After the two finished eating, they returned to their dorm, packed up some things, and set off right away to Wang Yibo's house as planned for winter vacation. Xiao Zhan put his anger aside, his lips perking up in a smile as he hummed a happy little song. Wang Yibo couldn't understand his mood, so he could only say as little as possible to avoid making another mistake.
Although they didn't have much luggage, the snow outside was gradually growing heavy. Wang Yibo was worried that Xiao Zhan would catch a cold, so when they reached the school gate, he called for a car to drive them the rest of the way home.
An hour later, the taxi stopped in a quiet, calm villa area in the city center. Getting out of the car, Xiao Zhan looked at the European-style building in front of him and let out a whistle, "So rich. It's really beautiful."
Wang Yibo was pulling the luggage out of the trunk and felt embarrassed when he heard that, "Xuezhang, you like it for now, but there really isn't anything fun to do at my house."
Xiao Zhan found that laughable. "Silly dog." As if I actually came to play.
They entered the house. The interior design was mainly in a European style. Apparently, Wang Yibo's family preferred Western-style culture. Xiao Zhan committed that fact to mind, thinking that future gifts could be adapted to their taste as much as possible.
By the time they finished arranging and unpacking the luggage, it was almost five o'clock. Wang Yibo's house refrigerator was completely empty, so he asked Xiao Zhan if they should go out to eat or order delivery.
Xiao Zhan thought for a moment. "Is there a supermarket nearby? Let's buy something for ourselves."
Wang Yibo had to admit a fault, "But I can only make a few dishes...... My skill level isn't very high. I'm afraid you won't like the taste."
"It's okay, I'll do it," Xiao Zhan said. His dad had traveled on business frequently when he was a child, so his independent living skills were quite proficient and his home-cooking level was at least average.
Wang Yibo was a little surprised, "Xuezhang, you can cook?"
Xiao Zhan raised an eyebrow, "Don't believe me? I'll let you experience it in a bit."
"Xuezhang is too amazing, able to do anything," Wang Yibo said in admiration.
Since he had already said it, Xiao Zhan devised a plan to show off his abilities. This past semester, he had been looked after by Wang Yibo far too much, eating who knew how many breakfasts and snacks that he brought back. It was time to pay him back for once.
The shopping in this urban area was very convenient. There was a large mall within a few steps of the neighborhood and there was a large supermarket on the ground floor. Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo pushed a shopping cart and made their way to the fresh produce section. Wang Yibo didn't often come to this kind of place, so he looked like a curious baby, looking around at everything and giving off the sense that this was a novel experience.
Xiao Zhan laughed at him, "Young master1, what do you want to eat?"
The tips of Wang Yibo's ears went red. The look in his eyes was as gentle as water, "I'll like whatever you make."
Xiao Zhan 's heart skipped a beat. It was just replacing the word "xuezhang" with "you", how could it make his heart race so? His resistance to this silly dog was becoming weaker and weaker.
The two slowly strolled around the supermarket for over an hour. The shopping cart was filled to the brim of not only ingredients for cooking, but also many snacks and daily necessities. After all, they had to live here for nearly a month, so it was better to stock up now in preparation so that later they wouldn't have to go out in the cold weather often.
On the way back, Wang Yibo snatched the heaviest bag, only letting Xiao Zhan take the much smaller bag of vegetables. When they got home, they washed the vegetables carefully. Wang Yibo was in charge of being the support, while Xiao Zhan was in the role of head chef.
It was getting late, so he couldn't make his most high-level dishes and had no choice but to make a little home-style stir-fry. Xiao Zhan heated the oil, taking the pieces of meat and mushrooms Wang Yibo had sliced and mixing them in. The pan immediately started hissing. He boldly and decisively lifted the stir fry by the pan handle, swirling it with large movements, which caused his tucked sleeves to slowly slide down.
"Help me roll up my sleeves." Xiao Zhan said without looking away.
Wang Yibo immediately washed his hands, wiping them dry on himself randomly, and stood behind Xiao Zhan . He carefully folded his sleeves one bit at a time all the way up.
Xiao Zhan quickly finished the dish and found that Wang Yibo was still behind him when he went to load up the plate, "What's up?"
Wang Yibo snuggled closer, his chest nearly resting against his back and his head burying into his neck, nuzzling. "This is like a dream, being able to cook with Xuezhang like this."
Xiao Zhan rubbed his head over his shoulder, "You'll get used to it in the future."
Wang Yibo looked up, with both joy and a sense of disappointment in his eyes, obviously thinking something to himself, but who knew what it was.
"Are you unhappy? Being together with me?" Xiao Zhan asked. Wang Yibo had said before that there were times he was sad with him, He'd always remembered that sentence, and since that time he had always been worried that he, being insensitive, wasn't paying attention and was hurting his feelings again.
Wang Yibo shook his head and lowered his eyes, "No, I'm very happy, but I also think......that I'm so despicable like this......"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand what I'm hearing."
"Zou Rui told me today that you'll still go back to find him......"
"The hell with him." Xiao Zhan frowned. "Is that why you fought with him?"
"No, it's not. I hit him because he said something......" Wang Yibo pursed his lips, not seeming to want to say what those words were. "Also he forced you before, so I wanted to find him and beat him up eventually. If Xuezhang is angry, then just hit me...... "
Xiao Zhan was dumbfounded. "Why would I hit you? I still have to thank you for beating up that garbage for me."
Wang Yibo's voice relaxed a bit and asked carefully, "Then in that case, I mean, if......Zou Rui hadn't done that kind of thing, but he was still very strong and outstanding and very good, Xuezhang, would you still have thrown him aside for me?"
"Why are you asking this kind of hypothetical?" Xiao Zhan was confused. "The matter is in the past. Anyway, I'm only with you now."
Wang Yibo's voice got more and more quiet, until it was almost a whisper, "Then if there were someone else......"
Xiao Zhan couldn't hear him clearly, "What are you talking about?"
*Ding dong!* At this moment, the doorbell at the gate suddenly rang.
Wang Yibo scratched his head, then swallowed back his words. He walked out of the kitchen to open the door and Xiao Zhan grabbed the dishes to carry them out, following behind him to pass the doorway.
"Who's that?" Xiao Zhan saw a man with a suitcase standing outside the door in the doorbell monitor.
"......my biaoge." Wang Yibo replied, then he pressed the button to open the door.
"Yo, A-Yibo2, long time no see!"
The man who walked into the room had a bright smile. He was wearing a suit that made him seem quite mature and steady, but also had a slightly messy laid-back hairstyle that added an aura of confidence and leisure. He looked a little travel-worn, but his vigor was still quite good. He launched himself at Wang Yibo with wide open arms and a smile to hug him. Then he finally caught sight of Xiao Zhan standing at the back.
"Who is this......?"
Wang Yibo didn't know how he ought to be introduced now. Xiao Zhan opened his mouth first and said, "Hello, biaoge, I'm Wang Yibo's fellow student, Xiao Zhan . I'm staying here during winter vacation, pardon me." After speaking so politely, he stretched out his hand. The corners of his mouth were raised in a casual smile, but there was a hint of something in his eyes.
By calling him biaoge, he didn't believe that this man wouldn't be able to sense what his relationship was with Wang Yibo.
Sure enough, the man instantly understood. He gripped his hand in a returning shake and smiled meaningfully, "Hello, my name is He Yan , we both have 'Zhan ' in our names, we must have been brought together by fate. Perhaps we're destined to be family members."
This remark made Xiao Zhan feel very pleased, so his smile became a bit more sincere, "Biaoge, you're really good with words. Come in and sit." Just like that, the attitude of a vice-host appeared.
In order to continue making a good impression on Wang Yibo's family, Xiao Zhan easily lifted He Yan 's suitcase from the floor and walked in. He Yan rushed to say, "Hey, hold on, I'll do it, I'll do it. The suitcase is very heavy and you're an omega......"
Holding the suitcase with just one hand, Xiao Zhan turned around, his expression relaxed, "Is there a problem?"
He Yan replied, "......no problem. Please go ahead."
Xiao Zhan continued into the house. He Yan put his arm over Wang Yibo's shoulders and winked jokingly, "This omega isn't too bad."
"He's not called 'omega'." Wang Yibo's voice was a bit deep. "He is called Xiao Zhan , the man I like." Then he shifted his shoulders from under He Yan 's arm and followed after.
He Yan stood frozen in astonishment. He hadn't seen him for more than a year, how did his gentle little puppy cousin suddenly become fierce?
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Footnotes:
1. Young master (大少爷): literally big young master; slang for the spoiled son of a rich family ↩
2. A- (阿): prefix used before a person's given name to express familiarity ↩
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