Chapter 36

Sigh, it’s my fault.

My fault for not being good-looking enough, for not having that kind of charm that makes people fall in love at first sight.

But success, of course, comes from hard work.

I’m living proof of that.

— Su Zai Zai Fairy’s Diary

—

Noticing Su Zai Zai’s gaze, Zhang Lu Rang licked his lips and, for once, wanted to take back his words.

But he had no idea how to rephrase them in a way that wouldn’t make him seem overly deliberate.

Before he could say anything, Su Zai Zai spoke first, her tone heavy and slow.

“Rang Rang, listen to me. Normally, in this kind of situation, I should be mad at you.”

“……”

“But it’s only seven days. I don’t want to waste my time on this.”

Her voice suddenly dropped a few notches, like she was muttering to herself.

Her head was bowed, as if inviting someone to reach out and pat her.

Zhang Lu Rang’s heart softened into a complete mess in an instant.

He opened his mouth and gently said, “I…”

Before he could finish, Su Zai Zai lifted her head and huffed.

“Then I’ll put it on hold for now.”

“……”

“I’ll deal with you when I have time later.”

“……”

She lectured him earnestly, “Rang Rang, you can’t take being spoiled for granted.”

“……”

“Sigh, you’ve really been spoiled by me.” Speaking of this, Su Zai Zai sounded a little proud.

Zhang Lu Rang averted his gaze, choosing not to acknowledge her.

—

It was the height of summer, stiflingly hot and windless.

The asphalt road, baked by the sun, glistened with tiny specks of silver.

Pedestrians hurried by, shielding themselves with sun umbrellas.

In a rush to go out, Su Zai Zai hadn’t brought an umbrella.

She wiped her forehead and suggested, “Rang Rang, let’s go eat at that café near where we went last time.”

Zhang Lu Rang nodded. “Okay.”

Then, he took a solid black sun umbrella from his backpack and handed it to Su Zai Zai.

She took it instinctively but didn’t move.

After half a minute, Zhang Lu Rang couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Su Zai Zai sighed. “I just suddenly feel like when we get married in the future, I’ll probably be the one changing light bulbs and fixing pipes.”

Zhang Lu Rang: “……”

Su Zai Zai opened the umbrella as she spoke, raising it high.

“Come here. You’re delicate and tender; you can’t be exposed to the sun.”

“…Hold it yourself.”

“I just said I’d bike over to pick you up, and you refused.”

“……”

“Now I want to hold an umbrella for you, and you’re refusing again.”

“……”

Su Zai Zai glanced at him and, taking the opportunity, touched his hand.

Then, acting as if nothing had happened, she said, “You really are like a little princess.”

Zhang Lu Rang’s temple twitched. He took the umbrella from her hand.

He tilted it slightly, covering most of her with its shade.

Su Zai Zai turned her head to look at his hand gripping the umbrella handle—

Pale, slender fingers, smooth and elegant, like jade.

She lowered her gaze to her own hands and asked seriously, “Rang Rang, do you think our first time holding hands will be initiated by me or you?”

…Was this the kind of question you just asked directly?

Zhang Lu Rang was at a loss for words.

He hadn’t even figured out how to answer when he heard Su Zai Zai sigh in frustration.

“Sigh, I can’t count on you.”

For some reason, Zhang Lu Rang felt a bit irritated. His voice dropped slightly. “Su Zai Zai.”

Hearing his tone, Su Zai Zai pressed on.

“When will my status change from ‘Su Zai Zai’ to just ‘Zai Zai’?”

“……”

“See? You’re silent again.” Su Zai Zai started scolding him. “Other than our first kiss and first hug—which I basically had to force—looks like I’ll have to take the lead in everything else too.”

He turned his face away, staying silent.

Su Zai Zai started counting on her fingers, listing things one by one.

“We haven’t even held hands yet. What else… oh, undressing… in bed…”

At this point, she paused and muttered, “Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad either.”

Zhang Lu Rang had had enough.

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll take the lead in everything.” Su Zai Zai was in a great mood and decided to let him off the hook. “You just need to look pretty.”

“……” Forget it. He wasn’t going to respond anymore.

A few minutes later, Su Zai Zai added, “But I’d really love to see you all wild and uninhibited for once.”

A brief silence fell over them.

“Su Zai Zai,” he said flatly.

“Huh?”

For the first time, Zhang Lu Rang threatened her.

“If you don’t start acting normal, I’m going home.”

“……”

—

They stepped into a café.

A few scattered customers sat inside, and the atmosphere was quiet.

The lighting was dim, giving the space an intimate feel.

After finding a seat, Zhang Lu Rang ordered a cup of coffee.

After some thought, he also ordered a yuanyang milk tea and a molten chocolate cake for Su Zai Zai.

Resting her chin on her hand, Su Zai Zai was still thinking about their earlier conversation.

“Rang Rang, the way you threaten people—I already used that trick back in elementary school.”

“……”

She imitated him, grinning. “Hmph! If you keep this up, I’m going home!”

Zhang Lu Rang stared at her blankly.

A moment later, he said quietly, “Then go home.”

“……”

Su Zai Zai immediately changed the subject.

“Hey, guess what? Jiang Jia and Guan Han are together now.”

“Mm.”

“They’re both in Science Class 12.”

“……”

“I’ve never experienced being in the same class as you,” Su Zai Zai muttered.

Zhang Lu Rang glanced at her.

Su Zai Zai smiled and started describing the scenarios she had fantasized about.

“I want to be your deskmate, then pretend to borrow a pen just to sneak a touch of your hand.”

“……”

“Or, I could pretend to drop my pen, and when I bend down to pick it up, I could ‘accidentally’ brush against your leg.”

The more she thought about it, the more she felt these flirting tactics were brilliant.

She beamed. “Wouldn’t these methods make it easier to win you over?”

Zhang Lurang was silent for a moment before replying seriously, “I might call the police.”

Su Zai Zai was momentarily speechless.

Looking at his serious expression, she almost laughed in exasperation.

But then she thought about the future.

The same university, the same path forward.

Su Zai Zai was momentarily dazed before she softly asked, “Rang Rang, we’ll always be together, right?”

She felt that her feelings were too intense, burning so fiercely that they might last a lifetime.

Zhang Lurang was briefly stunned by her words.

Their eyes met.

Su Zai Zai saw the corners of his lips curve slightly as he quietly said, “We will.”

Do you know?

It’s not just that you can’t bear to be without him.

He can’t bear to be without you either.

—

After finishing the cake, Su Zai Zai still didn’t want to go home.

Resting her chin on her hand, she asked, “So the next time you come back will be during winter break, right?”

“Yeah.” He answered in a low voice.

“But winter break includes the New Year too. If you think about it, that’s less than half a month.”

Realizing this, her mood sank.

Zhang Lurang didn’t know what to say either.

After a moment—

Su Zai Zai grumbled unhappily, “We just got together and now we have to do long distance. My luck is really…”

“…”

“Are there any pretty girls at your school?” she asked.

Zhang Lurang thought seriously for a moment. “I don’t know.”

Su Zai Zai widened her eyes and accused him, “You actually said you don’t know? Shouldn’t you have immediately said no? No matter how beautiful someone is, you should always think I’m the most beautiful!”

Zhang Lurang looked at her, a complicated emotion in his eyes.

It was as if he was struggling with how to answer.

After a while, he lowered his head.

He didn’t dare to look at her.

“I like you.”

Su Zai Zai’s heart skipped a beat.

Before she could even feel excited, Zhang Lurang continued—

“But not because of your face.”

“…”

Why did she feel like this handsome guy had gone to B City and come back less innocent and sweet?

Su Zai Zai suddenly didn’t feel like talking anymore.

Zhang Lurang sighed and took the initiative to say, “You need to study hard.”

“…Oh.” Here comes the academic director again.

“Next semester is the academic proficiency exam. Stop ignoring your science subjects.”

“Mm.” Su Zai Zai started responding half-heartedly.

He fell silent.

A few minutes later—

“I can’t help but worry,” he murmured.

—

After finishing the last sip of her milk tea, the two of them got up and started walking home.

The weather outside had suddenly turned gloomy.

Thick clouds gathered, dense and heavy, as if a storm was coming.

Seeing this, Su Zai Zai couldn’t be bothered to open her umbrella anymore.

She walked beside Zhang Lurang, grinning. “Rang Rang, do you remember our first meeting?”

“…Mm.”

“What were you thinking back then?”

I mean… being scolded by her the first time they met—how did that feel?

He hadn’t seemed to hold it against her.

Zhang Lurang didn’t answer.

Su Zai Zai suddenly chuckled and said, “I think back then, you were probably thinking…”

He tilted his head slightly, patiently waiting for her to finish.

“How to seduce me.”

Zhang Lurang looked utterly confused as to how she came to that conclusion.

He immediately frowned and enunciated each word carefully, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Su Zai Zai shamelessly replied, “How am I talking nonsense?”

“…”

“You were just one step away from holding up a sign telling me to hurry up and fall for you, then chase after you.” The more Su Zai Zai thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. “You’re so lucky. You did absolutely nothing, and you still got yourself a gorgeous wife.”

Zhang Lurang said nothing and let her ramble.

“Why couldn’t I have been born looking the kind of way that would make you fall in love at first sight?” She suddenly felt a little regretful.

He unexpectedly chuckled.

Reaching out, he ruffled her hair and said—

“This is already perfect.”

—

They walked into the neighborhood.

Seeing a pair of passing twins, Su Zai Zai suddenly remembered a photo she had seen on Weibo.

As she opened her phone, she asked, “Rang Rang, do you have an older brother?”

Zhang Lurang shook his head. “No.”

Su Zai Zai immediately lost interest in showing him the photo.

A moment later—

Zhang Lurang continued, “I only have a younger brother. He’s a year younger than me.”

Hearing this, Su Zai Zai perked up.

“You have a younger brother?”

“Mm.”

“Do you two look alike?”

Zhang Lurang thought for a moment but wasn’t entirely sure.

“Probably pretty similar.”

“What about your personalities?” Su Zai Zai, full of affection for anything related to him, kept asking.

This time, he answered quickly, “No.”

Su Zai Zai was about to ask more, but Zhang Lurang spoke first—

“His personality is great.”

Bright, cheerful, like sunshine.

Unlike him—reserved and quiet.

Su Zai Zai blinked and said seriously, “You’re great too.”

Zhang Lurang said nothing.

The conversation seemed to hit a sudden pause.

Su Zai Zai half-joked, “So, between you two, who’s better looking?”

Again, he answered quickly.

“My brother.”

Su Zai Zai huffed and corrected him—

“My Rang Rang is the most handsome.”

He suddenly lowered his head, lips curving slightly.

Seeing this, Su Zai Zai continued her praises.

“You’re so beautiful, it’s absolutely mesmerizing.”

Zhang Lurang laughed.

Then, he solemnly acknowledged—

“Mm.”