stjorthotic Chapter 53 Xu Qingwan's Collapse
Chapter 53 Xu Qingwan's Collapse
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier. Xu Qingwan was worried that Lu Zhaoye would catch up with her, so she didn't dare to stop for a moment.
She ran towards the dormitory building with an umbrella, but her trouser legs were already soaked by the rain after she had only run halfway.
She quickened her pace, but a sudden gust of wind swept towards her.
"what!"
Xu Qingwan screamed as the umbrella in her hand was swept away by the gale, and her slender body was also pulled down onto the rainy ground.
Watching the umbrella being blown further and further away, Xu Qingwan felt a little anxious.
Ignoring the rain soaking her, she quickly straightened up and tried to chase after him.
But the rain was so heavy that she could barely see the umbrella.
Her vision became increasingly blurry, and Xu Qingwan felt a lump in her throat. She clenched her teeth and tried her best to press down the corners of her mouth.
She thought of the helplessness she felt facing that derivative question in the math exam today, and the frustration she felt during the English exam when she understood the reading comprehension passage but still got it wrong.
Xu Qingwan clenched her fists, looking at the umbrella that was stuck on the ground, unable to move, as the heavy rain pounded on it, and felt a pang of heartache.
She lifted her already soaked legs and slowly took one step forward...
Hsu Ching-wan suffered from severe internal strife during her teenage years.
There are no bittersweet love stories, no romantic campus romances.
She is someone who is trapped in a results-oriented mentality that demands recognition and is struggling.
In the dead of night, she hated herself for being stupid, for not doing enough practice problems, and for not memorizing enough material.
She knew in her heart that if her grades didn't improve, she wouldn't gain her family's approval.
She didn't even have the right to recount her arduous journey.
Only by working hard and resisting fatigue to frantically practice problems could she give her anxious heart enough sense of security.
In Hsu Ching-wan's journey of growth, there were no flowers or cheers, only bruises and growing pains.
Xu Qingwan's round-framed glasses had long since been washed away by the rain. She stared at the blurry umbrella, her eyes filled with shattered resentment.
From childhood to adulthood, Hsu Ching-wan had no friends; tears were her most familiar companion.
Faced with ridicule and sarcasm from her peers, and various difficulties and setbacks, Xu Qingwan's eyes would always well up with tears first.
She wanted comfort from her parents, but they always said, "Why do you only laugh at yourselves and not at others?"
Xu Qingwan felt powerless and aggrieved.
Later, when her eyes welled up with tears again, she no longer asked anyone for help.
She just cried silently, and the people around her kept saying, "Stop crying, what's the use of crying?"
But what they didn't know was that those scalding tears were her only outlet for releasing her emotions.
Since starting high school, she has chosen to live on campus and has become increasingly independent and withdrawn.
Xu Qingwan knew that her parents were already very disappointed in her, so she desperately wanted to get good grades to gain their approval.
Time and again, Xu Qingwan's grades remained consistent.
She remained immersed in her own world, searching for that faint yet distant exit.
She just kept walking like that, numb...
Until one day, a naughty boy suddenly knocked on the door of her heart, again and again, day after day.
It seems like it's been about seven days now.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingwan's eyes cleared briefly. She looked around, trying to find that slender figure who habitually put his hands in his pockets.
But in the pitch-black night, with heavy rain pouring down, she was all alone.
Yes, he's already home, no one cares about her now.
Xu Qingwan felt a rush of heat to her eyes; she felt as if she were about to cry.
But when the rain hit her face, she couldn't quite tell whether it was tears or rain.
It seems like I cried a long time ago, but it also seems like I didn't cry at all, it was just rain...
Xu Qingwan continued walking towards her umbrella, as if grasping that umbrella would unlock her inner demons.
However, his foot slipped.
Xu Qingwan let out a muffled groan and fell back down in the rain, a sharp pain shooting through her ankle.
hiss!
Xu Qingwan gasped sharply. The wind howled and the rain lashed down relentlessly, making her feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
It's so cold.......
Xu Qingwan finally couldn't hold back her emotions and cried. This time, she truly felt it.
Rain and tears streamed down Xu Qingwan's face. Her eyes were moist as she struggled to get up with her already scratched hands.
Just like myself, who forced myself to study a little longer every night before dawn, struggling and persevering.
Hsu Ching-wan actually hates crying more than anyone else.
She hated crying in her empty room, hated crying because her homework was too hard to memorize, hated crying silently because she was being bullied.
Thinking of this, Xu Qingwan slumped down on the ground, which was covered in dirty rainwater, and vigorously wiped her eyes with her hands.
Keep wiping, keep wiping.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get it clean.
Xu Qingwan remained immersed in her own world until much later...
The tears were finally wiped away, and the rain... seemed to have stopped.
But the sound of rain hitting the ground still lingered, and Xu Qingwan heard another sound.
It's the sound of raindrops hitting an umbrella.
Xu Qingwan looked up and saw that her head was being covered by an umbrella.
The person holding the umbrella was that mischievous boy.
Lu Zhaoye had a jacket tucked under his arm and held the umbrella in one hand.
He smiled and extended a hand to her.
"Xu Qingwan, how much longer do you plan to sit in the rain?"
Xu Qingwan seemed to wake from a dream, and looking at Lu Zhaoye's face, her eyes reddened again, and she felt like crying again.
Lu Zhaoye looked at the girl slumped on the muddy and rain-soaked ground, feeling extremely bitter.
He crouched down, took his jacket from under his arm and draped it over the girl, then looked at Xu Qingwan and smiled as he spoke.
"Get up first, let's not play in the water here anymore."
Xu Qingwan didn't find Lu Zhaoye's joke funny at all; instead, she felt even more aggrieved.
Her lips twitched, and she choked out as she spoke.
"I...I twisted my ankle and can't walk."
Lu Zhaoye paused for a moment, then handed the umbrella to Xu Qingwan.
"Take it."
Xu Qingwan was already overwhelmed by the torrential rain and her failure in the exam, and she just blankly accepted the umbrella.
However, the next moment, Xu Qingwan felt her body suddenly suspended in mid-air, and she screamed.
"what!"
Lu Zhaoye said with a smile,
"Oh, I'm holding you, don't be afraid."
Xu Qingwan then realized that Lu Zhaoye had lifted her up in his arms, and holding her in his embrace, she felt a sense of peace.
A few seconds later, Lu Zhaoye carried her to a sheltered spot and placed Xu Qingwan on the steps that were not wet from the rain.
"It's raining too hard now, let's wait a while before we leave."
Xu Qingwan regained her senses, but she felt a little worried.
She worried about her umbrella, her grades, and that Lu Zhaoye was about to leave.
But she really wanted to stay with Lu Zhaoye a little longer...
Lu Zhaoye stood up and looked at Xu Qingwan, who was trembling.
He recalled his first encounter with this girl, and it seemed that he saw a reflection of his past self in her.
This time, Lu Zhaoye was certain in his heart that perhaps this was fate.
Human beings may scheme and plot, but they are no match for the simple strokes of fate.
If you encounter someone getting caught in the rain, you should offer them an umbrella.
He walked up to Xu Qingwan, knelt down, took off the girl's shoes, and explained,
"Don't move, isn't it uncomfortable to soak your feet in water?"
Lu Zhaoye didn't look at Xu Qingwan. He lowered his head and emptied all the water from the girl's shoes, saying casually,
"Cry if you want to, it's okay. Tears are not a sign of weakness."