GBROTAH CH55

A small mole on the scarlet tip of his tongue.

Like the serpent of Eden holding an unusual black apple, alluring, forbidden, the embodiment of desire.

Xie Yuanxing thought he might never forget this image.

He found it hard not to blush, and it grew redder and redder. His originally porcelain-white face was flushed with crimson, making him look somewhat drunk, his eyes moist.

“Baby.”

Shen Bianye’s gaze slowly became obscure and deep. He stared straight at Xie Yuanxing’s beautiful, alluring face, as delectable as candied tomatoes, unblinkingly, without concealing his gaze.

His Adam’s apple quickly bobbed up and down, and a hint of longing appeared in his eyes.

Shen Bianye hoarsely called out to Xie Yuanxing, unable to resist reaching out, wanting to touch that tender, red face, to feel its warmth, its smoothness.

“No.” Xie Yuanxing spoke, and Shen Bianye’s hand froze in mid-air.

The former’s face was still red, his dark, bright eyes still moist, but his gaze was a firm rejection.

Shen Bianye’s hand was just a hair’s breadth away, just a tiny bit more, and he could have touched it, but it was as if an invisible wall, erected by Xie Yuanxing’s gaze, blocked him, preventing him from moving forward.

His eyes grew anxious, his tongue pressing hard against the roof of his mouth, his gaze almost stripping Xie Yuanxing bare, yet his hand slowly retracted.

“Don’t torment me, baby,” his voice was hoarse. “Is it because you saw my face that you don’t want me to touch you?”

“You like X, right? I’ll put the muzzle back on, okay?”

Shen Bianye’s expression was a tapestry of mixed emotions: longing, anxiety, reluctance, and hidden jealousy.

Xie Yuanxing carefully discerned them, then shook his head. “It’s not torment.”

“We’re just roommates with a somewhat strained relationship now. Roommates can’t just touch each other’s faces.”

He nodded again, as if strongly agreeing with something. “You should put the muzzle back on.”

Shen Bianye held the black metal muzzle in his other hand. Hearing Xie Yuanxing’s words, he silently picked it up and fastened it behind his head, his hands tensed, veins bulging.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself, receiving that answer still felt like a suffocating clench around his heart.

He was inferior to X.

The night flowed outside. Xie Yuanxing always felt like he had forgotten something.

He looked at the trash can by the coffee table, and the forgotten trash at the door immediately flashed through his mind.

Xie Yuanxing stood up. The next second, Shen Bianye asked, “What’s baby going to do?”

He had asked the question almost simultaneously with Xie Yuanxing standing up, as if afraid Xie Yuanxing would leave.

Xie Yuanxing understood the urgency. He pinched his fingers, which hung by his side; no one noticed his embarrassment, only hearing his calm voice, “I forgot to throw out the trash by the door.”

Shen Bianye immediately stood up. “I’ll go, baby.”

Xie Yuanxing looked at the black, tightly-fitted muzzle on his face, which resembled a snout guard, and silently pushed him back down. “I’ll go.”

“You like that…” Xie Yuanxing paused, pursed his lips, and shook his head. “You can’t go out like that.”

Shen Bianye, like someone trying to sell something, urgently demonstrated, “I don’t mind, baby. It’s perfectly normal for an Alpha to wear a muzzle. No one will think anything of it.”

“There’s no baby’s name on it anyway.”

He then stopped abruptly, almost strangely, and added, “Perhaps we could even print a star pattern on it. No one would be able to tell.”

His eyes flickered, and he quickly added, “If baby likes it.”

Xie Yuanxing: …

Thanks, but I don’t really like it.

Just imagining Shen Bianye’s description sent shivers down Xie Yuanxing’s spine, let alone Shen Bianye going out with such a muzzle on.

Alphas do wear muzzles when necessary, but few would wear one out in public.

Xie Yuanxing said with some difficulty, “I think it’s not ‘nothing,’ it’s ‘very much something.'”

Shen Bianye chuckled softly, “Baby just hasn’t seen enough.”

“Some clubs have rows of Alpha male models wearing muzzles, shirtless, available for selection.”

He couldn’t help but take a step closer to Xie Yuanxing, his gaze fixed on Xie Yuanxing as he lowered his eyes. “I can do that too, baby. I can be baby’s sex slave.”

His voice was very low, yet his posture was one of intense pressure.

Xie Yuanxing’s face burned like fire, and in his shock, he instinctively blurted out, “Are you cured?”

“Or possessed by X?”

Behind the mask-like muzzle, his handsome face was somewhat distorted. Shen Bianye fell silent for a moment, then said with a bitter smile, “Baby, I am X.”

He couldn’t quite articulate his own feelings.

Shen Bianye knew he was X, and X was himself.

But he still couldn’t help feeling jealous, annoyed, and a sense of being looked down upon in comparison to X.

No one wants to lose their name in front of the person they like, and he was no exception.

Yet, he had no right to question or express dissatisfaction. He could only accept it, and even voluntarily reduce himself to an anonymous code.

Xie Yuanxing looked at him, a thoughtful expression flashing in his mind. He deliberately said, “Is that so? But you’re still not him now. You can’t compare to him.”

His distinctly jointed hands clenched the moment the words fell, faint blue veins slightly protruding, knuckles turning white.

Shen Bianye swallowed all his emotions and gently hummed, “Baby is right.”

Xie Yuanxing: “I’m going to throw out the trash.”

He seemed to know how to prick Shen Bianye.

Though in a way he had never imagined.

Not getting revenge, Xie Yuanxing couldn’t bear the sting of those harsh words. Retaliating this way felt strange, very strange.

His delicate brows were furrowed in a knot of vexation. As he turned and walked away from Shen Bianye, his expression still held a sense of bewilderment.

Shen Bianye didn’t succeed in taking out the trash and was left in the room.

He was somewhat familiar with this place, after all, he had hired someone to redecorate it. But at this moment, he felt there was something more to it.

The house, which had previously felt unremarkable, seemed to have gained a trace of Xie Yuanxing’s presence after he moved in.

The house wasn’t actually big. The living room was quite standard, and felt a bit cramped because of the piano.

Shen Bianye knew that Xie Yuanxing’s family wasn’t particularly well-off back then, yet his mother would still cultivate his hobbies, clearing space in their small living room for Xie Yuanxing’s piano.

The decor here was very warm, with popular cartoon character figurines everywhere. Even the light switch had a Spongebob Squarepants on it.

If Xie Yuanxing hadn’t experienced the upheaval, hadn’t encountered the accidents, and had grown up in such an environment.

He would probably have grown from a small peacock into a delicate and beautiful large peacock.

His differentiation might also not have deviated from the predicted differentiation, and he would have differentiated into a sweet milk cake-like Omega.

The doctor couldn’t say for sure about Shen Bianye’s lifespan, but it was at least another nine years.

Nine years. Could he nurture Xie Yuanxing back into a peacock?

A peacock wouldn’t bow its head. That way, even if they separated later, Xie Yuanxing would only curse him behind his back, not feel sad, not be disappointed.

The unchangeable established fact made Shen Bianye for the first time truly calmly face his short lifespan. He decided to admit his inner feelings, decided to appear before Xie Yuanxing, and he would use his nine years to be responsible for Xie Yuanxing’s entire life.

As for the revenge Xie Yuanxing spoke of.

A little peacock should naturally be proud. If it’s bullied, it should naturally retaliate.

Shen Bianye walked to the piano on the balcony. Outside the window, the bright moon cast its light. The tall figure slightly lowered his head and pressed a white key on the piano.

A muffled “do” sounded, like the prelude to a new chapter.

Xie Yuanxing went to throw out the trash, hesitated for a moment, then turned and went to the supermarket at the entrance, buying some daily necessities.

He carried a bag of things upstairs, entered the door, and saw Shen Bianye still sitting in the same spot where he had left him. So he handed the items to Shen Bianye.

“Here’s a mouthwash cup and a toothbrush. I also brought you a towel. You can use these to wash up later.”

Shen Bianye was somewhat surprised. “I can stay?”

Xie Yuanxing lowered his eyes. “You bought this place. I won’t be that unreasonable.”

Shen Bianye instinctively frowned, cupped Xie Yuanxing’s face, making his meek and deferential look disappear, and said, “You are Xingxing baby, you can be unreasonable.”

“Shall I leave now, okay? Baby, don’t look down like that; it’s so pitiful.”

Don’t bow your head, don’t apologize, don’t be meek and let people bully you.

Xie Yuanxing’s small face was cupped, and he blinked, forced to meet Shen Bianye’s gaze. He was silent for a moment, then said, “Hands, let go.”

Shen Bianye: …

He let go with regret, his fingertips brushing against the tender, fair skin as he released, as if taking the opportunity to stroke it.

Shen Bianye: “So, shall I go wash up now?”

Xie Yuanxing nodded, turned and walked towards the bedroom. “You can sleep in the secondary bedroom. Wait until I’m in my room before you wash up. I don’t want to see your face when you’re moving around.”

Shen Bianye was half helpless, half bitterly amused, standing rooted to the spot, watching Xie Yuanxing walk towards the bedroom.

The dark, cold, iron mask-like muzzle covered his face. The tall figure looked like a discarded, defeated dog.

Xie Yuanxing entered the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a while before pulling back the covers and lying down.

The master bedroom had a large bed. He lay in one corner of it, his slender figure looking small, still resembling the child who used to insist on sleeping with his mother.

But the middle of the bed was empty, making the person sleeping in the corner seem lonely.

As he lay there, Xie Yuanxing opened his eyes.

He couldn’t sleep; his mind was a mess.

Shen Bianye had changed so much, becoming like a completely different person, yet there was still a faint sense of familiarity.

It was from earlier, when his relationship with Shen Bianye was at its worst.

Shen Bianye would often show exasperated or angry expressions when he apologized, telling him not to apologize, forbidding him to apologize, questioning why he would apologize.

Just now, Shen Bianye had also told him not to bow his head.

This was also why Xie Yuanxing was willing to believe what Zhou Chao said: that Shen Bianye had never looked down on him.

Someone who looks down on another wouldn’t care if the other apologized; in fact, they would be very happy to see the other apologize and bow their head.

It was just that Shen Bianye’s pride made him unconsciously use demeaning ways to hide his actions.

Xie Yuanxing pouted, still very annoyed.

He thought with a hint of temper, Why couldn’t Shen Bianye just be mute?

Then he thought that a mute person couldn’t call him Xingxing baby anymore, so he buried his face in the quilt and thought, Never mind, then.

Xie Yuanxing didn’t want to use the same demeaning and contemptuous tactics on Shen Bianye, but he also wanted Shen Bianye to experience the discomfort he felt when he heard those things.

He lay in bed, thinking for a long time, until he fell asleep, without coming up with a good way to get revenge.

After Shen Bianye finished washing up, he entered the secondary bedroom. The room was a bit small. After putting a bed in, there was only a desk not much larger than a school desk.

He suddenly thought, Was this Xie Yuanxing’s bedroom before?

His pheromones instantly became excited by this thought. The door was closed, so the pheromones wouldn’t spread outside, and Shen Bianye didn’t control them.

The scent of embers after a raging fire seemed to boil and swirl around the space like a territorial patrol, then slowly retreated back into Shen Bianye’s body.

His pheromones weren’t satisfied with this place, which held no trace of Xie Yuanxing’s scent. After retreating into his body, they clamored to get closer to the room next door.

Shen Bianye couldn’t help but get up, then sit down, get up, then sit down.

After repeated internal struggle, he thought, I’ll just take a look to see if Xie Yuanxing is asleep.

Just one look, nothing more. I’ll keep my pheromones completely contained.

Shen Bianye instinctively moved more softly, perhaps knowing inwardly that this excuse was poor, fearing he might wake Xie Yuanxing in the next room.

He walked out of his room. The door to the room just across the wall was closed. Shen Bianye didn’t know if it was locked, or if he could open it.

His slender fingers gripped the doorknob, gently pressing down. With a soft click, the door opened.

Impolite, truly impolite, very impolite.

Sneaking into Xie Yuanxing’s room late at night, like a pervert, not to mention, what if Xie Yuanxing finds out?

Shen Bianye’s hand on the doorknob tightened. He extended the tip of his tongue and licked his lips. He used this to alleviate his anxiety and longing, as if licking the tear mole under Xie Yuanxing’s eye through the door.

Then he slowly let go of the doorknob and returned to the room where he should be.

When Shen Bianye woke up, his phone by the bed showed the time. He had slept late after an agonizing night, so he woke up a little later than usual.

But it was still only 7:30 AM, still early. He could go buy breakfast for Xie Yuanxing and come back, then wake Xie Yuanxing up to eat.

He got dressed and walked out of the room. Passing the kitchen, he saw Xie Yuanxing’s slender figure silhouetted on the frosted glass door.

As Shen Bianye was momentarily stunned, the person inside pushed the door open and walked out.

Xie Yuanxing looked at the tightly fastened muzzle on Shen Bianye’s face, his eyes a little puzzled. He didn’t ask if he had put it on right after waking up, or if he had put it back on after washing, or if he hadn’t taken it off all night.

Instead, he said, “Come eat breakfast.”

A fried egg, a glass of milk, and a plate of pan-fried dumplings.

Shen Bianye’s gaze lingered on the breakfast for only a few seconds before he looked directly at Xie Yuanxing. “You…”

Xie Yuanxing said blandly, “I’ve already eaten. I need to get to school soon.”

“Just wash the dishes when you’re done eating and close the door when you leave.”

Shen Bianye had no time to react and instinctively said, “I’ll go back with you.”

Xie Yuanxing’s lips curved slightly, and he said seriously, “But shouldn’t X be studying at S University? How can he come back with me?”

Shen Bianye froze, opening his mouth but unsure what to say.

Fortunately, the metal mask on his face was tightly fastened, hiding his helplessness well.

Xie Yuanxing left, leaving Shen Bianye and a plate of breakfast in the room.

The breakfast items were simple. Shen Bianye had eaten breakfasts many times more elaborate than this.

But the fried egg on the table was runny in the middle, the milk was warmed, and the bottom of the pan-fried dumplings was crispy. Xie Yuanxing had made them himself.

Those much more elaborate breakfasts now seemed inferior.

He thought, Xie Yuanxing is still too soft-hearted. Why would he make breakfast for someone he dislikes?

He paused again, vaguely remembering Xie Yuanxing’s words before leaving, realizing this might have been made just for X.

Shen Bianye nearly broke the chopsticks in his hand. Xie Yuanxing’s revenge hadn’t come yet, but he was already being tormented to madness.

Xie Yuanxing would act spoiled with X, yet refused any of his own attempts at closeness.

By the time Xie Yuanxing returned to school, it was already afternoon.

There were only three people in the dorm; the other two were nowhere to be seen.

As soon as he entered, Gao Yufei followed right behind him. “Xiao Yuan, I came looking for you yesterday, but you weren’t here. Where did you go?”

He had already familiarized himself with the people in this dorm yesterday, so he didn’t feel awkward entering now; he was very comfortable.

Gao Yufei knew about Xie Yuanxing moving dorms, and he thought it was quite good.

Senior Shen himself said his relationship with Xie Yuanxing wasn’t good, so Xie Yuanxing moving out would make him feel more at ease.

At the same time, he felt a bit eager to volunteer to move into Senior Shen’s dorm. Besides anything else, Senior Shen was really generous.

Even with a bad relationship with Xie Yuanxing, he still had people bring Xie Yuanxing food when they brought his own.

If he could get on good terms with Senior Shen, wouldn’t that be like picking up freebies off the ground? Besides, he already lived in a mixed dorm, so moving from one mixed dorm to another was nothing.

So he wanted to ask Xie Yuanxing if Shen Bianye had any particular preferences, so he could cater to them.

The people in the dorm greeted Xie Yuanxing when he returned.

The oldest new roommate, hearing Gao Yufei’s question, also said, “Yeah, you weren’t here the night you just moved dorms either, were you?”

Xie Yuanxing sat on the stool in front of his bed, resting. Hearing the question, he said, “I went home.”

After saying it, he paused, and a faint smile touched his lips.

The third new roommate asked, “Where’s your home? I haven’t heard you mention it.”

Gao Yufei casually said, “Don’t tell me you don’t know; I’ve known him for so long, and I don’t think I know either.”

Xie Yuanxing simply moved his chair and turned to chat with them:

“In Z City, on the street where my home is, there’s a whole street of plane trees. In autumn, a lot of leaves fall, and it’s very beautiful.”

As he spoke of these things, he suddenly paused.

He remembered that half a month ago, when emotions surged, what he thought was that he hated fallen leaves.

The uninvited guest, just arriving at the door, overheard Xie Yuanxing’s somewhat joyful introduction. As he entered, he saw Xie Yuanxing’s slightly furrowed brow.

You talk so happily with others, but when you see me, you want to frown?

Oh, and among these “others” is that foul-smelling sea salt, Gao Yufei.

For a fleeting moment, Shen Bianye wanted to touch his own face.

To see if it was really that ugly, that unbearable, that Xie Yuanxing disliked it so much.

A thought even popped into his head about getting plastic surgery to change his face, an idea that he himself found idiotic the moment it appeared.

He walked in and spoke: “Baby.”

The four people in the dorm: the oldest roommate’s foot slipped from the edge of his chair, the third roommate’s mouse dropped from his hand in surprise, the fourth roommate made a mistake and his game screen went black, and Gao Yufei stiffly turned his head, like a wooden figure whose winding key had been removed.

All four were stunned, looking at each other.

What the hell?!

What’s going on here?

Baby?!!!

I didn’t mishear, did I?

No, I heard it too!

Holy crap, I think I just found out something huge.

No one spoke, yet it seemed all four were speaking with their eyes. They looked at each other, then all at once, turned to Xie Yuanxing.

Xie Yuanxing: …

For a moment, he wanted to find a crack in the ground and disappear into it.

The most comfortable person present, and the one who had deliberately used that endearment, spoke: “Baby, there are a lot of people here, and it’s not convenient for you to live here. Why don’t we move back?”

In the dorm, the oldest, third, and fourth roommates exchanged glances again.

No, when they brought him here, they repeatedly instructed them, watching him as carefully as if he were their own eyeball, and now after a few days, they want to pick him up again.

Has this place really become a kindergarten daycare center?!

Is there still justice? Is there still heavenly law?

The few people exchanged glances, then thought of the in-game skins and equipment Shen Bianye had given them, and suddenly felt that that was justice.

Gao Yufei was the most shocked among them. The others had some vague suspicions because Shen Bianye had asked them to take care of Xie Yuanxing and include him in their activities.

Only Gao Yufei had heard Shen Bianye say from start to finish that their relationship was not good.

He stood frozen in place, muttering, “Can someone slap me? I think I have tinnitus and I’m hallucinating.”

Shen Bianye had deliberately called him that for Gao Yufei’s benefit; he had remembered Gao Yufei scenting Xie Yuanxing for a long time.

Now, he was more than happy to help with this.

He raised an eyebrow and said, “Or should I?”

Gao Yufei instantly sobered up. “Wait, wait… you, you, Senior Shen you…”

Shen Bianye was about to speak when Xie Yuanxing suddenly interjected: “Shen Bianye.”

“Come outside with me.”

The two walked out, one after the other. Watching the tall Alpha dutifully follow Xie Yuanxing, the other dorm mates felt a surreal sense of their world crumbling.

And… how did it feel like… like Xie Yuanxing was taming Shen Bianye?

Were they still half-asleep? Damn it, but it’s afternoon.

Outside the dorm, Xie Yuanxing’s face was slightly stern. He pursed his lips. “Didn’t you make me move out?”

“What are you doing now?”

He didn’t want to embarrass Shen Bianye in front of others, which was why he had called him out.

But he wasn’t so easygoing that he would move out just because Shen Bianye told him to, and then move back just because he told him to.

Shen Bianye was filled with regret, and he explained somewhat urgently, “Baby, at that time I thought…”

“Why are you calling me baby?” Xie Yuanxing interrupted him. “Only X can call me that. You can’t compare to him, and you’re not him.”

“In everyone else’s eyes, we’re just roommates with a not-so-good relationship, aren’t we?”

Shen Bianye’s back stiffened, his gaze slowly turning bitter. In his clenched fists, the place scratched by the ring seemed to throb with pain again.

He was silent for a long time before saying with difficulty, “I understand.”

Xie Yuanxing pursed his lips, pressing down on the corners that were slightly upturned.

He knew being demeaned didn’t feel good, so he didn’t want to go too far, but he still wanted Shen Bianye to experience it.

After realizing that Shen Bianye couldn’t accept X, he almost deliberately compared them over and over again.

Anyway, it’s all Shen Bianye himself. What’s wrong with annoying him with this?

That night, Shen Bianye, having failed to persuade Xie Yuanxing to move back to the dorm, bought a bed curtain.

He didn’t hang it on his own bed.

Instead, he hung it in the opposing dorm room, on his roommate Xie Yuanxing’s bed.