Chapter 1

"Keith Kavanaugh, where did you put the AC remote?" I endured the stabbing pain in my head and looked at Keith.

He rolled his eyes at me. "What do you need the remote for? Didn't we agree to keep the room temperature below 50°F? In case you guys accidentally switch it off or something, I'll be the one keeping the remote from now on."

I was suffering from a bad cold already.

I sneezed and wrapped myself tighter in the blanket while trying to reason with him. "It's September, and we're in the north region. I'm sick from the AC constantly blowing at me. Let's just turn it up a little…"

Before I could finish, Keith cut me off aggressively, "I think you're just jealous of my special constitution as the Holy Son of Frost and want me to melt away. Keep dreaming. There's no way I'm giving you the remote!"

I struggled to put up with Keith's absurd way of thinking.

It was partly my fault. On the first day college started, he had said in the dorm that he was sensitive to heat and that his family kept the AC on all year. He hoped we could at least keep it running until October and asked me not to mind.

Seeing him drenched in sweat, I had said he could keep it on however he wanted. If I felt cold, I could just wrap myself in a blanket. But who would have known that he would set it to 50°F and never turn it off, not even when it rained?

Not only that, but he even live-streamed himself online. He remained calm and unfazed in a 50°F room, which was a stark comparison to his pathetic roommate—me—who was shivering under a thick blanket.

He claimed he was the Holy Son of Frost blessed with a special body and that he could only survive long-term in temperatures below 50°F. He also claimed he had to carry an umbrella when going outside to keep himself from melting in the sun.

People online had never heard anything so bizarre, so it earned him countless followers. Among them were female fans who started chatting him up.

After having a taste of success, he became even more unwilling to turn off the AC.

It was fine for the others. Unfortunately, my bed was directly under the AC and right in front of the vent. In less than two days, I caught a cold. My head throbbed like countless needles were stabbing into it. So, I had no choice but to negotiate with Keith to raise the temperature a bit.

But he claimed that heat would scorch him and refused to turn off the AC no matter what. He even questioned whether I was trying to kill him.

I had planned to turn the AC off while he was out. I didn't expect that he would hide the remote.

I completely lost my patience in trying to reason with him.

In a serious voice, I said, "The weather in this region isn't even that hot to begin with. It's raining outside today, so it's even cooler. If you can't stand the heat, we can switch places. You can take my spot."

The moment I said that, Keith bolted upright and retorted angrily, "You're so evil, Zachary! How can you ask me to sleep under the AC vent? What if the cold air makes me sick?"

I laughed incredulously out of anger. "So, you do know that cold air can make one sick, huh?"

Ignoring my reddened nose, he crossed his arms and looked at me indifferently.

He said, "I don't care. You said before I could use the AC however I want. For the sake of my cultivation, a little discomfort on your part is nothing? Once I ascend to immortality in the future, I'll repay you with blessings.

"Besides, roommates are supposed to tolerate each other. If you had any strange habits, I'd tolerate you too."

I was about to say something else when our other roommate, Liam Lawton, grabbed my arm.

He advised, "Forget it, Zachary. He seems to be related to the dorm counselor, Yara Ziegler. They're really close. If you offend him, you'll definitely get screwed over."

Keith heard Liam.

Turning to smile at us, he said smugly, "See? Liam's a smart one. Zachary, you'd better stop antagonizing me… What are you doing?"

I shoved him aside and found the AC remote hidden in the cabinet behind him. In one swift movement, I turned off the AC.

Keith stared at me in disbelief and reached out as if to hit me. "How dare you, Zachary! What if I melt from the heat? Can you take responsibility for that? I'll tell Ms. Ziegler that you're bullying me!"

I dodged his punch and responded expressionlessly, "Go ahead. I'd like to ask Ms. Ziegler whether any of our college rules says that the dorm AC has to be set below 50°F. How does turning it off count as bullying a roommate?

"If you really do melt from the heat, I'll take responsibility for it. Or we can go find the principal right now and ask for a special dorm just for you. Then, you can set the AC however you like."

Keith shot me a resentful look but didn't dare say anything else.

For the first time, the dorm temperature felt normal. I quickly fell into a deep sleep.

But in the middle of the night, a shrill shout suddenly rang out in the dorm.