“You want to help Zhuang Xiaoyue?” Xie Nanyi pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, using considerable willpower to keep his exasperation from showing on his face.
He had assumed Pei Xingzhi would at most let Zhuang Xiaoyue off the hook, but he never expected him to be saintly enough to actually help Zhuang Xiaoyue solve his problems. He knew Pei Xingzhi was easygoing, but he hadn’t realized he was easygoing to this extent.
He thought he had already mentally prepared himself, but clearly, he hadn’t prepared enough.
If Zhuang Xiaoyue had deceived him instead… Xie Nanyi glanced at Pei Xingzhi, who was secretly wiping away his tears, and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
He wouldn’t pity Zhuang Xiaoyue; that possibility had never existed from the start.
For the first time, Xie Nanyi experienced the feeling of being frustrated at someone’s lack of self-respect. He lowered his head, held back his irritation, and still let out a helpless, bitter smile.
“Yeah, I want to help him.” Pei Xingzhi nodded solemnly. He understood what Xie Nanyi meant, being able to forgive after such a betrayal made him seem like an absolute fool.
“I’m not doing it for Zhuang Xiaoyue. I’m just helping an Omega who’s been hurt,” Pei Xingzhi explained, defending himself with words. He wasn’t stupid; he just didn’t want Zhuang Xiaoyue to trap himself in this situation.
At most, it was just his sense of justice acting up.
“Alright, if you think it’s fine, then it’s fine.” Xie Nanyi shrugged, verbally agreeing to Pei Xingzhi’s request. If the person involved didn’t mind, why should he, an outsider, worry about it?
Pei Xingzhi’s skin was very fair, perhaps due to the heat, or perhaps because his skin was overly sensitive. His tear-streaked cheeks were tinged with a delicate pink, and a few strands of hair stuck messily to his face. Pei Xingzhi tugged at them a few times but couldn’t get them clean, so he simply ignored them and let them cling to his skin however they pleased.
Xie Nanyi leaned in to help him smooth his hair, closing the distance between them again. Even though they saw each other every day, Xie Nanyi couldn’t help but be momentarily dazzled by Pei Xingzhi’s face.
If Pei Xingzhi weren’t a Beta, he might be even more famous. He wouldn’t need his grades, just a face like that would be enough.
Such a beautiful face, yet his eyes were clear and bright, like a naive little fox, unknowingly luring others in.
“Aren’t you going back to the dorm to check? What if they missed something of yours?”
“Thanks for helping me arrange the dorm.” Pei Xingzhi leaned back slightly, lowered his head, and twisted his fingers together, awkwardly expressing his gratitude to Xie Nanyi.
It had been so long since the semester started; switching dorms now definitely wasn’t as easy as it would have been at the beginning. Though it might not be a big deal to Xie Nanyi, it had indeed solved a major problem for Pei Xingzhi. If he hadn’t coordinated it, Pei Xingzhi would probably have endured living with Zhuang Xiaoyue.
It wasn’t his fault, Zhuang Xiaoyue should have been the one to leave. But switching dorms was fine too; there was no need to torment himself.
“What dorm did you switch me to? Hurry up and take me to see it.” When he looked up again, Pei Xingzhi had already slipped back into his usual playful demeanor.
“You’re actually pretty useful sometimes. I hadn’t even thought about switching dorms, and you’d already handled it for me.” Pei Xingzhi had strong emotional regulation, no matter how upsetting something was, once he cried and let it out, he wouldn’t let the emotion linger on his face. If not for the redness around his eyes from crying moments ago, it would be almost impossible to tell he had just been through anything.
“I’ve done so much for Xiao Zhi, won’t he give me a little praise?” Xie Nanyi tucked the stray strands of Pei Xingzhi’s hair behind his ear and leaned in a bit closer, seeking his reward.
At such close distance, Pei Xingzhi could clearly see the small mole on Xie Nanyi’s nose bridge, paired with those amorous eyes, like a seductive fox.
Pei Xingzhi awkwardly averted his gaze and pushed Xie Nanyi’s face away with his hand.
“You’re not so annoying when you’re not being annoying.”
With an indescribable feeling stirring in his heart, Pei Xingzhi couldn’t express his feelings toward Xie Nanyi without reservation.
He was different from Zhuang Xiaoyue.
If Zhuang Xiaoyue still had a pitiable side that could stir his heroism and evoke sympathy, Xie Nanyi had always remained in a lofty position, treating everything about him as if it were a story to observe.
He and Xie Nanyi had never been on equal footing.
“Alright then. I’ll take Xiao Zhi’s words as praise for me.” Xie Nanyi readily accepted what Pei Xingzhi called “praise” and reached out to pull him up from the sofa. “Anyway, I’ll collect the debt from Xiao Zhi another day.”
Xie Nanyi was extremely efficient in his work, Pei Xingzhi had already witnessed this before. His belongings had been almost perfectly replicated in the new dorm, down to the small detail of his cup habitually placed on the left side.
The layout was identical to the original dorm, and Pei Xingzhi felt no discomfort at all. The new dorm was directly below the old one, with only two occupants, and his other roommate hadn’t arrived yet, so for now he was the only one there.
After all the commotion, Pei Xingzhi was clearly drained. Xie Nanyi found an excuse to leave, and the dorm was left entirely to Pei Xingzhi alone.
Pei Xingzhi hesitated for a moment as he looked at the paper bag in the corner of the bookshelf, then picked it up and tossed it into the trash. After doing all this, he collapsed into the chair, completely spent.
The physical torment from the pheromones was secondary; Pei Xingzhi just felt exhausted now. He couldn’t shift all the blame onto Zhuang Xiaoyue, if he had cut his losses earlier, none of this would have happened.
Unconsciously, his teeth bit into the soft flesh inside his mouth, and the tip of his canine quickly drew blood from the mucous membrane. Pain could keep a person clear-headed. He buried his head in his arms, and after a long while, slowly lifted it again.
If asked whether he regretted it, Pei Xingzhi would definitely say no. He was only doing what he believed was right; he didn’t think there was anything about his actions worth regretting.
At the core of it, he and Zhuang Xiaoyue simply made different choices. How could someone who had never been trusted ever trust others? If he were in Zhuang Xiaoyue’s position, he might not be as magnanimous as he was now.
Xie Nanyi and him, wasn’t that just another form of him and Zhuang Xiaoyue?
Once his emotions had settled, Pei Xingzhi lay down on the bed and opened the chat window with Xie Nanyi.
His chat history with Xie Nanyi was full of messages, though they were mostly one-sided ramblings from Xie Nanyi, as if he treated Pei Xingzhi like a memo, even trivial things like accidentally biting into a Sichuan peppercorn at dinner had to be shared with him.
Pei Xingzhi naturally never replied.
[Sweet Bunny Sauce]: Thank you.
[N1]: No need to thank me.
[N1]: Rather than verbal thanks, I’d prefer Xiao Zhi to give me a kiss.
Seeing this, Pei Xingzhi couldn’t help but roll his eyes. This was exactly why his conversations with Xie Nanyi could never proceed normally. It was also a wonder Xie Nanyi put up with it, clearly not liking him, yet still doing so much for him, acting and performing until even Pei Xingzhi almost believed he genuinely cared.
[Sweet Bunny Sauce]: Not going to scold you today.
[N1]: Long live the emperor.
[Sweet Bunny Sauce]: You really are asking for it!
[Sweet Bunny Sauce]: grinning.jpg
[N1]: Let me guess, is Xiao Zhi secretly smiling right now?
[Sweet Bunny Sauce]: No way no way no way,
[Sweet Bunny Sauce]: Not chatting with you anymore, bye bye~
After this incident, Pei Xingzhi continued attending classes as usual. Aside from the person constantly by his side changing from Zhuang Xiaoyue to Xie Nanyi, everything else remained the same.
Zhuang Xiaoyue had taken a long leave of absence since then. According to his former dormmates, he never returned after leaving. They had heard rumors about the Alpha who had been pestering Zhuang Xiaoyue, and every time they met, they’d probe Pei Xingzhi for information.
Pei Xingzhi would always muddle through with some nonsensical answers, and when pressed further, he’d simply claim to know nothing.
Xie Nanyi, however, would regularly update him on Zhuang Xiaoyue’s situation. Having accepted Pei Xingzhi’s help, he began organizing documents and, with a lawyer’s assistance, filed a lawsuit against Gu Xiang. The contract Gu Xiang had drafted was illegal to begin with, and he’d already fled to another city the moment he caught wind of it. The problem that had trapped Zhuang Xiaoyue for so long was resolved that simply.
“How’s his health?” Pei Xingzhi asked, glancing sideways at Xie Nanyi on the video call while his fingers continued tapping away at his device, editing a new program.
“Not great.” Xie Nanyi propped his chin on his hand and yawned. Recently, Pei Xingzhi refused to go out, and his mark was starting to act up again. “The school won’t accept students with a tainted record, no matter who was at fault. The administration is already coordinating a transfer for him, not as good as the Alliance University, but it should still be a decent school.”
“You want to help him again?” Seeing Pei Xingzhi purse his lips in silence, Xie Nanyi raised an eyebrow, a bad premonition suddenly washing over him.
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” Pei Xingzhi replied quickly this time. He wasn’t stupid; why would he deliberately seek out more trouble for himself?
“Xiao Zhi is my little treasure.”
“Scram!” The program editing had been stuck on the most important part, and Pei Xingzhi put away his device, shooting Xie Nanyi an exasperated glare.
“Xiao Zhi won’t even look at me properly, and now he’s telling me to scram. I’m so heartbroken.” Xie Nanyi sent a crying sticker to the virtual screen, and a flood of sobbing emojis immediately burst across Pei Xingzhi’s display.
“Can you stop developing these annoying things?!”
The crying emojis came with noisy wailing sounds. Pei Xingzhi muted the device and only turned the sound back on after the emojis disappeared.
“If you send those again, I’m hanging up.”
“Alright, alright, I won’t send them anymore.” Xie Nanyi conceded. “It’s all Xiao Zhi’s fault for refusing to go out, otherwise I wouldn’t be so bored.”
“My roommate is coming over this afternoon.”
“Your roommate isn’t an Omega, is he? Can you not have an Omega as a roommate?”
The new roommate said they would arrive at three, and it was already 2:50. Pei Xingzhi scanned the dormitory, confirming that every hard-to-reach corner had been cleaned spotlessly before letting out a sigh of relief.
“Isn’t this roommate of mine your doing? How is it my fault?”
“I didn’t know he was an Omega back then. How about I help you switch rooms again, Xiao Zhi?” Xie Nanyi’s body swayed left and right, and Pei Xingzhi paused for a moment before realizing he seemed to be acting cute.
“Don’t. Don’t cause me any more trouble.”
The moment Pei Xingzhi finished speaking, the new roommate knocked on the door and walked in.
Pei Xingzhi hastily ended the call with Xie Nanyi and stood up to greet the new arrival.
“Hello, I’m Pei Xingzhi.”