ALCSRB Chapter 26

This time, the bar was on North Street.

Compared to the bars on South Street, North Street’s were more liberal, filled with men and women openly flirting and acting uninhibited.

As the group walked down the street, several enthusiastic people had already come over to flirt.

Jiang Mingyi and Pei Shiqing were both clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

“These people are a bit too… enthusiastic, don’t you think?”

“You guys aren’t used to it because you don’t come often. Just come a few more times and you’ll get used to it.”

Once they entered the bar, they went straight up to a booth on the second floor.

“How about it? The view from here is pretty good, right?” Xu Tong gave the two a smug look. “I specially asked someone to reserve this booth. Normally, lots of people fight over this golden spot.”

Jiang Mingyi leaned on the railing and looked down. On the first-floor stage, a few guys dressed in sexy outfits were dancing.

His gaze swept across the guys one by one, and he looked a little disappointed. “Didn’t you say there’d be ripped, hot guys with eight-pack abs?”

The guys down there didn’t even have better bodies than he did.

If that’s the case, he might as well stay home and admire himself in the mirror—he’d get a better view.

His disappointment was written all over his face. Pei Shiqing leaned over for a look and was also disappointed.

“You guys didn’t just trick us, did you?”

“How could we?”

“When have we ever lied to you?”

The twins immediately defended themselves, “This is just the warm-up act. Don’t you see how the crowd is gradually getting hyped?”

“Once the real show starts, those abs will be out, and then you’ll be drooling for sure.”

Hearing that, Jiang Mingyi finally settled back down. This time he didn’t dare order any alcohol and just got an orange juice.

The bar server even gave him a strange look.

The drinks were served quickly.

Pei Shiqing bobbed his head along to the music, and when he saw Jiang Mingyi frowning while looking at his phone, he leaned in.

“What’s wrong? You look so serious.”

Jiang Mingyi stared at the red name on his missed calls list, hesitating a bit. “My brother just called me, but I didn’t hear it.”

Pei Shiqing was shocked. “He doesn’t know you’re at a bar, does he?”

“I didn’t tell anyone this time,” Jiang Mingyi said a little guiltily. “If he finds out, I’m probably doomed.”

The two immediately thought of the last time they got caught. The scolding they got was still fresh in their memory.

Jiang Mingyi pursed his lips. “I think…”

He had just opened his mouth when Pei Shiqing quickly covered it with his hand.

Jiang Mingyi blinked in confusion: Why are you covering my mouth?

His dark, bright eyes were signaling something, but Pei Shiqing didn’t budge.

Pei Shiqing said seriously, “I don’t want to hear what you think.”

Jiang Mingyi: ?

Pei Shiqing continued, “I think you shouldn’t call back—otherwise, it’ll be way too easy to give away our location.”

Jiang Mingyi rolled his eyes and brushed away the hand covering his mouth. “I wasn’t planning to call back anyway.”

With the deafening music in the bar, making a call would immediately expose where he was.

He wasn’t that stupid.

“So you’re just going to pretend you didn’t see it?” Pei Shiqing looked at him with admiration.

If he had missed a call from his brother, there’s no way he’d dare ignore it.

Just thinking about his brother’s stern face was enough to make him nervous.

As he was thinking that, his phone in his pocket suddenly started buzzing, startling Pei Shiqing so much he jumped like a startled rabbit.

“T-t-this…” The phone vibrated wildly in his palm, and Pei Shiqing looked at Jiang Mingyi with a panicked expression like, What do I do?!

Jiang Mingyi felt a chill run down his scalp. “There’s no other way.”

He grabbed Pei Shiqing’s hand and dragged him toward the restroom in a hurry.

There were a few drunk guys inside relieving themselves. When they saw the two of them rush in, they were so startled their hands shook.

Jiang Mingyi didn’t spare them a glance and pulled Pei Shiqing into a stall, signaling: “You can answer it now.”

Pei Shiqing shot him a doubtful look: Seriously?

“At least the bathroom has decent soundproofing.” Though the music could still faintly be heard. “Just cover your mouth a little when you speak.”

Pei Shiqing nodded and finally answered the call.

“Hello, Bro.” His voice carried both guilt and a forced sweetness.

Pei Mingyue frowned. “Why did it take you so long to pick up?”

Pei Shiqing glanced at Jiang Mingyi, who immediately gave him a calm, steady look.

“We were playing Werewolf. We just finished a round, and I finally got to check my phone.”

The other end was silent for a few seconds. “I’m having dinner with Shen Xingyan right now. I’ll come pick you up after we’re done. Send me your location.”

Jiang Mingyi had his ear pressed to the other side, and when he heard that, he lit up with excitement.

He gestured at Pei Shiqing, who immediately replied, “No need. I’ve already made plans to grab a meal with some classmates later.I don’t want to kill the vibe.”

The silence this time lasted even longer, until Pei Mingyue finally said, “Don’t stay out too late,” and hung up.

The two of them exhaled a long breath at the same time.

“That worked.” Pei Shiqing put away his phone and motioned for Jiang Mingyi to make his call.

Jiang Mingyi gave an OK sign and casually dialed. The call connected quickly.

A deep, magnetic voice came through the receiver, “Xiao Yi, where are you?”

The tail end of that sentence somehow sounded inexplicably sexy, making Jiang Mingyi’s ears turn red.

“I’m at a gathering with some classmates. We were playing a game earlier, so I didn’t notice the call.” He cleared his throat and lied with a straight face.

“Exams are over and it’s the start of the break—it makes sense to hang out with your classmates.” Shen Xingyan paused, then asked, “What time does the gathering end? I’ll come pick you up.”

He exchanged a look with Pei Shiqing. Why do both their big brothers talk exactly the same?

“No need, Bro. You’ve worked all day; you must be tired. The gathering probably won’t end early anyway, I can go home by myself.”

“Work isn’t tiring. I’m just worried you’ll be having too much fun and forget the way home.”

Jiang Mingyi vaguely heard a soft chuckle from the other end. He tightened his grip on the phone slightly and pouted, “It’s not like I have amnesia. How could I forget the way home?”

Someone entered the restroom, and suddenly there was a loud banging on the stall door.

Both of them instantly smelled a strong scent of alcohol.

“What’s that sound?” Shen Xingyan asked, puzzled.

Jiang Mingyi immediately shouted, “Someone’s in here! Try another stall!”

Then he explained to Shen Xingyan, “I’m in the restroom. Someone thought this stall was empty and started banging on it when they couldn’t open it.”

“This gathering spot doesn’t sound very decent,” Shen Xingyan commented in a low voice.

Jiang Mingyi replied, “Yeah, not ideal. I’ll make them pick a better place next time.”

“Ge, they’re calling me for the next round of the game. I’ll talk to you later,” he said a quick goodbye and hung up.

—

In a private room at the restaurant.

Shen Xingyan put his phone aside, his deep gaze sweeping past Xie Zhuoyan, who was happily eating, and landing on Pei Mingyue, who was slightly frowning.

“What do you think about this?” Shen Xingyan asked, his posture relaxed, one arm draped over the back of his chair, though his eyes held a complex, unreadable glint.

Pei Mingyue frowned deeply. “Are you sure the two of them are together?”

“Do I need to be sure?” Shen Xingyan smiled faintly. “Would the two of them attend separate classmate gatherings?”

Pei Mingyue fell silent. “It’s just a classmate gathering…”

Shen Xingyan tapped his long fingers against the back of his chair. The sound was crisp. He reminded, “Who has classmate parties that include male models?”

Pei Mingyue’s gaze suddenly turned cold. “Do you know where they are?”

Shen Xingyan nodded slightly toward Xie Zhuoyan, who was still in a signal-dead zone. Only when Pei Mingyue looked over did Shen Xingyan belatedly react.

“I say, didn’t you guys call me here just for dinner?” Xie Zhuoyan glanced at the table full of food and mentally labeled himself a clown.

Shen Xingyan: “You were that hungry?”

Xie Zhuoyan, exasperated: “If I wasn’t hungry, why would I come eat?”

He had rushed over excitedly the moment he got the call. But before he’d eaten much, Pei Mingyue had taken a call, then Shen Xingyan followed with another, and now he couldn’t understand a word they were saying.

“Do you eat with your brain? Why’s your digestion so slow?”

Xie Zhuoyan didn’t get it at first, but once he caught Shen Xingyan’s contemptuous look, he immediately put down his chopsticks.

“Alright, spill it. What’s going on?”

Shen Xingyan gave him a brief explanation and then asked, “Give me the contact info for the male model show at your bar last time.”

…

Back at the booth, Jiang Mingyi and Pei Shiqing waited for over half an hour before the male model show finally started.

The two were excited as they looked down and saw a lineup of tall, well-built men—each over 1.9 meters—walk onto the stage.

Just the sight of those strong, muscular arms had the crowd in the bar screaming, not to mention that the men were wearing nothing but custom-designed underwear, barely covering their most “proud” parts.

Not only were the female guests practically drooling at the sight, even some of the male guests couldn’t suppress the excitement bubbling up inside them.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes widened as he clutched Pei Shiqing’s arm, his voice trembling, “These guys…”

Behind them, the twins chimed in, “What do you think? Just their appearances alone are enough to feast your eyes, right?”

What’s more, these male models were all exceptionally handsome—walking hormone machines.

Jiang Mingyi didn’t bother responding to them. He dragged Pei Shiqing downstairs without hesitation.

Just as they reached the stage, the male models began pole dancing.

The moment they stepped down, they were hit with a powerful visual impact—both of their faces instantly flushed red.

Pei Shiqing covered his eyes but couldn’t resist peeking through his fingers.

Jiang Mingyi stared, completely entranced. Fixated on the hunk with the perfectly chiseled eight-pack abs he had been dreaming about, he pulled over the bar manager to place an order.

He pointed at the most dazzling male model in the center with his slender finger and declared, “I want him.”

In his mind, he was already fantasizing about how those abs would feel. His exquisitely beautiful face was glowing with excitement.

Male model.
Eight-pack abs.
Here I come.

His excitement was obvious, and Pei Shiqing, infected by it, opened his mouth too—ready to place an order himself.

The bar’s music surged, and the atmosphere hit a small climax.

Suddenly, the music was cut off, and the host’s voice came through: “Sorry, everyone. There’s been a little incident. We need your cooperation.”

Jiang Mingyi and Pei Shiqing exchanged glances. “What’s going on?”

As they wondered, the host continued, “We’ve got two younger brothers who got lost in the bar. Are our dear little brothers here?”

Laughter erupted from the crowd.

Pei Shiqing leaned in and muttered to Jiang Mingyi, “Who the hell are these dumb brothers?”

Jiang Mingyi curled his lip, “Who knows?” He was still waiting for his top-tier male model with the eight-pack abs.

Suddenly, a spotlight landed on the two of them as they whispered to each other.

“Oh, there they are—our two little brothers.”

Jiang Mingyi: “…”

Pei Shiqing: “…”

They immediately realized that voice hadn’t come from the host—but from someone very familiar.

Shit. It was Xie Zhuoyan.

As they instinctively stepped back, their eyes landed on two figures not far away.

They were done for.

That thought flashed through both of their minds at the same time.

Pei Mingyue stood there with a dark expression. Always calm and composed, his eyes now churned with unreadable emotions.

His gaze locked onto Pei Shiqing, making the latter freeze on the spot.

Pei Shiqing pressed his lips together. His brother looked seriously pissed.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes darted around, his mind flooded with the urge to flee—wave after wave crashing until it all fell flat.

His gaze fixed on the tall, striking man in the white dress shirt and black slacks.

The man’s lean, upright figure, stunningly handsome features, and natural elegance instantly outshone all the male models around him.

Jiang Mingyi subconsciously wiped the corner of his mouth.

Shen Xingyan stood with his back to the light, his eyes dark and calm. He walked through the crowd and came to stand in front of Jiang Mingyi.

In the suddenly quiet bar, his voice carried no emotion.
“Jiang Mingyi, having fun with the male models?”