Chapter 16

Ji Su felt as if scalded by something, and flipped his phone face-down on the desk.

Qiao Jin was drawn by the noise he made, turned her head and asked, 'What's wrong, Susu? What did the scumbag say?'

'He...' Ji Su was too embarrassed to say it outright, so he sidestepped: 'He just said he liked that photo.'

'Of course, who wouldn't like that photo?' Qiao Jin's tone sounded quite proud. 'I bet the scumbag is burning up right now!'

Ji Su raised his hands to cover his ears, unwilling to listen.

Just then, the phone on the desk buzzed.

G: [Don't wear this skirt anymore.]

Ji Su pretended not to understand what the other meant, and deliberately took the opposite tack.

Mengmeng: [Why?]

Mengmeng: [Gege gave me a skirt, didn't you want me to wear it every day?]

G: [Too short, change to another one.]

Ji Su remembered how his butt had nearly been exposed earlier, and the heat that had just faded from his face crept back up again.

Scumbag — you deliberately bought such a short skirt for Mengmeng to wear, and now you're complaining it's too short.

He didn't know that the skirt actually didn't look that short; it was just that his butt was too perky, his legs too long, and he had deliberately posed in such a way that it appeared...

Just as he was lost in wild thoughts, the other side sent another message.

G: [Be good, Mengmeng.]

Ji Su thought for a moment and felt this was a good opportunity.

Mengmeng: [I can stop wearing that skirt, but gege, in what capacity are you managing me?]

G: [What capacity do you want me to have?]

Ji Su: '...'

What a veteran of the love arena — his tai chi moves were absolutely masterful.

Mengmeng: [My feelings haven't changed, gege clearly knows...]

Mengmeng: [sad kitty.jpg]

The other side was quiet for a moment, then replied.

G: [What do you like about me?]

The answer to this question was important, so Ji Su carefully organized his words.

Mengmeng: [Like is like, I like gege, so I like everything about gege.]

G: [You don't really understand what kind of person I am.]

Ji Su couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly, thinking to himself: of course I know what kind of person you are.

You're a scumbag, a big scumbag who scams money and sex.

Mengmeng: [Then... would gege give me a chance to get to know you better?]

G: [How do you want to get to know me better?]

Ji Su really wanted to reply directly: how about sending a face photo first?

Mengmeng: [Gege can tell me more about yourself~]

Like your full name, which school you're from, why a perfectly fine law student would degenerate into an online scammer?

This time, the other side was silent for several minutes again.

G: [Let's meet.]

Ji Su's heart skipped a beat, sensing trouble: 'Xiao Qiao, the scumbag wants to meet me, what should I do?'

'What?' Qiao Jin was also shocked. 'The scumbag is so impatient he wants to go from online dating to meeting in person?'

Ji Su furrowed his brow: 'I definitely can't meet him.'

'First find an excuse to keep him steady, and quickly find a way to get him to send you a face photo.' Qiao Jin suggested. 'Then send the photo to the senior, and you can bow out gracefully.'

Ji Su nodded: 'Got it.'

Mengmeng: [Not recently~]

G: [Why?]

Mengmeng: [My department has a very important stage assessment recently, I have to practice piano until very late every day.]

Mengmeng: [Wait until I'm done with this busy period to find gege, okay?]

G: [No need.]

Ji Su pressed his lips together, thinking the other side was unhappy, and was wondering how to soothe him when a new message popped up in the chat.

G: [When you're done being busy, I'll come find you.]

Mengmeng: [Okay!]

Mengmeng: [I'm really looking forward to meeting gege!]

Ji Su didn't know whether the scumbag was trying to show consideration or was being overly cautious, but in any case, he'd muddled through the meeting issue for now.

*

Monday, another full day of classes.

After dinner, on the way back to the Dormitory, Ji Su switched to his secondary WeChat account.

As expected, G had sent him a message half an hour ago.

G: [No matter how busy, eat well.]

G: [WeChat Transfer: 520.00]

Ji Su stared at the words in the chat box, momentarily stunned.

He'd only casually mentioned being busy lately, and the other had taken it to heart.

Ji Su remembered last time when he'd been too busy to reply, the other hadn't gotten angry, but instead repeatedly reminded him to eat well and not overwork himself.

Growing up, this was the first time he'd felt this kind of being cared for, and it was from a netizen he'd never met.

'Susu?' Qiao Jin stopped walking. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing.' Ji Su came back to himself. 'Xiao Qiao, come with me to the Music Society.'

Qiao Jin: 'What for?'

Ji Su explained: 'I told the scumbag I've been busy practicing piano lately, so I want to go to the Music Society to record a piano practice audio and send it to him later.'

'Got it.' Qiao Jin nodded. 'Let's go now then.'

At this hour there were still quite a few people at the club activity room. After greeting the Music Society members, Ji Su sat down at the Piano.

His long, dense lashes fell quietly, his slender, pale fingers flew over the black and white keys — not only was the tinkling Piano music pleasant to the ear, the scene itself was a feast for the eyes.

When the piece ended, Ji Su lowered his hands, and a burst of warm applause suddenly rang in his ears.

He startled, only then realizing that quite a few listeners had gathered around him at some point.

'That was wonderful!' a girl spoke up. 'Ji Su, your Piano skills are really high, why don't we ever see you play normally?'

'Ah…' Ji Su pressed his lips together, a little abashed by the praise. 'Playing Piano is just a hobby — nowhere near the level of the proper students.'

'Ji Su, you're too modest.' Another boy cut in. 'No, wait — it should be that Lin Yan usually keeps you hidden away, never lets us get close!'

Ji Su smiled out of habit: 'No, xuejie just looks after me a bit more than usual.'

The others were about to say more when Qiao Jin stepped in just in time: 'Sorry, everyone — Ji Su and I have something to take care of, we'll have to head off first!'

Ji Su rose with the moment and followed him out of the Music Society.

Once outside, Qiao Jin couldn't help saying: 'Susu, the people in your club are a little too enthusiastic, aren't they?'

Ji Su replied: 'They're all pretty nice.'

'They do seem supportive.' Qiao Jin paused. 'But your playing really is beautiful — that scumbag really is a man on whom fortune has smiled!'

Ji Su smiled, neither here nor there: 'Come on, let's head back to the Dormitory.'

Back at the Dormitory, Ji Su tidied his desk a little, then opened his computer and began drawing.

It wasn't until he was busy past nine that he finally tapped into his secondary WeChat account.

Mengmeng: [Gege, I finished practicing Piano and I'm back at the Dormitory!]

The other side replied quickly — almost instantly.

G: [Did you have dinner?]

Mengmeng: [Ate, ate! Gege don't worry~]

Ji Su dug out the Piano recording Qiao Jin had helped him make and sent it to G.

Mengmeng: [Tonight's practice piece happened to be one gege likes, so I recorded it for you~]

The recording ran two minutes and twenty-six seconds; about three minutes later, the other side replied.

G: [How did you know I liked this piece?]

Mengmeng: [We talked about it before — doesn't gege remember?]

G: [Do you remember everything I've ever said?]

Mengmeng: [Yes! Every word gege has said, Mengmeng keeps right here in her heart.]

After sending it off, Ji Su split his attention between the chat and the renderings on his computer screen.

After quite a while, a new message arrived from the other side.

G: [Are you free on May 1st?]

Mengmeng: [What's up, gege?]

G: [The singer you like is coming to A City for a concert.]

Ji Su recalled the frenzy of ticket-grabbing that day and couldn't help sighing.

Mengmeng: [I know, but I didn't manage to get tickets, sob…]

Mengmeng: [kitty crying.jpg]

G: [I can get hold of tickets.]

G: [Want to go together?]

For a moment, Ji Su nearly let himself be tempted.

The singer he liked had barely been seen since getting married, and now that she was finally making the rare trip to A City, he truly wanted to be there.

But he could never meet the scumbag in person — let alone go to a concert with him.

Mengmeng: [But I've already made other plans…]

Mengmeng: [kitty crying.jpg]

G: [It's fine, there'll be other chances.]

Mengmeng declined again and again, but the other side wasn't angry in the slightest — if anything, he comforted her.

Ji Su's fingertip hovered above the phone screen, and a sudden pang of guilt and reluctance rose in his chest.

No matter how many people the scumbag had ruined, here it was he himself playing the deceiver.

But people had to pay the price for what they'd done — and those girls the scumbag had tricked were the more pitiful ones.

Ji Su clenched his teeth and decided to end the whole deception tonight.

Mengmeng: [Can gege send me a selfie?]

G: [Want to see the abs again?]

Mengmeng: [No! I want to see your face!]

Mengmeng: [Gege, you're so naughty!]

G: [You first.]

Ji Su: '?'

Send what? A leg photo or a selfie?

Ji Su lifted his head: 'Xiao Qiao, the scumbag won't send me his selfie unless I send mine first.'

'Oh right — the scumbag still doesn't know what you look like!' Qiao Jin clapped his hands together. 'All this time and he's never seen your face, yet he's still spending money on you and buying you clothes — who could say that isn't true love!'

Ji Su: 'Now's really not the time for that…'

Qiao Jin pushed back his chair and stood up: 'Let me think, let me think…'

Ji Su stated his position preemptively: 'I'm not cross-dressing.'

'Or else… just grab a selfie from some girl in our class and make do?' Qiao Jin had a flash of inspiration. 'The scumbag doesn't know anyone from our School anyway.'

'No.' Ji Su wouldn't agree. 'I can't use another girl's photo for online dating — it wouldn't be fair to her image.'

'I'm sorry, pretend I didn't say it.' Qiao Jin paced around the Dormitory. 'Let me think again… oh! Got it!'

Ji Su looked at him expectantly: 'What?'

'Try acting cute with him first.' Qiao Jin pinched up his voice, every syllable dripping with honeyed inflection: 'Gege~ your baby really, really misses you~ wants to see you~'

Ji Su: '…'

He usually talked to G in exactly that tone — now he could finally imagine how terrifying those words sounded out loud…

'When Mengmeng acts cute, the scumbag's soul goes floating off.' Qiao Jin summed it up. 'He's already this deep in — how could he refuse such a tiny request?'

Ji Su let out a soft sigh: 'Fine, I'll try first.'

It was just typing words, after all — the other side didn't know he was male…

Qiao Jin reminded him again: 'Right, don't just ask for his face — best to make him strip completely for the photo.'

Ji Su: 'Huh?'

'Men are different from women — their skin is thick as hide.' Qiao Jin explained with perfect seriousness. 'Unless it's a full nude photo, the kind that does real damage if it gets out!'

Ji Su: '…'

So how exactly was he supposed to send this message?

Gege, let me see your—