Consolidate Hegemony

Overcast skies, icy rain.

The cool, aloof girl waited at the bus stop.

Xue Chuchu had thought she would have to wait for the next bus, or the one after that, perhaps even longer.

She had already prepared herself for a long wait, but then Jiang Ning stirred the chaotic crowd and appeared before her.

The sky was cold and rain was falling. Whether Xue Chuchu did not dare look too closely or it was simply the rainy weather, Jiang Ning's face seemed to fade in and out of view. Only his ink-wash-like eyes were unforgettable at first glance.

Xue Yuantong poked her head out from behind him. Her palm-sized face hid beneath her hood as she called excitedly, "Chuchu, let's go home!"

Xue Yuantong admired Chuchu's astonished expression, secretly delighted as a sense of accomplishment welled up within her, as though she had rescued Chuchu from dire straits!

"Ah?" Xue Chuchu had never expected Jiang Ning to come, because there had never been such a precedent.

At that moment, it felt as if she had walked alone through the rain countless times, trudging forward with no end in sight, only for someone to suddenly come pick her up.

Xue Chuchu carefully lifted her feet and walked over to the titanium-gray Electric Bike.

Tongtong pressed herself closer to Jiang Ning. "Look, there's still room!"

Jiang Ning casually lifted Tongtong's raincoat and handed it to Chuchu. "Put this on. Cover Tongtong with it later."

Xue Chuchu said, "...Mm."

Once they were ready, Xue Chuchu got onto the Electric Bike.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Jiang Ning twisted the throttle. The sharply angular Electric Bike once again tore through the wind and rain, speeding toward the white street in the distance.

At the entrance of the small supermarket diagonally across from the bus