You arrived in my life like dawn after a long night, and I wonder where we're headed from here. — Yibo
~ ✧ ☼ ✧ ~
When Nainai looked at the items spread out in front of her, she lifted her gaze back to him.
"So I don't quite understand," she said. "When were these brought here, Zhan?"
Zhan stiffened slightly as he looked at her. That was exactly the question he had been dreading....when were they brought?
Even after collecting them from Noni, he had stood in her room for a long while, thinking about what to say. He had even considered quietly returning them and making up some story for Dr. Yibo later. But what would he say? He wasn't good at fabricating explanations, and somehow he felt that Dr. Yibo would see right through him the next time they met....even without asking. That quiet confidence of his made it impossible to lie convincingly.
Zhan had just entered the room when Bai came out of the bathroom, sipping tea.
Earlier, Aunt Weizo....Uncle Zhong's wife.... had called to ask when they would arrive, since the birthday preparations were scheduled for four o'clock and they needed to come early to help. Pushing all those thoughts aside, Zhan had gone straight to Nainai with the items.
And after he finished explaining, she asked that question....the one that unraveled every half-formed excuse in his mind.
Thankfully, Nainai changed the subject. Maybe she sensed he didn't have an answer. Or maybe she understood there was a reason he hadn't shown her the items earlier.
She picked up the books from one of the bags and said,
"Aren't these the same things that got you suspended from work? So he brought all these books here and you're still going to keep studying medicine at home?"
Zhan didn't know what to say.
Clearly, the items hadn't impressed Nainai at all.
Bai stepped forward and opened another bag. His face lit up as he pulled out a large box of chocolates.
"Wow… this is next level. What kind of chocolate is this?"
Nainai glanced at him.
"Didn't you buy something like that when Jincai took you shopping?"
Bai shook his head.
"No, Nainai, not like this. This kind
is for people who really have money."
He set the chocolate aside and continued unpacking the rest....three elegant boxes of premium tea, then a small, sleek music player. He pressed the button on top, and instantly a soft, gentle melody filled the room, calm and soothing.
Bai smiled, nodding appreciatively.
"'Peaceful music and words for your quiet moments.' Honestly, Zhan Gege, your boss has good taste."
Nainai clicked her tongue lightly.
"Good taste, maybe....but he's very good at giving people hard work too."
That made Zhan laugh. He smiled, looking at her.
"Well, you should thank him at least," Nainai added, noticing his smile. "Say thank you."
Zhan dipped his head slightly.
"Alright, Nainai."
Bai kept examining the items while Zhan stood up to take a shower and get ready. He glanced at the clock.... almost noon. He remembered saying to Dr. Yibo that noon was too early, which meant his timing was just right.
Even after his shower, Zhan's mind kept replaying their morning conversation. He reopened his phone, scrolling through the messages to reassure himself that none of it had been imagined. When he checked Dr. Yibo's last-seen status, he noticed it hadn't changed since their final exchange earlier.
Since Aunt Shui kept calling for them to wait until she arrived, Zhan didn't say much. He ate, then dressed in a peach-and-white outfit, leaving the shirt slightly open as usual, carefully styling his hair.
He packed a change of clothes to switch into later, since they'd be doing a lot of working.
Bai brought out a pair of trousers Nainai had bought during her last trip to the US....brown mixed with cream, stylish and eye-catching.
Everyone had admired them back then. Zhan had always thought they were a bit long, but when Bai wore them they looked great. When Bai later looked at Zhan, he praised how well Zhan's clothes suited him, saying he looked like one of those idols chosen for brand advertisements.
They waited for a long time for Aunt Shui because of how far away she lived. Even Fang.....Uncle Zhong's daughter.....eventually got tired of waiting and came inside to join them.
Nainai, on the other hand, looked like she was ready to add fuel to the complaints she'd already been making about why Aunty Shui couldn't just go straight over there instead of stopping by the house first.
"This girl has practically planted her name in this house," she said as Aunty Shui walked in. "Honestly, Shui, if you're unmarried, I don't think you'll ever be able to stay away from this place."
She said it casually, and before anyone could even sit down, they turned around and left again.
It took them quite a while to find a taxi because the usual driver wasn't around, so by the time they arrived, work started immediately.
Zhan changed his clothes and began baking the meat pies. Bai and some of Aunty Weizo's younger relatives were busy packaging the gifts that would be handed out. Outside, Aunty Shui and Aunty Weizo stood with a few of their friends, discussing how the decorators and the children's play equipment would be arranged.
Shao and the other younger kids in the family ran around, chasing one another.
It was while Zhan was baking the very last batch of meat pies that Aunty Weizo rushed into the kitchen with another woman who looked like her relative.
"Zhan, oh! my heavens.....what did you put in these meat pies?" Aunty Weizo asked, holding the remains of one that someone named Tieh had picked up for them to taste.
The way she asked startled Zhan. He looked at her quickly and said,
"Did something happen, Aunty Weizo?"
She burst out laughing.
"Zhan, this is delicious. Way better than you think. Can you test how good it is?"
Zhan smiled as the other woman chimed in,
"Please tell us, Zhan, what did you add? Let the other aunties come.... this house is going to be buzzing today."
"Honestly, it's just a spice mix I bought," Zhan replied. "I only used a little, but it really works."
"Spices? Where did you get them?"
"From Aji, someone I work with at the hospital. I saw her buying them and get some for myself too. I kept them aside, and when I made these meat pies, I mixed them in."
"I liked the taste myself, but I didn't realize people would react like this."
Aunty Weizo nodded.
"Alright, Zhan, let me finish dealing with this chaos."
As she stepped out, the other woman added,
"I'm getting that woman's number from you today....I'm not letting myself forget."
Zhan nodded with a smile and reached for his phone on the kitchen counter. Scrolling through his contacts, he found the name and said,
"Here...this is her tag name, Mrs Ghale Tk, and here's her number."
She nodded while copying it down.
"Thank you. When I get home, I'm calling her immediately. You know, finding spices like this is pure luck. There are sellers everywhere, but getting something this good is rare."
Zhan smiled again.
"Aji told me the same thing....that whenever people eat food made with it, they always ask what she used."
"Just wait until the guests arrive," the woman said confidently. "Everyone will be talking about this."
With that, she left the kitchen.
When Zhan finished up, he went to the living room where the gift packaging was still going on. Even there, people were praising the meat pies....two more people even asked for the spice seller's number. Zhan decided that when he got home, he'd give the remaining spice packs to Noni. Becouse he noticed Muye (Taichen's son) enthusiastically praising the food too, even though he was usually the loudest complainer about how Noni cooked however she liked.
Once the packaging was done and he heard Aunty Shui telling Nan to come along, Zhan glanced at the clock. It was already ten minutes past two.
He jumped up at once, went to change back into his earlier clothes, and quickly tidied his face.
Aunty Weizo came to call him, asking him to help pick up one of her friends who had gotten lost. Since Bai and the others were all busy elsewhere at the same time, Zhan had no choice but to set aside what was on his mind, take the woman's number, and go out to get her. Luckily, it wasn't difficult....she was already waiting in her car.
After bringing her in, Zhan didn't return inside. Instead, he sat down on one of the chairs arranged in the compound. He took out his phone, turned on his data, and opened WeChat....and in that instant, it felt like he was pulled into a different
world.
Among all the incoming messages, his thumb tapped on a familiar name he had saved as Dr. Yibo.
Beneath the name, he saw the word
"Online."
So he was back.
Was he waiting?
Almost immediately, his fingers typed hello, and seconds after he sent it, he saw the indicator that Dr. Yibo had opened and read the message.
The notification sound reached Yibo just as he sat on one of the chairs in his living room. He was wearing an army-green short-sleeved T-shirt and black shorts that stopped right at his knees.
In his right hand, he held an oversized mug, sipping the coffee he'd made earlier, while his other hand gripped his second phone. He was in the middle of transferring money to Najashi, the young man who helped around the house. Najashi was sitting opposite him; they'd just finished discussing how to repair part of the roof where rainwater had started leaking through.
After going back to sleep that morning, Yibo hadn't woken up again until around 10:30am. Once he was up, refreshed, and had opened the room curtains, he went straight to the bathroom and took a long, hot shower. It helped chase away the lingering cold, though he still ended up putting on a pair of black socks afterward.
The leaking room was along the path to the kitchen. When he passed by earlier, his foot had splashed into water before he even realized what was happening. When he opened the door, he saw that the water had soaked the carpet completely. That carpet was the only thing covering the floor, along with several boxes of his belongings....some of which he'd forgotten the contents of, aside from a few old textbooks from his school days.
He stepped into the kitchen and spotted Najashi outside, sweeping fallen leaves from the compound. Yibo called him in, since most times Najashi only came to clean and leave.
Together, they dragged the carpet outside and shifted the boxes. Najashi mopped up the remaining water. Afterward, they sat down to calculate the cost of repairs. Najashi called a repairman he knew, who said he'd need to inspect the place first but still listed some materials that would likely be needed.
Yibo transferred the money immediately....right around the same time he'd turned on his phone's Wi-Fi, waiting for Zhan's message to come through.
He tilted his head slightly, reading Zhan's message from the notification bar, just as the transfer went through. He looked at Najashi and nodded.
"The money's sent. If you can't buy the materials today, leave it until tomorrow. There's no rush."
"Alright, sir. I'll check today first. If it doesn't work out, I'll tell him we'll do it another day."
Yibo nodded again.
"Okay."
They said their goodbyes, and after Najashi left, Yibo closed the living room door. He set one phone aside and picked up the other, opening Zhan's chat and typing straightaway:
"Hi… I've been waiting."
The words made something flutter sharply inside Zhan's chest.
He was really waiting?
"Sorry… I was busy," Zhan replied.
Yibo took another sip of his coffee, feeling the warmth settle in his chest, and typed:
"No worries. Are you done now?"
"Yes… I think so. Maybe something else might come up."
"What kind of work?"
"It's my uncle's kids' birthday party. We're preparing for it."
In Yibo's mind, he pictured the size of Zhan's family home and knew it must be full of people. A thought tried to take hold, but he pushed it aside.
He typed simply:
"Hope it goes well."
"Thanks."
Silence followed. Zhan didn't send anything else.
Yibo leaned back against the chair and typed again:
"So… where were we?"
That question made Zhan smile faintly. He adjusted his posture on the chair and reread the words.
"Before I went out, I showed her the items," Zhan replied.
"And?"
"She said I should thank you."
Yibo nodded slightly, as though Zhan could see him. He didn't reply right away. Neither did Zhan. After a moment, Yibo typed his name, the way he always did.
"Zhan…"
"Yes?"
"Where's the rest? You tell me the details."
Zhan sent a smiling emoji, then continued typing. Yibo watched the typing indicator, and in his mind, he could almost see Zhan's face, his expression, the curve of his mouth.
Then the message arrived:
"She didn't ask what I expected. She just said that since I wasn't going back to work, what would I do with such big books?"
The question made Yibo laugh softly....an unplanned, warm smile spreading across his face. He took another sip of coffee and set the mug down on the small table beside his chair.
"Everything like that has a story, Zhan," he typed.
"They heal people in different ways."
"A story? From where?"
Yibo paused, then typed:
"Do you want to know?"
Before Zhan could reply, the phone beside Yibo began to ring. He glanced at it....Duan. Yibo already knew what the call was about. Duan was filling out some forms and had listed Yibo as one of the trustees. He needed additional details. They'd talked about it earlier that morning, and Duan had even sent a list of information he needed. Some of it required digging up credentials, so Yibo knew Duan would keep calling if he didn't answer.
Still looking at Zhan's incoming message, Yibo typed:
"I'd be happy to tell you."
Another call came in immediately. Yibo answered this time.
"Give me ten minutes. I'll call you back, Duan."
He hung up without waiting for a response, then returned to Zhan's chat and typed:
"Can we continue this another time?"
"Another time?" Zhan asked.
"Yes. Let's set another time."
"Okay… when?"
"What time do you get home?"
"After 6 p.m."
"What time do you usually sleep?"
Something tightened in Zhan's throat. He reread the message once, then again, before replying:
"It depends… sometimes around 10:30."
"Then let's make it 9:30. Does that work?"
"Yes."
"I hope the celebration goes smoothly."
"Thank you."
Zhan stared at the screen after sending the message.
It was already past 2:30 p.m.
That meant there were still hours to go....until 9:30 that night.
And they say nighttime conversations are different from daytime ones…
✨✨✨
Something small, something mighty! — Yibo
~ * ~ * ~
8:00 p.m.
"So this matter still hasn't settled?"
Nainai asked, listening to Aunty Shui's complaints. Aunty Shui nodded as she looked at her.
"Even so, Nainai, Aunty Hsiao and the others inside already know what happened. Noni went in and told them everything, yet not one of them has even come out to check on Zhan, whether he's at fault or not."
"Well, let it be," Nainai replied.
"Even if they come, there's nothing more they can say to him. He's already been dealt with. Don't wear yourself out with this."
That finally quieted Aunty Shui, though she kept rocking Nan in her arms, trying to lull him to sleep.
What had happened weighed heavily on her heart. The Nie siblings.... Maama's children....had humiliated her at the gathering. She was the one they disrespected, but the fight broke out because of Bai.
From what Zhan heard and remembered from inside the house, Nie hadn't even tried to hold back her insults toward Aunty Shui, accusing her of stopping them from doing whatever they wanted with the cupcakes and meat pies, even after being told they were meant for the children. Bai had slapped her in response, hard enough that she crouched down on the spot.
That was when she and her siblings turned on Bai. People rushed in to hold them back, but not before they all ganged up on him, beating him carelessly until his arm was injured.
That was it....the birthday gathering collapsed into chaos. It took serious effort to separate everyone. The Nie siblings eventually stormed off; they were the only ones who had come anyway, since Fuyue had already said he wouldn't attend.
The party had to end right there.
Everyone kept replaying what had happened. Aunty Weizo, however, wasn't the type to dwell on things. She didn't complain about her event being ruined; her only concern was Bai's injured arm. Some of her relatives tried to protest, saying her in-laws had brought trouble and spoiled the celebration, but when they saw she wasn't upset and kept making excuses, the matter didn't go further.
That evening, before 6:00 p.m., Aunty Weizo called Uncle Zhong and told him everything.
He was furious. When he arrived at the house with a dark expression, he took Bai straight to a hospital to have the injury treated, along with Aunty Shui. From there, they returned home, where they found Zhan already packed and ready....he had gathered their things as soon as they left.
Bai cried at the hospital, a kind of crying he hadn't done even while the Nie siblings were beating him. By the time they got back, his eyes were swollen and soaked with tears, showing just how much pain he'd been in. Nainai sat where she was, scolding endlessly, jumping from one point to another. If she were being honest, she felt sorry for Bai....but then she'd turn around and say he was wrong too, or complain that she'd never seen children as stubborn and reckless as the Nie siblings.
Eventually, Aunty Weizo called Nainai to apologize for everything that had happened.
Uncle Zhong, however, didn't stay to talk. No matter how much she tried, he wouldn't sit down or listen. He only said the matter would be taken to Uncle Elder and that he would wait to hear what they decided. With that, he left.
Zhan said nothing through all of it. Whenever anything threatened to drag Bai into conflict in that house, Zhan never spoke up. He stayed silent....but Bai always felt the consequences later, because Zhan always found his own way of showing his anger.
Even today, Zhan had been glaring at Bai ever since he heard what happened. Still, he helped Bai bathe and change into his sleepwear, then made him some tea when Bai said he couldn't eat. After Bai drank the tea, he fell asleep right there on Nainai's carpet, sitting close to her.
By then, Aunty Shui had left....her husband had come to pick her up since he was in town.
Zhan took a shower himself and drank some tea too. The food he'd eaten earlier at Uncle Zhong's place still felt heavy in his stomach. And with everything that had happened....and everything swirling in his head....one thought lingered quietly at the edge of his mind:
9:30 p.m.
Mon, 22 Dec.
2025
Zhanxianyibo💚❤️💛