I’m Dating My Big Brother’s Roommate Online and I’m Way Too Cute! - Chapter 1

“Bro, Photoshop my photo into a beautiful girl.”

The taxi pulled over at 161 Wanxiang Road Pedestrian Street.

A young man dressed in a black T-shirt pushed the door open and stepped out. A wave of scorching heat immediately rushed toward him. His long, bony fingers pressed the brim of his baseball cap lower, attempting to block the blistering summer sun, but it was futile. During the short few minutes it took to cross the pedestrian street toward the mall, a thin layer of sweat had already broken out on the back of his neck.

His buddy had been waiting for a long time. As soon as they met, he pulled the young man into a Zhejiang-style restaurant and led him to a private room.

If Ji Yan remembered correctly, the average spending per person at this restaurant was around 400 yuan. For high school graduates, and even for working professionals, this was considered mid-to-high-end dining.

“Did you have a personality transplant or find a bag of money? Instead of crashing at my place, you insisted on taking me out to eat?”

The two sat directly under the central air conditioning. Ji Yan lifted the collar of his T-shirt and shook it, trying to let the cool air flow in.

Guo Jia rubbed his hands on his thighs and got straight to the point. “I have something I need your help with.”

“What is it?” Ji Yan asked.

Guo Jia watched the waiter pouring tea, his eyes following the man’s every move. Once the waiter left, he immediately leaned toward Ji Yan and hissed through gritted teeth, “Buddy, my sister got played by a campus hunk from Nanhuai University. You have to help me get revenge!”

Ji Yan was a bit surprised. “When did she start dating? How come I didn’t know?”

Bang!

Guo Jia slammed the table in anger. “If I hadn’t caught her secretly wiping away tears, I wouldn’t have known either! She actually hid an online relationship from me!”

Ji Yan thought of the anti-fraud banners hanging downstairs in their residential complex. “Are you sure it is an online romance and not a telecommunications scammer pretending to be a boyfriend?”

“No, it is definitely an online relationship!”

Guo Jia recounted exactly how he discovered his sister’s relationship and the details of his interrogation. The two had been together for nearly a semester, and the guy had even taken the sister, Guo Ying, for a walk around the Nanhuai University campus. There were chat records to prove it. However, just two days ago, the guy accidentally sent a flirtatious message intended for another girlfriend to Guo Ying. That was how she found out he was cheating.

Now, the jerk was using sweet talk to coax his sister because he did not want to break up yet.

“I reckon this animal feels like he hasn’t ‘gotten’ her yet, you know?” Guo Jia’s expression was grim. “So he is not willing to let go. But as her brother, I cannot let this beast ruin my sister!”

“Understood,” Ji Yan nodded. “How do you want to get revenge?”

“You take the lead. Start an online relationship with him, then meet him in person, and then dump him ruthlessly!”

“I cannot believe you just said that.”

Ji Yan took off his baseball cap. His hair was slightly messy from the hat, and his dark eyes looked flatly at his friend. “Is it that you have cataracts, or does that jerk have glaucoma? Can you not tell the difference between men and women?”

“That is not a problem! You can cross-dress!”

“Holy crap,” Ji Yan muttered a low curse. “Then why don’t you do it yourself, since you are her biological brother?”

Guo Jia pushed his chair back, spun around, leaned down, and provocatively ran his hand from his ankle up to his thigh. “Bro, look at these legs, this waist, and my old-looking face. If I put on a skirt, anyone who does not call me a ‘pervert’ can call me their father.”

“True.” Ji Yan’s brow furrowed into a deep crease. It was indeed an eyesore.

“You are different,” his buddy grinned, chuckling as he began to flatter him. “You were so pretty in third grade. When your aunt dressed you up as a girl, what little boy was not confused? My own brother beat me up several times because I could not believe you were a boy.”

From the moment they started eating until they left the mall, Guo Jia pestered him relentlessly. Ultimately, Ji Yan agreed to this terrible idea, not just for his friend’s sake, but because he viewed Guo Ying as his own sister. He could not let a jerk bully her.

“Hey!” As they reached the entrance of their complex, Guo Jia slapped his thigh in regret. “I forgot to buy you some skirts. Come on, let us catch a cab back.”

Ji Yan, feeling the unbearable heat and wanting to get home to the air conditioning, said calmly, “What is the rush? It is not even a sure thing yet. Let us use my photo and Photoshop it to bait him first. Why waste the money?”

“Right, right, I am getting ahead of myself.”

“Let’s go. We will pick a photo upstairs.”

Nanhuai University, Engineering Dormitory

Because he was assisting his supervisor with a research project, Ji Han had applied to stay on campus during the break. However, his supervisor was away on a business trip, and the first phase of the project was wrapping up, so he was feeling quite relaxed.

He was currently immersed in the game Delta Force during his break. His phone screen lit up.

He glanced at it quickly, checking the message while following his teammates to an extraction point. His younger brother had sent him a photo.

[Bro, Photoshop my photo into a beautiful girl.]

He sent a confused response.

“Do it yourself. Download Photoshop. If you cannot use that, download Meitu XiuXiu; that application is even simpler,” Ji Han replied with a voice note. The last word was barely recorded before he dropped the phone and started frantically tapping his keyboard.

His brother replied instantly, sending three photos, all of which he had attempted to edit himself.

The older brother glanced sideways at them. One look caused his body to shudder. In his shock, his reaction slowed, and he was sniped and killed while trying to retreat.

His headphones were filled with the cursing of his teammates, calling his skills trash. Was it because his skills were trash? No, he was scared to death by his brother’s editing skills!

Returning to the game lobby, he quit the team and prepared for the next round. Ji Han turned his head and looked around. “Old Zhuo? Zhuo Yu’ang?”

“Where are you?”

Thud!

A beautiful three-pointer fell perfectly into the basket.

For this temporary 3v3 game, more than half of the students staying at Nanhuai University for the holidays had come to the gym. This was not just because the school team was a top-tier provincial squad, but because they had managed to drag the campus celebrity, Zhuo Yu’ang, onto the court today.

“Beautiful!” “Zhuo Yu’ang, you are so handsome!” “Scholar-god, you are the best!”

The cheers from the scattered crowd were surprisingly synchronized.

A vigorous figure landed steadily. Sweat from his hair dripped onto his high nose bridge, and his narrow eyes held an air of authoritative indifference. Even though Zhuo Yu’ang was only there to fill a spot, everyone knew his three-pointers were precise and his rebounding was fierce. The basketball club had invited him in his freshman year, but he simply did not want to join.

That sharp gaze vanished in an instant as he smiled, quickly lifted his jersey to wipe the sweat from his chin, and briskly returned to his defensive position with his teammates.

Around 4:00 PM, the players’ energy reached its limit, and the game ended. The crowd began to filter out of the gym.

“Here, water,” the captain panted, handing over a bottle. “Do you have plans? Do you want to grab dinner with us?”

Zhuo Yu’ang took the water, unscrewed the cap, and tilted his head back to drink. His Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly. “No. I am going back to the dorm to shower and change. I have to head to the lab later. You guys go ahead.”

“You freaking guy,” the captain swatted him with a towel. “Our Nanhuai ‘Scholar-god’ always has a GPA ranked first, winning provincial and national awards until his hands are tired, and he still crawls into the lab during holidays. You are blocking everyone else’s path to success! How is anyone else supposed to live?”

Zhuo Yu’ang laughed. “I would be idle anyway. I might as well stay at school and help the supervisor.”

“Unbelievable,” the captain shook his head.

Zhuo Yu’ang received a call from home. The others packed their things, signaled to him, and left.

A girl sitting in the front row told her two friends to wait a moment, then walked down the steps toward Zhuo Yu’ang, standing behind him until he finished his call. Even though she was 1.7 meters tall, she looked petite standing next to him.

“Yes, I already filled out the application. Next month, yes,” Zhuo Yu’ang leaned over to grab his towel. He turned and saw her, gave a nod of acknowledgment, and quickly ended the call.

“I am here to ask you out for dinner,” she said directly, her eyes curving into a smile.

“Heh,” Zhuo Yu’ang chuckled softly and shook his head with the same helpless expression he had given the captain earlier. He draped a large towel over his damp head and crouched down to pack his sports bag.

“What are you laughing at? Are you going to reject me again?”

“Yes. Thank you for the invite, but I will pass,” Zhuo Yu’ang replied clearly.

The girl put her hands on her hips. “Dinner with me is such a great opportunity! Do you not want to have a romantic college sweetheart? There are so many girls who like you. Is there really no one who makes your heart flutter?”

Zhuo Yu’ang slung the bag over his shoulder. “President, if you invite me to dinner to discuss club activities, I will go. If it is on behalf of someone else, forget it. I have no plans for a relationship. Let us not cause misunderstandings.”

The girl let out a long sigh. “What a waste of such a handsome face!”

“See you later,” Zhuo Yu’ang said amusedly.

The girl shrugged at her companions in the stands. She had tried her best, but it was no use.

Zhuo Yu’ang walked past them. Because he was so tall and the girls were feeling shy, they did not dare look up. They only saw his damp jersey clinging to his abdomen, where the defined lines of his muscles were clearly visible.

“Oh my god, he is so well-built. I am going to die,” one girl covered her face and dove into her friend’s arms.

The friend replied, “Where exactly are you looking?”

Zhuo Yu’ang returned to the dormitory and took the elevator up. As soon as he entered the code and opened the door, he heard Ji Han’s high-spirited combat commands from inside.

Ji Han was busy gaming, but he caught the sound of the door. He turned his head, grabbed his phone, and forwarded his brother’s photo to Zhuo Yu’ang. “Bro, help me Photoshop my brother’s photo. Turn him into a girl, a beautiful one. The prettier, the better.”

Zhuo Yu’ang dropped his bag, reached behind his neck, and pulled off his sweat-soaked jersey in one motion, revealing firm back muscles. “Do you even hear yourself? Are you even being serious?”

“What? What did you say?” Ji Han did not hear clearly. He pulled off one side of his headphones and turned around.

“I said you are a terrible brother for playing a prank like this on him.”

“No, he asked for it himself. I do not have time,” Ji Han’s attention snapped back to the game, but he did not forget to urge him. “Please, man. My brother is in a hurry. He has asked several times.”

Zhuo Yu’ang raised an eyebrow. He took his phone out of his pocket and opened WeChat while reaching into his cabinet for a fresh towel.

His movements slowed down involuntarily. It was a portrait showing only the shoulders up. The boy looked very clean and handsome. Soft black hair fell over his brow, his pupils were very dark, and his expression was neutral, radiating a clear sense of aloofness.

He was a younger brother who was several times more handsome than his older brother.

Just as Ji Han reached a critical moment in his game, his headphones were suddenly pulled off, and the game volume dropped significantly.

“Hey, what are you doing?” He met Zhuo Yu’ang’s gaze.

“Did your brother really ask for this himself?”

“Really. It is the absolute truth,” Ji Han grabbed his headphones back.

“Fine. I will help him.”

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