Chapter 86: An Unexpected Confession and Agreement |
Jiang Xueli's appearance once again caught the attention of the boys in Class 1.
She spotted Lin Zhengran sitting in the crowd and shyly hid the lemon water behind her back.
Don’t be fooled by her short stature or lack of standout features—her petite, lively, and playful face had enough charm to make plenty of boys’ hearts race.
After all, who wouldn’t want a cheerful, pretty girlfriend?
Jiang Xueli avoided eye contact as she slowly walked into Class 1.
This time, no one in Class 1 really thought much of it at first. After all, He Qing had just come by to deliver water. No matter how wild their imaginations were, they’d only assume Jiang Xueli was here to bring something to someone else.
The boy surnamed Pan, who had just asked about Jiang Xueli, sat up straight when he saw her actually approaching. “Jiang Xueli?! What’s she doing in our class too? Don’t tell me she also has a boyfriend?”
Then everyone watched as Jiang Xueli walked step by step up to Lin Zhengran and stopped, staring stubbornly into his eyes. In the silent half-minute that followed—
The boys in class all widened their eyes, mouths agape, voices echoing with disbelief.
The truth was right in front of them, but they still didn’t dare to believe it—until Jiang Xueli spoke: “Da—” Embarrassed by the crowd, she blushed and changed her words, “Lin Zhengran, come out for a sec, I need to talk to you.”
With that, she walked away and stood near the drinks, waiting.
Pan’s secret crush crumbled as he and the others muttered in unison, “D*mn.”
Lin Zhengran let out a long sigh, got up, and walked over to Jiang Xueli. Seeing how shy she looked, he asked, “Brought me water?”
Jiang Xueli froze. “How’d you know? No—who said I came to bring you water?!”
Lin Zhengran glanced at the hand she was hiding behind her back and asked helplessly, “If it’s not for that, then why did you come?”
“I…” Jiang Xueli noticed all the eyes from Class 1 were on her. Although she wasn’t scared of being watched when she was singing, this situation was definitely different.
She looked back at Lin Zhengran and snapped, “I am here to bring water! So what?!”
Fiercely, she pulled out the cup of lemon water with one hand, turning her head away with a shy huff.
“It’s so hot today, I figured you’d be thirsty, so I bought you a drink. Whether you drink it or not, that’s up to you. I did my part by bringing it.”
Lin Zhengran accepted the drink and asked the same question, “Did you drink some?”
“I did.” She pouted. “You think I waited in line that long just to buy it for you?” Then, suddenly clenching her fists and shutting her eyes in frustration, she blurted out:
“Fine! I didn’t drink any! I rushed to bring it to you and didn’t have time to take a sip. And then He Qing beat me to it!”
She rattled on like a spilled jar of beans: “He Qing is one thing, but you—why are you still so popular with girls?! Do you even know how jealous I’ve been these days, seeing all those girls talking to you?! It’s seriously so annoying!”
Her face burning red, Jiang Xueli took a few steps back and plopped down on the curb, hugging her knees with a tsundere pout.
“Don’t ask me why I’m jealous. Even if you ask, I won’t say. But ever since high school started, everyone’s been so bold. Even people came up to chat with me and said I’m cute and stuff—what’s wrong with them? If I were really that cute, why haven’t you ever said it? What good does it do hearing it from them...”
Lin Zhengran sat down beside her. “Looks like a lot’s happened to you these past few days. At first, I thought you hadn’t changed at all from middle school, but now I can tell—you’ve changed a bit.”
Jiang Xueli kept hugging her knees and avoided looking at him.
Until she heard Lin Zhengran say next, “You’re cuter than you were in middle school.”
Her face turned beet red, steam practically rising from her head as she stammered, turning to look at him: “Y-You! What are you saying?! C-Cuter?! Are you out of your mind?! Say that again if you dare!”
“You really are cuter than before. Still as tsundere as ever, but way better than you used to be.”
Jiang Xueli’s lips parted slightly, her eyes sparkling. It was as if colorful bubbles started floating around her.
Too shy to meet his gaze, she shrank back and stared at her knees. “You… you’re totally crazy. Saying stuff like that to me… are you some blooming cactus or something?”
Then she heard the sound of Lin Zhengran inserting the straw. She turned her head to look at him.
Lin Zhengran raised an eyebrow at her shy look.
Jiang Xueli gave him a judging look. “But seriously, you big dummy, you’ve gotten a lot smarter since starting high school. Your mouth’s gotten sweeter, too.” She suddenly grinned. “How about I start calling you ‘Little Dummy’ from now on?”
Lin Zhengran got goosebumps all over from her smile.
“What’s with that face?!” Jiang Xueli argued, “Don’t you think it’s a really affectionate nickname? Only people with a close bond use it—‘Dummy Dummy,’ it’s cute!”
Lin Zhengran sighed and took another sip. “So that’s what you think, huh? No wonder you’re so stuck on that nickname.”
“W-What else would it be? You don’t like it?”
Seeing Lin Zhengran actually nod, she thought for a second. “Then how about this—I’ll call you…” She pursed her lips for a moment and softly said, “Zhengran?”
Right after saying it, she felt goosebumps all over herself.
Lin Zhengran looked exasperated. “Can’t you just call me by my name like a normal person?”
Jiang Xueli pouted and hugged her knees again. “No way. He Qing already calls you that. If I say the same thing as her, won’t I be falling behind? I’ll just call you… Zheng… Zhengran. It sounds nice anyway.”
Lin Zhengran handed the drink back to her. “I don’t want it anymore.”
Jiang Xueli took it and watched as he drank only a sip. “You only drank one sip? I waited in line forever, you know.”
“I just drank earlier. And since you didn’t have any yet, you might as well drink the rest.”
He stood up. “If there’s nothing else, I’m heading back.”
Suddenly Jiang Xueli grabbed his arm. “Wait… Zheng… Zhengran, I want to ask you something…” She whispered, “Do you really think I don’t need to lose weight?”
Lin Zhengran thought she was going to ask something serious. He looked her over and replied honestly, “You really don’t. Even though you haven’t changed much… I like how you are now. You’re small and super cute.”
Then he walked off.
Jiang Xueli stood there, stunned for a moment before it sank in. “Like? He said he likes me?”
Her brain short-circuited as she muttered, “L-Like… He likes me! He said he likes me!”
She stood up, closed her eyes, and shouted, “I accept!”
Then, covering her face in embarrassment, she ran off.
“Now that we’re in high school, I seriously can’t handle this guy anymore. Confessing like that out of nowhere… how am I supposed to say no?”
Lin Zhengran glanced back and heard what she said, speechless. “That silly girl’s acting nuts again.”
He turned back—only to suddenly see the boy surnamed Pan crying as he ran off.
And in the spot where he’d been sitting—
Han Wenwen had squatted down at some point, holding a drink and staring at him.
The rest of the class was already frozen in shock, eyes wide as they stared at Han Wenwen—and even more so at Lin Zhengran.
Han Wenwen smiled sweetly, full of jealousy. “Lin Zhengran? Still thirsty?”
Lin Zhengran: “.....”
And on the other side of the classroom, Jiang Qian and Fang Meng, who had just returned from the restroom, also noticed everyone staring at Lin Zhengran.
Fang Meng said, “That guy’s really popular, huh? I’ve lost count of how many girls from other classes have come to talk to him lately.”
Jiang Qian’s cold eyes locked onto Lin Zhengran, who was talking to Han Wenwen, her thoughts unreadable.
A few days later, military training was about to end, and the Freshman Talent Showcase was officially scheduled for the last day.
As the freshman representatives, Lin Zhengran and Jiang Qian were naturally called into the office by the teachers before the event preparations began.