Seeing a bewildered and speechless Wei Ying staring blankly at him, Lan Wangji immediately clarified, "I will play the Song of Clarity for you."
"Ah, that..." Xiao Zhan lifted his chin and cleared his throat. "You scared me for a second there." For the short moment he was stupefied, his mind had been in the gutter, and he silently scolded his own stupid and impure thoughts. Embarrassed, he separated himself from Lan Wangji. "Sure." He mumbled.
By the time they entered Jingshi together, Xiao Zhan had already moved on from his shame. He made himself at home and swaggered around the space as if he had been a frequent visitor. Well, it was not his first time in that private room of Lan Wangji, and he was familiar with the clean and simple layout, which was comparable to a filming set. Looking at the guqin that was placed on the table, he realized that this was going to be the first time Lan Wangji would play in front of him.
I wonder how it would sound. Would it be the same or entirely new?
His memory darted to The Untamed shoots. Wang Yibo only pretended to play the guqin and often picked and dragged across the strings randomly. Although both of them did receive a short course of basic training on their respective instruments, they barely passed the novice level. Plus, that kid was quick to change out of his character once the director yelled "Cut!" That wild version of 'Lan Wangji' would start to do ridiculous things like cleaning the guqin with tassels or flinging the poor strings like it was a weapon while yelling the protagonist's name aggressively. In a nutshell, Xiao Zhan never heard the guqin being played properly in real-time during those times, and that said, he would not miss this historical event for the world.
Meanwhile, the real Lan Wangji looked prim and proper as usual as he took a seat behind the guqin. He carefully checked the tuning of the strings.
A smile crept onto Xiao Zhan's lips. Sitting down with his legs crossed in front of the table, he admired the exquisite instrument with rolling cloud carvings on the body as well as the aesthetically pleasing player in the frosty white robe. "Lan Zhan, why is your guqin's name the same as yours?" he asked.
Lan Wangji stiffened for a brief second before pretending he never heard the question. "..."
Xiao Zhan leaned forward to take a closer look at Lan Wangji's microexpressions upon seeing his unwillingness to answer the simple question, narrowing his eyes. "So, did you name it after yourself?" he guessed.
Lan Wangji kept his mouth shut, but his golden eyes glared at the other with such intensity.
That, however, did nothing to Xiao Zhan as he doubled over with his sunshine-bright laughter while tapping the wooden floor. "Oh, what should I do with you? This is hilarious! You just lost the right to say anything about Suibian."
Lan Wangji glowered. "Stop laughing. Loud noises are prohibited."
Xiao Zhan shook his head with a grin. "Do you really want to use the rules against me? Well, well, let's see. How about 'be easy on others'? Not to forget, you broke two rules earlier too: 'Do not go to the back hills without permission' and 'Do not fight without permission'."
"We're not here to discuss that." Lan Wangji was eager to change the topic. He knew it was useless to argue with someone with that kind of wittiness.
"Alright. I won't tease you anymore." Xiao Zhan gave him a sincere smile this time. He corrected his posture to a properly upright manner, but he kept his eyes open because he needed to witness the spectacle himself. "I'm looking forward to hearing you play."
With that assuring gesture, Lan Wangji relaxed his tensed facial muscles and placed his hands on the seven-stringed guqin, playing with full concentration. A recognizable and familiar melodic tune gently flowed into Xiao Zhan's ears. The Song of Clarity sounded similar to the one played in the drama, minus the other extra instruments. As slender fingers moved elegantly, the brilliant yet calm sound of an arpeggio reverberated in the Silent Room. Xiao Zhan's pupils fixated on the graceful plucking and pressing, creating harmonics, and the cloud-like sliding produced deep vibrato and glissando effects. He envisioned music notes floating through the quiet air, and bit by bit, his gray eyes shut closed, and his breaths fell into a deep, rhythmic cycle. His thoughts became tranquil and serene, and his body felt much lighter, almost feather-like.
When the music stopped, he opened his eyes sluggishly. He complimented, "That was marvelous. I could listen to you all day."
Lan Wangji looked his way with a warm gaze, then he took something from a chest behind his seat. "Use this for now."
"Wah! Lan Zhan, you are a saint!" A dizi. Xiao Zhan beamed with a joyful smile.
"I'm paying back for that day." Lan Wangji's ears turned slightly red.
Xiao Zhan instantly understood the meaning of "that day."Â The loquats must be really sweet huh? How adorable.
Xiao Zhan inspected the brown bamboo flute. It was simple but well-made, and the holes were rounded without any sharp edges. The second hole had already been prepped with a taut, thin, translucent membrane. It was almost similar in weight and length to the Chenqing that he had used in the drama.
An old habit dies hard. He quickly found the center of gravity of the flute and started whirling it between his fingers like a certified spinner. The flute seamlessly glided around and transitioned between the digits from one to another in a circular motion. Satisfied with the well-balanced bamboo tube, he caught it in his palm, abruptly ending the showmanship. "Thanks for this."
Lan Wangji said as he watched Xiao Zhan's movements closely, "Have you played this before?"
"I learned the basics." Xiao Zhan spoke while testing his muscle memory of the finger placements. He had actually bought a flute after he was cast four years back so he could practice at home. Besides, he wasn't exactly a newbie when it came to music. "Music is something I've done since I was young. Singing too."
"Do you play musical instruments?"
"Yes, but they don't exist here. I have been learning the violin since I was eight years old. It is a Western string instrument. It has four strings, and you play it with a bow. The erhu would be the closest instrument to it here."
Lan Wangji, "Was it difficult to learn those?"
Xiao Zhan rested his chin on his palm, "Hmm, the violin was extremely difficult to learn since it is fretless, and the bow techniques were complex. It took me years of arduous lessons to pass the highest grade. Thanks to that, I can sight-read music scores, although they are not the same type of scores as here."
Xiao Zhan sat upright in a relaxed posture as he recalled his short lessons with the flute expert, holding the flute parallel to the floor. He touched the body of the flute near the blow hole below his lower lip as his fingers covered the top three holes lightly but securely and left the other three bottom holes unobstructed. He formed a small circular opening with his lips, inhaled deeply, and then blew a thin stream of air gently and steadily.
The first note sounded pure and clean enough. He then played the major scale tones by opening and closing sound holes in sequence, adjusting the placement of the airstream to get the pitches lower or higher, and controlling the tempo and vibration with his nimble finger movements. In the quick ten-minute practice, he generally grasped the two-and-a-half tones.
Xiao Zhan placed his trust in his musical knowledge of the violin and Wei Wuxian's brilliant mind when he endeavored to play a melody he recalled by ear. Fortunately for him, Wei Wuxian had always excelled at memorizing tunes by ear, and he astonishingly played the song quite well.
Lan Wangji's eyes never left the person sitting in front of him, observing his every move and pondering in his head. He had learned a few new things about the man today. First, Wei Ying displayed finger acrobatics with the flute skillfully. Then, when he was experimenting with the octaves, he proved that he had indeed been formally trained for a long time with his deep understanding of music theory. Also, Wei Ying seemed to have absolute pitch, which did not surprise him too much since Wei Ying had demonstrated his total recall ability before. Last but not least, he was unequivocally stunned that the melody Wei Ying was playing right now happened to be the song he had played earlier.
"Hmm, that was a bit rough around the edges, wasn't it?" Xiao Zhan said when the song came to an end.
Lan Wangji replied, "No, it was good."
A smile dangled on the corner of Xiao Zhan's lips. "Want to play it together?"
Lan Wangji nodded. Xiao Zhan gleefully played the accompaniment and harmonized the whistle of the bamboo flute with the tune of the qin. The Song of Clarity had exceeded the expectations of its purposes. At that moment, their minds were not just calmed but filled with a boost of serotonin and jovial vibes.
Xiao Zhan returned to his room half an hour before nine, feeling as if he were on cloud nine. Contentment, joy, and fondness bloomed rapidly in his heart. He hummed cheerful songs while twirling the flute. He had forgotten all about the ghastly face he had encountered earlier, as well as the fact that his soul was already thirty.
Just as he entered the room, two uninvited guests rushed in, invading his private space. Shocked by the intruders' sudden entrance, Xiao Zhan drew Suibian as an automatic response. He was still on high alert since the sparring. Nie Huaidang's face turned white at the sight of the sharp tip pointed squarely at his neck. Jiang Cheng jumped backward while cursing. Xiao Zhan shot daggers at the two pale faces fiercely, his lips set in a straight line.
Putting both his hands up as a sign of surrender, Nie Huaisang stuttered, "W-Wei-xiong, you're scaring me."
Slowly withdrawing his sword back to its sheath, Xiao Zhan knitted his eyebrows together and glowered. "Why are the two of you barging into someone's room unannounced? You're lucky I stopped in time."
"Are you freaking crazy?! Why would you pull out your sword just because someone entered your room?" Jiang Cheng scowled. He raised his hand, aiming to smack his martial brother squarely on the back.
Xiao Zhan swiftly blocked his predictable attack with the hilt of his sword. "You entered without permission! I had made it clear that my room is off-limits," he argued. "I value my privacy, okay?"
Jiang Cheng rubbed his throbbing hand. "Whatever! Since when do you care about your privacy?"
Nie Huaisang cowered behind Jiang Cheng. "Wei-xiong, we didn't mean to offend you. We only came because you no longer hang out with us anymore. I didn't expect to be greeted by your sword. How very fierce of you."
Xiao Zhan let out an exasperated sigh. His mood had been ruined. He reminded himself to set a blocking talisman as soon as he was back in his room. "Seriously, you brats! From today onward, please knock and do not enter without my consent."
"What do you mean by 'brats'? Forget it! What is that thing in your hands?" Jiang Cheng pointed at his flute.
"A flute." Xiao Zhan answered bluntly.
Nie Huaisang rushed to his side to get a closer look at the bamboo flute. "Wow, I didn't know you had musical talent."
"There's a lot you don't know about me," Xiao Zhan muttered. "Why are the two of you here?"
Jiang Cheng folded his arms. "Tell us the truth. What is your relationship with Lan Wangji?" he demanded.