TVDC 41: One Umbrella

On the day Qiu Xuning finished the exam, it suddenly started raining. The rain came so abruptly that the weather forecast hadn’t mentioned it. Many people, like Qiu Xuning, hadn’t brought umbrellas, so they all crowded into the corridor after the exam.

“I remember it rained during the high school and college entrance exams last year too,” Qin Shouze said as he walked up to Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning looked at the heavy rain, his refined brows knitting slightly.

Qin Shouze watched his expression and laughed, then asked softly, “Did you get in touch with your family?”

“I did,” Qiu Xuning replied quietly, without looking at him. His attention was still fixed on the open ground being swallowed by the downpour. Someone, eager to test their luck, tried to dash home through the rain, but after only a few moments outside, they turned and ran back. Their shoes landed on the steps with a splash, sending water flying. Qiu Xuning, standing nearby, was caught off guard as the spray hit his legs. He let out an “ah” and stumbled back several steps.

Qin Shouze pulled him to the other end of the corridor. “Are you alright?”

Qiu Xuning lowered his head and glanced at his calf and the top of his foot, now stained with dirty water, and muttered, “I’ll just wipe it off.”

As he spoke, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the crumpled packaging of a wet tissue pack. He froze for a moment before remembering that he had already used up all the tissues during the exam.

Seeing this, Qin Shouze took out a pack of wet tissues from his own pocket and said, “I have some, use mine.”

Qiu Xuning lifted his eyes, hesitated for a moment, then accepted it. “Thanks.”

Qin Shouze gave a light cough and said, “No need to thank me.”

Qiu Xuning pulled out a wet tissue, bent down, and carefully wiped the spots where the dirty water had splashed on him.

Qin Shouze stood nearby watching him. Over the past half year, Qiu Xuning had indeed grown quite a bit taller, but Qin Shouze still always felt he was the same small kid as before—only reaching his shoulder, thin and small. The only difference was that face of his, still with a bit of baby fat, fair with a healthy flush. Once, when Qiu Xuning’s pen fell to the ground and they both bent down to pick it up, Qin Shouze’s fingers accidentally brushed against his cheek. It was soft—so soft that it was hard to imagine anything else could feel as good as that. He even found himself wanting to touch it again.

But he couldn’t. Qiu Xuning always carried a kind of inexplicable wariness toward him. Half a year had nearly passed, and they were both about to graduate, yet their relationship had never really become close. This left Qin Shouze feeling a bit regretful.

Now, it should be the junior high school stage. This was the last time they would meet. Qin Shouze was very clear in his heart that even if he wanted to ask Qiu Xuning to hang out during the summer vacation, he would most likely reject him, just like countless times before. So at this moment, he gazed at Qiu Xuning with exceptional focus, almost engraving him deeply into his memory.

Qin Shouze didn’t even know why he cared so much about Qiu Xuning. When Qiu Xuning straightened up, revealing his delicate face that at first glance, anyone would think belonged to a well-behaved child, Qin Shouze’s heart suddenly inexplicably sped up. “Qiu Xuning,” he called out to him.

Qiu Xuning’s beautiful, clear eyes looked at him, and then quickly blinked, averting his gaze. “What’s wrong?”

Qin Shouze tried to calm his emotions, forcing a smile on his face, his voice soft as he said, “During the summer, my dad will hire a tutor for me. You… do you want to come sit in on the lessons?”

Qiu Xuning’s thin eyelids slightly fluttered. He raised his eyes to look at him. “Aren’t you going to travel?”

Qin Shouze naturally said, “I’m not going anymore. I’ve thought it over. After the high school entrance exam, I can relax a bit, but if I keep relaxing, that’s not right. So I asked my dad to hire a tutor for me, so I can start studying high school content in advance.”

Qiu Xuning was clearly tempted, his beautiful eyes lighting up, but he also seemed a bit shy, or perhaps had some reservations. In the end, he pressed his lips together and politely declined, saying, “No need, thank you for the kind offer. I can just review a bit on my own.”

Qin Shouze felt a bit disappointed but still smiled and said, “You rejected me so quickly? Aren’t you going to think about it a bit more?”

Qiu Xuning lowered his eyes and spoke softly, “Actually, I have older siblings in high school. If I don’t understand something, I can ask them, so… sorry about that.”

The smile on Qin Shouze’s face slowly faded, and he let out a soft, disappointed “Oh.”

Qiu Xuning looked at the disappointed expression on Qin Shouze’s face, feeling a bit confused inside. He could sense that Qin Shouze had been trying to get closer to him, and he knew there was no ill intention behind it, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something felt off.

He wasn’t particularly popular with boys, but Qin Shouze clearly got along well with those other guys—playing basketball together, joking around, and having fun. So why was it that Qin Shouze was so eager to be close to him?

Qiu Xuning couldn’t figure it out, nor did he have the energy to think about it. His attention had already shifted away from Qin Shouze. His phone vibrated, it was a call from He Zhiyuan. His eyes lit up as he answered the call. Despite the heavy rain outside, it didn’t stop the joy in his voice from reaching He Zhiyuan’s side. “Have you arrived?”

It was the first time Qin Shouze had seen him smile so brightly. That obedient, good-student face suddenly became lively and full of energy, with his brows and eyes sparkling with a vitality that was usually hidden. In that moment, Qin Shouze felt a surge of jealousy and bitterness rise in his heart. He watched Qiu Xuning as he turned his head, looking toward the other side of the corridor. Then, Qiu Xuning put down his phone and jogged toward the other side of the corridor.

On the other side of the corridor stood a tall boy, wearing a simple white T-shirt and black casual pants, with a very minimalist outfit. As soon as he appeared in the corridor, he drew the attention of everyone around.

He obviously had a height that didn’t belong to someone of their age, and his appearance was striking, but his expression was very indifferent, exuding an aura that made others want to keep their distance. However, after seeing something, his brows softened a lot, and the corners of his lips curled into a slight smile.

Some people noticed that he was holding two umbrellas, clearly having come to deliver them. A few couldn’t help but feel envious of the person who was getting an umbrella from him. They stretched their necks, curious to see who the lucky person would be.

Qiu Xuning ran over to He Zhiyuan’s side, suppressing the joy in his heart. The smile on his face also faded a little. He softly said, “I thought you would come from this side.”

He Zhiyuan had clearly come from the main road, taking a bit of a detour, but luckily he had remembered to bring his phone.

He Zhiyuan said, “As soon as it started raining, I came out.”

Qiu Xuning’s face turned a little red. He glanced at him, then smiled. His little tiger teeth were sharp, giving him a lively and cute look. “I didn’t wait that long.”

He Zhiyuan also smiled. He handed the umbrella to Qiu Xuning and reached for the schoolbag on his shoulder then said”Let’s go back.”

Qiu Xuning watched as He Zhiyuan slung his schoolbag over one shoulder, opened the umbrella, and stepped down the first step. He turned back and looked at him. “Let’s go.”

Qiu Xuning responded with a soft sound, opened the umbrella, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He turned to look to his side and saw Qin Shouze. After a brief hesitation, he looked at He Zhiyuan and softly asked, “Can I share an umbrella with you?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at Qin Shouze, paused for a moment, then said, “Sure.”

Qiu Xuning handed the umbrella to Qin Shouze, gave him a small smile, and said, “Why don’t you use my umbrella to go home?”

Qin Shouze didn’t take it. He glanced at He Zhiyuan and asked, “Is he your brother?”

Qiu Xuning nodded and said, “He’s my cousin.”

Hearing this, Qin Shouze couldn’t quite tell if he was relieved or feeling something else. In any case, his mood lightened significantly with Qiu Xuning’s answer. He reached out and took the umbrella from Qiu Xuning’s hand, smiling as he said, “Thank you, I’ll return it to you.”

Qiu Xuning responded softly, then turned and stepped under He Zhiyuan’s umbrella. “Let’s go.” He tilted his head up to look at He Zhiyuan, his voice softening. “I finished my exams, and… I think I did pretty well.”

He Zhiyuan looked down at him and asked, “Do you want me to praise you?”

Qiu Xuning’s face turned slightly red. His eyes darted around for a moment before he softly replied, “…Yes.”

He Zhiyuan smiled and said, “You’re really awesome.”

Qiu Xuning lifted his eyes to look at him and whispered, “I think so too.”

He Zhiyuan smiled.

Suddenly, he reached out and pulled Qiu Xuning closer, wrapping his arm around his shoulder and drawing him toward himself. “Come closer, your shoulder’s getting wet.”

Qiu Xuning’s arm was indeed cool, wet from the rain.

He didn’t like rainy days—no matter how he walked, his calves and feet would definitely get dirty. At this moment, being a little wet didn’t matter much because the first thing he would do when he got home would be to take a shower.

Yet now, being held like this by He Zhiyuan, with that broad hand gripping his shoulder tightly, the warmth from his palm seemed to seep through the wet fabric, transferring directly to his skin. It made his heart race, beating fast in his chest.

The distance between them was a bit too close, and Qiu Xuning could still smell the warm scent of fabric softener from He Zhiyuan’s clothes.

Especially as his arm occasionally brushed against He Zhiyuan’s waist and abdomen, he could feel the firmness of his muscles and the warmth of his skin. Qiu Xuning, trying to minimize the contact, used the position of his arm to reduce the physical closeness, but He Zhiyuan’s hold on him was almost as if he was pulling him into an embrace.

Qiu Xuning’s face flushed, and his hands and feet stiffened in response.

“Qiu Xuning!” He Zhiyuan called out.

Qiu Xuning snapped back to reality and suddenly realized that he had stepped into a puddle. His whole foot was soaked.

“Ah…” Qiu Xuning lifted his foot, and his little face scrunched up in displeasure.

“Why weren’t you looking where you were going?” He Zhiyuan stopped and asked.

Qiu Xuning silently complained, It’s because you were holding me too tightly.

But he didn’t dare say it. With He Zhiyuan asking in that slightly questioning tone, he felt even more nervous, afraid he might be found out. He stammered as he answered, “I–I was just thinking about something.”

He Zhiyuan’s palm slid to his back, and he whispered, “Look where you’re going this time.”

“…Mm.” Qiu Xuning answered softly, his expression showing discomfort, but he didn’t dare let He Zhiyuan see. He lowered his head slightly, trying to ignore the warmth of the hand resting on his back.

However, his heart raced in his chest. The skin where He Zhiyuan’s arm brushed against him, even through the fabric, felt slightly itchy and hot, as if electricity was running through it.