Chapter 40
Because Liang Jinyi had reminded him to order something nutritious, Jiang Mi thought for a moment and went into the kitchen to make himself a bowl of tomato and egg noodles.
His cooking skills were still about as good as they had been at the beginning. After taking one look at the finished tomato and eggs, Jiang Mi poured the whole thing into the trash and ordered a dinner that at least sounded very nutritious from its name.
After dinner, Jiang Mi cleaned up the food waste and went to the study to work overtime on a document.
More than an hour later, Jiang Mi vaguely heard some movement in the living room. He got up from his desk, opened the study door, and walked out.
“Jinyi, didn’t you say you were going home tonight? Why are you—”
Before he could finish speaking, the young man pulled him into a tight embrace.
Liang Jinyi wrapped both arms around Jiang Mi’s waist, buried his head against his shoulder, and called out in a muffled voice, “Brother.”
Jiang Mi’s neck felt a little ticklish again, but that was hardly what mattered right now. He paused, then asked gently, “What’s wrong, Little Brother?”
Liang Jinyi didn’t answer at first.
Only after a long while did he finally speak against Jiang Mi’s shoulder, his voice muffled.
“She came to see me today.”
Jiang Mi was puzzled. “Who?”
Jiang Mi had the shoulders of a grown man—strong and solid. Liang Jinyi rubbed against them a few times before saying quietly, “The woman who gave birth to me.”
Jiang Mi went blank for several seconds.
In all the dozen or so years he had known Liang Jinyi, his mother had never appeared. Jiang Mi had assumed she never would again.
He reached out and slowly patted his little brother’s back, which was even broader and more solid than his own.
His voice was gentle. “Why did she come looking for you?”
Liang Jinyi tightened his arms around Jiang Mi’s narrow waist and said softly, “She said she’s missed me all these years. She wants to spend some time with me.”
“Then… what do you think?” Jiang Mi asked quietly.
“I don’t know.” There was a faint trace of confusion in Liang Jinyi’s voice. “I never thought I’d see her again.”
Jiang Mi gently patted his back again.
“It’s okay, Little Brother. You can take your time and think about it.”
Liang Jinyi closed his eyes, his head still buried against Jiang Mi’s neck, and gave a soft hum.
Liang Jinyi held Jiang Mi in the living room for nearly twenty minutes before finally letting go. He said he was going to work on some test papers, then returned to his room.
Once Liang Jinyi had gone back to his room, Jiang Mi returned to his own and immediately called Liang Xuping.
Liang Xuping had recently been in Hainan filming the crater of a volcano that had existed ten thousand years ago.
At ten that night, he returned to his hotel so exhausted that he collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep immediately. Half-conscious, he heard his phone ringing.
Liang Xuping struggled to reach for it. After glancing at the caller ID, he answered in a sleep-heavy voice.
“Bro, I—”
“Liang Xuping, do you know anything about Jinyi’s mother?” Jiang Mi interrupted urgently before he could finish.
Liang Xuping was still thick with sleep. “His mother…”
“Jinyi’s mother came to see him today,” Jiang Mi said.
It was like a bomb had suddenly exploded, instantly blasting away every trace of Liang Xuping’s drowsiness.
“You’re saying Jinyi’s biological mother came looking for him?”
Jiang Mi’s expression was complicated. “He told me himself just now. He said his mother came to see him and told him she hadn’t seen him in a long time and missed him very much.”
Liang Xuping abruptly sat up on the hotel bed and irritably ran a hand through his hair.
“I don’t know much about Jinyi’s mother either. I’ll call Uncle Lin and ask. Uncle Lin definitely knows.”
“I’ll call Uncle Lin myself.”
Jiang Mi had also known Uncle Lin well for many years. And rather than having Liang Xuping relay the information to him, he wanted to ask directly.
After all, this concerned Jinyi. Hearing something secondhand naturally couldn’t compare with asking in person.
“That works too.”
Although Liang Jinyi was Liang Xuping’s biological little brother, he was also Jiang Mi’s little brother despite the lack of any blood relation.
It was already ten at night when Jiang Mi called Uncle Lin. As soon as the call connected, he went straight to the point and asked whether Uncle Lin knew about Jinyi’s mother.
When Jiang Mi had first met Uncle Lin, the man had already been close to fifty and had worked for the Liang family for more than a decade.
Now, he was nearly sixty.
With Liang Xuping having recently run away from home and Liang Jinyi practically living at Jiang Mi’s place, the older man had already decided to retire after the New Year and enjoy his later years.
When Jiang Mi suddenly brought up Jinyi’s mother, Uncle Lin was puzzled as well.
Jiang Mi told him that Jinyi’s mother had come to see him.
“Miss Wen came to see Jinyi? When she was discharged from the hospital back then, she promised us that she would never appear in front of him again,” Uncle Lin said in surprise.
“Uncle Lin, what exactly happened between Jinyi and his mother?” Jiang Mi asked.
Jiang Mi didn’t know much about what had happened before Liang Jinyi turned six. All he knew was that his mother had treated him badly in the past.
Uncle Lin sighed and told him everything that had happened.
The story was simple.
After Liang Xuping’s biological mother passed away, Liang Hong never remarried, though he continued seeing girlfriends.
Of course, “girlfriend” was a rather polite way of putting it.
Liang Jinyi’s mother was his third girlfriend.
She became pregnant while she was involved with Mr. Liang.
Liang Hong wanted her to terminate the pregnancy, but Miss Wen secretly left while carrying the child. A year later, she returned to Jing City with Liang Jinyi, hoping to rise in status through her son.
“But how could Mr. Liang possibly allow himself to be threatened?” Uncle Lin said helplessly. “He refused to acknowledge the Little Young Master at all. Even if Miss Wen left the child at the gates of the Liang residence, Mr. Liang would send people to find her and return the child to her. With no other choice, Miss Wen could only take the child and leave again in anger.”
“At the beginning of 2007, one of Mr. Liang’s friends happened to run into five-year-old Jinyi and Miss Wen in Chunyun Town. That was when he learned that Miss Wen suffered from postpartum depression and bipolar disorder, and that the Little Young Master’s living conditions were… very poor.”
Very poor was putting it mildly.
The little brother Liang Xuping had seen bore no obvious injuries only because Mr. Liang had been afraid of shocking the Eldest Young Master. Before Liang Jinyi returned to the Liang family, he first spent three months in the hospital.
“And around 2006, Mr. Liang’s parents passed away from illness one after another. Mr. Liang thought about it for an entire night before deciding to bring the Little Young Master back.”
Back then, Uncle Lin and the lawyers had handled all of these matters. Liang Jinyi had always been an unexpected presence in Liang Hong’s life—and an entirely unwanted one at that. Liang Hong did not have much affection for him.
“We contacted Miss Wen’s parents and obtained custody of Jinyi. Then we sent Miss Wen to a reputable sanatorium for treatment. Three years later, when she had recovered and was discharged, I followed Mr. Liang’s instructions and gave her a sum of money on the condition that she never appear in front of the Little Young Master again.”
“Miss Wen agreed,” Uncle Lin said.
The outcome wasn’t surprising.
Back then, Miss Wen had given birth to Jinyi because she wanted to become Mrs. Liang. In the end, not only had she failed to receive a single cent, she had also been forced to raise a child on her own for five years.
The money she was given wasn’t enough to make her wealthy for the rest of her life, but it was enough for her to live comfortably without worrying about food or clothing.
Besides, Miss Wen was beautiful and had only been in her early thirties at the time. It was entirely possible that she might still meet a suitable partner.
“And ever since she took the money and left eight years ago, I haven’t heard anything about her.”
“Then do you think she was telling the truth when she said she missed Jinyi?” Jiang Mi asked.
He had never met Jinyi’s biological mother and knew nothing about what kind of person she was.
“That…” Uncle Lin couldn’t answer.
Although Miss Wen had done some truly excessive things to Jinyi, she had been suffering from mental illness at the time. And when she had recovered and been discharged from the hospital, there had been an unmistakable trace of desolation on her face when she heard that she would never be allowed to appear in front of Jinyi again.
“Uncle Lin, please look into where Jinyi’s biological mother has been all these years and what she’s been doing.”
Jiang Mi had originally intended to investigate the matter himself, but obviously, Uncle Lin had far more information about Jinyi’s biological mother. It would be much easier for him to look into it.
“All right. I’ll arrange for someone to investigate first thing tomorrow morning.”
After ending the call with Uncle Lin, Jiang Mi slowly walked to the door of the second bedroom.
Liang Jinyi’s door was half-open.
Jiang Mi quietly stood outside the crack and looked in. Seeing Liang Jinyi focused on working through his test papers, he silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Winters in Bei City were not suitable for morning runs, so Jiang Mi had switched to jogging on the treadmill in the study for about fifty minutes after getting up each morning.
By the time he finished showering, changed clothes, and came out of his bedroom, Liang Jinyi was also up and getting ready.
As Jiang Mi adjusted his cuffs, he said, “Jinyi, I’ll drive you to school today.”
Liang Jinyi raised an eyebrow and glanced at him before smiling.
“Sure, Brother.”
Jiang Mi drove Liang Jinyi to school that morning and had also planned to leave work more than half an hour early that afternoon to pick the younger boy up.
However, a client suddenly came to the firm.
By the time Jiang Mi finished meeting with the client, it was already time for Liang Jinyi to get out of school.
Jiang Mi was just about to call and ask whether he had gone home when Liang Jinyi called first.
He told Jiang Mi that he wouldn’t be coming home for dinner that night.
After a pause, he added that he would be eating out with her.
Jinyi would turn eighteen in another half a year, and she was his mother. He had every right to make his own decisions.
Jiang Mi agreed.
At nine thirty that evening, Jiang Mi sat distractedly on the sofa watching financial news.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of the door opening.
Jiang Mi stood up and strode toward the entryway.
“Brother.”
Liang Jinyi had just changed into his slippers. The moment he saw Jiang Mi coming over, he didn’t even have time to put down his backpack before hurrying forward and hugging him.
The young man’s strong arms wrapped tightly around Jiang Mi’s waist. He buried his head against Jiang Mi’s shoulder and rubbed against him, his voice carrying a faint, cheerful smile.
Jiang Mi paused slightly.
“Did you get along well with her?”
Liang Jinyi took a deep breath against Jiang Mi’s shoulder, then drew back slightly.
Instead of answering the question directly, he said, “When she wasn’t having an episode before, she treated me pretty well. She would buy me clothes, take me to ride those coin-operated kiddie rides, and buy me little snacks.”
“So when she says she’s missed me all these years… that must be true, right?” Liang Jinyi asked expectantly.
Jinyi had never been the warm or enthusiastic type.
Other than with himself, this was only the second time Jiang Mi had ever seen him hold such strong expectations toward someone.
Was a mother really that different after all?
Although Jiang Mi still had concerns, Liang Jinyi’s gaze was far too bright. He simply couldn’t bring himself to say anything that would dampen his little brother’s spirits.
So he smiled and hummed in agreement.
Liang Jinyi looked even happier.
“Brother, she also said she’ll go to the zoo with me this Saturday.”
Jiang Mi thought for a moment before saying, “Jinyi, I’d like to meet your mother too. Bring me to meet her sometime in the next few days.”
“Sure. I’ll ask her on Saturday what day she’s free to meet you,” Liang Jinyi said.
Jiang Mi hummed in response.
Liang Jinyi then reached out and lifted Jiang Mi’s chin with his fingers.
He stared at him without blinking for a while before suddenly pulling him into another embrace, his lips resting against the side of Jiang Mi’s neck.
“Brother is so wonderful. She’ll definitely like Brother too.”
Liang Jinyi’s hair brushed against Jiang Mi’s ear, making him itch. He shrank slightly to the side.
“All right, all right. Go take a shower. It’s getting late.”
Jiang Mi usually went back to his parents’ home on Saturdays, but this week, his parents had gone to his father’s hometown, so he didn’t go back.
After Liang Jinyi went out following lunch, Jiang Mi finally had a rare moment of leisure. He chose a book from the study, sat down in the rocking chair on the balcony, and leisurely began to read.
Liang Jinyi had agreed to meet his mother at the entrance to the zoo.
He had visited nearly every place worth going to in Bei City when he was young, and Jiang Mi had taken him to most of them.
The zoo was no exception. Jiang Mi had brought him here twice before, though the last time seemed to have been when he was in fourth grade.
Seven years had passed in the blink of an eye.
The zoo underwent maintenance every year, so it didn’t look old or run-down.
Liang Jinyi even saw some of the animals he and Brother had seen back then, such as the two pandas, Gungun and Pangpang, leisurely munching on bamboo.
After seeing Gungun and Pangpang, Liang Jinyi took out his phone and stood outside the glass wall to take several photos.
He remembered that the last time he came, he and Jiang Mi had also taken photos of the two of them together. Once he went back, he could look through those old memories with Brother.
Wen Mengli had noticed that Liang Jinyi had seemed rather uninterested throughout their walk around the zoo. But when he saw the two pandas, not only did he stop, he even enthusiastically took photos of them.
Wanting to improve her relationship with Liang Jinyi as quickly as possible, Wen Mengli tried to make conversation.
“Jinyi, do you really like pandas?”
Liang Jinyi studied the photos on his phone for a moment, then slipped it into his pocket and replied without much enthusiasm, “I do.”
Then he looked at the woman in front of him, who was smiling ingratiatingly, and said with a smile of his own, “Mom, I also really like penguins. Let’s go see the penguin exhibit up ahead.”
Penguins could live for nearly thirty years. They were probably still the same ones he had seen with Brother back then.
Thinking about it, Liang Jinyi remembered that giraffes, lions, and rhinoceroses also had fairly long lifespans. It was entirely possible that some of them were still the same animals from seven years ago.
Liang Jinyi decided that sometime soon, he should bring Brother back personally to see the animals they had once visited together.
Hearing Liang Jinyi call her “Mom” again, Wen Mengli’s face lit up with joy.
“Of course.”
After leaving the zoo, Liang Jinyi chose a nearby Cantonese restaurant for dinner.
Once he finished ordering, he saw Wen Mengli looking down at her phone with a complicated expression.
When she noticed him looking at her, she put her phone away and gazed at him as though she wanted to say something but didn’t know how.
Liang Jinyi smiled and asked first, “Mom, what do you want to say?”
Wen Mengli hesitated for several seconds before suddenly blurting it out.
She leaned forward excitedly, grabbed Liang Jinyi’s hand, and said, “Jinyi, can you lend Mom five—no, eight million?”
Before Liang Jinyi could respond, Wen Mengli launched into a rapid stream of words, her eyes bloodshot and red.
“I know you have money. One of your backpacks costs tens of thousands, and a single pair of your shoes costs several tens of thousands. Your father is so rich too. You definitely don’t need these few million. Jinyi, please help Mom.”
The smile vanished from Liang Jinyi’s face.
He quietly looked at the middle-aged woman who bore some resemblance to him.
**
At seven that evening, Jiang Mi had just finished his takeout and put the trash in the kitchen.
He was still washing his hands when he thought he heard someone opening the door.
There was only one person who would come in at this time.
Jiang Mi hurriedly dried his hands and headed toward the living room.
“Jinyi, did you have fun with your mother today—”
Once again, before he could finish his sentence, the tall young man strode over and pulled him into a tight embrace.
Liang Jinyi buried his head against Jiang Mi’s shoulder, and when he called out “Brother,” his voice was slightly hoarse.
Jiang Mi’s heart suddenly sped up.
Liang Jinyi took a deep breath, then said in a raspy voice, “She asked me for money. Eight million. She said she owes loan sharks. She owes…”
He seemed to need a moment before he could finish the next two sentences.
“She owes money from online loans too. She said that if she doesn’t repay it, the debt collectors will come after her every day. Sooner or later, they’ll drive her to her death.”
Jiang Mi fell silent for a moment, then slowly patted Liang Jinyi’s back in comfort.
Liang Jinyi held him for twenty minutes before finally saying that he was tired and wanted to rest.
Then he let go of Jiang Mi and went back to his room.
Liang Jinyi had been especially quick-tempered as a child.
If Jiang Mi paid more attention to another child than to him, he would get angry.
If he felt that Jiang Mi was ignoring him, he would get angry.
If something Jiang Mi said made him unhappy, he would get angry.
So Jiang Mi was actually very good at coaxing his little brother.
But today was different.
What his little brother was showing wasn’t anger.
It was sadness.
And it was sadness caused by his own mother.
Jiang Mi had seen his little brother angry, indifferent, and acting spoiled.
He had never seen him sad before.
For a moment, Jiang Mi didn’t know how to make Liang Jinyi feel better.
But after Liang Jinyi returned to his room and started taking off his clothes as though he intended to go straight to sleep, Jiang Mi called out to him.
“Jinyi, it’s only a little after seven. If you sleep now, how are you going to sleep tonight?”
After thinking for a moment, he suggested, “How about we play a game for a while? The one you always play with Zhu Yurui. Don’t you like that game?”
Standing beside the bed, Liang Jinyi turned around.
“Brother, you don’t know how to play that game.”
Leaning against the doorway, Jiang Mi smiled.
“If I don’t know how, can’t I learn?”
He raised an eyebrow, doing his best to lighten the mood.
“Or do you not want to teach Brother?”
Liang Jinyi said, “How could I possibly not want to teach Brother?”
“Then come out and teach me. I’ll download the game first.”
The game itself downloaded fairly quickly, but after the download was complete, there were still several gigabytes of additional data to install.
By the time everything was ready, several minutes had already passed.
Back when Jiang Mi was a student, phones had not been nearly as advanced.
Besides, he had been an extreme overachiever who always put his studies first. He liked playing games, but overall, he had spent relatively little time on them, and he had never played this type of game before.
Jiang Mi was smart.
After looking through the beginner tutorial and instructions, he more or less understood how the game worked.
Seeing that Jiang Mi had grasped the basics, Liang Jinyi watched him play two matches against bots before taking him into ranked mode.
Liang Jinyi also reminded Jiang Mi to choose the support role. Since he was playing AD, the support could stay with the AD throughout the match.
When it was time to choose heroes, Liang Jinyi guided him again.
“Brother, pick Honghong.”
“Honghong?”
Liang Jinyi leaned over and tapped Jiang Mi’s phone screen with one long finger, selecting a cute little girl dressed in a crimson cross-collared ruqun for him.
Jiang Mi looked at his adorable, well-behaved game character, then gave Liang Jinyi a complicated look.
Liang Jinyi chuckled. “Brother, this support’s abilities work better with the hero I’m using.”
“All right.”
Jiang Mi was only playing to keep the kid company anyway, so naturally, the kid’s enjoyment mattered most.
Once both teams had selected their characters, they officially entered the battlefield and the match began.
The moment the game started, Jiang Mi heard an irritable male voice come through the speaker.
“Damn, is bot lane another couple?”
Jiang Mi had only just learned the basics of the game, so he naturally knew that “bot lane” referred to the positions he and Liang Jinyi were playing.
Before he could think too deeply about it, Liang Jinyi spoke lazily.
“Relax. We won’t feed.”
The player in top lane was clearly unconvinced. “Really?”
“Of course,” Liang Jinyi replied.
Then he instructed Jiang Mi to use his chain-throwing skill on him, explaining that it could boost his health and attack power.
Jiang Mi had only briefly looked over his character’s abilities earlier, so at Liang Jinyi’s instruction, he cast his first skill on Liang Jinyi’s hero.
But then the game character chirped, “Wow, I’ve locked onto my destined one again!” while a sparkling red heart-shaped chain hooked around Liang Jinyi’s waist.
Jiang Mi finally understood why the top laner’s first reaction had been to assume the bot lane duo was a couple.
Jiang Mi had never played this game before, but he was quick to understand things and fast at picking up the controls. With Liang Jinyi guiding him as well, he was far from useless despite it being his first match.
Unsurprisingly, Jiang Mi’s team won.
He rolled his neck, then asked Liang Jinyi, “Want to play another round?”
Liang Jinyi hummed in agreement, then added, “But I still want to play the same hero as before.”
Jiang Mi raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”
As a man, if it were entirely up to him, Jiang Mi wouldn’t have chosen a cute little girl character in a dress. Her abilities weren’t particularly satisfying to use either, and most of his kills in the previous match had only happened because Liang Jinyi had deliberately let him have them.
But what could he do? The hero Liang Jinyi liked playing happened to work best with this little girl character.
Compared with his own gaming experience, there was no question that Jinyi’s enjoyment mattered more.
Besides, Jiang Mi wasn’t having a bad time himself.
The two of them played five or six matches over more than two hours. Only when Liang Jinyi said it was getting late and he no longer wanted to play did they finally stop.
Jiang Mi turned his head to look at Liang Jinyi, trying to gauge his current mood.
Liang Jinyi lifted his long eyelashes, his dark eyes filled with expectation. “Brother, I don’t want to sleep alone tonight. Can I sleep with you?”
Hearing this request, Jiang Mi remembered the last time he had slept with Liang Jinyi and the boy’s domineering sleeping posture that left no room for objection. He hesitated for a second.
Liang Jinyi lowered his eyelashes, obvious disappointment in his voice. “I can’t?”
Jiang Mi really couldn’t stand seeing Liang Jinyi look so pitiful. He reached out and rubbed his head. “I never said you couldn’t. If you want to sleep with me, then come sleep with me.”
“Brother.” Liang Jinyi’s eyes instantly lit up.
Jiang Mi lowered both hands and gently squeezed his little brother’s delicate, handsome face. “Go wash up. Come over once you’re done.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Mi usually washed up in the master bedroom. He was already fairly quick about it, but by the time he finished showering, dried his hair, put on his pajamas, and came out of the bathroom, Liang Jinyi had already cleaned himself up and was lying on his bed.
Jiang Mi lifted the covers and lay down as well. The moment he did, the young man’s strong, firm arm wrapped around his waist.
And this time, Liang Jinyi wasn’t satisfied with merely holding him with one arm.
He even stretched out one leg and forcefully wedged it between Jiang Mi’s legs, pressing his head against the side of Jiang Mi’s face.
Jiang Mi had just been about to struggle a little when Liang Jinyi buried his head against his neck again and whined clingily in his slightly deep teenage voice, “Brother, I really like you.”
Jiang Mi sighed inwardly. He turned his head slightly and looked at the clingy little Liang Jinyi who seemed determined to stick to him forever.
“I know.”
Liang Jinyi raised his head and frowned slightly, apparently dissatisfied with that answer.
Jiang Mi said, “Brother likes you very much too.”
Liang Jinyi stared intently at Jiang Mi and pressed, “Then how much does Brother like me?”
“What do you think? Little Brother, I’ve never let anyone hold me like this while I sleep.” This sleeping position was actually rather uncomfortable for him. Then again, most people wouldn’t ask to sleep like this in the first place.
A muffled chuckle escaped Liang Jinyi’s throat. He tightened his arms around Jiang Mi and, taking a mile after being given an inch, said, “Brother, I want to sleep with you like this tomorrow night too. And the night after that. And the night after that.”
Jiang Mi: “…”
Liang Jinyi propped his head up slightly and asked in dissatisfaction, “Brother, don’t tell me your affection for me only goes far enough to let me hold you like this for one night?”
Of course, Jiang Mi didn’t dare admit that. He had a feeling that if he did, the night’s activity would no longer be sleeping—it would be coaxing his little brother.
“Of course not. You can sleep like this tomorrow night, the night after that, and even the night after that.”
Only then was Liang Jinyi satisfied. He settled back down close against Jiang Mi.
By then, it was also around Jiang Mi’s usual bedtime. Resigned, he lay trapped in Liang Jinyi’s embrace and tried to drift off to sleep.
Humans were remarkably adaptable. About half an hour later, Jiang Mi fell asleep.
Not long after Jiang Mi fell asleep, Liang Jinyi also sank into a sweet dream. But the scent of wild roses surrounding him that night was far too intense, and at two in the morning, Liang Jinyi woke up with his entire body burning hot.
He called out “brother” twice, his hips unconsciously pressing forward against him again. In his sleep, Jiang Mi frowned and shifted uncomfortably.
Liang Jinyi took a deep breath, got out of bed, and left the room. After spending more than half an hour in the bathroom, he returned to the bedroom carrying the chill of the cold winter air with him.
At first, he lay down some distance away from Jiang Mi. Only after his body had warmed up did he move back to Jiang Mi’s side and hold him tightly.
The next day, Jiang Mi also received a call from Uncle Lin. With a grave expression, Uncle Lin told him that Wen Mengli had gotten a boyfriend two years ago who had become addicted to gambling. Not only had he squandered all their money, he had also racked up five million yuan in high-interest debt.
Jiang Mi said, “I know. She asked Jinyi for money last night.”
Uncle Lin was startled. “Then…”
Jiang Mi sighed. “Let Jinyi decide for himself. He’s seventeen now.”
“All right,” Uncle Lin said.
After all, a few million wasn’t considered much for the Little Young Master. Once he came of age next year, the amount he received from his trust fund each month would be far greater than what he received now.
When it came to material things, Mr. Liang had never treated Liang Jinyi poorly.
Over the next few days, Jiang Mi continued to keep a close eye on Liang Jinyi’s mood. Seeing that he hadn’t remained trapped in the sadness Wen Mengli had caused him, Jiang Mi finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
It wasn’t until Tuesday evening that, the moment Jiang Mi came home, Liang Jinyi reached out and hugged him tightly again. He told Jiang Mi that he had given Wen Mengli six million yuan that day. Later, Liang Jinyi learned from Jiang Mi that Wen Mengli only owed five million in loan-shark debt.
“The remaining one million should be enough for her to start a new life,” Liang Jinyi said with his head buried against Jiang Mi’s shoulder.
Jiang Mi knew Liang Jinyi was in a bad mood. He reached out and stroked the smooth skin at the back of Liang Jinyi’s neck, rubbing it soothingly before changing the subject.
“Jinyi, our company is going on a team-building trip this week. We’re going to a hot spring resort over a hundred kilometers away. Come with Brother.”
In the past, Liang Jinyi would have been overjoyed at the chance to go somewhere with Jiang Mi and would have forgotten everything else. But today, it seemed Wen Mengli had genuinely hurt him.
Instead of smiling and agreeing, he loosened his hold on Jiang Mi slightly and stared intently into his eyes.
“Brother, will you always stay by my side?”
“Of course,” Jiang Mi replied without hesitation.
Then, wanting to lighten the mood, he looked Liang Jinyi over and smiled.
“When I’m old and we’re both in our seventies or eighties, eighty-year-old me will still get to watch seventy-year-old you act spoiled.”
At those words, Liang Jinyi’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Brother, remember what you promised.”
Jiang Mi hummed in acknowledgment, then asked, “Come to the hot spring resort with Brother on Saturday?”
Liang Jinyi gave an answering hum as though it were only natural.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was Saturday.
The hot spring resort was more than a hundred kilometers from Jiang Mi’s home, and the drive took two and a half hours. A round trip would mean five or six hours on the road.
Very few employees wanted to drive themselves, so Zhuosi simply chartered a bus to transport everyone.
At ten on Saturday morning, all of Zhuosi’s employees gathered downstairs at the company and boarded the bus. Jiang Mi and Gu Yuan were generous bosses. Aside from personal shopping, the company would cover all expenses for this team-building trip, and everyone was allowed to bring a family member or partner.
Not many employees brought anyone with them. Only two did—one brought her mother, while the other brought her boyfriend.
Jiang Mi boarded the bus with Liang Jinyi and found a pair of seats for them.
They had barely been seated for two minutes when one of the female employees at Jiang Mi’s firm called out to him.
“Lawyer Jiang, would you like to try some preserved-plum candy? My grandmother made it herself. It’s fragrant and delicious.”
The female employee enthusiastically held out two simply packaged bags of preserved-plum candy in her palm. Across the aisle from Jiang Mi, Zhang Ke already had one in his mouth and strongly recommended it.
“Lawyer Jiang, try it. This preserved plum is really good.”
“All right, I’ll try some.” Jiang Mi accepted the candy from his female colleague.
The employee continued farther down the bus, smiling as she shared her family specialty with the other coworkers.
After receiving the two bags of preserved-plum candy, Jiang Mi first asked Liang Jinyi, who was sitting beside him, whether he wanted any.
Unsurprisingly, Liang Jinyi said no.
Liang Jinyi had never been particularly fond of sweets since childhood. Jiang Mi lowered his head, opened the package, and picked up one piece with his fingers to taste it.
“Jinyi, this candy is actually really good. It’s not that sweet—the preserved-plum flavor is much stronger. Are you sure you don’t want to try one?”
Jiang Mi genuinely thought it tasted very good.
Liang Jinyi sat with his arms folded, his head resting against the bus window. Today, he was wearing a short black down jacket that made his face look as fair as jade.
He stared at Jiang Mi for a moment, watching his lips move slightly and one cheek puff out faintly from the candy in his mouth.
After hesitating, Liang Jinyi said, “All right. I’ll try one.”
Hearing that, Jiang Mi was about to hand him a piece of preserved-plum candy, but Liang Jinyi didn’t move his hands. He simply tilted his head toward Jiang Mi and opened his mouth slightly.
Jiang Mi froze for a moment, then laughed helplessly.
He lowered his head, picked out the plumpest piece of preserved-plum candy, and placed it in Liang Jinyi’s mouth.
“Try it. Isn’t it—”
Jiang Mi’s voice abruptly cut off because, as Liang Jinyi took the candy into his mouth, he caught Jiang Mi’s finger as well.
Two seconds later, Liang Jinyi released his finger, savored the preserved-plum candy in his mouth, and commented, “It is pretty good.”
There was a faint dampness on Jiang Mi’s index finger. He hadn’t slept well the night before and was still drowsy, so he didn’t pay much attention to it. He simply wiped his finger with a tissue, then smiled and handed the unopened bag of candy to Liang Jinyi.
“This one’s for you.”
Liang Jinyi didn’t refuse. He smiled and said, “Thank you, Brother.”
The bus departed from downstairs at Zhuosi, and two and a half hours later, it finally arrived at their destination.
The administrative department had booked rooms on the basis of two people per room. However, the hot spring resort had been quite busy lately, and they hadn’t booked especially early, so some of the double rooms were standard rooms with two single beds, while others had one large bed.
Jiang Mi had been sleeping in the same bed as Liang Jinyi for the past few days, so he naturally took the key to a room with one large bed.
After everyone had put away their luggage, they went together to the hotel buffet for lunch.
Although this was a company team-building trip, Jiang Mi believed the purpose of team building was to provide employees with a benefit and let everyone enjoy themselves. He didn’t require everyone to gather together and soak in the hot springs that afternoon. Everyone was free to make their own plans.
After lunch, Jiang Mi and Liang Jinyi returned to their room.
Jiang Mi had suddenly had work to deal with the night before and hadn’t gone to sleep until nearly dawn, getting only one or two hours of rest. He had originally planned to catch up on sleep on the bus, but a client called and kept consulting him about several matters.
After lunch, he simply couldn’t hold out any longer, so Jiang Mi returned to the room and slept for two hours.
When he woke up this time, he felt completely refreshed.
After washing up, he called to Liang Jinyi, who was sitting at the head of the bed playing on his phone.
“Come on, Jinyi. Let’s go soak in the hot springs.”
Jiang Mi picked up the phone from the bedside table and saw a message Gu Yuan had sent twenty minutes earlier. He said with a smile, “Brother Gu says he’s already in the pool waiting for us.”
Liang Jinyi’s brows lowered slightly. Seeing Jiang Mi open the suitcase to take out clothes for the hot springs, he asked, “Brother, are we soaking with other people?”
“Not many. Just Brother Gu and Zhang Ke.” Jiang Mi knew Liang Jinyi didn’t like crowds and answered while crouching in front of the suitcase.
Liang Jinyi frowned deeply and stared at Jiang Mi.
“Brother, I don’t want to soak with other people.”
He tilted his head slightly, his beautiful eyes reflecting Jiang Mi’s handsome face.
“Brother, you said you really like me. You wouldn’t refuse such a small wish of mine, would you?”
Jiang Mi: “…”
“Brother, I just want to soak in the hot spring with you.” Liang Jinyi crouched down beside Jiang Mi and softened his voice.
Jiang Mi was utterly helpless.
He tried persuading Liang Jinyi several times, but Liang Jinyi remained firmly unwilling to soak with outsiders. Left with no choice, Jiang Mi took out his phone and told Gu Yuan that Jinyi wasn’t used to soaking with other people, so they would find another pool.
The hot spring resort had all kinds of pools, ranging from large ones that could accommodate more than a hundred people to private pools for one.
Jiang Mi asked a staff member to find them a two-person pool.
Each hot spring pool had its own private shower room so guests could wash before and after soaking. This particular pool happened to have two shower rooms.
After Jiang Mi and Liang Jinyi showered, they came out wearing bathrobes.
Jiang Mi stood beside the hot spring pool, took off his robe, and stepped directly into the water.
Liang Jinyi watched him with a complicated expression.
“Brother, aren’t you taking off your shirt?”
Naturally, people didn’t soak in hot springs completely naked. Most male guests wore shorts, while a smaller number also wore a short-sleeved shirt or swim top.
Jiang Mi had kept on his dark navy short-sleeved shirt. Wearing both shorts and a top, he entered the hot spring.
Leaning back against the edge of the pool, Jiang Mi said, “I’m not used to taking my clothes off outside.”
“But this isn’t outside. It’s just the two of us here,” Liang Jinyi said.
Jiang Mi generally wasn’t particular about small things, but he occasionally had some strange habits.
“I’m not used to taking my clothes off anywhere unless I’m alone.”
“Not even with me, Brother?” Liang Jinyi asked, narrowing his eyes.
Jiang Mi sighed. “Jinyi, do you really need to care about something this trivial?”
“Of course I do,” Liang Jinyi said. “Because I’m taking mine off.”
With that, he neatly pulled off his gray T-shirt, revealing his strong, lean upper body.
The smooth, well-defined lines of his muscles were undeniably pleasing to look at. Jiang Mi admired them for a moment.
Only when Liang Jinyi stepped into the hot spring and moved beside him did Jiang Mi withdraw his gaze.
White steam drifted over the pool, obscuring everything below the neck, and Jiang Mi focused on enjoying the hot spring.
Just then, something lightly touched the tip of his foot.
Jiang Mi didn’t move.
Emboldened, Liang Jinyi pushed his luck and lightly brushed his toes over the top of Jiang Mi’s foot, sending a tingling itch through him.
Jiang Mi couldn’t help laughing twice.
He opened his eyes and said, without the slightest trace of severity, “Stop messing around. Don’t you know that tickles?”
Liang Jinyi watched him for a moment.
Then he suddenly used his toes to tickle him again.
“Liang Jinyi!” Jiang Mi shouted.
Liang Jinyi looked at Jiang Mi intently and said meaningfully, “Brother, there’s something you need to know.”
Jiang Mi leaned back, putting a little more distance between them.
“What?”
Liang Jinyi stared directly at him and enunciated clearly.
“Sometimes, I’m not going to listen to you.”
Author’s Note
And then Brother will discover that from this point on, there really are going to be many things Little Brother won’t listen to him about.
