I’m Dating My Big Brother’s Roommate Online and I’m Way Too Cute! - Chapter 19

The More He Bullies, the More He Wants to Bully

Ji Yan cursed Zhuo Yu’ang in his mind from head to toe. Are all jerks these days like this? Would it kill him to speak decently for once?

After a few minutes of silence, Zhuo Yu’ang messaged: [Why are you not talking? Are you unwilling?]

Ji Yan found an excuse: [Brother, my throat feels a bit uncomfortable today. Can we do it next time?]

Zhuo: [Sure.]

Zhuo Yu’ang was only being a smart-mouth. He had developed a wicked streak because Ji Yan hung up on him earlier and did not want to push too hard. After all, the younger brother was now his wife in name.

Zhuo: [Are you on your way home?]

Ji: [Yes, I just got on the bus.]

Zhuo: [Stop chatting on the bus then. Looking down at messages makes it easy to get motion sickness. Talk to me when you get home.]

Ji: [I know. Brother is so thoughtful!]

Ji Yan got off the bus at Jianye Road. Just as he entered the community gate, he ran into his father, who was getting off work, so he hopped into the back seat of the car.

Ji Chaoqun looked at his younger son through the rearview mirror. The boy was staring straight back at him, making him feel like he had needles in his back. He forced a chuckle. “Well, truly a cub of mine! Look at you, getting more handsome by the day. You definitely have my genes, hahahaha!”

Ji Yan had only one question: “When are you going to compensate me for my guitar?”

Ji Chaoqun choked back his awkward laughter and fell silent, staring straight ahead as he continued to drive.

“Dad!” Ji Yan’s voice was crisp.

Ji Chaoqun jumped. “Huh?”

“Do not play deaf. That does not work with me.”

“I am listening.”

“When are you paying me back?”

“About that,” Ji Chaoqun rubbed his nose. “You know your mother holds the financial power at home. I cannot move the funds. But as soon as possible, as soon as possible.”

“I know you have private savings.”

“My private savings, well, I invested them in some financial products again.”

“When you get old, I am not carrying your urine bucket for you.”

Ji Chaoqun gritted his teeth. “When you start school. No, before school starts, I will pay you back.”

Ji Yan said, “You do not have to pay the full amount. I have some savings and money from my part-time job. Just cover the gap for me when the time comes.”

Ji Chaoqun was suddenly relieved and deeply moved. “Truly my good cub! I knew you were the most thoughtful. Hehehe! When your brother gets back, I will take you both out for a big meal. You can order whatever you like, how about it?”

“You said it yourself.” Ji Yan pressed the play button on his phone and played back exactly what Ji Chaoqun had just said. “I recorded it. If you break your word, brother will be the first one to jump up and beat you.”

Ji Chaoqun choked. “You little brat, you are as crafty as a monkey!”

Father and son went upstairs together. It was exactly dinner time. After washing his hands and eating, Ji Yan went back to his room and closed the door. He sat down to message Zhuo Yu’ang.

Ji: [Brother, I am home. I just finished dinner.]

Zhuo: [Okay.]

Zhuo Yu’ang sent another photo: a bowl of thin porridge where no grains of rice could be seen and a bowl of fish soup with pieces of fish skin floating in it.

Zhuo: [My meager meal.]

After sending it, Zhuo Yu’ang could not help but mock himself. He wondered when he had become so interested in pure small talk and even started taking initiative to send photos.

After chatting for a while, Ji Yan pulled some guitar books and well-worn sheet music from his desk shelf, along with pens and erasers. He began sketching out snippets of inspiration while continuing to chat with Zhuo Yu’ang.

He took a few photos and sent them over. To deepen their relationship, he spoke nonsense: [Brother, look, I am writing a song for you.]

Zhuo: [It seems you really like music?]

Ji: [I like the guitar.]

Zhuo: [Can you play something for me now?]

Zhuo: [I really liked the birthday song from last time.]

Ji: [I could play, but the neck of my guitar is cracked.]

Zhuo: [Can it not be fixed?]

Ji: [The damage is beyond repair.]

Zhuo: [Take a photo and let me see.]

Ji Yan spun his chair and took a photo of the guitar hanging on the wall. The break in the neck was obvious, with missing wood chips where it had been glued back together. An accidental fall would not have been that serious, but his father had panicked and stepped on it. With a middle-aged man’s weight, one step had snapped it into two pieces. Even if repaired, the strength would never return to a level that could withstand the tension of the strings.

Looking at the guitar brought back the feelings he had at the time. Ji Yan’s expression darkened. After brooding for ten minutes, he remembered to check his phone. The messages stopped at the photo he sent; Zhuo Yu’ang had not replied.

Suddenly inspired, he turned back and pulled a tablet from his desk drawer. He then asked Zhuo Yu’ang: [Brother, do you still want to listen? I found a way to play.]

Zhuo: [Of course I do.]

Ji: [Then wait for me. I will call you in a bit.]

Ji Yan pushed his chair back, walked to the door, and shouted to Song Yushu and Ji Chaoqun in the living room: “Dad! Mom! I am going to livestream my studies. Do not wander around my door and do not come in!”

“Studying?” Ji Chaoqun put down his newspaper. “It is the holidays. Who are you livestreaming for?”

“For my juniors and for the academic slackers, to motivate them to work hard.”

“Can academic slackers even watch a study livestream?”

Bang! Ji Yan had already locked the door.

Back at his desk, he spread the pens, paper, sheet music, phone, and tablet all over his bed. He sat cross-legged on the bed and made a voice call to Zhuo Yu’ang. Once connected, he set the phone aside. The tablet had a guitar-playing application that he had not used in a long time. Once the update was finished, Ji Yan tested it out, regaining the feeling of playing on a tablet. He seriously tested the tones and said, “Brother can request a song.”

Zhuo Yu’ang’s voice came through the phone: “Play whatever you like.”

“Okay.”

Soon, the music became familiar. It was a classic old song, Richie Jen’s A Wave After Another.

“You like old songs?” The voice on the other end softened unconsciously.

Ji Yan heard him and said, “My family likes them. They are always requesting songs from me.”

Zhuo Yu’ang did not ask anything else, unwilling to disturb the atmosphere connecting them. One played, and the other listened. Time flowed by unnoticed. It was only when Ji Yan noticed how dim the room had become that he realized it was dark outside and he had not turned on the light. In the hospital ward over sixty kilometers away, the lights had only just been turned on during the nurse’s rounds.

Ji Yan occasionally had bursts of inspiration and would stop playing the song to try out his own melodies. He would write and draw, then continue, then write and draw again. Zhuo Yu’ang heard the rustling of writing and smiled, realizing the younger brother had forgotten him while playing music.

Strangely, his heart was filled with contradictory feelings. It felt as if his chest were stuffed full, so full it was about to overflow, yet he also felt an unprecedented emptiness, as if his hands wanted to grasp something. Like an itch in his heart? Zhuo Yu’ang chuckled silently. The kitten’s claws were truly something.

When the music stopped abruptly, the feeling of enjoyment and the itch were instantly pulled away. He panicked for a moment, and only after picking up his phone did he realize it had run out of battery.

In the surgical corridor at midnight, the overhead lights were turned off, with only one light on in front of the nurse’s station. Because there was only one, it made both ends of the hallway look pitch black and eerie.

At that moment, the sound of soft, slow footsteps drifted over. The sleepy night-shift nurse snapped awake. Her eyes widened until she saw it was the patient from Bed 12, and she let out a quiet sigh of relief. She hurried to ask, “Zhuo Yu’ang, where are you going in the middle of the night?”

“I am going to the supermarket downstairs to buy a charger.”

Unbelievable.

Ji Yan really had forgotten about Zhuo Yu’ang. After he finished playing and writing, he tossed the tablet aside and fell fast asleep. It was only when he woke up the next morning that he suddenly remembered he was supposed to be playing the guitar for Zhuo Yu’ang last night. He had gotten carried away with his own creations.

He was speechless for a while. He sat up, his black hair a messy nest. With one eye sleepy and the other awake, he sent a greeting: [Good morning, brother!]

The reply was instant.

Zhuo: [So you still remember me. I thought baby would stop valuing brother after catching him.]

Ji: [Hehe, how could that be?]

Zhuo: [Say something nice to coax me.]

Ji Yan opened his other eye because his eyelid was jumping for no reason, which was a bad omen. He asked: [What does brother want to hear?]

Zhuo: [Call me and say husband, I love you ten times.]

Ji Yan’s hand shook. His scalp felt like it was exploding, and his mouth tightened into a firm line. He struggled internally. This jerk was teasing him again and again; it would be better to just come clean and disgust him to death. On the other hand, he felt it was a waste to give up now after all the effort he had put in to get this far.

Zhuo Yu’ang pressed him: [Baby, do you truly like me? Is it that hard to say you love me?]

Ji Yan closed his eyes, then opened them. He would just say it. It was no big deal. He had dressed as a girl, used the cutesy voice, and taken leg photos. What were a few words?

Ji: [Brother, I am willing. I will call you.]

He dialed the number.

“Go ahead,” Zhuo Yu’ang’s voice drifted into his ear. “Wife.”

The term made Ji Yan uncomfortable, and he stammered. “Husband, I…”

“Why are you stuttering? I am not exactly pushing into your throat.”

Crap!

Ji Yan buried his head in his blanket. Perhaps it was from being smothered, or perhaps it was from embarrassment, but waves of heat rushed to his face. Oh, and he was angry too. Only after a long while did he speak again: “Husband, I love you.”

One could see just how wicked Zhuo Yu’ang was here. The more he bullied, the more he wanted to bully; the more he teased, the more he liked it. He said intentionally, “Baby, husband cannot hear you. Say it louder.”

“Husband, I love you!” His voice shook slightly from anger.

“Good girl, do not shake. This is only the first few times.”

Ji Yan was speechless, completely losing his voice. The wicked person on the phone asked again: “Baby, did you faint?”

With a short beep, the call was disconnected. Ji Yan could not take it anymore and tossed the phone out of the blanket. He let out a muffled roar of fury: “LEWD!”

Meanwhile, the culprit felt the opposite pleasure. The day had only just begun, and he already felt it was going to be a wonderful day. However, after saying so many suggestive things, he naturally developed a few lewd thoughts. A smile hung on his lips.

“He is so easily teased. I wonder if he can handle being toyed with.”

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