Wei Ying smiles his bunny smile.
He gets off the bed and holds his hand out to his friend.
Lan Zhan looks at him totally confused.
This is not the reaction he was expecting from Wei Ying.
'I thought he would kiss me.... Lan Zhan.....how stupid of you to presume that he loves you...maybe he forgave you so easily because he doesn't want you to feel guilty... Maybe he feels obligated to you.... maybe... maybe,' Lan Zhan's confused brain comes up with various reasons for sudden change in Wei Ying's actions.

"Lan Zhan....come" Wei Ying says gesturing his friend to hold his hand.

Lan Zhan thinks it's best to do what the other man says so he stands up and holds his hand.

Wei Ying puts his hands inside the front of his robes to check something. Ascertaining that the object is secure he looks around for his flute and Bichen.
He picks up his flute and hands Lan Zhan his Bichen.

'What is he doing???' Lan Zhan wonders getting more and more confused by the second.

Wei Ying smiles and hand in hand they walk out of their room.
Wei Ying quickly scribbles a thank you note, puts it on the table and quietly leads Lan Zhan out of the house.

"Wei Ying, where are we going?," Lan Zhan enquires.
"It's a secret." Wei Ying says smirking mischievously.

It is past midnight and there is no one in sight as the two men start walking towards the market.

"Wei Ying do you need something?" Lan Zhan asks, noticing the route they are taking.

"Hmm?" Wei Ying murmurs.
"It's late, no shops will be open at this time." Lan Zhan clarifies.

"We are not going to the market you Fuddy Duddy. We will just be crossing it." Wei Ying says looking at their joined hands.
Lan Zhan in his confused state of mind had failed to notice that Wei Ying had not let go of his hand. So they were walking hand on hand.
Lan Zhan tries to take his hand out of his friend's grasp.

"Lan Zhan don't you dare do that. You said you would do anything...remember? " Wei Ying says in a mock scolding tone.

Hearing this Lan Zhan's lips curl slightly upwards.
"Lan Zhan... I am taking you to get punished and you dare to smile?" Wei Ying says in mock anger again looking at his friend's face.
Lan Zhan's smile disappears immediately.
"Hahaha... Lan Zhan.... you actually fell for my fake anger... " Wei Ying starts laughing.

Now Lan Zhan smiles a big smile.
'I love this idiot so much.' he thinks happily, 'but if my friendship and my company is all he wants and it can bring him joy... if I can see his beautiful smile everyday, that would be enough for me...his happiness is all that is important..' he tells himself.

They cross the empty market and come to a lake. Wei Ying let's go of Lan Zhan's hand and runs to the docks where the boats are tied. He frees a small one and steps into it.

"Hanguang Jun, what are you doing standing there? Come. Get in the boat. Quick." Wei Ying whispers.

Lan Zhan does what he is told.
Wei Ying hands him one of the pedals and gestures him to sit down.

"Wei Ying... are we stealing a boat now?" Lan Zhan asks.
"It's called borrowing Lan Zhan. I fully intend to return it once I am done using it. Now come. Start rowing. " Wei Ying says dismissing his friend's statement.

'I will find the boat owner and pay him once we are back.' Lan Zhan tells himself.

He takes the other pedal from Wei Ying's hands.
"You are hurt. Rowing is not recommended." he says matter-of-factly and starts rowing the boat.

Wei Ying doesn't say anything and happily sits back and starts looking at the lotus blooming on the lake.

The lake looks beautiful. It's a full moon night.
Lan Zhan looks at Wei Ying's calm face.
'Wei Ying... you are so beautiful in the moonlight.' he thinks.
'I would really envy the woman who gets to hold him... Love him.... He will probably get bored with me once that happens and then ask me to leave.' his heart sinks when he thinks about how he will one day probably be left all alone if Wei Ying decides that he has had enough of him.

"Lan Zhan, take a turn there." Wei Ying points to where they are headed.

"Lotus Cove." Lan Zhan's eyes widened.

"Yes. We are visiting my home. I haven't been back here since I returned. And I really wanted to come here. " Wei Ying says calmly.

"Reckless." Lan Zhan says and smiles a small smile.
'Of course he wants to come home but he is hurt so obviously he needs to protect himself. He wants me to reply in this way. He wants me to protect him.' Lan Zhan thinks. He can protect Wei Ying. He is a good fighter. He is at least useful that way.

"Lan Zhan, let's dock the boat here." Wei Ying instructs pointing at what looks like a small clearing with log sticking out from the ground.

Lan Zhan guides the boat and docks it. The two men jump out of the boat. Wei Ying ties the boat to the log.

Wei Ying holds Lan Zhan's hand again and starts walking towards a thick patch of bushes.
By now Lan Zhan has gotten so used to doing things without getting any explanations for them so he just cherishes the feeling of his friend's hands in his and just follows him willingly.

On arriving near the bushes Wei Ying does an incantation and red sparks fly from his finger tips. And the bushes disappear to reveal what looks like a mud cave.
Wei Ying looks at the cave entrance with excitement.
"Lan Zhan, this is my secret. No one knows about it except for me...not even Jiang Cheng." He says as he walks inside it, pulling Lan Zhan behind him.

"I was an orphan. Uncle took me in. And loved me like his own. But sometimes I felt like running away. So I slowly made this cave so I could go out anytime I wanted to. So when I used to get grounded by Madam Yu I snuck out and goofed around to my hearts content....I never thought that one day this old passage would be the only way for me to enter my home." Wei Ying finishes with a pained look in his eyes.
Lan Zhan's heart breaks to look at his friend looking so dejected but there is nothing he can do about it.

After a minute or two of walking in silence, Wei Ying stops and casually takes Bichen from Lan Zhan's hand.
He lifts it up and pokes the ceiling of the cave. It takes a bit effort but after a few seconds the ceiling lifts up. Wei Ying carefully slides the ceiling over with practiced hands...like he is used to it.
He returns Bichen to Lan Zhan and prepares to pull himself up but Lan Zhan stops him.
Wei Ying looks at his friend questioningly.

"Let me go up first. I will pull you up." Lan Zhan says logically.
Wei Ying nods.
In one swift motion Lan Zhan pulls himself up. He looks around. The room looks unused. It has everything that a bedroom is supposed to have What is surprising though is the fact that the room is spotless. It looks like it's been taken care of.
After ascertaining that it's safe Lan Zhan carefully puts his hands to where Wei Ying is and gently pulls him up . Once up, he awkwardly let's go of his friend and starts looking around once more.

"Jian Cheng sure took good care of my room." Wei Ying says sarcastically.
'My room is luckier than me' he thinks to himself.
He then gets up and goes to his cupboard. He opens it to find a few pairs of clothes. His eyes fall on one particular dress. He takes it out and turns to Lan Zhan.
"Look Lan Zhan, my uniform from my days studying with you." Wei Ying says hugging the cloths.
He breaths the scent of the cloths.
"They smell like sandalwood. They smell like you Lan Zhan." Wei Ying says more to himself than to Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan feels a flush rise to his cheek at the sight of his friend talking about him in such an intimate way. He can't help but walk over to his friend.
He lifts his hand to touch Wei Ying's cheek but stops himself.
He is about to pull his hand back when Wei Ying holds his wrist and brings Lan Zhan's palm to his cheek. Wei Ying then puts his friend's fingers to his lips and gently kisses each of Lan Zhan's finger tips one by one all the while looking lovingly at his friend.

Lan Zhan feels his heart become full....Wei Ying has filled his heart with only his loving gaze.
He thinks 'If only I get to be loved by you Wei Ying , I wouldn't ask for anything else in this lifetime and I would have no regrets.'

{Note :- As always your comments and feedbacks and Votes motivate me.
Thank you for reading.
Have a nice day }