Is It Really That Hard to Be the Big Brother of Two Top-Alpha Twins? - Chapter 2

There wasn’t much to pack in the ward.
Changing out of the hospital gown and into his own clothes, along with taking his phone, was enough.
Chen Luan was somewhat disgusted by the clothes that reeked of cigarettes and alcohol, but since he couldn’t exactly walk out in a hospital gown, he held his nose and put them on anyway.
There weren’t many people at the self-service payment counter. Chen Luan studied the payment process diagram on the wall, pulled up his personal terminal page on his phone, and held it to the screen.
【Beep—Payment successful】
【Medical card consumption: 5168.34 yuan. Federal Bank card account balance: 3236.25 yuan】
Chen Luan stared at the balance for a moment, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
That’s it?
Wasn’t I supposed to be the adopted son of a wealthy family?
His phone buzzed with another message.
【Jiang Ling? 】
It was the same person who had called him earlier.
“So, this rude guy is my younger brother, Jiang Ling.”
Chen Luan could sense the impatience hidden behind that single question mark.
Ignoring the renewed dizziness—probably just a side effect of the IV—he went downstairs.
As soon as he stepped out of the hospital, he saw an extravagant-looking stretch limousine parked at the entrance, and a few members of the media lurking behind nearby bushes with cameras, pretending to be discreet.
Two teenagers stood beside the car, one on each side, while the driver—dressed neatly in a suit and white gloves—bent down to open the door.
Still slightly dazed by the sight, Chen Luan barely had time to react before Jiang Ling strode over, grabbed his arm, and flashed him a perfect eight-tooth smile—though it looked suspiciously like he was gritting his teeth.
“Get in the car, bro! Bro!”
The last two words were stressed hard, as if dragged out from between clenched teeth.
Chen Luan thought: If you don’t want to call me that, you don’t have to—don’t make it harder on yourself.
Meanwhile, Jiang Xun completely ignored him and had already gotten into the car.
A sudden shove nearly sent Chen Luan tumbling into the back seat, and the door slammed shut behind him.
Jiang Ling immediately released him and slid into the middle row beside Jiang Xun.
“Didn’t you say we were supposed to put on an act for the media? Why aren’t you doing anything?” Jiang Ling jabbed his elbow into Jiang Xun’s ribs.
Still scrolling through the holographic screen in front of him, Jiang Xun didn’t even glance up. “You can act. The effect’s the same. Driver, start the car.”
He frowned, opened a storage compartment, and tossed a small cylindrical object into the back seat.
Chen Luan, sitting there, almost got hit in the head. He caught it and saw it was a gray spray bottle with no label.
“What are you zoning out for? Do I have to teach you how to use it?” Jiang Ling leaned back, wrinkling his nose. “You reek of mixed pheromones—it’s disgusting. How many people did you rub up against at the bar?”
Pheromones?
Chen Luan froze, realizing that as a beta, he shouldn’t be able to smell pheromones at all.
Jiang Xun and Jiang Ling were fifteen; next year, they’d begin official differentiation, and their glands were already almost fully developed.
As for Chen Luan himself—
In his era, the first case of secondary gender differentiation had only appeared a few years earlier, and most people hadn’t undergone it.
Including him.
He just hadn’t expected that in only two hundred years, human society had become so biologically divided.
Casually, he sprayed himself a few times. A clean, plant-like scent filled the car.
Looking down, he noticed the unpleasant smoke-and-alcohol smell on his clothes had vanished.
Twisting the bottle in his hand, he thought, Not bad. I’ll buy another one later, and hand it back.
But Jiang Xun didn’t even look up, flipping to another page on his holographic display. “It’s yours.”
Seeing that neither of them intended to talk to him, Chen Luan quietly opened his phone and began scrolling.
I’m sorry, Jiang Luan, he thought. I don’t mean to invade your privacy, but I need to understand your relationships and daily life—otherwise I’ll be completely lost.
The car fell silent for a while.
Jiang Ling shifted, crossing his legs, then leaned toward Jiang Xun.
“What are you even looking at? Can’t you sit quietly for once? Stop reading and play a game with me.”
“No time.” Jiang Xun pushed Jiang Ling’s head away.
“What is this—combat mech feasibility studies? Are you reading a research paper?” Jiang Ling craned his neck to look, then rolled his eyes. “Nerd.”
Then he turned to Chen Luan in the back seat.
“Hey, do you know how to play Desperate Battlefield?”
Chen Luan looked up from his phone, a visible question mark in his eyes.
“…Does playing a 200-year-old street dance machine count?”
Jiang Ling: “…”
“Never mind,” Jiang Ling muttered.
After saying that, he tossed his phone aside, leaned back against the seat, and closed his eyes to rest.
On the other end, Chen Luan received another message from Zhou Pei.
[Zhou Pei: You’ve been discharged from the hospital? Why didn’t you tell me?]
[: How did you know?]
[Zhou Pei: Web link: The Jiang twins personally pick up Jiang Luan from the hospital— ‘Bullying a beta to death’ rumor refuted: sudden stomach illness! Please don’t spread false information!]
The accompanying photo showed Jiang Ling gritting his teeth in a smile while supporting Chen Luan’s arm.
They looked very… brotherly and civil.
Chen Luan felt a wave of nausea.
[Zhou Pei: They didn’t do anything to you, right? I’ll treat you to dinner in a few days to apologize on behalf of my brother.]
Chen Luan subconsciously looked up at the twins in the front row.
One was still reading a paper, and the other was fast asleep.
It had to be said—the twins were strikingly good-looking.
To protect his eyesight, Jiang Xun wore frameless glasses perched on his straight nose. His thick, raven-feather eyelashes drooped low, and the pale amber of his irises reflected the subtle blue light from the holographic screen, making him look like a piece of cool, translucent jade.
On the other side, Jiang Ling leaned lazily against his seat, his unruly hair revealing his forehead and slanted brows. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, and his prominent Adam’s apple rose and fell with each slow breath.
It was the same face, yet their temperaments couldn’t have been more different.
Chen Luan found himself sighing.
Tsk. When these two grow up, if they ever show up at a base social event, they’ll probably cause a sensation.
Buzz—
[Zhou Pei: Location Information]
[Zhou Pei: I’ve booked a private room. See you tomorrow night at eight?]
Chen Luan frowned. That was rather presumptuous.
Shouldn’t you at least wait for the other person’s reply before inviting them to dinner—especially to apologize?
Ignoring Zhou Pei’s message, Chen Luan continued scrolling through his contacts.
Jiang Luan’s chat history was spotless.
The pinned message was a group chat from the Federal Military Academy, followed by recent conversations with Zhou Pei and Jiang Ling.
Then there was a muted group chat called [Aurora Play Club], showing sixteen members.
Jiang Xun, however, wasn’t in the contacts at all.
Chen Luan opened the group chat.
The chat feed was still active.
[Wang Bu Chi Su: Bar tonight at nine? (Location info)]
[Pei: No. Didn’t someone get into trouble last night? My dad won’t let me go.]
[Zhang Yao: Just got out of the hospital—saw the news. (Forwarded link)]
[Pei: @Jing, Zhou Ershao, you organized that party, right? How’d it end with someone in the hospital?]
[Wu Wu Wu Wu: Who knows what happened to him that night? He only had a few drinks before passing out. He wasn’t like this before.]
[Z·Jing: Don’t even mention it, my brother almost hit me.]
[z景: @lllllllluan, why didn’t you say anything after you were discharged?]
[If I can’t be a mecha pilot, I’ll just inherit billions: Who changed my nickname again? Get out of here.]
Chen Luan ignored Zhou Jing’s tag and kept scrolling through the messages.
Soon, he found Zhou Jing’s announcement from last night:
[z景: @All members, I’m booking the whole place tonight, hurry up.]
Half an hour later, he’d posted a video.
Under the flashing bar lights, a line of scantily dressed teenagers danced on stage while the crowd below roared in chaos.
Chen Luan’s sharp eyes picked out Jiang Luan in the shadows of the stage, cornered in a booth by three or five people, and being forced to drink.
[z景: Ten new omegas tonight. Got a new batch of stuff—go wild.]
The attached image showed a young man, face flushed from alcohol and exhaustion, taking a mirror selfie with a dazed, red-faced omega slumped in his arms.
Chen Luan frowned. What the hell is this?
So, this was the kind of crowd Jiang Luan had been hanging out with?
What was he thinking?
His eyes began to ache, his temples throbbed, and a sharp sting spread from the back of his neck.
He threw the phone aside and closed his eyes.
The car glided smoothly through the city, and by the time it stopped in front of the Jiang residence, it was already ten at night.
Chen Luan had fallen asleep in the back seat.
The young man in his early twenties—handsome to a fault—was now slumped against the seat, eyes closed and head drooping. The air conditioning was a bit cold, and his tall, over-1.8-meter frame curled slightly as he hugged his arms across his chest, looking almost pitiful.
The driver glanced between the sleeping Chen Luan and the twins, who had already stepped out of the car, and hesitated.
“Um…”
Jiang Ling called Chen Luan’s name twice, but he didn’t stir.
He got back into the car, stuck one leg out the window, and began tossing snacks into the air, catching them with his mouth.
“Bro, don’t you think Chen Luan’s acting weird today?”
Jiang Xun gave him a sidelong glance.
“Normally, he’s like a mouse around us—doesn’t even dare look up, let alone talk. But today?” Jiang Ling scoffed. “Is this what they call ‘liquid courage’? Maybe he’s still drunk.”
Jiang Xun caught the rice cracker his brother threw at him and flicked it back. “I don’t know. And stop throwing snacks at me—they’re too greasy.”
“Tsk.” Jiang Ling caught it with his mouth, crunched twice, and jerked his chin toward the driver. “Wake him up.”
The driver hesitated, then stepped forward and gently patted Chen Luan’s arm. “Young Master Chen Luan, please wake up.”
No response.
He pressed a bit harder on Chen Luan’s shoulder.
The young man’s head lifted slightly—and everyone froze. His face was unnaturally flushed, and his breathing came heavy and uneven.
The twins exchanged looks, both frowning.
Jiang Ling jumped out of the car, scratching his head. “He’s not gonna die in there, is he?”
Jiang Xun shot him a glare that said, Are you stupid? He took out his phone and dialed.
“Dr. He, it’s me—Jiang Xun. Please come to the Jiang residence immediately.”