My Study-Abroad Crush Moved in with My Landlord's Roommate

Possibly 100,000 words, possibly 80,000, or maybe 60,000.

The point is, it's very short.

A poor international student who cooks well x a generous rich guy who can't cook

Chen Xiangyi is terribly unlucky.

Just before she was due to study abroad, her industry took a pay cut, and her family's income plummeted.

Determined to save wherever she could, she decided to look for a roommate on a certain app.

I'm an INFJ, quiet and easy to get along with.

Budget around 200 pw, starting in mid-September.

I'm really good at cooking!! I make almost everything myself, so you definitely won't go hungry living with me.

(Sweet and sour ribs, chicken wings stir-fried with green peppers, scrambled eggs with scallions, twice-cooked pork with green beans... If you want to eat it, I can probably make it!)

Not long after she posted, her messages shot past 99+.

After talking things over, it was either the price that didn't work or their personalities that didn't mesh.

In short, nothing came of it.

Until someone sent her a private message:

Hi, I'm a guy, a second-year PhD student at the University of Manchester. I have a two-bedroom flat in the city center. If you can make lunch and dinner for two, I'll cover all the groceries and utilities. You'd only have to pay me 150 pw in rent. Would you consider it?

Hesitating for even a second would be disrespectful to money.

Chen Xiangyi replied at once: Of course! If it's convenient, shall we add each other on WeChat?

*

Her flight landed in Manchester at six in the morning.

Running on the last of her energy, Chen Xiangyi collapsed onto the bare mattress and fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke, it was already seven in the evening.

She came out of her room hungry, only to find someone in the kitchen, wearing pajamas, his hair tousled as he searched the fridge for something.

The faint light fell across his face, highlighting his deep-set features and fair skin.

Beneath the open collar of his pajamas were broad, straight shoulders, a sharp Adam's apple, and a hint of collarbone.

Chen Xiangyi quietly swallowed, then walked over as calmly as she could and pointed at the dry bread in his hand. "How about I make us a bowl of noodles to share?"

*

Over the Lunar New Year, Shen Weizhen went back to China, leaving Chen Xiangyi alone in the apartment.

After showering, she lay in bed when NetEase Cloud Music sent her an invitation to listen to a song together.

It was a very obscure song: "Call Me" by Emily Sie.

I just wanna let you know,

I just want you to know,

Right now I'm missing you the most,

At this moment, I miss you the most,

So call me,

So call me.

Chen Xiangyi chuckled and dialed the familiar number.

His voice sounded in her ear, low and tinged with grievance. "I still miss our home in England. The rooms are filled with your scent..."

P.S.

1. Both leads are each other's only partners.

2. No career plotline, no ensemble cast, just the two of them.

Theme: Live well