Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu was nervous. This was the first day he would go to school after being taken to live in his teacher’s house. It somehow felt weird and made his hands treble nonstop.

He usually loved going to school as it meant being away from his family at least for a little while. At school, no one beat him for every single mistake, at most, he would only get a scolding from the teachers. The children were also a lot easier to be around than his irritable and quick to anger cousin. They would mostly ignore him or just give him a few pushes and mean words here and there.

Yes, school had always been a heaven to him and he had been very careful not to have the privilege of going there taken away. Sometimes, his aunt and his uncle would be very mad at him for being a bad boy and would not let him go. He did not want to think too much about those days filled with house chores and keeping a low profile.

And of rumbling of his stomach. At school, he would get to at least eat his lunch. At home though, he had to make sure he acted well and did not anger his family in any way. Otherwise, he would not get to eat even a breakfast – lunch and dinner were of course out of question for him, bad boys did not get to be spoiled with good food and full stomachs – despite being the one doing all the cooking in the house.

That was also why he usually did not like weekends. Everyone was at home during those free days and if they would not leave on a trip, it meant that Mo Xuanyu would be under their scrutiny the whole time. Usually, no matter how careful and good behaved he tried to be, there would always be something that would earn him a beating or two. And if he angered his cousin, well, the older boy had his own way of punishing him and letting his anger out.

Not that Mo Xuanyu was complaining or anything. He knew that his family was only doing it for his own good. They told him so many times that he could not forget. He had to learn how to behave like a good boy. Then, he would actually be able to enjoy the same life he heard his classmates talk about during breaks at school.

Though, that day seemed to be really far away. Bad boys like him did not get to enjoy nice things or sleep in a real bed in the house. Bad boys needed to be taught with iron discipline and by helping endlessly around the house.

However, for the last few days, Mo Xuanyu’s life had actually drastically changed from what he had known his whole life. Everything became like a scene from some fairy tail for him the moment he had accepted A-Yuan’s invitation to his birthday party. Yes, that had been the day his teacher told him to come live in their house until Mo Xuanyu’s aunt, uncle and cousin returned from their holiday.

Here, everything was so different from what he had been used to. He got to eat with his teacher’s family, play – yes, he would actually get to play, as if he was not a bad boy who did not deserve it – with his teacher’s sons and had even been taken to a hospital. There, they gave him medicine which made all the pain from the beatings he had received from his relatives go away. His teacher’s family also never hit him or took him for a different sort of punishment like his cousin usually did.

This was the first time Mo Xuanyu experienced his body not aching all over and he immediately decided that it was the best sensation ever. Or, perhaps the second best, just after being praised by his teacher and patted on the head.

He could not really decide, everything he had experienced these last few days was too good to be true for him. How had he deserved something like this? His teacher would not even let him do any house chores and would instead do it himself or with his husband. They even cooked for Mo Xuanyu as well!

And today, after spending a blissful weekend filled with laughter at the park, ice cream, and playing with A-Yuan and A-Yi, Mo Xuanyu was preparing to go to school.

The problem was that today, he did not want to go. It felt like he would lose something if he went. He would not be able to spend time with his teacher’s family and would not get to play anymore. At school, he would once again be all alone, without any friends to talk to. Thinking about it was making him want to cry. Now that he had gotten the taste of the life that his classmates always talked about, it was all that harder to go back to his own one.

“A-Yu, are you fine? Are you in any pain? Did you take your medicine?” asked him his favourite teacher.

It was so sudden that Mo Xuanyu startled and flinched. He was not used to being addressed unless it was to scold him and he had for a second expected the worst. But just like all the other times his teacher talked to him, the harsh words and berating never came. Instead, his voice was soft and worried. It made Mo Xuanyu feel embarrassed that he was inconveniencing him.

After all, his teacher had his own two children and Mo Xuanyu was taking his attention away from them. He was acting selfishly.

He quickly shook his head. He could not become an even bigger burden on his teacher’s family. It would mean repaying their kindness with selfishness and wilfulness. He could not do that. Mo Xuanyu hunched into himself in an attempt at making himself invisible, it sometimes worked with his family, and he would not take up too much space either. He avoided his teacher’s eyes and resisted the urge to step away and go hide in a corner.

If his teacher noticed his reaction, he did not comment it. He only reached out his hand – completely overlooking the way Mo Xuanyu tensed, expecting to be hit for his selfishness – and gently stroked his hair.

“A-Yu, you know you can tell me if you are sick or if you do not want to go. I will understand if you want to stay home for a few more days and rest.” Mo Xuanyu was ready to shake his head again. See, he was inconveniencing his teacher again!

“However,” his teacher continued while his husband came to stand behind him, looking at Mo Xuanyu with serious but encouraging eyes, “if you decide to go, I am sure you will do great. You are a smart child and if only you open up a little to your teachers and classmates, you will certainly have a lot of fun at school.”

His teacher’s husband nodded and encouraged him as well: “A-Yu, you can always come find one of us or A-Yuan if anything happens.”

Just at that moment, A-Yuan looked inside the entry hall from the garden and urged them: “Come, come, or we will be late!” He noticed that his parents were preoccupied with Mo Xuanyu. But instead of becoming mad at the intruder in his home, he promised reassuringly; “A-Yu, are you coming? I will make sure to introduce you to all my friends. I am sure they will like you. And then, we can go eat lunch together. Come, we will have a great day.”

“See,” his teacher laughed loudly, “A-Yuan will not leave your side. There is nothing for you to be afraid of.” Then he blinked conspiratorially at him and continued: “After school, I will come pick you up and we can go play in the park if you will want to. Or, if you will be tired, we can go directly back home and cook something good for dinner. Or we can do both!”

His teacher once again patted Mo Xuanyu’s head and it was all the encouragement he needed. A-Yuan looked so excited at the prospects of going to school with him that Mo Xuanyu just could not resist to reciprocate the feeling. He should stop being so scared and go enjoy his day. After all, had his teacher not just promised he could still come back here in the afternoon? It was not yet time to go back to his own house and back to sleeping on a thin mattress in his garden shack.

Mo Xuanyu nodded and finally stepped out of the entry way. He was ready to go to school now.

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian was driving the car but he could not help but to check in the back mirror every so often how was Mo Xuanyu doing. The boy had been nervous this entire morning and he wanted to make sure that he would not slip into outright panicking.

Wei Wuxian could and definitely would not blame him. He understood how the child felt. They had just taken him out of his home, away from his family, everything must have been foreign and frightening to him. Not that they were actually doing anything out of the ordinary, they just had a nice weekend and were now driving to school. However, to Mo Xuanyu, all of this must have been so very different from his usual routine.

After all, until now, he had had to take care of all the household chores – he did not even have to confirm this fact verbally, Wei Wuxian could see it in the way he would just itch to help him but was too afraid to intervene too much in the household – and school had probably been the last thing he thought about. Although he must have been a good student to keep his grades up even when living in such an environment and probably hardly ever having time to study in peace.

Now that they had taken him away from his family and he was living with them, everything was truly new to him. Wei Wuxian had been prepared to stay at home with him and let him rest some more. Perhaps even help him with his studying and introduce to him a new daily routine step by step. But when he had seen how excited A-Yuan had been, he had believed everything would be just fine.

Or at least he hoped it would. A-Yuan was holding the boy’s hand and the other in turn was squeezing his as if he was looking for a lifeline when being stuck at a raging sea. It was both pitiful and adorable at the same time. A-Yuan was doing such a great job of supporting Mo Xuanyu, Wei Wuxian should praise him later.

He stopped the car when they arrived at A-Yi’s preschool. “A-Yuan, A-Yu,” he turned back at the boys and smiled, “can you wait here for a minute? Me and Lan Zhan will just quickly talk to A-Yi’s teachers and come back so we can arrive to school in time.”

A-Yuan immediately agreed: “Of course!” Then he turned towards his younger brother and patted his head with the hand which was not being used to calm down Mo Xuanyu. “A-Yi, have a great day at school and learn a lot, alright?”

A-Yi nodded as well, his cheeks a little puffed out in a pout: “Big Brother A-Yuan, I am always being a good boy and learning diligently. Just wait, once I will go to a real school like you, I will be even better than you!”

“Of course, of course,” smiled A-Yuan indulgently, he had always had a soft spot for his baby brother after all. “I look forward to that. Now, wish A-Yu a good day too and be off on your way.”

A-Yi obediently stopped pouting, smiling happily after his brother placated him. “Big Brother A-Yuan, Big Brother A-Yu, have a good day at school!”

Wei Wuxian had to smile to himself. He could not believe how adorable his children were. They were both very mature for their age and also very considerate of others. He did not even have to be worried how they will take the news about Mo Xuanyu living with them for an undetermined period of time from now on.

It was just this morning that he had received a call from Wen Qing. She informed him she had filed all the necessary documents for authorities and that he and Lan Zhan had for now been granted a temporary custody of the child. At least until the case could be investigated and decision would be taken about Mo Xuanyu’s fate away from his abusive relatives.

Needless to say, We Wuxian had been over the moon with happiness. Although he had been a little older when the abuse against him had been discovered, he had still hated being send to an institution. Even for that short period of time while the investigation had been ongoing and the authorities were looking for a foster home for him.

He would not wish that for Mo Xuanyu. Temporary custody in a real family was way better than becoming one of the many children that an institution’s worker had to take care of. Moreover, the boy seemed to have been greatly impacted by his time with his family, Wei Wuxian believed that it was in his best interest to have someone close to him who could understand what he had experienced and could at least guess what he was currently going through. He would make sure that the child started to feel at home in his and Lan Zhan’s family the fastest possible.

Lan Zhan got out of the care at the same time as Wei Wuxian. He opened the door for their younger son and A-Yi all but jumped out of the car. He seemed really excited to go to school today despite being reluctant to part ways with Mo Xuanyu earlier in the morning. The promise that they would be able to play some more when school was over must have helped.

Wei Wuxian smiled indulgently when A-Yi waited for him to circle the car and join his side. Then, he stretched his hands up, he wanted both his dads to take them. He was a little spoiled perhaps, the preschool building was not even twenty steps away from them, but who could ever refuse him anything when he was acting this adorably?

Moreover, after just taking Mo Xuanyu in, Wei Wuxian had decided he needed to pay attention and spoil all three of his children unless he wanted one of them to feel left out. After going through something unpleasant himself, he strongly believed that every single child should live in a loving, harmonious and understanding environment where people would pay attention to their needs and listen to them. They should never be alone or sad.

If he could only manage to teach his children one thing, it would be this. He would never let them feel unwanted, unloved or overlooked. And he knew he needed to show Mo Xuanyu a good time and love the most of all. He did not think the boy had ever lived in an environment suitable for children. He was adamant on changing this, if even for a short while until the authorities would reach their decision.

Chapter Text

After Lan Wangji and Wei Ying left A-Yi at his preschool and talked with his teachers – there would be an outing in which they had promised to take part as helpers. Well, before the whole situation with Mo Xuanyu arose. However, they had agreed that they would still go, and take also the two older of their boys with them, not only A-Yi. It could be like a nice family trip, just what Mo Xuanyu needed to forget about everything and ease up a little bit.

For a few days now, Lan Wangji could see that his husband was worried. And who would not be, this was a normal reaction he supposed. He too was horrified with discovery of Mo Xuanyu’s living situation and wanted to help him. For Wei Ying though, this was something even stronger. He did not just want to help the boy overcome the abuse, he needed to do it. In the same way he needed to breathe.

He had seemed quite fine during the weekend, while they had still been waiting for news from Wen Qing about the living arrangements for Mo Xuanyu. He had even been overjoyed hearing they were accorded a temporary custody. However, from then on, it looked like Wei Ying had been on edge for some reason. He had been acting very nervous and worried during the car ride, and now was no different. He must have been thinking about what would happen to the boy once the authorities would get to pronounce their decision.

Lan Wangji could understand that. His husband was seeing himself in Mo Xuanyu. And in a way, Lan Wangji was seeing himself in Wei Ying now. He still vividly remembered how uneasy he had been when he had been told he could not do anything for his friend during those long-gone days.

That was why he was now adamant to support Wei Ying in helping Mo Xuanyu to the best of his abilities. He did not want his husband to suffer the same pain and heartbreak he had had so many years ago because of being unable to intervene and help.

As soon as the teachers from the preschool went to look after the children again, Lan Wangji stopped before stepping outside of the building. Wei Ying noticed and came back to stand by his side, Lan Wangji did not even have to say anything. His husband held his hand and looked at him with worry in his eyes.

“Lan Zhan, what is wrong?” he asked.

Leave it to Wei Ying to always know whenever Lan Wangji was not in his usual state of mind. It went both ways of course. And it was all good like this too. He needed to talk to his husband, this was as good an opportunity as any.

“Wei Ying, you are worried about A-Yu.”

The statement was brief but his husband immediately understood what the topic of the conversation would be. It was only lucky that they were in an empty hallway so no one would see them. As Lan Wangji had expected, the smile he had previously maintained for the children fell and Wei Ying stepped closer to him. So close in fact that Lan Wangji could put one of his hands around his waist, a silent offer of support.

Wei Ying leaned a little into his touch and came even closer to him. This moment was just for them. Lan Wangji knew that his husband had these short periods of insecurity, he had them too, more frequently than he would like. Even if they had been parents for almost ten years now, there were still things that could surprise them. Meeting Mo Xuanyu and trying to help him was just one of them.

After all, their two sons came to them as babies. They had tragic stories behind them, but they did not remember them. The adoption had always happened because the children could not have been taken care of properly by their own parents.

A-Yuan already knew about everything, they told him when he had been nine. He took it in a stride and often went to visit his aunt Wen Qing in the school infirmary. With A-Yi, they were waiting some more, he was still a little young to fully understand that he had also other parents who could not take care of him.

Lan Wangji had been considering this from the very moment Wei Ying had brought Mo Xuanyu to live with them. He had immediately gotten to like the boy. He was such a sweetheart, Lan Wangji could tell. His true character was unfortunately still hidden deep down, under way too many layers of fear and abuse. They were visible from time to time though, always more and more frequently even with the short period the boy had been staying with them.

Yes, Lan Wangji had been thinking hard. They had already two sons, what would be one more? They had resources to take care of an even bigger family and it was not as if their love for their children would get any less if there would be one more. In fact, it would probably just grow. A-Yuan and A-Yi had also taken a liking to Mo Xuanyu. So, Lan Wangji thought, there would be no problems if they asked for adoption.

Just as he was thinking he should propose this to his husband, Wei Ying gave out a long sigh and rested his head on Lan Wangji’s chest. He suddenly looked even more troubled for some reason. Lan Wangji was starting to get worried himself. What if he had overlooked something? Because it simply could not be that Wei Ying would not want to adopt the boy, something like that would be impossible. If he could, he would offer shelter to all children in need in the whole world.

“Lan Zhan,” his husband whispered, “what will happen to A-Yu now? I know the authorities will not send him back to his aunt and uncle. But what if the next foster family would be no better? What if something happens to him and we will not even get to know? I want to show him how a child should be brought up, with love, understanding and while having a lot of fun. I do not want him to suffer anymore.”

For a second, Lan Wangji could not find any words to reply. How was it possible that Wei Ying was not asking him to adopt A-Yu? This was so vastly different from the times when he had gotten the news about A-Yuan and A-Yi being in need of a new family. Lan Wangji had thought that there should not be any questions about their next course of action. Could he had misread his husband’s reaction and misunderstood something?

“Wei Ying,” he asked in the end, full of insecurity, “you do not want to adopt A-Yu?”

Now it was apparently his husband’s turn to be shocked. He lifted his head from Lan Wangji’s chest and looked up at him with wonder in his eyes and his mouth half opened. If the movement was not such a serious one, Lan Wangji would have kissed him for how silly and adorable he looked.

It was not the time for that though, it seemed that there had been a misunderstanding between them after all. Wei Ying took a step back; not so far that Lan Wangji would not be able to keep one of his hands around his waist, but far enough so he would not be leaning on him anymore.

“Lan Zhan,” he started, unsure now himself. His voice was as full of wonder and confusion as his expression. Something was definitely not right and it was making Lan Wangji to be on his toes, all tense and waiting. “Does that mean you would not be against adopting A-Yu?”

Now, it was Lan Wangji’s turn to be shocked. To any outside spectators, this situation would surely seem ridiculous: two grow-up people staring at each other with half-opened mouths and looking like they had been shocked speechless.

Which was actually exactly the case. Lan Wangji could not understand why Wei Ying would ask him such a question. There had been no doubt in his mind about his husband’s intention of adopting the boy, but how come it looked like he had been the only one getting ahead of himself? Perhaps Wei Ying thought that getting another child in their family was impossible? Or, Lan Wangji only realized this now, had he actually been afraid to even think about this as he had been sure Lan Wangji would reject this option?

He let go of Wei Ying’s waist and instead took both of his hands in his own. He looked at the other very seriously. Whatever this was, the misunderstanding needed to be cleared, right now.

“Wei Ying, I would of course not be against adopting A-Yu into our family. He is such a lovely and sweet boy. He had just been through a lot and need time to overcome it. If you would not mind our family growing, then we should put up an adoption request with the authorities.”

It seemed like Wei Ying finally got his point. His lips parted in a huge grin and Lan Wangji could have sworn there were tears in his eyes. He was undeniably happy. Before Lan Wangji could do anything, his husband put his hands around his neck and was already kissing him. Right there, in the middle of a hallway of the preschool.

“Lan Zhan, you really are the best, do you know it? I love you.”

Once Lan Wangji could breathe again, he simply replied: “Love you too.”

There was no need for anything more between them. They were on the same page now. And Lan Wangji was already asking himself when exactly the authorities’ office would be open so they would be able to present their request for adoption. Granted that they would ask A-Yu if he would want to stay with them first.

Chapter Text

A-Yuan could tell that Mo Xuanyu had gotten even more nervous as soon as his parents stepped out of the car with A-Yi. He had no idea why though. School was not so bad, in fact, more often than not, it was actually a lot of fun. Playing at home could get kind of boring after a while, but at school, there were a lot of friends who always had something new to try. And in the afternoons, once all his homework was finished, he would get to spend time with his family.

Ah, A-Yuan suddenly understood. For him, all of these small but happy moments were like granted. He had never gotten to know anything else but blissful and fun times. Which was unfortunately not true when it came to Mo Xuanyu.

As for the times with his family, A-Yuan could not tell for sure, but he had a feeling Mo Xuanyu did not like them very much. There was not a single moment or action from which A-Yuan would be able to tell, he just had a feeling, that was all. A feeling which had been growing ever since he had first seen Mo Xuanyu in his classroom.

His friend had always been by himself, sitting all alone in some corner and looking like he wanted to disappear. Whenever he would try to talk to him, Mo Xuanyu would get nervous, perhaps even bordering with scared, and A-Yuan would eventually leave him alone.

There were also a lot of bruises on his friend’s body. He had seen them when Mo Xuanyu had been changing after playing at the park with a long-sleeved T-shirt. A-Yuan knew he should not have peeked, but he had not meant to, he had seen by accident. He had also noticed them the day of his birthday party, but he had all but forgotten about it until then.

However, from that moment forwards, he had been very much aware that Mo Xuanyu had probably not been living like him and his family at all. After all, A-Yuan knew for a fact that he was not being beaten at school, he had always seen him leaving right after lessons were over, his then only acquaintance at best would never accept invitations to play with A-Yuan and his friends.

So, the only other explanation was that all that hurting happened at home. A-Yuan could simply not imagine that someone would beat Mo Xuanyu on his way from school without his parents finding out and intervening. Perhaps that was why Mo Xuanyu had never spoken about his home, not even during any homework or essay he had written.

In the light of this realization, A-Yuan could somehow understand that Mo Xuanyu did not want to go to school today. With no friends and nothing to look forward after the lesson were over, there was no way anyone would like to end their perfect weekend filled with playing and spoiling from their parents.

A-Yuan looked at Mo Xuanyu and smiled warmly, just as he had learned from his dad. He squeezed his friend’s hand a little bit more. Although it was not really too easy since Mo Xuanyu was crushing his in a nervous and a little painful grip. With his free hand, A-Yuan leaned towards the other a little and gently patted his knee.

“A-Yu, everything will be fine. I promised you I would introduce you to all my friends. And I will. I do not break my promises. And neither do my parents.”

Mo Xuanyu did not look like he was even listening to him. He was hunched into himself and the only signs of life was his iron grip on A-Yuan’s hand and his quickened breathing. For some reason, he looked way smaller and more insecure than ever. A-Yuan did not like seeing him like that.

He decided to reassure him a little bit more. Perhaps Mo Xuanyu was afraid that A-Yuan’s friends would not like him and would not want to play with him? Well, if anyone would try that, A-Yuan did not think he would continue being friends with them. Even they must have noticed how lonely Mo Xuanyu always was. It was high time they changed how they behaved towards him.

“Do not worry, A-Yu. I am sure they will like you. You know, we always go play outside during the breaks, it is really fun. And I will take you to eat lunch with us as well. I will not leave you alone. And after school, dad will pick us up and drive us home.”

Mo Xuanyu now lifted his head and was finally looking at him. His eyes were wide and his expression disbelieving, as if he had just been promised something amazing. A-Yuan could feel his cheeks getting hotter. It was a little embarrassing to be stared at like that, with so many emotions and, how should he call it, adoration? Or devotion?

He coughed a little to free his suddenly tight throat: “And then, dad and father will cook something yummy for us. What would you like to eat? We can ask, I am sure my parents will prepare it if it is not too complicated.”

A-Yuan was looking expectantly at Mo Xuanyu. He asked partly because it was really getting uncomfortable to be the only one talking and partly because he really wanted his friend to eat something he liked. He truly was sure that his parents would not mind cooking on request.

However, Mo Xuanyu only shook his head before whispering: “What is A-Yuan’s favourite food?”

A-Yuan did not even have to think twice about such an easy question. He answered enthusiastically: “I like everything my parents cook for me! They always say it is because they put some secret ingredients into the food, but I do not think they do. It is just that they look so happy when me and A-Yi tell them that it is delicious.”

Then, A-Yuan realized that he did not actually answer Mo Xuanyu’s question and his cheeks flared red once more. He was acting like an inconsiderable fool. Had he not just thought that his friend’s family was not like his own? Perhaps they were not cooking for him or they were not eating together for what A-Yuan knew. He did not want to remind the other about anything sad.

He quickly changed his approach: “But my most favourite food of all is actually fried rice. You can put anything you like into it and it will taste great every time.”

Hearing this, Mo Xuanyu smiled. It was small, not at all like those happy smiled he had been freely giving out during their visits to the park and when they were playing with A-Yi. But it was still infinitely better than his previous tense and nervous expression. His voice also grew in volume just a little bit and A-Yuan was happy to see that. He did not like when Mo Xuanyu was acting as if he was expecting to be reprimanded for his every action, including speaking.

“That sounds delicious. I would like to try it someday.”

It still sounded too shy to A-Yuan’s liking; Mo Xuanyu was sometimes truly acting like a scared little animal. Time to show him that there was nothing to be afraid of.

His parents just came back and were opening the doors of the car. A-Yuan did not even wait for them to fasten their seatbelts and he was already asking: “Dad, Father, could we have friend rice for dinner today? A-Yu said he would like to try it.”

His dad turned around to look at the both of them and grinned excitedly: “Of course, that is actually a great idea! Let us have fried rice for dinner. We can stop by the supermarket on our way back and buy everything necessary.” Then he turned specifically towards Mo Xuanyu and softened his voice: “A-Yu, you can choose what you would like to have in it. And we should buy a dessert as well when we will be at it. It is decided, we will have ourselves a small feast tonight.”

A-Yuan’s eyes never left Mo Xuanyu and now he was happy that his friend smiled even more at the proposition. He even nodded after a short moment, earning himself a pat on the head by his dad. A-Yuan got one as well and then they were on their way to school. They could not arrive late, if that happened, A-Yuan would not have enough time to introduce Mo Xuanyu to his friends before lessons would start.

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu was getting more and more nervous as the car approached the school. He was embarrassed and somewhat angry at himself for needing all this reassurance just to not fear going to school. Or, more like not simply going there but being convinced he would still be able to come to his teacher’s house afterwards.

Even though he had been telling himself that he should not get used to his life there, he could just not help it. It was so different from what he had known until now. It was so great and fun and easy to do, simply put, life at his teacher’s house was the best. And he was afraid he would lose it just like that as he would have to go to his own home at some point.

By now though, after seeing how A-Yuan and A-Yi spend their days and how their parents were nice and sweet to them, Mo Xuanyu did not think that what awaited him from his uncle’s and his aunt’s hands was a normal life. No, he did not think that at all anymore. Sure, he was not such a good boy like A-Yuan and A-Yi, however, he somehow did not believe that he was so much of a bad boy to be treated so harshly by his family. In his teacher’s house, he had never once seen the other children being beaten or shouted at. Nor was he ever subjected to any kind of punishment, no matter how out of line he acted.

Until now, he had thought that his life was normal. Though, that had been just because he had not known anything else. Of course, he had heard his classmates talk about their homes at school and he had seen children accompanying their parents when he was allowed to walk outside. But still, he had believed that when everyone returned home, their lives were not as idealistic as they made them sound. If anyone asked him personally, he would have tried not to reveal anything.

But he had apparently been mistaken. There was nothing to hide when it came to his teacher’s family, and most probably also for everyone else’s. Could it be that it was only Mo Xuanyu’s aunt, uncle and cousin who were treating him this harshly? Other families suddenly felt like so vastly different it was making Mo Xuanyu’s head spin. Was it possible that the life he had seen at his teacher’s house was actually the normal one, unlike his own?

All these notions were circling incessantly in Mo Xuanyu’s mind and were making him confused and scared beyond everything he had ever experienced before. It was a different type of fear from the one he would experience when he was trying to lay low and hoping his family would not beat him. This was a fear of losing something good and it was way stronger and harder to bear and chase away.

He did not want to go back to his own home.

No matter how weird or preposterous it sounded, that was just how Mo Xuanyu felt. He wished to be able to stay with his teacher’s family and be just as happy as he had been these past few days. He was clutching A-Yuan’s hand tightly even when they already got out of the car. He did not want to be separated from him and the possibility of going back to his teacher’s house in the afternoon.

Despite all the promises, he could not help himself but be scared he would be only too easily forgotten and left to his devices. Or purposefully overlooked. Which he would actually hope for in the past; it had always been better to be forgotten by his own family, he could then scramble away without them noticing. Now however, he feared losing the attention he was getting.

He knew he was becoming more and more needy with every passing moment. He knew he should keep himself back otherwise he would be too much of a burden on his teacher’s family and would start to be disliked or even hated. He knew he should keep himself back.

However, knowing did not mean he could control his heart. He was aware it would only hurt that much more when he would inevitably have to go back to his own home. His family was supposed to get back from their vacation in just a couple of days. But until then, there was no way he could keep himself from enjoying this short moment of paradise.

He was still holding A-Yuan’s hand when his teacher squatted down in front of him, smiling widely. Just as so many times before, there was a gentle pat on his head, one that had taught him that human touch could also be something enjoyable, not only one of the many things to be feared. He smiled shyly in return.

“A-Yu, have a good day at school,” his teacher told him, “If anything happens, just come to find me or Lan Zhan in teachers’ office, or Wen Qing in the infirmary if you feel sick or are in any pain. We are here for you, no matter how small your worries and hurts may seem.”

His teacher turned to look at A-Yuan for a short moment, before the boy in question nodded seriously. Then, the adult’s kind and smiling eyes went back to focusing on him. “Do not worry about anything, A-Yuan will be there with you the whole day. You can also talk to him as well if anything happens or if you will not feel well. I know it may be a little overwhelming, but you are not alone. Not anymore and not ever again. So just enjoy your day and I will come to meet you both after classes are finished.”

And there it was, the promise that Mo Xuanyu had heard many times this morning but which never stopped surprising him. His heart was so overwhelmed with this kindness that he wanted to cry. He held himself back just barely, he could not cause a scene in front of the school’s main entrance. It would not be good for his teacher’s family and surely not for him personally. Something like that, his aunt and uncle would without a doubt be informed about.

“Thank you,” he whispered emotionally, smiling through his unshed tears, “have a good day as well, Teacher.”

He received another pat on the head and a small nod from his teacher’s husband. The next moment, both of them were gone and it was just him and A-Yuan. Be it not for the other boy still holding his hand, he would have for sure started panicking again. However, as things stood, A-Yuan’s presence was grounding and reassuring him that the promises he had received about going back home with his teacher were not going to be broken. He could relax.

A-Yuan tugged gently at his hand and Mo Xuanyu turned to look at him. “A-Yu, come, let us go to our classroom. I will introduce you to everyone. They are all really kind, they will be good friends with you, I am sure.”

Once again, the prospects of not being all alone made Mo Xuanyu immediately feel excited and helped him forget all about his fears. He nodded his head in a silent agreement and A-Yuan was already leading him to the locker area where they were supposed to change from their outdoor shoes.

Luckily, Mo Xuanyu actually did have a pair of indoor shoes, even if they were worn-out and too little for his feet as he had not had enough courage to ask his family for new ones. He could still use these until they broke down completely. He did not want to re-live his aunt’s sneering about how such a bad boy should not be given something as expensive as a school uniform and school shoes and how his uncle made him pay for everything by working hard around the neighbourhood.

For that short moment of changing shoes, Mo Xuanyu actually had to let go of A-Yuan’s hand. But it was fine as A-Yuan was reminding him of his presence the whole time. He had started talking excitedly about his friends he was about to introduce to him. Mo Xuanyu was getting even more excited himself, they sounded like such a good people, he wanted to meet them soon.

Hidden deep down by that boiling and bouncing of excitement, the underlaying fear never disappeared. What if his family would get to learn about all of this? Would Mo Xuanyu be even allowed to go to school ever again?

Chapter Text

A-Yuan could not wait for Mo Xuanyu to change his shoes and put away his jacket. He wanted to run to the classroom first and gather the whole class so he could explain everything to them. He reconsidered however as soon as this idea crossed his mind. He had promised to Mo Xuanyu to be by his side the whole day, he was not about to go back on his word and leave him here, even for a short while. 

The other seemed a little calmer than back in the car, but it was still far from what A-Yuan would call normal. He could tell that his friend was fidgety and nervous. And more importantly, why did it look like he was not about to put away his jacket at all? It was only morning but it was already warm enough to go without it, he would for sure be too hot to wear anything more than short-sleeved T-shirt in just an hour or so.

A-Yuan opened his mouth to ask Mo Xuanyu why he did not put his jacket away. But then, he thought better of it. Actually, until this past weekend and by accident at that, he had never seen Mo Xuanyu with short sleeves. It was almost as if he was trying to hide something.

Not something, A-Yuan realized the next moment, he was hiding the bruises on his hands. In that case, he should probably not intervene and let Mo Xuanyu keep the jacket on. On the other hand, though, his friend had fainted during his birthday party exactly because he had been too hot. He was getting worried now. What to do?

In the end, he decided to go for more reassurance, it seemed to do some good in keeping Mo Xuanyu calm: “A-Yu, if you do not want to take off your jacket, you do not have to. But if you feel too hot, promise me you will tell me. We can figure something out. I do not want you to feel uncomfortable or faint again. Alright?”

Mo Xuanyu looked at him with something akin to shock at first, but his expression quickly changed. He was giving him a slight nod and a shy smile. A-Yuan was relieved at once. It seemed like the other was not too uncomfortable with being worried about. That was good, A-Yuan had to keep an eye on him, he had promised that to his parents and to the boy himself this morning.

“Come, I will introduce you to my friends,” A-Yuan invited Mo Xuanyu to follow him, taking hold of his hand once again. He could feel how cold and sweaty that hand was and he was happy he could provide support at least in this way.

He could not imagine what Mo Xuanyu must have been feeling or thinking. After all, he had never had any friends at school and whenever A-Yuan had tried to invite him to play with them or have lunch together, he would look nothing short of terrified. At least it was not the case now.

Despite that, Mo Xuanyu did not look like he was completely fine with all of this. Just like always, he was already hunching into himself as they were passing more and more people in the hallways. Some were turning their heads to stare at them. They must have been a strange sight to see, especially because most people knew about A-Yuan. However, Mo Xuanyu was someone with whom he was not see often, they were intrigued.

Luckily, no one stopped them and they were able to make it to their classroom before the start of the lesson. They even still had a little time for the first quick round of introductions.

As soon as A-Yuan came into the classroom, his friends were already standing from their places and coming to him, followed by the rest of their classmates. Their eyes were full of questions, they had probably already heard about A-Yuan going around the school with Mo Xuanyu and wanted to know the reason.

Mo Xuanyu’s hand in his was now even colder and he was hiding behind A-Yuan’s back, clearly too shy and nervous to talk to anyone. At least for the moment. But it was fine, they only had time for a quick introduction and then, the lesson would start. Mo Xuanyu would be able to digest everything during the first part of the morning. Afterwards, they could go play with their other friends. Or stay in the classroom if the other would not be ready to go outside into the school courtyard with everyone else.

A-Yuan could tell that Mo Xuanyu was not completely comfortable with having so many people flocking around him. Just as right now when all their classmates were curious about him.

He seemed to have started panicking a little more than before. This had also happened at the park, A-Yuan recalled. His friend had become overwhelmed and they had to leave the busiest playing ground to go find a quitter spot with less people. Not that A-Yuan really minded, he had just found it a shame, Mo Xuanyu did not even know what he was missing on.

After all, how could they for example play soccer with just the two of them and A-Yi? For that, it was always better to join other children and run around with them. Then again, it was not that bad either. Since dad had told A-Yuan that Mo Xuanyu could not go running around just yet because of still feeling ill. So, they had just spent their time on the swings and by building a sand castle with A-Yi. Which was a lot of fun as well, A-Yuan was not complaining.

Now though, several days had passed and Mo Xuanyu must have for sure been feeling better. There was no question in A-Yuan’s mind his friends could come and play with them during break time. If only he would get over his shyness that was.

As Mo Xuanyu was hiding even deeper behind his back, taking a step away from their curious classmates. They circled the both of them to have a better look, as if Mo Xuanyu was some kind of rarity and needed to be examined and stared at like a piece of collection in an exhibition. Or as if they saw him for the first time, which was definitely not true either. They had been in the same class since the beginning of the school year.

It was just that they had always mostly ignored him until now. It must have been all because Mo Xuanyu had come together with A-Yuan and they were holding hands, clearly showing that they had not met by accident. It seemed like everyone wanted to ask what was the story behind their sudden change of behaviour.

This did not sit well with A-Yuan, he was also starting to get uncomfortable now. This is not how his friends should approach Mo Xuanyu, they would scare him.

He took a step closer to the other and positioned himself between him and the others to show them to back off a little. They seemed surprised but did not protest and stepped back, still shooting Mo Xuanyu a curious glance here and there. Their attention was however mostly focused on A-Yuan now.

Good, he could feel Mo Xuanyu exhaling shakily behind him and clutching his hand tighter. He must have been scared after all. Well, looking back, perhaps A-Yuan had been a little too excited when he had wanted to introduce him to everyone at once – as all his classmates were his friends so it was only fair if they became Mo Xuanyu’s as well –, he should probably start small. After all, Mo Xuanyu had not had any friends until now, it must have been overwhelming to be suddenly surrounded by so many people.

Luckily, it was at that exact moment that the ring rang, announcing the lesson would start in just a bit. Although still filled with curiosity, most of their classmates left to go sit down before their teacher would arrive. The only ones who were left standing with them were A-Yuan’s best friends.

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu’s heart beat was still way too fast even after there were only three people left standing in front for him and A-Yuan. Truth to be told, he had gotten quite a shock when the whole classroom worth of children came to stare at him, he was not used to getting so much attention. In fact, he usually avoided standing out as much as possible. He never knew who would tell anything to his family and it would only make things harder for him.

It had already happened a few times in the past. His aunt and uncle had somehow found out about his life at school and they were not too happy with him misbehaving and causing trouble for them, even getting them called to school on one unfortunate and purely accidental occasion, Mo Xuanyu for sure did not want to recall the days following that time. It was better to just lay low and obey his family even when he was not at home and in their line of sight.

Even now, he was scared that they would get to know he had been living with his teacher’s family instead of in his garden shack while they had been on holidays. And possibly also about him breaking their rules which instructed him to only speak with his teachers, and only ever when answering their questions. He did not want to as much as imagine how his relatives would react to him having a blast these last few days.

Perhaps it would still be possible to hide everything from them, after all, that was his hope at least. Mo Xuanyu did not believe that his teacher’s family would tell them anything about his time at their house or about the medicine they had gotten for him. However, it would be another story entirely if the whole class started interacting with him and he would let himself be smitten by that.

Thought, if it would be just a few people who approached him, perhaps it could still be fine? He dearly wanted what A-Yuan had talked so much about: having friends sounded like a lot of fun. Even if he would ultimately be able to interact with them only at school and when no one would see and tell his family. Perhaps he would even be able to manage somehow talking to them?

That sounded like something which was too good to be true though, like a fairy tale. Thinking about changing his life from now on sounded so exciting, but at the same time, it filled him with unfiltered horror. Until today, he had not been able to talk to anyone aside for his teacher’s family and the doctor they took him to see – which in fact was a conversation initiated by his teacher, so it did not really count as going against his family’s orders – he had not managed to say a single word to anyone else. Not in the past and not since he had come to live with his teacher’s family.

Would the friends that A-Yuan wanted to introduce to him want to actually spend time with him? It would surely be too boring if he always shied away from them and could not even take part in their conversations!

Mo Xuanyu did not get any more time to delve in his worries as A-Yuan was now gently tugging at his hand, encouraging him to step forward. The three people in front of them were staring at him with great curiosity and Mo Xuanyu immediately found it hard to look up at them. He was suddenly feeling very conscious of all the differences between them. He held A-Yuan’s hand tighter, trying to gain the needed courage and confidence from the other.

A-Yuan looked back at him and smiled a little, nodding his head in a silent encouragement. Mo Xuanyu straightened his back slightly, he could embarrass himself but he could not cause trouble for someone who only wanted to be nice to him and introduce him to their friends. He tried his best to lift his head and look up but he succeeded only half-way. So much for his previous excitement, all he felt now was nervosity.

A-Yuan did not wait for him to get his bearings – which was in fact good thinking as he was afraid that otherwise, he would have never been able to face this challenge – and he was already introducing everyone: “They are Jin Ling, Ouyang Zizhen and MianMian. They are my best friends.”

One by one, A-Yuan had pointed at the three people in front of them and then at Mo Xuanyu himself. He squeezed his hand a little tighter, probably to let him know that everything would be just fine and tugged at him to come more into the view.

“And this is A-Yu.” A-Yuan shot Mo Xuanyu another calming smile before continuing with the introduction: “I know you already met him, he was in our class from the beginning, but we had never gotten a chance to know him properly. Now, I would like him to also join us. Let us be best friends together!”

The three people’s – Jin Ling’s, Ouyang Zizhen’s and MianMian’s – eyes went impossibly wide with surprise. And it was nothing unexpected really, Mo Xuanyu thought. There was no way they would be able to stay calm when one day, they just ignored him and the next one, A-Yuan was telling them to became best friends with someone like him. Nevertheless, it made him happy to see that they did not outright reject the proposition, nor did they look too reluctant to consider it.

Ouyang Zizhen, the smaller of the two boys, overcame his surprise first. He stepped forward and smiled at him without any restraints or ill will, at least as far as Mo Xuanyu could tell. “Nice to meet you A-Yu,” he said and held out his hand.

For a brief second, Mo Xuanyu was confused about what he should do. But Ouyang Zizhen must have understood his struggles and acted first. He reached a little bit further until he took hold of Mo Xuanyu’s other hand, the one that was not already all but glued into A-Yuan’s. The smile never left his lips as he carefully and gently shook his hand before releasing it again.

Mo Xuanyu was so baffled and bewildered that he could not even react in any way. He could only stare at the other with a stupefied face. Had he just made a friend? His first one beside A-Yuan? Was it really so easy to meet people? It was still hard for him to believe that something like this was happening.

He never got enough time to process his confusion and wonder and Jin Ling was already talking: “Hi,” was all he said but to Mo Xuanyu, it still sounded like the most heartfelt acceptance.

Jin Ling was a little bigger than Ouyang Zizhen and also than A-Yuan, but not overly so. His body built was just robust and solid, without being too intimidating. What however Mo Xuanyu found a little scary was his pouting expression. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here, getting to know him, or as if he already disliked him and only was talking to him because A-Yuan suggested it.

Mo Xuanyu’s heart fell. After seeing how easy it had been with Ouyang Zizhen, he had gotten his hopes up. But it had of course been self-fooling from his part, not everyone would accept him with open arms. After all, they had never even talked before, how could he expect Jin Ling to immediately accept him as his friend?

A-Yuan must have noticed his mood dying out and he leaned to him and whispered to his ear: “Do not worry, A-Yu. Jin Ling is not scary at all. He just likes to play hard to approach. But once you will get to know him better, he is actually the best friend there is.”

A-Yuan’s words immediately calmed him down.  He had no idea why or how the other was doing it, but he was still incredibly grateful to him. He felt like with A-Yuan by his side, suddenly nothing was impossible. He did not even fear his family finding out about him disobeying them. Or at least not too much.

Encouraged and excited yet again, Mo Xuanyu turned to MianMian, the only girl in the group. She seemed to be quite shy, just like him. She did not say anything, only smiled at him sheepishly and waved her hand from where she had been clutching them together in front of her stomach. Mo Xuanyu immediately thought that he liked her the best. Of course, not as much as A-Yuan, but the most out of the three new people he had just been introduced to him.

He dared to nod his head in her direction and give her as smile, just as shy as her own. Her cheeks became red at once. The two of them really resembled each other a lot it would seem.

Before they could do anything else or talk a little more, the second bell rang and it was high time they went to sit down, the teacher would be arriving any second now. Mo Xuanyu only took one step in the direction of his seat, the very last one at the furthest corner of the classroom. But A-Yuan would not let him continue.

As he was still holding his hand, he never let go and all but dragged him to sit right next to himself where there was an empty spot. Mo Xuanyu was baffled yet again. And then, he had to sit down, right next to A-Yuan, because the teacher just entered the room.

Chapter Text

Lan Wangji was worried about his husband so he came to find him during the first opportunity he could get. He would usually not go see him as their assigned working places were in two different school buildings. However, he had guessed, and rightfully so as he constated as soon as he arrived, that Wei Ying would have still not gotten over this morning and seeing Mo Xuanyu in distress.

He found his husband looking outside of the window with a half worried and half relieved expression. He knew he must have been observing the children who came to play outside during this long pause. After all, even just fifteen minutes was long enough for them to go get some fresh air and run around a little. There was no one else in the teacher’s office so he came directly up to his husband and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Without leaving the children with his eyes, Wei Ying reached one of his own hands up and covered the one touching him in a silent gesture of gratitude.

Lan Wangji had to resist the urge to kiss him, it would not be appropriate at school, even if no one saw them. They had already been through the discussion and they were of the same mind when it came to this topic. So, he only let his hand linger on his husband’s shoulder in an innocent enough way so any colleagues coming in would not have anything to say about intimacy at workplace.

“Wei Ying, what is worrying you?”

He did not have to ask, not really. After all, he had come here because he knew his husband would be preoccupied with thoughts about Mo Xuanyu. But seeing him staring out of the window with such an expression, he had not been prepared for that. Without waiting for a reply, he also looked out and tried to see what his husband’s attention was focused on. He scanned the whole playground and finally spotted what could be the matter.

A-Yuan and his friends were not playing like usually, running around with endless energy and laughter. They were standing in a far corner of the playground and huddled together in a small circle near the fence delimiting the school grounds. That was not what surprised Lan Wangji however, of course it could happen that the children did not want to play right now or were discussing a new game or something. No, the more eye-catching thing was that Mo Xuanyu with them.

“I wonder if A-Yu is fine out there…” Wei Ying whispered without averting the eyes from the scene outside.

Indeed, it did not seem like Mo Xuanyu was completely at ease. Actually, the exact opposite if Lan Wangji could tell from this far away and without hearing what the children were talking about. It looked like Mo Xuanyu was the centre of attention with all the others standing around him and basically crowding him. A-Yuan visibly tried to stand between him and the others, but it did not seem to be working. Mo Xuanyu was hunched into himself, very nervous to even a distant observer.

“Should we intervene?” asked Wei Ying worriedly. That was in fact a good question. One to which Lan Wangji had no answer.

Since he had no idea what exactly the situation in the playground was about, he could not decide whether it was good or bad. Mo Xuanyu could have been nervous due to a number of reasons. If it happened that A-Yuan’s friends only wanted him to join their games, that would be completely fine. The boy could use to gain some friends and start living a normal life. However, if they were bullying both Mo Xuanyu and A-Yuan for some reason – A-Yuan’s clearly protective position did not leave any doubts as to the fact he was right in the middle of whatever was happening –, well, Lan Wangji would not stand for that.

“Hmm…” he replied thoughtfully, feeling the muscles in Wei Ying’s shoulder becoming tenser with every heartbeat.

Wei Ying continued whispering, now seemingly more to himself than for Lan Wangji: “A-Yu was so nervous this morning, I do not want him to face any difficulties, especially not now when he finally started opening up… He should have a good time at school and forget about everything that was happening to him at home. I just want him to be a normal happy kid.”

Lan Wangji did not reply but he agreed wholeheartedly. Yes, it would be good if Mo Xuanyu came out of his shell and could interact without any problems or fears with other children. It would be sad if he remained caught in the past. Perhaps they should take him to see the school psychologist soon?

Suddenly, the situation outside changed. It must have somehow escalated because now, A-Yuan looked super mad and was waving his hands around in big circles, evidently scaring both his friends and Mo Xuanyu. This was something their usually very mature and well-behaved son did so scarcely it was clear he was truly agitated. Wei Ying took a sharp breath and Lan Wangji just knew he was ready to run outside and go protect their boys.

He tightened his grip on his husband’s shoulder and would not let him turn around and leave. Of course, if he had been truly worried about either Mo Xuanyu or A-Yuan, or the both of them, he would not spare even a second to run to their help. However, that was not the case at the moment.

For he noticed that even if the situation looked bad from the outside, everything must have been actually fine. Although A-Yuan seemed agitated and determined to protect Mo Xuanyu, he had already calmed down and was not waving his hands around anymore. His friends had not retaliated in any way, only took a step back and remained there calmly.

And most importantly, Mo Xuanyu himself did not look as scared as he could have been. He had probably only gotten a little surprised but he was already back at A-Yuan’s side, and if Lan Wangji saw correctly, holding his hand. A-Yuan turned around and smiled at the other boy. They looked like best friends already even thought they had started interacting only a few days ago. A-Yuan was doing such a good job that none of the adults had to intervene. Right then, the children went back to talking, all very much calmer now and not crowding Mo Xuanyu anymore.

Lan Wangji let out a small relieved breath, he did not even know he was holding it in. He had been nervous after all, just like his husband. It looked like Wei Ying’s relief was even bigger than his own as his husband forgot all about being at school and leaned closer to Lan Wangji. He pressed his band against his husband’s chest and reached up to once again hold the hand which was still resting on his shoulder.

Lan Wangji could tell he was smiling indulgently when he finally spoke: “I should not be this worried, right? The children are all grown up now, they can take care of this on their own.” He abruptly turned towards Lan Wangji and shot him a blinding smile: “A-Yuan is a really good kid. He must have taken after you.”

“And you,” shook Lan Wangji his head in response to his husband’s nonsense. Of course they had both had a hand in A-Yuan’s education and their son had become so goodhearted because he had Wei Ying as his example. He would always stand up to protect his friends and was very apt at resolving tense situations on his own.

“We are such fortunate parents, are we not?” Wei Ying continued smiling as he turned around to once again look outside and marvel at the children.

“Yes, we are,” agreed Lan Wangji. He stood by his side, his heart full of pride and warmth. He knew at that moment that Mo Xuanyu would be just fine. They would all be.

Chapter Text

As the morning progressed, Mo Xuanyu was slowly getting more and more used to the whole idea of having friends. Truth to be told, the first and second breaktimes were quite hectic and nerve wracking, but it got better in the end. Thanks to A-Yuan of course.

During the first short break, Jin Ling had approached him with Ouyang Zizhen and MianMian following closely behind him. They had all still looked very curious and it had not taken long for them to come to his new sitting place – to which he had still not gotten used either – and had been shooting him glances. Luckily, they had not tried to talk to him, they had only questioned A-Yuan about him.

And A-Yuan had explained to the best of his abilities without actually telling them anything about the new living arrangements which had taken place during the weekend. He had only revealed that from then on, he would be friends with Mo Xuanyu and that they should accept it. Hearing that, to Mo Xuanyu’s unending surprise, the three children just nodded.

It had been during the second and longer break when things had gotten a little more heated and uncomfortable. Just as he had promised in the morning, A-Yuan had invited Mo Xuanyu to go to the outside area together with everyone else. Mo Xuanyu had been nervous to be seen outside of the school with someone but he had accepted anyway, his desire to act amicably and not lose his new friends had won.

It had been only then that Ouyang Zizhen had finally not been able to keep his curiosity in check anymore and had started asking him questions. So many questions to which Mo Xuanyu could not have replied. He had felt his throat tightening and his cheeks burning with embarrassment and discomfort at being the centre of attention, and he could have not gotten out a single word.

When Jin Ling had seen that, he just had had to pour even oil into the fire of Mo Xuanyu’s panic and he had asked him, in quite an angry and insistent way, why he would not talk to them. Hearing the scolding voice, Mo Xuanyu could not have helped it and he had reached out for A-Yuan in a silent plea for support and protection.

The situation had reminded him too much of the start of the last school year. Back then, he had been assigned to a new class and nobody had known him. That was why they had also not known any better but to try and approach him in the beginning, as if they had wanted to make friends with him. When he would not talk to them and act withdrawn, in the end, they had started bullying him for a while to get any reaction out of him. That had been when his uncle and aunt had been called to school.

Mo Xuanyu’s breathing had quickened when he had seen Jin Ling taking a step closer to him. It had felt just like back then. He had now angered him, he had been going to be hit!

And then it had happened. A-Yuan had stepped up for him and defended him. He had even gotten mad with his friends and threatened that he would not talk to them anymore if they would not stop annoying Mo Xuanyu.

From that moment on, everything changed as if by magic. Jin Ling stopped being so insistent and even apologized, somewhat begrudgingly and while his cheeks were burning, but apologized all the same. Mo Xuanyu could not recall the last time anyone had ever regretted their actions when it came to him. At least before he had spent several days at his teacher’s house.

Now, everything seemed to have gotten a lot calmed and actually more relaxing. It was lunchbreak and Mo Xuanyu was standing in the line to get his meal together with the three others. He was listening to their conversation about how A-Yuan’s birthdays party had been a lot of fun and he had to smile to himself. They were not insistently asking him questions anymore but here and there, they – especially A-Yuan and MianMian – turned to him and let him also take part in the conversation with having him nod his head or shake it according to the topic they were just going through.

Mo Xuanyu felt like he was in paradise. He had never experienced such easy and fun time at school, for some unknown reason, it felt completely natural, he was just included in the group and that was it. It was that simple.

After getting their meal, Mo Xuanyu followed the others to one of the tables a little in the back, away from the noisiest area, and sat down next to A-Yuan. His friend smiled at him and nodded his head. If Mo Xuanyu did not know any better – or was this also reality? He realized he had harder and harder time to stay vigilant and not enjoy everything that was happening around him, and in which he was taking part –, he would have thought that it was a silent encouragement and reassurance. But that was impossible. Or was it really? He did not know anymore, he just felt like he could sit down at their table without asking anyone for a permission.

It was the best meal of his life. Mo Xuanyu could say it without any exaggeration. Even when living with his teacher’s family, he had never been this relaxed as he had always been secretly worried that he would do something bad and would be sent away. No matter how many times he had tried to persuade himself that his teacher nor his husband would do anything like that, he still could not chase the hidden fears away completely. Even though they were treating him in a completely different way than his uncle and aunt, they were still adults like them.

With A-Yuan and his friends however, there was no hidden discomfort. They were of the same age as him, there was nothing to be afraid of. At worst, Mo Xuanyu felt like Jin Ling would get pouty again, but they would not send him away or stop talking to him. He had no idea where all this confidence and certainty came from, it was just there. He was even smiling and could not stop himself no matter what he did. Not that he was even trying all that hard.

“A-Yu,” suddenly turned to him Ouyang Zizhen, “you should come play soccer with us after school.”

The proposition was so sudden Mo Xuanyu was startled. He had no idea how to play and did not know either if he would not be inconveniencing his teacher if he was delayed after school. He did not want to be a burden to anyone. But how should he explain something like this to Ouyang Zizhen without using any words? Mo Xuanyu lowered his head and his shoulders slumped.

It was once again A-Yuan who understood him even without saying anything and saved him from his worries: “A-Yu, it will be fine. Dad will come for us after he finishes with his work and it usually takes a while after the classes are over. We should have fun some fun in the meantime.” Then, as if he suddenly remembered something, he added: “If you do not feel like playing, you can sit on the side-line with MianMian and watch. She is not too fond of playing soccer most of the time. Are you, MianMian?”

The girl in question shook her head immediately and shyly agreed: “I only join sometimes. So, if you want A-Yu, we can watch together. It will be even more fun.”

She smiled at him and Mo Xuanyu returned the favour. If all of his friends were saying it was fine, he should then try it. After all, he had always longed to actually join in on the fun the children were having after school. He knew it was just a nice dream and that he could not go, not when he had to hurry home and get on with the house chores.

Now though, this dream was coming true. He nodded his head shyly to agree and thank his friends for their invitation.

Chapter Text

A-Yuan was slowly starting to not get worried too much for Mo Xuanyu. His friend had relaxed a lot from the morning and he was now able to even interact with the others more or less freely. He did not manage to speak to them, but A-Yuan was sure it would not be too long until he would. It would be just fine, Mo Xuanyu was only getting used to everything. After all, it had taken him a long time before he had had courage to talk to anyone beside A-Yuan’s dad when he first came to live with them.

Still, it was such a great and noticeable change that no one could have missed it. Even the other children in their class were looking their way, but they did not come closer yet. And A-Yuan was just a little relieved they did not. He did not want Mo Xuanyu to became overwhelmed, he had a feeling that if it happened, his friend would take a lot longer to start feeling completely at ease around other people.

It was great watching him shyly reply to questions he, MianMian and Ouyang Zizhen gave him. A-Yuan had made sure Jin Ling understood he could not act all spoiled and pouty around Mo Xuanyu so for now, the boy in question kept a little bit of distance. But it was nothing that would not go away over time. In fact, A-Yuan could bet that Jin Ling would be best friends with Mo Xuanyu the very next day. He was all thorns and irritable on the outside, but a good boy overall.

He was happy for Mo Xuanyu. After not having any friends and no one who could come talk to him from the beginning of the school year – and perhaps even before that, but A-Yuan could only suspect as he had not asked directly – Mo Xuanyu was finally getting accepted as part of the class. Not just someone who blended in and was ignored by everyone, but instead as a true classmate whom the others would like to spend their time with.

Despite all of his happiness though, A-Yuan still kept an eye on Mo Xuanyu. He stepped up for him when he felt like the other was not completely comfortable and he defended him when anyone came asking too many questions. Baby steps first, it was not as if Mo Xuanyu had to become best friends with the whole class in just one day.

And then, finally, the classes were over for the day and the teacher let them go play. This would usually be the time when Mo Xuanyu would silently stand up and leave to go home. Not today though, today they had a soccer match to play before his dad came to pick them up. A-Yuan was getting excited already.

He turned towards Mo Xuanyu, convinced his friend felt the same way. What he saw however was that the other was still sitting on his chair with a lost expression. He frowned internally, becoming worried yet again. He kept smiling though when he asked quietly: “A-Yu, is anything the matter? Do you feel sick?”

Had A-Yuan perhaps overlooked something? Had he been too happy all on his own? Luckily, after hearing the question, Mo Xuanyu seemed to have snapped from wherever his mind had been wandering and looked up. His expression flashed with surprise and something A-Yuan did not want to believe was fear but was afraid that it was exactly the case. It was only for a second and then he was giving him that shy smile of his and shaking his head.

So he was alright then, A-Yuan was relieved. He wanted to ask what had been the matter before, but he refrained from it in the end. The last thing he wanted to do was to remind Mo Xuanyu about anything that had made him afraid.

“Alright, that is good,” he smiled in return. “Let us go play soccer with the others now, what do you say? They should be waiting in our usual spot.”

To this, Mo Xuanyu’s eyes became sparkly and his expression cleared into one of happiness and anticipation. He suddenly looked so much like an overgrown excited puppy that A-Yuan wanted to give him treats and cuddle with him. That would not be too appropriate for a human so he only patted Mo Xuanyu’s head as he had seen his dad do. It earned him a much wider smile.

He took the other’s hand in his, just like this morning when the other had been so nervous. This time, even if his friend was fine, he still could not help himself but to be just a little worried. He would not want Mo Xuanyu to get lost, the place where they usually went to play after the classes were over was in a corner of the playground, hidden behind the swings so they would have a little privacy. It was not so easy to find if one did not know about it in advance.

Mo Xuanyu did not protest in any way and was following him eagerly. It was clear that he was looking forward to the soccer game. A-Yuan wondered if his friend would still keep himself back or if he would join the game in the end. He would of course make sure he invited him again. But he would not insist, he wanted Mo Xuanyu to be able to decide if he wanted to play or not.

When they arrived to the secret meeting place, everyone was already there, waiting just as he had expected. Jin Ling looked somewhat pouty and dissatisfied with their late arrival but luckily, he refrained from saying anything aloud. Which was only good, Mo Xuanyu did not need anyone sneering at him and showering him with biting remarks, no matter how fake they were in reality.

“Hi!” A-Yuan greeted excitedly, as if they had not just seen each other in the classroom. After all, this was different, it was not time to school anymore, they could have fun on their own.

Jin Ling only puffed out his cheeks and made a little disapproving sound, most probably still mad that he was left waiting. MianMian and Ouyang Zizhen on the other hand seemed happy to see them.

“A-Yu, do you want to play with us?” Ouyang Zizhen asked Mo Xuanyu. When he did not receive any kind of reply, he only smiled and reassured, “you do not have too if you do not feel like it. But if you will want to later, just tell us, alright?” To this, Mo Xuanyu nodded his head almost unperceptively, but with only little hesitation.

“Good,” closed Ouyang Zizhen this part of the conversation and then turned towards A-Yuan and Jin Ling: “Since it is for now just the three of us, let us go with a game of everyone against everyone. The goal area will be the same as always, the rules…”

A-Yuan stopped listening; he already knew the rules. They always went with either a kind of play where each one of them was against the others and tried to score or, when MianMian or anyone else joined them, with a normal team soccer game. He hoped that Mo Xuanyu would find it a lot of fun and would want to join them after a while. They could switch to team game at any moment. It was not like they were keeping a serious score or anything.

“A-Yu, if you want to, you can come here with me. We can watch while sitting on the swings. It is a lot of fun.” A-Yuan let go of Mo Xuanyu’s hand at that, letting him join her and go play on the swings. He knew Mo Xuanyu liked those very much and he was not worried he would not have a good time even without joining the soccer game.

Jin Ling did not wait for anything else and let the ball, that he had until that point been holding in his hands, fall to the ground, kicking it in the direction of the wall where their goal area was. A-Yuan shot Mo Xuanyu one last reassuring smile and then run after Jin Ling. He could not let him score first.

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian finished with all his classes and was now sitting at his deskin the teacher’s office, trying to grade the test he had let his students take. In fact, trying was the correct word as he was getting nowhere even after almost half an hour. And it was just a multichoice quiz as well! Even when thinking about other things, he should have still been able to check if the answers were correct just by comparing them to his prepared grading sheet.

However, he could not do it. His mind was in a total disarray and he could not stop thinking about Mo Xuanyu. After the break when he had seen him outside with A-Yuan and his friends, he had not had the opportunity to check on him again. His class did not have biology lesson today and he had resisted with all his might going to find the children during other breaks. It would look weird if he was spying on them all the time.

That was why, now that all the classes were finished for the day and he knew A-Yuan would be waiting for him while playing with his friends behind the playground, he could not wait to finally go check on things. He was convinced that he would find Mo Xuanyu in the same place, A-Yuan had not looked like he was about to leave him alone for the day when they had left their house.

Wei Wuxian’s mind was torn between two possibilities: going to fetch the children later and letting them enjoy their game or going immediately and finally calming himself down. Internally, he was listing the pros and cons of both options and it was so distracting that it kept him from grading the tests properly.

In the end, after that half an hour of agonizing, he finally realized that he would not get any work done anyway. He was too distracted and worried. He needed to check on Mo Xuanyu as soon as possible. Although there were no grounds for him to really be worried, the boy was with A-Yuan after all, he could just not help himself. He remembered from his personal experience how hard it had been to get used to a new living situation.

Not that Mo Xuanyu knew about all the changes that were about to happen. Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan had still not told him everything, they wanted him to first settle down a little before sitting with him and explaining everything. But children were able to feel such things even without being explicitly told. After all, had A-Yuan not immediately become protective of the possible new member of their family without fully understanding the situation? Wei Wuxian was convinced that Mo Xuanyu also understood deep down.

He quickly tidied up his desk to the best of his abilities and gathered his coat and bag. He went down to the playground to find the children. They still had plenty of time to continue playing, he just wanted to keep an eye on them while they did. He always loved looking at his sons having fun and now he felt the same when it came to Mo Xuanyu, his heart was swelling as if he had already gained another son.

He arrived soon enough and saw that A-Yuan was playing soccer together with Ouyang Zizhen and Jin Ling and Mo Xuanyu was sitting on a swing, watching them with MianMian. Wei Wuxian was not even too surprised that Mo Xuanyu had not joined in on the game. He most probably did not know the rules and was too shy to ask. It could have also been that he was still not feeling completely healed despite the fact that his bruises had faded a little during the weekend.

Or, and at this possibility, Wei Wuxian’s heart skipped several beats, it could be the same as when he had taken the children to the park. Back then, Mo Xuanyu had also made no move to go play. But it was simply because he did not know how as he had never been allowed to. His guardians had probably never let him go have any fun, only told him to do all the chores around the house and then beat him or do even worse things before sending him back to the garden shack.

Wei Wuxian could not let go of this scenario that his head supplied. He was now sure that it was the correct one, or at least the one which was the closest to the truth. Mo Xuanyu must have been holding back because he had never known anything else. Time to change things for the better.

Wei Wuxian approached the swings and made sure he was smiling when he gently called: “A-Yu, MianMian, I see the game is going well?”

Just as he had feared, Mo Xuanyu was startled and quickly turned around. His eyes however calmed down a second later, as soon as he realized that he was not in any kind of danger and it was only his teacher coming up to him. He even remained sitting on the swing instead of immediately jumping off of it and backing away, a reaction Wei Wuxian had actually expected. There was some progress right there.

MianMian turned towards him as well and greeted back: “Good afternoon, Teacher. Yes, they have just started a couple of minutes ago.”

“I see, let us watch together then.”

As if encouraged by their words, Mo Xuanyu shyly nodded his head in his direction. Wei Wuxian’s heart almost jumped out of his chest. The boy was acting so adorably and so much better than he had been thinking. A-Yuan must have done a great job of easing Mo Xuanyu’s fears and getting rid of his nervousness.

Wei Wuxian stood next to the swings and watched the game as well. However, he watched only for show, instead, he was secretly observing Mo Xuanyu. It seemed like the boy had finally gotten the hang of swinging by himself – the first day in the park, Wei Wuxian had to push the swing for him as he had been fighting to find his balance – and he was now fully immersed in the game. His eyes were sparkling and his lips were parted in a little adorable “o”. Wei Wuxian could not be mistaken, Mo Xuanyu wanted to join the game.

After several minutes of waiting if the boy would ask by himself, Wei Wuxian decided to act. He was hoping that he had understood correctly and would not cause Mo Xuanyu any harm when his injuries had just started healing. He left his post by the side and came closer to him. As soon as the child saw him approaching, he stopped swinging and was looking at him nervously. Wei Wuxian smiled reassuringly; he had not wanted to make him afraid. He kneeled down by the swing and looked up into the other’s eyes.

“A-Yu, why do you not go join them if you want? I am certain A-Yuan will explain everything to you. Surely you would have a lot of fun with your friends.” The boy shot a glance in the direction of the game but did not make any move to go. He only clutched the strings of the swing tighter and looked more unsure now.

At that moment, A-Yuan finally noticed that Wei Wuxian came to watch them and run towards where he was standing. “Dad, is it time to go already?” he asked.

Wei Wuxian turned his head towards his son and replied: “No, A-Yuan, I only came a little earlier to see how you were doing. You can still play for a while longer just like any other time.”

Suddenly, he noticed a movement from the corner of his eyes. Mo Xuanyu straightened his back and looked in A-Yuan’s direction. Wei Wuxian discreetly shifted his gaze and realized that the boy’s eyes were now sparkling even brighter. He was barely sitting on the swing anymore, very visibly eager to actually go join the game. Wei Wuxian should have realized sooner; the boy had been worried that there was no time for him to go enjoy the playtime.

He turned his attention back to his son and prompted: “A-Yuan, why do you not take A-Yu to play with you? I am sure he would like to join the game. You can explain the rules to him and teach him, right?”

“Of course,” exclaimed A-Yuan enthusiastically and he was already grabbing Mo Xuanyu by his hand and dragging him towards the others, “come join us, A-Yu.” Wei Wuxian was not afraid of the perhaps too strong enthusiasm, his son and their friends would for sure take good care of the boy. And Mo Xuanyu did not look like he minded at all either.

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu quickly understood the rules, they were pretty simple really once you got the hang of it. The practical part of the game – running was not the issue, but kicking the ball in the correct direction? That was a whole other story – was a little more challenging. But it seemed that even in this aspect, his new friends were trying to accommodate him. Where they have been running around in all direction and doing tricks before, they were now apparently slowing down and letting Mo Xuanyu get the hang of everything.

Well, at least A-Yuan and Ouyang Zizhen definitely were. When it came to Jin Ling, he only could keep himself back for a short while. Mo Xuanyu was still very grateful to all three of them. This was the first time he was playing with other children like this, he had never known it could be so much fun.

And then it happened. He had gotten careless and forgot how to watch his surroundings. When he would be looking back to the incident in a few hours, he would be asking himself how he could have not been paying attention to the people around him. He had always been an expert in this field. It was really a necessity at home to be always vigilant and never forget what the other family members were doing and where exactly they were. Judging the distance between them and himself could have always meant a difference between going to sleep peacefully or receiving a lesson in discipline.

But right now, he forgot to watch where Jin Ling was and they run into each other. It was nothing major really, the other was perfectly fine as he was way more robust than him. However, as they had both been running, Mo Xuanyu could not maintain his balance and literally bounced off of the bigger boy, staggered and fell onto the ground.

His knees connected painfully with the paved flooring and only barely caught himself with his hands before he would hit his head as well.

He did not mind, he had known far worse, and got up immediately, bowing his head and body in Jin Ling’s direction to apologize to him. Had he been more careful this would not have happened. He discretely scanned his friend to see if he was in any kind of pain, that was the last thing he wanted. The others were kind enough to let him join and now he was already causing trouble. He really was a bad boy like his aunt and uncle always said.

Before he could straighten himself and go sit back on the swings where he would hopefully not cause any more trouble and neither be a burden, there were loud voices talking all around him. Suddenly, everyone seemed to be shouting and Mo Xuanyu lowered his head even more. Now he had done it, he had made them mad. And he had no way of apologizing. He prepared himself for the worse.

However, to his endless surprise and wonder, no one was hitting him nor actually shouting at him. He only realized they were fussing about him when his teacher was suddenly kneeling in front of him and looking at his scraped knees and palms, everyone else was standing around and scolding Jin Ling for not being careful enough. Mo Xuanyu was so shocked that he could not even make out what they were saying.

His head was starting to spin from all the commotion he could not understand. He had been the one to run into Jin Ling, so why were they not scolding him? Why was his teacher looking at those miniscule and minor wounds as if they were life threatening? Sure, it hurt a little bit, but Mo Xuanyu was used to that. And most importantly, why was his teacher now lifting him off the ground and running towards the school building?

Once Mo Xuanyu finally came out of his surprise, he opened his mouth to ask where he was being taken. Not that it mattered much. Even if his teacher was going to punish him or scold him somewhere out of public eyes, he would be fine with it, everything had been his fault after all.

However, deep down, there was a hidden but all that more insistent doubt. His teacher was holding him very gently and when Mo Xuanyu finally looked up at him, he noticed the adult was frowning worriedly. The next thing he realized was the fact that his teacher was talking to him in a soothing tone. His lips were moving but it took Mo Xuanyu another few steps to understand what he was saying.

“… worry, you will be just fine A-Yu. You are such a brave and good boy. But if you want to cry because it hurts, you can, no one aside for me will ever know. Just hold on a little longer, Wen Qing will help with all the pain…”

Now, Mo Xuanyu was even more shocked and confused. Why would his teacher be taking him to see the nurse? It was not like his injuries were anything major, compared to what usually happened to him, this was nothing. They would heal in a couple of days all on their own. He would just have a little difficulty using his hands, but it truly was nothing he could not deal with.

Moreover, it was not as if anyone else was responsible for the injuries, it had been him who should have paid more attention to his surroundings. It was just that he had been having way too much fun and forgot himself for a second. How could he have thought that it would be fine if he acted like all the other children? If his uncle and aunt heard a word about this, they would be so mad.

Thinking about his family finding out about him causing trouble at school again, an ice-cold chill run up and down Mo Xuanyu’s spine. They would have many reasons to be angry with him for when they came back from their holiday, he did not have to add another one. As things stood, they would surely discover that he had not been staying home as he had been told and would once again show him just how bad of a boy he was.

He shuddered involuntarily and reached out to his teacher. It was more of an instinctive gesture really, if he had been in the right mindset, he would have never done something so presumptuous and daring. But he was getting desperate. After spending the last few days living in what he could only name as bliss, he suddenly remembered that the good days were numbered for him. He would have to go back to his own house before his family returned.

Realizing this, he was scared of his aunt’s, uncle’s and cousin’s reaction to him disobeying them in so many aspects, he was now terrified.  Although he should have known it would end up like that, he had somehow managed to forget and now it came back to bite him from behind.

He tightened his fists with which he was now holding onto his teacher’s shirt for dear life. And then, he did the most foolish thing he had ever done at school, he spoke without being asked, he begged even: “Teacher, please, do not tell my family about this…”

He was not sure it would work, but he was feeling desperate enough to at least try. After all, his teacher had been so good to him, perhaps it could work? He wanted dearly for his family to remain in the dark about everything he had done these past few days. He wished it could be his little cherished secret.

Chapter Text

“Teacher, please, do not tell my family about this…” whispered Mo Xuanyu almost inaudibly while clinging to him and shivering all over.

Wei Wuxian’s heart almost broke into a million pieces seeing this precious boy so scared again. He had thought they had already passed the worst stage but of course it would not be so easy. And why would it even? After a lifetime of being neglected and abused, of course Mo Xuanyu would not be out of the woods with just a few days of normal life. He must have now been scared to death that he would be blamed for getting injured or something similar.

Wei Wuxian briefly thought back to the soccer game and was asking himself whether he had done the right thing in encouraging the boy to join in. Perhaps he had been too hasty. He had forgotten that Mo Xuanyu’s injuries from his time with his family were not even properly healed yet, and he had told him to go run around and strain himself. What kind of a parent was he? He should have been more aware and mindful of the situation. This one really fell onto his head.

He knew he was perhaps panicking too much, but he could not help himself. Had it been anyone else, he would not get this stressed over a few scraped knees and palms, it happened all the times with boys, he had learned that very quickly with A-Yuan and A-Yi. However, when it came to Mo Xuanyu, he did not want this child to suffer even as minor of an injury as this. He had already been through enough as it was.

And, he was even more worried if the boy had not aggravated his previous injuries by any chance. That was why he was now running with him in his arms, straight to the infirmary. Wen Qing should still be there, she could examine him and if necessary, Wei Wuxian was ready to take a trip to a hospital immediately.

He was running through the hallways and earning himself several surprised stares. He did not mind one bit at the moment. He just wanted to have someone look at Mo Xuanyu’s injuries the fastest possible.

Wei Wuxian knew the boy had been in a great distress and he had been whispering reassurances to him all this while. And if he himself also needed some to calm himself down, well, no one needed to know. Especially not the child. He had enough on his plate to worry about.

But that single whispered pleas made Wei Wuxian stopped on the spot and look down at the trembling and fragile body he was holding in his arms. His eyes were swimming with tears that he refused to let fall, he could not crumble now, Mo Xuanyu needed to see him strong and confident of his answer.

He took a breath and somehow managed to smile when he immediately reassured: “A-Yu, do not worry. Of course, no one will tell your family, do not be scared, alright? I only want Wen Qing – the school nurse, you remember her, she had looked at your injuries before – to do a quick check up. Just in case anything is wrong. I am sure she will bandage your injuries for you and also give you a candy for being brave. So, do not worry A-Yu, everything will be just fine and we can then go to the supermarket and buy everything we need for our evening feast.”

He was not sure which part of his rumbling worked, but Mo Xuanyu’s eyes were no longer full of fear by the time he stopped talking. He was still shaking, but Wei Wuxian guessed it could not be helped. After all, the boy had just had a terrible scare, was injured and in an unfamiliar situation. Anyone would be distressed under such circumstances.

In the heat of the moment, Wei Wuxian leaned down a little and kissed the boy’s forehead, just as he would do to his own children when they needed more reassurance than what he could offer with words alone. Sometimes, the simple gestures worked the best.

And it was a success this time as well. When Wei Wuxian stood up straight again and smiled at the child in his arms – it was easier now, he had managed to calm down as well – Mo Xuanyu’s eyes were filled with wonder and surprise instead of fear.

A little comically, as if he had never been soothed in this way before, which was probably the correct guess, the boy reached out his hand and touched his forehead. His eyes went even wider and his mouth parted in a silent surprised “o”. He looked positively adorable, albeit the picture was tainted in Wei Wuxian’s mind by the knowledge of the child’s past. Part of him thought that it was very pitiful how surprised Mo Xuanyu was with such small and common expressions of affection and love.

“Everything will be fine. Your guardians will not get to know a word about this. Or about anything else that happened or will happen.” Wei Wuxian repeated with more seriousness and reassurance than before, making himself a mental note to spoil the boy rotten from now on.

Mo Xuanyu relaxed just a little bit in his arms and stopped clinging to him for dear life. Relieved, Wei Wuxian continued on his way to the infirmary. Internally, he was cursing the school founders to have not thought sufficiently about the layout and constructing the infirmary so far from the playing ground where children usually got injured the most often. As it stood, there was quite a long trip between the two and at this moment and he hated this fact.

Finally, he arrived in front of the correct door. He was slightly gasping for breath and his heard was racing like crazy, partly due to his rush and partly because despite showing Mo Xuanyu a strong and reassuring parent façade, he was still worried out of his mind. He knew he was probably exaggerating, but it was better than underestimating any underlying problems or injuries which could have long-lasting negative consequences.

Without as much as knocking, he all but kicked the door open while announcing himself: “Wen Qing, I need your help!”

Chapter Text

Wen Qing was looking at the screen of the computer in her office and scowling at the whole world. She would have never expected this when she had reported Mo Xuanyu’s case to the authorities. It almost seemed like too much of a coincidence really. Why would it happen right now of all times?

She had already known even without Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji telling her that they would want to adopt the boy. She had been looking into the system of the pubic authorities to see how exactly they should present their adoption application. Not that she actually prepared to helped them, heavens no, but she was sure that idiot and scatterbrain of Wei Wuxian would come to her for advice first before actually checking himself, like always. And if she had learned anything by being a school nurse, one should be prepared for anything.

However, she had not expected to find out that there was already an adoption request for Mo Xuanyu, and it had not come from Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. It came from someone named Jin Guangshan.

She had never heard of the man and now, she was thinking if she should take advantage of her privileges which let her access Mo Xuanyu’s case and read the whole of the adoption application, not just this one line informing her that it existed. She hovered with her finger over the mouse and hesitated. She was fighting with herself. She should not get too involved in this case, she barely knew the child! But on the other hand, she was the one who had filled the report to the authorities and examined Mo Xuanyu first. Were these enough reasons to have a closer look at the adoption application?

Still internally torn, in the end, her curiosity and worry for the boy got the better of her. The child was one of the students at her school, one of her patients, she should know what was about to happen to him. She was a doctor, she had a duty to protect her patients and help them in any way she could, especially by making sure they would not be adopted into another abusive household. She had to check the adoption application and discover who this Jin Guangshan was.

Before she could click on the button to open it though, the door to her office flew open. She turned around swiftly – she was definitely not feeling as if they caught her doing something she should be ashamed for – and scowled. Who was so rude to come into the school infirmary in such a way? She could not imagine an emergency which would warrant this kind of behaviour. If the situation would be really dire, no one would trouble themselves with coming to get her, they would have already called an ambulance.

“Wen Qing, I need your help!” shouted Wei Wuxian from the door frantically.

Oh, so it was him. What did that idiot need now? Was this any way to come ask her about how to put in an adoption request? The next second though, Wen Qing stopped herself from scolding her friend and past patient and she looked at the child he was holding in his arms. It was no one else but Mo Xuanyu. What had happened this time?

She immediately forgot about the adoption request and about investigating Jin Guangshan. She could do all of that later and just text Wei Wuxian the information. She had a child to examine now. For she was sure the other adult would not have been in such a hurry if Mo Xuanyu had not gotten hurt, probably on school grounds this time.

Without as much as a greeting, she gestured to the examination table and Wei Wuxian understood. He quickly went towards it and gently let Mo Xuanyu sit on it before taking a step to the side to let Wen Qing examine the child.

Even from afar, she could already tell that it must have not been anything serious. The boy was not crying or sniffling, or looking in pain for that matter. His eyes were wide open but there was nothing but surprise and wonder inside of them. He must have been shocked by being brought to the infirmary in such a hurry.

Then again, the boy had been abused previously and had not shown nearly any signs of pain or of being unwell during their first encounter. So, she could hardly use this argument as ground to not examine him properly. Not that a single thought of not doing a thorough check-up had ever crossed her mind. Wei Wuxian may have been a little overprotective when it came to the children in his care, but he would not bring Mo Xuanyu here, especially not while being all out of breath and having kicked open the door, without the child actually being injured.

“Wei Wuxian, move, I need some space.” Wen Qing glared at him to make his step back a little. How was she supposed to work when he would not let her near the child?

He obeyed after one more worried look in Mo Xuanyu’s direction. She did not ask him what had happened – she could already see the bloody knees after all, the boy must have just fallen down, simple enough injury to fix – and he was already explaining frantically: “Wen Qing, A-Yu fell down while playing with the other kinds. There was asphalt on the ground there, he had injured both his knees and palms…”

She raised her hand to stop him. It would not help neither her not the child to have Wei Wuxian panicking now. She had noticed the endearing way in which her friend had called the boy, so he must have already considered him a part of his family. She now knew from where all the worry and protectiveness came from. She was not too surprised as she had not expected anything else from the very second he had asked her for the temporary custody of the child.

She ignored this overly worried and frantic parent and turned towards Mo Xuanyu. The boy did still not show any signs of pain or discomfort, even when she now knew both his hands and knees were injured.

“Hello, A-Yu,” she used the same name as Wei Wuxian had had, “do you remember me? We have met a few days earlier. I am a doctor at this school. Would you let me have a look at your injuries?” The boy did not react in any way, just looking at her with wide open eyes, she took that as him not opposing her examination.

“Does it hurt anywhere else than on your knees and palms?” she asked as she was having a look at the scraped skin. As she had expected, it was nothing serious, she could just disinfect it and put a band aid over the wounded area. In three days at most, there would be nothing left. What she was more worried about, and in retrospect could understand Wei Wuxian overreacting as he had had, were his previous injuries which could have reopened.

Mo Xuanyu did not reply, but Wei Wuxian came a little closer and kneeled next to the examination table: “A-Yu, it is fine. Wen Qing here only wants you not to be in pain. We have talked about this at the hospital, have we not? You do not have to hide it when anything hurts. We only want you to be comfortable.”

Since it looked like Wei Wuxian’s speech was effective, Wen Qing did not intervene in any way. She only waited until the boy gathered his courage and slightly shook his head.

“Nothing hurts,” he whispered.

He replied to her previous question. It made Wen Qing scowl minutely, it sounded like Mo Xuanyu was saying that even his scraped knees and palms did not hurt. But that was not possible, children were always complaining even after she had taken care of their injuries. She was not too good at cajoling them into stopping their tears, that was what she had her jar of sweets for after all.

But with Mo Xuanyu, she was at a loss. He was not crying nor complaining. He had not been even when she had been disinfecting his wounds. What a strange and pitiful child really. Wen Qing was sure that this behaviour had been learned as a self-protecting mechanism against his abusive family.

Once again, she was reminded about the adoption application. Now more than ever, she was convinced she had to check out who Jin Guangshan was, perhaps even somehow manage to talk to him – she could surely find a pretext, she was Mo Xuanyu’s doctor after all – and see what kind of person he was. She could not let her patient be adopted into an unsuitable household when he had still so much healing before him.

“Good,” she watched Wei Wuxian patting the boy’s head and then reminding him, “but if anything hurts, even a little, make sure to tell me, alright?”

“Yes, Teacher,” whispered Mo Xuanyu obediently, but with seriousness. Wen Qing was sure that he actually would talk to Wei Wuxian if needed. It made her relieved.

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian was not completely convinced that Mo Xuanyu was fine even as they were leaving the infirmary. Not that he was doubting Wen Qing’s treatment, he was just not sure the boy would actually tell him if he was still in pain. He could understand, in this aspect, he had been the same himself when he had been younger, until Lan Zhan got him out of this habit. How had he done it exactly? Wei Wuxian was thinking back, he wanted to do the same for Mo Xuanyu, it was just that he could not remember. He would have to ask his husband.

The doctor had been quite hard on him for overreacting and scolded him too. However, it had all been worth it, Wei Wuxian knew she had not been truly angry with him for running to the infirmary in a rush. After all, she had also seemed worried before she had finished Mo Xuanyu’s examination. They must have had the same thoughts.

Wei Wuxian was thinking about all of this as he was walking back to the playground with the boy. He was holding Mo Xuanyu’s hand unconsciously, just as he would have done to his sons. The boy had gotten a scare after all and even a candy from Wen Qing would surely not be enough to completely sooth him. Wei Wuxian decided that there had been one too many situations with high emotions for the child today, it was time to go back home.

They quickly picked up A-Yuan and headed for the car. Mo Xuanyu’s hand was still in his and it was only at the moment when Wei Wuxian wanted to reach into his pocket to get the car keys that he actually realized this fact. He could only hope that he was not hurting the boy further as his palms were scratched.

He looked down at the child from the corner of his eye, checking for any signs of discomfort or pain. But he was surprised to not have found any, if anything, the boy seemed quite happy to be holding onto him. Suddenly, Wei Wuxian had a strong urge to never let go, to pull him closer into his embrace and protect him from the harshness of the world.

He kneeled down to be on the same level as the children and addressed Mo Xuanyu: “A-Yu, do you want to go directly home and watch cartoons with A-Yuan while I go to the supermarket or do you want to come with me?”

Wei Wuxian could not decide if it would be better to leave the boy in the safety of his house or whether to bring him to the supermarket to be able to pick the ingredients for the fried rice he had requested in the morning. He could tell Mo Xuanyu had been looking forward to going shopping with him, but after getting hurt, Wei Wuxian was not sure if he should let him push himself. So, he left the decision up to the boy himself.

He was not too clear on how other parents would have reacted, but this was his way of doing things. He liked to teach his children independence and that they had right to decide for themselves, granted the situation was favourable enough for this approach. He was not following any teachings or any advice he had read or gotten from anyone, he was just listening to his heart and instincts. He had never had this luxury when he had been a child and he knew he would have appreciated it. Lan Zhan understood so this was how they were raising their children from the beginning.

Mo Xuanyu however had not known any of this. That was most probably why his eyes flew wide open as he looked at Wei Wuxian. There was a clear doubt and indecisiveness inside of them. Luckily though, there was no fear. He just seemed confused that he would be asked what he wanted to do.

Wei Wuxian understood this in a matter of a fraction of a second and was already reassuring him: “Whatever you choose will be fine. I just do not want you to be hurting in any way. So, if you are not feeling up to it right now, we can go to the supermarket another day. You can just tell me what you would like and I can buy it for you, if this is what you prefer.”

He could see Mo Xuanyu being torn between the two options. It was not clear whether he was more looking forward to the visit to the supermarket or to watching cartoons. It was almost certain that he had never been allowed to do something so leisurely as watching TV. However, at the same time, he had probably also not been able to decide for himself, even in such a simple matter as what he would like to eat.

The boy’s pensive and confused expression would have been very adorable if it did not look so pitiful. To be agonizing over such a simple choice as saying what he wanted to do, it really was sad. Wei Wuxian’s heart was breaking knowing the boy had possibly never been asked a similar question when he had lived with his relatives. He had to somehow help him to relax and not feel pressured that he had to choose.

“A-Yu,” A-Yuan came a little closer at that moment and Mo Xuanyu was immediately not so tense anymore. It was such a remarkable change that Wei Wuxian could not miss it. He smiled to himself indulgently. It would seem A-Yuan and Mo Xuanyu had become even better friends than he could have imagined.

“Do not worry, you tell dad what you want. He will not be mad at you. And I will stay with you whatever you choose if you wish.”

Such simple words from one child to another, but they had so much impact. Wei Wuxian was amazed with his son yet again. It looked like he knew exactly what to say to put Mo Xuanyu at ease. Even though he was just ten years old, he was already this sensible and kind, Wei Wuxian was proud to call himself his parent. He could clearly see Lan Zhan in him right then.

Mo Xuanyu lowered his head and seemed suddenly very shy and hesitant. Wei Wuxian understood that he had already decided but was now not sure how to tell him. He prompted again gently: “A-Yu, it is fine, please tell me what you would like to do.”

The boy looked even shier but finally found his courage and whispered: “I… I would like to accompany you to the supermarket, Teacher.”

“Alright!” Wei Wuxian concluded and smiled at him, patting his head as he was standing up. He was proud of Mo Xuanyu for being able to speak up for himself, if only in such a simple matter. He knew it must have not been easy for him.

“You did well telling me, A-Yu,” he praised next, still patting his head. Then he turned towards the car and started rummaging in his pockets in a search for the key. He was sure it must be in one of them. “Let us go pick up A-Yi and we can all go together,” he finished as he finally found what he had been looking for.

When he was opening the driver door, he caught a glimpse of the scene behind him as it was being reflected in the car window. A-Yuan was now whispering something to Mo Xuanyu and then holding his hand. They looked adorable together, especially Mo Xuanyu who had a wide smile on his face and whose eyes were alight with anticipation.

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu stood inside the supermarket and was holding his breath. He was truly impressed by it, he thought that he had perhaps never seen so many people and so many things in one place. This was actually the first time he was inside a supermarket. Not he had not seen it from the outside before or had not peeked through the glass windows when he would walk around, but he had never visited it.

Shopping was the only house chose that his family liked to do themselves. They often went outside to buy things, especially a lot of food, and they never took Mo Xuanyu with them. He supposed it was because they wanted to choose what they would be eating and using and not just give him a shopping list. And now, when seeing all the different kinds of merchandise and everyday useful items, he was overwhelmed.

All the more because A-Yi had already run off somewhere and his teacher was now frantically telling him and A-Yuan to stay where they were and went off in search of the youngest child. When they had picked up A-Yi at preschool and told him about the plans for the dinner, he was immediately all for it. And of course he had also wanted to go to the supermarket with them and choose his own preferred ingredients for the fried rice.

Together with a lot of other stuff it would seem. Mo Xuanyu watched with wide eyes how his teacher finally appeared from behind a tall shelf, he was holding A-Yi’s hand and looking a little stressed. Mo Xuanyu wondered what could have happened. But the he quickly understood. A-Yi was struggling against the hold and pointing in all directions, begging, demanding and whining about all the candies and sweets he wanted his dad to buy for him.

This only added to Mo Xuanyu’s level of stress caused by having so many people around him. It had already happened twice while he and A-Yuan had been waiting for his teacher that a lady run into him and pushed him aside with their shopping cart. They apologized each time, however this kind of occurrence only intensified Mo Xuanyu’s feeling that he was in the middle of a wild river and could do nothing in order not to be swept away by the currents of the omnipresent people.

Luckily, he managed not to overreact too much when he suddenly could not see no one he knew. By some strange luck, he had apparently managed to get himself lost. He looked around frantically, searching for any familiar faces.

What if his teacher left him here? It was an irrational fear, Mo Xuanyu knew that much himself. How could he doubt his intentions after his teacher had been so worried for him just for getting a scraped knee? But the fear was still there, raw and growing in intensity with his every heartbeat.

It could not have taken more than half a minute, but to Mo Xuanyu, it felt like a whole eternity. And then, there was his teacher, kneeling before him and talking to him. Mo Xuanyu was so relieved that he did not even think twice and threw himself at his teacher, hiding his face in the front of his T-shirt, his hands grabbing the fabric for dear life.

He did not even realize what was happening and he was being picked up from the ground.

“Oh, A-Yu, sorry for this,” his teacher was talking right next to his ear, he must have been the one holding him. Perhaps this simple fact should not have made Mo Xuanyu as happy and relieved as it did, but he could simply not help it. He felt safe immediately, all his previous fear and stressed disappeared from one second to another.

“It is a little overwhelming right,” his teacher continued and Mo Xuanyu finally calmed down enough to look up at his face. The adult was smiling at him and patting his head like so many times before. “What do you say, can I hold you like this while we are here? You can think of it as of a horse ride. It would be terrible if we lost you. So, just tell me where you want to go look, and I will take you there.”

Mo Xuanyu suddenly wanted to cry out of sheer relief. The fear which had crossed his mind while he had not been able to see anyone he knew was completely forgotten. How could he had even thought that his teacher could abandon him to his own devices in the middle of the supermarket? He was kind and smiling, the best teacher ever. He would of course never do such a thing.

Reassured, he was finally once again looking forward to exploring this unusual and exciting place. He nodded shyly to let his teacher know that he was fine with being carried around and relaxed slightly his grip and the adult’s T-shirt. He did not let go completely, still a little too anxious about possibly getting lost again, but his curiosity had won over him now and he was looking excitedly all around. Shopping really was fun from up where he was.

There were many things he had seen for the first time in his life as his family had never bought them for him to cook and he had only seen the already prepared versions at school. His head was spinning again, this time because everything seemed to be too colourful, especially all the packaging. He wondered what was inside most of those boxes and bags. His eyes were darting from left to right and he did not spend any time in reading the descriptions on the price tags.

Suddenly, his teacher tapped on his hand gently to catch his attention. When Mo Xuanyu looked up, the adult was smiling kindly and reassuringly: “A-Yu, what would you prefer to have in your fried rice?”

Until this moment, Mo Xuanyu had all but forgotten that they had come here with a clear purpose. However, being so overwhelmed and asked for what he would like to eat, he just could not come up with anything. He did not really have any favourite foods, most of the times, he was just glad he had gotten anything to eat at all and would not even think about if he liked it or not. He was completely at a loss about how to answer such a tricky question.

His teacher, bless him for always understanding, only smiled at him all that more widely: “Is it hard to choose? Do not worry, we can take our time. Would you perhaps like to know what me, Lan Zhan, A-Yuan and A-Yi like? Perhaps something will pick your interest. Let us have a look…”

As his teacher talked, he turned around to face one of the shelves inside of a huge refrigerator and started pointing at the products displayed there, commenting on a few between them and explaining how exactly they would go or not with the fried rice.

Chapter Text

A-Yi was currently pouting. When his dad had told him that they were going to the supermarket to pick their favourite ingredients for fried rice, he had been beyond himself with excitement. He loved going shopping, especially with his dad, because he could always get something on top of the usual groceries. It was simple really, he just had to find what he wanted and sneak it into the shopping cart when his parents were not looking. If they would discover the item – usually only when paying at the cashier’s desk -, he would just beg them or annoy them long enough so they bought it in the end.

That was how he had expected the visit to go also this time. During the short car ride, he had already prepared a list of everything he wanted. It could not be long, it never worked like that. One of two items were fine, but if it was too many of them, his parents would not yield in their determination to not buy him anything.

However, they were in the supermarket now and there was a problem. A huge one at that. After A-Yi had tried to sneak away and get hold of his desired items, his dad run after him and caught him. Usually, this would not happen so it had surprised A-Yi greatly. After all, the supermarket was quite a small one and he had been here many times before. His parents usually did not get this frantic in keeping an eye for him. They knew he would be back right away.

Not this time though. He had been caught right away and unceremoniously sat into the baby seat of the shopping cart. The baby seat! He was a big boy now, not a baby! He did not appreciate being put there at all. It had been such a long time since he had to sit in a baby seat while going to a supermarket.

He wanted to complain and tell his dad to let him walk again, but he was too shocked and no words would come out. His mind was going in circles as he was trying to figure out a reason for this sudden change of attitude. He had not done anything different from all the other times he had been here with his parents. So why would his dad change his approach and put him in the baby seat?

He looked around and could not see his dad anywhere, just his brother. Well, that would have to do, he was not about to be stuck in the baby seat for the whole time. “Big Brother,” he whined in the direction of the other and did his best to look pitiful, “I do not want to sit here. Please, can you help me get out?”

A-Yuan came closer and took his hand into his own. His face was suddenly very serious: “A-Yi, look, you cannot go running around and causing havoc today. A-Yu is with us and it is his first time to choose ingredients for dad’s special fried rice. Will you help him do that? You could be his teacher in finding the best and tastiest ingredients. A-Yi is already a big boy, let dad take care of A-Yu for a moment, alright? You know how scary it can be after getting lost.”

Then, A-Yi understood. It could indeed be scary if one got lost and could not find his parents or brother anywhere. Just what had happened to A-Yu a moment ago. They were just coming out from behind the closest corner. Even though A-Yi’s dad had found him almost immediately, it must have still been frightening.

His friend was now being held and looking like he was about to cry. A-Yuan had said that A-Yi was a big boy and that A-Yu needed their dad more right now. That seemed to be true. Well, if this was the case, A-Yi could be generous and lend his dad to A-Yu for a little bit. He made himself comfortable in the baby seat and did not complain anymore; only this once though, he would make sure to get properly annoyed if he would be put there in the future.

He did not say anything either when his dad started walking away with A-Yu still in his arms and showing him all around. It looked like his friend liked it and A-Yi was glad. He did not enjoy seeing A-Yu in a situation where he was about to cry.

And just as A-Yuan reminded him, getting lost in a supermarket was definitely not something he found fun. It had happened to him a lot when he had been younger and had let go of his parents’ hands, and it had always been scary. Not that it happened anymore now, but he guessed that A-Yu had perhaps not learned yet how to find his way back to their shopping cart on his own.

In the end, they finished with the shopping soon afterwards. Since A-Yu had not been able to decide what he wanted to try, A-Yi’s dad just suggested he tried everything and put a bunch of ingredients in their shopping cart. A-Yi was happy, they would really have a feast for dinner. He could not wait.

The last thing they had to buy was a dessert. Once again, his dad was letting A-Yu choose the kind he wanted. At that moment, A-Yi spotted that they had also his favourite one and tried to reach out for it from the baby seat. It was just there, on the shelf, he was sure he would be able to get it if only he stretched himself a little bit more.

Suddenly, there was another hand reaching for it and A-Yi almost cried out for them to stop. They were going to get the only one he could possibly reach; all other boxes were stocked further away. He looked up to see who the intruder was and realized it was in reality his dad. A-Yu was pointing at the dessert that he had been trying to get and shooting A-Yi side glances.

It turned out they liked the same kind of dessert. That was good, great ever, A-Yi thought. He was not certain if his dad would have been amendable to buy it even if he had begged but when he combined his efforts with A-Yu’s, they were definitely going to succeed. A-Yi sat back into the baby seat; not stretching out of it anymore. There was no more need for it as the desired sweets were already placed into their shopping cart.

He smiled at A-Yu, his friend truly was the best. A-Yi would make sure to show him the best way to eat the dessert once they got home. Even though his parents always said that he was just making a big mess and playing with his food, it simply tasted the best when he used this small trick. Since A-Yu liked the same stuff, he could share his secret, he was feeling generous. And perhaps his friend would be grateful enough to promise to play with him the whole evening.

Chapter Text

Wen Qing was sitting face to face with an older man in a restaurant. She was still a little surprised that Jin Guangshan had agreed to meet her on such a short notice. Her, a complete stranger to him who only requested a meeting under the bad excuse of being Mo Xuanyu’s doctor. He could have refused, and she would not have been able to anything. She had no legal right to intervene in his adoption plans for his son.

However, not only had Jin Guangshan agreed to meet her, he had insisted it would be that same evening, and in a classy restaurant no less. He had to actually drive here half an hour from another city in a hurry but it did not look like he had, his smoking looked perfect as if he had just stepped out of a tailor shop.

Wen Qing did not feel like she belonged here even when she was wearing her best formal dress. The place was way out of the range of the restaurants she usually frequented. She should have declined and insisted to meet elsewhere, but she had dearly wanted to get to know the man before telling anything to Wei Wuxian.

“So,” started Jin Guangshan when they have ordered their dinner. He had insisted on paying for everything, even the most expensive wine, Wen Qing was not sure what she should think about him, the man was a mystery to her. “You wanted to meet me and talk with me about my adoption request for my son.”

It was not a question, he was only stating what she had told him over the phone. Somehow, he looked very calm despite the awkward situation. Then he smiled and continued in the same uninterested tone: “I understood that you are a nurse at his school. May I ask to what I owe the pleasure of you calling me here? Not that I would mind a dinner with such a beautiful woman like you any day.”

Wen Qing was startled. She had not told him anything about being a school nurse, she had only stated she was Mo Xuanyu’s doctor. It seemed like she was not the only one who had tried to dig up something about the other even before their meeting.

She had spent the whole afternoon browsing the internet for more information about this suddenly found father. In the school’s documentation, the field for father’s name was left empty in Mo Xuanyu’s file. So she had had to go search elsewhere.

In the end, it turned out that Jin Guangshan was an influential figure. He owned several companies and his business field was vast, he even had to his name two hospitals, one concert hall and numerous other shops and proprieties all over the country. He was filthy rich and had his hands in literally all sectors of activities.

However, she had also found several not so flattering articles about scandals involving his competitors’ wives. He himself had already been married five times and had apparently many illegitimate children who would come up every so often to ask him to adopt them. Could Mo Xuanyu be one of those many? The story could definitely fit with the news found online. However when looking at him and the boy, she could not actually find that many physical resemblances.

Jin Guangshan’s reputation did not seem all too clear in this aspect and it worried Wen Qing quite a bit. Why would he suddenly be interested in adopting Mo Xuanyu when he had never seemed to care before? That was the question she had to find an answer to before any talks of adoption could be brought into play.

Since no introductions apparently needed to take place as both parties already knew each other, she started off directly with the most important question: “Mister Jin, let me ask you, why would you start caring about Mo Xuanyu now? Considering his situation, a good parent should have taken him away from his guardians a lot sooner.”

She did not mention that a good parent would have never left a child in care of abusive relatives in the first place. That would have not started their conversation on a good note though. She was a little angry at Jin Guangshan to be only asking to take the boy into custody at this stage, after the case had been brought to the authorities. But she knew how to control both her feelings and her expressions, she was giving the man the benefit of the doubt and waited for his explanation.

Jin Guangshan sighed and suddenly looked a good ten years older: “Miss Wen, I understand your concerns for Mo Xuanyu’s safety. I feel the same way. Truth is, I was not always the best parent to neither of my children. In fact, I barely even know how many are out there from my younger days.”

He looked truly apologetic at this moment and took a sip of wine to compose himself. After which, he seemed to have regained his confidence and looked directly at Wen Qing before continuing: “Please understand, I have not thought about the consequences of my actions too much, however now, I have two grown-up sons, my heirs, and they helped me to open my eyes. I am trying to actively search for my children and support them. In Mo Xuanyu’s case unfortunately, it came late. But hopefully not too late. That is why I wish to take him in and raise him properly from now on. I have once been in love with his mother, only the circumstances kept as apart…”

Jin Guangshan’s voice cracked towards the end and Wen Qing though she saw tears in his eyes. The man who was sitting in front of her was no longer a successful and confident businessman. No, Jin Guangshan was in fact a broken father who wished to make amends for his past mistakes. At least that was what Wen Qing thought she saw.

She could understand the need to reflect on her past actions and to change her future to be better. Although she did not have any children of her own, she had experienced how parents acted around theirs and she could see such pride and devotion when Jin Guangshan had been talking about his heirs. Perhaps the news on the internet had been wrong about him? Perhaps he truly wanted to change?

Before she could ask any addition questions, Jin Guangshan took another long sip of his wine and muttered more to himself to her: “It is true that I did not have any idea she had ever had a child. We were separated so suddenly after all. Had I known about Mo Xuanyu sooner, I would have taken him in immediately… I only found out about him because of the case being opened… I wonder if he is anything like his mother, she was so beautiful…”

Afterwards, they both fell into a sort of pensive silence. Jin Guangshan was probably reflecting on Mo Xuanyu and his mother and Wen Qing was trying to read him and understand if he was saying the truth. She knew plenty of people who had made mistakes in their youth and wanted to put things right when they were older and realized what they had done. If anything, she could at least let Jin Guangshan meet his son, no matter the outcome afterwards. While keeping an eye on him just to be sure.

When they both finished eating the dinner, she cleared her throat to attract the other’s attention and proposed: “Mister Jin, if you would like to, I can talk with the current guardians of the boy and hopefully let you meet him. They are now taking care of him and helping him heal from what he had been through. They were also preparing to put forward an adoption request. However, as I know them, they would let Mo Xuanyu meet you and encourage him to choose for himself with whom he would like to stay.”

Jin Guangshan gave her a small tired smile when he looked up from his plate, his eyes wide with surprise. “Miss Wen, you do not even know how much this means to me. Thank you.”

Chapter Text

“A-Yi, A-Yuan, A-Yu!” called Wei Wuxian from the hallway. “It is time to go to bed. I hope you have finished all of your homework for tomorrow.”

“Yes, dad!” answered A-Yuan back from where he was still playing with Mo Xuanyu and A-Yi. Of course, his dad already knew that they had long finished, he would not let them go play otherwise. But it was a kind of a ritual in their home so he always answered with dedication.

“Good,” smiled his dad from between the door now as he was looking into A-Yi’s room. The next second, he scowled and theatrically put his hand onto his chest while looking all around. “How did you three manage to make the room this much of a mess in such a short time?”

A-Yuan knew that his dad was not really worried about a few toys and colouring books being scattered here and there on the floor. He was just playing with them and reminding them to clean everything up before going to bed. Even Mo Xuanyu understood that nothing serious was happening and did not overreact like the first time this happened. He only picked up his colouring book and dutifully went to put it where it belonged.

A-Yuan and A-Yi started immediately helping. This earned all three of them a smile from his dad and a pat on the head. “You are such good boys,” his dad praised and as so many times before, A-Yuan’s whole being was beaming with happiness seeing how Mo Xuanyu smiled at this affection.

“Now, go wash your teeth and then be off to bed,” his dad finished before heading back downstairs. They were all old enough to not need to be checked if they actually went to bed or not. Even A-Yi always obediently lowered the lights immediately. There was tomorrow to continue playing as their parents reminded them whenever they started asking if they could not stay up for just a little longer.

A-Yuan let A-Yi and Mo Xuanyu go wash up while he changed into his pyjamas. There was not enough room in the bathroom for the three of them at once. Which was not a problem really, they just went one by one and everything was alright. Since Mo Xuanyu lived with them for a week already, they had established a sort of a routine. And it worked without a hitch.

Once A-Yi told them good night and went to his room, A-Yuan went into his own. He shared it with Mo Xuanyu as there were not three rooms for children in the house. This did not bother him either, he actually liked being able to keep an eye on Mo Xuanyu in case he woke up from a nightmare in the middle of the night. Which unfortunately was not a scarce occurrence.

A-Yuan wondered what those dreams were about if they made Mo Xuanyu so scared and sad, but he did not ask. He was sure his friend did not want to talk about them. Instead, he just let Mo Xuanyu snuggle closer to him while patting his back soothingly. It usually worked wonders and he did not have to go get his parents. In the end, he would always fall asleep on Mo Xuanyu’s mattress together with him.

Today though, he had another idea. He had actually been thinking about it for a few days, but he had never suggested it. He had seen how warily Mo Xuanyu had been eyeing the bed all this time. However, as he had gotten more and more comfortable in their house, it seemed that some of his wariness was slowly fading away. A-Yuan believed that now was a good time. They would end up sleeping snuggled together either way and perhaps it would help chase away the nightmares before they ever occurred.

He turned towards Mo Xuanyu and smiled at him, offering: “A-Yu, would you like to sleep with me on the bed tonight? There is enough space for the both of us.” When Mo Xuanyu only stared at him without a reaction, A-Yuan added hastily in order not to be misunderstood. Now that he had brought the topic up, he was feeling strangely embarrassed. “The mattress is smaller and we would have more space if we took the bed. I am sure it will be more comfortable too.”

It seemed like that argument was enough to get Mo Xuanyu look at the bed and then at him with a pensive expression. There was a strange glint to his eyes and for some reason, his hands started shaking slightly. If A-Yuan had not been paying so much attention to him, he would have for sure missed these small details. As things stood however, he was hyperaware that he had made Mo Xuanyu feel uncomfortable.

And perhaps even scared. He was not certain how he could tell, he just could. It was a different kind of fear that he had seen Mo Xuanyu experience in the dead of the night after having a nightmare. It was more subtle and harder to spot, but it was there nevertheless.

A-Yuan was immediately sorry he had brought this suggestion up. He had only wanted for his friend to sleep more comfortably. He had been thinking that it had been maybe because of the sleeping place and posture that Mo Xuanyu was not having nice dreams. He had only wanted to help. But look at what he had caused.

He opened his mouth to apologize and tell the other that it was fine if he did not like the bed. They could continue sleeping on the mattress, the both of them. It was no issue for him at all. However, at that same moment, Mo Xuanyu’s eyes turned to him again and scanned him with such intensity that he was left without a breath. After what felt like an eternity, what came out of his mouth was not an apology.

“You do not have to be scared; I will be there with you the whole night.”

Strangely enough, this seemed to have done the trick. Mo Xuanyu nodded his head after a short moment and smiled shily at him. “Thank you,” he whispered.

A-Yuan’s heart almost jumped out of his chest with pride. He knew it was not easy for Mo Xuanyu to talk to basically anyone. He felt honoured he was one of the few people his friend felt comfortable around and talked to more or less freely, though still very rarely. No matter how many times it had already happened, it was still like a small miracle, every single one of those moments when Mo Xuanyu replied verbally to him.

A-Yuan did not wait for anything anymore. He went towards Mo Xuanyu, took him by his hand and guided him towards the bed. Then, he let go only for the short moment he was getting under the covers and extended the hand again in a welcoming gesture. With the other one, he held the blanket up so Mo Xuanyu would be able to get in without any problems.

In a second, they found themselves laying down face to face and once again holding hands. It was their little ritual which helped keep the nightmares at bay at least a little bit. Oftentimes, A-Yuan found himself waking up with his friend’s head resting on his chest with a faint smile on his lips. Those mornings were the best.

On a spur of the moment, he leaned a little closer and kissed his Mo Xuanyu’s forehead. “Good night, A-Yu,” he whispered and closed his eyes. Sleep was already gaining over him and he could only hope that his friend felt as comfortable and warm as he himself did right now.

Chapter Text

Wei Wuxian went to wake up the children but stooped in between the door to A-Yuan’s room. He had long accepted his son’s decision that he wanted to share the room with Mo Xuanyu although the previous arrangement – having A-Yuan and A-Yi share a single room and giving Mo Xuanyu the other one – had been done in order to give the traumatized boy as much space as possible.

But in the end, Wei Wuxian had to admit that A-Yuan’s intuition was spot on. The child had always been very sharp, intelligent and caring, now more than ever. It seemed almost like a special bond had been forged the two boys. Somehow, and Wei Wuxian had no idea how, A-Yuan could tell what Mo Xuanyu needed even better than he himself and had immediately become very protecting of him. Wei Wuxian had no intention of stopping this behaviour, especially not when it was actually helping.

And now he was standing here and looking at his two precious boys, cuddled together and holding their hands. He was no stranger to such a sight; it was a normal occurrence ever since Moi Xuanyu came to live with them.

Wei Wuxian knew perfectly well that this arrangement had been born from necessity, he had heard the soothing whispering in the middle of the night when Mo Xuanyu would wake up from a nightmare and A-Yuan would be calming him down. The first time it had happened, he had wanted to immediately rush over and go help Mo Xuanyu, however, Lan Zhan had stopped him. Only later had Wei Wuxian understood why, A-Yuan was like a medicine for Mo Xuanyu, there was no need to intervene.

Yes, the sight of the two boys sleeping in the same place did not surprise him. What however did was the fact that today, they were not laying on the mattress but instead in the bed. Wei Wuxian smiled fondly. A-Yuan had done it yet again. He had managed to somehow surpass Mo Xuanyu’s apparently deep-rooted fear of beds. And who would blame the boy, for all Wei Wuxian knew, nothing good had ever happened to him there. He could still remember the visit to the hospital where he had confirmed the suspicions that Mo Xuanyu had been abused also sexually.

There was suddenly a hand being put around his waist and a quiet questioning sound. Lan Zhan must have been worried since he was taking so long and came to see what was happening. Wei Wuxian turned around for a brief moment, just long enough to give his husband a chaste good morning kiss, one of many already given today. He looked back inside the room and leaned against his husband’s chest and whispered fondly: “Just look at them, are they not adorable?”

Lan Zhan stepped a little forward while still keeping him in his arms and peeked inside the room. “Hm, A-Yuan has done good.” He confirmed Wei Wuxian’s thoughts. He had also noticed the change and was apparently proud of their son for making it happen.

Wei Wuxian sighed a little and chuckled: “I almost do not want to wake them up. But it cannot be helped I guess, we will all miss school otherwise.”

This time, it was Lan Zhan who kissed him. He then let go of him and went downstairs to finish preparing breakfast. Wei Wuxian took one more look at the sleeping boys, he wanted to preserve this image in his memory. But it was really time to start preparing for school, he had to hurry.

He was afraid that Mo Xuanyu could not be entirely alright after waking up in a bed, at least until his sleepy mind would remember that nothing bad would happen to him in their home. Even more so if he would see an adult looming over him. That would hardly be a good morning. So, Wei Wuxian refrained from going to the room and wake the boys as he usually would, with a gentle caress on their soft hair.

He voted for a gentle call of their names from where he stood: “A-Yuan, A-Yu, it is time to wake up.”

Just as he had expected, Mo Xuanyu was the first one to open his eyes. He blinked a few times and shot up into a sitting position, looking around as if he had truly forgotten where he was. It was sad really, Wei Wuxian suspected that is mind was still in his wooden shack and now he was wondering where he had been brought in his sleep. The child continued looking around, still blinking, trying to take in his surroundings. Wei Wuxian was not such an optimist to hope that Mo Xuanyu was aware of being in bed because he had gotten in of his own free will during the night.

Luckily, before any stronger reaction could occur, A-Yuan also woke up. He was good with mornings so it did not even take him a second to already turn towards the other boy and greet him cheerily: “Good morning, A-Yu, I hope you slept well.”

Mo Xuanyu immediately turned towards him as if attracted by some mysterious power. He blinked one more time, even more adorably than before, and his lips were already stretching in a shy smile. He nodded his head in response.

Wei Wuxian smiled to himself and left they boys to prepare for school. He still had to wake up A-Yi which was a much harder task. His youngest son was usually pretty grumpy in the mornings and needed a lot more prompting and care than just a simple wake-up call.

The rest of their routine went on as per usual. The children prepared their school bags and came downstairs to eat their breakfast. Today was a special treat: pancakes. Wei Wuxian made sure to put an extra serving of fresh fruits onto Mo Xuanyu’s portion. He should not play favourites, he knew, but he just had to reward the boy for his courage and for trying to overcome his fears.

After thinking twice about it, Wei Wuxian also added some more fruit to A-Yuan’s plate, after all, his older son had managed to encourage Mo Xuanyu to step out of his comfort zone. Not only this once, but during this whole week, he deserved some reward as well.

And lastly, Wei Wuxian added another serving also onto A-Yi’s pancakes. He could not let his youngest go without the sweet reward either. Even he had helped Mo Xuanyu in his own way and he had been so sweet with him. Really, all his boys were so considerate and kind, how had Wei Wuxian ever come to deserve to have such perfect sons?

Lan Zhan was watching him serving the children their meal with one raised eyebrow, he usually did not approve giving them too much sugar in the morning. However, Wei Wuxian only shrugged his shoulders and continued smiling widely. If it was just this once, even his husband could not say anything about spoiling their children’s tastes and stomachs. They deserved to be shown love, even if it was only in this way.

After they put the dirty dishes into the washing machine, they all headed for the door. It was high time to leave if they did not want to be late. Wei Wuxian was already outside of the door and unlocking the car, when he heard his husband ask: “A-Yu, what do you have in your bag?”

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu was trying not to look back as he put on his shoes and exited his teacher’s house for what he knew would be the last time. His aunt and uncle were coming back this evening and he was going home. All the nice things he had experienced over the last week were almost making him cry. It was for sure that his family would not allow him to come back here, ever. What awaited him were once again strict discipline and a whole mountain of house chores.

He had realized long ago that he did not want to go home, not after this wonderful week filled with things he had done for the first and probably also last time in his life. He wanted to spend more time sitting at a table with a family, even if that family was not his own, he wanted to play with A-Yuan and A-Yi, he wanted to eat ice cream again and go run in a park and swing on swings. And most importantly, he longed for his teacher’s gentle praises and encouragement and for A-Yuan to hold his hand at night to keep the bad dreams and memories at bay.

But no, he had to leave this place and go back home. He could not impose on his teacher so much, at least he would still be able to see him and A-Yuan at school. Mo Xuanyu did not want to hope for more, but those feelings of want and longing were just too strong. He wished for his teacher and A-Yuan, and also his other friends at school, to behave the same around him even after today.

Right now, he would give everything to keep them at his side after he would start – no, it would not be a start, Mo Xuanyu reprimanded himself, he was just going back home, he should not confuse the two, his teacher’s house was not his home – living with his family. He would have to quickly remember how he should act so he would be a good boy for them as well. Perhaps he had just been doing things wrongly until now and they would not be so strict with him when he would cook for them one of the delicious dishes his teacher showed him how to make?

Mo Xuanyu was walking out of the door with determination. He did not want to look back; it would just seem like he was being greedy. No, he had to walk away with his head held high and not trouble his teacher’s family anymore. Or they would not want to talk to him ever again, not even at school where his aunt, uncle and cousin could not see.

“A-Yu, what do you have in your bag?” a question suddenly made him stop.

It was his teacher’s husband who asked him. Mo Xuanyu looked back after all. It would not be polite to ignore the adult. He could not understand the question in the slightest. Was it not clear? Since he was going home after the school would be finished today, he had to have all his things with him. He made sure to neatly arrange everything his teacher had provided to him and only took what he had initially brought from his house. It could not be that he was supposed to leave also these things here? He would have nothing to wear anymore, he only had so many pieces of clothing.

His teacher’s husband had nothing to scold him for, Mo Xuanyu made sure of that at the very least. He had even folded all the clothes and put them in one nicely arranged pile. And what was even more confusing actually, was that the adult’s voice was not scolding at all. It was in reality sounding as kind as ever, and even a little sad perhaps. Mo Xuanyu was truly lost about what he had done wrong.

However, he wanted to do the right thing and be a good boy, so he diligently replied anyway: “My things.”

What if his teacher’s husband would now ask for a repayment of their kindness? Mo Xuanyu had nothing to give back, just his meagre belongings. A dark thought crossed his mind and he immediately scolded himself for it. His teacher’s family was not like that, during the whole week, they never asked him for anything and when he went to cook for them or clean around the house, they even stopped him. Why would they want unfitting and often

his torn-up clothes or the study materials provided by the school?

Mo Xuanyu looked up at the adult, trying to see him better and understand the reason for the question. He heard hurried steps from behind him and suddenly his teacher was kneeling in front of him, holding his hands and looking all serious.

“A-Yu, perhaps we have not explained enough. And I am sorry for that, I really am. But you are misunderstanding. We are not sending you back to your aunt and uncle, not today and not ever. You deserve to live in a better family, one which would love you and not just exploit you and punish you without a reason. Actually, we should have probably explained earlier…”

His teacher’s voice disappeared into nothingness with his last words. Mo Xuanyu was staring at him, not understanding anything anymore. If they were not sending him back home, where was he supposed to go this evening? If he would lose even his garden shack, where would he sleep? And who would give him food? It was not like he could survive when left completely on his own.

Tears started gathering in his eyes. Was his teacher truly telling him that he had nowhere to go now? Or was Mo Xuanyu misunderstanding something? After such a wonderful week, it could not be that even his aunt and uncle did not want to take care of him anymore? They had always told him that no one aside for them would ever want to have him. He had refused to believe them until now, but perhaps, could it be they had actually been right?

At this point, Mo Xuanyu could no longer keep his tears from falling. He suddenly felt extremely sad and alone and he started wailing. He was not considering the circumstances anymore, neither the fact that like this, he was actually inconveniencing his teacher more, ruining thus even the slightest of chances that the adult could help him in some way.

He was terrified of the future as never before. He had been scared in the past, true, but not like this. He had feared his family getting mad at him, but he had not been this afraid of their threats that they would abandon him to his own devices. Until now. What should he do if his aunt and uncle had told his teacher they did not want him taking up space in their house anymore?

Mo Xuanyu wanted to go home and beg them to take him back. He would be good from now on, he would do whatever they told him, just so he would be able to have a roof above his head and a meal every once in a while. His one week with his teacher’s family was over, he did not know what to do and what would happen to him from now on. He could only stand there, half the way between the car and the main door, and continue crying his heart out.

Chapter Text

Lan Wangji watched everything escalate and he felt bad for ever asking his question. Not that it had been a bad one to ask, it was clear that Mo Xuanyu had had some kind of misunderstanding about this whole situation and thought he would be sent home now that his guardians were coming back. Either Lan Wangji and Wei Ying had had not managed to explain to him properly that he was never ever going back to that house and the garden shack, or Mo Xuanyu had not believed them.

No matter which one of the options it came to, the boy was now crying pitifully. Lan Wangji could not even start to guess what he was thinking right at this moment, but from the look of it, it was nothing positive. He just literally radiated distress and suffering.

What Lan Wangji could tell however, was that his own family was in great distress as well. A-Yuan looked like he was struggling between crying himself and wanting to go to Mo Xuanyu to console him. A-Yi on the other hand was already sniffling dangerously. And Wei Ying, he was looking at the boys, alternating between each one of them, not knowing who to go sooth first. If Lan Wangji would not do something soon, this morning would turn into a sea of tears in no time at all.

He decided in a matter of a second. If they were not about to stay home and cry today, A-Yuan and A-Yi had first to go to school. Mo Xuanyu on the other hand should stay and they should properly talk to him to dissolve any further misunderstandings. It was not as if he or Wei Ying could not take a day off if one of their children was not feeling well. It was a job of a parent to stay with the children and sooth them.

Moreover, now was as good a moment as any to tell Mo Xuanyu about their adoption proposal. Lan Wangji hoped that with such a strong input, the boy would be shocked, in a good sense that was and forget all about possibly being sent back to his terrible family.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji stepped closer to his husband and gently tapped his shoulder, “you should take A-Yuan and A-Yi to school and inform the principal that we will be taking a day off.”

He could of course take their children to school himself but from how his husband was torn between caring for all three of them, it would be better he drove them. This way, he could see with him own eyes that at least two of them were alright and having fun at school.

He guessed right. Wei Ying hugged Mo Xuanyu tightly and whispered into his ear: “A-Yu, do not worry, you are not going anywhere, alright?” He did not wait for a reply that he must have known would not come and continued: “You stay here with Lan Zhan and have some hot cocoa. I will just drop A-Yuan and A-Yi at school and come back right away. We owe you an explanation.”

Lan Wangji could tell that his husband wanted to say much more, but held himself back. They had already been late for school before and if they did not leave now, they would never be able to make it for the first period class.

When Wei Ying was assuring Mo Xuanyu that he would come back quickly, Lan Wangji turned to their other two sons. A-Yuan looked a little less distressed luckily, but A-Yi did still not understand what was going on, just that his friend was crying. He kneeled down as well to be on the same level and put one of his hands onto each of his children’s shoulders, successfully attracting their attention.

“A-Yuan, A-Yi, me and Wei Ying have to talk to A-Yu while you will be at school. I promise that when you come back, A-Yu would be just fine and you will be able to play the whole afternoon just like any other day. So, will you not be strong and go learn at school so you could tell him afterwards about everything he had missed? He would need to catch up.”

A-Yuan did not seem too convinced and he looked at Lan Wangji. His eyes were asking a million questions and the adult knew he could not answer all of them in a lifetime. So he did not even try, he only remained a silent and reassuring figure, showing that he truly meant his promise. It seemed to have worked and after another second, A-Yuan nodded in understanding.

A-Yi was not as easy to convince but, in the end, he conceded: “I will draw A-Yu a picture to make him feel better.”

With that, Wei Ying quickly hoarded them into the car and they were on their way, probably fighting with the urge to go over the speed limit. This left Lan Wangji alone with Mo Xuanyu. The boy has now somewhat calmed. He had managed to stop crying after Wei Ying’s promise and only looked extremely out of place on the empty access road with the school bag in his hands.

Lan Wangji let him hold it. It had been the overly full bag which had caused this whole emotional outburst, he was not about to make the same mistake twice. Instead, he gently picked up the boy into his arms and carried him back inside. He sat him at the table where they had just had their breakfast and quickly prepared a mug of hot cocoa. In this, Wei Ying had been right, Mo Xuanyu needed one right now.

When he finished the preparations and the boy had the mug in his hands, he sat down on the other side of the table. “You can drink it,” he prompted the child, worried that Mo Xuanyu would not take even a sip otherwise. It still sometimes took a little encouragement for him to remember that he was allowed to eat or drink or do what he had been previously forbidden to him.

With his hand a little shaky and a running nose – Lan Wangji had procured a box of tissues, it did not seem like one would be enough after the waterworks from earlier – Mo Xuanyu finally started drinking his cocoa. With each sip, he looked calmer and less distressed. Lan Wangji took it as a good sign.

After the mug was empty, he asked: “A-Yu, would you like another one?” Mo Xuanyu shook his head and Lan Wangji decided not to push his luck. He could always offer some more later. “Would you like to go wait with me for Wei Ying in the living room?” he offered instead. He thought that it would be much more comfortable to sit on the couch than in the kitchen.

This time, Mo Xuanyu nodded hesitantly and followed him into the living room when he stood up from his chair. Alright, this was good. He was still too silent and shaken, but at least he was comfortable enough around him to tell him what he preferred. Not everything was lost then. Although Wei Ying was better at calming such stressful situations, Lan Wangji had learned a thing or two from him.

He sat down and on the spur of a moment, proposed tentatively: “If you want to, you can come sit here with me.”

He would usually not offer this, but it looked like Mo Xuanyu needed the company. He had never been too good with words and the boy remained silent since his previous outburst, he just had to find a way to get through to the child. He got a careful and a little confused look to which he responded with a nod of his head. Yes, he encouraged silently, and when Mo Xuanyu actually came over, he picked him up and sat him on his lap.

He guided him to snuggle closer to his chest and started patting his back soothingly, just like he had learned by watching his husband calm down a sleepy and grumpy A-Yi. Mo Xuanyu seemed shocked for a short moment. However, he did not resist the guiding hand and soon, he was leaning fully onto Lan Wangji’s chest.

“A-Yu, breathe with me,” Lan Wangji encouraged him. Even after finishing the cocoa, Mo Xuanyu was unfortunately still distressed enough to be gasping for breath in between sniffling and occasional sobs.

It took a long while, actually the exact same amount of time for Wei Ying to come back from driving their other two children to school, before Mo Xuanyu finally calmed down fully. It looked like his distress had tired him out and his eyes were closing against his will. He was now fully snuggled against Lan Wangji’s chest, holding onto his shirt and wrinkling it.

That was the last of Lan Wangji’s worries though, he was starting to dread the upcoming conversation. If he could choose a better time, he would have definitely done it. After getting so scared and sad, this was no moment for them to burden the child with thoughts of a possible adoption. Such a decision should be taken calmly, not like this.

But then again, there was no way they were waiting, Lan Wangji knew that fully well. If Mo Xuanyu had been thinking he was about to be send back any second, it would be a disaster. They had to reassure him that nothing like that was about to happen. They had to make him believe they were there for him and that they were ready to welcome him into their lives if he chose to stay with them.

Chapter Text

Wen Qing came out of the nurse’s office and just happened to almost crush into a hurrying Wei Wuxian. Just the person she needed right now. After talking with Jin Guangshan yesterday, she wanted to tell her friend the news about the new adoption request right away. It was only fair since she knew Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were definitely about to propose an adoption to Mo Xuanyu soon as well if they already had not done it.

Wei Wuxian did not seem to notice her as he run past her. Sure, classes were about to start in just a few short minutes, but she believed that she could still manage to tell her friend about the adoption request. The sooner the better she thought. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji had to know what they were getting themselves into. Moreover, Wen Qing had promised Jin Guangshan a meeting with Mo Xuanyu, they should also arrange this.

She stretched her hand and blocked Wei Wuxian’s path. It made him finally notice her and he stopped, looking quite surprised: “Wen Qing, is something the matter? I am in a hurry here.”

It looked like if Wen Qing took too much time explaining, Wei Wuxian would just run off to wherever his destination might have been. She went straight to the point then: “Wei Wuxian, this is important, it regards Mo Xuanyu’s case. I need to talk to you, right now. Do not worry it will only take a few minutes.”

Her urgency apparently picked Wei Wuxian’s interest and he was immediately looking straight at her, his eyes attentive. She pointed towards the door of the nurse’s office: “We better talk inside. We will have more privacy.”

Wei Wuxian hesitated only for a second and then he followed her into the office. Wen Qing sat down behind her desk and showed her friend to take a seat as well. This kind of conversation was not one that should be had while standing up.

Just as before, Wen Qing went directly to the point without much introduction: “There is already an adoption request for Mo Xuanyu. It is the boy’s father who put it in. I took the liberty to speak to him yesterday and it seems like he had not been aware about Mo Xuanyu’s existence until now but that he wants to take him in. He is living together with his two other sons. And he requested a meeting with Mo Xuanyu so they could get to know each other.

I know that you and Lan Wangji want to put up an adoption request of your own, and I fully support you. I am sure that Mo Xuanyu would be well off with you. However, I have known you for a long time so I could guess what you are thinking. You want Mo Xuanyu to make his own choice. For what we know, he may want to live with his own family as he had never known one before. As they say, blood is thicker than water. I just wanted to let you know.”

She stopped her little monologue there. She could have said many other things. She could have speculated about Jin Guangshan’s motivations for wanting to adopt Mo Xuanyu. She could have urged Wei Wuxian to take his decision quickly. She could have also proposed to fill the adoption form there and then with her help. But she did none of those things.

She only watched as Wei Wuxian’s expression changed into a pensive one and how he scratched the root of his nose. She’ could understand that he was surprised, she had been too when she had seen that Jin Guangshan had learned about Mo Xuanyu’s case so quickly after it had been reported to the authorities.

She knew that her friend was going through his options so she gave him time. Ultimately though, she was convinced her intuition was spot on when it came to guessing what Wei Wuxian would choose even before he took his decision. It was not as if it was anything unexpected really. We Wuxian was just Wei Wuxian no matter what.

“Wen Qing,” he finally spoke after a long silence, “thank you for telling me this. I would be glad if you could also let me know your impressions of that Jin Guangshan guy, it seems a little suspicious that he would start caring about A-Yu now. Of course, I have nothing against a meeting, A-Yu should get to know his family while he has a chance. I just want to know what kind of people they are before proceeding any further than the introductions though. There is no way I am letting A-Yu anywhere out of my sight before I make sure that his future family would treat him well. He had suffered enough and he needs a loving environment to heal and experience what childhood should be like.”

Wen Qing remembered that Wei Wuxian had said in the beginning that he had been in a hurry so she kept everything concise: “I met Jin Guangshan yesterday, he insisted on meeting in a fancy restaurant. Apparently, he is a successful businessman. You can google more information about him on the internet, he is a well-known figure. What worries me a little is that he had admitted to have had several flings in the past and not knowing how many children he actually has. But he looked remorseful enough, he probably really wants to make up for his past mistakes.”

Wen Qing did not go into detail about the negative news she had read on the internet relating to Jin Guangshan causing scandals of adultery still pretty recently. Nor did she mention that she had had a feeling he had even tried to seduce her. She wanted to keep her information short, Wei Wuxian would for sure do his own research and find out everything she had from the available sources.

Wen Wuxian nodded thoughtfully: “I see, thank you, Wen Qing. Actually, me and Lan Zhan wanted to tell A-Yu about the adoption proposition today. So it comes just in time. He should choose with whom he wants to live of his own free will. Could I trouble you to arrange a meeting with Jin Guangshan for us? You have after all been already in touch with him. I wish to meet him in person, and so will A-Yu when he learns he has other blood family beside the one he lived with.”

 Wen Qing nodded: “I will let you know his answer.”

“Thank you, Wen Qing, really. But I have to get back to A-Yu now.”

Wei Wuxian was already half a way to the door when he was saying those words. He must have truly been in a hurry. Before Wen Qing could even wish him good day, the door had already closed behind him and she could hear his hurried steps going away. Alright, she thought, she should get to her part of the job now.

Chapter Text

After talking with Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian hurried home even more. He had another thing to worry about now and he did not quite like it. He had only spent five minutes, while waiting for the principal to let him in his office to take his leave of absence, checking who Jin Guangshan was. He believed Wen Qing’s intuition but he still had to see for himself whom he would potentially entrusting Mo Xuanyu to. He wanted only the best for the boy and if it meant getting him to live with his blood relatives, he would do everything in his power to make it happen.

Once he managed to secure a day off for himself and Lan Zhan, he immediately headed home. Luckily, the school and the streets outside were already a lot less crowded and he could navigate more smoothly. He wanted to be home already and reassure and sooth Mo Xuanyu. He was sorry for the boy for this morning, they should have explained everything clearer so he would not think he was about to be sent home to his abusive family.

However, this was only part of the reason why Wei Wuxian was this worried. He had been surprised before leaving and had only realized there must have been something more behind the child’s distressed outburst. If it was only about regretting that he had to be sent home, then Wei Wuxian’s reassurance about keeping him with them should have done the trick. Which had unfortunately not been the case.

Finally, he arrived home and stopped the car on the drive way. He got out of it so quickly that he had even forgotten to lock it. Good thing he could right his omission on his way to the door as their car had a remotely controlled central locking system. The next thing he knew, he was already running to the living room where he suspected his husband had taken the child.

He had been right; after all, there was no one who knew Lan Zhan as well as him. His husband was sitting on the couch and holding Mo Xuanyu in his arms. The picture would have been perfectly adorable be it not for the fact that Mo Xuanyu’s closed eyes were all puffy and red. It seemed like it had taken him a while to stop crying even after he had left.

Lan Zhan noticed him immediately and nodded in greeting before looking back at the child. Wei Wuxian quietly and carefully approached. He was torn between waking the boy up and waiting for him to open his eyes on his own. While he was impatient to have the conversation they had been putting off until now, he was also sure Mo Xuanyu could use some more rest. Especially after being so stressed out just a while ago.

However, the boy decided this question for him. Before Wei Wuxian even made it half the way across the living room, Mo Xuanyu’s eyes slowly opened and he blinked several times, looking around in a disoriented manner. It was clear that he was trying to remember where he was right now.

Wei Wuxian quickly closed the rest of the distance between them and kneeled next to the couch. He carefully took one small hand into his own and smiled up at the child. “Good morning, A-Yu, how are you feeling?”

Mo Xuanyu looked down at him with blank eyes. Then, realization and understanding bloomed in them and he greeted back with a shy and tense smile: “Teacher.”

Wei Wuxian saw as Mo Xuanyu squeezed Lan Zhan’s shirt onto which he was holding a little tighter and how his gaze travelled to the carpet. He was visibly uncomfortable but at the same time, afraid of telling him anything. Wei Wuxian knew for a fact that the boy was afraid of being scolded for crying earlier. They had been through this so many times already, but this habit never seemed to have gone away.

He sighed internally, it really was way too pitiful to see a child acting like this, but he smiled in encouragement on the outside. He stepped in before Mo Xuanyu had an opportunity to start apologizing for causing trouble: “A-Yu, I am back, just as I have promised. We should talk now, if you are up to it.”

The child would still not look at him but nodded his head slowly. Wei Wuxian would have given every worldly possession of his for Mo Xuanyu to not think right now that he was about to tell him bad news. However, he knew that it would not happen. He was certain that right at that moment, the boy’s head was full of fears, insecurities and worries. He had once gone through a similar stage in the past, so how could he not understand?

Instead of pitying the boy or trying to make him feel better – which would most probably only backfire in the end – he decided to concentrate on the most important message of the day; that being the impending adoption and the upcoming meeting with Jin Guangshan.

“A-Yu,” Wei Wuxian started seriously while still holding that small, trembling and cold hand, “listen to me carefully now. I have said it already, but I will promise you once more: we are not sending you back to your aunt and uncle. On the contrary, we want you to live in a nice family where you would have time to play and which would love you.

That is to say, if you would like to, you can stay with us. We can officially adopt you if you would agree. But there is also someone else who would like to meet you and possibly invite you to live with him and his family. A-Yu, your father had also applied for an adoption. He is living with two of your older brothers and would like to meet you. I am sure he had missed you a lot since he could not come to see you before.”

Wei Wuxian was watching the boy attentively. Mo Xuanyu was now looking at him with wide eyes and his mouth was half open. He seemed completely shell shocked. As if he could not believe his words. Or understand them. Wei Wuxian frowned internally, had he perhaps chosen overly complicated words to say this? Had Mo Xuanyu truly not understood him?

The boy dispersed his worries with a question: “I have a father?”

“Yes,” Wei Wuxian replied without even thinking about it.

It was a silly question really, of course the boy had a father, everyone had, but no one would scold him for not being able to believe it. Especially now that the said father had showed up literally out of nowhere, just when Mo Xuanyu needed a family more than anything. Well, it was still to be seen what kind of family they were exactly, but the knowledge on its own seemed to have made the boy fall into a state of complete wonder.

“And,” this time, there was hesitation in the child’s voice, mixed together with hope, “he wants to meet me?”

“Yes,” replied Wei Wuxian again. His heart was breaking seeing how hopeful and surprised the boy was. As if he had just gotten the best Christmas present ever. It was clear that the simple thought of actually having another family than his aunt, uncle and cousin was making Mo Xuanyu feel like he was in Wonderland or in some similarly unbelievable and magical place.

“Do you want to meet him?” asked Wei Wuxian this time.

Mo Xuanyu looked down onto the carpet once more and started biting his lower lip. He was visibly fighting with something. In the end, he managed t whisper: “Can I?”

His voice was so low key that Wei Wuxian nearly could not make out what he said. But he had known what the child would ask even before Mo Xuanyu opened his mouth this time. He would have also been unsure if he was in his shoes.

“Of course,” he reassured and squeezed the boy’s hand a little tighter. Lan Zhan had apparently decided that it was a good time to pat Mo Xuanyu’s head and give him a hug. His husband was the best.

It was decided then, now it was just the matter of waiting for news from Wen Qing to discover when the meeting could take place. Mo Xuanyu was without a doubt already looking forward to it if his sparkling eyes had anything to say about the state of his mind. And Wei Wuxian could not wait either, he wanted to get to know what kind of person the so-called father in reality was.

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu was restless and his head was filled with conflicting and confusing thoughts. Yesterday had been a very strange day for him and he had yet to process everything that had happened.

First, he had been convinced that no one would ever want him, not even his aunt and uncle and had basically broken down, which he was now embarrassed for. His misunderstanding could not have been any bigger in fact. Not only his teacher did not want to throw him away and let him fend for himself, he had actually proposed to adopt him!

And he was not the only one it seemed. Later that evening, Mo Xuanyu had met his other family, the one he had never known he even had. His father had brought him gifts and encouraged him to eat when they had ordered dinner at that fancy restaurant Mo Xuanyu would have never thought of visiting. And his two older brothers whom he had met for the first time as well seemed also to be good people. For a reason that he could not completely decrypt, the newly found family intrigued Mo Xuanyu to no end even though that single short meeting was definitely not enough to get to know them fully.

It was not that his teacher was not taking good care of him. The opposite really, he had nothing to complain about, the last week had been a bliss for him. And playing with A-Yi and A-Yuan was really fun every single time. However, something about having a real family who wanted him was warming Mo Xuanyu’s heart, he had never been happier.

Now, he was walking together with his teacher’s family on an outing for A-Yi’s school. Both his teacher’s sons were holding onto the adults’ hands on the sides, Mo Xuanyu had gotten the honour of being right in the middle of this amazing family. But after meeting his father and brothers, something felt a little out of place.

All around Mo Xuanyu’s there were so many families, holding their children by their hands and laughing. Some were even giving their sons and daughters a piggy bag ride or carrying them on their shoulders. He had seen such unfiltered affection many times in the past, usually when he was walking to or from school. And now that he knew he had a family of his own who could possibly accept him and like him, if not love him, he wondered if he could even have something similar. Or was he being way too greedy?

As the day progressed, Mo Xuanyu was being more and more torn between his options. His teacher had said that he should be the one to say with whom he wanted to live; if he would rather stay at their house or go try his luck with his family. It was a very scary choice to take Mo Xuanyu realized. There were so many things which could go wrong. But also so much he could gain.

It felt like a true miracle that not only one but two families would offer him to go live with them. He knew his teacher and he was very comfortable at his home. However, he still worried that he would cause trouble for him and inconvenience him in the end. Perhaps even causing him to not like him anymore. He would not be able to bear it if this came to be. On the other hand, he did not want to leave A-Yuan and A-Yi, even after such a short period of time, he already thought of them as his brothers.

Despite everything, he was still very curious and excited to have met his own family. Would they be able to come to like him in the end? Or would they end up not being satisfied with his behaviour and disciplining him all the time as his aunt, uncle and cousin had had? Would they think he was a bad boy too? No, that would surely not be the case, Mo Xuanyu could not believe that the smiling older man he had met yesterday would be able to be so strict with him. If anything, he had tried to spoil him rotten during their short meeting.

As for his two older brothers, Mo Xuanyu was even more excited to get to know them. They were both almost adults and they greeted him with a smile and shook his hand, seemingly happy to meet him. It did not look like they would ever be able to sneer like his cousin always had. Not even talking about punishing him in such a painful way or inviting their friends to do it. He had immediately felt safe around them and usually, Mo Xuanyu’s intuition was spot on.

He had learned how to recognize danger and animosity from early on, living at his aunt’s and uncle’s house, it had been a necessity. But from his newly found family, he could not sense any bad intentions. If anything, they truly seemed happy to meet him and eager to take him in.

Mo Xuanyu found it extremely hard to decide what he wanted to do now. Should he stay with his teacher’s family, happy and taken care of like until now, and never see his father and older brothers again or should he go home with them and lose the happiness he currently had? It felt like he was standing in front of the most difficult choice of his life. One that would shape his future. And he was scared of taking any decision at all. There was so much to lose either way.

His worries must have shown on his face because as soon as they sat down for lunch, his teacher turned to him: “A-Yu, are you not enjoying the outing? If you are tired, we can go home early. Or I can carry you for a while so you will be able to rest.”

Mo Xuanyu shook his head vehemently. See, he was causing his teacher to be worried about him again. This would just not do. Moreover, it was not that he was not enjoying the trip with the class of A-Yi’s preschool friends and their families. He liked it very much in fact. It was just that it was making him think way too much about his own situation and the choice he had to take. He found it hard to relax completely and just enjoy playing with the other children.

“I see,” his teacher acknowledged his reply. He must have seen right through him judging by his next words: “If you are worried about the adoption proposals, please do not be. I know it is a hard choice, but you do not have to make it immediately. You can take your time and stay with us as long as you would like and need to. And,” the adult grinned at him and patted his head gently, “if you wanted to only try going to live with your father and brothers, you could go for a visit any time. We could arrange for a stay, short or long, how you would prefer. We would still welcome you back afterwards.”

Mo Xuanyu’s mouth fell open with surprise, he had not even thought of this possibility. He had been convinced that he had to decide today and pack his things to go live with whomever he chose. But it did not look like his teacher had the same expectation. In fact, this would be even better. Should he try to go live with his family just for a little while? Would it be alright to take advantage of his teacher’s kindness this much?

But he truly wanted to get to know his family better before deciding, he had already been unhappy once in the past. He was certain his thinking was extremely selfish and that if his aunt, uncle or cousin saw his current self, they would have been enraged out of their minds with him. He could however simply not help it. Now that he knew there could be a better and easier life for him out there, he just could not keep himself back from wanting to experience it.

Chapter Text

A-Yi had a great day on his school field trip. Nearly everyone’s families came as well and, in the end, it was so much fun he never wanted it to end. However, the evening still came and they had to go home. He had to say bye to his friends and it made him sad to see them going away. He knew he would meet them again tomorrow at the preschool but he missed them already. They were his friends and they always had fun together, why could they not be like one big happy family?

As he was being hoarded into the car by his dad, A-Yi noticed that his parent’s smile was not as bright as usually. And he remembered. He had gotten himself so deep into the games that his teachers had prepared for the trip that he had all but ignored how tense the atmosphere in his own family actually was. Every time he looked, they were smiling at him and acting normally, but it was just not right. They were all worried.

On the way back, A-Yi leaned closer to his friend and whispered into his ear: “A-Yu, are you going back home soon?”

A-Yi was a big boy now so his parents explained to him that A-Yu had been living with them for just a short while and would to go home one day if he wanted. They also told him that he should not cry or be too demanding if his friend decided to do that. Of course, he would also prefer to stay with his family forever. He could not phantom leaving, not even for a short while. Visiting a friend’s house or going on a trip was fine, only as long as he knew they were in the end going back home.

Yes, his parents explained everything to him and A-Yuan and told them to not ask A-Yu any questions. Apparently, he had to decide for himself, that was what they said.

But A-Yi just could not hold himself back. He had already gotten used to having A-Yu around and did not want to change a thing. He had no idea about what choice his parents had been talking about, but if there was just a small chance that his friend could stay with them, he had to ask. Having two big brothers was definitely better than having only one. Even if the second one would hardly ever talk to him, was very shy and needed to be taught how to play most games.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he had still not quite gotten the hang of whispering because upon saying his words, everyone in the car suddenly became very quiet and looked at him. Well, everyone aside for his father who was driving and A-Yu himself. His friend froze completely and his eyes were only focused into his lap. He would not look at him and he was wondering why.

“A-Yi!” scolded him immediately his dad. “What did we say about letting A-Yu decide for himself? You should not ask him.” Why was A-Yi the one who had done something wrong? Why was his dad not happy with him trying to clear all of this situation? Why was he suddenly the centre of attention?

Moreover, it was very uncomfortable to be stared at by A-Yuan and his dad. For a reason not completely known to him, A-Yi decided that he was not about to let himself be scolded. Had his father not said many times to him that if something was not right, he should come out and say it so they could all talk about it? Was this not exactly this sort of situation? Why was no one sitting down and talking about what worried them?

Instead of quietly standing back and waiting for things to clear themselves while he was being scolded, A-Yi decided it was time to pout. They had to listen to him, this insecurity about what would happen and if A-Yu would stay with them or not, it was not good for anyone.

“But daddy,” he spoke back, making sure his pout would be especially clear on his face, “you said that A-Yu was perhaps going away. I just want to know if he is or not. If yes, we need to make sure to play all the games at least once before he leaves, or he may forget how to play them before he comes visit again.”

“A-Yi…” started his dad but never finished. At the same time, A-Yu’s head came back up and he looked at him. A-Yi did not have any idea why – although he was afraid that he had unknowingly caused it – but his friend was crying. There were fat tears running down his cheeks. At the same time though, his lips were parted in a smile when he reached forward and very unexpectedly hugged him.

A-Yi froze. He had seen A-Yuan giving A-Yu a hug before, when they had gone to sleep and A-Yu had been scared of bad dreams, or when he had been anxious in the park. But he had never done that, he believed that his older brother’s hugs were the best and it if all it took was sharing them with A-Yu to make him feel better, he had nothing against it. Now however, not only he was not the one to be soothing A-Yu out of his tears, but his friend was the one who was trying to reassure him.

A-Yi was starting to sniffle as well, mirroring A-Yu’s apparent distress. He was now sorry that he had made him cry, that had not been his intention. He really only wanted to spend as much time as possible with him if he was truly going back home. He just wanted to know what he should expect and what to prepare for.

And then, A-Yu whispered into his ear: “A-Yi, do not cry, I am sorry.”

This was what finally broke A-Yi’s resolve and he started sobbing openly. Not knowing if his new friend, or more like big brother really, would stay with them was hard, but being afraid that he would leave was even harder. He could not take it anymore.

“A-Yu, do not go away!” he whined between his sobs. “Why do you not want to stay at our house so we could play more? If you want to, I can borrow you the prettiest cars from my collection, just for you to play with. I can even call you my Big Brother if you stayed.”

A-Yu did not answer to his plea, he only tightened the hug and buried his face in A-Yi’s shoulder. That was no reply at all! Was he going away or was he not? He was about to ask his question again since he still did not get a clear answer. Then, suddenly, there was another pair of hands coming around him and enveloping him in a double hug.

Chapter Text

A-Yuan saw that A-Yi was getting the conversation derailed into a very dangerous direction and he knew he had to intervene. This was exactly why their parents had warned them not to pressure Mo Xuanyu into any kind of decision. He imagined that if he was in his friend’s shoes, he would have been also feeling lost and on edge.

He could not even phantom how he would react if after living his whole life with a family who would beat him regularly, he had to decide whether to trust another blood relative. Even more so if that relative had apparently showed out of nowhere and had not paid any attention to him before. Of course, he would be more than happy if Mo Xuanyu chose to stay with him and his family, but this was really not his place to be persuading him or coercing him. Neither was it A-Yi’s for that matter.

And then, both Mo Xuanyu and A-Yi started crying and A-Yuan knew that he had to act now. He was still a little mad at his baby brother for speaking carelessly and causing Mo Xuanyu distress. However, how could he stay angry when seeing him regretting his actions so much?

Since they were still in the car and it was impossible for his parents to come to the back of the car to console the two crying boys, A-Yuan took this mission onto himself. Without thinking twice, he leaned away from his seat – though still keeping his seatbelt fastened, he did not want to be scolded for undoing it – and hugged both Mo Xuanyu and A-Yi in one big embrace. He had not been surprised that his friend had already tried to console his baby brother, he knew that Mo Xuanyu’s heart was as vast as an ocean, even if it was hidden most of the time under uncertainty and shyness, and sometimes fear.

He could feel both pairs of shoulders trembling under his arms and he was sad together with them. It was clear that A-Yi had realized his mistake and was now crying as a way to show that he cared and wanted to apologize. A-Yuan did not doubt that, he could read in his brother as in an open book. Mo Xuanyu on the other hand was more of a mystery. A-Yuan did not know if he was crying because he pitied A-Yi or because of the child’s unthoughtful words. He could also just be getting out the stress he was under with having to take such an important decision. After all, it was not every day that he had to say with whom he would want to live for another several years.

A-Yuan thought that he would have really not had the courage to go and try to live with an unknown family if his previous one had not been good to him. And he did not doubt that Mo Xuanyu’s had actually been really terrible to him. His parents nor the boy himself did not reveal to him anything on this subject, but he could just tell. Mo Xuanyu did not behave like anyone else A-Yuan knew, and had not been ever since the first time he had seen him sitting in the back of the classroom all alone, and it was making him worry.

He could see from where A-Yi was coming from, he really could. He would also prefer that his friend stayed with them so he could keep an eye on him and protect him if anyone as much as tried to bully him. However, he also knew that this was not his place to decide for him.

He started rocking back and forth the two crying boys he was hugging. He only barely noticed that the car had been stopped in the meantime and that his parents were now coming around it and opening the back doors to check on the three of them. It did not matter, he just wanted both to sooth A-Yi and encourage Mo Xuanyu to not feel pressured.

“A-Yi, I understand that you would like A-Yu to tell us what he would like to do, that you want him to stay with us. But you cannot say it like this, silly Baby Brother. Imagine if someone asked you so abruptly. You would not be able to decide right away, would you? Would it not be very scary to say that you wanted to live with someone you have never seen before, even they said they were your family?”

A-Yuan stopped abruptly. Was this not exactly the reason why Mo Xuanyu was having such a hard time deciding? And why he had been looking grim and pensive all day long during the preschool field trip. He must have watched all those happy families playing with their children and must have been thinking how great it would be to also have this, to have a family which would be just his own and would love him unconditionally. And A-Yuan understood as well that his family, while they really wanted to make Mo Xuanyu welcomed, could not be the same for him as having a family of his own.

He held the boys a little tighter and whispered, this time for his friend: “A-Yu, I get it. It is scary to decide to try and seek your own family. And it is fine if you cannot say it just yet. If they truly love you, they will not mind waiting for your decision. And perhaps, you could meet them and get to know them better before deciding for good. I am sure that no one would mind. We only want you to be happy and safe. If you want to stay with us, it would of course make all of us very happy and we would take good care of you. But, you do not have to feel pressured if you would rather try and strive to have your own family that would love you just as much as we do.”

A-Yuan could now feel tears stinging in his own eyes. He was getting emotional as well but it was not like he could help it. Only once he had said everything aloud did he truly realize the depth of Mo Xuanyu’s struggles. He wanted to keep him close and at the same time, he also wished to encourage him to seek to live with his own family if that was what would be best for him. He was torn himself, and yet, this must have been just a fraction of what Mo Xuanyu had been going through ever since he had met his father.

“A-Yu,” he continued, fighting through the sobs clogging his throat, “I like you, I like you very much. You are my best friend and I would really like to have you as my brother. But if you feel like you want to live with your own family, I would not keep you just to myself. Nor would A-Yi, or our parents. We all want the best for you and will support you no matter what you choose.”

He made an effort to smile and lifted his head from where it had been buried in Mo Xuanyu’s shoulder. “A-Yu, we will always be here for you. And even if you go live with your father and older brothers, you can always come for a visit. And we will see each other at school as well. So, do not worry, whatever you chose in the end, you will not lose us, I promise.”

It was at that exact moment that strong and warm hands landed around all three of them and another one was patting their heads and wiping away their tears. Before A-Yuan even realized what was going on, his parents were sitting on the back seat together with them and soothing them by gently rubbing their backs and giving them sweet kisses on their foreheads.

Right then, A-Yuan knew everything would turn out fine in end. Hopefully, he had managed to convey his feelings well. He really would support Mo Xuanyu in whatever decision he decided to take. And he knew without even asking that his parents would as well. They would all stay here for his friend no matter what happened next.

Chapter Text

As soon as Wei Wuxian saw what was happening on the back seat and heard the crying, he immediately told Lan Zhan to stop the car. He had not meant to really scold A-Yi for his thoughtless question. After all, he was still a small child, he was not even going to school yet, he just did not know any better really. What was way more worrying was Mo Xuanyu’s reaction.

It did not look like the boy had been just surprised by the question or felt pressured by it, there was definitely something more behind him hugging A-Yi and crying together with him. Wei Wuxian thought that he could perhaps guess what could be the problem.

His children were sensible and sensitive, maybe even too much so for their own good at times. Just like right now. And how could they not be when Lan Zhan was their father? However, at this moment, when all three of them were crying as Wei Wuxian was getting out of the car and opening the back door, his heart was aching for them. They were all affected by this situation way too much, each one in their own manner.

It was Mo Xuanyu who was stressed out the most but A-Yuan and A-Yi felt that something was not right and they worried as well. To the point where they apparently all reached their breaking points and were now hugging each other, trying to sooth themselves just as much as the remaining two.

Wei Wuxian should have probably realized that despite Mo Xuanyu not saying anything, the boy had been very much struggling with the difficult decision in front of him. Who would not be if the choice they were asked to make would impact their future this much? He had tried to explain to him that they could make arrangements with Jin Guangshan and let him live with them only for a while, or even try a combined custody if Mo Xuanyu would prefer that option. But apparently, he had failed in his explanation.

Or perhaps failed would be too harsh of a judgement, it was more like Mo Xuanyu had listened to him but still could not decide what he wanted to do next. They were hurrying him too much as it was, he was just ten years old! How could they expect that it would be easy for him to say with whom he wanted to live from now on? Even more so if he had met his remaining family only once until now. This kind of decision would have been a great struggle for anyone, much less such a young child.

It could even be that despite all their reassurances, Mo Xuanyu was still convinced that he would be thrown away by them, abandoned and not loved. It could also be that he was fearing going to his family and them becoming the same kind of monsters he had lived with until now. At the same time though, Wei Wuxian could tell that the boy actually wanted to try go live with his blood relatives, perhaps hoping to have a life he had until today seen only around him but never experienced himself.

So many emotions, it truly must be hard for him. Wei Wuxian’s heart was breaking as he sat down on the back seat together with the children and hugged all three of them in a warm embrace. He looked at Lan Zhan, his eyes begging for advice, he had no idea what he should do at a time like this. He wished to provide support, to reassure Mo Xuanyu that everything would be just fine, that he was loved and wanted. That he would never have to suffer again.

However, perhaps for the first time in his life, he could not find any words to express what he had to say. Back then, when he had been in a similar situation to Mo Xuanyu’s, it had been Lan Zhan who had been his support pillar. He did not know how to become one himself now, it brought upon too many bittersweet memories. Especially not now when he was this anxious for the small boy he was holding like the most precious treasure in the world. He knew fully well that it was not his place to say he wanted to keep Mo Xuanyu with them, that he would welcome him as his new son, he could simply not take away the boy’s opportunity to gain his own family.

Luckily, bless his husband, Lan Zhan understood his unspoken plea and came inside the car as well. He sat on the opposite side of the back seat, unbuckling the safety seat which imprisoned A-Yuan so he would be able to get closer to everyone, and squeezed in. It was quite a tight fit actually and Wei Wuxian was kind of amazed that the five of them were able to sit there all together. But he could not marvel at this fact, he had children to take care of.

He was still hugging them and rubbing their little trembling backs while Lan Zhan started patting their heads. Wei Wuxian leaned down and kissed each of them on the forehead, showing them how much he loved them. This was all he could do until he would finally be able to find his lost voice. He felt traitorous tears gathering in his eyes as well, this was just too hard to watch.

He was aware that he was exaggerating and that his old bad habits were coming out, but he was starting to feel responsible for Mo Xuanyu’s distress. It had been him who had suggested that the boy should decide for himself. Had he made a mistake? Had Mo Xuanyu not been ready for such a huge decision when he was just a young child? Should he had never pushed him this far?

Luckily, before he could break down as well and scare the children even more, Lan Zhan was already there with him. His always perfect ad understanding husband, Wei Wuxian did not know what he would do without him.

“A-Yu, I know it was already said, but neither I nor anyone else wants you decide immediately. You can take your time, you can try both options for a while and only then tell us where and with whom you want to live. It is all very sudden and I do not blame you for being scared and confused. It only shows how brave you are for enduring everything and making it until here. You can take it easy and have all the time you need. We will listen to you when you are ready. You can tell us anything, all your worries and insecurities, all that you are struggling with. We would never disregard your feelings and needs. We only want to try and help to the best of our abilities. All four of us. You are very welcome to stay with us until you figure everything out. Or even longer if you will decide to do that.”

Wei Wuxian could not be any happier. Although his husband usually preferred to remain silent, his words always carried so much weight with them when he found it important to voice his ideas and believes. Somehow, it seemed like he had hit the nail right on the head. Wei Wuxian could not be any more grateful for his help.

For after this short speech, a head emerged from the pile of children’s bodies in Wei Wuxian’s arms. Mo Xuanyu’s eyes were swollen and still full of tears. There was however also something beside distress there. It was gratefulness and, strangely enough, also determination. It looked like Lan Zhan’s words had helped Mo Xuanyu to find his courage. Courage to do what, Wei Wuxian could not say, but he was glad nevertheless. This was already better than seeing the boy cry his heart out and be in pain.

Chapter Text

Mo Xuanyu could not believe this was happening. He was sitting in the middle of his teacher’s family, being reassured by them over and over again that he mattered, that he was loved and wanted. They were not throwing him away now, after his family had come to claim him. They were not forcing him to live with them even though he did not know them at all. They were giving him the right and free hand to decide for himself.

This was still something which baffled him to no end. Until coming to live with his teacher’s family, he had never known this much freedom. And it was not scary at all either thanks to the fact that they supported him every step of the way. They never left his side, they promised to stay there for him no matter what he chose in the end. He could not name this as anything else but them taking him as a part of their own family.

It warmed his heart to the point where he thought he would perhaps melt. But it was not a painful or scary kind of warmth which burned his skin and which he could have associated with his aunt’s and uncle’s occasional shows of affection. In fact, it was actually the opposite. This kind of warmth was healing his very soul and he could not imagine losing it anymore. And the best thing was that his teacher’s family was saying he would not lose it, not even in the future. They were ready to treat him like their third child.

All of this was making Mo Xuanyu want to cry even more. He had never known just how nice having a family truly was. Of course, his own relatives with whom he had lived until then were his family, but after knowing how a true loving one should act – for he believed that the ones sitting with him on the back seat and hugging him were the perfect example of what he had never even dared to wish for – he could only regret not having a family of his own.

He would have loved to stay at his teacher’s house, he really would. He knew that they would accept him without a second of hesitation, they had showed him that much already. However, there was something in Mo Xuanyu’s heart which was still stopping him from telling them he had chosen to stay in their house.

This feeling had been small at first, overshadowed by his shyness and fear of being a burden. Now though, he understood that those were not the reason why he was reluctant to say he wanted to stay, at least not entirely. Since he had left his aunt’s and uncle’s house, he had gotten greedy. In fact, there was so much hungry greed inside of him that it was terrifying.

He could just not hold himself back and want like a small spoiled child he had never been before. However, the single week with his teacher’s family had changed him completely. He had seen how happy they were and how warm and loving families could be. That is where is greed came into play. He wanted a family of his own, one that would treat him just as nicely.

It was not that he was not feeling well cared for with his teacher. It was just knowing that he had a father and two older brothers out there, he wanted them to be his family from now on. They would be his and he would be theirs, in a way that A-Yi and A-Yuan had their parents and a brother, in a way that Mo Xuanyu would perhaps never be able to feel like when choosing to live with his teacher.

He feared that there would always remain, deep in his heart, a sense of guilt that he was stealing A-Yuan’s and A-Yi’s parents from them. He believed that it would be different when it came to his own family. When thinking about how his life could be when he would live at his father’s house, this slight feeling of discomfort was just not there. Mo Xuanyu knew himself very well that he was just acting spoiled and was probably inventing things, but he could not help himself. This was how he felt and the sensation had only grown stronger during A-Yi’s field trip.

He had seen clearly the difference between how the children had been treated by their parents and how those same parents acted when they were interacting with those who were not their sons and daughters. It was very subtle, but he could still tell. It was a little similar to the way how even thought both his teacher and his husband had been treating him nicely, they were just not acting around him the same way as with A-Yuan and A-Yi themselves.

A family shared a special bond and Mo Xuanyu wished dearly to have one of his own. A true family which would be fully his.

However, at the same time, he was still extremely afraid of leaving the loving home of his teacher and go live with his father and brothers. What if what Mo Xuanyu was so desperately wishing for was not something they could and were willing to provide? What if he was now imagining himself receiving the same affection as he had from his teacher and his family was not used to giving it? What if they would treat him as an outsider instead of a son and a brother?

There were so many things which Mo Xuanyu did not know and which could be completely different from what he wished for. He had after all seen his family only once, and just for a short while at that. How could he be sure they would love him and accept him as one of their own? Sure, they had said as much, but Mo Xuanyu was the one who knew the best how big of a rift there could be between words and actions. A true abyss sometimes.

Promises which were not backed up by actions were just like meaningless words, believing them would in the end only hurt him. Just like the times when he had believed his aunt, uncle and cousin that their discipline would not be painful. Just like the times when he had put trust in a teacher during his first year of school only to learn later that it had been him who had been reporting to his family everything about Mo Xuanyu’s life at school and his tentative pleas for help and questions about a normal life that he had only been able to say aloud while gathering all his courage. Just like when children came up to talk to him and told him they would be friends only to start ignoring or bullying him the very next day.

Yes, promises were just that, promises.

However, his teacher’s family had seen right through this fear of his as well. It did not take long for Mo Xuanyu to understand that he could trust them to go through with whatever they had told him. If they were now promising to always be there for him and that he could come back if he would not like living with his family, he trusted them. After all, they had all said it, in their own special ways. And Mo Xuanyu believed every single one of them.

This and the knowledge that he would have a place to return to if he would not fit in well with his own family gave his strength to voice his wish. He had taken his decision, the one that his teacher suggested and the one he truly wanted to try out the most. He looked in turn at both the adults and took a deep breath. Time to not be shy anymore and decide for himself.

Chapter Text

Lan Wangji was looking at the back of a leaving Mo Xuanyu who was just getting into a lavish car accompanied by Jin Guangshan’s driver. He watched Wei Ying going closer and give the driver Mo Xuanyu’s bags. It was no longer only one school bag which could fit all of his belongings, they made sure that the boy would have everything he needed and had brought a bunch of stuff for him. They had also had an ulterior motive, they wanted to spoil him rotten. Although Mo Xuanyu had at first been reluctant to accept them, he had in the end seemed glad he had been given what he needed for his stay in his potential new home.

Just as Wei Ying had expected, the boy could not decide right away and had been torn between his options. Lan Wangji was not surprised, he had already seen his husband suffering in the same situation and knew that he should neither intervene nor try to pressure the boy to make his choice hastily. This was why he was now extremely proud of Mo Xuanyu for telling them what he wanted.

He still vividly remembered how the boy had looked at him back in the car when they had been coming back from A-Yi’s field trip and asked, shyly but with more determination and courage than he had ever displayed before: “Teacher… could I really go live with my father and brothers, just for a while? And,” the boy’s voice had become even more uncertain at that point, “if I do not like it there, could I come back to live with you? Will it be alright? I am sorry…”

Wei Ying had not let Mo Xuanyu finish his apology, for whatever reason he had even wanted to give them one. He had immediately hugged the boy even tighter and kissed his forehead. Then, he had praised him for his courage, along with everyone else, and promised again that they would definitely always be there for him, no matter if he decided to come back to their house or not.

That had been how Mo Xuanyu had taken perhaps the biggest step in his young life. After the children had gone to sleep that evening, exhausted both from the field trip and the emotional outburst in the car, Wei Ying had given Wen Qing a phone call to arrange everything with the authorities. He had also spoken with Jin Guangshan himself and explained the whole situation to him. Lan Wangji did not know if he should have been surprised pleasantly or unpleasantly by how quickly the man agreed to let his son have a trial period of living in his house.

In this way, everything had been arranged and today was the day when Mo Xuanyu was going over to his father’s house. The boy had been extremely tense and nervous all morning, just as the rest of Lan Wangji’s family, and had barely eaten anything for lunch. It had taken a long time to calm all three children with promises that they would still be able to meet at school and when Mo Xuanyu would be coming over for a visit. They had already negotiated this with Jin Guangshan beforehand. Wei Ying wanted for the boy to be as much as ease as it was possible under the current circumstances.

The goodbyes had been said many times over before the car had arrived and several more under the polite smile of Jin Guangshan. All too soon, Mo Xuanyu had been asked to get into the car and leave for his new temporary – or not so temporary, that all remained to be seen – home. Lan Wangji could only hope that he would be treated there with the utmost care and understanding. After all, even if Mo Xuanyu behaved like a normal child most of the time now, there were still not so rare episodes of his trauma coming out to haunt him.

They had warned Jin Guangshan about it, but Lan Wangji simply could not help but worry. He understood that there had never been a small child in Jin Guangshan’s house aside for a single one of his sons and even that had been more than ten years ago. Would he even know how to treat Mo Xuanyu properly? And that was not even taking about all the weight and trauma the boy was carrying with him.

Somehow, Lan Wangji felt like his own child was leaving and he had to suppress his urge to raise his voice and stop him. It looked like he was not the only one either. A-Yuan and A-Yi who had been until now holding onto his hands now let go and run towards the car before the driver could close the door behind their friend. One last time to say goodbye.

Lan Wangji let them, he could tell that they would be very sad without Mo Xuanyu in the house and would worry about his wellbeing. Just as he and Wei Ying would. His husband had already said his last goodbyes and reassurances and had stepped away from the car. He came to stand by Lan Wangji’s side and discretely took his hand, silently asking for support. He did not even have to say anything, Lan Wangji knew fully well how he was feeling at this moment; it was the same for him.

Just as the car slowly drove away and A-Yuan and A-Yi were still standing by the side of the road, waving their hands, Lan Wangji tugged Wei Ying a little closer to his chest and kissed him chastely. Just to show that he was there for him, there was nothing more behind it. His husband immediately took it as an invitation it was and let himself melt into Lan Wangji’s warm and reassuring embrace.

“Wei Ying, I am sure everything will be fine,” Lan Wangji whispered into his ear softly. He was trying his best to help his husband relax. He could tell just how worried he was from how tense his muscles were and how tightly Wei Ying was clutching his hand.

Upon hearing this, his husband leaned even more into him. His eyes never left the now empty street, much like Lan Wangji’s own. It took a whole minute before he was able to speak, and even then, it seemed like he was trying to reassure more himself than his husband: “You are right, Lan Zhan. Surely Mo Xuanyu would be happy with his family. They seemed nice enough, Jin Guangshan even promised to get him his own caretaker, someone experienced in caring for children after they had come out of the vicious cycle of abuse…”

Suddenly, two small bodies crushed into Lan Wangji and Wei Ying, cutting off his husband’s whispered monologue. Their children had tears in their eyes; but they were not crying. They were so brave Lan Wangji wanted to pick them up and praise them for acting so maturely in all of this.

So, he did just that. He let go of Wei Ying and instead lifted A-Yuan up, his husband did the same with A-Yi. For a moment, they just stood unmoving, all staring at the end of the street where the car with Mo Xuanyu inside had long disappeared from sight.

After what seemed like an eternity, A-Yi asked, his voice a little shaky but steady when considering how sad he must have felt with his new friend leaving: “A-Yu will come visit soon, right?”

The question was not directed to anyone in particular, so Lan Wangji took it upon himself to answer: “Of course, he would come during the weekend again. And, if you want to, I can pick you up from preschool tomorrow and take you to see him before he will go home after classes will be over for him.”

“Yes!” A-Yi exclaimed enthusiastically, grinning like he had heard the best news of the day. His smile had lifted the mood for the whole family and also helped Wei Ying to snap out of his worried brooding.

“Who wants to eat some fried rice for dinner?” he asked, immediately getting the child excited for the feast ahead.

They turned to go back inside the house and start dinner preparations. Lan Wangji shot one last look at the empty street. He was missing Mo Xuanyu already. The boy had only lived with them for two short weeks, but it had already felt like he had become part of their family. Lan Wangji could only wish him the best for the future and keep an eye on him from the distance. Just as he had told Wei Ying, he had to believe that everything would be just fine and they had done what was best for the child.