The limousine purred away. Leaving them standing at the beginning of a set of stairs that led up to a pair of great oak doors, complete with huge knockers in the shape of orchid flowers.

Wei Ying pressed the buzzer expecting it to be just that, but chimes rang out, loud and clear, a melody that went on for quite some time.

"They might be in their garden..." Jiang Cheng mused.

"Or the toilet..."

That produced silly giggles.

They were still laughing when one of the doors opened to reveal an elderly gentleman, obviously their butler.

"Welcome." He drawled, looking down his nose at them.

If he was curious at all, it was hidden behind his spectacles.   When he closed the door, there were echoes.

Wei Ying was already feeling intimidated, but now they were standing in a huge foyer, with black and white marble checks on the floor, and antique wooden panelling stretching high up towards the ceiling that was miles away.

Crystal chandeliers lit the massive space, and works of art were hung in prominent positions all along the many walls.

"Please, follow me." The butler began walking down a hallway to a white door. "This is the drawing room. Please wait here. One of the masters will come soon."

Wei Ying closed his mouth and nodded but the man had already closed the door, so they looked around.

It was a very polished room, again littered with antiques. There was a blue porcelain vase on their mantelpiece and sets of photos on either side. Wei Ying guessed it was Lan Zhan's parents, and the other photo he recognised as being Uncle Qiren with his nephews.

This room was all mahogany and ivory, contrasts surrounding them, but somehow the space looked bigger than it was. And colder too. There were white very clean looking couches on either side of the room, too far away from each other for the users to have a proper conversation. Wooden chairs were scattered around the room, and Wei Ying guessed it would be so people could sit closer together just so they wouldn't have to shout.

In the centre of the room, there was a mahogany coffee table with a plain white porcelain vase containing a bouquet of fresh orchids...it was like an oasis in the desert for Wei Ying, needing something familiar to feel comfortable in these ostentatious surroundings.

The door opened then, and Uncle Qiren came in. He stared at both of the young men, a disapproving look in his eyes, before sitting down in a chair by the fireside.

Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng had chosen to taint one of the couches closest to the fire anyway, and now they were really close to Uncle Qiren.

"Who are you?" He asked after ten minutes of an awkward silence.

Wei Ying cleared his throat and introduced themselves to him.

"Why are your names different, if you are brothers?" He asked frostily.

"I am adopted, Sir." Wei Ying replied, hoping the addition of that small word would ease this going-to-be-worse conversation.

A cloud formed above his head, casting a shadow over his face.

"And what are your intentions regarding my nephew?" He bit out.

Wei Ying was just about to answer when the doors were thrown open by a very much out of breath Lan Zhan and Lan XiChen, who took a moment to straighten his clothes before entering.

"Welcome to our home." XiChen said warmly.

Wei Ying immediately felt better, and he smiled brightly in return.

There was a loud crash, as Lan Zhan had knocked over a glass antique.

Accidentally, of course.

Immediately, a uniform wearing maid came to clean it up, with Lan Zhan apologising insincerely. He came and stood next to Wei Ying, and following his example, XiChen came to stand by Jiang Cheng.

The door opened again and it was the stuffy butler announcing dinner was served.

Uncle Qiren harrumphed and stood up.

As they began to follow him out, Lan Zhan held Wei Ying back, waiting.

The moment the door closed, his mouth found Wei Ying’s, kissing him with an ardour that shocked Wei Ying, his fingers crushing Lan Zhan's collar in a death grip as he was ravaged.

It was a full minute before he was let go of, and Wei Ying felt dizzy enough to lean against the other.

"I missed you too." He whispered.

Golden eyes blazed, threatening to kiss him again, but Wei Ying held his fingers against his mouth.

"Thank you for lunch. Can I ask why you weren't around today?" He asked.

"Later. We'll be late. Don't want to upset Uncle...also no talking at dinner." Lan Zhan grabbed his hand and all but raced out of drawing room.

No talking at dinner...? Wei Ying was still trying to get his head around that, when they entered a really big dining room. Four chairs were placed in the middle and a set was readied at one end. The table could have seated thirty people.

Maybe the no talking rule was in place because people couldn't actually hear each other, especially if they were sitting at opposite ends of that table, Wei Ying thought with a smirk, accidentally catching Uncle Qiren's eye. The elder frowned.

Wei Ying gulped.

Since Jiang Cheng was already seated next to XiChen, Wei Ying was made to sit next to Lan Zhan.

Their place setting had thirty different golden utensils, the cutlery shining in the candlelight from four tall white candlesticks along the centre of the table, with another vase filled with fresh orchids as a centrepiece. Four chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a bright light over them all.

The covers were removed from their dishes, and Wei Ying felt something cold pressed into his hand.

When he looked, it was a bottle of chilli sauce, again his favourite brand. He turned to look at Lan Zhan, knowing very well that if they had been alone, Lan Zhan would have found out first hand how grateful Wei Ying was. He poured a liberal amount over his dish, politely ignoring an outraged clearing of a throat in the distance.

Lan Zhan kept his face looking forwards, but his left hand rested upon Wei Ying’s knee, both a comfort and a temptation. Wei Ying could feel the warmth of his palm separated only by a thin layer of cotton, and he blushed.

They finished their meal in silence, the usually talkative Jiang Cheng also uncharacteristically silent, perhaps the general feeling of awkwardness making him unwilling to break the quietness.

And then, Lan Zhan stood up.

"I have an announcement." He said clearly, looking at his uncle.

Uncle Qiren frowned deeper.

"Wei Ying and I are to marry."

Wei Ying had been sipping from a delicate champagne glass at the time, and he really should have waited, because those words caused him to choke sharply, and the accidental pressure from his fingers caused the stem to snap off.

He looked at Lan Zhan in a panic, but Lan Zhan was staring at his uncle, daring him to say something.

Wei Ying tugged on his sleeve, but Lan Zhan was locked in some kind of glaring contest with his elder, and neither wanted to back down by the looks of it.

"You never said anything?" Jiang Cheng accused him, also standing up.

"Then, I would also like to make an announcement."XiChen stood up too.

Wei Ying looked around at everyone, his mouth hanging open. This dinner party had taken on a surreal turn and he didn’t know whether there was something in the drink or maybe he had caught a fever due to the rain...but all of a sudden he wasn't feeling too great...

Lan Zhan switched his glare over to his brother.

"Jiang Cheng and I are dating." XiChen grabbed Jiang Cheng’s hand, lifting it and kissing the back of his hand.

Wei Ying slumped back in his seat, dazed.

Uncle Qiren had turned into an octopus, changing colours faster than said creature. He was a bright purple now.

And then he stood up too.

"Both of you will break up with these gold diggers!"

"What?" Jiang Cheng turned to face Uncle Qiren. "WHAT DID YOU CALL ME? US?" He glanced at Wei Ying before giving uncle a scathing look.

"Isn't that true? Otherwise what would a couple of florists want with my boys?"

"Florists? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO?" Jiang Cheng was furious, and XiChen wasn't stopping him.

"We have to marry. We slept together." Lan Zhan was coming out with grenade after grenade.

Wei Ying’s head was spinning now.

"We did?" He asked.

"You did??" Jiang Cheng turned on him, and then aimed his ire at Lan Zhan. "What do you mean, you slept with him?"

Wei Ying was too busy shrugging helplessly, not that anyone was looking at him.

"Yes, we slept together." Lan Zhan bowed.

"It does not matter." Uncle Qiren stated firmly. "You both will cease to meet with these...these-"

"I'm a florist by trade, but you are talking to the 2021 Software Engineer award winner for best enterprising design. And he is a graphic developer. We get paid in millions of pounds, really, if anyone could be accused of being a gold digger here, it's them!"

"Uncle, you must have heard of the Cheng Corp.? That's their parents." XiChen added smugly.

Cheng Corp. was a multimillion pound International company, a rising star in the business world.

Lan Zhan was smiling, but only Wei Ying could tell. And he'd had enough of being the only one still sitting down. He stood up...but that was a mistake, because he swayed dangerously.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan caught him, alarmed all of a sudden.

"Fresh air..." Wei Ying mumbled.

Lan Zhan picked him up and strode out of the room, leaving a shell-shocked uncle and smug brothers.

Thankfully, it had stopped raining ages ago, and the cool air helped clear his head.

"Lan Zhan...you can put me down now." Wei Ying said, softly. Though if he told the truth, he liked being carried. Not many men were strong enough to do that, but Lan Zhan evidently was, and it was hot.

"No. Like carrying Wei Ying."

Wei Ying felt giddy with joy, and decided to act on it. He reached up and crashed their lips together. Lan Zhan kissed him back passionately, enough to stop walking for the moment and glide his hot lips over Wei Ying’s, pouring all his love into this breathless kiss. Somehow they managed to end up leaning against a tree, and Lan Zhan began kissing his throat, leaving his mouth free.

There was something he had to remember though, and Wei Ying was having a hard time recalling what it could be. And then he got it!

"Lan Zhan...Lan Zhan, my love...hold on..." He couldn't stop the moan leaving his mouth, as Lan Zhan bit him, annoyed at being disturbed.

Both were panting heavily, as golden eyes burned into silver ones.

"Did you mean it? What you said?" Wei Ying asked, holding his breath out of choice now.

"Mn. Love Wei Ying. Have to marry Wei Ying, to protect." Lan Zhan looked ashamed for the first time that night.

"You've lost me, my love." Wei Ying said, cupping his face. "I got the first part, and I love you so much too. But the "have to marry" bit? Not at all. And why do you have to protect me?"

"Have to marry, want to marry...same thing. But must protect Wei Ying...your reputation must be spotless. And we spent the night together. It is the only way." Lan Zhan suddenly pulled him away from the tree and continued to walk.

Wei Ying had been too preoccupied with kissing this lovely man to notice where they were going, but it turned out there was an entire forest in the back garden of their mansion. They strode, well, it was Lan Zhan who strode, while Wei Ying ran to keep up with him, deep into the trees until Wei Ying saw a light among the tree trunks. As they got closer, he saw it was a marquee.

Lan Zhan unzipped the cream tarpaulin and led him inside. Little LED lights hung from poles all around the structure, casting a magical glow around the small space. Wei Ying gazed around in awe at the sheer amount of work Lan Zhan must have put in to achieve this whole look, and when he turned around to say that, Lan Zhan was on one knee, fear creeping into those beautiful golden eyes.

"Wei Ying, Wei WuXian, will you marry me?" He was looking so...so expectantly...earnestly waiting for his answer, that Wei Ying’s eyes filled with tears as he sank to his knees too.

"You want to marry this gold digger?" He laughed through his tears.

"Wei Ying is not a gold digger. Wei Ying is my boyfriend." Lan Zhan said it so proudly, Wei Ying was really laughing now.

Wei Ying was thinking about Lan Zhan seriously. They had met a few months ago...yet neither doubted how he felt. And he loved Lan Zhan with all of his heart.

Lan Zhan obviously felt the same way, so...could they make this work?

"Yes!! I will marry you!! We'll get married! Oh, I love you so much!!" He kissed Lan Zhan enthusiastically, held ever so tightly.

Later, lying on that cold floor, wrapped up in each other, Lan Zhan slipped a platinum ring with a lotus flower engraved on it, upon his third finger. He kissed the ring and then its new owner with everything in his expanding heart, knowing that if Wei Ying was by his side, he would never lack for anything ever again.

"Oh, my love, I almost forgot!" Wei Ying sat up in a panic. He stuck his hand inside his pocket and pulled out a red rose.

It was slightly crumpled, but Wei Ying kissed it before giving it to Lan Zhan.

"You've been giving me one of these for every single day since we met...but it's my first time giving one to you." Wei Ying blushed sweetly. "I hope you like it."

"Mn." Lan Zhan smiled. "Love Wei Ying. Will give Wei Ying a flower every day, forever."

The End.

A/N

So the end of another series. How did you guys like it? Any thoughts? I really hope you liked it...

Good night and dream of chocolate!

Thank you for reading.