Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to leave.
Cloud Recesses Academy has been a place of torture ( figuratively speaking ), full of rules— 3,000 of them to be exact —and at least half of them he's broken or ignored. Rules he’s been forced to copy, by a certain Second Jade of Lan who has spent the entire time glaring at him from across a library table.
And yet— he doesn’t want to go.
Because, for the first time in his life, he’s felt safe . He's been given homework he actually enjoys and challenges him, and while he's fairly certain he's nearly given Teacher Lan a heart attack on multiple occasions, debating with him in class has been entertaining. But the lectures at Cloud Recesses Academy have ended, and everyone is being sent back home.
The sky is painted in warm hues of oranges and pinks as the sun sinks below the horizon, casting long shadows over the pristine white walls of the academy.
“Lan Zhan!” he calls, his grin bright even as his heart beats rapidly.
Lan Wangji stands just beyond the gates, his figure illuminated by the soft glow of the lights at the entrance. His expression remains unreadable, golden eyes reflecting the dimming light, his hands folded neatly behind his back.
“You’ll text me, won’t you?” Wei Ying asks, pouting prettily, swaying on his heels.
Lan Wangji doesn’t answer right away, and Wei Wuxian forces down the disappointment that rises in his throat.
He knows Lan Zhan isn’t interested in him that way . He knows .
But still, he had hoped that their time together had meant something to him too. Even if love was out of the question,—Lan Wangji was the Second Heir to Lan Corp, while Wei Ying was merely the adopted son of Jiang Industries, a boy with no right or claim to anything.
He was lucky enough that Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu had paid for his schooling, and that he had been allowed to come with Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli to Cloud Recesses at all.
“You don’t have to, though,” he adds quickly, trying to keep his voice light, casual. The words taste bitter on his tongue. “I just— It would be nice. You’re my zhiji, after all.”
Lan Wangji’s posture stiffens, the tips of his ears turn the faintest shade of pink.
Zhiji.
A soulmate in all ways but romantic—two souls who understand each other, even when the rest of the world does not.
Wei Wuxian doesn’t think Lan Wangji likes him like that. He knows he doesn’t. Not the way Wei Wuxian wants . But that doesn’t matter. Lan Wangji is still his, in a way no one else ever will be.
“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji finally says, his voice low, exasperated “You should go now.”
Wei Ying bites the inside of his cheek and forces himself to smile again. He searches those golden eyes, trying to commit them to memory, their intensity, their depth, the way they make him feel like he belongs even when everything else tells him he does not.
“Fine, I’ll text you then, you fuddy-duddy! But don’t forget about me, alright?” He steps backward toward where Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng are waiting, flashing one last playful grin. “And if you do text, don’t make it all about the rules, or else I’ll block you!”
Lan Wangji doesn’t respond.
But as Wei Wuxian turns, he swears he hears something—so quiet, so soft, it barely reaches his ears.
“ Mn .”
It’s not a promise. Not really. But it’s enough.
The town car that came to pick them up is sleek and black, the kind of car Jiang Industries can afford, the kind Wei Wuxian has never quite felt comfortable in. He slides into the seat, barely registering Jiang Cheng’s irritated voice.
“Took you long enough!” Jiang Cheng complains, arms crossed, scowl deepening. “I told you to stop bothering the Lan. They probably can’t wait to get rid of you.”
“Jiang Cheng!” Yanli chides gently. “That’s not nice.”
“Whatever.” Jiang Cheng scoffs, slumping into his seat. “Let’s just go home already. I’m tired of this hellhole.”
Wei Wuxian doesn’t respond. Instead, he turns his head, pressing his forehead lightly against the cool glass of the window as the car starts to move. The Cloud Recesses gates grow smaller and smaller, fading into the distance.
Lan Zhan is still standing there, just beyond the gates, watching.
Wei Wuxian watches back until he can’t anymore.
He sighs, closing his eyes briefly.
He doesn’t want to leave.