After Becoming Roommates with My Flirty Ex-Girlfriend - Chapter 5

Yu Xia’s life dictionary lacked the word “initiative.” She pursed her lips and abandoned the idea of striking up a conversation. She was leaving Yuncheng tomorrow, her train ticket already booked. She’d check out early in the morning and leave—no need to complicate things.

She looked away and turned to leave.

“Can I try one of your oranges?” Zheng Yun asked first.

Yu Xia froze, her eyes meeting Zheng Yun’s smiling gaze in confusion.

A two-yuan store nearby finished its repetitive “Everything’s two yuan!” chant and switched to DJ dance music, the pounding bass shaking the ground.

Thump-thump.

Yu Xia almost thought she’d misheard.

“Is that okay? I can trade you one of mine. I noticed the oranges over there are a different variety from what I bought, and I’d like to try yours,” Zheng Yun said, her voice as warm and gentle as her appearance, yet without sounding coy.

“They’re the same! Locally grown and guaranteed sweet!” the owner, fanning himself in a rocking chair, suddenly chimed in.

Yu Xia was so embarrassed she wanted to scratch her nose. Even the dog tied under the tree shifted its sleeping position.

“Hey, Owner, don’t expose me like that!” Zheng Yun, however, showed no signs of embarrassment. She tilted her head slightly, her eyes sparkling with mock indignation at the Owner’s teasing.

“Got it, got it. You just want to make friends with this pretty girl, right?” The Owner, a shrewd businessman, knew exactly what was going on. “You city girls always beat around the bush. Why can’t you just ask directly?”

Yu Xia shifted the bag of oranges to her other hand. She’d never liked such boisterous environments, and she especially hated being the subject of conversation.

She wanted to leave, but she couldn’t bring herself to.

The market was as chaotic as ever. It was almost lunchtime, and the remaining shoppers were mostly there for fruit. The place buzzed with noise, but thankfully, few people seemed to notice the exchange happening here.

Zheng Yun couldn’t help but laugh.

In small towns, everyone knew everyone else. There was no need for subtlety. If you wanted to get to know your neighbor, you’d just bring over some fruit and knock on their door. They treated tourists with the same genuine warmth.

Over the past two days, Yu Xia had experienced this firsthand. Even taxi drivers offered her fruit, and an elderly woman fanning herself by the roadside at night asked if she wanted some floral water to ward off mosquitoes.

“Here,” Yu Xia said, determined to break the ice. She proactively offered Zheng Yun an orange.

“This orange is beautiful,” Zheng Yun said, accepting it. “May I have the pleasure of getting to know its owner?”

The owner, who was happily fanning himself, burst into laughter. “You city girls sure know how to talk!”

Inside Yu Xia, her heart felt like a seesaw, the weights jumping faster than her pulse.

Claiming she’d never been pursued would be a blatant lie. Since childhood, she’d had a steady stream of admirers, both male and female. Her aloof personality made her impervious to both soft and hard approaches; even the most passionate declarations fell on deaf ears, sinking like stones into the sea without so much as a ripple.

After nineteen years, Yu Xia was experiencing for the first time the sensation of her heart pounding like a drum from a single sentence.

“Yes,” Yu Xia nodded lightly.

The loud music was too overwhelming, so they decided to leave.

As they walked out, Yu Xia noticed Zheng Yun was wearing sandals.

She had seen people pair qipao dresses with canvas shoes, but this was the first time she’d ever seen someone wear a qipao with flip-flops. Yu Xia glanced at Zheng Yun’s ankles—slender as bamboo joints, so delicate they seemed they could be encircled with a single hand.

They walked to the park outside the market and settled on a bench. Zheng Yun took the oranges Yu Xia had been holding the entire way and began peeling one for her.

“Have an orange first. I buy them from this place every day—they’re really sweet.”

Her nails were neatly trimmed, their pearly white tips sinking into the orange peel. Juice overflowed onto her fingertips, releasing a burst of sweet-tart citrus aroma that mingled with the fresh scent of grass in the park, creating a fragrance more captivating than any perfume on the market.

At least, that’s how Yu Xia felt.

“They’re all local, so the taste should be the same, right?” Yu Xia took the orange segment Zheng Yun offered and popped it into her mouth. The sweetness was perfectly balanced by a hint of acidity, the juicy flesh bursting with flavor that filled her mouth with a sweet, fragrant tang.

“Exactly the same,” Zheng Yun replied candidly, feeding herself a segment as well.

“Then why did you want to trade oranges with me?” Yu Xia pulled an orange from her bag and began peeling it herself, eager to compare the taste.

“I can’t think of a way to strike up a casual conversation with you,” Zheng Yun said with a helpless smile. “If I just asked you directly, you’d probably walk away.”

“Has anyone ever rejected you before?” Yu Xia asked.

In the past, Yu Xia would have definitely rejected her. She had zero patience for people she didn’t like. But Zheng Yun had clearly underestimated her own charm.

Not everyone is a visual creature, but most people unconsciously give way to those who are attractive.

“No,” Zheng Yun shook her head, pulling a wet wipe from her bag to slowly wipe the juice from her fingers.

“Why do you think I would reject you?” Yu Xia pressed, firing off several questions.

Zheng Yun stuffed the wet wipe back into its plastic pouch and set it beside the wooden bench, propping her chin on her hand as she looked over. “I mean, I’ve never proactively asked anyone before. I was afraid you’d think I was crazy.”

Yu Xia didn’t believe her.

Zheng Yun didn’t seem like someone who would make the first move, but every word she spoke sounded like the practiced line of a seasoned flirt, a master of navigating romantic entanglements without getting caught. She carried the weight of countless romantic debts.

After peeling the orange, Yu Xia handed half to Zheng Yun. “It’s not that bad. Try it and see if you can taste a difference?”

Zheng Yun popped it into her mouth, savoring the flavor. “There is a slight difference.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s a little sweeter.”

Yu Xia dismissed it as individual variation. She took a bite and nearly choked on the sourness.

Zheng Yun laughed, her shoulders shaking with mirth. Her slippered feet swung back and forth, following her movements.

Yu Xia glanced at her briefly before turning her gaze to the nearby river.

The river, so narrow it took only half a minute to cross by bridge, bisected Yuncheng. Yet it was a favorite evening stroll destination for locals.

Each had a bag of oranges beside them as they chatted in the evening breeze, exchanging names and sharing where they came from. Zheng Yun had come from Nanqiao City, having secured a spot in a postgraduate program. This was her graduation trip, a search for a quiet place to unwind.

“Places that are too beautiful are also too crowded,” she said. “Yuncheng is just right.”

Yu Xia agreed.

It was summer vacation, and guesthouses and hotels in nearby cities were fully booked. Famous tourist spots were swarming with crowds, and hundreds of new travel guides flooded the internet daily.

Yuncheng’s slow-paced, comfortable atmosphere made it perfect for a relaxing getaway.

“Where are you staying?” Zheng Yun asked.

Alarm bells rang in Yu Xia’s mind. Could this stunning woman be part of some organ harvesting ring?

She hesitated for a moment, recalling Xiao Qi, the owner who had boasted about being able to take on several people in a fight. “Chuntianli,” she replied.

Zheng Yun nodded knowingly. “I lived there when I first arrived too. Later, I rented my own place.”

“Didn’t you like living there?”

The monthly rent at Chuntianli was incredibly cheap. Yu Xia had always felt like the owners were practically running a charity. If Yuncheng hadn’t been so boring, she would have stayed longer.

“Didn’t the owner tell you?” Zheng Yun sighed softly. “They’re a couple, you know. And I was the only tenant. It got really annoying having to watch their public displays of affection every day.”

Yu Xia was speechless. She had never imagined that was the reason.

But she had learned something: Zheng Yun was at least not homophobic.

Her gaydar, which had been dormant for nineteen years, had suddenly pinged. She didn’t trust her instincts at all. But asking about someone’s sexuality right off the bat felt like sexual harassment, a blatant attempt to hit on them.

Yu Xia had no intention of leaving a good impression on someone she was leaving tomorrow.

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Yu Xia said, watching the people passing by. “I guess I won’t have to witness their lovey-dovey displays anymore.”

“What a pity,” Zheng Yun sighed again.

“What’s a pity?”

“You’re so cute,” Zheng Yun said, tilting her head and arranging her fingers along her cheek. “I won’t get to see you again after you leave.”

Yu Xia’s fingers fidgeted on the stool, and she almost pulled out her phone to cancel her ticket. Fortunately, reason prevailed, and she forced a smile. “How about we exchange contact information? Maybe we’ll meet again someday?”

This was the limit of her initiative. In all her years, she had only ever asked for contact information from her art studio teacher and the owner of the art supply store downstairs.

“Maybe next time,” Zheng Yun said, standing up. “This time isn’t really working out.”

With a wave, she added, “I’m heading home now. See you around, if fate allows.”

In her perfectly tailored qipao, her slender figure lacked some of the breathtaking elegance, but gained a serene beauty reminiscent of a landscape painting—if you ignored the white slippers on her feet.

Yu Xia’s first-ever attempt at taking initiative had ended in failure.

Zheng Yun took away the trash and the unfinished sour tangerine, leaving only Yu Xia’s half-eaten tangerine lying forlornly beside its peel on the stool.

This tangerine is so sour, she thought. I’m never buying from that place again.

She stood up, intending to toss the sour tangerine into the trash.

But as she approached the bin, she reconsidered.

What “next time”? she thought. My train leaves early tomorrow morning. Unless something unexpected happens, I’ll never come to Yuncheng again.

Driven by a sense of not wasting food, she popped the remaining tangerine segments into her mouth one by one, the sourness making her wince.

“What a lousy orange,” she muttered. “Why are Zheng Yun’s oranges so sweet, while mine are so sour?”

She followed the path back to Chuntianli. Xiao Qi and Xiao Jiu had turned off the lights and were watching a movie projected onto the wall. From the outside, it looked like the guesthouse had closed for the night.

Yu Xia couldn’t quite grasp the logic behind the couple’s business practices. She quietly went upstairs to bed.

As soon as she entered, she saw Xiao Jiu sprawled asleep on Xiao Qi’s lap. Xiao Qi wasn’t even watching the movie; she was just gazing at Xiao Jiu’s sleeping form with a silly grin.

Yu Xia finally understood Zheng Yun’s mindset, especially after her recent humiliating rejection.

Who does that? she thought. Compliments you on being cute, then refuses to give you their contact information?

She vowed never to ask anyone for their contact information again.

Despite her resentment, her expression remained as cold as a glacier, betraying no emotion whatsoever.

“Yu Xia,” Xiao Qi called out, stopping her.

Fine, call me, she thought. But then Xiao Qi covered Xiao Jiu’s ears, as if afraid of waking her.

“Hmm?”

“A guest will be arriving later tonight. They’re staying on the third floor, in the room across from yours. There might be some noise.”

Yu Xia nodded. Normal business operations, she thought. Xiao Qi was probably just letting her know in case she got startled by sounds from the neighboring room in the middle of the night.

She carried the oranges upstairs.

In the middle of the night, a sudden storm raged outside. Yu Xia groggily heard her phone buzz and squinted at the screen.

“Severe torrential rain has struck our province, leading to the cancellation of numerous flights and train services. Passengers with travel plans are advised to rebook their tickets promptly and stay safe.”

Yu Xia couldn’t fall back asleep.

She got up, grabbed the oranges, and headed downstairs to borrow the owner’s projector for a movie night.

The neighboring room was eerily silent, not a sound.

She tiptoed down the stairs.

Xiao Qi had gone to bed, leaving Xiao Jiu alone to mind the shop. Xiao Jiu was curled up on the sofa, engrossed in a game. Though she didn’t curse while playing, her deeply furrowed brow and pursed lips betrayed her frustration.

Yu Xia arrived just as Xiao Jiu finished a round—a loss, judging by her pout and the controller she tossed back onto the coffee table with a sigh.

After hearing Yu Xia’s request, Xiao Jiu turned on the projector and said, “If you get stuck, try checking the manual yourself. I’m going to keep Xiao Qi company while she sleeps.”

Yu Xia took another bite of dog food.

She nodded, peeled an orange, and ate it.

Whether it was the owner’s quality control or her poor selection skills, this orange was sour too. Though not as tart as the one Zheng Yun had eaten, it was definitely not sweet.

She stared at the orange segment, then glanced at the torrential rain outside.

Yu Xia felt like Yuncheng wasn’t exactly welcoming her.

She found an art film and leaned back on the sofa, watching intently.

By the time she noticed footsteps, the guest had already reached the staircase landing.

The hallway light illuminated the person’s back. Dressed in a loose nightgown, their features were obscured by shadows, yet Yu Xia recognized them instantly.

Zheng Yun.

So the person Xiao Qi had mentioned would come tonight was Zheng Yun.

Zheng Yun still held an orange in her hand. Leaning against the corridor wall, her voice slightly hoarse from just waking up, she smiled and asked, “Can I buy the seat next to you with this orange to watch the movie together?”

Yu Xia didn’t know how to politely refuse.

So she shifted over, making room for Zheng Yun.