Chapter 59
“But I have two conditions. First, you’re not allowed to tell anyone that our relationship has changed. Second…”
Jiang Mi paused for two seconds before smoothly continuing, “If one day you stop liking me, you have to tell—”
“Why did you close your eyes?”
Halfway through speaking, Jiang Mi saw Liang Jinyi, who had been staring at him blankly, suddenly shut his eyes.
Jiang Mi frowned.
After a long while, Liang Jinyi opened them again.
He said dazedly, “Brother, I think I just heard you say you wanted to date me.”
He sighed and turned to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the lights shining from window after window.
Frowning, he said, “It’s already nighttime. Why am I still daydreaming?”
“It’s not a dream.”
Jiang Mi repeated himself.
His tone sounded remarkably calm—so calm it did not seem like he was talking about starting a relationship at all.
“I said we can try dating.”
“But I have two conditions. First, you can’t tell anyone about our relationship. Second, if one day you stop liking me, you have to tell me in advance.”
“Brother, you mean… we can start dating now?”
Only at this moment did Liang Jinyi seem to belatedly process what Jiang Mi had just said.
Jiang Mi hummed.
The moment he answered, Jiang Mi suddenly froze.
Liang Jinyi had cried in front of him before, but that had all been when he was very young.
Whenever he accidentally got hurt, even though he was not afraid of pain, his pain receptors seemed more sensitive than most people’s.
At times like that, whenever Jiang Mi appeared in front of him, his eyes would fill with tears.
But those were memories from ten years ago.
Jiang Mi had already forgotten what Liang Jinyi looked like when he cried.
But now…
“Jinyi, are you crying?”
Liang Jinyi turned his head slightly and took a deep breath.
Then he looked back, fixing those exquisitely beautiful eyes on Jiang Mi.
“You saw wrong, Brother.”
Jiang Mi felt that although he had already stated his two conditions twice, Liang Jinyi probably had not heard either time.
So he patiently repeated them again.
Almost the instant Jiang Mi finished the second condition, Liang Jinyi answered without the slightest pause.
“I won’t.”
“I won’t stop liking Brother.”
“I’ll always like Brother.”
The pendant light above the dining room was too bright.
Bright enough for Jiang Mi to see the absolute certainty in Liang Jinyi’s eyes far too clearly.
And so Jiang Mi began to wonder whether his decision had been too hasty.
Over the past year or so, he had confirmed one thing with complete clarity.
He could not harden his heart against Liang Jinyi.
All the coldness and ruthlessness he should have shown toward a pursuer he did not like—he could not bring himself to show any of it to Liang Jinyi.
And Liang Jinyi seemed as though he truly could keep pursuing him forever.
A thought suddenly took shape in Jiang Mi’s mind.
People always longed most intensely for what they could not have.
One of his university roommates, Zhang Dameng, had once missed out on a limited-edition Gundam model and obsessed over it for years.
Every time he bought a new Gundam, he would remember the one he had missed.
Later, by coincidence, he finally managed to acquire that same limited-edition model.
At first, he was so happy he practically wanted to sleep hugging it.
But gradually, his fondness faded.
Two months later, the limited-edition Gundam he had yearned for over the course of two years was no different from the dozens of other models in his collection.
It sat in the glass display cabinet in his bedroom, just another ordinary model among many.
Maybe Jinyi was the same.
Because he could not date Jiang Mi, he desperately wanted to.
His interest in Jiang Mi might last longer than his roommate’s obsession with a Gundam model, but that was all right.
One year.
Two years.
Jiang Mi did not mind spending that time on him.
When one day Jinyi’s feelings faded—
At that thought, a strange discomfort suddenly surged through Jiang Mi.
“You’re only eighteen. Don’t speak so absolutely.”
Jiang Mi tried to keep his voice calm.
Liang Jinyi looked at him intently.
After a moment, he laughed softly.
“I know Brother doesn’t dare believe me. It’s okay.”
“I can spend my entire life proving it.”
“All right, all right. Go do your test papers.”
Jiang Mi avoided Liang Jinyi’s gaze and turned toward his bedroom.
“Wait.”
Liang Jinyi grabbed his arm.
His brows knitted together.
“Brother, we just made our relationship official. Shouldn’t we do something memorable?”
Jiang Mi tried to pull his forearm free.
He failed.
So he could only ask, “What memorable thing do you want to do?”
“Something…”
Liang Jinyi’s gaze fell on Jiang Mi’s face.
First, on the brows and eyes he had traced countless times in his dreams.
Then gradually downward.
The straight bridge of his nose.
Lower still—
Liang Jinyi’s prominent Adam’s apple rolled violently twice.
The sound of him swallowing was so clear that even Jiang Mi, standing half an arm’s length away, heard it.
“Brother, I want to kiss you.”
Liang Jinyi made no attempt to hide his desire.
His breath burning hot, he finished speaking and lowered his head toward Jiang Mi.
Jiang Mi had not been completely unprepared for the things couples were supposed to do after getting together.
After all, his younger brother was certainly not the type who would agree to a purely platonic relationship.
Jiang Mi had thought he might feel uncomfortable at first.
But after doing those things a few times, perhaps he would eventually become as calm about it as he was when working in the study while Jinyi did homework nearby.
Yet only now did Jiang Mi suddenly realize that the reality he had imagined in his head and the reality actually happening before him were vastly different.
Feeling Liang Jinyi’s focused gaze on him, feeling his breath drawing closer and closer, Jiang Mi’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated.
The last time his heart had raced this wildly had been in the second before he checked whether he had received his graduate admission offer from H University.
“Brother.”
Feeling Jiang Mi’s palm press against his chest and push him away, Liang Jinyi called him in dissatisfaction.
Jiang Mi steadied his overly agitated emotions and looked up.
“We’ll talk about these things after your college entrance examination.”
With that, Jiang Mi maintained an outward appearance of composure despite the heat burning through his body and walked toward the bedroom.
He had only taken one step before Liang Jinyi grabbed him again.
Liang Jinyi’s voice came from behind him, slightly dry and hoarse.
“Brother, I can’t wait that long.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Brother, tomorrow I absolutely have to kiss you.”
—
Over the past few days, because Liang Jinyi had insisted on driving Jiang Mi to work, Jiang Mi had moved his morning exercise half an hour earlier.
Now that Wang Qiang had been arrested and the danger was completely gone, Jiang Mi no longer needed Liang Jinyi to drive him.
So this morning, he got up at six-thirty as usual and went for a run.
At seven-thirty, he returned home and saw Liang Jinyi sitting in the living room, already dressed in his blue-and-white school uniform.
Seeing Jiang Mi enter wearing lightweight sportswear, Liang Jinyi stood and followed him toward his room.
“Brother, I thought you were going to wait until I left for school before coming home.”
Jiang Mi’s expression was indifferent.
“You can go to school now.”
Liang Jinyi estimated the time.
“I really should go.”
“Then, Brother, I’ll see you tonight.”
A minute later, after hearing the front door open and close, Jiang Mi took a deep breath.
He unzipped his sports jacket as he headed toward the bathroom.
Jiang Mi had a great deal to handle today.
In the morning, he visited a client’s company.
In the afternoon, he spent the entire time drafting documents.
He remained buried in work until Gu Yuan pushed open his office door with a pale face.
Suppressing the pain, Gu Yuan said, “Jiang Mi, my stomach’s acting up. I… damn, I need to go to the hospital. Take my dinner meeting with President Cheng from Ruihua tonight.”
Jiang Mi had met President Cheng of Ruihua several times.
Ruihua was interested in working with Zhuosi Law Firm, so there was little difference whether Jiang Mi or Gu Yuan attended.
“All right. I’ll go tonight. You go to the hospital.”
“Okay. Good.”
Gu Yuan and President Cheng had arranged to meet at seven.
Jiang Mi and an employee who was skilled at socializing arrived at the reserved restaurant at six-forty.
They sat down, ordered dishes in advance according to the client’s preferences, and coordinated the timing of the meal.
Then Jiang Mi’s phone lit up.
It was a message from Liang Jinyi asking why he still had not returned home.
Jiang Mi: [A last-minute dinner engagement came up. I’ll be home later.]
Liang Jinyi: [Brother, are you avoiding me again?]
Jiang Mi: [No. Gu Yuan suddenly had a stomach attack. I have to take this dinner in his place.]
Liang Jinyi: [All right. I’ll wait for Brother to come home. No matter how late it is, I’ll wait.]
A faint sound came from outside the private room.
It seemed President Cheng and the others had arrived.
Seeing that Jiang Mi was still staring at his phone in a daze, Wang Haozhi softly called, “Lawyer Jiang.”
Jiang Mi snapped back to himself.
From the corner of his eye, he saw President Cheng of Ruihua push open the private room door, half his body already visible.
Jiang Mi smiled and stood warmly.
“President Cheng, you’re finally here.”
The dinner lasted until nine.
After President Cheng left, Jiang Mi watched his employee get into a taxi before heading to the parking lot himself.
The client tonight did not like drinking, so Jiang Mi had only had two drinks.
He was completely clear-headed, but still over the legal limit for driving.
After waiting one minute, the designated driver he had called arrived on a scooter.
Jiang Mi got into the car and gave his destination.
Half an hour later, the Audi stopped in the underground parking garage at Shimao Tingfang.
After the designated driver left, Jiang Mi locked the car and returned to the twenty-eighth floor.
Once the final digit of the password was entered, the dark reddish-brown security door opened.
Jiang Mi stepped into the entryway, changed into slippers, and walked toward the living room.
Liang Jinyi had been in the study, restlessly working on test papers.
The moment he heard movement in the living room, he put down his pen and rushed out in a few strides.
“Brother, you drank?”
Seeing Jiang Mi’s flushed cheeks, Liang Jinyi frowned.
“I’ll make you some honey water.”
Jiang Mi loosened his tie and went to wash his hands.
When he returned to the living room, the honey water was already ready.
“Thank you.”
After thanking him, Jiang Mi used the honey water—perfectly warm and sweet—to soothe his mouth and stomach.
As he drank, Liang Jinyi seemed to remember something.
The gaze fixed on Jiang Mi grew hotter and hotter.
Jiang Mi’s fingers unconsciously tightened around the glass.
Half a minute later, the honey water was gone.
Appearing calm, Jiang Mi bent down and placed the glass on the coffee table.
At that moment, Liang Jinyi’s hoarse voice sounded above him.
“Brother, you remember what I said last night, right?”
Jiang Mi sighed inwardly.
Then he straightened and met Liang Jinyi’s desperately restrained gaze.
“Brother, I said—”
Before Liang Jinyi could finish, all the words were swallowed back.
Someone pressed down on the back of his neck.
He instinctively lowered his head.
Then he smelled the faint scent of honey, mixed with the light trace of alcohol on Jiang Mi.
Of course, in the very next second, his sense of smell stopped functioning altogether.
All he could feel was the softness against his lips.
Every other cell in his body seemed to shut down completely, losing all connection with the outside world.
Several seconds later, Jiang Mi pulled away, breathing slightly hard.
He seemed rather pleased by the stunned expression on Jinyi’s face.
He raised a hand and patted Liang Jinyi’s cheek—not too hard, not too gently.
Smiling, he said,
“Little brother, kissing isn’t something you keep talking about with your mouth.”
Then Jiang Mi turned around, appearing calm, and walked toward his bedroom.
The very next second, however, someone grabbed his arm.
Liang Jinyi tightened his grip and yanked.
Jiang Mi fell backward onto the sofa beside him.
In the next instant, a tall figure pressed down over him.
Author’s Note
So after little brother said “Brother, I want to kiss you” countless times, the one who finally kissed first was still Brother…
