Wild Creatures

Chapter 30

Lan Zhan’s sensitive nose has never felt so violated before.

Being in a bar, the smell of alcohol permeates the air and hangs heavy all around them. It's sweet and sour and pungent, and for the hundredth time, Lan Zhan wonders why people need to drink.

Especially when they cannot hold their alcohol.

Wen Chao has a dirty glint in his eyes as he completely dispenses with the glass and drinks from the bottle of chardonnay like it is water. His lips twist into a grimace of mirth, while his beady eyes watch Lan Zhan like a predator.

Lan Zhan catches a whiff of something else…something he can't quite figure out…but it's gone before he can get a handle on it.

Wen Chao stinks of stale beer and curry, none of which gain him points on the attraction scale, and yet somehow, this does not deter Wang Lingjiao from draping herself all over him.

Lan Zhan wonders if her nose is broken, internally.

But then, she probably smells just as bad as him, and as a couple, they match.

Lan Zhan wishes his brother would get back to his side faster, so he wouldn't have to engage in any way with the mess to his left, or if the mess up and left, that would also be an acceptable solution.

Wen Chao pulls out a packet of white pills. They look harmless but Lan Zhan isn't a fool; he knows enough about drugs to understand that they shouldn't be mixed with alcohol…and still, before he can say anything, both Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao chug down two each as if they were candies, washing them down with a bottle of merlot. The switch from white wine to red seems to be unconsciously done, and they're not eating anything in between to soak up the excess alcohol.

Wen Chao misses and ends up staining the whole front of his jacket and shirt, while Wang Lingjiao giggles uncontrollably, her shrill high pitched noise grating on Lan Zhan’s nerves. She gets up to visit the bar once more, when it looks like they're done with this bottle. Their little table is littered with the aftermath of their drinking, empty bottles and rubbish.

There are two wait staff who go around cleaning up tables but the sheer volume of customers tonight, means that they simply haven't gotten around to checking over here, on this side of the bar yet.

XiChen is back and thankfully his presence makes Wen Chao move away.

"Ge…do you know of any other Lan family members nearby?" Lan Zhan asks him.

"There are many distant relatives." XiChen tells him. "Why?"

Lan Zhan explains about JingYi and his situation.

XiChen pulls Lan Zhan’s laptop towards himself, carefully angling it away from Wen Chao's nosy glare, and opens Facebook. From there, it's only a few more clicks before a picture of three happy people lights up the screen.

A man of around thirty years old, has his arm around his wife, the same Mrs Lan who came to visit them earlier, and of course, little JingYi.

"This picture was taken a couple of years ago." XiChen gestures towards the time stamp. "He's a cousin of a cousin."

"But still…he's a Lan. I can't believe a Lan would raise a hand against his own family, Ge."

XiChen pats his knee sympathetically.

"I know it's hard for you…but sometimes, we only share a family name with these types of people. Distance can be created from circumstances and upbringing….we cannot expect every Lan to have our core values." He knows how hard it is for Lan Zhan to accept this.

Their uncle may have been strict with the way they were brought up, but he made sure their moral compasses were functioning properly, with a good ethical base. Lan Zhan is a black-and-white kind of person; he is very objective, very simple when it comes to right and wrong. He does not do blurred lines.