After the Beautiful Omega Was Targeted by His Straight Roommate - Chapter 23

SpongeBob…?

Tao Ran froze for a moment. He quickly thought of his plush pillow that had been lying on Qi Yuxiao’s bed all this time.

He wondered if Qi Yuxiao had mistaken him for that pillow.

Oh my god.

Realizing that the man was currently a drunkard, Tao Ran patiently tried to explain away this absurd situation.

“You have the wrong person. I am not SpongeBob.”

Qi Yuxiao held him tightly and gave no response.

Tao Ran, who thought he would be released after explaining, was confused.

He tried to push at the arms wrapped around his waist, but his strength was too light to move them at all. Instead, it only provoked dissatisfaction from the young man buried against his abdomen, and the arms tightened even further.

“Ah!” Tao Ran let out a small, startled cry.

The pajamas were soft and thin, and Qi Yuxiao’s face, flushed with rising intoxication, was radiating a constant heat that transferred right through the fabric.

It took a long while before a flash of clarity appeared in Qi Yuxiao’s eyes, just enough for him to distinguish the difference between Tao Ran and a pillow.

“I know.”

It was good that he knew. But since he knew, why was he still not letting go?

Tao Ran felt as if a scorching branding iron was pressed against his stomach. He couldn’t help but suck in a breath and say, “Do you like that pillow very much? I will give it to you then.”

Even though the pillow had been borrowed by the other man for several weeks and had yet to be returned.

Tao Ran did not mind. He gently patted Qi Yuxiao and spoke in a kind, soothing tone, “Let go of me first. I will go and get it down for you, okay?”

Qi Yuxiao’s reaction was somewhat sluggish. When he opened his eyes again, the depths of his pupils were entirely occupied by the chaos of drunkenness. His voice was slurred, but his attitude was firm. “No.”

No?

Tao Ran was stunned.

Even when drunk, Qi Yuxiao was still so sparing with his words. However, he seemed more like a stubborn child than usual, which gave him a more human, down-to-earth quality.

Tao Ran found it difficult to deal with him and simply had no other choice.

The two of them remained deadlocked in this position for ten minutes. Qi Yuxiao leaned quietly against Tao Ran’s belly, his breathing steady and his breath hot.

Watching the other man’s eyes remain closed, Tao Ran gradually grew anxious.

Was Qi Yuxiao trying to sleep? Then why was he still not letting go? Was he going to sleep in this exact position?

Tao Ran wanted to cry: was he going to have to stand like this all night?

After much thought, he decided on a second attempt at persuasion.

Tao Ran cleared his throat and said softly, “Qi Yuxiao, it is quite late now. You must be tired too. Why don’t you go to bed and sleep?”

Qi Yuxiao, however, immediately opened his eyes. “I cannot sleep.”

It seemed he wasn’t quite at the point of being completely wasted; his reaction time was still fairly fast.

“?” Tao Ran asked curiously, “Did you not say that you could fall asleep quickly once you smelled the scent on me?”

Saying this out loud was quite embarrassing, and a bit of red heat climbed up the tips of Tao Ran’s ears.

“Maybe I haven’t smelled enough of it yet,” Qi Yuxiao said, his high nose nuzzling against Tao Ran’s clothes.

“Then…”

Tao Ran felt a wave of itchiness triggered by the movement. He couldn’t help but shrink back, but since he was entirely within Qi Yuxiao’s control, there was no space to retreat.

He patiently urged him, “Then, you should go take a shower first. It is so late that the hot water supply is about to be cut off.”

Qi Yuxiao paused for a moment as if thinking about something, but he finally lifted his head. He stared straight at Tao Ran with a gaze that held a scorching temperature. “Can I continue to hold you after I shower?”

Tao Ran: “…”

He found it a bit hard to handle that look. After a few seconds of hesitation, he finally spoke. “You… you can.”

“Okay.” Qi Yuxiao stared at him for several more seconds before letting go. His tightened legs also moved apart.

Having been released, Tao Ran immediately pulled back a few steps with a lingering fear.

Qi Yuxiao stood up.

Tao Ran did not know what he intended to do, but remembering that he was a drunkard, Tao Ran’s gaze followed him, fearing he might stumble and fall again as he had earlier.

He saw Qi Yuxiao pull a set of pajamas out of the wardrobe and walk into the bathroom, followed by the sound of the door closing.

His footsteps were steady throughout the entire process, and his figure did not sway once. He acted with clarity and order. If it weren’t for the scent of alcohol on him and the childish behavior he had just displayed, it would be impossible to tell he was drunk.

Tao Ran felt relieved, but he was also a bit confused. Was Qi Yuxiao’s sobering speed really that fast? He could barely stand when he first came back and needed support, yet now he was acting as if nothing had happened.

However, Tao Ran did not dwell on this detail. His attention was completely focused on something else.

During their close contact just now, he had noticed the dark circles under Qi Yuxiao’s eyes. They seemed even heavier than before.

During the time Tao Ran had been using the scent blocker, Qi Yuxiao had clearly not been sleeping well. It was likely because the pillow had been away from him for too long, and the pheromones remaining on it had gradually dissipated.

To be honest, Tao Ran originally couldn’t imagine Qi Yuxiao sleeping while hugging a SpongeBob pillow. But after seeing him like this tonight, he could visualize the scene. It was quite a contrast.

The sound of water pattering came from the bathroom. Tao Ran sat in Qi Yuxiao’s chair, his mind a messy tangle and his heart filled with conflict.

Even though Tao Ran was working hard to correct his thoughts and treat Qi Yuxiao as a Beta or an Omega, he was still occasionally startled by some of his actions. For example, when he suddenly leaned in close to his neck on the balcony, or tonight, locking him in place with his legs and burying his head in his abdomen.

Was that a bit too intimate?

Perhaps it was due to cultural differences; Tao Ran wasn’t quite sure of the boundaries.

Was it normal for straight men in this world to be like this?

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