"Speaking of the Cultural Festival, we even went to Takao Mountain for filming," Dubian Che turned and smiled at her.

"You also said, 'Look, it's a pyramid.'"

"I remember now, that did happen, and the look in your eyes almost buried me on Takao Mountain."

"Rest assured," Kiyono Lin said with a slight smile, "given our relationship back then, I would have left you there alone."

"Our relationship was too good," Dubian Che clapped.

"Our relationship was the best," Kiyono Lin nodded.

"..."

"Any doubts about that?" Kiyono Lin slowed her already slow pace.

Dubian Che stopped too and looked at her:

"I read a book recently which said, 'The woman who was originally second in one's heart, once she becomes intimate, establishing a stable relationship, one would slowly appreciate her gentleness, continuously discover more of her merits, and feelings for her would gradually deepen, eventually surpassing the one who was originally first in one's heart.'"

"So now you love Jiutiao Meiji more?"

"I love Jiutiao Meiji the most," said a clueless Dubian Che to Kiyono Lin.

"No, the one you love the most is Kiyono Lin," Kiyono Lin smiled.

Dubian Che wasn't too surprised, his gaze shifted to the calm waters of Yun Chang Pond, "But before I asked that question, I wasn't very sure who I loved the most."

"Have you completely forgotten your past hatred for her?" Kiyono Lin also looked towards the pond.

The quiet water surface reflected the verdant trees, and faint ripples seemed to appear.

"Perhaps my life with Meiji officially began after we inflicted harm on each other."

"Do you have something to say to me?"

Just as Dubian Che was about to speak, the ripples in the lake grew larger, and suddenly, the sunny sky began to rain.

"Ride the bicycle back?" Dubian Che asked.

Kiyono Lin raised her hands above her head, rapidly scanning left and right, then ran toward a cluster of trees ahead.

There, due to the dense shade of the trees, the rain could not reach.

"Over here, Mr. Dubian!" Kiyono Lin stood there, waving at Dubian Che.

Dubian Che hurried over.

As he ducked in, the rain suddenly poured down heavier.

The rain strings connected like fine threads, resembling a sweater named "Sky," whose thread ends were snagged by the ground, the whole sweater beginning to unravel.

The rain poured down, the spot where the two stood quickly became an isolated island, constantly eroded by the sea.

"Mr. Dubian, the rainfall in Karuizawa that you wanted to see," Kiyono Lin introduced the rain-engulfed Yun Chang Pond to Dubian Che.

"Whatever I wish to see, I get—is it possible that I'm the god?" Dubian Che looked puzzledly towards Kiyono Lin.

She maintained her tranquil composure, the sudden rain not inducing any negative emotions in her.

Her thin white blouse, revealing the color of her underwear after soaking in rainwater.

And those wet black locks, her waistline exquisitely elegant and symmetrical.

Scenery a thousand times more beautiful than Karuizawa, Dubian Che's gaze didn't know where to settle.

"Behave yourself," Kiyono Lin chastised coldly.

"Among all the women I've met, none is more beautiful, more captivating than you, R-san," Dubian Che turned his gaze back towards Yun Chang Pond amidst the downpour.

"My cuteness, unquestionable."

After a moment of silence, Dubian Che sighed, "The rain's not bad, a good chance to chat."

"About what?"

"The heavy snow two days ago?"

"Tell me about it."

"You forgot? We were trekking through Hokkaido then, the snow falling heavily, stepping in and the snow would cover our calves. You spotted a cabin and called out to me, 'Over here, Mr. Dubian,' and then we took shelter inside from the snow."

"And then?"

"We wanted to start a fire, but there was only a summer sale flyer in the cabin, it read 'Sea urchin over rice, 1500 yen.' And given the circumstances then, even if we could find firewood, we had no way to start a fire."

"Go on."

"Unable to sleep, unable to light a fire, I could only say 'let's talk,' you asked then 'about what?'. I said 'about the shower two days from now, when we were walking by Yun Chang Pond in Karuizawa...' and like that, we kept talking, time itself stopped moving forward."

Finishing, Dubian Che turned and asked Kiyono Lin, "What's the score?"

"Three points."

"So low! And I thought it was not bad."

Kiyono Lin chuckled with satisfaction, "Mr. Dubian, how many drops are in a rainfall?"

"As many as the stars in the sky?"

"And how many stars are up there?"

"As many as the raindrops in a shower?"

"The number of people throughout history is the same," Kiyono Lin watched the cascading rain, "with so many people, I only want to be myself."

A bug buzzing came near.

Kiyono Lin frowned and waved her hand.

Dubian Che snapped off a branch from above his head, driving away the bugs, unclear whether they were here to shelter from the rain or simply to pester.

"Get lost, you pests (Command)," he warned them off, "even I worship Kiyono Lin as if she were a saint, and you dare to bother her."

Kiyono Lin smiled faintly, her gaze pure and untainted, looking at Dubian Che with her saint-like clear voice, she said:

"No matter what others say, I'll live as myself."

And in that instant, the rain stopped.

Dubian Che held the branch, looking at Kiyono Lin, who was even more radiant than usual.

Just as he said, no other girl could compare in her presence.

Such a beautiful woman, belonging to no one, would maintain her aloof pride forever cold.

"... Regardless, I will always support you," Dubian Che said.

Even though the rain had stopped, the droplets in the forest continued to fall uninterrupted.

Their silhouettes were reflected in the still rippling Yun Chang Pond, surrounded by the slightly dreary air of late summer and early autumn.