"Hmm..." Wei Wuxian tapped his nose. "Clear river chasing the winter breeze. Makes sense. Your name is Jiang Cheng, literally 'clear river'. And Lan Xichen is more or less a winter breeze, typical Lan description. But you know, A-Cheng, your dream has meaning."

"Hmph."

"No, really. Dreaming of running water is usually foresight of a big change to come."

"Ah, guess I'll fix my loose nuts then. My brain will start working again? Great."

"Winter breeze is usually 'hardships'. Thing is... A-Cheng, it's mostly you pushing Xichen-ge away. Not you chasing after him and him running away. Maybe the nightmare of yours is you realizing what you should have done instead?"

Jiang Wanyin shrugged. "Sounds likely. Too late now."

"Never too late–"

"Forget it, it's over. And don't change the topic. Back to you."

"Nothing left to change, A-Cheng, we're both in this together. We're both a mess, aren't we?"

"Mhm."

"Wei Ying!"

"Holy–" Wei Wuxian stumbled up and pasted on his smile. "Lan Zhan! You're back."

"Wei Ying, I need you to promise me."

"P– promise you what?"

Lan Wangji stopped walking only an inch away from Wei Wuxian, and slid his thumb across his lower eyelids, flicking the uncalled-for tears away. "No more hiding from me. Not a single word about you will you hide from me hereafter."

"Lan Zhan..."

"We promised. Vowed to share everything, good or bad, happy or sad; for the husband contract, remember? Two months ago?"

Wei Ying bobbed his head.

"I told you all. You're the one hiding."

"I'm so sorry..."

"It's not your fault. We'll find a way, mn?"

"There is no way," Wei Ying gulped.

"Then doesn't matter. I'm not leaving you."

Wei Wuxian sighed and shook his head. "Lan Zhan... you..."

"Fuddy-duddy?"

Both smiled helplessly.

"Ahem, ahem."

"Oh, A... A-Cheng..."

"Never mind, pretend I don't exist. Well then, I'll leave you two alone?"

"No, no, we're going back, A-Yuan's at home."

"YOU LEFT HIM ALONE?"

"No! He's at his new friend's place. That little Lan boy, Jingyi."

"Ah, okay. Safe journey home, then! Do update me on Wen Xu! And be careful."

"Thank you," Lan Wangji inclined his head to Jiang Cheng and took Wei Wuxian onto the boat they came on.

Did he... thank me? For what? Consoling A-Xian? Sheesh. Damn hell of a dear husband. Jiang Cheng chuckled to himself, watching the boat drift away. Sure, A-Xian, we're both a mess. The difference is... he kicked a pebble as he sauntered back inside. You have someone by your side.

**********

Wei Wuxian sat cross-legged on the boat, watching the sunset with Lan Zhan as they floated back to Gusu. After quite some time of fidgeting and thumb-twiddling, he took a deep breath and turned around.

"Lan Zhan–"

"Wei Ying–"

"..."

"..."

"Y... you go first."

"Mn," Lan Zhan nodded apologetically. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm sorry... how far did Shushu tell you?"

"Curse, demonic cultivation, your parents, A-Yuan, this year."

Wei Ying pouted. "He told you EVERYthing!"

"Mn."

"I... sorry, Lan Zhan. I'm really sorry, truly, sincerely. I just... I don't want you to have the same fate and I don't want A-Yuan left alone either. Plus... not going to lie, had a slight doubt..." Wei Wuxian gulped and continued in as unnoticeable a whisper as possible, "I was kinda afraid you would want to stay away after finding out..."

"What?" Lan Wangji sighed. "Seriously? Wei Ying," he shook his head and turned around on the seat, taking Wei Ying's hands in his own. "I'll never regret loving you."

"Even if it means dying?"

"Mn."

"Haaaaaaaa what am I to do with you, Lan Wangji, ah Lan Wangji?"

...if Lan Zhan is going to just let things be and follow me...

Then...

....................I can't take the risk.

It's time to put an end to this.

"Wei Ying? What are you thinking?"

"Oh, nothing, just wondering. Because of this curse... I had been warned not to become too attached to anything that may be long-term unless I wanted to leave it incomplete. Now you know why I kicked you away long ago, like that kiss on the morning after the marriage, remember?" 

"Mn. No need to, not anymore." 

"I know, love. So Shushu told you about the great woman demonic cultivator?"

"Xia Xiaoning? Mn."

"Nice."

"Actually... Wei Ying, I have a question."

"Mhm?"

"We never learned about demonic cultivation. I know from the Forbidden section there were two. But only Xia Xiaoning was described. The other...?"

"This Qiren Shifu doesn't want you charming Lans knowing, does he? Well then, let me enlighten you. The second fellow was this young boy who was kicked out of his home for being an illegitimate child and roamed the woods until he somehow found Xia Xiaoning's old secret place for practice. He studied directly what she did. Made him as great as her but there was a difference. Bigtime."

"Motive?"

"Right. Xia Xiaoning wanted to save her husband and break the Wei family curse. Whereas this young fellow only wanted the powers to get revenge on his family."

"For."

"Huh?"

"Revenge for his family."

Wei Wuxian laughed. "Not a grammar error, Lan Zhan. I meant 'on'. His family never treated him right. Now you might wonder why he needed demonic cultivation and that alone, to avenge himself. That was only because his spiritual core was weak. He wasn't much of a cultivator and wasn't strong enough to defend himself on his own. Dark thoughts, darkened heart... et voila. You have a villain with a good backstory."

Lan Wangji nodded along.

"Though you know, one can't really call him a villain. All Xuanyu wanted was to avenge himself. Kill his aunt, uncle, and cousin brother, and two bullies, and ta-da! Having completed his job, he died."

"Died?"

"Yep. As I said, Xuanyu's golden core was way too weak to endure something dangerously strong like demonic cultivation."

Lan Wangji raised his hand to stop the chatter for a minute. "Xuan.......yu?"

"Mo Xuanyu, yes." 

"The boy who was expelled from the Jin sect?"

"Another of Jin Guangshan's bastard children who were tossed out, yes. Ahh, Lan Zhan, Wen Qing was wrong when she said gossip rarely reaches Cloud Recesses! You know so much!" He chuckled.

Having had his curiosity appeased, Lan Zhan was satisfied. He watched as Wei Wuxian stared ahead, ensorcelled by the sunset.

"Mn," he nudged his waist.

Wei Wuxian twisted his neck to find a bucketful of loquats sitting in front of them. "I didn't even realize we came to Caiyi Town! Come on, Lan Zhan, let's get off."

"No." Lan Wangji waned his hand. "A bit further, across the lake and back."

"That's a long boat ride..."

"Sizhui's safe at Jingyi's place."

"Hm..."

"Worrying about anything else except the present is prohibited."

"WHAT? Since when is that a rule?"

"Since now."

"Lan ZHAN!"

"Not now."

"He's my child, of course, I'll worry! Plus, we've so much to do: contact Wen Qing about Wen Xu, and I need to get a suit stitched for A-Yuan for Shijie's birthday–"

"That can wait till tomorrow. Same with Wen Xu, he's already escaped anyway. And you mean our child. For now, it's date night, nothing more to think about but the sunset," Lan Zhan pointed to the distant globe of gold melting into the lake's shimmering water.

Wait a second-

DATE NIGHT?

"Lan Zhan, did you just call it...?"

"Mn?"

"N- nothing." Change topic, Wei Wuxian, change the damned topic... "Ey, Lan Zhan, I meant to ask. What's with Sizhui's name? Think, chase? What's the connection?"

"Chase as in pursue. Thinking and chasing would together mean yearning," Lan Zhan nonchalantly recited, nibbling on the tip of a loquat.

Wei Wuxian blinked. "Yearning... ah, you said about two years... and I've hidden all this from you for so long..."

"It's fine. We'll be fine."

"Of course! We'll get through this," Wei Ying nodded happily, thinking about his short plan.

"Together," Lan Zhan clasped his hand.

"Right. Ey, you know? You're starting to be more and more like Heiguang-Jun."

"As in?"

"Well. Lan Wangji isn't someone to talk so much and ramble so nonchalantly. But Heiguang-Jun is different. Much more casual."

"Mn. Much freer." Lan Zhan frowned. "Is it a bad change?"

"Said who? It's wonderful. I'll still find you my beautiful husband whichever way you behave, so it's fine."

Lan Wangji smiled. "Mn." 

**********

"Diedie! Baba!"

"A-Yuan!" Wei Wuxian swung his son around mid-air, holding him horizontally by the waist like a lark.

"Hanguang-Jun, Wei Qianbei!" A second boy hopped up to them with his parents. All three bowed low to them.

"Mn. Thank you," Lan Zhan bowed back.

Wei Wuxian scrunched up his nose at his husband's formality, stepped forth and flung his arms around the mother's neck. "Xihua jiejie, thank you for taking care of him. You and Lan Liuya shixiong are truly amazing."

"Not much at all, don't mention it, Wuxian," Feng Xihua, the young mother, hugged him back.

"Wei Qianbei, look!"

Wei Wuxian knelt down and took the paper the little boy held up. "Ooh, pretty! You drew?"

"We both did! Right, Sizhui?"

"Mn!" Weilan Yuan nodded. "Diedie, look. I drew the forest: grass, trees. Gege drew the sky and clouds and birds."

"And the bear?" Lan Zhan asked, smiling.

"Bear?" Weilan Yuan batted his lashes.

Wei Wuxian nudged him sharply. "He means beast."

"Ah, this monster. It's something Liuya shixiong told he met on a night hunt."

"A demonic beast, more or less a standing tiger," Lan Liuya grinned.

T... tiger... Lan Zhan pursed his lips and looked away hurriedly, embarrassed. 

**********

"Tut-tut-tut," Wei Wuxian shook his head as he walked back to the Jingshi. A-Yuan dozed off on Lan Zhan's shoulder. "Lan Zhan... you really can't say something like that you know? When referring to something a child drew, always go for the general concept. For a child, it's all the same. Crows, eagles, not much of a difference, both have wings, both can fly. They'll just draw a pair of intersecting curves in the sky. Bears, rabbits, also no, both are animals on land with four feet, fur and ears. If anything, they know the size difference. That's it. Be careful next time if you don't want to make your son feel bad about his drawing skills. Okay?"

"Understood, laoshi."

Wei Wuxian smirked. "Cheeky, you can be." He sighed. "You know... that's what's amazing about a child."

"It's all the same?"

"Yep. Like, see. Even if his granduncle was someone cool and understanding, or someone strict and ready-to-kick-your-butt... he'll still call him Ta Shifu. Grandmaster of the Lans? Head Elder of the Lan sect? Who cares? Not little Sizhui!" Wei Wuxian tossed his head back and laughed. "Ey, what are you staring at?"

"You. Words tinkling like raindrops on roses, laughs roaring like the fiercest of lions. You're truly fascinating, Wei Ying."

"Tsk, cheeky AND cheesy!" Wei Wuxian punched his waist and sprinted to the privacy of their home. 

**********

"And therefore, the common theory is that the HeiBianLong has gone into hibernation. It's been a century since the last sighting." Wei Wuxian patted his documents down on the table.

"Wei Qianbei!" A hand shot up into the air.

Yet another. And another.

"Hm?" Wei Ying smiled. "Well, well, curious topic, isn't it, beasts? Ask. Let's have the one at the back first."

"Wei Qianbei, why is the HeiBianLong's 'Long' the same as the Long in dragon?"

"Well, what do you think?" Wei Wuxian cocked his eyebrow.

"It is a dragon?" The junior's eyes were twinkling.

"More or less. And you, second question?"

"Wei Qianbei, mine's regarding the dragon too. Does it mean the HeiBianLong is just like a dragon, albeit black in colour?"

"No, it cannot fly. No, it does not breathe fire."

"Oh..."

"Also, mind you. Read the textbook properly. Hei is black. Long is dragon. All correct. But there's "Bian". Which means 'change'."

"Wei Qianbei, the name," the third questioner spoke up. "It literally means 'Black Change Dragon'?"

"Mhm."

"So a dragon-shaped animal that is usually black but can change colour?"

Wei Wuxian chuckled. "Dragon-shaped, my foot. I really wonder who named the damned thing. No, let me correct all of you. What's the word for chameleon?"

"Bianselong," the class chorused.

"Good. Whoever named the beast just cut off one repeating character for convenience. Black Chameleon. Heise Bianselong. Sounds too long, I guess, so yes. Basically, the beast is a massive chameleon. We just studied its features, which are?"

The class sang, "Four feet wide, ten feet long."

"Excellent. Because of it having scales and being deadly and that gigantic, some people just called it a dragon back then. You should know better."

The children nodded along.

"Now then. Before we wrap up. One by one, list out the features. You, start."

"Ten feet long."

"Tends to be black, camouflaged at night."

"Changes colour to fit its environment or emotions."

"Rumoured to reside in the western valleys."

"Long and flexible tail usually used to hang from trees."

"Sharp ridged back."

"Venomous and sharp scales."

Clap-clap-clap! "Aha! Boy, would I love to show my amazing students off to Lan Zhan sometime," Wei Wuxian grinned.

The Lans smiled at each other, delighted to have pleased their picky teacher this well.

Wei Wuxian wasn't an easy teacher. One would say Lan Wangji was the toughest teacher, seeing as he would unleash his write-the-homework-three-hundred-times punishments on wrong students. But Wei Wuxian?

A different case.

One answer wrong and he wouldn't mind. Two, three? He would give the great-glare-of-disappointment. Somehow, that... was worse than anything else.

"I finally pleased him!" A Lan girl sitting in the corner who had given the last answer heaved a sigh.

"Yes, Lan Xing, I'll let you off on your mistake earlier today. Good job."

The entire class beamed.

"Show off to me?" A voice called from the doorstep.

The class stood and bowed low. "Hanguang-Jun."

Lan Wangji nodded once to let them return to their seats. "Show off what?" He smiled gently at Wei Ying from the door.

Whispers erupted.

"That thing on his face, is that what I think it is?"

"He's... smiling...?"

"Woah... Even Hanguang-Jun knows how to smile?"

"Oi, shush!"

"But it's pretty!"

"Keep quiet!"

"Ahem," Wei Wuxian cleared his throat. "Boys, yes he knows how to smile. Girls, control yourselves, for God's sake," he laughed aloud. "Quick reminder, his husband is watching you," he wagged his fingers between his silver eyes and the grinning class. "Lan Zhan, yep, show off to you just how amazing my class is. I have them five beasts to read on yesterday, we revised today and they've memorised each one's list of features by heart! Hmph! Bet you can't do that."

Lan Wangji nodded. "Of course, Wei Ying's the best. Wei Ying, come with me, quick."

"Erm... class dismissed!"

"Thank you, Wei Qianbei," they bowed and walked out the class in single file. Wei Wuxian hurried out with Lan Zhan.

"What's wrong?"

Lan Zhan frowned. "Everything. We have a guest. Again."