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

Chapter 106

Lan Wangji squinted a bit when he heard his uncle calling Wei Ying to his office. He suspected that Lan Qiren only wanted to tell the boy that he was now allowed to join the study sessions together with him, just as he had already informed him and Jiang Yanli the day prior. That was good, excellent even, he thought. At least with this, Wei Ying should once again relax a little bit.

For the whole duration of the breakfast, Lan Wangji had been wracking his head over what could have caused the boy to act so fearfully this morning. Well, not this morning as a whole, after all, Wei Ying had been behaving just fine when he had just met with Lan Wangji in the hallway in front of his room. He had also acted all relaxed and happy as they had walked through the Cloud Recesses Manor. It had only been when approaching the dining room that the boy had gone back into his shell and hunched into himself. It had been clear in Lan Wangji's eyes what was the reason for this drastic change.

Or more precisely, who.

Wei Ying had been acting fearful around Lan Qiren even before, but now it seemed like his nervousness and fear of the elder just shot off all charts. What had happened? Lan Wangji had thought their relationship could be improved, especially now that his uncle was acting more open and was finally ready to see Wei Ying for who he was, now that he was no longer suspecting the boy from acting out and causing trouble intentionally, now that he was starting to care about the other and trying to help in easing up the boy's fears and make him feel welcomed.

However, and this caused Lan Wangji to scowl even harder at Lan Qiren, it also seemed like the past could not be so easily forgotten. At least when it came to Wei Ying and his previous meetings with the elder. On every occasion, Lan Qiren had either scolded the boy or had been harsh on him. It was really no surprise if Wei Ying was cautious around him still and went back to the patterns of behaviour he had painfully learned as a servant.

This would still require some work, from Lan Qiren's part that was. Even if Lan Wangji could not find anything too wrong with his invitation just now, it was not perfect either. Although his uncle was apparently finally showing Wei Ying some respect with not outright ordering him to follow him to his study, his tone was way too strict and dry to make the boy feel at ease. Even Lan Wangji had to pay a lot of attention to how he spoke in front of Wei Ying, it was no wonder Lan Qiren was feared like this.

His uncle should really think more and be more careful when interacting with the boy. That was the first thing Lan Wangji realized after meeting Wei Ying. And it was also something Lan Qiren should understand, better sooner rather than later.

It looked like his uncle had just arrived to the same conclusion though. Lan Wangji continued watching the elder attentively and scowling at him unhappily as a warning to remedy his actions, he saw a flash of discomfort wash over Lan Qiren's face. Oh, good, his uncle knew he had just used the wrong tone. Hopefully, he would now speak in a softer manner with Wei Ying.

However, the realization still came too late. Lan Wangji's eyes turned towards the boy who was shaking like a leaf by his side. It was clear that Wei Ying had already thought the worst and was now out of his mind it would seem. He was gripping his robes so tightly Lan Wangji was afraid he would tear them – not that it would matter, he could ask for another set for him anytime, it was just that Wei Ying would surely blame himself for it and feel even worse – and his eyes were shut close. It was pitiful seeing him waiting for the worst.

Lan Wangji shot one murderous look towards his uncle. It was all his fault if Wei Ying was like this. He should apologize.

However, Lan Wangji knew that it would not be likely to hear Lan Qiren saying he was sorry for something. In all the years he could remember, his uncle never apologized to anyone, at least not directly. Sure, there were times when he would pretend like something had not happened or would even begrudgingly admit someone else was right. But apologies? No, Lan Wangji could not remember a single one.

Well, be it as may, Lan Qiren should at least try to reassure Wei Ying if he was not outright going to admit to his mistake of using a harsh tone to address him. That much Lan Wangji would not go back on. He glared at his uncle and dared him to do anything more which would send the boy spiralling even deeper and farther away from him, somewhere Lan Wangji would not be able to follow him to.

Unfortunately, it did not look like Lan Qiren was about to do anything of the sorts. He only started at the boy and there was a scowl on his face as well. This was not going to work. If his uncle was not about to clear the mess he had caused, Lan Wangji had to step in and try to save at least as much as he could. He wanted dearly for Wei Ying to come out of whatever he was thinking, it was nothing good from the looks of it anyway, and to concentrate on something more tangible. He hoped he could help in calming down. Lan Wangji could confront his uncle another time, he had more important things to do right now.

"Wei Ying," he called softly, hoping it would work like a charm, like all other times before. He needed the boy to pay attention to him so he could try and calm him down. He was not sure yet how exactly he was going to do this. But the first step was clear, it was imperative to have Wei Ying look at him and forget all about Lan Qiren's words.

It broke his heart into even smaller pieces to see that even his prompting had no effect at the moment. It looked like Wei Ying was just too far gone to hear him. What could Lan Wangji do now? Should he tempt his chances and try to touch the other? Yesterday, this seemed to have done the trick when words had betrayed him. However, he was not sure it would work right now, not with Lan Qiren still being present and glaring at the boy with an unreadable expression on his face and with his lips tightly drawn together.

Then, as if he had decided to ignore the result of his unfortunate actions, his uncle turned back to Lan Wangji and spoke in a softer voice, somewhat uncharacteristic for him. For the lack of a better word, the morphed light which appeared in his eyes could only be described as remorseful. "Wangji, you come too."

This was good, at least he was trying. Lan Wangji looked at Wei Ying to see if such a reassurance, that he would be by his side, had calmed him down just a little. His breath got however stuck in his throat and his heart shattered in his chest. Instead of relaxing, Wei Ying looked even more terrified.

Lan Wangji was utterly confused. He could not even phantom what was wrong anymore. The only thing he knew was that it was all Lan Qiren's fault and that his uncle was doing way too little to correct his mistakes. Lan Wangji was not about to forgive him for driving the boy to such a state any time soon. He was angry with his uncle as never before.

There were tears blurring his vision when he realized that all that careful progress Wei Ying had made during the last day had been trampled into dust with just a few words from Lan Qiren. The boy was standing and bowing low to his uncle, still trembling in utter terror. Lan Wangji thought that he had perhaps never seen something this saddening.

He glared harder at Lan Qiren, blaming him for ruining everything Wei Ying had been working so hard on and perhaps even destroying the fragile budding trust the boy had had in the Lan family as a whole. There was no saying if things would be able to progress forward anymore like this. He could only hope Wei Ying would be strong enough to ever shake this shock and hurt off.