hold my hands by Snooze (Chiruka)
Transplanting a core into a new person isnât without repercussions. One year after the events at Guanyin Temple, Jiang Cheng found himself once again faced with the possibility of losing everything he had. Reconciling with his brother, learning to let Jin Ling go, and dealing with his blooming emotions toward the First Jade of Gusu â will Jiang Cheng accomplish what he wants before time runs out?
it all passes someday by screamlet
A week before the anniversary of Wei Wuxianâs death, there was a commotion outside Lan Wangjiâs house.
Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji over the years.
The Unlikely Expression of Love by manamune
When everything has settled, when everyone else has moved on with their lives and their friends, Jiang Cheng has a realization which shouldnât actually be a surprise:
Indigo, lavender, and violet (I donât wanna be red) by ohwhatevrewhatevr
It, in the pale colors of the late morning, is the closest to perfect Jiang Cheng will ever reach. He strokes Lan XiChenâs hair and presses a light kiss to where his ribbon and hair meet. The sky is a pale blue, and the pastels of flowers and clouds are spread out through the window, a brilliant world waiting for them, them in the gentian house, safe from stronger breezes - there is the clutter of birds fluttering and chirping outside. It is a warm, perfect, spring morning.
Jiang Cheng and Lan XiChen have been together for an year. In which, no one ever really gets over things, Jiang Cheng has the misfortune of interacting with his brother, the juniors help out with the proposal, and thereâs a marriage.
Altitude by starknjarvisÂ
When Jin Ling lures Jiang Cheng to the Cloud Recesses under false pretenses, he finds himself out of place among this new family Wei Wuxian has formed.
Lan Xichen, at least, seems pleased to have his company.
Perhaps there is still a chance for Jiang Cheng to make amends and move forward.
[Modao Zushi Online] GLITCH REPORT: My Brother Got Chased Down And %$@*$&@ By Gusu Dungeon Boss??? by oh_fudgecakes
Modao Zushi Online is a virtual reality MMORPG. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are top ranking players in its new server, currently tied with their arch-nemesis from their previous server, Wen Chao. In an attempt to defeat him, they take on the Gusu Dungeon Boss, Zewu-jun, to win the reward of a legendary weapon. Ever the cheat, Wei Wuxian tries to take advantage of a glitch to defeat the seemingly undefeatable boss. It backfires. Jiang Cheng gets fucked by a boss monster.
Meanwhile, Lan Xichen, the unwitting staff member in charge of controlling Zewu-jun, absolutely did not sign up to be pulled into a secret virtual reality fling with a player. Mod Ji, who has to deal with Wei Wuxianâs incessant glitch reporting of his brotherâs sex life, is long-suffering.
Jiang Cheng grits his teeth and pushes harder. He feels like torn silk, the embroidery needle sinking in again and again and again; patiently, desperately, endlessly trying to make something beautiful out of something broken.
Jiang Cheng builds his sect, learns embroidery, and raises his nephew.
we can raise a little family by lanyon
âWell, brother,â says Wei Wuxian, leaning against the outside of Jiang Chengâs chambers. âI had heard that you and Xichen went on a night hunt and came back with a baby, which is not the order Iâd choose to do things inâŚâ
In which Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen acquire a baby of unknown origin, and are the very last to know what it means.
Beyond the Impossible by Silverine
Summoned by Lan Qiren, Jiang Wanyin goes to the Cloud Recesses to drop his nephew Jin Ling, expecting to discuss relevant matters with his old master. Instead, heâs asked to take with him no other than Sect Leader Lan himself, all the way back to Lotus Pier. If the reason why he accepted such an outrageous task is indeed a mystery, heâs about to be surprised by how this entire trip, their encounters, and his warm company, suddenly feel fated.
Jiang Cheng is trapped in a day on repeat where he begins by waking in Zewu Junâs bed at dawn and ends by dying painfully at dusk.
Itâs getting very irritating, and he has the sneaking suspicion that his chances to solve his own murder are rapidly running out. Soon, his death will be much more permanent.
All in all, worst birthday ever.
Audience of One by WinterDreams
âThen let an established star go first,â Lan Xichen interrupts again before Lan Wangji can give a stubborn reply. Both men twist toward Lan Xichen, and he smiles at Wei Wuxianâs tilted head. âIf I publicly date a man for awhile first, your engagement shouldnât receive as much backlash.â
Or, that AU where everyone is famous in some way or another, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have been dating in private for years, and Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng pretend to date publicly for their brothersâ sake.
A Bit of Ruthlessness by jirluvien
When Jiang Cheng hears that Lan Xichen went into seclusion following Jin Guangyaoâs death, itâs almost as if he can see the grabby hands of a restless ghost, reaching out for something to keep him company. For something warm and living and devastated. And as history has proved time and time again, the Lans are perfect victims when it comes to giving in to ghosts.Yeah, no. Not on Jiang Chengâs fucking watch.A story about grief, determination, unexpected friendships, abandoned watchtowers, and letters. So many letters.
All Tied Up In You by Clearpearls
Yet again, the night had come to this:
Jiang Cheng on the floor, kneeling, Zidian wrapped around his wrists.
Thank You, and Iâm Sorry by Hamliet
Jin GuangYao might be dead, but his story is not. Taking advantage of the chaos he instigated, someone makes an attempt on the life of the young new leader of the Jin Sect. When Jiang Cheng takes Jin Ling to the Cloud Recesses to have him study while he attempts to work with Wei WuXian and his husband Lan WangJi to eliminate the threat, he encounters a mourning Lan XiChen, lovestruck teenagers, and a persistent corpseâand both pairs of brothers find themselves struggling to move on.
saturnâs rings (donât be a heartbreaker) by iskendaris
Set after the seige of burial mounds, Yunmeng rebuilds as they hold the first Discussion Conference at Lotus Pier. Sometimes the night is a gift, a refuge for loneliness.
âSo stern, Sect Leader Jiang,â Lan Xichen murmured, âSo glacial⌠What will it take to melt that icy exterior? What can I say?â
âNothing. Thereâs nothing you can say or offer.â
reciprocity by jukeboxhound
Thereâs a pause before Lan Xichen says, in a tone thatâs a little more neutral, âI would like to paint on you.â
âOf course, if you say âyesâ but then change your mind at any point, for any reason, you need only say so and I will stop immediately,â he adds.
Well, silver lining: Jiang Cheng is feeling much more awake than he was a moment ago.
Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes
Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his fatherâs eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he canât sing to save his goddamn life.
As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream â and to attempt the impossible.
Marginal Costs by ohwhatevrewhatevr
âYou think you know what you want, Er-Ge,â A-Yao says. âBut you should consider what youâre willing to give first,â he says wryly, taking Lan XiChenâs chess piece with slim, skilled fingers.
Lan XiChen looks up at A-Yaoâs concentrated expression and the hint of contentment on his face that he is special enough to be allowed to see.
âItâs not just one decision, but the lead up to many more. One decision decides what else youâre going to have to pay, and each time you have to ask yourself, ignoring the sunk costs, if this time itâs worth it as well.â
When his sworn brother looks up at him with those clear, amber eyes, waiting, Lan XiChen feels the pull and gives in: he asks.
âAre you happy being in love?â
(First half is two sad sworn brothers talking, internally mourning how unfortunate their other sworn brotherâs death was :/ and second half is when a mopey boy in blue meets an angsty boy in purple whilst chasing a demonic cultivator, and a lil bit of sexy dual cultivation happens.)
Somewhat Tender by theherocomplex
There is no defense against kindness; it has always undone him.
I didnât expect you to be lonely (too) by bettydice (BettyKnight)
Jiang Chengâs life is a mess, heâs a mess, and he doesnât miss his brother at all. So when his sister gifts him ten sessions with a massage therapist, who turns out to be someone he was crushing on for a hot minute as a teenager and is still as hot as ever⌠yeah, that might as well happen. It wonât have to mean anything.
This feels intimate to Jiang Cheng in a way thatâs probably very inappropriate and maybe even pathetic. Nobody touches him like this, right where heâs hurt the most. Thereâs no one who handles him so gently, so carefully.
Itâs the gentleness thatâs his undoing, he thinks. He would be able to deal better with it if it was painful.
Life for Rent by yodasyoyo
âYeah well. Youâre not taking me seriously. This guy is my soulmate!â
âSoulmate.â Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes. âWhatever.â
âJust because you donât believe in themââ
âI believe in them!â Jiang Cheng says. âIâve never denied they exist.â
âJust last week you said that it was an evolutionary quirk that had been used by greetings card companies, movie makers, and corporations to exploit lonely and vulnerable people.â
âAnd I stand by it! That doesnât mean that soulmates arenât real. Just incredibly unlikely and probably pointless.
Xicheng vs Soulmates. Fight!
Halfway Around the World by theherocomplex
Normally, Jiang Cheng would be seething, jaw clenched tight, if someone sounded like that while they were talking, but â Lan Xichen has the trick of always making you feel like youâre in on the joke, whatever the joke is. That youâre laughing together.
For months now Jiang Chengâs been idly fantasizing about how it would be if something were to come between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan. Mostly those daydreams have been simple enough â they break up (probably because Lan Zhan is boring or Wei Ying is annoying), Wei Ying is sad for a couple of days (Jiang Chengâs willing to allow some space for feelings, he isnât a total monster), but then Wei Ying realizes heâs better off, he gets over it, and Jiang Cheng gets his brother back.
Unfortunately the fantasy version of events has only proven partially true, so far. Theyâve broken up. Wei Ying has been sad.
Now weeks have passed, though â and Wei Ying is still sad, every. Single. Day.
Itâs like Jiang Chengâs stuck in a looping GIF, and itâs driving him insane.
Jiang Cheng plots, Lan Huan pines, and, unfortunately for Lan Qiren, Wangxian are inevitable.
