On Monday evening, as soon as the class dismissal bell rang, the class teacher walked into the classroom with measured steps, clapped his hands, and said, “Announcement: tonight the Teaching Building will undergo electrical maintenance. The entire school will not have evening self-study. Everyone should go home early and pay attention to safety on the way.”
As soon as the words fell, a wave of cheers instantly erupted in the classroom.
Chen Che slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked to the classroom door, tilting his chin toward Su Xiaoyu. “Let’s go. To that hotpot place you’ve been talking about for days.”
Su Xiaoyu responded, then turned and tugged at Su Nuonuo, who was about to pack her things. “Nuonuo, come with us. It’ll be more fun with more people.”
Su Nuonuo smiled and waved her off, teasing her on purpose: “Forget it. You two are obviously going on a date. I’m not going to be the third wheel.”
Su Xiaoyu’s face turned slightly red after being called out. Her eyes rolled, and she suddenly leaned close to Su Nuonuo’s ear, lowering her voice with a mischievous smile: “Alright then, I’m not放心 letting you go home alone.”
She paused and deliberately nodded toward the back row of the classroom.
Lu Zhiye was leaning back in his chair, casually spinning a pen. His gaze appeared to be directed out the window, but his peripheral vision kept drifting back toward them from time to time.
“I’ll go tell Lu Zhiye to send you home. Only then can I feel at ease.”
Su Nuonuo’s heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to refuse, Su Xiaoyu had already dashed over and called out loudly toward Lu Zhiye, “Lu Zhiye!”
The remaining students who hadn’t left turned their heads in unison at the shout.
Lu Zhiye raised his eyes upon hearing his name, lifting his brows slightly. His expression remained the same, slightly impatient and aloof. “What?”
Su Xiaoyu wasn’t intimidated by him. Smiling, she pointed toward Su Nuonuo’s seat. “Brother Ye, help me out. Chen Che and I are going to eat. Nuonuo’s going home alone and it’s not safe. Could you send her home?”
As soon as she said this, several boys nearby who were watching immediately started to tease: “Ohhh—Brother Ye is sending his girlfriend home!”
Lu Zhiye’s face flushed red instantly, even the tips of his ears turning hot. Still, he forced a fierce expression and kicked the chair of the boy next to him. “Shut up!”
After scolding the others, he turned to look at Su Nuonuo. His gaze flickered away briefly, and his voice dropped by several degrees, awkward and restrained: “…Let’s go. Head home.”
Seeing his reddened ears, Su Nuonuo couldn’t help but curve her lips slightly.
The two arrived at the bus stop and found quite a crowd—many students from No. 1 High School.
They followed the flow of passengers onto and off the bus. Just as their feet touched the ground after stepping off, heavy raindrops suddenly began pounding down with a pattering sound.
Without hesitation, Lu Zhiye immediately took off his windbreaker and held it above their heads with a backward motion.
He deliberately tilted most of the jacket toward Su Nuonuo’s side, leaving half his own shoulder exposed. Within seconds, it was soaked by the rain.
“Run!” Lu Zhiye shouted, shielding Su Nuonuo as they rushed toward the villa district gate.
The rain grew heavier, and the wind carried the rain straight into their collars.
Protected in his arms, Su Nuonuo could only smell the faint scent of soap on him. Not a single drop touched her clothes.
When they reached the community entrance, Zhou Qing was standing under an umbrella near the gatehouse, scanning the surroundings.
The moment she saw them, she froze.
Su Nuonuo was completely covered by Lu Zhiye’s jacket—her hair wasn’t even slightly disheveled.
In contrast, Lu Zhiye had half his body drenched. His bangs clung to his forehead, and water droplets slid down along his jawline. He was still gripping the edge of his jacket tightly, afraid even a small gap would let rain fall onto Su Nuonuo.
This image was completely different from the “delinquent school bully” she had previously heard about.
The prejudice Zhou Qing had held toward Lu Zhiye quietly loosened a bit.
She stepped forward, holding out her umbrella toward Su Nuonuo, her gaze landing on Lu Zhiye’s soaked uniform as her tone softened noticeably. “Child, you’re soaked, aren’t you? Would you like to come in and have a cup of hot water first?”
Su Nuonuo looked down at the windbreaker that was mostly soaked, then glanced at Lu Zhiye’s dripping hair and the shirt tightly贴 to his back. Her heart tightened.
“This jacket… it’s all wet.”
She tugged at the hem softly,
“You must be cold like this, so maybe…”
The latter half of her sentence—“come to my house to take a shower and change clothes”—stuck in her throat.
She secretly glanced at Zhou Qing beside her and didn’t dare say it out loud.
She felt that even if her mother’s attitude had softened, she might not necessarily agree to let Lu Zhiye into the house.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Qing had already seen through her thoughts. Looking at Lu Zhiye’s slightly trembling shoulders from the cold, she took the initiative to speak, her tone unusually gentle:
“Yes, Student Lu. It’s raining so heavily. Come inside first, have some hot water, then take a shower and change into dry clothes, or you might catch a cold.”
Lu Zhiye suddenly raised his head. A flash of surprise appeared in his eyes, but it quickly dimmed again.
How could he forget? The last time at school, he had overheard Zhou Qing telling Su Nuonuo to “stay away from Lu Zhiye; he’s not a good student.”
Those light words felt colder than the rain hitting his body at that moment.
“No need, Auntie.” Lu Zhiye forced a faint smile, though it looked stiff.
He stepped back a couple of paces, increasing the distance. “My home isn’t far. Just a few stops away.”
Su Nuonuo was about to hand him the umbrella when she saw that he had already turned and rushed into the rain.
His steps were quick and urgent. His oversized school uniform billowed in the wind as he crossed to the other side of the road in no time.
Su Nuonuo watched as he boarded a bus that had just arrived.
With a “thud,” the bus doors closed. Through the rain curtain and the window, she seemed to see the boy wipe the rain off his face, his back carrying an indescribable sense of loneliness.
Zhou Qing watched the bus slowly depart, then lowered her gaze to the windbreaker in her daughter’s hands and let out a soft sigh.
Su Nuonuo returned home, took a shower, and changed into dry clothes. Remembering Lu Zhiye’s jacket, she quickly took it to be washed.
She sat crouched in front of the washing machine, quietly waiting.
Staring at the spinning clothes through the glass window, she suddenly recalled the moment in the evening when he had draped his jacket over her shoulders.
At that time, the rain had been heavy, and his palm had rested on the back of her neck through the fabric. The warmth had been so intense that it almost made her jump.
“Idiot,” she muttered softly, unconsciously gripping the hem of the jacket with her fingers. “You were already half soaked yourself and still pretended…”
Not long after, the washing cycle finished. The scent of detergent mixed with a faint cedar-like fragrance drifted out.
It was the familiar, clean scent that Lu Zhiye always carried.
Her cheeks flushed uncontrollably, yet her fingers couldn’t help but brush deeper into the fabric.