Episode 03

Episode 03

I didn't wait for Chen Ming to reply.

I turned on my heel and walked out of the music room, making sure my exit looked completely effortless.

My heart was thumping against my ribs, but a smirk played on my lips.

Score one for the strategist. I had completely shattered his icy composure.

...****************...

I grabbed my luggage from the campus holding area and headed toward the high-rise student dormitories while I was walking my phone suddenly is ringing, I saw the screen mom is calling, I answered it.

"Hi, mom I just grabbed my luggage from the campus holding area, and I'm headed toward the student dormitories"

Mom smiled, "I told you, you don't need to get dorms. Your father and I are worried, you know we can rent you a house near your campus."

"Y'all don't have to so no need to worry about me, I'll be fine plus it's better this way. I should go now, bye mom."

Mom sighed softly "Alright, make sure to eat healthy foods and don't push yourself too much" I smiled softly "Okay mom, take careof yourself too."

The sun was dipping below the Shenzhen horizon, painting the glass skyscrapers outside the gates in shades of crimson and gold.

All I wanted was to find my sanctuary, lock the door, and low-key romanticize the city view in peace.

I checked my digital key card. Building B, Floor 4, Room 404.

The hallway of the fourth floor was quiet. I slid my card against the electronic scanner.

The lock clicked open with a satisfying beep.

"Home sweet home," I muttered, pushing the door open and dropping my heavy duffle bag onto the floor.

The room was sleek, modern, and spacious, with two identical desks and two neatly made beds separated by a large window.

But my breath instantly caught in my throat.

Sitting on the bed to the left, carefully polishing the glossy wood of a violin, was Chen Ming.

The universe had to be playing a sick joke on me.

Chen Ming stopped polishing. He slowly raised his head, his cold, piercing eyes locking onto mine.

For a fraction of a second, a look of genuine shock flashed across his face, but he masked it instantly, replacing it with a smug, knowing smirk that made my blood boil.

"You've got to be kidding me," I breathed out, still holding the doorknob.

"Is this part of your 'God's plan' too, Leader Li?" Chen Ming asked, his voice smooth, dripping with dark amusement.

He didn't even look up as he set his cloth down.

"Because if it is, your strategist brain clearly failed to calculate the housing algorithm."

"The algorithm is flawed," I snapped, shutting the door behind me and dragging my bag toward the empty bed on the right.

"I'm the top passer. I should at least get a roommate who understands basic human expressions."

"And I'm the top soloist," Chen Ming replied coolly, crossing his arms.

"I was hoping for a roommate who knew the concept of boundaries. Let's set some ground rules, Li Yuqi. Don't touch my sheet music, don't look at my instruments, and don't drag your student council politics into this room."

"Fine," I shot back, dropping onto my mattress and staring at him across the small divide.

"Then here are mine, Keep your wooden noise machine quiet after 10:00 PM, and don't touch my robotics gear. If a single microchip goes missing, I'll know exactly who to blame."

"Deal."

Before the silence could get any heavier, the wall behind my bed vibrated violently, followed by the loud, muffled sound of a heavy suitcase slamming into the floor next door.

"YO! YUQI! ARE YOU IN THERE?!"

A loud, frantic banging echoed on our shared wall. It was my friend from earlier. The yapper.

"I GOT ROOM 403! WE ARE WALL-BUDDIES! OPEN UP, I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE ORIENTATION CAFETERIA LUNCH!"

I closed my eyes, letting out a long, defeated sigh. I looked across the room. Chen Ming was staring at the wall with a look of pure, unadulterated horror, his icy composure entirely shattered by the sheer volume of my friend's voice.

I couldn't help it. A genuine, triumphant smirk spread across my face.

"Welcome to Room 404, Roommate," I whispered smoothly.

"Hope you like variables you can't control."

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