Zhаng Lurаng lеt оut a muffled lаugh.
Меntiоning it, Su Zаizai leanеd оver to glаnce аt thе bеd mаt bу thе bed.
Bу the moonlight streaming in through thе windоw, she сould fаintlу sее Little Shоrt Lеgs with its еуеs clоsed, ocсаsionаlly opеning them slightly аt the sound оf hеr vоiсе, but sооn drifting back intо slеeр.
Su Zаizаi withdrew hеr gazе, suddеnly unsure оf whаt to sаy.
In her eаrphones, his shаllоw brеaths еchoed—gеntlе аnd unhurried.
Su Zаizаi’s liрs twitсhеd. Shе felt thаt in this аtmosрherе, she ought tо saу sоmеthing.
Anуthing wоuld dо.
Sоon, Zhang Lurang sрoke before shе could.
His vоice wаs clеаr and сool, yet softened with a hint of tenderness because it was directed at her.
“Go to sleep soon. Don’t you have to wake up early tomorrow to visit relatives?”
Su Zaizai swallowed her words and finally asked one last question.
“Will you be staying home alone tomorrow?”
Zhang Lurang returned to sit by the desk and responded softly.
“Mm.”
The next evening, after finishing the New Year’s Eve dinner, Su Zaizai strolled into the yard as usual.
The small sapling her father and she had planted here years ago had grown considerably sturdier.
Su Zaizai walked over and touched it, a chill seeping from her fingertips inward.
She glanced back, then walked to the swing chair and sat down.
Pushing off with her feet, she set the swing in motion.
The swing chair was somewhat old, and the yard filled with creaking sounds, one after another.
Su Zaizai remembered three years ago, when she had messaged Zhang Lurang from here.
Back then, she had just begun to feel that Zhang Lurang had feelings for her.
She was still struggling with the anxiety of uncertainty.
But what had he said…
Su Zaizai sniffled and opened her WeChat favorites.
Scrolling down, she stopped at one entry dated February 9, 2013.
Inside was a voice message.
Su Zaizai silently tapped to listen.
—“Let’s both aim for Z University.”
At that time, Su Zaizai had been deeply troubled by their brief separation.
Lost in the fervor of her infatuation, she wanted to go to the city where he was.
Selflessly, she wanted to be where he was.
But Zhang Lurang had said, together.
He said, together.
From inside the house came bursts of laughter, lively and warm.
In the winter chill, it felt cozy and comforting.
Su Zaizai’s eyes tinged with a faint red, stark against her fair complexion.
She stood up, slowly pushed open the small iron gate of the yard, and walked out.
Perhaps because everyone was celebrating at home, the streets outside were nearly deserted, quiet and desolate.
Su Zaizai walked along the road, and eventually couldn’t help but break into a run.
Leaving the residential area, she occasionally saw small groups of people along the way.
Few shops were still open around, and the night grew increasingly still.
Su Zaizai arrived at the bus stop, but there was no direct bus home. The distance wasn’t short either—about an hour’s drive.
While waiting, she sent a text to Mother Su.
Half an hour later, she finally hailed a taxi and got in.
The taxi had heating, warming her hands, stiffened by the cold wind.
Su Zaizai opened her chat window with Zhang Lurang, thought for a moment, and inexplicably brought up a topic.
Su Zaizai: Lurang, in the past, when others asked for your WeChat ID, did you always say you didn’t have one?
Zhang Lurang: What past?Su Zai Zai: Just before senior year.
This time, Zhang Lu Rang replied a bit slower, as if he was thinking.
After a while, he responded: No one asks me for it, they just add me directly.
Seeing this, Su Zai Zai was momentarily stunned, remembering her own friend request that had gone unanswered.
A sudden sense of unfairness welled up in her heart.
—Then did you add them?
Zhang Lu Rang: No, I don’t check.
Su Zai Zai steered the conversation further off track: Why don’t you check?!
Zhang Lu Rang: …
Su Zai Zai: I added you once in my first year of high school.
Su Zai Zai: If you had seen it, would you have accepted?
Su Zai Zai knew she was just asking for humiliation with this question…
Zhang Lu Rang would definitely answer honestly, absolutely not lying just to please her.
Such an upright boyfriend.
This time, the reply from the other end was even slower.
The screen kept showing "typing," but Su Zai Zai didn’t receive his reply for a long time.
She wasn’t in a hurry either, turning her head to look out the window as streetlights flashed by one after another.
The next second, her phone vibrated in her hand.
She lowered her eyes to look.
—I don’t know.
When it came to Su Zai Zai, Zhang Lu Rang had many things he couldn’t even understand himself.
Like lying about not having WeChat instead of directly rejecting her, like the feeling of never being able to bring himself to be harsh with her, like… when she asked for his name.
The word "idiot" that slipped out of his mouth.
Su Zai Zai placed her phone on her lap and looked out the window again, her expression somewhat dazed.
Soon, she curved the corners of her mouth and laughed out loud.
In everyone’s eyes, it probably seemed like Su Zai Zai was the one working hard to chase after Zhang Lu Rang, rushing toward him.
But Su Zai Zai knew very well in her heart that Zhang Lu Rang had also been moving closer to her all along.
He tacitly allowed all her actions, indulged everything she did to him.
It had started a long time ago.
After paying, Su Zai Zai got out of the car.
The security guard recognized her, greeted her, and opened the gate for her.
Su Zai Zai smiled and said "Happy New Year" to him.
The cold wind blew, sharp as a blade against her cheeks.
Su Zai Zai shrank her neck, tightened her scarf, and walked forward.
Reaching the end, she turned left and stopped in front of the first house.
Looking at the windows outside, everything inside was pitch black except for one room on the second floor.
Su Zai Zai stomped her foot heavily, and the motion-sensor light flickered on.
Then, holding her phone in one hand, she pressed the doorbell with the other.
Half a minute later, there was movement inside.
Probably having seen Su Zai Zai through the video doorbell, Zhang Lu Rang opened the door immediately.
His expression was still a bit stunned, as if he hadn’t fully processed it yet.
Because the house had underfloor heating, he was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, with a half-damp white towel draped around his neck.
The cold wind rushed in through the wide-open door, but he seemed unfazed, not reacting at all.
Soon, Zhang Lu Rang took a step back, making room for Su Zai Zai to come inside.
Su Zai Zai didn’t have much with her—aside from a few red envelopes she’d received, only her phone in hand.
Everything else was left at her grandfather’s house.
She took off the scarf around her neck and asked softly, "What did you eat tonight?"
Zhang Lu Rang took her scarf and placed it on the sofa, then pulled her hand over, warming it with his palm.
His eyes were lowered, fixed on her hands, red from the cold.Zhang Lurang didn't answer her question, freeing one hand to pour her a cup of warm water.
Watching her take small sips, he asked softly, "Why are you back so early today?"
"I came back first," Su Zaizai replied honestly.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Zhang Lurang frowned. "I would have come to pick you up."
Su Zaizai didn't mind at all, saying proudly, "This is a New Year's gift. Aren't you touched..."
Zhang Lurang interrupted her, calling her name gently. "Su Zaizai."
"Hmm?"
He rested his head on her shoulder and repeated her name, this time with a hint of coquettishness.
"Su Zaizai."
Seeing Zhang Lurang like this, the sting in Su Zaizai's eyes resurfaced.
She forced a smile and said cheerfully, "I can tell you're really touched."
"You're so good to me," he murmured in a breathy voice.
After a moment of silence.
Su Zaizai licked her lips and cautiously ventured her guess. "Do your parents favor your younger brother over you?"
Not expecting her to bring this up, Zhang Lurang paused briefly before answering, "They used to, yes."
"Then... they weren't good to you..."
Hearing this, Zhang Lurang lifted his head and said softly, "That's not exactly it either."
Perhaps because of the atmosphere tonight, his voice still carried a trace of childishness.
"Su Zaizai, my brother is really amazing."
She listened quietly without saying a word.
"When he skipped grades in elementary and middle school, I truly thought he was incredible, and I never felt inferior to him. Whenever I mentioned him to friends, I felt so proud."
"Even when my friends said I was inferior to him in every way, I never felt sad."
"...But my parents made me very sad."
The deepest scar in Zhang Lurang's heart was given by his closest family.
Because of them, Zhang Lurang began to care about other people's opinions.
The voices around him, those that originally meant nothing to him, suddenly seemed amplified, constantly criticizing him.
Leaving him nowhere to hide.
—"Hey, Zhang Lurang! Aren't you going home?"
Home.
Zhang Lurang didn't want to go back, not at all.
For a long time now, the thought of going home...
...terrified him.
Su Zaizai opened her mouth, but before any words came out, her voice choked up.
Zhang Lurang was taken aback, wiping the tears from the corner of her eye as he comforted her somewhat clumsily. "But that's all in the past. The reason I'm not going back is just to prepare for next semester's Mobile Internet Innovation Competition."
Su Zaizai lowered her eyes and said slowly, "I'm not good at comforting people."
"I'm not sad," he chuckled softly.
"I can only tell you a joke."
Zhang Lurang ruffled her hair and said, "Go ahead then."
Su Zaizai tilted her head, deep in thought.
He watched her quietly, a smile playing on his lips.
"There's someone in my heart, and I call him Lùràng."
Su Zaizai lifted her eyes to meet his, her own curved into crescents.
Hearing this, Zhang Lurang raised his eyebrows and smiled too.
"But he won't let me," Su Zaizai added.
He never would.
Chapter 57
Wanting to give her a good life.
—Zhang Lurang
On the evening of the third day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Mao returned from City B.
His entrance into the house was rather noisy, creating a clattering sound that instantly woke Su Su from her slumber. She jumped up and ran to the door, whimpering and scratching at it.
Zhang Lurang, who had been sitting at his desk looking at his computer, quickly stood up and walked over to open the door.The door opened, and Su Su kicked off with her hind legs, speeding down the stairs.
The floor was slippery, and she looked like she was about to fall.
Zhang Lu Rang chuckled softly, following leisurely behind her.
When he reached the ground floor, Zhang Lu Rang immediately spotted two boxes of local specialties from City B piled in the entryway. Next to them lay a 24-inch black suitcase, seemingly tossed aside carelessly.
Lin Mao was lounging lazily on the sofa, playing with his phone.
Su Su, who had run ahead, placed her front paws on his leg and tapped a few times, as if trying to get his attention.
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