Yan Linjian was naturally smart, and after he started studying seriously, he was able to keep up with the existing courses. Although he couldn’t compare to Qi Jingzhi, a natural-born computer genius, writing a small program was no problem for him. He was living a happy life.
That was until Yan Suici said he had someone he liked, and that the person was a man. The dinner table that day was so silent that Yan Linjian could hear his father breaking apart.
Based on Yan Linjian’s understanding of Yan Nanshan, he didn’t care much about things like family background or carrying on the family line, but what he did care about was the environment the other person was in. The entertainment industry was a big cesspool, filled with dirt and scandal after scandal. When Yan Nanshan had just started dating Qin Sui, he was set up by a minor celebrity and almost lost his wife. Since then, he had kept away from anything related to the entertainment world. Before agreeing to any interview, he had to have multiple people present.
Of course, Yan Nanshan would never tell his son about such an embarrassing matter, so Yan Linjian learned about it from his mother, Qin Sui.
Regarding Yan Suici’s crush, Qin Sui was worried: “What if your dad can’t accept it? Won’t their relationship get even worse?”
Qin Sui: “But your dad isn’t unreasonable either. If the other person is a good kid, he wouldn’t mind.”
Qin Sui: “What do you think?”
After Qin Sui had finished speaking, Yan Linjian could only nod: “You’re right, mum.”
Yan Suici definitely wouldn’t voluntarily tell them about the identity of the person he liked. Yan Linjian, entrusted by the whole family, secretly investigated his future sister-in-law’s identity. But as an ordinary university student, where could he go to gather information?
“Qi Jingzhi, you’re so capable, can you find out who they are?” Yan Linjian asked, staring at the computer Qi Jingzhi had just assembled.
Qi Jingzhi tapped his forehead and replied helplessly: “I can do computing, not read minds.”
Yan Linjian slouched on the desk and let out a long sigh: “I never thought… never thought my brother would like men.”
Qi Jingzhi paused his typing for a moment, then casually asked: “Is it strange to like men?”
“It’s not strange, but it is strange when it comes to my brother… In fact, no matter who he likes, it feels strange to me. It’s my brother! Obsessed with academics and single for ages, wouldn’t dating someone like that be boring to death? According to my brother, they haven’t even started anything yet. I bet my brother won’t be able to win him over… but if he can’t, he’ll be lonely for the rest of his life. I really don’t want to have to go visit my older brother, who’s been single for over sixty years, with a family of my own in the future.”
Yan Linjian grumbled for a while, and pulled out a dozen thorns from the cactus[mfn]仙人球 – Direct translation: cactus ball. His cactus is specifically those mini round ball cactuses. 
[/mfn] on Qi Jingzhi’s desk, finally coming to a conclusion: “I’ve got to help my brother.”
“Alright, then how do you want to help?” Qi Jingzhi snatched the cactus away from him and placed it on the other side, “My cactus is almost bald because of you.”
Yan Linjian said, “First, I need to know who they are.”
The problem returned to square one. Yan Linjian slumped over the desk again, dispirited, and reached for another pot of cactus. Qi Jingzhi, quick on the uptake, snatched the pot away and shoved a stress relief ball into Yan Linjian’s hand.
Yan Linjian squished and flattened the little ball, grumbling: “So infuriating! I’m his own brother, and he won’t even tell me who it is!”
So that’s why you’re upset, huh? Qi Jingzhi thought helplessly.
But soon, Yan Linjian did find out the person’s identity. On the day that Yan Suici brought a male friend to attend the Cultural Month event, Yan Linjian hurriedly rushed to the office but came back dejected, looking as if he had just eaten a fly.
The dormitory was empty except for Qi Jingzhi, who caught hold of the dazed Yan Linjian and asked worriedly, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” Yan Linjian said this, but his expression didn’t look like it was nothing.
Qi Jingzhi asked, “Was there something wrong with the person Professor Yan brought?”
Yan Linjian wasn’t someone who could hide things well, and Qi Jingzhi keenly noticed the brief flicker of disappointment in his eyes, realizing his guess was correct. Qi Jingzhi hadn’t really cared about who Yan Suici liked before, but now, seeing Yan Linjian’s reaction, he started to ponder about it too.
Could it be a celebrity Yan Linjian likes? But he never follows celebrities, and even when he occasionally watches dramas, he doesn’t remember the actors’ names.
Is it someone he knows?
Qi Jingzhi ransacked his mind, thinking of everyone Yan Linjian had mentioned to him. The few people with ties to the entertainment industry had no connection to Yan Suici.
“What happened?”
Qi Jingzhi’s highly praised brain was in a mess. He had never seen Yan Linjian in such a low mood, but aside from asking questions, he had no way to help.
Yan Linjian blinked and crawled back into bed. “I’m a bit confused right now. I need to sort things out.”
Burying his head in the pillow, Yan Linjian took a deep breath. He really wanted to curse aloud: The person my brother likes is the same small stand-in that Cheng Song found before? Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?
His poor brother, who had finally blossomed for the first time after twenty-seven years, unexpectedly encountered such a dramatic and absurd situation!
Should he tell his brother the truth? Otherwise, when his brother eventually discovers the truth, it’s going to be too painful… Yan Linjian knew his brother too well. On the surface, he appeared gentle and calm, but deep down, there was an unyielding stubbornness. Once he set his eyes on something, he would stop at nothing to get it, even if it meant neglecting his health and ending up in the hospital, the number of times when he had a competition in the morning and then went to get an IV in the afternoon wasn’t just once or twice.
He was a wild wolf with the demeanour of a gentleman.
If his brother finds out, tch, the consequences would be unthinkable.
So, I guess I shouldn’t tell him just yet.
Yan Linjian lifted his head and realized that Qi Jingzhi was standing next to his bed, looking up at him with a face full of concern. “Are you okay?”
Had he been standing here the whole time?
“It’s fine.” Yan Linjian smiled at him, a strange emotion flickering in his heart.
He wasn’t planning to tell anyone for now. Faced with Qi Jingzhi’s concern, he could only come up with an excuse to brush it off: “I told my brother that I want to seriously date.”
“…Really?” Qi Jingzhi clenched his fists tightly, lightly curving his lips into a smile, hiding the bitterness inside.
Relax, Yan Linjian has always liked girls. There’s nothing to be sad about him dating, aren’t you used to it by now?
He lowered his lashes, and Yan Linjian couldn’t see his expression, but his usually disconnected brain clicked into place this time, and realized that Qi Jingzhi was in a bad mood.
“Don’t worry, even if I start dating, I won’t abandon you.” They had been hanging out together for a year, almost to the point of inseparability. Qi Jingzhi had become a bit more open, but once he started dating, Qi Jingzhi would be left on his own again. Just thinking about it made Yan Linjian feel a little reluctant.
Hearing his words, Qi Jingzhi didn’t feel happy at all. Instead, he seemed to sulk, saying: “What’s the point of dating if you bring a third person into it?”
“But I’m going to be online dating! It’s not like I’m going to bring my computer around and let it have meals with us. Speaking of which, I might need your help with this.” Yan Linjian swung his long legs over and jumped straight down from the upper bunk, “Ever since my brother said he wanted to pursue someone, I keep dreaming about my first love. Or more precisely, I’ve been dreaming about her in-game character model.”
Qi Jingzhi raised his head, his star-like eyes flickered with light: “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know either. It’s already been four or five years, yet I keep dreaming about her. We weren’t even seriously dating yet back then, but I just can’t forget that moment when she descended from the sky to save me.”
Qi Jingzhi looked slightly stunned: “How come you’ve never mentioned this before?”
“I felt too embarrassed… dreaming about a game character and all…” Yan Linjian scratched his head, subconsciously grabbing and holding the cactus from Qi Jingzhi’s desk in his arms again, “I didn’t feel too nostalgic about it before, but I’ve dreamed about her three times in just this one week! The memories are still very clear after waking up… I feel like this is a sign from the universe. Maybe my current love life is a mess because of her, so I want to find her. If I can let go of this obsession, maybe my love life will finally be smoother. Even such an old tree like my brother is getting into relationships now, I can’t just stay stuck in place forever.”
His brother finally showing interest in romance was part of the reason, but the other part was that over the past few days, while playing games with Qi Jingzhi, he had occasionally imagined Qi Jingzhi as that person from back then. Even though it wasn’t the same game, but being able to play so smoothly and effortlessly, Yan Linjian had only ever seen that from these two people.
He felt a bit embarrassed to mention that Qi Jingzhi had something to do with it too, in case Qi Jingzhi got the wrong idea and thought he had feelings for him beyond brotherhood.
Qi Jingzhi’s breathing suddenly grew heavier, and Yan Linjian had a feeling that he would throw a punch at him any second: “Do you think I’m being ridiculous?”
“Of course not.” Qi Jingzhi let out a smile, though it carried a hint of darkness. “So, how do you want me to help you?”
“It was a browser game, I still remember the game’s name, but I only remember her ID. It’s been so long, so I don’t know if she changed it. Can you track a current user based on a previous ID?” Yan Linjian tugged at the thorns of the cactus, then added, “If it’s illegal, then forget it.”
“It’s not hard.” Qi Jingzhi’s reply came with the sound of heavy breathing, “And once you find her[mfn]In Chinese, 他(he/him) and 她(she/her) sound the same. Yan Linjian has been using 她(she/her) to refer to the other player, meanwhile, although Qi Jingzhi has been using 他(he/him) to refer to the other player, I will translate it into she/her for now.[/mfn]? What do you plan to do?”
“I want to ask if she still remembers me.” A sudden flush crept up Yan Linjian’s face, painting his fair cheeks with a shy pink.
Qi Jingzhi: “And then? Have you considered the possibility that she might actually be a fifty or sixty-year-old auntie, or a teenage boy?”
Yan Linjian froze for a second, shifting his gaze elsewhere: “Well, I still have to find her first. Her ID didn’t sound like a guy’s. And if she turns out to be an auntie, I’ll just thank her for saving me back then.”
Qi Jingzhi raised an eyebrow: “What was the name?”
Yan Linjian: “It’s from a poem: Lú Biān Rén Sì Yuè[mfn]垆边人似月 Direct translation of the name would be ‘The person by the wine shop counter is like the moon.’ Original poem is 菩萨蛮·人人尽说江南好 by 韦庄 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei_Zhuang)[/mfn].”
Qi Jingzhi held back the smile tugging at his lips, his eyes filled with an unfathomable tenderness as he murmured: “You actually remembered it.”
“Of course I remember! I had to memorize that poem in school, so I figured she was probably around my age.” Yan Linjian snapped off a cactus thorn and broke it in half. “So, can you find her?”
“I can. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
“Thank you! Qi-shen! You’re my god!”
Yan Linjian jumped three feet high, every strand of his hair radiating excitement. After calming down, he suddenly became anxious: Back then, he had left without a word. Would he have already been labelled as a scumbag?
