Dark Purple Rose [YiZhan FF]

Chapter 39

To get from the living room to the front door, you had to leave the living room, go left through the long hallway and then left again to end up right in front of the front door. It was therefore completely impossible for Zhan to see or even hear who had come to visit Yibo. So he stood completely unprepared in front of the large panoramic window in the living room, watching a lonely little cloud in the sky, when he suddenly heard voices in the living room that ended abruptly.

Through the reflection of the window, Zhan could see Yibo, as well as a man and a woman who immediately looked somehow familiar to him. And as he slowly turned to look at the three of them, the realization hit him. He had seen them in a photo on Yibo's living room shelf. They were Yibo's parents! And this realization almost blew Zhan away. How was he supposed to deal with this? What should he say?

Yibo smiled nervously and said, "Mom, Dad, this is Xiao Zhan. My..."

Zhan knew that Yibo was not yet ready to tell his parents the truth about them both. It was still too early for that. Besides, after only one day of dating Yibo, Zhan felt this was hardly the time to make such a big announcement. So he jumped in before Yibo could continue and said, "His civilian coworker from the agency. But Yibo is more of my guardian. Good day." He bowed slightly and tried to look like he was smiling casually.

At first, Yibo looked at him in confusion, but then he understood what Zhan meant and gave him an affectionate and infinitely grateful look. "Exactly. My civilian colleague." Yibo agreed. Which relieved Zhan. Then Yibo's parents introduced themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Wang. No first names! Instead, skeptical looks.

"I don't understand why our son has a civilian colleague? That doesn't make any sense. How is that possible when Mr. Xiao doesn't have the proper training of an agent?" Yibo's mother turned to her husband as if Zhan were invisible. Which made Zhan categorize her as >> totally unsympathetic <<.

"Mom! Zhan has more skills than you think." Yibo tried to reassure her.

"But in an emergency situation, he'd be more in your way, wouldn't he?" Yibo's father asked with a worried look. Zhan also noted Mr. Wang on his imaginary list of unsympathetic people. He pencilled the couple into the list in his mind. They still had a chance of him simply erasing their names. But they would have to be nicer to him and not treat him like air!

"You can't say that, Dad." Yibo said, looking completely helpless. In the end, Yibo was just his parents' son. And parents who behaved like that embarrassed their children to the point where the children didn't know what to say or how to react. A fact that Zhan is well aware of, which is why he remains calm while Yibo looks at him, begging for forgiveness.

"Well, anyway. Your dad and I heard that you weren't working at the moment, so we thought we'd come and see you. It's been a long time since we've spent a few days together." Yibo's mom said and looked at Zhan. She gave him the >> you're just unnecessary << look, which Zhan thought kind of sucked. He could understand her. But her behavior towards him just sucked! It's as simple as that!

"So what do we do now?" Yibo's dad asked. Zhan could see in Yibo's face how much he loved his parents and wanted to spend time with them. And he could also see how much Yibo was struggling with himself. Because he had an obligation to the agency and to Zhan. Besides, Yibo and Zhan had completely different plans for this evening.

"So, um. I should start making my way home." Zhan said after clearing his throat falsely.

Yibo shook his head, approached Zhan and asked him in a whisper, "What are you doing?"

"I can see how much you want to spend time with your parents. They came here especially for you. You should take the chance. Don't worry about me. I'll get a cab, go home and report to Wen Rouhan and then to the agency so they can send someone to stay by my side until you get back."