Zhan-shushu and pancakes

❤️💚

"Mom, can you make me some pancakes, please?" Little A-Yin asks one day, rising up on tiptoe and cutely looking into his eyes.

"Just because I'm dating your dad doesn't give you the right to call me mom," he grumbles, nevertheless already heading for the kitchen.

"What should I call you then?"

"Zhan-shushu will do to begin with" Xiao Zhan answers after thinking for a couple of seconds. "What do you want your pancakes with?"

He takes off the hook and puts on a pink Yibo's apron, takes out the necessary ingredients, and, kneading the dough, catches a glimpse of his reflection in the mirrored surface of the microwave door - a funny sight.

"Nutella," the little girl squeaks happily, climbing onto a high stool behind the bar and not the least bit amused by his appearance.

Well... When you've been eating instant ramen and burnt scrambled eggs for all six and a half years of your life, a brutal chef in a cute pink apron, tattooed to the neck, showing off relief muscles, no longer amuses you - the most important thing is what he cooks.
Xiao Zhan pours the mixture into the pan and smiles at the satisfied face of little A-Yin, who is already looking eagerly at the pancakes to come. How little a child needs to be happy.
Despite his tough appearance, Xiao Zhan loves to cook, and especially for his loved ones. Even though they have only known each other for a few months, but it feels like a lifetime, and the love for them in his heart is hotter than the heat that burned the chicken stuffed with mushrooms and cheese to embers, which Yibo once tried to cook for him for dinner. (Since then, Xiao Zhan forbids him to approach the oven).

"Uh-oh, what do we have here?" - Yibo comes to the delicious scent, takes a look at the contrasting picture and begins to giggle. "Wow! Who would have thought that you would make such a sexy housewife, ge!"

Without taking a break from flipping the pancakes, Xiao Zhan silently shows him the middle finger with his free hand, with an expressive look promising retribution at night for such teasing, and Yibo begins to laugh out loud, absolutely happy.

"What are you teaching my daughter, gege?!"

"Something useful, I hope," he grumbles good-naturedly, "like cooking. And you should learn from me too, so that you don't starve her in my absence."

"Don't grumble, Zhan-shushu," Yibo grins, approaching and hugging him from behind. "I know you'll always take care of us."

Warmth spreads in Xiao Zhan's chest, he turns his head and kisses his beloved on the temple before removing the first batch of pancakes from the pan.

"Oh, it's done!" A-Yin exclaims joyfully, jumping up on the spot and carefully picking up the first hot pancake. "Thanks, Mom... uh... Zhan-shushu! You are the best!"

"Wait, don't eat dry," Xiao Zhan snorts softly, unhooking Yibo from himself and nudging him towards the table. "Yibao, at least pour her some tea."

Yibo sets the table for all three of them, and a little later, when he munches pancakes with nutella in a race with his daughter, beaming with pleasure, Xiao Zhan watches them with a huge pleased smile.
He keeps it a secret that he has already looked for an engagement ring on the Internet.