An NPC's Part

The thunder arrived as expected, after vast banks of dark clouds gathered and blotted out the sky.

The weather had been wildly changeable this month: blazing sunshine one moment, pouring rain the next.

Cen Xia jolted at the thunder. It was break time, and he was standing in the corridor, waiting for Ding Yiheng to go back to the classroom and get an umbrella.

Students passing by complained about the rain starting again and their plans for the afternoon being ruined.

Others exclaimed that afternoon classes had been canceled.

Cen Xia checked his phone. A few seconds earlier, the Go teacher had sent a notice saying that class was canceled because of the afternoon downpour.

Whenever heavy rain fell, something big was bound to happen.

Rain had become a motif in this world.

A sudden unease gripped him. He had a feeling today would not pass peacefully.

"Damn, why is it raining so hard?" Ding Yiheng came over with a black umbrella in his hand. Afraid of keeping Cen Xia waiting, he had jogged over, only looking outside and exclaiming once he got close.

The rain fell harder and harder.

Students hugged the walls as they walked. One careless step, and the rain blowing in would soak half a shoulder.

A howling gale and a lashing downpour.

The weather station predicted the storm would last until tomorrow.

"Why don't we wait a while before leaving? The wind's too strong." They had only one small black umbrella between them, and the trees outside were being blown every which way. Ding Yiheng was afraid the wind would carry them both off.

The unease in Cen Xia's heart grew stronger.

Quite a few students were stranded in the teaching building. The two found an empty classroom on the fourth floor and sat down. Not many students had come to this floor, and for the moment, they were the only ones in the room.

Cen Xia wiped the rain from the hair on his forehead and swept it back.

Ding Yiheng couldn't sit still and kept going out to check on the rain.

Cen Xia glanced at the weather forecast. It said the rain was expected to ease in an hour.

"Stop checking. It won't let up anytime soon."

Ding Yiheng came back in from outside. "Why did I see everyone heading up to the fifth floor?" he asked, puzzled.

"The fifth floor?"

"I don't know if it's the fifth floor. I just saw them going upstairs." Ding Yiheng shook his head, then turned around halfway into the room and rushed back out, saying excitedly, "I'll go ask!"

"..." Didn't he think to ask just now?

Before long, Ding Yiheng hurried back in, panting, his face tense. "This is bad! Shen Si's on the rooftop! They say he's teaching someone a lesson. I asked around, and they said it's Shi Su!"

At that moment, the unease that had been haunting Cen Xia found its answer.

Chair legs scraped against the floor as Cen Xia sprang to his feet and headed out.

His heart pounded like thunder.

A rainstorm. The teaching building.

This was Shen Si's final act of bullying against Shi Su in the book, and the worst one.

The wind howled past the teaching building, and dense raindrops pattered against the windows, as though the world were striking up a symphony of fate.

The notes leaped fiercely, and fate was knocking at the door.

On the rooftop.

Students had packed the narrow passage leading to the rooftop, the only way in, so tightly that not even water could get through.

Using his height to his advantage, Cen Xia forced his way to the front. With Cen Xia clearing the path, Ding Yiheng also managed to squeeze in and find his footing beside him.

The cold wind raged, and the entire rooftop was shrouded by a curtain of pouring rain, casting a blurry filter over the scene before them.

A broad covered walkway extended from the side of the rooftop, shielding it from the rain pouring down from the sky. Shen Si stood with his people in the only dry area beneath the eaves, not a thread on him wet.

A lone figure stood in the curtain of rain.

With nothing to shelter him, the torrential rain poured down and soaked the uniform on his body.

All around him were a haze of white rain and the damp, cold moisture in the wind. His whole body was trembling uncontrollably.

Cen Xia recognized the lonely figure at a glance.

Ding Yiheng's eyes reddened, his lips trembling uncontrollably as he stared fixedly at the scene before him.

Beneath the long eaves.

Shen Si watched coldly as Shi Su stood bedraggled in the pouring rain.

As he watched, he found the sight of Shi Su standing in the rain an eyesore and ordered the person beside him, "Go. Don't let him stand."

Someone immediately went over with an umbrella and kicked Shi Su hard behind the knee.

His strength was already close to giving out after so long in the pouring rain. The kick sent him straight to the ground.

He fell flat, and raindrops smashed down, throwing up layers of mist before his eyes.

The rain had left Shi Su's head muddled. He could no longer feel pain, only a thirst, his throat as dry as if he had walked through the desert for three days and three nights.

He couldn't understand what Shen Si was saying or what he meant by the photos. He couldn't think about anything now.

He could only hope it would end soon.

Once a person could no longer resist fate, all they could do was hope it would show mercy and end their torment sooner.

Seeing him lying motionless on the ground, Shen Si asked, "Did he pass out?"

The person holding the umbrella bent down and shook Shi Su's battered body, then shook his head at Shen Si. "No."

A cold, cruel smile immediately spread across Shen Si's face. "The ground's cold. Pull him up."

"Has He Wangsheng come?" Cen Xia suddenly asked from the rooftop entrance.

Ding Yiheng's eyes were bloodshot. He froze at the question. "The president isn't at school today."

He isn't here...

In the original book, He Wangsheng was the one who saved Shi Su.

But of all days, he wasn't here today.

As the thought flashed through his mind, he made his decision.

Cen Xia took a step forward, and the icy rain-laden air hit his face at once. Ding Yiheng grabbed him. "What are you going to do?"

He turned and looked at Ding Yiheng. A raindrop clung to the corner of his eye, looking, for an instant, like a tear that had yet to fall.

He said softly, "The protagonist isn't here. It's time for the NPCs to take the stage."

The hem of the clothing Ding Yiheng had grabbed slipped from his hand. He stared blankly at Cen Xia's back as he walked into the curtain of rain. Two seconds later, he fiercely wiped his eyes.

"Fuck, you think you're the only NPC?"

Shi Su felt someone tugging at him.

The person was strong and hauled his limp body off the ground in one yank.

"Get on your knees!"

Shi Su didn't want to kneel. Ignoring the rain beating against his eyelids, he forced his eyes open.

But instead of the fierce, vicious face of the person forcing him to kneel, he saw two figures moving faster and faster, until they ran up to him.

His cold, powerless body fell into an embrace that still held some warmth.

Cen Xia held him tightly and kicked away the lackey who had been throwing his master's weight around.

Ding Yiheng hadn't expected him to move so fast, grabbing Shi Su and kicking the other person away without missing a beat. A second too slow, he could only pick up the abandoned umbrella from the ground and hold it over Shi Su's head.

The moment he opened his mouth, rain poured in. He spat twice and asked Shi Su, "How are you? Does anything feel wrong?"

Shi Su curled up in Cen Xia's arms and slowly shook his head. But his face was deathly pale; no matter how anyone looked at him, he didn't seem fine.

Cen Xia scooped him up in his arms while Ding Yiheng held the umbrella beside them, and the three prepared to leave the rooftop as quickly as possible.

Shen Si's displeased voice came from behind them.

"Stop. Did I say you could leave?"

Cen Xia stopped and slowly turned around to meet Shen Si's gaze.

"Then what else do you want?"

Through the rain and mist, Shen Si spoke in a chilly tone. "I haven't finished venting my anger. He can't leave."

Cen Xia laughed. The sound was low and indistinct amid the rain, but Shen Si still caught it.

He frowned, his eyes sinister. "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing because I'm afraid you won't get your wish today."

Cen Xia held Shi Su as rainwater streamed from the ends of his hair and down his cheeks like a little river.

His gaze was calm, but hidden deep within it was a sharp chill as biting as the downpour.

"I'm taking him away. You can't stop me."