Autumn in Tengcheng was fleeting, with temperatures fluctuating between heat and chill, accompanied by incessant autumn rains. Evening self-study for senior high school students ended at 10:30 PM. Miao Jing could compress her commute home to under twenty minutes on her electric scooter, but the frequent rainstorms during that period made her return time highly unpredictable.
Chapter 30: Gently Pressed Against Her Lips
The weather forecast predicted a heavy rainstorm at night. The nightclub’s parking lot was filled with luxury cars, and attendants holding broad black umbrellas escorted guests via private elevators to the VIP suites on the top floor. The corridor echoed with raucous disco music. Chen Yi stood in the stairwell chatting with companions, arms crossed, when he noticed a server silently slipping along the wall into a suite carrying a tray. His gaze drifted unintentionally over the scene, his expression stiffening slightly, and his banter grew strained—he could roughly guess what was happening inside. After parties ended, the room often reeked of strange odors, with colorful straws scattered on the floor and makeshift tools fashioned from them.
The nightclub employed a large, hierarchical security team with clearly defined roles. The storage room housed an array of blades and equipment. Chen Yi suspected there might even be firearms, ammunition, and explosives. The underling who’d fled to Yunnan was likely connected to the earlier shooting incident. Chen Yi had vaguely heard about an inventory check—though he didn’t pry into the specifics. He had no interest in delving into the underworld, but he harbored ambitions. Under Zhai Fengmao’s umbrella lay numerous legitimate businesses. Even the seemingly insignificant disinfectant tableware market in Tengcheng was monopolized by several cleaning companies under Zhai Fengmao’s name, generating annual profits in the millions. That didn’t even account for other ventures in food, real estate, raw material processing, waste recycling, and trading companies. If he could break into this circle, his future would be secure.
After finishing a cigarette, Chen Yi deliberately detoured to the restroom downstairs. He collided with a young man in a baseball cap, his jacket collar pulled up to cover his ears. Their eyes met briefly, but neither spoke, each stepping aside to let the other pass. Exiting the restroom, Chen Yi stood by the roadside, eyeing the ominous sky, and decided to take a taxi to pick up Miao Jing after evening self-study. Just then, he spotted the same capped young man sliding into the driver’s seat of a taxi, which drove past him.
Chen Yi’s brow furrowed slightly. Without hesitation, he hailed another taxi. Halfway there, the downpour began. The school gate was jammed with parents picking up their children, colorful lights shimmering in puddles on the ground. After waiting thirty minutes with no sign of Miao Jing, Chen Yi had the taxi driver cruise slowly along her usual route. Whether he’d missed her absentmindedly or the heavy rain obscured his view, he couldn’t tell. They searched all the way to his apartment building, where the lights were still off.
It was already 11 PM, and Miao Jing hadn’t answered her phone. Grabbing an umbrella, Chen Yi headed out to search for her along the road. Few pedestrians were out, and plastic tables and chairs from late-night food stalls lay scattered in muddy puddles from the rain. A light drizzle started again after a brief lull. Halfway down the road, under a dim yellow streetlamp veiled in misty rain, he spotted a slender figure trudging slowly under an umbrella. Her pants were soaked, rolled up to her knees, revealing pale, clean calves wading through accumulated water.
“Miao Jing.”
“Why are you here?”
His expression was unusually grim, his tone displeased. “Why are you back so late? And why didn’t you answer your phone?”"The homeroom teacher confiscated phones today, and I forgot to turn mine back on after shutting it down." She explained while walking, the chilly rain curtain streaming down the umbrella edges and handle, dampening her sleeves and back. "The rain was too heavy. I waited in the classroom for a while, then caught a ride with a classmate's family car. But then the rain stopped, so I got off halfway. Who knew it would start pouring again?"
"The rain really is torrential." Miao Jing wiped water droplets from her forehead. "What brought you here?"
"With rain this heavy, couldn't you have called me?" Chen Yi's tone was abrupt as he took off his leather jacket and handed it to her. "Put this on."
Miao Jing glanced at him briefly before silently slipping into his jacket and following behind him toward home.
The downpour had arrived too suddenly - alternating between fierce and moderate - overwhelming the drainage ditches until water backed up across the road. In lower-lying areas, it had even flooded the sidewalks. Holding both umbrella and textbooks while carefully navigating the submerged path, she'd flinch and shrink her shoulders whenever thunder cracked overhead.
Chen Yi turned back, his profile sharp and unsmiling as he watched her cautious progress. Taking half a step backward until their umbrellas aligned, he snatched her soaked canvas bag and slung it over his shoulder. Seizing her ice-cold hand, he pulled her along with detached command: "Move faster."
Miao Jing blinked, the corners of her lips lifting in a faint, elusive smile as she fell into step beside him.
"You seem... in a bad mood."
Chen Yi raised an eyebrow. "When have I ever been in a good mood around you?"
"Oh." She lowered her head. "Alright then."
"Criticize me less, and I'll be happier - more polite to you too."
In this stormy, chaotic night where the surrounding scenery seemed surreal and dreamlike, they resembled two small boats tossed in turbulent waves. Her heart softened like pastry saturated with rainwater, nearly dissolving. Her voice turned tender as she apologized obediently: "I'm sorry..."
Sometimes she truly had no right to curse him like that, and reflecting afterward always brought distress and regret.
Water droplets landed between his brows as his features relaxed into clarity. He tightened his grip on her slick, damp hand. "I told you to live on campus but you refused. Evening self-study ends so late - don't you know how unsafe the world is?"
"I know... There are plenty of people eating late-night snacks along the streets, lots of stores still open..."
"You know nothing."
Should visit nightclubs sometime - see the spectacular variety of scum out there.
With his long legs and rapid pace, Chen Yi dragged Miao Jing forward relentlessly. Her calves submerged in floodwater, she completely lost track of the path beneath until suddenly stumbling with a soft cry. As her body pitched toward the water's surface, Chen Yi swiftly hauled her up from the murky depths.
"Steady yourself!"
"My shoe." Miao Jing swept rainwater from her face, wiping fine droplets from her lashes before rising onto the toes of her white-socked foot, caught between laughter and dismay. "Something tripped me."
Whether it was a branch or some other debris, her canvas shoe had slipped right off her foot.
Her umbrella drifted away while half her body plunged underwater. Frantically groping through the puddle with both hands and feet, she couldn't locate the missing shoe. Chen Yi also fumbled blindly until thoroughly drenched, finally snapping impatiently: "Forget it in this downpour. Let's go."
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