ALCSRB Chapter 15

Jiang Mingyi sulked the entire ride home. As soon as the car stopped at the villa entrance, he jumped out in a huff.

Su Wanxin was in the kitchen planning dinner when she saw her youngest son come in.

She called out to him with a warm smile, “Xiao Yi—” only to see him march upstairs with a sullen face.

“…………” Su Wanxin froze for a second and exchanged glances with Aunt Wang.

“Young Master seems… not very happy.”

Not seems—he was clearly upset.

Su Wanxin frowned slightly and looked at her eldest son who had followed in,
“What’s wrong with Xiao Yi?”

Shen Xingyan’s gaze lingered on the figure disappearing up the stairs. At his mother’s question, he shrugged helplessly.
“I don’t know. He’s been refusing to talk to me ever since I picked him up.”

Su Wanxin said,
“If he won’t talk, then you need to take the initiative to talk to him!”

“I tried, but he acted like he didn’t hear me the whole way. I couldn’t just talk to myself the entire ride, could I?”
Shen Xingyan didn’t consider himself to have such a strange hobby.

Seeing the way his mother was now staring at him, Shen Xingyan shut his mouth.

“Maybe he didn’t do well on his exam today,” Su Wanxin murmured, but then narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“You didn’t say something to provoke him the moment you saw him, did you?”

Shen Xingyan felt completely wronged.
“Why would I provoke him…”

Just as he started to explain, a thought suddenly struck him.

“I might know why he’s upset,” he said, his tone a little unsure.
If that was really the reason, then it was just childish behavior.

He pressed his index finger to his brow and let out a deep sigh.
Even if it was childish behavior, he had no choice but to indulge him—after all, he was his little brother.

“What’s going on?” Su Wanxin asked curiously.

Shen Xingyan didn’t answer her and just said,
“I’ll go check on him.”

Ignoring the puzzled looks from Su Wanxin and Aunt Wang, he went straight upstairs.

Once he was out of sight, Su Wanxin’s face showed some worry.
“I just wanted the two brothers to get closer… I hope it doesn’t backfire.”

Aunt Wang confidently said, “I don’t think it will.”

———

Shen Xingyan reached the door to Jiang Mingyi’s room and knocked.

“Xiao Yi, can I come in?”

There was no response from inside.

He had quite a lot of experience coaxing kids before, but he hadn’t needed it in years. Shen Xingyan felt a bit awkward and scratched his nose.

The door wasn’t fully closed. A breeze from the corridor window blew it open slowly.

From the doorway, he could see a figure sprawled across the large bed, casually typing away on his phone.

Jiang Mingyi was venting to Pei Shiqing when he heard the sound and turned his head to look.

“Coming in without permission—so rude,” he scoffed coldly, then turned away, clearly not interested in dealing with him.

Shen Xingyan stepped inside. He wasn’t affected by the cold attitude. Seeing how pouty the boy was acting, he chuckled silently.

He stopped by the edge of the bed, his voice now a little more coaxing.

“My little brother is mad at me—what’s the use of manners? Can you eat them?” He bent down slightly. Just as he leaned in a little closer, the boy sprang up like a shrimp touched on the antenna.

Jiang Mingyi was barefoot, leaving two shallow impressions on the snow-white bedsheet. The skin on the top of his feet was pale, with faint blue veins visible beneath.

His round eyes were now staring warily, his body language screaming, What do you want?!

Shen Xingyan couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction.

“What are you laughing at?!” Jiang Mingyi huffed loudly. I haven’t forgiven you yet!

He wanted to chase him out. The moment he raised his hand, it was caught by a larger one.

He blinked and tried to move his wrist, but couldn’t shake off Shen Xingyan’s grip.

In a fit of anger, he bit down.

Shen Xingyan had not expected that at all and was caught off guard.

The pain stunned him for a few seconds.

Jiang Mingyi also froze right after the bite.

What the hell was I thinking, biting someone?!
Even though it wasn’t hard, he instantly felt guilty.

Jiang Mingyi, you idiot!

Cursing himself in his heart, he snatched his hand back and grabbed a pillow, burying his head and not daring to look at Shen Xingyan.

Shen Xingyan glanced at the teeth marks on his wrist. They weren’t deep—they’d be gone by morning.

“I don’t remember you being part dog,” he said lightly.
“Those teeth are pretty sharp, though.”

“You’re the dog! You—”
Jiang Mingyi roared, but swallowed the second half of the sentence midway.

Shen Xingyan held back his laughter and sat down on the edge of the bed. Seeing the boy’s guilty, evasive eyes made him smile even more.

He made two fingers ‘walk’ like little legs.
“Alright, now the puppy has come to apologize. Don’t be mad anymore.”

Jiang Mingyi turned his head away, refusing to look.

The two fingers kept crawling forward until they reached his folded legs and gave a gentle tap.

“Little brother, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

The usually deep and seductive voice was now restrained and softened into a tender, childlike tone, completely overturning Shen Xingyan’s usual mature and charming image.

Jiang Mingyi’s earlobes turned red.

How could someone apologize in such a soft, adorable voice? That’s cheating.

Shen Xingyan had no idea what was going on in his mind. Thinking he was still upset, he cleared his throat and returned to his normal voice.
“Are you mad about what I said at school today?”

The pillow in his arms was tightly squeezed. He still wanted to hear that little baby voice.

Jiang Mingyi pouted, lowering his gaze to hide the thoughts in his heart.

“What did you say?”

Shen Xingyan leaned in a bit, his dark eyes falling on the boy’s bowed head. His gaze softened. “Mom did call and ask me to pick you up today, and the company had a lot going on… Let me finish talking, okay?”

Seeing signs that the boy was about to get upset again, he quickly tried to calm him down.

Jiang Mingyi clenched his fists and sat back down. “Go ahead.”

Facing the boy’s angry expression, Shen Xingyan really wanted to reach out and pat his head.

He hid his hand behind his back, fingers lightly twisting.
“You’re upset because I didn’t come pick you up on my own initiative. I promise, if I have time, I’ll drive you to and from school from now on. Okay?”

The man’s gaze was too sincere. Jiang Mingyi turned his head awkwardly, mumbling,
“It’s not like I care about you picking me up from school.”

“But I care. I want to pick you up.”

Hearing that, Jiang Mingyi slowly turned his head back, looking at him with suspicion. “Really?”

Shen Xingyan nodded.
“Of course it’s true.”

After he gets fully settled into the company’s responsibilities, he’ll be able to arrange his work schedule reasonably.

So for him, picking up and dropping off Jiang Mingyi wasn’t much trouble at all.

“Fine, I’ll trust you… for now.”

Since Shen Xingyan had lowered himself to apologize, he could be the bigger person and forgive him.

Jiang Mingyi felt a little proud inside, and all his anger suddenly vanished.

He threw the pillow aside, jumped down from the bed, but lost balance as he landed and had to be steadied.

The bite mark on Shen Xingyan’s wrist came into view, and Jiang Mingyi felt a little awkward.
“Um, I might’ve bitten a little hard earlier… but it was your fault for barging into my room in the first place.”

So now, they were… even, right?

“My fault, just treat it as a punishment.”

Jiang Mingyi, who had been feeling a little guilty, was slightly surprised when he heard that.

Why was this guy being so agreeable today?

Shen Xingyan didn’t care about the bite mark at all—as long as the kid was coaxed into a good mood, that’s all that mattered.
Hmm, from the looks of it, his ability to coax kids hadn’t declined at all.

During dinner, Su Wanxin noticed that Jiang Mingyi seemed to be in a good mood—clearly, he’d been successfully comforted.

She let out a breath of relief and gave Shen Xingyan a look of approval.

Shen Xingyan responded with a subtle glance that seemed to say, “Just a little effort on my part.”

When Shen Jili was picking food, he noticed the silent interaction between mother and son, glanced at his younger son quietly eating, and then placed a piece of sweet and sour pork ribs into his bowl.

“Xiao Yi, how was your exam today?”

Shen Jili never cared much for the “no talking at the table” rule. To him, the dinner table was the best place to build emotional bonds.

“It was okay.”
Jiang Mingyi glanced at the pork ribs and noticed some fatty meat. He wrinkled his nose in dislike and was about to put it back when suddenly another bowl appeared beside his.

Shen Xingyan gestured,
“If you don’t like fatty meat, just give it to me.”

Jiang Mingyi blinked for a few seconds and softly replied, “Oh,” placing the ribs into Shen Xingyan’s bowl.

“What kind of dad are you? Don’t you know Xiao Yi doesn’t like fatty meat?”
Su Wanxin glared at Shen Jili and quickly gave Jiang Mingyi another piece instead.

“Thank you, Mom.”

Not to be outdone, Shen Jili also added another piece, “I didn’t see it clearly just now. Aunt Wang, don’t buy the fatty ones next time.”

Looking at the two pieces of pork ribs now filling half his bowl, Jiang Mingyi felt like he was being stuffed with meat.

“I’ve actually been thinking about going on a diet lately…”

He barely finished saying it before He Wanxin interrupted, “Dieting? What are you talking about?”

She gave him a disapproving look, eyeing his slim figure. “You’re already skinny. If you lose more weight, it won’t be healthy. Besides, you’ve been taking exams—this is when you need nourishment!”

So another piece of braised pork ended up in his bowl.

Jiang Mingyi wanted to cry. This much meat could make him gain two kilos.

He secretly pinched his belly and glanced at the man silently eating his meal. He couldn’t forget Shen Xingyan’s perfectly toned muscles. So envious.

Biting down hard on the meat, Jiang Mingyi noticed Shen Xingyan picking up some vegetables and suddenly said, “Brother works so hard every day at the company. You’re the one who really needs the nourishment.”

As he spoke, he added a piece of sweet and sour ribs and braised pork into Shen Xingyan’s bowl—both with fatty layers.

If he ate too much, maybe those muscles would turn into fat. Then he wouldn’t need to be jealous anymore.

Feeling proud of his “sharing the burden” approach, Jiang Mingyi smiled smugly. Shen Jili and Su Wanxin both looked pleased.

“Xiao Yi is growing up. He’s becoming more considerate of his brother.”

Shen Xingyan noticed the mischievous smile on Jiang Mingyi’s face and, in return, added a piece of sweet and sour pork and braised pork into his bowl.

“If Xiao Yi is so thoughtful toward his brother, of course, big brother can’t enjoy the food alone.”

Jiang Mingyi: “…”

His tiny bit of smug satisfaction was instantly crushed by four pieces of pork.

After finally finishing dinner, Jiang Mingyi rubbed his belly—stuffed full by those four chunks of meat—and tried to make an excuse to go back to his room to review.

Just then, Shen Jili said, “Xingyan, your little brother studies alone every night—it’s tough on him. As his big brother, shouldn’t you help tutor him a bit?”

Then he turned to Jiang Mingyi and said,
“Sweetheart, Daddy knows you’ve been working hard with exams lately. Even if your results aren’t great, the reward I promised still stands. But since you want to do well, let your brother tutor you for free, okay?”

Shen Xingyan stood up and, as he passed by the dazed young man, grabbed his wrist. “Come on, it’s good to do something to help with digestion after a meal.”