~What If~

Chapter 2

I feel my chest rising up and falling slowly, my back was cushioned with something soft like a bed. Something was covering my body, probably a blanket.  Did one of my disciplines take me back to a guest room?

I slowly open my eyes squinting at the brightness, and the headache I have. Didn’t I only have three cups yesterday? I never got drunk on three cups. I also don’t remember congratulating Second Brother and Jiang Cheng on their wedding yesterday. 

I sit up, letting out a groan at the tightness in my shoulders. I move my arms and shoulders around trying to ease the tension.

I throw the blanket off stretching my legs, but I stop when I see my robes. They were pure white, with the Nie symbol belt.

Huh?

I look around the room, it was scattered with books and fans. It looked so familiar almost like--

I hear a knock on the door, I get up opening it. I see one of my disciples standing there, but something was different…

“Young Master Nie.” The discipline bows down. I freeze, but he continues “ We will be leaving for Qinghe today. You should start packing up.” He hands me grey robes, “Please change into these.” 

He bows again before walking away.

Young Master!?

“No. Maybe I heard wrong.” I assure myself. But I still turn around looking at the room I’m in, it’s very familiar it reminded me of the room I stayed in when I studied in Cloud Recesses. Even my robes looked like when I used to study in cloud recesses.

This must be a weird dream.

I walk over to the desk, it had books and half-painted fans everywhere. I pick up one of the fans, the design was familiar. I feel my eyes widen suddenly, it was one of the fans which I remember painting when I was in Cloud recesses.

I shake my head it must be a dream.

I turn around only to be shocked by a person standing there, I blink.

Wait… that looked awfully like me when I was young. That can’t be me, right? This has to be a dream. Right?

The white robes, the discipline saying Young Master, the books and fans, and now my reflection.

I slowly bring my hands up to my face, and my reflection follows.

It is me. “Ha,” I say.

Then I do the most calmest and cool-headed thing.

“Ahhhhhhhhh” I let out a shriek, falling backward.

What is going on!?

Either this is a very weird dream or I ended up back in time. I start laughing, right. Ending up back in time. Very funny Huaisang.

I have gone crazy.

I hear a knock on the door again, I sit up stopping laughing and fixing my robes before getting up and opening the door.

“Yes?” I say, wiping away the tears which have formed from laughing so hard.

“Brother Nie are you alright?” The voice was very familiar.

I look up to see Brother Wei standing there, he looked worried.

But I felt myself turn pale as I looked at him. He was back in his old body, the one he had before I resurrected him. And he looked young almost like he was 16.

“I was passing by when I heard you scream and then you started laughing?” He asks his brows furrowed like he was very concerned.

I felt my legs get weak as I sank to the ground. No…that can’t be true.

“Brother Nie?”

I let out an awkward laugh, “W-was I that loud?” I ask the only thing I could say at the movement.

“Well the fact that this is cloud recess, I’m pretty sure everyone heard.” He says, bending down to look at me.

“You are fine right?” He asks again.

“O-of course. Perfectly fine…” I say, my head was getting dizzy there was no way I ended up back in time.

But…

It was a bit too real to be a dream.

“What is going on?” We hear a voice ask.

I look, only to see Lan Wangji standing there, he looked very angry as he gazed down at both of us.

He was shorter and younger than I remembered him.

Oh. Right.  I'm back in time.

“Lan Zhan!” Brother Wei breaks out into a smile, “What brings you here?”

Lan Wangji throws a glance at him before turning his gaze to me. He stares.

I felt myself becoming uncomfortable.

“A scream.” He says, “From young master Nie’s room.”

I laugh nervously, “Right… the scream.”

Stop being so awkward, I say to myself.

I clear my throat, “ I just got surprised by my reflection in the mirror and then I started laughing at myself.”

It was the truth. Well, I felt my cheeks heat up a very embarrassing one without the context of ending up back in time.

Lan Wangji looks at me, I could almost see the disbelief in his eyes.

Then, Brother Wei starts laughing. I look up to see him clutching his stomach.

Great. Now they both think I’m stupid.

“You got scared of your own reflection!” Brother Wei states laughing harder this time.

I let out a sigh, getting up from the ground and dusting my robes. My legs finally able to sustain me as I recovered from the shock. I couldn’t help but cross my arms over my chest. It wasn’t that funny…right?

“Ahh, you are too funny Brother Nie.” He was on the ground now, wiping his tears away.

I couldn’t help but let out a huff.

If you woke up back in time as your younger self, you wouldn’t be laughing on the floor right now.

He gets up rubbing his stomach. “Well, at least it wasn’t anything serious.” He says, “From the way you screamed I would have expected you to have really been scared of something.”

I couldn’t help but smile, he cared so mu--

“ Turns out it was your own reflection.” He bursts out laughing again.

Never mind…

“If it is nothing serious. I will leave.” Lan Wangji says, turning around and walking away.

“Eh? Lan Zhan!! Wait for me.” Brother Wei yells.

“No yelling in cloud recess.” Lan Wangji says, stopping so Brother Wei could catch up.

If I wasn’t back in time I wouldn’t have thought anything about it. But I could feel a smile forming on my face, it was so easy to see right through both of them. They both liked each other but didn’t realize it.

They turn around the hallway, Brother Wei’s laugh echoing as he joked with him.

I felt my smile drop, as I was left in silence again.The situation I was in hung over my head.

I ended up back in time.

But why? There was no reason for me to…

What if I had confessed to them before leaving Cloud recesses back then?

The question makes me freeze. That's what I had thought before I blacked out at the wedding.

Don’t tell me… it was because of that.