At 6:40 in the morning, the city was shrouded in a gray veil of rain. Bai Zhiye sat in the back seat of a swaying bus, her forehead pressed against the cool windowpane, her hot breath creating a thin layer of white mist on the surface.
The rain meandered down the car window, distorting the view outside into blurred blocks of color.
She got up an hour earlier today because the weather forecast said last night that there would be heavy rain today.
At this moment, she was wearing a neatly ironed school uniform. Her schoolbag contained the math homework she had completed last night, as well as a book-wrapped copy of "Norwegian Wood" - this was the novel she had been secretly reading recently.
"Next stop, Quanxin No. 1 Middle School, please..."
A mechanical female voice announced the station, and Bai Zhiye rubbed his sleepy eyes. The raindrops on the window sparkled in the morning light, like scattered stars.
She subconsciously touched the folding umbrella in the side pocket of her schoolbag. The umbrella was a plain navy blue - she had saved up her pocket money for three months to buy it because the clerk said the color would remind people of the "eyes of the deep sea."
The bus slowly pulled up to the platform in front of the school gate, and Bai Zhiye joined the crowd as they squeezed toward the door. A cold wind mixed with raindrops seeped in through the cracks in the door, and she shivered involuntarily.
Through the rain, she saw the century-old cherry tree at the school gate swaying in the wind, its pink and white petals blown down by the rain and covering the ground.
"Please make way, thank you..."
The moment she opened the navy blue umbrella, the cold rain splashed on her white canvas shoes.
Bai Zhiye wrinkled her nose and was about to take a step forward when her peripheral vision caught sight of a familiar figure under the cherry tree at the school gate.
————Ye Qingliu.
He held a pure black, long-handled umbrella, his slender figure standing out clearly against the rain. The collar of his school uniform was slightly open, revealing the neatly ironed white shirt underneath.
Unlike other students who hurried to hide from the rain, he just stood there quietly, his gray-blue eyes fixed on the direction of the bus stop.
Bai Zhiye's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Raindrops dripped down the edge of his umbrella, creating tiny splashes at his feet. His stance was unique, his back straight yet not forced, just like him, always maintaining just the right distance.
Bai Zhiye noticed that his right hand was in his pocket, his left hand was firmly holding the umbrella handle, and he wore a simple black watch on his wrist with distinct knuckles.
A gust of wind blew by, and a few cherry blossom petals fell on his shoulders. He seemed oblivious, his eyes still fixed on the bus stop. Bai Zhiye suddenly realized that he was waiting for her.
This realization instantly made her cheeks heat up. She instinctively looked down at her attire—was the collar of her uniform askew? Was her hair wet from the rain? Was the mud on her shoes too noticeable?
Just then, Ye Qingliu seemed to have finally discovered her.
He tilted his head slightly, his gray-blue eyes appearing particularly bright in the rain. Bai Zhiye saw the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a barely perceptible smile.
The sound of rain suddenly became distant, and it seemed as if the world was left with only the two of them. Bai Zhiye stood there, feeling as if her heart was about to burst out of her chest.
She recalled how she had casually said "It might rain on Monday" after school last Friday, and Ye Qingliu had simply said "hmm". She thought he didn't take it to heart at all.
But now, he was standing in the rain with an umbrella, waiting for her.
Bai Zhiye took a deep breath and walked towards him. The rain soaked her trouser legs, but she no longer felt cold.
The navy blue umbrella drew a graceful arc in the rain, like the tail fin of a deep-sea fish swinging, swimming resolutely towards the gray-blue ocean.
Rainwater formed a small stream on the road between them. Bai Zhiye trotted across the street, the water splashing and soaking her trouser legs. The navy blue umbrella swayed slightly as she ran, and raindrops slid down the ribs, leaving a trail of shimmering drops in her wake.
The moment Ye Qingliu saw her, his eyes lit up slightly. He subconsciously took a half step forward, then stopped immediately, as if he was afraid of disturbing something.
The gray-blue eyes glowed gently in the rain, like a ray of sunshine suddenly shining through on a rainy day.
"How did you..."
Bai Zhiye's voice was muffled by the rain, and she had no choice but to jog closer. The faint scent of cedar mixed with the freshness of rain from Ye Qingliu's body hit her face, making her breath stagnate.
Before he could finish his words, Ye Qingliu had already switched the umbrella to his left hand and took out a light blue thermos from the side pocket of his schoolbag with his right hand.
His movements were very gentle. The moment he unscrewed the lid, hot steam immediately rose from the mouth of the cup, forming a small cloud of white mist in the cold rainy air.
Bai Zhiye saw a drop of milky white liquid hanging on the edge of the cup, shining slightly in the morning light.
"Milk," his voice was softer than the sound of the rain, with a slight rise at the end. "You said you wanted some yesterday."
Bai Zhiye stood there in a daze, her navy blue umbrella tilted slightly, and the rain slid down the ribs onto her shoulders.
She remembered that yesterday when she was passing by the cafeteria, she saw a poster with "Daily Fresh Milk" on the bulletin board and casually said, "I really want to drink hot milk."
The thermos cup was pressed into her hand, and the warm touch spread from her fingertips to the bottom of her heart. The cup still retained Ye Qingliu's body temperature. Bai Zhiye lowered her head and took a sip. The perfect sweetness melted on her tongue, and the rich milky aroma made her squint her eyes.
"The temperature is just right..." she muttered softly, gently licking the milk stains from the edge of her lips with the tip of her tongue. When she looked up, she found that Ye Qingliu's right shoulder was completely wet from the rain.
It turned out that when she was drinking milk, he quietly tilted the umbrella most of the way towards her. The shadow of the long black handle umbrella completely covered her, while most of his body was exposed to the rain.
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