The dormitories at Alliance University were divided not only by basic gender but also by the three evolutionary genders of ABO.
Alphas, Betas, and Omegas each lived in separate dormitory buildings, and apart from attending classes, they had virtually no opportunity to interact with one another.
But there are exceptions to every rule, especially after the equality movement took place. Social pressures forced the school to blur the lines between ABO genders in other aspects, leading to mixed-gender dormitory arrangements.
Society’s demands were one thing, but in an Alpha-dominated society, how many Alphas were truly willing to give up their power?
Alliance University’s regulations were nothing more than a superficial gesture, after all, it was only five years ago that certain majors began admitting Beta and Omega students. Aside from Alphas, the school had always maintained an open attitude toward Betas and Omegas, otherwise, they would never have allowed Zhuang Xiaoyue, a low-quality Omega, to share a dorm with Betas.
The ABO hierarchy on campus wasn’t particularly overt, but just because it wasn’t obvious didn’t mean it didn’t exist.
Pei Xingzhi’s college had only begun admitting Beta and Omega students in the second year after the equality movement. Due to the small number of students, the school hadn’t made fine distinctions, in a dorm of four, you could find students from four different majors.
Pei Xingzhi considered himself lucky. Under the BO mixed-housing arrangement, he’d been assigned to an all-Beta dorm.
It wasn’t that he had some kind of gender phobia; it was simply more convenient to live with people of the same gender. After all, no Beta wanted to be constantly suppressed by someone else’s pheromones.
But perhaps fate didn’t want him to have it too easy. His luck didn’t even last a day before it was shattered by Zhuang Xiaoyue’s arrival.
His acquaintance with Zhuang Xiaoyue stemmed from an episode of Pei Xingzhi’s hero complex. His intentions had been good, but he’d ended up bearing all the consequences himself.
It was the second day of the semester. The new students weren’t yet familiar with the campus, and everyone thought they’d take a stroll around before classes started to get their bearings. Pei Xingzhi was no exception.
The problem was that he was an absolutely terrible navigator, the kind who could run into a wall even while following GPS. Originally heading for the school cafeteria, he’d somehow ended up at the artificial rockery behind the school, guided by both his navigation app and directions from upperclassmen.
The school’s rockery wasn’t particularly tall, but to simulate a natural environment for students to observe and study, it was stocked with a full array of flora and fauna. The trees were tall enough that six or seven Pei Xingzhis stacked on top of each other couldn’t reach the top.
Pei Xingzhi looked up at the sky, seeing only fragmented sunlight filtering through the dense leaves, casting dappled shadows.
If he weren’t currently lost, Pei Xingzhi would have really liked to take a nap right here.
Of course, that thought was highly unrealistic. Pei Xingzhi only considered it for a moment before standing up to continue searching for a way out.
When he’d made a full loop and found himself back at the crooked tree where he’d rested ten minutes earlier, Pei Xingzhi finally realized something was wrong.
His sense of direction seemed to have gotten worse.
Refusing to believe it, Pei Xingzhi tried a different direction and walked another circle. When he once again returned to the familiar crooked tree, he gave up struggling.
Perhaps this was fate, his connection with this tree. Pei Xingzhi gently stroked the uneven bark of the crooked tree, Little Crooked (Pei Xingzhi’s affectionate nickname for the tree), are you calling out to me?
Yeah, right.
Pei Xingzhi was anything but calm at the moment.
The navigation app had nearly been tapped to death by him, and he had even activated the holographic auto-guide mode. Even at this point, Pei Xingzhi still couldn’t find his way out.
He didn’t know anyone at this school, so asking friends or family to come rescue him was definitely out of the question. As the freshman representative, he had joined quite a few miscellaneous groups in the school.
He could send a message in the groups asking for help, but as an upright and outstanding student, becoming famous in that way would be far too embarrassing.
After much internal struggle, Pei Xingzhi decided to hold on a little longer, his reputation was still more important to him.
He sat under the crooked-neck tree for half an hour, the cool breeze in the shade making him quite comfortable. He laid his jacket on the ground and sat down leaning against the tree. Just as he was dozing off, a sudden commotion came from the woods behind him.
Pei Xingzhi thought his savior had arrived, but when he glanced back, he didn’t see anyone. After calling out tentatively a few times, he got no response.
He sat back down dejectedly, thinking he was about to be rescued, only to be disappointed again.
No one was coming to save him, so Pei Xingzhi could only pull out his device to pass the time. He was focused on clearing a level when the noise behind him grew louder and louder, sounding like it was heading his way.
Pei Xingzhi stood up and looked again, finally spotting a few figures in colorful attire behind the bushes not far away.
Having been trapped for so long, Pei Xingzhi finally saw other humans. Without paying attention to what they were doing, he stuffed his device into his pocket, grabbed his jacket, and ran over.
Those colorful figures clearly hadn’t expected anyone else to be at this rockery. They all froze at the sight of Pei Xingzhi charging over frantically. The taller ones in front shielded the person behind them, eyeing this intruder with unfriendly expressions.
Pei Xingzhi, once excited, had no sense of the atmosphere. His mind was full of being saved, and he completely failed to notice the wary looks on their faces. With tears of gratitude in his eyes, he looked at these “heroes” who were about to rescue him from his plight, almost kneeling to beg them to take him out quickly.
When the group heard Pei Xingzhi’s request, they relaxed slightly. They shifted the person they had been shielding to the side, and one of them gave Pei Xingzhi a look, signaling him to follow.
Pei Xingzhi felt they were a bit strange, but since he still needed them to show him the way, he didn’t dare voice his concerns. Driven by curiosity, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the back of the group.
The Alphas in front happened to shift apart, revealing the side profile of the person behind them. Even from that angle, it was clear from their delicate features that they were an Omega.
A group of Alphas and an Omega on a deserted rockery.
Pei Xingzhi averted his gaze. His instincts told him this group wasn’t up to anything good.
Better to mind his own business, he was just a Beta and couldn’t fight a bunch of Alphas anyway.
The Alpha led Pei Xingzhi to the exit of the rockery. Upon learning that Pei Xingzhi had gotten lost on his way to the cafeteria, he kindly told him where the cafeteria and dormitory were. Seeing that Pei Xingzhi was listening in a daze, one of the Alphas with dyed yellow hair volunteered to escort him, and only gave up after Pei Xingzhi nearly knelt to refuse.
The Alpha realized Pei Xingzhi wasn’t a bad person, so he relaxed his protective stance over the Omega. A petite Omega came into Pei Xingzhi’s view.
The Omega was very beautiful, fitting every characteristic of an Omega, a delicate face, big eyes, and a pointed chin. Pei Xingzhi was a sucker for good looks, so he couldn’t help but steal a couple more glances.
When the Omega noticed him looking, he mouthed two sentences.
Pei Xingzhi wasn’t quite sure what he said, so he paused and looked again. The Alpha noticed his gaze, followed it, and realized the Omega was trying to pass along a message. His expression immediately shifted, and he started shoving Pei Xingzhi.
Seeing that he’d been caught, the Omega stopped hiding. He pushed past the two Alphas beside him and shouted “Help!” at Pei Xingzhi.
When Pei Xingzhi heard the Omega cry for help, a surge of courage came from somewhere. Using a clever maneuver, he tripped the Alpha who was shoving him, and before the other Alphas could react and release their pheromones, he grabbed Zhuang Xiaoyue and ran out of the rockery.
Afraid the Alphas would chase after them, Pei Xingzhi kept pulling Zhuang Xiaoyue along until they reached the dormitory building before stopping. The dormitory required facial recognition to enter, so Zhuang Xiaoyue couldn’t get in. The two could only rest for a while in the lobby downstairs.
Pei Xingzhi leaned against the wall, gasping for air. He’d been dragging Zhuang Xiaoyue the whole way, nearly carrying him on his shoulder. After the full run, Zhuang Xiaoyue only had a thin sheen of sweat on his cheeks, while Pei Xingzhi was about to collapse like a dog.
The Alphas probably held back because they were still on campus, so they didn’t chase them down. Pei Xingzhi’s breathing gradually steadied, and he let out a shuddering breath of lingering fear.
What had he just done…
Snatched an Omega from a group of Alphas?
Did he have a death wish?
If any of those Alphas had caught up and dragged him into a corner…
Pei Xingzhi swallowed hard and couldn’t help but shiver.
“Are you okay?”
Zhuang Xiaoyue watched the Beta’s expression shift seven or eight times in a few seconds and couldn’t help but find it a little amusing.
He’d been so brave and fearless when he saved him just now, and only now that he’d come back to his senses did he feel scared?
“I’m fine…” Pei Xingzhi shook his head, swallowed his fear, and forced a smile.
How could he possibly be fine?
Even if he wasn’t, he couldn’t bring it up in front of this Omega. Putting pressure on a victim would only make them more anxious.
“Are you okay, though? Do you need me to call the police or notify the school administration?” Pei Xingzhi didn’t know the history between them, so he didn’t dare speak rashly and could only probe cautiously.
“We…” Zhuang Xiaoyue paused, then suddenly lowered his head. The next second, two teardrops fell onto the jacket in Pei Xingzhi’s hands.
“If you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. I won’t ask, I won’t ask.” Pei Xingzhi hadn’t expected a single sentence from him to make the other cry. He fumbled frantically for tissues to wipe Zhuang Xiaoyue’s tears.
Zhuang Xiaoyue’s tears came quickly and went just as fast. Before Pei Xingzhi could even pull out the tissues, his emotions had already settled.
“They want me to live with them…” Zhuang Xiaoyue murmured this shocking statement. When Pei Xingzhi realized what he’d heard, he frowned and looked at the Omega again in disbelief.
“You’re saying… this group of Alphas wants to live with you, an Omega?”
“Yeah…” Zhuang Xiaoyue kept his head lowered, giving a barely perceptible nod. He looked utterly terrified by those Alphas.
“How can this be allowed!”
Pei Xingzhi slammed the table and stood up. If he weren’t so well-mannered, he would have cursed out those Alphas right then and there.
Where on earth were their brains! They actually wanted to live with an Omega!
“The school already approved it…”
“How could they approve this! Go find your teacher and apply for a dorm change right now!” Hearing this, Pei Xingzhi’s anger flared even hotter. “If you don’t dare to go alone, I’ll go with you!”
“The only empty dorm available… if I switch dorms, I’d have to pay all the dorm fees myself. I… I don’t have that much money…”
Zhuang Xiaoyue grabbed Pei Xingzhi’s sleeve, looking up at him with tear-filled eyes. The tears spilling from the corners of his eyes perfectly accentuated his pitiful, delicate appearance.
Seeing him like this, Pei Xingzhi’s sense of justice surged to the max, and he boldly declared he’d cover all of Zhuang Xiaoyue’s housing costs.
This time, Zhuang Xiaoyue didn’t refuse. Seizing the momentum while Pei Xingzhi was still fired up, he went with him to complete the dorm transfer procedures. Two hours later, the two successfully obtained the keys to their new dorm.
Pei Xingzhi also managed to spend his entire summer job savings, even dipping into the allowance his parents gave him to subsidize Zhuang Xiaoyue.
Alliance University’s dorm fees were a jumble of miscellaneous charges paid monthly. Pei Xingzhi voluntarily took on all of them, and this extra expense only lessened when two other Beta roommates moved in.
The two only exchanged names after moving into the same dorm, and that was when they discovered they were actually in the same class.
The suspension bridge effect doesn’t just apply to romance, this experience left an indelible impression of Zhuang Xiaoyue’s pitifulness in Pei Xingzhi’s mind, and he went out of his way to look after Zhuang Xiaoyue in daily life.
Those Alphas never appeared before the two of them again. Just as Pei Xingzhi was about to forget the whole thing, those people suddenly showed up at their door.
Pei Xingzhi, caught off guard, was thoroughly beaten up by that group of Alphas.