CH 36

The call was hung up, and Su Huanyi wondered, “What did big brother come out to do? We could have come together since he was going somewhere close.”

Su Jianchen said he didn’t know, “Maybe it was a temporary change of venue.”

“That makes sense!”

There was no traffic at this hour, and they arrived ten minutes earlier than expected.

Xuji Cantonese Restaurant was located on the second floor of the commercial street. The wooden door, white stone tabletops, and small orange lanterns were clean and welcoming.

Su Huanyi and Su Jianchen sat down to order, and Su Chi soon arrived.

The booth was a four-seater, with one side against the partition wall. Su Jianchen saw Su Chi walk in through the door, and he moved halfway in, “Big brother.”

“It will feel crowded if we sit together.” Su Chi turned to Su Huanyi, “Go in.”

Su Huanyi obediently extended in.

“Oh, you’re right.” Su Jianchen moved back into place. He pushed the menu over, “We’ve already ordered. Do you want to order anything else, big brother?”

Su Chi took it and scanned it, “That’s about it.”

The two brothers sat and chatted as Su Huanyi relaxed and collapsed into a pancake in the booth. He was a bit shy about eating alone with Su Jianchen, but luckily his big brother was there.

The chairs in the booth were leather, and the fabric of his suit was smooth. Su Huanyi soon found himself sliding slowly against the chair surface like an A4 sheet of paper.

The whole process, from sitting still to slipping down, took only three seconds. By the time he reacted, only the top of his head was left exposed to the table.

A hand suddenly grabbed him by the collar and lifted him back up. “Is this a performance art? Will you be the red carpet finale tonight? ”

“…”

Su Jianchen on the opposite side saw that Su Huanyi’s collar was askew, and he enthusiastically suggested, “Big brother, you’d better carry him by the hair next time, otherwise you’ll wrinkle his clothes.”

Su Huanyi looked at Su Jianchen in disbelief: my hair is not renewable!

Su Chi fixed his collar, “I can’t hold on to it, it’s too slippery.”

Su Jianchen didn’t quite believe it. Was it that silky?

Many of the dishes at Xuji Cantonese Restaurant were ready-made, and their orders were quickly brought up. On a table were laid out: ice-fired pineapple oil, barbecued goose, crystal shrimp dumplings, double-cooked egg noodles, and stir-fried vegetables.

Su Huanyi held a bowl and dived in.

The other two were accustomed to it. Their faces were unchanged and their backs were straight as they served themselves.

Halfway through the meal, Su Huanyi stopped chasing his food. His face was solemn as he asked, “Did I eat something bad again?”

The two next to him put down their chopsticks and looked over. “What’s wrong?”

“I feel like my stomach is hot.”

Su Chi’s eyes fell on his slightly bulging belly. It was rising and falling under the shirt with his breathing. Su Chi calmly retracted his gaze and said, “You’ve just eaten too much.”

Su Huanyi: “Huh?”

A hand pressed against the baby warmer on his abdomen, “Isn’t the heat you’re feeling from this?”

“….”

Su Huanyi shyly picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

There were twenty minutes before the premiere, so it was almost time for them to leave.

“Big brother, where are you doing your work from?” Su Jianchen asked, “Will you come back with us when it’s over?”

“I’m just around the corner. I might still be around depending on the time. You guys give me a message when you’re done. ”

“Okay.”

The three left the restaurant, and Su Huanyi waved to Su Chi, “Bye, big brother… good luck with your business.”

Su Chi looked at him, “Go ahead.”

Su Huanyi felt that his wording was not neat. “Big brother, you should say, ‘I wish you a good time watching the movie.'”

Su Chi sneered, “I don’t need to make any wishes. I can see that you are already having fun. ”

“…”

Su Huanyi suddenly felt shy, “En.”

There were still ten minutes to go, so the three didn’t talk any further and parted ways. Su Huanyi walked a few meters and turned to look back when he reached the corner.

Su Chi was still standing in front of the restaurant.

Most of the guests at the premiere were actors, media and entertainment company executives. The venue was well-equipped and full of beautiful people.

The two Su brothers, both of whom had outstanding looks and figures, stood among them without being overwhelmed and even attracted a lot of attention.

It was only when the two took their seats in the audience that the eyes gradually withdrew.

Su Huanyi’s mind was still filled with the figure of Su Chi, and he whispered to Su Jianchen for advice, “Second brother, what does it mean when you’ve finished eating with your friends but you still don’t leave after they’ve all left?”

Su Jianchen substituted, “Maybe I’m not full and want to wait for them to leave before I go back to eat again.”

Su Huanyi felt enlightened.

The premiere included media interviews, crew promotions, off-site interactions, and finally a screening of film clips.

The light of the big screen flickered in the pitch-black environment, and the tense rhythm was accompanied by a mix of sound effects that stimulated the senses.

The film ended less than halfway through. The crowd had not had enough when the light returned to the scene.

Su Jianchen looked so excited that the base of his neck was red.

He was incredibly affectionate towards Su Huanyi by the end of the show. He even took the initiative to ask, “What do you like? I’ll treat you next time. ”

Su Huanyi pondered for a while, “Is there a kind of party where you don’t have to socialize but you can eat and drink without any worries?”

Su Jianchen thought seriously for a moment. isn’t that a buffet?

After leaving the venue, Su Jianchen sent a message to Su Chi. The other side quickly replied, saying that his side was also finished and that they could go back together.

Ten minutes later, Su Chi approached them with the chill of autumn.

Su Huanyi smelled a faint smell of coffee on him, so he should have been sitting in a cafe for a long time. “Did you finish your work, big brother?”

Su Chi nodded faintly.

He did not look to be in a good mood, so Su Huanyi guessed that things might not have worked out well, so he did not continue the topic.

The three walked towards the parking lot together. The two cars were not parked together, so Su Jianchen turned to ask Su Huanyi, “Whose car are you taking?”

Su Chi had already walked out three or four meters towards the other end, so Su Huanyi hurriedly said, “I’ll go in big brother’s car. I’m used to it. ”

Su Jianchen was indifferent, “Okay.”

Su Chi’s footsteps lagged slightly, then slowed down until Su Huanyi caught up with him.

It was close to ten o’clock when they arrived home.

Su Jianchen nodded to the two and went upstairs to take a shower. Su Huanyi grabbed his big brother, “Did you not eat enough tonight?”

Su Chi, “I’m okay.”

Su Huanyi slowly opened up, “Don’t be shy. I know you didn’t eat enough at night.”

His big brother even tried to secretly eat more, but luckily, he found out!

Su Chi had no idea where he got his theory, “Who told you…”

Su Huanyi: “How about I give you something to eat?”

The second half of Su Chi’s sentence ended abruptly. He put his hands in his pockets and said, after a moment of silence, “As you wish.”

The water in the kitchen was boiling, and a dense white smoke floated out of the boiling pot. The white orchid lamp reflected half of Su Huanyi’s concentrated face. It looked hazy and soft from the lingering smoke.

Su Chi came down after a change of clothes and leaned against the kitchen door to watch him.

He watched how he cracked the egg shells into the pan.

“Are you trying to give me a calcium boost?”

His tone was soft, probably because he was tired. Su Chi fished out the broken egg shells with a spoon, saying, “Even the most perfect work has flaws.”

Su Chi narrowed his eyes and searched the pot for the piece of foam that embodied the word “perfection.”

The noodles came out of the pot with sesame oil, onion, garlic, soy sauce, and chilli. They smelled fragrant even though they didn’t look good.

Su Huanyi brought the bowl of noodles to the table and said, “Big brother, come and eat.”

Su Chi held his chopsticks and sat down. Su Haunyi sat with his chin in his hand and watched him. The white smoke between them slowly spiralled up above his head and was enveloped by the orange light.

Su Huanyi suddenly found this scene very warm, “Big brother, is it good?”

Su Chi: “No, it’s not good.”

The warmth dissipated in a second, “…..”

Su Chi saw that the person’s face was not right, and rarely softened his stance to make up for it. “But this bowl of noodles is very festive.”

Su Huanyi regained his spirit and asked, “How is it festive?”

The knotted batter was picked up by the tip of the chopsticks. “Look, a Chinese knot.”

Su Huanyi: “…”

In the end, the bowl of Chinese knots with eggshells was eaten clean.

Su Huanyi followed Su Chi upstairs. His strands of hair slowly rose as he watched the latter’s mood improve.

He said he wasn’t hungry, but he needed his sweet little brother to feed him!

The two parted at the door of the room, with Su Huanyi saying, “Big brother, you can tell me if you are hungry or thirsty from now on. I will feed you! ”

The corner of Su Chi’s mouth seemed to pull up a little. The strands of hair were tugged gently, “You’re talking nonsense.”

The temperature in late November had dropped below ten degrees Celsius.

Su Jitong came home in the afternoon with a turtle in his hand. Yu Xinyan was startled, “Where did it come from?”

“Old Liu set up a farm. He took me to see it today and gave me a turtle to take back. ” He carried it into the kitchen and instructed Wu Ma, “Stew this turtle tonight; it will be a good tonic in this cold weather.”

“Eh, okay.”

The freshly stewed turtle in the middle of the table was particularly eye-catching at the evening meal. Wu Ma was a good cook, and the stewed turtle soup was thick, with a shiny layer of oil floating on top, making it very appetizing to look at.

Su Huanyi looked over with a small bowl in hand.

Su Jitong was amused at the way his eyes were fixed on it, “Yes, Little Yi can eat more. You are not well, so you should take more tonic! ”

Su Huanyi instantly acted as if he had been given an imperial edict, and waved his chopsticks with abandon. A piece of turtle shell was about to fall into his bowl when Su Chi said from across the table, “Are you going to change from drip irrigation to flooding?”

Su Huanyi’s chopsticks hovered in mid-air, his expression bewildered.

Su Jianchen translated, “You’ll get a nosebleed if you eat too much.”

The tip of the chopsticks twitched, and the turtle shell diverted and landed in Su Chi’s bowl, “Big brother, you eat.”

Su Chi’s forehead twitched, “You want me to eat it so I can get a nosebleed?”

Su Huanyi said, “No, no, you won’t get a nosebleed.”

Big Brother is a talisman!

Su Chi did not want to argue with him, so he hung his head and ate the turtle shell in the bowl…

Su Huanyi woke up feeling a little hot the next day. The effect of the turtle yesterday was really good; it had replenished the fire all over.

He changed his clothes and went downstairs for breakfast, where he found Su Jitong and Yu Xinyan were already seated. Su Jianchen also came downstairs when the hot soy milk was being brought to the table. “Big Brother is still not up?” he asked, looking around the table.

“I don’t know. He is usually down by this time. ” Su Jitong looked at the time, “One of you go and call him. He must have overslept. ”

“I’ll go.” Su Huanyi put his bowl down and ran upstairs.

The door to Su Chi’s room was tightly closed. Su Huanyi knocked twice but didn’t hear any movement.

He hesitated for a moment, and then pressed the handle to push the door open.

“Big brother?”

The room was empty. No one answered. The covers on the bed were thrown aside in a messy and untidy manner, which was not in line with Su Chi’s strict style.

Su Huanyi glanced around and didn’t see Su Chi. Only the door to the bathroom was slightly open and there was no light from inside.

Could it be that he fainted when he went to the toilet?

Su Huanyi tentatively walked over to the door but suddenly stopped in his tracks when he was about two meters away.

He heard a muffled, restrained groan coming from inside.