Bai Chen made no further effort to talk to him. He knew exactly where he stood: He's the protagonist, and I'm just a minor supporting character. Don't give yourself extra scenes!
Don't give yourself extra scenes!
If he asks, I'll answer. If he does nothing, neither will I.
Of everyone in the dorm, Lin Sen was probably the only roommate he could befriend.
The two of them spent the afternoon doing their own things.
Just as he thought he could get through the day peacefully like this and wait for Lin Sen to return...
A loud crash suddenly came from the bathroom.
"Ah..." Gu Yun drew in a deep breath.
The noise startled Bai Chen. He looked around, but there was no one else.
He hesitated over whether to help. What if helping changed the plot?
"Where's the other male lead? This isn't supposed to be my part in the plot, is it?"
After hesitating for a moment, he sighed, resigned himself to his fate, and climbed down from his bed, running to the bathroom without even putting on his shoes.
Gu Yun was bracing an elbow against the wall, his other hand supporting his lower back, his face twisted in pain.
He hadn't expected his new roommate outside to bother with him, since Bai Chen didn't seem particularly willing to talk to him.
Then he felt someone support him from behind. A fresh, pleasant scent washed over him.
"Are you okay?" the other boy asked.
Gu Yun looked back and discovered it was his new roommate. But Bai Chen was a little shorter than him and seemed to struggle to hold him up.
He paused, then smiled and gently shook his head. "I'm fine. I just slipped."
Bai Chen slowly helped him into the bedroom and pulled up a stool for him to sit on.
"Do you need to see a doctor?" Bai Chen was still a little worried. The fall had sounded so loud that Gu Yun might have sprained his ankle.
Besides, his expression hardly suggested he was fine. He was probably just toughing it out.
Bai Chen didn't know whether he should carry him to the campus clinic. Back in his own world, he definitely would have taken him, but this world was a novel, and he was afraid of stealing the other male lead's scenes.
He hadn't read the original novel, which made this situation painfully frustrating. He hated himself for not reading the book his younger sister had written.
What kind of book would his sister write? There would probably be some Mary Sue plotlines. He'd never read that sort of book, but his sister liked watching those dramas while eating.
For example:
The male lead's mother: "I'll give you ten million. Leave my son. You're not good enough for him."
The female lead, sobbing: "No, ma'am. I love him. I won't give him up for money. Please don't stand in our way..."
The male lead's mother: "Don't make me do this the hard way!"
The female lead angered his mother so much that she slammed the door and left.
Bai Chen had never understood it. Why choose a man over money? The guy wasn't even that great. If she married him and ended up with a vicious mother-in-law, wouldn't she be just like Lin Pinru?
Why not take the money, start a business, and secretly work things out with the male lead? Then she could become a successful businesswoman and throw a huge stack of cash in the faces of everyone who looked down on her. Wouldn't that feel great?
Instead, she had to keep putting up with their mistreatment.
Getting off track. Getting off track.
"So, male lead! Why aren't you here yet?"
In just a few seconds, Bai Chen's expression shifted several times. Gu Yun found it rather fascinating. How could someone make so many expressions in so little time?
After wrestling with his hesitation for a few seconds, Bai Chen abruptly stood up, turned his back to Gu Yun, crouched in front of him, and patted his own back.
"Get on. I'll take you to the campus clinic. You've sprained your ankle, and it'll be a problem if it gets worse." He didn't give Gu Yun much time to think.
Gu Yun lowered his head slightly. His dark eyes shone as he gazed at Bai Chen, filled with gratitude.
He was also a little hesitant, embarrassed to trouble his new classmate. But looking at his ankle, he knew it would probably get worse by evening if nobody helped him, so he stopped refusing.
"Okay. Thank you, Bai Chen," he answered, his voice hesitant and shy.
Bai Chen smiled casually. "It's fine. No big deal."
Gu Yun wiped his shoes clean with tissues and carefully settled onto Bai Chen's back. Though slender, he was still a grown man, and he was afraid his weight would make Bai Chen fall.
Besides, Bai Chen looked just as thin and frail.
Unexpectedly, Bai Chen even hitched him a little higher without showing much strain at all.
He's that strong? Who would've thought such a slender boy would have so much strength? Gu Yun was a little surprised.
Bai Chen had no idea what he was thinking. All he knew was that he needed to walk carefully. Dropping the male lead would be a disaster.
He had considered asking the roommates next door for help, but everyone was busy unpacking. Not wanting to trouble them, he left them alone.
Besides, he discovered that Gu Yun wasn't heavy. Honestly, he was pretty light.
On the way, Gu Yun did the talking, and Bai Chen answered.
Gu Yun had a nice personality and was easy to get along with. Most importantly, being around him felt comfortable. No wonder the other male lead would like him.
After examining him, the campus doctor diagnosed a mild ankle sprain. It was nothing serious. He just needed to take some medicine back and apply it three times a day until it stopped hurting.
After leaving the clinic, Bai Chen carried Gu Yun back to the dorm along the same route.
The sunset bathed them both in its glow, making Bai Chen's face look even fairer and softer.
Bai Chen wasn't exceptionally handsome. His looks were simply above average.
He fell a little short when compared with the two male leads.
But one look at him gave the impression that he was approachable, easy to talk to, and a genuinely nice person.
This left Gu Yun with a good impression of him.
A steady, warmhearted, gentle roommate.
By the time they reached the foot of the dorm building, it was already getting late. The lights were on in room 704, which meant someone had returned.
Bai Chen guessed it was the cool guy, since Lin Sen had just messaged to ask whether he'd eaten. He was eating out and could bring Bai Chen something back.
Bai Chen was touched. In a boys' dorm, a guy like that was practically everyone's dad. But after thinking it over, he declined. He wanted to eat at the cafeteria later and take a look around the university where he would spend the next four years.
He figured he should be able to leave this world after graduating and return to his own. By then, he probably wouldn't have any scenes left, though he hadn't read the original novel.
For those four years, he only needed to complete the original owner's studies and play his role as the cannon-fodder roommate. He didn't know whether the original owner had gone to his world.
But nothing had happened to the original owner. Perhaps a magnetic field had caused their souls to switch, which meant the original owner was still alive.
He would follow the original owner's intended path, help him fulfill his dreams, and be filial to his parents until the day they switched back. Naturally, he hoped the original owner would treat his family well too.
Bai Chen didn't know what the original owner's personality had been like, so pretending to be him was difficult. He could only speak less around people who knew the original owner. After all, the less he said, the fewer mistakes he would make.
His mind was full of thoughts, but his hold on Gu Yun stayed steady. Gu Yun noticed that he was a little lost in thought and found it rather cute. Looking at his unfocused eyes, he pressed his lips together in the faintest hint of a smile.
He didn't interrupt him. Bai Chen only came back to his senses when they reached their dorm.
As soon as the door opened, a wave of men's cologne hit them. It made Bai Chen's nose itch, but he managed not to sneeze.
There was also a stream of complaints.
"This dorm is way too small. I thought I could finally get away from the old man and have some freedom. Who knew he'd stick me in this crappy dorm and make me squeeze in with three other people?" a boy complained in a somewhat languid voice.
Then came a scoff. "What more do you want, young master? All the dorms are like this. You're the one who wanted to move out and be independent. Who else can you blame?"
The boy hadn't expected that retort and tried again. "But this..."
Before he could finish, the good-natured boy interrupted him.
"Stop complaining to me. I'm not going to pamper you. I'm not your dad. I think it's pretty nice. I like this kind of place." His voice was pleasant, but his tongue was rather sharp.
The complaining boy was left speechless.
Listening from outside, Bai Chen found it funny and held back a laugh.
Gu Yun wasn't nearly so good-tempered. His face remained dark throughout. He thought the complaining boy sounded far too arrogant. Did not having money give them the right to talk about people like that?
Rich boys really were all the same. No, not all of them. There was his new roommate-Bai Chen.
Although Bai Chen wore affordable clothes like any ordinary person, his computer had given him away. That model wasn't cheap. Gu Yun had worked in sales over the summer, memorizing the price and advantages of every computer model.
That computer cost at least two hundred thousand.
But Bai Chen wasn't haughty like those other rich kids. Instead, he treated Gu Yun with humility and courtesy, which made being around him feel very comfortable.
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