Chapter 4 What are you doing following me?

Jiang Luo posted the short video clip taken by Gu Shiyue on each of her accounts on various platforms. Sometimes, things work out unexpectedly; a moment captured unintentionally can have a surprising effect. The video was full of atmosphere, refreshing, and aesthetically pleasing, and it garnered a particularly high number of views.

Even Jiang Luo's roommate saw the video and, while slacking off in class, whispered to him through his phone, "Holy crap, is that you, Jiang Luo?"

Jiang Luo glanced down and said softly, "Yes."

"Holy crap, holy crap." My roommate lowered his head, his phone hidden under the table, and watched the video again.

Jiang Luo is somewhat of an internet celebrity, as her roommates know, but they are all outsiders to the anime and manga community. This is the first time they've seen Jiang Luo's videos from a casual perspective, so it's quite novel for them.

My roommate opened the comments section and took a look—

-miracle.

-Is this a god? (Typo, what is this?)

- It wasn't a typo.

-How can it be so accurate?! !!! It's totally Kaworu Nagisa! Save me! @LovesSpicySnacks

Even the most indifferent person would smile upon seeing this face @momo (I've seen the Jay Chou version).

"Don't make that face, we'll meet again." [crying]

What a magnificent face! [crying emoji]

-Damn, she's so beautiful, I fuck @DominateWoman

...

It's Friday, and the students were inevitably restless. Many slacked off during the last period in the afternoon, and as soon as the bell rang, they couldn't contain themselves any longer, sitting in their seats itching to rush out of the classroom. The teacher smiled helplessly, threw down the chalk, and said, "Alright, alright, class dismissed."

The classroom suddenly became noisy. Jiang Luo and his roommates sat together. After class, his roommates suggested that they go out for barbecue together that night. Jiang Luo put on his backpack and said that he was going home today and would not go with them.

Jiang Luo is from Jiangsu Province. He attends a university within the province, and it only takes him a little over an hour to get home by high-speed rail. He has a younger brother named Jiang Chen, who is currently a high school sophomore. Today is a holiday, and Jiang Luo went home specifically to pick up his brother.

Jiang Chen attends a top-tier high school in the city. Although he has regular weekends off, he can only go home every two weeks. Jiang Luo also goes home every two weeks without fail to pick up his younger brother from school.

This is the first week of school. The school released students in the first week, but from now on, they will only be released once every two weeks.

After arriving at the station, Jiang Luo took the subway directly to Jiang Chen's school. At this time, the school gate was crowded with people. Jiang Luo found a spot with a good view and soon saw his brother walking out with his schoolbag on his back.

Jiang Chen, wearing a loose blue and white school uniform, stopped in place after leaving the school gate and subconsciously glanced around. The two brothers were too familiar with each other's figures; Jiang Luo raised his arm and waved, and Jiang Chen saw him.

A slight smile appeared on Jiang Chen's otherwise expressionless face as he strode towards Jiang Luo.

"Brother." Jiang Chen's voice had changed after puberty, and his voice was much lower than before.

At fifteen or sixteen, he's in the stage of rapid growth. Only a week has passed, and he seems to have grown taller than when Jiang Luo last saw him. His hair has also grown longer and looks a bit messy.

"Your hair grows so fast." Jiang Chen and Jiang Luo are about the same height, and Jiang Chen is almost as tall as him. Jiang Luo rubbed his hair, making his perfectly good hair even more messy. "You look like a wild man after just one week."

Jiang Chen let him rub it around: "If you were locked up at school for a week, you'd be a wild man too."

"How could I not know?" Jiang Luo smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I've been through it myself; Jiangsu students are just that unlucky."

Jiang Chen was holding an envelope in his hand; it was pink.

"Hey? What happened to your hand?" Jiang Luo looked down and noticed the abrasions on the back of Jiang Chen's right hand, where the knuckles had already scabbed over. He grabbed Jiang Chen's hand and examined it. "How did you get your hand injured?"

Jiang Chen paused for two seconds, then said, "I fell while running in PE class."

"How did you fall while running?" Jiang Luo frowned.

"I ran too fast." Jiang Chen withdrew his hand, paused for a moment, and said, "My leg cramped up."

"Have you taken your calcium supplements? If not, I'm watching to see if you're not taking them again." Jiang Chen has never liked drinking milk or dairy products since he was a child.

"Food," Jiang Chen said.

"I have to eat this every day."

"Yes, I know."

Jiang Luo glanced at the envelope in his hand and asked with a smile, "What's this?"

Jiang Chen looked down at it and said, "Letter."

“It’s pink,” Jiang Luo said with a slight smile. “A love letter, I suppose.”

"I don't know, but it should be." A girl handed it to him in the hallway after class, then ran off without him even getting a good look at her face.

Both brothers are handsome. Jiang Chen's good looks became apparent as soon as he passed puberty, and he frequently received love letters after starting high school.

Jiang Chen tore open the envelope and glanced at the letter inside. It was short, filled with expressions of affection—clearly a love letter. He read it from beginning to end as a sign of respect, then tossed it into the nearby trash can.

"Let's go, bro." Jiang Chen tugged at the strap of his backpack.

"You'll just throw it away after you're done reading it. Why are you still looking at it?" Jiang Luo chuckled. "I thought you were interested in her."

Jiang Chen appears cold on the surface, but he is actually a bit naive and a well-behaved boy with a gentle personality.

“Not watching is disrespectful,” Jiang Chen said.

Jiang Luo was amused by him: "You just throw it away after reading it, is that what you call respecting people?"

Jiang Chen explained earnestly, "There isn't enough space at home to store all these letters."

Jiang Luo had also been through this, so he understood.

Jiang Chen glanced at his brother and exposed his past: "You've accepted quite a lot too, haven't you? I've never seen you keep them properly."

Jiang Luo lied through her teeth: "Of course I kept it, how could I let you see it?"

"That's a lie."

Jiang Luo chuckled and ruffled his hair: "Your hair is such a mess. I'll take you to get a haircut tomorrow."

"oh."

Jiang Luo took out his phone to hail a taxi, but before he could even enter the address, he received a call from his uncle.

"Hey, Lolo, are you back today?"

"Yes, I'm here to pick up Xiaochen."

"Have you picked them up yet? Come over for dinner tonight. Your aunt has prepared a lot of dishes. Bring Xiaochen along too."

Jiang Luo glanced at Jiang Chen and mouthed, "Uncle wants us to come over for dinner."

Jiang Chen frowned, turned his face away, and said, "I don't want to go."

Fortunately, there were people around, and the noise prevented the uncle on the other end of the phone from hearing him.

Jiang Luo didn't want to go either, and he always respected Jiang Chen's wishes. He made an excuse to decline his uncle's offer: "Uncle, Xiao Chen and I are eating out today. He told me he wanted to eat barbecue, and I've already made a reservation. Please tell Auntie that we won't be going."

His uncle always pretended not to understand, knowing that the two brothers didn't want to go over for dinner, but he didn't force them. He smiled and said, "Alright, you two brothers be careful on the way, and don't come home too late after dinner."

"Okay, sure."

Jiang Luo hung up the phone, but Jiang Chen was still looking away with a sour expression. Jiang Luo put his arm around Jiang Chen's neck and said with a smile, "Alright, stop looking so serious. We're not going to their house for dinner."

Jiang Chen nodded: "Mm."

“You’re getting more and more unable to keep secrets, Jiang Xiaochen,” Jiang Luo poked his cheek. “At least try to maintain appearances, or your aunt will have something to say later.”

Jiang Chen said expressionlessly, "Those two twins are annoying."

“I’m annoyed too,” Jiang Luo said.

Jiang Luo's father passed away early, before the two brothers could even remember anything. Their mother raised them alone. When Jiang Luo was in his first year of high school, his mother fell ill with an acute illness that struck suddenly and rapidly. She passed away before he even had a chance for proper treatment. At that time, Jiang Chen was still in elementary school.

They don't have many relatives; their closest blood relative is this uncle, who is their father's brother.

Before her death, her mother entrusted the two children to her uncle and gave him and his family a sum of money as compensation for taking care of the two children. After her mother passed away, her uncle took them home to live for a while. At that time, Jiang Luo was in high school and usually lived at school, so only Jiang Chen lived at her uncle's house.

Jiang Chen's uncle also has twins, two years younger than her. They're both incredibly mischievous and love to bully others. Her uncle is easily influenced and has little say in the family; his aunt makes the decisions, big and small. With three children to care for, it's inevitable that some will be favored over others. Jiang Chen, being rather introverted, won't tell Jiang Luo when she's unhappy.

Jiang Luo could tell whether he was in a good mood or not. Later, Jiang Luo took the initiative to suggest moving back home. His aunt was overjoyed, relieved to have a burden gone. The two adults took the money, and didn't really take care of the child, just letting him come over for a meal every day.

Jiang Luo stopped living at school after that, and for the few years from elementary to junior high, Jiang Luo basically took care of Jiang Chen. He was still a child himself, and he had to support his younger brother.

"Let's go, let's go eat barbecue." Jiang Luo patted Jiang Chen on the back of the head.

"I don't want to eat out," Jiang Chen said. "I want to eat at home."

Jiang Luo laughed: "What are we going to eat when we get home? My cooking?"

Jiang Luo is a terrible cook. He's been cooking for Jiang Chen since high school, and he hasn't improved at all; it's still awful. He's always felt that cooking requires talent, and he certainly doesn't have any in that area.

Jiang Chen nodded: "Mm."

"Okay, let's go to the supermarket to buy groceries. I'll call a Didi."

Jiang Chen knew that if Jiang Luo went by himself, he definitely wouldn't take a taxi.

Their mother left them a sum of money before she passed away, but most of it has been used up in the past few years to ensure their daily living needs. Although the two brothers are not so poor that they cannot make a living, the family does not have a stable source of income and they live a very tight life.

After Jiang Luo went to university, he worked several jobs, and whenever he had some money, he would transfer it to Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen knew that his brother had worked very hard over the years.

"Traffic is really bad at this time, let's take the subway," Jiang Chen said.

“That’s true,” Jiang Luo nodded. “Let’s go.”

The two brothers took the subway to a supermarket near their home and bought Jiang Chen's favorite dishes. But even the best ingredients were useless if they were used by Jiang Luo; it would be a waste. Jiang Luo was the head chef, and Jiang Chen assisted him. Jiang Chen also wanted to cook a meal for his brother, but unfortunately, his cooking was even worse than his brother's.

As soon as he entered, Jiang Xiaochen asked his brother, "Brother, should I do it?"

Jiang Luo was afraid that his brother might suddenly have a brilliant idea about cooking, so he immediately declined, saying, "I'll politely decline."

Jiang Chen pursed his lips.

"At least my cooking is edible and won't blow up the kitchen. Your cooking... is too risky."

Jiang Luo's dishes looked good, but the taste was unknown. He was quite confident today: "Give it a try."

"Mmm." Jiang Chen picked up a piece of stir-fried shredded potatoes with vinegar.

Jiang Luo looked at him expectantly: "How does it taste?"

"Delicious," Jiang Chen said as he chewed.

"Really?" Jiang Luo felt confident again. He immediately picked up a chopstick of shredded potato and stuffed it into his mouth. He chewed for a couple of seconds and then his teeth stopped moving.

Jiang Chen picked up another piece of shredded potato and chewed it happily, looking at him with clear eyes.

Jiang Luo chewed twice, trying to swallow, but found he couldn't. It was both sour and salty; he felt like the clump of shredded potatoes was beating his mouth.

Jiang Luo turned around and spat the shredded potatoes into the trash can next to her.

Jiang Chen taught him: "Don't waste food."

"I knew I couldn't believe your nonsense." Jiang Luo chuckled and took a sip of water. "I even had a renewed hope of becoming a master chef just now."

"With some effort, it's still possible."

"Don't say that, I'll take it seriously."

Jiang Chen has always been like this since he was little; no matter what Jiang Luo makes for him, he always says it's delicious. It's not just flattery; he genuinely enjoys Jiang Luo's cooking. This is probably the result of his younger brother's doting affection. Sometimes Jiang Luo even wonders if her cooking is so bad that she's ruined his sense of taste.

After dinner, Jiang Chen volunteered to wash the dishes. He's growing now, and he eats most of the food Jiang Luo cooked; his appetite is astonishing. Jiang Luo thought the food was bad and didn't eat much herself. She had just bought snacks at the supermarket. While Jiang Chen was washing the dishes, he curled up on the sofa and ate his snacks.

Jiang Chen washed the dishes and walked out of the kitchen with his hands still wet. Jiang Luo called out lazily, "Jiang Xiaochen."

"What?" Jiang Chen wiped his hands with a tissue and looked at him.

"Come and play." Jiang Luo turned on the TV.

"I'm not playing, I need to do my homework," Jiang Chen said as he walked towards the study.

Jiang Luo sat up from the sofa: "It's only Friday today, kid."

"If you finish writing today, you can play in the next two days." Jiang Chen opened the door and entered the room, turning his head to say, "You play by yourself, don't bother me."

This kid has been like this since he was little; he's incredibly self-disciplined.

Jiang Luo nodded: "Received, received."

Jiang Luo munched on potato chips when his phone vibrated twice. Cheng Jiashu was calling him. His younger brother wouldn't play with him, but someone else would. Cheng Jiashu had asked him to play games; they originally planned a five-player team, but even with Jiang Luo, they were still one person short.

"Who can bring in another person?" Cheng Jiashu said in the team's voice chat.

Jiang Luo glanced at the list and found a familiar profile picture online. It was Xiang Qin, the senior he had met on the subway that day. He had added Xiang Qin as a WeChat friend before, and Xiang Qin also played this game, so Jiang Luo had his account in his list.

Since they were short-staffed anyway, Jiang Luo tried inviting him.

Three seconds later, there was one more person in the line.

"Huh?" Xiang Qin's voice came from the loudspeaker, "Fifth row."

"Hello, senior." Jiang Luo greeted him.

Gu Shiyue sat opposite Xiang Qin and, upon hearing the familiar voice coming from his phone, raised his eyelids to glance at him.

"Hello, junior." Xiang Qin smiled.

“We’re short one player for our five-man squad, do you want to join?” Jiang Luo asked him.

"Go ahead and play, I have nothing else to do anyway."

Gu Shiyue and Xiang Qin arranged to go hiking with a group of people today, the same group that had hiked before. They booked a farmhouse on the mountain to stay overnight and go to the summit to watch the sunrise tomorrow morning.

Right now, a group of people are having a barbecue in the outdoor courtyard. Xiang Qin had just drunk several cans of beer and played a couple of games, so he needed to pee. The others were playing cards, and only Gu Shiyue was free. He handed his phone to Gu Shiyue: "Can you cover for me for a bit? I'm going to the bathroom."

Gu Shiyue didn't answer, and Xiang Qin clicked his tongue: "I really can't hold it in anymore, boss."

Gu Shiyue doesn't play games, he didn't even lift his eyelids: "I don't know how to play."

"Just stay put, you don't need to engage in lane battles. I'll be right back."

Gu Shiyue took the phone and glanced at the interface. Xiang Qin was playing the jungle role. Gu Shiyue stood still and practiced the skills a few times.

"You can just focus on farming jungle monsters." It was Jiang Luo's voice.

Jiang Luo recognized Gu Shiyue's voice on the other end of the phone and, fearing he wouldn't know how to operate it, gave him a special reminder.

Gu Shiyue hummed in agreement and activated his skill to attack the jungle monsters. Jiang Luo was playing support; he had been supporting Cheng Jiashu, but after the jungler was switched, he joined the jungler. He followed Gu Shiyue everywhere, like a little shadow.

After clearing a wave of jungle monsters, Gu Shiyue casually asked, "Why are you following me?"

A clear, youthful voice came through the phone: "I'll protect you."

A note from the author:

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