Chapter 48: Why is she called Xiao Jiu

Shuangxu walked back along the original path, and suddenly, water drops fell on her shoulder.

Was it raining?

She quickened her pace, but the sudden downpour was fierce, instantly turning into a torrential rain, the heavy rain hitting her body with a clatter.

The sky grew darker, and the torrential rain made the mountain path harder to identify. The path began to become muddy and slippery.

She took out her phone to call, but sadly found no signal.

With the rain, everyone would probably stay in the camp and wouldn’t go to the viewing platform anymore.

It was still a distance from the camp, and walking in the mountains in the pouring rain was extremely dangerous and scary. Shuangxu didn’t want to take the risk, and when she encountered a cave on the way, she hid inside to take shelter from the rain.

She vaguely remembered the way, and she could go back when the rain stopped.

It was just that if Shen Yu and the others found out she was missing, they might worry, and she didn’t know if they would come out to look for her. Just in case, she hung her yellow beanie on a tree branch outside the cave.

The cave was dry, just a little dark. She turned on her flashlight and found a clean spot to sit down and rest.

There was a very shallow stream inside, and the faint sound of the flowing water suddenly reminded her of the snake, and she nervously shone her flashlight around.

Fortunately, it was empty around, and there was nothing.

But she couldn’t relax for long, and she started to feel cold.

The temperature on the mountain was already low, and it was raining heavily. The cave, which had been cold and damp for years, was bone-chilling.

Shuangxu was freezing, stubbornly turning her phone off and on again, but there was still no service. She resigned herself to the fact and put it down.

What kind of weather forecast was Yue Zifeng looking at? It was completely inaccurate.

With such heavy rain, forget about proposing, even the meteor shower couldn’t be seen.

Perhaps the heavy rain came quickly, and it would also leave quickly. If she was lucky, she could still catch up with the original plan and not let everyone’s hard work and effort this day be wasted.

The rain had been falling for a while, and the rain outside showed no sign of stopping. Shuangxu listened to the sound of the rain, and in the roar of the storm, there was suddenly a sound of footsteps.

The sound of footsteps on a rainy night, like the beginning of a horror movie, made her nerves involuntarily tense up, and she picked up a stone from beside her as a precaution.

A tall, dark figure approached the entrance of the cave in the pouring rain. In the light of the flashlight, He Tingzhou’s overly handsome face appeared.

The unexpected encounter made Shuangxu stare blankly for several seconds before she put down the stone.

Shuangxu had been wearing a hat when she came, and she had come in to take shelter from the rain in time, so she was only slightly wet. He Tingzhou, however, was much more miserable than her.

His hair was almost soaked, his black windbreaker was covered in rainwater, and his face was also wet with rain.

He Tingzhou walked into the cave, probably in a hurry to take shelter from the rain, and he was still breathing slightly heavily.

He stood there staring at Shuangxu for a moment, and after his breath slowly calmed down, he mocked, “You’re quite clever, knowing to take shelter from the rain.”

She wasn’t stupid, she knew to take shelter from the rain.

Shuangxu guessed that he had been caught in the rain himself, so he was feeling resentful towards her.

“You’re also here to take shelter from the rain,” she said softly.

He Tingzhou brushed off the rain from his clothes, combed his hair back, and sat down two steps away from her, leaning against the mountain wall.

His entire face was wet, and his wet hair made his features even more three-dimensional, with thick eyebrows, deep eyes, and sharp, handsome features.

The DV was casually thrown on the ground, already soaked by the rain, and she didn’t know if it was broken.

He was still filming things so late, it was really his cousin, only she could make him so attentive.

They were both in the same boat, and having someone she knew around at this time of hardship, even if it was He Tingzhou, someone she tried to avoid, her fear was still reduced a lot.

He Tingzhou didn’t say anything, just leaned back and rested, and she didn’t speak either.

Neither of them paid any attention to the other, as if they were two strangers who happened to be taking temporary shelter in the same cave, only the small stream flowed clear and bright.

The heavy rain continued to fall, and the chill accumulated in the crevices of her bones. Shuangxu gradually turned pale and curled up.

There was a rustling sound beside her, and He Tingzhou took off his jacket.

Shuangxu’s first reaction was that he was going to give it to her, but she quickly dismissed the idea.

When Yue Zifeng asked him to be a gentleman on the cliff, he had a look of indifference.

Without gentlemanly manners, where could he be a gentleman?

Moreover, the cave’s temperature was too low, and he must be cold too.

He Tingzhou put the jacket on himself, turned his head, and called to her, “Come over.”

Shuangxu’s mind inexplicably recalled the warmth she had felt on him when he had held her tightly in his arms.

In the dim light, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she refused without thinking, “No need.”

He Tingzhou looked at her with dark eyes, “There’s a compromise between you freezing to death and me freezing to death, it’s called we both live. Come over.”

His tone was not allowing for any doubt, and Shuangxu’s fingertips were already numb from the cold. If she continued like this, when the rain stopped tomorrow, Shen Yu might find a frozen popsicle.

She hesitated for a long time, slowly moved towards He Tingzhou, carefully lifted one side of his jacket, and tucked herself in.

He Tingzhou glanced at her and didn’t respond.

His windbreaker was waterproof, and it was dry and warm inside, with his signature cool, 沉 (沉 – heavy) scent.

As soon as she got close, every cell in Shuangxu’s body seemed to catch a cold and start to run a high fever.

It reminded her of how close she had been to him once.

She was warming herself under the same jacket as He Tingzhou, and she tried to keep her body from getting too close to him. These two things were contradictory, making her body stiff.

The flashlight illuminated the mountain wall in front of her, and He Tingzhou closed his eyes. Shuangxu thought he was going to sleep and was about to turn off the flashlight.

She had just picked it up when He Tingzhou spoke, “Don’t turn it off. I’m afraid of the dark.”

In the eyes of everyone, He Tingzhou was a person who was above all rules.

He was so carefree, even daring to grab poisonous snakes with his bare hands, but he was actually afraid of the dark?

Shuangxu found it strange and turned the flashlight back on, moving the light towards him.

“Why is your nickname Xiao Jiu?” He Tingzhou asked out of the blue.

Actually, only Shen Yu called her that, and Lu Manman learned it from Shen Yu.

Shuangxu said, “I was born on the ninth of September. Shuangxu, means September.”

He Tingzhou had a unique perspective: “The ninth of September. Shouldn’t you be called Chongyang?”

Shuangxu was a little speechless and retorted, “Then you were born on August 1st, why aren’t you called He Jianjun?”

He Tingzhou chuckled, and because they were so close, Shuangxu could even feel the slight vibration of his Adam’s apple.

He opened his lazy eyelids and glanced at her: “How do you know my dad didn’t think about it?”

Shuangxu was taken aback. She had just said it casually. He Jianjun and He Tingzhou, their temperaments were different by a whole new China history.

“My dad is a soldier, I was born on August 1st, he thought it was fate, and he wanted me to join the army since I was little.” He Tingzhou paused for a few seconds. “My mom named me.”

This was the first time Shuangxu had heard him mention his mother.

She turned her head to look at He Tingzhou, and He Tingzhou was also looking at her.

The flashlight illuminated his outline on the stone wall, his nose bridge was high, and his eyelashes cast long shadows.

Shuangxu’s heart inexplicably beat faster. She turned her head and said, “My mom named me too.”

After this sentence, they fell silent again.

He Tingzhou was very warm, like a heat source in the damp and cold cave, perfect for keeping warm.

Gradually, Shuangxu’s body warmed up, she wasn’t so cold anymore, and she fell asleep leaning against the wall.

She was awakened by the heavy weight on her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she found that He Tingzhou’s head had somehow slipped onto her left shoulder.

Shuangxu instantly tensed up, reaching out to push his head up, she felt an unusual heat.

She was stunned and pressed her palm against He Tingzhou’s forehead.

He had a fever.