**Roommate Luna**
When Li Tao opened his eyes, the sun had already risen. He wasn't sure if he had woken up on his own or if the chirping of birds outside had stirred him. Either way, the moment he opened his eyes and saw the unfamiliar ceiling and surroundings, he felt as if he were in a dream—like a character stepping into a completely new world from a fairy tale.
Li Tao sat up, replaying the events of the previous day. He felt a mix of excitement and a slight sense of pride. At sixteen, his mother had died of depression. His father was neither a good husband nor a good father; he relied on force to resolve everything, while his mother endured and compromised for him. Eventually, she discovered his father's infidelity and chose to end her life. At that time, Li Tao's father was away, so Li Tao was left alone with his mother and became the target of everyone's anger. His father blamed Li Tao for everything, causing their relationship to plummet. By then, sixteen-year-old Li Tao had begun trying to escape his family, to the point where his father still didn't know that Li Tao was in Canada. Now, at twenty-four, Li Tao had achieved everything on his own, unlike other international students who had family support. This independence made him feel proud but also somewhat lonely.
Reflecting on this, Li Tao opened his travel bag and took out a photo frame from the compartment. The woman in the frame smiled gently, her gaze warm and loving. Li Tao placed the photo on his bedside and said softly, "Good morning, Mom."
Perhaps because he had suddenly thought of his deceased mother, Li Tao's eyes welled up, and he almost cried, but he managed to hold back the tears. He scolded himself inwardly, "You're a man. How can you cry so easily?"
Li Tao stood up, still in yesterday's clothes, and rummaged through his suitcase. After a bit of searching, he found two travel-sized toiletries, a towel, and a couple of changes of clothes, and headed to the bathroom.
When he turned on the faucet, the cold water mixed with a rusty smell made him shiver. He instinctively cursed and stepped back. Watching the yellowish-brown water flow from the showerhead, he moved to the corner, thinking: This room must have been unused for a long time, and the pipes must be rusty.
After about three minutes, the water gradually became clear and warm, allowing Li Tao to relax and step in. Usually, he would shower before bed, but he had been too tired the night before and fell asleep in his clothes, so he had to shower in the morning. He showered quickly, and within about 15 minutes, he emerged from the bathroom with wet hair. Late August mornings in Toronto weren't too hot but not too cold either, so he decided not to blow-dry his hair and just threw on some clothes. He then found his phone, only to realize that he had fallen asleep without charging it the night before, and now it was powered off due to a dead battery.
Li Tao felt a pang of panic. He was usually attached to his phone and always carried a power bank. This was the first time he had encountered a dead phone.
He quickly found his charger, thankfully in his bag. He plugged in his phone and began tidying up his things. His luggage was simple—just his computer, some clothes, and toiletries. However, he had packed many clothes and shoes. Partly because he found it hard to part with old belongings due to sentimental value, and partly because his savings were insufficient to support extravagant spending, so he tried to cut unnecessary expenses.
After a quick tidy-up, placing his computer on the desk and hanging up his clothes, the whole process took less than half an hour. Li Tao felt the time had flown by, and in the blink of an eye, everything was done. He then remembered his phone and checked it; the battery was at 40%. He turned it on and saw that it was 7:16 AM. Li Tao swore this was the earliest he had woken up this year. It might be due to jet lag or the exhaustion from the previous night that made him wake up before six in the morning.
As he was about to unlock his phone, several messages popped up, including news updates, game notifications, and a message from Alex. Li Tao quickly opened Alex's message, timestamped 1:37 AM, which read: "I forgot to give you the Wi-Fi password. It's: 22666853283."
Li Tao cursed silently, realizing he had forgotten to activate international roaming. He dreaded the thought of how much data roaming might cost. He hurriedly turned on Wi-Fi and saw only one signal nearby named "20." He connected to it and felt somewhat relieved, then replied to Alex: "Thanks. Have you boarded the plane yet?"
Alex didn't reply immediately. Li Tao assumed Alex was on the plane and likely had his phone turned off. He estimated Alex would only arrive later in the evening. Li Tao then grabbed the grocery bag from yesterday, which contained a sandwich and a bottle of juice. As he ate, he downloaded some necessary apps on his phone and mentally planned what he needed to buy.
As Li Tao finished his sandwich, he suddenly heard the sound of a door unlocking next door, followed by a series of footsteps. Only then did he remember that a Chinese girl lived next door, along with Alex's dog. He hurriedly stood up, wanting to greet them. Just as he reached the door, he remembered something, turned around, and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his bag, then quickly stepped outside his room.
Li Tao pushed open the bedroom door, only to be startled by a dark shadow rushing toward him, colliding straight into his leg. He looked down to see a large black dog, resembling a Newfoundland or a Flat-Coated Retriever. Instinctively, he reached out to pet her head and then looked up, locking eyes with a delicate face.
The girl stood around 165 cm tall, with long black hair and large eyes that complemented her small, refined nose. While not stunning, she was certainly attractive among Asian girls. Li Tao blushed slightly. One of the reasons he had decisively chosen to go abroad was his breakup with his girlfriend earlier that year. His first love, they had met in college and dated for five years, but a small argument had escalated into a major fight, leading her to storm out. This time, he didn't chase after her, and just like that, they lost contact. Devastated by the memories of their time together, he quit his job and spent days holed up in his rented apartment, feeling that the room, the city, and even the entire country were filled with their shared shadows. Unable to cope, he made the bold decision to study abroad. Since then, he had isolated himself, focused on learning English, and arrived in Canada without having any meaningful conversations with anyone. Now, standing before this girl, he was at a loss for words.
The girl paused momentarily upon seeing him but then smiled. "Hi, you arrived last night, right?"
Li Tao nodded. "Yes, I hope I didn't disturb you. I'm Li Tao, but you can call me Danny."
The girl smiled and shook her head. "No, you didn't disturb me. I usually go to bed quite late. When you arrived last night, Kiki was excited and ran around a few times. This is Kiki, Alex's dog. She's a beautiful and gentle girl. What's odd is that Kiki seems to know us; usually, dogs bark at strangers, but Kiki didn't. She was just excited, as if she was welcoming us." As she spoke, she petted Kiki's head, and Kiki happily nuzzled against her leg. Realizing she hadn't introduced herself, the girl quickly added, "I'm Liu Ruofan, but everyone calls me Luna. Nice to meet you, Danny."
Li Tao squatted to rub faces with Kiki, then stood up and asked, "Are you taking her for a walk?"
"No, I'm just letting her use the backyard and then giving her breakfast," Luna replied, glancing at Li Tao. "Have you had breakfast? Since you just got here and probably haven't prepared anything, how about we grab something to eat together?"
Li Tao nodded, and the two of them headed downstairs. It was only then that he fully took in the layout of the house's first floor. To the right of the stairs was a sitting room with a television and a black leather sofa. Further ahead was an open kitchen equipped with an induction stove, microwave, oven, coffee maker, and toaster. To the left of the kitchen was a dining area with a large wooden table and six matching chairs. Between the dining room and the kitchen were two sliding glass doors that opened to the backyard. The other side of the dining room featured a smaller living area with a white fabric sofa, a black coffee table, a smaller TV, and a massage chair. Continuing forward, there was a guest bathroom, a laundry room connected to the garage, and a door to the basement under the stairs.
Luna opened the sliding doors, and Kiki excitedly dashed out. Li Tao followed, lighting a cigarette. The backyard was divided into two sections: one with a swimming pool and another with outdoor furniture and a small shed.
Li Tao sat on a wicker chair outside, leisurely smoking while watching Kiki sniff around until she found a suitable patch of grass, squatted, and relieved herself, then happily ran around. He found the scene incredibly serene and wished he could freeze time in this moment.
After finishing his cigarette, Luna called Kiki inside for breakfast. Kiki, sensitive to the word "food," immediately sprinted towards Luna. Li Tao chuckled to himself, thinking, "What a little glutton." He followed Luna back inside.
Once inside, Luna handed Li Tao a cup of coffee. "I only added milk, no sugar. If you want some, it's by the coffee machine," she said, pointing to the coffee pods and sugar cubes left by Alex.
Li Tao accepted the coffee. "I don't like sweet things, so this is perfect. But Alex is really a strange guy; he seems to trust us a lot."
"Yeah," Luna agreed. "At first, I thought he might be a scammer until I saw Kiki. But he is quite odd, and this house also feels strange."
"What's strange about the house? Is it because it's too nice?" Li Tao asked.
Luna hesitated, as if choosing her words carefully, but quickly shifted the conversation. "Do you have any plans today?"
Li Tao recalled his mental checklist from that morning and replied, "I just got here, so I need to get a SIM card, open a bank account, and buy some hangers, stationery, blankets, pillows, kitchenware, and groceries…" His voice trailed off as he realized how much there was to do, feeling overwhelmed.
Luna blinked and thought for a moment before saying, "That sounds like a lot, but I can help. I've been studying here for two semesters. Although, without a car, it might be a bit inconvenient."
Li Tao suddenly remembered something. "Do you have a driver's license?"
Luna looked surprised. "Yes, I do, but I don't have a car."
Li Tao smiled. "Alex left me a car key when he left and said we could use it. If you have a license, we can drive."
Luna's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great! Let's head out then. First stop: McDonald's!"
Li Tao found her enthusiasm charming and couldn't help but smile. "Sure thing, let's go."
They quickly grabbed their wallets and phones, filled Kiki's water bowl, and headed to the garage. Inside was a gray 2018 Honda CR-V that looked a bit worn, with some scratches on the exterior. As Luna and Li Tao got in, the strong smell of smoke hit them. Li Tao commented, "Looks like Alex smoked a lot in here. Does it bother you?"
Adjusting her seat and starting the engine, Luna replied, "Not at all; I smoke too, but mostly e-cigarettes. Winters in Canada are too cold to go outside and smoke."
With that, Li Tao and Luna chatted and laughed all the way to McDonald's. Since Li Tao didn't have a bank card yet, Luna paid for breakfast. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Li Tao said, "Let me treat you to lunch today."
Luna waved it off casually. "No worries, just consider it a welcome to Canada." As Li Tao was about to smile, Luna's expression suddenly darkened. She pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, looking serious. "Remember when I said I thought the house was strange?"
Li Tao nodded, surprised by her change in demeanor. "Yeah, I remember. Why?"
"Take a look at this," Luna said, handing him the paper. "Didn't you have one of these in your room?"
Li Tao took the paper, puzzled. He unfolded it to find a list of rules titled **"Rules for Living in House 20."**