Chapter 4

Chapter 4

And so, I started living at Ethan Zhou's place.

After living with Ethan Zhou day and night, I realized that a six-year age gap could create a generation gap between two people who were both in their twenties.

For example, the outfits I thought were fashionable, Ethan Zhou saw as outlandish; the instant food I thought was delicious, Ethan Zhou saw as slow-acting poison.

I even had to order takeout in secret.

Ethan Zhou was a game designer—a job that supposedly required staying up late to find inspiration. But he insisted on going to bed early and getting up early: he usually went to bed around 9 PM, got up at 6 AM to go to the gym, and started working at his studio at 8 AM.

As a genuine post-2000s kid, I would stay up late if I could and never get up early unless I had an 8 AM class. But because I was afraid of disturbing Ethan Zhou, I even had to whisper when chatting with my fans.

One night, a fan named "Naughty Sweetie" left a comment in my live stream: "Olivia, why are you speaking so quietly?"

I glanced at the comment and replied helplessly, "I can't help it. The elderly at home go to bed early, so I have to talk like this."

"Poor Olivia—still having to hide her phone under the covers even in her twenties."

"Exactly! Parents these days are more controlling than the Milky Way is wide."

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Not sure if it was guilt or something else, I quickly hid my phone under the pillow, then pretended I'd just been woken up, rubbing my eyes as I went to open the door.

"Aren't you... asleep yet?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

Ethan Zhou gave me a quick glance. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, but as I watched, that smile gradually changed—he spoke with a hint of implication. "The elderly can't sleep, so I'm just wandering around."

I was instantly wide awake, forcing an awkward laugh. "You're really good at joking."

But he didn't buy it. He held out his hand directly, his voice cold. "Give me your phone."

"How did you see it?"

"Short video apps push nearby users."

Seeing that I'd been caught, I decided to throw caution to the wind. "I'm already 22 years old! You can't take away my right to have a night life!"

Is there anyone else who gets their phone confiscated at 22?

"What I know is that your dad entrusted you to me, so I have the right to discipline you. Every year, as many as 550,000 people in the country die suddenly from staying up late. If I keep letting you do this, what if something happens to you one day? I won't be able to explain it to Miss Lin."

There was that "Miss Lin" again. He really was Dad's die-hard fan.

Before leaving, Ethan Zhou didn't forget to remind me. "Someone seemed to make a grand promise to cook all my meals. Don't forget tomorrow morning. Good night, Olivia."

His voice was low and magnetic, and he even had the nerve to call me by my nickname.

Even though what he did was terrible, I couldn't help but blush at that moment.

Damn it! Why does his voice sound so good!

Ethan Zhou = devil = heartthrob.

The next morning, before 6 o'clock, I had to get up quietly to make breakfast to keep my promise.

To stay awake, I stood in the kitchen, half-asleep while frying eggs, muttering to myself. "It's five in the morning, making a sandwich for Old Zhou. Smells good!"

I had just put the sandwich on a plate when Ethan Zhou woke up. He was wearing a light blue cotton pajama set. His hair was a bit messy from sleep, with a little tuft sticking up in the middle—he looked lazy all over.

His eyes fixed on the sandwich I'd made. "After two weeks, you finally didn't burn it."

I wanted to slam that sandwich right on his head.

After taking a shower, Ethan Zhou changed into another suit—this one was a striking Klein blue. The tailoring was shoddy, and some parts were even frayed. It clearly looked like it was several years old.

He brushed his hair back, exposing his smooth forehead, and twirled around in front of the full-length mirror in the living room, looking quite satisfied.

I wondered to myself: Where is Ethan Zhou going dressed like this?

After getting dressed, he even deliberately walked back and forth in front of me, as if quietly emphasizing his presence.

Thinking about my phone being confiscated the night before, I was so angry that I just pretended not to see him, gobbling down the sandwich in my hand.

"Olivia Lin, your phone is on the table—I already charged it for you." He placed the phone on the table with his long fingers, speaking in a conciliatory tone.

I was still angry. I snatched the phone away, staring intently at the screen, not wanting to talk to him at all.

After I deliberately ignored him a few times, Ethan Zhou gave up trying to make amends, picked up his briefcase, and left.

I didn't have an 8 AM class that day, so I left about an hour after him. After having lunch in the school cafeteria, my best friend Sophia Liu asked me to go with her to a lecture in the Software Engineering Department.

Sophia Liu was really into computer games and talked about this lecture nonstop.

"I heard A University invited the game designer of the hottest game recently, Family, to give us a lecture. I definitely can't miss this! Please, Olivia, go with me~"

I didn't have any classes in the afternoon and just happened to be free. I also remembered that my fans had mentioned this game during my live stream—going to the lecture might help me get closer to my fans. So I agreed.

But I never expected that shortly after sitting down, a familiar figure appeared on the podium.

There stood Ethan Zhou, wearing that Klein blue suit and thick-rimmed glasses. He'd even gotten a haircut—his hair was gelled to a shine. And the bean shoes on his feet were just unbearable to look at.

The pearl I'd just sucked into my mouth almost sprayed out.

Sophia Liu frowned and whispered in my ear. "I originally thought the designer of this game must be a handsome guy. Who knew he's such an old-fashioned nerd? What a waste of that height and build."

"Don't you think he has a good base look?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. It wasn't until a few seconds later that I realized I was unconsciously defending Ethan Zhou.

"Dressing like that—even Daniel Wu couldn't save it. Besides, with those glasses, how do you even know what his base look is like?"

I was really frustrated. What was with Ethan Zhou's obsession with those bottle-thick glasses?

Whispers and stares about his appearance filled the audience, but Ethan Zhou seemed completely unbothered.

He opened his PPT, and with his fair, long fingers pressing the remote control in his hand, he began to introduce his game.

It was a 3D horror game set in an ordinary family in a small town. The parents seemed to get along well, and the family looked happy. Until one day, a murder occurred there. The protagonist, a police officer, sneaks into this eerie house to investigate the truth behind the case. As he explores and solves puzzles, he uncovers the real story.

When he talked about the game he designed, his eyes lit up with a spark—like he was talking about the proudest work of art in his life.

That was when I realized: a person can shine brightly in the field they're good at. I couldn't take my eyes off Ethan Zhou, and at that moment, I actually thought he looked good like this.

A student in the audience asked curiously. "So what's the ending of this game?"

Ethan Zhou: "I designed two endings for this game. Which one you get depends entirely on whether the player can find the final key item. Right now, only a demo is available. The full game will be officially released in a few days—you'll find out when you play it."

When the lecture ended, the applause was endless. At that moment, it seemed like no one cared about Ethan Zhou's clothes or appearance anymore—everyone was completely captivated by his speech.

Including me. After all, I was someone who never played games, but at that moment, my hands were almost clapping raw.

Sophia Liu nudged my arm. "Hey~ You know what? A guy really needs to have talent. Now I think... he's actually quite handsome."

I secretly rejoiced in my heart: Of course! Ethan Zhou has both talent and looks—he just doesn't like dressing up. If he ever does dress up properly, he'll definitely take everyone by surprise.

Just as I was packing up my things to leave, he actually called me out in front of everyone.

"Olivia Lin, do you have any classes this afternoon? If not, I'll take you home."

He said it so seriously, but why did it sound so ambiguous?

Sophia Liu looked at me, her mouth hanging open in shock—she could have fit an egg in it. "Well, I'll... leave you two alone then."

After saying that, she slipped away, leaving me standing there, stunned.

"So you dressed like this just to give a lecture at our school?"

Ethan Zhou and I walked side by side in the university town. Because of his weird outfit, many people were staring at us.

"Mm."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Ethan Zhou scratched the back of his head. "I saw you didn't want to talk to me this morning, and I never thought you'd come specifically to my lecture."

I turned my head awkwardly. "I didn't come specifically! My friend wanted to come, that's all."

"About yesterday... I was wrong to take your phone away." He suddenly brought up what happened last night. "I treated you too much like a kid. I won't do that again, but... you have to be more self-disciplined too."

I froze for a moment.

What a tsundere! He couldn't even apologize properly.

"Fine~ I, Olivia Lin, am magnanimous. I'll reluctantly forgive you." I was in a great mood, and the corners of my mouth couldn't help but curl up.

Ethan Zhou rolled his eyes. "Who's the adult here? And who's the kid?"

The university campus was filled with the atmosphere of youth and hormones. Everywhere we went, there were couples holding hands and stealing kisses.

I wondered if Ethan Zhou had ever been in a relationship when he was in college.

He probably had. After all, he looked so good without his glasses, had a great figure, made delicious desserts, and was even good at housework.

Other than being sharp-tongued and old-fashioned, I couldn't find any other flaws in him.

I was so curious that I couldn't help but ask. "Ethan Zhou, when you were in college..."

Before I could finish my sentence, someone bumped into my arm.

I looked up subconsciously, and there was Mia Yu's fake, cloying face.

That's right—Mia Yu was that weird roommate of mine who never flushed the toilet.

She looked Ethan Zhou up and down, a mocking smile tugging at her lips.

"Oh~ If it isn't our dorm leader? You finally moved out of the dorm, and this is the guy you found to keep you? Dressed like a real estate agent—can he even afford to support you?"

Hearing this, I was so angry I could explode. This woman's mouth was so filthy—it was like she had sewage in it. I raised my hand, ready to slap her.

But just as I was about to hit her, Ethan Zhou grabbed my wrist.

I glared at him. "Didn't you hear what she said about you?"

Ethan Zhou's eyes darkened. He slid his hand down mine, finally wrapping his fingers around my hand.

His gaze lingered on Mia Yu's wristband for a second.

It was the entry wristband for the lecture—every student who came to the lecture had one.

He opened his mouth, his voice calm. "Classmate, you were listening to the lecture just now, right?"

The man's height was intimidating. Mia Yu swallowed hard. "So what if I was?"

"When I was giving the lecture, I specifically emphasized the source code. Can you explain to me how you understand the sentence 'The most useless thing in programming is source code, while the most useful things are algorithms and data structures'?"

Mia Yu obviously had no idea. She had probably only gone to the lecture to hit on guys—she didn't have time to actually listen.

She glanced at me guiltily. "How would I know? I'm not even in the Software Engineering Department."

"Then let me teach you something. The meaning of this sentence isn't that source code is unimportant. It means that some things may seem superficial, but they actually rely on a solid foundation and fundamentals—just like being a person. Character comes first. Some people have no character at all; even if they put on a fancy outer shell, they're still just empty shells. Don't you agree, classmate?"

Wow, Ethan Zhou was amazing! He really was a genius at roasting people.

At that moment, I thought he looked incredibly handsome! This was the power of knowledge, indeed.

Mia Yu was left speechless, her teeth gritted. "Fine, Olivia Lin. You're really something."

Since she couldn't win the argument, Mia Yu turned around to leave. But Ethan Zhou took two or three steps forward and blocked her path. "You just bumped into my friend. Is it too much to ask for an apology?"

"You..." Mia Yu's eyes filled with tears, her face looking so pitiful that any man would feel sorry for her. But Ethan Zhou was unmoved—he had that "I won't let you go until you apologize" look on his face. I secretly rejoiced in my heart.

"I'm sorry."

After saying that, she pressed her lips tightly together and ran away.

"What kind of grudge do you two have?" Ethan Zhou suddenly asked beside me.

It was only then that I realized our hands were still tightly holding each other. His fingertips were even gently brushing the joints of my fingers, making my whole body break out in goosebumps.

My brain went blank, my cheeks burning. I yanked my hand out of his and walked forward without looking back. "How would I know!"