ICSTC CH7: Downpour Tomorrow

In the group image, Leader Mei from the External Outreach Group 1 posted a video, tagged @All Members, and penned a long wall of text:

[It seems everyone’s days have been getting increasingly plush lately—the cars are looking shinier one after another. Just a friendly reminder, everyone should still remain low-key and pragmatic. Don’t be overly flashy, lest outsiders look at us and comment that our team’s work ethic is degraded. We all rely on actual capability to earn our living, but a sense of propriety is still necessary. @Chi Zhiyue, Xiao Chi, wouldn’t you agree?]

“Propriety my ass,” Luo Ye rolled his eyes at every single sentence he read.

What on earth does he mean by ‘a sense of propriety’? It’s not like he bought the car for him, yet here he is trying to lecture people. Even if someone bought a tank, it would have nothing to do with him, right? It’s not like he’s his father.

What a absolute jackass—low rank, high posture.

[Luo Ye]: Put up with a leader like that… must be pretty tough on them.

[Wan Qing]: Used to it by now. We treat his words like passing wind at this point.

[Luo Ye]: What about Chi? Is he fine?

[Wan Qing]: No idea.

[Wan Qing]: Either way, I had a pretty good laugh [Screenshot]

Wan Qing sent over another screenshot—it showed Chi Zhiyue’s reply fifteen minutes after the leader’s speech.

[Chi Zhiyue]: Understood.

[Chi Zhiyue]: I’ll go buy a Wuling Hongguang tomorrow to pick up clients. Thank you for the reminder, Leader! [Pitiful Face Emoji]

Luo Ye: “…”

That bristled tail of his softened down bit by bit.

[Wan Qing]: So green-tea passive-aggressive, hahaha.

[Luo Ye]: I didn’t feel it was green-tea at all.

[Luo Ye]: Doesn’t he sound pretty sincere?

[Wan Qing]: ?

[Wan Qing]: o.O

[Wan Qing]: Bro, are you joking around or can you genuinely not tell?

[Luo Ye]: Tell what?

Luo Ye genuinely couldn’t tell. All he saw was that those few emojis looked rather wronged.

Wan Qing didn’t reply for a good while. Only after Luo Ye had washed the dishes did he send over a video link.

[Wan Qing]:[Beware of online dating scams! Be careful when people play pity cards or feign poverty—share this link with your friends]

[Wan Qing]: Don’t mention it.

[Luo Ye]: O.o?

[Wan Qing]: When you get scammed online in the future, don’t say I didn’t warn you!

[Luo Ye]: ?

Before Luo Ye could press for an explanation, Wan Qing claimed he was heading off to read other drama and went straight offline, promising to chat tomorrow.

Luo Ye got up to wash up and went back to his bedroom.

Lying in bed, he flipped through that conversation back and forth once more. Still failing to spot anything amiss, he only felt increasingly guilty the more he read.

If Chi Zhiyue hadn’t driven him to the hospital, he wouldn’t have been spotted by that idiot leader, nor would he have had to hear those unpleasant words.

Luo Ye recalled how Chi Zhiyue looked while chatting with him in the car—gentle and composed, remaining perfectly calm no matter what was being said.

Their shadows had overlapped within the dim interior of the car, shifting much like the moonlight currently creeping across his ceiling.

“…The perfume smelled pretty nice.”

The words slipped out before his brain could process them.

He stared at the ceiling until his phone screen automatically dimmed, then turned onto his side to sleep.

This sleep lasted straight until eight in the morning. When Luo Ye woke up, his mind felt clear and refreshed.

Taking his temperature, the fever had mostly subsided, so he proposed going out for a walk to Luo Peng, who was sweeping the floor.

“Cold’s cured?” Luo Peng asked, leaning against the broom handle.

“Feels just about done. Going out to breathe some fresh air,” Luo Ye touched his forehead—it indeed wasn’t hot anymore. “Might as well buy you some clothes, otherwise there won’t be time later.”

Luo Ye had vaguely mentioned yesterday that he would be going on a long trip soon. Luo Peng didn’t suspect anything and nodded.

Luo Ye put on fake glasses frames and a black knit beanie, wearing a loose black down jacket over a white turtleneck sweater, paired with faded grey straight-leg jeans.

Hanging around his neck was a vintage Nikon Zf mirrorless camera, intending to capture some footage to edit later.

Luo Ye was already casual enough, but Luo Peng turned out to be even more casual—simply throwing on his winter school uniform.

Thankfully, the school’s winter uniform looked like a windbreaker jacket; taking off the school badge made it look no different from regular clothes. Otherwise, Luo Ye would have pinned him down to change long ago.

They headed to Nancheng’s most bustling commercial street. Several luxury brand names hung above the shopping mall entrance, with various celebrity beastfolk posters displayed outside.

The paved road stretched out clean and crisp, expanding straight into the distance under the pale greyish-blue sky characteristic of late winter.

The two browsed through the mall first. Luo Ye picked out a few jackets. Luo Peng obediently acted as a clothes rack to try them on, though he was still worried about the price tag: “Why buying clothes all of a sudden? How much is this one? Is it expensive?”

“This one’s too small, swap it for a size up,” Luo Ye instructed the store clerk first before turning to his brother, his tone sinking slightly. “Just wear it. Your brother has money now, we don’t have to live like before anymore.”

“Oh…” Luo Peng turned around silently to change into another size.

The “before” he mentioned referred to the hardest two years of their lives.

They had squeezed into a cramped rental room costing eight hundred a month. The space was so small one could barely turn around—it held only a rickety double bed and a paint-chipped wooden table, and they had to queue at the end of the hallway to cook.

The mold spots on the ceiling were heavy and dark, creeping down along the wall cracks. They grew back no matter how often they were wiped, as if they could never be purged.

Autumn back then was never a harvest season for them; it was the damp moss at the base of the wall, the lingering musty smell in every corner.

Their clothes were perpetually damp, never drying completely after washing, clinging to their skin cold and chilly. Thus, they rarely bought new clothes, only acquiring a couple when the old ones wore out completely.

Consequently, the first thing Luo Ye did after earning money was to buy plenty of clothes to fill both their wardrobes. Especially after learning he was going to die, he wanted to arrange the best of everything for Luo Peng.

Because he knew that even if Luo Peng received his bank card when the time came, he would keep it saved without spending a single cent until his own dying day.

After picking out the clothes, Luo Ye visited other shops for household supplies.

Luo Peng walked behind obediently with his tail drooping, wearing an anti-lost children’s phone watch on one wrist while hauling two large bags of clothes in his other hand.

After finishing lunch inside the mall, the two stepped out through the south entrance, quietly retracting their tails the moment they hit the cold draft.

Passing by a handmade cotton candy stall, Luo Peng’s eyes unconsciously drifted toward it.

Luo Ye saw right through him, turning to the artisan: “Sir, please make a rabbit-shaped one for us.”

“Sure, sure, just a moment!” The vendor’s talk valve opened up and couldn’t be shut, his hands wrapping the cotton candy while his mouth never stopped moving.

He rambled from sights across the country to his distant hometown in Dalian, then chatted about planning a trip to Guangdong for the Lunar New Year.

The two brothers stood by listening, chiming in casually now and then.

Before long, two compact cotton candy shapes were crafted first, then joined with a large cloud of fluffy candy—a soft, adorable rabbit cotton candy was thus hot off the press.

Hearing that Luo Ye wanted to take a photo, the vendor immediately struck a hearty pose in front of the lens, flashing a large peace sign: “Perfect timing! Just make this old man look a bit handsome, hehe.”

Luo Ye’s eyes crinkled in a smile as he raised his hand to press the shutter.

The lighting was just right—the background blurred softly into a warm haze, the wrinkles on the vendor’s face brimming with genuine, vibrant joy.

Luo Ye was quite pleased; it was a wonderful photo full of everyday warmth.

Just as he stowed his camera away and took the rabbit cotton candy, he heard a crisp, bright female voice: “Luo Peng?”

Luo Ye whipped his head around.

Standing two stalls away was a young girl wearing heavy noise-canceling headphones, dressed in a blue-and-white color-blocked casual outfit, sporting a light brown mushroom haircut.

She had a delicate heart-shaped face with striking double eyelids, looking quite young.

Luo Ye nudged Luo Peng—who was intently eating cotton candy—with his elbow.

Luo Peng raised his head slowly, showing not a hint of surprise as he greeted casually: “Oh, it’s you.”

The girl walked over in a few quick strides, her tone familiar: “I spotted you just now but wasn’t sure. Then I thought—a big guy who loves wearing school uniforms out on the street could only be you.”

Luo Peng took a bite off a rabbit ear without expression: “What are you doing here?”

“Buying merch at the collab cafe, obviously! Unless you…”

Mid-sentence, the girl suddenly noticed Luo Ye beside him. She immediately bowed slightly with polite grace: “Hello! I’m Xu Menghua, Luo Peng’s desk mate.”

Upon hearing “desk mate,” Luo Ye instantly recalled.

Luo Peng had mentioned before that his desk mate was the most boisterous chatterbox in class, constantly fidgeting during lessons. If she hadn’t consistently ranked near the top of the grade, teachers would have punished her to stand in the hallway a dozen times over.

Luo Ye had always assumed the desk mate was a rowdy boy—he hadn’t expected such a quick-witted, adorable young girl.

“Hello, I’m Luo Peng’s older brother,” Luo Ye offered a gentle smile. “Since we’re here, what would you like to eat? My treat.”

“Really?!” Xu Menghua asked.

“Really,” Luo Ye answered.

Xu Menghua was overjoyed. She had been secretly sizing up the handsome guy before her just now, and now his score was skyrocketing.

Tied-up hair, handsome—bonus points; upward-tilting eyes, handsome—bonus points. The full score of 100 was already at 120 now.

Especially those two moles under his eye corner—she felt like she had seen them somewhere before, though she couldn’t recall where at the moment.

In short, extra bonus points anyway, bringing the final score to 2,540.

Xu Menghua poked Luo Peng’s arm, asking in all seriousness: “Luo Peng, is your brother an angel?”

“Heh,” Luo Peng glanced at her sideways. “You realized that way too late.”

Just like that, Luo Ye was praised into a state of sheer bliss by two high schoolers, the corners of his mouth curling up high in a fantastic mood.

He quickly asked the vendor to make another cotton candy, then went next door to buy a skewer of grilled sausage and a cup of crispy fried pork for Xu Menghua.

A few minutes later, Xu Menghua—having finished the sausage—held the soft, sweet cotton candy as the trio walked together toward the collaboration cafe.

The happier she walked, the more her energy bubbled—a pair of fluffy brown bear ears popped out, swishing back and forth the whole way.

“I thought it’d be super boring since my brother couldn’t come. I didn’t expect to be lucky enough to run into you guys,” Xu Menghua said.

“Your brother?” Luo Ye looked at her curiously.

“Adoptive brother, to be precise,” Xu Menghua tapped her chin with a finger. “Ten years older than me, currently runs his own business.”

Luo Ye had reached an age where he understood both sides, helping offer an explanation: “He’s a business owner after all, probably very busy.”

“He’s not busy—he just gets headaches whenever winter comes,” Xu Menghua took a bite of cotton candy. “Though he said he met someone this year who can relieve his headaches, and he’s indeed been doing a lot better lately. He was supposed to come with me today, but something urgent popped up. He’ll pick me up once we’re done.”

This line left Luo Ye completely baffled.

What kind of weird setup is this?

Meeting someone who can relieve headaches? Using a person as medicine?

Conveniently, Luo Peng beside him asked the question for him: “Hasn’t he gone to the hospital for a checkup?”

Xu Menghua replied: “He did! He’s in great shape in every aspect, even healthier than me.”

“Oh, then I get it,” Luo Peng said.

Both of them looked at him.

Luo Peng: “Your brother is an alien.”

Luo Ye: “…”

Xu Menghua: “…You’re an alternate.”

Chatting as they walked, they reached the cafe. The shop wasn’t large, displaying a banner that read “Space Warehouse Collaboration Cafe.”

The visitors were mostly young girls dressed in pretty clothes, with only two or three guys playing cards.

Luo Ye had stumbled upon an edit of this manga on a video site two years ago. Back then it was so obscure hardly anyone watched it; he hadn’t expected it to blow up like this in just two short years.

He instinctively thought of the Wild Grass Band.

Item #18 on his bucket list was hoping that a video he edited could go viral once more, or that the Wild Grass Band would blow up in popularity.

“It’d be nice to see them blow up before I die,” Luo Ye murmured softly under his breath, tracing a collaboration figurine with his fingertip.

It wasn’t until Luo Peng called his name that he snapped back to reality.

During the brief moment he spaced out, the two high schoolers had already stood before the checkout counter and paid.

Xu Menghua bought a massive pile of merch and generously shared animal charms with them.

For Luo Ye, it was a tiny cat with feathered wings; for Luo Peng, it was a little chick whose head could rotate 360 degrees.

Luo Peng had a headband with a question mark placed onto his head by Luo Ye: “Why?”

Xu Menghua pointed at him: “Because you’re an immature primary-school chick.”

“…” Unable to refute but thoroughly defeated, Luo Peng pulled off the headband and stuffed it into his bag along with the charm.

The trio didn’t rush to leave, ordering an exquisite cake afternoon tea set instead.

The pinkish-peach mousse glaze shimmered with fine lustre under the light, looking soft and gorgeous. Luo Ye held up his camera and snapped several photos.

Xu Menghua was taking photos too; she wanted to snap a picture of Luo Ye as well, but Luo Ye promptly declined.

After all, he was going to die soon. Leaving behind too many photos would only add to the sorrow—it was better to leave nothing behind and be slowly forgotten.

Before Luo Ye could sink into sentimentality, Xu Menghua’s next question plowed right into him like a heavy truck.

“Brother, you’re so handsome, you must have a girlfriend, right?”

Luo Peng raised his eyes alertly, fixing his gaze on Luo Ye’s side profile.

Xu Menghua was also glaring at him intently like a hawk.

Luo Ye: “…?”

Wait.

Why does it feel like these two are the parents, and he’s the student being interrogated for teenage romance?

Luo Ye held up both hands in surrender, declaring he didn’t have a partner.

Xu Menghua’s interest was sparked instantly. She mentioned knowing a pretty girl currently abroad who was returning to the country in a few months, offering to play matchmaker.

Luo Ye shook his head, declining decisively. No matter who it was, he didn’t want to drag anyone down with him.

Xu Menghua didn’t know his inner thoughts. Though slightly disappointed, she didn’t push further and switched to chatting with Luo Peng about homework instead.

Outside the cafe window, the late winter blue gradually sank lower as the distant neon lights flickered to life one by one.

Amid the dazzling lights, the countdown timer silently ticked away another hour and a half.

Before parting ways at the plaza, Xu Menghua held two large bags filled with collab merch, her eyes curving brightly as she thanked them: “Do you guys want to go to the amusement park sometime? I have a membership—if you want to go, just call me, I can get you a discount!”

Luo Peng didn’t bother with polite pleasantries, offering a casual: “Oh.”

Luo Ye looked toward the main road, asking offhandedly: “When is your brother coming to pick you up?”

“Soon, he said about ten more minutes,” Xu Menghua checked the message on her phone, looking up to wave at them. “Aren’t you guys waiting for the bus? You go ahead first.”

Luo Ye didn’t want to intrude on her meeting her family either, tugging Luo Peng’s arm as he said, “Alright then, send Pengpeng a text when you get home.”

“Will do!” Xu Menghua nodded obediently.

“Bye-bye.”

“See you at school!”

Luo Ye took Luo Peng by the hand, turning around to blend gradually into the neon glow at the street corner.

Her eyes still curved like crescent moons, Xu Menghua sat on a roadside bench scrolling through videos.

Eight minutes later, a familiar black car slowly pulled into the temporary parking zone before her.

Xu Menghua immediately opened the trunk, stuffing all her bags inside. The moment she shut the boot, she swiftly slid into the front passenger seat.

The warm temperature inside the car wrapped around her ears and cheeks instantly. Xu Menghua slumped comfortably into the seat, rubbing her face and hands together.

Squinting her eyes, she opened them slowly and turned toward the driver’s seat: “Brother, what errand did you run? How did you finish so fast?”

Before the driver could answer, she hugged a cushion, speaking with dramatic fear: “You didn’t actually buy a Wuling Hongguang planning to drive it on Monday to scare your leader, did you? Please don’t! I like this car!”

“…”

After a few seconds of silence, a clear, deep voice resonated softly through the car interior.

“I’m not that bored. I went to meet a friend.”

Chi Zhiyue adjusted the rearview mirror slightly, turning his head toward Xu Menghua in the passenger seat, the corners of his lips curving into an exceptionally subtle yet warm smile.

“What about you? Did you have fun today?”