Work Text:
“Wang lao-shi, Xiao lao-shi, I know from your previous interviews and variety shows that you both enjoy hotpot. So maybe, it could be the programme for the day. We could film you going to the grocery store to buy the ingredients, then back to the RV to prep the meal and then the meal this evening. I’ve heard that the spot we’re heading to this evening has a lovely lake from which we could get some nice footage and it’d be nice and cool for some hotpot.
Xiao Zhan thought about Jiang Yun’s plan, as much as he dreaded the potentially long and awkward hotpot meal with Wang Yibo, he knew they had to give the PD something to film that wasn’t the two of them not interacting. With the plan, at least they had some usable footage for the day.
“Sure,” Xiao Zhan said, “It’ll be nice to have some hotpot in this weather.”
Jiang Yun’s face reflected the relief he probably felt, “Great, thanks, Xiao lao-shi! We can probably leave in about 30 minutes and there’s a supermarket 2 hours away that we could stop at.”
As he mentally itemised the things that he wanted to buy for the meal, Xiao Zhan noted the distracted look on Wang Yibo's face and asked, “Wang lao-shi, do you have any objections to today’s plan?”
Wang Yibo’s face cleared and he lifted his eyes to look at Xiao Zhan, “Not at all, Xiao lao-shi. It’s been a while since I’ve had hotpot, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”
Xia Zhan remembered the last time they had hotpot together. His parents had flown over to Beijing to spend his birthday with him and by good luck, Wang Yibo had also managed to get a few hours of his schedule to be at home at the same time. His mum had gone overboard as usual, doing her best to fatten up both her sons. Every time she saw them, either in person or on screen, she would lament that they were getting too skinny and next thing they knew, food packages would start being delivered, with instructions from his mum to their assistants to feed them.
Yan Yan had laughingly told him about how Wang Yibo had lingered over the braised beef Xiao Zhan’s mum had sent to his boyfriend during a filming break. When asked where he’d gotten the dish from, Wang Yibo had smugly replied that he brought it from home. Xiao Zhan had rolled his eyes in exasperation - as if anyone would believe that Wang Yibo had been capable of cooking anything himself!
But of course, it was just like his mum to fret over Wang Yibo’s health as well, and so it was not a surprise that she had prepared not only the food items that her son liked, but also items that Wang Yibo, her younger son, liked. The younger man had looked so pleased when he saw the food she had gotten for him and it would take a lot for Xiao Zhan to forget the bright smile on Wang Yibo’s face when he said “Thank you, Mum!”
A brilliant smile had also crossed his mum’s face as she patted wang Yibo’s hand and told him to eat more. Xiao Zhan’s heart had been so full that night with the people he loved surrounding him.
Packing up and setting off took relatively no time as they had the routine down already - set aside dishes and anything that would be prone to shifting and falling to the floor when the RV moved, check the RV to make sure everything was alright, and it was time to move off. Jiang Yun had sent the location of the grocery store to the RV’s GPS unit and all Wang Yibo had to do was follow the directions.
Back in his seat in the tiny living room area, Xiao Zhan jotted down the ingredients he intended to get in his phone. He hoped that they would be able to find everything they wanted in the store as it had been a long time since he had hotpot too and since he had an excuse to indulge, he was going to go all out.
The two hours flew by as the route took them through towns that were increasingly bigger. Xiao Zhan had hope that the grocery store they were heading toward would stock most of what he wanted. While he enjoyed visiting the local markets and quaint little grocery shops, he would be happy to step into a supermarket and shop to his heart’s content, after all, this was going on the production’s budget.
Soon, they pulled into a parking lot sparsely populated despite its large size. Which was good because even though Wang Yibo had gotten quite good at manoeuvring the RV round most spaces, the RV was not a small vehicle and it would have been a challenge parking it in a tight space.
They had to stop before reversing into the lot as the cameraman wanted some b-rolls of them parking the car. Xiao Zhan was impressed by the ingenuity of Li Hao Quan, who filmed through the window of the other RV’s driver’s seat so he could capture Wang Yibo’s face as he was parking their RV. Even with the stops and starts, they locked up the RV a mere thirty minutes after they entered the lot.
Xiao Zhan almost started rubbing his hands in glee when he stepped into the supermarket - everything was bright and clean and big. He glanced over at Wang Yibo and noticed the other man watching him with an almost smile on his face. When he noticed Xiao Zhan looking at him, he said, “Xiao lao-shi is so enthusiastic about grocery shopping.”
“Of course! It’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to do this!” And it really had been long. Xiao Zhan loved to shop in supermarkets, but he had been so busy for so many years that he barely had the chance to buy his own groceries. Everything he needed, even groceries, were bought for him by his assistant, so he relished having the time and opportunity to do this himself.
He grabbed a shopping cart and walked towards the fresh produce section, throwing in his favourite veggies. When he reached out to pick up an oyster mushroom, an image of Wang Yibo almost dying of laughter on an episode of Day Day Up popped into his mind and Xiao Zhan burst out laughing. He turned to Wang Yibo and said, “4am and the mushroom woke up!”
The other man stared as a hint of a blush crept up his face. “I can’t believe you remember that,” he groaned.
“I think most of China remembers it when it made all the hot searches back then. Everyone was so amused.” Xiao Zhan laughed.
“Not me. I was definitely not amused by all the memes that popped up. It was embarrassing.”
Xiao Zhan laughed a little and decided to spare the other man, Wang Yibo never did like all the silly hotsearches that cropped up in his name. He had told him once that it made him seem frivolous and caused people to not take him seriously enough. While Xiao Zhan was of the opinion that Wang Yibo’s hard work and talent came across in all his works regardless of whatever silly hotsearches, he understood where he was coming from. He had also noticed that in recent years the other man had loosened up a bit more and was more tolerant of such things. It was probably partly due to the fact that as his capabilities grew and his work became more and more prominent, Wang Yibo had started feeling more confident in himself and less bothered by how these things might appear to others. After all, his work spoke for itself and nothing could take it away.
As Xiao Zhan turned back to the shopping cart after grabbing some sliced fatty beef, he found Wang Yibo standing behind the handlebars, ready to push the cart. He raised an eyebrow in query.
“You’re picking the stuff, it’s only right that I contribute a little and push the cart,” Wang Yibo said with a shrug. He then tilted his chin in a gesture for Xiao Zhan to continue shopping before silently moving beside the other man.
Despite the fact that they never did have many chances to go grocery shopping together and the last time they actually did go grocery shopping was years ago, it all just seemed so familiar and Xiao Zhan could not help the pang he felt in his heart for what might have been.
He shook off the feelings of regret he felt. As Wang Yibo once said, there will always be regrets, but there’s no need to dwell on it. Wang Yibo was a quiet presence beside Xiao Zhan, but he soon noticed a charged silence from the other man. He turned to Wang Yibo with a raised eyebrow.
Uncharacteristically, the other man had an uncertain look on his face, “You…the stuff that you picked up…they are some of my favourites.”
Xiao Zhan looked down at the items in the cart and realised that in addition to the things that he usually puts in his hotpot, he had also unconsciously picked up things that Wang Yibo liked to eat. He could feel the tips of his ears becoming warmer and he shrugged helplessly. It seemed that it would take a lot more than time to forget Wang Yibo’s likes and dislikes.
Wang Yibo looked like he wanted to say something but he flicked a glance at Li Hao Quan who was filming beside them and his lips tightened. He then continued to push the shopping cart forward.
Xiao Zhan stared after him, but knew that he would not find out what it was that Wang Yibo was going to say as long as the camera was rolling.
They ended up with a grocery cart full of food - a lot of food was needed to feed five grown men. After they bagged up the groceries, they brought it out to the RVs where they realised that they had to split up the bags of food and drinks because the fridge in their RV was too small to fit all the stuff.
As Xiao Zhan pondered over what to put where, Wang Yibo came back with 2 boxes of ice. He said, "Just put whatever we need for dinner in the cooler boxes since we're going to eat them in a couple of hours. We should then have space in the fridges for the rest of the stuff."
The other man looked at him with a brilliant smile. It was just like Wang Yibo to think of such a simple solution and put it into action without making a fuss over it. This was a quality that Xiao Zhan had always admired in him, acting rather than just saying.
"Thanks, Wang lao-shi, for solving this problem so quickly!"
Wang Yibo shrugged, "If we think about it anymore, we won't be able to get to our destination before the sun sets."
With the both of them packing away the items, it was no time at all before Wang Yibo got into the driver's seat to start the RV. Xiao Zhan hesitated for a moment, but quickly slipped into the passenger seat, which earned him a raised eyebrow from the other man.
"I wanted to have a better view of the scenery. And the boxes are taking up the table space," he spat out nervously.
The other man took a quick glance at their tiny living room and gave a nod, before activating the gear to drive off.
The view was indeed stunning. All green trees and high mountains, despite the fact that they were going into the winter months. Xiao Zhan could feel himself smiling, it was really wonderful being out on the open roads like that. Even though it was technically work, it was the most relaxed he has felt in a long while.
The sun was low in the horizon by the time Wang Yibo pulled up at the spot Jiang Yun had picked out for them. They had driven off the main road to get to a flat open space near the river they had been travelling alongside for the past two hours. Some nights, stopping for the night just meant stopping the RV, getting some dinner, shower, and bed. Some nights, like today, the process was a little more time consuming. But they had gotten so used to it that the outdoor table and hotpot set up was done in no time at all.
As soon as they were almost done putting out the table, Xiao Zhan had started to prep the food. They didn’t use the outdoor prep station much, but it was nice being out in the open air instead of being in the RV and he had a lot space to work in. He thought that he might like to buy an RV for himself so he could take off into the wilderness whenever he wanted. The freedom of being able to go wherever he wanted and being away from the crowds was a seductive one.
A deep voice startled him, “Is there anything I can help out with?”
He turned his head to Wang Yibo who was standing next to him and said, “Could you help to wash and peel those vegetables and potatoes?”
Although the Wang Yibo that he used to know could not cook to save his life, this man he was travelling with now had proven to be quite adept in the kitchen and Xiao Zhan did not think twice about putting him to work. To be fair, the old Yibo was very good with helping out in the kitchen, just as long as it did not involve any heating element.
With a nod, Wang Yibo moved to start peeling the potatoes. Xiao Zhan called out, “there’s a mandolin that you can use to slice potatoes and radishes!”
The two worked in silence, broken only occasionally by Wang Yibo asking if there was a specific way Xiao Zhan wanted the vegetables prepared. Halfway through, a sense of dejavu hit Xiao Zhan so hard that tears stung his eyes. Wang Yibo and him used to work seamlessly in the kitchen whenever they had the chance to be home in Beijing at the same time. No matter how tired or whether he was in the midst of doing something, Wang Yibo would always insist on helping Xiao Zhan cook. He had said that he wanted to spend as much time with Zhan-ge as he could, even if it meant being in the kitchen. Xiao Zhan had laughed so hard and ruffled his hair in affection when he heard that, calling the other man “a silly puppy”. In actual fact, he had been very touched and his heart had been warmed by the other man’s open affection.
Shaking off thoughts from the past, Xiao Zhan laid out the hotpot ingredients around the hotpot filled with a spicy mala broth and a lighter mushroom broth. While his spice tolerance had really dropped, he knew that Jiang Yun, as a Sichuan native would appreciate the intense mala broth and the rest of them could alternate between the two.
The sun was slowly setting by the time the both of them were seated at the table, camera ready to capture their dinner scene. Li Hao Quan had set up a camera to capture the sun setting and another trained on the outdoor table, currently focused on the hotpot bubbling away. There was an awkward silence as Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo found themselves without the motion of food prep acting as a barrier between them.
As usual, Jiang Yun came to the rescue, “Please start eating, I’ll ask some questions as we go along. We’ll just need a few moments before we can all start eating.” Unlike their usual meals which allowed for them to eat separately, filming a hotpot meal meant they had to get the filming out of the way before the whole group could eat.
The two nodded in agreement and Wang Yibo picked up his chopsticks to begin eating. The first item he went for was the sliced marbled beef. Xiao Zhan hid a small smile, Wang Yibo’s tastes has not changed much over the years, at least not his tastes in food.
“Does Xiao lao-shi still eat mala hotpot?”
Xiao Zhan shook his head ruefully, “Sadly, I’ve failed as a Chong Qing native, my spice tolerance has dropped so much my friends in Chong Qing refuse to have hotpot with me anymore! It has to be the yuan yang pot for me now.”
Jiang Yun shook his head in mock dismay, “Such a disappointment, Xiao lao-shi. But well, the more mala broth for me!”
Everyone burst out in laughter which got louder when Wang Yibo said, “While Xiao lao-shi can’t take as much spice anymore, my spice tolerance has gotten a lot better over the years. Score for the Henan boy.”
And it was true, when Xiao Zhan had first met Wang Yibo, he could hardly stand eating anything spicy - his face would become flaming red even with a bit of heat. Xiao Zhan had laughed so much when they had hotpot together the first time. He had not known the other man’s spice tolerance was so low then, but Wang Yibo had also not made a peep when Xiao Zhan had asked for a medium spicy mala broth.
Xiao Zhan had looked up in shock when Wang Yibo started coughing after he put the slice of meat he had dunked into the mala broth in his mouth. He coughed so much that his face turned bright red. Xiao Zhan frantically poured a glass of water for the other man while hoping he had not killed his new co-star.
When Wang Yibo finally stopped coughing, he sheepishly told Xiao Zhan, “I…can’t really take spice.”
“Wang Yibo! Why didn’t you tell me then? We could have ordered a yuan yang pot!”
Later, Xiao Zhan came to realise that Wang Yibo had wanted to impress him and he would always do things that he thought Xiao Zhan liked even if he did not or was afraid to do. It exasperated and touched Xiao Zhan in equal measure, this little brother’s desire to do his best to please him.
The atmosphere lighened up considerably after that and the three of them carried on a light conversation while slowly eating their way through the hotpot ingredients. A while after, Jiang Yun announced that they should have enough material for tonight and they could eat properly now.
Xiao Zhan jumped up immediately and said, “Oh! I almost forgot! I need to deepfry the pork I marinated earlier.”
Wang Yibo looked up at him in mild surprise, “Crispy pork?”
The other man stammered, “y…yes, crispy pork. Nobody can resist some crispy pork, can they?” In actual fact, he had decided to make that dish only because that was one of Wang Yibo’s favourite hotpot dishes.
“Oh. Right. Crispy pork does go well with hotpot.”
Xiao Zhan wondered if that was disappointment he heard in Wang Yibo’s voice.
When they were done with dinner, Lele and Li Hao Quan offered to wash up since Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo had been the ones who prepared dinner. Xiao Zhan happily relinquished that duty since he was of the belief that those who cook should not need to wash up.
He was really happy with how the night turned out. His worry that it would be filled with awkwardness did not materialise and he had a good evening. The weather was great for hotpot, the food was good, and the conversation was lively despite the slow start. Xiao Zhan walked along the shore of the lake, contemplating the life choices that he has made that led him to this exact point in time. Having an enjoyable meal in an unknown spot by the side of a lake, with his ex-boyfriend whom he had split up with in the most unamicable way possible. If someone had told him a month ago that this was going to happen, Xiao Zhan would have called him a liar.
When he made it back to their campsite, Lele and Li Hao Quan was done with the dishes and they told him that they had loaded them back in their RV. The sound of game music and the smell of Wang Yibo’s shower gel greeted him as he stepped into their RV and Wang Yibo’s head popped out of his cubicle.
“The shower’s free.”
Xiao Zhan blinked. “Er, ok, thanks. I’ll go shower now.”
He saw the other man hesitate a bit before he said, “Thanks for preparing dinner. It was really good.”
Xiao Zhan smiled, “Not a problem at all, you were a great help. I have to thank you too.”
Wang Yibo ducked his head slightly and retreated back into his cubicle.
Xiao Zhan went to sleep with a smile on his face that night with his last thought being that it was truly a good night.