Luo Ye stretched and checked the time. He'd been in the library for two hours.
Mission complete for today's word count.
Stepping out, he saw it was drizzling again. Is this what Southern weather is like? Man, if it could just rain every day like this during military training, that would be awesome.
Luo Ye was heading back to the dorms, umbrella in hand, when the beautiful senior who helped him with the face scan walked out behind him.
Qin Yuwen glanced at Su Baizhou, then looked outside. For some reason, the light drizzle seemed to be getting heavier.
"Zhouzhou, should we just hang out in the library for a bit and wait for the rain to stop?"
"No, I need to be present to review something for the freshmen."
Su Baizhou looked at the light rain, thinking it was no big deal.
"Yuwen, watch my laptop for me."
"Hey, Zhouzhou, you're seriously going?" Qin Yuwen followed her to the library entrance, watching Su Baizhou walk away.
Just then, Luo Ye, who had already walked out, felt movement behind him and looked back.
He saw the senior walking briskly.
The light rain was getting worse—it had turned into a downpour. Jiangcheng weather was ridiculously moody; the heavy rain came out of nowhere.
Su Baizhou shielded her head with her hands, but the rain was too heavy. It soaked her, drenching her clothes, which clung tightly to her body, highlighting her figure.
Man, that figure is illegal.
No, that's not the point.
Luo Ye chased after her.
"Senior."
Luo Ye held the umbrella over Su Baizhou's head.
"Thanks." Su Baizhou was aloof; she didn't even look at Luo Ye's face.
Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder rang out.
Su Baizhou, who had been hurrying, froze instantly.
"S-S-Senior?" Luo Ye was confused, seeing her stop moving.
So, the hot senior is afraid of thunder.
"My bad." Su Baizhou remained expressionless.
BOOM!
Another crack of thunder. Su Baizhou froze up again.
The rain intensified. With the lightning and thunder, and the fact that the senior was trying to keep her distance, Luo Ye's umbrella wasn't big enough, and half of his body was getting soaked.
Luo Ye glanced at the nearest academic building and asked, "Senior, wanna duck inside over there?"
Su Baizhou nodded silently and walked with Luo Ye under the umbrella.
They stood in the corridor on the first floor of the academic building.
Long silence.
Should I say something?
Luo Ye thought for a second and asked, "Senior, what year are you?"
"Third year."
"Got it."
...
"Senior, what's your major?"
"Computer Science."
"Got it."
...
"Senior..."
"..."
"Um..." Luo Ye pointed to a large tree not far away. "That tree looks really big and strong, haha..."
An awkward silence filled the air. Luo Ye truly sucked at dealing with girls. He'd lived eighteen years without a single date.
He secretly glanced at the senior next to him.
She wore a mask of indifference.
Su Baizhou also felt incredibly awkward. That's why she chose not to speak. As for the Student Union work? Forget it, I'm not in the mood.
She should have just stayed in the library with Qin Yuwen and waited for the rain to stop. She was afraid of thunder, but she never expected this rainfall to bring lightning, especially since the weather forecast hadn't predicted a thunderstorm.
Luo Ye instinctively picked up his phone. He looked at the chat with his former crush, hesitated, backed out, and opened a chat with someone else.
"Loves Hot Pot"
This person was one of the two friends his brother, Gu Mingxuan, had pulled into their gaming party, saying they were a great player. Luo Ye later found out they were indeed skilled, so he added their contact info. They played games together and chatted about daily life—a solid gaming buddy.
Since Gu Mingxuan introduced them, they were probably his friend. Luo Ye didn't care about their identity since they were just online friends. The name didn't matter; they were just there for casual chatting, and he never planned on meeting them.
Luo Ye typed: "OMG, guess what? I'm currently stuck sheltering from the rain with a senior who looks like an actual goddess."
The next second.
Su Baizhou's phone buzzed.
She picked it up and saw: Fallen Leaf: OMG, guess what? I'm currently stuck sheltering from the rain with a senior who looks like an actual goddess.
Su Baizhou: ...
She turned her head to look at Luo Ye.
Then, she silently switched her phone to mute and replied: How hot? Send me a pic.
Ding-dong!
Luo Ye's phone chimed. He checked the message.
Fallen Leaf: Isn't it kinda wrong to secretly take a picture?Loves Hot Pot: Find a way, dude? Just make sure she doesn't notice.
Luo Ye didn't reply.
Su Baizhou cooperatively turned her head, pretending to look at the scenery outside.
Soon.
Fallen Leaf: [Image]Fallen Leaf: Pretty awesome, right? (Animated emoji)
Su Baizhou stared at the photo, deep in thought.
Seriously, anything is possible in this world.
The guy she frequently gamed with—she knew he was Professor Gu's younger cousin. Gu had even told her before leaving to look after his little cousin.
But she seriously never expected her first meeting with Professor Gu's cousin to be... this.
She wasn't ready.
Su Baizhou felt like things were getting tricky.
The rain kept falling. The thunder roared, and the sky grew darker. A cold gust of wind blew, making Luo Ye shiver.
Suddenly, he realized something and turned to look at the senior.
She was in the same position, but her body was trembling slightly.
Such a beauty, even the heavens pity her.
Luo Ye mentally slapped himself. It's so cold, and she got rained on. I can't believe I just let her stand here shivering.
Without thinking, Luo Ye took off his jacket and put it over her shoulders.
"Thanks."
After an unknown amount of time, the thunder faded, and the heavy rain eased, leaving behind a light drizzle. The downpour had lasted only twenty minutes; Jiangcheng rains came and went fast.
The fine mist was visible, dancing in the wind. It was fine to step outside now.
Su Baizhou said nothing and left the spot with a calm expression.
Watching her walk away, Luo Ye couldn't help but be captivated. The senior was about 167 cm (5'6"), and Luo Ye was about 178 cm (5'10"), so his jacket was only slightly big on her and actually fit quite well.
The senior had a great figure and was beautiful, just a bit cold.
Someone this good-looking probably has a boyfriend already, Luo Ye sighed.
He had never been in a relationship. He'd crushed on one girl for three years and rarely exchanged words with any other girl during that time.
The senior's face replayed in his mind. Luo Ye's heart fluttered slightly, but he quickly shook his head.
It's just me being shallow.
If he were to like someone simply because they were beautiful after one chance encounter, wouldn't that just be creepy?
Luo Ye grabbed his umbrella and left the academic building.
Back in his dorm, he saw someone had arrived.
A burly guy, about 175 cm (5'9"), with a buzz cut and slightly dark skin, immediately sat up when he saw Luo Ye.
"Are you my roommate? Hi, I'm Li Haoyang, a local Jiangcheng guy."
"Hi, I'm Luo Ye, from the capital."
"The capital? Dude, big city guy, huh?"
They exchanged contact info and started chatting.
"Don't the locals register tomorrow? Why are you here today?"
"Ugh, my place is nearby. I had nothing else to do, so I figured I'd move my stuff in. Didn't expect it to rain."
Luo Ye looked at his slightly damp clothes with a strange look. Is the wet-shirt look a thing around here...
Noticing Luo Ye's gaze, Li Haoyang chuckled: "I had an umbrella, but I saw a little girl getting rained on near the school gate, so I lent it to her."
He then added, "Guess what? I thought she was a little kid—barely five feet tall—but she was carrying luggage and walked right into our school! I even helped her carry her bag the whole way."
"Hahahaha, looks can be deceiving!"
"I always thought Southern people were generally petite, but you're quite a tank, Brother Haoyang."
Li Haoyang flexed his arm, showing off his muscle: "I hit the gym every day."
They chatted and laughed. Having company in the dorm immediately lifted Luo Ye's mood.
Early the next morning.
A knock on the door. Luo Ye got up and opened it.
"Hello!"
A very handsome guy, about Luo Ye's height, stood at the door.
This person was... stunningly handsome. Luo Ye even had the bizarre thought that he was as good-looking as himself...
A delusion. Must be a delusion.
"Are you a celebrity?" Luo Ye asked instinctively.
The guy laughed. He got that a lot.
"I'm not a celebrity. I'm your roommate. My name is Shen Qiao."
Behind Shen Qiao, a slightly shorter, sneaky-looking guy, about 170 cm (5'7"), followed him in.
"Hi, everyone. I'm Wang Dachui."
That name felt instantly relatable. Luo Ye immediately put his arm around Wang Dachui's shoulder and pulled him in.
Meanwhile, Li Haoyang was still dead asleep, a size 44 (US 11) bare foot sticking out from the side of his bed, emitting a charming fragrance.
After Li Haoyang woke up, the four bought supplies like a trash can and brooms, then headed to the Third Cafeteria. JCU had three cafeterias. The First was the closest to the male dorms, so why the Third?
Because the Third Cafeteria was closest to the female dorms—more girls, better views.
"We have military training tomorrow," Wang Dachui groaned.
"What's the big deal? Isn't training good exercise?" Li Haoyang flexed his muscles, drawing eye rolls from the other three. They sat down in a corner of the Third Cafeteria.