Chapter 44

Chapter 44: The Ninth of the Elite 2

A chicken wing fell out of Lan Jingyi's mouth and dropped into his bowl, splashing sauce everywhere and staining his chest.

Wei Wuxian's mind was filled with a single thought: after Lan Wangji sobers up, he won’t be able to face anyone.

Jin Ling looked puzzled and asked, “...What is he doing?”

Wei Wuxian replied, “I’m showing you a special way to use the Lan family’s forehead ribbon.”

Lan Sizhui asked, “What special way...”

Wei Wuxian said, “When you encounter a very strange walking corpse that you think needs to be taken back for examination, you can untie the forehead ribbon and use it to bind them for the journey.”

Lan Jingyi exclaimed, “How can that be? The forehead ribbon of our family is...”

Lan Sizhui stuffed the chicken wing back into his mouth and said, “So that’s how it is. I didn’t know it had such a wonderful use!”

Ignoring the strange looks from the people along the way, Lan Wangji dragged Wei Wuxian upstairs.

Entering the room, turning around, closing the door, and bolting it. The final step was pushing the table in front of the door, as if to block potential enemies outside. As Lan Wangji busied himself with these actions, Wei Wuxian teased, “Are you planning to kill and dismember someone here?”

The elegant room had a wooden screen dividing the space into two parts: one with seats and tables for conversation and dining, and the other with a long daybed for resting, draped with curtains. Lan Wangji dragged him behind the screen and gave him a firm push, causing Wei Wuxian to fall back onto the daybed.

The daybed had a wooden back screen, and Wei Wuxian’s head lightly bumped against it, letting out a perfunctory “Ouch.” In his mind, he thought, “Is he going to make me sleep with him again? Isn’t it still too early for that?”

Seeing him cry out, Lan Wangji, with an expressionless face but a gentle touch, lifted the hem of his white robe and sat down gracefully by the side of the daybed. He reached out and touched Wei Wuxian’s head, as if asking: Does it hurt?

As Lan Wangji touched him, Wei Wuxian twitched at the corner of his mouth and said, “It hurts, it really hurts, it hurts so much!”

Hearing his continuous complaints of pain, a slight worry appeared on Lan Wangji’s face, and his hand became even gentler as he comfortingly patted Wei Wuxian’s shoulder. Wei Wuxian raised his bound hands and said, “Let me go. Hanguang Jun, you’ve tied me so tightly I’m about to bleed. It hurts so much. Untie the forehead ribbon and let me go, okay? Okay?”

Lan Wangji quickly clamped his hand over Wei Wuxian’s mouth.

Wei Wuxian mumbled, “Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm! Mm mm mm mm mm mm mm!”

If you don’t want to do something, you pretend not to understand, and if you can’t pretend, you just stop me from talking?! How despicable!

Wei Wuxian thought: If that’s how it is, then don’t blame me.

With one hand tightly covering his mouth, Wei Wuxian parted his lips, and his tongue quickly flicked across Lan Wangji’s palm.

It was just a fleeting touch, but Lan Wangji reacted as if his palm had been scorched by fire, quickly pulling his hand back.

Wei Wuxian took a deep breath, feeling a sense of satisfaction, but then saw Lan Wangji turn around, sitting with his knees hugged, the hand that had been lightly licked by Wei Wuxian held near his chest, and he became completely still.

Wei Wuxian said, “What’s going on? What’s this all about?”

He looked like someone who had been wronged, as if Wei Wuxian had done something terrible to him.

Seeing how affected he seemed, Wei Wuxian said, “You don’t like it? Well, tough luck. Who told you to be so overbearing and not let me speak? If you come over here, I’ll wipe it for you.”

He reached out with his bound hands to touch Lan Wangji’s shoulder, but Lan Wangji dodged him. Seeing Lan Wangji hugging his knees and silently huddling in the corner of the daybed, Wei Wuxian’s mischievous desire surged again.

Kneeling on the bed and crawling towards Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian smiled with the most mischievous tone he could muster, “Are you scared?”

Lan Wangji leaped off the bed, as if suddenly afraid, and kept his distance, turning his back on Wei Wuxian.

Now Wei Wuxian was really starting to let loose.

He slowly got off the bed and grinned, "Hey, what are you hiding from? Don’t run! My hands are still tied. If I’m not scared, why should you be? Come on, don’t be shy!"

He laughed mischievously as he approached. Lan Wangji dashed out of the screen and ran into the table he had pushed against the door earlier. Wei Wuxian went around the screen to chase him, and Lan Wangji circled around from the other side. They ran around the screen seven or eight times. Wei Wuxian was having a blast when he suddenly snapped out of it, thinking, "What am I doing? Playing hide and seek? What the hell? Has my brain been squeezed by a door? Lan Zhan is drunk, sure, but why am I playing along?"

Seeing that the person chasing him had stopped, Lan Wangji also stood still.

He hid behind the screen, peeking out with a small part of his snow-white face, silently spying on Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian observed him closely. Lan Wangji still looked serious and solemn, as if the person who had been running around the screen with Wei Wuxian like a six-year-old was someone else entirely.

Wei Wuxian said, "Do you want to continue?"

Lan Wangji gave a slight nod, his face as unreadable as ever.

Wei Wuxian was barely holding back his laughter, his stomach aching from the effort.

Wei Wuxian couldn’t stop laughing inside. Oh my god, Lan Zhan wants to play hide and seek when he’s drunk! In a family like the Gusu Lan Family, where even fast walking is forbidden, Lan Zhan must have never gone wild as a child. Poor guy. Anyway, he won’t remember anything when he wakes up, so there’s no harm in playing with him a little.

He ran two steps toward Lan Wangji, pretending to chase him. Sure enough, Lan Wangji ran away again. Wei Wuxian treated him like a child, energetically playing along, and ran after him for two or three laps before saying, "Run, run faster! If I catch you, I’ll kiss you again. Let’s see if you’re afraid."

He meant it as a threat, but unexpectedly, Lan Wangji walked toward him from the other side of the screen and they collided head-on.

Wei Wuxian was about to grab him but didn’t expect Lan Wangji to come right up to him, leaving him momentarily speechless. Lan Wangji lifted Wei Wuxian’s bound wrists and looped his arms around his neck, as if voluntarily entering an inescapable trap, and said, "Caught you."

Wei Wuxian: "...Yeah, caught."

It was as if Lan Wangji was waiting expectantly for something, but after a long while, nothing happened. Lan Wangji repeated the words again, this time emphasizing each syllable, as if urging with some anxiety, "Caught."

Wei Wuxian said, "Yeah, caught."

Caught, then what?

What did I say? What was I supposed to do if I caught him?

...No way.

Wei Wuxian said, "This time doesn’t count. You came over on your own..."

Before he could finish, Lan Wangji’s expression darkened, his face cold and displeased.

Wei Wuxian thought, "No way, does Lan Zhan not only like playing hide and seek when he’s drunk, but also enjoys being kissed?"

He tried to take his arms away from Lan Wangji’s neck, but Lan Wangji pressed down on his hands, holding them firmly. Seeing Lan Wangji’s hand on his arm, Wei Wuxian leaned in and tentatively brushed his cheek against Lan Wangji’s hand, his lips seemingly touching but not quite, his tongue lightly sweeping across the cool skin.

A very light touch.

Lan Wangji pulled his hand back like lightning, removed Wei Wuxian’s arms, jumped to the side, and stood silently with his back to Wei Wuxian, lost in thought.

Wei Wuxian pondered, "Is he afraid, or does he actually like it? Or maybe both?"

Just as he was thinking, Lan Wangji turned around and, with a calm expression, said, "Again."

Wei Wuxian: "Again? What again?"

Lan Wangji hid behind the screen again, peeking out with a small part of his face.

The message was clear: if I run, you chase.

After a moment of silence, Wei Wuxian complied and went on the offensive again. This time, after just two steps, Lan Wangji ran into him once more.

Wei Wuxian smirked. "You’re really doing this on purpose, aren’t you?"

Lan Wangji once again wrapped his arms around Wei Wuxian’s neck, as if he hadn’t heard the words, waiting for Wei Wuxian to fulfill his promise once more.

Wei Wuxian thought, "Am I seriously just letting Lan Zhan have all the fun here? No way. Since he won’t remember any of this when he wakes up, I might as well take advantage of the situation... but not too much."

Holding onto Lan Wangji, the two of them sat down on the wooden bed. Wei Wuxian said, "You like this, don’t you? Don’t turn away. Tell me, do you like it or not? If you enjoy this, we don’t have to chase each other every time. I’ll let you have your fill."

Saying that, he took Lan Wangji’s hand, leaned down, and kissed the space between his slender, pale fingers.

When Lan Wangji tried to pull his hand back, Wei Wuxian held onto it firmly.

Wei Wuxian’s lips then pressed to his knuckles, his shallow breath traveling up his fingers to his hand. There, he kissed it again.

No matter how Lan Wangji tried to pull his hand back, he couldn’t. He clenched his fingers into a fist.

Wei Wuxian pulled up his sleeve, exposing his snow-white wrist, and kissed it as well.

Without looking up, he lifted his gaze and asked, "Is that enough for you?"

Lan Wangji kept his mouth tightly shut, not saying a word. Wei Wuxian slowly sat up and said, "Tell me, did you burn paper money for me?"

Receiving no response, Wei Wuxian chuckled and pressed closer, kissing his chest through his clothes. "If you don’t speak, I won’t give you any. Tell me, how did you recognize me?"

Lan Wangji closed his eyes, his lips trembling as if he was about to confess.

But just then, Wei Wuxian, entranced, kissed those soft, pale red lips.

After the kiss, he still felt unsatisfied and licked them once.

Both of them suddenly widened their eyes.

After a moment, Lan Wangji suddenly raised his hand. Wei Wuxian froze, drenched in cold sweat, fearing Lan Wangji would strike him so hard his organs would scatter. He quickly rolled off the bed. When he turned around, he saw Lan Wangji slap his own forehead, knocking himself out and collapsing back onto the bed.

In the private room, Lan Wangji lay on the bed, and Wei Wuxian sat on the floor. A cold breeze blew in through the opened window, sending a chill down Wei Wuxian’s back, sobering him slightly.

He stood up from the floor, pushed the table back to its original position, and sat down beside it.

After a moment of silence, he focused on untying the ribbon from his wrist, gnawing at the tight knots until they finally came loose.

With his hands free, he instinctively poured himself a cup of wine to calm his nerves. He brought the cup to his lips but realized after a while that there wasn’t a single drop in it. The wine in the jug had already been finished in one gulp earlier, and he hadn’t even noticed.

Wei Wuxian placed the empty cup on the table and thought, "Why drink more? I’ve had enough today."

At that moment, as he turned his head, he could just miss the screen and see Lan Wangji lying quietly on the bed from the side. He thought, "...I really overdid it today. Even though Lan Zhan is drunk and probably won’t remember this, I shouldn’t have taken advantage of him like that. It’s not right."

But thinking about what he had just done, Wei Wuxian couldn’t stop himself from raising a hand to his lips, still feeling the lingering warmth of the kiss.

He held the forehead ribbon and stroked it for a long time until it finally lay flat. Walking to the side of the bed, he placed it next to the pillow, resisting the urge to glance at Lan Wangji’s face. He crouched down to remove Lan Wangji’s boots and arranged him in the traditional Lan family sleeping position.

After finishing, Wei Wuxian leaned against the wooden bed, sitting on the floor. As his thoughts drifted, one thing became painfully clear:

"From now on, I should keep Lan Zhan away from alcohol. If he acts like this with anyone else, it could lead to serious trouble."