My straight roommate is so good

Shen Qiuyuan finally calmed down, realizing just how tough the guy in front of him was.

He suddenly panicked, worried that if he said another word, Ling Jianshu might actually beat him up and send him out of the school flat on his back…

In fact, Ling Jianshu had no interest in getting physical with someone like this.

But suddenly, he had an idea, one he was eager to try out.

So, under Shen Qiuyuan’s watchful gaze, he brazenly put his arm around Qiao Song’s shoulders.

This move not only stunned Shen Qiuyuan, but even Qiao Song was taken aback!

He looked up at him, his soft hair brushing against his shoulder, making a faint, intimate sound.

For some reason, he felt his ears heating up. He lowered his voice deliberately and, with a tone full of confusion that only the two of them could hear, called out, “…Ling Brother?”

Ling Jianshu, imitating his hushed voice, whispered back, “Don’t refuse me, just go along with it.”

Qiao Song had no idea what he wanted him to play along with, so he obediently let him hold onto him.

Ling Jianshu turned his attention to Shen Qiuyuan, just two steps away, his gaze openly challenging him.

“Do you know why he and I are so close?” he asked.

Shen Qiuyuan stammered, “Why…?”

Ling Jianshu tightened his warm grip on Qiao Song, pulling him a little closer as he righteously declared, “Because he and I have a ‘pure friendship,’ so we don’t have to be evasive about anything.”

Qiao Song naturally leaned against his shoulder, and the two of them looked so close and comfortable that they were indistinguishable from a couple in love!

“…?!” Shen Qiuyuan stared at the scene in front of him, utterly baffled but deeply shocked!

What in the world?

Is this what straight guys call “pure friendship”?! 

He was dumbfounded, his brain stalling for several moments, unable to come up with a single coherent response.

This was exactly the effect Ling Jianshu wanted.

Suppressing the satisfaction welling up inside, he casually pressed down on the corner of his mouth, which threatened to curl into a smirk.

Then, he leaned down towards Qiao Song and, in a low, deep voice, said, “Let’s go, back to the dorm.”

“Oh… okay…” Qiao Song nodded, still dazed, as Ling Jianshu led him in the direction of the computer science building.

They walked quite a distance.

Ling Jianshu looked back to make sure Shen Qiuyuan wasn’t following before lowering his gaze to Qiao Song and asking, “Do you still need me to support you?”

…Wait, this is what he calls “supporting”?!

“…” Qiao Song, who had just walked several hundred meters while being held like this, was convinced that Ling Jianshu had clearly failed elementary school language arts.

Though he had his doubts, he still responded politely, “No need, thank you, Ling Brother.”

Ling Jianshu finally let go of his shoulders. As his arm dropped to his side, his fingertips instinctively curled slightly, as if he was reluctant to let go of the warmth they’d shared.

Qiao Song was also thinking back to what had just happened.

But instead of lingering on the warmth, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

At the same time, a faint worry crept into his mind—what if this close physical contact made Ling Jianshu even more repulsed by him?

But then again, something didn’t seem right…

He wasn’t the one who initiated it! He was just “playing along.”

He pursed his lips, turned to him, and asked, “By the way, Ling Brother, earlier you asked me to go along with you… what exactly was I supposed to go along with?”

Ling Jianshu replied nonchalantly, “Nothing much, just wanted to mess with Shen Qiuyuan.”

“…Huh?” he was thoroughly baffled by this popular guy’s childishness.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again, “But Ling Brother, earlier you said that was ‘pure friendship’… If I may ask, do you act this way with your other friends too?”

Ling Jianshu responded confidently, “Yeah, what’s the problem?”

He pressed further, “…Then why don’t you ever hold Cheng Yuan and Junming like that?”

Ling Jianshu replied, “They’re just my roommates.”

Qiao Song: “But so am I.”

“They’re only roommates,” Ling Jianshu said, meeting his eyes, his words carrying a deeper meaning, “but we have a ‘pure friendship’ beyond just being roommates.”

Qiao Song: “…”

Don’t ask, just regret!

He should never have lied about having a crush, and definitely shouldn’t have mentioned “pure friendship”!!!

This year, Christmas happened to fall on a weekend.

Although there weren’t any special decorations around the university for the holiday, there were some students working part-time dressed as Santa Claus, handing out small Christmas stocking gifts around campus.

Qiao Song grabbed one on his way to the piano practice room in the morning.

Inside the stocking were small sample-sized gingerbread cookies, packaged in clear plastic with the name and logo of a snack shop from the pedestrian street across from the school, clearly a promotional effort from the store.

There were two cookies—one shaped like a cartoon reindeer and the other like a Christmas tree, both very cute.

He took a picture and opened WeChat, planning to send it to Ling Jianshu, who was still sleeping in the dorm.

But just before sending it, he changed his mind.

Why not keep it as a surprise? He could give one to him in person when they had lunch together.

With that thought, he slipped the two cookies into the pocket of his down jacket.

Afraid of crushing them, he didn’t dare put his hands back in his pockets.

The winter in Lan City was always this cold. Just the ten-minute walk from the dormitory to the arts center had already left his fingers red from the chill.

He arrived at the piano room he had booked in advance. After sitting in front of the piano for a few minutes, he finally felt the numbness in his fingers start to fade, and they regained their usual dexterity.

Just as he was about to lift the piano cover and get to work, he.received a message from Ling Jianshu on WeChat.

Ling Jianshu: **[My training got moved to this morning. Lunch after I’m done?]**

He quickly replied: **[Sure, I’ll be in the piano room all morning, same spot as always.]**

Ling Jianshu: **[Got it.]**

He set his phone aside, screen face down, and began practicing scales and chords, focusing on strengthening his fundamentals.

This went on for about forty minutes.

After finishing his basic exercises, he rubbed his wrists and grabbed his phone to check it.

What he saw made his heart race—there were over a dozen new messages!

A sense of unease crept into his chest, as if something important had happened.

He couldn’t afford to waste a moment. Unlocking his phone in a rush, he opened WeChat.

All the messages were from Ling Jianshu.

Seeing the “12” notification dot next to Ling Jianshu’s avatar made him even more anxious.

He was never one to say much. His messages were usually short and to the point, so something serious must have happened for him to send so many.

He quickly opened the conversation and scanned through the unread messages.

Ling Jianshu: **[Urgent help needed! (picture)]**

Ling Jianshu: **[Hello, senior!]**

Ling Jianshu: **[I’m Pei Nian, Ling Jianshu’s junior.]**

Ling Jianshu: **[My senior…]**

Ling Jianshu: **[He just got hurt during practice!]**

Ling Jianshu: **[It’s pretty bad!]**

Ling Jianshu: **[He’s having trouble moving right now, so he asked me to message his top friend on WeChat.]**

Ling Jianshu: **[Can you come pick him up?]**

Ling Jianshu: **[We’re at the gym, where he usually practices boxing. He said you’d know the place.]**

Ling Jianshu: **[It’s quite urgent!]**

Ling Jianshu: **[SOS! (picture)]**

Ling Jianshu: **[If you’re late, I’m afraid…]**

The messages abruptly ended there, leaving Qiao Song increasingly frantic!

Afraid… of what?

Could it be that… he might not make it in time to see him for the last time?!

How could boxing practice lead to such a serious injury?

He couldn’t imagine what condition Ling Jianshu might be in right now. Even thinking about it sent chills down his spine.

His mind was far too unsettled to continue practicing today’s piece.

Forget about staying on track with his practice schedule, he grabbed his phone and bolted out the door.

For the first time, he found the pathway between the Arts Center and the gym annoyingly long, wishing he could sprout wings and fly across the road in an instant.

He rushed into the boxing gym, and as soon as he stepped through the door, he saw Ling Jianshu sitting in the nearby rest area.

Perhaps it was the urgency of his footsteps, but everyone in the gym stopped their training to look at him.

Ling Jianshu was no exception.

The two of them met each other’s eyes across a distance of a few meters.

Seeing him sitting there looking completely fine, without a life-threatening expression, he finally breathed a little easier.

He quickened his pace and arrived at his side, his breath still uneven from the run, his chest rising and falling.

“How are you, Ling Brother?” he asked, full of concern. “Where are you hurt?”

Looking at Qiao Song’s worried face, Ling Jianshu felt inexplicably pleased.

He barely suppressed a smile and lowered his head slightly, directing his gaze to his left arm.

“My arm. Got a cut,” he answered.

Qiao Song followed his gaze, carefully examining him.

Ling Jianshu was wearing a black short-sleeved shirt with the sleeve on his left side rolled up to his shoulder.

His shoulders were broad and firm, his upper arm muscular and well-defined. His elbow led to a sleek forearm, with a prominent wrist bone and long, even fingers…

He was sure he had looked over every inch of his left arm.

But… where was the wound?

Raising his eyes, he looked at the “injured” person in confusion and quietly asked, “Where’s the cut?”

“Here,” Ling Jianshu lifted his arm, pointing to a small red mark less than two centimeters long on the inside of his upper arm.

Qiao Song: “…?”

Now he knew what Pei Nian’s unfinished message was going to say.

It *was* urgent.

Because if he’d been any later, Ling Jianshu’s wound would have healed completely…

Out of a sense of humanitarian concern, he forced himself to hold back the urge to make a sarcastic comment and decided to show some care for his roommate.

Lowering his gaze to the red mark, he asked, “How did it happen?”

“I made a mistake during strength training and didn’t dodge the rebounding equipment in time,” Ling Jianshu explained, moving his arm closer to Qiao Song, “Look closely, doesn’t it seem like it’s bleeding?”

Qiao Song leaned in for a closer look and indeed saw a tiny scratch.

It was about as fine as a strand of hair, as small as a red bean.

But he still nodded, playing along. “Yes, it looks like you scraped your skin.”

Ling Jianshu took the opportunity to say, “The equipment was blunt, but it still managed to break the skin, which means the rebound force was strong. The external wound might look minor, but the internal damage could be worse.”

“…Really?”

Qiao Song was half-skeptical, so he gently poked the area around the “wound” with his index finger.