Two months later.
For the most part, life had begun to settle into something resembling peace.
For the most part.
As everyone gradually adapted to life after the wedding, the family of four found themselves slowly adjusting to one another's personalities, sharing spaces and silences in equal measure.
But still, almost everything was smooth.
Because among them, there was one particular little member whose days were never truly quiet, not when his gege Zhan had school works to do, not when he had guests over, and certainly not when they found themselves at one of those elegant but exhausting business events, where strangers would always attempt to steal a moment of Zhan's time with shallow greetings to gain the heir's attention.
It was in those moments that Yibo, who's definitely unwilling to share, grew increasingly possessive of his Zhan-ge.
He never did like competing for attention, especially not when it came to someone he had long since claimed as his own.
And Zhan?
Well, Zhan didn't seem to mind.
That, in itself, was perhaps the true complication.
For even with all of Yibo's little performances, his pouty defiance, his dramatic sulking, and those ever-so-convincing crocodile tears meant to draw sympathy, Zhan remained unbothered, unflustered, and maddeningly gentle.
He never once raised his voice or reprimanded him.
Instead, he would simply lean down, smile softly, and reassure him with a promise that he'd always make time, that he'd never let Yibo feel neglected, that he'd never walk away.
Not ever.
There was that one particular evening, when his friends Haoxuan and Dongqin dropped by for a spontaneous visit.
They ended up in Zhan's room, a familiar territory where the walls were lined with old books, neat shelves, and a faint scent of cologne and paper.
The boys threw themselves into the beanbags and the couch, with the console already turned on, controllers in hand, and fingers flying across buttons.
It was loud and chaotic.
As Dongqin and Haoxuan threw themselves into yet another intense round of their favorite fighting game, Zhan sat off to the side, his long legs folded beneath him on the bed, observing in silence.
"Come on, Xuan!" Dongqin groaned in mock frustration, tapping his controller aggressively. "You seriously suck at this. We've been playing for hours and you still can't give me a real challenge."
His words were half-teasing, half-exasperated.
Haoxuan turned to him with an incredulous look.
"You're seriously annoying, you know that?" he shot back, brows furrowed.
"Then get better!"
"You wish."
"You can't even beat me, don't start acting smug."
"So what?" Haoxuan scoffed.
"I'll beat you at something else."
Dongqin tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, clearly entertained.
"Oh yeah? Like what?"
"I don't know. Just… something. I'll figure it out. I'm sure there's something you're not good at. Just wait and see."
Dongqin simply grinned and stuck his tongue out like a child, while Haoxuan rolled his eyes so hard it looked like they might stay that way.
Xiao Zhan, watching the chaos unfold before him, let out a long, tired sigh and leaned back, closing his eyes briefly.
He had no idea why he was friends with these two lunatics.
He wondered how many more hours of this noise he could withstand before his ears gave out.
And he didn't even need to turn around and check to know that Yibo had been sulking just outside the door for a while now, undoubtedly eavesdropping, arms crossed, lower lip pushed out in a cute pout.
And Zhan knew it wouldn't be long before the little one would knock and demand his gege's attention.
And Zhan was right.
A few minutes later, Yibo came knocking on the door, and in an instant, he was inside, standing with arms crossed, glaring at the two unruly boys causing chaos in his gege's room.
His eyes were narrowed with clear disapproval.
But despite the frown on his face, Dongqin and Haoxuan didn't find him scary at all. In fact, they found him almost too cute to take seriously. There was something about his pouty scowl and puffed cheeks that made it difficult to feel intimidated.
They exchanged amused looks, barely holding back their chuckles, while Yibo continued to stand at the doorway with a dramatic huff.
In the end, Xiao Zhan could only sigh helplessly as his two friends completely lost interest in their video game consoles and instead turned all their attention toward his little brother.
At first, Yibo was stiff and serious, clearly intent on scolding them or asserting dominance.
But under their playful teasing and constant attempts to pull him into their games, even he began to relax.
Soon enough, the room was filled with even more laughter and movement than before.
What started as a gaming session quickly turned into full-blown chaos as Yibo joined in, his earlier glare forgotten, replaced by competitive shouts and bursts of giggles.
From that day onward, Haoxuan and Dongqin started visiting not just to hang out with Zhan but also to spend time with Yibo.
Slowly, the four of them grew closer.
Yibo would even cling to Haoxuan and Dongqin every now and then as if they had always been part of his close circle.
But of course, not every day could be filled with sunshine and games.
One particular incident stood out in everyone's memory.
A rather unfortunate evening when President Wang and Madam Wang decided to bring the boys along to a formal business party.
What was supposed to be a calm and elegant evening turned into a night to remember, and not for the best reasons.
The little one was a walking storm of emotions, and that night, he made quite the scene… one that ended with raised voices, a few scoldings, and more than a little bit of crying.
At the beginning of the party, things had gone relatively smoothly. Mr. Yang, a young businessman with big ambitions, was doing his best to get in Xiao Zhan's good graces.
He approached him with polite smiles and well-rehearsed charm, hoping to catch the attention of the Xiao heir.
Meanwhile, across the hall, Yibo sat at a table nearby where he could still be within Zhan's line of sight. His gege had told him very firmly not to cause any trouble, and he had nodded with a pout, promising to behave. So instead of running wild, he stayed seated, trying hard to resist the temptation to stir things up.
He kept his chaos contained, distracting himself with light games and casual chatter with Haoxuan and a few other young heirs who had been brought along by their parents.
Then, out of nowhere, Mr. Yang made a comment that shifted the entire atmosphere of the room.
With a smug grin, and perhaps a little too much wine in his system, he raised his voice just enough for those nearby to hear.
"Well," he said, chuckling, "Once you present your secondary gender, you'll have to start thinking about finding a suitable mate to support your business prospects, right?"
His tone was light, the kind people use when they think they're being funny, but he clearly had no idea who was listening.
Because the moment those words were spoken, a chair scraped sharply against the floor.
Yibo left his seat.
No one even saw when he stood up, but suddenly, there he was, small fists clenched, boots stomping against the cold, hard floor as he marched straight towards the man who had dared to speak so carelessly.
Haoxuan's eyes widened.
Dongqin stopped mid-sentence.
Even Zhan, who had been doing his best to maintain a polite conversation, could only close his eyes briefly and let out a soft sigh before rising from his seat.
Without another word, he reached over and gently pulled his didi to his side, trying to shield him from further provocation.
Madam Wang, who had furrowed her brows the moment the old man's careless remark landed, abruptly stopped mid-sentence. She quietly excused herself from the conversation with the other madams, rising with calm urgency and making her way toward the table where her son sat.
President Wang, who had clearly realized the weight of the situation, didn't hesitate to follow his wife.
"Yibo, calm down. He's talking nonsense. He didn't mean it," Zhan said gently, his voice low and careful, as he tried to soothe the younger one's growing distress.
But Yibo's expression only darkened further, his features tightening into a frown as his eyes began to shimmer, on the verge of spilling tears.
His voice wavered as he turned to face his brother, a mixture of hurt and disbelief etched into his face.
"You're leaving me?" he asked, the accusation in his tone unmistakable, even if it was laced with fear rather than anger.
"No," Zhan replied at once, his voice soft but firm. "I'm not leaving you."
But before Zhan could say anything more, as if completely oblivious to the rising emotional tension in the room, Mr. Yang chose that exact moment to interject once again.
"Young Master Wang, you can't keep Xiao Zhan all to yourself forever," he said with a laugh that didn't quite mask his condescension. "Your brother will eventually settle down, marry someone who'll share his life and support him in running the company."
Zhan clenched his jaw and turned to the older man.
"Please, just stop talking," he said, the plea in his voice barely concealing the warning beneath.
Yibo's eyes snapped toward Mr. Yang with a renewed intensity, his glare sharpening like a blade.
"But he's my gege!" he burst out, his voice rising with a tremor.
"He's… he's not—he shouldn't leave me!" he cried, stumbling over his words. "Papa and I—we'll keep him and Mama forever! My gege is only mine!"
His voice cracked at the end, a child's desperation bleeding through his proud tone.
The room fell into a heavy silence, but the older man remained unmoved. "He is your gege," Mr. Yang said again, his voice patronizing, "But he doesn't belong to you."
"He does!" Yibo shouted back, trembling now with both emotion and defiance.
"Who told you that?" the man asked, almost amused.
"Mama!" Yibo answered without hesitation.
That one word dropped like a stone in the room.
Madam Wang, who had just reached the table, turned her head sharply toward her husband.
Her eyes widened, brows lifting in surprise.
"I did?" she asked him, not angrily, but truly puzzled.
Mr. Wang gave a sheepish nod, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as memory flickered in his eyes.
He recalled a time, perhaps, when Madam Wang said something along those lines to Yibo in passing, a simple attempt to comfort him when he was sulking.
Not in those exact words.
But in the innocent and literal way a child's mind interprets affection, that's most likely how Yibo understood it.