Upon hearing this, the girl's body trembled slightly, and the hand holding the folding umbrella swayed a little. Her expression was obscured as she lowered her head.
"I have one, I brought an umbrella..."
Her voice was barely audible, like a mosquito's hum.
Wen Mo pursed his lips, unsure of how to look at her, and unable to figure out the reason, because Xia Lian's thoughts were really hard to understand, especially since she would sometimes do some inexplicable things.
But all in all, it's a good thing, at least I can go home.
"It's alright, it's great that you brought an umbrella." Wen Mo acted as if nothing had happened, smiling as he took the umbrella from Xia Lian's hand, opened it, and stepped into the rain. "Let's go, we should go home."
Xia Lian's toes twirled on the ground, as if she had something on her mind. After hesitating for a moment, she finally crawled under the umbrella.
They weren't far from home yet, and the two had already walked almost halfway. If Wenmo's folding umbrella hadn't broken, they would probably be home by now.
The rain lessened, changing from a "splashing" sound to a drizzle, and the sound of it hitting the umbrella became gentler, less intense.
Both were preoccupied with their own thoughts, and neither took the initiative to speak.
Even though the space under the umbrella was so small, and the cousins were standing very close together, at this moment it was as if an invisible barrier had been erected between them, separating them from each other.
Xia Lian took small steps, and Wen Mo deliberately slowed down to keep up with her pace.
Her gaze darted to the side, and a hint of disappointment appeared in the girl's eyes. Her once spirited face now looked dejected.
Her hair, heavy from being wet, hung down on the girl's shoulders. Her eyes stared blankly at her toes, her mood as dark as the clouds in the sky.
Seemingly unable to bear the atmosphere, Wen Mo gave an awkward laugh and was about to take the initiative to start a conversation.
"The weather seems to be getting hotter..."
"I lied, Wenmer..."
Before he could finish speaking, the girl beside him suddenly parted her lips and uttered a seemingly random sentence.
"Huh?" Wen Mo was stunned.
Xia Lian walked quietly, her eyes filled with deep frustration and gloom as she looked at Wen Mo, as if she felt guilty about what had just happened.
“I lied, Wenmo…” she repeated dejectedly, pointing her little finger at the umbrella in Wenmo’s hand.
"I've kept the umbrella in my bag... but I didn't tell Wenmo just now..."
After saying these words, Xia Lian lowered her head, her beautiful eyes darkening, no longer daring to look at Wen Mo's reaction.
"..."
Wen Mo opened his mouth slightly, but for a moment he didn't know what to say. The pattering rain pattered against the umbrella, and through the sound of the rain, he couldn't understand the girl's feelings.
Wenmo's feelings are complicated right now because, in her mind, her cousin, being such a good girl, would never lie. Just like what happened a few days ago, when she tried to pretend to be sick to ask for sick leave, her cousin refused.
After a long pause, Wen Mo frowned slightly, and his voice became somewhat muffled, "Why did you try to pretend you didn't have an umbrella just now?"
The sound of rain lingered, accompanied by raindrops falling on the umbrella. Xia Lian hesitated for a few seconds before telling him all the thoughts she had kept buried in her heart.
"Because...sharing an umbrella together would make us feel very intimate..." she stammered, a hint of guilt showing on her pretty face.
They just wanted to share an umbrella; they didn't expect the rain to be so heavy, and in the end, they were both soaked.
She had a coat to wear so she wasn't cold, but Wenmo was only wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt, and she got soaked in the rain.
Wen Mo pursed his lips, finding it somewhat amusing, because it was indeed something Xia Lian would do, always trying to imitate other people's intimate gestures.
"You just want to share an umbrella with me?"
"Matching, umbrella...?"
"It means sharing an umbrella, two people sharing one umbrella."
Xia Lian blinked and nodded her head honestly.
Wen Mo laughed, not feeling angry or resentful. Instead, she found the girl quite amusing, and she finally had some different thoughts.
Thinking of this, Wen Mo coughed twice and mimicked Xia Lian's words from a few days ago with a hint of amusement, "Lying is bad."
Seeing his feigned seriousness, Xia Lian looked at the ground somewhat helplessly, lowered her head, and mumbled an apology, "I'm sorry..."
Wen Mo shook his head, realizing that the other person might really think he was angry, so he immediately changed to a gentle tone and reached out to pat her head.
"I'm not angry. On the contrary, you surprised me quite a bit."
"No, you hate me..."
"I don't hate you, stop adding unnecessary drama to my character."
With a sigh, Wen Mo suddenly thought that it wasn't so bad to let Xia Lian always be a good girl, otherwise he might not be able to handle her strange ideas in the future.
He understood Xia Lian's thoughts, but her simple-minded mind didn't know how to express them. Perhaps it was because she was naturally naive, or simply slow-witted... Wen Mo couldn't guess what she was thinking, but he could sense the change in her.
Xia Lian followed cautiously beside him, feeling a little uneasy, her little head filled with all sorts of wild thoughts.
Will my cousin dislike me...?
That's going too far... I should have known better than to lie...
The sound of the rain was very fitting, reflecting the girl's mood, as if adding a unique and melancholic melody to her heart.
The two walked slowly, neither of them speaking again.
Several minutes passed before the rain gradually subsided and finally stopped.
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