Chapter 4 Brother, You Smell So Good

Chapter 4: Brother, You Smell So Good

A startlingly sharp sound jolted Jiang Jiang awake. He opened his bleary eyes, his vision not yet fully focused, and saw a brown-and-white blur rushing toward him.

"Wer!"

A little beagle suddenly appeared.

Jiang Jiang and this overly friendly beagle stared at each other.

The little beagle was excited, the little beagle took off, the little beagle pounced—

Jiang Jiang instinctively caught it, ending up with a beagle in his arms and a bit of slobber on his face.

Most of his sleepiness vanished instantly.

So cute!

Meanwhile, the beagle's owner was still over ten meters away.

"Xiao Lv!" Lu Nanzhou's voice carried a hint of warning as he quickened his pace.

Xiao Lv paused its wriggling in Jiang Jiang's arms for a second, then continued rolling around while letting out "wer" sounds.

The beagle heard, but the beagle didn't want to listen.

Lu Nanzhou was starting to regret buying the 20-meter-long leash just so Xiao Lv could run more comfortably.

Yes, this beagle belonged to Lu Nanzhou.

Three years ago, Lu's mother insisted he get a dog to "make him seem more human," practically forcing it on him.

Lu Nanzhou had refused, of course. His mother gave him a choice: get a dog or go on blind dates.

So, he ended up raising it for three years.

His home went from a sleek, cold aesthetic to a sleek, cold aesthetic that looked like it had been chewed on by a dog.

Interior decorator Xiao Lv: That's right, I did it!

"It's you?" Lu Nanzhou approached and realized the boy his Xiao Lv had latched onto was Jiang Jiang.

Jiang Jiang looked up, holding the beagle.

Today's Lu Nanzhou looked very different from the one at the banquet. He wore a gray tracksuit, his build tall and lean. His hair was casually loose, the strands at his forehead tousled by the river breeze, making him look much younger than he did at the banquet.

"Brother, what a coincidence," Jiang Jiang put on an expression of pleasant surprise.

"Quite the coincidence," Lu Nanzhou said flatly.

He didn't believe this was a simple coincidence.

His gaze lingered on Jiang Jiang's face, trying to read him.

But all he saw were the physiological tears welling in the other's eyes from a yawn.

Xiao Lv looked at one, then the other, then turned to Lu Nanzhou.

"Wer!"

The staring contest between the two humans was interrupted.

"Werwerwer!"

This is the playmate I found, take him home for me.

Xiao Lv clung tightly to Jiang Jiang, its tail wagging like a propeller.

Lu Nanzhou: ...

What a disgraceful dog.

"Xiao Lv, down," the man's voice was low.

Xiao Lv simply turned its head and buried it in Jiang Jiang's chest.

I'm a dog, human words, I don't understand.

Lu Nanzhou leaned down, preparing to personally lift this shameless creature off.

As he drew closer, a faint, refreshing scent drifted into Jiang Jiang's nostrils. It didn't seem like perfume, but it was exceptionally crisp and pleasant.

Jiang Jiang sniffed a few times like a puppy.

"Brother, you smell so good."

Lu Nanzhou's movement halted.

He placed his hands on the back of the bench behind Jiang Jiang, forming an imposing posture, and looked down at the cheeky guy before him, his eyes narrowing slightly. "No one has ever dared to flirt with me before."

"Well, now someone has," Jiang Jiang tilted his head. "So this is actually brother's first time."

Lu Nanzhou: ...

"So, what perfume are you wearing, brother?"

"Hah, you..." Lu Nanzhou started to say something.

Xiao Lv, seemingly sensing the tense atmosphere, suddenly shoved its head between the two, blocking their mouths.

"Wer! Wer!"

Don't fight! Look at me!

Lu Nanzhou: ...

Forget it.

He pried Xiao Lv's paws off Jiang Jiang and lifted the dog down.

The warm, furry bundle was gone from his arms.

For a moment, both the human and the dog felt a bit reluctant.

Wer!

My human.

"Ah..." little beagle.

"It's not perfume." He straightened up and tidied his clothes that had been rumpled by Xiao Lv, his tone flat. "It's probably the scent of laundry detergent."

As he spoke, he held back Xiao Lv, who was still trying to lunge at Jiang Jiang.

There was a two-second silence, filled only with Xiao Lv's dissatisfied "werwer" sounds.

Jiang Jiang took another couple of sniffs. "It smells really good."

Lu Nanzhou said casually, "If you like it..."

"I do," Jiang Jiang immediately jumped in.

Silence again.

Lu Nanzhou paused, meeting his expectant gaze.

Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Jiang immediately pulled out his phone, opened his WeChat QR code, and shoved it toward him. "Bro, add me and shoot me the brand of that laundry detergent, okay?"

The business card he received at the last banquet had a number that was clearly a work account when searched.

He wasn't about to add a work account.

Lu Nanzhou took his phone from his pocket, his slender fingers tapping a few times.

"I want your personal one," Jiang Jiang bravely requested.

"You're really brave," 404, his system, remarked.

This was the bravest host he had ever managed, and of course, also the most difficult one.

"Asking isn't against the law."

......

"Beep."

Indeed, the brave get to enjoy the world first.

Jiang Jiang successfully added Lu Nanzhou's personal WeChat.

With an amiable wave, he said in a cheerful tone, "Bro, go take the dog for a walk. I won't keep you any longer."

Lu Nanzhou silently led Xiao Lv away.

"Werwerwer~" Xiao Lv let out a long howl.

Goodbye, Xiao Lv's new friend. Xiao Lv will miss you.

Jiang Jiang watched him walk away before finally clicking on Lu Nanzhou's profile picture. It was a photo of the ocean, and the name was simply his initials: LNZ.

His Moments were set to visible for only the last three days, and they were completely empty.

"Such a boring Moments," he muttered, casually adding the nickname "Detergent Bro" to the contact.

......

After going home and catching up on some sleep, Jiang Jiang went out to find something to eat.

Eating alone was too boring, so Jiang Jiang scrolled through his contacts and found his cousin on WeChat.

"Five-star red flag fluttering in the wind, how loud the song of victory is."

"Such a patriotic ringtone."

Call declined.

"Five-star red flag fluttering in the wind, how loud the song of victory is."

This time, the call finally connected.

"Shuai Shuai~"

The voice on the other end was highly suspicious. "What do you want?"

"Treating you to a meal. Wanna go?"

"Just a meal?"

"Mhm mhm."

It was no wonder Gu Shuaishuai was so cautious; these were painful lessons learned from the past.

his cousin had such an innocent look. Every time they went out, if any trouble occurred, Jiang Jiang would just blink his big eyes, and their family's hearts would melt, leaving Gu Shuaishuai to take the blame.

He had been the fall guy for Jiang Jiang countless times since childhood.

At the entrance of A University.

A handsome guy with a buzz cut was staring at his phone.

"Shuai Shuai, over here!" Jiang Jiang saw Gu Shuaishuai first and waved at him.

It was summer break, so the area near the campus was very quiet.

"Eating here?" Gu Shuaishuai was a bit puzzled.

Both were students at A University. Jiang Jiang was starting his third year, and Gu Shuaishuai his second. They had already eaten at every place around the campus.

Why eat here during summer break?

Jiang Jiang chuckled. "To commemorate my lost, beautiful dining times."

"Speak human."

"I'm craving the barbecue from the south gate."

Hearing this, Gu Shuaishuai's mouth watered too.

Probably because it was summer break, the barbecue place wasn't busy even at peak hour.

"Welcome." The owner at the register looked up to greet them and then smiled. "Oh, it's you."

"Yeah, it's me." Jiang Jiang nodded. "Boss, got any fresh beef today?"

"We do." The owner led them to a table. "Which cut?"

Jiang Jiang skillfully finished ordering before remembering his cousin across from him.

As soon as he looked up, he saw a stunning beauty walk in.

It was an androgynous face, with smooth, dark hair loosely tied back and a few strands falling by the cheeks.

"Wow." Jiang Jiang's gaze followed the beauty.

Gu Shuaishuai also turned toward the sound.

Seemingly noticing their gaze, the beauty glanced over as well.

Jiang Jiang flashed his trademark smile.

The man nodded back at him, returning a friendly smile.

"Ding, impression points +5, current impression value 30."

Jiang Jiang's attention was entirely on the stunning man, completely unaware that the tall guy beside him had been glaring the whole time.

Only upon hearing the system's prompt did he withdraw his gaze.

He was already used to this system's unreliability—it was probably the impression points from this morning only being awarded now.

......

"Wife, do you know him?"

"No, I don't," the beauty frowned. "And I've told you not to call me that in public."

"Then why did you smile at him?" The guy's tone was sour enough to dip dumplings in.

"Lu Xingye," Jiang Heyao used his chopsticks to snap open the plastic packaging of the disposable utensils. "Don't make me slap you in the best damn restaurant in the world."

Lu Xingye instantly backed down, like a large dog whose scruff had been grabbed.

He turned his head aside and muttered quietly, "You only know how to tell me off."

Jiang Heyao lifted his eyes, his tone flat. "My fault?"

"A teacher from our school?" Jiang Jiang became intrigued. "And he shares my surname too—what a coincidence."

"...Because he's so good-looking, people crash his classes. If you're late, there won't even be seats left." Gu Shuaishuai said while flipping the meat. "Last year during the campus beauty contest, someone posted Teacher Jiang's photo, and he won first place."

"Ah, I remember now. I think I heard classmates mention it back then. Unfortunately, I was busy learning to drive a tractor around that time, so I didn't pay much attention." Jiang Jiang slapped his forehead, finally digging out this vague memory.

Gu Shuaishuai's mouth twitched. "...And you have the nerve to bring that up?"

He would never forget that National Day Holiday when Jiang Jiang, for some reason, suddenly got it into his head to get a tractor license and insisted on dragging him along.

When he refused, Jiang Jiang went to his parents and charmed them so thoroughly that they were overjoyed, packing him off to Jiang Jiang overnight.

If it were just learning, that would be one thing, but it happened to coincide with the cotton harvest. Jiang Jiang's enthusiasm for applying his skills was unprecedentedly high. Whenever he had free time, he would drag him to the village to help the locals haul cotton.

They hauled for a whole month.

As a result, during that period, he dreamed at night with the sound of tractors "putt-putt-putting" in his ears.

"Why wouldn't I? Didn't Granny Li and Grandpa Zhang specially make you a cotton quilt in the end? I remember you were so moved you almost cried." Jiang Jiang grinned, teasing him.

Gu Shuaishuai admitted he was quite touched when he received the twenty-jin (22-pound) cotton quilt.

That night, he went home and immediately turned the air conditioner to 17 degrees, covering himself with Granny Li and Grandpa Zhang's heavy love.

It was just a bit too heavy, so much so that he dreamed he was crushed under Five Finger Mountain and couldn't climb out no matter what.

"I was moved... literally immobile." After covering himself, he could hardly even turn over.

Gu Shuaishuai said expressionlessly, "It even cured my habit of tossing and turning in my sleep."

"Bahahahahahahahaha!"

Gu Shuaishuai dutifully grilled, while Jiang Jiang ate with a clear conscience.

"Burp." Jiang Jiang let out a satisfied belch. "I'm going to the restroom."

"Bam—"

Just after coming out of the restroom, Jiang Jiang ran smack into someone.

He looked up and saw it was the beautiful teacher from earlier, breaking into a bright smile.

Jiang Heyao was knocked back two steps. Recognizing the boy who had been staring intently earlier, he raised an eyebrow. Before he could speak, Lu Xingye had already stepped forward to block him, his tone aggressive. "Hey! Watch where you're going!"

Jiang Jiang's gaze shifted from the beautiful teacher's face to the guy standing between them, his smile dropping.

That face was undoubtedly handsome, but his eyes carried a hint of youthful cockiness. A few strands of hair casually fell across his forehead, and he looked at Jiang Jiang with his chin slightly raised.

Although there was a vague sense of familiarity, Jiang Jiang found him somewhat irritating for some reason.

He raised his hand, made a fist, and extended his index finger. "First, my name isn't 'hey,' it's Jiang Jiang."

Author's Note:

----------------------

Jiang Jiang: This system is really unreliable.

404: This host is really unreliable.

The first three chapters have been revised~

Note: [1] From the song "Singing for the Motherland."