The Coveted Gloomy Beta Roommate Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Roommate: A Widower? That’s Even Better.

“New taro ice cream at Mixue Bingcheng, just two yuan! Two yuan a piece!”

The sunlight was toxic. Students coming and going all carried Mixue bags; the paper sacks stamped with the snowman logo and that splash of red danced in the sunlight, looking like the trendiest accessory on campus.

Tang Xingye stopped at the door with the red snowman sticker. He glanced at his daily wages, then finally bought one.

The cloyingly sweet taro flavor spread over his taste buds. Tang Xingye narrowed his eyes; so this—the specific, sugary richness of cream—was the taste city people loved.

He ate as he walked. The weather was too hot, and the cone was melting faster than expected.

Cream slid down the edge of the waffle cone, winding a sticky, sweet trail across the back of his snow-white hand.

Tang Xingye frowned instinctively, disliking the sticky sensation. Sensing a burning gaze, he followed the line of sight.

It was a boy.

The guy was holding a suitcase, paused at the entrance of the dormitory. His eyes were fixed on Tang Xingye’s hand before moving up to meet his gaze.

Xiang Zhi was stunned. He hadn’t expected to meet the legendary Tang Xingye—the Beta privately dubbed the “Jinx” by their classmates—in a situation like this.

The youth before him was vastly different from the rumors.

His features were cold and beautiful. Under eyelashes dark as crow feathers, a pale brown tear mole dotted the drooping corner of his eye, looking like a camellia petal weighed down by dew after the rain.

His collar buttoned tight against snow-white skin, making him look even thinner, exuding a fragile, breakable quality. He looked like a young widower who had lost his spouse too early, accustomed to shouldering the burdens of life alone, dressing meticulously for fear of giving anyone a reason to gossip.

But the more restrained he appeared, the more it made one want to use a fingertip to pry open that tightly buttoned collar and see if the gland on that slender neck still bore the lonely marks of a lack of comfort.

Before arriving at Dorm 417, Xiang Zhi had heard about Tang Xingye. The reviews weren’t great.

A poor Beta who tested his way out of a mountain ravine. His mother died in a car crash, his father had a brain hemorrhage, and his fiancé died of a heart attack at eighteen… These tragedies were treated as fodder for gossip after meals, with some people even solemnly claiming his fate was cursed to harm his kin.

When Xiang Zhi first heard this, he thought it was nonsense. Now that he saw Tang Xingye in person, he felt it was even more absurd.

He was more inclined to believe that Tang Xingye was just a pitiful little Beta who had worked hard to get out of the mountains, lost his fiancé, and yet still had to endure everyone’s malicious speculation.

Thinking of this, Xiang Zhi’s heart turned to mush.

Before this, he had switched dorms three times. Every time, there were gay roommates—either AA couples or OO couples.

In this ABO world, could no one just fall in love normally?

Xiang Zhi didn’t discriminate against gay people; he was just naturally homophobic. Encountering gay couples always made him nauseous, an urge to vomit rising up. His constitution was like a radar; even if he didn’t know subjectively, if they existed nearby, he would want to puke.

Fortunately, in the new dorm he selected, his radar hadn’t gone off. Everyone was a normal straight guy!

Great! A straight Beta! A straight Alpha!

Tang Xingye was a Beta, and so was he! Could there be anything more wonderful than this?

“You’re Xiang Zhi, right? I’m Tang Xingye.”

Tang Xingye, unaware of the boy’s thoughts, suddenly remembered who he was. It seemed this was the new roommate, a Beta just like him.

Finally, not an annoying Alpha. Tang Xingye was happy; at last, he had a companion to trash-talk Alphas with.

He tried to strike up a conversation with the new roommate, hoping to build a good relationship early and form a small two-person clique.

Xiang Zhi scratched his face. “You… You…”

Tang Xingye: What’s wrong with him? How can you call my name like that?

Xiang Zhi’s ears were burning hot, his tongue failing to straighten out.

Mom, I just started college, and I’ve already met my wife. Ah, no, that’s someone else’s wife. Right, right, the first husband is dead. He’s a little widower now. Doesn’t that make it even better?

Xiang Zhi didn’t realize in the slightest that he had already bent into a mosquito coil, hopelessly infatuated with the survivor.

Stutter.

Tang Xingye waited patiently for the rest of the sentence, tilting his head slightly. Falling black hair brushed against his white neck, his degenerated gland faintly visible between the strands like a hidden pink pearl.

So small, so pink, so white. Every part of him must be pink… Hehehe…

Xiang Zhi was staring straight-eyed. He wanted to look away, but years of upbringing had gone to the dogs, and his brain felt jammed, unable to turn.

After a long while, Xiang Zhi finally found his tongue and said hoarsely, “Tang Xingye, you… good, good…”

Tang Xingye frowned slightly. He didn’t like being stared at with that assessing look. He was too familiar with it.

When Wen Ze was still alive, his friends used similar critical eyes when they first met him. On the surface, they pretended to be enthusiastic and generous, but in secret, they squeezed his hand hard enough to hurt during handshakes.

Don’t think he didn’t know—privately, they all said he wasn’t good enough for Wen Ze, wishing they would break up immediately.

When Wen Ze died of illness, they shed crocodile tears one by one, saying Wen Ze had entrusted him to their care.

Pah, disgusting!

Thinking of this, the remaining joy in Tang Xingye’s heart vanished, and his tone turned cold. “Hmm? What about me?”

Xiang Zhi hurriedly pulled a scent-blocking patch from his pocket, intending to remind his future wife that his gland was showing. Suddenly, his body went stiff, and alarm bells rang!

A familiar wave of nausea rushed up his throat.

His stomach began to spasm—this damn homophobia radar! Why did it have to trigger now?!

Want to vomit? No! No, no, pull yourself together, damn stomach! Don’t make a fool of yourself in front of wifey! Not that!

The boy suddenly covered his mouth, looking like he was about to dry heave. Tang Xingye froze, unsure what was wrong with him.

Then the guy leaned against the wall, dry coughing in a wave of nausea.

Xiang Zhi looked up, staring unwillingly at Tang Xingye for a moment. His stomach cramped again, and he simply abandoned his luggage and ran.

Am I that disgusting?

Tang Xingye watched the boy fleeing in panic, his frown deepening.

It definitely wasn’t his problem.

He washed his hands clean, scooped up a handful of cold water to splash on his face, and looked up to see water droplets clinging to his face in the mirror.

He didn’t have the sharp, angular handsomeness of an Alpha, nor the exquisite softness of an Omega, but his features were regular. He certainly wasn’t ugly enough to make someone vomit.

Water droplets slid down his jawline, reminding him of the leaking eaves back home. His hometown was deep in the mountains, a nook so obscure it couldn’t be found on a map. People there didn’t care about ABO genders; everyone was dirt poor anyway.

His family had hoped for him to differentiate. His grandma hoped he would become a towering Alpha; his dad hoped he would become an Omega that could be sold for a good price. In the end, he turned out to be the most ordinary Beta.

So what if I’m a Beta?

Tang Xingye firmly believed he would make something of himself, appearing on the village’s big TV in a suit and tie.

Unlike those rich kids born with silver spoons, he got into Hua University in the capital entirely on his own effort. Diligence can make up for lack of talent; the practice papers he had completed stacked up higher than he stood.

Didn’t the fact that his starting point was lower than these people just prove how amazing he was?

To put it bluntly, if he had their family background, he would do even better than they did.

Since they were roommates and would see each other constantly, Tang Xingye dragged Xiang Zhi’s luggage inside and placed it by his bed.

He took a photo to search the price of the suitcase. His phone lagged a bit. But that was normal; he bought it secondhand. As long as it worked, it was fine. He didn’t play games like Honor of Kings or Identity V anyway.

The phone heated up slightly from insufficient RAM, the buffering icon spinning endlessly until a five-figure price popped up.

Tang Xingye’s eyelid twitched. He immediately blacklisted Xiang Zhi as someone he couldn’t be friends with. Detestable rich people.

The dormitory was empty now; those annoying Alphas weren’t around. They had probably gone out to eat together again. Looking at the dazzling array of products on their desks—brands he didn’t recognize, all better than what he used—Tang Xingye felt a silent contempt.

He scorned these roommates brainwashed by consumerism.

A two-yuan sulfur soap was enough to shower, yet they insisted on buying expensive, big-brand bath products. Stupid people with too much money, Tang Xingye commented acidly in his heart.

Although he hated these wealthy roommates, Tang Xingye maintained a facade of distant politeness, never revealing his inner thoughts.

His phone vibrated with a message. It was from the senior sister (Senpai).

Shen Qing: [Junior, do you have time to participate in a club activity this Saturday?]

Tang Xingye replied immediately: [I have time, Senior. What activity is it?]

Shen Qing was the senior responsible for picking him up during freshman registration. Like him, she was a Beta. She came from a good family and had a gentle personality. She hadn’t laughed when he made a fool of himself but had helped him out instead, later inviting him to the debate club.

He was very grateful to this senior, vaguely regarding her as a sister figure.

Shen Qing: [Saturday is the friendly match with A University. The president wants more people to go and cheer; we can’t lose in momentum. You can come to audit and learn a bit while you’re at it.]

Actually, that was secondary.

Shen Qing had heard the rumors in the college about Tang Xingye being withdrawn, antisocial, and hating Alphas. She knew he was a very motivated kid and hoped he could integrate into the club, make more friends, and become more cheerful.

Tang Xingye remembered that his roommate, Lu Zhi, was a formal member of the debate team.

Tang Xingye’s dislike for Lu Zhi was like a tiny thorn buried deep in the most sensitive part of his heart. Every time he saw Lu Zhi surrounded by a crowd, that thorn would poke him, not too hard, but enough to feel.

In the debate club, Lu Zhi was like “the child from another family” (the perfect role model).

Whenever he appeared, everyone’s gaze was unconsciously drawn to him. Tang Xingye watched coldly as club members surrounded Lu Zhi, fawning over him with overly enthusiastic smiles on their faces.

He hadn’t wanted to watch this debate, but since Shen Qing was there, Tang Xingye could tolerate it a little.

He secretly hoped the senior sister had seen through Lu Zhi’s money-corrupted soul just like him, and ideally, would hate Lu Zhi together with him.

But the reality was, the gap between him and Lu Zhi was too wide. Lu Zhi had been the Best Debater in the North China region during high school, while he had never touched debate before.

This gap couldn’t be erased by hatred alone.