ALVSRB Chapter 49

After lunch, it was already late in the day.

The four of them split up and went their separate ways.

When they got home, Jiang Mingyi blinked in confusion as he watched the man step out of the car directly.

“Ge, aren’t you going back to the office?”

It was only a bit past three—still far from the end of the workday.

“The afternoon work was already handled at the fish manor,” Shen Xingyan replied as he walked past him. The breeze stirred by his passing made Jiang Mingyi pause before realizing—so they really had been talking about work with Pei Mingyue.

Then what about him and Pei Shiqing? Were they just props in their work-play scenario?

Pfft—

Jiang Mingyi quickly shook off that bizarre thought and hurried after him.

“Ge, your job seems pretty chill, huh?” he tossed out casually, not expecting the man ahead to suddenly stop in his tracks.

He didn’t brake in time and crashed straight into Shen Xingyan’s solid back. The impact made his nose sting, and tears welled up instantly.

Shen Xingyan hadn’t expected him to bump into him. The words he was about to say got swallowed back. One hand reached out to steady Jiang Mingyi’s wobbly frame, the other pried at the boy’s hands covering his nose.

“Let me see.” His voice carried a trace of urgency.

Tears streamed down Jiang Mingyi’s face like little pearls, and his pitiful eyes looked up at Shen Xingyan. “Why’s your back so hard? It hurts.”

Though he was whining, he still loosened his hands and let Shen Xingyan examine him.

Shen Xingyan checked carefully. His nose was just a little red—thankfully, no bleeding.

The tears stopped, but his eyes still glistened with leftover moisture, giving him a soft, clear look that made Shen Xingyan feel an irresistible urge to reach out.

He tucked his hands behind his back and rubbed his fingertips together.

“Don’t walk around so absentmindedly.”

“I wasn’t!” Jiang Mingyi immediately retorted. “How was I supposed to know you’d suddenly stop?”

That was clearly Shen Xingyan’s fault—he wasn’t taking the blame for that.

Facing his stubborn glare, Shen Xingyan’s lips tugged into a faint smile, and he gave in: “You’re right. My bad.”

Seeing him admit defeat, Jiang Mingyi instantly puffed up with pride. “Exactly! I’m the victim here—I have the right to defend my personal rights.”

“But since you’ve already apologized, I’ll be the bigger person and forgive you.”

Under the sunlight, the boy tilted his head slightly, golden rays casting a soft glow across his face. In his bright, clear eyes was the reflection of Shen Xingyan’s striking features.

The two of them stared at each other. Shen Xingyan’s gaze instinctively dropped to those soft lips that had just been subconsciously licked by the tip of a tongue—moist, delicate lips that reminded him of the peach Jiang Mingyi had nibbled on when they left the fish manor.

The boy had taken a small bite back then, said it was delicious, and even lifted his hand to ask if Shen Xingyan wanted a taste.

He had refused at the time.

But if it were this peach in front of him right now, he didn’t have a single ounce of desire to say no.

Jiang Mingyi’s eyes curved as he basked in his own magnanimity. Those peach blossom eyes looked up at the tall, handsome man before him, and he couldn’t help thinking:

The way Ge’s looking at me… it’s just like how someone looks at the person they love. So gentle. Like he’s full of tenderness and affection.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, the corner of his lips was gently touched by a fingertip.

Though it was only a fleeting contact, he felt a jolt of electricity surge through his entire body, and in the next second, his knees went weak.

A pair of strong arms caught him just in time.

“What’s wrong?” A low voice rumbled above his head, warm breath brushing past his ear. Jiang Mingyi could feel his earlobes burning up.

He kept his eyes lowered, not daring to look at Shen Xingyan. He stammered, “N-Nothing…”

When Su Wanxin returned, she happened to see the two brothers standing by the courtyard gate. She had no idea what they were talking about, but they were standing very close.

“I know you two are close, but you don’t have to bond under the blazing sun,” she said casually. At that moment, Auntie Wang came out of the house to help her with the bags, and neither of them noticed the flicker of awkwardness that passed between the two brothers.

Jiang Mingyi was the first to speak up. “Mom, you bought so much stuff! Let me help you.”

He circled around Shen Xingyan and stepped forward.

“Sure, it’s all for you guys,” Su Wanxin said, handing him several bags. Jiang Mingyi immediately followed Auntie Wang into the house with the bags in tow.

Seeing her older son still rooted in place, Su Wanxin called out, “Ah-Yan, come in and see the nice things Mom bought.”

With that, she also went inside.

Shen Xingyan remained standing, unmoving. The fingers that had just brushed the boy’s soft lips now hung by his side, still tingling with the distinct sensation of that fleeting touch. Though brief, it was as if he’d been burned, and the tremor lingered.

He suddenly closed his eyes, tilting his head back and letting the scorching sunlight beat down on his face—as if the heat could somehow purify him, melting away the growing obsession festering in the depths of his heart.

Inside the living room, Jiang Mingyi looked at the new clothes one by one, full of amazement. “Mom, why did you buy so much?”

He roughly counted the bags—each of them had about four or five new outfits.

“Well, I saw this one looked nice, and that one looked good too… and before I knew it, I’d bought too much,” Su Wanxin said, a rare hint of sheepishness in her voice. “But it’s fine! The more clothes, the better. This way you two can mix and match and look great every day—what’s not to love?”

Jiang Mingyi suddenly sighed dramatically. “It’s a good thing I’m a boy. If I were a girl, the closet would never fit all the clothes you buy whenever you get in the mood to shop.”

He had heard some of the girls in class talk about how many clothes they had—dresses, skirts, miniskirts, all kinds that made his head spin.

Even Su Wanxin had a whole room dedicated to her wardrobe. The variety of clothes in there made Jiang Mingyi too embarrassed to even step inside, worried he might mess up the arrangement and not be able to put things back where they belonged.

“If you were a girl, I could dress you up even more,” Su Wanxin said a little wistfully. “But my Xiao Yi is so pretty that even as a boy, he’s dazzling enough to make people’s eyes blur.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw her older son finally appear and immediately called out to him, “Ah-Yan, don’t you think your little brother is really pretty? A handsome boy can be even more heart-fluttering than a girl.”

Shen Xingyan’s gaze swept over the tall, slender teen standing by the couch. Hearing his mother’s words, he silently agreed in his heart: He really is heart-fluttering.

But on the surface, he responded flatly, “A boy being too pretty isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Jiang Mingyi, who had been waiting to be praised: “…”

“Huh? What are you saying?” Su Wanxin glared at him in disbelief. “Don’t think that just because you’re good-looking, you can look down on pretty boys. Our Xiao Yi is refined. Do you even know what refined means?”

“One look and I can tell you don’t,” she added with dissatisfaction. “You’re just like your father—totally clueless when it comes to matters of the heart.”

“I still remember when we went on a date—I dressed up all pretty, and he told me I shouldn’t wear skirts because I walked too slowly. He even told me not to wear heels because I’d complain about sore feet. Men like you really are blind to be loved by someone.”

Su Wanxin was in the middle of her rant when a quiet little voice cut in, “Mom, you’re cursing yourself.”

“……”

Su Wanxin choked for a moment, glanced at her now-silent youngest son, then cleared her throat and said, “Anyway, both pretty boys and girls deserve to be pampered. You need to understand, your little brother’s type is in high demand. If someone snatches him away, you’ll regret it.”

Standing off to the side, Jiang Mingyi couldn’t help but feel that her words were getting a little ambiguous.

What did she mean by if someone snatches him away, you’ll regret it? It almost sounded like she was implying his brother liked him or something.

He glanced up sneakily at Shen Xingyan, who remained expressionless, clearly unaffected by anything their mom had said.

For some reason, a vague and indescribable feeling of disappointment stirred in his heart.

His fingers twisted behind his back, gripping so tightly they turned slightly white.

Jiang Mingyi, what nonsense are you thinking?

Stop it. Right now.

Su Wanxin, having vented enough, moved on from the topic and continued sorting the clothes with Auntie Wang.

Shen Xingyan let out a deep sigh inwardly. If he didn’t know that his mom was completely clueless about the person he actually liked, he would’ve seriously thought she was giving him a subtle push to go after Jiang Mingyi.

—

That evening, when Shen Jili got home and learned his wife had bought him a bunch of new clothes, he happily pulled Su Wanxin into his arms and planted a big kiss on her.

“Your mom’s got great taste—every single piece suits me perfectly.”

Su Wanxin smugly cast a glance at her eldest son, silently saying: See? That’s what a properly trained man looks like. Learn from your father.

Shen Xingyan ignored the lovey-dovey old couple and turned to the teenager watching them with envy. “Let’s eat. Dad won’t be able to focus on dinner until he’s done trying on clothes.”

Jiang Mingyi quickly hid the envy in his eyes and followed him into the dining room.

As soon as he sat down, a pair of chopsticks reached over and dropped a piece of broccoli into his bowl.

Then came the man’s low voice, “Eat something light tonight. You had too much at lunch.”

The image instantly popped into his mind—him curling up in Shen Xingyan’s arms after lunch, letting the other rub his belly to help with digestion, completely at ease.

It hadn’t felt like anything at the time, but thinking back on it now… there was something vaguely inappropriate and ambiguous about it.

Ahhh—

Why hadn’t he refused back then? Why did he accept it so comfortably?

It must’ve been because of Pei Shiqing and his older brother—they had been so natural about it, making him believe that having a brother rub your stomach was just a normal, everyday thing.

And Shen Xingyan! He clearly knew he wasn’t a little kid anymore, yet still offered to rub his belly. He must’ve been influenced by Pei Shiqing and the others too.

Next time he saw Pei Shiqing, he was definitely going to have a serious talk with him—what kind of brothers are that openly close and yet so… ambiguous?

Jiang Mingyi shoved those chaotic thoughts away, lowered his gaze to the piece of vibrant green broccoli in front of him, picked it up with his chopsticks, and popped it into his mouth.

After chewing and swallowing, he suddenly muttered, muffled and gruff, “I won’t eat too much tonight.”

Shen Xingyan was just about to say “Glad you know that,” when he heard the next line:

“So you don’t have to rub my belly to help me digest anymore, ge.”

The hand that had been reaching for food froze mid-air. Clearly, he hadn’t expected that to come up again.

Shen Xingyan looked at him in surprise—and with just one glance, he noticed the boy’s ears had turned red, and the blush was already creeping down to his neck.

That soft red, blooming on his fair skin, was so vivid it was impossible to ignore.

It was like a red plum blossom blooming on snow-covered branches in the dead of winter—so beautiful it was hard to look away.

“Xiao Yi, you…”