Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

Studying was monotonous and dull, yet Roseanne found herself surprisingly accustomed to it.

Another day of studying came to an end.

Returning home, she rubbed her shoulders, planning to rest early, but she received a call from Madeleine.

Madeleine first inquired about how her review was going. Roseanne gave a brief update on her progress. Madeleine didn't probe further, seemingly confident in Roseanne's abilities. Roseanne chuckled and heard Madeleine say, "Come by my place early tomorrow morning."

With that, Madeleine hastily ended the call, fearing a second's delay would lead Roseanne to refuse.

The following morning, Roseanne got up early, spending half an hour preparing breakfast, and of course, she didn't forget to prepare an extra portion for her neighbor, Owen.

She hadn't heard any noise from next door until she went to bed the previous night, guessing Owen must have pulled an all-nighter in the lab again.

Opening the door, she indeed bumped right into Owen, who was just returning. It had been two weeks since their encounter on a rainy night. Fresh from the lab, the usually neat and meticulous man had wrinkled sleeves, and the fatigue between his brows couldn't be more apparent.

Recalling the conversation she overheard last time, Roseanne guessed he must have encountered some trouble in the lab.

Without prying, she lifted the lunchbox in her hand. "I made some oatmeal for breakfast. It's good for someone who's been up all night and might have a stomachache."

Owen hadn't felt discomfort from pulling consecutive all-nighters before, but irregular meals had left his stomach slightly in pain. The oatmeal she brought was what he needed. "Thank you."

"The night you walked me home, I should be the one saying thanks," she said with a slight smile.

Owen raised an eyebrow. "We're neighbors. It was just on the way."

He then asked, "Heading out?"

Roseanne nodded. "Ms. Payne told me to stop by her place, probably something important."

Checking her watch, she noted it was about time to leave. "I should get going. Don't forget to eat the oatmeal and eggs."

"Will do." Watching her disappear around the staircase corner, Owen entered his apartment.

Uncapping the lunchbox, a fragrant aroma wafted out. The oatmeal, with added almonds and blueberries, had a perfect sweetness mixed with the wholesome scent of the grains.

The egg was a simple fried one, which he usually didn't care for, but when feeling its warmth, he slowly ate it. Hmm, it wasn't as bad as he had imagined.

...

On a weekday, the subway was so

crowded that there was hardly space to stand. When Roseanne finally extricated herself from the crowd, she nearly thought she'd get squashed into a pancake.

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Thankfully, her quick reflexes saved her from that fate.

She had registered at Madeleine's place, so the security guard let her in.

Ringing the doorbell, it wasn't Madeleine who answered but a boy.

"Huh," he expressed, spotting Roseanne as if he'd remembered something. "Oh, it's you!"

Carlisle was there to pick up some documents and came to the door when hearing the bell. Seeing Roseanne, he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity.

Soon, he remembered the girl who had rushed up to him at the school gate, anxiously inquiring about Madeleine's health, an image of her nearly in tears still vivid in his mind. Roseanne paused, recognizing him, and was about to speak when Madeleine's voice came from inside. "Is that Roseanne?"

Carlisle stepped aside to let Roseanne in.

"Ms. Payne." Roseanne carried a box of muffins, a specialty she picked up on the way, and stepped into the foyer to change her shoes.

"You're just in time. I was going

through some documents. Can you

help me see if I've got the right

ones? Wearing reading glasses, Madeleine gestured for her to come closer. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Roseanne set aside what she brought, approaching to find a book on genetic sequencing in a foreign language sprawled on the table, touching on the expansive field of bioinformatics.