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He suspected that if it hadn't been for the fact that his company had begun to think about withdrawing support for research conducted in the laboratory belonging to the Wen family, he would never have found out what exactly was hidden in the basement of the building. There were some things one didn't talk about out loud and mostly didn't want to hear about, assuming that it was just safer that way, that it was better to cut off, run away and pretend that one had no idea about anything.
Such behavior was at the same time understandable and very frightening, because sometimes people began to wonder what actually could be hidden from them, what could be shielded, what could be considered so dangerous, that they had no idea about it. Many people heard about supernatural phenomena, whispered about them in corners, there were some, who stubbornly believed in them, but nevertheless did everything, so that these didn't see the light of day.
That was why Lan Xichen wasn't too surprised when, in the end, the lab's management decided to let their most generous sponsors in on secrets that weren't made public. Many of them were disgusting, and the man would rather not hear about them. However, he could see the other attendees gazing curiously at the things that could safely be considered bioweapons, which were nothing pleasant.
Fortunately, there were also those who were much more interested in mutations and genetic crossings of plants that could help feed the world's population. For Lan Huan, it was all a bit crazy, there were pipe dreams he couldn't understand, but at the same time he could accept that certain inventions of the Qishan Wen Laboratory staff had a lot of hope in them for a better future.
Nevertheless, the man hadn't expected that on that day he would encounter a miracle he couldn't fully comprehend. A miracle that angered and frightened him at the same time, a miracle that made his faith in everything he had ever known shattered, and he could no longer look at what was happening around him with the same indifference as before. Lan Xichen had been a great advocate of treating every living being with the proper respect, and now he stood in front of a thick glass window and couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He couldn't find the right word to describe the being right in front of him. In the bright, steel-gray eyes, he saw anger, grief, bitterness, he saw all the anger of the world, all the pain that couldn't be ignored in any way. All of this was behind the supposed ignorance, behind the supposed freedom and strength that the already chained being apparently lacked. For the fact that it was impossible to get out of the relatively narrow aquarium was more than certain to Lan Huan.
The glass was probably armored, and there were bars hiding at the top, and if he looked more closely, he would certainly see further safeguards to stop the creature from escaping. Was it a siren? Perhaps a dragon? He didn't know himself, but it didn't matter, it didn't matter to him that the man staring at him, as he chose to think of him, could turn out to be something terrifying. He was stuck in a trap, and his indifference was strangely compelling.
When Lan Huan moved, this one also made a move, eventually turning his back on him, trying to hide from his gaze. It had nowhere to run, no room to make a proper move, and Lan Xichen felt a shiver run through him at the thought of how tired and restrained the strange creature must have been. Later, the financier noticed the wounds on the merman's body, and before he could stop himself, he lifted his hand to try and place his palm on the glass.
However, that wasn't the case for him. Wen Ruohan's fingers tightened on his wrist, shaking his head hastily and assuring him that he had no desire to find out just how dangerous this creature could be. For a moment, the older man pointed out to his guest the razor-sharp scales, the long claws, the horns, which could also be considerable weapons. Yes, there was no doubt that the creature would be able to defend itself, but probably not in these conditions.
"What happened to him?" asked Lan Xichen softly, interrupting Wen Ruohan's argument, making it clear that he was aware of the danger.
"He wasn't particularly convinced to befriend our people. Neither did his family," the lab chief stated, and a predatory smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Lan Huan heard quiet laughter behind him, and then realized that the other guests were nodding in understanding, only to immediately, with a shade of irony, start asking where the rest of those monstrous creatures were then. His heart began beating furiously as he waited for an answer, though he was sure he knew it, that he knew what was behind Wen Ruohan's cheeky, satisfied smile. He was sure he knew what was hidden in those dark, precipitous eyes.
Even so, Lan Xichen struggled to draw in air as the lab chief began to explain that they had no choice, that his people had to defend themselves if these disgusting creatures wouldn't cooperate with them. If that wasn't enough, he added at the very end that the enclosed creature was probably the weakest of them all, since in the end it let itself be caught like a common fish, almost swallowing the hook they left behind.
"Why do you keep it under such conditions? Don't you have money for anything better?" the financier asked after a long moment, when some guests had gone away to look at other things, and he was sure that he was now able to speak without anger, without fear.
"We haven't come up with anything better so far! We'd need incredibly resistant glass, the ability to hook up an electrical shield, so he's definitely not out of there. It's impossible to approach him at all, he's so wild! My niece did everything she could to keep him alive and treat his wounds, but he defended himself fiercely against it," Wen Ruohan said and smirked with a shade of displeasure.
"Since you've taken us on this trip today, I take it we have the right to choose something we'd like to fund?" replied Lan Xichen, trying to force himself to be calm, but it wasn't easy in the face of what he had just seen. "It seems to me that aquatic creatures need more space to live in ."
The lab chief smiled contentedly and noted that they could discuss the details later in his office, then unhurriedly moved away toward the other guests to answer any pressing questions. Lan Huan, meanwhile, remained in place, in the semi-darkness and blue glow cast by the surrounding lamps, trying to circle the small, for a merman, aquarium. He didn't want to frighten the man , he didn't want the man to consider him a threat, but he wanted to see if the man was sure he wasn't seriously injured.
Lan Xichen couldn't say where this concern came from in his heart, why he cared so much about this being who probably couldn't even understand him well, but he didn't want to leave here without finding out how things were. Already now he felt that at the bottom of his heart was born a rebellion, that he felt in some way annoyed, although he wasn't able to say in which direction exactly he should direct his anger.
Perhaps on himself, since he had nevertheless contributed money to the research conducted by Wen Ruohan and his staff? He couldn't completely exclude himself from this vicious circle, couldn't wash his hands of it and declare that he hadn't contributed in any way to the harm the man had suffered, nor could he say with complete honesty that he shouldn't blame himself for what must have happened to his fellows.
"Did..." he began uncertainly, trying to absorb the bright gaze that had made such an impression on him earlier. "Is something hurting you?"
He was aware that his question was just plain silly. After all, he didn't think that the man trapped in the aquarium was capable of talking to him, that he would want to do so, that he would even want to spend even a little of his time trying to understand what was wanted of him. Immediately, however, Lan Huan realized that the gaze he was given was full of understanding. And of mockery, which stunned him somewhat, and at the same time caused the tips of his ears to redden violently.
"I can... ask them to dress your wounds," Lan Xichen added, knowing by now that he sounded completely foolish, especially after what he had heard.
A slightly mocking smile appeared on the imprisoned siren's lips, and a moment later the water swirled violently, set in motion by a powerful swipe of its tail. There was also a quiet cracking sound, as if the sealed creature was trying to break the glass with its body, as if it was trying to get out of the confinement, and the next moment Lan Huan realized that deadly sharp claws were moving on the inside of the aquarium right at the level of his neck.
"I won't hurt you," he whispered, knowing how bad that sounded in the current situation.
The sound of hurried footsteps reached the man, and it occurred to him that laboratory workers were heading toward him, clearly disturbed by this sudden activity of the creature they had captured. Their presence only infuriated the man , and when Lan Xichen managed to catch his gaze, he saw in it a shadow of disgust and a silent accusation, to which he immediately shook his head. Without thinking about what he was doing, the financier asked that no one come near him.
He was aware that he risked a lot with his behavior, but at the same time he couldn't and didn't want to give it up, didn't want to leave completely empty-handed, knowing that he may have been able to do something. So he took a step back and simply remained there for a long time, not interested in anything else, any further exploration of the closed areas of the laboratory.
Lan Huan was aware that he was acting a bit irresponsibly at the moment, that he was betraying his choices quite a bit, but he actually didn't mind. That was what they had been taken here for, and since Wen Ruohan didn't protest, but rather gave tacit permission to choose something he wanted to focus on, the financier didn't actually have any remorse.
However, it was incredibly sad and hard for him to simply watch the merman enclosed in a small aquarium. The man calmed down, became indifferent, and again made it seem as if what was happening around him didn't matter to him. He curled up, his beautiful, long tail coiled like a snake's, wrapped his arms tightly around himself, protecting his chest, and then closed his eyes. He looked as if he had fallen into a dream, a lethargy from which he didn't want to awaken in any way, not having any desire to see what was happening around him.
That day, Lan Xichen didn't utter a single more word in the presence of the mysterious being. He did, however, spend quite a bit of time talking to Wen Ruohan and the people responsible for capturing the merman, rather emphatically noting that it was their duty to keep it in the best possible condition, not to make it into the unfortunate goldfish that people so insistently locked up in small spherical aquariums. The financier emphasized quite strongly what he wished for, suggesting that he was able to endow the lab quite generously, if only its employees were willing to work with him.
He was firm and relentless in his efforts. He knew he couldn't let go, he knew he couldn't let anyone else take any strong interest in what he and he were, and above all he knew he had to do anything to help. This, despite appearances, wasn't so easy. Not only were the lab workers not too firmly convinced to treat the captive creature gently, but the closed-minded man wasn't inclined to cooperate.
He fairly passively observed what was going on around him, merely following the movements of those who got overly close to him and fighting viciously when someone tried to get to him, making it difficult not only to heal his wounds but also to move him to a larger tank of water that had been specially prepared for him. That was the first of Lan Xichen's conditions when he said he was willing to fund the research. The second was that they were to handle the creature gently and have absolutely no right to harm it.
Wen Ruohan had agreed to this without batting an eye, but the financier was neither stupid nor blind and knew that some of his employees were strongly unhappy with this turn of events. That, however, was something Lan Huan had no intention of commenting on, at least as long as no information reached him that could shake up the agreement that had been created. Nevertheless, he didn't want to go on the warpath right away, knowing that this didn't necessarily lead to the right solutions. He was actually convinced of this.
Eventually, however, he was able to talk to Wen Qing, who admitted that she thought she knew a way to simply put the trapped man to sleep, so she could pull him out of the water, tend to his wounds, and in the process move him to a more comfortable, safer body of water. However, her proposal wasn't applauded by her co-workers, and it wasn't until she appealed to them with money that the plan was put into action.
It probably wasn't an absolute success, because after all, the woman had no idea how to heal some wounds, but the creature was actually moved to a safer place where it could finally truly stretch out, revealing its incredible beauty in the process. A beauty that only Lan Huan noticed, feeling a bit strange as he watched the merman swim hastily around the large aquarium. The man seemed to be looking for something, as if he needed something, as if he was missing something, and it wasn't hard to guess that he longed for freedom.
Behind the family. Whenever the financier tried to find out more, about his background, about what really happened when he was captured, he was met with a conspiracy of silence, with simple explanations that only hinted at cruelty, but didn't really offer any rational explanations. This, in turn, invariably annoyed him, causing him to wonder if he shouldn't start looking for answers on his own after all. He was also under the impression that Wen Qing knew something more, but he had no idea how to convince her to confide in him.
Feeling a growing anger and sadness, Lan Xichen came to the lab more and more often, making attempts to communicate with the trapped siren. Although he had provided him with greater security, he could see that the man was still suffering, and whenever possible, he sought refuge, wrapping his arms around himself as if they could give him at least a shadow of his former safety. One day when one of the lab workers, laughing loudly, suggested that they should put a stone castle in the aquarium, as for a fish, Lan Xichen caught a sharp glimpse of the trapped man .
"You really understand us," said the financier quietly, moving a little nearer to the glass, only to perceive the crooked smile of the prisoner, which at once hastily drifted away from him.
This discovery caused the financier's heart to start beating incredibly hard. He began to wonder if there was a way to somehow actually communicate with this magical being before his money proved to be insufficient incentive for Wen Ruohan. He didn't know what the owner of the lab might go to, but nonetheless, Lan Huan suspected that the man wouldn't hesitate to kill his research subject as he expressed himself to this unfortunate being.
In turn, this was causing him to begin to feel like he was trapped. He began to realize that he couldn't leave the man where he was, couldn't allow any further attempts to extract information from him, to conduct any research on him, because it was becoming more and more inhuman. It had been so from the beginning, but now, continued, it seemed to get worse and worse, more and more painful, more and more senseless.
Nevertheless, Lan Xichen didn't know what he should do yet, because he was aware that he couldn't just buy him out, no one would allow him to, or they would demand a price he couldn't pay. This in turn would cut him off actually completely and finally from this, as it was called, experiment, and this he definitely didn't want. Therefore, he knew that he had to find a way to communicate with the man before it was ultimately too late, before he was unable to do anything.
That's why he started bringing things with him that he associated with water. It may not have been very smart of him, but one day he managed to catch the attention of a creature, causing it to almost reach out towards him. Lan Huan knew that the shells he had brought came from the ocean, but apparently that didn't matter, they turned out to matter to the man, who stared at them with great curiosity until finally the financier told him to give them to him, which was met with much opposition at first.
He was firm in his resolve, however, and eventually the shells actually ended up in the water, only to be caught almost immediately by a merman swimming surprisingly fast. The man seemed not to stop even for a moment, as if that would cause him to then lose all the treasures he had been given. Lan Xichen was surprised to discover that the man had finally hugged the shells to his chest, almost curling up into a ball, weaving his tail into a knot and taking cover, collapsing into himself, as if with his whole self he wanted to say that this was the only way he was safe.
"I'll bring you more of them," Lan Huan announced as he got close enough to the aquarium and picked up the merman's gaze.
There was understanding in the gray eyes, but also uncertainty, because the man apparently didn't expect something like that and simply drifted away after a while, trying to get out of the financier's sight after all. But he undoubtedly understood him, which Lan Xichen thought was the most important thing in the world, believing that he would manage to tell him that one day he would take him away. He didn't know how, but he believed he would find a way, and nothing could stop him from doing so.
He was afraid, it is true, because he didn't know what this all may lead to in the end, he didn't know what may happen, what may still await them, but he didn't intend at this moment to turn away from the matter. Especially since he was beginning to get the impression that the research team members were getting impatient. For Lan Huan, on the other hand, this was nothing really unusual, and he guessed that his prohibitions didn't suit them.
Nevertheless, everything continued in the same way, at the same pace, and he only brought with him shells and other things that he actually associated with water. He also spent quite a bit of money to make sure that the body of water wasn't so monstrously empty, so that the creature enclosed in it would have a little more freedom. The financier didn't care one bit about the silly comments and laughter behind his back.
Lan Xichen wasn't stupid, and he was aware that the other donors had certainly picked better projects they wanted to oversee, but he temporarily didn't care. At least as long as there wasn't anything truly immoral about it, nothing that would lead to undue damage or anything like that. Besides, he had to admit that at some point he had begun to fear that he himself had begun to rub up against the obsession.
It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it sobered him enough that perhaps that was what helped him finally find something that caused him to make contact with the locked man . There were, after all, many legends of mermans, of their abilities, of how they lured sailors to themselves with their voices, only to then viciously and decidedly brutally take their lives. There was nothing romantic about it, but Lan Xichen was sure there was some truth in it.
So, perhaps somewhat unwisely, not knowing quite what he should be looking for, he began to ask that music begin to play in the room where the aquarium was located. Many days passed in failure, however, and countless times Lan Huan saw the closed man croaking, running away from the sound, hiding in places only he knew, just to get away from what he clearly didn't like at all.
However, he was undoubtedly curious about what was going on around him. He didn't really trust anyone, it was obvious, even towards Wen Qing he looked with a wrinkle in his nose, apparently expecting that she would decide to pull him out of the water again, but he followed their movements. He carefully watched what was going on and listened, about the latter Lan Huan had no doubt. Although they were unable to really talk, whenever they had the opportunity to do so, they watched each other through the armored glass without drawing attention to themselves from the others gathered.
The financier would then ask about various things, soon beginning to understand something more, seeing what the others didn't see, or at least that was what he tried to believe. Of course, he didn't want to assume in advance that he was able to comprehend the stranger, that he was able to assimilate his world, his behavior, his view of what surrounded him, but he had the impression that in all this mess they were beginning to get closer, attracted by curiosity.
The desire to free the creature grew stronger in Lan Huan with each passing day, and was finally solidified when the man finally took notice of one of the melodies, then spoke for the first time in his presence. And judging by the reaction of the lab workers, they had never heard his strange chanting before, which seemed to spread through the water, as if vibrating within it and floating somewhere further away.
A commotion ensued as everyone at once tried to register the phenomenon, treating it as another discovery, but Lan Huan paid no attention. He wandered along the walls of the aquarium, running his fingers over the glass, soon noticing that the man was doing the same. Only the glass separated them, nothing more, though it was also a barrier they were unable to cross for now. It didn't matter that much, though, not to the financier who was trying to listen with his whole self.
Probably this made him different from the rest of the gathered people, approaching the matter in a crude, scientific manner, which at the moment didn't help at all. He had to listen, he had to surrender to this, and not just break the event down into its elementary parts and look for something that could be called a breakthrough. You had to listen with your heart, not your ears, not your mind, nothing else.
It wasn't easy to understand what was in the song, not easy to make sense of it, but still, with each step, Lan Huan had the impression that he understood more and more. Gradually a picture of longing emerged before him, a picture of oblivion, rejection, ruin and the awareness of an end that had come sooner than anyone could have imagined. It was a tale almost as of old times, but at the same time there was something painfully present in it, painfully alluding to what had happened to the singing man .
"What shall I call you?" whispered the financier at last, unconsciously almost humming the words, betraying how melodious his voice was.
The siren spun in place, pressing himself against the glass wall. Lan Xichen could see the understanding in his eyes, he knew that this one knew perfectly well what he was asking him and probably had the answer, but only the heavens deigned to know if the financier would grasp it. He was afraid of that, afraid that he was too deaf to understand what would be communicated to him, for he didn't doubt that the secret would be revealed to him.
Not after he saw the certainty in the gray eyes, a confidence that was certainly not easy to come by, and certainly not under these circumstances. So he closed his eyelids, trying to calm himself to what was going on around him, trying to push away the laughter of the lab workers, their shouting, encouragement and silly remarks. That didn't matter in the slightest right now, something else mattered.
The name that rang out amidst the endless melody sounded strangely hard and soft at the same time, almost vibrating somewhere in the air. There was something about it that was somewhat associated with a howl, though at the same time, it was impossible to tell that there was anything wrong, something disturbing, or even painful about it. And although Lan Xichen guessed that he would never say the name correctly, not the way it should sound, he now knew how he should address the trapped being.
Wanyin.
This name accompanied them whenever others didn't pay attention to them. It had to be said that the discovery of Wanyin's manner of speaking had absorbed the laboratory staff and bought the financier a little more time. It gave him the opportunity to get to know the stranger better, to listen to his stories, to begin to understand his songs better.
Nevertheless, Lan Huan knew that they were still being watched, and he was also aware that Wen Ruohan was beginning to grow a little impatient, even a little contemptuous of what was going on. The financier suspected that other donors were more generous, or the projects they chose allowed for much more revenue. The man was aware that unprofitable ideas should be removed from the plans as soon as possible, so as not to block the work of entire teams, so he reckoned with various movements of the lab owner.
He had to admit, though, that Wen Ruohan's and his staff's decreased interest in what was going on with Wanyin was most to his advantage. It gave him more freedom to talk to him, in a somewhat frenetic way, communicating with him on a rather high level of abstraction, wandering between conjectures, between understatements and guessing what a metaphor was actually supposed to mean. This, however, didn't bother them at all.
There were days when Lan Xichen wondered if he was too naive to believe that what he and Wanyin had in common was more than a shadow of mere interest. He couldn't be sure that the mysterious being perceived reality the same way he did, couldn't be sure what her life had been like before she had actually been captured. Wanyin didn't in any way flinch from explaining anything to him, perhaps fearing that someone else understood his words, or perhaps wanting to keep it to himself.
Whatever the case, Lan Huan began to notice that he was losing more and more strength, that he was becoming lethargic, and that the beautiful colors with which his scales shone were beginning to fade. The financier talked to Wen Qing about it, but she only shook her head helplessly, gritting her teeth tightly. One day, she slipped a piece of paper into his hand, but only hastily wrote down a short note suggesting that if they couldn't get Wanyin out of the lock-up, he would soon die.
These words were a real blow to Lan Xichen, and at the same time, they forced him to act. He knew that getting Wanyin out of the lab bordered on the miraculous, but he had to find a way to do it; the last thing he was going to do now was spread his arms helplessly and say he couldn't do anything. That would be a nasty outright lie, so he set about planning, doggedly trying to get Wen Qing involved in this madness. It wasn't easy, though, as the woman clearly didn't intend to get involved in this matter in any big way.
However, she suggested to Lan Huan that the safest time would be the evening of the charity ball her uncle was organizing, at which time they intended to collect donations. This meant that there wouldn't be many people in the lab, as most would choose to watch the rich wanting to save the world from cancer, starvation, and a host of other problems that could be solved with the latest technology.
This, of course, still didn't give him the answer to what he was supposed to do and how to deal with the problem of getting Wanyin out of the lab, but it actually gave him a lot of options. Lan Xichen knew that he would bring a lot of trouble on himself with this, but at the same time he was aware that if he only succeeded, Wen Ruohan would have no way to do anything about it. He could accuse him of stealing, yes, but he would have to find a way to prove it and good enough lawyers who were able to face the law firm hired by the financier's company.
There wasn't a person in the country who didn't know that the law firm run by the Jin family for generations was simply the best. In fact, it never happened that they lost a case, so Lan Huan wasn't worried about this issue. He also knew that redeeming Wanyin was impossible, as Wen Ruohan had once mentioned to him in passing that he would have to give him all his wealth to let him take such a treasure for himself. They were therefore at an impasse, but the man knew that this would soon change.
The blow came at a moment that virtually anyone would have expected. However, since Lan Xichen didn't want Wen Ruohan to suspect anything, he showed up at the charity party. He auctioned off some items, showed up among the guests, there wasn't a person who hadn't seen him, who wouldn't be able to confirm that the man was at the party that evening. He needed this to lull his opponent's vigilance, he needed this to get to the lab quietly.
However, he didn't expect the whole plan to actually fall through when he received a phone call from Wen Qing. The woman sounded strangely unnatural, speaking hurriedly, saying that he should come to the lab as soon as possible, that she didn't want to inform his uncle about anything for now, and knowing how important the project he had patronized was to him, she preferred to call him first.
She waited for him at the main entrance of the lab, from where she hurriedly cleared security, and then told the financier in a whisper that she had already had her brother secure the camera footage. It was obvious that she was stressed, that she was afraid of what might happen, but at the same time she kept her professionalism and seemed to put on a good face. However, she didn't hide the fact that there was a problem, a serious problem, which they had to solve as soon as possible.
"They attacked him when he was left alone. I was in the studio, and before I knew what was happening, a fight ensued," she said quietly as they boarded the elevator to descend to the rooms located underground.
Lan Huan felt his heart beating hard, but he only glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. He had no idea how much she could tell him now, how much she could explain to him, but he got the impression that she was still worried that someone might overhear them. Only when they entered the dilapidated room did Wen Qing breathe more deeply and cursed under her breath, hurriedly walking over to the small aquarium where Wanyin was formerly kept.
Lan Xichen didn't realize until a moment later that the woman had crossed over someone else's body, and he didn't like that at all. His anxiety increased rapidly, so he hurriedly moved behind Wen Qing while asking her what actually happened here and what he should expect at this moment. He was afraid that his whole plan would be unnecessary, as he would have no one to save anymore, and this thought violently tugged at his heart.
"He survived, otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered to call," Wen Qing stated, glancing hastily at Lan Xichen. "He's injured, but he can't stay here much longer. My brother will help us get him out of here."
The financier blinked, somewhat stunned by all this information, but eventually nodded in agreement. All indications were that they actually had very little time to help Wanyin, and the way the woman expressed herself, how she rushed Lan Huan in everything, made the man increasingly aware of the danger that awaited them. Especially after she mentioned that the attack was carried out by Wen Ruohan's younger son along with his trusted men.
There was no doubt that what had happened with the full consent of the owner of the laboratory. After all, no one had told him to put his hands into the aquarium to see how it would end, he had people to tell him to do everything.
Lan Xichen, on the other hand, preferred not to know what exactly it was, nevertheless Wen Qing had mentioned that her cousin had been carried out and wasn't in the best condition. In fact, it was enough to look around the room to be aware that the fight that had occurred here wasn't at all as uneventful as it might have seemed. Therefore, when Lan Huan finally found himself by the aquarium where Wanyin was, he tried to take the most cautious steps and not make any unnecessary movements.
He began to speak to him, trying to calm him down and assure him that he would get him out of here in a while, while Wen Qing did her best to find the most appropriate way to escape. However, since everything indicated that they had less and less time, she ordered the financier to break the glass. They couldn't delay any longer, and although the man seemed to be terrified of the consequences it could lead to, the woman only shouted loudly that the creature they were rescuing didn't have the slightest trouble breathing outside of water.
This was one piece of information the man didn't have, and when he asked about it, Wen Qing had said that she had told absolutely no one about many of her discoveries, and now she was making sure that her notes and test results would disappear once and for all. This was comforting in a way, but it didn't mean that Lan Xichen didn't feel anxiety when he actually concentrated on breaking the glass. It wasn't easy, but apparently Wanyin knew what they were trying to do because he tried to help him.
The surrounding water turned violently red, causing the financier's heart to beat like crazy, and then, when the clink of breaking glass could be heard, Wanyin slid properly straight into his arms. He was strangely cold, completely inhuman, and the water dripping from his body mingled with the blood flowing from his wounded chest. He seemed weak, despite all the power he represented, and Lan Huan couldn't help but be drawn to him.
He didn't know at what exact moment he had moved close enough that he was actually able to place a kiss on the siren's temple, but Wen Qing's grunt immediately sobered him up. Lan Huan knew he couldn't act like this, especially since Wanyin's claws were surprisingly close to his neck. Nevertheless, he saw a shadow of confidence in his bright eyes, which disappeared as soon as the woman approached them.
"Don't get too close," Lan Xichen said quietly, to which Wen Qing almost parried.
"Will you be able to pick him up and carry him out of here yourself?"
"I'm going to have to, I don't think..."
The man paused in mid-sentence when he felt Wanyin pulling him towards him, and then realized that Wanyin was obviously trying to tell him something. He shook his head furiously and clenched his teeth, making it look as if he was preparing for a fight, and a moment later Lan Huan drew in air violently, noticing how the long merman tail slowly disappeared. So did the claws and horns, the scales covering the body of this bizarre creature, and all the marks by which one could tell that Wanyin wasn't human.
"I can go," he growled.
His voice didn't sound beautiful. It was strange, a bit fake, he didn't speak words like other people did and this could give him away. However, there was no need for him to speak, to draw unnecessary attention to himself, so Wen Qing hastily decided that he should put on his lab worker outfit. It was for this reason that she told her brother to come to her office as soon as possible with everything they needed. It could be seen that she was trying to contain her shock, that she was trying to keep her cool, but the situation was slowly overwhelming her.
The same was true of Lan Huan, who now felt even worse than before. It was as if it was only at the moment when Wanyin took on a completely human form that it fully dawned on him what had happened up to that point, what all this research and these foolish observations had led to, and he became so ashamed that he couldn't even get a word out. He was so ashamed that he couldn't even utter a word, nor could he move, for despite everything, Wanyin clung to him, pinning his hopes on him, seeing in him someone who could save him.
That is what happened, although the truth was that the financier had almost no recollection of how it happened. Which way had they been led out? How did he manage to get to his car and then drive out of town? All of this, every detail, had simply faded into his memory, becoming just a conglomeration of images and colors that swirled constantly before his eyes as he revisited the memories of that day. Knowing that he had incurred a huge debt of gratitude, he did his best to help Wen Qing and her brother become independent of their uncle and go their own way.
Fortunately, Wen Ruohan realized that he had no grounds to pursue him. He had nothing to accuse him of, and the money he had already received from Lan Xichen after Wanyin's escape had effectively shut his mouth. The money he had received from Lan Xichen after Wanyin's escape was enough to pay for Wen Chao's treatment. Who would believe him?
"You're thinking about it again."
Lan Xichen shook his head, glancing at the man sitting on the edge of the platform. He knew that if the man had turned toward him, he would have noticed the deep scars on his bare chest that were never to fade again. It was the only trace of that night, visible whether Lan Wanyin was hiding underwater or in his human form, which allowed him to lead a perfectly ordinary life alongside his partner.
"You people have an uncanny tendency to tear up old wounds."
"You really never think about it?"
"When something changes, it's like the current changes. You just start flowing with it."
"Don't you ever remember what was? Don't you miss it ?"
Lan Wanyin smiled slightly with the corner of his mouth.
"I miss, but I don't mortify myself, for the past is the past. I can only wait for a new current to sweep me to new tasks."