Chapter 54: Going Back to Live in the Dorm
Jiang Rong was especially prone to embarrassment. For a moment, he didn’t know whether he should pull his hand out of He Siming’s.
Actually, he hadn’t been angry at He Siming since last night. He’d originally planned to clear things up before going to sleep, but he’d been too sleepy to fight it and had fallen asleep almost immediately.
When he woke up the next morning, thinking about how it was the first time he’d ever been upset with He Siming and not knowing how to face him, he’d gone straight to school instead.
He hadn’t really thought about who should apologize first. He himself was also at fault, and he’d wanted both of them to cool down before continuing the conversation.
Ignoring someone wasn’t right on his part, and He Siming’s outright denial hadn’t been good either—both of them were in the wrong.
So in the end, Jiang Rong didn’t pull his hand away from He Siming’s. It wasn’t until the teacher asked them to practice the day’s lesson on the computer that He Siming finally let go, albeit reluctantly.
Recently, Jiang Rong had been able to complete his coursework and assignments on his own, his progress remarkably fast.
Taking advantage of the noise in the classroom as classmates discussed among themselves, he sneaked a glance at He Siming. Coincidentally, He Siming was looking at him too. Their eyes met, and they both smiled.
Jiang Rong leaned slightly toward him and whispered, “Sorry. I accidentally fell asleep last night. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”
He Siming put on a wronged expression. “Then what about this morning? You didn’t even wait for me.”
A little embarrassed, Jiang Rong said, “I woke up too early, and I wanted to eat the school’s lamb vermicelli soup and pan-fried buns, so I didn’t wake you.” He was just greedy.
He Siming looked at him. “I know.”
Jiang Rong: “Hm?” Know what?
Just as He Siming was about to speak, Yao Shule stuck his head over. “What are you two whispering about? Rongrong, what did the teacher just say?”
He Siming was annoyed at being interrupted, but still answered for Jiang Rong, “If B is not equal to 15…”
Jiang Rong blinked. “You were actually listening?”
He’d been a little distracted because He Siming kept holding his hand.
He Siming said calmly, “I can multitask.”
Jiang Rong’s mood had brightened the moment he apologized. Thinking of He Siming’s “genius theory,” he smiled even more happily.
Yao Shule mistakenly thought Jiang Rong was laughing at him. “Are you laughing at me?”
Jiang Rong shook his head. “Not at all.”
He Siming smiled too. When Jiang Rong smiled, it felt like winter turning into summer—his palm was burning hot.
Just then, the teacher walked by, so they stopped talking. Jiang Rong focused on class, asking He Siming whenever there was something he didn’t understand.
After clearing things up, their relationship seemed to have taken another step forward—an unspoken closeness, a deeper connection from heart to heart.
When the morning classes ended, Jiang Rong’s stomach was already growling. After three months, his pregnancy reactions weren’t as severe, and his appetite had largely returned. When they had classes at school, sometimes they ate meals delivered from restaurants, sometimes in the cafeteria, and sometimes He Siming took Jiang Rong out to eat.
He Siming had considered bringing him meals, but he’d been too busy lately, and Jiang Rong wouldn’t let him.
After lunch, they returned to the dorm. After playing around for a bit, everyone curled up on their own beds for a nap. They’d gotten up too early that morning—even He Siming went back to his bed to rest.
Jiang Rong was abruptly jolted awake by a burning sense of discomfort.
He checked the time—he’d only slept for half an hour.
This week he’d been busy with a research project and had only replenished pheromones once with He Siming. The baby’s pheromone supply wasn’t enough anymore.
He tried to see if he could endure it until after class and go home, lying flat and attempting to fall asleep again. But two minutes later, the discomfort washed over his entire body again—clearly a sign of pheromone deficiency.
He messaged He Siming, but He Siming was asleep. Left with no choice, he carefully got up and went to the neighboring bed to gently shake him awake.
Lowering his voice, Jiang Rong called softly, “He Siming?”
He Siming wasn’t sleeping deeply and woke as soon as he was called. “What’s wrong?”
Jiang Rong’s fingers were already growing weak. Pitifully, he said, “I’m out of pheromones.”
He Siming sat up. “Then should we replenish them? Take a bite?”
Jiang Rong nodded. “Mm.” Even speaking was tiring now.
He Siming said, “Go wait for me in the bathroom.”
There was a radiator in the bathroom, so it wasn’t cold.
As soon as Jiang Rong walked in, He Siming followed, wrapping his arms around him from behind and kissing the back of his neck.
“Just bite directly?” He Siming asked.
“Mm, I feel awful.” Jiang Rong grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie, lowered his head slightly, and offered his fair nape.
He Siming hadn’t seen him this uncomfortable in a long time. Over the past two weeks, pheromone replenishment had always been timely, but recently the frequency really had decreased.
He asked, “Will biting your neck hurt a lot?” He’d once thought it was just a little kink Jiang Rong liked, only to realize later that it wasn’t.
Now He Siming couldn’t bear to make Jiang Rong hurt even a little. Even dry skin peeling would make his heart ache.
“A little,” Jiang Rong said.
He Siming suddenly couldn’t bring himself to bite. “If the skin breaks, it’s easy to get tetanus.”
Jiang Rong froze and looked up at him. “Then… you won’t bite me?”
He Siming asked, “Can you hold on a bit longer?”
Jiang Rong nodded. “I can.”
The bathroom was too small, and it wasn’t warm enough. “Let’s go to the car. I’ll turn the heater up.”
This year’s weather was strange—temperatures had suddenly risen these past couple of days, reaching fifteen degrees at noon. Turning up the car’s heat wouldn’t be a problem.
Jiang Rong hadn’t expected this turn of events. “Ah… the car?”
“Yeah. The car has good soundproofing; people outside won’t hear.” He Siming immediately pulled him out of the bathroom, helping him put on his coat and grabbing his backpack.
Watching how swiftly He Siming moved, Jiang Rong almost felt like this had all been planned—if he didn’t know he’d been the one to wake him.
He Siming sounded urgent. “Don’t space out. Put your coat on.” His whole body radiated excitement.
Jiang Rong was still reeling from the sudden transition. “Oh.”
Were they really… going to the car?
He didn’t dare ask again.
As he put on his coat, his whole body grew even hotter—whether from the lack of pheromones or from embarrassment, he didn’t know.
It had to be embarrassment, he decided.
He suddenly envied He Siming’s mental fortitude. How could he so calmly suggest going to the car? Had he already imagined this day coming?
Though the saying “opportunities favor the prepared” didn’t quite fit, it felt strangely apt.
The back seat had a partition, and the windows were covered with privacy film, fully ensuring their privacy.
Listening to He Siming explain the car’s safety features all the way there, Jiang Rong was astonished for quite a while.
“How did you make it so secure?”
“When I used to drive to school, there was a senior who kept hanging around my car. After that, I installed privacy film.”
He Siming started the car first to warm it up.
With the temperature turned all the way up, Jiang Rong was already feeling hot after just a few minutes in the back seat. As soon as he took off his coat, He Siming raised the rear partition.
He Siming had him spread a blanket over the seat. Moving from the front seat to the back, he reclined the seat and immediately bent down to bite Jiang Rong’s lips.
If Jiang Rong didn’t know He Siming wasn’t a real Alpha, he would’ve thought He Siming needed pheromones even more than he did—like he was in heat.
Pressed close, He Siming asked, “Cold?”
“No.” Jiang Rong still worried. “Are we really not going to be discovered in the car?”
“So what if we are? Am I cheating, or fooling around with you?”
“N-no.” Jiang Rong realized his sense of shame was getting lower and lower—thanks entirely to He Siming.
“How about we do some roleplay?” He Siming suddenly had an idea.
“Ah?” Jiang Rong sensed trouble, his body trembling slightly.
“I’ll grudgingly play the cheating ‘other man.’” As he spoke, He Siming’s hands roamed, a grin tugging at his lips as he slipped into character. “Baby, your husband won’t find out we’re having an affair here, will he?”
Jiang Rong: “….” He knew it—He Siming had long had ideas like this.
He Siming continued, “Tell me, are you afraid your husband will find out about us? Did he touch you here last night? Did he kiss your little peach?”
Jiang Rong stammered, “He didn’t touch me, and he didn’t kiss…”
“Why didn’t your husband kiss you?” He Siming asked.
“He was… angry?”
“No,” He Siming said. “I think he’s just not up to it.”
Jiang Rong: “….” Calling himself ‘not up to it’ just to stay in character—what a genius.
He Siming pressed Jiang Rong against the seat, carefully avoiding his belly, and kissed his neck. “Baby, tell me—am I more impressive, or is your husband?”
“You,” Jiang Rong answered.
“Then can I satisfy you?”
“Yes… you’re the best, mm.” Pheromones suddenly surged in, making Jiang Rong’s entire body tingle. “He Siming…”
He Siming’s voice was hoarse as he held his waist. “So good. This is your reward.”
The afternoon sunlight was perfect. In that secret, cramped space, peach and lime pheromones mingled, tempting them to sink deeper into this stolen pleasure.
The car was warm. By the time Jiang Rong finally leaned weakly against He Siming’s chest to catch his breath, he was drenched in sweat—half from the heat, half from pleasure.
He Siming’s car was like a treasure chest; he even kept spare clothes inside, though none were Jiang Rong’s size.
Jiang Rong hadn’t been wearing a shirt earlier. Afraid he’d catch cold, He Siming quickly helped him change.
His voice hoarse, Jiang Rong wrapped his arms around He Siming’s back and rubbed his face against his chest. “What time is it?”
After replenishing pheromones, he always needed time to recover—his body soft and weak, yet extremely clingy, unwilling to let He Siming leave.
He Siming checked his phone. “Class starts in a few minutes.”
Jiang Rong immediately sat up. “Then—we should hurry. The classroom’s pretty far.”
“No rush. We can park close by—it’s fast.”
When they reached the classroom, the teacher had just arrived.
Yao Shule and Li Yizhou had already saved them seats.
The classroom was warm, so Jiang Rong took off his coat. He was wearing He Siming’s sweater, and as soon as he removed it, Yao Shule noticed.
He was always sensitive to small details. “You weren’t wearing that this morning. Changed clothes?”
Jiang Rong instinctively answered honestly. “Yeah, I was sweating, so I changed.”
Yao Shule looked even more puzzled. “Sweating? And I was just about to ask why you two woke up so early at noon—what were you doing?”
Li Yizhou chimed in, “Yeah, you didn’t even bring us along!”
Seeing Jiang Rong’s ears turning pink, He Siming said, “Jiang Rong wasn’t feeling well. I took him to do some exercise.”
Jiang Rong opened his mouth, then closed it after a long moment.
Replenishing pheromones… did count as exercise.
Yao Shule said, “Looks like it really was exercise. Why is Rongrong’s face still red afterward?”
Jiang Rong: “…I’m hot.” He was so embarrassed he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.
The corner of He Siming’s mouth lifted slightly.
During class, Jiang Rong secretly squeezed his hand hard and shot him a warning glare.
Don’t smile!
They’d been sticky all day.
That evening, He Siming cooked him a delicious meal. His cooking had been improving, and he’d learned a few more cuisines—Jiang Rong liked it more and more.
After dinner, He Siming didn’t pester Jiang Rong about “sucking his little peach.” Instead, he took out a suitcase from the walk-in closet and started packing.
Standing by the door, Jiang Rong asked, “Are you going on a trip?”
“No,” He Siming said. “I’m packing some clothes for you to keep in the dorm. Sometimes it gets too late, and coming back is a hassle. And I’m not at ease with you walking home alone.”
He really had been thoughtless last night.
When he was busy in the lab, Jiang Rong waited in the library. By the time they headed back together, it was already late.
Their home was off campus. It took Jiang Rong at least half an hour to walk back. Traffic control near the school gate made taxis inconvenient, and by the time he walked far enough to catch one, he was almost home anyway.
He’d never really considered this since he usually drove.
At first, living at home had been for convenient pheromone replenishment. Plus, during the first three months of pregnancy, Jiang Rong’s morning sickness had been severe, and he couldn’t really eat cafeteria food. Neither of them had anticipated becoming so busy later on.
Jiang Rong looked pleasantly surprised. “You agreed?”
“Yeah. Only when I’m extremely busy and can’t take care of you can you stay at school. You still need pheromones. But it’s fine—even replenishing them in the car works.”
Jiang Rong didn’t dare respond.
“At most once a week,” He Siming added. “On weekends you must come home. I’ll try to stay in the lab less at night so we can both get home earlier.”
Jiang Rong nodded. “I know. Staying at school would only be occasional anyway, not often—just when I’m too tired.” Even if He Siming let him live at school full-time, he wouldn’t agree; his belly was already starting to swell slightly.
“I know. I misunderstood yesterday,” He Siming said. He knew that blocking wasn’t as good as guiding—he just wouldn’t give Jiang Rong many chances to stay at school.
The next day, when He Siming carried the suitcase back to the dorm, Yao Shule was shocked, thinking Jiang Rong had been sent back. Only after an explanation did he learn that the two had been busy lately and would occasionally stay on campus overnight, bringing spare clothes and toiletries.
Seeing the clothes and toiletries He Siming brought for Jiang Rong, Yao Shule was stunned—everything was brand new, all high-end brands, even better than what He Siming himself used.
After calculating it all, he couldn’t believe how many zeros the contents of that suitcase amounted to.
So this was what it felt like to be taken care of by God He. Maybe he should catch a small illness too?
He Siming knew Yao Shule recognized brands, but this time, he didn’t bother explaining.
Saturday’s weather was excellent, but it was windy outside, so He Siming couldn’t take Jiang Rong out.
Jiang Rong now had great enthusiasm for his current major. Combined with his original field, he was wondering if he could study another major as well.
He Siming was learning how to make a new cake that day. Jiang Rong had been craving sweets, so He Siming followed a video tutorial. It was his first time, but it looked surprisingly decent—Jiang Rong almost started drooling at the half-finished product.
He Siming was amazing.
Sitting across from him, Jiang Rong watched as He Siming piped decorative cream onto the cake base. This time it was a fruit cake.
While He Siming was in a good mood, Jiang Rong shared his thoughts.
He Siming knew his research direction and supported him in principle, but he wasn’t in favor right now.
He glanced worriedly at Jiang Rong’s slightly protruding belly. Outside, bundled up, it wasn’t noticeable, but at home Jiang Rong liked wearing He Siming’s loose, thin clothes, making it faintly visible.
“I support you studying a second major,” He Siming said. “The school allows it. But it would be too exhausting. A lot of people say that in late pregnancy, as the baby grows, your waist will hurt. My suggestion is to consider it after the baby’s born.”
Jiang Rong hadn’t thought that far. “Okay. I’ll listen to you.”
Half an hour later, the fruit cake Jiang Rong had been craving was finally done. He Siming cut him a small piece—he couldn’t eat too much in one day.
Jiang Rong finished it bit by bit, but cream still smeared the corner of his mouth. He Siming glanced at him and leaned in, licking it clean.
“Good?” He Siming asked.
“Good,” Jiang Rong nodded.
He Siming’s gaze darkened slightly. “Then it’s my turn. Guess what fruit cake I want to eat?”
Jiang Rong seriously thought about what fruit He Siming liked, but couldn’t come up with anything special. He shook his head.
He Siming dipped a finger in cream. “Peach cake.”
Jiang Rong: “……”
Soon enough, He Siming successfully ate a peach cream cake—fragrant and soft.
Jiang Rong was left teary-eyed from being nibbled on.
From now on, he was never eating fruit cake again!
He Siming thought that with him around, Jiang Rong wouldn’t have a chance to stay overnight at school—but he miscalculated.
He proposed developing an AI teaching assistant tool for the School of Computer Science, under Wen Chengxu’s guidance. They also proposed an “X + Computer Science” concept, so Wen Chengxu pulled Jiang Rong in as well, since their ongoing “AI Psychological Comfort Robot” project fit perfectly.
By the time the group finished in the lab, it was already ten at night.
Wen Chengxu told his assistant to take the students out for a late-night meal, but seeing Jiang Rong looking unwell, He Siming declined.
He said to Jiang Rong, “We’re not going home today. Let’s stay at school.”
“Mm.” Jiang Rong was so tired he barely wanted to speak, his breathing weak. If others weren’t around, he would’ve leaned against He Siming.
Yao Shule and Li Yizhou were playing games when the two—who’d said last week they’d come back to stay but never did—suddenly returned to the dorm.
“You staying tonight?” Yao Shule asked.
“Yeah. It’s too late. By the time we get back and finish up, it’ll be close to midnight before we sleep,” Jiang Rong said.
“Then hurry up and shower,” Yao Shule said.
He Siming had already gone in to turn on the shower and preheat the bathroom. Coming out, he told Jiang Rong, “Go wash up.”
Jiang Rong rummaged through the cabinet for his underwear. He Siming had packed last week, and he didn’t know where it was.
In a low voice, he asked, “He Siming, where’s my underwear?”
“In the second compartment of the storage bag,” He Siming replied.
“Found it.”
Yao Shule climbed down from his bed to get a cup of water and heard every word.
“……”
Wait—how does Jiang Rong not even know where his own underwear is?
Last time it was washing underwear, this time it’s finding underwear. Straight guys’ relationships are really weird!
