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lilapplesheadcannons · 1 year

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The Imaginary Boyfriend

"I have a boyfriend."

Lan Qiren's knife slipped on the dinner plate with an ugly screeching sound. His brother let his piece of steak slip off from his fork, his mouth gaping at the sudden proclamation.

Lan Xichen thanked his lucky stars that he hadn't taken a sip out of his water yet. Looking at the murderous look his mother was casting towards her husband and brother-in-law, they were in for a lecture on proper dinner etiquette expected from adults the moment they got out of the restaurant.

Mrs Lan broke the awkward silence," That's great, A-Zhan. What's his name?"

Lan Zhan shifted in his high chair, "Ummm, his name is..... his name is XianXian."

"That's the name of your bun.. ouch! Honey!"

Mrs Lan, who did amateur theatre in her 20s, conveyed the promise of a slow, painful demise to her husband via a single glance. "That's lovely, darling. Does XianXian study in your school?"

Lan Zhan shook his head, "He doesn't study at all."

He used his fork to spear a piece of chicken before adding as an afterthought, " XianXian draws."

Lan Qiren opened his mouth before closing it abruptly. The rest of the dinner passed without any further interruption. Lan Zhan started to nod off as dessert arrived despite Xichen's best efforts to keep him awake and was fast asleep by the time he was secured in his car seat. Uncle opened his mouth again to say something but seemed to change his mind after catching Xichen's eyes in the rear view mirror.

Later, once Lan Zhan has been deposited safely in his bed, hugging his plush bunny and Lan Xichen has been permitted to stay up another half an hour extra because it's friday, the adults gathered in the living room for a drink before bed.

"He has gotten an imaginary friend," Lan Qiren winced into his drink. "Normal for his age. I wouldn't worry about it."

"An imaginary boyfriend, ha ha."

"I am not worried. And he could be a real friend," Mrs Lan sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"A new boy? Starting in the middle of the school year? And A-Zhan making friends with him? He doesn't even get along with the Nie kid."

"They just got off on the wrong foot."

All three adults winced this time. It was a good thing the Nies were a close family friend who let bygones be bygones. If it were the Jins or the Wens...

"I just think he might become even more reluctant to get along with his classmates if he's spending even more time inside his own head."

Lan Qiren paused to mull his brother's words. "He'll grow out of it, I am sure. Kids forget things quickly."

Except Lan Zhan proved his uncle wrong. He came down to breakfast on Saturday morning with stories about how XianXian had a mother who was a fairy. In the afternoon, he plopped himself in front of the rabbit hutch and solemnly introduced the bunnies to the drawing of their new parent, a red and black round blob drawn with crayons. At bedtime, Mrs Lan had to kiss 'XianXian' good night as well.

On Sunday, Uncle took both of them to softplay. Lan Zhan took a look at the screaming children and promptly hid himself in a corner of the ballpit. He only mentioned XianXian on the car ride home. "XianXian can climb up the big slide."

At night, 'XianXian' was taken down from his perch on top of Lan Zhan's study desk and was laid down beside his pillow. On a brighter note, Lan Zhan didn't put up his usual resistance to brushing his backteeth once Mother told him XianXian brushed his teeth every night.

The next week, the family was treated with more stories of XianXian. XianXian could eat spicy food. XianXian could draw better than anyone (at this point, Lan Zhan cast a regretful glance at his brother). XianXian was an only child till Wednesday, but by Thursday afternoon, he had gained an older sister and a younger brother. XianXian had parents who were in America. And they would bring toys for Lan Zhan too when they came back. XianXian not only had an uncle, but he had an aunt, too. He was never made to eat bell papers. XianXian loved swimming. XianXian got along with everyone, even HuaiSang.

By week 2, even Lan Qiren was shaken. "He's trying to project his own aspiration on his imaginary friend."

Mrs Lan, who was told by her youngest son only this evening that she was almost as pretty as XianXian, looked slightly miffed. "I just hoped he'd at least be a teenager before he got a boyfriend, imaginary or not..."

They got interrupted by a jubilant Xichen who had wondered in with the cordless phone in his hand. "Mother, Da-ge and A-Sang are going to the beach this weekend. Can we go as well, please?"

Lan Qiren nodded, " We could all use some fresh air."

Xichen removed his palm from the receiver and started urgently speaking into it.

Lan Zhan took the news surprisingly well. Instead of his usual silent tantrum at the prospect of spending time with A-Sang and other children, he nodded sagely saying, "XianXian likes the beach too," before going back to his drawing of another red and black blob.

Lan Xichen was able to spot Nie MingJue and HuaiSang in the car park before their car came to a full rest. He ran towards the boys while they started waving at him. Lan Qiren followed him because leaving a pair of 10 years old in charge of a 5 years old in a beach is just asking for trouble no matter what Lao Nie said about self-reliance.

Mrs Lan yelled at them, " We will see you guys at our regular spot."

Except their regular spot was taken. A bronzed man carrying a baby in a sling was spreading his supplies on a purple beach towel. A girl slightly younger than Xichen frowned in concentration as she dug at the sund with her toy shovel. The man raised his head and smiled at Mrs Lan, showing a crooked canine. She smiled back in response and then started to spread her own beach towel. Lan Zhan solemnly put down his own baby bucket and started helping.

"Nice day, isn't it? I was worried it might get cloudy."

The baby squirmed in its sling and made a dissatisfied mewl. Lan Zhan scrunched his nose before moving to stand closer to his mother. Mrs Lan put her arm around his shoulder, " This is A-Zhan."

"Hello, A-Zhan. This is A-Li, and A-Cheng." The man pointed at his kids. "My wife has taken our nephew for ice-cream."

Mrs Lan opened her mouth, probably to continue with the pleasantries, but she was shocked into silence. Lan Zhan suddenly yelped out a short cry before breaking into a run. Before an aghast Mrs Lan could gather herself to give chase, Lan Zhan was met by a boy his size wearing red and black swimming trunks. The two boys were apprehended by a woman who herded them back towards Mrs Lan.

"A-Zhan, why did you run like that?"

"A-Ying, that's dangerous. Don't run..."

Both sets of parents started at the same time. But they got interrupted by A-Zhan, who proudly declared, "This is XianXian."

Mrs Lan continued to gape. The woman was the first to recover, "Oh my, you must be A-Ying's A-Zhan. He has been talking about you for weeks now."

Lsn Zhan nodded. The woman turned to Mrs Lan, " We don't know how to thank your little boy. You see, poor A-Ying had to move in with us because his parents are on a research trip. We were so worried he'd have a bad time getting along with his new classmates. But, it seems like A-Zhan here was a perfect angel."

Mrs Lan weakly smiled. " Yes, A-Zhan kept talking about his new friend, too. But why does he call him XianXian? "

The man extended a hand to ruffle the boy's already messy hair, "His courtesy name is Wei Wuxian. A-Ying is more of a nickname."

The boy jerked his head away but didn't release his hold on Lan Zhan's hands. The boys started to talk earnestly. Or more like Wei Ying talked while Lan Zhan seemed to absorb every word with his entire being. A-Ying's aunt offered to go get more ice cream to replace the ones she had dropped. Mrs Lan spotted her brother-in-law, leading the small team of children towards them. She relaxed her tense muscles and laid down on the towel; then jerked back up because of Lan Zhan's solemn declaration to the group, " XianXian and I are getting married."

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