ALCSRB Chapter 47

Scumpage:
Shen Xingyan had just finished a meeting and returned to his office. He hadn’t even sat down when two WeChat messages popped up on his phone.

One was from his mother:
[Ah-Yiطan, Xiao Yi said you don’t like anyone. So, do you or do you not?]

The other was from Jiang Mingyi:
[Bro, don’t worry, I explained everything to Mom for you. You don’t like anyone.]

Qin Hao was standing nearby holding a file. He saw his boss staring at his phone, his brows furrowed tightly, and his expression looking a bit off.

He watched for a moment, and then heard Shen Xingyan say, “You can go now.”

After Qin Hao left, Shen Xingyan pulled out his chair and sat down. He first replied to his mom:
[Mom, don’t pay attention to what he said.]

Then he opened Jiang Mingyi’s message and replied:
[Good job. I’ll treat you to lunch today.]

Meanwhile, on the other side, Su Wanxin stared at the message from her eldest son, carefully interpreting a deeper meaning.

“Don’t pay attention to what the younger one said”—didn’t that mean the younger one’s words weren’t true?

In other words, her eldest son did like someone.

Thinking this way, Su Wanxin finally felt relieved.

As long as he liked someone, she didn’t ask for much more.

But—

“Xiao Yi, how exactly did you talk to your brother?”

Jiang Mingyi had just received the message and was feeling quite pleased. When he heard her question, he casually replied, “I just told him that you said he liked someone, and he immediately said he didn’t. So clearly, you got it wrong, Mom.”

Su Wanxin narrowed her eyes. “So you took that million yuan from your dad and then turned around and sold out your mom?”

“Huh?” Jiang Mingyi finally lifted his gaze from his phone. Only then did he realize what he’d done. Meeting Su Wanxin’s slightly dangerous look, he gave an awkward smile.

“I didn’t mean to let it slip…”

After saying that, he didn’t wait for her reaction—he bolted up the stairs at full speed.

“This kid.”

Su Wanxin stood in the living room, shaking her head helplessly as she watched his retreating figure.

She glanced at the message on her phone again. Faced with her unreliable younger son, she decided she’d better believe her elder one.

Jiang Mingyi darted back into his room and bang!—slammed the door shut.

Heart still pounding, he patted his chest to calm down.

Why did I let it slip like that? Luckily, Mom just looked a little mad. Hopefully, she wouldn’t hold it against him.

Thinking about that “hush money,” Jiang Mingyi firmly believed—once it’s in his pocket, it’s his. No way he’s coughing it back up.

He walked to the bedside, took off his shoes, and climbed onto the bed.

Reaching out, he pulled over a pillow and lay sprawled out on the soft mattress.

With his chin resting on the pillow, he poked at his phone screen with a single finger.

Jiang Mingyi: Where should we eat?

Shen Xingyan: Depends on what you want to eat.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes widened a little at that message.

Jiang Mingyi: Anything is fine?

A reply came quickly.

Shen Xingyan: No alcohol.

Jiang Mingyi pouted. He wasn’t some kind of alcoholic—why would he even think about drinking?

Could it be that those two times they went to the bar left a bad impression on Shen Xingyan?

His delicate eyebrows slowly furrowed together.

Surely not, right?

He should still have the image of a well-behaved, sensible little brother.

Just as he was thinking that, another message popped up:

Shen Xingyan: No spicy food either.

Jiang Mingyi instantly bit his lower lip.

Oh. Looks like that time he ended up in the hospital really left an unforgettable impression on Shen Xingyan.

And not in a good way.

Jiang Mingyi felt like crying but had no tears. He is a good boy, seriously.

No, he had to clear his name.

So, with eyes downcast, he started typing furiously.

Jiang Mingyi: I don’t drink alcohol, I don’t eat spicy food, my stomach is just fine, and I love food!

Jiang Mingyi: Those things before were accidents, not what I meant to do.

Jiang Mingyi: Really, you have to believe me!

Shen Xingyan: You still need to be careful day-to-day. So young, don’t go messing up your health.

Jiang Mingyi stared at the lecturing tone of the message, wanting so badly to scoff—but he held it in.

Jiang Mingyi: I don’t really have any health issues though.

As soon as he sent that, he saw [The other person is typing…], so he quickly added something more playful:

Jiang Mingyi: Okay okay, you’re the older one, you’re the boss.

Jiang Mingyi: But can I still choose what we eat for lunch?

On the other side, Shen Xingyan saw that message, and a trace of amusement appeared in his eyes.

Shen Xingyan: Weren’t we already discussing what to eat? If you have something in mind, go ahead and say it.

He looked at the “Typing…” indicator and quietly wondered what the boy would want to eat.

A few seconds later, a new message popped up.

Jiang Mingyi: I want hot pot. [drools]

Just as Shen Xingyan was about to reply that hot pot might be too fiery, another message quickly followed.

Jiang Mingyi: [craving] [craving] [craving]

Halfway through typing his message, Shen Xingyan ended up deleting it and retyping a new one.

Jiang Mingyi nearly bounced off the bed in excitement when he saw the message.

He hadn’t had hotpot in ages—mainly because the weather was too hot. Even though hotpot places had air conditioning, you’d still end up sweating buckets. But if he was eating hotpot with Shen Xingyan? Then let him sweat buckets!

Shen Xingyan: I’ll have Qin Hao come pick you up.

Jiang Mingyi: You’re the best, ge! [Sends you a little red flower]

Grinning ear to ear, he set down his phone and went to his closet to pick out an outfit. After rummaging for a while, he finally settled on something he was satisfied with and got changed.

Half an hour later, Qin Hao’s car was already parked outside the villa. Jiang Mingyi glanced out the window and skipped down the stairs happily.

Aunt Wang saw him coming down and was just about to ask what he wanted for lunch.

“I’m eating out,” Jiang Mingyi said with a wave of his hand, before hurrying out the door.

“Assistant Qin, you’re fast,” he said, opening the passenger door and climbing in.

He had barely touched the seat when a familiar voice came from behind him: “Sit in the back.”

Jiang Mingyi froze for a second. He turned around and saw Shen Xingyan sitting in the back seat, gazing at him. His eyes were deep and unreadable, but there was a faint furrow in his brow.

“Ge? You came too?”

He was just expressing surprise, but Shen Xingyan frowned, his voice a bit lower than usual. “What, you were planning to go eat with Qin Hao?”

Qin Hao focused on the road, clearly uninterested in getting involved in this sibling squabble.

“No!” Jiang Mingyi quickly moved to the back seat to sit next to him. “It’s just… it’s working hours, I didn’t think you’d sneak out of work to have lunch with me.”

He smiled brightly, his voice soft and sweet, a little nervous even. His hands lightly tugged on Shen Xingyan’s sleeve in a clearly ingratiating manner.

Shen Xingyan’s expression relaxed slightly. “It’s not skipping work.”

Jiang Mingyi paused, then gave him a knowing look. “You’re the boss—you make the rules.”

The car pulled away from the villa, and they didn’t dwell on the topic any longer.

“So where are we going for hotpot?” Jiang Mingyi asked.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

Apparently, Shen Xingyan was keeping it a surprise. Jiang Mingyi pressed his lips together.

Fine. He’d let himself look forward to it.

They hadn’t driven far when Pei Shiqing sent him a photo.

It was a shimmering expanse of water, surrounded by lush green trees. Their reflections shimmered in the surface, giving off a cool, refreshing vibe.

[Pei Shiqing]: Guess where I am?

Jiang Mingyi stared at the photo with wide eyes. How was he supposed to guess that?

Shen Xingyan noticed his expression and glanced over. “What’s wrong?”

“Ge, do you know where this is?” Jiang Mingyi immediately turned to him for help.

He thought Pei Shiqing was way too bored. Who sends cryptic pictures and expects someone to guess the location? If he could guess that, he might as well not be human.

Shen Xingyan glanced at the photo and casually gave him a place name.

Jiang Mingyi looked at him doubtfully. “You sure?”

“Send it and find out.”

Jiang Mingyi, still skeptical, typed out the name and sent it.

[Pei Shiqing]: Wow, you actually guessed it. [Applause]

[Pei Shiqing]: [Gives you a little red flower.]

Jiang Mingyi: “……”

So his brother really isn’t human.

[Pei Shiqing]: As a reward, you get to have lunch with me today. Happy now?

Shen Xingyan glanced at the message on his phone, the corners of his lips lifting. “If you managed to become good friends with Pei Mingyue’s younger brother, you two must have something in common.”

Jiang Mingyi had just been silently judging Pei Shiqing for his childish words, but upon hearing that, he looked up in confusion.

In the man’s dark eyes, an obvious trace of amusement glimmered, and when their eyes met, it became even more apparent.

“We…”

He had just started to speak when Shen Xingyan said with a chuckle, “You’re both little kids.”

The phrase “little kids” can mean different things depending on context—and right now, in Jiang Mingyi’s ears, it was clearly Shen Xingyan lumping him together with Pei Shiqing as equally childish.

Jiang Mingyi immediately grew displeased.

He pouted and retorted, “I’m not the same as him.”

“Oh? What’s different?” Shen Xingyan raised an eyebrow. “A different kind of little kid?”

Jiang Mingyi choked for a moment, then huffed and glared.

After a pause, he lifted his phone to show the message and said, “I have a big brother to have lunch with me. But he doesn’t.”

Even if he was a kid, he was a lucky one.

Jiang Mingyi puffed out his chest proudly.

Shen Xingyan didn’t expect that reason and burst into laughter.

“How are you so sure he doesn’t have a big brother eating with him?”

“Pei Shiqing’s brother is a workaholic. There’s no way he’d come have lunch with him on a weekday,” Jiang Mingyi said with certainty. After all, he and Pei Shiqing had spent plenty of time being lonely little brothers together.

Shen Xingyan smiled without saying anything.

The car sped along the highway, zipping forward.

Over half an hour later, they finally arrived at their destination.

Jiang Mingyi got out of the car and looked up. “This…”

Shen Xingyan got out from the other side and, seeing Jiang Mingyi still staring up blankly, reached out to pat his fuzzy hair. “Let’s go in.”

“Didn’t you say we were having hot pot?”

They were supposed to be having hot pot—so why had they ended up at a fishing lodge?

And wasn’t this the same fishing lodge from the photo Pei Shiqing had just sent him? The one Shen Xingyan had told him the address of?

Shen Xingyan turned and started walking ahead. “We are having hot pot.”

Jiang Mingyi had no choice but to follow. “Then why are we here?”

Something about this just felt…off.

He kept his eyes locked on Shen Xingyan’s back until the fishing lodge manager personally came out to greet them—and only then did Jiang Mingyi find out that this lodge had investment money from his brother.

Shen Xingyan casually explained, “Back then, he teamed up with Pei Mingyue and Xie Zhuoyan to open it. But in recent years, it’s mainly been Xie Zhuoyan running the place.”

At that moment, the two of them had already reached the private room on the second floor.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open from the inside. A head popped out, and upon seeing who was standing outside, a loud voice rang out:
“Yibao! I told you I’d reward you by having lunch with me! Surprised? Unexpected?”

Jiang Mingyi stood there with his mouth slightly agape, staring at Pei Mingyue calmly sipping tea inside the room. Then he looked at the man who had already stepped into the room.

Immediately, he felt a lump of frustration caught in his chest.

Weren’t they supposed to have a two-person hot pot date? How did it suddenly turn into a four-person outing?

In his mind, Jiang Mingyi started stabbing little voodoo dolls.

He suddenly lost all appetite. Could he just go home now?