Heartbeat Command - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: “Ying Zong, is he your biological brother?”

Senior and junior—this connection brought them a step closer. Being at the same school naturally made it easier to get closer, and since Jiang Luo and Xiang Qin were both quite extroverted, the two chatted the entire way back.

Gu Shiyue and Xiang Qin’s group had set out in the morning and had only just returned around noon after their hike. Jiang Luo had also just stepped out before turning right back to campus. Neither he nor Xiang Qin had eaten yet, so they headed to the school canteen together. Jiang Luo’s cosplay getup was incredibly eye-catching, and he drew constant glances all the way across campus. He acted naturally, however, without the slightest bit of self-consciousness.

It wasn’t that he wanted to be the center of attention; he went to the school canteen to grab food primarily because it was delicious and cheap.

Jiang Luo hadn’t expected to be back at school so early today, so he hadn’t brought his student ID card. When he bought his meal, Xiang Qin helped him pay with his own card. Jiang Luo immediately tried to transfer the money to Xiang Qin, but Xiang Qin insisted it wasn’t necessary. After Jiang Luo proved too persistent to give up, they added each other on WeChat, and Jiang Luo transferred the money.

Jiang Luo didn’t eat in the canteen; he packed a takeaway meal and headed back to the dorm. It was the weekend, and since it was lunchtime, his roommates were all out, leaving him alone in the room.

As soon as he arrived, Jiang Luo took the costume Qi Xueying had given him out of the bag and hung it in his closet.

This costume had been made by Qi Xueying herself and was tailored specifically to Jiang Luo’s measurements. Handicrafts were her hobby; she usually made Lolita dresses, and occasionally made cosplay costumes for herself to wear.

She made this costume for Jiang Luo purely out of passion—she just enjoyed doing it and liked it.

Who wouldn’t want to see a handsome man cosplay a character they like? With such a magnificent face, it would be a total waste not to cosplay a few classic roles.

After eating, Jiang Luo had an appointment with a familiar photographer to shoot photos in the afternoon. Jiang Luo loved cosplay and had a bit of a reputation in the cosplay circle. He had accounts on social media where he would occasionally post photos; given his superior natural looks and high-quality cosplay, his follower count was naturally quite high.

Since he had already gone through the trouble of getting into costume today, he couldn’t let it go to waste. Since plans had changed and the commission was canceled, he decided to just arrange a shoot.

Jiang Luo’s appointment was for 3:00 PM. Around 2:00 PM, Cheng Jiashu sent him a message asking him to play games.

Cheng Jiashu was a friend of Jiang Luo’s; the two had known each other since middle school. They met at an anime convention when they were both still little “chuunibyou” (middle school syndrome) kids. They hadn’t attended the same middle or high schools, but their friendship was unexpectedly deep, and their bond had remained incredibly strong over the years.

Though they hadn’t been together for middle or high school, they had ended up in the same university. However, they were in different majors; Cheng Jiashu was in International Trade, while Jiang Luo was in Computer Science. Both were currently in their sophomore year.

Like Jiang Luo, Cheng Jiashu loved ACG and cosplay—after all, they met at a convention. Cheng Jiashu wasn’t just an ACG fan; he was a total gaming addict. He had even rented a small apartment near school specifically to set up a full suite of high-end computer equipment just for gaming. His family was in business, and he himself was a boisterous, somewhat loud, and wealthy young master type.

Jiang Luo picked up his phone and checked the message.

Cheng Jiashu: “Come play games.”

Jiang Luo: “Can’t, I have something to do in a bit.”

Cheng Jiashu: “What’s up?”

Jiang Luo: “Arranged a shoot with a photographer.”

Cheng Jiashu: “What kind of shoot?”

Cheng Jiashu: “You’re in cosplay today?”

Jiang Luo: [Puppy nodding.jpg]

Cheng Jiashu immediately called him.

“You’re in cosplay and didn’t call me? Where are you shooting? Send me the location, I’m coming too.”

“Not there yet, I’m still at school.”

“Why the sudden cosplay today? Any events?”

“Accepted a commission from ‘Ying Zong.’ She had something come up, so she canceled it, and I decided to arrange a shoot instead.”

Cheng Jiashu let out a “Damn”: “How come I didn’t know about this? Why did Qi Xueying hire you for a commission? What are you two up to?”

Qi Xueying and Cheng Jiashu knew each other, too. She was older than both Jiang Luo and Cheng Jiashu. At first, Cheng Jiashu had jokingly nicknamed her “Ying Zong” (Boss Ying), and later, Jiang Luo started calling her that too.

The three of them had met at a convention back when Jiang Luo and Cheng Jiashu were freshmen, just after starting university. That day, Qi Xueying was wearing a heavy Lolita dress. The weather was sweltering in September, and she had suffered heatstroke; she was squatting by a vending machine in the exhibition hall hallway, unable to stand up. People were passing by, but no one noticed she was in trouble—it was Jiang Luo, who happened to be passing by, who noticed her.

Qi Xueying had gone to the convention alone that day. If Jiang Luo hadn’t noticed her and rushed her to the hospital in time, she might have passed out right there.

Since then, the three of them had become friends. Sharing the same interests made it easy to become close; they chatted online and could attend events together offline.

Jiang Luo had many such friends within the circle.

Cheng Jiashu couldn’t figure out why Qi Xueying would hire Jiang Luo for a commission, and even less why Jiang Luo would accept a commission from her. They were so familiar with each other; what was the point of that?

To tell the truth, when Qi Xueying first brought it up, Jiang Luo had rejected it immediately. After all, he charged fees for his commissions, and the fees weren’t low. If she wanted to see him cosplay a specific character, she could just wait for him to do it at an offline event; there was no need to hire him specifically.

Qi Xueying said the nature of it was different. She explained that she intended to cosplay as well, specifically the CP (pairing) character to Jiang Luo’s character, and she wanted to take photos, which would take up his entire day. Of course, that had to be charged by the hour.

At this point, Qi Xueying’s identity as a “fujoshi” (fangirl of BL) was exposed. Jiang Luo realized what was happening and smiled, saying, “Alright, I understand.”

He didn’t want to take Qi Xueying’s money, but she insisted that business was business and that he shouldn’t treat her differently just because they were friends. Jiang Luo couldn’t win the argument, so he agreed.

After hearing Jiang Luo’s explanation, Cheng Jiashu laughed out loud: “I give up. Seriously, I’ve always been terrified of the fujoshi demographic.”

Jiang Luo didn’t accept commissions for otome game characters; he generally stuck to anime or general game characters. The CP that Qi Xueying shipped wasn’t an official couple, but it was a pair that many people liked to ship.

Jiang Luo and Cheng Jiashu met at the North Gate. People were walking in and out of the school gate. Jiang Luo stood by a shared bike with his silver hair, waiting for his friend. Passing students turned to look at him frequently. A girl walking over while holding her phone smiled and asked him in a low, shy voice: “Excuse me for bothering you, but, could I take a photo with you?”

Jiang Luo smiled and said, “Sure.”

“Ahhh, thank you, thank you!” The girl hurriedly picked up her phone and switched to the front-facing camera. She was petite and her arms weren’t long, and after fiddling with the phone for a while, she couldn’t find the right angle—even the top of Jiang Luo’s head was out of frame.

“Let me do it.”

“Huh? Oh, oh, okay…” The girl blushed as she handed the phone to him.

Jiang Luo took the phone, found the right angle, snapped a few photos, and returned it to her.

Getting his picture taken at conventions was a daily routine for Jiang Luo; he was far too experienced with this “business.”

Once the first girl broke the ice, people started coming up one after another to ask if they could take photos with Jiang Luo. In just a short time, the spot where Jiang Luo was standing had almost become a landmark for photos.

Cheng Jiashu saw this scene just as he arrived. Only after the passersby finished their photos did he walk over and say, “Damn, you really are too handsome.”

It was Jiang Luo’s first time cosplaying this character, and Cheng Jiashu hadn’t seen it before; one look was truly stunning.

“Haven’t I always been handsome?” Jiang Luo raised an eyebrow.

“Tsk tsk… Awesome.” Cheng Jiashu stared at his face, admiring the details.

“I know I’m awesome, but let’s stop being awesome and get moving.” Jiang Luo urged him; if they didn’t leave now, he’d really turn into a photo-op mascot.

Jiang Luo turned to scan the QR code on a shared bike, but Cheng Jiashu patted him on the back, feeling a bit frustrated: “With a face like that, you’re riding a shared bike? Are you starring in a sketch comedy?”

“The place we’re taking photos isn’t far,” Jiang Luo said.

“I don’t want to bike; I’m tired.” Cheng Jiashu pulled out his phone to call a Didi (ride-share). “Taxi.”

“What a waste of money,” Jiang Luo still felt the shared bike was better—cheap and eco-friendly. “It’ll be there in a bit by bike.”

“I’m calling one, don’t worry about it.” Cheng Jiashu immediately booked a ride.

As soon as Gu Shiyue got home, he sent the photos he’d taken to Qi Xueying. Qi Xueying was busy all afternoon and didn’t reply until dusk.

She had originally intended for Gu Shiyue to just snap a few full-body shots so she could see Jiang Luo’s cosplay setup for the day, but she hadn’t expected Gu Shiyue to take such high-quality, beautiful photos.

Gu Shiyue had just finished feeding the cat and was putting on its harness, preparing to take it for a walk. The phone on the coffee table vibrated. He picked it up and glanced at it—a message from Qi Xueying: “Did you take these with a camera?”

Gu Shiyue: “Mn.”

Qi Xueying: “My god, you’re so good at photography. These are so beautiful.”

Qi Xueying: “I’m swooning.”

Gu Shiyue then forwarded the short video he had recorded as well. The video was visually more impactful; even though it was only ten seconds long, it still dazzled Qi Xueying’s eyes.

Qi Xueying forwarded the photos and the video to Jiang Luo.

Jiang Luo was eating with Cheng Jiashu. When he opened his phone, his eyes lit up, and his expression showed surprise.

Cheng Jiashu looked at him. “What are you looking at?”

“Photos.” Jiang Luo flipped through them one by one. There weren’t many—just a few—but they were taken exceptionally well. Whether in composition or color grading, they showed great aesthetic sensibility; they were even on par with the professional photographer he’d hired for the afternoon.

When he reached the last one, it was a short video. Jiang Luo clicked it to watch. The person in the frame was dynamic, but the scene was quiet; there was only the faint sound of the wind and the soft “rustling” of the wisteria flowers, like white noise to help one fall asleep.

Jiang Luo really liked this video. He asked Qi Xueying: “Ying Zong, could you please ask your brother for me if I can post this video on Weibo?”

Qi Xueying thought Jiang Luo was incredibly cute for being so well-behaved that he’d need her to ask for him.

Qi Xueying: “Why wouldn’t you be able to? Go ahead and post it!”

Jiang Luo: “Better to ask your brother first. After all, he took it, and the copyright belongs to him.”

Qi Xueying: “Okay, I’ll help you ask.”

Saying “So cute,” Qi Xueying took a screenshot and sent it to Gu Shiyue.

Gu Shiyue was out walking the cat when the phone in his pocket vibrated. He pulled it out and glanced at it. Qi Xueying had sent a screenshot. He clicked on it and replied with one hand: “Whatever he wants.”

Because of the incident on the subway where he had helped block the brat, Jiang Luo had a pretty good impression of Qi Xueying’s brother. The two had chatted a bit more.

Jiang Luo: “Ying Zong, is he your biological brother?”

Qi Xueying: “Silly kid.”

Qi Xueying: “Do you think we look alike?”

They really didn’t. Qi Xueying was very beautiful, and her brother was shockingly handsome, but their features didn’t look similar at all.

Jiang Luo: “Haha, we really don’t.”

Qi Xueying: “He’s my cousin. My mom is his aunt.”

Qi Xueying: “By the way, he also goes to your school; he’s your senior, you know.”

Jiang Luo replied: “I know, I know.”