Lemon Soda Candy - 27

The last class that morning was Gao Guohua’s math.

Like the other teachers before him, Gao Guohua also lived up to expectations and extended his lesson. 

Eating hotpot requires time, even though the restaurant is close to the school, it still required a bit of a trek to get there and back. Zhang Shuxian was very anxious, but Gao Guohua on the podium was still leisurely explaining the lesson.

Yan Xingxi and Sheng Xiaowen had already come down from the sixth floor and were standing outside the window waiting for them.

Perhaps they were bored of waiting, when Zhou Anran happened to glance outside, the duo was pulling silly faces at her.

A smile broke across Zhou Anran's face. But she quickly stifled it as she noticed Gao Guohua was about to turn around, then continued to listen attentively to the lecture.

The antics of the two outside became increasingly exaggerated.

They were originally used to be in Class 2, while not all the students in the classroom were familiar with them, many recognized them and laughed at their amusing behavior. 

Gao Guohua sensed something and looked out the window.

Yan Xingxi and Sheng Xiaowen immediately acted to look up at the sky and down at the ground, pretending to be waiting obediently.

Gao Guohua finally announced the end of the class five, six minutes later.

Zhou Anran was whisked away by Zhang Shuxian, she didn't even have time to catch a glance of him.

As they exited the classroom, Zhou Anran saw Yan Xingxi and Sheng Xiaowen chatting with Gao Guohua.

Gao Guohua held the textbook in his hand, speaking in a slightly admonishing tone yet had a smile on his face, "You can come by to wait for someone, but don't disturb everyone's class next time.”

Sheng Xiaowen has always been bold and wasn't afraid of him, "We came here after class. Lao Gao, if you don't delay the class, we wouldn't be disturbing anyone."

Gao Guohua put on a serious face, "I can't control you now that I'm no longer your class teacher, is that it?”

"How could that be?" Sheng Xiaowen and Yan Xingxi shook their heads.

Gao Guohua then inquired about their recent situation in the liberal arts class.

Once he left, Zhang Shuxian urged, "Hurry up, or we won't have enough time to eat.”

Zhang Shuxian had already reserved a table.

After the four arrived, they were led by the waiter to sit down and start ordering.

While they were deciding on drinks, Sheng Xiaowen suddenly looked up as if recalling something, "By the way, Ranran, I heard that Chen Luobai treated you to a drink yesterday?"

Sheng Xiaowen had other things the previous night and missed dinner with them.

Zhou Anran felt her heart race, her fingertips curled at the sour plum juice on the menu, "Yes, it just somehow happened."

"If it was anyone else, and not Chen Luobai, such an unbridled person who doesn’t seem like the type to have a secret crush, and considering he barely spoke to you—I might suspect he had ulterior motives. But he does seem to like treating people." Sheng Xiaowen lowered her head again, "How about sour plum juice?"

Zhang Shuxian voted, "I'm OK."

Yan Xingxi agreed, "Me too."

Zhou Anran said softly, "I'm also fine with it.” 

The previous topic was just lightly touched upon.

Yesterday, Tang Jianrui and the others teased him about it, but once they were back in the classroom, no one brought it up again.

Even her own friends seemed to think it was an impossible feat.

Zhou Anran lowered her eyes, taking a sip of lemonade, it tasted slightly sour.

So, don't think too much.

He really just did it in passing.

Zhou Anran whispered to herself in her heart.

Under the blasting air conditioning, they calculated the time to finish their hotpot, then hurried to school and entered the classroom just as the pre-bell rang.

The last class in the afternoon is English.

Lin Han beamed as she walked into the classroom, "I heard that all your other teachers are dragging their lessons today?” 

"Yes." Zhu Ran shouted from the back, "Teacher Lin, please don't extend the class. Chen Luobai's Aunt's daughter's cousin's sister-in-law's sister's grandmother is sick. We plan to visit her in the hospital."

This sounded like nonsense, and Lin Han obviously didn't believe it. She laughed and teased, "Chen Luobai, is that true?"

Hearing the teacher call his name, Zhou Anran instinctively straightened up in her seat. 

"Not at all, Teacher Lin." Chen Luobai replied from the back, a smile evident in his voice, "It's Zhu Ran who is mentally ill and asked me to accompany him to the hospital."

"Damn, you're the one who's mentally ill." Zhu Ran shot back.

The entire class erupted into laughter.

Many people, including Zhang Shuxian, turned back to watch the spectacle. Zhou Anran also used the opportunity to look back with everyone.

Chen Luobai has just shifted his gaze from Zhu Ran, he still has a smile on his face, making him appear somewhat laid-back.

For some reason, he turned slightly to the side, Zhou Anran's gaze suddenly collided with his in mid-air.

Zhou Anran didn't have time to react.

In the next moment, she saw the boy's eyebrows raise slightly.

Zhou Anran's heart skipped a beat, she hurriedly turned her head away, but the image of him raising his eyebrows at her kept lingering in her mind. 

Did he catch her staring?

Or was he actually looking at someone else just now?

She recalled that he seemed quite familiar with the boy seated in front. Most of the boys in the class were, at the very least, far more familiar than she was.

It was probably not directed at her.

As Zhou Anran's racing heart began to settle, a wave of regret washed over her belatedly.

What exactly was she hiding from?

Everyone was looking at him, it was normal for her to also look his way. Hiding away, however, was not.

But he never pays attention to her.

It shouldn't matter, right?

She doesn't know what happened these past two days. She had been secretly looking at him for a year without ever being caught. 

Yet, yesterday and today, when she didn't dare to look at him, she almost got caught twice.

"Alright." Lin Han smiled, tapping on the podium, "Quiet down. Class is starting. If you keep making noise, I might just extend your lesson today.”

Zhou Anran softly shook her head, letting her tucked hair fall to shield her slightly flushed ears. She pushed aside her wandering thoughts, looked up and listened carefully to Lin Han's lecture.

In the end, Lin Han became the only teacher who didn't drag her lesson that day.

After class ended on time, Zhou Anran didn't dare to look back anymore, and quickly pulled Zhang Shuxian out of the room. 

"Ranran, what's gotten into you today? It's rare to see you so lively after class?" Zhang Shuxian was surprised.

Once they stepped outside, Zhou Anran finally sighed, "Nothing, I just couldn’t wait to take you to eat bullfrog.”

"Bullfrog?" Zhang Shuxian asked.

Zhou Anran: "Xixi and I agreed to treat you to a bullfrog this afternoon."

Zhang Shuxian was stunned, a smile spread across her face, then she playfully tickled her, "Great, when did you guys plan this without me knowing?"

Zhou Anran smiled and dodged her playful fingers,"So, will you go?”

"Go, go, go." Zhang Shuxian grabbing her hand once more.

The dry pot bullfrog restaurant is also near the school.

Eating bullfrog is not as time-consuming as eating hotpot. When the four of them returned from their meal, they still had some time before evening self-study began.

After entering the teaching building, Yan Xingxi and Sheng Xiaowen went back to the sixth floor together. Zhang Shuxian was stopped for a chat by her classmates from Class 3 at the door, leaving Zhou Anran to enter the classroom alone.

At her seat, Zhou Anran noticed her English book was placed diagonally on the edge of the desk, a small part of it sticking out of the desk on the verge of falling. 

Zhou Anran found it a bit odd.

She always tidied her books before leaving class and wasn't one to leave things disheveled. 

What's going on with this English book?

Did someone accidentally drop it and help her pick it up then just leave it like this?

She wondered if it had collected dust from the floor. 

Zhou Anran stood by the desk and casually flipped through the book.

However, there seemed to be something stuck in the book, as she turned it, a page opened.

There was a piece of paper tucked inside.

To be precise, it was a short love letter——

"Thank you for the medicine that day. I really appreciate it. I like you very much."

There was no signature on the love letter.

But just like that certain face and voice, she had replayed this handwriting in her mind countless times. 

It was so familiar, it could only belong to one person, 

—Chen Luobai.

In an instant, the sounds around Zhou Anran, inside and outside the classroom, seemed to fade into silence, leaving only the rapid thump of her heart echoing in her ears.  

Chen Luobai wrote her a love letter? 

How is this possible?

But, if it wasn't meant for her, why did it appear on her desk, tucked inside her English textbook?

And that very first line.

‘Thank you for the medicine that day’

Was it referring to the iodine swab she gave him that day?

So he recognized her that day after all?

He recognized her, that's why he treated her for a drink yesterday and sent her this love letter today?

But that's just impossible.

There are so many girls who have given him gifts, all of them beautiful and excellent. Plus, they have been classmates for over a year, and he hardly ever noticed her. How could he possibly fall for her just because she gave him medicine once?

"Ranran." Zhang Shuxian's voice suddenly rang in her ears, "Why are you just standing there in a daze?"

Zhou Anran's heart did a little flip as she snapped back to her senses, quickly slamming shut the English book.

"What are you thinking about? Why are you so startled?" Zhang Shuxian noticed her dazed expression and couldn't help but ask another question.

Zhou Anran was still tangled up in thoughts of the love letter, barely registering the question. She responded absentmindedly, "Do you want to come in?"

"Yeah." Zhang Shuxian said, "Please move a bit for me."

Zhou Anran mechanically stepped back and stood next to the desks in the back row.

Lou Yiqi also returned to the classroom at some point with Yin Yizhen. The two of them stood by the seat and played around.

Zhang Shuxian was blocked by them and couldn't get through.

Over there, Lou Yiqi smiled and suddenly pushed Yin Yizhen. Yin Yizhen stumbled back, her hand moved back unconsciously, accidentally knocking something to the floor.

Yin Yizhen turned around and saw that it was an English book.

"Sorry, sorry." She bent down to retrieve it. 

"No need–" Zhou Anran paused, remembering what's inside the book. She wanted to stop her, but it was too late.

As Yin Yizhen knelt down to pick up the English book, she recalled that the seat just now belonged to Zhou Anran, and this book should belong to her as well.

Her emotions were complicated for a moment. 

Hearing Zhou Anran's voice, Yin Yizhen was about to turn around, but first noticed a piece of paper that had seemingly slipped out from the English book.

The paper lay face up, there was only a short sentence on it, but the handwriting was strikingly familiar. 

She once asked Zong Kai to help her borrow his notes.

Even after seeing him smiling and talking to Zhou Anran at the entrance of the supermarket that day, Yin Yizhen still couldn't wrap her head around it.

A guy like Chen Luobai would actually take the initiative to write love letters to a girl?

Yin Yizhen stood up, holding the paper, and looked at Zhou Anran. As if clinging to a glimmer of hope, she softly asked, "Did Chen Luobai write this to you?”

Zhou Anran still hadn't fully processed what happened.

Lou Yiqi, who had been standing quietly from the sidelines, suddenly snatched the paper from Yin Yizhen's hand when she heard these words.

Seeing the content, she looked shocked and her expression changed dramatically.

"How is that possible?" Lou Yiqi exclaimed, looking directly at Zhou Anran, "How could Chen Luobai write a love letter to you!"

Her voice was countless times louder than Yin Yizhen's. There was not much time left before the evening self-study started. Most students had returned to the classroom and were now staring in their direction.

Zhou Anran never faced such a situation before. Her mind spinning and went blank in an instant.

"What is it?" Noticing something was wrong, Zhang Shuxian leaned over to take a look.

When she saw it, she was stunned for a moment.

Lou Yiqi's face was still filled with disbelief. She looked at Zhou Anran, then examined the paper in her hand more closely. Suddenly, as if she had made a realization, she said, "You imitated his handwriting and wrote it for yourself, didn't you? I was wondering how Chen Luobai could possibly write a love letter to you. Besides, if he were to write one, it certainly wouldn’t be on this plain notebook paper. Look, this paper has even been cut. I really can't tell, Zhou Anran——"

"Lou Yiqi, what are you saying?" Zhang Shuxian interrupted Lou Yiqi, finally grasping the situation. It appeared that the love letter that fell out of Zhou Anran's English book was written by Chen Luobai.

But Zhou Anran obviously wasn't the kind of person who would imitate someone else's handwriting and write a love letter to herself. Zhang Shuxian thought of what happened last night and added, "Why can't Chen Luobai write a love letter to Ranran? He even treated Ranran to a drink yesterday."

After being interrupted by her, Lou Yiqi's attitude seemed to be more aggressive than before, "Chen Luobai also bought me a drink, what's the big deal? You’re just siding with her because you’re getting along better with her now. But ask her, if she’s innocent, why hasn’t she said anything to refute?"

Zhou Anran stood there, feeling that despite the hot weather, the temperature seemed to be constantly dropping and her hands and feet felt cold.

It wasn't that she didn't want to refute. 

She just didn't know how to. 

She has never been good at arguing with people. Every time, she only came up with what to say only after the argument had ended. Lou Yiqi was clearly agitated, speaking rapidly like a machine gun and not giving her much opportunity to refute.

What's more, she was also confused about the situation.

She had no idea where this love letter came from.

Even she herself didn't believe that this love letter was written to her by Chen Luobai.

And before Lou Yiqi mentioned it, she hadn't even noticed that a part of the paper had been slightly cut off. 

Why was it cut off?

Seeing that she didn't answer immediately, Lou Yiqi's tone grew more certain, "Besides, we've been in the same class for over a year, have you ever seen Chen Luobai say a word to her? Chen Luobai probably doesn't even know her name."

"Whose name do I not know?" A familiar deep voice suddenly sounded.

Zhou Anran looked up to find Chen Luobai standing at the back door, followed by Zhu Ran and a large group of people.

The last trace of blood disappeared from her face.

Why did he come back at this time?

It had only been a minute or two since she found the love letter, and the series of unexpected events had left Zhou Anran's already slow-moving brain even more slow.

Before she had time to figure out how to respond, Lou Yiqi was already waving the paper in her hand.

"Chen Luobai, did you write a love letter to Zhou Anran?"

The moment Lou Yiqi asked this question, Zhou Anran noticed that Chen Luobai appeared stunned, with an obvious surprise on his face. 

In that instant, the last flicker of hope in her heart was extinguished. When he turned to look at her, she quickly lowered her head in embarrassment.

At the back door, Chen Luobai saw the girl not far away had her head bowed. Most of her face was obscured by her hair, making her appear even smaller. Unlike the well-behaved and cute girl he saw the previous afternoon whose face was slightly pink from exercising. 

At this moment, that small face looked even paler than the day when he saw her crying on the rooftop, almost devoid of color. 

Chen Luobai frowned, he strode over and took the paper.

As he read the contents, his frown deepened even more.

Looking at his reaction, Lou Yiqi's last remnants of worry finally eased, she turned her head. 

"Zhou Anran, Chen Luobai are here. Do you dare to say in front of him that this love letter was written by him to you?"

Zhou Anran tried hard to calm herself down.

She still couldn't understand what this letter was all about. She could only deduce from his shocked reaction just now that, no matter what the truth is, there was no way this love letter was written by him. 

How to explain?

Tell the truth?

Will he believe her?

Zhou Anran bit her lip tightly.

But Lou Yiqi didn't give her a chance to think and hesitate, she pressed on, "Why, you don't dare to? Here I was thinking how could Chen Luobai wrote love letter to you——"

Chen Luobai didn't quite understand the situation at the moment.

The paper in his hand was clearly the love letter he had helped Zong Kai write. Why did it appear in their classroom, and in her hand no less.

Is she the one that Zong Kai likes?

Why is the signature missing?

How did it end up being found by others?

When another aggressive question came to his ears, Chen Luobai frowned and looked up.

The girl before him had her eyelashes hung low, her slender white fingers entwined nervously, and her lips bitten until they turned white, she looked as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Chen Luobai didn't know what he was thinking at the time. He blurted out, "I wrote it to her."

With these words, time seemed to freeze in the classroom; even the air felt still. 

Lou Yiqi's unfinished words were left unspoken on her lips.

Zhou Anran looked up, her eyes locked with his. Before she could process what happened, a stern voice echoed.

"What love letter?"

The Dean had somehow appeared at the front door, his complexion darkened, “What do you think this place is? Chen Luobai, and you, Zhou Anran, right? Follow me to the office.”

Only after the two ‘parties’ were called away did the classroom return from its state of silence.

Zhang Shuxian averted her gaze from the door worriedly, her eyes fell on Lou Yiqi, saying coldly, "Are you satisfied now?"

Lou Yiqi opened her mouth and wanted to say that she didn't mean to slander Zhou Anran. She was just too surprised and really thought that imitation was the only explanation. But how is it possible?

How could Chen Luobai admit that?

How could Chen Luobai write a love letter to her?

Yin Yizhen, who had not interrupted until now, also turned her gaze toward Lou Yiqi. 

"Didn't you tell me—" Yin Yizhen stared at her, "that you like Zhu Ran? Why are you more worked up about Chen Luobai writing love letters to someone than I am?”

"Hold on." Zhu Ran was also worried. Hearing this, he paused. "Why am I being dragged into this? Don’t even think about pinning your messy thoughts on me. I have someone I like."

Tang Jianrui and the others also looked worried, "Lao Zhu, what's the situation? Does AhLuo really like Zhou Anran?"

Zhu Ran also had no idea, "How would I know?"

***

"What's the situation?"

On the other side, after arriving at the office, the dean asked the same question. He placed the love letter on the desk, his gaze drifting over to the girl who had her head down and looked pale, before finally landing on Chen Luobai

From what he just heard, it seemed that Chen Luobai was the one who took the initiative.

"Chen Luobai, you go first."

Chen Luobai didn't know how the love letter he wrote for Zong Kai ended up in her hands. He didn't even know why he publicly admitted that he wrote it for her.

At that moment, he didn’t think too much about it.

Perhaps it was because, regardless of how the letter reached her, it was indeed written by him.

He was the one who put her in the uncomfortable position of being suspected and accused.

Chen Luobai was not afraid of dealing with the teacher. He had already thought of a solution upon arriving here.

Just tell the truth as it is.

He wrote the love letter for someone else, and he didn't know how it ended up with her. The entire situation was unrelated to her. First, to get her out of the situation, second, to explain to her the reason why he admitted that in public.

However, as he walked in, he caught a glimpse of the first line of the love letter, and a guess that hadn't occurred to him earlier suddenly crossed his mind.

He suddenly hesitated whether to tell the truth.

If his guess was correct, it would be more appropriate to explain things to her privately rather than in front of the teacher.

In that moment of hesitation, Chen Luobai suddenly saw the person beside him step forward.

The slender girl who didn't even dare to talk to him and was only slightly taller than his shoulders, suddenly stood in front of him.

Her soft, pleasant voice, which had a slight rasp, still sounded very soft, but no longer as timid as when she was in front of him. It was light yet resolute.

"Teacher Zhao, this matter has nothing to do with him."

Chen Luobai froze.

On the way from the classroom to the office, free from the distractions of others, Zhou Anran was able to calm down a lot. 

Regardless of how the love letter ended up in her book, it was clear that it was not written by him for her. 

At first, when she saw the love letter, she may have held onto a glimmer of hope, but that hope was soon completely crushed.

Apart from her accusation that she had imitated his handwriting, she agreed with almost everything Lou Yiqi said, which was why she didn't know how to refute just now.

Because it was indeed impossible for Chen Luobai to have written a love letter to her. 

The look of surprise on his face when he entered the room and heard what Lou Yiqi said was enough to prove this fact.

She wasn't sure why he admitted to it, perhaps it was just how he was raised, he couldn't stand to see her in that embarrassment. 

Regardless of his reasons, he had once again helped her and rescued her from a very awkward situation.  

And it was precisely because he helped her that he was called into the office with her.

Zhou Anran still remembered when a pair of seniors were caught dating by the Dean last semester, both of them received demerits and was criticized publicly. Zhang Shuxian and others mentioned that the school was strict about these issues.

Maybe this time, it won't be as harsh.

Although he was not the most well-behaved student, he was always well-liked by the teacher and had never been reprimanded. How could she let him be put in a situation where he might be publicly criticized just because he helped her?

Zhou Anran looked up. Her mind seemed clear and yet confused at the same time. She clenched her hand that was resting at her side, "Teacher Zhao, this really has nothing to do with him. I imitated his handwriting for fun. I never thought it would be discovered by my classmates. The love letter wasn't written by him. Who writes a love letter on random notebook paper, much less a paper that had been torn. If you don't believe me, you can go to our class and ask. He and I are not familiar with each other. We've been classmates for over a year, and he's only spoken to me five times, no more than twenty-three sentences in total. He doesn't even remember my name. It's impossible for him to like me."

Chen Luobai understood every word she said, but every word exceeded his expectations.

Or rather, from the moment she stood in front of him, it felt like something was spiraling out of his control.

He stood there, dazed, his gaze fixed on her slender figure.

The girl in front of him seemed to have exhausted all her courage and strength after saying this. She suddenly crouched down, her voice faintly tinged with tears. 

"How could he possibly like me?”

---

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