Chapter 46: Alone While Sheltering from the Rain

The other party had called him “my boyfriend” so naturally. Although You Chong didn’t object at the time, after they finished dealing with that person and came out, he still felt a bit upset and turned to settle accounts with Lin Hexi later: “You seemed pretty comfortable calling me your boyfriend a few times?”

“It was him who jumped to conclusions, thinking you were my boyfriend first.” Lin Hexi replied calmly, “You also don’t have to accept the label.”

You Chong scoffed, “I didn’t want to accept the label either, but weren’t you the one who called me that first?”

Lin Hexi said, “You can also choose to think that I wasn’t calling you.”

You Chong retorted bluntly, “There were only three people on the scene. If you weren’t calling me, who else could you have been calling?”

Lin Hexi thought for a moment, then slowly curled his lips and said, “You could consider it as me practicing in advance for my future boyfriend.”

An awkward silence fell, and You Chong felt an inexplicable discomfort in his heart.

They returned to the dining area and found that the other four people were no longer at the table. You Chong took out his phone and realized he had missed two calls from Zhou Xuan.

Probably noticing that no one was answering, Zhou Xuan didn’t call a third time but instead sent a text message.

The message roughly said that the four of them had already gone ahead to the nearby night market, and if You Chong saw the message, he should go directly to the night market to find them.

You Chong put away his phone and briefly repeated the content of the message.

Lin Hexi asked, “Should we go over now?”

You Chong lifted his eyelids slightly, and replied casually, “I’m fine with whatever.”

Lin Hexi nodded slowly, then looked up in the direction of the beach, not speaking for a while.

The sun had already completely sunk below the horizon, and the streetlights along the road were lighting up one after another. The deep blue sky was gradually soaked with rich, inky darkness, and at the far edge where the sea met the sky, the last few streaks of sunset struggled before being swallowed up. Night had not yet fully descended.

Suddenly, he spoke up, “I heard that the tides on the sea are very beautiful.”

The person beside him glanced at him but didn’t respond.

Lin Hexi turned his face towards him, looking at him intently, “Have you seen it before?”

After a slight pause, You Chong showed a faint look of understanding. “Do you want to go see the tide?”

Lin Hexi withdrew his gaze and said nonchalantly, “Of course, if you don’t want to go with me, I can go by myself.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go.” You Chong looked up at the sky, “It’s just that if you go now, it’s likely too dark to see anything.”

Lin Hexi laughed, “We can still listen to the sound of the tide.”

You Chong didn’t say anything and glanced down at the time on his phone.

Just then, the weather app pushed a notification in the notification bar. You Chong clicked on it and quickly frowned. “There will be light rain in half an hour.”

“How is that possible?” Lin Hexi looked surprised and instinctively replied, “The weather forecast said it would be sunny all weekend.”

You Chong pushed the lit phone screen in front of him and said, “See for yourself.”

Following the way You Chong held the phone, Lin Hexi took a closer look.

It seemed that the sudden weather change was caused by a typhoon that was about to make landfall in the coastal city.

The regret in Lin Hexi’s eyes was quickly concealed, and he spoke in his usual tone, “Then let’s not go.”

Even so, You Chong could still hear a barely noticeable hint of disappointment in his voice.

He took a step forward and turned back to urge, “Come on.”

Lin Hexi snapped back to reality and followed, “Where are we going? To the night market?”

You Chong replied, “To the beach.”

Lin Hexi couldn’t help but slow his pace, looking at him hesitantly, “Didn’t you say it would rain?”

“Aren’t you the one who wants to go?” Seemingly annoyed by how slowly Lin Hexi was walking, You Chong turned around, grabbed his wrist hanging by his side, and dragged him forward a few steps. “If you want to go, then go. There’s no need to have any concerns. Besides, a little rain doesn’t mean we can’t make it back.”

After being pulled along for a few steps, Lin Hexi hesitantly spoke up again, “I—”

The person in front suddenly stopped, frowned slightly, and reminded him irritably, “If you keep hesitating, it really will start raining.”

Lin Hexi couldn’t help but press his lips together.

But he still couldn’t suppress the corners of his lips from gradually turning up.

As he frowned even more, You Chong glanced at his face and asked in a puzzled and strange tone, “What are you smiling about?”

Lin Hexi laughed out loud, “I’m not hesitating, I do want to go, and I’m not worried about getting wet in the rain.”

“I’m just reminding you,” he lifted the hand that You Chong was holding and deliberately extended his fingers to brush against You Chong’s wrist, “Are you sure you want to keep holding my hand all the way to the beach?”

Upon hearing this, You Chong’s expression froze briefly, and he suddenly let go of Lin Hexi’s wrist.

However, whether it was due to bad luck or You Chong jinxing it, as they walked halfway, they could clearly hear the sound of waves crashing against the rocks by the shore. Yet, without any warning, it started to rain.

Water droplets fell on their hair and heads, splashing tiny droplets. At first, it was just a few scattered drops, but gradually, the rain became more and more intense. The size of the drops also changed from thin, long raindrops to bean-sized raindrops.

With a hint of hesitation, Lin Hexi called out to You Chong and spread his palm to catch the rainwater falling from the night sky, looking puzzled, “Is this considered light rain?”

Even You Chong couldn’t help but curse under his breath, with his face turning cold.

The two of them turned back the way they came.

Before they could reach the restaurant where they had dinner, the light rain had already turned into a torrential downpour. Accompanied by the faint rumble of thunder in their ears, the distant night sky over the sea occasionally flashed with a few thin streaks of light, like the prelude to a storm.

The tropical trees lining the streets rustled loudly in the strong wind, and Lin Hexi’s clothes and pants were already soaked.

Originally, they planned to return to the restaurant to take shelter from the rain, but the rain intensified again, pouring down in sheets, and the raindrops hit their faces with a slight sting.

The two had to change plans temporarily and squeezed under the eaves of a convenience store at the street corner to take shelter from the rain.

Calling it a convenience store was a bit of an exaggeration; compared to a regular convenience store, this place was more like an old, tiny general store about the size of a newsstand.

The shop owner seemed to have left early, with the outside rolling shutter tightly pulled down, leaving only the small rain canopy outside the shop for shelter.

On both sides of this little shop, extending dozens of meters in either direction, there were no other stores with coverings to provide shelter from the rain.

The slanting heavy rain quickly splashed onto the once dry ground beneath their feet, and the narrow canopy was barely enough to cover the two adults.

As he standing side by side with You Chong under the canopy, Lin Hexi could still feel large splashes of water landing and spreading from his shoulders, then flowing down his exposed arms.

Even in the high-temperature season of wearing short sleeves and shorts, a slight chill gradually seeped into the surface of his skin.

He turned his head to look at You Chong, and it was clear that he was facing the same situation.

Realizing that they had been silent for too long, Lin Hexi, intending to break the silence, curled his lips in self-mockery and said, “Standing here doesn’t seem to be helping us avoid the rain.”

After hearing this, You Chong glanced over at him. Seeing that Lin Hexi’s T-shirt was more than half soaked and his sleeves were dripping water, he couldn’t help but frown.

Before he realized it, he had already stepped out from under the canopy.

Noticing the movement of the person beside him, Lin Hexi’s gaze abruptly stopped on him.

You Chong, with his usual expression, said to him, “Move in a bit.”

Lin Hexi snapped back to reality but remained standing in place, with a playful expression appearing on his face. “I’m not so fragile that I can’t handle a little rain.”

In the faint light cast from the street lamps ahead, You Chong looked at him with an unreadable expression.

Lin Hexi’s smile didn’t waver. “Either we both take shelter from the rain, or we both get wet.”

After a brief silence, You Chong spoke in a low voice, “This place can’t shelter both of us.”

Lin Hexi didn’t reply, but his stance was clear. Since the canopy couldn’t cover them both, they might as well get wet together.

Sure enough, You Chong didn’t insist further; he stepped back under the canopy and took a step back.

Lin Hexi turned his head, looking at him in confusion.

But then he saw You Chong extend his arm, suddenly grabbing his wrist and pulling him backward.

Lin Hexi’s steps staggered, and the moment his back collided with a warm chest, a familiar scent enveloped him.

He was being hugged from behind by You Chong.

“If that’s what you want, then let’s take shelter from the rain together.” You Chong’s deep, calm voice slowly sounded in his ear, “After all, it’s not like we haven’t hugged before.”