ALCSRB Chapter 75

“What kind of brother does that? Just leaves when something comes up and doesn’t even care about his little brother. So heartless.”

Cursing under his breath, Jiang Mingyi bent down to retrieve his slippers from under the sofa. His expression was downright ferocious, making Shen Xingyan both startled and amused.

“You should say that to his face.”

Shen Xingyan tried to calm him down. “But honestly, he looked a bit strange before he left. I’m not sure what triggered it.”

“Strange? How strange?” Jiang Mingyi blinked.

Shen Xingyan thought for a moment. “It didn’t seem like stress from work. More like something personal.”

“In all these years, I’ve hardly ever seen him smoking alone. When he does, it’s only when his mind is a complete mess.”

“If it was just about work, he wouldn’t have looked like that.”

Thinking back to what Pei Mingyue said before leaving, Shen Xingyan couldn’t help but feel like the guy was lovesick. Ridiculously so.

He didn’t voice that speculation, but Jiang Mingyi suddenly froze—and then bolted out the door.

Shen Xingyan was stunned by his reaction. Moments later, he heard a flurry of urgent knocking outside the door.

Bang bang bang, echoing down the hallway.

By the time he stepped out of the room, An Jiancheng had already opened the door across the hall, wearing nothing but a wrinkled shirt.

An Jiancheng radiated a clear “stay away” energy from head to toe—clearly irritated that his good time had been interrupted. He looked at Shen Xingyan with some impatience.

Frowning, he asked, “What’s going on?”

Shen Xingyan briefly explained that Pei Mingyue had left early, his gaze falling to the ambiguous marks scattered across An Jiancheng’s body. “Take it easy, don’t wear him out.”

An Jiancheng shot him a frosty look. “None of your business. Mind your own.” Then bam—he slammed the door shut.

Inside the room, An Shi was still lying on the bed, breathing heavily. When he heard the noise, he lifted his head. His beautiful eyes were glazed with the afterglow of passion, tinged with fatigue and sensuality.

He was barely covered by a single shirt, and the marks all over his body were pushing An Jiancheng’s already fragile restraint to the edge.

“What’s going on outside? It’s so noisy.” His voice was extremely hoarse.

Warm breath brushed against his earlobe as An Jiancheng climbed back into bed and pinned the man who was trying to sit up right back down.

He casually said, “Nothing serious. Pei Mingyue just had to leave early.”

“He left early?” A heavy bite landed on his neck, and An Shi couldn’t help but let out a soft moan. “Can you just give it a rest?”

His hands tried to push him away, but were quickly pinned down. All he could do was glare in protest. “I’m exhausted. Let me go.”

His waist was killing him. It had only been two days, and he’d practically been wrecked in bed. If this continued, he might never get out of bed again.

An Jiancheng lowered his head and kissed his earlobe. His eyelids lifted slightly, revealing eyes as deep and dangerous as a stormy sea.

“I think it’s time we headed back too.”

He said it so suddenly that An Shi froze mid-struggle.

“Go back?” His eyes widened, the corners red and moist. A glimmer of tears clung to his lashes. “You’re the one who let me come on this trip. Now you want to go back? That’s totally going back on your word!”

“I only agreed to let you come on this trip, not to fool around with other men.”

“I already told you I wasn’t fooling around! You’re always jealous for no reason,” An Shi gritted his teeth in frustration. He had only been here for a few days, and now he was going to be dragged back? Things would be even worse once they got home.

An Jiancheng gave a soft “Mm,” and said calmly, “Since you know I’m jealous, you should go along with me and come home.”

“You domineering, possessive jerk! I’m not going back!”

—

Jiang Mingyi knocked on Pei Shiqing’s door. The moment it opened and he saw those red, puffy eyes, his heart ached instantly.

“What happened? Why are you crying?”

He shut the door on Shen Xingyan outside, pulled the visibly downcast Pei Shiqing to sit back on the bed, and carefully observed his expression.

“What’s going on with your brother?”

“I don’t know either.”

The teary voice was soft, but Jiang Mingyi could still hear the hints of grievance and sorrow in it.

He glanced around the room. The two beds were clearly separated—one hadn’t even been used at all.

“I thought you two finally confessed to each other, and your brother couldn’t handle it and ran off.”

“No.” Pei Shiqing lowered his head, staring blankly at the floor. “I just took a nap, and when I woke up, he said he had to go back because of work. I wanted to stop him, but I didn’t know what reason to use.”

At that moment, he hesitated.

So he cried—cried at his own weakness, cried for his inability to take action.

“You don’t even need a reason. Just tell him you want to go back with him,” Jiang Mingyi sighed deeply. “Your brother’s unbelievable—no matter how urgent it was, he shouldn’t have just left you behind.”

“Maybe he just wanted me to stay and enjoy myself a bit longer.”

Jiang Mingyi glared at him. “Are you seriously making excuses for him?”

Pei Shiqing sat on the bed hugging his knees, looking forlorn. “Xiao Yi… I want to go back too.”

He had come to the hot spring resort with his brother, full of joy.

Now he was all alone. What was he supposed to do—be the third wheel?

Jiang Mingyi hesitated for a moment. “Then I’ll ask my brother to take you back.”

“I don’t want to ruin your mood because of me.” Pei Shiqing shook his head. “You and Brother Shen just got together. You should spend more time together and build your relationship.”

“…” Jiang Mingyi blushed a little. “It’s not like it has to be right this second.”

“How could I date in peace when my best bro is suffering over love?” Jiang Mingyi bumped him playfully with his shoulder. “Tell you what, I’ll ask Qin Hao to come pick you up.”

After saying that, he ran off again to find Shen Xingyan.

Shen Xingyan was a bit annoyed from being left outside earlier, but when he heard the request, he didn’t refuse.

After calling Qin Hao, he saw Jiang Mingyi about to dash off to the next room again, so he grabbed his arm.

“What are you doing? I’m going to keep Pei Shiqing company,” Jiang Mingyi looked at him, confused.

“Don’t you think you’re ignoring me right now?”

Shen Xingyan pulled him into an embrace, his voice low and full of dissatisfaction.

“How is this ignoring you?” Jiang Mingyi didn’t quite understand, but the arm tightly wrapped around his waist left him unable to break free. “Pei Shiqing was abandoned by his brother—he must be feeling so lonely. I have to keep him company.”

“And keeping him company means ignoring me.”

Shen Xingyan pinched his soft earlobe. It’s said that people with soft hearts have especially soft earlobes.

This kid always thought about others, never about how he felt.

Shen Xingyan sighed lightly. “He’s not a child. He won’t become helpless just because Pei Mingyue isn’t around.”

“…” Jiang Mingyi was momentarily speechless. “I’ll just be with him for a bit.”

He couldn’t tell Shen Xingyan the real reason, so he softened his tone. “Don’t be jealous, I’ll come back and keep you company tonight.”

Seeing him act spoiled, Shen Xingyan’s heart inevitably softened.

“Then tonight, you have to listen to me,” he said.

Jiang Mingyi could see the mischief lurking in his deep eyes—but for the sake of his best bro, he’d just have to sacrifice himself a little.

Qin Hao arrived pretty quickly.

Jiang Mingyi checked the time and told them to eat dinner before heading back.

Pei Shiqing ate distractedly, and the moment they were done, he rushed into the car.

Seeing his poor state of mind, Jiang Mingyi felt uneasy. “Text me when you get there.”

Pei Shiqing nodded and glanced toward Shen Xingyan in the distance. “You should go back and be with Brother Shen.”

Jiang Mingyi followed his gaze. “He’s a grown man, what’s there to keep him company for?” he said, but still bid Pei Shiqing goodbye.

Once the car disappeared from sight, he turned around and walked back.

The sky was gradually darkening, and the lanterns at the hot spring resort began to glow one by one, giving the quiet mountain setting a unique charm.

Shen Xingyan saw him looking a little absent-minded and reached out to ruffle his hair. “What, Pei Shiqing left and took your soul with him?”

Jiang Mingyi took a deep breath and ignored the teasing. Instead, he asked, “If I had been registered in the Shen family’s household back then… would you still have fallen for me?”

“Why are you asking this all of a sudden?” Shen Xingyan frowned.

“Don’t worry about it. Just answer the question.”

“Love isn’t something that can be stopped by external factors.” Shen Xingyan pressed a finger to the corner of Jiang Mingyi’s eye, where a stubborn light flickered. His voice was low and steady. “Back then, I only saw you as a little brother. But once my heart moved, I could no longer see you as just a brother.”

Jiang Mingyi translated that in his head. “So what you mean is, even if I had been registered as part of the Shen family, if you were going to fall for me, you’d fall for me anyway?”

“Of course.”

Shen Xingyan answered with certainty. “We’re not blood-related. Once I’ve fallen for you, I’m not letting go that easily—unless you only see me as a brother, with not a hint of romantic feeling.”

Just like how, in the beginning, what he struggled with most was simply the fact that Jiang Mingyi didn’t like him—only saw him as an older brother.

But once he sensed that Jiang Mingyi had feelings for him, he didn’t hesitate to make a move.

“Then I guess I still like you,” Jiang Mingyi mumbled shyly.

Shen Xingyan let out a soft chuckle and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. “Good thing you weren’t registered in the Shen family back then—otherwise, things could’ve gotten messy.”

Jiang Mingyi blinked. “Messy how?”

“Well, I’d have to get your household registration removed before we could be together openly,” Shen Xingyan replied. He wasn’t afraid of gossip, but he didn’t want the person he loved to be placed under public scrutiny.

Upon hearing that, a vague thought flitted through Jiang Mingyi’s mind—too fast to catch.

“Alright, you’ve seen your friend off. Isn’t it time to focus on me now?”

Shen Xingyan’s voice pulled him from his thoughts. Looking up into those deep, unreadable eyes, Jiang Mingyi suddenly felt a little flustered.

He quickly changed the subject. “By the way, An Shi and the others are leaving tomorrow. Should we do something for them tonight?”

Shen Xingyan saw right through his little ploy. “The best thing you can do for them is not to bother them.”

“Huh?”

“An Jiancheng’s a petty man. Real petty.”

—

After returning from the hot spring resort, Pei Mingyue didn’t go to the office. Instead, he went straight home.

He sat in the study for hours, only snapping out of it when the butler called him.

“Young Master, dinner is ready.”

Pei Mingyue gave a soft response and got up, only to notice he had received a message on his phone.

[Shen Xingyan]: I asked Qin Hao to bring your brother back. He seemed a bit down. As his big brother, you should comfort him properly.

Reading the message, Pei Mingyue’s brows furrowed deeply. After a long pause, he simply replied: [Mm.]

But after finishing dinner and waiting a while longer, still, there was no sign of his brother.

He called Pei Shiqing—but no one picked up.

So, he pulled up Qin Hao’s number from his contacts and dialed it to ask.

Qin Hao answered, “President Pei, the young master said you were probably still busy at the company and hadn’t returned home yet. He said it would be too boring to go home alone, so he asked me to drop him off at a café.”

“When? Which café?” Pei Mingyue’s expression turned cold.

“Half an hour ago,” Qin Hao replied, then gave the name of the café.

As soon as the call ended, Pei Mingyue grabbed his car keys and rushed out the door.