My Roommate Always Seems To Bully Me Chapter 1

I suspected I was being bullied at school, so I tearfully called my mom for help.

“Mom, my roommate buries his face in my clothes every day and sniffs them for a long time. His expression is really weird—he must be disgusted that my clothes aren’t clean enough.”

“He keeps listening to my voice messages over and over, laughing strangely. Is he making fun of my southern accent?”

“He also randomly pinches my cheeks and throws a basketball at my butt… It hurts!”

“Mom, I really want to come home…”

After a moment of silence, my mom responded in a serious tone:

“Son, don’t sleep too soundly at night, and remember to close the door when you shower.”

—

The phone call was filled with background noise, clattering sounds typical of my mom playing mahjong at the village entrance.

“If you’ve got something to say, hurry up and spit it out. If you’re asking for money, forget it.”

I whimpered twice and shakily said, “Mom— I think I’m being bullied at school…”

After saying that, I instinctively held the phone farther away from my ear.

Sure enough, there was a sharp intake of breath before she erupted in a thunderous roar.

“Everyone shut up! Be quiet!”

I hadn’t held the phone far enough—it still left my ears ringing.

My mom, now serious and concerned, asked, “What? Are you being bullied?”

Thinking of what had happened these past few days, I felt my eyes starting to sting.

My roommate, Qi Shang, seemed to have a problem with me.

Several times when I returned to the dorm, I caught him burying his face in my clothes, sniffing them. When he saw me come back, he would throw the clothes at me with a look of disdain.

I anxiously smelled my clothes again and again. It’s true—they didn’t smell as good as when my mom washed them.

But our dorm faces north, with hardly any sunlight. It’d be a miracle if they smelled fresh.

Why does he only sniff my clothes? I never saw him do that with our other two roommates’ clothes.

He’s targeting me!

I also have a bit of a southern accent, with my words slurred and drawn out. I’d sent a few voice messages in the dorm chat, and last night, when I couldn’t sleep, I heard him replaying those messages repeatedly, laughing as he listened.

He’s mocking me!

After hearing my tearful complaints, my mom fell silent.

“That’s it?”

I quickly added, “And! He also hits me!”

My mom’s voice instantly raised. “What?! He’s hitting you? Don’t you have hands? Hit him back! Qi Xia, I raised you all these years and sent you to college, not to be some weakling!”

Hearing my mom get worked up too, I felt a bit more confident.

“He’s always pinching my cheeks until they’re red! And he keeps throwing basketballs at my butt—it really hurts. He’s taller than me, I can’t beat him…”

There was a long silence on the other end.

I wondered if the village’s signal was bad, so I checked my screen—it was still connected.

“Mom?”

“Son,” she finally said in a serious tone, “Don’t sleep too soundly at night, and remember to close the door when you shower.”

—

After that, she hung up and, shockingly, sent me a 200 yuan red envelope.

Wow, that’s a lot of money.

I knew she was just paying me off, telling me not to bother her while she played mahjong.

But after venting, I did feel a bit better.

The dorm was empty at the moment. Qi Shang had gone to play basketball, and the other two roommates had elective classes.

I crawled into bed, closed the curtains, and since I hadn’t slept well the past couple of nights, sleepiness hit me immediately.

When I woke up, the dorm was still quiet, but the lights were on, so someone must have come back.

I pulled back the bed curtain and rubbed my eyes groggily, only to see Qi Shang sitting at his desk, wearing only a white tank top, his long, muscular legs propped up on the table.

He was… busy with some personal “craft.”

Any trace of sleep vanished instantly.

I was both shocked and furious, and I scrambled out of bed.

It wasn’t that he was doing that in the dorm—it was the fact that, with my 5.0 vision, I could clearly see that the photo on his phone was of me!

“Dude, what are you doing in the dorm?!”

Qi Shang, startled by my sudden appearance, stopped what he was doing.

I pointed at him, my hands trembling, and my head buzzing with anger and embarrassment.

“Why are you… doing that while looking at a picture of me?!”

He clicked his tongue, turned off his phone screen, and casually tossed it onto the desk.

His slightly upturned eyes, now tinged with red, curled into an arrogant smirk.

“What, is it not allowed?”

“You… gross! Don’t you have pictures of anyone else? Can’t you find something online?!”

I was at a loss for words, my mind spinning from the shocking scene in front of me.

Qi Shang, unhurried and self-assured, replied, “You’re so handsome. What’s wrong with using your picture?”

“…”

“Hey?”

My flood of insults suddenly dried up. I was like a chicken whose throat had been squeezed shut, unable to make a sound.

After a moment, I scratched my head awkwardly.

He… complimented me?

Honestly, I kind of felt like he had a point.

It was just him doing his thing with my picture. It’s not like I was losing anything. I mean, I wasn’t missing any pieces of myself.

Qi Shang looked completely unbothered, while I, on the other hand, had acted all frantic and ridiculous.

I fidgeted for a bit before softly replying, “Uh… thanks… You’re pretty handsome too…”

Qi Shang blinked in surprise and then burst into laughter.

He stood up, his well-defined muscles rippling under his smooth skin.

I quickly averted my gaze. “Put some pants on…”

—

He didn’t approach me further. Instead, he picked up his phone and opened our chat.

“Here, I’ll send you some pics too. Feel free to use them whenever you want.”

Immediately, my phone buzzed with several notifications.

“There are videos too. Want some?”

I stared at the screen, full of selfies showcasing his abs, and was momentarily speechless.

Why does he have so many muscle photos? This guy’s so vain. Does he think other people don’t have abs or something?

After a pause, I realized—damn, I really don’t have any abs.

Qi Shang’s body was great: broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and beautifully defined muscles, like the sculptures in art classrooms.

A real work of art.

“Is that enough?” he asked.

I blushed. “Yeah, that’s enough.”

He reached over to pinch my cheek again, and this time, I didn’t dodge.

—

It turns out Qi Shang might not be as bad as I thought.

Someone who compliments others on their looks must have a kind heart. I’m sure all my previous suspicions were just me making a big deal out of nothing.

After all, I do have an accent, and my clothes didn’t smell that great.

Feeling reassured, I excitedly told my mom about the change.

She only replied with six dots.

Since that day, my relationship with Qi Shang noticeably improved.

We sat together in class and ate together in the cafeteria.