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Wen Sheng pushed his old bicycle out of the house, holding a blue umbrella. The wind seemed to have picked up a bit, and fine rain occasionally fell on his face, making it feel somewhat chilly. The roads in the village were muddy and not easy to navigate. After struggling to ride for a while, he had no choice but to get off and push the bike instead. Fortunately, the rain wasn't too heavy, so he folded the umbrella and tucked it behind the bike, pushing it with determination. The raindrops soaked him, some trickling down his hair and into his neck—cool yet quite refreshing.
Wen Sheng stopped for a moment, looking up as the delicate raindrops fell on his face. The sky was overcast, with patches of light gray clouds drifting by. Finally reaching the asphalt road at the village entrance, he followed it westward until he reached the north-south road. Although there was some water on it and a bit of mud, it was nowhere near as muddy as the dirt roads in the village. He found a thin stick by the roadside and used it to scrape off the mud stuck to his bike. Then he hopped back on, holding the umbrella with one hand while letting the other rest in his pocket instead of gripping the curved handlebars. He rode quite fast, trying to appear nonchalant.
Indeed, no matter how tough things were at home, once outside, one had to carry on as usual. Even if he felt like crying, there was no guarantee anyone would pity him. He rarely spoke much; when he occasionally met familiar faces, he'd manage a smile that wasn't particularly attractive.
The fine rain continued to fall as tall poplar trees lined both sides of the asphalt road, their lush green leaves thriving. He pedaled furiously in the shade of the trees, speeding along as water splashed up from his bicycle's wheels. He was quite confident in his cycling skills; among his classmates, few could match him. He never needed to hold onto the handlebars when riding home from school. Ordinary dirt roads posed no problem for him; it was only on perfectly smooth asphalt that he felt truly at ease.
Before long, he arrived at the north-south road. This road was also asphalt but wider than the previous one, flanked by two rows of tall poplar trees with equally flourishing leaves. There wasn't much mud on this road either—just a bit—and plenty of water pooled in various spots due to years without repairs, leaving many potholes filled with water. However, this was nothing for Wen Sheng; his skills were solid.
A turn southward led directly into town. Lost in thought and not paying attention, he turned too sharply and suddenly found his front wheel dropping into a pothole. Whoa! He fell onto the road like a ragdoll, his bicycle pinning down his leg painfully. Cursing under his breath, he pulled his leg free and shoved the bike aside before lying down on the road. Staring up at the gray sky while raindrops fell on his face, he muttered to himself with a silly grin, "This road! Even I can fall!"
Lying there felt surprisingly comfortable; he hesitated to get up. The ground was cool and hard beneath him—very real. Closing his eyes, Wen Sheng's face turned slightly pale.
"Are you okay? Is everything alright?" A clear voice called out to him. He opened his eyes to see Xue Qin from the neighboring class—also surnamed Cao—standing there. She was quite pretty with fair skin and a round face that slightly dipped inwards at her nose and mouth, which looked quite nice. Her lips were slightly thick and red, and her teeth were well-aligned. She loved to smile but often covered her mouth shyly with her hand.
There was a scar on her right hand from an incident when she had fought with her brother over food; he had cried out loud, prompting their father to hit her with a wooden stick. While trying to shield her face with her hands, she accidentally cut herself open and bled profusely. After getting stitches and healing up well, she was left with this scar. Only Wen Sheng and a few others knew about this incident.
Though her father had stopped hitting her much lately and didn't seem particularly fond of her—often doting more on her brother—she had once shared moments with Wen Sheng and others before her father decided she should finish middle school before going out to work to earn money for her brother's education.
Her brother was doing well in school now and worked hard; perhaps having grown up a bit more now made him more considerate towards his sister. Sometimes Xue Qin felt comforted by her brother's understanding.
She wore a blue long coat over fitted blue jeans and white sneakers with red trim paired with red socks. Her slightly wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders as she dismounted near Wen Sheng and anxiously called out to him.
"I'm just tired from riding; I'm resting here for a bit—nothing serious! Haha!" Wen Sheng replied without getting up while rolling his eyes at her.
"Ha! I thought you were dead! Lying here without even checking if it's sunny or not! Haha!" Xue Qin laughed heartily while covering her mouth.
"This could really kill me! What kind of joke is that? My body is tough!" Wen Sheng said as he chuckled and rolled over to get back up. He lifted his bike upright again and pushed it alongside Xue Qin.
Back in their first year of middle school, encouraged by some friends, Wen Sheng had once written a love letter to someone—a misunderstanding that got cleared up later without any hard feelings from Xue Qin. Their relationship had remained good since then; Wen Sheng always regarded her as a sister.
"Wow! Impressive! You're wearing new shoes even in the rain!" Wen Sheng teased, looking at Qin's shoes with a smile.
Qin smiled back, "My brother bought them for me at the market yesterday, so I thought I'd wear them today! Haha!" She beamed with pride, feeling fortunate to have a brother who cared for her.
"Oh! Your brother is quite thoughtful!" Wen Sheng said, looking at Qin with a hint of envy.
"Of course! He treats me really well!" Qin replied happily.
Since Qin's village was right by the main road, there weren't many dirt paths. With the rain falling lightly, she hadn't brought an umbrella. The two chatted and laughed, and it seemed as if Wen Sheng had forgotten about the troubles at home. Qin was aware of Wen Sheng's family issues but chose to steer their conversation away from that topic, always trying to make him smile.
Suddenly, it felt as if a storm had rolled in; after a gust of wind, the sky darkened and the rain intensified. Qin's hair quickly became soaked and clung to her face, and her clothes were getting damp. However, she didn't dare ride too fast; being a girl, her skills weren't quite up to par.
Wen Sheng handed her his umbrella with a smile. "You can use my umbrella! Don't get yourself wet!"
Qin hesitated. "But what about you? If I use your umbrella, you'll get wet!"
Wen Sheng feigned bravado. "I'm fine! I'm a big man; what do I have to fear? You girls are more delicate; don't catch a cold!"
As the rain poured harder and the wind picked up, seeing Wen Sheng insist on giving her the umbrella, she reluctantly accepted it. The umbrella was small and could barely cover one person. She thought about helping Wen Sheng stay dry too and leaned the umbrella toward him, but he pushed her hand away with a laugh. "Just take care of yourself! Don't get wet! I'm fine—big man, no problem."
Watching Wen Sheng get drenched, his clothes clinging to him as water streamed down his wet hair onto his face and neck, he kept wiping the water off his face. Since he was already soaked through, it didn't matter where the water flowed; it was all the same.
What was going on with Wen Sheng? Did he like me? If he didn't like me, why would he give me his umbrella and get himself soaked? If he did like me, then why did he always joke around and treat me like a sister without any other intentions? Did he treat every sister like this?
Lost in thought while glancing at Wen Sheng—this man who looked rather disheveled from the rain—she pondered, "Old man!" Was he really old? No! He was about my age; people in this age group were usually considered kids. So why did he always refer to himself as "old man"? Maybe he'd watched too many martial arts dramas!
She looked at this not-so-old man who called himself "old man" with some confusion. A gust of wind blew by, causing the umbrella to sway dangerously close to flipping over.
Wen Sheng shivered slightly and glanced at her with a playful grin. "What are you thinking about? Hold onto that umbrella tightly; if you get wet, it'll be a waste! I’d have taken an unnecessary shower!"
"I wasn't thinking about anything! Just worried you might catch a cold since you're all soaked!" She seemed genuinely concerned for him.
Hearing Yi Ren's words made Wen Sheng feel quite pleased inside. However, he still pretended to be indifferent and laughed, "I might get sick! Just look at this old body of mine! Ah-choo!" Before he could finish boasting, he sneezed.
"Hehe!" Qin couldn't help but laugh, revealing a row of white, even teeth, with two dimples on her fair cheeks. This time, Wen Sheng clearly saw Yi Ren's sweet smile, and he thought it was worth it even if he got drenched; to earn a smile from Yi Ren made the rain seem trivial!
I go crazy for a smile from Yi Ren, yet no one knows the turmoil in my heart! As Wen Sheng thought this, he couldn't help but look up at Yi Ren—ah, Yi Ren's smile! Haha!
At this point, a cold smile appeared on Wen Sheng's face, a smile that was bleak and sorrowful. Qin noticed it inadvertently and felt a shiver in her heart.
After a while, they arrived at school. Wen Sheng parked his bicycle and went to the dormitory. At this time of year, it was warm enough that everyone had gone home. Therefore, the dormitory was empty. Wen Sheng closed the door, took off his wet clothes, wrung them out, and put them back on. He entered the classroom where most of his classmates had already gathered. Gao Ming came over with a smile and asked, "Wen Sheng, what's up? You didn't even bring an umbrella! Look at you all wet; come with me to change into some dry clothes!" He pulled Wen Sheng along and grabbed an umbrella as they headed to his home together, where Gao Ming found a few pieces of clothing for Wen Sheng to change into. The clothes were a bit big on Wen Sheng, making him look like a child.
Back in the classroom, Wang Lijuan was absent. Wen Sheng felt a bit awkward and inquired, "Why isn't Wang Lijuan here today?"
Gao Ming thought for a moment and replied, "It seems she's sick! She called me this morning to ask me to help her take leave. After class tonight, we can go visit her!"
"Okay!" Wen Sheng nodded in agreement. He felt a bit worried about Wang Lijuan being sick...
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