Fluffy WangXian Oneshots Book Two

To Strike A Match

In the middle of the guest lectures lasting a whole year in Cloud Recesses, one day, Uncle Qiren calls over both the Twin Jades to talk to them.

They're outside the Great Hall, and Uncle Qiren looks to be in an awful hurry, checking his qiankun pouch at the last minute, that he has everything he needs.

"Shifu?" XiChen asks him, with a little uncertainty.

"Ah, good, XiChen, WangJi. I must depart on urgent business in Hexian. But I must inform you of a request made by our Elders. They say that while members of other sects are here, we should take advantage of the situation and think about the future. Both of you are of marriageable age, and it would be in your best interests to keep an open mind. Our objective remains to strengthen our ties with the other sects, and marriage between two like minded people will be most advantageous for all concerned. I will return in a month's time, and I expect results." And with that declaration, Uncle Qiren is off, barely waiting for them to finish bowing to him.

Lan Zhan is horrified at the news, and he turns to look at his brother. XiChen, on the other hand, looks pleased.

"WangJi, do not worry. I can find a suitable match for you, I promise." And with that terrifying message, he's off to go and smile at more strangers, perhaps with an added impromptu flute solo.

Lan Zhan is pissed off. With both of them.

How dare they think about him and marriage in the same sentence? The thought of tethering oneself to another makes him want to throw up, and now he's got a deadline that suddenly seems too short.

"Lan Zhan!"

The voice rings out across the courtyard, far too close for comfort. Maybe Lan Zhan can slip away and pretend he hasn't heard his name being yelled like that, even if the rest of Gusu heard him.

Lan Zhan tries it anyway, and finds a black and red robed arm thrown casually around his shoulders, and THAT boy pushing himself into Lan Zhan's space like he belongs here.

"Wait for me!" Wei Ying says breathlessly, smiling so wide that Lan Zhan's eyes hurt.

It's like looking directly at the sun for too long and risking blindness.

Lan Zhan's heart is doing terrible things to him, battling against the cage of his ribs in an attempt to get out, and the more Wei Ying keeps touching him, the more Lan Zhan thinks about its success rate.

"What do you want?" Lan Zhan says it tersely because now, every second counts. He has thirty days to do something about his life, and right now, all he wants is to go and bury his face in his pillow back in the Jingshi, and not think about it. Or Wei Ying.

"Well, I couldn't help overhearing what your uncle said before leaving, and now you're looking like you might pass out..." Wei Ying clucks his tongue sympathetically. "And we can't have that, right?"

"I do not want to marry anyone," Lan Zhan says, much to his own horror. Maybe the shock of such a request has made him lightheaded. Or maybe the lightheadedness is the result of someone else, someone who has no clue about personal space.

"I don't see why you should have to," Wei Ying tells him, full of confidence. "Your uncle said both of you. That means XiChen-Ge, too. I believe his exact words were, "both of you are of marriageable age"."

"But Xiongzhang said he is going to find a good match for me." Just the thought of that is making Lan Zhan tremble with distaste.

"So what's stopping you from finding him a good match? What if you do the same thing back to him? He's older, so he has to go first, right?" Wei Ying winks at him when Lan Zhan turns to look at him, considering his words.