Chapter 43: Rain and Memories

“It’s… raining?”

Yaqi immediately moved to the window, pressed her face against the glass, and looked outside with a worried expression.

“Well… now that you mention it, the forecast did say there would be thunderstorms today.”

“Oh no… I didn’t bring an umbrella! The weather report said it would rain at 6, and I thought we’d be out by 5:30 and Aunt Zhao would pick me up, so I didn’t bring one…”

Yaqi whimpered, pressing her face weakly against the glass, slowly sliding down…

Gongyu watched her and smiled. She turned around, took out an umbrella from her bag, and shook it in front of Yaqi.

“It’s okay. I’ll walk you.”

“Wow~ Thank you, Gongyu!”

Yaqi turned around, grabbed her hand excitedly, shook it, and beamed. Gongyu’s heart softened. A faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

“It’s… it’s nothing.”

“Hehe~ Then I’ll go pay first!”

“Mm, okay.”

Before leaving, Gongyu helped Yaqi figure out which books were important and which could wait, trying to save her some money.

But Yaqi flipped through a few of them and couldn’t bear to leave any behind. She decided to buy them all. That made today’s expenses a bit over budget. She had planned to take a taxi, but now she had to settle for the bus.

Uncle Liu had given Yaqi plenty of allowance, enough to buy twenty more books like these and still have leftovers. But Yaqi still spent carefully, never wasting money.

After all, she was living under someone else’s roof now. She couldn’t squander the kindness of the people around her.

After paying, Gongyu was untying the umbrella in the hallway. Yaqi quietly moved closer and whispered shyly:

“Hey… Gongyu…”

“Hm? What’s up?”

“Sorry to bother you… but could you walk me to the bus stop?”

“Huh? I can… but why aren’t you taking a taxi in this heavy rain?”

“Well… I spent a bit too much today…”

Yaqi lifted the bag of books in her right hand and gave a helpless smile.

“I see. Then let me lend you some money first. It’s not safe to walk alone in this rain!”

With that, Gongyu pulled out her phone to transfer money. Yaqi quickly stopped her.

“Ah… no, no! The bus stops right at my doorstep. It’s fine!”

“Is that so?”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Alright then. Let’s go.”

“Hehe. Thanks!”

“It’s nothing.”

Gongyu smiled at her, turned around, and opened the umbrella. When she lifted it, she paused and frowned slightly.

Usually, Gongyu walked to and from school alone. Mengmeng and Yefeng were boarders, so no one ever walked with her. Things like umbrellas, she bought single-person ones.

But now there were two people. Gongyu stared at the umbrella above her, struggling. She tried adjusting it, but there was no room for another person.

Gongyu sighed, turned back with a wry smile, and beckoned Yaqi over. Yaqi quickly ducked under the umbrella, chuckled, and pressed close to Gongyu’s shoulder as they walked toward the bus stop.

The rain fell heavily. Gongyu’s hand holding the umbrella trembled from the downpour, barely keeping it steady.

Along the way, Gongyu deliberately tilted the umbrella toward Yaqi. But after a while, Yaqi got a bit bored and turned her head to look at her. That was when she noticed Gongyu’s right shoulder and backpack were completely soaked.

“Ah! Gongyu, move the umbrella your way…”

Yaqi pushed the umbrella toward her. But the next moment, raindrops hit her own left shoulder. Confused, she looked up and realized the umbrella was really too small for two people.

“Huh?”

“Um… sorry, Yaqi. The umbrella’s a bit small…”

“Because I always walk alone. I never thought I’d share an umbrella with someone one day…”

Gongyu hung her head guiltily and said softly. Yaqi quickly shook her hands.

“Ah… it’s fine! No, wait, it’s not fine!”

“Then aren’t you getting soaked? You’re walking me home, but you’re the one getting wet. What kind of sense does that make?”

After saying that, Yaqi grabbed Gongyu’s hand holding the umbrella and pushed it toward her. Gongyu pushed it back.

“Ah, it’s okay! My place is close to the stop. I can shower as soon as I get home.”

“No way…!”

The two were deadlocked. They slowly stopped walking, pushing the umbrella back and forth, neither willing to give in.

“Ahh! Gongyu~”

Yaqi whined a little, puffing out her cheeks. Gongyu turned away with a “hmph” and pushed the umbrella back.

Yaqi put her hands on her hips, sighed, and stared at her with a droopy face. But then something occurred to her, and she smiled.

“Hey!”

Yaqi snatched the umbrella. Just as Gongyu turned to grab it back, Yaqi hugged her arm and tucked it close to her body. She switched the umbrella from her left hand to her right and turned to look at Gongyu.

“Isn’t this better?”

“This…!”

Gongyu’s face instantly turned red. She stared blankly at those cute, lively eyes. Her mind went completely blank.

(Too… too close!!)

It took Gongyu a while to snap out of it. She took a light breath and nodded shyly. Seeing that, Yaqi smiled contentedly and pulled her forward.

“Yaqi, you really…”

“What? Isn’t this great? Neither of us gets wet!”

“That’s not the problem…”

Gongyu muttered awkwardly. The soft touch on her arm made her heart flutter. She wanted to pull away, but her arm was numb, completely immobile. She secretly glanced sideways at Yaqi’s round face, and it made her feel warm inside.

(Really… what’s going on… I remember Yaqi is only eighteen, right? This… this is a bit much… and she just hugged me like that…)

(No, no! What am I thinking!! Geez…)

(But… for some reason, being with Yaqi feels safe and comfortable. It’s like I can really relax.)

(Huh… how strange…)

“Yaqi.”

“Hm?”

“I’m glad I met you!”

“Mm… hehe! Me too!”

They walked arm in arm all the way to the bus stop. As luck would have it, the rain stopped just then.

Yaqi wanted Gongyu to leave first, saying she could wait for the bus alone. But Gongyu insisted on staying until Yaqi got on the bus.

She sat down on the bench at the stop. Seeing she couldn’t win, Yaqi sighed helplessly and sat down next to her, swinging her legs.

After the rain, only Yaqi and Gongyu remained on the platform. A few raindrops fell from the canopy, tapping out clear notes like a xylophone. The splashes dotted the girls’ feet without any pattern.

“Why was Liu Ya bullied when she was little?”

Gongyu lowered her head and asked quietly.

“…”

“Is it… hard to talk about?”

Gongyu glanced up at her. Yaqi hesitated for a moment, then stared down at her swinging legs and spoke slowly.

“It’s… because of her mom…”

“Liu Ya’s mom…”

Gongyu thought for a moment, recalling past parent-teacher meetings and school events. Suddenly something clicked, and she asked in a slightly uneasy whisper.

“Come to think of it, at those meetings, it was always Liu Ya’s dad or their housekeeper who came…”

“Is Liu Ya’s mom… no longer here?”

“…Yeah.”

“Ah…”

Yaqi propped herself up with her hands on the bench, leaned forward, and looked up with a long sigh. She continued.

“It was when Liu Ya was in third grade. Her mom had just passed away not long before. During school…”

Just then, the sound of splashing water came from the distance. Yaqi turned her head and saw the bus approaching. She stood up and walked to the curb. Gongyu paused, gave a faint, disappointed sigh, then stood up and followed.

“Sorry, Gongyu. The bus is here.”

“It’s okay…”

Yaqi looked at her quietly. Gongyu averted her gaze instinctively, bit her lip, and her expression turned complicated. Yaqi stepped forward and took her hand.

“Liu Ya isn’t a bad person!”

“…”

Gongyu was silent for a moment, then nodded weakly. Seeing that, Yaqi smiled and let out a breath.

“Then… see you tomorrow!”

“Mm. See you tomorrow.”

Yaqi stood on tiptoe, glancing around. Her eyes fell on the books in her hand.

“Oh, right! Thanks for helping me buy books today. I’ll treat you to something delicious another time!”

“Ah… no need. Oh, speaking of books, Yaqi, you’d better prepare a…”

“Gongyu!”

“Huh?”

Before Gongyu could finish, Yaqi stepped forward and stood in front of her, shielding her.

The next moment, a spray of water taller than Yaqi splashed mercilessly all over her.

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