From a nobody online dating to a top love brain - Chapter 29

Bei Yuye’s heart sank. He wasn’t dumb—he could see that Nannan didn’t want to meet in person.

In every relationship, there’s always one who cares more, and for them, it was him.

But he knew that Nannan must love him too. After all, why else would he buy him a ring?

What kind of thoughts did he have when he asked for his ring size? Did he hesitate for a long time before finally mustering up the courage to ask?

Ah, Nannan is really dishonest. He’s clearly head over heels in love with him.

Not wanting to meet in person was probably because he was afraid he might be a bad guy. It was good for Nannan to be cautious, Bei Yuye convinced himself.

The National Day holiday was quite long, but for someone like Yu Nan, who lived the same way whether there was a holiday or not, it didn’t really matter.

He’d either chat with his sworn brothers or pester Beibei, but being at home had its perks—he wasn’t worried about doing things that couldn’t be seen by others.

His dream was to become an art teacher because he wanted a stable job, and on the side, he wanted to take on freelance illustration work.

Thanks to Kitty, who posted one of his drawings online, someone even found him through Kitty’s @ and sent him a private message asking if he accepted commissions.

Yu Nan, of course, wasn’t accepting any for now. But once he got back to school, he thought it might be a good way to pass the time.

Suddenly, he felt that his future had become bright because he had found a direction he could pursue.

Rain is quietly falling: I’m going crazy! Someone in my latest video asked if the cute guy in the Lolita outfit next to Milk tea tea was me.

Yu Nan popped in: That must be you.

Kitty: It’s because I tagged all of you in our sworn brotherhood photo, haha.

Rain is quietly falling: No way I’d ever wear a skirt in my life. I want to be a tough guy.

Yu Nan took a screenshot. He was sure he’d find a way to make him wear one someday.

He brought up that old phrase: But being handsome is a feeling.

Yu Nan had changed his username to “Big Fish” because he noticed everyone else was using their gaming IDs, except for rain is quietly falling, who used a mix of English and pinyin.

Beibei: I’ve put the outfit on! Want to video call?

As soon as Yu Nan saw the message, he opened the video chat. The black tight-fitting top perfectly outlined Beibei’s V-shaped torso, the fabric clinging to his skin. All the images he had ever seen of body art swirled in his mind, finally exploding into fireworks.

This was even more intense than if Beibei had taken off his clothes. If Yu Nan’s hand slipped under that shirt, his mind was already burning with desire.

“Hey, Beibei, you know that angle from above? Have you seen those kinds of videos?” Yu Nan had just come across one last night, where the guy looked like he had a regular good build, but when he switched the camera angle, his chest muscles practically popped out of the screen.

Beibei shifted angles according to Nannan’s suggestion but soon realized something was off. “What kind of videos? Do you come across these often?”

Yu Nan fell silent, realizing he’d been slipping up lately.

“It’s not like I want to see them. It’s just what the algorithm recommends.” He tried to blame it on the data.

“Really? Show me your liked videos,” Beibei’s tone was filled with suspicion.

Yu Nan had indeed shamefully left a like on those videos, fearing the algorithm might think he didn’t enjoy them.

Trying to save face, he added, “None of them have a body as good as yours. I like you the most.”

A knock sounded on the door, followed by Yu Nan’s father’s voice, “Lili, Uncle Chu and your cousin Xiaoxiao are here. Why don’t you go play with him for a bit?”

Yu Nan hadn’t played with visiting kids since he was ten. Now he had to entertain a college student.

He got out of bed and opened the door, letting Chu Luoyang stride in without hesitation.

“I’ll just sit by the desk,” he plopped himself down in front of Yu Nan’s computer.

Dressed simply in shorts and a t-shirt, Yu Nan noticed a scar on his leg— a long stitched-up wound, deeper than the scar on his own leg.

Memories flooded back, they had been bitten by a dog together.

The dog had bitten Yu Nan first, and Chu Luoyang had kicked it, causing the dog to latch onto him instead.

It wasn’t until a bunch of adults came to take turns beating the dog that they managed to pull him free.

Chu Luoyang followed Yu Nan’s gaze to his calf, frowning slightly, his eyes flickering. The scar, from a distance, did look a bit scary. “Is it terrifying? Haha.”

A complex feeling rose in Yu Nan’s heart. Seeing hin forcing a smile, Yu Nan decided to cut him some slack, imagining him through the lens of a “good childhood friend.”

“It’s nothing scary. Don’t worry, Nannan,” a voice from the headphones pulled him back to reality. He chuckled, “It’s fine. There are just some guests in my room.”

“I’m your childhood friend,” Chu Luoyang muttered, a little defiantly.

“I’m talking to my boyfriend, so stop with the nonsense,” Yu Nan replied.

“Beibei is my fated boyfriend, oh yeah!” Beibei’s voice on the other end rose with excitement, his soft tone melting Yu Nan’s heart.

“Does that little childhood friend of yours have pecs as big as mine?” 

Beibei’s voice leaked out loud, filling the room with awkward silence. Yu Nan’s headset had been warning of low battery the day before, but he had ignored it.

And now, here was the embarrassing consequence.

“Don’t talk. I’m finding my headphones,” he ordered toward the screen.

Blushing furiously, he started searching for his wired headphones— not under his pillow, not in the nightstand— then he spotted them on the desk, right next to Chu Luoyang.

He got out of bed to grab them, only to hear Beibei’s voice from his phone again, “Okay, I’ll be good and stay quiet.”

Chu Luoyang glanced at the flushed Yu Nan, wanting to say something but holding back, lowering his head as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Watching Chu Luoyang’s slightly trembling shoulders, Yu Nan asked, “Are you trying not to laugh?”

Chu Luoyang pursed his lips, clearly trying to compose himself before speaking. 

“No,” he replied quickly.

Yu Nan, not wanting others to look down on Beibei, proudly added, “His voice is just one of his least impressive qualities.”

Chu Luoyang laughed until he felt uncomfortable. How could he not even compare to some silly online boyfriend?

It was obvious that Yu Nan was quite satisfied with that “silly boyfriend’s” voice. That silly boyfriend had clearly hit the mark.

“Don’t praise Beibei like that. Beibei’s getting shy!”

Bei Yuye had no idea what exactly was happening on the other end of the call, but Nannan had just openly admitted that he was his boyfriend—and kept praising him too.

Nannan must be crazy in love with him.

Yu Nan could sense that Chu Luoyang wasn’t particularly fond of him, just throwing around casual remarks, probably up to some game or another.

And he was making fun of Beibei too! The “childhood friend” filter Yu Nan had just put on him came off again.

“What games do you play?” Chu Luoyang tilted his phone sideways, logging in while asking Yu Nan.

Yu Nan snorted, “I don’t play games.”

But the familiar sound of glass breaking reached his ears, and he immediately asked, “What rank are you?”

Chu Luoyang hadn’t expected Yu Nan to play this game and responded with surprise, “Sixth rank.”

“Do you have a regular team?” Yu Nan asked.

Chu Luoyang instantly dismissed his regular teammates, saying, “No, I don’t.”

Yu Nan asked, “You ranked up solo?”

“I play with friends sometimes,” he quickly highlighted his strength, “I mainly play rescue. No surprises—three gens and a blink. If there’s a surprise, well, then that’s just a surprise.”

“I have two friends, one in the fifth rank and one in the sixth. If you don’t mind, we could team up sometime,” Yu Nan suggested.

It would be much more convenient to have a familiar person as a regular teammate. Kitty and Doggo had tried to find someone else to be part of their regular team too.

But the three of them knew each other, and the fourth person would always feel a bit left out.

“Sure, sure. Add me as a friend?”

“Oh no, oh no! How could you add him? Don’t add him, Nannan baby!” Beibei suddenly exclaimed in panic.

“Beibei, I’m going to play a few games first. I’ll hang up now,” Yu Nan mercilessly cut off the call.

Kitty and Doggo were online soon enough. Yu Nan opened a voice call in the group chat before inviting them to the game.

“That player, Latitude Minus Eight Degrees, has a pretty high win rate,” Doggo remarked.

Kitty laughed, “But now that he’s teamed up with us, he’s got no chance. From now on, he’ll be known as Humble Brother.”

“Uh… He’s right next to me, so keep the comments down,” Yu Nan whispered.

Chu Luoyang ignored their teasing and asked, “What roles do you guys play?”

Yu Nan mainly played rescuer, and it turned out that both Kitty and Doggo also played rescuer. Coincidentally, so did Chu Luoyang.

“All four of us love rescuing,” Yu Nan said, “Don’t bother asking about roles—we can all play everything.”

They played three matches, and in each one, three people escaped. Looking at the stars that filled the ranking bar, Yu Nan smiled and patted Chu Luoyang on the shoulder. “You’re pretty accurate with your forward dashes, and your explorer gameplay isn’t bad either. Keep it up.”

After ending the voice call, he switched to his alt account to check on Beibei, who had already sent him a string of crying emojis.

After comforting him, the two video-called again that night. Beibei was still wearing that sleeveless, tight-fitting shirt, letting Yu Nan do whatever he wanted.

That night, Yu Nan had a dream.

In the dream, he was burning with heat, wanting to escape but unable to. He instinctively reached down to try and relieve the tension.

Without thinking, he called out, “Beibei.”

The moment he realized what he had just said, he woke up in shock. The air conditioner was still running in his room, but his body was covered in a light layer of sweat, and the hair on his forehead was damp, sticking uncomfortably to his face.

He could swear that, while he’d occasionally had feelings before, he’d never had this kind of dream. And in the dream, he had even called out Beibei’s name. This was insane.

The moment he woke up, he was clear-headed, but now he was getting sleepy again, and the heat below hadn’t subsided. Leaning against his pillow with his eyes closed, his hand kept moving.

As more sweat gathered and still no relief came, he began to feel frustrated. He was exhausted, and tears welled up in his eyes without him realizing it.

Reaching for his phone by his pillow, he didn’t even think about whether it would disturb Beibei at this hour. Ignoring the glaring light of the screen, he sent a voice message.

Throwing his phone aside, he listened to the sound of the voice message being sent. Did Beibei have “Do Not Disturb” mode on when he slept? Would he pick up?

As the message played for the third time, the music abruptly stopped. After a moment of silence, a low, sleepy voice came through the phone, “Nannan, what’s wrong?”