After Becoming Roommates with My Flirty Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 20

The rain had drizzled on for over ten days, soaking Yuncheng to its core. Summer, two weeks late, finally arrived. After the rain, the sky cleared, revealing an endless blue without a single wisp of cloud, so pure and crystalline.

Yu Xia woke up early, roused by the heat.

Just one night after the rain stopped, the temperature had already soared. Summer’s sweltering heat rolled over the lush green trees, painting the streets with vibrant emerald hues. The old city’s roadside trees, many decades old, formed interlocking canopies that shaded pedestrians.

When Yu Xia woke up, Zheng Yun was still asleep, her fluffy head buried in the pillow, long black hair tangled across the white sheets. Her breathing was shallow, the blanket rising and falling gently with each breath, her profile serene.

The time on Yu Xia’s phone showed just past seven in the morning, but the temperature had already climbed above thirty degrees Celsius. She groped for the air conditioner remote in the nightstand drawer, then quietly slipped out of bed to close the windows and draw the curtains.

The windows of the guesthouse, unlike those in chain hotels maintained year-round by professionals, lacked proper lubrication. With even a slight push, they creaked loudly, the sound particularly jarring in the quiet of early morning. Yu Xia glanced back and, seeing no sign of Zheng Yun waking, breathed a sigh of relief.

The curtains weren’t thick enough to block out the morning light, which streamed through the gaps, revealing the silhouette of the person beside her.

Zheng Yun was sound asleep. As the temperature rose, she had kicked off the blanket to cool down, leaving her slender, pale legs exposed. A cool breeze made her slowly retract them under the covers. Yu Xia lowered her gaze, watched her for a few seconds, then tucked the blanket back around her.

Yu Xia rarely enjoyed sleeping in, but she didn’t want to wake Zheng Yun just yet.

Being near Zheng Yun filled her with an overwhelming sense of peace. As Chen Zhu put it, it felt like being in heaven—a state of tranquility where the world bloomed with flowers of kindness. Yu Xia didn’t want to shatter this hard-won serenity. She sat by the bed for a while, when suddenly, something occurred to her.

When Zheng Yun groggily opened her eyes, she saw Yu Xia sitting by the window, flipping through something.

The breeze parted Yu Xia’s hair, gilding her dark lashes and even the fine down on her face with a golden sheen. Her dark eyes were fixed on the pages, her pale skin appearing even colder in the sunlight. Her lips were pressed into a straight line, her expression so serious she looked like she was studying an arcane physics paper.

A narrow slit in the drawn curtains let sunlight fall on the round table. Yu Xia sat sideways, angling the book to catch the light, her focus so intense she didn’t notice her roommate had woken up.

Zheng Yun yawned, suddenly seized by the urge to startle Yu Xia. She quietly slipped out of bed, her bare feet landing on the icy floor. The chill made her wince, but she made no sound as she tiptoed toward Yu Xia.

The moment Zheng Yun drew near, Yu Xia sensed her presence.

The citrus scent worked better than any menthol balm. Yu Xia snapped back to awareness, lifting her head with a mixture of confusion and surprise, making no attempt to hide the book.

Thus, Zheng Yun clearly saw the words on the page:

A twenty-year-old Omega still possessed a youthful innocence. Her snow-white wedding gown accentuated her skin, making her more radiant than any flower. Yet her tear-reddened eyes stirred my pity.

She clutched the bouquet she hadn’t thrown, her voice trembling despite her forced composure. Pointing to a girl in the crowd who bore a striking resemblance to her, she asked, “Are you marrying me because I look like her?”

Zheng Yun: ……

Isn’t this the “Dominant Alpha Falls for Me” that I desperately tried to keep Yu Xia from seeing last night?

As their eyes met, Yu Xia’s fingers involuntarily flipped a page.

Xia Xiao threw the flowers to the ground, sobbing, lifted her wide skirt, and fled the wedding banquet without looking back, ignoring the crowd’s cries.

Yu Xia: ……

Zheng Yun: ……

Zheng Yun quickly snatched the book from Yu Xia’s lap, closed it, and clutched it tightly to her chest. Before Yu Xia could speak, she swiftly changed the subject: “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat first.”

When they finished changing and left the house, Yu Xia still seemed a bit dazed. She turned to Zheng Yun and asked, “Why did she run away like that? Shouldn’t she have demanded an explanation?”

Xiao Qi and Xiao Jiu had just woken up. They hadn’t drunk much alcohol—they’d mostly spent the night cuddling and kissing until it was time to open the shop. Both were yawning. Xiao Jiu’s cold had improved significantly with the warmer weather; though she wasn’t back to her usual energetic self, she was much more lively. Seeing the two chatting as they came downstairs, she wiped the table and asked, “What are you two whispering about so early in the morning?”

Yu Xia pondered Zheng Yun’s words. If it was Xiao Jiu’s book, then Xiao Jiu must know how the plot unfolds. She was about to ask when Zheng Yun clamped a hand over her mouth.

Xiao Jiu scoffed, her voice raspy from a lingering cough. “What secrets are you keeping from us?” she teased.

Feigning hurt, she tossed the rag onto the table and clutched her chest. “After all I’ve poured my heart and soul into you, sharing everything I know—not just teaching you how to fish, but giving you the fish itself, providing you with all the tools and methods. I’m practically your mentor! And this is how you repay me?”

Yu Xia fell silent.

She knew asking Xiao Jiu about the plot’s trajectory was a long shot.

Xiao Qi emerged from the kitchen, her hands empty. “We finished most of the groceries yesterday,” she said. “Let’s go out for breakfast.”

Only then did she notice the two figures standing by the staircase. She sized them up and asked with genuine curiosity, “How was your wedding night?”

Seeing the shift in topic, Zheng Yun released Yu Xia’s mouth and led her toward the door. “Better than you two hugging and kissing in the wind outside,” she retorted.

Xiao Jiu’s competitive spirit flared. She snatched the dishcloth from the table and thrust it back at Xiao Qi, retorting defiantly, “Then why did Yu Xia come looking for us last night? Was it just to ask for advice?”

The mention of last night brought Yu Xia and Zheng Yun’s awkward behavior to mind. Even a post about it on the anonymous “tree hole” forum would have been ridiculed. After a night to compose herself, Yu Xia managed to maintain a calm facade, though she frowned slightly. “I just wanted to help you two with the cleanup. I was worried you’d be too tired.”

Xiao Jiu eyed her skeptically. “Really? That’s all?”

If Yu Xia had harbored ulterior motives, she might have felt a twinge of guilt. But since her intentions had been purely altruistic, her response remained unwavering. I can’t feel guilty about something I didn’t do.

Xiao Qi, having finished tidying up, joined Yu Xia and Zheng Yun as they walked side-by-side. She picked up the thread of the conversation, adding, “Seriously, they’d rather Google something on their phones than ask anyone for help.”

Only then did Xiao Jiu finally relent.

Since they were all heading out for breakfast, they decided to go together. Xiao Qi continued, explaining, “Even though they’d had a bit too much to drink, they still helped clean up quite a bit. You two, on the other hand, just snuck away.”

Yu Xia finally felt a pang of guilt.

“But hey, newlyweds get special privileges! We forgive you both!” Xiao Jiu declared with a grand wave of her hand, striking a heroic pose.

Zheng Yun gently swayed her hand beside Yu Xia, whispering, “Your palms were sweating just now.”

If it weren’t for the air conditioning in the shop, Yu Xia felt she would have been drenched in sweat.

The mere thought of her reckless actions the previous night made her back prickle with perspiration. Zheng Yun hadn’t shown a hint of impatience throughout the entire ordeal, only deepening Yu Xia’s guilt.

“Oh, right, Yu Xia, what were you going to ask earlier? If it wasn’t about ‘experience,’ what was so sensitive?” Xiao Jiu hadn’t forgotten the earlier topic. The guesthouse saw a constant stream of visitors, many of them interesting, but couples as beautiful, engaging, and compatible as Zheng Yun and Yu Xia were rare.

Moreover, in a sense, Yu Xia and Zheng Yun were a couple she had brought together. As their matchmaker, she took a special interest in their relationship’s progress.

Yu Xia hesitated for a few seconds, weighing whether to ask. Zheng Yun looked like she’d rather she didn’t. She could always search online later. Better not do anything that might upset her girlfriend.

“You lent me a few novels, right? There was one where the protagonist ran away from her wedding,” Zheng Yun sighed, answering her own question. “Yu Xia wanted to know why she just ran instead of trying to talk things out.”

The four of them fell silent for a moment.

After days of relentless rain, the cicadas finally had their chance to sing. They performed with the fervor of musicians at a concert, pouring their energy into their performance regardless of whether the audience truly wanted to listen.

“Just that?” Xiao Jiu was the first to snap out of her reverie. She never imagined anyone would seriously question the plot of a formulaic, old-fashioned yuri novel—especially someone like Yu Xia, who didn’t seem like the type to be interested in such stories.

“Just that,” Zheng Yun nodded resignedly.

“I can barely remember the plot,” Xiao Jiu wrinkled her nose in thought, letting Xiao Qi guide her. “Is there a summary?”

Yu Xia summarized the story objectively, without personal emotion.

“Ah, that one!” Xiao Jiu exclaimed in realization. “If she didn’t run, how would they chase each other?”

“It’s classic: ‘She flees, he pursues, and neither can escape,'” Xiao Jiu recited dramatically. “If everything were explained clearly, what would the novel be about?”

“You two didn’t just stay up all night reading novels, did you?” Xiao Jiu eyed them suspiciously. “This is a qing shui novel—there’s nothing to learn from it.”

Yu Xia: “I read a few chapters when I woke up this morning.”

She immediately shut her mouth, afraid that if she said any more, Xiao Jiu would interrogate them about every detail from yesterday until now.

Zheng Yun was about to tease Yu Xia while crossing the street when Xiao Jiu suddenly shifted the conversation to her: “You said you weren’t interested in this kind of novel when I lent it to you before, but now you’re secretly reading it!”

Zheng Yun also fell silent.

Xiao Jiu, who had been suppressing her discomfort for days due to a sore throat, finally found an outlet for her pent-up energy.

With the two silenced, Xiao Qi took over the conversation. The couple walked ahead, hand in hand and radiating sweetness, while Zheng Yun and Yu Xia trailed behind, heading toward a noodle shop.

As Zheng Yun led Yu Xia across the crosswalk, the green light’s timer ticked down rapidly. Before they could fully reach the sidewalk, the light changed. Zheng Yun quickly pulled Yu Xia forward, urging her to run to avoid being hit by impatient drivers eager to step on the gas.

Xiao Qi and Xiao Jiu stood on the sidewalk waiting for them. Xiao Jiu’s attention was drawn to an elderly woman selling flowers nearby, and she kept craning her neck to look around while they waited, her eyes already picking out her favorites.

When Xiao Qi saw the two running toward them, she let Xiao Jiu pull her forward. Zheng Yun and Yu Xia fell behind, following at a leisurely pace. They looked more like they were taking a morning stroll for exercise than going out for breakfast.

Yu Xia stared at the backs of the two ahead and asked, “Why didn’t you let me ask earlier, but then you asked yourself?”

Zheng Yun sighed helplessly. “I didn’t want her to know I was reading it. When she forced it on me, I told her I didn’t like it.”

Bored in the back with no phone and not wanting to bother Yu Xia, Zheng Yun had flipped through a few chapters and unconsciously ended up reading more than half the book. Determined to finish what she’d started, she planned to finish it, but then this happened.

“You wanted to know, but I was too embarrassed to tell you and didn’t want you to keep reading,” Zheng Yun recalled the later chapters—the usual tropes: runaway pregnancy, the CEO’s fury, the omega’s dramatic transformation, and so on. She couldn’t bring herself to describe them. “Just have Xiao Jiu tell you. And please, don’t get interested.”

“Look how beautiful you are,” Zheng Yun said, shaking Yu Xia’s hand. “If others knew, they’d think I was tainting your elegance.”

Yu Xia’s lingering question remained unanswered. She lowered her gaze and replied softly, “I don’t care what others think. Your happiness is what matters most.”

“Anything that concerns you concerns me too.”

Whether good or bad.

Zheng Yun paused, then sighed softly, her eyes crinkling into a gentle smile. “Xiaxia, are you really this good to me?”

Yu Xia didn’t feel she was being particularly good to Zheng Yun. In fact, she thought Zheng Yun was naive, too easily swayed by pretty words. She frowned seriously and said, “It’s easy to say nice things. Don’t be so easily fooled.”

Zheng Yun stared at her for a few seconds before bursting into laughter, her eyes sparkling. “But Xiaxia, you never say pretty words!”

Every “pretty word” Yu Xia spoke came from the heart, meant to cheer her up. Wasn’t that a genuine expression of affection?