"Oh, uh, hello Young Master Nie."

Wow, is he making additional friends? Wen Ning doesn't know very much about Nie Huaisang, but Young Master Wei liked him and that's a good enough indication of character for Wen Ning.

Wei Wuxian was just telling Wen Ning a story with lots of hand gestures that he thinks Nie Huaisang would really like and he is happy to catch him up to speed!!

Lan Wangji silently returns halfway through the story. He sits within earshot a safe distance away and watches Wei Ying talk.

Jiang Cheng watches Lan Wangji back, trying not to be too obviously defensive.  He really doesn't like Lan Wangji, and from what he can tell (not much - his stupid face is so expressionless he might as well be looking at a mask) Lan Wangji hates him even more.  In the future, they'd been pretty good at avoiding each other.

Why was he choosing to sit so close? 

When he notices Jiang Wanyin watching him, he glares. A glare involves a slight furrow in his brow, a flaring of his eyes and a tightening of his lips.

Wangji is quite effective at glaring when he wants to be, in fact, but at this distance Jiang Wanyin might still be unable to notice.

Wei Wuxian notices Jiang Cheng looking sour and begins to enthusiastically tease him about it. "Why do you look so grumpy, Jiang Chang? Could it be... that Madam Wen is not with us?" His eyebrows shoot up. 

"As I recall, you were the one who had been flirty with her," Jiang Cheng reminds him, and also subtly leans over and elbows him.

He wallops him back on the shoulder. "Wah, how dare you! Jiang Cheng! I am so focused on my studies and my good behavior, how could you imply that I'd waste time on flirting? Ai, you really do insult me." He shakes his head in exaggerated indignation.

"It is not even a matter of flirting, Jiang Cheng, because we all know you are much too uptight to flirt properly unless we get you drunk first! It is more about the ever-so-sweet tender yearning that you feel deep down in your heart..."

"I have not been yearning!  Not for anyone, and in particular not Lady Wen."  He briefly glances at Wen Ning before turning his focus back on Wei Wuxian.  Jiang Cheng wonders what he must be thinking about all of this nonsense.  

Shove.  "And what do you mean you've been 'too focused on your studies'?  You're constantly running around and getting into trouble.  I saw you flirting with my own eyes, after they had to send the entire class out searching the grounds for you."

Shove! "I have no idea what you're talking about! I have been nothing but professional - ah, Jiang Cheng, lying is against the rules, you know. If you keep slandering me Grand Master Qiren is going to make you copy the rules until you're as old as he is! No, lying is no good at all. Please remember to show some decorum, Jiang Cheng." He fwaps him on the arm for good measure.

It is so infuriating when Wei Wuxian pretends he's the responsible one. 

"You know exactly what I'm talking about.  You don't get to lecture me on decorum.  I wasn't the one who missed the first day of class, Wei Wuxian.  And I'm not lying!" 

Jiang Cheng shoves back.  He'd intended another playful shove, but he'd been leaning back to get away from more hits on his arm.  He overextends into more of a tackle, grabbing Wei Wuxian with one arm while the one holding his sword flails for balance.  

Wei Wuxian yelps and flails dramatically, extremely happy to have goaded Jiang Cheng into tussling so successfully. Now he will simply twist away from Jiang Cheng and perhaps shove him over, hopping back to avoid tripping - 

No he won't, because Jiang Cheng is already being shoved backwards about seven feet.

A very angry Lan Wangji has materialized between the two of them, hand on Bichen's hilt. 

Jiang Cheng catches himself, knees sliding against the grass before twisting to his feet.  His hands are already drawing Sandu halfway from its sheath on instinct before he could consciously recognize what it was that attacked him.  He'd been distracted, and had forgotten that Lan Wangji was so close by.  Getting between him and his brother again.  

"Mind your own business, Lan Wangji!"

No.

Jiang Wanyin drawing his sword in Wei Ying's direction is not allowed. Bichen whips from its sheathe. Wangji holds the sword firmly before him, parallel to the ground: to threaten, not to attack. 

What the fuck?

He puts his hand on Lan Wangji's shoulder, a little tentatively because he does not want to be stabbed. "Ah....... ahhh, Lan Zhan, can you please put that sword away? I know we were fighting a tiny amount but really, aren't you breaking the rule even more by drawing Bichen like this?"

Sandu is fully pulled from its sheath.  It takes a similar position to Bichen.  He's aware that this probably is going to get him in trouble for fighting, but he would rather get a punishment from Master Lan than get stabbed by Lan Wangji for being unprepared.  

He glares even harder when Wei Wuxian touches Lan Wangji.  Lan Wangji has always been too soft about Demonic Cultivation - has never taken it seriously enough.  Has always looked down his nose at Jiang Cheng, as if his attempts to rid the world of a dangerous mind-destroying evil technique is somehow inappropriate.  Vanishing off with Wei Wuxian, doing who-knows-what, getting Wei Wuxian involved - is he trying to get the Yiling Patriarch back?

"Get away from him," he growls.  He's not sure which of them he's talking to.  

"Aiyah, Jiang Cheng, you too? What's wrong with both of you! Jiang Cheng, you were telling me not to get into fights, how can you be so hypocritical right in front of my eyes!"

Wen Ning is not entirely sure what either Jiang Cheng or Lan Wangji are trying to do at the moment, but this seems very unsafe for Young Master Wei regardless. Did Wen Ning miss something? Does Jiang Cheng suddenly want to kill Wei Wuxian again after all?

He doesn't think he missed anything but he supposes he wouldn't notice -

Wen Ning gets to his feet and shuffles beside Young Master Wei, eyes wide. "Y-young Master Jiang, what are you doing?"

Jiang Yanli does not know why this is happening.  She stands up, trying to decide who she should be trying to get to calm down first.  A-Cheng seems to only be reacting to Lan Wangji's actions.  She doesn't know Lan Wangji well enough to know how to calm him or why he decided to come over.

Between joining them in the first place and stepping to Wei Wuxian's side, Nie Huaisang is now convinced that Wen Ning is also from the future.  He's briefly distracted by trying to decide who else might need to be checked on.  Jin Guangyao would be disastrous, and it would be so hard to tell.  This will have to wait - his classmates have decided to start waving around swords for some reason.

Outwardly, he gets to his feet and fans himself in a distressed manner.  "Lady Jiang, perhaps we should stand out of the way?"  Nie Huaisang starts backing away.

"Back off, Wei Wuxian!"

He takes only a moment to look at him before returning his attention to Lan Wangji.

Lan Wangji is focused on him in turn. He looks livid.

"Leave."

"I don't see why I should.  You're the one listening in on conversations that don't concern you."