Chapter Text
The first time Wu Suowei saw his new dorm room, his big, expressive eyes widened with a mixture of awe and sheer, unadulterated terror. This wasn't a dorm; it was a penthouse suite that had been rudely transplanted into a university housing building. Polished hardwood floors gleamed under the soft recessed lighting, a leather sofa that probably cost more than his entire tuition sat opposite a massive flat-screen TV, and the floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of the city that made his head spin.
And standing in the center of it all, a silhouette of cold elegance against the skyline, was Chi Cheng.
He was even more imposing in person than in the campus tabloids. Dressed in a simple black shirt and dark jeans that fit him like a second skin, he exuded an aura of untouchable wealth. His sharp, handsome features were set in a mask of bored indifference as he scrolled through his phone, not even deigning to look up as Wu Suowei dragged his worn-out duffel bag over the threshold.
"Uh. Hi?" Suowei ventured, his voice echoing slightly in the cavernous space. "I'm Wu Suowei. Your... new roommate?"
Chi Cheng finally lifted his gaze. His eyes, dark and unnervingly perceptive, swept over Suowei from his scuffed sneakers to his messy hair. The scrutiny made Suowei feel like a particularly uninteresting insect pinned to a display board.
"I know," Chi Cheng said, his voice a low, cool baritone. "The housing office made a catastrophic error. They're rectifying it."
Suowei’s cheerful facade cracked. "Error? This is room 1408, right? Wu Suowei, Economics. It's on my assignment." He fumbled in his pocket for the crumpled printout.
"Your assignment is irrelevant." Chi Cheng pocketed his phone and took a step forward. He was, Suowei noted with a sinking feeling, significantly taller. "This is a single suite. I paid for the entirety of it to ensure my privacy. Your presence is an infestation."
"An infestation!" Suowei squawked, his pride stung. He dropped his duffel bag with a thud. "Look, rich guy, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here. But until the 'catastrophic error' is 'rectified,' this is my room too. So you're just going to have to deal with my… infested presence."
A flicker of something—amusement? annoyance?—crossed Chi Cheng's face. "We'll see." He turned and walked towards what Suowei assumed was the larger of the two bedrooms.
"Don't touch anything. Don't breathe on the art. And for God's sake, don't try to befriend me."
The door clicked shut, leaving Suowei standing alone in the lavish living room. He let out a long, shaky breath. This was a disaster. A beautiful, luxurious, soul-crushing disaster.
He pulled out his phone and speed-dialed his best friend.
"Xiaoshuai," he whined the moment the line connected. "You will not believe the hell I'm in."
"Did you get the basement room with the leaky pipes again?" Jiang Xiaoshuai's cheerful voice came through the speaker.
"Worse! I got placed in a palace with a dragon. Chi Cheng. The Chi Cheng."
A low whistle echoed from the phone. "No way. The heir to the Chi conglomerate? The one whose family could buy our entire hometown and use it as a golf course? Suowei, that's… actually kind of amazing!"
"It's not amazing! He called me an infestation! He has a sofa that's judging me for my life choices!"
"Okay, okay, calm down, Wei Wei," Xiaoshuai soothed, using the silly nickname he’d called Suowei since they were kids. "Look, it's temporary. And think of the stories you'll have! Just keep your head down, don't provoke him, and we'll get you out of there. Chengyu and I are grabbing dinner. Wanna meet us? My treat."
Suowei felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I need noodles and to complain about the oppressive nature of the one percent."
An hour later, drowning his sorrows in a bowl of beef noodles, Suowei recounted the entire humiliating encounter to a captivated Jiang Xiaoshuai and his boyfriend, Guo Chengyu. Chengyu, tall, solid, and possessing a steady demeanor that perfectly complemented Xiaoshuai's bubbly energy, listened patiently.
"Chi Cheng has always been… particular," Chengyu said diplomatically, pushing a plate of dumplings towards Suowei. "We've known each other since we were children. His family life is… complicated. The frivolous playboy act is just that—an act. A very effective one."
"Well, his 'act' is a first-class asshole," Suowei grumbled, stuffing a dumpling in his mouth. "He looked at me like I was something he scraped off his thousand-dollar shoe."
Xiaoshuai patted his hand. "Just be your charming, scheming self. Maybe you can win him over."
"Or maybe I can just avoid him until housing kicks me out," Suowei countered. But a tiny, treacherous part of his brain, the part that loved a challenge and was endlessly fascinated by the mechanics of people, was already whirring to life. Win him over. What would that even take? What made a guy like Chi Cheng tick?
Back in the suite, it was silent. Chi Cheng sat at his minimalist desk, reviewing a business proposal on his tablet, but his focus was fractured. The image of his new "roommate" was stubbornly stuck in his mind. Wu Suowei. All big, bright eyes and messy hair, a live wire of nervous energy stuffed into cheap, ill-fitting clothes. He was everything Chi Cheng found exhausting: loud, poor, and transparently desperate.
Yet, there had been a spark in those eyes when he’d fought back. A defiance that wasn't just the usual sycophantic posturing Chi Cheng was used to. Infestation. The word had been unnecessarily cruel, even for him. He’d seen the flash of hurt before the bravado slammed back into place.
A soft rustling sound came from a custom-built terrarium in the corner of his room. He stood and walked over, unlatching the glass door. A small, sleek black snake, no thicker than his thumb, slithered out and coiled itself around his wrist. Its tiny tongue flicked out, tasting the air.
"Xiao Cubao," Chi Cheng murmured, stroking the snake's smooth scales with a finger. "It seems we have an intruder. What should we do with him?"
The snake, of course, offered no advice. It simply rested its head on his skin, a cool, calming weight. Chi Cheng had found the little snake abandoned near one of his family's construction sites a year ago. It was hostile to everyone, hissing and recoiling from any hand but his. It was a kindred spirit in its way—misunderstood and preferring isolation.
He sighed. Perhaps he would call the housing director again tomorrow. Apply a little more… financial pressure. The sooner Wu Suowei was gone, the better.
For everyone.