The Coveted Gloomy Beta Roommate Chapter 17.2

Part 2

When the department head passed by with coffee, he saw the usually steady and aloof Alpha showing a grin that could be called brilliant at his phone screen.

“That kid isn’t in an online relationship, is he? Smiling at his phone like that.” The department head secretly poked the deputy head’s arm, unable to help whispering.

“I think his rut has arrived. He’s been handing in materials early and leaving these past few days.” The deputy head pushed up his glasses.

After Lu Zhi returned to the apartment, he frowned tightly at his wardrobe.

Black suit is too serious, casual wear isn’t formal enough, that shirt Tang Xingye praised as good-looking… damn, sent for dry cleaning and haven’t picked it up yet.

“Fuck!” He swore rarely, throwing clothes all over the floor.

In the bathroom, Lu Zhi lathered body wash three times and unprecedentedly used the citrus body lotion Tang Xingye had mentioned.

While drying his hair, he repeatedly fiddled with the bangs on his forehead in the mirror, then suddenly turned to ask the butler who was organizing clothes.

“Do you think it’s too late to get a tongue piercing now?”

The iron in the butler’s hand almost slipped. “Allow me to remind you, there are still 48 hours until your date. Besides…”

“You are just going on a date, no need to be so nervous.”

Lu Zhi emphasized seriously: “This is my first date!”

When Zhou Lin placed the soy milk cup next to Tang Xingye’s textbook, the condensation on the cup wall happened to drip, spreading a dark stain on the wooden desktop.

This was the fifth “accidental encounter” this week where Zhou Lin brought him breakfast. Such plotlines in campus dramas looked romantic on screen, but when it happened to him in reality, Tang Xingye only felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Crystal shrimp dumplings paired with freshly ground soy milk. Tang Xingye had seen it on the cafeteria price list; this set cost twenty-eight yuan, enough for him to drink nutrient solutions for three days.

“Stop bringing me food. I don’t eat breakfast.”

Tang Xingye glanced at it, then without lifting his head, drew a sharp broken line on the scratch paper with his pencil.

He didn’t know what madness possessed Zhou Lin these past few days, always crowding around him. Soliciting favor without cause is either hiding evil intentions or theft.

“Master Zhang in the cafeteria said you have hypoglycemia,” Zhou Lin inserted the straw and pushed it over. “You fainted once in the lab building last Wednesday.”

The tip of Tang Xingye’s pen paused. He looked up at him.

Those ink-black eyes were very clean, like pure jade, emitting a slightly cold chill. Precisely because of this, it was as if they couldn’t reflect anyone.

“That was right after I donated blood.”

Tsk, are there still such pure people in this world?

Zhou Lin paused, then smiled. “Okay, I understand.”

Knowing is one thing, continuing next time is another, right?

“Waste is shameful,” Zhou Lin used the usual reason Tang Xingye could accept, adding, “Do you hate me that much?”

“I’ve kept the habit of not eating breakfast for many years. I only fainted that one time. Betas aren’t as delicate as you think.”

Tang Xingye underestimated Zhou Lin’s thick skin. Seeing he didn’t take it, Zhou Lin reached out and held it up to feed him, saying nothing, just quietly watching him, as if he would hold it like that until he drank.

Tang Xingye: “…”

He didn’t remember where he had offended this person recently. Before it was pestering to add WeChat, now what is this?

The morning light shone through the gap in the curtains, landing exactly on the small print “Sugar-free” on the soy milk cup. Tang Xingye pursed his lips; he hadn’t mentioned to Zhou Lin that he didn’t like sweets.

He finally put down the pencil. The brief contact of his fingertips with Zhou Lin when taking the soy milk was like a snowflake landing on warm skin.

Tang Xingye’s eyelashes cast tiny shadows beneath his eyes.

Zhou Lin watched him sip in small mouthfuls, suddenly remembering a stray cat he raised when he was young—accepting feeding with the same vigilance and restraint.

Tang Xingye stared at the water droplets sliding down the cup wall, his thoughts drifting for a moment. He suddenly remembered waking up at four in high school to work part-time helping make breakfast, the morning dew wetting his jacket.

“Thank you.” Tang Xingye’s voice was very light, like a sigh. “Really, don’t bring anymore.”

Zhou Lin propped his chin with one hand, asking with a smile, “You don’t like it? Then what do you like?”

Tang Xingye criticized silently: Don’t like any of it, especially don’t like you.

“Nutrient solution, citrus flavor.”

Convenient, efficient, and gives a sense of fullness. The key point is it’s cheap.

Zhou Lin looked at him with a faint smile, speaking softly, “Aren’t we friends? Don’t be so polite.”

Friends?

Friends again?

Lu Zhi also said he wanted to be friends. Have these rich people never seen poor people? Find it very novel, so they all crowd over to observe?

Then Zhou Lin seemed to suddenly remember something and took out a bag. Tang Xingye looked at him suspiciously.

Zhou Lin just took out iodine from the bag, unwrapped a cotton swab, pulled up Tang Xingye’s arm, and applied it meticulously.

Only then did Tang Xingye notice a bloody scratch on his left arm.

His skin was very white, making the scratch very obvious. It was about two inches long, winding along his arm like a thin red thread.

Tang Xingye stiffened, then frowned slightly. “No need to apply. The skin isn’t broken, just scraped a bit. It’ll be fine in two days.”

Zhou Lin turned a deaf ear.

His fingers pinched the soft flesh, applying along the red mark.

Tang Xingye could smell his breath, mixed with the pungent smell of iodine, forming a strange intimacy.

He felt a bit prickly, like being shocked by static electricity, frizzy and restless.

Are friends supposed to be like this?

Tang Xingye recalled his mode of getting along with Wen Ze. It seemed when he was injured, he would smile indifferently, while Wen Ze, an Alpha, would be nervous, shedding tears while applying medicine to him.

Back then, he hadn’t thought about this issue. Maybe he hated Zhou Lin too much, so when he touched him, Tang Xingye felt a bit uncomfortable.

Zhou Lin’s palm was very hot. Covering his arm made him feel itchy and generated a heat.

When Zhou Lin leaned close, the heat of his breath sprinkled on the skin, provoking an unbearable itch, as if urging Tang Xingye to let someone rub it for him quickly.

His body isn’t this weak, is it?

Didn’t he just beat up an Alpha two days ago?

Afraid that both the iodine and soy milk would spill, Tang Xingye pursed his pale pink lips, biting the straw, a bit unhappy with Zhou Lin’s behavior.

He stared at Zhou Lin, thinking about which gunnysack would be suitable.

Zhou Lin better not let him catch him in a small alley, or he’d get a beating.

Zhou Lin’s shadowed eyes kept staring at Tang Xingye. The other party lowered his eyes, quietly sipping the straw, like a beautiful doll.

Only the cold white skin exuded a faint red, and the long eyelashes trembled incessantly, revealing the owner’s state of mind.

So sensitive, Little Green Leaf, just like a mimosa.

Zhou Lin accidentally heard those people’s obscene fantasies about Tang Xingye, calling him the aloof eldest young lady, Wifey, Baby.

With the size difference between Alphas and Betas, Tang Xingye appeared exceptionally slender and thin.

They fantasized about easily grabbing those delicate hands, holding them over his head, pressing him into a corner, grabbing his thin waist, and fucking him until he cried.

Thinking of such a scene, it was pitiful yet exciting.

Tang Xingye glanced at the band-aid, feeling this was too exaggerated. It was just a superficial scratch; it would heal in a few days.

He suddenly thought of an absurd possibility.

He heard people mention that some Alphas would overcompensate due to physiological defects. The example given at the time was “impotent Alpha husbands are often particularly attentive in taking care of Omega wives, afraid the other party will run away.”

This thought fell into his mind like a drop of ink into clear water, slowly spreading. Zhou Lin’s recent abnormal behavior suddenly had an explanation: refusing all Omegas, the man in the Zhongshan suit’s instructions, and now being overly concerned with him, a Beta… everything could be connected.

Tang Xingye’s gaze subtly glanced downward for a split second, then quickly moved away.

Is the poor impotent Alpha so afraid he’ll tell others?

Tang Xingye had always had little interest in others’ private affairs, unless the other party provoked him first.

“Done.” Zhou Lin finally released his hand, his knuckles inadvertently brushing past the skin of his wrist.

Soft, slightly cool.

Just like the green snake, docile and harmless.

Zhou Lin reminded gently, “Don’t touch water these few days. Other labs just see you’re particularly easy to talk to and call you to move equipment. You can refuse and call an Alpha to help.”

Tang Xingye’s tone was cold. “Mn.”

Compared to other roommates, Zhou Lin had always been gentle and polite, having the best reputation in school.

Flawless—this was the evaluation Tang Xingye heard most about Zhou Lin.

Tang Xingye suddenly spoke, “…You are also very special.”

—A pewter spearhead that looks like silver (useless/impotent).

—Scram.

Zhou Lin’s eyes flickered. He lowered his voice, the end tone containing a smile. “Really? How so?”

Tang Xingye’s long eyes drooped slightly. “Mn, you are different from other Alphas I’ve seen.”

—Especially useless pewter spearhead.