"… According to the latest news from the city's weather bureau, a red rainstorm warning has been issued at seven o 'clock this morning. It is expected that there will be a short period of heavy rainstorms accompanied by strong convective weather such as thunderstorms and gales. Please be careful when traveling …"
The old TV in the breakfast shop was broadcasting the weather forecast. The dusty blades of the fan whirred and merged with the chirping of the cicadas in the bushes. Le Zhishi finished the last mouthful of vegetarian soup noodles. He was so hot that his forehead was sweating. When he looked up, he saw the boss looking out of the shop with his hands on his hips. He sighed, "This damn weather is so hot, and it's going to be a heavy rainstorm. The weather forecast is nonsense. "
He also stood up, put on his backpack, walked out, and got on his bike. In his field of vision were large patches of green. The midsummer wind blew the moist, hot air onto his face and body, making his skin feel like it was covered with a sticky film. It was still early in the morning, but the heat hidden in the light was already showing its edge. The sunlight reflected on the glass building, making everything except the mottled shadows of the trees hot and white, as if the image was distorted.
It really didn't look like there would be a rainstorm.
When he arrived at the classroom, everyone turned on the air conditioner early. Le Zhishi, who was sweating from riding the bike, rushed into the air-conditioned room. He subconsciously touched his arm, sat down, and opened his book.
His deskmate borrowed his English homework and praised his work for the Creativity Festival.
"Thank you." Le Zhishi looked down at his notes. He wanted to memorize, but his mind was thinking about the invitation he said to Song Yu when they had supper downstairs last night. It was very likely that Song Yu wouldn't take it to heart.
In fact, it might not even be an invitation. He just mentioned it while drinking mung bean soup that there would be a new batch of student works for today's Creativity Festival. On it were his creative paintings and Jiang Yufan's photography works. However, only Aunt Rong and Uncle Song showed enthusiasm for his works. Song Yu drank quietly and didn't say a word.
Later, Le Zhishi couldn't help but ask him, "Brother, do you have a PE class tomorrow?"
Song Yu nodded and asked him what was wrong.
Le Zhishi said nothing. After a few seconds, she found another excuse and said that she wanted to read one of Song Yu's books.
"Borrowed," Song Yu replied.
He didn't really want to see it, so Le Zhishi nodded calmly. "Okay."
He just wanted to confirm if Song Yu was attending the PE class.
Because the route from the high school building to the playground had to pass by the small fountain square where the creativity festival was held.
"It looks like it's going to rain today." His deskmate copied his homework at an astonishing speed. He gratefully handed the exercise book to Le Zhishi. "Did you bring an umbrella, Le?"
Le Zhishi came back to his senses and nodded. "I always have one in my drawer."
"That's good, but I don't think we need it. The sun is so bright today. "
The air-conditioned classroom was like a large freezer, isolating him from the temperature of the outside world. His thoughts were slow, and his senses were not as sensitive. It was difficult for him to sense the changes outside. Le Zhishi was afraid of the heat, so he didn't step out of the classroom.
Song Yu, who hated the heat even more than he did, had to leave the air-conditioning during the third period. He went to the PE class very dejectedly and passively. Although the sun was slightly smaller than it was in the morning, it was extremely stuffy, like a wet towel on one's face.
If you twisted the air in the city, it would probably be dripping water.
"I'll get a better court later." Qin Yan put his arm around his shoulder. "Hey, why don't we buy a Sprite first?"
Song Yu felt that he was too hot and pushed Qin Yan away. "It's hot. I don't want to play."
"No! F * ck, how can I win if you don't play? You're a high school boy. How can you not play?! "
He began to pester and beg again, all the way from the school building to the main road, and then to the fountain square where the fountain was turned off.
Qin Yan's gaze was attracted by the artwork exhibition in front of him. "Is there a new wave today? Hey, this Papercut is pretty good … Aren't there any from our sophomore year? " He looked quickly and glanced around. When he turned around, he saw Song Yu stop in front of a shelf, lost in thought. He couldn't help but feel a little strange. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing." Song Yu turned around and left with Qin Yan.
In the summer, they were forced by the PE teacher to run two laps around the field. After they finished running, Song Yu walked to the vending machine at the edge of the field and bought a bottle of ice water. He drank a few mouthfuls, and the stuffiness in his heart lessened. Qin Yan pulled a few boys to play a three-on-three. Because the weather was too hot, Song Yu played very fiercely, so the three opposite him thought he had too much energy.
"F * ck, another one scored!" Qin Yan was like a cheerleader slacking on the field. He applauded Song Yu vigorously.
When the ball landed, Song Yu grabbed his collar and fanned himself. The moist air entered his shirt. The sky darkened in an instant, and dark clouds quickly occupied the entire sky.
He stretched out his basketball-soiled hand and spread it out, as if waiting for something.
"Song Yu, continue!"
"It's too hot." Song Yu turned around and left the field. "I'm going to wash my face."
Qin Yan thought he was baffled. "You love cleanliness too much. Can't you go later?"
But he could never stop Song Yu. He could only watch. The strange thing was that he didn't go directly to the bathroom behind the football field. Instead, he went out of the field surrounded by barbed wire and walked outside.
Dark spots appeared on the light gray cement floor, one after another. After leaving the field, Song Yu quickened his pace and began to run. The sound of English reading in the school building passed through the lush trees. Song Yu, wearing a white shirt, ran under the shadows of the trees and finally stopped in front of a shelf in the exhibition area.
He panted slightly and stared at the piece of paper on the shelf with the words "Class 2-8 Le Zhishi" written on it.
The rain began to fall. Through the gaps between the clouds and the trees, it dripped on Song Yu's shoulder.
He wanted to take it away, but he suddenly saw that his palm was covered in dirt from the basketball. It was very dirty. So he didn't touch the painting. Instead, he held the wooden frame of the shelf, lifted it up, and pasted the side of the painting inwards. Before the rain got heavier, he had to leave the small empty field.
The rain drenched Song Yu's back. The translucent white shirt wrapped around the teenager's slightly protruding shoulder blades. He entered the stairway on the first floor of the junior high school. He wiped the rain off his forehead with the back of his hand and lowered his head to check if the painting was wet.
Fortunately, he got there in time. The painting was only stained by the first few drops of rain. This was Le Zhishi's painting of a bustling city in the rain. But like the technique of double exposure, the bustling city reflected a faint lake.
The caption was — Nowhere to Go.
Song Yu held the easel and went upstairs from another stairway far away from Le Zhishi's classroom. The light on the stairs dimmed, and the faint water vapor in the air refracted the reflection of memories.
He seemed to see the six-year-old Le Zhishi squatting under the eaves, pointing at the water that almost covered a step on the ground. He asked Song Yu, "Brother Yu, why does the ground flood when it rains? It's almost drowning the small tower I made with stones yesterday. "
At the time, Song Yu also tried to explain to him, "Because we originally had a lot of lakes here that could store a lot of water. But in order to build more houses, they filled up the lakes and turned them into land. They can't store water anymore. "
The little Le Zhishi squatted on the ground and let out a long "Oh."
"So it's because there's no home to go back to in the rain."
At the time, Song Yu just thought that Le Zhishi didn't know anything. No matter how scientifically he explained something, he would have his own strange understanding.
But at this moment, recalling the childhood memories of him, Song Yu couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.
These strange ideas that appeared in Le Zhishi's mind mostly came from the time he spent with Song Yu.
In the middle of class, he suddenly heard his deskmate say that it was raining outside. Le Zhishi seemed to wake up from a dream and remembered that his painting was still outside. He quickly turned his head and pursed his lips at Jiang Yufan, who was sitting in the other group, and showed a pitiful expression. Jiang Yufan, whose painting was also drenched in the rain, also gave him a heartbroken expression. Then, he used body language and mouth movements to tell him to get it after class.
The rain became heavier and heavier. The glass window was covered with transparent raindrops as the water droplets hit it. Le Zhishi's mood was a bit gloomy, but it wasn't entirely because his painting might be soaked through.
It was rare for Le Zhishi to reach into the drawer and take out his phone. The screen lit up, but there was no message on it.
Song Yu didn't share his thoughts with him, which meant that Song Yu didn't see it at all.
But he quickly rejected this inference because even if Song Yu saw it, he wouldn't share any of his thoughts with him.
"I can't finish the paper, so I'll stop here. After class, you guys can correct the wrong questions. The evening self-study session will continue …"
The teacher was still talking on the podium, but as soon as the bell rang, Jiang Yufan rushed out of the classroom. Le Zhishi, who had been holding the umbrella, was a bit hesitant. When he saw a few people leave, he followed them out with his head down.
The door of class 2-8 was next to the staircase. They ran down quickly, and the wind that came with them cut through the sticky air. Seeing that Jiang Yufan was about to rush into the rain, Le Zhishi shouted his name, opened the umbrella, and ran with him to the small square.
"My picture, my picture, my picture …" Jiang Yufan mumbled along the way. When he walked over, he found that every row of shelves was covered with a transparent layer of light blue tarpaulin. He was still worried, so he pulled Le Zhishi over to check. Sure enough, he saw that his picture was intact under the tarpaulin.
"Fortunately, they reacted quickly, but my picture was originally sealed. Your painting is more dangerous. Let's go take a look." He pulled Le Zhishi's arm and walked inside.
Le Zhishi's eyes also searched for his painting, but when he walked to the place where it was placed before, he found that it was empty.
"Where's my painting?" Le Zhishi murmured.
Jiang Yufan checked the left and right sides. Indeed, none of them belonged to Le Zhishi. There was one missing in the middle. "Are you sure it's here?"
Le Zhishi nodded.
"It's too strange. Let's look again. "
The two of them looked at the row of shelves one by one, but they still couldn't find Le Zhishi's. The paintings in the exhibition were placed one against the other in a very orderly manner. It was obvious that one of the easels in the square array was missing.
Le Zhishi also seemed to be missing a small piece of his heart, as if it had been stolen. He looked calm on the surface, but his heart was in a daze. Disappointed, he rushed back to the school building before the bell for the next class rang.
Jiang Yufan took two steps at a time and took the lead to the third floor. He said, "How could someone steal a painting? That — such a big shelf, how could it disappear just like that …"
He suddenly stopped talking and changed the topic. Looking at the corridor outside his classroom, he said to Le Zhishi behind him, "There are so many people."
Le Zhishi also looked up. There were indeed many people. "Why are they crowding around the back door of our classroom …"
"Let's go and have a look." Jiang Yufan looked excited to watch the show. Although Le Zhishi wasn't in a good mood, he still followed him.
A few of his classmates in the group saw Le Zhishi walking over first. They smiled and waved at him. "Hey, isn't this Le Zhishi?"
"You're amazing!"
Le Zhishi was confused. The crowd seemed to disperse for him.
Placed at the back door of the classroom was his lost easel. The painting on it was intact. It was raining heavily outside, but the painting didn't seem to be wet at all.
"Why is it here?" Jiang Yufan asked the others. "Who brought it here?"
"I didn't see it. I came out after class and saw it here."
"You were the first to come out. You didn't see it."
Jiang Yufan scratched his head. "We ran directly from the front door to the stairs."
Le Zhishi was still in a daze. When the bell rang, he finally moved the easel back to the classroom and placed it next to the air conditioner.
The rain got heavier and heavier. It didn't stop for the whole day. As the end of the semester approached, everyone chose to stay in the classroom for lunch break. Le Zhishi was the same. He was a little sleepy from doing the math, so he laid on his desk and slept for half an hour. When he woke up, the rain was even heavier. Someone opened the door. The room that was isolated from the rain suddenly poured into the restless sound of the rain.
Le Zhishi was confused. He blinked slowly at the blackboard.
Jiang Yufan ran in front of him and put his hand on his desk. "Le, I know who helped you get it. Maybe it's a girl who has a crush on you. She was thinking about your painting and secretly helped you move it up."
"Well …" Le Zhishi's eyes slowly focused. "Doesn't she have class?"
"She can take a leave of absence." Jiang Yufan tapped his fingers on the desk. "It doesn't seem right. How romantic would it be if she took a leave of absence to help you move the easel?" Then he said to himself, "But she didn't leave any traces. She really has a crush on you."
Le Zhishi lowered his head and looked at the phone in the drawer. There were more messages, but he still didn't see the name he wanted to see.
"Okay, you have a point."
A crush who was willing to save his painting in the rain. This was much more reasonable than Le Zhishi's flash of thought.
Dozens of seconds later, the phone screen dimmed and returned to normal.
The weather forecast finally came true for once.
The heavy rain seemed to have no end. The sky was much darker than usual. Water seeped through the window lattices. The leaves of the broad-leaved trees outside the window were soaked by the rain as if green juice was about to drip. The ground was submerged, and the leaves of the ivy in the high school building were shaking.
Le Zhishi was very grateful to the person who helped him move the painting, but he was also very worried about other people's works. During dinner, he saw the members of the student union who organized the Creativity Festival moving the easel, so he went to help.
Only his painting was by his side.
The math teacher who had said that he would teach the exam in the evening self-study session couldn't come at the last minute. He asked the class representative to give them a new set of exam papers. Everyone was already numb to the endless questions. The class monitor sat on the podium to maintain discipline. The students below the podium bowed their heads to do the questions. A few people whispered.
Le Zhishi was always very focused when solving problems. He subconsciously used the end of the pen to touch his chin and poked a few times. He thought of an idea to solve the problem. Just as he was about to write, suddenly there was a flash of lightning. His body trembled reflexively.
"It's getting heavier."
"Damn, this lightning is so scary."
Jiang Yufan looked outside the window, "… Is there a power outage?"
The class monitor patted the podium, "Quiet. Don't talk. "
As soon as the voice fell, the bright classroom suddenly fell into darkness.
"Damn, there's a power outage!"
"Jiang Yufan, you jinx!"
"Can we get out of school early?"
Voices came from the other classrooms. Le Zhishi's first reaction was to look in the direction of the high school building. It was also dark there.
The class monitor tried to maintain order in the front and asked them to keep their voices down. The class next door was obviously more difficult to control than class 8. The students all ran to the corridor.
"I'm going to the teacher's office. You guys are not allowed to go out."
The boys in the class began to chatter and jeer, saying things like "school must be let out early" and "barbecue later". Some of the students took out a small table lamp with a USB port or a phone's flashlight. They used the light to do the questions.
Le Zhishi also took out his phone. He wanted to finish this question. Just as he picked up the pen again, a white light flashed outside the window. It was as if the night had been torn apart. In an instant, it was as bright as day. But soon, it was swallowed by darkness again. This was a terrible omen for Le Zhishi. He covered his eyes with his hand.
Sure enough, in the next second, there was a huge thunder. No matter how prepared Le Zhishi was, he was still shocked.
"Le Zhishi, you're already so old and you're still afraid of thunder." The boy in the back seat teased him, "What's there to cover?"
Hearing this, Le Zhishi put down his hand and tried to focus on doing the questions.
The class monitor left and did not return. The classroom became more and more chaotic. But at least she did not go out.
"I heard that our school has a generator. It shouldn't stop for long."
"Really? Didn't we just leave school last time? "
The chatter, the sound of rain, and the female student's recitation mixed in the dark and damp classroom. But none of that could stop the thunder.
It was a relatively easy question. Le Zhishi stumbled as he finished the last step of the derivation. He finally did not want to wait and wait anymore. He picked up his phone, unlocked the screen, and opened the chat with Song Yu.
He wanted to tell Song Yu that he was scared, but then he remembered the joke from the boy in the back seat. He felt that he was being ridiculous.
While he was hesitating, he felt the chat suddenly move. Le Zhishi thought that it was his imagination. He looked down and saw that Song Yu had sent him a message.
Song Yu gege: The book you mentioned last night, the person who borrowed it has returned it to me. I'll give it to you when I get home.
He did not expect it to be such a topic. It was just an excuse he came up with at the last minute.
But he also did not expect that Song Yu was worried that Le Zhishi would be scared after the first thunder. He thought hard for a long time before he found a suitable excuse to talk to him first.
It seemed natural and unconcerned, very much like the opening remarks of a normal older brother.
There was another flash of white outside the window. Le Zhishi clutched his phone. He felt that Song Yu had taken away a lot of his attention, so he was not as panicked. But he was still scared when the thunder fell.
He typed a line and clicked send.
Le Zhishi: Brother, I'm a little scared.
The class monitor came back and opened the classroom door. "The teacher is not in the office or the pantry."
The students in the class burst into cheers, but the class monitor still did not allow them to leave. "If the break is early, there will be a notice. Wait."
Le Zhishi received Song Yu's reply amidst the cheers and complaints.
Brother Song Yu: There are so many people in the classroom. Why are you panicking?
After thinking about it, Le Zhishi felt that Song Yu's words were not without reason, so he did not know what to say for a moment.
He did not notice that the top of the screen was typing. After a few minutes, he could not help but send another message.
Le Zhishi: I'm still a little scared.
Le Zhishi waited for a long time. Thunder struck twice, and the class monitor repeated for the third time not to make too much noise. But he still did not receive a reply from Song Yu.
He thought that in Song Yu's eyes, he must be very childish, timid, and did not have the slightest improvement.
Some girls went to the bathroom in groups and asked for leave from the class monitor. Le Zhishi looked in the direction of the high school building. He caught a glimpse of the sparkling lights in Song Yu's classroom, as if he was bewitched.
He also asked for leave from the class monitor because his image as a good student was easily approved. However, he did not go to the bathroom. Instead, he walked directly to the staircase and arrived at the sky corridor that connected the two buildings.
The world outside was slightly brighter than the classroom. The wind mixed with the smell of rain and dampness blew towards him, slightly dampening his hair and shirt. The marble floor of the long corridor was covered with a layer of water and was very slippery. Le Zhishi walked carefully with his head down. He saw his canvas shoes land on the black tiles and create small ripples of light.
He was actually aimless and did not have much self-awareness. It was as if he had come here out of inertia.
This was the place where he quietly waited for Song Yu to finish class every day. However, his waiting was one-sided. He would not actually wait for Song Yu. When he saw someone from class two (5) leave the classroom, Le Zhishi would put away his vocabulary book and ride home first.
Song Yu was the one who did not know and was passive.
When he reached the end of the corridor, Le Zhishi felt that it was time for him to stop. In an instant, lightning flashed across the night sky and lit up everything around him. He raised his face. It was a coincidence that only appeared in movies.
At the end of the corridor, there was a figure standing at the staircase. Lightning lit up his face.
Le Zhishi thought that he had made a mistake and was stunned. However, after the lightning flashed, the figure still did not disappear. It was indeed Song Yu.
In the darkness, his eyes seemed to be shining as he looked over. Perhaps it was Le Zhishi's self-suggestion, but he felt that Song Yu seemed to have given him a look. Song Yu then turned around. He did not walk toward him or the corridor. Instead, he walked to the bathroom next to the staircase.
Perhaps he was bewitched by the imaginary eyes, or perhaps he knew that there would be thunder soon, but Le Zhishi stepped forward and followed him.
The reflective tiles were still rippled by his presence.
The moment the thunder fell, Le Zhishi pushed open the bathroom door with trembling shoulders. It was as if he had stepped into a dark forbidden zone. He hoped that no one knew that he had come here. It was as if he would be terrified if someone caught him and Song Yu at the same time. It was the same if someone found out about his relationship with Song Yu.
The bathroom was empty. There was only a row of washing areas and a row of sinks. Song Yu was standing there. It seemed that he had just finished washing his hands.
Le Zhishi called Song Yu brother in a low voice. Then, he began his opening remarks in a very unnatural manner.
"… It's raining too hard today."
He vaguely realized that many things had been foreshadowed before they happened.
The weather forecast clearly showed him the coming heavy rain, warning him again and again.
He did not dare to believe it, but it was inevitable.
However, this enlightenment was vague and ambiguous. Le Zhishi did not fully understand it at the moment.
Song Yu took a few steps closer to him. Lightning appeared again, illuminating the cramped room. At that moment, Song Yu saw Le Zhishi's face clearly. His soft short hair, light-colored pupils, eyelashes, the neck that extended upward from the collar of his shirt, which was as white as a porcelain vase. His slender fingers and the slightly protruding veins on the back of his hand.
"Yes." Song Yu responded slowly because he was distracted. He subconsciously said, "Why are you here?"
But his sentence was covered by the thunder.
Le Zhishi did not hear it, so he did not answer. He did not need to hide his fear in front of Song Yu. He did not need to worry that Song Yu would laugh at his physical fear like the boys in the backseat. So, Le Zhishi took a few more steps closer to Song Yu.
His shadow safely enveloped Le Zhishi.
Song Yu wanted to comfort him and tell him not to be afraid, but there was nothing he could do. However, Le Zhishi grabbed his wrist first. He grabbed the watch that he treasured so much. He moved up a little and grabbed Song Yu's forearm.
The wet skin touched the lines of his palm. Le Zhishi's strength was very light, but it seemed to have grasped Song Yu's heart.
"Can I hug you?"
His tone was tentative, but his actions were direct. It was as if he was worried that Song Yu would reject him, so he hugged Song Yu first. The metal nameplate on the collar of his shirt seemed to have accidentally bumped into Song Yu's nameplate. The subtle sound of collision in the night echoed in Song Yu's ears for a long time.
He was a little surprised. He did not raise his hand to hug Le Zhishi back, but Le Zhishi, whose face was buried in his collarbone, could not see his expression. He hugged Song Yu like when they were young, and even like every morning in the past, frank and natural.
But this was the first time they had completed a hug in a dark corner of the school that no one knew about.
"You smell so good." Le Zhishi said the inappropriate words in a tone without any evil intentions. His arm hugged Song Yu's back, and he drew comfort from him.
Song Yu was a little uncomfortable with the silence, but when the thunder appeared, he subconsciously raised his hand and touched Le Zhishi's head from behind. His other arm also leaned lightly against Le Zhishi's back, as if he did not intend to use any strength to hug Le Zhishi.
For a moment, a strange thought flashed through his mind. He felt that they were like middle school students in love.
But this thought was quickly drowned out by the sound of rain and nailed to the ground by the rain.
When the thunder fell, Le Zhishi hugged him very tightly. After a few seconds, he loosened his grip slightly and took a deep breath in Song Yu's arms.
"Why did you come down?" he asked Song Yu softly.
He did not know how to respond. He could not say that he was worried about him and wanted to go over to take a look. Halfway through, he felt stupid, so he stopped at the stairs.
"… To wash my hands," he answered simply.
Le Zhishi made a soft sound of acknowledgment. Through the shirt, he could feel Song Yu's chest trembling slightly.
"But isn't there a bathroom on the fifth floor?" he thought and asked directly.
Song Yu's voice became awkward.
"Le Zhishi."
"You talk so much. Aren't you afraid?"
"No."
Le Zhishi hurriedly closed his mouth. Two seconds later, he opened his mouth again.
"Just a little more," he pleaded earnestly.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
