Rainy Night Rush
In the afternoon, as the sky darkened, Zhou Shufen paced back and forth between her bedroom and the living room, packing toiletries and a change of clothes into a small suitcase. The sound of the zipper was particularly clear in the quiet room.
"Xingxing, your dad's company is organizing a short trip to a nearby city for about three days." She tucked the folded towel into the corner of the suitcase and turned her head, a look of worry on her face. "I'm going to join in the fun, too. You'll be home alone for the next three days... Is that really okay?"
Zhou Jianxing was sitting cross-legged on the living room floor sorting his tool kit. Hearing this, he looked up and smiled helplessly, "Mom, I'm old enough. Of course, there's no problem at all. Just go have fun and relax. Don't worry about me."
Looking at her mother's still hesitant eyes, she felt warm but also a little distressed. It seemed that in the eyes of her parents, she would always be the child who needed to be thought of all the time.
Zhou Shufen, clutching the last folded pair of pajamas, walked over to Zhou Jianxing, nudged her waist with her elbow, and lowered her voice, "Speaking of which...how are you and your boyfriend getting along now?"
"It's...pretty good," Zhou Jianxing subconsciously wanted to grin, but felt that it would seem too unrestrained, so he quickly pursed his lips, trying to suppress the excitement.
The muscles at the corners of her mouth were pulled between lifting and pressing down, making her expression look a little strange and distorted, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.
"What's with that weird expression?" Zhou Shufen frowned as she looked at her face, which was trying hard to control but was full of flaws. Her tone was full of confusion. "I really don't understand you young people nowadays. You have so many different expressions when you're in love."
Although my daughter failed to control her facial expression, the happiness and satisfaction that came from the bottom of her heart and was almost tangible permeated the air around them silently.
As Zhou Shufen watched, a smile involuntarily spread across her face. Happiness was truly an amazing feeling; it would quietly slip out from the corners of a person's eyes, the tone of their voice, even the way they walked. It couldn't be hidden even if they wanted to.
Seeing Zhou Jianxing like this, Zhou Shufen felt a warm sense of relief in her heart.
"It's good that the relationship is stable," Zhou Shufen reached out and pinched Zhou Jianxing's nose lovingly. "Then find a chance to bring her home and show her to us. Your dad and I are so curious about what kind of person could have bewitched our Xingxing so much."
Immortal? Zhou Jianxing silently repeated the word in his mind.
Well, Wen Lingyi is her god.
"Mom, don't worry." Zhou Jianxing squatted down and pretended to carefully check the wheels of the suitcase, avoiding his mother's inquiring gaze. His voice was a little vague, "When the time is right... I will bring her back to see you."
It's obviously not the right time yet, and she herself can't tell when the right time will be.
To change the subject, she pulled out her phone and swiped her fingertips across the screen. "By the way," she clicked on the weather forecast. "I think it's going to rain in City D for the next three days, showers or thunderstorms. You and Dad, remember to bring an umbrella when you go out. Summer rain comes without warning."
Zhou Shufen felt warm at her daughter's thoughtful advice. She looked at Zhou Jianxing's lowered, focused face and nodded, "Okay, I got it. You're home alone, so take care of yourself."
·
As evening approached, the sky darkened completely. Thick dark clouds hung low over the city. The air became hot and humid, with an oppressive feeling of impending storm.
Wen Lingyi stood in front of the French window in her bedroom, looking out at the dark sky. Judging by the thickness and color of the clouds, a heavy rainstorm was likely unavoidable that evening.
I don't know...will there be a loud thunder?
She remembered the fear Zhou Jianxing showed on the stormy night, his body curled up into a ball, his face pale, and even his breathing became rapid.
Although they had only been separated for a few days, Wen Lingyi felt uncomfortable both physically and mentally.
The room was too quiet and the other side of the bed was empty. When I was working, Zhou Jianxing's face, which was sometimes silly and sometimes extremely stubborn, would always appear uncontrollably in my mind, as well as her busy face around me with sparkling eyes.
Perhaps, without even realizing it, she had developed a preference and habit for the clueless Zhou Jianxing that she herself was unwilling to admit. She was vaguely aware of this, but subconsciously refused to think deeply about it or face it.
Because as Su Qing once pointed out sharply, love often means giving the other person the power to hurt you.
The most thorough way to avoid being hurt is not to love anyone.
Her heart had been stabbed deeply once, and the wound was so deep that the healing process was long and painful. Therefore, she was almost instinctively wary and resistant to being in a situation where she might get hurt again.
But… Wen Lingyi unconsciously clenched her right hand, the pad of her thumb repeatedly rubbing the cold, hard outline of the ring on her ring finger. She recalled that night, when the cool night breeze blew like water, and Zhou Jianxing looked at her with focused eyes, saying that he was willing to revolve around her like the stars in the solar system revolve around the sun.
The clumsy and sincere enthusiasm may have given her a little weak but real courage, making her want to... try again.
After all, she was still young and had the opportunity to try and make mistakes, right? She tried to convince herself.
However, another subconscious panic based on past experience still enveloped her like the dark clouds outside the window, slowly reoccupying her heart.
Her heart had been pieced together from the ruins with great difficulty. Did she really want to expose it to risk again and risk being shattered?
Two emotions were silently pulling at her heart.
·
After taking a hot shower, Wen Lingyi leaned against the head of the bed, picked up her mobile phone, subconsciously clicked on Zhou Jianxing's circle of friends, and carefully read through each message.
Zhou Jianxing is a person with a strong desire to share. She can describe the smallest things, such as fixing a particularly difficult fault, a new bud forming on the balcony jasmine, or even just having a bowl of beef noodles with plenty of ingredients, in a very impressive way, and with pictures, her stories appear full of vitality.
His name is "Jianxing", but his personality is more like a little sun.
Direct and passionate, without beating around the bush, radiating light and heat with all your might.
Wen Lingyi suddenly remembered that she seemed to have read somewhere that stars themselves do not emit light, and can only be seen by people with the help of reflection from the sun on a clear night.
So, it is because of the existence of the sun that we can “see the stars”, right?
At this moment, a dull rumble came from the distant window, like a huge rock rolling through the sky. Then, a pale flash of lightning suddenly split the dark sky, briefly illuminating the entire room.
A few seconds later, a loud thunder that almost shattered the eardrums suddenly exploded, and even the window glass was buzzing.
At the same time, the phone in my hand vibrated crisply and the screen lit up.
It’s news about Zhou Jianxing.
Star: "/(ㄒoㄒ)/~~"
Xingxing: "Sister Wen, it's thundering, so loud... I'm so scared."
Xingxing: "I'm the only one at home. My parents are traveling..."
Xingxing: "I miss you so much...I want you to hug me."
Outside the window, the rainstorm that had been brewing and suppressed all night finally poured down. The dense raindrops hit the glass windows frantically, making crackling sounds, and thunder and lightning raged alternately in the night sky.
Wen Lingyi stared at the lines of words on the screen, especially the last sentence, for a full half minute, then quickly lifted the quilt and stood up.
Shuiyue Gallery - Wen Lingyi: "Wait for me."
After sending the message, she threw her phone on the bed, walked quickly to the closet, grabbed a set of sportswear, put it on, and casually tidied her hair. She picked up her car keys and hurried out of the bedroom.
When he came down the stairs, Su Zhe was sitting on the sofa in the living room, talking on the phone, his tone gentle and smiling. He saw Wen Lingyi dressed like this, holding the car keys, obviously about to go out, and turned to look out the window at the apocalyptic storm, his eyes widened in surprise.
"Is there a red alert for thunderstorms outside?" Su Zhe covered the receiver of his phone with one hand and asked in disbelief, "Why are you going out at this time? What are you going to do?"
Wen Lingyi didn't stop and walked straight to the entrance to change her shoes. Without even looking up, she just glanced at him calmly and said calmly, "Go and coax my girlfriend."
Su Zhe's eyes instantly widened.
He quickly said to the person on the other end of the phone, "Baby, I'll call you later. Something's going on here." Then he hung up and walked to the entrance. "It's such a heavy thunderstorm, the visibility on the road is too poor. It's very dangerous. Do you want me to drive you?"
Although he and Wen Lingyi have a contractual relationship, they are also friends. At this time, he should ask out of gentlemanly manners.
Wen Lingyi had already changed her shoes. She stood up, shook her head, and said in a distant and cold tone, "No need."
She grabbed a long-handled black umbrella standing by the door and, without hesitation, opened it. Instantly, the roar of wind and rain and the dampness of steam rushed in. She took a step outside, her figure quickly disappearing into the blur of rain outside.
·
Wen Lingyi drove Zhou Jianxing back to Magnolia Court from Lanyue Bay. With her excellent sense of direction and memory, she set the navigation system, barely glancing at it. She pressed the accelerator harder than usual, cutting through the dense rain and speeding toward Zhou Jianxing's home.
Raindrops as big as beans hit the windshield madly, instantly forming a curtain of water. The wipers were turned to the maximum gear and swung left and right frantically, but they could only barely scrape out a small, brief piece of clear vision.
The thunder outside the window seemed to explode right on the roof of the car, and flashes of lightning illuminated the dim road with a terrifying paleness. The road was slippery and reflective, and visibility was extremely low. Wen Lingyi had no choice but to turn on the high beam, and the beam struggled to penetrate a short distance in the rain.
Fortunately, it was late at night and the weather was bad, so there were few vehicles on the road. However, her knuckles were turning white from the force of her grip on the steering wheel. She was highly concentrated and drove with fear.
After finally parking the car safely in Magnolia Garden, Wen Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief and had the chance to pick up the phone that had been vibrating on the passenger seat.
The screen was filled with Zhou Jianxing's bombardment of messages.
He anxiously asked her not to come, but insisted that he was not that scared. He repeatedly emphasized that the rain outside was too heavy, the road was full of water, and it was too unsafe to drive.
The last few words reminded her to be careful, drive slowly, and not to rush.
Wen Lingyi typed quickly.
Shuiyue Gallery - Wen Lingyi: "Which unit, building, and floor is your home located in?"
After getting a reply, she pushed open the car door. The umbrella was almost deformed by the strong wind, and the cold rain instantly wet her trouser legs and shoulders.
·
Standing in front of the door, Wen Lingyi raised her hand and knocked on the door.
Almost at the moment the knock on the door came, it was yanked open from the inside. She didn't even have time to tidy up her hair and clothes that were a little messy from the wind and rain.
A warm body rushed into her arms with great force, and his arms tightly wrapped around her waist with such force that she staggered.
The owner in his arms was still trembling slightly.
"I'm here, it's okay, don't be afraid." Wen Lingyi's hair ends and the shoulders of her coat were inevitably wet, and cold water droplets dripped down her hair.
She casually leaned the dripping umbrella in her hand against the door, and with her free hand she hugged the person in her arms just as tightly, gently patting her back with her palm.
"Wen Lingyi..." Zhou Jianxing buried his face deeply in her neck, his voice muffled and choked with forced suppression.
She felt a few drops of cold rain sliding down from the ends of Wen Lingyi's hair, dripping into her neck, and flowing deeper along the curve of her collarbone. The cold touch made her tremble slightly, but she hugged the person in her arms tighter, as if they wanted to rub each other into their bones and blood.
The longing for separation, the confusion of being alone late at night, the touching moment of seeing her actually come in the heavy rain...all the complicated emotions finally collapsed into the most straightforward, most vulgar, yet most heartfelt words.
"I love you."
Another flash of lightning flashed through the porch window, instantly illuminating the dim living room. But in this flickering white light, Zhou Jianxing's body slowly and truly relaxed in Wen Lingyi's stable and soft embrace.
She never thought that Wen Lingyi would really drive across half the city to find her without hesitation on such a dangerous and severe thunderstorm night just because of her word "afraid".
A thought flashed through Zhou Jianxing's mind.
She will love Wen Lingyi for the rest of her life.
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