27

Early autumn in Creek City brings unpredictable weather. Just a few days ago, the sun was blazing, making it feel like one could melt walking outside. By Friday, however, the rain came pouring down as if it had been held back for a long time.

The rain was heavy and fast, accompanied by strong winds. The lush trees by the roadside swayed in the breeze, and passing vehicles splashed countless droplets.

Lin Tiao woke up early and, seeing the torrential rain outside the window, sighed, feeling regretful that the afternoon's PE class would likely be canceled.

After the sophomore year class restructuring, Lin Tiao and Meng Xin had only the weekly PE class to catch up with each other, except on weekends.

"Tiang Tian, are you up?" came Lin's mother's voice from outside the door.

Fang Yisong, who arrived on the late-night flight yesterday, had reached home in the early hours. Lin Tiao had just fallen asleep, and she vaguely heard some noise. In her drowsy state, she heard the door being pushed open and tentatively called out, "Mom?"

Fang Yisong stood at the door without coming in and gently said, "It's me. I'm just checking if you're awake. There's nothing to worry about; you can go back to sleep."

Lin Tiao responded with an "Okay," and after hearing the door close, she pulled the blanket over her head and fell back asleep.

She slept until dawn.

When she heard the knocking, she answered, "I'm up, coming out soon."

"Okay."

When Lin Tiao finally got ready and went out, she found her mother had already prepared breakfast and was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

She walked over and sat down at the table, greeting, "Good morning, Mom."

Fang Yisong, hearing Lin Tiao's voice, put down the newspaper she had been reading and showed a hint of fatigue on her meticulously maintained face. "Good morning."

Lin Tiao served herself a bowl of rice porridge and, after eating a few spoonfuls, looked up and asked, "Where's Dad? Didn't he come back with you?"

"He's still dealing with some issues at the company." Fang Yisong picked up her coffee cup. "Hurry up and finish your breakfast. Afterward, I'll take you to school. With such heavy rain outside, I don't want you to squeeze into a crowded bus alone."

With a valid reason, Lin Tiao couldn't refuse. She quickly finished her porridge and ate two buns before putting down her chopsticks.

When they went out, the rain hadn't let up at all. Lin Tiao followed Fang Yisong directly to the garage downstairs.

Perhaps due to the heavy rain, there were very few cars on the road to school. Lin Tiao sat in the car, looking out at the dark, overcast sky, her mind wandering far off.

Half an hour later, Fang Yisong's car stopped at the school gate. It was peak school time, and the entrance was crowded with many umbrellas.

Fang Yisong told her to wait until there were fewer people before getting out. Lin Tiao didn't refuse and leaned back in her seat, looking relaxed.

After a while, Lin Tiao suddenly remembered something and said, "Oh, Mom."

Fang Yisong, who had just finished reading a work email, looked over and asked, "What is it?"

"Can the cast on my arm be removed this week?" Lin Tiao recalled what Lao Yu had said a few days ago. "I have an exam at the end of this month."

"Let's do it tomorrow," Fang Yisong checked the work schedule sent by her assistant on her phone. "Tomorrow afternoon at three, I'll have Xiao Song come to pick you up and take you to the hospital for a check-up."

Xiao Song was Fang Yisong's assistant and personal secretary, whom Lin Tiao had met before; she was a cool older sister.

"And your forehead," Fang Yisong said, reaching out to touch the wound on Lin Tiao's forehead, which had been covered by a bandage but was now just a small adhesive strip. "We'll check that too."

Lin Tiao thought for a moment but didn't refuse. "Alright."

She glanced out the window; the crowd had thinned significantly. She took an umbrella from her bag and said, "I'll head in now."

"Okay. Let me know what time you finish tonight, and I'll have the driver come to pick you up."

"It's fine, I'll go back on my own." Lin Tiao said, opening the car door and stepping out with her umbrella.

Fang Yisong watched her through the partially open car window.

As Lin Tiao walked halfway, she stopped, turned around, and suddenly asked, "Mom, do you have something on your mind?"

Fang Yisong was surprised by her sensitivity. She paused for a moment before smiling and saying, "No, I'm just a bit tired from these past few days. Hurry up and go in; it's getting late."

Seeing her mother's unchanged expression, Lin Tiao nodded. "Got it. Be careful on the road."

"Mm."

Lin Tiao hadn't been in the classroom for long when the class bell rang.

Of course, that wasn't the main point. The main point was that her usually punctual classmate, who never arrived late for even a single class, showed up earlier than her today.

Lin Tiao put away her umbrella and sat at her desk. Jiang Yan looked up at her and asked, "Why are you so late today?"

Lin Tiao set down her bag and looked at him seriously. "You, who are always late, how can you question a student who is never late?"

"Never late, huh?" Jiang Yan smiled, "I've never seen a so-called 'good student' who spends all night in an internet café."

Lin Tiao, still preoccupied with her thoughts, didn't want to argue with him. She lowered her head and fiddled with her phone.

Jiang Yan was a bit surprised by her sudden quietness. He watched her for a while, then suddenly asked, "Are you unhappy?"

Lin Tiao kept her eyes down and didn't look up. "No."

She wasn't actually unhappy; she was just preoccupied with thoughts about Fang Yisong and couldn't quite understand the situation.

Lin Tiao wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but she felt that Fang Yisong seemed unusually down since returning from the business trip.

Although her appearance was flawless and she was a perfect professional, Lin Tiao could clearly sense that her state wasn't very good.

But adult matters were not meant to be shared with children, so Lin Tiao could only feel uneasy without knowing the reason.

Not wanting to press her, Jiang Yan decided to be a good and considerate classmate.

He hadn't anticipated that Lin Tiao's mood would change so quickly. She was already cheerful and chatting with him about the latest gossip she had read online.

"Recently, isn't there a talent show on Guo Tai? There's a guy named Li Dingding who's been exposed as coming from a wealthy family with generations of riches. It's said that even his family's toilet has diamonds on it." Lin Tiao, puzzled, added, "Don't you think having diamonds on a toilet is a bit over the top?"

Although Jiang Yan wasn't particularly interested in whether that person was named Dingding Li or Li Dingding, or in how many generations of wealth they had, and he definitely wasn't curious about whether their toilet had diamonds on it—

He looked up at Lin Tiao and saw that the gloom that had surrounded her earlier had completely disappeared.

He raised an eyebrow and continued with her line of thought, "It might be a bit much, but why don't you try it yourself?"

Lin Tiao was taken aback and seriously considered the idea. After a moment, she said with some regret, "It's probably a bit difficult. Firstly, I don't have that much money, and secondly, if I did something like that, my mom might kick me out of the house."

Jiang Yan watched her for a while and, realizing she had genuinely thought about it before answering, suddenly lowered his head and laughed.

His little classmate wasn't just silly; she was seriously silly.

Lin Tiao didn't understand why he suddenly laughed. "What are you laughing at?"

"Laughing at how silly you are," Jiang Yan said, looking at her with a gentle smile.

By the afternoon, the weather, which had been windy and rainy, suddenly cleared up. Lin Tiao thought there might be a chance to have PE class, but as soon as the third period ended, it started drizzling again.

Naturally, PE class was canceled.

Since it was the last class on Friday and there were no teachers in the classroom, Zhou Li, who managed three classes, simply gave up and left.

Jiang Yan received a call from Guan Che and left right away, while Lin Tiao and a few friends, including Hu Hanghang, continued to play games.

In "Honor of Kings," it wasn't a solo battle.

Hu Hanghang entered the game first and, glancing at his friend list, noticed that Lin Tiao was already at the Starry Sky I rank. He exclaimed, "I didn't expect it, Sister Tiao, you're quite a pro."

"Oh no, I'm rubbish. That's Meng Xin playing on my account."

Lin Tiao's gaming skills were limited. She had been stuck at the Diamond rank and couldn't progress, so she gave her account to Meng Xin, who quickly pushed it up to the King rank.

Later, after Lin Tiao played a few games herself, she fell back down from the King rank.

"No worries, no worries. Since that's the case, you can play support," Hu Hanghang, who loved dealing damage, said. "Just support me."

"Got it."

Also playing with them was Tao Jia, who was also at the Starry Sky rank, having reached it purely through her own skills with no help or shortcuts.

Lin Tiao sighed with envy.

A game quickly began.

Tao Jia casually mentioned, "Do you guys have time this Saturday? Let's go out and I'll treat you to a meal."

Lin Tiao remembered that Tao Jia had mentioned treating them to a meal when she first transferred, but with the start of the new school year, everyone was busy, and it had been postponed.

Hu Hanghang was frantically clicking skills. "Do we have time on Saturday? We're free every day." He took a kill and added, "Mainly it's Brother Yan, he might not be free on the weekend."

"Oh, I see." Tao Jia's tone was somewhat disappointed.

Lin Tiao glanced at her but remained silent.

After a while, the game ended.

Hu Hanghang, savoring the sweet taste of victory, quickly started another game, with Tao Jia taking support this time.

Lin Tiao hesitated for a moment and picked mid-lane.

Hu Hanghang looked a bit concerned. "Sister Tiao, can you handle it?"

"I'm strong at mid," she replied coolly.

—

The game began. Lin Tiao controlled her hero out of the base, facing an enemy with high mobility.

But she wasn't intimidated at all.

As a result, she almost gave up first blood.

—

Lin Tiao gave up, returned to base to heal, and then went back to lane, avoiding direct confrontation with the enemy mid-laner. She occasionally checked vision with a blue buff, occasionally signaled to the bottom lane, and followed the jungler to the top lane for ganks.

Basically, she avoided fighting the enemy mid-laner directly.

The pace in the Starry Sky rank was fast. Lin Tiao roamed the map, achieved 5 assists and 2 kills, and quickly leveled up.

After completing the first major item, she debated what to buy next.

She looked at the enemy's lineup and decided to build a Book of the Dead first to improve her hero's sustainability.

Lin Tiao opened the equipment page and was about to buy it when suddenly an arm extended from beside her head, brushing against her ear and bringing a cool breeze.

"Build Nightmare first," Jiang Yan's deep voice whispered next to her ear.

Lin Tiao was startled, turned her head, and saw that Jiang Yan had returned at some point, sitting at the desk, leaning toward her right side.

She seemed not to have noticed the close proximity between them and looked up at him. "Can you play this game?"

Jiang Yan looked down, seeing his reflection in her dark eyes. He smiled and said softly, "I play fairly well."

"King rank level?"

".."

She knew.

She knew.

This person could never miss an opportunity to show off.

Lin Tiao resisted the urge to throw her phone at him, looked away, and focused on her phone, purchasing the Nightmare item while closing the equipment page.

Jiang Yan maintained his previous position, smiling as he watched her play the game with her arm in a cast, determined and persistent.

Tao Jia, sitting opposite them, also lowered her head, her expression indifferent.

The game continued.

Xu Yichuan suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, bro, Tao Jia said she's treating us to a meal this Saturday. Are you going?"

Jiang Yan's gaze was still on Lin Tiao's phone screen. A cool breeze from the window brushed against his chin as it accidentally touched her hair.

He tilted his head slightly but didn't shift his gaze, his tone neither too harsh nor too indifferent. "Have you really come to the point where you need a girl to treat you to a meal?"

Xu Yichuan was taken aback and realized that having a girl treat them, a group of guys, wasn't exactly something to be proud of.

"Alright then, let's just consider it as going out this Saturday, and I'll treat you all."

Hearing this, Tao Jia objected. "There's nothing inappropriate about it. You guys saved me back then. If it weren't for you, my parents would have wanted to treat you too."

"Don't. I've always hated eating with elders." Xu Yichuan looked at Tao Jia. "I'm not targeting your parents, okay?"

Tao Jia smiled and said it was fine. She then looked at Jiang Yan. "Regardless, the meal is definitely on me. It's just a matter of whether you're free tomorrow."

"Okay, got it." Jiang Yan, after a moment of silence, suddenly spoke.

"..."

Lin Tiao was puzzled, wondering what Jiang Yan had figured out.

Not just her, everyone was unsure what Jiang Yan had understood.

Tao Jia was also confused but didn't ask further, merely nodding. "Alright, I'll give you the details tomorrow morning."

"Mm." Jiang Yan didn't say more but suddenly leaned over, took Lin Tiao's phone from her, and said casually, "You take a break; I'll play for you."

"Why should I? I want to play myself. Are you looking down on me?" Lin Tiao felt insulted.

So what if it's King rank? Does that mean she, as a Starry Sky rank, should be looked down upon?

Jiang Yan lightly rolled his throat and turned off her phone, his voice somewhat stern. "Do you want to lose your arm too? Are you planning to skip the exam at the end of the month?"

"..."

Lin Tiao didn't understand why he was so upset and couldn't help but shrink her neck. "If you want to play, then go ahead. Let me see what level of King rank play you have."

Jiang Yan: ".."

Hu Hanghang and the others had long been accustomed to such scenes. Without their mid-laner, they quickly pushed the enemy's high ground with the fastest speed and highest skill levels, then continued to push the enemy's crystal.

Hu Hanghang shouted and threw his phone onto the table, relieved. "Alright, no need to continue. We won."

Lin Tiao didn't dare to snatch her phone back from Jiang Yan. She just raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Have I become so insignificant in this game?"

Xu Yichuan smiled and comforted her. "Not insignificant. At least you let the enemy develop."

"..."

Well, that's it. We're done.

When Jiang Yan returned, Hu Hanghang and the others didn't dare to ask Lin Tiao to play again. The five-person team quickly disbanded.

Lin Tiao turned around. Jiang Yan walked past her and returned to his seat.

"Uh," After a few minutes, Lin Tiao tugged at Jiang Yan's sleeve. "You still haven't returned my phone."

Jiang Yan glanced at her, his brows slightly furrowed in disbelief. "Can't you see?"

"I can see," Lin Tiao replied.

".."

"Can see that you have ulterior motives regarding my phone."

".."