Won't you believe me? (Servant no more - book 2)

Chapter 89

"Wei Ying, come have dinner with me," Lan Wangji invited him quietly and his voice was everything Wei Wuxian needed to snap out of his daydreaming.

He was still very much stupefied from the whole situation. Although he believed Lan Wangji unconditionally, it would still require some time to get used to this reality. He had never had anyone aside for Jiang Yanli stand up for him like this and it was the best feeling ever, it left him all awed and ready to burst into tears of gratitude any second. His life had turned upside down in a matter of only several days and his brain would have to first catch up to this development.

But having a dinner with his master? That was something he did not have to think about twice. It was easy and did not require him to process too much information, he liked the idea. His head immediately shot up and he was once again grinning like a maniac, completely incapable of controlling his own expression. The happiness which was swelling inside of him was simply too big for him to contain and he needed to let it out one way or another. He knew that his master would not be angry with him.

Just as several hours before, Lan Wangji fetched a tray with food for him and deposited it into his lap. Wei Wuxian was no longer bothered that it was his master – no, he was not a servant anymore so he should really start calling Lan Wangji something else; only changing the way his brain worked after so many years of servitude was so hard! – was actually serving food to him and not the other way around. However, since Lan Wangji seemed to enjoy caring for him, Wei Wuxian did not object the treatment. Truth to be told, it only made him that much happier. He was now wondering if he would ever be able to stop smiling.

Really, everything had changed so fast it was making his head spin. Even the trust had bloomed from one moment to another. It should have been fleeting and fragile, but it was nothing like that. It was in fact as if it was forged from the most durable metal which could not be destroyed anymore but by some godly means.

Wei Wuxian nodded his thanks to Lan Wangji, fully aware that his master had told him not to thank him all the time. He could just not help himself; he was too grateful to not express it.

Then, Lan Wangji took his own portion of the food and set it on a tray on his tights. He was sitting on the only chair in the room which was still standing next to the bed. He was facing Wei Wuxian as if they were sitting at a table and truly having a meal together. Even if their positions were not so comfortable or convenient, Wei Wuxian was still overjoyed to have a dinner with the other. He was being spoiled rotten, was he not?

He picked up his chopsticks at the same time as Lan Wangji and slowly started eating, enjoying every single bite. Just like all the previous time he had had a meal in the Cloud Recesses Manor, the food tasted delicious, mildly seasoned and warm. Before coming here, he had only hardly ever eaten something that good.

They ate in silence until there was nothing left in the bowls. Wei Wuxian had even gotten a small dish of strawberries as a dessert. He left them for last and marvelled at them for almost a whole minute. Something like this, just for him, it was really too much. He glanced in Lan Wangji's direction and noticed that his master did not get any fruit, he had only had a normal meal. For some reason, this distressed Wei Wuxian a little. Now that he had gotten to taste strawberries, he wanted Lan Wangji to be able to enjoy them as well.

He gathered his courage and picked up the bowl which contained them. He could of course not be sure if Lan Wangji had not gotten any strawberries with his dinner because he did not like them or if he had just given all of them to Wei Wuxian, though he still wanted to share. He extended his hands towards his master, the bowl in them, in a gesture of offering. He remained like that, waiting for Lan Wangji to either take the fruit or reject his offer if he did not like it.

He was positively delighted when his master took one strawberry from him and gave him a small smile that Wei Wuxian had long learned to welcome. "Thank you," Lan Wangji added and Wei Wuxian grinned in response. He was glad he could make his master happy. And so, they shared the dish of strawberries between them, each taking one only after the other had. Soon, there were none left and Wei Wuxian's stomach was pleasantly full, the sweet taste of the fruits lingered in his mouth.

After Lan Wangji had taken the now empty tray from him, Wei Wuxian was wondering what he should do now. It was still a little too early to go to bed, but at the same time, it was already too late to start anything. What would Lan Wangji be doing now? Would he leave and go finish everything he could not have done because he had spent basically the whole day with him?

This thought dimmed Wei Wuxian's happiness quite a lot. First, because he felt guilty of imposing on his master so much during the day. Always clinging to him and begging for comfort, he should really not do that anymore. Surely Lan Wangji had his own duties as a second young master of the Cloud Recesses Manor. However, at the same time, Wei Wuxian was strangely sad that he would have to say goodbye to him. He wanted to spend even more time in his presence, if it should be only a minute longer, he would still be happy.

Lan Wangji surprised him though when he did only put the empty trays on the table and turned around to look at Wei Wuxian. His expression was gentle and open when he offered: "Would Wei Ying want to read while a bath will be prepared for him?"

Wei Wuxian's mouth fell open at this proposition. He was used to just wiping down his body with a damp cloth before going to sleep and in the mornings. It was a luxury for him to actually be able to even dip himself in a river or in a basin of cold water before he proceeded to wash clothes if he was assigned such duties. He had not had a warm bath in nearly a decade, more precisely ever since he had been first taken to the Lotus Pier Manor and some servants scrubbed his skin raw while attempting to clean all the filth which accumulated on his body during his time on the streets. Was his master really offering him a bath right now? Was he not misunderstanding something?

Then again, he should probably not be so surprised. He was getting a lot of privileges from his master; he should not be so shocked anymore. It almost seemed like Lan Wangji was on a mission of spoiling him on every single occasion. If it had been just a few hours before, Wei Wuxian would have felt extremely uneasy receiving such attention and care, however, he came to see that his master genuinely cared for him and that it was making him happy to see Wei Wuxian content and well at ease. He had no reason to reject the offer, even if it still felt audacious from him to accept it.

It took his frozen brain a long time to realize that Lan Wangji was still looking at him and expecting his reply. He was completely baffled but still did not want to worry his master so he simply nodded his head. Lan Wangji seemed pleased with his reaction and came to hand him the book he had brought from the library.

Wei Wuxian had yet to finish reading it and he was looking forward to it. Before he could control himself, his fingers were already turning the pages until he found the part where he had stopped reading. He immersed himself in the story and did not even notice when Lan Wangji had left until he actually came back and called him: