Chapter 37 – Umbrella
The rain grew heavier and the wind blew relentlessly. Lin Xiaolu, despite carrying an umbrella, still had raindrops blown onto her body from time to time.
Some time passed, and the crowd at the school gate had already dispersed from its peak.
There were only about ten minutes left until the parent-teacher meeting started, and most of the students' parents had already taken their seats and were chatting with each other in the classrooms.
After guiding their parents to the classrooms, the other students made their own choices. Some children who usually traveled alone would go home as usual, while others gathered in the library or gymnasium, waiting for the end of the parent-teacher meeting.
The playground and the empty space outside the teaching building were deserted. After all, no one wanted to get wet in the rain.
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The crowd at the entrance became sparser, and there were only three or four students, including Lin Xiaolu, who were still waiting with umbrellas for their parents. Seeing that there were not many people left, the security guard at the entrance also came out of the security room and dutifully closed the gate, leaving only the side entrance for pedestrians to pass through.
Lin Yun still hadn't arrived.
The rain continued to intensify.
Lin Xiaolu took out her phone and looked at her previous messages. The reply of "definitely" was so eye-catching.
She remembered when her mother was still alive.
An Ya was a freelancer and had a more flexible schedule than Lin Yun, so she always attended the parent-teacher meetings. Compared to Lin Yun's strict time planning, An Ya was more casual. Being late and making mistakes were common for her, and she always managed to brush it off with a laugh. If she really made Lin Xiaolu angry, like that one time when she completely got the time of the parent-teacher meeting wrong, she would buy lots of snacks and toys, and then take Lin Xiaolu to the amusement park. She would only ask her pitifully after her daughter's dissatisfaction had completely dissipated, "Lu Lu, forgive Mommy, okay?"
"Don't leave our understanding only for these kinds of things."
Memories from the past flashed before her eyes, and Lin Xiaolu looked at the pouring rain, muttering to herself.
She felt that she shouldn't care whether Lin Yun fulfilled their agreement or not.
After all, it was just a parent-teacher meeting. No one had attended for the past two years, and she didn't feel like there was any problem.
If she hadn't told Lin Yun about the parent-teacher meeting today, she would have been like in previous years, telling the homeroom teacher about the situation at home truthfully, and then she could completely ignore the parent-teacher meeting and go home early.
If she went home early now, she might even be able to catch the afternoon anime program. The new series of magical girl anime was already on its tenth episode, right?
Speaking of which, since she became a magical girl, she didn't have time to watch anime anymore.
Did she really need to worry so much about the parent-teacher meeting?
As for that man, she had long been disappointed in him and had no trust in him. Whether he came or not, it couldn't affect her emotions.
She was standing here now only because she had taken the initiative to propose the parent-teacher meeting. Not coming to see it would make her seem irresponsible, and it was an act of responsibility.
Whether he was late or stood her up, it was his business and couldn't affect her.
When the parent-teacher meeting started, if he still hadn't arrived, she would turn around and leave. As for the class number, she could send a text message to the editor.
Lin Xiaolu thought expressionlessly.
But no matter what she thought, that figure never appeared at the school gate.
Even if she tried to distract herself by focusing on the screen of her phone and refreshing social media to pass the time, Lin Xiaolu still felt restless, and her gaze would occasionally glance towards the school gate.
The last student who was waiting there finally saw their mother, and the umbrellas of the two met, with the mother and child laughing and talking under the umbrella.
Lin Xiaolu tapped her foot on the ground, the sound of her heels hitting the ground and splashing water, making a "squeak, squeak" sound.
"He's not really not coming, is he?"
Just as she said these words, as if to confirm something, a piece of music suddenly played, its melody pleasant, but under the sound quality of the campus broadcast, it sounded like thunder, pulling Lin Xiaolu back to reality.
This melody was familiar to the students of Xi Zhao High School. It was the bell for class.
And on this day when the schedule had changed, it was the signal that the parent-teacher meeting was starting.
...
...
Lin Yun ran in the rain.
The outcome of the battle was not in doubt. He, who could single-handedly kill the pupa, had no difficulty defeating the caterpillar.
However, because the battle took place on a high-speed train, the continuous changes in space made it difficult for him to quickly end the battle with his silk thread. If he rashly used more powerful techniques, it might affect the other passengers on the train. In the end, he had to rely on his basic magic power skills, which he had become somewhat unfamiliar with.
In this situation, even though he had quickly defeated the caterpillar, he was still a few steps slower than usual.
After the light rail train stopped, perhaps because it was his first time fighting outside of the Bureau of Special Tactics' blockade, there were quite a few onlookers when he defeated the brutal beast. It took him some time to drive these people away from the vicinity of the brutal beast.
Finally, he contacted Hong Siyu and explained the situation to the Bureau of Special Tactics, avoiding the constantly snapping crowd and flying directly to the vicinity of Xizhao Middle School through the aerial route.
As usual, he found a small alley, restored his true form, and ran towards his destination.
Because he left in a hurry, he left his umbrella on the subway, so he could only squint and walk in the pouring rain.
The wound on his face was still bleeding. It was caused by the broken glass when he jumped out of the car earlier. Exposed to the pouring rain, it had an indescribable sting.
This pain was nothing to him. What he really cared about was time. Without a doubt, he was already late.
He had already exceeded the start time of the parent-teacher meeting before he landed. At this point, it was just wishful thinking to try to be faster.
However, deep down, he also knew that Lin Xiaolu might not be waiting for him there.
Originally, it was his initiative to come to the parent-teacher meeting, and Lin Xiaolu might not be so enthusiastic about it. Plus, the weather was so bad that even if he arrived at the school, it might just be for his own satisfaction.
Just treat it as self-satisfaction.
He comforted himself like this and saw the gate of Xizhao Middle School in the pouring rain. Then he accelerated his pace once again and passed through the humanoid passage on the side.
Standing at the gate of the school, he gasped heavily, looked around the flower bed, and futilely searched for the imagined figure. But in the end, he found nothing.
No one was here, and naturally, Lin Xiaolu was not here either.
Looking at the empty flower bed, Lin Yun's heart sank gradually. Even though he was prepared, he still felt sad when facing this scene.
His breath dissipated in the rain, unable to take away the low mood in his heart. He didn't want to make excuses. It was a fact that he couldn't make it to the appointment on time.
But when he thought of his daughter's face, and how she would look when he stood her up, he felt guilty.
He messed up again.
He thought like this, standing in place in an extremely embarrassed manner, feeling a bit at a loss. He knew that he could still make it to the parent-teacher meeting if he entered the teaching building now, but the significance of this trip had become empty talk.
Before long, Lin Yun silently reached out and touched the wet phone in his pocket. He had to at least ask where the classroom was.
"Why did it turn out like this?"
A familiar voice suddenly came from behind Lin Yun, and his hand froze in mid-air.
Turning around, he saw Lin Xiaolu holding an umbrella, leaning against the pillar next to the gate, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Lu Lu..." he spoke, but found his voice hoarse.@@novelbin@@
"You're too late, ten minutes late."
Lin Xiaolu lowered her eyelids and raised her hand to reveal the glowing screen of her phone. The electronic clock in the center showed the time: "It's already 4:40."
Lin Yun couldn't answer. He tried to force a smile on his face to express his apology, but his unfamiliar expression management was not enough to make such a delicate expression. In the end, he could only awkwardly lift the corners of his mouth.
Seeing Lin Yun's strange actions, Lin Xiaolu didn't pay attention to him. Instead, she looked at his embarrassed appearance, pointed at his still bleeding face, and repeated her question, "Why did it turn out like this?"
"On the way, the subway encountered some trouble and suddenly stopped halfway..." Lin Yun explained.
"Brutal Beast?" Lin Xiaolu's words left him speechless.
"Cough, no."
He didn't want Lin Xiaolu to realize that he and "Cui Que" were in the same place at that time, so he coughed awkwardly, "Why would you think in that direction when it comes to Brutal Beasts, such a dangerous existence?"
"Because the Luo Ming Line was attacked by a Brutal Beast, that's what the news said." Lin Xiaolu paused in her words, then pointed at her own phone, "Did you come here by this subway?"
"No, I fell off my bike on the way."
Lin Yun tried to appear nonchalant, "The subway stopped running, so I had to borrow a bike from the roadside."
"Stop with the lame lies." Lin Xiaolu said in a muffled voice.
The stiff smile on the man's face, combined with the playful smile his mother occasionally showed when she was late, gradually overlapped in her memory.
When she ran away from home, he went to a classmate's house. His haggard and exhausted state was the most embarrassed image in her memory. And today, he looked even more embarrassed. Not only was his neatly dressed suit completely soaked, but his usually well-groomed hair was sticking to his forehead like a lid. The small wounds on his face were also quite unsightly.
Seeing the man in front of her, who always had the appearance of a workplace elite, become like this, Lin Xiaolu felt that she should laugh. But for some reason, she now felt a bit sour in her nose. Because she suddenly realized that adults often weren't as calm as they appeared on the surface.Looking at this man who was so familiar yet distant, she felt for the first time that his rigid, silent exterior had cracked slightly, revealing something more genuine.
It was something she had once yearned for, yet something she had never thought of now. It seemed that she had truly understood him a bit more because of this.
So she relaxed, smoothed her furrowed brows, and raised her arm:
"Catch."
She handed out the umbrella in her hand.
"Huh?"
Lin Yun was slightly taken aback, staring at the umbrella handed out by Lin Xiaolu, hesitating to take it: "You mean..."
"I've been standing at the school gate holding it for half an hour."
Lin Xiaolu turned her face away, avoiding Lin Yun's gaze: "Hold it for me, I'm tired."
So she handed over the umbrella, naturally standing next to Lin Yun, and took shelter under the umbrella. She stretched her sore arm and shook off the rain-soaked cuffs.
After a while, seeing that Lin Yun still hadn't moved, she raised her head somewhat dissatisfied: "What are you still standing here for? Isn't there a parent-teacher meeting?"
"Parent-teacher meeting, yes, parent-teacher meeting."
At this moment, Lin Yun felt as if a warm current had washed over his heart, feeling both joyful and somewhat gratified. He gripped the umbrella tightly and followed Lin Xiaolu towards the teaching building.
Father and daughter, sharing an umbrella, strolled towards the classroom in the rain.
The black umbrella swayed slightly in the pouring rain, maintaining the small space it sheltered, slowly disappearing into the curtain of rain.
Thunder echoed in the sky, and the falling rain swirled in the wind.
The waterlogged road surface rippled, a snail was drowned in a puddle, its slow speed preventing it from escaping, it could only retreat helplessly into its shell, waiting for the impending death.
Just then, a hand reached out from under the eaves of a nearby house, gently plucking the snail from the water and placing it on the ground.
Having done this, the owner of the hand retreated a few steps, returning to a place where she wouldn't get wet.
Xia Liang squatted there alone.
A somewhat gratified smile hung on her face as she quietly watched Lin Xiaolu and Lin Yun disappear into the distance. But when their figures were no longer visible, a hint of loneliness appeared on her face.
She stared blankly as the snail slowly crawled out of its shell again. She inexplicably thought of the night she had pretended to run away from home and stayed at Lin Xiaolu's house.
Or rather, the words she had spoken impulsively after hearing Lin Xiaolu's confession during their chat.
It was a sentence that, although spoken, she dared not say loudly, for fear of revealing her true feelings:
"I really... envy you."
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