The Rain-Soaked Senior

Li Chunsheng practically stumbled into the elevator. Yet, the mechanism that typically felt reasonably swift now crawled with the sluggishness of a snail.

“Faster! A little faster!”

Li Chunsheng began to imagine the arduous journey Liuxia must have endured to reach this place.

Was she battling against the icy drizzle, or timidly huddling beneath an overhang, advancing inch by painstaking inch?

This very imagination stretched the journey endlessly, tormenting his heart.

‘Senior… she must be cold and exhausted now, mustn’t she? It’s all my fault, all my fault for not noticing sooner…’

Time, in his anxious wait, seemed both agonizingly slow and fleetingly swift. The moment the elevator doors chimed open, Li Chunsheng shot out like an arrow, bolting without pause towards the company’s main entrance.

Stepping out of the building, a biting cold wind, laden with fine rain, assailed him. Instantly, his gaze found the small, curled-up figure huddling just outside the building’s entrance, beyond the eaves.

It was indeed Liuxia.

The girl, at this moment, was trembling uncontrollably, her breath exhaling in continuous white puffs, clearly chilled to the bone.

Her thin maid outfit was already soaked with mottled water stains, clinging tightly to her body and outlining her delicate figure. She looked utterly disheveled and pitiable, like a small puppy that had fallen into water, yet her gaze remained fixed on the building’s exit.

Even though the office lobby, a mere few steps away, offered spring-like warmth, this girl had chosen instead to crouch in the freezing rain, sheltering under a small umbrella, awaiting his appearance.

‘It would have been so much warmer… so much warmer waiting in the lobby…’ A pang struck Li Chunsheng’s nose, and in an instant, he understood. ‘Ah, she must have been worried… worried about triggering the facial recognition system in the lobby and exposing the fact that she has no identity information, right?’

Unable to restrain himself any longer, he cried out to the figure, “Senior!”

“Huh?” Liuxia’s ears twitched. She turned with a start of surprise, her voice as clear as the falling rain. “Chunsheng~”

The girl immediately struggled to her feet from her crouched position and moved towards Li Chunsheng.

“Oh…!”

Having evidently crouched for too long, her legs had gone numb. The moment she took a step, her body uncontrollably softened forward, and she was on the verge of collapsing into the rain.

Fortunately, Li Chunsheng reacted with lightning speed. Almost the instant her body tilted, he flashed forward, appearing before Liuxia, and firmly supported her soft waist with his outstretched arms.

Where his hands made contact, even through the fabric, Li Chunsheng could still perceive the girl’s astonishingly soft skin, a warmth tinged with a slight coolness radiating into his palms.

‘Ah… I’ve heard that girls naturally have a slightly higher body temperature than men, and they’re also more sensitive to cold… She must be even colder than I am right now, mustn’t she?’ A wave of pity instantly swelled in Li Chunsheng’s heart.

Despite all this, she had disregarded the cold and exhaustion, relying solely on her delicate body to bring him lunch.

Upon seeing the bento box clutched tightly in Liuxia’s hands, Li Chunsheng immediately understood the purpose of her long journey—she was worried he might go hungry…

Similar acts, back when Li Chunsheng was still a student, had been performed countless times by Liuxia, even when she was still a boy.

At that time, though Liuxia was only a few years older than him, she had been like both a brother and a father to him. In this world, it was unlikely he would ever find another person who treated him with such profound kindness.

Reflecting now, he realized he had long grown accustomed to, even taken for granted, Senior’s sacrifices, never before feeling such intense heartache and guilt as he did in this moment.

‘Why… why didn’t I notice sooner? If I had realized her predicament and persistence earlier, I could have prevented her from suffering this fate of degeneration, couldn’t I?’

‘Yes, it’s truly laughable. I, of all people, only truly and belatedly noticed her unwavering dedication and her profound gentleness after Senior transformed into a girl.’

‘What was I doing all that time? I merely resented Mu Shengling, yet I never interfered with Senior’s actions.’

‘Ultimately, is this intense concern I feel for her right now truly pure?’

‘Could it be… merely a facade of care, born from a subconscious, primal desire for Senior’s female body?’

‘This won’t do… absolutely not…’ Li Chunsheng repeatedly admonished himself, yet his gaze involuntarily fixated on the delicate face of the girl in his arms.

Liuxia, having been securely caught by her junior, eased into Li Chunsheng’s warm and solid embrace after her initial moment of panic.

“Waaah… To stumble so clumsily in front of my junior…”

Displaying such clumsiness before her junior left the girl utterly mortified, her cheeks instantly flushing crimson. She struggled gently, attempting to break free from Li Chunsheng’s embrace, but her legs, weakened from crouching too long, remained powerless, only pressing her more intimately against his chest.

Left with no other recourse, she buried her burning-hot little head deep into Li Chunsheng’s chest, attempting to conceal her embarrassment like an ostrich.

However, this embarrassment swiftly melted away like spring snow upon contact with the warmth radiating from Li Chunsheng’s body.

The girl, already tormented and chilled to the core by the icy spring rain, found herself, in that moment, somewhat lost in the reassuring warmth of Li Chunsheng’s embrace, a veritable haven.

‘Chunsheng’s body… it’s so warm…’ Beyond the warmth, the somewhat ‘delicious’ scent emanating from Chunsheng also left Liuxia feeling quite intoxicated.

‘Where else could she find such a warm, and ‘delicious’ place?’

For a moment, the girl found herself somewhat greedy for this warmth, reluctant to leave her junior’s embrace. However, the ingrained pride of being “Senior” compelled her, once her legs regained a little strength, to gently push Li Chunsheng away and step out of his arms.

Liuxia hastily tidied her somewhat disheveled clothes and hair, then offered a gentle smile. “Chunsheng, you must be hungry, right? Here~ This is the bento you forgot today; it’s filled with all your favorite dishes.”

Li Chunsheng’s heart ached as he looked at Liuxia. He spoke in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Senior…”

“I actually let you, Senior, walk all this way in the rain; it’s entirely my mistake. Let me give you some pocket money… oh no, living expenses!” As he spoke, Li Chunsheng moved to pull out his black iron card.

However, his movement was gently halted by Liuxia’s cool, small hand.

“It’s alright, Chunsheng, you don’t need to give me money.” The girl smiled and shook her head. “I’m a ‘goblin on the run’ now, you see. Taking public transport would only make it easier to expose my identity, wouldn’t it? Walking… walking is actually very safe!”

“Besides, Senior is already incredibly grateful to be taken in by you, Chunsheng! I absolutely cannot take money from a junior who’s taking such a risk for me. And besides, Chunsheng, isn’t it hard for you to earn gold coins?”

Li Chunsheng gazed deeply at Liuxia, knowing she wasn’t merely being polite; she truly meant it.

The girl before him, no matter her circumstances, always seemed to habitually prioritize others. It was this very quality that had made her a respected and relied-upon senior by all the younger children in the orphanage.

But now, despite being in such a predicament, Senior still maintained this attitude, which made Li Chunsheng feel as if a lump was caught in his throat, rendering him speechless for a moment.

Liuxia looked at Li Chunsheng, seeming to understand something. With a cheerful smile, she rose onto her tiptoes, making an effort to ruffle his soft hair upwards.

“Hmph hmph hmph… Don’t make such a sour face! It’s too ugly!” she said, deliberately using a light tone. “Senior even went to the trouble of wearing a maid outfit to bring you a love bento this time, you know; that’s a huge honor, it gives you a lot of face!”

“Heh heh, your other colleagues at the company will surely be green with envy and hatred. You, just treat all this as seasoning for your meal and enjoy your lunch!”

With that, Liuxia, without further ado, pressed the bento box into Li Chunsheng’s hand. She tilted her head in thought. “Hmm… I checked the computer before leaving, and it seems the rain is supposed to last all day…”

“So, you should take the umbrella too, Chunsheng… Remember to come home early for dinner tonight!”

“No!”

Li Chunsheng wanted to refuse on the spot, but Liuxia gently pressed a finger to his lips, stopping his words. She shook her head and said, “No, Chunsheng, have you become a little too gentle lately?”

‘Was the old Chunsheng ever so considerate towards me? Could he… could he be developing inappropriate feelings for me…?’

‘No, no, no, how could that be! Thinking that way is just too rude…’

‘He might… he might just be pitying my situation… Really, I’m the senior here… this is truly unbecoming…’

As these thoughts swirled within her, Liuxia, filled with a myriad of emotions, forced a casual demeanor. “You, don’t be fooled by Senior’s current weak appearance, you know. Inside, I’m a bloodthirsty goblin…”

She paused. “What’s more, I’m a true man, standing tall between heaven and earth, not so delicate at all. It’s just a little rain, no big deal…”

“Save that consideration of yours for a real girl, alright?”

Liuxia said nothing more, simply thrusting the umbrella into Li Chunsheng’s other hand before dashing into the rain.

“See you tonight!” The girl turned back in the rain, waving vigorously at him, her smile like a summer flower.

Li Chunsheng stood rooted to the spot, clutching the still-warm bento box and the small umbrella, a strange ache blossoming in his heart.

In that instant, the countless past images of the boy who brought him food seemed to merge with the small, delicate girl before him.

‘Why, Senior? Why, even in this situation, do you still not take better care of yourself?’

Lost in these thoughts, Li Chunsheng could bear it no longer. He, too, plunged recklessly into the heavy rain, chasing after her receding figure.

He wanted to stand by her side, to hold up a clear sky for her.

“Senior!” Li Chunsheng caught up to her, struggling to hold the small umbrella high, tilting it to cover her slender figure in the rain.

“Eh…?” The girl stopped in surprise, looking up at him with a bewildered expression.

Rainwater streamed down Li Chunsheng’s dark hair that fell across his forehead. He gazed at her, his voice low but filled with undeniable resolve:

“From now on, let’s walk together!”