Chapter 38
Jiang Mi returned to China in September and opened a law firm with a friend. After nearly four months of hard work, the firm had successfully handled two well-received cases. Jiang Mi no longer needed to work as tirelessly as before to expand his network, which meant he no longer had to work overtime every day.
That evening, after dinner, Jiang Mi was sitting on the sofa browsing financial news when he suddenly saw Liang Jinyi emerge from the bedroom. He was dressed in a black tracksuit and carrying his gym bag and boxing gloves.
Jiang Mi looked up. “Jinyi, are you going to the boxing gym again?”
Liang Jinyi hummed in acknowledgment. “I’m going to work out for a couple of hours.”
“You’ve been going to the boxing gym pretty often lately.” When Liang Jinyi had first moved in with him, he only went three or four times a month. But over the past two weeks, he had been going three or four times a week.
Jiang Mi had asked him a couple of days ago why he was going so much more often, and Liang Jinyi had told him that he had too much energy. If he didn’t go box, he couldn’t sleep at night.
Jiang Mi thought back to his own adolescence and realized that he had been the most restless at fifteen or sixteen. Why was his little brother nearly eighteen and somehow even more restless than he had been at sixteen or seventeen?
Jiang Mi stood up. “Wait for me. I’ll go too.”
Liang Jinyi froze. “Brother is coming too?”
“Mm. I’ll go change. Wait for me.”
With that, Jiang Mi went into his room and chose a gray tracksuit, then put a down jacket over it. Once he had changed, he came back out.
The boxing gym Liang Jinyi frequented was only about a kilometer from Jiang Mi’s apartment. Neither of them drove or rode a bicycle. Instead, they took a leisurely walk there.
Liang Jinyi had been coming regularly for the past few months, so the owner of the boxing gym already knew him. When he pushed open the glass door, the owner greeted him with a smile, only to stop halfway when he noticed the person beside him.
The owner exclaimed, “Whoa, Jinyi, is this your classmate? He’s just as handsome as you.”
Boss Zhou was naturally talkative, and Liang Jinyi wasn’t exactly an icy, aloof person either. After a few months, Boss Zhou had learned that Liang Jinyi attended the Experimental High School nearby.
At the owner’s words, Jiang Mi glanced up at Liang Jinyi. Seeing this, Liang Jinyi extended his left arm and draped it over Jiang Mi’s shoulders, casually pulling him closer to his side.
“Mm. My classmate.”
“Hey, young man, what should I call you?”
“Jiang Mi.”
“Ever boxed before?” Boss Zhou asked.
Liang Jinyi answered, “No. I brought him here to try it out.”
Just then, another customer arrived. Boss Zhou waved a hand. “All right. If you need anything, just call me.”
Liang Jinyi hummed in acknowledgment and led Jiang Mi farther into the gym. After taking a few steps, Liang Jinyi stopped and stared at him.
Jiang Mi: “?”
Liang Jinyi smiled. “Brother really is still very young.”
“Thanks.” Jiang Mi was actually quite pleased to have been mistaken for a high school student. Of course, it might have been because he and Liang Jinyi were wearing matching down jackets in different colors. Since Liang Jinyi was a high school student, the owner had probably just assumed Jiang Mi was a high school student who looked unusually mature for his age.
“Does Brother want to hit the heavy bag?” Liang Jinyi asked.
Jiang Mi had never hit a punching bag before. He had only seen Liang Jinyi use the one at home. Compared with the narrow hanging sandbag on the balcony, however, the boxing gym offered a much wider variety—water-filled bags, freestanding bags, hanging bags, large bags, small bags. They had everything.
“I’ll give it a try,” Jiang Mi said.
“Brother, let me wrap your hands for you.” Boxing required protecting the hands, so they needed to be wrapped before putting on gloves.
Jiang Mi had never boxed before, so naturally, he didn’t own hand wraps or gloves. Liang Jinyi had spares, though. Since Brother was coming along, he had brought an extra set of his own.
The two of them went to the changing room. The boxing gym was heated, so they took off their down jackets. Liang Jinyi then opened his gym bag and pulled out two five-meter-long black hand wraps, gesturing for Jiang Mi to hold out his hand.
Jiang Mi extended his hand.
Wrapping the hands was simple. First, the thumb went through the loop at the end of the wrap. The wrap was then passed through the webbing between the thumb and index finger to the right side of the wrist bone, circled around the wrist once, then wrapped once across the back of the hand. After that, each knuckle was wrapped in order, from the index finger to the pinky.
Liang Jinyi had only just reached the back of Jiang Mi’s hand when his movements suddenly froze. He rubbed his fingertip over the back of Jiang Mi’s hand.
A tingling itch spread across Jiang Mi’s skin, making him pause. “Jinyi, what are you doing?”
“Brother, your hands are very beautiful.” Liang Jinyi’s gaze fell on Jiang Mi’s long, slender fingers. He stroked the back of his hand once more with his fingertip, then raised his eyes and smiled at Jiang Mi.
“Thanks for the compliment.” Jiang Mi looked at Liang Jinyi’s hands and smiled. “Little brother, your hands are pretty nice too.”
Jiang Mi wasn’t merely flattering him. His own hands were long and elegant as jade, obviously the hands of someone who had lived a comfortable, privileged life. Jinyi’s hands, however, were not as fair as his face. The backs of his hands were faintly flushed, his palms broad, and blue veins stood out slightly beneath his thin skin, as if they might break through at any moment. They radiated a sense of strength and control.
At that thought, Jiang Mi couldn’t help glancing at Liang Jinyi.
Liang Jinyi had his eyes lowered, carefully wrapping Jiang Mi’s fair hands. Sensing Jiang Mi’s gaze, he raised his eyelids.
Jinyi might not be fully mature mentally and was still a kid in some ways, but physically, he was already taller and more solidly built than many grown men.
Jiang Mi thought this to himself but didn’t say it aloud. Instead, he simply urged Liang Jinyi to hurry up and finish wrapping his hands.
The heating in the boxing gym was turned up high. Jiang Mi felt hot even in his track jacket, so, like Liang Jinyi, he took it off and entered the gym wearing only a short-sleeved athletic shirt.
Liang Jinyi first taught Jiang Mi how to throw punches.
Jiang Mi had never boxed before, but he was naturally athletic and had learned some grappling and self-defense techniques. After a few simple pointers from Liang Jinyi, his movements quickly began to look quite decent.
Liang Jinyi praised him. “Brother is amazing.”
Jiang Mi’s breathing was slightly quickened. At those words, he gave Liang Jinyi a strange look.
Liang Jinyi: “?”
Jiang Mi said, “Jinyi, when you say that, I feel like our positions have been reversed. Wasn’t I always the one praising you like that before?”
He wasn’t exaggerating. Jiang Mi was ten years older than Liang Jinyi, and his breadth of knowledge had always far surpassed his little brother’s. Ever since they were children, whenever Liang Jinyi learned something new, Jiang Mi had always been the one praising him for doing such a good job.
Liang Jinyi said meaningfully, “Brother should get used to it. You should get used to the fact that sometimes, I’m not your little brother. In some areas, I even know much more than you do.”
Jiang Mi laughed. “All right, all right. I get it.”
Liang Jinyi then taught Jiang Mi how to work the heavy bag. Practicing on a punching bag alone was boring, so after half an hour, he also taught him several boxing techniques.
At that moment, a muscular adult man walked over.
He called Liang Jinyi’s name and asked if he wanted to spar that night.
Liang Jinyi had been coming to the boxing gym frequently lately precisely because he wanted to burn off his excessive energy. Compared with training alone, sparring with someone else obviously consumed far more energy.
However, Liang Jinyi glanced at Jiang Mi beside him and declined.
The moment the refusal left his mouth, Jiang Mi looked up. The prolonged exercise had left him breathing slightly faster. He smiled. “Little brother, why don’t you spar with him? I’ve never seen you box against someone else before.”
Hearing this, Liang Jinyi immediately changed his mind and agreed to spar with the muscular Chen Qiang.
Chen Qiang looked at him in surprise. He was a regular at the gym, and so was Liang Jinyi. Liang Jinyi was usually very set on his own decisions. This was the first time Chen Qiang had ever seen someone change his mind with just a single sentence.
Liang Jinyi hadn’t been wearing boxing gloves while teaching Jiang Mi the proper stance. He put them on as he walked with Chen Qiang toward the boxing ring at the innermost part of the gym.
When some of the people working out in the gym saw that there was going to be a match, they temporarily stopped what they were doing and gathered around the ring.
Jiang Mi stood in a spot with an excellent view and watched the two men in the ring size each other up.
Although Liang Jinyi loved sports and boxing, he hadn’t built an exaggeratedly muscular physique. His muscles were firm and compact. When he wore his loose school uniform, he simply looked like a tall, slender young man. Only after he took off his clothes would anyone marvel that the young man had such a lean, beautifully muscled body.
Chen Qiang was different. Even through his clothes, the bulging muscles in his arms were obvious, and no fabric could conceal his thick, broad shoulders.
Matches at the boxing gym were relatively casual. They were fought in rounds, with each round lasting five minutes. Points were awarded for striking the opponent’s head, face, waist, or abdomen, as well as for knocking the opponent down. The winner was decided over three rounds.
Liang Jinyi won the first round by a narrow margin.
He also narrowly won the second.
In the third round, Liang Jinyi landed an uppercut squarely on Chen Qiang’s chin, knocking him straight to the floor.
Chen Qiang lay there for more than ten seconds before bracing himself against the padded floor and standing up. Conceding defeat, he said, “Liang Jinyi, how have you improved again? Being young really is an advantage.”
After saying they would fight again next month, Chen Qiang jumped down from the black boxing ring. Once the match was over, everyone else returned to what they had been doing.
Jiang Mi looked up at Liang Jinyi in the ring, asking with his eyes why he still hadn’t come down.
After taking off one boxing glove, Liang Jinyi removed the red protective headgear from his head. Standing in the ring, he said to Jiang Mi, “Brother, come up here.”
Jiang Mi: “?”
Jiang Mi walked to the entrance of the ring and jumped inside.
After twenty minutes of intense exercise, Liang Jinyi’s cheeks were flushed, and beads of sweat could faintly be seen sliding down from his temples.
Liang Jinyi said, “Brother, let’s have a match.”
Jiang Mi: “?”
Jiang Mi laughed. “Jinyi, I know my own limits.”
While standing below the ring and watching Liang Jinyi fight Chen Qiang with the others, he had overheard someone quietly mention that Chen Qiang used to be a professional boxer and had achieved fairly good results. Although he had since retired, his skill level was still far beyond that of an amateur boxer.
Liang Jinyi could even beat a former professional boxer. How could Jiang Mi, a complete beginner who had been learning from him for less than an hour, possibly win?
Liang Jinyi said, “I can give Brother a one-hand handicap. And Brother can use grappling techniques too.”
“You’ll give me one hand?” Jiang Mi narrowed his eyes.
Liang Jinyi hummed in confirmation.
Jiang Mi was highly competitive. Liang Jinyi was offering to fight with one hand and allowing him to use grappling techniques. On top of that, Liang Jinyi had just spent a great deal of energy fighting Chen Qiang.
After weighing his chances, Jiang Mi decided victory wasn’t entirely impossible.
“All right. Then let’s fight.” Jiang Mi’s smile took on a faintly intimidating edge.
More than ten minutes later, Jiang Mi finally found an opening. He grabbed Liang Jinyi’s right wrist while using his right leg to suppress him. At that moment, Liang Jinyi failed to stabilize his core and fell to the floor. But as he went down, he grabbed Jiang Mi and pulled him down with him.
A dozen or so seconds later, Jiang Mi was pinning Liang Jinyi beneath him. He raised an eyebrow.
“Little brother, you lost.”
Jiang Mi’s face was only inches away. A faint chuckle escaped Liang Jinyi’s throat. He hummed in acknowledgment and praised him, “Brother is amazing.”
Jiang Mi smiled. Just as he was about to get off Liang Jinyi, Liang Jinyi suddenly placed his left hand on Jiang Mi’s waist and exerted force.
Jiang Mi was startled. Before he even had time to resist, the world spun around him.
The next moment, he was the one lying on the boxing ring, while Liang Jinyi was the one pinning him down.
Unwilling to give up, Jiang Mi tried moving his wrists, but Liang Jinyi’s thighs had them firmly trapped, making it impossible for him to lift them.
Liang Jinyi raised his head slightly and flashed Jiang Mi a brilliant smile. “Ah. Brother, it looks like you’re the one who lost.”
If Jiang Mi had lost from the very beginning, he would have accepted it calmly. But now that Liang Jinyi had turned the tables at the last moment, Jiang Mi struggled unwillingly. Yet the more he struggled, the more firmly Liang Jinyi pinned him down.
Once he confirmed that there was no way to turn the tables again, Jiang Mi said decisively, “Fine. You win.”
Then he asked, “Can you get up and let me go now?”
At those words, Liang Jinyi lowered his long eyelashes. He stared for a moment at Jiang Mi, who was breathing slightly heavily, the corners of his eyes flushed. Then he suddenly lowered his head and buried his face against Jiang Mi’s shoulder.
“Brother, I’m tired. I want to lie down for a while.”
Jiang Mi: “…”
“Let go of me first, then lie down.”
Liang Jinyi’s voice was muffled. “No. I want to lie down like this.”
Jiang Mi: “…”
Outmatched and completely helpless, Jiang Mi had no choice but to resign himself to his little brother’s whims.
By the time Liang Jinyi finally got up, the two of them checked the time and saw that it was almost eleven. Jiang Mi had work the next day, and Liang Jinyi had school, so they didn’t stay any longer. They went to the locker room, put on their coats, and headed home.
Halfway there, Jiang Mi brought something up.
“Jinyi, are you going home on Friday?”
By “home,” Jiang Mi meant the Liang residence.
Liang Jinyi raised an eyebrow. “Why? Does Brother have something to do on Friday? A business dinner or overtime?”
Jiang Mi hummed. “There’s a class reunion on Friday. I haven’t seen a lot of them in years, so I’m going after work.”
Liang Jinyi asked, “A university reunion? Or middle school? High school?”
“High school. And quite a lot of people are going. About ninety percent of the class should be there.” His university classmates had come from all over the country, and many had gone abroad. Only thirty or forty percent of his old university classmates were still in Bei City. His high school classmates were different; most of them were still in the capital.
“I want to go too,” Liang Jinyi said.
Before Jiang Mi could refuse, Liang Jinyi continued in a pitiful tone, “My dad has been going to his girlfriend’s place a lot lately. Uncle Lin has a grandson now, and my brother is thousands of miles away.”
“Brother, I don’t want to go home and be alone.”
The moment Liang Jinyi said the phrase he had loved saying since childhood—I want to go too—Jiang Mi hadn’t even had time to decide whether to let him come before Liang Jinyi rattled off that long string of grievances.
Amused, Jiang Mi rubbed his cheek. “I never said you couldn’t come. If you want to go, then come. You know quite a few of my high school classmates anyway.”
On Friday, Jiang Mi and Liang Jinyi discussed their plans. Jiang Mi had originally intended to pick Liang Jinyi up from the Experimental High School after work, but Liang Jinyi said there was no need. Jiang Mi could pick him up at home instead. He wanted to go home and change after school first.
Jiang Mi: “?”
Liang Jinyi said, “I don’t want to wear my school uniform.”
Jiang Mi didn’t think much of it. “All right.”
The class reunion for Class One of Yunde High School’s Class of 2007 was being held in the banquet hall of a star-rated restaurant. Their class had been an elite class taught in a small-class format, with only a little over thirty students in total.
However, nearly ten years had passed since graduation, and quite a few of them were already married with children. Family members were welcome at the reunion, so according to the final headcount made by their former class monitor, more than fifty people would actually be attending.
Jiang Mi and Liang Jinyi arrived fairly early. Jiang Mi was a lawyer, and one of his former classmates happened to be involved in a financial dispute and wanted to consult him about it.
Jiang Mi still had considerable affection for his old classmates, so the two of them found a quiet corner to talk. Liang Jinyi sat alone on a white dining chair.
Two attractive, fashionably dressed women watched him for a while. Then one of them pulled out the chair beside him and sat down.
Curiously, she asked, “Hey, handsome, whose plus-one are you?”
Zou Ke was extremely curious. Which one of their classmates was impressive enough to land such an outstandingly handsome man? Judging by his age, this handsome guy seemed several years younger than them too.
Could it be an interesting older-woman-younger-man romance?
Liang Jinyi looked up and studied Zou Ke for a couple of seconds before smiling.
“Jiang Mi.”
Zou Ke froze. “You’re Jiang Mi’s plus-one?”
Liang Jinyi nodded.
Zou Ke mentally cursed, Holy shit.
Just then, Jiang Mi finished answering his old classmate’s questions and strode back toward Liang Jinyi.
When the female classmate saw him, she couldn’t help accusing him, “Jiang Mi, so this is your type? Why didn’t you say so back then? I even wrote you three love letters!”
Jiang Mi froze, not understanding what she meant. “What do you mean, ‘my type’?”
“He’s your plus-one, right?” Zou Ke asked, pointing at Liang Jinyi.
“Yes.” Jiang Mi nodded.
“You’ve already admitted it, so why are you being so secretive?” After saying that, Zou Ke looked at Liang Jinyi again and asked, “Have you graduated yet?”
Liang Jinyi replied, “Not yet.”
Zou Ke asked curiously, “Then how many years have you two been together?”
Liang Jinyi answered, “Quite a few years.”
Quite a few years?
Zou Ke asked again, “Then are you planning to get married? You can’t get married domestically, but…”
Jiang Mi caught part of their conversation and found it utterly baffling.
“Marriage? What marriage?”
Zou Ke frowned at his question. “Jiang Mi, haven’t you two been together for years? Are you planning to just keep dating forever?”
Jiang Mi finally realized what was strange about the conversation.
But before he could speak, Lu Chenghe, who had walked over and heard the entire exchange, burst into laughter.
“Zou Ke, don’t tell me you thought Jinyi was Jiang Mi’s boyfriend?”
Zou Ke looked completely bewildered. “Isn’t he? Jiang Mi himself admitted that he’s his plus-one.”
Lu Chenghe slapped Jiang Mi on the shoulder and laughed loudly. “Bro, everyone else brings their partner to a class reunion, but you brought your little brother. No wonder she thought you’d gotten yourself a boyfriend! Hahaha!”
Zou Ke looked even more confused. “He’s not your boyfriend?”
Jiang Mi said helplessly, “He’s my little brother.”
Afraid there would be further misunderstanding, Jiang Mi added a few words.
“My biological little brother.”
Lu Chenghe hummed in agreement. “I can vouch for that. His real little brother. And he’s still a high school student this year.”
Zou Ke glanced at Liang Jinyi. He didn’t seem offended at all. Instead, he gave her a bright, sunny smile.
Zou Ke immediately felt apologetic. “Sorry, little brother. I jumped to conclusions.”
Liang Jinyi’s eyes curved into crescents as he said, “It’s okay, Sister. I think you have excellent judgment.”
“Liang Jinyi.” Jiang Mi thought Liang Jinyi was being sarcastic and mocking her poor eyesight, so he quietly warned him.
“Wait, something’s not right, Jiang Mi. If he’s really your biological little brother, why isn’t his surname Jiang? I remember your mother’s surname isn’t Liang either.” Zou Ke had liked Jiang Mi for a while back then. She remembered his mother’s surname was either Liu or Li. In any case, it definitely wasn’t Liang.
Before Jiang Mi could answer, Liang Jinyi smiled and said, “Brother and I are brothers with absolutely no blood relation whatsoever.”
Zou Ke became even more confused.
“Brothers with absolutely no blood relation whatsoever.”
She felt there was something strangely ambiguous about that statement. Her gaze moved back and forth between the two of them.
“Jiang Mi, are you trying to come out but too scared to do it outright, so you’re secretly testing the waters with us?”
Author’s Note
Ah, the groundwork is finally being laid for Brother to discover his little brother’s improper intentions.
