Friendship · Everlasting

"This Friday, you're coming with me."

Gu Ruoxue's cool voice rang in his ears once more, and her words made Su Cheng's expression instantly tense.

"Where to?"

"The place where you used to go to school."

Hearing this, Su Cheng felt a wave of disorientation. Was Gu Ruoxue finally going to tell him about the past?

Or did she have some other motive?

An inexplicable mix of excitement and unease surged in his chest.

Besides, if they were going back to his hometown, senior sister Liu would be there too.

Come to think of it, had Gu Ruoxue and senior sister Liu ever been in the same scene before?

He wondered what would happen if they met.

But that wasn’t the most important thing.

The real question was—was the mystery that had plagued him for so long finally about to be solved?

What exactly was going on with him?

Had his soul crossed over, or had his entire body?

Was he a native or an outsider?

And what was the deal with Gu Ruoxue’s abilities?

Su Cheng took a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress his excitement before turning to Gu Ruoxue, who was absorbed in a book. After hesitating for a few seconds, he finally spoke in a small voice, "Um, Minister… I… I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

Gu Ruoxue closed the book and looked at him, her cool voice still crisp and pleasant.

"I heard… you used to attend the same school as me?"

Su Cheng swallowed hard as he asked.

"Yes, that’s correct."

Gu Ruoxue gave a slight nod.

Su Cheng pressed further, "Why did you go to a poor county to study? What was the reason?"

"Looking back now, I suppose it was just to experience a different kind of life."

"……"

Su Cheng fell silent at her answer, but then, unwilling to let it go, he asked again, "So it wasn’t because you studied the stars, foresaw my arrival, and deliberately formed an unbreakable bond with me?"

Gu Ruoxue paused, then rubbed her temples as if she had a headache. She looked at Su Cheng with the kind of gaze one would give an idiot and sighed. "Should I call you narcissistic or just overly imaginative?"

Seeing that Su Cheng was still staring at her expectantly, she relented with a resigned tone. "It was just a coincidence. That’s all."

Su Cheng felt a pang of disappointment. He had thought Gu Ruoxue might actually have some kind of prophetic ability, but it turned out to be nothing more than chance.

Still, he now knew that while Gu Ruoxue wouldn’t reveal anything about his past, she wasn’t particularly secretive about other matters.

So he continued, "Then what’s the purpose of this trip? Is it to help me recover my memories or something like that?"

"Don’t overthink it. You’ll find out when the time comes."

Gu Ruoxue shook her head, refusing to give a clear answer.

Su Cheng, though itching with curiosity, didn’t push further. Instead, he grinned and said, "Well, in that case, I’ll just have to wait patiently."

…………………………

The club bell rang.

Today, he was responsible for cleaning up the clubroom, which took him about ten minutes. Once finished, he packed his things and headed toward the parking lot.

But as soon as he reached the entrance of the club building, heavy rain suddenly poured down.

Caught off guard by the sudden downpour, a crowd had gathered at the entrance—students who hadn’t brought umbrellas, waiting either for the rain to stop or for someone to bring them one.

Su Cheng squeezed through the packed crowd, but by the time he reached the front, the rain had only gotten heavier.

Just as he was about to head to the restroom to change into his raincoat, a senior suddenly called out to him.

"Su Cheng, wait up!"

Su Cheng paused and turned to see the senior holding a red-and-black umbrella.

He distinctly remembered this guy—the one he had once hit with a badminton shuttlecock. So, he definitely had an impression of him.

Was this guy here to cause trouble or what?

Su Cheng frowned in confusion.

But instead of hostility, the senior jogged up to him with an enthusiastic and almost ingratiating smile. "It’s pouring out there. Riding a bike in this weather must be tough. Why don’t you hitch a ride with me?"

The senior’s eyes were full of sincerity—even bordering on fawning.

Su Cheng was completely baffled. What was this guy playing at? Still, he politely declined, "Thanks for the offer, senior, but I’ll manage on my own."

With that, he sidestepped the senior, ready to leave. After all, unsolicited kindness was never without ulterior motives.

He wasn’t about to accept favors from just anyone.

However, the senior seemed to have anticipated his refusal and quickly tried to shove his umbrella into Su Cheng’s hands. "Here, take my umbrella. I don’t need it right now."

As he spoke, his voice rose slightly, drawing the attention of nearby students.

Zhao Yan, who had been about to open her own umbrella and leave, was also drawn by the commotion. When she turned and spotted Su Cheng, her beautiful eyes widened in surprise.

She paused, watching as Su Cheng and the senior stood arguing at the entrance, her expression growing slightly displeased. Just as she was about to step forward and offer to share her umbrella with Su Cheng—

"Su Cheng, I happen to have an extra umbrella here. If you don’t mind…"

A pink umbrella was suddenly thrust toward Su Cheng—this time, by a second-year senior sister.

At this point, Su Cheng was mentally cursing. Once again, he had somehow become the center of attention. Staring at the two umbrellas being offered, he could only feel exasperated. This was textbook-level trouble.

"No thanks."

He waved them off and explained, "I brought my own."

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone’s eyes swept over him, searching—yet there wasn’t a single trace of an umbrella on him.

Wasn’t that just a blatant lie?

The two offering umbrellas looked visibly awkward.

Su Cheng suddenly realized his mistake—his umbrella was in his system storage. He couldn’t just pull it out in front of everyone like some magic trick.

Just as he was about to backtrack and say he’d left it in the clubroom, he noticed Zhao Yan stepping forward, prompting him to shut his mouth.

Zhao Yan knew it was time to intervene. She was just about to say, "Su Cheng, you dropped your umbrella," when—

"Watch closely!"

Su Cheng suddenly strode to the entrance, turning to face the two seniors with a smirk, exuding an air of mystery. "My umbrella…"

"Gulp…"

Some of the onlookers swallowed nervously, while others widened their eyes in anticipation—as if expecting Su Cheng to perform some kind of magic trick.

Zhao Yan also froze, her gaze locked onto him.

Su Cheng’s smirk deepened as he slowly raised both hands above his head. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, his hands traced a graceful arc through the air.

Then, in the next second—defying all expectations—he suddenly broke into a wild, flailing dance with his hands (a move known as "flower hands") and dashed straight into the rain, vanishing from sight in an instant.

In that moment, everyone’s pupils dilated in shock.

Everyone: "..."

Zhao Yan: "..."

The two seniors who had brought umbrellas for Su Cheng—senior sister Liu and the other senior—were also frozen in place, staring in shock at Su Cheng's retreating figure, unable to snap out of their daze for a long while.

"Did he… just do the 'flower hand' dance on his way out?" someone asked, rubbing their eyes uncertainly.

"Seems like it."

"Pfft—"

"HAHAHAHA, I can't stop laughing!"

"Didn’t expect him to be this hilarious, haha."

"The sudden shift in vibe was too much! HAHAHA..."

"I’m dying of laughter!"

Soon, everyone snapped out of it and burst into uproarious laughter.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yan’s cheeks flushed red as she suppressed her giggles, forcing herself to maintain a stern expression. She walked up to the two seniors who had offered the umbrellas and said coldly, "Senior sister Liu, senior, please refrain from causing unnecessary trouble for our classmates in the future!"

"Yeah, if it weren’t for you two, Su Cheng wouldn’t have had to run out in the rain. Even if you mean well, you should consider others’ feelings!"

Others nearby also chimed in, unable to hold back their disapproval.

Hearing this, the two seniors turned visibly awkward. They never expected things to end like this. They opened their mouths to argue, but under Zhao Yan’s icy glare, the words died in their throats.

In the end, they could only slink away in defeat.

Zhao Yan quickly opened her umbrella and jogged toward the bicycle shed.

"Su Cheng!"

Inside the shed, she spotted Su Cheng pushing his bike, ready to leave. She hurried over, raising the umbrella to shield him from the rain. "Don’t catch a cold," she said worriedly, reaching into her bag for a handkerchief to wipe the raindrops from his hair and clothes.

"No need. I’m already soaked. I’ll just take a shower when I get back."

Though touched by Zhao Yan’s concern, Su Cheng shook his head lightly and took a step back, effortlessly avoiding her attempt to dry him off.

Zhao Yan froze for a moment before awkwardly retracting her hand with a strained smile.

Just then, a few more seniors ran into the shed, grumbling as they went:

"Ugh, riding this piece-of-junk bike in weather like this…"

"Quit whining. At least you’re not crawling to school."

Su Cheng glanced over and recognized them—the same guys who had mocked him before and were later punished by Ji Qingyi to ride bikes to school.

When they noticed Su Cheng, their mouths clamped shut. Without another word, they grabbed their bikes and hurried away, clearly wanting nothing to do with him.

"Why did you come? You should head back now."

Su Cheng sighed inwardly. He’d only left in the first place because he had no choice, and now Zhao Yan had followed him.

Zhao Yan bit her lip, hesitating before murmuring softly, "Let me drive you home. My car has AC and towels. You’ll catch a cold like this."

Her face was full of worry, her eyes resolute.

"No, thanks."

If he weren’t drenched, Su Cheng might’ve accepted. But soaking someone else’s luxury car seats? That was just inconsiderate.

"But…"

Su Cheng hesitated, then pushed his bike back into the rain. Before Zhao Yan could react and follow—

He suddenly stopped and turned around. A raindrop slid down his bangs, so he casually raised a hand to brush the wet strands aside, revealing his forehead.

The simple gesture made Zhao Yan’s breath hitch. She stared, transfixed, her heart pounding.

"Don’t underestimate the bond between me and my bike!"

The next second, Su Cheng delivered the unexpected line, swung his leg over the bike, and pedaled away at full speed, vanishing into the rain in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Yan stood frozen, watching his silhouette fade into the downpour. The image of him brushing his rain-soaked bangs back replayed in her mind—so effortlessly captivating that she couldn’t snap out of it.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. That fleeting, unintentional gesture had been lethally attractive, leaving her utterly spellbound.

This was straight-up cheating!

"If only I’d recorded it…"

"Wait—the security cameras! I can pull the footage!"

With that, she sprinted toward the school’s surveillance room, umbrella in hand.

---

In the car, Zhao Yan stared dazedly at the footage she’d retrieved—Su Cheng’s effortlessly cool hair flip, followed by his smooth bike mount.

"I have to share this. I need to share this!"

Her heart raced as she rewatched the clip on her phone. A moment this mesmerizing had to be spread—it’d be a crime not to.

She immediately dialed her best friend, Xuan Ying.

If Xuan Ying saw this, she’d probably faint from sheer bliss. A warning was necessary.

But first…

Some editing. Slow-mo, effects, a fitting BGM—

This was going to be lethal.

Thirty minutes later, the masterpiece was ready.

She excitedly called Xuan Ying.

"Hey," Zhao Yan blurted the second the line connected.

"Hey, Yan-jie. What’s up?" Xuan Ying’s voice was drowsy but sweet.

"I’m about to drop a file in the group chat. Brace yourself—don’t pass out."

"What is it?"

"Su Cheng."

"WHAT?!" Instantly wide awake.

"Uploading now!!"

She hung up, opened their trio’s chat—

Group Name: Friendship · Everlasting

Group ID: xxxxxxxxxxx

Members: Li Guanqi, Xuan Ying, Zhao Yan

Zhao Yan attached the file, tagged everyone, and waited.

Xuan Ying: "HURRY HURRY 🥵.jpg"

[Xuan Ying has accepted the file.]

Li Guanqi: "?"

Zhao Yan: "Just watch."

[Li Guanqi has accepted the file.]

……………………………………………………

Su Cheng sped through the rain, the downpour drumming against the pavement as he rode home soaked to the bone.

After feeding the crows that had taken shelter at his place (again), he showered and ate.

Just as he was about to rest—

Knock knock.

Su Cheng frowned.

Who’d come knocking this late in the rain?