ALCSRB Chapter 87

Jiang Mingyi immediately noticed that Shen Xingyan was angry.

He wasn’t hiding it at all—his cold black eyes were fixed squarely on the boy named Meng Yan, icy and sharp.

Even though everyone around them was laughing, Jiang Mingyi knew what ticked Shen Xingyan off: it wasn’t just the way Meng Yan spoke, it was what he said—calling him pretty.

And yeah, being complimented made Jiang Mingyi a little happy… but not at the cost of making Shen Xingyan angry.

Without thinking, he looped his arm around Shen Xingyan’s. The tension in Shen Xingyan’s body melted almost instantly as soon as he felt Jiang Mingyi’s closeness.

“I already have a gege—who’s your didi, huh?” Jiang Mingyi snapped, voice laced with a bratty sharpness. He sounded exactly like a spoiled kid throwing a tantrum when someone tried to butt into his close relationship with his older brother.

“My gege is the best brother in the whole world. I don’t want to call anyone else ‘gege.’” He even gave a little huff at Meng Yan, looking utterly disdainful.

The once stone-cold “gege” next to him had now completely thawed, his expression soft and radiant like spring sunshine.

As for Meng Yan—he clearly hadn’t expected his genuine compliment to get him snapped at. His handsome face paled, and he looked a little flustered.

“Xiao Yi, that was rude,” Shen Xingyan gently scolded, though his eyes were full of indulgent affection. Then he turned to Meng Deqing and said, “Uncle, how old is little cousin this year? He looks about the same age as our Xiao Yi. If he’s not actually older, then you really can’t blame Xiao Yi for getting upset.”

Meng Deqing hadn’t expected the two brothers to react like that. He froze for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Wanxin, the two brothers in your family are really close,” he said to Su Wanxin, then turned to Meng Yan. “Your cousin’s asking your age—are you trying to take advantage of his younger brother?”

Meng Yan pressed his lips together. Seeing everyone’s eyes on him, he fiddled with his fingers to ease his nerves.

“I’m already eighteen,” he said quietly, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

Jiang Mingyi tilted his chin proudly. “Like anyone here isn’t already eighteen.” His expression was still as arrogant as ever.

His arm was still tightly linked with Shen Xingyan’s. To the others, their affectionate behavior just looked like a close brotherly bond, but only Shen Xingyan knew that Jiang Mingyi was doing it to cheer him up.

Shen Xingyan didn’t hide the flicker of jealousy that rose the moment Meng Yan complimented Jiang Mingyi. He didn’t like other people coveting what was his—even if it was just a polite remark.

But he was pleased that Jiang Mingyi had sensed his mood right away.

The little episode quickly passed.

Su Wanxin was eager to visit the elderly lady, so Meng Deqing personally led them upstairs to the third floor.

Jiang Mingyi and Shen Xingyan didn’t go along—after all, the old lady’s energy was limited, and too many visitors at once wouldn’t be good for her health.

A servant showed them to their room, put down their luggage, and left.

Jiang Mingyi, excited, pushed open the door and stepped inside. Before he could even take a look at the room, he was suddenly grabbed around the waist and pulled into a broad, solid embrace.

The familiar scent closed in, and then—he was bitten, not too hard, but enough to make him jolt.

“Ge, what are you doing?” He pushed at the body pressed against him. When he looked up, he met Shen Xingyan’s deep, jet-black eyes.

“Obviously, rewarding you.”

Shen Xingyan’s voice was deeper than usual, his arms holding him tightly, as if cradling the most precious treasure in the world—reluctant to let go even for a second.

Jiang Mingyi swallowed instinctively under that gaze. “Reward? Reward for what?”

He didn’t seem to understand the out-of-the-blue statement, his eyes holding a hint of confusion and puzzlement.

But to Shen Xingyan, that dazed look was unbearably cute—so cute he couldn’t help lowering his head to plant a gentle kiss on him.

Jiang Mingyi blinked. Why did this guy kiss him out of nowhere again?

As he thought that, his eyes flicked toward the door.

Oh—thankfully, it was closed.

“How can you still be distracted?”

The low chuckle made Jiang Mingyi realize the sudden kiss had already ended.

“I wasn’t distracted.” He firmly denied it, instead demanding, “Why did you suddenly kiss me again?”

“I told you—it’s a reward,” Shen Xingyan said, pulling him further into the room. “Because you just made me happy.”

Following him in, Jiang Mingyi suddenly understood.

“Because I just snapped back at your little cousin?” he asked, a sly glint in his eyes.

Shen Xingyan tugged him toward the sofa, sat down, and with a little pull, had Jiang Mingyi sitting right on his lap.

Jiang Mingyi raised a brow. In this position, their eyes were almost level.

“So, is that the reason or not?”

“No,” Shen Xingyan denied.

“Huh?” Then what for?

His clear eyes were full of curiosity as he stared at Shen Xingyan.

Shen Xingyan was clearly in a good mood; his smile was so dazzling it made Jiang Mingyi blush.

The man was already handsome—but when he smiled, it was devastating.

“Don’t just smile—answer me first.” Jiang Mingyi bumped his forehead lightly against Shen Xingyan’s, the gesture warm and intimate.

But just as he tried to pull back, Shen Xingyan drew him closer. His gaze swept over Jiang Mingyi’s arms, and then he suddenly said, “Put your arms around me.”

Jiang Mingyi froze for a second, not following his train of thought.

Shen Xingyan didn’t repeat himself—instead, he took Jiang Mingyi’s hands and looped them around his neck. At the same time, he said, “Next time, I’d rather you hold me like this, not just hook your arm through mine.”

The position they were in right now was so intimate that no third person could possibly see it without misunderstanding. It was only then that Jiang Mingyi belatedly realized the reason for Shen Xingyan’s good mood, and his face instantly began to heat up.

“Your request is too much.”

Linking arms had already been intimate enough. If they switched to putting an arm around his neck, even someone as slow on the uptake as Shen Jili would instantly realize something was going on between them.

“It’s not too much. I like it.”

Shen Xingyan leaned in and lightly bit the ear that was already flushed red, his teeth replacing his tongue to gently graze along the edge. It hurt just a little—not enough to be unpleasant—but it sent a shiver down Jiang Mingyi’s entire body.

His waist went weak, and his whole body collapsed against Shen Xingyan.

He wanted to tell Shen Xingyan to let him go, but what came out instead was a voice laced with unmistakable intimacy.

The room filled with faint, broken whimpers—sounds that, to Shen Xingyan, were especially enticing.

The corners of Jiang Mingyi’s eyes were tinged red, and his rosy lips were pressed tightly together, unwilling to let out those sounds that made his face burn and his heart race.

He looked like a little beast that had been bullied too much—angry and stubborn, wanting to fight back, yet easily subdued by a far larger predator.

…

Half an hour later, Jiang Mingyi was lying on the sofa, his clothes in disarray, exposing a stretch of delicate collarbone.

Looking closely, you could see faint bite marks there.

One pale arm was draped over his face, covering his fine features. The lips left uncovered were flushed a deep red, his breathing still quick and uneven.

When Shen Xingyan came out of the bathroom and saw him looking so pitiful, like someone who had been thoroughly ravaged, he couldn’t help but laugh.

The moment Jiang Mingyi sensed him drawing near, his limp leg lifted slightly.

“Still got the strength to kick me? Looks like I didn’t try hard enough just now.”

Shen Xingyan scooped the completely limp Jiang Mingyi up from the sofa. Although there was still a tiny spark of annoyance in Jiang Mingyi’s heart, he didn’t refuse.

Half-reclining in Shen Xingyan’s arms, he felt light kisses fall on his flushed, delicate cheeks.

It felt good, but what came out of his mouth was the complete opposite. “Ge, next time you get jealous, I’m not coaxing you.”

Just one round of coaxing cost him this much—if it happened more often, he’d be completely done for.

“You little rascal, do you like it that much when I get jealous?”

Shen Xingyan poked at his soft waist with a finger, and Jiang Mingyi couldn’t help but burst into giggles, squirming wildly to escape his hand.

“Of course… I… like it,” he said between laughs, his voice a little broken up but still carrying that unmistakable pride and glee. “When you get jealous, doesn’t that mean you like me a lot, a lot?”

Jiang Mingyi loved this feeling of being liked by Shen Xingyan—it gave him the constant joy of feeling wrapped in happiness.

Su Wanxin liked him, but that was pure maternal affection.

Shen Jili liked him, but that was purely paternal love.

Pei Shiqing liked him, but that was the camaraderie of brothers.

Only Shen Xingyan’s liking was the sweetest kind of romantic love—an emotion no one else could give him.

He wasn’t lacking in family love or friendship. What he wanted was the kind of love that belonged only to him and Shen Xingyan.

He might still not fully understand the difference between family and romantic love that Su Wanxin once spoke of, but he had already felt the beauty of being in love.

He savored it—Shen Xingyan’s unrestrained, wholehearted affection for him.

—

After resting in the room for a while longer, a servant came to tell them that lunch was ready.

Jiang Mingyi looked lazily at the hand extended toward him. “I don’t feel like moving.”

Shen Xingyan had no choice but to pull him up. His gaze swept over Jiang Mingyi’s flat stomach, and he said with a smile, “Right now, I can’t exactly fill that stomach of yours.”

Standing up straight, Jiang Mingyi shot him a sideways glare without holding back. “Ge, the way you say things makes it very easy for me to think the wrong way.”

Shen Xingyan just smiled and said nothing.

The two of them went downstairs and, guided by the servant, arrived at the dining room.

The dining room was large. At the round table, Su Wanxin and Shen Jili were already seated, chatting with Meng Deqing and an elegantly dressed middle-aged woman.

Following behind Shen Xingyan, Jiang Mingyi greeted them politely as “Cousin Uncle” and “Cousin Aunt.”

No sooner had he sat down than a tall, poised young woman walked in.

She first greeted Su Wanxin and Shen Jili. “Cousin Aunt, Cousin Uncle.” Then her gaze fell directly on Jiang Mingyi.

The way she sized him up was so blatant it was impossible to ignore.

Jiang Mingyi frowned slightly in discomfort. His hand, resting on his lap, had just started to curl into a fist when it was gently caught by someone.

Turning his head, he saw Shen Xingyan with his brows faintly knitted, looking at the young woman with a cool, detached expression.

His voice was icy as he called her name—“Meng Ling”—carrying a warning that couldn’t be missed.

Meng Ling’s fine brows arched, her tone full of familiarity. “Xingyan-ge, long time no see.”

After greeting Shen Xingyan, her red lips curved into a smile as she looked at the quiet young man. “So this is Xiao Yi? You really are very handsome.”

Jiang Mingyi: “…”

What was with today? One after another, people just kept calling him pretty.

He turned his hand over to clasp Shen Xingyan’s in return and met Meng Ling’s gaze head-on, openly and without flinching.

“Oh, thank you, I really am this beautiful.”

Meng Ling: “…”