INBOX (for eastbound)

[lonelydream]

Zhou Xu

missives | encounters

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[wifedup]

( Oh?

Oh!

That's cute. He wonders if the reaction is new. Certainly any time Zhou Zishu has been flustered by him before he's reacted with far more angry bluster than this cute little display. It leaves Wen Kexing insanely jealous of the future him, which feels silly but he can't help it. That version of him knows what all of this means, knows how far he can go. Still, he lets Zhou Zishu off the proverbial hook, waving a hand. )

All right, help me get through this and we can abscond early. I can show you around. Or we can go downstairs and drink to our heart's content, who's going to stop us!

[lonelydream]

Show me around first, and then we can drink.

[ If anything happens, he wants to be aware of where he can go, what places are allied with Wen Kexing, what sort of people he might have to avoid. ]

[wifedup]

Aiyah, such a taskmaster.

( Dramatic sigh included, but Wen Kexing's grin says he knows exactly what Zhou Zishu means and will do it accordingly. It's not exactly a hardship. )

[lonelydream]

You're looking forward to telling me all your opinions, I know.

[wifedup]

It's been a while since I had a rapt audience, of course I am.

( A beat, and then -. )

At least one that understands me. ( Which Zhou Zishu does. Even when he was hiding his origins the other man understood him. He can pick apart even the things Wen Kexing struggles to understand himself. ) It'll be easier, now you're here.

[lonelydream]

I'll be sure to point out all the ways you're wrong.

[ He won't actually, not when he really does plan to frm his understanding of this place and its politics based on what Lao Wen says. He thinks it'll make Wen Kexing laugh, though. ]

[wifedup]

( A snort, an eyeroll. )

I'm sure you will. Rightfully wrong, though. You'd never do something just to cause a fight.

[lonelydream]

Of course not. I'm a lover of peace and quiet, dont you know?

[ Why does it feel rather as though they've switched roles, Philanthropist Wen? ]

[wifedup]

( Another helpless noise of amusement. )

Mhm. All right, paperwork. If you want a tour I need rid of this first.

[lonelydream]

Shall I help?

[ He can, you know. Even without the knowledge and information necessary, he's good at extrapolating context clues. ]

[wifedup]

You're sitting there and being pretty, that's already help enough.

( A grin, before he shrugs. )

If you'd like, I don't mind.

[lonelydream]

[ he rolls his eyes, but settles down at Wen Kexing's side to flick through the pages. ]

What should I look out for?

[wifedup]

If it's complaining about me then toss it, unless it's very funny then feel free to read it out to me. Anything to do with shipments just put there - ( Pointing to a hefty pile of paper. ) - honestly just ... do whatever you like. I can't wait to be done with it all.

( Maybe they'll be sent elsewhere soon. That would be lucky. )

[lonelydream]

How did you end up doing such things? I would have expected... I don't know. Perhaps you'd form your own revolutionary group.

[wifedup]

( He hums in response, shuffling papers with no real aim. )

At first I went along with things because I needed to see the lay of the land. I know it never seems like it but I do know the positives of patience. ( His vengeance might have hurtled steadily ahead and beyond his control once he finally set foot out in the Jianghu, but it had taken time to orchestrate in the first place. The ghosts, the intel, the songs, they hadn't been whims. ) And then -? I don't know. Where would I take people once they'd shaken the shackles off? What would we do? Could I be responsible for that when, if given even the slightest chance, I would have returned home without a care?

( A then, more quiet. )

Would I want to risk it, if it jeopardised getting back?

[lonelydream]

I know.

[ Wen Kexing wouldn't do anything that would keep him the slightest chance away from him. Not when home meant avenging his parents, Gu Xiang, Chengling, and Zhou Zishu himself. ]

You've done well, Lao Wen.

[wifedup]

( He huffs out a breath, shakes his head a little. )

Aiya, it doesn't feel like it. But it doesn't matter, we have to do whatever we can to make it through here. As long as we get back. Your boy needs you.

[lonelydream]

Your girl and her silly little rabbit need you.

[wifedup]

Ugh.

( It's overdramatic, but Wen Kexing is sure Zhou Zishu can tell just how much Gu Xiang's absense has been wearing on him. He misses her, though he is not surprised by that. He'd meant to find her a new life, the longing would have come either way. He just wishes he could be near to make sure she's safe. )

Is she happy? ( Sudden, though he looks down at his desk rather than Zhou Zishu. ) She must be, right? But she was never the type of girl to play pretend at weddings - she is doing it because she wants to, isn't she?

[lonelydream]

Deliriously so.

You, on the other hand, are terrorizing everyone with the need to make sure things are absolutely perfect.

[ He reaches out, covering Wen Kexing's hand with his own. ]

Why does she still call you zhuren when she should call you ge?

[wifedup]

Well, they should be! It's what she deserves.

( It's no secret that Wen Kexing has a romantic heart, he talks about it often enough. But there are parts that are more earnest, more desperate, sore like a bruise. He wanted better for Gu Xiang, wants more for her. She is the only good thing he has ever managed to do, his silly girl. )

Ah? Safer? For her, I mean. ( He shrugs a shoulder, fidgety. ) In the beginning I didn't let her call me anything at all, it was better that people didn't know I cared, but she was so small and so innocent that it couldn't last long. So then I had to pretend she was a ... protégé? I don't know. The old Valley Master thought it was funny, so he let me look after her. She was a handy enough leash in case I acted out. When I killed him - ( A pause, momentary. ) I thought it best she kept that up. She could take better care of herself by then, I raised her to be deadly enough. But she's still a weak spot, and someone is always looking for one of those.

( And then, a hum. )

We're different, out in the Jianghu. We get to pretend to be something else. I'd hoped when I found her somewhere safer she could think back on me kindly like that, call me whatever she wanted, like a nice memory.

( He hadn't expected to survive, but then - Zhou Zishu. )

[lonelydream]

[ Perhaps, if he'd had that sort of foresight, his eighty brothers that followed him down the mountain would still be alive. But, no. Helian Yi knew perfectly well who the men from Siji were, and Zishu had (foolishly, foolishly) thought, hoped that the association would protect them. Instead, it killed them. ]

Well. There's time, still.

[wifedup]

Maybe.

( And then sly. )

What should she call you? Sao zi?

[lonelydream]

'Ge' will serve perfectly well, thank you.

[wifedup]

Ah, we're already divorced, how sad.

( He makes a big show of pouting, eyes wide. )

I never even got to see the benefits of marriage before you cast me off, Lord Zhou, how cruel you are!