The old lady saw that he was holding another umbrella. “Your Qixiong went out and hasn’t come back yet? You don’t know where to pick him up?”

Stepping on the stream of rainwater collected on the street, Shen Xici stood under the old lady’s tarpaulin and was silent for a moment. “Yeah, he went out this morning and didn’t bring an umbrella.”

“You’re worried he’ll get caught in the rain, right? The rain is so heavy, he’ll find a place to take shelter on his own. If he really gets wet, just make him a bowl of ginger soup to warm him up. It won’t be a big deal.” The old lady placed a bag of dried fruit in front of Shen Xici. “Have some? I made it myself.”

Seeing that Shen Xici didn’t take any, she smiled and persuaded, “You need strength to wait for someone, and you need strength to make ginger soup.”

Shen Xici reached out and took a piece of dried mango, putting it in his mouth. It was very sweet and had a fruity aroma.

The day Sheng Shaoyan woke up, he had bought a bag of mangoes on his way back.

The rainwater formed a bright silver waterfall along the edge of the tarpaulin. Reflected by the surrounding lights, it turned a pale red and orange.

Every person who appeared at the street corner, Shen Xici would look over, trying to identify them through the curtain of rain. After finding that it wasn’t the person he was waiting for, he would withdraw his gaze and continue to wait for the next person to appear.

“You and your Qixiong have a really good relationship,” the old lady said, her lap holding a bamboo sewing basket. She was nimbly mending a button, making small talk. “He looks older than you. How did you two meet?”

“He saved me.”

In his previous life, it was also raining this heavily. He had fainted on the side of the road. When he woke up, he was already in a high-end private hospital, in the best ward. The doctors and nurses who came and went were all exceptionally polite to him, not daring to say an extra word.

The next day, he found out that this politeness and fear were all because of the person who had brought him to the hospital.

At first, Shen Xici thought Sheng Shaoyan was just an ordinary third-generation rich kid whose family had invested in this private hospital. He didn’t know how, but the two of them quickly became familiar, and Sheng Shaoyan also became his closest friend.

It wasn’t until he saw a photo of his great-grandfather in Sheng Shaoyan’s study. Shen Xici had seen the exact same photo in his high school history textbook. He was surprised. “Your ‘Sheng’ is that Sheng?”

Sheng Shaoyan was puzzled. “Is there a second Sheng?”

Shen Xici: “…”

The Sheng family’s ancestors were a family of scholar-officials in the Jiangnan region with a profound scholarly background. Later, when times became difficult, they switched to business and built the first steamship of that era. More than a hundred years ago, the Sheng family immigrated, starting with mining and shipping. By now, they were already an “invisible top family.”

However, knowing that his friend had gone from an ordinary second-generation rich kid to the heir of a mega-rich family holding countless oil, gold mines, stocks, and real estate, it seemed to make no difference.

Anyway, regardless of whether Sheng Shaoyan’s bank account balance had a few more or a few less zeros, compared to him, he was still a poor man.

“Isn’t that just like in the TV shows, repaying a life-saving grace with one’s body?” The old lady’s eyes lit up. “So what they show in dramas is actually real!”

At this moment, a strong flashlight beam and car headlights swept back and forth. A loud shout pierced through the rain curtain. “…Whose family is this? Hurry up and send them to the hospital! Any later and this leg won’t be saved! What a sin! What were you thinking, going into the mountains at this time of year! If you weren’t swept down the cliff by the water, you should go burn some incense!”

Shen Xici’s heart tightened. He shot up, grabbed the umbrella beside him, and rushed into the rain. His vocal cords tightened. “Who’s injured?”

A man in a black plastic raincoat stood on the side of the street. Seeing someone coming, he shouted loudly, “Is it your family member? They’re covered in blood, and their leg is badly injured!”

By the light of the flashlight and the streetlights, on the red three-wheeled vehicle, the cargo bed was covered with a dark, glistening rain tarp, washed clean by the heavy rain. The rainwater flowed along the folds, and one could vaguely see a person covered underneath.

Shen Xici walked closer in a few steps, his hand extending beyond the cover of the umbrella. Raindrops hit the back of his hand, and his sleeve was quickly soaked.

He tried to lift the rain tarp. His mind was like a jumble of oil paint. He wondered how badly the leg was injured, how it was injured. Then he wondered if Sheng Shaoyan had gone to the mountains to look for clues because he had regained some of his memory. Or perhaps he had run into his second uncle’s people. He shouldn’t have let his guard down, thinking those people had already left, and letting Sheng Shaoyan go out by himself—

Suddenly, someone bumped heavily into his back, pushing him aside. A black rain tarp was lifted, and a piercing cry was heard. “I told you not to go into the mountains to dig for medicinal herbs! I told you not to go…”

Shen Xici didn’t even blink.

It wasn’t until his vision focused and he saw clearly that the person lying in the cargo bed was a middle-aged man in his fifties.

It wasn’t Sheng Shaoyan.

The heart that had been held high fell like a heavy stone. The hand that was wet with rain felt like it had lost all warmth, and even holding the umbrella handle, it was trembling. Shen Xici took a hasty step back to the side of the road, watching the three-wheeled vehicle rush towards the hospital, quickly disappearing into the rain.

The old lady stood under the tarpaulin and called out to him, “Young brother! You’re all wet! Come back quickly!”

Shen Xici returned under the tarpaulin. The old lady brought a clean towel and wiped the water off him. “Aiyo, I know you’re anxious, but you can’t just rush into the rain!”

Shen Xici’s voice was slightly hoarse. “Granny, I had an umbrella.”

As he spoke, his gaze turned to the rain outside. He couldn’t help but dial the same number twice more. It was still unreachable.

“What’s the difference between you having an umbrella and not having one?” The old lady wiped him several times and then took the towel away. “Your clothes are soaked like this. Hurry back and change. Otherwise, your Qixiong won’t have gotten wet, but you’ll have gotten sick!”

Shen Xici hesitated. “Granny, if someone goes into the mountains and has an accident, will they be found?”

“That depends on luck. Once you’re in the mountains, your life is in the hands of the mountain god. You could encounter wild animals, or slip and fall off a cliff. It’s hard to say if you’ll be found.” Seeing his pale face, the old lady comforted him, “That Qixiong of yours seems like someone who has a plan. If he really encounters something, he’ll be able to turn misfortune into good fortune. Maybe the signal is bad because of the heavy rain. You can try calling again later. But you, you should hurry back and change your clothes!”

“Okay, Granny. Can you help me keep an eye out—”

The old lady waved her hand. “I know, I know. Look how nervous you are. Your Qixiong isn’t going to run away!”

Shen Xici went home for a trip, changed his clothes in two minutes, and went downstairs again.

It was getting late. The old lady closed her shop half an hour later than usual. She didn’t take down the rain-proof tarpaulin and even left a light on for Shen Xici.

Shen Xici stood under that warm tungsten light. The people and cars passing by gradually became fewer.

The warm light spread across the ground, which acted like a diffusing mirror. A frog hopped past the wall, splashing a few drops of water.

Shen Xici thought, Sheng Shaoyan has probably left.

From the moment he decided to let Sheng Shaoyan stay in the rental apartment for a month, he had been mentally prepared. But it turned out that separation wasn’t something that could be dismissed with a single sentence.

His legs were getting a bit numb from standing. Shen Xici thought, After Sheng Shaoyan leaves, my life won’t change much. After the rain stops, the sky will still brighten. I went to the set by myself today, and I can do the same tomorrow. I’ll be able to break my old habits soon.

He reached for the two long-handled umbrellas leaning against the wall. Amidst the continuous sound of rain, the sound of a motorcycle engine suddenly came.

It was getting closer, so close that he could hear the faint sound of the tires rolling over the water on the ground. This whining engine—

His fingertips trembled. Shen Xici turned around in disbelief.

A dilapidated motorcycle stopped under the tarpaulin. The body of the motorcycle was covered in splashed mud, branches, and torn, rotting leaves.

Sheng Shaoyan took off his black raincoat, hung it on the handlebars with a reverse motion, and swung his long leg off the bike. He was wearing a windbreaker, black cargo pants, with the cuffs tucked into short boots. The black surface of his shoes was covered with a thick layer of mud and grass clippings.

Shen Xici just watched him.

After a long time, he finally opened his mouth, his throat dry. “You went to the mountains?”

Even with a raincoat, Sheng Shaoyan’s clothes were mostly wet. The soles of his boots left dark, wet prints on the dry concrete floor. He stood in front of Shen Xici, pulled his cold left hand up, and took something out from the inner pocket of his clothes.

The residual body heat pressed against the thin skin of his wrist, causing Shen Xici to shiver uncontrollably.

A bracelet made of blue crystals.

It retained the original shape of the crystals. Each bead was different in size, shape, and roundness, but each one was a pure blue, in various shades. Some had a misty, flocculent substance inside, like a thin morning mist on a clear lake.

“This is—” The more Shen Xici looked, the more familiar it seemed. He looked up in surprise. “The blue crystal from the mute boy’s earring?”

For this role, he had asked the people who used to live in the mountains about many lost or unlost customs and habits.

In the past, people who lived in the mountains would follow tradition, finding blue crystals from caves deep in the mountains, polishing them, and making them into earrings with old silver. They would give them to their family members to pray for their health and safety. That’s why he had suggested to Director Ji that they add the earring accessory for the mute boy.

Although he had never experienced this kind of affection himself, and in his previous life, besides Sheng Shaoyan, no one had ever treated him with such care.

“Yeah. Now, you have one too.” He carefully fastened the metal clasp. The bracelet fit his wrist perfectly, not an inch off.

Looking at the clear blue crystals wrapped around the slender wrist, the curve of the protruding round bone soft and smooth, Sheng Shaoyan’s eyes darkened.

“This bracelet… where did it come from?”

“I found a local to be my guide and went to the cave in the mountains where this kind of crystal is produced. Most of the crystals inside have impurities and cracks, and the color isn’t obvious. I wanted to pick the ones with the cleanest and best color, so it took a while. After I came back, I borrowed some polishing tools from someone. I just finished it twenty minutes ago.”

Sheng Shaoyan held his wrist and didn’t let go. “There was no signal in the mountains, and then my phone died. Have you been waiting for a long time?”

On the long-handled umbrella leaning against the wall, the rainwater had already dried.

After midnight, the rain gradually subsided, drizzling, like natural white noise.

Sheng Shaoyan had spent the day climbing mountains and crossing ridges. At several dangerous spots, he had to pull himself up and down with vines. The thorns on the vines had left red marks, and his palms had several blisters. On his way back, the blisters had been rubbed open by the vines. His hands looked like they didn’t have a single patch of good skin, very glaring.

At this moment, he was sitting on the sofa, his palm open. Shen Xici was carefully cleaning and disinfecting the broken skin, and finally applying a layer of medicine.

“Does it hurt?”

“If I say it doesn’t hurt, would I be lying?”

Shen Xici’s movements became even lighter. He was also worried. “You got caught in the rain. Are you feeling uncomfortable? Does your throat hurt?”

Sheng Shaoyan’s heavy gaze followed the blue on Shen Xici’s wrist. After a while, he said, “I’m not uncomfortable, but, maybe because I got caught in the rain, I feel a little cold.”

He knew very well how to make a person’s heart soften.

“Shen Xici, tonight, can I sleep with you?”