Chapter 28 Part 1

The small tattoo shop was silent.

The two looked at each other for a moment. In the end, it was Lin Qingye who first averted his gaze. He sat down on the sofa nearby, his back slightly hunched. "You know everything."

Xu Zhinan was stunned.

He, he's admitting it...?

She had never thought that one day she would personally hear Lin Qingye admit to liking her, and she had even said "likes me a lot."

She used to like Lin Qingye so much.

It was her first time liking someone, and she didn't know how to protect herself, wishing she could give him her whole heart. But after getting hurt, she had learned her lesson.

She didn't know how to accept this response from Lin Qingye.

She only suddenly remembered the moment she first fell for Lin Qingye.

It was clearly a simple matter, yet she had wasted three years on it.

Not long after their absurd encounter, Xu Zhinan was still a freshman, having just started school. Many scattered and complicated small tasks were assigned.

For example, visiting the school history museum, writing a visit journal, choosing a location for social practice, and so on.

Many activities were done in small, randomly assigned groups. Xu Zhinan wasn't with her roommates, but with three other girls from her class.

This kind of group activity relied heavily on luck. It was troublesome if you got irresponsible group members. Xu Zhinan's luck was terrible; not a single one of the other three members was responsible.

For the social practice activity, they directly handed the task of the field visit and photography to Xu Zhinan, while they themselves were responsible for the simple parts of organizing photos and writing descriptions.

Xu Zhinan had a good temper. Plus, the chosen location for the social practice was a former residence, quaint and antique, which she was very interested in herself. So, she took the subway for over an hour, transferring several times to reach the destination.

She wandered around for a long time, not like she was completing an assignment, but more like she was truly there for a sightseeing tour.

Coming out of the exhibition hall, a torrential downpour started without any warning, falling in strings from the old-fashioned eaves like a beaded curtain. If one were in the mood, it would have a certain artistic charm—but Xu Zhinan didn't have an umbrella and couldn't go back.

The rain fell for a long time. The sky gradually darkened, and her phone ran out of battery and shut down. She was trapped there.

Finally, she had no choice. If this continued, the gates outside the former residence would close, and she would have to spend the night in this old house.

It was fine when it was light out, but now that it was getting dark, it looked a bit gloomy and eerie.

Xu Zhinan took her backpack off her shoulders, held it over her head, and, steeling herself, rushed directly into the curtain of rain. Although the subway station was right next to the former residence, the residence itself covered a large area. By the time she ran to the station, she was soaked from head to toe.

Xu Zhinan stood at the subway entrance, patting her clothes. She could wring water out of them. Fortunately, she was wearing dark-colored clothes today, so her underwear wasn't visible through them.

Her shoes were also soaked, and water squished out every time she took a step. It was very uncomfortable.

Xu Zhinan sighed. Just as she was about to walk down into the subway entrance, she suddenly heard a car horn honk twice.

She subconsciously turned to look.

Lin Qingye was sitting in a car and rolled down the window.

He had a face that was unforgettable.

Xu Zhinan didn't speak. After a moment of eye contact, he got out of the car, not even holding an umbrella, and jogged over to squeeze under the shelter of the subway entrance with her.

They were standing close. Lin Qingye looked at her silently for a moment, then smiled. "Why do you look like a drowned rat?"

She scratched her hair, a little embarrassed. "I didn't bring an umbrella."

"Going back to school?"

"Yeah."

"Want a ride?"

Xu Zhinan looked up. He repeated himself, pointing to the car behind him. "I'll give you a ride."

"Ah, my shoes are wet." She shifted her feet a little, flustered, implying that she would get his car dirty.

He stopped wasting words and gently nudged her back. "Let's go. I'll take you straight to your dorm, save you from the rain."

Xu Zhinan got into the car reservedly. Because her shoes were soaked, she didn't dare to step on the car mat the entire time, shrinking into a corner. Lin Qingye grabbed a blanket from the back seat and tossed it to her. "Wipe yourself off."

"Thank you."

Xu Zhinan took it and wiped the dripping rainwater from her body and face. She glanced at Lin Qingye; his face was also wet, but he didn't seem to mind at all.

He drove fast, and raindrops pattered against the windshield. Xu Zhinan said carefully, "In a bit, you can just drop me off outside the school. You don't need to take me to my dorm entrance."

"The rain is so heavy."

Xu Zhinan insisted, "It's fine. I'll just take a shower when I get back to the dorm anyway. I won't catch a cold."

Lin Qingye didn't say anything. At that time, of course, Xu Zhinan wouldn't have noticed the fleeting look of dejection on his face.

The car stopped outside a shopping mall. Xu Zhinan paused for a second, then saw him get out of the car without a word and run into the curtain of rain.

She was hesitating whether to get out and follow him when he quickly reappeared, an umbrella in his hand. He returned to the car under the umbrella, closed it, shook off the water, and placed it by her feet. "Use this to get back later."

"...Only one?" Xu Zhinan asked. "Then will you get wet on your way back?"

It didn't look like he had another umbrella in the car.

Lin Qingye didn't seem to have considered this problem either. He was momentarily stunned, a rare sight, then smiled lazily. "Forgot. It's fine, you use it."

Xu Zhinan was amused by him and chuckled lightly, revealing a row of small white teeth and her dimples.

Lin Qingye gave her a couple more glances before looking away and continuing to drive toward the school.

He didn't insist on taking her back to her dorm anymore. Since he had bought an umbrella, he parked the car at the school's south entrance as she wished, which was relatively close to Xu Zhinan's dormitory area.

He had gone along with her wishes, but now Xu Zhinan had a problem.

Her canvas shoes had been soaked for too long. When she got out of the car, she suddenly discovered the sole had come unglued badly. They were unwearable.

Lin Qingye noticed she wasn't moving and asked from the side, "What's wrong?"

"My shoes." Xu Zhinan sighed, feeling like her luck today was absolutely terrible. "They're broken."

Lin Qingye leaned forward to look and laughed out loud quite bluntly.

He got out of the car with the umbrella, walked around to the passenger side, handed the umbrella to Xu Zhinan, and then crouched down in front of her with his back to her. "Get on."

Xu Zhinan didn't react right away. "Huh?"

"Get on," he repeated. "How are you going to get back like this? You can't even walk."

As he turned his head to the side, a raindrop trickled down his dark eyelashes. Belatedly, Xu Zhinan clumsily moved the umbrella forward a bit to shield his face.

"I'm pretty heavy." She was still hesitant about letting him carry her.

Lin Qingye scanned her up and down. Slender arms, slender legs, he had no idea where the weight could be. "Alright, then I'll see if I can carry you."

On a rainy day, there was hardly anyone at the school gate, only the security guard was still on duty.

The world was very quiet.

It wasn't right to keep him crouching in front of her. Xu Zhinan glanced at her broken shoes, thanked him again, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and carefully climbed onto his back.

When her chest pressed against his back, Xu Zhinan realized something was wrong.

She had gotten soaked running to the subway station earlier. Summer clothes were thin to begin with, and her underwear was just as soaked. In the car, she had been too embarrassed to wipe her chest in front of him.

Now, as her chest was pressed against his back, she could even feel water seeping out of the fabric.

Xu Zhinan's face flushed. She unconsciously pulled her chest in and leaned back a little.

Lin Qingye noticed. A roguish smile touched his lips as he supported her thighs and stood up, then hoisted her up higher on his back.

Inertia carried her forward, pressing her tightly against his back.

Xu Zhinan's face instantly turned beet red. She slowly, bit by bit, leaned back until a small gap formed between them, and she finally let out a sigh of relief.

She lay on his back, one arm wrapped around his shoulder, the other holding the umbrella.

The umbrella wasn't large. She held it over his head, completely shielding him so he wouldn't get wet, while all the water running down the umbrella ribs dripped onto her own back.

Lin Qingye noticed, hoisted her up again, let go with one hand, and grasped her wrist that was holding the umbrella, pushing it back.

Making her cover herself properly.

"This way, you'll get rained on," Xu Zhinan said.

"It's fine. Just take care of yourself, don't catch a cold."

The school was quiet on a stormy day, and it was late. Xu Zhinan held the umbrella low, covering most of her face, so she didn't have to worry about being recognized.

She could smell the faint scent of tobacco on Lin Qingye. Soaked by the rain, it transformed into a scent that was inexplicably crisp and distant.

Perhaps the feeling it gave her at this moment was inappropriate.

But Xu Zhinan was indeed reminded of how it felt to be carried on her father's back as a child.

As Lin Qingye got closer and closer to the dorms, Xu Zhinan grew anxious. She pressed her hand on his shoulder with a little force. "Okay, okay, you can just put me down here."

"No one's here." His words were concise, having seen right through her little worries.

"There might be people up ahead."

"No one's up ahead either."

"..." Xu Zhinan's shoes were broken, and she couldn't struggle free.

He added, "If you hold the umbrella lower, no one will see you."

Xu Zhinan quickly lowered the umbrella. Fortunately, no one came out as they walked a little further. Lin Qingye set her down under the eaves at the entrance to the dormitory area.

Xu Zhinan returned the umbrella to him. As she looked up, she suddenly noticed a patch of skin exposed by his collar, probably reddened from where she had been pressing earlier.

"Ah."

Xu Zhinan wanted to reach out, but stopped halfway, her hand hovering in mid-air before she slowly pulled it back.

Lin Qingye glanced down, smiled faintly, and tugged unconcernedly at his collar without saying anything.

"Thank you for taking me back today." Xu Zhinan thanked him again.

He lifted his chin. "Go on in."

"Yeah."

Neither of them moved first. In the end, Lin Qingye was the one to leave, opening the umbrella again and walking into the pouring rain.

His figure from behind was unrestrained, his shoulders broad. The pleasant scent on him didn't wash away in the rain, as if it still lingered in her nose.

The warmth from his body still lingered on Xu Zhinan's fingertips.

She didn't know what was wrong with her; her heart was beating a little fast.

Actually, when Xu Zhinan thought back on Lin Qingye later, she always felt that he hadn't been that bad to her.

Just like that rainy day, even if he got wet himself, he would definitely protect her.

He never lost his temper with her, nor did he ever take out any frustration from the outside world on her. When he spoke to her, it was always with a lazy, teasing smile.

In the end, Xu Zhinan had indeed never seen him act this way with any other girl.

That's why she wondered if she might be special, or maybe this was just how he was.

But sometimes, Xu Zhinan would feel sad, feeling as if she had only been liked by him in a very casual way.