Chapter Text
Lan Wangji’s phone pings with a new notification. The new employee stops his needlessly detailed retelling of what he did last weekend, looking irritated at the interruption.
“Excuse me, Su-xiansheng,” Lan Wangji says. It is currently break time and this conversation is absurdly tedious, but it is still an oversight on his part to have forgotten to silence his phone during work hours. Even so, he cannot resist looking at his phone screen.
Wei Wuxian uploaded a new video: “I built my sister a giant spool of thread”.
Lan Wangji’s lips quirks into an involuntary smile.
“Who was that?” the employee asks abruptly (Su She is his full name, he thinks). His attempts to peek at Lan Wangji’s phone screen cannot be more blatantly transparent. “Was it your brother? Your uncle? Someone else?”
Lan Wangji briskly tucks his phone back into his pocket. Any modicum of respect that he could have had for Su She withers away in that instant. “I do not see how my private messages concern you,” he says icily, “since we met only five minutes ago, and I am the head of your department.”
Su She’s jaw drops. It would be a comical sight if Lan Wangji were in the mood for jesting. “I – I didn’t mean to offend –”
“You may not have meant to, but you did nonetheless. I believe it is now time for you to return to your assigned tasks instead of engaging me in small talk. Good day.” Lan Wangji turns on his heel and heads for the privacy of his office, leaving Su She rooted to the spot. He has a much anticipated video to watch.
This video starts like all the rest – a short stop-motion sequence of a lotus bud blooming, set to the lilting notes of a flute. Lan Wangji hums along absent-mindedly, the melody already as familiar to him as a childhood lullaby.
The screen fades to black, and then Wei Ying is there. “Hi, everyone!” he says, grinning sunnily. “It’s me, back with another video. Before we begin, I have some exciting news for you!”
He beams, bouncing in place. Unable to stay silent any longer, he shouts, “My sister’s going to be in this video!” Digital confetti showers him, accompanied by the sound of party poppers and children cheering. Lan Wangji cannot help but smile again. “I’m so excited for you to finally meet her! I know I’ve said it a million times already, but that won’t stop me from saying it again: A-jie’s the most beautiful and kind and talented person ever! Seriously. She’s the best. That statement is totally unbiased and 100% true.”
“A-jie’s going to come visit me in like…” Wei Ying pauses. “Six days! I hope I have enough time for this. Anyway, her son’s turning thirteen soon. That’s exciting news on its own – you only turn thirteen once, after all – but my brother-in-law’s family apparently believes that’s big enough of a milestone to warrant A-jie and her family moving into a bigger house.” Wei Ying rolls his eyes. “As some of you may know, I usually avoid talking about my brother-in-law here because I’m not exactly the biggest fan of him – my brother and I call him the peacock, which should give you some idea of what a pompous asshole he is – but he treats A-jie like a princess, so at least he passes in that regard.”
Wei Ying waves his hand dismissively. “Okay, that’s enough about him. To recap: A-jie and my nephew are moving into their new home, and I need to give them a housewarming gift! I say A-jie and my nephew, but let’s be honest – my nephew is twelve, and I’m not buying him a new gaming console or whatever, so A-jie is the yardstick by which I’m going to measure the success of this project.”
“One thing you should know about A-jie is that she’s a clothing designer, and she loves what she does, so I wanted to make her something related to that. I hit upon the perfect idea after some internet trawling – a coffee table that looks like a giant spool of thread! I bet it’s going to be the best gift she gets. I figured out what my brother’s going to get her yesterday, and my idea is definitely better than his.”
Wei Ying gestures to his side, and a sketch of the prototype blinks into existence beside him. It is exactly as he described – a giant spool, with an equally giant needle sticking out of it. “Now, the clock’s ticking. I already got everything I’ll need, so let’s get straight to it!”
The video cuts to an overhead shot of a workbench, with Wei Ying explaining each step in a voiceover. On-screen, he dumps a towering pile of plywood onto its surface, with circles of varying sizes already traced in pencil. In rapid succession, he cuts each piece of plywood into donut-shaped planks, stacks them on top of one another into a spool, and screws and glues them together.
A close-up shot of the top of the spool is next. Wei Ying sketches out two flowers directly onto the wood – a peony and a lotus, their stems entwined. Using a soldering iron, he goes over the sketch until the flowers are seared into the surface. He proceeds to paint layers of varnish over the entire thing, then winds a thin purple rope around it until it resembles a fat spool of thread.
The camera pans over smoothly to a different area of the workshop, revealing Wei Ying as he brandishes a metal rod at an imaginary opponent like one would a sword. Laughing at the cameraperson, he quickly gets back to work. One end of the metal rod is sharpened to a dull point, the other end flattened and a hole punched out to form a needle roughly the length of Wei Ying’s arm. After polishing and coating it with epoxy, he maneuvers the gleaming silver needle in between the rope until it sticks out of the spool in what he deems a satisfactorily aesthetic manner.
The video fades to black again. The next moment, Wei Ying and Jiang Yanli are standing side by side, back in front of his workbench. A sheet of red cloth hides what is evidently the completed coffee table from view.
“Everyone! I have the pleasure of presenting to you –” Wei Ying gives a dramatic flourish. “My sister, also known as the single bestest person to have ever existed!”
Jiang Yanli, who was looking slightly apprehensive to find herself in front of a camera, visibly relaxes at Wei Ying’s enthusiasm. “That’s very high praise, A-Xian, but you flatter me too much! There's a lot of good people out there who are better than me.”
“Ah, dearest sister of mine. How modest, how humble!” Wei Ying throws his arms around her. “Well, I’m the judge for the ‘single bestest person to have ever existed’ award, so whatever I say is the law. Your objection has been overruled.”
Jiang Yanli smiles, shaking her head in response. “Whatever you say, honourable judge. So, are you going to show me what you’ve made?”
Wei Ying grins. “Yes, yes, I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. Also, I’m dying to see your reaction. Without further ado – your housewarming gift!” With a snap of his wrists, he whisks the red cloth away to reveal the giant spool of thread.
The camera zooms in on Jiang Yanli as she takes it in. Her eyes widen. “A-Xian,” she murmurs, running her hand over the flowers etched into the smooth wooden surface. “This is…”
Wei Ying hovers in the background, shifting from foot to foot. “A coffee table. Do you like it?”
Jiang Yanli nods vigorously, gives a laugh that sounds a little like a sob, and flings her arms around him. “Yes, I love it! A-Xian has made me the best gift! It’s going to be the centrepiece of our living room!”
“Yes!” Wei Ying cheers. Celebratory music begins to play. He pumps his fist and says loudly in a stage whisper, “Operation: Upstage Everyone at A-jie’s Housewarming Party is a success!”
“How many times do I need to tell you that not everything has to be a competition?” Despite the scolding words, Jiang Yanli’s tone is unmistakably fond.
Wei Ying blinks, raising his hands in a show of innocence. “Jiejie, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Xianxian is three years old!”
Jiang Yanli sighs, obviously used to his antics. “Yes, what an accomplished three-year-old you are, to have made me such a wonderful gift.” She stands on her tip-toes to ruffle Wei Ying’s hair. “Thank you, Xianxian! You’ve made me very happy!”
Wei Ying squirms at the compliment. “You don’t need to thank me! I’m just glad you’re happy.” He smiles softly at her before turning back to the camera. “Since my gift has A-jie’s official seal of approval, that’s a wrap for this video! I’ll see you guys next time!”
The video cuts to the black end-screen, and Lan Wangji removes his earphones. He already misses the sound of Wei Ying’s voice; his office always seems too quiet when his videos end.
Lan Wangji clicks on the like button beneath the video, then scrolls down to the comments section. He types out a message: Congratulations on your sister’s change of residence. It is nice to finally meet her. She is a lovely person, as you have said. Your gift for her is thoughtful and well-crafted, as expected from someone with your talents.
He hits the submit button, then returns reluctantly to his work.
It is almost time for bed when Lan Wangji’s phone pings with another new notification.
Wei Wuxian replied to your comment on the video “I built my sister a giant spool of thread”.
When he taps on the notification banner, Wei Ying’s reply is as thus: How sweet of you to call me talented! I’m not entirely sure I deserve your praise, but thanks!! You’re right about A-jie though – she is lovely! By the way I’ve passed on your congratulations to her, and she told me to thank you (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
If Lan Wangji stares too long at the reply, it is no one’s business but his.