I’m Dating My Big Brother’s Roommate Online and I’m Way Too Cute! - Chapter 9

Ji Yanyan had filmed a video that captured Ji Yan’s entire performance. Without any editing, the video was already the best and cleanest presentation of his talent. However, as soon as Ji Yan got home, he converted the video into a pure audio file.

There was a knock on the door before his mother turned the handle and walked in. Ji Yan quickly closed all the browser tabs on his computer.

Song Yushu brought in a plate of fruit and set it on the desk. “You have been cooped up in your room since you got home. I do not know what you are doing in here. Come on, eat some oranges to get your Vitamin C.”

“Okay,” Ji Yan replied.

“What did you just close?” Song Yushu’s eyes were sharp.

“Nothing.”

“You are an adult now, so I understand if you are looking at certain things, but doing too much of it will hurt your health.”

“What things?”

“You are asking me what things? Anyway, I am going grocery shopping now. I will see what delicious food I can make for you and your father tonight.” Song Yushu closed the door behind her.

Ji Yan reopened the pages from his browsing history. After browsing for ten minutes, he realized what his mother had implied and silently pursed his lips. He was actually looking at very serious content.

He had been searching for the International Collegiate Programming Contest, the Blue Bridge Cup National Software and Information Technology Talent Competition, and Kaggle competitions from the world’s top data science platforms.

According to the information gathered by Guo Jia, Zhuo Yu’ang’s abilities in computer science were incredibly strong. He had won numerous awards in various competitions. However, as outsiders, it was too difficult to find specific details such as which year he participated or his exact ranking. It was easier for Ji Yan to search online himself.

For national and international events, important rankings are usually searchable unless Zhuo Yu’ang had failed to even pass the campus selection. As Ji Yan browsed through the various competition websites, he could not help but feel a sense of admiration. Zhuo Yu’ang truly had talent; it was not just empty talk. Whether it was a team or individual event, he ranked among the best and held several first place awards.

“He has great ability, but he is still a scumbag,” Ji Yan evaluated firmly.

From the photos he found online, Ji Yan downloaded a picture of Zhuo Yu’ang from his very first award ceremony. As his older brother had said, winning an award for the first time is like a first love; it holds special commemorative significance. He saved the photo to his phone.

Guo Jia happened to message him: “How is it going? Have you decided what gift to give him?”

Ji: “A photo of him winning an award, put into a picture frame.”

Guo: “To hang on the wall?”

Ji: “To put on a desk.”

Guo: “That sounds pretty good.”

Ji Yan walked quickly downstairs. His mother said she was going shopping, but she was still downstairs chatting with the neighbors. Seeing Ji Yan walking out of the building, she raised her voice, “We are about to have dinner! Where are you going?”

“I have something to do; I will be right back,” Ji Yan called out as he left the neighborhood.

There was a photo studio near his house where he spent ten yuan to print the photo. Then, he took a bus to the city center to pick out a frame. He originally wanted a simple square one, but considering Guo Jia’s comment about hanging it on the wall, he chose an irregular solid wood frame with a cute wooden cat perched on top.

When he asked about the price, the owner smiled and said, “This is a handmade craft, so the price is 560 yuan.”

Ji Yan immediately tried to haggle for half price. The owner agreed surprisingly quickly, “Fine, 280 yuan it is. I am selling it to you at a loss just to get a repeat customer. I will wrap it up for you.”

Ji Yan’s expression was hard to describe.

In addition to the frame, he also chose a gift box at the gift shop. While other customers were picking items, the sight of baby’s breath flowers gave him inspiration. He followed the lead of the person in front of him and bought a glass bottle and colorful origami paper. This would make him seem more thoughtful and more like a girl.

“Boss, do you have a folding service here?” he asked as he placed the large glass bottle on the counter. “I want to fill this whole bottle.”

The owner’s mouth twitched as he replied, “We do not have that service.”

“Oh,” Ji Yan nodded.

He returned home with everything, and after dinner, he locked himself in his room again. He first sent a scheduled greeting to Zhuo Yu’ang and then searched for origami tutorials. He folded paper until two o’clock in the morning. His face was grim, and his fingers felt like they were going to break.

Two days later, Guo Jia specifically asked his coach to reschedule his driving practice so he could go to Nanhua University with Ji Yan. The simplest method was to mail the gift, but since it contained fragile items, they did not want to take any chances.

Their homes were in the southern coastal region. From Xin City to Nanhua City, it was only a two hour drive or a thirty minute high speed train ride. Including the taxi ride from the station, it would take a bit longer.

Before arriving at the Nanhua University security office, Ji Yan bought a black umbrella. The two of them used the umbrella to hide their faces completely. The guard saw something being handed out from under the umbrella and even raised his electric baton until he saw it was a gift box.

“Sir,” Ji Yan said, “we have a package to leave here. Someone will come to pick it up later.”

“Alright,” the guard said, leaning down to try and peek under the umbrella. Ji Yan moved the umbrella lower to block his view. The guard turned back and took out a logbook. “Register it yourself. Write down the name, phone number, the item being left, and which student in the school is receiving it.”

“Okay,” Ji Yan went into the office to register while Guo Jia held the black umbrella.

By the time they finished and walked away, the guard still had not seen what they looked like. He suspiciously leaned against the box to listen closely. After confirming there was no ticking sound, he felt relieved.

Once they were away from the gate, Guo Jia closed the umbrella and sighed. “We covered ourselves so well that the cameras probably did not catch us.”

“I hope not. If they did, it will just be a bit troublesome. I will just explain that I asked a male classmate to deliver it,” Ji Yan said.

He then contacted Zhuo Yu’ang.

Ji: “Gege! I know today is your birthday. I sent you a gift and left it at the school security office. Pick it up when you are free.”

They sat under the shade of a tree to cool off. Over half an hour passed without a single word of reply.

“Do you think this guy named Zhuo is spending his birthday with another girl?” Guo Jia guessed.

“I actually forgot about that,” Ji Yan’s face went cold. “While I am chasing him, there are surely others chasing him too. It is his birthday, so maybe he saw one person in the morning, another in the afternoon, and will spend the night with a third.”

Ji Yan added, “The gift I prepared might not even work now.”

“Pah!” Guo Jia spat. “What a shameless scumbag.”

At this time, Zhuo Yu’ang was at the airport. His parents had traveled back from abroad specifically to have dinner with him on his birthday. They were picked up in a Rolls Royce and had reservations at the most expensive hotel in Nanhua City. The meal had been selected two weeks in advance. As each dish was served, the chef explained the sophisticated cooking methods involved.

His mother, Lan Yingzhi, spoke a few words to the head chef, who nodded and led the waiters away to give the family privacy.

“Yu’ang,” Lan Yingzhi said as she took a card from her bag and pushed it toward him. Her face was beautiful, but her hair was graying at the temples. “Since you wanted to return to the country for school and we are not by your side, you need to take good care of yourself. This is a small gesture from your father and me. Please take it.”

“Yes,” Zhuo Zhenghong added. “What parents do not work hard to give their children a good future? Keep it.”

“There is no need. I appreciate the sentiment, but I am not short of money,” Zhuo Yu’ang replied. Compared to how he used to be, he was now quite polite.

Lan Yingzhi hesitated and looked at the equally awkward Zhuo Zhenghong before taking the card back. Zhuo Zhenghong broke the silence with a smile. “You have been sensible and capable since you were young. Your mother and I are very proud.”

“It is thanks to your upbringing,” Zhuo Yu’ang said. The couple felt awkward again.

From the airport pickup to the meal and then to the hotel, the family’s conversation and behavior were polite yet distant. Even the head chef who explained the ingredients could not help but wonder if they were really a family. However, looking at their faces, the father and son looked so much alike that there was no doubt.

Zhuo Yu’ang did not check his messages until he left the hotel. The younger brother had sent him a gift.

“Your car keys, sir,” the hotel valet said.

“Thank you,” Zhuo Yu’ang took the keys. His black Porsche headed toward Nanhua University.

Shortly after delivering the gift, Ji Yan and Guo Jia returned to Xin City. It was not until eight o’clock in the evening that he received a reply from Zhuo Yu’ang.

Zhuo: “Thanks.”

Zhuo: “But which gift is yours?”

Ji Yan thought to himself that the scumbag had indeed gone on a date with someone else since he replied so late.

Ji: “It is the one in the blue wrapping.”

Zhuo: “There are many gifts in blue wrapping.”

Ji: “The one with your name written on it.”

Zhuo: “They all have my name on them.”

The other party sent a photo of a table piled high with gifts. Ji Yan was speechless. Are you showing off how many people are chasing you?

He did not know that after word got out about Zhuo Yu’ang’s birthday, many people at Nanhua University found out the date as well. At that moment, there were over ten gifts left at the security office for him. All of them were exquisitely packaged, and seven or eight were in blue wrapping.

Ji Yan clicked on the picture, circled his gift, and sent it back. He intentionally spoke with a hint of jealousy.

Ji: “Gege is so popular!”

Zhuo Yu’ang smiled at the message, took Ji Yan’s gift, and went back to the dormitory. Two of his roommates had gone home, and Ji Han had not yet returned from playing ball. The room was very quiet. Zhuo Yu’ang pulled out his chair and slowly began to unwrap the gift. He pushed aside the baby’s breath flowers to reveal the cute photo frame inside.

The photo in the frame made him pause. He thought for a while before he remembered it. The excitement of winning his first award suddenly rushed back into his heart. However, back then, what followed was not a celebration from his family but a notification to go to the hospital for a bone marrow extraction. No one had cared about his award.

To this day, even he had forgotten about it. The little cat had certainly been thoughtful to dig up this photo. There was also a USB drive inside. After his laptop read it, a pure audio version of a birthday song began to play. There was no background noise; the music was pleasant and clean.

Zhuo Yu’ang leaned back and closed his eyes to listen quietly. The gloom between his brows gradually dissipated. His phone rang repeatedly.

Ji: “Does Gege like it?”

Ji: “Happy Birthday, Gege!”

Ji: “The gift is not very expensive, but it represents my heart!”

Zhuo Yu’ang replied: “I like it. Thank you for the gift, little cat.”

Ji: “I am glad you like it. I played the birthday song myself.”

Ji: “I also folded every one of those paper cranes by hand. There is writing inside them. If Gege is ever in a bad mood, you can unfold one.”

Zhuo Yu’ang unfolded one. Ji Yan’s handwriting was good; it was elegant yet powerful, as if carved into the paper.

You are a brilliant and precious existence.

It happened to be this sentence, it happened to be his birthday, and it happened to be in his current somber mood. The words wrapped around Zhuo Yu’ang’s heart like a warm fire. For a moment, he felt he was truly falling for the younger brother.

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