Chapter 3: Heavy Rain

Chapter 3 The Heavy Rain

The next morning, when Xie Yu got up to get ready, Shen Ci had already left.

Before leaving, he put the scattered items back in place, took the coat from the sofa, and tidied the room as if he had never been there last night.

Xie Yu asked casually while biting his toothbrush and flipping through the hotel's breakfast brochure, "Doesn't the young master ask Shen Ci to stay for breakfast?"

The system replied, "The young master doesn’t get up early, and Shen Ci has an early meeting to attend at the lab. Check the agreement; their agreement doesn't include the morning."

Xie Yu nodded.

He was never a model student when he was in school, skipping morning classes whenever he could, and his grades were mediocre. He was the kind of troublemaker who sat in the back of the class, had ear piercings, and rode motorcycles. In short, he wasn't the same type as Shen Ci, the stoic academic prodigy.

He skimmed the agreement and then tossed the brochure onto the sofa, asking the system, "Any plans for today?"

"Yes," the system checked the novel, "There's a racing competition today."

The original host was a top-tier rich kid with an extravagant lifestyle. Besides various questionable hobbies, he also enjoyed racing.

Xie Yu nodded, "What are the key objectives?"

"First, you need to bring Shen Ci to the competition, let your circle know you've gotten together with him, and engage in physical contact with him in front of your friends."

Hearing this ambiguous description, Xie Yu knew it was censored material.

But there was room for manipulation.

Xie Yu nodded, "What else?"

"Similarly, you need to make the protagonist feel embarrassed and uneasy. The task points are: asserting dominance, teasing him verbally, forced physical contact, and humiliation."

The plot points of a story focused on tormenting the protagonist are always similar. Xie Yu nodded in understanding. The racing competition was scheduled for 2:30 PM, right after lunch, within the agreed time of the agreement.

He called Shen Ci, "Alright, I'll inform the protagonist."

*

In the lab, Shen Ci removed his gloves and turned on the faucet.

The lab gloves were made of rubber, airtight, and tightly wrapped around the skin for hours. Now that they were off, his knuckles were damp with sweat. Under the lab's lighting, it looked like a layer of glaze on porcelain against his cold, pale skin.

Water flowed over his fingers, and Shen Ci wiped them with a towel. At that moment, his phone in his pocket vibrated slightly, the screen lighting up. Shen Ci paused but didn't answer immediately. Instead, he finished washing his hands properly before looking up at Li Yue and Han Yunyun, "Remember to monitor the incubator's temperature, record the experimental data every twenty minutes, and contact me immediately if anything seems off."

These two were his junior lab mates, new students this year, still unclear about many procedures. They nodded eagerly, "Got it, Senior Shen."

Shen Ci waved them off to their tasks. Han Yunyun took a few steps, then turned back, "By the way, Senior, there's a meeting next week. The professor wants you to attend."

Shen Ci nodded.

Li Yue added, "The mentor said this meeting is quite important, so you should dress well."

Shen Ci paused, expressionless, "Hmm."

He didn't have any good clothes.

At that moment, the phone in his pocket vibrated again. Han Yunyun pointed, "Senior, you have a call."

Shen Ci glanced at the caller ID and stopped moving the moment he saw the name. The blue phone screen reflected in his pupils, like a deep, cold pool.

Han Yunyun watched cautiously, "Senior?"

Shen Ci silenced his phone, his expression remaining cold and indifferent. He simply said, "Something came up. I’m heading out."

Without letting Han Yunyun respond, he pushed open the glass partition door and walked briskly down the corridor, disappearing from view.

Han Yunyun watched him leave, muttering softly, "Senior’s acting strange today? What’s the rush? Why couldn’t he tell us? Usually, for Student Affairs Office activities or meetings, he always informs us beforehand."

Shen Ci couldn’t tell them, of course.

The weather was gloomy, the air thick with the promise of rain. He circled the building, making sure Li Yue and Han Yunyun couldn’t hear him, before finally opening his phone.

Two missed calls—both from Xie Yu.

For Young Master Xie, letting the phone ring three times unanswered was unforgivable.

Shen Ci stood at the entrance of the lab building, his lips pressed into a straight line. He hesitated to call back, but Xie Yu called again.

“‘Hey,’ Xie Yu’s voice was casual, ‘Why’re you ignoring my calls?’"

"I was in the lab. Didn’t hear it," Shen Ci replied.

Xie Yu chuckled, "Really? Or are you lying?"

Using experiments as an excuse didn’t cut it, but Xie Yu didn’t need excuses to make things difficult for him.

But Xie Yu just brushed it off casually. After a brief exchange, he opened the novel and read the lines to Shen Ci: "I have a racing event in the suburbs. You're coming with me. I’ll pick you up at the lab building at 2 PM."

This was classic Young Master Xie—bossy and demanding. He didn’t care if Shen Ci was free or not. He simply stated his intention, and Shen Ci had to comply.

Luckily, the afternoon was just routine lab work—no meetings. If he worked diligently in the morning, he could finish before leaving.

After a pause, Xie Yu snapped, “Respond.”

Shen Ci could only say, "Alright."

The other end hung up.

Expressionless, Shen Ci pocketed his phone and headed back to the lab. As he reached the end of the corridor, through a layer of frosted glass, he suddenly slowed his steps and paused at the door.

Behind the wall, Li Yue and Han Yunyun were chatting.

Both were freshmen, brimming with energy, especially Han Yunyun, a forum gossip addict. In just two months, she had familiarized herself with the campus's notable figures. Every time Shen Ci returned to the lab, he could hear her chatting with Li Yue about which department had handsome guys, which counselor was dating a professor, and so on.

But this time, they were talking about something unusual.

Han Yunyun said, "Hey, did you see that Bentley picking up Senior Shen Ci?"

The day Xie Yu had someone escort Shen Ci for a medical check-up, his subordinate drove a Bentley to the school.

Xie Yu hated Bentleys—he was all about flashy sports cars. But his subordinate didn’t drive the young master's favorite cars, opting for a Bentley instead.

Li Yue recognized the car brand, "Yeah, it was a Bentley Bentayga, right? Worth over three million."

He muttered, "But isn’t Senior Shen from a poor family, relying solely on scholarships? He hardly orders meat in the cafeteria, sticking to vegetarian meals. Does he have friends who drive such expensive cars?"

Han Yunyun added, "Speaking of which, there’s a rumor on the forum about the young master of the Xie family..."

Rumors were already spreading on the forum. Gossip spreads quickly in schools, and Xie Yu was always flamboyant. Many wealthy heirs in the city recognized his cars, and quite a few at A University had seen the Bentley's license plate.

Han Yunyun spoke a few words, and Li Yue, startled by something, raised his voice: "No way, Senior Brother Shen is so upright, how could he possibly..."

At that moment, the door lock beeped.

The sound was like a deathly curse, causing both of them to tremble simultaneously, and the room fell into an oppressive silence.

Shen Ci pushed the door open and entered, not even glancing at his juniors. He positioned himself at the lab bench, slipping his gloves back on. His slender fingers were wrapped in rubber, faintly revealing the outlines of his joints: "Did you record the data from the last experiment?"

Han Yunyun, her heart pounding: "Y-yes, it’s been recorded."

She sneaked a peek at Shen Ci's expression, seeing that his face was calm and everything seemed normal, she mustered up the courage to ask awkwardly: "S-senior brother? When did you get back?"

Shen Ci replied indifferently: "Just now."

He dropped the subject, instead taking out the chemicals and organizing them, then added: "I have to leave at two this afternoon, so I'll finish the work in the morning. You two can handle it in the afternoon."

"Ah?" Li Yue hesitated: "Finish it in the morning?"

Han Yunyun also said: "That’s a heavy workload, senior brother. Aren't you going to have lunch?"

Shen Ci didn't look up: "No."

The room grew tense, and no one spoke further.

After lunchtime, Han Yunyun and Li Yue left one after another. Shen Ci rushed to finish the experiment, checking the time—it was ten minutes to two.

The sky was overcast, and through the glass window, the distant horizon was dark and oppressive. The air was thick with the scent of rain, making the lab stifling. Judging by the sky, it seemed like a heavy rain was coming.

Shen Ci pressed his throbbing forehead. Skipping lunch combined with hypoglycemia made him feel dizzy, but if he fainted in front of Xie Yu, he dreaded the consequences.

After a moment’s hesitation, he headed to the campus mini-mart and bought an inexpensive chocolate bar.

Just after lunchtime, students were grabbing snacks in groups, and the checkout line was a bit long. By the time he finished paying, there were only three minutes left.

Xie Yu's text message arrived right on time: "I'm here, downstairs."

For Xie Yu, arriving three minutes early to the agreed destination was basic courtesy. If it weren’t for fear of breaking character, he would usually arrive ten minutes early. But for Shen Ci, this seemed more like a signal of the young master's dissatisfaction.

He gripped the small chocolate bar tightly and took a quicker route back. This path was rarely used and passed through the school's birch forest. Halfway through, a gust of wind suddenly swept through, causing the birch trees to rustle.

The autumn weather shifted rapidly, often sunny in the morning and rainy in the afternoon. The dark clouds overhead had gathered for so long, and a silver-white lightning bolt split the sky. The next second, before Shen Ci could react, the downpour arrived right on cue.

At the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, the rain was unusually cold.

He was without an umbrella and had nowhere to take shelter, completely drenched from head to toe. Rainwater trickled down his shirt, and the fabric clung to his body.

His phone buzzed once more, Xie Yu asking: "It's raining, where are you?"

Shen Ci didn't have time to think, quickly making his way to the lab building. Sure enough, a silver-gray Bentley was parked downstairs, with a vertical grille and two rows of matrix headlights. The car window was slightly open, and Young Master Xie sat in the driver's seat, one hand propping up his forehead, a lollipop in his mouth, scanning the passing crowd through the glass, seemingly very impatient.

The original owner smoked, but Xie Yu didn't, so he sucked on a lollipop to maintain the character.

It was exactly two o'clock, the time when students returned to the lab. The building was bustling with people. Li Yue and Han Yunyun walked over from the dormitory side, recognizing Shen Ci from afar. Han Yunyun, seeing Shen Ci's disheveled appearance, couldn't help but be startled: "Senior brother, don't you have an umbrella?"

Before she could finish speaking, the Bentley's door unlocked, and Xie Yu half-rolled down the window.

Shen Ci stood between them, his body stiff and cold.

Xie Yu didn't know Li Yue or Han Yunyun: "What are you standing there for? Aren't you cold? Get in."

Shen Ci pressed his lips together, ignoring Li Yue and Han Yunyun, and climbed into the car right in front of them.

As soon as Shen Ci was in, Xie Yu cracked the window slightly for air and asked, "What happened?"

Shen Ci was soaked to the bone, his face ghostly pale and lips tinged blue, rainwater dripping from his hair, his clothes plastered to his skin—he looked utterly miserable.

Xie Yu gave him a quick once-over before looking away.

The wet shirt clung to him, accentuating his waistline, the curve of his waist sleek and inviting, as if it were made to be held and caressed. The thin, nearly sheer fabric of the shirt left little to the imagination, radiating a subtle allure. Xie Yu’s gaze swept over him, taking in everything, whether he should or not.

He cleared his throat. "How’d you get like this?"

Shen Ci muttered, "I got caught in the rain."

Through the window, he saw Li Yue and Han Yunyun still rooted in place in front of the lab building, debating whether to approach.

Xie Yu grunted, opening the glove compartment. "Your shirt’s soaked. Take it off."

Last night, even a little AC had made Shen Ci cough. If he stayed in wet clothes, Xie Yu might as well skip the race and head straight to the ER.

The moment Xie Yu spoke, Shen Ci froze, staring at him in shock, his body rigid, nails digging into his palms, unmoving.

Xie Yu kept searching. "What’s the matter?"

Shen Ci’s voice was barely audible. "Here?"

"Huh?" Xie Yu didn’t catch it, his voice too soft, as he kept digging through the compartment, reaching for something.

Shen Ci hesitated, then glanced up, panic flickering in his eyes.

Outside, through the glass, students bustled around the lab building, laughing and chatting, a world apart from the tense silence inside the car.

Shen Ci’s gaze lingered on Li Yue and Han Yunyun under the eaves—Han Yunyun clutching an umbrella, Li Yue holding a towel meant for the afternoon game, as if debating whether to bring it over.

The glass was tinted, but the cracked rear window left a gap; if they shifted their angle, they might see inside.

Shen Ci looked down.

The car was eerily quiet, save for the sound of Xie Yu rummaging.

In the tense silence, Shen Ci seemed to remember something, his face ashen, fingers shaking. When Xie Yu didn’t budge, Shen Ci silently undid the buttons, one by one, his pale skin prickling with goosebumps as it met the air.

With the last buttons undone, the shirt hanging precariously, Shen Ci shut his eyes tight.

Then, something warm and heavy wrapped around him.

Shen Ci froze, instinctively grabbing at the soft fabric.

It was a heavy blanket.

Xie Yu cranked the AC, yanked a fleece blanket from the compartment, and tossed it over Shen Ci. "Dry yourself off. I can’t take you out looking like this."

That was the original owner’s usual tone.

Shen Ci stayed silent, still processing, his wet hair plastered to his ears, eyes peeking out from the blanket, staring at Xie Yu in a daze.

Xie Yu snapped, "What’re you staring at? Dry off."

Shen Ci’s medical report had scared him stiff. Honestly, a simple cold could spiral into pneumonia, ICU, or worse—straight to the morgue. Xie Yu played his part in the plot, but in the gaps the novel left, he wasn’t about to let the protagonist get sick.

Seeing Shen Ci not moving, Xie Yu simply took the blanket and rubbed it over his wet hair.

Outside, Han Yunyun walked into the lab, turned around, and happened to catch a glimpse of the scene through the gap.

On the spacious car seat, their senior was sitting in the passenger seat, tightly wrapped in a thick blanket, only a small part of his head visible, while in the driver's seat was a tall and handsome young man, wearing a Patek Philippe with a deep blue dial that looked incredibly expensive. At that moment, he casually pushed the watch up his wrist, holding a blanket with both hands, leaning over to rub his senior's head, drying his hair, his brown eyes reflecting scattered light, his peach blossom eyes filled with laughter.

He actually looked quite gentle.