𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲, 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐢́𝐥𝐢́𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐬. more often than not, wèi wúxiàn will go into the city alone, which helps reduce the amount of gossip that finds its way around, but it doesn't remove it. he still hears the whispers. however, he ignores them, and on cooler days, like this one, he takes his time to look through the various stalls. more importantly, he listens to what the people are saying about him and the world outside of yílíng.
on this particular day, there is less talk about what is going on in other clans and more talk about what the yílíng lǎozǔ has done as of late. wèi wúxiàn almost laughs out loud, and instead, he keeps an expressionless face while stopping at the toy stall. his eyes linger longer than they should have as his mind reminds him of the last time he visited a toy stall like this. he is quick to swallow a lump from the back of his throat and take a fast glance around the area ( ... part of him believes he might see a familiar face again. ) before looking back at the paper toys.
how long has it been since he last saw lán wàngjī in this place? maybe it’s for the better that the two don’t see each other again. that’s what he tells himself as he continues to glance at the toys before making his way to another stall that houses various pieces of cloth and fabric. he offers the seller a small grin, following a nod as his eyes glance down and a shaking hand comes to rest on the stall itself. the other hand goes to his head, holding it as he tries to stablise himself while the world around him takes a spin.
lowering the hand from his head and removing the one from the stall, he takes an unsteady step away, but before he can gather the strength to walk away he stumbles into someone. this brings his head up instantly as his breathing becomes heavier than what it has been. fear then overwhelms him but soon fades as his features become pale when his eyes look at who he stumbled into.
“ ah [ ... ] lán zhàn! ” the name rolls from his tongue with ease. he then offers a grin, “ of all the people to see [ ... ] you were not on the top of my list. ” he then remembers he stumbled against him and quickly pulls away with another stumble before standing straight while brushing dust off his clothes.
“ say lán zhàn [ ... ] what are you doing here? ”
@gusuazure
