ALCSRB Chapter 10

Shen Xingyan smiled, dark eyes filled with amusement.
“You silly thing, how did you end up writing yourself into the story?”

His voice was full of teasing, and to Jiang Mingyi, it just sounded like mockery.

He blurted out,
“I’m not even surnamed Shen.”

The moment he said it, he realized it was a mistake—especially when he saw the man’s smile suddenly fade.

Even though he knew it was just a joke, a trace of sadness still flashed across Shen Xingyan’s heart.

Jiang Mingyi’s surname was Jiang. They weren’t legally family.

Back then, when his parents had wanted to adopt Jiang Mingyi, they had originally planned to transfer his household registration to the Shen family.
But the other elders in the Jiang family strongly opposed it. Because the situation had already impacted the fragile recovery of young Jiang Mingyi, his parents had relented and didn’t force the transfer.

Now, hearing those words gave Shen Xingyan the illusion that Jiang Mingyi never truly saw them as family.

The atmosphere became a little tense.

Jiang Mingyi sensed the change and realized Shen Xingyan might be upset.

He pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and quietly explained,
“I didn’t mean it like that. I was just a little annoyed and said it without thinking. I didn’t mean to insult you or Mom and Dad.”

Shen Jili and Su Wanxin had always treated him very well—something Jiang Mingyi kept deeply in his heart.

If it weren’t for them stepping in back then, he would’ve been picked clean to the bone by those relatives.

Shen Xingyan had actually been pretty good to him too.

“I know.”
Shen Xingyan sighed inwardly, amused at himself for overthinking because of a single offhand comment.

He lowered his gaze to the small cowlick on top of the boy’s head, his smile returning as he raised a hand to ruffle Jiang Mingyi’s soft hair. He gently reminded,
“You can joke like that with me, but don’t say it in front of Mom and Dad.”

Jiang Mingyi responded with an “oh,” and said,
“Of course I wouldn’t joke like that in front of them.”

“Good boy!”

The tone was like coaxing a child, but strangely, it made Jiang Mingyi feel a sense of relief.

“Go on and keep studying.” Shen Xingyan straightened up, his eyes sweeping over the stack of textbooks.
“If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me.”

Jiang Mingyi glanced at the clean, untouched textbooks—truth was, he didn’t understand most of them, but he still replied, “I get it all.”

“That’s good, then.”

The room quickly fell silent again.

Jiang Mingyi scratched at the pages of his book with his finger, hesitating about what to say to ease the odd atmosphere, when he saw the man turn to leave.

Should he say something?

As he hesitated, the man suddenly paused in his steps, making Jiang Mingyi tense up instantly.

Shen Xingyan pointed to the glass of milk and reminded, “Remember to drink the milk after studying. Only with good rest can you do well on your exams.”

“Oh.”

Watching his figure disappear through the door, Jiang Mingyi suddenly felt a bit down.

In the spacious room, without the sound of conversation, his lone figure seemed especially small and lonely.

He sat back on the bed and accidentally touched a long body pillow. It finally hit him—Shen Xingyan had left. That meant they wouldn’t be sleeping in the same bed tonight?

That’s a good thing, right?

Jiang Mingyi, weren’t you just worried about having to share a bed with that guy again? Now you got what you wanted—you should be happy.

He slapped his cheeks and used both index fingers to force a smile by lifting the corners of his mouth.

He held on for two seconds before finally collapsing.

At eleven in the evening, when Shen Xingyan passed by, he saw light leaking from the room and gently pushed the door open.

The professional textbook hadn’t been turned much—its owner was already fast asleep, lying face down on the bed.

With quiet steps, Shen Xingyan walked to the bedside and tidied up the messy books, placing them neatly on the desk.

Turning back, he wanted to tuck him in, but then he heard the boy mutter in his sleep,
“Shen Xingyan, sleep next to me, don’t bother me…”

His hand paused midair. In the end, he gently tapped the bridge of his tall nose, suppressing a laugh.
“I don’t want to be your pillow again.”

A moment later, the lights in the room went out, and the door was quietly closed.

---

The next morning, Jiang Mingyi was suddenly awakened by the sound of his alarm.

After turning it off, he realized it was already late.

He rushed into the bathroom to wash up, changed his clothes, and hurried downstairs.

Su Wanxin was sitting in the living room watching the morning news. Hearing the noise, she looked up.
“Xiao Yi, why are you up so late?”

Jiang Mingyi looked a bit embarrassed.
“I forgot to reset the alarm.”

“You silly boy,” Su Wanxin frowned slightly.
“I told you to let Mom wake you up, but you insisted on doing it yourself.”

“I’ve grown up; I can’t rely on Mom for everything.”
Jiang Mingyi smiled sweetly at Su Wanxin, then looked around. “Where’s Dad?”
Shen Xingyan wasn’t there either.

Su Wanxin asked Aunt Wang to prepare breakfast and replied, “It’s Monday—there’s a regular meeting at the company. Your dad and your brother left early.”

“Oh.” Jiang Mingyi looked over the variety of breakfast options and picked a few items.
“I’ll eat on the way so I won’t be late.”

Su Wanxin looked at him with concern.
“That’s not enough.”

“…” Jiang Mingyi thought for a second and grabbed a boiled egg.
“Now it’s enough.”

The driver pulled the car around. Jiang Mingyi got in, waved goodbye to Su Wanxin, and began eating his breakfast in the car.

When he arrived at school, he realized there were actually people later than him.

Pei Shiqing, with panda eyes and a sluggish pace, passed by and greeted him weakly. “Morning.”

Jiang Mingyi glanced at him. “Did you stay up all night gaming?”

“No, my brother made me study until midnight.”

“That still doesn’t explain this…”

“The moment I closed my eyes, all I could see was my brother seriously explaining professional concepts to me. It was terrifying—I couldn’t sleep.”

Jiang Mingyi was silent for a second, then patted his head. “Poor thing.”

“Right? I’m so pitiful.”

Jiang Mingyi shook his head. “No, your brother is the pitiful one. Playing the lute to a cow all night, and the cow still thinks he plays too elegantly.”

Pei Shiqing: “Are you even my bro anymore?”

The two joked as they walked to class. Along the way, many students were cramming with books in hand. Hearing the noise, they looked over.

“Young Master Jiang.”

A voice interrupted them.

It was Bai Yumo.

Jiang Mingyi’s smile faded. He looked at him expressionlessly.

Pei Shiqing was the first to speak.
“Bai Yumo, where have you been these past two days? You haven’t gone home—your parents are mad.”

Bai Yumo frowned slightly.

The three of them were considered hot topics at Jing University.

One was the adopted son of the prestigious Shen family, one was the young master of the Pei family, and the other was a top student who got into Jing University with near-perfect scores.

Some of the surrounding students lost interest in reviewing and perked up their ears to listen.

Bai Yumo really wanted to shoo them away, but he couldn’t ruin his image. He had no choice but to explain,
“I already talked to my parents. I found a temporary part-time job these past two days, and the place I worked at provided food and accommodation.”

“Oh~” Pei Shiqing dragged out his tone,
“What a nice place—introduce it to us too, so we can get part-time jobs.”

Bai Yumo chuckled twice at that.
“Young master, please don’t joke like that.”

Jiang Mingyi tugged on Pei Shiqing,
“Let’s go, stop chatting.”

Bai Yumo saw that Jiang Mingyi was completely ignoring him, so he quickly caught up and stopped him.

“Um, Young Master Jiang, I have something I want to discuss with you.” He hesitated for a moment but finally clenched his teeth and spoke up.

Jiang Mingyi crossed his arms and tilted his chin slightly, sounding a bit impatient.
“If you’re going to talk about cheating on the exam, save it. I don’t need you to pass me the answers—I’ll rely on my own effort.”

Bai Yumo froze for a second. “But you guys have always—”

“The past is the past,”
Jiang Mingyi interrupted him.
“You made quite a bit of money off of us before, didn’t you? I’m just letting you know now—the deal’s off.”

Pei Shiqing added,
“That’s right. From now on, we’ll rely on our own ability for exams.”

Bai Yumo clenched his jaw. He hadn’t even brought up the main topic yet, and he’d already lost a side income.

Thinking of Lu Jingze’s instructions, he forced himself to speak.
“Then, Young Master Jiang, could you please return the one million yuan to Young Master Lu?”

Jiang Mingyi narrowed his eyes and glanced at Bai Yumo’s slightly anxious expression.
“Lu Jingze sent you?”

“No, I came on my own.”

“Then tell Lu Jingze to come speak to me himself,”
Jiang Mingyi snorted and walked around him without another glance.

Pei Shiqing hurried to catch up.

Shen Corporation Headquarters.

After finishing his morning work, Shen Xingyan got up to eat lunch and ran into his father at the cafeteria.

The father and son got their food and sat down together.

“How’s it going on your first rainy day?” Shen Jili asked him.

“No trouble at all.”

Shen Jili laughed heartily. “You’ve gained plenty of experience overseas these past few years. I knew this kind of work wouldn’t be hard for you. As long as you can take over soon, I can finally retire in peace.”

He was already planning to travel the world with his wife.

Shen Xingyan lifted his eyes and glanced at him, then continued eating.

That gaze, which almost saw through his little thoughts, made Shen Jili subconsciously rub his nose in guilt.
With a bright smile, he changed the subject,
“By the way, there’s a scholarship seminar over at Kyoto University that needs someone to attend. Why don’t you go? After the meeting, you can bring your little brother back home.”

Shen Xingyan paused, chopsticks mid-air.

He had absolutely no interest in such small meetings, and was just about to refuse, but after hearing the second half of the sentence, he changed his mind.
“What time?”

“In the afternoon.”

The first final exam was scheduled for the afternoon.

Jiang Mingyi had spent quite a bit of effort and brainpower to finish the entire exam paper beautifully.
Under the surprised gazes of his classmates, he confidently handed in his paper early and walked out.

Glancing at the time outside the classroom, it was only 3 PM.
The driver wasn’t coming until 4.
He had no choice but to pull out his phone and make a call.

“Jiang Mingyi.”
A somewhat familiar voice called from the staircase.

Jiang Mingyi looked up, and his expression immediately darkened.

“Stop right there.”
Lu Jingze caught up to him directly. Seeing Jiang Mingyi’s phone reminded him that he had been blocked, and his face turned ugly.

“I called you. Why didn’t you answer?”

Jiang Mingyi flung off his hand. “Why should I answer your call? Is your face a pancake or something—so big?”

Lu Jingze frowned,
“What kind of attitude is that? Didn’t you really like me before?”

Thinking about how Jiang Mingyi had been giving him the cold shoulder ever since his birthday party, Lu Jingze grew even angrier.

Jiang Mingyi rolled his eyes. “Not only are you full of yourself, you’re also incredibly thick-skinned.”

His voice was full of mocking contempt, which made Lu Jingze’s anger flare. But remembering why he came looking for Jiang Mingyi, he forced himself to hold back his temper.

He got straight to the point: “I’m not here to argue. Give me back the one million I transferred to you.”

“You were the one who insisted on paying Bai Yumo back, weren’t you? What now? Broke already and coming to beg from me?” Jiang Mingyi sneered.

“I suggest you go back to the Lu family and do your little young master role properly. Stop causing trouble.”

“If you can’t bring yourself to apologize, I can always plead with Uncle Lu for you.”
Jiang Mingyi felt like he was being far too kind.

When Lu Jingze saw him pulling out his phone, ready to call his dad, he panicked and lunged to snatch the phone away.
“I don’t need your fake kindness! Give me the money!”

They were standing on the staircase landing. Jiang Mingyi, completely off guard, was pulled backward by the force used to grab the phone. His body fell straight back.
For a split second, his mind went completely blank.
He was about to fall down the stairs—

“Jiang Mingyi!”
A voice, urgent and full of fear, suddenly rang out.

Right after, a strong arm wrapped around his waist.
His back hit a warm chest.
The sound of a wildly pounding heart came from where their bodies were tightly pressed together.

A heavy, ragged breath sounded beside his ear. Jiang Mingyi looked up and met a pair of eyes still filled with lingering fear.

—It was Shen Xingyan!