What can I do to her?
Class 3 also had a physical education lesson during this period.
When free activities began, Yin Yizhen wanted to eat ice cream, so she asked Zong Kai to accompany her to the small supermarket. Due to the perfect angle, as soon as they reached the entrance, she saw the scene inside from afar.
Yin Yizhen’s face instantly turned pale.
She recognized the girl standing in front of Chen Luobai.
Before seeing her give Chen Luobai a band-aid last Friday, Yin Yizhen’s impression of her wasn’t particularly deep. She only knew that she was the girl sitting behind Lou Yiqi, named Zhou Anran, with decent grades, a quiet personality, and didn’t talk much. She didn’t hang out with the boys in the class and had never spoken to Chen Luobai before.
When Yin Yizhen accidentally saw her giving medicine to Chen Luobai last Friday, she only thought she was another girl with a secret crush on him and didn’t pay much attention to it.
But at this moment, the scene unfolding in the supermarket was clear to anyone with eyes as to who was the more proactive party.
Yin Yizhen’s fingers, hanging at her side, tightened. She found the scene inside particularly jarring. She averted her gaze and looked at Zong Kai, asking, “Does Chen Luobai like her?”
Zong Kai looked away, the words on the tip of his tongue swallowed back when he saw her pale face. “Luo is just handing her a drink, that’s all.”
“When has Chen Luobai ever voluntarily handed a drink to a girl? I ate lunch with you guys for an entire semester last term. Did you ever see him voluntarily hand me anything?” Yin Yizhen said, her eyes reddening involuntarily. “Can you ask him for me?”
Zong Kai’s fingertips curled slightly, somewhat wanting to comfort her and wipe her tears like when they were children, but ultimately he didn’t move. He lowered his eyes and said, “Yizhen, what exactly do you see me as?”
Yin Yizhen pursed her lips and looked away. “I see you as my brother. You’re the one who said you’d take care of me like a brother for life.”
Zong Kai closed his eyes for a moment. “But Luo doesn’t like you. Even if I ask, what difference will it make?”
“I can’t accept it,” Yin Yizhen said, lowering her head. Her mind was filled with the image of Chen Luobai smiling and leaning down to talk to the girl just now. “If he doesn’t have someone he likes, I want to keep pursuing him.”
“What if he does like that girl inside?” Zong Kai asked her.
“Then I don’t have a hobby of humiliating myself,” Yin Yizhen looked up at him again. “Help me one more time.”
*
Zhang Shuxian waited for a long time before Zhou Anran finally returned.
The girl sat down beside her and handed her a bottle of orange soda.
Zhang Shuxian didn’t even have time to say anything to her. She opened the cap and took a big gulp. The cold liquid mixed with bursting bubbles flowed down her esophagus, finally giving her a sense of coming back to life.
She capped the bottle and turned her head, intending to talk to Zhou Anran about the soda, but instead saw that her face was still bright red. “Anran, why is your face still so red? It can’t be that you’re still embarrassed after all this time, right?”
Zhou Anran: “…”
“It’s not that.”
She raised her hand to cover her cheeks. Her palm, which had touched the condensation on the cola can, felt ice-cold against her face. But when she thought about how that slender hand of his had also held this can of cola, the temperature on her face rose again.
The coolness in her palm did not affect lowering the temperature at all.
Zhou Anran put her hand down again. “It’s just too hot.”
September in Nancheng was almost no different from midsummer.
It was indeed unbearably hot.
Zhang Shuxian didn’t think much of it. “I’ll pay you back for the soda when we get back to the classroom.”
Zhou Anran shook her head. “No need to pay.”
“Alright then,” Zhang Shuxian, being straightforward, said, “I’ll treat you next time.”
“No need to treat me either. I didn’t pay for it,” Zhou Anran replied slowly, feeling the heat on her face rise again.
She was still a bit dazed, and could hardly remember how she had responded to him at the time.
Did she say “Don’t worry” or “I won’t”?
She only remembered that after hearing her response, Chen Luobai finally let go, and the full weight of the cola can fell into her hand.
The smile on the boy’s face was still evident, but his voice was no longer lowered.
“Alright, it’s a deal then,” he said.
Zhou Anran didn’t know how to respond.
He didn’t say anything more either, just turned and walked back to the refrigerator.
After the distance between them increased, Zhou Anran felt her mind clear again, and her heartbeat slowed down a bit. It was then that she remembered she had come to the supermarket to buy soda for Zhang Shuxian.
But he was still standing by the refrigerator.
That group of boys was still picking out things, and he probably wouldn’t leave for a while.
Zhou Anran had no choice but to muster up her courage and walk to the refrigerator again.
And to his side.
As if sensing her approach, the boy turned his head and glanced at her. “Want to drink something else?”
Zhou Anran’s heart started beating uncontrollably again. She shook her head slightly and replied in a small voice, “I need to get a soda for my classmate.”
Chen Luobai reached out and took another can of cola, making room for her in front of the refrigerator.
He leaned lazily against the edge of the refrigerator, opening the can with one hand. He tilted his head back and took a sip, his Adam’s apple bobbing a few times. Then he turned his head and smiled towards the cashier at the door, “Uncle Zhang, I’ll drink this cola first and pay you later, okay?”
He seemed quite familiar with the owner.
The owner responded with an “Okay.”
Zhou Anran quickly took out a bottle of soda and closed the refrigerator door.
He pointed at her with his empty hand, his gaze seeming to land on her face for a moment, or perhaps not. Zhou Anran didn’t dare to look at him, only hearing his voice still carrying a smile: “I’ll pay for the two bottles she’s holding as well.”
“You didn’t pay for it? Then who did?” Zhang Shuxian’s voice rang out.
Zhou Anran came back to her senses and hesitated for a moment. She didn’t hide it from her and softly said the name she had been keeping in her heart: “Chen Luobai paid for it.”
It probably couldn’t have been hidden anyway.
After he said that, Tang Jianrui and the others had already started making a commotion in the supermarket.
“Wait, what did I just hear?”
“What’s going on, Luo-ge?”
The boy still held the can of cola that matched hers, turned his head, and laughed while scolding, “What are you all making noise about? Buy your stuff. If you keep dawdling, you’ll have to pay for yourselves.”
Then he turned back to look at her, his tone still carrying a smile: “Do you need to buy anything else?”
Zhou Anran quickly shook her head, not daring to stay any longer or look at him more. She quickly left the supermarket.
Now she remembered…
It seemed she had forgotten to thank him again.
Zhang Shuxian was about to take another sip of soda, the cap half-opened letting out a bit of gas when she heard her answer. She was stunned for two seconds before asking in surprise: “Who, Chen—”
Her voice suddenly got louder, and Zhou Anran quickly interrupted her: “Lower your voice.”
Zhang Shuxian’s face was still full of shock, but her voice obediently lowered: “Who did you just say paid? Chen Luobai? Did I hear that right?”
Zhou Anran shook her head.
Zhang Shuxian pressed on: “What’s going on? Why did Chen Luobai suddenly pay for you?”
Zhou Anran opened her mouth, not knowing how to explain to her.
She hadn’t figured out what was going on herself.
The incident of being caught crying alone on the rooftop last semester still felt too embarrassing to think about, and she didn’t want anyone else to know.
“It’s just—” Zhou Anran omitted the “bribe” part and simply said, “When I went to buy soda, he happened to be treating a bunch of boys from our class to snacks, and he just helped pay for mine along with theirs.”
Zhang Shuxian still hadn’t quite recovered: “Just like that?”
“What else could it be?” Zhou Anran replied softly, not knowing if she was asking her or herself.
Zhang Shuxian thought for a moment: “I guess so. I’ve heard those boys say he seems to like treating people often, always treating a large group. Even Dong Chen and the others, who aren’t close to him, have been treated by him before. And you’ve hardly ever spoken to him, right?”
Zhou Anran’s eyelashes lowered.
Yes.
They had barely exchanged a few words.
He smiled at the supermarket owner in the same way.
He seemed even more familiar with the supermarket owner than with her.
It probably couldn’t mean anything else.
*
After leaving the small supermarket, with snacks and drinks in hand, the “pay for yourself” warning no longer had any effect. Tang Jianrui and his group of boys gathered around Chen Luobai again.
“Luo-ge, do you have something going on? Why did you suddenly treat that girl to a drink?” Tang Jianrui put his hand on Chen Luobai’s shoulder, his tone full of gossip.
The others also chimed in.
“Did you guys see who it was? Luo-ge was blocking the view, I didn’t see her face.”
“It was Zhou Anran, right? A girl from our class, quite pretty.”
“Pretty? I don’t have much impression of her.”
“She’s probably too low-key. I just remember her grades are pretty good.”
“Come on, don’t you guys have any sense? The girl Luo-ge has his eye on, and you’re discussing whether she’s pretty or not in front of him? She might soon be your sister-in-law.”
Chen Luobai knew these guys would react like this. He shrugged off Tang Jianrui’s hand and laughed: “What nonsense are you talking about? How did it become someone I have my eye on?”
“If you don’t have your eye on her, why would you treat a girl to a drink for no reason?” Tang Jianrui winked at him.
“It’s just—” Chen Luobai paused.
That day when she was secretly crying alone on the rooftop, she probably didn’t want anyone else to know. He had accidentally stumbled upon it, and even mentioning it once to Zhu Ran last semester was already too much. It wouldn’t be appropriate to tell this whole group of people now.
“Hush money.”
Tang Jianrui was stunned: “What hush money?”
“I was talking about skipping class before, and she accidentally overheard,” Chen Luobai casually made up a similar reason. “Today I just happened to run into her buying something, so I helped pay for her stuff too, asking her not to tell Teacher Gao.”
Tang Jianrui looked disappointed: “Just that?”
Chen Luobai glanced at him, his eyebrows slightly raised: “What else could it be?”
Tang Jianrui thought back: “I guess you’re right. I’ve never even seen you talk to her before.”
The others probably had similar thoughts.
The crowd swarming around him dispersed again, each starting to chat about other topics like basketball and games.
Maybe because he had just heard a soft, pleasant voice, Chen Luobai suddenly felt these people were really noisy.
He slowed his pace, gradually falling to the back of the group.
Zhu Ran also stayed behind with him. He hadn’t spoken up until now, and only now did he elbow him: “Tell me, what’s going on? You might fool them, but you can’t fool me.”
Chen Luobai was still holding that can of cola, his tone casual: “Didn’t I tell you last semester? The day before the final exams, I caught her crying on the rooftop. It seemed to be because of academic pressure. I didn’t know how to comfort her, so I just suggested she skip a class to relax.”
“And then?” Zhu Ran pressed.
“Then—” Chen Luobai paused again, the image of the girl lowering her head and crying in front of him that day floating in his mind.
It was quite strange.
Even though more than two months had passed.
He could still clearly recall her appearance at that time, her eyes rimmed red, tears falling in big drops.
Maybe it was because she was indeed pretty, making her look particularly pitiful.
“Then she cried even harder.”
Zhu Ran stopped in his tracks, looking at him suspiciously: “Did you do something else at that time?”
Chen Luobai looked at him amusingly: “What could I do to her?”
“Then why did she cry even harder the more you comforted her?” Zhu Ran didn’t believe him.
Chen Luobai also stopped, he hadn’t figured it out even now: “How would I know? Maybe she’s timid, a good student, scared by the suggestion of skipping class?”
Zhu Ran still trusted his character.
If Chen Luobai was the type to take advantage of girls, even if he was a scoundrel, with his face alone, he probably could have had girlfriends circling Fujian Middle School by now.
Zhu Ran’s only impression of Zhou Anran was indeed just a “good student,” and after thinking about it, he felt this reason seemed plausible: “So you treating her to a drink was hush money? Did she agree?”
Chen Luobai squeezed the cola can in his hand, recalling the girl’s slender white fingers gripping the can, her long, curled eyelashes trembling slightly, and her voice that was so light it seemed to float.
“I won’t.”
He suddenly smiled.
“I guess she agreed.”