Chapter Text
Lan Wangji was already running late for his business meeting when he saw it. The bookstore. It seemed to be Halloween themed? Or something supernatural considering the faux pumpkin heads lying around it and the truly grotesque statue of what Lan Wangji assumed to be a zombie.
He could not tear his eyes away from that god awful store and wondered whether that had always been there, and he just never noticed it before. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a toddler burst into tears at the sight of the zombie statue. Yes, Lan Wangji was late to his meeting but a quick stop to one store would not be terribly awful right?
Like moth drawn to a flame, Lan Wangji sent a quick mental apology to his uncle and pushed open the door to the store. Immediately a pre-recorded sound of thunder accompanied him and Lan Wangji almost turned back around due to sheer cringe at the tackiness of it all.
There was no else present. No customers, neither the owner. It was dead silent once the sound of the thunder subsided. Lan Wangji would rather chew off his own toe than admit it, but he was rather spooked by it all.
He made his way over to one of the shelves and absent mindedly picked a book up. The store was dark and it was rather a bit hard to read. Lan Wangji frowned to himself.
"Ahh you like poems?" a voice greeted him right by his ear. Lan Wangji jumped and almost dropped the book.
"What?" Lan Wangji scowled, turning to the source of the voice and was meeted with a pair of beautiful, bright grey eyes shining with intelligence.
"Ahh sorry, no one really ventures into the poems sections", the man said, chuckling. "My brother said to get rid of it whole and make room for more lighting, haha."
The man was, Lan Wangji begrudgingly admitted, undeniably attractive. His pink lips were moist and his grey eyes shone with excitement.
"Do not get rid of it", Lan Wangji said curtly before dropping his eyes down to his book again.
The man laughed. It was a clear ringing sound and Lan Wangji found himself wanting more. "Oh don't worry, I wasn't going to. I never listen to my brother anyways", the man cheerfully informed him. "He probably has never picked up a book in his life before."
"It could do with a bit more lighting", Lan Wangji said suddenly. He does not know why he said it, he generally doesn't participate in small talk with strangers but with this particular man...he found himself not wanting the conversation to stop.
The man gasped dramatically. "More lighting!? But then it would take away the whole aesthetic of it all!"
Lan Wangji threw an unimpressed glance at him. "It might be difficult for the customers to read. This is a bookstore after all."
The man hummed, tapping a finger at his chin. "Mm you're right. I'm not saying I will be installing lights though, just that you're right. I could never let my brother just win like that."
Lan Wangji gave a minute shake of his head and put the book back where it was on the shelves.
"You're not getting that?"
Lan Wangji shook his head, glancing down at his wristwatch. "Not today. I am currently late for my meeting." He paused before meeting the man's eyes and adding, "But I will be back."
The man's grin grew wider and his eyes shone like a half crescent moon. Lan Wangji found himself unable to look away. "I'll be awaiting eagerly for your return then, mister. Might I know your name?"
"Lan Zhan", Wangji blurted out. He doesn't know why he decided to give up his birth name to a complete stranger and was not really in the mood to introspect further.
"Lan Zhan", the man called him. Wangji loved the sound of his name on the man's tongue. "Lovely to meet you, Lan Zhan. I'm Wei Wuxian, but you-", he gave him a small wink. "Can call me Wei Ying."
Lan Wangji left the store heart hammering and ears bright red, feeling intoxicated like he had just drank a whole bottle of liquor. Wei Ying's laugh was reverberating in his chest all throughout his business meeting.
-- 🌿 --
"Alright then, our partners will be in touch with you Mr. Cheng", Lan Xichen said with an amicable smile, shaking his hand. "I'm glad we came to a resolution this quickly and successfully."
"Pleasure doing business with the Lans", the man- Jiang Cheng said, with a scowl on his face. It wasn't that he was particularly angry, Lan Wangji noticed, it was just that was his default expression.
He seemed to be hesitating about something, fidgeting from one foot to the other while darting his eyes from his watch to the door to the exit. Finally Jiang Cheng seemed to come to a resolution as he sighed and fixed Lan Xichen with a determined expression.
"The CEO of Jiang Industries wants to extend a formal invitation to the Lans to the wedding of Jiang Yanli to the heir of Jin Corporations", Jiang Cheng said, in one breath.
Lan Xichen blinked. Lan Wangji just sighed.
"I- my father wants his... old friend Lan Qiren to be present at my sister's wedding", Jiang Cheng said, scowling at the floor. He seemed to be incredibly disappointed with himself. "He wants his two nephews to accompany him as well. He- we hope that you will be present."
Lan Xichen smiled, his eyes twinkling. If there is one thing that Wangji knows about his brother is that that man loves weddings. "Of course we will be present. It is Jiang guniang's big day after all. Won't we Wangji?"
Lan Wangji could only give a curt nod of his head while internally sighing.
-- 🌿 --
Jiang Cheng barged into his brother's store with the perpetual scowl on his face. "WEI WUXIAN YOU IDIOT! Your goddamn fucking statue is scaring the kids outside!"
Wei Wuxian got up from where he was lying on the ground and made his way over to his brother, sleepily rubbing his eye. Jiang Cheng glared seeing the state of him.
"There's a child wailing- wait, why were you on the ground?"
Wei Wuxian waved a hand, yawning with his mouth open wide. "It was my nap time. Nevermind that- you said kids were crying because of my statue?"
"Nap time!? WHAT ARE YOU FIVE?!"
"Answer the question Jiang Cheng."
"Yes!! People are actively avoiding your ugly ass bookstore. Even the homeless person moved to a different colony ever since you arrived here."
"It's not my fault people don't have taste!!" Wei Wuxian huffed, scrunching his nose indignantly. "Also there's like no way I'm removing that statue, it cost me like a fortune."
Jiang Cheng wanted to kick him. "Was that really necessary?! Who even gave you the money?!"
"Of course it was necessary. For the vibes, Jiang Cheng, the vibes", Wei Wuxian crooned, patting Jiang Cheng's cheek. Jiang Cheng slapped his hand away with a scream.
"And about the money- Jiang Cheng, do you remember the time I worked as a stripper-".
"FUCK no I don't want to hear anymore", Jiang Cheng screamed, clutching his ears. "Shut up, shut the fuck up!!"
Wei Wuxian grinned, fanning himself. "Oh my do I miss it. Jiang Cheng don't overreact, are you a prude?"
Jiang Cheng shoved his brother and moved to sit behind the register on the cushy chair. He felt he had the right to do so, since he was the one who bought him that chair. "I came here to talk to you about the wedding."
Wei Wuxian pulled a face. "Ugh she's still adamant on marrying that piece of shit?"
"What are you talking about? The wedding is literally next week", Jiang Cheng scowled again, lighting kicking the table. He pointed a finger at his brother. "You better not be planning any shit, Wei Wuxian."
Wei Wuxian waved his hand, snorting. "What shit would I be planning anyways. I would never dare ruin Jiejie's big day! Even though I hate that bastard more than I hate life."
"Right", Jiang Cheng said, still looking at his brother suspiciously with narrowed eyes. "Anyways, seeing as you're jiejie's maid of honor-"
"Aww", Wei Wuxian crooned. "Are you finally getting jealous, ChengCheng?"
Jiang Cheng threw a pen at him. "The fuck would I be jealous for? I'm literally planning the whole wedding for her!!"
"Ahh", Wei Wuxian nodded in understanding. He picked up the pen that Jiang Cheng threw and twirled it around his fingers. "So you are jealous."
Jiang Cheng threw another pen at him.
-- 🌿 --
Lan Wangji considered himself to be a man of discipline. He had a routine which he absolutely had to follow or else he would quite possibly lose his mind.
He wakes up at 5 every morning and proceeds to grow for a run around the nearby lake. This helps him clear his mind, also he quite loves how the world can be so serene and calm before the morning rush.
Returning back, he sits down on the floor of his room for his guqin practice. Playing his guqin might be one of the only things that he actually enjoys doing. Running practised fingers along the cold strings of his childhood guqin gets him a sense of calm and relaxes his mind.
He usually likes to cook his own breakfast at his own kitchen but upon opening his refrigerator he found that all the groceries and leftover food had gone rotten. Frowning, Lan Wangji picked up his cellphone and dialed his brother's number.
"Hello?"
"There is something wrong with my refrigerator", Lan Wangji informed his brother.
"Ahh", Xichen's deep voice reverberated through the speaker. "You must not have noticed, Wangji. The power was out for almost all of the night. All our food has gone rotten too."
Wangji sighed quietly.
"Mingjue is ordering breakfast right now. You should come up Wangji and have breakfast with us", Xichen said to him.
"No that is alright", Lan Wangji hurried to say. He really does not want to spend anymore time with the two of them more than necessary. They just had their honeymoon a few weeks back and has been absolutely insufferable ever since. "I will go down to one of the breakfast stalls in the market."
"Alright", Xichen said, petulant. "You will be coming down to the office after that, I assume?"
"Yes", Lan Wangji sighed. "Goodbye, xiongzhang." He hung up the phone, grabbed his coat and made his way down the apartment stairs.
Aunty Lee's breakfast stalls is one of his favourite places on the planet. He used to go down there all the time with Xichen as a child and Aunty Lee's handmade food truly tasted like home to him.
"Ah A-Zhan! It's been so long, come come", Aunty Lee beckoned him to sit down. Lan Wangji sat down at a table for two and nodded at her with gentle eyes. "It has", he acknowledged.
"The usual, A-Zhan?" Aunty Lee beamed at him. When Wangji nodded his assent, she patted him on the back and went back to the kitchens.
The place hadn't changed at all. Even the positions of the tables were the same from what he had been used to fifteen years back. With nothing else to do but wait, Wangji put his hands in his lap and waited.
"Hey!" Someone called out. Lan Wangji thought it probably wasn't for him so he didn't bother to turn around.
"Lan Zhan?" the voice came closer to his ear. Whipping his head around, Lan Wangji came face to face with the man from the bookstore- Wei Ying.
"Oh it is you!" Wei Ying beamed. He came around the table and slipped into the seat across Lan Wangji. "You never came back to the store", he said, pouting a little.
Lan Wangji cleared his throat and looked away, ears burning. "I apologize", he said, gruffly. "I have been meaning to visit the store again, but work kept me busy."
Wei Ying blinked at this. Then he gave a short laugh, eyes twinkling. "Oh I was only teasing you! Of course work kept you busy, not everyone is as idle as I am."
"Is your bookstore your only source of income?" Lan Wangji asked him. Wei Ying shook his head.
"Of course not! Apart from being such a fabulous bookstore owner I teach astrophysics at a local college like twice a week! I also volunteer at an organisation to help the needy and the elderly. And then there's farming of course! I have my own farm where I grow my own vegetables, and I've recently starting selling them at a nearby market in the evenings."
This is called being idle? Lan Wangji thought to himself.
"You are busy as well", Lan Wangji told him. Wei Ying just laughed. "Oh no not at all! I have way too much free time on my hands, Lan Zhan, just ask my brother."
Lan Wangji just stared at him. Wei Ying, not noticing, cheerfully looked around the shop. "Do you come here often?" he asked, smiling.
"Yes", Lan Wangji nodded. "I have been coming here since I was young." Wei Ying whistled. "That's wonderful! I only stumbled upon this shop last week because I thought I knew the owner from somewhere. Mrs. Lee was so sweet, she invited me in and offered me food on the house! Don't worry, Lan Zhan I made sure to pay for my portion."
Lan Wangji nodded. "I see", he said.
Wei Ying opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by Aunty Lee bringing in their food. He was momentarily distracted, before thanking Mrs. Lee for the food and diving in.
"Oh this is so good", Wei Ying said, with a mouth full of food. "No talking while eating", Lan Wangji informed him. Wei Ying just grinned at him.
"Okay but what if I have something really important to say? What then?" Wei Ying asked him, his eyes clearly upto no good. Lan Wangji sighed.
"Do you?", he asked.
Wei Ying grinned mischievously and said, "No.. but I might. That really is such an unreasonable rule don't you think?"
"Just eat your food, Wei Ying."
To Lan Wangji's relief, he didn't speak anymore, instead focusing on devouring his food. Once they both finished their meal, Wei Ying hurried to pay.
"There is no need", Lan Wangji said, stiffly. Wei Ying pretended as if he hadn't heard him and proceeded to pay for both of them.
"Ah, Lan Zhan", Wei Ying said, ignoring the way Lan Wangji was glaring at him. "What do you want to do now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well", Wei Ying turned to look at him. He seemed to be hesitating. Unsure of himself. "If you're not too busy, would you like to come visit my farm?"
I've got work in one hour, Lan Wangji wanted to tell him. My uncle would kill me if I was even a minute late.
"Yes", Is what he actually said.