Work Text:
July 2020, Videochat from undisclosed locations
“Lao Wang, what have you done now?”
Yibo gives Xiao Zhan a wide-eyed innocent look, and then struggles to keep his lips from twitching up into a smirk, which is always a giveaway that he’s up to no good. “What?”
“Shijie is screaming in WeChat about black panthers everywhere,” Xiao Zhan explains patiently. “I know you don’t want me going online to look for myself, so do you want to explain?”
Yibo shrugs. “I just shared that Douyin we did, with the panther avatar you drew, that’s all.”
“Really, that’s all? That’s why Shijie is freaking out?”
“Well… I might have posted it on a few platforms.” Yibo’s chewing on his lip now, and Xiao Zhan sighs.
“Bo-ge… how many?”
“I don’t know... seven?”
“Seven? Are there even seven platforms?” Xiao Zhan rubs his face with his hands. This boy. “Ugh, never mind, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
But now Yibo wants him to know, because he’s actually pretty proud of what he’s done. “It’s part of my branding initiative, and I’ll have a new official Weibo account too -- Yuehua’s registration went through, so now I can use the panther as my official brand and it’ll be protected.”
“Aiya, Bo-ge... I drew this for you for 520 -- it’s such a personal drawing! This was more like how I see you, you know? If I’d known you were going to use it as your official brand, I would have approached it differently. Maybe made the panther more fierce, maybe left out the bandaid, or maybe --”
“No no, I already told you I love it the way it is. It’s perfect -- like everything you do.” Yibo slides effortlessly into his rainbow-farting mode and charges ahead. “My Zhan-ge is so talented--”
“Ai! Enough, Lao Wang--”
“-- everyone should know that I have the best personal designer that money can’t buy!”
Xiao Zhan points at Yibo through the phone, eyebrow cocked, and warns, “Don’t make me wish I’d gotten you to sign an NDA.”
“Usually NDAs run the other way, Zhan-ge,” Yibo laughs. “You might be the only designer who insists on getting no publicity for the work you do.”
Xiao Zhan raises a second eyebrow at Yibo, and so he backs down. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”
It’s a shame, Yibo thinks, but it’s been like this for years.
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Summer 2018, Hengdian
Yibo found Xiao Zhan fascinating in many, many ways, but one of the most fascinating things about him was the fact that he’d had an actual, real life desk job before becoming an idol. As a graphic designer! The idea kind of blew Yibo’s mind -- it was just another way Xiao Zhan was like no one else Yibo had ever met.
Xiao Zhan, though, didn’t seem to think his former life was that interesting, and it bugged Yibo how much he discounted the value of his designer experience. Once, during one of their bicker-fests between scenes, Yibo found himself insisting to Xiao Zhan that his skills could be put to good use to launch his own brand, and ever since then, Yibo had been on a mission to prove to the man that his artistic talents were valuable and worth flexing.
The perfect opportunity arose when Yibo found out that he needed someone to design a logo and racing leathers for him. His motorcycle buddy, Yin Zheng, had offered to connect him with the designer he’d hired, but Yibo had another idea.
“Zhan-ge, you know how I’ve been training to join Yamaha’s team, right?”
Xiao Zhan shot Yibo a tired look. “No, I only sat there and listened to you talk to that cameraman for hours about it.”
Yibo smacked his arm. “Liar. It wasn’t that long.”
“Well, it felt like hours.”
“Anyway,” Yibo went on, “I need a logo for myself, as a racer, and…”
Xiao Zhan stood up a bit straighter. “Racers have their own logos?”
“Oh, yeah,” Yibo smiled, happy that he had caught Xiao Zhan's interest. “So… do you think you can help me design a logo?”
Yibo watched, amused, as Xiao Zhan subtly shifted from Actor Xiao Zhan to Designer Xiao Zhan, and launched into his feeling-out-a-new-client’s-needs patter.
“... so you can tell me your thoughts, and this way I could help you design your logo.”
“I, uh… I also need you to help me design a leather suit.”
Xiao Zhan’s eyes widened. “A leather suit? What kind of leather suit?”
Yibo laughed his gremlin laugh. “A racing suit, silly! What were you just thinking about?”
Xiao Zhan hit him.
Later that day, Yibo had what he thought were brilliant ideas about his racing leathers and excitedly shared them with Xiao Zhan.
“... so there would be a logo at the top, and ‘YIBO' on the butt, a smiley face on the left leg and a crying face on the right leg…”
Xiao Zhan was wearing his professional face, nodding politely and taking care to validate Yibo’s not-at-all crazy vision.
“I think we can discuss this,” he responded carefully. “Just tell me your ideas, and then when I’ve got some free time, I can help you draft a sketch.”
Yibo was impressed. This was a new side to Xiao Zhan he’d never seen before, and it was kind of a turn-on.
“Wow! You’re taking this so seriously! So serious…”
Xiao Zhan paused to get his eyedrops from his assistant and briskly explained, “it’s because sometimes you yourself wouldn’t know how to design it, you wouldn’t have many ideas on your own.”
Yibo nodded, thrilled Xiao Zhan was really going to design stuff for him. And that Yibo was going to get to know Designer Xiao Zhan a little better. Designer Xiao Zhan was cool, confident in his skills, and casually dismissive of Yibo’s bullshit in a way that Yibo was finding really hot.
“Tracer85?” Xiao Zhan asked as he went over Yibo’s chicken scrawl one night after filming. “I get that the 85 is your birthday, but are you talking about Tracer from Overwatch? Because I can’t use some other company’s character in your logo, you know.”
Yibo laughed. “I like Tracer, yeah -- but Tracer is also one of Yamaha’s motorcycle models… so if I’m going to race for them…”
“Yeah, well, that’s still another company’s protected mark, so I don’t know about that…” Xiao Zhan took out his phone and did some searches. “Oh, but if you like the name Tracer, it’s also what you call a bullet that leaves behind a bright trail -- that’s kind of a cool image for a racer, don’t you think?”
“Oh yeah -- I like that!” Yibo enthused, already thinking about ways to show his appreciation for his new designer’s contributions.
“I can definitely work with that,” Xiao Zhan smiled, making notes in his sketch pad. “And if you still wanna be a gay video game hero, maybe your tracer bullet can spray rainbows behind it.”
At that, Yibo growled and then tackled a laughing Xiao Zhan, putting an end to that night’s consultation.
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A few weeks later, Xiao Zhan showed Yibo some rough sketches of his logo ideas.
“I love this one,” Yibo gushed, pointing at a logo featuring a bullet tearing across a stylized “85” in bright green, his favorite color. “It’s bold and it’ll be easy to identify on my bike.”
“Cool. Then I’ll work that one into the design for your suit. I think I can use a lot of your ideas, but uhhh… no YIBO on your ass, okay? I think it’s unlucky for you to be sitting on your own name, especially if you fall on it.”
Yibo was disappointed, since he liked plastering his name on things, but if Xiao Zhan thought it was unlucky, he would accept his recommendation.
“Zhan-ge, this is great -- thank you so much for doing the designs for me. I should pay you, though -- didn’t you used to charge 200,000 rmb for logo work?”
Xiao Zhan looked offended. “Aiya, Lao Wang -- I’m not charging you for this!”
“Why not, Ge? I would have paid a designer good money to do this for me, but I’d much rather work with you.”
“How about a barter, then?” Xiao Zhan winked. “Trade you design work for dance coaching and choreography?”
Yibo snorted. “What? I enjoy teaching you dance moves -- why would I charge you for that?”
Xiao Zhan pointed a finger at Yibo. “Exactly. There you go.”
“That’s different, though,” Yibo protested.
Xiao Zhan tilted his head adorably, but in that way that made clear he knew he’d already won the point. “Oh? How so?”
“Um, uh… because…” Yibo flailed a bit, reaching for some way to justify the distinction he was trying to make. “Because I - I don’t do private lessons, so it’s not something I charge for -- it’s just something I wanted to do for you.”
“And I don’t design anymore -- that’s my old life. I mean, I do my own projects, stuff for myself, but I don’t draw for other people. So this is just for you...” Xiao Zhan smiled fondly. “You don’t teach dance to just anyone, and I don’t design or draw for just anyone. I guess we are even now.”
Yibo still thought Xiao Zhan was undervaluing his skills, but agreed to the barter, figuring he could find ways to even up the bargain in the future. (Just the thought of a future of trying to even the score made him smile.)
What he didn’t love about the agreement was Xiao Zhan’s insistence that Yibo not tell anyone he had done the design work for him.
“But why? We’ve both admitted that I helped you with your dance routines, so why can’t I give you credit as my designer?”
Xiao Zhan laughed. “We were filmed practicing dance moves together, so how are we going to deny that now?”
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain why we can’t mention the design work.”
“Because…” Xiao Zhan sighed. “You’re a dancer, so… you dance. I’m… an actor now, a singer. I’m not a designer anymore. I don’t need or want credit for designing things, and… well, if you want me to keep designing for you, maybe it’d be easier if no one knew, ah?”
Yibo did want that, so when he was introduced as a new member of Yamaha’s racing team that December, and he debuted Xiao Zhan’s designs, he thanked him privately (it was more fun that way anyway).
Still, Yibo couldn’t help dropping a hint or two about who his amazing private designer was. The following year, on Qixi, the Chinese Valentine’s Day, he showed off his racing suit with the caption, Happy Qixi. Fans laughed at how unromantic his post was, but Yibo (and hopefully Xiao Zhan) knew better.
Others apparently did too. Yamaha reposted his photo the next day, calling it his Qixi Zhan Yi. His Valentine’s Day battle clothes.
“Wang Yibo! What have you told Yamaha? Why is the official account calling your leathers your “Zhan Yi” on Weibo?”
“Errrrrmmmm maybe because Zheng-ge and I call my suit that?” Yibo grinned semi-apologetically. “And they of course know who submitted the design in the first place…”
Xiao Zhan grumbled. “I guess. But they’re not supposed to disclose that.”
“Oh, stop worrying. It’s not like anyone will read into it. Sure, it’s your name, but it also means battle, so...” Yibo smirked, “it’s easy for me to drop it in casual conversation. I’m a competitive guy, you know.”
“That you are!” Xiao Zhan agreed, laughing. Then his face turned serious, with a heavy sigh. “Listen, I’m sorry I can’t be at your race again. It never seems to work out, schedule-wise.”
“It’s okay,” Yibo assured him, despite his disappointment that he wouldn’t be seeing Xiao Zhan at the finish line. “I will literally be wrapped up in your love when I win. My Zhan Yi.”
“Aish, Wang Laoshi is so cheesy.”
July 2020, Videochat from undisclosed locations
“Did I mention Hanliang asked in the Street Dance captain group chat if he could get the name of my designer?” Yibo gives a satisfied grin, pleased that he has something that inspires envy. “I guess he wants an avatar of his own now that he’s seen mine. Yixing had fun with that.”
Xiao Zhan shakes his head. “Oh god, I need to remind Yixing to keep his mouth shut.”
“Don’t worry, Ge, he won’t tell anyone you drew it for me. He knows I don’t want to share my personal designer with anyone.” Yibo gives Xiao Zhan a look through the phone screen. “I can’t have my designer spending any of his precious time thinking about anyone else’s needs but mine.”
“You’ve had exclusive rights to me for awhile now,” Xiao Zhan says with a bite of his lip. Yibo makes an embarrassing noise in response.
“But you know,” Xiao Zhan continues, “you’re pretty good at this branding business too. No one would be paying this much attention to my mole if it hadn’t been for you.” He pauses to give Yibo one of those soft, loving smiles that makes Yibo melt. “We make a good team.”
“Yes,” Yibo says, still looking dreamily at Xiao Zhan.
“So if this idol business doesn’t pan out--”
Yibo cuts him off. “Stop. It will get better.”
“Okay, okay,” Xiao Zhan relents. “I’ll be your designer either way, when you launch your brand.”
“Our brand,” Yibo corrects. “YiZhan.”
“I like ZhanYi better,” Xiao Zhan shoots back.
“Suibian. As long as we do it together.”