Someone In The Crowd

Chapter - 18

               Wei Wuxian was walking towards the main building through the back alley to get to the younger quickly. Through these years if he had learnt anything about Wangji at all, it was the fact that the younger absolutely abhorred the idea of accompanying people he was not comfortable with. Wuxian saw Jin Guangyao and Wangji talking earlier, and he could tell that Wangji looked troubled.

'In any case,' he thought to himself, 'I know Guangyao, and it is easier for me to show him around than Wangji showing him around.'

He was just about to turn the last corner before entering the main building when, he heard the voices. Not wanting to suddenly turn up awkwardly he decided to see who it was, talking at such a desolate area of the college ground. Slowly walking towards the corner he was surprised to hear Guangyao's voice,

"Can you just listen to me after all these years... once!!"

There was a sense of fatigue in that tone. Surprised, Wuxian slowly peeked around the corner and instantly pulled himself back. He was taken aback seeing that the other person was none but Wangji.

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               Lan Xichen looked up from his phone screen towards his wife who, was busy keeping a hold on their little son. Even though Yuan was a quiet kid, he was very excited to spend with his uncle after nearly a whole month. His wife looked at him quizzically,

"He got engaged in some sort of work. He'll be late and told us to go ahead without him."

Xichen sighed. Qing gave him a slight smile and signalled towards their son. Both of them knew that convincing that kid would take time. All of them were looking forward to this little family time but they knew that there were strings to be pulled after a performance like this. They were not new to all this but it was not that easy for the kid. As Xichen was going to break the excited heart a voice came from behind them:

"Is this not my little Yuan yuan?"

Xichen turned around to come face to face with an angelic smile. A lady was walking towards them waving her hand towards the little boy and smiling brightly. She had a kid with her as well.

"Yanli, how come you're here too?"

Qing was smiling towards the lady too and the man behind the addressed lady looked as lost as Xichen. As it turned out that the two mothers know each other as the kids were in the same school, same class. After a little chit chat the lady complained out loud,

"I can't believe this !! He literally stranded his nephew for some dumb work..."

"You got left behind just like us it seems."

Qing laughed out.

"That little brother of mine will answer for his actions. But the performance was great, right?"

"Yes, it sure was. Was your brother a part of this too?"

"Yeah, he was one of the two main instructors. Was anyone you know involved as well?"

"Yeah, Chen's brother, Wangji. He was an instructor too."

"Ahh!!... Wangji is his brother..."

Yanli was surprised. Throughout the last two months she had heard many things about this man from her brother and was shocked that it was someone so close to her reach.

"So, Wei Wuxian is your brother?"

It was addressed towards Xichen this time.

"Yeah..."

"I always wanted to thank him for taking care of my brother through the weekend last August but never got the chance to. Thought that we could meet today but as it seems that it'll not be possible anymore, I would like to extend my thanks to you, Ms. Yanli."

"Well, Mr. Lan, if you really want to thank me then how about having a meal together? Both our families are stranded by those who invited us after all."

She had a little smile playing on her lips. Xichen looked at Qing before gently smiling and consenting to the idea. Jin Yanli and her husband Jin Zixuan both smiled at the couple. Meanwhile the two kids who were in their own world just moments ago, cheered at the prospect of eating with each other, completely forgetting their uncles' betrayal.

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               Wuxian waited, bated breath to hear the younger but there was no response for a while, only the sound of rustling leaves of the late autumn was heard. The silence was chilling and somehow the cold wind was extending that chill to Wuxian as well.

               After waiting for another minute he craned his neck again to take another glance at the situation only to find Jin Guangyao sitting alone on the bench, his head bent downwards. Wuxian was stunned at this scene. He slowly came out from his hiding spot and made his way towards Guangyao. He quietly sat down beside him and chuckled a little to salvage the damage,

"How come you're sitting here alone Yao Yao? I was informed that one of our colleagues was accompanying you..."

"Yes, Wangji was with me. He abandoned me here Xian."

"Woah, did not expect that from someone like him."

"No, he was not at fault here. It was a miracle in itself that he agreed to come with me at the first place and did not end up hitting me."

He gave a sad smile to Wuxian. On the other hand Wuxian was relieved knowing that he would not end up complaining about Wangji's behaviour to the upper heads. But he was surprised nonetheless.

"Why should he hit you though? You're not someone to pick a fight with someone you met for the first time."

"We didn't meet each other for the first time today. We used to be best of friends back then, when he was still in China and we were still ignorant undergraduates."

He smiled remembering all those memories that he shared with Wangji during their college days or even before that,

"We were very close back then."

Wuxian could tell how much the other must have loved the younger just by the nostalgic look he had on his face.

"What went wrong then?"

There was a pin drop silence for a whole minute. The rustling of the leaves, the muffled sounds of the students celebrating their hard-won weekend holiday and the slight chirp of a bird or two collecting twigs or seeds could be heard in the background. Wuxian knew that to break a friendship so close something very terrible must have had happened, but what he got as the answer was not something he had expected to hear from someone so close to him, even in his worst nightmares,

"I am the sole reason Wangji lost his parents nearly seven years ago."

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Hello, everyone. I know that I haven't updated for the last two weeks. I had a few small exams going on and even though what I had written before the pressure suddenly crushed in, could've been posted as a chapter, I just wanted to publish this whole situation in one chapter. So forgive this super busy and lazy author for the irregular publishing schedule 😅😅. Love you all ❤️❤️.