Lemon Soda Candy - 5

Get on Your Knees and Thank Me

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It started simply. Whenever a girl from another class showed up looking for Chen Luobai, Zhu Ran, always happy to watch the world burn, would laugh and yell from the back, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Chen Luobai! Another girl's here to ask you a math problem!"

It was good-natured teasing. If anything, it gave the girls an out, a graceful way to save face.

The girls never got mad. They just turned bright red.

While none of them ever succeeded, the "ask about a math problem" joke somehow took on a life of its own.

First it was just their class. Then it bled into others. By the time it had made its way around the entire school, it had been twisted and embellished so many times that it had taken on a whole new meaning.

"Can I ask you a math problem?" suddenly replaced "I like you," "Can I be with you?", "Wanna go out?", and even "The moon is beautiful tonight." For a while, it became the new secret code for confession at No. 2 High.

The ordinary sentence transformed into something secret and ambiguous, a vessel for all the unspoken youthful longing.

And the best part was it was safe.

A question with room to maneuver.

A question so "innocent" that even if a teacher walked in on it, you had nothing to answer for.

The only ones who suffered were the students who actually had math problems. They didn't dare ask anyone of the opposite sex anymore.

Even asking someone of the same gender wasn't entirely "safe."

Boys' Love subculture was already everywhere.

Girls could get away with being casually affectionate. But every so often, some guy would forget the phrase was tainted and casually ask his deskmate. Before the girls around them, desperate for any entertainment to break up the monotony of their school days, could even turn around to tease them, the guys would realize what they'd said, recoil in exaggerated disgust, and yank their desks apart, reestablishing a "clear and pure" distance between them.

As a result, for a while, the number of students actively seeking out their math teachers for help hit an all-time high.

Class 2, as the birthplace of this whole mess, was ground zero. 

Their math teacher, baffled, finally cracked during evening self-study one day. "What's going on with you guys lately?"

It was mid-November by then. Midterms were the next day.

Late autumn, but Nancheng had warmed up again. Daytime highs hovered around twenty degrees, and even at night it stayed above ten. A cool, pleasant breeze drifted lazily through the windows. Perfect weather.

Their math teacher was also their homeroom teacher, Gao Guohua, a middle-aged man who could switch from gentle to explosive in the span of a heartbeat.

He ran a hand over his noticeably receding hairline and squinted suspiciously at the little monsters in his care. "You kids have been incredibly enthusiastic about math lately. So many of you coming to me with questions.” 

The moment he finished, the classroom erupted.

Stifled laughs, quiet giggles, full-blown laughter.

Gao Guohua pointed at the loudest laugher. "Zhu Ran. Stand up. What's so funny?"

Zhu Ran was clutching his stomach as he stood. He glanced at the guy next to him, tears of laughter in his eyes. He took a seconds to compose himself, then said with complete earnestness, "Teacher, I'm just thrilled by our class's unprecedented enthusiasm for learning. I think we're not just going to hold onto first place this time, our average score will leave Class 1 in the dust by at least a few points."

Gao Guohua felt like something was off.

But no matter how he turned it over in his mind, he couldn't figure out what.

He had no idea why they were all laughing so hard.

Maybe it was a generation gap thing? 

But Zhu Ran's words sounded good to him. He nodded. "Sit down."

Zhu Ran started to sit. Just as he did, Gao Guohua watched someone reach over and casually, effortlessly, slide Zhu Ran's chair out from under him.

Before Gao Guohua could warn him, Zhu Ran's bottom hit the floor with a thud.

"Chen Luobai. Stand up."

At the sound of his name, most of the class who hadn't seen what happened turned to look. Zhou Anran, pretending to just follow the crowd, turned with them.

"Why'd you pull Zhu Ran's chair out?"

From where she sat, Zhou Anran could see him. His hand still casually holding the "evidence". The small mole on his wrist bone was blurred by distance. He stood there, posture lazy, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth as he glanced down at Zhu Ran on the floor.

"Reporting to Teacher. He was disturbing my math studies."

Maybe she was imagining it, but Zhou Anran thought he put a little extra weight on the word "math."

Or maybe not, because the class burst into laughter again.

Gao Guohua, who had no idea that the driving force behind the recent math mania was sitting right there on the floor, just grew more confused at laughter. 

But teachers always had a soft spot for their top students. And Chen Luobai's excuse was, admittedly, perfectly reasonable. Plus, Gao Guohua knew those two were close. This was probably just them messing around.

In the end, he just helplessly pointed a finger in Chen Luobai's direction. "Sit down. No horsing around during self-study."

Zhu Ran picked himself up, rubbing his backside, clearly wasn't upset, but he put on a pained face and said, "Teacher, you're playing favorites. You should at least make him stand in the back for half the period."

Gao Guohua shot him a look, seeing right through the act. "The next class over probably heard your laugh just now. Should I make you stand in the back for half the period?"

Zhu Ran mimed zipping his lips shut.

"Alright, alright, settle down." Gao Guohua said. "Exams are tomorrow. If you don't beat Class 1, we're gonna have a serious talk."

Zhou Anran turned back around with everyone else.

But that smile on his face... it was seared into her mind.

Her heart wouldn't stop pounding.

---

Two days of midterms soon passed, the weather still perfect.

Teachers at No. 2 High graded fast. The night after the exams ended, scores for several subjects were already coming in.

That afternoon, Zhou Anran and Yan Xingxi had eaten off-campus, then bought milk tea.

Back in the classroom, Zhou Anran had barely sat down when Sheng Xiaowen, the English class representative who sat in front of her, returned to her own seat.

But instead of sitting properly, Sheng Xiaowen turned around, rested her chin on Zhou Anran's book, and stared at her with pure grievance. 

Zhou Anran held up her milk tea. "What's wrong? Didn't do well?"

Sheng Xiaowen: "I got a 146."

Zhou Anran blinked. "That's great, then. Only lost four points. Why the long face?"

Sheng Xiaowen's look grew even more grief. "You got a 147."

Huh?

Zhou Anran was surprised.

Her English scores were always top five in the class, and she'd guessed she'd done well this time. But she hadn't expected to beat Sheng Xiaowen by a point.

Sheng Xiaowen continued her mock complaining. "And that inhuman Chen Luobai got a 149. The two of you. Where does that leave me as the English rep?"

Zhou Anran had never expected to be mentioned in the same breath as Chen Luobai.

To be grouped together with him as "you two."

Even if there was nothing ambiguous in it, it made her happy.

The corner of her mouth lifted before she caught herself. Seeing Sheng Xiaowen still looking at her with that fake-depressed expression, she tried to force her smile down.

Sheng Xiaowen noticed. "You're allowed to be happy about doing well. Don't mind me."

Zhou Anran put her milk tea down. "You got first in the city for the speech competition. That's way more impressive than any of us."

Sheng Xiaowen, easily cheered up, perked up again. "I guess that's my one thing. I wanted to beat Chen Luobai, though. He didn't even enter last time. Ugh, never mind. I'm gonna go check with the teacher again, see if there are any other dark horses in our class who scored higher than me."

With that, she was up and gone in a flash.

Zhou Anran took another sip of her milk tea.

It seemed to taste extra sweet today.

Yan Xingxi leaned over. "I heard that. Second in the class for English. You have to treat me."

"I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow." Zhou Anran answered automatically, but her mind was still on Sheng Xiaowen's 'You two'. She pulled out her English textbook.

Yan Xingxi gave her a weird look. "Why are you still studying English? You're already second in the class. What, trying to beat Chen Luobai now?"

Zhou Anran's hand stilled on the page for just a second.

Try to beat him?

Maybe that's not a bad idea.

If she did... would he maybe notice her, even just a little bit?

Lost in thought, she didn't answer right away. Yan Xingxi, apparently just making an offhand comment, had already moved on. "Sheng Xiaowen's too sensitive. Why would she be embarrassed to be class rep with English scores that good? Some people never beat Chen Luobai and he's still perfectly happy being math rep."

"Some people" meant Dong Chen, who sat behind Yan Xingxi.

Zhou Anran caught a glimpse of Dong Chen returning to his seat out of the corner of her eye and quickly nudged Yan Xingxi.

Yan Xingxi didn't get it. "What?"

Then, acold laugh came from behind them. "My math score is at least a solid second in the class. Some people only scored in the 120s and they're still happily sipping milk tea."

Yan Xingxi whipped around to face him, not caring she'd been caught talking behind his back. "Dong Chen! Who are you saying only scored a hundred twenty-something?"

Dong Chen's face was expressionless. "Who do you think? Anyway, it's not Zhou Anran."

Yan Xingxi turned back to Zhou Anran, her face a mask of impending doom. "It's over. It's so over. My mom's definitely going to confiscate all my idol stuff and lock it away."

Zhou Anran was confused. "Why would auntie do that?"

"She said if I don't stop obsessing over my idol, my math scores will keep dropping. That my math score will be as bad as my idol's." Yan Xingxi, once she started talking about her idol, was off to the races. "I bet she secretly likes him too. How else would she know his math is bad? But he's already amazing. He can sing, write lyrics, compose, he's sweet, and he's gorgeous. I could list his good qualities all day."

Maybe it was because of Sheng Xiaowen's words, but Zhou Anran's mind was still stuck on a certain someone. A playful comment slipped out before she could stop it. "So God gave your idol a heavens path too?"

Yan Xingxi shook her head and cupped her face in her hands. "No. He's my sky. My god. My deity!"

"My sky, my god, my deity." Behind them, Dong Chen's voice echoed hers, dripping with mockery. "Aren't you disgusted?"

"Shut up!" Yan Xingxi grabbed a practice notebook and spun around to hit him. "How dare you call my idol disgusting!"

Dong Chen threw his hands up to block her. "You can call me thick-skinned, but I can't say anything about you? Don't think I won't hit you back just because you're a girl, Yan Xingxi."

"Hit me back, then. I dare you."

Dong Chen's seat was right behind Yan Xingxi, they always fought like this every other day.

Zhou Anran was used to it. She picked up her milk tea, letting her gaze drift, as if by accident, to Chen Luobai's empty seat.

Dong Chen, despite his threat, didn't actually hit her. "Zhou Anran, control your Yan Xingxi."

Zhou Anran took a slow sip of her milk tea and smiled, shaking her head. "Can't do it. I don't even dare say one bad word about her idol."

Dong Chen looked at Yan Xingxi. There was a helpless smile in his eyes. "Fine, fine, fine. I was wrong. Your idol is my sky, my god, my deity, happy?"

Yan Xingxi finally stopped. "Hmph. That's more like it."

The fight was over.

Zhou Anran took the chance to glance back again.

Still empty.

She turned back forward. Yan Xingxi was rummaging through her desk, finally pulling out a pair of earbuds.

"You're listening to music?" Zhou Anran asked. "Shouldn't you be doing more math problems?"

Yan Xingxi: "I need to absorb some energy first. Gotta fortify myself before the storm hits."

Zhou Anran: "..."

"Wanna listen?" Yan Xingxi held out one earbud. "My mom might confiscate these too, along with everything else."

Zhou Anran laughed. "It won't be that bad. I'll help you talk to auntie when we get home."

She took the earbud anyway.

Just then, voices drifted in from the front door.

"I just smiled at him that day, and he deliberately pulled my chair out from under me. Made me fall!" That was Zhu Ran.

The response came from Zong Kai, their friend from Class 4. "You should be grateful he didn't just beat you into the ground right there."

Then came the most familiar voice of all.

Laced with laughter.

"Yeah. Get on your knees and thank me."

Zhou Anran looked up. Chen Luobai was walking through the front door, laughing.

The weather was too hot. He'd switched back to his summer uniform. An orange basketball tucked under his arm. His black hair was slightly damp, falling across his forehead. His features were sharp, his smile clean and bright and brimming with youth.

As if sensing her gaze, he suddenly looked up in her direction.

Zhou Anran's heart lurched guiltily, she ducked her head and jammed the earbud into her ear. A song flooded in—

"How do you hold a rainbow? How do you embrace a summer's wind?"

The late autumn wind was as restless as if summer had never left.

And he was the wind that had blown through her summer.

Something she could only feel, sometimes closer, sometimes farther away. Impossible to reach, impossible to hold.

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