At seven in the evening, night fell.
Rain the size of beans came pouring down, drumming against windows, rooftops, and the streets with a series of dull thuds. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, pressing down over the whole city of Haicheng as if they might crush it.
Inside the Maybach, his phone rang for the fourth time…
“Are you trying to kill me? Even the Black and White Impermanence aren’t as relentless as you.” Jiang Jin had just finished work. He leaned back in his seat, relaxed, and made a rare joke.
“What nonsense,” Shen Yuzhu chided Jiang Jin. “It’s raining so hard. Am I not allowed to worry about my son?”
“The person answering your call is alive and well. Don’t worry.” Jiang Jin raised a hand to massage the bridge of his nose, easing his fatigue.
“How long has it been since you came home to have a meal with Mom? You’re never around all day. Will you come home for dinner tonight?” Shen Yuzhu nagged Jiang Jin over the phone.
“All right, I’ll come back.” Jiang Jin agreed, ended the call, started the car, and drove into the rain…
Jiang Yun had only gone downstairs for a moment when the weather turned. After Jiang Jin drove into the rain, Haicheng’s weather really was like a woman’s temper—it could change in an instant.
There was no telling when the rain would stop, and home wasn’t far. Jiang Yun steeled herself, grabbed the small backpack in her hand, held it over her head, and stepped into the street.
Traffic moved slowly and chaotically. Car horns blared, mingling with the patter of the rain.
Because of the traffic jam, Jiang Jin sat in the driver’s seat listening to music and watching the street being washed by the downpour.
The music began to play softly as Jiang Jin listened.
“The most beautiful thing isn’t a rainy day, but the eaves where we sheltered from the rain together…”
A figure in a long, washed-blue dress appeared in his line of sight.
Her thick black hair was soaked by the rain, and tiny droplets clung to her plain-colored dress. She wore a pair of French-style jeweled thong sandals as she walked toward him from a distance.
His gaze followed her until he realized she had crossed the street.
The light turned green. Though he had been going straight, he suddenly made a U-turn…
Jiang Yun heard a horn beside her. Before she could turn around, a familiar, low voice said, “Get in.”
Jiang Yun turned and froze in place.
“If you don’t want to catch a cold and end up in the hospital, get in,” Jiang Jin said again, patiently.
“Dr. Jiang, it’s you.”
Her rain-soaked hair was slightly disheveled, but she didn’t look bedraggled. Her voice held both surprise and delight, along with a faint trace of grievance she could barely hide…
Jiang Yun opened the car door and got into the passenger seat. A faint scent of ebony reached her nose.
She turned to look at his profile. His white shirt was stretched over his strong frame, the sleeves rolled up to reveal lean, well-defined forearms.
Her gaze traveled up to his prominent Adam’s apple and sharp jawline, then higher—to his dark eyes fixed on her…
Jiang Yun shivered, then quickly pulled herself together and pretended to be calm. “Dr. Jiang, what are you doing here?”
“Just passing by. Where do you live?”
His voice was low and unhurried.
“Zhonghai Tianzuan.” Jiang Yun gave him the address. He raised an eyebrow when he heard it…
“Put on your seat belt,” he reminded her, pointing to it.
“I don’t know how. Why don’t you teach me, Dr. Jiang?” Her eyes curved, her expression clear and lively. Her deliberate teasing made her look playful and adorable.
“Do you flirt with men like this often?” His voice was cold inside the car.
“I told you the first time we met—you’re the first.” Jiang Yun leaned slightly closer, staring straight at him. Her heated gaze was utterly unabashed, and the faint fragrance of her body drifted to his nose.
Her fair, delicate index finger lightly tapped Jiang Jin’s chest. Just twice, then it drew away again, as if teasing him in secret, leaving a ticklish sensation…
Before long, Jiang Yun suddenly leaned back, putting distance between them.
She rested against the seat as if nothing had happened, and gently fastened the seat belt with a click. Her red lips curved into a smile. “Let’s go, Dr. Jiang.”
As if she hadn’t just been the one teasing him.
Looking at the woman who was always up to mischief, Jiang Jin thought he must be seriously ill to have gotten himself involved in this mess. He pressed the accelerator and drove straight to her destination.
They rode in silence, and Jiang Yun didn’t tease him again.
A little goes a long way; too much enthusiasm would only backfire.
Thinking about how she’d run into him just by going downstairs, she decided getting caught in the rain had been worth it. As she thought this, her beaming face appeared in the window’s reflection.
“We’re here.” His voice came at just the right moment, interrupting her daydream…
Jiang Yun turned to him, her smile composed and her voice gentle. “Time really flies when I’m with you.”
“That’s because the ride was short,” Jiang Jin replied, looking at her with a distant air.
Miss Jiang didn’t take it to heart at all, as if she knew he was the kind of man nothing could sway.
She got out of the car and said goodbye. Just as she was about to turn away, she looked back at him.
“Dr. Jiang, has anyone ever told you that you look very handsome when you drive?”
Without waiting for Jiang Jin’s reaction, she turned and walked away, leaving him with only the sight of her back…
Charming and carefree.
___
At Nanyuan Villa
“You said you’d be home ages ago. Getting here this late—did the Black and White Impermanence really stop you on the way?” Shen Yuzhu teased as soon as Jiang Jin walked in.
“Traffic was bad because of the rain.” He changed his shoes and headed for the dining table.
“Come on, eat. It’s all your favorites.” Mother Shen might tease him, but she still worried about her son. Before he’d even returned, she’d already asked Nanny Wang to prepare a whole tableful of dishes.
As she served Jiang Jin some rice, she started nagging again.
“Every time you come home, you barely say a few words to your mother. Getting you to talk is like asking you to spit out gold coins.”
Nanny Wang laughed and chimed in, “The young master’s temperament is a good thing. He’s so steady at such a young age. He’s bound to do great things.”
“He’s thirty, and he still hasn’t brought a girlfriend home for me to meet. That’s the most important thing.” Mother Shen prodded him once more.
“Mom, where’s Dad?” Jiang Jin interrupted, a trace of impatience in his voice.
“He’s at the company. He hasn’t come home.”
Mother Shen was a clever woman. She knew she couldn’t push her son too hard. He’d finally come home for a visit; she shouldn’t spend the whole time saying things he didn’t want to hear.
Smiling, she asked Nanny Wang to bring another set of dishes and chopsticks, then sat beside him and ate with Jiang Jin.
In the dining room, soft yellow light fell over the space, bathing everything in warmth.