“Where on earth did you get a real younger brother?” Shen Zhinian asked in a cold voice.
Unable to help himself, Bo Chengjing chuckled again. “Why can’t I have a real younger brother? Is it illegal for my father to have another son?”
Shen Zhinian froze, turning his gaze toward the boy beside him.
When Bo Chengjing was very young, his parents had divorced. Although on paper he lived with his father, in reality, Bo Chengjing had always lived independently.
His father had been abroad the entire time.
Anyway, over all these years, Shen Zhinian had only ever met his father once.
Bo Chengjing never talked to him about family matters, so Shen Zhinian always assumed they had practically no contact.
Let alone discovering that he had a younger brother this old, he didn’t even know his father had remarried.
“Don’t you think the two of us look alike?” Bo Chengjing asked.
Shen Zhinian opened his mouth, studying the boy for a moment.
Now that it was mentioned, they really did look quite alike.
Even though this boy had quite large eyes and looked rather obedient, upon closer inspection, his brows and eyes bore a strong resemblance to Bo Chengjing’s.
It was just that Bo Chengjing’s features were constantly etched with a stern coldness, which made it impossible to tell at a glance that the two were related.
“Older brother,” the boy addressed Bo Chengjing.
Shen Zhinian frowned again. “How old is he?”
“Three years younger than you,” Bo Chengjing said.
Shen Zhinian looked at him without speaking.
Bo Chengjing added, “His name is Bo Zhinian.”
The boy looked at him, paused for a second, and said, “Zhinian-ge.”
Shen Zhinian stared at him for two seconds before offering a faint acknowledgment.
Bo Chengjing smiled.
“My name is Bo Jue,” the boy said.
“Bo Jue?” Shen Zhinian echoed. “Does your family have a peerage to inherit?”
Bo Chengjing: “…”
Bo Jue’s mouth twitched slightly.
Shen Zhinian asked, “Why did you bring him here?”
“I ran into my dad during a business trip,” Bo Chengjing said. “He was in the neighboring city.”
“And then?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“My dad and his mother wanted to enjoy some alone time and found him a bit of an eyesore, so they had me bring him along,” Bo Chengjing explained.
Hearing this, a fleeting look of speechlessness crossed Bo Jue’s face.
Shen Zhinian caught it.
He really was just like Bo Chengjing.
“When is he leaving?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“He just got here,” Bo Chengjing said.
Shen Zhinian didn’t speak, his mood turning rather gloomy.
“Do you not like me?” Bo Jue asked.
“Correct,” Shen Zhinian said. “So hurry up and tell your parents to finish playing around so they can come pick you up.”
Meeting Shen Zhinian’s indifferent gaze, Bo Jue remained silent for a few seconds before turning to Bo Chengjing. “Older brother, he doesn’t like me. Take me out to live somewhere else.”
Shen Zhinian narrowed his eyes. “If you want to move out, go by yourself. Don’t even think about taking my brother with you.”
“That’s my older brother,” Bo Jue retorted.
“He’s my brother,” Shen Zhinian said coldly.
“My older brother,” Bo Jue insisted.
“My brother!” Shen Zhinian fired back.
“Cut it out,” Bo Chengjing intervened. “Am I only allowed to be one person’s brother?”
“Yes!” Bo Jue and Shen Zhinian answered in unison.
Bo Chengjing: “If you two argue one more word, both of you are getting kicked outside.”
Bo Jue and Shen Zhinian instantly quieted down.
Though they both still looked thoroughly unconvinced.
Right on cue, the housekeeper announced that dinner was ready and called them to eat.
Bo Chengjing stood up, reached out to ruffle Bo Jue’s soft hair, and said, “Let’s all go eat.”
Watching Bo Chengjing’s hand linger and rub Bo Jue’s head twice, Shen Zhinian walked toward the dining room.
Bo Jue stood up and followed closely behind Bo Chengjing, trailing along like a little duckling.
Shen Zhinian eyed the backs of their heads.
Now that he had a real younger brother, was he, the surrogate brother, going to be thrown away just like that?
The chill in Shen Zhinian’s eyes began to accumulate layer by layer, threatening to plunge the entire villa into an ice age, when Bo Chengjing suddenly turned his head to look at him.
The dark demon lord on the brink of destroying the world abruptly aborted his transformation. Because the cancellation was a bit too hasty, he ended up looking rather blank-faced.
Bo Chengjing asked, “Not coming to eat?”
“Coming.” Casting a resentful look at him, Shen Zhinian stood up and headed to the dining room.
Bo Jue had two online classes to attend that evening.
Insisting on sticking close to Bo Chengjing, Bo Chengjing ended up setting him up in the study.
While Bo Chengjing handled work, Bo Zhinian sat on the sofa, wearing headphones as he attended his online lecture.
Bo Chengjing glanced at him after a while. Seeing that the boy only needed to listen and didn’t need to speak, he withdrew his gaze and returned to his own tasks.
As the two of them kept out of each other’s way, the study remained peaceful and quiet.
Ten minutes later, Shen Zhinian walked in carrying his laptop, pushing the door open and walking straight over to sit beside Bo Chengjing.
Bo Chengjing turned his head to look at him. “Got homework?”
“Nah,” Shen Zhinian replied. “Ye Qinghe wanted me to help him look at a piece of code.”
Bo Chengjing nodded and went back to his work.
Shen Zhinian glanced at him without saying anything else, then looked over at Bo Jue sitting on the sofa, opened his laptop, and checked the file Ye Qinghe had sent him.
Scanning through it roughly, he instantly spotted where the error lay, made the quick corrections, and sent it back to Ye Qinghe.
A reply from Ye Qinghe came back almost immediately.
[Thanks, bro.]
Staring at the message on the screen, Shen Zhinian pondered for a moment before typing out a reply: [Don’t forget, three days of lunches.]
Ye Qinghe: [Definitely won’t forget.]
Ye Qinghe: [Got time on Saturday? My girlfriend wants to treat you to a meal.]
Shen Zhinian: [?]
Ye Qinghe: [To be precise, it’s my girlfriend’s roommate who wants to invite you to dinner.]
Following that message, Ye Qinghe also sent a [You know how it is] sticker emoji.
Shen Zhinian: [?]
Ye Qinghe: [I’ve met her roommate. She’s really pretty, has a great personality, is a local from Jiangcheng, and comes from a very well-off family with power and influence here. Honestly, I think she’s a great match for you.]
Ye Qinghe: [You’re single anyway, go check it out. I genuinely think she’s great.]
Shen Zhinian’s WeChat was logged in on his laptop, displaying their conversation clear as day.
Bo Chengjing could read every word clearly with just a casual glance.
Stealing a couple of sideways glances, he took in the entire chat log.
Shen Zhinian stared at Ye Qinghe’s words for a good long while without reacting, as if deep in thought.
Bo Chengjing’s attention was completely hijacked by Shen Zhinian, making it suddenly difficult for him to focus on the contents of his emails.
His focus remained entirely locked onto Shen Zhinian’s every move.
Yet Shen Zhinian simply kept staring at his laptop screen.
Until Ye Qinghe sent over a question mark as well.
Only then did Shen Zhinian’s fingers move to tap out a reply on the keyboard: [Is falling in love fun?]
Catching those typed words out of the corner of his eye, Bo Chengjing felt his eyelashes flutter softly.
Ye Qinghe: [?]
Ye Qinghe: [What do you mean? Does this mean there’s hope? Also, why’d you ask like that? Have you never had a crush on anyone? You can’t really describe it as fun, anyway.]
Shen Zhinian: [Then what word should be used to describe it?]
Ye Qinghe: [Just feeling happy, relaxed in body and mind, heart pounding wildly, feeling impulsive and nervous, yet feeling a deep sense of satisfaction inside.]
Shen Zhinian stared expressionlessly at that description.
He looked as though he was trying to drill holes straight through the screen with his gaze.
Ye Qinghe: [It’s hard to put into words. The moment you actually end up liking someone, you’ll naturally understand that feeling. So… wanna meet up on Saturday? Should I set up the place?]
Shen Zhinian typed back: [Oh.]
Just as Bo Chengjing watched him send that single character, Bo Jue suddenly stood up and walked over. Bo Chengjing raised his head.
Shen Zhinian’s gaze followed Bo Jue as well.
Walking over to Bo Chengjing’s other side, Bo Jue placed his tablet flat on the desk and said, “Older brother, I need a parent’s signature for this.”