It was a late afternoon in an early autumn, where the air was cool and the breeze brought the scent of the end of summer. The leaves had already started to change colors, from green to vibrant gold and red, and the smell of autumn; pumpkin and apple pie, caramel sugar, and cinnamon, had already permeated the air.

Some people had already put on their lightest outerwear, a precaution from the onslaught of the sudden chill attack in the coming evening.

But not Wei Wuxian.

He was laying down on the ground, arms behind his head, enjoying the smell of the autumn breeze. A sudden craving for hot chocolate with marshmallow and a dash of cinnamon was making him almost get up and buy some, when he heard that pitter-patter of small feet ran toward his direction.

He frowned.

This place was secluded enough, not many people would pass here, not on purpose at least, and that was the exact reason why he chose this place for his safe haven. A place where he could unwind all the tension from his work.

Alone.

He hadn't finished the thoughts when a small body crashed onto him, giggling uncontrollably.

"Tag! You're it!"

The boy landed on his stomach, then rolling around on the ground, catching fallen leaves and dirt in his white coat. His WHITE coat. Wei Wuxian looked at the boy in horror, as the leaves and the soil started to dirty his pristine white coat. All while he's still giggling like a mad man. A tiny mad man.

Ugh, that dryclean bill would be a pain… 

"Uhm, yes, hello? Are you okay, boy? Where's your parents?" 

He tried to ask the now yelling and jumping around boy, only to be ignored completely. Then he stopped jumping altogether, and looked straight at Wei Wuxian.

"Gege, I want ice cream. Please buy me ice cream?" The boy widened his eyes, tried to look innocent while blinking a few times. With his long lashes and pretty hazel orbs, he would surely be a heartthrob when he grows up. 

But Wei Wuxian knew all the tricks in the book, and while he wasn't easily tricked, he was impressed by this little boy.

"Right… ice cream. Why don't you buy it yourself? You look rich enough to buy a whole store yourself." He stood up and patted his pants off the leaves and dirt, ready to leave. When he heard no reply from the boy, he looked over… only to find the boy was pouting and tears streamed down his face.

When their eyes locked on, the boy wailed in high-pitched baby voice, making Wei Wuxian scrambled over to calm him down.

"Hey, why are you crying? Jesus, you can kill people with all that screaming!" He tried to pat his head, only to be swatted by the tiny hand, then he ran away.

"Shit! Hey, come back here!!" He ran toward the direction the boy took, and thankfully caught up to him shortly. The boy was still screaming murder in the middle of the park, making people started to look at them, whispering and judging, by the look on their faces. 

Wei Wuxian ignored them all.

He caught up with the boy, and crouched down to his level, trying to reason with him. He didn't even know why he did that. Generally he didn't even interact with kids on a daily basis. On any basis at all. So this was all new to him.

"Hey, hey, why are you crying? It's not that I don't want to buy you ice cream, but you see, Gege here does not bring any money with him, so of course he can't buy you stuff." He patted the boy's head and ruffled his baby hair, trying to reason with… a toddler.

Hell, what did I get myself into?

"So,  you want to kidnap me to get money from my father?" The boy asked in an unnaturally loud voice, eyes gleaming with tears and something like a laugh.

"Why you little...ssshhh!" He put his hand to the boy's mouth, trying to muffle his scream. He wriggled so much, making Wei Wuxian finally relented and carried the boy up, away from prying eyes. 

"Fine! You little shit, I'll buy you a fucking ice cream! Now stop your screaming you little scheming fox, don't think I don't know your tricks…" he hissed on the boy's ear, and it made him stop all the crying and the flailing and the screaming at once.

"You know, it's not nice to swear like that, Ge. My father will definitely scold you for that." He became a ball of sunshine and rainbow again, no trace of the little devil that he was just a few seconds ago.

"Well, your father ain't here, and you're stuck with me, so shut it or I will leave you here. And someone's definitely will kidnap you and your fancy ass coat." Wei Wuxian grumbled but he took the boy's reaching hand and they walked to the nearest ice cream shop just around the corner of the park.

The little shit was a seasoned negotiator, not a sunny, bubbly little boy that he resembled. 

This boy was a pure devil in disguise.

He asked for the most elaborate creation consisting of ice cream, cake, candies, and sugary stuff that would give an adult a heart attack in just a bite. 

When Wei Wuxian was reluctant, the boy squeezed another tear and ready to scream murder right there and then, so he finally relented.

He cursed the god for letting him meet this little devil, and really wished for alcohol right now, instead of babysitting an unknown rich person's kid for god-knows how long.

The boy ate the heart-attack concoction in a gusto, and Wei Wuxian tried to coax this boy's identity, to return him to his parents. He wondered if his parents deliberately left the boy in the park for anyone to claim him. But judging by his spoiled attitude, he guessed he was probably just another rich folks' newest acquisition. Borne out of pressure of producing heir, and then left him in the hands of a long line of  babysitters.

Not my problem. He reminded himself not to get involved. Not my fucking problem.

"Gege, do you live in the park?" The boy suddenly asked him.

"Why? Are you gonna adopt me or something?"

The boy looked like he was thinking hard.

"If you want to? I guess I have to talk to my dad about that, but he always agrees to whatever I ask him." He continued eating the ice cream, slower this time, as if thinking about something.

"What about your mom? Does she spoil you too?"

"I don't have a mom. She died when I was born, then dad took me in."

Hmmm…

"So, how come you're running around the park alone? Where's your dad?" He was suddenly feeling irked by the irresponsible dad that had left his child alone in the park where all kinds of strangers and pedophiles were lurking.

"He's at work. I was here with my babysitter. But she hit me, so I ran." The boy put his spoon down. "I hate all the babysitters. They just want to get my dad's attention and then marry him. They don't like me. Nobody liked me." He let out a tear down his chubby cheek.

Wei Wuxian's soft heart was constricted hearing that typical rich-kid-problem's story, but he won't be fooled again by this little fox. Who knew which one of them stories were true? Not him.

"Stop your acting, kid. You won't squeeze another dime from me, whatever your tragic story is." Wei Wuxian stood up from his chair. "Now, are you done?" He wiped the leftover trace of ice cream and cake on the boy's mouth with a napkin, then offered his hand. The boy took it, smiling, and they walked out the ice cream shop… 

… straight into a wall of solid muscles.

He almost cursed loudly, when he heard him speak.

"Jingyi." 

The voice was deep, and it reverberated in his body, making his inside turn into jelly.

Wei Wuxian looked slightly upward, because that's how tall the man was, and lost his breath.

The man was devastatingly beautiful. Beautiful. Not handsome, or manly, or those in the same lines. He was beautiful. Ethereal . 

He had waist long black hair, tied by a silk white ribbon, white trench coat, white shirt and light blue fitted jeans.

He looked down at Wei Wuxian with his golden eyes, then shifted his gaze to the boy. 

The boy was hiding behind Wei Wuxian, and trembled slightly.

"Papa…" he whispered in a low voice, all traces of petulance gone.

Oh, so this is his father.

Jesusfuckingchrist, this goddamn hot man is this brat's father… 

But it's as if the devil has possessed him, instead of flirting, he poked his finger to the boy's father's chest.
His hard as rock chest.

"So, you're this brat's father. You know what, you sure are rich enough to afford a babysitter, but will you at least check their background first? Your kid was hit by the babysitter, do you know?"

The father only looked at him with a cold, hard gaze and turned to the boy. He crouched down to the boy's level, and reached out his hand, coaxing him to come into his embrace. The boy reluctantly walked into his father's arms, then hugged his neck tight.

"Jingyi… " he said after the boy was safely in his arms. "Is that true?"

The boy, Jingyi, nodded a little, and hid his face in the crook of his father's neck.

"Why don't you tell me?"

"Maybe because you were never there… " Wei Wuxian mumbled under his breath. But judging by his sharp gaze, the boy's father must've heard him. He just didn't give a shit.

"I-I was afraid you won't believe me, papa… " he sniffed into the white collar of his papa's shirt, leaving snot all over it. But then he pulled back and held both of the man's cheeks with his chubby hands, eyes all serious.

"Papa, this Gege bought me ice cream, but he said that he was poor as fuck, but he still bought me ice cream. Can you do something, papa?"

This brat… Jesus!

Wei Wuxian cursed at his overuse of cursing words, and this brat seemed to especially highlight that part to his father. He didn't know if he should strangle the boy or just leave them and never meet them again. 

Too bad about the father, he's really droolworthy.

He felt the father glare at him. For using curse words, I'm sure of it. Ah well, fuck it.

"Since you guys have reunited, it's time for me to leave. I hope not to see you around the park again, not alone, kid." He ruffled the kid's hair, and started to walk out the door, when the deep voice spoke.

"Please hold on a moment." He took the boy up and carried him, his free hand reaching for his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

Wei Wuxian froze. Then he remembered that he told the boy that he forgot his wallet. Sure that's not a lie, but he could use his phone to pay for anything these days.

"Ah, don't mention it, I seem to have a few loose change in my pocket, it's fine." 

He felt the golden orbs gave him a thorough once over, and it suddenly made him feel panic all over. Sure he was just winding out on the ground, thus the leaves caught in the edge of his faded shirt and fraying pants. Trend, not because it was old. That ripped jeans and his black shirt cost him at least five hundred dollars. American. Not to mention his Prada platform boots that set him back a couple thousand American dollars. Well, he could afford it.

But the boy's father was on another level altogether, with his classic pristine white… everything. Not even a hair dared to fly away from its place. It screamed old money .

"You got leaves on your hair." 

Wei Wuxian's heart literally stopped when the man moved closer, and his hand reached out to remove the stuck leaves from his long hair. The electricity was shooting in the air when he accidentally touched his cheek instead of his hair.

"There."

He could smell a faint sandalwood smell, and something uniquely… him. And it drove him crazy with inappropriate thoughts.

To run his fingers along those luscious dark hair…

He slapped himself mentally.

He didn't even know his name, yet he lustfully daydream about his… fuck. He needed to leave now.

"I'm sorry, but it's getting late… I-I should go." He pushed his way out of the store without waiting for an answer, and broke into a half-run toward his apartment, which was only a stone-throw away from the park. 

-----

Lan Wangji looked at the back of the man who took care of his son. He had mixed feelings about him. He was very pretty, with big silver eyes, and long black hair. But the clothes… well he did not know how to make off of the clothes. It's faded, and ripped. Did he not have enough money to buy new clothes? Yet he bought ice cream for his son. So, yeah, he didn't really understand why that man spent his money for his son and refused to be paid, while he definitely needed new clothes. 

"That Gege is very nice, papa, do you know that he lived in the park? I want to live in the park too."

Lan Wangji looked at his son, surprised.

"What do you mean he lived in the park? Is he homeless?"

Jingyi only shrugged.

"I don't know papa, I asked him but he won't answer."

Maybe he was ashamed of his living condition. Lan Wangji seemed to be in deep thought.

Finally he relented and took Jingyi home, which was only a stone-throw away from the park.

They walked leisurely, with Jingyi pointed at various things, animals, food vendors, and babbling incoherently. He was such a bright and happy boy . And Lan Wangji hated himself for not making an extra effort to be there for him. He would surely have missed important milestones if he kept doing that. The strings of babysitters also didn't help, when all they wanted was either getting close to him, or planned elaborate stuff to get into his pants instead of taking care of his son. But hit Jingyi? That was the last straw, and he needed to do something about it. Fast.

He pressed his card into the elevator and it took him straight into one of the penthouses on top of the building. The elevator took them to the 38th floor in no time at all, and it opened to a huge foyer with a Lalique vase consisting of three white peonies with a modern arrangement inside.

The penthouse itself was a depiction of modern architecture, with the clean lines, all glass wall, metal edge and hardwood floor. It's spacious, and warm at the same time. Although they were also baby proofed for his son's safety, but it was cleverly done. He wouldn't settle for anything less.

Jingyi let himself down and opened his dirty white coat and boots before he entered the living room. Lan Wangji put it away for their maid to take care of tomorrow.

"Are you hungry, Jingyi? Do you want to eat something?" He opened the fridge to find it already fully stocked by the maid. There's a shelf full of homemade cooking that has been prepared for their dinner tonight.

"I'm still full, papa, can I eat a bit later?" He sat on the couch and played with his lego. "I wonder if pretty Gege has eaten yet." 

Lan Wangji froze in front of the fridge.

He always lived in the comfort of his family's vast amount of wealth, so he never knew about the feeling of not being able to find something to eat or a place to sleep. 

He kinda felt like an idiot now. He should force the money to the man, at least he would not get hungry today. 

But that was not a permanent solution . What about tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow? The next week? Next month? Year?

"You can't save everyone, Wangji" he could hear his brother speak to him in his kind voice. Reminded him that not everything in the world was all sunshine and rainbows.

But surely he could do something?

He looked at his son. His precious son. The light of his life. He did not know he could love someone as much as he loved him. The thought of him being hit by his babysitter… 

He shook his head, and kept a mental note to talk to his brother about the babysitter agency.

He wanted to build a better world for his son, and it should be starting from one person at a time.

"Jingyi… " he called his son.

"Yes, papa?" 

"Do you want to go to the park again tomorrow?"

"With you, papa?" His eyes widened in surprise. His papa never went out outside of his office hours, so this was a surprise.

"Yes, we can bring foods and drinks to give to the… unfortunate people." He couldn't bring himself to say 'homeless' in front of his son.

"Yeah, sure papa! We could find that pretty, homeless Gege and give him food and drink, yeah?" His eyes shone bright at the prospect of meeting that nice Gege again.

Lan Wangji was speechless. He didn't know what to say, except nodding his head.

"Come, it's time for your bath."

-----

Wei Wuxian put his card in front of the elevator scanner, which took him straight into his penthouse. He sighed and dropped down to his knees, while waiting for the elevator to take him up 38 stories.

A while later the elevator opened smoothly to a huge foyer, all in black with a dash of red here and there. There's a huge bouquet of red irises in the middle table. It depicted a dark boudoir style all over the apartment, complete with black chandelier and miles and miles of dark red satin and silk. The floor was covered in dark oak hardwood, on top of it was a black fur rug. One of the walls was fully covered with black and white damask pattern.

It exuded a very luxurious alluring feel to it. Just like how he wanted.

He bought this apartment just under a year ago, when he sold his cyber security tech program and he generated enough money to last him for a lifetime times eight. 

He dropped himself in one of the huge couches and propelled his feet up onto the hundred years old oak table with carvings of naked women surrounding it. It was an antique, but Wei Wuxian didn't give a fuck. He poured himself a stiff glass of whiskey from the hidden compartment beside the couch and drank it all in one go.

The whiskey burned his throat, in a good way. 
He was just about to start to enjoy himself, when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, and frowned. It was his brother and also his business partner.

"Yo, 'sup."

"Don't 'sup me, you idiot. I need you to come online now, there's a security breach in one of our client's houses."

"And you can't handle it yourself… why?" He poured another finger of whiskey to his glass.

"Because it's the Lan's."

Wei Wuxian stilled.

The Lans.

They were the ones who bought his program, and generously so, under one condition. He provided them with lifetime updates, technical backups and maintenance. Plus they got first dibs on every of his new inventions.

Seemed fair enough. 

They also paid him a yearly stipend to do their maintenance, in other word, their lackey.

Sure, why not, he didn't believe anyone else to do anything to his program and he prepared to do it for free anyway. So, it's a win-win.

One thing he didn't count on was, the Lans were an outdated, old-fashioned, and basically old family. They never upgraded their security since the first coming, and no one in their company was tech savvy enough to do a simple check in any breach. Whether it was caused by a real thief, or just a cat decided to take a stroll in their precious museum. And who's gonna do all the checking? 

He groaned.

"When should I be expected?"

"About an hour ago, I tried to call you but it went straight to your voicemail. Imagine, the tech god even forgot to charge his cell phone. You should make a solar charged battery or something, it will sell like peanuts."

"Maybe I should." He put down his drink. "Is Huaisang there?" 

Nie Huaisang was the only tech support savvy enough to understand Wei Wuxian, although still not completely. But better than anyone else in that company.

"I think so, since he was the one who kept pestering me on the phone." He could hear the frown on his brother's voice.

"Maybe because he had a crush on you?" 

"Fuck off!"

He chuckled loudly before going online, not bothered with changing his dirty clothes. No one's gonna see him anyway.

"Hey, Huaisang, wassup my man!" 

Wei Wuxian talked to the other man, the tech at the Lan's company, from his headset.

"Yo, Wei-xiong, I'm sorry to bother you, but I really don't know what to do… " the voice from the other side of the screen was like a young boy, but he was actually very capable. Wei Wuxian didn't know anything about him, except his name. And he intended to keep it that way.

"Nah, it's fine, so which one of the alarms triggered this time?"

"It was The Archive's alarm, that's why I called you."

The Archive. Well fuck. This is serious after all.

"I'm on it."

The Archive was a vast underground place of every rare manuscript that's ever written by humans. The security was very tight, with only one known way in or out. The Lans was the sole owner of such vast knowledge. It has been passed down for generations, and they kept a meticulous job at preserving it. They were all still in pristine condition, no expense spared at preserving the history.

But the one that they talked about was the digital version of it. That was the actual reason why the Lans bought the top notch cyber security program in first place. The digitalization of the past histories of humankind.

Ever since the news leaked out of how The Archive was being digitized, there were at least a few attempts to break in to it, at least in every other week. It spiked the adrenaline in Wei Wuxian, because he loved to race against the enemies, to see who's the best. So far, no one has beaten him. Yet.

Few more keystrokes, and the intruder was out,  the alarm was shut down. It was a kid trying his luck, maybe. Who cares. He did his job. Flawlessly if he might say. He even sent a stream of virus to the kid's computer to make it play his own evil-laughed voice if he opened porn, or anything more than PG13 on his device.

He chuckled at the thought of a kid trying to jerk off when a stranger's cackled suddenly blared for all people to hear. That would traumatize him for sure. Ha!

"Done, Huaisang." He talked to his headset.

"Whoa, that was fast, Wei-xiong, you're the best after all. Thank you very much!"

"No problem, dude."

He signed off then.

He looked at the clock and it showed that it's already past midnight. He was working on his new app, and playing an intense fps game, and time went flying by so fast. He stretched his body like a cat, then decided to walk in the park, since he was still high on adrenaline. He never slept earlier than early morning anyway, it was when everything was quiet and peaceful, and it calmed his mind.

He walked past his favorite street-food seller, and decided to have a bite of super spicy skewers, his absolute favorite.

"Eyy, pretty Gege, your usual?" The vendor greeted him with a friendly manner. He was their usual patron at this time of the night, so they all knew him.

"Yes, laoban, two of each." He sat down on the small bench in front of their tent, then poured himself a cup of hot tea.

"Feeling rich today, Gege?" The lady winked at him. They all knew that he was often sleeping in the park, and just thought that he was another homeless person. Especially with his ripped and faded clothes. But they still treated him nicely, and sometimes won't let him pay for his meal.

Wei Wuxian didn't have a heart to correct them, so he's just donating to them anonymously through his brother.

"Yes, I have a lot of loose change to spend today, laoban!" He grinned widely.

"Aiya, you should not spend it all at once, what will you eat tomorrow?"

"Don't worry about it, laoban, there are always nice people, like you guys." He started to put his skewers into the spicy broth and added even more chillies into it.

"You know you are always welcome to eat here even if you don't have money, Gege, we will always welcome you." 

"Laoban, you're running a business here, how can you get any profit if you keep feeding people who can't pay?"

"Sometimes it's not always about money, son, it's about what's right. And we have enough for ourselves, so we try to help those who are unfortunate. Like you." He patted Wei Wuxian's back, made him teary eyed. "Go on, have your meal. I bet you must be hungry." He poured another glass of tea for him.

"Thank you, laoban." He sniffed, unknown if it's from the spice or from the warmth of the laoban's words.

He walked leisurely under the moonlight and listened to the cicadas sing, before finally lying down beside the pond, in the almost exact spot he was earlier in the afternoon. The moon was round and high, the night quietly stilled, and he finally found his peace. 

But, apparently his mind seemed to have a life on its own since he suddenly had a thought about the brat and his hot father, making him groan frustratingly.  

Not again.

He didn't even know why that father and son duo left that big of an impression in his mind. They were just another rich family . An outstandingly gorgeous family, but still. It's like they're etching themselves inside his mind, whether he wanted it or not.

He tossed and turned, feeling restless before inadvertently closing his eyes, just when the sun had already risen.

-----

He was woken up by the poke on his cheek. 

"Gege, pretty gege… I brought you breakfast… " the singsong voice accompanied the little finger that poked him everywhere it could touch. 

He groaned, feeling his bones all cracking, muttering curses, then suddenly remembered that he was asleep in the park.

"Here a hot steamed bun for you, Gege… " the little hands shoved a fresh hot meatbun into his face.

"Are you running away from your babysitter again, brat?" He frowned seeing the little rich brat from yesterday, but took the bun he offered and bit it.

"No, Gege, I'm with my papa today." The brat crouched down beside him, and started to poke at the dry leaves on the ground.

"Mm… " his thought raced a hundred mile a minute, just thinking about this boy's father. 

"What's your name, pretty Gege?" The boy suddenly asked him. "My name is Jingyi. Lan Jingyi. You may call me Jingyi or Yiyi, whatever you want."

Wei Wuxian almost choked on his meatbun.

Lan Jingyi. Lan Jingyi. LAN.

Is this boy a Lan? Fuck… just my luck.

He gulped the leftover bun, and suddenly was not feeling hungry anymore.

"So… your father's name would be… "

"Lan Wangji." He heard that deep voice again. "But you can call me Lan Zhan." The insanely hot father appeared from behind the bushes, just like some kind of mythical god. "And may I ask what is your name?" He crouched down beside the boy, looking straight into Wei Wuxian's eyes.

"I-I… my name is Wei… Wei Ying." He could feel the eyes looking at him, and suddenly he felt nervous. He just realized that he had not changed his clothes since the last time he saw them, which was yesterday. 

God, he must have looked and smell like one of the homeless persons in the park.

He unconsciously tried to fix his hair; which must be tangled and full of dirt and leaves all over, and looked at his very dirty clothes. Jesusfuckingchrist…what an impression he made.

But he saw from his peripheral, that the man offered his hand to him, and there's no trace of disgust or disparaging attitude in his every move, and he respected him for that. 

He reached for his hand, and felt that electricity again from the slight touch, he recoiled from it.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm so dirty, I shouldn't touch you." He winced at his own words that sounded fake.

The man, not the man, Lan Zhan, looked at him for a very long time, before he stood up. Jingyi followed suit.
"Come with us."
 
Comewithuscomewithuscomewithus...
 
" Uh… where?" His brain suddenly glitzed with those 3 words.

"Gege, you should come, papa already prepared a hotel room for you to sleep and there's also clothes and food for you… " the boy sounded so excited, he danced around Wei Wuxian happily. "Come, Wei Gege, I picked the clothes for you, I hope you like it!!!" 

Uh…

"... but why? I mean, I was doing nothing to earn all of your… kindness…" he almost choked with some kind of unexplained feeling that slowly grew in the pit of his stomach.

"I can see you're a good person, and you helped take care of my son. So in turn, we would like to take care of you." Lan Wangji nodded at him. "In fact, I have already started the program to help the homeless people in this city, and I would like you to help us, of course only if you don't mind."

If he wasn't already half in love with this man, he would fall right there and then. How could a man be so perfect?

"I-I don't know what to say, really… "

"Say yes, Gege, that way you won't have to stay in the park again, and you will always have a roof on your head and you won't have to worry about what to eat anymore, and I can see you every day!" Jingyi jumped up and down and pulled his hand excitedly.

Wait… every day?

He looked at the boy, then at the father, both have expectant looks on their faces, and he's a sucker for puppy eyes, so of course he would say…

"Yes." His eyes almost glazed over. "Yes."

They brought him to a nice hotel near the park, and put him in one of the nicer rooms and Jingyi told him to take a shower. He obeyed the little gremlin and took a long hot shower. Afterward, he put on the clothes that he picked for him. A black plain t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Without any rips. And white Nike sneakers. Surprisingly they were all in his size. Then he combed his freshly shampooed hair, and tied it with his trademark red ribbon.

He chuckled when he looked at his reflection in the mirror. He looked just like when he was back at the college. 

He chucked his dirty clothes and boots and put them in a plastic bag, and went outside to greet his new benefactors.

"Wow, Gege! You look so pretty! And handsome! Wow!" The boy looked at him in an unconcealed adoring look, while holding his hands.

He smiled at the adorably cute boy, before stealing a glance at Lan Wangji, and froze.

He caught an unmistakable sliver of hunger in Lan Wangji's gaze. It was there only for a second, then it's gone. But it was there, no mistake about it. And it made his stomach churned with a sudden feeling of need. 

His last thought before they went out again was, ' this is a mistake, this is a fucking mistake.

 
Lan Wangji took him to a big empty warehouse, and showed him around, while carrying Jingyi in his arms.

"This will be our new headquarter. We will build some kind of temporary homeless shelter, and we will provide food and jobs. I also have arranged for special apartments for the ones that are ready to start a new life, with low costs, of course… " while Lan Wangji explained things, his voice droned in Wei Wuxian's head. 

He was willing to do all of these things, because of me?

He still couldn't shake that strange feeling in his gut that has been there ever since Lan Wangji looked at him with that look.

"... so what do you think?" Lan Wangji tilted his head to his direction, seemed to ask for his opinion.

"It's… it's great, really, it's all great, I just have one question though." He nervously played with his hands.

"Yes?"

"Why me? I mean, I know I helped your son, but, why me? Is this some kind of charity, or tax deduction, or something along the lines?" He really was curious, how come a person could be this good?

He saw the tip of Lan Wangji's ear reddened.

"I have a feeling. A good feeling."

Ihaveafeelingihaveafeelingihaveafeeling... fuck. He really should run away as far as he could when he first saw that brat rolling around the dirt. This is going to complicate things.

"I'm really flattered, really, but do you mind if I'm not answering straight away? I need to think about this… you know, you really caught me in surprise." He didn't dare look at the other, afraid that his eyes might betray his words.

Lan Wangji looked at Wei Wuxian for a very long time, making him fidgeting like a fish out of the water, before finally nodding.

"Sure, take your time."

Lan Wangji dropped him off at the hotel, then left him his phone number.

"Call me if you have made up your mind. I will ask someone to deliver a cell phone for you later this afternoon."

Wei Wuxian could only nod. He was feeling overwhelmed, and he had never been overwhelmed before. 

Jingyi was waving at him with a smile on his face, and he waved back until they were both out of sight, then he turned around and left.

-----

"You what ?" 

Wei Wuxian went to his cousin's place, at the same apartment  building with him but one floor lower. Wen Qing was a doctor at the Lan's private hospital, Cloud Recess Hospital, so she was quite familiar with the Lans.

"I know!! You don't need to yell at me… " he grumbled at Wen Qing's laugh. "This is a fucking serious matter Qing! Stop laughing please… " he groaned and put his face between his knees.

"Never thought I'll see the day when the mighty Wei Wuxian was mistaken as a homeless person… no, wait, you did look like a homeless person, with your favorite disgustingly expensive clothes. I never understand the trends by the way, so don't look at me." She moved around the apartment, cleaning up things, since this was her day off.

"Where's A-Yuan? I miss him." He looked around for his nephew, Wen Qing's adopted son.

"He went out to the park with Ning. You can catch up to them if you hurry."

"Later, I need your advice. As my doctor." Wei Wuxian laid down on the couch, holding on to his heart. "I swear I seem to have heart palpitation every time I look at him."

"Yeah? Well, you and every other person with eyes. And I'm an ob/gyn, not a cardiologist. So unless you wanna get pregnant, please don't ask me question about your fragile heart"

"Tell me what should I do, Qing… I was basically already employed by his family, and now he wanted me to work for him? Directly under him? I don't think my heart can take it." He ignored the sarcastic comment.

"You mean your dick can't take it, and admit it, you do want to be under him." She shooed him away to take the pillows and put it in the washing machine.

"That, too." He groaned loudly and lay himself down on the floor.

"Do you really need my advice, or you just came here to flex?"

"I don't even know if he likes… guy. And I do need your advice. Should I do it? Should I just disappear?"

"Really, Wei Wuxian, where do you want to run away from the Lans? They practically owned half the country."

"Then I'll move to another country." He said petulantly.

"Yeah? And leave your heavily pregnant Jiejie, when her due date is coming in the next few weeks?"

"....."

"Why don't you just come clean with him? I'm sure he will appreciate your honesty. It's not your fault anyway that he took you as a homeless person. You do look like one." She chuckled.

"Right, blame it on my fashion sense. My impeccable fashion sense, by the way."

"Whatever you say, bro, whatever you say."

"I think I'll sit on this tonight. Thinking of any better solution that will keep both parties satisfied."

"You know I heard the double entendre in those sentences, right?"

Wei Wuxian only laughed at her.

"You know me so well." He went to her kitchen to rummage some food. "What do you know about his wife? I heard she died?"

"Whose wife?"

"Lan Wangji, d'oh? We were literally just talking about him." He pulled out a slice of homemade lasagna and put it in the oven to reheat it.

"Lan Wangji is single, never been married, or engaged, or having a girlfriend, rumored or not. If you're talking about the cute adorable boy he called his son, he was his distant cousin's kid. The mom was abused by the boyfriend, and she died in an accident on the way to hospital to give birth. I was there when she was admitted."

Wei Wuxian was stunned. So he was a really good person after all.

"What about the father?"

"Nobody knew who he was, and frankly, nobody cared. He tortured the woman until she was half dead, all while she almost gave birth. Lan Wangji took care of that, he signed the birth paper with his name as the father, and nobody even blinked. Even Lan Qiren didn't object." 

"That was… wow." He dug into the lasagna, suddenly feeling hungry.

"Yeah, so if you have any reservations about his preference, don't. Just do what you do best. Become your shiny sparkling self. I'm pretty sure love will look through genders and status anyway."

"Speaking from experience, Qing?"

"That's a need to know only, Wei Wuxian, and you don't need to know." She smirked.

He walked upstairs to get his laptop before he went back to the hotel. If he's gonna play house, at least he wanted to get some shit done. Not to mention if things happen at the Lans' Archive again. He packed his laptop, phone charger, some basic stuff like underwear, clothes and most importantly, his super soft towel. He can't live without his towel. And his Jiejie specially-made moisturizers, the one that was customized just for him.

When he got back to the hotel, the receptionist waved him in and gave him a small box.

"Mr. Lan asked me to give it to you, and he told me to use it as you see fit."

"Oh? Mr. Lan himself?" He was delightfully surprised.

"Yes, he dropped it about an hour ago, but I told him that you're not in yet."

"Does this hotel easily give information to strangers?"

"Mr, Lan is the owner of this establishment, and I'm sure we didn't do that kind of thing to anyone else."

At this point, he's not even surprised anymore.

"Right. Sure. Whatever. Thanks" he went upstairs to his room, and after putting his stuff away, he opened the box. 

Inside there were a new box of the newest Samsung phone, and a black credit card. He was so dumbfounded, he almost missed the handwritten card that slipped to the bed.

I hope you can make a good use of this. My phone number is already programmed into the phone. Please use the card to buy whatever it is that you need.

If he didn't know any better, he was sure Lan Wangji was courting him. 

God.

Did this mean he was a sugar baby now?

-----

Was that too much? 

Lan Wangji was starting to second guess himself. This concept was all new to him. 

He remembered the look on Wei Ying's face when he came out from the bathroom. So soft. So beautiful. So fond of his son. And the way Jingyi looked back at him with such adoration. He couldn't help but feel the hunger . The greed. He wanted to touch the man. He wanted to have him.

He had never felt anything like this before. This was all so new. The attraction, the desire, the want. It was all so scary. 

Lan Wangji had never wanted anything in his life, not as much as this. Ever since he laid eyes on Wei Ying, it feels like lightning had struck him. 

The eyes, the silver eyes. The smile that made his eyes crinkled. The melodious sound of his laughter. The teasing sound of his voice. The confidence in the way he walked. They way he treated his son; stern but with care; although he didn't approve of his excessive use of curse words. The way he scolded him , for thinking that he was an absent father.

True he was homeless, but that doesn't seem to dim his light a bit. In fact he seemed to shine brighter than the other people around him, making himself feel dull and boring.

That reminded him that he needed to call his brother. Maybe to ask for some advice. He looked at his watch. Jingyi was still in school for at least another 3 hours, so he had time.

He pulled out his phone and started dialing his brother's number.

"Wangji, how can I help you?" Xichen answered the phone in the second ring.

"Ge, if you have free time, may we have lunch? I have something to discuss with you… I-I may need advice."

Xichen was stunned. He had never been asked for advice outside of work before. Not since he was 15 anyway. His brother just knew exactly what he wanted. Whether it was for Jingyi, or for everything else. So this must be a special occasion.

"Sure, Wangji. We can meet in an hour. Nébulosité?"

"Ok, I'll tell them to prepare our usual place."

Nébulosité was one of their Michelin star restaurants, and they have a special room to use for business negotiation. Lan Wangji dialed their number and told the manager to prepare the smaller room for him and his brother in an hour. 

Xichen was already there when he arrived. 

They ordered, and after exchanging pleasantries, Wangji went straight to the heart of his problem.

"Ge, I-I met someone."

That statement really made Xichen off balance.

"Oh? Do tell me more about her, Wangji." He tried to conceal his mixed emotions by drinking his scalding hot tea. It burnt his tongue, but it was worth it.

Wangji's face, on the other hand, was as stoic as he always is. Bur Xichen knew better by the minute details of his tone and facial expressions. Wangji was nervous.

"Him. And I was so confused by this flurry of emotions I felt inside my stomach. I never felt like this before." He took the cup and blew on it before sipping the tea. 

"Where did you meet him?" Xichen tried to coax the details, to make sure Wangji calms his nerves first.

"Actually it was Jingyi who met him first. He was at the park when Jingyi was hit by his newest babysitter; which reminds me to file a complain to their company about background checks and child abuse, and he was running from her, when he met him."

"Oh? So he helped Jingyi? What a noble man, what did he do for a living? Does he live around the park? Remind me to send him a thank you gift for saving my beloved nephew. What's his name?" Xichen was so excited, he bombarded Wangji with barracks of questions. But he stopped in his tracks when he saw Wangji's ear visibly reddened. 

He was shy.

"You see, here's the thing, Ge. He wasn't exactly what you thought he would be. He was just an ordinary man." With the brightest smile and the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen.  
"And he was homeless when Jingyi found him."

That's it. That's the bomb dropping. He wasn't ashamed of his feelings, but he thought his brother should know all the facts, before making any judgement.

"But don't worry, Ge. I already made plans." He reassured his suddenly concerned brother. Xichen didn't need to say anything for him to be able to read his feelings.

"Plans?"

"Mn. I plan to build a temporary homeless shelter, train them, help them find jobs, and use one of our budget apartment buildings to provide a budget living arrangement for those who find jobs already."

"That's… actually a great idea, Wangji. But are you sure your man is capable of doing all of those things? You're not thinking of doing that yourself… right? You already have a lot on your plate."

"He's not even saying yes… yet. He said he needed some time to think about the offer."

Mm… not a gold digger then. Xichen thought. But could it be something more sinister? He knew he should trust his brother's judgment, but he couldn't help but feeling worried. Homeless? He's not that petty to look only from outward appearance, but as a big brother, surely he had concerns.

"May I meet him? Maybe we can have dinner, or lunch together? I would like to hear his opinion of all of this stuff. You know that sometimes you can be very bossy and unconsciously demanding people to do your bidding." He chuckled, imagining the man became overwhelmed by Wangji's sudden interest in him.

"Mn. I think it's a good idea, Ge. I will contact him and let you know."

"Good. Now let's eat. I'm starving."

-----

Wei Wuxian was in the middle of working on his laptop, when his phone rang. He cursed and blindly reached for his phone, but it was off. Then he remembered that he had another phone. 

He cringed at the thought, but then got excited because it's supposed to be Lan Wangji.

He decided to answer it.

"Wei Ying?"

"Uh, is that a question?"

"No. Just making sure the phone was delivered to the right person." 

He could hear the light tone emanating from Lan Wangji. He's in a good mood.

"Anyway, I called to make sure that you have settled down. And to invite you to dinner. Tonight."

Whaaaaaaaa...ttt

" Uh, tonight? Dinner?" His brain was suddenly incapable of processing simple words like dinner and tonight in the same sentence. "Uuh… sure? It's not like I have somewhere else to go… " he chuckled nervously.

"Great. I'll pick you up at 7."

Wei Wuxian looked at his Wangji phone, contemplating.

Well, that escalated fast.

He was ready at 5 minutes to 7, but when he walked down to the lobby, he found Wangji was already there. Sitting alone. Making his heart skipped a beat by the beauty he exuded.

Be still, my beating heart.

"Lan Zhan, sorry I'm late." He grinned and saw Wangji stood up, and gave him a once-over. He was wearing a rather conservative look for his usual standards, a fitted dark jeans without any rips, a black shirt with rolled arms, and black biker boots. His long black hair half-tied with his trademark red tie.

"No, I'm early. You're just right on time." 

Wei Wuxian in return also gave him a blatant once-over, not bothering to hide his admiration and he liked what he saw. White shirt with rolled arms, beige linen pants, and brown formal shoes. They were like light and dark.

They walked outside together in comfortable silence.

"By the way, do you mind if my brother joins us? I told him about you, and he'd like to meet you."

What.

"Your brother?" 

His brother would be…

" My older brother. His name is Lan Xichen. He was a doctor at the Cloud Recess Hospital."

Doctor. Right. More like the Chief of Staff. Wen Qing told him a lot about God Hand Lan Xichen.

"Ah, sure, I don't mind Lan Zhan."

Probably gonna check out if he's gonna leach out his beloved brother. He chuckled lightly.

They arrived at the secluded Chinese restaurant, not far from the hotel, and the waiter ushered them to the back room where Lan Xichen was already waiting.

Both of them bowed their head slightly before taking their seat. 

"Hello there, my name is Lan Xichen, and I am Wangji's brother. And you are… ?"

"Wei Ying." He didn't use his other name on purpose, he just didn't want to embarrass Lan Wangji by saying that he was not actually a homeless person. "Nice to meet you Mr. Lan, Lan Zhan here says that you are a doctor? What a noble profession." 

He could see the flicker of surprise from Lan Xichen's expression when he called his brother by his birth name. Apparently he was not as stoic as his brother, and easier to read. Good. He was not graduating from Harvard from just being a genius , but also because he was also street-smart and cunning enough to survive as the only orphan with scholarship. He knew how to read people as easily as a walk in the park.

"Yes, Mr. Wei, and please just call me Xichen." He looked quite pleased with his manner.

"Then you must call me Wei Ying. I insist, Xichen-ge."

"Of course. Wei Ying, it's nice to meet you." He toasted them with tea, not alcohol. Of course.  

"So, Wei Ying, tell me about yourself. Where do you come from? What leads you here?"

"Ge… " Wangji looked at him with a warning in his eyes, making Xichen chuckle. 

"I'm sorry, I tend to be a little protective about my little brother, Wei Ying. Let's just eat first then, we shall talk later." 

Wei Wuxian knew that Lan Xichen smoothly tried to probe him, about himself, about his 'homelessness', and as he himself once said, only tell the truth, for lies will only lead you to your demise. So he kept it as close to the truth as possible. 

Yes he was an only child and an orphan. Yes, his parents died in an accident when he was very young, and a friend of his parents took him in. But because he was somewhat of a rebel, they were having disagreements all the time, until finally he couldn't take it anymore and finally left home. 

He didn't mention that he flew to the US of A and got accepted to Harvard's computer science program in full scholarship, of how he worked his ass off to earn money for his housing and meals. He was basically homeless in America, so the truth was not that far away, only moving backward for a few years give or take.

"How long have you been… on the street?" Xichen nicely asked him.

"Ah, it was only for a few days, I hope, I just need to get back on my feet and I'll be out of your hair soon enough. Really, I've been very grateful for Lan Zhan here, I don't know what I should do if he didn't help me." He bowed to Lan Wangji in gratitude.

"Why don't you consider Wangji's offer? That's for the great cause, and it will help unfortunate people like you to get back on their feet, and more importantly it will help you get back on your feet." Xichen looked at him, more intensely this time. Lan Wangji just pretended he didn't hear anything.

"I know it's for a great cause, Xichen-ge, and yes I'm considering it seriously. Hopefully I can give Lan Zhan here an answer by tomorrow." He looked sideways at Lan Wangji, who suddenly red on his ears.

"By the way, it's getting late, I should pick Jingyi up before his bedtime." Lan Wangji stood up, and nodded to Xichen. "Ge, we'll be taking our leave now."

"Okay, Wangji, Wei Ying, it's very nice to meet you, I hope we can meet again under… better circumstances." He shook Wei Wuxian's hand. 

If only you knew, Xichen-ge… he almost chuckled at his own thought, but reigned it in fast enough.

"I will call you later, Wangji." 

"Mn."

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji walked back to the hotel side by side, with the pregnant silent befallen them. They arrived in no time, and Wei Wuxian said his goodbye and thank you, when suddenly Lan Wangji called out to him.

"Wei Ying."

He turned around to look at him, and got hit by the intensity of his gaze. He gulped. His stomach felt churned, like thousands of butterflies suddenly decided to fly at the same time, fluttering wildly inside his organ.

"Y-yes?" He croaked.

"I know it may sound petty of me, but I will be waiting for you tomorrow. At the warehouse. If you want to accept my offer, please come. If you decline… I won't hold it against you. I will still help you in any other way." 

He might look cold, but Wei Wuxian could see something flicker inside of those golden orbs. Something like… hope.

Damn you Lan Zhan.

"I'll wait until the workers have finished their jobs."

They planned to clean the warehouse and fix the toilet and bathroom before they could do anything else.

Wei Wuxian nodded, and turned around to go back inside of the hotel.

-----

Lan Wangji collected the sleeping Jingyi from his downstairs neighbour, who happened to have a kid in the same class as Jingyi. After thanking her, he walked back to his penthouse, and put Jingyi down to his room, before retreating to his own room. His phone rang not long after. 

Xichen.

"Yes, ge?" He answered it on the second ring.

"Wangji, have you reached home?"

"Yes. Jingyi was already asleep when I got him."

"Good. Good. You know why I called you?"

"About Wei Ying?"

"Yes, Wangji. About Wei Ying."

Lan Wangji fell silent. He could not handle it if his brother didn't like Wei Ying. Xichen was his most important person in the whole world, beside Jingyi.

"He was… interesting." Xichen continued, as if he knew what's inside Wangji's mind. "He's smart, I give him that. And he doesn't look like any homeless person I know of." He chuckled. 

Wangji released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Should I ask Mingjue to do a deep background on him?"

"Not yet, ge, he didn't even agree to work for me yet. And I won't pry into others' business. Not if I can help it."

"Whatever you want, Wangji. You know I will always be here for you."

"I know, ge. Thank you for taking a time out from your hectic schedule to meet Wei Ying."

"You're my brother, Wangji. Of course I will do anything for you. Family first."

"Family first."

-----

Wei Wuxian tossed and turned in his sleep. 

He was haunted by the look of Lan Wangji's eyes. And when he woke up with a decision formed in his mind, he knew he was fucked.

The morning came, and he went back to his apartment to exchange his clothes, and he decided on an impulse to visit his Jiejie. She lived a bit far from the city, in a cottage style house that was very warm and homey. Her husband, Jin Zixuan, loves her very much, he spoils her, and with her due date near, he had started to work from home. 

Jiang Yanli made the most sought after moisturizers that were customized according to each and every one of her clients. No scents were ever the same.

But right now, the most amazing smell came from her kitchen.

Pork ribs and lotus root soup.

He knocked on the door, and it was opened by Jin Zixuan.

"Wei Wuxian. It seems that Yanli had a sixth sense if it's concerning you. She insisted on making your favorite soup this morning, and now here you are." He hugged Wei Wuxian briefly, and shoved him inside. "Lili, look who's the cat dragged in front of our door."

Wei Wuxian could hear the sound of heavy footsteps from the kitchen,and Yanli appeared a minute later, with her baby bump look almost exploded.

"Xianxian! What a nice surprise! I was just thinking about you." She hugged him as tight as her bump allowed her to. "Come here, I made your favorite soup. You are too skinny!" She pinched his cheek fondly.

"Jie, I miss you, does the peacock treat you right? You can tell me if he doesn't and I will break his leg."

"Hey!" They heard Zixuan yell from his office. Yanli chuckled.

"Of course he treats me right, I'm so happy, Xianxian, and soon our family will grow." She put him on the table and put a bowl of piping hot soup in front of him. "Eat first. Then tell me what's bothering you."

She knew. 

Of course she knew.

His best friend was her ob/gyn.

"I see Qing has already told you." He scooped a spoon of hot soup and moan in delight.

"Yes she did. As soon as you leave her place." She ruffled his hair fondly. "So, Lan Wangji eh? He's a good guy."

"Jie! I just met him like two days ago!"

"And yet you're already here."

Point taken.

In the past, whenever he had doubts, or needed encouragement, or anything important, he always ran to Yanli. She didn't need to do anything, just be… her, and Wei Wuxian was blanketed by her warmth and security, making him safe. Then he could make his decision. 

Yanli was his safe place. And always would be.

"I just… I don't know, Jie, I mean he thought I was a homeless person, and maybe he's just nice to me because he is a nice person? Although he took me to meet his brother last night." He added the last part, mumbled under his breath.

"He what?" Yanli gasped.

"Nothing serious, we only had dinner and chatted about the shelter that Lan Zhan asked me to manage."

"Oh, Xianxian… " she kissed the top of his head fondly. "I don't know how you can be so smart and so… stupid."

Wei Wuxian coughed at his Jie's remark.

"Jie! Why are you so mean?" He whined and coughed some more.

"Because you're an idiot, Wei Wuxian." Zixuan entered the kitchen. "Check this out. I think you're going to like it." He pushed the open laptop in front of Wei Wuxian. "This is an up and coming company that sells the hardware you're gonna need in your future grandiose projects. I suggest you invest in them or better, buy them."

Wei Wuxian's attention caught, and he studied the company's profile thoroughly.

"This is quite interesting. Have you told Cheng about this?"

"No, but I'm about to. But since you're here, tell me what you think."

Jin Zixuan was their family lawyer. His family, the Jins, were another old-money family. But they're worse than the Lans. Only think about prestige and status. 

Jin Zixuan was no better. Before he met Yanli and fell in love at first sight. The Jins didn't approve of their union, but soon changed their mind after the Jiang brothers startup company gained name and prestige, and Yanli established her own cult-following with her custom moisturizer and perfume. But the Jiang brothers still didn't like them. Overly pretentious zealot, they said. The boys never went to any of Jin family's functions.

"I think this is worth looking deeper into. Go talk to Cheng later. But for now, keep close sight at them, and tell me if there's any other party interested."

"Ok. Are you going to play house again now?" He smirked at Wei Wuxian's reddened face.

"Jie!!! Your husband bullies me!!!"

"You're both just like kids…" Yanli sighed, while she prepared another soup for her husband.

Right at that time, Wei Wuxian's phone rang. He took out both of the phones and saw that it was his work cell. 

"Yo, Cheng, wussup?"

"Where are you?" He could hear Jiang Cheng frowns.

"I'm at Jie's house. Why?"

"Well, I'm in front of your apartment and no one's bothered to tell me that you're not here!"

"I'm not there. Just get your ass over here, Jie's got soup."

"... fine."

Wei Wuxian discussed some other probabilities with Jin Zixuan, about acquiring a new branch of their company, extending cyber security into government projects.

They were in heated discussion when his phone sounded the alarm. He checked it, and frowned. 

"Anything serious?" Zixuan asked him, when the doorbell rang. "That must be Jiang Cheng, I'll get it."

Wei Wuxian opened an app in his phone that's monitoring the security of all his charges. 

Strange.

He took the laptop and typed furiously to execute the command to remotely access his server at his home.

"Hey, what's the alarm about?" Jiang Cheng sat near him, peeking at the laptop. He was quite adept at the computer, but he relented to be the face of Lotus Corp and handle all business side of it, while Wei Wuxian stayed behind the curtain.

"Someone broke into the Lan's personal files. They triggered the alarms I set after the last attempt to break into The Archives. This guy is good, he managed to avoid the obvious trap, but I'm better… ha!" He slammed the keyboard gleefully. "Get that, you bastard!" 

"Did you send one of your childish pranks again?"
"Yep, this time it's the sound of yours truly, singing Enter Sandman in full volume." He grinned widely.

Jiang Cheng cringed, remembering his brother's fondness of singing metal songs off key.

"I guess that's punishment enough. Did he get anything?"

"That's the strange thing, he's just looking around. Maybe one of the fans of the Lans? The rich seem to gather a lot of sick freaks around them." Wei Wuxian looked at the watch, and yelled loudly. "FUCK!" 

He scrambled around the table and ran out, after kissing Yanli and waved to Zixuan and Jiang Cheng. 

"I got something important to do, fuck, I'm late!" 

"Do you need a ride?" Yanli asked but the front door has already been slammed loudly.

He was really really late and it seemed like the universe had something against him. Just when he was out from Yanli's house, the rain came pouring down heavily. He was drenched from head to toe, but he forced himself to go to their meeting place.

He wanted to take the chance.

He ran all the way to the warehouse, but it's far, and he didn't want to stop to get a cab. It was like adrenaline running high through his veins, and the sound of his heart pumping blood was so loud in his ears.

Please let him be there.