Lemon Soda Candy - 35

The group chat came to a still.

Zhang Shuxian seemed to have caught on to what was happening, and asked probingly: [How did you know we were looking for her? Are you two together now?]

Although Zhou Anran understood that Zhang Shuxian meant 'together' in terms of being in the same place, her breathing still became uneven.

She didn't dare to sneak a glance at his reaction like she did just now.

One second later.

C: [Yes]

Zhou Anran tightened her grip on her phone, then loosened it again.

He probably didn't think much of it, right?

But the next second, another message from Yan Xingxi flashed on the screen.

Yan Xingxi: [You two are together now????]

Zhou Anran never imagined that reading a group chat could feel like a roller coaster ride.

Knowing Yan Xingxi's carefree nature, and fearing that she might accidentally say something even more messy, she quickly responded: [We're having supper together in the cafeteria right now.]

Chen Luobai's fingertips paused on the phone screen.

He lifted his gaze slightly and noticed the girl across from him had her eyes lowered. Her curled eyelashes fluttered softly in the light like butterfly wings, and her pink lips were pressed together tightly, as if she was a little nervous.

Sheng Xiaowen’s message popped up in the group chat once more.

Compared to the previous two questions, this one was relatively normal and safe: [How did you two suddenly get in touch?]

Zhou Anran bit her lip, her eyes glued to the screen, thinking that he would briefly tell them about Yu Bingqin and the club.

C: [We're at the same school now, isn't it normal for us to be in touch with each other?]

Zhou Anran's heart skipped a beat again.

She never thought that one day she and he would become ‘us’ in his lips, even if there was no ambiguity involved.

Perhaps because they weren't very familiar with him, they couldn't be bold, and after this question was asked, the group fell silent once more.

C: [Any other questions?]

C: [If not, do you mind if Zhu Ran and I join the classmate gathering next Saturday?] 

Yan Xingxi: [Don’t mind.]

Zhang Shuxian: [Welcome.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Very welcome [applause]]

C: [What about the others?]

Dong Chen: [The group leader has the final say.]

Yan Xingxi: [Ignore Dong Chen, his opinion doesn't matter.]

The two replies were sent almost at the same time.

One second later.

Dong Chen retracted his message.

Dong Chen: [Even though the group leader's opinion doesn't matter, I personally would still like to catch up with my old classmates.]

Zhou Anran watched the interaction between the two and couldn't help smiling again.

Chen Luobai put down his phone, just in time to see two dimples appearing on her lips.

"Leaving now?" he asked in a low voice.

Zhou Anran raised her head and glanced at the pile of leftover food on the table,"Didn't you say you were going to pack it up?” 

Chen Luobai replied with a 'hmm' and got up, "I'll go get the takeaway box."

Knowing they would see each other again next Saturday, after packing the leftovers, Zhou Anran was no longer as reluctant as before, asking softly, "Are we heading down now?"

"Just a moment." Chen Luobai looked at his phone.

Zhou Anran blinked, "Is there anything else?"

"Wait for someone." he replied, turning his head slightly.

Following his gaze, Zhou Anran spotted a thin boy walking toward them. His jeans looked a bit stiff and had faded from washing, but he was overall neat and tidy.

As the boy got closer, Chen Luobai handed him the packed food. "We ordered too much, take this back and share it with the others, but it might be a bit cold.”

The boy didn't say much, and didn't even glance at Zhou Anran. He simply nodded and accepted it, "Okay."

Once he left, Chen Luobai turned back to her, and casually explained, "That's my roommate.”

Zhou Anran figured he must be his roommate.

A moment later, she asked, "Then why aren’t you going with him?”

Chen Luobai lowered his gaze to hers, he suddenly smiled again, gesturing his chin towards the door, "Let's go. I'll send you back."

Zhou Anran's heartbeat, which had just calmed down, suddenly became erratic again.

She mentally reminded herself as she followed him toward the stairs.

Don't think too much.

He only sent you back out of politeness. 

Despite her efforts to suppress her thoughts, as they exited the cafeteria, Zhou Anran couldn't resist asking him the question she didn't dare to ask yesterday.

"How is your foot injury?"

Chen Luobai paused and turned to face her, "You know about my injury?”

His dark pupils appeared especially bright and deep in the night. Zhou Anran's heartbeat began to race at his gaze. She hurriedly looked away, "It's been talked about all over school." 

So it was only natural she’d be aware of it. 

As ordinary friends—or even ordinary classmates—showing concern was perfectly normal, right? 

There was a brief silence.

She watched as he resumed walking, and then heard him say, "It's fine, but I can't do any intense activities for now." 

Zhou Anran secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She wanted to ask how he got injured, but she wasn't sure if that would be overstepping their current relationship, so she swallowed the thought back in the end.

"That's good to hear."

***

When Zhou Anran got back to the dorm, Bai Lingyun and Yu Xinyue had already returned.

The moment she opened the door, Xie Jingyi stood up from her seat, arms crossed and a serious look plastered on her face, "Explain."

Zhou Anran approached her and placed the soda she had just bought from the vending machine downstairs on Xie Jingyi's desk.

"Buying me a soda won't help," Xie Jingyi replied, unimpressed.

Bai Lingyun was about to brush her teeth, when she saw this scene, she asked, "What's going on between you two? Having a conflict?”

Yu Xinyue, who had been reading after coming back, turned to look over at this moment.

Zhou Anran hadn’t replied to the bunch of messages Xie Jingyi sent, mainly because she didn't know how to reply.

Hearing this, she hurriedly shook her head, "No."

"Then why are you being so fierce to Ranran?" Bai Lingyun questioned Xie Jingyi.

Xie Jingyi: "Am I fierce?"

Zhou Anran shook her head again, "No."

Bai Lingyun, still holding her toothbrush, came over, "So what’s really happening here?”

Even Yu Xinyue set her book aside and walked over.

Xie Jingyi: "Did you know that Chen Luobai came to our dorm tonight looking for someone?”

Yu Xinyue shook her head.

Bai Lingyun nodded, "After the meeting, I heard from some people in our faculty that he met a girl downstairs and took her to the cafeteria for a sweet supper together. Everyone says that she's his girlfriend. I was going to ask you if you knew who she was when I got back, but it slipped my mind.”

At the mention of the word ‘girlfriend’, Zhou Anran's ears felt oddly warm, even though she knew it wasn't true.

Xie Jingyi shot a glance at Zhou Anran, "Not only that, he even walked her back to the dorm!"

"Who is this mystery girl?"Bai Lingyun asked, her curiosity piqued,"Tell me, you're always the most well-informed."

Xie Jingyi raised her hand and pointed at Zhou Anran, "Right here! She's standing right in front of us.”

Yu Xinyue looked surprised.

Bai Lingyun dropped her toothbrush.

A minute later.

Zhou Anran found herself surrounded by her three roommates. Bai Lingyun mimicked Xie Jingyi, crossing her arms and deliberately putting on a stern face. Even Yu Xinyue, who usually wasn't into gossip, joined in, as if they were about to put her to trial.

"What's the situation?" Xie Jingyi asked again.

Zhou Anran quietly defended herself, "I mentioned before I went downstairs that he came to see me, but you didn't believe me.” 

"You never told us that you knew Chen Luobai, and you suddenly told me that he was here to see you. How am I supposed to believe that?” Xie Jingyi pretended to be angry. "Say, when did you get to know him?"

Zhou Anran felt overwhelmed by the intense gazes of her three roommates. She said weakly, "He was my classmate in my first year of high school.”

"Didn't you go to Wucheng No. 1 High School?" Bai Lingyun asked, confused.

Yu Xinyue was even more confused, "Right, Chen Luobai went to Nancheng No. 2 High School."

"I'm from Nancheng. I studied at Nancheng No. 2 High School for my first year and then transferred to Wucheng for my second year." Zhou Anran turned to Yu Xinyue, "I thought you knew."

Yu Xinyue: “…”

“I didn’t meet you until my senior year, I assumed you’d always been at No. 1 High School.”

"You really are something." Yu Xinyue almost shattered Xie Jingyi's frosty facade. She broke into a smile, then turned back to Zhou Anran, "So you and Chen Luobai are classmates, and you just listened to us gossip about him without saying anything?”

Zhou Anran: “…”

Until yesterday, she really believed that she and he would remain strangers in this life, never to cross paths again.

However, hearing what her roommate said, she felt somewhat guilty, "I wasn't close to him in high school. We barely exchanged a few words."

"Then how did you two suddenly become so familiar with each other?" Bai Lingyun couldn't pretend anymore and winked at her gossipingly.

Zhou Anran: "...I'm not that familiar with him now."

Xie Jingyi: “And he came all the way to the dorm to look for you and invited you to supper?"

"I'm not lying. He's the other new member in Senior Yu's club. I only added him on WeChat yesterday. Today, I just helped someone deliver something to him, that's why he treated me to supper and sent me back—" Zhou Anran paused, trying to explain to them while also convincing herself not to overthink it, "That's just how well-mannered he is."

"Is that all?" Xie Jingyi asked.

Zhou Anran nodded, "That's all there is to it. I can't hide anything from you, let alone anything about him."

"That's true." Xie Jingyi could no longer keep up the act and grabbed her hand with a gossiping look. "By the way, Ranran, tell us, what was Chen Luobai like back in high school?”

A flood of memories rushed through Zhou Anran’s mind.

Him in high school...

She thought for a moment and carefully chose two neutral observations, "Good grades and good manners."

"Who cares about this?" Xie Jingyi said speechlessly, "Did he have a girlfriend in high school, or was he close to any girl?"

"Nope." Zhou Anran shook her head. "In his first year of high school, he only focused on studying and playing basketball.”

Xie Jingyi looked disappointed, "I was hoping for some exclusive gossip."

Yu Xinyue turned back to her reading.

Bai Lingyun: "Wait, where's my toothbrush? I swear I had it in my hand just a moment ago.”

***

Zhou Anran finished washing up and lay down on the bed, she took a deep breath and then unlocked her phone, bracing herself to face another storm.

She opened the group chat with Yan Xingxi and the others. It was filled with questions and exclamation marks. The last message was sent by Sheng Xiaowen half an hour ago.

Sheng Xiaowen: [You'd better explain to us honestly when you get back to the dorm.]

Zhou Anran didn't know how to explain.

She contemplated about it and decided to send an emoticon: [pitiful.jpg]

Everyone seemed to be waiting for her.

As soon as the emoticon was sent, several messages flooded the group chat.

Yan Xingxi: [It’s useless to pretend to be pitiful.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Speak.]

Zhang Shuxian: [Leniency for confessing, severity for resisting]

Zhou Anran laughed.

After hesitating for a moment, she simply shared everything that had happened over the past two days without any speculation or bias.

Yan Xingxi responded with a hint of disappointment: [That's it?]

Yan Xingxi: [So you two just met again yesterday, and you were with him tonight because you helped him with something, that's why he treated you to supper?]

Zhang Shuxian: [Then again, when has Chen Luobai ever taken the initiative to add a girl on WeChat, let alone inviting one to dinner alone?]

Sheng Xiaowen: [What does he mean by that?] 

Zhou Anran also still hasn't figured out this question.

Zhou Anran pursed her lips: [Maybe he really doesn’t mean anything.]

Zhou Anran: [After all, it's really rare to run into high school classmates in college. Only three people from our class got into University A.]

Yan Xingxi: [I get why he’d add you on WeChat, but treating you to supper alone? He could just buy you some snacks as a thank you, like he did at the basketball game back then.]

Zhou Anran had pondered about this on the way to the cafeteria with him tonight: [But things are different now. Back in high school, we were in the same classroom every day. If he were to buy me snacks now, he would have to find me again, that'd be more hassle.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Isn’t he coming to our gathering this Saturday anyway?]

Sheng Xiaowen: [We’ll see for ourselves then.]

Yan Xingxi: [That's right.]

Zhang Shuxian: [I! Want! To! See! It! Too!]

Zhang Shuxian: [Wait, I have to book a flight, I'm going to the gathering!]

Zhou Anran: [Didn’t you say you had homework to finish?]

Zhang Shuxian: [I’ll just pull some all-nighters for the next few days and get my homework done early to make room for the weekend!]

Zhou Anran: [Don’t push yourself, you can always join us next time.]

Zhang Shuxian only replied to the message a few minutes later.

She directly shared a screenshot of her ticket purchase in the group.

Zhang Shuxian: [I’ll be arriving at 10:30 am on Saturday!]

Seeing that she had already booked her flight, Zhou Anran stopped trying to persuade her: [Alright, I’ll come to pick you up.] 

Zhang Shuxian: [No need.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Exactly, no need for you to pick her up, we’ll handle it.]

Yan Xingxi: [Although I have no objection, why can't Ranran do it?]

Zhou Anran: [?]

Zhou Anran: [That’s right.]

Zhou Anran: [Why can't I?]

Zhang Shuxian: [Xixi, are you being silly? If she picks me up, how will she go to the restaurant together with Chen Luobai?]

Zhou Anran: “…”

Zhou Anran: [I've told you, he probably doesn't have any other intentions.]

Zhang Shuxian: [Sure.]

Zhang Shuxian: [I don’t mean anything else either.]

Zhang Shuxian: [Both of you are from University A. Isn't it just natural to go to the restaurant together for the gathering?]

Just as Zhou Anran was about to argue that it wouldn't happen, her phone buzzed again.

She left the group chat and returned to her main interface, then she saw the profile picture that had occupied her thoughts for the past two days had jumped to the top.

There was a new red 1 notification on it.

Chen Luobai had sent her a message, and she could read the entire content without clicking into the chat.

C: [I forgot to ask you earlier, let’s go to the restaurant together on Saturday?]

Zhou Anran's heart raced.

Her fingers tightened around her phone.

He’s doing this again.

She couldn't help but overthink everything.

Zhou Anran stared at the top chat box and was hesitant to click on it, but her phone suddenly buzzed again, and the group chat for the gathering moved above Chen Luobai's message.

Someone inside was @ her.

Zhou Anran opened the group chat, the person who @ her was He Mingyu who had been quiet all night.

He Mingyu: [Let’s go to the restaurant together on Saturday? @ZhouAnran]

---

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