Raising fish? Raising rats!
A tall figure pushed open the door and walked in, accompanied by a cold wind.
The first thing she noticed was a large, off-the-shoulder beige trench coat, its shoulders slightly shrugged, exuding a casual and carefree air.
When the trench coat was taken off, all that was underneath was a simple white T-shirt and jeans, yet it outlined clean and sharp lines—neither too fat nor too thin, with a slender waist and long, straight legs, just like a model casually standing in a poster.
"Hi," she said cheerfully, her voice tinged with a low, husky laugh.
Panqiu stared blankly.
As she approached, her hair was simply tied back with a shark clip, revealing her pointed, delicate chin.
Her skin was so white it was almost porcelain-like, and so delicate that people dared not look directly at it.
But what truly takes your breath away are those eyes.
Her eyes were like peach blossoms, shimmering with light, and her eyelashes were fine and thick, fluttering gently like tiny fans.
In that instant, a line of poetry popped into her mind: "A cluster of peach blossoms blooms unattended, lovely in both deep and light red."
Her eyes are slightly upturned at the corners, giving her an innate charm, as if she's always smiling, or like a cunning little fox.
Pan Qiu's throat tightened slightly as she recalled another line—"Her smile is charming, her eyes are bright and beautiful." But unlike the words in the book, this smile was not the gentle kind in ancient poems, but a vivid, undeniable sharpness that rushed towards her.
She stopped in front of Pan Qiu, casually removing her hair clip, letting her black hair fall loosely, adding a touch of languid allure. With that movement, a refreshing citrus scent wafted out, like a summer fruit fragrance suddenly brushed against the night breeze.
She sat down cross-legged directly opposite Panqiu, her movements crisp and casual, as if she belonged there by birth and needed no formalities.
Pan Qiu stared blankly at the stunning beauty before her, her mind racing as if out of control, a jumbled string of poems flooding her mind:
"A smile that turns heads is captivating."
"Clouds yearn for her clothes, flowers yearn for her face."
"One glance could topple a city, a second glance could topple a nation."
"The spring waters are just beginning to rise, the spring forests are just beginning to flourish, and the spring breeze is ten miles long, but none of them compare to you."
Even at the very end, an untimely remark slipped in: "The beacon fires played with the feudal lords."
Pan Qiu suddenly shouted in her heart: Stop, stop, stop!
—This isn't a poetry recitation for an exam; she's just meeting a new roommate!
But those eyes were still looking over, a half-smile on their faces, seemingly carrying a provocative yet affectionate gaze.
Pan Qiu's heart skipped a beat, feeling that Zhiwei's teasing remark was particularly apt at this moment: "She's too flashy with beauty; just standing there, she can generate a lot of gossip."
As expected, Zhiwei never lies.
The air went still for a moment.
Those peach blossom eyes still held a smile, as if they were deliberately teasing someone.
Yueyue finally spoke, her voice slightly hoarse and languid: "You've been drinking, kid?"
It carried the coolness of the night breeze.
As Yueyue approached, she glanced at the wine bottle on the table and raised an eyebrow: "Empty? Tsk, you're really something."
As she spoke, her gaze naturally fell on the books laid out to the side.
Without hesitation, he reached out and turned the page. His fingertips paused, and his gaze suddenly froze.
The ink marks are neat, and the signature is clear and powerful.
Zhi Qiu, on her twenty-second birthday.
Dedicated to those quiet moments.
—Ethan Rowan Ellery
(To Qiu, on turning twenty-two.
For the quiet moments between things.
— Ethan Rowan Ellery
Yueyue raised her eyes, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up, a smile that was both a smile and a sigh: "Oh, this book... the story is quite something."
Panqiu sat cross-legged on the living room carpet, supporting herself with her hands, her cheeks flushed and her eyes full of alcohol.
Seeing Yueyue staring at the words, she suddenly chuckled softly, her voice slightly muffled: "This is the script for a rebirth novel. The female lead swears she will never fall in love with... a married man, a mentor, hehehe..."
As she spoke, she clumsily made an X in the air with her fingers, taking an oath as seriously as a child.
Yueyue was still holding the book in her hand, and she paused noticeably when she heard this.
She looked down at the tipsy Panqiu, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, and suddenly laughed out loud, her tone both cheerful and teasing:
"Huo—you're being this frank on our first meeting? Are you trying to let me know your future self in advance? Are you serious?"
Pan Qiu immediately cowered, quickly lowering her head and whispering, "I wasn't serious..."
Yueyue glanced down at the empty wine bottle, then at the book in her hand, and closed it with a half-smile.
After a moment, she spoke lazily, her voice languid and teasing: "Who hasn't fallen in love with a few people they shouldn't have when they were young?"
Pan Qiu was stunned, not yet able to think of what to say in response.
Yueyue turned her head, her tone softening: "Who hasn't liked something that's high above and radiant...maybe it's just admiration."
At this point, she revealed a foxy smile, beautiful and alluring. "But if you fall in love with a married man... then you might really have to wait for rebirth."
Pan Qiu lowered her eyes, her voice so soft it was almost swallowed by the night: "I only recently saw him with his wife and children..."
Yueyue raised one eyebrow, her tone indifferent.
"Either he deliberately concealed it, specifically to deceive children like you."
"Either, what you saw wasn't his wife and children."
"If a good married man with kids doesn't deliberately hide it, how would you have a chance to get involved? Anyway, no matter what the scenario, it's not worth drinking until you black out."
Pan Qiu's blood alcohol concentration seemed to drop significantly after hearing these words; it seemed to make sense!
Yueyue didn't say anything more, but simply reached out and picked up the glass of wine that Panqiu hadn't finished drinking and swirled it around.
His tone was light and casual, as if he were talking about something trivial: "Drinking too much makes you vulnerable, kid. It's quite interesting to reveal your hand on the first meeting. Next time you drink, remember to save half a bottle for your roommate you're meeting for the first time."
Then she naturally began to slowly savor the wine, as if she were the one who had started drinking in the first place.
Pan Qiu had lost count of how many times tonight she had been so shocked by her that her jaw almost dropped.
That's interesting, really interesting! The roommate Zhiwei found for her is so interesting!
Pan Qiu leaned her head against the table leg, half-drunk and half-awake, her eyes bright, and suddenly blurted out:
"And you? You're always elusive, are you out there raising fish?"
Yueyue was drinking with her head down when she was startled by her words and almost spat out her drink: "Cough—"
She wiped her mouth while laughing, her eyes still sparkling with amusement: "I don't keep fish—"
She paused, her eyes curving into crescents, "I raise lab mice."
Pan Qiu blinked, bewildered: "A white mouse?"
“Hmm,” Yueyue stretched out her hand and made a cat paw gesture as if catching a mouse, her smile both pretty and sly, “It’s in the biology lab. Every day we have to do experiments on time, give injections, weigh things, and record the results. The mice are much quieter than kids.”
Panqiu stared at her, who was both serious and casual, and felt a strange sense of familiarity despite her drunkenness.
The two looked at each other for a second, and then—smiled.
Laughter echoed in the empty living room, sweet as the smell of alcohol.
This birthday isn't so bad after all!
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