As he was pondering, Lan WangJi turned around, his face as calm as always, “Again.”
Wei WuXian, “Again? Again what?”
Lan WangJi hid behind the wooden screen once more and peeked at him with only half of his face showing.
His intentions were as clear as could be—again, you chase, I run.
Speechless for a moment, Wei WuXian obeyed and did it again. This time, having only been chased for a short while, Lan WangJi ran into him again.
Wei WuXian, “You really are doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Again, Lan WangJi brought Wei WuXian’s arms around his neck as though he couldn’t understand what his words meant, waiting for him to fulfil his promise again.
Wei WuXian, Am I just going to let Lan Zhan have fun all by himself? Of course not. He wouldn’t remember anything that I do to him now, anyways. Let me play something better with him.
With his arms around Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian returned to the bed with him, then asked, “You like this, don’t you? Don’t turn around. Speak. Do you like it or not? If you like it, we don’t have to run around every single time. How about I let you have as much fun as you want?”
As he spoke, he held up one of Lan WangJi’s hands, bent down, and kissed between two of his slender fingers.
Lan WangJi wanted to take his hand away again, but Wei WuXian held it tightly, not allowing him to do so.
And then, Wei WuXian’s lips pressed onto his distinct knuckles. Softer than the touch of feather, his breaths wandered to the back of his hand, and he kissed again.
Lan WangJi couldn’t pull his hand back no matter how hard he tried. He could only clench his fingers together into a tight fist.
Wei WuXian lifted up his sleeves, revealing the pale-skinned wrist, then kissed it as well.
After he kissed, he didn’t raise his head. He only turned his eyes to Lan WangJi, “Is that enough?”
Lan WangJi pursed his lips, refusing to speak a single word. Wei WuXian finally sat up straight again and continued, his voice unhurried, “Tell me. Have you burnt any paper money for me?”
There was no answer. Wei WuXian laughed out loud and inched toward him. Over the clothing, he kissed where his heart was, “If you don’t talk, I’m not gonna give you any more. Tell me. How did you know it was me?”
Lan WangJi closed his eyes. His lips quivered, as though he was on the verge of confessing.
Suddenly, however, as Wei WuXian stared at those soft, pale-red lips, he didn’t know what had taken over him, but he suddenly went and kissed them.
After the kiss, he even licked them, as though a kiss wasn’t enough.
Both of them widened their eyes.
A moment later, Lan WangJi raised his hand. At once, Wei WuXian was startled into realization. He immediately broke into a cold sweat, fearing that Lan WangJi would smack him dead on the spot, and quickly scrambled off the bed. Turning around, he saw Lan WangJi smack his own forehead. He now lay unconscious, collapsed on the bed.
Inside of the private room, Lan WangJi lay on the bed as Wei WuXian sat on the ground. A cold gust of wind rushed inside through the opened windows, sending chills down Wei WuXian’s back. His head finally felt clearer.
He stood up from the ground, pushed the table to where it used to be, then sat down beside it.
After spacing out for a while, he used his teeth to bite at the knots on the forehead ribbon. With effort, he finally managed to open the stack of lumps.
Now that his hands had been loosened, to get over the shock, he went to pour himself a cup of liquor. He held the cup to his lips for a few moments, but not a single drop entered his mouth. Looking down, he finally saw that there wasn’t any liquor in the cup at all. He had already downed the entire pot. Even when he was pouring, he failed to notice that nothing was being poured out.
Wei WuXian put the empty cup back onto the table, No more alcohol for me. I’ve really had enough.
As he turned around, past the wooden screen, he could see Lan WangJi, who lay quietly on the bed. He thought to himself, … I really had too much to drink today. Lan Zhan is such a serious person. Even though he was drunk, even though he wouldn’t remember anything when he sobers up, I still shouldn’t have done something so outrageous… It’s too disrespectful to him.
Remembering what an “outrageous” thing did he just do to Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian couldn’t help but touched his lips.
He only managed to flatten the forehead ribbon again after a while of work. Walking to the bed, he put it beside the pillow, and succeeded in holding himself back from even looking at Lan WangJi. He squatted down and took off Lan WangJi’s boots, then placed him in the official sleeping position of the Lan Sect.
After everything had been done, leaning against the bed, Wei WuXian took a seat on the ground again. His mind was in a jumbled state of confusion, but one thought stood out from the rest—
In the future, it was best to not make Lan Zhan drink anymore. If he treated everyone like this when he became drunk, then the situation really wouldn’t be well.
Chapter 45 Allure—Part Three
For some reason, tonight, Wei WuXian felt a bit too guilty to still dare squeezing himself onto the same bed as Lan WangJi. He spent the rest of the evening sitting on the ground and fell asleep sometime during the night, his head leaning on the wooden bed. At dawn, he vaguely felt someone lift him up with gentle movements and place him onto the bed. Struggling to open his eyes, Wei WuXian could see Lan WangJi’s still-indifferent face.
He immediately felt more awake, “Lan Zhan.”
Lan WangJi answered with a “mnn”. Wei WuXian asked, “Are you sober or still drunk?”
Lan WangJi, “Sober.”
Wei WuXian, “Oh… So it’s five already.”
Lan WangJi woke up at this time every single day, which was why Wei WuXian learnt how to tell the time without looking out the windows. He held up Wei WuXian’s wrists, of which both were covered in reddish marks. He took out a small, turquoise porcelain bottle from within his sleeves and applied the contents. The areas that the smooth ointment had been spread on felt soothed at once. Wei WuXian squinted, “It hurts… HanGuang-Jun, you’re so rude when you’re drunk.”
Lan WangJi didn’t even look up, “You reaped what you had sown.”
Wei WuXian’s heart skipped a beat, “Lan Zhan, you really don’t remember what you did after you were drunk, do you?”
Lan WangJi, “I do not.”
Wei WuXian, That’s probably true. Or else, he would’ve already killed me out of embarrassment.
In his heart, he found it both good and unfortunate that Lan WangJi didn’t remember. It felt as though he’d secretly done or eaten something he shouldn’t have and was hiding alone in a corner, snickering at how nobody found out but disappointed that he couldn’t share the delight with anyone. Involuntarily, his eyes caught sight of Lan WangJi’s lips again.
Although the corners never lifted, his lips looked quite soft, and did indeed feel quite soft.
Wei WuXian unconsciously bit at his own lips and started to space out again, The GusuLan Sect is so strict, and Lan Zhan isn’t romantic at all, so he definitely hasn’t kissed any girls before. What do I do now? I happened to have received the grand honor. Should I tell him? Will he be so angry that he starts crying after he knows? Oh, well… He might do so when he was young, but probably not now. And it’s like he’s a monk made of wood. It’s possible that he’s never even had such thoughts before… Wait! The last time he was drunk, I asked him ‘is there anyone you like’, and he said yes. Maybe he’d already kissed her? But judging from Lan Zhan’s habit of self-restraint, he’s probably really careful about not crossing any lines. They probably never kissed, or even held hands. Speaking of it, maybe back then he didn’t even understand which type of ‘like’ I was talking about…