Chapter 25: Some are trapped in the rain, while others admire it

"Splash..."

Water splashed upward.

One car after another sped out of the parking lot, vanishing into the curtain of rain.

Young Master Liang was indeed a man of his word. When he said he wouldn't give her a ride, he truly wouldn't. He left his girlfriend alone at the entrance of V-派, driving away with Zhao Ning'er, the woman he had just shared a nuptial cup with.

It seemed he hadn't been taught his lesson well enough.

When he had previously pressured Jiang Chen to sing, wasn't he intentionally playing loud music just to bail his old flame out?

He hadn't lashed out in the private booth to save face, but that didn't mean he hadn't taken the matter to heart.

An ungrateful thing.

It seemed he had been far too kind to her in the past!

Can't forget the old flame, can you?

Then you'd better reflect deeply and calm down!

The striking, crimson Maserati drove away with ruthless speed, soon disappearing from sight.

Ai Qian stood alone at the entrance of V-派, a pale smile still hanging on her face, her eyes vacant, lost in thought.

"Miss, do you need me to call a car for you?"

Noticing her unstable mental state, a security guard approached.

"No need."

Ai Qian declined the kindness. As if possessed by a sudden madness, she walked straight into the torrential downpour.

The security guard was at a loss, unsure whether he should stop her.

"Patter, patter..."

In an instant.

Ai Qian's hair was soaked, followed by her clothes. The rainwater was freezing, but nothing was colder than a human heart.

The girl, who had become the biggest clown of the night, was completely oblivious. She walked while laughing, looking both crazed and pitiable.

"Thud..."

Suddenly.

With a stumble, Ai Qian collapsed to the ground as if her strength had vanished. Dirty muddy water splashed up, staining her clothes and cheeks.

"If only she had known this would happen, why did she do it in the first place?"

Inside a white Panamera.

Watching Ai Qian, looking like a drowned rat in the storm, Zheng Jingjing felt a mixture of emotions.

"This was her own choice; she can't blame anyone else. The whole school knows Liang Zhenlun is a playboy, yet she still thought she had the ability to make a wanderer like him turn back. Such laughable confidence."

Xu Siyi felt no pity; her eyes even held a hint of mockery.

"Since it's a one-sided wish, she has to accept the loss. From the moment she got with Liang Zhenlun, her fate today was already sealed. There's nothing worth watching. Shurui, let's go."

Having no personal connection to the girl, the three women naturally wouldn't meddle. Just as Li Shurui was about to step on the accelerator to leave, Zheng Jingjing suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

The cold, slapping rain subsided momentarily.

Ai Qian, slumped in the mud, raised her head blankly to find a black umbrella hovering above her, held by a young man.

"Do you feel satisfied? I've received my retribution," Ai Qian said, looking up with a smile.

The young man's face was as calm as still water. He said nothing, merely crouching down to hand her the umbrella.

Ai Qian's eyes shook violently as she hissed, "What do you mean? Pity me? I don't need your pity!"

The young man ignored her, saying softly, "Take it. Go home early."

"Jiang Chen, I know you must be feeling very smug right now. That's right, I've received my retribution! Laugh at me, go ahead, it doesn't matter! Why are you pretending to be a good person? Don't you know that acting like this is truly disgusting!"

The young man remained silent, offering no rebuttal. After pressing the handle of the umbrella into the girl's hands, he stood up and walked away.

Having given his only umbrella to someone else, his figure was quickly swallowed by the rain.

Clutching the umbrella, Ai Qian stared blankly, then began to scream hysterically like a madwoman, "Jiang Chen! Come back here!"

The figure moving through the rain acted as if he had heard nothing, continuing forward.

"Come back! Do you hear me! Come back..."

The umbrella tilted to the side, exposing the girl to the rain once more. She sobbed, her face obscured by whether it was rain or tears. With her hands on the ground, she knelt in the mud, looking as helpless as an abandoned child.

The young man never looked back, gradually vanishing into the curtain of rain.

"Is Jiang Chen really that heartless?"

Watching everything from the car, Zheng Jingjing found it hard to believe.

After all, this wasn't just anyone.

It was Ai Qian.

If he had offered some words of comfort at a time like this, perhaps she could have made a desperate comeback and reconciled with him.

But he just left like that?

"When someone is utterly disappointed, their heart naturally turns to ash. Even a 'simp' has a breaking point. She brought this on herself," Xu Siyi said nonchalantly, though she actually thought the young man's actions this time were quite manly—even if she had previously egged him on to steal the crystal.

"Ah..."

Ai Qian suddenly screamed toward the sky, her crying heart-wrenching.

As a woman herself, Zheng Jingjing couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy, but she immediately recalled a saying: *Those who are pitiable must also have something hateful about them.*

Siyi was right.

Ai Qian should have had a happy relationship and a devoted lover, but she was never satisfied and failed to cherish what she had.

Jiang Chen might not have money, but he was willing to give away his only umbrella. But what about Liang Zhenlun?

For the first time, Zheng Jingjing realized that wealth might not be the best metric for measuring a man.

"Later, through the tears, one finally understands that some people, once missed, are gone forever..."

Xu Siyi began to hum a tune leisurely.

Zheng Jingjing didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The white Panamera started up and left the parking lot at a steady pace.

"Look, Jiang Chen is there."

Zheng Jingjing looked out the window.

As far as the eye could see, the drenched young man was standing by the roadside, presumably waiting for a car.

But in such heavy rain, taxis were scarce. Occasionally, an empty car would pass by, but seeing him soaked to the bone, the drivers were unwilling to pick him up.

Jiang Chen, however, was not impatient. When a car approached, he would wave; if they didn't stop, he would simply wait for the next one.

This composure was identical to the calm he had shown in the booth when facing the massive gap in wealth and the insults to his character.

Looking at that figure, who neither blamed heaven nor man, Li Shurui suddenly thought of a passage she had once read.

*Some people are trapped in the rain.*

*Others are admiring the rain within it.*

"Shurui..."

Zheng Jingjing looked at her roommate in the driver's seat, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Without a word, Li Shurui drove the Panamera—a car most people could only dream of owning—toward that direction.

Then.

The million-dollar coupe pulled up in front of the destitute young man whom even the taxis wouldn't stop for.

The window rolled down.

"Jiang Chen, get in!"

Sitting in the back seat, Zheng Jingjing shouted excitedly.

Although Shurui hadn't spoken, her decision to stop the car had already made her stance clear.

Xu Siyi, also sitting in the back, stared straight ahead, appearing indifferent.

Though the soaked young man was surprised, he did not show the expected burst of joy. After a moment of hesitation, he said something that made Zheng Jingjing's heart tremble.

"This car is so expensive, I'm afraid I'll get it dirty. You guys go on ahead; I'll just take a taxi."

Zheng Jingjing felt a tightness in her chest. Looking at that blurred, smiling face through the window, she was momentarily speechless.

"In this state, no taxi is going to pick you up. Or are you planning to walk all the way back from here?"

The front window slowly rolled down.

(End of Chapter)