Lan Xichen felt like this week was the most difficult week he had experienced since taking over the duties of Sect Leader. Every day felt like it was adding another concern, another task to his ever increasing pile. Most of these accumulating concerns were related to Wei Wuxian. Mostly they were related to the way other people were reacting to Wei Wuxian. Some of this Lan Xichen had expected. He expected to have some issues with his uncle. He had expected to have worries about Wei Wuxian's safety. He had expected the Jiang siblings to be distressed. Unfortunately the reality was exceeding his expectations at every turn.

Wei Wuxian's first night had been relatively peaceful, but the second night Wei Wuxian apparently woke up screaming. Lan Xichen didn't learn about this until the next day when he asked for an update. Since then talismans were being used nightly to prevent Wei Wuxian's screams from frightening those in nearby residences. Wen Qing had been preparing medicine to help Wei Wuxian sleep. She had tried two different ones so far, but didn't seem happy with the results. They did not seem to be helping much, but she wanted to give them a chance before she tried stronger medicine.

Lan Xichen had not released any statements to the other students and hadn't expected to need to for a while. He assumed the Jiang siblings would be in no condition to attend lectures. As such Lan Xichen didn't think anything would need to be explained for at least a week if not more. This was apparently a poor assumption. The Jiang heir returned to class after being absent for two days. As soon as he came back other students began asking him questions. Why was he absent? What happened? Where is Wei Wuxian? Jiang Wanyin's temper seemed even shorter than usual. It took no time at all before every disciple realized that they should not ask Jiang Wanyin anything about his absence or Wei Wuxian.

To Lan Xichen's surprise his uncle assigned minimal punishments to Jiang Wanyin. Cloud Recesses's normal quiet had been broken many times by the Jiang heir's shouting and cursing. Lan Xichen had hope that perhaps his uncle had taken their conversation to heart and taken into account the emotional distress Jiang Wanyin was under. Even if this turned out to be the case Lan Xichen expected to still need to talk with his uncle further.

For one thing Lan Xichen had not informed Lan Qiren about Lan Wangji's desire to court Wei Wuxian. He fully intended to eventually. It was just that there were a hundred things to do and Lan Xichen had not even had a chance to speak with Wei Wuxian's guardians about the matter yet. Also, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Lan Xichen had somewhat been avoiding Lan Qiren since their last talk. His uncle had not sought him out either. So Lan Xichen concluded it was mutual.

Lan Xichen approached the infirmary hoping to find one or more of the Jiang siblings there visiting Wei Wuxian. As he approached Lan Xichen found a group of five or six disciples all attempting to peer inside the infirmary. Before Lan Xichen could process what was going on he heard a confident female voice coming from the other side of the group.

"If you're here for treatment I have some free time." The group of boys suddenly scattered, revealing Wen Qing standing just inside the entryway with an acupuncture needle in her hand. She smirked as the boys fled and tucked the needle away out of sight before she turned her gaze to Lan Xichen. She did not seem surprised by what just happened and she had chased the disciples away with practiced ease. Lan Xichen greeted her as he entered then glanced back at where the boys had been standing.

"Has this been a frequent problem?" Lan Xichen asked. Wen Qing heaved a sigh and her expression shifted into one he recognised as fatigue and frustration.

"It started after Jiang Wanyin returned to classes. They used to be more subtle about it, but they've been getting more and more obnoxious. That is the third group I have chased away today." Wen Qing spoke with clear annoyance in her voice. She shook her head gently. "Some of them I understand. They're probably worried about Wei Wuxian, but many of them are just overly curious." Lan Xichen frowned.

"Is this creating problems?" Lan Xichen asked. Wen Qing gave him a look that suddenly made Lan Xichen feel embarrassed for even asking that question. She had after all just told him that was the third group she personally had to chase away. It should be quite clear that this was a problem. Lan Xichen opened his mouth to apologize but she cut him off.

"It's a hassle, but it hasn't been too bad. The real problem will be when Wei Wuxian begins to start feeling a little better." Lan Xichen gave her a questioning look. Wen Qing smiled. "Wei Wuxian is an energetic person. The fact that he hasn't become antsy by sitting in the same room all day for a week is a testament to just how bad he has been feeling. His mood has been a bit brighter the last couple of days and I can tell it is starting to get to him. It would be good for him to spend some time outside, but I'm unsure how that would go with so many people constantly flocking here."

Lan Xichen thought about that. If what Wei Wuxian needed was somewhere peaceful and private where he could heal there certainly were places like that within Cloud Recesses. Lan Xichen would have previously said that all of Cloud Recesses was like that, but the apparent swarms of curious disciples seemed to say otherwise. However that didn't mean there weren't places in Cloud Recesses that were more secluded than the infirmary. Lan Xichen set this thought aside for the moment. He had a couple ideas, but he would want to discuss it with Lan Wangji first. Lan Xichen turned back to the main reason for his visit.

"Are either of the Jiang siblings visiting right now?" Lan Xichen asked. He was hoping to be able to talk with at least one of them and Wei Wuxian at the same time today. Wen Qing shook her head, then paused. Lan Xichen felt her hesitating so he stopped walking and waited for what she had to say.

"Jiang Wanyin has not been back to visit since the day he stormed out." Wen Qing said at last. She wasn't certain how Lan Xichen would respond to this. She didn't want to complicate matters further, and part of her felt this might actually be the best course of action for the time being. If Jiang Wanyin couldn't handle being around Wei Wuxian right now, then by all means stay away. She didn't want to witness Wei Wuxian sacrificing his well being to soothe Jiang Wanyin. Wen Qing didn't think she had enough patience in her for that.

Lan Xichen frowned slightly. He hadn't expected that Jiang Wanyin had not visited at all since then. Lan Xichen wasn't certain what to do with this information. Should he be talking to the Jiang heir? What would he say? Was the Jiang heir angry with Wei Wuxian? Was he upset in some other fashion and this was simply how he was expressing it? If he was still lashing out verbally at others, was it even a good idea to encourage him to visit Wei Wuxian?

"Zewu-Jun." Wen Qing pulled him out of his thoughts. "If you'd like, I can go look for Jiang Yanli." Wen Qing offered. Lan Xichen considered refusing and going to look for her himself, but ultimately he just nodded his head. With the pattern of things lately he would likely get pulled into something and not manage to make it back here for hours. Wen Qing wasted no time. She headed out the door looking far more confident in where to start looking than he was.

Lan Xichen entered the room. He was not surprised by what he saw when he entered. Wei Wuxian was leaning against Lan Wangji as the two sat at the table. One of Lan Wangji's arms was wrapped securely around Wei Wuxian's waist while the other hand turned the page of the book they were apparently reading together. Most of the times that Lan Xichen visited the two were touching in some manner. If Wei Wuxian was not sleeping in Lan Wangji's lap he was leaning against him in some fashion. Occasionally, such as during meals, they would simply sit as close together as possible. Letting their arms brush against each other.

Lan Xichen greeted the two of them before joining them at the table. Wei Wuxian began pulling away to sit more normally, but Lan Wangji's arm tightened around him effectively holding him in place. Lan Xichen did his best to suppress his smile as he watched Wei Wuxian relent and relax back into the same position.

"Zewu-Jun, is there something you wished to speak with me about?" Wei Wuxian asked hesitantly. He was always a bit tense whenever Lan Xichen came into the room. Lan Xichen couldn't be certain, but he thought Wei Wuxin was probably more relaxed when he was just with Lan Wangji. Lan Xichen really wanted to change that, but he wasn't certain how he could make Wei Wuxian more relaxed around him.

"It sounds like there have been quite a lot of people coming by the infirmary." Lan Xichen said calmly. Wei Wuxian stilled instantly. Lan Xichen wasn't sure what Wei Wuxian had understood that sentence to mean but the panic in his eyes and rigidity in his shoulders indicated it was not what Lan Xichen had intended. "I was thinking about moving you from the infirmary to help protect your privacy." Lan Xichen did not sound as calm or certain anymore. Wei Wuxian seemed to be thinking furiously and those thoughts were turning his gaze glassy. Wei Wuxian's breathing was beginning to grow erratic and Lan Xichen found himself looking to Lan Wangji wondering what he should be doing.

Lan Wangji was no longer looking at Lan Xichen at all. He turned his full attention to Wei Wuxian, physically turning Wei Wuxian to look at him.

"Wei Ying." Lan Wangji spoke softly. He rubbed up and down Wei Wuxian's arms with his hands. "Wei Ying." He brought his hand up to cup Wei Wuxian's cheek. Wei Wuxian jumped, but his eyes seemed to finally focus.

"Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian's voice was full of hesitance. Lan Wangji gently stroked Wei Wuxian's cheek with his thumb.

"Wei Ying. I'm here. You are safe." Lan Wangji spoke in a soft firm voice. Wei Wuxian seemed to finally take a complete breath. He nodded repetitively almost like he was trying to reassure himself. Lan Wangji gave Wei Wuxian some time to calm down before he said or did anything else. Once Wei Wuxian seemed more calm Lan Wangji directed Wei Wuxian's gaze to meet his.

"Tell me." Lan Wangji's gaze was firm, but his voice was quite gentle. Wei Wuxian's eyelids drooped.

"I was having thoughts about having to leave. About having to be away from you. About being... alone." Wei Wuxian's voice was very quiet. Wei Wuxian seemed to have trouble meeting Lan Wangji's eyes. His gaze diverted down and to the side.

"Wei Ying will stay." Lan Wangji said firmly. Wei Wuxian glanced back up at Lan Wangji. He nodded his head a few times then threw his arms around Lan Wangji's neck. Lan Wangji held Wei Wuxian and gently stroked his back a few times to help sooth him.

Lan Xichen remained silent throughout the exchange. He was impressed. This was not the first time he had seen Wei Wuxian suddenly swallowed by the thoughts in his own mind. He had seen Wei Wuxian go from calm and friendly to distraught in the blink of an eye, and had been previously informed that it was a pretty common occurrence. However this last part was new. Lan Xichen had never seen Wei Wuxian verbalize what any of the distressing thoughts were about. This time however, not only did Wei Wuxian calm relatively quickly, but he also told Lan Wangji the nature of his distress almost immediately. That was incredible progress. Although Lan Xichen was now feeling guilty that his words had clearly been the trigger for these thoughts. He was still amazed with both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji for how they handled the aftermath. After a few minutes Wei Wuxian was back in the position he had started, held securely against Lan Wangji.

"Wei Ying will stay in Jingshi." Lan Wangji announced. Lan Xichen could not suppress a small smile.

"One condition." Lan Xichen said calmly. "Wen-guniang and Wen-gongzi move to the empty residence across from yours." Lan Wangji nodded in agreement. Wei Wuxian looked up at Lan Wangji with a slightly confused expression. "Wei-gongzi. Wangji's residence is in a more secluded part of Cloud Recesses. You will have more freedom to go outside and do things without having to worry about so many people being close by." Wei Wuxian looked wide eyed at Lan Xichen. For once the look of shock on Wei Wuxian's face did not look frightened or upset. He stared at Lan Xichen before turning the same expression to Lan Wangji.

"This is okay?" Wei Wuxian asked.

"Mn." Lan Wangji nodded. Wei Wuxian glanced at Lan Xichen again as though looking for additional confirmation. Lan Xichen nodded, still smiling gently. Water began to gather in Wei Wuxian's eyes. Lan Xichen almost began to panic, but there was a small relieved smile on Wei Wuxian's face.

"Thank you." Wei Wuxian said softly. He hastily wiped the few tears that escaped from his eyes. Once he wiped them away he looked back up. Lan Xichen could see a warm flicker of light in Wei Wuxian's dark eyes. Lan Xichen was caught off guard by the deep sincerity and gratitude expressed in those two words.