My straight roommate is so good

When Qiao Song said this, his voice was soft, and his eyes were lowered, looking a bit pitiful.

Ling Jianshu felt uneasy, pursed his thin lips, and said in a low voice, “Yeah, I guessed. That’s why I asked you to come out so I could apologize.”

Qiao Song: “…?”

What does that mean? Why is Ling Jianshu apologizing?

The more they talked, the more confused he became…

While he was still bewildered, Ling Jianshu spoke again, very seriously—

“I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have avoided you.

“My brain kind of froze for a moment, and I instinctively stepped back.

“I regretted it immediately, but I didn’t dare approach you after that.

“I was afraid you were still mad at me and didn’t know how to apologize…”

Every word he said completely overturned Qiao Song’s understanding.

He stared blankly for a long time before softly asking, “So, you didn’t return to the dorm yesterday because of this?”

Ling Jianshu nodded.

…This misunderstanding is huge!

Who would have thought?

A supposedly homophobic straight guy avoids coming back to the dorm, not because he hates his gay roommate, but because he feels guilty and doesn’t know how to face him?!

Qiao Song had no idea what to say. For a while, he could only stay silent.

Seeing that he hadn’t said anything for a while, Ling Jianshu thought he was still upset, so he gently tried to comfort him: “Qiao Song, you can be mad at me, you can ignore me, but don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault; you’re not annoying.”

That one sentence—”you’re not annoying”—hit Qiao Song’s already fragile heart like a heavy blow.

He raised his head to look into Ling Jianshu’s dark eyes. For some reason, he could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

He had never seen a homophobic straight guy like Ling Jianshu, and it even made him doubt for a moment—

Is this guy really homophobic?

If so, why is he being so tolerant of his gay roommate…

And, because he didn’t speak for a while, Ling Jianshu’s lips pressed together in silence, his mood visibly sinking lower and lower.

It wasn’t that Qiao Song intended to ignore him; he snapped out of it quickly and explained, “Ling Brother, you misunderstood. I’m not mad at you, and I’m not ignoring you. It’s normal for you to feel uncomfortable around a gay guy if you’re homophobic. I was avoiding you because I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

Ling Jianshu didn’t hesitate at all and shook his head. “If it’s you, I don’t feel uncomfortable.”

“…?” Qiao Song was puzzled.

Why?

What makes him different from other gay guys?

He had no idea.

Ling Jianshu looked at him and cautiously asked, “You don’t… have feelings for me, do you?”

This was a critical question!

Qiao Song didn’t dare hesitate for even a second, and immediately, with utmost conviction, he assured him: “No! Don’t worry, not even a little.”

“…” Ling Jianshu felt something clog his chest, like a heavy stone had wedged itself in place, leaving only a narrow space to barely maintain his composure.

And to think, just last night, while walking in the cold air of the sports field, he had even wondered if Qiao Song might have feelings for him…

Turns out, it was all just his own wishful thinking.

In Qiao Song’s eyes, he had no charm at all.

Suppressing the swirl of frustration rising in his chest, he forced a light-hearted tone and said, “That’s good. In that case, your orientation shouldn’t be an issue, and we can still be friends. What do you think?”

Seeing that he was offering a way to smooth things over, Qiao Song gladly accepted and said, “Of course, that’s fine. I would’ve felt it was a shame if we had grown distant.”

Hearing Qiao Song’s affirmative response, the stone in Ling Jianshu’s chest seemed to ease just a little.

But who would have thought that his next words would put that stone right back in place.

He looked seriously into Ling Jianshu’s eyes, his tone devoid of any joking, and said very earnestly, “Ling Brother, you don’t have to worry about me liking you because I already have someone I like.”

Ling Jianshu: “…?”

He was stunned, and all he could hear in his head was a loud buzzing sound. The same sentence repeated over and over again—

Qiao Song already has someone he likes!

His face grew visibly tense.

Qiao Song misunderstood, thinking that he was still not fully reassured.

So, he racked his brain and added, “Besides, the person I like is completely different from you.”

“…” Ling Jianshu didn’t say another word.

His heart was filled with an overwhelming sense of jealousy.

The feeling came suddenly, without any reason, but it was incredibly real.

He didn’t understand why he felt this way, and he certainly didn’t expect that Qiao Song, with his gentle demeanor, could say something so cruel without leaving any room for him to breathe.

Great. That stone in his chest? It was now completely wedged in.

He stood silently, leaning against the cold railing of the balcony. It took him a full minute to regain a sliver of his composure.

Qiao Song called out to him again, “Ling Brother?”

He looked into his innocent eyes and forced down the sourness in his chest, responding calmly, “Yeah, I understand.”

Under the moonlight, their friendship was restored, and this put Qiao Song in a good mood.

He smiled gently at Ling Jianshu.

Ling Jianshu, however, gazed at him with a deep, unreadable expression and couldn’t bring himself to smile at all.

A gust of wind blew past, and Qiao Song felt a bit cold.

He tightened his down jacket and said to Ling Jianshu, “Shall we head back?”

Ling Jianshu asked, “Cold?”

He nodded lightly, “A little.”

Ling Jianshu didn’t say much. He opened the balcony door for him.

Qiao Song started to head back into the living room but was stopped when Ling Jianshu grabbed his wrist.

The calm demeanor he had worked so hard to maintain finally showed a crack.

He spoke softly from behind him, “One last question.”

Qiao Song stopped in his tracks, turned to look at him, and gently responded, “What’s your question?”

Ling Jianshu seemed hesitant, lowering his eyes and staying silent for a moment before looking back at him.

There was a certain stubbornness in his gaze that made Qiao Song’s heart skip a beat.

Under that intense stare, he heard him ask, “The person you like… what type are they?”

Qiao Song: “…”

Man, lying really isn’t a good idea!

What’s that saying? One lie often requires countless more to cover it up.

He’s been single his whole life, never even liked anyone, so how was he supposed to come up with an imaginary “type” in less than half a minute?!

Seeing that he hadn’t answered quickly, Ling Jianshu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Qiao Song silently thought, “Oh no!”

Could it be that Ling Jianshu had seen through his lie?

He really hoped not! Otherwise, their barely-repaired friendship would fall apart again…

In a moment of desperation, he decided to borrow Xia Zhe’s image to make up a believable answer.

Recalling things about Xia Zhe, he replied in a fairly convincing tone: “He’s the same age as me, a few centimeters shorter, and much more outgoing. When he smiles, he has dimples, and he gives off a really bright and sunny vibe, like a little ray of sunshine. We grew up learning piano together, taught by the same teacher…”

Before he could finish, Ling Jianshu, with a cold expression, cut him off: “That’s enough. It’s cold outside, let’s go in.”

“…Oh, okay.” Qiao Song felt like he had narrowly escaped a disaster and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

As he turned to go inside, he mentally apologized to Xia Zhe—Sorry, bro! Even though you don’t know, you’ve helped me out a lot here.

As he walked to his bedroom, he thought about how this actually wasn’t a bad plan. From now on, if Ling Jianshu ever brought up the person he liked, he could just use Xia Zhe as a shield.

After all, he didn’t come back to the country often, so there was no risk of Ling Jianshu finding out the truth.

Feeling proud of his cleverness, he thought to himself, “I’m a genius! Who could tell me apart from Einstein now?”

Little did he know, as he walked away, Ling Jianshu, following behind him with a tense expression, was silently tearing apart the person he had just described.

Meanwhile, far away in another country, Xia Zhe sneezed: “Achoo! Achoo! Who’s bad-mouthing me?!”

After clearing the air, it seemed like things between Qiao Song and Ling Jianshu had returned to normal.

They were still often inseparable.

However, for some reason, Qiao Song couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed.

For example, on Saturday at lunchtime, when they went to the cafeteria together, Ling Jianshu’s gaze kept drifting over to his face.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t looked at each other before while chatting, but now, even while eating in silence, Ling Jianshu kept glancing at him. This had never happened before.

Sensing something off, Qiao Song paused in the middle of picking up food and looked up to meet Ling Jianshu’s gaze.

Ling Jianshu didn’t avoid his eyes and kept his deep, unreadable stare fixed on him.

“What’s wrong?” Qiao Song asked, a bit confused. “Why do you keep looking at me?”

Ling Jianshu lowered his eyes for a moment before raising them again and vaguely asking, “Do you guys often eat together?”

Qiao Song didn’t understand immediately, “…We? Me and who?”

Ling Jianshu pressed his lips together, answering quietly, “The person you like—”

Before he could finish, Qiao Song put his finger to his lips, signaling for him to stop, “Shh! No need to continue, I understand…”

There were people around, paying attention to them, and he didn’t want to end up in a new scandal on the school’s forum after this meal.

A bit of oil from his lips had smeared onto his finger.

He pulled out a tissue and calmly wiped his slender, pale fingers while contemplating the situation.

He felt like Ling Jianshu was really bothered by this.

Perhaps his being gay truly made it hard for a homophobic straight guy to accept.

As his thoughts wandered, Ling Jianshu’s expression darkened even more.

“Hard to answer?” Ling Jianshu raised an eyebrow, his tone controlled but with clear displeasure.

Qiao Song quickly snapped back to reality and replied, “Yeah, we used to eat together a lot.”

“Used to?” Ling Jianshu caught on to the key detail and pressed further, “Why not anymore?”

Qiao Song explained, “He’s studying abroad now. We don’t get many chances to meet each year.”

Ling Jianshu remained silent for a few seconds before speaking again: “A long-distance crush? I didn’t expect you to be so persistent.”

Qiao Song: “…?”

Was it just his imagination, or did that comment from Ling Jianshu seem to carry a deeper meaning, almost… passive-aggressive?

Did he not believe that gay people could have genuine feelings?

Thinking about it carefully, he cautiously replied, “Not all gay people are promiscuous. Some are very loyal.”

Unfortunately, this explanation didn’t seem to have any positive effect. Ling Jianshu’s expression didn’t improve at all.

With his strong survival instincts kicking in, he continued, “Like me, for example. When I like someone, I stay loyal for a long time. Even if we’re apart for years, even if we rarely see each other, I would still hold on to that feeling…”

Watching Ling Jianshu’s face grow darker and darker, his voice became softer and softer until even he could barely hear himself.

Sure enough, Ling Jianshu snorted lightly and said, not very politely, “You don’t need to go into detail. I’m not interested in gay relationships.”

Qiao Song: “…?”

If he remembered correctly, wasn’t it this campus heartthrob sitting across from him who had started this conversation?

How could this straight guy be so moody? So hard to please!

Feeling frustrated but not daring to show it, he quietly said, “…Okay, I won’t say any more.”

Ling Jianshu, satisfied for the moment, didn’t comment further on the matter.

However, the strange tension between them still lingered.

Qiao Song sighed inwardly, feeling helpless—why was it that, just when their friendship was on the mend, it somehow felt even more strained?