When school reopened, the blackboard at the back of the classroom already had one corner marked out. Time marched forward, ever decreasing, never increasing. From where he was seated in the last row, Yi Zhe saw Zhao Weifan change the number on the board during the self-study break every day. The erased chalk dust flew everywhere—landing on the floor, the windowsill—and time took a silent step nearer.

This summer, the mood in the class seemed to become more and more stifled. No matter what time Yi Zhe entered the classroom, he would always see a large black cloud pressing down. Everyone had their heads buried in a never-ending sea of revision questions, as though if they did one more question now, they would gain one more mark in one of the university entrance exam papers in the future.

The electric fan whirred. Warm and humid wind blew in from the window. Yi Zhe stepped over the boxes of books everywhere on the floor, walking back to his seat step by step through the muggy air.

But this kind of environment had never made Yi Zhe feel irritated. He did every mock paper seriously and listened to the teachers' every reminder. The only exception was the occasional night self-study on Fridays, where he would still keep glancing at the clock, alternating it with bouts of spacing out, his mind empty. He became used to cycling home on Friday nights and circling around the courtyard slowly. If he could find Xu Tangcheng's car, that would be the best. If he couldn't, he would still have completed the longest journey of anticipation in the entire week and his heart could rest assured.

It didn't rain even once in City C throughout the entire summer. The summer wind gathered the endless heat, holding it in place above the city the entire time without dissipating even after so long. It was only today, on a Saturday, that heavy rain suddenly poured down starting from the second night self-study session. It started with a round of frightening thunder, startling the ever-tranquil class into becoming restless. The heavy rain approached too swiftly, the temperature plummeted and the rain even resulted in fog rising from the ground. The sight drew quite a few people to the window to see. Yi Zhe used this night self-study to set himself a mock science test with a time limit, hence he didn't pay much attention to the sudden downpour. It was only when school was over and he wanted to go to the bicycle racks to get his bike that he was suddenly stumped by this rain.

The sound of the rain was so loud it even drowned out the voices of the students calling their parents.

"Hey."

Someone nudged him from behind. Yi Zhe turned around and saw Zhao Weifan looking at him with her head tilted.

"Take this umbrella."

Zhao Weifan passed him an umbrella. She undid the clasp on another umbrella and with a shake of her hand, the canopy opened up.

"How are you going home?" Yi Zhe looked outside. The road drainage at the school gate wasn't very good and the surface was covered in very deep water, the deepest sections even reaching up to a person's shins. Many students were wading across with their pants rolled up and their shoes held in their hands.

"My dad is picking me up." After saying that, Zhao Weifan looked up and stared hesitantly at Yi Zhe for a while. In the end, she still asked, "Why don't we send you home?"

As she expected, Yi Zhe turned his head away and said, "No need."

Quite a number of people around them had left one after another. Yi Zhe and Zhao Weifan were just about to leave when suddenly, they heard someone call out to Yi Zhe. Zhao Weifan turned around and saw a girl from the class next door.

"I forgot to bring an umbrella." The girl looked at Yi Zhe, her smile perfectly meeting the requirements to move a person's heart. "My dad is waiting for me right at the gate. Can I share your umbrella with you to walk there?"

Yi Zhe stared blankly. Without realising it, he was starting to frown.

Zhao Weifan wasn't familiar with this girl but looking at what she was doing, she knew what was going on. For once, there was drama involving Yi Zhe that she could watch so naturally, she was not in a hurry to leave. She idly moved a step to the side and played around with her umbrella while waiting for Yi Zhe to respond.

Unexpectedly, Yi Zhe immediately extended his arm. "Take it."

When the girl heard his words, a look of surprise flickered very visibly across her face. Even though she very quickly suppressed this unnatural expression, it didn't escape the eyes of Zhao Weifan who was calmly watching the show.

"The umbrella is not mine." Yi Zhe shot a look towards where Zhao Weifan was standing and said to the girl. "Remember to return it to me."

Zhao Weifan nearly burst out in laughter.

After pausing for a few seconds, the girl accepted the umbrella in the end. She even still maintained an appropriate smile and thanked Yi Zhe.

Her graceful figure disappeared into the rain. Zhao Weifan finally came forward a couple of steps, her lips quirked up in a smile. She nudged Yi Zhe with her arm. "You really don't understand romance."

Yi Zhe couldn't be bothered to respond to her teasing. He asked, "Where is your dad waiting for you? The water at the school gate is so deep, I don't think the cars can be driven over."

"I don't know. But he didn't pick me up at the gate in the past anyway. He always waited at that intersection at the side."

"Give him a call." Yi Zhe saw that there were many people at the gate and was afraid that Zhao Weifan wouldn't be able to find her dad even if she went out. But when he took out his phone, he realised that the screen had gone dark.

"Shit." He couldn't help cursing. "I just charged it yesterday."

Meanwhile, Xu Tangcheng happened to be home today. Seeing that the rain was pouring heavily, he contacted Xu Tangxi ahead of time. Xu Tangxi came out sticking close to the right side of the school gate and was pulled aside by Xu Tangcheng who had long since been waiting for her at that corner.

"Put your umbrella away. The water ahead is too deep. I'll carry you over."

It was too noisy at the school gate. Xu Tangcheng was practically shouting right into Xu Tangxi's ear when he spoke.

"No need."

"No." Xu Tangcheng pulled her to stand under his umbrella and raised his hand to directly put away her umbrella for her. "The water is reaching your knees. If you catch a cold, that'll be troublesome."

Xu Tangxi had no choice but to follow Xu Tangcheng's words. She took the umbrella Xu Tangcheng was holding and clambered onto his back. Xu Tangcheng sent Xu Tangxi to the car and made sure the inside of the car was not cold and that Xu Tangxi was not wet anywhere on her body before passing her the car key. "Wait here. I'll go wait for Yi Zhe."

Xu Tangcheng had actually contacted Yi Zhe right after calling Xu Tangxi but Yi Zhe's phone had been constantly switched off. He was afraid that Yi Zhe would coincidentally leave during this time before he could get back to the school gate and since his pants were already rather wet, he decided that he might as well not waste time looking for spots where the water was shallow. He held the umbrella up and just ran forward.

Xu Tangcheng stood on tiptoe and craned his neck to look into the school grounds. Almost every student coming out was carrying an umbrella and wearing a school uniform. At a glance, it was very difficult to distinguish them. Looking at the endless stream of people flowing out, he also couldn't be sure what his chances of catching Yi Zhe in this chaotic environment were.

Fortunately, Yi Zhe was very tall. He thought that this would make his target more obvious.

Just like that, he waited for a while. The number of students coming out was decreasing and the gaps between everyone were growing wider. It wasn't the swarm of bees it was just now but Xu Tangcheng still did not see Yi Zhe.

He looked at the watch on his wrist. 10.20 p.m.

Maybe he hadn't come out yet?

The rain had yet to stop and it was even accompanied by the wind now.

Xu Tangcheng again leaned to the right and to the left to peer inside. I'll wait a while more.

There were really too many parents and guardians waiting at the school gate to pick up their children. On the way to the bicycle racks, Yi Zhe glanced towards the gate and saw the tide of tight-packed humans and immediately felt a burst of irritation.

This kind of rain that no one was prepared for was a bleak and cheerless thing but strangely, it could lead to this kind of liveliness that was full of warmth and tenderness.

A lot of people gave up on cycling because the rain was so heavy so even though it was after school, the bicycle racks were still crammed full. Yi Zhe shifted three bikes before he could just barely push his own bike out. He didn't carry an umbrella, his entire body was completely drenched and water dripped non-stop from the bangs on his forehead. He got on his bike, wiped off the water on the back of his neck, then turned his bike in another direction.

The school had a back gate that led to the residential area for staff family members. Right now, he didn't want to pass through that tide of tightly-packed humans at the main entrance. The bike's handlebar swayed left and right a couple of times, his leg that had been treading the ground drew up, and the bike very quickly put on speed. He rode against the flow of the people on an empty side of the lane.

The teenager hunched his back and cycled in the school grounds. The heavy rain poured on his head and flowed over his entire body. Water splashed up constantly beneath his feet. It should be an extremely miserable scene, yet somehow, it made Yi Zhe feel invigorated. With such a heavy rain, no one would care that he was cycling in the school grounds. Everyone he passed by was hurrying home, some carrying umbrellas while others were directly bearing the brunt of the heavy rain just like he was. And in their eyes, he was just someone hurrying home.

He sped the entire way back, bringing his completely-soaked body home. The steps he climbed up all bore dark puddles. Even the house key he dug out was dripping water. Yi Zhe flicked it a couple of times, then rubbed it on his wet sleeve. He was just about to open the door when the door behind him opened.

Yi Zhe's appearance gave Zhou Hui a shock. After a brief astonishment, she took a small step forward, then stepped back again rather hastily. While she was wavering, Yi Zhe greeted her first. "Hello, Auntie."

"Hi." Zhou Hui nodded a few times. "Why…"

Zhou Hui blurted out that one word, then stopped like she didn't know how to go on. Yi Zhe looked at her and waited quietly.

"Why did you come back on your own? Didn't Tangcheng go to pick you two up?"

It took a while for Yi Zhe to react to the words "you two."

Zhou Hui already had some suspicions after she saw Yi Zhe. Looking at the confused expression on his face now, it confirmed her guess that Yi Zhe was completely unaware of this matter.

However… whether it was because he could not be contacted or because he had not been contacted, Zhou Hui couldn't be sure. The difference between the two was too great and it made her pick her words very carefully.

"Then I'll give him a-"

Before she could finish speaking, Yi Zhe had already grabbed a hold of the railing and was leaping down the stairs two steps at a time.

Zhou Hui was stunned. She quickly stepped out from the door and called out after him but Yi Zhe seemed to not hear anything. The corridor door opened and closed again, a slam that completely blocked out the sound of the rain.

Zhou Hui's words just now contained some uncertainty but Yi Zhe had never made a decision as quickly as he was doing now—he must have called him many times and if he charged his phone now, he would definitely see many text messages from him. He would have told him to wait at the school gate after school, would have told him that he would be picking him up, and would also finally tell him…

I couldn't contact you. If you see this, please reply.

Why did he have to leave through the small gate just now?

Yi Zhe cycled back, his head filled with such questions the whole way. What was wrong with walking where there were many people? What was wrong with having people see him? Yi Zhe gritted his teeth. Fuck this shit, why was he always making such a fuss over nothing?

The bike was too slow. Yi Zhe felt that the road to school had suddenly become very long, like it would take him a long time more before he reached. His mad cycling was drawing the eyes of the people passing by but he did not notice at all. In the end, he decided to just stand up and with the heavy rain obscuring his vision, he cycled until the bike was swaying left and right, pushing its speed to the limit as he swept past the flow of humans going in the direction opposite of his.

Finally, he reached the school's main entrance. His thighs were already aching, the accumulated lactic acid starting to make themselves known. But still, they could not impede his almost-robotic movements.

Why does the human body produce lactic acid? This was a question he had just done tonight.

He braked and came to a stop. One look and Yi Zhe saw the person standing at the gate.

In the heavy rain, he was holding a black umbrella.

That was his shelter from the storm.

Yi Zhe cycled across the road and stopped close behind but Xu Tangcheng did not notice him at all. Yi Zhe looked at the way he was stretching his neck to peer into the school grounds, the way his feet were on tiptoes, and softly called out to him.

The rain drowned out his voice. The person before his eyes did not hear him. But when Yi Zhe wanted to take another step forward, the person suddenly turned around.

"You…" Xu Tangcheng was startled. Looking at how Yi Zhe was soaked to the bone, he was rather stunned as he reached out and gave Yi Zhe's arm a tug. "Where did you come from?"

One umbrella covered the two of them.

Yi Zhe's breathing had yet to completely calm down. He opened his mouth, his voice trembling. "My phone ran out of battery."