Chapter 14: The Unforeseen Roommate

The two of them had explored nearly every floor of the shopping mall, from top to bottom, sampling a variety of snacks along the way.

Before they knew it, mealtime had arrived, yet not a hint of hunger stirred within them.

‘Still, it was a blessing in disguise; they could return early to rest.’

“How about we call it a day and head straight back to the hotel?”

“Hmm… alright.”

Lin Yu appeared hesitant, and it was unclear what she was plotting.

There was no need to risk reading her mind.

Exiting the shopping mall, they walked to the roadside, where Zhong Tian intended to hail a ride-sharing car.

‘What was the hotel called again?’

‘Jiuding Grand Hotel…’

Just as he finished typing it in, he heard Lin Yu’s surprised voice beside him.

“Oh? I booked the Jiuding Grand Hotel too. What a coincidence!”

After all, it was one of the hotels closest to the anime convention, and he surmised that most of the guests checking in now would be attending the convention tomorrow.

“Let’s go together then.”

Zhong Tian selected the option for two passengers.

Moments later, they both got into the car.

The shopping plaza was quite close to the Jiuding Grand Hotel; after a drive of about three minutes, they arrived at the hotel.

Although it was called a grand hotel, it didn’t actually seem particularly large.

“Which floor are you on? How about we have breakfast with Jianren and the others tomorrow morning?”

“I’m on the sixth floor. You can tell Jianren and the others about it,” Lin Yu replied.

“Sixth floor? Me too.”

Ding—

They reached the sixth floor, and both stepped out of the elevator.

Zhong Tian recalled his room, 6021, was to the right.

He had glanced at it when he dropped off his luggage, and it seemed to be a rather spacious twin room.

Zhong Tian arrived at room 6021.

Drip—

The door unlocked.

Lin Yu put away her room card and walked past a stunned Zhong Tian into the room.

‘Huh?’

‘Isn’t this my room?!’

Zhong Tian could still see his luggage sitting inside.

‘Wait… Lin Yu’s luggage seemed to be there too.’

‘What???’

“Aren’t you coming in?”

Lin Yu, now inside the room, turned around and flashed a playful smile.

“I-I’ll go ask if there are any other rooms available…”

“There aren’t any,” Lin Yu said. “The hotel has been fully booked for a while. Besides, I originally booked this room; I only specially allowed you to stay here because my sister mentioned you suddenly had nowhere to go.”

“…”

Clearly, he had been set up once more.

However, based on Zhong Tian’s understanding of Lin Yu, this wasn’t something she would typically do.

While she often played pranks on him, she always knew where to draw the line.

This, however, felt a bit too far.

Given the current situation, Zhong Tian could only enter the room, closing the door behind him.

Although Lin Yu had her back to him, he could vaguely discern, as the door clicked shut, a faint blush creeping up her ears.

‘You’re even blushing yourself.’

‘Then it must be… Lin Chu’s idea, right?’

‘What a mess…’

Zhong Tian sat down on the bed and took a moment to compose himself.

It would be a lie to say Zhong Tian was perfectly calm; after all, he was a sixteen-year-old boy in the throes of adolescence, and sharing a room with someone of the opposite s*x, not a family member, was bound to stir some unease.

Lin Yu sat on the other bed, outwardly appearing relaxed as she played on her phone, yet Zhong Tian didn’t need to read her mind to know she was incredibly nervous.

Zhong Tian sighed.

“Lin Yu.”

“Hm?!”

Lin Yu seemed startled by Zhong Tian and quickly turned around.

“Do you want to shower first, or should I?”

“Ah!?” Lin Yu froze for a moment, her small face rapidly flushing crimson, before she quickly recovered.

“You go first; I’m not in a hurry yet.”

“Alright then.”

Zhong Tian retrieved a set of pajamas and a fresh pair of boxer briefs.

Feeling a touch awkward, he wrapped the briefs in the pajamas and quickly entered the bathroom.

He had barely stepped into the bathroom when the sight before him made Zhong Tian freeze.

The shower stall wasn’t separated from the room by a wall, but by a frosted glass panel.

Zhong Tian rushed out of the bathroom and looked from the room into the shower.

While he couldn’t see clearly, he knew a silhouette would be visible.

“Who the hell designed this thing?!”

Zhong Tian’s outburst made Lin Yu notice the frosted glass panel as well, leaving her stunned in place.

Zhong Tian and Lin Yu exchanged a glance.

“Uh… well… we…”

“Yes, I know, I know. I-I’ll just turn around and play on my phone…” Lin Yu said, turning her back to him.

‘Oh, what a mess this is…’

Zhong Tian nervously entered the bathroom, took off his clothes, folded them roughly, and put them into a plastic bag.

Zhong Tian examined the frosted glass for a moment and realized he couldn’t see the room outside at all.

‘Hey! Did the installers put this in backward?!’

Despite a lingering reluctance, Zhong Tian could only steel himself, pick up the showerhead, and turn on the faucet.

****

The sound of water echoed behind Lin Yu, making it even harder for her to calm down.

‘I really shouldn’t have listened to Lin Chu’s suggestion!’

‘In this situation, what purpose did it serve other than awkwardness?’

‘I… ultimately, I just can’t do this…’

Lin Yu lowered her head.

‘If only Zhong Tian were truly a girl… then there wouldn’t be this kind of trouble.’

‘If Zhong Tian were a girl, everything would have surely ended that winter break…’

Lin Yu curled up, hugging her knees, lost in silent thought.

‘Zhong Tian must be very troubled right now… facing someone like me…’

‘So what should I do…?’

****

After they both finished showering and silently played on their phones for a while, they each drifted off to sleep.

The night passed without dreams.

Zhong Tian felt as if he had only just closed his eyes before opening them again to find it was already morning.

It was six in the morning.

Lin Yu was still asleep.

Zhong Tian carefully got out of bed and went to freshen up.

He then called Li Jianren.

“Hello.”

“Hello? Hello?”

“Are you and Nanjin on your way now?” Zhong Tian asked in a hushed voice.

“Yeah, we should be there around seven.”

“Okay, let’s meet in front of the convention center, then find a simple breakfast spot.”

“Hey, hey, hey, Xiao Zhong, can you hear me?” Jiang Nanjin took the phone. “Is Lin Yu awake? I remember she arrived yesterday, right?”

“She is.”

“Hmm? Why are you speaking so quietly? I can barely hear you.”

“Uh… my family is still asleep, so it’s not convenient to speak loudly.”

“Oh, right, you’re staying at your parents’ place, aren’t you?”

“Mm.”

“Alright then, let’s chat on WeChat.”

“Okay.”

Hanging up the phone, Zhong Tian put away his phone, preparing to wake Lin Yu.

“Lin Yu, time to get up.”

Zhong Tian nudged Lin Yu through the blanket.

“Mmm—wait… I’m getting up now…”

Lin Yu’s words were mumbled and indistinct, and she still appeared quite sleepy.

It was clear at a glance that she wasn’t used to waking up so early.

After waiting for a moment, Lin Yu was still struggling with her blanket, unable to free herself from its confines.

“…” Zhong Tian sighed. “How about you sleep in, and I’ll go have breakfast with Jianren and the others first, then I’ll get a portion packed and have Nanjin bring it up for you.”

“…Okay…”

Having uttered that single word of agreement, Lin Yu promptly drifted back to sleep.

With no other option, Zhong Tian had to leave by himself.

After all, he had work to do and couldn’t afford to dawdle.