"Jie?" Xu Youjie suddenly stopped walking, causing Xia Zhiye to look at him with confusion. But Xu Youjie's eyes were vacant, and his lips moved to utter unclear words. The sky was cloudy at this time, with lightning flashing in the distance. Occasionally, the sound of thunder could be heard. The rain poured down like a torrent.

"Jie... the rain is so heavy. Let's find shelter from the rain," Xia Zhiye suggested.

Xu Youjie didn't react.

"If we continue like this, we'll be drenched and might even catch a cold. We might not be able to go to school tomorrow," Xia Zhiye continued persuading in a gentle tone. But Xu Youjie remained motionless, as if time had stopped for him.

"Jie, what's wrong?" Xia Zhiye asked with great concern. The rain had soaked their clothes, and even their hair stuck to their faces. Xu Youjie seemed unable to hear Xia Zhiye's voice. In an attempt to support him, Xia Zhiye planned to lean his body against Xu Youjie and move forward. However, before they could take a step, both of them fell to the ground.

Xia Zhiye felt some pain in his body. When he checked, he found that his palm was scraped, and fresh blood oozed from the wound.

"Jie..." Xia Zhiye felt an indescribable anguish as he looked at Xu Youjie lying on the ground. It seemed that the heavens were intentionally toying with them, as the rain continued to pour. After about a minute, Xia Zhiye managed to help Xu Youjie up again.

Xia Zhiye put Xu Youjie's arm on his shoulder, and they slowly walked forward. It took a lot of effort for Xia Zhiye to bring Xu Youjie back to his own home. When Xia Zhiye opened the door, exhausted, his legs gave way and he leaned to one side. Xu Youjie, without any support, fell towards Xia Zhiye. Xia Zhiye bumped into the wall and came to a stop, but Xu Youjie collapsed into his arms.

Looking at Xu Youjie in this state, and then at his own disheveled appearance, Xia Zhiye couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Jie... Jie..." Xia Zhiye gently pushed Xu Youjie's shoulder. "Answer me... don't pretend to be asleep."

However, no matter how Xia Zhiye called and pushed, Xu Youjie remained in a vegetative state, showing only signs of life. Xia Zhiye passed his hands through Xu Youjie's armpits, dragging him into the house.

Their clothes, drenched by rain, became heavy. Coupled with Xia Zhiye's exhaustion, when she tried to drag Xu Youjie, she accidentally fell on the floor without paying attention to the pain. Xia Zhiye continued to drag Xu Youjie into the bathroom.

Due to being soaked, Xia Zhiye's clothes clung to her body, and she felt like her limbs had lost sensation. She took a hot shower and changed into a kimono. Then she went to clean up the accumulated water on the floor and put the wet clothes in the washing machine. After that, she went to the kitchen to boil some ginger soup and poured a bowl for Xu Youjie in his room.

"Jie... wake up and drink some ginger soup. It can help warm your body and drive away the cold," Xia Zhiye said as she sat on a chair, ready to wait for Xu Youjie to get up and feed him the soup. But Xu Youjie showed no reaction, leaving Xia Zhiye feeling desolate. She placed the spoon down and placed the bowl on the desk. Xia Zhiye moved the chair closer to the bedside and held Xu Youjie's hand, which was exposed outside the blanket.

"Hey... Jie, is Su Yuqian so important to you?"

Xia Zhiye poured out her heart,

"She clearly doesn't exist... Why are you so stubborn, Jie?"

"Snap out of it... Stop being like this."

"Wake up quickly..."

Xia Zhiye buried her face in the quilt. With no other options, she could only seek relief through tears.