Rainy Night

“A pack of instant noodles will cost you 15 yuan.”

The cashier took out the scanner, but saw the other person handing over a 20 yuan note.

“Okay, here’s your 5 yuan change.”

As she spoke, the cashier couldn’t help but look up and take a closer glance at the slender girl standing at the counter.

Dressed in the uniform of Yinshan Academy, she had long hair that cascaded down to her waist, a delicate and petite face, and her skin, untouched by foundation, was incredibly pale but also bore a hint of sickness. However, her eyes, like gemstones, were as calm as an ancient well, carrying a touch of coldness.

She was indeed a beautiful girl.

After receiving the bag of instant noodles and her change, the girl walked out of the convenience store.

As the automatic door opened, a slight chill mixed with the scent of the asphalt ground and moisture greeted her face.

She slightly raised her gaze, and the mist gave the neon skyscrapers a veil of white, making the bustling city quiet down a bit.

It was raining...

After stuffing the instant noodles into her shoulder bag, the girl opened her umbrella, but her peripheral vision caught sight of something.

It was a man.

In his late twenties, he wore a black suit, but his collar looked like it had been roughly torn open, with his tie hanging in a half-circle around his neck. The man seemed to have been here for a while, with scattered open beer cans around his feet.

At the moment the girl observed him, he also raised his dull gray eyes—

At the moment their gazes met, the man suddenly smiled and spoke,

“Little sister, it’s quite dangerous for a beautiful flower of our country like you to stand here watching strange men.”

As he spoke, he slightly moved his stiff body, and his calf bumped against a beer can, producing a crisp sound.

“I didn’t expect to have slept here for so long, haha.” Ye Shuang murmured, the smile on his face looking more like a bitter laugh.

The events of the past few days could be summed up in one simple sentence.

Unemployed, heartbroken, lost both parents.

Sitting on the steps of the convenience store, Ye Shuang slightly lifted his head, his vacant eyes gazing at the distant skyscrapers.

Such a prosperous city, yet it couldn’t accommodate someone like him.

A lifetime of effort might not even reach the starting point of some people.

What is the purpose of living, after all?

His gaze fell on a nearby puddle, droplets of rain falling into it, and at that moment, Ye Shuang felt a bit lost, like a raindrop falling into the puddle without causing any ripples.

No one cared where he came from or where he was going.

“Crack, crack.” The sound of a plastic bag suddenly broke through the rain, and Ye Shuang noticed that the girl who had been watching him had moved a little closer, holding something extra in her hand.

A pack of...

Instant noodles?

A five-pack of Kang Shimu instant noodles.

Still the pickled cabbage flavor.

Ye Shuang: “......”

After a moment of silence, Ye Shuang looked at the girl who was trying to stuff the instant noodles into his arms and couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you giving me this?”

The girl stared at Ye Shuang for several seconds before letting out a voice as tiny as a mosquito,

“Being hungry... is uncomfortable.”

Ye Shuang was taken aback, instinctively taking the instant noodles. He looked at the girl’s silently observing gaze and took out his phone, glancing at the time through the cracked screen.

12:12 AM

“It’s so late, you should hurry home.” Ye Shuang said, “Your family must be worried about you, right?”

Upon hearing this, the girl’s beautiful eyes seemed to dim a little. She glanced at Ye Shuang again and then turned to leave, holding up her umbrella.

“How am I supposed to eat such a big pack? It’s not even cup noodles.” Ye Shuang watched the slender figure walking away and looked at the large pack of instant noodles in his hands.

He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself; perhaps this kid didn’t know that he didn’t even have a place to stay.

Yes, there wasn’t a single place that belonged to him here.

But the heavy stone pressing down on Ye Shuang’s heart felt a bit lighter at that moment. After all, receiving kindness from a stranger always brought warmth.

And she was such a beautiful girl.

Ye Shuang slowly stood up, perhaps due to having drunk too much, he felt a bit dizzy, and it was hard to swallow even a sip of water.

He opened the last bottle of beer to rinse his mouth and quench his thirst. Then he fished out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket and looked in the direction the girl had left, but froze for a moment.

In the distance, he saw two men flanking the white umbrella, even pulling at it.

“Damn, they’re not even letting students off?!” Ye Shuang crumpled the beer can in his hand and, braving the increasing rain, sprinted over!

At that moment, the girl was being tugged by the two men.

“Hey, it’s already past midnight. Why not come play at the bar? You don’t seem too eager to go home, do you, little sister?”

“Come on, come on, we have plenty of students your age over there, and everyone’s having a great time.”

Pushed along by the two men, the girl was at a loss, holding her umbrella, and because of her fear, she couldn’t even make a sound.

Seeing the girl completely silent and not resisting, the two men, upon noticing her beautiful face, grew bolder, reaching out to touch her.

“Slap!”

The sound of a slap mixed with the rain echoed, and one of the men who had tried to touch her was suddenly knocked to the ground!

Mud splattered all over him, and he couldn’t get up for a long time. The scene left the other man stunned, completely shocked.

At this moment, Ye Shuang stood in the puddle, the smell of alcohol mixed with the moisture, and his tall figure appeared menacing.

“You, you... If you dare to hit my brother...”

“I’ll hit you too!” Ye Shuang directly pulled the girl to his side and then kicked the other man to the ground.

After doing all this, he grabbed the girl’s wrist and ran, weaving through the rain, which quickly soaked both of them.

Bai Yuyou stared blankly at the man pulling her along, not knowing why, but she felt no urge to stop.

“This should be good enough.”

Before long, Ye Shuang brought the girl to a bus stop but noticed he was still holding her wrist, so he quickly released it.

“Did I hurt you? I was a bit anxious just now.”

Bai Yuyou shook her head, a few damp strands of hair sticking to her fair face, making her look even more beautiful.

At that moment, Ye Shuang also noticed that her clothes were completely soaked from the rain, clinging to her skin, revealing the color of her skin.

“Her underwear...” Ye Shuang suddenly realized that she wasn’t wearing any.

Bai Yuyou tilted her head slightly at his words, her expression still quite neutral.

“It’s okay now. Where do you live? I’ll take you home.” Ye Shuang said, shifting his gaze, “Next time, don’t go out alone so late, alright?”

Bai Yuyou nodded, pointing to a building across the road.

"That's your place?" Ye Shuang asked. After getting a nod in response, he looked at the underground sidewalk on the other side of the road. "Let's go."

The girl lived in an old residential community, not far from the convenience store they'd just left.

The security guard in the community was an old man in his seventies or eighties, snoring loudly in a rattan chair inside the security booth.

Maybe it was because he found it particularly comfortable to sleep on a rainy day.

"Is this the place?" After entering the community and looking at the six - story building in front of him and the dark - green iron gate, Ye Shuang averted his gaze.

"Go back. Don't let your parents worry."

In fact, to avoid looking at certain things, Ye Shuang even shifted his gaze to the iron gate beside him.

But at this moment, Bai Yuyou reached out and grabbed the corner of his clothes.

Under the dim light at the entrance, Bai Yuyou's expression gave Ye Shuang the illusion of seeing an abandoned little animal under a streetlight.

"Alright, I'll walk you up." Looking at the pitch - black staircase inside the gate, Ye Shuang thought the girl was still scared about what had happened earlier.

However, when he reached the fourth floor and was pulled into an apartment unit, he immediately realized something was off.

"Ah?"