The next morning, Jiang Nuan was woken up by her alarm and noticed a pair of school pants draped over the back of her chair, neatly ironed.
Jiang Nuan slipped them on and realized the tear at the back was no longer visible, and the width had been adjusted to fit her better. But more importantly…
“Hey, how come they seem longer?”
Jiang Nuan stood in front of the mirror for a while, noticing that the pants used to sit just above her ankles, giving off a cropped-pants vibe, with a bit of sock showing, which was slightly embarrassing. But now, her school pants not only fit well but were also the perfect length.
“Mom—how did you make my school pants longer?”
“Isn’t it better this way? Now they’ll last until your school issues new ones. Hurry up and eat breakfast before heading to school.”
As soon as she got into the elevator, she ran into Lu Ran again.
Lu Ran glanced down at her pants.
Since he had sat behind her on the bike yesterday, of course, he had noticed her pants had torn.
“Stop looking! I’m not wearing pink long johns today!” Jiang Nuan pouted.
She waited for Lu Ran to say something sharp again.
But when the elevator doors opened, Lu Ran got on his bike and rode off without saying anything.
Jiang Nuan was a little uncomfortable with that.
But anyway, these well-fitting school pants put Jiang Nuan in a good mood, and even during morning exercises, she stood tall and proud.
“Did your mom alter your school pants for you?”
“Yeah! Don’t they look nice?”
“Yep, the legs are more fitted. They make your legs look longer. Ask your mom where she got them altered; I want to get mine done too.”
“Forget it. If you alter your school pants any more, there won’t be anything left to hide your beauty. You should spare the boys at our school.”
Just as Jiang Nuan finished speaking, she heard Lin Mixia let out a light snort from behind.
When Jiang Nuan went to the restroom, she noticed that her long johns had a loose thread. She tugged at it for a while, pulling it all the way to the back of her school pants, where she felt the little label at the waistband.
She remembered cutting off all those little labels because they made her itch, so why was this one still here?
Back at her seat, Jiang Nuan tugged on Rao Can’s sleeve and whispered, “I have this feeling… these pants aren’t mine…”
“If you’re wearing them, they’re yours.” Rao Can replied with a smile.
At that moment, Lin Mixia had just returned with hot water for herself and Lu Ran when Jiang Nuan suddenly heard Lu Ran, who had been quietly reading, say, “They weren’t yours in the first place.”
“Huh? What?” Jiang Nuan turned her head around.
Lu RanChapter 21: Eat What You Need to Replenish
“Huh? How about I treat you guys to something?” Jiang Nuan suggested.
“Sure! Sure! Eating sounds great!” Xu Zitian nodded enthusiastically.
“So, what do you guys want to eat? I don’t have money for anything too expensive.”
“Oh, you’re really straightforward.” Xu Zitian’s eyes widened.
“Since Junior Sister is treating, let her decide what we eat.” Mu Sheng graciously suggested.
“Alright, let’s go then.”
Just as Jiang Nuan was about to head out with her backpack, something suddenly fell on her head. Lu Ran walked past her and said, “Dry your hair.”
Jiang Nuan took off the towel. It was pure white and carried the faint scent of the same body wash Lu Ran used.
She wrung the water from her hair and caught up to Lu Ran.
Lu Ran stopped, staring at He Zheng, who was chatting with a few female coaches.
Jiang Nuan also paused, “What’s wrong?”
“How long have you been here?”
“Huh? Since the second half of my first year of high school.”
“What about He Zheng?”
“He’s been here much longer, probably forever.” Jiang Nuan felt puzzled. Why was Lu Ran suddenly interested in He Zheng?
“Let’s go.” Lu Ran said before moving on.
What the…? So random, asking questions with no beginning or end…
When Jiang Nuan finished talking to the coach and came out, she saw that Lu Ran and the others were already waiting for her on their bikes.
Jiang Nuan adjusted the straps of her backpack and walked up to Mu Sheng, “Can you give me a ride?”
But Mu Sheng shook his head, “I’m not great at carrying people. I might end up dropping you.”
“Hey, I saw you carrying Rao Can that day. You were so steady!”
“But my heart was trembling!” Mu Sheng laughed.
Xu Zitian spoke up, “No worries! Junior Sister, you can sit behind me. I don’t wobble when I ride!”
But Mu Sheng kicked him, “You don’t wobble, you just fall straight down like a weight.”
“When have I ever fallen…” Xu Zitian looked at Mu Sheng with a bit of grievance.
Finally, Lu Ran spoke up, “Get on.”
Jiang Nuan pressed her lips together, thinking to herself that this guy better not make her jump halfway and then leave her behind again.
“Get on first.”
Lu Ran stood there, one foot on the ground, looking back at Jiang Nuan as if he could read her mind.
Jiang Nuan got on, holding onto Lu Ran’s bag, and the three bikes took off.
Jiang Nuan directed them to a small alley where they stopped in front of a tiny shop.
Xu Zitian looked up, “Xu Auntie’s Spicy Hotpot… You’re treating us to spicy hotpot?”
“Yeah, it’s warm and tasty.” Jiang Nuan got off from behind Lu Ran, still holding his bag.
“You might as well treat us to hotpot! Imagine a big plate of mutton, how satisfying! And besides, Lu Ran likes cleanliness; he wouldn’t eat…”
Before Xu Zitian could finish, Lu Ran had already locked his bike, grabbed his bag from Jiang Nuan’s arms, slung it over his shoulder, and walked into the shop.
Xu Zitian looked at Mu Sheng in surprise, while Mu Sheng just sighed and patted Xu Zitian on the shoulder as they walked in.
“Zitian, sometimes, it’s not about what we eat, but who we eat with. Lu Ran doesn’t refuse to eat skewers or spicy hotpot because he thinks they’re dirty; it’s because eating with you is just not meaningful or tasteful enough.”
“You coming in or not?” Lu Ran glanced back at Mu Sheng.
Mu Sheng stopped talking, and the three guys, plus Jiang Nuan, gathered around the big pot of spicy hotpot.
Though the shop was small, the tables weren’t greasy, and the floor and chairs were clean. It had a simple yet homely vibe.
“Do girls all love spicy hotpot? The small spicy hotpot shop near our school is always full of girls.” Xu Zitian asked.
He stretched his neck out to take a whiff of the rich aroma, and his mouth started watering.
“It’s alright. Cheng Doudou loves it, so Rao Can and I always go with her. It’s tasty and cheap. I save all my pocket money to pay for the club, so I can’t afford anything too expensive for you guys. What do you want to eat?” Jiang Nuan asked.
“Junior Sister, you’re so practical. Why don’t you order for us? We don’t know what’s especially good here.” Mu Sheng said.
Jiang Nuan ordered everyone some tofu puffs, bean curd skin, and seaweed, along with some vermicelli.
“What about meat? Do you want chicken feet? They’re cooked till they’re tender and flavorful!”
As Jiang Nuan ordered, she sneakily glanced at Lu Ran.
He didn’t show much expression. Who knew if he was secretly disgusted but too polite to show it?
She purposely placed some chicken feet into Lu Ran’s bowl. Mu Sheng tried to stop her, but he was a step too late.
Jiang Nuan felt amused inside. Aren’t you the school’s male god? Well, let’s see you eat chicken feet, male god!
“Thanks.”
Unexpectedly, Lu Ran didn’t get mad at all, nor did he throw the chicken feet back at Jiang Nuan. Instead, he simply took a pair of disposable chopsticks, broke them apart, scraped off the thorns, and then calmly picked up the chicken feet to blow on them before eating.
Jiang Nuan didn’t expect him to be so composed. It seemed that chicken feet didn’t have enough of an impact. And the worst part was that even when eating chicken feet, Lu Ran still didn’t look awkward at all. She had been hoping the chicken feet would poke into his nose, but now she could only feel deeply disappointed.
“Here you go! Stuffed beef balls! Take one bite! They’re super tasty!”
Jiang Nuan ordered a skewer of beef balls for Lu Ran.
Beef balls had broth inside, so if you weren’t careful, you could burn your tongue or spray oil everywhere!
“Thanks.” Lu Ran thanked her again, calmly poking open the beef ball with his chopsticks, blowing on it, and then putting it in his mouth.
Jiang Nuan was even more disappointed! Why wouldn’t Lu Ran just bite into it?!
“Ah! It’s burning me!” Xu Zitian suddenly yelped.
Mu Sheng quickly grabbed a napkin and placed it under his chin with quick reflexes.
“Xu Zitian, can’t you handle a simple beef ball? You look sillier than someone eating a soup dumpling!”
Xu Zitian gulped down a big mouthful of cold cola, finally saving his tongue.
Jiang Nuan, feeling that there was no turning back now, shouted, “Boss lady, give us four portions of pork kidneys!”
Mu Sheng quickly intervened, “Three portions! Three are enough! Lu Ran doesn’t really eat organs!”
“Ah—but pork kidneys are the specialty here…” Jiang Nuan deliberately put on a disappointed look, “And they’re the most expensive item on the spicy hotpot menu! You’ll never get a chance to make me bleed money like this again!”
Pork kidneys were something that people either really loved or couldn’t stomach at all. Those who couldn’t handle the strong gamey smell might even throw up.
“It’s fine. Order four portions.” Lu Ran said, his expression unchanged.
Jiang Nuan immediately smiled and patted Lu Ran on the shoulder, “That’s right! You’re a guy! Time to replenish yourself!”
Lu Ran leaned closer to Jiang Nuan, and even with the smell of spicy hotpot in the air, the faint cedarwood scent of his body wash was still noticeable.
“Oh? And what do you replenish with pork kidneys?” he asked her, a slight smirk at the corner of his mouth.
For some reason, Jiang Nuan’s ears started to heat up again.
“Eating pork kidneys is, of course, good for your kidneys!” Jiang Nuan replied.
“And why would you need to replenish your kidneys?” Lu Ran asked again.
Mu Sheng, who had been silently holding back his laughter, now lowered his head, trying not to laugh.
Jiang Nuan wasn’t stupid. She quickly realized that Lu Ran was teasing her and responded seriously, “If you strengthen your kidneys, you’ll have better stability when doing lunges in fencing!”
“If replenishing your kidneys made a difference, then with all the milk I’ve brought to your house, why haven’t you grown taller yet?” Lu Ran turned his head slightly to look at Jiang Nuan.
“Who says I haven’t? I’ve grown five centimeters!”
Mu Sheng was now laughing even harder, patting Jiang Nuan on the back, “Junior Sister, what our Master Lu is trying to say is that you’re flat as a board—like a middle schooler. That’s why both Xu Zitian and I didn’t realize you were a girl today! According to your logic, drinking milk should make that area grow, not just make you taller!”
Go to hell with your “drinking milk makes you grow in that area”!
Jiang Nuan was so mad she wanted to throw Lu Ran into the hotpot!
“Boss lady, give us a portion of duck intestines! Make it super spicy!”
Mu Sheng suddenly had a bad feeling.
“Junior Sister, let’s not get the duck intestines…”
“Duck intestines are the specialty here. It’s your first time, so you have to try them!” Jiang Nuan said with a heroic tone, as if she were ready to throw caution to the wind.
Mu Sheng glanced at Lu Ran, signaling with his eyes: Stop teasing Jiang Nuan.
But Lu Ran didn’t say anything.
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