Tan Yin spent almost the entire afternoon in frustration. She could only turn her pain into motivation and work hard on painting in her sketchbook.
"Tan Yin! I finally found you!"
When it was almost time to finish work in the evening, Jiang Yilu finally came over. Because they were not in the same group and each group was divided into an area, Jiang Yilu and Tan Yin were not together when sketching.
She glanced at Tan Yin's sketchbook and asked, "Why are you so energetic today? You're painting so hard? There's still a whole morning tomorrow. Why are you in such a hurry?"
Tan Yin sighed heavily.
Jiang Yilu was confused: "Did Chu Hang embarrass you? Oh, by the way, he suddenly ran up to each of us this afternoon and asked us who brought any food with them. In the end, it seemed like Meng Youran gave him a piece of chocolate. I don't know what happened."
Tan Yin felt even more depressed when she heard this: "Let me ask you, if someone deceived you and ate alone behind your back, and before you found out about this person's true face, you even thought about giving her the good things you had collected. After you learned the truth, how would you feel?"
Jiang Yilu didn't even think about it: "You're talking about a love triangle, right? I love you, but you love a fool, and you use my money to support the fool, right? This kind of thing, I think your self-esteem must be very frustrated..."
Tan Yin choked and decided not to discuss this topic with Jiang Yilu.
Jiang Yilu couldn't stop herself. She analyzed the situation for a long time before she suddenly touched her face. Then she looked up and said in astonishment, "Tan Yin, it seems to be raining."
Tan Yin was still immersed in sadness: "Hey? It's raining. This rain all over the sky is simply my tears and my sins."
"Wake up, it looks like it's going to rain heavily. Look at all the dark clouds. I feel like there might be thunder!"
Tan Yin finally came out of her wild thoughts. She looked at the sky and couldn't help frowning. The weather forecast clearly said that it would be sunny today, but the current situation clearly showed that a thunderstorm was brewing.
"Just make it through dinner anyway. You can go back to your room after dinner."
Tan Yin nodded. Actually, it was not accurate to say that she was in her room. This place was too remote. There were no restaurants or hotels. The only thing was the building built by the villagers themselves. Each floor was divided into rooms with partitions. Each student had a room. It was specially for students who came to sketch. There was only a single bed and a simple desk and chair. The toilet and bathroom were shared on the same floor, separated by men and women. Although the conditions were difficult, Tan Yin was still quite satisfied. After all, she had her own small space. When it rained, she didn't have to worry about being exposed.
After all, the students were staying away from each other, and Teacher Lin was afraid that something might happen to the students. He was afraid that he would not be able to manage it alone. Therefore, in order to facilitate the headcount and safety considerations, he arranged each group of students on a floor. Each floor was led by their own team leader, who was responsible for ensuring that they had to return to their rooms to sleep at 11 o'clock in the evening.
After dinner, the rain gradually got heavier. This place was very deserted and no one would go out at this time. People were either sitting in the hall in groups of three or four chatting, or playing with their phones. Therefore, when there was thunder and lightning, no one cared about Tan Yin's "disappearance".
Tan Yin was hiding in the bathroom. Fortunately, there was no one around and she didn't stand out. She thought thankfully that she didn't close the door when she left the room, so she wouldn't attract anyone's attention when she slipped back in later.
However, she didn't expect that when she walked back, Chu Hang was standing at the door of the room that had been deserted just now.
Chu Hang stood at the door with a frown on his face for a while before turning around and knocking on the door next door: "Lu Siqi, have you seen Tan Yin?"
Lu Siqi shook her head: "No, she's not here?"
"Yes. The door is open, but no one is there."
…
"I'm sure she's not in the toilet or the bathroom because I just came out of it."
Chu Hang asked several classmates in turn, and the answers he got were all that they hadn't seen Tan Yin. Tan Yin followed him all the way, and she didn't know why Chu Hang was so persistent in knowing where he was.
Chu Hang asked around and finally found Jiang Yilu.
Jiang Yilu listened to the thunder outside the window and naturally knew what was going on. She glanced at Chu Hang and said, "It's already night time, what do you want to see Tan Yin for? It's not good for a man and a woman to be alone, right?"
Chu Hang seemed to laugh out of anger: "Do you think I want to find him? I am her team leader, and I just need to count the number of people to make sure everyone in our team returns to the room safely. So where did Tan Yin go?"
Jiang Yilu rolled her eyes: "Oh, so, Tan Yin... Tan Yin just went out!" She lied, "She just told me that she felt a little stuffy in the room, so she went out for a walk to get some fresh air!"
Chu Hang frowned and looked at the violent storm, thunder and lightning outside the house, and suddenly fell silent.
Tan Yin was so upset that she wanted to cry. Jiang Yilu, Jiang Yilu, can you at least draft a lie before you lie? Who the hell would go out for a walk in this weather
Jiang Yilu probably thought of this as well, and she added: "Actually, she is a little worried. You know, she...she did so badly in the final exam last semester, and her own father punished her by hanging such an ironic banner. Her self-esteem suffered a devastating blow!"
Chu Hang was stunned: "Did her father hang that banner?"
"It's a long story. Anyway, it wasn't her intention. She was actually very ashamed and blamed herself for not doing well in the exam. She even wanted to commit suicide several times..."
Although I admire your ability to remain calm and make up stories in times of crisis, this plot is a bit too exaggerated, my friend...
As expected, Chu Hang also questioned: "But I don't see any signs of shame or self-blame in her."
"That's because you don't understand Tan Yin. She's the kind of person who appears to be cheerful on the outside, but actually has a lot of holes in her heart. She doesn't want to affect others with her negative energy, so she keeps all these worries and pains to herself. She also wants to study hard, but I didn't expect that her foundation in science and engineering is so poor. In fact, she studies in the dormitory until one in the middle of the night every night, but... hey! But she still can't learn!"
"… "
I study until midnight every day and still can’t learn it. Doesn’t that mean I’m stupid
Jiang Yilu, you slandered me behind my back! I heard everything!
Chu Hang was silent as expected.
Jiang Yilu took the opportunity to say, "Anyway, don't worry. Tan Yin is fine. She's just a little depressed. She'll be back soon after going out for a walk. You can go back and don't worry about her. I will be responsible for ensuring that she returns to her room and sleeps safely."
Chu Hang didn't say anything, but at least he turned and left. Tan Yin was relieved. Although Jiang Yilu had lied, at least she had gotten away with it.
Tan Yin followed Chu Hang closely, and only when she saw him walk back to his room and close the door did she finally feel relieved and prepare to leave. But just as she took a step forward, she heard Chu Hang's door open again. He took an umbrella, looked at the thunderstorm outside the window, pursed his lips, and then went downstairs, opened the umbrella and walked into the heavy rain.
Tan Yin just watched Chu Hang rush into the night rain with his upright figure and without hesitation. For a moment, her heart was filled with indescribable emotions and shock.
Is Chu Hang going outside to look for her
Almost like a conditioned reflex, Tan Yin suppressed the throbbing in her heart, followed Chu Hang's steps, and walked into the rain together.
*****
Surrounding the villagers' building is a lush forest. Being away from the hustle and bustle of the city makes it particularly quiet here. There is only the sound of rain and the occasional chirping of insects. Chu Hang holds an umbrella, turns on the flashlight function of his mobile phone, and walks on the muddy road with a serious and earnest expression.
Soon, his shoes and trouser legs were dirty. The thunderstorm was too heavy, and the surroundings were covered with leaves splashed with raindrops. The rain kept falling. Although Chu Hang was holding an umbrella, he was still wet by the raindrops carried by the wind while walking.
This time Chu Hang's umbrella was not big, and the road was muddy and slippery. Tan Yin did not dare to hide under his umbrella. She could only follow him in the rain. After a while, she was soaked to the skin.
She could actually go back. There was no need to follow him. Chu Hang might not come to look for her. Even if he did, he would probably go back soon if he couldn't find him. However, for some reason, Tan Yin felt complicated. She always felt that she was responsible for Chu Hang's going out.
And soon, Chu Hang also verified this.
"Tan Yin!"
"Tan Yin, where are you?"
Unfortunately, even though Chu Hang was calling out Tan Yin's name, the sound quickly disappeared into the woods amidst the sound of rain and thunder.
"Come back, Chu Hang, come back quickly, don't go any further."
Tan Yin followed Chu Hang and kept shouting, but Chu Hang couldn't hear him. As time went by, not only did he not find the place and go back quickly, but his expression became more and more solemn, and he walked deeper into the woods.
I don’t know if it was God who finally opened his eyes, but just when Tan Yin was about to despair, the thunder finally stopped and the raindrops began to get smaller.
Tan Yin almost immediately dodged under the tree behind Chu Hang. Once the thunder stopped, she would return to normal.
"Chu Hang! I'm here!"
As expected, Chu Hang could already hear her shouting this time. He turned around, followed the sound, and finally saw Tan Yin under the tree. Because of the rain all the way, Tan Yin was completely soaked at the moment. She crossed her arms, shivered and stood up, using her hands to push away the long hair that was covering her face.
Chu Hang had a cold face. He crossed a mud pit and walked quickly to Tan Yin. He stuffed the umbrella into Tan Yin's hand and said, "Hold it."
Tan Yin stood on tiptoe and obediently raised the umbrella over their heads.
Chu Hang didn't say anything. He just took off his coat and threw it to Tan Yin: "Put it on."
"You're wet too, so you wear it. I'm soaked anyway."
Chu Hang glanced at Tan Yin and said in an imposing manner: "Put it on."
Tan Yin did not resist this time. She put on Chu Hang's coat. Although she looked like a child who had secretly put on adult clothes, the coat did help her keep out a lot of the cold wind.
Chu Hang's face looked a little ugly, and his lips were actually a little white from the cold. "What were you thinking about running into the woods in the rain in the middle of the night? You just squatted under this tree, and you didn't come back even though you were soaked like this?"
“I… it wasn’t raining heavily when I first came out, and I was just planning to take a walk and go back, but I accidentally tripped over something and fell, and sprained my foot.” Tan Yin said, hopping on one foot, “It just so happened that I had just taken the plaster off my other foot, and it hasn’t recovered yet, so I couldn’t walk all of a sudden, and I was trapped here.”
Tan Yin glanced at Chu Hang and said, "Well, thank you for coming out to see me."
"Who came out to look for you?" Chu Hang almost turned his face away, "Don't feel so good about yourself. On a rainy day like this, must I be crazy to come out to look for you?"
Chu Hang's tone was calm and composed. If Tan Yin had not followed him all the way, she would have been deceived by his righteous expression.
"..." Tan Yin choked, "Then why are you here in the woods on such a rainy day?"
"Why are you asking so much?" Chu Hang asked impatiently, "Who are you to me? Do I have to report everything I do to you?"
"… "
"Come up."
"kindness?"
Chu Hang squatted down slightly and glanced at Tan Yin unhappily behind him: "I told you to come up."
"ah?"
"Aren't you disabled and unable to walk?"
Tan Yin refused subconsciously: "No, no, I am physically disabled but mentally strong, I can do it..." Tan Yin explained, "Besides, I am too heavy, I am afraid that I will hurt your waist..."
Chu Hang stared at Tan Yin for a few seconds and said, "Is this another new trick of yours? Are you trying to get my attention by retreating to advance?"
Chu Hang snorted coldly, "Let me see your strong and independent side? Give up, Tan Yin. Even if you sprain both legs and have to crawl back from here, I won't change my opinion of you. Don't think I'm special to you. No matter who is trapped here today, I will carry them back. I want to carry you back simply because my upbringing does not allow me to leave a girl alone in a place like this."
"… "
Tan Yin felt that Chu Hang's self-perception was truly good. She was still a little confused when she heard Chu Hang add in a low voice:
"Also, my waist is fine."
"… "
Brother, how do you review the questions at this time? What details do you focus on
Chu Hang turned his back and urged, "Come on, come up. It's freezing here." Seeing that Tan Yin still didn't come up, his patience almost disappeared, "Why don't you..."
"You're too tall." Tan Yin looked at him and said honestly, "Compared to you, I'm a short guy. If you don't squat a little bit, I won't be able to get up to you."
"… "
Chu Hang pursed his lips and said nothing, but he finally bent his noble knees and squatted down in front of Tan Yin.
"You can do it now, shorty."
"… "