Chapter 42: Am I a little weird?

Bai Yao wished he could simply fly back to the Dormitory!

He prayed that Qiu Ye had stayed up late gaming again last night and hadn’t woken up yet.

He prayed that Qiu Ye wouldn’t open his wardrobe for no reason…

He had already planned out the next steps: return to the Dormitory, get the reward, and since there weren’t many people in the Dormitory Building during the National Day holiday, he would pack it up tightly and toss it in the trash!

‘Why is the ride-share so slow?’

Bai Yao was restless with anxiety.

For the first time since getting into the car, he took the initiative to speak to the driver.

“Can you go any faster?”

The driver tilted his head slightly, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.

“There’s a speed limit in the city.”

“Oh.”

Bai Yao anxiously pressed his hands together, tucking them into the gap between his thighs.

Every so often, his knees would open and close, his gaze fixed on the streets outside the window.

After an unknown amount of time, the streets finally began to look familiar.

The ride-share stopped at the main gate of the School.

“Thank you.”

Bai Yao took his laptop bag, offered a polite word, and jogged into the School.

From the main gate to the Dormitory Building, he had never felt like the walk was so long.

In the past, he would stroll leisurely; it didn’t matter if it took half an hour.

Now, he was jogging the whole way, reaching the Dormitory in just over ten minutes.

He was panting so hard he could barely stand up straight.

It was lucky the system had enhanced his physical fitness, or he would have had to stop and rest twice along the way.

Bai Yao caught his breath slightly and was about to head upstairs, but when he reached the stairwell, he saw a cleaning lady rummaging through a trash can.

The woman opened every trash bag to check inside, pulling out plastic bottles, cardboard, and all sorts of recyclable waste to sell for scrap.

Bai Yao’s pupils contracted in shock.

‘I almost forgot the cleaning lady would go through the trash! If a Gediao is found in the trash… and it’s an extra-large one!’

Even if it might not necessarily expose his identity, just imagining the scene felt like hell!

‘No, I have to buy a kitchen knife and chop it up! Chop it into pieces before throwing it away!’

With a grim expression, Bai Yao brushed past the cleaning lady and hurried upstairs.

Arriving at the Dormitory door, he lightened his footsteps.

He gently pushed the door open and peeked inside.

The lights weren’t on, leaving the room somewhat dim.

He stood on his tiptoes.

Qiu Ye’s bed was lumpy, and in the poor light, he could vaguely see the back of Qiu Ye’s head.

The room was quiet enough to hear heavy, rhythmic breathing, along with the thumping of his own pulse.

‘He’s sleeping soundly~’

Bai Yao breathed a long sigh of relief.

He tiptoed back to his desk, terrified of accidentally waking Qiu Ye.

‘First, I need to make sure the system reward was actually delivered to the wardrobe…’

He gently put down his bag.

Like a thief, he watched Qiu Ye’s bed out of the corner of his eye while opening the wardrobe.

The wardrobe was divided into two levels. T

he upper level was half-full with his clothes, while the lower level held plastic buckets, plastic basins, toiletries, and other miscellaneous items.

On the upper level, a rectangular package lay quietly atop the messy clothes.

‘At least it has packaging… Should I just tear off the shipping label and throw it away?’

Bai Yao reached out to grab it and discovered the reward was quite heavy—it must weigh at least 0.5 pounds!

Truth be told, he was a little curious…

‘Should I open it and take a look? It is a system reward, after all.’

“Just get back?”

His hand jerked, and the package he had just picked up fell back into the wardrobe with a thud.

‘My heart nearly stopped!’

“What was that? Startled me.”

Qiu Ye had already sat up, leaning over the edge of the bed to look down.

“Did you bring me breakfast?”

“Uh… I forgot.”

Bai Yao closed the wardrobe as if nothing had happened.

He struggled to keep his expression neutral, sitting back down at his desk with a cold face and pulling the data cables and charger out of his laptop bag.

Qiu Ye’s gaze lingered on him, making his hands tremble with tension.

He absolutely could not let the package be discovered!

People would misunderstand and think he had bought a Gediao!

And looking at the size of that box… it was at least 20-plus centimeters!

So big!

Bai Yao didn’t even know where to hide it!

“Why is your face so red?”

“It’s a bit hot…”

Even Bai Yao could feel the heat radiating from his cheeks.

His breath felt warm against his upper lip.

Qiu Ye stretched and vaulted directly down from the top bunk, landing lightly without making much noise.

He glanced at Bai Yao, who was sitting stiffly in his chair.

Bai Yao was red-faced and restless, his shirt soaked with sweat, and his bangs were damp and clinging to his forehead.

He looked like a complete mess.

‘Is he doing something guilty?’

“Is it really that hot?”

Qiu Ye reached over and lowered the air conditioning by two degrees.

“You even forgot to bring me breakfast.”

“Yeah, just order takeout.”

Qiu Ye suddenly stiffened as a wave of awkwardness washed over him.

Bai Yao was peeking at him… and his gaze was drifting slightly downward.

As a normal man, he naturally displayed certain male characteristics upon waking up.

It would have been fine in front of any other man; he might even have been shameless enough to show off his prowess.

But in front of Bai Yao, there was only embarrassment and shyness.

This guy looked way too much like a girl!

In front of Bai Yao, Qiu Ye didn’t want to seem too bothered or shy.

It would make him look “gay,” which didn’t fit his usual persona at all.

He calmly picked up his shorts and pulled them on, then walked straight toward the bathroom.

The moment the balcony door closed, Bai Yao slammed his head onto the desk.

‘I’m a pervert! Where am I looking?!’

It was all the system’s fault for rewarding him with a Gediao!

Now he was unconsciously comparing the reward to Qiu Ye!

‘Ugh~ one hasn’t even been unpacked, and the other is wearing boxers. It’s hard to compare…’

With a crimson face, Bai Yao shook his head violently, flinging the dirty thoughts away.

Taking advantage of the fact that Qiu Ye was still in the bathroom, he quickly opened the wardrobe, tossed the package onto his bed, stuffed it under the covers, and zipped the bed curtain shut.

Someone might open his wardrobe, but absolutely no one would climb onto his bed!

With the closed curtain as a barrier, he finally felt a sense of security!

‘Right! I should throw the women’s clothing and the Makeup Artifact onto the bed too!’

Once all the hiding was done, the tension in Bai Yao’s body finally relaxed.

He slumped weakly over the desk, cursing the system in his mind.

There was really no need for it to care about him this much.

Even if he hadn’t “relieved” himself in a long time and was “repressed,” it was none of the system’s business!

‘I feel like my thoughts have been contaminated…’

While Bai Yao would occasionally “visit heaven,” it had only been a thing for one or two months.

His tastes were still relatively mild, limited to things like sister complexes and lolicon tropes.

His theoretical knowledge was lacking, and his mind was still considered pure.

“Have you eaten breakfast yet?”

Qiu Ye asked from outside on the balcony.

“I ate.”

Bai Yao slapped his cheeks with both hands, trying to make the redness fade faster.

‘I should take a shower!’

He had worked up a sweat, and his skin was starting to feel itchy.

He grabbed his pajamas and toiletries and walked toward the bathroom.

However, he silently backed out again, turned around, and looked at Qiu Ye, who was brushing his teeth.

That expressionless look, with eyes full of utter disgust, had unexpected power, wounding Qiu Ye’s fragile soul.

“What?”

Qiu Ye snapped, his composure breaking.

“I just finished taking a dump. Is it supposed to smell like flowers?”