Chapter 15: Official Status
The place they went to eat was a Chinese-style restaurant—perhaps “inn” was more appropriate. It was entirely decorated in wood. They climbed the stairs and walked through a long corridor to the private room.
The surrounding windows were open, and standing by the window, one could see the lobby below.
To say it was entirely Chinese-style wouldn’t be quite right; the private room actually had a small terrace.
It was missing an opera stage, but there was a projector—this was the part Chu Yang was most satisfied with.
While picking a movie to watch later, he said to Chu Yuanzhou, who was ordering food, “Did your friend pick this place? How much does he miss home?”
Chu Yuanzhou smiled. “This is his newly opened restaurant.”
“The projector is for kids like you to watch.”
Chu Yang glared at him, and Chu Yuanzhou’s smile widened.
After ordering a few dishes, Chu Yuanzhou pushed the menu toward Chu Yang. “See if there’s anything else you want to eat.”
“Do kids have the right to order too?” Chu Yang didn’t even look at the menu, his eyes fixed on the movie.
Chu Yuanzhou pulled Chu Yang’s chair toward him. “Spoiled babies do.”
“Then I’ll reluctantly take a look.”
When Jiang Baibai entered the room, he saw Chu Yuanzhou leaning close to the boy’s ear, talking and smiling. The boy had his face turned slightly away, with a feigned look of unhappiness. That emotion made his eyes look even darker and brighter. Even just a side profile was enough to firmly capture one’s gaze.
He knew who this was—the brother Chu Yuanzhou always talked about.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, Chu Yuanzhou turned around and stood up. “Long time no see.”
“Good to see you, CEO Chu.” Jiang Baibai reached out and shook his hand.
Chu Yang stood up with Chu Yuanzhou and turned to face Jiang Baibai. When Jiang Baibai met his eyes, his pupils contracted, and a flash of amazement crossed his eyes.
The face before him had the perfect balance of features. His bone structure and skin were both superb. His deep features looked a bit cold when he was expressionless, but as he smiled now, his dark, bright eyes added so much charm… and with his outfit today… he had an incredible sense of youth…
If he had a face like this, it was perfectly normal for Chu Yuanzhou to become a “brother-con.” If it were him… he would also show him off to everyone.
Jiang Baibai was stunned for several seconds. Before Chu Yuanzhou could introduce Chu Yang, he spoke first: “Your brother… is truly seeing is believing.”
Chu Yuanzhou smiled, his eyes full of pride, as he draped an arm around Chu Yang’s shoulder. “This is Jiang Baibai.”
“This is my brother, Chu Yang.”
Chu Yang didn’t pull away. He didn’t really want to shake hands anyway, so this was convenient for him. He smiled and greeted Jiang Baibai, “Hello, Jiang-ge.”
“Hello, brother.”
The three sat down. Jiang Baibai and Chu Yuanzhou made small talk. The round table didn’t distinguish between host and guest, but the way they were seated placed Chu Yuanzhou in the middle, with Jiang Baibai and Chu Yang on his left and right.
So Jiang Baibai was essentially sitting opposite Chu Yang. However, the food hadn’t arrived yet, and Chu Yang’s mind was on the movie.
Fortunately, this meal was purely for catching up and hadn’t entered the topic of collaboration yet. Jiang Baibai was able to multitask—chatting with Chu Yuanzhou while observing Chu Yang.
Chu Yuanzhou didn’t notice anything was wrong at first, simply thinking Jiang Baibai was a bit tired, so he stopped to drink tea.
Then he realized Jiang Baibai’s gaze was still fixed on Chu Yang. Normally, to avoid awkwardness, one should look at the screen ahead…
What the heck… Chu Yuanzhou’s brow furrowed. He tapped the table twice, but neither of the other two came back to their senses.
“…..”
Strictly speaking, Jiang Baibai’s gaze wasn’t excessive. Chu Yuanzhou had gone on many overseas business trips, and Chu Yang had accompanied him a few times during summer and winter breaks. Foreigners were indeed open. Once, when Chu Yuanzhou wasn’t paying attention, Chu Yang was surrounded by several people.
Confessions on the street were nothing; even when getting drinks, those people would give him them for free even if they couldn’t get his contact info.
This was why Chu Yuanzhou strictly forbade Chu Yang from going to bars, especially bars abroad.
In his eyes, Chu Yang was just a kid with little self-restraint who could easily be led astray.
Jiang Baibai had been abroad for several years and was likely used to the open ways of foreign countries. Since he was much more restrained than foreigners, Chu Yuanzhou didn’t say anything.
The food at this place was indeed good. After eating, Chu Yuanzhou took a call and stepped out.
The waiter brought out fresh fruit. Jiang Baibai was brewing tea with a smooth, practiced motion; he must have done it often abroad.
Chu Yang took a look, then stood up and stretched his neck. After finishing a movie, his neck and shoulders were a bit stiff.
There was a small terrace in the private room. He walked over and opened the window a bit, and the scent of osmanthus hit his nose. He tilted his head to sniff it, then opened the window wider.
Chu Yang’s outfit today was a bit American-style, while the interior decor was Chinese, with many red and brown window frames. Standing there, he looked exactly like a young master who had just returned from studying abroad.
His slender, white calves swung a couple of times. Jiang Baibai stared at them for a few moments, then couldn’t help but walk over to his side. From the moment he first saw Chu Yang today, he felt his nicotine craving kicking in.
So his first words upon reaching Chu Yang’s side were: “Do you mind if I have a smoke?”
Chu Yang tilted his head to look at him. “I don’t mind.”
But he immediately reached out and opened both windows fully.
Jiang Baibai was amused by him and didn’t take out a cigarette. He looked at him and asked, “Do you smoke?”
“I know how, but I’m not addicted.” Chu Yang still looked out the window.
Jiang Baibai let out a soft laugh. This was an insult to him. Following Chu Yang’s example, he rested his hands on the windowsill and explained, “I’m not addicted either.”
He only smoked heavily when under great pressure. He hadn’t smoked for a long time.
Chu Yang gave an “mm,” his attitude unclear.
Jiang Baibai let out a “tsk,” knowing Chu Yang simply didn’t care. Just as he wanted to chat more, Chu Yuanzhou’s voice rang out behind them: “What are you talking about?”
Jiang Baibai turned and walked back. “Just some small talk.”
Then he took the opportunity to ask Chu Yuanzhou many things about Chu Yang. Once Chu Yang sat back down, he even asked about his studies and social life.
“…..” It was exactly like those awkward questions from elders who had nothing to say during the New Year.
At this point, Jiang Baibai didn’t yet realize that in Chu Yang’s eyes, they were from different generations.
Before going home, Jiang Baibai exchanged contact info with Chu Yang. In front of Chu Yuanzhou, his tone and expression were perfectly normal. He didn’t make any excuses; he was strangely natural.
Chu Yang didn’t think much of it, but as soon as they got into the car, Chu Yuanzhou said, “Stay away from him in the future.”
“What’s wrong? Is he a bad person?” Chu Yang put down his phone, feeling a bit confused.
Chu Yuanzhou frowned as he started the car. “He’s been abroad for several years; no one knows what he’s become. In short, don’t have private contact with him.”
“Fine.” Chu Yang didn’t think Jiang Baibai would bypass Chu Yuanzhou to contact him directly.
Some time passed like this. Because the weather was still hot and Chu Yuanzhou was home, Chu Yang didn’t need to go back every day to walk the dog, so he spent more time in the dorm.
After class today, he was livestreaming in the dorm as usual. Because he was afraid the camera would point directly at Lin Zhiheng’s seat, the curtain was half-drawn behind him.
Lin Zhiheng’s mirror could only see that curtain. Si Yao and Xie An, however, could see him just by turning their heads.
There was fruit tea and dessert on Chu Yang’s desk. There were also some on the others’ desks, said to be takeout ordered by Chu Yuanzhou. This wasn’t the first time. Although the “Big Brother-in-law” indeed kept a tight watch, he was still the Big Brother-in-law, after all.
“Today we’re still playing games, on an alt account. I’ll pick one person to duo with.” Chu Yang clicked on a mini-program to draw a number.
[Number 66.]
Chu Yang found the ID for Number 66 on the leaderboard and clicked in. He froze for a split second. “Uh, Number 66 is named [Xiao Yang’s Underwear]. What’s that mean?”
“DM me your game ID, I’ll invite you.”
[Livestream Room]
[Holy crap, he scored again! Number 66! Xiao Yang’s only certified underwear!]
[Underwear is underwear! The underwear is on Gege’s body /Face flushed red.jpg]
[Wifey, I want to tear your underwear apart and do that to you hard!]
[Shameless! Shameless!]
[Xiao Yang hubby, ‘Kuchazi’ means underwear~]
[Hubby, why are you asking? You’ll just get shy again if we tell you. Your shyness only makes me want to f*ck you more (bashful) (shy)]
[Wifey, the answer is definitely not what you want to know (beckons)]
Sure enough, once he saw the explanation, Chu Yang’s body stiffened. His expression shifted through various shades of blue and white. After several seconds, he asked, “Is Number 66 a guy or a girl?”
As soon as he said that, the chat went silent for several seconds. Originally, they were all squealing about how cute the shy Xiao Yang was, but now none of them dared to speak.
The little straight man didn’t like men. If this was a man’s ID, he’d probably feel uncomfortable. If it was a girl—
[Hubby, how could we be those kinds of people? Actually, ‘Kuchazi’ just means underwear, nothing else.]
[Baby, gender is fluid. Number 66 can be a girl one moment and a guy the next. They’re just an unrestrained person, no need to care.]
[Wifey, we aren’t like that~ This is just an exception~]
[Wifey, I testify that what they’re saying is true.]
Chu Yang took a deep breath and scanned the chat. He didn’t believe them for a second. None of their names were respectable either.
Some even included his name in their IDs: [Chu Yang’s Big Boxers], [Sniffing Chu Yang’s Abs], [Sliding down Chu Yang’s Abs], [Chu Yang’s Dog], [Xiao Yang’s Shepherd Dog], [Xiao Yang’s Hubby], [Xiao Yang’s Wifey], and so on…
“….Always playing it so cringey.”
Chu Yang shook his head and let out a helpless laugh. He decided it was better not to look at IDs too much; otherwise, he didn’t know if something even more shocking would appear next. The first time he found out they called him “Wifey,” he had been profoundly shocked.
That day, Chu Yang was bored with gaming and wanted to stop and chat with them. Then he looked up and saw a string of [My Wifey xxxx] in the chat.
He thought they were talking about a female celebrity or a game character, only to find the fans were calling him…?
In the end, only after someone explained that this was a normal way to address someone did he barely accept it. The fans even asked if he preferred the titles “Hubby,” “Wifey,” or “Gege.”
Chu Yang said, “…Call me whatever you guys like.”
As soon as he said that, the chat went into a frenzy. The “Hubby” and “Wifey” factions were at each other’s throats. Previously, they were worried Chu Yang wouldn’t like it, so they only called him that in private or when he was too busy to look at the chat.
They had no official status and didn’t dare to act up in front of the main person.
But now it was different!
[I can finally distinguish myself in this life! This is the official status Xiao Yang gave me! Xiao Yang agreed to let me call him Wifey! What does that mean? It means I am Xiao Yang’s Hubby! I’m going completely insane!]
[Hahaha! I have a wifey and you don’t! I have a wifey and you don’t! Tee-hee!]
[The one above looks like an idiot. Stay away from me.]
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