Rain is a very magical thing.

All emotions are magnified in the rain.

That loneliness, that sadness, that romance, that madness,

Those most intangible memories buried deep in flesh and blood.

In the past, when it rained at night, Xie Ci would often suffer from insomnia. But he liked listening to the sound of rain tapping on the eaves. He liked lying in bed, looking through the small window of his room at the scenery outside becoming unfamiliar under the rain's washing. In this unfamiliarity, he would fall into deep sleep.

But tonight was different.

Against his back was a patch of softness and warmth. Ye Li's body temperature. She curled up tightly like a kitten tucked into his embrace, her cheek probably nuzzling against the hollow of his neck, warm breath gently sweeping across, carrying the essence of deep sleep.

What made him unable to move most was the hand clutching at the corner of his clothes, fingers slightly tensed, crumpling the fabric into wrinkles, as if loosening her grip even slightly would make the person beside her disappear.

Xie Ci still maintained the position he'd been in when he first lay down. He hadn't fallen asleep for a long time, but Ye Li had fallen into deep sleep shortly after lying down. Perhaps she was too tired. He hadn't planned to have Ye Li accompany him while waiting for Ling Xi's message, but she was like a drowsy yet stubborn little kitten. Her eyelids were clearly already fighting against her, she was clearly already making soft breathing sounds while hugging his arm, yet she still shook her head, using her cute expression to silently protest to Xie Ci—

"I don't want to!"

Having no choice, Xie Ci had to move to the bed with his computer, playing her favorite shows while waiting.

Coming back to his senses, Xie Ci realized he was about to laugh helplessly and quickly suppressed the corners of his mouth.

He couldn't wake her up, she was already very tired.

But Xie Ci felt his shoulder was getting somewhat sore, and he wanted to turn over.

He curled his fingers, but ultimately didn't dare move.

Speaking of which, something had happened at noon today.

After school started, Xie Ci planned to continue working part-time at the cake shop his roommate opened at school. Even if he couldn't get wages, what if he could get them in the future?

So at noon, he bought materials and kitchen utensils and made two cakes. Ye Li sat beside him, eyes blinking, drooling. After finally cleaning up the kitchen together with Xie Ci and sitting in the living room, the two picked up knives and forks, ready to feast.

But this villa was extremely quiet. Even with two people, they couldn't fill it with the sound of conversation. Xie Ci turned on the wall-mounted TV to serve as background noise.

The huge 75-inch Sony TV almost filled the entire wall, but it seemed to have hardly ever been turned on. Xie Ci spent quite a while adjusting the basic settings.

After the TV turned on, it defaulted to CCTV1, which was broadcasting a meeting. The male anchor's voice was as steady as flowing water: "...attending this meeting are..." Names followed as the camera swept across the podium. Ye Li's gaze fell on the screen, still with some cream at the corner of her mouth.

"...Comrade Dong XX."

Oh, Xie Ci suddenly realized. He'd almost forgotten her surname was Dong.

But she didn't seem to like this surname very much.

What happened after that, Xie Ci couldn't quite remember clearly.

Spring City was a rainy city. The rain of late summer and early autumn never showed mercy, often crashing down mercilessly, bringing thunderous noise.

But tonight's rain wasn't heavy, it just tapped densely on the windows, as if afraid to disturb this awkward coexistence.

Awkward? Yes, too awkward.

Two people full of worries embraced in the rainy night, listening to the rain while feeling the sleeping person beside them.

But at the bottom of their hearts, fragmented thoughts churned, more left unsaid than spoken.

Both Xie Ci and Ye Li were the type to report good news but not bad news, hiding their worries without speaking them. Unfortunately, Xie Ci, this half-paralyzed face, could be watertight, while Ye Li's childlike appearance completely failed to hide her concerns.

Complex expressions occasionally flashed through those amber-colored beautiful eyes.

Worry, fear, terror, reluctance.

Even some... restlessness.

Unable to see outside the window, Xie Ci could only gaze at the pitch-black night. On rainy days, even the moon was hidden behind cloud layers, completely dark, so black you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

He called up the system.

[Deep blue iris temporarily open, personal fate still not in Dong Ye Li's hands]

[Please have the player bind more love-starved rich women and enter their hearts to improve your status, adding more weight to fate's scales for the not-too-distant future]

But the problem was, where would he find rich women?

Did he really have so many rich women around him?

Xie Ci smiled bitterly and helplessly.

Wait, it seemed he actually did.

First, Ling Xi was a rich woman. She often shouted in his ear about the importance of money and always wanted to give him various things, though he had declined them all.

According to her, she and her family were currently separated, so she should only have money but no power.

Besides, she was in Country M. Distant water couldn't put out a nearby fire. She couldn't possibly fly over the next day.

Speaking of which, they were supposed to record a gaming video together tomorrow, but she had declined, and when he asked when, she only gave an ambiguous answer saying "you'll know in a few days."

Incomprehensible.

Fujiwara Chiyasa was also a rich woman, but he only had the connection of a business card with her. At least that's what his memory told him.

It seemed he could only wait until after school started to ask his roommate. After all, he was the one who dragged him to the anime convention. That must have been where Fujiwara Chiyasa met him.

The business card she gave didn't have personal information or an agency printed on it like other ordinary business cards. It was a very exquisite card with a pure black surface engraved with complex gold patterns, emanating luxury inside and out.

Only a string of numbers was printed on it. When he called, there was only the message "The number you have dialed is temporarily unreachable, please try again later."

When he entered it into WeChat, it was indeed a personal WeChat account, with the friend circle showing various daily life posts.

Was it hers? Xie Ci hadn't added her.

His WeChat generally only added people he would have interactions with in life. Regarding Fujiwara Chiyasa, Xie Ci didn't think he would have any intersection with her.

But what if she could solve his current predicament?

She was from the island nation. No matter how powerful her influence there, it would be hard to say it could reach into China.

As for rich women, Xie Ci did know another one, though you couldn't really call it knowing... he was just somewhat familiar with that innocent child. If he had to put it in words, it was just one-sided recognition.

Sigh... the more he thought about it, the more his head hurt.

Just as Xie Ci was about to move his stiff shoulder slightly, he felt Ye Li behind him drowsily stirring. He thought she had woken up.

However, she only wiggled twice, pressing her forehead against Xie Ci's back, then went still.

The rain outside continued pattering, dense and gentle. The bright moonlight finally broke through the clouds, illuminating the darkness before Xie Ci's eyes.

Wen Ruohan...

For some reason, Xie Ci thought of this name again. The rejection welling up from his heart nearly drowned him, but subconsciously he wanted to pursue it. Two completely opposite emotions collided, ultimately only bringing a headache.

"Who... exactly are you..."

Xie Ci could already match this name with that black-clothed, red-eyed girl, and he remembered the feeling that welled up from his heart when scattered memory fragments flickered.

"She... must have been someone important to me before."

Xie Ci's mood was very complex.

But that was all he knew.

This "knowing" was without reason, like how people know to eat when hungry, drink when thirsty, add clothes when cold, like an instinct carved into his bones.

But specifically important in what way?

Family? Friend? Or lover?

He didn't dare think about it, couldn't continue thinking. Memory was like a mirror about to shatter—trying to pick up and piece together the fragments would only result in piercing pain.

"Wen Ruohan..." he silently recited to the darkness before him.

Melancholy, confusion, helplessness.

He clearly possessed this name but had lost all the stories related to it, like holding a letter without an address while clearly knowing what the recipient looked like.

Should he tell her "I remember you"?

Xie Ci closed his eyes, pressing that name beneath his eyelids.

If he told her "I forgot you," she would be sad, wouldn't she?

An indescribable loss in his heart, like threads of moonlight, delicately wound around him.

He didn't want to make her sad.

The night deepened.

He too fell asleep.

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