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Psst! We're moving!
The beauty of it makes me feel a bit unreal.
— From the Diary of Fairy Su Zaizai
After the whistle blew, a brief rest period began.
Su Zaizai saw Zhang Lurang stand up and walk towards the restroom.
She quickly jogged after him.
Hearing the footsteps behind him,
Zhang Lurang stopped and turned to look at her.
Su Zaizai stood in front of him, tiptoed, and placed the hat back on his head.
He didn’t resist, softly saying: “If you’re not feeling well, go back and sit down.”
Su Zaizai took out the sunscreen from her pocket and shoved it into his hand.
“Rang Rang, remember to apply it; your face is all red.”
“...”
“The sun is very strong. If you don’t apply it, you’ll get sunburned, and it will hurt.”
“Okay.”
“Apply it to your ears too, every two to three hours, or it won’t be effective.”
He obediently agreed: “Mm.”
“Don’t move around unnecessarily. Push-ups are tiring,” Su Zaizai advised.
“I know, go back now.”
Su Zaizai paused for a moment, then said: “My mental resilience isn’t that weak.”
“What?”
“I won’t cry even if the instructor scolds me harshly,” she solemnly stated.
Happy because of you, sad only because of you.
________________________________________
During the lunch break.
After using hot water to wipe her body in the restroom, Su Zaizai returned to the dormitory.
Just as she was about to climb onto her bed, Xiaoxiao from the lower bunk immediately pulled her over and gossiped: “Zaizai, what’s going on between you and that handsome guy from the Advanced Science Class?”
“Nothing much,” she replied listlessly.
“Still not feeling well?”
“Mm.”
“Then go take a nap.”
As she dozed off, Su Zaizai could vaguely still hear the other five people in the dormitory excitedly whispering about today’s events.
“Truly cool, why don’t I have a boyfriend like that treating me!”
“But was it necessary to be so high-profile? So annoying.”
“It was a bit…”
She furrowed her brows, covering her head with the blanket to block out the outside world.
On the other side,
Zhang Lurang was memorizing English words from a vocabulary book on his bed.
His roommate Li Yude came over and gave him a thumbs-up: “Lord Rang, you’re really cool.”
Another boy started lamenting, half-jokingly: “Getting punished with push-ups and winning over a beautiful girl’s heart, Zhang Lurang, you’re quite cunning.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lurang paused his page-turning action.
Li Yude continued: “Yeah, girls fall for this kind of thing, sigh.”
“It’s no use, I need to try harder too. It’s already the second semester of our first year in high school! If I don’t start dating soon, I’ll never have the chance for puppy love in this life.”
Zhang Lurang: “...”
His thoughts stirred.
Suddenly, a scene vividly appeared in his mind.
At night, under the starlit sky.
The girl’s face flushed red, full of helplessness.
—”I’ve never thought about these things, really, never. I swear…”
—”I’m only fifteen years old...”
Zhang Lurang’s temple twitched.
He retracted his thoughts and focused his attention back on the vocabulary book in his hand.
...Forget it.
________________________________________
After a nap, Su Zaizai felt much better.
She got up half an hour earlier, folding her quilt into a tofu shape.
After applying sunscreen, she started changing clothes.
This time, making sure she hadn’t forgotten anything, she went out.
Coming early, more than half of the class wasn’t there yet.
Su Zaizai found a shaded spot to sit, took off her hat, and hugged her knees, lost in thought.
Not long after, a boy casually approached.
He squatted beside her, legs spread wide, and curiously asked: “Desk mate, are you not feeling well?”
Su Zaizai glanced at him and didn’t answer.
“What’s going on between you and that guy from the neighboring class?” Wang Nan asked casually.
“...”
“I’m asking you!”
“Lots of situations,” Su Zaizai replied evasively.
“...”
After a brief silence,
Wang Nan suddenly reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear, teasing: “Isn’t it hot with your hair so loose?”
Su Zaizai frowned and slapped his hand away: “What are you doing?”
After saying that, she didn’t want to stay there anymore and stood up directly.
Wang Nan instinctively stood up too, saying: “Hey, I was just joking with you.”
Su Zaizai turned her head, puzzled: “Then why did you touch me?”
“...”
Her mood was already bad, and she didn’t want to waste any more words with him.
Su Zaizai was about to walk over to place her water bottle when
She turned her head and saw Zhang Lurang looking over here.
Su Zaizai was startled and immediately ran over to him.
She whispered: “Did you apply sunscreen?”
“Mm.”
“I forgot to tell you, remember to apply it half an hour in advance.”
“Okay.”
Su Zaizai blinked, remembering what had just happened.
To avoid any misunderstandings, whether he saw it or not, she had to explain.
“Did you see it just now?”
Zhang Lurang looked away and didn’t speak.
“Rang Rang, don’t be jealous.”
“I’m not,” he furrowed his brows and touched his neck.
“...”
Su Zaizai suddenly found him adorable.
Her mood instantly improved.
“It’s not my fault; he suddenly reached out, and I didn’t even react,” Su Zaizai earnestly explained. After thinking for a moment, she continued: “I think you got the short end of the stick too. Why don’t you touch me once.”
Zhang Lurang: “...”
Su Zaizai shamelessly said: “Otherwise, after I wash my hair tonight, I’ll come to offer myself tomorrow.”
“...”
“You speak...”
Before she finished her sentence, Zhang Lurang in front of her suddenly raised his hand.
He ruffled her hair like he would with Susu’s head.
Su Zaizai didn’t react in time.
Zhang Lurang immediately averted his eyes and left after dropping a sentence.
“If you’re not feeling well, remember to ask the instructor for leave.”
Su Zaizai stood there and nodded foolishly.
Standing at attention for fifteen minutes before training.
The instructor spoke while walking around the class.
A few minutes later, he walked up to Su Zaizai.
He tapped her cap brim with his finger and sternly said: “Who told you to smile?”
Su Zaizai felt incredibly wronged for the first time.
She... she couldn’t help it!
________________________________________
On the day military training ended.
The school rented buses to send the students back to school, where they would then go home from there.
Su Zaizai was standing in her class line.
The homeroom teacher suddenly came over and said: “The bus assigned to our class is a bit small; there are only 40 seats. Ten people will need to sit on other classes’ buses.”
Su Zaizai held an umbrella and looked down at her phone.
“Three can go on the Advanced Science Class bus, three more on the Liberal Arts Class Five bus, and the remaining four...”
Upon hearing this, Su Zaizai quickly raised her hand: “Teacher! I volunteer to ride back on the Advanced Science Class bus!”
The teacher was stunned by her interruption: “...Alright.”
Then, she sent two messages to Zhang Lurang.
— Rang Rang, I’ll sit next to you in a bit.
— Save me a seat.
Zhang Lurang: “...”
________________________________________
After getting on the bus, Su Zaizai immediately saw Zhang Lurang sitting in the second-to-last row.
She walked over and noticed that his backpack was occupying the seat next to him.
Zhang Lurang glanced up and casually lifted his backpack.
Su Zaizai sat down and turned to look at him.
His skin glowed under the sunlight, dazzlingly white.
Zhang Lurang gazed out the window, revealing half of his profile.
His eyelashes drooped, long and curled, trembling slightly.
His lips were lightly pressed together, with a slight upward curve forming.
After admiring him for a moment, Su Zaizai said: “You must have applied sunscreen very carefully.”
Zhang Lurang: “...”
“When we have military training in university, I’ll buy you sunscreen,” she softly said.
Su Zaizai waited for a while but didn’t receive a response.
She didn’t mind, hugging her backpack and nestling into her seat, closing her eyes.
Soon, Zhang Lurang beside her pulled her backpack over, stacking it on top of his own.
Then he softly said: “Sleep.”
Su Zaizai looked at him and obediently responded with an “Oh.”
She was indeed tired and fell asleep quickly.
Zhang Lurang stared out the window, lost in thought for a while.
Then he took out his vocabulary book from his bag to memorize words.
Not long after, the bus jolted.
Su Zaizai’s head tilted and rested on his arm.
Zhang Lurang’s body stiffened momentarily but soon relaxed.
He licked his lower lip and glanced at her.
Looking at her delicate face, he suddenly whispered very softly.
“I’ll buy it for you.”
“In the future, I’ll buy you whatever you want.”
Zhang Lurang withdrew his gaze.
In his heart, he thought to let her lean for ten minutes, then wake her up.
After ten minutes, he thought, let her lean for another ten minutes.
And so he thought all the way.
________________________________________
Su Zaizai had agreed to meet Jiang Jia at the school gate and then go to the bus station together.
“I just rode back with Zhang Lurang,” Su Zaizai said with a grin.
Jiang Jia lowered her head, not knowing who she was messaging.
After a while, she realized and said: “Nice, little expert at chasing your idol.”
Thinking about the week, Su Zaizai sighed: “Military training was so painful, and being in different classes made it even worse.”
“Don’t exaggerate; the whole grade knows about your handsome guy giving you his hat.”
“...”
“Good taste, found someone who loves his wife.” Jiang Jia teased.
Su Zaizai didn’t say anything, just curved her lips.
“Let me tell you something.” Jiang Jia scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed. “I’m dating Guan Han now.”
Su Zaizai was stunned, stopped walking, and looked at her in shock.
Jiang Jia felt awkward and patted her arm: “What’s wrong with you? Too exaggerated...”
“You...” Su Zaizai didn’t know what to say.
“Not for long, just since the week before military training.”
Su Zaizai suddenly lowered her head: “I feel like such a failure.”
Jiang Jia: “...”
“I’ve been chasing my handsome guy for...” Su Zaizai began counting on her fingers, “one, two... six, almost half a year, my goodness...”
“...”
“This week, there must be substantial progress!” Su Zaizai raised her hand and vowed.
“...Don’t rush into things.”
________________________________________
On Saturday afternoon, Su Zaizai invited Zhang Lurang to take their dogs out for a walk together.
Short Legs was already four months old.
Su Zaizai tied a leash on it and took it outside.
She met up with Zhang Lurang downstairs.
They walked to the grassy area, released the dogs, and found a spot to sit down.
After a few minutes of silence,
Su Zaizai hesitated about how to start the conversation.
Soon, she tactfully asked: “Does your Susu have a partner?”
Zhang Lurang: “...”
He thought for a moment; he wasn’t even sure about the gender yet.
Su Zaizai continued: “Is Susu male or female?”
“Female.”
Su Zaizai immediately became excited: “My Short Legs is male!”
“...”
“Do you think they’d be a good match?”
“...No.”
Su Zaizai widened her eyes and asked: “Why? The genders are perfect!”
Zhang Lurang paused for a moment, feeling somewhat awkward: “They can’t reach each other.”
“What...” Su Zaizai immediately understood, her ears turning red. “Rang Rang, your mind’s in the gutter.”
Zhang Lurang: “...”
“I’m utterly in awe.”
“Su Zaizai!” Zhang Lurang called her, frowning.
She immediately fell silent.
An awkward silence ensued.
Just as Zhang Lurang was about to speak,
Beside him, Su Zaizai suddenly blurted out a sentence that caught him off guard.
“Zhang Lurang, you like me.”
Instinctively, Zhang Lurang turned to look at her.
At that moment, the surroundings were eerily silent, as if muted.
She stopped talking too, nervously clutching her sweaty hands.
Her gaze was firm, unwavering.
Zhang Lurang’s mind went completely blank.
He couldn’t recall anything, couldn’t hear any sound.
All he could do was... look at her.
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