I’m so screwed!
He didn’t know if it was because of the system or if something was wrong with his body — it was definitely the system’s fault! Otherwise, his chest wouldn’t have gotten bigger by the second day!
Yesterday, it was just a sharp pain!
He pressed his hands against his chest again.
As that familiar stinging pain returned, Bai Yao’s face instantly turned pale.
Around eighth grade, when everyone his age began going through puberty, he noticed a faint, recurring pain in his chest.
His chest was also slightly more prominent than that of a normal boy.
He had searched for answers online and found that it was supposedly normal for a small number of boys to experience this during puberty.
Later, the pain had gradually faded, so he never gave it much thought.
But now, he had no idea what the system had done to his body!
‘Is it really treating me like a woman?! Why does it even come with a breast enhancement effect?’
Bai Yao changed into a black short-sleeved shirt.
The shirt was covered in a large, flashy pattern, which he hoped would hide the protrusions of his Wang Zai mini buns.
He returned to the dorm room.
Even though he tried to act like nothing was wrong, his face still carried an expression of utter despair.
“Ready?”
Lin Mingxin had also finished changing and was prepared to head out.
“Yeah.”
Although he had completely lost his appetite, he had already agreed to go.
Bai Yao slipped on his flip-flops to follow Lin Mingxin out the door.
“Where are you guys going?” Chen Zhilong suddenly poked his head out from his bed.
“When will you be back? Lin, bring me some food.”
Upon hearing his roommate’s request, Lin Mingxin’s face darkened.
He walked out without looking back.
“Order takeout yourself.”
“Bro! Big brother — hey! Bai Yao, don’t leave yet!”
Bai Yao paused and looked at Chen Zhilong with hesitation.
“Help me buy two meat buns, a bowl of preserved egg and lean pork congee, and maybe a bottle of Coke? Next time you skip class, I’ll cover for you during roll call.”
“Sure.”
Even though it was a bit of a hassle, Chen Zhilong had always been quite nice to him.
“Then bring me the exact same thing.”
Wang Zuhao popped his head up from the other top bunk.
In contrast to Chen Zhilong’s suggestive tone, Wang Zuhao’s voice wasn’t polite at all.
Bai Yao glanced at him and turned to leave.
“No.”
“What! That’s blatant discrimination!”
“Who told you to keep calling him girly every day?”
Chen Zhilong laughed gloatingly.
“Go ahead and starve!”
Outside the dormitory, Lin Mingxin was waiting for Bai Yao in the hallway.
Hearing footsteps, he didn’t say a word and simply started walking.
The dormitory building had six floors and no elevator.
Bai Yao’s room, 522, was located on the fifth floor.
Climbing five flights of stairs every day to get to class was his only form of daily exercise.
At 8:30 AM, those who had classes were already gone, and those who didn’t were still sleeping.
There weren’t many students on the stairs.
Still, Bai Yao felt as guilty as a thief.
He hunched his shoulders and bowed his head, pretending to look at his phone while he walked, but his eyes darted around nervously.
It was as if any passerby could tell at a glance that his chest had grown and would laugh at him to his face.
Even though he knew that no one would realistically pay special attention to a man’s chest…
“Hey!”
While heading downstairs, Bai Yao slammed right into Lin Mingxin’s back.
He took an involuntary step back, but his heel caught on a step, sending him tumbling onto his butt.
“What’s wrong?”
Bai Yao hissed as he sucked in a breath of cold air, enduring the pain.
“I just realized I forgot to take out the trash…”
Lin Mingxin reached out a hand with a slightly embarrassed expression. “Are you okay? My bad, my bad.”
“I’m… hiss — my butt hurts.”
Lin Mingxin pulled Bai Yao up.
Bai Yao looked over his shoulder and saw a layer of white dust on his black casual pants.
He patted himself down a few times, worried about his image.
“Is it clean?”
Lin Mingxin leaned down to help him check and casually patted Bai Yao’s rear twice.
“That’s about it.”
“Okay.”
‘I didn’t think Lin Mingxin and I were this close. Why did he just put his hands on me?’
Bai Yao was someone with a strong sense of personal boundaries.
He felt a bit uncomfortable, but he didn’t dwell on it.
No matter how strong one’s boundaries were, living in a dorm with a group of boisterous roommates would eventually wear them down.
Noticing the sheepish apology on Lin Mingxin’s face, the slight annoyance from being knocked down lingered in Bai Yao’s heart.
He narrowed his eyes and waited until Lin Mingxin started walking forward again.
Then, he suddenly reached out and delivered a heavy swat to the other man’s rear.
“Holy crap!”
Startled, Lin Mingxin nearly jumped in place.
He turned back to look at Bai Yao in surprise, never expecting to be retaliated against.
“Your butt is pretty perky~”
Lin Mingxin was almost moved to laughter by the anger.
He had thought his quiet roommate was an extreme introvert, but it seemed he had finally exposed his true nature after barely a month of getting to know each other.
“Could it be perkier than yours?”
Lin Mingxin motioned to swat back, but when he saw Bai Yao covering his own backside and dodging to the side, he rolled his eyes.
“Let’s go. Time to eat.”
Bai Yao trotted after him.
“Are you in a good mood these past few days?”
Lin Mingxin asked curiously.
“I feel like you’ve been talking a lot more.”
“Have I?”
‘It’s mostly to complete the missions.’
Besides, from his observations, Lin Mingxin was indeed the easiest person to get along with in the dorm.
However, Bai Yao’s mood was far from good.
He couldn’t help but complain, “I’m honestly annoyed to death.”
‘Damn system! It can’t even tell the host’s gender!’
“It’s about Hao, right?” Lin Mingxin misunderstood his meaning.
“Actually, Hao is okay; he’s just got a bit of a big mouth.”
“He’s way too noisy. I already have trouble sleeping as it is.”
“I always sleep with headphones on at night.”
Were they actually kindred spirits?
Seeing Lin Mingxin shake his head with a bitter smile, Bai Yao joined him in his indignation.
“He doesn’t listen when you tell him, and he’s incredibly stubborn.”
“There’s nothing we can do. I bet Captain America’s shield isn’t just made of Vibranium — it’s got Hao’s stubborn mouth in it, too.”
Bai Yao didn’t watch many Marvel movies and only knew the general character, but he understood Lin Mingxin’s joke and nearly burst out laughing.
No wonder Lin Mingxin got along with everyone.
The act of gossiping about Wang Zuhao behind his back made Bai Yao feel a newfound sense of closeness with Lin Mingxin.
The corners of his lips curved up, and his smile brightened with a hint of genuine happiness.
[Your relationship with your crush is becoming increasingly close. Who knows, he might even like you back! Perhaps you should keep up the good work and ask him out for a meal?]
[Mission: Eat with your crush. Reward Cash: 100]
Lin Mingxin saw the dimples form under Bai Yao’s eyes.
His originally cold face became filled with approachability the moment he smiled, making him look like a friendly neighborhood younger brother.
But in the next second, Bai Yao’s expression froze, and the corners of his upturned lips slumped back down.
‘Did I say something wrong?!’
Lin Mingxin was stunned.
Why did Bai Yao’s face change faster than someone flipping through a book?
“Walk faster, I’m hungry,” Bai Yao said, quickening his pace.
He walked toward the cafeteria with a dark expression.
“What do you want to eat? It’s on me.”
‘Goddamn system! It just defiled my innocent friendship with Lin Mingxin!’
Going to eat with a roommate was perfectly normal, yet the system insisted on framing it as a date with a crush!
It made every normal interaction between roommates seem incredibly ambiguous!
“Why the sudden treat?”
Because Bai Yao had a guilty conscience.