Past is set in stone, only your feelings may change

Painting

Wei Wuxian opened his eyes while blinking slowly. His head still hurt from when the consequences of using so much of his forces had come to haunt him. He should have been more careful and should not have let his emotions get the better of him. He should have known that even with his name mostly cleared in the eyes of the cultivation world, Jiang Cheng would not forgive him so easily. He should have known that going into the Yunmeng Jiang clan's ancestral hall would be a bad idea.

He did not know what had happened after he had asked Lan Zhan to take him away from there but it was clear that they were not in Lotus Pier anymore. The feeling was familiar and he realized that he was laying down in a boat and his head was in someone's lap. Lan Zhan's, he could not be mistaken.

He blinked again to get himself rid of the lingering fatigue, confusion and headache and he sat up. Lan Zhan immediately helped him to position himself with his back against the boat's side. Wei Wuxian was grateful. He was still feeling slightly dizzy, and he also liked how Lan Zhan did not let go of him even after he was already sitting comfortably by himself.

He looked around and tried to see where they were. They were on a lotus lake and Lotus Pier could still be seen in the distance. It seemed like they have gotten away just fine. He wondered why that was, he had been sure that Jiang Cheng would not let him go easily. Wen Ning was in the boat with them but Wei Wuxian directed his question to the Second Jade:

"Lan Zhan, how did we get away?"

"We fought," was a laconic reply.

From the expression on Lan Zhan's face, Wei Wuxian could tell that this was not all but he let it slide. Lan Zhan seemed sour enough as it was, perhaps even angry at Jiang Cheng, he did not want their relationship becoming even worse. There was still a possibility that his brother would come around one day and would be willing to rebuild their relationship. It would not do at that time if Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng would be in a sort of a cold war.

As he was looking at the lake and Lan Zhan and Wen Ning sitting in the same boat with him, he remembered how he had been sitting like this, just with different people. Memories of the time spent with Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli perhaps in the same boat, all carefree and happy flooded his mind. Tears gathered in his eyes.

Instead, Wei Wuxian whined in order to redirect everyone's attention, especially his own: "Lan Zhan, I am hungry!" At the same time, he plucked three of the nearby lotus pots, gave two of them to the others and was about to start peeling the seeds out of his. The season was just right, he was sure the seeds would be perfectly ripe and delicious. He wanted to share them with Lan Zhan.

However, it seemed like the ever proper and righteous Hanguang-Jun was not about to let him steal even a single seed. "Wei Ying, does this lake belong to anyone?"

Wei Wuxian lowered his lotus pot, suddenly feeling like he was being scolded, he pouted a response: "Of course not."

"I heard that all lakes in Yunmeng belonged to someone." Lan Zhan was apparently not about to let the matter go. He was scolding him for stealing, the seed in his mouth suddenly became bitter.

"Wen Ning, let us go."

Lan Zhan must have seen right through his unhappiness. He suddenly leaned down and picked a lotus pot which he offered to him. Wei Wuxian was flabbergasted, Lan Zhan was stealing! He was breaking his own clan's rules just because Wei Wuxian was unhappy.

He wanted to capture this scene on paper and hide the painting away for forever. If he had had any doubts about Lan Zhan liking him to the point of not minding breaking the Gusu Lan sect rules, they had vanished instantly. Lan Zhan really was the best.