Wild Creatures

Chapter 125

There are so many papers here, pages and pages held down by artifacts which are no doubt priceless. Wei Ying doesn't know even where to begin looking, but when his eyes fall on the white envelope with the flame border, he gasps, reaching for it.

"That's what Wen Qing handed to me last night!"

"Yes. And you can see for yourself, it's not even one tenth of what our teams extracted from her." Baoshan Sanren says, frowning. "Clearly, she underestimated us, but that's okay because this is everything they could find. Her treasury is still intact with other expensive antiques, but nothing of my husband's property is left there."

Wei Ying puts his arms around her shoulders.

"All of this belongs to you anyway, grandmother. I'm glad you were able to get it back," he whispers, leaning his head on top of hers.

He's taller than her, but like this and because of her vibrant larger-than-life personality, he feels much smaller.

"I'm going to need your help in translating it." She sniffs and clears her throat. "And that brings me to you."

"What about me?" Wei Ying asks her suspiciously, stepping back from her, but he's smiling.

"So I was wondering if you'd like to come and work for me?"

She's barely finished speaking before Lan Zhan chimes in. "I believe I offered Wei Ying employment first," he says firmly, standing very close to Wei Ying.

"You did..." Wei Ying looks at him first and then at his grandmother.

There seems to be a clash of opinions here, definitely a nonverbal one.

"But my job offer is something only he can do!" Baoshan Sanren steps forward adamantly, not at all intimidated by a young vampire at least a foot taller than herself.

"Mine, too!" Lan Zhan also steps forward, just as sure. "And my brother is looking for someone we can trust to look after our Homeless people charity."

"I want to train him!" Baoshan Sanren is relentless.

They're almost nose to chest at this point.

"I asked him first." Lan Zhan is beginning to look fierce.

Wei Ying decides to intervene.

"And what about me? Can I choose, or are you both gonna decide for me?" He says it lightly, knowing that both of them are astute enough to recognise his dislike for where this conversation is going. He giggles at the expressions on both of their faces.

"I am sorry. I did not mean-" Lan Zhan begins to say, but Wei Ying closes the distance between them and wraps his arms around his waist, with a finger on his lips.

"We said, no apologies between us," he smiles gently. "I'm still in my drifting mode. But both of you will know when I decide what I'm going to do. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for your consideration...it's just that I also want to spend time with our children, too. These past few years, I've been eeking out time to do that, and I feel, I dunno, stretched? I can't stop feeling like I've been neglecting A-Yuan, and now JingYi. I know it wasn't my fault before, but because now we're in a better place in every way that matters, I want to make better decisions."

Lan Zhan lets himself hug Wei Ying back, satisfaction settling in his bones.

"As long as Wei Ying knows that he has a choice."

"I do." Wei Ying leans up to kiss his cheek. "Now, let's see what Wen Qing wanted me to see. How long before she realises that we've robbed her, Grandmother?"

Baoshan Sanren looks immensely proud of him.

"It's not theft if we're taking back what belongs to us already," she states, smiling back at them.