Wuxian took a bath, changed into fresh clothes and started writing the rule 100 times, as Wang Ji has told him to. He was cursing the boy mentally, but dared not utter a single word because cursing was also prohibited in the house of Lan Wang Ji. It was 8 AM when an amazing smell rushed into Wuxian's nostrils. The boy rushed out with the piece of apology paper in his hand and kept it on the dining table. 

Wang Ji was cooking breakfast. It smelled delicious and Wang Ji looked beautiful while mixing the doe with one hand and flipping the roasted bread with another. Wuxian caught himself staring a second longer, and reminded himself that the man is actually monster on the inside. His phone rang and it was his beloved best friend, Ah Xu-ah calling for the n-th time in these 2.5 days. He picked up the call and went back to his own room. They had a simple conversation but Wuxian was reminded how much he missed his Ah Xu-ah and also how much he still needed to stay away from him. He could hear his best friend's fiancé, Wen Khe Xing, in the background, calling out Ah Xu-ah lovingly. Wuxian told himself that he did the right thing and after the call ended, he went back to the hall. 

He was greeted by a pleasant surprise this time, seeing Wang Ji eating some nice traditional Chinese dish with some bread on the side and an equally decorated plate kept on the far end of the table. It was for Wei Wuxian. Warmth rushed into Wuxian's heart. He was definitely not expecting this little monster to cook him breakfast, that too, without even asking. He went to the table and asked Wang Ji to double check, "Is this for me?" And Wang Ji nodded without a sound and Wuxian couldn't contain his happiness. 

He quickly sat down and started gulping the food like a beggar who hadn't eaten in days. It was tastier than anything Wuxian had had in a very long time! 'The brat knows how to cook!' Wuxian thought to himself. He mentally made a note to return home early every night to get a bite of this tasty meal.

Wang Ji got up after finishing his plate and brought a bowl full of lettuce and took it straight into his room. 'It must be for his rabbit.' Wuxian thought but didn't say anything. After finishing the tasty meal, and casting aside the vegetables, Wuxian headed to the kitchen. He was about to throw the vegetables but Wang Ji's hand caught him. "Rule. 17 - No dinner for a person who doesn't finish his meal." He stated coldly and left Wuxian's hand. Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes and stuffed all the vegetables in his mouth at once.

"Rolling your eyes is prohibited under Rule 67." Wang Ji stated, then continued, "100 times, before 10 PM." and left Wuxian again, in the state of mental agony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was 8 PM already and Wuxian was panicking at work. He didn't want to miss dinner. The boy had some magical cooking skills despite his tasteless face. Thinking about his face, Wuxian pondered for a second, then rushed back to completing his work.

It was 9:12 PM and Wuxian was standing, panting at the door of his new house, knocking only once, trying not to break another rule, while cluthing another apology letter in his other hand. Wang Ji opened the door and Wuxian was greeted by an expressionless - stoic face, all over again. However the smell of sushi made him run inside the house.

He was about to touch the food, but he was reminded of 'rule. 33 - One must wash hands before eating.'

Wei Wuxian retreated his hand slowly, much to Wang Ji's satisfaction, who was cleverly watching all this and smirking on the inside, while still maintaining his face as stoic as possible. After a quick change of clothes, Wuxian had dinner with Wang Ji in is absolute silence, his apology letter from the morning event of 'rolling his eyes' was resting calmly between the two on the dinner table. Wuxian understood that if he wanted to survive next to this cruel boy with magnificent cooking skills, he will have to surrender to his rules and at least act to be disciplined. 

Even though the sushi was made out of plant-based meat and chicken, Wuxian had lost himself completely to the taste of it. He could hardly tell any difference between this sushi and the one's he had eaten before. However, he felt a strange relief and guilt-free pleasure taking over him. He completed Wang Ji for the sushi, who simply nodded and left.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days kept passing by, one after the other, some days Wuxian would break some rules without realizing and then Wang Ji would make him write apology letters. The two never shared much conversation, but the trust was building, slowly. Wuxian's mistakes were reducing and Wang Ji was starting to feel less and less annoyed around the older. Some days Wuxian would be late from work (and he often forgot to carry his keys, considering that Wuxian had never been a responsible person) and so instead of knocking, he would simply sleep outside the house. But unlike the water-splashing event, Wang Ji, who had become somewhat kinder towards Wuxian, would simply nudge him and ask him to come inside and sleep.

Some days Wang Ji would simply watch the older work the entire night in his room, but he never asked Wuxian what he did. And Wuxian silently thanked him every time. Being a mangaka was a tough job. He had to overexert himself many times. The editor wouldn't like the illustrations sometimes and sometimes he would just run out of ideas. It was hard to be consistently good at something so labor-demanding.

But it was as if Wang Ji was starting to understand. He would make some clear soup the next day for Wuxian and sometimes give him extra 15 minutes to sleep. And Wuxian was starting to notice these subtle things. It had been 6 months already. And somehow, Wuxian was starting to have less and less nightmares recently.