Chapter 16: A Rather Unpleasant Rainy Day
After showering in the dormitory and changing into dry clothes, Lu Zhiyin stood by the window with her long, wet hair.
Looking out the window, the world was gray, the sky covered by oppressive dark clouds, and no sunlight could be seen.
The rain curtain and mist obscured her vision, making the distant scenery blurry. Lu Zhiyin couldn’t see her own path ahead.
Ouyang Qing’s ambiguous reply left her feeling lost.
Opening the window, Lu Zhiyin extended her palm outside. Cold raindrops fell into her palm, and fine droplets splashed onto her face. Lu Zhiyin couldn’t regain her confidence.
She was still so lost.
Closing the window, she touched her forehead, which felt slightly hot.
It was probably because of the fever. When the rain stopped and the fever subsided, everything would be better.
With that thought, Lu Zhiyin sat down on the edge of her bed.
Ouyang Qing sat opposite her, her long golden hair shining under the incandescent lamp, somewhat glaring.
“…”
In silence, Ouyang Qing fiddled with the doll at her waist. The atmosphere in the bedroom was not good, and she felt bored and suppressed.
She used to feel bored often, usually passing the time by sleeping.
Logically, she should be sleeping now, but she inexplicably felt no sleepiness.
Grabbing the turtle doll’s two front legs, Ouyang Qing brought the doll close to her face. Wiggling her hands, the doll also swayed.
The little doll had no life, it was merely manipulated by her, which was very boring.
Ouyang Qing glanced at Lu Zhiyin again.
Should she give life to the doll? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to do that yet.
Closing her eyes, Ouyang Qing placed the doll back at her waist. She stood up and paced back and forth in the bedroom.
“Are you anxious about something?”
Ouyang Qing kept moving in front of her eyes, making Lu Zhiyin feel annoyed.
“…Hmm? No.”
Perhaps not.
Ouyang Qing finally lay back down on the bed. She pulled up the covers, closed her eyes, and turned her back to Lu Zhiyin.
There’s no rule that you have to be sleepy to sleep, right?
“Sigh…”
Lu Zhiyin let out a turbid breath, her thoughts becoming more and more chaotic.
She decided to find something to do, as having something to do would stop her from overthinking. She prepared to go to work at the restaurant where she had her part-time job.
“Umbrella, can I borrow it?”
She came to Ouyang Qing’s bed.
“…”
Ouyang Qing didn’t reply, but a pink umbrella appeared at Lu Zhiyin’s feet.
“Thank you.”
Forcing a smile, Lu Zhiyin bent down, picked up the umbrella, and left the bedroom.
Not long after returning to the dormitory, her legs still felt a bit sore and weak, making it difficult to walk steadily.
The fever made her vision sway. Her intuition told her she should return to the dormitory to rest.
Unfortunately, there was someone annoying lying in the dormitory, and staying there would only make her feel troubled.
At the entrance of the dormitory building, Lu Zhiyin opened her umbrella.
The pink umbrella was particularly conspicuous under the dark sky, clashing with the oppressive atmosphere.
Rainwater washed over the umbrella, and the handle swayed unsteadily in the wind and rain.
Lu Zhiyin switched to holding the umbrella with both hands.
Walking slowly, Lu Zhiyin passed the cafeteria and the sports ground. Her cloth shoes were soaked by the rain.
Her head felt hotter and hotter. Lu Zhiyin stopped walking. She stood still, looked around, and her gaze fell upon the open infirmary door.
The sign for the infirmary was blurry in the thick rain.
Lu Zhiyin made a last-minute change of destination. She decided to go to the infirmary to get some medicine and rest for a while.
She didn’t intend to hurt herself again.
Lu Zhiyin walked slowly, the world swaying more and more violently. Before she could reach the infirmary door, her vision went black, her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the waterlogged ground.
Her school uniform was soaked in dirty water, her pink umbrella slipped from her hand, bounced twice on the sports ground, and then rolled away.
Her vision plunged into darkness, and the sound of rain grew louder in her ears.
Lu Zhiyin hazily tried to push herself up from the ground. The moment she supported her upper body, her arms weakened, and she fell to the ground again.
The cold rain leached the heat from her body. In a daze, Lu Zhiyin once again recalled a certain rainy night from the past.
She soon lost consciousness completely.
The heavy rain continued to fall, and the water on the sports ground gradually rose.
…
“There, you’re fine now. Be careful next time and don’t get hurt again.”
In the infirmary, Zhu Qing was bandaging a wound for a classmate who had fallen on the stairs.
“Yes, thank you, Class Monitor.”
Holding Zhu Qing’s hand, the young girl, blushing, thanked Zhu Qing.
“It’s my duty. You should rest here for a while. I need to go back to the library.”
Smiling, Zhu Qing patted her classmate’s hand. She picked up the umbrella by the door and left the infirmary.
Standing at the entrance of the infirmary, Zhu Qing saw a long object lying on the ground in the rain from afar.
The rain was too dense, and from a distance, she couldn’t see clearly.
Opening her umbrella, Zhu Qing walked towards Lu Zhiyin. She was wearing rain boots, so the puddles on the ground only made her feel a bit cold, with no other effect.
“…? Lu Shiyu?”
As she got closer, Zhu Qing saw the object on the ground clearly.
It was a familiar face.
Her long hair was plastered to her school uniform, and the school uniform clung tightly to her skin. The school’s summer uniform wasn’t thick, and after being soaked in water, Zhu Qing could faintly see through to her skin.
Without any hesitation or second thoughts, Zhu Qing tried to help Lu Zhiyin up.
Upon realizing she couldn’t lift Lu Zhiyin with one hand, she decisively dropped her umbrella and picked Lu Zhiyin up, running towards the infirmary.
Lu Zhiyin was very light, and even with her school uniform soaked with rain, Zhu Qing didn’t find her heavy.
The girl’s frail body reminded Zhu Qing of a pitiable person she remembered from her memories, who was disabled but strong-willed.
Hurrying back to the infirmary, Zhu Qing placed Lu Zhiyin on a chair next to an empty bed.
“Class Monitor? Didn’t you go back to the library?”
The girl Zhu Qing had just helped asked her through the light blue curtain.
“I was supposed to go back, but I saw someone fainted in the rain, so I brought her back to the infirmary.”
Zhu Qing said this, then turned and ran out to fetch the umbrella left on the sports ground.
The girl in the infirmary wasn’t surprised. Zhu Qing was a good person, her kindness was well-known, and today she was just doing what she always did.
…
“Huff… huff… huff…”
When Zhu Qing returned, she was panting, bending over and gasping for breath.
Not only had she gone to get the umbrella, but she had also run back to the dormitory to get a set of dry school uniforms, a towel, and a hair dryer. She had run so fast that she had forgotten to change her own damp school uniform.
Placing the plastic bag containing the items next to Lu Zhiyin, Zhu Qing didn’t rest.
“I’ll help her change her clothes.”
Reminding the classmate behind the curtain, Zhu Qing began to help Lu Zhiyin change.
Without distraction, Zhu Qing helped Lu Zhiyin change, then dried her hair. She placed Lu Zhiyin on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and only then, with peace of mind, did she attend to her own wet self.
