My Roommate Always Seems To Bully Me Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 of “My Roommate Seems to Be Bullying Me”**

5

They say there’s no time like the present.

I quickly returned to the dorm. Qi Shang was playing a game with his headphones on. As I gathered my things and passed by him, he glanced up at me.

“Five minutes. Wait for me to finish this game.”

“Huh?”

I was confused for a moment before realizing he was talking about going to the cafeteria together.

“I’m not going today. You can ask someone else to bring food for you.”

Qi Shang’s fingers moved faster. I saw the screen showing rapid kill notifications, the entire screen shaking with action. He seemed not to hear me.

I hesitated. Should I pull off his headphones and repeat myself or wait for him to finish? My phone buzzed—Fang Ji said he was nearby and would be at my dorm in five minutes.

I don’t like making people wait, so when I got that message, my mind automatically started counting down.

“Hey…”

Four minutes and fifty-eight seconds… four minutes and fifty-seven seconds…

My roommate, Chen, interrupted me from behind, “Xia Qi, if you have something to do, just go. I’ll relay the message to him.”

That was a big help. I thanked him and left quickly.

As I reached the first floor, I got a message from Qi Shang:

[?]

I was puzzled—what was there not to understand? Chen must have already told him.

Just then, Fang Ji’s car pulled up in front of me, and I put away my phone.

The gentle big brother I remembered seemed to have grown even more compassionate after facing the realities of life.

But I felt like there was a lingering sadness in his eyes that he couldn’t shake off.

“Ji-ge, are you stressed about Auntie pushing you to find a partner? My mom says getting married later is better anyway—there’s no real benefit to rushing into it. I’ll ask her to talk to Auntie about it too.”

Fang Ji smiled faintly.

“If only my mom were as understanding as yours…”

My mom is pretty understanding. When I was ten, my dad ran off with another woman. Mom locked herself in her room for a day and night, but she didn’t cry or make a scene. When she came out, she just continued with life as usual.

She didn’t place many expectations on me either—just surviving was enough.

I wanted to keep talking about finding a partner, but Fang Ji changed the subject.

“Your roommate doesn’t have any bad intentions towards you, Xia Qi. You’re just being too sensitive.”

Even though Fang Ji-ge is usually right, I couldn’t help feeling a bit unconvinced.

I’m sure Qi Shang treats me differently.

Does he see me as an easy-to-bully, naive country kid? Or… I looked outside the restaurant and saw a dog passing by. A passerby crouched down, laughing as they petted the dog, squeezing its face.

Hmm… maybe he’s just treating me like a pet dog?

“Don’t rush to define a relationship too quickly. Let it evolve naturally, and eventually, you’ll figure out where he fits in your life.”

It seemed deep, but if Fang Ji-ge thought Qi Shang didn’t mean any harm, then he probably didn’t.

As I stared at the dishes on the table, a new worry crept in.

Once Qi Shang’s foot heals, I owe him a meal.

I’m broke.

I do have a scholarship coming, but it’s still a long way off.

Right now, I’m like Chekhov: the weather is great, but I’ve got almost no money.

“Xia Qi.” Fang Ji called me as I got out of the car. “A colleague’s kid is looking for a tutor. Are you interested?”

6

Ugh, Ji-ge can always guess exactly what I need.

Back when he was in college, he made money as a tutor to cover his living expenses. People who’ve been through tough times are more likely to help others.

As I walked up the stairs, I quickly added his colleague on WeChat, and we scheduled a trial lesson for this weekend.

“Where did you go, smiling like your face is about to crack?”

I lifted my head from my phone and saw Qi Shang standing at the door, arms crossed, glaring at me.

I touched my face—sure enough, my grin was huge.

Well, duh. Who wouldn’t be happy about making money?

“An old friend treated me to dinner.”

He leaned in close and sniffed my shoulder. “A girl?”

I was confused, so I pulled my collar and sniffed. There was a faint scent, probably from the air freshener in Fang Ji’s car.

“A guy, a big brother from my neighborhood.”

“Hmph, an old guy who’s pretty showy, huh?”

Qi Shang’s strange comment left me slightly irritated.

Who does he think he is, controlling everything? Even my mom doesn’t control me like this.

But it seemed like he had a sharp nose—I hadn’t even noticed the scent on me.

“Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”

With that, he naturally slung his arm around my shoulders.

Surprised, I asked, “You haven’t eaten yet?”

He mumbled something, and I had no choice but to support him down the stairs again.

There was only an hour left until curfew, but the student area was still crowded.

Qi Shang was half a head taller than me, practically draping himself over me as we walked. Every now and then, I noticed people glancing at us, their eyes full of excitement.

What’s so exciting? Something felt off about their stares.

Once we reached a quieter area under the trees, I nudged Qi Shang with my elbow. “Qi Shang, can we change positions? I’ll just support you, or you can tell me what you want to eat and wait here while I grab it.”

Qi Shang didn’t seem to have any intention of straightening up.

With a sly chuckle, he teased, “Didn’t you say you liked my body? Feeling shy now?”

What?

“Don’t deny it. You were staring when I took my shirt off, practically drooling over me.”

What, what, what?

I always knew Qi Shang had a big ego, but I never imagined he could be this shameless.

Did he drink fake liquor while I was gone?

In the dim light, he grabbed my wrist, his voice deliberately lowered, almost playfully.

“I’m not as stingy as you. You can touch.”

Before I could refuse, he pressed my hand against his abs.

His skin was smooth and warm. Before I could react, Qi Shang flinched, his whole body tensing up.

Confused, I asked, “What are you doing? Jumping around like that—was my hand cold?”

I pulled my hand back and touched my neck to check. Nope, not cold.

“Qi Shang, are you ticklish?”

Qi Shang’s breathing was all over the place.

“You… don’t feel anything at all, do you?”

Feel? What kind of feeling should I have?

I opened my hand and examined my palm, clenching and unclenching it.

His abs were firm, ridged like…

Honestly, I replied, “Kind of like my mom’s washboard.”

Qi Shang’s breathing returned to normal.

He stared at me for a while in silence.

Then, without a word, he turned and stumbled back toward the dorm.

His retreating figure looked a little pitiful.