Heartbeat Command - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: “You really get along with anyone.”

Jiang Chen attended a key high school, where most of the students were well-behaved children who followed the rules. Of course, there were also some playboys like the boy in question—the type who relied on money and connections to transfer in, didn’t treat studies as their top priority, and didn’t have a serious thought in their heads.

As Tian Haoyu had said, this boy had been at odds with Jiang Chen because of a girl he was pursuing. During P.E. class, it was inevitable that there would be friction while students were playing around. The boy already disliked Jiang Chen and could find any excuse to pick a fight. Jiang Chen wasn’t without a temper, and after hitting a wall with Jiang Chen while the girl he liked was watching, the boy lost face and, in a fit of rage, walked up to Jiang Chen and hissed the word “orphan” in his ear. Tian Haoyu had been right there; others might not have heard it, but he had heard it perfectly clearly.

The other boy obviously knew exactly what the word “orphan” meant to Jiang Chen—he wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t.

Honestly, Tian Haoyu felt that Jiang Chen’s emotional stability was incredible. Despite the other guy being so vicious, Jiang Chen didn’t actually throw a punch; he just cornered the guy and slammed his fist into the wall next to him. The fight never broke out, but that jerk had been scared out of his wits.

The homeroom teacher found out about it later. Jiang Chen was the type of top-performing student teachers loved best, and this kind of near-fight was considered highly inappropriate behavior in her eyes, so she called him in immediately to ask what happened.

The homeroom teacher’s intentions were good; she cared about Jiang Chen. The problem was that Jiang Chen was guarded against everyone; no one could get him to open up voluntarily.

With both of Jiang Chen’s parents gone, his uncle was his nominal guardian. The teacher had contacted the uncle hoping he could have a real talk with the boy, since there was a natural distance between teachers and students, and parents were supposed to be closer to the children.

Jiang Luo was silent for a long time. He stood up, walked over to Jiang Chen’s side, ruffled his hair, and said only one thing: “What kind of ‘orphan’? You still have me.”

Jiang Chen turned to look at him: “I know, Brother.”

“If anything happens in the future, you are not allowed to hide it from me, and you are not allowed to lie to me,” Jiang Luo emphasized. “No matter what it is. Do you understand?”

“Oh.”

“Oh, what ‘oh’?” Jiang Luo flicked his forehead. “Be sincere.”

“Mn,” Jiang Chen said, eyes lowered obediently. “I know.”

Jiang Chen and Tian Haoyu went out to play basketball. Jiang Luo didn’t stay idle at home either; he locked himself in the study to work on algorithmic problems.

When Jiang Chen returned, Jiang Luo was still in the study. Jiang Luo was highly focused when solving problems and hadn’t heard Jiang Chen knocking. Jiang Chen knocked, realized no one responded, guessed his brother was likely working through problems, and went off to do other things without disturbing him.

Jiang Luo finished his problems and wandered out of the study, shaking his head. He had been sitting at the desk for too long and his neck was stiff. He rolled his neck to loosen his vertebrae and walked into the living room, finding Jiang Chen on the balcony hanging up laundry.

“You’re back?”

Jiang Chen looked back: “I’ve been back for a while.”

“You could’ve said something.” Jiang Luo flopped onto the sofa and gave a big stretch.

“I knocked, you didn’t hear.”

“I was busy with some problems, wasn’t paying attention.” Jiang Luo buried his face in a cushion, his voice lazy. “Jiang Xiaochen, give me a back rub.”

When this guy was at home, he didn’t act like a big brother at all he was more like a child, nowhere near as steady as Jiang Chen.

“Oh.” Jiang Chen sat down and began to rub his back.

“Rub my neck too…” Jiang Luo’s voice grew lower, sounding as if he were about to fall asleep.

“Brother,” Jiang Chen called out.

Jiang Luo was drowsy: “…Mn?”

“You don’t need to come back to see me every time.”

Jiang Luo opened his eyes and turned to look at him.

“And stop giving me money all the time. I can’t spend much at school; keep it for yourself, don’t give it to me.”

Jiang Luo brushed his hand away, sat up, and looked at him: “You don’t want me to come back?”

Jiang Chen shook his head: “I just don’t want you to sacrifice your own weekends to come back.”

Although the city Jiang Luo studied in wasn’t far and taking the high-speed rail was convenient, coming back every two weeks had to be troublesome for him. Jiang Luo had his own college life; he couldn’t just keep revolving around his younger brother. Jiang Chen wanted his brother to keep his free time for himself.

“Listen to you—what do you mean ‘sacrifice’?”

Jiang Chen pursed his lips: “Either way, I just don’t want you wasting all your time on me. Don’t come running back the moment I’m on break. Go do your own thing, you don’t need to come see me so often.”

Jiang Luo understood what his brother meant. He asked with a smile: “If I don’t come back, who’s going to look after you?”

“I can look after myself; I’m not a kid anymore. I’ve mentioned this to you many times, and you never listen.”

Jiang Luo had always respected Jiang Chen’s decisions and thoughts, but this was the one thing he hadn’t followed Jiang Chen’s wishes on. When Jiang Chen started his first year of high school, Jiang Luo was also just starting college, and it was the first time they were so far apart; he had come back every single time Jiang Chen was on break. A year had passed since then; Jiang Chen had long since adapted to the rhythm of high school and had asked Jiang Luo many times not to come back so often, but Jiang Luo had never taken his words to heart.

Jiang Chen was looking a bit unhappy now. Jiang Luo said: “If I don’t come back, it’ll be Uncle and his family looking after you. Do you enjoy going to their place for dinner? Do you enjoy spending time with those twins? Don’t you find them annoying?”

“It’s just dinner, it doesn’t take long. It’s not like I haven’t eaten with them before.” Jiang Chen grabbed a cushion to hug, frowning. “I just don’t want to be a burden dragging you down. I want you to have an easier time.”

“You aren’t dragging me down—”

“Then can you honestly say you haven’t sacrificed a portion of your own disposable time because of me?”

“My god.” Jiang Luo laughed. “Since when did you get so glib, Jiang Xiaochen? ‘Disposable time’…”

Jiang Chen stared at him without speaking. Jiang Luo laughed helplessly and admitted: “I can’t say that. Because it is exactly as you say. But you’re my younger brother; as far as I’m concerned, everything else comes after you.”

“Then can you put yourself above me?”

Jiang Luo shook his head, thought for a long time, and finally nodded with a smile: “I can.”

“That’s a promise.”

“It’s a promise. From now on, I’ll do whatever makes me happy. If I have time, I’ll come back; if I don’t, I won’t. Deal?”

Jiang Chen was satisfied: “Mn, keep your word.”

The next afternoon, after Jiang Luo dropped Jiang Chen off at school, he took the train back to campus.

Jiang Luo’s college life was very fulfilling. Besides classes and part-time jobs, he had to find time to go to the lab to train on algorithmic problems. He was a Computer Science major and had signed up for the school’s ACM competition team during his freshman year. He had competed in the Lanqiao Cup and had also followed the school team to participate in ICPS invitational tournaments. He loved algorithms; for him, ACM competitions were both a challenge and a hobby.

Their school team wasn’t considered a powerhouse, but it wasn’t easy to get into, either. You couldn’t just sign up; you had to pass a selection test. Very few freshmen made it onto the team; Jiang Luo was the youngest member of their team eligible to compete in official matches.

This Saturday, Jiang Luo had a cosplay commission scheduled for noon, and since his morning was free, he put on his makeup and costume and went to the team’s lab to work on problems.

These commissions were ones Jiang Luo had taken on before, back when he had no name in the cosplay circle and few followers. Jiang Luo needed money, and Cheng Jiashu had suggested that he could make money by taking commissions with that face of his. Jiang Luo tried posting a commission board on his account with a few photos of characters he’d cosplayed. Who would have thought that not long after he posted it, he’d be flooded with private messages?

Jiang Luo had only posted that one commission request post; all the orders he was working on now were outstanding debts from before. Now that he had more followers, he certainly wasn’t going to open up commissions. He couldn’t keep up with the orders even when he was a nobody, let alone now.

There was no one in the lab on Saturday morning. Jiang Luo was quietly working on problems by himself when the team captain, Qin Yifan, walked in, biting into a steamed bun. He saw a pink, fluffy head behind the computer and let out a surprised “Whoa!”

Jiang Luo was focused on his problems and was startled by the sound.

Qin Yifan walked toward him: “I knew it was you.”

Jiang Luo laughed: “Captain, you startled me.”

“And you dazzled me.” Qin Yifan looked over Jiang Luo’s cosplay style for the day it was an anime character he recognized. He had heard rumors that Jiang Luo was into ACG and cosplay, but this was the first time he’d seen it in person.

Qin Yifan leaned in to look at his face: “Did you do this makeup yourself?”

Jiang Luo smiled: “Yeah.”

“That’s impressive.”

Qin Yifan was chewing on his bun, the scent of which drifted right into Jiang Luo’s face. Jiang Luo hadn’t eaten breakfast, and his stomach let out an uncooperative growl.

“Didn’t eat breakfast?” Qin Yifan tossed a bun onto his desk.

Jiang Luo picked up the bun, tore open the packaging, took a bite, and said with a smile, “Thanks.”

“Why the getup today?” Qin Yifan asked. “Going to a convention?”

Jiang Luo said between bites: “Not going to a convention, I have an appointment with someone.”

“A date?”

“Not a date.”

Qin Yifan sat back at his own desk and pushed a carton of milk toward Jiang Luo’s desk. Jiang Luo asked with a smile: “What’s this for, Captain? Are we not counting the morning?”

Qin Yifan said: “You’re the well-behaved one, still coming to the lab to work on problems on the weekend. A carton of milk as a reward.”

Qin Yifan was the captain of their school team and a dedicated algorithm nerd; in his eyes, algorithm competitions were the top priority. Jiang Luo was the fresh blood of the competition team, having followed the seniors on the team to win awards in competitions as a freshman. As captain, Qin Yifan had always had high hopes for him.

Jiang Luo was not only smart but also diligent in training. Usually, there was no one in the lab on Saturday mornings, but Qin Yifan, who essentially lived in the lab, had run into Jiang Luo there quite a few times at this hour.

“Thanks, Captain.” Jiang Luo didn’t stand on ceremony, took the milk, pierced it, and took a sip.

“Don’t mention it.” Qin Yifan was focused on feeding him, digging a few bags of beef jerky out of his drawer. “Want some beef jerky?”

Jiang Luo hadn’t finished the bun in his hand yet, so he said unclearly, “Sure.”

“Eat up.” Qin Yifan tossed a handful of jerky onto his desk. “Our village’s only hope.”

Jiang Luo was bewildered: “How did I become the village’s only hope again?”

“The team is full of old fogies, and you’re the only kid of course you’re the village’s only hope.”

Jiang Luo laughed: “That’s a huge exaggeration.”

Jiang Luo finished his commission at 3:00 PM. On his way back to school, he received a call from the manager of the coffee shop where he worked part-time. The manager said they had received a huge order a nearby company was organizing afternoon tea and had ordered over a hundred cups of coffee. They were short-handed and couldn’t keep up, asking if he had time to come help out.

Jiang Luo worked part-time at the coffee shop, usually on weekends two days every two weeks and was paid daily. Their shop had high foot traffic on weekends, so they were often short of people. Besides him, there were other college student part-timers, but he had swapped shifts with someone today and wasn’t scheduled to work.

After taking the call, Jiang Luo went straight to the coffee shop without even changing out of his cosplay outfit. The store was about as busy as a normal weekend, but the employees were all scrambling to make the hundred-plus cups of coffee, and the area behind the counter was a scene of chaos.

As soon as Jiang Luo entered, he received the undivided attention of the customers. His cosplay outfit this time was much more exaggerated than the last one—the hair, makeup, and costume were not at all suitable for daily life. The manager hurried over, stared straight at Jiang Luo, and her eyes went wide: “My god, what is this look? Did you come straight from a convention?”

Jiang Luo touched his neck and gave an embarrassed smile: “You said it was urgent, so I just came right over; I didn’t go back to change. Is it inappropriate to dress like this? I can go back and change if you want.”

“You silly kid, who told you that?” The manager looked him up and down. “Just stay like this; you look so handsome. Seriously, it’s really handsome—and really cool.”

The manager was a woman in her early thirties who was usually easygoing and enthusiastic with her staff, showing none of the airs of a boss.

“Manager, I probably can’t stay here too long today. I have a tutoring session in the evening.”

“At what time?”

“Seven-thirty.”

“Alright, then leave at six, okay?”

“OK.”

Jiang Luo went to the back kitchen to get his apron, but before he could put it on, he was pulled to the counter by the manager. She took his apron away and assigned him the tasks of taking orders and handling the register: “Stand here and run the business today; don’t go to the back to make coffee.”

The manager’s objective was obvious. A staff member packing coffee nearby laughed: “Boss, you’re worried there aren’t enough customers today? Even making Luoluo stand here to attract traffic.”

The manager patted Jiang Luo on the shoulder: “Someone this handsome should be standing here for people to look at. Making him go make coffee in the back is a waste.”

And so, Jiang Luo became a beautiful piece of scenery in the coffee shop.

As it turned out, the manager’s decision was correct. The store’s doors were glass, and the windows were floor-to-ceiling, so people outside could see what was happening inside. Jiang Luo just standing there attracted a whole crowd of passersby.

This area was near the university, and since it was the weekend, there were many students around. Seeing a coser in the store, they naturally drifted inside. With Jiang Luo’s face on display and his natural ability to manage customers, his eyes crinkling when he smiled, who could possibly leave without buying a cup?

Seeing the orders piling up, an employee frantically making coffee in the back wailed: “Someone just kill me.”

One sentence from the manager stabilized the morale: “Triple pay today.”

The staff was instantly placated.

“It’s weird, how come there are so many people in the shop today?”

Gu Shiyue and his roommate walked into the coffee shop. The roommate looked at the counter in puzzlement. This was a shop he frequented, but this was the first time he’d seen so many people. There was a long line at the counter, packed with people.

“What’s the situation?” The roommate vaguely saw a fluffy, pink head behind the crowd. “Is there an event today?”

Gu Shiyue had also noticed the head of pink hair. Being tall, he noticed not just the hair but also the face beneath it.

Even though Jiang Luo’s makeup this time was on the heavy side, almost obscuring his original appearance, Gu Shiyue recognized him at a glance from those smiling, crinkling eyes.

Seeing how crowded the shop was, the roommate had originally wanted to call Gu Shiyue to leave, but as he turned his head and saw the super-handsome coser standing at the counter, he stopped dead in his tracks, marveling: “What a handsome coser.”

Jiang Luo was so busy he felt like he could be split into three people. Today, the manager had called in every part-timer she could reach. A helper came to Jiang Luo’s side, put on an apron, and looked at him in surprise: “Wow, what’s going on? Cosplay?”

Jiang Luo was busy punching in orders and let out an “Ah.”

“Did you go to a convention?”

“No.”

“Then why are you dressed like this?”

Jiang Luo replied casually: “I went to play with someone.”

Jiang Luo looked down to punch in an order and, catching sight of a figure in front of him out of the corner of his eye, responded by reflex: “Hello, what would you like”

Jiang Luo stopped mid-sentence the moment he looked up. He stared blankly at the person in front of him, his expression a little dazed.

Gu Shiyue looked down at him slightly and ordered two cups of coffee.

Jiang Luo opened his mouth, almost unable to react: “…Alright, please wait a moment.”

Dressed up like this, not going to a convention, but going to play with someone.

Gu Shiyue looked at that head of fluffy pink hair and suddenly spoke: “Another commission?”

Jiang Luo looked up at him, gave a shallow smile with his eyes curved, and said quietly: “Yeah, it is.”

Gu Shiyue was a person with a very strong sense of boundaries, so he actually couldn’t quite understand this way of making money dressing up as another person and interacting and making contact with total strangers—although it didn’t seem difficult for the guy in front of him.

Someone who usually had quite strong boundaries didn’t know why his boundaries suddenly felt weak today.

Gu Shiyue said nonchalantly: “You really get along with anyone.”