Chapter 9: Friends: If you call me that again, I’ll slap you twice!
Lu Zhi grabbed Tang Xingye’s wrist, frowning at the roommate before him who always wrapped himself in a shell of alienation. “Wait a minute.”
When his pupils registered the feeling of the knuckles, they contracted sharply, and he released his grip instantly as if burned.
Tang Xingye stopped, pursing his lips. His eyelashes trembled slightly, like an alert cat. “What is it?”
“Zhou Lin organized a meal. Come with us.” Lu Zhi steadied his mind, deliberately maintaining a safe distance, his fingertips rubbing the inhibitor in his pocket.
Tang Xingye’s refusal was crisp and decisive. “I’m not hungry.”
Lu Zhi’s gaze swept over the other’s excessively slender wrist bone, where cyan blood vessels were clearly visible against the cold white skin. “You’re only eating that much?”
Tang Xingye had only eaten a small cake Zhou Lin ordered, and that cake wasn’t even as big as a fist.
Tang Xingye smelled the faint, bitter scent of cocoa. He frowned internally, a trace of physiological disgust rising in his heart.
But remembering that Lu Zhi had helped him just now, his voice softened slightly. “I’m really full.”
Lu Zhi’s frown deepened. Tang Xingye was always like this, preferring to starve rather than accept kindness from others.
Lu Zhi didn’t believe an adult Beta’s appetite was that small. “Your family didn’t send you living expenses?”
Tang Xingye’s voice was calm and indifferent, as if discussing today’s weather. “They are all dead.”
Lu Zhi: “…Sorry.”
He fell silent for a moment, his tongue tasting bitter, regretting asking that question.
“Let’s go, let’s go eat.”
“You and Zhou Lin go.”
Tang Xingye wasn’t speaking out of spite; he was indeed full.
In high school, to save money and time, he often survived on a packet of instant noodles and a box of milk. Over time, his shrunken stomach could no longer hold a normal amount of food.
He understood that Lu Zhi and Zhou Lin were like people seeing a pitiful stray cat or dog on the roadside, occasionally struck by sympathy and doling out a bit of charity.
“Then I’ll walk you back to the dorm first.”
“I’m going to the library.”
The streetlights elongated their shadows, one in front and one behind, distinct and separate.
Lu Zhi frowned, his voice tinged with the chill of the night wind. “I want to clear things up. Why are you always avoiding me?”
Tang Xingye: “…”
So annoying.
He cursed in his heart, but his face softened slightly. He looked up directly at Lu Zhi, making up an excuse to explain. “Lu Zhi, you are an Alpha. If you have another rut, I can’t beat you. You have to understand that I would be scared.”
“I brought enough inhibitors.” Lu Zhi took two unopened syringes from his pocket. “That kind of accident won’t happen again.”
“I know,” Tang Xingye interrupted him.
“You like Omegas, and so do I. That was just an accident, right?”
Tang Xingye meant this sincerely. As a choice for a lifelong partner, how could there be anyone in this world who didn’t like fragrant, soft Omegas and liked Betas instead? That person would have to be brain-damaged.
Knowing was one thing, but Tang Xingye was a petty person. So what if it was an accident? Can an accident excuse the fact that I was almost bitten?
He hadn’t expected Lu Zhi to be so sharp. Perhaps his way of speaking had slipped somewhere, making Lu Zhi suspicious. Giving him a pleasant face for now wouldn’t hurt; after all, he still had to cast a long line to catch the big fish.
Wait until I expose Lu Zhi’s true colors. This matter will naturally be written off.
“Right?”
Lu Zhi looked into Tang Xingye’s eyes. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, finally coalescing into one sentence.
“We’re still friends, right?” He extended his hand, palm up.
That day was less an accident and more a convergence of too many coincidences.
Stimulated by alcohol, plus the other party actively leaning close, combined with his constant suppression of pheromones—all factors accumulated, compelling him to need a release.
To say he didn’t regret it would be a lie. He felt he had hurt Tang Xingye.
His feelings toward Tang Xingye were an appreciation of an excellent Beta’s personal charisma—like admiring the most precise instrument in a lab, or the cleanest shooting arc on a basketball court.
In terms of character, ability, and appearance, Tang Xingye was impeccably excellent.
Initially, to avoid stimulating his gland, he had deliberately kept a distance from Tang Xingye.
What was the reason that allowed rational judgment to be washed away by instinct?
Is it the inherent bad nature of an Alpha?
Lu Zhi felt he was living like a beast, having to wear an inhibitor ring every day, but it shouldn’t be like this in a roommate relationship.
Maintaining the most ordinary roommate relationship with Tang Xingye was the most reasonable and safe choice.
“Friends?”
Tang Xingye stared at the other’s palm, his eyes moving slightly. Then, as if hearing something amusing, his brows suddenly curved, and he laughed.
The Alpha, seeing Tang Xingye smile so happily for the first time, was stunned for a moment.
When that cold, beautiful face smiled, the tear mole at the corner of his eye lifted slightly. It was lethally good-looking, carrying an alluring flavor.
“Lu Zhi.”
Tang Xingye suddenly called his name very softly. The voice was as light as snow falling into a palm, dampening Lu Zhi’s heart.
The thin snowman stood under the streetlight. His eyelashes cast a dark shadow on his eyelids, the corners of his eyes stained with a thin red, his skin cold and white.
The dim yellow light softened the natural coldness of his brows and eyes, making him look dreamlike and blurred.
Tang Xingye said, “I don’t need Zhou Lin’s sympathy.”
He turned and left without looking back. The wind in the night wrapped around the second half of his sentence and drifted lightly into Lu Zhi’s ears.
“And I don’t need yours either.”
The night wind rustled, blowing away the last bit of warmth.
“No bag, thank you,” the boy’s voice was faint.
The night shift clerk was drowsy. He scanned the screen sleepily, but when the balance jumped from double digits to a single digit, a flash of surprise crossed his muddled brain. There are students this poor at Beijing University?
The hand that took the pendant was beautiful.
Cyan blood vessels were faintly visible under the cold white skin. Fingertips tinged with pale pink were gently twisting a thin silver chain. The chain swayed, tracing a fragmented arc of light under the lamp.
The cashier looked up at the Beta in front of him and instantly woke up. As he handed over the pendant, his fingertips accidentally grazed the other’s palm—it was cold.
Like holding a handful of fresh snow.
“Thank you.”
Tang Xingye thanked him politely and turned to leave. The hem of his clothes brushed against the wrist bone of a cool, arrogant Alpha entering the store, whose silver ear stud glinted under the light.
The clerk stared at Tang Xingye’s retreating figure, sniffing his own fingertip where it had just been touched. His finger was coated with a faint fragrance—soft, not intense, yet addictive.
How can he smell so good?
He thought wildly, and it took a while to realize that the Alpha with a lollipop in his mouth was standing in front of him. Not knowing how long the other had been standing there, he apologized as if startled awake and checked him out.
The Alpha didn’t mind. Instead, he stared at the clerk with a scrutinizing gaze, a hint of a smile on his lips. “What are you staring at that Beta for? You’re not thinking of doing something bad, are you?”
“No, no,” the clerk waved his hands hurriedly to explain upon seeing the misunderstanding. “Don’t you know him?”
The Alpha raised an eyebrow slightly. “Is he famous?”
“He’s Tang Xingye.”
A familiar name. The Alpha chewed over these words.
The clerk remembered the content of the posts and revealed a look of pity. “Poor little Beta. Tricked into marriage at a young age, and when his husband died, not only did he get no inheritance, but he was left with a pile of debt.”
The Alpha was a bit surprised. That cold youth is a Beta, and was married?
The clerk kindly reminded him, “There are many posts about him on the anonymous forum. If you’re interested in him, you can go take a look, but it’s best to use a burner account.”
In the dark corners of the anonymous forum, posts about Tang Xingye spread like mushrooms in a damp corner.
On the surface, the words were slander, but inside, they were soaked with twisted desire—the posters built high walls with the most vicious language to keep others away, while they themselves peeked through the cracks.
They wanted to drag Tang Xingye into the quagmire, yet secretly hoped he would cast a glance down at them. Even a look of disgust would make the hearts hiding behind the screens beat wildly. Every sentence oozed with pathological possessiveness, as if wrapping him in the filthiest vocabulary could conceal the trembling, shameful infatuation underneath.
The Alpha nodded slightly, not thinking much of it, assuming it was just a pitiful person with a tragic background attracting attention.
His phone ding-donged with a message. Seeing the content, the Alpha raised an eyebrow. Ji Yu, that idiot, caused trouble again.
Tang Xingye walked back to the dorm and turned on the light; the room was empty. He sat on the chair, took a lock of hair from the layer of his student ID card, and carefully placed it inside the pendant. His fingertips lingered on the cold metal for a moment before finally hanging it around his neck.
Turning on his phone, Tang Xingye stared at the account balance and sighed.
He hadn’t applied for the subsidy for impoverished students.
Being poor was a fact, but he hadn’t reached the point where he couldn’t afford to eat. Those classmates who came from the mountains needed the money more than he did.
More importantly, the “Jinx” matter was already eye-catching enough. Tang Xingye knew better than anyone that once he applied for aid, those old stories hidden in his file would be dug up and surrounded by onlookers like a specimen on a dissection table. He didn’t want his messy business laid out in front of everyone—
If people knew what kind of trash his parents were: two scumbags who didn’t work and only knew how to suck the blood of the elderly, one a controlling alcoholic, the other an absentee gambler; in the end, one died of a brain hemorrhage from alcohol poisoning, and the other ran out to play cards in the middle of the night and got into a car accident…
Just imagining that scene made him nauseous.
He would get nothing more than two sentences of painless regret and sympathy. What could that change?
Tang Xingye didn’t need others’ sympathy; he would rather have genuine indifference.
What he wanted to see were Wen Ze’s sparkling eyes, and to hear him say in that admiring tone: “You actually managed to crawl out of that pile of mud, Xingye. You’re so amazing.”
Tang Xingye rubbed the pendant on his chest, then clenched it tightly.
Wen Ze, his best friend.
Pei Lian: [Xingye, I saw a very beautiful sunset today. Showing you (Sunset.jpg)]
Since Pei Lian added him, he invited him out to play every now and then. At first, Tang Xingye pretended to reply with a sentence or two, but later, unless it was related to the project study, he couldn’t be bothered to reply.
Pei Lian didn’t give up because he didn’t reply. Instead, he reported his schedule and sent many interesting photos, such as cats as pretty as dolls, and colorful flowers.
Pei Lian was someone very easily satisfied. For example, he was happy when the flowers he planted sprouted, and happy even when the coconut milk cubes he made failed but tasted okay.
His life was colorful. Tang Xingye felt it was good just watching it.
Just watching from a distance.
Because the incident where Tang Xingye was harassed at his part-time job but had to endure it for wages went viral on the campus anonymous forum again, the content of the SMS messages he received on his phone gained another genre.
[Wife, do you want a mistress who pays you to be with him?]
[Baby, try me. I will do better than your husband. He actually didn’t even leave you an inheritance; that’s truly outrageous. Unlike him, I’m willing to give all my money to Wifey to spend.]
[Wife, look at me. My sleep schedule is irregular, I often pull all-nighters, so I definitely won’t live long. But I have money. Marry me, and when I die, it will all be yours. You’ll still be young then, inherit my estate, and can date someone else. What do you think?]
[Baby, I’m not vulgar like those other coquettish sluts who only have money! Besides having money, I’m good in bed, and I can lick. My nose bridge is high too, convenient for you to grind on my face. My nose is very comfortable to use; you can try it.]
The Alpha behind the screen stared anxiously at the display. Why hasn’t Wifey replied yet? Did I do something not good enough?
So he sent another one.
[Baby, marry me. I’m different from those despicable villains. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like me. I will proactively stay busy in the lab, leaving you plenty of time to cheat. I’m a virgin, haven’t dated, and I’m not good at catching mistresses.]
Tang Xingye was silent for a few seconds. Are the styles of scam text messages so weird nowadays?
What kind of idiots get tricked by this? Do I look that easy to fool?
He sneered and replied casually: [Then WeChat me 50 yuan, let’s see your capability.]
The other party replied instantly: [Wife, why ask for such little pocket money? How is that enough to spend? Hurry up and send your bank card number, I’ll transfer you more. Is 500k enough? I’ll note it as “Voluntary pocket money contribution to Wife.”]
Tang Xingye: …
Asking for the card number directly, this scammer isn’t even pretending.
And calling me “Wife” repeatedly.
Tang Xingye: [Who is your wife? Don’t shout randomly.]
Anonymous User: [But Wife is Wife. Baby, you are a very “Wife” kind of Wife, hehe… Wife kiss kiss.]
Tang Xingye thought to himself, Can idiots like this be scammers now too? Since when is “Wife” an adjective?
He cursed more severely: [Damn scammer, if you call me that again, I’ll slap you twice!]
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