Chapter 17: So generous!

Fiddling idly with his computer, Bai Yao rested his chin on one hand, glancing sideways at Qiu Ye, who was sitting not far away.

‘What is he playing?’

‘He said he came to hang out with me, but is he actually here just to use Brother Long’s desktop PC?’

Since finishing the game’s download, Qiu Ye hadn’t looked up from the screen.

He occasionally nibbled on some snacks, looking quite relaxed.

‘The task of spending three hours together looks like it’ll be easy…’

Bai Yao shifted his legs uncomfortably.

Being in a room with someone he wasn’t familiar with always made him feel uneasy, causing him to be constantly aware of Qiu Ye’s every move.

If it were a roommate, he could endure it and eventually get used to it over time, but he and Qiu Ye had only started speaking to each other yesterday.

“Bai Yao.”

Before Bai Yao could even react, a bag of shrimp chips was tossed into his lap.

“Shrimp chips. They’re pretty good.”

“Huh? Oh!”

The shrimp chips slipped through the slight gap between his thighs and tumbled toward the floor.

He bent over in a scramble to catch them, looking a bit clumsy.

His reactions had always been slow.

Whenever he got nervous, his brain would stall, which was why he didn’t like competitive games that required quick reflexes.

Instead, he played a lot of simulation and management games.

“How is it?”

Only then did Bai Yao tear open the packaging and take a bite.

“Mmm, it’s good.”

“Right?”

Qiu Ye picked through the bag again and tossed over a few more snacks to share.

“These marinated quail eggs aren’t bad, either.”

‘So this guy likes snacks?’

Bai Yao caught the bags of food.

“Thanks.”

“Why are you being so formal?”

Qiu Ye stretched, finally shifting his gaze away from the screen.

He stood up and started walking toward the door.

Seeing this, Bai Yao immediately grew tense.

“Where are you going?”

‘Wait! You’ve only been playing for half an hour!’

‘Just sit there and play the game! My task isn’t finished yet!’

“Going to get some breakfast. I’m hungry.”

‘Are you coming back after you eat?!’

Bai Yao stood up in a flash.

“I’ll go buy it for you!”

“Hmm?”

Qiu Ye looked at Bai Yao, puzzled.

Why did he seem so nervous?

It was almost as if he didn’t want him to leave.

“What do you want to eat?”

Bai Yao had already opened the wardrobe and pulled out his casual clothes for going outside.

He explained as he moved, “I was just about to go buy some drinks anyway.”

He only had three sets of casual summer clothes: two black short-sleeved shirts and one button-down, with three pairs of dark, full-length pants.

“In that case…”

Qiu Ye thought for a moment.

“Hula Soup, fried dough sticks, and meat buns. Grab me a Sprite while you’re at it.”

“Got it!”

Bai Yao pulled off his loose pajama pants, revealing fair, slender legs that looked like chopsticks.

They say boys’ legs are generally thinner than girls’, and there were even rumors that many leg models were men…

But his main problem was the lack of leg hair.

This made him unwilling to wear shorts outside no matter how hot it was, for fear of drawing attention.

“Where’s your leg hair?”

‘See?!’

Bai Yao ignored Qiu Ye’s question and pulled on his long pants.

He felt a slight sense of constriction and frowned.

The pants he wore yesterday were a bit tight, too…

He couldn’t see any obvious change in the mirror, but he had a vague feeling that either his thighs had gotten thicker or his butt had gotten bigger.

He stepped onto the electronic scale with concern.

It was still around 100 pounds, no change.

‘It’s definitely the System’s fault!’

Qiu Ye leaned over.

“How tall are you? How are you barely 100 pounds?”

“1.7 meters.”

“Really?”

Qiu Ye looked at Bai Yao skeptically, sizing him up from head to toe.

“You’re actually 1.7 meters?”

No matter how he looked at it, Bai Yao was much more petite than a normal 1.7-meter-tall man.

Standing in front of him, Bai Yao was probably half a head shorter; Qiu Ye had to look down just to talk to him.

He reached out and pressed his hand onto Bai Yao’s head, gesturing to compare the height difference.

“Come on, stand up straight.”

“!!!”

Startled, Bai Yao sprang away like a rabbit, putting two paces of distance between them.

“What are you running for? Are you really 1.7 meters?”

Bai Yao hated physical contact with anyone and always maintained a certain distance.

With a stiff face, he repeated righteously, “1.7 meters.”

‘If I round up, isn’t that 1.7 meters?’

Bai Yao grabbed his shirt and headed to the bathroom.

In the past, he only had slight protrusions on his chest, and even then, he was unwilling to change in front of his roommates.

Now, the flesh on his chest was nearly a finger thick; there was no way he could be shirtless around others.

‘It’s all the System’s fault…’

Hearing the bathroom door open, Qiu Ye looked up and saw that Bai Yao had changed into a light-colored, casual button-down shirt — a somewhat formal look.

That cold expression of his actually matched the clothes quite well.

The hem of the shirt was tucked into his slacks, making Bai Yao’s waist look so thin it didn’t even seem a palm-width wide.

The solid-colored shirt had no patterns, which made the slight curves of his chest more noticeable than usual.

One could even see the faint points of his nipples.

‘His waist is so thin, and he has a chest… This body looks like a young girl who’s just hitting puberty.’

[You have been noticed by Qiu Ye!]

Bai Yao’s expression froze, and he instinctively looked at Qiu Ye.

Qiu Ye nodded thoughtfully.

“No wonder Zu Hao always says you look like a girl.”

“Shut up…”

Bai Yao’s gaze flickered as he avoided eye contact.

His shoulders hunched inward slightly as he moved quietly to the mirror.

He took a quick sideways glance, then looked down and pulled the hem of his shirt out of his pants.

‘No wonder I was noticed!’

‘The “steamed buns” on my chest are way too obvious!’

‘My favorite outfit… I guess I can’t wear it anymore?’

‘Or do I have to wear a t-shirt underneath the button-down? I can’t handle two layers in this heat — ‘

A sudden weight hit his shoulder.

Bai Yao looked up and saw Qiu Ye wrapping an arm around him, dragging him toward the dormitory exit.

“Don’t bother bringing anything back. Let’s just go to the cafeteria together.”

“Seriously, though, aren’t you going to get a haircut? You already look like a girl, and you’re keeping it this long.”

“Do you play Monster Hunter? Monster Hunter is on sale right now. It’s an all-time low of 70 yuan. Want to start a new file and run missions with me?”

Bai Yao’s entire body was stiff, and his walking was a bit synchronized.

He was the least capable of handling this kind of enthusiastic, proactive person! He had no sense of personal space at all! ‘Let go! We’re not that close!’

He lowered his head like a kidnapped hostage, his voice weak as he protested, “Don’t…”

Qiu Ye interrupted him.

“How about this? I’ll buy you a copy of Monster Hunter. You play with me, okay?”

“My computer probably can’t run it, right?”

Bai Yao’s attention shifted to the game.

“I heard it’s hard?”

‘Monster Hunter! It’s world-famous!’

‘And if I play games with Qiu Ye, the three-hour task will be over in no time!’

“If it can’t run Monster Hunter: World, we’ll play Monster Hunter: Rise. The graphics in Rise should be manageable, right?”

“Are you really gifting it to me? 70 yuan is pretty expensive…”

Qiu Ye looked down and saw Bai Yao staring up at him, his large eyes sparkling with anticipation.

“Just play with me, and we’re even.”

‘How generous…’

Bai Yao’s previous stereotype of Qiu Ye shifted…

Even though he had a history of fighting and looked a bit scary, he was actually quite generous!

“Do you have enough money to spend?” he asked, feeling a bit worried.

“It’s fine. 2,000 a month. It’s definitely enough as long as I don’t get a girlfriend.”

“That’s not that much… Maybe forget it?”

Bai Yao was still a bit conflicted.

He wanted the free game, but he was afraid to accept it, worrying that Qiu Ye might regret it later.

“You talk too much.”