The Coveted Gloomy Beta Roommate Chapter 63.1

Chapter 63: Unmasked: [Ji Chen, Go Die.] part 1

“What is there to be so proud of?” Tang Xingye muttered under his breath, kicking the fence several times as if to vent his anger. The iron fence let out a sound of being overwhelmed, and the knot of gloom in his chest finally dissipated slightly.

Forget it. Just study.

Don’t be distracted. Compete with yourself, not others. Tang Xingye chanted these phrases silently in his heart to guide himself, then stayed up late in the study room again to work.

“Angry?” A familiar voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

Tang Xingye looked up, dark circles faintly visible under his eyes, and looked at Ji Chen. “I want to study right now.”

Block him.

Tang Xingye silently made this decision in his heart. Except for necessary communication, he wouldn’t let Ji Chen disturb his studies again until the final exams were over.

He didn’t want to be a foil for Ji Chen anymore.

“You’re blocking the light.”

Ji Chen didn’t speak; he just pulled up a chair and sat aside.

Perhaps it was psychological, but even though Ji Chen remained silent, Tang Xingye felt the cedar scent on him was unusually intense. He looked up. “Can you leave? Your breathing is too loud.”

Ji Chen: “…”

What exactly was Tang Xingye angry about? He hadn’t seen him post any long rants yesterday either.

He observed Tang Xingye’s slightly furrowed brows and his “don’t mess with me” expression.

He guessed wrong. Tang Xingye was just suffering from low air pressure due to lack of sleep, sore eyes, and a prickling sensation in his temples.

Those black and white eyes stared at Ji Chen for a moment, then turned away, leaving him with a cold profile.

Ji Chen handed him a water bottle and asked straightforwardly, “You left without a word yesterday. Why?”

Tang Xingye took the water, unscrewed the cap, and drank a little. His exhausted spirit soothed slightly, and his brows unknotted.

“Is the Discipline Department very idle right now? Don’t you need to be on duty?” He didn’t answer the question, instead wiping the water stains from his hands with a tissue, his voice quiet.

“They’re afraid of me right now.”

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Ji Chen’s gaze involuntarily fell on the pale wrist. The marks left by the candle wax hadn’t faded; after a night, they had turned a bruised purple, looking as if they grew from the bone.

Tang Xingye’s skin was truly tender; a slight press would leave a mark.

And yet, Tang Xingye still got into fights with people.

Ji Chen looked away, the burning urge to press down on those marks receding.

“So, do you really fight in underground boxing matches and enjoy torturing your opponents like the rumors say?” Tang Xingye asked casually.

“You’re asking about that?” Ji Chen scanned Tang Xingye’s face. Is he disapproving of such behavior?

Ji Chen’s usually loose and relaxed nerves suddenly pulled tight. A sense of anxiety rose like a tide, his thoughts growing wild like weeds. He even wondered why he hadn’t made Zhou Lin bleed a little more.

A cold light flashed through his dark eyes again.

Ji Chen restrained his pheromones, wanting to weaken his presence and appear harmless.

But no matter how much he softened it, he couldn’t erase the bloody undertone. Ji Chen tried to change the subject, his tone becoming lighter. “You’re afraid too, so you’ve been avoiding me lately?”

Tang Xingye lifted those beautiful eyes and looked straight into Ji Chen’s cold, sharp brows. “When I’m afraid, I only look danger straight in the eye. Only by seeing it clearly do I know how to deal with it.”

“Running away blindly and exposing my back to danger isn’t my style.”

Ji Chen liked this answer. He hooked the corners of his lips.

Tang Xingye blinked, staring at him. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

So he was worried after all. The smile on Ji Chen’s lips faded slightly. ” The winner was already decided, but they refused to admit defeat and wanted to flip the table.”

He didn’t use the word “ambush,” which sounded like an excuse. He described the facts as objectively as possible.

That cold, violent emotion bubbled up again. truly fascinating.

Ever since his differentiation went wrong, Ji Chen rarely felt pain, and his emotional fluctuations seemed to have diminished along with it. In most cases, direct violence was just icing on the cake for him.

Ji Chen was waiting for Tang Xingye’s answer—waiting for the verdict from the culprit who pulled at his emotions.

Tang Xingye glanced at him strangely. “I think the best way is to beat the opponent until they have no power to resist, within the rules. That way, there won’t be any accidents.”

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Ji Chen was stunned, then a smile broke out on his face. “I’ve been schooled, Teacher Tang.”

Tang Xingye: “…”

Even though he knew Ji Chen wasn’t mocking him, why did it still feel sarcastic?

It must be Ji Chen’s unconscious smugness. Tang Xingye resumed his cold expression, opened his notebook, and prepared to organize his notes.

He thought Ji Chen would tactfully leave, but the other man sat composedly in the chair, opened a book at random, and didn’t read it.

Tang Xingye glanced at him. “What are you doing?”

Ji Chen answered honestly, “Observing you.”

Tang Xingye looked up at Ji Chen. He didn’t doubt the other’s unusually active motives at all. “For your secret, you can absolutely find a trustworthy doctor to solve it.”

How to explain? When Ji Chen first discovered the problem with his differentiation, he had tried various methods. He had privately tried stabbing himself again, but felt nothing.

But when Tang Xingye applied medicine to him, he felt a subtle throbbing pain, like withered vines sprouting new growth. Besides, he wanted to have interactions with this person.

And it was Tang Xingye who had looked at him first. In the beginning, he didn’t understand why the other collected his discarded calligraphy practice sheets and secretly took photos with his phone.

Was it like?

He never paid attention to the gaze of others, but when this thought popped up, it surprised Ji Chen. Then he denied it; there was no shyness in that gaze.

What was it then? The corners of Ji Chen’s mouth tilted up slightly. He hadn’t solved this problem yet.

Wearing a shell of modesty and docility, yet with cold eyes—what exactly was he hiding?

It wasn’t until he saw those diary entries—jealous, angry, appreciative—that Ji Chen got to know Tang Xingye all over again.

Let him look. Tang Xingye immersed himself in the world of problem-solving once more.

The door was pushed open again. Pei Lian’s eyes were bright, his face wearing a sunny smile that revealed his little canine teeth. “Xingye.”

Tang Xingye: “…”

Seeing Ji Chen, Pei Lian frowned imperceptibly. That cheap dog Lu Zhi wasn’t here, so why did another one pop up?

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Pei Lian blinked rapidly and pushed a gift box toward Tang Xingye. “Sorry, I disturbed you.”

You, not you guys.

It didn’t include him; he was irrelevant. Ji Chen naturally understood the implication and smiled meaningfully.

Such a familiar tone, yet he hadn’t seen Pei Lian appear in the grudge diary.

The gift box was exquisite, with a pattern of moon laurel printed on the ribbon.

Ji Chen felt a subtle emotion, especially when he saw that Tang Xingye didn’t refuse it. His eyes darkened.

Tang Xingye didn’t open the gift box but put it aside, bringing up a more important matter. “Go prepare your thesis.”

Now there was one more person at the table.

Pei Lian could automatically block out eyesores. He immersed himself in the space shared by him and Tang Xingye, his pen scratching on the drawing paper as he traced a Q-version portrait.

Outside the window, tree shadows swayed, casting shifting spots of light on the tips of Tang Xingye’s hair. They looked like two twitching kitten ears, which gave Pei Lian inspiration.

Swish swish—he added cat ears and a cat tail to the cute little figure.

The cat teacher reading seriously.

Hearing the scratching sound of Pei Lian’s pen, Tang Xingye turned his head to look at him and couldn’t help asking, “Did you finish reading the literature?”

Pei Lian’s smile froze for a second. Making up lies on the spot was easy to debunk, and Tang Xingye didn’t like excuses. He smiled even more brightly. “No.”

Tang Xingye: “…”

So he was zoning out.

He held out his hand. “Bring me your notebook.”

Pei Lian shook his head gently, protecting the notebook. Even after being caught, he still tried to argue stubbornly. “Don’t be angry, I did read the literature.”

Tang Xingye glanced at him coldly. Only then did Pei Lian show him. Ji Chen’s gaze fell on the guarded sketch, and he suddenly laughed softly. “Nice drawing.”

Tang Xingye with cat ears, having his face pinched by fingers, his tail held by a hand, tears at the corners of his eyes—looking like a miserably bullied kitten.

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Tang Xingye: “…”

He really wanted to tell them both to get out right now.

Tang Xingye tore the page out and confiscated it directly. “If you can do the work, do it. If not, I’ll find someone else.”

Pei Lian: “…”