Zhаng Lurаng's tеmрle twitchеd. Не wаlkеd over and аutоmaticаlly righted thе suitсаsе, саrrying it into Lin Мao's room.
Then hе wеnt downstаirs agаin.
Lin Мао lifted his еуеlids slightlу аnd said sоftly, "Unpaсk thе things from thе suitcase аnd put them in thе fridge."
Zhang Lurаng glаnсеd аt him: "..."
"I'm а bit tirеd." He раtted thе sоfа, signaling fоr Susu to jumр uр, then hugged it аnd сlosеd his eyes tо rest. "I've beеn оn а threе-hour flight—it was eхhаusting."
Zhаng Lurang didn't sау аnуthing, just nоddеd.
Aftеrwаrd, he wаlked tо the entrаncеwау, lifted bоth suitсаsеs in one go, аnd headed toward thе kitchen.
Bу the time hе finished tidуing uр and сame out, Lin Mao was already sitting up and watching TV.
Zhang Lurang: "..."
Lin Mao reached out, grabbed a handful of peanuts from the coffee table, shelled a few, and popped them into his mouth.
Zhang Lurang sat down beside him, poured two glasses of water, and placed one in front of Lin Mao.
As Lin Mao flipped through channels, he suddenly remembered something and said softly, "I put the red envelopes your grandparents gave you in the suitcase, along with the ones from your parents."
Zhang Lurang didn't respond. He picked up the transparent glass and slowly took a sip of water.
"Your younger brother didn't go back for New Year's this year either." Lin Mao yawned and turned off the TV. "Ah, I can't stay up—I need to get some sleep. I stayed up all night playing mahjong with friends yesterday..."
"..."
Soon, only Zhang Lurang remained in the living room.
He sat on the sofa, lost in thought for a while, before returning to his room not long after.
Zhang Lurang looked at his phone and sighed. Just as he was about to call home, his phone rang.
Without much hesitation, he answered immediately.
The person on the other end didn't speak right away, and their tone lacked the usual commanding edge: "A Rang."
Zhang Lurang lowered his gaze, looking at the book on the table as he smoothed out the creased edges.
Not receiving a response from him, Mother Zhang didn't seem to mind and continued on her own: "Your younger brother said he still has classes over there, and it's too rushed for him to come back."
"Mhm."
There was a brief silence on the call.
Soon, Mother Zhang's voice suddenly choked up.
"Why do you and A Li never take the initiative to call Mom? Your uncle was only here for three days, and I heard him answer several calls from you."
Zhang Lurang paused while holding his pen, slowly retracting his fingertips.
He had long since lost his temper and forgotten what emotions he should even feel.
Besides, he didn't know what to say.
Zhang Lurang thought for a moment, then spoke somewhat stiffly.
"Nothing bad has happened on my end. Don't worry. Happy New Year."
He waited briefly but didn't hear Mother Zhang respond.
Just as he was about to say goodbye and hang up, Father Zhang's voice came through the phone.
Father Zhang's voice was deep, sounding much the same as before: "Your uncle mentioned you received a scholarship in your freshman year?"
Zhang Lurang instinctively replied, "Mhm."
There was silence again on the other end.
Zhang Lurang gradually shifted his focus to the string of code displayed on his computer screen.
He set down his pen, switched the call to speakerphone, and began typing on the keyboard.
After a long while, a middle-aged man's voice broke the quiet of the room.
"That's good."
Zhang Lurang stopped typing, his expression unchanged.
He furrowed his brows, seemingly thinking about how to respond, but in the end, he only said, "Mhm, you should rest early."After saying that, he hung up the phone.
Then, Zhang Lurang glanced at the time and habitually gave Su Zaizai a call.
Su Zaizai answered quickly, her crisp voice ringing in his ear: "Lurang."
"Home already?"
"Just got back. I don’t have to visit relatives tomorrow, so let’s go out and have fun."
Zhang Lurang thought for a moment and asked, "Where do you want to go?"
Hearing this, Su Zaizai immediately said, "Let’s go watch a movie. And all the shops on the commercial street are open, so we can grab some good food too."
"Okay."
"I’ve almost collected ten thousand yuan in red envelopes over these three days!" Su Zaizai excitedly rolled around on her bed. "I’m only nineteen, can you believe it? At nineteen, my daily income has already broken three thousand."
Zhang Lurang: "..."
Su Zaizai giggled on the other end: "Lurang, you’ve hit the jackpot."
Hearing her tone, Zhang Lurang’s lips twitched as he said, "How much more until you hit ten thousand?"
Su Zaizai pulled out the red envelopes again and slowly counted them: "Right now, it’s about nine thousand five hundred."
But after calculating, Su Zaizai wasn’t entirely sure. Hesitating for a moment, she decided to count them again.
Before she could start, her phone suddenly chimed.
Su Zaizai picked it up to take a look, and one of her earbuds fell off from the movement, landing beside her.
A low chuckle came from the other end, as if he was in a good mood.
"Let me give you a hand."
Su Zaizai opened Alipay and saw that he had transferred 520 yuan.
Just as she was about to say something, Zhang Lurang added seriously:
"If we calculate it that way, you still owe me 20 yuan."
Su Zaizai widened her eyes in disbelief. "You’re actually being so nitpicky with me?"
Seeing him so heartless, Su Zaizai started bringing up old grievances: "Do you remember the last time I was in a good mood and gave you a tip?"
"...What tip?"
"That night you were especially attentive, so I sent you a red packet afterward. Give it back to me now."
Zhang Lurang thought carefully for a while, and once he remembered, he was at a loss for words.
Su Zaizai’s words were too suggestive, and he hesitated before replying: "The time I went with you to your evening class?"
"Yeah."
Zhang Lurang pursed his lips, finally recalling it clearly.
Then, he spoke word by word, his voice cold: "Su Zaizai, that was one cent."
"But at that time, I only had one cent left in my WeChat. I gave you everything I had," Su Zaizai said shamelessly, without a hint of guilt. "And now you’ve just received a full scholarship, yet you’re still quibbling over twenty yuan."
"..." Her words made Zhang Lurang start to wonder whether he had just given her five hundred yuan or lent her twenty.
After a while, Su Zaizai concluded: "Lurang, you’re probably the typical kind of man who abandons his wife and children after making it big."
Although Zhang Lurang was used to her playful demeanor every day, hearing this still made him lose his patience.
Before Zhang Lurang could frown and retort, Su Zaizai added with a grin:
"But don’t worry, I’ll work hard to stay rich forever."
The words on Zhang Lurang’s lips instantly vanished, and the corners of his mouth curved upward.
The next second, he leaned back in his chair and lazily called out to her: "Zaizai."
"Huh?"Zhang Lurang recalled, slightly altering what she had said before.
"If you leave one minute early tomorrow at 1 PM, you won’t have to return the twenty yuan. If you leave two minutes early, I’ll give you twenty yuan, and so on."
Su Zaizai fell silent for a moment.
Soon, her light, airy voice came through the phone.
"Lùràng, if I were cruel and left right now, you’d probably have to declare bankruptcy."
Zhang Lurang: "..."
After the start of the second semester of their sophomore year, both of their lives became busier.
Apart from attending classes, Zhang Lurang was busy preparing for the Mobile Internet Innovation Competition.
They had to design an app and then develop it, with a theme related to medical communication.
Zhang Lurang teamed up with his three roommates and also had to prepare for the defense.
On top of that, he participated in many workshops organized by the department, even skipping a few classes because of them.
He was swamped every day.
On the other hand, Su Zaizai’s major courses started to increase.
Because she had joined a club in her freshman year, she had met many people and ended up participating in an on-campus advertising competition with several seniors from her department.
Time flew by.
Once the busy period passed, their sophomore year came to an end.
Su Zaizai’s last exam was two days earlier than Zhang Lurang’s.
After finishing her exams, she wasn’t in a hurry to go home and instead accompanied Zhang Lurang to the library to study.
Su Zaizai yawned, put on her headphones, and opened an advertisement video to watch.
Noticing her drowsy expression, Zhang Lurang thought for a moment, then took out a notebook from a pile of books nearby and wrote a message for her.
—The team I joined for the Mobile Internet Innovation Competition won the grand prize.
Su Zaizai glanced at it, her gaze pausing.
The next second, she suddenly hugged his arm, shaking it excitedly and laughing silently.
Zhang Lurang’s mood was lifted by her enthusiasm.
He let her shake his arm and used his free hand to write another message.
—But I skipped classes, so I won’t get the scholarship.
Seeing this, Su Zaizai felt a sense of pride, her peach blossom eyes curving downward.
She let go of his hand and took the pen from him.
Carefully, she wrote a message.
—I got it, I’ll give it to you.
Chapter 58
...I don’t have any experience either.
—Zhang Lurang
Summer vacation lasted two months.
The two of them looked online for internship opportunities, found suitable ones, and sent out several resumes.
After that, it was time to wait for replies.
Before the interview times were announced.
Zhang Lurang asked Su Zaizai on WeChat: Do you want to go out and have fun?
Seeing this, Su Zaizai put the laptop on her lap aside and happily replied: Of course.
After replying, she thought for a moment and was about to suggest going to the arcade when she saw Zhang Lurang send another message.
—Then how about going to the amusement park?
Compared to that, Su Zaizai would rather go to the arcade.
But she remembered certain scenes and decisively held back her words.
—Sure.
The next day, the two of them set off early in the morning and boarded the bus heading to the amusement park.
Since the amusement park was almost at the terminal stop, Su Zaizai chose a seat in the last row.
Zhang Lurang quietly followed her and sat down in the seat next to hers.Su Zai Zai took off the baseball cap from her head and casually pulled his off as well.
Then, she rummaged through her backpack, took out her sunscreen, and squeezed a large dollop onto the back of her hand.
Su Zai Zai turned sideways, hooked her arm around his neck, and pulled him down slightly.
Zhang Lu Rang obediently complied.
From this close distance, her pupils seemed magnified before his eyes, their color somewhat light, clear and bright. When her gaze shifted, it was as if stars were flowing within them.
Her fingertips carried a hint of coolness, accompanied by gentle movements, making it exceptionally comfortable.
Su Zai Zai carefully applied the sunscreen for him while saying, "It’s bound to be scorching hot over there in this weather. You have to apply sunscreen properly. The one I bought for you isn’t greasy, so it shouldn’t feel too uncomfortable."
Zhang Lu Rang responded with a low "Mm."
After finishing his face, Su Zai Zai squeezed a bit more into her palm and applied it to his neck.
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