One of the passerbys spoke up, nibbling on melon seeds, “What’s happenin’ here? The young’un cried so hard it scared me to death.”
Someone commented assuredly, “He was definitely scolded by his dad.”
Hiding in the crowd as he heard the words ‘his dad’, Wei WuXian almost exploded with laughter. Lan WangJi immediately looked up, denying it, “I am not.”
Wen Yuan didn’t know what the people were talking about. When children were scared, they always called out to those they were close to. And so, sobbing, he called, “Dad! Dad…”
A passerby spoke up at once, “Listen! Told you he’s his dad!”
Some felt that they had good eyes, “Definitely his dad. Their noses look as if they’re carved out of the same mold. There’s no doubt!”
Some were sympathetic, “How poor. Look at how he’s crying. Was he scolded by his dad?”
Some were confused, “What’s going on over there? Could you move? My carriage can’t go through.”
Some scolded, “He doesn’t even know to pick the child up and make him feel better! So he’s just letting his son cry on the ground? What a dad!”
Some showed their understanding, “Look at how young he is. First time being a dad, huh? Back then I was like this too. I didn’t know anything. He’ll get it after his wife bears him a few more. We all had to take our time…”
Some tried to comfort the child, “Good boy, don’t cry. Where’s your mom?”
“Yeah, where’s the mom? The dad doesn’t do anything, so where’s his mom?”
Amid the flooding noise, Lan WangJi’s expression grew stranger and stranger.
How unfortunate that he’d been a chosen one ever since he was born. Everything he did was more righteous than righteous, more exemplar than exemplar. He’d never been put in a situation where everyone was pointing at him. Wei WuXian had already laughed to his death, but as he saw how Wen Yuan was crying so hard that he was almost choking, he could only step out.
Pretending that he only just saw the two, he spoke in a surprised tone, “Huh? Lan Zhan?”
Lan WangJi looked up with force. The two’s eyes met with each other’s. Wei WuXian himself didn’t know why either, but he averted his gaze quickly. Hearing his voice, though, Wen Yuan got up at once. Dragging two long, flowing trails of tears behind him, he hung onto Wei Wuxian’s leg again.
The crowd went on, “Who is this? Where’s the mom? Just where on Earth is the mom? Which one is the dad anyways?”
Wei WuXian waved his hand, “It’s over, it’s over.”
Seeing that their fun had ended, the passerbys finally scattered slowly. Wei WuXian turned around and smiled, “What a coincidence. Lan Zhan, why are you at Yiling?”
Lan WangJi, “A night-hunt. I passed by.”
Hearing that his voice was no different from before, without any sense of hatred or enmity, Wei WuXian finally felt a part of him relax. He suddenly heard Lan WangJi speak up, “… The child?”
Wei WuXian’s mouth moved on its own as soon as his heart was settled, lying, “Mine.”
Lan WangJi’s brows twitched. Wei WuXian laughed, “Of course I’m joking. He’s someone else’s. I took him out to play. What did you do? How come you made him cry?”
Lan WangJi’s voice was indifferent, “I did not do anything.”
Wen Yuan hugged Wei WuXian’s leg. He was still sobbing. Wei WuXian understood. Although Lan WangJi’s face looked pretty, such a young child was still unable to tell the beautiful from the not. He could only tell that this person wasn’t friendly at all. In fact, he was cold and seemed to be quite strict. Frightened by the bitter expression, it was only natural that he felt scared. Wei WuXian picked Wen Yuan up and played with him for a while, turning him over and over, and said a few comforting words.
Suddenly, he saw that a street vendor was still laughing as he looked at them, so he pointed at the colorful things in the baskets that he carried on two ends of a pole, asking, “A-Yuan, look over here. Aren’t they pretty?”
Wen Yuan’s focus was shifted. He sniffed, “… Yeah.”
Wei WuXian, “Don’t they smell nice?”
Wen Yuan, “Yeah.”
The vendor quickly added, “Looks pretty and smells nice—Young Master, buy one, won’t you?”
Wei WuXian, “Do you want one?”
Wen Yuan thought that he was going to buy one for him. He spoke embarrassedly, “Yeah.”
Yet, Wei WuXian walked in the opposite direction, “Haha, let’s go.”
Wen Yuan seemed to be shocked. Tears filled his eyes again. Having been watching the scene unfold, Lan WangJi finally couldn’t bear it any longer, “Why did you not buy one for him?”
Wei WuXian mused, “Why should I buy one for him?”
Lan WangJi, “You asked him whether he wanted one or not. Did it not mean that you would buy one for him?”
Wei WuXian answered purposely, “Asking and buying are two different things—why should I have to buy it for him if I asked?”
With such a rhetorical question, Lan WangJi was surprisingly at a lost for words. He glared at him for a long while before he turned to Wen Yuan. Due to his stare, Wen Yuan started shaking again.
A moment later, Lan WangJi asked Wen Yuan, “Which one… do you want?”
Wen Yuan hadn’t understood what was going on yet. Lan WangJi pointed at the things in the vendor’s baskets, “Of the things here, which one do you want?”
Wen Yuan stared at him in terror. He didn’t even dare let out a single breath.
An hour later, Wen Yuan finally stopped crying. He kept on feeling his pockets, stuffed full of the playthings that Lan WangJi bought for him. Seeing that his tears finally stopped, Lan WangJi seemed to be relieved. Yet, with a blushing face, Wen Yuan snuck over quietly and wrapped his arms around his leg.
Looking down, Lan WangJi saw the extra object on his leg, “…”
Wei WuXian laughed madly, “Hahahahaha! Lan Zhan, congratulations! He’s taken a liking to you! He hugs the leg of whoever he likes, and he never lets go.”
Lan WangJi walked a few steps forward. As Wei WuXian said, Wen Yuan clung onto his leg steadily, not at all intending to let go. The hug was quite tight as well.
Wei WuXian patted his shoulder, “In my opinion, you can save your night-hunting for later. How about we get some food first?”
Lan WangJi looked up at him, his tone unwavering, “Get some food?”
Wei WuXian, “Yeah, get some food. Don’t be so cold, will you? You finally came to Yiling for once and I happened to run into you. Let’s reminisce the past together. Come, it’s my treat.”
With Wei WuXian dragging him and Wen Yuan clinging to his leg, Lan WangJi was finally shoved into a restaurant. Wei WuXian sat down in the private room, “Go ahead, order.”
Lan WangJi was pushed onto the sitting mat. Glancing at the menu, he replied, “You can order.”
Wei WuXian, “I’m treating you, so of course you’re the one ordering. Order whatever you like. Don’t be so polite.” Good thing he didn’t buy the poisonous sprouted potatoes so now he had the money to pay. Lan WangJi wasn’t someone who liked to decline things too many times, either. After some thought, he ordered.