Chapter 3

A sizable crowd had already gathered downstairs outside Sycamore Block 2.

The security guards and the maintenance staff were standing in a row, along with the dorm supervisor, Sharon Bettany. None of them looked particularly pleased.

As soon as the door to Room 503 opened, a damp, sour smell hit us.

The windows were wide open. Half a cup of honey water, several pieces of rotten peach, and an open garbage bag sat on the windowsill. There was even a basin of standing water in the corner of the balcony.

Mosquitoes circled the light fixture, while a whole swarm buzzed in the corners.

Sharon's face turned ashen instantly. "Who did this?"

Nathan stood in the middle of the room as though everyone had misunderstood him. "They get hungry too. It doesn't matter if the fruit goes bad. The little creatures will eat it."

The maintenance worker tried his best to hold back his irritation. "Young man, this is a student dorm, not an insect observation room. Stagnant water is a breeding ground for mosquitoes, and rotting fruit attracts bugs too."

Nathan pouted and argued, "Sir, you're being so harsh. They'll get scared if they hear you."

Someone in the crowd laughed, while others spoke up for him.

"Isn't he being too much of a sissy? I get that some people practice mindfulness, but they don't take it this far."

"Maybe don't provoke him."

"There's nothing wrong with not killing living creatures, though."

The next moment, a mosquito landed on Sharon's arm. She lifted her other hand and smacked, killing it swiftly.

Nathan let out a scream. "You killed it!"

The entire floor went silent.

Sharon looked at the tiny smear of blood on her palm, her expression darkening. "Worry about yourself first."

Just then, my other two roommates from Room 503 came up the stairs. One was Oscar Clark, and the other was Zeke Murray.

Oscar's arms were covered in mosquito bites, and he was holding a torn mosquito net. "This is mine."

Zeke held his washbasin with a grim expression. "He wouldn't let us dump out that basin of water on the balcony. He said there might be insect eggs in it."

When Nathan saw them, he looked as though his rescuers had arrived. "Oscar, Zeke, please speak up for me."

Oscar hesitated.

Zeke glanced at me and lowered his voice. "Actually, Nathan's pretty pitiful. He's just too kind."

There it was again—Nathan was just too kind.

Every disaster started with those words.

Nathan's eyes immediately reddened. "Aiden, I really didn't know your reaction was this serious."

I exposed the rash on my arm. It had already spread from my wrist to my forearm, covering my skin densely.

Oscar got a fright as he asked in surprise, "You're really allergic?"

Nathan immediately choked up. "I thought you just didn't like that they were dirty."

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

I stared at him and stated, "Being allergic isn't the same as thinking they're dirty."

Nathan shrank back, and his eyes held just the right amount of redness. "I was wrong, okay? You don't have to be so mean to me."

Zeke sighed and said, "Aiden, he already apologized."

Before I could say anything, a mosquito flew down from beside the light and landed on Nathan's neck. A security guard nearby instinctively raised his hand.

Nathan jerked backward and shouted, "Don't touch it!"

He crashed into the shoe rack behind the door. Dozens of pairs of shoes tumbled onto the floor. A white sneaker happened to fall straight into the basin of standing water.

The owner of the shoe immediately lost it. "Nathan!"