It took Yu ZiYuan a few days to heal, and she took this time to accept the fact that her daughter and her son-in-law were dead.

Because regretting wouldn't end in anything. At least the other two children were alive. But even then, it seemed like their relationship was very strained.

According to the Jin healer, Jiang Cheng was the one rumoured to kill Wei WuXian. Although it might not be true, if there was a rumour like this, then Jiang Cheng surely must have gone to the point where he hated Wei WuXian enough to kill him.

Yu ZiYuan sighed. She didn't think Jiang Cheng was capable of hating Wei WuXian. If she knew her son well, he must have tried, but failed to hate his once brother.

Yu ZiYuan needed to fix this broken relation.

Another thing that struck her the most was that, Wei WuXian ended up marrying into the Lan Clan, even with Lan WangJi. Didn't the younger jade of Lan hate her nephew? Then again, if Jiang Cheng could hate him, then Lan WangJi could love him too.

She figured there was a lot of information missing. She had to know more.

In the morning of the sixth day, she finished her meditation and started practicing sword forms, when suddenly she heard laughter.

Mocking laughter.

Yu ZiYuan looked at them, then looked somewhere else, seemingly saw something interesting, and smirked.

"Yoooo, someone's practicing sword forms?" it was Jin Lao, one of the Jins of the side branch. He was the leader of Xiao MingYu's bullies.

"Looks like she is planning to get revenge hahaha." The one who spoke was a girl. She was the daughter of one of the advisors of the sect, He Qiang.

Yu ZiYuan laughed softly, "That's right. I am. What will you so about it? See, I am working hard."

"Oi. Shut the fuck up you whore. Who gave you the right to be all high and mighty?" Lang Zeng spoke with a hint of enjoyment of threatening someone.

Yu ZiYuan shrugged. She continued her practice.

Shi Long grabbed her hand, "Bitch, you don't have ears? Can't hear us?"

Yu ZiYuan looked at the fatty holding her wrist and wondered out loud, "Well, is there something I am supposed to do in your presence?"
"Well yes, cower and cry."
"Sorry. Not happening."

Jin Lao grabbed her by the hair, freed her from Lang Zeng's hand and gave her a harsh slap.

Yu ZiYuan didn't even feel anything. She had fought Wens in her last battle. Who with her caliber would feel a slap by a brat?

She spoke, looking at them, "Why are you doing this to me? Did I do anything told deserve this treatment?"

Jin Lao made a mocking shocked expression, "Did you have to?"

Yu ZiYuan groaned.

Jin Lao wanted to give another slap to her, but she kicked her in the groin.

"OUGGH!" He fell to the ground with a thud.

Yu ZiYuan smiled coldly, "Wanna play some more?"

Jin Ling came out, "That's enough." He had been hiding for a while because Yu ZiYuan signaled him to not do anything for a while.

The teenagers bullying her stilled. Jin Ling called, "Guards. Keep them in custody. Make sure they are punished accordingly. Seclusion for 1 year, copying of disciplines 5000 times, and appropriate punishments with 1000 strokes of the discipline planks."

Yu ZiYuan smirked, "Well that worked out well."
"You-"
"Me? Me what? You reap what you sow."

Yu ZiYuan looked at her hands and saw the cuts of revenge getting healed. Now that remained were only scars she had gotten from other people.

'MingYu, your wish got fulfilled. I hope I was sufficient.'

__________________________________

Yu ZiYuan for the next few months, cultivated rigorously to reach her previous level of cultivation. It was naturally very high, and would take a long time to reach. But she was trying her best. After all, everything starts from nothing.

In the meantime, she also gathered information in many things, such as the events of Nightless City, what had been going on in the cultivation world, how her children had died.

But many things were still left unknown to her. Why did Wei WuXian start demonic cultivation? He had a strong core, and he was proud of his spiritual cultivation. Why use other measures?

Why did Jiang Cheng turn against him? How exactly was Wen Ning brought back? Why did Mo XuanYu summon him back?

How was she herself summoned here? Xiao MingYu was just a little girl, how did she get her hands to such a dangerous forbidden technique?

Yu ZiYuan didn't know. She put that thought on hold for now.

"What are you thinking of Shijie?"

Yu ZiYuan turned around and saw Jin Ling, he had started calling her Shijie out of respect that she was older than him by a few years. They had turned very close in these past few months as she spent maximum time with him.

Yu ZiYuan smiled, "Nothing in particular. Just..."
"Do you want to go to Jiang Sect?"
"..."

Yu ZiYuan didn't know what to think of it. She did want to go to her son, but she also wanted to stay with her grandson.

Yu ZiYuan spoke, "I am not sure Young Master Jin."

Jin Ling spoke, "Tsk, still calling me that. I told you not to."

Yu ZiYuan laughed.

"It's alright if you want to go there. This place must hold a lot of bad memories for you."

Yu ZiYuan coughed lightly, "Well...isn't there going to be guest lectures in Cloud Recesses?"

Jin Ling nodded, "Yes. In a week."
"Maybe I should attend it first. Then afterwards..."

Jin Ling pondered, "You want to attend? It's fine if you do but, let me tell you, it's going to be for a full year."

Yu ZiYuan smiled, "I need some experience and some time to think of things. I am still not sure about where I belong. I don't have parents, I don't have friends, I don't have a home either."

Jin Ling's heart turned sour hearing that. He understood what it felt to have no parents. He spoke in a soft voice, "If Shijie wants to attend I will make arrangements."

Yu ZiYuan chuckled softly, "Thank you."

__________________________________

Wei WuXian was excited. Today was the day new students were going to enroll in. He would get to meet little children of this generation. Cute little ducklings.

He even woke up earlier than usual. The first thing he laid his eyes upon, was Lan WangJi meticulously readying things for the lectures. As soon as Wei WuXian woke up, he looked at the man and smiled ever so softly and came towards the bed. He sat down and placed the tenderest kiss on Wei WuXian's forehead, "Good morning, Wei Ying."

Wei WuXian giggled quietly, "Good morning, Lan Zhan."

He really loved these mornings. Morning were filled with sweet and soft kisses. And an ethereal Lan WangJi. What more could he ask for?

Wei WuXian sat up, "Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Today the guest disciples are coming right?"
Lan WangJi replied, "Mn."

Wei WuXian jumped down, "We have to greet them! I am so excited!"

Wei WuXian had been appointed as a teacher because of his constant begging. Lan WangJi, who was acting as a sect leader, also gave the final approval and had him appointed as the teacher of talismans, much to his uncle's dismay.

Wei WuXian thought it was just a matter of time before he won the grumpy uncle over.

He readied himself and spoke, "Lan Zhan, do I look good?"

Lan WangJi's eyes were full of love as he spoke, "You always look good, Wei Ying."

Wei WuXian gasped, turning a soft baby pink, "Lan Zhan! Warn me before you say something so romantic."

Lan WangJi had a smug look on his face as he spoke, "Mn."

Wei WuXian pouted, "What 'Mn'? You always say 'Mn'. Then you end up teasing me anyway. You liar."

Lan WangJi spoke, "Lying is prohibited in Cloud Recesses. I do not lie. I just say the truth. Wei Ying is beautiful."

Wei WuXian groaned, "Lan Zhaaaannnn!"

He hugged Lan WangJi and buried his face on the warm chest, "How did you become so good at flirting?"

Lan WangJi's lips curved upwards, "I do not. I just say the truth."

Wei WuXian's muffled voice came, "Seriously, you...you are so good..."

Lan WangJi lifted his face up and kissed him softly on the lips. Wei WuXian kissed back equally soft. Their love made them strong, made them weak, made them hurt, made them relieved. Love broke them, and love mended them.

Wei WuXian spoke in between kisses, "Lan Zhan...I love you so much...I don't know what I would do without you..."
"Love Wei Ying, so much."

Lan WangJi kissed Wei WuXian's eyelids. His golden gaze was more expressive than any words spoken by mankind. Wei WuXian loved those eyes, he loved that pale smooth skin, he loved that silky black hair, he loved those pale red lips, he loved that refined jawline, he loved everything of Lan WangJi.

He spoke, "Lan Zhan, has brother agreed to come out?"

Lan WangJi's eyes lit up, "Mn."
"Really? So it worked?"
"Mn. Conversing with him helped."
"See? I told it would work. It's your brother after all. Words from you would definitely work."

Lan WangJi smiled remembering their talks this morning.

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖.

𝐻𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑊𝑒𝑖 𝑊𝑢𝑋𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑑.

𝑊𝑒𝑖 𝑊𝑢𝑋𝑖𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛.

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠. 𝐻𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛, 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛.

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑠ℎ𝑖. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑚. 𝐸𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑, "𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑏𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑑, "𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑚 𝑢𝑝, "𝑁𝑜 𝑏𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖'𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑛. 𝐻𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑤 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟.

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒. 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑜𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚.

𝐻𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑎 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑗𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑝𝑠, 𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑒𝑎 𝑖𝑛 𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚, "𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒?"
"𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛, "𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑖𝑚, "𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑠ℎ. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛."
"𝐼𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒?"
"𝑌𝑒𝑠."
"𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑎𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑊𝑢𝑋𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡."
"𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟..."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒, ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑, "𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢?"

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛, ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑛'𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑠, "𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑑𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑐𝑡. 𝐻𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑. 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑘𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑙𝑦, "𝐼 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑊𝑒𝑖 𝑌𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒. 𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒. 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐽𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑌𝑎𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑓. 𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑑. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜, 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑜𝑛. 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑎 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡. 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑡𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, 𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑒𝑑, "𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑙𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑. 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑟𝑒𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑚, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝐷𝑎-𝐺𝑒. 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑊𝑒𝑖 𝑌𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜𝑜, 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡. 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑊𝑒𝑖 𝑌𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑑𝑜, 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠, 𝑖𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑑, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑓𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒. 𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝐽𝑖𝑛 𝐺𝑢𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑌𝑎𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑦 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑎𝑠𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑒𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑, 𝑤𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠. 𝐻𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑢𝑙𝑡. 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠. 𝑁𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠. 𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑚. 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑠ℎ𝑦 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑡, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑢𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑡, 𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑡. 𝐴𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑡, 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑡."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛'𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒, "𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖...𝐼...𝑏𝑢𝑡...𝐼 𝑎𝑚 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑦...𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒...𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑚..."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑤𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛'𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛'𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑, "𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑓 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑒, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑔𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒. 𝑆𝑜..."

𝐻𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛'𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟'𝑠 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠, "𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒?"

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒, "𝑀ℎ𝑚𝑚..."
𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑, "𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑙𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑝 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠, 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡?"

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑙𝑦, ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦, "𝑀ℎ𝑚𝑚. 𝑇𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑.

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑, "𝐵𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑚𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑝ℎ 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ, "𝐼 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ, 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜. 𝐵𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡, 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑦 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡, "𝐿𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑊𝑢𝑋𝑖𝑎𝑛?"
𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, "𝑁𝑜, 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑊𝑒𝑖 𝑌𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑦𝑜𝑢."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛'𝑠 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑛 ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑘𝑒, "𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖."
𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑊𝑎𝑛𝑔𝐽𝑖 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑, "𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑚𝑒 𝐵𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑢𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑑𝑢𝑡𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠."

𝐿𝑎𝑛 𝑋𝑖𝐶ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑒𝑑, "𝑌𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑢𝑝 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙."
"𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑒."

"Wow, that was a long conversation you had." spoke Wei WuXian with mirth.

Lan WangJi replied, "It worked though. So that's fine."

Wei WuXian giggled, "My husband is the best." saying that, he kissed Lan WangJi's cheek, the said man softly pecking Wei WuXian's nose.

The morning went on like this, in between kisses and pecks.

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Note: Daffodils represent new beginnings.