Surprise! My online crush turned out to be... - Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As the group entered the Wild Dog Club, Fatty Chen was fussing and sighing non-stop. He circled the skeleton car, touching and examining it, his curiosity unconcealed.

“Sure, Taozi. Make sure you get me an exact copy of this gift for my birthday.” Fatty Chen grinned and rubbed against Taozi, trying to make his chubby face look adorable.

Before he found his destined girl, Xu Mengran, Fatty Chen was obsessed with all kinds of games. Whether online or video games, he’d tried almost every one of them.

But there was always that one comforting feeling missing. Therefore, Fatty Chen’s obsession with the legendary holographic online game was the strongest among the group.

It was strange, though. Given his financial resources, it wasn’t impossible for him to create something like this, but Fatty Shen never spent excessive amounts of money in the game, a stark contrast to players like Shu Yang who only spent RMB.

Fat Shen was always incredibly proud when he spoke of this. “My money is all about making money, so why would I just give it to a game company for no reason?” Besides, he didn’t spend much, but he was still a pretty good gamer.

As he spoke, Fatty Shen chose to forget the disgusted look on his face as he begged Shu Yang to top up his card.

So, Tao Zi’s gift to Shu Yang practically touched Fatty Shen’s heart.

Without waiting for Tao Zi to say anything, Fatty Shen leaped to the driver’s seat with a leap of faith, ducking in. “Let me try! I’m itching to play!”

Shu Yang silently uttered these evocative words, translating them into a normal tone before nodding.

“Why do I have to log in? Shuyang, can you tell me the verification code?” Fatty Chen flipped on the switch and saw a user log in. He was too lazy to register an account. He knew it was Taozi’s gift to Shuyang, and he felt embarrassed to come over every day.

So he decisively entered Shuyang’s phone number.

Shuyang looked at the message box that popped up above the chat interface and slowly read out the verification code. But what he was thinking was, if this were to happen, the video would automatically be sent. Wouldn’t Da Ge see Fatty Chen driving him?

But this time, it didn’t seem as inhumane as before. Instead, the website thoughtfully popped up a dialog box, asking Shuyang if he wanted to send the video.

Hmm? Could this be a new feature after the website maintenance update? More user-friendly? No more casual sharing of other people’s private information?

Thinking about it, Shuyang licked his back teeth and clicked “Reject.” The next second, he placed a video call to his brother, but he had already switched to rear camera mode.

Hehehe. Maybe he could even catch a glimpse of Da Ge.

—

The Marshal’s office on the distant Imperial Capital.

“Joyce, he’s calling via video.” Francis, looking at the notification on his laptop, immediately sent a message to Joyce.

“Please agree, Marshal. I will immediately locate and crack his location and techniques.” Joyce’s tone was slightly excited.

After so long, just when the Marshal was about to dismiss him as useless, he had finally made a significant breakthrough.

Joyce had been very confident. He had never faced an opponent or a defeat in the entire empire, even the entire galaxy. While this shouldn’t be a source of pride, Joyce remained confident. He was confident that he wasn’t some insane person, and he firmly believed that he had encountered some formidable figures before.

He was well-versed in his skills. Yet, even so, when he faced this inexplicable hacker, he felt not only frustration but also excitement.

He knew that if he could defeat this person, his level would leap forward. You have to understand, he’s been stuck in his current situation for years. Without challenge, there’s no progress. People can’t live in complacency forever.

“Marshal, I’ll now access your computer. The other party’s video and audio will be transmitted to me simultaneously. If you don’t mind, I’ll connect now.” Joyce hadn’t expected Marshal Francis to disagree.

Sure enough, a faint “hmm” came from his communication device, and Joyce immediately rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Francis answered the call without much preparation.

When the two men came face to face, they were both stunned for a moment.

Francis looked at the three small screens that appeared on the computer: one of him, one split screen showing something resembling a house, and the other, slightly smaller, showing a young boy’s face.

Unfortunately, the boy’s face was a little too large, seemingly too close to the screen, so that only two eyes and a nose could be seen on the entire split screen.

Francis frowned slightly. He looked at the person on the split screen, looking down at him. After a pause, he said, “Shu Yang?”

The young man on the other side nodded rapidly, like pecking at rice. “Hey, hey, it’s me, it’s me, it’s Shu Yang.”

“Yeah.”

Joyce, watching silently in front of the screen, felt a strange atmosphere spreading. Perhaps it was an intense, undeniable awkwardness?

He rubbed his arms, then opened a series of pages on his laptop. Complex text and data appeared and scrolled rapidly…

—

Shu Yang didn’t realize his face had been exposed. He nodded for a long time before realizing he was using the rear camera. He quickly adjusted his phone and pointed it at Fatty Shen in the car.

But before he could explain his side of the story, his mind was constantly flooded with messages.

He was actually half-ugly, wasn’t he? Why had he never seen such a handsome man in real life?

Shu Yang’s mood could be summed up in two words: “Fvck.”

The man in the picture wasn’t the defenseless, even slightly unattractive face he’d imagined. Instead, his entire upper body appeared on the tiny phone screen.

Unlike what he’d imagined, this upper body embodied almost every aspect of Shu Yang’s conception of a man. In other words, it represented the image Shu Yang had once dreamed of becoming, only to be crushed by reality and given up.

The man, without a jacket, stood on the screen, his sleeves slightly turned up, revealing a small, muscular arm. His clothing resembled the lining of a military uniform. Sharp-eyed Shu Yang spotted the uniform jacket draped over the chair behind him.

This was so cool.

The man appeared casual, yet his clothes remained flawless, each button fastened securely, just like the man’s usual emphasis and self-possession.

What Shu Yang couldn’t believe most was the man’s face.

Oh my god, this was the face he’d always dreamed of possessing! Oh God, help! He was practically licking the screen!

Shu Yang always consoled himself by claiming he wasn’t yet an adult, or had just reached adulthood. Although everyone praised his good looks, Shu Yang disagreed. After all, his appearance didn’t fit his aesthetic standards.

In his view, a man should be strong and fierce, his body pierced by sharp angles. With his harmless, innocent appearance, he looked like a gigolo, a weakling.

But he wasn’t a self-abuse person, and he wouldn’t resort to cruelty just because he looked so inoffensive. Therefore, he always maintained this fair, tender, and somewhat eccentric “pure and innocent” look.

At that moment, the man who appeared on the screen satisfied Shu Yang’s aesthetic sense with every fiber of his being. Shu Yang was stunned for a long moment before he could utter a single word.

“Damn it…”

If he looked like this, he wouldn’t have been single for nearly twenty years.

Although he had only just turned eighteen, Shu Yang already considered himself a true “man.” “Shu Yang?”

The man on the other end seemed a little impatient, his sword-like brows furrowed slightly, giving him an air of unspoken authority.

“I’m here, I’m here, Da Ge. What’s up?”

Honestly, Shu Yang didn’t want to embarrass himself. While waiting for the other party to connect, he hadn’t had time to think too much about how to handle the situation.

Besides, he had just considered that if Da Ge were an ugly person, even if he looked a little unattractive, he would still accept Da Ge’s interesting spirit, but would ruthlessly extinguish his own vague and unclear lustful thoughts.

But this situation was completely beyond his tolerance!

“Move the screen further away and straighten it.”

At first, he hadn’t thought much of their conversation, but now Shu Yang thought Da Ge’s words were truly cool. Every word and action sounded like someone in a high position issuing orders.

If he hadn’t recognized it was just a cosplay costume, he might have actually believed that Da Ge was the Grand Marshal of the Empire Star.

“Okay, okay,” Shu Yang obeyed. He had already brought his phone almost to his face to see it, and with the rear camera on, all Big Pigeon could see was the floor and his feet. Shu Yang understood.

He slowly walked towards Fatty Shen, phone in hand, ready to show off his treasure.

What he didn’t know was that on Francis’s screen, as the distance between him and his phone increased, his face gradually appeared completely on the screen.

And it was high-definition, highly recognizable.

“This car isn’t the one I sent you a photo of. It simulates real-world car configurations, and can be analyzed based on personal data to develop optimal training plans and improvement plans. Isn’t that cool! Cooler! Coolest!”

Shu Yang was in high spirits. What could be more pleasing than knowing that the Big Pigeon he was chatting with online was a handsome guy?

Thinking, Shu Yang took a close-up of Fatty Shen.

“Look at that determined expression on his face, he’s definitely going to break the record. The video I showed you last time was a simulated record I recorded in this car.”

“Look, this is my twin brother, Shu Pangpang. I look just like him. It’s inconvenient now, so I won’t show you myself. I’ll show you his driving skills. If you like, we can meet in person someday!”

Sorry, Shu Yang, that’s how he judges looks. He’s just so unprincipled. He just thinks someone this handsome can’t be a bad guy.

…

Francis fell silent, watching the smirking boy on the screen.