The Scorching Sun - 80
In the dense, relentless drumming of the rain, the two of them hurried home through the downpour. They were still a step too late. Rainwater had already seeped into the living room and flooded onto the balcony.
The curtains had been blown out through the window, while the sofa near the glass and the clothes hanging out to dry were all soaked through.
The two of them scrambled to clean everything up, mopped the floors all over again, then took down the curtains and washed them.
By the time they finally finished, the clouds had dispersed and night was already closing in.
The sunset after the rain was astonishingly brilliant, a small consolation at the end of such a miserable day. Unfortunately, they hadn't even had time to look at it for long before the gentle summer breeze scattered it into the dark.
Yan Lie stood barefoot in the middle of the living room, his clothes thoroughly soaked they might as well have been dunked in water. It was impossible to tell anymore whether the dampness came from rain or sweat.
When the takeout arrived, he ate a few hurried bites and told Fang Zhuo to go shower first. Only after she had vacated the bathroom did he gather his clothes and go in himself.
Fang Zhuo found a clothes dryer in the little storage room.
The air here was far too humid. Even the clothes and bedsheets had that clammy, half-dry feel to them. She wiped the dust from the outside of the machine, hung Yan Lie's clothes on the nearby rack, and set them up to dry. Then she picked up the hair dryer and went to the other end of the room to find an outlet.
Once her hair was nearly dry, she pulled the plug. A flash of violet electricity sparked at the same instant the lights went out. The hum of all the appliances died with them.
The cramped little world fell abruptly silent, leaving only the steady patter of water dripping from the awning outside.
Fang Zhuo shivered. After standing there dazed for a moment, she set down what she was holding and, using the faint light filtering in from outside, felt her way to her phone beside the bed. She switched on the flashlight and went looking for the electrical panel.
When she reached the front door, Yan Lie came out too. He hadn't even dried himself off properly. In his haste, he'd simply pulled on his pajamas and hurried over, taking Fang Zhuo's phone from her hands as he found the main breaker.
He flipped the switch down, but the lights stayed dark. Apparently, it wasn't a tripped breaker. A fuse had blown.
Fang Zhuo immediately turned herself in. "It was probably me. I just used the dryer here."
Yan Lie said nothing. Instead, he slipped an arm around her waist, indicating that she should go back to the bedroom with him.
Fang Zhuo let herself brush against his wrist. His skin was icy beneath her touch, and he seemed to be trembling right down to the hairs on his arms.
Once inside, Fang Zhuo held the light while Yan Lie rummaged through his bag for a dry towel and roughly rubbed his hair with it.
After his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he seemed less frightened, but he still held Fang Zhuo's hand and led her onto the bed with him.
In the enclosed room, the temperature gradually climbed.
Yan Lie lay there quietly, his breathing so even that he might have been asleep. But when Fang Zhuo lifted her gaze, she could see his half-lidded eyes fixed unwaveringly on her face.
There was nothing particularly calm about his gaze. It held layers of complicated emotion that Fang Zhuo couldn't quite understand.
After silently looking at each other for a while, Fang Zhuo asked, "It's a little hot. Can I open the window?"
Yan Lie nodded. "Mm."
Fang Zhuo got up to push the window open, then climbed back into bed and settled beside Yan Lie's pillow, wrapping her arms around his.
Cool air drifted in through the window, but it did nothing to ease the heat rising through Fang Zhuo's body. It brushed softly over the ends of her hair before dissolving into the warmth of Yan Lie's breath.
Yan Lie lifted an arm. His damp lips touched her forehead, and then he cradled her face and kissed her with grave tenderness.
Amid the familiar scent of rain and moisture, Yan Lie's presence seemed to grow more and more pronounced.
He rarely kissed Fang Zhuo like this. Gentle yet insistent, lingering over and over as though he had no intention of stopping.
Both hands settled at Fang Zhuo's waist, rubbing carefully until a tingling numbness ran through her like an electric current.
They drew closer and closer, and soon, they could hear the rhythm of each other's heartbeat within their chests.
When they finally parted, all Fang Zhuo could hear was her own ragged breathing. Her vision had gone hazy, a thin sheen of moisture gathering over her eyes.
Yan Lie leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Can I exercise a little of my rights as an adult?"
Fang Zhuo didn't quite catch that. He hooked his finger around hers, then closed his hand tightly over it. Her mind was too muddled to think clearly. When he asked again, she murmured vaguely, "You mean the rights the law gives you?"
"Some of them," Yan Lie said. "The rest have to be granted by my girlfriend."
Fang Zhuo stared at him for a moment, then lifted her chin and kissed him on the cheek.
Yan Lie's breathing suddenly deepened. He sat up, straddled her at the waist, and pulled off his clothes.
"Fang Zhuo, I've told you before, haven't I?" Yan Lie took something from the drawer, his throat working as he swallowed. In the end, he managed only one restrained reminder. "I was never pretending to have good intentions."
Yan Lie bent down. His still-damp strands of hair fell across Fang Zhuo's eyelids, and she instinctively closed her eyes.
The next morning, Fang Zhuo was only dimly conscious. Even after her usual waking time had passed, she remained suspended between sleep and consciousness.
She knew Yan Lie had gotten up, tidied the room, and gone out for a while.
She didn't know how much time had passed when the room suddenly brightened. Fang Zhuo opened her eyes and saw Yan Lie standing beside the bed, drawing open the curtains.
Fang Zhuo rubbed her eyes and lay still for a while, slowly gathering herself.
Yan Lie lay down beside her and wrapped both arms around her. "Get up. Time to eat."
Fang Zhuo frowned without answering.
Yan Lie asked again, "Are we going out today?"
Fang Zhuo turned over and reached around for her phone. Yan Lie handed it to her without being asked.
They'd made one enormous mistake. They hadn't checked the weather forecast.
And Fang Zhuo's luck had never been one to let her down. She'd managed to pick the unluckiest few days possible.
"It's raining every day." Fang Zhuo coughed. Her voice was still slightly hoarse. "I don't want to go out."
"Then we won't," Yan Lie said. "I'll stay here with you."
He looked inexplicably pleased after saying it. Resting his chin against the hollow of Fang Zhuo's shoulder, he gave two muffled little laughs.
By afternoon, Fang Zhuo got out of bed anyway. She dug out the travel itinerary they'd made earlier and went with Yan Lie to the aquarium.
Their plans had been thrown into disarray, but it didn't really matter. On his twentieth birthday, Yan Lie had still gotten exactly what he wanted most.
By the final day, the weather had finally cleared. The two of them went down to the shore and took several photographs to remember the trip by.
Yan Lie showed her the finished shots. In one, she was smiling so exaggeratedly that it looked completely unnatural. In another, her smile was a little forced. The third had caught only her profile, her face blank as she tilted her head toward the sky, giving her a composed, almost scholarly air.
Fang Zhuo chose the third one. At least she looked relatively intelligent in that one. Yan Lie, however, saved the first two ridiculous pictures as well, saying Photoshop could probably rescue them.
The short holiday passed in the blink of an eye, and Yan Lie bought their tickets back to A City.
Yan Lie wanted Fang Zhuo to come home with him, but Fang Zhuo felt she should stay at school. Unable to win the argument, Yan Lie had no choice but to take her back himself.
After half a day's journey, Fang Zhuo was looking a little wilted. She entered through the east gate of the residential area, walked through the corridor, and returned to the dormitory.
She cleaned up first, then called Ye Yuncheng to let him know she'd arrived safely.
Ye Yuncheng was a remarkably open-minded parent. He asked after her for a couple of sentences, then stopped the conversation at exactly the point where it still felt comfortable and hung up.
Early the next morning, Fang Zhuo was sitting at the desk reading when she received a message from Wei Xi.
Wei What: Are you awake?
Little Sun: I'm awake. What's up?
Wei What: Was the seaside fun?
Little Sun: We didn't really do much.
Wei What: Oh... I see. [shy]
Fang Zhuo: ...
Little Sun: Try to keep your mind a little purer.
Wei What: [smirking] How do you know mine isn't pure?
Wei What: We're all adults. What's the big deal? Just be careful and stay safe. We're young, after all. We've still got the stars and the sea waiting for us to conquer.
Wei What: And of course, take care of your health too.
Wei What: My aunt is a doctor. Her perspective is very wholesome and actually useful. If you need it, I can casually slide some of her educational material your way.
Little Sun: ...
They were making it sound as though the two of them had done something completely outrageous.
Little Sun: It rained at the seaside, so a lot of the activities were canceled. We switched to indoor things instead.
Little Sun: The aquarium, museums, that kind of indoor stuff.
Wei What: [oh] Your explanation is awfully considerate.
Wei What: Actually, I'm messaging you to tell you about the class reunion. It was originally scheduled for the end of July, but it's been moved up to the day after tomorrow, the Class Monitor managed to invite the homeroom teacher, and the hotel has a private room available that day. Does that work for you?
Fang Zhuo hadn't seen the homeroom teacher in a very long time. She wondered how she was doing now.
Little Sun: Sure. That works.
Wei What: Then tell Yan Lie too. Do you two seriously never check the class group chat?
Wei What: Though, of course, I understand you two. [sheepish grin]
Fang Zhuo turned off the screen.
She stared at the book for two lines, took a moment to settle her mood, then picked up her phone and sent Yan Lie a message.
They Call Me Lie: I know. Cake just told me.
They Call Me Lie: I'll come pick you up then. [well-behaved]
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