From a nobody online dating to a top love brain - Chapter 27

Milk Tea was excited too: “Then I’ll have to write my own lyrics and compose the music. I want to be a talented and capable singer.”

Kitty asked, “Can I post the video we shot today?”

She always posted videos after conventions, but since Yu Nan and the others were in this one, she hadn’t posted it yet.

Milk Tea: “Post it, post it! Don’t forget to tag me.”

Yu Nan didn’t mind either: “It’s fine with me.”

Kitty: “Yu Yu, I don’t have your account.”

Yu Nan shared his account in the group as well. He didn’t use this app much, but the school occasionally required it for live streams, so he kept it on his phone.

Everyone else started sharing their accounts too.

He followed each one. Kitty had over 100,000 followers, Doggo hadn’t posted anything, and neither had dreams are everything or Yu Yu, but Watch the Sword surprisingly had over 100,000 followers as well.

Watch the Sword’s page was filled with the same theme: night scenes, streets, and speeding motorcycles.

The pinned video had the most likes, showing him removing his helmet, with his back facing the camera.

The caption: “Being handsome is a feeling.”

Yu Nan felt something was off—it gave him the sense of a familiar person putting on a show.

Dreams are everything: “Wow, you all are so low-key about your talents.”

Yu Nan replied: “I’m the only true nobody here.”

Doggo: “What about those scandalous drawings of yours? Post those, and they’ll definitely go viral.”

Yu Nan’s lips twitched: “I still want to take the civil service exam. Don’t ruin me.”

Watch the Sword: “Cool.”

Yu Nan responded using Watch the Sword’s video caption: “Being handsome is a feeling.”

Every day after that, Milk Tea consistently posted videos of himself singing and playing the guitar. He played well, but as for the singing… well, it was as usual.

On top of that, the video Kitty had posted with the @Milk Tea tag led many people to find his account. People kept encouraging him to stick with it.

Meanwhile, Yu Nan, on his subway ride home, finally finished drawing the brotherhood portrait he’d been working on. He posted it in the group to show off.

Kitty asked: “Can I post this on social media?”

Yu Nan: “Of course, you know I’d never say no to you guys.”

Kitty responded with an “OK” emoji.

As Yu Nan scanned his ID card to leave the subway, he spotted his parents waiting for him outside the turnstile.

“You’ve gotten so thin! Have you been eating well at school?”

“I have, I have.”

His mom was a surgeon, and his dad was a stay-at-home father.

His dad used to be a screenwriter, and several of his scripts had been big hits. They even bought a new house and car because of it.

Then he ran into some bad directors and unprofessional actors. The script he worked so hard on kept getting changed during filming, and it stressed him out so much that he was miserable every day.

Yu Nan’s amazing mom told him to finish that project and then quit. After all, her salary was more than enough to support the family comfortably.

Since then, his dad had taken on the role of homemaker, cooking and cleaning. It just became their way of life.

“Lili, we’re eating out tonight with Uncle Chu and his family,” Yu Nan’s mom said with a smile.

Yu Nan’s dad chimed in: “Xiaoxiao will be there too. You used to love following him around when you were little.”

“But after we moved, you two haven’t seen each other since. Only us adults still meet up every now and then,” Yu Nan’s mom said regretfully.

“Last time Uncle Chu forgot what time his class was, you should’ve seen him run—it was faster than when he used to run the 1500-meter race!” Yu Nan’s dad added.

“We thought you’d hang out with him more once you started at that school last year, but since you two aren’t close, we didn’t want it to be awkward,” his mom said with a smile.

Yu Nan knew Uncle Chu and Aunt Lu. They were his parents’ college friends.

They also had a son, but he hadn’t seen him in over ten years. The only thing he remembered was that when they played house as kids, that guy always made him play the bride.

They had a small private room reserved, and Uncle Chu and Aunt Lu were already there, smiling as they handed him some snacks.

Yu Nan had seen them plenty of times since his parents always brought him along to these dinners.

“Xiaoxiao isn’t here yet?” His mom asked.

Uncle Chu nodded: “He just got off the subway and is on his way.”

“It’s been over ten years since these two kids last saw each other,” Aunt Lu mused.

“Your little groom is on his way,” Yu Nan’s dad teased.

Yu Nan turned his head away: “Please don’t say things like that.”

His comment made all the adults laugh.

The food was already on the table, and Aunt Lu rotated the dishes so Yu Nan’s favorites were in front of him: “Lili must be starving. Let’s start eating without him.”

“I’m here.”

The door to the private room opened, and Yu Nan, who had his back to the door, felt the warm air from outside sweep in.

“Come in, Xiaoxiao,” Yu Nan’s dad called, welcoming him.

Aunt Lu introduced: “This is Lili. You two are at the same school now, but he’s a year below you.”

Yu Nan was stunned. Wasn’t Uncle Chu’s son named Chu Xiaoxiao?

“This is Lili?” Chu Luoyang couldn’t believe his eyes. Yu Nan was sitting there, wide-eyed and clueless, staring right back at him.

Chu Luoyang remembered that kid’s name being Wang Lizi. Was his memory playing tricks on him?

Aunt Wang’s last name was Wang, and Uncle Li’s last name was Li, so how did Yu Nan get his last name?

Yu Nan felt uncomfortable and kept silent. Was Xiaoxiao just a nickname?

“I remember Lili being called Wang Lizi. Did you change your name?” Chu Luoyang asked, completely confused.

Aunt Lu scolded him: “Who would name their kid something like that? That’s clearly a nickname.”

Yes, Yu Nan’s nickname was Wang Lizi, casual and a bit random.

His mom’s last name was Wang, and his dad’s was Li. They thought those were too common for a real name, so they used his maternal grandmother’s surname for his actual name.

His nickname, however, was a playful combination of his parents’ surnames.

After dinner, as the parents settled the bill and continued chatting outside the restaurant, Yu Nan found a corner to squat down and play on his phone. He knew that once they started talking, it’d be at least another half hour.

A shadow fell over him, and a pair of shoes came into view. Yu Nan didn’t even want to look up.

Chu Luoyang crouched down next to him.

“Does this mean we count as childhood friends?” He marveled at the coincidence. He had never connected Yu Nan with Wang Lizi before.

Yu Nan snorted: “No.”

“And besides, I already have a partner,” Yu Nan emphasized.

Chu Luoyang: “I don’t believe you.”

Yu Nan switched to his alternate account and shoved the conversation with Beibei in his face: “Here’s my partner. Look at it.”

Chu Luoyang quickly averted his eyes: “I’m not looking.”

Yu Nan stubbornly pushed the phone closer to his eyes: “You better open your eyes and look.”

“I have a boyfriend, so stop being so forward,” he declared.

Chu Luoyang’s eyes twinkled: “I knew it. You like guys.”

“Unbelievable,” Yu Nan fumed.

Realizing he’d slipped up, he sulked and focused on his phone, refusing to continue the conversation.

“Fine, I’ll wait until you break up, and then I’ll pursue you. Just let me know when you do,” Chu Luoyang said, idly playing with the little stones on the ground, his tone carrying a hint of sadness.

Yu Nan quickly posted in the group chat: “@Milk Tea, that senior is my parents’ friend’s son.”

Kitty: “The tall guy who confessed to you last time?!”

Yu Yu: “Yep, just found out during dinner today.”

Yu  Yu: “I knew my parents’ friends had a son, and I even knew his name, but tonight I found out that’s actually just a nickname.”

Dreams are everything: “A new plot just by picking up the pen.”

Milk Tea: “He didn’t know your real name?”

Yu Nan typed: “The name he remembered was also my nickname.”

Milk Tea: “So what’s the situation now?”

Yu Yu: “That guy’s currently playing with pebbles on the ground.”

“Besides Uncle Wang and Aunt Li, and my parents, no one else calls you Lili, right?” Chu Luoyang asked.

Yu Nan didn’t respond.

“Then I’ll call you Lili too. It’ll be something special,” he muttered to himself.

Yu Nan stood up and kicked him.

Still squatting, Chu Luoyang didn’t react in time and toppled forward.

“How could you be so careless, Xiaoxiao?” Yu Nan caught a glimpse of both sets of parents approaching and quickly bent down to offer a hand to Chu Luoyang.

“Get up, Xiaoxiao. Lili’s even helping you up,” Chu’s dad called from afar.

Looking at Yu Nan’s playful grin, Chu Luoyang couldn’t help but smile self-deprecatingly. He must be crazy—how could he find this side of Yu Nan so adorable?

He reached out to take his hand, intending to use his strength to stand up. But to his surprise, Yu Nan hadn’t put any effort into pulling him up, and instead, he dragged him down with him.

All Yu Nan felt was a strong tug, and the next second, he was on the ground, hands bracing against the pavement, landing right beside Chu Luoyang.

His hands pressed against the small stones on the roadside—it stung a bit.

“Couldn’t you tell I wasn’t trying to pull you up? You should’ve gotten up on your own,” he started complaining unreasonably.

Chu Luoyang hadn’t expected to pull him down either. He should’ve supported himself better: “Okay, fine, my bad. I’m sorry.”

Seeing the kids on the ground, Uncle Chu immediately came over and pulled both of them up with ease, reminiscing: “The last time I lifted both of you like this was years ago.”

Yu Nan stood up and dusted off his clothes. His palms were a bit red, but they weren’t injured.

“Xiaoxiao, Lili, stand under that streetlamp,” Aunt Lu pointed to a streetlamp not far away.

Yu Nan and Chu Luoyang obediently walked over.

“Stand together. Lili, put your arm around Xiaoxiao,” Yu Nan’s mom instantly knew what her friend was up to and chimed in.

Yu Nan noticed all four parents had their phones out, aiming at them. He quickly understood what was happening.

He was familiar with his parents’ and Uncle Chu and Aunt Lu’s lock screen photos. It was the same picture—a childhood photo of him hugging Xiaoxiao.

“Lili’s shy, let’s just take the picture like this,” Chu Luoyang raised his hand in a peace sign and flashed a bright smile.

Yu Nan forced a smile and awkwardly made a peace sign with both hands.

After the picture was taken, Aunt Lu immediately called them back over.

The warm yellow glow of the streetlamp bathed them as Chu Luoyang laughed freely. Yu Nan, with his smaller frame, stood beside him, looking a full size smaller.

He found himself wondering: if Beibei were standing beside him, what kind of photo would that make?

“Look at my phone,” his dad showed the phone to everyone.

He unlocked the phone, and the lock screen was the childhood photo of Yu Nan and Chu Luoyang. After unlocking it with a fingerprint, the wallpaper changed to the picture they had just taken.

“Wow, these two kids have grown so much,” Aunt Lu sighed as she looked at the photo, feeling nostalgic. Time really waits for no one.

Before they left, the parents made themexchange contact information.

Aunt Lu said that once they met, they’d get familiar quickly, and she even told Chu Luoyang to look after Yu Nan at school.

Yu Nan laughed inwardly, hoping he wouldn’t run into him at school.