Chapter 14: Vanilla

Lu Canran couldn’t bear to wash her hands.

Only when she really couldn’t hold it in any longer did she reluctantly rinse her palms under the faucet, then dash into the bathroom.

She almost burst from holding it in.

Afternoon in dorm 116 was just like always: Xu Qiao was studying in the library, Qin Bingshuang was watching short videos on Douyin with her earphones on, and Zhu Huaxin was cursing at Jiang Si during a game for dragging her down. Outside, the rain pattered steadily. Lu Canran opened Liang Yuanzheng’s Moments on WeChat. She used to stalk him secretly, and now she was sweetly stalking him in secret.

All of a sudden, she noticed something and let out a piercing scream—

Qin Bingshuang took off her earphones and nearly kicked down the bathroom door. “What happened, babe? Did you fall into the toilet?”

“No, it’s nothing,” Lu Canran said as she pushed open the door, her cheeks flushed red, stumbling over her words. “Senior changed his name ahhh I was so busy the past few days I forgot to check, and I only just noticed today!!!”

Qin Bingshuang: “Huh?”

The three of them crowded together to look at the WeChat name.

Lu Canran: Mount Everest

Liang Yuanzheng: Himalaya

A spark of inspiration lit up in Qin Bingshuang’s mind. “Mount Everest is on the Himalayas. He wants you on top of hi—”

Zhu Huaxin clapped a hand over Lu Canran’s eyes. “Don’t say stuff like that, she’s still just a child. Good girl, we’re not listening, okay?”

Lu Canran asked, “On top? What do you mean on top?”

Zhu Huaxin replied, “Rainy days aren’t suitable for adult conversations. Let’s save it for a clear night.”

Lu Canran’s knowledge of sex was indeed rather lacking. Before college, she had been a day student throughout middle and high school. In biology class, anything related to the human body was skipped by default—never tested, never taught. Her parents adored her, but in a very traditional way: they gave her love, gave her money, but never taught her how to love. They just assumed she would understand once she reached the right age.

Her other two roommates weren’t much different.

In college, it was only the well-read Zhu Huaxin who knew a bit more. But even with all that knowledge, saying it out loud still made her a little shy. During a few of their late-night chats, Lu Canran happened to be home, so she missed them.

Now that Zhu Huaxin refused to explain, luckily Lu Canran still had her renewed mind-reading skill. She stared intently at the top of her head—only to see a single navel orange.

So strange.

What did a navel orange have to do with anything?

Hot girls didn’t like playing guessing games, so Lu Canran picked up her phone and called Jiang Si, asking if he knew when Liang Yuanzheng had changed his WeChat name.

Jiang Si sounded surprised. “He changed his WeChat name?”

Zhu Huaxin said, “You can go now.”

Jiang Si: “So cold, girl—”

Call ended.

Zhu Huaxin and Lu Canran began to analyze.

“You two are meant to be,” Zhu Huaxin said. “If he changed his name before you, it means you’re connected by heart, meant to be. If he changed it after you, then he’s clearly into you—you like him, he likes you, still meant to be. No matter what, you’re meant to be.”

Lu Canran clasped Zhu Huaxin’s hands, her eyes sparkling. “That makes so much sense, but what if he just likes the Himalaya app? What if someone in his contacts is named ‘Cat Ears’ or ‘Manbo’?”^[1]Himalaya, Cat Ears, and Manbo are all Chinese audio content platforms. Himalaya (喜马拉雅) is a popular app for podcasts, audiobooks, and radio shows. Cat Ears (猫耳), short for Cat Ears … Continue reading

Zhu Huaxin said, “…Either way, he definitely has a thing for you. Even Chen Wanli, that guy who’s always mistaking people for someone else, could tell. He suddenly asked me today about what’s going on between you and Liang Yuanzheng—so enjoy your ambiguous stage, girl!”

Lu Canran was thoroughly enjoying this ambiguous stage.

Flirting was amazing, and being able to slightly read minds was amazing too. Ever since she parted ways with Liang Yuanzheng, her stomach had felt warm and full the entire afternoon and into the evening.

The heart and stomach are separated only by the diaphragm, and when a heart soaked in pink bubbles beats warm and fast, it ends up filling the stomach with sweet, fluttery feelings too.

She wasn’t the slightest bit hungry or thirsty. In the afternoon, she changed her bedding, wiped down and reorganized her desk and wardrobe, and even completed a full set of practice questions from the IELTS reading section—all in one go. That last part could be disregarded, though, since thanks to the bullet screen system, all the answers had appeared right in front of her eyes.

Lu Canran decided to focus on practicing her speaking skills.

Last time she took the IELTS, she had been sick—her head foggy and dizzy, which led to a poor performance. This time, no matter what, she was determined to pass it in one go so it wouldn’t affect her upcoming school applications.

She couldn’t resist messaging Liang Yuanzheng. Maybe it was a symptom of being in the ambiguous stage, but even his profile picture now seemed filled with pink hearts and sparkles. It was 8 p.m., and she hadn’t eaten anything since lunch except for one char siu and scrambled egg sandwich. She wasn’t hungry at all—she just wanted to talk to him.

Mount Everest: 【Are you there, Senior?】

Mount Everest: 【[Kitten saying hi.jpg]】

Himalaya: 【Mm.】

Mount Everest: 【Senior, you replied so fast. Are you not busy today?】

Himalaya: 【Not busy, I’m resting now.】

Mount Everest: 【[Kitten clutching its heart with teary eyes.jpg]】

Mount Everest: 【Are you on night duty again today, Senior? That’s so tough.】

Liang Yuanzheng looked at the image for a long time. It was a very cute animated sticker—a little white kitten surrounded by pink bubbles, eyes brimming with tears.

He saved both of the animated images to his WeChat stickers, as if saving their sender along with them.

Lu Canran happily made plans with him for tomorrow’s meal and insisted on treating him, saying it was because she’d done so well on her practice questions today and was in a great mood.

Liang Yuanzheng set his phone down beside him and ate his now-cold boxed meal while reading her chirpy messages. The cold rice was sticky and unappetizing, but with just a glance at her messages, it turned into fragrant, steaming rice soaked in chicken soup. It wasn’t until someone knocked on the door and called his name that he stood up, smiling as he said he’d be right there.

He hadn’t missed a single message from Lu Canran.

Lu Canran lay in bed hugging her phone, rolling back and forth in joy. Being lovestruck really did make you stupid—it turned her into a cat, a dog, a clingy little kid.

She knew that when Liang Yuanzheng was on night duty, he’d be too busy to reply all the time, but it didn’t matter. She could sweeten things all by herself—she would channel the unmatched strength of CP fans in the Chinese entertainment scene.

Thanks to their mutual efforts, they had finally managed to schedule two meals together.

It wasn’t exactly a huge success.

The timing of their first meal wasn’t ideal—it was scheduled for noon, but a young assistant lecturer from A University happened to be treating some underclassmen to lunch at the same place. They were discussing the recent disappearance of a lab sample, looking anxious and frowning, their voices loud and full of argument.

Liang Yuanzheng knew the assistant lecturer and exchanged a few words with him.

The second meal was dinner. Lu Canran said eating too much at night made her drowsy and would affect her studying, so she only had a bowl of chicken broth wontons.

Halfway through the meal, Chen Wanli happened to pass by. With a fake smile, he greeted her and asked when she stopped being picky with food—she used to only eat wontons made by the housemaid at home.

Lu Canran promptly chased him away.

Worried that Liang Yuanzheng might misunderstand, Lu Canran immediately explained that Chen Wanli was her childhood friend, just a friend. Looking at Chen Wanli was like looking at family—there were no other thoughts involved.

Liang Yuanzheng smiled and said okay, he understood.

“Do you really understand?” Lu Canran asked seriously, wanting to confirm. “Don’t hold it in and say nothing, okay? Don’t just endure it.”

Liang Yuanzheng responded gently, “How could I possibly?”

Lu Canran glanced above his head—there it was, a giant vat of Shanxi aged vinegar^[2]A giant vat of Shanxi aged vinegar is a humorous Chinese metaphor for jealousy. Shanxi vinegar is a famously rich and sour vinegar from Shanxi Province, and “eating vinegar” (吃醋) is a common … Continue reading. She fell silent.

She quickly changed the subject, cautiously asking if Liang Yuanzheng had noticed anything strange about Jiang Si lately.

The distraction worked.

The vat of Shanxi aged vinegar disappeared immediately.

Liang Yuanzheng’s expression remained calm as he shook his head and said no.

Lu Canran understood—Jiang Si hadn’t asked Liang Yuanzheng for help.

That made sense. After all, Jiang Si was planning to confess to Zhu Huaxin this weekend, and she was the one who truly knew Huaxin well. Although Zhu Huaxin had asked Jiang Si about Liang Yuanzheng before, it had only been to help a female classmate who had a crush on him.

Even while enjoying the past few days of flirting, Lu Canran hadn’t forgotten Jiang Si’s request.

During their dorm’s late-night chats, she made an effort to gather everyone’s ideal confession scenarios, compiled the responses, and passed them on to Jiang Si. Not only that, but in order to make sure her friend had the most beautiful confession experience possible, she even reached out to a floral designer who specialized in unique hand bouquets. However, the designer was male and didn’t have a proper studio to meet in, so to avoid any risks with a private meeting, she asked Chen Wanli to help place the order on her behalf.

After dinner, Lu Canran took the initiative to suggest a walk.

The spring breeze was getting warmer by the day. The two of them strolled slowly through the campus, and before they knew it, they had wandered into the “Lovers’ Grove.”

The area was originally called the Alumni Grove, a cluster of trees donated by a particular graduating class, with each tree marked with the donor’s name. There was only a pedestrian path, shaded by thick greenery, and it had plenty of benches and stone tables. Campus couples loved coming here for walks or to study together, and so it had jokingly earned the nickname “Lovers’ Grove.”

In the hormone-charged days of spring, every bench in the Lovers’ Grove had a couple sitting on it. Some were even kissing unabashedly. When Lu Canran stumbled upon one such pair mid-kiss, she was utterly mortified. She didn’t dare look at Liang Yuanzheng, afraid he’d think she was hinting at something. She hurried away in a few awkward steps, and the kissing sounds behind her were still loud enough to hear. She was so flustered, she tripped over her own feet.

And Liang Yuanzheng noticed.

“I used to walk in sync like that too,” Liang Yuanzheng said, taking the initiative. “Director Meng taught me a few tricks. Come on, let’s try together—”

He patiently guided her, and Lu Canran followed earnestly.

One minute later.

The two of them were still walking in perfect unison, arms and legs moving together in sync, silently plodding forward.

Lu Canran said, “Senior, maybe next time you could ask Director Meng again… see if there are any other tricks?”

Liang Yuanzheng: “Alright.”

The two of them walked past the Lovers’ Grove and made their way to the Lovers’ Lake.

The conversation shifted to the chicken broth wontons from earlier. Lu Canran praised them profusely, building up her compliments step by step before looking at him with hopeful eyes. “Senior, do you know how to make chicken broth wontons?”

“I can,” Liang Yuanzheng said modestly, “but the flavor might be pretty average.”

“No way,” Lu Canran praised him lavishly. “The soft-boiled egg you made was the best I’ve ever had. The chicken broth wontons must be amazing too! It’s so nice—feels like you can do everything. In the future—”

At that point, her tone dropped a little. “But… in the future, it doesn’t seem like there’ll be a reason to eat with you anymore.”

Liang Yuanzheng said, “Maybe we don’t need a reason to eat together.”

“Really?” Lu Canran hesitated. “But if someone asks, what am I supposed to say? Why am I having a meal with you, Senior—”

Liang Yuanzheng stepped on a leaf that cracked crisply underfoot.

“I want to… learn your tastes, and try cooking more new dishes,” he said, lowering his head slightly. “Would that count as a reason?”

Lu Canran’s eyes sparkled. “Of course it counts—”

Before she could finish, Liang Yuanzheng reached out to stop her, but didn’t manage to in time. She walked straight into a hanging spider web. Fortunately, there was no big spider—just a single strand of tough silk that clung to her hair. He said, “Don’t move,” and reached out to carefully remove the web from her hair.

It was a task that required focus, and Lu Canran seized the chance to ask the question that had been weighing on her heart.

“Senior,” she asked, “back when you were still in school, was there a girl you liked?”

Liang Yuanzheng didn’t respond right away. He was focused on untangling the spider silk, which had picked up some drifting willow fluff and cottonwood seeds, now caught in her soft, fragrant, long strands of hair.

He tried to clear it without touching her, but his gaze inadvertently drifted to the pale curve of her neck, where her T-shirt met her hair.

Lu Canran wasn’t too concerned about his answer anyway—she had her magical mushroom cheat on her side. She focused instead on peeking at the top of his head.

She didn’t see a name or a clear answer, only a vast patch of green plants.

Lu Canran: “Huh?”

—Could it be that the girl’s name had something to do with those plants?

Liang Yuanzheng finished removing the spider silk, his breathing gradually steadying. He took a step back and looked at Lu Canran. “What? Sorry, I didn’t catch what you just said.”

“It’s nothing,” Lu Canran said with a smile. “Let’s keep walking.”

She had already gotten the answer she wanted!

Back at the dorm, the first thing Lu Canran did was pull out paper and pen to carefully sketch the plants she had seen above Liang Yuanzheng’s head. Thankfully, her memory was pretty good, and she managed to capture the key features.

Once she finished drawing, she stared at the paper in deep thought. Out of all these plants, she only recognized a few: basil, rosemary, perilla, parsley, thyme… What did it mean? What did they all have in common?

Zhu Huaxin got out of bed to use the bathroom and noticed Lu Canran zoning out over the paper. She leaned in to take a look.

“Hey, not bad—your oregano looks pretty realistic,” Zhu Huaxin said. “You really nailed the details.”

Lu Canran: “Huh?”

“Isn’t it?” Zhu Huaxin bent down to take a closer look. “Basil, rosemary, marjoram, oregano, fennel, perilla… Hey, why did you draw so many herbs?”

Lu Canran looked puzzled. “…They’re all herbs?”

“Yeah, you didn’t know?”

Herbs?

Lu Canran grew even more confused. “Do you think… would someone name their child after an herb?”