ALCSRB Chapter 7

Jiang Mingyi lay sprawled on the bed, his little feet swaying in the air, their paleness almost blinding.

WeChat messages kept popping up.

Ding ding dong dong—they rang out rhythmically in the quiet room.

【Pei Shiqing】: Yibao~ [peeking.jpg]
【Jiang Mingyi】: Baby~~ [poke_jiojio.jpg]

Too many WeChat messages. Jiang Mingyi tapped open Time’s chat first.

【Jiang Mingyi】: Say it if you have something to say.

Right after sending it, he saw the other side was typing.

He waited a few seconds.

【Pei Shiqing】: I heard that Lu Jingze got scolded hard by his dad and ran off halfway through the event with Bai Yumo. His dad was so mad he nearly ended up in the hospital.

【Jiang Mingyi】: Where did you hear that?

When Jiang Mingyi left the banquet hall, he hadn’t paid attention to what happened next. Hearing this now, he was genuinely surprised.

The other person paused, then started typing again.

【Pei Shiqing】: I overheard my brother on the phone. Apparently, Lu Jingze’s sister called and said their dad was furious—he even ordered no one is allowed to take Lu Jingze in.

【Pei Shiqing】: Like I’d dare take in Lu Jingze. But who knows, maybe Bai Yumo secretly brought him back.

【Pei Shiqing】: Wait for me, I’m going to check if Bai Yumo came back yet.

Bai Yumo’s parents were servants in the Pie family—they lived together as a family of three in the main estate.

A few minutes passed.

【Pei Shiqing】: Do you think those two might have eloped?

Jiang Mingyi thought of the long, annoying plot in the original story. If they really had eloped, he’d actually be impressed.

Lu Jingze wasn’t the kind of person who could endure hardship. Most likely, he ran away from home on impulse after being scolded by Uncle Lu.

【Jiang Mingyi】: He’ll be back home obediently in less than three days.

Uncle Lu’s still fuming and probably hasn’t cooled down yet. But once he calms down overnight, he’ll cancel all of Lu Jingze’s cards. Let’s see how that guy plans to support Bai Yumo then.

He might even need Bai Yumo to take care of him instead.

【Pei Shiqing】: True, the last time Lu Jingze ran away, he didn’t even last three days. Let’s see if he can break his own record this time.

The two of them began to gossip gleefully and even tried to place bets, but since they both bet he wouldn’t last more than three days, the bet was null and void.

【Pei Shiqing】: Speaking of which, weren’t you going to meet that handsome guy? What happened next?

Jiang Mingyi’s grip on his phone slipped, and it fell onto his pillow, bouncing a few times.

He glanced at the tightly closed bathroom door.

【Jiang Mingyi】: What handsome guy? [What are you talking about? I don’t understand.jpg]

【Pei Shiqing】: Didn’t you say you were going to meet that broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, long-legged hottie to start a romance?

Staring at those words—”broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, long-legged”—Jiang Mingyi’s mind instantly flashed to the sexy image of Shen Xingyan taking off his shirt and stepping into the bathroom.

He quickly rubbed his slightly itchy nose and started typing nervously.

【Jiang Mingyi】: I’m too young to be looking for handsome guys. Desire and appetite… Not good, not good.

Pei Shiqing: …..
Wasn’t it you who wanted to fall in love with a hottie?

【Pei Shiqing】: Oh, I get it. You couldn’t find a handsome guy, right? [Schadenfreude.jpg]

Jiang Mingyi pouted.
Not only did I find him, he’s in the bathroom of my room…
And we’re going to sleep in the same bed tonight.

He furiously typed that out, almost hit send—
But caught himself just in time and hit undo.

Whew. That was close.

There’s no way he’d ever tell Judge Time Master that the guy he fell for was actually Shen Xingyan.

Ah—
How could it be Shen Xingyan?

Jiang Mingyi, devastated, buried his head under the pillow and let out a muffled groan.

It was rare for him to be attracted to someone’s looks so strongly. But of all people—it had to be his adoptive parents’ son.

As the sole heir of the Shen family, Shen Xingyan was top-tier in every aspect.

Background, looks, career—he was the crème de la crème of the imperial capital.

But—
Rabbits don’t eat the grass by their own burrow.

He had always held a grudge over what happened back then. That “grass” didn’t just seem unappetizing—he wanted to stomp on it a few times.

In his mind, a little figure jumped out—a bunny with long ears, hopping angrily, stomping hard on that piece of grass.

Just as the bunny was having fun stomping—
The pillow on his head was suddenly lifted away.

“You sleep in an interesting position,” a low, amused voice came from above, with a hint of laughter that wasn’t even trying to hide.

Because of how he was lying, Jiang Mingyi’s shirt had ridden up, exposing a small patch of his fair, tender waist.

Shen Xingyan’s gaze paused on the small curve of his lower back for a few seconds before finally looking away.

Jiang Mingyi, startled by the voice, flipped over suddenly and looked up—right into the tall figure looming over him.

The man wasn’t wearing anything except for a pure white towel loosely wrapped around his waist. The abs and the V-line that Jiang Mingyi had just seen earlier were now right in his face.

His gaze uncontrollably landed on those abs.
—He counted them. Six!
And those two V-lines… they led straight downward.

Except—
He couldn’t see where they ended.
—What a shame.

Shen Xingyan noticed his blatant stare and the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

“I asked you earlier if I looked good, and you didn’t answer. So I’ll ask again now.”

As he spoke, he slowly leaned down, and in an instant, the distance between them closed to the point where even their breaths mingled.

“Do I look good?”

Shen Xingyan’s hair was still damp, and water trickled down from the strands—
Drip.

One drop landed right on Jiang Mingyi’s chest, blooming like an ink stain.

Jiang Mingyi’s heart skipped a beat and went into chaos. In a panic, he shoved the man away.

“Don’t get so close to me—I… I can’t even breathe.”

He swallowed the second half of his sentence and quickly climbed out of bed, putting as much distance as possible between himself and Shen Xingyan.

In an attempt to sound casual, he grumbled, “Don’t get the bed wet. How are we supposed to sleep if it’s soaked?”

A patch of his shirt was already wet.
So annoying.

Seeing how flustered and amusing his reaction was, Shen Xingyan let out a hearty laugh that echoed in the room.
Immediately, he was met with a glare.

Shen Xingyan finally held back his laughter and didn’t push for an answer to his earlier question. Instead, he grabbed a towel and began drying his hair.

“Didn’t I ask you to bring my clothes in earlier? Where are they?”

He looked around the room but didn’t see them anywhere.

Clothes? What clothes?

Jiang Mingyi paused, then innocently replied, “Auntie Wang didn’t bring them.”

Shen Xingyan’s hand froze mid-motion.
“Maybe she forgot.”

He could go get the clothes himself, but instead he said to Jiang Mingyi, “Then could I trouble my dear little brother to fetch them for me?”

“Why should I go?”

Shen Xingyan pointed at the towel around his waist.
“Would you really have the heart to let your brother walk out like this?”

Jiang Mingyi really wanted to say “I absolutely could,” but after thinking for a second, he reluctantly agreed.
He didn’t want to scar Auntie Wang’s eyes.

Before walking out the door, he pointed at the bed and said, “While I’m gone, don’t even think about going near my bed.”

Shen Xingyan raised both hands in mock surrender and said helplessly, “Alright, alright. I’ll stay right here and won’t move.”

Jiang Mingyi was finally satisfied.

After the person left, Shen Xingyan casually tossed the half-damp towel back into the bathroom, then began to examine the entire room.

He could vaguely recognize traces of the childhood layout, but the room now had many unfamiliar decorations.

He recalled when Jiang Mingyi first came to the Shen family—how he had excitedly decorated a child’s room for him.

In the blink of an eye, that little child had grown into an adult.

For a moment, he felt a surreal sense of time passing, like a lifetime had gone by.

On the desk was a thick notebook with a combination lock. It showed signs of frequent use.

The cover had a large star on it, and in the center of the star was a scribbled character.

“His handwriting hasn’t improved at all since he was little.”
Shen Xingyan recognized the character “Yi” immediately, and a faint smile touched his deep, dark eyes.

He wasn’t someone who liked to pry into others’ privacy, so he quickly returned the notebook to the desk.

On the bookshelf nearby, a few books were placed—they looked brand new, clearly just for display.

However, some toy figures had been arranged with care.

Seeing the one placed right in the middle, Shen Xingyan walked over.

It was a birthday gift he had brought back for Jiang Mingyi three years ago when he returned to the country. He had thought it would be rejected.

When Jiang Mingyi came back with the clothes, he didn’t see anyone in the room.

But he heard the sound of a hairdryer coming from the bathroom.

He walked to the bathroom door and shouted toward the person inside,
“I brought the clothes back.”

Without waiting to see if Shen Xingyan heard him, he just placed them on the shelf.

Shen Xingyan turned off the hairdryer and responded gently, “My little brother is so thoughtful.”

Jiang Mingyi pretended not to hear, walking straight back to the bed, frowning at the two-meter-wide mattress.

It looked like he would have to share the bed with Shen Xingyan tonight. Since he couldn’t refuse, he had to come up with his own solution.

A few minutes later, Shen Xingyan came out after changing, only to see that a mysterious “dividing line” had appeared on the wide bed, splitting it in two.

Jiang Mingyi looked proudly at his creation and turned to Shen Xingyan.
“See? I sleep on this side, you sleep on that side. We don’t interfere with each other.”

If there’s a policy from above, he had his countermeasure.

Sharing a bed was no big deal.

Shen Xingyan’s brow twitched uncontrollably.

He looked at the boy’s bright, animated expression and rubbed his forehead helplessly.

“Are you a primary school student?”
This kind of behavior—he had only seen girls do it back in elementary school.

Jiang Mingyi knew he was calling him childish, but he didn’t mind—he was enjoying himself.

“No, I’m a good baby in kindergarten now.”

Feeling smug, Jiang Mingyi headed to the bathroom.
“Baby is going to get all clean now. Big brother, you can go to sleep in peace. Don’t miss baby too much.”

Once the bathroom door closed, he sent a message to Pei Shiqing.

Pie Shiqing, who hadn’t heard from him for a while, had started playing a farm game. When he saw this random emoji, he was completely confused.

Ever since Shen Xingyan appeared, he had felt like he was being constantly outmaneuvered.

Now that he had finally managed to outplay Shen Xingyan, Jiang Mingyi was in an extremely good mood.

Ding—a new notification popped up.

It was a transfer alert.

At the same time, a WeChat message appeared.

[Lu Jingze]: Jiang Mingyi, I’ve returned the one million yuan to Yumo. You’re not allowed to use this matter to threaten him again.

Jiang Mingyi narrowed his long, peach-blossom-shaped eyes and tapped the screen quickly.

On the other end, Lu Jingze was about to add some more harsh words—only to discover that he’d been blocked.

“Fuck, Jiang Mingyi, you’ve got guts.”

The next day, Lu Jingze discovered that all his bank cards had been frozen. Panic instantly set in.

Bai Yumo looked at him anxiously and asked,
“Young Master Lu, what should we do now?”

Lu Jingze forced himself to stay calm.
“It’s fine. I’ll call Jiang Mingyi and ask him to return that million yuan to me.”

After speaking, he stepped aside to make the call.

The phone was picked up quickly, and he hurried to speak: “Jiang Mingyi, I still need that one million from last night. Can you transfer it back to me?”

Jiang Mingyi, still half-asleep, cracked open his eyes and glanced at the caller ID.

“Annoying.”

He hung up immediately.

Lying back down, his foot accidentally kicked something.

Thud—a heavy object fell to the floor.

His brain took a second to register it.

He shot up from the bed, half-covering his eyes as he looked toward the other side.

Turns out—it was just a pillow.

He let out a long breath, the tension in his chest easing.

Wait… why a pillow?

He searched all over the bed and underneath it.

Where was Shen Xingyan???