GBROTAH CH8

“Xie Yuanxing.” The buzz-cut guy hooked Xie Yuanxing’s neck from behind his seat. “Did you hear about the group assignment the teacher just mentioned?”

“It’s by dorm, three people per group. You’re in a mixed dorm, right?”

“Hey? What’s that on your neck?”

Xie Yuanxing’s expression changed slightly when his neck was hooked. Hearing the guy’s words, he frowned and pulled away, slightly uncomfortable as he tugged at his collar. “Nothing.”

“You…” He struggled to recall the person’s name. After so long since school started, he barely recognized faces in class; names and faces just didn’t match up.

Gao Yufei looked at him in surprise. “Me, Gao Yufei. I told you my name. You didn’t forget so quickly, did you?”

“You forgot, I was also assigned to a mixed dorm.” He sighed. “So unlucky. The sophomores in my dorm always ask me to run errands, and I feel bad refusing. I don’t know how many packages I’ve picked up.”

“But luckily, there’s another person from our class living with me.” Gao Yufei turned to Xie Yuanxing. “How’s your dorm situation?” He looked at Xie Yuanxing, feeling that the words “easy to bully” were written all over him.

Xie Yuanxing tugged at his collar again. Hidden behind the standing collar was a pheromone blocker patch. Such a thing shouldn’t have been on a Beta like him. But his roommate had bitten him without any restraint. Even though he had no gland, pheromones kept surging into the wound, and the time interval since the bite was short. Without this patch, any Omega or Alpha would be able to tell that he had been bitten by an Alpha.

“It’s good,” Xie Yuanxing said, his eyes subtly darting away. His evasiveness, in Gao Yufei’s eyes, translated into difficulty. Seeing this, he became even more interested. “You’re living with Shen Bianye, right?”

Xie Yuanxing was startled. “How did you know?”

Gao Yufei said with a mix of envy and jealousy, “Who in this school doesn’t know Shen Bianye? Even if they haven’t seen him, they’ve heard his name.”

“I heard that when he enrolled in his freshman year, he drove a Bugatti. So many people, both guys and girls, blocked him and chased him to confess. Later, it’s said he got annoyed and switched to a Mercedes.”

“But switching to a Mercedes didn’t help. People kept waiting by his car, so he stopped driving to school.” Gao Yufei sighed regretfully, “A Bugatti! I really want to see what a real Bugatti looks like.”

Xie Yuanxing was bewildered: “What’s a Bugatti? Is it very expensive?”

“More than just expensive, it costs tens of millions!” Others who had been listening joined in. Suddenly, Xie Yuanxing was surrounded by a group of people, all curious about Shen Bianye.

One boy said, “I didn’t dare ask you before since you didn’t talk much, and military training was too tiring. Now tell us, what’s it like living in the same dorm as Shen Bianye?”

“He casually gives away game accounts he’s tired of playing, accounts he’s spent tens of thousands on. He just gives them away. Since you live with him, has he given you anything?”

Xie Yuanxing was surrounded by the group, frowning uncomfortably. Hearing the question, he shook his head. “No.” He couldn’t talk about the contract. Besides the money, there was nothing else, but he certainly couldn’t say that Shen Bianye thought he was too thin to bite comfortably and gave him a hundred thousand for food.

Gao Yufei leaned in, surprised. “How come not? I heard he’s quite generous.”

“Didn’t you say something nice to him?”

“Just flatter the young master a bit and get something. Even if you don’t use it, you can sell it and make a profit,” he sighed. “If only I lived in the same dorm as him.”

Xie Yuanxing shook his head. “I’m not good with words.” He seemed to suddenly remember something, his eyes brightening. “If you want, we can try applying to the counselor to switch dorms.” Although he had signed a contract with Shen Bianye, the contract didn’t require him to live in the dorm. If possible, Xie Yuanxing really hoped that they could avoid each other completely, except when Shen Bianye’s pheromones were unstable. He was a Beta, and having his neck bitten was always uncomfortable. Besides, the way Shen Bianye looked at him after biting him also made Xie Yuanxing uneasy. It was also for this reason that Xie Yuanxing had arrived particularly early for class this afternoon.

Gao Yufei was shocked by his words, then stammered, “Ah? Ah… Is that allowed?” Wasn’t he here to ask Xie Yuanxing to join their group? How did it suddenly turn into changing dorms?

The people around, listening to the gossip, became even more enthusiastic, urging Gao Yufei on. Some even started volunteering, “Sure, give it a try. Anyway, you’re in a mixed dorm.”

“Actually, I can also change dorms. It doesn’t matter if it’s a mixed dorm, what matters is who you live with.”

“Many people say Shen Bianye is especially generous, and his temper seems pretty good too.” The speaker patted Xie Yuanxing’s shoulder, asking for confirmation, “Right?”

Xie Yuanxing was silent for a moment, then nodded against his will.

Gao Yufei scratched his head, “I’ll think about it…? What if Shen Bianye isn’t willing? Then I’d be really awkward. Speaking of which, he’s so rich, why does he live at school?”

Xie Yuanxing, next to him, quietly perked up his ears. He had been curious about this question himself when Shen Bianye annoyed him.

A guy who had joined the student union spoke up: “Our school requires first-year students to live on campus, didn’t you know?”

“He hasn’t moved out yet, so he must have gotten used to living here.”

Gao Yufei was quite tempted. Unlike Xie Yuanxing, he wasn’t so dull. If he switched, he might actually be able to get some good stuff from Shen Bianye to play with. Not to mention anything else, he was particularly envious of the game console and cartridges Shen Bianye had given away not long ago. He lived in a mixed dorm, and the person Shen Bianye gave them to was a sophomore in their dorm.

He was tempted but a bit indecisive. Seeing that the class bell was about to ring, he patted Xie Yuanxing’s shoulder. “Never mind that for now. Do you want to join our group for the assignment?”

“There are two of us here; with you, it’ll be exactly three.”

Xie Yuanxing nodded. Gao Yufei immediately said quickly, “Then I’ll add you from the class group; just accept it.”

The penetrating sound of the bell rang out, and the students who had gathered to chat scattered like birds and beasts, settling steadily in their seats as the teacher walked in. This was a small class for their grade, and the discipline requirements were much stricter than those for large lecture hall classes. In a small classroom, the teacher could see what you were doing at a glance, so no one dared to secretly make small movements.

Xie Yuanxing’s phone vibrated silently in his pocket. It must have been Gao Yufei’s friend request, sent just before class. He didn’t take it out to look, but instead pulled out a scratch paper and began to work on the problems the teacher had written on the blackboard. Students with high GPAs at their school could get scholarships, and Xie Yuanxing wanted one. He wasn’t particularly smart; learning linear algebra was very difficult for him, and he always had to be more diligent in that class than in others.

But today, as he wrote, he started to zone out a bit. Today was Friday. He had originally planned to work his last shift at the bar today, but because of what happened yesterday, he wasn’t going to go. He had messaged the manager on his phone, but it was almost six, and the other party hadn’t replied yet. His wages hadn’t been paid yet. At the time, they had agreed on daily payment, but then it changed to paying all at once when he left, and now the manager wasn’t replying to his messages…

The pen in Xie Yuanxing’s hand smeared a blot of ink on the paper, and he suddenly felt worried. As he was thinking, his phone in his pocket vibrated again. Few people sent him messages, and at this time, it was very likely the manager replying, probably having sent his wages. The stone in Xie Yuanxing’s heart gently fell. He wasn’t in a hurry to look, but calmly finished the class.

…When the class bell rang, Gao Yufei from the back row pressed Xie Yuanxing’s neck again. “Do you want to come to the cafeteria with us for dinner, and we can talk about the group assignment?”

The wound on the back of his neck hurt intensely from the pressure. Xie Yuanxing endured the urge to cry out and shifted sideways. “No, you go ahead.”

“For the group assignment, you guys decide what to do, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Gao Yufei nodded cheerfully. “Alright, then you go ahead. Remember to accept my friend request.” He scratched his head. “And about changing dorms, I’ll tell you once I’ve thought it over, okay?”

Xie Yuanxing’s lips curved into a faint smile and he said okay. He took out his phone and his expression clearly froze as he opened WeChat and saw the message. The number of people in the classroom dwindled, and the already faint smile on Xie Yuanxing’s face slowly disappeared.

Manager: “The customers at that table yesterday left without paying. It was Xiao Li who forgot to collect the money, but you and Xiao Tao are the ones who caused trouble. They ordered 5000 yuan worth of alcohol. You two will have to bear this loss.”

“Considering you’re a part-timer, your wages for these past few days are six hundred. I’ll only deduct three hundred. Here’s the remaining three hundred; take it.”

“The other party transferred 300.00 to you.”

Xie Yuanxing stared at these lines of text for a long time before slowly typing back, “But wasn’t this mistake caused by the person who took the order? Why do I have to bear the loss?”

The manager sent a voice message. Xie Yuanxing tapped it, and the other party’s extremely impatient voice came from the phone: “If you hadn’t caused trouble and made the customers unhappy, would they have been so angry they forgot to pay and left?”

“Who else should bear this loss if not you? This little money isn’t even enough to cover the cost. If you don’t want these three hundred, then don’t take them; it’ll save me trouble.”

After scolding Xie Yuanxing, the manager turned to look at Luo Chengjie, smiling and saying, “I should have known you were the boss’s friend. I would have handled this for you yesterday. How does this look?”

Luo Chengjie pouted, “Only three hundred, tsk.”

Manager: “You don’t understand. For these college students working part-time, this is how you deal with them. I have experience.”

“If you deduct too much, they might make a fuss. Give them a carrot after a slap, and they’ll just have to swallow their grievances.”

Luo Chengjie waved his hand. “Alright, I originally thought that person wouldn’t be so lucky to have someone bail him out again today, but he quit. Boring.”

“I’m leaving first; I’ll come back when it gets crowded tonight.” He didn’t take this matter to heart. Three hundred yuan was nothing to him. He waved his hand and walked out of the bar.

The sky outside had darkened. The streetlights hadn’t turned on yet. At school, Xie Yuanxing was the last to leave the classroom, turning off the lights as he went. As he closed the classroom door and walked out, he accepted the three hundred yuan.

The corridor was not lit, somewhat dim. Xie Yuanxing, dressed in black, walked slowly down the long, dark corridor, the faint light from his phone illuminating his face, preventing him from completely blending into the background.

“Why are you walking so slowly in such a pitch-black place? Are you playing a ghost, trying to scare someone to death?” Shen Bianye looked at the person slowly walking out of the corridor ahead, finding him displeasing no matter how he looked at him, and said irritably.

Xie Yuanxing: “Scare you to death.”

Shen Bianye looked at him, surprised. “Did you take the wrong medicine?”

“You actually made a joke.”

Xie Yuanxing tugged at the corner of his mouth, giving a perfunctory smile. “What are you doing here?”

These words, to Shen Bianye, were a blatant unwelcome. He scoffed, “I gave you living expenses, so naturally I have to watch you spend it on food.”

“Otherwise, if you save it and don’t use it, wouldn’t it be like I gave you a hundred thousand for nothing?”

Xie Yuanxing looked at him with a complicated expression, not understanding the difference between him spending it on food and giving it for nothing. But the one who gives the money is the boss, so he didn’t argue and followed Shen Bianye.

The two walked along the school road, neither speaking, and for a moment, it became a rare harmonious atmosphere between them.

As they passed a bakery, Xie Yuanxing stopped Shen Bianye, pointing at the round cream puff in the glass display case, and said, “I want to eat that.” He meant for Shen Bianye to wait for him while he bought it.

But then Shen Bianye strode in, pointed at the cream puff, said something to the clerk, and then went to the counter to pay with his phone. Xie Yuanxing was momentarily stunned and quickly followed. This was his first time inside the school’s bakery. The electronic screen at the checkout showed that the item he wanted to eat wasn’t a cream puff. Instead, it was something called “Taro Puree Brulee,” eighteen yuan, indeed very expensive.

He looked at the words on the electronic screen, and the stone in his heart suddenly grew heavier and larger, heavily blocking his chest, making him feel a little breathless.

Xie Yuanxing took the bag Shen Bianye handed him, softly thanking him, “Thank you, let’s go back to the dorm.”

Shen Bianye frowned slightly. “Don’t tell me this is your dinner.” A palm-sized bread roll, how could any guy be full from that? He pressed on Xie Yuanxing’s shoulder, somewhat forcefully guiding him towards the cafeteria, and said through gritted teeth, “You really can’t bear to spend a single cent of that hundred thousand, you stingy miser.”

Xie Yuanxing staggered a few steps before catching up to his speed. “I wasn’t going to let you pay just now.”

Shen Bianye scoffed, “Still pretending.”

“You pointed at that thing and said you wanted to eat it, weren’t you asking me to buy it for you?”

Xie Yuanxing pursed his lips, not wanting to argue with him, and also feeling a bit guilty. After all, he hadn’t been unable to stop him just now; he was just too lazy to put on a show with Shen Bianye about “I’ll get it,” “no, you don’t have to.” Saving a little was better than nothing, and if he were to pay, he would still feel the pinch.

Shen Bianye led him to the premium dish window, a place Xie Yuanxing would never usually go. Without asking Xie Yuanxing what he wanted to eat, he directly chose a few meat dishes and swiped his card to pay. He held a tray in each hand and said to Xie Yuanxing, “What are you staring at? Let’s go.”

Xie Yuanxing blinked. “Oh.” Those people were right; Shen Bianye was generous and had a good temper. He even treated people to meals and helped carry their trays, though sometimes his words weren’t very pleasant.

Xie Yuanxing was in a bad mood. Even though he didn’t want to waste food, he only ate about half of it before feeling uncomfortable. Shen Bianye, sitting across from him, watched, his frown deepening, but seeing that Xie Yuanxing truly couldn’t eat anymore, he didn’t say anything. However, his expression remained grim until they returned to the dorm.

Shen Bianye watched Xie Yuanxing slowly turn and close the door, his eyes gradually darkening. He knew that behind the tightly wrapped collar, there were still the bite marks he had left.

A closed, uninhabited environment easily breeds impulsive thoughts, not to mention he harbored a desire to make Xie Yuanxing suffer a little for not eating properly.

Shen Bianye had a stern appearance. He was tall, with deep-set brows, and when he frowned while looking at someone, he exuded a natural sense of oppression. When he leaned against the table and beckoned to Xie Yuanxing, who had just closed the dorm door, the wound on Xie Yuanxing’s neck seemed to sense something and began to ache out of thin air.

Xie Yuanxing slowly walked over. “Are your pheromones acting up again?”

Shen Bianye’s eyes were dark and deep, staring intently at Xie Yuanxing. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he responded in a low, hoarse voice, “Mm, come here.”

The blocker patch on the back of his neck was torn off and floated lightly to the floor.

Xie Yuanxing’s body uncontrollably trembled when he felt Shen Bianye’s canine teeth press against the back of his neck. Tears streamed down his face, and his voice choked, “It hurts, Shen Bianye, it hurts.” He couldn’t tell if it was the wound aching or if he was simply using the only justifiable reason to cry and vent. Crying over a three-hundred-yuan deduction would be embarrassing to admit, and he had no one to confide in. But anyone being bitten like this would have a physiological reaction of crying from pain, right? Yes, it was reasonable.

Tears streamed down Xie Yuanxing’s face, his vision already blurred by mist. He couldn’t see anything clearly.

Shen Bianye paused, his long hand touching the corner of Xie Yuanxing’s eye. “Crying?”

“I haven’t even bitten yet, why are you crying?” He seemed to scoff. “So delicate.” He tried to turn Xie Yuanxing around, but the person in his arms desperately gripped the ladder railing beside the table, resisting him, unwilling to turn his face to be seen.

Shen Bianye, fearing he might get hurt, eased his grip. His eyes, somewhat complex, looked at the wound on the back of Xie Yuanxing’s neck, still faintly tinged with blood. He reached out and touched it. The slightest touch made the person in his arms tremble, sobbing and saying it hurt.

The roots of his canine teeth felt a little itchy. Shen Bianye poked them with the tip of his tongue, his eyes obscured. He slowly leaned closer to that bruised and purpled area on the back of the neck, his voice almost a whisper, “Poor baby.”

“Why are you so scared?”

This time, what pressed against him wasn’t a sharp tooth, but a warm, moist tongue, mixed with a muffled, hoarse voice: “Let me lick it, it won’t hurt if I lick it.”

Xie Yuanxing’s eyes widened unexpectedly, and large tears rolled down. “Don’t… don’t lick… it’s so hot…” His neck felt like it was burning, the back of his neck was wet, and the wound itched from being licked. It was strange, and very uncomfortable.

Shen Bianye never listened to him at times like these. Xie Yuanxing’s words were also an instinctive resistance, without any hope. What surprised him was that Shen Bianye actually stopped.

Xie Yuanxing turned his head blankly, his reddened eyes and moist tear mole directly meeting Shen Bianye’s deep black pupils. Shen Bianye looked at him and asked a question Xie Yuanxing completely didn’t understand, “Why is it bitter?”

Xie Yuanxing blinked, his eyes wet with tears, innocent and pitiful. “Huh?”