SPLASH—
Just before class ended, the rain came down in sheets. It fell so fast it was like water being thrown from a bucket, drenching the leaves of everything from the low shrubs in the small garden to the towering trees lining the streets, making them tremble.
The students peeked their heads out to look.
It was the first time they'd seen such a torrential downpour in months.
Jiangg Ning had already finished her lecture. She had originally planned to expand on the topic, but seeing the situation, she decided it was better to let the students go.
Landa University's drainage system couldn't take a beating like this. It probably wouldn't be long before rainwater pooled outside the lecture hall, and they'd have to wade through it to leave.
"Alright, please leave the classroom in an orderly fashion. Class dismissed!"
As she spoke, she began packing up her teacup and teaching materials from the desk, while the students stood up and rushed into the aisle, calling out to their friends and searching for a roommate with an umbrella.
"Did you guys bring umbrellas?" Liu Tingyue asked Chen Yuan and his friends.
"Yeah, two of them."
Back in the dorm, Wei Zhen and Chen Yuan were generally the more considerate ones, and they had brought umbrellas when they left.
It was perfect—one umbrella for every two people, so no one would get wet.
"We'll get going then. We have another class."
"Okay, see you later, senior! Talk soon, and don't forget about introducing us to your friends, 'kay?" Quan Yafeng said with a wide grin, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Don't worry, I won't... Chen Yuan, remember to think about the student council."
When Liu Tingyue spoke to Chen Yuan, her voice was noticeably softer. "Once you've made up your mind, I can help you write the application. Even though it's not the official recruitment period, with recommendations from three department heads, you'll get in easily. I'll arrange everything for you."
"Alright."
He watched Liu Tingyue's figure recede until she finally disappeared through the doorway.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
This senior was great in every way, except she was a bit too forward. Most girls smelled nice, and she was no exception, but her perfume was so strong it was like she'd been marinating in cosmetics.
The scent was so overpowering that Chen Yuan's nose started to itch, and he desperately wanted to sneeze.
Now that she was gone, he finally felt a little more comfortable.
Chen Yuan grabbed an umbrella and left with his roommates. As he passed the lecturer's desk, he deliberately avoided looking in that direction, keeping his head down as he walked toward the door.
Funnily enough, Jiangg Ning did the same.
She rearranged a pen three times, but still wasn't satisfied. She finally picked it up and clipped it to the cover of her notebook... but it didn't seem straight, so she adjusted it again.
Out of the corner of her eye, Jiangg Ning caught a glimpse of Chen Yuan walking away and felt a pang of disappointment.
Her hand, holding the pen, trembled slightly. She turned her head away, but in the end, she couldn't stop herself.
Just then, Chen Yuan happened to glance back.
Their eyes met for a second before they both looked away in a silent, mutual understanding.
...
"Looks like he's having a good time..."
Before long, the entire lecture hall was empty, with only the incessant, intensifying sound of the rain outside.
Jiangg Ning muttered to herself after she finished packing her things.
She wanted Chen Yuan to quickly forget their online relationship—it would be better for both of them—but she was witnessing him move on so fast.
He was already at the stage of "friendly interaction" with other girls.
Jiangg Ning wasn't quite sure what she was feeling, but she knew she wasn't happy.
It felt a bit like having something she cherished snatched away, only for the other person to flaunt it right in her face.
She let out a breath, closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples, before gathering her books and heading into the hallway outside the lecture hall.
The rain dripping from the edge of the roof formed an almost solid curtain. As Jiangg Ning stared at the misty vapor, it suddenly hit her:
'I didn't bring an umbrella!'
"..."
She had been so lost in her gloomy thoughts that she'd completely forgotten about an umbrella. Now that all the students were gone, she had no chance to borrow one.
Jiangg Ning sighed and rested her forehead in her hand. How could her usually sharp mind have missed something so basic?
With no other choice, she returned to the classroom.
The rain outside showed no signs of stopping. It seemed all she could do was wait.
Jiangg Ning found a random seat, propped her chin on her hand out of boredom, and after a moment, turned her head to look at the seat where Chen Yuan had been sitting.
"Honestly. He came to class, but still had to pick a seat in the farthest corner. Is he that afraid of things being awkward?"
She walked over and placed her books on the desk.
But as she was about to sit down, Jiangg Ning suddenly noticed a jacket left on the chair!
She picked it up. 'Isn't this the one Chen Yuan wore to the restaurant that day?'
"You're just as scatterbrained, always forgetting things. Oh well, I'll just take it to the lecturer's desk."
...
"I forgot my jacket!"
They were already quite a distance away when Chen Yuan realized just how cold he was.
He shivered, and it suddenly hit him that he'd definitely been wearing a jacket when he left the dorm.
"Did you leave it in the lecture hall?"
"Yeah. I saw you were getting cold, boss, and told you to put it on, but you didn't want to, so I just left it on the chair."
"Go get it, quick! Take the umbrella!" Wei Zhen said, holding a book over his head. "I don't know if there's another class in there. It'd be bad if someone took it."
"But then you'll get soaked."
"It's fine, I'll go catch up with Liu Nan and the guys!"
Wei Zhen hunched his shoulders and hurried off.
Chen Yuan silently marveled at what a great friend he had before quickly turning and running back toward the lecture hall. The raindrops, as big as beans, THUDDED against the umbrella, a testament to the storm's ferocity.
...
In the classroom.
Jiangg Ning was about to place his jacket on the lecturer's desk, but she hesitated, slowly bringing it back toward herself.
She glanced outside, and after making sure no one would suddenly appear...
On a strange impulse, Jiangg Ning brought the jacket to her cheek. She wrinkled her nose slightly and took a deep sniff.
"It smells awful..."
When they met that day, they had been close enough that she couldn't help but notice his scent. Girls were generally sensitive about that kind of thing.
Back then, she thought Chen Yuan had smelled quite nice...
But now it didn't. There was a strong smell of cosmetics on it, probably rubbed off from that other girl. Jiangg Ning's pretty brows furrowed as she sniffed.
As luck would have it.
At that very second, Chen Yuan was standing at the doorway, watching with a blank expression as the respected Professor Jiangg held his jacket and sniffed it like a madwoman, her expression changing with every whiff.
'So... so weird. What kind of fetish is this?!'
Chen Yuan was instantly reminded of last night in the small garden, when Professor Jiangg had done the same thing, nuzzling and sniffing against his chest.
"Does it smell good?"
The sudden voice made Jiangg Ning freeze, her whole body stiff. Her eyes flew wide as she whipped her head around, and the jacket in her hands slipped and fell onto the desk.
The atmosphere couldn't possibly have been more awkward.
Jiangg Ning's mind went blank. She could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks, and she couldn't stop it. Within seconds, even her neck was red.
"Ch-Chen... Chen, I saw you forgot your jacket. I was just going to put it on the lecturer's desk for you."
"Thanks, Professor Jiangg. You're so kind."
"Ha..."
Jiangg Ning curled her toes so hard they almost cramped. She was biting her lip so hard it was turning purple.
'Could anything be more embarrassing than this?!'
Chen Yuan walked up and took his jacket, not quite understanding. There was no one else in the classroom, so what was with this act?
'She's so lively in private, but the moment anyone else is around, she insists on maintaining that prim and proper teacher persona. Isn't it exhausting?'
"Are you feeling better?" Chen Yuan asked casually.
"I... I'm fine."
The question stunned Jiangg Ning for a moment. After thinking for a few seconds, she assumed Chen Yuan was asking how she was doing after their "breakup."
In that case, she could only say she was "fine."
What else could she say? 'I think about you often? I sometimes touch my lips when I'm daydreaming because we kissed?'
She could never bring herself to say that. It wasn't in her nature.
"I guess you are better, otherwise you wouldn't be dressed like that." Chen Yuan glanced at her fair legs, which looked especially delicate under the nude-colored stockings.
He was, of course, talking about her injury.
But Jiangg Ning had no idea what Jiangg Yao had done. Her brow furrowed slightly as she stared at Chen Yuan, completely bewildered.
"Do you have a problem with how I'm dressed, Chen?"
"Not at all. After all, you seem to enjoy showing off for your students." Chen Yuan was still very unhappy about how Jiangg Yao had deliberately lifted her trench coat yesterday, flashing her leg to tease an eighteen-year-old male student like him.
But to Jiangg Ning's ears, those words were utterly outrageous. A chill instantly spread across her face.
"How I choose to dress is my business. I don't need you to teach me how to act."
'Here we go again...'
Chen Yuan had no time for her split-personality act. He just turned and left, his footsteps fading into the distance.
A few minutes later.
Jiangg Ning peeked into the hallway. Seeing that he was really gone, the corners of her lips slowly curved into a smile.
The chill on her face melted away, replaced by an irrepressible grin. She felt a chaotic sweetness fluttering inside her.
'Chen Yuan saw me showing off my legs in these stockings... could he be jealous?'
Jiangg Ning reined in her happiness, and after a moment, her expression returned to calm. She stood in the hallway, waiting for the rain to stop.
But when she casually glanced to the side, she saw it. Next to the classroom door.
An umbrella had been left behind, lying there quietly.