At first, it was just raindrops, tiny and small, swaying left and right in the wind, reflecting the lights of the shop signs along the street, faintly discernible like layers of bead curtains.
But before long, the raindrops gradually turned into streaks, each drop that fell on them was bitingly cold.
In this situation, the two of them naturally had no intention of lingering on the streets.
Su Li turned his head to look at You Xue.
She stood beside him, her shoulders already marked by several water stains on her knitwear, and the gray-white ends of her hair, dampened by water, hung heavily.
“We should go back quickly. Let’s not catch a cold from the rain.”
As Su Li spoke, he saw his childhood sweetheart nod at him somewhat clumsily and softly say, “Okay.”
Actually, You Xue had always been like this in the past—prone to spacing out, often lost in thought, and whenever that happened, she would become this way, with her eyebrows lowered and a somewhat dazed expression.
Without thinking too much, Su Li quickly took off his jacket.
The fabric, still warm from his body, spread out in the air and landed steadily over You Xue’s head.
“Huh?”
You Xue looked somewhat puzzled.
“Stop spacing out. Let’s go back quickly.”
Without waiting for You Xue’s response, Su Li familiarly took her hand and quickly walked toward the staff dormitory where You Xue was temporarily staying.
Although in the past, in that village, he had often held his childhood sweetheart’s hand like this, now holding her hand seemed to stir his heart as well.
Those feelings that he hadn’t noticed as a child, accompanied by the touch of her smooth skin against his palm, began to stir a strange sensation in Su Li’s heart.
It was wonderful yet faint, like a feather tickling at the heart, an inexplicable feeling that was both itchy and veiled.
Su Li didn’t know what was wrong with him.
He just instinctively tightened his grip on his childhood sweetheart’s hand a little more.
At least at this moment, he had a reason and an opportunity to hold You Xue’s hand tightly and not let her escape.
“Su Li, aren’t you going to shield yourself from the rain? Maybe we can share?”
You Xue looked over.
Even though the jacket blocked most of the raindrops, some of her hair was still affected by the rain, with gray-white strands wetly sticking to her forehead.
Among those strands, the emotion in her heterochromatic eyes was so vivid, filled with concern.
Su Li could feel the rain soaking through his hair, running down his cheeks, and then dripping from his chin.
Although it was a bit uncomfortable being wet, it had no effect on him.
He was only worried about You Xue—she had just recovered and been discharged from the hospital.
What if she got sick from getting rained on?
So he shook his head.
“You just cover yourself. I’m fine, and we’re almost there.”
When the two arrived at the dormitory, the rain outside was growing fiercer, as if it intended to drown the entire world.
That was actually a bit of an exaggeration, but the raindrops as large as beans pounded against the roof and the ground, crackling in a continuous sound that did seem to have such force.
Fortunately, the two had already returned to the dormitory.
You Xue’s condition was still pretty good—her hair was a little damp, her pant legs were soaked through, but the rest was dry.
As for Su Li, he was completely drenched, with no dry spot on him.
Just walking around the dormitory, he left one wet footprint after another.
“Wait a moment, I’ll get a towel.”
After saying that, You Xue turned and walked inside quickly.
By the time she found a dry towel from the bathroom and came out, Su Li was still standing there.
Su Li took it and casually wiped his hair and face.
Of course, his clothes were still wet.
You Xue looked at Su Li’s soaking wet clothes and furrowed her brows.
“Take a shower first and change into dry clothes. Otherwise, you’ll catch a cold.”
She actually had something else she wanted to say, that is.
‘There’s no need to care about me so much. I’m not…’
However, You Xue also knew that such words couldn’t be said easily, so she just muttered them in her heart.
Su Li was silent for a moment.
“You don’t have any men’s clothes here, do you?”
“No.”
You Xue’s tone weakened a little.
She thought for a moment and then immediately came up with a solution.
“But I’ve seen a bathrobe. You should be able to wear it. It’s in the cabinet next to the bathroom sink.”
Then she urged him.
“Go quickly. Don’t catch a chill.”
“Okay.”
Su Li nodded.
The bathroom door closed, and the sound of the faucet being turned on came through, followed by the sound of running water.
You Xue listened to the sound inside and also listened to the sound outside—both were the rushing sound of water.
You Xue went to the window and looked at the sky outside.
It was still a gray expanse, with no sign of the rain letting up.
After Su Li came out, You Xue also took a shower and changed out of her slightly wet clothes.
After all, she had been living in the body of this childhood sweetheart for a while, so she had long gotten used to it and no longer felt the initial awkwardness or curiosity.
And so, after bathing and changing into dry clothes, the two sat down on opposite sides of the sofa, each pouring a cup of hot water.
A coffee table sat between them, and the sound of rain pattering outside made the room feel especially quiet.
“The rain is so heavy. It won’t stop anytime soon.”
Su Li spoke first, his voice carrying a kind of experimental casualness.
“I’ll sit here for a while and leave when the rain lets up.”
“Mm.”
You Xue lowered her head and responded softly.
“You Xue.”
Su Li suddenly called her name.
“Huh?”
She looked up and saw Su Li slowly begin to speak.
“When we were at the haunted house today, why did you stop there?”
Su Li didn’t know what had happened at that time.
When she had rushed toward him, she looked so scared, her hands trembling, and the tears he saw in her eyes were so real.
But it was just a grassy plain and a wooden cabin—nothing else.
So why was she so frightened?
Su Li wanted You Xue to be happier, so he wanted to figure out the reason and prevent something similar from happening again.
“It’s nothing.”
You Xue lowered her head and tightened her grip on the paper cup.
“I just scared myself. There was actually nothing there.”
She touched her earlobe, pretending to be unconcerned.
“Oh, I see.”
Seeing her flustered appearance, Su Li knew that wasn’t the truth.
But since You Xue wasn’t saying anything, he had no choice but to end the topic vaguely.
After the two chatted about some trivial topics, the sky darkened, but the rain still hadn’t stopped.
It wasn’t as fierce as before, but it could still drench a person in a short time.
At this point, Su Li stood up.
“It’s so late. I should go.”
You Xue didn’t nod or respond.
But Su Li knew she had definitely heard him, so he turned around to leave.
However, the next moment, he felt his hand being grabbed.
Turning back, it was You Xue who had grabbed him.
“Don’t go.”
He saw her head lowered, gray-white hair falling over her cheeks, covering most of her face.
Saying those words seemed to drain her courage.
After a long pause, she continued.
“It’s still raining outside, and there’s no class anyway. Just stay here.”
Su Li was stunned.
“But where will I sleep?”
Although Su Li had initially wanted to stay here to take care of You Xue, she had refused, so he hadn’t prepared the other bed.
As a result, there was still only one bed to sleep on.
The childhood sweetheart with gold and blue heterochromatic eyes in front of him replied.
“There’s the sofa… I can sleep on the sofa.”
Her next words were spoken cautiously.
“So stay here tonight. Don’t go.”
Su Li looked at her like this and couldn’t bring himself to refuse at all.
“Okay.”
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