ALCSRB Chapter 71

After a short break, the six of them regrouped. A server came to lead them to the dining hall.

Jiang Mingyi didn’t walk next to Shen Xingyan this time; instead, he dragged Pei Shiqing to the back, letting the others go on ahead.

The two whispered quietly.

“So? Did you merge the beds yet?” Jiang Mingyi raised his eyebrows at him, a hint of gleeful mischief in his tone.

Pei Shiqing almost tripped over his own feet at the mention. He barely managed to steady himself, a faint blush blooming on his fair cheeks.

He sneaked a glance at the tall, elegant figure walking ahead of them, then shook his head. “I didn’t have the nerve to bring it up.”

Jiang Mingyi’s face fell dramatically. “Ugh — at this rate, how are you ever gonna get anywhere?”

“That’s easy for you two — you’re a couple, you don’t have to hide anything,” Pei Shiqing mumbled, lowering his voice like he was afraid someone would overhear. “We’re brothers. Just staying in a couple’s suite already feels weird enough. If I really told him, ‘Hey, these beds can merge — wanna sleep together?’ Don’t you think that’s… awkward? I’d be mortified.”

“You’re just a coward!” Jiang Mingyi shot him a look. “With you dragging this out forever, don’t wait till your brother’s so old he’s forced to marry someone else — and you haven’t even taken the first step.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Pei Shiqing came to a stop beside him.

Jiang Mingyi looked up and saw him standing there with a miserable expression — and immediately softened a little.

“Hey — I was just saying. Your brother’s not even thirty yet. He’s got at least a couple more years before he even thinks about marriage.”

“Actually…” Pei Shiqing hesitated. “I accidentally overheard my dad mentioning an arranged marriage for my brother a while back.”

In families like theirs, marriage was rarely about romance — even their parents had married for business interests.

The fact that his brother had reached this age without a fiancée was already pretty rare.

“What?! Your dad’s already scouting potential matches for him?”

Jiang Mingyi’s voice shot up half an octave — loud enough that the people in front turned around to look.

Pei Shiqing met Pei Mingyue’s gaze and froze on the spot, suddenly at a loss.

Did his brother just hear all that?

Meanwhile, Shen Xingyan, seeing the two standing so close together, felt his mood sink — even though he knew perfectly well they were just friends.

He strode over, reached out, and pulled Jiang Mingyi to his side. “If you’re gonna walk, just walk properly. You stand this close whispering and you’re gonna trip over your own feet.”

Jiang Mingyi got scolded for no reason, and his curiosity was instantly snuffed out.

He glared angrily at Shen Xingyan. “How am I that dumb? Trip myself up, really.”

“What if you accidentally fall, hmm?” Shen Xingyan said lightly. “If you did, wouldn’t my heart ache?”

Jiang Mingyi was just about to snap back, ‘Don’t jinx it with your crow’s mouth,’ but the second half of that sentence doused his anger with a sizzling splash.

This guy — how could he just drop sweet talk like that in public, with everyone watching?

A little flustered, Jiang Mingyi shot him a sidelong glance, then obediently let himself be led into the restaurant.

Pei Shiqing had just shown a hint of envy when he met another scrutinizing gaze.

“Ge,” he walked over, lowering his voice.

Pei Mingyue looked down at him, silent for a moment before asking, “What were you talking about just now? You looked a bit down.”

“Ah? Really?” Pei Shiqing played dumb.

Pei Mingyue stared at him deeply. Seeing that his expression no longer seemed as upset as before, he let the matter drop.

“We’re out to have fun — just enjoy yourself, don’t overthink.” With that, he turned and stepped into the restaurant.

Pei Shiqing froze for a second before following.

An Shi had arranged everything in advance; the table was laden with dishes Jiang Mingyi and Pei Shiqing had listed off as cravings on the way here.

A few seafood dishes in particular had the two of them exclaiming over how delicious they were.

Jiang Mingyi cracked open a crab shell, then dropped the meat into Shen Xingyan’s bowl. “Ge, there’s roe — you eat it.”

He grinned, sucked a bit of sauce off his finger, and lowered his head to battle with the crab legs.

But barely half a minute into the fight, a hand reached over from the side.

Jiang Mingyi watched, speechless, as the crab he’d been working on was taken away.

“… …”

I already gave you the good stuff in the shell — now you’re stealing my crab too?

An Shi was savoring a fresh prawn peeled by An Jiancheng. When he saw Jiang Mingyi’s dumbfounded expression, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Since when do older brothers fight their younger brothers for food…”

A second later, a piece of crab leg meat landed back in Jiang Mingyi’s bowl.

An Shi switched his tone, “…obviously, it’s older brothers who serve their younger brothers.”

Jiang Mingyi picked up his chopsticks and popped the crab leg into his mouth, praising as he chewed, “Ge, you’re the best.”

Shen Xingyan smiled gently. “These crab shells are tricky — let me peel the meat for you so you can eat it easily.”

Jiang Mingyi instantly beamed, stuffing his face while showering Shen Xingyan with praise: “Ge, you’re amazing,” “Ge, you’re the best,” “Ge, the meat you peel tastes extra sweet.”

His chattering praise made An Shi rub his arms to chase away the goosebumps.

“Isn’t that a bit much? It’s just a crab — you make it sound like your ge is peeling you dragon meat,” he couldn’t help but grumble.

Jiang Mingyi finished off a piece of crab leg meat and shot him a sidelong look. “So you get to eat shrimp your ge peeled for you, but me complimenting my ge bothers you, huh?”

“You didn’t see little Pei over there eating quietly — it’s just you squawking away.”

An Shi pointed at the Pei brothers sitting calmly on the other side, gesturing for him to learn from them.

Being called out by name, Pei Shiqing choked on a piece of crab meat, coughed a few times, and finally managed to swallow, his whole face flushing pink.

Pei Mingyue poured him a cup of warm water and handed it over. “Have some water first.”

Pei Shiqing took the cup under the scrutiny of several pairs of eyes, gulped down a big mouthful, then softly thanked Pei Mingyue.

Pei Mingyue merely hummed in acknowledgment, unfazed, and continued eating.

Jiang Mingyi withdrew his gaze and said to An Shi, “They’re all lovey-dovey — you’re the only one yapping so much, nearly made my buddy choke.”

An Shi was about to snap back when his mouth was suddenly stuffed with a peeled shrimp.

“Eat properly. Or do you want to choke too?” An Jiancheng’s low, rumbling voice cut off their pointless bickering on the spot.

An Shi chewed the shrimp forcefully, swallowed, then grumbled at An Jiancheng with a hint of grievance, “I swear you’ve been kind of fierce with me these past two days — always siding with outsiders. Do you not love me anymore?”

One greasy paw sneaked over to cling to An Jiancheng, but before it could reach him, it was firmly caught.

An Jiancheng lowered his head, voice brushing right by his ear. “Seems like I went too soft on you last night, letting you have the energy to think about nonsense like this.”

The implied threat in those words shut An Shi up immediately.

Lunch dragged on until nearly one in the morning.

Jiang Mingyi lay on Shen Xingyan’s chest with a face full of sleepy satisfaction, his little belly stuffed tight.

He couldn’t help it — the food here was just too good; he’d eaten a bit more than he should.

Shen Xingyan rubbed his stomach clockwise to help him digest, chuckling under his breath. “Gluttonous little kid.”

“I’m an adult — don’t call me a kid,” Jiang Mingyi murmured, eyes half-closed in bliss, though he grumbled with a pout, “And this isn’t being gluttonous — it’s called not wasting food.”

Such fine moral character, he thought smugly, mentally giving himself a thumbs up.

Shen Xingyan let out a soft laugh. “So you’ll dare do it again next time, huh?”

“As long as it’s tasty, I dare.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than his lips were gently pinched.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes flew open, staring up at Shen Xingyan in surprise, a ‘What are you pinching my lips for?’ just about to tumble out — but in the next second, he caught the look hidden in those dark eyes.

This guy… looking at me like that — don’t tell me he wants to kiss me?

His thin lips pressed together for a moment, a tiny bit of tension fluttering inside him.

There are still other people around — that’d be so embarrassing.

But Shen Xingyan simply rubbed the lingering feel of his fingertips together, swiftly suppressing the emotion in his eyes, then continued massaging his stomach as if nothing had happened.

Seeing this, Jiang Mingyi felt a flicker of disappointment. His lips pouted on their own — then he heard a soft laugh.

Only then did he realize that his reaction was a little inappropriate — like he was desperate for a kiss or something.

What if I misread his vibe just now? That’d be awkward as hell.

He pressed his lips tightly into a straight line, silently reminding himself to maintain a shred of dignity.

Shen Xingyan lowered his gaze, catching all the subtle shifts in Jiang Mingyi’s expressions, a faint smile glimmering in his eyes.

“You shouldn’t soak in the hot springs right after eating. You can nap for a bit.”

The restaurant was a bit of a walk from their suite, though not terribly far — but Jiang Mingyi was feeling too lazy to walk back.

So he simply shifted his position and laid his head right down on Shen Xingyan’s thigh.

“Then I’ll snooze for ten minutes,” he added, deliberately stressing the time limit.

Shen Xingyan gave a soft hum in response, watching him close his eyes, while his hand continued to rub his stomach.

When Jiang Mingyi opened his eyes again, half an hour had already passed.

They were the only ones left in the restaurant.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?”

He sat up and checked the time. Seeing Shen Xingyan still sitting there without moving, he was suddenly reminded of that other time he’d fallen asleep on his lap.

“I didn’t make your leg go numb, did I?” he asked, a little worried, poking at Shen Xingyan’s thigh — only for his hand to be caught in a firm grip.

“Little rascal, what are you trying to do?” The voice was low and husky.

“I just wanted to check if it’s really numb.” Jiang Mingyi grinned cheekily. “If it is, I’ll help you up.”

He offered his arm to him, but Shen Xingyan just glanced at it and didn’t budge.

“Just help me up?”

“What else?” Jiang Mingyi met his gaze, blanking for a few seconds. “Don’t tell me you want me to carry you.”

Shen Xingyan raised an eyebrow, saying nothing, just watching him.

Jiang Mingyi’s face scrunched up. “I can’t carry you — you’re too heavy.”

His arms and legs were all skinny — no way he could pull off a feat of brute strength like that.

“Then let’s do it another way.” Shen Xingyan’s lips curved ever so slightly.

Jiang Mingyi didn’t suspect a thing and asked, “What way?”

As long as it didn’t involve lifting or hugging or anything that needed brute force, he was fine with it.

Just as he was thinking that, he heard Shen Xingyan say slowly, “Kiss me.”

“Ah?”

Jiang Mingyi froze for a second. “How’s that supposed to help? Am I supposed to kiss your thigh?”

His gaze dropped to the man’s long, straight leg wrapped in black suit pants — it did look rather nice — but he’d never heard of kissing someone’s leg to cure numbness.

Was this some weird folk remedy?

But then again, last time he hadn’t said anything about this either…

Wait — last time, their relationship was still just “brothers,” wasn’t it?

Shen Xingyan immediately read the nonsense playing out in his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What are you imagining? I meant here.” His slender finger tapped his own lips.

“Oh!” Jiang Mingyi realized, “You should’ve said that earlier — I almost got the wrong idea.”