That Monday didn't start off with rocks being thrown or potential fights ensuing at the college, for which Wei Ying and Lan Zhan were grateful. The last thing they wanted or needed was for it to happen again. Unfortunately, though, many of their schoolmates were still hateful towards them. But they were somewhat less antagonistic than they had been the previous week.

Wei Ying decided to just keep ignoring and avoiding them unless otherwise necessary. He wasn't there for the other students. He was there to attend his classes so that he could eventually graduate the next year. And he wanted to do so in peace.

Of course, he knew that that peace wouldn't come anytime soon.

The rest of the morning and afternoon went by as well as could be expected in light of everything that was going on. He mainly focused on his schoolwork, which helped because it put everyone at a distance. People still glared at him and Lan Zhan in between classes - or called one of them names - but as mentioned before, he ignored them. Lan Zhan did not engage with anyone either. He simply just made a list in his head of those whose names he knew to report later.

An incident at lunch spoiled the meal for Wei Ying, however. He and Lan Zhan were just walking back to the table where Jiang Cheng and their friends were sitting when someone bumped into the tray the former carried. The impact caused his chocolate grass pudding to fall on the floor, making a mess.

They were quite sure this had been done on purpose, even though the guy apologized. Wei Ying could tell that Lan Zhan wanted to say something, but he stopped him by putting a hand on his arm.

"Just let it be. Please," he whispered.

Lan Zhan sighed, but conceded in reluctance. "Fine. I will inform one of the staff about the spill. And I will get another pudding for you."

He shook his head. "You don't have to. It isn't like I need it anyway. I'll just throw the bowl in the trash."

"No, I have it. You go ahead and sit."

"All right."

This was partly the reason why he wasn't in the mood to eat in the cafeteria the following afternoon. The other was that he was already tired of being stared at by a room full of people. So, after his third class, he went to find a place to be alone in the building his fourth class was in.

He knew that going anywhere by himself - in school or out of it - was a big no-no. His safety was still at risk, after all. But he didn't care about that right then. As long as no one bothered him, he would be okay.

Wei Ying eventually discovered a secluded corner not far from the vending machine he bought a snack and drink from. He sat on the floor to eat, trying to do so as quietly as possible.

At that moment, his cell phone vibrated. He took it out of his pocket to see that Lan Zhan was calling him and answered it.

"Hi sweetheart," he mumbled.

"Wei Ying, where are you? Jiang Wanyin and the others have just sent me text messages. They said that you did not come to the cafeteria. Nor did you answer the messages they sent you a few minutes ago. Are you all right? Has someone tried to harass you again? Are you hurt?" Lan Zhan queried urgently.

He looked at the screen. There were indeed a barrage of texts from everyone. He must not have felt his phone vibrating while he was walking. Otherwise, he would have noticed them.

Putting the phone back to his ear, he assured him, "No, no. I'm fine. I'm just eating somewhere else, that's all. I didn't want to go to the cafeteria today."

Lan Zhan's voice became serious. "But why did you not inform them? Or respond to their messages? They are extremely worried about you."

"I know, I'm sorry. I forgot to tell them, and I didn't feel my phone vibrating either," he replied in earnest.

"...I understand, baobao. But please try not to be unreachable again. And please let one of us know if you are going somewhere alone. We need to be aware of where you are in case something happens."

"I know," Wei Ying repeated. "And I won't. I'm sorry."

"Mn. Where are you?" Lan Zhan inquired a second time.

"The building where my fourth class is, in the East Hall. I'm just having a snack from the vending machine. And before you say it, I know the food from there isn't healthy. But it's all I have an appetite for right now."

Lan Zhan exhaled deeply. "Very well. And are you sure you are unharmed?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You know I would tell you if I wasn't."

"Mn. Good. I will tell everyone where you are, then."

Wei Ying shook his head, although he couldn't see him. "No, that's okay, Airen. I'll do it. Is everything okay at work?"

"Yes. It is fine here."

"Okay. I'll see you when you get home later, then. And I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Mn. Good-bye, baobei. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart."

And after that, he hung up.

Wen Ning found him soon after he returned everyone's messages. He looked panicked and upset, but relieved that he was all right.

"There you are! Gods, you scared us! Please don't ever do this kind of thing again. We thought something happened to you. Something could have before I came!" he pointed out rebukingly.

Wei Ying exhaled deeply as sat next to him. "For the one thousandth time, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry any of you. I realize that I should have told one of you I'm here, but it slipped my mind."

"Well, please don't let it happen again. Not with all of this going on. You're lucky I'm here instead of A-Cheng. He wanted to come instead, but he was too pissed off. We had to do some fast talking to make him settle down and stay in the cafeteria. He was ready to punch the living daylights out of you. And you know that would have landed him in more trouble."

He did know this, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"All right, all right. You don't have to lecture me. I get it. Just let me finish eating, please."

"Okay. But I'm staying with you until I have to go to my next class."

Later on, when it was time to leave the school, Jiang Cheng pulled Wei Ying aside to berate him for not responding to everyone's texts. However, he wasn't too angry since he wasn't harmed.

Nie Huaisang also put his two yuan in as he drove Wei Ying home. But unlike Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning, he didn't say much. He just told him that what he did wasn't cool and begged him to not go off by himself anymore.

The next couple of hours were spent doing a majority of their homework and watching television. Every now and then, they would laugh at something that happened or discuss it. It was an overall good time.

Lan Zhan arrived home at five twenty. He thanked Nie Huaisang for staying with Wei Ying as usual. Then he and the latter bid Nie Huaisang good-bye once he collected his belongings and saw him out.

Wei Ying didn't face Lan Zhan right away after closing the door. He knew that he was probably still unhappy about earlier. The last thing he was in the mood for was another scolding.

However, when he turned around, his fiancé only embraced him. He hugged him back, sighing deeply. They stayed like that until Lan Zhan kissed him and placed his forehead on his.

"I will not say anything more about what happened. I am sure you have been given an earful already. I am just relieved you are all right," he noted.

"I told you I was. I'm not going to lie about that with the way things are now."

He nodded. "Mn. But I still am."

"Yeah, I know."

"How was the rest of your afternoon?"

"It was fine, I guess. But I missed you."

"Mmm. I missed you as well, baobei."

"Was there any trouble at work after we talked earlier?"

"No."

"That's good."

Wei Ying then helped him take off his coat as he removed his shoes. Once they were put in the closet, he was given another kiss.

"Thank you," Lan Zhan said. "I will make dinner after I change."

"Okay, sweetheart. I'll get my homework and join you in the kitchen when you come back down."

"Mn."

Lan Zhan prepared a nourishing meal for him. The idea of Wei Ying only having a snack for lunch troubled him. He understood that he lacked an appetite, of course, and didn't blame him for it. If he were in his place, he knew he wouldn't have one either. Still, things would only get worse if they continued like this.

Neither of them had talked about what had happened on Sunday during these past two days. However, it was obvious to Lan Zhan that Wei Ying wasn't ready to yet, so he didn't push him.

Wei Ying felt off when he woke up on Wednesday. He didn't know why at first, but then he realized that his throat was a tad sore. His nose was also stuffy.

Not wanting to miss any more days of school - even though he wasn't in the mood to go - he decided to have some medicine after breakfast. Hopefully, it would last until he returned home.

"Is something wrong, baobao?" Lan Zhan inquired in concern when he entered the kitchen shortly after. He placed a hand on his forehead. "You are a little warmer than usual. And a bit flushed."

Wei Ying grinned tiredly. "It's just a mild cold, I think. But I'll be okay soon. I was going to take care of it before we left," he remarked.

"It would be best if you stayed here and rested. I am sure Mr. Yan would not expect you to attend your classes if you are ill. Furthermore, it will be hard for you to learn much if you are."

"Yeah, I know, but I'll be fine. Really. And even though I'm sure he would understand, I'd rather go anyway. I already missed enough classes two weeks ago. Besides, even if I chose not to, he would ask for a note from our doctor, and I don't feel like going to the hospital. But if you want, I'll promise to let you know if I start to feel worse. You can take me home early then, if you're able to."

Lan Zhan sighed deeply. "Very well. But please keep that promise."

Wei Ying nodded and rose three fingers to the side of his head. "I will."

He felt better after the medicine kicked in during his first class. He secretly brought a packet of it along with him too, in case it wore off sooner than he'd like. He would take it in the bathroom if he needed to.

And it did, but thankfully it was around lunchtime when it had. He didn't need to take anymore after that until later in the evening.

It also helped that Lan Zhan made sure that he had two proper meals with soup. He was more energized afterwards.

The following day was Christmas. Although they would give one another a few gifts in the evenings (since they still had school), they didn't actually celebrate it otherwise. Their families didn't either.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan liked the decorations and everything involving the holiday in spite of this, nevertheless. All of it was beautiful.

But whether they celebrated it or not, due to recent events, they weren't exactly in a festive mood today. They hadn't paid attention to the fact that Christmas was approaching after what happened two weeks ago.

However, Lan Zhan cooked both of their favorite dinners regardless. He also lit up two red candles once he was finished. A comfortable, atmosphere might put Wei Ying in a relaxed state of mind.

The latter met him at the kitchen's entrance when he called him downstairs. For the first time in what seemed like years, he brightened with a genuine smile as he gazed at the table. A bowl of lotus and pork rib soup and Emperor's Smile was in his spot. Meanwhile, vegetable and tofu soup and a cup of tea was in his fiancé's. The candles created a nice ambiance.

His expression filled Lan Zhan with joy. He had missed that smile. "As promised, our candlelit meal. I know we do not observe Christmas. Not in the traditional sense. But I thought that it would be nice to have it today," he remarked.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. This is perfect," Wei Ying said, kissing him on the lips. "Thank you."

"There is no need to thank me, baobei. I wanted to do this. And when we are done eating, I have presents for you."

Wei Ying chuckled. "I was about to mention that I do too. You'll love them."

"Mn. I love every present you give me."

They sat down after that. Wei Ying rose his bottle of wine towards him, and Lan Zhan gently clinked his mug against it.

"Shengdan jie kuaile!" the former declared.

"Mn. Shengdan jie kuaile."

They ate their soups in contentment. Wei Ying enjoyed his so much that he went to get seconds. Jiang Yanli had really taught Lan Zhan how to prepare it well. It was thoughtful of him to make it for him tonight. That in itself warmed him up.

Once they were full, they retrieved the gifts from where they were hidden and joined each other in the living room.

Wei Ying grinned at Lan Zhan as he held out two boxes wrapped in sky blue paper. "You first, Airen," he said.

The latter nodded and opened the medium-sized one on top.

Inside of it were several packs of pens decorated with rabbits of various colors. There was enough of them to last him for years.

He couldn't help but smile as he looked back up. Rabbits were his favorite animals.

"Thank you, my love. The pens are beautiful. I will surely put them to good use," he murmured.

Wei Ying beamed, pleased. "You're welcome. You should see your other gift. I think you'll like that one a lot too!"

This ended up being quite true; His second present was a cream-colored sweater with a white and black rabbit on it. They appeared to be kissing.

Lan Zhan took off the shirt he was wearing and put it on right away. It was warm and snug.

"It is a perfect fit. Again, thank you, baobei. I do like it. Very much," he said.

He gave Wei Ying three rectangular packages after that. One was smaller than the other two. All of them were covered in red and black paper. "Your turn now."

Wei Ying accepted them and, unlike Lan Zhan, opened one of the bigger ones first. His jaw dropped as he unwrapped a kit with wooden and metal pieces, cords, a set of tools, and various colors of paint.

"Oh, whoa!" he breathed in shock. "There are so many things in here! It's great! I can just imagine all of the things I can create or invent with this! And it will help with my Design Engineering!"

"Mn."

His next present was a new box of art supplies. A sketchpad and canvasses were underneath it. Even though he hadn't been in mood to drawing or painting lately, he was still happy to receive it. Plus, he had been running low on utensils, so this was a godsend.

However, it was the last and smallest gift that took him aback. It was a diary with a red and black leather-bound cover. In all his life, he hadn't felt the need for one.

"I know that you may not write in it often," Lan Zhan remarked. "I understand that you never had a diary. At least, not to my knowledge. But it is there if you want to use it. Or you may draw in it instead. And I promise not look in it. Not unless you allow it. But that will be up to you."

Wei Ying nodded, then leaned forward to kiss him on the lips a few times and hugged him. "I know. But still, thank you, sweetheart. Thank you for all of my presents. I really do appreciate and love them. And I love you," he whispered.

Lan Zhan kissed his temple and embraced him in return. "I love you too, baobao. And you are welcome."

They remained in each other's arms for several minutes before moving away. Just as they were about to take their gifts upstairs, though, Wei Ying noticed something.

"Airen, look! It's snowing outside!" he exclaimed, tugging his arm and pointing.

Lan Zhan did so accordingly and saw that it was.

Wei Ying grinned, picked up his bottle of Emperor's Smile that was on the table, and stood in front of the window. Lan Zhan joined him and wrapped an arm around his back. The former laid his head on his shoulder in response as they quietly watched the snow drift to the ground.

And for just a little while, their troubles were out of sight.

Author's note: Hello! I meant to have this posted two days sooner, but these past few have been busy.

Funny thing is, this chapter was actually supposed to go differently in the last half of it. Then, as I was thinking of what was to going to happen during this week in the story, I realized that Christmas fell on this particular week. (See if you can guess which year it takes place!) Therefore, I decided to change things up a bit. However, what I originally planned will still happen, it doesn't change the story much.

Oh, and "Shengdan jie kuaile" means Merry Christmas, in case you were wondering.

I do hope you liked this chapter, though, I will try to post the next one soon. Merry Belated Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who celebrate! Until next time!