In the pouring rain, Bei Jun was extremely anxious. He said, "Sister."
Bei Yao hugged him. "It's alright. Stay at the kindergarten, Xiao Jun. I'll go take a look."
The little boy clutched the hem of Bei Yao's clothes with his chubby hand. Bei Yao coaxed softly, "Listen to the teacher at the kindergarten, alright? I have to go to school now. Mom will come pick you up at noon after she finishes her errands."
Bei Jun had no choice but to say, "Goodbye, sister."
Bei Yao kissed his little cheek, opened her umbrella, and walked out.
She walked about three hundred meters west, where a van was parked on the road. A young man with striking eyebrows, wearing a mask, rolled down the window and anxiously leaned out. "It's you. You're back."
Bei Yao asked him, "Do you need any help?"
"Can you buy me some medicine? Fever reducer, anti-inflammatory, alcohol, cotton swabs, bandages..."
Bei Yao noted them down one by one and said to the young man, "I remember them. How is your sister?"
The young man didn't speak, his expression grim. From inside the car came the faint sound of a woman crying.
"Thank you. Here's the money." The young man handed a banknote through the window. As he lifted his gaze, he caught sight of Bei Yao's delicate chin beneath the umbrella. She tilted her umbrella slightly, and Huo Xu saw her small, straight nose and a pair of lively, beautiful almond-shaped eyes.
The heavy rain partially obscured his vision, but it couldn't hide her beauty.
Huo Xu was momentarily stunned, but by then, Bei Yao had already taken the money and walked away.
Inside the car, the woman was softly weeping, a white mask covering her face. Above the mask, traces of blood had seeped through. Shao Yue said, "Xiao Xu, Xiao Xu, I need to go to the hospital. Will my face be ruined?"
Huo Xu returned to the car, a flicker of shock and pain in his eyes. He held her tightly. "Sister Xiao Yue, it won't. It's all my fault for making you like this. We can't go to the hospital now. Since my uncle knows we've come to City C, he must have people stationed there. Please bear with it a little longer, alright? When it's safer, I'll take you to the hospital."
The woman's sobbing quieted down. "Huo Xu, you must remember, everything I've done is because I love you..."
Huo Xu said, "Alright, I remember."
Huo Xu's eyes were also filled with confusion. He was only nineteen, and the future seemed as sudden and disorienting as this unexpected downpour. But Shao Yue had sacrificed so much for him; there was no way he could turn back now.
Not long after, Bei Yao returned. There was a clinic not far from the kindergarten, and she had bought all the medicine Huo Xu needed. She gently tapped on the car window.
Huo Xu was extremely cautious. When he saw it was her, he quickly rolled down the window and said softly, "Thank you."
He, too, wore a mask, covering his face completely.
After going back and forth in the heavy rain, even though the girl had been holding an umbrella, she was completely drenched.
Bei Yao shook her head and said, "You're welcome. I should be thanking you for honking and scaring away the wild dog. Can I have my student ID back now?"
Huo Xu's face flushed with embarrassment. It was the first time he had done something so underhanded. A wild dog had appeared on the way to school, frightening Bei Jun to tears, and the child's crying had only provoked the dog to bark even more fiercely.
Huo Xu's car was stuck in the mud. He honked twice, grabbed the police baton he kept in the car for self-defense, and chased the dog away.
He saw it was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen and a child of three or four.
While protecting her brother, Bei Yao's belongings had gotten muddy and scattered all over the ground.
Huo Xu had an idea and helped her pick up her things. He saw her student ID. In the sound of the rain, the neat handwriting on it listed Bei Yao's class and name.The young girl gazed sorrowfully at her mud-soaked backpack. After thanking him, she took her younger brother to shelter under the eaves. Her first action was to dial a number.
"Sorry, Pei Chuan, I can't come today."
Huo Xu stood at a distance, unable to see clearly, but the girl's voice carried a gentle warmth.
Remembering Shao Yue in the car, Huo Xu finally spoke up: "Bei Yao, please help me."
She looked up in surprise.
It was unexpected that this unfamiliar boy knew her name. Huo Xu held her student ID. Eventually, he had to switch to a pleading tone: "Will you? Consider it as thanks for me chasing away the wild dogs."
Bei Yao thought for a moment: "Alright, please wait. I'll settle my brother and come back."
Huo Xu truly feared she wouldn't return, but she kept her promise and came back.
He returned her student ID to her.
For the first time, he felt despicable. This was a girl three or four years younger than him, yet he had no choice but to leverage a favor for help.
The girl couldn't see the person inside the car. She took her student ID, tucked it into her bag, and without another word, disappeared into the rain with her umbrella.
She carried a faint scent of lilac.
Early September wasn't cold. She wore light blue capri pants that revealed her delicate ankles. Though her sandals were soaked, the water merely brushed past her gently.
Her retreating figure became the most unforgettable sight in the September downpour.
She didn't ask for his name, nor was she overly enthusiastic, yet she understood gratitude. Huo Xu was momentarily lost in thought until Shao Yue tugged at his sleeve from behind, snapping him back to reality to tend to her injured cheek.
~
Bei Yao didn't dwell much on this incident. Even with all her high school memories, this particular event wasn't prominent in her mind.
She hurried home to change out of her drenched clothes. The heavy rain had already lightened.
On days like this, it rained one moment and shone the next. Fortunately, there were no regular classes today. Zhao Zhilan had matters to attend to in the morning and had originally planned to drop off her brother before heading straight to school. She hadn't expected such an encounter.
This wasn't the season for rapeseed flowers. She feared her brother might encounter a dog carrying rabies.
After explaining the situation to the kindergarten teacher, Bei Yao still felt uneasy and informed Zhao Zhilan about it. Zhao Zhilan responded gravely, "I understand. I'll pick up Bei Jun after work. The kindergarten will likely report it to the police. You should hurry to school."
It was already noon. Bei Yao sighed. Waiting for the bus and riding it would take another two hours, so she decided to cook noodles at home, dug out her old backpack to make do, and head to school in the afternoon.
Bei Yao walked along the bus stop route, still carrying her umbrella in case it rained again.
As she approached the bus stop, she could hardly believe her eyes.
"Pei Chuan?" Bei Yao said.
The young man turned his head. He was completely drenched. The rain had stopped, and the sun was out, yet he was soaked, water dripping from his entire body.
After the heavy rain, the air carried a faint earthy scent. When he saw her, his dark eyes sparkled with a hint of light.
He smiled. "You came."
Bei Yao rarely saw him smile, but now she had to focus on the main issue and hurried over. "Why are you all wet?"
Pei Chuan said, "I was waiting for you."
Bei Yao replied, "But didn't I call you this morning to go ahead without me?"
Pei Chuan fell silent. Hadn't they agreed to go together?
Bei Yao looked up, meeting his dark eyes.
They held a mix of anger and cold intensity.
He spoke: "Are you blaming me for deceiving you last year?"
"No."Pei Chuan said, “Seeing me for the first time this year, are you disappointed?”
Bei Yao shook her head and replied, “Everyone has the right to decide how they want to live. I’m not disappointed in you.”
Pei Chuan let out a light laugh, which sounded both unfamiliar and jarring to her ears. He said, “That’s because you never had any expectations of me, Bei Yao. I’ve always wondered, how could you be friends with a cripple all these years since we were kids? Doesn’t it disgust you? Isn’t it dirty?”
Such extreme words—when had Bei Yao ever heard him speak like this? Even last year when he deceived her, he had done so calmly and quietly.
Yet as these words left his mouth, along with her shock, a faint sense of dread stirred within her.
Was this really Pei Chuan?
Suppressing her emotions with effort, Bei Yao said, “You know I don’t feel that way.”
“Oh? Is that so?” He chuckled softly.
Bei Yao asked, “Pei Chuan, what are you so angry about?”
Pei Chuan retorted, “What do you think?”
What did she think? She only found it baffling! Pei Chuan took a step forward.
He carried the chill of the recent downpour with him, and the feeble sunlight that had just emerged paled in comparison, utterly defenseless against his cold aura.
Bei Yao instinctively wanted to step back, but years of ingrained habit kept her feet rooted to the spot.
Pei Chuan lowered his gaze, a slight curve forming at the corner of his lips. “Look at you. You’re clearly scared, so why aren’t you leaving?”
Bei Yao said, “I don’t want to talk to you. You’re acting so strange today.” She didn’t deny that she was indeed a little afraid. Yesterday’s phone call with Wei Wan had clarified many things for her. Could it be that all those misdeeds from their childhood were actually his doing?
Steeling herself, Bei Yao met his eyes. He pressed one hand against the back of her head and leaned in.
Slap! Both of them froze.
Pei Chuan’s face was turned to the side, his lips pressed tightly together.
Furious and shaken, Bei Yao demanded, “What were you trying to do?”
Pei Chuan clicked his tongue. In all these years, this girl had always protected him the most. She had poured all her compassion and kindness into growing up alongside him, and this was the first time she had ever raised a hand against him.
The September breeze swept past, sending a slight chill through him.
Everyone else had already gone to class, leaving only him and Bei Yao at the bus stop. Bus No. 75 pulled up unhurriedly, and the driver glanced at them. “Students, are you getting on?” But upon seeing Pei Chuan drenched, he fell silent in surprise. What in the world was going on?
Bei Yao was utterly embarrassed. She hid her hands behind her back, fighting back tears.
She said, “Uncle Driver, we’re not taking this bus. Please go ahead.”
The bus drove away.
Bei Yao couldn’t stay any longer either. Though she was tolerant by nature, she wasn’t thick-skinned. Pei Chuan’s earlier gesture had reminded her of that night when he was drunk, his scorching lips brushing against her fingers.
At the time, she had thought he mistook her for someone else. As people grow older, walls rise beyond friendship, and love takes its place. One day, she would inevitably step out of his life, making way for him to find someone he loved, leaving a broad path for his romance. So whether it was Wei Wan or someone else, as long as he was happy, it was fine.
But the sound of that slap felt like Pei Chuan forcing her to tear down the veil of pretense.
Pursing her lips, Bei Yao said, “I’m going home.”
Staying beside him any longer would suffocate her.
Pei Chuan asked, “What’s wrong? Did it feel good to hit me?”
Bei Yao glared at him angrily.
He laughed instead. “Hmm? Say something. You’ve endured a lot of grievances over the years, haven’t you?”Bei Yao was utterly furious. She wished even more that he would stop smiling. The person before her now was exactly like the Pei Chuan from the photos Chen Feifei had sent her in that post—unfamiliar and arrogant. Not the least bit likable, with a smile so fake it was unbearable.
She turned and walked away.
A withered leaf from the September treetops spiraled down, drifting past her.
His smile gradually faded as he watched her retreating figure, eventually settling back into his usual icy expression.
"Bei Yao," he murmured softly, "Can we pretend nothing happened?"
She was already too far away to hear his words.
His damp hair had stopped dripping. Pei Chuan turned and slammed his fist against the ginkgo tree behind him.
Pei Chuan closed his eyes. He hadn’t truly intended to kiss her.
He knew he wasn’t worthy—she would find it disgusting.
Yet he no longer needed such superficially peaceful friendship; he even detested it. What was the point, after all? By forcibly tearing their relationship apart, he had actually been hoping for Bei Yao’s reaction.
But she was angry, frightened.
So it turned out that something like "affection"—no matter how adorable and gentle a girl might be—would never be given away as casually as friendship.
OpenNovel