Soul bound Strangers

37. Pursuit

Two weeks had passed by. 

Zewujun had returned to yunshen.

Wei ying thought that he would receive support from his brother in law in relation to his regular meeting with Lan zhan in the name of Lan ying’s servant. 

However Xichen was shocked that Wei ying did something at the risk of his dear brother’s health. Looking from a closer distance is okay but not a direct contact. 

If someone wanted his brother and brother in law to be happy, Xichen was sure that he would be the first. 

After all he was the one who put so much effort in letting his brother in law stay in yunshen when the entire Lan sect was against it. 

But he wouldn’t want to play with his brother’s health. So he requested Wei ying to stay away from Jingshi for the time being, promising that he can meet JiXian everyday, after his classes. 

Lan zhan who got used to Wei ying’s frequent visits either as a guest or a servant, understood that something was wrong when the visits stopped abruptly. From JiXian, he got to know that they both are still meeting after the classes. 

For JiXian, it didn’t matter much as long as he was able to meet his mama everyday. It was better to not meet at Jingshi getting frequent hole boring stares from his father. 

When Lan zhan asked the guards about the absence of Xian, the guards told him that it was under the orders of Zewujun. 

His brother explained that he is concerned about his health and asked him to trust him with this. 

Lan zhan sensed something illogical here. Even the Jiangs, as a family close to his late wife Lan ying are allowed into his normal day to day life. But why not this Xian? 

More like, his heart was waiting for a valid reason to go in search of Xian.

Yes, it all started from day one when he saw Xian. 

His eyes wanted to keep looking at that man. 

He wanted to know more about the person, spend more time and he really wanted to do it right away. 

This thought process literally scared Lan zhan. He was married. Had a child. And the heart of the Lans always goes to one person in their lifetime. But why would he, as a married man, look at a third person and have such uncontrollable desires? 

Though he had lost Lan ying to time, though he didn’t remember anything about her, he loved her. He knew he still loved her. How come his heart was able to beat for a second person, which was already holding his Lan ying inside? 

This irritated him the most. He cannot have impure thoughts. 

Hence his mind started viewing Xian as an eyesore and he did everything to avoid him as much as possible. 

Whenever Jiang Wanyin brought this irritating servant, he did his best to not look in his direction. 

But soon his eyes started playing games against him. He felt that this servant was also sharing stares at him. He knew he was slowly going mad in this hallucination. So he started to drive the servant away as soon as he entered Jingshi. 

He would then go for a walk through the servant chambers, feeling bad for his own actions. But he had never seen this servant anywhere during his so-called walks. 

He wanted a safe place. He would talk to the red ribbon, his Lan ying. He felt better in her company. He was comforted by the red ribbon, still a part of him longed for someone else. He tried entering the ancestral hall so that he would feel calm in Lan ying’s spiritual presence, but was stopped. 

That particular day he took an oath never to look for the servant, to stop this self torture. 

It was the next day when he unfortunately went to the cold spring after a whole sleepless night. 

He ended up with the servant there coincidentally. It was when the person got up from the water before sprinting away, he realised that it was him. 

The very person he wanted to avoid. Somehow he was able to identify the person, though he had not had a chance to see him much. He had always avoided the person, hasn’t he? How was he able to recognise him? 

Like fate playing a game on him, he got hold of another red ribbon. 

He couldn’t throw it away, nor could he return it to Xian. To return, he must face the person, which he would never do. 

But this also felt good. Lan zhan spent his time with the red ribbons and he didn’t look for the actual person. Like a coward, he hid his emotions with the red ribbon. 

There were times when he wanted to see the actual person, but what would he name this feeling? He didn’t dare to think further. He felt ashamed of himself. 

Lan zhan, a helpless coward. 

He hadn’t expected the person to break into his life once again. He did order the guards and servants to leave. But why? Why was fate willing to toy with him so much? 

A part of him was beyond happy that it happened. And the other half condemned his joy. 

“Xian” 

He didn’t even know the person’s name until a few weeks back.

Though he felt that his sunshine and Xian looked similar in several ways, he thought to himself that the father-son’s hearts were alike. 

Both longed for the same person. 

He felt jealous of both his son and Xian. His son was more comfortable with Xian than himself, and Xian didn’t even look at him when his son was with him. But it felt warm to see them together. 

His sunshine liked Xian, will he approve of him, if he comes to know that his father also…..this remained an incomplete question inside Lan zhan’s mind. 

Xian’s sudden disappearance made him nervous. 

‘Did he see through my impure thoughts?’

‘Was it my brother who sensed my feelings and decided to prevent it?’ 

But he will have to meet Xian to get the answers.