Chà Chà Novel

Su Nuo still had his makeup on. The makeup artist had only defined his brows and eyes and dusted on a light layer of powder, and he was already so handsome it was hard to look away.

But right now, the two men were facing off, as if neither of them even noticed he was standing there.

Su Nuo: “…” Forced into invisibility. Fine. I don’t want to deal with either of you anyway.

Seeing staff walking by and curiously sizing them up, whispering things like “his assistant,” Su Nuo quickly dragged Fu Baihan away from the front lines of the gossip.

He’d casually called Fu Baihan his assistant once, and now the CEO was stuck with that role. Su Nuo didn’t even want to imagine the earthquake it would cause in show business if anyone ever found out his mysterious little assistant was Fu Baihan.

As it was, even the fans only knew he had an assistant who always hid his face, tall and built, maximum boyfriend energy, carrying his bags and bringing him water with perfect attentiveness.

Su Nuo had an uncanny knack for getting shipped. Maybe because he looked good next to anyone. People he’d worked with and people he hadn’t all got edited into ship videos with him. Knowing fans were just having fun, the company never bothered dealing with it. After all, it was free publicity.

At the top of the rankings was Wei Sinian and Su Nuo’s “Sweetener” ship (a pun on their surnames, Wei and Su). Scroll down and you’d even find the nameless assistant × Su Nuo ship. Su Nuo’s fans didn’t mind shippers. They followed Su Nuo with a “watching him grow up” mindset, mostly mom fans, and hadn’t turned into an aggressive fandom.

Seeing all this, Su Nuo had only one thought: am I not good enough to be the top?

Why does everyone put my name second! They all just assume I’m the bottom!

Fine. He was, honestly. If he could just enjoy it, why do all the hard work himself?

All theory and no practice, Su Nuo didn’t know yet that when it came to this, whether it was hard work depended on stamina. And someone who couldn’t even keep his abs clearly didn’t have what it took.

“Brother, you finished work so early today.” Su Nuo snuck a glance at Fu Baihan, unsure what kind of mood he was in.

Why is Brother targeting Wei Sinian? Because he likes me too?

Was it just a protective “I don’t want my kid dating too young” thing, or did he want to date Su Nuo himself?

Su Nuo was scared of messing things up, so he was being a lot more careful. Even though he had a vague idea of the answer, he didn’t want to break the thin barrier between them too soon.

Partly because he was afraid he was just imagining things. And partly because a little devil in his heart was rearing its head: Hmph. You fiercely told me not to date too early. Let’s see how you get out of this one.

Fu Baihan never would have guessed his sweet kid was hiding a mischievous plan. To him, people like Wei Sinian and Yu Ning were just trying to trick his young, naive little one.

The kid was so silly. When he dropped hints and flirted, he was so clumsy about it, and he was secretly proud that Fu Baihan couldn’t tell. With a little head like that, dating anyone else would leave him completely bamboozled.

Fu Baihan couldn’t let go. No matter who the kid was with, he’d never feel at ease.

So why not just keep him by his side forever?

With his mind made up, he answered the kid. “I’ve got some time lately. Sweetie, is there anywhere you want to go?”

What are dads for? Taking on some of the workload, of course.

Fu Mingyuan, whose schedule had suddenly filled up: “…” Thanks, son. So thoughtful.

All he could do was go home and complain to his wife, hoping she’d take his side and sternly criticize their son’s irresponsible attitude toward work.

Instead, his wife scolded him. “Baihan is under so much pressure. He needs time to rest too. Help him out with some of the work.”

Whoever gave birth to the son is the one whose heart aches for him. The dad was only thinking about retiring and taking his wife off to enjoy life, while the mom still remembered to let her son get more rest.

Fu Mingyuan couldn’t complain anymore. He just felt like his status in this family was probably at the very bottom.

Since he’d been glued to Fu Baihan almost every day lately, Su Nuo hadn’t noticed whether he was resting or not. Fu Baihan never neglected him even when he was working.

Thinking about how even busy Fu Baihan now had a chance to catch his breath, Su Nuo sulked. “I have so many classes lately, and so much homework.”

Fu Baihan had time. He didn’t.

The days of summer break, when they could just pick up and go on a trip, were gone for good.

Seeing the kid stressing about homework, Fu Baihan fell silent. He reflected on himself. Maybe he really was a bit of a beast.

This wasn’t just his little brother. This was a kid who still had homework to do.

In high school, the kid’s grades had slipped at times. Fu Baihan had personally tutored him in high school math at the very least. He’d helped with homework and gone to parent-teacher meetings. You could say he hadn’t missed a single step of the kid’s growing up.

But now he couldn’t help with acting class assignments. The most he could do was help the kid organize his scripts and serve as his scene partner prop.

Going from embarrassment to totally unbothered only took one fit of laughter mid-scene.

Su Nuo felt like he had it so hard. Fu Baihan had probably seen him in every possible state. His image in front of Fu Baihan had never been perfect. So if Fu Baihan liked him, that had to be true love. He wouldn’t be put off by anything.

Su Nuo looked in the mirror and nodded firmly. I’m this good-looking. He can’t be put off.

Ever since news of his magazine shoot with Wei Sinian was confirmed, the shippers had gone wild, and the buzz spread across the whole entertainment industry.

The company gave it a push behind the scenes. They had their own marketing accounts too, and milking Best Actor Wei’s fame felt completely justified. The Fu Group’s endorsement deal for Wei Sinian wasn’t just repaying a favor. Now Wei Sinian owed them.

So this was what it felt like to strut around show business with serious money behind you?

The executives at Starlight Entertainment all carried a mysterious confidence. Working alongside the little young master had sent them soaring. Even core members of the Fu Group didn’t get to see Fu Baihan this often.

After staying at the old mansion for a few days, Su Nuo couldn’t handle the daily commute and planned to move back to the apartment near school.

At first Fu Mingyuan and Su Jing didn’t know the boys were sharing a bedroom at home. They only found out one day when they saw Fu Baihan carrying a half-asleep kid down to breakfast.

Neither of them thought much of it. Su Jing even looked at Su Nuo with pity. “Did my sweetie have a nightmare?”

Su Nuo instantly panicked, had no idea how to respond, and looked helplessly at Fu Baihan.

With the whole family looking at him, Fu Baihan calmly served the kid some porridge and covered for him. “Yeah. Nuonuo watched a horror movie and cried from fright. He’s been too scared to sleep alone lately, so he’s been coming to my room.”

Su Nuo stomped hard on his foot. Who watched a horror movie and cried? I didn’t! Don’t give me that image!

But neither Fu Mingyuan nor Su Jing found anything odd about what Fu Baihan said. Their little treasure had been raised to be delicate. Horror movies weren’t something their little treasure could handle.

Su Jing stroked Su Nuo’s hair. “Sweetie, those are all fake. There’s nothing to be scared of.”

Su Nuo: “…Auntie, I’m not scared.”

“Of course. My sweetie is very brave!” Su Jing said it like she was talking to a kindergartener.

Su Nuo gave up. Fine. If no one believes me, I guess I’m a crybaby who’s scared of horror movies.

As soon as they left the house, he punched Fu Baihan a few times, glaring resentfully. “Brother, you’ve changed. You lie so smoothly now.”

You’re not the honest, simple domineering CEO you used to be!

Fu Baihan drove him to school, holding back a laugh and letting the kid vent. “Okay, okay. Next time I’ll say I was the one who got scared and cried, and you were sweet enough to keep me company. Deal?”

Su Nuo: “Hmph!”

When they got to school, Su Nuo got out and made his demand. “Buy me a fancy lunch and I’ll forgive you.”

“Okay.” Fu Baihan patted his shoulder. “If you get out of class early, come wait for me at Huaqing next door.”

Su Nuo asked, “What are you doing at Huaqing?”

“Giving a talk,” Fu Baihan said briefly. In truth, he only agreed to it because he’d run into the school’s president while walking around campus with the kid.

Fu Baihan, who didn’t care for cameras, was personally welcomed into the classroom by the president of the neighboring university.

Glancing down at the audience, he spotted Yu Ning, whose expression had frozen. Fu Baihan’s slightly irritated mood suddenly brightened.

Fu Baihan’s take: tsk, there are plenty of people who can’t stand me but can’t do anything about it.

Yu Ning’s feelings were incredibly complicated. He’d thought being reborn meant a second chance to protect Su Nuo and win his heart. But Su Nuo kissing Fu Baihan right in front of him was impossible to believe.

How could it be Fu Baihan? Why did it have to be Fu Baihan?!

Yu Ning had been showing up at Su Nuo’s school to stake him out because he knew Su Nuo had met his boyfriend from the past life here. He was jealous. He didn’t want Su Nuo running into that person again.

They’d all hurt Su Nuo. Maybe none of them had any right.

But so what? He still wanted to protect him.

Yu Ning hoped he could atone. If his dream came true, he and Su Nuo would become as close as two people could be. If Su Nuo refused no matter what, Yu Ning wouldn’t be too heartbroken. He’d keep trying.

Because Yu Ning knew Su Nuo was only turning him down. There was no one else in Su Nuo’s life. Yu Ning understood him better than anyone. He still had a chance.

But that kiss between Su Nuo and Fu Baihan in the parking lot completely shattered Yu Ning’s fantasy.

Fu Baihan. How could he ever compete with Fu Baihan?!

He’d known for ages how much Su Nuo depended on Fu Baihan. He’d been jealous about it more times than he could count. It was just that back then, they were both clueless teenagers who didn’t understand where those feelings came from.

In the past life, Fu Baihan died, the Fu family was torn apart, and when Su Nuo was adrift and helpless, they’d bullied him.

Yu Ning didn’t dare imagine just how high Fu Baihan ranked in Su Nuo’s heart. When Su Nuo looked at Fu Baihan, his eyes sparkled. He knew it might have been a lie Su Nuo told just to get rid of them, but seeing that kiss, Yu Ning completely fell apart.

So that was it. The one Su Nuo liked was Fu Baihan.

They were brothers, but they weren’t on the same household registration and weren’t related by blood. There was no moral or ethical obstacle at all, and Yu Ning had even less standing to object.

What could he say? Don’t be with Fu Baihan, I like you?

Su Nuo wouldn’t even look at him. Because Su Nuo had also dreamed of the past life, and from beginning to end, the only one who had treated him like a precious treasure was Fu Baihan.