The Alpha Roommate

The train carriage was bustling with people. He struggled through the crowd, dragging his heavy suitcase, and finally stepped off the platform.

It was September, the lingering tail of summer.

A scorching sun hung directly overhead, the air itself heavy with heatwaves, a sweltering breath washing over him.

On the stone wall at the campus entrance, the four characters for “Liucheng University” were inscribed with powerful strokes, exuding solemnity and majesty.

The gilded characters shimmered with a golden light under the sun, and from this very wall, one could almost feel the weight of history and the passage of time.

Many new students paused, eager to take commemorative photos.

An Ran, however, merely glanced at it from a distance, devoid of any desire to snap a picture or ‘check in.’

Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, his skin had reddened slightly under the intense sun, even prickling with a subtle sting.

Having walked all the way from the high-speed rail station near the university, sweat had long since drenched his back, leaving him utterly wilted from the sun. The vibrant energy he’d possessed that morning had dwindled to a faint sense of being half-dead.

After finally managing to drag his several-dozen-pound suitcase to the school, all he wanted now was to quickly find his dorm, settle everything, and lie down to rest.

The line for new student registration stretched into a long queue.

An Ran’s umbrella was buried deep within his suitcase, too difficult to retrieve, so he could only endure the scorching sun and silently join the queue.

After queuing for over half an hour, his enrollment procedures were finally completed, and An Ran breathed a sigh of relief. Clutching the small map a senior student had given him, he continued on his way.

Gazing at the seemingly endless tree-lined avenue, An Ran’s face contorted in a pained grimace. If he had known the dorms were this far from the school gate, he would have considered bringing fewer daily necessities, rather than ‘advancing under such a heavy burden’ as he was now.

An Ran had never traveled far from home in his life; this was his first time in Liucheng.

Concerned about unfamiliar surroundings and the inconvenience of buying things, An Ran had packed toiletries like shower gel and shampoo when preparing his luggage.

It was easy to imagine just how heavy his suitcase was.

Huffing and puffing, An Ran pulled his suitcase, forced to stop and rest after every short stretch of walking.

Along the way, he encountered many other new students similarly dragging their suitcases, all heading towards the dormitories with a mix of apprehension and excitement.

The plane trees lining both sides of the campus road provided dense, overarching shade, with only occasional fragments of sunlight filtering through the leaves to cast dappled patterns of light and shadow.

A gentle breeze brought a hint of coolness, dispersing the heatwaves that lingered in the air.

The closer he got to the dormitories, the more anxious An Ran became.

Liucheng University’s dorms were designed as two rooms per unit. Alphas, possessing territorial instincts, were usually assigned to mixed dorms with Betas, making it highly unlikely for two Alphas to share a single room. Omegas would either live with other Omegas or with Betas, and Betas could also be paired with other Betas.

An Ran silently prayed that his roommate would ideally be a Beta, or failing that, definitely an Omega—anything but an Alpha.

He dreaded interacting with Alphas.

Beyond that, he was also agonizing over how to greet his roommate without it being awkward, especially if they arrived first and opened the door.

He was a super conversation killer (TL Note: A Chinese slang term for someone who causes awkward silences), clumsy with words, and not very articulate.

He hoped their first meeting would leave a good impression.

After collecting his key from the dorm manager, An Ran, heart pounding with trepidation, opened the door marked A501.

Upon seeing the empty dorm room, An Ran let out a breath of relief.

Thankfully, he was the first to arrive.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself all the way here for how to greet his roommate,

He wasn’t actually ready to make new friends yet.

The dorm had been vacant for two months, accumulating a fair amount of dust, so An Ran gave it a quick clean.

“Ding—”

It was his good friend, Fu Zao, calling him.

The moment he picked up, Fu Zao eagerly spoke: –Ranran, I’ve arrived at my dorm. Have you finished tidying yours?

–I just finished cleaning. I was about to take a shower when your call came in.

Fu Zao chuckled: –I’m over in O-zone, 0502. What floor are you on? I’ll come find you after I’ve unpacked.

An Ran paused, bewildered: –O-zone?

He distinctly remembered not being in the O-zone.

An Ran quickly rushed to the dorm door and glanced at the plaque hanging there. A501 was clearly inscribed. He gripped his phone tightly, his voice trembling slightly: –I’m not in O-zone, I’m in A501. Xiao Zao, A-zone and O-zone… that wouldn’t happen to refer to the Alpha and Omega distinction, would it?

Fu Zao’s laughter abruptly ceased: –It seems so.

An Ran paced anxiously around the dorm: –How could I be assigned to A-zone? I’m not a Beta!

Fu Zao, on the other end of the line, fell silent for a few seconds, unsure how to comfort An Ran. He had always known An Ran was timid and rarely interacted with Alphas, so it was truly unexpected that he would be assigned to the same dorm as one.

An Ran’s eyes welled up slightly, his voice tinged with a hint of grievance: –This is so unlucky. The school must have mistaken me for a Beta and put me with an Alpha.

Fu Zao suddenly thought of something and said, a touch of excitement in his voice: –Ranran, why don’t you try asking the dorm manager if you can switch dorms? There should still be plenty of new students on their way, so maybe there are some empty dorms available for assignment?

Hearing this, An Ran quickly hung up the phone and, still in his slippers, dashed downstairs towards the student dorm management office.

He hadn’t expected the dorm management office to be packed with new students. At the sight of such a crowd, An Ran immediately wanted to retreat, but the thought of living with an Alpha for all four years of university forced him to steel his resolve and push his way to the front.

The office was noisy and chaotic. The dorm manager was busy dealing with other people and couldn’t hear what he was saying, so An Ran had no choice but to close his eyes and shout: –”Auntie, I want to apply to switch dorms!”

His voice instantly silenced the others; the room fell quiet for a moment before the clamor resumed.

The dorm manager finally managed to spare him a glance, only to state: –”No special circumstances, no switching.”

An Ran stammered for a long time, unable to offer a concrete reason, and weakly said: –”I haven’t differentiated yet, and I want to live with Betas.”

The dorm manager replied: –”Not differentiated means you’re a Beta. The school arranges for Betas and Alphas to share a room. Betas can’t smell pheromones, so you two won’t affect each other. No special circumstances, no switching.”

An Ran racked his brain and blurted out: –”The doctor said I might differentiate soon, and I could very likely become an Omega, so I need to switch dorms.”

There were too many people asking questions, all talking at once, giving the dorm manager a headache. She simply handed him an application form and said: –”To apply for a dorm switch, you need to fill out this form and go through the proper procedures. Come back after you’ve filled it out.”

With people still pushing from behind, An Ran had no choice but to take the form and leave the office for now.

An Ran called Fu Zao, asking him to help brainstorm reasons to apply for a dorm switch.

In truth, the doctor hadn’t said he would differentiate soon; rather, they had stated that his late differentiation was a rare condition, and he might never differentiate at all, remaining an ordinary person, just like a Beta.

An Ran, however, didn’t see this as a bad thing; in fact, he thought there was nothing wrong with being an ordinary person.

Like a Beta, he wouldn’t suffer the agony of an Omega’s heat or be tormented by an Alpha’s vulnerable period.

Yet, at this moment, a hint of regret surfaced within him.

If only he were an Omega, he wouldn’t have been assigned to the A-zone to live with an Alpha.

Fu Zao comforted him: –”I think what you said earlier was quite good. Just tell them you’re about to differentiate, and according to dorm regulations, whether you differentiate into an Alpha or an Omega, you can’t be in the same dorm as another Alpha.”

An Ran asked, a hint of distress in his voice: –”What if the dorm manager asks me to provide proof?”

–”Then we’ll deal with that when she asks for it. Let’s take it one step at a time.”

–”Alright, I guess that’s all I can do.”

–”Oh, by the way, Ranran,” Fu Zao asked, a note of curiosity in his voice, –”Has your roommate not arrived yet? What’s his name? If he’s a kind and polite Alpha, maybe not switching dorms wouldn’t be so bad after all.”

–”He hasn’t arrived yet, and I didn’t notice his name. I’ll go check.”

Even if the other person was a polite Alpha, An Ran felt he would still find it difficult to accept.

An Ran put down his pen, cautiously poked his head out of his room door. It seemed his roommate hadn’t returned; he heard no other sounds.

He tiptoed to his roommate’s door, glanced at the nameplate, and then spoke into his phone: –”His name is Gong He.”

“What?!” Fu Zao suddenly shrieked, a sound that was somewhat jarring.

An Ran moved the phone slightly away from his ear: –”What’s wrong? Do you know him?”

Fu Zao’s voice sounded excited: –”You don’t mean Gong as in ‘imperial palace,’ and He as in ‘red-crowned crane,’ Gong He, do you? Are you sure that’s his name?”

An Ran, utterly confused, took another careful look at his roommate’s name: –”Yes, that’s the name.”

Fu Zao let out a strange cry, then exclaimed excitedly: –”I heard ages ago that Gong He applied to Liucheng University! I can’t believe he’s actually been assigned to the same dorm as you! How incredibly lucky!”

An Ran: “???”

‘Lucky?’

An Ran suddenly felt he no longer understood the meaning of that word.

Fu Zao’s spirits soared: –”Don’t you remember? He’s the one I always used to talk about, the super handsome, super Alpha from Liucheng First High School! Oh my god! An Ran, your luck is just insane! It’s a shame Omegas aren’t allowed in A-zone dorms, otherwise, I’d come find you right now!”

An Ran: T^T

He felt anything but lucky.

An Ran’s impression of Gong He was vague, perhaps because he didn’t pay much attention to Alphas. So, when Fu Zao mentioned Gong He, he’d merely humored him with a few perfunctory replies. Yet, he vaguely recalled Fu Zao saying Gong He had a fierce-looking face, which prompted him to ask, puzzled: –”But didn’t you say Gong He was also the school bully (TL Note: A common term for a powerful or feared student) of Liucheng First High School?”

–”Ahem.” Fu Zao cleared his throat, his excitement somewhat subdued: –”It’s not like that! The ‘school bully’ (TL Note: A common term for a powerful or feared student) thing is because Gong He has a very fierce appearance, and most Alphas wouldn’t dare provoke him easily. Because of his fearsome reputation, everyone jokingly calls him the ‘school bully,’ but he’s actually not a bully at all; he’s more of an academic ace (TL Note: A top student or academic achiever).”

‘Fierce-looking? No one dares provoke him?’

An Ran swallowed hard, then spoke with difficulty: –”So he just looks fierce, but he wouldn’t actually hit anyone, right?”

–”I haven’t heard anything about Gong He liking to fight,” Fu Zao admitted, not knowing much about Gong He himself. After all, they weren’t from the same school; it was just that Gong He’s exceptional handsomeness had spread all the way to their Ningcheng, which was how Fu Zao even knew of his existence.

–”I heard his pheromones are incredibly dominant,” Fu Zao continued. “Surely no Alpha would dare fight Gong He? But I also heard he never makes friends with Betas or Omegas; all his friends are Alphas.”

An Ran: “!!!”

‘He should definitely apply to switch dorms.’

‘He didn’t like such a fierce-looking Alpha roommate.’

‘Living under the same roof, there would undoubtedly be many small conflicts. If he accidentally offended Gong He, he wondered if he might even get beaten.’

The mere thought filled An Ran with dread. He quickly filled out the application form, and just as he was about to leave to find the dorm manager, the door swung open from the outside, causing him to instinctively take a step back.

What met his eyes was a face exactly as Fu Zao had described: incredibly handsome and undeniably Alpha.

An Ran realized this was his new roommate—Gong He.

Gong He’s lips were slightly pursed. His gaze flickered with a hint of surprise as he looked at An Ran, then shifted to the door number. After confirming he hadn’t come to the wrong room, he frowned deeply, his expression turning rather unpleasant.

An Ran was startled by his aggressive aura, trembling as he took another step back.

They stood rooted to the spot, silently observing each other, neither taking the initiative to break the silence.

No wonder Fu Zao would often speak of Gong He; his striking looks were no less impressive than those of a major celebrity on screen.

He was tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a standard golden inverse-triangle physique. Dressed in a simple white T-shirt and black casual pants, his legs appeared remarkably long.

He simply stood there, yet An Ran felt a strong wave of pheromones wash over him.

An Ran covertly swallowed, the dorm change application form clutched in his hand, a flicker of hesitation crossing him.

Ignoring the rather unpleasant expression on his face, Gong He’s physique was indeed his preferred type.

An Ran was the first to greet him: –”Hello, my name is…”

Gong He merely gave him an indifferent glance: –”Excuse me.”

‘So fierce.’

An Ran’s heart sank instantly.

He then realized he was blocking the doorway. He pursed his lips in embarrassment, moved a few steps aside, and cleared the entrance.

Gong He brushed past him, not even sparing him a glance.

With a ‘thud,’ the door closed.

An Ran looked at the closed door, feeling disheartened.

‘His new roommate was indeed difficult to get along with.’

‘He should still go find the dorm manager to switch dorms.’

Just as he was about to leave the dorm, Gong He’s door opened again, and he stood before An Ran.

Catching Gong He’s gaze, An Ran realized he was once again blocking the doorway. He awkwardly moved a few steps to the side, allowing Gong He to pass first.

Several seconds passed, but Gong He made no move. An Ran boldly looked up, cautiously glancing at him, only to find Gong He’s eyes fixed on the application form in his hand.

An Ran: “!!!”

He tried to cover the application form with his hand.

Gong He said nothing, not even bothering to look at him, and quickly left the dorm.

An Ran: ‘I’m doomed QAQ’