CH 51

Su Chi’s eyes were deep. The hand holding him was slender and strong; the palm was hot, and the fingertips pressed against his pulse.

They were looking at each other, and Su Huanyi was stunned. His heart felt like it had been hit by something, and it took a few seconds before he came back to his senses. “You can take me with you?”

Su Chi was still looking at him, “Why not?”

Su Huanyi’s fingertips curled, “Then I’ll go.”

The strength at his wrist suddenly loosened, and Su Chi withdrew his gaze. “Go back and collect your things away. I’ll ask Xiao Qin to book the ticket. ”

Su Huanyi mumbled, turned and fled back to the room.

……

Su Huanyi went back to his bedroom, closed the door to the balcony and pulled the curtains tight.

He leaned against the glass door and took a slow breath; the look in his brother’s eyes and that atmosphere; there was something subtle about it… it was ambiguous!

His heart was pounding, and he was startled by this thought.

The thought went through his head for a few moments, and he slowly calmed himself by pressing his heart.

It should be that he was overthinking it. It was possible if it were anyone else, but that was his big brother.

His brother was such a firm and straight man; the most perfect man in the whole book. He had also warned him many times before not to cross the line, so how could there be any ambiguity between them?

His heart gradually calmed down, and Su Huanyi put his palms together, chanting the song “Light of the Righteous Path” in his head.

He got rid of the thoughts that were flying around and began to pack his suitcase.

…

The next day, at the breakfast table;

Su Jitong and Yu Xinyan were discussing going out in the afternoon. They turned to Su Chi after concluding and asked, “Eldest, what time is your flight?”

“We’ll leave after lunch.” Su Chi took a bowl and glanced at the strands of hair next to him, “I am taking him with me.”

Su Huanyi immediately lifted his eyes from the rim of the bowl to observe Su Jitong’s expression. He was like a schoolboy about to sneak out but was caught by his parents.

Su Jitong was surprised. “You want to go with little Yi?”

Yu Xinyan also looked at him and said, “Why do you want to take little Yi with you when you’re going to talk business. Running around is already tiresome; if he doesn’t have to go, don’t take him. ”

Su Chi calmly sipped his porridge, “I want to take him with me.”

“You want to take him with you?” Su Jitong felt that his eldest son was being too casual, as if he was talking about a power bank.

Su Huanyi felt the confusion in Su Jitong’s rhetorical question, and he hurriedly put down his bowl to explain, “I also want to go with big brother. Am I not his assistant? ” “Oh…that’s right.” It was a good reason, and Su Jitong calmed down, “Since you’ve already reached an agreement, then go. You’re young anyway, you won’t get tired of running around. ”

Su Huanyi was well-behaved. “Thank you, Dad.”

The family had breakfast, and Su Huanyi went upstairs to prepare for the trip. Su Yu followed him upstairs.

“How long are you and big brother going to be away?”

“Big brother said it would be three or five days at the soonest. If not, we won’t be back until the end of the month. ”

“Ohh.” Su Yu patted his little head. “All the best, see you at the end of the month.”

Su Huanyi carefully pointed out his flawed logic, “Third brother, if everything goes well, we’ll see each other in three days.”

Su Yu’s tone was rather perfunctory, “Uh-huh… right, right.”

In the afternoon, Su Huanyi and Su Yu carried their suitcases to the car.

Su Chi’s suitcase weighed only a few kilograms, while Su Huanyi packed a full suitcase and dragged it down the stairs with loud bangs. Su Chi glanced at him and reached out to carry it for him, heading straight for the front door.

Su Huanyi clicked his tongue and followed, “I can do it, big brother.”

Su Chi just continued walking forward. “No, I heard it from outside and thought the family was digging a moat.”

“…”

Su Jitong, who was watching the news in the living room, caught the eloquent remark and turned his head to look at him: Okay, my vocabulary database has been updated again.

The eldest is such a mouthful, I wonder how little Yi sticks to him and follows him even when he travels far on business trips.

After thinking about it, Su Jitong began to worry: Could that be the reason the eldest is almost 30 years old and still has no partner?

The two put their suitcases into the trunk, and driver Lin drove them to the airport.

Su Chi sat in the back of the car on the way to the airport. He was looking at the tablet, going through what he wanted to discuss, and Su Huanyi looked over it professionally.

The fluffy top of his head swept against Su Chi’s cheek, but Su Huanyi didn’t notice, and Su Chi didn’t duck away. “Do you understand?”

Su Huanyi looked through his knowledge reserves and immediately sat upright, “I don’t understand, I don’t know a word.”

Su Chi gave him a sideways glance and said, “Are the nine years of compulsory education purely charitable in your case?”

Su Huanyi: “…” I over-acted.

The journey from home to the airport took only an hour. The two boarded the plane after checking their luggage.

The first-class seats were still two by two, with an aisle between the four seats.

Su Huanyi sat on the inside and Su Chi on the outside. After a short while, the announcement blared inside the cabin to prepare for takeoff.

Su Huanyi subconsciously reached for Su Chi’s hand. Just as he aimed to reach out, a hand came up and interlocked with his fingers.

The palm pressed against his and their knuckles tightly interlocked, giving him the most secure feeling. The warmth within his palm increased, and Su Huanyi’s heart skipped a beat. “Brother, let’s follow the international standard of a handshake…”

“We’re about to take off.” Su Chi leaned back on the backrest and closed his eyes. “Don’t mess around or you’ll have tinnitus and dizziness later.”

Sure enough, the plane did pull up the next moment, and Su Huanyi hurriedly settled down. It was only after the plane had been flying steadily for a few minutes that the hand let go of his.

Su Huanyi looked at Su Chi. The latter was leaning back as usual, but his eyes opened as he felt his gaze. “What are you looking at?”

Su Huanyi carefully studied his expression. “I want to see if you’ve been swapped.”

“…”

Su Chi held his gaze in cooperation and moved closer, “Can you see clearly now?”

Su Huanyi leaned back strategically, “Enough, enough.”

They took a taxi home after getting off the plane.

The temperature difference between the two places was about 20 degrees. Although Su Huanyi had added on a jacket in advance, he was still frozen into vibration mode the moment he stepped off the plane. He was held under his elder brother’s arm all the way to the car after getting their luggage.

Su Huanyi shivered and quickly retreated into the back seat after putting the suitcase in the trunk. Su Chi followed and slammed the car door shut. “Is it cold?”

“It’s too cold, brother!”

Su Chi pinned him back under his arm and said, “It’ll be fine when we get home.”

Su Huanyi nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. He felt like his harbour was back.

It was just after three o’clock in the afternoon when they arrived home.

He could hear the rumbling of construction work in the backyard as soon as he got out of the car. Su Chi frowned as he took their suitcases and entered through the door with Su Huanyi in tow.

The noise was reduced when they entered the house, and the two maids that were left at home welcomed them. Su Chi carried Su Huanyi’s suitcase upstairs and turned his head to instruct them, “Turn on the floor heating and air conditioning in the house.”

“Okay.”

Su Huanyi followed from the back as they went upstairs. “It’s better for me to grow up in Southern Yunnan.”

Su Chi paused for a moment and then continued walking up the stairs without saying anything.

Su Huanyi froze, then suddenly felt blessed, and he said, “But the sun in Yunnan is not as good as big brother’s for the seedlings.”

Su Chi carried his suitcase into the bedroom and turned to him, “If you are really afraid of the cold, you can stay at home for the next few days.”

Su Huanyi hesitated and scrunched up his chin in confusion. Then he didn’t understand what he was doing here. “I’d rather accompany big brother.”

“Accompany me?” Su Chi saw his confusion and added thoughtfully, “With your chattering teeth?”

“….”

The two finally came to a compromise – he could follow Su Chi when he went to the office, and he would stay inside the office and wait.

They went back to their rooms after reaching an agreement to sort their luggage.

The sound of the construction work outside came in through the balcony door. Su Huanyi had planned to take a nap, but that was probably not going to happen.

He opened the balcony door to go to Su Chi’s bedroom only to realise that the balcony of this house was not connected. So he turned back and went to knock on Su Chi’s door.

“Big brother.”

After a few moments, the door opened from the inside and Su Chi stood at the door, “What’s wrong?

“It’s a bit noisy outside. How long will the construction last? ”

“Normally, it will end at around 6 pm. Any later will be a nuisance to everyone. ” Su Chi asked him, “Do you want to sleep?”

“Big brother knows me best.”

A finger picked at his soft, strands of hair, “It’s you who understands better.”

Unable to sleep for the time being, Su Huanyi decided to check out the construction site in the backyard. He wrapped himself in a down jacket and scarf but was stopped by Su Chi just as he went downstairs. “Where are you going?”

Su Huanyi turned back and accused him, “You’re also calling me in the same tone as Baigujing.”

“Mind your language.” Su Chi walked down the stairs, “Are you going out?”

“I want to see the construction site.” Su Huanyi automatically skipped over the language problem.

Su Chi didn’t argue with him. “You’re afraid of the cold and yet you’re still running around. Let’s go. ”

The two went downstairs together. The small courtyard outside the side hall had been semi-enclosed. Originally, there was a greenhouse in the backyard, but it was moved to the semi-open courtyard to make way for the soup pool.

One could see a pot of lush lohan pine in the greenhouse, which the maid had properly taken care of during the time the Su family had been away.

Su Huanyi saw it and pointed out excitedly, “That’s the pine I’m raising with second brother!”

Su Chi: “Oh.”

Su Huanyi sighed, “It’s doing pretty well.”

Su Chi glanced at the top of his head, “Not as well as you.”

Su Huanyi: “…”

The loshan pine was quickly put to the back of his mind when the cold air blew in as he opened the door, causing Su Huanyi’s head to stiffen. He shrank his neck, and Su Chi helped him pull his scarf up a notch.

The scarf covered his eyes and turned him into a completely potted plant.

“I can’t even see, brother.”

“I’ll just carry you there.”

However, the suggestion was not carried out. The path from the house to the backyard was riddled with potholes, and there were several pipes trailing on the ground.

Su Chi held Su Huanyi’s arm the whole way, fearing another classic fall to the ground.

Twenty metres away, one could see the fenced-off construction site where several workers and large machinery were rumbling about. The dust and smoke were a little choking as they puffed out in the cold winter air.

The soup pool had already been excavated and the drainage pipes were being installed.

The two men stood outside the construction site watching, and several construction workers turned their heads to look at them.

“Is that the employer over there? It’s the first time I’ve seen him after so many days.”

“He must be. The temperament and looks are outstanding.”

“Are they brothers? Why don’t they look alike? ”

“Hey, stop talking. Why are you talking about that? Get to work! ”

The workers were used to speaking in loud voices, and they were not conscious of what they were saying. The rumbling sound of the construction work around them covered most of it, so they thought Su Huanyi and Su Chi could not hear them. They went back to work after saying a few words.

Su Huanyi turned his head to look at Su Chi’s expression amidst the noise of the construction work and found that he did not look unhappy. “Big brother, they said that we do not look alike.”

Su Chi looked at him and snorted, “Nothing would happen if we looked alike.”

Su Huanyi thought he was talking about his life experience, and he giggled, “That’s true.”

“Do you know what I’m talking about?”

“Of course I do.”

Su Chi didn’t argue with him, “Haven’t you seen enough? Go back to the house.”

Su Huanyi said yes, and then buried his face in his scarf, “It’s too noisy here, my ears can’t take it.”

“Then cover them with your hands.”

“It’s too cold to take my hands out.”

Su Chi spat out a word, “fragile.”

The two were standing in front of each other. Su Huanyi was about to turn his head to correct him when a pair of hands suddenly reached out and covered his ears.

The next thing he knew, a broad chest was pressed against his back, chasing away the winter chill, and Su Chi’s chin seemed to rest on his head.

For a few seconds, Su Huanyi’s whole body felt emptied out.

The chin that landed on the top of his head rubbed against him, and the voice through the palms on his ears was magnetic, “Tell me, why are you so fragile?”