Lemon Soda Candy - 85

Zhou Anran and Chen Luobai went back to No. 2 High School alone during the summer break after their first year of university.

By then, Zhou Anran's family had long since moved back to Nancheng.

It was a weekday. Chen Luobai had to help out at the law firm, and since Nancheng's summer days were as hot as furnaces, they agreed to go to the school in the afternoon. Chen Luobai picked her up from her residential complex at 5 p.m.

Once in the car, Zhou Anran assumed he would drive straight to the school gates.

But the black G-Wagen instead turned into the complex near the school where he had lived during his final year of high school.

When the car stopped in the underground parking garage, Zhou Anran finally turned to him. "Why are we here? Did you forget something you need to bring?"

Chen Luobai casually unbuckled his seatbelt. "No, I'm bringing you here for a meal and to change clothes."

"Change clothes?" Zhou Anran was startled. "Change into what?"

Chen Luobai leaned over to unbuckle her seatbelt. "No. 2 High School uniform."

Zhou Anran blinked.

No. 2 High School uniform?

Chen Luobai's gaze rested on her face, his voice suddenly dropping. "Let's go back to school together in our uniforms? I want to see you wear the No. 2 High uniform again."

Although Zhou Anran thought it was a bit strange and embarrassing to wear the uniform back to school now, he rarely made such a straightforward request to her, so she didn't refuse. Her voice was soft. "You didn't tell me earlier. I didn't bring my uniform."

Chen Luobai: "When I got the uniforms ready for Tang Jianrui and the others last time, I prepared a set for you too. It's upstairs. Want to go up and change?"

Even now, thinking back to the day during winter break when he gave her the love letter, Zhou Anran's heart still felt soft. She nodded lightly. "Mm."

After going upstairs and having a meal, Zhou Anran followed him into the master bedroom.

Chen Luobai opened the wardrobe, took out a neatly folded uniform, and handed it to her.

Zhou Anran reached out to take it. "Should I change now?"

The boy leaned lazily against the wardrobe, nodding as if it were obvious. "Of course."

Zhou Anran: "…"

Zhou Anran shot him a glance. "Then shouldn't you go out?"

Chen Luobai's gaze swept over her meaningfully, his lips quirking up. "Why are you still so shy? Do I really have to avoid you just because you're changing clothes now?"

When it came to cheekiness, Zhou Anran could never match him.

She wouldn't argue with him about it.

"Then I'll change in the bathroom."

Chen Luobai watched her, face flushed, hugging the clothes as she ran into the bathroom, and couldn't help but laugh softly.

He wasn't in a hurry to change into his uniform either. He walked over to the bathroom door and leaned against the wall, waiting for her.

Soon.

The door opened from the inside.

The moment he saw Zhou Anran emerge, the casual expression on Chen Luobai's face vanished instantly, his gaze fixing on her.

The girl stepping out from the doorway was wearing the blue and white uniform of No. 2 High School again after nearly three years. She wasn't wearing any makeup today, her small face bare. Apart from her hair being long and wavy now and her being a little taller, she looked almost exactly the same as before.

Youthful and beautiful.

Chen Luobai hadn't seen her, or rather, hadn't noticed her wearing this uniform many times, but each impression was deeply engraved in his memory.

On the rooftop, standing before him in tears.

In the final exam hall, looking up at him in a flustered panic.

In the small supermarket, her face flushing deeply the moment he teased her.

In the classroom, her back to him as she explained a problem to He Mingyu.

…

And in Dean Zhao's office, her slender back in the uniform, standing protectively in front of him.

Seeing him staring dazedly at her, Zhou Anran's steps faltered.

"What's wrong?"

Did it not fit, or did she look bad in the uniform?

Chen Luobai snapped out of it, walked up to her, reached out to brush the hair from her shoulders back, his hand then naturally returning to her face, gently cupping her cheeks.

The slightly ticklish sensation on her face made Zhou Anran's heart feel like it trembled lightly. When he didn't speak, she couldn't help but ask again, "What is it?"

"Nothing." Chen Luobai lowered his head and kissed her forehead very gently. "My girlfriend is really beautiful."

Zhou Anran was already one hundred percent certain he liked her a lot too, but she seemed to recall this was the first time she had heard him directly call her beautiful. Her face warmed, feeling a bit embarrassed, and she pushed him lightly. "Hurry up and go change your clothes."

After changing, Zhou Anran walked hand-in-hand with him to No. 2 High.

The final year students hadn't started their break yet. When the two of them, wearing their uniforms, reached the school gate, the security guard stopped them.

Chen Luobai, holding her hand, walked closer to explain the situation. Zhou Anran felt slightly awkward, but the security guard looked completely unfazed and waved them in with a grand gesture.

Once inside the school gates, Zhou Anran touched her ear and turned to him. "Are we just wandering around, or is there somewhere specific you want to go?"

"Want to go back to the First Teaching Building?" Chen Luobai also turned to look at her. "We didn't have time last time."

Zhou Anran nodded. "Okay."

The two of them, holding hands, walked to the First Teaching Building, entered the main doors, and went up to the second floor. Chen Luobai's steps suddenly halted.

Zhou Anran stopped with him. "Why did you stop?"

Chen Luobai looked up the stairs, then his gaze returned to her face. "Is this where I caught you on the first day of our first year?"

Mentioning it now, Zhou Anran's heart held no regret, only sweetness.

That was their first meeting.

The very beginning of their fate. 

Zhou Anran nodded, then corrected him. "You caught me."

The boy's eyebrows lifted slightly. He let go of her hand, raised his own a little, and naturally wrapped his arm around her waist. "You call this catching?"

Zhou Anran: "…"

She retorted in a small voice, "But your intention that day was just to help me stand steady."

"Fine, you win." Chen Luobai's tone was indulgent, his gaze returning to her face. "Let me get a good look."

Zhou Anran blinked. "A good look at what?"

Chen Luobai looked at her more intently than before, a faint smile in his eyes. "I didn't get a clear look at what my future girlfriend looked like that time. This time, I need to get a good look at what my future wife looks like."

Zhou Anran's ears warmed. "Who's your future wife?"

Chen Luobai's tone was matter-of-fact. "Zhou Anran is."

Zhou Anran: "…?"

She had clearly been denying it, not asking a question.

This person was getting more and more shameless.

"I am not."

"Alright then." Chen Luobai drew the syllable out slightly, putting on a rather regretful expression. "Seems I still need to keep trying."

The corners of Zhou Anran's lips curved up unconsciously.

"Let's go." Chen Luobai took her hand again. "Let's go see the classroom."

The first and second-year students were already on break, and the classroom doors were locked.

Zhou Anran walked hand-in-hand with him to the window. As if some actions were so deeply ingrained in memory they had become an unbreakable habit, she instinctively glanced first at his old seat in the second group, sixth row, before looking at her own two seats from first year.

Chen Luobai's voice sounded by her ear. "Want to go inside and look?"

Zhou Anran turned to look at him, then at the locked back door. "It's locked."

"Nothing your boyfriend can't handle." The corners of Chen Luobai's lips quirked up. Wearing the familiar blue and white uniform, his smile still resembled that of the most spirited youth from back then. "Let me perform a magic trick for you."

Zhou Anran's heartbeat quickened. "What magic trick?"

Chen Luobai: "In my uniform pants pocket. Get it yourself."

Zhou Anran slipped her hand into his pocket. The first time, she found nothing. She felt around carefully, and when her fingers brushed against something, her movement halted abruptly, her face instantly flushing crimson.

Almost simultaneously, Chen Luobai's amused voice sounded above her head.

"Zhou Anran."

"In broad daylight, where are you touching?"

Zhou Anran pulled her hand out, both embarrassed and indignant, and looked up to glare at him. "You tricked me."

Chen Luobai laughed heartily. "How would I dare trick you? I hadn't even said which pocket, and you reached in."

Zhou Anran: "…"

Chen Luobai: "The right one."

Zhou Anran didn't quite believe him. "Really?"

"Really." Chen Luobai's tone seemed to turn serious. "If I'm lying, I'll sleep on the sofa tonight."

Zhou Anran's parents were both away on business, and she had already agreed to stay with him tonight.

Hearing his assurance, she cautiously and carefully slipped her hand into his right pocket again, soon finding a thin, flat key.

"The classroom key?" Zhou Anran looked up at him again. "Where did you get this?"

Chen Luobai took it from her. "I specifically asked Old Gao for it a couple of days ago."

The back door of the classroom opened.

Zhou Anran let him lead her inside.

She had only spent about a week in that second-year classroom.

But this first-year classroom was where she had been his classmate for a full year.

The moment she stepped inside, Zhou Anran felt countless memories flooding back.

The first-year Zhou Anran secretly turning her head with everyone else to look at him.

The first-year Zhou Anran sneaking past him countless times, using excuses to go out the back door.

The first-year Zhou Anran briefly sitting in front of him.

…

But just like at the stairwell on the second floor earlier, when she thought of those times now, her heart was filled only with happiness.

Chen Luobai spoke suddenly. "Was that your seat in the first semester of first year?"

Zhou Anran snapped out of her memories and followed his pointing finger, feeling somewhat surprised. "You remember?"

"Of course. Didn't I call on you for the English teacher once?" Chen Luobai lifted his chin. "Let's go over to your spot."

Zhou Anran nodded.

The two walked hand-in-hand to her first-year seat.

"Forgot to bring tissues." Chen Luobai looked down at her. "Can you make do and sit here?"

Zhou Anran didn't know why he suddenly wanted her to sit, but it was such a small request she naturally wouldn't refuse.

Only after sitting down did Zhou Anran notice that someone had carved a small heart into the right corner of the desk at this spot.

Perhaps some junior who sat here had also found someone they liked.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chen Luobai sit sideways on the desk. His voice sounded above her head at the same time.

"Zhou Anran."

Zhou Anran looked up, about to point out the little heart to him.

The boy's face suddenly loomed large in her vision.

Chen Luobai kissed her.

Zhou Anran's eyes widened slightly. Her gaze, from extremely close range, crashed into his dark eyes, where she saw her own tiny reflection.

The boy didn't try to deepen the kiss, just let his lips rest gently against hers.

Like their first kiss, but lingering a little longer.

After a few seconds, Chen Luobai pulled back.

He braced one hand casually on the desktop, the other gently stroking her cheek, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"I wanted to kiss you last time we came back."

Zhou Anran: "…?"

So that's why he had suggested the two of them come back alone during the winter break?

Chen Luobai's thumb slowly moved downward, coming to rest at the corner of her mouth. His gaze on her was exceptionally focused, his voice soft. "Also to make up for the high school Chen Luobai's regret of not getting to date you back then."

Zhou Anran's heart ached faintly.

Her fingers twitched. She suddenly raised both hands, bracing them on the desktop, then lifted her head and pressed her lips against his.

This time, it was Chen Luobai's turn to be slightly stunned.

His finger gently stroking the corner of her mouth stilled for a moment before he laughed. "Why are you being so proactive again today?"

The tips of Zhou Anran's ears grew warm again.

She looked up at him, suppressing her shyness, her voice also soft. "It's also for the high school Zhou Anran, to kiss the high school Chen Luobai. She doesn't have any regrets anymore, so he shouldn't have any either, okay?"

Chen Luobai's heart instantly softened unbearably.

The hand at the corner of her mouth moved slightly backward, lightly cupping the nape of her neck before he smiled.

"He says just one kiss isn't enough. It needs to last a bit longer."

Zhou Anran's face flushed an even deeper red.

Bracing her hands on the desktop, she lifted her head again and pressed her lips to his.

The evening sun stealthily peeked through the window, climbing onto the desks, its orange-red light sliced into long, rectangular grids by the window frames.

A breeze blew in from the back, and it almost seemed like you could faintly hear the sound of test papers rustling and flipping.

The cicadas' chirping outside the window reached a crescendo.

The boy and girl in their school uniforms shared a long, gentle kiss in the quiet classroom.

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