My Roommate is a Gloomy, Sensitive Guy Who Cries Over Everything - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: I Just Want to Rent a Room

In the middle of August, the summer heat was suffocating. However, the countryside was shaded by lush green trees, and the breeze blowing through was cool, even if the sun was so bright it made one’s eyes squint.

Xue Rong was hanging up dog-printed bedsheets to dry, preparing a four-piece bedding set for Lin Zhiyu to take to his university dormitory. Not far away, his childhood friend, Yu Hechang, was shouting.

“Xiao Yu!!!”

Lin Zhiyu poked his head out from behind a damp bedsheet, his face flushed red from the sun. Because of the sheet’s cover, Yu Hechang hadn’t noticed Xue Rong. He only spoke once he got close.

“I found three people to join—”

Lin Zhiyu slapped a hand over his mouth, blinking frantically. Only then did Yu Hechang notice the thin, small figure of Xue Rong looking at them suspiciously.

“Getting into trouble outside again?” she asked.

Yu Hechang pulled the hand away. “No, no, I just came to play with Xiao Yu.”

Xue Rong didn’t press further. Once Lin Zhiyu led him inside, he said cautiously, “Don’t let my mom know about the apartment hunting. What were you saying?”

Yu Hechang panted, “I found a shared rental for three people. Two girls and one guy. Including you, that’s two girls and two guys—perfectly balanced.”

Focusing on the most important part, Lin Zhiyu asked, “What’s the price?”

“There’s one master bedroom left. A thousand a month.”

Lin Zhiyu gasped. “A thousand a month? Are they robbing people? That’s blatant price gouging.”

“It’s pricey, yeah, but having any housing at all right now is lucky. You can’t be too picky.”

The dormitory environment at H University was so poor that even sophomores were fighting for good off-campus housing; there was hardly anything left for freshmen.

Lin Zhiyu was unlucky. His major coincided with H University’s construction of a new residential zone. The old dorms were being torn down, leaving students from the Engineering and Information Technology departments squeezed into sixteen-person communal wards. They were told it was only for a year and they’d get priority for the new dorms next semester, but nobody wanted to be the “unlucky sucker” to endure that.

After careful thought, he chose to rent off-campus. As he searched, the school forums were flooded with posts looking for roommates.

Lin Zhiyu glanced at Xue Rong, who was still hanging laundry outside, and muttered, “And it’s not like you can live with me…”

Yu Hechang felt deflated. “Luckily my major got assigned to a six-person dorm. Thank heaven for that.”

Lin Zhiyu pursed his lips.

They were the only two from their village to get into university this year. When the acceptance letters arrived, the village committee even hung banners and held a feast. While it wasn’t Tsinghua or Peking University, it was still a “985” (top-tier) school. They just hadn’t expected the campus environment to be so desolate and the dorms so bleak.

Yu Hechang scratched his head. “So what now?”

The two stared at each other, the atmosphere heavy with an uncharacteristic helplessness.

Lin Zhiyu studied Yu Hechang’s face, then suddenly stood up and patted his shoulder. “Forget it, I’ll just rent a place alone! There’s always a way. Besides, if you don’t get along with your roommates, you can come over to my place. Isn’t that better?”

The more Lin Zhiyu thought about it, the more motivated he became. “Right, I’ll live alone. It saves me the trouble of dealing with roommates anyway.”

Though he had been down a moment ago, his sunny and refreshed personality returned quickly. Yu Hechang admired this about him most.

In their village, Lin Zhiyu was the leader of their small group of peers. He led them to harvest rice, climb trees, take punishments, and share food. Since Yu Hechang couldn’t easily hide things from his own family, Lin Zhiyu didn’t pressure him and decided to figure it out himself.

Yu Hechang suddenly remembered something and said snidely, “Didn’t you add that sophomore senior on WeChat? The one you said knows everything and can do anything… Why don’t you ask him?”

Lin Zhiyu’s expression froze. “Um, well…”

Yu Hechang had been unhappy about this “senior” from the start. Lin Zhiyu acted like he was in a long-distance internet relationship, clutching his phone and chatting with the guy all day, ignoring Yu Hechang.

He had a sudden realization and stood up excitedly. “Look, I’m telling you, who even uses Tieba (forums) these days? That guy is probably some greasy middle-aged man hanging out on forums to scam young boys and girls!”

“I use it,” Lin Zhiyu replied. He was a loyal person; he had played one specific game for over ten years until the servers shut down. To find guides for it, he had to use Tieba, which was how he accidentally met this H University senior.

“So why don’t you ask him for help? You said he’s nice to you…” Yu Hechang stopped mid-sentence and looked at him. “Bro, you don’t actually like him, do you?”

“Pffft—” Lin Zhiyu spat out his water.

Yu Hechang calmly wiped his face.

Lin Zhiyu’s cheeks were slightly red, purely from indignation. “What are you thinking? He’s straight.”

“If he’s straight, then why is your face red?” Yu Hechang sat down with a grim expression. “So… you’re not, are you?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Lin Zhiyu wiped his own mouth and then helped wipe Yu Hechang’s face.

Once Yu Hechang processed this, he was about to shout, but Lin Zhiyu gave a bright smile. “I’ll talk to him in a bit.”

Yu Hechang was immediately distracted. “I almost forgot. You’re… well, in that case, living alone is a good choice. After all, men would be afraid of you, and women would be afraid of you.”

Lin Zhiyu was gay. In the entire village, only Yu Hechang knew. The village was traditional and didn’t accept such things, and since Lin Zhiyu was an only son, the stakes were high.

Yet, Lin Zhiyu was a top student—handsome, sunny, and clean-cut. He was the dream guy for many girls. Yu Hechang often wanted to whisper in their ears: Your god is gay!

When Lin Zhiyu first came out to him, Yu Hechang had spent the first second thinking of how to reject his best friend, but the next second, hearing Xiao Yu say he might be single forever, he felt a mix of relief and sympathy.

Lin Zhiyu didn’t mind. “You’re overthinking it. I’ve already pre-booked my dating partners for university.”

Yu Hechang was shocked. “What?! Which male fox spirit seduced you?”

Lin Zhiyu thought his friend’s imagination was too vivid. He held up a peace sign. “Studying and part-time jobs. Those are my two ‘partners.’ I’ll be too busy for anything else.”

Yu Hechang: “…”

Seeing that he wasn’t burdened, Yu Hechang asked carefully, “So you’re planning never to come out to Auntie Rong?”

Lin Zhiyu giggled. “I plan to wait until I’m thirty and just become a ‘Wizard’ (virgin/mage).”

“…”

Yu Hechang went wow. “What does that even mean?”

Lin Zhiyu immediately pulled out his phone, a straw in his mouth. “There’s this anime that’s really—”

Yu Hechang blocked the screen. “We haven’t even settled the housing yet. Can we not worry about anime for a second?”

Lin Zhiyu sat back with a look of regret. He leaned back lazily until the back of his head hit the chair, stopped for a few seconds, and then continued to slide down like he was turning into a puddle of water. Just then, his phone vibrated, and the screen lit up with a message.

[Senior]: Baby, you haven’t said a single word to me today.

Lin Zhiyu’s eyelid twitched. He still wasn’t used to being called “Baby.” He had been so startled the first time that he dropped his phone, only picking it up later to see the senior’s explanation.

The senior said he viewed him as a younger brother, and according to his hometown customs, they called younger brothers “Baby.”

Since Yu Hechang had a little brother whom his family called “Yao’er” (youngest/precious) very dotingly, Lin Zhiyu assumed the senior’s family was just like that, so he reluctantly accepted it.

[Senior]: Are you out playing with someone? [Senior]: Did you forget about me?

Since exchanging WeChat IDs, they have chatted almost every day. Because today had been busy, Lin Zhiyu replied with a hint of guilt.

[Xiao Yu]: No, I was just talking to my childhood friend about dorm stuff.

Lin Zhiyu suddenly thought—even if he lived alone, he’d be a bit scared. If he could rent a cheap two-bedroom apartment, he could occasionally have Yu Hechang stay over, and Yu Hechang wouldn’t even have to pay.

[Senior]: Is your childhood friend a guy?

Lin Zhiyu was stunned for a moment.

[Xiao Yu]: Yeah, a guy.

The senior didn’t dwell on that question.

[Senior]: You guys are looking to share a rental?

As expected, the senior knew about the struggle for the freshmen. Lin Zhiyu excitedly typed back.

[Xiao Yu]: Are there any cheap places for rent? A two-bedroom for two people?

[Senior]: No.

“…”

Well then.

At that moment, Xue Rong shouted from downstairs for him to come wash the vegetables. Lin Zhiyu hurriedly replied.

[Xiao Yu]: I have to go eat now, talk later!

[Senior]: Okay. If you need help, let me know. Eat well.

Looking at the message, Lin Zhiyu paused before putting his phone down. He bit his lip.

[Xiao Yu]: I do need help right now. Can you really not help me find something? A cheaper two-bedroom, please, Senior?

[Senior]: No.

Lin Zhiyu gave up and put his phone down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the screen light up again. He looked down.

[Senior]: But if you live alone, there is one.

Lin Zhiyu couldn’t quite grasp the meaning for a second. His finger hovered over the screen for a long time until Xue Rong’s angry shout echoed from downstairs again.

“I told you to come wash the vegetables! I don’t see you anywhere! Where did you die off to?!”

Lin Zhiyu jolted, dropped his phone, and ran downstairs without looking back.

Most houses in the village were self-built. Xue Rong didn’t like them too big, so they had a three-and-a-half-story house. Compared to the neighbors’ large villas, it looked dainty.

Xue Rong liked the layout of a traditional courtyard, so the first floor was spacious and airy. Lin Zhiyu walked through the hall into the kitchen and saw Xue Rong seasoning some meat.

As soon as he approached, she started talking in her typical rustic auntie accent. “Xiao He was here, wasn’t he? Why didn’t you keep him for dinner? I cooked extra.”

“His family is having a seafood feast tonight—shrimp and crab. He wouldn’t want to eat here.”

Xue Rong glanced at him. “Go over there if you’re so jealous.”

Lin Zhiyu shut his mouth and started picking the greens. “I like your cooking best. No one else has that sweetness.”

Xue Rong turned around with a colander and handed him some washed strawberries. They were plump and large, tasting of cream. “These things are expensive and hard to buy—worth more than that seafood. You better finish them all!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Lin Zhiyu was overjoyed.

The mother and son joked around for a bit until the rice and side dishes were ready. Lin Zhiyu had things on his mind, so he ate and washed the dishes quickly.

He went back upstairs and checked his phone. The conversation was exactly where he left it.

[Xiao Yu]: What did you mean by ‘if I live alone’?

[Senior]: Finished eating that fast?

[Xiao Yu]: Do I usually eat that slowly?

[Senior]: Your usual meal time is between fifteen to twenty minutes. If there’s a sweet drink, it extends to half an hour. You finished in ten minutes this time. Babies like drinking sweet things.

Lin Zhiyu froze. He did like those things, but… would a normal person do something so boring as timing him? His back felt a bit chilly. He frowned and tapped the keyboard.

[Xiao Yu]: Why are you timing my meals? That’s kind of perverted behavior.

The senior didn’t seem to care about the tease.

[Senior]: Why the rush?

Lin Zhiyu stopped beating around the bush.

[Xiao Yu]: I’m in a hurry! [Xiao Yu]: So what did you mean by saying there’s a place if I live alone? Do you have a lead?

[Senior]: A friend of mine has an apartment. There’s a guest room for rent. The place is right across from the school—very close, just a few hundred meters away.

[Senior]: It’s a two-bedroom layout, but the area is larger than average. It has a balcony. My friend is very clean and has no pets. If the baby is worried, you can schedule a time to see the place.

Usually, renting was about distance and environment. In a mountain area, transportation was everything, so distance mattered more than the surroundings—though the surroundings couldn’t be too bad either.

Distance aside, Lin Zhiyu was incredibly tempted. If he had an 8:00 AM class, he could sleep for five extra minutes. Only someone who survived the Gaokao (college entrance exams) knew how precious five minutes were!

There was only one problem left.

[Xiao Yu]: Does your friend mind sharing with someone?

Lin Zhiyu was actually asking indirectly if the friend was easy to get along with. If they got along well, maybe the rent could be cheaper. That was the real point; social connections were a practical matter.

The “Typing…” indicator appeared at the top. Lin Zhiyu waited and waited, wondering why the senior—who usually replied in seconds—was suddenly silent.

After two minutes:

[Senior]: No. Like me, he would very much welcome Baby.

Lin Zhiyu almost jumped with joy.

[Xiao Yu]: Then I’m relieved! ^_^