Lu Chuan sat by the window on KFC's second floor, a bottle of pure water at hand.
Di Ran occupied a leather chair behind him, across from a bespectacled boy.
"Sister Ran, there's less than a week until school starts. You're only giving this to me now—I can't possibly finish it."
Di Ran stirred her ice cubes with a straw, boredom etched across her features. "Don't call me Sister Ran. It makes me sound old. So what do you suggest?"
"More money." The boy bargained confidently. "You need to pay more. Three hundred—not a yuan less."
"More?" Di Ran jerked her thumb toward Lu Chuan behind her. "You know who that is? Lu Chuan from No. 3 Middle School, first place in the municipal joint examination. My dad only gives him two hundred for an hour of tutoring. With your academic performance, why should I pay you three hundred?"
The boy pushed his glasses up his nose. "Ranran, can just anyone imitate handwriting perfectly? You want every single character written in your exact style. I'm not bragging—in all of Marina City, you won't find a second person who can do this."
Di Ran chewed on her straw, frowning. "Cheaper. I'll bring Li Dongyang's homework for you next semester too."
The boy: "Two hundred fifty. Can't go lower."
After negotiating her business deal, Di Ran went to the bathroom to wash her hands.
Lu Chuan waited for her outside KFC. Di Ran emerged with water droplets still clinging to her hands, teasing him playfully. "What's the use of studying so hard when you can't even make as much money as someone like him?"
Lu Chuan frowned. "When are you going back?"
Di Ran lifted her eyes, affecting a petulant tone. "I haven't had enough fun yet. If you don't want to follow me, just leave."
Di Ran had told Di Junhua the house was too boring—that she wanted to find a quiet café to study. She'd used this as cover to meet someone to write her homework.
After leaving KFC, Di Ran wandered to the mall to try on clothes. From the abundant foreign trade shops lining the streets to high-end luxury boutiques, she tried on everything that caught her eye without purchasing a single item.
She returned a dress to its rack—already the fourth one she'd tried in this store.
The clerk observed her expression and recognized she had no intention of buying anything. Her attention shifted to Lu Chuan hovering behind. "Hey handsome, your girlfriend looks amazing in this dress. It really complements her skin tone and shows off her figure. You should buy it for her."
Di Ran startled at this declaration and glanced at Lu Chuan, who appeared equally stunned. Suddenly inspired by mischief, she laughed wickedly. "Miss, my boyfriend is incredibly stingy. Forget the dress—he won't even buy me ten-yuan bubble tea."
Lu Chuan's gaze settled on Di Ran with faint displeasure, his eyes cold as a summer night breeze.
He'd already gained some understanding of Di Ran's temperament. Just as Di Junhua had described, she was naughty and mischievous, periodically deploying petty tricks to embarrass people she disliked. But her schemes struck him as childish and tedious—he simply didn't care.
Lu Chuan was tall and well-built, appearing far more mature than the average middle school student at first glance.
Seeing him, the clerk didn't register him as a high school student at all. She approached enthusiastically. "This dress isn't expensive. If your girlfriend likes it, you should buy it for her."
Lu Chuan, losing patience, turned and walked out of the store—only to be pulled back by the clerk.
He pivoted to find Di Ran's expression had transformed instantly. She clutched the dress and settled onto a chair in the store.
"I really love this dress. Buy it for me." Di Ran raised her voice, her eyes glistening with moisture.
"Exactly! Men should be willing to spend money on their girlfriends. How can you be so cheap?" The clerk agreed enthusiastically, pulling Lu Chuan back into the store.
The dress cost only three hundred yuan. With Di Ran's family background, she simply wanted to witness Lu Chuan's embarrassment. Lu Chuan denied her that satisfaction. He paid cleanly and efficiently. Before Di Ran could fully process what happened, the clerk had already packaged the dress and thrust it into her arms.
Di Ran jogged out with the bag, catching up to Lu Chuan's pace.
Before she could speak, Lu Chuan got there first, his voice glacial. "Don't do that again."
Di Ran asked with a smile, "Why did you pay for me? Do you like me?"
Lu Chuan stared at her flatly. "I'm afraid of trouble. You need to save face."
Di Ran stopped directly in front of Lu Chuan. "Wait here for me. Don't leave."
Without waiting for his reaction, she dashed into the women's restroom nearby.
Lu Chuan had maintained a cold demeanor since leaving the store. He was handsome enough that passing girls' eyes secretly fell on him before darting away in intimidation.
Di Ran tapped his shoulder from behind. When he turned, he found she'd changed into the dress they'd just purchased.
The dark blue fabric made her skin appear even fairer. The thin straps accentuated her narrow, delicate shoulders, and her collarbones protruded slightly—like a lifelike bird spreading its wings.
Di Ran spun around. "Does it look good?"
Lu Chuan averted his gaze imperceptibly. His phone chimed—a message notification. Opening it, he discovered Di Ran had transferred him the money for the dress.
Di Ran looked smug. "When someone called you my boyfriend, you rushed to buy me a dress. Why are you so eager? Trying to take advantage of me?"
Lu Chuan ignored her completely. Di Ran continued talking to herself. "Come with me to buy sneakers too."
"I'm here to tutor you," Lu Chuan emphasized.
Di Ran picked at her nails, muttering, "I have gym class next week. I want to wear new shoes."
She walked with her head down, suddenly colliding head-on with several girls who immediately pressed her shoulders and shoved her backward.
Di Ran's attention had been entirely absorbed by her fingernails. Her body staggered back, and before she could fall, a pair of strong hands steadied her from behind. The dress she'd just bought featured a large slit in the back. Those hands felt dry and warm against her bare skin, withdrawing immediately after righting her.
Di Ran didn't turn to see who'd helped her. Instead, she raised her face and regarded Jiang Yadi before her with icy coldness.
"Di Ran, you're absolutely shameless." Jiang Yadi raised her eyebrows, emboldened by the companions flanking her to speak more boldly than usual. "It's bad enough you're with other boys behind Li Dongyang's back, but this is Jing Shu's boyfriend. How dare you try to steal Jing Shu's man?"
Di Ran didn't respond verbally. Her reaction was direct and brazen—her palm pressed against Jiang Yadi's shoulder and suddenly shoved her down onto the mall's smooth tile floor, mirroring the girl's earlier action.
"You dare to push me?" Di Ran's voice turned cool, her expression utterly calm. "Are you looking for death?"
Jiang Yadi struggled to her feet with her companions' assistance. Astonishment flashed across her features before transforming into fury. She jabbed a finger toward Di Ran's nose. "Li Dongyang comes back next week. I'll tell him everything I saw today. Let him know exactly what you are. Jingshu treats you like a friend—and you? You're hooking up with her boyfriend?"
Jiang Yadi's words rang out loudly enough that passing pedestrians turned to stare.
"Who's friends with Pan Jingshu?" Di Ran remained completely unmoved, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding scrutiny. She smiled mockingly. "Always talking about Li Dongyang—does Li Dongyang even know who you are? He probably only remembers your name when he needs someone to throw you out, right?"
Jiang Yadi's face flushed crimson with indignation. She glanced left and right at the gathering spectators and deliberately raised her voice. "Rich second generation and still so self-righteous? Who doesn't know you're clinging to Li Dongyang's coattails for money? Think because Li Dongyang protects you, you're so amazing? You have no idea what everyone says about you behind your back. They all call you a—"
Lu Chuan observed the farce before him with detached calm.
He'd met Di Junhua that morning. The transcendent, refined temperament the man exuded from within wasn't something ordinary people possessed—and certainly not something they could fake. Though Lu Chuan didn't know exactly what Di Ran's family did, they definitely weren't short on money.
Di Ran's eyes turned cold and sharp—like the tip of an iceberg impossible to melt.
Jiang Yadi's initially arrogant bearing slowly crumbled under Di Ran's stare. She pursed her lips and asked forcefully, "What? Are you going to hit me?"
Di Ran said nothing. She simply looked at her quietly, then turned to leave.
Jiang Yadi exhaled with relief before shifting her attention to Lu Chuan. "Di Ran can't compare to even Jing Shu's little finger. Are you crazy, being with her?"
Lu Chuan's ancient-well-calm eyes settled on her.
Jiang Yadi felt her scalp prickle under his stare. She asked with forced bravado, "What are you looking at?"
"Pan Jingshu has nothing to do with me," Lu Chuan stated flatly.
Just past seven in the evening, the sky wore a hazy blue. The city's most bustling scenes had vanished beneath thin clouds. The number of post-dinner pedestrians along Yonglu gradually increased. Red and green lanterns hung from tree branches, casting colorful light.
Di Ran walked aimlessly along the main road ahead. She whirled around and snapped at Lu Chuan impatiently, "You should be off work at seven. Why are you still following me? Get lost."
Lu Chuan passed by her without breaking stride. He had no intention of following her whatsoever—he was simply heading home, and their paths coincided.
Di Ran: "......"
Her romantic assumption thoroughly punctured, she kicked the roadside fence in fury. Hearing the resounding clang, her anger still unsatisfied, she kicked a nearby trash can.
The loud crash reached Lu Chuan's ears. He raised his eyebrows slightly. The girl's foul temper showed no signs of subsiding. She ran forward to block his path.
"You're leaving me alone on the roadside at night. Aren't you afraid something dangerous might happen to me?" Di Ran spoke capriciously. "I'll pay you. Stay with me a while longer."
Lu Chuan didn't even look at her. He pushed past and continued walking.
"Lu Chuan!" Di Ran shouted irritably. "Stop right there!"
Lu Chuan didn't take her seriously, didn't look back. Di Ran was so infuriated she squatted roadside and tore at the grass in the flower bed.
She pulled for a while, creating a bald patch in the ground before her. She stood up, patting dust from her palms with bored indifference.
Halfway home, Lu Chuan remembered he'd run out of toothpaste. He turned back toward the convenience store they'd just passed.
He stopped beneath a dim streetlamp, waiting for her to emerge—not wanting to encounter her again.
Di Ran spent less than three minutes inside before exiting with a bag containing something unknown. She was petite and seemed to struggle carrying it.
Seeing her departure, Lu Chuan slipped into the convenience store.
The toothpaste shelf was in the last row, adjacent to the store's transparent floor-to-ceiling windows. Di Ran hadn't gone far. She'd settled on a stone bollard in front of the glass, opened her bag, and extracted more than a dozen cans of Wangzai milk, arranging them in a neat row at her feet. She popped one open and tilted it back, drinking deeply.
After finishing one can, Di Ran casually tossed it into the nearby trash bin and reached for another—as though drowning her sorrows in milk.
Lu Chuan took his toothpaste to the register, paid, and exited the supermarket.
The sky had gone completely dark. The streetlight opposite the convenience store was broken, and the holly bushes sat dark and autumn-touched, with mosquitoes swarming and spiraling above them.
He glanced sideways at Di Ran.
She'd consumed four cans of milk in rapid succession and paused to rest.
The calves exposed beneath her skirt were pale and bare, attracting blood-seeking mosquitoes on the summer night. She swatted at them irritably with her palm.
Lu Chuan's gaze fell on her calves again. He suddenly recalled meeting her at twilight the previous evening. The boldness emanating from Di Ran seemed innate—deep in her bones. Even in a vast crowd, he could pick her out instantly, displaying sharp fangs and smiling wildly.
Di Ran seemed to sense something. She looked back at him, her eyes reddened. "Aren't you gone? What are you still doing here?"
Her tone had turned soft and glutinous, sounding somewhat pitiful. Perhaps she felt sad about being accosted by those girls on the street. Or perhaps not.
Just pretending, Lu Chuan thought to himself. He couldn't let her delicate appearance deceive him.
Di Ran stopped speaking and continued drinking milk in silence.
Lu Chuan turned and went back into the supermarket.
Di Ran pursed her lips and tossed the empty can into the trash. "Can you stop being so cool?"
Lu Chuan emerged and returned, walking up to Di Ran with a pack of tissues in hand. Before Di Ran could react, he extended the tissues toward her.
Di Ran raised her eyebrows haughtily, looking fierce. "What are you doing? I'm not crying."
The corners of her lips were stained with white milk foam she hadn't yet wiped away. Her lips were naturally red, her teeth white—making her entire appearance delicate and pitiful.
Lu Chuan tossed the tissues into her lap. "Wipe your mouth."
Next
.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment