ALCSRB Chapter 25

During dinner, Jiang Mingyi quietly pulled his chair closer to Shen Xingyan. When the latter looked over, he gave a shy smile.

Shen Xingyan didn’t say anything and turned back to continue discussing some company matters with Shen Jili.

But Su Wanxin noticed the subtle change between the two of them, a smile flickering in her eyes.

After dinner, Jiang Mingyi took a shower, then hugged his pillow and quietly tiptoed into Shen Xingyan’s room.

As soon as he entered, he saw the other man working on his computer, and the smile on his face faded a little.

Noticing him come in and then turn to leave, Shen Xingyan called out, “What’s wrong? You’re pouting so much you could hang a soy sauce bottle on your lip.”

Jiang Mingyi stopped, tightened his grip on the pillow, rested his chin on the soft fabric, and looked a little hesitant with his clear black eyes.

“I want to sleep with you tonight,” he finally said after a moment’s pause.

Shen Xingyan raised an eyebrow slightly, then put his laptop aside, stood up, walked over to him, and smiled warmly. “Sure.”

As soon as he said that, the boy’s face lit up with joy. He placed his pillow on the bed, took off his shoes, and climbed in.

The smile in his eyes deepened.

“I still have some work to finish. If you get bored, play with the tablet for a bit.”

Shen Xingyan took a tablet out of a drawer and handed it to Jiang Mingyi. “There aren’t many apps on it. You can download whatever you like.”

Jiang Mingyi held the slim tablet and responded with a soft “okay.”

“Ge, you don’t even set a password?” he asked as he swiped the screen and found it wasn’t locked at all.

“No need. I don’t really use that tablet, just for occasionally reading the news,” Shen Xingyan replied, not turning around as he returned to his desk.

Soon, the sound of the keyboard tapping filled the room again.

Lying on the bed, Jiang Mingyi glanced at the man working intently from afar. From his angle, he could clearly see Shen Xingyan’s exceptionally handsome side profile. They say men are the most attractive when they’re focused at work—he couldn’t help but feel a little proud.

That man is his big brother.

Feeling great, he downloaded a small game on the tablet and started playing quietly.

When Shen Xingyan finished his work, he saw how absorbed Jiang Mingyi was in his game, so he didn’t disturb him.

He went into the bathroom and took a shower. When he came out, Jiang Mingyi had already put down the tablet.

“Why did you stop playing?” A drop of water slid down from between Shen Xingyan’s brows to the bridge of his nose. He casually wiped it away with a towel.

His scalp was still slightly damp, and the water droplets that had collected on the ends of his hair fell under their own weight, landing on his shoulders and leaving wet marks on his clothes.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes followed his hand as he dried his hair. He got off the bed. “Ge, let me dry your hair for you.”

“No need, I’ll just use the hairdryer. It’ll dry quickly.” Shen Xingyan picked up the hairdryer and plugged it in, but before he could press the power button, it was snatched away.

“Then let me blow-dry it for you.”

Jiang Mingyi held the hairdryer eagerly, looking all excited.

Shen Xingyan had no choice but to let him.

Due to the height difference, Shen Xingyan sat down on a chair while Jiang Mingyi held the hairdryer in one hand and gently ran his fingers through his hair with the other.

The buzzing sound of the dryer made conversation difficult, but Jiang Mingyi still hummed a tune happily, using his inexperienced technique to blow Shen Xingyan’s black hair into a rather… unique style.

“…”

Looking at the overly unique hairstyle he had created, Jiang Mingyi was a little embarrassed and quickly grabbed a comb. “Ge, let me fix it up with a comb—it’ll look better.”

Shen Xingyan thought he detected a hint of guilt in his tone, but since he couldn’t see it himself, he let the boy continue.

By the time Jiang Mingyi was done combing, it finally looked less… creative.

He wiped the thin layer of sweat that had formed on his forehead and let out a long sigh.

“All done!” His voice was cheerful.

Shen Xingyan tidied up the hairdryer and tools. As he passed the mirror, his smile froze.

He glanced at the boy who was still cheerfully humming in the bedroom and shook his head helplessly.

When he came out of the bathroom again, Jiang Mingyi’s eyes lit up. “Ge, I realized the hairstyle I gave you makes you look devastatingly handsome!”

Shen Xingyan walked to the bed, leaned over, and pinched his fair cheek. “Is that really how you use ‘devastatingly handsome’?”

Besides, he had just fixed his hair—it had nothing to do with this kid.

“That’s called exaggeration. How else am I supposed to show how handsome you are?” Jiang Mingyi grinned, his delicate face blooming with a brilliant smile.

Shen Xingyan couldn’t help himself. He raised a hand and tousled his fluffy hair. “Alright, then I really should thank you.”

…

Shen Xingyan went downstairs and came back holding a glass of milk.

The milk had been warmed and carried a slight heat.

Not too hot.

Jiang Mingyi took it with a “thanks” and started gulping it down.

A milky white ring formed around his lips, and in Shen Xingyan’s eyes, it looked inexplicably cute.

Jiang Mingyi stuck out his tongue to lick away the milk around his mouth, then began eyeing Shen Xingyan up and down.

“What is it?” Shen Xingyan suppressed the smile at the corner of his lips and asked when he saw the boy staring at him.

“If I drink milk every day, will I really grow taller?”

Jiang Mingyi subtly compared their height difference again. The gap was kind of big…

Seeing his discouraged expression, Shen Xingyan comforted him, “Of course you’ll grow. You’re still young.”

Jiang Mingyi perked up at the first half of the sentence, but the second half made him a bit sulky again.

He pouted. “I’m an adult. I’m not that young anymore.”

Shen Xingyan didn’t hear his muttering as he put the glass aside.

Jiang Mingyi flopped onto the bed, arms and legs spread wide, taking up most of the bed with his big frame—trying to make it very clear to Shen Xingyan: I’ve grown up.

Shen Xingyan couldn’t understand his behavior at all. He walked over to the bed, frowning as he looked at him.

His gaze first fell on the boy’s long legs — well-shaped, long, and straight.

Then he looked at his somewhat skinny figure, thinking whether he should drag him up for morning exercises together.

Finally, his eyes met Jiang Mingyi’s arrogant gaze. Shen Xingyan frowned slightly and said, “Don’t you think your sleeping posture is kind of bad?”

The light in Jiang Mingyi’s eyes was instantly shattered by that comment. He sat up in disbelief, pointing at himself. “My sleeping posture is bad?”

Seeing that the man actually nodded, Jiang Mingyi puffed up angrily. “My sleeping posture has always been great. I’ve never fallen off the bed.”

“…” Shen Xingyan was speechless.

“Who told you that not falling off the bed means you have good sleeping posture?”

“Obviously my mom did.” Jiang Mingyi raised his head proudly. “Are you trying to say my mom is wrong?”

Shen Xingyan rubbed his temples and gave up arguing with him about sleep posture.

And Jiang Mingyi, distracted by the interruption, completely forgot what he originally wanted to prove.

The two lay down on their respective beds. A few seconds later, Jiang Mingyi rolled over and snuggled into Shen Xingyan’s arms.

Shen Xingyan looked down and saw the faint smile on his face. He was nestled in his arms like a little fledgling, and Shen Xingyan couldn’t help but lower his head and kiss him.

Jiang Mingyi blinked. He suddenly kind of understood why Pei Shiqing always liked to act spoiled around his older brother.

He giggled and looked up to ask, “Ge, when are you taking me to the island?”

“When I finish up the project I’m working on and can take a few days off.”

“Then hurry up and finish it.”

“Mm.”

The two chatted idly.

Jiang Mingyi asked again, “Does Dad know that you transferred ownership of the island to me?”

“He knows.”

“Does Mom know?”

“She does.”

“And they have no objections?”

Shen Xingyan raised an eyebrow. “This is a coming-of-age gift I prepared for you. Why would they have any objections?”

Jiang Mingyi pursed his lips. “But that’s a huge sum of money…”

“I’ve never cared about the money. I only care whether my little Yi will be happy to receive the gift.” Shen Xingyan gently tapped the center of his forehead and said softly, “Just tell me—are you happy?”

Jiang Mingyi nuzzled against him. “I’m happy.”
As long as you spoil me, I’ll be happy.

———–
The next morning, Jiang Mingyi was still sleeping soundly.

Shen Xingyan, on the other hand, hadn’t had a restful night at all. He glanced at the boy, who claimed to have a good sleeping posture yet had sprawled across most of the bed. His brow twitched slightly.

Getting up from the bed, he looked at the boy who, having lost his support, mumbled a few unclear words in his sleep and smacked his lips.
Shen Xingyan shook his head with a helpless chuckle. He realized that some forms of spoiling needed moderation—at the very least, he shouldn’t agree so easily to sharing a bed with the kid next time.

————
When Jiang Mingyi woke up, Shen Xingyan had already left early for the company.

Yawning, he came downstairs. Seeing him like that, Aunt Wang thought he hadn’t slept well and asked, “Young Master, would you like a cup of coffee like the Eldest Young Master?”
The word “coffee” instantly wiped away his drowsiness.
He waved his hands repeatedly and refused Aunt Wang’s kind offer.

After breakfast, Jiang Mingyi, feeling a little bored, opened up WeChat.
In their small WeChat group, Pei Shiqing was chatting enthusiastically with the twins.
Too lazy to scroll through the messages, Jiang Mingyi sent a single question mark.

[Pei Shiqing]: Yibao~ we’ve got plans tonight~

Jiang Mingyi could sense his excitement just from the wavy line.

[Jiang Mingyi]: What plans?

[Xu Tong]: Remember last time we went to that bar and you two missed the male model performance?

[Xu Zhi]: So now there’s another event—of course we have to make up for it this time!
Jiang Mingyi immediately remembered being caught by Shen Xingyan at the bar last time.

[Jiang Mingyi]: We’re not going to Zhouyan-ge’s bar again.
He poked Pei Shiqing in the chat.

[Pei Shiqing]: Oh right, I don’t want to get busted by my brother again either.
[puppy begging emoji]

[Xu Zhi]: Don’t worry, this time it’s a different bar. No chance of accidents.

Then they dropped a promo poster for the male model show into the group chat.
Jiang Mingyi clicked it open for a look.

[Xu Tong]: All of them are ripped hotties with eight-pack abs. Be honest, aren’t you tempted?

Pei Shiqing instantly spammed drooling emojis.
Jiang Mingyi narrowed his eyes, feeling a bit tempted but also hesitant.

[Xu Tong]: You can request a performance—strip dance, pole dance, whatever you want.

[Xu Zhi]: Just thinking about it is getting me excited!

This time, Pei Shiqing poked Jiang Mingyi.

[Xu Tong]: You in?

[Xu Zhi]: You coming or not?

Jiang Mingyi went silent for two seconds, touched his own flat tummy, then looked again at the abs on the promo poster.
He swallowed a bit.
In the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation.
[Jiang Mingyi]: I’m in.

Shen Xingyan finished work and saw that it was still early. He thought about taking Jiang Mingyi out for dinner.
He called him, but there was no answer.
Looking at the call screen, he hung up and then dialed the landline at home.
Aunt Wang picked up and said, “The young master went out to hang out with friends.”
With his slender fingers gently tapping on the desk, Shen Xingyan fell silent for a moment, then made a call to Pei Mingyue.
“Are you free tonight?”