Chapter Text
“Greetings sect leader Jiang. I’m so happy you could make it” Lan Xichen spoke as though there was any question to whether the Jiang would be able to be there. Of course he would make it, sect leader Lan had been the one who had sent for him. It didn’t matter that the missive had specified that it was for a non-urgent reason, Jiang Cheng would have rushed to Gusu no matter what.
“Greetings sect leader Lan. It’s great to see you, but may I ask why it is you have called for me?” Jiang Cheng wondered as he followed the Lan to the place where they’d be conversing.
“Oh I didn’t mention it in the missive? My apologies. It’s been thirty years since you gave me those letters, so it’s about time I read them out, don’t you think?” Lan Xichen replied, expecting the Jiang to know what letters he was talking about. He did not. As far as sect leader Jiang knew they hadn’t started keeping private correspondence until maybe a decade ago at best, there wouldn’t be any letters from thirty years ago, not even official sect business ones. Thirty years ago… That would’ve been around the time he had visited Gusu for the first time, Jiang Wanyin concluded. He certainly wouldn’t have sent any letters to Lan Xichen back then…
As he tried to wrack his brain for an answer Zewu-jun had led him inside a room where it turned out their brothers, along with sect leader Nie, were waiting for them.
“A-Cheng! Welcome! Are you ready to hear the deep dark secrets of our younger selves?”
“No.” Jiang Cheng instinctively replied. What kind of devilish trap had he walked into, and why was Zewu-jun the one to lure him into it? Had Wei Ying coaxed him into this!? Theories, each more conspiratorial than the last, began to form in Wanyin’s mind as he put up his defenses to whatever shenanigans was about to occur.
“Ah, come on. Relax Cheng. We’re just going to have Zewu-jun read out those letters we gave to him back when we were younger. You know, those we wrote for our older selves.” Wei Wuxian explained, but being aware of the situation didn’t make Jiang Cheng any less on edge. He wasn’t able to recall what he had written inside his letter, there could be just about anything in there. Embarrassing things he had forgotten and didn’t want to recall, and certainly not have read out loud.
Seeing the Jiang’s upset state Lan Xichen reassured him. “If you no longer want your letter read out, we won’t force you. But sect leader Jiang, won’t you please stay and listen to the others’ letters?” He honey-eyed Lan spoke in such a sweet tone that sect leader Jiang couldn’t do naught but obey his every word and so he let out a sigh and sat down on a pillow next to sect leader Nie and waited in anticipation for the pain that would surely come from hearing the words of their young and naïve selves.
“How about we start with my one since – if I remember correctly – it’s not all that interesting.” Nie Huaisang offered. Lan Xichen nodded and picked up one of the old letters and read it aloud for them all to hear.
“Dear future Huaisang.
Since you’ve now lived like… forever I expect you to have become the greatest fan maker of all the lands, be married to a pretty and kind wife, and avoided learning how to use a saber – I swear if you’re carrying one of those deathtraps around like da-ge I’m disowning you!
…That’s about it.”
“What do you mean that’s about it? Is it the end or not?” Wei Wuxian asked his brother-in-law.
“No, that’s part of sect leader Nie’s letter. That’s about it, everything else is up to you. Except you better appreciate not being stuck in the prison called Cloud Recesses anymore!... Or at least I hope we’re still not stuck in the Cloud Recesses. Please tell me you’ve escaped future Huaisang I beg of you!! Er-ge has already been pestering me about my grades for over two hours today and I don’t want to know how bad he’ll get if I don’t pass within the next twenty years.”
“Hehe” Nie Huaisang laughed nervously as the ‘Er-ge’ who had been “pestering” him back then read out his younger self’s less than kind words.
“I hope you understand that I also didn’t enjoy hunting you down to get you to study sect leader Nie…” Lan Xichen spoke as he handed the Nie his letter.
Nie Huaisang pouted. Unlike back in the old days he could no longer use the excuse of “It’s not like I’m going to become a sect leader anyways.” Zewu-jun had been right to pester him.
“Whatever. The past is in the past, and in the end we all passed the exam, so it’s all good.” Wei Wuxian spoke trying to lighten the mood, ignoring that Nie Huaisang had only passed by cheating on the final test.
“Mn, the past is in the past. But there are some things haven’t changed since then… How about I read Lan Wangji’s letter next?” Lan Xichen suggested, a slight smirk formed on his lips as he picked up yet another piece of paper from the pile laying in front of him.
“Lan Zhan wrote a letter too!!?” Wei Wuxian’s eyes widened in excitement as he whirled his head around to get confirmation from the man himself.
“Mn, Xiongzhang made me write one too.” He confirmed.
“Lan Wangji saw you hand over the letters to me and got jealous thinking it was something else. After explaining to him that it wasn’t a secret love letter and instead a letter for his future self, I kindly suggested Wangji should write one as well.” Lan Xichen corrected his brother.
“You were jealous of me handing a piece of paper to brother-in-law? That could’ve been my homework, you know.” Those who didn’t want to get yelled at from Lan Qiren for handing in their homework late would go to Lan Xichen to hand in their work in exchange for a disappointed look – in other words ALL of Wei Ying’s homework was handed in through Zewu-jun – and ALL of Jiang Cheng’s work was handed in to Lan Qiren, even the occasional overdue ones. Jiang Cheng could handle a scolding, disappointing his kind senior not so much.
“Even if it was homework I’d rather you give it to me. I could’ve graded it for you instead of Xiongzhang” Lan Wangji replied jealously.
Wei Ying laughed. “Well it’s not get too late, my letter is still fully ungraded. But before then I want to grade yours. Zewu-jun, let’s hear what my lovely Zhan’s letter says.”
“Young master Nie is annoying.” Nie Huaisang gave the Lan Wangji a confused look of ‘what did I ever do to you?’ unsure of how he could’ve ever deserved so much of his ire to warrant the first line of Wangji’s letter being about disliking him.
“Young master Jiang is even more annoying.” Caring little for the Lan’s opinion of him Jiang Cheng simply rolled his eyes. The feelings were mutual.
“But Wei Ying is the most annoying one of all.” Lan Xichen paused to allow the man in question to snicker at his husband’s past thoughts of him.
“I don’t know Zhan… This might be the first paper of yours that gets a failing grade…” Wei Ying tsked with feigned disappointment whilst simultaneously wearing the biggest grin as he took in his husband’s embarrassed expression.
“Just last night he decided to get drunk…. AGAIN. He’s even more annoying when drunk than when sober. He wandered around on the roofs wearing only his inner robes – shameless – and when asked to put on a set of outer robes he asked if he could borrow mine instead – completely shameless – he even went as far as to pull on my robes as though he was attempting to steal my robes. Wearing the robes of another sect is against the rules.”
Wei Wuxian’s joyful laughter filled the air, interrupting Lan Xichen’s reading of Lan Wangji’s letter. “Seriously!? That’s what you were so worried about? Me wearing the wrong-colored robes!? Not me undressing you in an attempt to steal your innocence? You sure are something else Lan Zhan. I’m just thankful you don’t mind me wearing your robes anymore or I wouldn’t have any clean inner robes to wear this morning”
“It’s not against the rules to wear the robes of your cultivation partner’s sect” Lan Wangji recited.
“And if it was, would I have to walk around half-naked or would you not have ‘forgotten’ to wash my inner robes yesterday?” Wei Wuxian asked.
“There would be robes for you to wear” Was all Lan Wangji said, not specifying what color those robes would be.
Clearing his throat sect leader Lan gained the attention of the couple who had gotten lost in their own world. “May I continue?”
“Of course, what else did my precious Zhan write about me?” Wei Wuxian asked giving Lan Xichen his full attention once more.
“Uncle should make smiling like a fool against the rules too. It’s too… distracting for an educational environment.
Yesterday Wei Ying told me that I would struggle to find my cultivation partner in the future, and though I don’t necessarily disagree with him – finding the one is not an easy feat for anyone –, I am certain he’s going to struggle more. With the personality of a cockroach that makes any man want to exterminate him on sight I’m sure no reasonable person will ever be willing to marry him and even if someone somewhere did fall for him they will surely struggle to keep him alive for long.
No man would ever be worth that much trouble.
Fuck you Wei Ying, I’m getting married before you.”
Lan Xichen wore a delighted smile as swore on his younger brother’s behalf. The letter meant to his future self being used as nothing but an excuse to complain about his future husband as Wei Ying was the only thing on his mind at the time of writing.
“No reasonable person would ever marry me huh?” Wei Ying teased his husband whose ears were a deep shade of red.
“I might have misjudged how marriageable you were”
“…Or you lost all reason.” Jiang Wanyin interjected. But Lan Wangji paid him no mind. With or without reason, he was happy to have his Wei. His Wei that was quickly snatching up the letter from his brother-in-law for future teasing.