Wen Ning

Wen Ning was in the middle of helping Granny Wen clean her house when Wen Qing called him. He set the broom against the wall before answering his phone.

"Hi Jiejie," he greeted a little tiredly. "Did you need something? Did I forget one of my books again?"

"No, but I want you to come over here as soon as you can. A-Cheng and I need to talk to you," she responded.

Her tone held a mixture of anger, disbelief, and sadness, which immediately made Wen Ning feel concerned and nervous.

"A-About what?" he queried.

"Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng just came back from visiting him with his family a while ago."

"Oh...w-what about him? Did something else happen to him today? Is his condition worse?"

He truly hoped that it wasn't, and that nothing else did. It was bad enough that Wei Ying had been attacked after having a fight while coming home from college the evening before. He had been in distress when he found out that his fiancé Lan Zhan had to take him to hospital. He knew that he must had gotten seriously hurt.

Wen Qing didn't respond right away, which only made him feel even more anxious. Then she said, "We'll tell you more when you get here. All I can say is that his condition was already worse from the start."

Wen Ning's heart sank in dismay. "Oh. Okay. I'll finish up here and see you after dinner, then."

"All right. I'll pick you up instead, so that you don't have to walk over here. Let me know when you and Granny Wen are done eating."

"Okay. I'll see you soon."

"Yeah."

Wen Ning filled Granny Wen in on the situation after hanging up and said that he would have Wen Qing bring him back if she needed anything else. Granny Wen said that it was fine. She could take care of everything else if he would be at his sister's and Jiang Cheng late. She was used to this by now. He often spent the night at their place, unless they wanted alone time. She also hoped, again, that Wei Ying would recover quickly.

The cleaning was done a while later, and they ate their dinner in silence. Wen Ning was too worried to have anything to say, and Granny Wen was exhausted.

Seeing Wen Qing's expression didn't help him either when she arrived to pick him up accordingly. It was filled with so much outraged and heartache that even Granny Wen was alarmed. That was saying something; she often looked pissed off or upset about something.

"Dear child, what is the matter?" Granny Wen queried.

"I'll tell you later, but not tonight. Do you need anything before we go?" Wen Qing inquired.

She shook her head. "No, everything is fine here. You know what an excellent helper your brother is," she replied, pinching Wen Ning's cheek. He managed a small smile. "Call and let me know if you're staying the night," she added to him.

"I will, Granny. But call us if you do need anything."

"All right, baby."

And after kissing and hugging her, they left.

Wen Ning noticed that his sister was quieter than usual as she drove him to her place. He didn't comment on it, however, knowing that she would tell him what she had to tell him soon. Even so, he didn't like it at all.

Jiang Cheng was sitting in the living room when they entered the house several minutes later. If his sister looked angry, it was nothing compared to how much he did. He looked as if he were planning to set something on fire.

"Um...hi," Wen Ning said hesitantly. He sat down on the armchair next to the couch. "Jiejie told me that you two needed to talk to me about Wei Ying."

"Yeah. We do," he confirmed in a tight voice.

"And as he warned me earlier, none of it what he has to say is going to be easy to hear. It's a good thing you're sitting. I would have fainted after what he told me if I had been anyone else," Wen Qing added with a sad, but ferocious scowl.

Wen Ning was really worried by this statement. "But why? What's wrong with Wei Ying? You said his condition was worse from the start, Jiejie. Just how much is it?" he demanded in fear. He couldn't take the suspense any longer.

They began to explain everything after a brief moment. He was aghast to find out that it was Wen Chao, his own cousin, who Wei Ying encountered as he was on his way home. Jiang Cheng said that Wen Chao tried to have a "friendly" conversation with his brother, who told him to leave him alone because he was not in the mood to be bothered with him.

Wen Chao refused to listen and continued to talk to him. It eventually led to him harassing Wei Ying, and the insults that he gave him and Lan Zhan hurt even Wen Ning.

Pretty soon, Wei Ying had had enough. He threatened to remind Wen Chao where he and his brother Wen Xu had to go when their father, Wen Ruohan, had been arrested several times. He also told him that he would get him out of his face if he didn't get out of it. Wen Chao dared him to and called him a faggot, which ultimately led to the fight.

Wen Chao put him in a choke-hold and pull him into an alleyway, but Wei Ying managed to get away from him the first time. However, the former went after him again. When Wei Ying attempted to fight him off, Wen Chao bashed his head into the wall and dragged him into the alleyway a second time. Then he smashed his head into the wall a few more times before shoving him to the ground.

"And what happened after he did that?" Wen Ning asked when Jiang Cheng stopped talking. By now, he was quite distraught.

He didn't answer. Even Wen Qing didn't pick up from where he left off. They both looked too upset to.

"Guys, please. Tell me," he begged.

They exchanged glances before Wen Qing gave a nod. After that, she sat next to Wen Ning and took his hand.

"Wen Chao...took advantage of Wei Wuxian. He forced himself on him at knife-point. He didn't know for how long. And after that...he threatened to have him harmed again if he told anyone about what he had done," she murmured.

Wen Ning yanked his hand away as he bolted up. For the first time in his life, rage as he had never felt before coursed through him. He shook his head and quivered as tears of fury sprang into his eyes.

He didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. He didn't believe that Wen Chao would commit such an utterly horrific, contemptible crime as that against anyone. And to think that he had done that to his best friend...that he had forced himself on him...

All he could see was red. A blurry red, to be exact, for his vision was still swimming with tears.

Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng gaped at him, feeling stunned. Neither of them had ever seen him look so...so murderous...in their lives. And to be honest, the effect was rather frightening. They stood up too, eyeing him warily.

"Now, A-Ning...don't fly off the handle..." the former whispered cautiously.

"Tell me that you two are lying right now. It's not true...It can't be. Tell me that that he didn't do that to Wei Ying!" Wen Ning interrupted her in a low, deadly voice.

Jiang Cheng's hands balled into fists. "He did. You know that we wouldn't lie to you about something like this. And you know my brother wouldn't either."

Wen Ning pivoted and made his way to the door. "I'll be back...in fact, no! Fuck it! Don't look for me!"

His sister sprang forward to grab him. "A-Ning! Where are you going?" she inquired in surprise. Even Jiang Cheng was shocked; he had never cursed before.

"I'm going to wherever that fucking creep is, and I'm going to kill him, that's where! Let me go!" he bellowed.

"No! A-Ning, stop! Settle down! Stay here!" she yelled, struggling to prevent him from leaving the house.

"Hell no! Please, Jiejie, let me go! He needs to be taught a damn lesson! He needs to get his fucking teeth kicked in for what he did to Wei Ying!"

"And no one agrees more than we do! But please, A-Ning, calm down!"

"CALM DOWN, MY ASS! JIEJIE, GET OFF OF ME!"

"No!"

Wen Ning tried to remove her hands as gently as possible, but she still wouldn't release him. It soon came to the point where Jiang Cheng had to help her, even though it was clear that he wanted to find Wen Chao as much as he did. Wen Ning screamed and fought and struggled against them to no avail. It seemed as if hours had passed before he finally became too exhausted to resist them.

He scowled at them after they let him go. "I never want to hear his name again, if it can be helped. He is no longer a part of my family. He is nothing but an animal," he all but growled.

Wen Qing reached out to stroke his hair, and he allowed it. "Yes. And I had already denounced him as our cousin."

"Good. He deserves to be. And by extension...his father shouldn't be considered family either."

And on that note, he went into the spare bedroom he often stayed in during his visits and slammed the door.

It wasn't until later that evening when he agreed to hear the rest of the story. He was still simmering with anger, but he had composed himself enough to listen to Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing.

"I'm just glad and relieved that Wei Ying has Wangji-xiong, and us. It would be heartbreaking if he were all alone," Wen Ning mumbled when they were finished.

Of course, he was still heartbroken for him.

"It would be, but thankfully, he isn't. We just have to keep reminding him of that," Wen Qing remarked quietly.

Both he and Jiang Cheng nodded in agreement.

xXXXXXXx

Wen Ning was unable to sleep at all that night. He tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable.

Then again, he didn't understand how he would be able to sleep after what he had been told. All he could do was think about it, which only served to make him too furious to be tired. There was also a part of him that was still unable to believe what happened to Wei Ying. He couldn't understand why that creep would want to do what he did to him!

What right did he have to do it? What, in his warped mind, gave him the idea that Wei Ying deserved the pain he put him through? Wen Ning curled his lips. If he was sure that Wen Qing wouldn't stop him, he would have left to search for that creep right then. He never wanted to give someone a good thrashing before. However, in this case, he felt it was justified.

He was still awake when the sun rose, but he wasn't any sleepier than he had been all night. He waited until his sister and Jiang Cheng had finished washing up before getting out of bed and taking a shower himself.

None of them spoke much during breakfast. Wen Ning simply didn't have anything to say at the moment. Wen Qing was preoccupied in making sure that she had everything ready for her internship at the hospital. Jiang Cheng was looking pensive; he was clearly deep in thought about something. That was odd because they usually had plenty to talk about. But they didn't this morning.

After everyone had finished eating, they gathered their things and left the house. Wen Qing hugged and kissed them as they stood by her car.

"I will see you two later. Don't do anything I wouldn't do," she admonished.

Neither Wen Ning nor Jiang Cheng responded, only hugged her in return. Then they waved as she drove away before getting into Jiang Cheng's vehicle.

It wasn't until they were halfway to the college when Wen Ning spoke at last. "I still want to look for him. I still want to beat his ass for what he did to Wei Ying," he muttered. For once, he didn't care about what his sister said.

"You and me both," Jiang Cheng grumbled, puffing on his cigarette. "If I had any idea of where he was, I would go there right now."

"Me too. But you know he could be anywhere in this town, if he isn't at his father's or girlfriend's house."

"Qingqing mentioned them when I asked where spends his time. She also mentioned the bars, but that's no surprise as much as he drinks."

"Yeah."

There was a brief silence.

"If I were to decide to look for him - after our classes, of course - would you try to stop me?" Jiang Cheng abruptly inquired.

Wen Ning shook his head. "No. I would want to go with you. I know where his father lives, and I would help you get there if I did," he replied with a frown.

He nodded slowly. "Mmm."

"Would you stop me?"

"Fuck no. Not in this case. I would want to come with you too, if I could. I wouldn't care if I got in trouble for kicking his ass."

"Neither would I."

Another pause.

"Will you be busy after classes?" Jiang Cheng asked next.

Wen Ning said no. "Other than with homework, I probably won't be. I don't think Granny Wen will need my help with anything this afternoon."

He nodded a second time. "I shouldn't be either. I think I'll actually go for...a little drive. Do you want to come?"

Understanding what he was implying, Wen Ning nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Okay. Can you meet me in the parking lot?"

"Yeah, no problem."

xXXXXXXx

Wen Ning's morning and afternoon was nothing short of stressful and filled with anticipation. He was barely able to pay attention in his classes, thinking of the afternoon to come. He couldn't wait to teach his ex-cousin a lesson.

Joining Jiang Cheng in telling Nie Huaisang about what happened to Wei Ying between their first and second lectures only intensified that desire. Wen Ning mostly let the former talk, since even thinking about Wen Chao only infuriated him more.

Later that morning, when Lan Zhan confirmed that everything was true, it took everything in him to stay on campus. He was so ready to do his ex-cousin harm that he wanted to get Jiang Cheng and leave then.

When he eventually managed to calm down, he sent Wei Ying a text message before going to his third class. He was late, but he was too pissed to care.

He practically ran out of the school when his last class was finally over. Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang joined him outside.

"Hey. Ready to go, or did you change your mind?" the former inquired.

"No, I'm still going," Wen Ning assured him. He was more than ready to avenge Wei Ying by this time.

Jiang Cheng pursed his lips. "Where should we go first?"

"His father's house. After that, we can go to his girlfriend's. I know one or two of the bars that he likes to go to, so we can see if he's in one of them if he isn't at either of their places."

"That sounds good. Let's go."

Nie Huaisang's eyes widened as he listened to them. "Guys, I really don't think that this is a good idea. You might to get in trouble. What if you get locked up...?"

"Stay out of this, Nie-xiong. Please. We'll be fine. You should go home. We'll call you later," Jiang Cheng remarked.

Wen Ning clapped his back in reassurance, and they watched as he reluctantly turned to leave.

The trip to Wen Ruohan's place took a while since he lived on the other side of town. Wen Ning seethed as Jiang Cheng drove there as quickly as he could, thinking of what he would do when he saw Wen Chao.

Jiang Cheng arrived at the house twenty minutes later. It was somewhat dilapidated due to lack of care. The faded paint had chipped off in some places, and the steps leading up to the door were in need of attention.

"Can you stay in the car while I check and see if he's there? I'll signal to you if he is. If not, I'll be right back," Wen Ning remarked.

He nodded. "Sure."

Wen Ning stepped out of the car and rushed up the stairs. After that, he pounded on the door until Wen Ruohan opened it.

"Damn! What the fuck. I said I was coming," the latter snapped. "Wen Ning? Is that you? I thought you were the police banging on my door like that, boy-!"

"Where is he? Where the fuck is he?!" Wen Ning interrupted, trying to push past him.

Wen Ruohan was astonished, to say the least. He had never spoken to him that way before. "Where is who?" he demanded while blocking his way.

"Your demon spawn! Seriously, I don't know how in the fuck you managed to raise that bitch!"

He was really taken aback at the point, but his shock was quickly replaced with anger. "I don't know what the hell is going on, but you're not coming in my house talking to me like this. If you weren't my nephew, I would strangle you-!"

"What's stopping you now? You did it before, you abusive fuck!" Wen Ning challenged. "Where the fuck is he?!"

"He isn't here. I don't know where he is. Now, get the fuck away from my door, and don't return until you get your manners back! Granny Wen and I taught you better."

"Bullshit. You never taught me a damn thing! And if I find out that he's hiding in there, I'm coming right back. Do you hear me?!" he yelled over Wen Ruohan's shoulder. "If I find out you're in here, I'm going to fucking kill you!"

"Get out of here!" he shouted. He grabbed him by the collar and threw him down the stairs. "I don't know what has gotten into you, but you have clearly lost your mind! Don't let me see you here again!"

And with that, he slammed the door. Wen Ning glared at it before storming back to the car.

Jiang Cheng frowned. "He wasn't there?"

He shook his head. "He said he wasn't, but he might have been lying. I told him I would come back if I find out he is." He sighed deeply. "Let's see if he's at his girlfriend's."

They were not successful there either. Wang Lingjiao didn't answer the door, and nobody seemed to be there. Wen Ning couldn't hear anything inside of the house.

From there, they went to the bars that he had mentioned earlier. Still no Wen Chao. But that didn't matter. They knew he was around somewhere.

They checked every other bar and club in town. It took some time because some had more people in them than others.

Finally, after searching for well over an hour, Jiang Cheng scowled and pointed to someone when they stepped into Huanglong Jiuba.

"There he is!" he announced.

Wen Ning pivoted to see his ex-cousin sitting at the counter. He was alone; neither Wang Lingjiao nor his friends were with him.

They bolted over to him and yanked him off of the stool.

"Come here, motherfucker!" Wen Ning bellowed.

"Aaaah! What the-?!" Wen Chao yelped, trying to get them off of him. However, they were too strong for him. Wen Ning was aware of attention that they were receiving, but he didn't care. He had a score to settle.

"You're not getting away from us, asshole! You're going to pay for what you did to my brother!" Jiang Cheng shouted after dragging him outside.

Wen Chao frowned. "I'm not going to pay for anything! I never did a fucking thing to your brother!" he retorted.

"Yes, you did, motherfucker!" Wen Ning yelled. "Don't try to deny it! You know exactly what you did! He told us everything, and everyone else in town is going to find out what you did too after we're through with you!"

"Whatever that faggot told you is a lie! I never had anything to do with him!"

"You're the liar! He knows what you did. I know what you did, and I'm going to fucking kill you!"

"You won't do a fucking thing!"

"I'm going to fucking kill you! You forced yourself on my friend! You're nothing but a monster! I'll never forgive you for what you did to him! You're not family to me anymore! You're dead to me!" Wen Ning ranted. He heard Jiang Cheng yelling at him some more too, but he was too furious and distracted to hear what he was saying.

Wen Chao scoffed. "I never forced myself on that faggot! What would I want to do that for?! He's disgusting...I wouldn't be surprised if he slept with half of the people in town! Fucking sickening flirt! I would never touch him!"

"LIAR!"

"Your friend is the damn liar! He's just making up stories and trying to cause trouble for me!"

"HE WOULD NEVER DO THAT! HE WOULD NEVER LIE ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THAT EITHER!"

"Oh, yes, he would...because if I had, I would have been arrested right now, you stupid bastard!"

"You will be soon, after we kick your ass! Wei Ying talked to the police! You'll be in jail soon, asshole! Just wait and see!"

"I'm not going anywhere! I did nothing wrong!"

"FUCKING LIAR! YES, YOU DID! WE KNOW YOU DID!"

"Oh, get out of my face!"

And Wen Chao landed a solid punch on his cheek.

Wen Ning felt something snap inside him.

He was done. He was done with his ex-cousin's shit.

He had done nothing but bully him.

Pick on him.

Harass him.

Make his life miserable. Not just by mistreating him and his sister.

But also because of what he did to Wei Ying.

He was done!

"I'm going to kill you, motherfucker!!!" he bellowed as he ripped off his coat and dove onto him. He looked up and addressed the small crowd that had formed around them. "One of you call the police! I don't care if I go to prison, as long as he goes too!"

And he meant it.

After that, Wen Ning proceeded to slam his fist into every inch of Wen Chao that he could. He wanted nothing more than to destroy his face, destroy him. He wanted nothing more than to expose him so that everyone in town would see him as the less-than-animal he truly was. Jiang Cheng joined him, swearing and shouting as he punched him over and over.

Wen Chao was bruised and bloody within no time at all. He tried to crawl away from them at one point, but Wen Ning quickly pinned him. He wouldn't let him get away. Not from them. And not with anything. Not ever again.

"NO! YOU'RE NOT GOING ANY-FUCKING-WHERE!!! NO! NO! NO! NO!" he roared at him.

He was so engrossed in beating the daylights out of him that he didn't notice the increasing volume of approaching sirens. But the next thing he knew, he was being pushed to the ground and cuffed.

Unlike Jiang Cheng, who continued to rant, Wen Ning didn't say a word or resist the officer who cuffed him. He simply allowed him to lead him to one of the police cars and push him in.

As he turned to look out of the window, he saw his ex-cousin being placed into an ambulance that had come. A grim, pleased smile spread across his face when another policeman climbed into it before it sped away.

Justice would be served for Wei Ying. At least, he hoped it would. That would more than make up for him and Jiang Cheng getting arrested. But as he had said earlier, he honestly didn't care that he was going to jail.

He would do it all again if he had to.