ALCSRB Chapter 61

Petty jerk. Giant bastard.

No wonder he suddenly showed up even though he was supposed to be at work.

For the rest of the walk, Jiang Mingyi trailed behind, glaring hard at Shen Xingyan’s back, mentally cursing him up and down.

“You’re back,” An Shi said as the two returned. He had just pocketed a ball.

His features were striking and seductive—just one glance upward, and his expression was already alluring.

Jiang Mingyi stared at him for a few seconds, then turned to glance at Shen Xingyan. A sour feeling welled up in his chest.

Alright, fine… they do look good together.

After a moment, he mumbled, “I’ve got something to do this afternoon. You two go ahead and play.”

Without waiting for either of them to react, he turned and left the billiard hall.

An Shi paused, holding the cue stick mid-air, and looked at Shen Xingyan with a confused expression. “Why do I feel like he’s a bit upset? Did you bully him or something?”

Shen Xingyan frowned, genuinely confused. “I didn’t do anything.”

An Shi clearly didn’t buy it and gave him a judging look. “Your little brother’s got a pretty good temper. You must’ve said something to upset him.”

Hearing that, Shen Xingyan paused in thought for a second, then said, “Forget it. You play on your own.”
With that, he turned and left as well.

Now both of them are acting weird. Kinda amusing, honestly.

He glanced around at the other tables in the billiard hall. Everyone else was in small groups. Was he really supposed to play alone?

Do I really have to suffer like this?

But if he chased after them, wouldn’t that interrupt the little couple’s bonding time?

“Well, even if you’re not official yet, I’d still be a third wheel. I’ll let you off the hook today.”

---

Jiang Mingyi hadn’t gone far when Shen Xingyan caught up with him.

“Why aren’t you keeping An Shi company?” he asked, glancing behind Shen Xingyan and seeing he was alone.

“Why should I keep him company?” Shen Xingyan retorted, his dark eyes studying Jiang Mingyi’s face. He had a pretty good idea what was going on.

“You and him…” Jiang Mingyi started, then stopped himself.

He glanced around—several guys and girls were walking toward them.

“Hey, Jiang Mingyi!”

One of the girls in a white dress waved at him, smiling sweetly with a delicate, pretty face.

“You…” Her eyes lingered on Jiang Mingyi, then after a couple of seconds, she noticed the man standing beside him. “Oh, you guys are shopping too?”

The man’s gaze was cold and sharp, which made her instinctively uneasy.

She subtly turned away from him, avoiding his eyes. “Right, we’re having a get-together today. Jiang Mingyi, do you want to come join us?”

The boys and girls behind them exchanged glances.

The whole point of today’s gathering was to set up Zhang Tao and Yu Qing, but now Yu Qing had invited Jiang Mingyi—how was this supposed to work?

Some clearly hostile gazes were directed at Jiang Mingyi. He glanced at them. They were all classmates, so of course he knew Zhang Tao saw him as a rival in love. Unfortunately, he had zero interest in Yu Qing.

Yu Qing said, “Of course, if it’s inconvenient for you guys, don’t force yourselves. I just thought it’d be more fun with more people.”

“How could Young Master Jiang possibly mingle with us bottom-feeders?” Zhang Tao sneered as Jiang Mingyi stayed silent. “Yu Qing, you were kind enough to invite him, but he’s probably not interested.”

Everyone at Peking University knew Jiang Mingyi had a sky-high ego and always looked down on people from ordinary backgrounds.

Zhang Tao hated the way Jiang Mingyi carried himself—arrogant, condescending. So what if he was rich? He was still a lousy student, a useless second-generation rich kid.

Jiang Mingyi noticed the undisguised loathing in Zhang Tao’s eyes and suddenly said, “I’m free. I’ll join you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Shen Xingyan frowning.

“If you’ve got something to do, go ahead. I’ll hang out with my classmates,” he said casually.

Just as he finished speaking, Shen Xingyan interjected, “It’s nothing. I’ll go with you.”

That one sentence drew curious glances from the rest of the group.

Yu Qing asked, “And this is…?”

The man was dressed in a black suit, exuding a powerful, distinguished aura—clearly a business professional, completely different from their student vibe.

“My brother,” Jiang Mingyi replied indifferently.

Yu Qing instinctively blurted out, “Brother Jiang…”

“I’m Shen,” Shen Xingyan said flatly.

For a moment, the atmosphere turned awkward.

So the rumors were true—Jiang Mingyi had been adopted. Was this “brother” the son of the adoptive family?

The dynamic between the two seemed a bit… strained. Not exactly brotherly.

They’d heard the gossip before, but since it was a different social class, they hadn’t taken it seriously.

Now, standing with the actual subjects of that gossip, they couldn’t help but feel a mix of awkwardness and curiosity.

“Sorry,” Yu Qing offered a polite smile. “If you don’t mind, Shen-ge, please join us. We’ve got a private room over there.”

–

The private room wasn’t big. Originally, there were eight of them. Now, with two more, they totaled ten.

As soon as they entered, Zhang Tao eagerly pulled out a chair for Yu Qing.

Yu Qing gave him a polite smile and turned to Jiang Mingyi, asking, “You guys haven’t had lunch yet, right? We had the private room set up early, so let’s eat first. We can play some games afterward.”

It was already past noon, and although Jiang Mingyi had eaten something earlier with An Shi, he wasn’t particularly hungry.
He simply nodded in response.

Not long after they sat down, the waiter began bringing in the dishes.

A few of the guys immediately ordered alcohol and poured drinks for themselves.

Shen Xingyan, on the other hand, asked the waiter for a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and placed it in front of Jiang Mingyi.

The fruity aroma of the orange juice quickly filled the room and instantly drew everyone’s attention.

Yu Qing looked surprised. “Everyone else is drinking. You’re not?” Even the girls were sipping canned beer.

Zhang Tao sneered, “Young Master Jiang obviously can’t handle this kind of cheap booze.”

He had a full glass of red wine in front of him, and the disdain on his face was just as obvious—practically screaming from the rim of his wineglass. It was impossible to miss.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Yu Qing scolded with a frown. “Whether someone drinks or not is their own choice. You can’t force it on Jiang Mingyi.”

Zhang Tao didn’t want to upset her, so he shut his mouth with a sour expression, though all his suppressed frustration was now aimed straight at Jiang Mingyi.

“The wine is indeed kind of cheap,” Shen Xingyan said coolly, turning a frosty gaze on Zhang Tao, who had been causing trouble the whole time. “But it’s not undrinkable.”

“My little brother is delicate and precious, so of course this low-end stuff isn’t for him,” he added, grabbing a bottle of red wine with elegant ease and pouring himself a glass. “I’ll drink with you guys instead.”

His fingers were long and pale as he held the glass. His black suit jacket had already been taken off, revealing a white shirt that fit snugly over his lean figure. His sleeves were rolled up, exposing lightly toned arms, exuding a refined masculinity.

Several of the girls blushed as they looked at him.

Even the guys couldn’t help but be envious of his physique and aura. After all, they were just ordinary students—this was their first time rubbing shoulders with someone from a truly wealthy family.

One classmate tried to smooth things over, saying, “If Jiang Mingyi doesn’t drink, we can just drink with his big brother. Same thing.”

But after a few rounds, the others were already tipsy and dizzy, while the man across from them hadn’t even flinched—like he was drinking water, not wine. His face didn’t turn red even once.

Jiang Mingyi sipped his orange juice quietly. At first, he regretted coming to this so-called gathering. He barely knew any of these classmates, and couldn’t even remember most of their names.

But watching Shen Xingyan single-handedly knock out a whole table of people? That was unexpectedly entertaining.

Especially Zhang Tao, who had clearly been targeted—he was now nearly crawling under the table.

Two of the boys helped carry him to the bathroom. Zhang Tao clutched the toilet and threw up violently before his hazy eyes regained a bit of clarity.

“Man, Jiang Mingyi’s brother can really hold his liquor,” one of them said. “He’s had at least five or six bottles of wine and looks totally fine.”

Unlike them, who had to fake bathroom breaks just to take a breather.

“No wonder they say people in the finance world have insane drinking stamina. We’ve got a lot to learn.”

Zhang Tao rinsed his face under the tap, his tone cold and bitter. “He’s just pretending to be fine.”

There’s no way someone could drink that much and not show any signs at all.

He didn’t buy it one bit.

“Take turns hogging the bathroom later.”

“Huh?”

“I want to see how long he can keep up the act.”

“Seriously? That’s just childish.”

Although the two guys were on good terms with him, no one really wanted to camp out in the bathroom.

…

Jiang Mingyi was in a noticeably better mood now. He poured a cup of warm water and placed it in front of Shen Xingyan. “To soothe your throat. Drinking that much wine is bound to leave you dry-mouthed.”

Shen Xingyan noticed the subtle smile on his lips and replied with a simple, “Thanks.”

The warm water washed away the bitterness left by the cheap red wine, and Shen Xingyan downed the whole glass in one go.

“Want me to pour you another?” Jiang Mingyi offered.

Just as he said that, he noticed a drop of water lingering at the corner of Shen Xingyan’s lips—and in a flash, his mind jumped to their recent moment of intimacy.

A light blush crept up from the base of his ears. Thankfully, the lighting in the private room was dim and warm—unless someone looked closely, it wouldn’t be noticed.

He quickly poured himself a cup of warm water and took a few big gulps to distract himself.

Before he could set the cup down, a soft chuckle brushed past his ear. “Weren’t you going to pour me another?”

His hand froze for a split second before setting the cup down.

“Alright, I’ll pour you another one.”

Jiang Mingyi picked up the thermos and lowered his gaze as he carefully refilled Shen Xingyan’s cup.

Shen Xingyan’s dark eyes fixated on him, quietly intense. He could clearly see those thick, curled eyelashes—like little brushes. Lower still, a fair and delicate cheek… and those lips—rosy and full.

That fleeting moment of contact before had been far too brief. Shen Xingyan hadn’t been satisfied at all.

If the setting hadn’t been wrong back then, he would’ve pinned Jiang Mingyi right against that pool table—kissed him hard, until his eyes turned red, his legs went weak, and he could only lean against Shen Xingyan’s chest, breathless and helpless.

Now, staring at those slightly parted, glossy lips, that buried craving stirred again—impossible to ignore.

Maybe he should’ve been honest about his feelings earlier. Then he wouldn’t have to restrain himself like this.

Jiang Mingyi, feeling the heat of that gaze, grew a little uneasy. Why did it feel like Shen Xingyan was about to devour him whole?

“Ge… you’re not drunk, are you?” he asked cautiously, not daring to get too close.

Shen Xingyan finally pulled his eyes away from those tempting lips, picked up his cup, and took a small sip.

“You think I’m drunk?” he replied, throwing the question back.

His tolerance was exceptional. No amount of wine would make him tipsy.
Only the person in front of him could stir his heart and make him truly intoxicated.

But he found it sweet.

A large hand suddenly covered Jiang Mingyi’s hand resting on his knee, gently holding it.

Jiang Mingyi flinched in surprise, and a deep voice brushed against his ear, low and intimate as it called his name.

“Jiang Mingyi.”

It was just his name—three familiar syllables—but the way Shen Xingyan said it now carried a subtle, inexplicable sensuality that made his heart stir.