say more. "Which hospital?"

"I cannot-"

"Tell me which hospital. My blood type is 0 negative, I can donate. If he is undergoing surgery then he must need blood transfusions and the hospital always suggests the family to donate."

"Brother wouldn't want you to donate."

Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth. "I am tired of staying put for your fucking brother. I was woken up at ungodly hours and pushed around for my protection, it is only fair I get to push him around and anyone necessary for his'."

He heard the other huff on the other side of the line. He smiled, pleased to have pissed him off. "Give the phone to one of your bodyguards." The second Lan stated.

Jiang Cheng stood up, invigorated. As he saw the guard's face change he knew he had been given new orders and felt a spark of hope light up.

“Follow me.” He signaled another bodyguard and they escorted him to the door. A-Cheng waved goodbye to his family, trusting in the rest of the crew along with Jin ZiXuan to keep them properly safe. 

Even while still having gotten his wish granted, the joy of it was only momentarily as he went into the car, knowing he would be heading to see someone who would probably look in no good state. He unconsciously bit his nails, too many thoughts going through his head to properly put an order or coherence in them. The bastard said he wouldn’t die. If he dared die, Jiang Cheng would find a way to bring him back from the dead and kill him again himself. Once they reached the hospital, one of the guards spoke with the desk attendant and the person went to check on papers. “Yes, the man is allowed in. We just need to see his ID.”

Oh, oh.

He had barely left with what was on him and the burner phone. They were in such a hurry and his mind was so worried about the potential threat to his family that he seemed to have forgotten everything essential to go out.

“Here.” One of XiChen’s subordinates took out Jiang Cheng’s entire wallet and handed out the ID.

“Wha-?” Since WHEN did these people have HIS wallet on them? “Give me that.” He snatched it rudely out of their hands.

The second one took a step closer to him in order to whisper. “Boss told us to gather your belongings, we will give you your phone now, but do not turn it on until boss allows you to. It could put him in danger of someone finding out where he is and he is injured.”

Jiang Cheng was about to retort that he did not have to follow their orders until he heard them mentioning the situation they were in. He allowed his annoyance and ego to be put aside, he had come to help not to make things worse.

“We also must warn him that the patient may be currently resting, if so, please do not disturb his sleep. He lost a lot of blood and it will make him fatigued.”

Getting close to the desk he asked about whether they needed someone to donate blood and she explained to him that he would have to go through for his blood to be eligible. They didn’t need blood for him specifically since he had already undergone the procedure, however, any blood donation was welcomed. He nodded and was told to accompany a nurse for said procedure. They would first take one sample to check for any potential harmful diseases or infections that would instantly discharge him from being a potential donor. Everything was fine and it helped him to distract his mind while he settled his heart down to see him. He hadn’t realized how long it had been since he had eaten until he received the snacks they gave to donors.

His meditation from before would have worked if XiChen wasn’t XiChen. As soon as he entered the room in which he was residing, those dark eyes opened to see him. His smile reminded A-Cheng of when he used to bring sweets for him to have for breakfast. 

“Hi.” Jiang Cheng whispered, feeling his heart on his throat again. There was a big noticeable cast on his left arm and bandages all up to his naked shoulder. His tattoo was visible, there seemed to be no other apparent wounds. When the man chuckled he realized he had been staring at him.

“I am glad you are fine, A-Cheng.”

“I wouldn’t be able to say the same.” He sighed and went to sit next to him. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, the drugs are strong. I was under anesthesia and now I am under painkillers so I dont feel any discomfort.”

“They said you could be fatigued.”

“Out of blood loss, naturally. But don’t mind all of this, they are just keeping me here until the night to check on my vitals.”

Jiang Cheng huffed, remaining silent so as not to make a snarky comment.. 

“Is my A-Cheng mad because I didn’t die as he wanted me to?”

“I am mad because you said you wouldn’t get hurt.”

“You didn’t kiss me, how could I escape uninjured without my A-Cheng’s support?”

“Stop being shameless!” If he weren’t injured he would have hit him.

“I am happy.”

“About what? About getting shot? You dumb-” He sighed againg rubbing his face.

“Because I managed to protect you in time… And I must admit seeing you so worried about me also makes me joyful.”

“Tch… whatever… You still owe me an explanation.”

“About what happened last night?”

“Yes.”

“It is a long story.”

“I have time.”

“Well… after what happened a few months ago when he targeted you, I put my eyes on him, and his father as well.” It was vague, but not enough for Jiang Cheng to not understand he was talking about Jin GuangYao and Jin GuangShan. He nodded, remaining silent as an invitation for him to continue. “I found out his father was making a will, and used some strings to know what it was about. He was going to leave all of his legal business to Jin ZiXuan… seemingly leaving the other nothing, although he was going to carry the other type of  business. I figured he wouldn’t like that and attempt something. So I meddled a bit more and then I found out he was really planning on sending a squad to your in-law’s house which meant nothing good, especially when it looked like they were trying to set someone else up for it given the nature of Jin ZiXuan’s work.”

“I don’t understand.” Jiang Cheng frowned. “I thought you really didn’t get along with Jin ZiXuan. Won’t getting involved in this bring unnecessary trouble to you?”

“Perhaps… but they wouldn’t have only killed him. They would have also targeted his wife and his child. Both are innocent and I do not condone taking on the innocent... Besides, they are your family. And I wouldn't want you to suffer that loss. I know you love them deeply, especially your nephew.”

A-Cheng’s mouth was dry. He… had gone and gotten shot while protecting his family… only for him? It seemed excessive. No matter how he looked at it, he was the main reason behind it all. The man was tugging at his heart strings as if he were to be simply playing an instrument. “You really are… something.” He breathed out the knot in his throat. “This was unnecessary.”

“Not for you. I also must admit I would very much like to see him get out of this one. He has been messing with my business, it is time I do the same with his’.”

So there was a personal vendetta behind it, it made Jiang Cheng breathe with a little more ease. Not everything was about him, he reminded himself. His mind kept jumping to conclusions that put him a little too highly in his heart.

When the door was knocked, both of them turned to see who it was. As Lan Wangji crossed the door frame, XiChen’s threatening voice startled Jiang Cheng. “What are you doing here?”

A-Cheng turned to see the gentle smile on his face gone, replaced with that sinister expression he so much feared.

“You had a task to carry and it isn’t finished.” Lan XiChen sentenced with gritted teeth.

“Uncle is taking care of it. And there are three of our people as well.”

“Wangji, I will not spare you if you fail this task. Go back, I don’t want to see you here.”

Jiang Cheng was at loss. He had never expected there would be something that could make XiChen turn against his own brother.

“Wei Ying is outside.” Lan Wangji looked at him directly, intending for him to get out of the room so they could have their privacy.

“I will go see my brother. Okay?” A-Cheng turned to see XiChen, gently touching his arm with a nod as ir reassuring him everything would be okay.

“Go.” XiChen nodded, sitting on the bed slowly.

“Jiang Cheng!” Wei WuXian, who was surrounded by bodyguards, came towards him to hug him. “I am so relieved to see you well.”

“So am I.” He patted his brother’s back. “What are you doing here?”

“Lan Zhan brought me, he said he wanted to see his brother.”

“Where were you?”

“Lan Zhan took me somewhere safe.”

A-Cheng nodded. “So did XiChen with us. Have you seen jiejie?”

“Not yet... ”

“Do you want to call them?”

“I can’t, Lan Zhan has my phone. He said I shouldn’t have received your call...”

Jiang Cheng nodded, knowing the reason behind that. “Here, you can use this one to call Jin ZiXuan’s phone. They say this one is safe.” He took out the burner phone.

“Jin ZiXuan’s phone is probably turned off.” The same woman that had gotten into the car stepped next to them. “If you wish to make a call please go through us.”

“I understand.” Jiang Cheng said meekly. He didn’t want to cause any more trouble for them, they had already helped them a lot. “Please, allow my brother to call them.”

The woman nodded and handed them a phone after typing a few things on it.

Wei WuXian was stunned to say the least. All of the guards made it impossible for him to do things with ease, and yet here his brother was acting all polite and gentle and receiving everything he wished for. He realized that the hand behind him must be no other than the one residing in the room. Swallowing, he looked at his brother, wondering if he was aware of what was happening. He felt there was something he didn’t know and didn’t like it. His worries were soon washed away when he heard the A-Xian.

“Jiejie!” He cried out softly.

“I have a question.“ A-Cheng voiced towards the woman whose answer was a nod. “My parents...”

“They are safely at their house.” She replied dutifully. 

Jiang Cheng breathed out. His family was safe.

Chapter Text

When Lan Wangji walked out of the room he seemed grimmer than usual. His frosty aura made him more unapproachable. Jiang Cheng waited for him to exit completely before trying to enter back.

“Brother said he wanted to rest.”

“I won’t bother him, I just want to see him.”

He seemed resentful but finally stepped back.  “Wei Ying, we need to go.”

“Where are you going?” Jiang Cheng asked, looking at his brother.

“Don’t worry. I will be okay.” Wei WuXian smiled, grabbing his boyfriend’s arm before saying goodbye.

When they were no longer there, A-Cheng entered the room. XiChen was laying on the bed with his eyes closed, seemingly asleep. He sat on the chair next to him. His breathing was slow and relaxed, making him soothed. “You gave us quite a scare, didn’t you?” He whispered, laying his head on the mattress next to his body.

A few moments later, XiChen looked at him, smiling softly. His good hand reached out to caress his hair gently. “I am sorry for having scared you, A-Cheng… Don’t worry. I won’t die. I still have a duty in this world.” He laughed silently at the sweet sight of the man sleeping. His people had informed him he hadn’t slept since he had arrived in their care. Even XiChen had slept, it was time to give him a break too. He wanted to carry him to the bed, so he wouldn’t sleep in such a dire position, but given his current state he wouldn’t be able to do it even if he wanted to. At least, he could rejoice knowing he felt safe enough now to lower his guards and sleep. It had come with a small cost, but he was able to keep him safe, and his family as well.

Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the peace of a small break, he would allow Jiang Cheng to sleep for as long as possible. A couple of hours later, the doctors came to check on his vitals and his arm. XiChen stated he wasn’t displeased at all and nodded when they gave him the details of his recovery. The more careful he was, the better his chances for a full recovery. Given that it was his first time breaking his arm the prognostic was favorable, despite it being a comminuted fracture in his humerus’ shaft.

When it was time for him to leave, he woke up Jiang Cheng, who the doctors had allowed to keep sleeping thanks to XiChen’s request. “A-Cheng, wake up.” He whispered, patting his head.

“Amn,” he scowled, blinking.

“You look so cute when asleep.”

He jerked back up. “What time is it?”

“Almost seven. We have to go.”

“Are you going home?”

“Mn, and you should as well. You are clearly tired.”

“No, I am...” Jiang Cheng couldn’t hold his yawn in. “Do you need help getting to your house? I can help you. You probably can’t drive like this.”

“I am okay. You should go to sleep. Tomorrow is the opening of the store, you need rest.”

“Right… are you sure? Do you need me to cook for you?”

“Don’t worry about me. I can work that out for myself. You should worry about the store.”

“Are you sure you don’t need anything?”

“A kiss for a better recovery.” He smiled cheekily.

The expression A-Cheng made was annoyed enough for him to laugh. “You know no shame, Lan XiChen.”

“There is no shame in wanting a man to like you back.”

Jiang Cheng shook his head. “You will not suffer my wrath yet, just because you are injured. But just because I am giving you a pass now doesn’t mean you can overdo it.”

“A kiss on the cheek would be fine as well.”

He sighed, grabbing his chin and leaning in to give him a small peck on the cheek. “As a thanks, for saving my family. Do not ask for more.”

If the man had a dog’s tail, Jiang Cheng felt he would see it waving behind him joyfully. “My A-Cheng is so sweet.” When he smiled, Jiang Cheng felt like he had to correct himself, there was no dog-like aura in this mean wolf.

Huffing, he stepped back, knowing he had fallen for a trap. “I will leave so you can change now.”

“You can look as much as you want.”

“There’s...” Jiang Cheng looked at his cast. “Do you need help to put on the t-shirt?”

“Would you be kind?” If one were to ask him if he actually needed help, he would refuse, but missing the chance of the man tending to him was too bad. He already had to reject his offerings of helping him in his home. It was still not good for him to go to XiChen’s address.

Jiang Cheng helped him get the t-shirt Lan Wangji had brought on, and escaped as soon as XiChen said he needed help with the lower part, especially his underwear. There were things he still wasn’t willing to see. No matter how alike their bodies could be, he didn’t need more time close to his crotch area. The man wasn’t particularly known to remain silent and he hadn’t had enough sleep to act thick-skinned.

When he left the room, someone handed him a jacket. His mind was too tired to do more than thank another one of XiChen’s subordinates. All of these people barely knew him but they pampered him as if they all were an extension of their boss themselves. He sighed gently and allowed them to do so, he had heard how threatening XiChen had been in front of him and didn’t doubt he would be even fiercer when in private. “Can anyone take me home?” He asked looking for the same couple that had brought him in.

“Let me escort you as well.” XiChen said as he walked out of the room, with a cast placed in his arm and a wrap surrounding his neck to hold it in place.“You need to go rest at home.”

“So do you. A-Su will take us home.”

“Yes, boss.”

Jiang Cheng looked down, encountering the same woman that had taken care of him and his family before. So she was called Su huh? Sounded like a name more than a surname. She looked quite feminine and beautiful, there was a natural balance in her face, making her expression soothing. “Did she work with you before? I don’t remember her.” A-Cheng asked softly.

“She came in after you left.” XiChen replied.

“Oh, I see.” He thought so. He didn’t recognize her at all and even though he was only working with him for a month, he was certain he had met all, or at least, most of the crew even if it was just a brief exchange. A-Cheng wondered if any of them were aware of who he was, or used to be, or pretended to be. He frowned, not knowing how to address that period of time.

On the way to his place, his mind kept running over that idea. He wasn’t aware of how much time had gone through until he couldn’t resist asking Lan XiChen about it. “Do they know about A-Lian?”

The man casted him a side glance. “Not at all. I have also told them to not go make a fuss in the cafe, I was aware of how Wei WuXian shooed them under the pretense of them searching for Jin Yanli. Your doing, my guess.”

A-Cheng cleaned his throat in shame. “Quite an accurate guess.”

“Don’t worry, Jiang Cheng. My lips are sealed, her identity will keep concealed.”

“Good, thank you.”

They did not speak further on the topic and Jiang Cheng was dropped off. “Take care, XiChen. Don’t worry about tomorrow, we will open up without you.”

“Understood, when you enter your home, wait two minutes until you turn your phone on.”

He nodded in agreement without further battles and they parted ways.

~~~

In such a joyful and stressful event such as the opening of the new tea store, the only Jiang present was Jiang Cheng. His brother was still out of reach, probably under the care of the youngest Lan. His sister and nephew were being interrogated by the police while they made arrangements for them to be under protection. Jin ZiXuan’s state job was known to be potentially dangerous so the government would ensure their safeties first. On the one hand, Jiang Cheng was glad that they would be under the police’s watch so they could remain safe, on the other, he felt somewhat worried if it was enough since they didn’t know who they were protecting them after.

One of the new pair of employees, sent specifically by XiChen to have him under care as well, approached him with news. The Lan had gotten new information about the situation and wanted him to know. Does he know no rest? He sighed in his mind as he watched his other employees running around to tend to the line of new customers interested in buying their products. “Tell me.”

It turned out his in-law was gutsier than he had given him credit for being. Jin ZiXuan had sent a quite explicit and clear letter in which he warned the both of them that if they dared try something else against him and his family he would send a letter to the police, telling them everything about their illegal businesses. Above all, it turned out that letter would be in the hands of none other than Lan XiChen himself, which stunned A-Cheng to say the least. As far as he was aware, they still weren’t on friendly terms. He could only attribute it to the phrase: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Nodding after processing that information, he asked the newby to go back to work. Even if they were there under XiChen’s order, they had been told they would only be allowed in if they made themselves useful, and it turned out they were quite useful indeed. If Jiang Cheng observed them for a couple of minutes, he could almost see some of XiChen’s charm influencing the way they cooed clients into buying more, it gave him a headache. At that point, there was no denying that no matter what he did he would never be able to get rid of the man’s presence in his life. He was becoming so delusional he had started seeing him in other’s actions. It was perhaps times of a break for them; he needed to purge him out of his system. Get some “vacations of Lan XiChen” as if they were easier than getting a break from work.

His ‘break’ lasted three days. The man was back in his kitchen nagging him as if he had no work at all, stealing more produce that he had busted his ass in making and soothing him with a cup of the tea in exchange. Jiang Cheng’s first week of work had been nothing but stressful yet he still found himself siting down and drinking tea with him after having to forcefully take the tea leaves out of his uninjured hand and making the tea himself. There is no use in fighting him. He thought. Either I do It or he does it and he does not only suck at it but he is also injured. Might as well do it properly.

When one tells another one a harmless lie to avoid hurting their feelings, it is call a white lie. But, how is it called when you know you are lying to yourself to protect your feelings? Jiang Cheng raised his eyes from his teacup to the man in front of him for a quick glance. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from sighing for the unknown-th time in the day. “After you are done with your tea get your ass to the office, if you are able to come here so much then you should graze your real work.” When his same glance was met with a curious and intense stare back, he added, feeling slightly ashamed. “But remember to not overdo yourself, you still have a broken arm.”

Lan XiChen just laughed at him as if he wasn’t being honest. “Mn, I will do as my A-Cheng says. One should not get his wife to worry too much.”

“Lan XiChen.” He spat each character as if they were each a different sentence in between his gritted teeth. “I am not your fucking wife.” The other workers in the shop just chuckled. Having been working along with them for a month and a few days more, the interactions between them had turned into more of the same bickering. Not even stressful events like the one the past Sunday could tear them apart from falling back into the same old routine.

The relationship they had had as Lan XiChen and A-Lian had evolved into one between Lan XiChen and Jiang Cheng, and now none of them were concealing their true faces, literally and not-literally, their bond was growing deeper roots right under their noses; And right under everyone’s noisy attentive gazes too, but they still had a couple more things to unveil to realize that themselves.

Chapter Text

He stood in front of the door like one would stand in front of a superior to make a first good impression. It was rare that he requested something from a friend, but it wasn’t rare that he requested something for someone else. A-Cheng was known to try to his best extent to help those who he was emotionally involved with.

Yeah, XiChen was now one of them. As much as he didn’t want to acknowledge it, it was obvious. He had brought a couple of bags of tea for her in exchange for all of the advice she could gather to treat XiChen’s injury to the best of his capacities. 

“Good afternoon.“ She greeted as she opened the door for him.

“Hi. How was your day?”

“A bit tiresome. I have chosen not the best suited career for a break...”

“What have you been studying?”

“A case study book.”

“Oh, do you need help? I can test you out.” Jiang Cheng wasn’t as easily disgusted as others and she was grateful for the help occasionally, especially when tests were right around the corner.

“I would like some more hours of sleep.”

“Well, with that I cannot… Actually I can… I have brought chamomile tea for you, and it actually helps with sleeping. Some people recommend you take one cup of it before going to sleep with a teaspoon of added honey and it will not only help you with indigestion but soothe you enough to fall asleep easily.”

“Really? Might as well try it out. Thank you.” Wen Qing smiled gratefully. “Now, about what you came here for. I made some notes.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to.”

“There are quite a few things to remember, and it helps me refresh my memory to write things down.” She slid a paper with a list on it. It was longer than he had expected it to be but was immensely grateful for it. “Thank you… a lot. It will really help me.”

“Help him, you mean.” Wen Qing sat down on the table.

“Well yeah, him too.”

“Can I ask something?” She said while inspecting the flavours of tea he had brought for her.

A-Cheng was unsure of whether he wanted her questioning or not. Wen Qing was the type of friend who always helped him get through problems, but she chose the bitter medicine route, or the pull the bandage at once method. In summary, she was rough with words but had good intentions. “Go ahead.”

“Which tea would you like to try?”

He sighed in relief. “I have tried all of the flavours already, I would suggest for you to try the gunpowder green tea. Do you need help brewing it?”

“I can do it on my own, I will put the water to boil.” She stood up. “Have a seat. Tell me how the launch of the new store has been.”

“Well… It was a lot, But I am honestly proud of what has happened even if it has been a couple of days only.”

“Starting something always gets difficult and, knowing you, you probably did most of the work which means you were in great stress.”

Jiang Cheng chuckled. “Why do you always ask me things knowing the answer well?”

“It doesn’t mean I don’t want confirmation from the source, don’t you think? If a patient comes holding their arm and twisting their face I would assume they were hurting, yet I still need them to express it properly.”

She read the instructions on the package as to how to make both teas while A-Cheng laughed again, shaking his head. “At this point I don’t know why I keep asking.”

“They say that making the same thing and expecting a different result is craziness.” Wen Qing prepared the tea cups and set them on the table. “But I think there are crazier things in life.”

“Like what?” A-Cheng asked, smiling as he raised his cup to give it a try. The flavour was even more wonderful than the last time, probably partially due to the satisfaction of tasting his own product.

“Like getting involved with a criminal willingly.”

Jiang Cheng almost choked on the small sip he had on his mouth.

“But you know, people tend to like craziness in their life sometimes. It makes it less boring.”

“You sound like Wei WuXian when you excuse it like that.”

“Well, isn’t that something you should think through? We both know Wei WuXian likes to be reckless. Isn’t this business of yours with the most dangerous criminal, that put you in danger multiple times and now has gotten himself shot in your sister’s house because someone got in to kill them all, something you would consider reckless?”

A-Cheng looked down. “Let me guess, this was the question you wanted to ask.”

“I just wanted to remind you I do not like this for you. I do not want you suffering when getting involved with them.”

“I won’t suffer... ” Even he didn't seem too sure about that.

“For how long do you plan on keeping Lan XiChen entertained, Jiang Cheng? How far do you plan on going to protect your family now you might have endangered them?”

“Wei WuXian was dating Lan Wangji way before I got involved with Lan XiChen.”

“Fair enough, but when they were dating Lan Wangji couldn’t stop Wen Chao from burning down the cafe, could he? Now that the eldest Lan sees you as interesting you have managed to get yourself out of another life-threatening situation and you feel like you owe him so you ask me for this list.”

“Yes, but it proves we are safe, doesn’t it?” A-Cheng asked, a bit uneasy.

“For as long as Lan XiChen is interested in you, Jiang Cheng. Do you not understand this? I am asking seriously, do you like this man? What will happen if he gets bored?”

“We are business partners.”

“Him getting his arm broken because of a shot that was directed towards your sister, in-law and nephew has nothing to do with the business you are both into.”

“I know but...”

“But?”

“That won’t happen, okay?“

“Why won’t it happen?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t? I think you do know exactly why, A-Cheng. And that is what had me worried.”

“I haven’t fallen for him.”

“I did not even need to say it for you to know.”

“I know what you mean.”

“Yet you choose to ignore my advice.”

“So what if I do?” He sighed, lowering the cup and massaging his temples. “I do not want to talk about this part of my life with you, Wen Qing. You have managed to get the message through loud and clear. You disapprove of my relationship with XiChen. I totally understand your concern but I find myself quite sure of my place and choices.”

“You think you are treading on land but you are actually walking on clouds. When will you be able to understand this is nothing but a path towards a big fall? When he stops liking you all of his protection will vanish as quickly as it came and when that happens how many of his enemies will know that before they target you and your family?”

“My family is safe, the police are now watching over them.”

“The same police that were working while your family was escaping for their lives a couple of days ago?”

“You know what? You are right, Wen Qing. You are right!” He stood up. “But I find myself unable to move. I wanted to get away from him but it resulted in this. If he gets bored of me then so be it, but for the time being I can only face my consequences head on and plan something for the future that is to come. I have not fallen for him nor do I plan to do so for the sake of my safety. My brother and sister and everyone else is safe, I am the only one endangered and it is something I must live with. I know you are worried for me, however I have already screwed up! What I can do is only so much and I will just sit and enjoy this safe feeling he is able to bring for as much as possible until I have to face everything head on. Perhaps I will die, but there is absolutely nothing I can do to prevent it. Do you know how terrifying it is to have to sit and think of it? And I am not doing this to save my own ass if that is what you want me to say. This is me retributing the help he has given me to bring myself some peace of mind in this mess I have gotten myself in. Whether I die or not lies in his hands, what can I do? Tell me. What do you think I can do?”

They both stayed silent. Jiang Cheng sat down on the chair and pressed his forehead on the table. Ignorance was blissful, until one became aware of everything that was being ignored. 

~~~

Jiang Cheng read the list Wen Qing had sent him once more. He had been paying attention to XiChen and how he felt, guilty of seeing him having gotten injured because of him. Having a doctor friend came in handy once in a while.

At first, he didn’t know how to ask it without sounding too nosy, but by the end of the first week he constantly asked the man if he had had veggies, fruits, protein and always made him carry around a water bottle. He had told him everything that his doctor friend had told him, and XiChen always smiled each time he began.

“Do you smoke?”

“No.”

“Good, you shouldn’t. It worsens the bones.” That wasn’t enough, he continued. “I read leafy greens, broccoli, yogurt and nuts and seeds are good for the calcium and vitamin D necessary to cure your bones.”

XiChen had already gone from a splint to a cast when the doctor had said the swelling in his arm had reduced enough for it. He still had a couple of months more to go.

They were having tea in the store when the man who liked to be a nuisance began putting his coat on earlier than usual. Jiang Cheng lowered his cup and got close to him, helping him put it on. “Where are you going?” He asked, politely.

The staff were accustomed to their dynamic. Lan XiChen would come in the afternoon, nag Jiang Cheng for a while in the back and eventually A-Cheng would use his fifteen minute break to drink a cup of tea with him. Usually, people were allowed a twenty minutes break besides lunch as long as no one else was on a break at that time, but Jiang Cheng was either too strict on himself to take those extra five minutes or refused to indulge the man with more of his time. Whichever option it was, if not both, he never finished his fifteen minutes anyways and prefered to be on his feet making himself useful around the store where needed.

“I am going to the doctor.”

“Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I just need to go and get the prescription for my checkup X-Rays. Please hand me my phone.”

“I’ll take you.”

XiChen’s eyebrows trembled, just so slightly Jiang Cheng thought he was imagining it. “There is no need, you are working.”

“I can take a longer break, I will just tell them. Don’t call anyone, I will take you.”

“Since when did you get a car?” He said with a smile on his face.

“My parents. They said since I was travelling further from home to here then I should have one… and… I believe it had to do with the settling money from the fire.”

“Oh, I see.” His smile broadened and A-Cheng frowned.

“You...” He held the question in his mouth. “Wait here, I will go tell the others.” The gears of his mind began turning with suspicion. His employees said they would be able to manage but he still told them to call him if anything popped up.

When he re-entered the kitchen, XiChen was sitting with a smile on his face as he stared at his phone. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah,” the light on his face changed colors as he switched apps on his phone.

“Good, let’s go.”

They exited the store through the back door. “Where does your doctor work?”

“In the hospital in which I had the surgery, and then I need to go to the clinic next to the city council to take the X-Rays.”

“Don’t they do them in the hospital?”

“Not normally.”

“Why do you need X-Rays anyways? I thought they already had them.”

“The doctor advised me to have one X-Ray per month to check on the healing process of the broken bone to ensure the bones haven’t shifted and that it is doing its work properly. He said that during surgery they had done their utmost to keep it in place, however since the fracture was in pieces there was still a slim chance of it bringing trouble.”

“Have you broken a bone before?”

“I broke my leg when I was a child, but I do not remember it. No other time before.”

“One would think with your line of work this has happened to you before.”

“I don’t take unnecessary risks.”

“Was saving my family an unnecessary risk?”

“Since there is no way of answering this without getting in trouble I might as well answer honestly... ” He sighed gently. “It was. But it was worth it. I might have gotten myself injured but the reward was bigger than I had expected.”

“If I am the reward...” Jiang Cheng began feeling flustered and slightly angered.

“You are not. At least not completely, but you are part of it.”

“So what’s in it for you?”

“I got your attention.” XiChen smiled coquettishly. “And even though I got myself involved with the police, I also got the Jins, besides Jin ZiXuan, under their radar. Nie Mingjue now has a reason to investigate them and that suits me perfectly. Furthermore, the police are now protecting your family which can bring you ease to work properly in the new store.”

“Have you two stopped pretending you are friends?” Jiang Cheng still remembered the man appearing while he was working with XiChen.

“We never pretended to be friends.”

“You seemed to be overly friendly.”

“Don’t be jealous, my A-Cheng.”

“I am not!”

Lan XiChen chuckled. “I know.”

“Then why did you two meet so often? He came at least twice in that month.”

“Well, we were somewhat like… mn… acquaintances. We knew what we were both into and we were at the same level. Like knowing someone who does the same as you do and talking about it knowingly. Imagine you meet the owners of another tea leaves shop.”

“But illegal.” He added.

XiChen shook his head with a smile. “Why so harsh? I never mentioned such.”

Jiang Cheng gave him a look of disbelief. “Sure.”

“Are you still resentful I woke you up at three in the morning?”

“I don’t want to remember you have my house key which I didn’t give you. I would rather blindly believe I am safe.”

“It is because I have your apartment key that you are safe, has this cast not proven it to you?” 

“I did not ask you for your house key.”

“That would probably make me unsafe.”

“Why does me having your key make you unsafe while you having my key makes me safe?”

“Because I have the capacity to take care of myself from almost everything while you are pretty defenseless. I cannot apologize for that, as much as that may hurt your feelings it has only proven itself a multiple times already.” He sighed. “I have never heard such a harsh and un-cute way of asking someone for their house key before… But I am glad my A-Cheng feels that way.”

“What? No!” He stopped the car, annoyed. “I was just following the conversation! Whatever, get off.”

“Are you kicking me out out of shame?”

“You wish,” he barked. “We’ve arrived. Go get your prescription before I change my mind.”

Lan XiChen looked around, noticing he was right. He went down and Jiang Cheng stopped his impulse of smashing his head on the steering wheel of the car. How could he explain he actually didn’t want his house key but was only complaining? Everytime he was careless with words the man turned around to use them against him.

When he got into the car again he avoided speaking as much as he could, he wouldn’t allow him to have more ammunition against him. The trip to the clinic was easier. “Do you need me to accompany you?”

“It would be nice to have someone to talk to.”

If he was going to help, might as well help all the way. They entered the hospital together and Jiang Cheng waited on the side as XiChen began presenting all of his documents along with the prescription to the person attending. It was clear the man did not want him knowing too much, if he really wanted to know his data he could easily access the contracts for the new business. As much of a criminal as he was, he wouldn’t use a fake name for that, would he? Jiang Cheng began wondering how much trust he was actually putting on him. When he began thinking about it properly, he became more and more unsettled. Luckily enough, XiChen told him they needed to go to room number 5 and wait in front of them until he was called.

The talk between them flowed naturally. “Oh, I didn’t know you could get shoulder stiffness but I guess it is not that hard to picture when you are forced to keep your arm in a cast in an unmoving position for so long.”

”Yes, the doctor told me about it. I have some exercises he said I could follow while having the cast to help with it. Although, I would really like to get a massage, but I can’t lie over my arm.”

“I could give you one if you really need it.”

“Oh, A-Cheng you are so good to me.” He sang softly with a smile. “But give me one in private. Touching me so much in public might be indecent.” 

He escaped being punched just because he was injured and the technician had just gone out to call his name for him to go in. It was just a couple of minutes of wait before he got out again with his x rays already at hand.

“Where to now?” Jiang Cheng stood up.

When XiChen opened his mouth to reply, his phone began buzzing. He took it out and scrunched his eyebrows when the “HM” flashed on his screen with an incoming call. “Excuse me, I need to take this.” A-Cheng was unable to respond before he had already taken several steps away and had the phone next to his ear.

There was clear tension and worry on his face, yet, he couldn’t picture what it was. XiChen’s expression only seemed to worsen as the call progressed and Jiang Cheng got a bad feeling out of it. “Mn, I understand. I will go immediately. Goodbye.” He ended the call.

“Where to?” Jiang Cheng asked again, clutching the keys a bit harder than necessary.

“You should go back to work. I will take a cab.”

A-Cheng had the intention of just telling him he was able to take him, but he stopped himself when he realized it could be about work and he probably didn’t want him involved in that. “Okay...”

“I will take my leave now. Thank you for bringing me here and sorry for the abrupt departure.”

“It is okay, I know and understand you have business to attend. Just go.”

Lan XiChen nodded, looking like he wanted to add something else. Finally he said: “Text me when you get to your work, okay?”

“I will. Be safe.”

XiChen’s face relaxed and a small smile broke through his troubled expression. “As always.”

“Of course, you still have a duty in this world.”

Lan XiChen laughed gently. He eyed him from head to toes. “Perhaps two, but that is left to be seen.”

Jiang Cheng choked on air while Lan XiChen left with a final goodbye. The bastard.

Chapter Text

The launch party celebrating the one month success of the new shop had been postponed. Jiang Cheng's parents wanted Lan XiChen to enjoy it fully, hence, they had to wait two months for his arm to heal.

“It really took that long, huh? Guess even criminals are made of flesh and bones.” Jiang Cheng mocked him with a smile.

“I healed as fast as I could so my Chengcheng wouldn’t feel so bad anymore.” A-Cheng rolled his eyes before giving him a look. “However, the doctor told me I still needed to do therapy.”

“Do you know how long?”

“He said due to the severity of my injury it would probably take around seven months to recover fully, I was lucky enough to be out of the cast at only two months and a half. Nevertheless, it was still a long time immobilized and not used. Even if I moved my finger he said I lost some muscle and that I shouldn’t train heavily.”

“Do you usually train heavily?”

“I used to. I liked to do handstands to clear my mind and pushups and pullups.”

“To beat the bad guys?”

XiChen chuckled. “To beat the bad guys.”

“And the good guys too?”

“Only if they do something really really bad.”

“Like what?”

“Like bother you.”

A-Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t his usual playfulness, else, he wouldn’t have lost a chance to call him some pet name of the sorts. Why was he being serious all of the sudden?

They arrived at the house and their driver nodded as a goodbye before they got off.

“Hey,” Jiang Cheng trotted to catch up to him. 

“Is there something wrong?”

“I was going to ask the same thing. Is everything alright?”

“Yes, of course… Well. I must admit my arm feels weird.”

“Is everything in work doing alright?”

“Yes, you shouldn’t worry. I am truly fine.”

Jiang Cheng was suspicious but didn’t reply with what he really wanted to say. “Is the shoulder stiffness acting up on you again?”

“Sometimes. For the moment it is manageable.”

“If you need a massage just tell me, I don’t mind helping you out.”

“My A-Cheng is quite considerate. I am thankful. When I need it I will remember to ask.”

“Don’t worry.” They knocked on the door and Jiang Cheng’s dad opened. 

“Good evening.” They exchanged salutations before entering. Inside, they met jiejie, Wei WuXian, Jin ZiXuan, A-Ling and Yu ZiYuan.

“Tonight we have made dinner, we hope it is as much to your liking as my son’s cooking.”

Jiang Cheng nearly choked hearing her mother say something like that.

“A-Cheng has told me you were a great influence in the way he cooks, it will most certainly be to my liking.” Lan XiChen had managed to praise both of them in just one sentence.

A-Cheng felt slightly uncomfortable with the way everything felt so familiar, it was almost like one… one… introducing a partner to their parents. He shivered and moved away from the conversation, encountering some other coworkers sitting in the living room. Wei WuXian seemed to be convincing them of mischief. “What are you up to now?”

“Jiang Cheng!” His brother smiled at him, clinging to his neck. “Good to see you, I thought you would lose yourself in work and not come today.”

He wanted to snap back, but if it weren’t for XiChen coming to the store after it had closed to the public to remind him of the reunion, he might have totally missed it. Glancing at XiChen talking gleefully with his parents he wondered if checking the stock of the tea they had wasn’t better than being there. As he glanced around he noticed the other Lan wasn’t around. “Didn’t you bring Lan Wangji?”

“He had work to do. Covering for the big boss there.” He used his chin to point towards XiChen.

Jiang Cheng noticed he seemed slightly irritated, but it was more surprising the fact that Lan Wangji seemed to not hide what his work was about to him. “Good, I didn’t want to deal with his sour face, he would ruin mother’s food.” He moved out of the arm around his neck and approached the rest of the crew to say his greetings. That night was supposed to be his night to rest and enjoy, Lan XiChen had already put a lot of effort into convincing him not to miss it and taking his claws off work. Furthermore, he didn’t even need to cook dinner for that night, he just needed to eat, drink and chat.

Dinner was served and everyone’s eyes were proof enough of the approval of the menu. Jiang Cheng had already commented to his parents more than a few times that Lan XiChen did not eat meat, so, besides a side of lamb meat, everything was vegetarian. A-Cheng helped her mother serve everyone and they sat down to eat. The only silent one was XiChen, who only spoke when spoken to. The youngest Jiang smiled gently and tried to be polite to his customs, not speaking to him so as not to make him speak. It seemed only he knew that Lan XiChen didn’t speak while eating, it made him feel slightly special. Just thinking about it made him remember all the times they had eaten together in that office, and he realized he was even mostly silent during their tea time. What a nightmarish routine, he thought. The man was certainly strict on what seemed to be some unnecessary aspects.

As the food was depleted and everyone felt filled to the brim, his parents had insisted in toasing with him to celebrate. Jiang Cheng shook his head with a smile and excused himself to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately, it was right in that moment when hell broke loose.

In that month he had worked under him, he had noticed more than a handful of times he didn’t drink alcohol. However, his parents had no idea whatsoever of said fact, and XiChen had assumed that the glass they were serving him had a non-alcoholic beverage. Everyone was wrong.

Jiang Cheng came running back when he heard a scream. Wei WuXian was standing up with one hand on his hair and his mother was right next to XiChen aiding him to see if he was alright. He had his head on the table, hand still around the glass half full. 

“You gave him alcohol!” Wei WuXian said as he lowered his own glass and approached the man as well.
“What?” A-Cheng said. “He doesn’t drink!” He spoke a little loud, louder than usual, the nerves piling over him as he saw the man lay motionless on the table. The rest of the crew watched in surprise and Jiang Cheng internally thanked his sister who had left with a sleepy A-Ling before. He wouldn’t want his nephew seeing this.

“He doesn’t?” Jiang FengMian showed his confusion.

“Call the ambulance.” Yu ZiYuan grabbed her phone and handed it to her husband.

“He doesn’t! Are the Lans alergic to alcohol or something?” He gave Wei WuXian a look before touching XiChen’s neck to feel for a pulse.

“They aren’t, they just get really really drunk with really little.”

“Drunk?” Jiang Cheng’s father doubted before pressing the call button.

“Yes.”

“He has a pulse.” A-Cheng said, sighing in relief.

“If he is like Lan Zhan he will eventually wake up and...”

“And?” All eyes were on him to spill the truth.

“And...” He cleaned his throat. “He will be somewhat uncontrollable.”

Everyone shared a look. Besides the brothers, everyone knew Lan XiChen to be a well behaved man, calm, recollected and cheerful. Even the staff of the tea leaves shop only knew just a bit about how he liked to nag on A-Cheng when he was working. But still, he just used words to convince him to take a break. They knew that the days he didn’t came, it was most probable that he wouldn’t take time off unless it was to go to the bathroom or to momentarily eat around lunch time, so nobody saw him as capricious, rather they thought he was caring for Jiang Cheng’s well-being.

Jiang Cheng’s mind, nevertheless, was else-were. Would he become shameless? Would his true self come out? Was he going to get out of control for real? He didn’t know what to think about him showing his true colors to his parents. What would they think if they knew he worked in illegal business? What would the staff think about him being a criminal? Would the news run wild? Would the police get onto him and would he go to jail? He didn’t want him getting into trouble, at least not because of them.

“Help me carry him to my room. I will take care of him.” Jiang Cheng announced to calm everyone down. Wei WuXian wanted to whine as to why he should help but the death gaze he was given when he opened his mouth to refuse made him shut up. A-Cheng didn’t want anyone strange touching XiChen and he alone wouldn’t be able to pick him up.

It took a lot of effort to carry him to Jiang Cheng’s bed. His parents made sure to attend the rest of the guests and calm them down. A-Cheng sat next to his lying body and put his hand in front of the Lan’s mouth and nose to feel his breath. He seemed to be sleeping, did he really misbehave while drunk? Looking up, he locked his gaze with his brother. “Now, tell me how Lan Wangji behaves while drunk.” Wei Ying laughed awkwardly looking away and all of his alarms shot up. “And don’t let anything out.”

Wei WuXian went to close the door, checking nobody had followed them upstairs. “Lan Zhan behaves like a child. He just wants to play and sees no reason… and...”

“And?” A-Cheng leaned forward, expecting something even worse.

“Lan Zhan doesn’t speak much… but when he does he is quite blunt. I don’t… I don’t know about Lan XiChen… When he wakes up I don’t know if he will begin speaking.”

“Oh… oh. Shit . ” He muttered before looking at the man.

“Jiang Cheng… What are we going to do?”

“I will take care of it.”

“You don’t want my help?”

Jiang Cheng eyed his brother. “I can do this. Go down and please tell my parents everything will be okay. I will handle it.”

He wasn’t actually sure he could. Nevertheless, given the circumstances, he would rather manage it himself than getting others involved that could either be potentially harmed by a drunk man or hear too much which could get them permanently silenced. Silently, he cursed himself for having left him unattended, if he had warned his parents this wouldn’t have happened.

Jiang Cheng stood up to close the door after Wei WuXian. When he turned, his heart almost fell out of his mouth in fright. The man was sitting in the bed, looking around. “XiChen?” He spoke softly in case he felt disoriented, the last thing he wanted was to enrage him.

“Mn?” A-Cheng didn’t know if he could relax when he saw him smiling.

“How are you feeling?” As a precaution, he still kept his distance.

“Happy and full… the meal was tasty. How are you feeling?”

He couldn’t sense any type of weirdness from him, the only peculiar thing seemed to be the way his voice tone was more monotone than usual. “I don’t know. Fine, I guess.”

“That’s a shame. You should feel more than happy. Would you like me to help with that?” XiChen smiled, standing up. He didn’t even seem to wobble. “By the way, where are we?”

“In my room.”

“In your room?” Seeing XiChen frown made Jiang Cheng more nervous. “Oh, I see. Is this your room in your parent’s house?” He only replied with a nod. “Have you left anything interesting behind? I would love to see more pictures of your highschool years.”

“More?” A-Cheng had a bad omen.

“There were some in the folder I got when I made my people investigate you.” He began roaming around.

By that point, Jiang Cheng could only sigh. It became more and more evident that while he was an open book to him, XiChen was a safe for A-Cheng. “What don’t you know about me?” He whined without noticing.

“Things like your likes and preferences, what you want for life, short-term goals, opinions on most things. All that.”

“Is it that important to you to know that?”

“It helps me know you better.”

“Do you do this with everyone you know? Isn’t it tiresome?”

“I don’t usually do such an extensive look on people’s lives. I am not the nosy kind.”

“Then how come you have my highschool pictures?”

“You looked nice and I wanted to see more. I wanted to know you.” He found a picture of him and his siblings hugging together. XiChen held it gently in between his hands, rubbing his thumb over Jiang Cheng’s face.

“Is it that hard to ask?” A-Cheng noticed he was almost quarreling with a drunk man. Shaking his head he promised himself he would continue the subject when the man was in a more conscious state, even if he looked to be quite fine at that moment.

“Will you show me, please?” Their gazes met and Jiang Cheng’s anger nearly vanished. The way he seemed to show a much more raw expression than his usual calm smile.

“I don’t think I have many more here… I don’t think I can get them now either. Sorry.”

Lan XiChen didn’t try to hide his disappointment, and Jiang Cheng felt a tinge of guilt for it. 

“Maybe next time.” He said, trying to cheer him up.

“It is okay, it probably is late to… What time is it?” He asked all of a sudden, his body jerking straight. Lan Huan felt his pockets, trying to find something. “Where is my phone?”

“Huh?”

“My phone. I need to see the time. I think I am late.”

“Um, it is… almost eight..”

“I need to leave. I need my phone. Where is my phone? I am late.”

“Late? Where are you going?”

“Back home.” XiChen made sure to look for it on the bed. When he didn’t find it he walked straight to the door.

“Wait.” Jiang Cheng stopped him from leaving. “You can’t leave like this.”

“I am not asking you, Chengcheng. Let me leave. I need to.”

“If you really need to leave then I will take you. I need to make sure you are alright.”

“Fine. I need my phone, you will take me. Now, can I leave?”

“Be careful on the stairs, don’t fall.”

XiChen re-entered the dining room and everyone seemed surprised and glad to see him alright. He grabbed his coat and felt for his pocket immediately retrieving his cellphone. He seemed more relieved when he caught it.

“Are you leaving, Mister Lan?” Yu ZiYuan asked politely. “If you need it we can call a cab for you.”

Jiang Cheng had already grabbed his car keys and put on his coat.

“It is okay, Madam Yu. Chengcheng will take me now.” He nodded and then looked at everyone else. “I have to leave, good night to everyone.”

A-Cheng froze next to him. His mother looked at him and he couldn't think of something else besides running away. “Goodnight.” He replied before heading to the door in a rush.

Thankfully, Lan XiChen seemed to be in a rush as well and didn’t comment on his rapid walking. As they hopped in and put on their seatbelts, XiChen grabbed the GPS and introduced his address.

Even if he was worried about how would Lan XiChen react while drunk, Jiang Cheng’s curiosity about where the man lived seemed to overshadow that fear. It was perhaps also a result of his trust in the man, whatever came, he trusted he would not hurt him, at least not intentionally. Having called him Chengcheng in front of his fucking family was proof enough that he was still somewhat interested in him, that was all that he needed to trust his own well-being into his hands.

Getting closer to the part where Lan XiChen lived, he seemed to be silently glancing out the window. At a traffic light, Jiang Cheng even noticed he was tapping his fingers on his legs. “Are you okay?”

“Mn.”

“Why are you moving your hands?”

“I am playing Suite en dúo.” XiChen looked at him. “The light turned green.”

‘Chengcheng’ moves his eyes to the road again. They were almost there, and he noticed the buildings around were extremely fancy. “You are playing what?”

“A piece written for flute and harp.”

“Oh.” Jiang Cheng was reminded he did have a degree in music. “And which instrument do you play?”

“Flute.”

“Interesting.”

“Mn. I should play for you sometime.”

“I would like to hear that.” They reached two doors. A guard came out and Lan XiChen waved at him. The guard nodded and opened the doors for the car to go in. It didn’t come as much of a shock as he would have expected it to.

“That is my place.”

“You live in an apartment complex?”

“Yes. Even if someone saw me getting in, there are a handful of homes they need to breach before getting to mine.” Patiently, he waited for the car to be parked before getting down.

Jiang Cheng climbed down with him. “I will leave when I see you are safe in your apartment.”

“As you wish, just hurry. I am late.” Lan XiChen pulled out his keys and hurried his pace towards the complex. The key in the front lock was a magnetic key, once inside, the entrance leading to the elevators was huge, even bigger than Jiang Cheng’s apartment probably.

“Late to what?”

“I said I would be back half an hour ago.” He took out his wallet and began counting money.

The Jiang didn’t understand why he was in such a rush but he didn’t argue.

They reached the seventh floor and walked to the last door in the hall. Jiang Cheng was curious about how he lived, but he would only make sure XiChen entered into his home and then wave off. He was already being rude enough to force him to allow him to take him.

Lan XiChen opened the door and Jiang Cheng recognized the girl who was inside.

“You are here, Mister Lan.” Luo Qingyang smiled. “Oh… and you.” When she looked at Jiang Cheng, she seemed to think about something. “You… are you Miss A-Lian?”

At that moment, Jiang Cheng felt he should have just stayed in the car.

“Mn, he is. I am sorry I am late, I will pay you another hour for the late arrival.”

“It is okay, I don’t mind. This is never hard work, he behaves.”

“Even still.” Lan XiChen entered his house.

“Baba! Bái tù’s (白兔 - White bunny) ear fell off again!” Holding a white bunny with one ear less, a child clinged to XiChen’s leg.

Chapter Text

XiChen moved to pay the nanny and she left after saying her goodbyes. It wasn’t until she was out of sight that the man standing at the door frame could speak. “Ba… Baba?” Jiang Cheng blurted out astounded.

“This is JingYi. JingYi greet your elder. This is Jiang Cheng.”

The boy let go of his father’s leg and bowed. “Good evening, gege.”

“Good evening.” Still surprised, he bowed back.

“Come in so I can close the door, please.” XiChen said. “Do you want tea? I want one.”

“Would you like me to make the tea?” It was then when he remembered XiChen was still inebriated. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” He stepped inside worried.

“Baba… Báitù.” The boy mentioned.

“I am sorry, baba can’t fix it now. Leave it for me at the table and I will handle it tomorrow.”

“Ow… okay.” Little Jingyi looked disappointed as he walked to the table to leave his bunny and its ear.

“Where are the things to brew the tea?”

“Here.” XiChen opened the cupboards, taking out two cups and a bag of tea leaves Jiang Cheng knew was from their business.

“Baba, can I have a cup of tea too? Please.”

“Ask your gege, I am not the one making the tea.”

“Mn.” The boy nodded. “Gege, can I have a cup of tea too? Please.”

“Of course, if your baba doesn’t mind.” He took another cup from where XiChen had gotten them. ”Which tea would you like?”

“I don’t know… one that tastes nice.”

“What about chamomile tea?” It would help him sleep, Jiang Cheng didn’t want the caffeine from non-herbal teas to affect his sleep. “It has a nice yellow color.”

“I love yellow!”

Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but chuckle. “Then chamomile it is.” He nodded looking at him with a gentle smile before turning to pour some water on the kettle.

“Thank you.” JingYi said before walking to sit net to his baba on the table. “I learnt a lot today.”

“Is that so? What did you learn?”

“I started learning a simple piece on the piano, I wanted to show you but I still have not finished.”

“And how is school doing?” XiChen glanced at the child. While Jiang Cheng waited for the kettle to boil, he had found himself glancing at the pair a handful of times. It still had yet to settle in.

“School is boring.”

“You still have to go.”

“How old is he?” Jiang Cheng asked gently.

“I am seven.” JingYi beamed.

“He started second grade this year.”

“I don’t like it… some are mean to me.”

“People can be mean sometimes. It is best to ignore them.” A-Cheng offered him a smile and turned as he heard the kettle boiling.

As Jiang Cheng prepared the tea, he still had ears on the conversation.

“If they are too mean to you you can go tell the teacher.”

“I don’t want to… that makes them be more mean.”

“I cannot help you unless you tell the teacher.”

“But...” JingYi pouted, looking up to his father. He looked so cute A-Cheng wanted to pinch his cheeks. It took a look from his father for the child to stop pouting and slump on his seat. “Okay, Baba. I will tell the teacher.”

“Good boy.” XiChen caressed the child’s head.

Jiang Cheng turned completely to the cups, hiding a smile. The way XiChen’s whole expression became tender when facing the child, and how he talked him into doing what was right. It was almost as if he was another person.

It made him question how much the child knew. XiChen had probably told him he was only a lawyer… but… It was for the best. He was still too little, as long as he was happy living the way he was there was no need for intervention… He thought in Jin Ling. He was around the same age as Jingyi. Was he… 

He realized the clues had been there all along. As he turned to them with their cups on his hands, he took a look at what he had discovered. The way he always said he couldn’t die, how he had said A-Cheng was close to the top of his list but never on the top. “Is he the duty you have in this world?” Jiang Cheng asked, smiling softly, his heart warming when he saw XiChen pinch the kid’s cheek gently before smiling and nodding.

So that was it. He was a father. He sat in front of them at the table, with his own cup of tea in hand.

“This tea is tasty, gege. Thank you.” JingYi said after having taken a sip.

“You are welcomed, JingYi.” The child seemed happy and he was glad. It looked like he had the same temer as his dad when it came to tea. A-Cheng chuckled at the thought before sipping his cup. His eyes wandered on the table, catching a glimpse of the bunny. It looked old, and it was clearly used. “Can I touch Baitu?” He asked the child. Taking it just because he was curious could upset the child and he wanted to avoid problems.

“Yes. Be careful, he loses his stuffing.” The boy answered with an earnest nod.

“I will be.” Jiang Cheng chuckled and reached for the bunny and its ear. Carefully, he examined the bunny’s head, it looked like it had been sown a couple of times. After that, he examined the missing part. It was soft, and when turning it around there was a pink fabric as well, mimicking the inner part of a real bunny’s earlobe. The oval shape reminded him of something. Jiang Cheng frowned. “This...”

“Mn?” XiChen glanced at him.

“I feel like I’ve… was this in… this was in the back of your car, I’ve picked it up before.”

“It could be, Báitù has travelled a lot in my car.”

A-Cheng nodded, touching the ends of the broken joint. “Would you like me to fix your bunny?”

“Would you? Thank you, gege.”

“I could, do you mind?” He looked at XiChen.

“Can you bring the needles for gege, JingYi?”

JingYi nodded and went to the hallway leading to other rooms. The apartment wasn’t as big as he had expected XiChen to live in. “Was he the reason you refused to let me come to your house?”

“He is my secret. I don’t want him to get hurt because of me.”

“You would probably not allow him to get hurt.”

“I try my best.” Lan XiChen smiled as he saw the boy come back.

“You seem to be doing just fine.”

Chapter Text

“Gege, here.” JingYi left a box on the table. When Jiang Cheng opened it, he was surprised to see a lot of threads and quite a few sewing needles. He wouldn’t have expected XiChen to have such supplies, but well, he was a human after all, he would have what he considered regular things. A-Cheng grabbed one needle and a white thread, cutting a long length and then folding it into two.

“You have sown this before, haven’t you?” He asked as he looked at the area once again.

“Baba does it a lot… Baitu is old.”

“You must like it very much then.”

“Yes. It was a gift from my other baba.”

“Other baba?” Jiang Cheng’s eyebrows twitched, and he glanced at Lan XiChen who nodded. Oh, so he was ‘like that’, like his brother. He wondered how the child came to be having two babas…

Then he began stitching the bunny’s ear while JingYi began to chat. It seemed he was quite talkative, perhaps before he wasn’t comfortable with Jiang Cheng but now he was. It made the adult happy to think that. He replied back to each of his questions, his age, his profession, his likes and dislikes. When JingYi asked if he could also eat something sweet, his Baba caressed his head. “You might not remember but last year when A-Cheng was working for me I brought you some of his pastries.”

“You did?” Jiang Cheng was surprised to hear that.

“Mn.”

He felt slightly honored. “Did he like them?”

“Very much.”

“But I don’t remember.” Jingyi pouted.

A-Cheng found it incredibly charming. “I can cook for you… Well perhaps you can even help me cook them, what do you say?”

“Can I?” The boy jumped in excitement, almost spilling his tea. 

“If your baba doesn’t mind you being around the kitchen then you can.” He finished with the sowing and cut the extra thread. A-Cheng tested it by giving it a few tugs before handling the bunny to the kid. “There, done.”

“Thank you, gege!” He smiled with all of his teeth before hugging the bunny and turning to his father. “Can I cook with gege?”

“Where are you planning to cook?”

“Uhm...“ JingYi turned towards Jiang Cheng. “Where are we going to cook?”

“We can do it here or in my house, as you wish.”

“If we do it here then we can give some to baba!”

“I would guess your baba would be coming with you anyways. But we can do it here. You will be more comfortable.”

“What are we going to cook?”

“Do you like cookies?”

“I do. I want cookies.”

“Then I will talk to your baba about when we can bake them.” A-Cheng glanced at XiChen, finding him smiling and directly staring at him. It made him slightly ashamed, but he tried to push it down. 

“If you behave then you can cook with your gege.” XiChen said.

“I do! I do! And my teacher said I really improved. Look. Can I show you what I learnt on the piano today?”

“Only if you go to sleep after this.”

“Can baba play for me too?”

“Mn.”

JingYi finished his cup and jumped down the chair, carrying the cup to the sink before bolting to the wall piano in the living room. The melody the boy played was lively and something Jiang Cheng could definitely not recognize, still, he clapped when he finished since it was a remarkable skill to have for someone so young. JingYi grabbed XiChen’s arm. “Now it is baba’s turn.”

“What do you want me to play?”

“ Jasmine flower. ”

A-Cheng was interested. Having heard he had a music degree behind him was almost unbelievable, he couldn’t picture the man being able to play instruments, so he wanted to be proven wrong. JingYi moved to the couch, carrying his gege to sit next to him as well. The melody started slowly, then turned into an emotional piece. Lan XiChen was in fact quite skilled when playing, so much so that Jiang cheng had forgotten to pay attention to him, too immersed in the piece to watch him play.

“I am sorry, JingYi. I am out of practice, I had to play it slowly so as not to hurt myself.” He smiled apologetically to the child.

“It is okay, baba needs to get better.” The child covered a yawn.

“I do.” He stood up. “Time to sleep.”

“Goodnight, gege.” He bowed after standing up.

“Goodnight, JingYi.”

Jiang Cheng was left alone on the couch as XiChen guided the little one to his room. After he returned, A-Cheng was ready to tell him he was leaving.

“I am sorry for not telling Chengcheng about JingYi.” The man sat down.

“It is okay, I understand.” He patted his leg.

“I want to protect him… I can’t lose him… and he can’t lose me either. Not me too.” XiChen closed his eyes.

“Not you too?” XiChen nodded, touching his forehead. “Are you okay?”

“Allow me to lay down.” He looked back at A-Cheng, who nodded a bit confused.

The man lost no time to move and lay his head on Jiang Cheng’s lap. Jiang Cheng huffed, shaking his head. “Why am I not surprised?”

Lan XiChen smiled but didn’t reply. “I adopted JingYi from Young Souls, the children's center.” The name rang a bell. “His parents used to work for me.”

“Did they pass away?”

“Mn.”

“Can I know how?”

XiChen’s eyes opened slowly. “They died protecting me…” Jiang Cheng remained silent, unable to know how to reply. “I couldn’t just allow their child to grow up alone.”

There seemed to be some guilt behind those words. A-Cheng caressed Lan XiChen’s head as he did with Jin Ling when he got upset. “It was not your fault.”

“I know.”

“The child seems more than pleased to have you in his life.”

“I want him to have as much of a normal life as possible… But for that I have to hide him.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

“I know you won't…” His eyes searched for Jiang Cheng’s. “Are you mad?”

“Why would I be? I am not.”

“Because I hid him from you… I was scared that if you knew you wouldn’t want to have me close.”

Jiang Cheng giggled. “I love children, XiChen. Why would I care? You having one doesn’t change our relationship, besides, he is a wonderful boy. We have already planned to cook together.”

“You don’t need to… he will probably forget about it tomorrow.”

“I know. But I want to.”

XiChen smiled. “I miss Lianlian’s cooking.”

“Lianlian is no longer here.”

“Mn, now I have Jiang Cheng. You are real.” He closed his eyes. 

“I am.”

“And better... “ He yawned. “Is it nine already? I am… tired.”

A-Cheng’s hand stopped touching him, moving to raise his phone screen. “Nine o’clock. You should sleep if you are tired.”

“Mn, I should.” The man moved and ended up staying still over his lap.

“I will leave so you can sleep properly.” He patted his shoulder, soon realizing he had too much of a relaxed breathing to be awake. Had he fallen asleep that fast? Jiang Cheng tried to wake him up but it wasn’t possible. 

He wondered what he should do. Leave? But what about the key? Stay? But where should he stay? It was an uncomfortable situation. His first thought in mind was that he at least needed to get out from under his head and turn his body to the side just in case he wanted to puke from being drunk.

The operation was successful until he found himself locked in the one-arm embrace of a man who slept like a tomb and wasn’t keen on releasing him. Jiang Cheng fought his grip moving around, careful to not hurt his recently healed arm, yet soon found himself exhausted as well. Forcefully, he tried to get comfortable sleeping on his side, closing his eyes with the thought of getting angry at him tomorrow morning when he was awake.

~~~

The first thing he saw that morning was a bright lit roof. The first thing he heard that morning was JingYi. “Baba, gege is awake.”

Lan XiChen’s steps were light, almost unperceivable. “Good morning.” His head was visible in Jiang Cheng’s vision.

“Mnn.” A-Cheng groaned in response as he rubbed his eyes. He always had issues waking up in the morning, and he hated talking because his voice was the last thing that woke up from his body. Sitting up, he realized he had been laid on his back on the couch, with a pillow under his head and a blanket covering him. He was still fully clothed.

“I am sorry, I think I forced you to sleep here, I hope you aren’t in too much pain. I made you a cup of green tea.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Cheng managed to say with a hoarse voice. “Good morning.” He told both of them.

“Good morning, gege.” JingYi beamed. “Do you want a cookie? They are chocolate cookies.” He showed him one. Jiang Cheng smiled but shook his head in response.

He then asked where the bathroom was in a low and husky tone. After a thorough cleanse of his face he was finally able to wake up and have breakfast with them. It turned out to be that it was seven am. Who woke up so damn early on a saturday? Hadn’t he not been forced to sleep by the drunkard he would have been able to enjoy at least one or two hours of sleep more. However, when he put it in perspective, he tended to sleep in late and wake up early, he had forgotten how long it had been since he actually slept more than five or four hours, this time he had rocked around nine plus hours of sleep. He himself was amazed by it.

It wasn’t until he had said his goodbyes and gotten into his car that he realized he was supposed to be mad at the man for pushing him down to sleep next to him. Yet, a flash of last night made him remember whose fault it had been that he became drunk in the first place so he decided not to put up a fight and keep things calm.

Chapter Text

Tea time in the store was a ceremony they followed each afternoon from Monday to Friday. The way their boss seemed so soothed even if they spent their tea time quarreling made even the employees be happy with it. This time, Lan XiChen excused himself quarter to five, saying he needed to call his subordinate for a ride.

“Do you need a ride? Where to?”

“I need to pick up a package.” He smiled as he lowered his hand.

“Want me to take you?” He stood up finishing his cup of tea and taking it to the sink. One of the employees came in and asked Jiang Cheng where the container of chamomile tea was to refill the one in the front and he signaled it. 

“I don’t want to bother Chengcheng.”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. “I told you to stop calling me like that in front of others.”

“I apologize. I will make sure to just call you like that when we are in private.”

“Do you want to walk?” A-Cheng barked in response as he went to grab his keys. “Stop being flirty and get yourself ready”

Lan XiChen chuckled but kept quiet. Jiang Cheng told his coworkers he was leaving and they said that it was alright. “Call me if you need more hands.”

The expression in XiChen’s face as they got into the car was clear. “If you call me a worrywart I will drop you on the street.” He warned before putting his seatbelt on. “Please put the address on the GPS.”

His companion laughed. “I would have never used worrywart to define you, A-Cheng.” He leaned in to type on the device and then put on the seatbelt.

“I can see it in your face.”

“Perhaps it suits you, but I would rather say you are a bit of a workaholic.”

“I am not.”

“Believe what brings you peace of mind.”

“...” Jiang Cheng turned on the engine without replying. “What about you, then?”

“You are asking if I am a worrywart or a workaholic?”

“Workaholic.”

“I am not. I have my working schedule and I am not happy if I am forced to use my time with JingYi to deal with troublesome issues.”

“You still don’t work on weekends?”

“With some exceptions, I don’t. I have an eight to five. Even if I have a case I need to adress, I take care of it at home if necessary so as to spend my time with my son.”

“How long has he been yours for?”

“I adopted him when he was almost three.”

“So young… poor thing.”

“It wasn’t easy, I will admit. It wasn’t that I was an unprepared child, but I had finished my Law Master and recently started studying music. Working and studying weren’t that stressful, I had managed both since a long time before he came, but Jingyi… He was traumatized… The first year, he wouldn’t open up to me. By the time he warmed up to me, he went from not allowing me to touch him much to him getting anxious every time I left the house. It was rough.”

Jiang Cheng felt pity for the child. He patted XiChen’s thigh when he stopped at a red light. “You were very patient.”

“You think too highly of me.” He put his hand over Jiang Cheng's, squeezing it gently.

Using as an excuse the change in light, A-Cheng removed his hand embarrassed. “I do not. Children are as transparent as they can be. If he hadn’t bonded with you he wouldn’t be so attached to you. You are his Baba, he came running for you as soon as you entered the door. He loves you.”

“I am glad you think so… sometimes I worry about working too much...”

“Ask him. He won’t lie. Ask him if he thinks you two should spend more time together.”

“I would be troubled if he said yes if I am honest.” He chuckled.

“Then don’t ask. You have the call there.” Jiang Cheng laughed. Up to an extent, he could understand him, if Jin Ling were to say he worked too much and spent little time with him, he would feel worried. But truth be told, he did tend to spoil him a bit much and their time together was fully dedicated to him and him only.

“I do.”

“Has he ever asked about his parents?”

“I told him they passed protecting me, so I now will protect him till my death and help him be happy. He cried and still does sometimes, and he likes to visit their graves when the anniversary comes. He says he feels like they hug him.”

“Did he have nightmares?”

“I only found out about them because he came to sleep with me. He sneaks in and I wake up. I take him to therapy, so they have become scarce, luckily.”

“He looks happy.”

“I like to think so too.”

The car took the last turn after a few minutes of silence and Jiang Cheng parked in front of a school. “A primary school?” He frowned. “Oh, oh. Hey, don’t call your child a package.”

Lan XiChen laughed. “I didn’t want to say I have a child in front of your coworkers.”

Jiang Cheng shook his head. “You are incredible… go pick up your package then.” He was about to push his arm but realized it was the left arm and stopped himself. “Oh, I haven’t asked how your arm is.”

“It would be better if I got the princess I saved sacrificing myself.” Jiang Cheng’s eyes raised from his arm to his face.

“Get off the car!” He snapped. “Shameless! Get your head out of the gutter for once and learn to reply honestly!” His face became increasingly red out of anger and shame.

Lan XiChen laughed even harder than before. “I am better now, Chengcheng. I am going to physiotherapy, don’t worry. I will go look for Jingyi now.”

Jiang Cheng huffed in response, turning the engine off and crossing his arms. He refused to acknowledge the man. He was lucky he had such a cute kid, else he would have dropped him and told him to go to his house alone. However, as soon as his company got out of the car, he followed him with his eyes until he was no longer visible. 

He turned the radio on, waiting for them to come back. By the time he could find something he liked, he could see XiChen and a small child holding hands next to his door. “Good afternoon, gege.” JingYi said smiling as he jumped in.

A-Cheng smiled back, the boy’s mood rubbing off on him. “Good afternoon, JingYi. How was school?”

“It was incredible! We learnt about bugs and we got to touch a worm. Everyone was scared but it just tickled.” He said while moving his hands.

“Put on your seatbelt. We need to go home now.”

“Yes, Baba.”

Jiang Cheng glanced at the man, he did sound like a father in small things like those. “You like worms?”

“I do, but baba tells me not to get too dirty.”

 XiChen climbed into the front seat again, to then put on his seatlbelt. “I just tell you you need to wash your hands properly after touching them.”

“Yeye doesn’t like uncleanliness too.”

A-Cheng chuckled and left the parking spot. ”I wouldn’t be surprised. Your baba loved to have everything clean when I worked with him.”

“He always makes me tidy my room.” He pouted. “Oh… what did gege do when he worked with baba?”

“I cooked for him.”

“He also looked pretty.” XiChen praised, making the driver clench the steering wheel.

If looks could kill, Lan XiChen would have died.

“Yes! Gege is very pretty.”

“Please don’t say that, JingYi.” Jiang Cheng pleaded.

“Gege is shy, we might embarrass him.”

“Stop taking advantage of the situation.” He swallowed the bastard that was on the tip of his tongue for the sake of the child. “Shameless.” He said under his breath. “You are unbelievable.” XiChen only laughed, making Jiang Cheng sigh. “What else happened in your day, JingYi?”

It was only the second time they had met but the boy had no problem talking a blue streak whatsoever. His cheerfulness and constant effervescence were quite endearing. He entered their neighbourhood and dropped them at the gates of their building. That was the first but not last time he drove them home.

Every so often, when the store wasn’t too busy, XiChen would come to the store, drink some tea with Jiang Cheng, and then they would both go pick up JingYi. Lan XiChen had been advised to not drive until completing two months of physical therapy, even if he had full mobility, doing sudden movements needed to drive and manage the steering wheel could lead to stepbacks on his recovery or even another injury.

The man had kept quiet about how long the full recovery of his arm would take, not even Lan Wangji knew, which had him displeased. Everyone working with him underground knew that if their boss would go to such an extent for Jiang Cheng, they needed to cover their boss’ weak point. Hidden in the store were two new subjects, both previously working on the side for the Lans, distributing tea leaves and selling goods. 

Chapter Text

That day was a holiday, so Jiang Cheng knew he wouldn’t be picking up the pair and driving them home. Currently sitting next to the register, A-Cheng thought about what he would cook for dinner that day when he got home. Working on a holiday tired him out more, since the day was free that meant more customers coming, which wore everyone out more. However, the rush hour had gone by already and closing time was in sight, so he could relax and sit down, even if he was still at the front desk waiting to tend to incoming customers.

“Jiang Cheng.” His brother entered through the main door. He would have rolled his eyes just seeing him, thinking he had come to nag, but Wei WuXian didn’t seem to be his usual self.

“Good afternoon, how may I help you?” Jiang Cheng put on his best customer service smile. 

“Can we talk?”

“I have work to do.”

“After the store is closed.”

“We close in fifteen minutes.“

“I can wait.”

Since it looked to be serious, A-Cheng could only agree. “Don’t bother other customers, wait on the back, but do not steal anything.”

“I won’t.” He chuckled dryly before being allowed inside.

The last fifteen minutes had gone by swiftly. Jiang Cheng waved everyone goodbye and closed the front door. Once he was on the back where the storage and small kitchen was, he turned towards his brother. “Speak.”

“Jiang Cheng...” He began, smiling awkwardly.

It was no good. First, he had come with a serious face, second, he was now seemingly about to twist his hands nervously as if that could twist his thoughts out, third, it seemed to be a topic he clearly couldn’t speak on the phone. ”Is there something going on between you and Lan Wangji? Have you been kicked out and need a place to stay?” It seemed to be one of the only issues he couldn’t address but in person.

“Huh? No. This isn’t about Lan Zhan...  Why would you think so?”

“I don’t know. Just tell me.” He sighed. “Do you want some water?” He turned to serve himself some.

“No, I am okay… Um… I’ve come to talk… not about Lan Zhan but… about...”

He was being way too roundabout on the topic.

“Is this about Lan XiChen?” Jiang Cheng turned, sipping from his water.

“There is something you don’t know about him.” Wei WuXian finally blurted.

To Jiang Cheng this was no surprise. He was well aware there were many sides of the man he didn’t know about at all, he didn’t care to ask as he wanted his hands as clean as possible. “Yeah.”

“Don’t you care to know?” His brother looked at him, worried.

Jiang Cheng sighed again. “There are some things that are better left unsaid. Besides, I have no intention to interrogate him further. If he is not telling me there must be a reason behind it, whether it is in my favor or not, I have long ago accepted that whatever he wants to do to me he can do and I have no power whatsoever to stop him…” His mind wandered momentarily to everything the man had done and how much XiChen had restricted himself around him. He suppressed a shiver suddenly remembering how fast he had been swept into a kiss without him realizing. It was true that he could, if he wanted, force him. The only thing he could not force were Jiang Cheng’s feelings towards him, a thought A-Cheng had held on to to avoid sighing in helplessness. As long as he was on his good side, he could remain to live in ease. Jiang Cheng didn’t dare to think about what would happen to him once Lan XiChen got bored.

In the end, Wen Qing was right, once he had stepped through those doors to ask for a loan, he had placed his life into the man’s hands. Perhaps, he had also, unknowingly, placed his family in more danger than they already were. He was lucky he seemed to have chosen the second less ruthless criminal in the city, second only to his brother-in-law, who had left that life for the sake of his wife.

“Jiang Cheng, this is important! You must know, he has a child!”

That made him turn his head towards him. “How do you know?”

“I… wait, you knew?”

“Yeah, I have met him. How do you know?”

“Remember that night when they tried to go after jiejie’s family? Lan Zhan took me somewhere to protect me and it turns out that there was a child that called him uncle. It was then I found out the child was XiChen’s.”

"I see."

"Are you really okay with it?!"

"So what if I am?"

"He is a dangerous man, Jiang Cheng."

"So is Lan Wangji and you don't hear me lecturing you about him.”

“That is different! Him and I are dating, you two aren’t or are you planning on dating him?”

“I have no intention whatsoever.”

“Do you really not?” Wei WuXian seemed surprised.

“I don’t. Don’t look at me like that.”

“It doesn’t look like it… I don’t want you to fall for him.”

“I cannot speak about what it does or doesn’t look like. Why would you ask me about it if you will not be satisfied with my reply?”

“Jiang Cheng, you must not date him.”

“Why are you so keen on us not being together? I have already said I don’t want to.”

“He is truly truly dangerous.”

“Need I remind you again about your partner?”

“I already said that that is different. He would never hurt me.”

“Lan XiChen hasn’t hurt me either.” If he didn’t count the forceful kiss or the constant flirting which bordered on being harassment… He hadn’t actually forced himself on him. It had seemed that the kiss was only a misunderstanding, else, he would have forced him again.

“But he pointed a gun at my forehead, and threatened me!”

“I am aware.” Jiang Cheng nodded solemnly.

“Then don’t be naive! You must be careful near him, don’t let his mellow words and actions soothe you.”

“He is a criminal, I am not forgetting about that. He carries a gun on him almost always. I haven’t forgotten about that either. He could pick up his phone and in one call I could be dead. I am not naive, nor do I play pretend. It is I who has seen him covered in blood, it is I who has heard him say he killed someone. I have been made aware of how he works, even if I don’t know the full picture, what I do know is enough to make me beware. But we have already signed a contract with him. Even so, you have no right to tell me off, he might be chasing after me, but there is no further relationship between us other than perhaps a friendly partnership. After all, I still have to work with him, he still owes a big part of this business and, even more, he still carries a gun. However, whether I choose or not to be his colleague or even his friend, you have no face to come to me and speak about how ruthless your own brother-in-law is. I might be friendly to the man who told me to my face he put a gun on your forehead, but you still went and made him part of your family by involving yourself with his younger brother. I did what I did to save our business and you know it. I am bearing the consequences of it. I cannot change the past and what he did to you, I will not forgive him for threatening you, however, I won’t just get on bad terms when it could hurt not only myself but the business and all of us. I am sorry if you don’t like him, but it was A-Niang and A-Die who signed the contract with him. I was once naive when I first stepped into his doors, but I no longer am.”

After that, their fight lasted barely a few more exchanges and resulted in the both of them parting with a sour taste in their mouths. Jiang Cheng was unsettled, he had forgotten about what Lan XiChen had actually done to his brother. Even if he understood the motive of protecting his younger brother’s feelings, he still felt the man to be a bit too crude. He could only comfort himself with the thought that it had happened just once and before they became an official couple, which meant that now under Lan Wangji’s wing, he would be alright. As long as Wei WuXian and him were together, everything would be fine… after that… it was for his brother to bear the consequences of his choices, as he would do once Lan XiChen’s engrossment in him lost its shine. Jiang Cheng had to force himself to remember he wouldn’t have to allow himself to fall under vile actions to keep himself protected. He wouldn’t play with XiChen’s feelings, to respect the way the man had treated and protected him since they had met. A-Cheng could only hope that if he had to pay back everything he had been given without asking, it wouldn’t involve his family.

~~~

A couple of days later, Jiang Cheng was driving XiChen to the school. The man had diligently done so for a while now, and he had to admit that the even if he wanted to beat Lan XiChen in shame with some of the things he said, it felt worth it when he then got to listen to JingYi’s energic talk on their way to the other’s home. He had slowly begun missing his nephew more and more, and had already arranged to meet him the following day, wanting to catch up after a long time not seeing him. 

However, this time as he was parking, Lan XiChen received a call that irritated him. It had been a long time since the last time he had seen the man annoyed, but he could still sense immediately when his soft gaze became fierce even when he didn’t frown. Knowing his place, he kept silent and minded his own business on his phone. He couldn’t go down and pick up JingYi so he could only wait for him to finish to go pick up the package. Having free time, he began texting his sister about what hour he would go to pick up JingYi. They were going to have a nice lunch out, perhaps KFC but A-Cheng hadn’t fully decided. He would probably ask the child what he wanted.

Lan XiChen ended the call with a frown. Jiang Cheng wanted to ask, but chose to only ask about him and not about what had happened. “Are you alright?”

“I need to call Miss Luo to care for JingYi and go back to the office.”

“Want me to take you there?”

“Please.” He said before picking up his phone again. Even though he held it next to his ear, A-Cheng didn’t hear him speak for a while. He sighed, gently.

“She is not answering?”

“No. Perhaps I can bother Uncle with it.” XiChen stared at his phone.

“Would you like me to take care of him?”

XiChen glanced at him, unable to hide his surprise. He seemed to consider it. “Are you… sure? I am not certain about what time I will be coming back...”

“Yeah, I take care of JingYi. It won’t be hard. He is a good boy.”

His silence seemed to be him trying to find out a way to politely reject him, however, after a few seconds, a sweet smile grew on his face. Their eyes met and XiChen praised him. “You are too good… I would be at ease if you were the one taking care of him.”

“Ha, you praise me too much. Come on… go fetch your kid.” He said while unlocking his phone again to message his sister. A-Cheng needed someone to close the business for him.

While XiChen went to pick up JingYi, Jiang Cheng called his jiejie. “Jiejie.” He smiled. “I have a favor to ask.” Despite it being her day off from work, she said she wouldn’t mind. After settling that matter, he had no further worries. His whole afternoon after that was freed, so he could take on the task. Furthermore, the kid seemed to be thrilled to be talkative with him, so there seemed to be no compatibility issues there. He wondered if even still JingYi would be uncomfortable with only him. There was no other way than asking.

As usual, JingYi went in by himself on the backseat. “Good afternoon, gege!” He chirped as he locked his seatbelt.

“Good afternoon, JingYi.”

“Is it true gege will be taking care of me?”

“Yes. It is.”

“Why would I lie to you?” XiChen said as he got into the car.

“I don’t know. Gege hasn’t stayed with us since that time. I thought he wouldn’t come back.”

“I don’t have a problem going to your home, JingYi.” Jiang Cheng clarified.

“Then is gege coming home with us everyday?”

“Jiang Cheng has a job to do, JingYi. He helps me come pick you up because I was injured, but he isn’t coming everyday.”

“Oh...” His cheerfulness died down.

“But today I am… And...” A-Cheng glanced at the father. “What about we make some cookies today?”

“Can we?” 

XiChen looked at him and smiled. “Yes, you can.”

“Would you care to tell me if you have the ingredients at home? So I know if I need to stop and go buy something.” Seeing that everyone had their seatbelts on, the driver got out of his parking space.

“List them to me and I will tell you.” This time, JingYi remained mostly silent as the grownups talked about ingredients, he would only chime in whenever he heard something he fancied, like when he heard that the cookies could have chocolate chips on them.

Once the list of ingredients was out of the way, it was JingYi’s turn to speak, which he did to his heart’s content. He was slightly saddened that his baba wouldn’t be there for the cookies when they got to Lan XiChen’s office.

“Don’t worry, JingYi. We will leave some for your baba.”

“I will return before you go to bed, I promise.” XiChen turned to his child and smiled softly. “Be good, okay?”

“Okay, baba. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.” He patted his knee and then turned towards Jiang Cheng. “You can call me if he gets too much to handle… take care. I will be looking forward to tasting your cookies.”

“Sure.” Jiang Cheng smiled. “Go do your work. I can manage. Don’t worry.”

“I am sure you can, you can do everything.” He chuckled and went off.

It was a sudden turn in his expression, as he hardened his face after closing the door. There were barely seconds of his rage present before he had schooled his expression, but Jiang Cheng could see it clearly. He was stunned silent, blinking at loss. Only when JingYi asked if everything was okay, did he remember what he needed to do.

“Yes, everything is okay. We will make a small detour first, I need to give my jiejie something.”

“Gege has a jiejie?” JingYi asked excitedly.

“Yes, I do.”

With just a glimpse into Jiang Cheng’s life, Jingyi began filling him with questions about his family. Questions he answered smiling. Having that small beam of cheerfulness fidgeting on his backseat made him forget about his problems. Together, they drove to his jiejie’s house.

Chapter Text

Only when Jiang Cheng parked in the front of his jiejie’s house did the relentless talking of Jingyi ceased. He seemed to be quite untalkative when facing strangers. Jiang Cheng took out his keys not paying that much mind, as long as the kid was comfortable talking to him, things would go smoothly. “Jiejie,” he said, lowering the car’s window.

“A-Cheng.” She smiled.

Jiang Cheng smiled, taking out the business’ keys to hand them to her. “I came to give you the keys. I am sorry to bother you on your free day.”

“Don’t worry, it is not usual you ask for things.” Jiang Yanli’s smiled broadened when she patted his head. “Oh, who is that young little handsome boy?”

“I am Jingyi.” The child answered.

“He is Lan XiChen’s child.” Jiang Cheng clarified.

“Oh, this is Lan XiChen’s child? Nice to meet you, I am Jiang Yanli, A-Cheng’s jiejie. You must be a very good child, you A-Die spoke fondly about you.”

“He did?” Jiang Cheng frowned. He had only met Jingyi recently, how come his jiejie knew?

“Mn. When we helped with the Children’s day fundraiser we chatted about children. I knew he must have had a child with the way he spoke. He always smiled like a proud parent.”

“Baba did?” Jingyi asked shyly.

“He did. He said you were sick so you wouldn’t come and play the games with us.”

“Oh… I wanted to play.” From the rear-view mirror, A-Cheng could see him pouting.

“You can come and play with A-Ling any time you want, he is probably around your age. You just need to ask your baba, we will welcome you.”

“Can I?” The child’s voice became louder, filled to the brim with unconcealed joy. When his jiejie nodded, Jingyi was already moving excitedly. “I will ask baba!”

Jiang Yanli chuckled, her smile was the same she extended towards her child. “We hope to see you soon then.”

“Mn. It’s a promise.”

 “Okay. Do your best. I won’t bother you anymore. Have fun.” She waved them off.

Jiang Cheng was amazed by how fast the child had been won over by his sister. He chuckled gently and shook his head before thanking her again and driving off towards XiChen’s house. He was told that the guard of the neighbourhood would give him the key once he got there. A-Cheng wondered if the man was one of his subordinates, he wouldn’t be surprised if it were.

Once he got handed the key and parked in front of the complex, he focused on the child. “Do you remember where your house is?” He said, lowering his gaze towards him.

“Baba said to not tell.” Jingyi said earnestly.

Jiang Cheng sighed but smiled. “Please?”

“No, Baba said to not tell. I am sorry, gege.”

“Great.” A-Cheng suppressed a second sigh and stared at the keys on his hand. He couldn’t even remember which floor it was, and felt a bit stupid. After staring at the entrance for a minute, he finally relented and took out his phone. Ignoring the guilt of bothering him, he called his number. XiChen had said to call him if anything came up, after all.

“Hello?” Lan XiChen answered.

“Um, yeah. It’s me, I am sorry. I called because I don’t know your apartment number and Jingyi won’t tell me… I didn’t mean to bother but we are kind of stuck outside of your complex.”

He heard the man huff gently and felt like he was smiling. “I see, give me a second… deafen him.” Jiang Cheng heard a groan and felt goosebumps. “I meant to use...” XiChen sighed and tsked before speaking again. “I am sorry, the answer is cheating death. ”

“Cheating death?” He frowned, not understanding.

“Mn. Ask him, he will understand.”

“Him?” Jiang Cheng’s scowled deepened until he understood he was talking about Jingyi. “Oh… okay. Ask Jingyi.”

“Yes. Is there anything else?”

“No. That was all… Oh, and my jiejie said she would close the store for me, so I am free to take care of Jingyi for the day.”

“I am glad to hear… that. Excuse me for a second.” The call was muted and A-Cheng had a bad omen. He stared at the phone, unsure whether he should or shouldn’t hang up. However, if he said to wait it meant that he would need to tell them something. “Okay now, will you pass the phone?”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng gave Jingyi the phone while moving his mouth, silently saying baba.

JingYi nodded and got the phone. “Hello?”

He couldn’t hear what XiChen said, but Jingyi nodded, seemingly understanding everything. It was brief. Less than a minute had passed and JingYi had pressed to end the call. “Come.” The boy returned the phone to its rightful owner and grabbed both the keys and his hands guiding him to the complex. Jiang Cheng was baffled but followed suit, it looked like the child knew what he was doing. Even if he didn’t, he would know once the key didn’t fit.

They got in after JingYi pressed the magnetic key on the square next to the door and once inside the elevator, he spoke looking at Jiang Cheng. “Cheating.” He said before pressing the seven, for the seventh floor.

When the doors opened, he walked towards the door the elder did remember. “Death.” The boy pointed at the door’s number. A-Cheng’s eyes opened in surprise. The man lived in the fourth flat? It seemed ironic and unsettling. Why would he want to leave there? Everyone avoided the bad feng shui from the 4th number. Shaking his head, he saw Jingyi use the keys to open the door and they both got in. So that was it, the fourth apartment on the seventh floor. XiChen liked to play with fire, how unsurprisingly fitting.

“Shall we bake cookies?” He asked JingYi.

“Cookies!” He chirped.

“Go wash your hands, we will have some tea first so you won’t be so hungry and then you can eat the cookies.” Although having drank tea less than an hour ago with XiChen, he didn’t know when the child had last eaten and baking would take at least an hour, he didn’t want him starving.

“Yes.” JingYi went to the hallway, throwing his backpack after opening one door and then dashing to another one.

“Be careful with your things.” Jiang Cheng scolded him gently. He grabbed some soap and washed his hands in the sink as he waited for him. XiChen had mostly told him where everything was and had said that if he didn’t find anything to either ask JingYi or simply check every cabinet around. The man seemed careless about him checking his house. He had told him to “make himself at home”. A-Cheng wouldn’t. But he wouldn’t shy away from checking for ingredients around, and from checking around if he needed anything for JingYi. If he didn’t make himself somewhat comfortable there JingYi might find his presence odd and he wanted the kid to not be awkward. His father seemed to be really busy and A-Cheng had offered to be his nanny. He wouldn’t do a lousy job out of too much politeness.

It was like that how his mind wandered in circles about justifications for how much he could and should do in that house, so much so that it took little JingYi to tug on his clothes to make him come back to earth.

“Gege, how can I help?”

“Um...” Jiang Cheng snapped out of it and thought about what he needed. “I know where the tea is, but would you help me with the rest of the ingredients?”

“Mn. I will.”

“If the shelves are too high for you, just point where it is. Okay?” Jiang Cheng told him. 

The boy nodded and began listening to him attentively. As A-Cheng brewed the tea for the both of them, he recited the ingredients once again. This was a recipe he had done multiple times already, the measurements ingrained in his head. 

Jingyi wanted to mix, so he began instructing what to do. Cream the butter with the sugar, then mix the flour. “Slowly!” He grabbed the kid’s wrist before flour went everywhere. Jiang Cheng decided that even if it was a stand mixer, perhaps he should stand behind the child so they wouldn’t have to go searching for the cleaning products later. While they cooked, their cups laid next to the ingredients, small Jingyi sipping from it from time to time.

They both made the dough balls and Jiang Cheng sent the first batch into the oven. “They will be really tasty!” JingYi was excited. “I’ve never baked cookies.“

“There is always a first.” Jiang Cheng smiled, petting his head with his freshly clean hands.

“Gege likes cookies?”

“I like all types of sweets.”

“What is your favorite?”

“Mmmm… It is hard to choose… but if I had to choose… then I would say egg tarts.”

“I like egg tarts too.” Jingyi nodded approvingly.

“Come, let’s finish our teas on the table.” The kid drank the little of the tea he had left silently. “Do you have homework?” He pouted, making Jiang Cheng chuckle. “Bring it. If it is too hard then I can help you solve it.”

“Will you?”

“Yes. The cookies will be ready in fifteen minutes or so, but it will take an hour to finish baking them all. If you work hard we can have a break with cookies and more tea by then.”

“Okay.” Jingyi jumped down from his seat excitedly. 

Homework and cookies, along with a small piano lesson from the small boy to his interesting gege filled their time. When dinner came, Jiang Cheng had gotten several texts from XiChen asking about Jingyi. He didn’t recall the man being so over his phone before. In the last text exchange, he said he would be back by dinner. Jiang Cheng had managed to cook braised tofu with rice and veggies with his willing sous-chef. They had left some cookies for his baba and even served him a plate.

Just in time, XiChen was back.

Jingyi ran up to him, giving him a hug and chatting non-stop about his day. There was something weird with the man and the way he smiled. It seemed to be more forced than it had been before.

They ate as Jingyi and XiChen filled the silence. Work had been hard that is why Baba had to be late, he had said. The little one seemed to know not to ask too much about it, and as if used to it, he didn’t dwell on the subject much. After eating, a cookie was practically shoved in the eldest’s mouth, his boy fidgeting for his baba’s approval. Not much time later, Jingyi was taken to bed.

“Baba… I have something to say.”

“I am listening.”

“I want to marry, gege.”

Jiang Cheng’s eyes sprang open, while XiChen just chuckled. “Why?”

“Because he is pretty and he can do tasty cookies and better tofu than baba. I will buy egg tarts for him and make him happy.”

A-Cheng was left speechless, while the father laughed a bit more. “Why egg tarts?
“They are gege’s favorite sweet and I like them too.”
“Well, that is very nice of you, Jingyi, but I am afraid that is not possible.”

“Why?”

Jiang Cheng had naively thought he would explain how two men couldn’t marry, let alone the age gap and how they barely knew each other and the inappropriateness of such things, however, instead he blurted out. “Because Chengcheng is mine, and if he marries someone then that someone should be me.”

Jiang Cheng was shocked mute. He quickly snapped out of it and schooled his expression as he waited for the man to come back to him after putting the kid to sleep. If he had spoken right then and there he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from hitting him with something out of frustration and shame. 

Lan XiChen came back once he was already calm. “You shouldn't tell him that, what if it doesn't happen and he gets his hopes up for nothing?”

Lan XiChen stared at him, his smile widening. “If it doesn’t happen? Sounds more like I have a bigger chance of making it happen, than ruining it… Have you finally fallen?”

Jiang Cheng closed his mouth, being made aware of how he had phrased things made him embarrassed. He had misspoken. “I haven’t, please don’t pursue me, and don’t drag your child into these matters. I don’t want to feel the pressure of letting down a child because I rejected you, nor do you want me to be forced to like you so as not to hurt JingYi.”

“How do you know I don’t want to coerce your feelings? Aren’t you being naive, Jiang Cheng?”

The man puffed his chest in slight anger. “Why are you calling me naive? You are the one whose actions speak louder than words. Don’t pretend you have no means to coerce people, we both know the part of an innocent man does not fit you. I have known you for more than a year yet you have only played me with words.” 

Lan XiChen’s eyebrows shot up, making Jiang Cheng even more mad. “How so?” He asked.

Him playing dumb fueled the fire. “How so asks the man who could have kidnapped my family as easily as you woke me up and took me away that night to protect me. You flick your finger and you have my entire family under your wing. That time your intentions were honorable, but don’t think I don’t know you could actually harm us easily.”

“I wouldn’t involve the innocent...” Jiang Cheng cut him off.

“I know you won’t. I’ve noticed. You also haven’t manipulated me into being with you.”

“Aren’t you giving me a little too much credit, A-Cheng? Remember I am a criminal.”

“How could I forget?” He sneered. “I cannot believe you would actually be as dense as to make me explain to you how you have shown me you care about me.”

“Enlighten me, please.” Instead of being mad at having been insulted, XiChen looked at him with an eased expression.

“You have power, XiChen. I know you do. Yet you have never used it against me.” He pondered about honestly speaking his mind or just cutting the chat off. A-Cheng sighed, shaking his head. “Whatever, I have something to tell you before I forget.“

“What?”

“Jingyi met my sister today. He will probably ask you about meeting my nephew to play.”

“A play date with Jin Ling?” Lan XiChen seemed to think about it. “I reckon Jin ZiXuan has no idea.”

“I don’t know, he wasn’t there.“

“I will speak with him when the time comes. As long as they are somewhere safe I have no problem with that.”

“Good. Tell me if you need my sister’s phone number. I will tell her if you accept.”

“Okay, thank you, Chengcheng.” He smiled. “Now… I have something to talk about with you as well.”

“What is it?”

“You must know, my overtime today had to do with Wen Chao.”

“Wen Chao?” A-Cheng frowned.

“Yes, him. I found out some things about your parent’s store.”

Chapter Text

“Wha… what?” Jiang Cheng blinked, astounded.

“I had a few issues to solve with Wen Chao, and as we spoke, he told me what happened with the store. Wangji confirmed the story with me.”

As we spoke... A-Cheng’s mind went back to the call. He had not been too kind when he uttered the deafen him order. For his own peace of mind, he didn’t investigate further in those words, lest he found out something about a crime that could get him into trouble. ”What did he say?”

“He said he burnt it down to pull your brother off of his high horse. The intent wasn’t to kill any of you, so that is why he sent someone to do it in the night, when no one was around.”

A-Cheng frowned but didn’t show confusion. He was well aware that it was meant to be an attack towards his brother. “I know that much. He wrote: Die! You homo! in capital letters across the wall. My siblings and I assumed it was targeted towards Wei WuXian, he is known to make trouble. Besides the homo thing.”

“Do you know why he did it?” Jiang Cheng shook his head. “Do you want to know?”

“Tell me, please.”

“Your brother prevented him from groping a lady, beat him dumb, and then took off with Wangji. Wen Chao didn’t like losing face so he sent one of his friends to burn the building.”

“He...” Jiang Cheng sighed. Put like that he couldn’t even be mad at Wei WuXian. “We can’t do anything either way… thank you for telling me.”

“He won’t be pulling up another one of those, don’t worry. I already made a deal with his father. Your parents have received compensation for the damages and Wen Ruohan said he would make sure to forbid his child from doing reckless things like that.”

“What? What deal did you make?” Jiang Cheng’s heart became icy. “What did you do?”

Lan XiChen smiled softly. “Don’t worry, I just told him that he should sign an NDA with your parents and settle for money.”

“He must not have agreed just like that. Lan XiChen, tell me what you did.” Jiang Cheng glared at him, not liking to be played with rosy words.

“I told him he either paid in private or paid in public after I took the case to court. Wen Rouhan doesn't want to lose face, he wants to win as much power as possible, and he needs the people’s support for that. So he accepted. Part of the deal was that I wouldn’t deal with his son in private unless his son messed with me. Wen Chao got it quite easy, he could have gotten into bigger troubles with his friend.”

Jiang Cheng suppressed a shiver. “The friend you killed.” He muttered.

Lan XiChen stopped smiling, changing his face to a frightening peaceful expression, almost devoid of emotions.

A-Cheng looked away. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“It was a warning. Wen Chao was supposed to leave you alone. I promised I wouldn’t touch him, but I was clear with his father that if his son upsetted Wangji I would not stop him in whatever he wanted to do and that if he thought of pressing charges I would defend my brother until the end.”

“So Xue Yang was a tool for you?” Jiang Cheng scoffed.

“He was a criminal that not only burnt down your work and threatened your life, but he also messed with my business.” Lan XiChen simpered coldly. “He was the Jins’ rat. Someone who was used as a tool by whoever paid him, he minded nothing. I chose to keep you safe and keep myself and Wangji safe. I cannot strip Wen Chao from his money, but I can strip him from resources. No overgrown child will be allowed to terrorize this city just because they have money. I have enough problems with the Jins as it is.”

“You speak like a monster.”

“Perhaps I am one.” The way he eased his expression before showing his true colors had Jiang Cheng having goosebumps. He was a monster.

“Why did you do it? Was that enough? Was he just a nuisance and you killed him just because of it? Will you kill me when you get fed up as well? Will you place me between a hard place and a rock? To choose whether to be your partner or to die. That is it.” He sighed. “This wasn’t part of the deal.”

“What do you think is easier? Killing you or letting you live knowing I have to protect you because I have allowed myself to grow feelings for you?” XiChen asked bluntly.

“Killing me.” Jiang Cheng said in between gritted teeth, feeling an ominous premonition.

“Yet, you are still alive.”

“I am.”

“Why?” Lan XiChen pressed without moving.

“I don’t know.”

“And you hate not knowing. Is that it?”

Jiang Cheng kept silent. He felt like he was walking on a tightrope blindfolded, not knowing what would happen when he fell.

“I won’t kill you. Not now, not later. Not unless you commit a heinous crime that we cannot condone. You seem to misunderstand what I do as a side job, Jiang Cheng.”

“If knowing can get me into trouble, I rather not know.”

Lan XiChen chuckled softly. “Your sense of safety is flawed, Chengcheng. You already know Xue Yang is dead. You are not unaware of everything. That is the price of being protected...”

“How could I not know if you don’t hide it?” He gritted his teeth so as not to shout and wake up JingYi.

“I don’t kill just anyone and I don’t kill without reason. I am not as just as a judge could be, but I have my own justice system that not only I but my subordinates follow.”

“So what, are you a martyr that kills the bad guys?”

“I don’t kill the innocents.” Lan XiChen replied plainly, his eyes glancing at the hallway leading to the rooms.

“So you didn’t kill Wen Chao?”

He looked back. “I made a deal. I told Wen Ruohan that if he accepted to pay your parents back for the damage his son did, I would prepare a non-disclosure agreement for him so he could pay for his son’s crimes without publicly admitting them. In the midst of the deal, I made it clear that it meant that I would take your family under my wing. By which it meant I wouldn’t touch his son as long as he didn’t touch my business, now the Jiang’s and your sister’s husband and child were my business. He was well aware of the terms and conditions and he agreed.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Wen Chao messed with my business, but it wasn’t grave enough for me to break my deal with Wen Ruohan.” Lan XiChen’s gaze was unfocussed.

“So you didn’t.”

“I didn’t… I don’t know if Wangji did… I left him in charge as it was getting too late.”

“What? Why would Lan Wangji kill Wen Chao?”

XiChen blinked and looked back towards him. “Burning the cafe isn’t the only threat Wen Chao has made against Wei WuXian. It is due time.”

“Due time? For what? Please tell me Lan Wangji won’t kill Wen Chao. Why are you telling me this, I shouldn’t know this! You are getting me into more trouble. Forget it.” Jiang Cheng stood up, feeling the need to scream as his head filled with panic for someone he didn’t like and mixed feelings. Since when killing others was proof of love? The Lan brothers had skewed thinking, big time.

“Due time for him to learn a lesson.” Lan XiChen grabbed his wrist. “Jiang Cheng, sit down.”

“I don’t want to sit down. I am going home. Let me go.”

“I won’t allow you to drive like this. Sit down.”

”Fuck you. I will do what I want.”

He looked up, his lips pressed into a thin line. “You do not need to trust Wangji, you only need to trust your brother to know Wen Chao won’t die.”

“What?” Jiang Cheng was confused.

“If you had power over my actions, if you asking me not to kill for you meant I wouldn’t. Would you do it?” His grip became firmer, and he pulled down Jiang Cheng slowly.

“What does it have to...” His head was spinning faster and faster, and he felt dizzy. Without realizing it, he ended up sitting again.

“It is like that with Wangji and your brother. If you trust your brother to have the same values you have, then Wangji will not kill Wen Chao because he messed with Wei WuXian. At most, he might break a bone or two of his so he will understand not to bother them anymore.”

“So he won’t die?” A-Cheng felt emotionally tired. His body was stiff.

Lan XiChen’s gaze softened and he inched closer, letting go of his wrist. Then, he slowly approached his hand to rub his back, as if giving him space to reject him. “No one will die.” 

“I want to go home. I need time to think. I feel tired.”

“Go back in a taxi. I don’t want you driving tired and emotionally shaken. You can have an accident.”

“I don’t have money for a taxi.”

“Then you can sleep here.”

Jiang Cheng sighed and they both remained silent. He was indeed tired. His feelings felt all over the place and it took a couple of minutes for his heart to finally settle. All through that time, Lan XiChen’s soft caresses in his back hadn’t stopped. For once, A-Cheng couldn’t care less whether the man touched him or not. Hands which had probably been covered in blood more than once. The hands of a monster. Jiang Cheng chewed unwillingly on his own feelings. Even having the knowledge of what he was and what he had done, his gentle touch had actually eased his turmoil. ‘Well, it was him who had caused the turmoil to begin with, might as well let him solve it.’ Was what he tried to convince himself of.

Up until then, Jiang Cheng was still baffled as to what could make his brother, a rascal but law abiding citizen, fall for Lan Wangji knowing everything he carried. Up until then, Jiang Cheng had been able to still battle to put up his guard when around Lan XiChen. Yet he found himself being calmed by a man who had admitted to killing and probably torturing someone for information. He didn’t know for sure if before washing his hands he had Wen Chao’s blood on them, but the chance of it was not zero. That same man was next to him, urging him to not drive so he wouldn’t hurt himself, giving him a place to sleep because he had no money for a taxi. “XiChen.” The man stopped caressing him and put his hand down.

“Yes?”

“What would you do if I said I hate you?”

“I would say you are probably lying. Your heart is too good to hate someone. You cannot fully hate anyone, not even Wen Chao who hurt you in the past and burnt down your business. Just now when we were discussing him you still felt restless knowing his life might be in danger. Hating requires investment of energy, and you focus too much on your duties for that as well.”

“XiChen, I hate you.”

Lan XiChen chuckled. “I am happy my Chengcheng is willing to invest himself so much in me. It makes my heartbeat increase.”

“You are disgusting.”

“You seem to know me well.” His smile was genuine.

“Won’t you get mad?”

“When those words flow for your lips with sincerity,” his hand reached to caress his cheek with his thumb, “I will only feel sadness. If anyone, I would be mad at myself for driving you away.”

“You really are...” Jiang Cheng looked away, making the hand close to his face fall.

“Shameless?” XiChen asked with joy in his voice.

“I guess.” A-Cheng sighed.

Even if not romantically… Can you really like someone when there is a side of them you despise?

“Will you stay?” He asked.

“I won’t share a bed with you.”

“Don’t worry, my bed has only known my body and Jingyi’s. No one else’s.”

Jiang Cheng coughed, feeling ashamed. “I didn’t want to know that. I am not always thinking about sex, XiChen.”

“Hmm… Am I? Perhaps it’s my lack of sex.” Jiang Cheng frowned and looked at him, but he only smiled. ”Being an only parent is hard.”

A-Cheng was surprised but felt it was funny the way the man said it. “That long, huh?” 

“What? Surprised?” Lan XiChen’s smile grew even more.

“Yeah, you don’t seem to lack proposals.”

“I am honored, but since I met a lady in purple with beautiful legs I have no desire whatsoever to share my time with others.”

“I am not a lady.”

“May I see?” He smirked.

“As if you didn’t peek while I changed in the back of your car.”

“I find myself guilty of all charges.”

“What a good lawyer.” 

“There is no need to lie to you.”

“Do you have an extra bed? If not, I will sleep on the couch.”

“It is okay, you can sleep on my bed.”

“Lan XiChen I already said I am not sharing a bed with you.”

“I will sleep with JingYi.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“If I wanted to force myself upon you I would already have.”

Jiang Cheng side-eyed him before begrudgingly acknowledging the man was right. “Okay then.”

“Should we go to bed?”

Jiang Cheng fought his shame back and followed him. Lan XiChen’s room was modest and clean. It looked too empty for Jiang Cheng’s liking, almost like a hotel room. At least if he looked at it that way he could make himself comfortable… just a bit.

…

The house was silent, yet A-Cheng could barely sleep. The bed had the man’s scent all over and the thought that he was lying where he would lay made him extremely uncomfortable. He daren’t move to go to the couch in case he woke them up, besides it felt rude rejecting XiChen’s hospitality. He had moved so A-Cheng would be comfier in the bed. But it had come to this. He has totally lost track of how much time did it take for him to force himself to sleep. Nevertheless, when a small, excited child woke him up the next morning, he knew that he had slept poorly.

Since XiChen was sleeping and he was allowed in, he made them all breakfast. Jingyi was very much excited to help him as well. He told Jiang Cheng about every little thing he had dreamed off, and Jiang Cheng listened attentively. 

When Lan XiChen woke up, the child had jumped on him, asking excitedly if his Baba was going to be free that day.

“Good morning, A-Cheng. Good morning, JingYi.” XiChen’s voice made him have goosebumps. “Yes, Jingyi. Baba will have all day to do whatever you want to do.”

“Then we will go play with gege and gege’s nephew!” JingYi exclaimed happily.

Before Lan XiChen could retort, Jiang Cheng served them their tea and congee. “My sister insisted.”

“If you don’t mind, we will join you two.”

“Jingyi seems excited about it. I hope they get along. A-Ling can be a bit... ” He just smiled lovingly.

“Gege made jianbing.” JingYi said before sitting down.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to make breakfast, A-Cheng.”

“Thank you for letting me stay.” He sat in front of XiChen, next to Jingyi.

“Gege cooks really tasty. I wish gege lived with us. Baba’s cooking is not so good.”

Jiang Cheng chuckled with the child’s forwardness. “I can’t, JingYi.” 

“Can you teach me how to cook tasty food?”

“That I can. As long as your baba allows it.”

“I would love it.” Lan XiChen smiled.

“Then it is decided.” JingYi celebrated beaming and letting out a small contented scream. Jiang Cheng chuckled again and patted his back. “Sit properly and eat.”

“Yes, gege.”

Their breakfast was eaten in silence. After that, Jiang Cheng said he would go home to change and come pick them up before midday to go and eat together. 

When the kids met, it seemed they were about to pick a fight, but when Jingyi discovered Jin Ling didn’t like carrots he loved but liked the celery he didn’t, they became instant friends as they exchanged them. Filled with food and good feelings towards each other, the two children joyfully played in the park while the two adults watched. It seemed XiChen would not bring unpleasant topics again, nor did he try to flirt with him. He only asked some questions about his nephew, seemingly honestly interested. Jiang Cheng was pleasantly surprised when they spoke about raising children and how JingYI had grown up as well as the times A-Ling was under Jiang Cheng’s care.

Feeling so unburdened talking about life it felt like he could almost forget everything that had happened the day before. Almost.

Chapter Text

Every time they talked to each other and XiChen kept his work out of it, Jiang Cheng felt he was a normal man, with a normal work, and a normal child. His heart was moved by the sincere care and devotion he oozed when speaking about the little one. They were having their usual tea, accompanied with the cookies Jingyi and Luo Qingyang had made the day prior. He was keen on sending his gege some of his cookies for him to give him a mark.

Jiang Cheng chuckled hearing Lan XiChen relay the message. “Does he know I am not a professional?”

“Oh, he knows. He has asked plenty about what you do and how we met and even about what you did when you worked for me.”

“Please tell me you didn’t tell the child I… About A-Lian.”

“I did not. However, I did mention that you cooked breakfast for me and looked pretty around my office.”

A-Cheng choked on his breath, lowering his teacup, restraining himself from smashing it down. “Lan XiChen.” He glared at him, each character spoken slowly and strained. Close to the end of the store’s closing didn’t mean there were no customers, he couldn’t scream.

The aforementioned smiled. “Yes, A-Cheng?”

“Stop misleading your child.”

“He knows I like you.” He sipped his tea nonchalantly.

It took everything of him not to screech, but he ended up using a tiny and squeaky voice to push the worod in between his teeth. “And you even told him that!” Jiang Cheng would usually take it calmly, but his embarrassment was getting to him. “Stop confusing him.”

“After I told him I’d marry you, he knew. Why hide it? I am not hiding it from you. Do you want me to lie to him?”

“Well, telling him you’d marry me is a lie, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Lan XiChen beamed. He wasn’t what A-Cheng thought a cocky person was, but with that smile of his face resembling his brother’s shit-eating grin, he was starting to make him doubt that one.

“Two men can’t marry here even if you think you can manage to woo me and make me forget you are a criminal, that is not happening.” He said tiredly as he scanned the room, afraid that others might hear what they were speaking. “Can we stop talking about this? Save me some face, we are at my workplace.”

XiChen nodded and smiled in an even more strange way, but he refused to acknowledge what it truly meant. Jiang Cheng by then had not fully accepted that not only he and Jingyi knew he was being “courted”. Not only did his coworkers and family know -after that ‘Chengcheng’ even on the table that night, his mother was wondering if it was true or she still had the possibility of having more grandchildren- but even some of the regulars knew the scowling but honest manager had the owner chasing after him. It seemed the Tea store held more tea than what it looked to be at first sight. 

“So tell me, how is your recovery going?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“My arm is doing quite well. I am back on doing light exercises, which has made me pleased. The doctor checked my x-rays and said I have healed correctly. They were worried that with the surgery and the placement of the rod it would disrupt the healing process but as I am young, or so they said,” he smiled, “I needn’t to worry.”

“Rod?”

“Mn, during my surgery I got an intramedullary rod placed inside my bone.” With the astonished face the younger gave him, it was clear how clueless he was to such topics ”It is a rod smaller than the size of my humerus and thin enough so they can slide it inside the bone and secure it with a screw around… this height.” XiChen pointed at his arm a few centimeters down his shoulder.

“I didn’t know it could be so grave.”

“Bullets can shatter bone, A-Cheng. Movies don’t lie about that.” He simply responded as if he wasn’t actually talking about getting shot.

“Pardon my lack of knowledge on those sorts of topics.” Jiang Cheng answered sourly.

“It is part of your charm.”

“If you say I am naive I…”

“What are you going to do, Chengcheng? Feed me so much sugar you will make me fat?”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“You threatened me with doing so previously. But knowing now how you cook, I think both Jingyi and I would be pleased to be fed by you. Don’t worry, we won’t get fat, we'll do plenty of exercise.”

“I… I never said that!”

“You did, while working under me.”

Jiang Cheng felt his face flare up. Had he? He couldn’t ask, because XiChen got a call. Since he answered it, A-Cheng remained silent, sometimes taking a peak at him, still too ashamed to directly look.

“Okay, understood.” Lan XiChen nodded, putting the phone down. “Will you take me today?” He asked, portraying a perfect smile.

The youngest of the duo felt there was something off, but thought it might be work-related so he daren’t ask. “Yes, should we get going?”

“Please.”

“Let’s go then. I will tell the others I am leaving.”

They got ready to head out, XiChen placing his hand on his back, at the height of his waist. Jiang Cheng was too focused on his hand to notice the steps following them as they exited the store.

“Mister Lan, Mister Jiang. Good afternoon, I need to speak to you.”

XiChen sighed so softly, Jiang Cheng thought he was imagining it. “Chief Mingjue. Good afternoon.”

A-Cheng turned around surprised, the last time he had spoken to Nie Mingjue was on Huaisang’s birthday back in may. “Good afternoon.”

“I am sorry to interrupt you, I have a few questions.” 

“Will it take long? We have something we need to do right now. If it will take too long, allow me to make a phone call first.” Lan XiChen said, looking at the time on his wrist watch. Jiang Cheng hadn’t noticed he had one.

“I have a few things to speak about with you, XiChen.”

“Do you want me to leave you two alone?” Jiang Cheng looked at them.

“There is no need.” XiChen said. “What is it that the chief wants to know?”

“I come as the bearer of bad news. Your client is dead. His wife found out he was cheating, so we no longer have a witness.”

Jiang Cheng touched Lan XiChen’s arm, afraid he would be shaken by the news. That expression he showed reminded him of when they were working together and he had lost two of his subordinates.

“Was that what needed to be said?” XiChen sounded tense. A-Cheng got close to him, rubbing his back to give him some comfort.

“I am afraid not. I have to ask, to be careful in this investigation. There was another attempt at killing him prior… and I have gotten the files of your arm injury from months ago and I wanted to ask. How did you end up with a broken arm?”

Jiang Cheng’s heartbeat slowed, his entire body feeling cold, as if he didn’t pump blood into his organs but freezing water. “His arm?” A-Cheng blurted out, looking at Nie Mingjue.

“What does my arm have to do with my client?” XiChen asked calmly.

“The injury happened around the same time as the first homicide attempt.”

Jiang Cheng ping-ponged his gaze in between the two, waiting for XiChen’s response.

“It was an accident.” He smiled, seemingly ashamed. “You probably saw my records in the hospital. It says it was an accident and I was taken to surgery to stop the blood loss from my bone puncturing my skin.”

“An comminuted humerus fracture was an accident? What happened?”

Before XiChen replied, Jiang Cheng squeezed his hand. “It’s okay...” He nodded before lowering his gaze and letting go of him. “He was assaulted defending me… Officer.” He cleared his throat. “He was hit by a bat. We were close to his office so he took me there and his employees took him to the hospital while others kept me hidden in case the attacker came for me.”

“Assaulted by a bat? Why didn’t you file a police report?”

Jiang Cheng sighed remembering that hell of a night and spoke the truth. “Honestly, it was a nightmare. XiChen ended up in the hospital, and I wasn’t told what had happened to him which kept me on the edge of my seat, my brother-in-law was nowhere to be found and then I found out someone had tried to attack him and my sister and nephew. It was a sunday, just one day previous to the opening of the store and even though we had everything in check there were things I still felt that needed to be done and I barely could sleep the night before and could only see XiChen a few hours later and he was asleep and I honestly couldn’t think of filing a report when I saw him lying on the hospital bed and neither did he when he got a hold of the news of my family.” 

Nie Mingjue didn’t seem convinced. “Would you two mind coming over to the station to file a report?”

“We have something to do right now.” Jiang Cheng felt awkward. Since XiChen hadn’t said it was Jingyi-related he wouldn’t either, he was clearly secretive about it so he would respect that for the sake of the child. “Do you want to go?” He asked XiChen.

“I am not interested in filing a report, since I don’t remember much, if something were to happen we have each other as witnesses and now can go to Chief Mingjue for help. Are you interested, A-Cheng?” He shook his head.

“Then I won’t insist, I would need XiChen’s help with some of the victims’ documents, if you don’t mind.”

“That I can do with no problem.” Lan XiChen nodded. ”Give me a second.” He picked up his phone again and A-Cheng could see on the screen he was calling Lan Wangji. “Wangji, something is holding me down. It is time. Could you go for me...? Thank you. Wait for me there, I shouldn’t take long but I don’t want him waiting.”

Jiang Cheng felt at ease knowing someone would take care of Jingyi. The officer spoke again. “I am sorry to be interrupting your business.”

“We’ll go to the station now. Do you mind following Nie Mingjue’s car?” He turned to look at A-Cheng.

“No. I don’t. Let’s go.”

They hopped on the car and began following Mingjue. “We will speak later about what you did there,” XiChen said with a smile, “and when we get there you will go in so you are surrounded by police and I can be sure you are protected as I deal with Nie Mingjue and what he needs. Do not reply to any of the questions they make, it can seem innocent but they are knowledgeable in being misleading.”

“Okay...” Jiang Cheng felt ashamed of having lied to the police for XiChen. “Why does Chief Mingjue want you there?”

“Probably to tell him all I know.”

“About what?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“I am not sure.” A-Cheng sighed.

“My client was denouncing the Jins with evidence of them illegally printing money.”

“Did they really do it?”

“Extraoficially, yes. But I have no legal proof for it. I am certain everything my client had he gave to them.”

Jiang Cheng nodded, knowing it was still safe to tap out, XiChen seemed to be hinting at his own illegal business so he didn’t want to press further. The station wasn’t far and the rest of the trip was silent. When they parked, before Lan XiChen went out of the car, Jiang Cheng placed his hand on his thigh. “XiChen…I am sorry about his death.”

“You are really nice, Chengcheng.” He patted the hand over him. “Let’s go in.”

Once inside, Jiang Cheng waited in the front, fidgeting. The guilt of having lied to a police man to protect XiChen was eating him out. He felt somewhat relieved seeing XiChen come out of the office with a smile. As soon as he could he left for the door, followed by the Lan. “Where to now?”

“Would you mind driving me to my house?”

“Not at all.”

Another silent trip. Jiang Cheng didn’t know whether to talk or not, since he wouldn’t be able to know what to say if the topic was brought up. Nevertheless, it was as if the man had read his mind. “Are you free tonight?”

“Yes? Why?”

“Would you like to come home to have dinner? I want to thank my savior.” He beamed.

“Savior?”

“Not everyone would lie straight-faced to the police for me.”

Jiang Cheng looked away. “The only lie was the bat, the rest is true.”

“I don’t know how to feel about this, should I feel like this is a welcoming from you, Chengcheng?”

“What? No. Welcoming for what?”

“Are you coming tonight? I will cook for you and you can tell Jingyi what you think about his cookies in person. He will be happy to have you.”

“I’ll...  Tch, only because I want to see his joy when I tell him they were tasty.”

“Then if he asks I’ll tell him you are coming. Around seven thirty is okay for you? We eat early so he doesn’t go to sleep with his tummy full.”

“Okay, I will come at that time. Should I bring something?”

“That beautiful smile of yours.”

“Stop it already.” He felt embarrassed.

“A-Cheng...”

“What now?” Jiang Cheng glanced at him.

“You didn’t have to lie for me.” XiChen’s fingers caressed his cheek. “I am sorry you felt you had to do that. But thank you.”

He closed his eyes, shaking his head, feeling those same fingers slid lower, coiling around his jaw. “You don’t need to thank me. I owed you for what you did to my family.”

“I did it out of interest.”

“I know. So you wouldn’t be involved.” Opening his eyes, XiChen was staring at him. “But you still got shot and now you have a metal stick on your arm and rehabilitation because of it. It wasn’t a small injury.”

“Am I your savior now?” He chuckled.

“You are my family’s savior… So in a way, you saved me. They are very important to me. So thank you too.”

“I don’t want you to thank me...”

This silence was comfortable, Jiang Cheng momentarily lowering his guard to his fingers stroking his skin. It took someone to drive past them to snap him back to reality. He used his hand to grab XiChen’s and separate it from his neck. “You should probably go, Jingyi is waiting for you.”

“Mn. Goodbye, A-Cheng.” He leaned in and his hand slid to his nape. Before Jiang Cheng could react, he had already kissed him for a few seconds and leaned back. “Don’t be mad at me. I will wait for you tonight, and so will Jingyi.” 

The click of the seatbelt made Jiang Cheng begin to respond. “Lan… Xi...Chen.” He spoke in between his teeth as he saw him leaving the care. His head was fully read, both from shame and anger. “You are a…!”

“Goodbye.” He shut the door, walking to the entrance.

A-Cheng was fuming, looking at him turn around before going in to wave at him. Jiang Cheng enunciated a good “Fuck you” without screaming and the bastard seemed to able to understand him, smiling even more.

“Ugh!” He hissed, turning on the engine and getting out of there. “Like fuck I am coming back! You shameless bastard! We were speaking properly! Since WHEN did I show him he could do such shit?! We were on good terms. Of course, why would I trust him?!” He hit the steering wheel enraged.

When he had to stop at a traffic light he then remembered that he would also see Jingyi. By the time he reached the store and sent his text telling him he was not coming, the little guy would already be beaming, waiting for him. He felt somewhat guilty to let him down. Jiang Cheng inhaled deeply, realizing he had been blatantly manipulated. “The… I’ll kill him.”

When he entered the store as a grenade with a jiggly safety, everyone was shocked. They had seen him going out, having Lan XiChen’s arm surrounding him. Were things going badly? Had the manager finally shut down the boss’ advances? Or perhaps the boss had been playing him and now that he found out he was big mad? Everyone was puzzled, but quite interested. One brave worker asked if everything was okay. Their doubts were confirmed when Jiang Cheng effusively said that if they saw Lan XiChen come for non-business related issues, he wasn’t available.

Ah, a lover’s quarrel, for sure.

Chapter Text

Jiang Cheng laughed.

He laughed, yet there was no light in his eyes.

It was all a dream, it felt like so. The type of dream that kept you from sleeping. He leaned his head against the wall, feeling beyond exhausted. As the adrenaline wore off, he slid his body to the floor. His back and jaw muscles ached for being tense for so long. He had been afraid of speaking, and his trembling teeth had the chance of biting his tongue off. Turning his hand around, he glanced at his bloodied palms.

He chuckled. "I didn't know short nails could still dig into skin." His keys had been dirtied too. Letting them fall onto the floor, he closed his eyes. Monster. Memories came back in pieces.

"You speak like a monster."

"Perhaps I am one."

Jiang Cheng laughed. In spite of himself, he laughed. He didn't care for the time, nor if he was going to bother his neighbours. It grew and grew as his mind kept spinning. His belly hurt, he curled his body into a fetal position and kept laughing.

"... what have you done?"

"What needed to be done."

He had blinded himself. Jiang Cheng was aware that he had murdered Xue Yang. Jiang Cheng was aware that he carried a functional gun with him. He knew what he had done, it was the reason why he had left. Lan XiChen was a dangerous man. He had tried to not look back, he thought he could leave that behind him.

It has cost him dearly. Easy money would never be a good thing, yet in his despair he had totally forgotten about it. What for? His brother was still kicked out of the family and even he couldn't protect him since he had thrown his life to someone who was just as dangerous as his own Lan problem. What would be of his life if he hadn't met Lan XiChen? Granted he would still be doing exactly the same as he did now, but… that meant he wouldn't know. Jiang Cheng didn't want to know.

He hugged himself, too tired. Perhaps if he passed out right in that moment he would wake up and everything would be a nightmare. An awful nightmare, yeah, but not his reality. This type of shit was supposed to happen in movies, not in real life; especially not in his life. His soft sighs became melancholic, the tiredness in his face was lost as he scrunched his factions, biting his lower lips. Never had he ever felt so helpless. As he tried to take deep breaths, the pain shot through the grip in his hand made him give up. His breath became laboured and he could no longer contain his sobs.

That night, he cried himself to sleep. 

~~~

It had only been a day since Jiang Cheng had stormed into the store telling them he was unavailable for XiChen unless it was business related. At first, they all thought it to be a fleeting tantrum from a lover's quarrel, however, when their boss came in the next morning, he seemed to have been bawling his eyes for hours. Nobody dared mention a thing, and they took to heart his petition.

Nevertheless, Lan XiChen never came. Not that day, nor the following. His subordinates working in the store had warned him of Jiang Cheng's emotional state. In less than twelve hours, the working-class man seemed to have aged. His face was less of a frown and more of a tired expression. He still worked like usual, but his customer service was off. It lacked his spark of excitement when selling his product.

Their manager began taking more of the tasks that required less interactions. He did inventory, refilling and production, mostly staying in the kitchen. Not a wisp of joy was present in the store, and when a week of a ghost manager passed, even Jiang YanLi had gotten word of it.

She walked with a bag of sweet osmanthus cakes to her brother. She had come just in time for the closing hour, leaving him with no time to escape. "A-Cheng," YanLi greeted him.

“Jiejie.” He seemed to snap back to reality, eyed her with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to visit and brought something to eat with you.” She smiled politely.

“The shop has closed.”

“I know. I came to see you, I didn’t want to interrupt your work.”

“Did you come by car?”

“A-Xuan dropped me on his way to pick up Jin Ling. They are going to the park.”

“Do you mind going to my apartment?” 

Both siblings went to Jiang Cheng’s place, barely filling the time with small talk about how the businesses in the family were doing and how work had been. By the time she asked the question, Jiang Cheng was blissfully unaware of his sister’s intention and was caught with his guard down.

“Can I know what happened with Mister Lan?”

A-Cheng’s snapped his neck to look at her, the boiling water of the kettle pouring over his fingers as he wasn’t looking at the teacup he was filling up. He cursed, immediately running his hand under cold water. “XiChen? What about him?”

“A-Die and A-Niang aren’t often in the store these days, but I found out he isn’t coming to see you anymore. I am worried about how you look too. I went here on Tuesday to see you but they told me you were mostly working on the back. You love to promote your products even if you have to do customer service. Has something happened, A-Cheng?”

“XiChen must have work to do or something. It isn’t such a big deal if he doesn’t come. I am glad he doesn’t so I don’t get distracted. He owes me nothing after all.” With his back turned to his sister, he avoided having to do eye contact.

“A-Cheng...” In the tone of her voice Jiang Cheng knew all that he needed to know. He had been set up.

“The tea will be right up.”

“You can talk to me. Even if it means talking about those kinds of businesses.”

“What kind of businesses? I have nothing to do with him other than the store.”

“A-Cheng, don’t lie to me. You took A-Ling with you to play with his child.” Jiang Cheng remained silent. “A-Cheng… you and A-Xian think I don’t know… but I married A-Xuan. I know what that life is about.”

“He doesn’t work that life anymore.”

“Because he chose not to. I never asked him to do it.”

“You didn’t?” Jiang Cheng frowned, looking back at her. He had thought it was a condition for them to marry.

“I love him despite what he did.” She received the cup with a smile. “He chose to quit that life because he was afraid of how it would backfire for me and our future children were he not able to protect us.”

That sounded… sweet. Jiang Cheng would never tell that to that peacock’s face, but he actually respected that. “Did you really love him despite it all?”

“Yes… It wasn’t easy. At first, I thought that vaguely knowing what he did was good enough, but when he proposed to me… I told him I wanted to know what he had done. All of it.”

“You asked?”

“I didn’t want to marry someone blindly. However, I had faith that he was a good man in his heart.”

“Can someone be a good man even if they do atrocious things?”

“A-Cheng… do you think I am a bad person because I love someone who did atrocious things?”

“Not at all, jiejie is very kind and loving. You have never done something bad. That is why I don’t understand why you chose him.”

Jiang YanLi smiled. “He had his reasons to do what he did, and after he told me everything, we both cried. I still accepted him afterwards.“

Her didi still didn’t understand her reasoning and it was shown on his face. She chuckled. “A-Xuan has his own set of rules, sometimes they don’t align with the justice our law has, or even with my set of rules. I would never kill someone, he would. I don’t like violence, and neither does he. At the end of the day, I cannot change the past or control what he does, but I am sure that he will never hurt me intentionally, nor will he hurt A-Ling. He loves me as much as I love him, if not more, and he treats me with that love and respect. Even if he doesn’t extend that treatment to everyone, he has his reasons not to do it. I don’t always agree with what he does, but I love him despite that. I think that is enough.”

“Do you really love him despite it all?”

“A-Cheng, loving him doesn’t mean I liked or condoned what he did. Sometimes he has to kill people to protect us. I don’t like it, but I understand his reasoning behind it and I accept that to be the best solution for the problem he found. A-Xuan has a good heart and doesn’t do these things indiscriminately.”

“Isn’t that… excusing him?”

“It is what brings me peace of mind. No matter how cruel he might be with everyone else, I know when he turns to see us, the love I see in his eyes is real.”

“I understand.” Jiang Cheng nodded softly, still dubious of his standing. “But I don’t think I could do the same.”

His sister grabbed an osmanthus cake. “I think the fact that you are pondering about it means something A-Cheng. Do you like XiChen?”

Jiang Cheng found himself tongue tied. After a sip of tea to calm his restless heart, he quickly pushed his reply. “Not at all, since when were we talking about him?”

“Do you think you could love him despite it all?”

“He is a monster.” He whispered before shivering. “He is a cold-blooded murderer.”

“A-Cheng… he and A-Xuan took care of the intruders that night. Do you remember?”

“The night he took a bullet, yes. I do.”

“I cannot go back to my house because the blood ruined everything and now we are under protection.”

“It sounds… awful.”

“It was… and do you remember what happened afterwards?”

“The opening of the store?” Jiang Cheng asked, confused.

“Before that… when you asked to see XiChen at the hospital.”

“Yeah… I did...” He muttered, embarrassed.

“Even knowing what he had done, you thought the reason he had done it was good enough. I know you don’t condone murder either. So what changed?”

“He killed someone in front of me!” Jiang Cheng put his palms on the table, trying not to scream at her. “I saw him end someone’s life, jiejie.” He began shaking.

She looked at him in horror, paler than before. “Did he threaten you, A-Cheng?”

He shook his head, hugging himself. ”He said it was not fair if I were to fall in love with him before knowing who he really was… he said he was a monster.”

That was the first time he actually saw his sister frowning. Jiang Cheng felt anxious as the silence elongated, grabbing a cake to fill his mouth and ignore his own dire state.

“Did he show you willingly?” He nodded. ”A-Cheng… I think he loves you.”

“He doesn’t.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Why would he do that to me? I didn’t want to see that. I was okay living my life as it was. I don’t care if he does what he does just… I didn’t want to see it. Even his face… He showed no trace of humanity. How could I want to… How could I feel safe to have him around?”

“A-Cheng…  I think he wanted you to love him.”

“Is he crazy?! How could I love him after seeing that?!”

“If he didn’t show you, and you fell in love. Would you be able to say you fell in love with someone you truly knew?”

“I wouldn’t fall in love with him anyways! He is crazy!”

“But you don’t want him out of your life, A-Cheng.”

“Who says I don’t?”

“Will you go to the police?”

“I don’t want him to get into trouble.”

“Aren’t you afraid he will kill you if you did that?”

“If he wanted me dead I wouldn’t be here, jiejie.”

“A-Cheng...”

“What?”

“What do you want from XiChen?”

“What do I... want?”

“You don’t want him out of your life, nor do you want to cause him trouble. Do you like him?”

“I don’t!” Jiang Cheng’s blood rushed to his face. “How could I? He is a monster!” He hid his face behind his hands. “I will never forget what he made me go through. I see that man’s face everywhere. I cannot forget what he has done. I had never seen XiChen look so… so… inhumane.” He tried his best not to break down. “I don’t know what to do anymore… Jiejie… I don’t know. I truly don’t know.” He felt her embrace and could no longer contain his sobs. How could he ever dare to hold such feelings towards someone so despicable? 

Chapter Text

“You are so dumb sometimes, XiChen.” He chuckled, lowering his cup.

“I am dumb for you.”

“Shut up.” Jiang Cheng pushed him, still smiling. “You are really dumb.”

“Perhaps.” He caught A-Cheng’s wrist, holding him closer. “Perhaps I am dumb.”

“Don’t stare so much.” His free fingers slid in front of those dark eyes. “It makes me uncomfortable.”

“It is your fault for being pretty.”

“Stop behaving like a man-child or I won’t take my hand off.”

“Then don’t.” Jiang Cheng could feel his cheeks rising under his palm. “I wouldn’t mind having you this close a bit longer.”

“I would. Now close your eyes.”

“To close them? Do I have to trust. Chengcheng?”

“As if you didn’t.”

“Oh, I’ve been found out.”

“You let me take care of JingYi. I bet my own life you cherish him over your own life.”

“That is a risky bet.”

“I know you, Lan XiChen.”

“Well… Chengcheng is right. I do cherish him more than my life.”

“See? I told you. Now close your eyes.”

“Okay.” He slid his hand from his wrist and held him by the waist. “I will close my eyes but you will stay this close.”

“Man-child.”

“Yes.” When XiChen smiled so stupidly it made him laugh. He lowered his hand, smiling and shaking his head.

“Shut up.”

“Shut me up.”

Like you did with me? He wanted to retort playfully, yet his eyes glanced at his relaxed expression. XiChen was indeed closing his eyes, guard seemingly lowered, barely centimeters away. 

It felt… right? So he did it without much thought. Jiang Cheng’s hand moved, cupping his nape this time and stealing a kiss. He was in control now, he was the one who would decide when to back off, when to… The last strand of coherent thoughts flew out of his head when XiChen pressed him closer. There was no need to think it through, it was just a kiss. He opened his mouth, willing for a bit more.

Lan XiChen did not hold back, deepening the kiss and his hands moved upwards on his back. That is enough. Jiang Cheng thought moving backwards, his hand slid in front of XiChen’s mouth. “You make me feel extremely guilty, Chengcheng.”

Jiang Cheng blinked utterly confused. “Guilty?”

“You don’t know me, yet I see you falling for me and don’t want that to stop.”

“Who says that is what is happening?”

“You don’t know me. I am a beast. A monster.”

“How do you know?”

“Chengcheng…” XiChen sighed, his arms surrounding A-Cheng’s waist were removed. Someone had knocked on the door. Without looking at him, he stood up and went to see who had.

Jiang Cheng wanted to rebuke, nevertheless, when someone else was from hearing range he couldn’t force himself to. He hugged himself, ashamed of what he had just done. When the door was opened, he could see Lan WangJi coming in. His back felt a tingling of cold seeping into his skin. A foreboding sense of insecurity began filling him, one he chose to ignore.

The brothers’ shared a couple of words in low voices. With how secretive they were, Jiang Cheng figured he shouldn’t even try to guess what it was, probably work related.

Lan XiChen looked at him. “Come with me. Wangji, you stay here, take care of Jingyi.”

“Brother?” Lan Wangji looked at Jiang Cheng coldly.

“We will go.” XiChen grabbed his coat and gave A-Cheng his.

Don’t go. Don’t go.

The trip was tense and filled with uncomfortable silence. Jiang Cheng thought he was going to be left back home, yet when they got into the car, his back tensed even more. It was his body reminding him what was to come. He wished he would have had those warning signs before. Even knowing he was dreaming he couldn’t escape those memories. He had kissed a monster. Willingly, which was worse.

They entered the building, and A-Cheng saw him sitting on a chair. Tied up and gagged.

“Take off the gag.” Lan XiChen said.

“What?” Jiang Cheng looked at him. That hadn't happened the first time.

As soon as the gag was off, the man began screaming in a hoarse voice. “You killed me.”

“I didn’t.” He began shaking.

“You killed me.”

“I didn’t.” Jiang Cheng covered his ears. “I didn’t. I didn’t! I didn’t. Stop this.”

Both screams became more desperate, louder, unavoidable.

“Stop this.” He closed his eyes, kneeling on the floor.

Waking up to that dream was a nightmare in itself. Like before, Jiang Cheng felt he was being choked. His entire body was covered in cold sweat.

He stood up and hit the shower, trying to clean that feeling off. The sponge rubbed his skin and tension off, yet the feeling of desperation circulated him like a deadly virus. This time he had not checked for how long he had slept. Jiang Cheng had lost count of how many times he had woken up to the same memories playing in his head; it was a never ending torment. He could not avoid the guilt that came from being reminded he had willingly kissed a killer. It was not like he was oblivious to what he had done, yet the way he had overlooked how many people XiChen had killed to protect his family that time haunted him. So as long as it fits my needs I am okay with it? His moral dilemma gave him a headache.

Instead of running in circles, he opened his closet to change into his clothes for the day. After that, he took out a clean set of sheets, for he had again drenched the bed in sweat. Sitting on his couch as he finished his breakfast tea, he was reminded of the existence of Wen Qing.

How long had it been since he had last talked to her? He was a lousy friend. Even then he was only thinking about himself. She was a voice of reason, she had been all along. If someone was going to be able to convince him that he should do what was right, it was her. He could partially guess what Wen Qing would say. Leave him. Escape. Don’t look back. Jiang Cheng wanted to. He so desperately wanted to quit, to leave the city. His brother could be in charge of the tea leaves shop, he wasn’t as much of an airhead, he thought. A-Cheng could do something else, leave secluded. Come back from time to time just to visit Jin Ling. Go work at a farm, or a field, or overseas. With XiChen’s connections perhaps overseas would be the best. Right? Right.

He texted her, short and sweet. “Hi. Are you free tonight? I want to go out to eat.”

Some noodles would be really nice. For a moment, his mind was preoccupied with something that didn’t make him sick. However, calm was superfluous in his life with the situation pending over his shoulders. As soon as he was reminded of where he should be headed, he dreaded the chance of having to face the Lan when he still was unprepared for it. Still, he picked himself up and went to the tea shop.

Chapter Text

Work was long and tedious. He was in a state of constant alert, his muscles tense, ready for a flight or flight response with each ring of the door bell. To his content, the boss didn’t make an appearance that day, yet as soon as he got into his car, his entire body began aching. The alarms in his body had been easily triggered each time someone opened the door, and to his luck, the store had been busier than ever. Jiang Cheng wondered for how long could he keep his business in the back until a problem arose. He would not say he doubted his people, he believed he hadn’t hired incompetent workers, nevertheless, he couldn’t stop the uneasiness his heart clung to.

He drove to the restaurant as soon as he was out of work. Without his afternoon tea, he was starving by the time his shift finished. Thinking about trying to drink tea in the afternoon made him nauseous, because he couldn’t help but think about that night again, so he starved himself until he closed the shop. The mood was gloomy inside the store and he was aware, a bit of guilt ate him for it, however there was not much he could do. Jiang Cheng had crossed his fingers in hopes for the talk with Wen Qing to help him clear his mind. He had chosen a public place, knowing himself too well, if they were to be alone, she would press until he spat everything out. As much of a friend he felt Wen Qing was, he could never put that on her. He was barely sure XiChen wouldn’t kill him, he wouldn’t be able to pardon himself if due to his stupidity Wen Qing got hurt too. 

“Good night.” Jiang Cheng greeted her at the table. “How was work?”

“Tiring… I had a long shift until this morning. But I got a good rest after it.”

“I am glad to hear that.” They both got a menu and he immediately eyed the noodles section.

“What about you?”

Shanghai fried noodles or Zhajiangmian ones… He craved the spice of the latter. Jiang Cheng nodded and was about to close the menu when he heard Wen Qing. “How is work going? Is Lan XiChen still bothering you?”

His hands trembled, clenching the menu tightly as if trying to ground himself. He could feel the back of his neck cold, his sweat glands working profusely. “Good… We have gotten a good influx of customers and a better grasp on how to be time-efficient when preparing the tea leaves. I have researched a bit  on what other flavors we could sell.”

Without daring to look up to her, his eyes wandered around the menu, not reading anything at all.

“I see.”     Her voice was monotone. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“Not particularly.”

“Have you had more work than usual?”

“No. I mostly stay in the back to manage stock and prepare the tea bags.”

“You don’t greet customers?”

“Rarely. Have you decided what you want to order?”

“Jiang Cheng.”

“Hm?”

She lacked patience to deal with his bullshit for too long, so she took the short route. Two of her fingers pressed the menu he held down, forcing their gazes to meet. “You have bigger eyebags than me after my 12 hours shift. You are not doing the part you love most about your job and you are avoiding my question about XiChen. Speak.”

Jiang Cheng took a deep, shaky breath. His gaze avoided hers. “You were right.”

“About what? Did he do something to you?” He could tell by the tone of her voice how worried she was.

“He… Not… I was…” He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. “He likes me.”

“I figured.”

And I think I like him… or used to. He swallowed that thought. “He has…” What was he going to say? Explain about the kisses? “I am…” A-Cheng fell silent.

After a few seconds she couldn’t help but probe further. “You are…”

“I am confused…” He mumbled.

“About what?”

Jiang Cheng lowered his menu slowly after closing it. “About… what I feel… What I think about him.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “You like him?” She whispered in between her teeth, so shocked her voice was more higher-pitched than usual.

“No!” He quickly defended himself. “I don’t know if I… like him.”

“Jiang Cheng, do you even know what he does for a living? Can you understand what…”

“I know now.” He cut her in a small voice.

Slowly, she put her own unopened menu down, as if needing time to process what he had just said. The roaring silence that fell upon them deafened Jiang Cheng, either that or the rapid pace of his heartbeats making the blood flow in his ears be too loud.

An animated young lady stood beside them, pen and paper in hand and an amicable smile on her face both missed. “Have you decided upon what you would like to order?”

Jiang Cheng’s fingertips caressed the restaurant’s logo on the laminated menu, tracing it gently, pretending he could actually feel the texture on it. “Zhajiangmian noodles and some water, no gas please.” Swift, he picked up the menu and handed it to the waitress without raising his gaze. He wasn’t sure Wen Qing had actually decided on what she would eat, if she hadn’t that gave him time to organize his ideas.

“Wonton noodle soup please, and a Coca cola.” She handed in her own menu and the waitress soon went away.

“I didn’t know you drank sodas.” Jiang Cheng mourned the lack of time, yet tried to appear composed.

“I don’t, usually. But I will need it to have this talk with you.”

“You make me sound like an impending headache.”

“At this precise moment, you are, just like nannying after Wei WuXian.”

“I thought you wouldn’t mind me asking for advice.”

“I gave you advice on this, Jiang Cheng. I told you more than a year and a half ago that you needed to get away from that man before something happened. If you come seeking advice, I will tell it to you again even though it is worthless.”

“Do you think I won’t listen?”

“You didn’t the first time.”

“I backed away.”

“After the night I had to drive and get you away from him.”

“I didn’t search for him.”

“You knew it was too late to back off from him when you realized he had put his eyes on you. If he wanted it, he would run after you until the end of the earth. You are a smart man. You don’t need me to tell you as much.”

“I cannot undo the past.”

“I am wondering if you would even if you had the chance.”

“This is a mess I cannot handle, Wen Qing.” Jiang Cheng hid his face in his hands.

“What exactly do you want me to tell you? You didn’t ask to meet me just for a casual encounter.”

“Can’t I?”

“Not like this. You knew I would probe on your lacking appearance and I have my reservations about the man you work with.”

“I didn’t know I looked so bad. Am I that unkempt?”

“A new resident would look better after taking in his first severe patient than you look now.”

“You are wonderful with your words.”

“You like my honesty. That is why you seek my advice. I am level-headed. Unlike most of your other friends.”

“I know… I know… You are great.” He sighed.

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what happened.”

Jiang Cheng was exasperated, but tried his best to not take it out on her. “I might have… I…” He could not admit even to himself he was a criminal. Watching a crime be committed and not taking it to the police was being involved in said crime, or so he thought. “How do… Describe him to me. I need to know how you see him because I don’t understand what I feel. I met two men with the same face. Well…” He thought about how scary alike he and Lan WangJi looked when XiChen wasn’t smiling. “I met a man with two faces.”

“Jiang Cheng, my mother told me that when a person shows you something about them, and that is negative, you have to believe them. Nobody will willingly show you their bad side.”

“He did.”

“He did? How?”

“Answer me first.”

“You want to know how I perceive him?”

“Please.”

“He is a criminal.” She lowered her voice. “A cold-hearted criminal who could abandon you after you were attacked, who could murder without flinching, who could force himself onto you when he sees chance. A chance you seem to be willing to give him.”

“I didn’t look for him.”

“But you didn’t escape when he chased you down.”

Jiang Cheng was rendered speechless. 

 “And you don’t look like you are escaping now either.”

“It is not like I haven’t thought about it.” He whispered in defeat.

“What is stopping you? Work? Ask your parents to take you out of that business, put you in the coffee shop again. Your sister would manage the tea shop well.”

“I would still be in the same city as him.”

“Do you plan on leaving here?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think you don’t want to know, Jiang Cheng.”

“So what if I don’t?” He could no longer hide his own contempt. Yet, it was hatred directed towards himself. “I don’t know why am I pondering this, I don’t understand why is it so hard to leave everything behind. He has really fucked me up and I am still wondering if I should run away without looking back.”

“He has you hooked, that was what he wanted, probably.”

“He wouldn’t want this for me.”

“He has put you through many traumatic things.”

“Would you really put someone you love through trauma purposefully?”

“Love? How do you know it is love what he feels towards you? Why aren’t you doubting if he loves you? How do you know it is not lust? Or infatuation? Does he want you as your partner or his playdate?”

“He wouldn’t…”

“How do you know?”

“I know!”  Jiang Cheng stated firmly. “He isn’t that cruel.”

“You have too much faith in a man who you know very little.”

“It is not in his feelings towards me in which I blindly believe as you think, but he has given me enough proof to show me he isn’t playing around when he says he likes me.”

“How?”

“I cannot tell you.” JingYi, he thought. For him, there was nothing more cemented than the wholehearted love XiChen had for that child. There would be no way that Lan XiChen would be as sly as to use the child to get close to him. Why would he constantly involve him in his extremely private life if he wasn’t serious? Jiang Cheng would rather chew his arm than use Jin Ling to get someone, and he believed that XiChen would at least share that with him.

“Why not?”

“It is a secret not mine to tell. I can only say that I am certain he isn’t bluffing.”

“Is he really that trustworthy to you?”

This time, his silence was enough of an answer.

She sighed, her shoulders falling abruptly. A-Cheng wanted to pretend he didn’t know she was disappointed. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why him?”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb, Jiang Cheng.”

“I don’t know…”

“You do. You are avoiding my eyes out of embarrassment.”

“He isn’t… Not everything is… out.”

“Out? What else is there to know about what he does?”

“I cannot wrap my head around it.”

“Around what?”

“He must have a reason for what he did.”

“I am sorry, Jiang Cheng. You lost me here. What are you even talking about?”

“He isn’t cold-hearted.” He stated firmly. “He isn’t crazy either. Even though it doesn’t look like it, everything he had done in the past, he had always shown to have a reason he firmly believed in.”

“Are you saying he is justified?”

“No… It’s just… I think he thinks everything he does has a valid reason…”

“So you're telling me a criminal thinks he is justified in doing crimes?” Wen Qing huffed.

“If I killed someone who was about to kill Wen Ning, would you say I am justified?”

“Wen Ning? Has he spoken about my didi?”

“No. I am asking you something. XiChen never spoke about Wen Ning, calm down.”

“What was the question?”

“If I killed someone who was about to kill Wen Ning, would you say I did something right?”

“Killing isn’t right, A-Cheng.”

“So you would rather have Wen Ning die?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“So what?”

“Of course I wouldn’t want Wen Ning dead.”

“Then I am justified in killing that someone because it is to protect an innocent person.” As soon as he said it, it felt like the missing piece of his puzzled mind came into vision. What reason was there to kill that man? It haunted him just like how the death of Xue Yang haunted him. Why? Why? Why? If he wanted to ask why he had seen that, he knew the answer; Lan XiChen wanted him to know what he did before they became serious. If he wanted to know why he had kissed XiChen that night, he also knew the answer. What his mind couldn’t understand was the reason XiChen had for taking that life.

“I don’t know…”

“Wen Qing, I can live my life in peace knowing Lan XiChen killed the people who wanted to slaughter my family.” Jiang Cheng stared at the table as his thoughts spun. Everything was falling into place. “I don’t know what that makes me.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “But I am fine with it.”

“Are you talking about what happened before the opening?”

“Yes.”

“Are you really?”

Jiang Cheng nodded gently. At that point, he began to wonder how far his own moral compass was from Lan XiChen’s. He wouldn’t have the guts to kill someone, that was clear, but he didn’t feel like he could entirely judge his boss. He remembered what he had spoken with his jiejie. Thinking about having to love someone who behaved as such, he had said he wouldn’t be able to love him. However, that wasn’t entirely true. His feelings had… flourished already, his real problem was with accepting them and acting upon them. 

The big uncertainty that remained was whether or not he would be able to accept himself when he felt like that towards someone like him. Do I really know him?  

“Then I have nothing left to say.” Wen Qing sighed.

“Huh?” A-Cheng had lost himself in thought but was soon brought back by the sound of a chair dragging against the floor.

She had stood up, taking her coat. “You already know my opinion. I strongly disagree with your relationship-”

“We aren’t in a relationship.”

“Yet… You aren’t in a relationship yet… If you decide that is what you want, I won’t change what I think about him. I can only pray to every god above that you are right about him loving you and that he will be able to take care of you.”

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips pondering what to say next, but chose to divert his attention. “Are you leaving?”

“I lost my appetite.”

“I am sorry.” He replied with guilt.

“No, Jiang Cheng. I am sorry.” Wen Qing placed her hand on his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “Get some rest after dinner. You look like you are about to pass out… and take good care of yourself, please.”

“Thank you,” He said wholeheartedly, placing his hand over hers for a few seconds before letting go. “Goodnight, take care of yourself as well.”

“I will.”

When the doorbell rang as she exited the restaurant, the waitress came with both dishes on hand. “Oh, is the mister alone?”

“Don’t worry. Please leave both plates here.” Jiang Cheng told her. His appetite had been diminished by the fight, but his clashing thoughts had drained him of enough energy to want to eat. He had had a long day at work as well so he allowed himself to have his fulfilling meal, asking for the second dish to take home and paying for both. He made a mental note for himself to take out Wen Qing to eat someday to make up for that night and drove home.

There was still a lot to think about.

Chapter Text

He wondered how long he could actually survive without sleep. The weariness of the days and nights of poor rest did weight on him; as he laid on his bed, his body ached. But he was still afraid. Terror soaked into his bones, making him uneasy whenever he tried to close his eyes. Would the nightmares come back? Would he be forced to relive part of that evening, with the story plot twisting further and further? He hadn’t actually been spoken to by the man, in fact, he had been behind a double sided mirror all along, not entering within that man’s sight even once.

He died without even seeing me.

His guilt was so ingrained in his heart he began hearing his voice. Most of what he had spoken were incoherent thoughts, screams of pain and sob full pleas. The man was someone he did not know at all… and would remain someone he would always remember.

Being alone was the worst, there was nothing that could distract him for too long.

A sigh escaped his lips as he wondered how to tire his mind. How long had it been since it had happened? With his fingers, he began counting. It marked a week when his sister had come to greet him. He had avoided others for a couple of days… One, two, three, four… was it Saturday already? Jiang Cheng massaged his eyes. Saturdays were his days off, the store closed on Mondays, so he always had a botched weekend,  even though he was used to going on Mondays to check on stock and orders… Blinking tiredly, he realized he had not taken his days off and he had not stopped going on the closed days, which meant he had put on more work on his shoulders. No wonder he felt so exhausted, he refused to take a break because free time was time in which his mind would think.

Who was that man? That he didn’t know. Do I even want to know? He wondered regretfully. Jiang Cheng was tired of the emotional burden everything was on him. Why did he have to see that? Like... it wasn’t like he hadn’t worked with him in the past. A-Lian had to hide in the spare room in a box for four hours. A-Cheng had to call Wen Qing to help him with the profuse bleeding XiChen had that time. Heck, even the time he was there to give back his shit he ended up kneeling in front of him to help him with a wound waiting for the doctor to arrive. Was there a need to show him something so crude? His criminal record wasn’t clean and A-Cheng knew. Lan XiChen had kissed him a handful of times before, was it that different for Jiang Cheng to kiss him back? Well... he had tried to reject it quite a few times, and he had been angered and ashamed with each stolen kiss. But he... well... Jiang Cheng sighed, frustratedly rubbing his face. "WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT I LIKE YOU?" He spat angered, sitting up in bed. Suddenly, he remembered that it was quite late and everyone with a regular schedule would probably be sleeping. His voice went from angry and loud to resentful and muted. "LAN XICHEN YOU PRICK! A CHICKEN! THAT’S WHAT YOU ARE! YOU GO AFTER ME AND WHEN I ACCEPT IT YOU BACK AWAY!" The murmur was loaded with anguish. 

Staring at his ceiling, he realized that he was speaking in vane. Wen Qing had warned him, and told him that he was a criminal. Jiang Cheng had ignored all the warning signs and moved on, trying his best to live his life like before. In that, he was mistaken. Ever since he had crossed paths with him willingly his life had changed. However, he refused to believe his friend was right. It was dumb of him to have searched for her as a voice of advice, perhaps he wanted a glimpse of what he used to believe, that one should be away from criminals, but he now realized that he no longer lined up with what she said. As much as he loved Wen Qing as a friend, he had overlooked her bias. She would never see XiChen’s good side like he had. Jiang Cheng firmly believed he had one, JingYi was the representation of that part of him… Wen Qing would never forgive someone who worked like XiChen, she always associated them with those who had killed her parents.

“Perhaps it was too cruel of me to have brought her into this.” At least he could praise himself for having not told her everything, for he did not trust she wouldn’t go to the police with it. 

But… If Lan XiChen had such a caring side for those who he loved, deep enough to protect his brother’s feelings threatening Wei WuXian, or to hide his child’s existence, even to protect Jiang Cheng’s family and Jiang Cheng himself… Didn’t XiChen think about how watching him murder someone like that could impact him? He was now in shambles… and had become a witness of a crime. If he wanted it, he could go straight to the police with it. Even if he didn’t know the man’s name, he could never forget his face. If he wanted it, he could just speak on everything he knew, albeit not much. It was clear Nie MingJue had his doubts regarding XiChen.

Was he so trustworthy for him to go to such an extent?  Lan XiChen didn’t seem to be the type of man who made such uncaring choices. Or was it a test? There was no way the man was still alive so it wouldn’t be fake. Was he really willing to make such a risky move? 

Although it was the option that seemed to hold less weight, Jiang Cheng ended up wondering if it all had gone down just because he had… kissed him back. If Lan XiChen knew him, then he would have figured out his feelings just by that action alone. A-Cheng wouldn’t mess around with him just for the fun of it or for a good time… Actually, he had only liked women before so messing around with a man was not something in his mind. He sighed trying to push those thoughts aside. With the way things were, he already had a handful with just what had happened, there was no need to begin dissecting about his sexuallity. At that point, it would be whatever it was and he would like whatever he liked. Perhaps if he was enough of a successful businessman his parents wouldn’t be disappointed in him. “Ah, well… it wouldn’t be the first time I disappointed them so whatever.” It wasn’t whatever, that little stone weighed heavily in his heart but he could no longer care much about other issues. Trying to calm himself again, he began wondering about his feelings. Did he still like the man? Actually, why did he like him in the first place? He knew but at the same time he didn’t. Laying down again, he closed his eyes, the blankets pushing his tired body against the mattress.

“Fuck this.” Tiredness seeped into his bones and he decided to stop thinking. With his last strand of strength, his mind pushed out one thought. 

I need to speak to you.

The morning after, he woke up to only then realize he had somewhere in the middle of the night sent him a text saying just that. His reply had been brief, unlike his chatty and flirty self.

Okay.

Jiang Cheng gulped. That day, he would set off to see Lan XiChen again.

Chapter Text

As he sat in front of the empty desk, he reminiscenced about a time where he was still naive. He had sat in that same chair, in front of that same desk, shaking as he waited for the man who could potentially save his own and his brother’s asses; particularly Wei WuXian’s. Now, he waited silently, with a doubt clouding his heart. 

He wanted to deny what he felt, break apart from the man, thinking it would be for the best. Whether he liked it or not, not having Lan XiChen involved in his life would probably mean less problems. That if he wasn’t targeted by his enemies. Still, with that thought in mind he wasn’t afraid. Sometimes Jiang Cheng wanted to punch himself, and that was one of those times. He felt like he needed to be afraid of it, yet his stupid heart had decided he would hold his words as true. As much as he didn’t like how much faith he had in Lan XiChen protecting him, he had. He hated it. Since when had he become so stupidly blind? The worst part was that he knew he was wrong in thinking so, however, he could not stop himself from thinking that.

Click. Someone behind him opened the door. He shifted his place on the chair, suddenly nervous. “Good morning.”

The way his voice was deeper and he spoke lower than usual had Jiang Cheng’s body covered in goosebumps. 

“Mornin’” He answered somewhat breathlessly. Finally, Lan XiChen walked within frame, A-Cheng feeling as if he was walking slowly to purposely make him anxious.

Surprisingly, when they sat in front of each other after who knows how long, none of them said a word more. The fact that Lan XiChen did not even try to smile cheekily or compliment him made everything more awkward.

“I…” Jiang Cheng swallowed. Taking in a deep breath he pushed himself to speak. “Who was he?”

“I wouldn’t have expected you to want to know.”

“Don’t evade the question.”

“He is already dead, who he is is unimportant.”

“It isn’t to me. I need to know.”

“Why? You knowing who he was will not change his death.”

“I want to know your reasons for killing him. Those are the only ones I do not understand. You said you have your own justice system. Tell me how it works.”

XiChen’s eyebrows twitched, his gaze finally landing on Jiang Cheng’s eyes.

“You said you liked me and that I needed to know you before falling in love. I am here to know, XiChen.”

“It is a sensitive topic. Are you sure you want to know?”

“You asked me to judge you, give me all the details.” There was a small amount of faith in him that Jiang Cheng held. He hoped that when he found out the motive, he could see their moral compasses were not as far off of each other as he had hoped.

WARNING

“He raped a six year old girl thirty years ago.” The air got stuck on Jiang Cheng’s throat. “Five months ago, he got out of jail for good conduct, and started lurking around his victim’s house.”

“Did he…?”

“He caught the victim’s child, kidnapped them actually, for a couple of hours. The child came back without a scratch. Even though they had not suffered anything, the victim went to the police. Seeing the child was unharmed and back home, they chose to ignore it. The police actively ignored that it meant it breached the restraining order put upon the man for him not to get close to the victim. It took another week for him to try and kidnap the child again.”

Having heard so far, his entire back ached due to tense muscles and cold sweat. “Is the child alright?” He whispered, feeling the need to puke. His mind went straight to Jin Ling and his heart tingled. Swallowing, he found it hard to breathe.

“My client had already warned me about it, he caught the child, but I stopped him before he could harm them.”

“Do you think he was going to…?” He shook his head. “I don’t want to know.”

“He had lubricant in the car. I don’t have doubts he wanted to try it again. Whether or not I am right, he did not deserve a second chance.”

“Was… was the victim close to you?”

“The child is one of JingYi’s classmates. I don’t care what his intentions were, but that type of man isn’t allowed near my child.”

“I understand…” Jiang Cheng nodded slowly. He was pretty sure JingYi and Jin Ling went to the same school. The man could have taken it upon any of those poor innocent children. “I understand now…” He had a ‘Thank you’ at the tip of his tongue, but he decided against saying it.

It would take a while for him to finally absorb that information. Everything had been so sudden, Jiang Cheng did not want to rush into what he felt about that. He stared at XiChen’s face for a few seconds, and after bearing some minutes of awkward silence, he opted to stand up and leave. He had gotten the answer he had come for, and had still to decide what he thought about what XiChen had done.

Whether or not the man deserved to have died such a death, he didn’t want to think about it. He was now wondering about what the fuck was wrong with Lan XiChen; he had thought that getting him involved in such an awful demonstration was alright. A-Cheng couldn’t help but reproach himself for still having had such a reaction when facing him.

After having heard all that, he had to give his sister a call, asking for permission to take A-Ling after work for the night. His nephew was elated, despite not knowing why. Jin Ling always loved to spend time with his jiujiu, he even insisted on cooking with him.

Just like that, Jiang Cheng went back to his life ignoring Lan XiChen. His feelings became like a heavy stone that weighed in his heart, for he refused to face him again. Finally, he understood why everything had happened, however he sulked for not having received an apology from him. What he had done was inexcusable, although he had stated his reasons and Jiang Cheng found them to be sound, he was not willing to forgive nor forget.

The unspoken promise they had almost made was still tied with a strong knot, they would end up together till death did them part, and none of them had perished. Against what A-Cheng had thought of him, Lan XiChen finally appeared back in the store. It seemed to be his turn to reach out.

“I want to speak to you.”

Chapter Text

After everything that had been said and done, the last thing Jiang Cheng had pictured to happen was to have his heart moved enough by just one sentence of his to end up sitting on his couch again. His last memories of said couch were of him and Lan XiChen kissing as if they had not a worry in the world. The actual culprit of his presence being there was sitting by his side with a smile on his face as he chatted cheerfully.

He stared at JingYi as he gesticulated switching voices, recreating a verbal fight he had had with one of his classmates. “And then the teacher said I was right and I was sooo happy I even smiled at him and he refused to look at me but I still was happy… He ignored me later and even told the teacher I was bothering him.”

Jiang Cheng chuckled lightly. The blame could be all put on himself for falling for such a clear trap, yet his heart had become soft with that phrase coming from XiChen’s lips.

“JingYi has asked me about when his Cheng-ge is coming back.”

He knew he shouldn’t have fallen for it. Still, here he was, being the Cheng-ge this child missed, because he missed him too. “You were bothering him?”

“I wasn’t!”

“You weren’t?” His Cheng-ge smiled, narrowing his eyes.

“I didn’t… it wasn’t that bad. ” 

“What did you do, huh? Did you stick your tongue out?”

JingYi opened his eyes wide, shock visible on his face. “Ha? How did you know?!”

“So you weren’t so innocent, JingYi. You shouldn’t have mocked him.”

“I am sorry, Cheng-ge.”

“I am not the one you should be apologizing to.”

“...” The child’s attitude dimmed.

“Remember to apologize to him if you are actually ashamed of it.” Jiang Cheng patted his head softly. “Okay?”

“Okay… I will tomorrow.”

“No one likes to be wrong, don’t make it worse.”

“Yes, gege.”

“You are a good boy, JingYi.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Even if I stuck my tongue at him?”

“Good people make mistakes too.”

“Gege makes mistakes too?”

The fact JingYi thought he was a good person as soon as he said that made his heart warm. “I do. I made a lot of mistakes.”

“Do you apologize too?”

“Yes, but remember you have to apologize sincerely or you will be lying.”

“Okay… Does baba make mistakes?”

“He does too.” Jiang Cheng looked around the apartment, knowing he wouldn’t be around. Lately, he had been trying to give them their space. Without asking, he had put his distance. On the one hand, A-Cheng felt glad he hadn’t to deal with him, on the other hand, he was somewhat mad that he was acting like this, especially because it made him feel… things. It was really annoying. Since when had XiChen become so silently respectful and considerate? Well… he had always been…

“Gege.” JingYi shook his arm.

Jiang Cheng snapped out of it. ”Hm?”

“What mistakes did he commit?”

“Who?”

“Baba.”

“That you will have to ask him.”

As if the devil had heard others speaking of him, the lock on the door made a clacking sound when someone opened it from outside. “Baba.” JingYi said excitedly as he jumped off the couch and sped towards the entrance. Lan XiChen came through the door smiling. “Hi, JingYi.”

“Baba, you came.” They shared a hug as Jiang Cheng stood up to leave. He only needed to gather his things.

“Mister Lan.” He bowed respectfully.

“Hi again. How did this one behave?”

“I was a good boy.” JingYi defended himself. “He just told me.”

“He did?“

“Yes. We were speaking about his behavior in class today.”  

“Baba, I have a question.”

XiChen nodded and let him down to take off his jacket. “Ask me.”

“What mistakes did you make?”

“Well…There is one mistake that I still have yet to mend.”

“What have you done?” JingYi took him to sit on the couch. The young one was too much of a gossiper. Jiang Cheng took his jacket. “Where are you going, Cheng-ge?”

“Home.”

“Why? Won’t you stay for dinner?” JingYi was visibly upset.

“Your father is here, I will leave you two alone.”

“Oh…”

“I am sorry, JingYi.” Lan XiChen said, patting his head. “The mistake I made was to upset your Cheng-ge, so he is uncomfortable around me.”

“You did?” He frowned. “What did you do?”

“Something bad.”

“Have you apologized sincerely? If you apologize sincerely, gege might forgive you because that is what good people do.”

“I haven’t.”

“Tell him then…” The boy stared at them, looking back and forth.

Jiang Cheng had stood there with his jacket half on for a while, flabbergasted with the sudden turn of events. He had not expected XiChen to tell the child about their problems, and he was a bit irritated about him getting the kid in the middle of the mess. It was true he hadn’t apologized properly for what he had done, but this seemed forced and premeditated.

“I can’t.”

“Why?” Both the child and nanny were shocked.

“He probably won’t believe my words, JingYi. I can only show him I am sorry through my actions this time.”

“You should still apologize if you are sorry… I will go and look for the drawing I did for gege in my room.”

That made A-Cheng further uncomfortable. “What a way to manipulate him.” He scoffed.

“I wouldn’t use my child, Jiang Cheng.” It was clear and cold. 

They both stayed silent.

Time ticked, and JingYi was still in his room. Lan XiChen turned to face him. “I am sorry.”

“You sure are.”

“I mean it.”

“Wasn’t it enough to let me know? You had to go a step beyond and show me.”

“If you knowing what I work in and you seeing what I do for work was the same, then we wouldn’t have had a fallen out.”

Jiang Cheng felt bitter. He wanted to rebuke, but deep inside he knew he would have been able to ignore it had he not involved himself in it any further. Yet, after that, there was no way he could play pretend. “You used Jingyi to bring me closer to you again.” A-Cheng whispered getting closer. “That was low.”

“I didn’t but you won’t believe me. He wanted to see you, I have not taken advantage of you seeing him at any point since you’ve come back. I am part of his life and you knew it before taking the decision of coming back, but I’ve managed to make our interactions as minimal as possible because I want you to be in his life. You make him happy and are a good influence.”

“So you stopped pursuing me finally?” He would never admit how much it pained him to act like saying such was not a big deal. 

“I haven’t. You have not forgiven me, so I won’t push further. Even if me reaching out to you makes you have wrong assumptions about me I am willing to take such a risk because I can put JingYi’s happiness over mine.”

Nothing except Jiang Cheng’s gulp was heard. He hugged himself, looking away. “So now you are a saint.”

Lan XiChen sighed. “I am not a saint, but I am not a devil either.”

Jiang Cheng had to laugh at that. “I beg to differ.”

“I am not.”

“How are you so sure?”

“You wouldn’t fall in love with someone you considered a devil.”

His hands became fists and his face flushed in embarrassment. Humiliating someone who valued his pride always had a bad outcome. “Who says I fell in love with you?” He bit back. “You think too highly of yourself, Lan XiChen.”

The way he smiled was so miserable that Jiang Cheng wanted to mock him for it. What are you looking so disappointed for? He thought. 

“Why did you kiss me then? My impression of you is not of someone who has one night stands.”

He bit his teeth. He refused to admit such a thing just like that. “Even the best of us can have a lapsus of judgment.” His lips were pressed together in a pitiful sight, that had hurt. “I am leaving.” Jiang Cheng finished putting on his coat and went to grab the door handle. Lan XiChen stopped him. “What?” The rim of his eyes was reddened, he could feel it, so he refused to look him in the eye.

“Don’t leave JingYi without saying goodbye.”

“One would think you are using him to-”

“Stop. Stop saying I use my child. You may not have forgiven me, but don’t get him involved. Else you won’t step into this house again and I will make sure you are uprooted from his life completely.”

He was scared stiff. Was… was that a threat?

“I can see what you are thinking. I won’t kill you. I will just disengage.”

“Is this how you solve everything? With brute words and force?”

Lan XiChen took upon himself to grab his chin, lifting his gaze forcefully upwards and towards his face. “This is the first time I’ve intentionally used force over you.” Jiang Cheng forgot how to breathe. “Am I wrong? Would you rather I play around with words again? Do you want me to keep pretending I do not know? We both know the reason I took you there. It is because I like you that I wanted you to know that I-”

“Baba?”

Both adults were startled. Lan XiChen stopped holding Jiang Cheng’s chin, taking a step back. Jiang Cheng rubbed his eyes.

Seeing his gege and baba so close, but his gege seemingly about to cry, the boy could get the picture. Jiang Cheng looked a little bullied. “Baba, don’t be mean to my gege.” He darted to hug A-Cheng, placing himself in between them. “I brought the drawing I made. Was Baba mean to you?”

“Don’t worry, JingYi. We were speaking a bit and I was about to leave.”

“So soon?”

“Yes. I need to.”

“Oh… okay… at least take this with you.” JingYi showed him the drawing.

“Ow, it looks beautiful.” Jiang Cheng’s heart ached at the sight of the boy in between them. Holding one of JingYi’s hands was Lan XiChen and in the other Jiang Cheng. “Have you signed it?”

“Yes. It has my name here.” He pointed at a slanted JingYi at the bottom of the page. Followed by a for Cheng-ge.

Jiang Cheng felt honored. “How did you know how to write my name?”

JingYi looked back at his baba who was silent throughout their interaction with a bit of shame. “Baba showed me how to write your full name. I know your surname is Jiang like Chang Jiang (Yangzte river).”

“Yes, it is.”

“My surname is written like the color.”

“Yes. Just like the color.” Jiang Cheng rolled the drawing carefully to put it inside his jacket.

“Are you leaving?” He hated seeing JingYi sad the most, but he was too uncomfortable to remain there.

“I am. I will see you soon, okay? Don’t be too sad.”

“Okay. Goodbye, gege. See you soon.”

“Goodbye, JingYi. Lan XiChen.” He nodded and left as quickly as he could.

Jiang Cheng was long gone by the time both father and child had had a fight. JingYi had never spoken against his baba before, but seeing him upset his gege further made him mad. He had already almost lost his gege once, he wouldn’t allow his baba to scare his gege again.

Chapter Text

"Who is going to tell him?" One of the employees asked.

"You go, I am afraid I will get screamed at." They both peeked at the back.

A third one came from behind. "What are you looking so scared for? Our boss is professional." She said.

"Then you go."

"I'll go. What is it?"

"We need to restock on chamomile tea."

"Then why didn’t you go tell him?"

They fidgeted in place.

"The shipment for the leaves is a couple of hours late..."

She finally understood the problem. "Has he informed the big boss?" Having worked under Lan XiChen, she was barely faced with having to deal with an angry Jiang Cheng. 

"Big boss?" One of the two looked down towards her.

"Mister Lan." 

Silence was enough of an answer.

She let out a sight. "Tend to the counter properly, I am going to restock." She grabbed the empty tub with gloved hands and took it to the back. Jiang Cheng was talking furiously to the phone, his anger had filled the room’s atmosphere. “Boss. I will fill the chamomile tea container.”

Jiang Cheng covered his microphone. “There is no more chamomile tea.”

“Oh…”

“We are low on green tea and oolong leaves as well. Sell what we have at the front. If you need more just sell everything we have before it oxidizes.”

His co-worker nodded and left the kitchen.

“What do you mean I have to wait? The package was supposed to come in today.” Jiang Cheng bit his lower lip to not curse.

Even if his fight was purposely muffled, his affected tone could be heard if one got close to the door that led to the kitchen. 

That day was the first time the store was closed early since it had opened. They had emptied their tea supply.

A-Cheng panicked. This unprompted vacation could severely affect their business. As soon as he set foot outside, he was aiming to go straight to the provider’s store and have a talk face to face. His phone rang. Perhaps there was good news.

He stopped in his tracks, his lips thin as paper. The green phone icon trembling in his screen invited him to answer, but the Lan XiChen in the top of the screen made him want to run away. He inhaled deeply, taking a few steps to hide inside his car before he answered.

“Hello?”
“Good morning, please come to my office as soon as you can.”

“Huh?”

“I have been informed about the store’s problem.”

He had to swallow the ‘What does it have to do with you?’ he wanted to say as soon as he remembered Lan XiChen was actually an investor. ”Okay. I will drive there now.”

“I will be waiting.”

Each block he got closer to his office, his nervousness raised up a level. It was almost like he sensed an argument incoming and he was already arming himself and his own defense. A-Cheng took a deep breath and made his voice deeper to announce his arrival at the front desk, both to boost his confidence and to avoid any resemblance to A-Lian’s soft voice.

Thirty seconds and a call later he was told to go up. Walking to the elevator seemed easy, if he hadn’t known almost everyone there was armed to kill he could almost think the security was low.

Knock knock knock. 

“Come in.”

A suit worked wonders in him, it had always pronounced his handsomeness and power. “Good afternoon.” Jiang Cheng said meekly.

“Not so good it seems.”

He sighed. “Yeah.”

“Sit.”

A-Cheng sat, obedient. 

“Did you agree to any type of deal with the suppliers?”

“No. I tried but they bluffed me.”

“Did they?”

Jiang Cheng felt annoyed to be reminded, was he mocking him? His eyes, which had avoided direct contact until that moment, looked up. “Yeah, why would I lie?” 

XiChen wasn’t smirking like Wei WuXian would, he looked serious and annoyed. “I’ll deal with it for you then, what is it that you need now?”

“We are all out.”

“Entirely?” Lan XiChen took out a piece of paper and a pen. “Since when has the supply shortage affected the business?” Their eyes met. 

“We managed until a few days ago. Usually one or two days of delay won’t mean anything, but these past two weeks we have received a bigger influx of customers and I did not expect this to happen.”

“So this is a common occurrence, no wonder they tried to ignore your call. You should have told me.”

“I am sorry.”

“You are partly to blame for today, but not entirely. Don’t worry, I will solve this tonight. Expect to receive the supplies tomorrow, I will text you once everything is settled, so you won’t have to wait for them the entire day.”

“You will?” Jiang Cheng looked at him a little shocked.

“Mn.”

“Uhm… okay… you don’t need to.”

“We are business partners, had you asked me before I would have dealt with this sooner. You don’t need to do everything on your own. I am as involved as you are in this, I also put my money on it.”

“I didn’t want to bother anyone, I thought I was fully capable of working it out on my own… although I am not…”

“You are not alone in this business, A-Cheng.” Lan XiChen stated plainly. “There is no need to carry all the burden. If I offer my help it means I can and will do it.”

Jiang Cheng felt stupid. “Thank you.”

“There is nothing to thank me for. Now, let’s make a list of products and quantities so I can have it right for the call.”

Without more judgment or any trace of annoyance, they went over everything that was missing. 

Less than an hour later, he sat back in his car, sighing. Looking back, it wasn’t as stressful as he thought it would be. For the first time in a while, Jiang Cheng could actually trust that someone else would take care of it. Whether Lan XiChen used persuasion or threats, he could get whatever he wanted. Getting the suppliers to send them what they paid for seemed not to be a challenge for him.

As he drove home he could not get the man out of his head. It had been a couple days since the last time he had seen JingYi. Once inside his apartment he dropped his keys on the counter and stared at the drawing on his fridge. It was stupid of him to be so worked up. Did he or did he not want Lan XiChen there? Why was he so bothered about him not being with them? He was there to see the child, not the father. Was he using JingYi as an excuse to be close to XiChen?

The idea made him feel disgusted with himself. His back was tense so he decided to get a shower with warm water to relax. Rubbing his face slowly under the water he came to the realization of what he had been avoiding to acknowledge. Am I mad he is using JingYi as leverage to see me, or am I mad he isn’t doing so and I want him to? He swallowed, ashamed and saddened. Wasn’t he a monster? How could he want to be close to him? He was a killer. There was no doubt in such. Everything that Wen Qing had told him had come to mind… Was he trying to push him into a black or white category? He knew of her bias and had ignored her advice due to it, but was he biased as well?

He thought back to what his jiejie had told him. What did he want from XiChen? The fact that he could kill, carry and shoot a gun and had illegal business was no news to him, even before he had actually seen it. He had never been threatened directly by XiChen, even when he thought he was, he had made it clear what he meant. Was he ever in danger under his hands? Had he ever done something to put him in danger? 

The answer was obvious, which made it ten times worse. “I hate myself.” Somehow, he had managed to hurt himself, XiChen and even JingYi on the way. It was shameful how long he had fought against it. He was already old enough to act as a grown-up, yet he had run around like a headless chicken. 

Out of the shower and with a towel on, he received a call. “Hello?”

“A-Cheng.”

“XiChen.”

“Are you available tomorrow at eight in the morning?”

“Why?”

“I got the delivery to be tomorrow morning.”

“So fast… ”

 “It was an urgent matter. Will you be there tomorrow?”

“Yes. I will. Thank you.”

“Next time tell me in advance, although I think there won’t be a next time. Or we will switch providers.“

“Did you tell them that?”

“Of course.”

Jiang Cheng chuckled. “Did they say anything?”

“They apologized.”

“They should.“

“Of course. Expect the shipment tomorrow. Call me if they are even a minute late. Do you need me there?”

“I think I’ll manage” He smiled. “Besides, you have to take JingYi to school.”

“Don’t mind that, I can drop him sooner or ask WangJi to take him.”

“Don’t worry, I can.”

“Okay. That’s all. Goodnight, A-Cheng.”

“Hold on.”

“Yes?”

“Uh… I…” Jiang Cheng inhaled deeply. “I am sorry.”

“This delay was their fault.”

“Not that…” XiChen fell silent and it made it worse. “I am sorry for what I said last time… about using JIngYi.” He swallowed his pride. “I don’t want to make JingYi upset with you. I want to keep seeing him. You don’t have to be away, we can be civil in front of him… It is not like we always fight…”

“Okay.”

“Okay…”

“Are you free this Friday?”

“Friday?”

“Come have dinner with us, I think he will like it.”

“Oh, sure… should I bring something?”

“Your cookies.”

“My cookies?”

“We like them. We can have them as dessert.”

“Okay. The ones I did with JingYi?”

“Does seven sound good with you?”

“Yes. So he can go to bed early.”

“We will wait for you then.”

“Okay.” Jiang Cheng smiled. “Don’t tell JingYi I am bringing cookies, let it be a surprise to make him smile.”

XiChen chuckled. “Deal.” A-Cheng’s heart skipped a beat, making him embarrassed.

“See you on Friday then.”

“Goodbye, A-Cheng.”

“Goodbye, XiChen.” 

The call ended and Jiang Cheng glanced at himself in the mirror. He had been such an ass… and now he was actually smiling. A-Cheng shook his head. He wanted to try? Honestly, he wasn’t so sure of it, but at least, he wanted to feel as comfortable as he felt before. He had to admit he missed being comfortable with them. Even if he still didn’t want to pursue further than a friendship, he wanted to spend time with them again. 

Chapter Text

He rubbed his face as if that would take all of his worries away. Raising his head, he spaced out while his gaze remained positioned over the ice cream shop crossing the street. Inside, he and JingYi along XiChen, surprisingly, had eaten some of the best ice cream in reward for the child having gotten an acknowledgment in class. Despite his distracted nature, with the help of his Cheng-ge’s guidance, homework had gone a lot smoother the past few weeks. 

Jiang Cheng had accepted Lan XiChen’s invitation, taking pride in the child’s achievement. It felt like the handful of days he had been sitting next to him explaining everything carefully had come to fruition. He had tasted all kinds of teas, brewed by none other than Lan XiChen as a form of encouragement and as a thank you for A-Cheng. The first days with him being present, things had been tense. As the days progressed, Jiang Cheng became engrossed with the child, and the adult doing computer work in the living room a few meters away wasn’t as annoying. Even when JingYi went to sleep early without dinner, dining next to XiChen wasn’t as unpleasant, even if he refused to share a word.

A home-cooked meal he had not had to do on a saturday evening after a long week of work was more heart-warming than he wanted to admit. XiChen remained by their side, silently. Jiang Cheng had caught him looking at him quite a few times, yet didn’t complain because he himself stole a few glances at him, it was like that that their eyes had met.

His feelings were frustrating, wanting him near and as far away as possible. He had found himself accepting an invitation to a picnic in the park. JingYi’s amusement with the playground for children a few meters away had left Jiang Cheng feeling like he was on a date with XiChen. A-Cheng could only bear to ignore the man so far, and a conversation began flowing smoothly. Speaking to him felt just like before. Tea blends, pastry recipes, alcohol, favorite meals, the topics were endless. 

Reminiscing of the times he was forced into a dress… didn’t feel like before. He sighed.

“I just appeared, what have I done now to upset you?” His voice came from above.

Jiang Cheng jerked his head up. “You are here.”

“Here I am. I am sorry I am late.”

A-Cheng checked his clock. “It is only five minutes, it’s okay.”

“It is late for you to be waiting alone for me.”

“It is only past nine thirty, and I am a man.”

“Still… next time allow me to come pick you up. Aren’t you cold?” 

“No, I am not…“ He rubbed his hands. “I wanted ice cream.”

“You asked me out here because you wanted ice cream?”

“I didn’t… I wanted to talk.”

“What about?”

“Let’s order the ice cream first. The night is nice, I was thinking that we could go for a walk.”

“Okay.” XiChen smiled, his facial expressions slightly frowning, seemingly confused.

Jiang Cheng gave him a fleeting smile, putting his hands on his pockets and crossing the street to the shop.

“What will you order now?”

“Strawberry and caramel.”

Last time, the child had ordered those peculiar flavors and Jiang Cheng had really enjoyed what he had tried from it.

“It was tasty. I will have lemon and vanilla.”

They ordered and went out. “The night is chilly, it will keep our ice creams better in shape.” Jiang Cheng commented.

“Is it too serious?”

“What?”

“What you are avoiding to tell me.”

A-Cheng’s smile dimmed. “Yes.”

“Scary?”

“Terrifying.”

“Should I be worried?”

“I don’t know… no?”

XiChen chuckled. “Yeah, our ice creams will hold their shape better… What did you have for dinner?”

“Ice cream.”

“You should eat properly.”

“Work is tedious.”

“Come eat with us. Just let me know and I will cook for the three of us.”

Jiang Cheng side-eyed him. He sighed. “I am sorry.”

“What for?”

“For saying you used JingYi to get close to me.”

“I understand, I accepted your apologies already, remember…? That wasn’t that terrifying, was it?” He smiled warmly.

A-Cheng flashed him a smile. Were that to be the only thing he had come to tell him, he wouldn’t be avoiding the topic so much. 

Silence prevailed. It seemed XiChen had figured out that wasn’t it. They walked under the street lights. “Can you hold this for me?” He asked.

Jiang Cheng got a hold of his cone. He began taking off his gloves. “Aren’t you cold?”

XiChen didn’t reply, taking his cone back. “Wear this, your hands are getting red because of the cold.”

“What about you?”

“I can endure it.”

“No, you wear them.”

“Wear them now, we can exchange them later. Warm your hands before they start hurting, okay?”

His kind gesture warmed A-Cheng’s heart and hands. Glancing at his hands, he remembered having held them while dancing. It had started with father and son playing music and dancing, making Jiang Cheng crackled at XiChen’s horrid way of “dancing” to pop music. He had complained about the genre and JingYi had proposed playing some music that his baba would dance to. “Only if you dance with me.” Jiang Cheng could have chosen not to, but he caved. Ballroom dancing so close to him. His perfume, enchanting and his hum to the tune almost perfect next to A-Cheng’s ear, pleasant. He was held tenderly by his hand and waist, no hands going anywhere inappropriate or forced contact. A-Cheng was guided by him as JingYi played, happily displaying his skills. Closing his eyes, he felt like it was a dream. That night had made him soft hearted, ending in JingYi's bedroom as XiChen tucked him in as he re-told a story he made up on the way. Jiang Cheng listened while he leaned against the door frame.

And then he knew, he had blind trust in the man. He had found himself believing that no matter what, he would always be on the good side of him. Whatever he did, he would only at much graze that ruthless unmerciful killing side he so much feared. He realized there was no way of escaping the sense of comfort and protection that he found next to him, where each and every mistake of his could be easily solved in the hands of others. He had always thought XiChen would be the one to kick him off the roof, yet now he felt he would only do so because he trusted A-Cheng would know how to spread his wings on his own. The man who had his knees trembling in fear upon first meeting had now managed to make him shake but for another entire reason.

While he was having a realization as heavy as being hit by a train, the man was playing gently with his child. The natural softness of a father doting on his son, the comfortable love gaze that was forever present on him the moment his eyes set on the healthy boy, everything was absolutely devastating. It was then when A-Cheng couldn't help but sigh with a smile, conflicted with the man right in front of him. He wished to smash him out of shame and rage, just because that devilish smile of his had seeped into his heart and rooted his love. A love that would be too painful to rip apart easily. He loved a wicked man, despite all the blood and murder. He knew very well how manipulative and deceiving he could be, yet he still could come home and be like this. Jiang Cheng would never admit to himself that falling into strong arms which could pamper him felt like the gift of the Gods. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be, perhaps he didn't deserve it, but he sure as hell wished to have it.

Taking a deep breath, he remained standing still. He took a shy peak at his eyes, a few seconds were enough to feel that loving gaze on him. After throwing the napkin away and a bit left of the ice cream cone, A-Cheng rubbed the fingers of his free hand, feeling the glove’s texture. “A-Huan, there is something I need to tell you.”

“I am listening.” It was so soft it felt like a whisper.

“I…” The rim of his eyes burnt. “I still… like you.”

“I love you too, A-Cheng.”

Jiang Cheng turned, stunned silent for a brief moment. “I didn’t say that.”

Lan Huan smiled, his teeth barely showing, giving his expression an alluring gentleness. “You don’t need to.”

“You… where does all this cockiness come from?”

“The person I love, loves me back enough to say it.”

“I said like… L-I-K-E. Are you dumb?”

“Perhaps, may I inquire why are you telling me this?”

“Why?”

“Yes. Why? Are you going to ask me out? As in a couple or another date?”

“This isn’t a date.”

“Answer my question.”

“You are the worst.”

“Yet you still like me.”

Jiang Cheng huffed, his face lighting up despite the cold.

“A-Cheng.”

“Quit mocking me.”

“That is not it… as much joy as this brings me. I still work in what I used to.”

“I know.”

“If you want something to do with me, you need to accept that.”

“I do…” He whispered, lowering his head.

“Do you really?”

He nodded.

“Okay.”

They glanced at each other.

“What are you expecting of me then?”

“Huh?”

“I want to know what you want, A-Cheng.”

“I…“ Panic arose within him, he knew what he wanted, but being confronted so upfront made him want to run away.

“Think about it. I won’t pressure you.” XiChen caressed his cheek with extremely cold fingers.

“You are a dumbass.” Jiang Cheng scolded him, grabbing both of his hands. “Your hands are freezing.” He held his palms in between his, blowing his hot breath into them. “This wasn’t a good idea. I’ll give you back your gloves now.”

“I like this way of keeping them warm.”

“Shut up. Let’s go back to your car, so you can turn on the heating.”

“Okay… care to join me in a ride around the city? I still don’t want to part ways with you.”

“Just for a while. We have to work tomorrow.”

“Understood… I’ll drop by tomorrow at 3.30.”

“What for?”

“For our afternoon tea. As always.”

Jiang Cheng was left speechless once again. It had been such a long time since they had shared a cup of tea in the back of the shop, it felt alien almost. Shame made him stutter a “Whatever” as a reply. They went to XiChen’s car, enjoying a trip around as they sat down to hear music. Jiang Cheng had a lot to process and XiChen seemed to respect that.

Chapter Text

“I will go pick him out today, don’t worry.” Jiang Cheng nodded, trying to ease XiChen’s frown. JingYi had arranged a playdate with one of his classmates. It resulted in that child being A-Yuan, Wen Qing’s nephew. Knowing the past history of the family with mobsters made Jiang Cheng want to ease their worries. JingYi was free of guilt for what his father did, however, it would be easier for them not to have to deal with XiChen so directly. 

“Do you really not mind?”

“I don’t. I am well acquainted with them, they won’t mind having me there. Besides, you are skipping work to come here. I won’t tell you not to come, because you will come even if it means to push work for later. Be responsible and go finish what you have to do. I know you are taking someone to court soon.”

XiChen smiled. “My Chengcheng is so considerate. What a wonder to be loved by someone like you.”

Jiang Cheng grunted, beyond embarrassed. “Shut up before I kick you out of here.”

He laughed, rummaging in his pocket before taking out a set of keys. “Here. So you can wait for me back home.”

“Don’t fool around and manage your time effectively, I don’t want to come back home late.“

“If night comes and I haven’t arrived then feel free to sleep with us.”

A-Cheng chuckled. “So you can sleep with me on your bed?”

“You can either sleep at JingYi’s bed  and have him sleep in my bed or the two of you sleep on my bed. Whichever you choose is good with me. I do admit I fancy that idea you propose.”

“I am not proposing anything.” He slammed his hand on the counter, grabbing the key. “Don’t work yourself to death and make sure to come back early. At least to tuck your child in.”

Lan Huan smiled. “I will, don’t worry.” He finished his cup of tea, standing up and cleaning it for himself.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes. I want to have the chance of coming home to a lovely wife taking care of my child. If I come back too late you will be asleep.”

Jiang Cheng’s fingers tightened around the teacup’s handle, suppressing his wish to hurl the damn thing towards the shameless man’s head. “Leave. Now.” He whispered, seething.

Lan XiChen went one step further and said his goodbyes after kissing his cheek. 

Five minutes after calming himself in the bathroom, he went back to work. After closing, he had time to have a snack on his way to pick up JingYi.

He was expecting Granny to open up, however, he found Wen Qing. “Oh, you are here. Hi.”

“What are you doing here?” Wen Qing looked confused.

“I came to pick up JingYi.”

Her frown spoke for her. She nodded and allowed him in. “I take it as you are together now.”

“We are not.”

“But you plan to.”

“I don’t know.” He cleaned his throat.

“Hum… I will tell JingYi, make yourself comfortable.”

 Jiang Cheng swallowed, uncomfortable. He fidgeted in place, waiting for the child to come.

“He is gathering his things, it might take a while, do you want a cup of tea?”

“Okay. Please.” He nodded softly, trying to avoid eye contact.

She turned to brew tea. A-Cheng smiled as she took out a blend of herbs that had his tea shop’s logo. It made him proud seeing how his business was booming.

A few minutes later, a teacup was placed in front of him. “Is this the reason you have been avoiding me like the plague?”

“I already know what you want to say.”

“A-Cheng.” She sighed softly. “Just… Take care.” She sat across from him with a glass of water.

“He isn’t a bad man. I understand why you would see him as such, but he treats me quite well.”

“As long as you are happy.” Wen Qing took a sip. “I will never stop worrying, but I can’t force the way of the heart.”

“I truly mean it. I am okay by his side.”

“So do I. I worry about how long will this “I am okay” be.”

“Even if he didn’t like me and I didn’t like him, my exposure to that world came as a consequence of the money I borrowed. It doesn’t have to do with him.”

“We won’t change each other’s minds.” She shook her head. “Let’s agree to disagree.”

It felt bothersome to be so distant. “Okay…”

“So tell me… what is it about them that you like?”

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath. “I fear that if I tell you what I am thinking you’ll try to question it.”

“I won’t. I just don’t understand what you see in him.”

“I sometimes question that myself. More than you I used to wish it was all a misunderstanding of my feelings, that this sort of infatuation would fade away with time and distance. But it didn’t, and I have finally accepted what I feel. I hope you will still be my friend even if you don’t support my choices.”

Wen Qing sighed. “Does he treat you well at least?”

“More than well.”

“Just… make sure your happiness doesn’t hurt you.”

“I will.” He smiled softly. “Thank you, A-Qing.”

She smiled, sighing. “Don’t thank me, just take care of yourself.”

Jiang Cheng nodded. “Do you like our tea blends?”

Work chit-chat filled the empty air as they waited for the children to get ready. They got into it so much they didn’t notice them waiting by their side.

“You two are friends too?” JingYi beamed.

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng smiled.

“Next time I will ask gege to come with me so you can play with jiejie and I can play with A-Yuan.”

“Okay.” The cuteness of the child made him chuckle. “As long as jiejie is okay with it.”

She smiled. “Next time we can go to the park.”

“Yes!” The children celebrated.

“But for now, you have to say goodbye, we can arrange that later. We need to go home. Baba will be coming a bit later.”

“Okay. Goodbye, A-Yuan. Goodbye, jiejie. See you soon.”

~~~

For the third saturday in a row, XiChen had been given alone time as JingYi accompanied A-Cheng to the park along with Wen Qing and A-Yuan. This time, they had been dropped by one of XiChen’s subordinates.

“He exhausted himself at the park.” Jiang Cheng whispered with a smile plastered on his face. Jingyi laid on his bed, softly breathing.

“I can see that.” XiChen smiled, opening the door for him. “Did you have a good time as well?”

“Yes, I missed spending time with Wen Qing. It has been a while.”

“I see. I am glad for you. You always seem to be cheerful after seeing her.”

Jiang Cheng arched his eyebrow. “Excuse me?” He grabbed XiChen’s arm, dragging him to the living room. “What does that mean?”

“It’s just a simple observation.” XiChen side-eyed him.

“What’s up with your attitude?”

“Why would I have an attitude? All you did was go out with my child and your ex a couple of times.”

His expression trembled. “My ex? Wen Qing is just a friend now. We are not together nor am I interested in her.”

“Just a friend? You seem so eager to see her even if she is just a friend.”

“What the fuck with that comment?” He whispered, trying hard to suppress his voice so as to not wake up the child.

“What? Am I wrong? If I told you not to see her anymore would you be happy with it?”

“Who do you think you are to be forbidding me from anything? We aren’t anything.”

“So I want to be then.”

Jiang Cheng was left speechless. So much for telling Wen Qing over and over how good XiChen was with him. How kind and respectful he was.

“I want you to be mine so you won’t go with anyone else.”

“You are so fucking toxic! I cannot believe I defended you from her. You are even worse than I thought. I am not a thing you can take as yours, I am a human being. Do you even know how to treat people kindly? Or is that a facade you only put on when you want something from the other person?”

“Teach me then.”

“What-?”

“Teach me how to treat you as you want, I want to know. I want to know how to please you, how to make you laugh like she does, smile like she does. Why am I the only one you never smile to? I know A-Lian is dead but I so much wish to go back to those times. At least you actually spoke to me back then.”

“Fuck you, A-Lian is not coming back. I am not yours anymore.” Jiang Cheng spat disgustedly. So that was what he wanted, A-Lian. It felt like the veil had been raised from his eyes.

Lan XiChen looked dejected. “Were you ever mine to begin with?”

Jiang Cheng swallowed the lump on his throat. “You are right. I was never yours.”

“How do I make you mine? How can I make you mine?”

“You are going to wake Jingyi up.” He avoided the question.

“He never wakes up unless he wants to.”

“Is Cheng-ge going to sleep with us tonight?” 

They both turned to the tiny voice coming from Jingyi. He was out of his bed, rubbing his eyes.

“No, Jingyi. Your gege has his own life.” His father spoke gently to him.

“I do.” A-Cheng stated frowning his lips as he glanced at XiChen. “I’ll leave you two alone. Don’t worry, I’ll get a cab to go back home. Goodbye, JingYi, go back to sleep.”

He turned and grabbed his things before leaving.

Chapter Text

At least something he could grant the man was that he could read the mood. That Monday, Lan XiChen didn’t show up for their afternoon tea. He somehow always knew when his presence was certainly unwanted. However, he wasn't shy in relying on him to go pick up JingYi that day.

Jiang Cheng knew it wasn’t a trap. He had been given a set of keys for XiChen’s place some time ago, so taking the child there wouldn’t be a problem.

Unless Jingyi didn’t want to go with him, of course.

The child was sobbing profusely, making Jiang Cheng distraught. “JingYi, what is wrong?”

“I want my baba.”

“Baba is busy with work, let’s go home. I’ll take you.”

“No. I want baba!”

“Baba can’t come.”

“I don’t want to go with gege. Gege is mean! I don’t like gege at all.”

Jiang Cheng was stunned silent. The looks of the teachers and other parents made him further embarrassed. He had never had JingYi throw a tantrum while with him, he was at loss. To make it worse, the child had even gone as far as to make it clear he was the problem. “A-Yi… come on. Your baba asked me to take you home because he is busy.”

“I want baba to come.”

Jiang Cheng sighed and stood up properly, defeated. He grabbed his phone and called the man.

“Jiang Cheng, is anything wrong?” He sounded out of breath.

“Uh… um… Jingyi refused to go home with me. He is crying… asking for you.”

“Is he? Pass the phone to him, please.” XiChen sighed.

The child’s face looked bullied as he spoke to his father, he even went as far as to slam his foot into the ground and began sobbing as he heard whatever his father was telling him. “I want baba! Not uncle Wangji.” He sniffed, blowing his nose with his own tissues. “Okay… I’ll wait.” JingYi moved his backpack, settling it in place better. He gave Jiang Cheng a side glance and approached him to give the phone back. 

“XiChen? What should I do?”

“My car is not with me, can you wait there and drive us home?”

“Okay.”

Less than ten minutes later, XiChen had arrived in a taxi. 

“Baba.” The child darted in the parent’s direction.
“Jingyi, you should apologize to the teacher for making a ruckus, it’s okay to not feel good but I heard you screaming. You’ve troubled the teacher and your gege.”

Jingyi nodded softly and bowed to his teacher, apologizing properly. He side-eyed Jiang Cheng, blurting a soft apology. Lan XiChen didn’t seem happy to have come. Jiang Cheng nodded in acknowledgement and guided them to his car.

When they sat inside, Lan XiChen turned to his child. “A-Yi, tell baba why you didn’t want to be picked up by your gege please.” XiChen’s voice was mellow towards his child.

“Gege made baba cry.” The child sounded like he was pouting.

XiChen’s frown emerged as he turned his eyes towards his child. “Is that why?”

“Yes. Gege made baba cry the last time he was with us. He didn’t apologize.”

The father sighed. “I see. That is it…“

“Make XiChen cry?” Jiang Cheng slowly loosened his body, enough to talk. “I didn’t.”

“You did!”

“JingYi.” XiChen warned.

A-Cheng could hear the little one huff.

“Please take us home.” Lan Huan’s eyes glanced at him, calmer than before.

Slowly, he moved his limbs, putting on his seatbelt and getting in place to drive. He stayed silent, breathing as quietly as he could. The silence in the car allowed him to pretend that he was alone, diminishing the discomfort of the atmosphere.

Finally, he parked in front of their building. “Here, go home.” Lan XiChen gave his child the key to the apartment complex. “Baba will be right up.”

“Okay.” He whispered before getting out of the car.

XiChen sighed and stared at his son all the way until he got into the building. “I am sorry. I never expected him to act in such a way.”

Jiang Cheng sighed, shaking his head. “Don’t mind it. Just go take care of your child. I would offer to keep him in my care if you needed to go back but it’s clear he wouldn’t like it… Oh, and make it right. If he saw you crying, tell him it wasn’t because of me.”

“It was because of you.”

Astonished, Jiang Cheng stared at him blankly. “When?”

“Last saturday.”

“Why?”

“Because I am tired, Jiang Cheng.” Lan Huan looked at him. “I am tired of this.”

“This?” He felt lost, trying to understand everything that had come so suddenly.

“I don’t know what you want from me. I don’t know how to make you love me.”

“I-” He didn’t even have time to get mad because of him, troubled with words as he felt the heat on his face.

“I can have it all but you, it is both infuriating and frustrating. Am I too forceful? Is it because of that kiss? You use the hairpins I gave you almost every time I see you but you don’t seem to show you are interested in more in any way; Yet you come to my house, cook for us, clean for us, help me with the child. It is like having a wife but being unable to love her properly. You give me everything but dont allow me to give you anything in return. It is excruciatingly painful.”

“XiChen…”

“Don’t do that. Don’t XiChen me. Reject me already, A-Cheng. I am tired of this, I am tired of waiting for you to tell me what you want. You have said you like me, you have shown me you like me. However, nothing comes out of it.”

“I… XiChen I need time.”

“It’s been enough time. I am ready to stop keeping my hopes up. I am not waiting a-”

“I do love you. I do love you.” Jiang Cheng blurted hurriedly. “I just don’t know if I am ready to go out with you yet.”

“You do?”

“Why do you think I got so involved with you?” He moved his hands nervously over the steering wheel, looking around the neighborhood to avoid him. “I... wanted to make your life easier.” His tone fell. “But when you said you wanted A-Lian back... I am not a woman, XiChen. I am a man and I can’t and will not change that.”

Lan XiChen’s voice brightened.. “I don’t care about you being a man at all, Jiang Cheng. I just missed the old days where you would smile and speak to me without anything between us. When you cooked for me and served me tea, it felt comfortable.”

He sighed again, lowering his gaze.

“What is it that has you second guessing?” XiChen pushed his chin up gently, meeting his eyes again.

A-Cheng tried to look away.

“Chengcheng, speak to me. What is it? You know what I do for work and didn’t seem to mind. You put your heart out for my child and he really likes you. Today was the first time he was upset at you and it was because of me, but he has scolded me in the past for bullying you too much.”

“XiChen…” Jiang Cheng pushed his hand away.

“Stop.” He felt his fingers coiling around his wrist. “Why? What is it? I’ve given you a place in my life and you have accepted it all along.”

He inhaled one shaky breath, closing his eyes before his vision was blurry. How could he say it? How could he admit that he so desperately wanted to accept him? What he feared the most was how vulnerable he felt by his side. XiChen had always been the stronger one, so reliable and so charming.

Soon enough, he found himself in his embrace. “Tell me, A-Cheng. I can’t read your mind.”

Jiang Cheng hugged him, allowing himself to cry as much as he wanted. XiChen distracted him from his aching eyes and nose with back rubs. 

“Come up, we can talk about this better after a cup of tea.”

Nodding was all he could muster the strength to do. He grabbed one of the tissue’s from the glove box, blowing his nose. XiChen got off first, opening the door to the driver’s side and extending his hand towards his crying sweetheart. 

“You don’t have to do that.”

“But I want to.”

Shyly, he accepted his hand and got off as well. The adults entered the building and then knocked on the apartment door. “JingYi, baba’s here.”

JingYi opened the door. “We made up, you gege apologized to me.”

Jiang Cheng side-eyed XiChen, why was he lying? XiChen just smiled at him. “And I think you owe your gege a heartfelt apology for being rude to him earlier. You can be mad but not disrespectful.”

The child looked up to Jiang Cheng, then averted his gaze. A-Cheng felt slightly relieved seeing how he actually felt remorseful.

“I am sorry, gege… I didn’t like that you made my baba cry… don’t do it again.”

“I promise I will try my best not to, unless they are happy tears.”

“Okay.”

“Apologies accepted.”

He came closer and suddenly hugged him. Jiang Cheng caressed his head. “Next time, speak to me. Okay?”

“I will.”

“Good boy.”

“What about some tea?”

“I want some.” JingYi smiled.

“Do you have homework?“

Peace was restored smoothly. XiChen brewed tea two times, surprisingly good.

Chapter Text

They sat on the bed, with the door closed. Jiang Cheng hugged his legs. “Don’t laugh.”

“I won’t. I am serious. I want to know.”

“I am terrified.” He looked away.

“Of me?” There was anguish on his voice.

“No. Not of you… of leaning on you.”

“Am I unreliable?”

“To the contrary, you are more than reliable, it feels strange.”

“Why are you scared of leaning on me?”

“When you are with someone, you have to trust them. You have to be able to rely on them, and have them rely on you.”

“And you can’t rely on me.”

“It is not your fault… Despite it all, I fully trust you will take well care of me. I am just… unable to let my guard down. I don’t think I will be able to ask you for help even if I need it.”

“Like what happened with the provider?”

“Yeah… I just… I am not used to people being reliable around me.”

“Hum…”

“I am sorry.”

“Don’t be… I am just thinking.” He moved closer and hugged him. “What if you didn’t have to rely on me?”

“Wouldn’t you be mad?”

“I think that we can work it out. If you trust me, then we can slowly work out a way for you to come to me for help more often. I don’t think you really need me like you think you do.”

“It is not about needing you, but people do tend to get frustrated with me because I don’t ask for help.”

“Then I will keep an eye on you and offer you a hand from time to time.”

Jiang Cheng sighed softly, relaxing his shoulders. “Won’t that be more work for you? You don’t have to.”

“I want to. I promise I won’t end up resenting you. Keeping relationships whether romantic or not requires work.”

“I am not sure I am reliable enough for you.”

XiChen pressed A-Cheng’s back against his own chest. “You are. You are one of the few people I trust my child with. You also know fully well what I do for a living and you didn’t go around announcing it. I trust you. I trust you with what is most important in my life.”

“Your child?”

“Yes.”

“What if he ends up not liking me?”

“I hope that doesn’t happen, but you need to know I will choose him above all. However, I do trust he will like you.“

“What about the future?”

“What do you want to know about that? Are you thinking about moving in together?”

“Won’t this hinder our work relationship?”

“I don’t think so. ‘This’ has been going on for quite some time already, and we haven’t gone bankrupt.”

Jiang Cheng leaned on him, looking at the roof. “I’ve never been with a man.”

“Are you worried about sex?”

He closed his eyes, pushing down the shame. In a small voice he let out a: “Yes.”

“What is it that has you worried?”

“What if you don’t like the way I do it because I am inexperienced?”

“I can be patient. And I can teach you some things, you can teach me some others.”

“Teach you?” He let out a laugh, but it wasn’t funny. “What can I teach you?”

“Look A-Cheng. Just because I’ve been with men doesn’t mean I know it all. You will have to teach me what you like, and I will teach you what I like. And if you don’t know what you like, then we can discover it together.”

“You seem to have it all figured out.”

“I’ve been told I am reliable.”

Jiang Cheng felt goosebumps as his lips grazed his neck. “I don’t think I am ready to have sex right away.”

“I can wait for you.”

“What if you get impatient?”

“I will tell you.”

“Will you?”

“Sexual desire can be satisfied in different ways. I am curious about you. Are you really attracted to me sexually?”

His body squirmed. “Yes.”

“Have you fantasized about me?”

XiChen’s hand felt hot even over the borrowed t-shirt he was wearing as pajamas. “Have you?”

“Plenty. I have quite a good memory of how tight clothes fit you.”

“You are shameless.”

“There is nothing shameful in desiring the one you love… Furthermore, I have quite a few fantasies.”

“Which ones?”

“You must know I don’t only find the act of penetration attractive, there is plenty of fulfillment in just touching. When I told you I can wait for you, I had in mind many other different ways we could please each other.”

“Have you really thought about it so much?”

“I have… I am slightly worried about whether you are really attracted to me sexually or not.”

“How could I know that? I just think I do. It is not like I could ask you to touch me so I could confirm it.”

“Why not?”

“Because…“ 

“Because?”

“I don’t know. I don’t even know what we should do so I could know.”

“Have you acknowledged I have a penis? You know what they look like.”

“I have… I made up my mind about it. About how you probably want me to be the woman of the relationship-”

“Stop.” His tone was firm enough for A-Cheng to fall silent. “I don’t want you to be ‘the woman’. I know I have said you are like my wife as a joke, but I don’t think that those who get fucked are the woman of the relationship. I do admit I have imagined yourself spreading your legs for me but I don’t like the concept of woman and man in a relationship that isn’t heterosexual. We are both men regardless of what we like to do in our bed. If you were to fuck me, would you call me your woman?”

“No.”

“Then I wouldn’t call you my woman either.”

“Okay.“

“So… you were talking about being a bottom.”

“I don’t know. Just that. I thought you would want me to be one.”

“I do. Are you okay with it?”

“I guess. As long as it doesn’t hurt.”

“It will probably hurt the first time. And it might ache inside sometimes, but the pain shouldn’t be too grave if we take enough time to relax you and lube you up.”

“Will you really be patient?”

“I will. I don’t want to hurt you, or you will not want to do it again.”

“Then I don’t mind being the… bottom.”

“Okay. What about we try to play around a little bit before we officially call it dating? I know I said I wanted an answer, but you seem unsure about whether you are sexually attracted to me.”

“You don’t want to be my partner?”

“Of course I do. But I don’t want you to feel pressured to have sex with me or do anything sexual if we label ourselves as partners.”

“Will you stop when I tell you to stop?”

“I will.”

Jiang Cheng closed his eyes, grounding himself. The way he sounded so soft and gentle and he behaved so patiently with him now made him feel warm. It was the same side he had seen plenty of times before. He felt safe.

“Will you go out with me, XiChen?”

His joyous tone revealed that he was smiling. “I never thought there would come a day where I would hear such words from my Chengcheng. Of course, I will date you.”

He was squeezed in a tight grip, but not tight enough that prevented him to turn around and kiss him. 

Keeping his lips shut with a kiss was a way more fun than A-Cheng had expected to keep him from saying embarrassing things any further, it was also an effective method. Lan XiChen licked his lip. Although not the first time he had done it, Jiang Cheng felt goosebumps. He lowered his knees, getting himself comfortably laying on his legs, before crawling over him to deepen the kiss. The pressure over his mouth felt hot. Soft, moist sounds came from their lips moving. Jiang Cheng moved his hand to cup Lan XiChen’s nape, feeling the hold he had on his back tighten. Panting warm air against the other’s face, he refused to open his eyes. Shame washed over him as he hid his face on the crook of XiChen’s neck.

Not used to the sensation of sitting on someone’s lap, his hips hovered over his body, despite their chest rubbing. He had moved following his natural response, not thinking too much of it. With that, he now found himself over the man, the previous topic’s atmosphere present around them.

The lingering sensation over his lips was tantalizing. Lan XiChen remained silent, centering him further into his thoughts. He moved his fingers, caressing his nape slowly with even pressure. His long silky hair tickled the back of his hand, Jiang Cheng’s own hair fell braided on his side.

He wondered whether XiChen’s heart throbbed as violently as his. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“Are you comfortable hovering over me?” His hands made him shiver as he lowered them to just his waist.

“I weigh.”

“Not as much as you think.”

“I am a full grown man.”

“You don’t have to lower yourself if you don’t want to. Do you want me to release you?”

Jiang Cheng didn’t answer, instead, he sat on his legs. It wasn’t uncomfortable. He licked his lips, his body getting used to being so close to him. Lan XIChen’s gaze wandered around his face, indecisive of whether to focus on his lips or eyes.

The air thickened as he leaned closer, a short distance away. His craving made him move forward, holding XiChen’s nape in a tight grip.

XiChen’s fingertips pressed his back as his hands lowered from his waist to his hips. With goosebumps over his skin and his nerves lighting up, he melted in his embrace.

A-Cheng panted. Their bodies pressed closer.

"Can I lower my hands?" His partner whispered in his gruff voice.

"Yes." It gave Jiang Cheng a deep sense of security to be asked for permission, but it also made his heart pound harder. His hands were big. He had seen them before, yet still was surprised to feel his fingers extending longer and longer, holding his ass completely in his grasp.

Kissing him was a distraction from his embarrassment. The pressure against his lips felt intoxicating. It had been so long since he had sexual desire for someone, the heat flooded his senses. His tongue pushed and moved, so did his hands. Jiang Cheng’s body pressed forwards, trying to fuse their bodies together. Mind and body relaxed on their own, and he began rocking his hips gently against him. His fingertips dug on his nape and back, not allowing room for doubt. High on dopamine and low on oxygen, both explored each other with gentle pressure.

Fully clothed, Jiang Cheng understood the power the man had over him. Had he not sat down on his lap, his knees would have given in, and it wasn’t because of age. “We should stop.” His partner put to fingers against his mouth to gain distance.

“Are you uncomfortable?” He moved back to give him some space, finally breathing.

“I don’t want to get hard.“

Jiang Cheng looked down to his lap, then swallowed nervously. He gave it a thought. “Can I?”

“What does my Chengcheng want?” His voice was mellow as his thumb caressed A-Cheng’s cheek.

“I want to feel what it’s like to touch it.” He furiously blushed, looking away.

“I am willing as long as you feel comfortable with it.”

Answering was too shameful, so he spoke with actions. After a deep breath, he made the first move. Hands, hips and lips moved vigorously, exploring. The unknown wasn’t as scary as Jiang Cheng uncovered what it felt to arouse him. His hand moved slowly at first, scared to hurt him. XiChen’s moans made him confident and he soon discovered how to best please him. His boyfriend wasn’t shy about returning the favor. Making use of his tongue trained in sweet-talking him, Jiang Cheng had an orgasm as well.

It became apparent there wasn’t a shadow of doubt that the attraction was mutual. Unknowingly, Jiang Cheng allowed himself to rely on Lan XiChen as intimacy became the norm and not the exception. They found comfort even on the tiniest of affection, and Jiang Cheng found he loved to be held gently from behind as he read to both father and child during the nights he stayed over.

The responses from everyone were somewhat welcoming. Yes, Wei WuXian whined a bit about his didi and at first, Jiang Cheng’s parents were a bit uncomfortable with the news; however, the choice whether to stay together or not wasn’t theirs, but the couple’s. The business was booming, JingYi was joyous to have gege around more often and their employees threw them a small party, glad to have them bantering again over their afternoon tea in the shop’s kitchen. Everything fell into place.

Chapter Text

There was a sense of nostalgia as the pungent citrusy scent of tangerine mixed with chocolate in his new kitchen. His recipe scribbled on that small notebook he used to take to his office, the industrial size container in which he would put the pastries to feed his army of subordinates, it all made him smile. He packed them all tight and closed the container.

A-Cheng was slightly sad to not be able to give them directly to him, but he was out and working. “Well, then I will leave these to you. Share them with everyone. They are tangerine pastries with a layer of dark chocolate on top. Beware if any of you is allergic to those ingredients.” He smiled at the receptionist and turned around to leave.

That afternoon, after picking up the child, he was met with a giggling Lan XiChen. His smile was greater than ever. JingYi was doing his homework in his room while Jiang Cheng checked the business accounts.

XiChen hung his coat next to the door after lowering his keys. “Well…” He giggled again, his smile increasing in size. “My people were beyond surprised.”

“About what? That I brought them food?” Even if they didn’t know, it wasn’t the first time he fed them.

“That A-Lian looks as beautiful as a woman than as a man.”

Jiang Cheng stood still.

“They even apologized for what they said to me when I told them that you were my man.”

The man had trained to perfection his ability to make him embarrassed. He hid his blush behind his hand.

“However, I would love that next time you came when I was in.” XiChen placed himself behind him, whispering into his ear to further his embarrassment. “So I can properly thank you over my desk like last time.”

“Shut up.”

Lan XiChen brushed his nape with a fleeting kiss. “Where is JingYi?”

“In his room, doing his language homework.” He put his hand over where he had been kissed. “He was waiting for you.”

“I’ll go check that he hasn't drooled over his books again.”

“If he is asleep, lay him down on his bed.”

“I will.” This time, he pecked his lips before going to his child’s room.

Slowly but surely, their new routine took its shape. Baba left JingYi at school and gege picked him up. The boy had no problem with spending his time with the both of them and loved to cook with gege. They loved to surprise XiChen with homemade snacks as well.

One of the nights in which gege and didi were cooking together, Jiang Cheng had to call the man who was expected to come home soon.

Lan XiChen lowered his eyes to the man on the floor. He pressed the man’s neck with his boot. “Stay silent.” With a gentle smile, he received the call. “Hello, my love. Is everything alright?”

“Are you on your way?”

“Not yet, trouble came up.” When his eyes lowered to the one who owed him money, his expression turned sinister.

“Will it take too long?”

“No, I will soon be free. Did you need something?”

“Yes, we are out of rice. I wanted to ask if you could bring some from the store. I used what was left to make a congee. But if you are busy I will go out tomorrow for it.”

“Don’t worry, I am going. See you soon, my love.”

“See you soon.”

XiChen smiled as he took out a glove. He placed it over his left hand and grabbed his gun. “You are lucky I am in a good mood today.” With a gloved hand, he pulled the trigger, rendering the man’s left arm useless for at least a few months. The thief’s wails weren’t exaggerated. “Hurts like a fucker, doesn’t it?” Lan XiChen chuckled, walking off. He himself knew that pain quite well.

One shop trip later, he went back home. “Hi.” The new 20kg bag of rice took the place of the old one. Jiang Cheng had JingYi on his side, teaching him how to stir the pot safely. His hair was half up on a messy bun and half down, long and beautiful resting on his back.

“Welcome home.” His Chengcheng said, looking at him.

XiChen tried to kiss him but ended up kissing the palm of his hand. “Go shower, you smell like work.” That was their code to say he smell like blood. Sighing, he went and showered before coming back on a towel to kiss his partner.

“Careful.” Jiang Cheng lowered his knife on the cutting board. “You… don’t hug me from behind like this. I am handling a knife to cut vegetables… Are you naked? Go get some clothes on before. You will get sick. Don’t be stupid.” 

“Just a kiss.”

Jiang Cheng sighed and kissed him. “Go already.”

“Yes, my love.”

Unless they saw them interact, probably no one would have believed how smitten and well-behaved the man behaved behind closed doors.