Just Consider It a Bribe
“No, I already told you, as soon as she saw me—”
Before Zhu Ran could finish his sentence, Chen Luobai’s phone rang.
He stopped talking.
Chen Luobai glanced at the caller ID, his lips pressed into an even straighter line as he answered the call.
“Luobai.” The voice on the phone, belonging to a man who had long since developed the ability to remain calm in any situation due to his experience in the business world, sounded noticeably urgent today. “There’s a fire at your mother’s law firm. Come quickly.”
Zhu Ran was waiting for Chen Luobai to hang up so they could continue their previous conversation. Instead, he saw Chen Luobai’s expression change abruptly. The basketball slipped from his hand as he ended the call and immediately ran towards the school exit.
The basketball rolled a few times on the ground. Zhu Ran quickly bent down to pick it up and chased after him.
It wasn’t until they got into a taxi outside the school that Zhu Ran learned about the fire at the law firm.
He offered a dry attempt at comfort: “Don’t worry, there’s a fire station near your mom’s law firm. It shouldn’t be too serious.”
Chen Luobai gripped his phone tightly, saying nothing.
Fortunately, the middle school was close to the law firm. Zhu Ran paid for the taxi in advance, and as soon as the car stopped, he hurried out with Chen Luobai.
A conspicuous fire engine was parked in front of Tower A of the Sheng Yuan Center. A circle of people stood around, many dressed in formal attire, likely white-collar workers from the building who had been forced to stop work due to the fire and were now stranded downstairs.
Chen Luobai immediately spotted the people from the law firm.
He ran over and called out to a middle-aged woman: “Aunt Zhang, how’s the situation at the firm? Is the fire serious? Where’s my mom?”
The woman he addressed as “Aunt Zhang” turned around: “Luobai, what do you mean by how serious is the fire at the firm? The firm isn’t on fire. It’s the floor below the firm that caught fire. The fire department arrived promptly, so nothing major happened.”
She paused as if remembering something: “Your dad called you to come, right? He just called the firm looking for your mom, and I answered. I told him there was a fire on the floor below the firm, but he misheard and thought the firm itself was on fire. He rushed over just as anxiously as you did. He’s with your mom over there now.”
Aunt Zhang raised her hand to point in a direction.
Zhu Ran and Chen Luobai looked where she was pointing.
It was quite noticeable. While everyone else downstairs was standing alone, only those two were embracing each other. They had been too anxious earlier to look in that direction.
“Ah Luo,” Zhu Ran quietly withdrew his gaze, “I have a feeling your parents’ divorce might not happen after all.”
Chen Luobai stared at the two people still embracing in the distance for a couple of seconds, then turned his head and chuckled: “Let’s go.”
“Where to?” Zhu Ran asked.
Chen Luobai jerked his chin towards the opposite side: “There’s a good place over there. I’ll treat you to a late-night snack.”
Zhu Ran, who had been holding back from talking much for two days due to Chen Luobai’s bad mood, now that the crisis was over, quickly put his arm around Chen Luobai’s shoulder and said happily: “Let’s go, let’s go!”
Chen Luobai said goodbye to Aunt Zhang and then went across the street with Zhu Ran.
After ordering, Zhu Ran noticed the injury on Chen Luobai’s elbow: “What happened to your arm?”
Chen Luobai looked down: “It’s nothing. I fell while playing basketball this afternoon.”
“Isn’t there a pharmacy nearby?” Zhu Ran asked.
Chen Luobai was about to nod when suddenly an image flashed through his mind. He paused, reached into his sports pants pocket, and took something out.
Zhu Ran looked at the cotton swabs and band-aids in his hand: “Oh, you bought medicine?”
“No,” Chen Luobai looked down at the items in his hand, “A girl gave them to me.”
Zhu Ran’s curiosity was immediately piqued: “A girl? Which girl who likes you this time?”
Chen Luobai recalled the slender figure hurriedly running into the teaching building: “If she liked me, why would she run away?”
“Run away?” Zhu Ran didn’t understand.
Chen Luobai made a sound of agreement: “She put these things in my hand and then ran off. It should be the same girl you met afterward.”
Zhu Ran replied without thinking: “She was probably just shy.”
Then he realized something was off: “Wait, you said it’s the ghost girl’s sister I met afterward? That doesn’t make sense. If she gave you stuff and then hid, you could say she was shy, but why would she hide from me? Unless—”
Chen Luobai finished his sentence: “Unless you know her too.”
Zhu Ran rubbed his chin: “I don’t know many girls at school, and I barely know any from other classes. Could it be someone from our class? When she gave you the stuff, didn’t she say anything? Did her voice sound familiar?”
“She did speak, but her voice was hoarse. She probably had a cold,” Chen Luobai put the items back in his pocket, “Forget it.”
Zhu Ran teased: “What, someone shows you a bit of kindness by giving you stuff, and you’re not even going to use it?”
“I don’t even know who she is, how can I use it?” Chen Luobai nodded towards the door, “I’m going to the pharmacy.”
Zhu Ran waved his hand: “Go, go, just remember to come back and pay the bill.”
“Get lost,” Chen Luobai laughed and cursed.
*
Zhou Anran went to her cousin’s house again this Saturday with her parents.
This time it wasn’t for anyone’s birthday in her cousin’s family. Her cousin had just returned from a business trip out of town and brought back a bunch of local ingredients, specifically inviting them over for a meal.
After lunch, Zhou Anran went to the supermarket with He Jiayi, her cousin, and Tuantuan.
As soon as the little girl entered the supermarket, she directly pulled Zhou Anran to the candy aisle.
Zhou Anran immediately spotted the soda-flavored candy from before.
Yan Xingqian had been feeling a bit down this past week, not quite used to being in the liberal arts class.
Zhou Anran hesitantly reached out her hand.
The incident of her secretly slipping candy into his desk had been mistaken as someone else’s mistake and wasn’t taken seriously by anyone. Such a small gesture without any romantic implications wasn’t even worthy of being gossip material and had long been forgotten by everyone.
Probably only she remembered it now.
Even if Chen Luobai and Zhu Ran had seen this type of candy back then, their impression of it would have faded by now.
Moreover, Yan Xingqian’s liberal arts class was on the sixth floor, four floors away from their current classroom.
Although he wasn’t exactly a rule-abiding good student, he did try to study hard most of the time. Any free time he had was spent playing basketball with Zhu Ran and the others. He generally wouldn’t wander to unfamiliar classes.
It should be safe now to buy this candy for Yan Xingqian again, right?
Zhou Anran reached out and took several packs.
He Jiayi noticed and asked curiously: “Why are you buying so much candy?”
“Qianqian likes to eat it,” Zhou Anran replied.
She also had a bit of a craving for it herself.
In the afternoon after returning home, Zhou Anran first went to Yan Xingqian’s house to deliver the candy. She ended up being kept by Song Qiu for dinner.
After dinner, Yan Xingqian directly brought her homework to Zhou Anran’s house and didn’t go back that night.
The rest of the holiday passed quickly.
When they returned to school on Monday, Zhou Anran thought about him standing alone on the playground in the wind last Friday night, and she couldn’t help but still feel a bit worried about him.
While memorizing English vocabulary, she kept part of her attention on the back of the classroom.
Soon, she heard him and Zhu Ran coming in from outside, laughing and talking.
Her current seat was much closer to them now. As long as they didn’t lower their voices, she could hear everything they said.
Zhu Ran seemed to suddenly remember something: “Oh right, is your hand okay now?”
“What could be wrong with it?” The boy’s tone was casual. “Just a bit of scraped skin.”
Zhu Ran sighed: “It’s just a shame about those two cotton swabs and two band-aids from the ghost girl’s sister. All that goodwill wasted.”
Two cotton swabs and two band-aids? It seemed to match exactly with what she had given him last Friday night. But what was this “ghost girl’s sister” nickname about?
Zhu Ran said all that goodwill was wasted, did that mean he didn’t use those things?
Zhou Anran’s fingertips tightened on her pen.
She felt a little sad, but not too much.
She could have guessed this would happen.
If she had stayed that day, acting naturally like a classmate who happened to pass by and help him, he might have used them.
But she had run away like a thief, and he probably didn’t even see her face. It was right for him not to use things from an unknown source.
“What ghost girl’s sister? What goodwill?” Tang Jianrui’s voice suddenly rang out, full of gossip.
“It’s just—” Zhu Ran started to reply.
Just then, the person in front was passing back homework. Zhou Anran took the opportunity to look back and caught sight of the boy elbowing Zhu Ran, his expression carrying a hint of warning.
Zhu Ran changed his words: “It’s nothing.”
Tang Jianrui had moved to the third group and probably didn’t notice his gesture. He didn’t believe Zhu Ran: “What do you mean nothing?”
Zhou Anran couldn’t keep looking back, so she turned around again.
Tang Jianrui’s voice was a bit louder, continuing to come through clearly: “Old Zhu, are you keeping secrets from me now? Has our father-son relationship changed?”
“Our father-son relationship will never change,” Zhu Ran said. “Dad will always love you. It’s your Luo-ge who has secrets with you.”
Tang Jianrui spoke in a tattling tone: “Luo-ge, he’s taking advantage of you.”
Zhou Anran didn’t hear him reply.
But the next second, Zhu Ran’s wail came through: “Chen Luobai, are you trying to strangle me?”
“Who’s whose dad?” The boy’s voice carried an obvious smile.
Zhu Ran: “Fine, you’re my dad, okay?”
His mood seemed to have improved again.
Zhou Anran quietly let out a breath, her suspended heart finally settling down.
But as one worry subsided, another suppressed concern surfaced.
That sentence he said after the final exam last semester, he just said it casually, without putting any thought into it, right?
It had been two or three days since school started, and her relationship with him seemed to be the same as last semester, without even the slightest interaction.
However, it could also be because his mood was affected.
Zhou Anran let out a small sigh in her heart, trying hard to suppress her wild thoughts and continue memorizing vocabulary.
*
The second period in the afternoon was PE class.
Zhang Shuxian happened to be on her period, so the teacher had given them some extra free time in advance. She looked listless and unable to muster any energy, finding a shady spot under a tree to sit down.
Zhou Anran sat down next to her, looking at her with concern: “Are you okay? If you’re not feeling well, why didn’t you ask the teacher for leave earlier?”
Zhang Shuxian shook her head: “I’m not feeling unwell, it’s just so hot and I’m thirsty. I want a drink.”
“What do you want to drink?” Zhou Anran asked her.
Zhang Shuxian pouted: “But I don’t want to move.”
“I can go buy it for you.”
Zhang Shuxian instantly hugged her arm: “Aww, Ran Ran, you’re too good! If I were a guy, I’d marry you. You’re beautiful and gentle.” She paused for a moment, her gaze dropping slightly lower: “And you have breasts.”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
Her face suddenly flushed red.
“Forget about the drink then.”
“No, no, drink, drink! Don’t be mad,” Zhang Shuxian shook her arm. “I want an ice-cold soda.”
Zhou Anran wasn’t angry with her: “Can you drink something cold?”
“Yes,” Zhang Shuxian nodded. “I often drink cold drinks at this time. It doesn’t affect me much.”
Zhou Anran nodded: “Alright, you wait here.”
At the small supermarket, Zhou Anran walked straight to the refrigerator. Just as she was about to open the door, a group of boys suddenly swarmed over. Tang Jianrui, who was at the front, pulled open both sides of the refrigerator doors, and then seven or eight hands reached in at once.
Zhou Anran was squeezed to the side by them.
In the end, she simply moved aside, planning to wait until they had all taken what they wanted before she went to get her drink.
At that moment, a very familiar voice suddenly sounded beside her.
“What are you drinking?”
Zhou Anran’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
When she saw Zhu Ran and Tang Jianrui come in, she wasn’t surprised that he would come too.
What surprised her was how close the voice sounded.
So close to that…
It seemed to come from right beside her.
As if he was talking to her.
Zhou Anran unconsciously turned her head toward the direction of the voice, and just like that afternoon after the final exam, she immediately found herself looking into a pair of smiling black eyes.
The boy was standing right next to her, leaning against the same refrigerator. He had just finished exercising, and his pale neck was covered in fine beads of sweat, yet his blue and white school uniform and smile were refreshingly clean.
The clash between his youthful air and pheromones created an extremely strong sense of contradiction, which, combined with his already superior looks, made it impossible to look away.
Zhou Anran froze on the spot.
The noise in the supermarket suddenly faded away, and she seemed to hear the cicadas chirping from that afternoon again.
Chen Luobai had seen her standing in front of the refrigerator from outside, looking like she wanted to reach out and open the door to get something, but was pushed back again and again by the group of boys from their class who suddenly rushed in. Finally, she retreated to the corner formed by the refrigerator and the wall.
She didn’t seem to say anything, just standing there quietly. Her figure, made to look even more slender by her loose school uniform and the boys next to her, gave off an obedient appearance that made one want to tease her.
Chen Luobai had asked that question on a whim when he came over, not expecting her to look so startled again.
They indeed weren’t close enough to treat each other to drinks.
But since he had already spoken, Chen Luobai couldn’t take it back.
“They’re making us treat them,” Chen Luobai pointed at the group of boys who had finished getting drinks and were now fighting over snacks. “One more person won’t make a difference. Take whatever you want to drink, I’ll pay for it all.”
Zhou Anran had been worrying this morning that he had long forgotten what he said last semester.
In the afternoon, she was suddenly hit by this huge, surprise. Her mind went blank, her heart rate increased, and she could only manage to reflexively answer: “No, no need.”
As soon as she said it, she realized what she had done.
Zhou Anran quickly lowered her head again.
On one hand, she felt somewhat regretful.
On the other hand, she was afraid her eyes might reveal something.
Fortunately, she had just been teased by Zhang Shuxian before coming to the supermarket, so her face was already red. At least she wouldn’t show any obvious signs.
Chen Luobai saw her lower her head and couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Was he really that scary? She didn’t even dare to look at him?
Chen Luobai straightened up and took a few steps forward.
The warm presence beside her suddenly disappeared, and Zhou Anran bit her lip in frustration.
What was she doing? She should have accepted!
Zhou Anran secretly raised her head and saw the boy stop in front of the refrigerator, open the door, and take out a bottle of cola.
Seeing that he seemed about to turn around, she quickly lowered her head again.
The feeling of regret kept building up layer by layer.
But suddenly, that can of cola held by slender fingers was offered in front of her. The boy’s voice sounded again, very low and close, right above her head.
“Is this okay?”
Was it… for her?
Zhou Anran suddenly raised her head again, no longer caring about revealing any signs.
Chen Luobai looked at her extremely surprised expression and couldn’t help but find it amusing.
How could she be so timid? Like some small animal that would have an obvious reaction when poked. Startled by everything.
It was quite fun.
Not sure if it was to test this hypothesis again, Chen Luobai spoke slowly: “Just consider it a bribe.”
Perhaps the dazed feeling of being hit by a surprise had passed. Zhou Anran’s heart was still racing, but she finally gained some control over her emotions. Her brain also started to work slowly, and she managed to calm down a bit: “What bribe?”
Her voice was so soft it was barely audible.
Chen Luobai put the cola in her hand.
Zhou Anran hurriedly took it, but the boy didn’t let go immediately. Instead, he moved a bit closer to her. He was still maintaining a safe distance, just lowering his head slightly.
But it was still too close.
They had never been this close before.
Well, not exactly never.
It’s just that before, she had always been secretly watching him from behind.
But now, he was standing right in front of her.
He was looking at her.
Zhou Anran could see her reflection in the boy’s black eyes.
Amidst her pounding heart, she saw Chen Luobai suddenly smile at her. The boy’s clear voice lowered slightly, almost like a whisper.
“Don’t tell the teacher about me teaching you how to skip class.”