Chapter 22

The office remained silent for a long time.

Only Jiang Min had known about the engagement between them. However, he had never imagined that Lu Xingzhou would openly admit it in front of everyone—and while so clearly defending Shu Baiyu.

At that moment, the two people who had paused outside the office walked in together.

“We can testify. The four of us ate together that day,” Tao Xi said first.

Shu Baiyu turned and saw Qi Yan beside him, though the other man’s posture looked inexplicably stiff.

When Chen Wan looked toward him, Qi Yan also gave an affirmative “Mm.”

“So that’s what happened?” Chen Wan clearly had not expected this. Her brows furrowed deeply. “Then someone maliciously fabricated these rumors.”

She failed to notice Jiang Min’s face turning deathly pale after Tao Xi and Qi Yan entered.

Turning toward Shu Baiyu, she asked:

“Do you know who deliberately tried to smear you?”

These rumors had gone far beyond a harmless prank. Their nature was extremely malicious and could severely damage the Omega’s reputation.

If no one had testified on his behalf, even she might have misunderstood Shu Baiyu.

“Mm. I have photographs.”

Shu Baiyu took out his phone.

Jiang Min had been trembling in the corner, desperately reassuring himself that no one knew who had done it.

The moment he heard Shu Baiyu say that, his vision suddenly blurred. He stared in disbelief as Shu Baiyu produced the supposed “evidence.”

“These were photographs uploaded to the original post afterward. They exposed my dormitory and bed, which eventually led to people coming there to ‘attack’ me.”

Lu Xingzhou had also saved these photographs.

As though unable to see Jiang Min’s increasingly pale face, Shu Baiyu continued:

“Both pictures were taken inside the dormitory. Judging by the angle, the photographer was standing beside my bed.”

“As far as I know, only Jiang Min and I lived in that room, and no one else visited at that time last night.”

The moment he said this, Chen Wan’s expression changed.

She turned toward Jiang Min, who was repeatedly shaking his head, with a complicated look.

“No, it wasn’t me!”

Tears once again appeared on his face.

“This doesn’t prove I did it! He’s slandering me! That doesn’t count as evidence at all!”

“If that isn’t enough, there’s more evidence.”

Lu Xingzhou’s voice sounded again.

This time, Jiang Min instinctively shrank back, terror appearing in his eyes.

He wanted to stop Lu Xingzhou from continuing, but the Alpha’s voice remained steady.

“The first photograph was taken by a member of the university photography club. I confirmed last night that none of their members posted it.”

“If you want to know who obtained the photograph from them and uploaded it, I can ask them.”

As he spoke, Lu Xingzhou cast Jiang Min a cold glance.

“No, it wasn’t…”

Jiang Min opened his mouth to continue defending himself, but fear had already drained the strength from his body.

Shu Baiyu was somewhat surprised.

He had not expected Lu Xingzhou to know about this as well.

“I can also confirm it.”

Qi Yan suddenly spoke.

He glanced toward Shu Baiyu and Lu Xingzhou, his face inexplicably stiff and heavy.

“Lu Xingzhou does live in that residential compound.”

At this point, Chen Wan no longer needed to investigate further.

She looked at Jiang Min, who was trembling and still unwilling to accept the truth.

“Is there anything else you want to say?”

“I… Sob…”

Jiang Min choked on his tears and looked at them through blurred eyes.

“I-I didn’t mean to do it… I really thought he was that kind of person. I didn’t know the truth was like this…”

“Sob… I really didn’t do it on purpose…”

Upon hearing this, Chen Wan’s expression finally darkened.

He was trying to distance himself after the fact, portraying himself as innocent without considering the enormous harm that would have been caused if the truth had never been clarified.

The moment he said something like that, she knew there was no point continuing the discussion.

Ye Bai, who had originally fought with Shu Baiyu because of Jiang Min, belatedly realized what had happened.

Aside from his shock, he turned toward Jiang Min and demanded:

“Weren’t you the one who told me he was that kind of person? You said all of it was true! Fuck, you used me as a weapon, didn’t you?!”

Now that the truth had been revealed, Chen Wan felt an intense headache.

She apologized to Shu Baiyu.

“I’m sorry. I misunderstood you at first. Jiang Min was in the wrong. I’ll request that the university publish an official clarification, and he will receive the appropriate punishment.”

Shu Baiyu only asked:

“What punishment will he receive?”

“A public notice of criticism and an official demerit. We’ll also read the original at bailiantales.com require him to apologize publicly to you.”

After receiving this answer, Shu Baiyu was somewhat satisfied and nodded to indicate that he understood.

However, Chen Wan remembered another matter.

“Your dormitory is still being dealt with, so it may remain uninhabitable for some time.”

“I heard you slept in a room on the fourth floor last night. For the next few days… Do you have any plans?”

She had clearly considered that the rumors might cause the other students to exclude him, so she gave Shu Baiyu a choice.

If his family lived nearby or he had another place outside the university, he could move out entirely.

Shu Baiyu shook his head.

“I’m not going home.”

The mere thought of the Jian family disgusted him. There was no possibility that he would voluntarily move back there.

“It’s fine. I can still—”

He was about to say that he could simply continue staying in last night’s dormitory and that she did not need to worry.

Then Lu Xingzhou suddenly spoke from beside him.

“I have an apartment near the university.”

The office fell silent.

Shu Baiyu looked at him in surprise, as did Qi Yan and the others.

Lu Xingzhou had already made his intentions clear. When he met Shu Baiyu’s gaze, he no longer concealed anything.

“You can live with me.”

Shu Baiyu looked surprised and opened his mouth.

Before he could respond, another voice hurriedly interrupted:

“No!”

Qi Yan paused before saying without hesitation:

“I-I also have an apartment beside the university. You can move into mine.”

If Lu Xingzhou’s suggestion had surprised Shu Baiyu, Qi Yan’s left him utterly bewildered.

The instant he reacted, he quickly glanced toward Tao Xi.

Only after seeing no unusual response did he relax.

Without considering Qi Yan’s offer, he immediately rejected it.

“There’s no need.”

Qi Yan froze.

His initially hesitant heart suddenly became stubborn because of Shu Baiyu’s decisive refusal.

He stared intently at him.

“Shu Baiyu, you can’t agree to live with Lu Xingzhou. How would that be any different from cohabiting?”

“I won’t do anything to you. I’ve barely stayed at that apartment. You can move in directly, and I won’t disturb you—”

“And living with you wouldn’t count as cohabiting?”

Lu Xingzhou abruptly interrupted him.

The glance he cast toward Qi Yan seemed casual, yet carried unmistakable contempt and ridicule.

“He and I are engaged. It would be perfectly natural for us to live together.”

“What about you?”

His gaze seemed to ask what position Qi Yan had to say such a thing.

Even his words refused to acknowledge that Qi Yan had once been Shu Baiyu’s boyfriend.

Qi Yan abruptly choked, his voice stopping.

His heart trembled violently.

He and Shu Baiyu had ceased to have any relationship long ago.

Yet hearing Lu Xingzhou mention his engagement to Shu Baiyu made Qi Yan’s chest ache dully.

For the first time, he found Lu Xingzhou’s self-righteous appearance utterly hateful.

Unwilling to accept the rejection, he looked toward Shu Baiyu again.

“Baiyu… You choose. Will you leave with him or come home with me?”

Shu Baiyu did not understand why the two men had suddenly begun confronting each other.

He did not think much of it and merely assumed that the protagonist Alpha and cannon-fodder unauthorized copy Alpha were naturally incompatible.

He stared at the two men looking toward him and fell silent.

He did not want to choose either of them.

Just as he prepared to reject them both, Tao Xi awkwardly tugged at the corner of his clothes.

“I… Actually, I have an apartment too…”

His voice was not especially loud, but everyone present heard it.

“My place is spacious. You can move in and live with me.”

After thinking, he added:

“And my apartment is fairly close to Brother Lu’s home. If he misses you, he can come directly to my place to see you.”

The moment Tao Xi said this, Shu Baiyu stiffened.

Those words immediately set off an alarm inside his mind.

The cannon-fodder Alpha visiting the protagonist Omega’s home?

Missing Shu Baiyu would probably only be an excuse.

If he genuinely moved into Tao Xi’s apartment, Lu Xingzhou could use him as an excuse to enter and leave Tao Xi’s home freely every day!

How could Shu Baiyu possibly allow something like that?

Therefore, only a few seconds after Tao Xi finished speaking, Shu Baiyu abruptly made his decision.

“I’ll live with Lu Xingzhou!”

All three of them froze simultaneously.

The cool presence surrounding Lu Xingzhou paused, then slowly began flowing again.

After Shu Baiyu said those words, he could feel that soothing, snowmelt-like chill curling around him.

His expression remained unchanged.

Facing the disappointed or shocked expressions of the other two, he offered no explanation.

Lu Xingzhou lowered his eyelids, enclosing Shu Baiyu within his gaze.

“Mm.”

Chen Wan seemed to notice something about the atmosphere among them.

However, after listening to their conversation, only one thought remained in her mind.

Her pupils trembled.

Were students nowadays all this wealthy?

Who would understand that even she did not own an apartment near the university?

Eventually, she coughed lightly and restored her usual expression.

Then she quietly instructed Shu Baiyu:

“Since you’ve made your decision, move out as soon as possible and rest properly.”

“Cough… Although the two of you will be living together, you should exercise restraint. You’re both still young and may not yet be prepared to welcome a new life.”

The beginning of her advice sounded normal, but the more Shu Baiyu listened, the stranger it became.

Eventually, he even looked blank for a moment, trying to understand the meaning of her final sentence.

By the time he suddenly remembered the reproductive characteristics of an Omega’s body, Lu Xingzhou had already responded for him.

He nodded lightly.

“Mm.”

As Shu Baiyu slowly realized what had happened, his expression nearly collapsed.

The reactions of Qi Yan and the others were even more obvious.

He did not know what Qi Yan was thinking.

He only saw the other man’s face darken. After remaining tense for a long time, Qi Yan finally turned and left.

Lu Xingzhou had no intention of paying attention to any of them.

After leaving the office, he asked Shu Baiyu what luggage he needed to collect.

Although Shu Baiyu was still bothered by what Lu Xingzhou had done previously, he would not act spitefully while dealing with practical matters.

After quickly considering what he needed to bring, he returned to the dormitory and told Lu Xingzhou to wait downstairs.

He did not have much luggage.

In fact, he possessed very little.

Shu Baiyu returned to his original room and packed Read on BaiLianTaleseverything that remained usable into his suitcase.

Since he did not know when he would return, he also collected the original character’s belongings that had been left outside and placed them inside.

While organizing the desk, his arm knocked a pile of objects onto the floor.

He bent down to retrieve them and discovered that they were the suppression patches he had purchased when he first arrived.

Seeing the unopened package, Shu Baiyu instinctively touched his neck.

Although several days had passed since he entered this world, he was still somewhat unused to the slightly raised gland on the back of his neck.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but after he touched that small patch of skin, it suddenly began growing faintly warm.

Shu Baiyu frowned and scratched it again with moderate force.

Then he stopped allowing himself to become distracted, bent down, pulled up the suitcase handle, and headed downstairs.

Lu Xingzhou was indeed still waiting below.

When he saw Shu Baiyu carrying only one suitcase, he did not ask any questions.

After bringing him into the car, he drove directly to the nearby apartment he had mentioned.

The apartment truly was quite close to the university.

Along the way, Lu Xingzhou explained that it was where he stayed whenever he did not want to sleep in the dormitory.

Unlike the Lu family residence, the apartment was not particularly large.

It was located on the ninth floor, had a single-level layout, and contained exactly two bedrooms.

It was cleaner than Shu Baiyu had expected.

After briefly looking around, he guessed that a housekeeper probably came regularly to clean it.

Lu Xingzhou led him to the bedroom opposite his own.

“You’ll stay here from now on.”

Shu Baiyu nodded and entered to put down his luggage.

Then he heard Lu Xingzhou continue behind him.

“You don’t need to clean. Someone will come and handle it.”

“Mm.”

Shu Baiyu looked around the guest bedroom.

It was not large and did not have a private bathroom, so he would have to use the shared one outside.

Lu Xingzhou did not say anything further.

After glancing at Shu Baiyu as he lowered his head to unpack, he told him to shower and rest early before leaving.

Shu Baiyu did not manage to organize his things for long.

He had just taken out a fresh set of clothes to wear after showering when he suddenly felt a burning, damp heat spread across the back of his neck.

He reached up to touch it again.

The instant his fingertips made contact, a violent shudder passed through him.

His legs immediately weakened, and he nearly collapsed onto the floor.

This sensation…

It was very bad.

His mind went blank as the thought appeared.

The familiar feeling forced him to support himself.

Lu Xingzhou’s earlier words beside his ear replayed within his mind.

That cool presence continuously lingered around him, as though enclosing him completely.

At this moment, Shu Baiyu urgently craved the cool fragrance of melting snow.

Waves of heat surged through his body, more violently than anything he had experienced before.

He had never imagined that one day his body would seem to dissolve into a pool of spring water, damp and melting, instinctively searching for a scent that could bring relief.

An inhibitor…

He remembered that the doctor had said an inhibitor could also help…

Shu Baiyu struggled to regain a little clarity, only to curse under his breath.

He had never bought any inhibitors!

In his current condition, there was no chance he could reach a hospital by himself.

Only one person could help him now.

With trembling arms, he opened the bedroom door.

A soft click sounded as it swung open.

However, a figure was already standing silently outside.