Chapter 15

Hope He Feels Happier.

— Su Zai Zai Fairy’s Diary

The Second Day of the School Sports Meet

Su Zai Zai sat under her class’s tent, secretly staring at Zhang Lu Rang, who was about thirty meters away.

The tents were set up around the track in class order, so Class 1’s spot was positioned at about ten o’clock relative to Class 9’s.

From a distance—

Zhang Lu Rang was sitting among a group of boys. The others were chatting and laughing, but he sat with his head down, holding a book in his hands.

From this angle, only his dark, slightly messy hair and his lightly pressed lips were visible.

He had changed back into the blue-and-white striped school uniform, looking fresh and clear-headed.

An hour later, Zhang Lu Rang finally moved.

He stood up, put his book into his bag, and walked toward the restroom.

Su Zai Zai immediately got up, smoothing her hair as she ran.

Soon, she caught up to him.

She jumped in front of him with a playful grin. “Hey!”

Zhang Lu Rang glanced at her but didn’t respond.

She walked alongside him for a bit.

Whenever she stood next to him, her brain would go completely blank.

All the things she had prepared to say vanished instantly.

It was so quiet…

Might as well say something random.

“I think you’re really great.”

“What?”

“This habit of yours is nice. You don’t need someone to accompany you to the restroom.”

“…”

That made things even more awkward.

Su Zai Zai decided to just wing it. “Zhang Lu Rang, have you ever lied before?”

“Mm.” Zhang Lu Rang responded casually.

Su Zai Zai pressed on, “Have you ever scored thirty points on an English test?”

“…Mm.”

Hearing the slight hesitation in his voice before he answered, Su Zai Zai’s heart skipped a beat.

She might have hit a sore spot for this beautiful boy…

She licked her lips, panicking slightly as she tried to comfort him. “Actually, getting low scores isn’t a big deal. Let me tell you, my physics and chemistry scores combined have never exceeded a hundred points.”

“…”

“I’ve been trying to memorize the periodic table since middle school, but I still can’t get it right.”

“…”

“I genuinely have no idea what the unit of acceleration is.”

Zhang Lu Rang’s brows moved slightly as he asked, puzzled, “What are you trying to say?”

“You really can’t tell?” Su Zai Zai was a little frustrated.

“Mm.”

Su Zai Zai scratched her head, so anxious that she almost jumped.

“To praise you, I basically just made myself sound like an idiot, and you still can’t tell?”

“…”

“Do you really believe I don’t know something so simple? That’s ridiculous!”

Zhang Lu Rang couldn’t hold back anymore and said in a low voice, “But you are like that.”

If she wasn’t just making things up to praise him, then…

She really was like that.

Su Zai Zai: “…”

Silence fell between them again.

But Su Zai Zai didn’t feel embarrassed even though he exposed her.

She hadn’t forgotten her purpose for coming here. She continued asking, “Have you ever lied to me?”

“Mm.”

Su Zai Zai: “…”

Could he not be so honest?!

How could she get him to lie?!

Also—

Su Zai Zai put on a disapproving look. “Zhang Lu Rang, you can’t keep doing this.”

“…”

“You always just reply with a single ‘mm.’ That’s too perfunctory.”

“…”

“Be more enthusiastic! If you don’t want to say too much, you can just add a single word.”

“…”

“For example, ‘mm-ah.’”

“…”

After saying that, Su Zai Zai suddenly felt something was off.

She quickly covered her face and mumbled, “…Now I feel embarrassed all of a sudden.”

Zhang Lu Rang’s expression darkened. His voice was cold. “What exactly do you think about all day?”

He always got flustered when she teased him.

A beautiful boy using coldness to disguise his shyness.

Su Zai Zai pretended not to hear him.

After thinking for a moment, she decided to get straight to the point.

Taking a deep breath, she asked the same question from yesterday. “Do you think I’m pretty?”

Zhang Lu Rang was still annoyed from earlier.

Hearing her question, he didn’t even hesitate and replied without a second thought—

“No.”

Hearing this answer, Su Zai Zai grinned.

Then, she looked at him expectantly.

She waited for thirty seconds.

…No reaction.

Su Zai Zai figured he was probably slow to process things.

She decided to wait another minute.

One minute later—

Realizing the truth, Su Zai Zai felt a little humiliated. “Zhang Lu Rang! You actually—!”

This was too much! Now that she wasn’t wearing makeup, he didn’t recognize her?!

She had been looking forward to this all night!

Her agitated tone made Zhang Lu Rang turn to look at her.

His gaze was calm and unreadable—yet somehow subtly enticing.

Su Zai Zai instantly lost her momentum and quickly plastered a smile on her face.

“You actually… look so good. It makes sense that you don’t find me pretty. There’s a comparison, after all…”

Zhang Lu Rang: “…”

But Su Zai Zai was still unwilling to let it go. Shamelessly, she asked, “But when you’re not looking in the mirror and you look at me, don’t you think I’m quite pleasant to the eyes?”

Hearing this, Zhang Lu Rang’s footsteps paused.

He recalled the shouting from the stage yesterday—

“Beautiful boy! I want to ravage you!”

His brows furrowed slightly.

“Su Zai Zai,” he called.

Caught off guard by the sudden summons from the great beauty, Su Zai Zai felt a little flattered.

She quickly leaned in and happily responded, “Here, here, here!”

He ignored her response and asked expressionlessly, “What does ‘great beauty’ mean?”

Hearing this, Su Zai Zai stiffened all over.

Her brain started working rapidly, and sweat began to form on her forehead.

Then she started spouting nonsense: “A great beauty, as the name suggests, refers to someone who looks very beautiful. Of course, it can also mean someone who looks very handsome, or even describe a person with great moral character.”

Silence.

A few seconds later, Su Zai Zai became disheartened and gave up, admitting defeat. “Alright, I was calling you.”

Zhang Lu Rang: “…”

“Aren’t you happy? I’m complimenting you, not insulting you,” Su Zai Zai felt a little wronged.

“…” He really didn’t see what there was to be happy about.

“Besides, there was even a girl earlier shouting for you to ravish her. I wasn’t even that excessive!” The more Su Zai Zai spoke, the more reasonable she felt, and her voice grew louder. “I just said, ‘Great beauty, I want to…'”

At this point, she abruptly stopped.

Her originally aggrieved expression instantly disappeared, replaced with a hint of embarrassment.

Quickly, she put on a serious expression.

Then she pointed toward the restroom not far away and said, “You should go quickly, don’t hold it in too long. I have something to do, so I’ll be off now. Let’s talk another day.”

After saying this, she didn’t wait for Zhang Lu Rang’s response and scurried away.

Zhang Lu Rang stood in place for a moment, watching her retreating figure.

Soon, he turned and headed toward the men’s restroom.

After walking a few steps—

He suddenly tugged at the corners of his mouth, lifting them slightly.

The oppressive mood that had weighed on him dissipated significantly because of her antics.

Normally, he would have needed a long time to adjust.

But that heavy feeling had been effortlessly brushed away by her in just a short while.

The weight of his emotions became lighter than a feather.

A gust of wind blew them away.

Far, far away.

Thinking of Su Zai Zai—

Zhang Lu Rang suddenly felt a little envious.

Being a little dumb had its advantages.

No worries.

—

After the school sports event ended, each class began cleaning up the area.

Su Zai Zai carried her chair, walking toward the teaching building.

Wang Nan shouted from behind, “Hey! Su Zai Zai! Let me carry it for you!”

She pretended not to hear and kept walking.

As she left the sports field, Su Zai Zai suddenly noticed Zhang Lu Rang ahead of her.

He carried a chair in one hand, looking effortlessly at ease.

She quickened her pace, walked up beside him, and said eagerly, “Rang Rang, let me help you carry it?”

Zhang Lu Rang looked at her when he heard this and frowned. “What did you just call me?”

This time, Su Zai Zai didn’t back down. She responded openly, “Rang Rang. If you think it’s unfair, you can call me Zai Zai too!”

Since he had already caught her calling him ‘great beauty,’ she might as well go all the way.

Zhang Lu Rang: “…”

“Rang Rang, let me help you carry it.”

“…”

“Rang Rang, why aren’t you answering me?”

“…”

“Zhang Lu Rang, let me help you carry it.”

“No need.”

As expected.

Su Zai Zai blinked and suddenly found it particularly amusing.

…Might as well try something else.

“Great beauty, let me help you carry the chair!”

“…”

“Great beauty—”

Zhang Lu Rang finally lost patience. He yanked the chair from her hands and strode forward.

Su Zai Zai was dumbfounded, staring blankly as she ran to catch up. “Why are you snatching my chair?”

“Su Zai Zai.”

“It’s Zai Zai,” she corrected him.

“…” He was silent for a moment, then sighed, his tone carrying a hint of defeat. “Go back to the classroom. I’ll carry it for you.”

Hearing this, Su Zai Zai glanced at him and mumbled, “I really wanted to help you carry it.”

“Mm.”

Su Zai Zai walked beside him, kicking small stones on the ground with the tips of her shoes, and asked softly, “Zhang Lu Rang, are you unhappy?”

“…”

She pointed to the space between her eyebrows. “You kept frowning here just now.”

Zhang Lu Rang didn’t respond.

After a while—

Su Zai Zai smiled and continued, “But now, you look about the same as usual.”

The two walked into the teaching building and started climbing the stairs.

Zhang Lu Rang remained silent. When he noticed her being jostled closer by others, he instinctively shifted his chair to the side.

Then he heard her say, “As expected, being around me makes you happy.”

“…”

Seeing that he still didn’t respond, Su Zai Zai scratched her head in frustration.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “Rang Rang, I’ll buy you some jelly. Don’t be unhappy, okay?”

Her tone was like coaxing a child, as if her words were laced with sugar.

But he still remained quiet.

Su Zai Zai also fell silent.

She slowed her pace and followed behind Zhang Lu Rang.

Like a shadow.

The two reached the third floor.

Su Zai Zai saw him place her chair outside the classroom before carrying another one inside.

Without a word, as if he was ignoring her presence.

Su Zai Zai stood there.

Suddenly, she felt a little sad.

Just as she was about to go pick up the chair, he unexpectedly came back out.

Zhang Lu Rang lifted her chair with one hand and looked at her.

Su Zai Zai opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But then she saw Zhang Lu Rang turn and head upstairs.

Su Zai Zai immediately followed, a smile appearing on her lips.

“Rang Rang,” she called out crisply.

“…”

“Great beauty.”

“…”

“Zhang Lu Rang.”

“Mm.”

I really like you, she thought.

The two of them reached the entrance of Class 9.

Just as Su Zai Zai was about to take her chair from him, she heard him ask, “Where do you sit?”

Upon hearing this, Su Zai Zai instinctively pointed to the second-to-last seat in the first row. “I switched to there.”

Zhang Lu Rang walked over.

Su Zai Zai immediately followed.

Jiang Jia, who had been chatting with the person in front of her, instantly went silent, staring at the two of them with gossip-filled eyes.

Zhang Lu Rang placed Su Zai Zai’s chair down.

Su Zai Zai thought he would leave immediately afterward.

But instead, he stood there quietly, as if he was waiting for something.

She clenched her hands tightly, suddenly feeling a little nervous. “What’s wrong?”

Zhang Lu Rang turned to look at her.

Then, in a soft voice, he said, “Nothing.”

After saying this, he turned and left the classroom.

As soon as he was gone, Jiang Jia excitedly pounced over. “Holy crap! What’s going on?! Did you win him over?!”

Su Zai Zai shook her head and explained, “He just thinks I’m annoying, so he helped me move the chair.”

“No way! Why would he personally carry it all the way into the classroom then?”

“Really.”

Jiang Jia continued analyzing the situation by her ear, but Su Zai Zai couldn’t take in any of it.

Her expression was a little dazed, carrying a hint of confusion.

She quietly wondered—

What was Great Beauty waiting for just now?