I Fell in Love With My Cool, Aloof, and Alluring Roommate (GL) - Chapter 7

For a while after that, Ran Jiu’s work schedule seemed to have shifted. When Rong Ting left in the morning, she was still asleep, but sometimes when Rong Ting returned in the evening, she would see light seeping from under the other’s door.

It was like a lamp glowing in the quiet of their daily lives.

The weather gradually warmed, and flowers and plants on campus slowly began to bloom. The cafeteria started offering more seasonal watermelon, though the library could get quite hot when the air conditioning wasn’t turned on.

Rong Ting spent more and more time at home, often doing her homework there instead of making the effort to go to the library.

Occasionally, she would order books and literary materials online. The delivery station downstairs was managed by an elderly man who, over time, stopped sorting packages by courier company and instead organized them by building and apartment number. Sometimes, after picking up her own packages, Rong Ting would notice a few still left in their original spots. Once, she glanced at the recipient’s name on one—it simply read “Jiu.”

She hesitated for a moment but only took her own and went back upstairs.

The next time she went, she found even more packages piled up, including a particularly large one. The old man in charge grumbled, “It’s always your apartment that doesn’t pick up packages. Some from last month are still here.”

He was used to managing things this way—knowing which apartments hadn’t collected their deliveries and quickly locating each household’s packages. But he didn’t realize that most residents here were highly mobile university students or migrant workers, many sharing apartments, so it wasn’t fair to lump them all together.

Rong Ting apologized and then carried Ran Jiu’s packages back in two trips. The old man continued to nag, telling her to come pick them up promptly next time.

Back home, Rong Ting unpacked her books and put them away. She placed Ran Jiu’s packages beside the sofa near the entrance and, worried she might miss them, stuck a note on top: “These are yours. I brought them back for you.”

That afternoon, she skipped class. In the evening, she heard the sound of a door opening. Ran Jiu moved quietly, so only the faint tap of her heels against the floor was audible, followed by the soft creak of the sofa as someone outside seemed to be changing shoes.

Then the noise paused for a moment—Rong Ting guessed she must have noticed the pile of packages.

After that, the sounds outside were light: the tearing of tape, the scrape of a knife, the crackle of plastic foam boxes being opened. Ran Jiu made several trips carrying things back and forth before finally returning to her bedroom and closing the door, after which there was silence.

Rong Ting paused her pen, shaking her head slightly.

Later, when she went out to wash up, Ran Jiu still hadn’t emerged. There were clattering sounds from her bedroom, as if she were assembling something.

The next morning, the apartment was quiet when Rong Ting left. On the table were bought soy milk, meat pies, and a few side dishes like tiger skin chili peppers. Beside them was a simple note: “Thank you. I’ll pick up my packages on time from now on. Sorry for the trouble this time /w/”

Rong Ting stared at this oddly mismatched spread of food, picking up one dish and putting down another in confusion. In the end, she finished the meat pies and soy milk, forced herself to eat two vegetable dishes, and still left quite a bit behind.

Why did Ran Jiu buy so much for her?

Then she remembered—this seemed to be Ran Jiu’s normal portion size.

Putting down her chopsticks, Rong Ting felt an inexplicable surge of envy, jealousy, and frustration. Why could she eat so much and still stay so thin?!

The Xiao Canglan Studio had recently taken on many collaborations for audio dramas, along with dubbing for a low-budget web series, so their time in the recording studio was increasingly squeezed. Many livestreams were delayed, and Xiao Zhi said they’d have to move them to their homes instead.

At the end of the day’s recording, Xiao Zhi informed the studio that the microphones and sound cards they had purchased had been delivered to everyone’s homes. Those who needed a computer allocated to them would have to apply in advance.

Ran Jiu scrolled through a pile of unread messages on her phone and noticed that all the packages had already been picked up by Rong Ting. She selected all and deleted them.

“Does anyone have any suggestions?”

Ran Jiu paused her finger, keeping a few messages from Guizhou. “Sister Xiao Zhi, my work hours are flexible. I can come here to stream anytime, so switching to the morning is fine too.”

Wei Feng immediately turned his head. “There aren’t many viewers in the morning.”

Ran Jiu: “It’s fine. The capacity of the YY room is limited anyway.”

Wei Feng: “…That’s a bit too humble-bragging.”

Yu Lai: “Is the evening not suitable for you, Xiao Jiu? Actually, Sister Xiao Zhi wanted us to rest earlier, which is why she sent out the microphone equipment.”

Ran Jiu paused. “I share an apartment with someone. She’s usually studying, and my streaming would disturb her.”

“Then let’s do mornings,” Wei Feng said, taking it in stride. “After all, we’re not stand-up comedians, we don’t rely on this to make money, and we’re not selling our looks.”

Yu Lai immediately teased, “Do you even have looks to sell?”

Wei Feng opened his mouth to retort but ended up shaking his head with a laugh. The guys in their group all fit the standard image of engineering students—decent-looking but definitely not cut out for the idol path.

Xiao Zhi, on the other hand, was a refined and sensitive goddess, but she was already married. Her husband was a manager at a foreign company, and the two were deeply in love. Xiao Zhi’s career also benefited greatly from her family’s support.

When it came to appealing to both men and women, everyone’s eyes turned to Ran Jiu.

She was still clearing the messages on her phone screen. Her slightly faded dark green hair fell to one side of her face, her nose bridge was high and delicate, her long eyelashes were distinct, and her faint under-eye bags always made her eyes look exquisite and deep.

Ran Jiu seemed to sense something and looked up blankly before turning off her phone screen.

Xiao Zhi remembered something. “Since when did your roommate start loving to study? Didn’t she used to bring people home all the time?”

Ran Jiu shook her head. “I have a different one now.”

Wei Feng found it amusing. “Good thing you changed. Your previous roommate was really something. Last time I brought you something, she even tried to hit on me. Can you imagine? Sticky notes on yogurt?”

Ran Jiu seemed to recall something, a faint smile curling at the corner of her lips, which Wei Feng noticed. “You think she’s weird too, right?”

The smile on Ran Jiu’s lips faded. She wasn’t used to gossiping about others, so she chose her words carefully. “My previous roommate was just enthusiastic?”

“Enthusiastic, my ass,” Wei Feng laughed. After starting their master’s degrees, they had met all kinds of people. Speaking from experience, he advised, “Yu Lai and I came to see you a few times and ran into her with different guys entering your place. She could have formed a soccer team. I say it’s good you split—no, I mean it’s good you stopped sharing the apartment. If you do share, find someone quiet and well-behaved. Don’t make trouble for yourself.”

Ran Jiu nodded in agreement. “At the time, I planned to live alone.”

She wasn’t entirely dissatisfied with her previous roommate—just tired.

In the end, that girl had no other flaws. She was just energetic and juggled different guys.

Ran Jiu was unfazed by such things, seeing it merely as a matter of personal lifestyle choices, especially since it didn’t bother her. Her only requirements were that no one enter her room, touch her belongings, or bring boys home while she was there.

She had adopted a hands-off attitude toward her previous roommate—no interest, no concern.

Besides, she spent most of her time at the studio. Apart from coming home to sleep, she was rarely there, occasionally exchanging greetings when they crossed paths.

She believed that was all a roommate relationship needed to be.

Later, that girl decided to move in with her boyfriend and left without a word. It took Ran Jiu a long time to realize she had moved out, only remembering she had a roommate when the girl asked for the security deposit back.

Ran Jiu didn’t bother explaining that the deposit required both parties to agree with the landlord for a refund. She simply returned the other half that belonged to the girl, feeling relieved as she deleted the unnecessary contact from WeChat.

Including this roommate, she had had four roommates before, none staying long. Tired of cleaning up after others, she was planning to live alone.

When her mother’s friend approached her, she was resistant at first. But after repeated persuasion, she finally relented, allowing the person to come take a look.

When she opened the door, she didn’t have high expectations. But as her gaze fell on the girl outside, dressed in a light blue cloud-patterned shirt buttoned neatly to the top, revealing a slender, fair neck, and a thin apricot-yellow wool coat, her delicate features carried a hint of primness.

She seemed like a good girl, Ran Jiu thought, feeling a sudden urge to tease her.

She ended up teasing her twice, each time making her ears turn red.

Somehow, that hesitant heart of hers no longer hesitated.