CTJM - 12

Chapter 12: Buying an Umbrella

That night, Yin Mengxi couldn’t sleep.

Lying in her upper bunk, her mind kept replaying the image of him smiling at her—praising her again, acknowledging her hard work, and awarding her the highest score.

So many students had given presentations, and she, an outsider from the journalism department, still a freshman, had received the highest score.

Happiness, pride, and an inexplicable sweetness swirled within her. She was so excited she couldn’t fall asleep. The situation had become absurd—her heart raced even when he wasn’t in front of her.

Why was this happening?

She quietly covered her face and turned over in bed.

Closing her eyes brought no drowsiness; instead, a strange restlessness arose. At one point, she suddenly recalled the day she had encountered him and his friends at the Yunnan restaurant on University Road. They had mentioned a girl’s name, referring to her as the “main wife”...

...Was it true?

Did he have a girlfriend?

She hadn’t been so eager to find the answer before, but at that moment, she resolved to dig until she uncovered the truth. Girls were naturally born detectives, especially when it came to matters they cared about—they would uncover every detail, no matter how deeply buried.

—She found the school’s confession wall.

There were posts every day, around forty or fifty, and someone as eye-catching as him received several anonymous confessions every few days. Some directly mentioned his name, while others referred to him as “Senior X from the Master’s Class of ‘11 in the School of Liberal Arts” or “the teaching assistant for the Song Dynasty Origins course”... All of them were about him.

One of the posts read:

“Sobbing... I really, really like Senior X from the School of Liberal Arts! I saw him again at Nan Ti today—it’s the third time I’ve run into him in the past two weeks!!! Are all these coincidences a sign from the heavens that I should make my move?! Please, someone tell me if he has a girlfriend... I can’t knowingly be the ‘other woman’...”

The next day, several replies appeared on the confession wall:

“Reply to yesterday’s post #21: He does have one, doesn’t he? Isn’t it tf from the class of ‘08? Competing with the vice-secretary’s daughter means you’d better be prepared to delay graduation.”

“Reply to yesterday’s post #21: No, he doesn’t. My friend is a senior in his department, and she says he’s never been in a relationship.”

“Reply to yesterday’s post #21: I’m Xiao Zhi’s roommate, and I can confirm he doesn’t have a girlfriend right now—but who knows about later? Opportunities are fleeting—you need to seize them while you can! Now selling Xiao Zhi’s WeChat for 200 yuan, first come, first served, no tricks! Buy early, enjoy early!”

...

This...

...So does he have a girlfriend or not?

Probably not?

Only one person said he did, while everyone else claimed he didn’t. And considering how famous he was, if he really had a girlfriend, surely the entire school would know.

No.

He definitely doesn’t have one.

She turned off her phone and rolled over in bed again. The world inside her mosquito net felt especially quiet in the darkness, except for her small heart...

...which was pounding furiously.

Midterm season finally passed smoothly after a week. The library became less crowded, returning to its usual state where there was no need to fight for seats.

The reports for the Song Dynasty literature course were done, so logically Yin Mengxi should have returned to the social sciences section. Yet, she continued to check in daily at the Literature and Arts Book Repository, always studying not too far from him—a habit that gradually took root. Whether it rained, during her period when she felt unwell, or when overwhelmed by student work, she still went. And whenever she did, he was always there, as if he never missed a day.

...He made her feel healed.

For some reason, just seeing him made her feel grounded and calm. Even though they never exchanged a word and their seats were always far apart, their unrelated interactions somehow seemed romantic. Perhaps he truly was that wonderful—or perhaps it was because she... was overly infatuated with this vague affection.

That day, it rained.

The rain in late November was cold, nothing like the nourishing spring rains. She had attended an event for the Youth League Committee in the main building, which dragged on until 8:45 PM. By the time she stepped out, the rain had intensified. The best choice would have been to return directly to her dormitory, but after some deliberation, she decided she wanted to see him. Saying goodbye to her classmates, she opened her umbrella and ran toward the library, vaguely hearing their teasing remarks calling her a “study addict.”

By the time she reached the library, it was already 9:02 PM—less than an hour before closing. Fortunately, he was still there. The warm orange light illuminated his profile, giving him an unusual sense of warmth. She quietly sat down in the nearly empty reference room, too tired to open her laptop, so she borrowed a book to pretend she was reading while secretly staring at his back. After a while, she noticed he seemed distracted today, occasionally glancing out the window—as if... troubled.

What was wrong with him?

...Did he forget his umbrella?

She wasn’t sure, so she observed him for a bit longer. As closing time approached, he glanced outside more frequently. It seemed he really hadn’t brought an umbrella. The graduate dorms were far from the library—he probably didn’t know how to get back.

She pursed her lips, thinking while seated. Checking her phone, she saw it was 9:37 PM. If she ran out now to buy an umbrella from the small shop near Building 7, she could still make it back before the library closed.

It was such a foolish idea.

Why bother buying an umbrella? She could have simply shared hers with him and walked together under the rainy night sky. With a bit of luck, they might even grow closer. But she didn’t think of that—perhaps because she lacked the courage to approach him, or maybe because she simply didn’t know how to play such subtle games. An eighteen-year-old girl possessed an excessive purity, willing to do the silliest things with the cleanest heart.

—And so, she quietly slipped out.

The rain was heavy and cold, and even with an umbrella, she got wet. By the time she reached Building 7, her left sleeve was almost soaked. Thankfully, the small shop was still open. She bought a plain black umbrella for ten yuan and hurried back, this time getting her right sleeve drenched.

She returned at 9:57 PM.

Climbing the stairs quickly to catch her breath, she silently re-entered the reference room and sat down. Sure enough, he was still there. The music signaling closing time began to play, and he started packing up. About a minute later, he stood up. She deliberately lagged behind, waiting until he left the reference room before starting to walk out herself. This timing worked perfectly. When he stood in the library foyer, frowning at the increasingly heavy rain outside, she appeared as if by chance.

“...Senior?”

Her tone feigned mild surprise at seeing him, but inside, her heart raced with a mystical flutter—the first time she had ever initiated calling out to him. He turned to look at her, his handsome features particularly enchanting under the foyer lights. The continuous night rain only added to the romantic ambiance of this heart-stirring moment.

“...Why aren’t you leaving?”

She asked, though she already knew the answer.

“I forgot my umbrella,” he nodded slightly in greeting, his silhouette elongated by the light. “I’ll wait until the rain lets up.”

She responded with an “Oh,” pretending to just remember, and slowly pulled the new black umbrella she had bought from her bag. She had already removed the packaging and deliberately crumpled it on the way back, trying hard not to let him notice it was a brand-new umbrella purchased specifically for him.

“I happen to have an extra one—it was left here by my roommate last time...”

She tried her best to lie naturally.

“...Senior, would you like to use it?”

She extended the umbrella toward him.

He raised an eyebrow, perhaps a bit surprised, then glanced at her and hesitated before asking, “Is that okay? Your roommate...”

“It’s fine,” she quickly replied. “...She won’t need it tonight, and I’ll return it to her tomorrow.”

As she spoke, she stretched her hand closer to him.

The rain showed no sign of stopping, drizzling continuously. He glanced outside again—there seemed to be no better option—so he finally accepted the umbrella from her. For a brief moment, their fingertips were close, almost touching.

“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll return it to you tomorrow.”

Tomorrow...

...It sounded like a date.

Her face quietly reddened, and her heart felt as though it were raining—drip, drip, drip—everything inside was damp.

“...Alright,” she nodded quietly. “I’m always in the library.”

Always sitting behind you.

He nodded as well, unaware of the silent continuation she had added in her mind. After a faint “See you,” he opened the umbrella and stepped into the rain. His tall, slightly slender figure gradually disappeared into the hazy night, becoming a shadow she could no longer see clearly.

When he returned to the dormitory, his roommate Guo Yue was still engrossed in a video game. Zhou Xinzhe and Wang Yu from the neighboring dorm were also there, likely playing a three-person match. Several empty beer cans littered the floor.

“I told you! I said there was no need to send an umbrella to Teacher Xiao—he’d definitely make it back just fine!”

Guo Yue sat confidently, laughing and teasing the other two.

“Do we even need you to say that?” Zhou Xinzhe retorted. “With so many girls keeping an eye on him, how could our Teacher Xiao possibly get rained on?”

Wang Yu was more direct, grinning as he eyed the umbrella in Xiao Zhi’s hand and cheekily asked, “So, who’s the girl this time? Someone we know?”

...What nonsense.

Xiao Zhi sighed and didn’t respond. Waving his hand, he gestured for Zhou Xinzhe and Wang Yu to get off his bed, but they weren’t done yet. They kept pestering him about who he walked home with tonight, which pretty girl had been kind enough to offer him assistance.

He frowned and denied it, saying there was nothing complicated—just that he happened to run into a freshman undergraduate student who was taking Professor Jia’s course. She simply had an extra umbrella and lent it to him.

None of them believed him. Guo Yue, being the most mischievous, snatched the umbrella from Xiao Zhi’s hand. Upon inspecting it briefly, he noticed something unusual and laughed slyly.

“The tag is still on it—what do you mean ‘happened to have’? This must’ve been specially bought for you by some girl!”

This immediately sparked exclamations from the other two.

“Wow, Teacher Xiao isn’t telling the truth anymore!”

“Who’s this young lady? Point her out next time!”

The room filled with laughter and chatter as the three boys teased him endlessly. Xiao Zhi, however, became distracted upon noticing the brand-new tag on the umbrella. A fleeting image of the girl earlier, her sleeves soaked, crossed his mind.

She...

He lowered his eyes slightly.