WG - 2

Outside, the rain gradually weakened but continued its drizzle, occasionally accompanied by gusts of wind that lifted the sleeves of those seeking shelter under the eaves.

It was somewhat eye-catching.

Chi Zhiyu only then noticed that this person was actually wearing a long-sleeved jacket in the middle of summer, as if he had anticipated the temperature drop after the rain and prepared accordingly.

How pretentious.

And what does he mean by “come over”? Does he think she’s a dog?

Chi Zhiyu internally criticized him but ignored him, turning to Jiang Jinxu instead, “Classmate Jiang, let’s discuss the specifics tomorrow. It’s raining, so let’s head home early.”

Jiang Jinxu understood her meaning, glanced at the youth waiting with the umbrella outside, and nodded, “Alright, be careful on your way.”

“Mm.”

After replying, Chi Zhiyu turned and walked out without much thought.

Once outside, without the shelter of the building, the temperature difference was noticeable.

Chi Zhiyu braved the chill, running a few steps before quickly ducking under the umbrella that Xie Ye held up, extending her hand toward him.

Xie Ye looked at her pale palm, his gaze indifferent as he asked what she wanted.

“Where’s my umbrella?” Chi Zhiyu tilted her head and blinked, “My umbrella.”

Xie Ye glanced past her hand, asking indifferently, “What umbrella?”

“What do you mean, ‘what umbrella?’” Chi Zhiyu was getting dizzy from his roundabout answers, confusion and inquiry in her eyes as she pointed at the shelter above her head, “You have an umbrella, shouldn’t I have one too?”

“Oh.”

Xie Ye seemed to understand, then calmly stated, “You don’t have one.”

“?”

Chi Zhiyu frowned, “Did you only bring one umbrella when you left?”

“Isn’t one enough?”

“...”

Brother, with this kind of rain, one umbrella is useless.

Perhaps sensing what she was thinking, Xie Ye calmly nodded, “Fine.”

“?” Chi Zhiyu was puzzled, “Fine what?”

Xie Ye’s gaze passed over her. Then, he said indifferently, “If you don’t use it, just get soaked.”

With that, he stepped down from the platform, walking directly into the misty drizzle.

Chi Zhiyu was momentarily stunned, and before she could react, he had already taken a step. She quickly shouted, “Wait, wait, wait!”

Xie Ye paused briefly.

Taking the opportunity, Chi Zhiyu swiftly squeezed to his left side, grabbing the wrist of the hand holding the umbrella, as if afraid he would escape. While walking, she complained, “Why are you in such a rush? I never said I wouldn’t use it…”

Together, they stepped into the rain.

Raindrops fell and pattered against the umbrella surface, creating a pitter-patter sound, water droplets splashing everywhere.

Afraid of getting wet, Chi Zhiyu carefully pulled his hand closer under the umbrella. The confined space forced her shoulder to press against the youth’s body.

Chi Zhiyu paused slightly, continuing her complaints naturally, “Look, I’m already soaked.”

Xie Ye glanced at her left shoulder, not responding, but simply tilted the umbrella handle slightly to the left.

“And normally, anyone seeing such a large cloud would know it’s going to pour, right?”

Chi Zhiyu cursed him for lacking common sense.

Xie Ye gave her a sidelong glance, “It wasn’t raining when I came.”

“...”

The implication was clear.

I didn’t know it would rain this hard; bringing an umbrella is already a blessing. Stop complaining, just use it.

Chi Zhiyu was speechless for three seconds, wanting to curse him, but seeing that this guy had actually come to pick her up—a rare occurrence—she held back.

Seeing her quiet, Xie Ye casually asked, “Are you doing a duet?”

There was a shallow puddle ahead, and he moved to the side.

Chi Zhiyu lazily responded, following him around the puddle.

“There’s an assessment coming up at the end of the summer course… Rulan asked me to choose a partner…”

“So,” Xie Ye moved to the side again, casually saying, “You chose Jiang Jinxu.”

“It wasn’t my choice.” Chi Zhiyu naturally followed him, explaining, “I didn’t choose, and I couldn’t be bothered. Rulan assigned him to me today.”

“Assigned, and you accept?” Xie Ye said blandly.

“I have no problem with it. Moreover, according to Wu Xuan, she said watching me pair up with Jiang Jinxu is quite pleasing to the eye.” Chi Zhiyu shrugged it off.

Xie Ye narrowed his eyes, “Pleasing to the eye?”

Hearing the skeptical tone, Chi Zhiyu turned to him, pointing at herself with a smile, “Me, a beauty, isn’t that pleasing to the eye?”

“......”

Xie Ye paused for a moment, staring at her intently before smirking slightly. “Tell her to get her eyes checked.”

The comment was somewhat cryptic, and Chi Zhiyu frowned in confusion. “Who?”

“Wu Xuan.”

“......”

Chi Zhiyu tugged at the corner of her mouth, but the mention suddenly reminded her of Wu Xuan’s earlier question.

— “Do you think Jiang Jinxu is more handsome, or Brother Xie?”

As she thought about it, her gaze unconsciously wandered to his face.

His jet-black hair was neatly trimmed, his nose high, and his features seemed naturally cold. But at this moment, his eyelids drooped lazily, his long lashes half-closed, giving him an air of relaxed indifference.

The youth had a tall, slender frame, and his hand holding the umbrella was elegant, appearing pale against his black clothing, with faint bluish veins visible beneath the skin.

For some reason, Chi Zhiyu found herself drawn to his hand. When she snapped back to reality, she glanced at his profile a few more times.

Though the topic had shifted, one thing was undeniable.

This person, this face.

It was completely different from Jiang Jinxu’s style.

Even after seeing him for over a decade, she still didn’t tire of looking at him.

In fact… he seemed to grow more devastatingly attractive with time.

Thinking this, Chi Zhiyu internally clicked her tongue, just about to say he was being ridiculous when suddenly, a cascade of rainwater splashed onto the umbrella, creating a deafening noise without warning.

It was utterly overwhelming.

Unbeknownst to them, they had walked under a drainage pipe by the roadside shop, where the rain had formed a small waterfall, drenching the top of the umbrella.

Chi Zhiyu was startled, and her arm was innocently soaked by the splashing water.

Caught off guard, Xie Ye also paused for a moment before quickly leading her under the eaves with the umbrella.

Standing on the waterproof platform, Chi Zhiyu still held her stiffened arm, turning to him with a resentful look. “Did you do that on purpose?”

He had led the way, yet only she got wet.

Xie Ye looked at her damp hand and furrowed his brow slightly.

Not bothering to argue with him, Chi Zhiyu pulled out a tissue from her bag and wiped the water off her hand.

“Here.” His voice suddenly broke in, casual and lazy.

Chi Zhiyu stopped mid-motion, seeing him offer the umbrella, and blinked in surprise.

She glanced at the umbrella, took it, and raised an eyebrow skeptically. “What are you doing? Planning to make me hold it alone? Since when did you—”

Her words were cut short.

Xie Ye swiftly removed his outerwear jacket and draped it over her, the collar covering most of her face.

Her sentence came to an abrupt halt.

Chi Zhiyu was momentarily taken aback, one hand still holding the umbrella, only her almond-shaped eyes peeking out at him, filled with confusion and inquiry.

Xie Ye took the umbrella back, tilting his chin up slightly. “Let’s go.”

The jacket still carried his warmth, enveloping her slightly chilled body.

Snapping back to her senses, Chi Zhiyu pulled the jacket down and followed him as they continued walking. After a moment’s thought, she squinted at him, “You…”

Xie Ye tilted the umbrella to the left, speaking casually. “If you’re not cold, give it back.”

His voice was indifferent, with a hint of nasal tone, making him sound carefree and lazy.

Upon hearing this, Chi Zhiyu immediately slipped her arms into the jacket, adjusting the slightly oversized collar, and nodded. “I’ve already put it on; can’t return it.”

Her words were clearly cheeky.

“No returning it?”

“You’ve given it to me; what’s there to return?”

After pondering for a moment, Chi Zhiyu added, “Are you secretly plotting something against me?”

Xie Ye glanced at her, finding it amusing and repeated, “Plotting something?”

His gaze fell on her clean, fair face, straightforward yet contemplative.

A few seconds later…

“Indeed.” Xie Ye’s eyes swept over her face, raising an eyebrow mischievously as he slowly drawled out a few words, “You are indeed pleasing to the eye.”

“......”

Chi Zhiyu: ?

You?

You?????

This was mockery.

Absolute mockery.

Mockery!!!

Chi Zhiyu felt a surge of frustration lodge in her throat, biting her teeth as she nodded. “Alright, Xie Ye, you’ve been planning to covet my beauty all along, haven’t you?”

“Heh, obviously.”

Chi Zhiyu looked up at him, expressionless, and delivered six words: “You thieving scoundrel.”

Xie Ye: “......”

After delivering her retort,

Chi Zhiyu caught the fleeting expression of being flustered on his face, feeling incredibly refreshed.

Her lips curved silently, and she calmly urged him, “Hurry up; a beauty’s time is precious.”

Xie Ye raised an eyebrow. “Beauty?”

Chi Zhiyu lazily hummed, blinking, “Isn’t that me?”

At this, Xie Ye glanced up at her, his expression seemingly amused.

Their gazes met for a split second, and Chi Zhiyu instinctively sensed something amiss, hurriedly averting her eyes and coughing lightly while looking ahead. “Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll head home and eat.”

“Oh.” Xie Ye glanced at her. “So even beauties need to eat.”

“......”

That night.

Perhaps irritated by Xie Ye, Chi Zhiyu unusually broke the rules and asked Aunt Wang in the kitchen to prepare rice.

Aunt Wang was momentarily stunned when she heard her request. “But Madam…”

“It’s fine; I’ll just eat a little. My mom won’t find out.” Chi Zhiyu gestured with her fingers, whispering.

Aunt Wang hesitated, looking at her overly thin figure, and finally relented, feeling pity, and cooked the rice.

Dance students needed to maintain their weight; they couldn’t eat much and absolutely couldn’t gain weight. Therefore, Bai Li had set strict dietary rules for Chi Zhiyu during the summer, allowing her only vegetable and fruit salads for dinner.

Usually, Bai Li would supervise her meals, but these days she was busy with rehearsals at the opera house and didn’t have time to come home.

After finishing her meal, Chi Zhiyu digested for a while, preparing to go upstairs when her phone rang.

She glanced at it and answered.

“You’re home now, right?” Wu Xuan asked first.

Chi Zhiyu rolled her eyes. “If you’d called any later, I’d have gone to sleep.”

Wu Xuan chuckled lightly. “Summer vacation isn’t over yet; how could you possibly sleep so early?”

Chi Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. “I’m adjusting my sleep schedule early to be healthy.”

“Who are you fooling?” Wu Xuan laughed. “Besides, since Xie Ye picked you up earlier, I wasn’t worried.”

At this, Chi Zhiyu recalled cursing him as a rogue earlier, smirking. “You should worry precisely because he came to pick me up.”

“What happened?” Wu Xuan sniffed trouble brewing, quickly asking, “Did you do something to Brother Ye?”

“......” Chi Zhiyu nearly choked, speechless but amused. “What do you mean ‘do something’? If I had, would I have time to chat with you?”

“?”

Wu Xuan accused, “What dirty thoughts are you having!”

Innocent Chi Zhiyu blinked. “Wow, you’ve discovered my secret.”

Wu Xuan: “......”

After teasing Wu Xuan, Chi Zhiyu hung up laughing, planning to grab a drink from the kitchen. Passing through the living room, she noticed the black jacket lying on the sofa.

After a moment’s thought, she instructed Aunt Wang to wash it and deliver it to her room.

Aunt Wang could easily guess whose ill-fitting jacket it was and nodded, but still reminded her, “It rained heavily this afternoon, and it’s cold. Catching a cold from the rain wouldn’t be good.”

Chi Zhiyu replied concisely, “Aunt Wang, please help me make a bowl of ginger soup.”

After giving instructions, she took out her phone and sent Xie Ye a message in the same playful tone from the afternoon—

[Dear Brother Ye, to thank you for picking me up in the rain this afternoon, I specially made your favorite ginger soup. Can you come out and see me in a bit? :)]

The right shoulder of the jacket draped over her earlier had been soaked through.

And she, aside from that unexpected splash of rain, hadn’t gotten too wet.

So the one who could catch a cold…

Was undoubtedly the one who hadn’t held the umbrella properly.

Chi Zhiyu occasionally tapped her phone, waiting for a reply while listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen.

By the tenth tap, the scent of ginger wafted out of the kitchen, and her phone vibrated just as expected.

Chi Zhiyu opened it and glanced down.

Xie Ye: [?]

Xie Ye: [Nope.]

“......”