An Unexpected Encounter

When he sent the message, Yue Zhishi was still in the classroom. He was excited after learning about the early monthly holiday, and for the first time, he secretly used his phone while the teacher was still at the podium.

So much so that he completely missed the reason why the monthly holiday was moved up to the morning.

In the classroom, the students were excited about the early holiday. The homeroom teacher emphasized once again, “The storm warning this time is a red alert, the heaviest rainfall so far this year. Boarding students should try not to leave the school, safety first...”

Yue Zhishi's heart was completely focused on WeChat. He thought he would have to wait a long time, but Song Yu's reply came faster than he had imagined.

[Brother Xiao Yu: It's raining today, don't come.]

Yue Zhishi frowned, not quite satisfied with his reply.

[Yue Zhishi: That won't do. I already took on the task last night. If you don't come to see me, I'll go find you at your lab building.]

After replying, Yue Zhishi looked up. Seeing that everyone was starting to pack up to go home, he stuffed his phone into his pocket and also hurried to pack his schoolbag. His phone was on silent. It wasn't until he had left the classroom and gotten on the bus that Yue Zhishi remembered to check it. He opened it and saw that there was indeed a reply, sent two minutes after his last message.

[Brother Xiao Yu: What time]

There was another one below it, sent a minute after that one.

[Brother Xiao Yu: I'm going to the lab now. There's a batch of newly collected data that needs to be processed, and I also need to do some modeling. Tell me in advance when you're about to arrive, and I'll come out to get you. Remember to bring an umbrella, and be careful on the way.]

Although Song Yu was usually a man of few words, he sometimes gave very clear instructions, even if Yue Zhishi had no idea what this work specifically entailed.

Yue Zhishi silently read through the message, feeling it was a bit stiff. So he replied to Song Yu with a nodding puppy sticker, making their conversation seem much softer.

[Yue Zhishi: I'll arrive at six in the afternoon.]

He didn't want to tell Song Yu that his holiday had started early, wanting to give him a surprise. Even if Song Yu had to study, it didn't matter. He could just sit next to him without disturbing him.

Just seeing him earlier would be great.

When he got home, Lin Rong was transferring freshly made soup into a thermal flask. Hearing that Peiya School had started its monthly holiday early, she muttered that the school had some conscience after all, but she was also a little worried about letting Yue Zhishi go to W University.

After Yue Zhishi came downstairs from changing his clothes, Lin Rong said again, “You're going over in the afternoon, what if there's a downpour on the way? Traveling by car is very unsafe.”

Yue Zhishi had changed into a dusty blue short-sleeved shirt and black jeans, making him look long-limbed and so fair he seemed to glow. He held a black baseball cap in his hand, sat down at the dining table, and popped a small piece of cantaloupe into his mouth with a fork. “Then I'll take the subway. It goes directly there anyway, it's just a bit slower.”

“Why don't I go instead,” Lin Rong was still worried. “I'll drive you there first and then go to the high-speed rail station from W University.”

“No, that's too much trouble. You only switched to the high-speed rail because your flight was canceled. What if the high-speed rail gets delayed too?” Yue Zhishi speared a large piece and stretched his arm to feed it to Lin Rong's lips. “Auntie Rong, you can rest assured, nothing will happen.”

Yue Zhishi added, “Besides, I'm planning to go early. It's only ten o'clock now. If I go now, I can have lunch at my brother's place. I've never eaten in W University's cafeteria.”

Lin Rong thought this plan was feasible and put the thermal flask in her hand into a bag. “Have you discussed it with your brother?”

Yue Zhishi nodded, but didn't tell Lin Rong about the surprise. “He said he'll pick me up at the gate.”

“That brother of yours, it would be so nice if he came home for a visit.” Lin Rong crouched down and opened the oven door, her tone carrying a hint of complaint. “Last year, he still came back every three months. But since school started after the winter break, he hasn't come home even once.” The egg yolk pastries and flower cakes were also ready; Lin Rong had specially prepared them for Song Yu's roommates.

“He's probably too busy. They say some majors in university are even more terrifying than the third year of high school.” Yue Zhishi helped her pack them into boxes and put them in his schoolbag. Both types of pastries were made with gluten-free flour. He tasted a piece while packing them, and it was delicious; the egg yolk pastry had a warm, molten center and was especially fragrant.

After packing the pastries and tidying up the kitchen, Lin Rong let down her tied-up curly hair. “I'm not so sure. Maybe that boy has a girlfriend now. He's busy accompanying his girlfriend at school, so he doesn't want to come home.”

Yue Zhishi was just shouldering his schoolbag when he heard this, and he froze for a moment.

Lin Rong liked to joke with the kids, but she never took it to heart, forgetting about it as soon as she said it. She changed topics faster than anyone. “Eating at school is fine, but you must be careful not to eat things you can't.” She also put some nutritional supplements into Yue Zhishi's schoolbag. “Is it heavy? Maybe you should take a little less.”

“It's not heavy.” Yue Zhishi looked up at the clock. It was getting late. He turned and urged Lin Rong to hurry to the high-speed rail station.

In the end, the two of them left the house together. Lin Rong dropped Yue Zhishi off at the subway station, placed an umbrella in his hand, and gave him endless instructions, as if he were still a child. Yue Zhishi said with a smile, “Why don't you come with me? Don't go see Uncle. The two of us can take a tour of W University together.”

Only then did Lin Rong feel relieved and start to laugh. “Then your uncle would be too pitiful. Alright, hurry and get on the subway.”

“Okay, video call me when you get there.” Yue Zhishi got on the down escalator, looking back to wave at Lin Rong.

The subway station was very crowded, mostly with students on holiday and people out for the weekend. Yue Zhishi got on the train and was lucky enough to find an empty seat on the end, so he sat down. A young couple stood in front of him. The boy was quite tall, holding a handrail with his right hand and wrapping his left arm around his girlfriend's waist. The girl, unsteady on her feet, had her arms wrapped around her boyfriend's waist, her head buried in his chest in a very clingy posture.

The distance was too close, and Yue Zhishi felt it was a bit rude to just stare at them with his eyes open. Besides, the girl kept glancing at him, intentionally or not. So Yue Zhishi pulled down the brim of his cap and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

He had told his brain he was only pretending to sleep, but Yue Zhishi actually fell asleep. When he woke up, the couple was gone, but the carriage was just as crowded. The train came to a stop, and the station was announced. As luck would have it, it was the very stop where he needed to get off.

It was very crowded. Yue Zhishi immediately stood up, carrying his bag and the thermal flask, and squeezed his way out of the sardine-can-like carriage. He made it out just a moment before the doors closed. Yue Zhishi felt like he'd been reborn, as if a fish had swum out of a can and back into the ocean.

He took the escalator up, marveling inwardly at his ridiculous luck today—finding an empty seat and waking up just as he arrived at his stop. But when he reached the subway station exit and saw the waterfall-like rain, he froze for a second.

An old granny with a stall at the subway exit looked up, watching this handsome boy pat himself all over like he'd just been pickpocketed, then turn around in frustration, take a couple of steps, turn back again, and then just stand there, staring blankly at the downpour.

She asked tentatively, “Hey handsome, want to buy an umbrella? Fifteen yuan each, very cheap. It's the last one.”

And then her wish was granted.

Yue Zhishi bought the last non-collapsible transparent umbrella. After opening it, just as he was about to leave, he saw the old granny with her head down, tidying the rain-soaked cloth of her stall. On it were fresh gardenias and magnolias, arranged very neatly, with not many left.

Glancing at the heavy rain, Yue Zhishi stopped and crouched down, asking softly, “Granny, how much are these flowers?”

“You're buying flowers?” The old granny was a little surprised at first, but she quickly started telling Yue Zhishi the prices. She was also wearing fresh magnolia earrings, which swayed gently when she spoke, releasing a faint fragrance.

The entrance to the subway station was crowded with people. Everyone was busy, their steps hurried. Not many people paid any attention to the barely perceptible scent of the flowers.

“I'll take them all.”

The old granny grinned from ear to ear and carefully strung all the flowers together for him. “These must be for your girlfriend, right? I'll string them for you. You can hang them up, they're very fragrant.”

Yue Zhishi paid and said honestly with a smile, “I don't have a girlfriend.”

“Aiya, that's impossible. How could someone so good-looking not have a girlfriend?” The old granny put the flowers into a transparent bag and handed them to Yue Zhishi. “I sit here every day, and you're the most handsome young man I've ever seen.”

Yue Zhishi was a little embarrassed by the praise. He helped her pack up her stall and repeatedly urged her to go home quickly, saying the downpour would last a long time.

After watching the old granny walk far into the distance under an old, plaid umbrella, Yue Zhishi finally left the subway station, holding the transparent umbrella he wouldn't have needed to buy, and headed toward W University.

After starting high school, Yue Zhishi would occasionally suggest visiting Song Yu during holidays, but he was basically always rejected. He knew Song Yu was very busy and didn't have time to hang out with him, so he eventually stopped actively trying to bother him. There was just one time when Lin Rong came to see Song Yu and brought Yue Zhishi along, but they didn't even go into his dorm.

Later on, he also became busier and busier, with fewer and fewer holidays, and even less of a good reason to come to W University.

The torrential rain poured down relentlessly. The raindrops hit the transparent surface of the umbrella with considerable noise. The ground was already covered in a layer of water, and Yue Zhishi's canvas shoes were soaked through in no time. W University was enormous, and he was disoriented as soon as he entered. Yue Zhishi followed a map app to find his way, even stopping a girl midway to ask for directions. Finally, he managed to find the very secluded academic building.

It was just past twelve noon. The sky was dark and oppressive, the daylight mostly obscured by dark clouds. Arriving this early, maybe he could catch Song Yu for a meal. Yue Zhishi knew very well that Song Yu wasn't particular about eating; he would forget to eat when he got busy. At this hour, if no one had urged him, it was unlikely he had eaten.

He began to imagine how Song Yu would react upon seeing him. He would surely first blame him for not giving notice and messing up his plans, then he would put on a reluctant expression, tell him he couldn't do this again, and then take him to get something to eat.

As he approached the building, Yue Zhishi paused to switch the hand holding the thermal flask with the one holding the umbrella. His wrist was a bit sore. Just as he was switching, a gust of wind blew, nearly flipping the umbrella inside out. Yue Zhishi raised a hand to steady the handle, and his cap was blown off, landing on the ground and quickly getting soaked by the rain.

Yue Zhishi wanted to bend down and pick up the cap, but juggling the umbrella handle and the bag in his hands was inconvenient. He was too tired. He stood in place, looked up, and sighed. Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure appear beneath the academic building.

It was Song Yu.

It couldn't be more of a coincidence. Yue Zhishi was just about to call his name when he saw a petite girl walk out from beside him. The two of them were standing quite close. Song Yu was holding a black folding umbrella. The girl kept looking up at him as she spoke, even standing slightly on her tiptoes, chattering nonstop. Song Yu would occasionally nod and give a brief reply.

He couldn't say why, but when he saw him nod, a baseless sense of dejection and anxiety suddenly arose in Yue Zhishi's chest. His subconscious surfaced, urging him to leave. The rain was falling heavily, hitting the umbrella, the ground, everywhere. Nothing could escape it.

Yue Zhishi, who had been worried about his cap just a second ago, couldn't be bothered with it now. He turned around, using the umbrella to block half of his back from view, and quickly walked away, eventually even breaking into a run.

He could feel the water on the ground rising, his pant legs already soaking in it. Although his upper body was still dry, the damp cold rising from below seemed to entangle him, making Yue Zhishi feel uncomfortable. Fleeing without looking where he was going, he took a small path, trying to find a convenient place to take shelter from the rain and sit for a while. Because he really was a little tired.

As he ran, his footsteps made some splashing sounds, but they were quickly swallowed by the clamorous rain. More and more students gathered under the eaves of the academic building, discussing which cafeteria to go to for lunch.

“Song Yu? Are you still listening?”

Song Yu pulled his gaze back, but his brows were still furrowed. He apologized perfunctorily for his distraction, “Sorry.”

“It's fine,” the girl smiled brightly, not minding too much. “Let's discuss the rest this afternoon. Let's go eat first.” She felt that her invitation was very natural and unlikely to be rejected.

But unexpectedly, Song Yu took out his phone and dialed a number. Then he said to her somewhat absentmindedly, “I have something to do, I'm not eating.”

“Huh? You're not eating?” The girl was stunned for a moment. She moved a little closer and looked at Song Yu, discovering that his attention was no longer on her at all. He had even put a little distance between them.

She tried another approach, a pleading look on her face, her voice very soft. “Then could you walk me back to my dorm? I didn't bring an umbrella. It's very close, just over there.”

The rain was really too heavy. Many of the surrounding students were pairing up, sharing an umbrella to leave quickly. She watched Song Yu, saw him dial the unanswered number for a second time, and, thinking he hadn't heard her question, prepared to speak again.

“You can borrow it.” Song Yu handed the umbrella to the girl and dashed into the rain.

The girl stood there stunned, holding the umbrella. She didn't understand why, all of a sudden, Song Yu had such an urgent matter to attend to—so urgent that he would toss her his only umbrella rather than walk her over first.

Obviously, she would never guess that all of this was just because of a similar-looking figure from behind, one that held a slight possibility.

Yue Zhishi held his umbrella, feeling like a stray dog on a rough journey, dragged down by the rain, his steps heavy. Before he knew it, he had wandered to a certain cafeteria. The hall on the first floor had transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, and the inside looked very clean. He walked up the steps, closed his umbrella, and went inside.

After finding a seat by the window and sitting down, Yue Zhishi finally put down the things in his hands. His palms were red from the strain. He rubbed them and fumbled around, looking for some tissues, but in the end, he only took out his phone.

The screen lit up, showing four missed calls, all from Song Yu.

Yue Zhishi jumped. He suddenly remembered that because of his classroom habits, he still hadn't turned on the vibration, so there had been no notification at all. He hurriedly picked it up to call back, but the other person was a step faster and called him. Yue Zhishi was a little scared, and he answered the call with trepidation.

“Where are you right now? Why aren't you answering your phone?” Song Yu's tone wasn't good, very different from his usual self—it was urgent, as if he were angry.

Yue Zhishi wanted to answer his question, but he really didn't know where he was. He frantically tried to exit the call screen to look at a map, but then worried he would miss what Song Yu was saying. So he had no choice but to stand up and ask someone nearby, “Hello, excuse me, which cafeteria is this?”

On the other end of the line, Song Yu heard a passerby vaguely state a location. He immediately said, “Wait for me.”

Yue Zhishi sat back down in the seat by the window. He looked down at the disconnected call screen, placed the phone on the table, and two seconds later, picked it up again and switched it to vibrate mode.

His mind felt dull. Yue Zhishi lowered his head, staring at the red marks on his palm and at the rain-soaked plastic bag. He opened the bag and peered inside. The flowers inside were fine, still very fragrant.

This scene was not what he had imagined before coming; it was much more miserable. He began to feel that his good luck had slipped away again.

After a short while, the phone vibrated again. Yue Zhishi answered immediately, holding it to his ear.

“What floor are you on?”

Yue Zhishi knew he had probably arrived. He twisted his body to look toward the entrance, explaining his location to Song Yu, “I'm on the first floor, near the main entrance. You should be able to see me if you turn right after coming in. I'm wearing...”

“A blue shirt,” Song Yu said first.

His voice became deep amidst the static. “Found you.”

So fast? Yue Zhishi looked around in confusion, searching for Song Yu's voice. Suddenly, he heard a tapping sound on the glass behind him.

Knock, knock—

He turned his head, and there was Song Yu outside, holding his phone, completely soaked. Only a pane of transparent glass, blurred by the rain, separated them.

His bent knuckles were still resting against the glass pane, and the small point of contact was also spreading a damp water mark.

As if possessed, Yue Zhishi pressed his palm against the glass, covering his knuckles. But the next second, he felt his action was incredibly foolish and embarrassedly wanted to pull his hand back.

But Song Yu was always a step faster.

His bent knuckles straightened, his palm turned over, and then naturally pressed against Yue Zhishi's palm.

“What were you running for?”

Song Yu was standing in front of him, but his voice came from the phone. His tone was much more relaxed than before, giving Yue Zhishi a hazy feeling. But after asking the question, he dropped his hand to his side and walked away from the window, heading for the cafeteria entrance.

In the brief moment that Song Yu couldn't see him, Yue Zhishi frowned. Remembering how he had just fled in disarray, he knew he couldn't explain it. He clung to the hope that Song Yu hadn't actually seen him and was just guessing.

Before he had much time to think, Song Yu arrived in front of him and hung up the phone. His face was covered in water droplets. His short hair and eyebrows were soaked, and even his eyelashes held tiny drops of water. He should have looked miserable, but instead, he exuded a strange, captivating aura.

'No one could possibly dislike this face,' Yue Zhishi thought, completely forgetting why Song Yu was soaked when he had clearly been holding an umbrella.

Song Yu asked again, “Why did you run just now?”

“I didn't run,” Yue Zhishi reflexively denied. “Look at all this stuff I'm carrying. Do you think I can run?” He mumbled at the end, “I just got here.”

“Do you think you're a good liar?” Song Yu raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

Although his tone wasn't gentle, Yue Zhishi could clearly feel that after seeing him, Song Yu wasn't as anxious as he had been when the call first connected. He had slowed down and wasn't as angry anymore.

However, for someone as stern and unsmiling as Song Yu, this change was incredibly subtle. Anyone else probably would have thought there was no difference at all, making it seem more like Yue Zhishi was overthinking things.

He stared into Song Yu's dark pupils, struggling internally for a moment before finally choosing to admit defeat. “You saw me? You shouldn't have. I'm sure you didn't notice me before I turned away.” He was certain of this; he had even used his umbrella to block the view.

Song Yu placed the cap he had dropped on the table.

To get soaked in a downpour for a similar figure from behind.

That reason was too absurd, so he made one up on the spot.

“Your umbrella is transparent.”