ALCSRB Chapter 69

In the end, Jiang Mingyi didn’t get to leave — because An Shi simply locked the door.

He crossed his arms smugly, lifting his chin. “I’ll deal with you properly once I’ve filled my stomach.”

“…!” Now it was Jiang Mingyi’s turn to be speechless.

“Ge, don’t you think he’s childish?”

He sat back down on the sofa and pointed at An Shi, who was now stuffing his face with food. “He can’t win an argument with me so he just locks the door. Seriously — I haven’t used that trick since I was three years old!”

He didn’t bother lowering his voice either, so An Shi heard every word loud and clear.

An Shi clenched his chopsticks so hard they nearly snapped in two — thankfully, they were pretty sturdy.

“Are you trying to say I’m worse than a three-year-old?”

Jiang Mingyi ignored him completely and continued talking to Shen Xingyan, “I’m an adult now. Mature. Rational. I’m not gonna stoop to the level of some immature brat.”

Shen Xingyan saw the proud gleam in his eyes and chuckled indulgently. “Xiao Yi did the right thing.”

“Shen Xingyan! You two are really two of a kind — scoundrels, both of you!”

An Shi was so mad he slammed his chopsticks onto the table, glaring daggers at them — but his face was immediately turned back by two large hands.

“Eat your food properly,” An Jiancheng said calmly.

“You’re supposed to be my brother! How could you side with them?” An Shi fumed even more.

“I side with what’s reasonable, not with blood,” An Jiancheng said, picking up some greens and placing them on An Shi’s plate. His gaze drifted over An Shi’s bright, striking features with a hint of dangerous amusement. “Otherwise, I’d never have known how much fun you’ve been having behind my back.”

That look in his eyes and the tone of his voice instantly shut An Shi up.
“I was just messing around, that’s all.”

“Messing around with another man?”

“…”

Seeing that he still seemed intent on settling accounts with him, An Shi immediately abandoned the two brothers on the sofa.
“I was messing around playing pool, okay? Not with some other man.”

He didn’t even remember what the guy at the pool hall looked like.

“That guy wasn’t even as handsome as you, not as tall and strong — what’s the fun in that?”

An Jiancheng paused mid-bite, his eyes dark as he stared at him.
“So if you found one who was handsome and tall and strong — you’d ‘mess around’ with him?”

An Shi wanted to say yes, but clearly someone would go on a full-blown jealousy spree if he did, so he could only backtrack:
“How could that be! There’s no man in this world more handsome, taller, or stronger than you.”

In order to stop An Jiancheng from holding this against him later, An Shi could only keep spewing sweet talk to coax him, but by the end of it, even the food didn’t taste good anymore.

When they’d finished eating, Jiang Mingyi had already dozed off for a bit with his head resting on Shen Xingyan’s thigh.

When they woke him up, he rubbed his sleepy eyes.
“All done? Then can we go back now?”

“Go back where?” An Shi grabbed him from Shen Xingyan’s arms.
“You’ve come all this way — how could I let you leave so soon?”

—

They stayed at the hotel the whole afternoon. In the end, Jiang Mingyi was carried to the car by Shen Xingyan.

“I’m so tired. I never want to play cards with An Shi again.”

With both arms wrapped around Shen Xingyan’s neck, his chin resting on his shoulder, Jiang Mingyi looked completely worn out.

Shen Xingyan chuckled, holding up the boy who was hanging on him. His tone was a bit teasing.
“But you were so excited when you heard there’d be cards.”

“Playing cards is fun, but playing with someone who’s both bad at it and addicted is just exhausting.”

An Shi had no sense of sportsmanship — when he lost, he’d cheat. Jiang Mingyi had never met anyone so shameless. He even caught An Shi trying to swap cards more than once.

“And yet you agreed to hang out with him again tomorrow,” Shen Xingyan reminded him of what he’d promised An Shi before they left.

“Uh—”

Jiang Mingyi got stuck for a second, then got excited again. “But he invited us to go to the hot springs!”

Although Shen Xingyan couldn’t see his face, he could easily hear that giddy excitement in his voice.
“And you’re not afraid he’ll drag you into another round of cards tomorrow?”

“I’m not scared! I’ll drag Pei Shiqing along tomorrow — then we’ll have the numbers on our side. Home turf will be ours.”

That night, once they got home, he told Pei Shiqing about it.

【Pei Shiqing】: Hot springs?

【Jiang Mingyi】: Yeah! You’re free anyway — come have fun with us.

【Jiang Mingyi】: Oh right, bring your brother too.

【Pei Shiqing】: My brother? He probably won’t have time.

【Jiang Mingyi】: Go ask him. If he really doesn’t, I’ll find you another buddy.

Pei Shiqing looked at the message, hesitated, then shuffled over in his slippers to knock on Pei Mingyue’s door.

“Ge.” He knocked and walked in.

Pei Mingyue had just finished his shower, a faint, fresh scent still clinging to him. His expression was a bit cool and aloof.

When he saw him come in, his hand paused mid-motion, towel halfway through drying his hair.

“What is it?” he asked.

Pei Shiqing stood a few steps away, his lashes fluttered a couple of times before lowering, his hand clutching his phone behind his back.

A few seconds later, like he’d finally gathered up his courage, he told him about Jiang Mingyi’s invitation to the hot springs tomorrow.

Pei Mingyue frowned when he heard it. “I have a meeting tomorrow.”

He’d barely finished speaking before he saw Pei Shiqing’s delicate face droop into a disappointed expression. His frown deepened.

Pei Shiqing’s voice was soft. “Alright then… since you’re so busy, I’ll ask someone else to come along.”

He turned to leave, but Pei Mingyue stopped him. “Who are you planning to ask?”

“Haven’t decided yet. But Xiao Yi said it’d be good to have someone else join so we can all have fun together.”

A few minutes later, Pei Shiqing returned to his room, a bright grin dancing in his eyes.

【Pei Shiqing】: My brother said he has a meeting.

【Jiang Mingyi】: ……

【Pei Shiqing】: But he said it’s not that important — he can have his assistant handle it instead.

【Jiang Mingyi】: !

【Jiang Mingyi】: Can you please finish your sentences?! I was about to start matchmaking you with someone else!

【Pei Shiqing】: Hehe~ I was just so happy I hit send before I was done typing.

Jiang Mingyi lay sprawled out on his soft bed, his loose pajamas slipping off one shoulder, revealing smooth skin. His pale, slender legs dangled and swayed a bit.

Seeing Pei Shiqing’s message, he chuckled.

【Jiang Mingyi】: Alright then. Let’s look forward to tomorrow.

Just after he sent that, his door creaked open.

Hearing the sound, Jiang Mingyi turned his head.

“Ge, why’d you come over?”

His gaze landed on Shen Xingyan’s chest — that man just out of the shower, not bothering to properly tie up his robe. Jiang Mingyi thought to himself: Why does he always look like he’s inviting crime?

He forced himself to squash the wicked thoughts creeping up and quickly averted his eyes.

Shen Xingyan noticed that little move and curved his lips into a faint smile.

He walked over to the bed, looking down at the boy curled up sideways. His dark eyes paused when they swept over that delicate collarbone, the look in them deepening.

“I’m staying with you tonight. Okay?”

Although it sounded like a question, Jiang Mingyi could hear that undertone of force that didn’t really allow for a ‘no’.

“… Just sleeping?”

The words had barely left his mouth when a warm hand, radiating heat, brushed over his brow and eyes.

He blinked, long lashes brushing Shen Xingyan’s fingertips. The man who had intended to stop at a gentle touch suddenly had eyes that turned dark and unfathomable.

“If you want more than that — I can oblige you.”

Shen Xingyan’s voice was so low it was almost frightening, and the way he was staring at Jiang Mingyi made his heart skip a beat.

Thinking about how their relationship had shifted lately, Jiang Mingyi decided he shouldn’t indulge the man too much.

So he simply put his phone away, pulled over the blanket to cover himself, and said, “No need. I’m pretty tired tonight — let’s just get some sleep.”

Shen Xingyan didn’t miss that fleeting shyness in his eyes. He let out a soft chuckle and patted the boy’s head where it peeked out from under the blanket.

“It’s still pretty early.”

Jiang Mingyi blinked innocently. “Early to bed, early to rise — it’s good for your health. Ge, you’re the one who taught me that.”

Shen Xingyan raised an eyebrow. “I seem to recall also teaching you that a bit of exercise before bed helps improve sleep quality.”

“……”

Jiang Mingyi feigned ignorance. “Did you?”

“Looks like you’ve forgotten.” Shen Xingyan murmured, leaning down close to him. “I can teach you again.”

A large hand slipped under the blanket and caught Jiang Mingyi’s hand with unerring precision.

Half an hour later, Jiang Mingyi was lying with his flushed face resting on Shen Xingyan’s warm, solid chest, the corners of his eyes tinged with a sultry redness.

His once-fresh body was now slick with sweat, his soft, dark hair sticking uncomfortably to the nape of his neck.

Shen Xingyan gently stroked his back. Only when Jiang Mingyi’s ragged breathing calmed down did he speak. “Want to take another shower?”

Jiang Mingyi was about to nod, but when his hand brushed against that all-too-familiar body again, he immediately shook his head. “No… I’m kinda sleepy.”

A warm breath tickled his ear, Shen Xingyan’s deep voice murmuring indulgently, “I’ll help you wash.”

As soon as he heard that, Jiang Mingyi felt an acute sense of danger sweeping over him.

Let Shen Xingyan wash him? That’d probably just get him dirtier, not cleaner.

“No need to trouble you, ge. I’ll shower when I wake up tomorrow.”

“Really don’t need it?”

“Don’t need it.”

As soon as he said that, Jiang Mingyi scrambled off Shen Xingyan’s chest — but an arm sneaked around him and dragged him right back.

“Where are you going?” Shen Xingyan asked casually, though the arm locked around his waist was anything but casual.

Jiang Mingyi had no choice but to say, “Bathroom.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“……”

There was only one toilet in the bathroom — obviously, they couldn’t both use it at once.

Jiang Mingyi pushed him out the door. “I’ll go first.”

Then he promptly shut the door in his face.

Left standing outside, Shen Xingyan could only let out a helpless laugh.

The next morning, when Jiang Mingyi woke up, his foggy brain still felt like it was buffering.

Half a minute later, Jiang Mingyi finally realized that his whole body was sprawled across Shen Xingyan’s, his arms and legs tightly wrapped around him.

Shen Xingyan’s arm was looped firmly around his waist, as if afraid he might slip off — his hold was strong.

His head was resting on Shen Xingyan’s chest, and underneath his ear was the steady thump of a calm heartbeat.

He tilted his head back slightly and could see the man’s perfect jawline and those slightly pressed thin lips.

Without warning, flashes of last night’s intimate moments rose in his mind. His fair cheeks immediately flushed red.

And when he thought about how this was only their first night together since confirming their relationship — if things kept going like this every night, he’d be drained dry sooner or later.

Sigh… so this is what it’s like to be in love — kinda exhausting.

While lamenting this, he carefully disentangled himself from that possessive embrace, went into the bathroom, and took a shower.

When he came out again, he’d more or less recovered his energy.

Shen Xingyan had actually woken up the moment Jiang Mingyi left his arms, and was now half-reclined against the headboard, looking down at his phone.

When Jiang Mingyi walked over, his eyes inadvertently drifted to a certain very awake part of Shen Xingyan. He was so startled, he stumbled back a few steps.

Shen Xingyan seemed to notice and looked up, “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.” His voice tripped over itself.

His hand, hidden behind his back, ached for some reason.

Didn’t see anything, didn’t see anything… Let’s just pretend that I don’t know.