Lemon Soda Candy - 81

Sunlight broke through the seams in the clouds.

Nancheng, which had been overcast for several days in a row, finally cleared up on this day.

3:00 p.m.

No. 2 High School, quiet for a long time during the winter break, seemed to regain some of its bustle. On the third court of the first row of outdoor basketball courts, teenagers wearing the school's blue and white uniforms ran freely across the court.

The sound of basketballs hitting the pavement mingled with laughter and playful taunts.

"Holy crap, haha, Rui Rui, are you any good or not? Another air ball!" Huang Shujie mocked loudly as he ran.

Tang Jianrui rolled his eyes dramatically. "You have the nerve to say that? I don't even want to mention how many times you've traveled today. Good thing we don't have a ref, or with all your violations, the game would be a mess."

The basketball he'd shot, having missed the hoop entirely, happened to land right in the hands of Bao Kun, who was on Tang Jianrui's team. But Bao Kun barely had time to get a grip on the ball before it was stolen from him.

"Luo-ge! Bro!" Bao Kun wailed. "Why are you stealing from us again? Can't you go easy on us?"

They happened to have six guys today, perfect for a 3v3.

3v3 is played on a half-court, with both teams attacking the same basket, meaning you can launch an offense right from where you get the ball.

Zhu Ran, on Tang Jianrui's team, hurried to defend Chen Luobai but couldn't resist complaining. "Zhou Anran is watching from the sidelines. Someone's busy preening like a peacock; there's no way he's going easy on you. Dream on."

"Exactly." Chen Luobai faked Zhu Ran out, stepped back, and sank a three-pointer. "My girlfriend is watching. How could I do something so unsportsmanlike as going easy on you?"

Under the sunlight, the orange-red basketball traced a perfect arc and swished cleanly through the net.

Huang Shujie cheered: "My Luo-ge's step-back three is still a thing of beauty and deadly accurate!!!"

Although 3v3 is only half-court, the ball moves fast, and there's not a moment to relax on either defense or offense, making it hardly less demanding than a full-court game.

They were just playing for fun, not really keeping strict score or time, so it was hard to say how long they'd been at it.

Zhu Ran, whose steps had been thrown off when a certain dog-like person faked him out, was feeling a bit tired. He didn't even try to recover, just let himself fall and lay sprawled on the ground, not getting up.

Chen Luobai nudged him with his foot, his tone mocking. "You call this okay? We haven't even been playing that long."

"This isn't about the time," Zhu Ran said from the ground, rolling his eyes at him. "Don't you know how hard it is to guard you? I've been running non-stop since I got on the court, not a single second's break. Go be all lovey-dovey with your girlfriend. I'm lying here for two more minutes before we continue."

The moment "girlfriend" was mentioned, the sharp-tongued, merciless certain person became surprisingly easy-going.

The corners of Chen Luobai's lips quirked up. "Fine, take your time lying there."

Zhou Anran stood at the edge of the court holding a cup of milk tea, watching the boy walk toward her step by step, still wearing No. 2 High's autumn blue and white uniform.

Maybe it was because the court was full of familiar faces, all wearing the familiar No. 2 High uniform. Or because his words, "Zhou Anran, Class 2, Grade 2," still seemed to echo in her ears, and the love letter he wrote for her was right there in her bag.

Or perhaps it was because the spot where she stood now was almost exactly where she had stood back in her first year, watching him play.

For a moment, Zhou Anran had the illusory feeling that the high school version of Chen Luobai was walking step by step toward the high school version of her.

But she was no longer an extra he wouldn't notice.

She was now his destination and his direction.

A finger flicked gently against her forehead.

Zhou Anran snapped out of her reverie and saw Chen Luobai already standing in front of her. "What were you thinking about?" Chen Luobai's hand slid down naturally, pinching her fair cheek. "I'm right here in front of you, and you didn't even notice."

Zhou Anran shook her head. "Nothing, really. It just feels like we're back in high school."

Chen Luobai's eyebrows lifted slightly, a smile playing on his lips. "If I can make you feel that, then hunting down these old uniforms wasn't in vain."

The corners of Zhou Anran's lips curved up too. She pulled out a tissue she had purposely tucked into her pocket earlier and gently wiped the sweat from his face and neck, then asked softly, "Are you thirsty? Do you want some water?"

The school's small supermarket was closed for the break. When they ordered milk tea delivery earlier, they'd also asked an off-campus supermarket to deliver some water and drinks to the school gate.

Chen Luobai nodded.

Just as Zhou Anran started to bend down to get water for him, her wrist was suddenly grasped.

?

Zhou Anran stopped, blinking at him in confusion.

The next second, she saw the boy suddenly lean down and, using her hand, bite onto the straw of the milk tea she had just been drinking from.

"Hey, hey, hey," Sheng Xiaowen, standing right beside her, feigned dissatisfaction, though it was clearly teasing. "There are a few living, breathing people right here next to you."

Yan Xingxi: "Yeah, are you treating us like we're air?"

The roots of Zhou Anran's ears grew warm.

Tang Jianrui and the others, who had also come over for water, joined in the teasing.

"Luo-ge, that's just too much. We came here to drink water, not eat dog food."

"Way too much."

"Yeah, in public and everything. Don't just abuse us single dogs like that; have some consideration."

Chen Luobai straightened up, his hand still holding onto that slender, pale wrist without letting go. He turned his head and gave the group a flat look. "Too much, huh? And here I was going to say I'd treat for dinner tonight, no need to split the bill. Guess that's not happening."

Tang Jianrui immediately turned to Huang Shujie. "Was it you who said Luo-ge was too much just now?"

Huang Shujie looked at Bao Kun. "Wasn't me. Old Bao said it."

Bao Kun pointed at Shao Zilin. "He said it."

Shao Zilin turned his head further back, passing the buck. "Old Zhu, how could you? How could you say our Luo-ge is too much?"

Zhu Ran, still lying on the ground, let out a roar, full of vigor, whether from having rested enough or out of sheer exasperation. "Do you fuckers have any shame?!"

Tang Jianrui acted like he didn't hear him, bent down, and grabbed a bottle of water. "Anyway, Luo-ge, you and sis-in-law carry on. We'll go rest somewhere else."

Huang Shujie also grabbed a bottle of water. "Right, we promise not to disturb you."

"Disturb my ass," Chen Luobai swore with a laugh. "Rest up and then get back on the court. We still have to visit Old Gao later. Don't delay so much we end up going right at dinner time."

Shao Zilin: "You got it. We'll go rest over there then."

The guys, arms around each other's shoulders, walked off to another spot.

Chen Luobai couldn't be bothered with these clowns. He wasn't really tired from playing for a while, just extremely hot.

He let go of her hand, pulled down the zipper of his school uniform, and took off the jacket. "Zhou Anran, Class 2, Grade 1, can you hold this for me?"

Zhou Anran: "?"

"Why am I from Class 2, Grade 1 now?"

Chen Luobai stuffed the jacket into her arms.

With the uniform jacket off, the boy was left wearing just the summer short-sleeved uniform shirt. The arrogance and youthful spirit in his features were just like back then.

"You only ever watched me play in your first year, didn't you?"

Zhou Anran's heart softened immensely again. The corners of her lips curved up once more. After a few seconds, holding his uniform, she asked him softly, "Aren't you cold wearing just a short-sleeved shirt?"

Chen Luobai looked down at her.

The girl's dimples were shallow, the rims of her ears flushed red. She still looked just as well-behaved, pretty, and easy to tease as she had back then.

Chen Luobai suddenly leaned close to her, his voice dropping exceptionally low. "Cold? Do you have any idea how hot I am right now?"

Zhou Anran blinked.

The boy paused, his voice dropping even lower, a hint of that heart-fluttering laughter in his tone. His breath was scorching hot from playing ball.

"Probably about the same as the night before you returned to Nancheng."

Zhou Anran: "?!"

Even though Sheng Xiaowen and the others had walked away earlier, Zhou Anran's face instantly burned red.

"Go back to playing your game."

The match finally ended at 3:25 p.m.

It was just for fun anyway. Later, Tang Jianrui and the others started cheating and playing wildly, so no clear winner emerged.

Afterwards, the guys went to change back into their regular clothes, and then the whole group walked along the school's tree-lined path toward the exit.

By then, the last patch of dark clouds overhead had also dispersed. The winter sun shone down unobstructed, warming them both physically and emotionally.

Zhou Anran and Chen Luobai fell to the back of the group.

The tall boy had his arm around her shoulders, loosely holding her as they walked forward.

The person she had liked from the very first moment of her first year was finally walking with her along this path she used to take every day to school.

The shadows cast by the sunlight intimately overlapped behind them.

"Let's come back here alone, just the two of us, next time," Chen Luobai suddenly said.

Zhou Anran turned to look at him. "Why?"

Chen Luobai's gaze lingered on her lips for two seconds. "I'll tell you when we come next time."

Zhou Anran wrinkled her nose. "Why the secrecy again?"

"It's just—" Chen Luobai drew out the syllable, smiling as he looked at her, "—I'm afraid you'll love me and leave me. Gotta keep some suspense to keep my girlfriend hooked."

Zhou Anran: "?"

"Why would I 'love you and leave you'?"

He was spouting nonsense again.

Chen Luobai suddenly leaned close to her ear again.

Perhaps because they all knew this place held special meaning for the two of them, the friends walking ahead, hers and his, were all laughing and joking amongst themselves, but not a single one looked back, giving them all the space they needed.

The boy was practically pressing against her ear, his lowered voice and scorching breath drilling straight into her ear canal.

"Who was it just a few days ago that, after getting what she wanted, started finding me annoying?"

Zhou Anran: "?!"

After speaking, Chen Luobai watched her earlobes turn from white to red in an instant, so small and cute. He couldn't resist reaching out to gently pinch one.

Zhou Anran's ears were quite sensitive; she trembled slightly. Remembering they were still on school grounds, and someone ahead might accidentally glance back, she quickly pushed him away.

"Chen Luobai!"

Chen Luobai saw her face was thoroughly reddened. Teasing her any further would probably make her genuinely angry. He laughed and moved back to a proper distance. "Which Chen Luobai are you calling?"

Zhou Anran was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean, 'which Chen Luobai'?"

Chen Luobai: "Chen Luobai from Class 2, Grade 1? Chen Luobai from Class 2, Grade 2? Or the Chen Luobai of now? Which one are you calling?"

Zhou Anran blinked. "What's the difference?"

"There is. The Chen Luobai from first year was a bit blind. The Chen Luobai from second year already wanted to be your boyfriend. The Chen Luobai of now has had his wish fulfilled—" Chen Luobai paused, smiling at her, "—But no matter which one you want to call, they can all grant you one wish."

The corners of Zhou Anran's mouth lifted.

He was always like this. He'd tease her right to the edge of getting angry before stopping, but he always found a way to make her happy again afterward.

The sensation of his touch still seemed to linger on her earlobe. Zhou Anran felt like touching it but was too embarrassed. Her face was still flushed. "Then I wish the present-day Chen Luobai would bully me a little less."

"That one's not possible."

Zhou Anran turned her head to glare at him. "So you're going back on your word now?"

Chen Luobai: "Because I'm already trying my hardest to hold back."

Zhou Anran: "…?"

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