ALL NOVEL Chapter 18: Not Him, He's Mine
Chapter 18: Not Him, He’s Mine
After some hesitation, the girl who’d been singled out decided to try her luck.
Su Mu greeted her with a friendly smile when she approached. “Thank you for helping me earlier.”
The freckled girl waved it off. “It’s nothing. We’re all schoolmates – we should help each other.”
Su Mu could tell she had more to say. As long as it wasn’t unreasonable, he’d try to accommodate her since she’d helped him.
“If you have any requests, feel free to ask.”
The freckled girl glanced at Chu Hanting, wringing her hands nervously. “Well… you mentioned adding WeChat…”
“You want to add me? That’s fine.”
Beside them, Chu Hanting felt an inexplicable discomfort.
“No… could I add him instead?” She gestured toward Chu Hanting.
Su Mu was surprised – so that was her true intention. He glanced at Chu Hanting. Hmph, quite the attention magnet.
But this time, he refused firmly. “Not him, he’s mine. Choose something else.”
The girl barely had time to feel disappointed before processing “he’s mine.” Her cheeks instantly flushed red. She looked between them before stammering “Never mind then” and hurrying away, clutching her skirt.
Internally, she was screaming, “No way! Two such handsome men together! Oh my god, it’s real!”
“Using people and tossing them aside?” Chu Hanting teased.
Su Mu shot him a mock glare. “What then? Did you want to add her? Are you upset I pushed away someone trying to get close to you?”
“Not at all. Thank you for fending off a nuisance.”
“Hmph, that’s better.”
Chu Hanting found his pretend anger somewhat adorable.
But sometimes when fake excuses are used too often, it becomes hard to distinguish true feelings from false ones. Some things needed to be cleared up early – better for everyone.
“We can’t finish our meal here. Let’s go somewhere else. Su Mu, we need to talk.”
Hearing Chu Hanting’s serious tone, Su Mu seemed to realize something.
He’d been subconsciously treating him like the Chu Hanting from his past life, but this wasn’t the same person.
The current Chu Hanting’s attention and protection stemmed purely from their arranged marriage arrangement.
If it wasn’t him but someone else as the marriage partner, Chu Hanting would treat them the same way.
Thinking about this made Su Mu’s heart ache a little.
Chu Hanting tried to break the silence first, seeing Su Mu’s uncharacteristic quietness. While earlier Su Mu had been confident and clever in handling Zhang Gong’s gang, now he seemed almost like a different person – head down, silent, picking at his food mechanically without even rotating the lazy susan to reach other dishes.
The contrast was stark. In the school cafeteria, Su Mu had been quick-witted and bold, even playfully possessive when telling the freckled girl that Chu Hanting was “his.” Now in the private room of this high-end restaurant, he seemed to be bracing himself for something unpleasant.
Su Mu was internally resolving not to give up easily. He thought of how in his past life, despite how badly he had treated Chu Hanting’s feelings, the man had remained consistently good to him. Compared to those past sufferings, these current difficulties seemed minor – how could he consider giving up?
Outside the school earlier, Zhang Gong and his gang had been planning to ambush Su Mu until they saw him get into a Maybach with the suited man.
“B-boss,” one stuttered, “What’s Su Mu’s background? That car costs 10 million!”
Zhang Gong smacked his follower’s head. “Don’t be stupid. Look at that poor kid – the Maybach must belong to the man in the suit.”
They decided to back off temporarily. Anyone who could afford a 10-million-yuan car was not someone they could afford to mess with.
In the car, Yang, the excellent assistant driving them, wisely didn’t question why his boss had brought a student along after a board meeting.
Now in the restaurant’s private room, the atmosphere was heavy with unspoken words. Chu Hanting found himself wondering if he had caused this dramatic shift in Su Mu’s demeanor.
“Eat first,” he had said gently. “We can talk after.”
But watching Su Mu’s mechanical movements and downcast expression, he wondered if the impending conversation was weighing too heavily on the young man’s mind.
Seeing Su Mu’s distress, Chu Hanting sighed. “Don’t force yourself to eat if you don’t want to.”
Su Mu immediately put down his chopsticks, forcing down his last dry mouthful of rice.
He returned to his previous state – like a condemned prisoner awaiting sentence, his figure so fragile it seemed he might crumble to dust at the slightest touch.
Though Su Mu wanted to avoid it, he finally heard Chu Hanting’s cruel words.
“Su Mu, what are your real thoughts about me?”
Su Mu startled, lifting his head with tears welling in his eyes. “Would you believe me if I told you?”
Chu Hanting couldn’t understand why Su Mu was so upset – this was just an arranged marriage. Su Mu must know his family’s motives, which Chu Hanting didn’t mind, as even his father had approved.
The hundred million yuan the Su family wanted wasn’t an issue.
But while he could give money, he couldn’t give feelings.
He still couldn’t understand this young man.
“Tell me. If it’s about saving the Su family’s broken capital chain, the Chu family can help for the sake of our grandfathers’ war comradeship. There’s no need to pretend deep feelings to get my attention. Even without the marriage, I can still help the Su family through their crisis – we just need to put on a show for the elders.”
Chu Hanting laid everything bare, analyzing it like a business deal.