When We Were Young || A WangXian Fanfiction

Age 6 (cont.)

I blinked a couple times. "Will you really listen to everything I say?" Wei Ying nodded with full seriousness. "Absolutely." I sighed. 

"I don't have anything to talk about, anyways. I'll be going." I said, standing up abruptly. "Besides, Uncle is expecting me back." Right when I took my first step, Wei Ying stood up abruptly too.

"Wait!" he said. I stopped. "What?"

Wei Ying swallowed. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked. I shook my head. "No. You did nothing wrong. Just...the way you talk..." I said, trailing off, not daring to reveal too much.

Wei Ying tilted his head. "The way I talk? Is there something wrong with the way I talk?" I sighed.

"It's complicated," I said to him. He reached for my hand, but I swiped it away. "Lan Zhan! Please, tell me what's wrong with the way I talk!" I swallowed. There was no way I could get out of this hole I dug myself.

"When did I say something wrong?" he pestered. "Anyways, when did you last hear me talk?" I swallowed again. Dang it Lan Zhan! Now you can't get yourself out of this mess. Wei Ying looked at me suspiciously.

"Lan Zhan...when I was talking to Jiang Cheng and Huaisang, did you hear me?" he said, narrowing his eyes. I shook my head.

"No," I said. "No, I didn't." Wei Ying frowned. "Are you lying to me?" I bit my lip but refused to answer. Wei Ying took my hand firmly and dragged down onto the ground so that we were both squatting again.

"Lan Zhan...answer me truthfully. Were. You. There. When. Jiang. Cheng. Huaisang. And. I. Were. Talking?" he said with full seriousness. I sighed. It was time for me to admit defeat.

"Yes, I was there..." I mumbled. Wei Ying groaned and slapped his forehead.

"Seriously? You were there? I should have answered them more seriously." he sighed. "I'm sorry, Lan Zhan. But why were you even there?" I looked at him guiltily. 

"Actually, I was just walking by. I didn't know you and Jiang Cheng were even there at first. But then I heard your voice, and I really wanted to listen to what you guys were going to say. I'm sorry for eavesdropping. I know I shouldn't have, but..." My heart started to ache. I sniffed a few times, and Wei Ying looked at me with concern. He patted my back.

"It's okay. Take your time," he whispered. "I'm not going anywhere." I wiped my eyes before continuing. 

"It's just...I think I've told you this in the past, but you are my only friend. My only one. Other than my own brother, of course. But still. And when I heard you were talking about me, part of me wanted to hear what you really thought about me, and part of me wanted to run away, just in case it was something...that I didn't expect. The part of me that wanted to hear what you said won, and I just stayed behind a bush and listened. You know Wei Ying, you really threw me off. I got so scared for a moment by your dramatic pause. When you said "no," why did you pause for such a long time! I really thought you meant that you weren't really friends with me for a second," I inhaled deeply before continuing.

"And then you said that "no, you weren't friends with me out of sympathy." Do you know how fast my heart was racing? I was so scared for nothing!" I cried. I could tell Wei Ying was at a loss of words, because he was awkwardly staring at me with his mouth open.

"I-Was my pause really that dramatic?" he asked, with a hint of disbelief. I dipped my head. "Yes. I was really scared for a second. You should really come to Cloud Recesses to learn." I said. He grinned slightly.

"Are you just saying that because you want me to be here all the time?" he said with a goofy smile. I gave him a little smile in return.

"Sure, that's another benefit of you staying. But what I really want you to be here is so you can learn to punctuate your sentences properly." I told him awkwardly. "I swear, you really did scare me..." Wei Ying patted my back.

"I don't know if I'll be allowed to come to Cloud Recesses. But I'll promise you, the next time I meet, I'll change my punctuation. I promise I won't make it as dramatic." he said in a giggly voice. I smiled at him.

"I'm glad to hear that." Just then, we heard Jiang Cheng's voice.

"Wei Ying! Where are you? We have to go!" he called. Wei Ying stood up and winked at me.

"I'll be going now, before Jiang Cheng finds out I've been talking to you," he said. "I'll see you around. Come visit me at Yunmeng at any time!" I bowed to him.

"Thank you for standing up to me. I truly appreciate it. Come to Cloud Recesses, to visit or to learn!" I replied. Wei Ying flashed a smile. "I promise, by the time I next see you, my dramatic pauses will be no more!"

I watched from a distance as he and Jiang Cheng walked out the gates and smile softly, before walking back towards the class.

Although Uncle had originally sent me outside to clear my mind so I could come back to class focused, I was even more distracted then I was originally. I tried to stay focused...but it was too hard to not think about the things we had talked about. I sighed.

"Its better for both of us if he never comes to Cloud Recesses to study. I'll be far too distracted, and I won't be able to keep up my studies." I said softly. "I want to go to Lotus Pier someday though."

Uncle's voice cut off my train of thought. "Lan Zhan? Lan Zhan? Are you awake? I've been calling for you for the past 3 minutes!" I blinked my eyes. 

"Yes, sorry. Uh, what's the question?" I asked guiltily. Uncle sighed, and I smiled sheepishly. 

It'll really affect me if he really comes here to study. I thought to myself. Oh well.