Chà Chà Novel

Su Nuo was so annoyed he ignored him for half the day. Once Fu Baihan finished packing up the camping gear, he simply picked the kid up. “Let’s go.”

Su Nuo’s little tantrum was crushed by brute force. With his feet off the ground, he whined, “Can you not?”

Fu Baihan gave him a smack on the butt and clicked his tongue. “Is that how you talk to your brother?”

Su Nuo reached up and messed up his hair in helpless fury.

Before they even made it to the car, they spotted another family who’d just arrived at the campsite, watching them curiously.

Su Nuo froze. Remembering his manager’s tearful pleas, he panicked.

No. For the sake of my manager’s hairline, I can’t get caught in another ridiculous rumor.

Like an ostrich, he buried his face in the crook of Fu Baihan’s neck, trying to hide.

In reality, that only made them look even closer. Fu Baihan could easily carry him with one arm, but he was still a six-foot guy. He wasn’t going to turn invisible.

“Hm?” The kid who’d been throwing a fit a second ago was suddenly being sweet. Fu Baihan was puzzled.

“Hurry, hurry,” Su Nuo urged quietly. “People are looking…”

Once he was set in the car, Su Nuo tugged at his seatbelt and suddenly realized: why am I so nervous? It’s not like I’m having an affair!

That stupid trending topic. Now he couldn’t even look his brother in the eye.

Seeing him freeze up, Fu Baihan watched the kid’s entire face change color, turning bright red all at once like a boiled shrimp. Amused, he pinched his ear. “Thinking about something naughty?”

Su Nuo covered his face. “Brother, when we get back, can you buy Weibo?”

Capitalist, now’s the time to show what you can really do.

“No,” Fu Baihan answered, crushing Su Nuo’s hopes. “Did you forget, sweetie? I’m broke.”

Su Nuo: “…” You’re not broke! You just hold grudges!

With all their bickering and goofing around, the vacation flew by. Once they got home, Su Nuo’s summer break was almost over.

Knowing he was about to start school, his manager didn’t schedule anything for him or go after any deals.

Please. What brand ambassador gig was good enough for their little young master?

With the entire Fu Group backing him, there was no shortage of opportunities!

Su Jing still hadn’t recovered, so her wish to take him to school couldn’t come true. She was really disappointed. Su Nuo comforted her over video for a long time before she cheered up. He’d rather she get healthy than see him sooner.

The little young master starting school was a top-priority event. Since his parents couldn’t come back, Fu Baihan took him to school himself.

The secretaries were thinking it over. “Isn’t the CEO taking a lot of time off lately?”

“He never even needed his annual leave before.”

“If I didn’t schedule his calendar myself, I’d really think he was hiding a secret lover.”

“A secret lover? Hiding who, the little young master?”

“Speaking of which, the little young master starts school today. Is he never coming to the office again?”

“It’s college, not high school. Of course he’ll have time to come.”

“I’d give up my desk for the little young master if it meant he’d come every day.”

“Do we even need to give up anything? The CEO will just keep him in his own office.”

“Tsk tsk tsk. Brother complex…”

Fu Baihan, the subject of all this gossip, carried the kid’s suitcase and asked again, “You really want to live in the dorms?”

Su Nuo nodded. “Yep!”

Fu Baihan had been spending so much time with him lately. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but Su Nuo had noticed his own feelings changing. Ever since they got back from that trip, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering.

The night before school started, he finally understood. The way his thoughts had been wavering made perfect sense. For someone who liked guys, the most attractive person he spent the most time with was obviously Fu Baihan.

All of Fu Baihan’s spoiling and indulgence had pulled him in deep.

Starting school was a good chance to put some distance between them.

He needed to remember he was Fu Baihan’s little brother. He couldn’t mistake a big brother’s affection for something else.

“Sweetie, we could move near your school,” Fu Baihan offered. “Don’t you hate shared dorms?”

Su Nuo held back his longing for a big house and argued, “But living in the dorms is an experience too. Brother, I’m in college now. We have military training at the start, and the dorms are convenient and I can make friends. It’ll be great.”

Fu Baihan could tell his mind was made up, so he had no choice but to agree. He didn’t pick up on what the kid was really thinking. He just assumed he’d been too strict lately and the kid wanted to escape and have some freedom.

Seriously, was it his fault for spending his free time with his little brother?

And the kid was complaining!

Su Nuo was attending film school, where plenty of students had already debuted, including child stars who’d been famous for years. A newcomer like him, whose work hadn’t even come out yet and who’d only made a tiny splash in the industry, didn’t stand out at all.

Well, his buzz and fame didn’t stand out. His face definitely did.

On a campus full of good-looking people, he still shone.

Fu Baihan couldn’t walk him inside without probably drawing the attention of the president of the school, so he just dropped him off at the gate. “I’ll come pick you up for dinner tonight, okay?”

Su Nuo thought about it and shook his head. “Not today. Once I unpack, I’ll definitely want to get to know my roommates.”

Fu Baihan frowned, but seeing how happy the kid was, he didn’t push it. He patted his head. “Go on.”

Su Nuo took two steps, turned around, and waved. “Brother, I’ll miss you!”

Fu Baihan’s smile turned genuinely warm. That’s all it took to make him happy.

In his past life, Su Nuo never got to enjoy campus life. The Fu family’s relatives had taken all the family assets and thrown him out. The Su family, to keep Su Yujin happy, had always been cold to him, and since they assumed he had money left to him by the Fu family, they never gave him a cent. He had to work part-time jobs nonstop just to pay for school and survive.

It had been a really dark time. Even now, just remembering it made him feel suffocated. Even though fate had changed course, he still had nightmares sometimes.

What hurt him wasn’t how hard his life had been back then. It was knowing how much it would break Fu Baihan’s and the Fu parents’ hearts, and how much they’d blame themselves, if they knew.

They should have been a happy, complete family. In the end, he was the only one left.

Thanks to Su Yujin’s behind-the-scenes scheming, Su Nuo’s reputation had been completely destroyed, and the industry was full of terrible rumors about him. But his roommates, who weren’t even that close to him, comforted him when he was at his lowest. They told him not to worry about what people said, to study hard, and that he’d get a chance to prove himself after graduation.

Su Nuo was grateful to everyone who had ever reached out to help him. Their kindness was the only light he saw during that time.

Getting to be classmates with these people again, Su Nuo was really looking forward to it.

Last time he never made it to graduation. This time, he wanted his college years to have no regrets.

An upperclassman eagerly showed him the way. Su Nuo thanked her politely and won her heart without even trying.

Where did this freshman treasure come from?! He’s way too good-looking!

When he got to the dorm, Su Nuo saw that his three roommates had already arrived. He wheeled his suitcase in and smiled at them. “Hi, I’m Su Nuo.”

All their parents were there. Seeing how sweet and well-mannered Su Nuo was, and that he’d come to register all by himself, their hearts went out to him. They not only helped make his bed, they told their own kids to look out for him.

Compared to them, Su Nuo looked younger. He had a natural gift for winning over grown-ups.

The dorm had a great vibe. Once the parents left, Su Nuo introduced himself to them all over again, and they swapped names.

Anyone who’d followed entertainment news over the summer knew who Su Nuo was. They’d expected some newly famous guy who’d be hard to get along with, and had even planned how to deal with him. Instead, they met a total sweetheart.

Of Su Nuo’s three roommates, only one, Zhu Chuan, had already debuted. He was a former child star who’d won awards and was quite well known. The other two were newcomers who’d just gotten into film school, with no connections and no opportunities yet. They dreamed of show business, but they weren’t the extreme type, and they weren’t jealous of the others’ fame.

How do guys bond? Talking alone definitely won’t cut it.

After a couple of rounds of games, plus dinner and some barbecue skewers together, the awkwardness of their first meeting was gone. They were already throwing arms around each other’s shoulders and calling each other bro.

“Nuonuo, what skincare do you use?” Yu Hexu circled around Su Nuo, looking him up and down, until he couldn’t resist and reached out to pinch his cheek.

Su Nuo swatted his hand away. “Ten yuan per touch.”

Laughing, Yu Hexu reached for his pocket. “I’ve got money. I’ll buy ten!”

The four guys laughed and joked as they kicked off their college life.

That first night, Fu Baihan came home and didn’t see his little brother. Facing the empty house, a sudden strangeness and melancholy hit him.

If anyone really couldn’t live without the other, it was probably him who couldn’t live without Su Nuo.

Without his little brother, without him acting cute, the exhaustion from a whole day of work didn’t fade at all. Instead, he just got more and more irritated, with no way to shake it.

How could his kid forget all about his big brother the moment he got to school?

Not even a single phone call?

He stared at his phone. The screen lit up and went dark, but there was still no message from Su Nuo. Fu Baihan hovered his finger over it, hesitating.

He wanted to call Su Nuo and ask what he was doing and if he wanted to come home, but he was afraid it would annoy the kid.

Kids grow up. They need their own space.

Flying off to freedom without even looking back at the lonely old man at home.

Fu Baihan suddenly felt stifled. He tossed his phone aside, got up, and went into the study, burying himself in work to numb it.

Why get mad at that heartless little rascal? He’d just go grab him tomorrow.

Su Nuo stayed out pretty late and got back to the dorm right at lights-out. Lying in bed, he kept looking at his chat with Fu Baihan, torn about whether to message him.

What if Fu Baihan was already asleep?

And if he wasn’t, he’d probably ask why Su Nuo was still up so late.

As he hesitated, a notification suddenly popped up in the chat.

“You nudged Brother” ???

I didn’t! It wasn’t me!

So Brother, are you still awake? Why aren’t you answering if you saw it?