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Jiang Cheng can't believe he's actually doing this. He just wants to spend one single normal holliday on his life. He had made plans of staying home all day, reading his favorite novel, and maybe watching something on netflix while eating popcorn.
Now, thanks to Wei Wuxian, he's in a car with four teenagers, one big baby that calls himself his older brother and this said brother's stupid boyfriend. And they're going to an amusement park, of all places. Jiang Cheng just wants to throw himself out of the car. It will be way more dignifying than going on a rollercoaster.
He only has agreed with this because of his nephew, Jin Ling. The boy had never gone to an amusement park before and he was so happy when his friend Lan Sizhui, Lan Wangji's son, had invited him to come along with their other friends, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen.
It was all Wei Wuxian's idea. He was the one who gave a ticket to the amusement park to Lan Sizhui as a birthday gift in the first place. This was when it all began.
When Wei Wuxian asked him to come with them, he promptly said, "Hell no." But when Jin Ling asked him to come along with them, he couldn't do the same. He doesn't say it too much, but he would do anything for his nephew. Although, this doesn't mean he can't be a bit grumpy about it now.
The rental car is big enough to fit them all inside. But Jiang Cheng regrets letting Lan Wangji drive it. He can't drive any slower! This way, they'll only arrive at the park tomorrow. And the music Wei Wuxian chose to play is the most horrible thing he has ever heard.
"C'mon Jiang Cheng! Sing along with us!" Wei Wuxian screams between the music lines he's singing at the moment. Not only him, but the boys are all singing along, making the car look like a free sample from Hell. No way he's going to help them.
"Wei Wuxian, just shut the fuck up! I don't even know how Lan Wangji is able to drive with so much noise," he pinches his nose.
"Hanguang-Jun is the best! I bet he can drive even with his eyes closed," Lan Jingyi eyes glow. Hanguang-Jun is Lan Wangji's stage name. He's a famous guqin player, and Lan Jingyi is his number one fan. Jiang Cheng didn't even know that this music style would attract a young crowd, but this kid is there to prove him wrong.
"Am I right?" Lan Jingyi looks at Wei Wuxian for approval.
"Of course! Lan Zhan is the best," Wei Wuxian says, making Lan Wangji's ears visibly turn to red.
Jiang Cheng is disgusted by this public love demonstration, but he's grateful they all stopped singing.
"Are we almost there?" Ouyang Zizhen asks. For the millionth time.
"How can I know? I don't have a map," Jin Ling answers him.
"Just use your phone," Lan Jingyi bickers.
"Why don't you use your phone? I'm saving battery so I can take pictures of you losers screaming in the rollercoaster," Jin Ling says smugly.
"Pfft, as if you won't be the first one to scream," Lan Jingyi laughs.
Jin Ling looks outraged.
"Uncle, are you gonna let him talk to me this way?" He frowns at Jiang Cheng.
Right now, he misses the bad music.
Luckily, before he is dragged into a teenager banter, Lan Sizhui interrupts them.
"Look guys, I can see the ferris-wheel from here!" he says enthusiastically.
"Wow," the other kids look at the window. And by the other kids, he means the teens and Wei Wuxian.
"It is so big," Wei Wuxian is mesmerized. "Lan Zhan, let's go there!"
"Mn," Lan Wangji replies without even sparing a glance.
"And, Jiang Cheng, I still haven't forgotten that you promised to go on the biggest rollercoaster with me!" Wei Wuxian grins.
Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. He can't remember promising such a thing.
They finally arrive at the park. It is full of people and the sun is too bright. Jiang Cheng is ready to go back home.
"So, where are we going first?" Lan Sizhui asks his friends.
"Rollercoaster!" Lan Jingyi exclaims.
"No, let's go to the Haunted Mansion before," Jin Ling demands.
"Why, are you afraid of the heights?" Lan Jingyi mocks.
"And you, afraid of the dark?" Jin Ling retorts.
Before they start fighting for real, Wei Wuxian gets in their way.
"Hey, you two, we have time to go to all the attractions. Don't worry!" He points to the ferris-wheel. "Why don't we go there first? We can see all the attractions from up there, and then we can choose where to go next!"
The kids seem to like his idea. Jiang Cheng has to admit that his brother is really good with children.
"Master Wei is right! Let's go there," Ouyang Zizhen punches the air full of animation.
Crisis averted.
"Jiang Cheng, I know you're not a fan of big heights, so you can come with me and Lan Zhan!" he grins mischievously.
Another crisis begins.
"Fuck you, Wei Wuxian! I'm not afraid of heights," Jiang Cheng frowns.
In fact, he didn't like the powerless sensation of being trapped in a metal cage many feet above the ground. But this doesn't mean he would ever admit it.
Lan Wangji, who was beside Wei Wuxian, glares at Jiang Cheng. "No cursing in front of the children," he says simply.
This is gonna be so much fun, he lies to himself.
For their luck, or not, the line wasn't really big, so they could quickly enter the ferris-wheels. Each cabin can fit up to three people. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji take the first cabin together, for everyone's happiness. Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi take the second. That leaves Jiang Cheng with Jin Ling and Ouyang Zizhen.
Jiang Cheng is trying very hard to not let the kids see he's scared. He should be a good example to them, after all.
When the cabin moves upwards, he closes his eyes. He doesn't want to see anything, thank you very much.
While he tries to imagine that he isn't really there, he feels someone hold his hand. He was so immersed in his own fear, that he didn't notice someone else was even more afraid than him.
Jin Ling chose to sit in the middle, and now he is squeezing both Jiang Cheng's and Ouyang Zizhen's hands.
"Jin Ling…" he says.
"Why did I agree with this?" Jin Ling's voice is low.
Ouyang Zizhen hugs him. "Everything is going to be ok. We can go down when we're back on the ground," he tries to soothe his friend.
"But what if we got stuck here?" Jin Ling whines.
Jiang Cheng pats his head. He completely forgets about his own fear. Right now his nephew needs him.
"If anything happens, I'll break everyone's legs when we go out."
He's not very good with inspirational speeches, but Jin Ling seems a bit calmer after hearing this.
Before they can think, they're back on the ground.
"Well, this was fast," Jin Ling says, sounding embarrassed. "Please, don't tell anyone about this."
"You can count on us," Ouyang Zizhen hugs him.
"Alright, Alright, let's go", then," Jin Ling says softly.
Children.
They quickly spot the others. It is pretty easy, since Wei Wuxian talks really loud.
"Jiang Cheng!" he screams. "Let's go to the rollercoaster while Lan Zhan takes the kids to the Haunted Mansion!" he's jubilant.
At the same time, Lan Jingyi goes to his friends, bouncing. "Yes, Hanguang-Jun is coming with us, so we don't need to fear anything!" He grabs Jin Ling's and Ouyang Zizhen's arms, dragging them excitedly.
"But I'm not afraid," Jin Ling pouts.
"I'm not afraid either," Lan Jingyi puffs. "Who said anything about being afraid?"
"You did!" Jin Ling points.
Before they can argue any longer, Lan Sizhui gives one cotton candy each. "My dad bought these for us."
"Oh, I love cotton candy!" Lan Jingyi promptly starts to eat.
"Mn," Jin Ling agrees, already eating his own.
"Lan Zhan, can I get one too?" Wei Wuxian whines.
Hearing this, Lan Wangji gives his own cotton candy to him. "Everything mine is yours," he says solemnly.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian looks like he would melt into a puddle.
Jiang Cheng can't take this anymore.
"Alright, alright, let's go to the rollercoaster." Anything is better than this.
"Yay!" Wei Wuxian celebrates. "Lan Zhan, have fun with the kids! We'll see you later!" he waves.
Jiang Cheng, once again, tries to remember why he had agreed with this. He must have lost his mind. That's the only possible explanation. Seeing himself trapped at the rollercoaster car with his stupid brother beside him, he asks himself how he ended up in this situation.
"Jiang Cheng, let's take a picture to send to jiejie!" Wei Wuxian gets his phone from his pocket and takes a picture of them. "Aw, Jiang Cheng, why are you frowning at the camera?" he whines.
Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes.
"Be careful, this thing may start moving in any moment," he glares. "If you drop your phone, I won't help you get a new one."
Wei Wuxian chuckles and puts his phone back in his pocket.
"That's fine, Lan Zhan can buy me a new one," Wei Wuxian jokes.
"You have no shame, treating your boyfriend like a wallet," Jiang Cheng crosses his arms, judging his brother.
"It's not my fault that besides being the most beautiful, intelligent, sweet, and adorable person in the world, Lan Zhan is also super duper rich and likes to spoil me," he shrugs, grinning.
"How disgust- AAAAAAAAAA!" he stops in the middle of the word to scream. The car is just moving. He is not prepared for it. "What's happening?"
"We're going up! Jiang Cheng, brace yourself," Wei Wuxian says excitedly.
The way up in the rollercoaster is the worst part. The anticipation of the inevitability that is coming with the fall, the feeling of powerlessness of knowing that you can't go back now, and the sound of the idiot laughing happily beside you. Jiang Cheng thinks he's going to pass out.
If he dies today, he wants to leave everything he has to Jin Ling and to his dogs.
When they arrive at the top, the car stops for a moment, just enough to take a single breath. And, then, they're going down.
They're going so fast that Jiang Cheng doesn't even have the time to process what's happening. The feeling of going up and down and being upside-down, he is kind of liking it. He must have dropped his common sense in the last loop, because now he realizes that this is actually fun.
But when he's finally enjoying the ride, the car stops. They've come to the end of the rollercoaster. Unacceptable!
"Wei Wuxian! We're going again," he says fiercely.
Wei Wuxian laughs.
"Hell yeah!" he playfully punches his brother's shoulder. "My didi is finally learning about the fun things in life. I'm so proud of you," he fakes a tear.
"Shut up," he rolls his eyes, fondly.
After riding the rollercoaster for the millionth time, they finally stop to go meet the others. The kids are all running around excitedly.
"Uncle!" Jin Ling calls both his uncles.
"You should have come with us!" Ouyang Zizhen says.
"It was amazing!" Lan Jingyi punches the air.
"We were expelled," Lan Sizhui smiles timidly.
"Wow, what happened?" Wei Wuxian interjects, more curious than worried.
Lan Jingyi wraps his arm around Jin Ling's shoulders. "Jin Ling is a hero! There was this zombie coming to Lan Sizhui's direction, but then Jin Ling kicked his leg!" his eyes glow as he tells the story. "Well, the zombie was actually an actor, so we were expelled after this, but it was totally awesome!"
Wei Wuxian laughs.
Jiang Cheng is so proud of his nephew. He didn't even think before jumping into danger to help his friend. Jiejie, Wei Wuxian, himself – and even that idiot Jin Zixuan – made a great job raising him.
"Jin Ling, I'm proud of you," Jiang Cheng pats his nephew's head. "You learned very well. If there was a real zombie, you would have ended him for sure," he says honestly.
Jin Ling blushes. "Thank you, uncle."
"Yay, Jin Ling!" Wei Wuxian hugs him. "You gonna have to show this uncle how to defeat zombies later," he grins. "But now we're gonna eat the biggest ice cream ever! You can choose the most expensive one! Jiang Cheng is paying."
Wait. Why is he paying?
"Wei Wuxian, why am I paying? You just said you have a rich boyfriend, he should pay!" Jiang Cheng complains, but Wei Wuxian just ignores him, walking to the ice cream stand with all the kids around him.
Lan Wangji twitches his mouth into a… smile? Jiang Cheng had never seen his face different from expressionless or annoyed. He can't believe even Lan Wangji is laughing at him. Then, he politely nods at him and follows Wei Wuxian.
Jiang Cheng is not sure why he agreed with coming to the amusement park with them, but he's glad he did. Although, he won't ever say this out loud, obviously.