Slap.
Jiang Lingye raised his hand, seemingly about to knock Qin Chaoyue’s hand away.
But in the end.
He didn’t do it. Instead, he bent down and ducked out from under her hand.
“How old are you?”
The young man’s voice was still a little hoarse.
Qin Chaoyue raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to ask a girl her age?”
“Mm.”
“23, I think.”
Hearing the answer, Jiang Lingye looked rather shocked.
Qin Chaoyue’s face was very young, but her usual way of doing things, along with her naturally powerful aura, made it easy for people to overlook how young she looked.
Jiang Lingye suddenly smiled. “Xu Mucheng just turned 24.”
“So?”
Jiang Lingye didn’t say anything—the bullet comments filled it in for him.
[So Xu Mucheng is clearly older than Qin Chaoyue, yet she keeps calling her “jie-jie” this and “jie-jie” that—it’s hilarious!]
[Genuine question, is this a palace drama shoot?]
[Damn, I’m an ex-Yezi fan who’s long since left the fandom—I’ve NEVER seen Jiang Lingye this obedient!]
[Do you not understand the suppressive power of the jie-jie bloodline? (leans back)]
[? Jiang Lingye doesn’t know his own sister’s age? This sibling pair is definitely fake. Rented, surely.]
[He’s obviously being passive-aggressive on purpose. How can you not see that?]
“You pay a lot of attention to her?”
“I saw it online during the drama promotion.”
“Oh. Don’t get too close to her.”
“Got it.”
Since Qin Chaoyue and Xu Mucheng didn’t get along, and Jiang Lingye was now her nominal younger brother, getting close would naturally be aiding the enemy.
And Xu Mucheng’s behavior today gave him no reason to feel any goodwill toward her—not romantic feelings, of course, just ordinary goodwill.
Then—
Qin Chaoyue: “You’re still a minor.”
“You don’t even have a proper diploma yet. If rumors of puppy love spread on top of that, it’d be even worse.”
“Looking at you now, your hair’s even turning yellow.”
Jiang Lingye jumped. “Idols can’t date!”
“Oh.” Qin Chaoyue’s tone was lazy. “Weren’t you already declared unfit as an idol ages ago?”
“Either way, I’m NOT dating!!”
Jiang Lingye’s face darkened again, but Qin Chaoyue ignored him, and before long, the young man consoled himself.
He looked at Qin Chaoyue and suddenly started laughing again.
Not the least bit rebellious or sullen—just a bright, sunny, happy puppy through and through.
“We keep talking about me. You’re not that old yourself~”
“At least I’m an adult. I can date, so managing you is no problem at all.”
Jiang Lingye was surprised. “Who here do you want to date?”
The fact that he didn’t dispute the second part meant he’d accepted it—willingly being managed by his “jie-jie” like this.
Qin Chaoyue fell into an eerie silence.
The atmosphere was so quiet that Jiang Lingye thought he’d said something wrong again without realizing.
Only then did Qin Chaoyue slowly speak:
“Are you a fly?”
Jiang Lingye: “?”
“It’s all shit, and you just HAVE to pick out the least disgusting-looking piece and take a taste, huh?”
[Ahhh please stop talking]
[Help! I can practically taste it in my mouth—blegh blegh blegh blegh!!]
[Having liked Luo Zibai is my cyber criminal record (lights cigarette)]
!
Jiang Lingye straightened his expression in one second and declared his position: “I ship Brother Luo and Zhuo Xi-gege too!”
Qin Chaoyue: “Shipping the same CP as me. You’ve got taste.”
After Qin Chaoyue’s scare, Jiang Lingye didn’t have a shred of that rebellious teenage attitude left.
He was as well-behaved as could be.
Qin Chaoyue noticed that not far away, Zhuo Xi was glancing over in their direction, whether intentionally or not.
“Tired?”
Jiang Lingye paused. “I’m alright.”
He was actually telling the truth.
Even though his arms were still aching faintly, as someone with zero dance background who had stumbled into an idol survival show—
His singing voice might be a natural gift, but his dancing had been honed through countless days and nights in the practice room, sacrificing sleep and rest.
Honed until now he could stand at the very center of the stage, glowing all on his own, to the point where no one else could snatch away even a sliver of the attention he deigned to give.
Was it tiring?
Naturally.
But.
There had been results, and there had been gains.
The uncles and older brothers today weren’t people who followed the entertainment industry. They didn’t know him, treated him like the most ordinary student, and were quite considerate to him at work.
Although they all tried to hide it, how could Jiang Lingye—who had learned to read people’s faces early on through a difficult upbringing—not sense it?
He was tired.
But that time might have been the most relaxed he’d been in a long while.
Qin Chaoyue shot him a glance. “Looks like you’re not tired enough.”
Jiang Lingye: ? Is that something a human being can say!
“Wait here for me.”
[Wait here for me while I go buy some oranges]
The young man craned his neck again. “Why should I?”
“Hm?”
With just one killing glare from Qin Chaoyue, Jiang Lingye stood rooted in place and didn’t move an inch.
In between, Zhuo Xi came over to strike up a conversation, and Jiang Lingye just turned his head to the other side.
All the way until Qin Chaoyue came back.
The bullet comments were all exclaiming—[OMG, is this a boy-toy who obeys his big sis!!]
Jiang Lingye felt something heavy land in his hands.
“What’s this?”
“A workbook.”
Qin Chaoyue answered matter-of-factly. “Since you’re not tired, might as well do these problems.”
Jiang Lingye: “…”
“Since the water in your head has already drained out in another form, wouldn’t it be a waste not to write a few problems now?”
The corner of Jiang Lingye’s mouth twitched. “I won’t—”
[Whitewashing!]
[Everyone knows Jiang Lingye only has a middle school diploma, and now he’s trying to build a hardworking image on the show like this. Qin Chaoyue really is in cahoots with him!]
“Anyway, you’re being boycotted by everyone now, you barely have any gigs, and after finishing this show with me you probably won’t be able to survive in the entertainment industry at all. If you don’t study, what else can you do?”
Jiang Lingye’s mouth moved, but Qin Chaoyue cut him off first.
“Don’t tell me you’re really going to screw bolts in a factory?”
“So what? At least I can support myself.”
[I can’t watch this anymore. What kind of thing is Qin Chaoyue, daring to look down on our fellow workers?]
[Report her, report her immediately!]
“Heh.”
Qin Chaoyue gave a cold laugh, but this time it was directed at Jiang Lingye. “Fun fact: given how fierce the competition for jobs is these days, to screw bolts you’d need at least a vocational school degree.”
“You can go see whether anyone will even take you.”
[Case closed!]
[How is Qin Chaoyue looking down on workers? The only one she looks down on is clearly Jiang Lingye!]
[My little sister has also been rebellious lately and doesn’t want to study, wants to go work in a factory. Just needs a mouth like Qin Chaoyue’s to tear into her :)]
[The one who roasts you the hardest really is your own big sister after all]
“。”
Jiang Lingye didn’t dare talk back again. He put away the workbook and was about to step aside.
The demon’s voice came from behind him again. “Bring it tomorrow. I’m going to check it.”
Jiang Lingye: “…”
“Okay.”
[I have to say, seeing Jiang Lingye all meek and submissive like a docile little wife really does my heart good]
[So you have your day of reckoning too!!]
Jiang Lingye left with his thick stack of homework. The moment he turned around, Qin Chaoyue was greeted by that adorable little girl, Tang Yeli.
At her age, she was exactly at the stage of admiring the strong.
Now, the moment she saw Qin Chaoyue, her eyes were full of stars. “Qin-jiejie, you’re so amazing! Even a top star is completely obedient to you…”
“Maybe it’s because he’s a little brother first.”
“Right, right, exactly!”
On this point, Tang Yeli nodded vigorously, looking like she deeply related.
Qin Chaoyue found her adorable too.
Rather than a rebellious little brother, she would have preferred a soft, squishy little sister.
But the kid had already been born—there was no stuffing him back in for a remake.
Qin Chaoyue: “You can have one too.”
“?!”
(￣□￣；)
Somehow, Tang Yeli suddenly felt a sense of impending doom.
“What grade are you in now?” Qin Chaoyue asked, her voice several degrees gentler than it had been with Jiang Lingye.
“Second year of middle school. After summer break, I’ll be starting third year.” Tang Yeli answered obediently.
Qin Chaoyue beckoned her over.
The little girl was instantly dazzled beyond all reason and scampered right over.
Slap!
A workbook landed in Tang Yeli’s hands.
Qin Chaoyue: “I didn’t bring anything nice. Consider this a meeting gift.”
Tang Yeli: “…”
“When you have free time, fill in the ones you know how to do first.”
Tang Yeli: Σ(⊙▽⊙”a
[The way wifey summons her little puppy—even a top star can’t resist that. Who wouldn’t be smitten?]
[Woof woof woof]
[I’m Miss Qin Chaoyue’s dog!!]
[Tang Yeli: Qin Chaoyue has destroyed my summer vacation dreams (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻]