I Fell in Love With My Cool, Aloof, and Alluring Roommate (GL) - Chapter 8

Their studio had been recruiting recently, and all the applicants were long-time fans of the voice acting community. Xiao Zhi and Yu Lai had interviewed over a dozen candidates that day and ended up selecting five promising newcomers. Among them were two junior students from J University and one junior female student.

To strengthen their bond, Xiao Zhi organized a gathering at the seafood street food stalls behind the commercial building.

Afraid of inconveniencing them, Xiao Zhi brought several bottles of egg wine from home. The drink was mellow and sweet, with a hint of white chocolate flavor.

Once they arrived, Wei Feng remarked that he had never tried such a fancy drink. After just a small cup, he found it too sweet and unsatisfying, so he ordered a keg of draft beer to challenge Yu Lai to a drinking contest.

The junior students were all freshmen, a bit reserved, and among them, only Ran Jiu was close to their age. Moreover, she had already gained some fame in the voice acting circle. When the younger ones drank with her, their eyes sparkled with admiration, especially the junior female student, who for some reason clung to her and offered several toasts.

Everyone teased the junior girl for recognizing her senior so quickly.

The junior girl surprised them by saying, “Who doesn’t like a pretty older sister?”

Yu Lai burst out laughing, spitting out a mouthful of beer. Wei Feng slapped his sleeve where the spray had landed. “How old are you? Can’t you stay calm? Why are you spraying milk everywhere? As if you don’t like pretty older sisters too.”

Yu Lai retorted, “But among pretty older sisters, who can drink like Xiao Jiu?”

Xiao Zhi smoothed things over. “What’s wrong with that? Can’t girls hold their liquor? Even if she drinks well, she’s still a beauty.”

Ran Jiu listened to their chatter with a calm expression, barely touching the grilled skewers.

She had a heavy workload, and when she was hungry, she found herself craving the simple vegetable noodles Rong Ting used to make for her. She couldn’t stomach anything too greasy.

Hearing about her drinking prowess, the junior male student also came over to toast her, generously suggesting she stick to the egg wine.

Ran Jiu smiled and clinked glasses with them.

The junior girl, Li Weilin, asked curiously, “I’ve listened to many of your voice acting roles in radio dramas, even some unreleased demos. Do you really enjoy voice acting?”

Ran Jiu replied, “It’s just work.”

The junior girl continued chattering, “But does it make you happy?”

Ran Jiu said, “Mm, sometimes it does.”

“Many of your roles in radio dramas feature strong female voices. Your vocal quality is really unique, and it still sounds that way now,” the junior girl leaned in closer. “Have you ever explored lesbian culture? I used to follow lesbian web novels and books, and I know a bit about queer theory. Even Haruki Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart touches on it…”

The proximity made Ran Jiu uncomfortable. Pretending to reach for more wine, she subtly created some distance. “For work, I’ve come across it, but I’m not very familiar with it.”

She smiled. “Besides, it’s too academic. When I’m working, I don’t really pay attention to these things.”

The junior girl seemed puzzled, completely unaware of her distancing. “Then, do you mind when girls get close to you?”

Ran Jiu paused for a moment before opening a new bottle of egg wine and pouring some for her. Her tone remained gentle. “It’s fine to read about it in books, but try not to bring it into real life. You’ve listened to so many voice actors’ works—” she smiled lightly, but there was a hint of instruction in her words—”how can you know what kind of people they are in real life?”

This time, the junior girl finally understood. Her cheeks flushed red, and she stopped asking irrelevant questions.

Ran Jiu continued drinking with them, but as the night went on, she felt increasingly dizzy and tired.

Back when she lived at her grandfather’s, she often stayed in yurts where all sorts of strong liquors were kept.

As a child of five or six, the old man would dip chopsticks in alcohol and let her taste it. As she grew older, she tried everything from Fenjiu to Baigan to Laojiao—suffice to say, she had never once gotten drunk from drinking.

But she had a slight lactose intolerance and had once reacted badly to milk, so she had avoided dairy products ever since.

She glanced over the table—no dairy in sight. Then her gaze fell on the bottle of eggnog. Picking it up, she unsurprisingly saw the ingredients listed: fresh rum, eggs, and milk.

Noticing her action and the flush already coloring her cheeks, Xiao Zhi suddenly snapped out of her daze and took the bottle. “Oh dear, this was brought back by my husband from Australia. I meant for you all to try it, but I forgot Xiao Jiu can’t drink milk.”

Ran Jiu waved a hand. “It’s fine, Sister Xiao Zhi.” But the growing drowsiness left her limbs weak, and she could only prop herself up on the table, lightly massaging her temples.

It wasn’t until everyone had almost finished the barbecue that they realized Ran Jiu was barely conscious. Xiao Zhi hurried over to support her, Yu Lai rushed to fetch tea, and Wei Feng was about to hail a cab when Xiao Zhi, worried about safety, insisted on taking her home herself.

In the end, the two senior brothers saw the younger students off, Xiao Zhi took Ran Jiu, and the gathering ended in a hurry.

Rong Ting was still at home doing homework, watching the clock hands point to 11 p.m. with no sign of anyone returning.

Suddenly, a WeChat voice call request came through. Seeing it was from Ran Jiu, she immediately accepted.

But an unfamiliar woman’s voice came through, saying Ran Jiu was drunk and asking if she could come down to help bring her upstairs.

Rong Ting hastily agreed, grabbed her keys, locked the door, and hurried downstairs.

A red Porsche was parked at the entrance, with a well-dressed woman standing by the car, looking at her phone. As Rong Ting approached, the woman stepped forward with a gentle smile. “You’re Xiao Jiu’s roommate, right?”

Rong Ting nodded, momentarily not seeing Ran Jiu anywhere.

The woman opened the back door, revealing Ran Jiu lying quietly inside, her face flushed, fingers tangled in her hair as she held her forehead.

“Is she drunk?” Rong Ting instinctively stepped forward, not realizing how urgent her tone had become.

Xiao Zhi leaned in and gently pulled Ran Jiu out, while Rong Ting immediately supported her other side. Ran Jiu was still somewhat conscious and could hold herself up, but weakly, instinctively leaning toward Rong Ting.

Rong Ting was slightly shorter, and as Ran Jiu lowered her head, her soft, alcohol-scented breath brushed against Rong Ting’s neck. For some reason, Rong Ting felt a shiver run through her and tightened her grip on Ran Jiu’s arm to keep her from leaning further.

On the way upstairs, Xiao Zhi explained what had happened, full of apologies. “My memory is terrible. Last time when we had milk tea, Xiao Jiu mentioned she couldn’t have pure dairy, but I still brought eggnog for today’s recruitment celebration.”

The word “recruitment” caught Rong Ting’s attention, reminding her of university clubs. She was puzzled. “Recruitment? Did you hire new staff?”

“Yes,” Xiao Zhi replied, suddenly finding Xiao Jiu’s roommate a bit naive but endearing. “Didn’t she tell you? We just recruited new voice actors these past couple of days, and Xiao Jiu was in charge of the audition screenings.”

“Huh?” The information was completely unexpected, leaving Rong Ting stunned.

What? Voice acting?

Ran Jiu was in charge of interviews?

“What’s wrong?”

“I always thought she was working odd jobs outside, struggling to make ends meet,” Rong Ting said, her voice growing quieter as she hung her head. “I assumed it was at a fast-food place, a bubble tea shop, or a clothing store…”

“Little one, you’re really underestimating your roommate,” Xiao Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. “Xiao Jiu is the most talented voice actor in our studio. Next time, we’ll have her bring you by so you can see our studio for yourself—save you from thinking she’s out there washing dishes or serving tables.”

“Oh,” Rong Ting mumbled in response, recalling that when they first rented the apartment, Ran Jiu hadn’t been willing to talk about her work.

It turned out it wasn’t because her job was anything to be ashamed of—maybe she just didn’t want outsiders prying into her privacy.

The two of them worked together to get Ran Jiu upstairs. Just as they were about to enter the apartment, Xiao Zhi stopped. “Oh! I just remembered I didn’t lock the car downstairs. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Xiao Zhi slowly released Ran Jiu, letting her weight settle fully onto Rong Ting. As Rong Ting opened the door, she suddenly remembered something. “Sis?”

“Hmm?” Xiao Zhi paused, turning back with a smile.

Rong Ting hesitated. “What’s the name of your studio? I’d like to support you guys.”

Xiao Zhi kept smiling, as if seeing right through her but choosing not to say it outright. “Freesia Studio. You can look it up on Bilibili. Xiao Jiu’s voice actor name is also related to ‘wine.'”

By now, Ran Jiu was barely conscious, relying on instinct to lean her weight onto Rong Ting. There was no way she could take care of herself.

It was Rong Ting’s first time touching the door to Ran Jiu’s bedroom.

A mix of guilt over invading someone’s privacy and a faint thrill tugged at her. She pushed down the door handle.

As the dim light from inside seeped out, Rong Ting saw dark blue curtains, a dark blue carpet, and a matching desk and chair.

The desk inside was large and almost bare, except for a wide, slightly curved monitor connected to what looked like a peculiar microphone and headset. Under the desk, cables twisted and tangled together.

So, she really was doing voice acting.

The entire room was decorated in dark, minimalist tones.

Rong Ting laid Ran Jiu on the bed and helped her take off her jacket and shoes. Just as Rong Ting wiped a light sweat from her forehead, the person on the bed childishly kicked her legs and rolled over.

Rong Ting didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She went to the bathroom to grab makeup remover wipes and cleansing oil. When she returned, Ran Jiu had half her face buried in the blanket. Rong Ting pulled her out and turned her face upward.

Without her jacket, Ran Jiu was only wearing a thin black lace-edged sleeveless top. Lying on her back, the soft curve of her chest swayed gently, and two thin shoulder straps were faintly visible.

This was the first time Rong Ting had observed Ran Jiu up close.

Maybe they’d been close before, but she’d never dared to look at her so freely.

When it came time to remove her makeup, Rong Ting hesitated, afraid Ran Jiu would be angry when she woke up.

Rong Ting sighed. She suspected her own face had a mind of its own—sometimes thick-skinned, sometimes thin-skinned. In the end, she still soaked a makeup remover wipe and got to work.

As the wipe moved inch by inch across Ran Jiu’s skin, Rong Ting could feel the smooth texture underneath. Looking at her face, it was fair with a hint of pink, like translucent jelly.

After wiping half her face, the makeup remover wipe was clean except for the smudged lipstick—nothing else came off.

Just then, Ran Jiu suddenly opened her eyes, startling Rong Ting.

She was still holding the makeup remover wipe, like a culprit caught in the act.

But upon closer inspection, Ran Jiu’s gaze was unfocused, not fixed on any particular point. Instead, it carried a hint of innocence.

Rong Ting breathed a sigh of relief, then a mischievous thought crossed her mind. “Ran Jiu?”

The person on the bed blinked, tilted her head, and looked at her.

“Lift your head, I need to wipe your face,” Rong Ting said deliberately in a stern tone. “Who told you to come back so late, making me take care of you?”

Ran Jiu’s lips moved slightly, but Rong Ting couldn’t quite make out what she said. She leaned in closer to listen.

“You’re so annoying!”

Rong Ting: “…”

“Mean!”

Rong Ting: “…”

“You’re scolding me. I won’t play with you anymore.”

Rong Ting awkwardly pretended not to hear and was about to quickly finish wiping the other half of her face. Unexpectedly, the other person obediently tilted her head back, her nose gently brushing against Rong Ting’s palm, causing a ticklish sensation.

A strange feeling struck her sensitive nerves, and the atmosphere inexplicably shifted.

She couldn’t quite explain it, but her hand paused for a moment. Ran Jiu, however, looked at her with confusion. After a moment’s delay, she finally responded, “I’m sorry.”

Those eyes were moist and beautiful, deep like stars in the night sky. They blinked twice, making Rong Ting’s hand tremble even more.

They were too close, almost breathing against each other. After wiping the last inch of her cheek, Rong Ting grabbed the basin and fled in a hurry.