Chà Chà Novel

After this, Su Nuo suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Ji Xinghui in a while.

Ji Xinghai showing up at an event like this, even if not on behalf of the Ji family, proved he was no longer some illegitimate son who couldn’t be seen in public. The other illegitimate Ji kids couldn’t even attend public events under the Ji name. They just collected a monthly allowance and kept their heads down.

Could Ji Xinghai have already turned into the final boss? Su Nuo’s eyes suddenly sharpened.

Rescuing Star-ge was now a matter of urgency!

When he got home, Su Nuo saw the light on in the study and ran up to knock. “Ge, are you free?”

Fu Baihan called the kid over, saw he hadn’t even changed out of his formal party clothes, and kissed him. “Sorry, I had an online meeting. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“It’s fine.” Su Nuo rested his hands on Fu Baihan’s shoulders and asked, “Ge, I saw Ji Xinghai today. Is Star-ge doing okay lately? Ji Xinghai seems to have a lot of say in the Ji family now.”

Fu Baihan didn’t want to tell the kid about all this power-struggle maneuvering and make him worry. Ji Xinghui planned to short the Ji family company and had asked for his help. Fu Baihan’s help wasn’t purely out of friendship either. There were business interests involved.

All Ji’s father could count on now was his illegitimate son, Ji Xinghai. Ever since Ji Xinghai had been parachuted into upper management, he and Ji Xinghui had been at each other’s throats.

“What could be wrong with him?” Fu Baihan pulled the kid onto his lap. “Don’t worry about him.”

Ji Xinghui was probably tangled up in bed with one of his lovers somewhere, but of course he couldn’t say that and corrupt his kid.

“I haven’t even changed yet, don’t hug me.” Su Nuo squirmed, trying to get down.

Coming back from a party, he inevitably smelled of alcohol and a jumble of perfumes. Su Nuo finally understood how unreasonable he’d been when he used to complain about his brother. When it came to socializing, you couldn’t just stay clean even if you wanted to.

“Why can’t I hug you?” Fu Baihan nuzzled the crook of the kid’s neck. “You smell nice.”

Su Nuo: “……” Don’t tease me! I’m young, my self-control really isn’t that strong!

He escaped from Fu Baihan’s arms. “Ge, I’m sleepy. I’m going to bed. Get some rest early too!”

Looking at the study door shut on him so mercilessly, Fu Baihan clicked his tongue. Why did he get the feeling the kid was like Lord Ye who loved dragons, only until a real one showed up?

Before, the kid had been shy too, but he’d often taken the initiative and even found excuses to share a blanket with him. Now that they’d confirmed they were dating, he’d become even shyer and more reserved and wouldn’t let himself be held.

Fu Baihan wasn’t dating him to lure him into bed. It was just that he liked him and couldn’t help wanting to be closer. Yet he kept getting rejected.

Forget coming to his room and hogging his bed. If he went and knocked on the kid’s door now, he probably wouldn’t even be let in.

Fu Baihan, newly in possession of a boyfriend, felt a little lost.

It made him think the kid didn’t really want to date him after all, and that now that he had him, he’d realized he only saw him as a brother.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Fu Baihan decided to give the kid more time. He couldn’t be the kind of boyfriend who didn’t know his limits.

Even if his possessiveness was almost out of control, he still had to be gentle and considerate in front of Su Nuo, because he knew Su Nuo liked that.

Slowly. Hunting takes patience.

Su Nuo hadn’t come away from the party empty-handed. His manager wanted him to take on a new script, and he and the director had basically agreed to work together.

He Yun had been very well received. Wei Sinian and Su Nuo had become the hottest stars around. Wei Sinian was already at the very top of the industry, while Su Nuo could use this opportunity to raise his value, and his studio could pursue more opportunities beyond the Fu Group.

Having someone to lean on and winning without trying was fun, but they wanted to try on their own merits too. With such solid backing, they weren’t afraid of losing.

Su Nuo had brought his own investment into his last film. With the next one, he’d finally be making money.

Though to be fair, bringing his own investment had paid off hugely. He Yun had left every rival in the dust at the box office.

With money coming in, the first thing Su Nuo did was buy Fu Baihan a gift. Fu Baihan’s birthday had passed quietly, not only because it fell close to the old man’s birthday banquet, but also because he’d never liked big parties. A meal with the family was all the celebration he needed.

Since he really didn’t know what to give him, Su Nuo had made a cake by hand with Su Jing and given him a pair of cufflinks won at auction.

Even if his little treasure gave him a box of air, Fu Baihan would praise it with his eyes closed. The gift didn’t matter. What mattered was that his little treasure remembered his birthday.

Tallying up his fixed assets, Su Nuo could only marvel that he hadn’t been spoiled into a rich brat. He must have a strong character.

Some fathers wouldn’t spend as much on their own sons as Fu Baihan had on him.

When it came to spending money, Su Nuo found himself with a truly humblebrag-worthy problem.

He couldn’t spend it, because his brother had already bought him everything he’d shown any interest in.

So what did his brother like?

Su Nuo pressed a hand to his cheek and thought: he likes me.

Suddenly smug.

Still thinking about how to spend money on Fu Baihan, Su Nuo couldn’t help mulling over what gift to give his boyfriend even during the day.

Wei Sinian watched the boy zoning out in the middle of a livestream, a little helpless. He covered for him, actively drawing the fans’ attention.

“The kid in the back, how can you not focus on the job!”

“The best actor’s suddenly interacting so seriously. Does he think that’ll stop us from noticing… oh my god, Sweetener is so sweet.”

“Why does the kid look so dreamy? He looks like my cousin when she’s in love.”

“If I were sitting next to Wei Sinian, I’d look dreamy too.”

Wei Sinian nudged Su Nuo’s arm. He’d tried his best, but the fans weren’t buying it.

Su Nuo blinked and leaned toward the screen. “Don’t make stuff up. If my manager sees this, I’ll get scolded.”

The fans were hit by the sudden close-up of his face. The comment stream went blank for a few seconds, then immediately filled up densely.

“What? His manager dares scold our baby? I’m going to go give him a piece of my mind!”

“This kid is sneaky, trying to use his looks to make us forget he’s slacking off.”

“But it worked. Name one sister who’s immune to this.”

“He’s trying to kill an old mom here!”

“Bouncing between mom fan, girlfriend fan and CP fan (manual smirk)”

“Wei Sinian fans are honestly so tired. It feels like our husband cheated on us and is raising someone else’s son…”

“Hahahahaha the comment above killed me. Wake up, he’s not raising a son!”

“You get used to it, you get used to it. The best actor’s only this enthusiastic when he’s in the same frame as Su Nuo.”

Su Nuo watched the comments scroll by and smiled. “Shipping is fine, as long as everyone’s happy. Thank you all for going to the cinema to support our performances.”

That’s what you call a silent clarification.

The fans had weathered plenty of storms, and this wasn’t their first time as CP fans. Hearing him say that, they truly understood one principle: the more open and above-board someone is, the more innocent they are.

The ones who hide things, who occasionally get caught in matching items or little moments of chemistry, might be doing it for publicity or might really have something going on. But someone who goes along with fans so openly, and even brings up shipping himself, almost certainly has nothing going on.

Wei Sinian’s smile faded too. He wasn’t so dense that he didn’t get what Su Nuo meant.

Was being talked about alongside him really so hard for him to accept?

The director and screenwriter, sitting just off camera, didn’t dare make a sound. Wei Sinian’s expression had soured, and Su Nuo still seemed completely oblivious.

Anyone watching would have to sigh: tragic, truly tragic.

The heartless newcomer, and the best actor who gave his heart to the wrong person.

The perk for passing one billion yuan at the box office was a livestream for the fans. When it ended, Su Nuo stopped Wei Sinian. “Senior.”

Wei Sinian stopped, his eyes full of delighted surprise. Su Nuo rarely spoke to him first.

“Sorry, I wanted to ask, do you have any way to buy a Patek Philippe?”

After thinking it over, Su Nuo had decided a watch would suit Fu Baihan’s status best. It wasn’t that he couldn’t get one without a wait. But to surprise Fu Baihan, he couldn’t use the Fu family’s connections. Otherwise, the moment he paid, Fu Baihan would know all the details, and where was the surprise in that?

He was a bit impatient with luxury goods that made you wait months for stock.

He’d asked Wei Sinian because he’d noticed the watch on his wrist, worth nearly nine hundred thousand yuan. Wei Sinian also had a lot of connections in the fashion world, so he’d probably have a way to get one sooner.

Owing a small favor for something like this was no big deal. He wasn’t borrowing money from Wei Sinian, just asking for an introduction. Wei Sinian probably wouldn’t even want repaying. They could bring their managers along for a meal and call it even.

“You want to buy a watch?” Wei Sinian looked at Su Nuo’s wrist. That slender, fair wrist would look good with anything on it.

“The fans will notice,” he warned.

You should never underestimate fans’ eyes. They could dig up everything about someone from a single photo. Wei Sinian knew of course that Su Nuo had money, but in show business, flaunting wealth could sometimes cause trouble.

He didn’t want to be annoying and spoil Su Nuo’s fun, but he wanted even less to see him dragged into controversy over something so small.

In the end, acting in show business really was a hardship for the young master. At least on the surface, he had to live a simple, low-key life.

“It’s fine. It’s not for me,” Su Nuo said, unconcerned.

A sudden sourness welled up in Wei Sinian’s chest. He keenly sensed something. His eyes swept over Su Nuo’s face, and the more he looked, the more he felt he was only torturing himself.

Su Nuo definitely had someone he liked, and was even eager to win them over. Whenever that person came to mind, even unspoken, he’d get that sweet smile.

Wei Sinian had never felt such an intense emotion before. Its name was jealousy.

He envied that unknown person, envied them for having Su Nuo’s love and sincerity. He knew how precious that sincerity was, but he had once trampled on it, so badly that he’d regret it forever.