afterthemoment | [Open RP Post]

I walked into the kitchen and twelve of them were just staring at the oven.

Did you ask them why?

...It was a little unsettling.

Were they cooking something?

Not that I could tell.

That's so weird. I wonder what they were doing. Anyway, you busy tonight? It's boring here.

I'm not busy, no.

Let's go do something fun then!

Being in the background was his preferred situation, all things considered, especially with the current arrangements at his school. He'd been sent along with other members of his family to take part in the education program, but it wasn't as if he was a prodigy like some of the others.

He was more comfortable just fading into the crowd and that would have been fine, except for one thing. He'd accidentally caught the attention of a classmate from another clan, someone he'd.. well, he'd been aware of Wei Wuxian, because who wasn't with the way he tended to make himself known.

Not in a bad way, but he had a tendency to act without considering all the consequences and sometimes Wen Ning wished he was that bold. Granted, his intelligence and skill would have set him apart anyway, but being as outspoken as he was tended to get him noticed for the wrong reasons.

And somehow Wei Wuxian had zeroed on him. He still had no idea why, not really, but it was becoming a routine for the other teenager to show up wherever he was and that was drawing more attention than he was comfortable with.

But he couldn't say as much without being rude, at least not in his own mind so he'd been trying to find new places to study, which was why he'd settled in this corner of the library on campus. Clubs were meeting elsewhere so he had some quiet.

Maybe.

"Wen Ning! So that's there you've been! What are you doing hiding all the back here?"

And there's that pipingly cheerful voice, much too loud to be appropriate within a place for quiet study. Almost as soon as the words are out of his mouth, several of the more serious students in the area, not to the librarian, are all hissing at him to shush. To his credit, Wei Wuxian does lower his voice to a still very audible stage whisper, an effort somewhat contradicted by him just kind of taking a seat on the table next to Wen Ning's books.

"It's so musty and dusty back here... How can you stand it? Besides, it's a beautiful day! How about we take off and go have some fun instead?"

As for why Wei Wuxian isn't attending any clubs, well, he's either tried them and gotten bored with them after about a week, gotten kicked out, or had been preemptively banned from even joining.

He should have expected it, honestly, and maybe he had, at least a little but it still had him almost jump at the first call before he shifted the book he'd been reading, even if he does glance up at Wei Wuxian a moment later.

"I was trying to study." When he finally responds, his voice a little unsteady. "And it's quiet here. I like it." It was easier to focus and people didn't really look at him, or hadn't until now.

Still, it'd be rude to say no, and if they left, at least the other students could study, which is why he's shoving books and papers into his bag.

"We can..maybe outside.." Talk outside is more or less what he means, at least.

With typical obliviousness at any discomfort he might be causing, Wei Wuxian simply smiles and starts helping Wen Ning with his books, shoving them into his bag for him. Once they're safely away, he'll drape an arm around his friend's shoulders and start ushering him toward the library's exit.

"There's this new bookstore that just opened up that Huaisang told me about that I've been wanting to go to! You like books, too, don't you? Maybe we could find something you'll like. It'll be my treat."

It's so rare that Wei Wuxian offers to treat anyone and honestly, who even knows if he has any money him right now. It's the thought that counts, right? And well, if he can't get Wen Ning a treat the honest way, he's not above getting one for him in a dishonest way. Really, who cares if Wei Wuxian pilfers a book for his friend?

He follows along easly enough, relaxing a tiny bit once they're outside, at least until the bookstore comes up and there's a moment where he's just silent, considering how to politely ask the first question that comes to mind.

"...I do like books, yes, but...which bookstore?" Because he hadn't heard of a new one opening and he usually bought secondhand anyway.

"Uh... Huaisang told me the name of it but I already forgot it. But I remember how to get there! It's a little far so we'll have to take a bus. We can stop for food along the way. It'll be my treat!"

Again, with what money, Wei Wuxian? But he has a plan for this, too, one that mostly involves sending Wen Ning out first under the pretext of saying he'll pay and then sneaking out the bathroom window. But it's foolproof! Wei Wuxian's practiced this plan to perfection and he's pretty sure he hasn't hit the place he's thinking of yet. Unless of course, he did and forgot about it .

"I'm sure the bookstore will have something you like in there! Huaisang says it has all kinds of different books. Just about anything you can imagine."

He's been really, really, really looking forward to visiting it, okay.

"I'm not sure Huaisang and I have the same tastes in books." It's a diplomatic attempt at protesting anyway and he checks his wallet before glancing at Wuxian.

"But I'll cover lunch, at least and wait for you outside the bookstore."

"Well, Huaisang has his own tastes. Everyone does, don't they? They're supposed to have all sorts of different kinds of books there. He told me that found some really good poetry books there."

There were erotic poetry books but of course, Wei Wuxian's conveniently forgotten that part of the description.

He'd gotten used to the schedule at the Cloud Recess though, and it had been a tiring traveling home and what accompanied his return. Not that he didn't enjoy reuniting with everyone, he just needed some time to himself so he'd excused himself as soon as it been polite to return to his rooms.

Which hadn't changed in the time he'd been away and he exhaled a slow breath before he started removing his robes to get ready for bed. It was early by Lotus Pier standards, but he'd gotten used to the schedule at Cloud Recesses and it was easier to just readjust gradually.

He had to be up early for training in the morning.

Edited 2020-01-12 06:48 (UTC)

"I'm sure the store does, Wei-gongzi, but...I'm not sure that the sorts of books they sell will be of any interest to me. I don't really like the same kinds of books you and Nie-gongzi do. So if it's all the same, I'd much rather wait while you browse and then we can get lunch."

"Alright, fine. But if there's a book you want somewhere else, tell me, okay? I'd like to get you something nice."

Because Wen Ning's nice, if really shy, and a good friend. As clumsy as Wei Wuxian's attempts at friendship are, they're nonetheless sincere. There's some things he doesn't really get and others he gets a lot more than anyone would expect someone as shamelessly outgoing as he is to.

"So what kind of books do you like to read anyway?"

Maybe he should've asked this first, huh.

"I will." It's an easy response, even if he likely won't follow through on it anytime soon. Although there is a secondhand store he frequents that he might suggest they visit later. It's more comfortable than going to the bigger stores and the owner is nice.

"I read a lot of different types of books. History is good. Zoology, um...Marine biology. I do read some fantasy on occasion..."

He'd been on autopilot ever since he'd been told the news, just going through the motions of making arrangements, speaking to his grandmother on his mother's side and accepting her help with the funerals for his family. Because that was at least something to focus on. The things he had to do, but not why he was doing them.

Because he couldn't face that. Not yet, not even when he was standing there dry-eyed watching them lower the coffins into the ground. He hadn't cried a single tear since he'd stepped foot into the hospital morgue to identify items found on the bodies of his family.

Of everyone he'd grown up with. His mother ring had survived and now rested on his finger and the fire had been ruled an accident allowing for release of the bodies. Once the graves were filled that was when he turned to start walking away.

It was part of his routine now, walking the residential district of the Last Ward where he could be of the most aid in multiple ways and tonight was no different, his footsteps carrying him through the streets, pausing here and there to check on a building he knew was one children and teenagers used for shelter.

Not that he didn't aid the adults either, but the most vulnerable were more likely to be among the children and whether it was money, healing or enough to get them to his uncle's school, it was the least he could do.

And then he turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks when his eyes locked with the man approaching him, his breath catching in his throat. Because that face was unmistakable and given how many mights he saw it in his dreams...

"....Wei Ying?"

Wei Ying had been lost in thought as he rounded the corner, barely paying attention to the path or who happened to be in front of him. Of course, most people would be after waking up in a storage shed with nothing but a file folder emblazoned with the name "Mo Xuanyu" and a post it note that merely instructed him to live his life.

His head has been full but disjointed since awakening, like a hard drive in desperate need of a defrag. His memories are hazy and full of strange blanks and holes that simply don't fill, no matter how hard he strains himself. A quick test had shown him his powers remained intact, powers he only half-remembers how to even use properly. He'd been able to figure out pretty quickly that his body was his own but it shouldn't be. Once the upload had completed, his body should've shut down, his biological brain destroyed by the procedure in the process.

And then someone calls his name. His real name. Wei Ying freezes on the spot, slowly looking up at the speaker. The still very handsome speaker. He stares wide-eyed a moment, cheeks slightly flushed in embarassment? Surprise? What does he even call this feeling?

But one thing is very clear, at least.

That's clearly recognition on Wei Ying's expressive face.

"...Lan Zhan?"

The acknowledgment is enough to have him taking a slow shaky breath, his eyes never leaving the figure in front of him as he moves, closing the last of the distance between them, his hands twitching at his sides.

Because he responded.

Because Wei Ying recognized him and it takes everything he has not to crush the other man to his chest, to kiss him senseless as he drinks in the sight in front of him. Wei Ying alive and moving and not dead in his arms as his last memory of his love.

"..How.?" It slips out, shock clearer in his tone than he'd like it to be.

"I don't know," Wei Ying admits, looking almost ashamed if he's even capable of such an emotion at all. "I just woke up in a shed. There was a file about someone named 'Mo Xuanyu' but I don't know who that is. I think I'm supposed to live as him or something for some reason."

Look, no one's ever said subterfuge was Wei Ying's strong suit but this is transparent and blabbermouthy even for him. Now that he's talking, the flush is dying down and now he just looks pale and tired.

"Hold on, let me check the file. There might be an address."

Of course, he still has the folder, it's his only lifeline here. He doesn't even know how long it's been. Wei Ying cracks it open and starts thumbing through it. After a moment, he finds it.

"Ah, there is one! It's looks like it's the number for an apartment. I think it might be around here someplace. ...I don't think it's anywhere near the Underground."

He breathes a sigh of relief at that. Wei Ying shouldn't be showing his face anywhere near Yakashbah territory. There's always a chance one of his old acquaintances might spot and recognize him. Though honestly, if anyone spots him and recognizes him, that'll be a problem. Maybe he should invest in a mask.

[Open RP Post]

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