After the Beautiful Omega Was Targeted by His Straight Roommate - Chapter 32

Qi Yuxiao returned to campus at 6:00 PM on Sunday.

The moment he stepped into the dormitory, he sensed something was off. He paused, scanning the room. Zhuo Qiang was lying on his bed scrolling through short videos, while Su Jialiang was at his desk under the bunk, rushing through a group presentation PPT. Tao Ran was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Tao Ran?” he asked, closing the door to shut out the cold air and looking toward Su Jialiang.

“Tao Ran went out and hasn’t come back yet.” Su Jialiang turned away from his computer, seemingly trying to recall the details. “He said he was going out to look for a part-time job.”

“A part-time job?” Qi Yuxiao’s brow furrowed.

Why the sudden urge to find work out of the blue? Neither Su Jialiang nor Zhuo Qiang knew the specific reason.

“Tao Ran went to that class social last night and didn’t get back until very late,” Su Jialiang explained. “I guess they played some games or something because he looked exhausted. He didn’t say much to us, just took a shower and crawled into bed. When I woke up this morning, I realized he’d already slipped out. I messaged him to ask, and he replied saying he was out looking for a part-time job.”

Zhuo Qiang was equally puzzled. “It’s really strange. Is there something Tao Ran wants to buy recently? Why the sudden hustle?”

Qi Yuxiao didn’t get much useful information from his roommates, but he soon heard the full story from Jiang Zhao.

Jiang Zhao had been away for a competition and had just returned last night. He overheard other students in the Physical Education department gossiping. Apparently, Zhao Kaiyun had attended the Fine Arts social with his new boyfriend on Saturday night and ran into a guy he used to be interested in but could never catch. Zhao Kaiyun had deliberately acted like a jerk to provoke him, and the guy didn’t hold back, splashing a cup of juice right in his face.

A conflict erupted, and it wasn’t resolved until the counselors from both departments were called in. Word was that during the struggle, Zhao Kaiyun’s clothes were accidentally torn, and the poor guy who did it had to pay compensation.

After hearing the story, Qi Yuxiao lowered his gaze. His face was cold, and dark emotions swirled beneath his obsidian eyes. After a long silence, he typed a reply to Jiang Zhao.

Qi Yuxiao: [I heard you guys are having a team dinner later?]

8:00 PM

Night had fallen, and the city lights were beginning to flicker on. Seven or eight guys were gathered in a private room at a restaurant, celebrating several team members’ high rankings in the recent provincial competition.

Since not everyone had arrived yet, and the food had just been ordered, they were happily discussing highlights from the match. Zhao Kaiyun sat awkwardly in the corner, listening without saying a word. He had been lazy with his training recently, and his performance had noticeably dropped; he was the only one in the entire team who hadn’t been selected for the competition.

After a while, someone asked, “What’s up with Jiang Zhao? Why isn’t he here yet?”

“Oh, Jiang Zhao just sent a message to the group.”

Jiang Zhao: [Brothers, good news! Dinner is on the house tonight. I found us a ‘sugar daddy’ sponsor. His only requirement is that we add a chair for him at the table.]

Such a good deal? Everyone was delighted.

— [Holy crap, Jiang Zhao, you’re the man!] — [No wonder you’re late, you were bringing us a surprise!] — [Forget a chair, we’ll give him a throne if he wants!]

Zhao Kaiyun remained silent, staring at the group chat with a frown. Who was Jiang Zhao bringing?

About half an hour later, the door to the private room pushed open, and Jiang Zhao finally appeared. The person with him was Qi Yuxiao.

The group looked toward the door and froze. “Wait, Qi Yuxiao?”

Because Qi Yuxiao was close with Jiang Zhao, he often visited the training grounds, so everyone recognized him. Most people on the team came from well-off families, but it was clear to everyone that Jiang Zhao was a second-generation rich kid whose wealth was several levels higher than theirs. Jiang Zhao was a bit of a blabbermouth and had accidentally revealed some family info once; someone had looked up his father’s name on a business database and found assets that regular people couldn’t even dream of.

Since Qi Yuxiao and Jiang Zhao grew up together, it was assumed Qi Yuxiao’s background was equally impressive. In the beginning, some people tried to use Jiang Zhao to suck up to Qi Yuxiao, but without exception, they were met with cold indifference. Qi Yuxiao was naturally distant and had no interest in useless social climbing; very few people ever caught his eye.

So, no one expected that the person Jiang Zhao was bringing would be Qi Yuxiao. Did he suddenly want to be friends with them?

Incredible. They looked again.

Qi Yuxiao placed a gift bag on the round table and said calmly, “I decided to join the dinner last minute. I hope I’m not intruding.”

Damn, even his way of speaking was so polite. The room fell into a stunned silence as everyone tried to process this.

“Qi Yuxiao brought a little something for everyone.” Jiang Zhao lifted the gift bag he was carrying onto the table. When he pulled out the boxes inside, everyone’s eyes widened in shock.

Ma-Maotai? Eight bottles… one for each person, plus an extra!

The eight bottles of Maotai were lined up impressively on the table, instantly elevating the class of this 500-600 yuan per person restaurant.

Jiang Zhao grinned. “The gift boxes take up too much space, so we stripped them down to just the internal packaging. It looks a bit simple, so don’t mind it. Come on, everyone take a bottle, don’t be shy.”

The people in the room finally snapped out of it, their eyes sparkling with surprise. While they politely declined with their words, their bodies were honest as they crowded around to claim a bottle for themselves.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have brought gifts!” “Qi-ge is so generous, thank you so much!”

The eight bottles were quickly divvied up until only two remained.

“It looks like someone hasn’t taken one.”

Qi Yuxiao lazily lifted his eyelids, looking directly at Zhao Kaiyun, who sat motionless across the table. “Is it you?”

The air in the room grew delicately quiet. The teammate sitting next to Zhao Kaiyun nudged him. “Hey, Kaiyun, what are you doing? Why haven’t you taken your gift?”

“…” Zhao Kaiyun’s expression was frozen.

Seeing this, Qi Yuxiao gave a soft, mocking laugh. “What, are you not going to give me face?”

The words were familiar, but the roles were suddenly reversed.

Zhao Kaiyun looked up and met Qi Yuxiao’s eyes, which were as dark as a cold pool. There was no emotion to be found in them, yet they made Zhao Kaiyun’s back tingle with numbness. He snapped out of it and gave a stiff smile. “No, no, I just didn’t react in time. My apologies.”

The person next to him, quick to read the room, immediately handed him a bottle. Someone chimed in to smooth things over: “Alright, alright, everyone has one now. Let’s all thank Qi-ge!”

They thought the matter would end there. However, Qi Yuxiao slightly tilted his chin, his cold gaze fixed on Zhao Kaiyun. “If you feel bad, then finish this bottle of liquor. Consider it giving me some face back.”

What? Finish what? Finish a whole bottle of 53% Maotai?

Someone sucked in a breath. “Qi-ge, this is hard liquor. It’s high proof and a full pint.”

Qi Yuxiao ignored him, his expression remaining indifferent. “What, are you unwilling to drink?”

Now, everyone understood. Qi Yuxiao was clearly here to make trouble for Zhao Kaiyun!

Zhao Kaiyun’s lips trembled, his face turning pale. He realized it too: Qi Yuxiao was seeking revenge for Tao Ran, using the exact same methods.

Tao Ran had dared to splash juice in his face. But Zhao Kaiyun didn’t dare splash Qi Yuxiao. After all, the person in front of him was…

Thinking of this, Zhao Kaiyun grit his teeth, a sliver of regret finally seeping into his heart. He hadn’t expected Tao Ran and Qi Yuxiao to be so close that Qi Yuxiao would personally come to settle the score.

He had to swallow his pride for now. Zhao Kaiyun lost all of the aggressive bravado he’d used to bully people the night before. He said in a low voice, “Qi-ge, I have training tomorrow. I really can’t drink that much. How about this? Beer is lower proof. I’ll finish this whole case of beer myself, and then dinner is on me. Order whatever you want.”

The teammate next to him helped explain: “Qi-ge, we really do have training tomorrow. If we drink too much, it’ll affect our performance.”

A few people signaled Jiang Zhao with their eyes, hoping he would say something. But Jiang Zhao just chuckled and pretended not to see.

When Qi Yuxiao didn’t respond, Zhao Kaiyun took the opportunity to open the beers and started chugging them down. After three beers, the door opened and a waiter entered with a cart full of food. “Serving the dishes now.”

Someone finally found the chance to break the tension. “Here we go, the food is here. Let’s eat first.” The awkward atmosphere was barely suppressed.

Throughout the meal, everyone tried their best to make conversation. After sitting for a while, Qi Yuxiao checked his phone. After thirty seconds, he turned off the screen and stood up. “I have something to take care of. I’m heading out.”

Every eye in the room followed him until the door closed.

Huh? He just left?

“Jiang Zhao, what’s up with Qi Yuxiao?” “He just left like that? He came just to give us Maotai?”

Jiang Zhao himself was baffled. “I don’t know either.”

Because Qi Yuxiao and Jiang Zhao were so close, no one dared to gossip about Qi Yuxiao’s strange behavior in front of him, so they silently started eating. Because he had just chugged several beers, Zhao Kaiyun started feeling the urge to go halfway through the meal. He excused himself and went to the restroom.

The restroom was empty. After finishing his business, he walked to the sink. Cold water flowed from the faucet, washing over his hands. Zhao Kaiyun suddenly thought of what had just happened and couldn’t help but let out a cold, mocking laugh.

He thought Qi Yuxiao would really do something to help Tao Ran, but all he did was embarrass him a few times in public? That was it? Hmph, barely a scratch. It seemed Tao Ran and Qi Yuxiao weren’t as close as he had imagined.

Zhao Kaiyun lowered his head and finished washing his hands, turned off the faucet, and shook off the water. He looked up and suddenly noticed a black figure in the mirror.

Before the figure could even come into focus, his shoulder was violently spun around. In the next instant, a hard fist smashed directly into the side of his face.

Zhao Kaiyun’s head was whipped around by the unreserved force of the blow. His ears rang, and in his daze, he finally saw the person in front of him.

Zhao Kaiyun stood there stunned, clutching his face, his eyes wide. “Qi… Qi Yuxiao?”

Qi Yuxiao hadn’t left after all.

He must have been certain that Zhao Kaiyun would eventually come out to use the restroom, so he had been waiting nearby all along.

Zhao Kaiyun wiped his face and glared up at him. “You dare assault an athlete?”

“An athlete?” Qi Yuxiao lifted his eyelids coldly, his voice dripping with mockery. “Even a beast can be an athlete these days?”

“You!” Rage instantly flared in Zhao Kaiyun. He lunged at Qi Yuxiao, his fist swinging toward him.

The silence of the restroom was broken by the heavy, violent sounds of a struggle.

Two young men of similar stature grappled with each other, every punch and kick delivered without reservation. Although Zhao Kaiyun was a PE student, it was clear his training had only provided him with raw muscle and strength. His strikes were sluggish and disorganized, lacking any real technique. Qi Yuxiao, whose every strike landed with surgical precision on vital points, quickly achieved a state of one-sided suppression.

His movements were crisp and efficient. Finally, he delivered a powerful kick directly to Zhao Kaiyun’s abdomen.

Caught off guard, Zhao Kaiyun staggered back several steps until his back slammed hard against the solid wall. His head hit the surface with a sickening thud. Dizzied and disoriented, he collapsed miserably to the floor.

However, his physical conditioning as an athlete prevented him from losing consciousness. Through blurred vision, he saw the long-legged young man approaching him step by step.

Zhao Kaiyun looked up blankly. The other man was looking down at him from a height, those habitually calm and emotionless eyes now seeping with a chilling frost.

Qi Yuxiao bent down, grabbed Zhao Kaiyun by the collar, and slammed him back against the wall. He pressed his index finger firmly against the man’s vulnerable windpipe, his other four fingers tightening the collar so abruptly that the veins in his forearm bulged.

Zhao Kaiyun’s face instantly turned a deep red from suffocation, his expression twisted in pain.

“You really like grabbing people by the collar, don’t you?” Dark shadows swirled in Qi Yuxiao’s eyes, making it impossible to read his true feelings. His voice was husky and dark. “Do you still like it now?”

In a matter of moments, Zhao Kaiyun’s complexion turned the color of liver. The oxygen in his lungs drained away bit by bit. A violent survival instinct took over, making him struggle in a panic.

Just as he was on the verge of blacking out, Qi Yuxiao threw him to the ground like a piece of trash.

Zhao Kaiyun gasped for air as if granted a divine reprieve.

“It was my oversight not to have given you a verbal warning before. I thought anyone could read the room,” Qi Yuxiao said, looking down at him as if he were a stray dog. “But clearly, you are an idiot.”

“But even an idiot should know what to do now, right?”

“Next time you see Tao Ran, stay away from him.”

With that, he turned and walked away.

As he stepped out of the restroom, he ran straight into Jiang Zhao, who had come to check on the situation. Jiang Zhao took one look at him and jumped. “What did you do?”

Qi Yuxiao gave him a sideways glance but did not speak or slow his pace.

Guessing the truth in an instant, Jiang Zhao peeked stiffly into the restroom. Sure enough, he saw the bruised and battered Zhao Kaiyun slumped on the floor. He quickly hurried to catch up with Qi Yuxiao.

Qi Yuxiao stopped at the balcony at the end of the hallway.

Jiang Zhao stopped beside him. “I thought you were just going to give him a verbal warning. I did not expect you to go this far.”

Although Qi Yuxiao had learned various fighting skills, he never initiated a fight. The only other time was during a trip abroad without bodyguards back in high school. They had encountered a local troublemaker, and Qi Yuxiao had beaten the 1.9-meter-tall man to a pulp.

Despite being childhood friends, Jiang Zhao still found Qi Yuxiao hard to read. He was deep and extremely restrained. The angrier he was, the more he tightened his emotional grip. It was rare to see such outward hostility.

It seems Qi Yuxiao really cares about this friend, Tao Ran, Jiang Zhao couldn’t help but think.

Jiang Zhao was cautious. He took out his phone and dialed a number. “I’ll contact some people and have them delete the restaurant’s surveillance footage.”

Even though Zhao Kaiyun was his teammate, Jiang Zhao was not particularly close to him. In fact, he found some of Zhao Kaiyun’s behavior quite revolting. When compared to Qi Yuxiao, Jiang Zhao’s loyalty naturally lay entirely with his childhood friend.

After handling the arrangements, Jiang Zhao checked the time on his phone and said in shock, “You really are efficient. It’s not even 9:30 yet.”

Qi Yuxiao’s actions were indeed decisive. They had arrived at 8:30, and he had finished teaching Zhao Kaiyun a lesson within the hour.

A doubt surfaced in Jiang Zhao’s mind. “But why didn’t you just call a bodyguard to do this? You always said you didn’t like fighting. Why did you suddenly do it yourself this time?”

The bright light from the ceiling hit Qi Yuxiao’s eyelashes, casting a shadow over his eyes. He swallowed the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His voice was raspy.

“Some people just need to be hit personally to feel satisfied.”

When Tao Ran returned on Saturday night, he immediately checked his WeChat Pay, Alipay, and bank cards.

Dr. Chi had previously increased his allowance to 5,000 yuan. Later, hearing he was going on a trip with his roommates, he had provided an additional travel fund. This month, the total amount given to him was nearly 10,000 yuan. Tao Ran felt that he might not even earn this much after finding a job once he graduated.

Between spending on food, clothes, and the trip, he calculated he had about 4,000 yuan left. But it was not enough; the compensation was 25,000 yuan.

In his previous life, although Tao Ran was not valued, his family had a business. He was not treated well, but he always had food and clothes. After transmigrating to this world, before he could become a vagrant, he was taken in by Dr. Chi and never had to worry about basic needs.

Consequently, Tao Ran had never really had a concept of money. After entering university, he realized that although everyone was a student, their standards of living varied greatly. He would occasionally remark on the extravagance of the wealthy, but he never overthought it, let alone compared himself or felt envious.

This was the first time in his life he was worrying about money. Tao Ran’s first instinct was to seek help from Dr. Chi. If he told Dr. Chi the whole story, the doctor would surely understand and help him.

That was until he saw the message from Xu Jiali.

Xu Jiali: [Tao Ran, what do you plan to do about the compensation?] Xu Jiali: [I do not really want to tell my mom. They work so hard. I want to try and raise the money myself first.]

Tao Ran blinked slowly and replied, [It’s a large amount. How do you plan to raise it?]

Xu Jiali: [I’m going to look for a part-time job tomorrow to see if I can earn it. We have a month; there’s plenty of time.] Xu Jiali: [I’ll earn what I can. If the deadline arrives and I’m still short, I’ll ask my mom for the remainder. At least I can reduce her burden a little!]

Tao Ran stared at the messages in silence, feeling a mix of novelty and daze. He had never considered the idea of a part-time job.

Dr. Chi had already given him so much money this month. Not just this month, but the art training back in high school had been a huge expense, too. Back then, Dr. Chi was working domestically and had not received a pay raise. To be honest, Dr. Chi was unrelated to him; supporting him this far made the doctor a saint in Tao Ran’s eyes.

When he was a minor without any earning capacity, it was somewhat justifiable. But now that he was an adult, it seemed he should earn his own living. Something began to stir deep in his heart.

After a long time, Tao Ran replied, [Jiali, when you go look for a job, can you take me with you?]

Thus, the next day, they set out on their job-hunting journey as agreed.

As they started, Xu Jiali was full of confidence. “I know some seniors from clubs. When they heard I was looking for work, they recommended several places that hire students. I’m sure we’ll find something today!”

Their first stop was a supermarket. The manager took one look at the two students and frowned. “You two are as thin as rails. How are you going to do supermarket work?”

Xu Jiali asked, puzzled, “Isn’t supermarket work just organizing shelves and moving stock? What’s so hard about that?”

The manager replied, “Everyone is fighting for the shelf-organizing jobs; we’re not short on people. If you want to work now, the only thing left is moving heavy stock.”

With that, the manager pointed to a truck nearby. Several tall, sturdy guys were stationed there, their clothes covered in dust. Each of them had three heavy cardboard boxes stacked on their shoulders, carrying them into the warehouse. They went back and forth repeatedly.

Xu Jiali and Tao Ran were both shocked. Xu Jiali asked in disbelief, “They have to move a whole truckload of goods?”

“Yes. Their efficiency is too slow, so we need more people.”

Xu Jiali: “How much does this pay per hour?” The manager: “Seven yuan.” Xu Jiali: “Seven yuan? That little?” The manager: “Seven yuan is the market price.”

“Who are you kidding? The milk tea shop next door pays eighteen per hour.” “Then why didn’t you go there? Is it because you didn’t want to?” the manager shot back. “Isn’t it because they aren’t short of people?”

The manager was blunt, and Xu Jiali immediately lost his temper. His voice rose, “Seven yuan an hour is ridiculous. Are you treating students like idiots?”

“Take it or leave it!” the manager roared. “If you don’t do it, plenty of others will!” He waved his hand and chased them out.

Later, Tao Ran and Xu Jiali spent the day asking around and discovered that the hourly wage for part-time jobs on this street really was the market price the manager mentioned: seven yuan. The jobs that paid the normal eighteen-yuan wage were indeed fully staffed. Good part-time jobs were highly competitive, and they did not stand a chance.

After a full circle around the commercial street, they had nothing to show for it. While resting on a bench, Xu Jiali was complaining to a senior via text.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he looked at Tao Ran. “Tao Ran, there’s a job with a base rate of 100 per hour. If you’re good-looking, it doubles.”

Perhaps because the seven-yuan wage had been so demoralizing, hearing about 100 per hour felt unreal to Tao Ran. He looked confused. “What kind of job?”

“A waiter at a bar. Let’s go check it out!”

Tao Ran agreed. The bar Xu Jiali mentioned was a bit far, so they took a taxi to get there faster. After getting out, a bar with a black-and-white aesthetic came into view.

“Jiangnan Love,” Xu Jiali murmured the name on the sign.

A few seconds later, he froze.

Wait a minute.

Isn’t this a gay bar?

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