DPPM Side Story – ZhouShen (Part 3)

|| “From now on, you are my only Gege.”

“Milk Strawberry” didn’t have any bad intentions; he just wanted everyone to share in his joy of having many handsome gege.

However, Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t understand this grand idea. After a brief silence, he sneered, “Are you acting out ‘Water Margin’?” 

“?”

“The whole mountain is filled with your ‘gege’?”¹水滸傳; one of the Four Classics Chinese Novels, written by Shi Nai’an. It’s also known as “Outlaws of the Marsh” and “All Men are Brothers”. In the story, there’s a group of 108 outlaws gathered at Mount Liang who rebel against the Northern Song Dynasty government, hence why ZZQ said this comment to SJY. 

“……”

Although Shen Jiayan wasn’t very smart, he could vaguely tell that Zhou Ziqiu seemed a bit unhappy with his comment.

But he had just bought a birthday cake, flowers, and milk tea. Shouldn’t Zhou Ziqiu be happy?

Before Shen Jiayan could ask, Zhou Ziqiu coldly said, “I’m heading home now. I’ll hang up.”

After saying that, he cut off the call, leaving Shen Jiayan bewildered.

Why did he flip out so suddenly?

Did he say or do something wrong just now?

No way.

Maybe Zhou Ziqiu was just feeling down about spending his 18th birthday alone and wanted some time to himself?

That seemed more likely.

So, after being inexplicably scolded and hung up on, Shen Jiayan, with his naïve and simple mind, didn’t get angry. Instead, he felt a bit sorry for Zhou Ziqiu and thought he should do something to cheer him up.

Meanwhile, after hanging up, Zhou Ziqiu tossed his phone aside and leaned back against his seat, impatiently poking at a plump, juicy strawberry with his fork, feeling quite annoyed.

It turned out “Milk Strawberry” was the real heartless breakup machine.

As long as someone was willing to share, she’d call them a good brother. She hadn’t even finished with Zhou Ziqiu’s side yet, and he already had a new guy lined up.

The pinker the avatar, the colder the breakup.

But it wasn’t really a breakup. It was a mutually agreed transaction.

Moreover, he had planned to finish this business today, and now “Milk Strawberry” brought it up himself, saving him the trouble. It should be a win-win for both.

Thinking this, Zhou Ziqiu shoved the strawberry into his mouth, biting down hard. The fresh juice filled his mouth, sweet with a hint of tartness.

Indeed, strawberries were sour this season, not good at all.

He lost his appetite, his mood soured, and his interest waned. Zhou Ziqiu stuffed the unfinished cake back into its box and logged off.

However, after a few steps, he sighed, turned back, and picked up the box of cake and the bouquet, heading back into the night.

Oh well, can’t waste them.

Zhou Ziqiu felt that he was merely fulfilling the thrifty virtues expected of a Communist Youth League member. That’s why he begrudgingly took the sour strawberry cake home and finished it, and put the lily of the valley bouquet into a glass vase on his bedside table. It was definitely not for any other reason.

Especially not because it was a gift from “Milk Strawberry.”

Zhou Ziqiu was certain.

So certain that he couldn’t sleep all night, as if he was waiting for someone to call him to play games.

But no one did – he didn’t even get the usual [Goodnight, Gege. Make sure to be happy and full of energy tomorrow too *^o^*] message.

After several hours passed without any sign of sleep, he couldn’t resist taking out his phone. He opened WeChat and looked at the cute, smiling strawberry cartoon avatar and the empty chat box. An unrecognized irritation welled up inside him.

When he opened the game and saw that [The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World] had already reached King 5 stars, he became even more agitated.

It seemed this new gaming companion was pretty good.

Imagining “Milk Strawberry” with her points-obsessed demeanor, jumping around in a pink maid outfit, calling another guy “Gege” and praising him, helping him trash talk idiots, singing for him, saying good morning and goodnight, and complimenting his voice—

Zhou Ziqiu’s irritation made him frown without realizing it.

But he couldn’t explain why he was so annoyed.

He played a game casually, finding his performance terrible. It felt somewhat boring without someone constantly chattering in his ear.

So he opened a group for gaming companions, intending to take a few orders to pass the time. What he found was a lively discussion.

[Cannon Fodder Escort #1]: Fei-ge, I heard you got another rich lady order this time.

[Brother Steady Carry²his username is 哥哥稳带飞. If translated literally it would be “Brother who can take you to fly steadily”. “Take you to fly” is to carry someone in game. He’s called “Fei-ge” because 飞(fly) is read as Fei.]: Yeah, a real little rich lady. Her voice is super sweet. She calls me Gege and it gets me hard.

[Cannon Fodder Escort #2]: No way, Fei-ge. You’ve seen a lot. Can a voice really get you hard?

[Cannon Fodder Escort #3]: Maybe it’s a voice changer and she’s actually a burly man?

[Brother Steady Carry]: No, I saw her Moments photo. She cosplayed as Hatsune Miku. It was just a back view, but you could see her legs — super long, super straight, and super white.

[Cannon Fodder Escort #4]: Wow, nice. Fei-ge, are you planning to meet her in real life?

[Cannon Fodder Escort #5]: Isn’t that a given? Every time Fei-ge meets a girl IRL he takes her to bed. 

[Cannon Fodder Escort #6]: Yeah, I’m doing this to make money, but Fei-ge, the rich and handsome guy, does it to hook up with rich girls.

[Cannon Fodder Escort #7]: Fei-ge, make sure to take a photo for us, okay? For the perks.

[Brother Steady Carry]: Of course.

……

Reading through the chat messages made Zhou Ziqiu feel sick.

He didn’t usually like coming to the group because it was full of sleazy men who either made dirty jokes or commented lewdly on their female clients. They were utterly self-satisfied and vulgar. After a few failed attempts to stop their behavior, Zhou Ziqiu had mostly stopped coming to the group.

Today, he had impulsively decided to take an order and encountered something so disgusting that he immediately wanted to leave the group chat.

But just as his finger was about to tap the top left corner to exit, the chat refreshed with a screenshot. His attention was instantly caught by the familiar pink strawberry avatar.

The screenshot read:

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Gege, can I extend my order to Glory King? The price isn’t an issue~↖(^w^)↗

Group messages:

[Brother Steady Carry]: See that? As long as you’re skilled and good-looking, these brainless rich girls flock to you like flies. You can’t even shoo them away.

[Cannon Fodder Escort #1]: That’s right, these girls are like love-struck fools, no brains at all.

[Cannon Fodder Escort #2]: Which is why they’re easy to sleep with.

[Cannon Fodder Escort #3]: I bet Fei-ge won’t even have to pay for the hotel fee to sleep with this girl.

“Snap—”

Zhou Ziqiu didn’t realize when he had clenched his fist so tightly that he snapped a pencil in his grip. The veins on his forehead and the sudden prominence of his radial bone displayed the anger he was barely containing.

His long, narrow eyes turned icy cold, making them look extremely sharp. His lips curled into a sneer as his fingers flew across the screen, the tempered glass protector making loud tapping sounds.

[Autumn]: If she’s a fly flocking to you, what does that make you?

[Autumn]: Everyone knows flies love organic waste, so you seem pretty self-aware.

[Autumn]: No, that insults organic waste. At least it can fertilize the soil. You can’t compare until after you’re buried.

[Autumn]: So how does a bunch of losers who only dare to act tough online have the nerve to feel so confident here?

[Autumn]: Even a recycling center wouldn’t take you.

The whole group exploded at his words.

Zhou Ziqiu ignored the barrage of insults directed at him.

After all, standing out from a bunch of idiotic trash was something to be proud of, nothing to be angry about.

He was just waiting for Fei-ge’s response.

As expected, it came quickly: [Who the fuck are you calling a loser who only acts tough online? If you’ve got something to say, let’s meet and settle this. We’ll see who’s the real loser, trash.]

This guy, Brother Steady Carry, was known in the gaming companion circle for being straightforward and always up for a fight. Zhou Ziqiu had been aware of this and had been waiting for this very response.

[Autumn]: Back alley of Blue Wave Internet Cafe. If you’ve got something to say, come over.

[Brother Steady Carry]: Fine, that’s close to me. Twenty minutes. If anyone doesn’t show, they’re a coward.

Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t even remember the last time he’d gotten into a fight.

He generally didn’t like causing trouble but wasn’t afraid to confront it either.

He put on a black hoodie, pulled up the hood, and covered his face with a black mask. Hands in his pockets, he left the house.

It was already three in the morning, and his family was asleep. The streets were pitch dark, with only the occasional noise from a group of drunkards breaking the silence.

Blue Wave, a seedy internet cafe, was hidden and rundown, with a back door leading to a garbage-strewn alley. No one passed by there, and there were no cameras.

The timing, location, and circumstances were perfect for what was about to go down.

If he didn’t teach this Fei-ge a lesson this time, Zhou Ziqiu might as well write his name backward.

With this thought, Zhou Ziqiu turned a corner and saw a tall, skinny guy with a perm, dressed in a fake Supreme hoodie, black skinny pants, studded loafers, and smoking a cigarette.

He called out indifferently, “Fei-ge.”

The guy turned at the sound.

Looks like he found the right person.

Zhou Ziqiu picked up a wooden stick lying against the wall and weighed it in his hand.

Fei-ge: “?”

Zhou Ziqiu: “Ready?”

Fei-ge: “??”

What the hell, coming straight to blows without even a verbal sparring match?

Before Fei-ge could react, Zhou Ziqiu closed the distance in a few steps, lifted his long leg, and kicked him to the ground.

Then he picked up the stick and started beating him, carefully avoiding vital areas and hitting only the spots that hurt a lot but wouldn’t be fatal. 

The blows were not flashy, but each one was precise and brutal.

Fei-ge had no chance to fight back, curling up in the corner and covering his head while screaming, “Stop! Stop hitting me! I give up, okay?! It hurts! I surrender! I surrender, alright?!”

After venting his anger with a few more strikes, Zhou Ziqiu gave one last hard kick, then squatted in front of Fei-ge, fished out his ID from his pocket, took a photo of it, and threw it back. “If I hear about you doing any disgusting shit again, I’ll report you for sexual harassment and expose your name. Got it?”

Fei-ge: “You’re fucking crazy—ouch!” He didn’t even finish before getting another solid hit on his butt. “Fuck! I didn’t sleep with your mom, your sister, or your girlfriend! Why do you care?! Ouch!!!”

Another pained scream followed.

Zhou Ziqiu stepped on his crotch, just enough pressure to threaten serious damage, scaring Brother Steady Carry into pleading, “No, no, wait, Ge, let’s talk this out. I’ll do whatever you say.”

Zhou Ziqiu, holding the stick and looking down at him, spoke coldly, “First, don’t ever let me catch you scamming or taking advantage of anyone again. Second, don’t let me see you and your trash friends talking shit about women in the group. Do you have no respect for your own mother? Third…”

A brief pause.

Zhou Ziqiu continued, “Cancel the order for Glory King that you just took. Refund every penny and apologize sincerely to her. And none of you or your trash friends are to take any more of her orders.”

Fei-ge: “But… why… ouch!!! Okay, okay!!! Fine!!! Just let me go, I’ll cancel it right now!!!”

Fei-ge felt like he was having the worst day of his life. Unable to fight back, he had no choice but to comply tearfully. He lay on the ground, trembling as he sent the cancellation message in front of Zhou Ziqiu.

Zhou Ziqiu finally released his foot, tossed the stick aside, and walked away without looking back.

Behind him, Fei-ge shouted in helpless rage, “Who the hell is this ‘Milk Strawberry’ to you?! Your sister? Your girlfriend?! Is it really worth it?!”

Neither. Just a former paying client.

Apart from calling him “Gege” a few times, she wasn’t anything special.

Yet, for some reason, the thought of never hearing “Milk Strawberry” cheerfully call him “Gege” again, and worse, imagining her calling this sleazy asshole “Gege” instead, made his heart ache and his mood sour.

With his hands in his pockets, head down, Zhou Ziqiu quickened his pace.

As if trying to vent some emotion, but before he could fully release that sour, clogged feeling, his phone started vibrating.

Seeing “Milk Strawberry” calling, he felt even more irritated.

Had she finally remembered him because she couldn’t find anyone else to boost her rank?

Annoyed but unwilling to hang up, he tossed the phone back into his pocket and kept walking, head down and pace brisk.

But as he thought about it, Zhou Ziqiu sighed helplessly, stopped walking, and took out his phone again.

Ignoring the voice call for now, he opened “Milk Strawberry’s” Moments and, as expected, saw the lonely Miku Hatsune cosplay photo from the past three days.

The blue-green twin tails, the smooth, round shoulders, a waist barely wider than his hand, the skirt just reaching her legs, and a pair of long, straight legs wrapped in black tights… that a glowing strip of milky skin between the tights and the skirt — her “zettai ryouiki³aka. Absolute Territory. I’m using the Japanese term because 1) it’s a Hatsune Miku cosplay and 2) it came from Japan..”

Zhou Ziqiu swore that normally he would never notice what a girl was wearing or how she dressed. Out of basic decency and upbringing, he would never stare at a girl, let alone scrutinize her body or her “zettai ryouiki.” He had never done such a trashy thing in his life.

However, when “Milk Strawberry’s” photo was so blatantly in front of him, and accompanied by the phantom sound of her calling him “Gege,” he felt a sudden rush of blood.

What kind of blood rush, he couldn’t say, but it made him feel a surge of uncontrollable emotion. He pressed the answer button, and hearing the cheerful “Gege~” from the other end, he immediately got angry.

He coldly snapped, “Are you an idiot? Don’t you know that you shouldn’t add strangers after posting those kinds of photos on your Moments? Don’t you know how to set privacy settings? And what’s your taste? How can you think that tacky guy is handsome?”

Being scolded right after finally getting through, Shen Jiayan was stunned for a moment, then cautiously asked, “Gege, what’s wrong? Did something happen to upset you?”

That cautious tone, like a clear stream flowing through his heart, instantly soothed Zhou Ziqiu’s irritation.

She had just been scolded, and instead of getting angry, she was still so considerate and asking if he was upset. Was she really such a little fool?

Zhou Ziqiu found himself unable to express what he was feeling. It was a mix of sourness, softness, warmth, and a bit of frustration at her innocence.

He originally wanted to tell her directly about Brother Steady Carry and give her a stern warning, but hearing her voice, he couldn’t bring himself to mention those filthy people and their disgusting words.

“Milk Strawberry” hadn’t done anything wrong, after all. She had just posted a nice photo of herself. Should she really be forbidden from doing that because of those trashy people?

If she knew how those sleazy guys talked about her behind her back, she would be so hurt.

He didn’t want to burden this carefree but exceptionally pure girl with such unpleasantness. So he just said, “It’s nothing. I ran into your new gaming buddy in the group, found out he’s not a good person, and had an argument.”

“Oh, I see. I also think he’s no good. He backed out on our deal to reach Glory King all of a sudden, and no one else has taken my order yet. It’s annoying. But Gege, what did you mean about my photo? Is it not good?”

Shen Jiayan, being the simple-minded person he was, immediately moved on to the next thing once he focused on it. Whatever had happened a second ago was instantly forgotten, and his thoughts always seemed to run in unexpected ways, making him exceptionally easy to deceive.

Zhou Ziqiu had known this about him for a while, but hearing his attention shift to whether the photo looked good, he couldn’t help but pinch his forehead in exasperation.

This little fool was really lucky to have first met Shang Huai and then himself. If she were thrown into the murky waters of the gaming companion market, she’d have been eaten alive long ago.

As for whether the photo looked good…

Zhou Ziqiu’s throat involuntarily tightened, and he replied blandly, “Don’t let those gaming buddies you don’t know add you on WeChat. Girls need to protect their privacy and safety.”

‘But I’m not a girl, ah.’

Shen Jiayan sat cross-legged on his bed, resting his chin on a stuffed toy, pouting as he felt that Zhou Ziqiu was acting a bit strange today.

But that’s not important. The important thing is: “Gege, now there’s no one to help me rank up. They all say I’m bad and that taking me to the Glory King is too tiring, so they don’t want to take my orders.”

Shen Jiayan was about to feel wronged to death.

In Zhou Ziqiu’s ears, it all boiled down to one word: “Sure enough.”

She was looking for him just to get him to help her rank up.

So, out of all of them, “Milk Strawberry” was the real cold-blooded ranking machine.

His voice turned colder: “You contacted me just to say this?”

Hearing this, Shen Jiayan suddenly remembered the real reason she reached out to Zhou Ziqiu and quickly said, “Of course not!”

Her unexpected answer made Zhou Ziqiu pause.

Shen Jiayan continued cheerfully, “I wanted to ask if you received the skins~”

Zhou Ziqiu: “?”

“I didn’t have time to prepare a gift for your birthday, and I noticed you seemed to lack skins, so I bought all the couple skins I could find and sent them to you. There are a few more really nice ones; I’ll buy them when they come back on sale, okay? This way, we can always use couple skins when we duo queue~”

Her tone was cheerful and expectant, just like those girls in class when they talked about buying couple items with their boyfriends.

A warmth spread through Zhou Ziqiu’s heart as he held his phone tighter, then calmly asked, “Didn’t I only have one last order with you?”

“Yeah, Shang Huai told me you’re about to take your exams. You’re a top student, so you need to study seriously for each test. I didn’t want to bother you this month, but once your exams are over, we can duo queue again~”

Her voice was so naturally light and it sounded like she had planned it this way all along.

Zhou Ziqiu opened the game, looked at the couple skins, lowered his eyes, and asked, “You don’t look for other companions?”

“I do, but it’s just to barely get by. None of them have your good temper, skill, or voice, so I still prefer you the most~”

The new companion today, though skilled, spoke with an irritatingly greasy tone and blindly blamed teammates, unlike Zhou Ziqiu who was much more comfortable to play with.

“So, Gege, can we use the couple skins next time we duo queue? It makes me so unhappy seeing other duos have them while I don’t.”

Shen Jiayan’s thoughts were very simple; he just wanted a reliable partner to rank up with and use the beautiful skins together.

And because he was also a boy, he didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate about his words and actions.

But to Zhou Ziqiu, it meant something entirely different.

Other companions were just cold-blooded ranking tools, but he was different.

Other companions didn’t deserve to use the couple skins, but he could.

Other companions were just “Gege,” but he was “Gege~.”

Thinking about the flowers and cake from before, Zhou Ziqiu, as if trying to confirm something, tightened his grip on his phone and said softly, “It’s okay. I still play games while studying. Anytime you want to play, just let me know. I won’t charge you.”

“Really?”

Her voice was filled with undeniable surprise and joy.

Zhou Ziqiu’s eyes showed a hint of a smile, his voice also becoming gentler: “Yeah, really. But there’s a condition.”

“Okay, tell me~”

“Don’t look for other companions anymore. Don’t add them on WeChat, don’t call them Gege, and don’t let them see your photos.”

Having a permanent, free, reliable, handsome partner who satisfied her voice and hand control needs, why would she look for others?

Shen Jiayan didn’t pick up on the underlying meaning and was just thrilled by this unexpected good fortune, immediately agreeing, “Okay! From now on, you are my only Gege~ And only you can see my photos~”

Listening to her unhesitating, sweet, and joyful response, Zhou Ziqiu felt the inexplicable sourness, softness, and frustration in his heart finally dissipate.

Having a sweet, obedient, and slightly silly online girlfriend turned out to be pretty nice.

Standing under the night sky on the first day of being eighteen, Zhou Ziqiu chuckled softly and replied, “Mn, good.”

• 1
  水滸傳; one of the Four Classics Chinese Novels, written by Shi Nai’an. It’s also known as “Outlaws of the Marsh” and “All Men are Brothers”. In the story, there’s a group of 108 outlaws gathered at Mount Liang who rebel against the Northern Song Dynasty government, hence why ZZQ said this comment to SJY.
• 2
  his username is 哥哥稳带飞. If translated literally it would be “Brother who can take you to fly steadily”. “Take you to fly” is to carry someone in game. He’s called “Fei-ge” because 飞(fly) is read as Fei.
• 3
  aka. Absolute Territory. I’m using the Japanese term because 1) it’s a Hatsune Miku cosplay and 2) it came from Japan.