“Don’t be so obedient”
After returning to her seat, Zhou Anran deliberately checked the time.
4:10 PM.
A basketball game usually lasts ten minutes per quarter. Adding the dead ball time for fouls, free throws, timeouts, and quarter breaks, they had played for about thirty-six to thirty-seven minutes in the first half.
When she entered the corridor earlier, she had also checked the time, which was 4:07 PM.
Subtracting the time it took her to reapply her lipstick and walk back, she should have delayed him for just over a minute at most.
Zhou Anran let out a small sigh of relief.
After all, he couldn’t be expected to go without a moment’s rest during halftime.
With just over eight minutes left, there was plenty of time for him to discuss second-half tactics with his team.
Suddenly, her phone chimed.
It was her two not-so-serious roommates, who were sitting behind her watching the game, tagging her in the group chat.
Xie Jingyi: [I saw it!]
Bai Lingyun: [I saw it too!!]
Xie Jingyi: [Someone just followed her boyfriend towards the locker room]
Xie Jingyi: [What did you go there for?]
Bai Lingyun: [@Zhou Anran]
Zhou Anran: “…”
The scenes from the fire escape suddenly flashed through her mind again.
Zhou Anran touched her cheek: [Nothing, I just went to wish him good luck]
Xie Jingyi: [Really? I don’t believe it.jpg]
Bai Lingyun: [You had to follow him there just to say good luck?]
Zhou Anran: [Yeah, I only remembered after he left]
Having told a little white lie to them, Zhou Anran felt a tiny bit guilty.
…But she couldn’t exactly tell them what she went there for.
Xie Jingyi: [It’s good that you went after him though]
Zhou Anran: [?]
Zhou Anran: [Why do you say that?]
Bai Lingyun: [You have no idea how many girls we’ve heard back here sighing and lamenting about how Chen Luobai already has a girlfriend. If he were still single, they’d all want to pursue him]
Xie Jingyi: [Your boyfriend is handsome today]
A small smile tugged at Zhou Anran’s lips.
A moment later.
The second half of the game began.
For the first half of the third quarter, both teams played back and forth, evenly matched, just like in the previous quarter. However, because the Law School had fallen behind by 8 points in the first quarter, they were still at a disadvantage.
The turning point came in the second half of the third quarter.
By this point in the game, players on both sides hadn’t had much chance to rest. Entering the latter half of the quarter, everyone’s stamina was rapidly declining. This was true for both the Law School and the Computer Science Department.
Although the Computer Science Department had three university team members, they weren’t professional players competing in first-tier leagues. They were ordinary students, and while their skills were decent, their stamina seemed quite average.
Whether it was because some players couldn’t keep up or because they wanted to conserve energy for the final quarter, given that they still had the upper hand, the Computer Science Department began to rotate their three university team players.
The freshman No. 4 player was the first to be subbed out.
Among the three university team players, he was the least skilled. With him off the court, the balance of power between the two teams only shifted slightly.
But even this slight shift gave Chen Luobai an opportunity.
Zhou Anran watched from the sidelines as he took advantage of a gap in coordination when the Computer Science Department’s new substitute player came on. He immediately ran to create a beautiful open position in the corner and made a jump shot for three points.
The orange-red basketball traced a long arc through the air before smoothly falling through the hoop.
The entire arena instantly erupted in applause.
The score changed from 42-50 to 45-50.
The difference was now only 5 points.
The Computer Science Department remained steady, not immediately switching back to their full starting lineup. Instead, after No. 4 had rested enough and returned to the court, they subbed out another university team player, No. 7.
After No. 7 went out, the Law School didn’t rush to catch up on points.
Chen Luobai took the opportunity to rotate the other main players of the Law School for rest, while he remained on the court to control the rhythm.
With less than two minutes left in the third quarter, the Computer Science Department subbed out Wang Junzhuo for a rest.
Wang Junzhuo, a senior, was the strongest and most experienced player on the Computer Science team, as well as the team’s backbone. As soon as he went off, Chen Luobai immediately brought back the full starting lineup.
Not giving the Computer Science Department much time to react, he quickly seized two opportunities while Wang Junzhuo was absent. He scored a three-pointer himself and then assisted a teammate for a two-pointer, directly launching a 5-0 run.
In the blink of an eye, the score was tied.
Wang Junzhuo, who had barely had time to sit down on the bench, hurriedly returned to the court, but there was little time left in the third quarter.
After he came back on, the Computer Science Department didn’t have much room to perform.
At the end of the third quarter, the two teams were tied at 54-54.
It was time for another break between quarters, and players from both sides walked towards the sidelines.
Zhou Anran lowered her head and opened her bag. Chen Luobai had long finished the bottle of water he had stuffed into her arms before the game started, but now she always made sure to bring an extra bottle for him whenever she came to watch the games, whether he needed it or not.
Taking the water out of her bag, Zhou Anran asked Zhu Ran to watch her bag, and without paying attention to the spectators’ gazes, she stood up from her seat and walked straight over.
Chen Luobai returned to the rest area and was slightly taken aback when he saw her running over.
The next moment, the girl in front of him unscrewed the mineral water bottle and handed it to him.
Chen Luobai’s lips curled up slightly, but his voice was low and gentle: “Such attentive service?”
He was panting heavily even as he spoke this short sentence.
Zhou Anran felt a twinge in her nose.
Everyone on the court had taken breaks, but he was the only one who had played the full three quarters without a second’s rest, and he likely wouldn’t be able to rest in the last quarter either.
“Don’t talk, just rest for a bit.”
Chen Luobai smiled and responded with a soft “Okay,” taking the water from her hand and tilting his head back to take a couple of sips.
Zhou Anran waited for him to finish drinking, then took the bottle back. She took out a tissue and gently wiped his sweat, watching as he bent over slightly with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
As soon as the final quarter began, Zhou Anran, who had already returned to her seat, noticed that the Computer Science Department had changed its defensive strategy.
As soon as the Law School started their offense, Wang Junzhuo and another player would double-team Chen Luobai, forcing him to pass the ball and denying him shooting opportunities. No. 4 and No. 7, along with another player, defended against the rest of the Law School team.
The other Law School players were already a notch below the Computer Science Department’s No. 4 and the others in terms of skill. Even with a four-on-three advantage, they couldn’t gain any edge. They were too dependent on Chen Luobai, and although he could still occasionally find suitable opportunities to assist them despite being double-teamed, whenever Chen Luobai couldn’t find an opening, their offense would lose its rhythm.
When the Computer Science Department was on offense, although Chen Luobai could tightly defend against Wang Junzhuo, he could only guard one person, no matter how skilled he was. The other two university team players from the Computer Science Department also had decent shooting abilities.
Fortunately, as the game entered the final quarter, everyone’s stamina was rapidly declining, and shooting accuracy was also decreasing.
However, in this ebb and flow, the Law School slowly fell back into a disadvantageous position once again.
The score difference started at 2 points behind.
Then it became 4 points.
With only half a minute left in the final quarter, the Law School was still trailing by 5 points.
Zhou Anran clutched the water bottle, seemingly hearing waves of sighs behind her, as if lamenting that the outcome of the game was already decided.
On the court, the Computer Science Department players almost all wore expressions of assured victory, with two of them even high-fiving in celebration.
But someone hadn’t given up yet.
With 31 seconds left, the Law School had possession. After Chen Luobai brought the ball past half-court, Wang Junzhuo and another player came over to double-team him as usual.
Chen Luobai tried to break through several times without success, then found an opportunity to pass the ball to the Law School’s No. 3 player.
The Computer Science Department’s No. 4 immediately came over to defend him.
No. 3 dribbled the ball a few times, couldn’t find any openings, and passed the ball back to Chen Luobai.
Only 15 seconds remained.
In basketball, there’s a 24-second shot clock for each possession, which meant they only had 8 seconds left for this attack.
Zhou Anran saw that the young man’s face showed no sign of panic. He patiently dribbled the ball a few times, made several convincing fake moves to successfully shake off one of the Computer Science Department players, and then immediately made a gesture as if to drive to the basket.
Wang Junzhuo reached out to block him.
But Chen Luobai suddenly stepped back and then jumped.
Zhou Anran felt as if this scene before her eyes overlapped for a moment with a certain scene from her first year of high school, separated by time and space.
She could almost hear Huang Shujie shouting: “Step back three! Luo-ge is awesome!!!!”
The orange-red basketball arced through the air, beating the 24-second shot clock buzzer, and once again smoothly swished through the hoop.
But only 7 seconds remained on the game clock.
The score difference was now down to 3 points.
The Computer Science Department had possession.
After inbounding the ball, the Computer Science Department didn’t even need to attack. They just needed to successfully run out of these 7 seconds to win the game.
During the baseline inbound, Wang Junzhuo and No. 4 came over to screen Chen Luobai, and the other Law School players couldn’t intercept successfully.
The Computer Science Department smoothly got the ball to their No. 9.
Zhou Anran’s heart was in her throat, her fingertips tightly gripping the mineral water bottle, not noticing her strength as the bottle’s body caved in a bit.
However, in the next instant, whether it was because the Computer Science Department’s No. 4 had become a bit lax, or Chen Luobai had made some extremely quick fake move, Zhou Anran didn’t even have time to see clearly before the young man had already shaken off the double-team and simultaneously stolen the ball from the Computer Science Department’s No. 9.
Less than 3 seconds remained.
Wang Junzhuo shouted from mid-court: “Get back on defense!”
The Computer Science Department players quickly chased after Chen Luobai.
Zhou Anran could see that none of the Computer Science players’ footsteps were as fast as his; no one could catch up to him.
But—
Time was running out.
The remaining time wasn’t even enough for him to bring the ball back to the frontcourt.
He had just reached the half-court line when the shot clock showed only one second left.
Zhou Anran gripped the water bottle tightly, watching as the young man in the white jersey suddenly jumped from where he stood.
Wang Junzhuo, who had finally caught up, reached out to defend against him.
The orange-red basketball flew from Chen Luobai’s hand. Whether it was because he was somewhat exhausted or his balance was affected by Wang Junzhuo, he immediately fell to the ground afterward.
Almost at the same time, the final buzzer shrilly sounded.
The ball was still in the air.
That one second seemed to stretch as long as a century.
The noisy basketball court seemed to fall silent for this moment.
Then, after the orange-red basketball completed its arc through the air, it finally once again steadily and accurately fell into the basket.
On the LED screen, the red score changed from 64:66 to 67:66.
— Chen Luobai’s ultra-long three-pointer at the buzzer for the win!
The court instantly erupted, with thunderous applause and endless cheers.
But Zhou Anran noticed none of it.
As soon as the ball went in, she ran onto the court.
However, before she could reach Chen Luobai, the young man had already been pulled up by Wang Junzhuo, who was closest to him.
There was a hint of regret on Wang Junzhuo’s face: “Congratulations, I can’t believe you managed to turn it around.”
Chen Luobai patted the dust off himself and said frankly: “You guys got overconfident at the end, otherwise we wouldn’t have won.”
Although Wang Junzhuo was disappointed, he didn’t take the intra-school competition too seriously. He took the opportunity to ask again: “Are you sure you won’t join the university team? Your skills are wasted on intra-school competitions.”
“We’ll see,” Chen Luobai tilted his head slightly, with an obvious smile in his eyes, “My girlfriend’s here.”
Wang Junzhuo followed his gaze to look at Zhou Anran, then said with understanding: “Alright, I won’t disturb you now. I’ll find you another day to discuss this matter further.”
He turned and walked away after speaking.
Zhou Anran hurried over and grabbed Chen Luobai’s wrist: “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
Chen Luobai pulled her into his arms, his voice still breathless: “I’ll be fine if my girlfriend gives me a hug.”
Zhou Anran instantly fell into a warm embrace.
“…”
He still had the energy to joke around, so it seemed he was fine.
Zhou Anran let out a small sigh of relief, the tips of her ears slowly turning red.
But he seemed truly exhausted, his breathing still rapid. For the first time when hugging her, he leaned a little of his weight on her.
Zhou Anran didn’t struggle at all.
The applause on the court hadn’t stopped yet, and the audience hadn’t left. She stood in the middle of the court and hugged Chen Luobai back.
Two seconds later.
Someone nearby cleared their throat.
Zhou Anran turned her head to see that their teammate wearing the No. 23 jersey had somehow walked up to them.
Her face instantly grew hotter. Now that the worry had passed, embarrassment took over again. She let go of her hands, instinctively wanting to take a step back to create some distance between them.
But Chen Luobai pressed on her waist and hugged her even tighter, only slightly turning his head to look at No. 23.
No. 23 coughed again, with a bright smile on his face: “I didn’t mean to disturb you guys, it’s just that everyone asked me to come and see if you want to join the celebration party. We never thought we’d even make it to the final four, winning the championship is breaking records. You have to come to the celebration party later, you’re the biggest hero. That last-second shot was too amazing. If you don’t want to leave your girlfriend, you can bring her along. The others with girlfriends will probably bring theirs too.”
Chen Luobai turned his gaze back to the girl in his arms: “Want to go?”
Zhou Anran still didn’t like crowded scenes, but at this moment, the desire to accompany him won out, so she nodded: “Okay.”
No. 23 waved his hand with a smile: “Alright then, carry on.”
Zhou Anran: “…?”
Her face was still hot. She was about to ask him why he wasn’t letting go yet when she suddenly remembered something else: “We’re going to the celebration party, what about Zhu Ran?”
“Who cares about him,” Chen Luobai replied lazily.
“Be a decent person, Chen Luobai.” Zhu Ran’s voice suddenly sounded.
Zhou Anran turned her head to see that he had somehow also made it onto the court and was standing right behind her. Chen Luobai must have seen him earlier.
Zhu Ran looked exasperated: “Learn from your wife, at least she acts a bit like a host.”
Zhou Anran: “??”
What was she supposed to learn from him?
Chen Luobai was still holding her tightly with one hand. When he lowered his gaze to look at her again, there was suddenly a hint of intrigue in his eyes: “That depends on whether my wife is willing to teach me.”
Zhou Anran: “…”
How come when Zhu Ran casually called her that, he also started changing how he addressed her?
Zhou Anran’s face grew even hotter. She didn’t bother responding to his comment and instead turned to Zhu Ran: “What are you going to do tonight?”
“You really don’t need to worry about me,” Zhu Ran said. “I’m going to watch Qin-jie’s rehearsal. I’ll just grab something to eat outside when I leave.”
Chen Luobai’s eyebrows raised slightly: “Did you hear that? He only came to watch the game in passing. You thought he really came for me?”
“If I came for you, I’d probably starve to death,” Zhu Ran rolled his eyes.
Chen Luobai laughed and kicked him lightly: “If you’re done talking, get lost already.”
“As if I care,” Zhu Ran rolled his eyes at him again, then waved at Zhou Anran, “I’m off.”
After Zhu Ran left, Chen Luobai hugged her tightly once more before gesturing with his chin towards the seats in the rest area, his voice still low: “Go sit there and wait for me? I’ll go shake hands with them and come find you afterward.”
Zhou Anran nodded: “Okay.”
Sitting down in the rest area, Zhou Anran raised her hand to touch her burning cheeks.
Her phone chimed again at that moment.
Zhou Anran opened WeChat to see that Xie Jingyi had posted a photo in the group chat.
She opened the photo.
In the nearly full gymnasium, the vast majority of spectators from all directions were standing and applauding. On the court, the boys wearing the Computer Science Department’s jerseys looked dejected, while the remaining four players from the Law School team were high-fiving in celebration.
And she was standing in the center of the crowd, tightly embracing the young man in the white jersey.
Zhou Anran’s fingertips seemed to burn for a moment.
Xie Jingyi: [Ranran baby, you were so brave today]
Xie Jingyi: [I didn’t expect you to rush down there]
Bai Lingyun: [I didn’t expect Chen Luobai to directly pull you into his arms and hug you either!!]
Bai Lingyun: [Are you two filming some kind of idol drama scene?]
Nie Zizhen, who had added her on WeChat some time ago, surprisingly sent her a message as well: [Do you two have to show off your love in front of everyone like that? My eyes are about to be blinded]
Zhou Anran: “…?”
From the corner of her eye, she saw that Chen Luobai had finished shaking hands with the Computer Science Department team on the court, said something to his teammates, and was now turning to walk towards her.
Zhou Anran’s face heated up again. She didn’t reply to the messages and directly locked her screen.
Chen Luobai quickly walked up to her.
The young man’s breathing was no longer as rapid as before, but his forehead, face, and body were still covered in sweat.
Zhou Anran felt a bit of heartache for him. She took out a tissue from her bag, stood up, and went to help him wipe his sweat.
The girl in front of him barely reached his chin. She raised her hand high, the rose gold bracelet on her wrist swaying lightly before his eyes, her fingertips very gently touching his forehead through the tissue.
Chen Luobai’s throat itched a bit. He grasped her wrist, his fingertips lightly caressing the bracelet: “Don’t wipe it.”
Zhou Anran blinked.
“I’m going to shower soon anyway,” Chen Luobai said softly.
Perhaps it was because his current appearance and the way he looked at her were very similar to how he had been in the hallway during halftime, with palpable pheromones making him seem particularly alluring. When Zhou Anran heard the words “shower,” she felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
She lowered her gaze and tried to pull her hand back, but couldn’t. He was still holding it tightly. She let out a soft “Oh” and asked him: “So are you going back to the dorm to shower now?”
Chen Luobai’s voice remained low: “The celebration party location is very close to the apartment. Are you going back to your dorm? If not, want to come to the apartment with me?”
Zhou Anran looked down at his hand gripping her wrist. Maybe it was because he had just finished playing, but the veins on the back of his hand were visibly protruding.
She nodded very lightly.
On the way to the apartment, Chen Luobai didn’t say much, perhaps because he was too tired from playing the entire game.
Zhou Anran’s gaze occasionally stole glances at him, and she could see his lips slightly pursed.
When they arrived at the apartment, Chen Luobai went into the bathroom to shower.
Zhou Anran waited for him in the living room outside. She took out her phone and replied to the messages from Xie Jingyi, Nie Zizhen, and the others, chatting with them casually for a while until Chen Luobai came out of the bathroom.
The room had heating. The young man wore a pair of black sweatpants on his lower half and just a plain white T-shirt on top. His hair looked like it had only been roughly toweled off and was still dripping water.
He sat down next to her, spreading his arms wide. He still seemed quite tired, his voice remaining low: “Come here.”
Zhou Anran put down her phone and obediently got up to walk over, sitting down in his embrace.
Chen Luobai didn’t say anything more, just lowered his head and buried his face in her shoulder.
A water droplet from his hair seemed to slide down her neck, the coldness making her heart tremble.
Zhou Anran gripped the fabric of his T-shirt at the shoulder and called his name: “Chen Luobai.”
Chen Luobai gave a very low “Mm” but didn’t raise his head.
“Are you unhappy?” Zhou Anran asked softly.
Chen Luobai lifted his head, looking a bit surprised, yet also as if he had expected it.
After all, back in high school, she had once secretly noticed when he was unhappy and had secretly slipped candy into his desk to cheer him up.
“You figured it out, huh.” Chen Luobai raised his hand to pinch her cheek. He had wanted to do this several times throughout the afternoon but hadn’t wanted to dirty her face. “I am a bit unhappy. I didn’t play very well today.”
Zhou Anran blinked: “But you won the championship, didn’t you? How is that not playing well?”
Chen Luobai’s hand lingered on her face: “If they hadn’t become overconfident and careless at the end, we might not have won this game. It’s your first time watching me play in the finals as my girlfriend, and I almost lost. It’s a bit embarrassing.”
Zhou Anran was slightly taken aback.
He was unhappy…
Because he felt he had almost lost in front of her?
Zhou Anran couldn’t help but put her hands on his shoulders, her voice soft: “But the Computer Science Department’s lineup depth was better than yours to begin with.”
“Oh? You even know about lineup depth?” Chen Luobai’s eyebrows raised slightly, his eyes showing more of a smile. His mood seemed to have improved a bit, and there was a teasing tone in his voice, “Have you been studying basketball so seriously because of me?”
Zhou Anran’s face heated up again: “I’m being serious with you.”
Chen Luobai laughed, his voice still low, with a particularly indulgent attitude: “Alright, go on.”
“And you didn’t win because they got overconfident. It’s because you never gave up on the game until the very last moment. If that’s not good, I don’t know what is. And—” Zhou Anran paused.
Chen Luobai: “And what?”
Zhou Anran buried her face in his shoulder, a bit embarrassed: “Win or lose, you’re always number one in my heart. You won’t be embarrassed.”
Because she had buried her head in his shoulder, Chen Luobai’s hand that had been gently caressing her face fell away.
His hand paused in mid-air for a second: “What did you just say?”
Zhou Anran was still not quite used to saying such things, but she wanted him to hear it.
She gripped the fabric of his T-shirt as if finding a bit of courage. Suppressing her discomfort and shyness, she repeated: “Win or lose, you’ll always be number one in my heart.”
Chen Luobai’s breathing, which had just calmed down, suddenly became heavy again.
It seemed like she had been giving him surprises all day.
During the break between the first and second quarters, she had taken the initiative to hold his hand.
At halftime, she had followed him out of the gymnasium.
During the break between the third and fourth quarters, she had run down to bring him water.
At the end of the game, she had been the first to run over, anxiously asking if he was hurt.
Now, guessing that he was unhappy, she was suppressing her reserved nature to say these things she would never normally say out loud, just to comfort him.
It felt as if his heart had been continuously filled with her soft emotions, and at this moment it was so full it might burst if he didn’t do something.
Chen Luobai withdrew his hand and placed his fingertips on her chin, half-forcefully making her lift her head: “Do you remember what you said to me during halftime?”
He suddenly changed the subject. Zhou Anran was taken aback and couldn’t recall for a moment: “What did I say?”
“It’s okay if you don’t remember.”
Zhou Anran was about to ask what was okay.
The next second, the young man tilted his head and kissed her.
This time, he kissed her even more fiercely than in the fire escape.
His tongue forcefully parted her teeth, completely capturing her breath.
Because of this kiss, Zhou Anran suddenly remembered the answer to his earlier question.
During halftime, hadn’t she told him they could continue kissing after the game was over?
Maybe it was because his appearance today was truly captivating, or maybe it was because she sensed he was in a bad mood, and now she could do more than just secretly slip things into his desk to cheer him up—
Zhou Anran’s hands clung to his shoulders, and for the first time during a kiss, she suppressed her shyness and actively responded to him.
The moment the girl’s soft tongue tentatively explored past his teeth, the taut string of reason in Chen Luobai’s mind seemed to suddenly snap.
His hand on the back of her neck tightened for a moment, then relaxed.
When he came to his senses, her clothes were already disheveled, and her delicate softness was spilling over his fingertips.
Chen Luobai suddenly became clear-headed again.
Two seconds later.
He lay on Zhou Anran’s shoulder, his voice extremely hoarse: “I’m sorry.”
Zhou Anran’s fingertips gripped the fabric of his T-shirt tightly, her face long since flushed red, her voice soft: “It’s okay.”
Chen Luobai’s breathing suddenly became erratic again.
“Zhou Anran.”
He tried to calm his emotions: “Don’t be so obedient.”
Zhou Anran’s breathing was also irregular. This seemed to be the second time today he had used the word “obedient” with her. She shook her head very lightly: “It’s not obedience.”
“Then what is it?” Chen Luobai asked, still resting on her shoulder.
Zhou Anran bit her lip.
He probably didn’t know just how much she liked him.
She liked him so much that if he had gone a bit further just now, she wouldn’t have stopped him. She liked him so much that on that first day he brought her to the apartment, when he said those words to her, if he had insisted just a little more, she might have nodded and agreed.
But she was too embarrassed to tell him these things.
Before she could speak, Chen Luobai lifted his head and saw that her lips and eyes were watery, as if she had been bullied badly.
Yet she hadn’t stopped him earlier.
“If it’s not obedience, then what is it?”
“…”
“If you don’t say, I’ll continue?”
Zhou Anran turned her head away, not looking at him.
After two seconds, Chen Luobai heard a very soft sound.
“Mm.”
The living room fell silent for a moment, with only the sound of heavy, indistinguishable breathing and some faint, subtle noises.
Zhou Anran gripped his arm tightly.
As if wanting to pull away, yet also as if wanting to offer herself up more fully.
A moment passed.
Or perhaps a long time passed.
Zhou Anran felt Chen Luobai kiss her ear, his breath and voice pressed against her ear, so hot it made her blush and her heart race again: “Baby, can I look?”
Later that night at the Law School’s celebration party, Zhou Anran didn’t pay much attention to what was eaten or what others were talking about.
After arriving, she sat quietly next to Chen Luobai the whole time, eating whatever dishes were passed to her or whatever Chen Luobai put in her bowl, her mind wandering elsewhere.
Once again, after casually picking up some food with her chopsticks, Zhou Anran was about to eat it without looking, but just as it reached her mouth, her wrist was suddenly grasped.
Chen Luobai’s voice sounded beside her. He had been speaking to her so gently all evening, and this time there was even more of a smile in his voice: “Why are you putting everything in your mouth?”
Zhou Anran was startled for a moment and turned her head to look at him.
When her gaze inadvertently fell on his lips, she quickly looked away as if burned.
Zhou Anran lowered her head again and only then saw that what she had just picked up was a piece of star anise.
Her gaze shifted slightly, and she saw his hand gripping her wrist. It wasn’t as hot as when he had just finished playing, nor as cool as when he had just showered.
There was a small brown mole on his wrist bone that she had secretly looked at many times before.
And this little mole, not long ago tonight, had swayed before her eyes for a long, long time as that large hand with its prominent knuckles alternately expanded and contracted, kneaded and pinched.
Chen Luobai’s voice sounded in her ear again.
The young man first laughed very softly, then asked her in a low voice: “What do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you.”
Zhou Anran couldn’t eat anything more.
She shook her head.
“I’m done eating.”
Chen Luobai’s attitude was very indulgent: “Alright, I’ll eat with you again when you’re hungry.”
Not eating, Zhou Anran managed to pull back some of her attention to listen to their conversation. The topic eventually drifted to jersey numbers.
The one next to her was the biggest hero, so he was the first to be asked.
“By the way, Chen Luobai, why is your jersey number 26?”
“I remember Kyle Korver’s number is 26, right?”
“Yeah, he’s pretty good at three-pointers.”
“It’s not that,” A hand suddenly draped over Zhou Anran’s shoulder as Chen Luobai pulled her closer to him. His voice still held a smile, “It’s the total number of strokes in her name.”