Rainy Night
Do you have someone you like?
“Jian Qing, do you have someone you like?”
The voice carried over by the wind was low and gentle, the pace so fast it was somewhat unclear.
Jian Qing took a big step forward, approached Lu Yinxi, and asked, “What?”
The gentle breeze did nothing to alleviate the heat on her body, breathing remained rapid, Lu Yinxi took a few deep breaths, lightly rubbed the band-aid on her right thumb, slowed the pace of her speech, called out her name directly, and asked again, “Jian Qing, do you have someone you like?”
Jian Qing moved even closer, without saying a word.
She wore a black coat, blending into the dim night.
The light was too dim for Lu Yinxi to see the expression on her face clearly, she could only smell the faint cold fragrance on her body, like thin snow.
Only the two of them were left on the playground, the surroundings were silent.
The wind blew stronger and stronger, the coldness scraping their faces, the excitement generated by exercise was diminishing, her courage was like a punctured ball, leaking away with each passing second.
Lu Yinxi directed her gaze into the distance, not daring to look at Jian Qing again.
Jian Qing stared directly at her and said in a calm voice, “You should call me Teacher.”
Those simple words, spoken in a clear and cold tone, carried little emotional weight, just as usual.
“Oh, Teacher Jian.” Lu Yinxi turned around, giving herself an excuse to retreat, “It’s a privacy issue, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, just pretend I asked casually.”
Casually asked…
A question that had consumed much of her courage.
Lu Yinxi, with heavy steps, continued running, her speed very fast, leaving Jian Qing far behind.
She thought, she should pretend to be more relaxed, her tone should be more cheerful, just like two good friends, casually inquiring about each other’s emotional state, without showing too much concern.
Good friends…
Lu Yinxi smiled, a smile that was somewhat self-mocking.
From the beginning, she never considered her as a friend.
She is a breathtaking flower in the mirror, a moon in the water.
How could she be a friend?
The world has countless interpretations of love, and Lu Yinxi doesn’t know which one to apply.
When she first noticed her heartbeat quicken, she just wanted to protect her, to change her unfortunate fate.
Later, she wanted more and more, wanted to accompany her, wanted to hook her finger, wanted to embrace her, kiss her.
These days, she avoided thinking, letting her emotions grow freely, without restraint, following her heart’s desire, in a moment of impulse, even started probing, hoping she would also like her.
How can one be so greedy?
Knowing it’s a love without a future, knowing it’s impossible to promise a lifetime together, how can one despicably hope for her to respond?
Lu Yinxi rubbed her aching nose.
She shouldn’t be so greedy; as long as they can change each other’s fate, that would be enough.
I only wish for her in this life, peace and joy, and a long life.
In the next lap, when meeting Jian Qing, Lu Yinxi pulled her from the dark inner track to the outer track with lighting: “There are small puddles inside. It’s so dark, don’t accidentally step on one.”
Then, without saying anything more, continued running forward.
Jian Qing watched Lu Yinxi’s figure fade into the distance, lowering her head, walking in the dim yellow light. Her tall and slender figure cast a long shadow on the track.
The wind made her clothes rustle loudly. She looked at the shadow on the ground, questioning her heart.
Do you have someone you like?
I don’t know.
I only know that in the endless darkness, a ray of light appeared.
By the seventh lap, her brain could no longer think, and Lu Yinxi gradually slowed down her pace.
Initially, she could only run five laps. Now she can run eight laps. After some time, she should be able to recover to the level of ten laps.
When running to the eighth lap, a few rolls of muffled thunder passed across the sky.
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Lu Yinxi slowly stopped her steps and looked up at the sky.
Tonight, there were no stars scattered across the sky.
A strong wind was blowing, causing the trees on the edge of the playground to sway their branches and shake their leaves.
Lu Yinxi glanced at Jian Qing on the other side and jogged over.
Jian Qing said, “It’s going to rain, let’s go home first.”
As soon as Lu Yinxi responded with a hum, raindrops as large as beans started falling on her face.
She wiped away the rainwater and said, “How can it start raining just like that?”
Jian Qing didn’t speak, pulled her, and started running.
Without any buffer time, in an instant, the raindrops connected into lines, and a torrential downpour came crashing down. The strong wind carried the moisture, mixed with the sound of splashing, and hit them head-on.
Lu Yinxi ran to the railing on the left side of the stands, hurriedly took off her coat, didn’t put it on, and pulled Jian Qing over, using the coat to shield her from the rain.
The two of them exchanged a glance under the coat.
Raindrops clung to Lu Yinxi’s eyelashes, and she smiled, saying, “I am now the male lead in a romantic drama.”
Using the coat to shield her heroine from wind and rain.
In other people’s writings, Jian Qing was just a supporting character, but in her heart, she was always the leading lady.
She wanted to protect her completely.
Jian Qing couldn’t say much more, she opened up Lu Yinxi’s coat, pulled Lu Yinxi to her side, and ran towards the stands.
The two of them hid in the stands of the sports field.
Lu Yinxi’s hair was slightly wet, and the coat was so wet that it couldn’t be worn anymore, and she was only wearing a thin long-sleeve quick-dry shirt.
The temperature suddenly dropped, and the cold struck, extinguishing all the heat generated by the exercise.
She touched the fur inside of the coat, and it was more than half wet.
Before running, she handed her phone to Jian Qing.
“Give me my phone.” She reached out and took her phone from Jian Qing’s coat pocket, “I’m going to the vending machine to buy something, you wait here for me.”
Saying this, she wrapped herself in the coat and rushed out.
Every time she went running, Jian Qing would prepare tissues and drinks for her, so she only needed to buy two more cans of eight-treasure porridge.
The rain pattered on the coat, and Lu Yinxi rushed to the eaves where the vending machine was, scanning the code to pay.
In winter, the eight-treasure porridge that comes out of the vending machine is all heated.
Lu Yinxi bought two more cans, hugged them in her arms, and then put on her coat, ran back to the stands, and handed the things in her arms to Jian Qing like presenting a treasure.
No one knew how long this rain would last, and neither of them had eaten dinner yet.
Jian Qing did not take them, silently removed the wet coat from Lu Yinxi’s hand, threw it on the steps, took out a wet tissue from the bag, turned Lu Yinxi’s body straight, and wiped the sweat and rain off her face and neck.
Lu Yinxi stood under the warm yellow light, looking at Jian Qing with moist eyes, like a cat that had run back from the pouring rain. Her wet, soft hair stuck to her neck, and her amber pupils were clear and clean, without any hint of aggression, delicate and fragile.
Jian Qing looked at her, the wiping motion gradually slowing down, the pad of her finger brushing against the brown tear mole at the corner of Lu Yinxi’s eye, gently rubbing.
The cold palm pressed against her cheek, causing Lu Yinxi to shiver. Her nose itched, and she quickly turned away.
“Achoo!”
She sneezed.
In the next second, the eight-treasure porridge in Lu Yinxi’s arms was taken away by Jian Qing and placed to the side.
Then, Jian Qing opened her coat and wrapped Lu Yinxi into her embrace.
The cold, refreshing fragrance and the warm, soft limbs intertwined at the same time. Lu Yinxi turned back around, her ears and cheeks gradually flushing, a rosy blush.
Jian Qing still said nothing, her body tightly pressed against Lu Yinxi’s, using each other’s body warmth to keep warm.
The sky was like ink, the fierce wind and heavy rain did not cease, occasionally a thunderclap would explode, drowning out the overwhelming sound of the rain, and occasionally a flash of lightning would streak across, illuminating the distant darkness.
Lu Yinxi hesitated for a few seconds, did not push away, reached out to encircle Jian Qing’s back, hugged her tightly, pressed her cheek to her neck, and softly asked, “Are you afraid of the dark?”
Jian Qing, with a blank expression, answered with a serious tone: “No, I can tell you really want to hug me.”
The warm and ambiguous atmosphere was shattered by this shameless remark, and Lu Yinxi was stunned for a moment, swallowing back the words “I’m here, don’t be afraid.”
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From the beginning until now, she just wanted to fill each other’s stomachs, never thought about hugging anyone.
She leaned against Jian Qing’s neck hollow and quietly scolded her: “Making something out of nothing, hitting back by preemptive accusation.”
Not playing by the rules.
Jian Qing encircled her waist, without responding.
With nothing else to do, Lu Yinxi started to make up a script for both of them: “You are a rich young lady from a powerful family, and I am a poor, down-and-out female college student. On a rainy night, we met. I look like a white moonlight you once had who went abroad. You were moved, you were swept away, and you came over to forcefully hug—”
Jian Qing interrupted her story: “I don’t force people.”
Lu Yinxi explained: “Hug as in embrace.” She continued making up the story, “I pushed you away, but you hugged me again and even threw a ten-million-dollar check at me, saying that just by hugging, I could get that ten million. Coincidentally, I had a sick elderly person at home who urgently needed money, so I humiliatingly accepted your forced hug.”
Jian Qing listened with a laugh, the laughter sounding like it came from deep within her chest, low and pleasant.
“Change to another one.”
“You are a young lady from a noble family, and I am a fox spirit from the wilderness. One rainy night, we met. You hugged my fox body in your arms to keep warm while sleeping. In the middle of the night, I transformed into a human and told you that you saved me five hundred years ago, and now I have come to repay your kindness.”
“Bai Suzhen?” (A character from the famous Chinese legend “The Legend of the White Snake.” She is a white snake spirit who transforms into a woman and falls in love with a mortal man.)
Lu Yinxi shook her head: “Hugging a snake in your arms is too scary; you better hug a fox.”
She continued to chatter on, and Jian Qing listened quietly.
The outside world was pitch black, with the storm raging wildly and recklessly sweeping across the entire world. They hid in a small corner of this world, hugging each other tightly, absorbing the warmth from each other, as if relying on each other for survival.
Lu Yinxi hugged Jian Qing, suddenly hoping that this heavy rain would last a little longer, so that time would stay in this moment, never moving forward, always remaining like this, relying on each other.
“You have a fever.”
The sudden rain stopped. Back home, after taking a hot shower, Jian Qing looked at Lu Yinxi’s flushed cheeks, touched her forehead, and took the electronic thermometer, aimed it at her forehead with a beep.
38.6℃.
Lu Yinxi sneezed a few more times, feeling weak and powerless all over, shivering with cold, and coughing from time to time. Yet she didn’t forget to joke with Jian Qing, “Quick, deploy the weapons, help my white blood cells…”
Infectious fever is a self-defense war of the human immune system.
When viruses and bacteria invade the human body, the patrolling macrophage guards inside immediately discover them, open their mouths wide, and swallow them whole. They also sound the alarm, informing the temperature regulation center to raise the body temperature immediately, disrupting the growth environment of bacteria and viruses, and preventing them from reproducing.
As the internal temperature rises, the human immune cell army becomes more active and starts a mass slaughter.
Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs are the weapons that assist immune cells in fighting against foreign invaders.
After taking the medicine, Lu Yinxi wrapped herself in a fluffy blanket and stuck closely behind Jian Qing.
Wherever Jian Qing went, she followed.
Jian Qing fed her hot water, and she obediently drank it.
When Jian Qing accidentally stepped on her while turning around, she neither cried out nor scolded, but just looked at her with her sparkling eyes.
“Do you want to infect me?” Jian Qing flicked her little head.
Whenever she gets sick, she loves to cling to people.
Lu Yinxi felt weak and sore all over. After taking the medicine, she was very sleepy. She mumbled for a moment before saying, “Doctor Jian, good night.”
Jian Qing asked, “Do you want me to sleep with you?”
Lu Yinxi shook her head and whispered, “I can’t infect you… I won’t go to the hospital tomorrow…”
There are many patients with weakened immune systems in the hospital.
Jian Qing rubbed Lu Yinxi’s head: “Don’t sleep yet, I will get the stethoscope to listen to your lung sounds, you—”
Halfway through her sentence, the ringtone of her phone in her pocket went off.
She carries her phone 24 hours a day, not daring to turn it off or put it on silent.
Jian Qing answered the phone, exchanged a few brief words, and hung up: “I need to go to the hospital, you go back to your room to rest, keep an eye on your body temperature…” While speaking, she felt a vague sense of unease, reluctant to leave her alone at home, “You better put on a mask and come with me to the hospital, and get checked up as well.”
Lu Yinxi didn’t want to trouble her, shook her head, her voice low and light: “You go quickly, remember to bring an umbrella… if I don’t feel well, I will go to the emergency room myself… it’s so close, just across the street…”
Jian Qing glanced at her, rubbed her head again, then turned around to go back to her room to change clothes and quickly rushed to the hospital.
She left, and the house became empty and quiet.
Lu Yinxi curled up on the sofa, hugged a teddy bear, turned on the TV in the living room, letting the sound of the TV keep her company.
It has been this way since childhood; her mom is a doctor, her dad is also a doctor, clearly both are doctors, yet when she is sick, she can’t have the company of doctors.
Outside, it started pouring rain again, the sound of the rain pattering making people feel restless and uneasy.
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Lu Yinxi sat on the sofa, her head feeling dizzy and her chest somewhat stuffy. She coughed a few times forcefully, sensing something was wrong…
Last time’s fever was nowhere near this uncomfortable. Why does she feel so suffocated now?
Myocarditis?
Couldn’t be, right?
The last physical examination showed that this body’s heart function was good. Even if a virus invaded, it wouldn’t reach the myocardial cells so quickly.
On the television, the local TV channel was replaying the incident from some time ago where she and Jian Qing saved He Bei in the park. She saw Jian Qing on the TV, wearing a mask, revealing a pair of eyes as clear and cold as autumn waters and icy stars.
Her attention was diverted, and she heard Jian Qing’s cold voice, unable to help but smile.
A heart-wrenching pain in her chest pulled her attention back to the illness. Lu Yinxi stifled her smile, feeling extremely cold all over. She clutched her chest, the pain bringing out a cold sweat on her forehead.
Something is really wrong…
It shouldn’t have progressed so quickly…
She struggled to stand up, wanting to call 120. Before she could take a step, suddenly with a “bang,” she fell headfirst to the ground.
In the last moment before losing consciousness, her mind was still on the warm embrace Jian Qing had given her.
So warm…
The author has something to say:
Good night, muah-muah da