Chapter 35 Part 2

Gu Ningzi ruffled her hair and stood by her side.

The rain outside grew heavier, accompanied by occasional thunder. Water streamed down the bus windows like little brooks.

Chi Nuan asked Gu Ningzi, “Did you drive here?”

The rain was loud, and Gu Ningzi didn’t catch it. She leaned over the seatback, bringing her ear close: “Hm?”

Chi Nuan stared at her flawless profile and spaced out: “…I asked if you drove here.”

Gu Ningzi looked at her and smiled: “I did. It’s parked downstairs from your place.”

Chi Nuan: “…” So she had come specifically to ride the bus with her?

Chi Nuan quickly calculated in her mind. The bus took half an hour, driving only ten or so minutes—this extra time was pure bonus.

Her heart felt sweet and sticky. She liked everything Gu Ningzi did.

—But driving back to the Main City in this weather… Chi Nuan sneaked a glance at Gu Ningzi. Gu Ningzi had her eyes downcast, her skin so fair that the dark circles under her eyes stood out especially.

People got on and off the bus sporadically. Empty seats opened up, but they were a bit far from Chi Nuan, and Gu Ningzi didn’t budge.

Finally, the person next to Chi Nuan got off, and Gu Ningzi had a seat.

Chi Nuan’s gaze followed her, smiling at her the whole time. Gu Ningzi leaned in, whispering in her ear: “Why is my girlfriend so sweet today? Is it because of me?”

It felt like ants were crawling in her ear, itching all the way to her heart. Chi Nuan covered her ear, her face flushing red.

“Of course not,” she said.

When they got off the bus, the wind and rain were fierce. The stop was a few minutes’ walk from the neighborhood. Gu Ningzi opened Chi Nuan’s small parasol, but they both got soaked after just a few steps.

Chi Nuan: “…”

Gu Ningzi: “…”

Gu Ningzi’s spliced leather fisherman shoes were drenched. She sloshed through the water, laughing.

Chi Nuan asked inexplicably, “What are you laughing at?”

Gu Ningzi said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this bedraggled before.”

Chi Nuan wiped the rain from her face, speechless.

They finally reached the building downstairs, and almost nowhere on them was dry.

The motion-sensor light was broken again. They stood in the pitch-black entryway, borrowing the faint skylight. Chi Nuan saw water dripping from Gu Ningzi’s hair tips and said annoyed, “I really shouldn’t have let you come.”

Gu Ningzi chuckled softly: “Do you have to agonize over this every day?”

Chi Nuan said, “But you’re soaked. If you stay damp too long, you’ll catch a cold! And driving in this weather is dangerous too…”

Gu Ningzi asked, “So what?”

“…” Chi Nuan was at a loss. She finally voiced what she’d been mulling over halfway home: “Do you want to come to my place?”

“Sure.” Gu Ningzi agreed without hesitation.

“…” Chi Nuan felt like something was off.

They climbed up to the sixth floor together. Outside, the wind and rain raged. Chi Qingchuan had been waiting for Chi Nuan to come home. Hearing the door lock turn, he got up from the living room sofa to greet her.

Two drowned rats squeezed through the door.

Chi Qingchuan swallowed his surprise: “…Xiao Gu’s here?”

Gu Ningzi said, “Hello, Brother.”

“Hello, hello, come on in. …You’re soaked. Go take a shower first.” Chi Qingchuan said, then immediately went to the kitchen to brew Brown Sugar Ginger Tea, afraid they’d catch cold from the rain. It would drive out the chill.

Chi Nuan got slippers for Gu Ningzi, then ran barefoot to her room. She grabbed a loose long T-shirt and shorts, plus some new underwear she’d planned to take to school for the new term but hadn’t worn yet. Luckily Gu Ningzi was slim, or they might not fit.

Chi Nuan took the clothes into the bathroom and said to Gu Ningzi, “Come on, take a shower.”

Gu Ningzi perched her glasses on her head and smiled at Chi Nuan: “What about you?”

Chi Nuan said, “You go first. I’ll change out of my wet clothes and shower later.”

Gu Ningzi: “…Oh.”

Chi Nuan changed and, towel-drying her hair, poked her head into the kitchen to check on Chi Qingchuan: “Did Sister-in-law eat a bit more today?”

Chi Qingchuan was slicing ginger: “She had a big bowl of chicken noodle soup tonight. Said it was pretty good and wants more tomorrow.”

Chi Nuan said relieved, “As long as she doesn’t throw up.”

Chi Qingchuan asked Chi Nuan: “Xiao Gu came over to hang out?”

Chi Nuan said casually: “Yeah, she just got back to Yuncheng a few days ago.”

Chi Qingchuan: “Oh, oh, she went back home for summer break.”

Chi Nuan: “Yeah.”

…

Gu Ningzi came out of the shower and saw Chi Nuan squatting in front of the shoe cabinet.

“What are you doing?” she walked over and asked.

Chi Nuan looked up. Her hair was half-dry, sticking to her face, making her cheeks look small. Her voice scratched at the heart like a kitten’s paw: “Your shoes are wet. What to do? You need them tomorrow, and they won’t dry…”

She stuffed more tissue paper into the shoes.

Gu Ningzi realized Chi Nuan was wiping down her shoes.

Gu Ningzi pulled her up: “I have spares in the car. Don’t worry about it. Go take your shower.”

Chi Nuan said: “Drink the ginger tea first. It’s ready.”

Chi Qingchuan had put in a lot of ginger shreds, making it very pungent. Gu Ningzi finally managed to drink all the soup. Looking at Chi Nuan, she didn’t even frown as she ate the ginger shreds along with it.

Gu Ningzi couldn’t help laughing again.

Chi Nuan glanced toward the kitchen. Chi Qingchuan had gone back to his room. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at Gu Ningzi: “…Why is my aloof girlfriend smiling so much today? Is it because of me?”

Gu Ningzi: “…”

Under the snow-bright lights, Gu Ningzi’s ear tips turned red.