Chapter 11 The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn

The weather in April can change in an instant.

Just moments ago the sun was shining brightly, but in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered, and within half an hour, large raindrops began to pelt down. Students on the playground rushed to the eaves to take shelter from the torrential rain.

When Yu Qing ran from the cafeteria to the classroom, his hair was already wet. He wiped the water stains off his cheeks haphazardly with his hands, then took off his coat and draped it over the back of the chair.

The students in the classroom were all soaked by the sudden downpour, wiping their hair with tissues and muttering complaints from time to time.

Yu Qing subconsciously looked at Lu Chi in the corner, only to see him wiping his glasses. This was the first time Yu Qing had seen Lu Chi without his glasses since his rebirth.

Lu Chi's glasses were a bit old-fashioned, making him appear weak and honest when he wore them. But when he took off his glasses, his demeanor changed dramatically; a gloomy and sinister air appeared between his brows, giving him a cold and unapproachable aura.

Yu Qing even seriously suspected that he was not nearsighted at all, or that he deliberately wore fake glasses to reduce his presence.

In this respect, they are like most felines; they are good at camouflage and only show their claws when hunting.

Yu Qing originally wanted to observe for a while longer, but as the school bell rang, Lu Chi put on his glasses again, and his demeanor immediately returned to its original honest and unassuming appearance.

It seemed that everything that had just happened was just Yu Qing's illusion.

The rain outside the window intensified, growing fierce. A gust of wind blew open the classroom curtains, letting in a damp, cold breeze.

Yu Qing was startled and quickly looked away.

Then I closed the window, picked up the pen on the table, and focused on the class, no longer thinking about Lu Chi.

Summer rains are always plentiful, especially towards the end of summer, when the rains don't stop for an entire afternoon.

After evening self-study, students stood one after another at the entrance of the teaching building, looking at the torrential rain pouring down from the sky, waiting for their parents to pick them up.

Yu Qing always carried an umbrella, so he didn't rush to leave the school. Instead, he reviewed the textbook for a while before leaving the classroom.

When Yu Qing arrived at the teaching building, only Lu Chi was standing there. All around him was a dark forest and an empty playground. The wind blew against his loose school uniform, making him look even thinner.

In this scene, he resembled the rose in the fairy tale Little Prince—aloof and insecure.

Hearing footsteps, Lu Chi turned around and looked at Yu Qing.

The moment their eyes met.

Yu Qing's heart began to race. Although the events of his past life were over, he still felt a subtle emotion every time he saw Lu Chi.

Upon seeing Yu Qing's appearance, Lu Chi merely paused for a moment, then turned his head and continued to gaze quietly at the rain without saying a word.

Did he forget his umbrella?

Yu Qing guessed what was going on, but didn't meddle. Instead, she walked straight past him, opened her umbrella, and stepped into the rain alone, heading towards the bus.

As Yu Qing reached the school gate, she looked back one last time. Lu Chi was still standing there, his figure gradually swallowed up by the darkness under the lamplight.

Yu Qing felt a pang of reluctance, hesitated for two seconds, and finally turned back.

Yu Qing stood in front of Lu Chi, one hand holding an umbrella and the other in her pocket, looking at him impatiently: "Hey, want to come along?"

"No...no need!"

Lu Chi hurriedly waved his hand, somewhat flattered.

Yu Qing raised an eyebrow: "Why are you, a grown man, acting like a nagging woman? Hurry up!"

He reached out and put his arm around Lu Chi's shoulder, pulling him towards him.

Lu Chi stood huddled up beside Yu Qing like a chick, completely intimidated by Yu Qing's imposing aura, and dared not move.

Yu Qing's height is similar to Lu Chi's, both being tall among boys. However, Lu Chi's physique appears very slender, giving him a frail appearance, as if a strong wind could easily blow him over.

But when Yu Qing put her arm around him, she was surprised to feel that the bones in his shoulders were unusually strong, and she could clearly feel the muscle lines even through his clothes.

Having noticed this, Yu Qing did not show any unusual behavior.

Neither of them spoke the rest of the way.

It wasn't until the two boarded the bus and found seats that Yu Qing scratched his head in annoyance, cursing himself for meddling.

This was the last bus of the night, so there were very few passengers on board, only a handful, making the place seem quite empty.

Yu Qing sat on the left and Lu Chi sat on the right, separated by an aisle. Yu Qing turned her head to look out the car window and could see Lu Chi's every move through the glass.

Lu Chi sat quietly in his seat, holding his schoolbag with both hands, staring straight ahead, looking blank and dazed.

Yu Qing and Lu Chi's relationship was like two parallel lines that never intersected, but this rainstorm acted as a catalyst for their relationship, bringing them closer together.

...

As Yu Qing got off the bus, she looked up at the night sky. The rain was still pouring down, and there wasn't a single star in the sky. It was dark and oppressive.

Yu Qing stood by the roadside holding an umbrella, turned to look at Lu Chi on the bus, but saw that the seats were empty. He quickly ran up and asked, "Driver, where is the boy who got on the bus with me?"

The driver looked at him speechlessly: "Didn't he just get off the bus with you?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qing was stunned.

He looked around but couldn't find any trace of Lu Chi, and his demeanor suddenly became strange.

What happened? Lu Chi was still in the car when he got out, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Yu Qing wanted to ask Lu Chi which direction he had left in, but the bus behind her had already driven far away.

Yu Qing was left standing alone in the heavy rain, stunned.

It was already nine o'clock at night when Yu Qing entered the residential area. As she walked, she pondered how Lu Chi had disappeared without her noticing.

Suddenly, a piercing meow shattered the silence of the night.

"Meow—"

Yu Qing was startled. He turned around abruptly and saw a wet little kitten standing on his balcony, staring at him with wide eyes.

The cat's meows were so eerie that it took Yu Qing a while to recover, and she touched the cold sweat on her forehead.

Yu Qing walked out with her umbrella, picked it up with a look of disgust, but found that its paw was injured and bleeding. It looked rather pitiful. Yu Qing looked around and asked, "Whose cat is this?"

"Hello, are you a tuxedo cat?"

A gentle female voice came from behind.

Yu Qing turned around in confusion and saw a young woman holding an oil-paper umbrella and wearing a Hanfu dress looking at him cautiously.

The woman looked to be in her early twenties, with classically beautiful features and light makeup. Dressed in Hanfu and with an oil-paper umbrella, she looked like a beautiful woman from ancient times who had stepped out of a painting.