This time, on Saturday, Zhou Anran woke up early at 6 AM.
Since Yan Xingqian and Sheng Xiaowen were coming today, she didn’t plan to go to the library. Instead, she took her laptop and went to a 24-hour cafe on campus for breakfast, finishing up the assignment she had nearly completed yesterday.
By the time she finished, it was just past 8 AM.
Zhou Anran sent a message in the dormitory group chat: [I’m at the cafe, planning to head back to the dorm now. Do you want me to bring breakfast?]
After sending it, she waited a bit.
Xie Jingyi replied first: [Yes]
Xie Jingyi: [But why didn’t you go to the library today, and why are you suddenly coming back to the dorm?]
Zhou Anran: [Two of my best friends are coming to visit]
Zhou Anran: [I’m going out to meet them later]
Bai Lingyun also replied: [I want some too]
Bai Lingyun: [Thanks, Anran baby]
Zhou Anran ordered for them at the cafe, then chatted briefly with Yan Xingqian and Sheng Xiaowen who had already set out. When the food was ready, she carried it all back to the dorm.
Bai Lingyun was already up and washing up, while Xie Jingyi was still in bed. Hearing the noise, she poked her messy head out from under the covers, her voice still groggy with sleep.
“You’re back so soon?”
Zhou Anran placed their food on their respective desks: “It wasn’t busy at this hour.”
“Okay,” Xie Jingyi yawned, “I’ll get up now.”
Zhou Anran packed away her books and laptop, then shouldered her bag. She waved to Xie Jingyi, who was now sitting up in bed looking dazed: “I’m going out to meet my friends. I probably won’t be eating lunch or dinner with you guys today.”
Xie Jingyi flopped back onto the bed: “Okay, I’ll sleep for ten more minutes.”
Leaving the dorm, Zhou Anran headed towards the campus exit.
As she was approaching the outdoor basketball court, someone suddenly blocked her path.
“Junior, we meet again.” An unfamiliar, smiling voice.
Zhou Anran looked up to see an unfamiliar male student standing in front of her. He was quite tall, probably almost as tall as Chen Luobai.
Perhaps her confusion showed on her face, as the other party voluntarily explained: “Don’t remember me? We’ve met once before, during the club recruitment. I handed you the basketball club’s application form.”
Zhou Anran vaguely recalled now.
This might be the somewhat player-ish basketball club president Xie Jingyi had mentioned.
But this vague recollection made little difference; she hadn’t even noticed his appearance at the time.
Zhou Anran didn’t know why he had stopped her and didn’t particularly want to know. As she was thinking of how to extricate herself, a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, and a fresh scent enveloped her from the side.
It was so familiar that she didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
Zhou Anran’s body stiffened slightly.
Chen Luobai’s lazy voice sounded near her ear: “Senior Du.”
Du Yizhou looked down at his intimate and possessive gesture, then at the girl who was lowering her head and blushing but showing no sign of avoiding it. He immediately understood: “Your girl?”
Chen Luobai turned his head slightly to look at the girl beside him who was lowering her head and not looking at him: “Not yet.”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
What did he mean by “not yet”?
Du Yizhou caught the hidden meaning in his words.
“I see,” Du Yizhou stepped back, “A gentleman doesn’t covet what others desire. I won’t disturb you then but don’t be too quick to refuse what I mentioned. Think about it some more.”
As soon as Du Yizhou left, Chen Luobai immediately released his hand.
Zhou Anran’s stiff and slightly sore shoulder relaxed. She finally dared to look up at him: “Why are you here?”
Chen Luobai was dressed all in black again, his jacket zipped up to the top. Hearing her question, he jerked his chin towards the basketball court: “Came to practice, didn’t expect to run into you being hit on.”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
“Quite popular, aren’t you?” The young man turned to stand in front of her, his dark eyes gazing at her as he lowered his voice and asked teasingly.
Zhou Anran: “…”
Compared to him, how could this be considered popular?
Moreover—
She explained softly: “He wasn’t hitting on me, just saying hello. I don’t even know him.”
“You shouldn’t,” Chen Luobai glanced towards the direction Du Yizhou had gone in the basketball court, his tone becoming serious, “Stay away from him in the future. He changes girlfriends faster than flipping pages in a book.”
Zhou Anran indeed didn’t want any involvement with such a person, so she obediently nodded. Then, remembering what Du Yizhou had said to him before leaving, which sounded like he and Du Yizhou had some connection, she asked: “What did he want you to consider?”
Chen Luobai: “He wants me to play in CUBA.”
Zhou Anran blinked, feeling it was somewhat expected.
With his basketball skills, it would be strange if the school team didn’t try to recruit him.
“The first division?” she asked.
Chen Luobai raised an eyebrow slightly, suddenly leaning closer to her, his lips curving: “You have that much confidence in me?”
The young man’s sudden closeness made his fresh scent suddenly seem overwhelmingly invasive. Zhou Anran unconsciously held her breath again.
Because he liked basketball, she had also learned a bit about various domestic basketball competitions.
She had watched quite a bit of CBA with Zhou Xianhong and also knew the basics of NBL and CUBA.
CUBA was the college basketball league, divided into three divisions. The first division was generally for specially recruited high-level professional athletes, though ordinary students could participate if they reached a professional standard. The second division was for regular undergraduates, and the third was for vocational college students.
Hearing his suddenly ambiguous tone, the tips of Zhou Anran’s ears heated up again. She avoided his question: “So is it the second division?”
Chen Luobai made an affirmative sound: “They say if I play well, there’s a chance to play in the first division.”
“You didn’t agree?” Zhou Anran asked him.
“Where’s the time? I’m busy with studies, and also busy—” Chen Luobai paused, his gaze falling on her conspicuously red ear lobes, “pursuing someone.”
For a moment, Zhou Anran almost thought she had misheard.
Although last Sunday, when he asked her to look at those song lyrics, there was already a slight hint of wanting to make things clear, that still had the song lyrics as a cover, and it was just chatting on WeChat. It was completely different from standing in front of him now, hearing him say he was “pursuing someone” with her ears.
Although he said “pursuing someone” and hadn’t explicitly said he was pursuing her, Zhou Anran still felt it was unreal. It was like there were even more fireworks than that night, chaotically exploding in her heart, dazzling her mind into a momentary blank.
The phone in her hand suddenly rang twice.
Zhou Anran was startled, almost losing her grip on the phone.
In the next moment, a large hand steadily grasped both her hand and the phone together.
Zhou Anran’s heart suddenly trembled.
The young man’s hand was large, almost completely enveloping her hand. His skin looked cool and pale, but his palm seemed to be burning hot.
He seemed to lean in a bit closer again, his voice tinged with laughter, his hot breath brushing against her ear.
“What are you panicking about?”
Zhou Anran’s ear quivered.
He had always been very measured.
Last Saturday when she had jumped into his arms, he had only steadily held her waist through her clothes, his hands not moving an inch. Except for that time in the escape room when his fingertips accidentally touched her forehead and nose while covering her eyes, he had only truly touched her twice.
Once was last Saturday when he had very lightly touched her face with the back of his hand.
The second time was now.
This time involved some unexpected factors.
The phone suddenly rang twice again.
Zhou Anran came back to her senses, still lowering her head, not daring to look at him: “I’m not panicking, I’ve got a firm grip on my phone now, you can let go.”
Chen Luobai saw her face turn completely red again, her eyelashes trembling heavily in panic, looking both obedient and easy to bully. He felt like some uncontrollable mischievous factor was bubbling up inside him again.
“In such a hurry to check, whose message is it, He Mingyu’s?”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
Why did he suddenly bring up He Mingyu?
“No, it’s probably a message from Qianqian and Xiaowen. They’re coming to visit me today and should be arriving soon.”
“Really?” Chen Luobai asked in a low voice.
Zhou Anran nodded: “Really.”
“…”
After waiting for two seconds.
The phone rang again, but her hand was still tightly held in his, not released.
Zhou Anran felt like her face was about to burn up. She bit her lip and said very softly: “I need to go meet them.”
Chen Luobai looked at her still heavily trembling eyelashes: “Then look at me first.”
Zhou Anran: “…”
Why did he love to tease her so much?
Zhou Anran slowly raised her head, her gaze instantly colliding with the young man’s dark, smiling eyes. Her heart fluttered again.
But he still didn’t let go of her hand.
“With the two of them coming, will you still come to watch me play basketball this afternoon?” Chen Luobai asked, looking down at her.
Zhou Anran nodded: “They’ll come with me.”
“The game starts at 3:30,” Chen Luobai’s fingertips itched slightly, but in the end, he resisted doing anything else and slowly released her hand. “Will you come to the gym a bit early?”
Zhou Anran withdrew her hand, feeling the back of it was still hot. She nodded at him very lightly.
*
As soon as she left the campus gate, Zhou Anran saw Sheng Xiaowen already waiting at the entrance.
She quickly jogged over.
Sheng Xiaowen linked arms with her: “Didn’t you say you were almost at the gate five minutes ago? Why did it take so long for you to come out?”
Zhou Anran felt her ears and the hand he had held were still burning: “I ran into Chen Luobai.”
“I thought so,” Sheng Xiaowen turned her head to examine her. “Why is your face so red? What did he do to you?”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
“Nothing, we just talked for a bit.”
“Just talked for a bit and your face is this red.” Sheng Xiaowen winked at her ambiguously. “What are you going to do in the future?”
??
What did she mean by what to do in the future?
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Zhou Anran’s face reddened even more as she pulled her friend along. “Didn’t you say you hadn’t eaten breakfast? Let me take you to get some food first.”
Since Yan Xingqian hadn’t arrived yet, Zhou Anran didn’t go back to school, to avoid having to come out again later. She took Sheng Xiaowen to a cafe off-campus.
They had just sat down after ordering when her phone rang twice.
“Is it Qianqian?” Sheng Xiaowen leaned over.
Zhou Anran picked up her phone: “Let me check.”
After unlocking the screen, Zhou Anran saw that Xie Jingyi had sent her two WeChat messages.
Xie Jingyi: [Anran baby]
Xie Jingyi: [Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?]
Zhou Anran looked confused: [Explain what?]
Xie Jingyi: [I just woke up from my nap and received a message saying that our campus heartthrob Chen was kissing, hugging, and holding hands with a pretty girl outside the basketball court this morning]
Zhou Anran: “…?”
What kissing, hugging, and holding hands?
Though she had been so focused on him earlier that she hadn’t noticed if anyone had passed by or if anyone at the basketball court had been looking their way.
Xie Jingyi: [I immediately woke up completely]
Xie Jingyi: [The person who messaged me even sent a photo]
Xie Jingyi: [Guess who I saw?]
Zhou Anran opened the photo Xie Jingyi had sent.
The tall young man was standing in front of her, leaning slightly towards her ear. It was probably taken when he was saying “What are you panicking about?” to her. But due the angle of the shot, created a bit of a perspective difference, making it look like he had almost kissed her ear.
In reality, there was still a bit of distance between them.
Zhou Anran stared at the photo, her face quickly heating up again.
Her phone rang again.
Xie Jingyi: [Although we can only see the side of this girl’s face]
Xie Jingyi: [But who else would I have been eating and living with for almost two months?]
Xie Jingyi: [Right?]
Xie Jingyi: [Zhou Anran, or should I say, our campus heartthrob’s rumored girlfriend?]
Zhou Anran: “…”
Zhou Anran: [It’s just the camera angle. He was just talking to me at that moment, there was no… you know]
Xie Jingyi: [No kissing, or no hugging, or no hand-holding?]
Zhou Anran’s face grew hotter: [No kissing]
Xie Jingyi: [So you did hug and hold hands, right?]
Zhou Anran: […Not really?]
Zhou Anran: [It’s just that when that basketball club president you said was a player was trying to talk to me, he put his hand on my shoulder for a moment, and then when my phone almost fell, he helped catch it]
Xie Jingyi: [So, you’re trying to tell me]
Xie Jingyi: [That you two are still in a pure and ordinary high school classmate relationship?]
Zhou Anran: “…”
Her roommates were indeed very nice, and she didn’t want to keep things from them.
Zhou Anran: [Maybe it’s not that ordinary?]
Zhou Anran: [I’m not sure myself]
Zhou Anran: [So I didn’t want to tell you guys]
Zhou Anran: [Pitiful.jpg]
Xie Jingyi: [I knew it!]
Xie Jingyi: [What ordinary high school classmate would treat you to meals and always insist on dropping you off at the dorm entrance?!]
Xie Jingyi: [It’s all because of your deceptively innocent face]
Xie Jingyi: [I’d believe anything you say]
Zhou Anran: [I was wrong]
Zhou Anran: [I’ll bring you milk tea later]
Xie Jingyi: [That’s more like it]
Xie Jingyi: [But let me remind you]
Xie Jingyi: [This not-so-platonic classmate of yours is Chen Luobai, you know how much attention he gets better than I do. Even if I don’t say anything, Lingyun will probably know about this rumor within a day, and Xinyue, who doesn’t care much for gossip, will know by Monday at the latest]
Zhou Anran: [I’ll bring some for everyone]
Zhou Anran: [You can tell them about it]
After placating Xie Jingyi, Zhou Anran let out a small sigh of relief.
Immediately, Sheng Xiaowen’s cool voice sounded in her ear: “So this is what you meant by ‘just exchanged a few words with him.’ What kind of conversation requires holding hands?”
Zhou Anran: “…”
At that moment, Yan Xingqian had just come in from outside.
Zhou Anran turned her head briefly, and her phone was snatched away by Sheng Xiaowen.
Sheng Xiaowen waved at Yan Xingqian: “Qianqian, come quick, I’ve got something good to show you.”
“What good thing?” Yan Xingqian hurried over and sat down.
Sheng Xiaowen: “Someone was caught publicly hugging and embracing you-know-who.”
Zhou Anran: “…”
Because of her chance encounter with him this morning, she had spent almost the entire morning explaining this incident to people. Even Yu Xinyue, who usually wasn’t interested in gossip, had sent a message to inquire.
After lunch, Zhou Anran went out and booked a hotel room.
After taking a nap together in the room, Zhou Anran and her two good friends got up and set off for the gymnasium.
As soon as they left the hotel, Zhou Anran received a WeChat message from Chen Luobai.
C: [When are you coming?]
Zhou Anran: [We’ve set off]
Zhou Anran: [But we’re leaving from a hotel off-campus, so it might take some time to walk over. We should arrive around 3:10]
C: [I should be warming up by then]
C: [I’ll have someone come out to meet you]
Zhou Anran: [Okay]
“Who’s messaging you?” Yan Xingqian casually asked.
Zhou Anran: “Chen Luobai, he’s asking when we’ll get there.”
“He’s just asking when you’ll get there, right?” Yan Xingqian teasingly exposed her. “We’re not important.”
Zhou Anran’s face warmed slightly.
“I thought someone else was messaging you to gossip,” Sheng Xiaowen chimed in.
Zhou Anran shook her head: “No, it’s not that.”
Sheng Xiaowen also smiled: “Well, you might as well get used to it early.”
“Get used to what?” Zhou Anran didn’t immediately understand.
Sheng Xiaowen: “Your current ambiguous relationship is with Chen Luobai, you should know better than us how much attention he gets. Back in high school, everyone knew him. You’ve only been in university for a short while, and even if not everyone knows him now, I estimate at least half do. Have you thought about what it’ll be like if you start dating him? It won’t just be us and your roommates asking you questions then. Your classmates, our high school classmates, and maybe even your middle school classmates might come to you for gossip.”
Sheng Xiaowen looked at her slightly dazed expression: “You haven’t thought about it?”
Zhou Anran continued to shake her head: “Really, I haven’t.”
Just last week, she still thought it was impossible for him to like her. It was something she didn’t even dare to imagine.
How could she have thought so far ahead?
“Then why did he invite you to watch his game? You didn’t think about that either?” Sheng Xiaowen asked.
Zhou Anran: “…”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You should know how many people will come to watch his game, right? By agreeing to come watch, you’ve agreed to move from a private ambiguous state to a public one, maybe even further.” Sheng Xiaowen pinched her cheek. “You agreed without even thinking this through?”
Zhou Anran: “…”
Last Saturday when he asked if she wanted to come watch his game, she was in his arms and couldn’t think straight. The next day, when he showed her those lyrics from “Unconditional,” she was even less focused on the game.
“Alright then.” Sheng Xiaowen sighed. “We still have some way to go before we get there. You can mentally prepare yourself for being in the spotlight.”
Before Zhou Anran could fully prepare herself mentally, she received another message from Xie Jingyi in the group chat.
Xie Jingyi: [Lingyun, Xinyue, and I have set off too]
Zhou Anran: [?]
Zhou Anran: [Didn’t Lingyun and Xinyue say they weren’t coming?]
Xie Jingyi: [That was before]
Xie Jingyi: [After all, it’s the first game, and the Law School is playing against the Foreign Languages Department. Apart from Chen Luobai’s face, the game probably won’t be much to watch]
Xie Jingyi: [But now it’s different]
Bai Lingyun: [That’s right, hehe, we’re coming to observe Chen Luobai and his rumored girlfriend]
Zhou Anran: “…”
*
At the entrance of the gymnasium, Zhou Anran saw a tall, thin young man approaching them: “Chen Luobai asked me to bring you in.”
Zhou Anran vaguely remembered him.
He should be Chen Luobai’s roommate who came to pick up takeout the first time Chen Luobai treated her to a late-night snack.
The young man was still not talkative. He led them to three empty seats at the front edge of the stands before finally speaking again: “He said to call him if you need anything.”
There were still twenty minutes before the game, but the front rows of the stands were already full.
If Chen Luobai hadn’t reserved seats for them in advance, Zhou Anran guessed they would have had to sit far back in the stands.
“Okay,” Zhou Anran responded.
The young man nodded at her, didn’t say anything else, and turned to leave through the internal passage next to them.
Sheng Xiaowen’s gaze followed him: “Who was that guy?”
Zhou Anran: “Probably Chen Luobai’s roommate. Why?”
Sheng Xiaowen looked back at the passage he had left through: “His face and demeanor are just my type. Can you ask Chen Luobai for his WeChat for me?”
“?”
“Are you sure?” Zhou Anran blinked. “You didn’t even speak to him just now.”
“I’m not entirely sure, that’s why I want to get his WeChat and get to know him a bit.” Sheng Xiaowen hugged her arm. “Will you help or not?”
Zhou Anran was still a bit surprised.
But thinking about it, she felt it was quite normal.
If she had been bold enough on the first day of high school registration, she probably would have wanted to ask for Chen Luobai’s contact information too.
“I’ll ask him for you later.”
“Thanks~”
Zhou Anran turned her gaze to the court.
The players from both teams were occupying half of the court each, warming up and practicing. The Law School team was wearing black jerseys, and most of them had their backs to where the girls were sitting.
But just like countless times before, she didn’t need to try hard to identify him. She could spot him in the crowd at a glance.
The young man was wearing black compression tights under his black basketball shorts. As the temperature in Beicheng was a bit low today, he also had on a black long-sleeved shirt. Due to his height and long legs, his proportions were excellent, making his back view stand out in the crowd.
Perhaps sensing something, Chen Luobai, who had just finished shooting a three-pointer, suddenly turned his head, his gaze falling accurately in her direction.
As their eyes met across the distance, Zhou Anran’s heart skipped a beat.
Someone nearby might have called out to him, as the young man smiled at her before turning back and continuing to practice his three-pointers.
His shooting form was good today. Out of ten consecutive three-pointers he shot, seven were beautiful swishes through the net.
Each time a ball went in, cheers erupted from behind.
The game hadn’t even started, and there were already girls cheering for him.
As the game was about to begin, players from both sides stopped warming up and walked back to the sidelines.
Of course, the official A University internal basketball tournament wasn’t as rudimentary as the self-organized game from their high school days. Both sides had rest chairs set up for the players on the sidelines.
The Law School’s chairs were right in front of where the three girls were sitting.
Just over a meter away.
Sheng Xiaowen nudged her arm and whispered, “He’ll probably come over to talk to you, right?”
Zhou Anran wasn’t sure: “I don’t know.”
Zhou Anran watched as the young man walked over, laughing and joking with his teammates. As the distance decreased, she inexplicably became more and more nervous.
Then she saw him stop at… their sideline rest chairs.
Zhou Anran’s suspended heart settled, she let out a breath but also felt a bit disappointed.
She pursed her lips, watching as the young man standing in front of the chairs suddenly began to…
Take off his clothes?
His long, slender hands rolled up the hem of his long-sleeved shirt and pulled it up.
The sound of cheers behind them seemed to surge.
Sheng Xiaowen covered her ears: “He’s still wearing a jersey underneath, nothing’s showing, what’s there to cheer about?”
“Exactly, not even abs are showing,” Yan Xingqian leaned over, resting her hand on Sheng Xiaowen’s leg, and asked in a low voice, “Anran, does Chen Luobai have abs?”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
Her face heated up: “How would I know?”
“He’s coming over,” Sheng Xiaowen suddenly said.
Zhou Anran looked up to see him walking directly towards her, holding his phone in one hand and the long-sleeved shirt and a baseball jacket he had just taken off in the other.
Her heart quickly rose again.
This time, the young man didn’t hesitate. He walked straight up to her and casually stuffed the two pieces of clothing into her arms.
Zhou Anran felt countless gazes suddenly fall on her from behind.
The Law School players in front also looked over at them with smiles, one of them even teasing loudly: “Chen Luobai, that’s going too far! There are chairs for you to put your clothes on, but you insist on stuffing them into the young lady’s arms. What’s that supposed to mean?”
Chen Luobai turned back, his tone also playful: “Jealous?”
“Yeah, I’m crying with jealousy.”
Chen Luobai’s tone was particularly provocative: “Then keep being jealous.”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
The teammate who had teased him was amused by his cocky attitude, laughing as he cursed: “Fuck off.”
Chen Luobai ignored him, turning back with the smile from joking with his friend still on his face, his tone casual: “Can you help me with something?”
He was standing quite close, and a familiar fresh scent lingered around Zhou Anran’s nose. She couldn’t tell if it was coming from him or his clothes in her arms.
Her breathing became a bit labored again as she asked under the gaze of those behind her: “Help you hold your clothes?”
“No,” Chen Luobai lowered his eyes to unlock his phone, opened an app, and then casually placed it in her small hand that was resting on his clothes.
“I’ve opened the camera for you. Can you keep an eye on the fouls during the game?”
Zhou Anran was stunned.
She lowered her head to see that the phone in her hand was on the video recording interface. After the young man had placed the phone in her hand, he didn’t move his hand away. His long fingers were very close to her fingertips, yet it seemed as if he was controlling himself not to touch her.
His breath suddenly came closer.
Zhou Anran looked up to see the young man’s other hand suddenly resting on the armrest of her seat, almost in a posture of half-trapping her in his arms.
There seemed to be some commotion behind her.
She couldn’t hear what others were saying anymore.
Because Chen Luobai’s voice was almost at her ear: “Charging the person instead of the ball is a personal foul. You remember the rules you taught Yan Xingqian, right?”
Zhou Anran’s fingers suddenly tightened on his phone, her fingertips accidentally touching his fingers.
It was as if something that had been restrained was suddenly broken at this moment, just like this morning. Once again, the young man firmly grasped both the phone and her hand together.
Having just finished playing basketball, his palm was even hotter than in the morning.
Zhou Anran felt as if her heart had been scalded.
The lights in the gymnasium were particularly bright, making the young man’s dark eyes, as he looked at her, full of scattered light. He was looking down at her from such a close distance.
Then Zhou Anran heard him say—
“Zhou Anran, this time, are you willing to protect me yourself?”