Chapter 35 Seeking Help Online

Chapter 35: Turning to the Internet for Advice

For the next week, Ji Anzhi clearly felt Qi Yanshen giving him a lot of extra attention.

Every day at noon, Qi Yanshen would bring him a pile of snacks. Ji Anzhi could tell at a glance they were all insanely expensive. Just this pile alone was enough to buy another twenty cubic meters of space for his Space Bracelet!

Ji Anzhi tried to refuse at first, but Qi Yanshen said everyone in the dorm got some. At that moment, Ji Anzhi clearly saw Lu Yan's face darken, and Jian Fuxu also cast a puzzled look at Qi Yanshen.

The next second, Qi Yanshen took out two bags of snacks from his Space Bracelet and tossed them to the other two. Although they were the same brand as the ones in Ji Anzhi's arms, the portions were only a third of the size, and these flavors were notoriously bad-tasting across the Star Federation...

Lu Yan almost couldn't control himself; a little more force in his hand and the snack bag would have exploded with a "bang."

Jian Fuxu quietly looked away and focused on teasing the cat.

As for Qi Yanshen, he had a feeling that his alpha dignity and bottom line had completely gone out the window in front of Ji Anzhi.

Ji Anzhi also noticed that what Qi Yanshen gave the other two was far worse, and not just by a little bit. He felt a complicated mix of emotions and unease, and had no choice but to accept so as not to offend him.

"Th-thank you. You shouldn't have spent so much."

Qi Yanshen immediately replied, "It's fine, these snacks aren't expensive."

Ji Anzhi: ...Not expensive? Are you joking?

Ji Anzhi forced a smile, barely holding it together, his resentment towards the wealthy skyrocketing.

Others in the third-floor cafeteria also saw Qi Yanshen's actions. At first, they thought it was to win over his roommate, but after sending snacks for five consecutive days, they couldn't figure out what Qi Yanshen was trying to do.

Based on Qi Yanshen's recent attitude towards Ji Anzhi, the other Chiefs became even more cautious in their dealings with Ji Anzhi. Some from families friendly with Qi Yanshen's considered whether to befriend Ji Anzhi as well, but given Qi Yanshen's unusual behavior, they ultimately decided to wait and see.

As for Ji Anzhi, this series of overtures from Qi Yanshen, combined with his paranoia from last week's explosion incident, almost made him think the Federation had discovered the 5000-unit Energy Tank was related to him. Although nothing happened all week, Ji Anzhi remained uneasy.

So, after tutoring Andrew on Sunday, Ji Anzhi made a request.

"Have lunch together?"

Ji Anzhi nodded, looking at Andrew hopefully.

Andrew was puzzled. "Aren't you eating with your roommates?"

Ji Anzhi avoided his gaze. "Something happened recently. I think it's better not to eat with my roommates for now."

Andrew recalled that this week, the alpha from the Qi family seemed to bring Ji Anzhi snacks every noon. He'd heard others say Qi Yanshen even asked if Ji Anzhi was used to the food.

Andrew blurted out, "Is he pursuing you?"

Ji Anzhi froze, as if not understanding Andrew's meaning. Andrew continued, "Qi Yanshen, is he pursuing you?"

This time Ji Anzhi understood. He found it amusing. "How is that possible? Qi Yanshen is an S-class alpha. If he's looking for a partner, shouldn't it be one of those omegas from the Medical Department?"

Andrew asked sincerely, "Why is it impossible?"

Ji Anzhi was stumped, gaining a new understanding of Andrew's obsession with focusing solely on star charts.

He explained in detail to Andrew why alphas and betas couldn't be together: "Alphas cannot mark betas. An alpha would feel insecure because they can't mark their partner, and their rut periods cannot be easily soothed. It takes much longer than for an Alpha-Omega pair to barely get through a rut."

"Another point is that betas cannot be marked, so a beta could abandon their alpha at any time for someone new. Betas also fear that their alpha might one day meet a highly compatible omega and be unable to resist leaving them."

"Unable to mark, coupled with mutual suspicion, even if they get married, they would soon part ways."

At least in Solor, he rarely heard of Alpha-Beta relationships, and those that lasted till old age were unheard of.

Andrew nodded thoughtfully. Forgive him for reading books on astronomy and galaxies during all his physiology classes. As for the class content? He hadn't listened to a single lesson.

Andrew said, "I see. Then should I sync my schedule with yours? It would be more convenient."

It would also allow him to ask more questions.

After paying last time, Andrew hadn't followed Ji Anzhi around to bother him. He was indeed a bit stubborn, but his upbringing and social skills were decent—after all, these were essential for offspring of the upper echelons.

Poor grades or abilities might not earn a beating from parents, but being rude or ill-mannered in public could get you hung up and beaten to death by your parents.

Even though his own parents were very indulgent, they never slacked off in this aspect.

Ji Anzhi had no objection to this. He nodded and pulled up his class schedule. Andrew compared and modified his own schedule one by one.

After Andrew finished modifying, they said goodbye and returned to their respective dorms.

It was quite late when he returned to the dorm, past eight and nearly nine. By this time, they should have finished dinner and returned to their rooms to rest, but Ji Anzhi noticed the lights on the second floor were still on.

Going upstairs, Qi Yanshen was still in the living room, looking at his personal terminal. For a moment, Ji Anzhi had the impulse to go downstairs and spend two hours in the training room.

Qi Yanshen knew Ji Anzhi was back as soon as he heard him come in. Seeing him come upstairs, Qi Yanshen said casually, as if unintentionally, "Back so late?"

Ji Anzhi calmly replied, "I was tutoring Andrew today and lost track of time. Aren't you going to rest yet?"

Qi Yanshen said offhandedly, "The room is too small, stuffy."

Ji Anzhi was speechless. Your room has an unsealed balcony. If it's small and stuffy, just go to the balcony, right?

But on the surface, Ji Anzhi still smiled brightly. "Is that so? You should get some rest early. We have to get up for class tomorrow."

With that, Ji Anzhi headed towards the kitchen. Opening the fridge intending to grab a few small cakes, he found several untouched meals inside.

At that moment, Qi Yanshen happened to say, "I saved some food for you. If you haven't eaten, you can take it out and heat it up."

This time, Ji Anzhi's smile was much more sincere. "Thank you."

Ji Anzhi put the food into the heater. During the heating, Qi Yanshen stayed in the living room the whole time. Ji Anzhi had no idea what he wanted.

Ji Anzhi tried not to think about what he wanted. After eating, he handed the dishes to the housekeeping robot and then prepared to go upstairs to wash up and sleep.

Before returning to his room, Ji Anzhi said goodnight to Qi Yanshen. "I'm going upstairs to sleep. You should rest early too. Goodnight."

Qi Yanshen replied, "Goodnight."

After Ji Anzhi went upstairs, Qi Yanshen reflected on whether he had overdone it. Ji Anzhi seemed to be avoiding him a bit now.

With no expression, he opened the post he had made on the StarNet forum. He had only logged in a few times sporadically this week to check, logging off if there were no useful messages.

The post had exploded in discussion on the forum, already over five hundred replies high. Most were curious about how an alpha like him could build a relationship with a beta. Hundreds of people checked this post daily, waiting for updates.

"573l OP: I've been sending snacks every noon recently. Why is he avoiding me afterwards?"

"574l Starry Rain Flower: !!!!!!!"

"575l Truth Speaker: The OP is finally back!!!!!!"

"576l sjbsj: !!! The missing person has returned!"

"…………"

"591l BlueStar: Hey OP, what snacks did you send?"

Qi Yanshen saw this message, grabbed a screenshot of his order, and posted it.

"593l OP: [Image][Image][Image]"

"594l FightIfYouDisagree: ...What am I seeing! What am I seeing!! What am I seeing!!!"

"595l CantDrawEatPaint: Logged on and immediately felt poor..."

"596l ILoveStarCoinsMoneyMoneyMoney: When I only let myself have natural fruit every other day, someone buys over ten pounds of luxury snacks made from natural ingredients at once..."

"597l SilverFishFavorite: Thanks, StarNet, for reminding me how the other half lives..."

"598l FoodIsMyLove: Mom asked why I'm kneeling; I'm bowing down to such insane wealth. First time seeing someone buy stuff from Cotasilo like it's cheap nutrient packs..."

"599l FightingForCitizenship: From a junk planet here... I can't even afford to buy nutrient solution in bulk like that... So, OP, wanna sponsor a broke guy? I'm dead serious!"

"600l DuduLittleBeast: Isn't the real story that OP's beta roommate is avoiding him over this? If it were me, I'd be his new best friend so fast..."

"601l CrazyHandsomeGuy: Looks that way. Could OP's roommate think OP likes him?"

"602l OP: No, I gave some to other roommates too. He knows that."

"603l SilverFishFavorite: Were they the same?"

"604l OP: Same."

"605l CantDrawEatPaint: Whoa... that's insane."

"606l ILoveStarCoinsMoneyMoneyMoney: OP, what's your take on why he's avoiding you? Spill."

Seeing this message, Qi Yanshen thought for a moment before replying.

"611l OP: I think he might be awkward. We're from totally different worlds. I don't know if it's my imagination, but he's very gentle with everyone, seems like he could be friends with anyone. But I always feel a wall beneath that gentleness, a wall that keeps everyone out. Also, my intuition in this area is usually quite accurate."

"612l CrazyHandsomeGuy: If OP's feeling is correct, that's a tough one."

"613l ChasingGoddessDay767: OP, are you perhaps like the goddess I'm chasing? My goddess is like that too; she seems approachable, but no one can truly enter her heart... As a three-year veteran simp, I know what I'm talking about!"

"614l WishMistressGetsChopped: Aren't you that famous simp from earlier? Just got rejected this morning and you're still browsing? Doesn't seem very dedicated, huh?"

"615l PasserbyC: I heard the girl that simp's after has family trauma from when she was a kid. Could OP's roommate have had something happen in childhood too?"

"616l SilverFishFavorite: I recall OP said his beta roommate is from a medium-sized country. As we all know, ABO equality is only about two hundred years old. His roommate probably didn't have an easy time at home."

"617l JokeOnMe: Easy to be casual friends with this type, hard to get close. Even life-and-death friendships might not get you into his personal circle."

"618l SeaOfBooksAllTears: Sorry to say this, but I hope OP's roommate stays distant. It's rare to see a rich person so anxious; I'm living for this drama."

"619l ChasingGoddessDay767: +1, finally seeing someone suffering like me, my heart goes out to you (not)!!!"

"620l 1314520: +2"

"621l OP: Then what should I do? His abilities are truly outstanding, and many people value him and want to recruit him."

"622l MyFineIsNotFine: I'm really curious, are you sure your roommate is a beta? No offense, just genuinely curious. Could your roommate be an alpha or omega posing as a beta?"

"623l SilverFishFavorite: +1, I suspect that too. If he's really a beta, next time someone mocks me about gender, I'll slap this post link right in their face!"

"624l DiscriminationDogsBelongOnJunkPlanets: Good idea, OP, you gotta confirm this. I can't wait to go slap some faces!!!"

"625l OP: I'm sure he's really a beta. No isolation ring, and I've never caught a scent on him."

"626l MyFineIsNotFine: Then OP should just be direct. Just state your purpose clearly to him."

"627l OP: But what if that backfires?"

"628l MyFineIsNotFine: However, if your roommate is really like the girl that simp is chasing, then being direct is the best method. If you don't state your purpose, he might not go for it, or even tell you to drop it. But once he knows your purpose, he won't overthink and become defensive. Relatively speaking, it's easier."

"…………"

"630l MyFineIsNotFine: Moreover, your roommate likely has high defenses. If you hide your intentions, it will definitely make him wary. Plus, he's a beta and you're an alpha—the inherent power and social gap. Guess what he'd assume?"

After a while, and after scrolling through another dozen or so posts, Qi Yanshen finally understood and replied.

"647l OP: @MyFineIsNotFine Thank you, I understand."

After replying, Qi Yanshen logged off, returned to his room to rest, preparing to state his purpose to Ji Anzhi tomorrow.

However, Qi Yanshen logged off too quickly and didn't see the subsequent messages.

"650l MyFineIsNotFine: You're welcome. Wishing OP smooth sailing."

"651l BlueStar: Um... Don't you guys think the atmosphere here is a bit off? Are we sure we're not teaching OP how to hit on his roommate?"

"652l SilverFishFavorite: BlueStar above, you can click my profile to join a group. Let's all work together to push OP into the pit."

"653l JokeOnMe: Guess why everyone only said these things after OP logged off?"

"654l PasserbyC: Exactly."

"653l BlueStar: ...Got it."

"654l Moderator: Alright, stop posting. I'm going to start deleting records."

Thus, unbeknownst to Qi Yanshen, having just climbed out of the pit Lu Yan gave him, he fell right into the sky-high pit dug by netizens...