Chapter 85: A Sweet Interlude

Xiao Heqing has become one of the pretty girls the boys are buzzing about, and she turns heads no matter if they’ve heard of her before or not.

The boys in Class One all turned to look, drawn in by her pure and sweet appearance.

“She’s stunning—who is she?”

“Even in military training uniform, she looks amazing?”

“Isn’t that Heqing from Class Three? What’s she doing here?”

“She seems to be delivering something… Does she have a close friend in our class? Or maybe…”

The boys whispered among themselves, curious about who she was heading toward.

The boy who had just called Heqing pretty, with his elbow on Lin Zheng Ran’s shoulder, suddenly grew shy. “Heqing? What’s she doing in our class?” He paused, stunned. “Whoa! She’s coming this way. Wait, is she here for me?!” His heart raced with excitement.

Xiao Heqing noticed all the eyes on her and shyly bit her lip, but once she spotted Lin Zheng Ran in the crowd, no one else mattered. She made her way over and stopped in front of him, fixing her gaze on him.

“Lin Zheng Ran, I bought you some lemon water. Stand up—I need to talk to you.” She clutched the drink in her hand.

Everyone in Class One was stunned, and the boy who had spoken earlier felt a wave of despair.

“Heqing from Class Three bringing water to Lin Zheng Ran? What’s going on?”

Some wondered if they were a couple, while others guessed Heqing might be chasing him—after all, plenty of girls had been flocking to Lin Zheng Ran lately.

Lin Zheng Ran stood up since Heqing had something to say, and the two stepped aside under the watchful eyes of most people.

With so many staring, Xiao Heqing’s face flushed red, and she kept her head down, looking utterly adorable.

Lin Zheng Ran glanced at her in the military training uniform—simple yet striking, with her smooth ponytail, cute face, and beads of sweat from the morning drills on her forehead.

Her pure almond eyes on that fair face gave her the feel of a first love heroine from a novel.

Even the loose training uniform couldn’t fully hide her maturing figure.

Lin Zheng Ran asked, “What brings you here?”

Xiao Heqing looked up at him and held out the drink, whispering,

“I brought you a drink. I saw girls from other classes giving beverages to their boyfriends during breaks, and some boyfriends giving to girlfriends, but I know you’re tired after training and probably don’t want to move, so I bought one for you.”

Lin Zheng Ran thought this little girl was getting bolder every year—back in middle school, she was brave enough to take the bus alone to see him, but she wasn’t one for drawing attention. Now, here she was, delivering a drink in front of everyone.

The shy Xiao Heqing from childhood, who barely spoke up, would never have done this.

Lin Zheng Ran took the lemon water from her and glanced at the curious crowd in Class One, where many boys were glaring at him with growing envy.

Lin Zheng Ran said, feeling awkward, “Didn’t you get one for yourself?”

Xiao Heqing shook her head. “I’ve already had water! I brought my own bottle for training, so I’m not thirsty. Go ahead and drink it before the ice melts and it gets warm.”

She asked quietly, “Want me to put in a straw?”

Seeing Lin Zheng Ran didn’t object, she tore open the straw wrapper with a snap, inserted it, and tucked the wrapper into her pocket. “Drink up. I’ll throw away the trash for you so you don’t have to run to the bin.”

“Thanks.”

Lin Zheng Ran found a spot to sit, and Xiao Heqing quickly sat beside him, her hands resting on her knees.

At sixteen, Xiao Heqing watched Lin Zheng Ran sip the drink with a happy smile, though she was still a bit scatterbrained, she was much sharper than when she was younger.

She came to deliver the water partly because she didn’t want him to get thirsty, and partly to stake her claim—after all, she’d noticed other girls from different classes approaching him since that sports event.

If she didn’t show up today, who knows how many more issues might arise.

Plus, by making her presence known, many boys who liked her would back off.

Of course, she planned to tell Lin Zheng Ran everything straight up.

“Lin Zheng Ran, you took first in those sports events the other day, right?”

Lin Zheng Ran sipped his lemon water and replied, “It was just a fun competition—everyone had to join in.”

Xiao Heqing praised him, “You’re incredible. I saw you from our class, and no one could match you—you beat them all.”

Lin Zheng Ran eyed her, sensing she was holding back. “Just say what’s on your mind. You’re beating around the bush.”

Xiao Heqing sat with her hands on her knees, fingers laced together, cutely jealous as she said,

“It’s nothing much… but with how well you did in the sports, I bet a lot of girls are chatting you up or asking for your number. You’re not interested in them, right? You don’t like that type?”

Lin Zheng Ran sighed and nodded. “Yeah, not really interested.”

Xiao Heqing lit up visibly, grinning wide.

“I knew it! And lately, some boys have been talking to me, even saying they… like me or whatever, but I ignored them all and turned them down!

I didn’t take any gifts they offered. I’m telling you this so you don’t think I’d talk to them— I won’t. I only want to talk to you. Really, no one else.”

Lin Zheng Ran saw the sincere look on Xiao Heqing’s face, like she was making a vow.

He handed her the half-drunk lemon water. “How’s high school treating you so far?”

“It’s okay.” She took the cup with the bitten straw. “Training’s a bit tiring, but nothing else. Aren’t you finishing this?”

Lin Zheng Ran said, “I wasn’t that thirsty anyway—this hit the spot.” He looked off into the distance and added,

“High school’s different from middle school, especially since it’s farther from home. If you run into any problems at school, come find me—I’ll help. After this week’s training, rest up over the weekend and don’t let it affect the competition in two weeks.”

Hearing his concern, Xiao Heqing’s heart fluttered, and she nodded. “Don’t worry, I’m not tired. But do I only come when I have problems? Can I visit even if I don’t? I want to see you every day.”

“Sure, why not? You came today without me asking, didn’t you?”

Xiao Heqing beamed and chatted a bit more before saying goodbye to Lin Zheng Ran, taking the half-full drink with her.

She couldn’t bear to throw it away since he’d drunk from it.

Not wanting to drink from the same end, she pulled out the straw, flipped it, and stuck it back in before sipping the rest.

As she drank, her face turned red, thinking she’d bring him another next time so she could share his drink again.

[Fairy He sees your fatigue and offers you a divine elixir. You receive Fairy He’s gifted Icy Divine Water, gaining +2 Charm and +1 Stamina]

After Xiao Heqing left, Lin Zheng Ran returned to the rest area, where the boy who had elbowed his shoulder earlier looked utterly defeated—he’d witnessed everything, and a girl’s blush never lies.

With a resentful tone, he said, “Lin Zheng Ran, if you treat Heqing badly, I’ll make you pay~”

He let out a despairing whimper and walked away from Lin Zheng Ran.

Lin Zheng Ran felt awkward sitting there, but at least a couple of other boys remained, chuckling.

The boy surnamed Pan said,

“Lin Zheng Ran, so your girlfriend is Heqing from Class Three? No wonder you’re not into other girls. By the way, I heard she’s close with Lily in their class—do you know if Jiang has a boyfr”

Before he could finish, a shy yet determined Lily appeared, holding a cup of lemon water.