After the Beautiful Omega Was Targeted by His Straight Roommate - Chapter 8

What?!

Qi Yuxiao actually invited him to walk back to the dormitory together?!

Tao Ran widened his eyes in disbelief and confirmed once more, “Are you going back to the dormitory too?”

Qi Yuxiao slung his bag over his shoulder and nodded.

Realizing he was blocking the way, Tao Ran immediately stepped aside. As Qi Yuxiao made a move to leave, Tao Ran hurriedly followed his lead.

The two walked out of the teaching building one after the other.

It was near the end of autumn, and the temperature had dropped slightly. A cool night breeze blew, and the streetlights illuminated the road brightly. Withered leaves were scattered across the ground, and with no one else around, the atmosphere was quiet and serene.

Halfway there, they had to pass the cafeteria. From the moment Tao Ran spotted a corner of the cafeteria roof, his gaze became fixed on it. As they moved, his head turned along with the building until they were just about to pass it by.

This movement was hard to miss. Qi Yuxiao stopped in his tracks and asked, “Are you going—”

Tao Ran pursed his lips and suggested in a low voice, “Um… let me treat you to a late-night snack. Would you like some?”

Ever since returning from the hospital, Tao Ran had been thinking of a way to properly thank him, but he had not found the opportunity. Qi Yuxiao’s time in the dormitory was always unpredictable, and Tao Ran could never grasp his schedule. Now was the perfect time.

Qi Yuxiao remained silent for a while. Tao Ran thought he was going to refuse and felt a sudden wave of embarrassment. Just as he was about to look up to check, he heard the other person speak:

“Sure.”

Tao Ran’s eyes lit up, and he followed up, “Then what would you like to eat?”

Qi Yuxiao: “Anything is fine. You decide.”

Anything? What if he bought something that didn’t suit Qi Yuxiao’s taste?

Tao Ran scratched his ear in distress. After thinking for a moment, he asked, “How about the fried skewers on the second floor of the cafeteria?”

He remembered that those skewers were famously delicious. Deep-fried until golden and enticing, then coated in a thick layer of secret-recipe sauce, one bite was a top-tier treat for the taste buds.

The only downside was the price, which was a bit high. Every time Tao Ran had a craving, he only allowed himself to buy a little bit. However, if Qi Yuxiao wanted to eat them, he could buy more.

Qi Yuxiao: “Buy whatever you want to eat. I am not picky.”

The two went up to the second floor together.

Upon reaching the selection area, Tao Ran saw a dazzling array of ingredients. He held the basket and piled things in; in the blink of an eye, the basket was full.

Watching his actions, Qi Yuxiao furrowed his brow slightly. “Can you eat that much?”

Tao Ran paused and looked back at him. “I can share some with Zhuo Qiang and Su Jialiang.”

After grabbing the last four chicken legs and putting them in the basket, Tao Ran finally stopped his shopping spree and handed the basket to the uncle at the window.

Ten minutes later, carrying a large bucket full of skewers, Tao Ran and Qi Yuxiao walked out of the cafeteria together.

They reached a fork in the road where there were only two paths back to the dormitory.

Tao Ran was in a bit of a dilemma.

Normally, anyone would take the wide main road by Building 4, and Qi Yuxiao should be no exception. Tao Ran thought Qi Yuxiao probably wouldn’t want to accompany him on the dark, mosquito-ridden path by Building 8.

But taking the road by Building 4 meant passing the basketball court. If he took that path, he might be harassed by those strange people again.

Tao Ran bit his lip, his face scrunched up in conflict, and his pace slowed down.

The basketball court under Building 4 was already visible. In the cool autumn night air, the boys loved playing basketball at this hour; those people would likely be there.

Terrified of being spotted, Tao Ran became restless. After hesitating for a long time, he finally called out to Qi Yuxiao and said softly, “Um… Qi Yuxiao, I just remembered I have something to do at Building 8. Why don’t you go back first?”

By parting ways with Qi Yuxiao, he could slip away to the lakeside path by Building 8 to avoid those people, and Qi Yuxiao wouldn’t have to follow him there to feed the mosquitoes.

However, Qi Yuxiao didn’t say a word. He lowered his gaze and looked at him calmly, his pupils dark and deep in the night. “What do you need to do at Building 8?”

“Um…” Anxious, Tao Ran made up a random excuse. “I need to hand over some materials to our class monitor.”

Qi Yuxiao’s expression remained unchanged as he directly exposed the lie: “I recall that the dormitories for the Academy of Fine Arts are not in Building 8.”

“!!!?”

Embarrassment flashed across Tao Ran’s face. He stammered, unable to explain, “No, that’s…”

“Did something happen?”

Tao Ran was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected Qi Yuxiao to ask that.

For the first time, someone had expressed direct concern for his predicament. A gap opened in his heart, and the desire to confide spilled out. He told Qi Yuxiao in a low voice about what had happened at the basketball court.

At the court under Building 4, a group of PE students often played at night. Tao Ran hadn’t noticed them at first, but one night, as he passed by as usual, the boys inside suddenly burst into a chorus of laughter.

Tao Ran had looked at them in confusion. The group was pushing and teasing a boy in the middle, their laughter growing louder—it was full of ill-intentioned teasing that made him feel very uncomfortable.

The following night, when Tao Ran passed the court again, he intentionally quickened his pace. But this time, the group of boys saw him coming and immediately ran out of the court to block him.

A group of PE students are all tall and strong, and each one looked quite fierce. They surrounded Tao Ran, casting a large, oppressive shadow, while the air was thick with the smell of sweat from their recent exercise.

Tao Ran couldn’t help but feel suffocated and panicked, thinking he had encountered school bullying.

Then, a boy stepped closer and asked if he could have his contact information.

But Tao Ran was so nervous his ears were ringing. He didn’t even have time to see what the boy looked like before he found a gap, ducked out with all his might, and fled as if his feet were on fire.

Since then, he had never taken the road under Building 4 again.

Tao Ran hadn’t told a single person about this. He recounted it troubledly, and after finishing, he felt a lingering shame for having lied to Qi Yuxiao. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie to you just now.”

“It’s fine,” Qi Yuxiao said. “I’ll walk with you. They won’t come to harass you.”

Tao Ran looked at him blankly.

On the court, a game had ended, and everyone was resting and drinking water under the hoop.

One teammate gulped down half a bottle of water, his eyes drifting boredly to the nearby road. Remembering something, he said curiously, “Hey, I’ve seen that boy pass by here several nights in a row.”

Someone nearby mocked, “Hahahaha, Zhao Kaiyun must have scared him away.”

Zhao Kaiyun remembered the incident where he asked for contact info and scared Tao Ran off. He gave them a resentful glare. “It’s all your fault. I told you I could go alone, but you insisted on following. Now look—he doesn’t even take this road anymore.”

A teammate asked, “Speaking of which, have you found out which academy that boy is from?”

“I found out a bit. Jiang Zhao said he’s from the Academy of Fine Arts.” Zhao Kaiyun gave a silly grin. “His name is Tao Ran. It’s a very cute name, right? He’s a freshman too.”

The teammate looked at Zhao Kaiyun’s “already in love” expression—despite not even getting a phone number—and said speechlessly, “You asked around for ages and only got a name? What’s up with Jiang Zhao? He’s so slow this time; he still hasn’t gotten the contact info for you.”

“Academy of Fine Arts, huh? That’s easy then. It’s famous that there are lots of gay guys studying art. Besides, that Tao Ran doesn’t look like a straight guy anyway.”

Someone raised a question: “Wait… that’s not right. I thought the Fine Arts dorms were pretty far from here.”

“Didn’t someone see him walking into Building 6 before? That’s a mixed-major dorm.”

“There are only two ways to get to Building 6. One is this path by our court, and the other is the path by Building 8.” A teammate started giving bad advice again. “I bet he’s been taking the other path lately. How about we go block him there tomorrow night?”

“You’re really wicked. What if you scare him so much he jumps into the lake?”

“Hey, hey, hey! Look ahead!”

Everyone turned in unison. A slender, graceful figure appeared at the intersection.

“Isn’t that Tao Ran?” the teammate shouted excitedly. “The chance is here! Zhao Kaiyun, go!”

Zhao Kaiyun’s eyes brightened instantly, his heart thumping. “So soon? I don’t think I’m ready.”

“Hold on.” The leader suddenly stopped, squinting as he made a surprising discovery. “It looks like a guy is following behind Tao Ran.”

“It looks like they are walking together!”

“Hey, isn’t that person Qi Yuxiao? The school hunk who went viral during military training. Jiang Zhao’s high school classmate.”

Watching the two seemingly unrelated people walking together—one tall and one short—the scene was surprisingly harmonious and beautiful.

The group stood there observing, secretly watching Tao Ran and Qi Yuxiao pass. Tao Ran kept his head down, shrinking beside Qi Yuxiao in an effort to reduce his presence. As they passed each other, Qi Yuxiao suddenly looked up toward the court.

The court was brightly lit. The young man’s features were deep and intense, his gaze sharp as cold light and filled with danger. He looked exactly like a wild beast in the forest protecting the prey under its paw, sending a warning signal to any onlookers to stay away.

The group felt a chill run down their spines: “…”

After the two had left, the group looked at each other, completely baffled.

Having walked back to the dormitory without incident, Tao Ran let out a complete sigh of relief.

What Qi Yuxiao said was actually true; with him there, those PE students didn’t come to harass him.

Tao Ran offered a slight smile, a shallow dimple appearing at the corner of his mouth. He looked at Qi Yuxiao, his eyes bright and moist. “Qi Yuxiao, thank you.”

Qi Yuxiao stared at Tao Ran’s dimple for a few seconds before withdrawing his gaze and saying calmly, “It’s nothing.”

Back in the dormitory, there was only a shirtless Zhuo Qiang. Su Jialiang had a club team-building event tonight and would be back later.

Seeing Qi Yuxiao and Tao Ran enter at the same time, Zhuo Qiang paused while rummaging through his wardrobe, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes. “You two came back together?”

“Mm,” Tao Ran nodded. “We bought fried skewers. Do you want some?”

“Sure,” Zhuo Qiang said. “But I need to take a shower first.”

He suddenly gave a fawning smile. “Hehe, Tao Ran, the body wash I bought online is stuck in transit. Can I borrow yours for one more night?”

Tao Ran: “Sure, go ahead and take it.”

“Great! Thanks, Tao Ran!” Zhuo Qiang hummed a song as he carried Tao Ran’s body wash into the bathroom.

When Su Jialiang returned to the dorm from outside, he saw Zhuo Qiang walking out of the bathroom looking delighted, excitedly spinning around the room and offering his elbow for everyone to smell.

“Come smell this! I’ve used Tao Ran’s body wash for several days in a row. Do I smell as good as him now?”

The elbow was quickly thrust under Su Jialiang’s nose. He gave an objective evaluation: “The smell of a loser has faded slightly after the shower.”

“You, you, you…” Zhuo Qiang was fuming. “So, what if I’m a loser? What did a loser ever do to you?”

Refusing to believe it, he sniffed himself again and admitted, “Fine, there really isn’t much of a scent.”

“Why is it that Tao Ran and I use the same body wash, and he smells so good while I have no scent at all?”

Zhuo Qiang found it very strange. “Tao Ran, are you using perfume?”

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