I’m Dating My Big Brother’s Roommate Online and I’m Way Too Cute! - Chapter 18

Ji Yan said directly, [I do not want to talk to you anymore. You have a wicked mouth.]

On Zhuo Yu’ang’s end, the upward curl of his lips was harder to suppress than a recoiling AK 47.

Zhuo: [Is my mouth wicked, or was it you pouting and saying you only wanted to bear little monkeys for Gege?]

Ji Yan’s face turned a shade of red tinted black and black tinted red. He hurried to change the subject.

Ji: [Gege, it is almost lunchtime. Remember to eat liquid foods like thin porridge, fish soup, or pork rib soup. You can only drink the broth, do you hear me?]

Zhuo Yu’ang was very patient. In fact, he enjoyed this idle chatter so much that even the sunlight outside his window seemed brighter.

Zhuo: [Gege knows. There is a lady at the hospital in charge of ordering meals, and there are specific post operative diets. Do not worry.]

Ji: [Mhm. You cannot be greedy and eat random things.]

Ji: [If you eat the wrong things, the food will leak out completely from your surgical wound.]

These words were both graphic and hilarious. Zhuo Yu’ang was overcome with laughter, struggling to endure the tugging pain at his incision as he laughed. He sent a voice message in a gentle tone: “I understand. Gege will listen to you.”

He added another sentence, “And stop making me laugh. It hurts my wound to laugh too much.”

Ji Yan converted the voice message to text. He did not understand how he was making Zhuo Yu’ang laugh; he was clearly trying to gross him out.

Ji: [Fine, I will stop.]

Their conversations had always been initiated by Ji Yan. Whenever he stopped looking for a topic, the chat would end. Just as he was about to tuck his phone back into his pocket, Zhuo Yu’ang asked him, “What time does your part time job end?”

Ji: [Three o’clock.]

Zhuo: “What are you doing after it ends?”

Ji Yan wanted to say he was going to play ball, but the words changed the moment they reached his lips: [I plan to go home and read. I am usually quite quiet and do not like going out much.]

Zhuo: “Is that so?”

Ji: [Of course!]

Ji Yan never forgot his “lovestruck girl” persona for a second. He sent one message after another.

Ji: [But thinking about Gege being in the hospital, how could I be in the mood to read? I was so worried that I did not even eat breakfast today. I do not want to eat lunch either! I have no appetite at all!]

Zhuo: “You did not eat breakfast this morning?”

Ji: [Mhm!]

If he was going to pretend, he had to go all the way.

Zhuo Yu’ang’s smile vanished instantly. He stopped sending voice messages and typed with a darkened expression, [You do not plan to eat lunch either?]

Ji: [Mhm! I want to share life’s joys and sorrows with Gege!]

As soon as that message was sent, a call came through. Ji Yan was stunned; the two of them had never had a voice call during the broad daylight. The WeChat ringtone rang continuously.

“Makka Pakka, Akka Wakka, Mikka Makka, Moo. Makka Pakka.”

“Why are you not answering?” Shan Juncheng stood right behind Ji Yan, holding a filter cup. Standing at one hundred and ninety centimeters tall, he looked down and saw the caller ID. He read the contact name aloud without expression: “Toothpick Scumbag.”

Ji Yan was momentarily speechless.

Shan Juncheng asked, “Are you in trouble? Do you need me to handle this for you?”

“Thanks, Brother Shan, but there is no need. I can handle it. I am going outside to take this.” Ji Yan quickly left the ordering counter and ran out the back door of the coffee house.

He shut the back door, and after ensuring no one was around, he answered the phone in a high pitched, feminine voice: “Gege?”

Zhuo Yu’ang’s tone was not exactly fierce, but it carried an inexplicable sense of authority. The purpose of his call was clear; it was solely about the matter of eating: “You little brat, listen to me. Gege does not need you to suffer with me. Eat when you are supposed to eat. Do you hear me?”

Since he had already made the claim, Ji Yan could not take it back so easily: “But it hurts me to know you are in the hospital.”

“No one feels comforted because their partner chooses to suffer with them. If they do, they are not human.”

Ji Yan thought that made a lot of sense.

“Do you believe me?” Zhuo Yu’ang suddenly asked.

Ji Yan asked, “What?”

“I was born with the ability to calculate and predict. I know your city is no more than seventy kilometers away from me. I can obtain your specific address within half a day. If you do not eat properly, Gege will come over in person to supervise you.”

Ji Yan did not quite believe it, but he was startled by the mention of the distance. “But Gege, you are in the hospital.”

“What about the hospital? It is not like I am dead.” He started to sound stern.

Alarmed, Ji Yan quickly promised, “I will eat. I definitely will!”

“That is a good girl.”

The call ended quickly. Ji Yan was still dazed, but when he checked his phone again, he found that Zhuo Yu’ang had sent him a digital red envelope.

Zhuo: [Accept it.]

Zhuo: [If the work meal is not good, order takeout for yourself.]

Ji Yan stood against the wall, frowning in thought for a few seconds. He and Zhuo Yu’ang were already dating. A takeout meal cost only a few dozen yuan; refusing would seem too distant. Of course, even if he accepted it, he would not use it. He would return it in full when they broke up.

So, he clicked to accept it. Only after accepting did he realize the amount was not twenty yuan, nor fifty.

Good heavens, five thousand yuan!

“Does he have so much money that it is burning a hole in his pocket? This could cover a whole semester’s worth of food,” Ji Yan muttered to himself in shock. When they eventually broke up, Zhuo Yu’ang could easily turn around and accuse him of fraud.

He immediately transferred the money back, [Gege, you are too scary. Ordering takeout does not cost this much money. I cannot accept this. Besides, you are still in the hospital paying medical bills every day!]

Zhuo: [Gege is not short of money. Keep it.]

Ji: [The amount is too large; I cannot accept it.]

Zhuo: [Do you not want to be Gege’s wife anymore?]

Ji Yan was speechless.

Zhuo Yu’ang asked again, [What time does your part time job end?]

Ji: [Three o’clock in the afternoon.]

Zhuo: [Tell me when you are off work.]

Ji: [Okay, Gege.]

Ji Yan tucked his phone away, stood for a while longer, and then returned to the shop.

At noon, Guo Jia arrived. He specifically picked lunchtime to get a free meal, but he also brought some delicious chocolates. His father had brought them back from a business trip abroad. Since the shop assistants, Xiao Ma and Xiao Hui, both had a sweet tooth, they happily gave Guo Jia an extra piece of braised pork each.

Once the lounge was empty of everyone else, Ji Yan said to Guo Jia, “It is done.”

“What is done?” Before Ji Yan could answer, Guo Jia’s mind caught up. His eyes widened with excitement. “Are you saying you and the scumbag are official? You two are a couple now?”

“Yes, he agreed last night.”

“That is great!” Guo Jia slapped the table and stood up.

Ji Yan steadied the edge of the table. “What is with that bad habit of slapping the table? This table is not sturdy.”

“Sorry, sorry. I was just excited.” Guo Jia sat down next to Ji Yan. “Tell me, how did you land him?”

Ji Yan did not want to mention taking leg photos or using provocative videos to lure him; it was too embarrassing for his dignity as a man. He stirred his rice with his chopsticks and said casually, “Last night he told me he was in the hospital for an appendectomy, so I showed him some concern. I reckon that during the surgery, they might have hit a nerve in his brain and finally made him see reason.”

“Hahaha!” Guo Jia laughed so hard that rice flew out of his mouth. “Your mouth is truly vicious.”

Ji Yan shielded his lunchbox with his hand and narrowed his eyes threateningly. “If you dare spray rice into my food, I will kick you.”

Guo Jia quickly swallowed and said, “Then your next step is to ask the scumbag out, meet in person, and get evidence of him cheating!”

“Let him get out of the hospital first. I will find the right time.”

By two o’clock in the afternoon, the shop was empty. Xiao Ma and Xiao Hui were chatting idly, and Shan Juncheng had gone to the back warehouse. Ji Yan picked up his electric guitar and sat on the guitar chair.

He lowered his head slightly, his hair brushing his forehead. After a few crisp tuning notes, light and powerful music flowed from his fingertips. The shop assistants moved to the rhythm, and even the simple task of wiping tables became energetic.

Ji Yan was always lost in his music whenever he touched a guitar. Unknowingly, he passed his clock out time. It was only after the evening shift staff had been there for a while that he remembered to contact Zhuo Yu’ang.

He checked his phone. There was a message from Zhuo Yu’ang from 3:05 PM.

Zhuo: [Baby, where did you go after work? Where are you?]

Ji Yan told the truth, [I played the guitar in the shop for a bit and lost track of time.]

Zhuo: [Very nice. You forgot Gege too.]

Ji Yan knew this was true, but he could not admit it.

Ji: [I did not!]

Zhuo: [How are you getting home?]

Ji Yan put away his guitar, greeted the staff, and took off his apron while messaging, [I am going to take the bus in a moment.]

Zhuo: [Stay safe on your way home. Tell me when you get there.]

Ji: [Okay!]

Around five o’clock, Ji Yan finally contacted Zhuo Yu’ang again. Zhuo Yu’ang had tried to call him once in between, but Ji Yan had hung up.

In the hospital, Zhuo Yu’ang was in his patient gown, walking slowly to the nurse’s station to return a charger. Although he was smiling as he thanked them, the nurse felt his smile was inexplicably cold.

“Zhuo Yu’ang, it is only the first day after your surgery. You should not walk for too long. Go back and lie down as soon as possible,” the head nurse reminded him as she passed by.

Zhuo Yu’ang nodded. Suddenly, his phone rang. The little brat had finally contacted him.

Ji: [Gege, I was a bit busy just now.]

Zhuo: [Is it convenient to tell me why?]

Ji Yan had just boarded the bus and sat in the back. He had gone to the outdoor basketball court on Luo’an Road. Chen Zhansen was there playing ball with their classmates when they ran into Song Kai and a few others from a rival class. The two groups had never gotten along and often had verbal spats at school. While it did not escalate into a fight, they had called him over to bolster their numbers in a dispute over the court.

If it were not for his plan to lure the scumbag, he would have stayed to play a few games before heading home. Ji Yan thought about it; as a girl, mentioning basketball made her seem a bit too fierce. He made up a lie, [I can tell you, Gege. When I got off work, I ran into a primary school classmate who asked me to accompany her to the mall to look at a dress.]

Zhuo: [Oh, a dress.]

For some reason, Ji Yan had a bad premonition. His right eyelid twitched twice. He hurried to change the subject.

Ji: [Gege, did the doctor say anything today? How long will you be in the hospital?]

Zhuo: [I can be discharged in a week.]

Ji: [A week is not long. I will accompany Gege every day this week!]

Ji: [Gege will be full of life again soon. You are still the best and biggest Gege!]

Zhuo Yu’ang played another trick, [There is a way to make me recover faster. Is Baby willing to do it for me?]

Ji: [What way?]

Zhuo: [Call me Hubby while you are out of breath.]

The glass window was pushed open with a sharp, grating sound. The person in the front seat subconsciously turned around and caught a glimpse of the boy’s profile. He was handsome, but his face was set in a cold, rigid expression while his ears were exceptionally red.

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