Xu Anran’s voice mixed with the sound of rain, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
Shen Yuan walked up to him and held out the black umbrella in her hand.
“The rain’s too heavy.”
She looked at his soaked shoulders, her voice calm.
“I brought you an umbrella.”
Xu Anran didn’t take it.
His gaze fell on the umbrella.
It was his old umbrella.
Before, she wouldn’t even touch it, and now she was braving the heavy rain to bring it to him?
The nearby riders sensed the tense atmosphere and stopped their idle chatter.
Gossip is a universal human instinct.
Several pairs of eyes stared over at them in unison.
Shen Yuan felt a little uncomfortable under the scrutiny.
But she didn’t back down. Instead, she pushed the umbrella forward a little more.
“Take it. You can use it on your way home after work.”
Xu Anran let out a cold scoff.
He didn’t look at the umbrella, but stared hard at Shen Yuan’s eyes.
“Shen Yuan, are you changing the stage for your act now?”
Shen Yuan’s fingers stiffened.
She looked up and met his gaze.
“I’m not acting.”
“Not acting?” Xu Anran curled the corner of his mouth, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Weren’t you chatting happily with that man outside the coffee shop yesterday?”
Shen Yuan was stunned.
Outside the coffee shop? That man?
She immediately realized he was talking about Zhou Yan.
Last night, Zhou Yan had asked if she wanted him to take her to the bus stop.
Xu Anran had actually seen that?
Shen Yuan opened her mouth, wanting to explain.
“That’s our boss. He was just—”
“I don’t care who he is.” Xu Anran cut her off coldly.
He stepped forward, looking down at her from above.
“You were in a hurry to pay me back, in a hurry to draw a clear line between us—wasn’t it because you found yourself a new backer?”
Shen Yuan’s face paled slightly.
“Xu Anran, be reasonable. I just came to bring you an umbrella.”
“I don’t need your umbrella.”
Xu Anran’s voice rose a few notches.
“You brought the umbrella over—what are you trying to prove to others? How virtuous you are? Or are you afraid people won’t know how much you’ve suffered?”
Shen Yuan stared at him steadily.
Rainwater hit the umbrella’s surface, and splashes landed on her pant legs.
She suddenly felt very tired.
This helplessness—where everything she did was twisted and met with suspicion—made her not want to speak anymore.
In Xu Anran’s eyes, her credibility had long gone bankrupt.
No matter how much she explained, it would only seem like she was covering something up.
Shen Yuan didn’t argue.
She didn’t hysterically fire back with “How dare you say that about me” like the original owner would have.
She simply withdrew her hand slowly.
Then, bending down, she placed the black umbrella on the dry steps nearby.
“Think whatever you want.”
Shen Yuan straightened up, her tone so calm it held not a single ripple.
“I’m leaving the umbrella here. If you don’t want it, throw it away.”
With that, she turned around.
No hesitation.
No grievance.
She walked straight into the rain.
Xu Anran watched her retreating figure, his brow furrowing sharply.
She didn’t have an umbrella anymore.
That had been the only one.
She gave him the umbrella and was walking back in the rain herself?
The moment this thought surfaced, something in Xu Anran’s chest gave a sharp tug.
He instinctively took a step forward.
But Shen Yuan had already walked far away.
The curtain of rain blurred her figure.
Her steps were a little unsteady, yet she didn’t look back.
One of the nearby riders couldn’t help but say, “Bro, is that your girlfriend?”
Xu Anran said coldly, “No.”
The man rubbed his nose. “Not your girlfriend, huh? Still pretty harsh. The girl braved the rain to bring you an umbrella, and your mouth is sharper than my ex’s.”
Another rider chimed in, “My ex wasn’t even that sharp. At most she just scammed me out of money.”
Xu Anran’s expression darkened further.
He picked up the umbrella.
A trace of warmth still lingered on the handle.
But Shen Yuan had already walked into the rain.
He suddenly remembered the money she’d transferred back that morning.
Remembered her saying she didn’t want to owe him anymore.
Remembered her smiling at that man outside the coffee shop.
All the irritation, misunderstanding, jealousy, and unease had mixed together, turning into those harsh words he’d just spoken.
Xu Anran closed his eyes.
He felt ridiculous.
She’d hurt him for six months.
He’d been waiting for the deadline to end all along.
He was supposed to hate her, guard against her, stay away from her.
But now, watching her walk away in the rain, he actually felt his heart ache.
This ache made no sense.
And he had no right to feel it.
He opened the umbrella and rushed into the rain.
But at the intersection, Shen Yuan was already gone.
Only the rain kept falling, washing away every trace of where she’d walked.
When Shen Yuan returned to her rented room, she was soaked through.
She hadn’t taken a ride.
Not because she didn’t want to.
It was just that the rain was too heavy, there were few cars on the road, and the little balance left on her phone had to last until her next paycheck.
The greatest dignity an adult can have is being poor quietly.
She stood at the entrance, and before long, a puddle of water had formed around her.
Great.
She’d just mopped the floor two days ago.
Life was always like this—just when it gave you a little hope, it turned around and shoved a mop back into your hands.
Shen Yuan closed her eyes and bent down to take off her shoes.
Her soaked shoes pressed against the doormat, making a dull squelching sound.
She set the shoes in the corner, grabbed an old towel, and quickly wiped up the water on the floor.
The wound on her heel had been soaked by the rain, and now it hurt at the slightest touch.
Shen Yuan sucked in a breath.
“Don’t cry out,” she whispered to herself.
“You’re an adult. Adults learn to hurt with dignity.”
The dignity didn’t last long.
When she stepped into the bathroom for a hot shower, the hot water hit her heel, and the pain nearly made her lose her grip on the wall.
Shen Yuan clenched her teeth and forced the sound back down her throat.
She didn’t want to make any noise right now.
She didn’t want Xu Anran to come back and think she was deliberately playing the victim again.
And she definitely didn’t want him to think that umbrella was some act she’d put on.
She just thought the rain was too heavy.
She just thought that if he worked so late and walked home in the rain, he’d get sick.
It was that simple.
But Xu Anran didn’t believe her.
And if he didn’t believe her, that was fine.
She wouldn’t do it again.
After her shower, Shen Yuan changed into dry clothes and came out.
Her hair wasn’t dry yet when a sudden cramp seized her stomach.
She stopped mid-step.
The pain didn’t come gradually.
It was like a hand suddenly twisting her stomach.
Shen Yuan’s face went pale in an instant.
This body had always had a weak stomach.
The original owner had chaotic habits—loved spicy food, often drank iced drinks on an empty stomach.
In the few days since Shen Yuan had taken over this body, she hadn’t eaten properly either, what with job hunting and trial shifts.
Today, she’d been caught in the rain, stood in the coffee shop all afternoon, and walked for so long at night.
Her stomach had finally declared a strike.
And not just a strike—it was striking with a vengeance.
Like someone had reached inside and was twisting hard.
Shen Yuan held onto the wall and made her way to the living room, pulling open the drawer.
The medicine box was buried under a pile of old receipts.
She dug it out and glanced at it.
There was only one stomach pill left.
Just as she was about to open the blister pack, the door lock clicked.
She froze.
Xu Anran was back.