Lemon Soda Candy - 96

There was a heavy snowfall during the winter of their final year of high school.

It happened just a few days after the New Year's holiday.

The snow started intensifying during the first period.

Such heavy snow was rare in southern cities. The world was reduced to a vast expanse of white. Even before class ended, many students' minds were no longer on the lesson.

Zhou Anran and Chen Luobai happened to be sitting by the window in the first group of seats.

The teacher, noticing the frequent glances outside and the wandering attention, tapped the desk dissatisfiedly. The distracted students reluctantly turned their focus back, only to have their gazes drift outside again moments later.

The result was that the lesson couldn't be finished on time. The teacher, smiling, extended the class, compressing the ten-minute break to less than a minute.

Fortunately, outdoor exercises were canceled due to the heavy snow. As soon as the second period ended, Zhang Shuxian cheered, grabbed Zhou Anran, and ran outside the teaching building.

Infected by her friend's and everyone else's excitement, Zhou Anran played wildly throughout the entire long break. When she returned to the classroom, she found her deskmate wearing a distinctly displeased expression, his voice as cool as the snow she had just played in.

"Looked like you were having a great time. You didn't even hear me calling your name."

Huh?

Had he been outside too?

Zhou Anran blinked. "Did you call me?"

Chen Luobai: "You were too busy playing with Zhang Shuxian, of course you didn't hear."

Zhou Anran felt a little guilty.

With class about to start, she wondered how to appease him while reaching for the English book for the next lesson. Her fingers, still stiff from playing in the snow, couldn't bend properly.

"Hands frozen stiff?" Chen Luobai glanced over, his tone resentful. "Serves you right for playing in the snow without gloves."

It wasn't like she had ignored him on purpose.

Zhou Anran didn't feel like appeasing him anymore. She wrinkled her nose and turned back to get her book. "It's not your hands that are frozen anyway."

"Zhou Anran." The displeased someone actually laughed now. "You'll snap at me now, huh."

Zhou Anran was slightly taken aback.

Oh.

She used to not even dare speak to him, but now he had indulged her until her temper had grown.

But what she just did didn't really count as snapping, did it?

She came back to reality because she saw the boy suddenly reach toward her.

Zhou Anran instinctively thought he was going to ruffle her hair or pinch her cheek like he usually did. It was a familiar action, so she habitually didn't dodge.

But the final landing point of that pale hand was her own hand.

The hand she was using to get her book was suddenly grabbed and pulled under their desks.

Zhou Anran's heart leaped into her throat.

She hurriedly glanced around, confirming no one had noticed them, then turned to glare at Chen Luobai. "What are you doing?"

As usual, after bullying her, his mood visibly improved. The corner of his mouth lifted. "The classroom is full of people, what could I possibly do?"

So he did know the classroom was full of people.

And this didn't count as doing something?

Amid her skyrocketing heart rate, something warm was pressed into her palm.

Immediately, the warmth on the back of her hand vanished.

Chen Luobai had let go of her hand.

Zhou Anran stared at him blankly for a second before looking down at what he had shoved into her hand. It was a small, rechargeable hand warmer.

It had a layer of beige fleece on the outside, with two little rabbit ears.

Zhou Anran turned to look at him again. "Where did you get this?"

Chen Luobai: "Bought it at the supermarket. I'm not as heartless as some people who forget their deskmate the moment they start playing."

That warmth seemed to shoot straight from her palm to her heart. Every breath felt warm. The temperature difference between inside and outside had already fogged the windows with a layer of condensation.

But she could still make out the vast, dazzling white expanse outside.

Zhou Anran covered the hand warmer with her other hand and said softly, "The snow hasn't stopped yet."

"What if it hasn't?" Chen Luobai's brow quirked slightly.

Her frozen hands were slowly warming up. The hand warmer in her palm continued to radiate heat incessantly, also seeming to convey a certain fact to her, she was no longer the coward who didn't dare speak to him.

They were no longer like two parallel lines that could never meet.

Zhou Anran whispered, "If you want to play, I'll go with you after this class."

Chen Luobai didn't respond.

The classroom was still noisy.

Some classmates were chasing and playing in the aisle right beside them.

The boy just leaned lazily against the wall, watching her and smiling without blinking.

The temperature in her hand seemed to climb again. Zhou Anran's face grew warm under his gaze. She averted her eyes and changed the subject. "Forget it if you don't want to go."

Chen Luobai chuckled again. "I didn't say I wouldn't go. But the break after next class is only ten minutes."

"So what?" Zhou Anran turned back to him. "If the teacher doesn't drag the lesson, ten minutes is enough to go down and play for a bit." 

"Zhou Anran," Chen Luobai said slowly, "Be fair. You played with her for how long? Shouldn't you play with me for the same amount of time?"

Zhou Anran: ?"

He wanted to quibble over the time too?

But she compromised to his demand anyway. "Then we'll go at noon?"

"Okay." Chen Luobai nodded. "You can have lunch with me at noon too."

Zhou Anran: ?"

This guy was really getting better and better at pushing his luck.

"Then do you want me to have dinner with you too?"

Chen Luobai: "How about I book all your meals for this week in advance?"

The bell rang, and the teacher walked in through the front door.

Zhou Anran smiled and shifted her gaze to the front. Her hand, warmed by the hand warmer, lifted again and successfully pulled out the book this time.

"Class is starting."

***

The first birthday she spent with Chen Luobai was at that apartment near No. 2 High School.

February 9th. Final year high school students had started school early.

The floor-to-ceiling window offered a view of the entire school. The lights in the senior year building stayed on very late. 

After they went out, the dormitory lights came on. By the time the whole school was plunged into darkness, it was past 11:30 p.m.

Zhou Anran leaned on his desk. "They have it so hard."

"What time did you go to bed during your final year?" Chen Luobai lounged against the side of the desk.

Zhou Anran thought about it. "A bit later than that, usually after midnight."

"No wonder you were so thin back then." Chen Luobai reached out and pinched her cheek.

Zhou Anran rubbed against his palm. "What about you? Did you used to do your homework at this desk?"

Chen Luobai uttered an "Mhm." "Did some other things too."

"Like what?"

The boy's brow quirked slightly. "You sure you want to ask?"

Usually, when he acted like this, pressing further would likely lead to some utterly shameless content.

Zhou Anran changed the subject. "I wonder if that braised noodle shop outside the school is still open?"

"Which one?"

"Zhuang Ji. But you never seemed to eat there." Zhou Anran paused, her tone unconsciously half-complaining, half-whining. "I never ran into you there before."

Chen Luobai: "I'll take you there tomorrow. Any other place you never ran into me? I'll take you to all of them tomorrow."

Zhou Anran laughed. "How could we eat that much?"

11:58 p.m.

Chen Luobai went to the kitchen fridge and brought in the cake.

Neither of them had much of a sweet tooth, so they'd only bought a small one for the sake of ceremony.

Zhou Anran knelt on the armchair, inserted the candle shaped like the number '19', and picked up the lighter nearby to light it for him.

Chen Luobai turned off the light and returned to her side.

A small candle flame flickered on the desk, casting the boy's sharply defined face in alternating light and shadow.

Perhaps it was because they were talking about high school memories, perhaps the darkness emboldened her, or perhaps the person before her had already given her infinite confidence.

Zhou Anran suddenly said softly, "I used to be quite glad your birthday was during winter break."

Chen Luobai looked up. "Why?"

"Anyway, I didn't dare give you gifts." Zhou Anran looked at the candlelight and confessed her little, somewhat petty thought from back then to him in a small voice. "If it was during winter break, I wouldn't have to see other girls giving you gifts."

The candle had melted a little. A soft corner of Chen Luobai's heart melted too.

"Wouldn't have accepted them even if they did."

Zhou Anran's eyes curved into smiles.

"What about you?" Chen Luobai asked her in return. "Did you receive birthday gifts from other boys?"

Zhou Anran wanted to say no, but then remembered Dong Chen and He Mingyu had given her gifts.

This moment of hesitation was enough for the boy before her to guess the answer.

Sure enough, Chen Luobai nodded expressionlessly, his tone cooling slightly.

"Seems you have."

Zhou Anran wanted to explain, but the boy had already scooped a spoonful of cake and brought it to her lips.

She ate it instinctively and heard him speak in a low voice.

"We'll settle accounts after you finish the cake."

Like the verb "dreaming," the phrase "settle accounts" now carried certain messy ambiguous connotations when it came from his mouth.

Zhou Anran's face warmed slightly. She changed the subject again. "You haven't made a wish yet. Make a wish quickly."

"Nothing I need to wish for." Chen Luobai put the spoon back on the desk and looked down at her. "But I did make a wish on this day last year. Want to know?"

He was the favored son of heaven who lacked nothing.

Had he ever had a wish he needed to sincerely hope for?

Zhou Anran nodded. "What was it?"

"I hoped Zhou Anran still liked me."

The candlelight was suddenly extinguished by his breath.

In the darkness, Zhou Anran felt Chen Luobai kiss her lips.

His voice was low and muffled.

"You've already made it come true for me."

***

"Make a wish?"

The lights were off; only the flickering candle flame remained in the room.

Chen Luobai's face was half-hidden in the dim light.

During summer break, Zhou Anran had actually only come to Nancheng once to meet up with the others. This time, she came because Yan Xingxi and the others insisted on celebrating her birthday.

When Zhu Ran and the others heard it was her birthday, they immediately said they wanted to join in. So, the discussion about the birthday celebration moved from the small four-girl group chat to the lively large group chat with over a dozen people.

But the moment Zhou Anran returned to Nancheng today, a certain someone "kidnapped" her and brought her to his apartment.

His reason was aboveboard and utterly justified—"Haven't seen you in days. Shouldn't you spend some time alone with your boyfriend first?"

So, Zhou Anran came to keep her boyfriend company.

Midnight, the most special moment of the day.

Bidding farewell to the old, welcoming the new. Transition and change.

This was the first birthday Chen Luobai was spending with her.

Under the boy's quiet, watching gaze, Zhou Anran closed her eyes and clasped her hands together.

She wasn't greedy. Just—

First wish for the health and smooth-sailing of family and friends.

Second wish to stay with him year after year, for a long, long time.

Zhou Anran opened her eyes.

Chen Luobai was still looking at her. "Finished?"

Zhou Anran nodded. "Mhm."

"How many wishes did you make?" Chen Luobai asked.

Zhou Anran: "Two."

"Don't you usually make three birthday wishes?" Chen Luobai said. "How about you lend me your third wish?"

Zhou Anran laughed. "Can you even lend birthday wishes?"

"Definitely not for anyone else." A certain someone said righteously. "But my girlfriend's birthday, rounded up, is basically my birthday, isn't it?"

Zhou Anran: ?"

Always full of crooked logic.

"Will you?" Chen Luobai asked.

But even if it was crooked logic, she wanted to indulge him. Zhou Anran nodded. "What do you want to wish for?"

"Let me think. Just—"

The boy tilted his head, also clasping his hands together like she had, but he didn't close his eyes, still staring fixedly at her.

Zhou Anran heard his voice ring out in the dark room.

"I hope I can celebrate Zhou Anran's birthday with her every year from now on."

Zhou Anran's heart skipped a beat, the heat on her face suddenly soaring.

"No one—"

...plays this unfairly.

"No one what?" Seeing she didn't finish, Chen Luobai pressed. "No one says their wish out loud?"

"Isn't this—"

Chen Luobai smiled and pulled her closer into his embrace.

"—something that needs your cooperation to come true?"

***

Near the end of the second semester of their junior year, Chen Luobai caught a bad cold. First, it was Yuan Song, then Zhou Suiqing. Chen Luobai, afraid he might already be infected, hadn't met Zhou Anran for those two days. When symptoms actually appeared, he hid it from her, afraid she'd worry.

He rarely got sick, but this cold was particularly fierce, with worse symptoms than the other two in his dorm.

Zhou Anran found out because Yuan Song secretly reported to her that Chen Luobai had taken fever reducers, but his temperature hadn't gone down, and he had gone to the school clinic for an IV.

The school clinic was fairly crowded.

As soon as Zhou Anran entered, she saw the tall, lanky boy sitting on a long bench. The strands of hair falling over his straight brows, eyes slightly closed. A black down jacket over a grey sweatshirt. A black mask on his face, making the small portion of visible skin appear even paler.

Chen Luobai's nose was stuffed; he couldn't smell anything. Sensing someone sit down right next to him, he frowned and opened his eyes, but his expression softened when he saw who it was.

"Why are you here?" he asked in a low voice. "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Hearing his hoarse, heavily nasal voice, Zhou Anran felt both heartache and anger, angry that he had hidden it from her.

For a moment, she didn't respond.

Chen Luobai looked down at her. The girl wore a blue mask, only her beautiful eyes and brows visible. She didn't look ill. He guessed the other possibility. "Here to see me?"

Zhou Suiqing kept his mouth shut, but his other dormmate was the complete opposite.

"That big mouth Yuan Song told you?"

Only then did Zhou Anran speak, sounding furious. "If he hadn't told me, were you planning to keep hiding it from me?"

Her temper was soft.

Sometimes, even when he bullied her into anger, she would at most glare at him a few times. She was easy to coax.

This was the first time Chen Luobai had seen her lose her temper with him.

He thought he might be quite ill.

Even when she lost her temper with him, he found her utterly adorable.

He wanted to kiss her.

"Angry?"

Zhou Anran didn't want him to hide things from her next time. "Mhm."

Seeing her nod seriously before saying "Mhm," Chen Luobai covered his mouth with his hand and laughed.

How could she be this cute.

Zhou Anran's wide, glistening eyes stared at him. "And you're laughing!"

"Alright, not laughing." Chen Luobai held back his laughter. "I was just afraid you'd worry, and also afraid of passing it to you. It's not a big deal. I should be fine after this IV."

Zhou Anran's tone softened. "But you still shouldn't have hidden it from me."

"Mhm, I was wrong." Chen Luobai's heart also softened. "I'm really fine. The clinic is full of people with colds. Why don't you go back to the dorm first?"

Zhou Anran pointed at herself. "I'm wearing a mask."

"Be good, Baby." Chen Luobai coaxed her in a low voice.

Zhou Anran usually couldn't resist this from him.

But today was an exception.

Who knew if his cold might get worse and he'd continue hiding it from her if she left?

"If you try to make me leave again, I'll take my mask off."

Chen Luobai's brow rose, clearly surprised, then he laughed again. "You'll threaten me now?"

Zhou Anran nodded. "You'd better believe it."

"Fine." Chen Luobai still wanted to kiss her, and also to reach out and touch her, but he restrained himself. "You win."

Zhou Anran looked down at his hand resting on his black pants. The faint blue-green veins were visible, a needle inserted a short way in.

It felt like a needle had lightly pricked her heart too.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

"Hmm?" Chen Luobai's voice was still hoarse. "Enduring not seeing you these past two days? Yeah, pretty uncomfortable."

Zhou Anran: ?"

She asked about the east.

He answered about the west.

But if this guy still had the mind to tease her, he probably wasn't that uncomfortable.

After the IV, Chen Luobai's high fever finally subsided, but the other symptoms hadn't completely cleared up. In the following days, he tried to reduce the number of times he met Zhou Anran. He didn't eat with her and didn't let her wait for him.

By the time all of Chen Luobai's symptoms disappeared, the final exams had arrived on schedule.

His first major exam was on Monday at 8 a.m., and he had no exams for most of the rest of the day.

Coming out of the exam hall, Chen Luobai took out his phone to message Zhou Anran, wanting to ask where she was so he could find her.

His elbow was suddenly nudged. Yuan Song called out to him from beside him, "Chen Luobai."

Chen Luobai didn't look up, not even bothering to glance at him. "Stay away from me. I haven't settled accounts with you yet."

Yuan Song chuckled. "You might not have the mind to settle accounts with me once you look up."

Chen Luobai paused his one-handed typing and looked up.

The very person he was messaging stood not far ahead in the corridor.

The girl's eyes were curved in a smile, a white scarf around her neck, piled fluffy against her porcelain-like face. At first glance, she really did resemble the little rabbit he gave her in high school.

Chen Luobai put his phone back in his pocket and strode over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"To pick you up." Zhou Anran shook the insulated cup in her hand, her voice sweet and soft. "Are you thir—"

Before she could finish, a slightly cool touch landed on her lips.

The Law School had just finished its first exam; the corridor was bustling with people. Chen Luobai just lowered his head and kissed her right there, in public.

A brief, fleeting kiss.

Zhou Anran's face instantly burned.

She pulled her scarf up higher. The small portion of her ears still visible turned a suspicious, thorough red. "Why did you suddenly—"

A certain someone asked rhetorically, "Suddenly what?"

Zhou Anran: "You know what!"

"Can't really count as sudden." Chen Luobai took her hand.

Zhou Anran: "How can it not?"

She was completely unprepared. 

He had never kissed her in front of others before. 

Chen Luobai continued, “I've been holding back for 110 hours and 36 minutes.” 

---

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