"Teacher, check my little brother's pulse."
"What's the rush? He's right here. It's not as if he can disappear. Come here, little fellow. Let Grandpa check your pulse."
One kept calling him little fellow, and the other kept calling him little brother. Who exactly were these two? The more Xu Chao listened, the more confused he became.
Just then, Fu Sichen spoke up. "Let's go into the hospital room to check his pulse. Elder Zhao, after you."
Xu Chao's eyes darted around as a brilliant idea came to him. "Right, after you, sir. My livestream's still running. I'll go turn it off first."
I'll use the chance to look them up on Baidu. Hehe.
He really was a little genius.
Elder Zhao agreed and headed inside. The young man followed him, but his peripheral gaze remained fixed on Xu Chao, never leaving him for a moment.
Xu Chao was baffled by the stare. Aside from the main gong and the villain, the Original Host hadn't been involved with any other men. What was that look about?
He genuinely felt that he needed a system right now.
As he thought this, a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around his waist. Xu Chao tipped his head back and met the man's dark eyes.
"I'll go with you to turn off the livestream," Fu Sichen said.
Xu Chao's heart skipped a couple of beats, and he agreed dazedly.
They walked over to the windowsill, and Fu Sichen picked up the phone to end the livestream.
His gaze swept over the screen full of comments, and he couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
[Young Master Fu really dotes on Chaochao. Chaochao's being playful, and he's just smiling!]
[Young Master Fu is so possessive. The moment he saw an outsider staring at his wife, he wrapped an arm around his waist to stake his claim.]
[Wow, another handsome guy! He keeps staring at Chaochao.]
Fu Sichen tapped the screen with a slender finger, ending the livestream, then explained to Xu Chao, "Xu Zhou. A surgeon. Your second older brother by blood."
It's him!
The Xu family had four sons, and the Original Host was the youngest.
The eldest had inherited the family business and was a king of the business world. The second was a genius surgeon who saved lives with his scalpel. The third was a Grand Slam racing driver who raced with speed and passion.
But the Original Host's relationship with his three older brothers was rather complicated.
To call it good, his brothers supported him one hundred percent materially. He could spend money, take resources, and use their connections as he pleased.
Yet when the Original Host went to prison, not a single member of the Xu family stepped forward to save him, as though they were all watching him die without lifting a finger.
Still, the second Xu brother hadn't ended well either. After an operation, an agitated family member of a patient had chopped off his fingers and stabbed his eyes blind, leaving him unable to operate ever again.
Recalling the plot, Xu Chao was about to nod in realization when he quickly caught himself and nodded with a pained expression instead. "Ah, right. My second older brother by blood alone..."
That was terrifying. I nearly gave away that I'm not the original.
Although he now knew who the man was, Xu Chao didn't feel much about it. After all, they weren't close. His gaze merely held a little more sympathy.
Xu Zhou: "?"
Xu Chao wasn't responsible for answering his questions. He held out his soft, pale little arm for Elder Zhao to check his pulse.
Elder Zhao nodded. "Your pulse is steady, and there's nothing seriously wrong with your health. You're just a little deficient in qi and blood. In this dry weather, it's perfectly normal to have unsatisfied desires, but remember..."
Fu Sichen frowned slightly as he stared at Xu Chao.
Xu Chao, who had been perfectly relaxed a moment earlier, suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit, his eyes darting guiltily toward Fu Sichen.
No wonder people online say you shouldn't take family along to see a traditional Chinese doctor. Aaaah, doctors really do blurt out everything! This is mortifying!
"I understand. Ahem, I get it. I'll be more careful from now on," Xu Chao hurriedly said.
Elder Zhao chuckled. "All right, all right, I won't say any more. But your grandfather was terribly worried before I came. He was afraid his grandson had been mistreating you."
Xu Chao understood at once. No wonder Old Master Fu had said so many baffling things over the phone. He had seen the news online too.
Old Master Fu was surprisingly up to date!
But did everyone now know about him being played with until he ended up in the hospital?
Ah, don't I have any dignity to preserve?
Xu Chao wanted to go crawl down the corridor in a dark, twisted frenzy again!
Utterly embarrassed, Xu Chao said, "Those are all just rumors online. Nothing like that happened."
Elder Zhao smiled, then looked at his eldest apprentice beside him and changed the subject. "Oh, right. Your second brother has something to discuss with you. I'll leave you young people to chat..."
With that, Elder Zhao walked out, chuckling.
Only the three of them remained in the hospital room, and the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
Xu Chao thought staying silent wouldn't be good either, so he spoke. "Ahem, um, Number Two..."
The moment he said it, all three of them froze.
Xu Chao inwardly cursed. He had accidentally slipped into his feelings as a reader again. Back when he was reading the novel, everyone had called Xu Zhou Number Two.
But now he was the Original Host, and Number Two was his older brother!
Xu Chao hurriedly said, "Second Brother, ahem, Second Brother, it's been a long time."
The Original Host only contacted this second brother when he was short on money, roughly once every five months. After all, he asked his father first, then his mother, followed by the eldest, second, and third brothers.
A warm smile slowly spread across Xu Zhou's previously stiff, tense face, a faint tenderness rippling through his alluring eyes. "Yes, it's been a long time. I've missed you."
Xu Chao blanched. "You... missed me?"
Whenever the Original Host approached this second brother by blood, it was always for the same thing: money, money, money.
So if Xu Zhou missed him now, that had to be what he meant, right?
Xu Chao rubbed his fingers together and chuckled. "Looks like you've been making plenty lately, with money burning a hole in your pocket. In that case, rich guy, send me 50 on WeChat and show me what you've got."
Xu Zhou: "..."
Before you continue