Chapter 25: Rainy Day

“What’s up? Want to play a game with me?” Qi Ze asked casually.

He didn’t look up, his eyes still fixed on the game interface, his two thumbs swiftly moving across the phone screen.

Jiang Mingyue lay on the desk beside him, resting her arms and facing him: “Not in the mood to play right now.”

Qi Ze glanced at her: “Then what are you doing here? Waiting for me to take you home?”

“No, I want to take you home.” Jiang Mingyue replied lazily.

Qi Ze looked at her with a brief moment of confusion: “Hm?”

Jiang Mingyue’s tone was matter-of-fact: “It’s raining outside. You can’t ride your motorcycle, so you can take my car. I’ll give you a ride home.”

Qi Ze paused, then went back to playing his game, casually rejecting her: “No need.”

“Then how will you get home?” Jiang Mingyue sat up, asking seriously.

Qi Ze didn’t respond.

After a moment, the screen displayed the victory announcement.

Qi Ze took off his Bluetooth headset, exited the game, and then looked up to answer her question: “My family has a car coming to pick me up.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Jiang Mingyue murmured under her breath: “I thought your stepmother wouldn’t arrange that for you.”

Qi Ze: “…You can speak a little quieter.”

Jiang Mingyue: “…”

Qi Ze packed his things, and they both went downstairs together.

Qi Ze walked ahead with his backpack slung over one shoulder, while Jiang Mingyue lagged behind a step, looking up at his back.

Tall and slender.

Jiang Mingyue hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking: “Qi Ze.”

“Hm?”

“Do you… have any hobbies?”

She had originally wanted to ask, Does your stepmother hit you? Does she refuse to give you food?

But after a moment of thought, Jiang Mingyue felt it might not be appropriate to ask that question. The previous one seemed a bit too abrupt.

So, she changed the topic.

Qi Ze fell silent for a moment, then said: “…I’ll ride.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Mingyue quickly took two steps down the stairs to walk beside him, glancing at him sideways: “So, what do you do when you’re free?”

Qi Ze replied: “Ride, practice martial arts, play games, I guess.”

“Wow, you practice martial arts too? No wonder you’re so good at fighting. But it seems like you’re good at everything.”

Jiang Mingyue smiled brightly at him, her eyes curving like they were sprinkled with starlight.

The dimming sky made her seem to glow even more.

The sound of rain pitter-pattering filled the air, and Qi Ze felt like the rain had fallen into his heart.

His heart skipped a beat, and then ripples spread out.

Qi Ze awkwardly coughed, then casually shifted his gaze: “…It’s nothing.”

They had just reached the first floor, and after he spoke, he was about to rush out into the rain.

Jiang Mingyue quickly grabbed his arm: “Wait, I brought an umbrella. Let’s share it.”

Qi Ze: “…Oh.”

Jiang Mingyue took an umbrella from her backpack and opened it.

It was a black folding umbrella, and it had a surprisingly large coverage.

It was the same umbrella that Aunt Du had reminded her to bring this morning, saying that the weather forecast predicted rain in the afternoon.

Jiang Mingyue held the umbrella high, being careful not to hit his head.

“I’ll hold it.” Qi Ze said as he took the umbrella from her hand.

“Okay.” Jiang Mingyue passed the umbrella to him.

The teaching building was still a bit far from the school gate, and the two walked under the umbrella in a brief silence.

Jiang Mingyue looked at the umbrella leaning toward her side and gently adjusted it.

Qi Ze glanced at her.

Jiang Mingyue said: “The umbrella should be in the middle, I won’t get wet.”

“Mm.”

The world outside the umbrella was filled with the noise of rain, loud and bustling.

But the world under the umbrella was surprisingly quiet.

Jiang Mingyue found another topic: “Qi Ze, have you thought about which university you want to apply to?”

“…No.”

“Oh.”

The atmosphere fell silent again.

“Don’t you want to ask which university I want to apply to?”

Qi Ze followed her lead and asked: “Then which university do you want to apply to?”

Jiang Mingyue grinned playfully: “I want to go to the same university as you, hehe.”

Qi Ze: “…”

Jiang Mingyue saw that he didn’t respond, thinking that he was upset. Embarrassed, she added: “I was just joking.”

“And honestly, with my grades right now, it would be hard enough to get into any university, let alone pick one. There’s no room for choice.”

She couldn’t help but sigh after saying this.

Qi Ze suddenly stopped in his tracks and looked at her.

Jiang Mingyue also stopped and looked at him.

“Jiang Mingyue.” Qi Ze said seriously, looking at her with focus: “Then you should study hard.”

His lips pressed lightly together, his eyes dark and clear, staring at her with intensity.

She was unconsciously drawn in by his gaze, nodding and replying seriously: “Mm-hmm, I will.”

Raindrops fell onto the umbrella, gathering together and then rolling off, dripping continuously at the edge of the umbrella like pearls, forming a beautiful curtain of water.

Qi Ze said: “Then let’s go.”

“Let’s go.”

They reached the school gate.

“Where’s your car?” Jiang Mingyue asked him.

Qi Ze raised his hand and pointed.

Jiang Mingyue followed his gesture and saw a black Mercedes, with her own family’s car parked right beside it.

“Then I’ll take you to your car.”

She walked over to the Mercedes and opened the door.

Inside, there was someone else sitting. Jiang Mingyue glanced at him, and it was Qi Moyang.

He looked over at her with a heavy gaze.

Jiang Mingyue ignored him.

She held the umbrella, shielding Qi Ze as he got into the car: “Then, 886(goodbye), see you tomorrow.”

Qi Ze curved the corner of his lips: “Mm, hurry and get in the car.”

Jiang Mingyue held the umbrella and walked toward the car in the back.

The car was as quiet as usual.

Qi Moyang lowered his head, playing on his phone.

Qi Ze leaned against the back of the seat, his eyes closed, resting.

Qi Moyang glanced at him a few times before suddenly speaking in a cold tone: “Are you two together now?”

Qi Ze didn’t open his eyes or speak, as if he hadn’t heard.

“You know, she chased me from the first year of high school all the way to the second year, and then suddenly switched to chasing you. Her change of heart is really fast.”

Qi Moyang mocked: “She chased me so passionately back then, and now she’s so considerate of you. Do you think she’s really being sincere, or does she have other intentions?”

Qi Ze opened his eyes, his gaze clear.

He turned his head and looked at him with an expressionless face: “So, what does that have to do with you now?”

“…It doesn’t have anything to do with me.” Qi Moyang replied with a sarcastic tone: “I’m just reminding you not to be played.”

Qi Ze turned his head again and closed his eyes to rest.

Qi Moyang stopped speaking, lowering his head again to focus on his phone.

Soon, Qi Ze opened his eyes, turned his head to look out the window, his gaze drifting, as though lost in thought.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

When they got home, Jiang Mingyue quickly went to take a shower.

Although she hadn’t been caught in the rain, she had worn canvas shoes, and by the time she walked out of the school, her shoes had already gotten wet.

After dinner, Jiang Mingyue played with Xixi and Haha for a while before starting on her homework.

However, not long into her work, her thoughts started to drift.

She began thinking about the issue of college entrance exams.

“With her current grades, it’s really a bit difficult to get into the same university as Qi Ze.” Jiang Mingyue thought dejectedly, resting her head on the desk.

Although the book didn’t mention which university Qi Ze was planning to attend, it did mention that his college entrance exam score was above 700 points, so he would definitely be going to a good university.

【You don’t have to take the university entrance exam, you know?】The cute voice of 118 suddenly sounded.

“Huh?”

118: 【As long as you complete the task before the college entrance exam, you can go home, and you won’t need to take the exam.】

“…Oh.”

118: 【What’s wrong? Don’t you want to complete the task and go home early?】

Jiang Mingyue hesitated a bit before answering.

She thought for a moment and said: “…I don’t think I’ll be able to complete the task before the college entrance exam, so I still need to study hard for it.”

“Right, study hard!”

Jiang Mingyue felt more energized, her distracted thoughts coming back into focus. She picked up her homework and started studying seriously.

118: 【…But don’t forget about the task.】