This is the complete and unadulterated story of that night.
As it turns out, even simple memories can cut so deep.
Standing in the rain, Ci Wenjun shuddered fiercely, separated from the past only by memory.
Is it over?
No! How could they possibly be over?
Absolutely not!
She could not accept this!
Never!
Trapped deep in the mire of memory, she could not even feel the slightest pain as her nails dug into her palms, breaking the skin.
Yet, even if she had felt it, what difference would it make?
No matter how intense the physical pain, it could never compare to the heartache she felt when Chu Yu rejected her that night.
Lost in a brief daze, she raised her gaze once more toward that familiar floor. Before her eyes could even lock onto it, a figure came into view, walking step by step toward her. Dressed in a gray shirt with linen-blend casual wide-leg pants pooling at the ankles, the person had a slender frame, long limbs, and was a natural clothes hanger. Even in such a slouchy, homey outfit, she carried herself with effortless elegance, like a supermodel walking a runway, with every single step treading right on Ci Wenjun’s heartstrings.
In one hand, she held an umbrella, and the other was wrapped around a jacket.
As the distance closed, Ci Wenjun stood frozen in place. Her brain, numbed by the freezing cold, struggled to process the scene, leaving her staring unblinkingly at that figure.
She watched Chu Yu step out of the apartment building entrance. Underneath the eaves, the lips that had remained tense ever since their reunion wore a look of cool detachment. With just a brief pause, Chu Yu opened the umbrella without a moment’s hesitation, lifted her foot, and stepped directly into the rain.
She had come out far too hurriedly to change her pants, and on her feet were plush indoor slippers. The toes hidden inside the slippers involuntarily curled.
Barring a miracle, those shoes were going to be soaked through by the end of this trip.
Chu Yu absolutely loathed the feeling of being wet, especially the sensation of damp clothes clinging to her skin. She disliked it intensely, which was why she almost never stepped outside on rainy days.
For some reason, even though Chu Yu was still quite far away, Ci Wenjun could see her clearly, and could see every single micro-expression hidden beneath that calm exterior.
Sure enough, the moment the slippers stepped onto the ground, the hem of the pants grazing the floor bloomed with a dark patch of moisture that gradually crept upward.
Realizing it was beyond saving, Chu Yu stopped caring. A flicker of irritation crossed her brow as she strode toward Ci Wenjun.
When it came to Ci Wenjun, she could never bring herself to be truly ruthless.
With that thought, a trace of self-mockery flashed in Chu Yu’s eyes, mockery directed at herself.
It wasn’t until Chu Yu stood face-to-face with her, holding the umbrella, that she suddenly realized just how cowardly she was.
Just like right now.
Chu Yu was right there in front of her, and the scent uniquely belonging to Chu Yu drifted over, little by little swallowing and enveloping her.
Yet all she could do was lower her head, not daring to meet those eyes directly.
Chu Yu paid no mind to this small movement. Her brows knitted as she looked at the woman shivering in the chilling wind. The outside temperature wasn’t actually that low, a fact she had noticed the moment she stepped out. Shenzhen was humid, making the apparent temperature feel much lower than the actual reading. With the rain falling now, even with an umbrella, standing outside for too long made it impossible to ward off the drifting, slantwise drizzle.
Just as she had expected, the woman had no idea how long she had been standing out here. The shirt at her shoulders was already soaked through by the rain, clinging tightly to her arms. Her back was likely no exception, and the hems of her clothes and trousers were already drenched.
Perhaps Ci Wenjun herself did not realize how pale her face was at that moment, looking thoroughly frozen through.
In this condition, if she let her go back alone, who knew what kind of trouble she might run into.
Besides, Ci Wenjun’s health was abysmal. Perhaps it was because she was abused too severely by her family when she was young, or because she pushed herself far too hard in high school, but her body had been hollowed out terribly.
Later on, when she got to university, even a careless cold could leave her running a fever for two or three days, and seasonal flus were practically a regular occurrence.
On top of that, because she used to be poor, she hated buying medicine and would always try to tough it out every single time.
This resulted in a vicious cycle. Even when she eventually recovered, the symptoms of her next illness would be far more severe than the last.
When they had first met, Ci Wenjun was already a junior in college, yet her health had deteriorated to the point where even a simple cold would make her vomit so violently she felt like the world was spinning. Every time she got sick, it felt like surviving a tribulation. No matter how mild the symptoms were for others, they would magnify tenfold for her, and losing three to five pounds after recovering was a given.
Back then, Chu Yu had felt deeply heartbroken for her. But restricted by their unfamiliar relationship, she could only keep her concern to herself and offer subtle reminders, terrified that saying too much would annoy her or make her sound out of touch.
Later, realizing that Ci Wenjun was agonizing over the cost of medicine, Chu Yu secretly contacted her roommate, bought common medications to pass along to her, and begged her never to expose who sent them, because after all, they weren’t close back then.
In truth, the medicine at the school clinic wasn’t expensive, and the doctor would even split the pills and sell them by the single tablet.
Yet Ci Wenjun had never bought any. Perhaps it wasn’t just a matter of money. It was simply that, in Ci Wenjun’s eyes back then, she wasn’t worth it. She did not believe she was worth spending money on medicine for herself. To her, it was just something to endure, and there was no need to waste resources.
The two of them stood in the rain for a long time. Ci Wenjun remained frozen in place, unmoving, as if she had been chilled out of her wits.
As for Chu Yu, she once again found herself sinking uncontrollably into memory. When she realized it, she wasn’t surprised; she only inevitably felt a sense of irony in her heart.
Coming back to her senses, she first let out a silent sigh in the depths of her mind.
Just letting her walk away like this was completely out of the question now.
With that thought, she tucked the umbrella handle into the crook of her neck, applying slight pressure to clamp it in place. Freeing both hands, she held out the jacket and wrapped it around Ci Wenjun.
The distance between the two of them instantly vanished.
Realizing this, Ci Wenjun felt the breath catch in her chest. It felt just like a dream.
Was Chu Yu actively approaching her?
She thought in a daze. She didn’t know for sure, but the Chu Yu right now was real, and the fact that they were pressed this close together was just as real.
From a distance, the two of them looked like a loving couple locked in an embrace, leaning on each other for warmth in this cold and desolate rainy day.
The jacket draped over her back was infused with Chu Yu’s scent, still carrying a lingering trace of warmth.
The exact moment the jacket settled over her shoulders, Ci Wenjun snapped out of her daydream and naturally reached out to take the umbrella handle that Chu Yu had wedged against her neck.
Chu Yu paused for a fraction of a second, but made no move to refuse.
That previous posture had not been comfortable. Now that she returned to a normal stance, a patch of red marks left behind was clearly visible.
A pang of heartache immediately welled up in Ci Wenjun’s gaze. A fine, dense itch spread through her chest, and her fingers twitched.
She wanted to touch it, but she did not dare, nor could she, not yet at least.
She could not read Chu Yu’s attitude, and she did not dare to overstep her bounds.
She knew how ridiculously wrong she had been in the past, and how deeply she had hurt Chu Yu.
Therefore, she had to proceed with caution.
Yet no matter what, the fact that Chu Yu was willing to take the initiative to approach her today was already a good sign.
After eight long years apart, she had very little understanding of Chu Yu left. She didn’t know how much the person in front of her had changed over the years, whether she had someone new, if her tastes had shifted, or anything else of the sort.
But she knew none of that mattered. Whatever Chu Yu liked, she could be.
As long as Chu Yu wanted it, she could become it.
Chu Yu had no idea about these grand ambitions. Draping the jacket over her had only taken a matter of seconds.
In the blink of an eye, seeing the woman in front of her drift off into another trance, she surprisingly didn’t feel any rush. Instead, she found herself with the leisure to watch just how long this person could zone out in such a posture, especially since she didn’t even have to hold the umbrella herself anymore.
Not long after, Ci Wenjun felt her arm growing sore. Coming back to her senses, she found Chu Yu’s pair of dark, pitch-black eyes fixed right on her.
Struck by an unexplainable wave of nervousness, she instinctively wanted to lower her head. But before she could move, she saw Chu Yu turn around and walk away.
A sudden panic seized her. For some reason, she felt as though Chu Yu wasn’t very happy.
She wanted to chase after her, yet hesitated over whether she should or not.
Fortunately, Chu Yu didn’t give her any more time to overthink things. Seeing that the person behind her still hadn’t caught up, and unable to completely mask the annoyance in her heart, she said in a less-than-pleasant tone:
“What is President Ci still standing there for? Could it be that you want to freeze yourself sick just so you have an excuse to stick to me?”
Ci Wenjun held her breath, looking at those slightly irritated and reluctant brows, and vaguely understood Chu Yu’s implication.
She was actually letting her come home with her!
At that thought, her eyes lit up, and an indescribable joy burst forth in her chest.
She even had the mental bandwidth to agree internally: If possible, she wouldn’t mind using a trick like that. What did her health matter? Getting tangled up with Chu Yu was the only thing that truly mattered!
Yet she knew Chu Yu would never accept being bound by such tactics. She detested being morally coerced above all else.
Chu Yu couldn’t understand why this woman still didn’t know how to cherish herself after all these years.
Looking at the woman’s pale cheeks frozen by the cold, her trembling lips, and her shaking body, she couldn’t believe this person still had the mood to daydream out in the rain!
She was angry that Ci Wenjun didn’t take care of herself, and even angrier at herself—an idiot who possessed no title, had been dumped, and couldn’t even qualify to be called an ex—for rushing over here to worry anyway.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she grew, even starting to curse herself for being so pathetic.
And wasn’t she just pathetic?
Following closely behind, Ci Wenjun looked at that deeply resentful back and only then noticed that a patch of Chu Yu’s back had been dampened at some point, clinging tightly to her shirt.
She could sense the air pressure around Chu Yu dropping lower and lower, her expression as gloomy as still water. Unaware of the reason, her heart fluttered with anxiety.
With a trace of sorrowful melancholy, she thought:
Did Chu Yu regret bringing her home after second-guessing herself?
Yet I don’t want to leave!
Ci Wenjun pressed her lips together, abandoning even the thought of making small talk with Chu Yu or playing the pity card. She didn’t dare make a peep, wishing she could shrink herself and stick to the corner so Chu Yu wouldn’t notice her at all.
She wanted to be with Chu Yu. She wanted to go home with her.
With both of them harboring their own thoughts and remaining silent the entire way, they finally made it home safe and sound.
Home…
Beep ding dong. The fingerprint scanner emitted a crisp chime. The door unlocked, and the lights inside suddenly blazed on. The wave of rushing warmth instantly chased away the chill clinging to her entire body. Chu Yu paid her no mind, walking straight into the bedroom.
Ci Wenjun wasn’t surprised. She stood alone in the center of the living room, her eye sockets burning slightly.
Home…
Not long after, Chu Yu emerged from the bedroom holding a neatly folded stack of clothes and spoke:
“Go take a shower.”
Three short words, cold and definitive.
Seeing that Chu Yu was in no mood for extra conversation, Ci Wenjun didn’t dare to nag. She took the clothes and followed behind Chu Yu.
Though silent, the atmosphere wasn’t awkward.
Chu Yu briefly explained how to operate the bathroom fixtures, then retreated without a hint of attachment.
Click.
The door closed.
Chu Yu was gone, and she was all alone here.
Yet her presence still lingered within this narrow space. Before leaving, Chu Yu had told her to take a hot bath.
She would be a good listener.
On the other side:
Once Ci Wenjun was no longer by her side, Chu Yu finally let out a long breath.
Around Ci Wenjun, for a multitude of reasons, she always had to keep her guard up.
Too many times, facing Ci Wenjun, she simply couldn’t control herself.
Just like today.
She had clearly only been worried that Ci Wenjun would freeze to death, wanting to head down to hand her a piece of clothing so she would go back early.
Yet the moment she actually saw Ci Wenjun, seeing her look like a pitiful jasmine flower beaten down by the rain, forced to hug herself against the wind and storm, and seeing that snow-white shirt clinging tightly to her graceful figure, for reasons unknown to her, everything completely spiraled out of control.
She couldn’t bear to watch her suffer, afraid of seeing her endure hardship.
Therefore, no matter how many flaws Ci Wenjun had, at that exact moment, she compromised once more.
Fine, whatever! Let this be the last time I ever soften my heart toward her.
Lost in thought, she silently rummaged through the medicine cabinet to prepare the necessary supplies.
Then she headed to the fridge, grabbed two pieces of ginger to slice up, and prepared to brew some ginger tea.
No matter what, since she had already brought her back, she might as well see it through to the end.