[📘 Content Warning:
This story contains Boys’ Love (BL) themes. Reader discretion is advised. Please read the disclaimers mentioned in the Instagram post.]
The smell of ginger and garlic filled the kitchen, warm steam rising from the wok as Yibo stood with a spatula in hand, sleeves rolled up, hair slightly damp from his morning shower.
Across the counter, Zhan hovered with his own pan, carefully stirring vegetables with deliberate precision.
“You’re burning it again, Bo.”
Zhan said flatly, his eyes narrowing over the steam.
Yibo shot him a look.
“Ge, I’ve cooked this dish a hundred times. It’s called golden-brown. Not burnt.”
“Golden-brown?”
Zhan muttered, poking at the edge with his chopsticks.
“That’s carbon-black, Bo. Even Zeyu won’t eat it.”
As if on cue, Zeyu looked up from the dining table, where his crayons were spread like tiny rainbows over the wood.
He tilted his head, blue eyes sparkling.
“I’ll eat Pa’s food.”
He announced proudly, sketching a crooked sun on his paper.
“Even if it’s black.”
Yibo smirked, victorious.
“See? My son supports me.”
Zhan snorted, lips twitching into a smile despite himself.
“Our son is too loyal for his own good.”
He glanced at Zeyu, then at Yibo.
“Alright, I’ll drop him at school today. In the evening, while picking him up, you go buy groceries, Bo. The list is stuck on the refrigerator, don’t forget.”
“Okay, ge, I’ll buy.”
Yibo said easily.
From the table, Zeyu piped up, eyes wide with hope.
“Pa, will you get me ice cream?”
“Sure, Baobei.”
Yibo replied with a grin.
But before the boy could celebrate, Zhan’s voice cut in.
‘No, Zeyu. These days you’re eating too much ice cream and chocolate. At this rate, I’ll be taking you to the dentist very soon.”
Zeyu’s face fell, his little shoulders slumping as he stirred his crayons across the table.
Yibo stepped up behind Zhan, looping his arms around his waist and leaning in, his voice low and teasing.
“Please, ge, let him have one. He’s the only one we’ve got.”
Zhan turned his head, smiling despite himself.
“Yes, yes. You two, father and son always win things through emotional blackmailing.”
Both Yibo and Zeyu burst into matching chuckles, their laughter filling the room.
The clatter of pans, the faint smell of soy sauce, the sound of crayons tapping the table… this was their life now.
Not extraordinary, but steady.
Not a stolen moment in shadows, but an ordinary morning in the home they had built together.
And that ordinary, after everything, was extraordinary enough.
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By autumn, Zeyu had started school.
His backpack was nearly bigger than him, straps slipping down his shoulders as he marched proudly to the gate each morning.
They took turns dropping him off.
Zhan on weekdays when his editing schedule allowed, Yibo on others when the garage closed early.
Sometimes, if both had time, they went together, Zeyu’s small hands holding tightly onto theirs as if he’d never let go.
Every afternoon, Zhan would wait near the gates, scanning the stream of children until that familiar shock of blue eyes lit up at the sight of him.
Other times, Yibo would lean casually against his bike, helmet tucked under one arm, waving as Zeyu came running.
Before heading home, he’d lift him onto the seat for a short ride around the block, Zeyu’s favorite thing in the world, his laughter ringing louder than the engine.
In the evenings, their little boy would chatter endlessly about teachers, new friends, playground adventures, his voice filling their home with stories that tangled seamlessly into the fabric of their days.
Some days, Zhan brought Zeyu to Yibo’s garage, and he would sit quietly, heart full, as he watched their little boy kneel beside his Pa, wide-eyed and curious, eagerly handing tools or peering close while Yibo worked on a bike or car.
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Once a year, they returned home.
Hangzhou and Linping.
Two hometowns carrying roots, memories, ghosts.
At Zhan’s home, Liu Fang would fuss endlessly, piling food into bowls until the table groaned under the weight.
She would quietly slip red envelopes with cash into Zeyu’s pockets, pretending it wasn’t a big deal.
Yue would tease her brother relentlessly, smirking that no matter what he became now, he’d always be the awkward bookstore guy in her eyes.
At Yibo’s home, visits were quieter, careful.
They only went when Wang Jinfa was away on his long-haul trips.
Zhang Meilan would hug them tightly, scolding them for being too thin, slipping extra food into their plates when she thought they weren’t looking.
Grandma Shuzhen would pull Zeyu close, whispering blessings and planting kisses on his cheeks until he squirmed with laughter.
Bittersweet as it was, they accepted it.
Not all wounds healed.
Not all parents could understand.
But they had chosen honesty, chosen each other and that choice gave them peace, even amidst the gaps.
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Every visit to Deqing became its own ritual.
Together, the three of them would board the 7:45 train, the same train where it all began.
Now, instead of fleeting glances across a crowded compartment, Zhan and Yibo stood side by side, Zeyu’s small hand threaded between theirs.
When the train pulled into Deqing, they would smile quietly at each other, both remembering those first stolen looks, the hesitant smiles that had started everything.
They always went to the riverside.
The golden sky, the water rippling soft against the banks—it still held their laughter and their heartbreak, their beginnings and their almost-endings.
Standing there with Zeyu skipping stones into the current, it felt like the past and present folding neatly into one.
Sometimes, they’d walk past Zhan’s old bookstore.
The bell no longer chimed, the shelves long gone, the windows replaced with neon menus and the smell of fried rice.
A restaurant now.
Zhan would pause at the doorway, Yibo’s hand brushing his, both of them quiet for a moment before moving on.
Places change.
Memories don’t.
——————————–
Two years after their wedding, life wove in another milestone… Yue’s marriage.
It had been Zhan and Yibo who suggested Chen for Yue.
Now an automobile engineer at a respected firm.
Yue hadn’t even hesitated; she said yes without a second thought, knowing her brother and brother-in-law would only choose the best for her.
Her wedding was bright and chaotic, filled with teasing relatives, clinking glasses, and a dance floor where Yibo reluctantly let himself be dragged by Zeyu.
For Zhan, watching his little sister walk into her new life was bittersweet, but pride outweighed everything.
Lele also arrived with his family, and for a moment, it felt like old times again.
A reunion of sorts with Yibo, Zhan, Chen, and Lele all together in one place.
Stories flowed as easily as the wine, laughter louder than the music, and for a night it was as if the years had folded in on themselves, carrying them back to where it had all begun.
A year later, Yue gave birth to a daughter.
Tiny, perfect, with Chen’s nose and Yue’s mischievous smile.
Around the same time, Zhan and Yibo finalized the adoption of a little girl who had just turned two.
She became Zeyu’s sister, their daughter, their family’s newest heartbeat.
They named her Meiyu Xiao Wang…a wish wrapped into a name.
Zeyu, now eight, took his role as Gege very seriously.
He hovered around her crib, watchful and protective, proudly showing her his drawings and reading picture books aloud in his small but earnest voice.
Their home, once quiet, now rang with two children’s laughter, the rhythm of parenthood unfolding all over again.
—————————–
One night, after tucking both kids in, Zhan and Yibo sat tangled in each other’s arms in their room, the faint glow of city lights painting the walls in quiet gold.
“Do you ever think…”
Zhan said softly.
“… about how far we’ve come? From that metro train to… this?”
Yibo leaned in, tugging him closer, the warmth of his hand steady against Zhan’s.
“Hmm. We made it, ge.”
The night pressed soft and dark around them, the sky scattered with distant stars.
The air was cool against their skin, tinged with the faint scent of rain and jasmine from the garden.
The city pulsed around them… distant laughter, the whoosh of a passing tram but here, in this small corner, it was only them.
Zhan leaned into Yibo’s chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breath, the anchor he had searched for all his life.
Their fingers tangled, wedding rings catching the faint glow of the city lights.
Yibo bent his head, brushing a kiss against Zhan’s hair, and for a long moment, nothing else mattered.
Zhan closed his eyes, letting the world fall away until there was nothing but the warmth of Yibo’s hand in his, steady and unyielding.
After everything… years of ache, distance, and longing, they finally had this.
Married for three years now, with the family they once only dreamed of, they breathed in the same quiet, holding on, knowing they would never let go again.
And their story continues, quietly, in forever…
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✨ Author’s Note ✨
And just like that… we’re here.
After 50 chapters, this journey that began on May 31st has finally found its closing today.
Almost three and a half months of tangled drafts, sleepless nights, endless rewrites, and a heart that refused to let go of these characters until their story was told.
Writing Tangled Hearts has been one of the most emotional rides I’ve ever taken as a writer.
It wasn’t just about Zhan and Yibo, but about love in its rawest form… messy, aching, beautiful, and worth fighting for.
Every line carried a piece of me, and seeing so many of you read, react, cry, laugh, and cheer along has made all those long nights worthwhile.
Thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart… for being here, for waiting on updates, for sending me your thoughts, for letting me know that this story mattered to you too.
This isn’t just my fic anymore, it’s ours…
So here’s to Zhan, Yibo, Zeyu and the family they built… and here’s to all of you, for making this journey unforgettable.
I may be closing the book on this fic, and for now, I’ll also be taking a little break.
It’s much needed after such a long, emotional ride.
Thank you for walking beside me through every chapter, you truly made this journey worth it.
When I return, I’ll be ready to write again with a clearer mind and a fuller heart.
Until then, thank you for everything… for every vote, comment, like and DM.
Love you all,
Red Ribbon Wei
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The Red Ribbon 