17: A Young Master Should Be Pampered
Shen Xie'an dragged his suitcase forward. At a glance, he spotted the boy waiting by the elevator, extremely eye-catching.
Tall, unhurried, with a leisurely expression, the motion-sensor light above the elevator vestibule cast a thin layer of cool light over him. It intertwined with the sunset outside the window, giving him a kind of distance that was hard to put into words.
Rather than calling him a “boy,” it was more like that noble, casual aura of his placed him somewhere between a boy and a young man.
Shen Xie'an felt an oppressive pressure from him and unconsciously shut his mouth tight, turning into a quiet little quail.
Even though, at his own school, he was also a big shot, the type that made Alphas give him a wide berth.
On his brother’s turf however, Shen Xie'an behaved like a gentle, virtuous soul.
The two of them entered the elevator together.
The handsome guy asked, “Which floor?”
Shen Xie'an paused. He probably hadn’t expected the handsome guy to speak first, and his voice carried a touch of nerves without him meaning it to. “Eighth.”
Shen Xie'an noticed this super handsome guy only pressed the button for the eighth floor.
Same floor?
Then he must be in senior year too.
Dorms were usually arranged by grade and gender. For example, Omegas were put on the highest floor with the strongest privacy, while rough-and-ready Alphas and Betas were randomly arranged.
The air was quiet.
The handsome guy asked, “I happened to hear what you said to the auntie. You’re Shen Jin’s younger brother?”
When he spoke, that chilly distance in his tone softened quite a bit.
Hearing it was about his own big brother, Shen Xie'an’s eyes brightened slightly.
“Yeah. You know my brother?”
Now that he looked closer, this handsome guy looked kind of familiar.
“Mm. Same class.”
With only that brief exchange, Qian Kun could already tell from the subtle changes in the other party’s expression what kind of topic would let Shen Xie'an ease in without getting annoyed or turning it into an awkward forced chat.
They talked for a few short lines, and the topic stayed on Shen Jin the whole time.
After they left the elevator, Shen Xie'an realized the super handsome guy lived diagonally across from his brother’s dorm room.
Qian Kun paused with the key at the door and, as naturally as if it were the most normal thing in the world, suggested that if Shen Xie'an was worried, they could add each other on WeChat. That way, if Shen Xie'an needed anything later, he could ask.
Shen Xie'an found it made a lot of sense. He thought the guy in front of him was considerate and gentlemanly, and his goodwill skyrocketed.
In just these few minutes, his impression of this handsome guy underwent a complete flip.
Shen Xie'an was good at chores in the first place. As soon as he arrived, he was fired up.
Shen Jin had applied for a two-person dorm. Shen Xie'an had heard his brother mention that the other roommate was also someone who’d unexpectedly differentiated into a Beta during adolescence.
Shen Xie'an looked around and discovered there weren’t socks and T-shirts flying everywhere like he’d imagined. There was no weird smell either. He let out a huge breath of relief.
His brother wasn’t a clean freak, but there was no way he’d tolerate a sloppy roommate in the same room.
The dorm layout was the typical bunk bed. Below was a desk and bookshelf, above was the bed. In the corner near the door were two wardrobes, and there was also a small washroom.
He grabbed a rag and threw himself into cleaning from top to bottom. In the end, he stared at the bright, spotless dorm with satisfaction, then placed a photo of himself and his brother together in the most eye-catching spot, making sure his brother would see his beloved little brother at a glance.
Finally, he turned off the lights and left, quietly hiding his achievements and fame.
On the way back, Shen Xie'an suddenly had a flash of insight.
That sense of familiarity. Aston Martin?
He didn’t remember the person, but he remembered that night. In the dim light, that car was the kind that could make most boys’ blood boil.
And then came a surge of panic.
He thought of a post he’d seen before, written by someone who claimed they’d once gotten into the private school with high scores.
They said back when they were at the private school, that gang of spoiled rich brats led by the “crown prince” had forced people to transfer, mocked commoners without restraint, and committed so many misdeeds that they were too numerous to write down.
They especially stressed one thing.
You couldn’t offend the crown prince.
During his time at school, he’d been the type to flip his hand and make clouds, to call once and have a hundred respond. Even teachers would give him three parts of courtesy. He was the legendary “unspeakable.”
Shen Xie'an had heard that the reason so many students from the private school transferred over was all because of him.
After this summer vacation ended, Class Two, Class Nine would be welcoming a few transfer students.
Back then, Shen Xie'an had wandered onto the citywide joint-school forum and seen that kind of post. Even though it later got 404’d, he remembered it clearly.
The person he’d just met in the elevator had a family that could pick him up and drop him off in a luxury car. He might really be one of those spoiled rich brats.
Qian Kun still didn’t know that the goodwill he’d just built up was about to be wiped to zero.
Shen Xie'an thought of the WeChat he’d just added. If Shen Jin hadn’t taught him not to believe everything he heard, not to let rumors affect his judgment, he would’ve deleted the guy on the spot.
The other party’s avatar was an ink landscape painting, stylish and classy. His username was also extremely cute: [Cat].
A cat?
People who like cats probably aren’t that bad.
Shen Xie'an messaged: [Do you know someone named Qian Kun?]
The handsome guy replied quickly: [What’s wrong?]
Shen Xie'an was a polite kid. Before deleting, he asked first: [He doesn’t look like a good person. If you know him, I’m deleting you as a friend.]
They’d only just met anyway. Deleting wouldn’t matter much.
The handsome guy replied: [Don’t know him.]
He really doesn’t know him since I am him.
How do I not look like a good person?
Even though he knew his brother wasn’t the type to be bullied, Shen Xie'an was still anxious.
He sent another message to Shen Jin.
At that moment, Shen Jin had just finished a student council meeting. On the way back, he saw Shen Xie'an’s messages.
Shen Xie'an: [Dorm pic.jpg] I finished cleaning!
Shen Xie'an: [sitting obediently.jpg]
Smiling in his eyes, Shen Jin praised him sincerely a few times.
More than ten minutes later, another message came: [Ge, how are those transfer students?]
Shen Jin didn’t know why his little brother suddenly asked that.
He just happened to see Liu Qimai and the others being criticized by a few Class Nine students for not cleaning properly.
Jiang Yifan clicked his tongue. “Dear, are your fingers glued together so you can’t spread them? Look carefully. Do these panes of glass look like someone slapped Gaussian blur on them?”
Liu Qimai was getting irritated. “Dear, this is the fifth time I’ve wiped it. If you’re so capable, why don’t you demonstrate personally?”
Jiang Yifan: “Trying to freeload again?”
The rest of the classmates looked over like they were saying, how can you be so shamelessly confident.
Liu Qimai: “I’ll treat you to milk tea, okay? Manmantang outside the school gate.”
Manmantang outside the gate was the most expensive milk tea shop nearby. Most students didn’t have much allowance and weren’t willing to spend.
Jiang Yifan agreed briskly. “Deal!”
The others suddenly discovered their classmate love too and helped wipe the glass together.
Liu Qimai rolled his eyes so hard they almost flipped out of his head.
Were you all waiting for this moment? Do you have to be this realistic?
Shen Jin picked up his backpack, holding back laughter, and replied to his brother: [They’re pretty good.]
With that answer, Shen Xie'an relaxed a little.
His brother wouldn’t lie. If he said they were pretty good, then they were genuinely pretty good.
So now he even had an inside contact who could keep tabs on his brother’s situation from time to time.
Adding that friend was the right move.
When Shen Jin got to the dorm, at first glance it looked no different from any other dorm.
Yet there were little details everywhere, places that had been changed without seeming to try.
There was an extra cactus by the window.
New stationery on the desk.
Shen Jin remembered it was a prize a certain kid had won in a singing contest, and he’d always been reluctant to use it.
Shen Jin could see through his little brother’s small schemes.
He was using this method to tell him that no matter where he was, he shouldn’t forget he still had family, especially the childhood photo of the two brothers placed in the most obvious spot on the desk. Warmth spread through Shen Jin’s chest.
Shen Jin slept alone for a few days and gradually got used to dorm life.
Until one night, after he’d already gone to bed.
There was the sound of a key in the lock outside.
Shen Jin was extremely alert to sounds.
He opened his eyes groggily, and the person at the door looked back at him in surprise too.
The one who could open the door at this hour should be the roommate who’d been on leave for a long time.
The other person realized Shen Jin was the new roommate and introduced himself simply. “Sorry, I woke you up. I’m Gu Yue. Male. Beta.”
Shen Jin remembered what Hu Shengqiang had mentioned before, that his roommate was also someone who’d shifted from Omega into Beta. So it was him, the one who’d topped the rankings for years, the grade-skipper who dominated the lists.
Gu Yue looked tired, travel-stained, like he’d just gotten back from somewhere far.
“It’s fine. I just fell asleep too. I’m Shen Jin.”
Shen Jin didn’t mention his sex, and Gu Yue didn’t seem interested in probing.
Neither of them was talkative.
Before Shen Jin went to sleep again however, Gu Yue directly locked the door from the inside.
Noticing Shen Jin’s gaze, Gu Yue explained, “Whenever I’m exhausted, my sleeping habits get really bad. I don’t usually go out, you… mm, don’t be scared. If you can’t stand it, I’ll help you change dorms tomorrow. I’ve helped three roommates switch already, and it worked pretty well.”
This was the first time Shen Jin had ever met someone so proactive about getting people to change dorms. Even someone with no curiosity started to feel curious.
Very soon, Shen Jin paid the price for that curiosity.
Shen Jin thought that no matter how bad someone’s sleeping habits were, there was still a limit.
With a roommate present, he tossed and turned at first, scrolled through group chats for a while, and only fell into a hazy sleep in the latter half of the night.
At first, he even thought this roommate was extremely polite, and that the “bad sleeping habits” line was probably exaggerated.
In the middle of the night, deep in sleep, Shen Jin heard a steady, rhythmic series of impacts.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It started out faint.
Then the repeated pounding dragged him straight out of a heavy sleep.
Only a thin layer of moonlight spilled into the room from outside.
Shen Jin sat up and could vaguely see a shadowy figure below.
Someone was repeatedly slamming their head into the door.
The sound was coming from him.
Shen Jin focused his eyes, and all the sleepiness instantly fled.
This wasn’t “bad sleeping habits.”
This was sleepwalking.
The scene immediately reminded him of a horror movie plot he’d once watched with his younger brother.
His younger brother loved horror movies, but every time Shen Jin watched one, he’d end up unable to sleep all night.
To maintain his image, he still sometimes watched with his younger brother even now, pretending he wasn’t afraid at all.
Xie Ling had told him before.
A qualified older brother had to occasionally project a tall, mighty image in front of his little brother.
Shen Jin deeply agreed. So far, the results were remarkable.
Back to Gu Yue.
You couldn’t wake up a sleepwalker.
Shen Jin finally understood why Gu Yue had deliberately locked the door earlier. He probably feared that if he wandered out, he’d scare other people.
Right now though, the one being scared was Shen Jin.
How could Shen Jin sleep again after this?
He worried Gu Yue might hurt himself, and he also didn’t dare to lie down and go back to sleep.
Gu Yue banged his head against the door for more than twenty minutes, then wandered into the washroom and smiled at the mirror inside.
Shen Jin followed over and saw that scene.
His whole body went rigid.
Only after who knew how long did Gu Yue finally finish smiling at the mirror and return to bed along his original path.
When Shen Jin finally got his legs to move again, he climbed back onto the top bunk with stiff, cold steps.
He collapsed on the bed, opened his phone.
The light made his face look deathly pale, and deep in his usually calm, self-possessed eyes, something trembled hard.
He flipped through his contacts. Then he looked at the time.
It was already deep night. Waking anyone would be inappropriate.
Shen Jin silently hugged his phone and forced himself to close his eyes.
The next morning, when Gu Yue woke up, he felt pain. Touching the bump on his forehead, he wondered if someone had beaten him up in the middle of the night.
The room was still quiet. Outside the window, dawn hadn’t even shown yet.
His roommate was already sitting at the desk reading. Maybe because this roommate’s looks were so outstanding, the scene actually looked almost poetic.
When he saw Shen Jin’s obvious exhaustion, Gu Yue finally realized belatedly that he’d probably sleepwalked again last night.
He apologized repeatedly. “My brother’s in the hospital. I went to take care of him, so I’ve been kind of tired lately. I’m not sleepwalking every single night. You… are you okay?”
Even though Shen Jin’s face really didn’t look like he was okay at all.
What could Shen Jin even say. “I’m fine.”
Gu Yue continued, “When the dorm supervisor arranged things before, I mentioned it, but I heard beds have been tight lately. A lot of transfer students came, plus you…”
He scratched his head.
Shen Jin knew he meant the differentiation issue. He’d also heard Luo Ying mention this top-ranked student before. Supposedly, because of differentiation, he’d suffered campus violence at his previous school and transferred.
Gu Yue looked about the same age as Shen Xie'an. Shen Jin couldn’t get angry at a kid, and it wasn’t intentional anyway.
He was simply… not awake.
Gu Yue looked genuinely guilty. He patted his chest and said he’d already paired up three sets of roommates before, and the results were great every time.
He said he was a born matchmaker, and this was what he was good at!
Looking at Shen Jin’s face, impossible to ignore, Gu Yue thought it was safest to find someone compatible, ideally someone who wouldn’t have any improper thoughts about Shen Jin.
Gu Yue was brimming with confidence. He would definitely complete this mission perfectly.
In the morning when Shen Jin arrived in the classroom, his whole body radiated a hard-to-describe low pressure.
When Qian Kun entered from the back door, he saw Shen Jin looking like a listless little white cat. His hair, usually perfectly neat, even had one strand sticking up slightly.
Qian Kun’s fingers itched. He reached out to smooth down that little cowlick, but he got stabbed by a sharp glare.
Qian Kun didn’t mind. Smiling, he said, “You look like you’ve been wrung dry.”
Is the dorm really that hard to sleep in?
Qian Kun was only renting short-term and hadn’t slept there yet.
A young master like that really should be pampered.
Shen Jin touched his hair and calmly went to the restroom, closing the stall door.
He took out a small mirror.
It really was sticking up.
Speechless, Shen Jin covered his face.
Did I come to class with this hairstyle?
Is my tall, mighty image basically gone now?
Luo Ying was so excited she nearly pulled out a camera and snapped that precious scene on the spot.
She thrilled as she turned back and opened a group chat called “Qianjin Shipping Society.”
It was a CP group she’d created herself after failing to find any CP thread on the forums.
Luo Ying had chased idols before and once served as a behind-the-scenes group leader. She was experienced with editing and music. Later she resigned because she needed to prep for her entrance exams.
After getting into high school, Nanhu was full of academic monsters. Luo Ying’s scores in the regular track were bottom-tier. She had to fight desperately just to barely keep up, and she’d temporarily forgotten her hobby.
Until she noticed Qian Jin and reignited that passion.
“Qianjin” came from Qian in Qian Kun and Jin in Shen Jin.
Look at their vibes. She felt like a shipping genius.
Shipping studies was a profound discipline.
In this world, as long as you have love in your eyes, you can ship anything.
She set the creed of the “Qianjin Shipping Society” as: Focus on every interaction, line of dialogue, and daily detail between Qianjin, find possibility within impossibility, and study it like an academic subject.
After creating the group, Luo Ying started dropping secret signals across forums to recruit like-minded people.
Even though the member count wasn’t high yet, the loyalty was strong.
[AAAAAAHHHH comrades, live report: just now Qianqian seemed to flirt by touching Jinjing’s hair! He’s so sexy, so sexy!]
[Would Qianqian really do that? He always feels so distant with everyone else!]
[So Jinjing must be different!]
[Why am I not in Class Nine… President, when can you live-broadcast in person!]
[We need their personal approval first. Wait for me. I’ll find a proper reason!]
Shen Jin dipped his fingers in a bit of water and smoothed down the strand.
When he came back, Qian Kun’s expression was half-smile, half-not.
Ah. So annoying.
For the entire morning, no matter what Qian Kun said, Shen Jin acted like he heard nothing.
At lunch break, Gu Yue went door to door asking around.
He happened to see that Room 803, usually shut tight, had its door open. Inside was a Beta with a powerful air, hanging up a basketball jersey. He looked like he’d just finished working out.
A handsome boy was changing into basketball shoes. Gu Yue noticed the row of new sneakers on the shoe rack. They all looked expensive.
Seeing Gu Yue at the door, the boy raised his brows.
Gu Yue explained why he was there. The boy walked over.
A shadow fell directly over Gu Yue’s head. The other person was so tall that even on tiptoe, Gu Yue would still have to look up.
The boy asked with a faint, unreadable smile, “Your roommate… is he called Shen Jin?”
Gu Yue silently gave him an extremely high score, then remembered that the class beauty in his rocket class seemed to have chased this person once. Gu Yue had seen that boy’s merch on her desk, pencil cases, pencils, erasers, all printed with his face.
It was hard not to recognize him.
This person was clearly used to being pursued. He was the kind you couldn’t easily approach.
He was also a Beta.
He definitely wouldn’t be interested in Shen Jin.
Safe.
He’ll do.
*
After basketball, the group gradually returned to the classroom.
Liu Qimai came back to his seat still shouting about making those loudmouths from the special skills class regret it. They’d said that Zhao Haotian, even while recovering, had still run his mouth and promised to show them “some color.”
“Who’s giving who color. That little Aotian is probably hiding at home crying and doesn’t even dare come out and face people!”
“When he comes out, I’ll make him learn why flowers are so red!”
After lying low for so long in Class Nine, Liu Qimai was fired up. He hadn’t had the chance to beat someone up properly in ages.
Qian Kun glanced at Shen Jin, who was napping, and signaled Liu Qimai to shut up.
Shen Jin rested his cheek against his arm, facing the window. Maybe the sunlight was too harsh, because his brows hadn’t relaxed once.
Qian Kun glanced at the dark circles under Shen Jin’s eyes. Looks like he really didn’t sleep well.
After sports, Alphas always leaked pheromones in all kinds of ways. Some of them forgot to spray barrier agent. Some Omegas in the classroom were already starting to feel uncomfortable.
Qian Kun told the group of Alphas to go to the restroom and reapply barrier agent.
“But Brother Kun, we just sprayed!” someone complained.
“Then your barrier agent is expired,” Qian Kun replied.
The group had just come in, and now they all went out again, taking a messy wave of pheromone scent with them. The Omegas in class looked at Qian Kun gratefully.
Qian Kun walked to the window and pulled the curtains a bit.
The curtain fabric was thick, beige, letting in half-light. It instantly softened the lighting in the back row for sleep.
Shen Jin sensed the change and lifted his head hazily.
Seeing who it was, he murmured a thank you.
Then he fell asleep again.
After an entire night of his soul flying out of his body in terror, Shen Jin needed to make up for it.
From that one “thanks,” Qian Kun somehow heard a trace of softness, almost like it was a little sweet.
The corners of his mouth lifted, faintly pleased.
Shen Jin was sprawled forward, his back forming a graceful curve. His fine hair fell down, leaving a blurred silhouette.
Lately, the scent of barrier agent on him wasn’t as strong. He also didn’t look as irritable.
Clearly, the “smoothing” had worked, but it wasn’t a long-term solution. His differentiation period wasn’t over. In this situation, Shen Jin needed to find an Alpha with high compatibility.
Who would he find?
Shen Jin slept through the whole lunch break. When he woke, he was still a little dazed.
His phone vibrated. Opening it, the message was from Gu Yue, the new friend he’d just added.
Gu Yue said he’d found him a roommate, and in every respect it was a good match.
Most importantly, the other person was considerate. Gu Yue had thought it would take a long time to persuade him.
Who would’ve expected that after hearing their situation, the Beta said Shen Jin didn’t need to move. He would switch with Gu Yue instead. On one hand, Gu Yue’s condition wasn’t suitable for sharing with new roommates again. On the other hand, his own stuff was minimal, so moving would be easier.
Gu Yue was pretty happy about getting a single room. He finally wouldn’t scare roommates in the middle of the night anymore.
Hearing Gu Yue describe him so excitedly, Shen Jin couldn’t help feeling favorable toward this new roommate too.
Who wouldn’t like a gentle, considerate Beta?
Betas really were the best gender in the world.
Shen Jin thought about how the other party had been living alone in a single room. It was technically a double room, but only one person lived there.
The price for a single room was five times that of a double. It wasn’t cost-effective.
Scarcity made it expensive. Most students couldn’t choose it.
Their school was honestly poor in the most real way. As long as you paid, they’d upgrade your treatment instantly.
Shen Jin asked if he needed to make up the price difference. He could cover Gu Yue’s part. Gu Yue said the Beta felt lonely living alone anyway, so the “single room fee” was waived since they’d share.
With Gu Yue that excited, Shen Jin’s goodwill toward the new roommate went UPUPUPUP~
At that moment, something was tossed over from the neighboring desk.
An apple.
“You didn’t eat lunch, did you?”
For some reason, Shen Jin remembered that forum post about an Alpha so weak he couldn’t even lift an apple.
He forgot to refuse for a split second. By the time he reacted, it was too late to refuse.
When he passed the school store, Shen Jin bought a huge pear.
Ever since the “Warm Treasure Fruit” incident, the store had been shut down for two days for rectification. Now they’d expanded their business. For example, “for students’ health,” they were selling fresh fruit.
In Shen Jin’s opinion, they were just being more business-savvy.
He placed the pear on Qian Kun’s desk. Qian Kun’s face always carried that faint, almost-there smile.
Shen Jin asked, “You’re really happy?”
Qian Kun tossed the pear lightly in the air. “Aren’t you happy too?”
Shen Jin didn’t deny it.
With the dorm issue solved, he really was in a good mood.
Qian Kun looked at Shen Jin.
He was kind of looking forward to tonight.
Liu Qimai happened to be hungry and wanted that pear. He knew that although Brother Kun accepted gifts, he usually never ate them.
The Qian family doted heavily on their most outstanding grandson. They always warned him not to eat food given by others.
Yet this time, Qian Kun didn’t hand it over.
Liu Qimai suggested, “Then how about we split it in half?”
Qian Kun laughed. “Haven’t you heard? You split peaches, you don’t split pears.”
Then he took a bite anyway.
Under Liu Qimai’s furious stare, he said leisurely, “Stamped and sealed. Don’t even think about it.”
After school, Shen Jin still had to check the school’s fire safety and emergency equipment with a senior.
The nearby area was full of old residential buildings. There’d been a fire during summer, so the school leadership took safety hazards seriously.
When they passed the field, only a sliver of sunset glow remained in the sky. They didn’t see Qian Kun and the others.
Qian Kun was someone with enormous daily exercise load, like he had endless stamina.
Usually, apart from classroom time, you could find him on the field.
That day he was late though, he hadn’t played basketball.
Shen Jin withdrew his gaze calmly.
After the inspection, Shen Jin declined the senior’s invitation to hang out.
The senior looked a little disappointed. “I even bragged to them that I’d definitely bring you.”
Shen Jin said, “Next time. Next time for sure.”
The senior said, “I only want this time for sure.”
She also knew Shen Jin was hard to invite. “Ice God” wasn’t a nickname people gave lightly. It was recognized by everyone.
Besides, this gathering had a bit of a mixer vibe. A bunch of Alphas, knowing Shen Jin might come, were already drunk and hyped.
Thinking about it, she didn’t push anymore.
After they split up, Shen Jin had been delayed, and it was already a bit late when he returned.
Gu Yue had said the other person had already moved in.
Shen Jin first went outside the school gate and bought two cups of brown sugar boba, less sugar, less ice. He planned to greet his new roommate. It was a hassle for him to move around like that.
Shen Jin unlocked the door and entered Room 806. He saw that the other bed and desk were already filled with personal items.
Wasn’t he supposed to have “not much stuff”?
How did it look so complete?
There was also a massive shoe rack beside it, full of limited-edition basketball sneakers.
A few pairs looked oddly familiar.
No one was in the room, but there was the sound of water from the bathroom.
His roommate was showering.
Shen Jin didn’t disturb him. He planned to wait until he came out to say hello.
However, the basketball jersey hanging on the rack made that déjà vu surge hit him again.
Shen Jin got a bad feeling.
The bathroom door opened.
Steam drifted out. A tall, slim boy walked out.
He wore only casual pants. Broad shoulders, long legs. Water droplets from his hair slid over thin muscle. Because of how much he exercised, his waist and abdomen were cut with a beautiful V-line, disappearing into view.
He stepped out of the hazy mist and met Shen Jin’s stunned gaze.
Author’s Note:
Shen Jin: Am I seeing things?
Qian Kun: Hi~
Thank you so much for everyone’s support. I’ll keep working hard!
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