GBROTAH CH38

It was a Saturday, a winter Saturday at that. Normally, one would be snuggled in a warm blanket, sleeping late, oblivious to the world. But an English CET-4 exam dragged most of the students out of their beds.

The teaching building was swarming with people. Many carried bags, a vocabulary book still in hand, occasionally glancing down at it.

It wasn’t that they genuinely believed their English proficiency would skyrocket in such a short time.

Rather, after years of exam experience, it just felt like a step in the process was missing if they didn’t cram at the last minute before entering the examination hall.

When Xie Yuanxing had packed up and arrived near the examination venue, he saw Gao Yufei in the crowd, head bowed, muttering to himself from a vocabulary book.

Fang Zhi was standing beside him. Xie Yuanxing didn’t go over.

“Xingxing.” Someone patted Xie Yuanxing’s shoulder from behind. Xie Yuanxing turned and saw Shi Tingting, wrapped like a cocoon in a long down jacket.

Xie Yuanxing was a little surprised, “You’re also taking the CET-4?”

Shi Tingting: “Aren’t freshmen only allowed to take CET-4 first?”

Xie Yuanxing froze for a moment, “Are you a freshman?”

Shi Tingting chuckled. “That performance we did was for freshmen, so of course I’m a freshman. Didn’t you know?”

A round-faced girl walked up beside her. Shi Tingting linked arms with her and introduced, “This is my roommate, Tangtang. This is Xie Yuanxing.”

Tangtang was shy, her face slightly flushed as she smiled at Xie Yuanxing.

Xie Yuanxing, equally introverted, smiled back.

Xie Yuanxing greeted her, and Shi Tingting pulled Xie Yuanxing aside, speaking mysteriously, “Want to go out for dinner tonight?”

“Dinner?”

Shi Tingting casually hummed, “It’s a group blind date, Xingxing. You probably don’t know, but someone took a picture of you playing the piano and posted it on the confession wall, asking about you.”

“Even if you don’t hit it off with anyone, you can just treat it as going out to have fun.”

“What are you two chatting about? Include me.” Gao Yufei’s voice came from behind, and then Xie Yuanxing’s shoulder sank as Gao Yufei’s hand landed on it.

Xie Yuanxing was already a bit numb. He skillfully moved to the side, shaking off Gao Yufei’s hand.

Gao Yufei was thick-skinned and didn’t care, saying cheerfully to Shi Tingting, “You’re the one who sang with Little Yuan yesterday, right?”

“Did you senior still not pass CET-4?”

Another misunderstanding.

Shi Tingting was amused and laughed, explaining it again before bringing up the group blind date with Xie Yuanxing.

Before Xie Yuanxing could speak, Gao Yufei jumped up, “Our whole dorm should go! Don’t blind dates get livelier with more people?”

“This…” Shi Tingting appraised Gao Yufei, then nodded readily. “Alright, it’s settled then.”

“I’ll send the specific time and location for tonight directly to Xingxing.”

Xie Yuanxing, who hadn’t agreed from beginning to end, opened his mouth, but before a word came out, he was pressed down again by Gao Yufei’s hand on his shoulder. “Then you can send it to me later, so I can tell the guys in our dorm.”

Xie Yuanxing pursed his lips: “You guys…”

Whoosh, he was spun around by the shoulder. Gao Yufei leaned in, lowering his voice: “Good brother, you don’t want your brother to be single for four years, right?”

“I know you and Fang Zhi don’t get along, why don’t you just ignore him?”

“All four of my good sons in our dorm are still clamoring for food. Bring us along, Godfather!”

Xie Yuanxing: “No, I meant you guys go, I won’t.”

Gao Yufei: “They clearly mainly called you, how can we go if you don’t, Godfather!!”

After speaking, he turned Xie Yuanxing around again and said cheerfully to Shi Tingting, “Then it’s settled. The exam is about to start, so we’re going to the examination hall first.”

Xie Yuanxing missed his last chance to speak. Gao Yufei pushed him directly into the teaching building. After entering, he paused, “Which exam room are you in?”

“I can walk by myself.” Xie Yuanxing quickly moved out of his reach, waved his hand without looking back, and walked away.

He hated strong-armed Alphas.

Shen Bianye was the best among them.

Xie Yuanxing wasn’t actually angry with Gao Yufei. He just, like a gloomy little mushroom, secretly shook his cap and grumbled a couple of complaints to himself.

When the piercing, penetrating ringing sound began, the two-hour English exam officially started.

A male voice, as if with phlegm caught in his throat, read the English listening comprehension. Inside the examination hall, besides that, there was only the rustling sound of pens moving.

Xie Yuanxing was good at English and worked at a steady pace. By the time he had finished and checked his paper, and was sitting in the exam room rubbing his hands, he suddenly thought of Shi Tingting’s super-long down jacket.

He didn’t seem to have a down jacket that long.

But he had a bear hat with a built-in scarf. If he wore it, he probably wouldn’t be cold.

When Xie Yuanxing walked out of the exam room, he was still contemplating the hat. As he followed the crowd out of the exam hall, he looked down and turned on his phone, which he had switched off before entering.

It was lively and noisy around him. Xie Yuanxing listened to a few people nearby discussing a translation question, surprised by the various Chinglish phrases.

The buzzing of his phone diverted his attention from “four generations under one roof” equaling “family 4.0”.

X: “Baby, are you done with the exam?”

X: “I ordered baby a cup of milk tea, hot with three-tenths sugar, it should arrive around the time baby gets back to the dorm.”

X: “It’s cold in the exam room, baby, drink something warm.”

Xie Yuanxing pursed his lips, but the corners still curved up slightly, his eyes sparkling. “I’m done with the exam.”

“Okay, I’ll go get it later.”

“Why aren’t you asking me how I did?”

X: “I didn’t ask initially because I was afraid baby would feel pressured, but looking at it now, baby probably did very well.”

X: “Are you saying it because you want me to praise you?”

X: “Conceited baby.”

Xie Yuanxing’s earlobes slowly reddened. He refused to admit it: “Not conceited, you’re mistaken.”

X: “Really?”

X: “Then I won’t praise baby, so baby won’t get embarrassed by the praise, right?”

X: “Still, I’ll listen to baby. Does baby want it?”

“Typing…” repeatedly appeared at the top of X’s chat box. After several minutes, a slow message finally came.

Baby: “…I’m going back to the dorm.”

A man’s low, muffled chuckle echoed in the room. X: “How can baby be so cute?”

X: “Baby’s English is very good too. This kind of exam is a piece of cake for baby, right?”

X: “But sitting in the exam room for two hours, baby must be very tired, right? Go back to the dorm and rest well for a while.”

Xie Yuanxing replied awkwardly, “It’s not that exaggerated…”

“Mhm, mhm, I’m almost at the dorm.”

X: “Baby, you don’t have anything else to do this afternoon, right?”

X: “When I’m done with my exam, can I come find you?”

X: “CET-6 finishes at 5:30, I’ll have enough time to get there.”

Before, he had thought too narrowly. What about CET-4 and CET-6? Couldn’t he still do it after the exams were over? It wouldn’t affect anything at all.

Xie Yuanxing’s lips curved upward. He pressed the voice key while walking and said, “I’m going to a mixer tonight, so I probably can’t.”

A mixer?

Shen Bianye’s smile slowly faded. His gaze on those two words on the screen almost burned through them.

He didn’t really care if Xie Yuanxing would dump X and find someone else.

But right now, X was still dating Xie Yuanxing.

And Xie Yuanxing was going to a mixer directly?!

He really didn’t care.

It was just that this behavior was truly unethical.

Whether from a roommate’s perspective or from the perspective of the fake boyfriend X, he needed to stop this.

Even if it wasn’t Xie Yuanxing today, but someone else, he would still prevent it.

It wasn’t that he wanted to meddle, nor was he worried that X would be dumped by Xie Yuanxing.

Mainly, he just couldn’t stand such unscrupulous behavior. It was too trashy, very low-class. Xie Yuanxing was already gloomy and bad; he couldn’t get worse.

Yes, mainly he was kind and didn’t want to see Xie Yuanxing have character problems, otherwise he wouldn’t bother with such idle matters.

No one else was in the dorm. The lingering scent of burning embers, long absent, filled the entire room. Unlike the longing of a susceptible period, it was a strong, almost burning jealousy.

X: “Baby?!”

X: “Baby, don’t you have me? Why are you going to a mixer?”

X: “Is baby breaking up with me?”

X: “Or did I do something to upset baby?”

X: “Baby, please don’t go. If there’s a problem between us, we can talk.”

X: “Baby, why aren’t you speaking? Are you just abandoning your boyfriend after saying you’re going to a mixer? Bad baby.”

X: “Was it because I questioned baby last time that baby is angry? I won’t ask next time, okay? Don’t go to any crappy mixers.”

X: “Or was it the time before last when I licked baby’s tear mole that baby didn’t like?”

X: “I can bear it, baby, don’t break up.”

X: “I really can bear it, baby, don’t you believe me?”

X: “Baby, two-timing is not good.”

X: “Baby can’t do this.”

At the intersection, Gao Yufei called out to Xie Yuanxing, whom he happened to encounter, and brought up the mixer that night, saying that he had already slapped his chest and told the others in the dorm that the hope of their entire dorm finding partners rested on Xie Yuanxing’s shoulders.

Xie Yuanxing’s forehead was covered in black lines. He was speechless, but since things had been said this way, he didn’t say anything more to spoil the mood.

The two stood by the road and chatted for a couple of minutes until Gao Yufei was called away by Fang Zhi.

When Xie Yuanxing looked back at his phone, he realized how many messages X had sent in just five or six short minutes.

As Xie Yuanxing scrolled up, new messages popped up.

X: “Bad baby, how can you do this?”

X: “Couldn’t you go to the mixer secretly, without telling me?”

X: “Baby, don’t fall for anyone else. They’re not as good as me.”

Xie Yuanxing couldn’t help but smile a little. He felt that he was indeed a bit bad.

Anyone could see that X on the other side of the screen was subtly anxious, yet he found happiness in feeling valued because of this anxiety.

This isn’t good, he thought.

Xie Yuanxing typed out an explanation: “No, it’s my classmate who wants to go, so they dragged me along.”

“I don’t want to break up, don’t be anxious.”

X was silent for a moment, then sent a message: “Baby is going to a mixer, how can I not be anxious?”

X: “If I’m not anxious, I’ll lose baby.”

X: “When your classmate asked you to go to the mixer, did baby not say you had a boyfriend?”

Xie Yuanxing pursed his lips, a little annoyed. “I didn’t have time.”

Every time he tried to speak, Gao Yufei interrupted him, three times in a row, and finally even pushed him away.

X: “Baby, if you truly want to say something, there’s always time.”

X: “Baby just deliberately didn’t say it, wanting to go to the mixer and then dump me.”

X: “Or does baby want two boyfriends?”

Xie Yuanxing: “You said it yourself, they’re not as good as you, so why would I want to dump you?”

X: “Will there be many people at the mixer, baby?”

Xie Yuanxing: “Probably, haven’t you been to one?”

X: “I never go to those messy mixers.”

Never! Goes! To!

He gritted his teeth, then typed again.

X: “Only like baby.”

X: “Baby, you’re going to make me so mad.”

Xie Yuanxing was very unprincipled when it came to these matters. X often coaxed him into happiness, so naturally, he didn’t want X to be unhappy because of him.

So, after only a brief hesitation, he said, “Then I’ll tell my classmate later that I’m not going.”

The other side was silent for a long time, so long that Xie Yuanxing had already gotten on the dorm elevator, reached the dorm door, and was opening it with his key when the other party finally replied.

X: “Still, go baby. Socializing isn’t a bad thing.”

X: “I want baby to make more friends.”

X: “But baby can’t fall for anyone else, otherwise next time we meet, I’ll spank baby’s butt.”

A warmth swept through Xie Yuanxing’s heart, but then he found the last sentence amusing. He stopped at the door and replied, “If I really fall for someone else, you wouldn’t be my boyfriend anymore, so how would you spank me?”

X: “Not boyfriend anymore?”

X: “Still spank you even if not.”

X: “And I’ll make the person baby fell for watch baby get spanked by me.”

X: “After spanking, I’ll drag baby away, pull down their pants, even their underwear, and apply medicine with my hand, rub baby’s butt, rub the medicated wine in.”

Xie Yuanxing: ……

How on earth could he type out those words and send them? Just reading them made his face feel hot.

Xie Yuanxing was thin-skinned and couldn’t reply to such overly audacious words. Instead, he changed the subject: “I won’t fall for anyone else.”

“You only like me, and I only like you.”

He pushed the door open and entered the dorm. Shen Bianye was sitting at his desk playing a game. He glanced at Xie Yuanxing returning and said, “The milk tea you ordered arrived. I put it on your desk.”

“Next time, don’t order random things to be delivered when you’re not here. I don’t have time to pick up your stuff all day.”

Xie Yuanxing hummed and sat down at his desk.

Neither of them said much more, each going about their own business.

Xie Yuanxing inserted the straw into the milk tea cup and took a sip. Three-tenths sugar, it was slightly sweet.

The mixer was set at a camping-style restaurant where they could have a picnic. The expenses were agreed to be split evenly beforehand.

Honestly, Xie Yuanxing didn’t really want to come, but as X said, he needed a bit of socializing.

However, for Xie Yuanxing, it was more about the couple who were about to face legal judgment. He couldn’t always be trapped in past emotions.

Everything would get better.

When Xie Yuanxing arrived, quite a few people were already seated at a long table. Shi Tingting smiled and waved to him, “Xingxing! Come sit down!”

She couldn’t help but appraise Xie Yuanxing, “Why are you wearing a hat like that, Xingxing?”

The bear hat had two round ears sticking up on Xie Yuanxing’s head, and the long ears dangling on either side were wrapped around his neck. Xie Yuanxing’s entire face was enveloped in the hat.

The hat was cute and fluffy. Xie Yuanxing’s fair face looked even fairer, smaller, and more delicate inside the brown hat.

He was wearing a black down jacket with a gray hoodie underneath. Coupled with this bear hat, the overall look wasn’t jarring, just a little…

Tangtang, who had deliberately sat next to Xie Yuanxing, was already feeling a little nervous. She felt that Xie Yuanxing didn’t quite look like someone who liked female Betas.

In other words, he didn’t look straight.

Xie Yuanxing was a bit cold sitting outside, his mouth and nose buried in the scarf attached to his hat. His voice was a little muffled: “It’s cold tonight, my boyfriend told me to wear it.”

Click, the sound of a mirror shattering echoed in her mind. Tangtang, next to him, silently popped a cherry tomato into her mouth. She’d better just eat.

Though called a mixer, it was also about making friends and having fun. Some people present already had boyfriends or girlfriends. Shi Tingting regretfully patted her friend’s shoulder. The next second, a plate of cherry tomatoes was presented to her.

Tangtang: “Want some?”

Shi Tingting: …….

The rest of the people arrived one after another, and the atmosphere gradually livened up. Xie Yuanxing didn’t know many people. Tangtang, next to him, was also introverted and didn’t mingle with the crowd. She simply began to quietly introduce people to Xie Yuanxing.

When they ran out of things to talk about, Tangtang started talking about the restaurant’s flavors and prices.

The two of them huddled together like little hamsters, whispering. Then, Gao Yufei and his dorm mates arrived, attracting the attention of everyone present.

Shen Bianye was among them. He came wearing a black overcoat, his long boots making his legs appear even straighter. Broad-shouldered and long-legged, he was strikingly handsome.

“Senior Shen?”

“Am I seeing things, it’s really Shen Bianye.”

“Didn’t he usually not attend these things? Why is he here today?”

“Could it be that he’s seen someone he likes among the attendees today?”

Everyone was looking at him, and the crowd surged towards him in waves.

The two hamsters huddled in the corner were still talking. Tangtang whispered, “Senior Shen actually came too, oh my goodness.”

“At first, someone in our dorm mentioned to Tingting that you should ask Senior Shen if he could come, but we all agreed you probably couldn’t get him to, and we didn’t want to embarrass you, so we didn’t bring it up.”

Xie Yuanxing nodded: “My relationship with him is indeed average.”

When he nodded, the round ears of his bear hat also swayed, bobbing his head, looking very cute.

Tangtang: “I can see that. Senior Shen came with another dorm, even though you two are roommates.”

As she spoke, she secretly looked over, then suddenly gasped and pulled Xie Yuanxing to turn away, “Is he looking at us?”

Xie Yuanxing: “No way…”

Tangtang: “Really, I promise, he’s looking at us.”

“Strange, what would Senior Shen be looking at us for?”

The two of them were whispering here, while others, more daring, walked directly up and asked, “Senior Shen, why did you come?”

The second oldest in Gao Yufei’s dorm chuckled, “That’s all thanks to me! I tried every possible way, used all my tricks, and finally convinced Senior Shen.”

Shen Bianye withdrew his gaze and said blandly, “I ran into him when I went out, so I just came along to join the fun.”

“Put the bill for tonight’s gathering on my tab.”

Everyone present was surprised at first, then collectively applauded and cheered.

“Long live Senior!”

“What senior, this is our godfather!”

“Woohoo! Love it, love it!”

“Long live!! You’re so cool, senior!!”

Xie Yuanxing, blended in with the crowd, smiled and raised his cup, shouting, “Long live Senior!”

He would never secretly call Shen Bianye “fifty bucks” again. He declared that they were even!

Shen Bianye saw it out of the corner of his eye and subtly curved his lips. Someone nearby called him, “Senior Shen, why don’t you sit here?”

“There’s an empty seat here too.”

“Here, here, Senior.”

People from all four dorms were there, and many took this opportunity to try and get closer to Shen Bianye.

Shen Bianye glanced around, then seemingly casually walked to Xie Yuanxing’s other side, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “No need, I’ll sit here.”

His tone was reluctant. “You’re all sitting with your roommates, so if I sit with my roommate, it’ll make me seem less unsociable.”

He looked at Xie Yuanxing. “Right?”

Xie Yuanxing: “…Do you need me to say ‘you must be exhausted’?”

“A prop line costs five hundred.”

Shen Bianye: “Heh, I wouldn’t give you that money even if I threw it on the ground.”

Gao Yufei suddenly spoke up: “How come I feel like your relationship is actually pretty good?”

Xie Yuanxing: “It’s alright.”

Shen Bianye: “What a terrible feeling. Who has a good relationship with him?”

The two of them spoke almost in unison, one right after the other, and the atmosphere instantly became a little subtle.

Gao Yufei’s mind was racing, wishing he could slap himself. Didn’t he already know that Senior Shen didn’t like Xie Yuanxing?

Still asked.

He secretly poked the second oldest in the dorm under the table, his eyes seeking help.

The second oldest laughed, trying to smooth things over, and said, “Why don’t you come over and sit with us, Brother Shen?”

“Anyway, we came together.”

Shen Bianye: “No need.”

“Xie Yuanxing has a boyfriend. If I sit next to him, there won’t be any random misunderstandings.”

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for everyone present to hear.

So everyone’s attention subconsciously shifted to Xie Yuanxing.

Xie Yuanxing: …

In that instant, Xie Yuanxing felt what it was like to be fidgety.

He reached up and pulled at the edge of his bear hat, trying to cover himself. The bear ears on top of his head swayed back and forth.

Shen Bianye was tall, so he could see even while sitting. He stared at the swaying ears, subtly rubbing his fingertips. His hand was a little itchy; he wanted to pinch them.

His eyes were only on those ears, not noticing the rich facial expressions of others.

Shi Tingting stood up and started to liven up the atmosphere with a toast. The topic quickly moved on, and everyone else was soon distracted. Regardless of what they thought inwardly, at least outwardly they were no longer focused on this matter.

Only Gao Yufei and the second oldest, who had been part of the conversation, remained immersed in it, exchanging a bewildered glance.

Their eyes were filled with confusion.

Did they just ask Xie Yuanxing if he had a boyfriend?

Did they?

It didn’t seem so…

And also…

Everyone knew they were roommates, even if they didn’t say Xie Yuanxing had a boyfriend, no one would misunderstand, right??