Lemon Soda Candy - 54

Zhou Anran stared at Chen Luobai’s WeChat Moments post, lost in thought.

I’ve had her on my mind for a long time… 

How long is a long time?

She had never really pondered when exactly he started liking her.

At first, she didn’t even dare to entertain the thought that he likes her. Later, as his feelings became more obvious and she found herself increasingly unable to deny, she no longer had the mental space to think about it.

But now, looking back, it seemed like his attitude toward her had been special from the night they reunited.

He’d taken the initiative—asking for her WeChat, her class schedule, her help with small favors. The very next night, he invited her for a late-night snack and walked her back to her dorm.

Step by step, he’d been the one moving closer.

 

Zhou Anran returned to the main screen, tempted to ask him directly, but a message from Zhu Ran popped up first.

It was the first time Zhu Ran had messaged her since adding her as a friend.

Zhu Ran: [Zhou Anran, I’m pulling you into a group chat, cool?]

Zhou Anran: [What group chat?]

Zhu Ran: [Just some old high school classmates.]

Zhu Ran: [They want to say hi and catch up.]

Zhu Ran: [That okay?]

Zhu Ran’s friends were likely Chen Luobai’s friends, too.

Zhou Anran didn’t refuse: [Sure.]

The moment she agreed, her phone pinged as Zhu Ran added her to the group. 

Back on the main interface, she saw a new group chat at the top, with the first message from Zhu Ran.

Zhu Ran: [She’s in!]

The group hadn’t been set to “Do Not Disturb” yet. As soon as Zhou Anran read the message, her phone started buzzing wildly, notifications flooding in one after another. 

Messages from unfamiliar profile pictures but familiar names poured in, the content was strikingly uniform:

Tang Jianrui: [Hey, sister-in-law!]

Huang Shujie: [Hey, sister-in-law!]

Shao Zilin: [Hey, sister-in-law!]

Bao Kun: [Hey, sister-in-law!]

…

Zhou Anran: “…?”

Chen Luobai’s avatar appeared right after the barrage.

C: [Are you guys insane?]

C: [Don’t scare her.]

Somehow, Zhou Anran could easily picture his voice and expression as he jokingly scolded them.

Her gaze lingered on the list of names, dazed. 

These were his closest high school buddies, the ones always by his side on the basketball court. 

Her nose stung inexplicably. 

Back then, she’d passed by that court countless times, sneaking glances at him and his friends playing, never imagining that one day she’d be pulled into his circle, teased by his friends as “sister-in-law.”

Zhu Ran: [Would you look at that.]

Zhu Ran: [Someone’s super protective.]

C: [Took me forever to win her over.]

C: [If she runs away, you think you can make it up to me?]

Tang Jianrui: [No way, no way.]

Tang Jianrui: [All of us combined wouldn’t even match one of sister-in-law’s fingers.]

Chen Luobai sent a voice message. 

Zhou Anran tapped it, holding the phone to her ear. His voice, laced with a smile, came through: “Get lost.”

It was the same tone she’d overheard countless times in high school when he playfully scolded his friends.

C: [Ignore them.]

Zhou Anran blinked. 

That one was for her, right?

Huang Shujie: [Hold up!]

Huang Shujie: [We were classmates with sister-in-law for over a year, too.]

Huang Shujie: [Can’t we chat and catch up?]

Huang Shujie: [Hey, sister-in-law @Zhou Anran]

Huang Shujie: [When break comes, come hang out with Brother Luo and us!]

C: [Wanna go?]

Tang Jianrui: [Brother Luo, you didn’t even specify who you’re asking.]

Tang Jianrui: [How are we supposed to know who you’re talking to?]

Shao Zilin: [Definitely not you, so don’t flatter yourself.]

Zhu Ran: [Alright, alright.]

Zhu Ran: [If you guys keep teasing Zhou Anran, someone might force me to disband the group.]

Zhu Ran: [Say something back. @Zhou Anran]

Zhou Anran touched her ear.

Zhou Anran: [I’ll come if I’m free.]

…

After the group chat quieted down, Zhou Anran returned to the main screen and noticed Zhang Shuxian had tagged her in their four-person group chat a while ago.

The flood of messages earlier must’ve drowned it out, and she had missed it.

Zhang Shuxian: [Chen Luobai went public? @Zhou Anran]

Yan Xingxi: [What? Chen Luobai went public? How? How’d you know??]

Zhang Shuxian shared a screenshot of Chen Luobai’s Moments post.

Zhang Shuxian: [What misconceptions do you have about him? He’s practically treated like a celebrity at our school.]

Zhang Shuxian: [The second Zhu Ran posted, a bunch of my high school group chats blew up.]

 

Zhang Shuxian: [Some people were even throwing shade, guessing what “tricks” Ranran used to snag him.]

Zhang Shuxian: [I was about to clap back, but someone shared his Moments post, and those people shut up real quick.]

Zhang Shuxian: [So satisfying, hahaha!]

Zhang Shuxian: [I’m starting to think Chen Luobai did it on purpose.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Be confident.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Drop the “think.”]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Chen Luobai’s too smart not to know what kind of buzz him and Ranran dating would cause.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [If he just wanted to go public or show off, he could’ve picked some mushy caption.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [Remember what he said when he joined our hangout group?]

Yan Xingxi: [What?]

Zhang Shuxian: [I remember, I remember!]

Zhang Shuxian: [Something like, “Don’t bug her. Ask me directly if you want to know anything.”]

Sheng Xiaowen: [This Moments post has the same vibe.]

Sheng Xiaowen: [— “Don’t speculate about her. I’m the one who made the move.”]

Sheng Xiaowen: [For protecting Ranran like that, I approve of this match.]

Yan Xingxi: [Hmph.]

Yan Xingxi: [I’ll reluctantly approve.]

Yan Xingxi: [Depends on how he acts from now on.]

Zhou Anran froze for a moment. 

Her emotions had been a tangled, floaty mess all night, fixated on his “thinking about her for a long time.” Only now, reading Sheng Xiaowen’s analysis, did she catch the protective undertone in his post. 

A soft spot in her heart seemed to melt.

Her phone pinged again.

She exited the group chat and saw a message from Yu Bingqin.

Yu Bingqin: [You and him are together?]

No names were mentioned.

But they both knew who she meant.

Maybe because of their shifting dynamic, Zhou Anran felt a twinge of shyness. Her cheeks warmed as she replied: [Mm.]

Yu Bingqin sent another message: [If he ever bullies you, tell me.]

Zhou Anran: [Okay, thanks, senior.]

Then Dong Chen tagged her in their old hangout group, sounding utterly shocked.

Dong Chen: [@Zhou Anran]

Dong Chen: [You and Chen Luobai are together??]

Dong Chen: [What’s the deal????]

Yan Xingxi jumped in first.

Yan Xingxi: [Why’s that so shocking?]

Dong Chen: [Isn’t it shocking?]

Dong Chen: [They barely knew each other in high school. How’d they suddenly get together?]

Yan Xingxi: [It was obvious at the last hangout, okay?]

Yan Xingxi: [You’re just too dense to notice.]

Zhou Anran, sprawled on her bed, couldn’t help but laugh. 

How dare Yan Xingxi call someone else dense when she was the biggest oblivious one?

More messages trickled in, asking about her and Chen Luobai. But thanks to his protective Moments post, fewer people messaged her than expected, and the questions shifted from “How’d she end up with Chen Luobai?” to “How’d Chen Luobai chase her?”

After replying to everyone, it was getting late. Zhou Anran opened her chat with Chen Luobai, but before she could type, his message popped up.

C: [Asleep yet?]

Her lips curved: [Not yet.]

Zhou Anran: [Why’re you still up?]

C: [About to sleep.]

C: [Library tomorrow morning?]

Zhou Anran recalled the gossip Xie Jingyi had shared: [My roommate said you never used to study at the library.]

C: [Didn’t before. Too much hassle.]

C: [But now I’ve got a girlfriend, don’t I?]

Zhou Anran’s lips curled higher at “girlfriend.”

Zhou Anran: [7:50 at the library entrance, then?]

C: [Earlier.]

Zhou Anran: [Earlier? The library’s not even open.]

C: [7:20, first cafeteria entrance. Breakfast together?]

Her heart raced: [Sure.]

C: [See you tomorrow morning.]

Zhou Anran: [See you tomorrow morning.]

After locking her phone, Zhou Anran couldn’t sleep. 

Her mind buzzed with excitement, and part of her didn’t want to sleep. 

She unlocked her phone again, rereading their chat and his Moments post carefully, then clutched a lemon soda candy in her hand. 

The floating feeling in her chest finally settled.

Sleep crept in slowly. In her half-dreaming state, she remembered, distracted by all the messages, she’d forgotten to ask what he meant by “thinking about her for a long time.” 

But there was no rush. 

As he’d said, they had plenty of time ahead.

She could figure it out slowly.

---

The next morning, Zhou Anran’s alarm jolted her awake. 

Not wanting to disturb her roommates, she silenced it immediately. Still groggy, she turned over, and something small and hard pressed against her cheek, causing a faint sting. 

Eyes closed, she reached out, grabbing the object, hearing a faint rustle. Blinking sleepily, she saw it was a tiny candy.

A lemonsoda candy.

Her mind snapped awake. 

She sat up halfway, grabbed her phone, and turned off airplane mode. Notifications flooded in—mostly people asking about her and Chen Luobai. She had to scroll down to find his chat. 

Tapping his chat, her eyes first landed on “See you tomorrow morning.”

Scrolling up, there was his “But now I’ve got a girlfriend, don’t I? 

Clutching the candy, the faint panic from her half-awake state faded like a receding tide.

She quietly got out of bed to wash up.

Yu Xinyue was already gone, up earlier than her.

After washing up, Bai Lingyun was awake, but Xie Jingyi, who loved sleeping in, was still out cold.

With a roommate still asleep, Zhou Anran didn’t want to make noise.

. With time running short, Zhou Anran skipped makeup—besides, she’d gone bare-faced around him lately to keep things natural. She headed out with a clean face.

At the first cafeteria entrance, she spotted Chen Luobai, already waiting as usual.

 

He was wearing that green-and-white baseball jacket again, looking fresh and handsome, his black backpack slung casually over one shoulder—a high school habit that hadn’t changed.

She stopped in front of him, noticing the tiredness in his eyes. “Didn’t sleep well again?” she asked softly.

Chen Luobai stifled a yawn. “Mm.”

“After breakfast, want to go back and rest a bit?” she offered.

“No need.” Chen Luobai looked down at the girl standing obediently before him, concern clear in her eyes. “Just come here and let me hold you for a bit.”

The weather was perfect, sunlight filtering through the clouds, gilding his dark hair with a faint golden edge. 

At 7:15 a.m., the historic university campus was alive—bikes and scooters zipped along the tree-lined paths, students hurried by, and the cafeteria glowed with early bustle.

The tall, handsome boy stood before her, arms open, waiting. 

Unlike last night, he didn’t pull her in—he just watched her with a quiet smile, as if inviting her to step into his embrace.

A few passersby paused, their gazes flickering toward them. 

Zhou Anran’s face warmed, but she didn’t hesitate. One step, two steps… until the distance between them vanished. 

His clean, fresh scent enveloped her.

Chen Luobai tightened his arms, pulling her close.

She felt his face briefly press into her shoulder, lips grazing—or not grazing—her neck. She couldn’t tell. His voice, so close to her ear, was low and warm: “Morning, girlfriend.”

---

After breakfast, they headed to the library.

Once seated, while the study room was still settling, Zhou Anran leaned toward him. “Want to nap like last time? I’ll wake you.”

“No need.” Chen Luobai glanced at her in the middle seat. “Let's switch spots.”

Why the sudden change? It was a small thing, so Zhou Anran didn’t question it. She got up and swapped, moving from his left to his right.

She took out her books and pen, left hand resting at her side, right hand ready to take notes. Before she could read two lines, her left hand was suddenly grasped.

She turned to him.

Chen Luobai, who’d stayed up late finishing assignments and barely slept, was genuinely tired. But with a busy week ahead and little time to spend with her, he didn’t want to waste a moment sleeping. Catching her gaze, he grinned. “Read your book. I’m just recharging.”

Zhou Anran: “…?”

Recharging by holding her hand? What kind of weird metaphor was that? Was she a charger now?

But whatever odd reasoning it was, she couldn’t bring herself to pull away. She let him hold on and turned back to her book.

This time, though, he didn’t just hold her hand like last night.

He seemed to be playing with it.

His fingertips, slightly rough from basketball, brushed her palm lightly, then traced slow, deliberate strokes.

Zhou Anran nearly dropped her pen. Then he gently pinched her fingers, one by one, from thumb to pinky, before sliding into the spaces between them. Zhou Anran’s face grew hotter with each move.

Sensing her gaze, Chen Luobai looked up, lips twitching into a teasing smirk. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Why aren’t you reading?”

Zhou Anran: “…?”

How dare he ask her that! With him doing this, how was she supposed to focus?

The study room had quieted down, so she couldn’t argue back—or rather, she was too embarrassed to. She turned back to her book.

She figured she’d let him play with her hand. It was just a hand, after all.

But she’d assumed he’d invited her to the library to study, so they’d picked a six-person table. Soon, the three seats across from them filled, followed by the one next to him—a stranger, a girl. If she looked down, she’d see their little interactions. Zhou Anran’s face burned. She tried to pull away, but he held tighter, his fingers grazing her palm in what felt like a playful punishment.

The ticklish sensation shot straight to her heart. She bit her lip, unable to speak in the quiet room. Instead, she scribbled a note and slid it to him, just like last time.

Chen Luobai glanced at it.

In her neat, delicate handwriting: Someone’s sitting next to you.

He playef with her fingertips again, then looked at her. Her small face was flushed, her round almond eyes shimmering, looking both bullied and pleading.

 

His throat tightened. He let go.

Zhou Anran exhaled in relief. 

Seeing her reaction, Chen Luobai felt a twinge of annoyance. He grabbed her pen and wrote a note back: What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like we’re having an affair.

Zhou Anran: “…?”

What was with his ridiculous phrasing?

Staring at “affair,” she didn’t know how to respond. 

And, just like last time, he showed no intention of returning her pen. She puffed out her cheeks, dug out a spare pen from her bag, and paused before writing: Not afraid, but it might disturb others. Do your work. Don’t stay up late again.

Chen Luobai looked at her small, neat words, his heart softening again. He twirled the pen and wrote two bold characters back: Yes, ma’am.

Zhou Anran glanced down. She remembered the time before a basketball game when their homeroom teacher, Old Gao, told them they could leave five minutes early but not disturb other classes. She’d glanced back to see Chen Luobai in the back row, giving a lazy salute and grinning, “Yes, sir.”

Her lips curved slowly.

Chen Luobai kept his word. For the next hour, he didn’t tease her again. 

They both had second period classes, so at 9:30, they packed up and left the library.

Outside the library doors, Chen Luobai handed back the pen he’d taken.

Zhou Anran tucked it into her bag, then remembered something. “What about my pen and notebook from last time?”

He glanced at her. “Confiscated.”

Zhou Anran: “?”

“Why’d you confiscate my pen and notebook for no reason?”

Chen Luobai stopped, pulling her aside to avoid the crowd flowing in and out of the library entrance. She looked confused, like she genuinely didn’t understand why he’d taken her things that day.

Truth was, Chen Luobai didn’t want her staying friends with He Mingyu. He was bothered that, during the time he hadn’t yet noticed her, another guy had beaten him to it and become her friend. But since He Mingyu had said he wouldn’t pursue her anymore, Chen Luobai wasn’t petty enough to expose the guy’s hidden feelings in front of her.

He reached out and pinched her cheek.

She immediately covered the spot, her face clearly saying, “Why’d you pinch me again?”

She let others pinch her cheeks without a fuss, but with him, her reactions were always so big.

“Zhou Anran, you’re so stingy.”

Zhou Anran: “…?”

How’d this turn into her being stingy? 

She opened her mouth to ask, but he pinched her cheek again, then leaned in close, his voice brushing her ear: “I’m already all yours, and you’re still hung up on a pen and a notebook?”

---

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