Chapter 16

"You want to help Zhuang Xiaoyue?" Xie Nanyi pressed the tip of her tongue against the roof of her mouth, using great willpower to keep her speechlessness from showing on her face.

He thought Pei Xingzhi would at most not pursue Zhuang Xiaoyue's responsibility, but he didn't expect him to be so saintly as to help Zhuang Xiaoyue solve her troubles. He knew Pei Xingzhi was easy to mess with, but he didn't expect him to be this easy to mess with.

He thought he was mentally prepared, but it was clear he hadn't done enough.

If Zhuang Xiaoyue was lying to him... 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 was never going to exist in the first place.

For the first time, Xie Nanyi experienced the feeling of being angry at someone for not living up to their potential. She lowered her head, held back her anger, and gave a bitter smile in silence.

“Yes, I’ll help him.” Pei Xingzhi nodded solemnly. He knew what Xie Nanyi meant. To forgive such a betrayal was simply the act of a complete idiot.

"I'm not doing this for Zhuang Xiaoyue; I'm just helping a hurt Omega," Pei Xingzhi explained, trying to justify himself. He wasn't stupid; he just didn't want Zhuang Xiaoyue to get involved.

At most, it's just a sense of justice at play.

"Okay, as long as you think it's fine." Xie Nanyi shrugged, tacitly agreeing to Pei Xingzhi's request. If the person in question doesn't mind, why should he, an outsider, worry about it?

Pei Xingzhi's skin was very fair. Perhaps it was because of the hot weather, or perhaps his skin was too sensitive. His tear-stained cheeks had a rosy glow, and a few strands of hair clung messily to his face. Pei Xingzhi tried to pull them off several times but couldn't get them off, so he simply ignored them and let them stick to his face haphazardly.

Xie Nanyi leaned forward to fix his hair, bringing them closer again. Even though they saw each other every day, Xie Nanyi couldn't help but be momentarily stunned by Pei Xingzhi's face.

If Pei Xingzhi weren't a Beta, he might be even more famous. He doesn't need those achievements; just that face is enough.

Such a beautiful face, yet her eyes are so clear and bright, like an innocent little fox, unknowingly seducing others.

"Aren't you going back to your dorm to check? What if you forgot something?"

"Thank you for helping me coordinate my dorm." Pei Xingzhi leaned back, twisting his fingers awkwardly as he thanked Xie Nanyi.

It's been so long since school started, changing dorms now is definitely not as easy as it was at the beginning. Although it might not be a big deal for Xie Nanyi, it did solve a major problem for Pei Xingzhi. If it weren't for his intervention, Pei Xingzhi would probably have continued to live with Zhuang Xiaoyue indefinitely.

It wasn't his fault; Zhuang Xiaoyue was the one who ran away. But changing dorms is good; he doesn't need to torture himself.

"What dorm did you get me? Take me to see it!" When he looked up again, Pei Xingzhi had already switched to his usual playful self.

"You can be quite useful sometimes. I hadn't even thought about changing dorms, but you'd already taken care of it for me." Pei Xingzhi had a strong ability to manage his emotions. No matter how sad he was, once he had cried and vented, he wouldn't show his emotions on his face. If it weren't for the fact that his eyes were still red from crying, it would be almost impossible to tell what he had just been through.

"I've done so much for Xiaozhi, won't Xiaozhi praise me?" Xie Nanyi tucked Pei Xingzhi's loose hair behind his ear and leaned closer to ask for a reward.

At such close range, Pei Xingzhi could clearly see the small mole on Xie Nanyi's nose, which, combined with his amorous eyes, made him look like a seductive fox.

Pei Xingzhi awkwardly turned his gaze away and reached out to push Xie Nanyi's face to the side.

"You're actually quite not annoying when you're not annoying."

With indescribable emotions swirling in his heart, Pei Xingzhi was unable to express his feelings for Xie Nanyi without any reservations.

He is quite different from Zhuang Xiaoyue.

If Zhuang Xiaoyue still had some pitiable aspects that could evoke his heroism and make him feel pity, Xie Nanyi, on the other hand, always maintained a superior position and treated everything about him as just a story.

He and Xie Nanyi were never on equal footing.

"Alright. I'll take Xiaozhi's words as a compliment." Xie Nanyi readily accepted Pei Xingzhi's so-called "complaint" and reached out to pull him up from the sofa. "Anyway, I'll get my revenge on Xiaozhi later."

Xie Nanyi was very efficient and decisive, something Pei Xingzhi had already experienced firsthand. His belongings were almost perfectly replicated in the new dormitory, even down to the small detail of him habitually placing his cup on his left.

Everything was laid out the same as the original dormitory, and Pei Xingzhi didn't feel uncomfortable at all. The new dormitory was downstairs from the old one, and there were only two people in the room. The other roommate hadn't arrived yet, so he was currently the only one living there.

After all that fuss, Pei Xingzhi was clearly not in good spirits. Xie Nanyi made an excuse to leave, leaving Pei Xingzhi completely alone in the dormitory.

Pei Xingzhi hesitated for a moment, looking at the paper bag in the corner of the bookshelf, before finally picking it up and throwing it into the trash can. After doing all this, Pei Xingzhi slumped into his chair, completely exhausted.

The physical torment caused by pheromones was secondary; Pei Xingzhi only felt extremely tired. He couldn't place all the blame on Zhuang Xiaoyue; if he had cut his losses in time, none of this would have happened.

His teeth unconsciously clenched into the soft flesh inside his mouth, and the sharp tips of his canines quickly drew blood from the mucous membrane. Pain can bring one to their senses; he buried his head in his arms, and after a long while, slowly raised his head.

If asked if he regretted it, Pei Xingzhi would definitely answer no. He was just doing what he thought was right, and he didn't feel there was anything to regret about what he had done.

Ultimately, he and Zhuang Xiaoyue simply made different choices. How can someone who has never earned trust trust others? If he were in Zhuang Xiaoyue's position, he might not have been as magnanimous as he is now.

Xie Nanyi and him, aren't they just another form of him and Zhuang Xiaoyue?

After calming down, Pei Xingzhi lay down on the bed and opened the communication box with Xie Nanyi.

His chat box with Xie Nanyi contained many messages, but they were mostly Xie Nanyi's one-sided venting. She treated Pei Xingzhi like a memo, and even told him about trivial things like accidentally biting into a peppercorn at dinner.

Pei Xingzhi naturally wouldn't reply.

[Sweetheart Bunny]: Thank you.

[N1]: You're welcome.

[N1]: Rather than thanking you verbally, I would prefer Xiaozhi to give me a kiss.

Upon seeing this, Pei Xingzhi couldn't help but roll his eyes. This was precisely why his conversations with Xie Nanyi never went smoothly. It was also difficult for Xie Nanyi; she clearly didn't like him but still did so many things for him, acting until Pei Xingzhi was almost convinced she genuinely liked him.

[Sweetheart Bunny]: I won't scold you today.

[N1]: Thank you for your great kindness.

[Sweetheart Bunny]: You really deserve a scolding!

[Sweetheart Bunny]: Grinning.jpg

[N1]: Let me guess, is Xiaozhi secretly laughing right now?

[Sweetheart Bunny]: No, no, no—

[Sweetheart Bunny]: I'm not chatting with you anymore, bye~

After this incident, Pei Xingzhi continued attending classes as usual. Apart from the fact that the person always by his side had changed from Zhuang Xiaoyue to Pei Xingzhi, everything else remained the same.

Zhuang Xiaoyue took a long leave of absence after that. According to her former roommates, Zhuang Xiaoyue never came back after leaving. They had heard about the Alpha who had been bothering Zhuang Xiaoyue and would subtly inquire about him from Pei Xingzhi every time they met.

Pei Xingzhi would always give incoherent answers to evade the question, and when pressed further, he would simply claim to know nothing at all.

Xie Nanyi would frequently update him on Zhuang Xiaoyue's situation. He accepted Pei Xingzhi's help and began compiling materials to sue Gu Xiang with the assistance of a lawyer. Gu Xiang's drafted contract was illegal to begin with, and he had already fled to another city after hearing rumors of it. The problem that had troubled Zhuang Xiaoyue for so long was thus easily resolved.

"How is his health?" Pei Xingzhi asked Xie Nanyi on the other end of the video call while typing on the equipment and editing a new program.

"Not so good." Xie Nanyi yawned, resting her chin on her hand. Pei Xingzhi hadn't been leaving the house lately, and his mark was starting to act up again. "The school won't admit students with blemishes, no matter who's at fault. The school is already coordinating a transfer for him. It's not as good as Alliance University, but it should still be a decent school."

"Are you going to help him again?" Seeing Pei Xingzhi remain silent with his lips pursed, Xie Nanyi raised an eyebrow, a bad feeling suddenly rising within her.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Pei Xingzhi replied quickly this time. He wasn't stupid, so why would he want to make himself uncomfortable?

"Xiao Zhi is my little darling."

"Get lost!" The programmer was stuck on the most important part. Pei Xingzhi put away the equipment and glared at Xie Nanyi in annoyance.

"Xiao Zhi won't even look at me properly, and now he's telling me to get lost. I'm so heartbroken." Xie Nanyi sent a crying emoji to the virtual screen, and a bunch of crying emojis immediately popped up on Pei Xingzhi's screen.

"Can you please stop developing this annoying stuff!"

The crying face emoji was accompanied by a noisy scream. Pei Xingzhi turned off the device and muted it, only turning it back on after the emoji disappeared.

"If you keep sending random messages, I'm going to hang up the video call."

"Alright, alright, I won't send any more." Xie Nanyi conceded defeat. "It's all Xiaozhi's fault for not going out, otherwise I wouldn't be so bored."

My roommate is coming this afternoon.

"Is your roommate an Omega? Can I not have an Omega as my roommate?"

The new roommate said he would arrive at 3 o'clock, but it was already 2:50. Pei Xingzhi glanced around the dormitory and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that every corner was thoroughly cleaned.

"You're the one who got me this roommate, so how did it become my fault?"

"I didn't know he was an Omega back then. How about I help Xiaozhi change dorms?" Xie Nanyi swayed from side to side, and Pei Xingzhi thought for a moment before realizing that he seemed to be acting coquettishly.

"No, please don't cause me any more trouble."

As soon as Pei Xingzhi finished speaking, his new roommate knocked on the door and came in.

Pei Xingzhi hurriedly hung up the call with Xie Nanyi and got up to greet his new roommate.

"Hello, I am Pei Xingzhi."