051

Autumn has passed and winter has come; time flies.

Jiang Huali noticed that He Yuqing had recently been coming to her with a lot of questions, especially about math.

That evening, after having dinner together, the two started working on a math test in the car.

These are practice sheets issued by the school.

The last big question always involved complicated steps and a huge amount of calculation. After Jiang Huali spent a lot of effort to solve it, she watched He Yuqing write it down.

In the past two years, the difficulty of the college entrance examination mathematics test has soared. In order to help students adapt to the difficulty of the college entrance examination in advance, the test papers distributed by schools on weekdays are not easy.

Seeing that He Yuqing had made a mistake in one of the formulas, causing the subsequent calculations to stall, Jiang Huali leaned over and pointed to that spot with her pen, saying, "This is wrong."

The distance between the two suddenly closed. He Yuqing paused, his pen stopping, and asked, "Where?"

"This, this should be how it should be... this is how it should be."

Jiang Huali wrote the correct formula on a piece of draft paper next to her.

He Yuqing looked at the formula that Jiang Huali had listed for a while, then smiled and admitted, "I wrote it wrong."

He corrected his mistakes, continued calculating, and finally succeeded in finding the answer.

After finishing writing, He Yuqing put down his pen and placed his test paper next to Jiang Huali's.

Actually, the two people's handwriting is quite similar; both have strong, vigorous strokes and are full of power.

He asked Jiang Huali, "I heard He An has been causing trouble again recently?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Huali nodded: "Yes, maybe they're just tired of studying."

She couldn't help but laugh, and then said, "That's when the aversion to school comes over me."

There's a reason why He An's previous tutors all left in the end. Although Jiang Huali stayed a little longer than the other tutors, He An's initial enthusiasm gradually faded after a few months.

Jiang Huali: "Maybe after a while, I won't be able to continue teaching her."

He Yuqing looked at her and said, "My cousin thinks you teach very well. He An's dislike of studying is an old problem, and she may not fire you because of that."

At least when He An was with Jiang Huali, he was more willing to learn.

"Actually, He An is quite good like this. She's usually like a cheerful person, but when she's studying, she's like a bitter gourd."

Jiang Huali laughed and said, "I don't think your cousin necessarily forces her to study."

He Yuqing nodded.

What he didn't say was that he secretly didn't want Jiang Huali to quit her tutoring job. Whether it was taking the initiative to bring up the issue of raising tutoring fees with He Shuyuan, or secretly telling He An to obediently listen to the teacher, he just wanted more time and opportunities to see Jiang Huali.

If He An were here, she would definitely want to jump up and punch He Yuqing, her uncle, on the head.

Before New Year's Day, Jiang Huali accompanied her grandmother to the hospital for a check-up.

As people age, their bodies naturally deteriorate, and all sorts of ailments, big and small, begin to appear.

The original owner's greatest wish was to let his grandmother enjoy her later years in peace.

The school is going to hold a party the day before New Year's Day. The performances are all organized by students and selected by the judges.

Wen Ruolin was very interested in this and organized a stage play with the class monitor, and also invited Jiang Huali and He Yuqing to join them.

In addition, there were other classmates who were eager to try.

Some classmates were unwilling to participate, while others were eager to participate but didn't want to be the main character. So they included the scenery—trees, rocks, and so on—to satisfy those classmates who wanted to participate but didn't want to be the main character.

More than half of the semester has passed, and in another six months, everyone will be entering their senior year of high school. At that time, these kinds of recreational activities will have little to do with them.

So when Wen Ruolin and the class monitor asked Jiang Huali if she wanted to join them, Jiang Huali agreed without thinking too much.

"little Red Riding Hood?"

Jiang Huali looked at the smiling class monitor and Wen Ruolin and asked.

Class monitor: "That's right! We want to put on a stage play, the show is 'Little Red Riding Hood,' the story we heard when we were little."

"How about it? Interested? I'd like to arrange for you to be Little Red Riding Hood!"

Jiang Huali asked her, "Then what do you want to be?"

The class monitor patted his chest: "Me? I'm your grandma."

Jiang Huali then asked Wen Ruolin, "What do you think you are?"

Wen Ruolin blew on his hair and said with a smile, "I'm a hunter!"

As she spoke, she made a gesture: "Bang bang bang!"

Speaking of this, the class monitor looked at He Yuqing behind Jiang Huali and asked, "Hey, are you interested in being the Big Bad Wolf?"

He Yuqing looked over upon hearing this.

Jiang Huali couldn't help but smile.

She remembered the time in the pet store when He Yuqing wore the wolf ear headband.

He Yuqing looked at the smile on Jiang Huali's face and nodded, saying, "Okay."

The class monitor was a little surprised. She had only asked casually, but she didn't expect He Yuqing to actually agree.

She clapped her hands: "Then it's settled!"

...

Since we've decided to join, rehearsals are essential.

In order to free up time for rehearsals, they cut back on their dinner time and found an empty classroom to rehearse after dinner and before self-study.

It drizzled a little that evening. After dinner, Jiang Huali and He Yuqing went to the rehearsal venue together, with Jiang Huali holding an umbrella.

When she entered, Jiang Huali placed her wet umbrella outside the door.

He Yuqing placed his umbrella next to Jiang Huali's umbrella.

Since it was just a rehearsal and they hadn't participated in the selection process yet, they hadn't purchased any performance costumes.

The main characters in "Little Red Riding Hood" are Little Red Riding Hood, Little Red Riding Hood's mother, Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother, the hunter, and the Big Bad Wolf.

In addition, several students came to act as plant standees.

The script was co-written by Wen Ruolin and the class monitor. The content was not significantly altered; the focus was only on the characters' dialogue and performances.

They went through the story again, and at the end, in the scene where Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma sew up the Big Bad Wolf's belly, Jiang Huali and the class monitor squatted on the ground, holding colorful yarn, pretending to sew up He Yuqing's belly while he was lying on the ground. Halfway through, the two of them couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He Yuqing lay on the mat, watching Jiang Huali smile with her eyes curving like crescent moons, and couldn't help but smile back.

After a quick rehearsal twice, it was almost time for evening self-study.

A group of people walked out of the classroom; the sky outside was already dark.

Because it was still raining, the air was cold, and the wind made people shiver.

Jiang Huali pulled her coat tighter and went to find her umbrella.

Then……

Then she discovered that her umbrella was missing.

Where is my umbrella?

Jiang Huali's right eyelid twitched violently twice.

He Yuqing walked over and saw that only one umbrella remained where the two umbrellas had been placed side by side, and he fell silent for a moment.

"Huh? Could someone else have taken it?" Wen Ruolin leaned over.

The squad leader turned to the others and asked, "Did anyone take the wrong umbrella?"

"No."

"I don't have any either."

...

After five minutes of lively discussion, they finally came to a conclusion—

Jiang Huali's umbrella was probably stolen.

Jiang Huali never expected to be so unlucky. There was a row of umbrellas outside the classroom, and hers was just an ordinary umbrella among them, but that person managed to steal hers from among so many umbrellas.

Their classroom was in another teaching building, some distance away. He Yuqing opened the umbrella and said to Jiang Huali, "Shall I hold it for you?"

Jiang Huali nodded and stepped under his umbrella.

Similar to the scene when they first met in this world, the two of them shared an umbrella and walked side by side.

But back then the sun was shining brightly, but now it's raining continuously.

Wen Ruolin walked behind the two of them, watching He Yuqing's gesture of holding the umbrella and the umbrella surface tilting slightly towards Jiang Huali, and suddenly felt a cloyingly sweet taste in his mouth.

With her umbrella stolen, Jiang Huali could only pray that the rain would stop before evening self-study ended.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate.

When it was time to end evening self-study, the rain outside not only did not lessen, but became heavier and heavier, and even the wind picked up.

Wen Ruolin looked out the window and said to her, "Are you going to the bus stop? How about I take you there with my umbrella?"

Jiang Huali couldn't walk without an umbrella, and she was about to nod in agreement when a voice suddenly came from behind her: "Shall I take you?"

Jiang Huali turned her head and saw that it was He Yuqing.

Before she could speak, Wen Ruolin rolled her eyes and said with a smile, "That's perfect. He Yuqing's umbrella is big, and mine is too small. With the rain so heavy, it's easy for two people to get wet if they share it."

Jiang Huali thought for a moment, then nodded and said to He Yuqing, "Then I'll trouble you."

The two walked to the school gate. The rain fell like silk threads, and the streetlights emitted a soft yellow light, reflecting the shape of the rain.

The rain was falling at a slight angle, and some raindrops were blown by the wind onto Jiang Huali's face, bringing a chill.

He Yuqing tilted the umbrella more towards her and asked, "The rain is too heavy. You don't have an umbrella. Shall I have Uncle Wu take you home?"

Uncle Wu was the driver responsible for picking up and dropping off He Yuqing every day.

"Or I can give you the umbrella and you can return it to me later?" He Yuqing realized that he had made a mistake when he saw that Jiang Huali did not speak, so he changed his words.

Jiang Huali was lost in thought, but not for any other reason. She just suddenly remembered the day they first met in the first world.

It was another rainy day, and he had his assistant get out of the car to ask her if she needed any help.

"It's alright, then you can take me home."

Jiang Huali tilted her head and said to him.

"good."

Uncle Wu was waiting for the young master at the school gate when he saw He Yuqing and Jiang Huali walking towards him under the same umbrella from afar.

He Yuqing opened the car door first, and after Jiang Huali got in, he put away his umbrella and sat down in the car.

"Just take me to the alleyway we went through before," Jiang Huali said to He Yuqing.

After giving the driver his instructions, He Yuqing took a tissue and wiped the rain off Jiang Huali.

Jiang Huali paused for a moment, then took the question and said, "You really haven't changed at all."

Her voice was very soft, and He Yuqing didn't hear her clearly. He turned to the side and asked, "What did you just say?"

"It's nothing." Jiang Huali wiped the rain off her body and held the damp tissue in her hand.

"Give it to me."

He Yuqing took the tissue from her and threw it into the trash can in the car.

"It's a bit cold here," Jiang Huali said casually.

The car's heater was on, gradually dispelling the damp chill from my body.

He Yuqing found another blanket and handed it to her: "Cover yourself with this, so you don't catch a cold."

Driving slowly on a rainy day, Jiang Huali watched the raindrops patter against the car window, and a scene suddenly flashed into her mind—

On a gloomy, rainy night, outside a dilapidated temple, she wiped the blood from her sword, her gaze falling on a dark corner of the temple, her voice cold:

"Stop following me."

The wind and rain lashed against her, and the smell of blood lingered around her nose. She didn't know if it was hers, the one from the temple, or just the lingering scent of the sword.

...

Jiang Huali was stunned.

"arrive."

He Yuqing's voice came from the side, pulling her back to reality.

Jiang Huali snapped out of her daze and shook her head.

He Yuqing noticed her movements and asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you dizzy?"

"No." Jiang Huali waved her hand.

He Yuqing handed her an umbrella and said, "Go home now, and give the umbrella back to me later."

"Okay." Jiang Huali took the umbrella.

She opened the car door, got out, opened her umbrella, and then closed the car door again.

Through the rain, she waved to He Yuqing through the car window. Just as He Yuqing rolled down the window, he heard her say, "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

He smiled and met her gaze.

I could only feel that her eyes were bright and gentle in the rain.