Chapter 1 – 01

Waiting for You to Break Up for a Long Time
Written by: Sui Jian

It had been raining for three straight days in Wutong Village, and the lower areas of the school campus were already flooded with muddy water.

Principal Luo gathered all the teachers for a meeting, instructing them to keep the students confined to the classrooms. Other than for meals and restroom breaks, no one was allowed to wander around.

Lou Jia had just finished arranging her class with a colleague when Director Liu Wuguo rushed over through the rain, holding a tattered umbrella. “Teacher Lou!”

“What’s the matter, Director Liu? Why are you in such a hurry?” Lou Jia quickly stepped outside.

“Your, your brother,” Liu Wuguo paused to catch his breath, “the younger brother you mentioned who came to help with teaching, he’s arrived. He’s in the principal’s office right now.”

“What?” Lou Jia raised her voice in surprise as she followed Liu Wuguo into the rain. “Didn’t you say there were no cars because of the rain? How did he get into the village?”

Wutong Village was in a remote location with no direct public transportation. Getting in and out of the village was a long and tedious process, requiring constant changes of vehicles, which could take an entire day.

If it happened to be during a rainy spell like this, there was no telling when one could even make it into the village.

Lou Jia had come to this village for a teaching assignment as part of a support program for the mountainous areas of Linnan Province, arranged by the province where her school was located. She had arrived half a month ago along with three others.

On the second day after their arrival, the only male in the group accidentally fell and injured his arm and leg while helping to repair a roof, and he needed to return home to recover for a while.

As a result, the courses he was responsible for were temporarily left unattended.

The four of them had been assigned by the government according to the teaching needs submitted by the local school, and each of them was responsible for different subjects.

In order to avoid disrupting the current phase of teaching, Principal Luo had applied again to the higher-ups for a substitute teacher, but there hadn’t been any response.

At the time, Lou Jia had casually mentioned the situation to her good friend, Jian Rongrong, during a chat. To her surprise, that very night, Jian Rongrong had found someone for her.

It was the son of Jian Rongrong’s father’s second wife, making him her stepbrother from a different father and mother.

“Siwei? Didn’t he go abroad?” Lou Jia remembered that in their second year of university, Jian and Jiang’s parents divorced. Not long after, Jiang Siwei had followed his mother to the United States and lost contact with them.

“He only went for the summer. After that, he attended a boarding high school with his dad, and now he’s studying at Jibei University,” Jian Rongrong explained, then suddenly recalled something. “Oh, right, I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. My dad went on a business trip to the U.S. and made up with Aunt Jiang. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have known that Jiang Siwei was still in the country.”

“Uncle Jian is quite impressive, chasing his wife all the way to the U.S.,” Lou Jia remarked sincerely.

“Oh well, it’s just one of those things. I’ve sent you Jiang Siwei’s WeChat contact. I have something to do later, so you can talk to him yourself,” Jian Rongrong said.

“Alright.”

Lou Jia greeted Jiang Siwei, and their communication went smoothly.

Jiang Siwei had left Jibei five days ago, traveling by plane, high-speed rail, train, and bus. Three days ago, he arrived at the county guesthouse, but due to the heavy rainfall and treacherous mountain roads, no vehicles from the county were willing to enter the village.

“Old Liu San at the village entrance hasn’t been well recently. His son, who works in the county, heard about this and went to the bus station to see if any motorbike drivers were willing to make the trip,” Liu Wuguo clapped his hands. “It just so happened that one of your classmates was also there asking for a ride. The two of them teamed up and made their way back together.”

After hearing that, Lou Jia’s vision darkened repeatedly. Not only was the mountain road difficult to traverse for dozens of kilometers, but the torrential rain alone was enough to make anyone’s heart race with fear.

With a dark expression, she walked into the office.

“Ah, Teacher Lou, you’re here,” Principal Luo greeted her with a smile. “You really need to give your brother a good talking-to. He’s way too bold.”

There were three people in the room—two standing and one sitting. The ones standing were Principal Luo and his niece, Ying Xi, who was also a teacher at the school.

“Yes, I’ll definitely give him a good scolding,” Lou Jia replied, her gaze falling on Jiang Siwei, who was seated between them, drying his hair with a towel.

He had really changed over the years.

Jiang Siwei looked completely different from the boy in Lou Jia’s memory—the one who used to wear black-framed glasses, had a neat student haircut, and wasn’t even as tall as her when standing.

If they passed by each other on the street now, Lou Jia might not even recognize him.

“Jiang Siwei.”

Lou Jia used to scold her younger siblings at home often, always speaking directly, whether her words were harsh or not. But now, facing this so-called “brother,” who was more distantly related, she found herself unsure of how to reprimand him.

She watched as Jiang Siwei slowly stood up. Her gaze shifted from looking down at him, to eye level, and then finally, she had to tilt her head slightly upward to take in his appearance.

With a furrowed brow, Lou Jia finally managed to say, “Why aren’t you as obedient as you used to be?”

With his hair all messy, Jiang Siwei let out a soft laugh amidst the sound of the heavy rain, “Long time no see.”

Indeed, it had been far too long.

So long that even his voice felt somewhat unfamiliar to Lou Jia, but the person in front of her was unmistakably real. As memories of the past came to mind, her furrowed brow relaxed. “All these years, and you’ve only grown taller, not smarter. In this kind of rain, if something had happened to you on the way, how would I explain it to your sister?”

Jiang Siwei scratched his head, just like before, struggling to find words for a long while without saying anything.

Principal Luo stepped in to smooth things over, “Alright, alright, Teacher Lou, you should hurry up and take your brother to clean up. We don’t want him catching a cold.”

Only then did Lou Jia notice his soaked clothes. She sighed and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to the dormitory first.”

Jiang Siwei hurriedly picked up his luggage and followed her, not paying attention to the distance between them. Lou Jia suddenly remembered something and turned around, only to find her gaze landing at his neck level.

His soaked clothes outlined his broad shoulders and narrow waist. Though he wasn’t overly muscular, the sight reminded Lou Jia of the quiet little kid who used to silently follow behind her, carrying her bags.

The little kid had transformed into a lean, muscular young man.

The difference was just too great.

Lou Jia found it a bit amusing and said as they walked, “The conditions here aren’t exactly great, as you can see. If there’s anything you’re not used to, just let me know. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I won’t,” Jiang Siwei lowered his gaze, looking at the two shadows at his feet. “I think it’s just fine.”

“Good, then,” Lou Jia didn’t say anything more and led him to the entrance of the dormitory. “We don’t have many male teachers, so for now, it’s just you and Teacher Fang in the dorm. He’s on duty today, so I’ll introduce you tomorrow.”

The dormitory was very basic, with bunk beds, a concrete floor, no air conditioning, and a brand-new standing fan placed in the empty space between the two beds.

Lou Jia pointed to the lower bunk near the door. “This is your bed. The bedding has all been washed and aired out beforehand. If you’re not comfortable with it, once the rain stops, I can take you to town to buy new ones.”

“No need, everything’s fine. I’m not that delicate,” Jiang Siwei said as he placed his luggage on the floor by the bed. Suddenly, he added, “Lou Jia, stop treating me like a kid. I’ve already grown up.”

“I’m not treating you like a kid. Who has a kid that’s over 1.8 meters tall?” Lou Jia replied, a bit perplexed. “And another thing, why are you being so casual? You didn’t even call me ‘sister.’”

“You don’t really count as my sister,” Jiang Siwei said softly.

“Do you believe I’ll hit you?”

Jiang Siwei glanced at her, then turned away, pretending to organize his luggage. His voice was still soft as he said, “I’m hungry.”

“…Sister.”

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Author’s Note:

Hi~ Long time no see!

I’m writing a short story to keep everyone company through this damp and rainy season ^_^

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