She didn't want to take off her coat. She just wanted to get home and take a shower.
She turned to leave, but suddenly heard Chen Yiyang bargaining with her: "I'll treat you to oden."
Yun Mi stopped in her tracks. This was too rare—Chen Yiyang being nice to her. She corrected him, "I prefer osmanthus red bean glutinous rice balls with dessert."
"..."
Yun Mi explained, "Suzhou style, Jiangnan flavor."
She added, "Plus... continue to help me with problems for free."
Bargaining? Chen Yiyang felt like walking away right then. But seeing the girl's cautiously raised eyes and the unshed tears, he stayed silent for a bit, then said, "Spoiled."
Then, "Fine."
A faint, almost inaudible smile crept onto Yun Mi's face. Without a word, she obediently took off her wet jacket.
As the chill hit her, the sound of rain seemed to amplify instantly. She felt dizzy, so cold. Her soul felt like it was flying away.
Yun Mi inwardly complained that if she caught a cold, it would be all Chen Yiyang's fault.
Suddenly, she caught sight of his movement out of the corner of her eye and froze again.
Chen Yiyang took off his own jacket and handed it over. His slender, well-defined fingers held the school uniform jacket lightly. His jet-black hair fell slightly over his forehead. Two simple words, clean and decisive: "Put it on."
It rippled right into her heart.
The girl slowly raised her eyes.
The teenager was now only wearing a black short-sleeved shirt, his body well-toned from exercise. He was tall.
His expression was blank.
Yun Mi's eyes, which she had barely managed to hold back tears from, burned again. She leaned against the wall, standing in the rain. In the bleak early summer rainy season of Shancheng, in front of Shan's gate, traffic flowed like a river, countless students were escorted away by their families.
Under Yun Mi's fallen bangs, a pair of amber eyes, slightly glistening with tears, reflected Chen Yiyang's cool profile as he looked down.
He silently took off his jacket. The cloth, still warm from his body heat, was draped over her. She could feel the warmth.
Chen Yiyang saw Yun Mi's reddened eyes and softened his tone. "Who bullied you?"
Yun Mi looked away. "No one bullied me."
Yun Mi lowered her head. Chen Yiyang stepped back a little and opened his umbrella.
The large double-person umbrella shielded them from the torrential rain.
Chen Yiyang asked, "Then why are your eyes so red?"
Yun Mi insisted, "They're not."
Chen Yiyang laughed. "Not?"
"Mm, not."
She was just scared. After losing the best mother in the world, she was afraid of losing her wonderful father too.
That phone call relayed by Old Qi was like a critical illness notice from an operating room.
In Africa with poor medical conditions, what would happen with a persistent high fever?
Yun Mi could be strong, but she didn't want to face another parting.
The school uniform jacket still carried the teenager's body heat, warm, with a strong presence, and gentle.
In the hastily arriving early summer rain, Yun Mi had no choice but to feel the warmth from another person.
She wanted to ask Chen Yiyang why he was so good to her.
Yun Mi opened her mouth, but the drizzling rain was cold and damp. Her lips trembled, and she couldn't help saying, "Chen Yiyang, I'm just afraid I won't have a home anymore."
Chen Yiyang was taken aback. The young man frowned slightly, as if surprised. In his dark, sharp, and determined gaze, there was still the same keenness as the first time they met.
Yun Mi then realized that Chen Yiyang's sharpness had never hurt anyone.
At the school gate, the boy looked down at her. A gentle, peaceful tone appeared in Chen Yiyang's voice for the first time.
He asked, "Don't you have a home?"
In the rainy season of sixteen, Yun Mi looked up again and heard someone say, "Yun Mi, let's go home together."
Author's note:
Never try to guess a girl's thoughts.