Only One Bed Left

Half an hour.

An hour.

It was past eight in the evening.

The rain outside the pavilion was still pattering down, raindrops striking the lake and the small pools of water on the pavilion's stone steps, sending ripples spreading outward.

"Teacher Jiang, are you cold?"

"I'm all right. Why hasn't it stopped yet?"

"Yeah, it's only getting heavier."

"Our car's still by that farmhouse courtyard, right?"

"Yeah, it's a bit far. It'll take half an hour to get there, and this rain is way too heavy."

"I think we should leave. Isn't there an inn not far ahead?"

"It's not that close. Even running, it'll take three or four minutes, right? I don't mind, but I'm worried you'll catch a cold from getting soaked."

"It's fine. We need to go. I'm afraid there won't be any rooms if we get there too late. There are a lot of tourists here today—if every place is full, where are we supposed to rest?"

"That's true. All right, hold your bag. I'll use the umbrella to cover you."

"No need. Don't worry about your teacher; look after yourself. Don't let that little body of yours get drenched."

"Ready, then? Heh, you count to three, and we'll run out together?"

"Okay, ready. One... two... three... go!"

Dong Xuebin stepped forward and dashed out after Teacher Jiang. With a flick of his hand, he naturally held the sun umbrella over Jiang Min's head, while he himself did not care at all. As he watched the rain slowly soak through his clothes, Dong Xuebin actually found it rather pleasant. Getting rained on once in a while was not bad. Feeling suddenly invigorated, he raised his voice and began singing Zhang Yu's "The Rain Keeps Falling." "The rain keeps falling! The atmosphere isn't exactly harmo... nious!"

Jiang