I Fell In Love With My Friend's Younger Brother Who Has A Low Sense Of Presence. - Chapter 18:

Chapter 18: Just Heard It From My Brother

The next day, having learned his lesson from yesterday, Su Shixiao was afraid Nan Yanzhou would suddenly call for him through Assistant Cheng again, making everyone stare—to be honest, he didn’t like that much attention; he would feel awkward.

So, as soon as he arrived at the company today, he went straight to the CEO’s office with the breakfast box. Seeing that Nan Yanzhou hadn’t arrived yet, he checked Assistant Cheng’s office, and he wasn’t there either. Su Shixiao just sat in the waiting area to wait for him.

He sat on the chair, watching videos for about twenty minutes, when he heard Nan Yanzhou’s voice from the hallway, “Go arrange the meeting for ten o’clock today.”

Assistant Cheng: “Yes, Mr. Nan.”

Su Shixiao got up from his seat and walked to the office door. Nan Yanzhou saw him instantly, paused for a second, then remembered asking him to bring breakfast yesterday. He turned to Assistant Cheng and said, “You go prepare the materials needed for the meeting later.”

“Mmm.” Assistant Cheng smiled at Su Shixiao, acknowledging him. Su Shixiao smiled back, and Assistant Cheng left.

Nan Yanzhou walked to the office door and pushed it open. “Why are you so obedient today? Delivering breakfast so early.”

Su Shixiao followed him into the office. “I came because I remembered.”

Nan Yanzhou pulled out the swivel chair under the desk and sat down. “Has your brother returned from his business trip?”

“No, he’s coming back tomorrow.” Su Shixiao placed the breakfast box in front of him and asked his question. “Mr. Nan, why do you need me to bring you breakfast? You could ask Assistant Cheng to buy it for you.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to treat me to a meal initially?” Nan Yanzhou opened the lunch box and smelled the egg pancake, then said quite cheekily, “Well, I figured the less trouble, the better. You could just buy me any breakfast. Who knew you’d actually bring it from home, and it’s quite delicious.”

Su Shixiao, having found out the reason, replied with a poker face, “Oh.”

Nan Yanzhou saw his indifference, suppressed a laugh, and calmly asked, “What’s wrong? Don’t want to bring me breakfast?”

Su Shixiao: “Not exactly.”

“I’ll treat you to lunch. What do you want to eat?” Nan Yanzhou picked up the milk placed aside and inserted the straw.

“Anything is fine with me.” Su Shixiao glanced at the time. It was already 9:30 AM. He said, “Mr. Nan, take your time eating. I’m going back to work.”

“Mmm.” Nan Yanzhou nodded at him as he drank the milk.

At noon, Nan Yanzhou went to the Art Department to look for him again. Su Shixiao saw him about to enter the department and quickly grabbed his phone, rushed out, and blocked him at the door. “Mr. Nan, why are you here again?”

Nan Yanzhou knew he didn’t want him to come into the department to find him, so he smiled helplessly. “I said I’d treat you to lunch. What? Can’t I look for you at the company?”

“No,” Su Shixiao said, quickening his steps to walk away, explaining, “It’s just that I don’t like so many people paying attention to me. It makes me uncomfortable.”

Nan Yanzhou was puzzled, his tone languid. “Why would my looking for you get so much attention? I look for your brother, and no one pays that much attention.”

Su Shixiao: “It’s different. I’m just a junior employee here. If you, the big boss, come looking for me, how can people not gossip?”

Nan Yanzhou frowned. “That’s a point. Fine, fine. I’ll just call you next time.”

“Mmm.”

As they walked away, everyone they met looked at them curiously. Su Shixiao sighed softly to himself. It seemed the rumors about him and Nan Yanzhou would be flying around the company again.

At the restaurant, Nan Yanzhou scanned the code on the table and started ordering. When he was almost done, he handed the phone to Su Shixiao. “Check if there’s anything else you want to order.”

Su Shixiao looked through the menu he had ordered and frowned. “You’re allergic to seafood, and you ordered so much of it?” He said this while canceling those dishes.

Nan Yanzhou was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected Su Shixiao to know about his seafood allergy. He then smiled. “I saw you seemed to like seafood last time, so I ordered it for you.”

“You don’t need to order so much.” Su Shixiao said, re-ordering a few dishes. He pressed confirm to place the order and handed the phone back to him.

Nan Yanzhou took the phone and leaned back in his chair, staring at him intently. Su Shixiao felt uncomfortable under his gaze. He met his eyes and asked, “Mr. Nan, why are you looking at me?”

“I’m just curious how you know I’m allergic to seafood,” Nan Yanzhou tilted his head, a hint of playfulness in his voice.

Su Shixiao suddenly felt a little guilty. “I just… just heard it from my brother.”

“Oh, you just heard a word from your brother and remembered it?” Nan Yanzhou continued with a smile. “Then you must pay a lot of attention to me.”

“I just have a good memory,” Su Shixiao replied.

“I’ve always wanted to ask, why didn’t you, when you were little, stick close to your brother and play with us like Xiao Bei, instead of always hiding in a corner by yourself?” Nan Yanzhou rested his elbow on the table and his hand on his chin, adopting a relaxed posture while looking straight into his eyes.

In Nan Yanzhou’s memory from elementary school, Su Shixiao was always very quiet and well-behaved. He never bothered them, always hiding in the toy room or playing in a corner.

Su Shixiao hadn’t expected him to ask that. A flash of emotion crossed his eyes, quickly masked by a smile in less than two seconds. “I’m not quite sure. Maybe I found you guys too noisy.”

Back then, because his father, mother, and brother all favored his younger brother, he became very sensitive. He was afraid his parents and brother wouldn’t like him, so he acted very good and obedient, studying hard and always scoring first place. He thought this way, his parents would pay attention to him as much as they did to his younger brother. But for some reason, he felt they were drifting further apart. When his brother brought his good friends home, he only included his younger brother in their playtime, and he was left alone in the toy room. He would quietly watch their retreating backs from the doorway.

From then on, he spoke even less at home, and his personality became colder. His parents were actually very good to him, but the comparison with Su Shibei still made him feel wronged.

Nan Yanzhou scrutinized him and asked with a slight lack of conviction, “Is that so?”

Su Shixiao was afraid he would see through him. He lowered his head and drank his fruit tea, murmuring, “Mmm.”

Nan Yanzhou didn’t comment on whether he believed him or not, letting the topic pass, but his interest in Su Shixiao only grew.

“After we eat, want to go race cars?”

Su Shixiao instantly looked up at him. “Race cars? Isn’t it not quitting time yet?”

Nan Yanzhou: “It’s fine. Your boss is giving you the afternoon off.”

Su Shixiao: “…No need. I won’t go. I haven’t finished my work yet.” He held back, but couldn’t resist saying, “Mr. Nan, you should focus on working, too.”

“I am working properly,” Nan Yanzhou argued. “I finish my work before going to play. Besides, if I have to do everything, why am I employing so many people?”

Su Shixiao couldn’t find a way to refute him immediately. Finally, he still disagreed. “Can’t we just go after work?”

Nan Yanzhou gave him a faint smile. “No.”

Su Shixiao: “…”