Ji Anran froze for a moment, then turned to look at him. “Regret what?”
Chen Luobai glanced at her flushed cheeks. “If I’d known, I would have signed up for an event too.”
Ji Anran blinked. “Why the sudden interest in participating?”
Chen Luobai changed the subject. “Wait for me here.”
“Where are you going?” Ji Anran asked.
“To buy drinks.” Chen Luobai reached out and gently pinched her cheek. “Someone’s voice is about to go hoarse from all that cheering.”
Ji Anran covered the spot where he had pinched her, watching as the young man turned and walked away. The corner of her lips curved up slightly.
Zhang Shuxian returned after receiving her award and looked around. “Why are you alone? Where’s Chen Luobai?”
Ji Anran glanced back again, but the young man had already disappeared into the crowd. “He went to buy drinks.”
“Buying drinks for you? Well, well, our big campus heartthrob Chen is quite considerate.” Zhang Shuxian paused, then looked at her teasingly. “So when are you two finally going to make it official?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ji Anran’s face heated up, and she deliberately played dumb, quickly changing the subject. “Do you want to rest for a bit?”
Zhang Shuxian knew she was shy and didn’t tease her further. “What’s there to rest from after just a long jump? Qianqian and the others have their competitions in the afternoon. Is there anything else you want to watch this morning?”
Ji Anran shook her head. “I’m fine with watching anything. I’ll wait here for him to come back first. If there’s something you particularly want to see, I can go with you later.”
“What do I need you to accompany me for? Just keep him company. I’ll go find Qianqian and the others later,” Zhang Shuxian said, tugging at her. “But the boys’ long jump competition is about to start. Didn’t He Mingyu sign up for that? Let’s watch this one first, and you can wait for him here.”
Ji Anran nodded. “Alright.”
The boys’ standing long jump competition soon began.
He Mingyu took first place in the preliminaries.
The final had three attempts, with the best result counting.
He Mingyu’s first jump wasn’t great.
As he prepared for his second jump, Zhang Shuxian cheered from the sidelines. “He Mingyu, go for it! You can do it!”
Several competitions were happening simultaneously, and Class 2 had participants in various events. The crowd was scattered, leaving few people to cheer for He Mingyu at the long jump. Ji Anran joined in with a shout: “Come on, you can do it!”
He Mingyu turned his head slightly in their direction.
Then he took a deep breath and jumped.
The second jump was much farther than the first, but perhaps he used too much force. He Mingyu lost his balance upon landing and fell forward, scraping his elbow on the ground and leaving a small, bloody cut.
Zhang Shuxian quickly pulled Ji Anran into the field. “Are you okay?”
He Mingyu stood up, his lips slightly pressed together. “It’s fine, just a scratch.”
Ji Anran looked at the wound on his hand and, remembering something, pulled her hand from Zhang Shuxian’s grip and reached into her school pants pocket.
She had brought some iodine swabs with her today, just in case, since several of them had competitions.
Ji Anran took out two swabs and held them out to him. “These have iodine inside. Just break one end to use it.”
He Mingyu’s gaze lingered on her face for a second, and his tightly pressed lips curved up slightly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Ji Anran said, noticing sand near his wound. She added, “You should rinse your hand first.”
Just as she finished speaking, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Chen Luobai’s voice sounded very close to her ear, a bit deeper than usual.
“Come with me.”
Ji Anran turned her head to see the young man’s jawline slightly tense, looking displeased.
He was always the most eye-catching presence anywhere.
Many people on the field turned to look at them.
Ji Anran wasn’t afraid of being observed now, but there were many teachers on the field. She worried he might be called to the office for a talk, and she was afraid they wouldn’t be able to sit together anymore.
“Chen Luobai,” Ji Anran called out to him. “Let go of me. Wherever you want to go, I’ll follow you.”
The tall young man in front of her paused his steps but didn’t turn around. He obediently released her hand.
Ji Anran followed him across the field, around the gymnasium, and to the wall behind the gym before Chen Luobai finally stopped.
All the students had gathered on the field, and this spot was some distance away, making it feel quite peaceful.
Ji Anran looked up slightly.
The young man was still holding her clothes and a supermarket shopping bag, probably containing the drinks he had bought. His other hand was in his school pants pocket, his jawline still tense and his thin lips pressed together.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
How did he become upset just from buying something?
Chen Luobai lowered his gaze to look at her. “Ji Anran.”
Ji Anran blinked.
Chen Luobai’s gaze slowly moved down to her hand. “You give things you’ve given me to other boys?”
“What things?” Ji Anran was confused for a moment, then suddenly realized. “Oh, you mean the iodine swabs? He Mingyu just got hurt, didn’t he?”
Chen Luobai retorted, “The school has several first aid kits on the field, and the school nurse is on standby. Does he need you to worry about him?”
The young man’s tone was uncharacteristically harsh.
Ji Anran felt oddly happy, but also a bit guilty.
“I didn’t think that much about it at the time.”
Chen Luobai nodded expressionlessly. “So you were so worried about his injury that you couldn’t think of anything else? You even cheered for him, explained problems to him, and smiled at him. Oh, right, he was also your first deskmate.”
Ji Anran: “…?”
When did she smile at He Mingyu?
Chen Luobai paused, his dark eyes looking directly and sharply at her. “Don’t tell me you like him?”
Ji Anran: “??”
She quickly shook her head.
Chen Luobai pressed on, “What does shaking your head mean? You don’t like him?”
Ji Anran felt that he seemed a bit jealous, but she didn’t understand how he could jump to such a conclusion. She explained seriously, “I don’t like him. We’re just friends.”
Chen Luobai’s lips finally curved up slightly.
Ji Anran breathed a small sigh of relief.
Then she heard him suddenly ask, “Then what about me?”
It was as if something exploded in her brain. Ji Anran felt she almost couldn’t understand the meaning of his words.
But it seemed she did understand because her heart suddenly started racing uncontrollably.
The young man abruptly leaned in close. Unlike usual, he didn’t maintain a safe distance. That face that made her heart flutter was suddenly very close, and his clean, fresh scent seemed to have a certain aggressiveness, surrounding her.
“Why are you in a daze? Weren’t you quick to answer just now?”
Ji Anran’s mind went blank, and she instinctively took a step back, her back hitting the wall.
But Chen Luobai didn’t let her go. He continued to lean in, his free hand propping against the wall beside her. Although he was careful not to make any physical contact, it was almost a posture of half-trapping her in his arms as he continued to press her for an answer. “Why are you avoiding it?”
“Is this question so hard to answer?”
Ji Anran could almost feel the heat of his breath.
Her fingertips at her side curled slightly.
Earlier, when Zhang Shuxian asked when they were going to make things official, she changed the subject not just because she was shy, but also because she still couldn’t be completely certain.
The idea that “Chen Luobai also likes her” was like a small progress bar in her heart.
From the initial 0% where she didn’t dare to think about it at all, it gradually increased as they spent time together, finally stopping at 99%.
But as long as he didn’t tell her directly, that 1% of uncertainty still lingered in her heart.
It made her occasionally ask herself repeatedly if there was still a possibility she had guessed wrong.
Ji Anran wanted to get an answer from him first.
In the past, she definitely wouldn’t have dared to ask him.
But that 99% progress bar, along with her clothes and drinks he was holding in his hand, and her hair tie still on his wrist, gave her enough courage to speak up.
She slowly clenched her fingers, lowering her eyes to look at him: “Then what about you?”
Chen Luobai laughed softly very close to her ear, as if amused by her question.
“Ji Anran, I’ve been obvious enough, haven’t I? I thought the whole school already knew I liked you.”
I thought the whole school already knew I liked you.
The whole school knows I like you.
I like you.
The progress bar that had been stuck at 99% finally moved forward one more notch.
It should have been a settling of dust, a sense of certainty, but at this moment, it felt like being on cloud nine, with a sense of unreality.
Ji Anran couldn’t help but raise her eyes slightly, seeing laughter in his eyes, seeing her reflection, and also seeing a kind of lingering and gentle affection.
Only then did the corners of her lips slowly curve up, and she said softly, “But you never told me.”
“I’m telling you now. Can you answer my question now?” Chen Luobai lowered his gaze to look at her closely, pausing slightly, his voice suddenly lowering a few notches, “So, what about me?”
Ji Anran felt flustered under his gaze, her heart racing. She lowered her eyes again, then nodded very lightly but firmly towards him, her voice also soft: “Mm.”
That low sound traveled from her ear to his heart. Chen Luobai felt as if the softest part of his heart had been gently tickled. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he lowered his eyes, his gaze slowly moving from the girl’s lightly trembling eyelashes down to her small, upturned nose tip, then to her pink, moist lips.
Chen Luobai slowly lowered his head, moving closer.
Ji Anran suddenly held her breath.
The distance between Chen Luobai and her grew smaller and smaller.
The autumn breeze blew across her cheek.
When there was only a tiny distance left, the young man turned his head away, resting his forehead against the wall beside her. His voice sounded somewhat frustrated, but also as if he was suppressing something.
“Forget it, I promised Teacher Gao.”
Ji Anran took a couple of seconds to catch her breath before turning her head to look at him, confused. “You promised Teacher, Gao?”
Chen Luobai also turned his head slightly: “Yeah, I promised him I wouldn’t affect your studies, that I wouldn’t officially date you before graduation, and that I wouldn’t do anything I shouldn’t. Otherwise, why do you think he’d be willing to let me sit behind you?”
Ji Anran was stunned for a moment: “So when Teacher Gao called you that day, it was about us. You even lied to me, saying it was good news.”
Chen Luobai’s lips curled up: “How is that lying? Our matter, isn’t it good news?”
Ji Anran’s heart skipped a beat.
Chen Luobai turned around, leaning against the wall next to her. He took out a can of soda from the shopping bag, opened it with one hand, and passed it to her. Then he opened his can of cola and took a sip.
The cold liquid entered his throat, and only then did he turn his head to look at her again.
“Ji Anran, let’s go to the same university.”
Ji Anran had just put the soda can to her lips when she heard this. She also turned her head to look at him.
“Or I can go to the same one as you.”
Chen Luobai leaned against the wall, looking at her with a lazy yet gentle smile.
“If that doesn’t work, we can choose between Universities A and B. They’re close to each other anyway.”
Ji Anran took a sip of orange soda, the cold, sweet taste filling her mouth.
“I might not be able to get in.”
“Who says you can’t get in?” The young man’s tone was still incredibly confident. “Besides, don’t you have me as your deskmate?”
Ji Anran’s lips curved up again, and she responded softly as if making a promise to herself and him: “I’ll work hard.”
Chen Luobai turned his head, looking at the shallow dimple on her cheek as she held the can to her lips, taking small sips.
“Is the soda good?” he suddenly asked.
Ji Anran blinked.
Why this sudden question?
It’s not like he hadn’t tasted it before.
Before she could ask, he had already taken the soda from her hand and replaced it with his cola.
“Let’s switch.”
Ji Anran held his cola, staring at him blankly.
Sunlight spilled over the wall, outlining the young man’s impossibly handsome profile. Dust particles floated finely in the air, the wind blew gently, and the leaves outside the wall swayed, scattering fragments of light and shadow on the ground.
Chen Luobai held the soda can she had just drunk from to his lips, tilting his head back slightly as if taking a sip. His sharp Adam’s apple bobbed gently a couple of times.
On the sports field, someone must have won a championship in one of the events, as cheers of excitement echoed over.
The sunlight was also intense.
The young woman’s cheeks instantly turned bright red.