Rebirth from the Ashes

Opening the umbrella, Shen Xi chased after Yu Yuanxi. “You’re heading towards the bus stop, right? Let’s go together.”

Truth be told, her height of 1.68m maynot be ideal for a model but she was not considered short among girls. Nevertheless, compared to Yu Yuanxi towering at 1.85m, Shen Xi appeared rather small and cuddly.

She had to reach her hand up high just so the umbrella propped over his head.

“Give the umbrella to me.” Tilting his head, Yu Yuanxi averted his gaze as he did not have the nerve to look at the young lady beside him.

He was overwhelmed by inferiority, believing that it was a luxury to take another glance at the perfect girl that she was.

Shen Xi handed over the umbrella.

Yu Yuanxi held the umbrella over her head, leaving half his body exposed to the elements. Snow fell on his body and his head, swiftly building up a layer.

Since it was a Sunday, all students were having a break from school apart from those who had last-minute Chinese Mathematical Olympiad tutoring.

The campus was silent. There was not a single footprint on the white snow before them.

The path the pair trod on left behind two trails of footprints – one big, one small.

A short distance away, a low-key gray Maybach was quietly parked in an empty lot in front of the building.

Kun Lun took a glance at the man in the backseat. “Boss, I’ll go call Ms. Shen over.”

Ms. Shen’s parents were not home during this heavy snowfall.

Boss mentioned that there was an incoming blizzard this morning and told her to bring an umbrella. However, she ran off in a flurry without one.

With that, Boss adjourned the meeting early to rush over and wait for her before school was out. Who knew that she would emerge with a good-looking boy under an umbrella?

There was, in fact, a distance between them but they still appeared a little intimate.

There was no response coming from the chilling and quiet vehicle.

In the backseat, the man sat in silence while his narrow yet profound eyes were looking out the window.

The fluttering snow glazed the world with an illusion of fantasy.

The scene of the boy and girl sharing an umbrella side by side was heartwarming and vivid, one that was a heart-throbbing moment of youthfulness.

Sure, it was a kindred and beautiful picture but it was an eyesore to Li Yuan.

Sitting behind the wheel, Kun Lun dared not draw a breath. He was frozen stiff by the icy look on the man’s handsome face through the rear-view mirror.

Although the heating in the car was turned up to the highest, Kun Lun felt he was living in an ice block. There was a constant flow of cold coming from the back.

“Kun Lun, is she in a relationship?” Li Yuan suddenly spoke. He was asking Kun Lun, but more so, posing the question to himself.

It took quite an effort for Kun Lun to take a gulp. “I don’t think so. Minors are not allowed to date in school.”

Li Yuan’s lips curled into a disturbing angle. “Girls her age should be dating boys of similar age for a passionate and unforgettable relationship.”

“Boss, Ms. Shen is too much of a good girl to get into a relationship. That must be her classmate.” Feeling tension in his scalp, Kun Lun was quick to offer an explanation.

“I’m a man about to meet his maker. I can’t be there for her for long.” The grin across Li Yuan’s face bore biting self-mockery. “Find out about that boy.”

With less than a few years left to keep her from harm’s way, Li Yuan’s only wish was to protect her and watch her live a worry-free and happy life as she hoped for, prior to the imminent.

It was snowing harder.

As the girl got into the bus, Yu Yuanxi waved her goodbye and watched the bus disappear from his sight before turning to glance at the path they took.

The heavy snowfall lightened his and her footprints on the ground. It was not visible without taking a closer look.

Three 116-route buses had since passed the bus stop.

The soft smile in his hazel eyes shimmered like stars of yonder years. Turning back for another glance at the footprints, Yu Yuanxi finally faced forward and got onto a bus.