Chapter 6

Chapter 6

That day.

It was a rainy day.

Ye Jishu could still remember how gloomy the sky was.

Like the unusually strange weather lately, the dark clouds left a damp, eerie trace in the sky, weighing down the cheerful mood.

Unlike other departments.

The Mathematics Department had quite a few inhumane rules.

Even though everyone was already in university, different from the high school atmosphere of intense studying, the counselor required that during the first month of the semester, freshmen must attend evening study sessions in the classroom every night, claiming it would help cultivate an academic atmosphere.

Because attendance was taken, it would affect their grades for the corresponding subject, so no one dared to skip.

By the time the class was about to end, it was already nearly 9:30.

The rain outside had started to fall.

Fine, sand-like streaks formed on the glass, streaking down the glass, gradually becoming denser.

"..."

The rain was pouring down.

That was Ye Jishu's first thought.

He hadn't brought an umbrella.

After all, he hadn't expected it to suddenly rain.

Others had already left the building in groups, greeting each other and calling out to friends, and even those without umbrellas would share with someone else, then leave one by one from under the eaves.

Ye Jishu stared at the muddy, water-stained mat at the entrance, where the school's name had blurred.

"You're not leaving?"

An umbrella popped open beside him.

A passerby glanced at him before heading down the stairs.

"You don't have an umbrella? We're both from Xinde Building. Do you want to go back together?"

Only when the other person turned to him did Ye Jishu realize they were talking to him.

"Thanks..."

He said, "But I'm waiting for someone, so... thanks anyway."

"Oh, okay."

The other person didn't insist, smiling, "I'll head back then."

"Yeah... yeah."

Only after the other person left did Ye Jishu loosen his grip on his backpack.

I’m still not used to talking to strangers.

Especially starting conversations.

The other person was way too cheerful—it was kind of impressive.

Actually, Ye Jishu wasn’t waiting for anyone; he was just waiting for the rain to let up. He was wearing a plain hoodie; as long as he pulled up the hood, the rain wouldn’t soak him completely.

After a few minutes, some kind classmates asked how he planned to get back.

Ye Jishu hesitated.

Yeah... He’d have to find another spot to wait.

If he stayed by the entrance, people would keep asking.

But sharing an umbrella with someone he didn’t know well came with its own set of worries.

Whether they chatted or stayed silent, it all felt like it’d be awkward.

If possible, it’d be best to stay under the radar.

Ye Jishu glanced over, his eyes landing on the corridor nearby. The lights were dimmer than he’d expected, with only a few still on. He noticed a classroom door slightly ajar—probably no one was there.

Before he could think it through, his feet were already moving.

Standing alone at the entrance of the building felt weird, so he figured it’d be better to sit in a classroom and kill some time playing games. That way, he could pass the time quickly and avoid any small talk.

Ye Jishu slipped past the crowd leaving and headed down the corridor.

Probably because someone had been dragging an umbrella, the floor was wet, the air damp, and just walking through had already left his pants damp from the moisture rising from his shoes.

He stopped right at the door.

It wasn’t until he got closer that Ye Jishu realized it wasn’t a classroom but a storage room on the first floor. The door was left open, probably because the janitor had stepped out. If he came back, he’d probably shut it right away.

With that thought, he turned to leave.

But then, from the slightly open door, a faint voice reached him.

“You never replied to my messages, so I thought... maybe talking in person would be better.”

...What’s going on here?

There were two people in the storage room.

Ye Jishu took a quick glance.

In the dimly lit room, he could just make out the silhouettes of two people.

A boy stood with his back to the door, his face unreadable.

But the girl was looking up nervously, her eyes full of hope, staring at the person across from her, who seemed completely indifferent.

"I like you."

"From the first day of school, I've liked you."

"So, could you give me a chance?"

"..." Ye Jishu.

This was the scene of a heartfelt confession.

The last thing he wanted to see was happening.

Without hesitation, he turned to leave.

However, in the next second, his steps came to an abrupt halt.

Because...

The girl repeated her words.

"I like you."

"From the first day of school, I've liked you."

"So, could you give me a chance?"

...What is this?

Hadn't this just happened moments ago?

Ye Jishu's eyes filled with confusion.

At the same time, a strange feeling welled up inside him, rooting him to the spot despite his urge to leave.

Yet, after a brief moment of hesitation, the girl's voice in the storage room paused, then repeated the same words.

"I like you."

"From the first day of school, I've liked you."

"So, could you give me a chance?"

"..."

No.

This wasn't his imagination.

Just now, the girl had said exactly the same words.

Even the tone, pauses, and inflections were identical.

Ye Jishu whirled around.

Through the crack in the open door, the girl wore the same anxious expression, her hopeful gaze staying the same.

Suddenly, a loud thunderclap echoed from the sky.

A vivid flash of blue-purple lightning lit up the room, and the streaks of rain on the window couldn't obscure the girl's reflection on the glass, highlighting the boy's cold, detached expression.

Yet, the girl's face in such a scenario added a touch of eerie paleness.

Her red-painted lips parted again, opening and closing as she spoke.

"I like you."

"From the first day of school, I've liked you."

"So... could you consider me?"

"..."

What was this?

His heart inexplicably began to race, and his breath seemed to vanish, as if the slightest movement would shatter the heavy atmosphere. If he left now, it would break some kind of barrier.

In the narrow, cluttered room, the girl's confession echoed repeatedly.

Even though her tone remained unchanged, the identical words sounded to him like emotionless statements. A chilling sensation crept up his spine, perhaps from the chill of the rain.

The shadow of the person being confessed to swayed under the downpour, intertwining with the shadows cast by the branches outside the window, like a strange creature extending its tentacles in all directions.

Being confessed to so persistently, he ought to accept it, shouldn't he?

He didn't know who this person was.

He must be well-liked by the other person.

Still, he remained unmoved, as if the girl before him didn't exist at all...

It was the attitude one might have toward an object.

He likely didn't take such a confession seriously at all.

Yet, this had nothing to do with him.

After the initial confusion passed, Ye Jishu lost interest in listening further.

But the moment he turned to leave—

The person being confessed to tilted his head, revealing his face. Though expressionless and not fully visible, it seemed to illuminate the entire cluttered room. If there was someone born to be noticed, he was surely that person.

"..."

It was—

A face he knew well.

"Yan Mei."

"Ah, it was him being confessed to."

"That explained it."

Ye Jishu rarely paid attention to the people around him, but this person's presence was impossible to ignore.

Looks mattered.

Even if he had no interest in the same sex, he couldn't help being drawn in to the point of staring.

Not just this, but his identity is also quite special.

He was the one who gave the speech on behalf of everyone at the freshman orientation ceremony.

Ye Jishu isn't a fan of crowded places.

So, aside from classes, he'd hide under trees or in stairwells to play on his phone during breaks.

And this was already the umpteenth time he had seen someone confess to the other person.

He's so popular.

The semester just started.

Ye Jishu gets why most freshmen want to jump into a relationship right after starting college. But if it's just about wanting to be in love, they shouldn't all fall for the same person.

But is this what you call fate?

Not everyone gets to see the same person get confessed to so many times.

Were the other confessions like this too?

He couldn't quite remember. But it always seemed like a hassle.

Thinking this, Ye Jishu stepped back, planning to slip away quietly like he had before.

But then—

The other person suddenly turned around, took a step forward, and pushed open the door.

Caught off guard, Ye Jishu was speechless: "..."

Now they were face to face.

Even for someone as antisocial as him, he felt like standing here could be taken the wrong way.

It felt like a stop-motion animation.

The girl who was confessing suddenly stopped talking.

Then, with a creak, she turned her head and stared at him blankly.

Ye Jishu stepped back again, quietly.

But the person in front stepped closer, closing the gap between them.

The other person leaned in, his striking face coming extremely close, and Ye Jishu found himself staring into a pair of deep black eyes.

"Boom—" Thunder crashed outside the building.

In the quiet, the storage room door closed behind them, leaving just the two of them in the dim light.

Even though they were in the hallway, not the storage room, it felt like he was trapped in there by the other person, under their intense gaze and the damp, stuffy air.

It was springtime.

So he wasn't dressed heavily, and the humid heat made his exposed collarbone itch.

The presence of the person in front of him was impossible to ignore because of such an aura.

"It's strange, we seem to run into each other a lot," a voice with an ambiguous tone said in front of him. "Do you need something from me?"

He had to respond carefully.

A gut feeling was screaming at him.

Those eyes were filled with a penetrating intensity, as if they could see the dark impurities produced by the beating of anyone's heart.

Suddenly, a rumor popped into Ye Jishu's head.

This was the untouchable flower on the high peak.

Anyone who had confessed to him and been rejected would never appear before him again in his presence. In other words, he would not allow, nor tolerate such people to appear by his side.

Ye Jishu couldn't stand the torment in his chest or the strange numbness in his fingertips as the other person got closer.

If that's how it was, he'd do something to make the guy hate him.

Under the piercing stare of the other, he blurted out, "I like you. Please be with me."

Being confessed to by someone he'd never met, spoken to, or even spent time with...

The outcome was obvious, so—

"Sure," Yan Mei replied, "I'll go along with it."