He turned around to see Shen Qingqiu–bringing a couple of huge bags–and Xie Lian–who also did the same–walked into his house and glared at Lan Wangji.

"Uh, Qiuqiu? You know him?" Wei Wuxian looked at both of them with a clear confusion while Lan Wangji acted nonchalantly.

"Ah, Xianxian, actually he's my boss." Xie Lian came forward and elbowed Shen Qingqiu hard to shut him up.

Xie Lian loved his friends but this was his boss, and there should be a clear line between work and private life–although he also suspected now that he saw his boss here, topless nonetheless–that he had something on his mind. And it was not purely innocent. Maybe Shen Qingqiu had a point.

"Your boss?" Wei Wuxian looked at Lan Wangji with the new light in his eyes. "So, you're the one who helped me get this place?" He suddenly looked so bright. "Wow, what a coincidence, he's my neighbor!" Wei Wuxian grinned widely at Lan Wangji, who suddenly couldn't breathe from the brilliance of the smile–and the twinkle in his silver eyes. "Thank you, Lan Zhan, I wouldn't be able to get this house without your help!"

Wei Wuxian looked so grateful now Lan Wangji felt guilty.

And it was as if Shen Qingqiu knew about it, because he glared at Lan Wangji in a very unfriendly way. Until Xie Lian nudged him.

"It's not much." Lan Wangji spoke with his eyes straight into Wei Wuxian. He didn't care about the other two–even Xie Lian–outside of work, and he wanted to get to know this fascinating chef better.

"But it meant a lot for me." Wei Wuxian finally looked at his friends and helped take their bags to the kitchen. "Guys, we will have few other guests coming, thankfully I bought supplies before I went back home."

"Supplies? You mean, you went to the old store where the creep always looked at you with his creepy look on his face?" Shen Qingqiu didn't care about other things anymore but the psycho boy who looked like he was going to gobble Wei Wuxian alive. "You should tell me the next time you want to go there, I don't like it when you go there alone, capisce?"

"Qiuqiu, I'm not a kid anymore." Wei Wuxian hissed at Shen Qingqiu while his eyes darted to Lan Wangji–who was speaking with Xie Lian. "Please don't embarrass me in front of my neighbor…" He took the supply out of the bags and started to put them away according to their label obsessively–which Shen Qingqiu noticed that he only did when he was feeling distressed.

Which would happen because the hot neighbor was here.

And it all happened between the time he was stuck in traffic and was late for a mere thirty minutes, goddamn it.

"Xianxian, you better take your distance from that man, he's… he's a predator, if you know what I mean." Shen Qingqiu sighed. Of course, as much as he would want it, he couldn't forbid Wei Wuxian to do whatever he liked, they were already grown ups, and grown ups didn't need to be told what to do. But still, he had to try, because Wei Wuxian and Xie Lian were his family, and he didn't want anything bad to happen to them–even if he had to be the bad guy.

"We just met like thirty minutes ago, for chrissake Qiuqiu, what's he gonna do? Kill me? I am very good at using my knives, don't you remember?" Wei Wuxian threw his hands up in exasperation. He loved Shen Qingqiu, but sometimes his best friend was very protective toward him, it was kinda… suffocating. "I know you mean well, I do.  But you gotta trust me that I can handle myself." Wei Wuxian patted Shen Qingqiu's back. "And really, don't worry, I spilled the kimchi paste on his shirt and I offered to wash it for him, that's why he was topless." Wei Wuxian tried to ease Shen Qingqiu's anxiety, and it looked like it worked, until he mentioned the other two.

"Oh, by the way, Lan Zhan's cousins are going to join us tonight. They're gonna bring meat and we're gonna eat together, and try and get to know each other better, you know, being civilized neighbors and all."

Shen Qingqiu opened his mouth to say something but Xie Lian pinched his waist hard so he shut it up right away and glared at Xie Lian who didn't even glance at him.

"Sure, the more the merrier, right Qiuqiu?" Xie Lian smiled at Shen Qingqiu who gritted his teeth in frustration, and finally raised his hands up in surrender.

"Fine, do whatever you like, just don't say that I don't warn you." Then he took the bags and disappeared into the basement where they made their own cured meat.

Wei Wuxian was confused with Shen Qingqiu's display of hostility toward Lan Wangji, and wondered if something happened between them that he didn't know about. But then the front door was knocked once again and Hua Cheng came in together with the third hunk–the one Wei Wuxian recognized as the buff one–and they brought a lot of meat and other stuff with them.

"Wei Ying, that's my other cousin, Luo Binghe. You probably knew him from the famous tv series and movie franchise where he played the hero." Lan Wangji introduced Luo Binghe to Wei Wuxian. "And Binghe, this is our neighbor, the famous Chef Wei, the owner of Purgatory."

"Thank god there's a chef here, otherwise we would order another take out… again." Hua Cheng walked toward Xie Lian–who suddenly acted shy. "Hello again, Xie Lian." He grinned and offered him a bottle of beer. "This must be fate–me, and you, meeting again like this…"

"Again?" Wei Wuxian quirked his brow in surprise then he looked at Xie Lian in question.

"Ah, we met this afternoon at the bar, right after you left, Xianxian." Xie Lian answered him while still looking shy.

"Oh? What a coincidence then." Wei Wuxian shook Luo Binghe's hand. "I'm Wei Wuxian. You're Luo Binghe right?"

"Yes. Nice to meet you, Chef Wei." Luo Binghe flashed his pearly whites, only strangely, it didn't affect Wei Wuxian that much. "I hope we can all be friends, you know, with us being neighbors and all." He was suddenly turning red and became shy–unlike the hot blooded hero who punched his way out in the television–and strangely it made Wei Wuxian had an urge to pat him on his head. He was just like a big puppy like that.

"Sure, please drop by if you need something, sugar or anything." Wei Wuxian grinned.

"Is that invitation extended to all of us?" Lan Wangji suddenly appeared beside him, and with him still topless and emanated a very intoxicating scent, Wei Wuxian almost embarrassed himself by wanting to sniff it up close. There was a hint of something masculine under the sandalwood and citrus scent and he was hooked on it just like an animal scenting his mate.

This could be the first entry to his sex blog later. The intoxicating masculine smell that made you want to give him everything and…

No. Wait.

What the fuck Wei Wuxian?

He had just been given a sex blog to write and the first thing he thought about was surrendering to his boss' boss scent? What was he? An animal?

Get a fucking grip.

He forced himself to smile amidst the lust he suddenly felt in his gut, and looked Lan Wangji in the eyes.

Which was a mistake, because his eyes were brilliantly shining like molten gold, and there was a hint of something there, something that he didn't dare to even dream about. And it made him quickly lowered his own silver eyes and cleared his throat before he answered.

"Sure, Lan Zhan. Please, drop by anytime you need something from me. Whether it's sugar, or if you want my help cooking something."

Lan Wangji did not answer right away, instead he tilted his head to observe the handsome chef, and he finally smiled.

"I will definitely take you up on that."