Monday 38 days to go for the Full Moon Festival

Lan Zhan was sitting in a lotus position, meditating...when something warm and smelling of lotus flowers and baby powder came and sat in his lap. He opened his eyes to find Wei Ying’s little Radish sleepily staring up at him.

"Pwetty Gege...wanna sleep...?"

Lan Zhan really wasn't sure what that meant because it didn't sound like a question? But A-Yuan seemed to be waiting for him to say something and so he nodded. Perhaps that was the right answer, because A-Yuan closed his eyes and fell asleep again, sinking into his warmth.

Lan Zhan found that meditation was possible even if there was another person sleeping on your person, and he smiled gently, continuing with his morning routine.

He didn't have to go into work because Uncle Qiren had kind of forced him to have a holiday in order to sort out his new home...and he knew Wei Ying was not aware of this tiny little fact...yet.

Today was going to be fun.

He just about settled down and was concentrating on his breathing when there was a thud, muffled through the wall that separated the two rooms. And then there was more noise...and just as suddenly, his door burst open.

Wei Ying was standing there clutching a blanket and looking frantic, but sleepy. He saw A-Yuan and was immediately relieved.

"There he is!" He whispered fondly...

Lan Zhan held his breath.

He had never seen Wei Ying like this before, awake (mostly) and even more beautiful than when he was properly dressed.

Right now Wei Ying was wearing his pyjamas - something was thundering in his chest at that - and his gorgeous hair was loose, framing his face.

On another day, Lan Zhan would have thrust his hands into that lustrous hair and pulled Wei Ying into a fiery kiss...but he remembered the no romantic touching rule...

He frowned, wondering how to get past that...and inspiration struck.

So he missed Wei Ying saying something and then coming to sit next to him.

The next thing he knew, Wei Ying had fallen asleep again, this time his head in Lan Zhan’s lap, pulling the blanket over his head.

He was so adorable!

And that meant Lan Zhan couldn't move.

Luckily Lan Zhan usually meditated for around an hour, so a little bit more would be fine...

But now, meditation was doing sod all to calm his mind.

Wei Ying, beautiful and bright, was right there like a shining star, literally fallen into his lap...well, just his head, but it was so distracting!

Every time he thought about breathing in, he saw the way the wind would blow through Wei Ying’s hair when they had sat outside for the picnic yesterday. He wanted to commit the entire day into his memory so that whenever he wanted to, he could pull it out and admire it like a treasured keepsake.

His fingers found Wei Ying’s hair right now, and played with the ebony strands, watching the silkiness fall through his fingers like water. It was so soft and shiny and the weight of these two people so close to him was unimaginably comforting.

Time passed by like ocean waves and suddenly, XiChen was knocking on his open door.

"Breakfast time?" He questioned, looking too smug for no good reason at the other two people sleeping soundly.

"Maybe a little bit later, Xiongzhang." Lan Zhan looked down at the sleeping beauties, his arms possessively around them.

"Alright. I shall tell Cook to keep your breakfasts warm." He grinned once more before leaving. "See you tonight, Didi."

Lan Zhan just nodded, unwilling to make any unnecessary noise.

But the time ticked on, and Lan Zhan knew if he didn't get up now, he was going to be late to meet the man coming to see about the two pools he wanted to install, at the back of his new house.

It was a house at the moment...but perhaps it would turn into a home soon enough...

***********

In the end, he had to wake both father and son up at nine thirty.

There was a flurry of activity as Wei Ying looked at the time, thanked Lan Zhan for letting him sleep and suggested that next time, no matter how hard it was, he was to wake Wei Ying up promptly by eight. He even warned Lan Zhan how hard it would be, but made him promise anyway.

Then he whisked A-Yuan away to get ready, and Lan Zhan could not stop himself from listening to how much fun they were having in the adjacent room.

"If A-Yuan brushes his teeth well, he can have an extra carrot, okay?" Wei Ying promised.

"I wuv you, Baba..." came back the response. "And Baba?"

"Hmm...my beautiful little Radish? What is it?"

There were muffled sounds of struggling, an impolite not-cursing, and twenty minutes later, A-Yuan returned with Wei Ying still in his pyjamas.

"Lan Zhan...um...could I trouble you to just keep an eye on him? I swear I won't be more than ten minutes!" He placed three fingers on the side of his head like a salute.

"Mn. A-Yuan can tell me a story." Lan Zhan opened his arms and the chubby baby ran into them, giggling.

"I don't know any!" He exclaimed dramatically.

It really reminded Lan Zhan of Wei Ying, the characteristics naturally rubbing off on his son.

Lan Zhan thought quickly. His mother would often spin random tales and make them so interesting, Lan Zhan often forgot to eat, so enthralled was he, lost within the worlds she was painting.

She made every scene come alive, just by her animated words, and for a second...he really missed his mother.

She would have loved both these precious people dearly.

A-Yuan was still looking up at him, his rosy cheeks turned up in anticipated delight. His smile was wide and free, and his chocolate eyes were sparkling in excitement.

Lan Zhan fell in love with him.

Maybe he was already in love with this beautiful child who had so much love to give. Really, he was a ball of sunshine, full of joy and happiness. He was vaguely aware of Wei Ying gesturing that he was going for his own shower, but all Lan Zhan could do was look into those pretty eyes and drown.

"What would you like to hear a story about?" He asked the child.

"Bunnies." It was an instant reply.

"In a forest, there was once two friends who were rabbits." Lan Zhan began, speaking slowly and softly so A-Yuan had no trouble keeping up. As he continued with the story, A-Yuan was quiet and concentrating on him fully.

Lan Zhan felt as if it was a gift of generosity, this trust that A-Yuan automatically gave to him so abundantly.

He knew other children could be worse, compared with miniature versions of the person who lived in hell...but A-Yuan was just so good...he was definitely an angel.

Just as he finished his happily ever after, Wei Ying burst into the room full of exuberance.

"Baba! Pwetty Gege told me a stowy!" A-Yuan shouted.

"Really?" Wei Ying beamed at Lan Zhan.

Lan Zhan was sure he was having a heart attack. What else would explain the furious pounding of his chest, and a clear feeling of not being able to breathe? And it was that smile which was doing it.

That smile was dangerous.

"That was very kind of Pwetty Gege, isn't it, A-Yuan?" Wei Ying was saying. "So you have to thank him, right?" He encouraged.

Wei Ying didn’t want to admit how much this whole morning had affected him. When he had seen his boy curled up in Lan Zhan’s lap and sleeping so peacefully, it had hit him hard.

There were times when A-Yuan was smaller, and he had just begun teething, he used to cry all night long. Wei Ying remembered thinking how nice it would have been to have a partner, someone whom he could share the responsibility with. Two people was always going to be better than one...and it was with a heavy heart in those days that Wei Ying had to give up this dream.

Now, all of a sudden and so unexpectedly, the Universe had given him Lan Zhan.

But Wei Ying had to pass the test first.

Once Lan Zhan’s home was finished, then he would explore what was between them, maybe even let it grow into something wonderful...but there was no use thinking about that yet.

Still, it had hurt his heart in a good way, seeing how easily A-Yuan had gotten used to Lan Zhan...and he suspected that the same was true for Lan Zhan. From what he could tell, Lan Zhan had led a simple life, with a quiet kind of living. Certainly no children had been present so far...and Wei Ying giggled to himself at what a change had occurred to him.

"Pwetty Gege..." A-Yuan called, waiting for Lan Zhan to look at him.

When he did, A-Yuan gave him a lovely warm kiss on his cheek and thanked him enthusiastically.

"Good boy!" Wei Ying held his arms out and A-Yuan went to him happily.

"It's breakfast time." Lan Zhan told them, already missing the warmth from the baby powder bundle.

They went downstairs and straight into the kitchen. Wei Ying seemed to be rushing and trying to feed A-Yuan and himself in record time, when Uncle Qiren came in and took over.

Lan Zhan questioned him about this.

"Well...the thing is, it's supposed to be my first day at work and already I'm late, and then by proxy, I've made you late too. And I wanted to make a good first impression...that's all. But I've kind of ruined that..." his voice got quieter and quieter.

"There is no need to feel bad." Lan Zhan told him.

Wei Ying looked up into understanding golden eyes full of kindness.

"Sometimes, these things happen. That is all, and tomorrow is another day."

And that was that.

Uncle Qiren was smiling proudly at his nephew, while entertaining the baby who kept trying to pull his whiskers.

He did not seem to mind at all.

Wei Ying returned to his bright self soon after that. It wasn’t in him to keep quiet for long, and he ended up telling them the more crazier of his decorating stories.

By the time they were ready to leave, it was ten thirty.

"I have something to show you." Uncle Qiren announced.

Wei Ying had been wondering how to broach the subject of A-Yuan and Daycare, but Uncle Qiren took care of that with ease.

He took them to the library which was a beautiful room all by itself.

Huge round windows high up along the walls and a skylight let lots of sunshine and light into the room. There were wall to ceiling shelves filled with books of every kind, and every subject there was, and running ladder which passed along the shelves.

The place smelled old but in a good way, full of mystery and magic and new adventures to go on. The scent of papers ancient and new was a perfume all on its own.

There was a book press on one table with bookbinding tools ready to use.

On the large cherry wood table, there was a computer and a printer but it was the other changes that Uncle Qiren had made, which were new but felt just right.

Uncle Qiren had moved the cozy seating to the sides and spread out four tiny tables just the right size for A-Yuan and if he sat on the floor next to him. On each table, there was a new activity ready to explore; one had colouring books and blank papers, with crayons and felt tip pens, another had books on animals, already opened up to show bunnies, and the third had a colourful abacus. The fourth table had a stack of playing cards but instead of the traditional type, these had the alphabet and numbers with illustrations.

Everything looked organised and colourful and welcoming.

Wei Ying took one look at his son, and knew that going to Daycare was a lost cause now.

Uncle Qiren played to win.

A-Yuan was tugging on Wei Ying’s hand but kind of shy at the same time yet filled with a burning need to show his artistic side.

"Baba?" He asked, wanting to do something immediately.

Wei Ying crouched down and gave him the pager. He put it into A-Yuan's front pocket and patted it to reassure himself that it was there.

"My sweet little Radish...Uncle Qiren has offered you a chance to stay here today, instead of Daycare...but what do you want to do?" He asked.

"Sthay." A-Yuan declared with full certainty.

"You're sure?" Wei Ying asked him again. "If you stay here, you have to listen to Uncle Qiren, alright? You have to do whatever he says. That's what good boys do."

"I'm a good boy!" A-Yuan said cheerfully.

"Yes, you are! The bestest boy!" Wei Ying kissed his cheeks and his forehead before letting him go. "Remember, you can call me any time, okay?"

A-Yuan nodded and went off to investigate the nearest table.

Wei Ying watched him for a few seconds, before turning to Lan Zhan, silently agreeing to go.

A-Yuan was so preoccupied with all the different things to do, that he didn't even notice they were leaving. The last words Wei Ying heard was bunnies, and he knew this was it...A-Yuan wasn't going back to Daycare any time soon.

"We should go." Lan Zhan said, catching sight of a frosty Mr. Marshmallow walking towards them, intending to join the other two in the library.

"Sure..." Wei Ying saw Mr. Marshmallow and immediately stopped walking, which was not what Lan Zhan had intended.

They both showed each other mutual love and then Mr. Marshmallow went through the same song and dance as before, which Lan Zhan then used as his excuse to leave.

JingYi was ready to drive them both to the new house.

It was a short trip, and since both of them were lost in their own thoughts, it passed by quickly. Wei Ying had dressed in his same clothes worn yesterday, and he decided he would keep them on, since it wouldn't bother anyone else as he was working alone. He couldn’t stop thinking about A-Yuan and hoping that he would be alright.

Wei Ying had been impressed with the way Uncle Qiren had organised that room with A-Yuan in mind. It was actually a very sweet gesture.

Lan Zhan was thinking about how to tell Wei Ying he was staying, but then he decided not to. The truth was going to come out either way, and then he would see how confident Wei Ying would be after that.

Lan Zhan knew how to play dirty, and he wasn't above pushing his limits when it came to Wei Ying and what he wanted.

"JingYi?"

"Boss?" JingYi parked the car and turned to look at them.

"We are going to have a yard sale, and you will be in charge of that." Lan Zhan told him.

And then he got out of the car.

Wei Ying loved how he unfolded his legs and used movement so gracefully. Lan Zhan was like a dancer when he moved, and Wei Ying appreciated it. He assumed that Lan Zhan would check on what he was going to do today and then leave, so he didn't say anything about that.

There was a man standing next to his car, who they only noticed when they walked up the drive.

Lan Zhan seemed to know who he was and quickly ushered him around to the back of his house rather mysteriously, leaving Wei Ying to open the door and begin work.

Wei Ying fingered the key, admiring the craftsmanship again. The key was so beautiful, and obviously made with love.

It was an honour to be able to use it, see it slide into the lock and turn so smoothly.

He entered the house and closed the door behind him. Lan Zhan had reminded him not be vulnerable like before and let strangers in, even by accident.

He was going to make sure that the incident with Jiang Cheng did not repeat itself.

Meanwhile, there was a lot of work still to do here.

He was just about to get started when the doorbell rang. Wei Ying answered it and found the charity man had arrived with his moving van. Since they had already agreed on what he was taking away, Wei Ying thought nothing of helping him fill it up, because that was cleaning his canvas so to speak.

Once they had cleared away the clutter of too many things, sentimental items whose owners were no longer around, the house would be empty and Wei Ying could really get started.

He had already created simulations on his tablet which would show Lan Zhan what his vision was, and hopefully if Lan Zhan liked it, they would go ahead.

It was sweaty work and before too long, Wei Ying felt hot enough to take his shirt off. The sun was shining brightly too, and by midday, Wei Ying discarded his vest too.

Lan Zhan was just seeing off his guy when he turned around and got an eyeful of a very bare Wei Ying, laughing and joking with the charity guy, as they hauled furniture and empty bookshelves into the van, before arranging the lampshades and knick knacks that were placed on the front lawn.

Wei Ying was obviously hot from the way sweat beaded on his forehead, and down his back. His body was lean with a wiry strength, and right now it was affecting every single part of Lan Zhan’s body.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to kick down a few trees or haul the naughty man inside and push him up against a wall.

Or something...

Lan Zhan frowned.

Was this some ruse by Wei Ying to get Lan Zhan to lose their bet? If so, then it was working because Lan Zhan had never felt so out of control.

But then...even if he didn't know Wei Ying that well yet, he was pretty sure Wei Ying wasn't the type of person who would cheat. And judging from the amount of sweat on his delicious body, he was truly been too hot.

In both ways.

Lan Zhan was positive that the charity guy was looking at Wei Ying far too often in his opinion, and who was to say that his eyes were remaining above Wei Ying’s neck?

No...it wouldn't do at all.

Lan Zhan would have to intervene.

So he stripped off his shirt and went over to help. If he was faster than Wei Ying, the job would be done quicker, and the stranger could leave.

And it was time for a little payback.

If Wei Ying thought he was the only one who could take his shirt off, then he had another thing coming.

Wei Ying had genuinely been too hot to cover up, but when Lan Zhan strode towards them with an expression that could curdle milk, Wei Ying was startled enough to drop an old reading light. Luckily, it didn't break, but Wei Ying’s resolve was close to.

Lan Zhan was basically a walking mass of muscle.

He kept his vest on but since it clung to every curve of his abs, it left nothing to the imagination and Wei Ying was terribly affected. Plus to make matters worse, the charity guy was ogling his Lan Zhan!

How brazen of him!

There was only one thing for it: Wei Ying would have to hurry as well and fill up the van so this pervert could leave.

He stepped on the charity guy's foot to distract him, apologising without a drop of sincerity as he walked past. And he managed to brush past Lan Zhan touching his beautiful body, making it look accidental and the ensuing gasp, clenching of hands and jaw was worth it.

The charity guy was actually innocent in all this, but he did notice that both the men helping him were suddenly quite unfriendly and it didn't make sense at all, not when he'd met them individually before. So he was very glad to get out of there as fast as possible when his van was full. Especially when the most random of things had mysteriously dropped on him, accidentally of course.

The house was far emptier now, when they returned inside. Everything left was now going into the yard sale.

When Lan Zhan went to help Wei Ying again, this time Wei Ying did stop him.

"Haven't you wasted enough time, Lan Zhan? Won't you be super late now?" He asked innocently.

"No." The smug smile was back in full force.

"Huh?" Wei Ying was distracted by those delicious forearms and the rippling biceps as he moved.

"I'm not going to work." Lan Zhan admitted. "Uncle has given me until the full moon festival to get this place ready to live in, to my standards. So...I'm here to stay."

Wei Ying gaped at him.

Lan Zhan smiled back with a hundred percent satisfaction.

*********

The yard sale turned out to be quite the money maker.

JingYi had a hidden knack of chatting to the customers and inadvertently making them buy something, which was truly a talent. No one was safe. If they came to chat, they came to buy, which both Lan Zhan and Wei Ying secretly admired him for.

That left the inside of the house to tackle.

"We're going to need another skip." Wei Ying mourned on the threshold of the bedroom.

"Mn. We can get one." Lan Zhan said easily.

He had all but thrown Wei Ying’s shirt at him in passing, and luckily Wei Ying knew when he was pushing someone's limits. Plus he had no actual reason not to, so that was that.

"Why don't you keep the bed?" Wei Ying said in the middle of throwing himself on it and bouncing a few times. "The springs are in good condition."

Lan Zhan wanted to do that to him too, and he could name something else that was in good condition too...

"Uncle says it is not good to sleep in someone else's bed. Bad JuJu. So we will buy a new one." He had a tone.

"That's fine I guess." Wei replied pondering, and then he brightened immediately. "I can be your bed tester, Lan Zhan! What kind do you like? Hard for a straight back, or so soft you can feel yourself swallowed up by marshmallows?" He carried on chattering, completely oblivious to the many innuendos and hidden meanings in his speech, and all the while Lan Zhan was dying.

His ears had long gone past the pink stage, well into the volcano-burn-your-face-off stage.

He wanted.

Everything that Wei Ying was talking about, Lan Zhan wanted it.

"Matching pillows? Do you like lots of pillows on your bed, Lan Zhan? Colour coordinated and varying in size?" He was asking.

There was only one thing Lan Zhan wanted on his bed and he was looking at him.

There was a polite knock on the door downstairs, and Lan Zhan mightily relieved at the interruption in this conversation, bolted for the door.

Wei Ying followed him, wondering who it could be.

"...Forgot your phone, Didi and look!" It was XiChen, giving Lan Zhan his phone back.

Wei Ying saw their joined dark colours together and grinned. At first he had thought it was something to do with A-Yuan but it turned out not to be.

"Hello!" He waved cheerily.

Lan Zhan was frowning at his phone, while Lan XiChen's face was priceless. It was a mix of proud, smug and disbelief.

"What's wrong?" Wei Ying straightened up and went closer.

Lan Zhan showed him his phone.

There were over two hundred messages from unknown numbers.

"What's going on? Who's trying to get hold of you?" Wei Ying was prepared to stand in front of Lan Zhan to protect him kind of way, but he had to get all the facts first.

"Actually, I think it's good news. This was just in the last half hour, but there were five hundred before lunchtime." XiChen beamed.

"What do they want, Xiongzhang?" For the first time in his life, Lan Zhan looked uncertain.

Wei Ying was overcome with the sharpest need to go and hold his hand...for some reason. Not like...to reassure him...or anything...

"They want you!" XiChen was becoming increasingly enthusiastic about whatever it was.

"Huh?" Wei Ying needed to be closer suddenly. "Why?"

"They're all sports company and keep fit people. They want to offer WangJi sponsorship deals for endorsing their products." XiChen explained.

"But why? Why all of a sudden?" Wei Ying asked, confused.

Lan Zhan made an irritated noise, his ears on fire as he switched off his phone thereby silencing the notifications.

"It's because of that video that went viral. My Didi has become an overnight star!" XiChen exclaimed happily, patting him on his back.

************

A/N

Dear Lovely Readers,

If you're already following me, you'll know that I'm turning this series into its own book.

I never knew it was going to go on so long, though I really should have since this is chapter 9 and only three days in fictional terms inside the story.

I just need to find a good cover for the new book and I'll start switching them over ASAP.

I'll leave these here for maybe a week before deleting them but we'll see how that goes.

As always, thank you so much for your support and I'm munching on much needed chocolate for encouragement.

Have a brilliant day or night peeps, lots of love.

Charlie.