Wild Creatures

Chapter 48

The children predictably fall asleep in the car, almost as soon as they set off.

Wei Ying glances at them on the back seat, hugging their prizes. He shares a smile with Lan Zhan as the latter turns in his seat to reverse them out of their parking spot.

"They're knackered," he beams, hugging his own plushie.

"Mn."

Wei Ying follows that up with a yawn of his own.

The next time Lan Zhan looks over, when the car is waiting for a traffic light to turn green, he sees that Wei Ying has also fallen asleep. He looks so restful and relaxed, it brings a smile to Lan Zhan's face.

His man is so hardworking, always on the go, that moments like this are too few and far between. It makes something warm and fuzzy grow inside him as Lan Zhan takes every opportunity he gets to look over at the sleeping beauty next to him. He feels ever so lucky that Fate, fortune, whatever, chose to throw him into Wei Ying's path, and that he gets to see him every day.

It is the greatest gift.

The drive home is peaceful all the way there, and then just as he parks the car, the lack of motion makes Wei Ying open his beautiful eyes.

He stretches, revealing a sliver of tanned skin, bare and mouthwatering, and Lan Zhan has to clench the steering wheel really hard, in order to stop himself from just grabbing him, and putting his mouth there.

Wei Ying is much too tempting for his own good.

And then, their phones go off, both of them, with a multitude of messages.

"Maybe we didn't have a good signal by the beach." Wei Ying says laughing, picking up a sleeping A-Yuan.

It's an unspoken agreement that the bags can wait, as Lan Zhan picks up JingYi in a similar fashion, and they go inside their apartment building. As Lan Zhan closes the door to the outside, he sees a flash of white. But when he looks again, there is nothing out of the ordinary.

The street is just as dark as usual, only the odd building lights making golden pools on the wet pavement. The night is a mix of dark blues, and pale yellows, a painter's delight capturing suburbia.

Up in their apartment, the adults make quick work of changing the children's clothes and putting them to bed.

They make their way to the usual spot, the couch in the living room.

Then finally, they're free to look at their messages.

Wei Ying has one each from Wen Qing and Wen Ning, both of them having visited here and finding no one at home. Wei Ying sends them a quick response, short and to the point, explaining where they had gone today.

Lan Zhan has several messages.

At the start, XiChen tells him he's spoken to Uncle and would a week night be alright for dinner? He consults with Wei Ying who replies that if they can be home by nine, it should be okay.

Lan Zhan tells him that, and then his phone rings.

"Xiongzhang?" Lan Zhan asks, smoothly. XiChen wouldn't call unless there was an emergency.

"Didi, Huaisang has sent you an email with an attachment. Can you please look at it?" He sounds far too excited, and he may have formed it as a question, but it sounds like a demand.

"Yes, we're just getting settled." Lan Zhan tells him where they were all day, going into details when XiChen's responses sound impatient, just because that petty side to himself is still alive and kicking.