Fenny, a third-year computer science major in the engineering school, hails from Seattle. Celia, a third-year management major in the business school, is from San Francisco. Kelly, a third-year internal medicine major in the medical school, comes from Los Angeles. All three are from West Coast cities, so when filling out their dorm preference forms, they requested to live with students from western cities.
Living together, the three quickly became close friends. With their distinct beauty—graceful, sensual, and charming—they soon became the “campus flowers” of their respective schools, attracting countless suitors who tried every trick in the book to pursue them. Coming from middle-class families, the trio had no interest in being mere trophies and brushed off suitors by citing their academic commitments.
At the start of the semester, their former senior roommate graduated, leaving the apartment. When they arrived to register, they heard from other students that a male had moved into their apartment. Assuming it was a suitor pulling strings, they immediately complained to the college. The college clarified that it was a 14-year-old boy, arranged by Professor Chris Landeng, who hoped they’d look after him.
When Celia, from San Francisco, learned Mulin was Chinese, she mentioned that San Francisco’s Chinatown had a large Chinese population. She’d had Chinese classmates in high school who were polite but timid, and she loved Chinese food. Seeing Mulin buying groceries, they followed him into the apartment. Upon seeing his dishes, they dove in without regard for manners. Noticing Mulin’s lack of reaction, they felt Celia’s description of Chinese people was accurate.
Later, when Mulin seemed reluctant to live with them, their pride kicked in. They interpreted his aloofness as disdain for their beauty, which they couldn’t tolerate. This led to playful bullying and an attempt to force Mulin into an “unequal treaty.” Realizing the college expected them to care for him, they took charge of getting his textbooks and syllabi to keep him quiet.
Mulin, naive about such feminine scheming and inexperienced with girls due to never attending school, was often teased by them. When he chose over 80 courses, they thought he was either crazy or a genius—likely the former.
Initially, only Celia was friendly to Mulin, but his cooking gradually won them over. One evening, after devouring his food faster than he could eat, they sipped coffee, watching him eat and chatting. Celia casually remarked, “Daniel, do you usually drink Chinese tea? I’ve tried your tea, but it’s not as good as British tea.”
After dinner, the girls cleaned up, as Mulin insisted. He usually retreated to his room afterward, avoiding interaction. The girls, however, seized every chance to tease him, feeling his indifference to their youthful beauty was an insult their pride couldn’t bear.
Mulin knew they meant no harm and avoided them, warning them not to enter his room. He drank tea alone there. Hearing Celia’s comment, he bristled. “Celia, you should know China has a long history of tea drinking, with reliable records dating back to the Han Dynasty. How long have you been drinking tea? Just 300 years! Do you know how many types of tea there are? You’ve only had black tea! Do you even know how to drink tea properly? Hmph, British tea better than Chinese tea?”
Celia, seeing Mulin’s irritation, stood up and said loudly, “What! I drank Chinese tea at my Chinese classmate’s house in San Francisco, and it wasn’t as good as the tea I had in London!”
On matters of principle, Mulin didn’t back down. Standing up, he sneered, “That’s because you haven’t had good tea. Your classmate was fooling you, you foreign devil!”
That stirred the hornet’s nest. Fenny and Kelly stood up too. “What? You called us foreign devils? Do you even have good Chinese tea? If not, you’re just bragging, you lying little Chinese kid!”
“What! A kid? Bragging? Fine! Come to my room now, and I’ll show you what real Chinese tea is. You’ll owe me an apology!” Mulin said coldly, heading to his room.
“Let’s go then! What’s the big deal?” The girls followed, still talking.
In wellness, tea is prized for nurturing the body. Daoism, particularly the Fangxian School, believes the spirit depends on the body, and the body relies on the spirit; only when both are harmonized is one truly healthy. Thus, they emphasize medicinal cultivation, with tea as a top choice. Zhang Daoling, Daoism’s founder, reportedly gathered herbs on Changli Mountain and taught disciples body-lightening methods on Lishang Mountain. Mulin, well-versed in tea, had collected many fine teas during his travels.
His room was small. A Suzhou embroidery of *Three Cats* hung on the wall, the lifelike kittens seemingly watching the visitors.
“Wow, such cute cats!” the girls squealed.
Their shrieks made Mulin realize, “Oh no, I’ve been tricked!”
The girls had long wanted to see his room but never got the chance. Now, they’d succeeded. The room had standard university furniture, but Mulin had replaced the bedding with a Yantai velvet-embroidered landscape bedspread, Suzhou-embroidered floral pillowcases and quilt, a Shu-embroidered *Goldfish* tablecloth, and a Gu-embroidered *Bean and Dragonfly* chair cover, with the dragonfly’s wings in ice-stitch, resembling translucent gauze, and plump beans for texture.
On the table sat a Yixing teapot set, lacquered tea canisters from various regions, a jade brush holder with Hu brushes, a Shoushan stone paperweight, and a Tang Dynasty Duan inkstone. His study books were neatly arranged, and another table held a computer and printer, covered with a Hunan-embroidered peony cloth.
The room was vibrant yet elegant. With only one chair, Mulin, wryly smiling, invited them to sit on the bed. But the girls, not there for tea, grabbed his quilt, sniffed his pillow, and exclaimed loudly.
Celia reacted first. “Junior, you’re a boy—how come there’s no celebrity poster? Here, I’ll trade two signed celebrity photos from my room for your cat embroidery. Otherwise, people might question your orientation.” She took down the *Three Cats* and ran to her room, returning with two actress posters and sticking them on Mulin’s wall.
Fenny chimed in, “Your bedspread is so old-fashioned. I’ll swap it for the linen one my mom gave me.” She replaced it with a pink one.
Kelly hugged Mulin’s quilt and pillow. “Poor junior, no mom and such a thin quilt. I’ll give you mine.” She ran off and returned with pink bedding.
“What is happening?” Mulin wondered if he’d let thieves in.
Kelly tossed her pink bedding onto the bed, and the girls, surveying the room, said, “Now it looks like a boy’s room!”
Sure, with a pink bed and actress posters, anyone would think his orientation was “normal”!
“Hey, little liar, you still haven’t shown us your Chinese tea!” Fenny said.
“Yeah, yeah!” Celia and Kelly echoed.
Mulin, smiling bitterly, thought they were good at changing the subject. Luckily, they hadn’t eyed his desk items. He decided to brew tea, choosing Anxi Tieguanyin for foreigners. From a lacquered canister, he took a handful of Tieguanyin, placing it in the Yixing pot with a crisp “ding.” He poured hot water, scalded the cups with the first steep, then brewed the second. Pouring the golden, clear tea, its fresh, rich aroma wafted out, intoxicatingly fragrant.
The girls sipped. “Mmm, so fragrant! Wow, so bitter!” Mulin told them to wait. After a moment, the bitterness turned sweet. After seven steeps, he said, “Alright, seniors, tea’s done. Time to go.”
He avoided mentioning the apology. Their thick skin meant they’d find trouble even without cause, and he didn’t want more.
“Daniel, sorry, Chinese tea is better. But you have to treat us often now that you’ve spoiled us. Where else can we get tea this good?” they said.
Fenny added, “We’ll tutor you to make up for it.”
Mulin sighed inwardly, “Great, they’ve latched onto me again.”
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