86 – The only one allowed to be close and affectionate with Lu Tianchen was himself.
“So, Brother Xiao Yi, is it really your brother trying to harm you?
In a private room at the hot pot restaurant, An Xing, An Rong, Xiao Yi, and Chen Bai sat around the table, each with a pot in front of them. As An Xing added meat to his pot, he asked the young man across from him.
“You bet. And it’s all for the family fortune.”
“That brat of mine was spoiled rotten by our scumbag father. He’s got no brains, thinking that if he just takes me out, he’ll inherit the Xiao family. Like that’s gonna happen? My grandfather’s not stupid.”
The Xiao family is headed by Old Master Xiao. He has three sons and one daughter. The youngest son is An Xing’s teacher, Xiao Rui, while the eldest son is Xiao Yi’s father.
Because he was the firstborn, the patriarch was too soft-hearted in his youth and failed to discipline him properly. As a result, Xiao Rui grew into a man incapable of handling responsibilities and lacking judgment.
Despite marrying another clan’s precious daughter, he dared to keep a mistress on the side. He even fathered an illegitimate son who was only a year younger than Xiao Yi.
The elder Xiao immediately banished his eldest son and took charge of raising his grandson.
Thus, though the illegitimate son was doted on by his scoundrel father, he was never acknowledged by elder Xiao. Xiao Yi, however, was raised by the elder himself, clearly groomed as the future heir. In recent years, the elder has actively involved Xiao Yi in family affairs.
Driven to desperation, the illegitimate son exploited Xiao Yi’s passion for street racing to plot against him, aiming to take his life.
After uncovering the truth, Xiao Yi broke out in a cold sweat.
Being raised by his grandfather since childhood, he had never taken his illegitimate half-brother’s stupidity and mischief seriously. Yet sometimes, the foolish actions of a fool can be deadly.
—If he died, even if his grandfather uncovered the truth, could he truly bring himself to send his father’s only remaining son to prison?
Never underestimate anyone.
Xiao Yi was deep in thought when he looked up and saw the scene across the table and his heart sank.
“Try this, try this! I swear, their spicy shrimp balls are out of this world!”
The younger man chattered away as he scooped shrimp balls for his brother, all sweet and affectionate. An Rong, who’d been stone-faced the whole time while gossiping and eating hotpot, suddenly softened when An Xing recommended his favorite dish.
Xiao Yi: …
So jealous. Here he was dealing with sibling rivalry, while these two shared such deep brotherly affection and they weren’t even blood-related.
Xiao Yi stared at them for a moment, convinced An Xing was the reason behind it all.
A cutie like Xing Zai could make anyone feel brotherly love, no matter who he was the younger brother to!
The young man’s gaze was too intense. An Xing shuddered slightly, lifting his head to meet that accusatory stare.
“…” An Xing looked utterly innocent. “What’s up, Brother Xiao Yi? You want some shrimp balls too?”
Xiao Yi spoke with restrained composure: “If Xing Zai would be willing to give me a couple…”
“He hasn’t eaten any himself yet.”
An Rong raised a hand to hold back his dim-witted younger brother, his gaze fixed on Xiao Yi.
“He only took three..”
He only has three shrimp balls in his pot. He gave one to him, leaving two. If he gives one to Xiao Yi, he has to give one to Chen Bai. What would An Xing eat then?
How could he be so grown up yet unable to cook his own shrimp balls? Was he really going to fight a kid for them?
An Rong glared at Xiao Yi, his double standards as righteous as ever.
Xiao Yi sighed dejectedly and resorted to serving himself and Chen Bai.
He was clearly the legitimate heir, yet he was being undermined by his illegitimate younger brother. In his previous life, he’d ended up paralyzed. An Xing watched the dejected young man with sympathy, rubbing his temples.
“Brother Xiao Yi’s got it rough—so heartbreaking! Gonna eat some shrimp balls to cheer myself up!”
With that, he grabbed a shrimp ball with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.
Xiao Yi: …
Chen Bai, who had long understood the whole story but was too busy eating, couldn’t hold back this time and burst out laughing. He patted Xiao Yi’s shoulder, his peach-blossom eyes brimming with mockery.
“Forget it, don’t even think about it. Even if your own brother ends up in jail, you’re not going to get a cute little brother to replace him.”
“Hmph! Trying to steal someone else’s little brother?!” An Rong shot Xiao Yi a look of utter disdain.
An Xing finished his shrimp ball dumplings and asked curiously:
“So, Brother Xiao Yi, what’s the deal with your illegitimate half-brother and my second aunt’s family?”
An Xing vaguely recalled that the garage where Xiao Yi had caused a car accident was run by the Tan family. Rumor had it the master mechanic there had tampered with the vehicle. But later, Brother Chen had told him the accident had nothing to do with that mechanic.
This time, Xiao Yi had not only sent his illegitimate younger brother to prison but also sought trouble with the Tan family. This piqued An Xing’s curiosity.
“That man was merely a scapegoat. The one who actually did it was Tan Zhi.”
Tan Zhi was the youngest son of the Tan family, Tan Xiu’s younger brother.
An Xing gasped in surprise.
“Tan Zhi did it? He teamed up with your brother to sabotage your car?!”
Xiao Yi’s expression turned stern as he looked at An Rong, his words carrying hidden meaning:
“My illegitimate younger brother attacked me because I stood in his way. But I never stood in the way of the Tan family.”
So why did Tan Zhi cooperate with his brother?
An Rong’s face darkened.
An Xing glanced between them, then suddenly his mind clicked into place.
“They’re after Anning Jewelry too?!”
Many of his second aunt’s family’s actions had once been incomprehensible to An Xing, but now a single premise made everything clear.
—The driving force behind most of their schemes was acquiring Anning Jewelry.
Like An Hao’s attempts to suppress him. Like their proactive approach to An Rong. Like in his previous life, when they brought Ning Rong into the picture to undermine Shen Ying and him.
The Xiao and An families had business ties, and the heirs to both fortunes were most likely to be Xiao Yi and An Rong.
When Xiao Yi was in that car accident, they hadn’t yet found An Rong, but Second Aunt knew An Rong existed. Believing in foresight, she sought to pave the way for her son.
As the Xiao family’s designated heir, Xiao Yi appeared mild-mannered but harbored an arrogant superiority complex, utterly dismissive of An Hao. Rather than letting An Hao seize the Anning Jewelry, it was better to hand it to the Xiao family and replace the heir altogether.
An Xing grabbed An Rong’s arm, both furious and terrified.
“I told you they’re heartless! Brother, you must stay safe out there. Don’t let anything happen to you!”
An Rong patted An Xing’s arm, his expression grave.
“I understand. You should be careful too.”
Even Xiao Yi and Chen Bai added:
“Xing, you’re the one who needs to watch your back. At least Brother Rong can take on three opponents when he goes out. But you…”
They didn’t finish their sentences, but An Xing understood from their expressions.
Oh my god, why are Brother Xiao Yi and Brother Bai being so mean? Why resort to personal attacks?
The teenager slammed his fist on the table, lifting his chin defiantly.
“What’s wrong with me? Even if I can’t take on three guys alone, I still have Brother Chen! He’ll definitely protect me!”
Chen Bai teased him.
“Mr. Lu can’t exactly follow you around every day to protect you.”
“Why not?” An Xing tilted his head proudly. “I’m his boyfriend! Protecting his boyfriend is only natural, right?”
This time, it was Xiao Yi and Chen Bai who were stunned.
“What boyfriend?”
Two exclamations rang out simultaneously.
“You two are dating?!”
“Yep, we’re dating now.”
An Xing set down his chopsticks, sat up straight, and looked at Xiao Yi and Chen Bai.
“Brother Xiao Yi, Brother Bai, I was actually planning to talk to you guys about this separately, but since we’re all here today, I might as well just say it.”
“I’m with Brother Chen now! For real! The kind where we’ll get married! The kind where we’ll never be apart for the rest of our lives!”
The young man’s voice grew lighter and brighter with each word. By the end, the smugness in his tone was impossible to hide. His almond-shaped eyes sparkled brightly, like a proud kitten flaunting its tail high in the air while clutching a cherished ball of yarn.
Xiao Yi instantly felt a pang of jealousy.
Such an adorable little beauty, who even saved his life and he hadn’t even had a chance to pledge himself to him yet. How could Luo Tianchen have beaten him to it?
“Xingzhai, you’re still young. Finding a partner is something you should take your time with. No need to rush into defining the relationship! Life is such a long journey…”
Xiao Yi hadn’t finished speaking when An Xing cut him off.
“Life is indeed long, but I’ve already chosen Brother Chen.”
The youth’s expression was more earnest than Xiao Yi had ever seen.
Xiao Yi and Chen Bai fell silent. They both heard the unwavering resolve in those words. For a moment, both men were visibly moved.
“Speaking of which, how did you two end up together?”
Chen Bai changed the subject, asking with genuine curiosity.
An Rong’s hand paused, and An Xing instantly perked up.
“That’s a long story—let me tell you all about it!”
Watching the boy’s excited expression, Xiao Yi and Chen Bai couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
When An Xing and An Rong returned home, their excitement hadn’t quite faded. They felt like they hadn’t finished telling the whole story before the other two were already full.
“Brother Xiao Yi and Brother Bai didn’t have much of an appetite today, huh? They got full so quickly.”
The boy looked genuinely puzzled.
An Rong glanced at the genuinely confused little fool and thought to himself: Because they’d already had their fill of dog food!
At the An family villa, Shen Ying was away today, leaving only An Zhaoming at home. The man sat on the sofa, seemingly deep in thought. His expression softened slightly when he saw the two return.
“Xingxing, Rongrong, you’re back.”
“Dad, what are you doing? Haven’t you had water in ages? Your lips are chapped.”
An Xing leaned in for a closer look. Noticing An Zhaoming’s dry lips, he picked up the water glass from the table and handed it to him.
“You should drink more warm water!”
An Rong also sat down on the sofa, looking at An Zhaoming.
The children’s concern deeply touched the old father. He patted one child’s hand, then the other’s shoulder, finally turning to An Xing.
“Xingxing, how have things been with Tianchen lately?”
Uncertain of the question, An Xing replied obediently, “Very good!”
The light in the boy’s eyes shone brightly, a sight that felt strangely familiar and comforting to An Zhaoming.
His mind drifted for a moment, filled with emotion. He ruffled his son’s hair again and asked gently,
“Then, would you be willing to announce your engagement to Tianchen during the New Year?”
An Rong’s brow instantly furrowed. He’d wanted to object immediately.
In his view, An Xing was still too young—there was absolutely no need to bind him to Lu Tianchen so early. Granted, Lu Tianchen was handsome, wealthy, capable, intelligent, and had a good temperament. Even after the fake young master scandal, he’d remained steadfastly loyal to An Xing…
…there might be someone even better out there!
In An Rong’s eyes, his little fool might be clumsy, but his charm made him worthy of anyone.
Yet he remained silent, sitting quietly by.
He had no right to meddle in An Xing’s life. He could offer suggestions, but certainly not oppose his father’s decision when he was seeking An Xing’s opinion.
An Zhaoming caught his son’s reaction out of the corner of his eye and felt deeply gratified.
When his father asked, An Xing first recalled the starry sky he’d seen on Christmas Eve, then the dazzling fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
But soon, those heart-fluttering, dazzling lights faded. What surfaced instead were countless other scenes.
They grew up together, went out together, ate delicious food together. Lu Tianchen always stood in front of him, protecting and guarding him. Even in the terrible circumstances of his past life, the man never left his side.
Beyond all that, what he couldn’t ignore was his own feelings.
He didn’t want to see anyone else standing beside Lu Tianchen, nor did he want to see Lu Tianchen being kind to anyone else.
The only one allowed to be close and affectionate with Lu Tianchen was himself.
“I’m willing.”
The youth nodded earnestly, his eyes bright, as if stars shone within them.
“This time, it’s because I like Brother Chen that I’m willing to be engaged to him!”
TRANSLATOR’S CORNER: I am not a native speaker of either Chinese or English. I basically MTL and edit the text, sometimes I also use some sites for reference. I can’t guarantee that everything here is accurate, But I try to stick to the author’s work as much as possible. Please feel to comment any mistakes🙂🤗.
