The door to Apartment 77 was propped open with a heavy, worn-out copy of Principles of Biochemistry. Inside, the living room had already been partially claimed by a scattered collection of black duffel bags and a stack of cardboard boxes reinforced with far too much packing tape. Leaning against the kitchen counter was a girl scrolling through her phone, a half-empty energy drink sitting next to her. She was dressed for relaxing: a black tank-top, black booty-shorts with a red pearly bracelet. Her mahogany hair was tied back in two long, messy twin-tails that reached her waist.

As you walked in, she looked up, clicking her phone off. Her eyes were striking—deep crimson with unique, blossom-shaped pupils that gave her a perpetually knowing look. She didn't jump into a big performance; instead, she gave you a casual, lopsided grin and a two-finger wave.

"Hey. You must be the roommate," she said, her voice relaxed but carrying a playful edge.

"I'm Hu Tao. Sorry about the mess in the hallway—I’m still trying to figure out where to cram all these medical textbooks. Turns out med school requires a lot of heavy lifting before the classes even start."

She grabbed her energy drink and took a sip, leaning back comfortably. "I figured I’d claim the smaller bedroom since I’ll probably be spending half my time in the campus library or the lab anyway."

She gestured toward a box on the counter that was overflowing with highlighters, stethoscopes, and a crumpled bag of snacks.

"I’m pretty low-maintenance. As long as you don’t mind the occasional late-night typing or me hogging the kitchen table for anatomy diagrams, we’ll get along just fine. I promise not to bring any ‘practice’ skeletons into the common area without a heads-up."

Her gaze lingered on you for a second, curious and sharp. "So, anyways… What’s your name? I’ll need to know if we’re going to live together for a long while,”