Chapter 22 (Second Update)
Jiang Luo hummed twice and immediately replied, "I'll play one more game with him and then I'll go to sleep in a bit."
Cheng Jiashu was displeased: "Hey, you've only been playing with me for a short while, and you're already going to sleep?"
"I get motion sickness from 3D movies," Jiang Luo replied. "It's making me dizzy, I need to rest."
"Bullshit." Cheng Jiashu laughed in anger. As soon as Jiang Luo called him "senior," he knew it was Gu Shiyue calling. "When did you get motion sickness again? When Brother Yue tells you to sleep, you just go to sleep. Why have I never seen you listen to me like this before?"
The live chat was buzzing with activity, with everyone asking who "Brother Yue" was and joking that Cheng Jiashu was jealous of "Brother Yue".
Cheng Jiashu glanced at the comments and replied to the fans, "Why would I be jealous? All I see is my desire to play games." He didn't mention who Yue Ge was, skipping over such a private question.
Gu Shiyue said to Jiang Luo on the other end of the phone, "You can play now, I'm hanging up."
"Senior, is there anything else?"
"No."
Jiang Luo said "Oh" and told him, "I'll go to bed early."
"Um."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Luo was still a little dazed. Gu Shiyue had suddenly called just to remind him to go to bed early.
Jiang Luo remained silent for a long time, staring blankly at her phone screen. Cheng Jiashu asked twice, "Hey, hey, where is she?"
Jiang Luo snapped out of her daze and replied, "Yes."
In other words, Jiang Luo couldn't see the live stream comments. She was talking to Gu Shiyue as if no one else was around, and the comments were still flooding the screen. People were very curious about the "senior" that Jiang Luo mentioned and kept asking who he was.
If they don't answer, they can keep refreshing the page. Cheng Jiashu could only chuckle and reply, "Who else do you want him to be? They're calling him 'senior,' so he must be a senior."
"That's all I have to say. The rest is up to the parties involved," Cheng Jiashu said to Jiang Luo. "Professor Luo, you're responsible for resolving this mess yourself."
Jiang Luo seemed to be sleepwalking: "...What?"
"I'm really fed up. I've been talking for so long and you haven't listened to a single word..."
Jiang Luo really didn't listen; his mind was still on the phone call from earlier. He took a sip of water guiltily and remained silent.
Cheng Jiashu said, "Everyone is asking who that senior is. I said he's a senior in the literal sense, but they don't believe me. My words don't carry any weight. You can decide for yourself."
Upon hearing the word "senior," Jiang Luo paused for a moment, then unconsciously took a sip of water, before muttering to himself in a daze, "...It's senior."
The holiday flew by, and Jiang Luo and Gu Shiyue didn't see each other for a week after returning to school. The school was so big, and they were in different years and different majors, so unless they took the initiative to contact each other, it was impossible for them to meet all the time.
Jiang Luo hasn't finished paying off his previous debts, and he has a client to take on this week.
On Saturday noon, Jiang Luo met with the client at the agreed-upon restaurant.
Jiang Luo had never taken a male client since he started accepting commissions, so when a guy walked up to his table, he thought the guy had mistaken him for someone else and looked at him blankly.
"Isn't this Teacher Luo?" the boy asked him with a smile.
Jiang Luo was a little surprised: "You are 'Mu Mu'?"
"Yes." The boy wore black-rimmed glasses, was tall, dressed casually, and looked to be about the same age as him.
Jiang Luo took out his phone and looked at it. The other person's online name was "Mu Mu," and he had a cute anime girl avatar. He was also very polite, and you couldn't tell he was a boy at all online.
Jiang Luo doesn't have gender restrictions when accepting commissions, since he's a male and doesn't accept otome game roles, so there's nothing inconvenient about it. But he really didn't expect to encounter a male protagonist.
"Did you think I was a girl?" the boy asked him.
"Yes." Jiang Luo smiled.
"It's my fault for not informing you proactively." The boy pulled out a chair and sat down. "But your commission agreement doesn't seem to say you don't accept male clients?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then it's alright." The boy picked up the teapot, poured some water into a cup, and stared at Jiang Luo for a moment. "You're more handsome in person than in the photos."
Jiang Luo wasn't the type to feel embarrassed when praised. He had been praised for his face so much since he was a child that he was immune to it. He smiled faintly and said, "It's all thanks to the makeup artist."
"It's not makeup. You can't tell from the photo, but do you think I can't tell with the naked eye?" The boy chuckled. "Besides, we're face to face and so close right now."
Jiang Luo is meeting a male lead for the first time and is still getting used to it.
"Are you feeling a little uncomfortable?" the boy asked with a smile, adjusting his glasses.
"A little," Jiang Luo admitted frankly. "I always thought you were a girl, so it's a bit hard to adjust to suddenly being a boy."
"Don't feel awkward, turn slowly."
Jiang Luo couldn't quite recall the name "Mu Mu" from the boy's face in front of him, so he asked, "What should I call you? Just 'Mu Mu'?"
"If you feel awkward, you can call me Qi Mu, that's my real name."
"good."
"I couldn't attend your book signing during the National Day holiday last time because of other commitments, which was quite a pity," Qi Mu said. "Will you hold book signings again in the future?"
"It depends on the situation."
Qi Mu scanned the QR code on the corner of the table with his phone and handed his phone to Jiang Luo: "Let's order."
Jiang Luo quickly pushed it back: "You order."
"Okay, then I'll order." Qi Mu lowered his eyes to order, then asked Jiang Luo, "Teacher, are you no longer taking on commissions?"
"right."
"That's a real shame."
During the commission, one must not deviate from the character's original setting. Jiang Luo's character today is more composed. After he put on the costume, he remained in the character's state, so he spoke in a calm and slightly aloof manner, which was not his usual self.
Qi Mu was gentle and talkative, and he had a lot in common with Jiang Luo, so the two got along very well.
After lunch, the two set off for the zoo. The itinerary had been planned in advance. After visiting the zoo, they planned to go to the game experience center to play games.
Jiang Luo used to be a gaming addict, and gaming was his forte; he was good at all kinds of games. The game experience center featured Switch games, and they played several games. Jiang Luo led Qi Mu through the entire experience, and he played very well.
"You're pretty good at video games," Qi Mu said with a smile as he turned to look at Jiang Luo.
Jiang Luo looked at the TV screen, skillfully operating the game controller, and said, "You'll get the hang of it after playing a lot."
"You've played all of these?"
"No, some of them are playing for the first time."
"That's because you're really good at it." Qi Mu stared at him for a while, then suddenly asked, "You've been working on your skin all day, are you tired?"
"Hmm?" Jiang Luo turned to look at him.
Is this your true personality?
Jiang Luo smiled and said, "If I say 'no,' I'll be in big trouble."
So it isn't?
“No, no.” Jiang Luo looked at the screen. “I’m more boisterous than this.”
"Nongren?"
"Ah." Jiang Luo nodded. "Anyway, Danren has nothing to do with me."
Qi Mu chuckled, glanced at his watch, and said, "Can I extend the commission period?"
Jiang Luo's commission period is usually six hours. His commission agreement states that the commission time can be extended temporarily without special circumstances, but the latest it can be extended is 8 pm, and an additional fee will be charged for the extended time.
"Okay," Jiang Luo said. "How late do you want to extend it?"
"You only work until eight o'clock at the latest, can you stay a little later?" Qi Mu asked sincerely. "I want to play games with you a little longer."
Jiang Luo got along quite well with the other person, and since the other person was a boy, he figured he had nothing to do tonight, so he might as well stay up a little later.
"Okay, but the latest I can finish is nine o'clock," Jiang Luo said.
"Okay. Let's go get some dinner first." Qi Mu smiled. "Also, I think you can start peeling now."
"No, I don't think so," Jiang Luo said seriously. "I've come this far, I can't let it all go to waste."
Qi Mu chuckled: "You're hilarious."
During a break to go to the restroom, Jiang Luo took out his phone and glanced at it. He hadn't checked his phone before, but there were several new messages on his WeChat.
Jiang Luo saw Gu Shiyue's message at a glance and immediately clicked to take a look.
Gu Shiyue: I'll be back late today, could you go check on the cat for me?
The message was sent ten minutes ago. If Jiang Luo had seen it even a little earlier, he wouldn't have extended the commission time to nine o'clock. He had already spoken with the client and couldn't go back on his word.
Jiang Luo: Senior, I have something to do tonight. I'll go see Mian Tuan after I'm done, but it might be a little late.
Gu Shiyue: Don't go if it's too late, there's no need to make the trip.
Jiang Luo: No trouble at all, I'll be there as soon as I'm done!
Gu Shiyue arrived home at 8:30. The cat food in the automatic feeder had already been eaten by Miantuan, but there was no sign of Jiang Luo having been there. Jiang Luo always cleaned the litter box and put Miantuan's toys away when he came, but he obviously hadn't come tonight.
Given Jiang Luo's personality, if he says he'll come over when things are over, he definitely will. If he hasn't come, it means his business isn't finished yet.
What's the matter that needs to be brought up at this hour...?
Gu Shiyue sent him a message: It's not over yet?
Jiang Luo didn't reply to the message, so Gu Shiyue made a phone call directly. Jiang Luo was playing a game with Qi Mu when her phone, which was on the small table, suddenly vibrated.
Jiang Luo said, "Excuse me, I need to take this call."
"fine."
Jiang Luo picked up his phone and walked out of the small private room. He was stunned when he saw the caller ID on the screen. He walked outside the game room and answered the call at the corner of the corridor.
"Hello? Senior?"
"Still busy?"
"I guess so." Jiang Luo scratched at the wall with his fingers. He hadn't heard Gu Shiyue's voice for many days, and hearing it suddenly made him feel a little numb for some reason.
"What do you mean by 'consider it'? What things are you still busy with that you haven't finished and haven't gone back to school yet?"
"Yeah, I'm still outside. Are you home already?"
What are you doing outside?
"I accepted a case today, and it's not finished yet."
Gu Shiyue frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then spoke in a somewhat deep voice: "What kind of commission requires you to take it now?"
"Because the time was extended at the last minute, it got a little late. I didn't see your message then, otherwise I wouldn't have stayed out so late."
"Until when?"
Nine o'clock.
"Why didn't you postpone it to nine o'clock tomorrow morning?"
Jiang Luo was stunned, and opened her mouth: "I..."
"Do you want to?" Gu Shiyue asked immediately.
"I don't want to!" Jiang Luo immediately denied. Gu Shiyue's tone was very calm, but Jiang Luo didn't know why he was so frightened by the question, as if he had done something wrong. Moreover, he didn't know why Gu Shiyue would suddenly ask such a strange question.
"Where are we now?" Gu Shiyue asked again.
Jiang Luo gave the name of a game experience center.
After finishing the call, Jiang Luo went back home. Qi Mu, who was sitting on the small sofa, turned to look at the door and said, "I almost thought you weren't coming back."
Jiang Luo remained dedicated in the last half hour, perfectly concluding the commission.
The game experience center is located in a nearly abandoned commercial building. Although it is in the city center, the open-air shopping mall is not advantageous, so the foot traffic has been decreasing in recent years. Almost all the shops have closed down, and only this game experience center and a few long-established restaurants are still alive.
Outside the mall was a large open space with a few cars parked sparsely, quite deserted. The area around the building was not desolate; across the street was a newly opened enclosed shopping mall, where cars and people were bustling about.
Jiang Luo and Qi Mu exited the escalator and walked out of the mall. Qi Mu stopped, turned to look at Jiang Luo, and asked, "Can I hug you before we leave?"
The only acceptable physical contact for Jiang Luo when accepting a commission is a hug; previous clients would almost always make this request at the end of the commission.
It was just a simple hug.
For the client who commissioned him to play the role, this is a farewell to the character they love; it is beautiful and pure.
“Sure.” Jiang Luo smiled.
Qi Mu stepped forward, and the two opened their arms and hugged. For Jiang Luo, it was just a simple hug. He was about to let go when Qi Mu suddenly hugged him tightly.
Jiang Luo was completely stunned.
Qi Mu closed his eyes and didn't speak. He held Jiang Luo so tightly that his breath was close to Jiang Luo's ear. Jiang Luo frowned, and after realizing what was happening, she immediately tried to break free from him.
Just then, a hand suddenly appeared behind him, grabbed Qi Mu's shoulder, and shoved him away.
By the time Jiang Luo realized what was happening, Gu Shiyue had already pulled him to his side.
“Senior…” Jiang Luo blinked rapidly, as if she had been startled.
Gu Shiyue stared at Qi Mu in front of him with a cold face and without saying a word.
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