After the Drizzle

The wind carried the scent of rain.

Many heartbeats happen under the bright sun, like the dancing specks of light under the shade of summer trees, while many ambiguous feelings grow in damp and dim environments, like the moss in corners, silently but wildly spreading.

On a rainy evening in summer, in a quiet and spacious warehouse, the overly moist air made everything seem more obedient and clear. In Qiu Mingyue's eyes, Zhou Su now appeared like a palette of watercolor paints that had been blurred by water, whereas before she would have compared him to a pencil sketch.

It's unclear why she didn't feel uncomfortable but instead felt gently treated.

Because of his pleasant voice, his handsome looks?

Because he is Zhou Su?

...Because of her long-standing, lingering fondness for him?

Qiu Mingyue had always been a sensible child, not sweet-tongued or overly active, but favored as a helpful assistant to her teachers. She carried this attitude into her workplace.

She always did her job dutifully, maintained friendly relations with colleagues, and didn't need to put extra effort into dealing with her superiors.

Setting aside her daydreams, she didn't find her interactions with Zhou Su strange. Was their restraint really that obvious? Even if it was, isn't it normal? It didn't affect work, and it's not like he was particularly close with anyone else in the department.

He must be aware of the boundaries between a male leader and a female subordinate. Qiu Mingyue couldn't assume ill intentions on Zhou Su's part; she preferred to believe that he sincerely wanted her to integrate more into the team, maybe someday gossip about him like Sister Lin and Jiang Ran.

But Qiu Mingyue didn't know how to go about it, she certainly couldn't start right now.

Then she would want to ask him about Meng Yunzhi.

The rain lightened a bit, and a crack in the sky let through some daylight.

"For the Qixi project, I'll bring you along," Zhou Su casually informed Qiu Mingyue of her upcoming work task. "Think about any ideas you might have in the meantime."

So that was it, Qiu Mingyue realized, hence his mention of needing more communication.

But why use such a misleading attitude... Qiu Mingyue really felt like facepalming.

Someone with an umbrella approached them.

It was Uncle Chen.

He held a long-handled umbrella, with a folded one under his arm, looking slightly disheveled as he reached the shelter, his gray-green work uniform stained with rain.

"Director Zhou, Miss Qiu, sorry..." he said somewhat awkwardly, "The rain came down so suddenly, and I could only find this spare umbrella."

Zhou Su said, "It's okay, Uncle Chen, the rain will stop soon, no need for you to come out in the rain."

"I saw it kept raining... You had to go sign some documents over there, I didn't want to delay you."

Qiu Mingyue observed Zhou Su's expression and said to Uncle Chen, "Thank you for the trouble."

"Ah, it's nothing," Uncle Chen waved his hand, "Now there are only two umbrellas... How about you two take the umbrella first?"

He handed the uncollapsed long-handled umbrella to Zhou Su and the foldable one to Qiu Mingyue.

Zhou Su took the umbrella, stepped out from under the eaves into the blurry rain, "Let's go together, Uncle Chen."

Uncle Chen seemed not to have anticipated this scenario and looked a bit bewildered at Zhou Su, then turned to Qiu Mingyue, who smiled and urged, "Let's go, Uncle Chen."

The simple and honest middle-aged man hurriedly agreed and rushed under Zhou Su's umbrella.

Qiu Mingyue opened her umbrella and followed behind them.

Zhou Su was taller than Uncle Chen, with a straighter back. Uncle Chen tried to take back the umbrella from Zhou Su's hand but failed, so he just stood there with empty hands, not knowing where to put them.

After everything was taken care of, the thunderstorm finally stopped. The post-rain sky was clear, the world refreshed. It was 5:30 pm, and she could leave work, half an hour earlier than usual, seemingly the only tangible gain of the day.

Zhou Su offered to drive her home, as it was on the way and seemed appropriate, but Qiu Mingyue really didn't want to be alone with him anymore, at least not today. She had already endured too much, and the distance from the warehouse to her home was far too long.

She told Zhou Su she wanted to go to the mall instead.

The warehouse was on a wide road, and turning left past the first intersection would lead her to the mall, in the opposite direction from Zhou Su's route home.

She had just been advised to communicate more with her superior, but telling him she wanted to go shopping after work was a bit of a breakthrough, right?

Zhou Su asked, "Is your foot okay?"

Qiu Mingyue was momentarily flustered, "It's fine, not hurting."

"I can drive you there," he offered.

Qiu Mingyue replied, "It's okay, Director, I'll take a taxi."

With no reason to insist, Zhou Su left, and Qiu Mingyue, relieved to have seen him off, took out her phone to call a cab. That's when she saw a message from Jiang Ran.

A WeChat contact card, an address and time—Friday night at 7 pm at a certain Western restaurant, a photo—a refined young man wearing glasses, holding a golden retriever, and then text: "Jiang Zishi's friend's senior, Zhang Shaoming, from X University, a biology student, you'll definitely like him."

Jiang Zishi was Jiang Ran's boyfriend, whom she met at a friend's gathering. They had been dating for several years, sharing the same surname by coincidence.

So sudden, Qiu Mingyue typed a message, then deleted it, unsure how to respond. She wondered how Jiang Ran had introduced her to him and which photo she had sent. She eventually decided to call a cab first.

While waiting for the app to load, a car stopped in front of her.

The window rolled down, revealing Meng Yunzhi.

Meng Yunzhi asked, "Zhou Su didn't give you a ride? How ungentlemanly."

"Oh, no," Qiu Mingyue explained, "I wanted to go to the shopping center, it's not on the way, so I didn't ask Director Zhou."

"Which shopping center, Huaizhong Road?"

"Yes."

"Then let me take you, it's on the way to my place."

Qiu Mingyue hesitated...

The interior of Meng Yunzhi's car had a faint floral fragrance, cute blind box figures on the dashboard, a small, intricately woven lucky charm hanging from the rearview mirror, and several handmade dolls on the back seat. It was clear she had a taste for life's pleasures.

Zhou Su's car, in contrast, was plain and bare.

And Qiu Mingyue herself... didn't own a car.

The car stereo, connected to Meng Yunzhi's phone, played a soft English song by a female artist.

"How do you find working under Zhou Su? Tough?" Meng Yunzhi asked jokingly, which Qiu Mingyue knew, but she didn't want to be part of their teasing game.

Qiu Mingyue responded, "It's not tough, the Director is quite nice."

Meng Yunzhi glanced at her quickly while driving, "I actually wanted to invite Zhou Su for dinner."

Qiu Mingyue listened quietly.

"He refused, and then I said I'd invite you for dinner, maybe we'll work together more in the future, get to know each other beforehand. Do you know what Zhou Su said?"

Qiu Mingyue, not really wanting to play along, still asked, "What?"

Meng Yunzhi seemed to want to mimic Zhou Su's tone and demeanor but ended up simply saying, "He said if I wanted to invite you to dinner, I should ask you."

Was she inviting her to dinner?

Meng Yunzhi's words probably had a deeper meaning, but Qiu Mingyue couldn't catch it, only becoming more convinced that there was something between her and Zhou Su.

"Are you shopping alone? Looking for anything in particular?"

"Just alone, just browsing around."

Meng Yunzhi nodded understandingly, "I prefer shopping alone too."

After getting out of the car, she playfully winked at Qiu Mingyue, "I won't bother you today, maybe next time we can have dinner together with Zhou Su."

Qiu Mingyue replied, "Sure."

The ride had left Qiu Mingyue feeling even more unsettled.

The mall was crowded, a typical aspect of big cities, bustling even on weekdays, filled with young people who didn't seem to need to go to school or work.

Qiu Mingyue aimlessly wandered, trying on clothes but not finding anything particularly appealing, eventually buying a light purple knitted jacket.

She didn't really like it but wanted to relieve stress by spending money—a foolish way, she knew, so she chose something affordable.

Trying on clothes was time-consuming and tiring, so she should either have dinner and go home or just go home and order takeout. But she couldn't decide what to eat, so she ordered a mango-strawberry mixed yogurt bowl, sitting in the small shop, planning to figure out what to do next.

There were a few other customers in the shop, including a young couple who seemed like college students, laughing and sweet together. Through the cartoon-sticker-adorned glass window, she saw the busy flow of people outside, many of whom were also sweetly paired.

She suddenly regretted coming alone to witness this bustling world. In truth, she didn't enjoy shopping by herself. What fun was there in wandering alone, with only one flavor of yogurt to taste, unlike the couples who could share and try different flavors?

If she had accepted Zhou Su's ride, she would have been home by now, but what might have happened during that nearly hour-long drive remained an unknown in a parallel universe.

Returning home, Qiu Mingyue cooked herself a bowl of simple noodles, her legs aching from her earlier folly. She took an early bath and lay in bed, setting up a small table to continue writing her copy, with a drama playing in the background for company.

Finishing work only half an hour earlier than usual, her evening stretched out, leaving her wondering how to fill the time.

During this, she received a friend request from Zhang Shaoming.

Leaving it unread would likely lead to forgetting about it.

After accepting, Qiu Mingyue, not in the mood for a chat, knew she didn't really seek the simple traits of gentleness and care in a man, nor was she particularly looking for a boyfriend. How did she end up being arranged for a blind date?

Politeness dictated a few exchanges, and after confirming their Friday meeting, the conversation paused.

Zhang Shaoming's profile picture was of a golden retriever, and Qiu Mingyue found the photo Jiang Ran had sent her in his WeChat moments, dated back to March of that year.

She zoomed in for a closer look. He was actually quite handsome, likely the type some girls would find attractive, but he looked nothing like Zhou Su.

The thought would have startled her yesterday, but after today, she had come to accept it.

The hard drive storing Zhou Su's voice lay deep in her desk drawer, a reminder of her self-deception.

Just accept the emotions of liking someone, she thought, what's the big deal?