Wangxian meeting at the mall, single mom wwx shopping for some clothes with his little radish.
Wei Ying had gone to the mall cause he needed to buy a nice outfit for a date he did not want to go to, but of course his shijie was the one to set it up for him. Something about being time for him to put himself out there, find someone to take care of him as much as he takes care of his son. He, of course, insisted that he was fine fairing on his own. If anything, the reason why Wei Ying didn't want to date at all is more of finding someone that would put the same love and dedication to A-Yuan as he does.
And he knows, from experience, that's hard if not impossible to find.
So cut to a very stressed and distracted Wei Ying looking through clothes while his son played hide and seek in the racks of clothes. He'd been making sure to see A-Yuan popping his head out through the clothesline with a bright smile that matches his own, every so often calling out to him if he noticed he was taking too long to pop out. At least one of them was having fun. This was the third clothing store he visited, and the frustration of not finding anything remotely nice, or something that matched his style, was taking its toll. At the end, he sighs with exasperation. He'll just have to call his sister and tell her that he's sick, or something.
"A-Yuan, come out. We're leaving." There's no response, "A-Yuan, did you hear me?"
His brows dip with concern, it did get too quiet at some point. The giggling and the scraping of the hangers had come to a stop without him noticing. "Mister, if you're playing a joke on your poor A-Niang we won't get ice cream." He mumbles as he looks through the rack, moving the clothes around in mild panic. A-Yuan is nowhere to be found.
Wei Ying is practically panicking at this point, frantically searching for his son, practically yelling his name. He's on the verge of tears as he passes the rows and rows of racks and fixtures. All logic and reason are thrown out the window. There's no way.. there's no way he lost A-Yuan. He's always paid attention, always told him to stay by his side no matter what. What the hell is he going to do? The worst scenarios start crossing through his mind, but he keeps searching. A-Yuan knows to stay put if he ever gets separated from Wei Ying, he knows to not talk to strangers but he's only a toddler. Anything can happen.
“A-Yuan! Where are you?!” Wei Ying calls as he jogs through the store.
Cut to A-Yuan staring wide eye at a tall guy with honey eyes. They're both having a staring contest at this point. That’s not his A-Nian, A-Yuan thinks to himself.
"Hello?" Lan Zhan says with caution. When did this child get here?
The child pursed his lips, slowly retreating into the rack with blue sweaters he was browsing through. "I-I’m not supposed to talk to strangers."
Lan Zhan blinks, staying quiet before nodding in approval. The toddler's parents are smart. He should probably alert security, he looks around in search of security or a staff member. As soon as he spots someone, he starts to walk away to try and get their attention but a small hand takes a tight grip on his light cream trousers.
"W-Wait! Mister— My a-niang told me to stay put if I ever get separated... A-niang will find me soon. Please, don't go."
Scared pleading eyes stare at him, the man seems to think through it for a moment. The smart thing to do would be to report the missing child. But at the same time, he's not sure how he would handle the situation if the toddler were to start crying.
"Alright.” He agrees with a nod. Though, the toddler doesn't let go of his trousers for a moment. At least he looks somewhat more calm. "We'll wait for your mother together."
Not a moment later, Wei Ying runs past them, yelling A-Yuan's name. At first, Lan Zhan looks at him with confusion. The child didn't say anything about his dad looking for him, so instinctively he shields and conceals the toddler. You can never be too safe, he knows people can put any sort of act just to take a child away. However, the toddler scrambled past Lan Zhan's legs and shouts, “A-Niang!"
Wei Ying skids to a stop, whipping his head towards the sound of his son's voice. Relief floods through his body as he falls to his knees and hugs his toddler, so glad that he's safe and sound. At first he doesn't notice the man who had stayed with his son because he's too busy peppering kisses to A-Yuan's chubby cheeks and mumbling "Don't ever scare me like that again!" And “We've talked about this, don't leave my side."
While this exchange is happening, Lan Zhan Is just thinking. The man... that drop dead gorgeous man was the toddler's mother?
A-Yuan clings to Wei Ying's neck, rubbing his face on his cheek, “A-Yuan is sorry, A-niang. Please don't be mad."
The puppy eyes win Wei Ying over and he can't be mad anymore. Silver eyes quickly scan his child, making sure there’s no injuries. He hugs his little radish once more, only then is when he notices the man watching the whole scene, and he can tell he's kinda not knowing what to do with himself.
"Um... can I help you?" Wei Ying asks a little defensive while hugging his son closer.
Before the man can utter an answer, A-Yuan beams with excitement. “That gege helped A-Yuan wait for A-niang!"
“Oh. Is that so?" He says, silver eyes softening and shoulders letting the tension leave.
"Mn. My name is Lan Zhan." He introduced himself and woah, how could Wei Ying not notice how handsome this man was.
“Thank you, Lan Zhan, for keeping an eye on my son. I really don't know how to repay you…”
"A-niang, is this the gege you're meeting later?" The toddler looked at Lan Zhan with hopeful eyes. "Gege taking my a-niang to dinner?"
Wei Ying quickly gets all embarrassed, cheeks flushed red like the ribbon holding his long hair in a ponytail. “Aiya, aiya! Stop bothering the nice gege! I'm sure he has many things to do."
"But!” A-Yuan begins to protest with a pout.
"No buts." Wei Ying picks A-Yuan in his arms, letting some of his weight rest on his hip. Silver eyes meet honey ones. “Thank you, again. I-I gotta get going."
And Lan Zhan can only watch the pair walking away, saying something about "I told you to call me a-niang at home and baba out here." And "I'm never leaving you out of my sight again. You gave me a heart attack.”
He’s sure he hears the child, A-Yuan, mumble “But I like that gege…”
Lan Zhan turns around, shaking his head before continuing his shopping. His chest aches a bit cause he just met the most beautiful man he has ever laid eyes on... It's childish, but he can't help but quietly sulk because he was in fact thinking of asking him out but... it looks like someone had beaten him to it. Wait, he didn't even get his name. He sulks even more.
Back in Wei Ying's home, he was getting ready for his date. It shouldn't be too late to cancel, right?
“You look dashing!” His sister compliments with a soft clap. “Come now, don’t make that face.”
“Jie, I don’t know this man… What if he doesn’t like A-Yuan? What if he’s secretly an asshole?” Anxiety was clear in his voice, though it was quickly soothed when Jiang Yanli walked over and fixed the collar of his burgundy button up.
“You doubt your A-Jie will pick a good man for you?” She teases with a thin eyebrow raising in question.
“Not you… I don’t trust A-Sang.” He side-eyes his friend, who is sitting on the couch making faces to his baby nephew. “Are you sure it’s not too late to cancel?”
“A-Ying, you need this. I promise it’ll be good for you.” His sister reassures, gently patting his shoulders. She smiles softly at her younger brother. “I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.” He reassures her
She chuckles, patting the top of his hand. “You know what I mean. YingYing, are you sure you don’t want me to watch over A-Yuan?”
“Nuh-huh, if I’m meeting this guy then he’s meeting a-yuan too. If he doesn’t love him then I won’t even give him a chance!”
“I’ve made up my mind, Jie. Now, tell me A-Yuan doesn’t look like the most adorable gentleman you’ve ever seen.” Wei Ying coos as his son walks into the living room wearing a t-shirt with the print of a tuxedo. He picks him up and peppers his cheeks with many kisses.
Soon, they’re both arriving at the restaurant. At least the guy he’s meeting has good taste. Before they step in, Wei Ying sets down his son, going through the motions of fixing his clothes. “If you don’t like the guy, we’ll leave as soon as you want, okay? No one can pull my attention from my little radish.”
A-Yuan nods, and with that they both walked into the bustling restaurant. Wei Ying couldn’t help but to feel irritated at bit his sister and best friend. What the hell did Nei Huaisang mean that I’ll know when I see him? Would’ve been better if he just showed me a picture. He thinks to himself while rolling his eyes. Though, he couldn’t deny he was extremely nervous to meet this mystery guy that he had been set up with.
“A-Niang, look! It’s the nice gege from earlier!”
Wei Ying is quick to follow his son’s line of sight, and there he was. Lan Zhan sat at a tsks closer to the window, dressed up in a light blue suit with a light cream shirt. He knew Lan Zhan was handsome, but to see him in a suit? How the sleeves seemed hug his arms just tight enough to let you know the man works out. Before he knew it, Wei Ying was being tugged towards Lan Zhan’s table. “Hey, hey! Baobei let’s not bother the nice gege, he’s probably waiting for someone.” He tried to whisper, tugging his son the other way but they were already spotted.
“Gege! Hi gege!” A-Yuan chimes as Lan Zhan stands from his chair. Was he always this tall?
“Hi, Lan Zhan. What a coincidence! A-Are you here by yourself, or…”
He can see golden eyes scanning him up and down before landing back on his face. He can’t help but shift in place at the intensity of Lan Zhan’s gaze. “I am waiting for someone.” Lan Zhan responds quietly, gaze still on Wei Ying.
“Oh… Me too!” He’s quick to add before chuckling, “Well, you already knew that… A-Are you waiting for a date?”
Lan Zhan seems to consider his answer, and Wei Ying can’t help but to find it amusing at how deflated and defeated the other looks when he responds with a quiet “Yes.”
Wei Ying laughs once more, “Not really looking forward to it? I get it, my sister and best friend set me up for mine. I don’t even know who I’m supposed to meet! Can you believe they refused to give me his name? Or even show me a picture? They really took the definition of ‘blind date’ way too serious.”
Lan Zhan stares at him wide eye, and for a moment Wei Ying thinks he said something wrong. “No offense to whoever you’re meeting, of course! I bet they’re—“
“Wei Ying?” Lan Zhan takes a step closer towards him, but he doesn’t see himself taking a step back.
Brows furrow, “Yeah? Do… Do I have something on my face?”
“I’m meeting with Wei Ying… You are Wei Ying.”
The father can only look at the other in bewilderment, was… was Lan Zhan his blind date? No, this was to good to be true. A guy like Lan Zhan… he could have anyone, the man looked like a god! “Who set you up?” He decided to ask, if he’s says ut was Nei Huaisang then he really was having a date with Lan Zhan. There were no other Wei Ying’s around, not that he knows of.
Wei Ying can tell Lan Zhan is having the same train of thought. “My brother… He was convinced by a family friend that I should… attempt to meet new people.”
“Was it Nie Huaisang? Oh my god! That asshole set everything up!” Wei Ying exclaims once Lan Zhan confirms his suspicions, hands brushing the already messy bangs from his face, a loud laugh echoing through the restaurant. He winced, tho, when people enjoying their food shoot a glare at him. “I can’t believe this…Wait, if you knew my name, why didn’t you say anything earlier.”
Lan Zhan pressed his lips together before answering. “You did not give me your name.”
“Oh— I… Huh, I was really distracted. It would’ve made things easier for the both of us, huh?” Wei Ying smiles at him. “Well… mind if we join you, then? My treat, since you were my hero earlier and I must repay your kindness and patience!”
“Are we having dinner with the nice gege??” A-Yuan suddenly chimes, wide eyes darting between the two adults. Wei Ying smiles as he ruffles his hair.
“I knew it! The Nice gege is taking my a-niang for dinner!” The toddler soon clings to Lan Zhan’s leg, which caught him off guard.
“Aiya, A-Yuan! Where are your manners?” Wei Ying chides playfully, attempting to pull his son back to his side.
“I do not mind.” Lan Zhan responds with a smile ghosting over his lips.
The three of them sit at the table. Wei Ying talks away about anything and everything, and Lan Zhan pays full attention to every single word, attention unflinching. It especially melts his heart when Lan Zhan gives the same type of attention to A-Yuan, listening with much seriousness to all the stories he has to tell. He looks at both of them with so much fondness that he feels his heart bursting at the seams. Yeah… it was good he decided to not cancel the date.
