The text message from Lan Zhan made Wei Ying smile. Lan Zhan was only now starting to use emojis, and Wei Ying had taught him that there was an entirely new language to be learned.

It came about because Lan Zhan said XiChen had choked on his water when he had sent him an eggplant emoji, and then the same thing happened to Wei Ying, so of course, he had to explain.

He was so busy looking at his phone that he didn't see the danger.

Only when the man cleared his throat, did Wei Ying look up.

This alley was almost always empty. There was no reason for anyone to be here, and especially not one so smartly dressed in clothes that probably cost more than one month's salary for Wei Ying.

The stranger wore a dirty smirk on his face, and a look of entitlement. His silver suit contrasted in a nice way with his pale yellow shirt, and he wore a thick gold chain around his neck.

Ostentatious, is what Wei Ying's first thought was, about him.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Jiang reject!" He says, stepping closer to Wei Ying.

Wei Ying steps back, thinking fast. How does this stranger know him?

"Who are you? You obviously know me," he replies, weighing his options about whether or not he could run back inside before the slimy prick could catch him. Should he stay and fight? There was no point battling it out unless Wei Ying was sure he could win, and right now, it looked like they were evenly matched.

Wei Ying is tense.

The stranger is definitely here for something, but what could it be? There's a dangerous look in his eyes, not a craziness, but something...

"Not that that is relevant. I have some questions for you."

"About?" Wei Ying takes a miniscule step back, but the glint in the other's eyes suggests that he's on to him.

This is a game of cat and mouse.

"We have a mutual acquaintance. In fact, I believe you are in possession of their child. So my 'friend' wants to know if she's come around to visit her kid."

Oh, no!

He's talking about Mrs Lan.

If Wei Ying feigns ignorance about knowing who she is, the chances are that the stranger will think he's lying and may try to harm him.

"Who's your friend?" Wei Ying asks instead. "And how do you know about me?"

The stranger tuts loudly, shaking his head.

"My cousin married your adopted sister. And I'm offended that you don't remember me."

He lunged, aiming to grab Wei Ying's throat. He was totally unprepared for the random attack. It was so sudden and Wei Ying braced himself to be hurt, but instead his eyes were momentarily blinded by a flash of white, and then to Wei Ying's horror, a silver sword pierced the yellow shirt guy's chest.

Even as Wei Ying faintly registers his phone being knocked out of his hand, right next to the rubbish bag he had dropped earlier, he sees a red blooming stain on that pale yellow silk. The cry of pain loud in his ears, and then he's watching the strangely familiar man dressed in white, going after the suit guy.

Suit Guy leans back against the dumpster, and he looks weakened, but he's hiding a nasty smile. This time when Sword Guy attacks, Suit Guy evades and makes a run for it.

Wei Ying wants to run back inside, get to Lan Zhan and tell him everything. But he's warily watching Sword Guy coming back and wiping his sword on some trash. That's when Wei Ying sees his phone and notices the damage to the screen.

"You're the guy who came into the coffee shop a few days ago...last week." Wei Ying says, finally recognising him and trying hard not to panic.

Who goes around with a three foot sword in broad daylight, ready to stab a would-be mugger? This day was bordering on bizarre, with a capital B.

Caught up in his thoughts and trying to make sense of what he's seeing, Wei Ying only watches the guy walk up to the dumpster and try to hide the pool of blood that has accumulated there.

"Right, first guess. We thought they might try something like this, so BS assigned me to be your guard." The man says, showing no signs of putting away his sword.

"Who's BS? Bullshit?" Wei Ying says out loud, finding it amusing. "And why do you think I need a guard?" This was getting crazier and more unbelievable.

"Remember what happened not five minutes ago? You and your boyfriend have attracted the attention of some seriously twisted folk, and you're both in danger."

"Lan Zhan's in danger? From who?" Wei Ying could feel himself trembling at that.

The man in white taps his own ear.

That's when Wei Ying notices he's wearing an earpiece.

"Upgraded? Extraction? Okay, Boss," he replies to someone. And then he flashes Wei Ying a big smile. "I think it's better to let BS tell you everything herself."

"What if I don't come with you?" Wei Ying hedges.

On the one hand, he's now scared, because these people obviously know something is up, and what's worse is, they think Lan Zhan is in danger. And himself, but then if Wei Ying is relying on Lan Zhan for protection, then it's a moot point.

"Suit yourself. But there's a war coming, and you best be knowing whose side you're on. Come and meet BS, then make your mind up." Sword Guy shrugs nonchalantly, as if he didn't just say extraction in front of Wei Ying just a few seconds ago.

And Wei Ying has got a lot of questions of his own.

What if he goes and meets this BS?

What if it's the breakthrough they need? He feels like he's being pushed and pulled in two different directions.

Sword Guy just turns around and starts walking, and Wei Ying stops thinking. He chases after him, hoping this is not a huge mistake.

Otherwise, Lan Zhan is never going to forgive him.

But what's worse is, Wei Ying knows that if something ever happened to Lan Zhan, and if there was even the tiniest chance that he could have prevented it, then Wei Ying wasn't going to risk that. If he can, then he wants to save Lan Zhan no matter what.

He'd go with this guy, find out what they're so worried about, and then come straight home.

*************

They run out of the alley to another side road where a white car is parked. It's got tinted windows and Wei Ying has a moment of hesitation, just before he gets in.

The truth is, ever since he met Lan Zhan, Wei Ying's life has been put into a blender. There's something happening every single day, and to Wei Ying, it feels as if everyone around them knows what's going on, way before he figures it out. This is his chance to make the difference, make it into a level playing field.

Plus he's curious about the war this guy mentioned.

Who is he talking about? What war? Does he mean between vampires and humans? But so far, there's been nothing to indicate that this guy knows anything about that hidden secret, and Wei Ying doesn't want to say something that will expose Lan Zhan.

This guy definitely knows more about himself and Lan Zhan than he's letting on, and it might be better to wait and observe before speaking, and having dire consequences as a result.

They pull away from the curb and then the music starts playing.

Wei Ying has heard it before, but he can't place it.

And yet, its beauty pierces his heart. The notes sing about the timelessness of love, and appeal to that quiet place inside everyone, where there is nothing else except the self. Wei Ying closes his eyes and listens, giving himself over to the music. It feels as if it's playing only for him.

Each note is a prayer that echoes in his mind long after its duration has passed. He does not mind the passing time, or worry about where they are going. This melody puts him at ease, relaxing and freeing him from his worries.

Wei Ying only opens his eyes when the car is parked and switched off, ending the music. His face is wet with the tears that he didn't even know he had shed. His heart aches in the best way possible, and Wei Ying finds a way to smile.

"Come on. BS is waiting for you." Sword Guy says.

He sounds much kinder suddenly.

"You know, every time you say that, I only hear Bullshit. Just so you know." Wei Ying grins at him, before getting out of the car and looking around.

"You should tell her that. She'll find it funny." Sword Guy also gets out of the car.

Wei Ying is in awe.

They're in some kind of underground parking place with red carpet paths from each vehicle joining the massive one central to guiding them towards a glass door. There are lots of cars parked here, and even Wei Ying knows enough about cars to understand that these are works of art.

JingYi would have a field day!

Each sleek beauty reeks of money well spent, one rarer than the next. They're mostly white but there's a few red and black ones tossed in for good measure. Mercedes, Aston Martin cars, Ferrari, Lamborghini, those are a few names Wei Ying has heard of, over the years. But there are a few new ones he doesn't recognise at all.

Bugatti, Koenigsegg, Rimac and Pagani are just some of the names he can read off before they are past the black granite walls and through the glass doors.

There's a golden foyer, and Sword Guy walks them to an elevator. The inside is just as grand as the foyer, all gold and red tastefully decorated.

Wei Ying expected them to go up, but instead his stomach flips and swoops as it heads down, deeper into the earth.

And now he's starting to worry about Lan Zhan.

The further he's going from his man, the more that Wei Ying knows Lan Zhan is going to go ballistic when he won't find Wei Ying at the Coffee Carousel. And with so many people going missing, Lan Zhan might jump to the wrong conclusion. He's going to be so worried!

Wei Ying needs to contact Lan Zhan as soon as possible.

But how? His phone broke back in the alleyway, and he has no means of doing that.

"Why the rush to get away from the alley?" He asks Sword Guy. "And what's your name? I'm calling you Sword Guy in my head...."

"The guy that attacked you? He's bad news. Jin Zixun? He seemed to know you." Sword Guy says, leaning back casually against the gold bar wrapped around this elevator.

"I don't know him. But he said he's related to the Peacock." Talking about him inevitably reminds Wei Ying of his Shijie. He misses both Jiang Cheng and Jiang YanLi...but there was no point thinking about them now. And he hasn't missed the fact that this guy still hasn't told him his name.

"Peacock?"

"Yeah. Jin ZiXuan. When I left, they were talking about getting married." Try as he might, there's no way Wei Ying can sound happy about that.

But the elevator smoothly comes to a stop, silencing them both.

The door slides open and Wei Ying's jaw drops.

**************

Lan Zhan has never driven so fast.

He texted XiChen upon leaving the Coffee Carousel, asking for Huaisang's address and phone number. He might have it in his phone but Lan Zhan wasn't sure if it was stored and right now, he didn't have time for mistakes.

Wei Ying could be anywhere.

Who was the guy in white? And why the hell was he carrying a sword? In the daytime? And clearly unafraid to use it. And why the fuck had Wei Ying gone with him?

Lan Zhan wasn't prone to swearing, but he felt so frustrated at all of this.

F4keSt0ries had said that the vampires were looking for someone...hadn't they?

Cold fear snakes down his spine as Lan Zhan makes the connection. What if it's the Wens? What if they have Wei Ying?

If that was the case, Lan Zhan was gonna tear apart that building looking for him. With a screech, his car pulls up outside the Nie residence. Before he goes inside, he makes a quick phone call to Wen PoPo, asking about the children and informing her that he and Wei Ying were going to be a little bit late today, hoping his words would prophetically come true.

She told him that was fine, the kids had snacks for now and she was making them noodles for dinner. And then the last thing she told him was not to worry.

That nearly broke him.

The burning in his eyes was real, and he wanted to cry so badly, but he couldn't any more. He pressed the heels of his palms onto his eyes, the coolness going someway to alleviate the heat.

A few deep breaths later and he was ready.

Lan Zhan got out of the car and locked it, striding towards the door. Huaisang was already there, having opened it.

"Ji-Xiong! XiChen-Ge said you were going to drop by." He looked a little nervous.

Lan Zhan knew he hadn't ever really bothered to get to know him, this younger brother of his own brother's boyfriend. There had been no need to, until now. But Huaisang had helped them so much recently, and he realised that he had unconsciously made a mistake by not making friends with him earlier.

Lan Zhan made an effort to relax his features, and he saw Huaisang visibly relieved at that.

"I need your help." Lan Zhan said, internally wincing because it sounded like a demand. "I need to find Wei Ying. CCTV link." Lan Zhan comes inside their home and hands his phone to Huaisang.

He had made MianMian send the video to his email.

Huaisang rubs his hands with glee, no uncertainty on his face now, and Lan Zhan has to wonder if all of that was an elaborate act?

And then Huaisang takes the phone.

"Well then, you've come to the right place."