Meet the brother

"Hey, buddy! What's up with you after getting married? You don't answer calls or reply to messages. Look down on your bro?" 

On the other end of the phone, Andrew's reproachful voice came through, but there was an underlying tone of concern that couldn't help but warm Louis's heart. 

It was all because the original owner, after getting married, always wanted to curry favor with Liam and Ethan, neglecting even his best friend. 

"Hey! It was my bad before. Forgive me this time, big guy. Let's call it even. How about I treat you to a meal next time we meet?" Louis apologized, while secretly cursing the original owner in his heart. What a two-faced guy! He's such a disgrace to me, Louis!

"Haha! You said it! No need to wait till later. How about today? Buddy, I'm in San Francisco!" 

Andrew's tone was excited, and his pride could be heard even through the phone.

"Uh, I'd love to treat you, but I'm not in San Francisco right now! I'm in New York for some business and won't be able to return for a few days..." Louis said awkwardly, not expecting Andrew to go to San Francisco and end up disappointed.

"You, how did you end up in New York again! No, no! Wait for me! I'm flying to New York right now! You can't escape this meal!" 

"I've finally managed to get out of the house to do big things! I have to share this good news with you!" 

"Okay! I'll wait for you in New York! Nowhere else! I'll send you the location on WeChat! I can still afford a meal, haha!" 

Louis readily agreed, eager to meet his long-unseen best friend.

"Alright! It's a deal! I'll book the tickets now. This time, I'll definitely treat you to a good meal! Gotta go! See you soon!" 

Efficient as ever, after hanging up the phone, Andrew sent Louis the flight information on WeChat in no time.

It would arrive at ten in the evening, still a few hours away.

Louis was also very happy, and even the worries of waiting for many days disappeared. He hummed a song, swiped his phone, and waited for his arrival.

Before long, seeing that the time was almost up, Louis went downstairs to the entrance.

A taxi stopped at the hotel entrance, and two people got out of the car. One of them, a slightly chubby guy about 1.7 meters tall, showed excitement on his face as soon as he got out of the car and looked around the hotel.

The other was a girl with a second-dimensional dress, petite and delicate. After getting out of the car, she followed the slightly chubby guy with a hint of impatience.

Until Louis and this guy saw each other, both of them were stunned for a moment, and then a smile appeared on their faces at the same time.

"Louis!"

"Buddy!"

The slightly chubby guy in front of him was Andrew.

Andrew walked quickly, excitement evident in his eyes. He gave Louis a big hug.

"You rascal! You haven't changed at all, and you've become much more handsome! I almost didn't recognize you!" 

Louis smiled as he looked him over.

"Haha! You've gained weight! I remember how good your figure used to be! Now, what's with this appearance?" 

"Haha! It's all because of my mom, who thought I was too thin! She fattened me up until I can barely get out the door!" 

Andrew joked, and indeed, he used to be slim and had a good physique, giving off a rather intimidating vibe with his square face. But since returning home after graduation, he had been kept like this, and his square face had turned into a round chubby one, with an extra layer of fat on his body!

"No wonder! But it's good this way! You look more comfortable!" 

"Definitely!" 

Andrew came forward, put his arm around Louis's shoulder, turned around, and pointed to the girl behind him.

"Let me introduce you! My girlfriend, Natalie."

Louis glanced at Natalie and nudged Andrew's waist with his elbow, whispering.

"Not bad for a lunatic. You did well finding a girlfriend!"

After that, Louis nodded at Natalie.

"Hello, I'm Andrew's good buddy, Louis."

"Hi, I've heard Andrew talk about you. Didn't expect you to be this handsome in person." 

Natalie's eyes lit up when she saw Louis, but she quickly restrained herself and smiled back.

"That's right! It doesn't matter who's the buddy!" Andrew continued with a beaming smile, earning a pair of eye rolls from Natalie.

"It's not like you! What's there to be proud of?" 

"Haha! My buddy and I are inseparable. Come on, let's go. I flew all this way to treat you, buddy. Can't let you get away today!" 

Andrew hooked Louis's arm, leading the way.

"Today's on me! I'll treat!" 

The three of them walked together, and in the end, Andrew only found a roadside barbecue stall and pulled Louis to sit down.

Louis chuckled inwardly. Despite saying he'd treat, Andrew still chose a budget option. Didn't expect this chubby guy to be so prideful!

As they sat down, Andrew loudly called out to the vendor to order skewers.

Louis noticed that Natalie seemed somewhat displeased, but she still took out a tissue and carefully wiped the seat before sitting down.

Blissfully unaware, Andrew paid no attention to this.

Seeing this, Louis patted Andrew on the shoulder and jokingly said, "Madman, how about finding another place? Aren't you planning to rip me off? How much can you rip me off here?"

Unexpectedly, Andrew gave Louis a sidelong glance.

"What's wrong? Don't like roadside stalls? Weren't we here all the time during college? This is it! Today, we'll just eat and drink here!"

Well, that's that! My good intentions are wasted! This guy is still so straightforward.

"Alright, alright! Here it is then! You call the shots! But as for drinking, I can't do that anymore. I quit drinking!" 

Andrew furrowed his brow, not understanding what Louis meant by sometimes disapproving of the roadside stall and then quitting drinking.

Louis quickly patted him on the shoulder, explaining, "Bro, I've really quit! I made a lot of mistakes because of drinking before. I've changed since then, and I don't drink anymore!"

Seeing Louis's sincere tone, Andrew felt relieved, though somewhat regretful. "Alright then! Quitting is good too, to avoid trouble. Let's just focus on eating tonight!"

"Oh, by the way! Where's my celebrity sister-in-law? Didn't she come to New York with you?" 

As Andrew was a year younger than Louis, he always called Anna his sister-in-law.

Louis shook his head. 

"No, she's at home taking care of the kids. But what about you? How come your family let you out?" 

Talking about this, Andrew seemed quite proud, leaning in mysteriously.

"That's because I put in a lot of effort to get out. Remember how I was supposed to go back home to inherit the family's small supermarket? Well, after going back, I found out it wasn't just a small supermarket! It's a nationwide chain!

Can you believe it? My family kept it from me for so long, and I only found out later that I'm actually a second-generation rich kid!"

Louis was shocked. Back in college, this guy often freeloaded off him. His monthly allowance was minimal, barely enough to scrape by.

Who would've thought that he'd turn into a second-generation rich kid now? It just shows how cunning his family is!

Louis gave him a thumbs up.

"You're something else! Since you know you're a second-generation rich kid now, why not loaf around at home? Why come out?" 

"Hell no! A buddy like me has dreams and ambitions! How can I be a freeloader? It took a lot of convincing to get my family to let me out!"

Andrew looked displeased, displaying the appearance of a warrior with dreams and ambitions, not a layabout.