Meng Yao

Meng Yao was about to prepare dinner when his phone rang with a text message. He glanced at the screen before smiling. It was from his husband, Lan Xichen.

He had called him an hour or so earlier to tell him that he would be visiting his brother Lan Zhan and his fiancé Wei Ying. The latter was not doing too well at the moment. He had been gotten into a fight on his way home from school yesterday and was attacked afterwards. Lan Zhan found out about it when he came home and took him to the hospital.

Even Meng Yao was concerned when Lan Xichen told him that his brother had requested the day off from work that morning. (They were both employed at their uncle Lan Qiren's company.) Lan Zhan only did that - or called in late - when either he or Wei Ying were ill, or if one of them were involved in an emergency. However, those were rare occasions.

Lan Xichen knew that the attack had to have been quite dreadful; he would have shown up otherwise. He had pointed this out to Lan Zhan, sensing that there was more to the situation than he was letting on, and the latter confirmed this. But what Lan Xichen - and later Meng Yao - found rather strange was that he wouldn't talk about it. He said it would be better if they did in person.

That was very unlike him. Both he and Lan Xichen were usually able to discuss anything, whether it was on the phone or not. They had a good relationship and were always close. There were many times where Meng Yao could have sworn that his husband could actually read his thoughts.

With his brother's words in mind, Lan Xichen asked if it was all right to see him and Wei Ying after work. Lan Zhan told him that he would let him know, then said that it would be fine later that morning. So, when he was off at six, Lan Xichen headed to his place accordingly.

Coming back to the present, Meng Yao wiped his hands on a dishcloth, then unlocked his phone to read the message.

Lan Xichen

A-Yao, I am about to be on my way home. I have a great deal to tell you about what happened to Wei Ying, and I am afraid that it is even worse than what I anticipated.

He frowned as he sent his response.

Meng Yao

What do you mean, Huan-ge?

Lan Xichen

I will tell you when I get there. I am about to start driving and cannot say anything else right now.

Meng Yao

I understand. I will be in the kitchen.

Lan Xichen

All right.

There were no more messages after that, so he started getting dinner ready.

Meng Yao heard Lan Xichen walking in less than ten minutes later. He stopped in the hallway, obviously putting his coat in the closet, then headed for the kitchen.

The former turned around when he entered the room and was immediately concerned. His husband's expression was blank; it was as if something had stunned him so much that he couldn't feel anything else.

"Huan-ge? Just how horrible is it?" Meng Yao queried. He knew whatever he was going to find out had to be terrible because he never saw him look like that before.

Lan Xichen shook his head as he lowered himself onto a chair, but didn't respond. That made him even more uneasy.

"Huan-ge, please. Tell me."

He sighed deeply and gestured in front of him. "You will want to sit down for this. As I told you earlier, it is worse than I anticipated, and it isn't what you may be thinking it is either."

Meng Yao did and set the cutting board that he was about to use to chop herbs and vegetables on the table. "What happened, gege? Is Wei Wuxian going to be okay?"

He closed his eyes sadly. "I am afraid that he won't be. Not for what may be a long time."

And with that, he began to reveal the previous night's events. Meng Yao listened closely as he started to cut some of the herbs. His lips curled when he told him about the insults Wen Chao gave Wei Ying, and of the fight.

"Then what happened?" Meng Yao queried after he telling him that Wei Ying had been pushed to the ground when being pulled into the alleyway a second time.

Lan Xichen's face became drawn as tears welled in his eyes. He looked as if he were in pain. "Wen Chao...forced himself on him. He...he raped Wei Ying," he gasped.

The knife thudded as Meng Yao froze mid-chop.

"Wen Chao did what?" he demanded in a low voice.

"He forced himself on him," he repeated with a breathy sob.

Meng Yao could only stare as him in fury and horror. It was no wonder he had look so stunned, and that his brother wouldn't talk about what happened on the phone.

He was so sorry for Wei Ying. He couldn't believe that Wen Chao would put him through that. He didn't even want to imagine all of the pain and terror that he had been, and was, in.

And when he thought about what happened to his own mother...

His hand tightened around the handle of the knife. He wanted nothing more than to stab Wen Chao with it and cut his dick off for what he had done to his brother-in-law at that moment. However, he knew that Lan Xichen wouldn't let him. Nor would he let him out the house if he suspected he might go after him.

As if reading his mind, his husband shook his head. "I know you are upset, A-Yao, but please do not anything rash. I do not want you to get in trouble because of Wen Chao."

Lan Xichen explained what happened after, including their interrogation with the police. Meng Yao felt happy that Wei Ying had been courageous enough to tell them about what Wen Chao did, but he still wished that he could deal with him himself.

The former shook his head again when he was finished. "It would have hurt your heart to see Wei Ying, A-Yao. He was not himself. He barely hugged me when I went to see him and Wangji. It was as if he were afraid to. He didn't speak much either, nor would tell me about what Wen Chao did. You know he usually tells us about any altercation he is involved in..."

Meng Yao was aghast at this, yet he couldn't blame him. Not after what he had been through.

"...Wangji told me about what happened himself. And what's worse is that he blames himself for not picking him up or being there for him. I told him that he shouldn't because it's not his fault, but you know how stubborn he is. He will secretly blame himself for this for the rest of his life," he concluded.

Unfortunately, this was true.

Meng Yao put his hand on his. "Is there anything we can do, Huan-ge? Anything they need?" he queried.

"No...Wangji would have said so. But if he or Wei Ying does, I will be there however they do," Lan Xichen replied dejectedly. Then he stood up. "I will be right back. I need to get a drink from the basement."

He wasn't the only one who needed one at that point. Meng Yao put two glasses on the table before returning to preparing dinner with much less enthusiasm than earlier.

Neither of them ate much, their minds on anything other than their food. They drink plenty, though, then did their nightly routines before going to bed early.

Meng Yao sent Wei Ying a text the following morning. The shock of what his husband had told him had gone by then. Of course, he was still enraged by what had happened.

His anger continued to grow steadily over the next few weeks. Seeing how distressed and tormented Wei Ying was over all that was transpiring in his life every time he saw him only fueled the fire within him. Finally, there was one day where he could no longer take it. He couldn't stand to see him suffering as terribly as he was.

One night he took out his phone and called someone he was acquainted with.

"Hello?...Yes...How are you?...Good...Listen, I need you to meet me after work tomorrow. I have a favor to ask of you..." he whispered to the person. He didn't want Lan Xichen to hear him.