DPPM Side Story – ZhouShen (Part 4)

|| “Little Milk Strawberry, do you want to see me?” 

T/L: there’s three scenes from previous chapters. I didn’t copy-paste it from those chapters, so the translation/content will be slightly different. 

The day before Christmas Eve was the day of the award ceremony for the English speech competition that Song Yan participated in.

Class 1’s head teacher, Ruan Tian, a kind and open-minded person, knew that Zhou Ziqiu, Song Yan, and Xia Zhiyie were close friends. After the evening self-study session, she took them out for a celebration dinner.

Somehow, Xia Zhiyie, that shameless guy, did something to Song Yan and accidentally got caught by Chen Rui from the neighboring school. In the end, the two of them came back with a bunch of ridiculous stories about online dating.

Ruan Tian started her earnest advice: “I’m not against all online dating, but there are special circumstances.”

“You see, with today’s advanced technology, many photos and videos might not be real. The person behind an online account might not be who you think they are, and they could have other motives or just be playing around. You guys are still young, and it’s easy to get emotional and hurt. In such cases, you need to know how to protect yourself. Do you understand what I mean?”

Xia Zhiyie, someone utterly shameless, replied without changing his expression, “Yes, I understand, Laoshi. Don’t worry, I will definitely protect myself and won’t let online dating affect my studies.”

Ruan Tian then looked at the others, “Did you all hear what Laoshi just said?”

“Got it!” Little Fatty and Zhao Ruiwen were very cooperative. After replying, they glanced at Zhou Ziqiu, “Did you hear that, Mr. Internet addict?”

Zhou Ziqiu, the Mr. Internet addict, nonchalantly picked up a piece of fatty beef with his chopsticks, “I heard it. I’m not stupid. I can tell if the person on the other side is a guy or a girl, good or bad.”

Indeed, he only denied the possibility of being deceived but did not deny the possibility of online dating.

Because he was, in fact, in an online relationship.

Even though he hadn’t told anyone, he was indeed in an online relationship.

His online girlfriend was sweet, obedient, and knew how to act coquettish. She had a great temper and knew how to care for people.

She would say “Good morning, Gege~ mwah” every morning and “Good night, Gege~ mwah” every night.

She would buy him milk tea, flowers, and couple skins for the game.

She had blocked all other male companions for him and only called him brother.

She would angrily defend him in the game and, whenever she messed up, have her little Daji in a pink maid outfit dance around him to cheer him up.

Whenever he wanted to return the favor with a gift, she would just say, “Gege, spending time with me makes me very happy. I don’t want you to waste money.”

With a voice that sweet and a person that gentle, who didn’t care about money or looks, could she be a guy? Could she be a scammer?

Impossible.

So Zhou Ziqiu felt that getting scammed in an online relationship was simply impossible for him.

Besides, he wasn’t like Xia Zhiye, who would bend like a paperclip at the sight of Song Yan.

He was a straight steel man and could easily tell if the person on the other side was male or female.

What a joke.

Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he took it out to check.

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Gege~ Gege~ Are you home yet?

Zhou Ziqiu quickly replied.

[The Handsomest Zhou Xiaoqiu in the World]: Not yet, what’s up?

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: The city delivery I ordered is on its way! Make sure you sign for it when you get home~

[The Handsomest Zhou Xiaoqiu in the World]: What did you buy this time?

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Nothing much! It’s not expensive! Just a little Christmas Eve gift! A small token of my appreciation~

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Oh, by the way, Gege, can you be online before midnight?

[The Handsomest Zhou Xiaoqiu in the World]: Why?

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: No special reason, just that there’s an event in “Nine Swords” at midnight. Can you join?

“Nine Swords” was an online game that Milk Strawberry recently got Zhou Ziqiu to play. Basically, Little Milk Strawberry focused on dressing up her character beautifully, while Zhou Ziqiu was responsible for training soldiers, fighting in the arena, and completing dungeons.

They even got a marriage bond in the game, bought a house, and Milk Strawberry was even planning to get a high-spirit root baby.

Zhou Ziqiu wasn’t particularly interested in such online games, but seeing Milk Strawberry so happy and enthusiastic every day in the game, he found it somewhat amusing and decided to play along with her.

As for what event she was talking about, he wasn’t sure. It was probably a new boss or some new rewards. Without him, with Milk Strawberry’s skills, she’d likely get bullied.

Thinking of this, Zhou Ziqiu immediately put away his phone, stood up, and said, “I’ve got something to do, I’m heading back first.”

Without waiting for further questions from the group, he quickly left without looking back.

He arrived just in time, right before midnight. As soon as he logged in, Milk Strawberry’s avatar, dressed in a red fox costume, hopped up to him, “Gege~ Gege~ Click follow me~”

Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t help but smile slightly as he watched the fox tail swaying back and forth, “Okay.”

Then he clicked follow.

Soon, the male character dressed in a white tiger robe followed the little fox demon running towards the teleport point.

Although the server had just launched, this couple, one with money and the other with skills, had already made a name for themselves. Running through the area with such a display of “the fox borrowing the tiger’s might” attracted quite a bit of attention. (an idiom. It means someone weak using a strong person’s might to act tough)

But Milk Strawberry didn’t seem to care at all. She led Zhou Ziqiu all the way to the peak of Lover’s Mountain, picked a spot, stopped, and canceled the follow. “Gege! Close your eyes! Open them when I tell you to!”

“Okay.”

Zhou Ziqiu responded, but he didn’t really close his eyes. Instead, he watched the little fox demon on the screen bend down, wagging her tail, pulling out fireworks, lighting them, and then shouting, “Gege! It’s ready!”

Then, with a “whoosh,” a brilliant firework burst into the night sky in the game, displaying the words “Peace and Joy” on the screen. Another “whoosh” followed, and another firework lit up the sky.

The third, the fourth, the fifth…

It seemed endless and limitless. 

Until the system notification at the bottom right of the screen announced, “Player [The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World] lit 999 limited edition Christmas Eve fireworks for player [The Handsomest Zhou Xiaoqiu in the World],” the world finally returned to quiet.

In the voice chat, Milk Strawberry softly said, “I hope Zhou Ziqiu will always be safe and happy in his studies and everything else.”

At that moment, Zhou Ziqiu felt something deep inside him being touched. He gripped the mouse a little tighter, wanting to say something, but his nature held him back.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. He opened it to find a delivery man with a large box and a small box. “Are you Mr. Zhou Ziqiu? Here’s your Christmas Eve gift.”

“Yes, thank you.”

He signed for the packages, took them back to his room, and opened them. Inside the small box was a peace apple, and inside the large box was a pair of cashmere gloves embroidered with little pink hearts. There was also a greeting card that read, “Merry Christmas Eve, Gege!”

Signed: Little Milk Strawberry *^o^*

Zhou Ziqiu sat at his desk, gently running his fingers over the words “Little Milk Strawberry,” his eyelashes lowered, not saying a word.

Unable to bear the silence, Shen Jiayan in the voice chat spoke up first, “Gege, why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t you like it?”

“No, I like it.”

He liked it very much. So much so that in that instant, Zhou Ziqiu was struck by a sudden impulse, “Little Milk Strawberry, do you want to meet me?”

“???”

Shen Jiayan was so shocked that he immediately typed out three question marks. Meet? Why does Zhou Ziqiu want to meet?

Did Zhou Ziqiu find out he was a guy? That couldn’t be. He had been pretending well. 

Thinking about the countless times his heart had raced because of Zhou Ziqiu’s strong, boyfriend-like protection in the game and his occasional indulgent, helpless laughter, Shen Jiayan felt that Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t possibly know he was a guy. Even though he was starting to believe he genuinely liked Zhou Ziqiu, how could Zhou Ziqiu, a straight guy, ever figure it out?

With this thought, Shen Jiayan felt more confident and asked, “Why do you suddenly want to meet?”

‘Because I want to see you in person, then seriously ask you if you’re willing to really be with me.’

Although Zhou Ziqiu felt their relationship was already tacitly understood, they had never formally confessed their feelings to each other. He didn’t even know Little Strawberry’s real name, and many things still needed to be properly clarified. Online interactions were ultimately not official enough. Confessions had to be made in person to be truly meaningful, and relationships had to be confirmed face-to-face to be genuinely established.

He had been thinking about finding the right time to suggest meeting up, and after much deliberation, he finally made up his mind today, believing there was no better time than now.

Taking a long, velvet-lined box from his drawer, he opened it to reveal a red crystal necklace shaped like a strawberry. The necklace was a bit too expensive for him, but he thought it would suit Milk Strawberry perfectly. So, he worked late nights as a game booster and saved up diligently, eventually managing to buy it.

Looking at the necklace, he said softly, “It’s nothing, I just want to give you a gift.”

“Oh, I see.” Shen Jiayan was instantly relieved, “Then send it to me~ I’ll give you my address~”

“This gift can’t be sent. It has to be given in person.”

“Ah…” Shen Jiayan’s relief turned to disappointment again, “So what do we do?”

“I can come to Beijing during the New Year holiday.”

“???” Shen Jiayan was once again shocked into typing three question marks, quickly saying, “No, no, no, don’t come to Beijing to find me!”

Zhou Ziqiu：“？”

Shen Jiayan’s limited brain cells were working tirelessly to spin an excuse. “Beijing’s winter is too cold! You’re from the south, and you’ll get sick. I’d be heartbroken!”

“But I don’t really mind the cold…”

“Oh no! My mom’s here! Gege, I’ve got to go! Talk later!”

With that, Shen Jiayan quickly hung up the call and commented on Zhou Ziqiu’s recent WeChat Moment about the Christmas Eve gifts, leaving a “[Gege, as long as you like it *^o^*]” before tossing his phone aside and sprawling out on his bed, letting out a long sigh of relief.

That was close. Zhou Ziqiu almost found out that he was actually a guy.

He couldn’t let Zhou Ziqiu find out. Otherwise, Zhou Ziqiu might stop helping him rank up in games.

As he was thinking this, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He thought it was Zhou Ziqiu, but when he checked, he saw that it was Song Yan. Song Yan had sent a screenshot of Zhou Ziqiu’s WeChat Moment and asked, “[What’s going on?]”

Shen Jiayan replied honestly, [Nothing special, just thanking him for helping me rank up. Sent him some Christmas Eve gifts.]

However, Song Yan’s next message left him stunned: [Aren’t you two dating online?]

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: ???

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Song Yan! What are you saying! Don’t tarnish my innocence! I’m still a pure-hearted virgin, okay?!

Song Yan replied with another screenshot: [Take a look yourself.]

Seeing the screenshot where Zhou Ziqiu admitted that the gifts were from his girlfriend, Shen Jiayan was first stunned, then shocked: [Damn, when did I become his girlfriend?! How come I didn’t know?!]

Song Yan, being straightforward and logical, replied: [Think about it. Besides calling him Gegeand sending him gifts, have you done anything else that might make him misunderstand?]

Shen Jiayan thought carefully: [Let me think.]

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Today is Christmas Eve, right? There was an event in an online game. I was bored, so I bought 999 limited-edition fireworks and set them off for him. Does that count?

[YAN]: ?

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: But that was to thank him for helping me reach the top ten in the server’s arena!

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Oh, and whenever there are couple skins, I always buy them for him. Could he be overthinking it? But I just want to hear the special voice lines.

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: Also, when I mess up in the game, I’ll buy him some milk tea and sing to cheer him up so he doesn’t get mad and stop playing with me. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything else.

Song Yan was silent.

After a while, a message came through: [Let me ask you, if a girl was being cute, playful, and romantic with you every day, and then gave you pink heart gloves on Christmas Eve, what would you think?]

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: She’s totally in love with me.

[YAN]: Exactly.

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: But I’m a guy! And Zhou Ziqiu’s a guy! It’s different!

[YAN]: Does he know you’re a guy?

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: …Fuck! I totally missed that!

‘Right! Zhou Ziqiu doesn’t know I’m a guy!’

‘So even if he’s a straight guy, he might have fallen for me!’

‘What do I do now?!’

Shen Jiayan quickly sought help from his smartest friend, Song Yan.

Song Yan only gave him one piece of advice: The longer you drag this out, the worse it will be. If you come clean, you might still survive until your eighteenth birthday.

But because Shen Jiayan had repeated a grade due to a severe illness in elementary school, he would be turning 18 in just a few days. Doing the math, he realized he didn’t have much time left.

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: …grievance.

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: I’ll find a good opportunity to talk to him then. [Meow Meow is Sad.jpg] 

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: But what if he really gets mad at me? How do I cheer him up?

[YAN]: ?

[The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World]: ??

[YAN]: Why do you need to cheer up a gaming companion? 

Song Yan’s words made Shen Jiayan pause for a moment. Right, why does he need to cheer up a gaming companion?

It’s a straightforward transaction, if he’s unhappy, they can just go their separate ways, right?

But why is he so afraid of Zhou Ziqiu finding out? Why is he so afraid of Zhou Ziqiu getting mad? Why is he so afraid of Zhou Ziqiu not liking him anymore?

Could it be because Zhou Ziqiu has a particularly nice voice? Because Zhou Ziqiu always protects and supports him? Because Zhou Ziqiu, even though he doesn’t talk much, is always patient and kind to him?

After a brief moment of contemplation, Shen Jiayan provided a perfect answer: [Because he’s really good at gaming!!!]

Exactly, that’s the reason.

The world of a rank chaser is that simple.

Shen Jiayan felt completely convinced by his own logic. Zhou Ziqiu is just a good gaming companion. There are plenty of good players out there. If Zhou Ziqiu gets too mad, he can always find another one.

But…

Thinking about Zhou Ziqiu’s moments, and that line he just said softly, “Little Milk Strawberry, do you want to see me? I want to give you a gift,” Shen Jiayan suddenly felt inexplicably sour.

Feeling uncomfortable.

–He didn’t know why, though. 

Maybe he still felt bad about deceiving Zhou Ziqiu. 

Shen Jiayan pursed his lips, after a brief thought, he decided to take out his phone, open [The Handsomest Zhou Xiaoqiu in the World]’s chat: [Gege, don’t come to Beijing, let me come to Nanwu to see you, I want to talk to you in person]

The moment Zhou Ziqiu saw this message, the corners of his lips involuntarily curved upwards, his eyes softened, unable to hide his smile. [Mn, okay]

–

After that night, Milk Strawberry seemed to be facing some kind of exam, and she became busy all of a sudden.

She hadn’t been online on King’s Glory, League of Legends, or PUBG Mobile for a long time. When Zhou Ziqiu asked her about it, she just sweetly said she was too busy studying recently, and as usual, she attached cute emojis at the end.

So Zhou Ziqiu didn’t pay much attention, thinking that it was just the end of term, and Milk Strawberry, this junior high school slacker, had started cramming at the last minute.

They were both in their second year of high school, both studying liberal arts. Zhou Ziqiu’s grades were pretty good, so he organized his notes and review materials, printed them out, bound them into a book, and marked them with color-coded pens, ready to express-mail them to Milk Strawberry before the final exams.

Even during the New Year’s Day camping trip, Zhou Ziqiu was still busy in the tent with a flashlight.

Seeing him buried in books, his classmate, Little Fatty, couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, Qiu-ge, you don’t love studying that much, do you? Are you in such a hurry tonight under these dim lights?”

He wasn’t in a hurry, but Milk Strawberry was.

With her shaky foundation, she hadn’t even figured out basic concepts like “convex high, concave low.” If he didn’t hurry up and send her the materials, she’d probably fail the final exams.

On the other side, Zhao Ruiwen approached, took a look at the materials, flipped through a few pages, and couldn’t help blurting out, “Really, Qiu-ge, do you need to review such basic content? It’s not like you.”

Zhou Ziqiu didn’t lift his head, his expression unchanged, casually replied, “No, I’m not reviewing it for myself, I’m showing it to my girlfriend.”

“???”

“!!!”

“Zhou Ziqiu, you really have a girlfriend? I thought you were just kidding around!”

“You traitor!”

“What class is your girlfriend in?”

“Is she pretty?”

“How did you meet?”

“Do you still have single female friends?”

The string of questions from the two perennial bachelors couldn’t shake Zhou Ziqiu’s annotation speed at all. He continued to slide the pen tip swiftly while casually answering, “No, she’s not from our school, she’s from Beijing, she’s pretty, we met through gaming, and she doesn’t have any single female friends.”

“From Beijing? And you’re in a long-distance relationship?!”

“Zhou Ziqiu, are you out of your mind? Didn’t you hear from Tian-mei how unreliable an online relationship was last time?”

“Just look, there’s that Wang Ergou from the next class. Last month, he got scammed out of thousands of yuan in an online relationship, supposedly to buy a phone for his little girlfriend, but it turned out to be a creepy middle-aged man on the other end.”

“Oh, and then there’s Liu Sanyan from the class next door. She thought she found true love, but it turns out the guy was talking to five other women online, and the first one he talked to even came to school to argue with her.”

“So, online relationships are unreliable, Bro.”

“Yeah, they’re really unreliable. Don’t let yourself be scammed out of money or deceived.”

Listening to the two lamenting about the unreliability of online relationships, Zhou Ziqiu finally stopped writing, lifted his eyelids slightly, and asked them, “Do you think I’m stupid?”

Little Fatty and Zhao Ruiwen: “…”

“You can’t say that, Bro.” Little Fatty, accustomed to being a know-it-all, said, “There’s a saying, ‘A man in love has zero IQ.’ It’s not that we think you’re stupid, it’s just that the enemy is too cunning. Anyway, you shouldn’t let your guard down.”

“Don’t worry, she’s not that kind of person,” Zhou Ziqiu lowered his eyelashes again, “I talk to her every day via voice chat, and I’ve seen her photos. Can’t I tell if she’s a man or a woman? And she’s never asked me for anything, she’s always the one giving me things. Every time I try to give her something, she refuses. Since we’ve been together, she hasn’t looked for any other gaming companion. She’s deleted all those opposite sexes, so there’s no way she’s cheating on me. Are you reassured now?”

Zhao Ruiwen asked, “Are you sure?”

Zhou Ziqiu was very confident. “Absolutely sure and definitely. I’m not a fool, my IQ is not negative.”

“…”

Zhou Ziqiu usually seemed quite reliable.

“Alright then, we wish you guys the best!” Zhao Ruiwen felt that since things had come to this, blessings were the best encouragement for friends. “Okay, stop being busy now, let’s go find Lord Xia and Yan-ge to buy drinks. I don’t understand why you guys are all into online relationships.”

At this moment, Zhao Ruiwen was still in the dark. He thought that Xia Zhiye and Song Yan had been secretly plotting against each other, and their relationship had soured over a female online friend. It caused Zhao Ruiwen great distress.

“How come you guys, Lord Xia and Yan-ge, who used to get along so well, are now at each other’s throats every day? If your great friendship is broken like this, how sad… Oh my god! What are you two doing!”

As the three of them leisurely walked around the huge tent, they immediately saw Xia Zhiye sitting on a chair with Song Yan straddling his lap, the two of them very close together, facing each other, with an ambiguous atmosphere.

Any adult could tell what was happening or about to happen.

Little Fatty and Zhou Ziqiu were amused on the spot.

Xia Zhiye and Song Yan, these two lovey-dovey paper clips, were finally going to crash today.

Anyway, Zhao Ruiwen was an outsider, just watching the fun for his own entertainment.

Zhou Ziqiu just leaned lazily against the tent with his hands in his pockets, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his lips, intending to watch the show and lighten his mood.

And Zhao Ruiwen was even more excited than he had imagined, clenching his fists, his face turning red, angrily shouting, “You two are going too far! How can you do this! Are you still human!”

“？”

Zhao Ruiwen’s reaction was so intense? He couldn’t accept a homosexual relationship? Although Zhou Ziqiu was slightly taken aback, Xia Zhiye and Song Yan were already his friends, it shouldn’t come to this.

Thinking so, Zhou Ziqiu intended to intervene, but just as he was about to stand up, he heard Zhao Ruiwen’s extremely sorrowful and angry voice, “Having an affair is one thing! But is this how you treat The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World!”

Initially, Zhou Ziqiu, who was just enjoying the drama, suddenly froze in place. After a brief moment of confusion, he looked at Zhao Ruiwen as if he hadn’t realized who he was. “Who are you?”

“The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World,” Zhao Ruiwen explained indignantly, “Song Yan’s girlfriend, such a cute girl, yet she’s been deceived by Song Yan like this! It’s too much! I never expected Song Yan to be such a scumbag! Do you want to be a deceitful gay?!”

Zhao Ruiwen was visibly in a state of fury.

However, Zhou Ziqiu couldn’t empathize with his anger anymore.

All he could think about was: The Sweetest Little Milk Strawberry in the World? Song Yan’s girlfriend?

How could his sweet, obedient, and loyal little girlfriend be Song Yan’s girlfriend?

Isn’t he her only Gege?

Isn’t Song Yan only like men? 

How could they share a girlfriend?

Zhou Ziqiu looked at Song Yan in disbelief.

The moment Song Yan met his gaze, he lowered his head and sighed helplessly on Xia Zhine’s shoulder, seemingly already aware of the situation and silently accepting it.

At that moment, a surge of unprecedented anger from being deceived, heartbreak from betrayal, and the bitter sadness of liking someone for the first time only to find out it’s all fake, overwhelmed Zhou Ziqiu.

So much so that he had to tightly clench his fists, squeezing his palms, trying to control his emotions.

Otherwise, he didn’t know what impulsive actions he might take.

However, Shen Jiayan was unaware of all this. He just stood in the night of Nanwu, took a deep breath, and then, thinking he would soon see Zhou Ziqiu, smiled happily.

He believed that he could definitely appease Zhou Ziqiu because Zhou Ziqiu always indulged him and never truly got angry with him. Plus, he had brought a “secret weapon” with him, ensuring Zhou Ziqiu would get happy.

So, with a happy heart, he opened Zhou Ziqiu’s chat and sent a WeChat message: [Gege~ I’ve arrived in Nanwu~ Will you come to the hotel to find me~]