The weather changed suddenly that week.
In the morning, the sky was clear and bright, but by afternoon, dark clouds covered everything like someone had slowly turned off the light in the sky.
During the last class, everyone kept looking out the window instead of at the board.
Even the teacher sighed and said,
"I know you're all watching the rain, but this will be in the exam whether you like it or not."
The rain started slowly at first, then suddenly became very heavy, hitting the windows loudly.
Su Ran whispered,
"I didn't bring an umbrella."
Zhao Ming immediately said,
"I never bring an umbrella. I believe in running."
Jiang Chen looked outside and said,
"This rain is not the running type. This is the regret type."
Waiting After School
When school ended, most students stood near the entrance, waiting for the rain to get lighter.
But it didn't.
It only got heavier.
The sound of rain hitting the ground was so loud that people had to talk louder than usual.
Su Ran stood near the door, holding her bag over her head like that would somehow help.
"This is bad," she said.
"My house is not close."
Zhao Ming checked outside and immediately stepped back.
"No. I choose life. I am not going out there."
Then they both looked at Jiang Chen.
He was holding an umbrella.
Of course he was.
"You planned this," Zhao Ming said.
"You knew it would rain."
Jiang Chen replied calmly,
"I checked the weather."
Su Ran looked at the umbrella, then at him.
Then at the umbrella again.
"…That umbrella is not big enough for three people," she said.
Zhao Ming immediately stepped back.
"I suddenly remembered I like rain. You two go."
"You're lying," she said.
"I am a very honest person, but today I will lie," he replied.
One Umbrella
So in the end, it was just Su Ran and Jiang Chen standing under the umbrella outside the school gate.
They walked slowly because the ground was wet and the rain was still heavy.
The umbrella wasn't very big, so they had to walk closer than usual.
Su Ran held the strap of her bag and looked at the road ahead.
"Sorry," she said suddenly.
"For what?" he asked.
"For always borrowing your pen, your notes, and now your umbrella."
He thought for a moment and then said,
"You return things."
"I return pens and notes," she said. "I don't know how to return umbrella help."
He looked at the rain falling in front of them and said quietly,
"Then you can lend me something next time."
"Like what?"
"I don't know yet."
She nodded seriously.
"Okay. I owe you one umbrella favor."
A Quiet Walk
They walked for a few minutes without talking.
It wasn't awkward.
It was just quiet in a comfortable way, like they didn't need to talk all the time.
After a while, Su Ran said,
"You know… before this year, I didn't really like school."
"Why?"
"It was boring. I just came, listened, went home, repeat. Every day was the same."
She kicked a small rock on the road while walking.
"But now it's actually kind of fun."
He didn't ask why.
He already knew the answer.
After a few more steps, she said,
"I think it's because I sit in the last row now."
He almost smiled again but looked away so she wouldn't see.
Reaching Her Street
When they reached the street near her house, she stopped.
"My house is there," she said, pointing down the road.
He nodded and handed the umbrella to her.
"You take it," he said.
She looked surprised.
"Then how will you go home?"
"I don't live far."
She shook her head immediately.
"No, we can't share an umbrella and then you walk in the rain alone like a sad movie character."
He almost laughed at that.
She held the umbrella handle and then said,
"Wait here."
Before he could ask why, she ran toward a small shop on the corner and came back a minute later with a cheap plastic raincoat.
She handed it to him.
"Now we're even," she said proudly.
"Umbrella favor returned."
He looked at the raincoat, then at her, and said,
"That was fast."
"I am very efficient when I owe people things," she replied.
He nodded slightly.
"Okay. Then we're even."
She smiled.
"See you tomorrow, last row partner."
He watched her walk down the street with the umbrella until she reached the corner and disappeared.
Then he put on the plastic raincoat and started walking home in the rain.
For some reason, the rain didn't feel annoying that day.
It felt… calm.
And he realized something while walking home:
School was no longer just school.
It was starting to become a place full of people he didn't want to lose.