My Roommate is a Gloomy, Sensitive Guy Who Cries Over Everything - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Are You Cinderella?

Lin Zhiyu never expected to be rejected. He froze on the spot, looking at him in disbelief.

Is the friendship from our co-living all fake? Have the bits and pieces of our life together just vanished like smoke? Was the revolutionary combat friendship from that night I stayed up with you to edit photos just an illusion?

Lin Rangchuan seemed not to notice, his tone flat and emotionless: “Are you throwing a tantrum?”

Lin Zhiyu pursed his lips imperceptibly and took a few steps: “No. You just do what you need to do.”

However, Lin Rangchuan followed him. When Lin Zhiyu stopped, he stopped; when he moved, he followed.

Lin Zhiyu frowned and turned around: “What are you doing?”

“Does your foot still hurt?”

“Whether it hurts or not is none of your business, Senior Lin. I’ll work hard to overcome it myself.” Lin Zhiyu gave him a flash of white teeth, a smile dripping with sarcasm.

Lin Rangchuan still followed behind him like a little ghost. Lin Zhiyu stopped and looked back at him.

Holding his tennis racket, Lin Rangchuan still had that same deadpan expression.

Lin Zhiyu spun around with a little hop and raised his voice: “It hurts a bit, but not severely. I can walk and run, but I don’t have stamina… but I don’t want to fail! Tennis was recommended to me by your friend, your classmate—my senior! If I knew it was this hard, I never would have chosen it!”

After saying it all in one breath, Lin Zhiyu added: “I’m not taking tennis next semester.”

His heart felt as if it were placed in a vacuum, constantly being compressed and squeezed until the breath of death was felt, only then did this self-sabotaging sensation gradually stop. Lin Rangchuan said indifferently: “I won’t let you fail.”

Lin Zhiyu was half-skeptical: “…You said it.”

Lin Rangchuan handed him the water bottle in his hand: “I said it. You rest first. Don’t move.”

Lin Zhiyu obediently started to sit down, but just as he bent over, he was held up. He watched as Lin Rangchuan took off his jacket and spread it on the concrete ground. “Sit.”

Lin Zhiyu felt quite uneasy. He hugged his knees, holding the water bottle and shrinking into a small ball, looking up at him: “I’m not demanding special treatment. I heard you’re very ruthless; you just need to be a little more normal. Please.”

Lin Rangchuan didn’t respond. He knelt on one knee in front of him and subconsciously touched his ankle—a slender, graceful section wrapped in a white sock.

“If it hurts, tell me.”

He was close. Lin Zhiyu could clearly see the short hair at the back of his clean head beneath his eyes, and smell the faint fragrance of body wash.

“Did you shower before you came out?”

Lin Zhiyu lowered his head slightly, his neck curved: “It smells so good.”

Lin Rangchuan stood up, gripping the tennis racket in his palm: “The same scent as yours.”

…

The exam proceeded one by one according to the order of the line, from shortest to tallest. Lin Zhiyu was of medium height, so he was in the middle.

The ones in front were girls, followed by the boys.

The scene didn’t look like a tennis court where people chased balls; it looked like a dog training base. The “dogs” were crawling in strange shapes—it was a sight too tragic to witness.

Lin Rangchuan didn’t go easy at all. The balls he served were fast and fierce; people couldn’t even touch them, and even if they did, the balls wouldn’t necessarily clear the net.

He was like a heartless ball machine.

Someone started complaining, asking if this was a normal ball speed. The PE teacher said it was indeed normal—the basics. If they were the ones serving, it would be a mess. Look at Senior Lin; every serve followed a standard trajectory. Everyone shut up after that.

Those further back found the rhythm and were able to handle Lin Rangchuan’s serves well. Anyway, the exam content was limited; as long as requirements were met within the time limit, the teacher wouldn’t be too strict. The strict one was someone else.

During the break, Lin Zhiyu perceptively handed over some water and said with a smile: “Senior, keep it up.”

A hint of a smile appeared on Lin Rangchuan’s cold face: “You called me ‘Senior’?”

“Well, that’s what you are.”

Lin Rangchuan stared at him for a moment and gave a flat “Mm”: “Try to hit the ball high.”

Lin Rangchuan looked up to observe the weather: “If there’s no wind, it’s easier to clear the net.”

When it was Lin Zhiyu’s turn to step onto the court, his palms were sweating as he looked at the person across the net.

As long as seven balls cleared the net, he would pass. Lin Zhiyu’s athletic ability wasn’t bad. He didn’t grasp the trajectory of the first ball and missed it. By the second, he started figuring it out. From the fifth ball onward, he began hitting them upward.

Moreover, he didn’t have to run back and forth. Lin Rangchuan precisely threw the balls to a single spot.

This was something Lin Zhiyu only realized later. During the “match,” he was exhausted and thought Lin Rangchuan wasn’t going easy, but in reality, it was much better than others who had to run all over the place.

[Smooth Pooping]: ?

[Little Fish]: Passed.

[Smooth Pooping]: Truly, congratulations to you. [Gritting_teeth.jpg]

[Little Fish]: Weren’t you doing aerobics? Just some dancing and you’redone. You didn’t pass?

[Smooth Pooping]: Passed. Getting medicine at the infirmary.

[Little Fish]: ???

[Smooth Pooping]: I didn’t know we had to do the splits.

[Smooth Pooping]: I pulled a nut. [Broken.jpg]

“…”

There were other red notification dots on WeChat. Lin Zhiyu switched over to check.

[Qin Rui]: Finished? Did you pass?

[Little Fish]: Passed.

[Qin Rui]: That’s good. Coming in for overtime tonight?

[Little Fish]: Coming.

When Lin Zhiyu went to the milk tea shop that evening, he found more equipment on the table. He put on his apron and asked, “What’s all this for?”

“Live streaming.” Jiang Xinran was sitting nearby eating a boxed meal. “The manager found out Qin Rui does streaming. The two of them hit it off and are probably planning to start a branch.”

Qin Rui happened to return from outside, holding a box: “For you.”

Lin Zhiyu was confused. Qin Rui said, “Birthday gift.”

He tore open the packaging to reveal the box: a Switch 2 game console, specifically the Pokémon Legends: Z-A edition, Hong Kong version. To be honest, Lin Zhiyu had never seen one in person, but he recognized it. It must be very expensive. “For me?”

Qin Rui nodded: “I bought it while I was back. Do you like it?”

“I like it! I love it!”

Later, Jiang Xinran whispered to him, “That definitely wasn’t a last-minute buy. This is very hard to get.”

“I know. I’ve seen it in my Moments.” Lin Zhiyu gained a certain understanding of Qin Rui’s true identity in his heart.

Qin Rui changed into his work uniform and was adjusting the equipment and camera angles. Lin Zhiyu sneakily walked over: “Did you come here to hide from your friends?”

“Why is a kid being so gossipy?” Qin Rui said lazily.

“I don’t think you especially hate gay people…” Lin Zhiyu made a gesture. “Whether the other person is a man or a woman, what does it matter? As long as they’re human.”

Qin Rui’s mouth twitched, and he said quite steadily, “Shouldn’t there be a prerequisite? You have to like them first.”

Lin Zhiyu froze. It was only after he returned to his post a long while later that he whispered: “That’s true. You have to like them first.”

So, do I actually like Senior?

But the other person is straight, right? Should I bet on whether he likes me—likes me enough to not care about gender?

It seemed quite difficult. Even someone as impressive as Qin Rui hadn’t managed it.

A few minutes later, the livestream began. Lin Zhiyu prepared for the overtime shift. Looking at the dark mass of heads outside, tonight was going to be another tough battle.

The busy scene was very chaotic. One would inevitably end up in the frame by accident. The manager was in charge of managing the stream. Lin Zhiyu appeared on camera wearing a mask. Sharp-eyed netizens spotted him and kept sending “rockets,” asking for the little brother’s contact info… and so on.

Lin Zhiyu was completely in the dark, unaware of the situation in the livestream.

The manager’s mouth was hung open in an ‘O’ shape. While he was secretly pondering, his phone rang.

“Turn it off.”

“Lin…” The manager’s brow twitched violently as he glanced toward Lin Zhiyu. “It was an accident, just an accident.” As he spoke, he moved the camera and deleted some comments.

“Do you want him to be exposed to the internet, then ‘discovered,’ and then cyberbullied?” The voice on the other end was very irritable.

The manager was also a bit scared: “It’s not as exaggerated as you say.”

“Turn it off. If you don’t, I will.”

“That’s not my phone, nor my equipment. Don’t do anything reckless…” The manager stuttered and finally ended the stream early.

Although Qin Rui didn’t care much, he was a bit annoyed: “Tsk, what are you doing?”

“The owner of this shop—no… someone reported me…”

“?” Qin Rui immediately stopped working and took out his phone to look for someone to investigate: “Who reported it?”

The manager immediately pressed down his hand before he could go crazy. “Forget it, forget it. Someone I know. Let’s just stream when Little Fat Fish isn’t around in the future. He’s only eighteen…”

Qin Rui glanced in that direction, his eyes sharp: “You’d better not say ‘Little Fat Fish’ in front of him.”

“Haven’t you noticed he’s recently… mgh!”

Qin Rui suddenly covered the manager’s mouth.

In fact, Lin Zhiyu wasn’t particularly fat; he had just become much more well-proportioned compared to when he first arrived, looking like a thin bamboo pole.

Lin Zhiyu turned his head and saw them scuffling together, a question mark appearing in his confusion.

Qin Rui said calmly, “Nothing. Do you want some soufflé? My treat.”

Lin Zhiyu’s thought of dieting flickered: “…Yes!”

…

Because Lin Zhiyu had other arrangements for Christmas, the others moved his celebration forward to Christmas Eve. Everyone gathered at a BBQ shop in the back alley. Everyone was there except for Lin Rangchuan.

Qin Rui didn’t care; Jiang Xinran wasn’t familiar with him. Yu Hechang did ask, “Why didn’t he come? Are you guys that unfamiliar?”

Lin Zhiyu was also troubled: “I haven’t seen him during this time. Even Brother Lou can’t get hold of him. Apparently, he went to A-City.”

The manager, with a spoon in his mouth, said: “They went to the main campus for some work. As for Lin Rangchuan, I think he’s painting.”

“Painting?” Lin Zhiyu was the surprised one. He put down his chopsticks. “Is he a painter too?”

“You didn’t know?”

Should I have known? Lin Zhiyu frowned. His breathing subtly became steady. An intuition told him not to ask further, as it might break the status quo. He shook his head and said nothing more.

Halfway through the meal, he tapped on his phone.

[Senior]: Baby, have fun today.

[Little Fish]: Are you having fun?

Actually, he didn’t know if he was doing the right thing. Perhaps it was out of a desire to make friends, or perhaps something else. In short, everything about “Senior” drew his curiosity forward.

No matter what, his current affluent lifestyle was an opportunity given by him—though of course, the money he earned was through his own hard work.

Lin Zhiyu never denied his own efforts.

[Senior]: Very excited.

[Little Fish]: You’re painting? Then I won’t disturb you.

He exited and looked at Lin Rangchuan’s WeChat profile picture, then hesitantly compared it with Senior’s. Senior’s was solid black; Lin Rangchuan’s profile picture was a side view of an ear, adorned with a purple gemstone. It looked very real, but upon closer inspection, it had the texture of an oil painting.

Suddenly, a new message popped up.

[Brother Lin]: Merry Christmas Eve.

Lin Zhiyu followed suit and sent a “Merry Christmas” back. He hesitated for a few seconds, then couldn’t help himself and tested the waters cautiously.

[Little Fish]: Why didn’t you come today? Are you busy with other things?

[Brother Lin]: Preparing a gift.

Lin Zhiyu almost blurted out Is it for me? But that was too narcissistic.

[Little Fish]: Is it for me?

Narcissistic it is.

Brother Lin: What do you like?

“…”

So it wasn’t for him. Lin Zhiyu held his phone, chatting away, oblivious to everything else.

Qin Rui keenly noticed the little fellow beside him seemed a bit unhappy and cut a piece of Tiramisu for him. “Are you sure you want to meet him tomorrow?”

Lin Zhiyu put his phone away and took the plate: “Yeah. At Brother Lin’s rental apartment. It’s super safe.”

Those last few words had a bit of a “Taiwanese idol drama” tone. Qin Rui thought to himself that he felt it was even more dangerous.

…

On Christmas Day, Lin Rangchuan still hadn’t returned home. Lin Zhiyu ate some crackers to fill his stomach—a good time to diet.

Lin Zhiyu looked at his loungewear. After thinking about it, he didn’t change. Senior said to wear whatever he wore at home; no need to be formal, he liked things more natural.

He came out of the kitchen holding a glass, took a sip of hot water, and watched the clock on the wall ticking away. His heartbeat gradually quickened.

It wasn’t like a blind date with an online friend. Why was he so nervous?

Lin Zhiyu closed his eyes, picked up the phone lying next to the eye mask, and sent a message—Where are you?

At the door

Lin Zhiyu suddenly looked toward the front door. The tension caused his heart to start thumping weakly. He found his eye mask and carefully put it on.

Suddenly, the light peeking from beneath the mask disappeared; all the lights in the living room were turned off.

The door opened. Footsteps fell on the floor, getting closer and closer, stopping near him. As for which direction, it was hard to tell for the moment.

In the darkness, Lin Zhiyu lost all sense of security. He almost gripped the hem of his shirt into a hole. A familiar, deep, and gentle voice reached his ears.

“Baby, I’m right here.”

Lin Zhiyu felt the voice was very blurred, very distant. His throat felt blocked by a piece of sourness.

“You…”

The hand he reached out was caught. The other person wasn’t wearing gloves; it was skin-to-skin contact. The calluses on the palm felt very rough when they rubbed against him.

All of Lin Zhiyu’s heavy thoughts landed; he wasn’t that scared anymore.

“Sorry for making you feel scared. I’m just… really not good-looking.”

Lin Zhiyu complained softly: “I told you I’m not a face-con (visual-obsessed).”

“Well, I still want to appear before you in my best state.”

“Then do you ever plan to meet me face-to-face in this lifetime? The eye-to-eye kind?”

As soon as he spoke, the hand pressing on his wrist showed signs of retreating. Lin Zhiyu grabbed it back: “Hey, are you scared already? I wasn’t criticizing you.”

“No.”

This sentence carried a slight joy, followed by a low chuckle.

Lin Zhiyu found it strangely familiar. He tilted his head to listen, but the other person’s voice sounded hoarse, as if they had smoked a lot of cigarettes; it was truly hard to distinguish.

“I brought you a gift.”

Lin Zhiyu raised an eyebrow slightly.

“But I can’t see anything.”

“You open it and see for yourself. It’s something very big. I left it at the door.”

Lin Zhiyu was slightly disappointed: “Alright then.”

Just as he finished speaking, his Adam’s apple suddenly felt itchy. He shrunk back reflexively, realizing the other person was touching Adam’s apple.

“Baby is exactly the same as in the photos and videos,” Senior coaxed gently. “Can I just touch it for a bit?”

Lin Zhiyu found it very strange, but he didn’t resist. He even leaned back in a slight gesture of surrender.

The senior moved closer and closer to him. Lin Zhiyu’s eyelashes kept brushing against the inside of the eye mask. He suddenly reached out and grabbed the other person’s collar, frowning dissatisfiedly: “You smoked a lot?”

“No, just a few.”

The other person was grabbed by him without any resistance. In a place where Lin Zhiyu couldn’t see, Senior was also staring at him with obsession.

“You are the source of all my inspiration.” His fingertips moved from Adam’s apple, wrapping around the neck that looked like a white swan. The collar of the loungewear was completely loose, making it easy to touch the collarbone. “See? Exactly the same as my painting.”

Lin Zhiyu said amusedly: “Haven’t you ever painted a nude model? Oh, wait, you’re not from the Fine Arts school; you’re a Law student. You’re going to be a lawyer in the future.”

“I have no ideals.”

The senior’s tone suddenly became low. “I just…”

Lin Zhiyu waited for a long time for a response: “Just what?”

“Just wanted to do something that could pique the other person’s interest. All I have is money.”

Lin Zhiyu tilted his head and frowned, seemingly not understanding. But in the next second, he was pulled into an embrace.

This action was definitely not something a straight man would do. He was about to ask urgently, “You—”

“I can go back and paint many more pictures.”

“…”

The mood cooled down instantly. Just for getting painting inspiration. Lin Zhiyu pursed his lips. He hesitated, then placed his hand on the other’s back, as if giving encouragement: “You can do it.”

There was the sound of soft breathing in his ear, gradually amplifying, as if turning into a black, sticky liquid, penetrating from skin to pores.

“Can I lick?”

Lick what?

In a place where Senior couldn’t see, Lin Zhiyu’s pupils were already quaking behind the mask. He hesitated and let go of his hand, clutching his hem, sitting restlessly.

His small nose was a bit red; his pale lips were slightly pursed. The mask covered most of his face.

“Actually, I didn’t paint it well.”

Lin Zhiyu shrunk his shoulders to move back, reaching out to press against the other’s shoulder in a very strong gesture of rejection, but he was nowhere near as strong as the other person. “Wait a second.”

“If I haven’t tasted it, I can’t paint it. No matter what it is, I must touch and lick it earnestly to savor its flavor, right?”

Lin Zhiyu felt this person pressing against the hollow of his neck, about to kiss him the next second, but then stopping.

“Even though Baby is resisting, you’re actually anticipating it too. Am I right?”

Lin Zhiyu struggled to state the fact: “Actually, I…” is not straight.

He didn’t have time to say it because a warm, wet sensation came from his Adam’s apple. It wasn’t just a quick lick; he was repeatedly sucking and lingering. A tingling numbness from being electrocuted spread through his limbs, making his legs go soft and losing all resistance.

Lin Zhiyu subconsciously gasped for breath, turned his head, and pushed the person away. He stood up stumblingly and took off the eye mask. It was also pitch black, with only a faint light from the balcony, but not enough to see clearly.

Being in the darkness for too long made it hard to adjust, so he closed his eyes again. The other person was one step faster, covering his eyes and pulling the trembling Lin Zhiyu into his arms, gently rubbing the back of his neck.

“Sorry, I still scared you.” The senior said “sorry” over and over again while licking his earlobe.

Lin Zhiyu was scorched by this realistic touch; it was a biological reaction to approaching danger. “You… I’m not an object.”

“I didn’t treat you as an object.”

Senior kept licking until Lin Zhiyu stopped trembling entirely. Then he moved back a bit to observe his reaction. The whole person seemed to have gone soft; his lips and cheeks were red, and the back of his neck and ears were so sensitive they seemed to flush blood-red.

But Lin Zhiyu still felt a bit aggrieved. How did I end up being licked by a man? From above came a familiar voice, different from before, with a slight sob.

“I don’t want to leave.”

“I’ve never seen you like this.”

“It’s something I haven’t seen—only I have seen it.”

Lin Zhiyu muttered: “I haven’t even cried yet. Are all of you in the arts this sensitive?”

What do you mean ‘all of you’?

The senior’s wet, red eyes instantly turned cold.

Are there other people looking for you?

The hand covering Lin Zhiyu’s eyes trembled unnaturally. Lin Zhiyu was afraid he’d cry himself into some kind of trouble, so he moved the hand away, though his eyes remained closed.

Only, he had some inkling now. He reached out and grabbed the person who was about to leave: “You’re heading back?”

The senior glanced at the wall clock: “Dormitory curfew.”

Lin Zhiyu couldn’t help but laugh: “Are you Cinderella? You have to run away when it hits midnight?”

“I’m not even as good as Cinderella. Curfew is at eleven.”

Lin Zhiyu burst into laughter, then thought of something. He put on a serious face: “Give me your hand. Put it near my mouth.”

Senior didn’t ask; Senior did as he was told.

Lin Zhiyu had a subtle tiger tooth. If he bit down very hard, the mark of that tooth would be particularly deep. He used eighty percent of his strength, enough to leave a mark on someone’s wrist that wouldn’t fade for days.

The other person didn’t even let out a groan.

Lin Zhiyu curled his lips triumphantly.

“This is my response.”

The senior kissed that mark. “Thank you for your response. Happy birthday, Baby.”

Lin Zhiyu couldn’t see anything. He waved toward a different direction: “Bye-bye. See you next time.”

Senior: “…”

…

Lin Zhiyu didn’t know when the footsteps disappeared. He lay on the sofa, feeling as if he had taken a nap. When he woke up, the sky wasn’t yet bright, but the moonlight was brighter than before, falling on his languid features like a layer of gauze.

He first used the desk lamp to adjust to the light, and finally turned on all the lights in the living room.

By the door, he indeed saw a painting about 1.2 meters wide. He walked over, feeling conflicted, but eventually made up his mind to unwrap it.

The painting was wrapped very thickly—kraft paper on the outside, a waterproof membrane inside. Finally, what was revealed before him… was himself.

Lin Zhiyu’s eyes trembled slightly. A winding mermaid with a peaceful sleeping face lay in an endless ocean.

After the paint dried, it showed a delicate texture. The background alone reflected layers of colors from sunrise, sunset, and twilight to the night sky.

The mermaid’s upper body was bare; one hand was placed naturally on the chest, and the tail flicked out in a beautiful curve. The face was somewhat familiar, yet somewhat strange.

Lin Zhiyu held his breath until he forgot to breathe. This is me. This is the ‘me’ Senior painted. Is this really me?

In an instant, Lin Zhiyu suddenly flipped the painting over. Sure enough, he saw a signature at the bottom.

Soren.