Lemon Soda Candy - 86

By the time they left the classroom, the sun had fully set, leaving only a vast expanse of orange-red fading into purple twilight on the horizon.

The senior students had likely started their evening self-study sessions, leaving the school exceptionally quiet.

Zhou Anran, her hand held by Chen Luobai, walked forward with him. He suddenly turned his head and asked, "Feel like going to the store? I'll buy you another Coke."

"Okay." Zhou Anran nodded.

The two changed direction and headed for the school's small supermarket.

But the store, which usually stayed open until evening self-study ended, had for some reason closed early today.

Once again, they found themselves shut out.

Zhou Anran glanced at the boy beside her. "Got any more magic tricks up your sleeve?"

Chen Luobai's brow quirked slightly. His gaze slowly traveled from her face down to her hand. "Why don't you feel around and see for yourself?"

Zhou Anran: "..."

Forget it.

Her nerve couldn't match his.

"No thanks."

The corner of Chen Luobai's mouth lifted. His eyes shifted to the supermarket's firmly closed door.

"Just as well. It leaves a memory for us to revisit another day. Besides—" He turned back, his gaze settling on her flushed cheeks, and paused.

"Besides what?" Zhou Anran asked.

The evening glow outlined his sharply defined features. The way he looked at her seemed to carry that familiar, hook-like quality again.

Her heartbeat quickened for two beats under that gaze.

Then she heard him say, "It just so happens I'd like to take you back now."

The moment they stepped inside, Zhou Anran was pressed against the door. The room lights were off, and the entryway, far from the floor-to-ceiling window, was dim. In the faint light, he took her hand.

Chen Luobai leaned in close, his warm breath fanning her face, his voice dropped to a near whisper: "Zhou Anran, care to take responsibility?"

Zhou Anran's face instantly burned crimson. "How did this become my responsibility?"

His lips almost brushing hers, his voice still low, he said, "Back at school, who was it that kissed me and—"

Guessing the word that was coming next, Zhou Anran hurriedly cut him off, her face red. "You told me to get the keys."

"Fine." Chen Luobai chuckled softly by her ear, his hand guiding hers to move slowly. "We'll set that aside for now. But it was you who actively kissed me in the classroom, right?"

Zhou Anran buried her face in the crook of his shoulder, muttering a small rebuttal: "You kissed me first."

"How many times have I kissed you?" Chen Luobai murmured against her now equally red ear. "Can't the number of times you've kissed me back be counted on one hand?"

Zhou Anran: "..."

Zhou Anran fell silent.

Chen Luobai gave another soft laugh by her ear. "Besides, you know I have very little resistance when it comes to you."

Not that Zhou Anran had any resistance to him either. Her face still buried, she said in a tiny voice, "We haven't washed our hands. Or showered."

Chen Luobai kissed her earlobe. "Together?"

……

The shower was turned off.

The stall was steamy and damp.

Zhou Anran was lifted and seated on the bathroom counter outside. The tiles were slightly cool, a stark contrast to her skin, still warm from the hot water. She flinched slightly at the chill, then adjusted. Looking down, she saw his fingertip land on that small black mole.

"Chen Luobai." Zhou Anran quickly called his name. "You're not allowed to bite there tonight."

Chen Luobai slowly lifted his head. No matter how busy he was, he always found time to play ball, resulting in a thin, well-defined layer of abdominal muscles. Combined with the familiar, smoldering look in his eyes as he watched her, it was enough to make anyone's heart flutter and face heat.

"Why not allowed tonight?"

Zhou Anran: "It's summer. I'm wearing a dress tomorrow."

"A dress?" Chen Luobai's gaze returned to the small black mole. "That black dress?"

Zhou Anran blinked. "What black dress?"

"You know—" Chen Luobai paused, his finger slowly tracing upward from the mole. "The black dress you were wearing that day in second year when you ran away from me."

Zhou Anran's toes abruptly curled. Her gaze, initially lowered, followed his hand, her face heating up again instantly. She quickly averted her eyes. "That dress is old now, and I didn't bring it."

"Is that so." Chen Luobai's gaze remained lowered, his response casual as he focused on the movement of his hand. After a few seconds, hearing no sound from her, he finally looked up to see her face was already thoroughly flushed. Her teeth were biting her lower lip, her head slightly tilted, her gaze fixed somewhere else entirely.

A mischievous impulse stirred in him. "Forget the dress then. Let me lift you down to see the mirror?"

Zhou Anran's attention was entirely on his hand, her reaction a bit slow. Before she could fully process it, he had already lifted her down.

The mirror clearly reflected their current state.

It took her several slow beats to grasp the meaning of his earlier words. Her face burned even hotter. She turned her head, half-embarrassed, half-annoyed, and glared at him. "Chen Luobai!"

Chen Luobai responded with a smiling "Hmm?", acting the part of the scoundrel who assumed she was just calling his name. He leaned close to her ear: "Baby."

Even now, Zhou Anran couldn't get used to him calling her that. Her heart gave a faint tremble.

Chen Luobai's damp hand pressed lightly on her back, his mouth still near her ear. His voice dropped exceptionally low, the tone ambiguous, like a command, yet also like a question.

"Bend over," he said.

It was past noon the next day when Zhou Anran woke up. Chen Luobai was unusually not in bed with her. She reached for her phone to check the time, then got up herself and walked to the balcony, drawing back the blackout curtains.

A flood of sunlight streamed in, making Zhou Anran squint.

The master bedroom balcony faced the main gate of No. 2 High School. It was just after lunch break, and as her eyes adjusted to the light, she looked down and saw two figures in No. 2 High School uniforms walking below.

The tall, lanky boy tugged on the girl's backpack strap. The girl was pulled back a step or two, and whether she turned to glare at him or not, the boy let go, then moved to her other side, as if trying to coax her.

Zhou Anran found it amusing and watched them all the way until a familiar voice sounded unexpectedly by her ear.

"Watching so intently?"

Zhou Anran's eyes lit up. She turned to look at him, a note of unconscious dependence in her tone. "Where did you go?"

The boy glanced down below, then returned his gaze to her face, his tone cool, as if slightly displeased. "I was afraid you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I got up to get the delivery. And what do I find when I get back? You staring at some other guy."

Zhou Anran: "…?"

She had clearly been watching a boy and a girl.

How could he be jealous even about this?

Chen Luobai: "Are male high school students really that good-looking?"

Zhou Anran couldn't help but smile. "They are quite good-looking."

Chen Luobai nodded, his expression blank. "Then by all means, keep looking. Oh, but he's gone into the milk tea shop now, you can't see him anymore, right?"

Zhou Anran laughed and took his hand. "Not as good-looking as you."

Chen Luobai naturally picked up his own thread: "…or else I could change back into my No. 2 High uniform, reluctantly let you make do with looking at—"

He abruptly broke off, processing what she had just said.

"Say that again."

Zhou Anran wasn't used to saying such things in the first place. She had just been humoring him by following his earlier words. Now, being asked to repeat it specifically, she felt embarrassed again. "You heard me," she said softly.

Chen Luobai looked down at her.

The sunlight from the window fell on her, making her skin seem to glow. She was wearing his T-shirt, loose and reaching her thighs. Her face was slightly flushed with shyness, but her gaze as she looked at him held a shimmering smile, gentle and beautiful.

Chen Luobai's heart suddenly softened unbearably. He couldn't resist reaching out to pinch her cheek.

"Zhou Anran."

Zhou Anran blinked. "What?"

Chen Luobai: "I'm completely wrapped around your finger for life."

Why was he suddenly saying this?

Zhou Anran was still processing it when the boy in front of her suddenly reached out his hands.

"Are you hungry? Should I carry you to wash up?"

Chen Luobai had carried her countless times, but being carried to wash up felt like treatment reserved for a child. Her face grew inexplicably warmer. "I can go by myself."

Chen Luobai walked directly over and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Can't I want to carry my girlfriend?"

The corners of Zhou Anran's mouth turned up unbidden. "You can."

Chen Luobai lifted her into his arms.

Zhou Anran looped her arms around his neck, her legs wrapping around his waist. As the boy turned to carry her towards the bathroom, his T-shirt collar gaped slightly with the movement.

Zhou Anran looked down and saw a distinct mark on his back. Her fingertip involuntarily touched it.

Chen Luobai's steps halted. He was about to speak when he heard her soft question: "Does it hurt?"

He instantly understood what she was touching. He had seen it last night when he carried her back to wash up. She had been mostly asleep by then and probably hadn't noticed.

Chen Luobai tilted his head to give her a meaningful, smiling look. "Now you ask if it hurts? Why weren't you a bit gentler when you were scratching me last night?"

Zhou Anran's face warmed. "It's because last night you—"

"Last night I what?" Chen Luobai's gaze rested on her face, his tone profoundly meaningful.

Zhou Anran didn't actually remember when she had scratched him last night. It must have been at one of his most provoking moments, one of those moments she couldn't bring herself to voice. Burying her burning face in his shoulder, she said, "Nothing. It seems it doesn't hurt after all."

Chen Luobai chuckled by her ear.

Zhou Anran: "…"

This guy… his mood was always especially good right after he finished bullying her.

After he had carried her a few more steps, Zhou Anran still couldn't help but ask again, "It really doesn't hurt?"

"Really doesn't. How much strength do you have? And—" Chen Luobai paused, then smiled at her again. "I wouldn't mind if you scratched me a few more times."

Zhou Anran's face burned even hotter. This time, she really didn't want to talk to him anymore.

After washing up and eating, Zhou Anran went with him to the kitchen to wash some fruit.

Once the fruit was arranged on a plate, Chen Luobai speared a piece of watermelon and brought it to her lips.

Zhou Anran bent her head to eat it. The clear, sweet juice of the watermelon spread in her mouth as he spoke above her.

"What do you want to do this afternoon?"

Somehow, during holidays, they actually had less time together than at school.

Zhou Anran's mother was returning from her business trip tonight, and Chen Luobai had only taken this one day off. The remaining half-day of time alone suddenly felt especially precious. Zhou Anran couldn't immediately think of what she wanted to do.

"I don't know."

Chen Luobai: "Then think about it slowly here at home. I need to go downstairs for a bit first."

"Why are you going down?" Zhou Anran asked.

Chen Luobai gestured with his chin towards the window. "To change into my high school uniform and buy you bubble tea."

Zhou Anran was startled for a moment, then laughed. "You're still jealous?"

"Just afraid you might transfer your affections to some male high school student." A slight smile played on Chen Luobai's lips. "I need to perform well."

Zhou Anran laughed and tugged his hand. "It's too sunny outside. We can just order bubble tea. Keep me company and watch a movie instead."

"Just a movie?" Chen Luobai asked. "Do you require any other services?"

Zhou Anran blinked. "What services?"

"Accompanying eating, accompanying playing—" Chen Luobai paused, then leaned close to her ear to finish the sentence.

The kitchen fell quiet for a second or two.

Then, a girl's flustered and indignant voice emerged.

"Chen Luobai!"

"Hmm." Someone responded with a lazy laugh. "What are you calling me for?”

---

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