We chatted with the auntie for a while longer.
Although she was gentle and kind, we weren’t very familiar with her, so once the initial enthusiasm faded, we didn’t really know what else to talk about.
Xu Shu looked up at the sky and said to us, “How about… we call it a day? Let’s head back. It’s getting late—if the power cuts, we won’t be able to shower.”
Before we realized it, the sky had already gone completely dark.
Probably because the weather had turned cooler recently—during the previous heatwave, it would still be bright past eight, but now it was only around seven and already pitch black.
I looked up.
The sky was completely dark, no moonlight at all.
It had been overcast since the afternoon, and it looked like there would definitely be a heavy rain tonight or tomorrow.
Taozi pulled his coat tighter and said, “Alright then, let’s head back first.”
I wrapped my coat around myself and stood up with him, smiling at the auntie.
“Auntie, we’ll be going now. If there’s a chance next time, we can chat again.”
“Alright, alright.” The auntie smiled and stood up as well.
“Since you girls are leaving, I won’t stay either. It’s about time—I’ll head out with you.”
Fate decided to play an unfunny joke on us.
Just a few steps out of the pavilion, a few raindrops hit our heads—and then, with a sudden burst of crackling sounds all around, the rain that had been building all day finally came pouring down.
We were still on that narrow, decorative path built over the pond—pretty to look at but not very practical.
As the rain started, Taozi, who was walking in front, immediately raised his hands to shield his head and shouted back, “Quick, quick, back to the pavilion! This is pouring like a bucket—at this rate we’ll be drenched to death! Chen Yang, hurry back inside, don’t catch a chill!”
I was already walking at the back and had only just stepped out of the pavilion.
As soon as he shouted and the rain started pelting down, I turned around and went straight back inside.
Xu Shu and Lili quickly followed me back into the pavilion.
In the middle was the auntie—we called her Aunt Qing.
Her eyesight didn’t seem very good.
She had turned around, but with the heavy rain already coming down, it was hard for her to move quickly along the narrow path.
Poor Han Xue and Taozi behind her didn’t dare rush her, so they could only follow helplessly, getting soaked like drowned rats.
Then, just as Aunt Qing was about to step into the pavilion, her foot suddenly slipped on one of the decorative stone steps.
Her body tilted sharply—and in the next second, accompanied by Han Xue’s scream, she fell with a splash into the pond, its surface rippling wildly under the rain.
The pond wasn’t exactly deep, but it was deep enough to drown someone.
After falling in, Aunt Qing began flailing violently.
Perhaps because of her upbringing, she couldn’t bring herself to scream loudly for help.
When her head broke the surface, she only managed to call out to us, “Help me.”
That finally snapped us out of our shock.
I zipped up my coat and was about to rush out of the pavilion to save her, but before I could even finish, Lili grabbed my hand. “What are you doing?! Stay put!”
On the other side, Taozi reacted quickly and shouted to Han Xue, “You go back first!”
Then he turned and jumped into the pond with a splash.
Aunt Qing was struggling even more violently now.
When Taozi reached her, she nearly dragged him under in her panic.
After finally steadying her, Taozi struggled to guide her back toward the pavilion.
Han Xue, who had already made it back inside, hurried forward with Lili and Xu Shu to pull the two of them out.
The rain was pouring heavily now, and even a gusty wind had started to blow.
The pavilion was open on all sides—unless you stood in the middle, sitting near the edges was no different from standing out in the open.
Aunt Qing was clearly terrified.
Sitting on the ground, she coughed up a few mouthfuls of water, then clutched her chest and gasped for breath.
Taozi’s arm had been scratched several times by her, leaving bloody marks.
As he rolled up his sleeve, he winced in pain.
Seeing this, Han Xue grew anxious. “That needs to be treated—the pond water is so dirty. If we don’t clean it right away, it’ll get infected tomorrow.”
Hearing that, Aunt Qing turned to look at Taozi.
When she saw the marks on his arm, she said apologetically, “I’m… I’m so sorry, young man… I…”
Seeing she couldn’t even finish a sentence, Taozi quickly waved his hand.
“Auntie, don’t worry about it—it’s nothing serious. You just focus on catching your breath. I’m tough, I’ll be fine.”
We helped Aunt Qing to the center and sat her down.
I hesitated as I looked at the torrential rain outside.
The others who had been in the park had already left—now it seemed like only our group remained.
With the help of the few streetlights in the park, we could barely make out the surroundings.
The night, mixed with the rain, felt desolate and eerie.
Rubbing my arms, I turned to Xu Shu. “Looks like this rain isn’t stopping anytime soon.”
“Exactly.” Xu Shu rubbed her arms as well.
“It’s so cold. Taozi and Xiao Xue are completely soaked—if they don’t get back soon, they’ll definitely catch a cold. And you too—you can’t stay out in this. These first three months have already been rough, and if you catch a cold on top of that, it won’t be a small matter.”
“There’s nothing we can do. We’ll just have to wait and see if Yangyang or someone comes to bring us umbrellas.”
Xu Shu glanced out into the rain for a moment and said, “How about this—I’ll go back first and grab a couple of umbrellas. The people at home don’t know which direction we came, so they probably won’t find us anytime soon.”
“How can that work? It’s raining so heavily—how will you get back?”
“It’s fine.” Xu Shu waved her hand, walked to the edge of the pavilion, and reached out to test the rain.
Then she turned to me and said, “I’m strong—I’ll treat it like a shower. You all wait here. I’ll be back soon.”
With that, she pulled the hood of her coat over her head and, before we could react, turned and ran out into the rain.
“Xiao Shu! Come back!” She was too fast—my voice was left far behind.
Watching Xu Shu’s figure disappear into the downpour, Han Xue, who was wringing water out of her hair, frowned slightly, then looked at me.
“Xiao Shu… she’s actually a pretty good person.”
I looked at her and nodded. “Of course she is. Try not to pick fights with her so often.”
Hearing that, Han Xue curled her lips. “Too bad she got stuck with a bad little brother.”
“Xiao Xue!” I scolded her, glancing toward Taozi and Lili to remind her that they didn’t know about Chen Pu—she shouldn’t let it slip.
Realizing her mistake, Han Xue stuck out her tongue and said no more.
Since Xu Shu had gone back, we decided to just stay in the pavilion and wait for her.
During that time, Lili asked Aunt Qing where she lived.
When she learned it was quite far away, she asked with concern, “Then how will you get back? Will your son or daughter-in-law come pick you up?”
At that, Aunt Qing’s expression turned a little sad.
She waved her hand and sighed. “When the rain lets up a bit, I’ll go back myself. They won’t come looking for me.”
After saying that, she gave a helpless smile and looked around at us.
“When you get old… you just become a burden.”
Understanding what she meant, Han Xue realized that her son and daughter-in-law wouldn’t come for her just because it was raining.
Feeling a bit sorry for her, she quickly tried to comfort her.
“What do you mean ‘old’? My dad is already in his sixties or seventies and still says he’s in his prime. At most, you’re just middle-aged!”
Aunt Qing was amused by her words but didn’t respond.
She turned her head and stared out into the rain, lost in thought.
The park was some distance from home.
Even without delays, it would take Xu Shu at least ten to twenty minutes to go back and return.
But after ten minutes, the torrential rain gradually began to ease, until it was reduced to a light drizzle.
Out of concern for my condition, we still decided to wait for Xu Shu to bring the umbrellas.
However, Aunt Qing seemed unable to sit still and began to grow a little restless.
I couldn’t help but ask, “Aunt Qing? What’s wrong?”
Hearing that, she looked at me, hesitated for a long while, then said, “Before I came out today… I had a bit of an argument with my daughter-in-law. I didn’t cook anything, didn’t prepare anything—just stormed out. Now it’s so late and I’m still not back… I’m a bit worried. That girl is lazy—if I don’t cook, she’ll probably just skip eating altogether.”
“So what are you thinking?” Han Xue asked.
Aunt Qing paused again, then gritted her teeth and stood up from the ground.
“Forget it! It’s just a little rain. It might even start pouring again later—I’d better take this chance to head back now.”
But just as she stood up, her foot twisted.
She cried out, “Ah!” and nearly fell again.
Lili and I quickly stepped forward to support her.
Lili asked with concern, “What’s wrong, Aunt Qing?”
“My leg… my leg… it’s cramping.” Aunt Qing’s face twisted in pain, clearly suffering.
Hearing that, Han Xue and Taozi quickly crouched down and started helping Aunt Qing stretch her legs, gently tapping them with their fists.
After quite a while with no improvement, Aunt Qing still insisted on leaving.
Lili hesitated for a moment before saying, “How about this—we’ll take you home first. In your current condition, if you go by yourself and fall again on the way, it could be serious.”
Aunt Qing hesitated. “But…”
“Alright, no ‘buts,’ it’s settled.” Taozi stepped forward in a decisive, almost gentlemanly way, taking over from Han Xue.
“I’m already soaked anyway. Xiao Xue isn’t in great shape, so let her stay here with Chen Yang and wait for Xiao Shu. I’ll go with you to take Aunt Qing home.”
…
Watching their figures gradually disappear into the dim, rain-soaked night as they supported Aunt Qing, I let out a long breath.
But… something still felt off somehow.
— The end of the Chapter–
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