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"Yanli! Don't forget to bring the chargers and neck pillows!" Their father called out after doing a check through the car and finding only those things missing. They all had to go on some trip labelled as a family emergency when it was just that they had forgotten to return a couple of things to the family on their mom's side when they'd come over a while back. Yet when they were all deciding when to leave and what to pack, Wei Wuxian had the brilliant idea to beg their parents to let him stay home under the pretense of "house sitting" and Jiang Cheng's dogs that he had to give to the family on their mom's side when Wei Wuxian was first taken in due to his fear.
Right before the rest of them left, Wei Wuxian continued to put on the act, getting all misty-eyed seeing them leave, earning him a scoff from Jiang Cheng right before they left, yelling a goodbye from outside and told Wei Wuxian to close and lock the door behind them after they were out.
Jiang Cheng let out a deep, mildly irritated sigh as they packed the last of the things they needed to bring into the backseat with him and Yanli since the trunk was one more item away from exploding open from how full it was. Jiang Yanli noticed his sigh and looked over, already knowing his thoughts. As they got seated in the car, the pile of stuff was crushing against her left side so she had to scoot a little closer. The middle seat was always the worst.
"So... scared of leaving A-Xian alone huh?" Jiang Yanli asked. She already knew the answer but it would help her brother loosen up a little to talk about it.
Rubbing a hand over his face to soothe his nerves, Jiang Cheng nodded in reply. "Yeah, well you know how he is-" He began but before he could say anything else, their mom chimed in.
"Reckless, foolish and has no care for consequences. I just hope he doesn't make me regret letting him actually do this." Yu Ziyuan said, sharing a similar habit to her son as she rubbed the bridge of her nose with two fingers to prevent the oncoming anxious headache.
"Exactly," Jiang Cheng added, indifferent to how their mom just interrupted him. It was a habit that had unfortunately also passed down to him. "But I believe in him a little more than mom does." He mumbled out reluctantly, hating whenever he got too sappy.
Yanli smiled and chuckled at her brother's usual unsympathetic demeanour melting away just for that one moment. Giving Jiang Cheng a pat on the head which had earned her a dramatic grumble, she added her own two cents to the conversation (and also to not let Jiang Cheng get himself in trouble with his mom from his loose mouth). "Yes, I agree, A-Xian is more than capable of being responsible, even if it may seem otherwise."
That seemed to help ease Yu Ziyuan's nerves, Jiang Yanli had always been good with soothing others, and most commendably, being able to prevent their mom from bursting a blood vessel from Wei Wuxian's antics.
They sped out of the driveway, the first 10 minutes was filled with civil discussions about school, well it was civil, until Yu Ziyuan asked Jiang Cheng and when catching a hint of his hesitation before he admitted that it went down, (it was by 1%) but that was enough to get their mom nagging and their dad sighing.
"Oh come on! 96%!? Even Wei Wuxian gets higher than you and all he does is cause interruptions and get sent to detention!" Yu Ziyuan said, her voice raising in tandem with her growing impatience. Jiang Cheng was just grateful that his mother was driving because if she wasn't, not only would she nag him ten times more, but she'd likely knock him over the head a few times.
"Yes, yes I understand," Jiang Cheng risked by interrupting her mid-rant to just end it early and tell her what she wanted to hear. "I'll do better, I'll study for at least 3 hours after school when I get the time." He promised, praying internally that this was enough to ease her anger.
Jiang Yanli got the telepathic memo from her brother and rooted for him, knowing that if it was 2 against 1, their mom would eventually have to back down. "Don't worry mom, I'm sure Jiang Cheng is able to do that, he's very responsible and keeps his promises." She said, vouching for her brother as his partner in crime. It was something she had to get used to with one brother and when Wei Wuxian was adopted, it became much more common.
Finally, Yu Ziyuan was calmed down, Jiang Cheng pulled out his Blackberry Torch 9800℠ and called Wei Wuxian to double check that he actually hadn't blown up the house yet and is keeping his promise by calling the landline. The second his brother picked up, he got straight to the point, "Cut the crap Wei Ying, is the house destroyed? Is there anything broken?"
Through the shitty quality of his poorly hand-me-down phone given to him by his dad's company for free, he could hear that same infuriating chuckle from Wei Wuxian paired with a "I see you haven't changed one bit" and the sound of him quietly talking to someone else. Of course he'd invited someone over, that brother of his really could never go one day without needing to annoy someone.
"Just answer the question. How are you guys holding down the fort?" He asked, copying their mother's habits with rubbing the bridge of his nose right now, when he was getting annoyed at Wei Wuxian.
When Wei Wuxian asked how he knew he had someone over, Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes and whispered into the microphone of his phone so Yu Ziyuan wouldn't hear the next thing he said. "You're Wei Wuxian, there's no way in a million years where we're gone over the long weekend, and you wouldn't invite someone over, or at worst, have a giant party."
But that was a mistake because the second Jiang Yanli caught wind that Jiang Cheng was on a call with Wei Wuxian, she leaned over to talk to him too. "Oh, hey, how's things going?" She asked sweetly, and of course to her, Wei Wuxian switched up quicker than a lightning bolt and suavely responded in all his younger brother charm.
"Oh yes, yes we're doing fine, the house hasn't exploded or caught on fire or anything so that's good." He assured to his sister, causing her to giggle at his poorly made joke/prediction.
Remembering something else, Yanli said one last thing before she'd let Wanyin take control. "Hey, glad to hear you're doing good. We left 20$ on the counter for you to pick up some food for yourselves!"
They could both could feel Wei Wuxian's smile at this revelation but he was still a little slow to realize that she and Jiang Cheng had accurately predicted that he'd have someone over while they were gone. "Wait, so you know?"
Yanli laughed and shook her head in exasperation at their little brother's slow response, "of course I know, me and Jiang Cheng both know, but don't worry we'll keep it under wraps!" But just as she said that, Yu Ziyuan finally decided to listen in for just a moment and only caught wind of the last, most convicting part.
"Keep what under wraps?" Snapped their mom and Jiang Yanli was given the phone to say goodbyes to Wei Wuxian just as Jiang Cheng began conjuring up a massive excuse for this.
"Uhh... nothing?" Yu Ziyuan would only get even more suspicious if he didn't elaborate on that so Jiang Cheng told a ginormous lie that would likely backfire on himself later, but that was something to worry about when the time came. "Wei Wuxian just... saw a dog when walking outside and he was so scared that he.. blacked out. And he was just too embarrassed to tell you." Jiang Cheng lied, his skills not as well developed as Wei Wuxian's were. He just hoped that the profuse sweating and constant breaks in his words wouldn't have given it away.