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“Here.” Xue Zhengyong hands him a small cloth-wrapped bun, still pleasantly warm when Chu Wanning takes it from him. When Chu Wanning had felt him pass through his wards, he’d wondered what, exactly, had brought him all the way out to Red Lotus Pavilion on a day he wouldn’t usually visit - and now, as he sits down next to him with two warm buns in his hands, he finds himself laden with more questions than he’d started with.
“Meng-er made them,” he says, as he unwraps one for himself. He grins wide as he shows off the bun, proud of his son’s work even if it’s lopsided or misshapen - all that matters to Xue Zhengyong is that Xue Meng was the one that made them. And though Chu Wanning would never say as much out loud, he’s come to suspect that that sentiment is one he may come to share soon, if the stubborn fondness settling in his own chest has anything to say about it.
Still, he’s hesitant to take a bite. It’s only been a few weeks since Chu Wanning had made the decision to stay at Sisheng Peak for longer than the brief days-long visits he’s grown used to. And in these weeks, he’s had the unfortunate revelation that almost all of the food in the dining hall is decidedly…a bit too spicy for his tastes. He eats it all the same, grateful for food even if it burns his tongue and turns his stomach.
Xue Meng, he knows, loves spiced noodles and broths so hot Chu Wanning’s eyes water just thinking about them - he can only imagine anything the child has made would reflect this. But Xue Zhengyong is watching him, and while he may not be Chu Wanning’s sect leader, he has been debating staying for more than just the season he'd promised this year. In the end, Chu Wanning doesn’t have the face to turn him down, so he takes a small, tentative bite and it's…
“Sweet,” he says, without really thinking. Blush colors his cheeks as Xue Zhengyong's grin stretches wider, his chest puffing up with pride.
“Meng-er may have noticed you grimacing when you were eating in the dining hall last week - you know how fond of you he is! He's been watching you like a hawk ever since you agreed to stay for the winter. He wanted to make something special just for you, so I told him about those buns you always order when we eat down in Wuchang town.”
“Very thoughtful of him,” Chu Wanning says as he takes another bite, this one larger, letting the soft sweetness of the bun fill his mouth. It’s filled with a warm red bean paste, gentle and soothing against his palate.
“Well, he was worried if you hated our food so much, you’d leave come spring,” Xue Zhengyong laughs, finishing his own bun off in one last bite. He turns to Chu Wanning then and claps a large hand on his shoulder, a gesture that still sends uncomfortable shivers down Chu Wanning’s spine, even as he’s grown more and more used to it.
When Chu Wanning meets his eye, his bearing is just a bit serious - like he’s about to deliver unfortunate news. It’s an unnatural look on him, one that Chu Wanning has seen only sparingly in the short time he’s been here.
Perhaps he’s overstayed his welcome, after all. Chu Wanning thinks, Having the Sect Leader’s son insist upon making you something special because you’re too good to eat what they’ve provided for the rest of the Sect --
“You know, my Wifey has always had a taste for sweet foods too. She hinted recently that she’d like to have them more, so I’ve asked one of the cooks in Mengpo Hall to start focusing on sweeter dishes.”
Xue Zhengyong’s words hang in the air between them, and Chu Wanning feels an odd warmth worm it’s way into his heart. He has no doubt in his mind that Madam Wang had made no such claims - or maybe she had, maybe she too had taken notice of him, just as her son had. The thought both pleases and unsettles him, the notion of being observed so closely, his preferences noted and catered to in such a way.
This had happened during his time in the Rufeng Sect as well, but here, it feels…different. Rufeng’s attempts at catering to him had always carried an undercurrent of debt, and Nangong Liu always made it very clear who was the one providing him with all the luxuries he was afforded.
The hand on Chu Wanning’s shoulder tightens, and Xue Zhengyong brings him in for an awkward, conspiratorial half-embrace, “If you’d like to sample any of the new dishes, they’ll be clearly marked at the dining hall,” He says, and then he releases Chu Wanning, that same fond grin lighting his features once more, “So don’t be so much of a stranger, huh? Meng-er and I would love to see you at breakfast tomorrow.”
Chu Wanning nods, the barest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. It's an unfamiliar gesture, but it feels surprisingly right in this moment. "I will consider it," he replies.
Xue Zhengyong hums, seemingly satisfied with the response.
“I’ll leave you to your work, then.” he says, and he turns to leave without a second glance. He makes no prying inquiries into what Chu Wanning is working on, and has (thus far, at least) made no lingering mentions of any of the kindnesses he’s shown Chu Wanning in his time here. He simply leaves him be, in the quiet peacefulness of the home he’s provided for him. Chu Wanning watches him go, the warmth in his chest lingering like the last rays of a sunset.
It is different, he decides, as he feels Xue Zhengyong exit the wards he’s set around Red Lotus Pavilion. Maybe he will stay at Sisheng Peak past the first comings of spring. Maybe, just maybe, he’ll stay forever. Or, at least, as long as they’ll have him.