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1.
Jiang Cheng, in the nicest words he can come up with, is a little underwhelmed. There have been endless stories about the Lan brothers, both fine as jade and shining beacons of the future, but it seems only one of those legends is true.
Lan Wangji does look like he's made of fine jade. Cold, faultless, and motionless. He doesn't talk much, the most obvious difference he has with his older brother, but that's about it.
"That's who you shouldn't piss off," Nie Huaisang whispers. He's as theatrical about it as ever, but he doesn't sound as sarcastic.
"Aren't the Lans reclusive, though?" Wei Ying asks. Not unkindly, but he definitely shouldn't say it as loud as he did just now.
"'Reclusive' doesn't mean 'monk'," Nie Huaisang says.
Yeah, it does . Jiang Cheng thinks.
From where they stand, they can see him and his perfectly stiff posture, as if his hackles raised from being so close to other human beings.
"Gah," Nie Huaisang cringes from behind his fan.
There's no telling if he hears this conversation, but Lan Wangji turns in the prissiest way possible. Jiang Cheng minutely feels something about that prissiness, but he dismisses it as soon as it forms.
Nie Huaisang sighs in relief. "I told you, don't get caught by him."
Wei Ying snorts. This isn't Lotus Pier, and he doesn't have to worry about being compliant.
Anyways.
Jiang Cheng doesn't know why he feels underwhelmed. He hadn't expected a young master of the stuffiest sect to be anything but.
He's intimidating, yes. He has a great presence without trying, sure.
But Jiang Cheng thought he'd be...more relatable.
Despite his fervent disagreement with Wei Ying's assessment of him, Jiang Cheng is well aware he's not socially adept. (Well, Wei Ying calls him "shy", but it's to make it sound like it's something positive.) He thought he might run into someone he could share a few rants or two, like Huaisang.
As it stands, it looks like he won't be drunkenly slurring about sect expectations and overwhelming teenage responsibilities.
Wei Ying incessantly pokes at his shoulder. "Huaisang found us seats!"
Jiang Cheng belatedly realizes he's gone down a spiral again and snaps out of it before someone notices him staring blankly.
Anyway.
It's not like it matters that much.
"Can you at least pretend you're not gonna cause trouble," Jiang Cheng hisses, following them to their seats. It's not like he's willing to take the only other free seat in the room, which happens to be right next to the peacock and his band of gaudy Jins. "You heard me, right?"
Wei Ying turns sharply. He makes this obnoxious face, the kind when he's being blatantly sarcastic. " Oh wow . He notices me," he says. "Huaisang, finally!"
Jiang Cheng doesn't get it, but Nie Huaisang clearly does. Nie Huaisang hides behind his fan to cover up a devious grin, and Wei Ying sits there like Jiang Cheng is supposed to react in some way.
He doesn't react, so Wei Ying pulls out a handkerchief. Wei Ying, trying so hard not to snicker, wipes at the side of Jiang Cheng's mouth.
Jiang Cheng scowls and slaps the hand away. "What?"
Wei Ying snorts again. "Let me wipe that drool off."
-
2.
Jiang Cheng must have angered something or someone this Nighthunt, because he's dealt the worst possible partner in the student pool.
Well, Lan Wangji isn't bad , he's just the one Jiang Cheng has interacted with the least so far.
He doesn't sit with anyone during meals, doesn't stick around after class, and doesn't seem to appear anywhere else outside the classroom. He does prowl the night to find unsuspecting curfew breakers, but Jiang Cheng hasn't really dared to break the rules yet. (One wrong move and his mother might hear about it, so he tries really, really hard not to do anything stupid.)
"Where should we go?" Jiang Cheng winces. His voice is so loud.
It's not deafeningly quiet, but the sound of leaves and footsteps aren't loud enough to hide the fact that it's so awkward right now. He can faintly hear Wei Ying talk from a distance away, some guys from Lanling might also be nearby, and it all seems like they're the only pair who aren't putting in the effort to even communicate with each other.
"West," Lan Wangji says. Not even the children said to go west or Lan Xichen's map says to go west . Just "west", as if that's the only word he's capable of saying at the moment. Jiang Cheng might need a few more interactions with him before they can actually work together effectively.
They continue on, and it gets more and more awkward the more steps they take. They should each have been paired with Wei Ying and Nie Hauisang, so there's at least one person who could talk enough for two. They've paired people up at random, and now they have two people who talk over each other and another two who won't speak at all.
"Down here!"
The distant call feels like a blessing. It finally breaks the monotony of the moment—they look at each other, as if to confirm if they'd heard the same thing, then they bolt off together.
(Well, "bolt off" might not be the best way to describe it. Jiang Cheng tries to run, but Lan Wangji is brisking elegantly, and Jiang Cheng doesn't want to look like he's the more inexperienced, overeager one. So, he kind of just…trails behind Lan Wangji)
After running a considerable distance from where they came, Jiang Cheng begins to realize this is going to take more than just running in a straight line. He thinks the call had come from their left, but the entire left of them is a line of trees and shrubbery.
He wants to ask Lan Wangji about it, reaches for his sleeve, and nearly slaps himself for the sheer impropriety of that.
He draws his hand back, tries to catch up, then asks, "where are we even going?"
Then, Lan Wangji comes to a full stop. Jiang Cheng barrels straight into his (very firm) back, knocked back by the force of it. He manages to not fall on his ass. Thankfully.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Cheng hisses.
Lan Wangji doesn't move. He stands stiff, like he's just been hit by lightning.
Jiang Cheng scowls. "Wha—"
"False alarm," Lan Wangji says.
"What?"
"It is not here."
Lan Wangji is blocking his view, so Jiang Cheng steps aside and looks.
Ah.
Some Jin disciples are by the waterfall, prancing around in their underwear like it's a warm summer day outing. Something Jiang Cheng would be excited to do, if he isn't literally on his way to an exorcism. They clearly don't give a shit about this Nighthunt.
"Wow," Jiang Cheng says. "What an asshole."
"It is forbidden..." Lan Wangji says.
"To speak foul language?"
"To invade someone's privacy."
Huh. Jiang Cheng wouldn't call this an invasion per se, so it really isn't a big deal. Unless—
"You think I'm some pervert?"
Lan Wangji stiffens again. He turns around, robes swishing, his obnoxious sleeves fluttering behind him.
Ah, sheltered Lans. You would think they're the kind to be as clinical with these things as possible.
Jiang Cheng looks at the half-naked Jins in the waters again, scrunches his nose, and shrugs. "Nah," he says. "Not my type."
He'll think about slamming into Lan Wangji later.
-
3.
"My mother used to say," Nie Huaisang says, slipping beside Jiang Cheng. "If you stare at Lan er-gongzi long enough, he might actually turn brave and talk to you."
"Huh?"
"Unlike you," Nie Huaisang sighs, laying back against the grass beside Jiang Cheng. He looks smug, like he knows something Jiang Cheng doesn't.
They have some time again. The Cloud Recesses is surprisingly more relaxed with visiting disciples, despite Jiang Cheng's general shock of their prudeness at the beginning. They sometimes get free afternoons like this, with no lectures, Nighthunts, or educational excursions down in the backwoods of Caiyi.
"Wow, you're being deliberately ignorant right now," Nie Huaisang says.
Jiang Cheng wants to ignore it but can't, so he says, "Really? She said that?"
Nie Huaisang looks at him through narrowed eyes.
It's very obvious that Jiang Cheng has lost, but that doesn't mean he can't do anything about it. He looks away from Nie Huaisang, only for his gaze to fall exactly where he doesn't mean to.
You can't blame Jiang Cheng, of course. Lan-er-gongzi is literally right there, in his line of sight. This is one of the very few moments anyone has ever seen him outside class, so the attention should be warranted.
Nie Huaisang pokes his arm. "Caught you," he singsongs.
-
4.
Jiang Cheng finds himself alone more than usual. Unlike him, Nie Huaisang has made it his mission to make more than one friend this study visit.
He's invited Jiang Cheng to dinner in Caiyi or afternoons by the lake, but there are times Jiang Cheng doesn't really feel like going at all. Sure, he can get through a social time in a nice inn, but that doesn't mean he's particularly enthused about it.
Fortunately, Nie Huaisang doesn't try to push him half the time. Jiang Cheng gets to exist in his much-needed quiet times without agonizing over what to say next. He just wants...alone time. He wants to do things where he's not in danger of being asked what he's doing.
Now, though, Jiang Cheng needs to think about what he does now that he's alone. As much as Jiang Cheng secretly approves of punching the peacock in the face, Wei Ying getting sent home isn't exactly worth all that.
So, Jiang Cheng spends his free (and alone time) afternoons wandering around the Cloud Recesses.
It's a surprisingly exciting adventure. He discovers about seven new things just by doing this in the last few days—a hot spring, a nice clearing in the forest, and some wildlife.
Eventually, though, everything that he could see had all been seen. He runs out of places to wander. And yes, even that huge tree behind the Cloud Recesses' east buildings gets old.
Jiang Cheng continues his quest like he always does, which is taking random turns and seeing where that carries him. This neat trick would eventually bring him to the last place he thought he'd ever visit: the library.
He steps in without thought, wandering like usual. He hovers at the entrance of the Library Pavilion, with no particular goal whatsoever. Jiang Cheng almost gives up on this route and nearly turns around, but he remembers wanting to do some reading on river trades.
Well.
It's not like he has anything else to do.
-
Well .
This could've gone better.
Jiang Cheng stares at Lan Wangji from across the room. There's a very long, very awkward stare contest that lasts several moments.
Lan Wangji seems to realize how absurdly long things are taking and snaps out of it with a nod in Jiang Cheng's general direction. Jiang Cheng's own awareness kicks in and he stands, salutes, then hovers there like an idiot.
"Do you mind?" Jiang Cheng asks, then cringes. He realizes how condescending it sounds as quickly as he blurts it out.
"Do you mind that I'm here?" He tries again, but immediately thinks he says too much.
Lan Wangji shakes his head.
Amazing.
Lan Wangji is in no way inclined to help him out.
"Okay," Jiang Cheng says. He cringes again.
Well, the Library is open to everyone. He's been constantly looking for reasons to waste time that he's now managed to read all three thousand rules off the side of the mountain. So, really, it's not like he'd been walking straight into a slew of trespassing punishments.
Lan Wangji remains standing. He makes an aborted move that suggests he'd wanted to do something and decided against it at the last moment.
"Can I help you?" Jiang Cheng asks.
The sides of Lan Wangji's mouth tighten, like he's about to say something.
Jiang Cheng raises an eyebrow.
"Can you—" Lan Wangji's hand moves as if to gesture at something, but he instantly pulls it back to his side. "That's my desk."
"Ah."
"Hm."
"Well. I'll just—"
"We can share."
Ha?
Jiang Cheng looks up, somehow only just notices that Lan Wangji has walked closer. He stands tall, Jiang Cheng observes. There isn't much difference between them, but it feels like Lan Wangji is towering over him in this Library Pavilion.
"Um."
"You may sit," Lan Wangji says, head tilted and eyes down. Even if it's barely noticeable, it's enough to make it seem like he's much, much bigger than Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng thinks he should be reacting in one particular way. He has reacted only one way each time someone dares to dictate him like this, but—
While Jiang Cheng is left stunned and still standing, Lan Wangji moves to take his place on the other side of the desk. He sits right across Jiang Cheng—as if it's the most normal thing to do—and gathers his papers and brushes towards him.
When he finally decides he wants to sit down, Jiang Cheng embarrassingly collapses to the floor. All this while he's inwardly chanting, don't be embarrassing, don't fuck up, don't do anything you'll regret —
There's a very, very awkward moment where he can't seem to place his legs the right way. He lifts himself up multiple times to reposition himself, each attempt more awkward than the last, then finally settles down after an eternity of fidgeting.
He looks up.
And Lan Wangji is looking at him...baffled? Amused? Jiang Cheng can't tell.
Of course, because Jiang Cheng blurts things out before thinking, he says, "Thanks, by the way."
Lan Wangji grunts, lips pulling to the side. Jiang Cheng tries not to think about it as a smile.