(Once Again) for Love

by chesschoco

Summary:

In their first lives, they were greatly suppressed.

Pressure coming from both outside and inside sources, having a will but no power to make a way, being pitted against the small amount of family they each have left, having to abide by politics, wanting to help but not being able too...

Then, they’re all gifted with a second life.

In this life, they have a chance. Anything that could go wrong, can be prevented. They can proudly stand and fight. They can stick by those they love. They can use the newfound power they have to help those they call their own. They can get the comfort that they themselves all so desperately need...

And they will not let the opportunity go to waste.

(Or, Sunshot Generation get reincarnated as their predecessors.)

Notes:

to whoever decides to read this, hello!

this was originally a prompt that I had up for grabs to anyone who wanted it (and it technically still is). i decided that I wanted to try writing at least a prologue of sorts for it so that:

a) i could see if i’m actually able to write it myself, or maybe look for a co-writer/beta to help

and b) if I can't write it, this will hopefully show anyone who can a bit of what I want it to look like.

also, i’m imagining the characters as their donghua versions :)

Chapter 1: I

WWX.

 

When Wei Wuxian wakes up, he immediately knows that something is distinctly different.

 

He feels up the area next to him and confirms that what he's laying on right now is definitely not a hard slab of stone, and the air around him is significantly less stale than it usually is in the Burial Mounds.

 

He had taken a cursory glance at the roof over his head because he'd woken up on his back, but now that he looks at it, really looks at this time, it is most certainly not the roof of his Demon-Slaughter cave. Yet, it still looks so so familiar.

 

It only takes his brain a few seconds to connect the ceiling he's looking at now to the ceiling of the childhood room he’d shared with his brother  (‘No,’ he mentally scolds himself, ‘You don’t deserve to call him that anymore.’) with Jiang Cheng at Lotus Pier, and his heart aches .

 

' Am I dreaming? ,' is his first thought upon realizing this, and he brings a hand up to pinch himself almost on autopilot.

 

In the next second, he is shooting up from his laying position with wide eyes because why the hell are his hands so small?

 

He takes a moment to just stare at and inspect his hands before finding the nearest bronze mirror and grabbing it. He brings it up to his face and then almost drops it back into his lap from shock when he sees the reflection that's staring back at him.

 

The first thing that his mind chooses to confront is that his face, which had slowly started aging like that of a civilian's during his time at the mounds, is now the one of a child. He brings his hand (his small, small hand) up to pinch himself again despite it clearly not working the first time, and almost winces at how painful it is. So, it really isn't a dream.

 

The next thing his mind registers are the features on “his” face. He might not have the greatest memory, especially of those first few weeks at Lotus Pier and anything before, but he remembers enough of the portraits Uncle Jiang used to commission of him, Jiang Cheng, and Yanli to know that this...this is not how he had looked as a child. The thought has him feeling borderline crazy and he almost pinches himself a third time just to see if this time it will actually work.

 

He spends another minute observing “his” face, and feels confusion bubbling up in his chest. ‘There are some obvious similarities between me and this reflection, and I get the feeling that I know this face somehow , but why...’

 

He quickly pulls himself together and pushes that thought to the back of his mind for later. Right now he has to worry about where he is, who he is, and what he’s doing here. So he climbs down from the bed he was laying in and walks to the middle of the room, taking in his surroundings.

 

He’s hit with a heavy wave of nostalgia as he goes around the room and looks at everything. This room looks almost exactly like the room him and Jiang Cheng had shared before everything went to shit. Something about it, though, feels slightly..newer.

 

The drawings he carved into the frame of the bed that he supposes is his, are now gone. He walks over to that one floor board where he kept his favorite things, and sure enough, when he lifts up the wood he finds the secret compartment empty. He mourns the disappearance of his things for a second before putting the board back in place and standing straight.

 

He is about to entertain the thought of Jiang Cheng getting rid of his stuff when he notices the bed on the other side of the room, and the figure laying in it. He goes completely still for a moment before taking the chance to carefully make his way to the right side of the bed. Once he’s close enough to get a semi-good look at the figure, he notices that they are of similar stature to the body he is currently in. Another “child”. ‘ Maybe another victim of kidnapping? ,’ he thinks before slowly moving to poke the kid.

 

But just before his finger can make contact with the kid’s slightly pudgy cheek, their eyes snap open and fix on him. The two of them stare at each other in slightly awkward silence for a while, until-

 

“What the hell?”

 

-the kid bursts out, sounding incredibly stony for someone who looks to be no older than 8. And Wei Wuxian...he almost recognizes that face. He grew up with one that looks almost exactly like it. So even though he knows this makes no sense and the possibilities are very low, the name that comes out of his mouth in response is-

 

“Jiang Cheng?!”

Chapter 2: II

 

WQ.

 

 

Wen Qing knows exactly were she is when she wakes up (even if the room is visibly more elegant).

 

Her eyes snap open so quickly that it's like she was never asleep in the first place. She looks almost completely awake as well.

 

Because there is no way in hell she'd ever mistake Wen Ruohan's borderline palace in the Nightless City for any other place. Not when so many of her regrets in life stimulated from this very building and the people that lived in it.

 

She almost bolts upright when the revelation is fully processed, her thoughts rushing to her in an overwhelming wave as she tries to think of reasons she could possibly be back here. She's on the verge of panicking when she instead decides to take a harsh breath, give her cheeks two firm slaps, and start slowly counting down from ten in her mind. She gives herself a brief scolding afterwards. Nothing good would come from losing herself to panic.

 

(It's comes as no surprise that Wen Qing would be able to snap herself out of a mild haze of panic. Let it be known that even in another life, Wen Qing's mind is that of a sharp, analytical, and efficient doctor.)

 

After she's calmed down a bit, she looks around room she woke up in. This quick scan just confirms her theory of where she is. There really is no mistaking it. But just then, she notices something- no, someone by the door, peeking into the room and looking directly at her.

 

Her breath hitches.

 

Because that's A-Ning. Her brother. Her baby brother that'd gotten any chance of living a normal human life ripped away from him by the Jin sect. Right now, she was looking at him. Seeing him human and fully alive again after months as a cold, almost dead fierce corpse.

 

"A-..Ning?" she asked hesitantly. And when the child in front of her shyly smiled and replied "Hi, jie.", she felt tears start to gather at her tearline.

 

But wait. The "child" in front in her? That doesn't make any sense. It was then that Wen Qing spared a second to look at her own body, only to notice that she too looked infantile. Wen Ning (her baby brother!) scrambled to hand her what turned out to be a bronze mirror, already guessing that she'd want to check the state of her face too.

 

She's shocked for a minute when she finally sees her reflection. She can tell that it's her, and when her mind recalls that she's somehow woken up in the palace of Nightless City, something tells her that these two occurrences are definitely related. However, that just leads her to another set of question.

 

She turns to her brother for answers. "A-Ning, did you also wake up like this?" He nods, "My reaction was pretty similar to yours too, just with more panicking."

 

"How long have you been awake?" Wen Qing asks.

 

Wen Ning, "Around an hour an a half. You were just starting to wake up when I came to check on you."

 

Wen Qing, "How did you find me?"

 

Wen Ning, "Weirdly enough, a servant saw me looking around in the hallway and politely directed me here when I asked for your whereabouts. She even called me 'gongzi'."

 

And yes, that is weird. For as long as they had lived in Wen Ruohan's palace, neither of the siblings had ever really seen a servant willingly address Wen Ning with respect, much less call him a young master.

 

This was seriously starting to become a headache for Wen Qing.

 

"A-Ning, what in the world is happening?

Chapter 3: III

Notes:

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to Sharkseye for giving me this option for the new name!

 

LWJ .

 

 

When Lan Wangji wakes up, he doesn't react like either of the previous two. (After all, he's always been his own kind of special.)

 

 

He notices that something is off right away, but not with his body or sleeping quarters. What Lan Wangji notices are not the somewhat obvious changes right in front of him, but something that most likely would only occur to a Lan in such a situation.

 

 

In a true testament to both his heritage and own brand of uniqueness, what Lan Wangji instead notices is the time. He notices that he's woken up at least an hour later than usual. And though it wouldn't mean much to most, the revelation is enough to almost throw Lan Wangji off kilter.

 

 

He hasn't overslept in years.

 

 

But he quickly shakes the feeling off and decides to simply apologize to his Uncle for oversleeping later, then go about the rest of his day normally. This is when the next revelation takes up residence in his mind.

 

 

Lan Wangji is in the middle of stretching his arms when he realizes that they feel lighter than usual. And smaller. The feeling of something being off returns to his gut with a vengeance.

 

 

He's most definitely not expecting the sight he is met with when he brings his arms closer and looks them over.

 

 

If a normal person had seen Lan Wangji's face in that exact moment, they would've thought he looked exceedingly (but not unexpectedly) calm in the face of this new development. However, if you'd asked Lan Xichen what he thought of Lan Wangji's current expression, he would've told you that he'd almost never seen his brother show such obvious shock.

 

 

It takes a little longer for Wangji to recover from this one, but he nevertheless manages to pull himself together.

 

 

("As expected of the peerless Hanguang-jun," a teasing voice that sounded suspiciously like Wei Wuxian's says in the back of his consciousness. It's different from when anyone else says it.)

 

 

His first conclusion is that someone has cursed him, but he's never seen or heard about such a strange curse in his life.

 

So he tenses up and decides to look around his room for any sort of possible catalysts. This is when the third revelation finally begins to rear its head.

 

Lan Wangji now starts to notice the small changes in the room he woke up in. This room feels...bigger somehow. Not really in the sense of size (though it is noticely larger then the Jingshi).

 

It's very faint, but the room has an air of regalness— the closest to luxury that the Lan sect can get— that is almost unmatched. 

 

It is also a room that Lan Wangji has been in before. Quite a few times, in fact. And therefore, it doesn't take him long to figure out which (or whose) room it is exactly.

 

The room is none other than the Hanshi. His brother's room, and the room that only sect leaders can live in.

 

His mind is about to go into overdrive from trying to think of why he's here and what in God's name is happening to him when he hears it. A soft and almost bewildered call of his name.

 

"Wangji?"

 

And while the voice might be slightly different plus the body doesn't match up when he turns around to see it, Lan Wangji can't help the equally as soft and slightly confused call that comes out of his mouth in response.

 

"Xiongzhang?"

Chapter 4: IV

Notes:

sorry this is so late!!

JC .

 

Like Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng immediately knows that something is very off.

 

 

And like Lan Wangji, it’s not because of the room or his body. It’s ironic that even after being on the verge of cutting ties and (though they don’t know this yet) in a whole other life, most things in his still start with Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng wouldn’t be able to explain why if someone asked, but he can already feel that something very Wei Wuxian-esque is in the works.

 

 

This feeling is half proven correct because when he opens his eyes, the first thing he’s greeted with is a childish face that almost looks familiar and an exclamation that definitely sounds familiar .

 

 

” Jiang Cheng?!”

 

 

And Jiang Cheng would be damned if he didn’t recognize the voice of his soon-to-be-estranged brother. The one he’d spent most of his life with. The one he was about to stop spending his life with. The one that’s currently in a very different body but he can still easily identify.

 

 

But there’s just no way that’s possible, right?

 

 

So Jiang Cheng thinks it’s a very justified response when he proceeds to roll onto his other side, the one facing away from the kid (read: his brother. ), and tries to fall asleep again. ‘This fever dream is on a whole other level,’ he thinks as he pulls the covers back up.

 

 

Except it’s not a fever dream, and the kid just moves so they’re face to face again before pushing his covers away and shaking him. What the fuck.

 

 

“What the fuck.” He says out loud as he slaps the kids hands away. There’s no way he’s sleeping now, so he resigns himself and puts his signature scowl on.

 

 

“Okay, mind telling me what the hell’s going on? You’re Wei Wuxian, correct?” The kid nods and says, “And you’re Jiang Cheng.” It’s not a question.

 

 

Jiang Cheng, “This is absolutely the last thing I need right now so please, for the sake of my sanity, explain whatever you know.”

 

 

So Wei Wuxian, in his stupidly high-pitched new voice, starts rambling on about everything he’s seen and discovered since he woke up almost an hour ago. It barely does a thing to soothe the on-coming headache Jiang Cheng can sense, maybe even makes it worse.

 

 

“So to summarize, we’ve somehow woken up in a slightly newer version of the room we shared as kids, in the bodies of kids that look like us but at the same time not really.” Jiang Cheng says, and then he lets out a long-suffering sigh when Wei Wuxian slowly nods his head.

 

 

He gets out of the bed he’s been sitting in this whole time and heads straight for the door to the room. Wei Wuxian scrambles to follow him and whisper-yells, “Wait! Jiang Cheng, where are you going? We barely have an idea of what’s going on!”

 

 

“That’s exactly why I am going to explore the place we apparently woke up in.” Jiang Cheng replies as he quietly slides the door open and looks at their surroundings. “I don’t know what you’re gonna do, but I suggest you hurry up and follow me if you want some real answers. Aren’t you usually a stickler for this kind of thing anyway?”

 

 

He steps out of the room before turning around to look at his brother Wei Wuxian and confirm he’s coming, even if Jiang Cheng doubts he’ll say no.

 

 

There’s a flicker of hesitance on Wei Wuxian’s face, but it’s gone so quickly that Jiang Cheng isn’t sure it was even there in the first place. Either way, Wei Wuxian quickly seems to find his resolve because soon he’s standing right next to Jiang Cheng, looking at him expectantly.

 

 

“Shall we get going?” he says, and Jiang Cheng feels the corner of his mouth quirk up in a little half-smile before he’s leading the way to the start of their exploration.

Chapter 5: V

Notes:

hi, it's been a little over a month :). so i'm sure you've already guessed, but this story will have irregular and probably slow updates for a while. please bear with it, I'm still figuring out what I want to do with this !!

anyway, onto the chapter.

 

 

NMJ.

 

 

 

When Nie Mingjue wakes up, he doesn't notice anything at first.

 

 

 

Unlike Wei Wuxian (although they don't know this yet), the roof of his room and the feeling of his bed are relatively the same to him.

 

 

 

It's when he gets up to ready himself for the day that he notices something is off.

 

 

 

His body proportions feel way off and he's just lighter in general. He looks down at his body in confusion and then quickly does a double take.

 

 

 

When was the last time he looked this thin? And now that he thinks about it, when was the last time he'd felt this short?  Wasn't it when he was a kid?

 

 

 

He walks over to the bronze mirror nearest to his bed and takes a long look at his face, realizing that a kid is exactly what he is (or at least, what his face looks like) right now. The light baby chub on his face that people usually associate with a child that has just entered adolescence is there, as well as some of the features he had gained as an adult.

 

 

 

However (and this part was also unlike Wei Wuxian), he doesn't yet realize that the childish body he is currently in isn't actually his.

 

 

 

All things considered though, Nie Mingjue is pretty sure he takes this development in relatively calm stride. He turns away from the bronze mirror and his brows furrow as he thinks of how he could of possibly become like this.

 

 

 

He then finally takes a look around the place he woke up in, and isn't completely surprised to find himself in his childhood room.

 

 

Everything is the same as he remembers it. From the bed on the right side of the room to the window on the left side, it all just makes his situation feel more real.

 

 

There's no denying that this is the room he inherited from his father.

 

 

 

He's about to find some supplies and write down what he's discovered so far when the door to the room burts open. In comes a child that Nie Mingjue finds extremely familiar, and with them a wave of nostalgia from when Huaisang used to do the same thing.

 

 

 

Before Nie Mingjue can ask who the child is, a loud "Da-ge?!" comes out of their mouth.

 

 

 

Nie Mingjue finds this also very familiar, and so before he knows it, an equally loud "Huaisang?!" is coming out of his mouth in response.

 

 

(This time, his reaction was very much like Wei Wuxian's.)

Notes:

poll for the comments: I plan to refer to the characters with their birth names (lan zhan, wei ying, lan huan, etc). should I create birth names for the characters who don't have one?

you can also dm me @xuxiwoozi on twt to give your opinion!

Chapter 6: VI

Notes:

so… im back! i genuinely thought i had lost my passion for this story and would never open it again, but here we are for round two! i’m sorry it took so long, and please enjoy :)

LXC.

 

As expected from the other half of the twin jades, Lan Wangji’s older brother, and the Lan sect’s most eligible bachelor, Lan Xichen wakes up at precisely 5 am.

 

Due to this, nothing feels wrong for a good few minutes. The room he woke up in is the same, everything’s in place, and the morning is calm. He can even hear the faint rustles of people waking up and getting ready for the day, sounds he’s grown used to after all these years.

 

He manages to make it to the area he washes up in without noticing anything because he’s still quite tired, but that doesn’t last for long. As soon as he starts to disrobe, awareness begins to kick in.

 

When he looks down to make sure he’s untying his sleeping robes properly, his hands are the first things that get his attention. They’re definitely pudgier, less calloused, and a lot smaller than when he saw them last night.

 

At first he’s confused as he brings them up to take a better look. He stares at his hands and gives them a few experimental squeezes, slowly beginning to process that something isn’t right.

 

Leaving his robe untied, Xichen quickly looks around for anything that can show him a reflection. He ends up settling for the basin of water he was about to wash up with, which one of the sect’s disciples had probably brought in just before he woke up. The reflection he sees in the water might not be the best, but it’s certainly good enough for him to realize that he barely recognizes the face staring back at him.

 

For one thing, the face staring up at him is that of a barely adolescent child. And while that is already shocking enough, he also notices that the child (who is apparently him) retains some of the features he had in adulthood, while simultaneously managing to look like someone else entirely.

 

He brings his hands up to give his cheeks two slightly stinging slaps, plus a hard pinch for good measure. When he blinks and realizes that everything stayed the same, his panic increases by a very big amount.

 

Still, he tries to calm himself down and think about the situation calmly. Before he can get too deep into his thoughts, however, he sees movement in the corner of his eye. He turns around and grabs the nearest thing when he realizes there’s another person in the room (and he must’ve been truly out of it to not notice that before), only to freeze when he sees that it’s another child. When the child’s face becomes clear to him, there’s only one thought that comes to his mind,

 

“Wangji?”

 

And when the boy turns to him and replies with “Xiongzhang?”, all of Lan Xichen’s thoughts come to a prompt halt.

 

---

 

For a few stifling minutes, the two of them simply sit in silence. Then, Lan Xichen finally opens his mouth and says, “It’s good to know that we at least have each other in this strange situation.”

 

Wangji nods and agrees, clearly shaken (to Xichen) to his core, but calmer than he was after just waking up. He truly was glad to have a familiar presence with him.

 

Neither of them really knows what to say after that, as they both clearly have no idea what’s going on. But it’s clear that sitting in silence won’t get them anymore answers, so Xichen proposes an idea. “Why don’t we split up for a bit and see if we can find some clues, Wangji? I don’t know exactly what we’re looking for, of course, but I believe that we’ll know upon seeing it.”

 

Just as Lan Wangji nods and they both go to stand up, someone opens the door a little and peeks into the room. The face they see afterwards is, once again, both new and old to them. Before they can say or do anything, the newcomer, wearing the signature Lan white robes and a cloud-patterned head ribbon, molds his face into one of stern disapproval. This, unsurprisingly, is a look they’re quite used to.

 

“I knew I heard voices speaking in here. You’re both undressed and untidy as well, should I take this as you purposefully trying to break the rules?”

 

Thrown for a loop in this sudden situation, the two boys gape for a little at first. After years of getting accustomed to such scoldings, though, they begin to bow their heads in apology immediately after. But just before their heads can get low enough, the man cracks and breaks into an easy grin.

 

“Just kidding, you guys know I’m not like those other sticklers. Although I am curious, what made you two stay in later today? This hasn’t happened in a good while now.”

 

Zichen, the fast adjuster that he is, takes this in stride and answers with a slight chuckle, “Apologies, guess we were just a bit more tired than usual last night. We’ll be out shortly.”

 

The man returns Xichen’s laugh at a much louder level and waves him off, “Don’t be so serious, nephew! You guys are just kids so I’ll make them go easy on you if anyone asks about it. I can’t distract them for too long, though, so you two might want to hurry a bit. I’ll see you two in the dining hall, Enlai, Qiren.”

 

Then he’s gone, and the boys are left with even more questions than before. Who was that man and why would he call Xichen his nephew? Enlai and Qiren? Was that referring to them? With so many concerns but so little time, all the two could do was quickly get dressed and follow the man to a place they’ve been to dozens of times already.

Chapter 7: VII

Notes:

well…

i’m back?

JYL.

 

 

Jiang Yanli wakes up feeling a little off, but doesn’t actually realize that something’s wrong yet.  After all, things have been “a little off” ever since her brother left Yunmeng for the Burial Mound all those months ago.

 

 

She gets through her daily wash-up routine and is about halfway out of her sleeping robes when she accidentally catches her reflection in the mirror on the dresser. Upon seeing “her” own reflection, her brain completely shuts down for a few seconds. However, it quickly reboots itself and she rushes over to the mirror before she can even finish changing.

 

 

For quite a while, Jiang Yanli simply stares at the reflection in speechless, open-mouthed shock. This can’t really be her, can it? To make sure this isn’t all just some elaborate dream stemming from the stress of the last few months, Yanli gives herself a harsh pinch to the forearm. When everything stays the same, though, she takes a deep breath and begins to calmly (or, as “calmly” as she could in this situation) observe her surroundings.

 

 

First things first, most of her (?) room was relatively the same. The furniture was a little different, and a few items that she had no recollection of having laid around, but nonetheless, it was the home she had grown up in.

 

 

Secondly, there didn’t seem to be any resentful energy, or items containing resentful energy around her, so the reflection she’d seen in the mirror just now probably wasn’t a nefarious scheme. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be a figment of her imagination either, so Yanli really had no clue what else could be happening to her.

 

 

( “Unless,” a voice whispered in the back of her mind , “you’ve somehow gone back?” and that must’ve been some truly wishful thinking.)

 

 

Just as she’s about to get up and take a careful peek outside her room, however, she hears voices.

 

 

Jiang Yanli cautiously walks toward the door, gripping the edges of the frame tight as she tries to get a good idea of what’s being said. Her reflection had already warned her that something was terribly strange, but she didn’t realize how true that warning was until the sounds of two very familiar but far too young voices confirm it.

 

 

She presses her palm flat against the wood, breathing shallow and fast. No. No, this couldn’t be possible.

 

 

They sounded like… children.

 

 

And if they were children—if Jiang Cheng was still struggling with his sword stance and Wei Wuxian hadn’t yet been branded as a demonic cultivator—then what in the world had happened to her?

 

 

Had she… really gone back ?

 

 

Her fingers tremble as she pushes the door open just a crack more and peeks into the hallway.

 

 

And there they are.

 

 

Two boys. Wei Wuxian, all gangly limbs and quicksilver energy, is laughing with his whole body, half-bouncing on the balls of his feet. His hair is tied loosely, a little messy already despite the hour. Beside him, Jiang Cheng is scowling in the same way he always did when he was annoyed—but his face is still rounder, younger, softer. His robes are just a bit too big on him, sleeves bunched slightly at the wrists. They couldn’t be older than ten.

 

 

Jiang Yanli stares.

 

 

That is her Wei Wuxian. The one who used to trail after her like a duckling. And that is her little brother, still too proud to ask for help with his knots and sword drills.

 

 

And then—Wei Wuxian’s head turns toward the door, sharp and quick, as if he feels her looking. “…A-jie?” he calls out, hopeful and hesitant in equal measures.

 

 

She freezes.

 

 

For a moment, it doesn’t make sense—her name in that voice, out of that face, in this place. The courtyard is older than she remembers it, the roof tiles more weather-worn, the lanterns made of thinner paper. But his voice—his voice is exactly the same. Her Wei Wuxian. Just higher, unsteady with youth.

 

 

“A-jie?” he says again, already stepping forward, already smiling like he thinks—no, like he knows —that it’s her.

 

 

And she sees it. The moment it clicks for him.

 

 

His eyes go wide, his breath catches. “It is you,” he says, like it’s impossible and undeniable all at once. “A-jie, it’s really—” His words trip over themselves, and then he’s running, feet slapping against the stone.

 

 

She catches him before he can fall.

 

 

He’s small. Solid in the way children are, all elbows and eager energy. But it’s him . She knows it in the way his arms wind tight around her middle, in the way his face buries against her shoulder.

 

 

Behind him, Jiang Cheng stands frozen at the edge of the walkway, mouth parted. His hair is uneven, his brows still unformed. But his eyes are Jiang Cheng’s—watchful, wary, a little hurt that he hadn’t spoken first.

 

 

Yanli opens her arm toward him. “Chengcheng,” she says, voice gentle.

 

 

He hesitates. But only for a second.

 

 

Then he’s moving too, stiff at first, like pride’s still trying to hold him back. But he’s eight, and his sister just recognized him in some backward new world, and Wei Wuxian is crying and laughing at the same time and calling her A-jie like he’s never been happier in his life.

 

 

So Jiang Cheng comes in too, all but shoving Wei Wuxian aside to get to her. And she laughs—shaky, wet, full of relief—as she pulls them both in close.

 

 

“My silly boys,” she murmurs, pressing a kiss to each of their heads. “You came back too.”

 

 

Neither of them asks how. Not yet.

 

 

They just hold on.

 

 

---

 

 

They sit under the plum tree in the side courtyard, just like they used to—except this time, the tree is smaller, the trunk thinner, its branches not yet weighed down by age or memories.

 

 

Wei Wuxian is the first to speak once they’ve stopped crying. “So if all three of us managed to end here, wherever here is, it’s possible that there a lot more,” he says, eyes flicking between them. “I thought—I thought maybe Jiang Cheng and I were just stuck in some crazy alternate version Lotus Pier.”

 

 

”Technically,” Jiang Cheng cuts in, “We could still be stuck in some crazy alternate version of Lotus Pier.

 

 

“Well, yeah, but Gods know what else-“

 

 

Yanli cuts in before their back-and-forth can gather steam. “Either way, guys, we don’t know how long we’ll be here,” she says softly. “Or why. But we’re together. That’s what matters.”

 

 

Wei Wuxian wipes at his nose with his sleeve. “Yeah. So… what do we do ?”

 

 

Jiang Cheng glances back at the house, lips pressed thin. “We’re not just here to play pretend, are we? This is before everything. Before—before Lotus Pier burned. Before Mom and Dad—”

 

 

He stops.

 

 

They all go quiet.

 

 

Then Yanli nods. “We change things.”

 

 

Wei Wuxian blinks. “We can ?”

 

 

“We have to try,” she says. “If we’ve been given another chance, then we don’t waste it. Not this time.”

 

 

Jiang Cheng’s hands are clenched in his lap. “We’re just kids.”

 

 

“Not just ,” Yanli says. Her voice is soft, but it carries weight. “We remember. We know what’s coming.”

 

 

Wei Wuxian leans back, gaze drifting up to the sky. “So… what, we stop the war? Save everyone? Make sure A-Cheng doesn’t yell at me every five seconds?”

 

 

“I will still yell at you,” Jiang Cheng mutters.

 

 

But it’s less sharp than before. More like a promise than a threat.

 

 

Yanli smiles faintly. “We start small. We get stronger. We study harder. We learn everything we can—before it all begins.”

 

 

Wei Wuxian hums. “And we keep an eye on the Wen’s and the Jin’s. You can never be too careful with them.”

 

 

“And we won’t let them divide us,” Yanli adds, voice tightening. “No matter what.”

 

 

They fall into silence again, but this time it’s a planning kind of quiet. The kind where thoughts are lining up. Strategies forming.

 

 

“We’ll need allies,” Jiang Cheng says eventually. “People who’ll listen, even if we’re just kids.”

 

 

“I’ll talk to anyone I can get my hands on,” Yanli says. “They always see girls as more unassuming and non-threatening.”

 

 

Wei Wuxian grins. “I’ll work on cultivation. The faster I get my powers back, the more use I’ll be.”

 

 

“We do this together,” Yanli says, reaching out her hand.

 

 

Wei Wuxian slaps his over hers immediately. “Team Jiang!”

 

 

Jiang Cheng sighs. But after a pause, he lays his hand on top too.

 

 

They sit like that for a moment. Under the not-yet-grown tree. In a world not yet broken.

 

 

Planning.