There was a beat of silence before Wei Wuxian processed Lan Wangji's words.

"A what now?" Wei Wuxian was pretty sure he heard wrong.

"I guess since fate seems to throw us together most of the time, I might as well tell you the truth." Lan Wangji poured another three fingers of the whiskey, then walked to his desk to take out some documents out of the drawer. He walked back to the couch and gave the document to Wei Wuxian.

"Read it first."

Wei Wuxian took the documents and opened it, and he could not believe his eyes.

"You investigate me?" 

"Wei Wuxian, male, 26, single, orphan, adopted by the Jiangs since baby. You almost died in a fire that killed your birth parents and it made your body weak until the Jiangs took you in and gave you a proper treatment then recruited you to become a shadow guard. You excelled in everything until you became the head of shadow guard, but one mistake made you being punished to do menial jobs, helping the police department. That's where you met me. How am I so far?"

Wei Wuxian had this unreadable look in his face, and they looked at each other for quite some time before he finally smiled.

"It's not fair that you knew so much about me, yet I know nothing about you."

"Didn't I tell you to just ask?"

Wei Wuxian suddenly remembered their contract and the tip of his ears reddened.

"I did, and you did not give me any clear answer."

"Ah, what's the fun in that? It's not like I'm your suspect or something. I'm sure we can think of something else to do with those handcuffs you're so fond of."

Wei Wuxian cleared his throat before he whispered, "shameless," to the empty air, but it was clear that Lan Wangji heard it because he gave him a smirk.

"So, as the head of the shadow guards, what do you know about The Forsaken?"

Wei Wuxian was taken aback by the question.

He long had a suspicion that somehow Lan Wangji had something to do with The Forsaken; the secret vault that housed and neutralized most of ancient mythical artifacts with spiritual powers that could do good or evil things depending on the wielder; especially after their rendezvous in Monaco, where he easily gave him the incense burner. But he never thought that Lan Wangji would be asking him about it so blatantly, and since he seemed to know more than he let on, Wei Wuxian decided to gamble.

"What do you know about it?"

Lan Wangji looked at Wei Wuxian, smiling, then took his time to stand up and pour another drink for himself.

"All you need to know about your so-called vault, is that it's fake, and you shouldn't believe in anyone."

That statement was taking him aback. 

Fake? How could it be? He saw with his own eyes how impressive the vault was… so how…

"And why should I believe you?"

"And why shouldn't you? You saw Xiao Bai, I mean Yuanyuan. You've met Xiao Hei, and he likes you a lot by the way." Lan Wangji took a sip from his glass before he continued. "Mythical beasts are very picky creatures. They would not give their trust and loyalty to anyone, especially for those with nefarious intentions."

"And yet, you have two. Is this some kind of mythical level bragging?"

"Ha ha funny. And actually we have a lot more than that. At least that's what I would say if I were meant to brag at mythical level." Lan Wangji sat beside Wei Wuxian now, his eyes were twinkling with humor.

"...you're so childish."

"Anyway, you don't seem too surprised hearing all of this." Lan Wangji scooted closer to Wei Wuxian.

"I would be, if you told me that you are a mythical beast too."

Wei Wuxian was meant to be joking, but when he glanced at Lan Wangji, he froze. Lan Wangji sat very still, with his gaze darkened and there was some kind of cold aura swirling around them, making Wei Wuxian shivered.

And suddenly it dawned on him. The realization.

"Oh. My. Fucking. God… you are a mythical beast."

As if waiting for that cliffhanger, someone knocked at the door. And when Lan Wangji ignored it, in lieu of a staring contest with Wei Wuxian, the knocking became more persistent.

Finally Lan Wangji broke his gaze and walked to the door, opening it to see Wen Qing was the one outside.

"He's awake," she looked at him, then to Wei Wuxian, "and he's looking for you. Both of you."

Lan Wangji glanced at the already stood up Wei Wuxian, and when he walked alongside him, he heard him whisper, "We're so not done talking, Lan Zhan."