#wangxian wei ying & lan zhan are immortals who "hate each other"...

wei ying & lan zhan are immortals who "hate each other"
so when lz goes to the mortal realm for his love trial, wy decides it's a perfect time to play a trick on lz. when lz completes his trial, he'll be angry & wy can tease him
only things don't go according to plan
there are cheers as the empress finally gives birth to a heir. he is named lan wangji by his parents
baby lwj is sleeping soundly so wy decides it's a good time to take a closer look, invisible thanks to his power
suddenly lwj's eyes fly open, golden eyes finding wy in the crowded room and staring at him
wy startles for a second, wondering if he's now visible to everyone else
maybe because he's immortal? perhaps some of lz's immortal powers are still there, just dampened
wy looks away when lwj finally closes his eyes, falling into a deep sleep
he can see her love for lwj. he's glad. even though he & lz don't see eye to eye, he doesn't want him to have a terrible time as a mortal
he has to thank nhs, the god responsible for mortals, for giving him a good fate so far
suddenly he realises he's late meeting his jiejie and didi
when he gets back, he realises he's not late. no where near, actually
he always gets confused when he visits the mortal realm. time moves so slow. days in the mortal realm are really only hours for immortals
if he weren't in the mortal realm, then wy would be having fun teasing him right now, not bothering nhs
he cheers up when he finds nhs and notices the jars of emperor's smile
wy grins at him as he throws himself to the floor, reaching for a jar and downing half at once
"ahhh, you always have the good stuff!" he sighs happily as he wipes his mouth
nhs rolls his eyes at him "don't drink it all or da-ge will be mad"
"who knew lan zhan was such an adorable baby! man, i wish I knew him back when we were children!"
nhs stares at him, unusually serious "wei ying. you need to be careful you don't ruin his love trial"
nhs opens his mouth to say something before he pauses. eventually he sighs and shakes his head "you won't listen to me anyway"
nhs stares long enough that wy starts to fidget in his seat "nevermind" he says, feigning indifferece
nhs sighs as he finally answers "when he's 19, lwj will fall in love with his new tutor"
nhs looks at him like he's missing something "no"
wy's frowns "but you sai- oh. he'll fall in love with a MAN?"
nhs nods silently
wy doesn't know why he's so caught off guard, why he feels like his world has shifted
he ignores nhs' "wei xiong? you are the god of night? its still morning?"
he doesn't let himself think about the fact that lz - no, future lwj?- is a cutsleeve
"jl, your favorite uncle is here! i missed you so much, wahhhh"
baby jl stares at him, unimpressed as his jiejie laughs "a-ying, you only saw him two days ago!"
wy looks at her nodding "so long ago!"
jc glares at him "i'm his favourite uncle!"
wy turns to jyl "jiejie, jc is being mean!"
he feels lighter as he spends time with his family. suddenly, he remembers lz!
when he returns to the mortal realm, he finds him, so small and delicate, kneeling outside a building all alone
that's when wy notices his white mourning robes
he sits next to lwj, who doesn't move, for hours
"crown prince, his majesty has requested that you go to your quarters"
lwj doesn't respond & wy realises it's his mother who passed
more & more people visit, begging lwj to go inside but he doesn't listen, it's almost like he doesn't realise they're there
wy hears a chattering sound and it dawns on him. it's lwj teeth. he's shivering from the cold
"your mother loved you, she wouldn't want to see you suffer. it would make her sad"
lwj finally looks at him "who are you?"
"a family friend" he lies. he has an idea and gets out his sketchbook
he also draws a sketch of some rabbits
he holds them towards lwj "here, keep these & the precious memories of your mother so she'll always be alive in your heart"
lwj reaches out slowly
wy stands up and holds his hand out "let's get you inside, yeah? you don't want to get sick"
lwj grasps wy's hand, leading him back to his quarters. before he goes inside, he peers back at wy who waves
"go inside and drink some soup"
it's only when wy is back in his quarters that he realises he shouldn't have interfered in lwj's fate
"ah" he thinks to himself "lwj will forget him soon enough"
he'd come after visiting nhs, a little tipsy, half drunk jar of emperor's smile in his hand
it's not until there's someone behind him, sword at his throat, that he realises he forgot to make himself invisible
nhs is going to kill him
wy straightens in alarm. he laughs loudly "I'm a friend of lan zh- wangji's!"
suddenly, he's turned around "a lie. i have no friends"
thats when wy realises it's lwj
golden eyes open wide when they meet his "it's you!" lwj gasps
[[ tbc 🩷]]
lwj narrows his eyes at him "you did say we were friends. when my a-niang...you were there. it was over 10 years ago but you haven't changed"
wy realises he's in trouble as lwj frowns in confusion. how did he remembers wy after so many years?!
lwj looks at him unimpressed as he sheathed his sword
lwj shakes his head "it was you"
wy feels pinned in place by lwj's intense gaze. he gulps as he tries to think of an excuse but words escape him
lwj nods, like wy's words aren't a surprise "i believe you. i won't tell anyone else"
wy flags in relief "thanks, lan zh-wangji!"
his voice comes out squeaky without his permission "would you look at the time! i need to go and do...things that immortals do"
wy shakes his head, now his identity is exposed, he can't come back because it will make things worse for both of them
"yes" he finds himself agreeing. he slaps a hand over his mouth as his eyes widen. he was supposed to refuse!
wy smiles shakily as he turns around
"wait!" lwj shouts, startling him. he turns round to face him, stumbling when he finds himself face to face with lwj. lwj catches him by the waist
"your name?"
wy tilts his head up so their eyes meet "oh! you can call me wei ying"
lwj opens his mouth to respond but wy doesn't wait. he closes his eyes & when he opens them, he's back in his quarters
he collapses on his bed with a sigh
he looks up in alarm before relaxing. it's just nhs
who looks angry. something wy isn't used to seeing on his face
"wei xiong! i warned you but you didn't listen!" nhs glowers at him
nhs sits at his desk, pouring himself a cup of wine "you couldn't help yourself, could you! now everything is ruined"
wy joins him, patting his shoulder "don't look so depressed! tell me what's wrong, surely it's not that bad"
nhs stares at him before he laughs hysterically. when he calms down, he blinks "you're erious?"
when wy nods, nhs' eyes narrow "you just had to go & meet lwj. now he is not interested in his tutor. his fated heartbreak. this is bad"
nhs huffs at him "he is not boring. the reason is that lwj is already in love....with you"
wy chokes on his saliva
he takes a deep breath before he tries again "maybe he just needs time to fall in love with the tutor? things like that take time"
nhs snorts at him in disbelief
wy pouts "hey! that's a low blow! plenty of people want to date me! it's just that I'm too busy!"
nhs laughs "sure. THAT'S the reason"
he changes subject "so what are you going to do about his love trial?"
nhs pins wy with a look that has wy worried "I am going to do nothing"
nhs smirks at wy and all wy can think is 'oh no. this can't be good'
"i didn't say we weren't doing anything. i said I wasn't doing anything"
wy is confused
wy tilts his head "me? how?"
"you have to break lz's heart"
wy giggles "that's funny"
his laughter trails off when nhs doesn't join in "it's a joke, right?"
nhs shakes his head "no"
nhs cuts him off "wei xiong. this is the only way for lz to pass his trial"
wy throws himself onto the floor "this is bad!"
nhs just shrugs at him "you should have listened to me"
wy nods regretfully "what do i do?"
annoy him sure
tease him so his ears turn that cute red colour, definitely
hurt him. never
lwj is 19 now and seems even taller than wy remembered. wy gulps as their eyes meet
"you finally returned"
wy waves at him "yes. sorry for keeping you waiting"
"i would wait forever for you"
wy rolls his eyes at lwj's smug expression
"follow me"
it's a command, one wy follows. they walk towards lwj's room in comfortable silence
wy startles for a minute when lwj is greeted
he ignores the curious eyes that follow him but dare not to question lwj on his guest
wy lights up when he sees what lwj is holding "you kept it!" he grins
"mn. a reminder my mother is watching over me"
wy spends time with lwj that night, talking and talking but never feeling like he's annoying. a first for him
wy keeps going to visit him after that. they eat together, they visit the market, buying each other little gifts
he quizzes wy about his life as an immortal, about his family and friends. he wants to know everything about wy
wy blossoms under lwj's attention. its addictive
he almost forgets he's here for a reason until nhs appears when lwj is 22
"it's time to break lwj's heart"
[[tbc🩷 people guessed correctly how this would go 🙈 oops forgot to proofread thread 😬 oh well 😂]]
nhs shakes his head "it must be now or he will fail his trial"
his face softens as he watches wy's face fall "i know it's difficult, especially because you l-"
wy cuts him off "i will do it today"
nhs eyes him warily but nods
he lies there for a long time before he steels his heart. "this is to help him, lan zhan will understand"
it's his mantra, something he wishes he fully believed
just as nhs predicted, that night when they meet, lwj is thrumming with nervous energy
he goes to speak to wy atleast 3 times before he pauses, changing the subject quickly
wy, knowing what will soon come, lets him
lwj looks surprised for a second before he turns resigned "you could tell"
wy laughs as he slaps his arm "of course i can, we're best friends. now tell me what's up"
wy nods, waiting for lwj to continue
"wei ying, i love you"
wy feels something inside him shift. has to remind himself it's not really lan zhan
lwj shakes his head "no, i am in love with you. i have been since we met again at 19"
lwj pulls something out of his sleeve. it's the picture of the bunnies wy drew when he lost his mother
wy interrupts him cruelly "i do not"
he doesn't miss how lwj falters, but he carries on "i'm sorry i gave you the wrong impression but I'm not a cutsleeve. i have a wife"
wy callously laughs "why would i tell you about that? you're just a mortal i enjoyed spending time with. we immortals live so long, we need someone to entertain us sometimes"
wy's fingernails dig into his palms, drawing blood
"i don't believe you" lwj shakes his head
wy smirks as he calls out softly "wen qing"
she's by his side the next second
"baby, i missed you"
he grins at her glare, even though he's not feeling happy
"i missed you too" she grits out as she takes hold of his hand "is this the human you were telling be about?"
she eyes lwj appreciatively
"yep!" he pops the p, staring at lwj
it's time to change that. time to make sure lz passes his love trial
keeping eye contact with lz, he bends down to kiss wy
he's only inches from wy's lips when lz turns around
nhs had been so sure lwj would be unable to stomach the sight of wy kissing someone else. wy is glad because kissing wq would be like kissing his sister
also her wife would probably beat him up
muscles tense under his touch
he smiles sadly as he accepts the jar of emperor's smile from him
"you did the right thing" nhs tries to console him
wy nods absentmindedly, unable to forget the devastation on lwj's face
wy spends the next month pointedly avoiding any mention of lwj or lz
he holds himself back from visiting the mortal realm to see how lwj is doing because it's too painful
he hopes lwj had moved on, that he found happiness
he chides himself everytime he thinks that
on the 33rd day, when human lwj would be 55, nhs turns up, standing tentatively in the doorway
wy doesn't look up "he's back?"
he nods, silently
nhs doesn't speak for a long time. when he does, his voice is unusually somber "are you going to visit him?"
wy takes a long swig of his wine "no"
he doesn't want to see lz's hatred for him
but he also thinks that lz's usual indifferece might be even worse
so he does what he does best. avoids his problems
weeks pass by & wy makes sure he doesn't run into lz
he's drinking his wine when his door slams open, startling him. he jumps, hand slipping and pouring wine all over himself "what the-"
he frowns at nhs
"quiet!" nhs demands, and wy immediately shuts up, knowing it won't do him any good to argue
"you're moping, which is expected but now LZ is moping. which means lxc is worried, meaning da-ge is worried"
wy just blinks, confused "lz is moping? why?"
"OF COURSE that's all you care about!"
wy knows he's right but "hey!" he pouts before looking away "it broke MY heart, to hurt lz"
nhs nods, suddenly looking excited "and why is that?"
nhs rolls his eyes "are you friends really? let me ask you something serious. think about how lwj treated you, how he looked at you. then compare it against how lz acts around you"
wy does. he doesn't see why nhs would-
he gasps "his eyes"
"yes?"
then he shakes his head "but lz isn't a cutsleeve"
wy gapes "WHAT?!"
nhs shakes his head "you really didn't know?"
wy stammers "i-what-no?! this is, i need to speak to lz"
he doesn't wait, he just rushes towards the jingshi
"lan zhan!"
"lan zhan! are you inside?" he yells
the door opens, revealing a stoic lz. wy's heart skips a beat as he stares into those golden eyes
they're shuttered, trying to control his emotions but wy can read him well
lz looks shell-shocked, wy isn't sure if it's because of his chaotic arrival or his confession
"wei ying?"
wy runs forward, towards lz
"lz, do you hate me?" wy asks earnestly
lz's eyes widen a fraction "never hated wy"
lz shakes his head firmly "my time in the human realm with you was the happiest in all my years of existence"
wy gasps, lip wobbling "b-but-"
wy throws himself at him "lan zhan, lz! i love you! i didn't realise it for a long time, not until i heard your original love trial"
lz squeezes him tightly "love wy too. since we first met. i am glad you changed my mortal fate. that way i had happy memories with you, even if you did not feel the same way"
"no sorrys between us"
wy laughs wetly into the crook of lz's neck before he pulls back to wipe his face
suddenly lz's face freezes, appearing hesitant and wy feels dread
"wen qing..."
"haha! lz, don't tell me you are jealous! we didn't kiss, don't worry. mianmian would kill me, if wq didn't first!"
lz frowns "she will have to get through me first"
"mn"
wy can't control himself as he leans forward and pecks lz's lips. he gasps as he pulls away, lips tingling
"mn" lz agrees before kissing him deeply
wy moves into the jingshi that night, nhs gets to keep his fan collection
/end/
nhs is so glad they finally got their shit together. hope you liked the ending because i struggled with this 🙈🩷