After the Beautiful Omega Was Targeted by His Straight Roommate - Chapter 14

Tao Ran’s eyes flew open abruptly. Blood rushed to the top of his head, leaving his mind blank and his ears ringing.

“What did you say?”

In the span of a single sentence, a flush of shame spread from his collarbone across his entire face.

“The scent on you smells very good.” Qi Yuxiao’s expression was as calm as ever. He did not seem to think there was anything wrong with his words, so he repeated them.

He even felt that the sentence did not express his meaning clearly enough, so he added, “It is very fragrant.”

Tao Ran stood in silence.

The air fell still. Outside the balcony, night had fallen and the surroundings were deathly quiet; all things in the world were still asleep.

Tao Ran’s heart hammered against his ribs like a drum. His face, hidden in the darkness, was already as red as a ripe apple.

He looked up at Qi Yuxiao. The thin moonlight spilled over him, delicately tracing his cold, sharp features. In the dark of night, his temperament seemed even more reserved.

He wondered if these were really words coming from his cold and taciturn roommate.

Tao Ran felt as if his soul was about to leave his body, feeling in a daze that he must be dreaming.

Utterly unaware of Tao Ran’s inner turmoil, Qi Yuxiao continued, “I have discovered that this scent has a strange effect on me. Every time I smell it, my sleep improves.”

Tao Ran felt it was absurd and replied haltingly, “Could it be your imagination?”

“I have tried countless ways to fall asleep, and none have been as effective as this scent.”

Tao Ran was speechless, saying dryly, “I see.”

The atmosphere instantly fell into an eerie awkwardness.

Qi Yuxiao gazed at Tao Ran and noticed his expression was somewhat restless. His chest was rising and falling visibly, and his earlobes were red enough to bleed. He looked as if he had been roasted.

“What is wrong with you?” He frowned slightly.

Seeing that Tao Ran did not speak and his dazed gaze was somewhat unfocused, Qi Yuxiao instantly thought of his previous state when he was sick.

He moved a few inches closer to Tao Ran, curled two fingers, and very lightly touched Tao Ran’s cheek with the back of his hand.

Qi Yuxiao was startled by the temperature of Tao Ran’s face, his brow furrowing deeper. “Why is your face so hot?”

“Do you have a fever again?”

His hand moved up along Tao Ran’s cheek, wanting to gauge the temperature of his forehead. Unexpectedly, before his palm could touch the skin, Tao Ran dodged to the side as if he had received an electric shock.

Avoiding his gaze, Tao Ran’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum: “I do not have a fever.”

Qi Yuxiao was stunned by the reaction, a flash of regret crossing his eyes.

He had been a bit impulsive and seemed to have accidentally frightened his roommate, who was not very brave to begin with.

Although Jiang Zhao had been trying to interfere with or even brainwash him, Qi Yuxiao still chose to believe his own judgment.

He believed Tao Ran was also a straight man.

Therefore, being told out of the blue that his body smelled very fragrant was likely something any normal guy would find hard to accept.

Moreover, Tao Ran had been harassed by a pervert before and might have some lingering trauma. He was currently in a sensitive period, so it was understandable that he would misunderstand those words.

After a long silence between the two, Qi Yuxiao explained, “I did not mean anything else. I just realized I have not smelled it much these past few days and asked casually.”

But this explanation did not seem to ease Tao Ran’s discomfort much.

Silence surrounded them.

It took a long time for Tao Ran to recover from the shock. Seeing Qi Yuxiao watching him without speaking, he said stiffly, “If there is nothing else, I am going back to sleep.”

Without waiting for Qi Yuxiao to speak, he turned around with feigned composure and walked back into the dorm, his arms and legs moving in an uncoordinated, stiff rhythm.

Rubbing his burning face, he climbed the ladder back to his bed.

Tao Ran lay on the bed with a blank consciousness, pulling the quilt up to cover half of his face, leaving only a pair of dark, round eyes staring at the ceiling.

The sleepiness from waking up in the night had been completely scared away. His heartbeat was erratic, and his brain was incredibly over-excited.

The echo of the phrase “the scent on your body is very fragrant” kept wandering in his ears.

He wondered if Qi Yuxiao knew what he was saying.

He had actually said the scent on his body was very fragrant, and he had said it many times.

That was the same as saying his pheromones smelled good.

Buried in the bedding, it was a bit difficult to breathe. Tao Ran reached out and pulled the quilt away to reveal his whole face. He touched it with his fingers and found his skin a bit damp; his face must have been so red and hot that the heat accumulated in the confined space, condensing some moisture.

Tao Ran turned over toward the wall, trying to calm his nerves.

A few minutes later, he could not help but think again.

He questioned why Qi Yuxiao would say such a thing.

Although Tao Ran had been treated as a discarded pawn by his family due to a gland defect, he had never thought of giving up on himself or becoming decadent. He had listened carefully to every lesson from his tutors and kept the knowledge firmly in his mind.

Therefore, he remembered very clearly that in a physiology class, the teacher had mentioned that praising an Omega’s pheromones for being “fragrant” was an extremely ambiguous and suggestive form of flirting.

If the relationship between an Alpha and an Omega was even slightly distant, it would be considered harassment.

Tao Ran’s thoughts jumped quickly, and he soon thought of something else.

Qi Yuxiao also said that as long as he smelled his pheromones, he could fall asleep quickly. He wondered if his pheromones could treat Qi Yuxiao’s insomnia.

But Tao Ran only knew about pheromone compatibility between Alphas and Omegas; he knew that high compatibility would cause them to be attracted to each other. He had never heard of pheromones having this kind of effect; it was beyond his scope of knowledge.

Unable to stop thinking more and more, his heartbeat, which had finally slowed down, began to throb wildly and chaotically again.

Tao Ran’s eardrums pulsed with the vibration, and his thoughts ran wild like a runaway horse.

He told himself he could not think about it anymore.

He had an 8:00 AM class tomorrow and needed to sleep.

So, Tao Ran turned over again and closed his eyes, trying to gather a bit of sleepiness.

Suddenly, he felt a slight vibration in the bed, which was the sound of someone climbing into their bunk. It was likely Qi Yuxiao returning from the balcony.

Tao Ran opened his eyes, let out a heavy breath, and closed them once more.

During that time, he turned over twenty times and changed his posture no less than thirty times.

But his brain remained as clear as ever; he still could not fall asleep.

Tao Ran stared into the darkness in despair.

As time passed, his tense nerves relaxed slightly and his mind gradually went blank. Finally, Tao Ran felt a wisp of light sleepiness floating toward him.

Tao Ran closed his eyes expectantly, waiting to enter sleep.

The next second, Zhuo Qiang’s tractor-like snoring erupted, thunderous and echoing through the entire dormitory.

Tao Ran was speechless.

“Tao Ran, why are you so listless today?”

After seeing Tao Ran doze off seven times during the forty-five-minute class, Xu Jiali asked him during the break.

All-night insomnia plus an 8:00 AM class was simply a form of torture.

When he woke up today, Tao Ran’s head was buzzing, his reactions were slow, and he felt as if his soul had left his body.

He turned his head and looked at Xu Jiali for several seconds with a very dull, lifeless gaze.

Xu Jiali noticed Tao Ran’s pale face, his drooping eyelids, and the dark circles hanging under his eyes. He exclaimed, “Oh my god, your dark circles are so heavy.”

“Did you have insomnia last night?”

Tao Ran nodded numbly and replied, “I suppose so.”

Xu Jiali asked, “What time did you go to sleep last night?”

Tao Ran rubbed his dry eyes and said, “Eleven o’clock. I slept until three, and after I woke up, I could not fall back asleep.”

Xu Jiali expressed great empathy, “I can understand your pain. I stayed up all night binge-watching a show before, and I was even more tired than you the next day.”

Looking at Tao Ran’s sleepy face, he suggested, “Why don’t you lie down on the desk for a while? I will watch the teacher for you.”

It took Tao Ran a few seconds to process Xu Jiali’s words, and he shook his head. “No, I had better listen to the lecture.”

Having sat with Tao Ran in class for a while, Xu Jiali knew well that he was a law-abiding student. Even in university, he maintained his good habits from high school: he did not play with his phone during class, sat upright while listening, followed the teacher with his eyes, and went specifically to the library to do his homework.

So, he did not insist. “Alright then. There are no more classes after the 8:00 AM one, so you can go back and catch up on some sleep.”

“Yeah.” Tao Ran had exactly that intention.

After class ended and he said goodbye to Xu Jiali, Tao Ran dragged his heavy body back to the dormitory.

He thought he would be the only one back at this time.

Instead, Tao Ran heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom.

Someone was taking a shower in the dorm.

He wondered if they did not have class at this hour.

Tao Ran did not think too much about it. He put down his backpack and took out his textbook and tablet.

While his mind was wandering, the sound of water in the bathroom gradually ceased, and soon the sound of a door opening followed.

The person inside had finished their shower. Tao Ran turned to look toward the sound in a daze.

Qi Yuxiao came out with a white towel draped around his neck, his upper body bare, and his wet black hair messy.

Water droplets gathered at his temples, flowing along his smooth jawline to his chin. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and lifted his eyelids.

Their gazes met in mid-air.

Qi Yuxiao’s expression was indifferent. “Finished with class?”

Tao Ran’s gaze, however, happened to land right on Qi Yuxiao’s naked upper body. His skin was still glistening with water droplets, his pectoral muscles were perfectly shaped, his abdominal muscles were clearly defined, and his V-line was visible.

Tao Ran’s cheeks flushed a bright, explosive red once again.

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