Chapter 47

She Said, Only Zhang Lurang.

—Zhang Lurang

Although he spoke those words, his grip on her hand never loosened.

Su Zai Zai didn’t notice. Her thoughts had already been intimidated by his cold expression.

She instantly chickened out. Any idea of acting coy was completely thrown out the window at that moment.

Zhang Lurang turned his gaze away, looking at the small lake not far away.

The silver moonlight poured down, casting a faint glow along the curves of his profile.

His Adam’s apple moved slowly, its prominent shape especially clear under the streetlights.

Su Zai Zai didn’t know what to say.

Her lust had clouded her judgment, and without thinking of a way out, she had just blurted out such a dirty joke.

Did this count as verbal harassment…?

How could she let her desires take over and blindly follow her roommate’s advice…

Zhang Lurang wasn’t like other guys! How could this be considered flirting to him?

Would he…

Recalling something Zhang Lurang had said in the past, Su Zai Zai suddenly felt a little scared.

That fear spread like countless thin threads, weaving into a net that tightened around her heart.

—”Wouldn’t this method make it easier to win you over?”

—”I might call the police.”

Call… call the police…

She instinctively let go of Zhang Lurang’s hand and lowered her head, hurriedly explaining, “I—I was just joking…”

Zhang Lurang turned his head back, looking down at her, waiting for her to continue.

There was no emotion on his face, making it impossible to tell if he was actually angry.

The next second, Su Zai Zai’s words cracked his icy expression just a little.

“Please don’t call the police… wuwuwu…”

Zhang Lurang was momentarily speechless. “Who taught you this stuff?”

Su Zai Zai blinked her misty eyes, wavering for a moment before firmly deciding not to betray her roommates.

Her mind raced.

She licked her lips, tugged at the drawstring of Zhang Lurang’s hoodie, and leaned in to kiss him directly.

She really had no idea how to answer him!

This kind of simple, straightforward, and satisfying method was the best way to shut him up.

But unexpectedly, Zhang Lurang didn’t react in time.

He instinctively leaned his head back, causing Su Zai Zai’s lips to only brush against his chin.

Su Zai Zai instantly felt like she had been slapped twice across the face.

She fell silent for a moment and then agreed with what he had just said.

“…I’ll just go back by myself.”

Su Zai Zai was genuinely a little hurt by how he was treating her like the plague.

Hearing this, Zhang Lurang lowered his head again and looked at her.

Her head was bowed, exposing a section of her smooth, fair neck, glowing faintly under the light.

From this angle, he could see the slight wrinkle of her nose and the subtle tremble of her eyelashes.

Zhang Lurang’s Adam’s apple bobbed again, instinctively.

His fingers clenched, and he couldn’t help but pull her back, lowering his head to kiss her.

After the kiss ended, he lowered his gaze and touched the corner of Su Zai Zai’s eye with his cool fingertips.

His expression seemed thoughtful for a moment, then he spoke seriously:

“Stop listening to other people’s nonsense.”

December 11th, Evening.

Su Zai Zai and Zhang Lurang strolled down the food street outside the school.

They stopped at a stall selling Shandong-style pancakes.

Su Zai Zai tilted her head and asked, “Lurang, do you want one?”

Zhang Lurang ordered one for her and pulled out his phone to scan the payment code. “You eat it.”

The vendor spread the egg evenly on the griddle, sprinkled on pickled vegetables, scallions, and meat floss, then folded the pancake into thirds, added sweet bean sauce, placed a crispy cracker and fresh vegetables inside, rolled it up, and cut it in half.

There were exactly two pieces.

Su Zai Zai stuffed one into Zhang Lurang’s hand. “This is really good.”

Zhang Lurang didn’t refuse too much. He took a bite and chewed.

Su Zai Zai, instead of eating right away, stared at his expression.

Seeing him frown, as if he didn’t like the taste, she quickly snatched the piece back and made up an excuse.

“Never mind, I don’t have enough to eat. You shouldn’t have any.”

Zhang Lurang: “……”

Su Zai Zai suddenly remembered—tomorrow was her 18th birthday.

She turned her head, a little expectant. “Lurang, do you remember what day tomorrow is?”

Zhang Lurang pulled a tissue from his backpack and wiped the sweet bean sauce off her fingers.

After cleaning them, he answered obediently, “Your birthday.”

Su Zai Zai shamelessly added, “And—the age when I can check into a hotel with my ID.”

“……”

Seeing his expression instantly darken, Su Zai Zai blinked innocently. “I just meant purely checking into a hotel. Nothing else. Don’t overthink it.”

Zhang Lurang looked away awkwardly, ignoring her.

“But bringing you along wouldn’t be bad either,” she said with a grin.

“…Eat. We should head back soon.”

Su Zai Zai took a bite of her pancake, then suddenly said, “Tomorrow, my department friends said they want to celebrate my birthday.”

Hearing this, Zhang Lurang frowned. “Is your department head going too?”

“What does that have to do with me?” Su Zai Zai mumbled through her food. “I’m not going anyway. I already told them not to bother.”

“……”

“Of course, I have to spend the day with you.” Su Zai Zai stated righteously.

Zhang Lurang was silent for a moment before speaking, somewhat sulkily.

“Why are there always guys named ‘Nan’ around you?”

He had developed an instinctive aversion to hearing that sound.

Su Zai Zai thought seriously for a moment. “There aren’t.”

Hearing this, the little jealous bubble in Zhang Lurang’s heart grew bigger, making it impossible for him to maintain his usual aloofness.

Before he could say anything, Su Zai Zai added—

“There’s only Lurang.”

In previous years, for Su Zai Zai’s birthday, Zhang Lurang would simply buy her whatever she needed.

Afterward, he would buy a cake and send a red envelope—nothing too fancy.

Truthfully, he didn’t really know how to do fancy.

But this time, for Su Zai Zai’s 18th birthday, Zhang Lurang put in a lot of effort.

He looked things up online, forced himself to ask his roommates, and occasionally pretended to ask Su Zai Zai casually.

After much hesitation, he decided to do everything—

Flowers, a necklace, makeup, singing a love song…

They didn’t really have anywhere to go, and booking a hotel was out of the question. So Zhang Lurang reserved a small private room in a café near the school.

The next day, Su Zai Zai was led into the private room by Zhang Lurang.

The moment she stepped in, she saw the cake on the table, with over a dozen candles arranged in the shape of a heart.

Beside it was a bouquet of red roses, with a delicate gift box nestled within.

There were also several gift bags on the table.

Su Zai Zai’s first reaction was, “Lurang, did you arrange that heart yourself?”

Zhang Lurang licked his lips, feeling a little awkward as he admitted, “Yeah.”

Hearing this, Su Zai Zai suddenly went quiet.

Zhang Lurang turned his head, slightly puzzled—

Only to be yanked forward by Su Zai Zai, who grabbed his collar and planted a firm kiss on his lips.

Their noses bumped together, and the force was a little too strong.

Zhang Lurang frowned from the pain but instinctively reached out to rub her nose for her. His voice was low. “What are you doing?”

Receiving such treatment instantly lifted Su Zai Zai’s mood.

She also felt like she had leveled up in status and spoke boldly, “It’s my birthday today! If you don’t let me do whatever I want to you, I’ll be mad! I need to show you that you’re not the only one who can get mad!”

“……”

As she spoke, she dragged Zhang Lurang to sit down beside her.

She flipped through the gift bags on the table and immediately shrank back. “Isn’t this too expensive…?”

Zhang Lurang shook his head. “Not really.”

“You didn’t have to buy me all this…”

Zhang Lurang cut her off. “I earned the money for these by tutoring during summer break.”

Hearing that, Su Zai Zai stared at him, momentarily stunned.

“I’ll buy you even more in the future,” he said quietly, eyes downcast.

After saying that, Zhang Lurang picked up the lighter and began lighting the candles on the cake, one by one.

In the quiet private room, the only sound was the clicking of the lighter’s cover.

Click—click—

After the birthday song finished playing, Zhang Lurang spoke again.

His deep, magnetic voice echoed in the room, his tone slightly raised at the end, carrying a hint of tenderness and affection.

It was the song Su Zai Zai had been playing on loop lately—

—

“My dear baby, baby

Here’s a little sweetness for you

So you can sleep peacefully tonight”

—

Su Zai Zai was Zhang Lurang’s baby.

The priceless treasure in his heart.