Made With Love (A Short Story) (Happy Birthday Zhan ge!) (Part 1)

So...... Yes, I did say that I'll post only two updates in a week because I get stuck a lot.. Like a lot... But then.... It's Xiao Zhan's birthday and since I'm not creative enough, I just decided to write this short story. I got inspired by the dish mentioned in the novel 'The Film Emperor's Daily Live Cooking Broadcast' by Zui Ran Qing Ge. It's called Saliva Chicken and I used the recipe of :

https://www.chinasichuanfood.com/saliva-chicken/

I've also used the recipe of: https://kitchen

I've also used the recipe of: https://kitchen.nine.com.au/recipes/longevity-and-wealth-noodle-soup/0f39c812-382f-4d7a-998f-7be54bde7560 as it 's eaten during new year or birthday celebrations, are never cut or broken during the cooking.

The novel is a really fun read and is actually translated in to English

The novel is a really fun read and is actually translated in to English. Those who are interested can read it at https://chrysanthemumgarden.com/novel-tl/fedlcb/

sleepy.little.mushrooms did an amazing job in translating it. They've also translated 'My Underachieving Seatmate Doesn't Need Any Comforting' novel, which this is fanfic is also inspired by!

Hahaha, before I get side tracked, I hope you all enjoy the short story! I wanted to do it all in one part but I'm not capable enough. It's based on a timeline where Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan are already together. I'll be updating the main story soon by Thursday and part 2 of this story on Wednesday. I hope you all forgive me! (⋟﹏⋞)

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Wang Yibo took another glance at the list on his phone's screen before stepping in the supermarket, a place where people won't see the young master of Wang family ever step in.

It wasn't like there was anything special about this supermarket or that it was at quite a distance. In fact, it barely took five steps to reach here from the university.

"One chicken, ginger, green onions, cooking wine, peanuts, egg noodles....." he muttered under his breath and opened the screen again, trying to memorize the ingredients' list.

He pulled out a shopping cart and started walking through the aisle to search for the ingredients when..... 'SPECIAL SALE ON TOYS! UPTO 50% OFF ON LEGOS!' A bright sign over the toys' section blinded Yibo. It was sweetly calling him over and seducing him.

Looking over at the colourful boxes in various sizes, Yibo's eyes sparkled as he reached out to one...... and another... and another.

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"Your total is 55768 rmb." The cashier smiled sweetly and handed Yibo the bags.

The manager of the supermarket had actually been worried for quite a months that they were not getting a good sale on toys and hence decided to put the 50% off sale. Who knew they would make such a big profit in just the first hour!

Yibo pulled out his card and gave it to the cashier to swipe. This only made the boy sitting at the counter even more excited. His hand shook a little as he swiped the black card in the machine.

The strangely glowing eyes of the young boy caused Yibo to avert his eyes uncomfortably. He had felt this kind of gaze on him several times. Admiration, curiosity, envy...

The machine soon gave a beep and the receipt came out. Without even waiting for the cashier to hand it over, Wang Yibo snatched it out along with his bags and card, shooting out of the store like a bullet train.

He sighed in relief once out, staring excitedly at his haul in his one hand and the groceries in the other.

Despite how much he loved LEGO, his Zhan ge was still the best in his heart and his number one priority! He would make the most delicious meal for him tonight. Though, looking at the bags that were weighing down his arms, he was afraid he won't be able to make it back home anytime soon.

Yibo gave up his plan of taking a metro back. He pulled out his phone carefully and dialled the number of Feng Cong, their family butler. The call was soon contacted.

"Yibo-shao*, please stop spending money so recklessly." A polite yet stern voice could be heard from the other side.

To be honest, Feng Cong didn't care much about how their family's young master didn't have any concept of money. After all, if there was something that Wang family wasn't lacking in, it was money. However, the thoughts of Madam Wang was different. She almost got a heart attack after she saw the text from bank. 'Did he buy all the items from the store??!!'

Yibo frowned in displeasure but didn't retort. He understood whose orders were being followed by Feng Cong anyway.

"Send a car at XXX supermarket. I'm standing outside." Only a series of beep beep accompanied the cool headed butler in the silence as the young master of Wang family hung up.

He wasn't surprised though. That's what his master had been like always.

A black Mercedes stopped in front of Yibo within 30 sec and a sunny little face popped up as the window of the driver's set rolled down.

"Yo, boss! Xuan Xuan is at your service." Chen Zhuo Xuan giggled.

Wang Yibo felt a headache building up. It looked the ride was not going to be as peaceful as he had imagined.

To be honest, he quite liked Chen Zhuo Xuan's smooth driving and that's why they hired her as a chauffeur. She would have been a perfect employee if not for....

"Ah! Boss, so many bags! Did you buy a present for Zhan-shao? Is he not with you? Are we going home or did you make a dinner reservation? Oh, are you going to buy some new clothes to prepare for the dinner? Should I take you to the mall?." kept shooting one question after another.

Tired, Yibo finally decided to shut her up. "Take me to XXX apartment. I'm gonna cook dinner."

"EHHHHHHHH?????!!!!" Chen Zhuo Xuan almost crashed in horror.

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Wang Yibo put down the groceries at the kitchen counter before rushing to look at the mirror in the bathroom.

On his shiny pale forehead, a red bump clearly stood out. He quickly moved his bangs forward to hide the ugly remains of his near death experience and silently wrote the memo in phone to deduct 10% of Chen Zhuo Xuan's salary (A/N: Tch.. So petty.. She had only put her foot on brake as soon as she started the car).

He made his way back to the kitchen and washed his hands. The clock set on the counter showed 5 pm. Xiao Zhan usually came home around 7 pm after finishing his work.

This gave Yibo plenty of time to prepare his Zhan ge's birthday dinner. For various reasons, Xiao Zhan never let him step near the stove.

He took out the chicken from the bag and started cleaning it. After quite a struggle of 15 min, he successfully managed to remove its feet and head too.

Yibo set his phone on the counter and pulled up the recipe again.

"A large pot..." He looked around, finding it on the bottom shelf of this cabinet near the oven.

With the pot in his hand, he put the chicken in it and started filling it with enough water to submerge the meat. Finally, he added some green onion, a few slices of ginger and cooking wine. Covered it up and put on stove to boil.

Meanwhile, he took out another pot to fill with water, setting it to boil too.

'Zhan ge, did you take a break today?' Yibo sent a text as he waited for the water to boil.

Staying with Xiao Zhan made him known to all his habits, one of which was not taking enough rest. Man are the iest when they're seriously focusing on their work and Xiao Zhan had amazing concentration.

Hence, ever since Yibo saw him working on his project in the university once, his favourite hobby was staring at Xiao Zhan when he was focused. Though, the only downside was that he got too focused and used to forget about everything else! Sometimes, even Wang Yibo.

A check mark appeared next to his text to confirm its delivery on WeChat and Yibo started his staring contest with the screen.

A minute went by... Then two... Three....

After five minutes, he heard the bubbling sound of water. He stood up to check on his chicken. "Hmm.. Looks okay.", he nodded his head in satisfaction, bringing the fire to medium and left it to cook.

Yibo grabbed the packet of egg noodles from the counter and opened the lid of the other pot. He dropped the noodles in to let them cook too, mixing in a few table spoon of vegetable oil to prevent them from sticking together later. He let them simmer for a bit and added cabbage and carrot.

While he did all that, there was still no reply from Xiao Zhan.

'Zhan ge..... You don't miss didi...'

'Gege

'Gege... Didi loves you.....'
'Where are you, Zhan ge?'
'Didi misses you...'
'Come back, lao po*.'

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"Is it, Yibo?" Mama Xiao smiled in amusement listening to the constant notification of the messages flowing to Xiao Zhan's phone.

To be honest, she never thought the handsome young boy was so clingy of his son.

Even though she had nothing against homouality, she had to admit that she had her doubts about Yibo when she first met him. He was too cold and showed no fondness towards her son!

More so the thought that he was the heir of WO Electronics. A rich second generation. Who knew if it was just a phase for him and he was only playing with her son! In the end, she could never trust those rich young kids who had only one job. Spend their parent's wealth.

(A/N: Mama Xiao, your double standards are coming out.... Your son is also a second generation rich kid. (‾◡◝　) )

However, she was glad to see that her son's love was well reciprocated.

"Go back to your place early. Enjoy your birthday with him."

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After being ignored for more than 20 mins, Yibo decided to hurry up with his cooking to surprise Xiao Zhan.

He walked up to the pot. Confirming that the chicken was thoroughly cooked, he transferred it to a bowl full of iced water and made sure that the chicken was completely cooled down. After that, he cut them in small chunks, putting it aside in a bowl.

If you could call them chunks.... With his inexperience and dedication, Yibo had managed to cut/mince the chicken along with slicing his fingers twice.

Looking at his slowly red dyed fingers, Yibo forgot to react for a moment. He really felt his Zhan ge was good at everything.

Xiao Zhan liked to cook and did it often for Yibo. Hence, he had seen Xiao Zhan's technique several times. His cuts were always precise. He had never seen the senior make a mistake like this.

Yibo quickly washed away the blood and wrapped up a band aid around it. Then he moved to prepare the sauce. Mixing together a few tablespoons of Szechuan style chili oil with black vinegar, sesame oil, cooking wine, sugar, salt, light soy sauce, garlic cloves, minced green onion and coriander, Yibo finished it soon and toasted some peanuts and white sesame in pan.

A light aroma soon filled the entire kitchen. He took the pan off the heat, crushing the peanuts and white sesame.

Finally, he poured the sauce over chicken and garnished it.

He set the saliva chicken aside, covering it with a lid and wiping the slight off his mouth. The dish looked too enticing. To be honest, he had never expected that he would be able to cook it well. The young master had never even chopped vegetable in his life, much less cook an actual dish.

He was proud of himself. Though, the real test was about to come.

The longevity noodles was special. It wasn't like the other noodles that can be casually made. The whole bowl was supposed to be filled with long noodle that was not broken. It was to represent the long life and fortune in XIao Zhan's life.

Yibo took a saucepan from the cabinet this time and mixed chicken stock that he bought from the store with sliced shiitake mushrooms, ginger, soy sauce and some rice wine. He brought it all to boil and let them simmer for a few minutes on medium heat.

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A spicy and mouth watering smell was what Xiao Zhan was greeted to once he opened the door of his apartment.

He looked at the white sneakers at the entrance and smiled in amusement. 'Is he cooking?'

Xiao Zhan tip toed in to the kitchen, coming across his handsome boyfriend.... holding a 6 inch knife with a slight frown, looking like a serial killer while standing in front of a basket full of oranges.