Zhou Le didn’t actually want to keep it for himself; he just wanted to bring it home for his mom.
He hadn’t had milk tea before, but he noticed that girls loved this sweet and tangy drink, so he thought his mom would probably enjoy it too.
“Mom, guess what I brought back?” Zhou Le called out as soon as he entered the house, looking for Cheng Ying.
Cheng Ying rolled her wheelchair out. When she noticed what Zhou Le was holding, her eyes lit up. “Why did you buy that?”
Zhou Le came closer, smiling. “A classmate gave it to me. They bought two—mine’s mango, but I don’t like peach, so I brought it for you. Try it, Mom.”
Zhou Le inserted the straw and handed the milk tea to Cheng Ying.
Cheng Ying paused, looking at the drink, then up at Zhou Le. Her gaze softened, yet there was a hint of complexity.
She knew her son better than anyone.
No one would buy him two drinks. Clearly, he had made up an excuse so she’d drink it without feeling bad.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.” Cheng Ying pretended not to notice and took a small sip.
The rich, creamy flavor blended with the peach—it was delicious.
“Hmm… not bad,” she commented, raising an eyebrow approvingly.
Even just seeing the pink color made Zhou Le think it tasted good. He watched intently, fighting the urge to swallow.
Cheng Ying nudged the milk tea toward him. “You should try the peach flavor too, Little Le. I can’t drink so much on my own; it’s a bit sweet.”
Hearing this, Zhou Le finally took a small sip.
Holding the cup carefully, he sipped the milk tea from the straw. Just one tiny taste was enough to make him smile with satisfaction.
Cheng Ying, seeing his delight, fought back tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.
Only today did she realize that her son could be this happy with just one cup of milk tea.
In their small, humble home, the two shared the milk tea joyfully and gratefully.
Then Zhou Le remembered the milk he’d brought for his mom in the morning and watched until she’d finished it all.
Later that night, after handling Uncle Zhou’s orders and finishing his math homework, he began going over his recent expenses and budget. Suddenly, he got a friend request on WeChat.
—Lu Jingran.
The class rep!
Zhou Le hadn’t expected Lu Jingran to add him and felt a little excited as he quickly accepted.
Zhou Le: 【Class rep! Hello!】
There was no response.
Zhou Le: 【Class rep, is there something you wanted to talk about?】
Still no reply.
Zhou Le: 【Class rep [confused_face.JPG]】
Still silence.
Puzzled, Zhou Le opened Lu Jingran’s WeChat Moments and noticed that just after adding him, Lu Jingran had posted three new updates.
—【The Dangers of Puppy Love!】
—【The Tragedy of OB Relationships!】
—【The BE Endings of Unbalanced Love!】
Zhou Le clicked in, and they were all links to melodramatic relationship articles. It was as if they’d jumped right out of a soap opera.
Reading on, Zhou Le got absorbed, not expecting that under his serious exterior, Lu Jingran, an Alpha, would be such a fan of cheesy love dramas. That was quite the surprise.
Then again, who could resist some gossip?
Even though Lu Jingran had added him on WeChat late at night, he hadn’t said anything. Zhou Le thought it over and couldn’t figure out why. Besides, he was clearly online but wasn’t responding… Zhou Le didn’t dare call him, so he fell asleep with questions in his mind.
The next day, Zhou Le wanted to ask about it, but he didn’t get a chance to talk to Lu Jingran—not even a glance.
It was a bit disappointing.
By now, Zhou Le had already come to consider Lu Jingran a good friend, like Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan. Still, there was a bit of distance; it wasn’t as close as the clingy bond he had with them. Just from their seating arrangement, he could tell there was a gap.
“What are you thinking about?” Lin Xiaoxiao asked, noticing Zhou Le staring off toward the front row.
It was a study period, and no teacher was present.
Zhou Le’s thoughts were jolted back, and he muttered, “Oh, I was just thinking about setting up a stall.”
Lin Xiaoxiao blinked. “You really plan to set up a stall outside Wanda on Goddess Festival?”
Goddess Festival was coming up on Thursday, and the plaza would be buzzing. People selling flowers, food, and jewelry did well, and a few days ago, Uncle Zhou had mentioned that someone once made over 5,000 yuan that day.
Zhou Le wanted to try it. He’d done some research and planned to sell flowers and sushi.
“Uncle Zhou said he could help me reserve a spot and even lend me a tricycle to bring everything over.”
Lin Xiaoxiao considered it and thought it sounded fun. “I’ll help you with the stall. You’ll probably be too busy on your own.”
“I’ll go with Xia Linchuan, too.”
Xia Linchuan was engrossed in his phone, but at the mention of this, he looked up. “I’m not going.”
Lin Xiaoxiao calmly added, “There will be pretty girls.”
Xia Linchuan paused and turned his head seriously. “I’m in.”
Lin Xiaoxiao smirked, “Hehe.”
Zhou Le clapped his hands. “Alright, it’s the three of us then! When we make some money, we’ll split it together!”
“Making what?” Chen Nan had wandered over from behind them without anyone noticing.
Beside him were Lu Jingran and Sheng Qian.
The three paused, and then Zhou Le explained, “We’re setting up a stall near the plaza on Goddess Festival.”
Chen Nan was interested, “Setting up a stall? Selling what?”
Xia Linchuan responded, “Flowers, sushi, hair accessories, jewelry… basically anything we can get our hands on.”
Seeing Chen Nan’s thoughtful look and glancing at Lu Jingran behind him, Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly had an idea. “Actually, it’s pretty fun. I think we could use a few more people—we could set up a bigger stall, so…”
Lin Xiaoxiao shyly but eagerly glanced at Lu Jingran. “Class rep, do you want to join us? We could record this as part of our practical activities. That way, when we do the annual summary for our class, we’ll have something to talk about.”
As soon as she said this, Zhou Le and Xia Linchuan froze in surprise—they hadn’t thought of that angle.
Lin Xiaoxiao leaned close to them, gritting her teeth and trying not to move her lips too noticeably. “If the class rep joins, we’re guaranteed success on Goddess Festival. With his face, how could we not attract customers? Use your brains, guys!”
With that reminder, Zhou Le suddenly found the idea very reasonable. But he also wondered if it was a bit unfair to make Lu Jingran sell things in public. After all, it wasn’t entirely appropriate.
Chen Nan, hearing about the plan to set up a stall, scrunched up his face. “Why would we go? It’s not like we—” need money.
“Sure,” Lu Jingran said calmly, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Chen Nan stared at him in disbelief. “Brother Lu, are we…going?”
Lu Jingran looked at Zhou Le. “We’re going.”
—
Zhou Le hadn’t expected Lu Jingran to agree, and now he felt both excited and nervous about the Thursday night stall.
He wasn’t sure why, but being around Lu Jingran always made him feel a bit tense. Maybe it was because Lu Jingran excelled at everything, which made Zhou Le feel some pressure in his presence.
Later that night, Zhou Le sent a message to Lu Jingran on WeChat: “Class rep, are you there?”
After a long wait with no reply, he assumed there would be none. But then, just as he was about to give up, a single word popped up: “Yes.”
Zhou Le felt a surge of happiness. “Class rep, is there anything in particular you’d like to sell on Thursday? I was thinking roses, hair clips, and sushi. Do you have any ideas?”
Lu Jingran: “No, I’ll just go along with what you’re selling.”
Zhou Le: “Got it!”
After this, Zhou Le couldn’t think of anything more to say, though leaving the conversation hanging felt a bit awkward. Lu Jingran also didn’t seem inclined to continue.
But then a new message appeared from Lu Jingran: “Did you make deliveries tonight too?”
Surprised by the question, Zhou Le replied quickly: “Yeah, just got back not long ago.”
Lu Jingran glanced at the clock on the wall: 9:30.
Just getting home now? It was already dark by nine.
Lu Jingran frowned slightly. “Be careful when you’re out late,” he replied.
Seeing this concern, Zhou Le felt a warm feeling in his chest and smiled. “I will, class rep!”
Zhou Le: “[Serious blink.GIF]”
Lu Jingran sent a gentle head-pat emoji in response.
Zhou Le chuckled and thought, “The class rep is really kind.”
Indeed, it was hard to resist someone so kind, good-looking, and magnetic… Zhou Le found himself smiling as he opened Liu Yanyan’s WeChat.
—
On Thursday evening after school, Lu Jingran received a message from his mother, Xu Zhen.
Xu Zhen: “Are you really not coming home tonight? Your dad’s back.”
Lu Jingran: “Not tonight. I’ll be late.”
Xu Zhen: “Mind telling me what you’ll be doing?”
Unlike many parents who try to control their kids, Lu Jingran’s parents gave him a lot of freedom. They usually just wanted to make sure he was safe.
So, he answered honestly: “Setting up a stall in the square.”
Xu Zhen took a moment to respond: “Are we bankrupt? Your dad didn’t tell me.”
Lu Jingran laughed.
His mother had always had a slightly scatterbrained nature, a trait he’d noticed since he was young.
“No, just helping a friend. They wanted to do a stall, and I offered to help.”
Xu Zhen replied with curiosity, “What are you selling?”
Lu Jingran: “I haven’t seen it yet. They said roses, hair clips, and sushi.”
Xu Zhen: “He?”
Lu Jingran: “A classmate.”
Xu Zhen: “Not Little An or Little Nan?”
Lu Jingran: “No.”
Xu Zhen: “So our Little Ran has made a new friend~~”
Xu Zhen liked adding “little” before people’s names, making them sound extra affectionate. Perhaps she truly thought of them all as children.
Xu Zhen: “Once you’re set up, could you take some pictures? I want to see the flowers. And if it’s convenient, could you buy me a few, too?”
Lu Jingran: “Of course.”
After school, Zhou Le needed to go home first to get the car, while the others waited for him at the square.
By around 6:30, they had their stall set up at the square entrance.
Not long after everything was arranged, a girl approached shyly. “Excuse me, how much are the roses?”
Zhou Le greeted her warmly as his first customer. “Ten yuan each! And we also have fresh sushi—it’s still warm.”
“Oh, thank you,” the girl replied absently, her eyes fixed on the silent Lu Jingran in the back.
Sensing her gaze, Lu Jingran looked up and met her eyes, causing her to blush and look down quickly, whispering excitedly with her friend while stealing glances his way.
As Lin Xiaoxiao and Xia Linchuan helped Zhou Le pack items, they exchanged a knowing look, thinking, “We knew having the class rep here would work. Today’s business is going to boom!”
And it certainly was booming.
Before long, a line formed at their stall.
As people gathered, Zhou Le, Lin Xiaoxiao, and Xia Linchuan were all busy as bees.
Meanwhile, Shen Qianan watched Chen Nan opening a second box of sushi and commented, “Can you stop eating? Are you here to help or to have dinner?”
Chen Nan had just stuffed a large bite of food into his mouth and, talking with his mouth full, spat crumbs everywhere. “What’s wrong with me eating a little? He’s got so many boxes over there, and it’s not like I’ll eat them all.”
“Besides, I’m not eating for free. I’ll pay him three times the cost.”
Shen Qianan snapped, “Just stop talking!”
Right then, Lu Jingran’s phone vibrated with a WeChat message from Xu Zhen.
Xu Zhen: “Have you arrived? Are the flowers pretty?”
Lu Jingran opened his camera and snapped a few pictures of the stall, then sent them to her.
Xu Zhen opened the images.
She had to admit, the stall looked quite nice; the roses and hair clips made a good combination. Most importantly…
Xu Zhen: “Is this the little classmate you’re helping?”
Xu Zhen: “Pretty impressive and eye-catching.”
Each photo had him at the center of the frame—she couldn’t help but notice him.
Lu Jingran’s lips curled into a slight smile.
Lu Jingran: “Yes.”
Lu Jingran: “And he is quite good-looking.”
