ALCSRB Chapter 35

Lu Jingze’s look of disdain was blatant, especially when he noticed the glowing smile on Jiang Mingyi’s face.

He knew that smile all too well. Back when Jiang Mingyi used to cling to him, he always wore that same starry-eyed, nauseatingly infatuated grin.

If not for that pretty face, Lu Jingze would have wanted to rip the smile off it.

Now seeing him shamelessly hugging another man in the hallway, Lu Jingze only felt more disgusted.

Memories of being relentlessly pestered by Jiang Mingyi resurfaced, and his tone turned even nastier.
“A couple of lonely guys hugging and getting all lovey-dovey in a place like this—Jiang Mingyi, are you really that desperate for a man to screw you?”

He glanced smugly at the tall man whose back was to him, and continued in a voice dripping with mockery.
“Hey, mister, just so you know, this little slut Jiang Mingyi is no good. Don’t be fooled by his pretty face—he used to throw himself all over me…”

BANG—

Lu Jingze’s pupils dilated sharply. The words caught in his throat shattered instantly as he was ruthlessly kicked through the air.

Just a second ago, that man had still been hugging Jiang Mingyi. How…?

He hadn’t even seen the man move.

His entire back slammed into the hard, cold wall with a sickening thud, and the force bounced his body forward again. He couldn’t catch his breath and burst into a fit of violent coughing that echoed in the silence.

“Y-You…” He tried to curse, but the pain that wracked his body the moment he opened his mouth left him speechless.

The man walked toward him.

Lu Jingze slightly raised his head and saw the man standing tall, his figure blocking the light, casting a deep shadow over him. He looked down from above with pitch-black, abyssal eyes—like a grim reaper staring at someone about to die. His gaze was calm, cold, and utterly merciless.

Lu Jingze’s heart thudded violently—he had recognized the man.

The fear in his eyes was instantly replaced with shock. His gaze shifted from Shen Xingyan, whom he feared, to Jiang Mingyi, whom he despised, disbelief written all over his face.

The two of them hugging just now… was…

Just as that thought began to form in his muddled mind, a cold voice spoke above him.

“Looks like I’ve been too gentle with you in the past.”

A dark, violent light flickered in Shen Xingyan’s black eyes. The way he looked at Lu Jingze was as if he were gazing at a pile of trash in the corner of the street—full of disdain and disgust.

His black leather shoes tapped crisply against the floor. Each step made Lu Jingze’s body tremble involuntarily.

Shivering, all the mocking and ridicule he had directed at Jiang Mingyi dissolved into sheer fear of Shen Xingyan.

If he had known the one hugging Jiang Mingyi was Shen Xingyan, he would never have dared to mock him.

“W-What are you trying to do?” He propped himself up with trembling hands, the pain still radiating through his body—only to cry out again, “Ah—!”

His hand.

It hurt. Badly.

His pampered hand was being mercilessly crushed, the sharp pain burrowing through his bones and spreading through his entire body. His once handsome face turned deathly pale, with only a hint of bloodshot red staining his eyes. Curled up in agony, he looked completely disfigured by the pain.

Shen Xingyan calmly withdrew his foot. When it landed on the floor again, it made a solid, weighty sound.

Just a few steps away, Jiang Mingyi stood frozen in shock.

He clearly hadn’t expected Shen Xingyan to suddenly get violent. Although he truly disliked the self-righteous Lu Jingze, hearing his miserable cries still made Jiang Mingyi instinctively turn his head away.

Shen Xingyan did it for him, after all—so there was no way he’d be kind enough to beg for mercy on Lu Jingze’s behalf.

He’d just pretend he didn’t see it.

“Does it hurt?” Shen Xingyan asked expressionlessly, his gaze sweeping over the now deformed hand. He gave a cold chuckle. “Good. It should.”

“I can make it hurt even more—hurt until you learn your lesson.”

Those thin lips spat out a bone-chilling sentence. Seeing his foot move again, Lu Jingze, despite the pain, tried to scramble toward the restroom in a panic.

His weak body had no intention of fighting back, and even his instinct for survival couldn’t overcome his useless limbs. Just as he lifted himself up, the pain overwhelmed him and he collapsed again.

When he saw Shen Xingyan walking toward him once more, Lu Jingze could only rasp hoarsely, “What, are you going to kill me?”

“The banquet hall is right outside! If my sister notices I haven’t come back, she’ll definitely come looking for me!” His empty threats sounded like he was trying to intimidate Shen Xingyan—or maybe just bolster his own courage.

After blurting that out, Lu Jingze finally lifted his head and met those cold, dark eyes.

But just one look was enough for him to see a blood-chilling smile on the man’s lips—a cruel smirk that showed he didn’t take Lu Jingze’s threat seriously at all.

It was the kind of expression he’d only ever seen on TV—and those were fake.

But this man in front of him was terrifyingly real. That naked, undisguised indifference was laid out before him, unmistakably.

And in that moment, Lu Jingze realized his threat had been completely meaningless.

His face, already pale, turned ashen.

“Ge.”

A clear voice rang out from behind Shen Xingyan, and a pale hand tugged gently at his sleeve.

“The auction is about to start.” Jiang Mingyi didn’t spare the pitiful man on the ground even a glance. “There’s something I want to bid on. Let’s wash our hands and go back.”

The icy black eyes softened slightly at those words. Shen Xingyan lowered his foot and turned around.

“What do you want to bid on?” he asked, his gaze falling on the youth beside him. In his eyes, the cold cruelty had vanished, replaced by the usual tender affection—like the merciless man just moments ago had never existed.

“Classified.”

Jiang Mingyi hadn’t noticed the cold expression on Shen Xingyan’s face earlier. Now, seeing the warmth in his eyes and his usual demeanor, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

Just earlier, Shen Xingyan had kicked someone flying and viciously crushed a hand—he already seemed fierce and commanding enough.
There was really no need to get into trouble over some piece of trash.

“You’ll know when I start bidding,” Jiang Mingyi said, seeing that Shen Xingyan was staring at him. He had no choice but to leave him hanging a little longer.

“Alright, I’ll help you film later.”

Shen Xingyan took his clean hand and held Jiang Mingyi’s. “Let’s wash up first.”

Neither of them spared a glance at Lu Jingze on the ground. They turned and headed into the restroom.

—

Lu Jingze lay on the floor, panting. Fortunately, this restroom was in a remote corner and no one else had come by.

His body and right hand were in intense pain, but he still used his good left hand to angrily pound the ground.

Lately, he had been beaten up several times because of Jiang Mingyi.

Compared to before, this was the worst he’d been hurt. He felt utterly humiliated.

“Lu… Young Master Lu…”

A faint voice sounded not far away. Lu Jingze’s head shot up to see Bai Yumo staring at him in disbelief.

He’d been seen like this—in such a pathetic state.

Lu Jingze clenched his molars tightly.

Bai Yumo rushed over in concern, crouched down beside him, and tried to help him up, his hand trembling slightly. His voice was soft, “Young Master Lu, are you okay?”

He had been hiding around the corner the entire time, too scared to come out.
Only after the two had gone into the restroom did he dare to speak up.

“You saw everything, didn’t you?” Lu Jingze’s voice was filled with suppressed pain and resentment. With Bai Yumo’s help, he got up, but his legs gave out and he nearly collapsed.

Bai Yumo steadied him, biting his lower lip gently. “Let me take you to the hospital.” He glanced at the obviously swollen and red hand.

“I will go to the hospital. But I don’t want them to get away with this either.”

A deep hatred flickered across Lu Jingze’s sullen face.
He didn’t dare do anything to Shen Xingyan—but that little bastard Jiang Mingyi was his damn curse.

“Ah?” Bai Yumo was startled.

—

The sound of running water echoed in the restroom. Jiang Mingyi glanced at the mirror and saw Shen Xingyan focused on washing his hands.

“Ge.”
He called out.

“Hmm?” Shen Xingyan looked up and met his eyes through the mirror.

Their gazes met in the reflection. Jiang Mingyi shook his head. “It’s nothing.”

When they finished washing their hands and stepped out of the restroom, Lu Jingze was nowhere to be seen in the hallway.

Jiang Mingyi curled his lips in slight annoyance and followed Shen Xingyan back to the banquet hall.

…

In a corner of the banquet hall, Xie Zhuoyan had his arm around Du Zhihe, chatting casually.

“Xiao Du, don’t be fooled by your future brother-in-law’s refined looks. His temper is actually terrible. Back when we were students, someone crossed him—guess what happened?”

Pei Shiqing leaned in curiously and asked, “What happened?”

“You’ve never heard your brother talk about it?” Xie Zhuoyan glanced at the silent Pei Mingyue. “Looks like your boring brother never tells you anything.”

Pei Mingyue shot him a glare.

Xie Zhuoyan chuckled. “Let me tell you—he called out that whole group of guys and beat up ten of them all by himself. When A-Yue and I arrived, those guys were a bloody mess. Tsk tsk.”

Pei Shiqing’s eyes widened in shock. “Big Brother Shen is that strong?”

“Of course.” Seeing Du Zhihe stay quiet, Xie Zhuoyan assumed he was scared. “Don’t worry, he usually doesn’t resort to violence. Haven’t you noticed? These days he leaves the dirty work to Qin Hao.”

“As long as you don’t cross his bottom line, he’ll just glare and maybe act cold.”

“But I gotta say, you’ve got good taste—actually fancying our little Jiang.”

He bumped Du Zhihe with his shoulder. Perked up by the praise, Du Zhihe immediately said with pride, “Obviously! I’ve got a sharp eye—I knew he was a gem the moment I saw him.”

Xie Zhuoyan laughed heartily. “But with how close Ah-Yan and Xiao Jiang are, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to win him over. Still, I’m rooting for you, bro.”

Chairman Du, standing nearby and overhearing the whole conversation, was sweating nervously.

Just as he was trying to change the topic, he looked up and saw two people walking back one after the other. “Uh, President Shen and Jiang are back.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhuoyan immediately let go of Du Zhihe and pulled Jiang Mingyi over for a look. “You two were gone so long—I thought your brother cornered you in the restroom to lecture you or something.”

Jiang Mingyi pressed his lips together, just about to explain, when Shen Xingyan directly yanked Xie Zhuoyan aside.

“Do I look like someone who’s unreasonable?” he narrowed his eyes, his gaze intimidating as he stared at Xie Zhuoyan.

Xie Zhuoyan immediately changed his tone. “Of course not! You’re a magnanimous man—how could you possibly make things hard for your own brother?”

He laughed awkwardly. “Oh, right—Jinglan just said her brother went to the restroom earlier but didn’t return. He texted her saying he had something to deal with and left.”

Lu Jinglan stood quietly nearby. Today, she wore a black dress with a thigh-high slit that perfectly showed off her curvy figure.

She brushed the hair from her temple and said with slight exasperation, “I’m single now. You guys don’t mind if I join you, do you?”

“With a beauty like you around, who would mind?” Xie Zhuoyan answered instantly.

Then, rubbing his chin, he looked at the group of seven in front of him. “What’s going on today? You bunch of singles all brought your little brothers to this charity banquet. Is the Xie family supposed to start matchmaking now?”

After saying that, he turned to Chairman Du and added, “Oh, but Chairman Du is a family man—not a single dog.”

Chairman Du: “…”

Am I… that out of place here?

—

The auction was about to begin. Xie Zhuoyan led the group to another hall. As they entered, each person was handed a numbered paddle.

Most of the guests had already arrived, with only a few seats still empty in the front row.

“I had them save these seats especially for you,” Xie Zhuoyan said, guiding them forward. The previously lively hall fell quiet for a few seconds when the crowd noticed their group.

A few older gentlemen greeted Shen Xingyan. “Old Shen didn’t come himself this year, huh? Sent his son instead. Looks like us old guys really do need to start giving the younger ones more chances.”

Shen Xingyan chatted with them briefly before continuing forward.

Jiang Mingyi followed behind and naturally sat down to his right when he saw Shen Xingyan take the central seat in the front row.

Shen Xingyan turned to him and said, “If you like anything, just tell me.”

Jiang Mingyi pinched his fingers and replied, “I can bid myself.”

Shen Xingyan chuckled.

Just then, Pei Shiqing was about to sit on the other side of Jiang Mingyi when Pei Mingyue stopped him.

“Hm?” He looked at his brother, puzzled.

Pei Mingyue said coolly, “Sit over here.”
Then he sat down to the left of Shen Xingyan.

Pei Shiqing was stunned. Didn’t that mean he couldn’t sit next to his darling Yi-bao?

Pei Mingyue looked up at him. “What are you standing there for?”

“Oh.” Pei Shiqing obediently sat to his left.

Du Zhihe peeked out from behind Chairman Du. When he saw the seat next to Jiang Mingyi still empty, his eyes lit up.

Shen Xingyan gave Xie Zhuoyan a glance.

Xie Zhuoyan immediately flashed Du Zhihe a charming smile. “Sorry, little Brother Du.” Then he sat down beside Jiang Mingyi.

Lu Jinglan took her seat gracefully next to Xie Zhuoyan.

Seeing both sides of Jiang Mingyi now occupied, Du Zhihe’s eyes flickered with mischief. “No problem,” he said, turning and walking to the back row. He whispered something to a young man, who quickly ran over and sat beside Lu Jinglan.

Du Zhihe smiled at his future brother-in-law and then took the seat right behind Jiang Mingyi, saying smugly, “I can still be close to my darling from here.”

Xie Zhuoyan couldn’t help but chuckle and shrugged at Shen Xingyan, who was now wearing a darker expression.

He only had one body—he couldn’t take two seats.

Chairman Du stood at the back, watching the seated crowd, suddenly feeling quite unnecessary.

These youngsters seemed impossible to figure out. Was he really getting old?

He glanced at his younger brother, who was brimming with misplaced confidence and zero sense of threat. No, he couldn’t accept old age just yet.

Chairman Du thought to himself—maybe it was time to go home, work harder with his wife, and try for a son. That might be the safer move.