In the first semester of her sophomore year, Zhou An Ran joined a professor’s laboratory.
Apart from her, the other girls in her dormitory had also joined different labs, making their schedules even busier than in their freshman year. An Ran’s three roommates each got an electric scooter. An Ran didn’t know how to ride one, but her roommates generously offered to give her rides anytime.
However, their elective courses weren’t entirely the same, and their labs differed. An Ran felt uncomfortable asking them for frequent rides and didn’t want to trouble Luobai Chen too much by having him pick her up and drop her off. She finally decided to learn how to ride herself.
For this purpose, Luobai specially cleared an entire weekend.
An Ran wasn’t particularly skilled in this area, but she wasn’t a bad student either. She didn’t waste his weekend and successfully learned how to ride by Sunday afternoon.
But on Monday morning, without him following behind, when she rode alone to the teaching building for the first time, she still felt somewhat nervous. Fortunately, electric scooters couldn’t go too fast on campus, and her roommates were all around to protect her.
After that initial short stretch, An Ran gradually calmed down.
She rode steadily to the teaching building. As she stopped and was about to get off, she heard Jing Yi Xie calling her from behind.
“Ran Ran, look back for a moment.”
An Ran turned her head. “What is it?”
Jing Yi’s face bore a familiar teasing expression. “I’m not telling you to look at me. Look a bit further back. Someone followed you all the way.”
An Ran’s gaze fell behind them, and she saw Luobai Chen not far behind.
The young man’s long legs straddled a black electric scooter. He was dressed all in black today – a black jacket and black pants. When not smiling, he had an unapproachable, cool aura that made the electric scooter beneath him look like an ultra-cool motorcycle.
As their eyes met, Luobai’s eyebrows raised slightly.
An Ran couldn’t quite describe the feeling.
She just felt her heart was filled to the brim.
She had once become less confident because of her feelings for him.
But now, he seemed to have become one of the sources of her confidence.
Because no matter when, she could feel that he was always behind her, watching over her.
An Ran got off the scooter and said to her roommates, “You go ahead, I’ll be over in a moment.”
“Go on, go on,” Ling Yun Bai also teased, “We’ll save you a seat. Just don’t be late.”
After more than a year, An Ran had somewhat gotten used to their teasing. Pretending not to hear, she walked straight to Luobai.
The young man had already gotten off his scooter.
But it was the first class of the morning, and people were coming and going outside the teaching building. An Ran was still too shy to hug him in public, so she just held his hand. “Why did you come? Didn’t you say you were going to catch up on sleep this morning?”
Because he had spent the weekend teaching her to ride the electric scooter, he had stayed up until midnight last night catching up on homework.
Luobai reached out and pinched her cheek. “My student is hitting the road for the first time today. As her teacher, of course, I have to come and evaluate the results.”
An Ran looked up at him. “So how did I ride?”
Luobai’s lips curled up. “Very impressive. As expected of someone I taught.”
An Ran’s mouth also curved into a smile. “Are you praising me or yourself?”
“Can’t I praise both?” Luobai said.
“Alright.” An Ran’s fingers gently curled around his hand. Seeing the obvious fatigue in his eyes, she reluctantly let go. “Then you should go back and catch up on sleep quickly, otherwise you won’t be in good spirits for class later.”
Luobai was indeed very tired. He nodded. “I’ll come pick you up for lunch in the afternoon?”
An Ran thought for a moment, figured she should be able to make time in the afternoon, and nodded. “Sure.”
Luobai reached out and pinched her face again. “I’m off then.”
An Ran’s fingertips twitched. Somehow, she seemed unable to suppress the impulse in her heart. She suddenly took two steps closer and hugged him.
Luobai was stunned for a moment. When he reacted, he raised his hand to wrap around her waist and said with a smile, “Teaching you to ride an electric scooter makes you hug me in public. Does that mean when I accompany you to get your driver’s license in the summer, I should make time to collect on that?”
An Ran: “…?”
This person couldn’t be serious for more than a few seconds now.
She immediately let go. “You should go back to sleep quickly.”
*
An Ran’s entry into this professor’s lab was due to her helping Yu Bing Qin a few times during the second semester of her freshman year.
Near the end of that semester, one day after she and Yu Bing Qin, who had already been recommended for postgraduate studies under that professor, came out of the lab, she suddenly heard the girl next to her say, “My supervisor asked if you want to officially come help in the lab next semester?”
Because this professor was one of the top experts in the field domestically, when An Ran heard Yu Bing Qin say this, she had the unprecedented feeling that she might be dreaming.
An Ran calmed herself a bit before asking, “Did you recommend me, Qin Jie?”
She knew that when Yu Bing Qin said she wanted her to come help, she wanted to give her a chance to make an impression on the professor and learn something along the way.
“No, I don’t have that much influence,” Yu Bing Qin rarely spoke at length. “He asked himself. He said when you watched us do experiments, your eyes had a spark. You’re quiet, neither arrogant nor impatient, and you learn quickly. He said you’re good material. He said the prospects for our major aren’t great right now – it’s hard work and doesn’t pay much. In scientific research, unless you have incredible talent or luck, most people face boring experiments and constant failures. Without passion and the ability to settle down, it’s very hard to persevere.”
An Ran still felt dazed, as if she had been hit by a pie falling from the sky. “He said that?”
“Just take it in.” Yu Bing Qin smiled rarely, reaching out to pinch her cheek. “He’s just letting you come in to help out. Whether you learn anything, or whether you can get recommended for postgraduate studies under him in the future, it all depends on you. Do you want to join?”
An Ran nodded without hesitation. “Of course.”
“Alright, I’ll tell him later.” Yu Bing Qin waved the keys in her hand. “Let’s go, Luo asked me to take you to the apartment.”
Luobai Chen had originally wanted to pick her up himself, but they had been delayed in the lab for half an hour. Worried she might be hungry, he went to the apartment first to order takeout and wait for her.
At the apartment, An Ran opened the fingerprint lock herself to enter. Perhaps hearing the movement, she had just changed her shoes when she saw the tall young man come to the entrance to greet her, wearing a simple white T-shirt and black shorts, the muscle lines of his calves and arms smooth and beautiful.
An Ran took a few steps and threw herself into his arms.
Luobai hugged her head, looking down to see the shallow dimple on her cheek. “Did something good happen? You seem so happy.”
An Ran: “Qin Jie said Professor Song wants me to officially join his lab next semester.”
Luobai’s face showed no surprise, only a slight curl of his lips, obviously happy for her as well. “Well, this Professor Song of yours has good taste.”
An Ran’s eyes curved in a smile as she called his name: “Luobai Chen.”
Luobai: “Hm?”
“Do you have a filter for me too?” An Ran looked up at him.
On the way over, they met Xu Hong Liang and some other senior students. When they learned she could join Professor Song’s lab in her sophomore year, everyone envied her and praised her abilities. Only his words were different from everyone else’s.
Others thought that for a freshman undergraduate to be personally selected by Professor Song to join the lab was her luck and good fortune.
Only he thought that Professor Song recognizing her meant Professor Song had good taste.
“Do I?” Luobai’s gaze inadvertently caught sight of the whiteness inside the collar of her T-shirt. He paused slightly, his flirting subtle yet practiced. “I’m not sure. Why don’t you let me take a closer look later to see if I have a filter or not?”
An Ran’s face heated up.
She pretended not to understand his words and changed the subject. “But after joining the lab next semester, I’ll have much less time to spend with you.”
Luobai pinched her face. “Zhou An Ran, am I that small-minded in your eyes?”
An Ran: “How did this become about being small-minded?”
“My wife wants to do scientific research, how could I not support her?” Luobai continued to pinch her face.
He was getting more and more practiced at using that term of endearment.
An Ran’s face grew hotter. She let go of her hug. “I’m going to eat now.”
Luobai laughed and pulled her back. “Let me kiss you first.”
With finals approaching, they had both been busy. This week they had only met briefly in the cafeteria, not even having a chance to hug properly.
An Ran wrapped her arms around his waist again.
Luobai lowered his head and kissed her.
The last rays of the setting sun quietly peeked into the living room.
For a moment, only the soft, heart-fluttering sounds of kissing could be heard in the quiet entrance.
*
After officially joining the lab, An Ran’s free time was cut in half. Luobai’s coursework wasn’t easy either, but whenever he could spare time, he would come to the lab to pick her up. Often, he wouldn’t come empty-handed. He would bring a bunch of food and, in her name, treat the senior students in the lab.
As this happened frequently, apart from Yu Bing Qin, other senior students in the lab would occasionally take the initiative to guide her as well.
Even Professor Song had taken notice of him, jokingly saying their lab had gained an unofficial member.
Throughout her sophomore year, apart from participating in a competition with her roommates, An Ran spent most of her spare time in the lab, progressing from only being able to do odd jobs to slightly participating in the work.
Although it wasn’t much better than doing odd jobs, An Ran knew that her professional knowledge wasn’t yet solid, and even a small improvement was enough to make her happy.
It was certainly hard work, but being able to do what she liked made her enjoy it.
In the second semester of her sophomore year, An Ran even pulled an all-nighter with the senior students to experiment. It was only when daylight broke that everyone came out of the lab yawning.
As soon as they stepped out, An Ran saw Luobai Chen leaning against the corridor outside the lab door, holding a thermal bag.
It was spring then, and he was wearing a rare light blue denim jacket. Tall with long legs, his black hair falling over his forehead, he looked particularly refreshing and handsome.
An Ran’s heart beat faster as she quickly walked up to him.
Luobai reached out to wrap his arm around her waist but didn’t pull her into an embrace.
He knew she was shy and never made overly intimate gestures when there were many familiar people around.
“When did you get here? Why didn’t you tell me?” An Ran looked up at him.
Luobai also looked down at her, his tone casual. “Just arrived not long ago.”
An Ran knew that sometimes he didn’t speak a word of truth. She reached out to touch his hand. “Then why are your hands so cold?”
Luobai: “I went to the bathroom before picking up the takeout.”
A senior student behind them lightly coughed, and Luobai finally looked up. He opened the thermal bag and only took out a sealed cup of millet porridge, then handed the entire bag to Yu Bing Qin.
“Share this with everyone. I’ll take my person away first.”
An Ran heard a senior student sigh behind her: “It’s so nice to be in love.”
As they walked downstairs, Luobai unwrapped a straw and inserted it into the millet porridge before handing it to her.
He had indeed been there for almost half an hour but compared to how she had secretly liked him for over a year before, waiting for her for half an hour was nothing.
It’s just that while An Ran wasn’t picky about dishes, she couldn’t eat very sweet things and didn’t eat noodles at all. Breakfast had always been a challenge. He wasn’t sure when she would come out and couldn’t prepare anything for her in advance.
“Have this first. I ordered a bowl of rice noodles for you. It should arrive at the apartment just about right.”
An Ran softly responded with an “Mm” and reached out to take the millet porridge. The warm feeling spread from her palm to her heart.
After being together for a while, she realized that he wasn’t a very meticulous person in many aspects of daily life. Perhaps because there were live-in aunts taking care of things at home, he often casually put things down in the apartment and then couldn’t find them when needed.
But he would remember her menstrual cycle more clearly than she did, remember her food preferences, remember all her likes, and remember all their anniversaries.
She didn’t know if other people’s relationships were good or not.
But being in a relationship with Luobai Chen, being carefully held in his heart was truly very, very good.