Wild Creatures

Chapter 108

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are riding up in the elevator, in Baoshan Sanren's underground fortress, when Wei Ying remembers something.

He's still tired, but that might be the peripheral feeling of sleeping too much after staying awake too long, and Wei Ying really needs some strong coffee now. He tugs on Lan Zhan's hand, already joined together.

"Mn?" Lan Zhan hasn't been able to look away, not since Wei Ying woke up.

He can't stop touching him, either, and for now, Lan Zhan doesn't want to question it.

"So you know what you were saying about when I'm making people feel like I want them to feel? I reckon we can add a couple more things to that. And I can definitely say that they're new traits, because for sure, I didn't have them before."

Lan Zhan looks into beautiful silver eyes, so much calmer now than in the past few days. His Wei Ying is radiant, like a freshly ignited candle chasing away the darkness.

"Such as?" He pulls Wei Ying closer just to be able to kiss his forehead.

"Well, do you remember when we found the underground room at the Lan Manor? I thought we hit a dead end, and then you showed us the keyhole where this was supposed to fit?" Wei Ying pulls out the priceless locket on the black string around his neck. For now, he's removed the clunky HeartStone from it, keeping that second priceless part safely in his pocket.

"Wei Ying figured it out by himself," Lan Zhan says, proudly.

"Um, so kind of? I've been having weird dreams lately. And I'm sorry for not saying anything earlier, but that was partly because I wasn't sure what I was seeing exactly, and I didn't want to worry you, and also by the time I realised it, we were neck-deep in fighting vampires."

They step out of the lift onto the floor where Baoshan Sanren's office is, and they make their way towards it slowly.

"What kind of weird dreams?"

"The premonition type weird dreams? It's really hard to explain, because when they're happening, I don't know what I'm seeing, or what it could be related to. And they don't happen all the time, but I think it's when I'm stressed about what is going to happen." Wei Ying's brow is furrowed, as he struggles to explain.

"Like your mother?" As always, Lan Zhan is able to reach the crux of the matter.

"Yeah...?" Wei Ying is scared to admit it. "The thing is, I don't know how much of that is wishful thinking, like...I'm projecting because I want to feel closer to her, or if it's really real. But every time I had to figure out stuff about the locket and the HeartStone, it's like my subconscious already knew what to do."

"Perhaps Wei Ying is overthinking this part." Lan Zhan brings their joined hands up to his lips, kissing Wei Ying's side.

"What do you mean?"

They stop outside the double doors of the office, neither wanting to interrupt this conversation right now.

"Does it matter how this gift appeared? And wanting to be close to those who have passed is not such a bad thing. We can let things happen without thinking about them too hard, for now. Meaning, the origins of the gift don't necessarily matter, and it is a waste of energy to focus on that, rather than simply embracing the gift itself. Wei Ying said a couple, so what else has changed?" Lan Zhan places both of his hands on Wei Ying's shoulders so that they are facing each other. "Please tell me."

"Oh, well, you're gonna love this one. I'm much stronger. I mean, it may have been the adrenaline spike because it was just after we found your phone, and you were missing, and then I really hate being threatened-"