Chà Chà Novel

With permission granted, Su Nuo happily headed to the airport the next day to pick up Xi Zhou. That’s what good friends are: they trash-talk each other but always show up.

“Ge, are you free this afternoon?” Su Nuo sent Fu Baihan a voice message from the car.

“After four,” Fu Baihan replied quickly.

“Then dinner together? Can you book us a restaurant~” He was an expert at wheedling.

Though he knew this was the kid’s usual trick of using him as a tool, Fu Baihan secretly enjoyed it and agreed.

The driver kept his eyes on the road, well used to the sappy atmosphere between the two young masters. He’d once expected to witness a rich-family feud between brothers, only to discover that true love existed, and even brothers in a wealthy family could get along.

Su Nuo was fully disguised. He didn’t have many industry engagements lately and wasn’t worried about being mobbed by fans, who weren’t that crazy. But as a public figure with some buzz, he still had to avoid being recognized in places like airports and causing a crowd.

Somehow Xi Zhou found him anyway, hooking an arm around his neck. Xi Zhou grinned. “Kiddo, did you gain a little weight?”

Su Nuo: “…Ugh!”

Listen to that! Is that how a human talks? Haven’t seen me in half a year, and the first thing you say is I’ve gotten fat? Is that any way to treat the friend who came to pick you up? Su Nuo made as if to stomp on his sneakers, and Xi Zhou hurriedly begged for mercy. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, spare me.”

Limited-edition treasures. One stomp would be too much to bear.

“Got a welcome-back plan for me?” Xi Zhou asked once they’d left the airport and gotten in the car.

“I’m treating you to dinner. A big one.” Su Nuo yawned. “And there’s something I want to tell you. You have to keep it secret.”

Xi Zhou’s curiosity was piqued. “What is it?”

“Not yet.” Su Nuo refused to reveal it early.

“Well, well, our kiddo’s all grown up and has little secrets now. Daddy’s so proud.” Xi Zhou reached out to pat his head, taking liberties.

Su Nuo swatted his paw away, unimpressed. “Do you want your dad to break your legs?”

“Ahem.” Xi Zhou pouted. “That’s low. How can you tattle to the parents?”

Su Nuo blinked. “Speaking of which, I haven’t had time to play with my yacht or my plane this year. Jealous?”

Xi Zhou: “???”

Sudden flexing, really? Who wouldn’t be jealous! The Fu family’s lavish spending on their kid far outstripped every other old-money family!

“You could call me Dad, and then you wouldn’t need to be jealous, because you’d get a share too,” Su Nuo suggested with apparent sincerity.

Xi Zhou ruffled his hair. “What’s this little brat saying? You want to be my dad?”

“Xi Zhou, do you want to fight?!” Su Nuo yelled. “Don’t touch my hair, or I’ll chop your paws off!”

“Touching it, touching it, nyeh nyeh.” Xi Zhou deliberately provoked him.

The driver, quietly driving: “……” Do these two young masters add up to six years old? Should he drop them off at kindergarten?

They squabbled the whole way. By the time they reached the restaurant Fu Baihan had booked, Su Nuo realized his hair was nowhere near as neat as when he’d left the house. He jammed on a hat and glared at Xi Zhou.

“As expected of a big star, you can afford this place.” Xi Zhou slung an arm over his shoulders. “So extravagant? You didn’t have to go all out for me.”

Su Nuo led him inside. “I’m not paying today.”

Xi Zhou, oblivious, grinned like a fool. “Huh? Who else did you invite, some of our classmates?”

Plenty of rich kids who spent freely hung out with them, so Xi Zhou assumed Su Nuo meant one of them, right up until Su Nuo led him to Fu Baihan.

Obediently withdrawing his arm, Xi Zhou said humbly, “Brother Fu.”

Fu Baihan nodded. “Mm. Take a look at the menu. Order what you like.”

“I’ll have whatever Nuonuo’s having.” Xi Zhou nervously pulled out a chair and sat down. Of course he didn’t dare expect this man to remember his preferences. Being asked at all was an honor.

It felt like skipping class with your best friend to sneak off to an internet café, only to find your homeroom teacher standing at the door.

Xi Zhou watched Su Nuo, utterly unbothered, snuggle right up to Fu Baihan and make demands. “Ge, I want that pudding. Did you order it?”

“I did. You can’t have too much. Last time you had two and your stomach hurt.”

“But I want to try both flavors.” Su Nuo flipped through the menu. “I’ll just have a taste, and you finish the rest.”

Fu Baihan said, helpless and doting, “Okay.”

Xi Zhou wept inside. I’m the only clown here. My friend is the favorite. Not only is he not scared, he’s making demands!

He had countless complaints, but he didn’t dare voice any of them to Su Nuo now, let alone call him “kiddo.” Whose kiddo? Clearly the one Fu Baihan held in the palm of his hand. If Xi Zhou dared claim him, he’d be beaten to death.

Fu Baihan wouldn’t leave a guest out in the cold either. However aloof he was, his manners were impeccable. They chatted about recent news, the food arrived, and with Su Nuo happily digging in, the mood never got awkward.

“I’ve already arranged Nuonuo’s magazine cover. It’s my senior from the same mentor, very well known in photography.” Xi Zhou then grew indignant, making sure to leave a strong tattling impression on Fu Baihan. “Su Yujin really goes too far. How can he bully people like that?”

“That’s thoughtful of you.” The smile on Fu Baihan’s face grew more genuine. “Nuonuo wants to handle Su Yujin himself. I’m supporting him in getting some practice.”

In other words, it wasn’t that the Fu family wouldn’t protect their little treasure. Their little treasure wanted to do it himself, and they’d back him up from behind.

Xi Zhou had been testing the waters too, and hearing Fu Baihan say that put him at ease.

More than his feelings toward the Fu family, he cared about his best friend.

Xi Zhou had always looked after Su Nuo like a little brother. Being abroad, he didn’t hear news promptly, and even when he did, he couldn’t help him fight back right away. He’d worried that Su Nuo finding his birth parents might drive a wedge between him and the Fu family, and that they wouldn’t protect him like before, which was how a nobody like Su Yujin had been able to bully him.

But from what he’d heard now, Fu Baihan’s stance was perfectly clear.

What wedge? These two were even clingier than before he’d gone abroad.

“How could he possibly bully me?” Su Nuo wiped his mouth. “All the opportunities he schemed so hard to get don’t matter to me one way or the other.”

Su Nuo knew they cared, but he didn’t want to be treated as weak forever. He wasn’t so fragile that he’d run crying to his parents at the first sign of trouble, was he?

“Yes, yes, you’re the best,” Xi Zhou praised him soullessly. Right after that, he saw Su Nuo turn serious and say he had a secret to tell him.

Xi Zhou was completely baffled. What secret would he tell over dinner right in front of Fu Baihan?

Fu Baihan seemed to sense something and looked at the kid.

Under the table, Su Nuo reached over and traced his palm, giving him a sly smile. “Ge, can I tell Xi Zhou?”

Fu Baihan felt as if this world’s harsh winter had ended in an instant and spring had arrived in full bloom, so warm his heart felt like it was glowing. He had no idea how tender his voice and gaze were. “Of course.”

Xi Zhou was even more curious. “What?”

Su Nuo smiled. “I’m in a relationship.”

Xi Zhou was surprised, but not that shocked. At Su Nuo’s age, dating was perfectly normal. He was just a little worried whether Fu Baihan could accept it. Wasn’t this brother-obsessed man always on guard against Su Nuo dating too young? After New Year’s he’d be nineteen, so it wouldn’t really count as dating too young…

Xi Zhou’s thoughts were drifting when Su Nuo dropped a bomb. “I’m with Ge.”

Xi Zhou: “Huh?”

Wait, which Ge? The Ge sitting right in front of me?!

“Exactly what you’re thinking.” Su Nuo kissed Fu Baihan right in front of Xi Zhou. Xi Zhou’s pupils quaked on the spot, his whole body freezing as if he’d been thrown into another dimension.

Xi Zhou’s hands were shaking. He genuinely suspected the world had turned into a fantasy novel.

Su Nuo said he was with Fu Baihan?!

Fu Baihan, the legendary Fu Baihan!

Didn’t he raise Su Nuo like a child???

I left for one semester, and the whole country turned upside down?

Xi Zhou couldn’t believe it, but the facts were right in front of him. He knew this wasn’t Su Nuo bragging. However much Fu Baihan doted on his brother, he’d never let him make a joke like that in front of a friend.

So his best friend, the Su Nuo his girlfriend stanned like her own baby, was dating the next head of the Fu family.

Talk about quietly pulling off something huge. You really did it, Little Su Nuo.

After enjoying Xi Zhou’s expression as his worldview collapsed, Su Nuo smiled. “You’re my best friend, so I didn’t want to hide it from you.”

Xi Zhou took a breath. “Thanks a lot.”

For news this big, could you please give a warning first? Springing it on me like that, you lovebirds are happy, but you don’t care at all about the psychological shock to bystanders.

Su Nuo’s response: I told you in advance. You just didn’t guess.

Xi Zhou was speechless. Who could have guessed that? Even if you killed him, he’d never have guessed the “secret” Su Nuo kept going on about was his romance with Fu Baihan.

It really was a huge secret that had to be kept under lock and key. From the looks of it, the Fu family definitely didn’t know. To keep Little Su Nuo from getting his legs broken, Xi Zhou didn’t dare let a single word slip.

Xi Zhou looked at Fu Baihan and thought: The little brat is unreliable, so you have to be unreliable too?

Look how old he is, and look how old you are!

Xi Zhou suddenly felt the sorrow of an old father. Facing his kiddo’s beaming face, he felt the kid wouldn’t last a single round against Fu Baihan. Still smiling? I’m really afraid this silly kid won’t even have anywhere to cry later!

Xi Zhou was at a loss for words. Why did they have to tell him this secret? His heart was in his throat, and he didn’t even know whether he counted as the groom’s family or the bride’s.

If anything, Xi Zhou’s family was actually closer to the Fu family.

I’m sorry. I’ll never be curious about other people’s “secrets” again.