Remember to use an umbrella when it rains

Zhao Li said nothing. After finishing a cigarette, he simply followed him in silence, lap after lap, until the rain stopped.

Cheng Yue was surprised when he turned and saw him. Learning that he had been following him all along, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Captain, I'm not a kid. It's not like I'd get lost."

Zhao Li said nothing, only glanced around and raised a hand to pull off his raincoat hood.

It was a kind gesture, after all, so Cheng Yue immediately offered to buy him coffee.

The two strolled all the way to the west gate, just as the delivery arrived.

Cheng Yue didn't like owing favors, so he had ordered two pizzas as well. The ravenous bunch clamoring to be fed cheered, "Our savior!" at the sight of the relief rations he brought.

Their words were sweet, but a second later they swarmed the food and shoved their benefactor straight out of the way. When he looked at the boxes again, not even a crumb remained.

Laughing, Cheng Yue scolded them for burning their bridges, discarding him once he'd served his purpose, and forgetting their dear old dad the moment they had food.

While they were trading jabs, Ji Huaijin called. Cheng Yue called a temporary truce and found somewhere quiet to answer.

"Cheng Yue."

"What's wrong?"

Through the phone, Ji Huaijin's voice had a slightly distorted resonance. "There seems to be a kitten stuck outside my window."

Cheng Yue: "..."

To be fair, that did fall under their department's responsibilities, but the usual procedure was to call the duty office and let the captain assign the job.

Still, Cheng Yue looked through the window at Zhao Li, who was eating pizza. For once, he was actually chatting with the deputy captain.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Got it," and hung up.

Zhao Li was a responsible captain. Whether a matter was big or small, he always took the lead. Unless there was no other choice, he never let them put themselves in danger, which was why everyone on the team respected and trusted him.

Cheng Yue was certain that if he told him about this, Zhao Li would immediately put down his pizza and go deal with it alone.

But the man had just accompanied him on all those laps and finally gotten a chance to rest. Making him work again would be inconsiderate.

Cheng Yue took a pair of gloves from the equipment room, followed the streetlights to the apartment building, and rang the bell for the nineteenth floor.

They all had universal access cards, but they couldn't swipe them at will. Personal use was forbidden unless necessary, and they had to register and sign in whenever they entered or left an apartment building.

The elevator stopped on the nineteenth floor. Cheng Yue put on shoe covers and stepped into the entryway. Come to think of it, this was his first proper look at the sprawling apartment.

The furniture was simple yet stylish, the kitchen open-plan, and the sightlines unobstructed. The entire living room seemed to flaunt the sheer amount of space it occupied.

Ji Huaijin had moved here less than a month ago. Lin Shuyang had arranged the interior, and knowing that work was his only interest, he hadn't provided anything beyond the essential furniture.

Things had turned out exactly as he expected. Professor Ji followed the same three-point circuit every day: living room, study, bedroom. If not for the clothes hanging in the walk-in closet, the whole place would have been indistinguishable from a show apartment.

"Come on. It's on the bedroom balcony."

Cheng Yue stiffened his back and followed closely, maintaining his professionalism throughout and keeping his eyes from wandering.

The bedroom felt much more lived-in. The covers on one side of the bed were rumpled, and a gray shirt lay on the bench at the foot.

Ji Huaijin had been in my bedroom too. Did coming into his count as evening the score?

Beneath Cheng Yue's calm exterior, his thoughts suddenly scattered.

"Is it outside the window?"

Ji Huaijin had long since noticed his unease. A smile curved his lips, only to disappear without a trace when Cheng Yue looked over.

"It should be. I can hear it, but I can't see it."

Cheng Yue pushed open the window and tentatively called, "Kitty, kitty." There was indeed a weak response. From the sound of it, the kitten was still nursing.

There were stray cats in the complex, and the mischievous ones inevitably got themselves into situations like this. Usually, they were tiny kittens. The moment the adult cats stopped watching them, they would get stuck in narrow gaps and passages.

Cheng Yue shone his phone's flashlight around and spotted a tiny feline head in the corner on the left. Judging by its markings, it was a tabby, the undisputed boss of the cat world.

This all-round fighter, unmatched in any arena, was still just a tiny ball of fluff with clear, innocent eyes, waiting to be rescued.

At some point, the rain had started again. Droplets fell onto the little tabby's head, soaking its pretty fur.

"Meow~"

"All right, I'll get you out."

Cheng Yue deftly stepped onto the windowsill, gripped the railing with one hand, and leaned forward, reaching for the kitten's head with the other.

Almost the instant he sprang up, Ji Huaijin reacted and grabbed his leg. He wanted to say something but was afraid of distracting him, so he could only watch as half of Cheng Yue's body extended out the window.

The little tabby wasn't wedged in too tightly. Cheng Yue caught it by the scruff and lifted, easing it out bit by bit.

Ji Huaijin supported his waist and helped him down. "Careful."

Cheng Yue hopped down and landed securely. Turning to see the solemn look on his face, he said with a laugh, "There's a railing outside."

He hadn't been recklessly showing off. He had assessed the situation carefully and only acted once he was sure he could rescue it.

Ji Huaijin really had been startled. He had thought Cheng Yue would merely inspect the situation, not immediately opt for the most unceremonious rescue method.

Cheng Yue held the little tabby at eye level. Ignoring its pitiful cries, he tapped its wet nose.

"Going to run around again? Next time, you're getting a spanking."

The little tabby was still nursing and knew nothing of the wickedness of human hearts. It tilted its head and meowed at the person before it, its cries enough to melt anyone's heart.

"Fine, fine. You're cute, so you win!"

Fine rain drifted into the warm room on the wind. Ji Huaijin closed the window, his gaze settling on the man teasing the kitten, and suddenly let out a helpless chuckle.

With his reason for coming up now fulfilled, Cheng Yue belatedly realized from the little tabby's increasingly miserable cries that the little one might be hungry. His conscience stirred, and he decided to take it back to find its mother.

Their eyes met unexpectedly. Dim light lay over their faces, one calm and gentle, the other faintly smiling. Cheng Yue pressed his lips together and was the first to look away.

"I'm off."

Without waiting for a reply, Cheng Yue carried the kitten toward the door, his steps seemingly steady.

Behind him, everything was unusually quiet. The elevator was still on this floor; no one had used it in the meantime.

As though it knew it was about to return to its mother's embrace, the little tabby stopped its heart-wrenching wails.

"Cheng Yue."

Ji Huaijin held a black umbrella. His low voice was like a warm light switched on in a lonely room, reaching into the deepest recesses of Cheng Yue's heart.

"Remember to use an umbrella when it rains."

The sound-activated lights along the path flickered on and off. The rain wasn't really heavy; it landed on his clothes and quickly sank into the fabric, leaving no trace.

Cheng Yue returned the kitten to the stray cats' shelter. After watching it follow its mother into their little nest, he turned and left beneath the umbrella.

Night always brought out people's darker emotions, especially around the Qingming Festival, when feelings called longing kept relentlessly prodding that tender, aching nerve.

Fortunately, he still had a black umbrella for company.