After the Beautiful Omega Was Targeted by His Straight Roommate - Chapter 1

Dormitory Bathroom.

Tao Ran turned on the shower. The cold water fell like a rhythmic drizzle, quickly soaking his entire body.

The chill seeped through his drenched clothes and into his skin. Although his body was already shivering from the cold, the fire rising within him could not be extinguished. Instead, it seemed to burn even more fiercely.

Biological cravings continued to grow and amplify, forcing his breathing to become increasingly rapid and hot while his limbs turned weak. Unable to stand any longer, Tao Ran could only lean against the wall, slowly crouching down until he sat on the floor.

As his scorching skin touched the coolness of the tiles, Tao Ran let out a soft hum of relief. Before his consciousness drifted, his flushed cheek instinctively brushed against the wall, letting the cold water continue to wash over him.

A long time passed.

The bathroom door was knocked on from the outside, startling Tao Ran awake.

“Tao Ran? Tao Ran?” It was the voice of his roommate, Zhuo Qiang.

“I am here.”

Tao Ran’s voice was hoarse and weak. He gasped for air, his palm pressing against the wall as he tried to prop up his limp body. “Do you need to use the bathroom? Sorry, I am coming out now.”

“No, no. I just noticed you have been in there for over an hour. I was calling to check if you had fainted. Keep washing; I am going back to my game.”

Over an hour.

Tao Ran thought to himself that soaking in cold water during heat was indeed effective. Previously, he had been in the most difficult stage of his heat, but after an hour of cold water, he felt the fever had mostly subsided.

However, his head was still dizzy. Tao Ran climbed up from the floor and turned off the shower. He dried his body with a towel, changed into the pajamas he had brought in, and took down a fresh towel. While drying his hair, he opened the door and walked onto the balcony connected to the bathroom.

At that moment, the glass door separating the balcony was suddenly pushed open. Tao Ran collided head-on with the person entering. The other man was tall, creating a powerful sense of pressure as he stood in the doorway. Because of the height difference, Tao Ran had to tilt his chin up to make eye contact.

“Do… do you need to shower too?”

Tao Ran stood frozen in place. His eyes were as clear and pure as if they had been washed in water. His skin was as white as jade, carrying the damp mist of the bath, and his lips were unusually red.

Qi Yuxiao’s eyes were dark. Uncharacteristically, his gaze lingered on Tao Ran’s face for a few extra seconds. He frowned very slightly, but his expression quickly flattened again. “Yes.”

Tao Ran could not help but wonder if this cold and silent “School Grass” roommate had even managed to associate his face with his name yet, despite a month having passed since the start of the semester. Realizing the situation, Tao Ran took a step back and stood aside to make way. “I am sorry, did I keep you waiting long?”

“Just got back.”

Qi Yuxiao replied succinctly and walked into the bathroom.

As Tao Ran entered the dormitory from the balcony, his body shuddered violently, as if he had stepped into the arctic. Looking up, the air conditioner hanging on the wall was whirring loudly. White mist drifted from the vents, and the temperature was set at a staggering 16 degrees.

His two roommates, Su Jialiang and Zhuo Qiang, were shirtless while playing games, occasionally chatting.

“Why is Qi Yuxiao back today? Didn’t he rent a place outside?”

“I think he said he has a full schedule of classes, so he came back to the dorm to rest.”

Smoothing down the goosebumps on his arms, Tao Ran reached out and closed the glass door tightly.

“Tao Ran, are you finished?” The game round had just ended, and Su Jialiang looked up at the sound, asking in surprise, “Why is your face so red? Are you sick?”

Tao Ran instinctively touched his cheek; it was indeed very hot. He explained somewhat guiltily, “I don’t think I am sick. It is probably just from the bath.”

He used the towel to dry his hair and walked back to his seat.

Zhuo Qiang’s bed was closest to the glass door. As Tao Ran passed by, Zhuo Qiang suddenly looked up and took several deep sniffs of the air. He scratched his head in confusion. “Hey, why did our dorm suddenly become so fragrant?”

Su Jialiang kept his eyes fixed on his phone and added casually, “It seems like Tao Ran is always super fragrant every time he comes out of the shower.”

Hearing this, Tao Ran froze in his tracks. He swallowed nervously and unconsciously tightened his grip on the towel.

“This body wash smells really good.” Zhuo Qiang did not seem to think much of it, but the more he smelled it, the more addicted he became. He took a few more deep breaths and asked curiously, “Tao Ran, what brand do you use?”

Tao Ran hurriedly avoided Zhuo Qiang’s gaze. “I… I just bought it randomly.”

Zhuo Qiang replied, “I see.”

Su Jialiang’s excited voice suddenly rang out, “The round is starting! Zhuo Qiang, hurry up!”

“Coming!”

The topic was dropped as Zhuo Qiang and Su Jialiang started a new round of their game. Only then did Tao Ran slowly breathe a sigh of relief. He sat back in the chair at his desk, the towel in his hands already crumpled into a messy ball. He frowned, his expression showing a hint of distress.

How could he tell his roommates that it was not the scent of body wash, but actually his pheromones? They would surely think he was a lunatic and lock him up.

Yet, such an incredible and illogical thing had happened to him. Tao Ran originally lived in an ABO world. He had manifested as an Omega at the age of twelve, but he was immediately diagnosed with a congenital gland defect. Medically, it was determined that he would never be able to conceive.

An Omega without reproductive value naturally became an outcast. It was not until the family business encountered problems and desperately needed an arranged marriage to secure capital that Tao Ran was pulled from his forgotten corner.

Later, at only seventeen years old, his family had been impatient to push him onto the operating table for a gland surgery with only a forty percent success rate. The surgery failed. When he opened his eyes again, Tao Ran found he had traveled to this strange new world.

In this new world, male and female were the primary genders. There were no ABO distinctions, no glands, and no pheromones. To Tao Ran, this world was like one giant gathering of Betas.

Without the involvement of Alpha or Omega genes in social hierarchy, everyone lived relatively more equally and freely. Tao Ran no longer had to face discrimination or neglect because of a gland defect.

But the bad news was that Tao Ran was still an Omega. The gland remained embedded in the back of his neck, continuously emitting pheromones, and the heat cycles still accompanied him. He tried hard to integrate into the new world, but he found that he was, after all, an anomaly.

During a brief break in the game, Su Jialiang looked up and saw Tao Ran dazing off with damp hair. He reminded him, “Tao Ran, you should dry your hair quickly, or you will catch a cold again.”

“Oh, okay.”

His drifting thoughts were called back. Tao Ran stood up to get the hair dryer and began drying his hair. Once finished, he felt the scent of his pheromones fade. At least it was not as strong as before.

Because this world had no suppressants, Tao Ran could only let the pheromones escape his body. Fortunately, his scent was not the aggressive or flashy type. In daily life, he simply had a stronger body fragrance than most, which he could easily pass off as perfume.

However, pheromones fluctuate. Every time Tao Ran showered or went through heat, the concentration would rise, sometimes filling the entire dormitory with his scent. Luckily, the roommates he shared the room with did not dislike the fragrance.

The sound of a door opening caught Tao Ran’s attention. He instinctively looked over.

Qi Yuxiao had just finished his shower and was wearing only a pair of grey casual shorts. His hair was wet, and water droplets gathered at the tips before rolling down his chest and abdominal muscles. They eventually converged at his mermaid line and disappeared into the waistband of his shorts.

The young man had broad shoulders and long legs. His exposed muscle lines were perfect and smooth without being overly exaggerated. Appearing without warning alongside that incredibly handsome face, the sight carried an immense visual impact.

Tao Ran was stunned. Heat gradually crept onto his cheeks. His gaze shifted upward awkwardly, only to collide with the other man’s cold, dark eyes. Feeling as though he had been caught doing something shameful, Tao Ran hurriedly turned his head away to avoid eye contact.

After a few seconds, Qi Yuxiao let out a soft “tsk.” Frowning slightly, he called out, “Zhuo Qiang.”

“What is it?” Zhuo Qiang looked up. “Does Brother Xiao have any orders?”

“Turn the AC up.”

Zhuo Qiang looked at the air conditioner and was suddenly surprised. “My bad! It was boiling when I came back tonight, so I set it to 16 degrees and forgot to change it back.”

Su Jialiang realized it too and rubbed his arms. “I was wondering why it felt exceptionally cold today.”

“Is it not because you have been shirtless this whole time?” Zhuo Qiang replied. He quickly picked up the remote and beeped the temperature higher. He turned to Tao Ran and asked, “Tao Ran, you didn’t freeze, did you?”

Tao Ran was still recovering from the shock of earlier. It took him a moment to respond. “No… I didn’t.”

Zhuo Qiang felt relieved. “That is good.”

The three of them were energetic young men who could tolerate the AC at any temperature. Tao Ran was different; his constitution was more sensitive to cold than average. When he first arrived at the dorm, he had caught a cold several times because of the air conditioning.

However, he had a mild and timid personality. He was very afraid of bothering others. When he got sick, he didn’t dare tell his roommates or ask the counselor for leave, choosing instead to endure the discomfort and attend class. Consequently, one night while hanging clothes on the balcony, his vision went black and he fainted.

It had scared Zhuo Qiang and Su Jialiang half to death. Afterward, everyone felt guilty and took special care of him whenever the AC was on. For instance, Su Jialiang had just specifically reminded him to dry his hair.

Today, however, Tao Ran did not feel the AC was cold. He felt there was still some residual heat in his body that couldn’t be metabolized. Especially after seeing Qi Yuxiao’s half-naked body, a strange sensation lingered around him.

He decided to distract himself and opened the textbook on his desk. Their dormitory was a mixed dorm. Tao Ran was an art major, Zhuo Qiang and Su Jialiang studied law and computer science respectively, and Qi Yuxiao was a finance major. It was said that when these four departments arranged housing, there was exactly one “unlucky person” left over from each, so the school gathered them into one room.

Tao Ran accidentally flipped the textbook to a page with anatomical illustrations. He blinked. For some reason, his mind drifted back to Qi Yuxiao’s body, and that uncomfortable feeling returned.

Quietly, Tao Ran began to secretly observe the people in the room.

Su Jialiang had gone to shower. Zhuo Qiang was still shirtless and gaming. Qi Yuxiao had put on a black T-shirt. His hair was half-dry, and he leaned back casually in his chair with his long legs stretched out, expressionlessly looking at his phone.

Tao Ran’s gaze landed on the other man’s hand. It was large. Under the fair skin, the blood vessels protruded slightly, and the knuckles were long and distinct. A phone that Tao Ran felt had a very large screen could be completely covered by Qi Yuxiao’s hand with just a slight grip.

Tao Ran’s heart suddenly sped up. He looked away like a thief. He turned to look at Zhuo Qiang instead, and his heart rate returned to normal.

He peeked at Qi Yuxiao again. This time he saw his profile. The light from the phone screen hit his face, but the silhouette remained sharp and handsome. His deep, three-dimensional features were not softened by the light at all.

Tao Ran’s throat felt dry. He instinctively swallowed. His heart felt like it was jumping into his throat.

He looked at Zhuo Qiang again. This time, his sneaky peeking was caught by Zhuo Qiang suddenly looking up.

“Tao Ran, do you need something?”

Looking at Zhuo Qiang’s bare upper body, Tao Ran stuttered to find an excuse. “Um… it’s just, you should wear more. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

“I won’t. I have plenty of internal heat. I’ve basically never had a cold or fever since I was a kid.” Zhuo Qiang said proudly. “You should go exercise and hit the gym to strengthen your body. I’ve been working out lately. Doesn’t my physique look pretty good?”

As he spoke, he high-spiritedly struck a bodybuilding pose to show off his muscles.

Tao Ran: “…”

His heart rate had dropped back to normal levels. Tao Ran still gave him credit by nodding and saying “mm” against his true feelings before turning back to sit properly.

The test was over.

In this world, men and women were the mainstream heterosexuals. Tao Ran, whose orientation was toward male Alphas, would be considered gay here. Although he had changed from a heterosexual in the ABO world to a homosexual in this new world, his aesthetic preferences had not changed just because the labels did.

Tao Ran still liked male Alphas.

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