"A-Zhan come outside"

"Five minutes later Ma..." Zhan was reluctant to let go his precious morning sleep this early in the morning.

"No, come out now!" His mom was adamant."Don't you dare to oversleep on this day!"

"Uwwwwu..."

Zhan rolled down his bed and fell onto the floor. 

Ouch! 

As Zhan rubbed himself in the hurt area, he groggily opened his eyes and took in the surroundings. The place felt unfamiliar from his Beijing home. Instead of the usual posh Condo room that he was used to waking up inside for three long years, It felt quite different. The walls were unadorned, creamy white, and sunlight streamed inside without inhibition and the floor too had no carpet. For a moment he thought if he is still dreaming.    

Then with a start, he remembered.

"Oh god!"

Yes, how can he forget this day! It was the Spring Festival and he was visiting his Grandparents with his mom and dad. This place was actually their Ancestral home!

"A-Zhan are you awake yet?"

"I'm Awake," said Zhan quickly untangling himself from his bedsheets. 

Coming outside he felt the warm sun pouring on his face, like a pair of warm loving hands gently wiping out the remaining fatigue from his eyes. 

"Make haste A- Zhan, don't waste your time, go and help your Jiejie pick the vegetables"

"Sure Ma"

Stretching himself once more and rubbing sleep from his eyes Zhan stepped downstairs to find his elder cousin preparing to go out. 

"Ah, Zhan Zhan come on," She said as soon she spotted him "we don't want to be late, grab the basket over there."

Zhan obediently picked up the basket she pointed at and was about to step out when she put a  big straw hat over his head.

"We don't want your beautiful city skin to get tanned after coming here, do we? What will all your fans in the city think about us?"

"A Jie stop teasing please," said Zhan Zhan with a pout. "I'm not a that big star yet..."

"Always the same baby," she said lightly pinching his nose in affection "Come on let's go"

Zhan gently lifted the second basket too out of his cousin's hand.

"I will do the carrying part. Jie jie only needs to make sure  that only the freshest vegetables get picked."

In response, his cousin only smiled.

"Yes, Yes I forgot. Zhan Zhan is a strong man now right? It was not long when I had to carry you all around the place whenever you visited here and..."

"Jie Jie" Zhan interrupted shyly.

"Okay Okay  let's go"

The morning sun had started to glow even more brightly now. Like a child in awe, Zhan looked at his surroundings. Everything was so Colourful! The sky here was clear too, a bright blue hue, and as far as his eyes could see there was lush greenery soothing the eye. The rugged path lay in front of them, winding around the hill like a large sleeping dragon, thousands of years old. 

Zhan missed his box of watercolours, canvas and easel at home. There are so many interesting backgrounds for painting. Here the place was so peaceful, so perfect. The last time he enjoyed something like this was during the shooting of the certain scenes of the wuxia drama. But even then These two experiences cannot be compared fully. The drama took place in an uninhabited place where there was only hills and rivers. And here there are people. People who had been a part of the nature itself, co-existing with nature for such a long time. People who are are simple and not as complicated as some persons he had met in life.  

Here he was just Xiao Zhan, the boy next door. Here he doesn't have to watch his every single step, every little actions and word, or worry about fan wars and get falsely accused of the troubles he had no inkling of. 

Nobody cares here if he has achieved numerous award for his portrayal of a rebel character in a wuxia drama, or if his voice has reached the semifinals of a Singing Show. Or if he  has whispered something to a certain someone during a fanmeet, or dared to hold his hands on stage.

Speaking of  the certain someone, Zhan felt his heart wrench. He had not been able to meet this person for such a long time. His only true friend in the stardom world. The only person who was the most intimate to him both mentally and physically. The person whose portraits and poses he has been drawing so often that they have filled nearly six or seven sketchbooks in Zhan's Beijing apartment.

Wish that kid could have seen this place... he would have been so happy.

Zhan still remembered his face as he said to him that he was planning to visit his ancestral home this spring festival. 

Don't you have New Year's Gala that very day? what about that programme of ours?

"The hosts  cancelled me at the last moment." Zhan said flatly"they felt that your chemistry with  EXO band member Zhang Yixing is far more interesting  than old me.'

"I told you there is no chemistry Zhan ge." said Yibo hugging the pillow "He is just a good friend that's all. And you know the real reason behind not letting you perform with me right?"

"I know," said Zhan 

"And you are not gonna say anything to them?" 

"What can I say?"  chuckled Zhan "If they find me too old to eat the young grass like you what can I do"

" Zhan ge !" said Yibo and threw the pillow at him with mock anger,"that's not the reason I'm talking about!"

"Ouch! Be kind to me Yibo"

"Well you don't deserve Yibo's kindness anyway," said Yibo.

"Oh ?"said Zhan "Let me rephrase it then, please be kind to me Lan Zhan " 

"You know I hate you most when you mention me as him" 

"Honestly?even after playing that role so successfully? you don't like people calling you Han--"

He was cut short as Yibo pinned Zhan beneath himself

"There's a difference between people and you Zhan Ge. To the people I might be Li Xiang Kong, Lin Jiayi,  Xie Yun or Lan Wangji. But to you, I am just Wang Yibo and nothing but Wang Yibo, the man who dares to love somebody he chooses to be with and do everything for the person he loves."

"....Zhan Zhan? Zhan Zhan?

Zhan 's eldest cousin snapping a finger in front of him brought him back to his senses.

"What's the matter?" she asked, "Why are you smiling like a little fool at the lettuce field?"

Zhan felt slightly embarrassed.

"It's nothing" he said looking down"For some reason I feel happier after coming here"

His elder cousin smiled

 "Oh? if that's so then you should visit us often, we also miss the carefree and happy boy smiling like the warm sun in our home.   Now let's hurry up. After picking up the lettuces and sweet potatoes you can give me a hand in catching the fish."

"Yes, A Jie" 

On their way back Zhan asked his cousin to hurry home first.

 "I will be a little late," he said 

"Are the baskets too heavy for you?" his Cousin asked."I can carry one if you like, all I am carrying are the fishes

"No, no It's okay, Jiejie doesn't have to worry."

"And don't be too late, Meanwhile I will get the chicken from Uncle's house"

"Okay Jiejie" 

"Okay then said his elder cousin, be careful on your way home.  "

Zhan nodded as he took out his phone from his pocket. He needs to make sure that another pair of eyes also enjoy the sights enjoyed by him. After all these sceneries are actually meaningless for him too without the most beautiful of them.

Quickly he snapped a number of pictures.

 The small houses lined up on the hills.

The stream between the hills sparkling in the sun like molten silver. 

The sunny sky and the silhouette of his hand.

The newly blooming buds on plum trees against the blue clear sky...

And he chose a beautiful this beautiful little ancient Chinese poem as a caption for his pictures, 

"Boundless grasses over the plain

Come and go with every season;

Wildfire never quite consumes them —

They are tall once more in the spring wind.

Sweet they press on the old high- road

And reach the crumbling city-gate....

O Prince of Friends, you are gone again....

I hear them sighing after you."

He let his message go with a little sigh to a person whom he assumed and hoped to be asleep right now. After all, he is about to get no sleep for these two nights.

"If only I could have become one of all the lucky audiences tonight, I could have seen his live performance once more."

In these few days, his life had been a literal mess...First of all the works he was getting right now is so less, secondly due to some problem amongst his fans and some other fans regarding banning a certain fanfic site he was continuously receiving hate mails for quite a few days now.

"Xiao Zhan do you think you can act well?"

"Is he even an actor? just because he has got a sudden huge response in a drama does he think he is a God?"

"Xiao Zhan false humbleness does not make you a hero."

"Just don't buy all the products he endorses, people, I bet they are a fraud as he is."

They kept coming in all day and night, between his works and shows, and even during the long nights when he was alone. 

Few days ago when all these started Yibo had called him... 

*Flashback*

"Zhan Ge are you alright? don't pay attention to them. Their comments will die eventually. Don't worry please."

Zhan who had just finished shooting a long sequence and had no inkling of what has happened.

"What's the matter Bo di?" he asked bewildered

"You haven't seen anything yet?"

"Um, I just finished shooting?"

"..."

The voice was silent on the other side.

"Bo di" he urged him to speak further...

"Okay don't worry. After you packed up, Come straight to "our" place. You know the rules, don't let the other people know it is you, and avoid the paparazzi. And absolutely don't open any of your social media accounts until you get here. I will be waiting."

"But..."

"You are gonna be there and that's final. I want you to be there. Want me to leave my show  midway and personally come to pick you up?"

Zhan understood later why Yibo was so insistent that day.

"Zhan ge" said  Yibo as he watched Zhan scroll down the hate comments quietly."I know it hurts so much, but you have to stay strong...Close all your social accounts for a few days if it is too much for you..."

Zhan put his phone slowly face down on the table. 

"Bo di, So this is how you felt like when you were bashed on your own birthday that year."

"..."

Yibo did not answer immediately.

A moment of silence, and then Zhan spoke again

"I understand it now.No wonder you looked so awful at that time, heh..." he tried to laugh as usual."well in that case... I feel I have bullied... you a little too much..."

His voice sounded choked, even to himself. 

" I will get myself some water...Bo di..."

*plack* 

Halfway in his attempt to get up, Yibo put his arms around his middle and made him sit down again.

"Xiao Zhan,Stop trying to be idiotically strong and blaming yourself for everything. You did not cause this.You are merely caught inside the battle. I promise to get to the bottom of this"

"You won't do any such thing. And I am all right Yibo."

"Look into my eyes and say it"

"I am alright, don't worry. These little insults won't break me.It's not the first time."

Though he still couldn't meet the eyes of  Yibo, Zhan insisted he was alright. He had to act. 

"Zhan ge... You don't want to see the persons who are slandering you get their payback?"

"Yibo," said Zhan "Who are you gonna blame? the people are only enraged towards me because to them I am the cause a platform for the freedom of expression got taken off,"

"Not for you Zhan ge, you are only a scapegoat in all this the government..."

"Is that important right now? Whatever be the reason you cannot change the fact that people hate me now Yibo."

He sighed and went near the window. A sliver of moonlight touched his face and the wind softly tousled his hair turning him into an ethereal beauty. It looked like at any given moment he could take off and fly away, never coming back to him. Yibo felt his heart shatter.

"Zhan ge"

" you had a hard day at the shooting site and moreover you had such a long journey. Go to rest first Yibo. I am coming in a while ..." 

                           ********************************

Of course I anticipate being praised and loved

After gaining so much you leave again saying there's no love

Don't become a puppet whose feelings are manipulated by others

Maintain an emotionless state towards hate, ignore it

The broken and sharp pain 

being mocked, attacked and provoked

Remaining emotionless is the best way to strike back at the hurt.

                                                                                                                   (Wugan, Wang Yibo)

_________________________________________________________________________

Hi so it's me again. Kawaiisakura 1993. If you made it upto this far you must know that this is an entirely different kind of story I am trying to write. I hope you like it and I hope you continue to support baby Zhan in this hard times. 

Love Kawaiisakura1993💕