On the other side, Pei Xingzhi stared at the modeling project that had suddenly vanished before his eyes, and an inexplicable sense of grievance welled up in his chest.
What had he done to deserve this? It was Pumpkin Party who had sent out that “flower of friendship” on their own initiative, so why did it feel like he was the one who had done something wrong?
The more Pei Xingzhi thought about it, the angrier he got. By the time he looked at his friends list again, his resentment had reached its peak. Friends bound by the flower of friendship couldn’t be deleted within thirty days. Gritting his teeth, Pei Xingzhi spitefully changed Pumpkin Party’s nickname to “World-Class Idiot” and, still sulking, fired off several mocking messages.
Since Pumpkin Party had already logged off, there was naturally no reply. Pei Xingzhi found it boring after a while. Black Cat and Kuro had both left, and with no one else around, he’d lost the mood to keep gaming. He finished his dailies and logged off.
Having run into one lunatic after another, even Pei Xingzhi’s famously good temper was starting to fray. He yanked off his headphones and tossed them aside with a heavy thud, only remembering when he heard the clatter below that he no longer had the dorm to himself.
Pei Xingzhi looked down with a hint of apology. Chu Ling was still sitting in his own chair, fiddling with his model, as if he had never left at all.
Was his roommate some kind of dull engineering nerd? That would make him a rare species indeed.
If he had to spend the next few years with this boring guy, his college life was going to be thoroughly uninteresting.
Anyone else would probably be despairing and already applying for a room change by now. But Pei Xingzhi was different, he actually liked this type of quiet, reserved classmate. Only someone like that could truly let him unleash his social charm.
“Chu Ling, how old are you this year?”
Chu Ling’s reaction to his voice wasn’t as extreme as before, but it still wasn’t exactly natural. He turned his head somewhat stiffly, looking up to meet Pei Xingzhi’s gaze from where he sat on the bed.
“Seventeen.”
“Seventeen? You’re not even an adult yet?” Even with his mental preparation, Pei Xingzhi was still shocked by his age.
Only seventeen, and a low-grade Omega at that. With such an innate disadvantage, he’d still managed to be admitted to Alliance University through exceptional admission. Just how outstanding did you have to be to pull that off?
Pei Xingzhi paused mid-motion as he swung off the bed, and his attitude toward Chu Ling immediately shifted to one of respect.
“Then you’re really impressive.”
“I’ll be an adult soon.” Chu Ling maintained that same indifferent demeanor, giving a slight nod before turning back to continue fiddling with his model.
Pei Xingzhi had already automatically added a filter to Chu Ling. The same cold behavior was now beautified in his eyes as the pride and individuality of a genius. Since Chu Ling didn’t want to talk, Pei Xingzhi found things to say on his own.
“Where are you from? I can’t believe I’d never heard of you before. Did you teach yourself all that professional knowledge? Was it hard to learn? Oh, by the way, are you from another city? You don’t seem too familiar with this area. I can take you around when we’re free, I know this place pretty well. There’s a really good restaurant nearby; I can bring you there sometime.”
Pei Xingzhi rattled on and on by himself, but Chu Ling didn’t even lift his head. Pei Xingzhi, completely unaware of his own verbosity, kept chatting away solo until his mouth went dry, all without earning a single glance from Chu Ling.
Pei Xingzhi rested his chin on the back of the chair, looking at Chu Ling, and suddenly felt that he might have misunderstood his roommate.
He didn’t seem as timid as he appeared on the surface.
Seeing Pei Xingzhi stop talking, Chu Ling finally turned his head to glance at him. He probably wasn’t one to make exaggerated expressions, but on his face, mostly hidden by his thick bangs and wide-rimmed glasses, there was a rare, somewhat awkward smile.
“I just made something interesting. Do you want to take a look?”
Chu Ling initiated the conversation, and Pei Xingzhi felt rather flattered, responding without a moment’s hesitation.
“What is it? I want to see!”
“This is something I made myself. You’re probably the first person to try it.” Chu Ling looked at him with a hint of a smile in his eyes. Being stared at like that, Pei Xingzhi inexplicably felt like a lab mouse locked in an experiment room, the kind that was about to be force-fed all sorts of little potions.
“Wow, you made this yourself?” Although Pei Xingzhi couldn’t understand what the thing did, he always gave people face and would never let a conversation fall flat.
“Yeah. It’s basically a small household robot. It can clean and also give massages. It’s still in the experimental stage, but all the functions are already fairly complete. This is an improved version, it’s smarter than what’s currently on the market.”
Chu Ling praised the robot to the skies, and although Pei Xingzhi had his doubts, he still followed his instructions and gave it a try.
After going through the experience, Pei Xingzhi was completely won over by Chu Ling. Chu Ling wasn’t wrong, this robot was indeed much smarter than the ones sold on the market, and its design was more stylish too. If it were put on the market, it would definitely achieve remarkable sales.
Pei Xingzhi felt he was about to change his opinion of Chu Ling again. He had originally thought Chu Ling’s outfit was the result of having no sense of aesthetics, but now he figured this was probably the avant-garde style of a fashionable person.
“If you like it, I’ll give it to you.” Chu Ling brushed his bangs aside and touched his nose with his right hand, as if he was a bit shy in the face of praise, but Pei Xingzhi couldn’t shake the feeling that he was secretly smiling.
Pei Xingzhi’s instincts told him something was off, but Chu Ling had no reason to harm him. Maybe this was just the unique way a top student socialized?
Thinking about it, Pei Xingzhi accepted the robot without any hesitation. Chu Ling rarely took the initiative to build a closer relationship with him, so he couldn’t let Chu Ling’s goodwill go to waste.
“Thanks for the gift. Are you free right now? Let me treat you to a meal.” Pei Xingzhi casually tossed the robot onto his bed, changed his clothes, and invited Chu Ling to join him for dinner as a way of showing his gratitude.
This time, Chu Ling didn’t refuse. He changed into a more “engineering nerd” outfit and headed out with Pei Xingzhi.
…
After the drowsiness period brought on by the drug’s side effects came to an end, Xie Nanyi slowly opened his eyes. The harsh light shot into his eyes, and Xie Nanyi squinted. Assistant Qin, who had been waiting by his side the whole time, immediately dimmed the lights.
“How long did I sleep this time?”
“Three hours.”
“Shorter than last time.” He was developing a tolerance to the drug’s side effects. This kind of medication would probably be discarded by him again before long.
Assistant Qin knew he didn’t want to hear some meaningless response. He dismissed the doctor behind him who was eager to show off his skills with a look, and silently unbuckled the restraints.
To prevent him from harming himself unconsciously, his limbs had to be bound like this after every dose of medication. To put it nicely, it was for his protection, but this happened at least three times a week, and each time he was shackled like a raving beast and locked in a room with glaring lights, draining his mental strength.
The restraints were undone, but Xie Nanyi still had to remain in the ward until the effects of the medication fully wore off. Assistant Qin wheeled him to the special ward, where security personnel took over his wheelchair and brought him into this cage that was called protection but was in truth imprisonment.
“I’ve changed my mind.” Before entering, Xie Nanyi suddenly turned back to look at Assistant Qin and said this out of nowhere. “Even if I go too far, what can anyone do about it?”