Lemon Soda Candy - 34

Outside of the dormitory building, Zhou Anran spotted Chen Luobai standing by the flower bed.

He was dressed in all-black today—black sweatpants and a black hoodie, the hood casually draped over his head. He had a relaxed posture, one leg straight and the other slightly bent against the flower bed, yet his back remained upright.

His striking figure and looks drew the attention of people passing by, but he simply focused on his phone, seemingly indifferent to the gazes around him, just like he had always been in high school.

Not far from him, two girls appeared to be hesitating whether to approach him or not.

Zhou Anran stopped in her tracks.

Chen Luobai happened to raise his head at this moment.

Her eyes locked onto his pair of black eyes, and her heart began to race.

Chen Luobai put his phone into his pocket, keeping one hand inside, still not paying attention to the others around him, and walked directly towards her, "You're down so soon?”

Zhou Anran's heart raced faster, she nodded and handed him the bag.

Chen Luobai reached out to take it, saying with a familiar casual tone, "Thanks."

Standing in front of him made Zhou Anran nervous. After replying ‘you're welcome’, she found herself at a loss for words. She didn't dare to look at him for too long, her gaze dropping to the ground, contemplating whether she should say goodbye now that she had delivered the items when she heard him call her name again.

"Zhou Anran."

Hearing him calling her name still felt surreal for her, she couldn't help but raise her head again.

Chen Luobai's sweater hood seemed to have accidentally slipped from his head, revealing his short, jet-black hair; there were a few strands falling across his forehead.

"Are you in a hurry to go up?"

Zhou Anran didn't fully grasp his meaning, but still shook her head honestly.

Chen Luobai waved the paper bag in his hand, "If not, let me treat you to dinner as a thank you?”

From the time he added her on WeChat yesterday until now, Zhou Anran felt as if she were caught in a long dream. Yet, even in a dream, she could never have imagined he would invite her to dinner alone.

Zhou Anran froze, staring at him blankly, and for a brief moment she forgot to react.

Then, out of the blue, the boy in front of her suddenly smiled.

It was the first time Zhou Anran saw him smile since they met again. When he smiled, all his youthful charm came to life.

Her heart raced even faster.

"Will you go?" Chen Luobai asked again. He glanced at his watch and added, "It's getting late, so I can only take you to the cafeteria."

Zhou Anran snapped back to her senses, suppressed the little bubbles that kept bursting in her heart, and nodded at him.

On the way to the cafeteria with him, Zhou Anran received a lot of attention.

She knew that he was popular, but this was the first time she experienced it from this perspective. Previously, she could only observe him from the sidelines like everyone else, and she wasn't even as courageous as others, she only dared to hide in the crowd and watch him secretly.

Now, every glance directed at him also shifted toward her.

Zhou Anran felt a little uncomfortable.

However, she also felt joy and excitement.

Not because of the attention, she doesn’t really like the attention.

She was happy because of him.

Because it was him walking beside her.

After just a few steps, her phone buzzed.

It was a WeChat message notification.

Zhou Anran looked down to unlock the screen and saw that the message was from Xie Jingyi.

Xie Jingyi: [!!!]

Xie Jingyi: [What’s going on!!!!]

When Zhou Anran first opened the chat, there were only these two messages. But soon, the phone kept buzzing, and new messages popped up one after another. 

Xie Jingyi: [Chen Luobai really came to see you?]

Xie Jingyi: [You even left with him???]

Xie Jingyi: [Are you coming back tonight???]

Xie Jingyi's shock and excitement were palpable through the screen.

The constant noises seemed to catch the attention of the boy next to her. Zhou Anran saw him suddenly turning to look at her.

Worried he might see Xie Jingyi's last message, she instinctively pressed the lock screen button.

Chen Luobai glanced at the blacked-out phone screen, "Is everything okay?”

Even though she was well aware they were just friends at best, Zhou Anran still didn't want him to misunderstand anything, she shook her head hurriedly, "Oh, it's just my roommate. She saw some entertainment gossip and got a bit excited."

As soon as the words left her lips, a wave of guilt washed over her.

But this wasn’t really lying to him, right?

She just exaggerated the truth a little bit by adding the word ‘entertainment’. 

Xie Jingyi's messages continued to flood in, Zhou Anran was afraid that she would send more messy texts and didn't dare to check them.

Thankfully, after a series of relentless notifications, the phone finally quieted down.

In the cafeteria, Zhou Anran was led by the boy to the second floor's ordering area. The prices here were slightly higher than those on the first floor, but the atmosphere was much nicer.

Chen Luobai stopped in front of the ordering counter, "What do you want to eat?"

Zhou Anran glanced up at the menu above. 

She wasn't particularly hungry and didn't feel like eating anything at the moment. Remembering what Senior Yu had said the day before about him being very picky about food, she replied, "I'm fine with anything. You can choose.”

Chen Luobai: "Then I'll really choose?"

Zhou Anran nodded.

The boy suddenly smiled for some reason and pointed towards a nearby cubicle, "Alright, then you go take a seat first and wait for me.”

Zhou Anran agreed, as she walked to the cubicle, her heart still found it somewhat magical.

Who would have thought that the senior she met on registration day would turn out to be his cousin; it seemed that they were not so unfated after all.  

After placing his order, Chen Luobai turned around and leaned against the counter, his gaze drifting to the girl sitting obediently in the cubicle, engrossed in her phone.

Compared to high school, she has changed a lot. She has become taller and prettier. Her long black hair falls past her shoulders, framing her fair cheeks with a slight curl. Her small face was barefaced, making her look even more well-behaved and quiet. 

A few boys in the cafeteria kept sneaking glances her way.

"Student, your soup and shrimp dumplings are ready." The cafeteria auntie tapped the counter, "The grilled ones are still being prepared, please wait a bit longer."

Chen Luobai turned to grab the tray, "Okay, thank you. I'll come back for the rest later.”

Zhou Anran was troubled about how to respond to Xie Jingyi. When she saw him drawing near, she set her phone aside and decided to just face the storm when she got back to the dorm.

Her gaze fell upon the overflowing tray before her, "Why did you order so much?"

"Is it too much?" replied casually as he placed the tray down, "There are still a few more dishes that aren't ready yet.”

Maybe he was really hungry, Zhou Anran couldn't just ask him to return the food, she only reminded him gently, "I can't eat much."

"If we can't finish it, I'll pack the leftovers and bring it back to the dorm." Chen Luobai took a seat across from her.

Zhou Anran was relieved.

As long as it wouldn't go to waste. 

She really wasn't hungry at all and only managed to eat a shrimp dumpling, a skewer of grilled food, and a small bowl of beef ball soup before stopping.

Seeing her put down her chopsticks, Chen Luobai raised his eyes and asked, "Not eating anymore?"

Zhou Anran shook her head and saw that he also put down his chopsticks, "You're also done?"

Chen Luobai: "Um.” 

The atmosphere became quiet.

Unlike earlier when they both lowered their heads to eat, now they are facing each other in silence. It was quite awkward. 

Zhou Anran wanted to start a conversation with him but couldn't think of anything to say. Even now she still couldn't understand why he took the initiative to add her on WeChat.

If this ended just like this, she doesn't know when she might see him again.

Amidst her hesitation, Zhou Anran suddenly heard the boy across from her call her name again.

"Zhou Anran."

Zhou Anran raised her head dazedly.

Despite having been classmates for over a year, she had never heard him say her name before, and the times they spoke to each other were very few. Yet, in these past two days alone, he had called her name so many times that she had lost count. 

Chen Luobai placed his phone on the table, fiddling through it, and said in a casual tone, "Are you free this Saturday?”

This question caught her off guard.

She knew that he probably needed help for something again, but Zhou Anran's heartbeat still went completely haywire in an instant, she took a moment to respond, "Huh?”

"Do you remember Zhu Ran?" Chen Luobai asked.

Zhou Anran was puzzled by his sudden mention of Zhu Ran, she nodded honestly.

He was his best friend— how could she not remember him?

"He'll be visiting University A this Saturday. He heard that you're also here—" Chen Luobai continued fiddling on his phone, appearing somewhat nonchalant, "He wants to invite you to grab a meal together."

Zhou Anran's heart skipped a beat.

She was just wondering when she would get to see him again, she didn't expect the opportunity to arise so soon.

But……

"I have a classmate gathering on Saturday." She tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Chen Luobai paused his scrolling, looking up at her, "Classmate gathering?"

Zhou Anran still couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze for more than a second. She lowered her head, saying softly, "Yes, with Yan Xingxi , Zhang Shuxian, Sheng Xiaowen. Dong Chen and He Mingyu will be there too."

"He Mingyu." Chen Luobai repeated the last name, his tone casual, as if he was making a small talk, "Have you been in touch with him?"

Zhou Anran didn't know why he asked this question. She didn't want to overthink it, but a part of her felt the need to clarify, "No, we only reconnected after graduation. Xixi and Dong Chen are close—"

Those two started arguing the first time they met in high school, but it seemed that the more they argued, the better their relationship became.

"And He Mingyu is Dong Chen's best friend, he also got admitted to University A, in the Faculty of Physics."

However, she and He Mingyu hadn't spoken much. After adding each other on WeChat, they had only exchanged a few messages so far.

A brief silence enveloped the cubicle. 

Zhou Anran raised her head slightly and saw that the boy opposite her had resumed scrolling his phone, his expression blank and unreadable.

She felt it was odd of her to explain so much.

Why would he care whether she had any contact with other boys?

Just then, Chen Luobai's voice sounded again. 

"Then do you mind having two more people at your classmate gathering?"

Zhou Anran paused for a moment before responding, "Are you both going too?”

Chen Luobai replied with a ‘hmm’, “Isn’t it a classmate gathering? Zhu Ran and I are also your classmates, aren’t we?”

Zhou Anran nodded, "Of course."

"Why don't you ask them?" Chen Luobai lightly tapped his phone on the table.

"Okay."

She took out her phone and opened the group chat that Yan Xingxi created a few days ago for the gathering.

Yan Xingxi and Dong Chen have been bickering in the group chat these days, so she turned on the do not disturb feature. 

At this moment, the two were still arguing about what to do on Saturday afternoon.

Dong Chen: [I still vote for the escape room.]

Yan Xingxi: [I insist on KTV.]

Dong Chen: [Going to KTV will just turn into another concert for you. It’s nothing but listening to your idol's songs from the first album to the last album. What's the point?]

Yan Xingxi : [What’s the point of escaping the escape room? You just want to show off your not-so-high IQ. Can’t you learn to be more low-key like He Mingyu?]

Zhou Anran hovered her fingers over the keyboard and paused.

How should she tell them?

Say that Chen Luobai also wants to attend our classmate gathering?

The moment the name ‘Chen Luobai’ appeared, the group will probably turn into a frenzy.

Seeing her remain still, Chen Luobai asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhou Anran's heart raced, she quickly shook her head, "Nothing."

"How about—" She hesitated, "I invite you to the group chat, and you talk to them yourself?”

"You guys have a group chat?" Chen Luobai stopped fiddling with his phone.

Zhou Anran nodded again and sent a message to the group: [I'll invite someone in.]

Yan Xingxi: [Sure, but who are you inviting?]

Zhou Anran: “…”

Whether she suddenly mentioned Chen Luobai in the group chat, or suddenly invited Chen Luobai into the group chat. It seems that the effect shouldn't be much different?

But the words have been said and there was no turning back.

Zhou Anran replied randomly: [He's also a classmate from our school.]

Then she made up her mind and quickly completed the steps to invite him to the chat.

A notification popped up: ‘C has joined the group chat.’

Yan Xingxi: [Who's C? ]

Zhang Shuxian, who was also part of the group chat, appeared at this moment: [From your school? University A? ]

Zhang Shuxian took a moment to think: [Aside from Ranran and He Mingyu, who else from No. 2 High School got into University A?] 

Sheng Xiaowen: [Actually, there's another one.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [I've seen this profile picture and name on the class monitor’s phone before; it's definitely him.]

Yan Xingxi still didn't get it: [Him? Who?]

Dong Chen: [Chen Luobai.]

As soon as the name was mentioned, the previously lively group chat fell into complete silence.

Zhou Anran stared at the phone: "..."

She couldn't help but secretly glance to the person opposite her.

Chen Luobai also happened to look at her, "They don't seem to welcome me?"

Zhou Anran noticed a hint of laughter in his tone, he didn't seem upset or minding anything, she quickly explained, "No, they're just a little surprised."

Just as she finished speaking, her phone began to ring frantically.

The ringing was even more chaotic than when Xie Jingyi had bombarded her with messages earlier. Multiple messages came in at once, before one notification ended, another began to ring. It was clear that several people were messaging her at the same time.

The noise continued without pause.

Chen Luobai raised an eyebrow, "So surprised that they came to message you privately?"

Zhou Anran: “…”

She knew without looking that it must be Yan Xingxi and the others.

He was sharp, there was no way she could hide it from him.

Zhou Anran nodded. When she was contemplating whether to explain more, she heard his voice again.

"Do you want my help?”

Zhou Anran blinked in confusion, "What?”

Chen Luobai didn't answer her directly.

He lowered his head and began typing on his phone. His long, slender fingers looked particularly elegant, and the small mole on his wrist was clearly visible under the light.

A few seconds later.

Two new messages appeared in the group chat on Zhou Anran’s phone.

C: [Don’t look for her.]

C: [If you have any questions, just ask me directly.]

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