I’m Dating My Big Brother’s Roommate Online and I’m Way Too Cute! - Chapter 4

“You made me hard.”

Ji: [ ^-^ ]

Give you an inch, and you take a mile.

Ding.

Another message arrived.

Zhuo: [You have praised me so much that I am hard.]

“Holy crap,” Ji Yan cursed under his breath.

Zhuo: [Do you want to see?]

Ji: [Is that really okay? I want to see!]

Ji Yan stared at the screen without blinking. They were both men; it was something they both had. As long as it was not something diseased or ulcerated, there was nothing he could not handle looking at. Moreover, if the jerk dared to send it, Ji Yan dared to post it on the Nanhuai University internal forum.

The title would read: A Certain Well-Known Student of Nanhuai University Flirting via Online Dating with Nude Selfies.

The other party did not make him wait long. In fact, only two seconds passed before the photo was sent.

Against a pitch-black, dim background, something occupied almost the entire frame. Ji Yan gradually frowned, thinking it looked like “it,” yet also not quite.

Ji: [What is this?]

Zhuo: [My fist is hard.]

Ji Yan was speechless.

Zhuo: [Alright, it is late. Go to sleep.]

Ji Yan had to admit that this jerk’s level was quite high. He was not as impatient as typical lechers. He was likely crafting a persona of being “out of reach.” The more someone is unattainable, the more people flock to them.

He had to call it a night.

Ji: [Okay, goodnight, brother!]

He waited for a while, but the other party did not even reply with a “night.”

The towel he had used to dry his hair was tossed by the bed, dampening the sheets. He picked it up and draped it over his head, but he did not put his phone down yet. To ensure he did not forget to “conquer” the jerk, he set a series of alarm reminders.

The times were: 6:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM, and 9:00 PM.

At 6:00 AM, the alarm rang right on time.

“Who brought the ancient call!”

“Ya-la-suo!”

“That is the Qing-Zang Highland!”

Bang! Bang!

Ji Yan’s father knocked on the door from outside. “You brat! It is the weekend; are you trying to scare someone to death? You know the soundproofing in this house is bad. Turn it off now!”

“Oh,” Ji Yan replied in a sluggish, half-dead tone.

His black, messy head moved on the pillow. Ji Yan struggled to lift his eyelids slightly. His gaze was filled with exhaustion and the confusion of why one would set an alarm during the holidays.

After a few minutes, he remembered.

He fumbled around the side table, grabbed his phone, and sent a message to the jerk while still drowsy: [Good morning! Is brother awake? What are you doing?]

He typed too hastily, and the final question mark was left out. He fell back asleep immediately after sending it.

When he woke up later and checked his messages, the jerk had replied.

Zhuo: [I do not do anything in the morning. I go for a morning run.]

Ji Yan was silent.

He continued at noon.

Ji: [Brother, have you had lunch yet?]

Zhuo: [Yes.]

Ji: [What did you eat?]

Zhuo: [Food.]

Ji Yan looked at the chat box and fell into a brief silence. He could talk flirtatiously, but he at least needed a topic to work with.

“Why are you playing with your phone while eating?” Song Yushu tapped her son’s bowl with her chopsticks. “Hurry up and eat; the food is getting cold.”

Ji Yan picked up a green bean, but his lips barely touched it before he put it back in the bowl.

“What is wrong? Does it not taste good?” Song Yushu asked with concern.

“No, it burned my mouth.”

“Haha, you brat. You are more reserved than your brother, but your tongue is much slicker,” Song Yushu laughed. She then asked, “By the way, is Yan Yan’s coffee shop opening soon?”

“Yes.”

“Which day?”

“Next Monday. An auspicious day.”

Ji Yan was multitasking, his hands still busy messaging: [Was brother eating lunch at the North Court Restaurant today? I think I saw you.] Before hitting send, he added an extra “oh” at the end.

He had heard his older brother mention before that Nanhuai University had many cafeterias and good food. He remembered one or two of the names.

“Ji Yan, eat properly!” his mother reminded him again.

Ji Yan took two bites and set down his chopsticks. “I am full.”

“Hey, you are finished already?”

“Yes.”

He went back to his room, took down his hanging guitar, and sat in the chair in front of his desk. His fingers lightly plucked the strings, but the sound was not the clear resonance he remembered; it was a dull, thudding noise.

He pressed his palm against the strings, and the sound stopped abruptly. He checked his phone again. The previous message had vanished into the sea; the other party had not replied.

He typed with one hand.

Ji: [Mailing Dragon crying emoji.]

Ji: [Brother, why are you ignoring me?]

Ten minutes later, Zhuo Yu’ang replied: [Busy.]

Perhaps it was an excuse to play hard to get, or perhaps he really was busy. Ji Yan decided not to disturb him for the time being to avoid backfiring. Over the next few days, the conversations remained dull. The “jerk” either did not reply or only replied with two or three words.

On Sunday, Ji Yan left the house. With a cool expression and handsome features, he boarded the bus and took a window seat. His black hair partially covered the Bluetooth earbud in his ear. He was tall and good-looking; even the elderly could not help but steal a few extra glances at him.

His cousin Ji Yanyan’s coffee shop was not opening until tomorrow, but there were preparations to be made. Ji Yan had promised early on to help. Guo Jia, Guo Ying, and another close friend, Chen Zhansen, had also come to help.

The group divided the work: organizing inventory, testing the coffee machine, and arranging tables and chairs. Once they were finished, they sat down by the window. Ji Yanyan had prepared drinks and snacks to reward them.

“Wait here, I will help Sister Yan Yan bring things out,” Guo Ying said as she headed to the kitchen.

“Hey, did you see?” Guo Jia lightly nudged Ji Yan’s arm. “Her eyes are still swollen.”

Ji Yan nodded. “I saw.”

Guo Jia sighed. “She looks fine during the day, but she is probably crying into her pillow at night.”

Chen Zhansen, who was playing on his phone across from them, looked up. “What are you talking about? I haven’t seen you two for a few days, and now you have secrets?”

“There is a secret. If I tell you, you absolutely cannot tell anyone else,” Guo Jia said solemnly.

Chen Zhansen was intrigued. As he listened to Guo Jia explain that Ji Yan was willing to pretend to be a girl to bait the jerk, he was slightly surprised. However, on second thought, it made sense. That was just Ji Yan’s personality—he either would not help, or if he did, he would go all out.

As for online dating…

“Cough, that stuff really is unreliable,” Chen Zhansen said, silencing his phone and tucking it into his pocket.

“Ji Yan, how is the chat with the jerk going?” Guo Jia asked.

Chen Zhansen scurried over to sit beside them. “Let me hear the progress too.”

The three sat in a row. Ji Yan began, “We…”

Guo Ying and Ji Yanyan came out. The three immediately fell silent.

“Here we go! I have prepared cake rolls, sweet and sour pineapple pies, and cookies!” Ji Yanyan placed the food on the table. Noticing their silence, she found it strange. “What is wrong? You are all staring at me like you have a guilty conscience.”

“Oh, we were just discussing filling out our college applications,” Guo Jia said with a grin.

“Then continue your discussion. There is fresh juice in the back; I will go get it for you,” Ji Yanyan said as she walked away.

Ji Yan: “Thanks, Sis.”

Guo Jia and Chen Zhansen: “Thanks, Sister Yan Yan!”

Guo Ying set down a plate of fried chicken. “Dig in.”

Chen Zhansen suddenly asked her, “Guo Jia’s sister, your brother said you were in an online relationship?”

Guo Jia: “!!!”

Ji Yan facepalmed.

Guo Ying’s eyes suddenly widened. She said, “Move over.”

Chen Zhansen immediately cleared out of the way.

Guo Ying took a step forward and stepped on Guo Jia’s sneaker, grinding her heel down. “Who told you to spread my business everywhere? Is it an honor that I was in an online relationship and got cheated on?”

“Ah!” Guo Jia grimaced in pain. “You are my sister! I was worried about you!”

“Tell me, have you been doing anything behind my back?” The two were only minutes apart in age and had grown up together; Guo Ying knew him too well. He was a worrier, a big-mouth, and full of schemes.

“I will talk, I will talk,” Guo Jia confessed.

After listening, Guo Ying looked at Ji Yan. Her lips quivered slightly, and she hesitated before making up her mind. “Yan-ge, go ahead and bait him. Catch him and then dump him ruthlessly. Otherwise, I won’t be able to swallow this anger.”

Since Guo Ying was on board, Ji Yan decided to spare no effort. “If I don’t bait him to death, I will write my name backward.”

“I am going to help Sister Yan Yan,” Guo Ying said as she turned to leave.

Guo Jia suddenly pounced on Chen Zhansen. “You idiot! I told you not to say anything, and you asked her the second you turned around! Did you get water on the brain before even having a drink?”

“You said not to tell anyone else. Is your sister anyone else?” Chen Zhansen argued back.

“You think you are right, don’t you!”

“At least I did not go against what you said!”

“Do you two still want to hear the progress?” Ji Yan spoke up, and the two scurried back.

Ji Yan’s progress was that, other than adding him on WeChat, there was no progress at all. The problem was obvious. Even though the photos sent to the jerk were edited to be very beautiful, the other party’s reaction was not as enthusiastic as they had imagined.

“I have looked into it,” Guo Jia said while eating a snack. “Zhuo Yu’ang is a celebrity at Nanhuai University. He is famous for being incredibly handsome. He could debut as a center even if he were burnt to ashes.”

Ji Yan leaned an arm over the back of his chair and said casually, “Is that called a debut? Is that not a funeral?”

Chen Zhansen burst out laughing.

Guo Jia kicked him. “Don’t laugh! Don’t interrupt me. Besides being handsome, his professional grades and overall abilities are excellent. He is one of the few people who can represent the face of Nanhuai University. The people chasing him could line up from his dorm all the way to the city center.”

Chen Zhansen chewed a cookie, his cheeks bulging. “That exaggerated?”

Ji Yan asked, “So you mean he has too many options? One more or one less makes no difference to him?”

Guo Jia: “Exactly.”

Ji Yan: “In other words, I am not working hard enough.”

Guo Jia: “Correct.”

“Then I have a question,” Chen Zhansen raised his hand to ask Guo Jia. “If he has so many options, why is he still clinging to your sister and not letting go?”

“That is where you are wrong,” Guo Jia replied. Although the siblings fought at home, he always praised her in public. “Is my sister not beautiful? She is the School Flower of her school! Besides, beautiful faces are common, but interesting souls are one in a million. My sister has both. Why would a jerk be willing to let go?”

“Makes sense,” Chen Zhansen nodded.

“But a jerk is still a jerk!” Guo Jia tapped the table firmly.

Ji Yan agreed with that sentiment. “I will act a bit more spoiled. I want to see how long he can resist.”

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