diymy 055 What does it mean to be refined and easygoing?
055 What does it mean to be refined and easygoing?
It was 4:30 p.m., outside room 404.
Luo Yueshi carried a slightly faded backpack and dragged a rather bulky canvas suitcase. He stood there, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, trying to relieve the inexplicable tightness in his chest.
As a student who came from an unknown small county in Guangdong Province, he always lived with a subtle sense of inferiority.
He was short and stout, with unremarkable features and a few pimples on his face. He was the kind of person you'd easily lose in a crowd. Even worse was his personality: introverted, socially anxious, and even somewhat withdrawn. Coupled with his heavily accented Cantonese Mandarin, he became even more hesitant to speak to people in places like Shanghai and Hong Kong.
"404... This is where I'll be living for the next four years. The door seems a bit ajar?"
Just as Luo Yueshi was hesitating whether to knock first or push the door open, the dormitory door was opened from the inside.
A handsome young man walked out.
Wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, and holding a thermos, the boy didn't show any surprise when he saw Luo Yueshi standing awkwardly at the door. Instead, he gave a gentle smile.
"Are you our new roommate in room 404?"
Luo Yueshi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly nodded and said in a low voice, "Yes, that's me."
"Hello, my name is Wang Zhe," the boy said, extending his hand. "Welcome to the team. I'm from Sanchuan, and I just arrived today."
Luo Yueshi paused for a moment, then cautiously shook hands: "Hello, my name is Luo Yueshi. Luo... is the Luo from Yue Fei, and Shi from Shitou (stone)."
Wang Zhe laughed and said, "Luo Yueshi, what a good name, it sounds reassuring. Come on in, your other two roommates are inside. Put your things down first, tidy up a bit, and remember to join the class group. We'll go out for dinner together later, and there's our first class meeting at seven o'clock, let's go together."
Luo Yueshi subconsciously replied, "Okay."
Wang Zhe shook the kettle in his hand: "I'll go get some water and be right back."
Watching that departing figure, Luo Yueshi felt a slight relaxation in his tense state. This roommate named Wang Zhe seemed easygoing and didn't seem like the kind of person who was difficult to get along with.
This is a four-person dormitory. So, the remaining two roommates should be relatively easy to get along with, right?
"call……"
He took another deep breath, mustered his courage, and pushed open the door to go inside.
However, he was stunned by the scene inside as soon as he entered.
Inside the dormitory, two boys were locked in a tense standoff.
One was as strong as a bear, wearing black-rimmed glasses and a designer tracksuit; the other was slightly shorter and chubby, also wearing glasses, and was holding his head high with a defiant look on his face.
"Hey, Lao Fang. I want to sleep in this top bunk, can't we switch? I don't like the bottom bunk, I always feel like someone is moving around above my head."
The burly guy, who was sitting on the top bunk scrolling through his phone, rolled his eyes when he heard this: "With your small frame? You're hopeless. I'm afraid you'll wear yourself out from all that going up and down every day. Besides, if you need to get up at night, you'll have to climb the ladder. If you accidentally fall and hurt yourself, the whole dorm will have to stay with you in bed."
"You're the one who's falling apart!" Wei Jing retorted. "I'm agile! And you're so big, why are you sleeping on the top bunk? Aren't you afraid the fan will spin up and slice your head off?"
The conversation between the two seemed full of tension, making Luo Yueshi, who was standing at the door, feel his heart pound.
Is this...is this how roommates in Shanghai and Hong Kong live together? So volatile?
He stood there, unsure whether to go forward or retreat, at a loss for what to do.
Just then, Wei Jing caught a glimpse of a figure at the door. Turning around, he saw Luo Yueshi dragging a suitcase.
"Hey, what's your name?" Wei Jing asked, his tone still carrying the energy he had when arguing with Fang Gang.
Fang Gang, head down and scrolling through his phone, assumed Wei Jing was talking to him and retorted without turning around, "I didn't yell! You were the one howling into your phone like a monkey in heat!"
Wei Jing: "I wasn't talking to you, I was asking the guy at the door!"
At this moment, Fang Gang finally realized what was happening and looked up to see Luo Yueshi.
"Oh? Another one?"
Fang Gang scratched his head, his fierce expression instantly transforming into a warm smile, though he still looked somewhat like a gangster boss forcing a smile.
"Um... buddy, sorry, I didn't see you earlier. What's your name?"
Stared at by his two rather assertive roommates, Luo Yueshi felt his throat go dry. He shrank back and said in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, "My name is Luo Yueshi..."
"Huh?" Fang Gang frowned. "Didn't you hear me? Speak louder!"
Luo Yueshi was startled, thinking that Fang Gang was picking a fight. His face turned pale, and his calves cramped up.
Seeing this, Wei Jing walked over and patted Luo Yueshi on the shoulder. Although he himself wasn't very tall, he put on an air of "Don't worry, I've got your back."
He said, "Ignore that barbarian, he talks without thinking. But buddy, your voice is definitely too soft, could you reintroduce yourself?"
Luo Yueshi calmed down a little, cleared his throat, and tried to raise his voice: "My name is Luo Yueshi, and I'm from Guangdong Province."
"Oh, Luo Yueshi," Fang Gang, sitting on the bed, nodded. "From Guangdong Province? No wonder. Your Mandarin is indeed not very standard; you didn't pronounce that retroflex consonant properly."
Wei Jing immediately turned around and complained, "Don't try to instruct others with your Mandarin. It's all accented like a oyster's, and you still have the nerve to say others' Mandarin isn't standard?"
"I'll emphasize again, I have no accent!" Fang Gang declared seriously, then habitually reached for his pocket. "Ugh, my throat's dry after all this talking. Anyone here smoke? Want one?"
Wei Jing shook his head: "I won't smoke."
Luo Yueshi quickly shook his head: "I don't smoke."
"Well, another bunch of good kids," Fang Gang sighed, took his cigarettes and lighter and walked to the balcony. "I'll smoke on the balcony then, so you won't get the smell."
He pushed open the balcony door and went outside.
"Holy crap? That's Old Wang!"
Fang Gang had just taken out a cigarette, but hadn't even lit it yet, when he let out this exclamation from the balcony.
Immediately afterwards, he shouted into the house, "Hey, come out and see God! Oh no, see Old Wang!"
"What are you yelling for? What's wrong now?" Wei Jing complained, but his body betrayed him as he ran over.
Luo Yueshi hesitated for a moment, then followed. After all, it was important to fit in when you first arrived.
The three of them looked down in the direction Fang Gang was pointing.
The view from the fourth floor is excellent.
On the tree-lined path below the dormitory building, Wang Zhe was standing under a sycamore tree. Opposite him stood a long-haired girl wearing a white dress.
Even from a top-down view, you can see that the girl has an excellent figure and a gentle temperament.
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.