Chapter Text
Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen stared at their "lonely, miserable" not to mention "single" uncle. They sat their dinner table together eyes glued on Lan Qiren instead of eating and their uncle was busy reading on his phone to notice his nephew's staring down at him. The two boys felt pity on their uncle and even though he said nothing, they both knew he was lonely... or was he?
Lan Qiren had been taking care of the two Lan boy's since they were kids, their parents died in a car accident. Everything was left for the kids, the money, house and of course the company they owned which was the publishing firm but they were little kids. So their uncle stepped in and took care of everything, the company and his nephew's and before he knew it they were all becoming adults. Throughout the years of their life, he had never taken a lover of any sort and maybe it was because he dedicated himself to them and the company that he never thought about himself or his love life.
This made Lan Xichen and Wangji feel a pain in their hearts, 'uncle.. you've worked so hard for us and the company' they still stared at him feeling an overwhelming amount of sadness, Lan Xichen could even feel his eyes tearing up. Lan Qiren looked up from his phone noticing the sadness in his nephews face. 'what on earth...?' he was struck from shock, why do they look at him like that?
"Why are you two looking at me like that? is everything ok?" Lan Qiren asked worriedly, his nephews only shook their heads and responded with
"Everything is fine uncle, we were just lost in our thoughts" they all continued finishing their meals
"Uncle?" Lan Xichen spoke up, Lan Wangji paused for a moment and looked at his brother, Lan Xichen gave a reassuring smile
"Yes?" Lan Qiren stopped washing the dishes
"Do you ever think to start a relationship with someone-"
Pfft- cough cough
Lan Qiren choked on his saliva, flustered and Lan Wangji sat there baffled, he didn't expect his brother to actually say it.
"Uncle are you ok?" they rushed to him, he held a hand up for them to stop in their tracks as he tried to get his composure fixed.
"Ehem, where did you get that idea?" he raised an eyebrow
"Ah! forgive me uncle, it was just a thought in my head... me and Wangji noticed how alone you've been, we- I wanted to know if you thought about it too"
Lan Qiren felt irritated, he knew Lan Xichen meant no ill but he became flustered at the thought of it. You see Lan Qiren had not felt lonely, perhaps he did think of it but the truth was it didn't really matter to him and neither did "love" come to him. Love was complicated to him, he doesn't need it and knows he can live without it, his nephews knew about his sexual orientation, and that was it, no one else knew but even then he wasn't looking. He's doing great right now but the fact that it pained his nephews to see him "alone' although he wasn't, warmed his heart. He could admit that his job and company kept him busy from having or going out in a serious relationship with anyone. But it never bothered him.
"I'm happy you guys care for me but really, I'm not alone nor do I feel alone, I'm doing fine being like this. Who needs anyone else when you got family" Lan Qiren sighs, he'd hope they'd understand and not feel pity for him.
"Hm, you're right uncle" His nephew smiled while the other just gave a nod.
Lan Qiren left his bedroom, Lan Xichen began rambling to Lan Wangji who only have "hm" responses
"Did you see how sad he was?"
"Hm"
"He even looked sad talking about it!"
"Hm"
"Our poor uncle.."
"Hm"
"I have a feeling he's just hiding those feelings from us because he didn't want us to be sad!" Lan Xichen cried
"Hm"
"Wangji, I think I know what we have to do" he slammed his hands on the table, determined
"Hm?"
Lan Xichen turned to look at his brother, eyes gleaming with hope. "We need to help our uncle"
"Brother?" Lan Wangji questioned
"We will create a dating account for him!" Lan Wangji knew what this meant, his brother wouldn't stop until Lan Qiren found someone.
"..."
"Are you sure its a good idea? what if he gets mad at us?"
"Think of it as a way to help him, he's done so much for us the least we can do is repay him with this"
Oh well, can't go back now. They sat in the living room, Lan Xichen's phone out with the dating app opened.
"Ok, it says here we need a photo of him,"
"..." 'what photo?'
Lan Wangji, opened his camera roll and they began doing a scavenger hunt. The last photo they took was him cooking, but you could barely see his face. Perhaps they could use it later, they swiped seeing their uncle sitting arm crossed with his face yawning. They stared at it for a moment 'god no' they quickly swiped and landed on a picture of him standing with them, perfect picture to Lan Wangji but Lan Xichen shook his head.
"No not this one"
"Hm"
swipe
"No"
swipe
"Still no"
swipe
"God no" the photo lan Zhan swiped was Lan Qiren at the dinner table with a vey bad hair day
swipe
"Eh, no"
swipe
"No he looks old there"
"Brother, is he not old?"
"Well- never mind keep swiping"
swipe
"He looks like he fishes" Lan Xichen pretended to gag
"People that fish look bad?" Wangji questioned
"In my opinion yes, now keep scrolling"
swipe
The photo's Lan Wangji had been scrolling were good pictures, the only problem was their uncle was not smiling at all in these photos.
"Ugh! he never smiles, he just looks grumpy and mean" Lan Xichen whined
"This isn't going to work"
Lan Wangji still kept scrolling, he knew Lan Xichen was looking for a picture of their uncle smiling. But he was determined as much as his brother was. Finally they stumbled upon this one photo, it was a recent one from a year ago when Lan Xichen got promoted at publishing firm. In the picture Lan Qiren stood next to his nephew, although he was in his suit, the corner of his lip was curved up revealing a very noticeable smile.
"This one" Lan Wangji showed the picture to his brother, Lan Xichen gave a bright smile and nodded
"Yes! this one!"
Once they added the picture, they needed a bio, they thought for a while and sighed. This was harder than they thought, Lan Wangji took the phone and began typing
Name: Lan Qiren
Age: 35
Job: CEO
Looking for: Anything, im not picky
Hobbies, likes and interests: I like reading poetry, painting also going on walks in the morning. Work.
His brother was over his shoulder reading this, once Lan Wangji finished he looked at him for approval and earned a nod. The account was finally posted, they cheered and felt like they accomplished the greatest thing in the world. Now all they had to do is find someone worthy of their uncle.
-
Meanwhile in the Wen household, Ruohan and his kids were spending time with each other. This week Ruohan's kids Wen Xu and Wen Chao get to spend a week with their father. Wen Xu is 20, although he has his house and lives on his own. He liked to go over his fathers house and spend time with him and his brother while Wen Chao is 18 and just graduated high school, he's still going back and forth from parent to parent. Wen Ruohan divorced his ex wife Bai Liang fourteen years ago and and they were married for six years. It was an arranged marriage because they were heir to the company they own now, throughout the years of marriage they remained as friends and after the divorce too. Wen Xu noticed how Wen Ruohan was lonely especially now since Wen Xu's mother now is seeing someone, his eldest son lives on his own and his youngest graduated high school ready to work and be on his own, Wen Ruohan has no one.
"Dad" Wen Xu called
"Yes" Ruohan replied
"Do you ever think of going out with someone again"
Ruohan spit his drink and quickly wiped himself with the napkin, Wen Xu didn't expect him to react that way. Ruohan clears his throat and asked "Why the sudden interest?"
"Dad, you've always been kind of alone here"
"I'm not alone, I have you guys and my friends" Ruohan smiled
"Dad I hardly see you and Wen Chao barely graduated and is going to college"
"..." Wen Ruohan was dumbfounded
"Mom's has been with her girlfriend for years and your still here old and alone"
"..." Wen Ruohan felt a thousand of arrows pierce into his heart
"Your so heartless! Im not that old! I still have time to look for love!" Wen Ruohan "cried" as his son was disappointed 'father, at this rate you'll never find anyone with that personality'
"Dad, were just looking out for you, go out and look for a guy" Wen Chao chimed in
"Ah! my sons, you both are cruel with your words but I know you care" Ruohan hugged his sons as they tried to grasp away
Night came along and Wen Xu and his brother stayed up and Ruohan went to go sleep early because of his work schedule. Wen Chao was busy on his phone as Wen Xu was watching a show on the TV, What more could Wen Xu do, it seemed like his father wasn't looking and will probably die alone. He turned to Wen Chao and nudged him.
"What?"
"We need to help dad" Wen Xu answered
"Huh?"
"We need to find someone for dad, or else he'll die alone" Wen Xu convinced his brother
"Way ahead of you" He shoved his phone to Wen Xu, he snatches it out of his hand a see's he made an account for their dad on a dating app.
He was impressed at first and then he raised an eyebrow. The profile picture was good but everything else was not, Wen Chao changed their fathers age from 38 to 28, his hobbies were partying and going put a lot plus traveling. he likes spoiling his significant other and is rich.
"Whats this!"
"What, he sounds like a great guy!" His brother explained
"To you maybe, he's 38 not 28! you made him like 100 years younger and not to mention he sounds childish and immature" Wen Xu scolded him
"But he is childish" Wen Chao joked earning a smack in the head
"Let me deal with this, no one is gonna pick dad if he sounds like a high schooler" Wen Xu began typing away
Name: Wen Ruohan,
Age: 38
Looking for: I am looking for a long term relationship and someone who love me unconditionally
Job: CEO
Hobbies, likes and interest: I like going out though I am more focused on work, I travel and I love making people around me laugh.
"There" Wen Xu showed off his work
Wen Chao read it and rolled his eyes, "At least I came up with the idea"
Wen Xu scoffed not wanting to argue anymore, they began looking at other accounts swiping mostly left because none of them seemed "worthy" for their father. A guy name Wu Jin popped up, overall seemed like a nice man but Wen Chao didn't like how they didn't put any jobs like the others did. Wang Yong was pretty decent, they just didn't like how he looked.
"Him"
"No"
swipe
"Ew" they both said and swiped left
"hmmm, yeah"
swipe
"Eh... yeah sure"
swipe
"This one says he likes fishing"
"Then yes"
swipe
"Oh look at this one!
-
Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen had been swiping and looking for guys who is worthy of their uncle, apparently there was no one.
"He's handsome, his name is... Wen Ruohan" Lan Xichen read out loud
"He's 38, three years older than uncle- not bad"
"Hm"
"His hobbies are going out but is more focused at work, traveling and making people laugh"
"Brother... uncle doesn't like when people make jokes" Lan Wangji adds
"So? this is just what he needs, someone who can make him laugh perhaps uncle will do just fine with him"
After explaining, Lan Xichen swiped right and his phone buzzed. On screen the words said "Its a match!" showing the two accounts of Lan Qiren and Wen Ruohan.
Wen Xue and Chao jumped up and down cheering that they had found Someone for their father, they quickly were the ones texting "Lan Qiren" first. The message was a simple "hi" but Lan Wangji and Xichen hearts rose not knowing what to say. How would their uncle respond?
Qiren: Hello
Ruohan: I like your style, I noticed how we both are CEO's , we'll get along right away
Qiren: Thank you, im sure we will too.
Qiren: Well now that we know each other, how about this week we can go get a cup of coffee and get to know more about each other
'wow so straight foward' the two lan brothers thought but quickly responded with a
Qiren: Yes, I would love to
Ruohan: When are you available?
Qiren: This Thursday
Ruohan: Great! ill put that on my schedule, maybe ill see you there at 12:30?
Qiren: 12:30 is perfect
The conversation ended, now they both had to just wait for two days. During those two days, the lan brothers looked through their uncles closet to choose for him to wear, but half of it were just suits- the "normal" clothes he had were not much but they made it work out, the wen brothers were looking for the best coffee shop around the area's, they were nervous and hoped their father wouldn't mess it up. Friday came by quick and Wen Xu had sent "lan Qiren" the coffee place and texted that he would be paying for everything. Wen Xu was already at his apartment, he texted his father to meet him at the coffee place but he might have exaggerated a bit.
DAD MEET ME HERE AT THE COFFEE PLACE I SENT YOU ITS AN EMERGENCY!!!!
After sending it he sighed in relief, Wen Ruohan had read it
-
Lan Qiren had gotten up early, Wanji and Xichen had texted him to meet them at the coffee shop they sent him, He quickly got dressed and checked the weather, he reads that it might snow today so he goes back and changes into something warmer. He wore a beige long sleeve turtle neck, light blue jeans with black boots.
He ate breakfast and spent the morning doing paper work and looking at his clients works. Although he ran the company and didn't have much time but he still liked to have some clients come to him to show their work to publish. He read each whole books they would give him when he had the chance, he prefer poetry books than the others and wrote one himself.
when it was around 12:20 he grabbed his trench coat and headed out the door. He got there in time and his driver went off to go park somewhere else, he opened the door that lead inside the coffee shop and did not see his nephews around, perhaps they were running a bit late, he sat down waiting for them. But 5 minutes passed and there was no sign of them, he opened his phone and asked them where they were. Just as he sent it a man comes barging into the place, everyone turned to look at him and Lan Qiren sat there stunned for a moment.
The strange man seemed to be wearing a red hoodie that looked stained and grey sweatpants, his slippers were mismatched and his hair was very messy, Lan Qiren couldn't help but chuckle out of disgust, the man just stood there his gaze was flying everywhere like he was looking for someone. what the hell is this guy's problem? does he not feel any shame by how he looks? before he could get a good look on the guy's face- his phone buzzed and there was a message from Lan Xichen.
Sorry uncle, we sent you there so you could meet someone
We felt that you were lying to us about being lonely so we ended up setting you up with this guy
[image inserted]
We hope your not mad because we're just looking out for you so please have fun
Lan Qiren sat there dumbfounded, he stared at the picture for a good minute. Are you fucking serious I'm gonna fucking-. in all his life he had never cursed this bad, he was piss and face turned red, and noticed the strange man looked just like the picture his nephews sent him, Lan Qiren looked back on his phone to make sure and just like he expected it was Wen Ruohan, the most annoying and arrogant man he's ever met... well he could be exaggerating but still, he hates Wen Ruohan as much as the other hated him too.
They set me up on a date with... him!? My enemy! What were they thinking! but why did Wen Ruohan agree to this? Qiren was considering to sneak away before the other noticed but before he got up, the other male's phone vibrated making Qiren stop in his tracks. Oh no, Wen Ruohan's worried face turned into a stunned expression. He looked up from his phone and there sat Lan Qiren.
Memories flooded his brain, reminding him once more the hatred he felt for the man. Wen Ruohan's face imprinted in his head not being able to forget him. His name that made his heart stop, perhaps from the anxiety and anger he felt because of the impression Wen Ruohan left him. He hoped he, himself made the same impression on wen Ruohan. then he too can understand the way he made Lan Qiren feel.