When Jiang Ruoqiao woke up, she touched her face and still felt dampness there.
She didn’t know why she had been crying. The “her” in the dream had cried, and she hadn’t been able to help crying along with her.
She lay there staring blankly at the top of the mosquito net, then after a moment, reached under her pillow for her phone, unlocked it, went to the search page, and typed a line of text into the search bar —
【What does it mean to dream of crying in the rain while a man comes over holding an umbrella?】
After she hit search, she suddenly realized with a delayed shock: Good grief, she was long past the age of waking up from a dream and immediately searching Zhou Gong’s Dream Interpretations!!!
Why was she doing this??
Aaahhh!!!
Jiang Ruoqiao was just about to close the page when she reconsidered: she’d already searched, already wasted the time, already committed to this embarrassingly childish act.
Wouldn’t it be a bit of a shame to not even look at the results?
Fine, just look!
Jiang Ruoqiao’s fair, slender fingers worked across the screen, reading through all manner of explanations — especially things about pregnancy, and giving birth in October, and having a daughter in May — it was truly unbearable to read. That finally woke Jiang Ruoqiao up completely. What kind of nonsense behavior was this??
She climbed down from her bunk, grabbed her change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth, she was simultaneously trying to recall the dream.
This dream bore an uncanny resemblance to the very first dream she’d had.
Other dreams grew hazier and hazier as wakefulness returned.
This dream, like that other dream, was growing clearer and clearer.
Jiang Ruoqiao thought to herself — could this also be something that had actually happened in the original story, just never written about by the author? That seemed quite possible. As she brushed her teeth and washed her face, she thought back through the dream. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she did feel a sense of reassurance. She felt a tender heartache for that “her,” but if “she” had someone like Lu Yicheng by her side — then the sky wouldn’t completely fall. Lu Yicheng was there. Perhaps this was the kind of magic Lu Yicheng possessed: he would hold up an umbrella to shield “her” from wind and rain, and he could take “her” home even in that kind of downpour — and so, he would surely also watch as “she” walked out of that dark period and found her true direction in life. Wasn’t that right?
Today was Lu Siyan’s first official day at kindergarten.
As someone who placed great importance on marking occasions properly, Jiang Ruoqiao would of course not miss this. While her three roommates were still asleep, she had already finished washing up, applied a carefully done full face of makeup, and spritzed on perfume before walking happily out of the dormitory. What she hadn’t expected, though, was to see Lu Yicheng — again, once more — standing downstairs at the dormitory building. He was holding a breakfast bag in his hand, which meant that today was no exception either — he had brought her breakfast again.
Jiang Ruoqiao walked over to him with a bewildered expression and stopped in front of him. “Today is Siyan’s first day of kindergarten.”
Lu Yicheng looked equally puzzled. “I know. So?”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “So why are you still bringing me breakfast today?”
Lu Yicheng went quiet for a few seconds, then answered: “I’ve only brought it twice.”
Was he supposed to give up and stop after just two days? Just… not bring it anymore? That didn’t seem right for someone pursuing a person — Jiang Yan had been consistent about it for months, rain or shine.
Surely he couldn’t stop after just two days?
Jiang Ruoqiao: “…”
She sighed. “Are you always this straightforward? It’s not like you’re really pursuing me.”
A faint ripple passed through Lu Yicheng’s eyes, but he still said nothing, and simply handed her the breakfast bag.
Jiang Ruoqiao took it and asked: “So where’s Siyan? The senior class starts at eight-twenty, right?”
Lu Yicheng replied: “He’s still at home. It’s only seven-thirty — there’s plenty of time.”
“Oh, right.” It was only then that Jiang Ruoqiao noticed Lu Yicheng had bought three portions of steamed buns and soy milk — and her portion was an Americano coffee and a croissant.
Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”
She looked up at him in surprise. “How come it’s this?”
Lu Yicheng asked quite naturally: “Don’t you like these?”
Jiang Ruoqiao was exasperated enough to press her hand to her forehead — if she’d had a free hand, she would have. “Yesterday you brought steamed buns and soy milk.”
Was this man dense or what?
Lu Yicheng explained with perfect seriousness: “When I brought your breakfast the day before yesterday, you said you wanted steamed buns and soy milk the next day, so yesterday I brought steamed buns and soy milk.” He paused, then looked at her very earnestly. “But you didn’t say yesterday that you wanted steamed buns and soy milk today, so I bought what you usually have.”
Jiang Ruoqiao: Good heavens!!
How could a man be this literal?
She asked: “So does that mean that unless I specify what I want the day before, you’re going to bring coffee and a croissant every time?”
Lu Yicheng sensed something off in her tone, hesitated briefly, but honestly gave a small nod.
That was indeed how he had been thinking about it.
Jiang Ruoqiao couldn’t help but reflect on herself: was she perhaps not being specific enough?
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, both feeling a little awkward, before Lu Yicheng was the first to relent. He asked tentatively: “Should I just ask you every day what you want for breakfast?”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “No, no, let’s just do steamed buns and soy milk.”
A University’s dining hall was a model of quality at an affordable price.
The variety was plentiful, the portions were generous, the ingredients were good — and most importantly, the prices were relatively inexpensive.
Take these steamed buns, for instance: thin wrappers, generous filling. Take this soy milk: rich and full-bodied. And the price — wonderfully low.
Lu Yicheng: “…”
He thought about it. “I don’t think having the same breakfast every day is good either — you’d get tired of it eventually. How about this: we adjust it once a week, and I’ll check with you first.”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “?”
She was amused into laughter. In the morning light, her dimples showed softly, her features delicate and her eyes clear, like dewdrops in the early morning. “Lu Yicheng, you really are something.”
She left it at that.
Lu Yicheng’s palm grew a little warm, but he kept looking at her: He really was something? Something what? What came after that? What was the rest of what she wanted to say?
Jiang Ruoqiao left it unsaid.
Everything was conveyed without words. In truth, the smile at the corner of her lips had already revealed what she hadn’t said.
“Alright then.” Jiang Ruoqiao said. “You head back first. After I take the breakfast upstairs, I’ll come find you both — I’m going to walk Siyan to school today too.”
Lu Yicheng nodded, but didn’t leave immediately. He waited for a while.
Only after watching Jiang Ruoqiao enter the dormitory building did he leave. Even as he walked away, his mind was still turning over the same question: just what was she going to say about him?
When Jiang Ruoqiao brought the breakfast back up to the room, all three roommates had already woken up and were lying in their bunks peering down, all murmuring: “Amitabha, bless Lu the Study God, bless Lu the Academic Deity…”
…
Jiang Ruoqiao scanned a shared bicycle on the way out and rode to Lu Yicheng’s rental apartment.
By the time she arrived downstairs, Lu Yicheng and Lu Siyan had already been waiting for a little while.
Lu Siyan had been dressed in his kindergarten uniform.
The kindergarten uniform was adorable — a short-sleeved button-up shirt paired with little shorts, completed with socks and shoes — dressed like this, Lu Siyan was the absolute star of her heart.
Lu Siyan came running over. Jiang Ruoqiao squatted down instinctively and hugged the little chubby one, breathing in his scent. “Today’s the day you start school, hm.”
Lu Siyan’s mouth scrunched up. He tugged at his little school bag strap and said: “You and Dad are thrilled, aren’t you? Look at the two of you — you can barely hide it.”
“No, we aren’t!”
Lu Siyan said: “Yes you are, it’s always been like this — during kindergarten break, the winter holidays and summer holidays, you and Dad would heave sighs and act like you wished kindergarten never had any holidays at all! Hmph~ Don’t I know you two?”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “…”
Lu Yicheng: “…”
Well. The two of them hadn’t yet experienced the helplessness that parents felt about their children being on holiday, or the sheer excitement of them going back to school.
But it was still very exciting!
Because from eight in the morning to four in the afternoon, they had nothing to worry about~
“Am I right or am I right?” Lu Siyan gave two indignant huffs. “Besides, every time school starts back up, Mom can eat an extra half bowl of rice, and Dad hums to himself when he’s cleaning!”
The more Lu Siyan said, the more worked up he got.
How could they be like this.
Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng both maintained dignified silence, waiting until Lu Siyan had finished his entire litany of grievances and his mood had improved, before they each took one of his hands and headed out.
Lu Siyan held Jiang Ruoqiao’s hand with his left and Lu Yicheng’s with his right.
After venting all his grievances, Lu Siyan felt very content again. He glanced at his dad, then glanced at his mom, his eyes curving into crescents. “Dad, Mom, I want to ride the airplane.”
Neither Lu Yicheng nor Jiang Ruoqiao caught the reference, and both looked baffled: “Ride the airplane? But we’re going to school — you’re going to school. Is there somewhere you want to go?”
Now it was Lu Siyan’s turn to be speechless. “The airplane game — you don’t know it?”
Lu Siyan gazed up at the sky in exasperation. “Young dads and moms are so clueless! You both hold my hands and lift me up, and I fly for a little while — that’s riding the airplane!”
This was an essential part of every time Dad and Mom walked him to school or picked him up together~
It only dawned on Jiang Ruoqiao and Lu Yicheng then. They exchanged a glance, both put in some effort, lifted him up together, and Lu Siyan seized the momentum, whooshing up off the ground, sailing smoothly over a few paving stones. “Fun, fun! One more time~”
Jiang Ruoqiao: “…………”
Though exasperated, she had no idea how brilliantly she was smiling.
This must be the moment a child feels happiest of all.
Being walked to kindergarten by Dad and Mom, or being picked up from kindergarten, holding their hands, telling them about everything that happened that day.
This warmth.
After Lu Siyan had gone through the kindergarten gates, both Lu Yicheng and Jiang Ruoqiao had things to attend to, and they parted ways at the entrance.
Jiang Ruoqiao’s errand was to go investigate some of the scenes from her dream.
She remembered certain distinctive landmarks from the dream very clearly. On a whim, she posted a query online, and to her surprise, a helpful person replied and told her the location. It was somewhere near a technology park — not exactly remote, since some large companies were located there, but not particularly bustling either. There was no major shopping mall nearby, and it was a bit far from any subway station.
But she went anyway.
When she arrived at the coffee shop, she froze completely.
It was identical to the one in her dream. The only difference was that the coffee shop in the dream had looked somewhat worn and dated, whereas the real one appeared to have just recently been renovated — an opening celebration flower arrangement was still displayed at the entrance.
She tried to find the right angle, and stood beneath the eaves in the same spot as the “her” in the dream, looking up.
Identical. Except that in the dream, it had been pouring rain, and now it was a clear, sunny day.
Jiang Ruoqiao became more and more certain: this had not merely been a dream, not the kind that should fade upon waking. It was something that had genuinely occurred in the original story. If she had never awakened, if Lu Siyan had never arrived, this event would still have unfolded along its original trajectory.
For the first time, Jiang Ruoqiao experienced that sensation of half-dream, half-reality.
What exactly was real? Was everything she was experiencing now reality, or a dream? Had she truly changed her own ending?
Just as she was turning this over in her mind, she seemed to sense something. She turned to look in another direction — and abruptly went still.
Because not far away, someone was walking toward her.
Exactly as in the dream.
In the dream, Lu Yicheng had held an umbrella and walked toward the dream Jiang Ruoqiao, his steps unwavering.
In reality, Lu Yicheng walked toward her under the blazing sun, with that same unmistakable steadiness, not the slightest hesitation.
Jiang Ruoqiao stood there, staring at him blankly.
Lu Yicheng was equally surprised. He currently held a part-time position at his senior friend Li Ge’s company, and his role was a rather specialized one requiring a great deal of preparation work. Li Ge had asked a colleague to pass along some study materials, and that colleague happened to work at a major company nearby. After collecting the materials, he had gotten on a bus intending to head back — and on the bus he had spotted Jiang Ruoqiao, or thought he had. He’d almost convinced himself he was seeing things. But when the bus stopped at the next station, he made up his mind and got off, jogging along the street — and sure enough, there she was.
What was she doing here?
Lu Yicheng, in the midst of Jiang Ruoqiao’s stunned gaze, arrived before her. Standing under the blazing sun, there was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, yet his voice was still gentle as he asked: “Such bright sun — what are you doing here?”
—