Chapter 107: A Slightly Cool Rainy Night

  The rain is getting heavier and heavier.

  The rain threads are densely intertwined between heaven and earth, recklessly washing away all dust and temperature.

  8:30

  Luo Li stretched her waist and raised her head from the busy documents of the day. She habitually turned off the computer, picked up her bag and asked: "Xiao Ya, shall we go?"

  The seat next to me was empty.

  Huh? Where did Xiaoya go?

  Luo Li looked around and saw that her colleagues were all packing up to leave, while the administrative staff had already started turning off the air conditioning and lights one by one. She quickly took out her phone from her bag and dialed Bai Xueya's number.

  "Ding, ding, ding, ding......"

  The long wait for the sound made Lori's heart anxious. Xiaoya, who was usually reachable by phone whether at work or at home, had not picked up despite being called for a long time today.

  She tapped her feet anxiously and a colleague walked over to urge her, "Aren't you going home yet?"

  "Wait a minute!" She smiled apologetically, "Sorry I'm waiting for someone! You go ahead! I'll turn off the lights here!"

  Watching her colleagues walk out of the office one by one, Luo Li finally couldn't hold back her growing unease, picked up her phone and ran into the nearest restroom.

  The bathroom was pitch black, with only the sound of dripping water echoing clearly in my ears.

  Luoli swallowed a mouthful of saliva and used the light from her phone to search around, but she still couldn't see any sign of Bai Xiaya.

  "Xiao Ya? Xiao Ya? Are you here?"

  No one answered.

  She bit her lip and quickly turned back to the office. On Bai Xueya's workstation, her bag and umbrella were quietly placed on the table. Seriously! Where did Xueya go?!

  ＊＊＊

  The thunder boomed, the lightning flashed with a piercing glow, cutting through the sky. The heavy rain poured down like a waterfall, and the entire world was filled to the brim with water.

  The night was very dark, and there was not a single person on the street. Only the streetlights cast a faint glow, bringing warmth and peace to this pitch-black night.

  Under the dim yellow light, the raindrops fell down like a string of pearls, one by one, into the torrential Ningxi River that had been flowing all day.

  The river of Ningxi is peaceful and serene on ordinary days, like a mirror without ripples, reflecting the lush greenery under the sunlight.

  But today -

  The raging wind broke the tranquility of the past, taking away the most comfortable scenery. The surface of Ningxi River, wave after wave of white waves rippled out, colliding and surging, like a passionate symphony.

  Not far away, a tall and thin figure rushed over. The man was not holding an umbrella, wearing only a black suit, with mud and water splashed on his shiny black leather shoes. Under the dim streetlight, it could be seen that rainwater was dripping down from his short brown hair.

  "Damn it!" Lu Haochen cursed under his breath, looking around in the pouring rain, but still didn't see anyone's figure. He thought she would definitely come here, but after searching along the banks of Ningxi River, he still couldn't find her.

  He gnashed his teeth in anger.

  It's not going to work if we keep searching like this, it's better to make a phone call to get in touch.

  Lu Haocen furrowed his brow and sprinted towards the pavilion in the distance.

  Although the windbreak pavilion had no walls, the canopy above made the sound of the wind and rain much smaller. He wiped his head full of rainwater, stomped his feet hard, shook off the mud from his shoes, and took out his mobile phone from his pocket.

  Fortunately, it didn't get too wet, so I should still be able to make calls.

  He wiped his mobile phone screen, fished out Bai Xiaoya's contact information, and as soon as he pressed the dial button, a faint ringtone suddenly sounded from a corner nearby.

  He was stunned for a moment, wanting to listen to where the sound came from, but the ringing stopped abruptly. He hurriedly flipped through the phone book and dialed again, only to hear an unhappy voice coming from the grass in front of him -

  "It's infuriating!"

  The phone rang with an "unreachable" voice, the latest chapter of Glory.

  Lu Haochen turned off his phone and walked towards the sound. In a small pavilion, at the edge of a dense thicket of grass, he quietly parted the branches and, with the faint light, saw a thin, small figure sitting on the stone steps, hugging their knees and curled up into a ball.

  At that moment, it seemed as if a stone had fallen to the ground in his heart.

  Lu Haochen let out a long sigh of relief, and his tense expression finally relaxed in an instant.

  A cold gust of wind blew by.

  Bai Xueya couldn't help but shiver violently.

  Damn it! It's pouring rain at a time when she's already heartbroken! She's soaked from head to toe! How hateful!

  Bai Xueya pouted in dissatisfaction, looked down and examined her mud-stained clothes, then wiped her hands in distaste.

  "Achoo!"

  A loud sneeze.

  She has caught a cold...

  She wrapped her arms tighter around herself, and Bai Xueya shrank in, trying to make the heat in her body dissipate more slowly.

  I wonder if anyone still cares about her now?

  Or maybe she was just an unimportant person and even if she got lost, nobody would worry or be sad?

  Lowering her head, she looked at the several incoming calls displayed on the phone screen. The first string was Lili's number, and the second string was a strange unfamiliar number that had never been seen before.

  She bit her lip tightly, put the phone in her pocket. She let out a light sigh, hugged her legs, rested her chin on her knees, and blinked gently as she gazed into the distance.

  The rain is still like a string of pearls, falling urgently. The piercing lightning, the rumbling thunder, the chilly night wind, the dark dusk... Every corner around me is filled with an unfamiliar atmosphere.

  The corners of her eyes suddenly became warm and moist, Bai Xiangya raised her hand and wiped her eye sockets.

  Tears can be wiped away, but how can the sorrow in one's heart be erased?

  She curled up like a wounded puppy, her body huddled into a ball, gazing quietly at everything in front of her. The rainwater flowed down along the edge of the pavilion, drop by drop, "drip, drip", just like her heart was bleeding.

  "Great ugly girl!" A familiar low shout came from behind, slightly covered by the thunder, but the voice was still very clear and loud.

  Bai Xiaoyi was slightly stunned, and without turning her head, she knew who was calling her. Besides Lu Haochen, that big idiot, who else would call her "Big Power Ugly Girl" in such a provocative way?

  She turned her head and saw Lu Haochen's tall figure as expected.

  In the dark of night, his tall and slender figure leaned slightly, outlining a long silhouette against the blackness. The streetlight's weak glow cast a faint shadow on his face, making his pale skin look even whiter and cleaner.

  Bai Xueya bit her lip, hastily wiping away the tears on her face, and asked: "Are you crazy? It's so late, and it's raining heavily, what are you doing here?" As she spoke, she glared at him fiercely.

  Lu Haocen didn't get angry, but instead smiled and walked over to Bai Xueya's side at a moderate pace. He stretched out his legs under the stairs, and the slanted rainwater poured onto his black leather shoes.

  Bai Xiangya looked him up and down, seeing that he was drenched from head to toe, his pants legs and shoes covered in mud and water, and couldn't help but ask: "Why didn't you bring an umbrella when you went out?"

  Upon hearing this, Lu Haocen smiled faintly and replied: "The two questions you just asked me are actually the ones I wanted to ask you. It's so late and raining heavily, why did you sneak out without bringing an umbrella? Moreover, when I called you, you didn't answer. Are you trying to learn from the female leads in TV dramas and play hide-and-seek?"

  Bai Xiao Ya puffed out her chest and rolled her eyes at him, turning her head away with a "What business is it of yours?!"

  After she finished speaking, she suddenly seemed to remember something, took out the mobile phone from her pocket, waved it and asked: "Are these several missed calls from you?"

  Lu Haochen glanced at the number on her phone screen, nodded casually and said indifferently: "Yeah, what's up?"

  "How did you get my phone number?!" She and Lu Haochen were arch-enemies, that guy should have hated her, how could he possibly have had her contact information?!

  "Can't I just refuse something someone insists on forcing on me?"

  "Who's so boring that they forced you to memorize someone else's number? Besides, if you don't want to, you can just delete it casually!" As she spoke, Bai Xiaya reached out to grab Lu Haocen's phone.

  Lu Haocen hid his phone behind him and said in a hard voice: "I'm willing to stay! From now on, I'll rely on it to harass you!"

  "You...!" Bai Xueya's face turned iron-green with rage, and she fiercely turned her head away, refusing to acknowledge him again.

  Seeing this, Lu Haocen smiled even more complacently, with his hands propped behind him and lazily leaning against the pillar beside him.

  The rainwater is cool and refreshing, the night wind is like a lovely swallow flying back and forth among the silver threads, penetrating into the skin, bringing a cool sensation.

  Lu Haochen turned his head and looked at Bai Xiaya. She was tightly hugging her legs, with her chin resting on her knees, and her delicate profile appeared even fresher against the backdrop of the rain scene. Her long eyelashes curved like small fans, casting a deep shadow on Bai Xi's cheek.

  At that moment, he suddenly had a moment of distraction.

  It was as if everything had returned to the past, and they were back in that moment. She sat beside him, tightly holding his arm with her hand. The two of them tacitly maintained their silence, gazing at each other and smiling, as if they shared a telepathic connection.

  The coolness of the rain brought Lu Haochen back to his senses, he pulled up the corners of his lips, revealing a bitter smile. It's been so long since it happened, why can't he still let go?

  The night wind is blowing back and forth in the pavilion, the atmosphere is peaceful and quiet.

  After a long while, Lu Haocen turned his head and looked at her delicate profile, asking: "Why did you run out?"

  Bai Xue Ya remained silent and didn't respond, simply gazing quietly at the rain outside.

  Lu Haochen let out a soft sigh, just as he thought Bai Xueya wouldn't respond, she suddenly spoke up softly.

  "I already know everything."

  "Huh?" Lu Haocen was puzzled.

  "I heard everything." Bai Xueya sat up straight, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the rain outside. The droplets of water fell to the ground, stirring up countless layers of tiny ripples.

  "Yan Fengxue..." She bit her lip, seemingly afraid to say the next words, but still continued in a strained tone.

  "He... has never paid attention to me."

  Lu Haocen was silent.

  He could see that Bai Xueya was in great distress at this moment, and every word she spoke seemed to be a struggle in the midst of a sea of fire.

  But he didn't speak. At this time, he didn't know what words to use to comfort this strong and fragile girl.

  Perhaps, being silent with her is the most correct choice.

  Bai Xueya smiled wryly, her hand slowly reaching up to remove the blue hair clip. A strand of hair floated down with her movement, covering her dim and painful eyes.

  "Everything was just my fantasy." Her fingers gently stroked the slightly cool texture, Bai Xueya let out a soft sigh, "What gift, what confession, what hair clip... it's all fake! It's all fake!!!"

  She let out a low growl and flung the blue hair clip into the rain with force. The clip bounced around on the ground for a few times before finally rolling into the muddy water in the corner, looking utterly disheveled.

  Tears flowed slowly from the corners of her eyes, Bai Xueya struggled to lift her head, wanting to flow back her own tears. She didn't want to cry, she couldn't cry. She was strong Bai Xueya, although heartbroken, forever tearless Bai Xueya.

  Bai Xi Ya closed her eyes, and her long eyelashes were moistened, sticking to the lower eyelid.

  Lu Haochen looked at her, and his heart suddenly tightened with a sharp pain. It was as if someone had grasped the weakest part of him, squeezed it hard, trampled on it, crushed it into countless fragments, and then ruthlessly scattered them in the wind.

  At this moment, he suddenly wanted to ache for her, cry for her! Why, seeing her distressed, his heart ached more than hers by thousands and millions of times? Why, he wished he could shed all the tears for her, just so she wouldn't have to cry humbly again?!

  She stretched out her palm, and there were a few fragmented blue pieces. That was the gift Lili gave to her, she had always believed that she was beautiful, lovely and pretty. But no matter how much she dressed up, she still couldn't enter his line of sight. What's the use of such dressing up, such careful thought?!

  Tears fell like broken beads, and Bai Xueya closed her eyes, letting the tears wet her cheeks. Her hands unconsciously opened, and those few scattered blue fragments were swept away by the rain, falling into the mud and disappearing quickly...

  The rain is pattering down.

  The air is filled with a refreshing scent.

  "Why so glum?" a low voice came from beside him.

  Bai Xueya turned her head to the side, looking at Lu Haocen. He was also looking at her. In that moment when their eyes met, it seemed as if a transparent light had been lit up in an instant.

  She looked at him quietly, while he smiled and watched himself.

  "Don't cry," he gently hooked up the corner of his mouth, stretched out his hand and slowly wiped away her tears.

  Bai Xueya was shocked and subconsciously wanted to dodge his fingers, but he stubbornly trapped her in place, his hands persistently sticking to her cheeks.

  A warm flush burned on Bai Xueya's cheeks.

  He was calm and serene, gazing deeply at her, his eyes shining with a gentle starlight, the smile on his lips warm as the spring breeze.

  "Let's be together."

  In the quiet night, he suddenly said so.

  Bai Xueya was stunned, feeling only a blank space in her mind and the buzzing noise by her ears. Before she could react, his lips were already pressed against hers with warm breath.

  Soft touch.

  Cool taste.

  She strained her eyes wide open, staring at him who was just a stone's throw away, and suddenly felt that everything was unreal.

  She wants to escape, she wants to struggle.

  But the night was so beautiful, the summer breeze so gentle, and his lips were so cool, just like the terrifying poppy, even if it meant eternal damnation, he couldn't bear to part with that tender warmth...

  The night was quiet, and before I knew it, the rain had gradually weakened.

  Just as this intoxicating night, no matter how dark and cold it is, the radiant dawn will always arrive.