Luo Chen tightened his grip on the umbrella and headed to the roadside to buy something.

When he came back out with a bottle of Coke and opened his umbrella, he unexpectedly stopped in his tracks.

Well, the girl up ahead in the black dress, with her hair soaked and water droplets on her face—she looked kind of familiar.

He hurried over to An Jinchu and held the umbrella over her.

“Get lost.” An Jinchu shot him a glance and quickened her pace.

Luo Chen sped up to keep pace with her, holding the umbrella over her head. “Where’s your umbrella?”

“I threw it away,” An Jinchu answered petulantly.

“Then I’ll walk you home.” Luo Chen answered casually, seeming unfazed by her resistance.

“I don’t want you to walk me home. Get lost.”

“...The rain’s about to get heavier, miss.” Luo Chen looked up. The light drizzle seemed ready to turn into a downpour.

“Go away,” An Jinchu said coldly again. She looked at Luo Chen walking beside her, then started to run to shake him off—but froze as soon as she took her first step.

Luo Chen had grabbed her slender wrist from behind, his face wearing an exasperated expression.

“What are you getting worked up about now...?”

“Again?” An Jinchu frowned.

“You were the same way in the classroom earlier.” Luo Chen answered expressionlessly. “Try to be reasonable. Getting worked up isn’t good for you, especially when you have a fever.”

“What’s it to you?” An Jinchu said, but her nose stung as if she were about to cry.

That was a pretty hurtful thing to say. Luo Chen scratched his head, then continued, “Didn’t you say we were friends?”

“...” An Jinchu couldn’t think of anything to say back.

As they spoke, thunder suddenly boomed across the dark sky. Luo Chen shrugged as he listened to the rain pounding on the umbrella.

“My place is three minutes away. Let’s run there and wait out the rain.”

Luo Chen looked around, but couldn’t find anywhere to take shelter.

“The umbrella’s a little small... Here, you take it.” As he spoke, Luo Chen was already handing her the umbrella.

An Jinchu took it in a daze. “Even if you do this, I’m not going to like you one bit.”

“Come on. If handing you an umbrella could make you fall for me, I’d spend every day on the street giving umbrellas to pretty girls.”

“...”

The rain kept getting heavier. The umbrella didn’t seem to be doing much anymore, and half of Luo Chen’s body was shrouded in the rain. He didn’t show any particular reaction.

“All right, the umbrella’s useless now... Shall we run back?”

An Jinchu gave him a resentful look, though some of the anger had faded from her eyes.

Then Luo Chen let go of her wrist, but went on, “I run pretty fast, though. I’m worried I’ll lose you...”

“Then hold my hand while we run.” An Jinchu reached out. Without hesitation, Luo Chen gently took her soft hand in his.

“Run!”

Luo Chen folded up the umbrella and raced through the downpour with her hand in his.

Raindrops slicked their arms. Their hands, which had been holding each other, gradually shifted until their fingers were intertwined. Luo Chen held on tight.

Three minutes later, they reached the building where Luo Chen lived.

An Jinchu’s black dress was completely soaked through. A faint patch of white was just barely visible on her chest. Luo Chen quickly looked away, his expression turning serious—only to hear An Jinchu grit her teeth and call him a “pervert.”

“...At most, I’m a lecher. That’s got nothing to do with being a pervert.” Luo Chen admitted it without a hint of embarrassment, shrugged, and let go of the hand still clasped in his.

“Come on. Let’s go to my place and dry our hair first. You can head back once the rain lets up.”

After saying that, Luo Chen turned and headed off on his own. Whether An Jinchu followed him or not was up to her.

An Jinchu stood there for a second, then ran after him.

Luo Chen smiled softly, though he didn’t know why.