Chapter 126 (END) (1/2)
Translated by K of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
When Lan WangJi came back, Wei WuXian had already counted to about one thousand and three hundred.
“One thousand three hundred sixty-nine, one thousand three hundred seventy, one thousand three hundred seventy-one…”
He lifted his leg again and again, the colorful shuttlecock bouncing around his foot. It flew high up in the air, dropped firmly, before shooting even higher and diving down again. It seemed as though a formless thread was connected to it, eternally preventing it from leaving a part of Wei WuXian’s body.
At the same time, a formless thread was fixed to the gazes of the children at the side.
And then he heard Wei WuXian count, “One thousand three hundred seventy-two, one thousand three hundred eighty-one…”
Lan WangJi, “…”
Under the shower of the children’s admiration, Wei WuXian cheated just like that. On the other hand, the enormous number had already stripped the sniffling children of their judgement, so much that not a single one of them noticed what was wrong. Lan WangJi watched with his own eyes as Wei WuXian kicked his way from seventy-two to eighty-one, then from eighty-one to ninety. Just as he was about to make another leap, Wei WuXian just so happened to catch sight of Lan WangJi. His eyes brightened, as if he was about to call his name. With a blunder in his force, the bright-feathered shuttlecock flew past his head and plunged behind Wei WuXian’s back.
Seeing that he was about to miss, he hastened to make a backwards kick, saving it with the heel of his foot. The last kick went the highest, accompanied by a reverberating, “One thousand six hundred!” The children all exclaimed with astonishment, clapping with all their might.
The outcome was clear. A little girl screamed, “One thousand six hundred! He won, you lost!”
In high spirits, Wei WuXian accepted the victory without a sliver of doubt. Lan WangJi lifted his hands as well, letting out a few claps.
However, one of the boys furrowed his brows, biting his finger, “I feel like… something’s not right.”
Wei WuXian, “What’s not right?”
The boy, “Why would it be another hundred right after ninety? Something’s definitely wrong.”
It seemed that the children had already split into two factions. One of them was clearly already under Wei WuXian’s influence, nagging, “That’s impossible. You’re just unwilling to accept your defeat.”
Wei WuXian also theorized, “Why wouldn’t it be another hundred after ninety? Count it out yourself. What’s after nine?”
With much difficulty, the boy fumbled with his fingers for a while, “… Seven, eight, nine, ten…”
Immediately, Wei WuXian interrupted, “Look, ten comes after nine, so a hundred must come after ninety.”
The boy was still unsure, “… Really? I don’t think so??”
Wei WuXian, “How come? If you don’t believe me, let’s ask someone on the streets.”
He looked around for a moment before slapping his leg, “Oh hey, I found one. You, Young Master, who looks extremely reliable. Please wait a moment!”
“…”
And thus, Lan WangJi waited, “What is it?”
Wei WuXian, “Could I please ask you a question?”
Lan WangJi, “Yes.”
Wei WuXian asked, “Excuse me, but what comes after ninety?”
Lan WangJi, “A hundred.”
Wei WuXian saluted him, “Thank you.”
Lan WangJi nodded, “You are welcome.”
Grinning, Wei WuXian nodded as well, turning around to face the boy, “You see?”
The boy didn’t really trust the snickering Wei WuXian, but looking at Lan WangJi, he felt a deep sense of awe toward such a young master, whose clothes were white as snow, sword was adorned with jade, and features were so handsome that he almost looked like a deity. His wavering heart was immediately persuaded, mumbling, “So that’s how you count…”
The children chirped, “One thousand six hundred to three hundred—you lost!”
The boy was stubborn, “It’s my loss, then.” As he spoke, he handed the stick of sugared haws to Wei WuXian, his voice loud, “You won! Here, for you!”
After the children had left, Wei WuXian spoke up, holding the stick of haws in his mouth, “HanGuang-Jun, you really saved me some face.”
Lan WangJi finally walked to his side, “Apologies for the wait.”
Wei WuXian shook his head, “Not at all, not at all. You’ve been gone for just a while. I’d only kicked the shuttlecock for a bit more than three hundred times.”
Lan WangJi, “One thousand six hundred.”
Wei WuXian laughed out loud, biting off one of the haws. Lan WangJi was about to speak again when something cold touched his lips, leaving a sweet taste on his tongue. Wei WeiXian had stuffed the remaining stick of haws into his mouth.
Noticing his unusual expression, Wei WuXian asked, “Do you eat sweet things?”
Holding the haws in his mouth, Lan WangJi neither ate it nor spat it out, unable to say anything. Wei WuXian, “If you don’t, I’ll have it.” He grabbed the thin stick of the haws, wanting to take it back, but he couldn’t pull it out even after a few tries. It seemed that Lan WangJi had bit into it with his teeth. Wei WuXian grinned, “So are you going to eat it or not?”
Lan WangJi bit off a haw as well, “I am.”
Wei WuXian, “That’s more like it. Just say it if you want some. You’ve really been like this ever since you were young, holding everything in and never saying what you want.”
After he laughed for a while, the two sauntered into the town.
Wei WuXian had always been mischievous and greedy while he was out on the streets. He ran quickly and wanted everything. When he saw something interesting, he had to give it a few squeezes, or when he sniffed the mouth-watering smoke that wafted by, he had to get some and try it out. Under his encouragement, Lan WangJi also tried some snacks he would never even have touched. When he finished them, Wei WuXian would always ask, “How was it? How was it?” Sometimes, Lan WangJi replied ‘fine’, while other times he replied ‘excellent’, yet more often than not he replied ‘strange’. Every time this happened, Wei WuXian would laugh and take it, not letting him have anymore.
They originally intended to find somewhere for lunch, but Wei WuXian ate all the way from the West to the East, filling his stomach. At the end, he was lazy even in walking, and the two found a decent soup shop to and sat down to have some soup.
Wei WuXian played with the sliced radish as he ate, waiting for the pork ribs and lotus root soup that he ordered. As he saw Lan WangJi stand up, he asked in surprise, “What are you doing?”
Lan WangJi, “I will be back soon.” And as he said, he came back just a bit after he left. The soup happened to arrive as well. Wei WuXian took a sip. After the waiter went, he whispered to Lan WangJi, “It’s not good.”
Lan WangJi tried a spoonful, having only a slight taste, “How so?”
Wei WuXian stirred his spoon in his bowl, “The lotus can’t be too hard. It’d be better if it were pinker. The place is a bit shy with the seasoning. It hadn’t been boiled long enough and the flavors hadn’t been soaked in properly. Anyhow, it’s not as good as my shijie’s.”
He was only making casual remarks, thinking that Lan WangJi would at most listen and respond with a few mn’s. Yet, he not only listened keenly, but even asked, “How should the seasoning be? How can the flavors be soaked in?”
Wei WuXian finally noticed something, amused, “HanGuang-Jun, you’re not thinking of making me lotus soup, are you? Just now, did you go to watch the process?”
Before Lan WangJi even answered, he already began to laugh at him, “Haha, HanGuang-Jun, I’m really not trying to look down on you, but nobody in your sect ever does any work in the kitchen, and on top of that your tastebuds grew up with that kind of food. I doubt anything you make can even make it past the eyes.”
Lan WangJi had another sip of his soup, neither confirming nor denying it. Wei WuXian was still waiting for him to respond, yet he was as firm as a mountain. He finally couldn’t wait any longer.
With a thick face, he asked again, “Lan Zhan, did you really mean that you want to cook for me?”
Surprisingly, Lan WangJi was quite calm. He said neither ‘yes’ nor ‘no’.
Wei WuXian was beginning to grow desperate. He sprang up, his hands propper up on the corners of the table, “Say something, won’t you?”
Lan WangJi, “Mn.”
Wei WuXian, “So is that a yes or a no? Lan Zhan, my dear, I said that all to tease you. If you’re really gonna cook for me, even if you burn a hole in the bottom of the pan, I’d eat the pan right in front of your face.”
“…”
Lan WangJi, “That would not be necessary.”
Wei WuXian was about to jump onto his lap and beg, “So are you gonna cook or not? Cook, please, HanGuang-Jun, I’ll eat it!”
Without a change in his expression, Lan WangJi steadied Wei WuXian’s back, “Posture.”
Wei WuXian warned, “Er-Gege, you can’t treat me like this.”
Finally, under all the pestering, Lan WangJi couldn’t keep his cool any longer. He held his hand, “I have already.”
“Huh?” Wei WuXian was surprised, “You’ve cooked for me already? When? What did you make? How come I don’t remember?”
Lan WangJi, “The sect banquet.”
“…” Wei WuXian, “That night, the dishes I thought you bought from the Hunan place at Caiyi Town, you made them with your own hands?”
Lan WangJi, “Mn.”
Wei WuXian was aghast.
He asked, “You were the one who made them? Such a thing as the kitchen exists in the Cloud Recesses?”
“… Of course.”
“You washed and cut the vegetables? You poured the oil into the pan? You added the seasoning?”
“Mn.”
“You… You…”
Wei WuXian was absolutely speechless. In the end, one hand grabbing Lan WangJi’s collar and another hugging his neck, he gave him a fierce kiss.
Luckily, the two always chose the most obscure places to sit, right next to the wall. Holding him, Lan WangJi turned around, making it so that others could only his back as well as the arm Wei WuXian wrapped around his neck.
Seeing how unflustered he was, Wei WuXian reached out and touched, feeling warmth as expected. Lan WangJi caught his mischievous hand, warning him, “Wei Ying.”
Wei WuXian, “I’m right here on your lap, am I not? What are you calling my name for?”
“…”
Wei WuXian responded, his expression serious this time, “I’m sorry. I was just too happy. Lan Zhan, how come you’re so good at everything? You’re amazing even when it comes to cooking!”
His praise was of utmost sincerity. Lan WangJi had heard countless compliments from when he was a child, but not a single one of them were able to make it so hard to stop the corners of his lips from blooming into a smile. He only pretended to be calm, “It was no difficult task.”
Wei WuXian, “No. It is. You don’t know how many times I’ve been chased out of the kitchen.”
“…” Lan WangJi, “Have you burnt a hole in the bottom of the pan?”
Wei WuXian, “Just once. I forgot to add water, but who would’ve known the pan would start burning? Don’t look at me like that. It was just once, really.”
Lan WangJi, “What did you put inside the pan?”
Wei WuXian thought about it for a moment, smiling, “How could I remember something from so long ago so clearly? Forget about it.”
Lan WangJi didn’t comment, but he seemed to have slightly lifted his brow. Wei WuXian pretended as though he didn’t notice the miniscule expression. Suddenly recalling something, he threw his hands up in regret, “But back then why didn’t you tell me you were the one who made them? I was an idiot. I didn’t even eat all that much.”
Lan WangJi, “Do not worry. I can make more when we return.”
After so long, this was the only thing Wei WuXian had been waiting for. He immediately started beaming, not even finding fault in his soup any longer.
They left the restaurant, and the two strolled for a while. Clamor came from ahead of them. Many people surrounded an area covered in small objects, tossing small hoops onto the ground one after another.
Wei WuXian, “This one’s nice.” He grabbed Lan WangJi and took three hoops from the vendor, “Lan Zhan, have you played this before?”
Lan WangJi shook his head. Wei WuXian, “You haven’t even played this before? Let me explain. It’s really simple. Take this hoop, walk a bit backwards, and toss it onto the things on the ground. Whatever it lands on is yours.”
Lan WangJi repeated, “Whatever it lands on is mine.”
Wei WuXian, “That’s it. Which one do you want? I’ll get you whichever one you want.”
Lan WangJi, “Any.”
Wei WuXian propped his elbow on his shoulder, tugging the tail of his forehead ribbon, “It’s a bit embarrassing for you to treat me so casually, isn’t it?”
Lan WangJi replied sincerely, “I want whichever one you get.”
Wei WuXian paused, astonished, “Look at you. What are you doing, in front of all these people?”
Lan WangJi, “What?”
Wei WuXian, “You’re flirting with me.”
Lan WangJi’s expression was calm, “I am not.”
Wei WuXian, “You are! Fine, then I’ll get you… that one, how about that one?”
He was pointing at a big, white turtle made of porcelain placed far away. As he spoke, he took a few steps back, all the way until he was four yards away. The vendor yelled, gesturing, “You’re good, you’re good!”
However, Wei WuXian replied, “Not yet, not yet.”
The vendor shouted, “Young Master, you’re standing too far. This way you won’t be able to get any. Don’t blame it on me for milking your money, then!”
Wei WuXian, “If I don’t stand far, you just might lose yours!”