ALCSRB Chapter 82

Shen Xingyan leaned forward slightly, trapping him against the seat, and lifted his chin.

Their noses brushed, and all they could see in each other’s eyes was… each other.

This posture made Jiang Mingyi inexplicably nervous.

No matter what, they were still in public. Even though the divider blocked others from seeing them directly, he still felt anxious someone might catch a glimpse.

His arms, braced on either side, were starting to ache slightly. Jiang Mingyi blinked carefully, lips pressed together, wanting to say something—but worried that even the slightest movement would cause his lips to brush against Shen Xingyan’s.

Just then, Shen Xingyan’s lips curved slightly, and he moved them ever so slightly.

“Just words, huh?”

That last syllable, dripping with a sultry nasal tone, slipped into Jiang Mingyi’s ear and made his face flush uncontrollably.

His lips pressed even tighter.

A hand slowly moved up from under his chin and stopped at his tightly pressed lips, gently prying them apart.

Warm fingertips teased lightly, and before long, they slipped inside.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes widened instantly—he could clearly feel that the finger, very much not his own, was playing with his tongue like it was some kind of toy.

Without thinking, Jiang Mingyi bit down on the increasingly audacious finger and mumbled, “Don’t do that.”

His pearly white teeth didn’t bite hard, but before Shen Xingyan pulled his finger away, he scraped it along the soft inside of Jiang Mingyi’s mouth—startling him so much his throat tightened.

Once the distance between them widened just a little, Jiang Mingyi was finally able to breathe heavily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Xingyan’s gaze fixed on the finger now covered in his saliva.

That look made Jiang Mingyi panic a little, and he quickly grabbed a tissue to wipe it clean.

Shen Xingyan reluctantly looked away, the teasing words already at the tip of his tongue—when suddenly, an awkward noise broke the intimate moment between them.

“…” Jiang Mingyi held his stomach.

He had been too busy whispering secrets with Pei Mingyue earlier to order food, and now his stomach was voicing its complaint.

Shen Xingyan glanced at the empty table and said, “So you talked with Pei Mingyue for an hour and didn’t eat anything?”

“Does a glass of water count?”

Shen Xingyan quickly called over the waiter and ordered two set meals.

After the waiter left with the menu, he looked at the young man who was now sipping water with both hands, and said, “Don’t you think you should tell me what you two talked about?”

Jiang Mingyi froze mid-sip and started darting his eyes everywhere—except at Shen Xingyan.

His guilty expression was so obvious that Shen Xingyan couldn’t even pretend not to see it.

After a quiet moment, Shen Xingyan chuckled—his laughter laced with helplessness and a hint of indulgence.

“Forget it. No matter what you two talked about, you’re still having lunch with me today.”

The simplicity of that statement, and the contentment behind it, made Jiang Mingyi’s heart ache a little.

“I’ll tell you one day,” he whispered as he reached out and gently grabbed the hand Shen Xingyan had resting on the table. “It’s still a secret right now, but it’ll come to light eventually.”

Jiang Mingyi didn’t know exactly when Pei Mingyue would reveal the secret, but he was sure it wouldn’t be too far off.

He looked forward to that day.

The meals were quickly served. The two quietly ate together, and afterward, Shen Xingyan brought him back to the office.

At this point, there were still about thirty minutes left of lunch break.

Jiang Mingyi followed Shen Xingyan into the office. As soon as the door closed, Shen Xingyan took off his suit jacket and hung it on the side. Then he turned around and asked, “Do you want to take a nap?”

“Sure.”

Having just resolved a big issue and eaten a satisfying meal, Jiang Mingyi was in an incredibly good mood.

He opened the door to the break room, but when he turned his head, he saw that Shen Xingyan had already sat down in his office chair.

“You’re not going to nap?” he asked.

Shen Xingyan’s gaze moved away from the computer and landed on the young man standing outside the lounge room door. “You go ahead and sleep, I’m not tired.”

Jiang Mingyi gave a quiet “Oh” in response and had no choice but to enter the lounge alone.

The large bed inside was soft and comfortable, but Jiang Mingyi couldn’t fall asleep. After tossing and turning for a while, he simply pulled out his phone.

Jiang Mingyi: If your brother does anything weird recently, make sure to let me know.

Pei Shiqing, who was at home gaming with friends, stared at the message in confusion.

[Pei Shiqing]: Are you sure you’re asking about my brother?

Jiang Mingyi: That’s right. Him.

[Pei Shiqing]: What are you planning?

What was with that suspicious tone?

It wasn’t like he wanted to do anything to Pei Mingyue—he just wanted to check on his efficiency.
But Jiang Mingyi couldn’t tell him directly that he’d met with Pei Mingyue today and that a world-shattering secret had come to light. So he had to beat around the bush.

Jiang Mingyi: Nothing much. I’m just curious if your brother, who’s normally so cold and distant, would ever do something weird.

On the other end of the phone, Pei Shiqing was now frowning deeply. Never mind if his brother was capable of weird behavior—Jiang Mingyi’s words were weird enough as it was.

[Pei Shiqing]: Don’t tell me you and Brother Shen had a fight?

Maybe his brother happened to witness the argument, and now Jiang Mingyi was taking it out on him?

Jiang Mingyi stared at the new message, completely puzzled.

Where did that come from?

How could he and Shen Xingyan possibly be fighting?

Jiang Mingyi: Don’t overthink it. We’re doing great.

Pei Shiqing just assumed Jiang Mingyi was refusing to admit it and was deliberately emphasizing how “great” things were.

[Pei Shiqing]: Mhm, mhm, I get it.

Yep. Just a classic little lover’s spat. Totally normal. He got it.

He was pretty sure he and Pei Shiqing weren’t even having the same conversation. Otherwise, how could every reply feel this bizarre?

Finally, Jiang Mingyi put his phone down.

Forget it. Better to just take a nap.

He ended up sleeping deeply. When he opened his eyes again, his brain was still half asleep.

In a daze, he opened the lounge door and headed straight toward the familiar figure behind the desk.

Lifting his arms, he wrapped them around Shen Xingyan and leaned into his embrace, rubbing against him before dozing off again.

There were faint marks of sleep on his face and a small, satisfied smile on his lips.

Shen Xingyan froze for a moment. Then his arms instinctively closed around the boy, pulling him in.

When he looked up, his gaze met with Shen Jili’s—who was clearly stunned.

“Dad,” Shen Xingyan called out.

Shen Jili jolted. Looking at the younger son curled up asleep in the older son’s arms, he was utterly baffled. “Is Xiao Yi… sleepwalking?”

“He’s just groggy from sleep,” Shen Xingyan replied as he picked him up. “I’ll take him back to the lounge.”

Shen Jili watched his eldest son’s practiced movements. He was just about to remark, “You’re doing a great job as a big brother,” when the lounge door shut.

He’s taking him back… and closing the door?

After closing the door, Shen Xingyan walked straight to the bed and gently laid the sleepy boy—curled up like a lazy piglet—back down.

But the moment he did, his arm was grabbed tightly.

Seeing that Jiang Mingyi was still asleep with his eyes closed, a low chuckle slipped out of Shen Xingyan’s throat. He couldn’t help teasing, “How can you be this restless even during a nap?”

He poked the boy’s soft, fair cheek with a finger. Then his gaze lingered for a few seconds on those lightly pursed, rosy lips.

In the end, he couldn’t resist leaning down and gently covering them with his own.

But in his sleep, Jiang Mingyi felt something invading his mouth—and instinctively bit down.

A muffled grunt of pain followed.

When Shen Xingyan finally stepped out of the lounge, Shen Jili immediately noticed the red mark on his lips.

“Ah Yan, what happened to your mouth?”

It had looked perfectly fine just a moment ago—how did it suddenly end up wounded?

Shen Xingyan licked the wound with the tip of his tongue, brushing it off casually. “I bit it by accident just now.”

“You’re a grown man, and you still manage to bite your own lip?” Shen Jili scoffed.

Shen Xingyan: “…”

Shen Jili continued, trying to console him, “It’s fine. I’ll tell Aunt Wang to make more meat for dinner tonight—you’ll be good as new.”

Shen Xingyan: “…”

Shen Xingyan: “Dad, can we get back to the actual matter at hand?”

“Oh, right. Where were we?”

—

That evening, when Pei Mingyue got home, Pei Shiqing was sprawled out on the sofa playing on his phone.

Hearing movement at the door, he immediately jumped up from the couch.

“Bro, you’re home early today?” Pei Shiqing’s bright eyes sparkled with surprise as he shuffled over in his slippers.

The sudden closeness and the warm breath that came with it made Pei Mingyue freeze for a brief second.

“I finished everything at work, so I left at a normal time today.”

“That’s great!” Pei Shiqing beamed. “I was just thinking I’d have to eat dinner alone again tonight—so lonely. But now that you’re home, I have company.”

His eyes curved with a small smile, clearly delighted that Pei Mingyue was back.
His gaze sparkled as he looked at him, filled with pure happiness and contentment.

Pei Mingyue quickly looked away, afraid that if he stared too long, he’d give in to the urge to pull him into his arms and kiss him thoroughly.

But not yet.
There were still some very important things he needed to confirm.

“What did you do at home today?”

As he walked, he loosened his tie. Pei Shiqing followed closely behind him, like a cheerful puppy.

“What else can I do at home? Just messing around on my phone, really.”

The weather outside was scorching, and Pei Shiqing couldn’t be bothered to go out.
Most days, he just stayed home gaming to pass the time.

Then, tugging lightly at the hem of Pei Mingyue’s shirt, Pei Shiqing said, “Bro, can I come with you to the office tomorrow?”

Pei Mingyue still looked over despite the faint tug on his clothes. He saw Pei Shiqing hanging his head low, his voice muffled and dull. A pang hit Pei Mingyue’s chest.

“I have some very important things to handle over the next few days.”

The hand that had been tugging on his shirt quietly dropped away, like a little abandoned puppy—drenched in disappointment and helplessness.

Pei Mingyue frowned slightly, and his usually cool voice softened with a hint of reassurance.
“I’ll come home on time every day.”

“Really?” The previously downcast boy immediately perked up, lifting his head with bright, hopeful eyes.

“Mm.” Pei Mingyue nodded gently.

“Yay! You’re the best, bro!” Pei Shiqing threw his arms around him excitedly. “That means I’ll get to see you every day—I won’t feel lonely anymore.”

Pei Mingyue’s arms hovered awkwardly in mid-air before he finally rested them lightly on Pei Shiqing’s head, patting him.

The touch was so gentle it made Pei Shiqing’s heart race. Embarrassed by his own impulsive hug, he blushed a little.

That splash of red on his earlobe caught Pei Mingyue’s eyes. His pupils constricted slightly.

He recalled the secret Jiang Mingyi had revealed to him earlier that day—”You and Pei Shiqing are not real brothers.”

Pei Mingyue didn’t know how Jiang Mingyi had found out. But he would get to the bottom of it.

And if it turned out to be true—then maybe fate really was on their side, allowing lovers to become family.