My straight roommate is so good

It was already late October, and the autumn heat was still wreaking havoc on the campus of Lan City University.

The summer heat persisted, with no hint of coolness in the air.

The setting sun cast a warm orange glow on the tree-lined path between the Art Center and the Sports Hall.

Qiao Song stood under a plane tree, his skin a pale white, his expression indifferent, as if he were blocking out the surrounding heat, giving off a cool and distant air.

His finely sculpted lips parted slightly, and his words were as cold as his demeanor: “I’ve said it many times, I don’t like you.”

“No, that’s impossible! We’ve lived together for over two years. You’ve been so good to me, caring for me and looking after me… Could all of that have been fake?” 

Shen Qiuyuan looked at his roommate’s stunning face, unwilling to believe that he didn’t like him at all, his frustration even tinged with a hint of tears.

Qiao Song remained unmoved, first clarifying, “That was just normal friendliness between roommates.”

Then he added, “I’ve applied to change dorms. I’m moving out tomorrow.”

Upon hearing that he was moving out, Shen Qiuyuan could no longer control his emotions. He stepped forward to grab him.

Qiao Song frowned and stepped back, but couldn’t escape; he was still caught by Shen Qiuyuan’s wrist.

“Don’t go! Qiao Qiao, I’m begging you—”

Shen Qiuyuan’s words were abruptly cut off.

A low, magnetic, unfamiliar voice came from beside Qiao Song, saying to Shen Qiuyuan, “Let go, don’t go too far.”

The boy’s tone was cold, with a suppressed anger.

As he spoke, he reached out and easily pulled him away from Qiao Song.

Qiao Song was momentarily stunned, his gaze first landing on the boy’s long, elegant fingers.

Following the smooth lines of his forearm up to his broad shoulders, tensed jawline, and finally his face.

It was an extraordinarily handsome face.

His dark eyes were deep and sharp, with attractive angles formed by his brow bones and nose bridge. His chiseled features exuded a fierce, aggressive aura, like the most formidable wolf in the icy tundra.

“Didn’t he say he doesn’t like you? Can’t you understand?” The boy’s brows were lowered, and his voice was cold.

He was very tall, with an overwhelming presence that radiated a strong sense of oppression.

Shen Qiuyuan opened his mouth, but the question “What is your relationship with Qiao Song?” remained unspoken.

The boy glanced at him arrogantly and said, “If you understand, then get lost.”

With red-rimmed eyes, Shen Qiuyuan left.

The tree-lined path returned to its original quiet.

Qiao Song looked up at the boy beside him and softly said, “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” The boy lowered his gaze to meet his eyes, his expression softer and his tone more friendly. “I’m also homophobic and can’t stand this kind of thing.”

… That “also” was quite telling.

Qiao—gay—Song: “…”

Considering how the boy had treated Shen Qiuyuan, Qiao Song understood just how much he detested homosexuals.

Fortunately, none of this concerned him.

He didn’t need to reveal his sexual orientation to a stranger who was just intervening out of justice.

After a brief exchange, they went their separate ways.

He headed right, to the Art Center to practice the piano.

The boy took long strides to the left, into the Sports Building, presumably for some sort of practice.

Qiao Song was busy packing his bags, having barely slept through the night.

The next day was Saturday.

Early in the morning, he dragged his suitcase, packed overnight, out of the Art Department dorm.

His new dorm was in the Software Engineering Building, a few buildings away from the Art Building where he had previously lived.

Lan University had always assigned dorms by department. As the name suggested, the Software Engineering Building was the domain of the Software Engineering School.

Qiao Song had been learning piano since he was very young, and most of the people he interacted with were involved in the arts.

He had never had much contact with engineering students.

Thinking about living with Software Engineering students for the next two years, he felt a bit apprehensive, wondering if his new roommates would be difficult to get along with.

When he reached the entrance of the Software Engineering Building, he stopped.

Lan University’s dorms were all standard six-story buildings with only stairs and no elevators.

His new dorm was on the top floor.

He sat on his suitcase for a short rest, planning to gather enough strength to carry his suitcase up the six flights of stairs in one go.

As he was about to start, a somewhat familiar voice came from behind him.

“What a coincidence,” a tall boy approached, glancing at his suitcase, then looking up at him, “You’re moving into this building?”

Qiao Song nodded, “Are you living here too?”

“Yes, I’m on the sixth floor. And you?”

“I am too.”

The boy raised an eyebrow, “Which room?”

Qiao Song: “603.”

The boy, rare to be momentarily stunned, then smiled and said, “So you’re the new roommate. Nice to meet you, I’m Ling Jianshu from the Software Engineering School.”

The new roommate extended a friendly hand.

Qiao Song hesitated for a moment, then shook his hand, feeling the warmth of his palm and the texture of his skin.

“Hello, I’m Qiao Song from the Piano Performance Department. I hope you’ll take care of me.”

After the polite introduction, Qiao Song released his hand.

Ling Jianshu nodded, “Sure, I’ll help you with your luggage.”

“Ah?” Qiao Song grasped the suitcase’s handle and explained, “That’s not necessary; I can handle it myself.”

“It’s fine, I’ll do it.”

Ling Jianshu said, reaching out and taking Qiao Song’s hand from the handle.

He then effortlessly lifted the suitcase, which weighed over 30 kilograms, and strode into the building.

The two walked up the stairs, one in front and one behind, each lost in their own thoughts.

Ling Jianshu didn’t think much of it, just felt that his new roommate was very good-looking.

Especially those delicate and well-proportioned hands, white and slender, with a kind of fragile beauty, as if they were meant to play the piano or create art.

He was relieved he had run into him after his morning jog; otherwise, it would have been a waste for such beautiful hands to carry a suitcase.

However, he had no idea that the owner of those delicate hands was currently thinking very different thoughts…

Qiao Song followed him, his eyes frequently catching sight of the boy’s tensed back.

The thin black sports shirt clung to his well-defined muscles, creating a striking, sexy line from his broad shoulders down to his slender waist and straight long legs.

A boy like this, overflowing with hormones, would definitely be the top gay heartthrob.

Unfortunately, Ling Jianshu was a straight man and also homophobic.

Qiao Song sighed in worry.

As a gay man, he was going to live with a homophobic straight guy for two years…

How was he going to get through this?

At the door of Room 603, Ling Jianshu put down the suitcase and said to him, “The room might be a bit messy. Wait a moment, I’ll tidy it up.”

“It’s okay, no…” 

Before he could finish, Ling Jianshu had already swiftly entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Qiao Song: “…”

Isn’t it said that straight men are usually sloppy and don’t care much about cleanliness? Why is Ling Jianshu so particular?

He found it a bit confusing but didn’t mind. He sat on the suitcase, waiting for his roommate to finish tidying up and let him in.

Inside the room, the gossip prince Cheng Yuan was lazily sprawled on the bed, busy browsing the Lan University forum.

Seeing Ling Jianshu come in, he jumped up and asked, “Shu, Shu, did you see the forum? You’re trending!”

“No.”

Ling Jianshu wasn’t interested in whether he was trending.

He smelled an indescribable odor in the room, frowned, and went to the window to open it for ventilation.

Looking around the room, he saw Cheng Yuan had thrown two mysterious used tissues into the trash can, and realized where the smell was coming from.

It was normal for a group of young men in their prime to occasionally take care of things themselves.

But he didn’t want Qiao Song to notice such things, even if he wasn’t the one responsible…

Qiao Song had left such a clean impression on him, immaculate, like a celestial being.

Celestials, of course, cannot tolerate such mess.

Cheng Yuan, unaware of what was wrong, continued to wave his phone and said to him, “You should check it out. You’re trending! Though the content is a bit… well.”

Everyone in Room 603 knew Ling Jianshu was homophobic.

And the trending post on the forum was about a group of people shipping him with the top beauty of the Piano Performance Department.

Cheng Yuan didn’t know how he would react and was a bit worried he might get so upset he’d go find the innocent top beauty for some boxing practice…

However, he didn’t expect that Ling Jianshu didn’t even ask what the post was about. Instead, he said coldly, “Not interested. Clean up the room. The new roommate is here.”

“… Huh?” Cheng Yuan was puzzled. “What new roommate? Did the Software Engineering Department expand? What’s there to clean? Our room is perfectly clean—”

Ling Jianshu cut him off, “Stop talking. Get to work.”

“Oh…” he closed his mouth, climbed down from the top bunk, still confused, not understanding what needed to be cleaned.

Ling Jianshu, wanting to avoid having Qiao Song wait too long at the door, didn’t bother explaining to him. He decided to take care of it himself.

He took a tissue, picked up the two used tissues from the floor with it, and threw them into the trash can, then glared at Cheng Yuan and said, “Take out the trash. Pay attention in the future, and don’t create messes in the dorm.”

Cheng Yuan: “…?”

It felt like his gaze was filled with strong disdain, as if he were the source of the mess.

Cheng Yuan, feeling both innocent and confused, didn’t understand why his normal physiological needs suddenly made him seem dirty.

He took the trash bag and headed for the door.

Ling Jianshu followed him out.

He turned around and, pleasantly surprised, said, “Shu, are you escorting me? You don’t need to be so considerate; it’s just down a few steps. I can go by myself.”

Ling Jianshu ignored him, opened the dorm door, and said to the handsome boy sitting on the suitcase outside, “Have you been waiting long?”

“No, it’s fine.” Qiao Song said as he stood up, looking at the shorter boy beside Ling Jianshu.

The short Cheng Yuan, seeing the new roommate’s impeccably beautiful face, was stunned!

This was exactly the top beauty from the Piano Performance Department who was rumored to be paired with his brother Shu!

He had never expected that he would encounter the real person he had just been shipping on the forum.

It was so exciting that the usually talkative gossip prince was rendered speechless for a moment. It was Qiao Song who spoke first.

Qiao Song, smiling at the short roommate he was meeting for the first time, said warmly, “Hello, I’m—”

Cheng Yuan snapped back to reality, cutting off his introduction, and eagerly said, “Hello, hello! You must be Qiao Song, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. Welcome to the 603 family! I’m Cheng Yuan, but you can call me Yuan’er.”

Qiao Song was taken aback by his enthusiasm. He forgot to ask, “How do you know me?” and just responded politely, “Okay, please take care of me.”

“Of course, definitely.”

Cheng Yuan glanced at him and then at Ling Jianshu, thinking that these two looked even more perfect together than in the forum pictures.

Of course, he knew Ling Jianshu was homophobic, so he only dared to secretly ship them.

To give this divine pairing more alone time, he cleverly said, “I’m going downstairs to take out the trash. I won’t be back for half an hour, so you two can chat.”

He said this and left for the stairs, thinking—I’ve sacrificed so much for this pair, and my 1.73-meter height must now look like 2.8 meters of greatness!

Qiao Song: “…”

He felt confused, and only after Cheng Yuan had walked far did he hesitantly ask Ling Jianshu, “Does taking out the trash really take that long?”

Ling Jianshu shook his head, “Of course not. The trash can is just downstairs.”

Qiao Song asked, “But Cheng Yuan said half an hour…”

Ling Jianshu didn’t know what Cheng Yuan was thinking and could only tell him, “Don’t mind him. Just ignore what he said.”

Qiao Song smiled and said, “Okay.”

Ling Jianshu changed the subject, picked up his suitcase, and led him into the room.

“I did a quick clean-up earlier, but the room might still be a bit messy. Please don’t mind,” he said.

Qiao Song smiled and said, “No problem,” stepping into the new dorm, as if stepping into a new chapter of life.