I Fell in Love With My Cold-Hearted, Flirtatious Roommate (GL) - Chapter 15

It was not yet 5 PM when the event ended. University students were waiting at the entrance for signatures, and the CVs inside were negotiating business with the studios. Only their spot was like a quiet corner, undisturbed.

The air conditioning in the venue had little effect; the space was filled with stuffiness and an indescribable smell.

Ran Jiu naturally radiated coolness, forming a natural barrier about a meter around her, causing Rong Ting to cover her nose and lean closer to her.

Ran Jiu thought Rong Ting was uncomfortable with the crowd and pulled her closer. Why would a person with social anxiety want to join in the excitement? She then recalled the ticket matter and still didn’t understand: “Why did you spend extra money to buy a ticket? I left one on the shoe cabinet this morning.”

Was it not conspicuously placed enough?

Rong Ting tried to cover her tracks by stuffing the whole ticket back into her pocket: “I didn’t go out this morning, so I didn’t see it. I bought one from a classmate.”

In reality, she had seen it, but because Ran Jiu had left it for her, she wanted to keep it as a treasure.

The ticket was already crumpled, yet she still thought that pressing it with a book when she got home might smooth it out.

Just like a moment ago, she had intended to leave, but unconsciously doubled back.

She wanted to find Ran Jiu. The student union president who managed this area was her direct senior sister. Knowing Rong Ting was a well-behaved student, she let her in.

She had left earlier with a surge of jealousy, but then thought: it was just a few groundless words spoken by others.

Things that are uncertain cannot be easily defined by anyone. She stubbornly thought this way.

“Where is your partner?” Unable to let it go, Rong Ting still asked.

Ran Jiu’s eyes curved slightly, seemingly not expecting this question: “The male one or the female one?”

“The female one.”

“Oh, her.” Ran Jiu didn’t even say the name, looking around a few times but not finding her. “I don’t know, she’s not here, maybe she went out.”

Seeing her indifferent way of looking for the person, a hint of secret delight sprouted in Rong Ting’s heart.

Who knew Ran Jiu’s next sentence would almost make her composure break: “Did you want her signature too? Tsk tsk, young girls these days only like young female CVs their age. If you want it badly, I can get it for you.”

“No!” Rong Ting blurted out, vehemently denying: “I don’t want her signature, and don’t look for her.”

Please don’t look for her!

Ran Jiu felt confused and stopped thinking about it. She was busy sending a message to Wei Feng, telling him not to come back after dealing with the others. She added that her roommate had come to find her, and they were going straight home together.

Wei Feng quickly sent an “I understand completely” meme.

Ran Jiu: “…” What was going on with everyone today?

Rong Ting called her again from the side: “Jiu Jiu?”

Ran Jiu put down her phone and teased her: “Say it again! Why don’t you call me Eighty-One?”

“Oh.”

Ran Jiu, who was glamorous on stage, had now returned to her grounded, everyday self. Rong Ting couldn’t help but feel joyful again. She thought back to when she had actually believed Ran Jiu was working odd jobs outside. Now, secretly looking at her hands, there was not even a thin callus. They were long, slender, and clearly veined; she could even see a faint blue vein near her thumb.

How could she have thought she was washing dishes??

“Have you eaten?”

Ran Jiu yawned: “I had a working lunch this morning and didn’t eat after that to stay focused.”

“Then let me take you to get something to eat?”

Hearing “eat,” Ran Jiu’s eyes lit up: “What should we eat?”

Seeing her lethargic state, Rong Ting pulled her away from the venue’s back door and took her to the nearby Shibao Street (Food Treasure Street).

They were in Zhongguancun, and there were many people even at 5 PM on a weekday.

Ran Jiu was usually too lazy to go out and had never been to a food street in the Imperial Capital. Now, she wanted to eat everything.

Rong Ting took her to eat Grandma’s-style Swimming Crab with Rice Cakes, Changsha Stinky Tofu and large skewers of meat sausage, Lemon Shrimp Paste, and freshly steamed mussels.

Ran Jiu looked slender and delicate, but when she ate, she chewed like a carnivorous small animal. She could finish whatever was in her hand quickly, chewing the skewers clean, spitting out fish bones like a comb, and even gnawing and eating the adductor muscle of the mussels.

Rong Ting looked at her with a complicated expression, tentatively handing over a skewer of rattan pepper cold skewers. Ran Jiu took it without any burden and began pulling potato slices off the stick.

After finishing everything, she looked at Rong Ting cautiously: “I want to eat that rainbow绵绵冰 (soft shaved ice) over there, can I?”

Rong Ting: “You c—” But you’ve already eaten so much!

Before she could finish, Ran Jiu interrupted her.

“If I can, I want the mung bean paste flavor, with crushed hawthorn, coconut jelly, Fuling Cake, and strawberry jelly on top. Oh, and no popping boba or pearls.”

Looking at her expectant eyes, Rong Ting swallowed the second half of her sentence and walked over to buy her the shaved ice.

The owner asked if she wanted a large or small size. She turned back, looked at Ran Jiu, who was sitting miserably on a roadside bench with her long legs tucked in, and quietly told the owner she wanted the small size.

Ran Jiu’s eyes lit up when she saw the icy cold treat. Although she couldn’t control her appetite, she held back for a moment and offered it to Rong Ting: “Want some?”

Upon receiving a shake of the head, she confidently dug in a large spoonful. The clear sweetness of the mung bean paste melted in her mouth, and the accompanying feeling of restlessness gradually subsided.

After cleaning the rim of the cup completely, they didn’t take a taxi. Ran Jiu followed her unhappily, complaining that it was too hot as they walked.

Rong Ting said she absolutely had to let her digest the meal. She smoothly dragged the reluctant person along, without navigation, through winding side roads, across a glass sky bridge, and then turned south, walking under the dazzling sun to the Shibao Street South Station bus stop.

Ran Jiu squinted drowsily. Rong Ting noticed that when she squinted, her under-eye bags (wochan) became especially noticeable. The faint blue shadows on her upper and lower eyelids gathered in that area, creating an inexplicably gentle look.

That shadow suddenly moved, squinting into a slit. Before Rong Ting could look away, she heard her say: “Ting Ting, how are you so familiar with this place?”

They didn’t wait long before getting on the bus. The air conditioning was running inside, and the driver was wearing a gray-blue uniform. The shadows of the green trees outside flashed by, creating a sense of tranquility.

Outside was hurried and busy; inside, it was a world unto itself.

Just like everyone having a secret hidden in their heart.

The bus slowly drove in the direction of their home.

Rong Ting briefly told her about her experience in her first year. At that time, she always wanted to go out, so she took on many tutoring jobs, and the money she saved was used to study German here. Back then, classes lasted 5 hours in the afternoon, with a half-hour break for dinner. She preferred coming to Shibao Street rather than ordering takeout.

“Wow, you’re so amazing!” Ran Jiu genuinely praised her.

She recalled when she first entered the school, she seemed to always carry a confused heart. At that time, everything was unknown; she just forced herself to forget the past and study hard.

Of course, she also occasionally slacked off and waited for death.

She even treated voice acting as a hobby; she didn’t have the self-awareness of working while studying.

Now she didn’t even have to study anymore; she had directly become a glorious worker.

If her past self had such clear planning as Rong Ting, maybe things would have been slightly different. She thought this wistfully.

After finishing the shaved ice, the sugar seemed to restore some of Ran Jiu’s energy. She actively leaned closer, her long neck tilting towards Rong Ting, and her head seemed to rest on her shoulder: “I wish I had your courage too.”

The skin on Rong Ting’s neck tingled from her breath. She didn’t pull away but awkwardly turned her head to look out the window: “Although I don’t know why you dropped out, there must be your reason. That also takes courage.”

The change at every small node in the river of time might lead to a life that is difficult to turn back from later. Therefore, people are always extremely cautious in their choices. How many people can make a choice that deviates from the mainstream, and how many survivors are there after making such a risky decision?

There are few dropouts like Bill Gates; most are swallowed up in the mud of history.

Ran Jiu’s breath stirred slightly at her nose: “I don’t have your courage. But it’s strange; everyone else thinks I’m very courageous.”

She gave two short laughs: “As if dropping out of school is a great achievement.”

Her chin finally rested on Rong Ting’s shoulder: “Ting Ting, I wish I had met you sooner.”