Su Chi had his shoulders flat and his back broad. He hung his head slightly while carrying Su Huanyi on his back, revealing a section of his neck that was hidden in his collar.
Both of them were outstandingly good-looking, and as they walked back, the tourists around them turned their heads to gawk.
Some small murmurs drifted into their ears. Su Huanyi's heart tightened and he lowered his head to see Su Chi's expression. However, he was lifted by his ass before he could see.
"Stay down."
Su Huanyi immediately wrapped his arms around Su Chi's neck a little tighter.
He was still a little scared now. He didn't know what happened just now; he just rushed over without much thought. Maybe he just couldn't stand by and do nothing for the person he spent time with.
Moreover, Su Chi had been so kind to him that the moment the crisis came, instinct could not be fooled.
Su Huanyi recalled the scene just now, "Big Brother, the way I pounced on you was so lame. Did you have a hard time holding back your laughter?"
"No."
No, you didn't have to endure it very hard? Su Huanyi frowned. So he laughed out loud without any scruples?
"I didn't even think of laughing at you."
Su Huanyi froze. "You didn't laugh at me?"
Su Chi propped him up. He thought of that moment when he was dragged away. Su Huanyi was almost too scared to cry. How could he possibly laugh?
"Stop twisting." Su Chi said, "All your gravitational potential energy is being converted into me."
"...."
The cable car ride to the rest area took less than ten minutes.
Once Su Huanyi was put down, Su Chi took the rabbit backpack that was on his back. He was a little embarrassed. "I'll do it myself. It's quite heavy."
Su Chi dropped a canister into his hand and said, "Why didn't you feel it when you were packing the bag?"
Su Huanyi shyly hung his head and nibbled on the canned meat.
The rest of the trip was a normal hike. The family visited botanical gardens and speciality restaurants. By the time they finished, it was close to sunset.
As the group sat in the car on the way back, Su Huanyi chose to sit next to Yu Xinyan, whose head was almost bald from the rubbing.
"Silly boy, if there is a real danger in the future, don't rush up alone."
Su Huanyi agreed, "I'll try my best to gang up."
Yu Xinyan choked for a moment. Su Yu was sitting across from them and playing with the rabbit ear bag. His slender fingers run through the soft fluff and he spoke up, "Brother, if it were me today, would you have rushed up to save me?"
Su Huanyi died instinctively. He hurriedly said, "I definitely would have, no matter which brother it was, Mum, or Bad."
"Wow. Third Brother is touched." Su Yu gave him a glance before winking at Su Chi. "Is Big Brother touched?"
Su Chi looked calm. "No."
"..."
Probably because of the shock today, Su Huanyi had a fever after he returned.
He woke up at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. feeling cold, but his nose was very hot. He got up in a daze to drink some water, but he couldn't hold the kettle steady and it clattered on the kitchen counter, almost knocking the lid off.
Su Huanyi was holding a napkin to clean the water when Su Chi's bedroom door opened.
Su Chi was in a nightgown. His clothes were loosely tied, so he casually gathered them together. His usually well-groomed hair was a bit wild, and he looked much softer.
He took three or two steps to come over. "What's wrong?"
Su Huanyi was sleepy and dizzy. He leaned his head against Su Chi. "Big Brother, I'm so feverish....."
Su Chi put a hand to his forehead and frowned. "Straighten your tongue and speak properly."
Su Huanyi then stuck his tongue out at him.
Su Chi sighed with a headache. He went back inside to change his clothes and took Su Huanyi to the medical area of the sanatorium. This was one of the advantages of choosing this place for a holiday. At least the medical conditions were unlike those in ordinary hotels.
It was dark and silent outside. Su Chi pulled Su Huanyi towards the medical area. Only their body temperatures were warm in the cool night breeze.
"Big Brother, I want to go to sleep."
"Let's first go have your temperature taken and get medicine before you go back to sleep."
Su Huanyi had only brought cold medicine with him, and there was no fever-reducing medicine. Su Chi also did not dare give him any medicine indiscriminately. If Su Huanyi had a fever, it was best to get the right prescription. Su Chi was being extra cautious now.
The doctors in the medical area were on duty 24 hours a day. Su Chi got the registration number and dragged the sleepwalker to sit down for the consultation.
It was already four in the morning by the time the results were released and they got the medicine.
Su Huanyi felt uncomfortable. He was very sleepy before, but now he couldn't sleep. He sat in front of the French window with a quilt, planning to watch the sunrise over the sea.
"Big Brother, you go back to sleep first."
Su Chi stood there for a while before returning to his bedroom and closing the door.
Su Huanyi leaned in front of the French window for ten minutes or so when the bedroom door suddenly opened again. Su Chi came out, washed and dressed neatly, and held a quilt in his hand.
Su Huanyi hesitated and watched unblinkingly as his big brother, who was like a god from heaven, bent down and tucked the quilt around his neck.
Then he patted it with a slight sense of achievement.
Su Huanyi thought of being buried in the sand at the beach. "Am I being buried alive?"
Su Chi raised his eyes and said, "I shouldn't have left your head out."
Su Huanyi was silenced.
The two sat together in front of the French window. For a while, no one spoke, and they just looked out the window.
Su Huanyi didn't ask Su Chi why he came out, and Su Chi didn't explain. Some things seem superfluous to say. He thought that Su Chi was doing this out of his duty as a brother or out of guilt as a decent person, but that was good enough.
It would get better and better in the future.
The moment of sunrise came almost without warning.
A bright light suddenly appeared where the sea met the sky, illuminating the deep blue of the sea. The next moment, an arc of red, gold, and orange jumped out of the sea, filling the sky with a glow.
Su Huanyi's eyes were filled with the morning light, and his eyes shone brightly.
He poked his head from the quilt, shaking his hair like a young shoot breaking out of the ground, with its branches spreading.
The tender shoots were tugged.
"... Brother, what are you doing?"
"I'm pulling the seedlings to help them grow."
Su Huanyi's recurring illness was something that Su Jitong had not expected.
They had other activities scheduled for today, but it was probably impossible with Su Huanyi's state.
"Mom and Dad, you guys just go and have fun. I'll sleep in my room."
"Nonsense." Su Jitong was serious. "How can we run out to play by ourselves and then leave you, a patient, alone in your room?"
Yu Xinyan also said, "It's not like the family came out for some attraction. We mainly want to have a good time together."
Su Huanyi was subdued.
He spent most of the day laying in his room. Su Chi didn't go anywhere else. He stayed in the living room to handle work. At the end of the day, he brought him medicine and food.
Later, Su Jianchen and Su Yu came over to play poker with him. Su Huanyi nestled under the covers and lost ten games to Su Jianchen. Su Yu's luck was so good that it seemed like he was cheating.
After playing poker, Su Huanyi was even more wilted.
Su Chi came in and drove Su Yu out. Su Jianchen followed him and left.
After they left, Su Chi asked, "You lost alone?"
"Second Brother too." Su Huanyi sniffed.
"But I saw Su Jianchen was in a good mood."
"Probably because two people losing together made him feel like he fit in."
Su Chi was unable to refute it.
Su Huanyi took a bath after eating, and he felt much more relaxed. He had been immobile all day and wanted to go out for a walk.
Su Chi also barely moved today. Seeing that Su Huanyi was in better spirits, they changed their clothes and went out together.
As they walked down the hall, they met the other four members of the family who had returned from their walk. Su Yu saw that they were going out and immediately joined them. "Do you want to play billiards?"
Su Jitong agreed, "That's a good idea. The billiard hall is indoors and there's no breeze, so you can go and play for a while."
Su Huanyi: "Okay."
He hadn't played billiards before, but he felt that it was a professional and classy activity.
Many rich and handsome men in TV dramas use billiards to flirt with girls. Unfortunately, it was just the four of them brothers, so there was bound to be no one to flirt with.
The billiards hall was the first in the entertainment area. It was next to the bowling alley and ice skating rink. Su Huanyi didn't understand, so he asked, "They're all sports. Why aren't they in the sanatorium?"
Before Su Jianchen could give a professional answer, he heard Su Chi give a rhetorical question, "What's the point of putting it in the sanatorium? To stimulate disease?"
Su Huanyi: "..."
The billiards hall looked like a high-end entertainment venue from the outside. Su Huanyi noticed the two letters "NY" on the sign when he entered, just like the bar.
The four went in and opened a separate box. It had sofas, tables, coffee tables, and a small screen monitor that could play songs and movies.
Su Chi unbuttoned his cufflinks and pulled them up to his elbows. The strong light above his head shone down on the smooth lines of his forearm muscles and Su Huanyi suddenly got the main point of playing billiards.
Su Yu took the cue in his hand and spun it like a stunt. He looked sideways on the edge of the table, with a casual attitude— "Bang!" The cue ball collided with the red ball and then folded back at a tricky angle to stay within the tee box. It was a fairly good situation.
Su Yu was modest. "Lucky. I was just lucky."
Su Chi took a club then. Contrary to Su Yu, his stance was elegant and precise. The back of his broad shoulders opened outwards and his elbows and arms were tucked in. The light reflected in his eyes as he leaned over the club, like a fierce beast lurking.
Bang!
Su Huanyi sat at the side and watched the two brothers play against each other. Su Jianchen explained to him the game in a few words. He didn't know what to make of it, but he summed it up anyway: bullying.
At the end of the first round, Su Chi stood up straight and turned around. "Do you want to play?"
Su Huanyi hesitated. "I don't know how."
"Come on. Third Brother will personally teach you." Su Yu lunged from behind with his arms open, then was hit in the stomach with a blow from a cue. "Ow."
Su Chi poked the man away. "Weren't you just lucky?"
Su Yu: "....."
Su Chi beckoned to Su Huanyi. "Come here."
Su Huanyi then dutifully slid over. The cold temperature came into his hand the moment he took hold of the cue. Su Chi held his hand and pulled it downwards. "Hold it here."
The palm of his hand slid over, and there was a trace of warmth from it.
Su Huanyi followed Su Chi's instructions and adjusted his stance and leaned over. His upper body lay on the edge of the table. The light and shadows fell, and for a moment he thought he was very handsome. "Brother, look at me. Don't I look very flirtatious?"
He was used to calling Su Chi "brother," and now that the three brothers were together, all three looked over at the same time.
Under the light, the most eye-catching part was the waistline, an aesthetic that both men and women would recognize. It was very provocative.
The sultry Su Huanyi gave an unmistakable push, and the club hit air.
The crowd: "....."
Su Chi snorted. "Whom do you think you can get with that?"
Su Huanyi was coy. "There are always a few who don't have eyes."
After barely scoring a few points, Su Huanyi stepped back and left the table to Su Jianchen and Su Yu. He had drunk a lot of water before he came out and wanted to go to the toilet now. He waved to the others and pushed the door open.
The interior of the billiards hall was exquisitely decorated. The overhead lights in the corridor were five metres apart, making intervals of light and dark on the deep red velvet carpet.
Su Huanyi almost bumped into someone just as he turned the corner after leaving the toilet!
A hand steadied him. "Be careful."
The voice sounded familiar, and Su Huanyi looked up. He had seen the man in front of him before. It was the club manager, Hu.
The other party was also a bit surprised to see him and immediately smiled. "What a coincidence. We do share a bond."
Su Huanyi felt that something was wrong with this statement, but he could not think straight now. He just wanted to find an excuse to quickly sneak back.
But the other man didn't seem to have the same intention. "I thought you were an ordinary student last time and I didn't mean to offend you. Can I make amends with you today and be friends?"
Su Huanyi hesitated. "It's not convenient today. We'll do that another time."
"You are so defensive against me. Is my intention so obvious?" The man smiled helplessly. He stretched out a hand to block the way. "I admit that I do like you and want to pursue you."
Su Huanyi looked up abruptly!
The man continued to look at him and said, "After we've gotten to know each other, it wouldn't be too late for you to say no to me, would it?"
Fuck, what is this? Wasn't it a consumer trap?
Su Huanyi's whole body was not well. He turned sideways to get around the man in front of him, only to be blocked once again. The man leaned closer towards him. "I'm serious, I fell in love with you at first sight...."
Dang.
The carpeted hallway wasn't supposed to make a sound, so the abrupt footstep instantly caught the attention of the speaker.
The man looked back and smiled when he saw who was coming.
"Mr. Su."
Su Chi was standing six or seven metres away. The incandescent light poured down and he was looking at the man with eyes like cold pools of darkness.