After the Beautiful Omega Was Targeted by His Straight Roommate - Chapter 16

When he heard those words, Tao Ran’s brain stalled for a moment.

However, it quickly resumed operation as Dr. Chi’s instruction drifted through his mind: do not reveal your sexual orientation unless it is absolutely necessary.

Tao Ran tried his best to suppress his guilt and did not dare to look at Qi Yuxiao again.

“Um…”

Tao Ran opened his mouth, but he could not say anything for a long while. The phrase “I am a straight man” was stuck in his throat and would not come out.

For some reason, lying in front of Qi Yuxiao seemed to require much more courage than usual.

Finally, his heart sank. Under Qi Yuxiao’s gaze, he gave a few very slight and fragmented nods.

Qi Yuxiao had a smile on his lips. His eyes held the composure of someone asking a question he already knew the answer to, and he was not surprised by the response.

This gave Tao Ran an illusion. It felt as though even if he did not admit it, Qi Yuxiao would not suspect anything because Qi Yuxiao seemed to have already decided in his heart that Tao Ran was a straight man.

But that was not important.

What mattered was that Tao Ran finally decided to cast aside the awkwardness and internal conflict of the past few days.

“I am sorry. I did not mean to avoid you these past few days.”

Tao Ran lowered his head and apologized for his behavior. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had wronged Qi Yuxiao.

“It was my fault for saying something inappropriate to you,” Qi Yuxiao said.

“No.” Tao Ran shook his head gently. “It was not like that. It was my own problem.”

It was a problem with his own thoughts.

This was the conclusion Tao Ran reached regarding his instinctive avoidance of Qi Yuxiao over the past few days.

It was not as if no one had ever praised the scent of his pheromones before; for example, Zhuo Qiang and Su Jiali had said it many times. At first, Tao Ran only felt a bit guilty, but he gradually came to accept it well. In short, his reaction was never so exaggerated that he would blush, his heart would race, and he would avoid people.

He could accept everyone praising his pheromones for smelling good, so why could he not accept it when those words came from Qi Yuxiao’s mouth?

Tao Ran’s mind began to unravel the mystery, and he finally saw a glimmer of light. He had a sudden realization.

It was all because he always instinctively treated Qi Yuxiao as an Alpha when they interacted! He did not do that with anyone else!

When an Alpha praises an Omega’s pheromones for smelling good, it is a very ambiguous form of flirting or even harassment.

An Omega would also react based on their relationship with the Alpha. The former might blush and feel shy, while the latter would feel disgusted and repulsed.

But the premise of all this was that the other person had to be an Alpha!

Qi Yuxiao was not an Alpha.

He was just an ordinary person in this world who did not understand the differences or the nuances of ABO genders.

Tao Ran could not demand that Qi Yuxiao follow the rules of the ABO world just because he happened to look like an Alpha.

Qi Yuxiao’s deep voice interrupted Tao Ran’s thoughts.

“It is chilly at night. Let us head back to the dorm quickly.”

“Okay.” Tao Ran quickened his pace to keep up with Qi Yuxiao.

Unbeknownst to anyone, his brain was still conducting a profound “ideological struggle” meeting.

He had already severely criticized his previous incorrect, unscientific, and unreasonable thoughts. According to custom, it was now time for the correct, scientific, and reasonable new thoughts to take the stage.

Actually, as long as he corrected his thinking and tried his best to interact with Qi Yuxiao as if he were a Beta or an Omega, all the hesitation and difficulty in their interactions would be easily resolved.

For instance, if Qi Yuxiao praised his pheromones for being fragrant and smelling good, and if Qi Yuxiao were an Omega, then the meaning he wanted to express would be a harmless, pure compliment and appreciation between members of the same kind.

Furthermore, if he thought Qi Yuxiao had a great physique, that might just be admiration and respect for an outstanding member of his own kind.

It was just like Dr. Chi. Whether in the original world or this new world, Dr. Chi had reached the pinnacle among his peers. Tao Ran immensely worshipped such excellent people.

After the new thoughts replaced the old ones, Tao Ran finally felt liberated and experienced an unprecedented sense of lightheartedness.

Suddenly, he accidentally tripped on a stone. He stumbled, and his center of gravity shifted violently backward.

Thinking he was about to fall, Tao Ran closed his eyes in fear to brace for the impact. Unexpectedly, in the next second, his back hit a solid chest, putting a sudden stop to a potentially disastrous fall.

The person behind him seemed to be naturally warm. Tao Ran’s back was pressed against his chest, and he could feel the constant heat radiating from the other man. The muscle tissue underneath felt vigorous and resilient, and a steady, rhythmic heartbeat transmitted into his body like a series of electric currents.

Tao Ran’s body trembled inexplicably.

He looked up, and Qi Yuxiao’s face, with its three-dimensional features and perfect bone structure, came fully into view.

His gaze unintentionally focused on Qi Yuxiao’s well-shaped thin lips. Tao Ran dazed for a moment. His cheeks grew warm, and a light shade of pink quickly surfaced.

A deep and pleasant voice came from above. Qi Yuxiao held his shoulders and reminded him, “Be careful while walking.”

Tao Ran was stunned for a while. “Okay.”

This was just a minor accident. The two of them quickly put some distance between each other and continued walking side by side as usual.

Tao Ran calmed his racing heart and sighed with some difficulty.

Treating Qi Yuxiao as an Omega still seemed a bit difficult.

After all, Qi Yuxiao’s appearance and physique both fit Tao Ran’s stereotype of an Alpha.

It seemed that fully putting the “new thoughts” into practice would be an arduous task.

By the time the two of them were nearly back at the dorm, a gust of wild wind howled past. It was significantly colder than when class had just ended.

“The weather forecast said a cold air mass would pass through tonight, causing a major temperature drop.” Qi Yuxiao’s gaze swept over the tall banyan tree next to the dormitory, its branches shaking and withered leaves scattered by the cold wind.

He looked down at the thinly dressed Tao Ran. “Wear more clothes from now on.”

Tao Ran wrapped Qi Yuxiao’s jacket tighter around himself and nodded.

Suddenly remembering something, Tao Ran called out to him, “Qi Yuxiao.”

“Yes?”

“Your insomnia…” Tao Ran hesitated, looking at him with a hint of sympathy in his eyes. “Does it happen every night?”

In fact, Tao Ran had not had an easy time these past few days either. Especially on the night their late-night talk ended, he had been restless. He, whose sleep quality was usually very good, had also experienced a taste of insomnia.

Therefore, Tao Ran was now very empathetic toward the pain of insomnia.

Qi Yuxiao’s tone was very casual. “Under normal circumstances, yes.”

Tao Ran was shocked. “Then when did your insomnia start?”

“In my second year of high school,” Qi Yuxiao said.

“Was it because the academic pressure before being recommended for admission was too great, leading to insomnia?” Tao Ran thought naturally.

He did not ask any further, as he did not want Qi Yuxiao to recall those painful past events.

He had only been sleepless for one night and it was already so miserable; he could not imagine how Qi Yuxiao had endured so many long, sleepless nights.

“Then…” Holding the words in his mouth for a moment before speaking, Tao Ran asked, “Is my scent… the perfume, really effective for you?”

Qi Yuxiao did not expect Tao Ran to bring it up voluntarily. A hint of surprise rose in his heart as he replied, “It is effective.”

“During the first half-month of military training at the start of the semester, you had not arrived yet. I was staying in the dorm during that time and found that my insomnia became even more severe,” Qi Yuxiao said slowly. “I thought I was just not used to living in a collective dormitory, so I moved out.”

Tao Ran: “And then?”

“And then I found that my sleep status was not much better while living outside.”

“Later, when formal classes started, you moved in. When I came back to sleep after a full day of classes, I found my sleep quality was much better than before.”

“Is that… really true?” Tao Ran found it incredible.

“I thought it was just a coincidence at first. But after a few times, I realized that every time I could sleep well, it was accompanied by that scent.”

“…” Tao Ran was so shocked he was somewhat speechless.

Was it really that magical? His pheromones actually had this kind of effect?

After they finished chatting, they happened to arrive back at the dorm.

Zhuo Qiang and Su Jiali had returned to the room earlier than they had.

Seeing Qi Yuxiao and Tao Ran return at the same time, the two stopped what they were doing and exchanged a knowing look, both secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

“Yo, have you two finally made up?” Zhuo Qiang said happily.

He had been made quite nervous by the strange and subtle atmosphere between Qi Yuxiao and Tao Ran over the past few days, but he did not dare to ask what kind of conflict they had.

Qi Yuxiao’s face, which would instantly turn dark and gloomy, was truly terrifying to look at.

“What do you mean ‘made up’?” Qi Yuxiao gave him a sideways glance. “We never fought.”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes. Your friendship is as solid as gold and stone, so how could you fight?” Zhuo Qiang immediately chimed in. “Right, Tao Ran?”

Tao Ran, who was suddenly called upon: “…”

He explained with some embarrassment: “We really did not fight.”

It was just him throwing a one-sided tantrum.

He had personally thought his behavior of avoiding Qi Yuxiao over the past few days was quite discreet.

It turned out everyone had noticed something was wrong long ago.

Tao Ran felt a bit awkward. He handed the bread he was carrying to them, changing the subject quite stiffly, “Um… have some bread.”

“…”

In the middle of the night.

Tao Ran was woken up by thirst again.

His throat and nasal passages felt dry, making his breathing sound a bit heavy.

He was too sleepy to open his eyes, but he was so thirsty that it was unbearable. He could only resign himself to getting up and fumbling in the dark to find water.

Dazed, he found his water cup. Tao Ran was like a traveler who had been parched in the desert for three days and nights, gulping down the water.

The water had been fetched from the hot water dispenser before he went to bed. It had been sitting for a long time and was completely cold. When he drank it, he could even feel it flowing into his stomach bit by bit through his chest.

Tao Ran shivered from the cold, and his sleepiness dissipated somewhat.

Just as he was about to climb back into bed, Tao Ran accidentally noticed a tall, familiar figure on the balcony.

Tao Ran walked closer out of curiosity and found it was Qi Yuxiao.

He stood in place for three seconds and then walked toward the balcony.

“Qi Yuxiao, do you have insomnia again?” Tao Ran asked in a whisper.

Qi Yuxiao did not know how long he had been standing on the balcony. His dark short hair was a bit messy from the wind. He was covered in a chill, appearing like a tall, straight statue, looking particularly lonely and desolate under the cool moonlight.

Hearing the voice, he paused for half a second. He turned around slowly, lifted his eyelids, and looked at Tao Ran with a very faint gaze.

A gust of cold wind blew, making Tao Ran shiver.

He felt that Qi Yuxiao tonight was a bit different from his usual self.

Or rather, it was as if he had returned to the way he was before, when they were not yet friends and were just strangers living under the same roof.

After a long while, Tao Ran heard him say in a low voice, “Go back to sleep.”

“You should also go back to sleep soon.”

Without saying anything more, Tao Ran retreated back into the dormitory.

Before climbing the ladder, he could not help but glance at the balcony again.

Climbing back into his warm bed, Tao Ran could not help but think of Qi Yuxiao again before falling asleep.

A hint of bitterness rose in his heart.

Tao Ran thought:

Should I help Qi Yuxiao?

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