Xie Xiao had departed with Lin Yu to sell the necklace before heading out for dinner.
But just as they reached the school gate, his phone vibrated.
It was a message from Luo Yanran, "What are we eating? Now?"
He stopped in his tracks and said to Lin Yu, "Maybe I won't go?"
"What's up? Having second thoughts?" Lin Yu also stopped and asked him, "Though reselling this thing does seem a bit of a rip-off..."
It had only been bought a couple of days ago; perhaps he should ask Zhou Mianmian for the box and receipt and maybe even get a refund, what a waste.
Little did Lin Yu know, Xie Xiao immediately took out the necklace and shoved it into his hands, "You go and exchange it for me, I'll reimburse whatever you eat tonight, I have something else to take care of first, I'll treat you to a meal later!"
After speaking, he turned and ran back into the school, Luo Yanran was still in the classroom, he was off to have dinner with her!
"Hey!" Lin Yu called out to him, but the guy didn't look back, just waved his hand as he ran further away.
"Damn, you didn't even tell me how much you plan to sell it for..." Lin Yu stared at the necklace in his hand.
Xie Xiao at this moment had no time to think about all that, the necklace wasn't intended to be kept, it was an unexpected profit, whatever the amount, it was a bonus.
Now that he was free from Zhou Mianmian, the leech, Xie Xiao's life was still peachy.
When he got to the teaching building of the repeating class, he sent Luo Yanran a message, "Senior sister, I'm downstairs. Where are you?"
From not far away, a female voice called out, "Hey, I'm here."
Following the voice, Xie Xiao looked over and saw Luo Yanran, the senior sister he had lunch with at noon.
Then with a smile, Xie Xiao ran over to her, "Sorry, I just saw your message."
Luo Yanran watched the boy running towards her against the light, a gentle smile on her face.
This was a scene she never dared to imagine before; what she saw most was his back as he ran towards another girl.
Of course, the message wasn't sent by her. She didn't even know how to reply, but Liu Ou couldn't stand to watch her being so distracted and directly snatched her phone to send the message.
"What if he's not free?" Luo Yanran hesitated, wanting to take it back, but it felt somehow wrong to do so, her tone was rushed and she was a bit panicked.
But Liu Ou reassured her, "It's no big deal. If he's not free, you can plan for another time. What are you afraid of?"
As the two were discussing, the reply came quickly, "Where are you now? I'll come to you."
Luo Yanran was still nervously clutching Liu Ou when she saw the young man running from a distance; before she could regain her composure, Liu Ou had already called him over, "I think you two have a chance, the junior is pretty proactive too!"
Liu Ou sounded very cheerful.
Then Xie Xiao was already there in front of her.
Luo Yanran wasn't exactly a good conversationalist, and she was aware of it; it had something to do with her somewhat proud and aloof temperament. Most of the time, to prevent being misunderstood, she put on a cold front.
Now facing Xie Xiao was no different, only she knew how fast her heart was beating at that moment.
No sooner had Xie Xiao spoken than she couldn't help but think about how to respond without making it uncomfortable. Liu Ou, understanding her all too well, didn't wait for Luo Yanran to figure out what to say and immediately spoke with a smile, "Go have dinner, the two of you, and bring me back a serving from the side gate's cold skin noodles, thanks."
Xie Xiao looked at her with some surprise, "Aren't you joining us, senior?"
He had been prepared for a trio, but suddenly it turned into a one-on-one. Xie Xiao was really happy inside, but he still needed to ask out of courtesy.
Liu Ou waved her hand, "Nope, nope, I still have homework to make up, and it's due tonight! You two go ahead; I'm heading back!"
As she spoke, she also pushed the ever-expressionless Luo Yanran, who Liu Ou knew must be very nervous, and whispered encouragingly in her ear, "Do your best!"
Then she went upstairs without looking back.
People passing by would all glance at them.
Xie Xiao looked at Luo Yanran, who had been silent, and tentatively asked, "Senior? Shall we go?"
Luo Yanran finally moved, lifting her delicate and beautiful face to look at him. However, her tone was disgruntled as she spoke, "Do you call everyone senior?"
Those words caught Xie Xiao off guard. In his mind, he wanted to call her 'wife'! But could he say that?
So, he smiled gently, "How about I call you Ranran? Since they all call you Luoluo, I wanted to call you something different..."
The girl's face in front of him began to turn red; she huffed, turned her face away, and walked forward a bit hurriedly, leaving behind an impatient remark, "Whatever you want! It's just a nickname."
Xie Xiao looked at her pink-tinged earlobes, which were as beautiful as white jade.
He smiled with a quirk of his lips and quickly caught up with her in two strides, "Right, just a nickname. So, what shall we eat later?"
Luo Yanran was still feeling her face burning because of the nickname 'Ranran' Xie Xiao had just used, not sure if it was visibly red, and she naturally didn't dare to look at him. Her pace was a bit rushed, and her tone seemed even more impatient, "Whatever you want. Wasn't it you who said I should treat? Just pick something, I'm just here to pay."
Her impatient tone, combined with those words, would lead any uninformed person to think their relationship was awful, as if Xie Xiao was pestering her relentlessly.
No sooner had Luo Yanran spoken than she regretted it. She quickly looked up at Xie Xiao, afraid that displeasure would appear on his face, and her voice became a little quieter, "...I'm worried that Liu Ou will be hungry if she has to wait too long for us to pack up, and we have classes soon..."
As she spoke, her voice became softer and softer, thinking to herself that she would have been angry by now if she were Xie Xiao. Ahh, why can't I change this bad habit!
Xie Xiao, to her surprise, did not get angry but said seriously, "Then let's go to the snack street behind the school and have noodles. I heard there's a new noodle house there, though I'm not sure if it's any good."
In his memory, it was delicious, and that noodle house seemed to have become the top must-eat spot for the students of No.1 Middle School.
It was just a newly opened little noodle shop at this moment.
Luo Yanran was taken aback by his unchanging tone and couldn't help but look up at him seriously.
Even though she had always known Xie Xiao was a very gentle person, this was the first time she had felt it so directly. She could also understand why Zhou Mianmian always seemed to want to show off Xie Xiao every time she saw her.
If Xie Xiao could always be so gentle with her, and only with her, she too would find it hard not to show off.
Seeing her silent, Xie Xiao hummed in confusion, "What's wrong? You don't like noodles? Then let's go to another place..."
She quickly averted her gaze, "I like it, let's have noodles."
Whether she liked it or not wasn't important. What mattered was eating with him; anything would be delightful.
Facing the sunlight, a tender smile appeared in Luo Yanran's eyes. Even though spring had just about ended, it seemed her summer had arrived early.
The distance between them, one in front of the other, was neither too close nor too far, but their elongated shadows on the ground intertwined, as if they were always meant to be this close to each other.