Early in the morning on New Year's Eve, the two grabbed their luggage and took a taxi to Xiao Zhan 's grandparents' house to pay a New Year call. The couple lived in a small Western-style house on the outskirts of the city, where the green plants made the air fresh and clean, suitable for an elderly couple in retirement.
Xiao Zhan had called ahead of time and said that he was coming to celebrate the New Year, so as soon as the car entered the neighborhood, he caught sight of his grandparents standing at the door of their house looking around in anticipation. When he got out of the car, he immediately walked over and greeted his grandparents. He hadn't seen them for a few months, but they were hale and hearty despite their age, their minds in very good condition. Xiao Zhan was able to let go of his worries and turned back to help Wang Yibo get their stuff out of the trunk. He led him over in front of his grandparents.
"This is who I told you about, my boyfriend, Wang Yibo."
Wang Yibo stood bolt upright, nervous to be under inspection.
"Xiao Wang looks so handsome. How old are you this year?" Grandpa Xiao asked with a beaming smile.
"Tw-Twenty!" Wang Yibo shot a guilty glance at Xiao Zhan as he announced his age.
Xiao Zhan understood exactly what he was thinking and helped to clarify, "Although he's younger than me, he's very good to me, very mature and stable, isn't that right?"
"Mhm, i-it could be put that way......"
"Look, still being so modest." Xiao Zhan patted his shoulder and said to his grandparents, "Let's go in and get out of this wind."
As soon as the group entered the door, they instantly heard a few barks of *wang wang*. A large golden retriever rushed out of the house, ears swinging and tail wagging, as if finally sniffing its master's scent. Xiao Zhan quickly put down the things in his hands and squat down, the large dog pouncing into his arms.
"Silly dog, did you miss me?" Xiao Zhan rubbed his head pamperingly and stroked his hand down its smooth long fur. The golden retriever cutely rubbed against its owner's palm, its bright black eyes full of affection.
Wang Yibo also crouched down when he saw this scene, "It's so obedient."
Grandma laughed, "That's right, it's so obedient. When strangers come, it barks."
"Really?" Xiao Zhan gripped the dog's front paw and turned it towards Wang Yibo beside him, "Silly dog, why didn't you bark at him? Do you know he's your kind?"
"Xuezhang......" Wang Yibo smiled bitterly.
"Just kidding." Xiao Zhan leaned towards him and whispered, "I like you so much."
Since the misunderstanding had been resolved, Xiao Zhan had seemed to be making up for his negligence, the word "like" fell from his lips every day over and over and he confessed from time to time, causing Wang Yibo's heart to race several times a day .
"I can see how much you pamper it and I know how much there was previously that I received without even knowing it1." Wang Yibo heaved a sigh. When Xiao Zhan had called him 'silly dog' before, he hadn't been looking down on him at all. On the contrary, it had been an expression of his good feelings towards him, but he'd completely misunderstood.
Xiao Zhan bumped his shoulder, "Never mind, it was my mistake. If I had known what that guy, Luo YongHeng, had said earlier.... I'll spoil you more in the future, to make up for all the injuries to your little heart."
The large golden retriever let out a few more *wang* barks, seeming to express its dissatisfaction with another taking its place in its master's heart.
For lunch and dinner, Wang Yibo showed off his culinary skill. Yesterday, he'd spent time practicing stir-fry and Grandpa and Grandma Xiao praised his cooking skills to high heaven. Even the golden retriever, when given the leftovers, ate it all as if it were an exquisite dish.
After dinner, the whole family watched the New Year's gala in the living room for a while, but the two elders got sleepy early. After sending his grandparents off to their room to rest, Xiao Zhan returned to the sofa and lay down, his head comfortably pillowed on Wang Yibo's lap.
"Sweeties, come here," he called out to the two pets who were nestled together flirting at the side of the room. The two cats obediently jumped up on the sofa and rubbed against his hands.
Xiao Zhan petted a cat with one hand and rubbed Wang Yibo's head with the other hand. Hugging on the left and hugging on the right, a cat and a dog, this could be called living a fulfilled life.
Wang Yibo wasn't in the mood to watch the gala again, so he bowed his head for the pampering massage. The two cats noticed that there was someone competing for the attention and they softly meowed and licked at the back of Xiao Zhan 's hands.
"My cats are cute, aren't they? This one is Cocoa, this one is AiAi." Xiao Zhan 's manner of naming was simple and crude.
Wang Yibo chuckled, "Cute, but not as cute as you."
"Tsk, did you put too much sugar on your dinner? Your mouth is so sweet. Why'd you never talk like this before?"
"I didn't dare to say it before......" A trace of desolation filled Wang Yibo's eyes, "I was afraid you'd think I was annoying."
Xiao Zhan hadn't expected him to display such an expression. "Come on, let's take advantage of the moment to settle things properly. Previously, where did you get the idea that I liked someone else? My actions were obviously so clear. That night I kissed you and let you be my alpha wasn't enough to prove that I liked you? "
Wang Yibo also was aware of his own misunderstanding and said weakly, "I originally also believed it......but then I heard that Zou Rui had forced you and then you dumped him, so I just thought that you were with me because you had no other choice......"
"What about me? Didn't I make it clear when Yao Yi came to pick a fight that day? That I didn't like Zou Rui and that you're the darling of my heart."
Wang Yibo's eyes widened in surprise, "Xuezhang was talking about me then?"
"Who else could it be? Did you think it was Zou Rui? Heavens......But after that, I asked you to mark me later, didn't I say it then?"
"You only said that you wanted my pheromone......"
Xiao Zhan was completely speechless. Turns out these past few months when he'd carried out so many acts of affection to feed this dog that, no, he simply hadn't fed this silly dog at all.
"Then......I also have a question for you......" Wang Yibo said carefully and cautiously.
"Go ahead?"
"That time, after you made me mark you, you kept sleeping together with me, so why did you suddenly refuse to one day? The day after, you were so cold to me...... You didn't talk to me again until you heard that my Ge was going to be staying at my house." Wang Yibo sounded a little disappointed. "I thought you weren't interested in me anymore and were starting to be interested in my Ge......"
Xiao Zhan was dumbfounded. He thought back to what had been happening at that time and suddenly remembered that call of "my baby" in the night and his face flushed red hot.
"That's because, because......it was all your fault!" He was too ashamed to admit that he couldn't sleep all night because of a simple pet name.
Wang Yibo was confused and asked foolishly, "What did I do wrong?"
Xiao Zhan didn't want to be exposed, so he could only pull out his lethal weapon, "Kiss me, then I'll tell you."
As expected, Wang Yibo fell right into his trap. Any other thoughts on the topic were thrown right out the window, leaving just the omega lying on his lap with his eyes closed asking for a kiss. His throat bobbed and then he bowed his head down and kissed him softly and gently.
Xiao Zhan accepted that soft kiss, but in his mind, he was thinking about how to make his thin-skinned alpha take the initiative to call out that pet name again.
Just thinking about it made his pulse unsteady.
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Footnotes:
1. To not know when one is well off (身在福中不知福): to live in plenty without appreciating it; to be oblivious to the good life you have and therefore be ungrateful ↩
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