“I’m all yours now.”
“I’ve been thinking about you for a long time…”
How long exactly?
Zhou Anran stared blankly at this social media post.
She realized she had never really thought about when exactly he started liking her.
At first, she didn’t dare to think he liked her at all. Later, as his feelings became more obvious, she found it increasingly difficult to resist, to the point where she had no mental energy left to ponder this question.
But looking back now, it seemed his attitude towards her was a bit special from the night they reunited.
He took the initiative to ask for her WeChat, then her class schedule, asked for her help, and immediately the next evening invited her for a late-night snack and walked her back to the dorm…
Step by step, he was always the one taking the initiative.
Zhou Anran returned to the main interface, feeling a bit tempted to ask him, but first received a message from Zhu Ran.
Since adding her, Zhu Ran had never chatted with her before. This was the first time he sent her a message.
Zhu Ran: [Zhou Anran, can I add you to a group?]
Zhou Anran: [What kind of group?]
Zhu Ran: [Just some of our old high school classmates]
Zhu Ran: [They want to say hi and catch up with you]
Zhu Ran: [Is that okay?]
Zhu Ran’s friends were likely his friends too.
Zhou Anran didn’t refuse: [Sure]
After agreeing, she was immediately added to the group by Zhu Ran. Zhou Anran heard her phone ding once.
She returned to the main interface again and saw a new group chat at the top, with the first message sent by Zhu Ran.
Zhu Ran: [I’ve added her]
The new group hadn’t turned off message notifications yet. Just as Zhou Anran finished reading this message, her phone suddenly started vibrating frantically, one buzz after another, as messages in the new group chat popped up one after another.
With unfamiliar avatars but familiar names, the content was remarkably consistent—
Tang Jianrui: [Hello, sister-in-law]
Huang Shujie: [Hello, sister-in-law]
Shao Zilin: [Hello, sister-in-law]
Bao Kun: [Hello, sister-in-law]
…
Zhou Anran: “…?”
Chen Luobai’s avatar appeared following this string of messages.
C: [What’s wrong with you guys]
C: [Don’t scare her]
Somehow, Zhou Anran could easily imagine his voice and expression as he laughingly scolded them with these two sentences.
She stared at this list of names in a daze.
They were all his best friends from high school, the group of boys who often played basketball with him on the court.
Her nose inexplicably started to tingle.
Back then, when she passed by the basketball court countless times, secretly watching him play with his friends, she never imagined that one day she would be pulled into his circle of friends, playfully called “sister-in-law” by this group of his friends.
Zhu Ran: [Look at that]
Zhu Ran: [Someone’s being so protective]
C: [Finally managed to win her over]
C: [If I don’t protect her well and she runs away, could you make up for it?]
Tang Jianrui: [No way, no way]
Tang Jianrui: [All of us combined aren’t worth one of sister-in-law’s fingers]
Chen Luobai sent a voice message.
Zhou Anran played it, holding it to her ear, and heard his voice tinged with laughter: [Get lost]
It was the same tone she had secretly heard countless times in high school when he laughingly scolded them.
C: [Don’t mind them]
Zhou Anran blinked.
This was directed at her, right?
Huang Shujie: [Don’t be like that]
Huang Shujie: [We were classmates with sister-in-law for over a year after all]
Huang Shujie: [We can at least chat and catch up, right?]
Huang Shujie: [Sister-in-law @Zhou Anran]
Huang Shujie: [When you’re on break, why don’t you come to hang out with us together with Luo Ge?]
C: [Want to go?]
Tang Jianrui: [Luo Ge, you didn’t even use a subject]
Tang Jianrui: [We don’t know who you’re asking]
Shao Zilin: [It can’t possibly be asking you, so don’t flatter yourself]
Zhu Ran: [Alright, alright]
Zhu Ran: [If you guys keep teasing Zhou Anran, someone might force me to disband the group]
Zhu Ran: [Why don’t you reply to him? @Zhou Anran]
Zhou Anran touched her ear.
Zhou Anran: [I’ll go if I’m free then]
…
After finishing the chat here, Zhou Anran returned to the main interface and realized that Zhang Shuxian had @’ed her in their four-person small group not long ago.
Perhaps because of the dense messages just now causing her phone to vibrate frequently, she hadn’t noticed.
Zhang Shuxian: [Chen Luobai went public on his Moments? @Zhou Anran]
Yan Xingqian: [What? Chen Luobai went public, how did he go public? How do you know??]
Zhang Shuxian posted a screenshot of Chen Luobai’s Moments post in the group.
Zhang Shuxian: [What misunderstanding do you have about him, he’s practically treated like a male celebrity at our school]
Zhang Shuxian: [As soon as Zhu Ran posted that Moments, several of my high school groups were in an uproar]
Zhang Shuxian: [Some people were even sarcastically guessing what methods Ran Ran used to win over Chen Luobai]
Zhang Shuxian: [I was about to retort, but someone beat me to it by posting his Moments, and then those people collectively shut up]
Zhang Shuxian: [It felt so good hahahahaha]
Zhang Shuxian: [I even suspect Chen Luobai might have done it on purpose]
Sheng Xiaowen: [Be confident]
Sheng Xiaowen: [Remove the “might have”]
Sheng Xiaowen: [Chen Luobai is so smart, he definitely knows what kind of discussions his relationship with Ran Ran would cause]
Sheng Xiaowen: [If he just wanted to go public or show off their relationship, he could have used a more lovey-dovey caption]
Sheng Xiaowen: [Do you remember what he said when he first joined our gathering group?]
Yan Xingqian: [What?]
Zhang Shuxian: [I remember, I remember]
Zhang Shuxian: [I think it was “Don’t look for her, just ask me directly if you want to know anything”]
Sheng Xiaowen: [This Moments post probably has a similar meaning]
Sheng Xiaowen: [—”Stop guessing about her, I’m the one who took the initiative”]
Sheng Xiaowen: [Just for how protective he is of Ran Ran, I approve of this marriage]
Yan Xingqian: [Hmph]
Yan Xingqian: [I reluctantly agree]
Yan Xingqian: [We’ll see how he performs later]
Zhou Anran was slightly dazed.
Her mood had been light and chaotic all evening, and her focus just now was on his words “I’ve been thinking about you for a long time.” Now, seeing Sheng Xiaowen’s analysis in the group, she belatedly realized the protective intent behind his Moments post.
It felt like a part of her heart had softly collapsed.
At that moment, her phone suddenly rang again.
Zhou Anran exited and saw that Yu Bingqin had sent her a message.
Yu Bingqin: [You’re together with him?]
No names were mentioned.
But they both knew who she meant.
Perhaps due to the change in their relationship status, Zhou Anran felt a bit embarrassed seeing her message. She bit her lip and replied with a blushing face: [Yes]
Yu Bingqin sent her another message: [Tell me if he bullies you]
Zhou Anran: [Okay, thank you, senior]
Then it was Dong Chen @’ing her in the gathering group that hadn’t been disbanded, looking extremely surprised.
Dong Chen: [@Zhou Anran]
Dong Chen: [You and Chen Luobai are together??]
Dong Chen: [What’s going on????]
Yan Xingqian replied to him first.
Yan Xingqian: [What’s so surprising about them being together?]
Dong Chen: [Isn’t this worth being surprised about?]
Dong Chen: [They weren’t close at all in high school, how did they suddenly get together?]
Yan Xingqian: [It was already very obvious between them at the last gathering]
Yan Xingqian: [You’re just too slow to notice]
Zhou Anran, lying on her bed, couldn’t help but laugh.
How could Yan Xingqian have the nerve to call others slow? She was the biggest slowpoke herself.
Afterward, other people successively sent messages to inquire about the situation, but perhaps because he had posted those strongly protective Moments, fewer people came to ask her than expected. The focus of their questions also shifted from “How did you end up with Chen Luobai” to “How did Chen Luobai take the initiative to pursue you.”
After replying to everyone, it was already quite late. Zhou Anran returned to the main interface and had just opened his chat window when his message popped up before she could send anything.
C: [Asleep yet?]
Zhou Anran’s lips curved into a smile: [Not yet]
Zhou Anran: [Why aren’t you asleep either?]
C: [About to sleep]
C: [Want to go to the library together tomorrow morning?]
Zhou Anran remembered the gossip her roommate had told her last time: [My roommate said she heard you didn’t use to go to the library to study before]
C: [I didn’t before, it was too much trouble]
C: [But now I have a girlfriend, don’t I?]
Zhou Anran’s lips curled up again seeing the words “girlfriend.”
Zhou Anran: [So still meet at 7:50 at the library entrance tomorrow morning?]
C: [Let’s make it earlier]
Zhou Anran: [But the library won’t be open earlier]
C: [Meet at 7:20 at the entrance of Cafeteria 1, have breakfast together?]
Zhou Anran’s heart started racing again: [Okay]
C: [See you tomorrow morning]
Zhou Anran: [See you tomorrow morning]
After locking her phone screen, Zhou Anran found herself unable to fall asleep again.
Her brain continued to be excited.
She was also a bit afraid to sleep.
She unlocked her phone again, carefully re-reading tonight’s chat history with him, as well as his social media post. Finally, she took a lemon soda candy and clutched it in her hand.
Something floating in her heart seemed to finally settle.
After an unknown amount of time, sleepiness slowly crept in.
In her drowsy state, Zhou Anran remembered that she had forgotten to ask him what he meant by “thinking about you for a long time” due to the interruption of numerous messages earlier.
But there was no rush.
After all, he said they had a long future ahead.
She could discover it slowly.
*
Zhou Anran was awakened by her alarm the next day.
Afraid of disturbing her roommates, she habitually turned off the alarm immediately. Her consciousness was still hazy, and as she turned over in her half-asleep state, her face was suddenly poked by a small hard object, causing a very slight pain.
Zhou Anran, with her eyes closed, reached out to grab the object. Hearing a faint rustling sound, she opened her eyes groggily and saw that she was holding a small piece of candy.
A small piece of lemon soda candy.
In that instant, her consciousness suddenly became clear.
Zhou Anran half sat up in bed, found her phone, and unlocked the screen.
As soon as she switched off airplane mode, a flood of message notifications appeared.
Zhou Anran opened WeChat. Almost all the new messages were inquiries about her relationship with Chen Luobai. She scrolled down and found his avatar buried far below.
Her fingertip opened his chat window, and the first thing she saw was the “See you tomorrow morning” message.
A little further up was his message saying “But now I have a girlfriend, don’t I?”
Zhou Anran clutched the candy in her hand, and the slight panic she felt earlier in her half-awake state quickly receded like the tide.
She got out of bed quietly to wash up.
Yu Yueyue was even earlier than her and had already left the dorm.
When she finished washing up and came out, Bai Lingyun was also getting up. Xie Jingyi was a bit of a sleepyhead and still showed no signs of movement.
With her roommate still asleep, Zhou Anran didn’t want to disturb her. There wasn’t much time left to put on makeup anyway. Thinking that she hadn’t worn makeup when meeting him recently to avoid being too deliberate, she finally left with a bare face.
When she arrived at the entrance of Cafeteria 1, she saw Chen Luobai already waiting for her, just like the previous times.
The young man was wearing that green and white baseball jacket again today, looking fresh and handsome. He had a black backpack on his shoulder, still following the same habit as in high school, with the strap casually hanging on his right shoulder.
Zhou Anran walked up to him and stopped in front of him. Seeing the lingering sleepiness on his face, she asked softly, “Didn’t sleep well again?”
Chen Luobai held back a yawn: “Mm.”
“Then after breakfast, do you want to go back and sleep for a while?” Zhou Anran asked him.
“No need.” Chen Luobai lowered his gaze to look at the girl standing obediently in front of him, with obvious concern in her eyes. “Just come here and let me hug you, that’ll do.”
The weather was beautiful that day, with sunlight breaking through the clouds, casting a thin golden edge on the young man’s black hair.
At 7:15 in the morning, this historic top university was already awake. Bicycles and electric scooters passed by on the tree-lined path, and students walked by with hurried steps. The cafeteria was brightly lit and already showing signs of bustling activity.
The tall, handsome young man stood in front of her, opening his arms.
He didn’t pull her over directly like last night, but just stood there quietly, smiling at her, as if waiting for her to walk into his arms on her own.
It seemed that some people stopped nearby, their gazes falling in this direction.
Zhou Anran’s face slowly heated up, but she didn’t hesitate or waver as she walked towards him, one step, two steps… until the remaining distance between them completely disappeared.
A fresh scent enveloped her completely.
Chen Luobai tightened his arms, pulling her firmly into his embrace.
Zhou Anran felt his face lightly bury into her shoulder, his lips may or may not have touched her neck, she couldn’t tell. She only heard his voice very close to her ear.
“Good morning, girlfriend.”
*
After breakfast, Zhou Anran went to the library with him.
After taking their seats, taking advantage of the fact that the library had just opened and the study room wasn’t completely quiet yet, Zhou Anran turned her head and asked him, “Do you want to sleep for a while like last time? I’ll wake you up later.”
“No need.” Chen Luobai looked at her sitting in the middle seat, “Let’s switch seats.”
Why did he suddenly want to switch seats?
But for such a small matter, Zhou Anran didn’t ask much. She got up and switched with him, moving from his left side to his right side.
Zhou Anran took out her books and pen, her left hand casually hanging at her side, her right hand holding the pen ready to take notes. Before she could read two lines, her left hand was suddenly grasped by the person next to her.
She turned her head.
Chen Luobai had stayed up late on Sunday to finish his homework, and last night he didn’t fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. He was truly tired, but this week would probably be busy again, and he likely wouldn’t have much time to accompany her. Not wanting to sleep, he saw her turn towards him and just smiled, glancing at her: “You read your book, I’ll recharge for a bit.”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
How was holding her hand considered recharging?
What kind of strange expression was this? Was she some kind of charger?
But no matter what nonsensical expression it was, she didn’t want to pull away. So she let him hold her hand like that and turned her head, intending to continue reading.
But this time, he didn’t just simply hold her hand like last night.
He seemed to be playing with her hand.
Perhaps because he often played basketball, the young man’s fingertips were slightly rough. He very lightly traced her palm, then gently stroked it a few times.
Zhou Anran almost couldn’t hold her pen steady.
Then he lightly pinched her fingers.
Then her fingertips.
Zhou Anran couldn’t help but turn her head again.
Chen Luobai was looking down, still gently massaging her fingertips, pinching from her thumb to her little finger one by one, then sliding between her fingers.
With each movement he made, Zhou Anran’s face grew hotter.
As if finally noticing her gaze, Chen Luobai looked up, the corner of his mouth curling up. His voice lowered to a whisper, his tone sounding a bit mischievous: “Why aren’t you reading your book properly?”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
How dare he ask her why she wasn’t reading properly!
How could she read properly when he was doing this?
But the study room had already quieted down, and Zhou Anran didn’t want to argue with him, nor did she dare to. She simply turned her head back.
Zhou Anran had intended to let him play as he wished; after all, it was just her hand.
But she thought he had invited her to the library today because he wanted to study, so she had casually sat at one of the six-person large tables that were most common in the study room.
Soon, the three seats opposite her were occupied.
Then the seat next to him.
It was an unfamiliar girl.
The other person would be able to see their little actions just by lowering her head. Zhou Anran’s face was about to burn up again. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held it even tighter, and her palm was lightly scratched as if being punished.
The slightly ticklish sensation immediately pierced her heart.
Zhou Anran unconsciously bit her lip.
Not wanting to speak to him, she could only do as she did last time, lowering her head to write a sentence in her notebook and pushing it towards him.
Chen Luobai slowly raised his eyes to look.
On it, in neat and pretty small handwriting, was written: “Someone has sat down next to you.”
Chen Luobai casually played with her fingertips again, then turned his head to see the girl looking in his direction. Her small face was already completely red, her slightly round almond eyes brimming with moisture, looking as if she had been bullied badly, or as if she was begging him.
His Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbed, and he let go of her hand.
Zhou Anran immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Luobai saw this little action of hers and felt a bit annoyed again. He reached out to snatch the pen from her hand, lowered his head to write a line, and pushed it back to her.
“What are you afraid of, it’s not like we’re having an affair.”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
What nonsense was he talking about again?
Zhou Anran looked at the words “having an affair,” not knowing how to respond to him.
Moreover, like last time, he didn’t seem to have any intention of returning her pen. Zhou Anran puffed out her cheeks slightly and took out her spare pen from her bag.
The pen tip paused on the paper for a moment.
“I’m not afraid, but it will disturb others. You should focus on your homework, don’t stay up late again tonight.”
Chen Luobai looked at this short line of text, his heart suddenly melting again. He twirled the pen in his hand and wrote two characters back.
Zhou Anran lowered her eyes to look.
On it were two large, flamboyant characters—
“Yes, ma’am.”
Somehow, she suddenly remembered that time before the basketball game when their homeroom teacher, Old Gao, told them from the podium that he would let them out five minutes early, but they weren’t allowed to disturb other classes when they went downstairs.
She turned her head and saw him in the back row making a salute gesture, smiling lazily and saying, “Yes, sir.”
The corners of Zhou Anran’s lips slowly curved up again.
Chen Luobai kept his word and didn’t tease her for the next hour or so.
They both had classes during the second major period, so at 9:30, they packed up their things and left the library together.
As they exited the library doors, Chen Luobai returned the pen he had snatched from her earlier.
Zhou Anran took it and stuffed it back into her bag. Remembering what happened last time, she asked him again, “Where are my pen and notebook from last time?”
Chen Luobai glanced at her: “Confiscated.”
Zhou Anran: “?”
“Why did you confiscate my pen and notebook for no reason?”
Chen Luobai stopped, pulling her to the side to avoid the crowd coming in and out of the entrance.
The girl looked puzzled as if she truly didn’t understand why he had taken her things that day.
Chen Luobai didn’t want her to be friends with He Mingyu. He was very bothered by the fact that when he hadn’t paid attention to her, another boy had noticed her earlier and become her friend.
But He Mingyu had already said he wouldn’t pursue her anymore, and Chen Luobai wasn’t so petty as to expose He Mingyu’s long-hidden feelings in front of her.
Chen Luobai reached out and pinched her face.
He saw her immediately raise her hand to cover the spot he had pinched, her face clearly saying, “Why are you pinching my face again?”
Usually, she would obediently let others pinch her.
But when he touched her like this, her reaction seemed particularly strong.
“Zhou Anran, are you petty or not?”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
How did it suddenly become about whether she was petty or not?
Just as she was about to ask him, Chen Luobai reached out and pinched her face again, then suddenly leaned in close, his voice almost right next to her ear: “I’m all yours now, and you’re still haggling over a pen and a notebook?”