Wei Ying

Three years ago…

I gripped the railing of the balcony, imagining the steel bending and breaking between my clenched fingers. But somehow it didn't. I tipped my head up and took a deep breath. Then another. The chill of the evening dragged its claws over my white shirt. And tangled my unbound hair with knots. I had shirked my white blazer off as soon as the three of us had returned to the family apartment. Our home away from home when we stayed in the city. I drew the air into my lungs, but it felt like I couldn't get enough. All around us, millions of people went about their daily lives. While we had been left behind. It struck me that I could no more turn off the sounds of life carrying on down below than I could change the seasons. And we were stuck in an eternal winter. Terrified by my powerlessness, I tipped my head further back to keep the tears from falling. I choked down gulps of air as my body broke out in shudders that had nothing to do with the cold. I felt the first drops of rain caress my cheeks with sweet kisses of permission. "Cry, Wei Ying," they seemed to whisper to me. "Cry today and when tomorrow comes, be strong." So, I did.

I woke up in a tangle of sheets and limbs to the sound of my phone ringing. I scooted to the edge of the bed, my hand exploring the abyss that was my bedroom floor. Wait. Was this my bedroom? "Too loud," came a sleepy murmur from beneath pink satin sheets that definitely did not belong to me. I retrieved my phone from my pants and pressed it to my ear. I didn't get a chance to speak before Jiang Cheng's incensed voice came down the line.

"Where the hell are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but the view is lush." A creamy thigh had worked its way free of the bedding and my eyes followed it upwards to a very biteable hip. I could hear my brother's rolling his eyes.

"You were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"Where's here?"

There were matching arms now. I counted them. One, two…three. Oh man. Four? They reached for me, pulling me back under the covers.

"You know exactly where I mean. You're the one that spent months trying to book the Lan's for this gig and you're not even here to meet them before they go onstage tonight!"

Fuck. One of them was doing very interesting things with her tongue.

"They're musicians, they know what to do. Just show them where we keep the good whiskey."

"Wei-

I dropped the phone, abruptly cutting off my brothers tirade. My hands were going to be busy for a while.

Jiang Cheng wasn't speaking to me. Again. So the night was shaping up pretty typically. I'd come through the back of Lotus shortly before doors opened to find him in conversation with our mutual friend, Nie Huaisang. His snarl followed me all the way to the bar. I slid in beside our bartenders and rolled up the sleeves of my black shirt doing my best to appear contrite. Being behind the bar had two advantages. Alcohol and alcohol. And the patrons that came in droves to have said alcohol served to them by me. So maybe the bars greatest advantage was Wei Ying. I couldn't wait to tell Jiang Cheng. I snickered to myself as I poured out ten tequila shots and passed them out. The chorus of cheers that echoed the soon to be teeming room warmed my blood as much as the Don Julio. The DJ took to his perch so that people arrived at a party already in full swing. The set up was one unique to Lotus. It was a piece of pier salvaged from Yunmeng marina. Detrimental flooding had damaged a portion of the pier around the time we were having the club re-outfitted. Jiang Cheng and I had volunteered to help with the repairs and swiped a souvenir on our way out. We had originally had a wood finish picked out for the upper level of the club but after hauling the piece of our hometown inside, we reworked the entire design of the place. When people stepped into Lotus, they stepped into the heart of Yunmeng. If Yunmeng were a sexy portside nightclub. Clearly a few liberties had been taken there. As people began streaming into the club, the evening took on it's signature haze. I gave myself over to it.

I was serving a beautiful brunette wearing a tight turquoise dress and her giggly, similarly attired friend. They were sweet and hammered. The brunette leaned over, tipping her chest forward as she brushed a hand over my wrist. My eyes were on a downward trajectory to where she so obviously wanted them when they snagged on a figure at the edge of the room. He was both at odds with his surroundings and exactly where he was supposed to be all at once. Beams of purple and green light danced over his severe expression, as he cast wary eyes around the club. A heartbeat or two passed before I realised I was holding my breath, waiting for those eyes to find mine. He was tall, and exquisitely muscular. He towered over the people moving between him and despite those wary eyes, he was utterly serene. He didn't seem to notice the effect he was having on people around him either. The lusty, appreciative gazes that followed him. And mine gleefully among them. His thick, dark hair was pulled into a tight, high ponytail. A few whisps of hair artfully grazed his wicked cheekbones and jaw. A white silk dress shirt and classic black trousers completed his effortlessly, elegant look. He was more buttoned up than the type I usually went for, but he was so striking that I couldn't look away. There was something familiar about him that had me chewing on my bottom lip.

The DJs set was winding down, his last song fading out with slow, melting tones in preparation for the live musicians performing tonight. They weren't Lotus' usual vibe, an acoustic guitar duo. Brothers no less. But they were the hot commodity, selling out venues throughout all the major cities. And now, we had them. I'd yet to meet them due to my morning...and afternoon commitments but I was looking forward to having a drink with them after their set. The strobe lights dimmed and disappeared, replaced by moodier hues that ushered the room into the clouds. It was at that exact moment the room turned dark that the beautiful strangers gaze found mine. I couldn't make out his exact eye colour from this distance as I watched them harden to steel. The change was so abrupt that it felt like being struck. But damn me if that didn't make me grin. His eyes dropped to my smile, and he turned away in obvious distaste. A challenge. This would be fun. The two women draped over the bar had registered my disinterest some time ago and taken to the dance floor where the rest of the patrons had packed themselves in tightly for the best view. The brother's good looks were not a small part of their popularity after all and that's when it dawned on me. I had just encountered Lan Zhan. The younger of the Lan brothers about to perform. And for whatever reason, he had not liked what he had seen.