Lemon Soda Candy

It was prompted by Zhu Ran, whenever a girl from another class came to their class looking for Chen Luobai, he would take pleasure in other people's misery and gleefully teased loudly from the back. 

"Chen Luobai, another girl is here to ask math problems."

Since it was a harmless teasing that allows the other party a leeway to advance or retreat.

The girls didn't get offended but instead their faces turned flushed red. 

All of them eventually returned in defeat, but the 'ask math problems' story has somehow become widespread.

It started from their class, then to other classes, and by the time it reached the whole school, the stories had somehow undergone so much alteration that they took on a whole new meaning. 

'Can I ask you a math problem?' has suddenly replaced 'I like you.', 'I wanna be with you.', 'Do you want to try dating?', and 'The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?¹'. It became some kind of unspoken new form of confession among the students in No. 2 High School at the time. 

Turning a common sentence into something secretive and ambiguous, belonged to the heart of the youths.

It provides them with enough security. 

A question that can be turned around. 

So much that even if a teacher caught them on the spot, it would be nothing more than an 'open and honest' question.

But because of this, students who really needed help with math problems didn't dare to ask this question to classmates of the opposite sex.

Even between the same sex is not 'absolutely safe'.

This distorted custom prevailed for a long time. 

It was fine among girls because they were used to being sweet to each other, but between boys, someone would sometimes forget that the meaning of this sentence has changed and ask it casually, then before the girls in front of them, who are tormented by the day-to-day tedium of studying, can turn around to poke fun at them, they react first by pulling apart their respective desk and chair in disgust, immediately drew a 'we are innocent' line. 

As a result, the number of students who went to ask math teachers for advice on the subject increased like never before.

This was particularly evident in Class 2, where this stunt originated.

The math teacher was left so bewildered that he finally couldn't help but ask in one of the evening study sessions, "What's happening with you guys lately?"

It was mid-November and the mid-term exams were due the next day.

Towards the end of autumn, the temperature in Nancheng had risen again, with daytime highs of more than 20 degrees and evenings of more than 10 degrees. The weather was very pleasant,  cool autumn breeze made its way in through the windows. 

The math teacher is their homeroom teacher, Gao Guohua, a middle-aged man who can switch between warm and fierce seamlessly.

After asking this question, he stroked his noticeably receding hairline and looked suspiciously at the group of teenagers in his class, "Has the enthusiasm for learning math become so high recently, so many people came to me to ask math problems?" 

As soon as the question was asked, the class erupted in laughter.

There are those who hold back their laugh, those who laugh secretly, and those who laugh hysterically. 

Gao Guohua pointed at the one laughing hysterically, "Zhu Ran, stand up. Will you explain why you are laughing about this?"

Zhu Ran stood up, still holding his stomach, glanced at the young master beside him and laughed to tears. He calmed himself down, then replied seriously in an upright manner, "Teacher, I was elated by our class's unprecedented enthusiasm for learning. I think our class will not only be able to maintain our position as the top of the grade, but our average score will also be several points higher than Class 1."

Gao Guohua felt that something was not right.

But when he thought about it, he couldn't pinpoint what it was.

He wondered why they were laughing so happily. 

Maybe it was just the generation gap playing part? 

However, he was quite comforted by what Zhu Ran said, nodding, "Sit down."

Just as Zhu Ran was sitting down, Gao Guohua saw someone pulling Zhu Ran's chair lightly, moving it to the side.

Before Gao Guohua could warn him, Zhu Ran already sat on his buttocks.

"Chen Luobai, stand up."

The moment Gao Guohua's words rang out, most of the students in the class looked back curiously, and Zhou Anran, pretending to follow the crowd, also followed suit, turning her head to look at him.

"What are you doing with Zhu Ran's chair?"

Zhou Anran saw the boy not far away calmly holding the 'evidence of the crime' in his hand, the small mole on his wrist was hard to see due to the distance. He was standing in a relaxed posture, the corner of his mouth curved up slightly, casually flicking his eyes over at Zhu Ran who had fallen on the ground.

"Teacher, he's disturbing my math study."

She didn't know if it was just an illusion, but Zhou Anran had the feeling that he pronounced the word 'math' rather strongly.

Perhaps he did, because the class suddenly burst into laughter again.

Gao Guohua, who had no idea that Zhu Ran was the 'instigator' for the recent upsurge in enthusiasm for math, was growing more and more confused at their laughter. 

But as a teacher, he was bound to be a bit biased towards students with excellent grades. On top of that, Chen Luobai gave a very high-sounding reasoning and knowing that he and Zhu Ran were close, it was probably more of a joke than anything else.

In the end, he could only helplessly point his finger toward him, "Sit down, don't fool around during self-study."

Zhu Ran stood up while covering his buttocks, clearly didn't mind much about it, but he deliberately put on a bitter face and said,"Teacher, you are biased, at the very least you should punish him by making him stand in the back for the rest of the lesson." 

Gao Guohua could tell that he was just pretending at a glance, "You were laughing so hard that the class next door could probably hear just now, should I also punish you to stand in the back for the rest of the lesson? "

Zhu Ran made a zip motion around his mouth, indicating that he would shut up.

"Alright, alright, let's concentrate." Told Gao Guohua, "It's mid-term exam tomorrow, if you guys don't surpass Class 1 at the exam, I'll come back to settle the accounts with you guys."

Zhou Anran once again went along with everyone and turned around. 

The boy's smile just now seemed to have been engraved inside her mind.

Her heart pounded for a long time.

***

The weather was great during the two days of the mid-term exams.

The teacher in No. 2 High school graded the exam papers at a very quick pace. The results of some subjects were announced early the following day after the mid-term exams. 

That afternoon, Zhou Anran and Yan Xingxi came out for supper and bought a cup of milk tea together.

A few minutes after Zhou Anran arrived in class and took her seat, Sheng Xiaowen, the English class representative who sat in front of her, also returned to her seat.

Instead of sitting properly, Sheng Xiaowen turned around and rested her chin on her book, looking at Zhou Anran with a sullen expression.

Zhou Anran, holding a milk tea in her hand, asked, "What's wrong, didn't do well in exams?"

Sheng Xiaowen: "I got 146."

Zhou Anran blinked her eyes, "That's great then, only 4 points short. Why do you look so unhappy?" 

Sheng Xiaowen looked at her more resentfully, "You got 147."

Huh?

Zhou Anran was a bit surprised.

Her English score was always within the top five in class, she had a hunch that she did quite well this time. However, she didn't expect to score one point higher than Sheng Xiaowen.

Sheng Xiaowen continued, pretending to complain, "And that Immortal Chen Luobai, he got 149, how could you two make me lose face as the English class representative?"

Zhou Anran never thought she and Chen Luobai would be mentioned together like this.

Using the word 'you two' to refer to them. 

Even if there was nothing ambiguous about this, it made her feel happy. 

The corners of Zhou Anran's mouth curled up before she knew it, but when she saw that Sheng Xiaowen was still looking at her with a gloomy expression, she tried to suppress it back down.

Sheng Xiaowen: "Be happy if you do well in exams, don't worry about me."

Putting down the milk tea in her hand, Zhou Anran consoled her,"You won first place in the citywide speaking competition, you're better than all of us."

Sheng Xiaowen was coaxed by this and cheered up,"I do have this strongpoint, but that was because Chen Luobai didn't participate last time. I want to surpass him, ugh…… this won't do. I have to go to the teacher and see if there are any more dark horses in class who surpass me this time." 

At once, she got up and ran off hastily. 

Zhou Anran took a sip of her milk tea.

It felt like this cup was exceptionally sweet today.

Yan Xingxi approached closer from the side, "So I heard, you came second in class for English, you have to treat me." 

"Tomorrow's dinner is on me." Zhou Anran replied to her while thinking about Sheng Xiaowen 'you two' just now, pulling out her English book.

Yan Xingxi made a baffled expression, "Why are you still reading English? You're already ranked second in class. Do you plan to surpass Chen Luobai?" 

Zhou Anran, who was flipping through the book, paused. 

Trying to surpass him?

That doesn't sound so far-fetched. 

If she surpasses him, will he at least notice her a little?

She was so deep in thought that she didn't answer right away, but Yan Xingxi also seemed to be just saying it off-handedly and changed the subject, "Anyway, Sheng Xiaowen is too thin-skinned. She's so good at English, she has nothing to be ashamed of as class representative. Some people can't surpass Chen Luobai but still happily take on the role of math class representative."

That 'some people' was Dong Chen, who was sitting behind her.

Just then, Zhou Anran saw Dong Chen returning to his seat out of the corner of her eyes, she hurriedly reached out to give her a tug. 

Yan Xingxi was confused, "What's the matter?"

At this moment, a sneer suddenly came from the back seat, "I, at least always ranked second in class at math. Unlike some people who only scored over 120 points in math this time but are still happily drinking milk tea?"

Yan Xingxi turned her head to glare at him, not caring of the fact that he had overheard her badmouthing him behind his back, asked,"Dong Chen, who did you say only scored 120 points?"

Dong Chen grimaced, "Who else could it be, in any case, it definitely not Zhou Anran."

Yan Xingxi turned back to face Zhou Anran, looking panicked as if the world was ending  "Oh no, it's over. My mom will definitely take away all my idol stuff and lock them up." 

Zhou Anran: "Why would Auntie suddenly lock up your idol stuff?"

"She told me if I kept obsessing over my idol, my math grades would definitely continue to drop, and I might end up with the same math scores as my idol in the future." Once Yan Xingxi talked about her idol, her words became endless, the topic suddenly got sidetracked, "I suspect that she also likes my idol. Otherwise, how else would she know that my idol is average in math? My idol is already so outstanding, he can sing and compose lyrics, is gentle, incredibly handsome and has countless strengths." 

She didn't know if it was because of Sheng Xiaowen, but Zhou Anran's mind kept thinking about a certain person, she jokingly blurted out, "What? Looks like God has also opened heaven's path for your idol." 

Yan Xingxi shook her head and cupped her face, "No, he is my heaven! My Deity! My God!"

"My heaven, my deity, my god," Dong Chen repeated her words mockingly from the back seat. "Aren't you disgusted?" 

"You want to die?" Yan Xingxi immediately grabbed a sketchbook on the table and turned around to hit him, "How dare you say that about my idol!"

Dong Chen hurriedly held up his hands to block her, "You can call me thick-skinned, but I can't say this? Yan Xingxi, don't think that I didn't dare to fight back just because you're a girl."

"You have the nerve to fight back!" Yan Xingxi said.

The two of them always quarrel practically everyday. 

Zhou Anran is used to it, she picked up her milk tea and pretend to nonchalantly glance at Chen Luobai's empty seat. 

Dong Chen didn't really mean it when he said he would fight back, said, "Zhou Anran, you should control your family's Yan Xingxi."

Zhou Anran slowly gulped down her milk tea, smiled as she shook her head, "I can't control her, even I don't dare to say anything bad about her idol."

Dong Chen looked at Yan Xingxi with a helpless smile in his eyes, "Fine, fine, I'm wrong. Your idol is also my heaven, my deity, my God. Happy now?"

Only then did Yan Xingxi stop, "Hmph, you know what's good."

The quarrel finally ceased.

Zhou Anran took advantage of the situation to look back once more.

The seat was still empty.

When she turned her head again, she saw that Yan Xingxi was already facing forward, searching around her desk and finding a pair of earphones.

"You still want to listen to songs?"Zhou Anran asked her, "Shouldn't you be doing some more math questions?"

Yan Xingxi: "No, I need to listen to songs to get some energy before I face the coming storm."

Zhou Anran: "......"

"Would you like to listen?"Yan Xingxi handed over one side of the earphone, "Who knows if my mom will seize my earphone too."

Zhou Anran couldn't help but to laugh, "C'mon, it won't be that bad. When we get home later, I'll help you talk to Auntie." 

She then took the earphone. 

There was a sudden noise coming from the front door of the classroom.

"All I did was laugh the other day, but he pulled my chair away from me on purpose and made me fall." It was Zhu Ran's voice.

Soon after, a boy called Zong Kai, their close friend from Class 4, responded, "Considering the ruckus you caused, it's a miracle he didn't beat you up." 

Then came the most familiar voice of all, 

A voice that carried a hint of smile. 

"Yeah, be thankful I didn't have you on your knees." 

Zhou Anran looked up and saw Chen Luobai entering through the front door with a smile on his face.

Because of the increasingly hot weather, the boy had switched back to wearing the summer uniform, orange basketball between his arms, the black hair slightly damp on his forehead, his deep eyes bearing a bright youthful smile. 

As if sensing her gaze, he suddenly raised his eyes and looked over to her side.

Zhou Anran quickly lowered her head in guilt, stuffed the earphones into her ears rashly, where a song immediately came out——

"How can one own a rainbow? How can one embrace the summer breeze?²" 

The late autumn breeze was as hot as if the summer had not yet passed.

And he was like a wind that blew throughout her summer.

She could feel it around her, but couldn't touch nor hold it. 

_______

¹: This phrase is a more poetic way of saying I love you. Read more here. 

²: Listen here.