072 | (Seventy-one) Getting caught in the rain

"You're so annoying! Who wants to understand you?"

Xie Qingyan felt a tightness in her chest and hurriedly avoided his gaze.

Her eyes, filled with sorrow and grief, churned with a torrent of emotions that threatened to overwhelm her and drown her.

Su Xingmao stared at her. After realizing that he was attracted to her, his brain, which was not very sensitive to feelings, slowly understood that liking someone was also an emotion. Emotions are hard to control and can make people lose their rationality. It is not all happiness; it also contains bitterness, sweetness, spiciness, and pain, and can also make people suffer.

But there are always people who find it sweet.

Xie Qingyan swallowed hard, still sharp-tongued, and retorted, "What you feel is none of my business, I don't want to know at all."

She emphasized each word, and as soon as she finished speaking, she brushed away Su Xingmao's hand, guiltily turning her face away, not wanting to see him.

Xie Qingyan had his back to the street.

A drowning person only wants to cling to a piece of driftwood, get away from the waves, and escape.

Escaping is an instinct.

Her heart pounded. Had she seen correctly? Was Su Xingmao sad? How could anyone say that even when unhappy, he wore that unchanging, lifeless face? There was no dejection, no collapse. For a detached person, even sadness was subtle, only revealing a hint of melancholy when his eyelids drooped, like a clap of thunder, a momentary uproar, followed by a fine mist that dampened her.

Her nose stung with tears, and she remembered a sentence she had seen a long time ago: "If you want to cry, the best thing to do is to run into the rain, where the rain and tears mix together and no one can tell the difference."

So she turned and walked into the rain, striding quickly, wanting to leave him behind.

Xie Qingyan walked very fast, almost jogging. She was clearly looking at the street scene, so why were those eyes flashing in front of her?

She didn't want to see it at all, didn't want to see those dull and dejected eyes, filled with damp emotions.

Deep and somber, as if it concealed the gray haze of the entire sky.

Those complex emotions, hidden from view, were subtly revealed, clinging to her like a shadow.

Just as a person can't shake off their shadow, she seems unable to shake off him either.

She felt a sense of fear and blinked frantically, trying to banish him from her mind, afraid that if she looked at him again, she would be trapped in the sticky, humid rainy season and unable to escape.

This realization sent a chill down Xie Qingyan's spine, just as he had said.

That's right, she didn't really understand Su Xingmao; she always assumed he was malicious. But what frightened her even more was that perhaps Su Xingmao was far more cunning than she suspected.

Only the tip of the iceberg has been revealed so far.

All that talk about being reserved and gentle is just an act, isn't it?

"Yan Yan".

That annoying nickname again.

Xie Qingyan remained silent, even though he had clearly told her not to call him that, as if they were having a very good relationship.

So annoying.

They were still arguing, and he wasn't allowed to call her that in such an ambiguous way.

I hate Su Xing Mao so much!

"kitten."

"Shut up." She said sullenly, "Don't call me that."

"We should have a talk," Su Xingmao said patiently, trying to make his tone friendly.

"I have nothing to say to you."

Xie Qingyan strode forward, moving away from the distance shielded by his umbrella.

Wandering aimlessly, she had long forgotten which street she was on, and had no definite destination. It was as if she had only one thought in her mind—to get rid of him and stay far away from him.

Su Xingmao caught up with her and opened his umbrella to share it with her, but Xie Qingyan quickly quickened her pace and left her far behind.

The little leather shoes splashed water as they passed glass windows, reflecting the faded lettering on road signs, and the boy's dejected figure following closely behind.

"Let's go home." Su Xingmao had no choice but to open his arm and tilt the umbrella towards her head. "You'll catch a cold if you get wet in the rain."

Xie Qingyan carried him forward, her voice choked with emotion: "I don't need your help, I just like walking in the rain."

She insisted on going against him.

"Xie Qingyan!" The voice behind him was slightly lower, clearly indicating that her antics had angered him.

Xie Qingyan sneered inwardly. Hearing Su Xingmao's voice, which contained hidden anger, he was not intimidated at all. Instead, he felt a sense of satisfaction and anticipation for revenge. So he can get angry too? Heh, I'll make him angry to death, it would be best if he got angry to death!

He's getting the benefits but still acting innocent. Xie Jinyu is so biased towards him, yet he still dares to come up to her and show off.

Why should she give him a nice look?

He was unhappy, and she was overjoyed.

"I told you I hate you, so please stop following me."

No one answered from behind; only the slow, deliberate footsteps continued, following closely behind, serving as a substitute for a reply.

Xie Qingyan walked faster and faster, completely ignoring his mood, until the hand on her shoulder pressed down with a heavy force, twisting her and forcibly turning her around. They had no choice but to look at each other. Xie Qingyan proudly raised her head, glaring at him fiercely out of the corner of her eye, her eyes full of vigilance.

"Let me go!" Xie Qingyan twisted her shoulders and neck from side to side.

"Do you really have to do this?" He pressed down harder on her shoulder, stopping her from rushing back into the rain.

Xie Qingyan's hair was soaked by the rain, and she should have looked disheveled, but a glint of a smile shone on her lips, mocking and provocative: "What do you mean by 'like this'? I can do whatever I want, it's none of your business. Can you please stop meddling in other people's business?"

...

Spoiled children are unruly and lawless.

“…meddling?” he repeated. “Do you think this is just being nosy?”

"That's right."

Su Xingmao fell silent again, quietly watching her, their gazes meeting in the swirling rain.

In the long silence, time almost stood still. As dusk fell, the rain refused to stop. Pedestrians with umbrellas gradually walked away, the neon lights faded, and the streets went from bustling to quiet.

Only the sound of rain pattering from all directions, drip-drop, patter-patter, as if the heavens had opened a hole in the clouds, and the long rain seemed endless, growing heavier and heavier, the raindrops splashing onto the umbrella, body, face, and heart.

Just when Xie Qingyan thought he would continue this stalemate with her,

Su Xingmao slowly closed his umbrella, and like her, he let the rain soak him.

The cars were jaggedly positioned, and the rain poured down like a silver river.

He braved the rain as if he had fallen into a river; the torrential water streamed down his brow and rolled down his expressionless face, like tears.

Xie Qingyan's legs froze, and he stood there like a stone.

Her long hair was damp, strands clinging to her cheeks, and droplets of water trickled down her neck. Her face, washed clean by the rain, appeared even more pristine and beautiful.

He seemed to be sighing: "That's it then."

She refused to use an umbrella.

He stayed with her in the rain.

"Are you sick?" Xie Qingyan finally found his voice after a long while, but he didn't know who he was cursing at.

He said calmly, "Just pretend I have it."

"Whatever," Xie Qingyan scoffed. "You won't make me happy either."

"Why."

"You're annoying." Xie Qingyan kicked up a splash of water, maliciously splashing it onto his school pants, and added, still not satisfied, "Especially, especially annoying, just seeing you annoys me."

Su Xingmao lowered his eyes and asked, "Is it annoying to only see me?"

The question was so unexpected that Xie Qingyan was taken aback.

"You only hate me, right?" he pressed further.

Xie Qingyan remained silent.

It was really difficult to get her to tell the truth.

Su Xingmao said patiently, "Xie Qingyan, can you even tell what it means to be annoying?"

"What do you mean—" Xie Qingyan realized she had fallen for his trap and immediately changed her tune: "You don't think that disliking someone has any other meaning, do you? There are many people I dislike, and you are just one of them."

“You’ve said it many times, that you hate me the most,” Su Xingmao corrected her.

"Do you hate me when we make love? Do you hate me when you call me master? Do you hate me when I ejaculate inside you? And during orgasm? Xie Qingyan, can you tell me all of these things, how much do you hate me?"

His tone was as calm as ever, yet he pressed on with questions.

The barrage of questions left Xie Qingyan seeing stars, her plump face flushed red, her cheeks puffed out, and she was about to explode with anger: "Shut up, shut up, this is not the same thing at all."