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

Chapter 105

"Wei Wuxian, come to my office!" Lan Qiren's stern voice echoed over and over in Wei Wuxian's head. The first time the order had sounded, it had been like a strike with a whip to his very soul, but with all the repetitions, luckily the edges had dulled a little bit.

Wei Wuxian's breathing was becoming quick and ragged, he had a hard time get enough oxygen into his lungs. He knew what this meant. Lan Qiren had finally had enough with him and was about to send him back to the Lotus Pier Manor and no one would be able to do anything about it since the elder and no one else was the master of the Cloud Recesses Manor. Even if Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji or Jiang Yanli promised Wei Wuxian he could stay and be safe and happy here, Lan Qiren could outweigh their words with just one of his own.

And it was happening right now, there was no doubt in Wei Wuxian's mind. He had been trying to not stand out during the meal and make himself as small and invisible as possible, but it was apparently still not enough. The fact that Lan Qiren wanted him to come to his office spoke for everything, he was about to be punished and expulsed from the Cloud Recesses Manor.

There were tears stinging in his eyes and he could not find it in himself to care. The only thing which was on his mind was the fact that he would not be able to see Lan Wangji ever again. In the last two days, oddly enough, he had come to find a sense of security in his master's presence. He had never known anything like this, not even when Jiang Yanli would promise to help him or protect him.

Not that Wei Wuxian had not believed in her intentions in the past, and even now, but he knew his family only too well and thus feared the worst. Which inevitably happened every single time; his sister only suffered for her choice to stand by his side. So much so that Wei Wuxian had started trying to avoid such kinds of situations long ago. Even going as far as driving her away from himself in order to protect her from their family's wrath. As long as it was only his life which was hard, it was fine, but he just could not stand dragging anyone else into it.

However, he was not feeling the same when it came to Lan Wangji. With this master of his, he knew he was safe. He had seen how strong the older boy was and he had also come to learn that the Lan family was nothing like the Jiangs. They were not so easy to anger and they acted with more reserves. Even if Lan Wangji was to stand up for him, he was not afraid they would treat him the same way the Jiangs had treated Jiang Yanli. Nevertheless, he still did not want to cause Lan Wangji even the smallest of discomforts or troubles.

Unfortunately, he had managed to anger Lan Qiren and this time, it would be the end of everything. When his swimming eyes glanced towards the elder, he could see a dissatisfied frown on his face. His expression was even stricter than when he had been scolding him for trespassing into the courtyard where rabbits were kept. Wei Wuxian shivered and his body was instantly covered in cold sweat.

He still had no idea what exactly he had done to infuriate his master to such degree, he was only sure the elder's anger had had something to do with him. It always had. He could not even find it in himself to regret being sent back home, for the time being, his mind was frozen. These thoughts would only come later when Lan Qiren would be scolding him and telling him to go pack his things.

Wei Wuxian should have probably regretted having believed the sweet words or reassurances and getting his hopes up too. But he could not bring himself to do so either. Despite how much it hurt now to lose everything, the time he had spent in the Cloud Recesses Manor, happy and cared for, would be forever deeply carved into his heart. He had already stored all the incredibly sweet memories deep in the farthest and best hidden part of his mind. He would never lose them and when things would be hard, he would always be able to come back to them. This thought was more reassuring than it probably should have been.

At least it was only him who would be punished and chased out he hoped. Jiang Yanli had said she was also allowed to remain in the Cloud Recesses Manor and Wei Wuxian hoped with his whole heart that she would be happy here. There were no doubts in his mind, without the presence of the Jiang family and his, Jiang Yanli would finally be able to bloom to her full potential. She would no longer be burdened by taking care of him and she would surely come to enjoy her newly found freedom. Wei Wuxian was happy for her.

Moreover, he was glad neither she nor Lan Wangji tried to speak up for him. He was afraid that if they tried to oppose Lan Qiren right now, when the elder was visibly fuming with rage, they would also not come out of it unscathed. And the last thing Wei Wuxian wanted was for the people he cared about to be dragged into something unpleasant because of him. It was fine like this; he could take any punishment as long as those two were not involved. He stood up and bowed low to Lan Qiren to show him he was obeying his order.

However, it seemed like fate had other ideas and did not want to make things easy for him. And when had it ever had? Wei Wuxian should have expected the next development, though it still caught him by surprise. A nasty one which made all his body hair stand up in terror.

As he was bowing – he was not looking at anyone in the room anymore, only trying to win against his tears, he did not want to cry and worry Lan Wangji or Jiang Yanli – he was not looking at anyone, only fixing the carpet as if it could hear his prayers. They remained unanswered though.

"Wei Ying..."

It seemed like at least Lan Wangji had no intention of stepping down and not being involved in this. It warmed his heart seeing that his master was still keeping his promise and trying to protect him. However, at the same time, he was terrified of the possible consequences. Wei Wuxian would have loved to be able to give his master any kind of sign to stay out of this so he would not get on Lan Qiren's bad side. He knew that it would be useless though; for one, Lan Wangji was very stubborn and for second, Wei Wuxian had never succeeded in deterring even Jiang Yanli who was way less strong-willed and determined.

His body started trembling even more in anticipation of Lan Qiren's reaction. He bowed even lower, hoping to placate the elder's anger by this. He really could not stand the thought of Lan Wangji getting involved in his own mess. He squeezed his eyes shut and prayed again to anyone who would listen to a lowly servant like him. He begged for anyone or anything to save Lan Wangji and let him not get involved anymore.

"Wangji, you come too," Lan Qiren's verdict made his knees weak and Wei Wuxian had to use all his strength to keep himself standing.

What he had feared the most was actually happening. A sob rose to his throat and threatened to escape from his sealed lips. The world was crumbling around him and he felt like he was falling into a bottomless pit. Now he had done it, he had caused trouble for Lan Wangji, again. He really wanted to cry and throw himself at his master's feet to apologize to him.