From Villain to Virtual Sweetheart: The Fake Heir's Grand Scheme(BL)
Chapter 160: A Toast to the New Little Brother

Chapter 160: A Toast to the New Little Brother

The atmosphere in the room turned awkward.

Lin Heye looked at his friend, Dylon, who still hadn’t moved from the middle of the room. He stood stiff like a statue, his eyes darting between everyone, clearly unsure if he should storm out or sit down and pretend nothing happened.

Lin Heye let out a long, tired sigh. "Sit down already. I told you it’s not what you think. But you just had to be dramatic and behave like you are in some detective drama!"

Dylon scratched the back of his neck, clearly sheepish now. His eyes flickered toward Clyde, who was sitting quietly like always, without any sign of his earlier anger.

"Sit down. Food will be here in a second," Clyde said, sipping his tea. But there was a hint of a smile in the corner of his lips.

Micah turned his head toward Clyde, surprised that he had let it go so easily. But then he noticed the faint smile and the relaxed posture... and realisation slowly dawned on him. He had roasted Dylon, a man at least ten years older than himself, but Clyde didn’t even flinch...it appeared Clyde was enjoying his reaction more than being mad. And Micah could not lie to himself. The words he had thrown at Dylon earlier still echoed in his own ears, and somewhere deep down, he felt a little warm.

Did he actually scold Dylon, the famous composer, for Clyde’s sake? Was he that bold?

Micah’s face heated up. He focused on adjusting his sleeve and lowered his head.

Clyde, meanwhile, glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Micah was sitting so close now, their knees nearly touched, and their distance was so small he could feel the heat radiating from him.

The earlier stiffness and hesitation that had been hanging around Micah after his session had melted away. And Clyde could still remember Micah’s voice, sharp and mocking, calling out Dylon for behaving rudely toward him.

Did that mean Micah... actually cared about him?

Noticing the change, Clyde’s anger toward Dylon for saying such words to Micah had been pacified. Maybe Dylon was actually useful for once! His eccentric personality made the ice break between him and Micah.

But if Micah knew about how long had it been since Clyde last met his friends... that meant Uncle Lin must have told him. Which meant whatever they talked about, it involved Clyde. But then what the hesitation meant... Could it be...

Clyde’s expression turned unnatural for a moment. He tugged at the wooden prayer beads on his wrist.

He thought of the anger he had shown toward Dylon. The sudden, raw anger he had felt when Dylon spoke badly to Micah... made even himself shocked. He never had felt this strong emotion to get angry on behalf of another person. But that feeling came naturally and easily to him. Like he should be feeling like this...

It stirred something inside him.

Dylon finally sat down, grumbling under his breath. He cast a sideways glare at Micah, who lifted an eyebrow in return, cool and unbothered.

Micah’s lips curled into a smug little smile.

Dylon blinked. What the fuck? Where did the shy quiet boy go? He felt he had been blind to think this boy was behaving meek and obedient a few minutes ago!

Their eyes locked in silent battle. Dylon narrowed his eyes. Micah raised one brow even higher. The tension between them shifted from cold awkwardness to petty rivalry really fast.

Across the table, Clyde noticed the subtle exchange between the two and sighed.

The food arrived not long after. Plates clinked softly as they were arranged on the table. Steamed dumplings, braised beef, grilled shrimp, and small side dishes that smelled amazing.

Dylon wasted no time grabbing the wine bottle and pouring himself a full cup. Then another. And another. The alcohol made him lose his tension a little.

"See? This is the result of too much gossiping," he said, pointing at Lin Heye.

Lin Heye choked. "What? Now is it suddenly my fault?!"

"Then who? If you hadn’t said that nonsense in the group chat, how would I misunderstand him?" Dylon said righteously, waving his chopsticks around like tiny swords.

"Wow! You flipped the table yourself and now you are blaming me? Please, at least wipe your dirty hands before you start pointing fingers!" Lin Heye said, rolling his eyes.

Micah covered his mouth, trying to hold back a laugh, but it escaped anyway.

Their banter bounced around the room like kids fighting over dumping the blame on who had broken an expensive jar.

Even when they were clearly adults, the way they acted reminded Micah of something softer... something almost innocent.

His smile faded slightly. Why did it feel like they grew up in a completely different world? A world where people could be loud and silly and still be loved.

"Did you all grow up together?" Micah asked quietly.

"Yeah." Lin Heye replied with a mouth of beef. " Same community. Same school. Of course, Clyde is our youngest."

"Really?! But he seems so mature..." Micah mumbled.

"Right? He has always been like that." Lin Heye laughed. "When we were kids, talking to him felt like talking to my dad. ’You shouldn’t do that. Don’t run in the hallway. Sit upright.’ He was like a walking rulebook."

Dylon joined in with a bad imitation of Clyde’s deep voice. "Put the ball down, Dylon. You’re going to break something." He pointed at Clyde dramatically. "He once made me write a whole apology letter because I threw a snowball at the class window!"

Micah burst out laughing, slapping his thigh. "I can totally see that!"

Clyde’s lips twitched. "And what happened later?? You didn’t listen to a word I said. And got scolded anyway."

"That’s the fun part of being young!" Lin Heye said, grinning.

Micah leaned forward, eyes sparkling. "What else? I need more. Tell me about his embarrassing moment! If you know how he has been annoying me all this time, I deserve some dirt!"

"You too?!" Dylon gasped, suddenly forgetting about the fight. He threw an arm around Micah’s shoulder. "Ah! My comrade! Let me share my pain!"

Micah shoved his hand away, laughing. "Who’s your comrade?"

"Lin Heye, bring some sake! I want to toast to this new little brother!" Dylon shouted.

"No," Clyde rejected firmly. "He can’t drink. His stomach is weak."

"Wow! You even know that?!" Dylon exclaimed. "What are you? His Hus- Ahhh!"

Lin Heye pinched Dylon’s thigh hard.

"You are drunk!" Clyde said flatly.

Micah ate his food with a smile. His mood visibly improved. The brush of his shoulder against Clyde’s, the way Clyde gently pushed another dumpling onto his plate, did not bother him anymore. Whatever Uncle Lin had said earlier... Micah didn’t care right now. Maybe being distracted like this was not such a bad thing after all.

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