Newlywed Roommate (ABO) - Chapter 3

On the way home from the police station, An Chun bought himself a single rose.

Returning to his basement apartment, he stripped off his clothes and rubbed the rose petals against every inch of his skin. After rinsing himself off, he pulled on a set of thermal underwear so hideous it would kill any spark of desire. He felt his skin begin to itch and sting as red rashes bloomed beneath the fabric.

An Chun suffered from numerous allergies, each with its own reaction. While his allergy to seafood was the most severe, his reaction to roses was relatively mild, it merely covered his body in red spots that looked strikingly like the symptoms of a venereal disease.

He wasn’t sure if this would work, so he tucked a folding fruit knife into his pocket before heading out.

An Chun had seen videos of Xiang Zhiqing abusing Omegas to death. In those clips, Xiang Zhiqing was tall but gaunt, with hollow cheeks, dark circles under his eyes, and thin arms that showed no muscle definition through his shirt. He would be panting and struggling for breath as he used a collar leash to strangle a naked Omega, yet his eyes would shine with a disturbing, feverish excitement, looking like a vengeful spirit crawled straight out of hell.

He had also seen candid photos of Xiang Zhiqing taken by netizens. In those, he had a messy beard and unkempt hair, wandering street corners with a hunched back. He no longer looked like a demon, he looked like a fragile skeleton barely held together, which had led An Chun to harbor secret fantasies of killing his husband.

An Chun had a genetic disorder involving a glandular defect, meaning he couldn’t accurately process pheromones. Naturally, he wouldn’t be compelled to submit to an Alpha’s scent.

If Xiang Zhiqing tried to brutalize him like he did in those videos, An Chun was perfectly willing to go to prison for his retaliation. In fact, if it weren’t for Huo Yuan’s robust physique and the fact that he was always flanked by bodyguards who searched anyone who got close, An Chun might have given Huo Yuan a very different answer.

An Chun kept his head down, walking through the cold wind while gripping the fruit knife in his pocket.

Every one of his desperate fantasies shattered the moment he saw Xiang Zhiqing.

An Chun never expected his husband to look nothing like his photos. Xiang Zhiqing sat on the sofa in a lazy posture, his frame even larger than Huo Yuan’s. He had broad shoulders and lean, defined muscles. His sturdy arm, draped casually over the sofa’s armrest, held a terrifying amount of power, it looked like he could kill An Chun with a single punch.

An Chun’s head buzzed. Sweat soaked his back.

“Take your clothes off.”

“Put them there.”

The Alpha on the sofa spoke with a languid, detached air. The name on his collar was clearly visible. This was the exact beginning of the scenes An Chun had replayed countless times in those videos.

An Chun undressed with agonizing slowness. By the time he was down to that ridiculous floral thermal set, his movements nearly ground to a halt. He seemed desperate for Xiang Zhiqing to notice the “grandma-style” pattern, the baggy fit, and the threadbare look of the faded fabric.

However, the Alpha only frowned slightly, showing no intention of telling him to stop. An Chun had no choice but to close his eyes and keep stripping.

Finally, Xiang Zhiqing noticed the red marks on his skin. As expected, he stood up in a fit of rage. “Are you sick?!”

He looked furious, his hands clenched into fists. His sudden movement pushed the sofa back half an inch. It felt like if An Chun dared to nod, his head would be crushed.

“Yes,” An Chun said. “I am sick.”

Closing his eyes, An Chun continued, “I have a genetic gland defect. I’m prone to allergies, and these marks on my body are the result of an allergic reaction.”

He was a coward who feared for his life.

Xiang Zhiqing’s anger seemed to simmer down, though it didn’t vanish completely. He looked An Chun up and down with an expression of pure disgust, as if he had never seen such a repulsive sight. Finally, he looked away and pointed toward a room, speaking in a tone reserved for throwing out trash.

“Your room is over there.”

An Chun froze.

“Hope Housing” units were typically two-bedroom apartments, designed to give newlyweds—especially the Omega—some breathing room to adjust. In reality, because the ratio of Alpha-Omega applications was so unbalanced, Alphas usually moved in early and would take the liberty of removing the lock on the second bedroom to turn it into a study, a game room, or a storage closet. There were even Alphas on the forums sharing advice: “Never let your Omega have their own room, or you’ll never see them in your bed outside of their heat!”

An Chun hadn’t dared to hope he’d actually get his own room. He nodded, gathered his clothes from the floor, and dragged his suitcase toward the bedroom.

He opened the door, went inside, and locked it.

Click.

It was locked. It was a smooth, standard, original safety lock that hadn’t been tampered with.

The safety locks in these units were a basic model from a national brand. Though cheap, they were reliable. The marketing slogan claimed that even three Alphas in rut couldn’t break through them together. An Chun gripped the handle and rested his forehead against the door. After a moment, he turned around and put his clothes back on, piece by piece.

Thermals, a sweater, a scarf.

Despite the room being as warm as spring, he bundled himself up until he was bloated with layers. Then he walked to the bed, pulled back the covers, and crawled inside. It was dark, warm, and airtight. He curled up, wrapping himself tightly in the quilt like he was living in a perfectly safe, black fortress.

He closed his eyes. His body, which had been stiff for so long, finally began to relax. He let out a soft sigh.

CRASH.

A sudden sensation of falling hit him. An Chun’s eyes snapped open. He kicked off the covers only to find that the bed beneath him had collapsed without warning! He stared blankly at the wreckage.

BANG!

The sharp sound of a lock being forced rang out. An Chun flinched, turning his head like a startled animal. The safety lock that was supposed to withstand three Alphas in rut had been completely twisted off. It hung from the door frame in a horrific, mangled shape.

Xiang Zhiqing pushed the door open. He stood there, backlit, looking every bit like a descending demon.

A thunderous noise had erupted from his roommate’s room.

Xiang Zhiqing’s heart jumped. He rushed over in three steps, twisted the door open—and saw his roommate buried in the ruins of the collapsed bed, wrapped in a quilt. Wood chips and dust covered his face, his eyes were wide, and his expression was one of total bewilderment.

So, the bed just collapsed. Tsk.

Typical trashy rental housing with cheap furniture. He knew the previous damage to the furniture wasn’t entirely his fault. Look at this, even a weak little guy like his roommate could break a bed just by sleeping on it.

Xiang Zhiqing felt a bit better. Seeing his roommate sitting there in a daze, he kindly walked over, hoisted him out of the debris, grabbed a nearby pillow, and tucked it into the man’s arms after dusting it off.

“How did the bed collapse? Looks like you can’t sleep in here tonight. Why don’t you…”

Crash on the sofa for a night? Xiang Zhiqing didn’t finish the sentence because his roommate suddenly looked up at him. His gaze was cold and sharp, with a chilling intensity that felt like a physical blade.

Xiang Zhiqing: “…”

Is he crazy? You broke the bed yourself, why are you taking it out on me? Take it up with the landlord! Ask them why they buy such crappy furniture!

Fortunately, the roommate quickly looked away. His gaze moved from Xiang Zhiqing’s face to the mangled lock hanging crookedly on the door.

Xiang Zhiqing: “…”

Fine. Breaking the lock was definitely his fault, but his intentions were good! Still, he blamed the landlord.

Without a word, the roommate clutched his pillow and walked out. Xiang Zhiqing followed, helpfully carrying the suitcase. He watched as the roommate ignored the sofa entirely, walked straight past the living room, entered Xiang Zhiqing’s bedroom, and boldly placed the pillow on his bed!

Xiang Zhiqing: “???”

Xiang Zhiqing: “!!!”

The bed breaks and instead of the sofa, he comes to sleep in my bed? Where does he get the nerve?!

But just as he was about to voice his protest, the roommate turned around and held out a hand. Xiang Zhiqing reflexively handed over the suitcase. The roommate knelt down, opened it, took out a pair of pajamas, and headed into the bathroom.

Xiang Zhiqing: “…”

Xiang Zhiqing wasn’t about to indulge him. He immediately picked up the roommate’s pillow, tossed it onto the sofa, and coldly locked his own bedroom door.

A moment later.

Xiang Zhiqing poked his head out of his room and quietly crept into the roommate’s bedroom. Deep down, his intuition told him that the roommate’s anger wasn’t entirely baseless. He wanted to know exactly why that bed had failed.

He walked to the wreckage and knelt. He quickly found the culprit—one of the bed legs had completely splintered. That specific leg happened to be the one Xiang Zhiqing had grabbed and used to slide the entire bed across the floor when he was rearranging the room to hide a hole in the wall.

Xiang Zhiqing: “…”

He rubbed his nose. He stood up. He silently went back to the sofa, picked up the pillow, and put it back on his own bed.

Warm water poured over An Chun’s head, but no matter how long he showered, he couldn’t wash away the panic and chill in his heart.

The bed collapsing for no reason, the door lock being ripped off, and Xiang Zhiqing’s hypocritical words.

“How did the bed collapse? Looks like you can’t sleep in here tonight. Why don’t you…”

How did it collapse? How could it collapse?! Was he really supposed to believe that a solid wood bed frame just gave out under an Omega, rather than being sabotaged by the Alpha who could rip a safety lock out with his bare hands?

An Chun closed his eyes. He remembered the tiny spark of joy he felt when he thought he could have his own room. How stupid. It was all just a cruel game of cat and mouse the Alpha was playing with him.

The water covered his face, nearly suffocating him. He wished time would just stop. But the longer he stayed in there, the more terrified he became. His racing heart thundered with the fear that the Alpha would lose patience and kick the bathroom door down next.

An Chun opened his eyes. He turned off the shower, dried himself, and pressed the folding fruit knife against his palm before sliding it into his pajama pocket. He pushed open the bedroom door.

He froze.

Xiang Zhiqing was already asleep in the bed. The bed had been deliberately divided into two sections with two separate quilts. Xiang Zhiqing’s back was turned to the empty half, his body slightly curled, looking surprisingly well behaved.

It took An Chun a long time to process this. He let out a breath of relief. It made sense. Xiang Zhiqing had already seen his flawed, rash-covered chest. Until his skin recovered, the man likely wouldn’t want anything to do with him.

Still, he held his breath as he approached, lying down in the quilt with extreme care. He gingerly hid the knife under his pillow, his movements as light as a falling feather, terrified of making a sound.

After turning off the light, he didn’t even dare to breathe heavily. One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

Somehow, in the heart of the wolf’s den, exhaustion finally began to take over.

Whoosh…

The silence was shattered by Xiang Zhiqing moving. The massive figure beside him rolled over, and his quilt slid down. An Chun’s eyes flew open as he held his breath.

It was the snowy season. Even with the heating in the building running, the cheap construction allowed cold drafts to seep through the gaps. An Chun heard Xiang Zhiqing mumble something. His own quilt was suddenly tugged away as a sturdy, hot body pressed against him under the same blanket. A pair of rough, burning hands slid under the hem of his shirt and rested against the skin of his back.

An Chun went rigid.

His instinct was to reach for the knife under his pillow, but his arms were pinned tightly in the Alpha’s embrace. He couldn’t move, held like a wooden doll. He felt those calloused hands stroke up his spine, then slowly slide down to his waist and hips, where they paused.

An Chun’s breathing grew ragged, his body trembling uncontrollably. He didn’t dare to resist, but when Xiang Zhiqing began to move again, those rough hands beginning to knead him intimately—An Chun finally snapped. Losing all reason, he struggled against the restraint and shoved Xiang Zhiqing away with everything he had!

Nothing happened.

The only reason his arms broke free from the Alpha’s grip was because Xiang Zhiqing had shifted his focus. His desperate shove against the Alpha’s chest was like an ant trying to move a mountain.

He didn’t move Xiang Zhiqing, but he certainly annoyed him.

Rip!

Xiang Zhiqing, no longer pretending to be asleep, opened his eyes. With a sneer, he grabbed An Chun’s pajamas and tore them to shreds from top to bottom!

An Chun went cold. Despair began to take root in his heart.

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