Chapter 8

The rain poured down heavily.

Lin Sheng helped Xu Xiayi into the back seat of the car and climbed in himself.

The space inside was limited. Being tall, he had to bend forward, resting his hands on the seat near the girl’s knees. “What are you looking for? It’s pouring rain, and you didn’t even think to take shelter.”

Raindrops pitter-pattered against the glass sunroof, leaving streaks of water.

Xu Xiayi, not used to much contact with the opposite sex, instinctively took a small step back to keep some distance. “I lost my keys.”

“Keys?”

“Yes, the house keys!” She bit her lip anxiously. “Without them, I won’t be able to get in tonight.”

Lin Sheng’s eyes flicked up and down, taking in her disheveled appearance. “Did you find them?”

Xu Xiayi wiped the rain from her face and shook her head, trying to hide her unease.

Searching for keys in the rain — Lin Sheng silently smiled to himself, thinking she was a little naive.

No matter how independent or mature she seemed, she was still just a teenage girl.

“Don’t worry. Even if you can’t find the keys, there’s always a way.”

Lin Sheng said this and retrieved a dry towel from the storage box in the trunk, handing it to Xu Xiayi. “Wait for me in the car.”

She caught the towel and nodded, watching as he disappeared into the rain and headed back toward the coffee shop.

“Ah!” Suddenly remembering something, she quickly opened her backpack to check.

Her homework notebook was a bit damp, but everything else was fine, including her phone.

She sighed in relief.

Thankfully, the backpack had a waterproof lining.

As she dried her hair with the towel, Xu Xiayi noticed a faint, elegant scent lingering on it. She brought the towel closer to her nose, trying to discern it.

“Lin Gege’s things always smell so nice…”

After a moment, Lin Sheng returned, accompanied by the woman in the red dress Xu Xiayi had seen earlier.

The beautiful woman opened the rear door and climbed in. “Oh dear, look at this poor thing! How did you get so soaked?”

She set aside her handbag and warmly took the towel from Xu Xiayi’s hands, gently drying her hair with tender care. “Aren’t you cold?”

Though it was already summer in New City in May, the rain still chilled the skin.

Of course, Xu Xiayi didn’t want to be a burden, so she shook her head. “Thank you, sister. I’m fine, not cold.”

“Oh, such a good girl.” Orlina smoothed Xu Xiayi’s healthy, soft black hair and then said to Lin Sheng, “Delicate and pretty, reminds me of my niece back home.”

Xu Xiayi smiled slightly, thinking how kind this woman was.

Lin Sheng withdrew his gaze from the drenched girl and focused on driving.

Once he turned away, Orlina put down the towel she was using to dry Xu Xiayi’s hair. Though still gentle, she gradually distanced herself.

Having grown up with parents running a supermarket, Xu Xiayi was used to observing people carefully and reading subtle changes.

She noticed the shift in Orlina’s demeanor and moved a little farther away to avoid getting the woman’s pretty clothes wet with her dripping wet self.

“Asheng, let’s take this little girl home first. She looks so pitiful.”

From the back seat, Xu Xiayi happened to see the back of Lin Sheng's head and neckline—clean and sharp, with an indescribable comfort.

He made a half turn of the steering wheel and turned at the intersection. “I’ll take you first.”

Orlina was momentarily surprised, then her expression slowly darkened.

Although Xu Xiayi didn’t know the relationship between the two or what had happened, she sensed Orlina suddenly growing unhappy.

Orlina lived nearby, and it was only a few minutes before they arrived.

She got out of the car quietly, walked a few steps, then turned back and called out to Lin Sheng, who was about to drive away, her voice filled with longing and a hint of sorrow:

“Asheng, after dropping her off, could you come to my place? I’ll be waiting…”

Lin Sheng rested one hand casually on the steering wheel, his voice calm but tinged with restrained impatience beneath his refined manners. “Lina, we’re both adults. Let’s keep some dignity for ourselves.”

Orlina’s eyes reddened slightly, her lips pressed tightly. After a few seconds, filled with a mixture of love and hate, she said, “So what they said was true… you really have no heart, Lin Sheng!”

Hearing this, Xu Xiayi took a deep breath and sat quietly in the back seat.

Lin Sheng smiled faintly. “Good that you know.”

—

The rain lessened.

The black Porsche moved forward a little way. Lin Sheng glanced in the rearview mirror.

The girl’s face was pale, arms wrapped around herself, shivering from the cold.

He frowned and looked at her soaked clothes, then turned the car under a dense maple tree and stopped.

He hesitated slightly before taking off his shirt and handing it to the back seat. “Put this on first. There’s a traffic jam ahead; it’ll take another forty or fifty minutes to get to your place.”

Lin Sheng was wearing a gray cotton-linen vest underneath, exposing his arms.

Xu Xiayi was touched but quickly waved him off: “No, no, Lin Gege, I’m fine.”

“Be obedient.” Lin Sheng’s tone grew a little stern. “Catching a cold would be even worse.”

Reluctantly, Xu Xiayi took the shirt and thanked him.

Before she could think about how to change, the car door closed, and Lin Sheng got out, walking toward the maple tree.

She didn’t dare delay and quickly pulled off her soaked school T-shirt. It was uncomfortable wrapped around her, cold and damp.

Lin Sheng’s shirt still held some warmth. Wearing it, she felt dry and cozy. Xu Xiayi thought… it reminded her of Lin Sheng himself—clean, refreshing, well-mannered, yet unpretentious.

Only…

Xu Xiayi grasped the hem of the shirt that nearly reached her knees. “Why is it so big?”

She glanced out the window.

Lin Sheng was leaning casually against the maple tree, wearing his gray vest. He stood well over six feet tall.

He smoked lazily and casually, his hair damp and slightly tousled from the rain.

Watching him, she tilted her head and somehow thought of those delinquent boys at school—the ones who smoked in quiet corners after basketball games, their hair wet.

Lin Gege looked a bit like them.

Even in silence, his hair gave off a rebellious edge.

“Lin Gege, I’m ready!”

Lin Sheng turned his head at the voice and saw the girl in his shirt, her hands resting on the car window, her bright, pure eyes focused solely on him.

Xu Xiayi called again, receiving no response at first: “Lin Gege, I’ve changed.”

He exhaled smoke and looked through the haze at her. With her hands on the car window, gazing at him, he curved his lips into a slightly enigmatic smile—

“Coming.”

Little rabbit.