funnyhearts | TEST DRIVE MEME 001 (#2)

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TEST DRIVE MEME 001 (#2)

HAPPY HEARTS HOTEL

You wake up in a padded box. It rocks, gently, as though suspended in mid-air. You begin to stir, confusion or distress pushing you to try to sit up — and then the air begins to smell sweet, and you fall back asleep.

You wake up in a padded box. For a moment, you are beatifically calm. You don't know how you got here, or why, but that isn't really all that important. You don't need to know where you are. You're just... here. And here is a wonderful place to be.

But there is a niggling suspicion growing in the back of your mind. A suspicion that here is not somewhere you wanted to be. That it is not where you're supposed to be. You remember... chasing a white rabbit (or was it a person)? A mirror? Bright light, and green ivy crawling over your skin... Before you can worry too much, the box jolts, and then settles, and after a long moment the walls fall from around you to reveal —

A hotel lobby?

"Welcome to the Happy Hearts Hotel and Casino," says an attendant behind a desk. "We're so pleased you could join us for our grand opening gala. We have your room keys and Empathies here, please make an orderly line and we'll hand them out once we've confirmed identities. After that, feel free to explore the hotel! We highly recommend starting with the casino. Everyone's a winner here in Happy Hearts!"

Is this normal? It doesn't feel normal. And hey — you could swear you had shoes before!

I. THE CASINO FLOOR

As you pass through the entrance to the casino floor, an attendant passes you a small bag of chips. The casino is loud and bright and filled with games of every kind — you want to play poker? They've got a table for that. Sabacc? There's a table for that, too. Slots, pachinko, and bingo are just a few of the other games on offer. The attendant in the lobby wasn't lying, either — everyone who plays wins. Everyone, every time.

Servers wander the floor with trays of shotglasses full of multi-coloured liquids, offering them to every Oyster "Compliments of Her Royal Highness." If you're expecting alcohol, though, you'll be surprised — these drinks are teas made of the distilled emotions of every Oyster in the hotel. Each colour of tea corresponds to a different emotion, and as soon as you take a sip, you feel overcome with that emotion.

JOY — the distilled essence of happiness, this tea makes even the most rough and tumble of Oysters giddy with happiness — for a moment. The effect fades into a general sense of contentment and affability after a few seconds, and that itself fades away slowly over the course of twenty minutes.

ANGER — this tea, anger in liquid form, can make the most even-tempered of Oysters ready to absolutely blow a gasket. For twenty minutes, anyone who drinks this tea will find themselves much more easily annoyed, frustrated, and all around irritable and snappy.

SADNESS — distilled sadness is a potent tea, capable of turning a stoic, stalwart Oyster into a blubbering mess in moments. Events that may have previously only been a minor disappointment become the end of the world, every repressed unhappiness comes to the fore, and for twenty minutes, any Oyster who drinks a sadness tea can hardly keep themselves together.

II. MAKING WAVES

If gambling isn't to your interest, there are many other areas of the hotel to explore! For the moment, only The Pool Of Tears and the Pig & Pepper Buffet are available for Oysters to peruse, but the staff assure anyone who asks that the other facilities will be open by the next day. Unfortunately, that means no one can buy any swimsuits from This Elegant Thimble, but the staff aren't going to kick anyone out of the pool for jumping in in their clothes!

There are four main attractions to The Pool of Tears: the pool, the jacuzzi, the wave pool, and the lazy river. The water is always just the right temperature, clean and clear and refreshing. It feels as if the sun shines down from above you, warm and comforting. Scattered through the pool area are clusters of modern lounge chairs, just waiting for someone to come relax in them. The Pool is, in a word, serene.

But not for long. The waves generated by the wave pool begin to get choppier, and larger, until it becomes clear that the generator itself is malfunctioning — too late, however, to avoid the tsunami that crashes through the whole Pool and leaves it flooded. Thankfully, no water escapes into the rest of the hotel, and the hotel staff work quickly to rescue those trapped in the Pool and drain the flooding — but you better hope you can tread water until they get to you!

III. EAT ME, DRINK ME

The Pig & Pepper buffet serves lunch foods from across all different cultures, offering something for everyone, and some things you've never even heard of.

On offer with these lunchtime dishes are cookies and biscuits and scones of all kinds, held on tiered trays with signs that proclaim Eat Me! in delightfully whimsical calligraphy. Nearby, hotel staff man a small booth for doling out cups of fruit waters from large pitchers, which have Drink Me! painted playfully on their sides.

It takes a while to feel the effects — perhaps you've even left the Pig & Pepper by the time it happens — but those who eat the cookies and scones inevitably end up growing in size, whether a few inches or feet, and those who drank the fruity water similarly shrink. Eat enough and you might strain the ceiling; drink enough and you'll be the size of a thimble! It's not permanent — if no one else can help you figure out how to get back to normal, the staff certainly will — but it's definitely inconvenient!

IV. WELCOME HOME

Maybe you just want to be alone — well, that's what you have your room key for! Oysters room on the second and third floors of the hotel, one to a room. You were assured your room would be exactly what you'd always wished for — and for some, that's right! It's exactly as you would have decorated it yourself. But for others, their rooms are totally wrong. A grizzled cowboy can't have a pink room! Hotel staff are firm, though: every room is exactly as its owner wants it to be. Search your feelings, Oyster. You know it to be true.

On each bed are the Oysters' personal effects, minus weapons, as well as a towel folded in the shape of a heart, and a single foil-wrapped chocolate. If eaten, the chocolate is delicious, and incites a feeling of tender warmth in Oysters — not lust, but a desire for closeness. Why spend time in your room, when you could go find a new friend in the casino?

Welcome to the (second!) first TDM of Happy Hearts, a new panfandom roleplaying game here on DW! If you have any questions, please direct them to the first comment on this page. Happy playing, Oysters!

PREMISE RULES FAQ TAKEN RESERVES APPLICATION MOD CONTACT HIATUS & DROPS WORLD INFO NPCS CALENDAR AC REWARDS

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He knows well enough his heart is weak and easily hurt. It doesn't take much to move him to tears, but even so, this feels overwhelming. He hadn't mean to fall, but strong arms keep him from hitting the floor too hard, and he's vaguely aware of hands that seem much too close. Someone calls his name, even the voice sounds right, hits a nerve, and there's a moment or two of blinking comprehension as he shakes his head, his mask knocked askew.

Tears won't stop falling, unbidden, like there's a weight around his heart, and it seems little use to keep wearing the unwieldy mask when he can barely see to wipe his own tears. Up close it's impossible not to notice the striking similarities to Lan Wangji. Has time passed again without him? How else could he account for the differences?

He tries to cover his face, hide behind hand and sleeve as he shakes his head in reply, too thrown by the chaotic emotions to understand it. He was fine just moments ago. Is it a curse?

"There's something... wrong with me," he sobs now, ugly and wracking.

Wangji tries to hold him upward, making him sit upright to help him recover his dignity because it's no good laying down on the floor.

"Come on, try to sit upright. Let's find you somewhere comfortable to rest." The sofa chairs in the lounge perhaps? A softer place for Wei Wuxian to lie down and cry out.

"Can you tell me what's wrong? What can I do to help?" Lan Wangji didn't catch on that perhaps he may eat or drink one of the teas that can affect his emotions.

"Come on, Wei Ying. Sit right here. I won't go anywhere. I will help you." As gently as he can he lifts Wei Wuxian up to place him on the sofa. Even though they were ignored by the locals for the most part, at least he can release whatever is within him on a more comfortable, softer place.

He lets the Wangji look-alike help push him up. That's another thing- if it were Wangji, there's no way he would be so gentle! It couldn't be! Lan Wangji was much more likely to leave him to cry his heart out, he was sure of it!

"I don't... I know know," he only just kept his voice low enough to keep from wailing. All he knows is that he wants to curl up into a ball for the foreseeable future. What he doesn't expect, is to be lifted bodily as if he's a sack of turnips, and set on the nearest piece of furniture.

"W-w-w-what are you doing??"

The only thing that keeps him from flailing is the idea that he might go careening out of the man's arms. Though the shock of it does stop the flow of tears, at least for a few moments. Was this really Lan Zhan? Was it possible he'd met some kind of foul curse too?

Once he settled Wei Wuxian on the sofa, he lets him go. He sat next to him as he curled up like a ball, weeping.

"So you can rest and grieve properly. The floor is good, but the sofa is better."

It wasn't a curse or an illusion. Lan Wangji is quite solid. If he's close enough, his robes carry the scent of sandalwood, though it was faint.

"Now you can cry until you tire yourself out." Until whatever effect of the tea he just drank will flush itself out.

He manages a slightly deeper breath once he's settled, though try as he might, the tears don't stop, and it's all he can do to bury his face in his knees, arms wrapped tightly around them. It's childish, so childish, but he can't shake the heavy feeling, can't stop seeing the faces of those he cared for most, be reminded of how he hurt them, how it's your fault, your fault, your fault...

It takes a while, a dozen or so minutes as he just stays like that, trying to focus on steadying his breath, calming his nerves, and lets go of how little sense it all makes. Oddly enough, as if timed somehow, the heavy feeling passes, like daylight breaking through storm clouds, burning away the shadows.

He doesn't lift his head once he's finished crying, but his shoulders have stopped shaking. Perhaps this is penance for faking his tears so many times at Cloud Recesses. He lets out a sigh, even his thick face is smarting after falling to pieces in front of this man, and he can feel all the questions that'd been on the tip of his tongue begin to return.

"I'm done... I think. Can we... start over and pretend that didn't happen?"

Once he's settled, Lan Wangji sits still next to him, staying dutifully by his side while he releases whatever heavy feelings that have been nested within him out. It doesn't bother him that it makes little sense for his teary outburst, but he cares very much for him no matter how different he looks.

Once Wei Wuxian is able to speak. "Mn. As you say. I can pretend that whatever I said or think, it doesn't happen." Whatever it takes to give Wei Wuxian an assurance that his comfort matters.

Looking at him, "Start over. Slowly. From the beginning. All right?"

He let out a slow breath, uncertain exactly how he's even found himself in this situation. But at least this Lan Wangji look-alike seemed to have endless patience, for which he was grateful.

"I woke up in a box," he started, just as much for the other man's benefit as his own. Talking through it made things slightly more understandable.

"The workers here, they handed me these... things, told me I have a room here. I thought I should look around, and they told me I could use these coins here to play. There are people walking around, offering free drinks, so how could I say no?"

Really it'd been disappointing that it had only been tea and not anything more exciting. He'd barely put his cup down when...

"And then... You showed up and called me Wei Ying," he finished. There was little point denying it, not without his mask, but it didn't solve the mystery.

"You're... Hanguang Jun... right? But you're... somewhat different than I remember," he finished, taking the moment to glance up at his face, as if to reassert what he'd noticed. He supposed he hadn't seen him closely, not at the Mo manor. Maybe he'd imagined it all, maybe Lan Wangji had just changed more than he'd thought during the time he was gone.

Lan Wangji's patience seems divine yet finite, but he's only human. Having learned discipline and self-restraint helps, but he could only have as much to give, to listen, and to learn. And he wants to learn and know of this one's path and story, and in his err, he made him cry (or at least he thinks he did).

Going slowly, "I woke up in the box too. The workers did the same." He said as he allows Wei Wuxian to explain the story of his arrival.

The mystery unravels. It was bizarre of being asked of his identity, but his answers shall remain truthful to the best of his ability and he has met his double and they compared and contrast their histories.

"I am Hanguang Jun. But I too am different. You're...different too. You're..." He sighs heavily, rubbing at his temples, trying to figure out the best way to explain. "We came from the same world, but different. Mirrors of each other. Almost the same, yet different and parallel." Hopefully, that makes sense.

"We're in Wonderland that is the middle of these others worlds. It pulls us here for it's own purpose. Of what purpose, I do not know yet. But I assure you, I know myself to be Lan Wangji of Cloud Recesses, Gusu."

He supposed it was some comfort to know this Lan Wangji had arrived in much the same condition. Though what was powerful enough to have subdued him and brought him here in the first place? His memories were weak at best, and following a little white rabbit didn't exactly explain how he'd gotten here.

But hearing Lan Wangji explain both did and didn't help much either. His explanation was, as always, succinct and easy to understand, but at the same time so ludicrous that if he wasn't sitting here experiencing it, he'd have thought it some childish daydream! Other worlds? The same, but different. Wei Wuxian took the opportunity to look closely at Lan Zhan's face, to study the details and small differences, his robes were different too, he noticed, if only slightly.

And his headband. The familiar swirling clouds were no longer metal, but embroidered. His guan not nearly so ornamental...

So what now? He'd been trying to avoid any unfortunate run-ins with people from his past, only to immediately run into Lan Wangji. On multiple occasions if you counted Mo Manor and the almost-meeting in the woods afterward. The slight differences could be chalked up to a mere difference in the sixteen years he'd been gone. Of course Lan Wangji would look different after so long!

"Not the most ideal way to meet again after so long," he sighed, shaking his head. Not that he could think of a circumstance that might be better, but...

"Still, I'm surprised, you really got stronger, hm?" Wei Wuxian gives him a grin, lightly swatting his bicep.

He sighs at his teasing, but for now, seeing Wei Wuxian's cheerful upbeat. He has been melancholic as of late, having been trapped in this world three weeks prior and taking in the emotional toll of 13 years weighing heavily on him, mourning for him, and here yet again, a double of his close friend who is just as a bright and mischievous. He kept his expression impassive to keep the ache dull in order to look normal as if nothing happened.

"Meet again...?" Picking that up, Lan Wangji has figured the other Wei Wuxian has awakened from death. Perhaps that's the reason for his tearful outburst?

"No. Not ideal. My strength remains the same. But here we are. What did you last remember before you arrival in that box?"

He opens his mouth to answer, but finds the question too difficult for a flippant response. His own memory wasn't great, but even he knew it'd been over a decade since they'd seen each other face to face. But he also doesn't want to be the one to bring up, you know, since I died? Been a while, right?

But maybe their worlds were different enough that some things had never happened. Maybe in their world, things had resolved just fine. Maybe he and Lan Zhan were closer friends than ever.

"I guess things are pretty different for you, huh?" he fidgets with a strand of his hair as he considers.

"Where I'm from, we haven't seen each other for... a long time," he frowns for a moment. Sixteen years if he'd been able to piece things together correctly.

"Is that right? I suppose I haven't seen you lift anything heavier than a guqin," he mused, trying to think of the best way to explain what he last remembered, between his own faulty memory and knowing their worlds might be different.

"The name I gave before, Mo Xuanyu, and the mask, they're... kind of a disguise?" why did it sound so ridiculous when he said it like that. Still, it'd kept him safe from discovery, at least until he'd ended up here. No need to mention the being dead and then revived part.

"There was a... disturbance at the Mo family manor and, well-" maybe he shouldn't mention being at least partly to blame for the deaths of a few family members. Or, at the very least, manipulating their corpses.

"I got to see some of your juniors in action though! I left once you seemed to have things taken care of, and I was just on my way to Dafan mountain. I'm not sure how helpful that is though, if things are so different where you're from."

He would rather prefer Wei Wuxian to take his time to talk. He spent the last week in insolation, after he frightens his version of Wei Wuxian into hiding, giving him the space he needs to think his issues out. He listens to his tale, his side of the story as he explains. So far, the description of events seems to match his own.

"I haven't seen you for thirteen years." He rather not bring up how he died, because he already knows or figured out even though there's a difference between how this one dies by letting himself go on the cliff while the other is presumed to be torn into pieces by resentment energy. "I have lift heavier things than a guqin. Mostly rocks, trees, lumber, and pulling crops when it's time to harvest."

As he explains more, "Mn. Mn. Of course. A disguise." He'll take that. "Not at the Mo Manor anymore, since Mo family perished rather untimely..." Guess, whose fault is that, but it was inevitable.

He chuckles, "Yes, the juniors accompanied us in our journey after we returned from Dafan mountain. After that, I have taken you home to Cloud Recesses to take a rest and then we went on a journey to help resolve a case of a curse." And he left it at that, omitting details until it's information that he's ready for.

Was it thirteen? Maybe he'd counted wrong. Lan Wangji had a better head for dates and things, but he was pretty sure he remembered the year he'd died. Was it just another of the differences? It was only a few years, he supposed, but...

"Ah... right," he said lamely, "I was hoping in your world I had a bit better luck. It's sixteen, for me. At least, I think so."

He'd honestly rather not dwell on it. Either way, it's a lifetime ago and best left behind, isn't it? And at least he has the distraction of hearing Lan Wangji casually talk about lifting rocks and trees. Wei Wuxian can't hold back a laugh at that.

"Trees Lan Zhan? No, I didn't know you could lift whole trees! Where have you been hiding that strength?"

Not that Lan Wangji was weak, not at all, but the thought of Lan Zhan heaving boulders around as if they were nothing, was ridiculously amusing.

"Right," got back on track, acknowledging the slightly uncomfortable truth, "well, Mo Xuanyu was the original owner of this body, but..."

He shook his head and almost gasped in shock when Lan Wangji laughed. Okay, well, laugh was an overstatement, but it was definitely an amused little chuff, which for Lan Zhan, might as well have been bubbling laughter.

Wei Wuxian nodded along though. If sixteen years had passed for him, but only thirteen for this Lan Wangji, it made sense that he'd be further in his travels.

"Wait, wait, Cloud Recesses? I'm shocked they didn't throw me out, or keep me under lock and key! I can't imagine they'd welcome me with open arms," his grin is lopsided, but amused. He could only imagine Lan Qiren's face if he was ever seen in Cloud Recesses again! Copying the sect rules hundreds of times would be the least of his worries, he'd probably be beaten into mush by those giant paddles he was so fond of.

"Mn. rocks and trees." He wasn't wrong, not at all. Wei Wuxian's mind is still as sharp as ever. While it's a three-year difference, Lan Wangji looks at him strangely. If Wei Wuxian has a better look at him, there's a difference not only in his headband, but the color of his eyes. His are almost a bright golden hue.

"Sixteen years...? Hm." He mused. He was pretty sure of the years he has lost him, grieving for him.

"I brought you in. Nobody put up much of a fuss. You remembered the rules. I told them you're a guest as Mo Xuanyu." He can't tell him of the accident with his painful encounter with his brother at the mountain yet.

Remembering another detail, "As for your donkey, Lil'apple, he's more or less quite safe."

His amused grin remains, and he has to make a concerted effort not to imagine Lan Wangji milling about Cloud Recesses, an entire tree under each arm. Lan Zhan seems... less amused, even studying him in a way that makes him doubt his answer. He's not sure what the Wei Wuxian from his mirrored world is like, but apparently their looks are similar enough to recognize him right away.

"Lan Zhan," he blinked, the story of what happened to his other self just seemed to grow more and more unbelievable, "you lied to them about who I was?"

That was perhaps one of the most difficult things for him to wrap his mind around. But either he was lying now (doubtful) or he'd lied then. Perhaps it was more a lie of omission? Hopefully his disguise had been enough to keep Lan Wangji from getting into too much trouble.

He had to choke back another laugh though, swallowing before he dared to ask, "you brought Lil'Apple to Cloud Recesses too?"

"Yes, your donkey is fine, he is fine." More so by omission and recognition by their similar looks and mannerism. "Not really. Even though I sort of knew who you are, I don't want anyone to know and neither do you. And part of it, you would rather be known as Mo Xuanyu, because there's an advantage in not revealing who you are."

Lan Wangji is not going to reveal how he knew it was him. But every mannerism and even his tone of voice is almost identical to Wei Wuxian, and also the other one, his own.

"Anyway, do you feel better now? No more crying...?"

Perhaps it was cold of him, but he hadn't been too terribly worried about his donkey. Lil'Apple was wily enough to keep himself well fed on dewy grass without his help. But it is something of a small relief. One less thing to worry about back home. Even if the thought of a braying donkey in the quiet hills of Cloud Recesses sounds like something he'd very much like to see.

"Mm," he nods once. He can see the logic in it, and he'd even planned to hold onto his other name for as long as he could where he'd come from. There were just too many places where his name was still a bitter tasting word.

"Probably wise," he agrees, "I was almost caught by Jiang Cheng just for using a paper talisman! Wei Wuxian was never the only one to use those!"

He leaves out that it was to subdue and perhaps tease Jin Ling, before he'd any idea who the boy was.

"But yes, I'm sure the fewer people who know the dreaded Yiling Laozu has been revive, the better."

The concern in Lan Zhan's voice is comforting, but only serves to remind him of his rather humiliating first experience here.

"I-I thought we weren't going to speak of that!" he sputters, "it didn't happen! Please erase it from your memories!"

With a nod, seeing there's nothing more he could speak about since their memories are not quite aligned with some slight differences. Lan Wangji comes from the future, a few months ahead of time, and this Wei Wuxian seems to be fresh from his revival into a second life, recently resurrected and reborn so to speak.

While he wanted to learn more about this Wei Ying's past to take notes and compare, he's not one to pry and asked questions until he's ready to speak of it.

At his pleading, "Agreed. My apologies. Just please take care to don't recklessly eat or drink anything during your stay here. I keep a list of the enchanted foods. I will share it with you."

The nod did little to sate his curiosity, but then, Lan Zhan had never been terribly long-winded. If he had the chance, Wei Wuxian generally filled the silence with whatever he felt like idly chatting about.

"As long as it doesn't have more than 3000 things for me to memorize, I'd be happy to see it," he smiles, waving away the apology.

If Lan Zhan wasn't going to take the initiative in the conversation, he might as well. Besides, he was done with thinking about depressing things for a while.

"Oh! Tell me something good then. One of your favorite memories? Let's see where they line up, hm?"

As much it brings Lan Wangji much joy, curiosity, and pain to tell him a happy memory, most of them are sad memories from the years of mourning for him, pining for him, and wasting himself away on his guqin until it wagers a sense of pity from the senior Lan members.

He doesn't need to share his memories of the time during his Yiling Patriarch days or the days of his youth. As he feels, this one was recently reborn and he isn't ready to remember.

"...Hm. A good memory?"

After long several moments of consideration, to answer his question properly.

"I spend most of my time alone with the rabbits and meditating in the forest."

Though he takes a while to answer, Wei Wuxian can only assume he's taking time to thoughtfully consider his response. He waits, thinking of some he can share in return. There'd been that icy cave in Cloud Recesses. Or the lanterns afterward. Searching for the Yin Iron together. After that, many were tinged with sadness, he supposed. Teasing Lan Zhan at the archery contest, sleeping on his rooftop, or his one and only visit to the Burial Mounds.

The answer, when he gives it, seems more than a little sad, and he truly hopes that's not the happiest this Lan Zhan has been as of late.

"Oh! I know the ones!" he nods. He'd been sure to help them find a home in the mountains of Cloud Recesses, now that Lan Yi was no longer there to protect them.

"How many are there now?"

It was a careful answer, as there is a sadness tie to it. Rabbits are his only comfort and solace, besides raising Sizhui and the juniors, taking them under his own wing. Lan Wangji is not inclined to share his true feelings, including what makes him happy.

Each happy memory is filled with Wei Ying in each and every one of them. While not the Wei Ying that is sitting beside him, it felt almost an equal pain and feeling by merely sitting close in his presence.

"There's Sizhui. His best friend, Jing Yi. And Jin Ling, from the Jiang Sect. I believe, he's your nephew. He's part of the training as a junior in the Lan Clan."

For a moment, he's sure Lan Zhan is still talking about the rabbits. Naming each of them, but as soon as he mentioned Jin Ling, he makes the connection.

"Oh, right, those must be your students!" he nodded. He hadn't spoken more than a handful of words to Jin Ling, and most of them he already regretted. But if he was studying alongside the juniors of the Lan Clan, well, it was good that he had friends. And from what he'd seen of the young disciples at Mo manor, they seemed to be growing up just fine, if a little inexperienced.

"I'm sure none of them have beat my record for copying the rules down just yet, oh-! But I was surprised to see the Lan Clan using my spirit lures! I never thought I'd see the day. Ah- well- I guess maybe yours don't, but they're really very useful, either way."

"Yes, they're my students. Besides the rabbits. I tend to pile rabbits on them after lessons. Back then when they're this small and as tall as my knee."

It's a memory very vivid for him because it helps him cope with his grief. From Wei Wuxian's point of view, he is quite correct that they had grown up. Inexperienced with their cultivation at best, but nevertheless they are fine students learning the Lan clan tradition and it's path.

Up until now, he doesn't reveal to his Wei Wuxian that Sizhui is A-Yuan, the little boy he raised during his Yiling Patriarch days. This brings him back to the days when Wei Wuxian is a young youth who caused quite a stir in his sect. He smiles with fondness.

"Yes. No one can beat your record yet. The spirit lures, we used some of your techniques whenever there's a night hunt. It's a handy tool."

Imagining Hanguang Jun with a flock of tiny Lan sect children playing in the forest with rabbits, that at least, sounded like a fine measure of happiness. He felt a pang of painful memory himself, thinking of how quickly A-Yuan had taken to Lan Zhan. He didn't seem the sort that children would run to, but once they realized how soft he could be under that cool expression, of course they'd be charmed right away. And what child could resist playing with little animals?

"Fun like that, in Cloud Recesses is allowed? Ah, how much has changed," he smiles, a hint of teasing to his tone.

As for the legacy of troublemaking he'd left behind, well, it would take a devoted effort to cause more trouble than he had without actually getting himself kicked out of Cloud Recesses.

"Isn't it? Occasionally I can do something useful," he laughs.

HAPPY HEARTS HOTEL

I. THE CASINO FLOOR

II. MAKING WAVES

III. EAT ME, DRINK ME

IV. WELCOME HOME

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