My Online Date is My Roommate - Chapter 5

The next day, Jiang Mingbo followed his GPS to his destination. He stood in front of the small studio, feeling a bit dazed. Could this place really pull it off? It was only then that he realized he’d been an idiot he hadn’t even checked if they did make up for men.

The moment he stepped inside, a smiling young girl bounced up from a swivel chair. “Welcome! Are you here for ID photos or lifestyle portraits?”

At that moment, Jiang Mingbo’s courage, which had surged the night before, began to drain away. He stared at her awkwardly, hesitating to speak. If he told her he’d booked a professional photoshoot last night, would they think he was some kind of creep?

The girl looked at him curiously. “Sir?”

Jiang Mingbo snapped back to reality. “Uh… I… I made a reservation last night…”

Since it was the last day of the holiday and the studio’s prices were quite high, there weren’t any other customers. Jiang Mingbo looked around and felt a secret sense of relief. The girl nodded. “Okay! May I have the last four digits of your phone number?”

Jiang Mingbo: …Is it too late to run away?

The girl blinked at him playfully.

Suddenly, the memory of Fei Wenxu’s mocking laugh that dismissive hum from the back of his throat flashed through his mind. He couldn’t understand it. Why did everyone think that guy was “friendly” when he laughed like that?

He paused, took a deep breath, and gave her his number.

The girl searched it and looked up happily. “Got it! I see you’ve booked two sets of professional portraits with full makeup.”

Jiang Mingbo swallowed hard and nodded.

“You’re in luck,” she said with a friendly smile. “Our ‘Top Star’ is actually free right now…”

Jiang Mingbo’s scalp tingled. “‘Top Star’?” Is this a legitimate studio?

“I mean our most legendary makeup artist!!”

Jiang Mingbo followed her into a small makeup room. Inside, an artist was scrolling through videos, laughing hysterically, but she immediately straightened up when they entered. she looked Jiang Mingbo up and down. “What style did our handsome guest book?”

The receptionist explained, “The only portrait session booked for this morning.”

The artist had a moment of realization and ushered Jiang Mingbo over.

It was only now that Jiang Mingbo realized why things felt so weird: why weren’t they surprised at all? A guy coming in for makeup and a female-style photoshoot at that…

“I booked a female makeup look. Is that… really, okay?” Jiang Mingbo repeated, worrying she hadn’t understood.

The artist looked ready to jump into action. “Are you doubting my skills, handsome?”

Finally, the moment to prove my power has arrived!

Jiang Mingbo had underestimated the industry; he had no idea this studio even kept oversized women’s clothing specifically for male clients.

Without another word, the artist broke out her full arsenal of tools and told Jiang Mingbo to close his eyes.

For the next few hours, Jiang Mingbo felt like a lifeless puppet. When she said “open,” he opened. When she said “tilt up,” he tilted up. He was incredibly obedient.

Finally, the artist looked at her masterpiece with satisfaction. She truly was a genius of the beauty world. She even wanted to ask this client if she could use the photos as an advertisement for the shop.

“What do you think? Does this work?” She held up a mirror and asked him kindly.

Jiang Mingbo opened his eyes and stared in horror at the person in the mirror. He blinked, and a nearly unrecognizable “woman” blinked back. The person in the mirror looked just as surprised as he was.

He didn’t even dare to make a facial expression. “I… I guess it’s okay.”

“Oh, if you have notes, you have to tell us! Are you satisfied with the look? Did you want to shoot outdoors or in the studio?” The receptionist had popped back in. Seeing Jiang’s discomfort, she tried to cheer him up.

Jiang Mingbo knew nothing about this world. He was a complete amateur, but he knew one thing: if he went outside and ran into someone he knew, his reputation would be ruined forever. He waved his hands frantically. “Indoor is fine! Just indoor!”

He was ushered into the photography studio, where a sharp-looking girl with short hair started barking orders for poses and expressions. He did exactly what he was told. Throughout the entire process, he cursed Fei Wenxu in his head.

Because of Fei, he was now stuck with these “dark history” photos. He promised himself he would make that man experience the agony of unrequited love!

After a long session, he ended up with dozens of photos. He saved both the “failed” shots and the successful ones.

The studio even offered him a discount on the condition that they could use his photos in their portfolio.

Jiang Mingbo shook his head like a rattle. “No, no, no! No discount needed. Just don’t use my photos.”

After he repeatedly insisted, the staff sighed in disappointment. “What a waste…”

Jiang Mingbo immediately used the restroom to remove the makeup. The first thing he did when he got home was take another shower from head to toe, making sure not a trace of the cosmetic scent remained before he dared to appear in the living room. Jiang Mingman was watching TV. Seeing him acting suspicious, she asked, “Big Brother, where have you been? You’ve been gone all day.”

Jiang Mingbo gave a strained explanation. “Just a reunion with some high school classmates.”

The girl didn’t suspect a thing and went back to eating her chips.

Jiang Mingbo opened his phone and stared at his “glamour shots.” To be honest, he almost didn’t recognize himself. The makeup wasn’t even that heavy, but he wondered if his brain had malfunctioned along with his identity—the expressions the photographer had him make looked nothing like him…

Mingman finished her chips and headed to the fridge for ice cream. Passing her brother, she caught a glimpse of the “beauty” on his screen. “Whoa! Big Brother, who is that? She’s so pretty!”

Jiang Mingbo quickly locked his screen. “Nobody!”

This “nothing to see here” act was incredibly suspicious. The girl’s interest was piqued; she leaned in. “Bro, you’re hiding something. Is that my future sister-in-law?”

Jiang Mingbo’s smile looked more like a grimace. “Sister-in-law, my foot!”

“Let me see!”

“Go away, go away.”

“I don’t care,  I want to see! Let me see!”

“If you don’t show me, I’m telling Mom and Dad you’re in a relationship and keeping it a secret!” She started throwing a tantrum, finally pulling out the ultimate threat.

Jiang Mingbo’s head was throbbed. He had no choice but to unlock his phone. “Fine, fine. Look…”

He was already frantically trying to think of an excuse for why he’d taken these photos. Should he tell her he’d had a “breakthrough” and was getting into cosplay? Or that he was doing it for money? That he’d found a new way to start a social media account?

While his brain’s “CPU” was burning at high speed, Mingman studied the photo for a moment. “Okay, Big Brother, I believe you’re not dating. This must be an influencer’s photo. I don’t believe you could ever land a beauty of this level.”

“Hey! You little brat, you want to die?” Jiang Mingbo was offended. That didn’t sound right at all.

Mingman rolled her eyes, her tone sounding quite mature. “Look, Bro, I admit you’re decent-looking, but you’re not ‘top-tier’ among guys. Some girls don’t even like your type. A beauty like this would definitely not be into you…”

Jiang Mingbo couldn’t even begin to explain. “You…”

“Don’t struggle, Big Brother. At least you and this beauty have one thing in common: you both have nice dimples. If you can’t have her, having the same dimples is a good consolation prize.” Mingman started talking nonsense and then ditched the phone to go find food.

Jiang Mingbo stared at his screen, stunned. His own sister… didn’t recognize him?!

He started scrutinizing the photo. If he didn’t already know, he wouldn’t think the person in the picture looked anything like him either. Was it… really that successful?

Jiang Mingbo was still half-skeptical when his brother, Jiang Mingtao, came home from tutoring. Mingtao dropped his bag to head to his room, but Jiang Mingbo blocked him.

“Do you know this person?” Jiang Mingbo swallowed hard, handing over his phone like he was facing a death sentence, staring intensely at his brother’s face.

Mingtao took it, confused. He looked at it for a moment. “Hmm. Pretty. But I don’t know her.”

Seeing no hint of recognition in his brother’s eyes, Jiang Mingbo finally relaxed. If even his siblings couldn’t tell, there was no way Fei Wenxu would. He felt like his plan had already succeeded Fei Wenxu was already being crushed under his heel. He started chuckling to himself. “You don’t know her? Funny, I don’t know her either.”

Mingtao rolled his eyes. “Psycho!”

After dinner and cleaning up, Jiang Mingbo kept looking at the photos. The more he looked, the more he felt like he had a hidden talent. With these photos, that idiot Fei Wenxu wouldn’t be able to resist him. He’d turn him into a total “simp,” and then with one final blow he’d shatter the guy’s ego and let him experience the despair of unrequited love!

When Fei Wenxu finally realized that the “girl” he loved most was hopelessly in love with Jiang Mingbo, Jiang would win without even having to show his face!

Just thinking about it was cathartic!

Jiang Mingbo was already feeling the joy of revenge. He imagined Fei Wenxu’s arrogant expression turning into one of humble desperation. The thought made him want to laugh out loud.

He opened the dorm group chat, picked a wide-angle shot where he was slightly turned away, and dropped it into the chat without a word.

Tan Rui was the first to reply.

RR: [What’s this beauty’s social media ID? I’m gonna follow her.]

Yu Xuan followed immediately.

Xuan Yuan: [Me too.]

Fei Wenxu remained silent for a while. This made Jiang Mingbo hesitate. Could he have noticed something?

Just as Jiang was agonizing over how to respond, Fei Wenxu’s message popped up:

Fish: [She’s definitely good-looking.]

In an instant, Jiang Mingbo felt a wave of relief.

He knew it! Not even Fei could see through it that easily.

He followed up: [Jealous? This is the girl who asked for my contact info. She took these photos over the holiday and sent them to me first. I finally got a photo!]

Tan Rui was clearly over-excited; he started sending voice messages. “Holy crap! Are you kidding me? You? You’re saying a girl like this approached you? No way! I don’t believe it!! Why you?!”

Fei Wenxu’s message followed immediately, but his tone was much more neutral: [Is she from our school?]

Jiang Mingbo cursed. Crap, I haven’t figured out the backstory yet…

Xuan Yuan: [Really pretty. Bo-er, you’re amazing.]

Tan Rui immediately started asking if she was a student, what her major was, his voice messages hitting like rapid-fire artillery.

Jiang Mingbo’s head was spinning. He started explaining: “She’s at our school, but not our campus. I haven’t had a chance to ask about her major yet we’ve just been talking about games.”

RR: [Hurry up then! A girl this beautiful is literally Goddess-tier. Don’t let her get away!]

Yu Xuan agreed.

Fei Wenxu didn’t say anything else. Jiang Mingbo couldn’t read his mind now did he still not believe it?

On the other end, Fei Wenxu took another look at the photo. Humans are visual creatures, and he naturally wanted to look at something eye-catching. This girl was striking, but he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Could she be someone who had tried to hit on him before?

He stared at her tall build in the wide shot and that delicate face, then shook his head. If a girl this outstanding had ever approached him, he couldn’t possibly have zero memory of it.

But where was that weird sense of familiarity coming from?