After the rainstorm
Lu Yu turned around stiffly.
He saw that Shi Guang had sat up. He had opened a corner of the bed curtain and was rubbing his eyes, looking confused and sleepy, as if he had not yet fully woken up from his dream.
The morning light shone through the window onto his sleepy face.
"Why are you... here?" He looked at Lu Yu who was standing beside his bed, his voice filled with the defenseless softness of someone who had just woken up.
He seemed to have no recollection of what happened last night.
I don't remember that desperate hug.
I also don't remember the secrets he leaked.
Looking at his completely clueless expression, Lu Yu didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed.
He opened his mouth, and his fast-paced brain came up with a perfect excuse in 0.01 seconds.
"Oh, I..." He tried to make his tone sound as natural as usual. "I was just about to wake you up, but seeing that you were sleeping so soundly, I wanted to climb up and scare you. I didn't expect that you were so alert."
This is a lie full of loopholes.
But for Shi Guang, whose consciousness was still unclear at the moment, it seemed barely acceptable.
Shi Guang looked at him, his eyes still a little confused. He seemed to remember something, but also seemed to remember nothing. He subconsciously raised his hand to touch his eyes, feeling that the corners of his eyes seemed a little dry and itchy.
"Oh." He just responded softly.
Then he got out of bed, picked up his toiletries, brushed past Lu Yu, and walked into the bathroom.
Lu Yu pretended to know nothing.
He hoped that time would allow him to remember nothing.
He let out a long sigh, his entire body relaxed. Before the feeling of relief at having survived could fully develop, the fatigue and stiffness from a sleepless night washed over him like a tide. He rubbed his numb shoulders and, with heavy steps, returned to his bedside.
Just then, Sun Rui walked out of the bathroom, his hair combed meticulously. When he passed by Lu Yu, he suddenly stopped.
"Lu Yu," he began, his voice as steady as ever. "When a person is in deep sleep, the hippocampus's efficiency in consolidating short-term memories is significantly reduced. Especially after experiencing intense emotional stress, the body activates a protective forgetting mechanism. So, he most likely doesn't remember anything."
Lu Yu's heart skipped a beat. He didn't expect Sun Rui to expose everything so bluntly.
"But," he changed the subject, lowering his voice, "the brain will forget, but the body won't. Your actions last night have already established a safety association in his subconscious. Good luck."
After saying that, he said no more, turned around and walked out of the dormitory, leaving Lu Yu with a back view that concealed his achievements and fame.
Lu Yu stared at the closed door, unable to recover for a long time. He felt like a naked fool in front of this top student from the School of Finance, his every thought clearly seen through.
"What safety correlation... what risk-return..." He scratched his head irritably. "It's like talking about stocks."
He was mumbling when Fat Jiang on the other side, with a messy head, climbed down from the bed with sleepy eyes.
"Oh my god... Why do I feel like my bones are falling apart..." He pounded his waist and walked towards the bathroom like a sleepwalker, muttering, "I seemed to have a dream last night. I dreamed that thieves broke into our dormitory and fought on the bed..."
Lu Yu's heart was in his throat again.
But Fat Jiang was obviously just saying it casually. He didn't notice the strange atmosphere in the dormitory at all and rushed straight into the bathroom. Soon, he could hear a friendly argument between him and Shi Guang over the toothpaste.
"Master Time! Your mint-flavored toothpaste is too spicy! I feel like my tongue isn't even mine!"
“…You don’t have to.”
"No! My toothpaste ran out yesterday! Boss, can you please change to strawberry flavor tomorrow?"
After listening to the conversation inside, Lu Yu's heart, which had been beating fast, finally calmed down completely.
It was as if that thrilling thunderstorm night last night, that desperate hug, and those painful mutterings were really just a forgotten dream.
Lu Yu lowered his head and looked at the slightly wrinkled mark on his pajamas on his chest, as if he could still feel the warmth of the tears left over from last night.
The torrential rain that had besieged Jiangda University for two days finally ceased on Sunday morning. The sky was washed a brilliant blue, and the sun poured down without reservation, basking in the wet ground and sending up a cloud of white vapor. The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and broken branches, like the world taking a deep breath after a catastrophe.
The entire campus came alive.
Maintenance workers, wearing wellies, cleared fallen trees and clogged drains across the campus. Colorful quilts and clothing were hung out to dry on the rain-soaked lawns.
Although the water on Fallen Street hadn't receded, the businesses along both sides had already begun actively saving themselves. The owner of a barbecue restaurant cursed as he fished his lost freezer from the muddy water, while the waitress at the milk tea shop, with a scoop, worked hard to scoop out the accumulated water.
The students finally ended their confinement and streamed out of the dormitories in groups of two or three. Like animals emerging from hibernation, they were filled with curiosity about this familiar yet unfamiliar world of the Jiang River. Many even rolled up their trousers and waded into the calf-deep water to take photos and check in, their faces beaming with the excitement of having survived.
The last few days of military training came to a hasty end in this atmosphere of everything waiting to be rebuilt.
Because the torrential rain delayed so much training, the originally planned grand parade and drill performances were canceled. The final closing ceremony was simply a formality with all the companies gathering in the stadium.
As usual, the principal gave an impassioned, if somewhat lengthy, speech, praising the freshmen for their resilience in the inclement weather. Then, the instructors symbolically chanted a few slogans, and everyone sparsely saluted for the final time.
The half-month military training ended just like that.
There was no such excitement as I had imagined, nor were there tears welling up in my eyes at parting. Instead, there was a sense of relief and anticipation.
"Brothers! Goodbye!"
"Instructor Zhou! Come back and see us when you have time!"
The moment they were disbanded, the atmosphere in the Seventh Company reached its peak. Zhou Hai was no longer his cold, impassive demeanor. He smiled, a rare moment, and patted the shoulders of the young men in his company one by one.
When he walked in front of Lu Yu, he punched Lu Yu's chest hard, his eyes full of admiration: "You kid, not bad! You're a good candidate for the army. Don't lose this energy in college!"
He glanced at Shi Guang who was standing not far away and said with a smile, "And you, you, don't have to look so sullen all day long. Learn from your squad leader and smile more, otherwise the girls won't dare to chase you!"
As expected, Shi Guang's face turned red again.
The students dispersed in twos and threes. Fat Jiang and Teng cheered, threw their hats into the sky, and were so excited that they almost performed a rap on the spot.
"I'm free! I declare that my happiness is back!" Fat Jiang opened his arms and embraced the hard-won peace.
But Lu Yu felt a sense of loss for the first time.
He found that he seemed to have become accustomed to looking for that thin figure in the queue every day with his peripheral vision.
I was used to observing him quietly during breaks to see if he was reading or just looking down in a daze.
I'm used to calmly handing him a bottle of water when he's exhausted.
This habit was becoming an instinct that made him panic.
On the weekend after military training, Lu Yu returned home.
He thought that returning to a familiar environment would help him escape from the chaotic emotions, but he found that something seemed even worse.
When he was eating, he would look at the plate of steamed fish on the table and subconsciously think: This is not spicy, so it should be edible.
When he passed by a bookstore, he would see a book about the mortise and tenon structure of ancient buildings in the window, and for some reason he would walk in and buy it, thinking that maybe Shi Guang would like it.
He even tossed and turned in his big bed at night, and for the first time he felt that the bed was a little too big and so empty that it made him feel uneasy.
He thought he must be crazy.
For the first time in his life, he'd been so disturbed by someone. That slender figure, like an omnipresent ghost, dominated his thoughts. He didn't even need to close his eyes to clearly picture the man's long, trembling eyelashes as he lowered his head to read; the stubborn curve at the corner of his mouth as he pursed his lips; and the fleeting look of helplessness and indulgence in his clear eyes when he was teased to the point of helplessness.
These images played over and over in his mind like a movie, making him feel uneasy.
On Sunday night, Lu Yu lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and sighing. Finally unable to bear it any longer, he pulled out his phone and clicked on a pinned WeChat profile picture.
It was an account with a pink rabbit as its avatar, and its nickname was Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao.
【Lu Yu: Sister, are you asleep? 】
Less than ten seconds after the message was sent, the other party replied.
Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: No [picking nose]
Lu Yu's sister, Lu Yao, is four years older than him. She is a graduate student in the Journalism Department of Huacheng University next door. She is a veteran fan girl who often hangs out in various gossip forums and is known for her sharp tongue and sinister nature.
【Lu Yu: Let’s talk business】
Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: Oh, what a rare visitor! What? After two days of staying at home, you finally realized that your life is a doghouse and you need me to save you? Tell me, which unlucky girl has been harmed by your central air conditioner this time?
[Lu Yu: ...No. The situation is a bit complicated this time.]
Lu Yu hesitated for a long time, unsure how to phrase it. He couldn't possibly say he had some inappropriate thoughts about his male roommate. He was afraid his sister would rush to his house any second, kidnap him, and take him to the hospital for a brain CT scan.
He adopted an extremely roundabout approach.
Lu Yu: Sister, let me ask you a question. If you...care about someone so much, you can't help but want to care for them. You can't bear to see them suffer any injustice. When you see them sad, you feel upset too. When they smile, you feel like the sky is bright. What kind of problem is this?
After the message was sent, there was silence on the other end for a long time, so long that Lu Yu thought his sister had fallen asleep.
Just when he was about to give up, Lu Yao's message finally popped up.
Not one, but a series.
【Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: ???】
Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: Wait a moment, I'll take my time.
Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: Lu Yu, tell me honestly, are the symptoms you just described occurring with the girl you just met?
【Lu Yu: I already said it wasn’t true! 】
Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: Who's that? Could it be your childhood sweetheart, Chen Xi? Didn't she get into a university in the next city? Did you two rekindle your old flame?
Lu Yu was even more troubled. Chen Xi was an old friend of their families, having grown up together, but the relationship between them was purer than mineral water.
[Lu Yu: Not really. Stop guessing and just answer my question.]
The other side fell silent again.
This time, the silence lasted longer.
Then, Lu Yao sent a message that made Lu Yu feel like he was struck by lightning.
Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: Lu Yu, you fool!
[Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: This is not a problem]
[Lu Yaoyaoyaoyao: This is called, you fucking fell in love]
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