The tilted umbrella

Pu Yu was caught off guard by the question.

Of course that wasn't what she meant, but how could she explain? Say outright that she was afraid he would get sick in the rain? Would that be too forward?

"I just..." She chose her words carefully. "I just think friends should help each other, the way Suisui helps me."

She had used the word "friends" again.

Yuan Su watched her in silence. Outside the window, slanting rain swept in, leaving trail after trail of water down the glass.

The silence stretched on, so long that Pu Yu almost gave up.

Then he suddenly stood and picked up the black schoolbag inside his desk.

"Let's go."

His voice was still cool, but he didn't refuse again.

Pu Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief, took the transparent umbrella hanging by the windowsill, and followed Yuan Su out of the classroom.

When they reached downstairs, Pu Yu was about to open it, but Yuan Su reached over and took it from her.

"Give it to me."

He was tall and opened the umbrella with easy familiarity, and they stood side by side beneath it.

Standing so close, Pu Yu could smell a faint, almost metallic scent on him, mingled with the dampness of the rain.

Yuan Su tilted the umbrella toward her.

"Come on."

Raindrops drummed against the canopy. Water pooled in the street, reflecting fragments of daylight.

Neither spoke. There was only the sound of rain and footsteps.

There wasn't much room beneath the umbrella, and as they walked, their arms occasionally brushed.

Pu Yu stiffened slightly, as if shocked, and stole a glance up at him.

The rainy light outlined the boy's profile clearly. Tiny droplets clung to his lashes, and although his expression remained distant, it held a little more softness than usual.

His face betrayed little. He simply kept most of the umbrella tilted over her head.

Pu Yu noticed that a patch of his uniform jacket had darkened on his left shoulder.

"The umbrella... move it a little more toward your side," she said softly.

"No need."

"But you're getting wet..."

"I won't." He cut her off briefly without stopping.

Pu Yu pressed her lips together and said nothing more.

She only wanted to reach the repair shop quickly so he wouldn't have to stay in the rain.

"Oh, right," she suddenly said, her voice especially clear amid the rain. "I've been using that portable cassette player every day."

Yuan Su gave a low "Mm" in acknowledgment.

"My English teacher said my pronunciation has improved," she continued chattering, a small note of excitement in her voice. "She even helped me record some new English material. The sound quality really is amazing."

He answered with another "Mm," but his steps seemed to slow a little.

"I still have to thank you."

Pu Yu looked up at him, the rain-soaked daylight reflected in her eyes. "If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be studying by listening to the school broadcasts."

Yuan Su paused for a step.

"Stop thanking me all the time." His low voice mingled with the rain. "I said we're friends."

Pu Yu's eyes brightened.

It was the first time he had explicitly acknowledged that they were "friends."

She asked tentatively, "Then, if I have questions I can't solve, can I come to the repair shop after school and ask you?"

"Whatever."

"Anytime?"

"Mm."

"If I ask too many... will you get annoyed?"

Yuan Su lowered his head, meeting her tentative, expectant eyes.

The corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. "I will."

The smile in Pu Yu's eyes instantly froze.

Oh...

He would get annoyed...

Then I'd better only ask him the important questions from now on.

Before her disappointment could take hold, she heard him leisurely finish, "So think it through three times yourself before you ask."

She blinked, then laughed.

Her smile was like a small shaft of light suddenly breaking through the gray rain and mist.

When they reached the entrance to the old street, the rain suddenly grew heavier, hammering against the umbrella.

The old street had gone years without repairs. Its stone pavement was uneven, and rainwater mixed with dirt to form murky puddles.

Pu Yu was about to step forward when a hand gently caught her arm.

Yuan Su's voice sounded clear through the rain. "You can stop here."

"It's all muddy puddles up ahead," he said briefly, passing the umbrella handle into her hand.

"But you..." Before Pu Yu could finish, Yuan Su had let go and turned to run into the rain.

The boy's lean figure quickly crossed the muddy stretch, sending up a string of splashes. Specks of mud instantly stained his dark blue uniform trousers.

If she came along.

She would get spattered with filthy mud too.

Pu Yu stood where she was, holding the umbrella handle. The warmth of his palm still lingered on it.

She stood there for a while, watching him enter the repair shop before turning to go home.

Late that night, rain came pouring down.

Pu Yu was jolted awake by a sudden crash.

The rain outside was astonishingly heavy. Fierce winds hurled fat raindrops against the old house's roof, making an alarming racket.

"Oh!"

It was her grandmother's voice.

Pu Yu's heart lurched. She hurried out of bed, put on her shoes, and ran out.

The main room was a mess.

Somewhere in the old roof, a leak had opened. Rainwater streamed down the beams like beads from a broken string, forming a large puddle on the floor.

Li Suhua was trying to catch the water in a washbasin when her foot slipped and she nearly fell. The enamel basin dropped from her hands with a piercing clang.

"Grandma! Are you okay?"

Pu Yu rushed over to steady her.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just this roof..." Li Suhua looked up anxiously. In the dim light, the damp patch was spreading rapidly. "This old house hasn't been renovated in years. With the rain coming down so hard and the wind so strong, some roof tiles must have blown off."

The rain grew heavier, and more leaks appeared inside.

Pu Yu scrambled to put away the books and cassette player on the table, then gathered every basin and pot she could find, but there was no way to catch all the water.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled outside the window. The downpour showed no sign of stopping.

One leak was directly above her grandmother's bed, and the bedding was already wet. If they didn't fix it, the old house might flood tonight...

"I'll get Uncle Wang next door!" Pu Yu turned to run outside.

"Don't bother." Her grandmother caught her arm and sighed. "Uncle Wang and his family went to a banquet in the neighboring township yesterday. They won't be here for the next couple of days."

Pu Yu bit her lip as she watched the torrential rain outside.

Most of the people living nearby were elderly. There were hardly any young people who could climb onto a roof and work on the tiles.

Who could she ask? Who else was there?

A figure appeared in her mind almost instantly.

The boy who always wore a cold expression, yet could fix anything.

Pu Yu truly couldn't think of anyone else.

"Grandma, wait here and turn off the main power first. I'll find someone to help!"

Pu Yu grabbed the umbrella by the door and plunged into the curtain of rain.

The wind was so strong that she could barely open the umbrella before it flipped inside out.

Icy rain instantly soaked her trouser legs and shirt, the chill cutting to the bone.

She couldn't worry about that now. Braving the wind and rain, she knocked on the door next door once more.

Please be here. Please be here...