2011
At B City Zoo, it was almost the first time for both Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan to visit. Wang Yibo wasn't from B City, and since he came here for university, he never thought of going to the zoo in his free time. Although Xiao Zhan had been to the zoo once as a child, he barely remembered it, so he had no recollection of it. On a particular day after class, they went to the zoo. Wang Yibo said he wanted to show Xiao Zhan the real little lions, and Xiao Zhan, having heard about a dolphin show during sunset, was even more excited.
They first went to the big cat section to see the lions. On a sunny afternoon, the adult lions were lazily sleeping in the stone cave and wouldn't wake up before nightfall.
Xiao Zhan watched them through the wire mesh for a while, feeling a bit helpless.
"They sleep so much! No wonder people always say you can see big cats either in the middle of the night or early morning, but most of the day they just sleep."
Wang Yibo was about to nod when something caught his eye. He nudged Xiao Zhan's arm.
Xiao Zhan looked over and saw a little lion—he couldn't tell how old it was, but it looked about as big as Simba from The Lion King—jumping out of the stone cave. The lion's eyes were full of mischief, its tail held high, and it walked towards the wire mesh.
Xiao Zhan widened his eyes and looked at Wang Yibo, both of them silently focused on the lion.
The little lion flicked its tail and, with great confidence, approached the wire mesh. It scratched the ground with its little paws, then jumped back and poked its head out. When it saw Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan standing by the rail, its eyes lit up.
The little lion stretched lazily in place, then started walking towards them.
Xiao Zhan slapped Wang Yibo's arm hard, but didn't dare make a sound. Other curious tourists nearby wanted to come over but were given a fierce look by Xiao Zhan to stop them.
The little lion slowly came up to Xiao Zhan, and it stopped in front of him, separated by a layer of wire mesh. It raised its head and looked up at Xiao Zhan, its gaze soft and curious, just like Simba from The Lion King.
Xiao Zhan's heart melted. He didn't know that a little lion could be so cute.
He bent down and smiled at the lion through the wire mesh.
"Hello, little guy," Xiao Zhan said, smiling. "Why aren't you taking a nap?"
The little lion stared at Xiao Zhan without moving. Its shiny eyes seemed to think of something, then it suddenly wrinkled its face and growled, making a mock charge!
Xiao Zhan, caught off guard and completely mesmerized by the adorable lion, was startled by the growl. He took a step back and almost tripped.
Wang Yibo quickly steadied him. Their eyes met—Wang Yibo and the little lion locked gazes. Wang Yibo remained still, staring at the lion with a calm yet firm gaze.
Xiao Zhan patted his chest to calm himself, and that's when he noticed the intense stare between Wang Yibo and the lion.
It seemed that the little lion was mesmerized by Wang Yibo's gaze. It forgot to threaten or intimidate, and instead became as docile as a kitten, even making a little "meow" sound. It scratched at the wire mesh with its paws, trying to get closer.
Wang Yibo remained unfazed. Under Xiao Zhan's amazed gaze, he suddenly widened his eyes, as if preparing to pounce forward. The little lion whimpered and jumped back. It turned around in place, giving Wang Yibo a sorrowful look as it whined softly.
Wang Yibo said, "Don't scare it. Go back to sleep."
The little lion kept whimpering, reluctant to come closer. It turned its head to look at Wang Yibo, then, hesitating, it bounced away back to its stone cave.
Nearby tourists had seen the whole scene and started applauding and taking photos.
Not far away, a mother picked up a little boy and said loud enough for them to hear, "Look, that big brother is so handsome! Be good and eat your food, and maybe one day you'll be as handsome as him!"
Xiao Zhan was truly astonished.
Wang Yibo revealed a small, playful smile, and his cheekbones almost lifted to the sky. "Did you see that?"
Xiao Zhan couldn't help but give him a thumbs-up. "That's incredible! Can you communicate with lions? Is it scared of you?"
Wang Yibo's smile grew even brighter. "Maybe it thought it was seeing the Lion King."
Xiao Zhan had never seen such a shameless Wang Yibo before and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Seeing that Xiao Zhan clearly didn't believe him, Wang Yibo's smile faded a little, and he muttered, "I'm a Leo, I'm supposed to be the big lion, okay?"
After that, they continued wandering around the zoo. As the sun began to set, the light was soft and not too glaring.
They passed by the poultry and small animals' section, where they unexpectedly stumbled upon a pair of rabbits mating right outside their burrow.
Although they had heard about how rabbits mate quickly, they had never witnessed it in person, especially not two boys. Neither of them knew how to react. Before they could fully take it in, the male rabbit finished quickly, jumped off the female, and started munching on the grass. The female rabbit didn't stop eating, her expression unchanged.
Xiao Zhan was stunned. "Are rabbits really that shameless?"
Wang Yibo was also surprised, as though opening a door to a new world. "Rabbits can do it that fast?"
Xiao Zhan's tone carried a hint of knowing. "Maybe they've done it several times."
Wang Yibo's tone was teasing. "You seem to know a lot!"
The white rabbit quickly finished its grass, shook its ears, and then jumped back onto the female rabbit, starting another round of efficient work.
Xiao Zhan could no longer hold back his laughter. "See, I told you!"
Wang Yibo gave a speechless look at the oblivious rabbits, then turned away after a while.
"This time it's more intense. Let's give them some privacy."
Their final stop was the dolphin show.
A group of little children crowded the front, and the two older boys didn't want to squeeze through, so they stood at the very back.
The dolphin show was nothing special, just the usual tricks of using fresh fish to make the dolphins perform various actions and interact with the children. After the performance, Xiao Zhan seized the opportunity to line up for a photo with the dolphin.
Wang Yibo waited with him, but couldn't help but complain. "How old are you? Did you see? It's all little kids in front."
Xiao Zhan sounded a bit apologetic.
"Bo Ge, Bo Ge, you can say anything! Just take a good picture, the dolphins are so cute, I want a picture with them."
Wang Yibo's expression suddenly became very calm, showing no hint of anything. "Say my name again."
Xiao Zhan rolled his eyes and muttered the name under his breath, but only Wang Yibo heard it. His lips twitched, and he tried hard not to smile.
When it was their turn, the dolphin seemed to be tired of interacting with the kids and was more than happy to greet the older boys. It nudged its fish fin onto Xiao Zhan's shoulder and even pressed its smiling face against Xiao Zhan's cheek.
Xiao Zhan was overjoyed. "Wow, you love me so much!"
The dolphin smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Xiao Zhan was ecstatic. "Wang Yibo! Wang Yibo, take the photo, take a good one!"
He held onto the dolphin's fin and smiled for Wang Yibo's camera.
Wang Yibo snapped a few pictures and handed the phone to Xiao Zhan. At first, Xiao Zhan smiled so wide his face almost couldn't close, but soon he noticed something was wrong.
"Wang Yibo, why isn't the dolphin looking at the camera? Not only isn't it facing the camera, it didn't even show its front face! You see, all the photos you took, the dolphin's back is turned! There are so many times where the dolphin is kissing my cheek, why didn't you take those? And look at this one, the dolphins blurry! Is this a ghost dolphin?"
Wang Yibo hesitated for a moment and slowly replied. "But the photos of you came out fine."
Xiao Zhan was stunned.
He looked down and rechecked the photos. Although the dolphin was a mess, Xiao Zhan looked great in every shot.
The lighting was perfect, the sunset was soft and beautiful, and he was smiling brightly, his eyes sparkling. Even Xiao Zhan, who was used to looking good in photos, had to admit that Wang Yibo managed to highlight all of his facial features perfectly.
Xiao Zhan looked up, and Wang Yibo's eyes flickered slightly.
Without thinking, he asked, "Why is there such a big difference between the photos you took? Such a cute dolphin, and all we got was its back."
Wang Yibo's eyes were bright. Under the sunset, his ears seemed to be slightly red.
He looked at Xiao Zhan, his voice soft.
"The dolphin is cute, but I didn't focus on taking photos of it."
He left those words hanging and walked ahead, ignoring Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan stayed where he was, watching Wang Yibo's slender back. The younger boy had broad shoulders that made him seem like someone you could lean on. Xiao Zhan recalled Wang Yibo's words, and when he touched his own ears, they were unchanged.
He smiled knowingly, though his heart seemed to have sprouted wings, floating up high.
He called out, "Bo Ge, wait for me!" His eyes shining brightly, and he quickly caught up to him.
That evening, they had hotpot.
Xiao Zhan could handle spicy food; his principle was that the spicier, the better, but Wang Yibo couldn't take spice as well as Xiao Zhan. After considering it, he ordered a split pot with a mild and spicy side.
Hotpot always led to endless conversations, and with a big glass of beer, they quickly got into a lively discussion.
From why Xiao Zhan learned to ride a bike so slowly and whether his motor skills were poor, to why Xiao Zhan was so fast at gaming, to how they could team up and play together, and then to their university professors, which ones were good and which were clearly just getting by, discussing what was a good field to major in for the future.
Xiao Zhan teased, "You're a year younger than me, and you've figured all this out already?"
Wang Yibo dipped some lamb into the pot.
"After I graduate, I want to work in an investment bank for a few years, take all the certifications I can, and then go for an MBA."
Xiao Zhan was in his third year, and after the final exams, he'd be a senior.
"You seem pretty ambitious."
Wang Yibo smiled softly, and then looked at him as he said softly.
"Not ambitious. I just like being a good model."
Xiao Zhan's gaze softened for a second. It seemed like in this world of dreams and effort, Wang Yibo's silent way of facing everything was enough to make him calm down.