“Why’s the door locked? Isn’t Qiu Ye here?”
“Look, Qiu Ye’s bed is empty.”
Bai Yao keenly heard the movement in the hallway.
He guessed it was Qiu Ye’s two former roommates returning from their National Day trip.
He had heard that the guys in the neighboring dorm were all quiet types, which was why Qiu Ye couldn’t stand it and moved into this room.
However, Bai Yao actually envied them.
He was a quiet type himself, and quiet types should be roommates with each other!
The door cracked open, and a classmate he recognized but didn’t know by name peeked in.
“Is Qiu Ye here?”
He immediately spotted the girl sitting at the computer and froze, visibly flustered.
“No, never mind.”
Bai Yao turned to answer, but the classmate quickly retreated and shut the door.
“???”
He pursed his lips, wondering if he was really that scary.
“There’s a girl next door! Holy crap! Scared the hell out of me.”
“A girl? Did someone bring their girlfriend to the dorms?”
“Bai Yao’s girlfriend? Wait, no! That girl looked like Bai Yao! I almost didn’t recognize him.”
‘I’m not so feminine that I’m unrecognizable! My face is just a bit prettier! My body isn’t as scrawny as it used to be, just a little softer!’
Bai Yao pulled his jacket tighter, wondering if they had noticed the curves on his chest.
The balcony door opened, and Qiu Ye strolled back inside after using the bathroom.
“Who was just here?”
Bai Yao’s expression and tone were equally cold.
“Your roommates.”
‘Is he still sulking?’
Qiu Ye heard the noise in the hallway, grabbed his keys, and walked out.
Seeing that he was alone again, the tense Bai Yao relaxed and leaned back, looking toward the door with curiosity.
‘Did Qiu Ye not even tell them he moved?’
He unzipped his jacket and looked down at the little buns on his chest, scratching his head in frustration.
‘What am I going to do if this keeps up?’
Before, he could have claimed he was fat as a kid and his chest didn’t shrink after losing weight—that was normal for a guy.
But his roommates weren’t blind; there was a big difference between fat and breast tissue.
Bai Yao bounced his leg and started nibbling on his left thumbnail.
His right hand fiddled with the long tips of his hair.
Old habits like biting his nails merged with his new, feminine mannerisms.
‘I’m so anxious, lost, and stressed!’
‘I want to do something lewd!’
As soon as his roommates had left for National Day, his mind had been filled with thoughts of rewarding himself, only for Qiu Ye to mess it up.
But now, he was alone again!
Although Qiu Ye could return at any moment, hiding in the bathroom would be fine.
Bai Yao took a deep breath and stood up with determination.
‘Nothing can stop me! My little brother is already losing his spirit; who knows if it’ll ever stand tall again in the future! Every chance counts!’
As for the real thing… he wimped out just thinking about it.
Best to forget it.
Bang!
“Fuck your mother!”
A sudden loud noise, mixed with shouting and cursing, nearly made the already guilty Bai Yao jump out of his skin.
He looked toward the next room in alarm, arms protectively crossed over his chest, his body subconsciously curling inward. His eyes flickered with panic.
He looked like a startled little animal.
“Stop it, stop it! We’re all classmates…”
The sound of someone trying to break up a fight drifted in.
Bai Yao immediately realized Qiu Ye was in a confrontation.
‘It’s over, it’s over! What do I do? What should I do?’
‘I’m not even that close to Qiu Ye! He just annoyed me earlier, so this has nothing to do with me! As long as I don’t get blood on me, it’s fine!’
‘But what if Qiu Ye loses and gets beaten up?’
‘If even he can’t win, me going there would be useless…’
Bai Yao was a total coward.
He had never been in a fight in his life.
Back in elementary and middle school, he had been ostracized by the boys for being too feminine.
Even when he was bullied, he never fought back.
At most, he would put on a cold front, pretending he couldn’t see or hear anything.
He acted as if nothing concerned him, making the bullies feel like there was no point in picking on him since they got no reaction.
‘Should I… just take a look?’
Hesitantly, Bai Yao opened the door and peeked into the hallway.
He walked down the hall to the neighbors’ open door and peeked inside again.
He saw Qiu Ye gripping a classmate by the collar and pinning him to a desk.
His face was full of raw aggression.
His features were naturally sharp and intimidating, but now that he was angry, a single look from him was enough to terrify a child.
Qiu Ye’s intimidation was through the roof, and his fighting prowess wasn’t lacking either.
The classmate pinned to the table had to be at least 180 centimeters tall and 200 pounds, yet he was helpless.
His shirt was pulled up, exposing his large belly.
Bai Yao was the “child” in this scenario.
He stood frozen at the door, unsure whether to enter or leave, his legs feeling weak.
Qiu Ye seemed to notice the movement at the door.
He turned and saw Bai Yao’s small head peeking around the wall, watching him.
The fierce, murderous glare scared Bai Yao so much that he immediately ducked his head back.
“Keep your damn mouth shut!”
Qiu Ye let go with a curse, shoved his hands into his pockets, and walked out of the room looking like a complete delinquent.
In the hallway, Bai Yao looked at him timidly and cautiously.
Qiu Ye burst out laughing, threw an arm around Bai Yao’s shoulder, and dragged him back to their room.
“Go download Mahjong Soul. I’ll teach you how to play.”
“Oh.”
Bai Yao peeked at Qiu Ye’s expression out of the corner of his eye.
Compared to his angry look from before, Qiu Ye seemed quite friendly now.
‘But this guy can really fight! And he looks like a pro at it!’
‘He looked so scary when he was fighting. It nearly killed me!’
Qiu Ye pushed Bai Yao down into a chair and leaned over to use the mouse, helping him download Mahjong Soul.
He noticed Bai Yao’s frequent glances, but every time their eyes met, Bai Yao would hurriedly look down, his cautious behavior making it obvious he was afraid.
“What? You think I’m going to hit you too?”
‘God knows…’
Bai Yao sat up straight and stayed on his best behavior, knees together and arms stiff against his thighs.
His gaze flickered around, looking like a child waiting for a lecture.
Qiu Ye clicked the mouse and explained casually, “That fat guy has a foul mouth. I didn’t like what I heard, and when I gave him a piece of my mind, he got an attitude with me.”
‘Wang Zuhao has a foul mouth too, and you’re not much better.’
Bai Yao couldn’t help but ask, “What did he say?”
“Just some nasty stuff because you look like a girl,” Qiu Ye muttered vaguely.
“He was comparing you to those ladyboy shows in Thailand.”
“!!!”
‘Wait, this actually involved me?’
Although Bai Yao had never left the province, he knew about Thailand’s special shows—he’d heard they even included certain services…
He frowned deeply.
He hadn’t heard the word directly, but just thinking about it was enough to make him feel sick.
‘Not even Wang Zuhao would use such nasty words against me!’
“Is he crazy?”
Bai Yao cursed angrily.
“What’s it to them?”
But then, he slumped onto the desk and sighed in resignation.
Whatever they said behind his back, he couldn’t hear or control.
But if the System kept messing with him, more and more people would talk, and it would only get easier for those words to reach his ears.
Bai Yao muttered a bit awkwardly, “Um, thanks…”
‘Qiu Ye is actually a pretty loyal bro~’
“Mostly because that fat guy cursed at my mom. I just helped you out along the way.”
‘Wait! I cursed at his mom last time too! Did I actually dodge a bullet?!’