From the next chapter of “the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break.”
Lan Wangji is pleased when Xiongzhang allows the boys to distract him, giving him a grass insect so he can play alongside their grass butterfly and grasshopper. Seeing him squatting with them in the dirt, smiling as he manipulates his toy, is heartwarming, and Lan Wangji is content to watch with Wei Ying.
Wei Qing has left them to their devices, and it’s nowhere near time for the evening meal, leaving them with free time. Wei Ying watches the children play with a contented smile on his face, sitting in the dirt against a boulder. Lan Wangji settles beside him, uncaring of dirt on his robes, and the children swarm around them, playing various games and coming to greet them, some shyly.
It is a pleasant diversion, one that proves Wei Ying has memorized all of their young charges’ names, calling them tangdi or tangmei, making sure they know they are family. This thrills many of the children, especially those who have been without family for some time, and a few of the braver ones come and sit with them, chattering happily.