Chà Chà Novel

Su Nuo knew Fu Baihan was usually busy with work, and sometimes he even stayed up all night. But he always replied to Su Nuo’s messages. Total silence like this suddenly made Su Nuo feel neglected.

First day of school and my brother’s already ignoring me?

Su Nuo rolled over, turned off his phone, and closed his eyes, his mind a mess.

He knew he was being weird. He shouldn’t expect Fu Baihan to respond to everything, and he shouldn’t take it for granted that he could keep all of Fu Baihan’s tenderness to himself. But maybe he’d been spoiled too much. Around Fu Baihan, he couldn’t help showing a willful side he’d never show anyone else.

Would Fu Baihan someday get tired of a little brother like this?

Logically, Su Nuo knew Fu Baihan wasn’t like that. Even if they drifted apart someday, he’d always protect him and take care of him. But emotionally, he still felt stifled.

It was like he could already see Fu Baihan starting a family with someone else, and his patience and tenderness no longer belonging only to Su Nuo.

Lots of people cared about him, elders and friends alike, and they all made Su Nuo feel warm. But Su Nuo knew perfectly well he wasn’t the only one, or the most special one, to any of them.

They had their own families, their own partners, their own relatives. He was always one step removed.

But Fu Baihan was different. What Fu Baihan gave him was a one-of-a-kind favoritism.

It was precisely because of that favoritism that Su Nuo could be so carefree around him. No matter how much of a fuss he made, he knew for certain he’d still be spoiled.

A kid who started overthinking just because he hadn’t gotten a reply in a while was definitely showing signs of becoming a total drama queen.

Military training started first thing the next morning. Standing at attention in the blazing sun, he couldn’t think about anything else. He just wanted it to be over.

Su Nuo looked at the girls in the front row, still wearing perfect makeup, and was deeply impressed.

In this heat, getting up this early. These girls really had boundless energy.

Just washing his face felt like he didn’t have enough time.

The dorm wasn’t bad, but of course it was nothing like home. For the little young master, it was basically one of those reality shows where rich kids get sent to live a hard life.

In the formation, Su Nuo stood out so much that the drill instructor called him to the front as an example.

The boy was almost too handsome, with skin so fair and smooth it seemed to glow. His classmates couldn’t stop sneaking looks.

Everyone who got into this program thought they’d be famous someday, but seeing Su Nuo, they finally understood what it meant to feel inferior.

Being classmates with someone who looked like that with no makeup made the rest of them look like ugly ducklings.

The instructor was downright cruel. Day one of school, and he’d already taught them to face cold, hard reality!

Of course, there were also some who were jealous of Su Nuo. They just didn’t show it openly, only grumbled in private.

Pretty boy. Hmph.

Su Nuo ignored everyone’s stares. He didn’t care what his classmates thought. He wasn’t some naive sweetheart determined to be friends with everyone. Classmates were classmates. If they got along, great. If not, no big deal.

At noon, as he was about to head to the cafeteria with his roommates, a teacher stopped him. “Su Nuo, come with me for a moment. Your guardian is waiting for you.”

Su Nuo guessed it was Fu Baihan. The Fu parents were both abroad, so there was no one else who could count as his “guardian.”

He followed the teacher to the office. The air conditioning felt amazing. There was no one else in the office except Fu Baihan, waiting for him with a lunchbox. Su Nuo felt a little awkward. “Brother, why are you here?”

“You won’t come home, so I can’t visit you at school?” Fu Baihan raised an eyebrow. “Ungrateful little thing.”

Seeing the look on the kid’s face, Fu Baihan asked, “What, you’re not happy to see me?”

The kid started school and was already tired of him? He hadn’t even done anything!

The rebellious phase was back out of nowhere, and the big brother was totally lost.

Su Nuo pouted. He tried to hold it in but couldn’t, and said quietly, “You ignored me yesterday…”

Fu Baihan was puzzled. “Did I?”

Wow. The kid had even learned to turn the tables. He was clearly the one who hadn’t reached out, yet he looked so wronged that Fu Baihan almost thought he’d bullied him.

“I messaged you and you didn’t reply!” Su Nuo accused.

Fu Baihan sighed. “Sweetie, you never messaged me.”

“A nudge counts too!” Su Nuo whined.

Fu Baihan: “…” Fine. You’re cute, so you win.

“I’m sorry. Next time I’ll turn my notification volume all the way up, okay? Even if I’m asleep, I’ll get up to answer my sweetie’s messages.” Fu Baihan’s voice was full of laughter.

Hearing him tease, Su Nuo went over and hit him. “I’m not that unreasonable!”

Fu Baihan wrapped his arms around the kid. “Right. You just quietly hold a grudge and then take it out on me.”

Su Nuo rubbed his nose guiltily. “I do not!”

“Whose kid has such a temper?” Fu Baihan smiled. “If I don’t apologize, are you going to refuse to see me next time?”

Su Nuo puffed out his cheeks and said nothing.

Fu Baihan touched his forehead. “Other people’s girlfriends aren’t even this spoiled.”

He’d seen Ji Xinghui’s relationships. All kinds of types. Some had whined and thrown tantrums at Ji Xinghui too, but Ji Xinghui only bothered to coax them while things were still new.

Not like him, who always had to be the one to give in.

Hm… but this was his precious little brother, not one of Ji Xinghui’s girlfriends. He deserved the very best treatment.

Su Nuo huffed. “Then I’ll see you over winter break.”

Fu Baihan had to admit the kid had him wrapped around his little finger.

He couldn’t scold him, and he definitely couldn’t spank him. The only strategy left was to smooth things over and coax him.

After acting spoiled with him, Su Nuo realized just how hard old habits were to break. Whenever he saw Fu Baihan, he turned into a little drama queen.

Even after just one day apart, he still missed him.

All his excitement about a new life couldn’t compare to how much he cared about him.

The most important reason Su Nuo had been reborn was to save the Fu family. And the one person he absolutely could not lose was Fu Baihan.

“How’s military training?” Fu Baihan asked, watching the kid eat.

“It’s fine.” Su Nuo was proud. “The instructor even praised me for standing at attention perfectly!”

Seeing the kid’s face light up, Fu Baihan relaxed. It looked like his kid was adjusting well at his new school and wasn’t being picked on.

The Fu Group’s headquarters was right here in the capital, and its influence ran deep. Coming here in person was a way to let the principal and teachers know: this was his kid, and he wasn’t to be mistreated.

Fu Baihan had never gotten this kind of treatment in school. Fu Mingyuan had let him fend for himself completely, trusting him to handle everything.

But letting Su Nuo fend for himself? Fu Baihan couldn’t do it.

He was afraid of dropping the kid even when holding him in the palm of his hand. How could he just drop him off at school and walk away?

“I’m going on a business trip to the next city in a couple of days. After military training, I’ll come pick you up and take you home, okay?”

What was so great about the dorms? Did the Fu family not own enough property? Were his houses not big enough?

Fu Baihan figured his kid was just enjoying the novelty. He’d never lived in a dorm before. He just wanted to experience group living.

Su Nuo kept his head down, eating. “Okay.”

Of course he’d go home. Otherwise, who’d do his laundry? He’d actually been more independent as a little kid than he was now. At the orphanage, he’d done everything himself. After so many years of being spoiled by the Fu family, he’d gotten used to relying on his brother for everything.

Fu Baihan was part of his life. He was the person Su Nuo wanted to cling to every single day.

Su Nuo pretended to be calm. He didn’t even dare look up and meet his eyes, afraid Fu Baihan would see the panic inside him.

He’d never thought his dependence on Fu Baihan could mean anything else. If it weren’t for all the shipping on Weibo, he would have gone on believing it was just the purest brotherly love.

But after being baptized by all that gossip, Su Nuo realized that what they posted was indeed false, but his own heart wasn’t exactly innocent.

They were so close that outsiders mistook them for a couple.

Fu Baihan probably didn’t think anything of it. He’d always been completely natural about it. But Su Nuo was very aware of how special he acted around him.

Did he really want to see Fu Baihan get married? No. He wanted the two of them to stay just like this forever, with no one else coming in.

But was that kind of possessiveness something a little brother should feel for his big brother?

Maybe it was a case of not seeing what was right in front of him. He’d taken it all for granted, so he’d never noticed how different these feelings were.

Or rather, he’d simply never thought about it before. In his past life, Fu Baihan was already gone by this point, and all that came after was grief and longing. Now, with an entire extra lifetime of experience, he wasn’t a truly innocent, clueless eighteen-year-old anymore. He was starting to want his big brother all to himself.

“Are your roommates okay? How’d you sleep last night?” Fu Baihan had no idea what kind of inner battle the kid was fighting. He asked with concern.

Su Nuo nodded. “Pretty good. They’re all nice.”

“Sweetie, you just started school. No dating, got it?” Fu Baihan patted his hair.

Su Nuo looked up with a strange expression. “…Okay.”

He wouldn’t have thought much of it before, but things were different now. Feeling guilty himself, Su Nuo read more into Fu Baihan’s words. Why won’t he let me date? Does he feel the same way?

Seriously, what big brother forbids his adult little brother from “dating too early”?

Aren’t brothers supposed to encourage each other’s love lives?

After all, when your own pig goes off to dig up someone else’s cabbage, you’re supposed to be proud and celebrate.

Fu Baihan kept warning him over and over, even calling it “dating too early.” That didn’t seem very normal either… Su Nuo bit his lip and couldn’t help asking, “Brother, what if I like someone at school…”

“How old are you?” Fu Baihan shot it down immediately. “No. Wait another couple of years.”

Su Nuo deflated. Maybe Fu Baihan really was just raising him like a kindergartener.

“Brother, what age do you think is okay to get married?” Su Nuo tossed out the question to test him.

Fu Baihan didn’t even think. “At least until you’re thirty.”

Su Nuo: “…” Wow. You really are a dictator.

Not allowed to marry until thirty? Fine. By then you’ll be almost forty. I guess we can still catch a little golden-years romance.

Faced with a big brother this obsessed with age, there was really no telling what he was actually thinking.