"...Еvеn if уоu just guess on thе multiрlе-сhоice questiоns, уou cоuld still get thirty роints."
"Тhinking аbоut it thаt way, hе's actually amazing! Не aсtuallу sсоrеd thirty роints in Еnglish!"
"..."
"Оh mу god, I suddеnly find that so аdоrablе! The toр student from thе key сlаss sсоrеd а hundrеd points lоwеr than mе in Еnglish, hаhahаha. Не reallу is а greаt beauty, sо cute."
"...You'rе insаnе."
Althоugh Su Zai Zai had аlrеаdy аdjustеd hеr mindsеt, shе still didn’t hаve thе сourаge tо apрroасh Zhаng Lu Rang оvеr thе nеxt two daуs, afraid that her imprеssion scorе would droр evеn lоwer.
Shе was still thinking of a strategy.
Heavy rain arrived as she was lost in thought, fierce and relentless.
Su Zai Zai looked out the window at the large raindrops, falling rapidly and violently onto the ground, creating one loud crash after another, a constant roar.
Rainy days always brought an inexplicable sense of melancholy.
Su Zai Zai turned to Jiang Jia, sighed, and then said very seriously, "Jia Jia, I think I’m being too reserved."
Reserved?!
Jiang Jia was shocked by the thickness of her friend’s skin and couldn’t help but retort, "You’re overthinking it..."
"I really think I’m being too reserved."
"And I really think you’re overthinking it..."
For once, Su Zai Zai didn’t argue back. After a moment of thought, she said, "Don’t you think so? Even though I’ve been going to the third floor every day lately, deliberately passing by him so he’d see me, deliberately raising my voice near him so he’d hear me, I haven’t actually taken any real action."
That doesn’t count as real action?
Jiang Jia suddenly felt she didn’t understand her friend’s thought process.
"When I make eye contact with him, I never dare to hold it for more than three seconds. And whenever I see him, I get so nervous I can’t speak. All I know how to do is blush, immediately pretend I wasn’t looking at him at all, and act like I’ve been engrossed in talking to you the whole time."
"That’s normal, because you like him."
"But what’s the use of blushing?" Su Zai Zai licked her lips, her expression earnest. "I like him, but I’m not doing anything about it. How could someone like that ever catch his attention?"
Jiang Jia was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Let me give you an example."
"Go ahead."
Su Zai Zai thought for a moment. "For instance, back in your first year of high school, if two boys liked you—one was a cute guy who blushed and ran away the moment he saw you, and the other was an ugly guy who bullied and insulted you whenever he saw you—ten years later, which one would leave a deeper impression on you?"
Jiang Jia didn’t need half a second to think. "The cute guy."
"..."
Su Zai Zai stared at her for a long moment, then simply ignored her. "Right, I also think it would be the ugly guy. That proves action is more important than looks."
"I’m not joking, it really would be the cute guy."
"Of course, just because I say that doesn’t mean I think my looks are low."
"..."
"Fine," Su Zai Zai conceded. "Then let’s change the ugly guy who bullies you into a cute guy too. Which one would leave a deeper impression then?"
Jiang Jia didn’t want to choose either. "So why does it have to be bullying? Can’t he just be nice to me?"
"Don’t be too greedy," Su Zai Zai frowned. "Good-looking and nice to you? You’re dreaming."
"..."
After the playful banter, the restless feeling returned.
Su Zai Zai thought, even if Zhang Lu Rang didn’t like her, she didn’t want him to think of her in the future and not even remember her name.
That would be too unfair, utterly unacceptable."Jiajia, do you believe that like in TV dramas, the female lead can win the male lead's favor without doing anything?" Su Zaizai murmured, "Anyway, I don't believe it."
She turned to look out the window.
"If I only knew how to be reserved and shy, then he would only be taken away by those who aren't reserved or shy."
"I got the information for you. The advanced class has computer class during the third period this afternoon."
Su Zaizai grinned, cupped her face, and gave her a kiss: "Mwah! You really are my little fairy! Beautiful, gentle, lovely, and kind."
Jiang Jia wiped her face with her hand in disgust: "Based on what you said this morning, why not just give it to him directly? That would leave a deeper impression!"
"That won't do," Su Zaizai analyzed seriously. "It's fine if I go to his classroom to find him, but giving him an umbrella seems too conspicuous. His classmates would definitely make a fuss, and I'm afraid it might annoy him."
"...That makes some sense."
"Mainly, I'm worried he didn't bring an umbrella and don't want him to get caught in the rain," Su Zaizai said gloomily.
That half-dry, half-wet look was damnably alluring and tempting, like a little enchantress.
After saying that, she picked up the umbrella, stood up, walked to the window beside the front door, and placed the umbrella on the windowsill.
The class bell rang just then.
Twenty minutes later, Su Zaizai raised her hand: "Teacher, I need to use the restroom."
She left the classroom, picked up the umbrella from the windowsill, and went straight downstairs.
As expected, both the front and back doors of the advanced class were locked. Su Zaizai recalled where Zhang Lurang sat, pushed the window near that side, and surprisingly, it opened.
A smile curled at the corner of her mouth as she leaned in slightly and placed the umbrella right in the center of the desk. The note stuck on the handle faced downward, so unless someone picked it up, they wouldn't notice it.
Suddenly, she remembered what that boy had said the other day.
—"Hey, Zhang Lurang, you're slacking off! This week, three people came looking for Zhou Xuyin, and you only had two!"
Only two.
The competition wasn't as fierce as she had imagined.
Su Zaizai chuckled, brushed the dust off her hands, and closed the window.
She turned and walked back to her classroom.
The rain gradually lightened, and the dark clouds slowly dispersed, revealing the hidden sun, which cast a faint light over the damp earth.
Su Zaizai returned to her seat.
Jiang Jia turned to look at her: "Did you leave it?"
"Yeah," Su Zaizai replied, resting her chin on her hand with a smile. "Jiajia, I'm not going back to shower this afternoon."
"Huh? What are you going to do?"
Nothing much.
It's just that if he comes to return the umbrella...
Then I can see him again.
Chapter Six
Having a crush is too lonely.
I am not someone who can endure loneliness.
—From "Su Zaizai's Little Fairy Diary"
In late October, the weather changed rapidly—the rain came and went quickly.
During the time between afternoon dismissal and evening self-study, although there were few people in the classroom, it was quite noisy. From far away, he could hear the clamor inside the classroom and the clear, gentle voice from the broadcast.
Zhang Lurang walked into the classroom.
Before he even reached his seat, he noticed a dark red folding umbrella lying boldly in the center of his desk, as if deliberately placed to catch his attention.
Picking it up, he found a note stuck to the handle, covered with several layers of transparent tape to protect it from water.
A sentence was written on it, slightly smudged by something, making it somewhat blurry.
But the words were still legible.——Borrowed by Zhang Lu Rang from Class 1, Grade 1, from Su Zai Zai of Class 9, Grade 1.
The character for "borrow" was printed in a font size twice as large as the rest of the text.
He lowered his gaze, his expression indifferent, and placed the umbrella back on the desk. He packed a few books into his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and left the classroom, remembering to take the umbrella with him.
He went up two flights of stairs, turned right, walked straight, and circled around to another building, heading to the classroom closest to the Grade 1 teachers' office.
Perhaps because it was too close to the office, or maybe because there were few people inside, the classroom was quiet.
Exceptionally quiet.
Zhang Lu Rang saw only one girl inside, sitting on the inner side of the window row, wearing a pair of large-framed glasses and headphones as she flipped through a book in her hands.
Outside the window, the sunset was breathtakingly beautiful, spilling through the dense layers of leaves. Fragmented light pierced through everything, swaying with the gentle breeze, casting a few halos of light on the pages of the book and reflecting a shimmering white glow on the girl's hands.
It was somewhat blinding.
Zhang Lu Rang narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke: "Su Zai Zai."
She didn’t hear him, not even pausing for a moment in her movements.
Zhang Lu Rang didn’t call her again and simply walked inside.
Out of the corner of her eye, Su Zai Zai noticed someone standing beside her deskmate’s table. She paused in turning the page and instinctively pulled off one of her headphones.
The sound of the broadcast drifted into her ears, the girl’s voice melodious and captivating.
"In Han Han’s A City, there is a line like this."
"Things in this world are often like this: you fall in love with something in an instant, and then spend years slowly questioning yourself why you loved it in the first place."
……
……
Su Zai Zai looked up at him.
The boy’s lips were pressed together in a straight line, his eyes moist and bright, devoid of any emotion. His dark hair was half-damp, giving him an air of lazy clarity.
He raised his hand and handed the umbrella to her without a word.
Su Zai Zai didn’t take it, simply staring at him intently.
Seeing this, Zhang Lu Rang leaned forward, placed the umbrella on her desk, then turned and walked away.
Su Zai Zai quickly called out to him: "Zhang Lu Rang."
The boy paused in his steps and turned to look at her.
"You recognize me?" Su Zai Zai put down the book in her hands and picked up the umbrella from the desk, waving it slightly.
Zhang Lu Rang nodded but didn’t reply.
It felt as though something was swelling up from deep within, making Su Zai Zai feel both elated and uncontrollably nervous. Suppressing her anxiety, she stood up and shamelessly asked, "Have you been secretly paying attention to me?"
Seemingly completely unprepared for such a question, Zhang Lu Rang frowned slightly, losing any desire to continue the conversation. He turned and headed for the door.
She followed him, chattering on her own: "I shouldn’t have exposed you. Don’t be angry, just pretend I never said that."
Zhang Lu Rang’s lips twitched, unable to hold back a low, mocking remark: "Acceleration of two meters per second."
"……"
It seemed that day really had been too exaggerated—shouting his name and loudly reciting physics problems…
Suddenly, she felt utterly embarrassed.
But she could handle it.
Besides, it seemed her earlier efforts hadn’t been in vain—he did remember her a little.
Su Zai Zai blinked and quickly changed the subject: "Well, about that day… I really was cursing at you, so lending you the umbrella was my way of apologizing…"
"No need."
Su Zai Zai waved her hand: "That won’t do. I’m not that kind of person."
"I cursed back at you too," he said, his tone casual.
Su Zai Zai was stunned.When did he ever scold her...
Was it the "idiot" he said that day?
So he really was scolding her...
The aloof and untouchable flower being so nitpicky about everything—what an unexpectedly adorable contrast!
But how should she reply...
If she angrily retorted with something fierce and shrewish like "How dare you scold me," what if Zhang Lu Rang never dared to scold her again?
Even though she was scolded, she still quite enjoyed the feeling.
It felt like receiving special treatment from a great beauty.
Maybe she should just pat his arm and say, "Hahaha, well done! I just love it when you scold people!"
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