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墨書 Inktalez
After the "Coffee Incident," I thought my interactions with Shen Yu had come to an end. He was like a cloud in the sky, while I was mere mud on the ground; we belonged to entirely different worlds. I continued my routine life, moving between the library, classroom, and cafeteria, only occasionally catching a glimpse of him on campus and instinctively avoiding his gaze, feeling an inexplicable discomfort in my heart.
Until one rainy day a week later.
The rain fell heavily that day, and after finishing my elective class, I realized I had forgotten my umbrella. Standing at the entrance of the teaching building and watching the downpour outside, I felt a wave of worry wash over me. The dormitory was not close by, and running back in the rain would surely leave me drenched.
Just as I hesitated between dashing back or waiting for the rain to lighten up, a black umbrella appeared above my head. I looked up in surprise to see Shen Yu's clear and refined face. The rain had dampened his bangs, a few strands sticking to his smooth forehead, softening his usual aloofness.
"Forgot your umbrella?" he asked, his tone casual as if we were well-acquainted.
I nodded, feeling a bit awkward. "Um... yeah."
"Where are you headed?"
"Back to the dorm," I pointed in the direction.
"Perfect, I'm going that way," he said, slightly turning to tilt most of the umbrella toward me, inviting me to walk together.
"Going that way?" I asked in confusion. As far as I knew, the dormitory for the Computer Science department was not exactly in our Journalism Department's direction; in fact, it could be said to be opposite.
He didn’t explain; he simply started walking. The raindrops pattered against the umbrella, drowning out the noise of the outside world. We walked side by side through the curtain of rain, silence occupying most of our time. I could smell a faint, clean scent of soap from him mixed with the freshness of rainwater. His arm was close enough that I could feel his body heat.
My heart began to race uncontrollably again. Stealing a glance at him, I noticed his profile was sharp and defined; raindrops slid down the edge of the umbrella and formed tiny beads on his eyelashes.
"About last time... thank you for helping me pick up my books," I mustered my courage to break the silence.
He turned to look at me briefly, a slight curve appearing at the corner of his mouth. "No big deal."
"Your shirt..." I recalled that white shirt I had ruined.
"I've taken care of it," he replied nonchalantly as if it were an inconsequential matter.
The sound of rain was loud but couldn’t drown out my increasingly rapid heartbeat. Was he really just "going that way"? I dared not think too deeply for fear of being overly sentimental.
When we reached our dormitory building, he stopped. "We're here."
"Thank you for walking me back," I said as I took the umbrella handle from him; it felt cool in my hand.
"You're welcome." He withdrew his hand and slipped it into his pocket. "You can keep the umbrella for now; return it next time we have a chance."
I paused for a moment. "Next time?"
He didn’t answer but simply nodded at me before turning and walking back into the rain. Watching his figure disappear behind the curtain of rain, I realized he was already soaked halfway through. The direction he walked was indeed toward the Computer Science dormitory, completely opposite from where he had just accompanied me.
So it wasn’t "going that way" at all.
I tightened my grip on the handle of the umbrella, feeling the lingering warmth he had left behind. In a corner of my heart, something began to quietly ferment. Shen Yu's "by the way" was like this sudden rain, completely disrupting the calm surface of my heart.
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