Young Brave Hearts – CH 016

Chapter 16

Many years later, Zhu Yunque could still remember that profound and vivid memory from her impoverished seventeen-year-old youth.

The sun set, painting the evening sky with a crimson glow.

A breeze blew, swaying her skirt and bangs.

The young girl, blushing, stood behind the boy she liked, carefully attaching her black bear keychain to the zipper of his backpack.

Then the red light turned green.

A few people ahead turned back and called for the two to hurry up.

Lu Rangchen casually responded, then glanced down at her, raised his chin, and said, “Let’s go.”

His voice was calm and pleasant.

He was patient, like he was handling a soft little animal.

Zhu Yunque tried to control her racing heart, slowly walking beside him before joining the vast crowd crossing the street.

…

Different destinations.

That day, the five of them finally parted ways at the school gate.

Xu Linda’s family driver was already waiting for her at the school gate, while Lu Rangchen, Zhou Chuang, and Deng Zhe returned to school to continue training.

The five of them waved goodbye to each other.

Xu Linda got into the car first.

Lu Rangchen turned and walked towards the school gate, his hands in his pockets, with Deng Zhe and Zhou Chuang following behind him.

Zhu Yunque was supposed to walk towards the subway entrance.

But inexplicably, she lingered for a moment longer.

In that instant, she saw the small black bear hanging from the boy’s backpack, swaying gently in the afterglow of the setting sun with his steps.

Like her unspeakable, fluctuating joy.

Unfortunately, her old phone had long since run out of battery, and she couldn’t record that scene.

She could only silently hope that scene would be etched deeper and deeper into her mind.

That evening, Zhu Yunque took a picture of the teddy bear keychain.

The phone’s camera was terrible; she could only salvage the photo with a filter, but she didn’t mind. She posted it on her WeChat Moments, setting it to be visible only to herself.

The caption read, “My first matching item with him.”

However, typing that out was far more embarrassing than she had imagined.

Zhu Yunque examined the post for a few seconds, then deleted it and reposted it without a caption.

Just then, Feng Yanlai pushed open the door, carrying washed grapes and milk.

Zhu Yunque’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly put away her phone and tossed the teddy bear into her desk.

Feng Yanlai, unfazed, said, “It’s just playing on your phone for a while; what’s there to hide? I won’t scold you.”

Zhu Yunque: “…”

Over the years, the mother and daughter had lived apart, making it harder for Zhu Yunque to develop a close relationship with Feng Yanlai compared to Zhu Ping’an.

Feng Yanlai understood her personality and had planned to work things out gradually. With the results released, she wanted to take this opportunity to have a good talk with her.

Placing the fruit plate on the table, Feng Yanlai casually asked about the recent exams.

Zhu Yunque didn’t resist.

She answered Feng Yanlai’s questions honestly.

For example, Lu Rangchen was the top student in the grade; she had a new deskmate, a boy, who was second in the class; and Lu Rangchen was among the people she ate with tonight.

Feng Yanlai was a very shrewd woman.

She was somewhat surprised to hear this, but not enough to question her directly; she merely gave her a subtle hint.

“It’s good to associate with such excellent classmates; Mom supports that, but you need to maintain proper boundaries.”

Zhu Yunque lowered her eyes. “I know.”

Feng Yanlai reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, smiling slightly. “Don’t be nervous; I’m not here to scold you. I just want to know why your grades have improved so much this time. I remember your best grade was only in the top twenty of the class?”

She wasn’t mistaken.

That was indeed Zhu Yunque’s most consistent and best performance in the past.

So, after learning that she had ranked first in the class this time, Feng Yanlai called Zheng Guoxiong to confirm that she hadn’t lied about her ranking before she was relieved.

Of course, Zheng Guoxiong also praised Zhu Yunque quite a bit.

He said she had worked very hard recently.

Feng Yanlai was happy, but she wasn’t stupid. Zhu Yunque had anticipated the question and hadn’t intended to avoid it.

She hesitated for a moment, then mustered her courage and said, “I deliberately did poorly on tests before.”

The air was silent for a moment.

Feng Yanlai seemed to have expected this and wasn’t surprised. “Just to get me back?”

Zhu Yunque fell silent.

She didn’t look at her either.

The answer was self-evident.

In the silence, Feng Yanlai suddenly felt a sense of defeat and even more guilt that Zhu Yunque had to use such an extreme method to escape the life she didn’t want.

However, it was too late. Zhu Yunque had grown into an overly independent, stubborn, and withdrawn person.

She never thought of truly depending on anyone.

But equally, once she made up her mind about something, she never gave up easily.

In this respect, she was somewhat like Feng Yanlai.

Feng Yanlai didn’t know whether to be happy or melancholic, so she just sighed and said, “I understand.”

“…”

“But I hope you can promise your mother that if you want anything or want to do anything in the future, just tell me, and I’ll do my best to fulfill your wish.”

Seemingly surprised by her attitude.

Zhu Yunque’s expression faltered slightly.

Feng Yanlai looked earnestly into her eyes. “If you can do it, I’ll definitely keep my word.”

These words were like bait, easily igniting her inner desire. Zhu Yunque, almost unconsciously, asked, “Would you mind if I wanted a new phone?”

The girl was still a girl.

Feng Yanlai couldn’t help but laugh. “So all you want after all this is a new phone?”

Zhu Yunque’s eyes darted back slightly. She explained softly, “The battery in my current one is really old.”

She paused, then added, “If not, that’s fine too.”

“No, it’s not a problem.”

Feng Yanlai picked up her incredibly old Android phone and looked at it, then said calmly, “You really should replace this phone. I’ll take you to buy one sometime.”

The conversation unexpectedly ended there.

Feng Yanlai still had some accounts to settle, so she didn’t chat with her anymore. She simply reminded her to drink her milk and turned to leave.

The bedroom door closed.

The air fell silent again.

Zhu Yunque gradually came to her senses and blinked.

Suddenly, she had the illusion that this day was her lucky day.

_

Feng Yanlai kept her word.

The next day, right after school, she picked Zhu Yunque up to go to the mall to buy a new phone.

The two went to Wanda Plaza. Zhu Yunque originally planned to buy an Android phone, but after Feng Yanlai accompanied her around the mall for a while, she finally decided to buy an iPhone.

It was the same model as Lu Rangchen’s, the 5s.

Except hers was white, the standard configuration.

Not too big, not too small, delicate and pretty in her hand.

Having acquired the same item as Lu Rangchen again, Zhu Yunque was overcome with excitement that night. Before going to bed, she even got up and tied the little bear to her phone case.

Perhaps teenage girls were always a bit naive, and Zhu Yunque inexplicably treated the little bear as her lucky charm. Whenever she saw it, she would think of Lu Rangchen, the dinners they had shared, and the breezes they had felt together.

The next day at school, Xu Linda learned that Zhu Yunque had a new phone, a brand new 5s, and was incredibly envious.

As soon as morning self-study ended, she went to Pang Shuo’s seat to find Zhu Yunque.

Xu Linda excitedly played with the new phone, exclaiming, “This hasn’t even gone on sale yet, has it? Your mom is so good to you, buying it for you at full price.”

“She doesn’t really know much about phones; she just bought it for me because I needed it urgently,” Zhu Yunque replied honestly.

Xu Linda sighed longingly, “Ugh, doing well on the exam gives you confidence. I asked my mom for a new phone too, but she told me to get lost.”

Zhu Yunque, organizing her test papers, couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this.

Xu Linda noticed the little bear hanging on her phone and suddenly remembered something. She leaned closer and said, “By the way, I heard something from Deng Zhe yesterday.”

Zhu Yunque: “?”

Xu Linda whispered, “The other night we were having dinner. He and Zhou Chuang couldn’t come, but Deng Zhe said he wanted to celebrate your first-place finish, so he asked the school team teacher for an hour’s leave to come.”

She clicked her tongue. “I’ve never seen him go to such lengths for anyone before. You’ve got quite the influence, Zhu Yunque.”

Zhu Yunque’s eyes and brows showed surprise.

Xu Linda playfully nudged her. “How are you? Aren’t you happy?”

Zhu Yunque could hardly hide her expression.

She could only suppress her lip and whisper, “A little flattered.”

After all, she and Lu Rangchen hadn’t known each other for very long.

They weren’t exactly close.

But then again, perhaps Lu Rangchen was only showing her extra attention because of Feng Yanlai and Cheng Liru.

Xu Linda disagreed. “So what if your parents know each other? My parents know Gao Ge’s parents too, and I don’t get along with her, do I?”

This girl was carefree and unrestrained when she was excited.

Luckily, Gao Ge wasn’t in the classroom at the moment.

Zhu Yunque remained silent. “You really aren’t afraid of offending people?”

Xu Linda didn’t care. “It’s fine if she hears; she’s been ignoring me lately.”

She couldn’t resist gossiping, lowering her voice, “I heard Pang Shuo’s been directly pursuing her lately, driving her crazy. She practically avoids me after class.”

She paused, then added, “You should separate them during this exam; be careful, Pang Shuo doesn’t like you.”

Speak of the devil.

Just as Xu Linda finished speaking, Pang Shuo returned.

Seeing Xu Linda sitting in his seat, Pang Shuo frowned, looking displeased. “You don’t have a seat, huh? You have to come to someone else’s spot.”

Xu Linda was always the lively, playful type in class. Even when treated rudely, she could still laugh and reply, “It’s because Zhu Yunque is sitting next to you, so I just want to sit next to her.”

Pang Shuo scoffed, “You want to sit next to her, but it has to be your seat. If you want to sit next to her, you’d better get good grades.”

He said impatiently, “Get out of here.”

Being humiliated like this, Xu Linda was clearly angry. She stood up abruptly. “It’s just a seat; what’s the big deal? Do you think I want to take up your space?”

The conflict was escalating.

Zhu Yunque tugged at Xu Linda’s sleeve.

Xu Linda rolled her eyes at Pang Shuo, her face sullen, and stubbornly returned to her seat.

She thought the minor friction was over. No sooner had Pang Shuo sat down than he began grumbling, “Don’t you have any self-awareness about how you got your grades? You still have the nerve to call your friends.”

The boy’s pronunciation wasn’t very clear, and Zhu Yunque only vaguely heard him.

Her fingertips paused on the exam paper, and she glanced at Pang Shuo out of the corner of her eye.

Pang Shuo met her gaze, gave her a disdainful look from head to toe, and let out a soft snort.

Zhu Yunque: “…”

Only then did she realize that he had just been sarcastic.

As it turned out, Xu Linda’s warning, “Be careful, Pang Shuo doesn’t like you,” was correct. Over the next few days, Pang Shuo demonstrated his dislike for Zhu Yunque through his actions.

For example, he deliberately left a gap between their desks; when the teacher asked Zhu Yunque to read an English text in class, he whispered sarcastically, “What a show-off”; when distributing test papers after class, if Zhu Yunque wasn’t there, Pang Shuo would skip her, only taking one for himself and handing it to the student behind him.

This happened subtly several times.

It wasn’t a serious matter, but it was still very annoying.

Zhu Yunque wasn’t completely unperturbed, but she mostly found him childish and disdained arguing with him.

Time was of the essence; to get into Class A next semester, her final exam scores had to be even better than this.

However, this indifferent attitude was interpreted as guilt by Pang Shuo and the envious and jealous classmates.

Zhu Yunque remained unaware of what they were saying about her behind her back.

Until Friday.

Lu Rangchen returned from his match.

Because of the tennis league, Lu Rangchen hadn’t been at school all week.

Unable to see him at school, Zhu Yunque mustered her courage and, the night before his match, sent him a carefully crafted WeChat message.

The gist was “good luck in the match, and take care of yourself and get some rest.”

Lu Rangchen replied quickly.

But he only simply said thank you.

Zhu Yunque wanted to say something more, but seeing those two words, she instantly faltered.

She thought, he must be very busy.

Or perhaps, their relationship wasn’t particularly close to begin with, and she was just imagining things.

Once certain thoughts took hold, it was hard to go back to the initial mindset.

For example, when Lu Rangchen returned from his competition, Xu Linda invited her to have lunch with him to celebrate the school team’s first-place win, but Zhu Yunque refused without hesitation.

Xu Linda stared at her, speechless, looking incredulous. “Zhu Yunque, are you crazy?”

Zhu Yunque remained silent.

Surrounded by classmates, Xu Linda couldn’t say anything, only giving her frantic eye signals, “Really not going???”

Zhu Yunque remained silent.

Only now did she realize her pettiness.

Regardless of the situation, Lu Rangchen genuinely wanted to celebrate her first-place win, but conversely, she inexplicably didn’t want to see him.

Perhaps she was inherently ungrateful.

She could accept kindness from others.

She couldn’t tolerate even the slightest indifference from others.

Zhu Yunque silently despised herself.

She still firmly shook her head, “You guys go eat, I’m not feeling well, I want to take a nap in the classroom.”

Then, she transferred 100 yuan to Xu Linda: “If you’re treating, remember to include my share.”

“…”

Xu Linda was speechless.

But seeing her determination, she could only say okay.

And so, that noon, Xu Linda went to find Deng Zhe and the others alone.

Zhu Yunque ate bread and did her homework in the classroom, but couldn’t help checking her phone every now and then.

However, her phone remained silent.

Xu Linda didn’t post anything about Lu Rangchen on her WeChat Moments either.

After a few times, Zhu Yunque also felt bored. After finishing a set of papers, she rested on her desk.

She slept for a while in a daze.

The phone suddenly vibrated violently.

After vibrating for a while, Zhu Yunque finally woke up. She squinted and took her phone from the desk, only to find it was Xu Linda calling.

Xu Linda said urgently, “Damn it, Zhu Yunque, you finally answered!”

Zhu Yunque’s heart skipped a beat.

Zhu Yunque slowly sat up, a little dazed. “I was sleeping; I didn’t hear it.”

Xu Linda was speechless. “You’re really something! Your brother even got into a conflict with Pang Shuo for you, and you still had the mind to sleep!”

Hearing “your brother,”

Zhu Yunque’s heart skipped a beat, pounding wildly.

She was at a loss. “What conflict?”

Before she could finish speaking, a familiar male voice came from the other end of the line.

The boy’s deep, resonant voice, tinged with amusement, teased Xu Linda, “Were you a megaphone in your past life?”

Xu Linda immediately snorted, disdainfully replying, “Then you tell her yourself.”

The air fell silent.

Zhu Yunque’s heart pounded, her entire being flustered.

Before she could even utter her first word, Lu Rangchen’s nonchalant, magnetic voice wafted into her ears through the receiver.

“Zhu Yunque.”

He called her name.

Even though it was just a soft murmur of her name, it carried an indescribable sense of indulgence, unlike anything she’d heard from anyone else.

Zhu Yunque’s eyelashes fluttered, and she suddenly fell silent.

After several seconds, she managed to squeeze out, “I’m here.”

Lu Rangchen hummed in response, seemingly puzzled, then raised his voice with a hint of annoyance, “Why aren’t you coming over for a meal?”

“…”

Zhu Yunque remained silent.

As if he had anticipated her behavior, Lu Rangchen’s tone was slightly sarcastic, playful, and teasing: “Good baby, going to study again?”

The words “good baby” completely stunned Zhu Yunque.

She stared blankly at her phone.

Her mind was completely blank.

Meanwhile, the people on the other end of the phone burst into mischievous laughter.

Especially Deng Zhe, who laughed the loudest, displaying a gossipy, almost morbidly enthusiastic spirit, saying, “Yes, yes, Zhu Yunque is a good baby, Brother Rang’s good baby.”

Lu Rangchen laughed in exasperation, telling him to get lost.

His deep, magnetic voice resonated in her ear.

It felt as if he were whispering in her ear.

Zhu Yunque blushed without realizing it. “No, I’m just a little sleepy.”

She wasn’t lying.

She’d been fiddling with her new phone until very late last night.

Lu Rangchen seemed to have shaken off the others; when he spoke again, the background noise was noticeably cleaner.

His words were brief: “Okay, then you go sleep.”

“…”

Zhu Yunque’s heart sank.

She wanted to say something, but Lu Rangchen said, “Crossing the street. We’ll talk when we get back.”

Whether he was being perfunctory or serious, he hung up after saying that.

Hearing the cold dial tone, Zhu Yunque’s thoughts drifted aimlessly, like a kite adrift in the air.

She inexplicably felt that Lu Rangchen seemed a little angry.

But she didn’t dare attribute this anger to herself.

Five minutes before the afternoon class.

Xu Linda finally returned, much to Zhu Yunque’s surprise.

The girl seemed to have a lot to say, but upon seeing Pang Shuo enter with a frustrated expression, she swallowed her words and rolled her eyes dramatically.

Pang Shuo was even more annoyed by her glare, but had nowhere to vent his anger, so he could only move his desk further away from Zhu Yunque.

The desk leg squeaked loudly against the floor, drawing several stares from those around them.

Zhu Yunque: “…”

For the first time in her life, Zhu Yunque felt that someone could be this stupid.

After class, she received a message from Xu Linda: 【Let’s talk outside.】

Zhu Yunque capped her pen and followed her out of the classroom to the open-air corridor on the third floor.

The two sat on the steps, and Xu Linda finally explained the whole story from noon.

In short, Pang Shuo and a few boys in the class were talking badly about Zhu Yunque behind her back, and Lu Rangchen overheard them.

Xu Linda was also present at the time.

She was carrying her freshly served food, looking for a seat.

Before she found a seat, she heard Pang Shuo behind her curse at Lu Rangchen, his loud voice silencing the entire cafeteria.

Startled, Xu Linda turned around and saw Lu Rangchen standing tall in front of Pang Shuo, holding his tray.

Behind him were Deng Zhe and Zhou Chuang.

The three boys, all over 180 cm tall, looked particularly conspicuous.

In comparison, Pang Shuo looked utterly disheveled.

Lu Rangchen spilled his tomato and egg dish all over Pang Shuo’s head. Pang Shuo glared at him angrily, but Lu Rangchen showed no remorse whatsoever, casually smirking, “Sorry, didn’t you see someone here?”

His thick Beijing accent was unmistakably provocative.

Pang Shuo was furious.

But Lu Rangchen was too intimidating; the other boys sitting with him were too timid to utter a sound. He could only erupt in helpless rage, “Did I fucking offend you? Are you crazy, Lu Rangchen?”

Lu Rangchen, hands in his pockets, smiled lazily, his unresponsive demeanor utterly infuriating.

Deng Zhe scoffed, “Aren’t you the one who’s sick? You’re having fun gossiping about a girl behind her back, aren’t you?”

Zhou Chuang chimed in with his usual cheeky tone, “Yeah, I heard everything clearly. You guys were talking for ages.”

“They said Zhu Yunque got good grades by cheating.”

“They also said she’s really pretentious, always acting like a high-class lady, but she’s been flirting with guys a lot behind the scenes.”

Zhou Chuang had a particularly roguish smile, with a ready-to-fight vibe. “Flirting with whom? Tell me!”

As he said this, Lu Rangchen casually lowered his long, hawk-like eyes, his gaze landing on Pang Shuo with a weighty intensity.

Pang Shuo was so intimidated by that gaze that he didn’t dare utter a single word.

Several boys immediately explained, “No, that’s not what we meant. We were just discussing it, not targeting Zhu Yunque.”

Upon hearing Zhu Yunque’s name,

Xu Linda finally realized what was going on.

She squeezed into the crowd, intending to yell, but Deng Zhe hissed and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. “Why are you rushing in like that, little girl? There’s someone up ahead; what’s the rush?”

Xu Linda grumbled, “Who told this bitch to bully people every day?”

Lu Rangchen, standing at the front, seemed to have heard this and raised an eyebrow.

He smiled lazily at Pang Shuo. “So that’s what happened.”

The boy’s face appeared warm, but his eyes held a cold, sinister glint.

Pang Shuo felt trapped under his gaze, his face filled with panic.

Later, a senior high school boy stepped in to salvage the situation.

The man had some connection with Lu Rangchen, and he laughed, saying it was all a misunderstanding. He even vouched for Pang Shuo, saying he meant no harm and that he wouldn’t let him speak recklessly in the future.

By standing in the middle like this, Pang Shuo and the other boys were able to escape.

Later, after the crowd dispersed, this senior even bought drinks for Lu Rangchen and the others as an apology on Pang Shuo’s behalf.

At this point, Xu Linda scoffed, “I can’t believe someone would help someone as disgusting as Pang Shuo. It’s unbelievable. If someone hadn’t stopped him, Rangchen and Deng Zhe would have just dragged him away.”

Zhu Yunque listened, stunned, unable to recover for a long time.

Even knowing that Lu Rangchen had come to her rescue, at this moment, she still felt a strong sense of being “overwhelmed with gratitude.”

Zhu Yunque asked, “Was he in a bad mood at noon because of this?”

Xu Linda deliberately teased her, “You noticed he was unhappy too?”

Zhu Yunque’s fingertips trembled slightly, her expression somewhat unnatural.

Xu Linda sighed, “I don’t know what you’re thinking. Someone would take an hour off for you, and you could have gone over at noon, but you wouldn’t.”

“I don’t understand you either. Such a good opportunity—any other girl would have seized it desperately, but you, instead of taking advantage, are pushing him away.”

Xu Linda gave her a disdainful look.

Zhu Yunque’s eyes were lowered, vacant, and lost in thought.

After a long while, she clenched her fingers and slowly spoke, “Then what should I do?”

Or rather… What did Lu Rangchen want her to do?

“Go find him.”

Xu Linda answered without hesitation, “If I were you, I’d go find him. His pants got soup spilled on them because he helped you get revenge. Shouldn’t you thank him and ask for his pants back to wash them?”

This suggestion sounded a bit outrageous, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Lu Rangchen was very clean, almost to the point of being a germaphobe. Zhu Yunque didn’t know how he had managed to put up with it all afternoon.

Besides, she had indeed been rude at noon today. Both morally and logically, she should see him.

Thinking of this, a faint unease rose in Zhu Yunque’s heart.

However, Xu Linda didn’t pressure her; after all, this was a matter between the two of them.

On her way back to the classroom, she mercifully offered Zhu Yunque a brief analysis.

“Who knows what he’s really thinking? Maybe he’s falling for your act.”

“Anyway, I’ve never heard of him getting upset because a girl didn’t come to see him.”

“If that’s the case, you’re quite special to him.”

Zhu Yunque listened silently.

Her expression was unreadable.

The second period began.

Xu Linda texted her again, telling her to ignore that idiot Pang Shuo and not take anything he said to heart. Besides, after being reprimanded by Lu Rangchen, he probably wouldn’t dare to act arrogantly again.

Zhu Yunque obediently replied with an “okay” and didn’t give Pang Shuo a second glance all afternoon.

She certainly got to smell his tomato and egg scent quite often.

Every time she smelled it, she couldn’t help but imagine Lu Rangchen standing up for her.

She tossed and turned the image in her mind several times.

Finally, Zhu Yunque couldn’t hold back any longer and sent Lu Rangchen a WeChat message before school ended.

Zhu Yunque: 【Are you training tonight?】

After sending the message.

She placed her phone under her textbook.

A few seconds later.

Lu Rangchen replied: 【Training】

Zhu Yunque’s brows slowly relaxed, and she replied with an “Okay.”

She thought their conversation was over, but about ten minutes later, her phone vibrated again.

School was over now, and Zhu Yunque didn’t need to hide it anymore.

She openly took out her phone.

Lu Rangchen: 【Zhu Yunque?】

“…”

Zhu Yunque didn’t understand what he meant and replied with a question mark.

She added, 【It’s me; what’s wrong?】

This time, Lu Rangchen was speechless.

He sent a string of ellipses: 【I thought it was Lin Zhinian】

Zhu Yunque’s fingers paused.

Lu Rangchen sent her a screenshot of his WeChat contact list.

Zhu Yunque immediately noticed that her profile picture was exactly the same as someone else’s.

Strangely, their WeChat nicknames were also somewhat similar.

Zhu Yunque’s nickname was Skylark, Yunque’s English name.

The other person’s name also started with the letter S.

In an instant, Zhu Yunque seemed to understand something.

Sure enough, Lu Rangchen’s next sentence was: 【I thought the person who sent me the blessing was Lin Zhinian】

The implication was that the reason he was so cold that day was that he thought the person who sent him the message was Lin Zhinian.

An unexpected answer popped into her mind. Zhu Yunque’s thoughts wavered.

Her mood plummeted like a bungee jump, only to be pulled back up by his own hand.

Just then, Lu Rangchen said again: 【Aren’t you sleepy now?】

Zhu Yunque’s fingertips curled slightly.

Sensitive as she was, she understood the deeper meaning in his words almost instantly.

Zhu Yunque replied that she wasn’t sleepy.

Then, almost as if possessed, she asked: 【Are you still crossing the street?】

The inexplicable question was like unspoken Morse code; only the other person could decipher it.

After a long pause, Lu Rangchen said: 【I’m done crossing.】

Lu Rangchen: 【The third training hall is empty right now; wanna come?】

–

The third training hall was a training facility specifically allocated to the tennis team by the school.

Lu Rangchen and a few of his buddies would usually head there after school.

Zhu Yunque had only heard of it before, never actually been there, so she was somewhat nervous going alone this time.

She didn’t know what to say to Lu Rangchen and the other person.

But she couldn’t resist going.

However, Zhu Yunque was really socially awkward and felt embarrassed, so she could only buy a few cups of milk tea from a milk tea shop to take with her so that the two wouldn’t be completely speechless.

Besides, she could also use this opportunity to thank Deng Zhe and Zhou Chuang.

After all, these two had spoken up for her at noon.

As it turned out, carrying some things really gave her a reason to stand up straight.

Zhu Yunque quickened her pace as she left the milk tea shop.

But even fast, she couldn’t catch up with the boys from the tennis team.

When Zhu Yunque arrived at the third training hall, some people were already chatting and laughing inside.

An awkward feeling crept up her spine again.

Zhu Yunque glanced inside a few times, feeling somewhat embarrassed. A boy noticed her and struck up a conversation, asking who she was looking for.

Zhu Yunque wanted to say Lu Rangchen.

But then she thought, “Many girls must be looking for him,” and swallowed her words.

The girl’s face flushed, pure as a pool of clear water, and she shook her head timidly.

She whispered, “No, thank you.”

After saying that, Zhu Yunque picked up a few cups of milk tea and prepared to leave.

But as soon as she turned around, her back pressed against a soft yet firm chest.

Warm breath mixed with the restrained yet unrestrained scent of ebony and sandalwood gently descended upon her.

The man stood there blocking her way, showing no intention of moving aside.

Zhu Yunque held her breath, her heart pounding like she was running 800 meters. She abruptly turned her head, and the next second, she met Lu Rangchen’s deep, lingering gaze fixed on her face.

Like a hunter catching his prey.

The boy’s gaze held a hint of ambiguity, his clear eyes patiently observing her, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Where are you going again?”