Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed

As the temperature soared, the meteorological office issued a red alert.

The temperature had hovered around 95 degrees Fahrenheit for a week, pushing Owen's research to the brink of a breakthrough after relentless calculation and verification.

Finally catching a break, Owen was exhausted and trudged to his seventh-floor apartment, looking forward to a good night's sleep to recharge. However, a sudden noise from across the hallway halted his steps.

Pausing, he turned and knocked on the door opposite his. "Roseanne, are you in there?"

There was no response. Owen knocked again, but still nothing.

Hesitating for a second and contemplating whether to call for help, he heard the door unlocking. Roseanne peeked out, leaving the door just ajar.

"What's up?" Her demeanor was casual as if the knock had merely interrupted her day, her voice as calm as ever, betraying no sign of distress.

Yet, Owen couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off, like a rose wilting without water.

He was silent for a moment under Roseanne's puzzled gaze.

"You mentioned you worked on a

"I submitted it two weeks ago. I've been reviewing and waiting for the results

have a paper, a work in progress. Would you be interested in

Roseanne was surprised.

Owen's apartment, sitting on the couch, Roseanne scanned

and discussing initial values in biological changes, Owen's paper wasn't breaking new ground topic-wise but approached the subject from a novel angle.

"Is this your

nodded. "I started it in my sophomore

a mix of

ovel met

upset about Owen switching from biology to physics years later. It was like he was made for it,

asking, "Why didn't

back the. conclusions. After switching my major, physics consumed al my time, leaving

of regret

pondered. "Then why show