Chapter 8: What’s Wrong with Being Younger?

As soon as the two of them stepped into the civil affairs bureau, they were met with a wave of curious glances.

It wasn’t surprising—the person beside him was dressed far too conspicuously, practically wearing a sign that said, “I’m rich.”

Lin Xingmian shook his head helplessly and took a number to join the queue.

Although it was indeed a weekday, the marriage registration window still had a long line.

They stood at the end of the line, chatting idly.

In front of them, an AO couple was also engaged in conversation, and at one point, Lin Xingmian’s name came up.

“Did you see the trending news? That male actor you like released a statement saying his manager drugged him,” the tall female Alpha said, handing her phone to the girl.

“I already saw it. Xingmian acted so quickly! If Tang Xia hadn’t already been arrested, I’d have gone out to buy a basket of rotten eggs to throw at him!” The petite girl waved her slender arms indignantly.

The female Alpha seemed amused by her enthusiasm and reached out to ruffle her hair. “You really like him that much?”

“Of course! I know he’s type A blood, 29 years old, and his pheromone is cedarwood… Wait! Why do I smell a faint hint of cedarwood here too?” The girl’s nose twitched, and she suddenly turned around.

Lin Xingmian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at the omega girl, who was about 1.6 meters tall.

She blinked, her mouth half-open. “You… your eyes look so much like Xingmian’s, and your pheromone is similar too.”

Lin Xingmian, wearing a mask, replied calmly, “A lot of people say I look like him when I wear a mask. Want to take a photo with me?”

He did resemble him, but cedarwood pheromones weren’t rare—many Alphas had that scent.

The girl still seemed puzzled, her eyes scanning him intently.

Until her gaze drifted behind Lin Xingmian, landing on Jiang Zijin n , who stood with his arms crossed, his face stern.

“He’s definitely not Xingmian!” the girl declared firmly, turning back around.

The female Alpha beside her asked curiously, “How do you know he’s not?”

“Xingmian is all about his career. Someone in our fan group who has connections said that once, an omega actress deliberately released her pheromones on set while filming with him. After they finished the scene, he didn’t react at all—he just pinched his nose in disgust and walked away.”

“And another time, a fellow Alpha male actor pursued him for over half a month, but Xingmian ended up kicking him out!”

“No one can win over my Xingmian, let alone get him to come here to register for marriage!”

The girl looked around nervously, then whispered into her Alpha’s ear, “We’ve even suspected that Xingmian might be… asexual!”

“Pfft—” Jiang Zijin n , standing beside them, covered his mouth with a fist, trying to stifle his laughter, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Lin Xingmian took a deep breath, doing his best to remain composed.

The girl in front naturally noticed the commotion behind her. She shot Jiang Zijin n  a glare and pulled her Alpha forward.

Jiang Zijin n ’s lips curled into a smug smile, his tone teasing,

“Asexual? The bite marks on me are still sore~”

“Feel them—the evidence is still there!”

His voice was low and alluring as he grabbed Lin Xingmian’s wrist and placed it against his Adam’s apple.

The warmth of his fingertips, the slight movement of the Adam’s apple—it instantly brought back memories of that passionate night.

The air was chaotic and scorching, filled with urgent, heavy breaths. In his blurred vision, all he could see was the other man’s sweat-drenched neck and the Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

Perhaps driven mad by thirst, or perhaps completely out of his mind, he instinctively bit and licked…

Lin Xingmian felt as if he had been burned and immediately shook off the other’s hand, warning in a low voice, “You! That’s enough!”

“Keep your distance. We’re just in a contractual relationship.”

Jiang Zijin  smiled without a word, standing lazily, yet his gaze never truly left Lin Xingmian.

The line gradually shortened, and soon it was their turn to register.

“Hello, you two, please show your identification documents…”

Both had their documents ready and followed the official procedures.

However, when the staff member read out Jiang Zijin ‘s birth year, Lin Xingmian’s brow twitched violently.

Lin Xingmian felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles, but since the staff had already seen his documents, he couldn’t just leave!

Even after walking out of the civil affairs office, he was still somewhat dazed.

“You were born in 2001?” Lin Xingmian took Jiang Zijin ‘s ID and examined it repeatedly.

In his subconscious, Jiang Zijin , with his robust physique and mature mindset, should have been around his age or perhaps a year or two younger.

He had never imagined that Jiang Zijin  was six years younger than him!

That meant when Lin Xingmian was in his third year of high school, Jiang Zijin  was only in the sixth grade of elementary school!

Help!

Lin Xingmian closed the ID, pressing a hand to his forehead.

He was starting to regret it. He shouldn’t have dragged a kid into this.

Jiang Zijin , on the other hand, didn’t seem to care at all. A hint of mischief flashed in his eyes as he lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice:

“So what if I’m younger? Didn’t you enjoy it that day? Big brother~”

——

Ever since Lin Xingmian slapped Jiang Zijin  at the entrance of the civil affairs office, the two had been apart for quite some time.

Jiang Zijin  took the marriage certificate to inherit Jingsheng, while Lin Xingmian stayed home, sifting through scripts.

The glass table in the living room was piled with various scripts and novels, pages marked with blue and red annotations.

Lin Xingmian took off his glasses and rubbed his temples wearily.

Recently, the quality of scripts on the market had been inconsistent. Most of the youth romance and ancient fantasy dramas had similar plots, while some urban suspense and detective stories had promising scripts but questionable production teams.

At the same time, he also had to consider the actors’ character and tax issues.

After such scrutiny, it was difficult to find a suitable script.

He put his glasses back on, ready to continue reading.

The phone on the table kept vibrating. He set down the book in his hand and picked up the phone.

The screen displayed the name he had saved for Jiang Zijin —”Little Villain (Elementary School Edition).”

Lin Xingmian’s fingers hesitated slightly before swiping to answer.

The screen lit up with the man’s face.

Jiang Zijin ‘s features were deep, his mixed-race appearance strikingly photogenic.

Jiang Zijin ‘s gaze fell on the screen, his lips curving into a smile.

“Finally answering my call, my dear wife.”

Lin Xingmian was startled to notice an energetic old man on the other end of the call, glaring at him angrily.

“Wife, look at this! What is all this?”

Jiang Zijin  flipped the camera, revealing a document titled “Jiang Zijin  Marriage Evaluation Criteria.”

“This is ridiculous! I’m already married. Why is there still an evaluation period?”

The old man swiftly snatched the document and glared at him angrily, “You little rascal, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to! Your mother was well-prepared and specifically asked me to assess you. If you don’t pass, you won’t get a single penny of the inheritance!”

“Trying to fool me with a marriage certificate! Show me a newlywed couple who doesn’t live together!” the old man exclaimed, “I think it’s all fake!”

Jiang Zijin  didn’t hesitate for a second and retorted immediately, “Whose fault is that? You’re the one who won’t let me inherit the family fortune, so I didn’t come home to sleep! And now you’re saying we’re fake? That’s going too far! What’s this about kissing once a day? Are these also part of the assessment criteria?”

“We’ve been kissing so much at home that our lips are about to wear out. What do you even know!”

Jiang Zijin  raised an eyebrow at Lin Xingmian on the other end of the screen, his tone lazy yet triumphant,

“Right, honey~”