In the Future

Zhan ge's Home

"This young man looks even younger than our Xiao Zhan!" Mrs. Xiao asked, smiling as she handed Wang Yibo some sliced fruit from the kitchen.

"Mn, I'm six years younger than Zhan ge." Wang Yibo replied politely, without a single extraneous word.

"Oh, haha, Zhan ah, I have soup cooking in the kitchen, go see if it's ready yet."

Xiao Zhan nodded, turning to say to Wang Yibo, "No need to be polite, if you want anything to eat just grab it, I'm going to go help, I'll be out in a second. You can sit and rest for a bit."

"Mn." Again, a simple, clear, response with no extra words.

This person was falling back into his old ailment, he won't say a word when meeting strangers.

In the kitchen, Xiao Zhan removed the pot lid, took a spoon and tried a sip. It wasn't bad, but wasn't quite there yet and clearly needed to cook for a little longer. Just as he turned to exit the kitchen, he saw his mom sneak in.

"Mom, the soup isn't quite there yet, it needs to cook for a bit longer."

Mrs. Xiao swatted away the spoon in Xiao Zhan's hand, stretching her neck to peek outside the kitchen. She saw Wang Yibo quietly sitting on the sofa playing on his phone, a face full of solemnity, and asked, "Xiao Zhan, did you cause trouble outside?"

Xiao Zhan was very confused, but seeing that his mom was asking seriously, he could only respond, "No, what trouble could I cause? Did you hear someone say something again?"

"You really haven't?" Mrs. Xiao still didn't believe him, and continued asking, "But I feel like the person outside doesn't look like your friend, he looks more like he's here to collect debt? Do you owe him money? If you're really having financial troubles, mom and dad have some savings here..."

Xiao Zhan facepalmed, feeling speechless. "Mom, what are you thinking, that's really a friend from filming. The two of us have a drama series together coming up and the director wanted us to get to know each other a little more. Coincidentally, there's a break and he didn't have anywhere to be, so I took him back to Chongqing for vacation. Where is your thought process heading?"

"You really don't owe him money?" Mrs. Xiao was still doubtful.

"Really! I promise!" Xiao Zhan raised three fingers as a gesture of his promise.

"Then your friend is really strange, this type of personality and he's an actor? It easily offends people, right?"

"Pft..." Xiao Zhan couldn't resist bursting out in laughter and hugged his mom from behind. He bent down to rest his chin on his mom's shoulder, acting cute half-jokingly. "Mom, how are you so adorable..."

Mrs. Xiao rubbed his head affectionately, continuing, "Xiao Zhan, Mom knows you look like you're very easy-going, but you're actually quite stubborn, once you've made a decision ten oxen couldn't hold you back. Just like how in the past, you wanted to learn drawing and be a designer, and then afterwards went to Hangzhou to participate in some audition. Mom won't stop you and can't stop you. But you have to remember, when you're out there in the world, you will inevitably face some grievances. If it really doesn't work out, you can come back and continue being a designer..."

Xiao Zhan's heart filled with a bittersweet feeling. Thinking back to all the unfair treatment he faced these past few years, his eyes couldn't help but turn red. He was afraid that his mom would see this and become even more worried, so he quickly interrupted her. "Mom, I haven't faced any troubles, what troubles could I face. You know, I'm gonna be a male lead, not the inconspicuous side character, it's a real male lead role. When I've become famous, I'll bring you to Beijing and buy a big house for you to live in."