ALCSRB Chapter 30

The office was dead silent for a full minute.

Jiang Mingyi was drowning in awkwardness, his eyes darting everywhere except toward the man beside him.

But Shen Xingyan calmly placed the phone back in front of him, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Then show me how it types by itself.”

“…”

The chat window was silent as a grave, except for Du Zhihe’s messages popping up one after another—like needles stabbing through Jiang Mingyi’s pathetic lie, making him want to bury his head under the desk.

Above his head came Shen Xingyan’s cool, unhurried voice again. “Or is it that my presence is interfering with your phone’s performance?”

“No, it was me who didn’t perform well.”

Jiang Mingyi blinked, his eyes fixed on the floor like there was a chunk of gold embedded there, and he was trying to figure out how to dig it up.

In the end, it was his toes that helped him dig up a whole luxury villa first.

“Oh, so your phone’s name is Jiang Mingyi,” Shen Xingyan gave him a new label, his gaze settling on the nape of the boy’s bent neck. Even with the black hair loosely covering it, a patch of pale skin peeked through—smooth and glowing like premium mutton-fat jade, hard to ignore.

His words got stuck in his throat for a moment. Only after looking away did he slowly speak again. “So, that means I just gained another younger brother.”

“Remember to share the good news with Mom and Dad when we get home.”

The phone on the desk found its way back into Shen Xingyan’s hand. His black eyes stared at the constantly pinging WeChat messages, finally stopping at the name “Du Zhihe.” Without hesitation, he blocked the contact.

Jiang Mingyi had no idea he’d been blocked—he just heard those words and immediately panicked, pleading, “Ge, it’s fine if you tease me, but please don’t tell Mom and Dad about this.”

He was mortified. Absolutely no face left to show anyone.

“Who said I was teasing you?” Shen Xingyan replied flatly.
“I haven’t even congratulated you yet on the birth of your new twin brother. Weighs 201 grams. Raise him well—he might even grow taller one day.”

——–

Du Zhihe waited a long time without a response. Growing impatient, he sent another message.

[The other party has not added you as a friend. You will be able to send messages once they accept your request.]

His big round eyes were full of confusion.

He’d been blocked.

It had to be that brother-in-law’s doing.

Sigh—

Chairman Du saw him sighing repeatedly in front of his computer, his little brows furrowed like an old man’s. He walked over and asked, “What are you doing?”

Du Zhihe gazed up at a 45-degree angle toward the ceiling. “I think someone just cut the red thread of fate between me and my baby.”

A bond that had just formed, before it had the chance to blossom, had already been ruthlessly crushed.

Chairman Du stared at the devastated look on his face in total confusion. Then he saw Du Zhihe suddenly stand up. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to rescue my baby. He’s definitely been locked up in a castle by Brother-in-law.”

“He must be waiting for me to come save him!”

He must be.

Baby, I’m coming.

You have to wait for me.

Du Zhihe strode valiantly toward the door, but just as his hand touched the doorknob, Chairman Du quickly grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him back.

“Oh my god, turns out there’s a final boss villain here too!”

“His HP is too thick—I need a legendary sword!”

Chairman Du: “……” His fists clenched.

——-

That evening, when they got home, Su Wanxin was worried that the two brothers had been working too hard, so she asked Aunt Wang to prepare a lavish dinner.

During the meal, Jiang Mingyi stayed completely silent, his head down as he ate.

Seeing this, Su Wanxin picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it in his bowl. “Xiao Yi must be starving from working too hard.”

She then looked up at Shen Xingyan. “And you, as the older brother, don’t even think to prepare some snacks for him at the office.”

Shen Xingyan’s hand paused mid-motion as he was picking up some food. His gaze drifted toward the dark head buried over the white porcelain bowl, then he said to Su Wanxin, “I was afraid he’d eat too much and have trouble digesting.”

Su Wanxin thought about it and found that reasonable, then turned her attention to Jiang Mingyi again. “Don’t overeat, dear.”

Jiang Mingyi pouted silently. Mom, you’re too fickle.

Shen Jili couldn’t take it anymore. “Xiao Yi, is your brother bullying you at work?”

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. “Dad…”

“He didn’t even give you a proper lunch, did he?” Shen Jili shot a glare at his elder son. “Being able to eat is a blessing. What’s wrong with a little indigestion? Can’t you just prepare some stomach medicine for him?”

He turned to the younger son. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell logistics to stock more snacks tomorrow. You can eat whatever you like.”

“If your brother scolds you, I’ll scold him.”

“…Dad, you’re truly the best dad ever,” Jiang Mingyi muttered weakly.

Was he really starving?

No. What he was missing was his twin—ahem, his phone.

His phone was still in Shen Xingyan’s hands. The hostage was in enemy territory—how could he dare say anything bad about the enemy?

Shen Xingyan ignored his father’s monologue and set down his bowl and chopsticks. “I’m done eating.”

Seeing him go upstairs, Jiang Mingyi quickly scarfed down the rest of his rice and chased after him.

“Ge, wait for me!”

Watching the two head upstairs one after the other, Shen Jili was puzzled. “Doesn’t look like the older brother is bullying the younger brother…” If anything, it looked like the younger one was eagerly chasing after the elder?

Su Wanxin served him a chopstick full of greens. “Just eat your dinner.”

—

Upstairs in the hallway, Jiang Mingyi followed Shen Xingyan into the room.

Shen Xingyan hung his jacket to the side, loosening his tie as he walked toward the bathroom. “Stay put. I’m going to wash my face.”

“Okay,” Jiang Mingyi replied. As soon as Shen Xingyan stepped into the bathroom, his eyes began darting around.

Earlier, Shen Xingyan had come upstairs briefly, so Jiang wasn’t sure where he might’ve placed the phone. He started by checking the pockets of his jacket—empty.

“Not here. Maybe it’s somewhere else?”

There were too many possible places to hide a phone in the room, so he began opening drawers one by one.

Thud—his elbow hit the corner of a cabinet, making him scrunch up his brows in pain.

“So unlucky…” he muttered, biting his tongue to avoid crying out, and continued checking each drawer.

Finally, he got to the last drawer—which wouldn’t open.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes lit up. “It must be in here!”

Rubbing his hands together in excitement like he was about to pull off a heist, he got into position—only to slump his shoulders three seconds later.

“I don’t have the key…”

He lay down on the floor, trying to peek into the keyhole—but couldn’t see a thing.

What now?

The sound of running water in the bathroom began to fade. Just as Jiang Mingyi was fully absorbed in thought, he didn’t notice a shadow slowly approaching from behind.

Shen Xingyan looked down at the person crouched on the floor, their round little butt sticking up in the air. A muscle twitched between his brows.

“What are you doing?”

“Looking for the key.”

“What for?”

“To open this locked drawer, of course.”

One asked so naturally, the other replied just as smoothly. But as soon as the final syllable left his mouth, Jiang Mingyi shot up from the ground.

Only, he’d been crouched too long—his legs weren’t cooperating.

“Ah—!”

Just as he was about to fall, a long arm swiftly wrapped around his waist, pulling the startled, screaming boy straight into Shen Xingyan’s chest.

Because he had just washed his face, Shen Xingyan’s hair was still damp. A droplet, nudged loose by the sudden movement, fell and landed right on Jiang Mingyi’s pale forehead.

It carried a trace of coolness as it slid down the center of his brow, across his prominent nose, leaving behind a faint trail of moisture.

Shen Xingyan frowned slightly. The boy was now pressed into his chest, his ragged breathing warm and hot against Shen Xingyan’s half-exposed chest.

His lips tightened into a straight line, his eyes darkening slightly. One hand was still resting on Jiang Mingyi’s back.

After a few seconds, he lifted that hand and gently patted the boy’s spine.

“I told you—foolishness is contagious.”

Jiang Mingyi had clearly been frightened. He leaned limply against Shen Xingyan, rubbing his forehead against the older man’s shirt.

He pouted, looking utterly aggrieved. “If you want to call me dumb, just say it.”

Shen Xingyan glanced down at his shirt, his eyes settling on those slightly pouting lips—small and rather adorable.

His voice softened a little. “What, one comment and you’re already upset?”

“Gege is always right. It’s just me being stupid,” Jiang Mingyi muttered, a bit defeated, lightly thudding his forehead against Shen Xingyan’s chest. Not hard, but each little bump landed directly on Shen Xingyan’s heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump. His heartbeat skipped out of rhythm.

Shen Xingyan froze for a moment, then helplessly pressed a hand to Jiang Mingyi’s head.

Jiang Mingyi immediately couldn’t move, and angrily rubbed his teeth against Shen Xingyan’s chest in protest. He couldn’t actually bite him, but his saliva left a damp patch.

The distinct sensation made Shen Xingyan’s body stiffen. His dark eyes instantly deepened, and the arm around the boy’s waist tightened noticeably.

A soft complaint came from his chest: “Ge, you’re holding me too tight. I can’t move.”

Jiang Mingyi didn’t notice anything unusual—he just whined once and was soon released.

He took a couple of breaths and decided it was better to take the initiative and make peace.

“Ge, can you give me back my phone?” He fiddled with his fingers, head down, sounding like a child who’d been properly scolded. “I only chatted with that Du Zhihe a bit ‘cause he seemed kind of fun. If you’re upset, I’ll block him. I won’t talk to him ever again.”

He really didn’t want some outsider ruining the bond between them as brothers. That would be too foolish.

Seeing the man still unresponsive, Jiang Mingyi reached out and gently gripped the hand hanging at Shen Xingyan’s side, pleading softly, “Please don’t stay mad at me. It breaks my heart to see you upset, ge.”
His voice was soft and sweet, dripping with sincerity.

Shen Xingyan looked down at him, watching as he acted all sweet and clingy. He let out a deep breath to calm the sudden surge of emotion.

“I’ll give your phone back, but from now on you need to remember what I said—”

Jiang Mingyi quickly interrupted, “I know! From now on, I’ll never talk to anyone from Tiancheng Group. Any opponent with bad intentions must be eliminated before they get within three feet!”

He sounded righteous and firm. Shen Xingyan swallowed the rest of his words, turned around, and pulled a phone from beneath the pillow.

Jiang Mingyi had never expected him to hide it there—right under the pillow, the last place he’d check. He’d been crawling and kneeling all over the place searching for it, only to end up doing all that for nothing.

His eyes heated with emotion as he stared at his long-lost phone. He was so touched he could cry.

Baby, your big brother has rescued you.

Shen Xingyan placed the phone in his outstretched hands. As their fingers brushed for a split second, the lingering warmth was left on his fingertips.

He placed his hands behind his back and subtly moved his fingers, as if trying to dispel that almost insignificant warmth.

Jiang Mingyi caressed his phone lovingly, full of passion toward his long-separated “buddy.”

Of course, he didn’t forget to thank his real brother either.

He looked up and leapt toward Shen Xingyan with a radiant smile. “Ge, you’re really the best big brother ever!”

The slightly dazed man was caught in a full embrace, and before he could steady himself, they both toppled backward.

With a dull thump, they landed together on the soft bed.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes flew open wide. He didn’t even notice that his phone had fallen to the floor.

Right now, he was staring in disbelief at the impossibly handsome face right in front of him. Something soft brushed against his lips.

What the fck!*

What the actual fck!!*

WHAT THE FCK!!!*

His first kiss!!!