In the evening, a torrential rain extinguished the spring sun, and the raging wind blew the clothes hanging on the balcony in all directions.

Inside the dormitory, apart from Gao Leilin and Yu Guang, the other two were each busy with their own affairs, ignoring the raging storm just beyond the wall.

They wouldn’t bully Yu Guang like Gao Leilin did, but they wouldn’t intervene either, especially when it was time for them to enjoy themselves.

—Both of them were calmly waiting for Yu Guang to go out and collect their clothes.

Silent, only the sound of rain hitting the dry grass and stone platform outside the balcony penetrated into the room.

Yu Guang sneered inwardly.

He was actually tired of the extra events that came with pretending to be good—like helping Gao Leilin with his homework, or collecting everyone’s clothes on rainy days…

But many things, even if disliked, still needed to be done—that was a truth Yu Guang understood since he was three years old, and he always regarded it as such.

But today, he suddenly felt a bit tired.

Listening to the wild and restless rain, looking at the blurred world beyond the glass door, Yu Guang decided to take a little break from the advice of truth.

Consider it a reward to himself.

After a moment of contemplation, he pursed his lips and carefully lifted his eyelids to glance at Gao Leilin.

His disheveled hair exposed his slightly uneasy eyes—

This was a good method he had discovered only today.

Following the praise from Senior Ye Si, these seemingly empty-eyed eyes received another reward—Gao Leilin’s favor.

If he wasn’t mistaken.

With long lashes casting shadows like small fans, Yu Guang quickly withdrew his gaze the moment he felt Gao Leilin’s eyes on him, feeling as if he had been scalded and trembling uncontrollably.

“I-I’ll go collect the clothes…” he stuttered.

Giving Gao Leilin a few seconds to react, Yu Guang slowly got up. Before he could even steady himself, Gao Leilin pressed him back into his seat without a word.

Knowing that he had succeeded.

With a faint smile hidden beneath the surface, Yu Guang then heard Gao Leilin’s commanding voice.

“You two, go collect the clothes.” Gao Leilin stared at Zheng Cheng and Liu Zhijie, nodding towards the wet balcony outside the glass door.

The two of them didn’t react immediately, still sitting there motionless. Gao Leilin’s face couldn’t hide his annoyance, his tone becoming heavier, “Do you want to wait until the clothes are soaked before collecting them?”

This was the first time in two years since Yu Guang entered the dormitory that he enjoyed such service from his roommates.

Zheng Cheng and Liu Zhijie could be seen unwillingly exchanging glances, frowning with displeasure.

But due to Gao Leilin’s rumored background, after a moment of eye contact, they reluctantly braved the storm to collect the clothes on the balcony.

In the late spring, the final rainstorm of the season obscured the sky. The cold wind, carrying the rain, brought a puddle of dampness to the momentarily opened and closed glass door.

Stepping on the shattered shadow in the water, Zheng Cheng’s face darkened as he threw the clothes back at Yu Guang.

Yu Guang didn’t react even when his face was hit.

He could actually understand Zheng Cheng’s feelings—

After two years of witnessing the weak being bullied, he had become accustomed to watching, mocking.

But suddenly, fate turned, making him the weak one—too afraid to resist the aggressor, so he could only vent his resentment on those weaker than himself.

Such people were the most pitiful.

Not wanting to let his cowardice go unchecked, yet unable to always be brave.

Gao Leilin went to take a shower, and the buzzing sound of the water heater drowned out any noise inside the room.

Zheng Cheng seemed like a restrained monkey jumping around, glaring at him with annoyance. Yu Guang’s clothes were thrown at him one by one, some hitting his shoulders, some covering his face.

Most of them landed on his face.

The clothes were still collected too late, licked by the rain, soaked in patches.

His white shirt, hung furthest out, was licked most viciously by the rain. The white fabric became translucent with wetness, dripping water down steadily.

Patter, patter—

His face, his mouth and nose were all covered, smothered by the rain-soaked fabric.

Breathing required effort, yet the oxygen intake was meager.

The sense of suffocation enveloped him, darkness seeping into every pore, and the closed eyelids flickered with intermittent snowflake-like noise.

Like sinking into the deep sea.

Blood vessels under the skin were squeezed flat by the water pressure, and all surrounding noises fell into silence…

Yu Guang estimated the time, letting the feeling of suffocation wash over him as water droplets trickled down his cheeks and wetted the collar of his pajamas.

Before long, the bathroom door opened, and Gao Leilin’s footsteps approached rapidly. Suddenly, he lifted the clothes covering Yu Guang’s face and threw them onto Zheng Cheng.

“Zheng Cheng, are you crazy?!” An enraged shout, causing both Zheng Cheng and Liu Zhijie’s shoulders to tremble.

Clearly, Gao Leilin had done worse to him before, but couldn’t stand Zheng Cheng doing the same.

Yu Guang silently sneered in his heart:

People are such strange and fickle creatures.

The aftermath of suffocation slowed down his brain function, and Yu Guang leaned his head against the chair for a long time before finally recovering.

The white shirt that appeared in the picture sent from an unknown number yesterday was now dirty and lying limp on the floor, pitifully squeezed at Zheng Cheng’s feet.

It was thrown by Gao Leilin, but Zheng Cheng avoided it with disdain, so the white shirt fell to the ground.

The fabric was smeared with mud prints, and Zheng Cheng noticed Yu Guang’s concerned gaze. He stepped on it roughly a few times.

Dirty water flowed out from under the white cloth.

Yu Guang’s brows and eyes were pressed low, his expression obscured in the shadow under the light.

Zheng Cheng had crossed that line, he thought, and Zheng Cheng would surely pay the price sooner or later.

But Yu Guang hoped it would be sooner.

Because he was never a good and obedient pet.

He was a vengeful wild dog, with only a hint of patience and teeth two inches long.

—

The heavy rain continued unabated for a long time.

Yu Guang took a hot shower, his skin turning red from the heat, as if wearing blush.

Sighing, he ignored the faint gaze on his calves and collarbone, wrapped himself in the warmth and crawled into bed.

Just as he began to relax, his phone at the bedside suddenly rang.

His heart skipped a beat reflexively.

Yu Guang had to admit that the unfamiliar number that only existed in his phone had a real impact on his real life.

It seemed to be bewitching him, causing his heart to tremble whenever he heard the notification tone.

Taking a deep breath, he buried his head in the blanket and curled up for a while before reluctantly opening his eyes, slowly lighting up the screen of his phone in the extreme darkness.

The initial brightness was too high, almost blinding him in the extreme darkness.

He lowered the brightness with squinted eyes and looked at the message notification—

It wasn’t a blue message icon.

It was a WeChat red envelope reminder from Gao Leilin.

Yu Guang: …

He couldn’t tell whether he felt relieved or disappointed in his heart.

After a moment of hesitation, he still opened the chat box with Gao Leilin.

Gao Leilin: Transferred 800.

Gao Leilin: Shouldn’t you trim your bangs?

Yu Guang didn’t reply to this seemingly nonsensical question, just smirked and accepted the transfer.

It was the reward promised by Gao Leilin for completing the physics assignment—he deserved it.

Feeling the anticipation and subsequent disappointment was uncomfortable.

Yu Guang tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

The white noise of the rain washing the world away still hadn’t stopped, and the poor sound insulation of the dorm room allowed him to hear it vaguely even from his bed.

Even though his body was exhausted and he didn’t want to move, his mind was unusually active.

It was like being injected with anesthesia, limbs numb and unaware, with only his brain maintaining contact with the outside world.

He closed his eyes, and suddenly, the image of the white shirt being stepped on came to mind, the white shirt oozing dirty water.

He could tell that Senior Ye Si liked seeing him in a white shirt, and he, in turn, liked that white shirt.

The image flashed by, and Yu Guang remembered the text from the unknown number, both affectionate and cunning.

But the unknown number hadn’t contacted him tonight.

Annoying.

Today was not a good day for everything, annoying enough to make him want to smoke.

But it was warm under the covers, warm enough to quell any urge to stick his feet out from under the blanket.

Turning over, he pressed the fluffy blanket against his back. He quietly reached under the pillow and pulled out the handkerchief.

As time passed, the faint scent of pine on the handkerchief had almost disappeared.

Yu Guang lightly placed the handkerchief over his face.

Relentlessly, greedily inhaling the lingering fragrance in the fibers.

The sound of rain outside was still loud, and the woody scent lingering around his nose seemed to be soaked with cool moisture, like an unfolding spider web, enveloping him heavily.

Suddenly, the phone placed by the pillow buzzed twice.

The square screen lit up, illuminating a corner of the world.

【Unknown Number】: There will be a rainbow tonight.

【Unknown Number】: Good night.