Chen Luobai had just kissed her.
By the time Zhou An Ran reached the classroom, one side of her ear was still burning, and her mind was filled with his words: “I’m all yours now.”
Jingyi Xie and the others had saved a seat for her. After sitting down, she noticed that Nie Zizhen was once again conveniently seated in front of her.
With a few minutes left before class started, Nie Zizhen suddenly turned around and looked An’ran up and down: “Zhou An Ran, are you together with Chen Luobai now?”
Since last night, An’ran had been asked this question countless times.
Although she wasn’t close with Zizhen, An’ran didn’t hide anything and honestly nodded.
Zizhen gave her a sour look and muttered, “You lucked out.”
An’ran: “…?”
“Nevermind,” Zizhen stared at her for a few seconds, as if making some kind of decision, then suddenly said, “Let me tell you something. Consider it a thank you for believing that I didn’t spread those rumors before.”
An’ran was slightly taken aback: “What is it?”
Zizhen hesitated again: “First, let me say that I heard this from someone else. They said it’s true, and I’m not trying to ruin your relationship with Chen Luobai. I just want you to be prepared.”
An’ran’s heart inexplicably tightened when she heard “Chen Luobai”: “What is it exactly?”
Zizhen leaned forward, lowering her voice slightly: “It seems Chen Luobai had a ‘first love’ in high school.”
An’ran: “?”
Something seemed off.
Zizhen continued in a low voice: “You were only his classmate in the first year of high school, right? You transferred somewhere else in your second year?”
An’ran nodded: “Yes.”
Zizhen: “Then it’s normal you don’t know. My friend was from your Nancheng No. 2 High School. She said that when Chen Luobai just started their second year, he wrote a love letter to a girl, but she didn’t accept it and transferred to another city. Chen Luobai seemed to be depressed for quite a while because of this, and it even caused a falling out with one of his good friends later.”
An’ran: “…?”
This story sounded somewhat familiar, yet not quite.
Zizhen gave her another sour look: “Although I don’t know why he would like someone like you, with your soft personality, if his ‘first love’ doesn’t cause trouble, it’s fine. But if she sees Chen Luobai liking someone else and gets jealous, and comes back to make a scene, I think you definitely won’t be able to handle it.”
An’ran: “…”
An’ran was silent for a moment: “It’s fine.”
“You don’t believe me, do you?” Zizhen was a bit unhappy.
An’ran shook her head: “No, it’s not that, but—”
“But what?” Zizhen interrupted her, “You already said ‘but’, so you don’t believe me.”
An’ran asked her again: “Are you sure your friend told you the love letter was written at the start of the second year?”
Zizhen’s face was expressionless: “So you don’t believe me.”
An’ran: “No, I do.”
“If you believe me, why do you keep saying ‘but’ and asking me to confirm these details?” Zizhen questioned her.
An’ran: “Because—”
“Because what?”
An’ran was silent again for a moment: “Because the person you’re talking about might be me.”
Zizhen: “???”
Jingyi Xie, who had also leaned in to listen to the gossip: “???”
“Didn’t you say you and he were just ordinary high school classmates?” Zizhen looked utterly betrayed and incredulous.
An’ran: “We were high school classmates, but—”
“Wait.” Zizhen still couldn’t believe it, “Are you sure the ‘first love’ I mentioned is you?”
Although the details didn’t match up completely, An’ran nodded slightly: “If you can confirm that love letter was written at the start of the second year, then the person you’re talking about should be me, and didn’t you say that girl also transferred schools—”
Moreover, he probably hadn’t written a love letter to anyone else in high school.
Given his personality, even if he wrote a love letter to someone, he wouldn’t hide it. Just like last night when they got together, he openly announced their relationship and readily let her into his circle of friends.
If he had written any other love letters, Zhang Shuxian and the others would know about it.
An’ran added: “But I’m not his ‘first—'”
Before she could finish, Zizhen interrupted her, waving her hand: “Forget it, forget it. As long as it’s a misunderstanding, that’s fine. I don’t want to hear you showing off your relationship.”
She turned back around after saying this.
Jingyi Xie, who loved gossip, was now extremely curious: “She doesn’t want to hear it, but you can tell me. What’s the real situation? Didn’t you say you weren’t close in high school?”
“We weren’t close,” An’ran explained, “That love letter wasn’t written for me.”
Zizhen slowly turned back around.
Jingyi Xie glanced at her: “I thought you didn’t want to listen?”
Zizhen’s expression was awkward for a moment, but she quickly composed herself: “Curiosity is human nature. How come the love letter wasn’t written for you?”
The second question was directed at An’ran.
An’ran: “That love letter was written by him for someone else, but it slipped into my book, which caused a misunderstanding.”
“How did a letter he wrote for someone else end up in your book?” Jingyi Xie asked curiously.
An’ran was silent for a moment.
She hadn’t asked him about the details of what happened back then.
But last night in that group chat, she hadn’t seen Zong Kai.
However, regardless of what Zong Kai might have done back then, Yin Yizhen was probably completely innocent in that incident, so An’ran didn’t go into too much detail.
“It was probably just a prank. Anyway, that love letter was just him helping someone else write it, it doesn’t count as him writing it, and it wasn’t meant for me.”
Zizhen: “…”
Zizhen felt her intelligence had been insulted.
She knew rumors could be ridiculous, so why did she believe it just because someone swore it was true?
The girl in the back seat paused for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled at her. She didn’t seem to think Zizhen was stupid for believing such a rumor. Instead, her smile was particularly sweet, with two shallow dimples appearing on her cheeks: “Thank you anyway.”
Zizhen: “…”
Damn.
She could kind of see why Chen Luobai would like her.
“No need,” Zizhen turned back around, “It’s not like I helped you anyway.”
*
Over the next few days, they were both very busy. They met either in the cafeteria or the library, occasionally eating together in the cafeteria before going to the library together.
An’ran noticed that Chen Luobai seemed to like playing with her hand.
Every time they first entered the library, he wouldn’t immediately start studying quietly. He would always pull her hand over first.
When An’ran turned to ask him about it, he would just smile and say he was “charging up.”
At first, she would feel shy, but after a few times, she got somewhat used to it. She wouldn’t even ask anymore, just letting him take her hand.
He always knew his limits and wouldn’t tease her too much or disturb others. Usually, he would play with her hand for two or three minutes before letting go and starting to study seriously.
On Friday afternoon, the Law School had a ball game.
An’ran had class at that time and couldn’t go watch, but she had made plans with Chen Luobai to go to the Live House together that evening to watch Yu Bingqin and the others rehearse.
After having dinner with her roommates, Yu Xingyue went to the library as usual. An’ran needed to go back to put away her things, so she returned to the dorm with Bai Lingyun and Xie Jingyi.
Back at the dorm, An’ran put away her things but didn’t leave immediately.
Chen Luobai had finished playing ball and eaten with his teammates and was now back at his dorm taking a shower.
An’ran sat down at her desk, planning to take the opportunity to study a bit more. She heard Xie Jingyi speak up.
“Are you both going on dates tonight?”
An’ran nodded.
It wasn’t the first time she had gone to listen to their rehearsal, but it was the first time going as a couple, so it could be considered a date, right?
Bai Lingyun: “Yeah.”
An’ran opened her book.
A moment later, she heard Xie Jingyi’s voice again.
She drawled out a long “Yo”: “Bringing facial cleanser for a date?”
Bai Lingyun cleared her throat: “Um… I’m not coming back tonight.”
An’ran turned her head, possibly still focused on memorizing knowledge points, and didn’t immediately react: “Lingyun, you’re not coming back tonight? Are you going to pull an all-nighter with Xie-xuexhang?”
Xie Jingyi and Bai Lingyun both looked at her.
Xie Jingyi let out a “pfft” of laughter, standing up from her seat: “I’m single and I get it immediately, how come to our An’ran who’s actually in a relationship is so innocent?”
Bai Lingyun also stopped packing and walked over to pinch her cheek: “An’ran, how far have you and our campus heartthrob Chen gotten?”
An’ran realized what she said as soon as she finished speaking.
But it was too late now.
Xie Jingyi also came over and pinched her cheek: “Have you kissed yet?”
Bai Lingyun’s gaze moved downward, lingering on her chest: “What about… that?”
An’ran: “?!”
What was all this about?
How did her two roommates suddenly become so bold?
An’ran shook her head vigorously.
“Shaking your head means what?” Xie Jingyi wouldn’t let her off, “No kissing or no—”
An’ran’s face turned as red as if it would drip blood, and she hurriedly interrupted: “…Neither.”
“Huh?” Bai Lingyun was a bit surprised, “Didn’t you come back after 10 pm several times this week? And you didn’t do anything?”
An’ran: “…The library closes at 10 pm.”
Xie Jingyi was also surprised: “Can Chen Luobai hold back that much?”
Her gaze also moved downward: “Even I can’t resist.”
As she spoke, Xie Jingyi directly reached out and touched her.
An’ran: “!”
An’ran silently moved her chair back a bit.
Xie Jingyi leaned on Bai Lingyun’s shoulder, laughing: “Sorry, I beat your boyfriend to it, but I’ve been curious about the feel of a flat chest for a long time.”
An’ran really couldn’t handle these two anymore: “Aren’t you supposed to go to a meeting, and you’re supposed to go on a date with your boyfriend? Why aren’t you leaving yet?”
Xie Jingyi: “The meeting’s not for a while, what’s the rush?”
“I’m not in a hurry either, Xie Zihan should wait for me as long as necessary tonight,” Bai Lingyun chimed in.
An’ran: “…”
“Oh right, An’ran.” Seeing that she was so embarrassed her head was almost buried in her chest, Xie Jingyi finally let her off the hook and changed to a less risqué topic, “What does our campus heartthrob usually call you?”
This topic was much safer than before, and An’ran let out a small sigh of relief: “He just calls me by my name.”
“He calls you Ran’ran like we do?” Bai Lingyun asked.
An’ran shook her head: “No, just my name.”
“He calls you by your full name?” Xie Jingyi was a bit surprised again.
An’ran: “Yeah, what’s wrong?”
Xie Jingyi: “Ask Lingyun what Xie-xuexhang usually calls her.”
“Most of the time he calls me Yunyun,” Bai Lingyun answered voluntarily, “Sometimes baby or darling too.”
“…”
As Chen Luobai held her hand on the way to the Live House, An’ran was still pondering why he always called her by her full name.
It wasn’t that she thought him calling her that way was distant.
She felt that Chen Luobai seemed to like calling her name.
Many times, even when he was looking right at her and didn’t need to address her, he would still very softly call her name first before speaking to her.
Thinking about this, An’ran couldn’t help but turn her head to look at the young man beside her.
He had just showered and had recently gotten his hair cut a bit shorter. Some clean and refreshing wisps of hair fell across his forehead, and he smelled of pleasant shower gel.
Should she ask him?
But this person was becoming increasingly playful around her now.
If she asked him, not only would she probably not get a serious answer, but she’d likely be teased and joked with.
Hesitating until they reached the entrance of the Live House, after passing through the first outer door, An’ran still couldn’t resist calling out to him.
“Chen Luobai.”
The soft, gentle voice entered his ears, and Chen Luobai’s footsteps paused. He turned to look at her, his gaze deepening: “That’s the second time you’ve called my name.”
Had she only called his name twice?
An’ran thought back.
It did seem to be the case.
She had hardly ever called him by name before.
The only time was when she called out to him on the school rooftop to say thank you.
Perhaps it was because, during the long years of her secret crush, the three characters of Chen Luobai’s name were the abbreviation of all her hidden feelings.
Calling out his name once felt like all her secrets might be exposed along with it.
But now, he was no longer her secret. He was the boyfriend she could openly hold hands with and embrace.
She could finally, straightforwardly, call out his name.
“Call me again,” Chen Luobai suddenly said in a low voice.
An’ran looked up at him.
The Live House wasn’t open for business, and the space between the two doors wasn’t lit. Only the light from outside and inside shone through, faintly illuminating the young man’s clearly defined features.
It was a sight that would make her heart flutter no matter how many times she saw it.
An’ran called out to him again very softly: “Chen Luobai.”
Just as the final “bai” sound fell, An’ran saw the young man in front of her suddenly lower his head, that face she had dreamed of for so long coming closer in an instant.
Then something very lightly touched her lips.
Like a feather.
It took An’ran two seconds to realize—
What had just landed on her lips was, like a feather, a very light kiss.
Chen Luobai had just kissed her.