#devianta

Amidst his amusement, Jiang Cheng wasn’t even sure if Wei Wuxian was listening, but sure enough, he replied, “Ah, Jiang Cheng, yes that’s exactly it. It’s so hot, of course I’m bored. Training is boring- we can’t shoot kites like the older disciples. We can’t go for a swim on a training day, so, yes, I’m bored.” Still rolling on the floor in frustration, he continued, “Actually, Jiang Cheng, aren’t you grateful? In this heat, your shixiong, that is, I gave you a shower all for free. Don’t lie, you’re cooler now, right? I did you a favour, so be happy!” He chuckled again, his lilting voice grating in Jiang Cheng’s ears.

He had known with Wei Wuxian for four years now. As they opened up to each other, Jiang Cheng saw the scared and pitiful orphan boy turn into someone whom everyone liked, whom everyone envied, whom everyone wanted to be around, Jiang Cheng included; even if it meant he wanted to kill him half of the time. In the end, he was his brother.

But, Jiang Cheng also knew that his brother had a very short attention span and a penchant for pranking him. He knew that the angrier he got, the more his brother was enjoying it. But, in all honesty, during this summer noon that was so hot you could hear it in the air, the cold shock of having a bucket of water splashed over you really was refreshing. However, he had to be angry, because that’s what he did. Maybe Wei Wuxian truly was looking out for him.

He probably wasn’t.

“Idiot, you talk too much, be more concise with your words or people won’t listen to you.” That was a lie. People would always listen to Wei Wuxian, they always did. “You want to cool off so badly? Wei Wuxian, don’t be so generous…”

Wei Wuxian noticed the glint in Jiang Cheng’s eyes too late. He completely failed to account for the fact that they were both standing on a pier. Before he even had a chance to yell, he had been dragged under, and all he could see was the foggy green water and the stems of faraway lotuses.

When he surfaced, he sputtered and coughed, pulling the hair away from his face. Jiang Cheng was opposite him, up to his shoulders in the water, looking just as much of a mess. Now he was the one clutching his stomach in laughter.

Wei Wuxian didn’t expect Jiang Cheng to combat him quite like that. He was expecting to be chased around the pier, and was planning on taking refuge behind his shijie, who was cutting up watermelon in the main hall. In his shock, he realised that he probably looked like an idiot. Jiang Cheng laughing was a rarity, so he must have looked like a colossal idiot.

Well, he’d just spit watermelon seeds in his face later to get revenge at him. If it made Jiang Cheng happy, he wouldn’t mind being a colossal idiot.

BONUS:

“Shijie, he’s eaten an entire watermelon’s worth already, he-” Jiang Cheng complained, but he was cut short by a series of tiny thuds on his back. He looked over his shoulder only to see a small scattering of watermelon seeds surrounding him, and Wei Wuxian looking very smug.

“It’s revenge!” His brother smiled a toothy smile, hair still damp and drooping. “Aren’t I so good at shooting them? Isn’t my aim on point?”

“You have to pick those up later, you understand?”

“I bet you can’t shoot them further than me, Jiang Cheng.”

“… I bet I can.” He willingly fell into the trap. “Shijie, do you have more?”

“Silly boys…”

(He couldn’t shoot them further than Wei Wuxian. They ate all the watermelon, then started using sunflower seeds. 

He still couldn’t beat him.)

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