After My Roommate Dumped His Online Boyfriend on Me - Chapter 2

Both little cakes were premade, so they arrived quickly.

Unfortunately, the ice crystals in the cream hadn’t melted yet. One bite, and all the appeal was gone.

I had a thoroughly Chinese palate. I liked little desserts, sure, but at a proper mealtime, I needed a proper meal.

Something savory. With carbs. An actual meal!

Fang Jindong was eating very seriously, one bite after another. No talking at the table, no talking in bed: that sort of person.

Several times, I wanted to ask whether we could go somewhere else. But he was so quietly focused on eating that I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.

The third time I looked up, he noticed.

“Would you like something else to eat?”

I nodded at once.

His driver had been waiting outside the café all along, in a luxury car I’d never seen before.

The moment I climbed in, the stars scattered across the ceiling amazed me. I reached up instinctively.

The comments stood out even more clearly against the starlit headliner.

[Cannon fodder will always be cannon fodder. It’s a starlit headliner. Has he never seen anything?]

[Could cannon fodder stop touching it? This is so embarrassing.]

My hand stopped. Sheepishly, I drew it back.

Someone caught my hand from behind and guided it up to the stars.

Most of the surface felt like soft fabric. The stars were slightly raised.

“Nothing special to touch, is it? But it looks lovely.”

I asked cautiously, “This must be expensive, right? I don’t want to get it dirty.”

“It’s fine. Do you like it? If you do, we can go pick one out for you.”

Pick… pick out a CAR?!

The abuse flashing across the stars got filthier. Nothing remained but strings of censored asterisks.

I pressed my lips together. “I haven’t got my driver’s license yet. During the holidays, it’s either too cold or too sunny, so I’ve kept putting off lessons.”

“That’s all right. We can hire a private instructor.”

You could have a private driving instructor?

Okay, I really hadn’t seen much of the world. I’d thought everyone had to cram five people into one stinking car.

Fang Jindong took me to a restaurant built in a traditional Chinese style.

Delighted, I said, “I know this place! Winter designed it. He’s my favorite designer.”

Something unreadable flickered in Fang Jindong’s eyes. “You even know who designed this restaurant?”

“Of course. I’m studying architectural design too. He’s my idol. It’s just a shame I haven’t seen any new work from him this past year.”

Once I got started on Winter, I could have recited his work by heart. I didn’t even notice the comments disappearing.

Fang Jindong listened quietly, putting food on my plate and making sure I ate.

Sometimes, when I reached something I particularly loved, he even had a few things to add.

My soulmate. Seriously.

I’d been talking for so long that I began to feel embarrassed.

He only smiled and encouraged me to keep going.

By the end of the meal, I was full and had talked to my heart’s content.

“I’m planning to apply for an internship when his company posts its next recruitment notice. I hear they work four days and get three off. My dream company.”

Fang Jindong encouraged me. “You know your subject well. You should give it a try.”

“You can tell that?”

He laughed. “You’ve told me so much. It hasn’t been going in one ear and out the other.”

“Hahaha. Here’s hoping you’re right!”

When he took me back to campus, Fang Jindong brought a jewelry box out of the car.

Inside was a beautifully designed sunflower gemstone brooch. Pinned to my collar, it looked perfect.

On the back was a tiny but unmistakably familiar signature.

Winter.

I was thrilled. “Has he been designing jewelry lately? That’s incredible. I love it, Fang Jindong!”

“It was always meant to be a gift for you. I… happen to know him. If you like it, I can bring you more.”

His eyes shone more brightly than the gemstone as he looked at me.

“Really…?”

Suddenly, I realized that none of this kindness had been meant for me in the first place.

My happiness dropped straight through the floor.

“Actually, this one is plenty.”

All that remained was an ache spreading through my heart, wave after wave.

None of my roommates had classes that afternoon.

It was nap time. The moment I entered the hallway, all I could hear was laughter from our room.

Their three voices were so tangled together that I couldn’t make out what they were saying.

A notification from an official account popped up on my phone.

Winter’s company, Inspiration, had posted a recruitment notice.

Holding back my wild excitement, I scrolled to the bottom.

There were internship positions!

When I pushed open the dorm room door, the other two roommates were gathered around Ying Chen’s bed.

They exchanged looks at the sight of me and scattered.

Ying Chen came over, putting on an act. First, he glanced at my phone screen.

I glared at him.

Only then did he sheepishly look away. “Mu-ge, did you break up with that guy?”

“I’m really sorry. You know how handsome you are. It was my first relationship, and I felt so insecure that I used the photos you posted on WeChat Moments. You’re not mad at me, are you?”

When I said nothing, the others chimed in.

The two of them played the tough guys.

“He only used a few photos. You’ve broken up with the guy anyway. It’s not like it affected you. We’ll all be going our separate ways for internships soon. Cut him some slack.”

“Exactly. What’s with the attitude? Ying Chen only used them because you’re roommates. Why are you so petty?”

Ying Chen took the conciliatory role all by himself. His eyes reddened. “Don’t talk to Mu-ge like that. This was my fault…”

I was in a hurry to put together the work samples the notice asked for. I had no time for any of them.

But all three kept buzzing in my ears like flies.

I couldn’t get anything done.

“Ying Chen, I’d love to try living with your kind of nerve for once.”

“You steal my photos to date someone online, and you still have the guts to act innocent.”

“I can’t tell if you’re really stupid or just pretending. What a nice, honest guy you are. A colorless, odorless lethal poison.”

“And you two.” I glanced at the other roommates. “Go get some sun, you two. Maybe then you won’t look quite so dim. In technical terms, Ying Chen violated my image rights. In plain language, he’s a thief. And you two idiots are letting a thief use you as weapons while you stand here running your mouths!”

“Getting to know you all has taught me just how vividly ugly human nature can get.”

“I used to be a sweet, understanding boy. Turns out, the kinder you are, the more assholes you attract.”

One against three, I opened fire with everything I had.

My hands didn’t stop while my mouth was going.

I shoved my laptop and everything else into my bag, ready to work on my application at the library.

Then came the finishing blow, straight to the heart.

I gave Ying Chen a mocking look. “By the way, the four of us actually have three group chats. You didn’t know that, did you?”

As I shut the door, I counted silently.

Three. Two. One.

“AAAAH!”

Ying Chen’s hysterical scream came from inside.

“You two assholes! You made a group chat with him behind my back!”

Somewhere down the hall, a door slammed especially hard.

“Which fucking room won’t shut up and keeps barking at lunchtime? You’d better hope I don’t find you!”

I let out a long breath. A small smile curled my lips.

God, that felt good.