Lemon Soda Candy
Zhou An Ran had never seen him so unhappy before.
She couldn’t help but feel worried, even though she had no right to be concerned about him. Still, she couldn’t suppress the feeling.
However, her current seating position made it inconvenient to observe him.
With some time left before the morning self-study session began, Zhou An Ran thought for a moment and decided to quickly finish the remaining soy milk in her cup. This way, she could use the excuse of washing her cup and getting water to casually pass by his seat and exit through the back door.
But when Zhou An Ran turned around with her empty cup, she noticed that he seemed to have already laid his head on the desk.
The classroom was somewhat noisy, but as she passed by his side, Zhou An Ran still softened her footsteps. She caught a glimpse of a few unruly strands of his black hair sticking up, but couldn’t see his face.
Naturally, she had no way of analyzing his mood either.
However, she vaguely remembered overhearing Zhu Ran mention once that when he didn’t sleep well, he would have a bad temper upon waking up. During these times, both his mood and temper would worsen.
Could this be the reason?
When Zhou An Ran returned after filling her water, the young man was still sleeping with his head on the desk.
As homework was being passed forward from the back rows, Zhou An Ran took the opportunity to turn around and steal another glance at him, but he was still asleep.
By the time she saw him lift his head again, it was already the end of the morning self-study session. She used the excuse of going to the restroom to exit through the back door once more.
The young man’s head was slightly tilted, his profile revealing smooth lines. She didn’t know what Zhu Ran had said to him, but his eyebrows raised slightly.
He looked similar to his usual self.
There were no signs of unhappiness.
When she returned to the classroom and passed by his side again, he had already lowered his head to read. His expression was faint, but his lips were no longer tightly pressed as before.
Afterward, Zhou An Ran secretly found opportunities to observe him a few more times. Seeing no further signs of unhappiness, she gradually put her mind at ease.
However, a part of her heart still felt as if it were suspended by invisible threads.
Just because Yi Zhen Yin hadn’t arranged to meet him alone this week didn’t mean she wouldn’t in the future.
Regardless, Yi Zhen Yin was currently the girl closest to him.
Perhaps it was due to the stern criticism of the two senior students during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony, which seemed to have intimidated everyone, but the following month passed by exceptionally uneventfully.
There were no more reports of anyone stopping Chen Luo Bai midway to confess their feelings.
Even the love letters and gifts secretly slipped into his desk were said to have decreased.
Zhang Shu Xian was still keen on inquiring about various school gossip, but for now, none of it involved him.
There were no rumors of any ambiguous relationship between Yi Zhen Yin and him.
Yan Xing Qian, on the other hand, had put in a tremendous effort this month. The “Save the Idol” campaign plan was being executed with exceptional precision, to the point where Zhou An Ran barely needed to supervise her.
The day before the midterm exams, Yan Xing Qian was still struggling with mathematics, her bangs disheveled from frustration.
“Ah! Why do humans have to learn such an inhuman subject?” Yan Xing Qian pushed the book on her desk towards Zhou An Ran. “Ran Ran, can you help me look at this problem again?”
Chen Dong happened to pass by her side and paused, his tone seemingly casual: “What problem? Why don’t you ask me?”
Yan Xing Qian looked up, puzzled: “Why would I ask you?”
Chen Dong averted his gaze, his tone cooling: “Fine, suit yourself.”
“How strange,” Yan Xing Qian gave him an odd look before lowering her head again. “Ran Ran, hurry and explain it to me.”
Zhou An Ran: “…”
The brief exchange was too short and lacked any relevant keywords to attract anyone’s attention.
But Zhou An Ran clearly remembered that last semester, because of a certain person, there had been a small trend of “asking math questions” as a way of confessing one’s feelings.
Although more than a semester had passed and the excitement had long since cooled down, the implicit meaning behind it couldn’t be erased.
Seeing Yan Xing Qian’s complete obliviousness, Zhou An Ran wanted to remind her but feared she might be mistaken, potentially causing trouble for both her and Chen Dong.
In the end, she said nothing and simply took the pen from Yan Xing Qian’s hand to explain the problem.
The midterm exams were scheduled for Thursday and Friday. The day after the exams, which was a Saturday, Zhou An Ran went with her parents early in the morning to visit her cousin’s family in the same city. It was her cousin’s daughter’s third birthday.
Upon arrival, before Zhou An Ran could even greet anyone, a small, chubby figure rushed toward her.
Her cousin’s daughter’s nickname was Tuan Tuan. The little girl hugged Zhou An Ran’s leg, tilting her small head up. Her voice was as soft as milk, though her pronunciation wasn’t very clear yet.
“Auntie, present.”
“Your aunt hasn’t even had a chance to sit down, and you’re already blocking her way asking for a present. Aren’t you ashamed?” Her cousin came over, half-laughing and half-scolding, first pinching her daughter’s little cheek before smiling at Zhou An Ran. “Last time you promised to take her to the mall to pick out a birthday present. She’s been looking forward to it ever since, asking early this morning why Auntie hasn’t arrived yet.”
Zhou An Ran’s cousin was her mother’s elder sister’s daughter, and their families were very close.
Zhou An Ran often visited and felt completely at ease. She took Tuan Tuan’s hand and said, “Then I won’t change my shoes. I’ll take Tuan Tuan to the mall first. Cousin, is there anything you need me to buy?”
Her cousin shook her head, crouching down to change her daughter’s shoes while reminding her, “Be good and listen to your aunt. You can only choose one gift, no asking for more, understand?”
Tuan Tuan was still holding Zhou An Ran’s hand tightly: “How many?”
There was a large shopping mall just outside the residential complex. Zhou An Ran had always been a sensible person, so the adults trusted her completely. They didn’t accompany them, but as they were leaving, Jia Yi He asked in a low voice, “Did you bring money?”
Zhou An Ran nodded.
Jia Yi He patted her shoulder: “Alright, Mom will reimburse you when you get back.”
Zhou An Ran took Tuan Tuan to the mall.
After choosing a gift on the first floor, the little girl pulled her in another direction: “Auntie, supermarket.”
“It’s pronounced ‘supermarket’,” Zhou An Ran corrected her pronunciation.
Tuan Tuan tried to imitate: “Supermarket.”
Zhou An Ran couldn’t help but smile.
The little girl didn’t know many words yet, but she remembered exactly where the candy was sold in the supermarket. As soon as they entered, she pulled Zhou An Ran directly to that shelf and pointed with her small hand.
“Candy.”
Zhou An Ran followed her directions and bought several different types of candy for her.
As they left the supermarket, Tuan Tuan urged her to open the packages.
Zhou An Ran opened one and handed it to her: “You can only eat two pieces this morning, no more, okay?”
Tuan Tuan obediently took only two pieces of candy from the bag. She tilted her head, thought for a moment, and then held out one piece to Zhou An Ran: “For you.”
Zhou An Ran thought she wanted to help open it, so she unwrapped the candy, crouched down, and fed it to her, reminding her: “Don’t swallow it whole, okay?”
Tuan Tuan nodded her little head and then held out the other piece of candy: “Auntie eat too.”
Zhou An Ran wasn’t particularly interested in candy, but faced with the little girl’s expectant eyes, she unwrapped it and put it in her mouth.
The taste was unexpectedly good.
It was like lemon soda.
Small bubbles burst in her mouth, the slight sourness of lemon balancing out the sweetness of the candy.
Thinking that Yan Xing Qian would probably like this flavor too, she took Tuan Tuan back to the supermarket and bought two more packs of the same candy.
*
The next day, both Jia Yi He and Xian Hong Zhou had to work overtime.
When Zhou An Ran went to Yan Xing Qian’s house for lunch, she brought along the two packs of candy she had bought the day before.
After lunch, Yan Xing Qian invited her to stay and watch a movie.
The midterm exams had just ended, so Qiu Song didn’t restrict them too much.
However, before the movie was even over, Yan Xing Qian had finished both packs of candy that Zhou An Ran had brought.
As the movie was nearing its end, Yan Xing Qian reached into the bag only to find it empty: “How come it’s all gone? Where did you buy these?”
Zhou An Ran: “Near my cousin’s place.”
“Then let’s go to the nearby supermarket and see if we can find some,” Yan Xing Qian said, hugging Zhou An Ran’s arm.
Zhou An Ran nodded.
After finishing the movie, the two went out to browse the nearby supermarket but couldn’t find candy with the same bubble pattern on the packaging.
“I remember the packaging had Japanese writing on it. Did you notice the brand name when you bought it?” Yan Xing Qian asked.
The candy had been displayed in a very prominent position at that supermarket.
Zhou An Ran shook her head: “I didn’t pay attention.”
Yan Xing Qian’s face fell slightly: “If only I hadn’t thrown the packaging in the trash earlier, we might have been able to search for it online.”
“It’s okay,” Zhou An Ran consoled her. “I’ll be visiting my cousin again during the May Day holiday. I’ll bring you some more then.”
*
The midterm exam results were released on Tuesday. Zhou An Ran’s performance remained steady, with her ranking improving by one place. As for Yan Xing Qian, whether it was due to her potential being fully unleashed or not, after a month of hard work, she had advanced six places in the class ranking.
Zhou An Ran felt greatly relieved for her.
With such significant progress, Aunt Song should be satisfied.
Perhaps because the parent-teacher conference was scheduled for the following Monday, no one dared to cause any extra trouble during this time, and the week passed by exceptionally peacefully.
On Friday morning, as Zhou An Ran was finishing breakfast at home, Jia Yi He suddenly seemed to remember something and said to her, “Oh, by the way, last Saturday when I was doing laundry, I found a few pieces of candy in your coat pocket. I put them in that soda can where you keep your candy wrappers.”
“Candy.” Zhou An Ran looked up, puzzled. “What candy?”
Jia Yi He chuckled, “You’re asking me about something from your pocket?”
Zhou An Ran put down her chopsticks. “I’ll go take a look.”
Back in her bedroom, Zhou An Ran carefully removed the candy wrapper flowers and turned the empty soda can upside down, letting its contents fall onto the desk.
To her surprise, there were four soda candies.
But she clearly remembered that she hadn’t even opened the package last time and had taken it directly to Yan Xing Qian’s house.
Jia Yi He pushed the door open from outside, “Did you find them?”
“Yes, I did.” Zhou An Ran recalled how Tuan Tuan had been clinging to her side after returning to her cousin’s house last Saturday. She couldn’t help but smile, “Tuan Tuan must have slipped them in.”
Jia Yi He glanced at her desk and also smiled, “It’s usually hard for others to get even one piece of candy from Tuan Tuan, but she’s quite generous with you.”
Zhou An Ran put the four candies in her pocket and shouldered her backpack. “Mom, I’m off to school then.”
After meeting up with Yan Xing Qian downstairs, Zhou An Ran took two candies out of her pocket to give her. When she opened her palm, she saw that she had randomly picked out one grape-flavored and one orange-flavored candy.
That meant the two remaining in her pocket should both be lemon-flavored.
Yan Xing Qian accepted them with delight, “Where did these come from?”
Zhou An Ran smiled again, her small dimple by her cheek faintly appearing, “My little niece secretly put them in my pocket.”
On the way to school, Yan Xing Qian kept eating candy, her speech slightly muffled.
Upon reaching the classroom, Zhou An Ran wiped down her desk and chair as usual. After throwing away the paper towels in the back, she was about to exit through the back door to wash her hands when she saw Chen Luo Bai arrive at the doorway.
The young man had his backpack slung over his right shoulder, his jawline even tighter than last time, with obvious irritation in his deep-set eyes and brows.
Zhou An Ran hadn’t expected him to come so early today. Her gaze on him was probably more noticeable than usual, but he didn’t seem to notice at all.
As they passed each other at the back door, it was as if he hadn’t even realized there was another person beside him.
Despite this rare moment of being so close to him, Zhou An Ran’s heart didn’t race as it usually did. Instead, her mind was filled with just one question—
What was wrong with him?
Had he not slept well again?
But when she returned after washing her hands and entering the classroom from the back, Zhou An Ran didn’t see him napping on the desk like last time. Instead, he was hunched over, seemingly doing homework.
The visible half of his jawline facing her side was still tightly clenched.
Zhou An Ran secretly observed him throughout the day and was almost certain that he was genuinely unhappy today.
Even Zhu Ran, who was usually excessively talkative, was particularly quiet today, as if afraid to disturb him.
That day, it was Zhou An Ran’s turn to clean up. After class, she went to the back classroom to get a broom and saw Chen Luo Bai cornered at the back door by Gao Guo Hua, who had somehow come to their class.
“Are you sure your parents won’t be coming next Monday?” Gao Guo Hua asked.
Chen Luo Bai leaned lazily against the doorframe, his eyes lowered, his emotions hard to discern: “They’re not coming.”
Gao Guo Hua continued, “Then will you stay behind next Monday to help me receive the other parents?”
“Why should I stay? To make the other parents feel envious?”
Zhou An Ran daringly glanced towards the back door and caught the moment when the young man slightly raised his eyes, flashing a smile at Gao Guo Hua.
But for some reason, Zhou An Ran inexplicably felt that although he was smiling, the smile didn’t reach his eyes. He seemed even more unhappy than when he had entered the classroom that morning.
Gao Guo Hua, possibly amused by his somewhat arrogant response, didn’t notice his expression: “If you want to slack off, just say so. No need for excuses.”
“I’m leaving,” Chen Luo Bai straightened up, “Teacher Gao.”
Gao Guo Hua waved his hand dismissively: “Go, go, go. Get out of here.”
Chen Luo Bai waved back at him and turned to stride down the stairs.
Gao Guo Hua shook his head with a smile: “Cheeky brat.”
Zhu Ran rushed out the back door with his backpack, shouting: “Chen Luo Bai, why are you walking so fast? Wait for me!”
“Some classes haven’t ended yet,” Teacher Gao scolded him from behind, exasperated. “Zhu Ran, why are you yelling so loudly?”
“Sorry, Teacher Gao. My bad. See you next week,” Zhu Ran’s perfunctory voice came from afar.
One by one, the students left, and the classroom quickly fell silent.
Zhou An Ran swept the floor absentmindedly, still unconsciously pondering why he was so unhappy today.
Was it because his parents couldn’t attend the parent-teacher conference?
But his parents hadn’t attended last semester’s conference either, and he hadn’t seemed the least bit unhappy that day.
However, when the homeroom teacher mentioned the parent-teacher conference to him just now, his mood did seem worse than at any other time today.
Even after Yan Xing Qian had finished cleaning, Zhou An Ran still hadn’t figured out any conclusion, nor was she likely to.
“Ran Ran, aren’t you done yet? Do you need help?” Yan Xing Qian asked.
Zhou An Ran snapped back to reality: “No need, I’m almost done.”
She focused and quickly finished cleaning the remaining small area.
After emptying the trash, they both returned to the classroom to pack their bags.
Yan Xing Qian pointed to the front: “I’ll lock the front door, and you lock the back door as usual?”
Zhou An Ran nodded.
As she walked past his seat in the sixth row, Zhou An Ran couldn’t help but recall his smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
She sighed very softly.
Not knowing why he was unhappy meant she couldn’t help him. But even if she knew the reason, given their almost stranger-like relationship, she probably wouldn’t be able to help him anyway.
Thinking this, Zhou An Ran’s hand, which had been gripping her backpack strap, dropped dejectedly. It inadvertently brushed against her uniform pants pocket, causing a slight rustling sound.
It was the two lemon soda candies.
She had been so worried about him all day that she had completely forgotten to eat them.
Zhou An Ran put her hand in her pocket, and as her fingertips touched the candy wrappers, her heart fluttered slightly.
He usually drank soda too. Would he like this kind of candy?
At that moment, Zhou An Ran didn’t know what she was thinking, or rather, where she got the courage from.
There was some movement from the front door area; it was probably Yan Xing Qian locking the door. Zhou An Ran glanced at both windows.
After confirming that there was no one else outside, she clutched the two candies and quickly slipped them onto his desk.
Although it was just a brief action lasting less than a second, Zhou An Ran had never done anything like this before. As she withdrew her hand, her palm was sweating, and in her haste, she even bumped her wrist on the corner of his desk.
Her heart felt like it was about to jump into her throat, and it seemed as if she had stopped breathing for several beats.
“Ran Ran—” Yan Xing Qian suddenly called out to her.
Zhou An Ran’s heart, which was already in her throat, nearly leaped out. She turned around in a panic and saw Yan Xing Qian standing by the window outside, looking at her.
“Why haven’t you come out yet?”
She probably hadn’t seen, right? Given Yan Xing Qian’s personality, if she had seen, she would probably be questioning Zhou An Ran by now.
“My shoelace came undone,” Zhou An Ran’s voice was tight. “I’ll be out in a moment.”
Before leaving, Zhou An Ran glanced at his desk again.
The books on the desk were slightly messy, as usual.
But her still-racing heart reminded her that she had just inexplicably slipped two candies inside.
She knew that girls often put love letters or carefully prepared small gifts on his desk.
She had heard that he had Zhu Ran and others privately return those with names on them, while the anonymous ones were apparently all locked away in a cabinet at his home.
Of course, she wasn’t giving him these two candies as a confession, nor did she want any response from him.
She just hoped that if he really was unhappy because his parents couldn’t attend the parent-teacher conference, and if there was a one-in-a-million chance that he would open and eat these two candies when he came back on Monday, and if he happened to like this flavor, then maybe he could be a little happier at that moment.
Zhou An Ran looked away and walked out the back door.
As she was locking the door, Yan Xing Qian curiously asked beside her, “You looked so pale just now, like you’d seen a ghost. What happened?”
The spot on Zhou An Ran’s wrist that had been bumped earlier was now starting to ache, and she wondered if it would bruise.
She lowered her eyes and replied, “The classroom was too quiet, and you suddenly called out to me.”
Yan Xing Qian laughed, “You’re such a scaredy-cat.”
Zhou An Ran didn’t dare continue this topic with her. She locked the door with her still slightly sweaty hand and turned around, “Let’s go.”
“Alright, let’s go.” Yan Xing Qian linked arms with her.
The two chatted as they slowly walked out of the school.
Zhou An Ran’s heartbeat gradually returned to normal.
What she didn’t know was that not long after she and Yan Xing Qian boarded the bus, Chen Luo Bai and Zhu Ran returned to the school together.