I Fell in Love With My Cold-Hearted, Flirtatious Roommate (GL) - Chapter 21

Before evening, Rong Ting checked the recipes suitable for people with a cold. She avoided foods that were difficult to digest, and instead stewed spareribs and winter melon soup. She reheated the scallion pancakes in the oven and made a plate of cucumber salad with garlic chives.

Ran Jiu slept until six in the evening. As her fever gradually subsided, her mind slowly cleared, and the chilling, scraping hunger in her stomach could no longer be ignored.

Suddenly catching a scent, it was like a welcome rain after a long drought. Before Rong Ting could call her, she stumbled to her feet and walked towards the living room.

Rong Ting had finished cooking. She had just placed the soup on the coffee table and was about to go back for the scallion pancakes and cold dish when she found that a person had suddenly appeared on the sofa.

Ran Jiu was wearing a loose white short-sleeved shirt and black cinched shorts. She sat upright, her hands neatly placed on her knees, like a beautiful doll.

She still looked a little weak, her light-coloured lips slightly sickly, but her eyes were fixed on the soup on the table.

Then, she licked her lips and swallowed.

Rong Ting didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This reminded her of the little stray cat she saw at her grandmother’s house in the village when she was a child.

The kitten had soft white fur and amber eyes. It looked very skinny. Because they had fed it before, it came to beg for food every day. Every time she brought the food bowl over, the kitten’s eyes would widen, the amber cat eyes shining brightly.

…This was quite similar to how Ran Jiu looked now.

Rong Ting figured she must be hungry. She put down the cold dish and pancake she was holding, first served her a bowl of soup, and handed her a spoon.

The bowl had been soaked by Rong Ting in cold water, afraid it would burn her, so she told her to drink it while it was on the table.

Ran Jiu lowered her head, scooped a mouthful of soup, and delivered it to her mouth without blowing on it much. Sure enough, she burned herself and sucked in cold air with a look of injustice on her lips.

Rong Ting quickly told her to slow down a little. Seeing that she couldn’t drink the soup quickly, Ran Jiu still wouldn’t give up and insisted on fishing out and gnawing on the spareribs from inside. Rong Ting handed her a freshly baked scallion pancake, “Eat this with it.”

She held the pancake right under the sparerib to prevent the juices from dripping onto Ran Jiu’s clothes.

Ran Jiu frowned slightly when she saw the scallion pancake, but still took it. She carefully took a bite. The fluffiness of the fermented dough mixed with the light, fragrant scent of the scallions, making it soothing and comfortable to eat.

Her eyes lit up, and she took another big bite. If her throat hadn’t still been hoarse, she would have cheered: “It’s so delicious! Where did you buy it?”

Rong Ting, who had unknowingly retrieved a thin air-conditioning blanket, draped it over her, “Hmm, bought it at the supermarket downstairs.”

Ran Jiu was highly suspicious: “Does the supermarket have such delicious scallion pancakes? Why have I never seen them?”

Rong Ting was refilling her soup, her eyes gentle: “Of course there is. It’s new recently. There’s an elderly woman selling this in the pastry area. It’s very cheap, only two yuan per pancake. Is it tasty?”

Ran Jiu never went to the pastry area, so naturally, she had never seen the scallion pancakes being sold.

She also hadn’t been very fond of scallion pancakes before. The ones her mother used to make were greasy and hard, and the scallions inside weren’t stir-fried until fragrant, having the pungent taste of raw onion, which ruined her appetite early on.

She had never eaten such a soft, thick scallion pancake.

Of course, she had also only been to the supermarket a few times.

Listening to Rong Ting’s soft, slow narration of her grocery shopping experience and the things she learned in class, Ran Jiu’s pace of drinking the soup gradually slowed down, becoming somewhat immersed in the cozy moment.

After her mother remarried her stepfather, she moved in with them. Her stepfather also had two children. Her mother often neglected her, only saying that since Ran Jiu was the oldest, she should be sensible.

So, her bedroom was the smallest, only accommodating the smallest sized bed and desk, enough to hold very few items.

Whenever it was time to eat, she didn’t want to go out and adjust to their warm, harmonious atmosphere. She simply served a very small portion of food and locked herself in her room, forcing herself to learn to be quiet and obedient.

Later, she insisted on moving out. To allow her to finish high school, her mother rented a room for her with a grey face, leaving a lot of money and telling her to learn to take care of herself.

Life in solitude became easier. She spent her days with her books and magazines, occasionally recording songs she sang. If the weather was good, she would go for a walk in a nearby park, eventually sitting on a bench, having a cigarette, and reading a book for a while.

If the weather was bad, she would hide in her bedroom, silently watching the rainy weather outside.

No one cooked for her, and she was too lazy to learn. She would just drink a little beer or eat some instant food bought from the supermarket, staying up until she couldn’t bear it anymore before falling asleep.

She was afraid of dreaming, afraid of dreaming of her stepfather’s greedy and drowning face; that would make her sick.

…

Rong Ting watched Ran Jiu drink three bowls of soup. She served her less and less solid food later on, until there were hardly any meat chunks left.

Ran Jiu was dissatisfied. She tapped the edge of the bowl, her eyes haughty yet conveying a demand: “I want meat.”

Rong Ting served her more soup without asking: “Eating too much meat causes indigestion. You should eat more winter melon.”

Ran Jiu looked unwilling, but still compromised. She took another pancake from the plate and slowly sipped the soup.

This reminded Rong Ting of the little cat eating. She chuckled.

Hearing the sound, Ran Jiu looked up and complained: “What are you laughing at?”

Rong Ting certainly wouldn’t tell her what she was thinking, “Nothing, it’s just that the way you were haggling just now reminded me of something.”

Ran Jiu was interested: “What is it?”

“I met a couple at the supermarket just now. The girl and the boy almost fought because they disagreed about the flavour of Wang Zai Little Milk.”

Ran Jiu burst out laughing, covering her mouth: “…You can laugh at that? How low is your bar for humour?”

However, she was quite stubborn and eventually asked Rong Ting in a gossipy manner, “So… who won in the end?”

Rong Ting shook her head, “I didn’t pay attention, but fighting like that, they’re probably close to breaking up when they get back.”

Ran Jiu: “…”

After the meal, Ran Jiu wiped her mouth with a tissue and insisted on washing the pots. Rong Ting couldn’t stop her. She just heard a chaotic clatter of pots and pans and the rush of water from the kitchen and smiled helplessly.

When Ran Jiu came out after washing the pots, Rong Ting was waiting at the door, handing her a glass of warm water and medicine.

Ran Jiu took it and drank it, then said: “Home service, so considerate?”

Rong Ting: “It’s just faster to digest standing up.”

“Also, I was afraid you wouldn’t drink it.”

Ran Jiu was stunned for a moment. Remembering what happened earlier, she stammered for the first time: “I won’t argue with you just because we have different tastes in Wang Zai Little Milk.”

Rong Ting: “I know.”

“It’s the same for other things.”

Rong Ting nodded.

Ran Jiu took a deep breath: “So, I’m counting on you to take good care of me for this period of time.”

The smooth white T-shirt clung to her body. Due to sweating, a few strands of mischievous green hair stuck to her forehead. Her small, palm-sized face was only covered by a thin layer of flesh, giving her a delicate, pitiful look.

Rong Ting was no exception, especially since she had already been completely thrown off balance by Ran Jiu’s words.

Her lips moved, and she unconsciously spoke her true thoughts: “Mhm, I quite want to take care of you.”

Since falling ill, Ran Jiu had taken leave from Xiao Zhi. Her voice took several days to recover, so she hadn’t taken on new assignments for the time being, not even the weekday live streams.

Xiao Zhi told her that day that she wanted to bring the studio members to see her. Hearing Wei Feng’s wailing over the phone, Ran Jiu firmly refused.

“Why, Jiu? You’re not hiding a beauty in a golden house,” Wei Feng complained from the other end. “Since you left, our workload has doubled! Hurry back! We really can’t take it!”

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Ran Jiu’s income alone could support the basic expenses of the studio.

Ran Jiu: “I share the apartment with a roommate.”

Wei Feng still wouldn’t give up: “Just tell the girl. We’ll only visit for a moment, and we’ll treat her to dinner then.”

“No,” Ran Jiu refused flatly.

Two days later, her voice gradually recovered. Her fans on Weibo were urging her to start live streaming, and Xiao Zhi hesitantly suggested arranging a shorter one for her, though without a partner, she might need to plan more content herself.

Ran Jiu thought about it and agreed.

Hanging up the voice call, she looked in the mirror. Her complexion still hadn’t fully recovered. For convenience, she had twisted her hair to one side of her shoulder. It was not only greasy but slightly matted.

She hadn’t showered for a long time. Sometimes she herself was disgusted, and she wondered how her roommate could endure it, even patiently taking care of her and cooking for her.

This roommate is truly so simple, so good.

Exhaling a mouthful of stale air, Ran Jiu decided to clip her nails first. It was time to clean up and return to the working life.

Rong Ting came home relatively late that day. Ran Jiu hadn’t been eating much in the evenings recently, so Rong Ting bought yogurt and a box of jackfruit.

When she got home, she noticed something unusual.

Ran Jiu’s room door was closed again, but the bathroom door was open. Although no one was inside, both warm lights were on. As Rong Ting passed by, there was a rush of steaming heat, and she could smell the lingering cool fragrance of body wash.

Rong Ting didn’t think much of it, guessing that Ran Jiu had forgotten to turn off the lights after showering. She went in to use the makeup remover and finally wiped off the residual facial cleanser foam with a washcloth.

She lifted her face. Her two black eyes in the mirror were wet, her eyelashes bent under the pressure of the water droplets, and the corners of her eyes showed slight fatigue, but at least she was no longer as listless and bored as before.

Rong Ting used both hands to trace an arc at the corners of her mouth, creating a smile in the mirror.

She cupped a few more handfuls of cold water. The astringency of the water scraped against her face, allowing her a moment of sobriety amidst the fragrance.

When she came out, Ran Jiu’s bedroom was still quiet. Rong Ting put the bought yogurt and jackfruit on the living room table, thinking that Ran Jiu must be busy with her own things and didn’t want to disturb her.

The weather hadn’t been good these two days. There were occasional drizzles of rain. It didn’t last long, but it made the sky gloomy and dark, sometimes making one feel depressed as well.

No wonder when she enrolled, she told her literature and arts theory advisor that she wanted to go to Germany, and the advisor persuaded her not to go. There, the sun was rarely seen for long periods, and people’s emotions were heavily related to the weather, making it easy to become depressed.

Rong Ting thought it was exaggerated at the time, and even felt that such weather might not be a bad thing for a social phobe like her, but now she did feel a bit oppressed.

There was still no movement from the next room. Rong Ting walked to the window. The window occupied half of the wall, and there was a small step up next to it.

The outer layer of the window was secured by a locked retractable iron gate. Beyond the iron gate, one could see the deserted balcony, where a few flower pots left by the landlord lay askew, without even a speck of soil inside, and a red felt mat for the floor drain. The rest was an old swing that swayed slightly in the wind.

The balcony spanned both her and Ran Jiu’s bedrooms. They shared this space.

Ran Jiu had mentioned before that when she first lived here alone, she installed an alarm system outside. So, she could open the window for ventilation, but should not casually touch the iron gate.

Rong Ting asked a silly question, saying that they lived on the top floor, and the police station was right around the corner downstairs, so why worry about theft.

Ran Jiu raised an eyebrow at the time, giving her a casual yet meaningful look, and said: “It’s not the thief you fear, but the constant worry of being coveted.”

Although the words were simple, Rong Ting always felt that they were implying something deeper.

Hopefully, she was overthinking it.

Rong Ting sighed, resting her chin on her hand. She opened her notebook and was about to summarize the ancient Chinese phonology that the teacher had discussed that afternoon. The 32 initial consonants of the Old Chinese language were jumping and shouting in her head. The fountain pen spun in Rong Ting’s hand and clattered onto the desk.

The once timid little grey rabbit suddenly gained the courage of a Spartan warrior. Rong Ting abruptly pushed her chair away, walked over, and slid open the window. A strong gust of wind mixed with rain hit her face. Her fingertips were just about to touch the anti-theft window.

“Ting Ting?”

Rong Ting’s hand instantly drew back as if licked by a snake’s tongue.

She looked nervously towards the door, terrified of showing even a hint of anything amiss.

The truth was, she had just been completely lost in thought, acting like she was possessed. Why on earth did she try to touch that door?

Ran Jiu’s body was silhouetted in the light from the doorway. She was only wearing a black camisole. The thin fabric only covered her to below the bust line, suspended solely by the two thin black shoulder straps. A large area of porcelain white skin was exposed at her waist. That rice-grain-sized red mole was like a dot of cinnabar floating on the porcelain white skin… Below, she was only wearing a pair of black butt-hugging shorts. The curve of her buttocks and legs was completely visible.

Ran Jiu’s head was wrapped in a large towel. Her face was flushed red from the steam, and she was alternately using both hands to rub the water out of her hair.

Rong Ting’s jaw was tightly clenched, and the corners of her mouth were utterly devoid of any curve, as if suffering some catastrophe, “Hmm? W-what’s up?”

She felt like she was no longer in the normal range of emotions. She even wished Ran Jiu was just greeting her simply.

And why is she wearing so little again!

But Ran Jiu curiously glanced at the window. Since her voice hadn’t fully recovered, there was even a hint of a chiding tone: “Didn’t I tell you not to touch the anti-theft window? There’s an alarm on it.”

Rong Ting took a deep breath: “I… I forgot.”

“You little idiot.” Ran Jiu continued rubbing her hair but stepped inside. Her legs were long. She wore flip-flops that pat-tap-patted, walking with a lazy rhythm.

As she passed Rong Ting, Rong Ting could smell the fresh water vapour and the familiar scent of body wash.

Then, this fragrance suddenly filled her nostrils, magnified infinitely. Rong Ting’s breathing hitched.

Ran Jiu seemed to check the area around Rong Ting’s window. Confirming there was no problem, she suddenly turned back towards her and offered the item in her hand: “Do you have any spare power outlets here? All the ones in my room are in use, and I can’t free any up because my computer is running.”

What she was holding was a white, low-wattage hairdryer and the attached power cord plug.

Rong Ting snapped out of her daze. She took the plug from Ran Jiu’s hand, plugged it into her own power socket, and handed the hairdryer back to her.

Ran Jiu didn’t move. The corner of her eye curved playfully: “My hair never dries properly. Will you help me dry it?”

Rong Ting’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. She was about to pull the chair next to the desk closer when she saw Ran Jiu naturally sit down on her bed.

The weight encased in the black shorts pressed a small indentation into the bedding. Ran Jiu propped herself up on her arms and looked up at Rong Ting.

From this angle, Rong Ting could see the deep, delicate collarbones… and the faintly swaying cleavage.

The air was quiet as if electrified. Rong Ting met her gaze at that moment, and then quickly looked away. Holding the hairdryer, she said, “Turn around a little.”

Ran Jiu’s hair quality was actually very soft, but because it had been bleached and dyed, and the ends were layered, it looked cool and chic, definitely that of a cool girl.

The strands of hair were very compliant in Rong Ting’s hands. The hairdryer was low-wattage, so it took a long time to blow from the roots to the tips.

Ran Jiu cooperated by tilting her head, exposing the spinous processes at the back of her neck. That curve was slender and fragile, seemingly able to bend with just a slight pressure.

Rong Ting silently finished drying a few strands of hair, deliberately letting them down to cover the curve.

Blowing the hairdryer on one spot for too long could burn the scalp. Rong Ting occasionally asked her if it hurt. Ran Jiu shook her head, neither playing on her phone nor talking, obedient like a doll.

After drying the hair, Rong Ting dried her bangs. Ran Jiu peacefully closed her eyes, enjoying it. Her eyebrows were thin and long, the tips as thin and sharp as silver needles. Her nose bridge was high, but her nostrils were narrow. Her upper lip was thin, but her lower lip was full. Her face was delicate and exquisite.

When the hair was dry, Rong Ting turned off the machine and unplugged it. Ran Jiu heard the sound and opened her eyes: “All done? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Rong Ting avoided her gaze, her voice even somewhat cold: “Don’t wear so little next time, you might catch a cold again.”

“Ah, but I just finished showering, it’s really hot,” Ran Jiu propped up her arms and still sat lazily, only leaning towards Rong Ting.

Her eyes were innocent, as if saying she hadn’t done anything wrong.

Ran Jiu seemed a little confused by Rong Ting’s reaction: “I was afraid of getting my clothes wet with my hair. This is perfect to wear; it doesn’t matter if it gets wet.” To prove something, she even tugged at the camisole, “Besides, this isn’t thin. I have a cover-up, which I’ll wear when I go live. I’ll put it on then.”

Listening to her serious explanation, Rong Ting closed her eyes and blamed herself for over-imagining things. Everything she said from now on must be thought out carefully. She sighed: “The indoor temperature is very low now. Wearing so little can easily cause a stomach ache.”

But Ran Jiu smiled, revealing two dimples: “I’m not that fragile. The fat on my belly is quite thick. I have abs, did you see?”

The Hallelujah Chorus was about to start playing in Rong Ting’s head. She silently begged Ran Jiu to leave quickly.

The other person refused. She stood up and pulled Rong Ting’s hand to press it against her stomach: “Really, feel it if you don’t believe me.”

Ran Jiu’s hand was very strong, which was evident from her ability to lift Rong Ting with one hand from the track field previously. So, Rong Ting didn’t react in time, and her fingertips landed on warm skin.

The skin had no excess fat; it was a woman’s supple muscle texture, smooth and delicate. Lines seemed to slide beneath her hand.

Her palm perfectly covered the red mole, without feeling any protrusion. She couldn’t even tell where that rice-grain-sized spot was.

She sprang up abruptly, a little flustered, and pulled her hand away from the other person, the force even slightly too great.

Then, Ran Jiu saw with surprise that Rong Ting withdrew her hand, turned her back to her, and pushed the randomly placed chair back, seeming very impatient.

Ran Jiu was usually lazy and slow to react, but when faced with a real situation, she was more discreet and insightful than the average person. She didn’t offer any more explanation and returned to her room.

Rong Ting listened as the door across the hall gently closed. A long time passed.

Rong Ting covered her face and tossed and turned on the bed, internally screaming “Aaah, aaah, aaah” for a long time, wanting to shout!

After sweating it out, she went to the bathroom and washed up again. The original scent hadn’t completely dissipated, and the area where Ran Jiu had been still felt warm.

She spent a long time in there. When she came out, she saw the door to the next room was still tightly shut.

She suddenly remembered that Ran Jiu’s cold hadn’t fully healed, and she wanted to remind her to put on some clothes and not set the air conditioning temperature too low. However, she stopped a few meters away from the door.

Lying on the bed, she should have been reviewing the day’s events and planning for the next day.

Since starting university, she had forced herself to stick to this habit to prevent herself from becoming too lazy and degenerate.

At this moment, reason was blocked by emotion. Her mind was wrapped up in inexplicable thoughts and unable to function normally.

Rong Ting turned on her desk lamp, found a long-unused memo pad, and wrote on it: Do not lash out. Stay calm.

Afterward, she hesitated and added a sentence: If necessary, cut your losses in time.

Do not hurt her.

Returning to bed, knowing that this person was just one wall away, a faint sense of restlessness still permeated her body.

That small red mole seemed to have grown on her heart. She tossed and turned uncomfortably a few times and finally fell asleep somehow.