It was raining outside, and the air felt a bit chilly. The wind that brushed across their faces was sticky and damp.
In the corridor, Shen Xiyan looked up at the gloomy sky. Raindrops fell from above, splashing into the small puddles on the ground, sending up little bursts of water.
Qin Sheng also looked up at the sky, twirling the end of her hair around her fingertip. With a hint of frustration, she said, “I didn’t bring an umbrella~~”
Aunt waved her hand. “Share mine with me……”
Qin Sheng just glanced at her, then shook her head. “Aunt, your umbrella is too small.”
That was the truth… Among those present, only one person had a big umbrella.
With a press of the switch, Shen Xiyan’s umbrella bloomed open with a “pop,” much larger than Aunt’s by several circles.
He hadn’t wanted to do this either, but Wenwen was a lazy girl. Whenever the weather looked gloomy, when it seemed like it might rain but hadn’t yet, she was too lazy to bring one. She’d mutter, saying—
If it didn’t rain, she’d look like an idiot carrying an umbrella.
Why not just do what Lin Ci did and stuff one in her bag?
Just lazy! Didn’t want to carry it!
Helpless, Shen Xiyan could only buy an extra-large umbrella. It was more than enough for two people, and three could squeeze under it if they tried.
“Here! Aunt, let’s swap.”
“Too much trouble, no need, no need, let’s just go.” Qin Sheng didn’t give Shen Xiyan the chance, grabbing him and heading out the door.
Then she stuck out her tongue playfully, looking rather smug.
Shen Xiyan’s face was darker than the sky as he asked, “What are you doing?”
Qin Sheng didn’t answer. She didn’t cling to his arm, just tugged at the hem of his clothes, mumbling to change the subject: The sky… I still prefer the feeling of sunlight on my face.
I hate rainy days.
Suddenly, Qin Sheng paused, her delicate face tilting up. “Aren’t you going to ask me who Yang Guangzhao is?”
“? ? ? “
“Hahaha… That’s your code name!”
Shen Xiyan turned to look at Aunt, meaning: [Let’s swap places].
But Aunt just waved her hand.
It was clear Qin Sheng was after Xiyan, but this wasn’t some unforgivable crime. Forcing Qin Sheng away would kill the mood anyway, and besides—
Xiyan wouldn’t lose out.
Shen Xiyan knew he couldn’t count on Aunt. He pointed at the supermarket by the entrance of the residential complex. “There’s a supermarket over there. Go buy an umbrella yourself.”
“That costs money!”
“Like you don’t have any?”
Qin Sheng made a face at him.
“I’m planning to save up! Even though I don’t need much now, I’ll need a lot for things like getting married, buying a house, and a car in the future.”
“By then, you… cough, cough! Maybe my husband will still be a college student, and if he can’t afford it, we’ll buy it together! If I save more now, it’ll be easier later…”
“Heh! The sun must be rising in the west. Why not ask your dad for money?”
“Well~~ for example, if I’m spendthrift now and will need a million in the future, but if I save now, maybe I’ll only need five hundred thousand.”
“He’s a businessman, super sensitive about money. He’d never guess I’m already saving, so he’ll think my husband is amazing! That he secretly saved up so much!”
“…Hmph, the man you support must be really promising!”
“Whether I like him or not has nothing to do with whether he’s promising,” Qin Sheng said. “I like him, so he’s the best!”
In this world, superpowers aren’t always omnipotent, but the power of money almost always is.
The more prosperous the place, the greater the power of money.
Just to give a familiar example of how powerful money is: I’m not that kind of person, tonight I’m yours, no matter how many people come tonight, no matter if they’re even human…
Actually, Qin Sheng didn’t need any of that.
With just a crook of her finger, all sorts of men would flock to her. Why would she need to “suffer” and pitifully save her own pocket money?
Seeing that Shen Xiyan was showing signs of disliking her, Qin Sheng pouted.
“I’m warning you, my body is weak, I can’t catch cold. If you insist on swapping umbrellas now, I’ll definitely get rained on. What if I get sick and come down with a fever?”
“How am I supposed to take care of Aunt then?”
“You don’t want Aunt to have no one to look after her, do you?”
♡(‘∀`)♡
There she went again.
If you were tough, she’d be tough too.
If you weren’t, she’d immediately say she was joking, apologize, and go through the whole routine.
“Qin Sheng, do you really think acting shameless always works on me?”
“You know whether it works or not. If it doesn’t, why do you bother refusing?” Qin Sheng caught Shen Xiyan’s expression and her lips curled up.
She could clearly sense a shift in the way Shen Xiyan interacted with her.
Sometimes he was gentle, sometimes he suddenly turned cold. “Back and forth” had become his norm lately, which meant he was struggling, conflicted, not calm and unmoved.
This change made Qin Sheng happy.
So.
Be.
It.
After that, Shen Xiyan didn’t mention switching umbrellas again, but the distance between them was wide enough to fit another person.
Logically, with such a gap, her shoulder should have gotten wet, but after a while, Qin Sheng realized she hadn’t gotten a single drop on her.
The wind was coming from his side, and Shen Xiyan was blocking the sideways rain.
But Qin Sheng wasn’t moved, because her feelings were completely different now.
In her previous life, Shen Xiyan might have done this out of concern, but now, he just wanted to keep his distance and not let her “get close.”
Did he think she was so easily fooled?
“Xiyan! Can you come a bit closer? The rain’s blowing onto me.”
“? ? ? “
Shen Xiyan glanced at his own shoulder, soaked on one side, and felt like cursing.
If you know “Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun,” at least he wasn’t watering the flowers.
“Forget it, I’ll just move over. Aunt’s watching from behind… If you keep giving me the cold shoulder, it’s really awkward!”
“I didn’t even touch you, and there’s still a dozen centimeters between us, right? As long as the distance between a man and a woman isn’t negative, it’s not too close!”
“We were so far apart just now, I almost thought I had body odor…”
After Qin Sheng moved closer, she quickly turned to glance at Shen Xiyan. Seeing that he was looking straight ahead, focused on walking and not “throwing a fit” anymore, her smile widened uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Lin Ci, who was following several meters behind, looked completely distracted.
Shen Xiyan’s repeated rejections made her happy, but after these days, she had come to understand Qin Sheng a little. This person had no bottom line, dared to say anything, and could say anything.
Shen Xiyan owed her a favor, so he had no confidence to resist.
Normally, people held umbrellas with one hand, keeping the handle vertical.
But this gave a great view…
Walking behind Shen Xiyan and watching them, Lin Ci felt sour inside.
Walking in front of Shen Xiyan, where she couldn’t see them, made her feel lost and restless.
So now, Lin Ci let the umbrella handle rest diagonally on her shoulder, carrying it as she walked.
That way, she only had to look at Shen Xiyan’s legs—out of sight, out of mind.
Sometimes, when the rain got heavier, water would gather on the umbrella and run down the ribs, and like a little kid, she’d secretly tilt it to watch the droplets fly off along the edge.
Her bad mood would fly away with them.
She had to be even braver.
Lin Ci, fighting!!!
At ten o’clock, the group arrived on time at the People’s Hospital of S City, one of the best hospitals in S City.
Qin Sheng really had some skills—she’d managed to get a private ward here.
“So? Not too shabby for Aunt, right?”
“Aunt, don’t worry, the caretaker I hired will be here a bit later.”
“How much?”
“One hundred fifty per day. Usually you can be discharged in ten days. Considering the preliminary checkups, I paid for half a month in advance.”
Aunt nodded. “I’ll transfer the money to you.”
“Okay.” Qin Sheng didn’t stand on ceremony.
But in Shen Xiyan’s eyes, Aunt was just too naive.
With Qin Sheng’s personality, she definitely hired the best on the market. How could a mere one hundred fifty be enough?
He’d remember it and repay it all together later.
“If you two don’t have anything else to do, you can head back now.” Aunt issued the order to leave.
Shen Xiyan pretended not to hear, picking up a rag and wiping down the bedside table. “I’ll keep you company a little longer.”
“No need! If you stay, you’ll just sit around. There will be doctors later, I don’t need you. Go home and do your homework.”
DJ…
Aunt feigned annoyance and glared at him. “Not listening to your Aunt now?”
Shen Xiyan sighed. “If you need anything, remember to message me. It’s not far, it’s no trouble to come by.”
“Got it, got it. I’m the guardian here, okay? Why does it feel like you two are taking care of me?” Aunt pushed and shooed them out the door.
On the way downstairs, Shen Xiyan and Wenwen walked in front.
Qin Sheng walked at the back, shoulder to shoulder with Lin Ci. Suddenly, she asked, “Want to know how to get closer to Xiyan?”
Lin Ci: “???”
“Watch and learn. People like you shouldn’t daydream.” Qin Sheng pointed at Shen Xiyan’s back, then made a slicing gesture at her neck for Lin Ci to see.
Then, on the last step, she deliberately missed with her left foot, stumbling hard and falling to the ground. Her ankle landed squarely on the sharp edge of the step.
With a “bang.”
Shen Xiyan heard the noise, turned to see Qin Sheng sprawled on the ground, clutching her ankle in pain, and immediately pushed through the crowd to run to her.
His expression was panicked.
“What happened?”
“I twisted my ankle…” Qin Sheng said, her voice choked with grievance.
Shen Xiyan pulled away her little hand from her ankle and saw that it was already visibly red and swollen. It looked quite serious, and his heart clenched tight.
Lin Ci: “???”