Rumble.
The sound of thunder echoed through the night sky, announcing the arrival of a heavy downpour.
Zhou Xufang tucked the bowl of piping hot porridge she was holding underneath her greatcoat. Adjusting her hat, she dashed across a street. The rain had come pouring down too quickly, sending pedestrians scrambling for cover.
The temperature at night time was much lower than when the sun was out, resulting in a thick layer of mist that covered the streets. It was at that moment that Zhou Xufang’s eyes caught sight of a black umbrella beneath the cover of a tree. Looking down, she saw a pair of white sneakers getting drenched by the rainwater that was splattering off the ground. Next came a pair of beige trousers, and moving her gaze further up the man’s body, she came across a slender arm with a well-defined bone structure, holding on to the umbrella. His skin was pale, with the only other color coming from the pink of his fingernails.
Zhou Xufang instantly recognized who this man was the moment she saw his hand.
She ran a little faster toward him. “Jiang Zhi.”
His umbrella was raised slightly higher upon hearing his name being called. Finally, she could see his face.
Those lips of his, which were originally curved upward, bent back into a straight line the moment he saw Zhou Xufang. “Don’t you know that you need to use an umbrella when it’s raining this hard?”
Underneath the umbrella, a pair of mystifying yet equally cold eyes stared back at her.
‘God, he even looks hot when he’s angry too.’
Zhou Xufang wiped the rain off her face. “It wasn’t raining when I left my house.”
Wearing a stoic expression, he paid no heed to the muddy ground beneath his feet as he walked out from under the tree’s cover. He was about to reach out and grab her wrist when he paused for a moment before deciding to use the strap on her cap to pull her under his umbrella. “You’re soaked through.” Visibly annoyed, he shifted his umbrella closer to her side. “You cold?”
Zhou Xufang looked down only to discover that Jiang Zhi’s sneakers had already been stained brown by the muddy water. At that moment, she recalled what Fang Lixiang had told her. The latter had said that Jiang Zhi was the heir of a powerful family and that he was born with a golden spoon in his mouth.
She moved over to a nearby sidewalk where the ground appeared cleaner.
“Yes, I’m freezing,” she replied.
Jiang Zhi followed her direction and stepped onto the concrete pavement. The umbrella he brought was large enough to keep both of them dry, but this girl chose to maintain a distance between them. She shrunk herself into her coat, but it was futile as her face was dripping with rainwater. While she could not hide her body, she could, however, hide her wet, beady eyes.
Perhaps she had washed her hair or perhaps it was because of the rain, but the hair dye from earlier today had more or less faded away now. Clumps of dark, silky hair, clung onto her face and her neck, making her look like a poor little quail chick stuck in the rain.
“Hold this.”
Jiang Zhi shoved the umbrella into her hand. Then, he bent over so that both of them were at the same height. Taking off his coat, he proceeded to wrap it around her shoulders, his fingers moving hastily while doing so. Of course, his action was by no means gentle. In fact, it felt a bit rough and slightly awkward. The unfriendly look on his face didn’t help either. His face reminded Zhou Xufang specifically of a proud house pet waiting to be pampered and showered in gold.
Zhou Xufang clung onto the umbrella dumbfoundedly. Because she was significantly shorter than him, she had to tip-toe to be able to keep both of their heads dry and to block the bitter wind blowing from behind. The other hand remained within her coat, holding on to his porridge. Every part of her body right now was icy-cold except for the left part of her chest, where the porridge was nestled at.
She looked up with rainwater still dripping off her eyelashes.
“I’m still freezing,” she said.
Zhou Xufang acting so obediently was indeed a rare sight to behold.
Jiang Zhi was still debating with himself whether or not he should hold her hand to warm her up.
However, her next question put an end to his inner-conflict. “Is it alright if I take a shower at your place?” Her voice was low and quiet as if she was cautiously speaking to a predator. She peered up at his face with a pair of dark, gem-like eyes, awaiting his answer.
Jiang Zhi was a little disoriented from being stared at by her. He sucked in a mouthful of cold winter air and forced it down his throat.
“Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough…”
‘I think I’m dying.’
He coughed so hard that he bent over and his eyes turned bloodshot.
Seeing him in such a state, Zhou Xufang hurriedly removed the coat and returned it to him. As she did so, the umbrella she was supposed to be holding swayed wildly from side to side, resulting in her head becoming soaked wet once again.
Some rainwater inevitably landed on Jiang Zhi’s fingers, turning his joints bright red due to the cold. Even so, he reached out to grab the umbrella alongside the girl toward him. “Wear it properly.”
‘A shower? Who taught her such a tactic? She must’ve picked this up from someone else. How bold of her to say such a thing toward another man…’
Jiang Zhi’s chest tightened up, causing him to cough twice. While he felt displeased, his hand that held the umbrella still moved inches over to Xufang’s side.
Soon, one side of his black sweater had started soaking up the raindrops and his face was turning deathly pale by the second. Fearing that he would collapse from the cold, Zhou Xufang no longer wanted to waste any more time. “If you don’t allow that, I’ll leave now.” She pulled out the porridge she had been holding near her chest the whole time and hung the bag onto the umbrella’s hook. “Eat it while it’s hot.”
After that, she moved out of the umbrella’s cover.
Jiang Zhi held on to the strap of her hat, refusing to let her leave. “I didn’t say no.” He pulled the girl back under his umbrella. “Stand closer or you’ll get wet.”
There were hints of chagrin in his tone.