After I confessed my secret of being intersex to my online boyfriend, he got even more excited: "Baby, when we meet, can I kiss you?" My face flushed hot, and I gave him permission. But right before our meetup, he complained about how hard it was to get along with his new roommate. At that exact moment, my new roommate's phone buzzed. 1 "Baby, your voice sounds so good." "Why would I be disgusted by you? Knowing that makes me even more excited." "Baby, I want to see you so badly. I want to hold you, kiss you." "......" At night, I was re-listening to the voice messages Z had sent me. His deep, husky voice slid through my earbuds like a lover's whisper, making my whole body run hot. Having this kind of body is really too much trouble. When I carefully confessed my intersex secret to my online boyfriend, Z, I was terrified he would find me disgusting. But Z seemed to sense my anxiety, coaxing me gently: "How could I? Baby, I like you even more now." After that, he’d randomly send me sweet talk. Making me restless and terribly thirsty. Unfortunately, Z went off to college, and reportedly his new roommate was a real piece of work, so it wasn't convenient for him to send voice memos lately. I could only listen to the stash I had saved up. Fighting the restless urges, I tossed and turned again. Suddenly, someone knocked on the edge of my bed frame, scaring me half to death. Lifting the bed curtain, a tall silhouette stood below, his tone dripping with annoyed impatience: "Liam, are you done tossing and turning? Do you have any idea how loud you are?" It was Julian again. Julian was a neat freak, a light sleeper, and had a venomous tongue. Just hearing his voice annoyed me, so I instinctively snapped back. "Mind your own business. If it's too loud, wear earplugs." "Our beds are connected. Are you stupid?" Meaning, earplugs wouldn't block out the vibrations of my tossing. Fair point. But I was still annoyed and was just about to keep arguing with him. I didn't expect Julian to literally climb up. With his knees separated by the blanket, he half-knelt between my legs. His tall frame pressed down, caging me in on both sides with an intense, oppressive presence. I instinctively shrank back: "What are you doing?" 2 He didn't speak. Suddenly, he grabbed my wrists with a firm, strong grip. My heart skipped a beat. No way. I just tossed and turned a bit. Is he really going to climb into my bed and beat me up? I was just about to struggle when he yanked my earbuds out and tossed them to the head of the bed. My phone received the exact same treatment. He bundled me up tightly in the blanket, his large frame still pressing down on top of me. "Liam, I'm watching you. Go to sleep right now." I tried to move but found I was completely immobilized. Psycho. I was absolutely furious: "I'll sleep, okay?! You're so annoying! Go back to your own bed!" But in the dark, he didn't reply. He just kept staring at me. I had no options left. He didn't go back until I finally closed my eyes. My heated mood felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on it. Julian completely ruined my good mood. Damn it. Back when I had this double dorm all to myself, I didn't realize how much freedom I had. I could voice chat with Z whenever I wanted. If I got restless in the middle of the night, I could just go take a shower and change into dry pants. But now, Julian was here. All of that was gone. Julian insisted on lights out by 11:30 PM sharp, and he was a light sleeper. Any little noise I made, he'd scold me. He was also a massive neat freak. If I threw dirty white socks into my own laundry basket and left them for more than half a day, he'd complain. It was incredibly annoying. I'd thought about fighting him. But he was almost 6'2", a full half-head taller than me. Plus, he religiously went for a morning run at 7:00 AM and hit the gym to lift weights every night. The other day, I barely threw a punch before Julian easily pinned me by the neck against the closet door, asking: "Do you submit?" I really couldn't out-argue him, and I definitely couldn't out-fight him. I just had to take the L. But the resentment in my chest refused to fade. The next day, when Julian's 7:00 AM alarm woke me up yet again, I opened my eyes. Unable to take it anymore, I grabbed my phone to vent to Z: [I really can't stand my neat-freak, venomous roommate anymore. How can such an annoying roommate exist in this world? [o(╥﹏╥)o] He replied almost instantly. With a cute hugging sticker. [Pat pat, baby] [I agree, how can such an annoying roommate exist in this world?] I sent a sticker back: [Burying my face in your chest (Ծ‸Ծ)] [Z, is your roommate really annoying too?] He replied instantly. [Yeah.] [He's very loud, and he's not very clean.] 3 We were practically trauma bonding! Chatting away, I excitedly sat up to type. I casually typed out a few-hundred-word essay complaining about Julian. After I hit send, I worried I might be too annoying. But Z's reply showed zero impatience. Not only did he provide immense emotional support, he also transferred me $520. I expertly accepted it, even though I wasn't short on money. Z was very wealthy. When we first met playing games, he was always gifting me rare skins and items. After we started dating, he'd just send me money all the time. At first, I wouldn't accept it, but he'd send a pitiful voice memo: "Baby won't even spend my money... Do you not love me anymore...?" My heart would melt hearing that, and I'd accept it immediately. Now, after being thoroughly comforted by Z, the frustration in my chest was greatly soothed. A smile finally returned to my face: [Love you, ლ(°◕‵ƹ′◕ლ).] Z replied quickly. [（づ￣3￣）づ╭❤～] Ending the chat, I casually looked up, and my eyes met Julian, who was just about to walk out the door. He dropped his smile, quickly looked away, his expression turning cold. The upward curve of my lips instantly vanished too. Tsk, that deadpan face again. Just looking at it annoyed me. Honestly, we weren't at each other's throats when we first met. I'm a sucker for good looks, and Julian is handsome. Deep-set eyes beneath thick brows, a high-bridged nose, and thin, slightly pursed lips. The first time he introduced himself as my new roommate with that face, I pathetically stared in a daze. Damn. He was exactly my type. But I quickly snapped out of it. After all, I only liked Z. But as we interacted, I realized Julian really only had that face going for him. His personality was venomous and overly particular. With that face, I'd never even seen him smile. Plus, there was that one time in the dining hall. I accidentally overheard him hanging out with his frat bros, discussing intersex people. The jokes they were making were very explicit. "Julian, what do you think? Would you be into that?" I quietly perked my ears up nearby. And I heard Julian's icy tone: "Stop talking about something so disgusting." 4 That word, "disgusting," pierced right into my ears. Even though I'd been called a monster and disgusting by my parents since I was little, I should have been used to it. But hearing Julian say it just pissed me off. It wasn't like I wanted to date him anyway, yet here he was, acting disgusted. The anger went straight to my head. As I walked past him carrying my lunch tray, I deliberately "lost my grip" and spilled it all over him. The soup dripped down his shoulder. For a neat freak, this was undoubtedly the best revenge. Julian looked up and glared at me, his eyes as cold as if he were looking at a dead man. I took my time flashing a wicked smile: "Oops, sorry about that, new roommate." After that, our relationship completely deteriorated. Whatever. It wasn't like I cared about having a good relationship with him anyway. Whenever Julian left the dorm, even the air felt fresher. I was a junior with a light class schedule. I had already applied for grad schools abroad, so I didn't need to study for the GREs. Laying in the dorm feeling bored, I missed Z again. I tentatively sent him a sticker: [Miss you.] He replied instantly: [Baby, I'm here.] Normally, when interacting with people, I'm not much of a chatterbox. But with Z, I always had a million things to talk about. Z would reply to every single message with infinite patience. No matter what mood I was in, he always knew how to catch me. I sent him a sticker: [Shooting love biubiubiu~] Suddenly, a message popped up from him: [Baby, let's meet up.] My heart skipped a beat, my grip slipped, and my phone dropped right off the bed. Snapping back, I was just about to climb down and pick it up. The dorm door opened. Julian, with an ice-cold expression, closed the door, locked it, looked down, and saw my lit-up phone screen. The screen was cracked in one corner, but it didn't affect the clarity of the chat log at all. Me: ! Z's profile picture was a faceless torso shot of him wearing a black tank top, his muscle definition incredible. Now, with the screen unlocked, Julian definitely saw all the sickeningly sweet messages between me and Z. Damn it. He found out I was e-dating a guy, and he's definitely going to use this to mock me. But surprisingly, he didn't make a sound. Julian stared down at the screen, looking like he had been paralyzed. Then he turned his head, his dark eyes staring intensely at me. 5 His stare gave me the creeps: "What the hell are you looking at?!" After climbing down to retrieve my phone, I looked heartbroken at the cracks on the screen, muttering: "So annoying. I just got this new phone. Nothing good ever happens when I see you." Normally, Julian would definitely snap back. But this time, he didn't make a peep. I shot him a suspicious look. I realized he was still frozen in place, who knows what he was thinking, but his breathing had grown heavy, and his ears were bright red. Hah, probably pissed off by me. Serves him right. I looked away and typed on my phone: "I dropped my phone just now and cracked the screen. And that psycho roommate just happened to bump into it o(╥﹏╥)o." Normally, Z would immediately comfort me and join me in cursing Julian. But this time, he didn't reply for a long time. Z's request to meet was still hanging there. Was he thinking I didn't want to meet? I hesitated, typing and deleting, and finally gritted my teeth: [Let's meet! I want to see you too!] The moment I sent it, I regretted it a little. My heart rate was skyrocketing. Half expectant, half nervous. Even though Z hadn't shown his face, he had sent quite a few photos over time. Not a single pec or ab was missing, and the occasional close-up of him in grey sweatpants was enough to let the imagination run wild. When Julian called me on voice, he always loved to tease me: "Baby's so bashful, you can't even handle this?" Every time I heard him say that sweet talk, I'd blush and run to the bathroom to change my pants. Honestly, my thoughts about him weren't that pure. Just looking at a photo Z sent of his hand once, I... In the photo, his fingers were long, the knuckles thick and pronounced. They looked incredibly strong. If we actually met, what would happen? Would Z really hug me, kiss me, really use those hands... My face flushed hot, and I quickly shook my head. Suddenly, a message came from him. [If you really don't want to meet, you don't have to force yourself. We can just keep chatting online for now.] I stared at that sentence. Why did his tone suddenly feel so formal? Before I could figure out how to reply, Z suddenly sent another transfer—$520. That's a good chunk of change. I sent a [!?] Z: [Just treat it as compensation for your phone screen.] But buying a screen replacement wouldn't cost this much. And... why wasn't he calling me baby anymore? I pursed my lips in annoyance. After that, Z was noticeably much colder. I was incredibly frustrated. Was it because he thought I didn't want to meet up, so his attitude cooled off? 6 It had been days. Z only sent 'good morning,' 'good afternoon,' and 'good night,' plus a money transfer. When I tried to chat with him, he'd say he was busy, and then attach another transfer. I stared at a screen practically full of $520 transfers, feeling "money-sick" for the first time. Many times, I impulsively wanted to text Z: [Let's just meet! Right now!] But I hesitated, wanting to send it but not daring to. I was still scared. Z said online that he didn't mind my intersex body at all, but what if we actually met? Would he also find it disgusting and call me a monster? Just like my parents. Even my own biological parents couldn't accept me, let alone an online boyfriend. I ultimately didn't send it. My mood was terrible, plus Julian had been acting like a psycho recently. He was like a lingering ghost; he was everywhere I was. And he loved staring at me, like a dog. My mood got even worse. One day, I walked out of the dining hall, looked back, and realized he was following me again. Unable to take it anymore, I stormed up and grabbed him by the collar: "Why the hell have you been following me lately? You want to fight?" Normally, he'd sneer at me coldly: "Liam, are you a kindergartener? Why are you always trying to fight?" But today, he was unusually quiet. He let me grab his collar, and even shook his head submissively: "I wasn't." I'd have to be stupid to believe him. I leaned in closer, narrowing my eyes to see through his bad intentions. But I noticed his ears were red. He turned his head away to avoid my gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing heavily. That face, usually a deadpan mask all day, showed a different expression for the first time. It looked like... shyness. Damn, what am I thinking. I shook my head, let him go, and warned: "Stay away from me!" 7 But it was like Julian was deliberately trying to do the exact opposite. He stopped his morning runs, and he stopped setting his early alarms. I had a rare chance to wake up naturally. The moment I opened my eyes, a pair of dark eyes was right above me. Julian was sitting cross-legged on my bed, staring at me. His lips curved up, his voice deep and magnetic: "Liam, morning." That smile actually looked pretty good. I rubbed my eyes. I must be seeing things. My eye twitched, and I looked down, pretending I hadn't heard him, acting very busy folding my blanket. Annoying people always end up together. For the only group project in my junior year. I somehow ended up in the same group as Julian. During the group discussion, normally he would have constantly contradicted me. But today went surprisingly smooth. No matter what I said, Julian nodded along incredibly supportively. Me: ? After the discussion ended, Julian suddenly offered to buy the whole group drinks. I thought with his personality, he'd probably show off and buy Starbucks or something. But he said he was buying boba. I couldn't help but swallow, swallowing the words of refusal I was about to say. My favorite! When Julian handed me his phone, I took it, pretending to be aloof. Just as I was about to order a Cocoa Ballet, 70% sugar, double ice cream, sub A2 milk, I realized he had already added that exact order to the cart. It perfectly matched my taste. Julian glanced at me staring blankly at the order screen: "I like this flavor, what about you, Liam?" "I... same here." Why did this feel wrong somehow? Could it really be such a coincidence? After getting back to the dorm, I finally remembered that the shorts I changed out of this morning were still unwashed, soaking in a basin. I figured Julian was going to complain about it again. But I found they had already been washed and hung up to dry. I was stunned. Above my head came Julian's low voice: "Oh, the shorts. I washed them while I was at it. Hand-washed, they're very clean, and... "They smell really good."
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "392115", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel