The Pampered Young Master Is Adored at Art School - Chapter 10

The video call ringtone in Su Zhan’s ears grew more rapid, yet he couldn’t budge Dylan. His voice took on a pleading tone, “He isn’t my biological brother, but he’s close enough. Just hide for a second, and I’ll explain everything after I finish the call.”

“It was my fault for accusing you. I’ll help you win over the person you like; I’ll do anything.”

Do anything?

Dylan automatically filtered out the first half of the sentence. Finally willing to move, he followed the direction of Su Zhan’s push and ducked into the bathroom.

He made a mental note of those words, treating them as a debt to be collected in the future.

Soon, the sound of Su Zhan talking to the man drifted in from outside. American buildings were notorious for poor sound insulation, and Dylan could hear every word clearly from the bathroom. He opened a real-time translation app.

Without his presence, Su Zhan’s voice sounded much lighter.

“Brother Jian, what’s up? I’m right in the middle of cooking,” Su Zhan said, feigning a casual tone.

Xu Chenjian replied, “Didn’t burn yourself, did you? Open the fridge, let me see if you froze the ribs I made this morning.”

“Why are they still in the pot? They’ve been sitting out all day, they won’t taste good now. Throw them away.”

“Brother Jian! That’s wasting food!” Su Zhan hurriedly used his chopsticks to pick up a rib and stuffed it into his mouth.

Xu Chenjian suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, he asked, “Why are there two pairs of chopsticks over there?”

The silence was deafening.

Su Zhan had remembered to hide the person, but forgot to hide the utensils.

They had been about to plate the food, so Su Zhan had already set out the tableware. Two pairs of chopsticks were sitting right by the stove. It was glaringly obvious that Su Zhan wasn’t alone.

“Is a friend over?” Xu Chenjian’s voice was intentionally soft, but his eyes on the screen were unblinking, staring intently.

“No,” Su Zhan lied dryly, but he couldn’t think of a way to explain the extra chopsticks.

With his back against the stove, Su Zhan glanced around nervously. Suddenly, he found the posters all over the room exceptionally beautiful, as if every single one was worth a deep read. His feet shifted restlessly, but no matter where he turned, he couldn’t escape the awkward atmosphere.

Xu Chenjian let out a long sigh, “It’s not like I told you that you couldn’t bring friends over. Why are you so scared?”

“Is it a girl?” Xu Chenjian asked gently.

Su Zhan squeezed his eyes shut, feeling like a man facing execution, “Yes. She just went out to pick up a milk tea delivery.”

That was better than saying it was a man learning Chinese for love.

Su Zhan felt incredibly uncomfortable, he rarely lied to Xu Chenjian.

“Chinese? Or a foreigner?” Xu Chenjian continued to press.

“Fo… foreigner. Brother Jian, is there something wrong with that recipe you gave me?”

Xu Chenjian obviously knew Su Zhan was trying to change the subject and continued his interrogation, “How did you meet? Does Little Su have secrets now that he won’t tell me?”

“No, no.”

“Foreign girls are more open, but you can refuse. You have to think things through for yourself, you can’t just go along with things half-heartedly.” Xu Chenjian paused, and feeling he hadn’t been clear enough, he began to apply pressure, “No matter what others say, you shouldn’t be casual. Can you take responsibility for someone else?”

“N… no.” Su Zhan felt even more embarrassed, wishing he could sink into the floor.

Xu Chenjian was actually lecturing him about not sleeping around!

Even though they were close, discussing such topics was mortifying. Xu Chenjian would let the little things slide, but when it came to matters of principle, Su Zhan was instinctively afraid of him.

An emotional relationship was clearly a matter that required strict boundaries.

Su Zhan hesitated, unsure how to argue back.

Taking his silence as a sign of guilt, Xu Chenjian continued to hammer the point home, “It’s good that you know you can’t. You should be cautious even when making friends, don’t just look at whether someone is pretty.”

“It’s late. Have her go home after dinner.”

Su Zhan found it strange. Given how considerate Xu Chenjian usually was, he should have told Su Zhan to see her home. Even if there was no romance, one should act with gentlemanly grace.

It almost felt like Xu Chenjian didn’t want him to date at all.

“…Is she pretty?” Xu Chenjian’s voice was devoid of emotion.

Su Zhan lowered his eyes, the movement of his feet slowing down. He thought of Dylan’s eyes, clear as the summer sky, and said sincerely, “Very pretty.”

On the screen, Xu Chenjian’s jawline tightened as if he were clenching his teeth, “Acting like such a stranger, won’t you let me see a photo?”

Before Su Zhan could refuse, a series of clattering noises erupted from the bathroom.

Su Zhan almost screamed. What on earth was Dylan doing in there!

“Is she back?” Xu Chenjian had clearly heard it too, “I’d like to say hello, is that alright?”

“It’s too abrupt, Brother Jian, you’ll scare her. Let’s talk later, talk later, please don’t make this awkward for me.” Su Zhan hung up immediately.

He rushed toward the bathroom in a fit of rage, “What are you doing! He heard you, and now he’s asking why I brought a girl home!”

“But why does he care if you bring a girl home?” Dylan began placing the knocked-over bottles back one by one, making a mental note of the toiletries Su Zhan used.

Financial constraints didn’t seem to have affected Su Zhan’s quality of life yet, his hand soap was still Le Labo.

“He isn’t my real brother, but he’s close enough. He watched me grow up, so it’s normal that he doesn’t want to see me go down the wrong path,” Su Zhan explained mildly, though even he felt Xu Chenjian was overstepping a bit.

“Is normal dating not allowed either?” Dylan took a step closer, the sense of pressure he had been hiding finally revealing itself, “Do you really think what he says makes sense? And why do you even need his permission?”

Dylan could have held back a little longer and continued to play the part of a polite “friend,” but Su Zhan’s words were like adding fuel to the fire.

Su Zhan was defending the man without even considering right from wrong, as if that man’s words were the ultimate truth.

It was so obvious that the man was being unreasonable. Su Zhan was twenty years old, yet that Chinese man was using bullshit excuses like tradition and responsibility to threaten him, preventing him from having a normal love life.

He had a whole set of twisted logic regarding a girlfriend, so what would happen if Su Zhan did something unconventional like dating a boyfriend?

What Dylan found most unacceptable was how obedient Su Zhan was. Even when the man was being illogical, Su Zhan still believed him blindly.

It was impossible not to be jealous. But he also knew he had no right to be.

The aggressiveness in Dylan’s voice was impossible to hide, and Su Zhan, for once, stood his ground.

“He’s doing it for my own good.” Su Zhan tilted his head up, meeting Dylan’s gaze directly without flinching, “I know you gave me a lot of money, but these are my private matters.”

Private matters are not part of the service.

That was what Dylan heard.

This was the first time Dylan had seen Su Zhan like this. When Su Zhan got angry during the conflict with Adrian, it felt more like a tactic, much of it even seemed put on. But this time, Su Zhan was truly angry.

Dylan felt a wave of irritation.

The words “my private matters” shattered the beautiful illusion. The boundary was drawn so clearly that it even placed him outside the circle of friendship.

It made sense. They had only known each other for two days, less than forty-eight hours. To call them friends was a stretch, so how could he possibly compare to someone who had grown up with Su Zhan?

The aroma of food in the kitchen was evidence of their previous pleasant interaction, but now it felt more like a mockery.

Dylan was no longer in the mood to eat. Staying would only be awkward, every minute in this room would remind them of their argument.

“You’re right, it’s none of my business.” Dylan ruffled his hair, there was no point in maintaining a perfect hairstyle anymore.

“I just think it’s unfair to you,” Dylan said.

He pulled out his phone, showing the Venmo interface, signaling Su Zhan to enter his payment info, “Five hundred dollars per session. Cooking counts as a lesson too.”

Su Zhan didn’t take it.

He never had many friends. He hadn’t known Dylan for long, but they had a great time together, and now he had ruined it all because of his poor choice of words.

He had falsely accused Dylan first, and then he had thrown Dylan’s kindness back in his face.

“Are you leaving?” Su Zhan asked instinctively, trying to make him stay.

Dylan switched to signing a check, seemingly determined to settle the account cleanly, “It’s late, I shouldn’t stay at your place anyway.”

“Yeah, the person you like might be unhappy too,” Su Zhan muttered, though he was a bit reluctant to see him go.

He still didn’t know if he was the one in the wrong.

“Do you still want to learn Chinese? I mean, in the future.” Su Zhan looked at the tips of Dylan’s shoes. He had given Dylan a pair of disposable slippers, and their friendship felt just as disposable, “You didn’t get to learn about Chinese food today, you didn’t learn any Chinese, and I didn’t get to go shopping with you either.”

“Next time we could meet at the library, it’s easier to focus there,” Su Zhan suggested.

Dylan shook his head, “I don’t like traditional classrooms. I learn faster through conversation.”

Su Zhan panicked. It felt like he had just blown a rare, lucrative business opportunity. There were so many Chinese students at school, he wasn’t the only one who could teach Dylan.

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