She’s Crazy C38

Chapter 38

She asked me when I could call her Zai Zai.

I need to practice.

—Zhang Lurang

The scene instantly fell silent.

Zhang Lurang placed his bowl back on the table, making a crisp sound.

He stood up and said softly, “I’m full.”

Zhang’s mother glanced at his bowl and frowned. “You’ve barely eaten anything.”

The bowl was still nearly full, showing he had hardly taken a few bites.

The dishes on the table were still steaming hot. The warm yellow light shone down from above, yet it didn’t bring the slightest warmth.

Zhang Lurang was about to head upstairs.

Beside him, Zhang Luli rubbed his eyes and spoke ingratiatingly, “Brother, eat your meal.”

Zhang Lurang’s steps paused. In the end, he sat back down.

At the dining table, Zhang’s mother kept talking.

Her voice was gentle.

But when it reached Zhang Lurang’s ears, it felt like it was laced with thorns.

—

After dinner, Zhang Lurang returned to his room.

He turned on the bright white desk lamp with a “click.”

Sitting down, he picked up his phone and glanced at it.

The lamp was too bright, making it hard for him to see the screen clearly.

Zhang Lurang adjusted the brightness higher.

Immediately, he saw the message from Su Zai Zai.

— I thought about it. I can’t always make you come to me.

— How about I visit you during winter break?

Zhang Lurang lowered his gaze, thinking about how to respond.

Yet his fingers moved uncontrollably, dialing her number.

After just one ring, Su Zai Zai picked up.

“Rang Rang.”

“Mm.”

“Why did you call me?”

“……”

“Are you in a bad mood?”

“No.”

She didn’t press further and instead changed the topic.

“Jiang Jia told me today that people with doubled names are usually very good-looking.”

“Is that so.” Zhang Lurang let out a muffled laugh.

Su Zai Zai said seriously, “No wonder your name is Zhang Rang Rang.”

Zhang Lurang: “……”

“But I think,” Su Zai Zai continued to flatter, “a mere name can’t possibly influence your appearance.”

There was a brief silence.

Then Zhang Lurang suddenly asked, “How did you know I was in a bad mood?”

“Because I’m not by your side,” she shamelessly replied.

She originally thought Zhang Lurang would deny it.

But unexpectedly—

The next second, he murmured in confusion, “How do you always guess right?”

Su Zai Zai went quiet on the other end.

Very soon, the beeping sound of a call ending echoed in Zhang Lurang’s ears.

At the same time, three knocks sounded at the door.

He instinctively lifted his gaze and said softly, “Come in.”

Zhang Luli slowly turned the doorknob and walked in.

He habitually went to the bed behind Zhang Lurang and lay down in silence.

Zhang Luli turned his head, looking at his brother’s back.

The light illuminated Zhang Lurang’s black hair, casting a faint halo.

From this angle, he could see Zhang Lurang holding his phone, seriously typing on the screen.

The room was quiet.

No sound of fingers tapping the phone.

No pages turning. The person on the bed remained motionless, as if fast asleep.

Neither of them spoke.

After a while, Zhang Lurang flipped through the English vocabulary book in front of him.

A sticky note fell out.

Light blue, its edges slightly crumpled.

It was the one Su Zai Zai had stuck on his medicine box when he had a cold.

— Zai Zong’s Love.

Zhang Lurang parted his lips and silently mouthed—

Word by word: “Zai Zai.”

He was lost in thought.

Soon, he heard the sound of someone turning over on the bed behind him, and he turned back.

At the same time, Zhang Luli lowered the arm that had been covering his eyes.

Only then did Zhang Lurang remember that Zhang Luli was still in his room.

“Go back to your own room,” he said indifferently.

Zhang Luli sat up, head lowered, saying nothing.

The temperature in B City had already started to drop.

Cold wind slipped through the small gap in the window, whistling in.

Dressed in short sleeves and shorts, Zhang Luli couldn’t help but shiver.

Noticing this, Zhang Lurang got up to close the window.

Just as he reached it, Zhang Luli suddenly spoke.

His voice was low and hoarse, as if he was about to cry.

“Brother… should I not have skipped grades?”

Zhang Lurang froze for a moment and turned around. “What?”

Zhang Luli didn’t repeat himself.

A second later, Zhang Lurang realized.

He reached out and pushed the window shut completely.

Instantly, the room was no longer cold enough to make one shiver.

Warmth gradually filled the air.

“Ali, this isn’t your fault,” he answered seriously.

Zhang Luli looked up and met his gaze.

In his eyes, there were tiny specks of starlight.

The light of someone finally letting go.

—

In 2009, Lin Mao moved to Z City for work.

Before leaving, he told Zhang Lurang, “Don’t compare yourself to anyone.”

Zhang Lurang lowered his head and said nothing.

In 2010, Lin Mao took a leave of absence and traveled from Z City to B City.

He walked into Zhang Lurang’s room.

Zhang Lurang turned toward him at the sound.

His face still had traces of childishness, his features still soft.

He was still just a kid who hadn’t grown up yet.

“It’s not that I want to compare myself to him… It’s that everyone else insists on comparing me to him.”

Lin Mao’s throat tightened, and he was momentarily speechless.

“Do you blame Ali?” he asked.

Zhang Lurang remained silent and shook his head.

Thinking about it carefully—

Zhang Lurang had never once lashed out at Zhang Luli.

Everyone praised Zhang Luli while belittling him.

Yet he never gave up on himself, never let himself fall apart.

Lin Mao didn’t know when he started becoming so quiet and reserved.

Slowly, he put on a cold mask, appearing indifferent to the world.

But in reality, he was gentle to the extreme.

Even when the world treated him unkindly, he still chose to respond with kindness.

What a wonderful person Zhang Lurang was.

—

Before returning to school, Su Zai Zai took Short Legs out for a walk.

When she passed by Zhang Lurang’s house, she happened to see a young man walking Susu.

His posture was relaxed and lazy, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, wearing a pair of gray slippers.

Before long, he noticed Su Zai Zai standing nearby.

Lin Mao tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if he recognized who she was.

His brows eased, and he chuckled lightly.

For some reason, Su Zai Zai suddenly felt like a child caught in the act of early romance by an adult.

Panicked, she quickly nodded at him and hurried away.

Lin Mao stood in place, momentarily lost in thought.

He recalled the day he passed by that open field.

The boy pedaling a bicycle, the girl behind him, carefully and attentively holding on.

A bright smile hung on his face.

It was just like the Zhang Lurang from long ago.

The Zhang Lurang whom Lin Mao hadn’t seen in many years.