I Fell in Love With My Cool, Aloof, and Alluring Roommate (GL) - Chapter 5

Rong Ting had four consecutive classes on Wednesday afternoon. After the last class ended, she and her roommates headed to the cafeteria as usual to discuss the presentation slides, the cover and table of contents for the teaching materials, as well as the specific content layout.

Wan Sang, arm in arm with Wang Qing, whom she was close to, walked ahead. Chen Saiyu hesitated, wanting to walk with Rong Ting, but Rong Ting didn’t even glance sideways.

The cafeteria was relatively less crowded at noon. They chose a quiet spot, with Wan Sang picking the best seat first and Wang Qing sitting next to her. Rong Ting paused for a moment before sitting diagonally across from them, while Chen Saiyu casually took the seat beside her.

This time, the discussion focused on the textbook cover and after-class exercises, which was much easier than the previous discussions about selecting texts. None of them had any experience with book layout, so they mostly chatted aimlessly. Rong Ting just wanted to finalize things quickly.

After tossing around suggestions for a while, Wan Sang, who was usually assertive, found no opportunity to dominate the conversation and seemed somewhat deflated. But she soon found a topic and began assigning tasks.

She cleared her throat and looked at them. “Anyway, we still need to prepare the presentation slides. I’ll go first and handle the literature review on textbook management. The rest can be divided into explaining the reasons for text selection, designing after-class exercises, and finalizing the layout.”

The first two tasks were quickly claimed by Wang Qing and Chen Saiyu. Without saying a word, Rong Ting nodded readily. “Then I’ll take care of the final layout.”

Wan Sang’s eyes lit up with a hint of schadenfreude. “Then the PDF presentation and binding of the book are all yours. We’re presenting on Friday, so just get it done before then.”

Rong Ting gathered her things and stood up. “Alright.” As she walked toward the exit, Wan Sang’s voice deliberately rang out behind her. “Finally finished assigning tasks. I’m exhausted. How about we all go for hot pot together?”

The other two seemed to agree, their voices filled with celebration and agreement.

Rong Ting’s expression remained indifferent. As she reached the cafeteria entrance, her phone buzzed with a WeChat voice call. Seeing the nickname, she didn’t answer and slipped the phone back into her pocket.

Footsteps followed behind her. Chen Saiyu called out, “I talked to Wan Sang. She said you can come too. Whatever issues there are, we can talk them out.”

Rong Ting didn’t stop walking. “The tasks are already assigned. I don’t think there’s anything to discuss, and I don’t like hot pot anyway.”

Chen Saiyu grew anxious, her voice rising. “You’re always like this! Some things could be resolved, but you never try. Do you think leaving will solve the problem? Or do you expect things to magically improve when you come back?”

People near the cafeteria entrance thought they were about to argue and glanced over curiously. Seeing nothing happening, they gradually dispersed.

“You’re right. I don’t expect anything to change.” Rong Ting did pause at these words, speaking slowly and deliberately. “I never expected that after I left for a while, you’d suddenly realize something, stop using me as a target, or even develop the slightest awareness that hurting others isn’t a good thing.

“Because things like this will always happen!”

Chen Saiyu caught up to her. “But it’s also because you act so cold, as if you don’t care about anything. During the discussion just now, you kept saying ‘whatever’! Why ‘whatever’? That’s really not good.”

Rong Ting was getting annoyed and instinctively pulled out her phone. In a fit of pique, she opened WeChat to prove how busy she was, but after scrolling for a while, she realized there was no one she could message.

She hesitated for a moment, then tapped open the chat with Ran Jiu. The conversation was still stuck on that night when Ran Jiu had asked her to leave the door unlocked.

She typed casually: “Coming back tonight? What do you want to eat?”

As expected, there was no reply.

Chen Saiyu happened to glance at her screen and, feeling even more ignored, flared up. “I’m really fed up. It feels like you’re always floating in the clouds, completely out of touch.”

Hearing this, Rong Ting finally turned off her screen. “Why do you think I said ‘whatever’? Don’t you get it? I’m handling the heaviest workload—aren’t you happy about that?”

Chen Saiyu opened her mouth but said nothing. The tension between them was palpable, something that had never happened before.

Rong Ting closed her eyes, calming herself for a moment. “Also, stop always making assumptions about others. It’s easy to become convinced of your own delusions and end up putting others in awkward positions!”

After saying this, she felt drained. Chen Saiyu didn’t argue back either, and the air fell into an electric silence.

Just then, her phone chimed, and the screen lit up unexpectedly.

Chen Saiyu, standing nearby, had been too embarrassed and annoyed to speak, assuming the other person felt the same.

But she saw the corner of Rong Ting’s mouth suddenly lift, the earlier gloom completely vanishing from her face, her dimples like ripples stirred by a spring breeze.

At that moment, Ran Jiu was in the recording studio, having just finished the last segment of her voice-over. Xiao Zhi asked if she wanted to add a FreeTalk, but Ran Jiu declined.

The long, drawn-out battle finally allowed for a brief respite.

Outside, someone made a “cut” gesture. Ran Jiu pressed the button to end the recording and immediately checked her phone.

After a moment’s thought, she replied: “Do you like spicy food?”

The reply came: “I can handle it.”

She typed again: “How about spicy stir-fry pot /w/?”

The reply: “Sure.”

Seeing the terse response, Ran Jiu’s lips curved slightly. She told Rong Ting not to rush to buy anything and to wait for her to return so they could shop together.

Outside, the sound engineer at the control panel, still wearing headphones and listening to the audio clips, paused for a moment before taking them off and giving an “OK” sign. “It’s good to go.”

Everyone in the recording studio breathed a sigh of relief.

Yu Lai: “Finally done recording.”

Xiao Zhi: “The client this time wasn’t easy to please.”

Someone was sending a voice message to their girlfriend. Wei Feng wiped his sweat: “Honey, it’s really hard to take calls during work hours. Can we talk when I get home? It’s not that I’m being difficult—work itself is difficult. I want to see you soon too.”

The others exchanged glances, their skin crawling.

Yu Lai couldn’t help but grimace. “Where’s the degreaser? We need a couple of sprays over here.”

Wei Feng put down his phone. “Have you seen my new WeChat profile picture?”

Yu Lai: “This blue one?”

“Yeah, take a closer look.”

Yu Lai zoomed in on the image, which read: “No Arguing.”

Xiao Zhi, the oldest among them, laughed at them. “Xiao Jiu didn’t complain at all in the recording booth. What are you all whining about?”

Hearing Xiao Zhi’s words, the others suddenly understood. Wei Feng threw on his flashy blue jacket. “Let’s go. We have to treat Xiao Jiu to drinks today. Red or white?”

Everyone in the studio had a stage name, and Ran Jiu’s was “The Drinker.”

Ran Jiu joined the university broadcasting station as soon as she started her freshman year, and her later withdrawal from school sparked a wave of regret and sighs. Among those at the broadcasting station, several were close to her—some helped her find work, while others often invited her out.

This voice acting studio was founded by Xiao Zhi two years ago, recommended to her by a senior from the university broadcasting station.

In recent years, voice acting was still in its early stages, and those joining the studio were mostly young students from various majors.

Among the earliest members, Yu Lai was a graduate student studying financial modeling. In her spare time, she loved tinkering with electronic devices and was responsible for adjusting various parameters and equipment. Wei Feng studied visual media and directing, and in her free time, she also helped design product covers.

Xiao Zhi, a few years older, was a graduate student majoring in business administration and oversaw the studio’s operations.

Aside from them, the studio had only a handful of full-time and part-time voice actors, one audio engineer, two scriptwriters, with Xiao Zhi also handling external promotion and other duties.

Only Ran Jiu had studied law, and she had dropped out midway. When she joined, she joked that she hoped there would never be a day when her professional knowledge would be needed.

Yu Lai quipped at the time, “Isn’t that the truth? I’m afraid we’d jump straight from commercial law to criminal law, from a fixed-term sentence to life imprisonment.”

Ran Jiu, lost in thought at the time, replied belatedly, “It wouldn’t come to that.”

Now, she emerged from inside. Despite spending long hours in a stuffy environment, her hair remained perfectly neat, smooth strands falling neatly. Her porcelain-like face was tinged with a faint blush, exuding a delicate beauty tinged with weariness.

She picked up her clothes from the sofa. “No, I’ll eat at home tonight.”

Wei Feng immediately protested, “You can’t be serious, Jiu. The client specifically requested you for this project—we just landed the deal. How can you skip the celebration dinner?”

Ran Jiu smiled faintly. “My stomach hasn’t been well lately. I can’t drink anymore.”

It was no wonder Wei Feng found it strange. Ran Jiu had never refused to go out with them before. She could handle both red and white wine, and even after a night of drinking, she’d still be up for a game of pool. Her home was stocked with plenty of chilled wine. But this time, she suddenly felt like going home.

The others couldn’t persuade her. Besides, Ran Jiu’s voice was too valuable—it was the studio’s main source of income. If her health was at risk, they had to take care of her.

Their studio was located on the fifth floor of a commercial building near U University. The group parted ways at the entrance.

Ran Jiu stood at the building’s entrance, hesitating for a moment before calling Rong Ting on voice chat.

At the time, Rong Ting was in the library looking up materials. She had just borrowed a few books related to her courses when the call came through.

Ran Jiu’s voice was still clear and distinct, though slightly hoarse. She asked, “Going to the supermarket now?”

Rong Ting checked the time—it was indeed time to eat. “Yes.”

After hanging up, Ran Jiu sent her location.

Rong Ting knew the building. The psychology department’s experimental branch at her university was located there. They often posted about paid psychology experiments on social media, and she had participated in a few before, though she hadn’t been back since.

When she arrived, Ran Jiu was waiting at the building’s entrance. Her slender, tall figure stood out, dressed in a loose gray coat with only the tip of her delicate nose and a few strands of dark green hair visible under the hood.

From a distance, she seemed as cold and distant as snow, but up close, she was like a hazy mist.

Rong Ting quickened her pace. Hearing the footsteps, Ran Jiu turned her head. “You’re here?”

“Hmm.” The two of them followed along, heading inside. Rong Ting walked a bit faster, so the back of her hand accidentally brushed against Ran Jiu’s—icy cold, making her shiver.

“How long have you been standing outside?” Rong Ting instinctively wanted to take her hand but hesitated, then awkwardly withdrew it.

“Huh?” Ran Jiu hadn’t taken off her hood yet, looking a bit confused. Then she pulled it down, and Rong Ting noticed she had a Bluetooth earbud in each ear.

“What did you just say?”

Rong Ting shook her head helplessly. “I asked how long you’ve been standing outside.”

Ran Jiu replied, “I was just listening to music and spacing out. Didn’t notice the time.”

Rong Ting asked, “What made you come over here?”

This time, Ran Jiu paused for a moment. “I work here,” she said, her expression tinged with a hint of melancholy.

At the mention of work, Rong Ting fell silent, her thoughts delicate and sensitive.

Ever since she learned that Ran Jiu had dropped out of school early, she had carefully avoided bringing up related topics. She remembered Ran Jiu once saying her workplace was far away, but this place was clearly nearby. Perhaps it was just the idea of working for someone else that made it difficult for her to talk about.

She even started wondering if Ran Jiu might be working as a waitress, serving dishes or washing pots in a restaurant.

If that were the case, it would be truly pitiful. Rong Ting even thought about her own recent low point—what did it even matter? At least she was still using her family’s money and could attend school. Ran Jiu, on the other hand, had entered the workforce early, leaving behind the comfortable environment of campus life.

It must be especially tough for a girl.

Thinking this, she felt a slight pang of guilt and never brought it up again.

What she absolutely never imagined was that someone had once said her workplace was far away simply because she couldn’t be bothered to explain why she came home late and had long since forgotten she’d even said it.

At the supermarket, the two of them first bought hotpot base. Midway, Ran Jiu answered a phone call, and Rong Ting went to the vegetable section on her own to pick out ingredients.

Ran Jiu picked up the phone—it was Wei Feng and the others trying to invite her out to eat. Wei Feng’s voice was especially clear on the other end: “Come on, Xiao Jiu. We won’t make you drink if you don’t want to.”

Ran Jiu sounded a bit helpless, covering the receiver. “Someone’s cooking for me at home. It wouldn’t be right not to eat.”