Chapter 6. You seem to get along with everyone. ...
Jiang Chen attended a prestigious high school where most students were well-behaved and obedient. Of course, there were also some spoiled brats like this boy who relied on money and connections to get in, and who didn't prioritize studying and had no serious thoughts on their minds.
Just as Tian Haoyu said, this boy had been at odds with Jiang Chen because of his pursuit of a girl. Inevitably, there would be friction between students playing around during PE class. The boy already disliked Jiang Chen and could easily pick a fight over any excuse. Jiang Chen wasn't without temper either. The boy had been rebuffed by him and was being watched by the girl he liked, so he lost face and, in a fit of rage, walked up to Jiang Chen and whispered "orphan" in his ear. Tian Haoyu was right next to him at the time, and although others didn't hear it, he heard it clearly.
The other party certainly knew what the word "orphan" meant to Jiang Chen; otherwise, he wouldn't have uttered that curse.
To be honest, Tian Haoyu thought Jiang Chen's emotions were really stable. The other party was so foul-mouthed, but he didn't actually lay a hand on him. He just cornered the person against the wall and punched him, which didn't lead to a fight. The idiot was just startled by him.
When the homeroom teacher found out about this, Jiang Chen was one of the top students that the teacher liked the most. In the teacher's eyes, this almost-fight situation was quite outrageous. Upon learning of this, the teacher immediately called him over to inquire about the situation.
The homeroom teacher's intentions were good; she cared about Jiang Chen. However, Jiang Chen was wary of everyone, and no one could get him to open up to her.
Jiang Chen's parents are no longer alive, and his uncle is now his nominal guardian. The homeroom teacher contacted him with the intention of having him have a good talk with the child, since there is a barrier between teachers and students, and parents should be closer to their children.
Jiang Luo remained silent for a long time, then got up and walked to Jiang Chen's side, patted his head, and said only one sentence: "What do you mean 'I'm alone'? You still have me."
Jiang Chen turned to look at him: "I know, brother."
"From now on, you can't hide anything from me or lie to me," Jiang Luo emphasized. "No matter what it is. Do you understand?"
"oh."
"Oh what?" Jiang Luo flicked his forehead. "Be more sincere."
"Mm." Jiang Chen lowered his eyes and said meekly, "I understand."
Jiang Chen and Tian Haoyu went out to play ball, while Jiang Luo stayed home and locked himself in his study to work on algorithm problems.
When Jiang Chen returned, Jiang Luo was still in the study. Jiang Luo was so focused on his homework that he didn't even hear Jiang Chen knocking. Jiang Chen knocked once and, finding no answer, guessed that his brother was probably doing more practice problems, so he didn't go in to disturb him and went to do something else.
Jiang Luo finished his homework and walked out of the study, shaking his head. His neck was stiff from sitting at the computer desk for too long, so he turned his neck to stretch his cervical spine. He walked into the living room and saw Jiang Chen hanging clothes on the balcony.
"You're back?"
Jiang Chen turned around and glanced back: "I've been back for a long time."
"Not even a sound." Jiang Luo plopped down on the sofa and stretched lazily.
I knocked, but you didn't hear me.
"I was doing practice problems, I didn't notice." Jiang Luo buried her face in the cushion, her voice lazy. "Jiang Xiaochen, give me a back massage."
This guy doesn't act like a proper older brother at home; he's like a child, not necessarily as steady as Jiang Chen.
"Oh." Jiang Chen sat down and massaged his back.
"Pound your neck..." Jiang Luo's voice gradually lowered, sounding like she was about to fall asleep.
"Brother," Jiang Chen called out.
Jiang Luo was drowsy: "...Hmm?"
"You don't need to come back to see me every time anymore."
Jiang Luo opened her eyes and turned to look at him.
"And don't keep giving me money. I don't need much money at school. Keep your money for yourself, don't give it to me."
Jiang Luo brushed his hand away, turned around and sat up, looking at him and asking, "You don't want me to come back?"
Jiang Chen shook his head: "I just don't want you to sacrifice your weekend to come back."
Although Jiang Luo's university city wasn't far from their city, and traveling back and forth by high-speed rail was convenient, coming back every two weeks would still be quite troublesome for Jiang Luo. Jiang Luo had his own university life and couldn't always revolve around his younger brother; Jiang Chen hoped his brother would dedicate some of his free time to him.
"What kind of sacrifice is this?"
Jiang Chen pursed his lips: "Anyway, I just don't want you to waste all your time on me. Don't come back as soon as I have a holiday. You can do your own thing and don't need to come back to see me so often."
Jiang Luo understood what his brother meant, and he asked with a smile, "If I don't come back, who will take care of you?"
“I can take care of myself, and I’m not a child anymore. I’ve brought this up with you many times, but you’ve never heard of it.”
Jiang Luo had always respected Jiang Chen's decisions and ideas, but he didn't go along with Jiang Chen's wishes on this one matter. When Jiang Chen was in his first year of high school, he had just started university, the first time he had been so far away from Jiang Chen. He would come back every time Jiang Chen had a holiday. A year had passed, and Jiang Chen had long since adapted to the pace of high school. He had also told Jiang Luo long ago that he didn't need to come back to see him so often, but Jiang Luo had never taken his words seriously.
Jiang Chen looked a little unhappy, and Jiang Luo said, "If I don't come back, your uncle and his family will take care of you. Are you willing to eat at their house? Are you willing to stay with those two twins? Don't you find it annoying?"
"It's just a meal, I won't be here for long. It's not like I haven't eaten with them before." Jiang Chen hugged a cushion to his chest, frowning as he said, "I just don't want to be a burden to you. I want you to have an easier time."
"You didn't hold me back—"
"Then dare you say that I didn't sacrifice some of your own free time?"
"My goodness." Jiang Luo laughed, "When did you become so eloquent, Jiang Xiaochen? And you even have time to spare..."
Jiang Chen stared at him without speaking. Jiang Luo smiled helplessly and said frankly, "I dare not say. Because it is indeed as you said, but you are my brother, and in my eyes, you are naturally second only to me in other matters."
"Then can you put yourself above me?"
Jiang Luo shook his head, thought for a long time, and finally nodded with a smile: "Okay."
"That's what you said."
"I said I'll come back whenever I feel like it, and I won't come back if I don't have time. Is that okay?"
Jiang Chen was satisfied: "Yes, you keep your word."
The next afternoon, Jiang Luo dropped Jiang Chen off at school and then took a car back to school.
Jiang Luo's university life is very fulfilling. Besides attending classes and working part-time, he also takes time to practice coding problems in the lab. He is a computer science major and joined the school's ACM competition team in his freshman year. He has participated in the Blue Bridge Cup and the ICPC Invitational Tournament with the school team. He likes algorithms, and participating in ACM competitions is both a challenge and a hobby for him.
Their school team wasn't considered a strong team, but getting on the team wasn't easy either. It wasn't something you could just sign up for; you had to pass a selection tournament first. Very few freshmen could make it onto the school team, and Jiang Luo was the youngest member of their school team who could participate in official matches.
Jiang Luo had a cosplay commission this Saturday, scheduled for noon. He had some free time in the morning, so after doing his makeup and putting on his cosplay outfit, he went to the school team's lab to practice his coding problems.
Jiang Luo had taken on these commissions before, back when he wasn't famous in the cosplay community and didn't have many followers. Jiang Luo was short of money, and Cheng Jiashu suggested that he could use his face to take on commissions and make money. So Jiang Luo tried posting commission notices on his account, along with a few photos of characters he had cosplayed. To his surprise, he received many private messages from people very quickly after posting them.
Jiang Luo only posted about accepting commissions once; the commissions he's currently accepting are all for debts he owed from before. Now that his account has more followers, it's even less likely he'll open up commissions again. He couldn't even keep up with the orders when he wasn't famous, let alone now.
The school team lab was empty in the morning. Jiang Luo was quietly working on her coding problems at her seat when team captain Qin Yifan walked in from outside, munching on a steamed bun. He saw a pink, fluffy head behind the computer and made a surprised "teasing" sound.
Jiang Luo was focused on her problem when she heard the sound and was startled.
Qin Yifan walked towards him: "I knew it was you."
Jiang Luo laughed and said, "Captain, you startled me."
"You're so handsome, it surprised me too." Qin Yifan looked Jiang Luo up and down at his cosplay outfit, which was an anime character he recognized. He had heard about Jiang Luo's involvement in anime and cosplay before, but this was the first time he had seen it in person.
Qin Yifan leaned closer to look at his face: "Did you do your own makeup?"
Jiang Luo smiled and said, "Yes."
"That's amazing."
Qin Yifan had a steamed bun in his mouth, and the aroma of the bun wafted over Jiang Luo's face. Jiang Luo hadn't eaten breakfast, and her stomach rumbled loudly.
"Didn't you have breakfast?" Qin Yifan tossed a steamed bun onto his desk.
Jiang Luo picked up the steamed bun, opened the packaging, took a bite, and said with a smile, "Thank you."
"Why this look today?" Qin Yifan asked him. "Are you going to a comic convention?"
Jiang Luo, biting into a steamed bun, said, "I'm not going to the comic convention; I have plans with someone."
"A date?"
"It's not a date."
Qin Yifan sat back down in his seat and pushed a carton of milk onto Jiang Luo's desk. Jiang Luo asked with a smile, "What's going on, Captain? Aren't we going to skip the morning?"
Qin Yifan said, "You're such a good boy, coming to the lab to work on problems on the weekend. Here's a carton of milk for you."
Qin Yifan is the captain of their school team, a computational competition fanatic, and algorithm competitions are the most important thing in his eyes. Jiang Luo is a freshman in the competition team, and he won an award in a competition with the seniors in his freshman year. As the captain, Qin Yifan has always had high hopes for him.
Jiang Luo is not only smart, but also hardworking in training. The lab is usually empty on weekend mornings, but Qin Yifan, a regular in the lab, has bumped into Jiang Luo several times at this time.
"Thank you, Captain." Jiang Luo took the milk without ceremony, poked it open, and took a sip.
"Don't be shy." Qin Yifan focused on feeding the animals, then pulled out a few packets of beef jerky from the drawer. "Want some beef jerky?"
Jiang Luo hadn't finished eating the steamed bun in her hand, and mumbled, "Eat."
"Eat up." Qin Yifan tossed a handful of beef jerky onto his table. "The hope of our whole village."
Jiang Luo looked bewildered: "How did I become the hope of the whole village again?"
“There are a lot of elderly people in the team, and you are the only child. Aren’t you the hope of the whole village?”
Jiang Luo laughed: "You're exaggerating too much."
Jiang Luo finished his commission at 3 p.m. and received a call on his way back to school. It was from the manager of the coffee shop he worked part-time at. The manager said that the shop had received a big order today. A nearby company organized an afternoon tea for its employees and ordered more than 100 cups of coffee. The shop was short-staffed and couldn't keep up with the orders, so he asked if Jiang Luo was free to come and help.
Jiang Luo works part-time at the coffee shop, usually on weekends, two days every two weeks, and is paid daily. The shop has a lot of customers on weekends, so they are short-staffed. Besides him, there are other college students working part-time at the shop. Today, he switched shifts with someone and didn't go to work at the shop.
Jiang Luo went straight to the coffee shop after receiving the call, still wearing her cosplay outfit. The number of customers in the shop was about the same as usual on a weekend, but the staff were all rushing to make the hundred or so cups of coffee, and the area behind the counter was bustling with activity.
Jiang Luo was immediately met with stares from the shop's customers as soon as she entered. This time, her cosplay outfit was far more extravagant than the last, with a hairstyle, makeup, and clothing that were completely unconventional for everyday wear. The shop manager hurried over, staring intently at Jiang Luo, her eyes wide with astonishment: "My god, what kind of look is this? Did you come from a comic convention?"
Jiang Luo touched her neck and smiled sheepishly, "You said you were in a hurry, so I came straight here without going back to change. Is it not proper to dress like this? Maybe I should go back and change before coming back."
"You silly kid, who told you that?" The shop manager looked him up and down. "You look so handsome like this. Oh my, really handsome, especially cool."
The store manager is a woman in her early thirties. She is usually easygoing and warm to the staff and doesn't act like a boss at all.
"Manager, I probably won't be able to stay here for too long today. I have to tutor someone tonight."
What time is it?
"7:30."
"Okay, then you leave at six, is that alright?"
"OK".
Jiang Luo went to the kitchen to get his apron, but before he could put it on, the manager pulled him to the counter. The manager took away his apron and assigned him the tasks of taking orders and handling cashier duties: "You'll be standing here doing business today, don't go to the back to make coffee."
The store manager's intentions were obvious. A clerk busy packing nearby laughed and said, "Boss, you think there aren't enough customers today? You even have Luo Luo standing here to attract customers."
The store manager patted Jiang Luo on the shoulder: "Someone as handsome as you should stand here and be admired. It would be a waste for you to go to the back and make coffee."
As a result, Jiang Luo became a beautiful sight in the coffee shop.
As it turned out, the store manager's decision was correct. Their store had glass doors and floor-to-ceiling windows, allowing people to see inside from the outside. Jiang Luo's mere presence attracted a group of passersby.
This place is near a university, and it's the weekend, so there are a lot of students around. They naturally came in when they saw a cosplayer in the shop. Jiang Luo's face is so attractive, and she's really good at attracting customers. Her eyes crinkle when she smiles, and who could possibly leave without buying a drink?
As orders piled up, the employees frantically making coffee in the back office cried out, "Just kill me with a sword!"
The store manager reassured the staff with one sentence: "Today's wages will be tripled."
Everyone was immediately appeased.
"That's strange, there are so many people in the store today."
Gu Shiyue and his roommate walked into the coffee shop. His roommate glanced at the counter with a puzzled look. This was a coffee shop he frequented, and this was the first time he had seen so many people there. There was a long queue at the counter, and the place was packed with people.
"What's going on?" My roommate vaguely saw a pink, fluffy head behind the crowd. "Is there an event today?"
Gu Shiyue also noticed the pink hair. He was tall, so he not only noticed the pink hair but also the face underneath it.
Although Jiang Luo's makeup was heavy this time, almost obscuring his original appearance, Gu Shiyue still recognized him at a glance by his smiling eyes.
Seeing that there were so many people in the store, Gu Shiyue's roommate was about to tell him to leave, but when he turned his head and saw a super handsome cosplayer standing at the counter, he stopped in his tracks and exclaimed in surprise, "What a handsome cosplayer!"
Jiang Luo was so busy he could be split into three. Today, the store manager had called in every part-time worker he could. A helper came to Jiang Luo's side, put on an apron, and looked at him in surprise: "Wow, what's going on? Cosplay?"
Jiang Luo was busy typing up the order form when she exclaimed "Ah!"
"You went to a comic convention?"
"No."
"Then why are you dressed like that?"
Jiang Luo casually replied, "I'm going to find someone to hang out with."
Jiang Luo was typing up the order when she caught a glimpse of the person in front of her out of the corner of her eye. She instinctively blurted out, "Hello, what do you need—"
Jiang Luo looked up and fell silent, staring blankly at the person in front of her, her expression somewhat bewildered.
Gu Shiyue looked down at him and ordered two cups of coffee.
Jiang Luo opened her mouth, almost not reacting: "...Okay, please wait a moment."
Cosplaying like this isn't for a comic convention, it's for hanging out with friends.
Looking at the fluffy pink hair, Gu Shiyue suddenly asked, "Another request?"
Jiang Luo looked up at him, smiled slightly with her eyes crinkling, and whispered, "Yes."
Gu Shiyue is a person with a very strong sense of boundaries, so he couldn't really understand Jiang Luo's way of making money, dressing up as another person and communicating and interacting with a complete stranger—although it didn't seem difficult for the boy in front of him.
Someone who usually has a strong sense of boundaries suddenly seems to have a weak sense of boundaries today.
Gu Shiyue said casually, "You seem to get along with everyone."
A note from the author:
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In this chapter, Lolo is cosplaying as Yuuji Itadori from Jujutsu Kaisen.
ICPC is short for ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest.
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