The air pressure was a bit low, making people feel uneasy. The sky darkened, as if wrapped in a layer of gray plastic, neither breathable nor clear.

Chen Xi didn't dislike cloudy days, but she had a strong aversion to rain.

Because every time it rained, she would see other students' parents coming to pick them up.

Since she was young, Bai Xi had always reminded her to keep a folding umbrella in her backpack, so she never worried about getting wet. But still...

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"Didn't you bring an umbrella?"

She turned to look at her friend, who kept sighing beside her, and asked.

"Ah? Hmm... no, I didn't..." Xue Lan nodded, her eyes looking out the window, full of worry.

An umbrella suddenly appeared on her desk, and she was a bit stunned. Only then did she realize who had spoken to her, and she exclaimed with delight, "Xi Xi! This is the first time you've spoken to me first!"

It was still raining outside, and the young girl was quite carefree. However, Chen Xi didn't intend to pay attention to her antics. She tossed the umbrella onto her friend's desk and turned her head, speaking as if to herself:"Remember to return it to me tomorrow."

"Xi Xi, you're the best!" Xue Lan beamed with joy, immediately lunging towards Chen Xi, intending to give her a big bear hug.

Unfortunately, her cold friend was very agile, as if she had maxed out her reflexes at birth, and instinctively dodged her surprise attack.

"I don't like people touching me," Chen Xi said, frowning slightly at her stunned friend.

"Oh, oh, it's okay, it's okay..." Xue Lan didn't think much of it, shamelessly sidling up again, inhaling the faint fragrance from Chen Xi, and chuckling:"I knew Xi Xi wasn't as cold as she seemed. Didn't I warm you up? By the way, you smell really nice..."

As her words trailed off, she glanced at the folding umbrella on her desk and curiously asked, "Wait a minute, Xi Xi, you lent me your umbrella, what about you?"

"I have another one," Chen Xi replied confidently. As soon as she finished speaking, she instinctively dodged to the side again, avoiding another surprise attack from her friend.

"Wow, wow! Xi Xi, you're so kind! Let me hug you, just once, don't be shy..."

***

So... why?

Why lie about having another umbrella, why give her own umbrella to someone else, why wait in this heavy rain, why...

She was still standing there.

The rain fell from the sky, splattering in front of her, turning into mist, some splashing on the young girl's shoes, some soaking her pant legs.

It had been ten minutes since school ended.

She hadn't left, as if waiting for something, or perhaps, someone.

Pretty girls are always popular during their school days, and a beautiful girl showing an anxious expression in the rain is even more endearing. She had only been standing there for less than ten minutes, and already more than a dozen boys had come over to chat or ask to borrow an umbrella.

But she ignored them, just hugging her shoulders, looking at the hazy rain, hoping for something.

Until the remaining hope in her eyes was gradually washed away by the rain, extinguished, frozen, becoming a cold reality.

She shouldn't have hoped for that person.

She was just an abandoned child, without a prominent background, without caring relatives, even the evaluations others gave her were "a child without a father," "an emotionless monster," "an unlucky person."

Heartless, malicious, solitary, an unlucky person, it seemed everyone forgot that beneath these labels lived a nineteen-year-old girl in the prime of her youth.

She envied those children loved by their parents, envied their carefree play, envied their lives under the wings of others.

But unfortunately, the one who envied them was already her past self.

Now, there were few students left around Chen Xi. She turned to look at the worried crowd behind her, recalling Xue Lan's carefree smile when she left, and suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

As if laughing at others' foolishness, and also at her own stupidity.

Why, even now, can't she give up?

The young girl's lips curled into a reckless smile, she steadied her backpack, stepped forward, and walked into the noisy rain.

The rain poured down heavily, drumming loudly. Before long, Chen Xi's clothes were soaked, clinging to her graceful figure, outlining an almost perfect curve.

In front of her was an intersection. She hugged her shoulders, standing still, waiting for the red light.

The noise around her was overwhelming. The young girl, drenched from head to toe, naturally attracted the attention of men.

She regretted it a bit, this feeling of being watched by men was truly disgusting.

But she was Chen Xi, never one to endure silently, instead glaring back at each of those covetous gazes.

Until she met a pair of angry eyes.

"What are you doing!?"

A man appeared before her like a dream, his suit marked with raindrops, his eyes nearly blood-red, holding an umbrella, quickly running towards her from not far away.

10m...

5m...

1m...

Chen Xi was frightened by the dangerous aura emanating from him, instinctively taking half a step back, but in the next second, the rain above her lessened, and a man's suit was draped over her shoulders.

She glanced at her shoulder, then stared blankly at the thinly dressed man in front of her. The rain was so loud around them, she could barely make out his words.

"Why are you standing in the rain!? Couldn't you wait for me a bit longer? What if you catch a cold!? What if you get sick!?"

She looked into Yan Feng's eyes, finding a feeling both familiar and strange, but she seemed to have forgotten what that feeling was called, only able to blankly recall, searching her mind.

But the voice beside her didn't stop, and the grip on her shoulder tightened.

"I was calling you from across the street, chasing after you the whole way, why didn't you hear me!?"

Chen Xi blinked, slightly confused.

Did he call her? Why didn't she hear?

A cold wind blew past, waking up the girl's lost consciousness. She shivered, stammering an explanation:"The rain... was too loud, I couldn't... hear clearly..."

Seeing this, Yan Feng's anger dissipated, leaving only heartache and self-blame, even a tinge of shame.

If only he had finished work earlier and arrived at the school on time...

Thinking this, he pulled the shivering girl into his arms, patting her shoulder, uttering the simplest words:"Let's go home."

***

Sitting on the soft seat in the back of Yan Feng's car, Chen Xi hesitated for a moment, finally placing her hand on his waist, choosing to hide from the wind and rain in the man's shadow.

To her, reality was cold, the wind never gentle, the rain noisy, she was already soaked through.

But now she was dreaming, a dream where there was nothing, but the beef sauce was fragrant, the bed was soft, and the embrace was warm.

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Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan