ALCSRB Chapter 5

One million yuan might just be pocket change to the sons of wealthy families—something they could spend with a wave of the hand.

But to someone like Bai Yumo, who came from an ordinary background, that number was so overwhelming it inspired fear.

So when he heard that he had to compensate for the suit, he was completely stunned.

“This…”

How was this possible?

He had only splashed a glass of wine on Jiang Mingyi—why should he have to pay for it?

Bai Yumo looked at the Shen family’s eldest son in disbelief. How could such a handsome man say something so terrifying?

His legs nearly gave out, and he collapsed straight into Lu Jingze’s arms.

Startled, Lu Jingze caught his soft, trembling body and cried out nervously, “Yumo, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!”

Seeing Bai Yumo’s pale face, Lu Jingze was frightened.

Jiang Mingyi thought the two of them were being overly dramatic, but he wasn’t surprised—he had expected Bai Yumo to act this way.

He stared at Bai Yumo with an expression that said, Let’s see how you’re going to handle this now.

And how could he handle it? With such a huge amount of money, even if he sold himself, Bai Yumo wouldn’t be able to come up with it.

So all he could do was pretend he was too unwell to stand, slumping weakly against Lu Jingze.

Meanwhile, his mind raced with thoughts.

A few seconds later, a pair of slender hands trembled as they clutched Lu Jingze’s arm.

Bai Yumo lifted his delicate, pitiful face, his beautiful eyes already brimming with tears.

With a helpless expression, he said to Lu Jingze, “Young Master Lu, I really didn’t do it on purpose. You know me—I’ve always been timid. How could I possibly do something so malicious?”

Jiang Mingyi was speechless: So you do know what you did was bad.

Lu Jingze, full of sympathy, replied, “Yes, yes, I know what kind of person you are.”

“It’s all Jiang Mingyi’s fault—they’re being unreasonable. The outfit’s just a bit dirty, it can be cleaned. Why should you have to pay for it?”

Everyone listening around them: “…”

“Just listen to yourselves—do you even hear what you’re saying?”

Standing nearby, Lu Jinglan already couldn’t bear to look at his own little brother. This brat wasn’t exactly the brightest before, but now he was just getting worse.

Pie Shiqing leaned in close to Jiang Mingyi and said in a low voice, “How could Bai Yumo possibly afford to compensate you?”

“I know,” Jiang Mingyi replied, eyes cold as he watched the two clinging to each other. His fingers tightened slightly on his suit jacket.
“But don’t you think watching him seriously act just because of a million yuan is kind of… entertaining?”

He seemed like a spectator at the theater, watching the main characters perform a scene about resolving a crisis to bring them closer together.

After all, the stage had already been set—it would be a waste not to enjoy the passionate performance of the lead actors.

Pei Shiqing followed his gaze and studied Bai Yumo carefully. “To be honest, I think he’s well-suited for the entertainment industry.”

Just a few words, and Lu Jingze was once again convinced that all the blame lay with his friend.

Lu Jingze really was hopeless, always believing Bai Yumo was a delicate little thing who needed his protection.

Thinking about it, the two of them were actually a perfect match.

Good thing his buddy finally woke up in time—or else he would’ve felt anxious on his behalf.

Standing off to the side, Shen Xingyan watched the two boys whispering to each other. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was the youngest son of the Pei family.

The way the two teenagers spoke—eyes lively, with occasional casual touches—clearly showed their close friendship.

When Shen Xingyan had stepped in earlier to protect Jiang Mingyi, he could distinctly feel the boy’s subtle resistance toward him.

If it weren’t for the presence of so many people, the boy probably would’ve run far, far away.

Letting out a soft sigh in his heart, Shen Xingyan quickly gathered his emotions.

At that moment, a young man in a suit, wearing gold half-rim glasses, approached Shen Xingyan with a file in hand.

He respectfully presented it. “Boss, here are the compensation terms.”

Compensation terms?

What compensation terms?

Hearing the young man’s words, Jiang Mingyi and Pie Shiqing stared at each other in shock.

Could it be what they were thinking?

Shen Xingyan glanced briefly at the contents of the document, then said lightly, “Qin Hao, have him sign it.”

Qin Hao took the file and walked straight up to Bai Yumo, who was still nestled in Lu Jingze’s arms. He handed it over and said,

“Mr. Bai, you can take a look at the compensation terms first, then sign here.”

He even helpfully pointed out the signature line for him.

The boy, still pretending to be weak and helpless while sobbing softly, lifted his tear-streaked face, his expression pitiful and heart-wrenching.

But after hearing what Qin Hao said, he was instantly dumbfounded.

Expressionless, Qin Hao added, “Or perhaps Mr. Bai can’t read? I can read the compensation terms out loud for you.”

Lu Jingze snapped, “What nonsense are you talking about? Yumo is a top student at Peking University!”

Among their group of wealthy heirs, there were plenty of slackers, which made Bai Yumo’s diligence and intelligence stand out even more.

Qin Hao didn’t even spare him a glance. He simply handed a pen to Bai Yumo and said, “Then please, Mr. Bai.”

Bai Yumo bit down hard on his lower lip, the pale skin tinged with traces of blood, making Lu Jingze’s heart ache just looking at him.

“Don’t sign it! Who knows what kind of unfair terms are in there?”

He snatched the pen away and was about to throw it when Qin Hao calmly asked, “Mr. Lu, are you questioning the professionalism of the Shen Group’s legal department?”

That one sentence shut Lu Jingze right up. The pen in his hand suddenly felt ten times heavier.

Pei Shiqing secretly pointed at Qin Hao and whispered to Jiang Mingyi, “Who is that guy?”

So by-the-book, but he really had that elite aura.

The way he was pushing for the signature reminded him of his own tightfisted older brother.
Was it just him, or were people like that all cut from the same cloth?

Cold and ruthless.
Ugh—chilling.

“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?” Jiang Mingyi replied irritably.

Pei Shiqing slightly lifted his index finger, hinting: Ask him.

Jiang Mingyi followed the direction of the finger and just happened to lock eyes with Shen Xingyan, who was also looking over.

He immediately turned his head away, showing he had zero intention of asking.

If it weren’t for the fact that Shen Xingyan had just helped him, he would’ve stormed off like before.

Shen Xingyan noticed his reaction and chuckled. “Xiao Yi, call me ‘Ge’ and I’ll tell you.”

“I don’t want to know,” Jiang Mingyi pouted, turning his back to him.

“I want to know!” Pei Shiqing raised his hand eagerly and called out, “Ge! You’re Yi-bao’s ge, so you’re my ge too!”

Shen Xingyan dropped his smile and said coolly, “You go around casually calling people ‘ge’—does Pei Mingyue know about this?”

The moment his older brother’s name came up, Pei Shiqing visibly deflated.

Jiang Mingyi saw his head droop and almost laughed—some things never changed. He was still terrified of his big bro.

Just as he was about to comfort him with a “Don’t worry, your brother doesn’t know,” he looked up and saw someone charging toward them.

“Watch out,” Jiang Mingyi called out. He reached out to steady Pei Shiqing, but the force of the collision knocked him over.

Seeing this, Shen Xingyan’s heart skipped a beat. With lightning reflexes, he pulled Jiang Mingyi into his arms.

At the same time, Pei Shiqing let out a loud “Ow!”
Followed by an angry shout:
“Bai Yumo, what the hell are you doing?!”

Bai Yumo had no intention of signing that compensation agreement. When he caught a glimpse of Jiang Mingyi and the others chatting and laughing, completely ignoring him, bitterness surged inside him.

He didn’t actually pounce on Jiang Mingyi but rather lunged at Pei Shiqing instead.

“Young Master, please help me plead with them. The Shen family’s young master is forcing me to pay compensation—I don’t have a million yuan!” he cried, practically in tears, looking completely pitiful to anyone unaware of the full story.

Pei Shiqing shoved him off with a sour face.
“Whether you have money or not—what’s it got to do with me?”

Lu Jingze didn’t expect Bai Yumo to actually beg someone else. He immediately helped Bai Yumo up and said angrily, “He and Jiang Mingyi are birds of a feather. Yumo, don’t beg him.”

Seeing Bai Yumo’s tear-streaked, pitiful face, Lu Jingze’s heart ached terribly.

“It’s just a million. I’ll pay it for you.”

“Lu Jingze, do you even know what you’re saying?”

A stern voice came from the crowd—Lu Guozhang stood not far away, leaning on a cane and glaring coldly at Lu Jingze.

Meanwhile, Jiang Mingyi took off the wine-stained tuxedo, humming as he turned on the shower.

Just thinking about how Lu Jingze had been scolded harshly by his uncle just now and didn’t even dare to talk back made him feel incredibly happy.

“Stupid Lu Jingze.”

You’re the only one who treats Bai Yumo like some kind of treasure. Well, let your treasure give you a proper lesson.

Jiang Mingyi washed off the wine smell from his body, then used body wash to give himself a thorough scrub.

Now that he smelled nice and fresh, he felt even more pleased.

He turned off the water and reached for a dry towel from the rack.

But then his hands froze.

He had been too busy enjoying the moment and completely forgot—this was a hotel. He didn’t have any spare clothes with him.

“Crap.”

Wrapping himself in a bath towel, Jiang Mingyi hurried to find his phone.

“Oh no, it’s dead.”

Holding his lifeless, battery-drained phone between two fingers, he was on the verge of tears.

“Is this karma for gloating over someone else’s misfortune?” he muttered, walking barefoot on the floor.

His round, nice-looking toes twitched, drawing a circle on the ground, then an unsatisfied X over it. Head hung low, he trudged toward the bathroom door.

Before he could even touch the doorknob, someone opened it a crack from the outside.

“Xiao Yi, I asked Qin Hao to prepare a clean set of clothes for you.”

A deep, pleasant voice came from the other side of the door. Shen Xingyan half-leaned inside, but the words stopped as soon as he laid eyes on Jiang Mingyi’s half-naked body.

He froze for a moment, clearly not expecting him to finish showering so quickly.

Shen Xingyan simply opened the door wider and handed the clothes—initially meant to be placed on the side—straight to the dazed Jiang Mingyi.

“Since you’re done showering, go ahead and get dressed.”

With that, Shen Xingyan turned to leave, but Jiang Mingyi snapped out of it and angrily asked, “Why didn’t you knock before coming in?”

“You didn’t lock the door,” Shen Xingyan replied innocently.

Jiang Mingyi: “…”

“Even if I didn’t lock it, you still should’ve knocked!”

Shen Xingyan slightly tilted his head in thought. This kid’s temper was exactly like when he was little.

“Alright, it’s my fault. Next time, I’ll definitely knock and wait for your permission before coming in.”

Jiang Mingyi pressed his lips together. “There won’t be a next time.”

When Su Wanxin came in, she happened to see Shen Xingyan being pushed out of the bathroom. She covered her mouth and laughed, “What happened? Got kicked out by Xiao Yi?”

Facing his mother’s teasing gaze, Shen Xingyan could only shrug helplessly.

He walked over to the table, picked up the kettle, poured a glass of water, and took a few sips.

After setting the cup down, he replied, “That little brat’s all grown up now. His temper’s way worse than before.”

He recalled how, when Jiang Mingyi first came to the Shen family, he was super clingy. He’d even follow him into the bathroom like a little tail and insist on being bathed by him.

But now? He’s mad because he didn’t knock before coming in?

What—worried about being seen?

He really wanted to say: “Is there even a part of your body I haven’t seen before?”

But he held back. The kid might die of embarrassment.

Come to think of it, with him being out of the country all these years, their parents probably spoiled the kid rotten. It made sense that his temper had grown.

Honestly though, even if he hadn’t gone abroad, he still would’ve spoiled Jiang Mingyi.

Because after all, he was his younger brother.

Still, the fact that the kid was already flirting around with men… made Shen Xingyan feel he really needed to step up and be a proper big brother.

Su Wanxin had no idea what her eldest son was thinking. She simply said, “You’re his older brother. Just let him have his way a bit more.”

The mother and son were talking when the topic shifted to what had happened in the banquet hall, making Su Wanxin slightly angry.

Shen Xingyan said, “You and Dad don’t need to worry about this. I’ll have Qin Hao keep an eye on them.”

Su Wanxin responded, “It’s true that as elders, we’re not in a position to get involved in matters between the younger generation. Since Uncle Lu has already reprimanded Jingze, it’s better not to make things too difficult, especially since we’ll be seeing each other often.”

Shen Xingyan assured her that he would handle things properly.

At that moment, the bathroom door opened, and Jiang Mingyi walked out, now dressed.

He had hesitated in the bathroom for a while, afraid Shen Xingyan might still be in the room. He had quietly pressed his ear against the door, trying to listen for any sounds.

Unfortunately, the soundproofing was so good that he couldn’t hear anything.

So, he carefully opened the inner door and discovered that Su Wanxin was also there.

He immediately felt relieved.

Things would have been awkward with just the two of them, but with three people, he could simply pretend Shen Xingyan didn’t exist.

Thinking this, Jiang Mingyi walked directly over to Su Wanxin, calling her affectionately, “Mom, you’re here.”

He completely ignored the gaze Shen Xingyan was giving him.

“Luckily, your brother was here today; otherwise, my little treasure would’ve been wronged.”
Su Wanxin didn’t know what Jiang Mingyi was thinking. She emphasized the words “your brother” with extra weight.

She remembered how close the two brothers had been when they were young. If it hadn’t been for what happened later, they wouldn’t have become so distant.

She then suggested, “Originally, your brother wasn’t going to make it to your birthday party tonight, but thankfully, he didn’t come too late. Though we didn’t prepare much at home, how about you two brothers sleep in the same room tonight? It’ll help strengthen your bond.”

Jiang Mingyi was completely stunned: “……”

“Mom, do you know what you’re saying?”