Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

The Voice of the Soul Part 3

Pre-chorus

Lan Zhan brings their tea cups to the kitchen table and fetches a plate of quadruple chocolate chip cookies in case Wei Ying likes to snack while he's studying and thinks about the question. In the end, he opts for honesty.

"I am uncomfortable with the assignment," he says, sitting down next to Wei Ying.

Having him here in his space feels like a guilty pleasure. Lan Zhan can hardly believe it, that Wei Ying is really here, in this kitchen, sitting next to him. It feels surreal. Like if he blinks, this mirage of Wei Ying will disappear and Lan Zhan will be all alone again, within the confines of his mind.

"Okay." Wei Ying stops setting up his laptop and fiddling with the keys and the USB stick he's brought with him in the shape of a black flute, complete with a red tassel. He half turns in his seat to face Lan Zhan fully, with one leg up on the seat, resting his arms on his knee. "Talk to me, Gege. What is it about writing poems or songs that you don't like?"

"All of it."

Wei Ying giggles.

It's so unexpected that Lan Zhan almost smiles.

"Well, that IS a problem," he says sympathetically. "But it can't be that hard, right?"

"How many songs has Wei Ying written?" Lan Zhan fires back with a raised brow.

"Well, none yet. No poems either, but I hear you have to be quite an angsty teenager to get a really good one. I think songs are happier for sure, even if poems can be about anything." Wei Ying taps his nose, thinking. "Maybe if we figure out the genre, it'll make it easier, yeah?"

"Mn. What kind of music does Wei Ying like?"

"All kinds. I mean, I haven't met a music category I haven't liked yet, so there's that. I'm pretty adaptable."

Oh. Well, Lan Zhan hadn't been expecting such an answer. "I thought you might have a preference."

"Oh yeah, definitely. I love rock music. There's something about the right guitar riff that sets my heart on fire, when the flow of the music is just right and you feel like you're flying? When everything else just fades away, and there's only you and the music, and it's like you want to crawl inside each note and just stay there? When I listen to my favourite song, it feels like there's this perfect place and there's nothing but a high of happiness and it's like your connection to the Universe, like that's YOUR place, man! And you're the exact right shape for that size, you don't have to make yourself smaller or pretend to be something you're not...like that particular melody is allowing you to just be yourself. Do you get it? Wei Ying finishes, looking back at him.

He's a candle in the dark, a torch in the empty dark cave of Lan Zhan's mind, and he thinks about his mother, how she used to view music.

"My mother told me that music is part of your soul. Just like you need food for your body, in the same way, you need music as food for your soul." Lan Zhan looks down at his knee where Wei Ying has patted it.

"Did she used to play any instrument?" Wei Ying asks him gently, a lot quieter now after his outburst.

"Mn. She always tried her hand at everything, but she preferred the guqin. What about Wei Ying?"

"Dizi, but ever since I discovered rock music, I've been saving up for my own electric guitar. Summer jobs, tuition, like, anything I can do to earn it. And I've been practising in the local arcade."

"But isn't that for playing games?" Lan Zhan asks.

"Well, yeah...oh, my god! How long has it been since you've gone to an arcade?" Wei Ying sits up straight, waiting for his answer. Anxious about it.