“My bag fell somewhere near my grandma’s house. I’m going to look for it.” Jiang Nuan said, not wanting to explain too much to him. Just as she was about to walk away, her arm was grabbed.
“I’ll take you there. There are no buses this late, and you won’t be able to get back.” Lu Ran said, his voice usually cool, but in the chilly night air, it carried a warmth that softened Jiang Nuan’s heart.
Jiang Nuan didn’t expect Lu Ran to actually help her. She stared at him, dumbfounded.
“I’m pretty heavy…”
“That’s why you should eat less during the New Year.”
Lu Ran lightly tapped his foot against the curb and nodded for Jiang Nuan to get on the bike.
“I can jump on by myself.”
“I’m afraid your short legs won’t move fast enough to get on.”
He was referring to the time a few days ago when he purposely sped up the bike, leaving Jiang Nuan unable to get on.
“My legs aren’t short!”
“Root two, do you really think your legs will grow to one meter?”
“You’re the root two! Didn’t we just measure last time? I’m 1.63 meters tall now! My school uniform pants are too short!”
“That’s because you gained weight and stretched them out.”
Damn it, that’s even worse than saying my uniform shrank!
“Where are your gloves?” Lu Ran asked.
“What?” Jiang Nuan, holding onto the back rack with both hands, leaned her head sideways to hear him.
“I said, where are your gloves?”
“I was in a rush when I left, so I forgot them at home.”
At this point, Jiang Nuan began to feel her hands getting cold.
Lu Ran suddenly freed one hand and reached back.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Nuan asked, puzzled.
“Your hands?”
“What are you doing!” Jiang Nuan reluctantly swatted his fingertips, but he grabbed her hand.
His hands were beautiful; many girls in class said so. When Jiang Nuan felt those hands holding hers, she found herself holding her breath.
Lu Ran placed her hand into his coat pocket and said, “Now your hands won’t be cold.”
It was just a simple sentence, but from her heart to her fingertips, it felt as if something was gently warming her.
Jiang Nuan immediately put her other hand into his pocket as well. Wow… it’s really warm!
She squinted her eyes, and suddenly, the cold winter night didn’t feel so biting anymore. In fact, it made the whole world seem wide open.
“Actually, you’re not that annoying.” Jiang Nuan said softly.
“What?” Lu Ran turned slightly, and she saw the white breath escaping his lips as he spoke.
“I said, you’re not even wearing gloves yourself!”
Not going to compliment you! If I did, your tail would definitely shoot up into the sky!
They rode for about twenty minutes until they reached Jiang Nuan’s grandma’s house. Jiang Nuan walked along the pedestrian path toward the corner, carefully searching the ground.
If she couldn’t find her bag on this road, she had no idea where else it could be.
Lu Ran followed behind, pushing the bike along the edge of the sidewalk.
Jiang Nuan walked all the way to the corner but couldn’t find her bag. She straightened her back and looked back at the empty street. There was no one around, and there was no sign of her small bag.
“It’s not here… I’m sorry I made you come all the way here for nothing.” Jiang Nuan forced a smile at Lu Ran, but she was clearly disappointed.
“Do you really like that bag?” Lu Ran asked.
His voice was calm and unemotional, but under the streetlamp, it carried a gentle warmth.
“Yeah, I really like it. My grandma gave it to me when I was in middle school, so I always bring it when I visit her for the New Year.”
“What’s inside?” Lu Ran asked again.
“My phone. And some White Rabbit candy and Ferrero Rocher chocolates.”
Jiang Nuan exhaled deeply.
“Is your bag red and yellow, made of knitted yarn?”
“Hey, how did you know? I’ve never carried it in front of you.”
Lu Ran raised his chin, signaling for Jiang Nuan to look in the direction of his gaze. There, lying between the sidewalk and the road, was her little crossbody bag.
“Oh my gosh! My bag!” Jiang Nuan couldn’t contain her joy and quickly ran over to pick it up.
It turned out that the bag’s strap had loosened, causing it to fall off without her noticing.
She opened the bag and happily said, “Great, my White Rabbit candies are still here!”
“Looks like the White Rabbit candies are more important than your phone.”
“Of course. I grew up at my grandma’s house. Back then, White Rabbit candies were all the rage. But Grandma wouldn’t let me have too many. To coax me into going to kindergarten, she’d only give me one when I stepped into the classroom. Even after I grew up, Grandma still remembered how much I loved White Rabbit candies. Every New Year, she buys them for me. Nowadays, they’re hard to find, but I know she always takes long bus rides to that wholesale market to buy them.” Jiang Nuan smiled and handed a Ferrero Rocher to Lu Ran.
“Why are you giving me a Ferrero Rocher?” Lu Ran asked.
“To thank you, of course.”
“Don’t you think giving me something you cherish the most would be a true way to thank me?”
Jiang Nuan was about to retort with “Ferrero Rocher is more expensive” but something about the way Lu Ran looked at her made her forget what she wanted to say.
The usual aloofness in his eyes had vanished. His gaze was bright, and his eyes had a beautiful outline that she couldn’t help but envy. Jiang Nuan recalled the first time she saw Lu Ran in the elevator, how stunning she found him. He was different from any other boy she had met. Though that initial admiration had been buried under Lu Ran’s arrogance and harsh words, tonight, Jiang Nuan couldn’t stop herself from staring at him again.
“Here you go.” Jiang Nuan grabbed a handful of White Rabbit candies and handed them to Lu Ran.
“It’s late. Let’s head back.” Lu Ran pocketed the candies and handed her the bike.
“Huh? You’re not riding?”
“I rode all the way here. Your turn now.” Lu Ran’s expression was as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
“No way! You want me to give you a ride? I’m a girl! Since when do girls give guys a ride?”
“Are you being sexist?” Lu Ran had already climbed onto the back rack. His long legs allowed him to stand effortlessly, waiting for Jiang Nuan to start pedaling.
“But… I… how can I carry you?”
“Looks like your gratitude isn’t very sincere.”
Jiang Nuan had a feeling Lu Ran was messing with her, so she kept holding the handlebars, turning back to glare at him.
But this guy’s face was completely expressionless.
“Fine, fine. If we fall, we’ll go down together!”
Jiang Nuan didn’t believe for a second that if they really fell, Lu Ran would be able to stay seated.
She started pedaling, huffing and puffing. Lu Ran’s feet were practically touching the ground, so he had to lift them up. Jiang Nuan figured that keeping his legs raised must be more exhausting than just riding the bike himself. She wondered how long it would take for him to give up.
As she pedaled, Jiang Nuan couldn’t help but remember what Mu Sheng had said about how rejecting Lu Ran once meant he wouldn’t give you a second chance.
But wasn’t he still riding her all this way?
Could it be that this guy was trying to get back at her for not getting on his bike the last time?
No way, seriously?
With Lu Ran’s height, even if he wasn’t heavy, his weight wouldn’t be light either. Jiang Nuan struggled to maintain her balance, and after five minutes of wobbly riding, she was already out of breath.
Damn it, if he was really trying to mess with her, this should be enough already, right?
Just as Jiang Nuan was about to throw in the towel and say she couldn’t ride anymore, Lu Ran spoke first.
“With stamina like that, you’d be wiped out on the fencing floor in thirty seconds.”
Lu Ran’s words pierced Jiang Nuan’s heart.
It was true—she hadn’t maintained her fitness level in a long time. Ever since she started high school, and her dad had made it clear that he didn’t want her to continue fencing, Jiang Nuan had let herself go.
Even though she was exhausted, that comment fueled her determination not to let Lu Ran look down on her. Gritting her teeth, Jiang Nuan kept pedaling, but when she tried to make a turn, she lost control of the balance and wobbled.
In that instant, something firm and strong grabbed her waist, holding her steady.
The bike had already fallen over, its wheels spinning on the ground with a soft whirring sound.
Jiang Nuan froze. If the person behind her hadn’t reacted quickly and caught her, she would have fallen off the bike.
She took a deep breath as the hands holding her waist slowly released their grip. When she leaned back, she bumped right into Lu Ran’s chest.
Jiang Nuan tensed up completely, as if the thick sweaters and down jackets between them had suddenly caught fire.
She quickly pulled away, but her calf hit the pedal, and she almost took a tumble. Once again, it was Lu Ran who caught her, his arm wrapping around her waist. For a brief moment, her back pressed against his chest. Though it lasted only a second, it made Jiang Nuan realize the difference between boys and girls.
Even if she could carry a stack of reference books by herself, fix her Walkman on her own, or act like a boss standing up for Rao Can and Dou Dou, she and Lu Ran were different.
He was stronger than her, quicker to react, more composed. Even his fingers, when they grabbed hold of her, carried a decisiveness, as if he was always ready to catch her whenever she made a mistake or fell.
“Thanks.”
As soon as Jiang Nuan said it, Lu Ran released her.
“Get on the back. Don’t break my bike.”
Jiang Nuan didn’t catch his expression, but she knew that when Lu Ran rode the bike, it was so steady it felt like her weight didn’t matter at all.
Jiang Nuan suddenly realized… this was what it felt like to sit on the back of a boy’s bike.
Oh my gosh… if the girls at school who had been crushing on Lu Ran for so long knew about this, she would probably get stabbed to death by their glares…
And somehow, she felt a little smug about it.
“See you tomorrow.”
“You actually want to see me tomorrow?” Lu Ran raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve figured it out.”
“What did you figure out?”
“Trying to compete with you is like poisoning myself and hoping you suffer. It’s not worth it.” Jiang Nuan nodded to herself, satisfied with her conclusion.
For a couple of seconds, Lu Ran didn’t say anything. Surprisingly, he didn’t refute her.
Out of nowhere, Jiang Nuan’s nose was pinched.
By the time she turned to look at Lu Ran’s expression, he had already stepped out of the elevator.
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