My Online Date is My Roommate - Chapter 4

Jiang Mingbo felt like he’d been struck by lightning. Everything Fei Wenxu said was technically true over the last two years, countless people had used Jiang as a middleman to deliver gifts and letters to Fei. Because Jiang maintained a “friendly and helpful” persona, everyone naturally gravitated toward him for these favors.

However, hearing that dismissive “I don’t know her,” Jiang couldn’t tell if Fei was genuinely forgetful or just being a pretentious prick. The girl had literally just added him yesterday, and today he “didn’t know her”? What a joke, Jiang thought.

“She mentioned you guys just added each other yesterday…” Jiang remarked, trying to sound casual.

Fei Wenxu wasn’t actually acting. He simply didn’t care much about people; since most who added him had the same motives, he’d exchange a few pleasantries and then lose interest. Hearing Jiang’s reminder, he had a moment of realization. “Oh, right. Someone did add me yesterday. I have no idea who gave her my number. From now on, I should just change my privacy settings to ‘Face-to-Face QR Code only.'”

Tan Rui, still munching on chocolates, lamented, “See? The man with a full belly doesn’t know what it’s like to starve.”

Jiang Mingbo rolled his eyes internally. Looking at Fei Wenxu’s effortless confidence, his irritation spiked. Does this guy even know what it feels like to be rejected?

A surge of nameless anger boiled up. He desperately wanted to see Fei Wenxu look defeated, just once.

Yu Xuan, who hadn’t joined the conversation, looked up from the class group chat. “Did you guys finish the major assignment for next week yet?”

Tan Rui didn’t even blink. “No worries, isn’t ‘Brother Fish’ right here? We’ll just Ctrl+C. Right, Bo-er?”

The smile had completely vanished from Jiang Mingbo’s face. He let out a cold, sharp laugh and followed along. “Yeah.”

Fei Wenxu let out a short, airy chuckle that signature sound from the back of his throat that sounded exactly like disdain.

After finishing several more chocolates, Tan Rui turned back to tease Jiang. “These are so good. Bo-er, when are you going to treat me to chocolates?”

Jiang Mingbo gave him a flat look.

Tan Rui laughed. “Forget it, forget it. Just stay single with me. If you get a girlfriend too, I’ll actually die of jealousy.”

That “wicked fire” in Jiang’s heart suddenly found an outlet. He knit his brows and shook his head. “Nonono. Actually, things are a bit different for me now.”

This didn’t just surprise Tan Rui; even Fei Wenxu looked over curiously, and Yu Xuan paused his homework to listen.

The second the words left his mouth, Jiang Mingbo regretted it. Was he really going to play the ‘tough guy’ just to save face?

But he was already committed. He had to keep the lie going. “Someone asked for my contact info when I was out just now. Go ahead and be envious…”

Tan Rui didn’t believe it for a second. “You just went to the cafeteria! How do you get asked for your WeChat at the cafeteria? Are there photos on her ‘Moments’? Let me see!”

Jiang Mingbo’s eyes widened. “Back off! I haven’t even looked at her profile yet. Where am I supposed to find a photo for you?”

Tan Rui hollered, “You just saw her in person! At least let us see a photo.” He turned to Fei Wenxu for backup. “Fish, back me up here. Look at this guy!”

Fei Wenxu laughed twice. “Bo-er, I’m with Rui on this one. It’s not cool to hide her from the brothers.”

Jiang Mingbo clutched his phone, his eyes darting around. “Just know she’s pretty. Her eyes are especially beautiful.”

He said it with such conviction that Tan Rui looked heartbroken. “It’s over. Now it’s just me and Xuan. You’ve betrayed the organization.”

Jiang Mingbo countered, “Fei Wenxu is single too. He’s in your ‘organization.'”

Tan Rui shook his head. “If he wanted to be, there’d be a line out the door. He’s not like us.”

Jiang Mingbo smiled thinly and walked out to the balcony.

“Bo-er! Tell me you’re just joking!” Tan Rui yelled after him.

The only response was Jiang Mingbo’s cold voice: “I’ll introduce you once I get to know her better…”

Tan Rui let out a pained wail and stuffed another chocolate into his mouth.

Through the glass window, Fei Wenxu watched Jiang Mingbo on the balcony with an analytical gaze. That hypocrite… is he actually telling the truth?

On the balcony, Jiang Mingbo was breaking into a cold sweat. He cursed his big mouth. Knowing Tan Rui, the guy would be pestering him for photos every single day.

He caught his reflection in the glass and saw Fei Wenxu’s searching gaze meeting his through the mirror. Jiang narrowed his eyes and looked away. He truly wanted to wipe that “I have everything under control” look off Fei’s face.

He splashed some water on his face to cool down, and a truly malicious idea began to sprout. The lie is already out there. Why not… why not just roll with it? I’ll use a female account to pretend to like myself, and while I’m at it, I’ll seduce Fei Wenxu. Once he becomes a total ‘simp’ for this girl, I’ll tell him ‘She’ only likes Jiang Mingbo. Let him feel the pain of wanting something he can’t have.

Jiang Mingbo let out a cold snort. Since they shared a room, he could perfectly monitor Fei’s reactions to adjust his strategy. Besides, a man knows what a man wants. He didn’t believe he couldn’t play this idiot like a fiddle.

With the rough outline of a plan in mind, he hummed a little tune as he walked back inside. He smiled at the still-grumbling Tan Rui. “Relax, relax. If things go well, I’ll introduce you. Once I get a photo, I’ll definitely share it.”

Fei Wenxu’s eyes were unreadable. He had a feeling this roommate was up to no good.

Over the next few days, Tan Rui kept probing for info asking for photos or details about the girl’s identity but Jiang Mingbo managed to dodge every question. He kept saying he was “getting to know her” while secretly praying for the Labor Day holiday to arrive so he could go home and figure out how to bridge the gap in his lie.

After all, this was his first time telling such a vanity-driven lie. If he didn’t feel so pressured to stay on Fei Wenxu’s level, he wouldn’t be doing something this stupid.

The worst part was that every time he lied, he felt like Fei Wenxu’s eyes were piercing right through him. Where was he going to find a photo to fool these guys?

Thankfully, the holiday arrived, and he was able to escape the dorm and breathe for a few days.

Jiang Mingbo was the eldest of three siblings. His parents had two boys before finally getting the daughter they wanted, so his little sister, Jiang Mingman, was the undisputed treasure of the house.

As the oldest, Jiang Mingbo was basically at the bottom of the household hierarchy a glorified servant for the little princess. He wasn’t particularly close to his parents; they were strict about education and constantly pressured him to excel. He didn’t remember any physical punishments for bad grades, but he had a distinct memory of being treated with cold indifference whenever he fell behind.

When he arrived home, his parents were still at work, his high-school-aged brother hadn’t returned, and his middle-school-aged sister was out. He dropped his bags and crashed in his room.

“Big brother, you’re back?”

He woke to the sound of his sister’s voice. He opened his eyes to see Jiang Mingman standing by his bed.

She was thrilled to see him and started circling his bed excitedly. “Zaza! Take me to the Anime Expo tomorrow! Mom and Dad won’t let me go alone because they say it’s dangerous, but now that you’re back, you can take me!”

Jiang Mingbo sat up slowly. “The Expo? Why don’t you get your second brother to take you? He likes that stuff.”

Mingman pouted. “You know Second Brother is about to start his senior year of high school. His studies are too intense. If I ask him to take me, Mom and Dad will definitely scold me.”

Jiang Mingbo teased, “Who would dare scold the Young Miss?”

She started acting spoiled. “Oh, come on, Big Brother! Take me! Second Brother is still a minor; if we run into bad guys, he couldn’t even fight them off. Just come with me. You’re the coolest brother in the world…”

Jiang Mingbo sighed and threw up his hands in surrender. “Fine, fine. I’ll go. My goodness.”

“Yay! I’m gonna go tell Mom and Dad I’m allowed to go now!” She bolted out of the room, cheering.

Jiang Mingbo followed her out. His younger brother, Jiang Mingtao, was back and playing on his phone in the living room. His parents were in the kitchen making dinner.

“Mingbo, wash up. Dinner’s almost ready.”

Passing the sofa, Jiang Mingbo gave Mingtao’s leg a playful kick. “Go help with the dishes.”

Mingtao rolled his eyes. “You sure know how to be lazy.”

Muttering under his breath, he got up to help.

At the table, Mingman happily announced her “escort” for the next day, boasting about which cosplayers she was going to “collect” photos with. Jiang Mingbo didn’t understand much of it and just kept his head down and ate.

After dinner, he took over the dishwashing. When he finished, he found Mingtao staring at him. “Brother, you’re really going to the Expo tomorrow?”

Jiang Mingbo shrugged. “Do I look like someone who can say no to her?”

“Sigh, I want to go too.” Mingtao sighed enviously, then pulled out his tablet. “Brother…”

Jiang Mingbo felt his neck hair stand up. His brother rarely called him “Brother” so politely unless he wanted something.

Sure enough: “Take this tomorrow and help me get some ‘stamps’ [photos] from the ‘teachers’ [cosplayers].”

Jiang Mingbo was confused. “Stamps? What?”

“Don’t worry about it. Just show my photo to the teachers; they’ll know what to do.”

Jiang Mingbo stared at the photos on the tablet, his scalp tingling. “Which ‘teachers’ am I looking for?”

“Come to my room. I’ll give you a crash course.”

Two hours later, Jiang Mingbo had memorized which dresses, wig colors, and props to look for. The next day, he found himself at the convention, holding his brother’s photo and feeling totally out of place.

The moment they entered, Mingman was like a wild horse off its tether—she vanished in a flash. Before Jiang could even speak, he was left alone. He wandered aimlessly, blinded by the flashes and the colorful characters.

He started looking for the people his brother wanted. After several laps, he still wasn’t sure, so he found a spot to sit and rest.

Looking up, he spotted a tall figure in a tight, sleeveless outfit and a short skirt. The person had a great figure and long blue hair. Jiang checked the reference photo on the tablet, looked at the person again, and—bingo!

That was the one. He stood up, waited for the crowd around the cosplayer to thin out, and approached cautiously. “Teacher?”

The cosplayer turned. Red lips, big eyes, a delicate nose—Jiang was momentarily dazed. He quickly opened the tablet. “Excuse me, Teacher. Can we do a remote stamp?”

The cosplayer smiled. “Sure.”

They took the tablet from his hand, leaving Jiang Mingbo frozen on the spot. Why…

Why was that a man’s voice?!

Seeing Jiang’s lack of reaction, the cosplayer gave him a friendly nudge. Jiang snapped out of it, fumbled for his phone, and mechanically took two photos. He took back the tablet like a wooden doll, staring in disbelief as other people continued to crowd around for photos.

That beautiful character… was played by a guy?

Why isn’t anyone else surprised?

Why?

Mingman found him then. “Geez, Big Brother, don’t just wander off! Oh? You got the stamps for Second Brother? Your photography is terrible, Bro. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

Jiang Mingbo still hadn’t recovered from the shock. He pointed at the graceful female character. “That’s a guy.”

Mingman blinked. “So? ‘Male Mommy’ is even better, okay!”

Jiang Mingbo frowned. “What are you kids even talking about?!”

“Hmph, you old fossil!” Mingman huffed.

On the way home, Mingman gave him a detailed lecture on the subculture. For Jiang Mingbo, it was like a door to a new world had opened.

“Honestly, Big Brother, Mom and Dad just pushed you too hard. You don’t know anything. If you did a cosplay, I bet you’d look even better than that teacher.”

Jiang Mingbo: “Haha. I have no plans to cross-dress.”

“Oh, Bro, there’s only ‘the first time’ and ‘countless times.’ Look at all those male cross-dressing influencers online. They make a ton of money doing this. Huge money!”

Jiang was confused. “But everyone knows they’re guys…”

Mingman shrugged. “You don’t get it. Men know men better. When he dresses as a girl and winks or dances, people think he’s just teasing the audience. If a girl does it, people call it ‘thirst trapping.’ It’s… complicated. But these influencers are popular; they get money from guys and girls. You can’t even be jealous of that.”

Seeing her brother’s lack of enlightenment, Mingman reached out. “Give me your phone.” (Since she only had a kid’s smart watch).

Jiang Mingbo: “For what?”

“To open your eyes.” She took the phone and searched for a specific influencer. “Look at this one. The makeup and styling are so natural—it’s not even heavy. If they don’t speak, they can fool anyone.”

Jiang Mingbo squinted, staring intensely at the screen. Exquisite features, fluttering eyelashes… if he hadn’t known beforehand, he would have thought it was a beautiful woman. A very beautiful woman.

That night, lying in bed, he kept thinking about that cosplayer. Suddenly, his phone buzzed with the dorm group chat. Tan Rui, the loudspeaker, was posting photos of the feast his parents had made, asking what everyone else was eating.

Fei Wenxu replied with a simple photo of a high-end Western meal. The background looked like an expensive restaurant. He messaged: [Tastes average.]

Yu Xuan posted a photo of home-cooked food.

Jiang Mingbo felt a surge of irritation just looking at Fei’s message. He rolled his eyes and replied.

Jianghu Daydream: [I was too busy eating to take photos.]

RR: [You just don’t know how to record life. How are you gonna take photos for a girlfriend later!]

Before Jiang could even reply, Tan Rui’s next message popped up.

RR: [Speaking of which, Bro, you still haven’t shared a photo of that girl with us.]

On the other side of the screen, Fei Wenxu glanced at the message and let out a cold laugh. He suspected Tan Rui’s gossip quest was going to fail; Jiang Mingbo was probably just making the person up to save face.

“Wenxu, what are you laughing at?” asked his friend Ren Nan, who was sitting across from him.

Fei Wenxu locked his phone and smiled. “Something funny.”

“Share it with me. What could possibly make the great Young Master Fei laugh?”

Fei shook his head dismissively. “Just some person and some thing not worth mentioning.”

Ren Nan was the only one who truly knew Fei Wenxu’s arrogant nature, but he didn’t find it strange. When you’re born with a golden spoon and have top-tier looks, if you also had a “nice” personality, how would anyone else survive?

Ren Nan teased, “I thought you were going to ‘accidentally’ expose someone.”

Fei Wenxu took a sip of red wine and lazily lifted his eyelids. His dark, bright eyes were full of disdain. “Am I that kind of person?”

Ren Nan flattened his lips. “Aren’t you?”

Fei Wenxu frowned slightly, then mused, “Hmm… spending time abroad made you smarter. I actually am that kind of person.”

Ren Nan rolled his eyes. “Tch!”

Fei Wenxu smirked and picked up his phone. After a few seconds of thought, he typed:

Fish: [You’re not gonna use a stock photo from the internet just to shut us up, are you…]

RR: [Holy shit, Fish, thanks for the reminder! Bo-er, you can’t play with our emotions like that.]

One lie requires countless more to cover it. Jiang Mingbo froze. Looking at Fei Wenxu’s unprovoked comment, his heart skipped a beat. He deleted the text he’d been typing.

Then, his sister’s words from that afternoon flashed through his mind. He narrowed his eyes. Not allowed to use stock photos, huh?

Fine. I won’t use a stock photo. I’ll use a real photo—and I’ll make a clown out of you, you prick, Jiang thought maliciously.

Jianghu Daydream: [Am I that kind of person?]

Fish: [Aren’t you?] Followed by an innocent-looking sticker. To the other roommates, it looked like a joke, but Jiang Mingbo knew it was a direct taunt.

RR: [Aren’t you?] (Tan Rui copy-pasted).

Jianghu Daydream: [Get lost!]

Jiang Mingbo cursed Fei Wenxu under his breath. Given Fei’s experience and worldliness, a stock photo would be spotted instantly. But a photo of himself would be different. Even if he got caught and they had a falling out, he could at least disgust the guy for a while. And if he could actually make Fei Wenxu fall for him and become a “simp,” that would be a dream come true.

Jiang Mingbo began searching through his history for the influencer his sister had shown him. Looking at the comments, he found people asking about the makeup and styling. Jiang knew this wasn’t exactly “honorable,” but he figured he’d buy a wig and learn some makeup. He started clicking through professional makeup tutorials.

Five minutes later, he exited the video in total confusion. This was clearly not something he could learn overnight.

Just as he was about to give up, the group chat buzzed again. He gritted his teeth and opened a local app, searching for high-rated makeup studios.

He found one with top reviews and went to book an appointment for the next day. When it came time to pay, his heart ached at the price. He cursed Fei Wenxu twice more and told himself: Just this once. I’m going to make that arrogant bastard experience true suffering.

Far away at a dinner table, Fei Wenxu’s nose suddenly itched. He turned his head and sneezed. Ren Nan teased, “Young Master Fei, did you catch a cold?”

Fei Wenxu laughed softly. “I’m afraid you won’t get your wish.”

“Then someone must be thinking about you.”

Fei Wenxu just lifted his eyelids. “…”