After the Beautiful Omega Was Targeted by His Straight Roommate - Chapter 20

The air froze.

Tao Ran’s breath hitched, and his mind went blank. “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” Qi Yuxiao repeated softly. “It smells good, it is suitable, and it is not strange.”

Receiving such an unexpected answer, every word the young man spoke in that low voice left a shallow imprint on Tao Ran’s heart.

Qi Yuxiao actually did not think he was strange.

Realizing this after the fact, a flush of red spread across his cheeks again, and he turned his head away shyly.

He wondered why Qi Yuxiao was praising the scent of his pheromones again.

And he had praised it twice more.

Fortunately, this time the shyness did not last long, as Tao Ran corrected his thoughts in time.

Qi Yuxiao praised him this time to comfort him; it still could not be that kind of flirting.

And Tao Ran was indeed comforted.

At that moment, the glass door was suddenly opened a crack from the inside, and a head popped out.

Zhuo Qiang, with a head of hair like a bird’s nest, rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at them with total confusion. “What are you two doing standing out on the balcony so early in the morning?”

“Clearing our heads.” Qi Yuxiao maintained a calm expression as he stepped half a pace away from Tao Ran. “You should try it too.”

As he spoke, he very considerately reached out and pulled the glass door fully open.

The cold morning wind rushed in. Zhuo Qiang, wearing only a thin pair of pajamas, shivered from the cold, and his sleepiness vanished instantly.

Zhuo Qiang’s teeth chattered, and it took him several seconds to recover. “Thanks, brother, but I just got up to use the bathroom.”

“…”

Inexplicably, no one had classes this morning.

After an idle morning, the four of them gathered in the dorm for lunch.

Su Jiali’s phone chimed, and he glanced at it. “Our college sent out a notice. The physical fitness tests start next week.”

“Next week? Let me see when mine is.”

Seeing this, Zhuo Qiang also opened his phone to check, but he found nothing. “Damn it, our counselor failed to send the notice again. I strongly suspect he is being isolated. Otherwise, why are the notices always sent last? I can find out news from other colleges faster than he can post his own.”

“Then I will read it to you,” Su Jiali said, clearing his throat. “The general idea is that the test times are scheduled by college.”

“This week is the first week. The scheduled colleges are Fine Arts, Arts, Finance, and Physical Education. Hey, Tao Ran, you and Qi Yuxiao have the same test time.”

“Next week is the second week. It will be Law, Chinese Language, and Computer Science. Zhuo Qiang, you and I are at the same time,” Su Jiali said. “Let us go together then.”

“Sure.”

Tao Ran listened to their conversation, lost in thought.

Everyone had classes together in the afternoon.

After waking up from their nap, everyone began packing their things to head out.

Tao Ran watched Qi Yuxiao’s busy figure, several times wanting to speak but stopping himself.

As Qi Yuxiao zipped up his backpack and was about to pass him, Tao Ran hurriedly called out, “Qi Yuxiao.”

Qi Yuxiao paused and looked down at him. “Going to the classroom together?”

Tao Ran let out an “ah” and nodded. “Sure.”

On the way, Tao Ran kept pondering how to bring it up.

Seeing that they were almost at the teaching building and about to head to different classrooms, he finally asked hurriedly, “Um… that friend who often hangs out with you, which college is he from?”

“You mean Jiang Zhao?” Qi Yuxiao said. “He is from the College of Physical Education.”

The College of Physical Education…

Tao Ran could not help but feel a sense of disappointment. Since the PE college had their fitness test at the same time as the Arts college, Qi Yuxiao would surely go with him.

Tao Ran had never spoken to Jiang Zhao. If he abruptly joined them, would it not be very awkward?

Just as Tao Ran was about to give up the idea of going with Qi Yuxiao, he heard Qi Yuxiao mention casually in the next second, “Jiang Zhao does not need to take the fitness test.”

“Oh, why?”

“Since they are sports majors, they do not need the fitness test. They use other exam results to calculate their grades.”

“Oh, I see.” Tao Ran bit his lip and asked softly, “Then are you going to the test alone? I…”

With the words still in his mouth, he heard Qi Yuxiao ask him, “Want to go together?”

“Okay,” Tao Ran replied in a soft voice, his eyes crinkling into a smile.

The two of them soon reached the bottom of the teaching building. Tao Ran’s classroom was on the first floor, very close. He said to Qi Yuxiao, “Then I will head to class first. Goodbye.”

“Yes, goodbye.”

Saturday.

Tao Ran and Qi Yuxiao ate breakfast together and then went to the sports field.

The 1000-meter and 50-meter running events were held outdoors, while the others were located indoors.

The autumn air was crisp and the sky was cloudless, making it perfect weather for running.

There were not many people arriving for the fitness test in the morning.

The two of them were about to line up for check-in when someone suddenly appeared and blocked their path.

“Yo, here to run?” Jiang Zhao grinned, showing his white teeth.

He was wearing a red vest and a red baseball cap with a volunteer logo printed on it.

Qi Yuxiao lifted his eyelids to look at him. “Why are you here?”

“I was dragged here by the college teachers to serve as free labor.”

Jiang Zhao looked at Qi Yuxiao, then at Tao Ran, and then narrowed his sharp eyes at Tao Ran. He asked in a tone that sounded remarkably like a Dean of Students, “Is he the proxy runner you found? I am telling you, proxy running is a serious violation of school regulations. They are cracking down on it lately. If you are caught, it will be treated directly as cheating on an exam!”

Qi Yuxiao had no reaction, but the honest Tao Ran was clearly intimidated by Jiang Zhao’s posturing. He waved his hands hurriedly to explain, “There is no proxy runner. We are both running for ourselves. we just came together because we were heading the same way.”

“Oh, I will believe you for now,” Jiang Zhao warned. “Do not think you can pull any sneaky tricks just because I might not be looking. I will be monitoring you at all times.”

Tao Ran wanted to explain a bit more, but he heard Qi Yuxiao ask in a flat tone, “What is your job exactly?”

Jiang Zhao was confused. “Maintaining order among the students taking the fitness test, obviously.”

“Is that so? It feels like the students coming for the test have quite good manners,” Qi Yuxiao said, glancing at him. “Instead, it seems the ‘order’ of a certain staff member needs to be maintained.”

It took Jiang Zhao half a second to react. “Hey, Qi Yuxiao, who are you calling out?”

“Come on, let us go line up,” Qi Yuxiao said softly to Tao Ran.

Tao Ran: “Oh, okay.”

The two ignored Jiang Zhao and walked away. A few seconds later, Jiang Zhao’s shouting came from behind them: “You two better stay honest! Do not let me catch you doing anything wrong! I will be watching you forever! Forever!”

By the time they reached the queue, Tao Ran was still feeling a bit shaken.

He hesitated, standing in the slowly moving line and looking back every few steps. Finally, he turned around with an earnest and sincere gaze. “Qi Yuxiao, I really just wanted to come to the fitness test with you. I never thought about asking you to be a proxy runner for me.”

Qi Yuxiao was slightly stunned. Eventually, a light chuckle escaped his nose. “Do not believe Jiang Zhao’s nonsense. He was just joking.”

After a moment, he added, “It would not be a big deal to run for you anyway. I could run it several times if needed.”

“No, you will be caught. You must never do that,” Tao Ran said anxiously, his small face showing a serious expression. “And do not do it for anyone else, either.”

Qi Yuxiao did not answer but looked at Tao Ran with a half-smile.

Tao Ran thought he had guessed correctly and that Qi Yuxiao really intended to be a proxy runner for someone. His mind immediately raced with thoughts of Qi Yuxiao being caught, receiving school disciplinary action, and having it recorded in his file.

Having a permanent record in one’s file was a very serious matter; he might not be able to find a job after graduation because of it!

If that happened, would Qi Yuxiao’s life not be ruined?

But Qi Yuxiao, whose life was supposedly on the brink of ruin, remained indifferent to the dangers of proxy running and showed no signs of repentance.

Feeling worried for the other man’s future, Tao Ran tugged on his sleeve in desperation. “You really must not go.”

“Yes, I know.”

Qi Yuxiao curled his lips and responded, his voice intentionally deepening to hide a trace of amusement in his chest.

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