Chapter 30: Warm Rain

This time when Yang Tianxing returned to Chang'an, he didn't call Shao Ziyang; he took a long-distance bus alone for nearly five hours, and it was already past six in the evening when he arrived at the school.

The sky was overcast, and a fine drizzle was falling, making his body feel sticky and uncomfortable.

Yang Tianxing cursed a few times; Chang'an was just like this—whenever it rained, the historical charm of that ancient capital of thirteen dynasties would fill the air, intangible and invisible, yet a faint sorrow would always linger in one's heart.

Yang Tianxing ran toward the dormitory through the light rain, and just as he passed the library, he saw a familiar figure and shouted, "Stop!"

Liu Jiaoyue had just finished her part-time job at the library; after a whole day, her arms were sore from shelving books, and she was just preparing to go to the cafeteria to eat and then return to the dormitory to review her studies when she suddenly heard a fierce shout.

It was a male voice she found familiar.

Liu Jiaoyue turned her head cautiously and saw Yang Tianxing standing right behind her, so startled that she almost threw her umbrella away.

"Am I going to eat you? Why that expression?" Looking at the guarded Liu Jiaoyue, Yang Tianxing, who was already irritable from the rain, became even more unhappy.

"No, no I'm not."

Liu Jiaoyue didn't dare to face Yang Tianxing directly and only turned half of her body.

Yang Tianxing gave a cold snort, stared at Liu Jiaoyue for a moment, and said, "I don't want to eat alone tonight, you come eat with me."

"Ah?"

Liu Jiaoyue looked up in a panic; the last experience of eating at the same table as Yang Tianxing had become a nightmare for her.

"What, you're not willing?"

Yang Tianxing's attitude was overbearing and a bit nasty.

Liu Jiaoyue didn't make a sound; there were already some tears shimmering in her peach-blossom eyes under the umbrella, and her rosy lips were tightly pursed.

"Damn, I really want to give her a hard kiss; these must be very soft, right?"

Yang Tianxing finally managed to move his gaze away from Liu Jiaoyue's lips and said solemnly, "We are classmates, we should help each other; I'm in a bad mood today, how about you treat me to a meal?"

Liu Jiaoyue looked up aggrievedly, wanting to say something but not daring to, and only after hesitating for a while did she whisper, "Then, then what do you want to eat?"

She probably had the intention of repaying a favor, because Yang Tianxing had helped her pay the class fees, and she had originally wanted to wait until her part-time income came in to pay him back.

For Yang Tianxing, how could he possibly let Liu Jiaoyue pay him back? Anyway, they would be boyfriend and girlfriend in the future.

Yang Tianxing said, "A new small hot pot place recently opened in the Second Cafeteria, let's go have some."

"Oh, how much does that cost?"

This was the question Liu Jiaoyue cared about most.

"About fifty-something, I guess." Yang Tianxing threw out an "astronomical figure."

Liu Jiaoyue was stunned for a moment, and only after a long while did she say, "I want to go back to the dormitory first, is that okay?"

Yang Tianxing thought she wanted to change her clothes; after all, Liu Jiaoyue was still wearing her loose, old library work uniform.

"Fine, then go and come back quickly."

Before long, Liu Jiaoyue jogged back, but she wasn't holding an umbrella, her hair was covered in raindrops, and she hadn't changed her clothes.

"Where is your umbrella?" Yang Tianxing asked.

Liu Jiaoyue explained softly, "My roommate is going to Hejiaying, so I lent her my umbrella."

"Don't you need it yourself?"

Yang Tianxing didn't know what was wrong with him, but seeing Liu Jiaoyue like this made him especially angry, and his voice grew louder without him realizing it.

"I'm just staying inside the school, it doesn't matter."

Liu Jiaoyue was startled and waved her small hands to explain.

"Come over here, let's share the umbrella."

Yang Tianxing kept a straight face and leaned the umbrella over a bit.

Liu Jiaoyue pretended not to hear and walked quickly through the light rain; it seemed she would rather be soaked to the bone than share the same umbrella with the hooligan Yang Tianxing.

"You're walking so fast, I have so much luggage, how am I supposed to keep up?"

Yang Tianxing shouted.

"Oh."

Liu Jiaoyue obediently slowed her pace, and suddenly felt that there was no more rain; it turned out Yang Tianxing had tilted the umbrella over.

She just wanted to walk out, but after being glared at by Yang Tianxing, she could only walk under the umbrella with a constrained body.

There weren't many students in the school during the holiday; the campus was damp, the air was mixed with the scent of plants and soil, fresh and moist, quiet and cool, and from time to time, couples sharing the same umbrella would brush past Yang Tianxing and the others, just like Yang Tianxing and Liu Jiaoyue were now.

By the time they reached the Second Cafeteria, Yang Tianxing's mood was significantly better; if one were to use an inappropriate metaphor, it would be that the best way to forget one relationship is to start the next.

The two found a seat by the window, which was for the convenience of Yang Tianxing smoking; when ordering, Liu Jiaoyue took a worn-out little wallet from her pocket and carefully took out the money inside, even lining up the coins in a row.

This sumptuous school hot pot meal cost a total of 55 yuan, which almost emptied all of Liu Jiaoyue's savings; that "worn-out little wallet" had become an "empty, worn-out little wallet."

"Did you go back to the dormitory just now to get money?"

Yang Tianxing realized and asked.

"Mm."

Liu Jiaoyue responded in a low voice, then picked up her tray and walked toward the seat.

"What a fool..."

Yang Tianxing was stunned for a moment and muttered.

Although the small hot pot in the Second Cafeteria was a newly opened shop, it had always been very popular, especially in this kind of weather; listening to the sound of the fine rain hitting the window and watching the food constantly rolling in the boiling pot was indeed a pleasure.

Yang Tianxing hadn't eaten on the bus at noon and had been hungry for a long time, so he picked up a bowl of rice and started eating, but after eating for a while, he put down his chopsticks again.

"Aren't you hungry?" Yang Tianxing asked.

Liu Jiaoyue hadn't eaten a single piece of meat, holding a bowl of white rice that cost thirty cents, occasionally dipping some greens into the pot; Yang Tianxing's side was already full, while the edge of Liu Jiaoyue's bowl remained clean.

Liu Jiaoyue shook her head and didn't speak.

"That's truly rare."

Yang Tianxing shook his head and picked up his chopsticks again, a thought suddenly flashing through his mind as he looked at Liu Jiaoyue with glowing eyes.

"Are you waiting for me to finish eating, and then you'll eat yourself?"

Liu Jiaoyue had her thoughts seen through by Yang Tianxing; she blushed and said nothing, but now she didn't even pick up any green vegetables.

The rain outside the window kept falling, but it seemed to have changed from its initial chill into a warm current that surged into Yang Tianxing's heart: Tan Zhizhi, who had come from far away yesterday to bring him a drink, and Liu Jiaoyue, who waited for him to finish eating today before picking up her chopsticks.

Yang Tianxing sighed: "This small hot pot cost your living expenses; what will you do in the future?"

Yang Tianxing had actually already calculated things in his heart, but he wanted to hear what Liu Jiaoyue thought.

"I still have 100 yuan sewn into my schoolbag, and I can also have an income from organizing bookshelves at the library; I can also work part-time at the cafeteria in the evening, and the cafeteria will provide meals, so that way the money for food can also be saved."

Liu Jiaoyue said in a soft, whispering voice; she had indeed arranged everything for herself quite properly, it was just very hard work.

"Then will you blame me for eating up your savings?" Yang Tianxing asked again.

Liu Jiaoyue opened her big eyes and shook her head; her pair of peach-blossom eyes were innocent yet enchanting, and she had an oval-shaped beauty's face; the cafeteria's slightly yellow light hit her flawless white skin, creating a beauty as solidified as a static sculpture.

Yang Tianxing felt a stir in his heart and couldn't help but say: "How about you be my girlfriend?"

"Clatter." A sound rang out.

Liu Jiaoyue was so startled that she knocked over her rice bowl; soup splashed onto her skin, and she nearly cried out loud.

"I, I only ate two stalks of green vegetables, can you not force me to date?"