Lemon Soda Candy - 37

The taxi was briefly caught in traffic.

By the time Zhou Anran and the rest reached the room, everyone has already seated

Inside the room, there was a large round table. Yan Xingxi, Sheng Xiaowen, and Zhang Shuxian were sitting together near the entrance, and Zhu Ran was two empty seats away from Zhang Shuxian. Dong Chen was sitting on the opposite side, separated by two empty seats from Yan Xingxi.

As soon as they entered, Yan Xingxi sprang from her seat, rushed to the door, embraced Zhou Anran, and sweetly exclaimed, "Ranran, I've missed you so much.”

Zhou Anran noticed that she was wearing a short skirt and boots, she quietly asked, "Aren't you cold wearing a short skirt in this weather?”

"Not cold." Yan Xingxi hugged her for a few seconds before letting go.

Zhou Anran shook her hand. It didn't feel cold, so she didn't press further. She leaned closer and whispered to her, "You did say you wanted to eat at this restaurant."

"Ah?" Yan Xingxi looked surprised.

Zhou Anran had intended to remind her the night before, but when she read the group chat, everyone started talking about what time to leave today, and she forgot about it.

"You shared a video reviewing this place on your WeChat Moments back in mid-September."

Yan Xingxi knew Zhou Anran's sharp memory and attentiveness, so it must be true if she told her this. She lowered her head to scroll through her WeChat Moments, a strange feeling surged in her heart.

Zhang Shuxian gestured to the seat beside her, saying, "Ranran, come sit with me."

Zhu Ran then pointed to one of the two empty seats closer to him, "Chen Luobai, why are you just standing at the door? Come take a seat.”

"Lao He, sit here with me." Dong Chen waved at He Mingyu, “Help me get away from this crazy woman, Yan Xingxi.”

Yan Xingxi just found the restaurant review video.

She vaguely recalled seeing an Instagram post from a blogger who visited this restaurant. The food looked appealing, so she shared it on her Moments and said that she wanted to eat it, but she has always been the type to forget things after sharing them.

Now that she revisited the post and remembered what Dong Chen said the day before, the odd feeling in her heart intensified. Just as she was about to glance his way, she heard Dong Chen's voice.

Instantly, all the strange feelings vanished. "Dong Chen, do you want to die? Who are you calling a crazy woman? If you have the guts, take the bowl and eat outside; that way, you can be further away from me.”

"This restaurant isn't yours." Dong Chen glanced at her lightly, "You think I'll leave just because you tell me to?”

The two immediately started arguing again.

Zhou Anran had settled into her seat. It had been a while since she witnessed their bickering in person, and it felt somewhat nostalgic, the corners of her mouth curled up.

There was a faint sound of a chair being pulled next to her, quickly followed by a refreshing scent.

The distance was closer than when they were in the taxi. 

Zhou Anran held her breath and lowered her eyes to see him taking a seat. The white sleeves of his baseball jacket seemed to brush against the sleeves of her cardigan.

She wanted to move closer to Zhang Shuxian, yet a part of her was reluctant.

In that moment of hesitation, Chen Luobai suddenly lowered his head and leaned in closer to her. The refreshing scent invaded her senses, lingering around her.

Zhou Anran gazed at the boy's straight nose, completely holding her breath.

His voice was even lower than when they were at the school gate, almost like a whisper, "Do they always bicker like this when they meet?”

Zhou Anran noticed he was looking at Yan Xingxi and nodded, "Yeah, they've been bickering since the first time they met in high school.” 

"The first time they met?” Chen Luobai chatted casually with her, "Registration day or first day of school?"

Zhou Anran: "First day of school, the first semester of the first year, their desks are in front and behind each other. During the first break, a pen fell near their desks. Xixi claimed it was hers, while Dong Chen insisted it was his. They started arguing and neither was willing to back down.”

"So?" Chen Luobai asked, "Whose pen is it?"

"Neither." Zhou Anran smiled, not sure if it was because she could chat with him like a friend or because she remembered the memory of that day. "The pen actually belonged to a girl in the next row. One left the pen in the book, the other placed it in the hole of the desk, they both forgot about it.”

"If only I had known..." Chen Luobai trailed off.

Zhou Anran turned to look at him again.

As she tilted her head, her eyes met the boy's gaze directly.

She didn't know when he had stopped watching Yan Xingxi and Dong Chen arguing, his eyes were now focused on her. His dark eyes looked intent.

Chen Luobai maintained his gaze at her and slowly continued, "I wouldn't have told Lao Gao that I’d only sit in the last row."

Zhou Anran's heart skipped a beat, she felt that there was a deeper meaning in his words, but when she thought about it again, they seemed perfectly ordinary. 

At this moment, a waiter knocked on the door and came in to ask if everyone was present and ready to take their orders.

Dong Chen and Yan Xingxi both stopped arguing, and their casual chat naturally ended.

After dinner, the group went to the escape room.

What they played this time was a horror-themed escape room, their group of eight just happened to form a team.

The first room they entered was quite spacious and not entirely dark, but it was illuminated with a bluish-green light. The flickering bluish-green glow cast an eerie look on everyone's faces. It was just as unsettling as complete darkness.

There was a computer in the room, the interface was stuck at where you need to enter a password. This was the first mystery they needed to solve.

The eight people were initially gathered together.

As they began searching for clues, Zhu Ran placed his hand on He Mingyu's shoulder. He didn't talk much to He Mingyu during the meal, but he acted quite familiar with him now, "Lao He, tell me how's the course in the Physics Department at University A? It's my dream department, but it's a pity that I couldn't get admitted into University A."

While speaking, he wrapped his arm around He Mingyu and pulled him to the other side of the room.

Yan Xingxi appeared to have stepped on something, she suddenly screamed and ran to the side.

Dong Chen scoffed, "No need to scare the NPC with your scream! And why are you running around like that? Watch where you're going, don't break anything.”

Despite his words, he immediately ran after Yan Xingxi.

Zhang Shuxian grabbed Sheng Xiaowen's hand, "Xiaowen, let’s check that out over there.”

In the blink of an eye, only Chen Luobai remained by Zhou Anran's side.

She knew that Zhang Shuxian and Sheng Xiaowen probably did it on purpose. It was hard to tell with Yan Xingxi, maybe she really did step on something. But the first ones to walk away were Zhu Ran and He Mingyu.

He shouldn't think too much about it, right?

"Are you scared?" The familiar voice suddenly echoed beside her ear in a low voice that sounded particularly pleasant.

Zhou Anran hesitated.

It was actually her first time in an escape room, she had never been brave enough to watch horror movies before, so she probably didn't have a strong tolerance for scares.

She would rather come across as timid than lying to him, she nodded honestly, "A little bit."

Chen Luobai's voice was still low, his handsome profile was illuminated by the blue light, "Then stick with me for now."

Zhou Anran felt a small bubble exploding in her heart, her lips curled into a slight smile, "Okay.”

Chen Luobai quickly found the clue.

It was a piece of yellowed paper.

Zhou Anran was a little curious, but didn't want to get too close to him.

Just then, the boy slightly shifted the paper towards her, "Looks like a fence code. Ever heard of it?”

"I have." Zhou Anran nodded.

Chen Luobai handed her the yellowed paper, "Then can you solve it?"

The fence code was not that difficult, Zhou Anran didn't refuse. She took it and looked at it, "It seems to be welove—"

Her voice stopped suddenly, the tips of her ears flushed.

"Welove—" Chen Luobai prompted softly, "and then?"

Zhou Anran wanted to touch her ear with her free hand but refrained. She was too embarrassed to continue reading the sentence, "I'll just go to the computer and give it a try.” 

Seeing them make their way to the computer, the others also gathered around.

"You found the clue so quickly." said Zhu Ran, still casually draping an arm over He Mingyu's shoulder, "AhLuo, did you solve it?"

Chen Luobai pointed to the girl in front of the computer, "Not me, it's her."

"Impressive, Zhou Anran," Zhu Ran looked surprised. "I thought you were the type of girl who wouldn't even dare to watch horror movies. Who knew you had such a cool head?”

Zhou Anran kept her head lowered to enter the password and replied, "Not at all, it's just a simple fence code."

Zhu Ran picked up the paper she placed on the table, "Let me see, it doesn't seem difficult. Weloveeachother. Yo...this sounds like a really bittersweet love story."

Zhou Anran had just finished typing the last letter.

Hearing him read the password aloud, her ears flushed again. She paused for a moment before hitting the Enter key.

After successfully escaping the first secret room, the second one was much more spacious, resembling a large office with many workstations.

It was a ‘doll company’.

In addition to the workstations, dolls of various types and sizes were scattered throughout the room.

However, most of them appeared quite unsettling. Even the plush toys have lost their usual cuteness. They either have large dark red patches that resembled bloodstains, or their heads were askew, on the verge of falling off.

As soon as Zhou Anran stepped inside, she felt a tingling sensation on her scalp and her hair stood on end.

The area was bigger than the last one, so they decided to search for clues separately like before.

Zhu Ran immediately dragged He Mingyu away with his arm around his shoulders, "Come on, let's keep discussing the topic while we search.”

Zhang Shuxian wasn't afraid and calmly took Sheng Xiaowen away as well, "Let's check out the other side."

Yan Xingxi looked at Dong Chen with reluctance, "Well, I guess I'll go with you.”

Dong Chen sounded quite pleased, "Yan Xingxi, if you're scared, just say it. If you admit that you're a coward, I won't laugh at you."

Yan Xingxi opened her mouth to argue but ultimately held back, "Fine, I'm a coward, I'm scared."

Dong Chen didn't expect her to react like this and was stunned for a moment.

Yan Xingxi ignored him and turned to the other two, her voice still somewhat reluctant, "Chen Luobai, Ranran really doesn't even dare to watch horror movies. You're a guy, please take care of her. I'm also scared and easily startled. If she comes with me, she might get scared by me.”

Zhou Anran felt anxious in her heart, afraid that Chen Luobai would notice something.

Fortunately, the boy didn't hesitate for even a second.

After Yan Xingxi finished speaking, Chen Luobai nodded and agreed,"No problem, she can stick with me this afternoon.”

"Ranran." Yan Xingxi pointed in a random direction, "I'm heading to the other side first."

Zhou Anran nodded.

Yan Xingxi and Dong Chen left.

She and Chen Luobai were the only ones left at the entrance.

The boy stood in front of her, his voice lowered, "If you're scared, I can stay here with you while we wait. They should find the clues soon."

It was a rare opportunity for them to go out and have fun, Zhou Anran didn't want to spoil his experience. She shook her head, "It's fine. Let's go look for them too.”

Chen Luobai glanced at her pale face under the light, and moved his fingers hanging on his side. In the end, he just said, "Then stay close to me."

Zhou Anran followed him and began to look for clues.

Of course, it was impossible to say that she wasn't afraid at all. She kept having a feeling that an NPC might jump out from inside a stuffed doll and scare her at any moment.

But every time she passed by a stuffed doll that was large enough for people to hide, the boy beside her seemed to instinctively shield her from it.

Zhou Anran glanced at his back, a burst of small bubbles popped up in her heart and then exploded.

He has a standard good physique with broad shoulders and long legs, even though he looks thin, his back inexplicably gives her a sense of security.

While she was lost in thoughts, Yan Xingxi's scream suddenly pierced the air again.

Zhou Anran looked up——

It was the exact terrifying scene she had dreaded. An NPC had really emerged from the stuffed doll.

Yan Xingxi screamed, grabbed Dong Chen and ran away.

The NPC, seeing that the frightening effect here had been achieved, began to run towards the nearest people. 

Chen Luobai glanced at the girl's hand hanging by her side and hesitated for a moment.

Before he could make a decision, he felt her slender pale hand suddenly clutch the sleeve of his jacket.

Zhou Anran's voice was soft and trembled as she said, "Don't run."

Chen Luobai didn't hear clearly, "Hmm?"

While discussing which escape room to choose in their group chat, Zhu Ran insisted that if they were going to play, they should go for the most thrilling one. This particular room was quite expensive, the NPCs were not just wearing simple costumes and masks to scare people; their makeup was incredibly realistic.

Zhou Anran noticed the figures getting closer and closer, her scalp felt numb. She grasped the sleeve of the boy's baseball jacket with her fingertips, as if trying to seek some strength from it, and her voice finally stopped trembling.

"Don't run. You can't do strenuous exercise yet."

Chen Luobai gazed down at her trembling little hand on his jacket and didn't say anything for a few seconds.

Seeing that he didn't react, Zhou Anran wondered if he was also scared, "How about——"

She wanted to say, how about you stand behind me? 

Although she didn't know where she got the courage to say this to him.

But before she could finish, he interrupted her.

"Okay." Chen Luobai lifted his gaze.

In the dim light, a smile flickered across his face, just like the smile he had that day on the basketball court when he shot the step-back three-pointer, bold and unrestrained, full of youthful vigor.

His voice was still low, indescribably gentle.

“No running.”

Zhou Anran's heart was beating very fast, she couldn't tell if it was from fear or because of his smile.

The next second, her vision suddenly went dark.

A large hand was blocking her view.

The hand didn't touch her skin directly, it hovered just in front of her eyes. But he might not have gauged the distance correctly at first, as his thumb and little finger lightly grazed against her forehead and the bridge of her nose.

He withdrew at the first touch.

Zhou Anran felt a warmth spreading across her forehead and nose.

Amidst the darkness, she could still hear Yan Xingxi screaming and the frightening sounds made by the NPC that seemed to be getting closer.

Yet, Zhou Anran no longer feels as scared. 

She could hear her own heartbeat.

And then, there was his voice.

It sounded right above her head, laced with an obvious smile in it.

"Can you please go scare someone else?"

Chen Luobai paused, he smiled and negotiated with the NPC in a friendly manner. 

"She's scared."

---

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