ALCSRB Chapter 67

In an instant, a joy so overwhelming surged through him like a tidal wave, almost drowning him completely.

But the hand gripping his tightly pulled him back from the flood, holding him steady at the very moment his body threatened to collapse.

Half leaning against Shen Xingyan’s chest, Jiang Mingyi inhaled the faint, cool fragrance that seeped deep into his lungs — just like those sincere, unguarded vows moments before, stirring his whole heart into a wild, trembling storm.

It took him several tries to find his balance, clutching Shen Xingyan’s arm. He looked up — eyes clear and bright, so luminous that even in the dim light, they drew one in, deeply captivated.

Shen Xingyan lowered his gaze, the emotion in his obsidian eyes laid bare. That raw, almost melting tenderness made Jiang Mingyi feel the honesty in every word.

It felt dreamlike — unreal yet beautiful.

He bit down on the soft flesh inside his cheek, a jolt of pain furrowing his brow.

No, he wasn’t dreaming.

Tilting his head back, eyes glittering like the brightest stars in the night sky, he stared straight at Shen Xingyan without blinking, utterly entranced.

His excitement made his voice tremble. His lips parted, closed, parted again, before he finally stammered out the question, like he needed to confirm it just one more time: “Y-You… you really mean all that?”

Shen Xingyan’s black eyes stayed fixed on those lips that opened and closed. The corners of his lips curved up slightly as he nodded under Jiang Mingyi’s hopeful gaze.

“Of course it’s true.”

“If I didn’t have these feelings for you, why would I kiss you?”

As he spoke, his slender fingers brushed gently along the boy’s jaw, dropping a soft, tender kiss on his slightly parted lips, still open in surprise.

“A kiss is such an intimate act. Kissing… is the simplest way to show one’s feelings. Ever since I realized how I feel about you, I wanted to kiss you every moment of every day.”

His gaze was too scorching, like the fiercest sun in midsummer — just one look felt like it could melt him whole.

Jiang Mingyi could clearly sense that Shen Xingyan’s eyes never once strayed from his lips as he spoke, that desire to kiss him again plain as daylight.

It filled him with happiness — but also made him shy.

He’d always thought Shen Xingyan was calm, reserved, mature — he never imagined he’d be so open and straightforward when confessing.

Just one look from him was almost too much to handle — let alone those blunt, honest words.

Long curled lashes fluttered down, failing to hide the blush that was threatening to spill out from his chest.

“That… every moment of every day is a bit of an exaggeration, isn’t it?”

He wanted to kiss Shen Xingyan too — but it’s not like he had that urge every second of the day.

“It’s not an exaggeration.”

A deep voice sounded right by Jiang Mingyi’s ear the next second. Startled, he jerked his head up — his lips brushing right past Shen Xingyan’s.

That soft, fleeting touch instantly dyed his pale cheeks a rosy red.

“I…”

His first instinct was to explain something — but Shen Xingyan spoke again.

“I want to kiss you right now.”

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes flew wide open in shock, long lashes casting a delicate shadow, his pupils trembling with nerves.

No way. Was he really this straightforward?

How was he supposed to react to that?

Should he agree or refuse?

If he agreed, would he look too eager — not reserved at all? But if he refused, he wouldn’t even know how to say it.

Just like that, Jiang Mingyi found himself caught in a dilemma with no way forward or back.

Shen Xingyan, oblivious to the swirl of thoughts raging inside him, could still see clearly that he wasn’t rejecting him.

A soft chuckle slipped from his thin lips as he lowered his voice.

“Be good. Close your eyes.”

The gentle tone made Jiang Mingyi obey without thinking. As soon as he shut his eyes, his slightly raised, soft lips were caught between Shen Xingyan’s. The tip of Shen Xingyan’s tongue traced lightly over them, curling in a teasing swirl like he was playing with him.

Jiang Mingyi thought this move was way more sensual than a simple kiss — who plays with someone’s lips like that, using their tongue?

What was so fun about that part of him anyway?

But before he could finish the thought, a tingling sensation shot up from the base of his spine and spread through his whole body. In an instant, Jiang Mingyi went weak.

A hint of a smile flashed across Shen Xingyan’s dark eyes. He slipped his arm around Jiang Mingyi’s slim waist, pulling the pliant boy right onto his lap.

One hand settled on his slender lower back, the other cradled his nape, trapping him there and pressing him into his chest.

Not far away, the massive movie screen had stopped playing at some point. Bright light spread from afar, spilling gently over them, warm and tender — outlining an intimate, lingering scene.

Jiang Mingyi clutched at Shen Xingyan helplessly, his soft, reddened tongue tangled up and caught, forced to respond clumsily to the sucking and coaxing.

The corners of his eyes glowed with a misty blush, making him look sweet and delicious.

If it were any other time, Shen Xingyan would’ve stroked that flush with his fingertips — but now, he only glanced at it before focusing all his attention back on the kiss.

The feelings in his heart deepened, growing stronger with every passing second of the kiss.

Jiang Mingyi was dizzy, completely swept up, almost breathless.

It wasn’t until he heard a soft, “Breathe through your nose,” that he snapped back — realizing he’d been so lost he’d forgotten how to breathe.

He felt so stupid. Who the hell forgets to breathe while kissing?

Too embarrassed to look Shen Xingyan in the eyes, he just buried his face in his chest, gasping for air.

The sound of a strong, pounding heartbeat thudded through his eardrums.

He realized it was Shen Xingyan’s heart racing wildly — so he wasn’t the only one losing his composure.

“You—” He tried to speak, but his voice came out so hoarse it startled him. Jiang Mingyi licked his lips, then murmured shyly, “Next time, I’ll breathe through my nose.”

Shen Xingyan looked down at the black head buried against his chest, soft hair brushing the boy’s smooth forehead. That visible, unhidden blush made a gentle warmth bloom in the deepest part of his heart.

Hearing him say those words in such a solemn tone made him want to laugh, but he held it in.

A single “okay” hummed out through his nose, sexy and pleasant enough to make Jiang Mingyi’s heart tremble.

The theater lights came on. Shen Xingyan raised his hand to help straighten Jiang Mingyi’s slightly rumpled shirt.

Jiang Mingyi’s face stayed red the whole time. He didn’t dare meet the gaze that lingered on him; his fingers fumbled nervously, twisting and untwisting.

Those dark eyes swept over him lightly, but Shen Xingyan didn’t say anything. After fixing the shirt, he leaned in and planted a kiss on his flushed ear.

“Xiao Yi,” Shen Xingyan called softly, his voice full of affection.

“Ah?”

Jiang Mingyi still kept his head lowered, and the ear that had just been kissed burned even hotter.

He wanted to rub it, but when he heard himself being called, he could only answer with a soft sound.

“You accepted my confession, and you accepted my kiss. That means you’ve accepted me.”

Warm breath brushed against his now crimson earlobe. That deep, husky voice was overflowing with tenderness.

Jiang Mingyi knew that Shen Xingyan was staring at him the whole time. After a moment of silence, he nodded firmly. “Mm.”

The next second, his hand was clasped tightly in another, fingers intertwined, palms pressed together.

Brushing aside the shyness overflowing in his chest, Jiang Mingyi finally lifted his head to look at him — just one glance, and he met those eyes filled with such gentle affection.

In those dark, deep eyes, he saw his own reflection, completely surrounded by warmth.

His heart skipped a beat.

Then it bloomed with joy.

Because through those eyes, Jiang Mingyi saw the look on his own face — the happiness that he could no longer keep hidden, so obvious he couldn’t deny it, even if he tried.

Not that he wanted to.

From the moment he realized his feelings for Shen Xingyan were different, he’d been waiting for this.

And after being kissed by Shen Xingyan, he was even more certain of what he felt.

Jiang Mingyi showed a shy smile, his gaze steady as he looked at him. “Shen Xingyan, do you really like me? Not the love of a brother for his little brother, but just… simply like me?”

He thought of what Su Wanxin said yesterday — he still hadn’t figured out the real difference between familial love and romantic love, but he understood his own heart.

Even though he had heard Shen Xingyan’s confession with his own ears, he still wanted to make sure.

Shen Xingyan didn’t know about the stubbornness in his heart. His tone held a hint of teasing: “You silly thing… Do you want me to show you exactly what kind of ‘like’ it is, with my actions?”

Their bodies pressed together in an instant, and Jiang Mingyi immediately realized exactly what kind of “show you with my actions” that meant. His face turned scarlet in an instant.

Then, his voice came out soft and sheepish: “Men really are all lower-body animals…”

—

From the moment they left the cinema, Shen Xingyan never let go of his hand. Jiang Mingyi felt sweet inside — but also just a little bit embarrassed.

The crowd in the mall was getting thicker, and a few curious glances landed on the two of them.

Jiang Mingyi tugged at him a little, and Shen Xingyan turned back to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

The words that were about to come out of Jiang Mingyi’s mouth stalled at that gentle look in his eyes. “N-nothing.”

Let them look, whatever.

Shen Xingyan didn’t care — so why should he care about those stares?

Those people were probably just envious that he had such a handsome boyfriend. Not only was his boyfriend his older brother, but also the person he liked the most.

Just the thought of it made him ridiculously happy.

Noticing the smile creeping up at the corners of his lips, Shen Xingyan’s eyes softened even more. “Are you hungry? Want to grab some lunch first?”

“Sure.”

Jiang Mingyi had just nodded when a phone ringtone cut them off.

Seeing Shen Xingyan take out his phone, he immediately leaned over, wanting to see which clueless idiot was interrupting them at this perfect moment.

“It’s An Shi,” Shen Xingyan said, casually hitting the answer button.

Jiang Mingyi had completely forgotten about that guy. Hearing it was An Shi calling, he narrowed his eyes immediately.

He hadn’t forgotten how he used to treat that guy as a love rival — but since Shen Xingyan had said An Shi had a partner, and that partner wasn’t Shen Xingyan, then he was at ease now.

Just as he was thinking that, a heart-wrenching roar came blasting out of the phone, so loud that passing shoppers turned their heads to look.

“Shen Xingyan! You bastard! You piece of shit! You scumbag! I’m not done with you—”

A whole string of curses came through loud and clear, then abruptly stopped a second later.

Then the call was hung up from the other side.

Jiang Mingyi stared, completely dumbfounded. “What the heck was that about?”

“Nothing,” Shen Xingyan said calmly, putting his phone away. “I just sent that photo you gave me yesterday to his brother.”

Photo? What photo?

Jiang Mingyi blinked. He didn’t remember any photo.

Shen Xingyan reminded him, “The one of him playing pool with someone else.”

Jiang Mingyi suddenly got it — oh, that photo.

“But what’s the big deal about sending it to his brother? His tone just now made it sound like you did something heinous.”

That tone… it was like he was ready to come through the phone and hack Shen Xingyan into pieces. Terrifying.

But then he thought of An Shi’s slender, scrawny figure, and compared it to Shen Xingyan’s ridiculously hot body — the one that made even him drool — and he instantly stopped worrying.

“Because his brother is his boyfriend.”

“…What?”

Jiang Mingyi was so stunned by that bombshell that his jaw nearly hit the floor.