She slowly lifted her head, only seeing the man's tall figure, unable to make out his face at first.
The rain had already blurred her vision. She said thank you, slowly stood up, and wiped the rain from her face. Only then did she see the handsome and tall man in front of her.
She wondered why such a refined and noble man would appear in the pouring rain to hold an umbrella for her.
Was he an angel sent by God?
She stared at the man in front of her for a second, then said somewhat awkwardly, "Thank you, thank you so much. Could you do a good deed and drop me off at the bus stop across the street?"
"Gu Susu, long time no see." The man called out her name.
Gu Susu looked at him in surprise, "You know me? How could..."
"You don't recognize me anymore? But I recognized you at a glance." The man reached out and gently ruffled her rain-soaked hair, saying softly, "You haven't changed at all, still stubbornly preferring to get rained on rather than ask for help."
Gu Susu's heart suddenly raced, and she instantly recognized who this man was.
It was him... Yang Sijie.
Although he looked completely different from before, his exceptionally dark and bright eyes hadn't changed at all.
"Brother Sijie."
Yang Sijie shielded her almost entirely from the wind and rain, a smile on his face. "You remember me. I'll take you home."
Gu Susu felt very surprised and couldn't quite articulate her feelings. "Why are you here?"
"What a coincidence." Yang Sijie wiped the water droplets from her hair that were falling onto her face. "I just came from Kangxi's place. My car passed by here and I saw someone almost get hit. When I got out, I didn't expect it to be you."
Gu Susu thought about how she was supposed to officially meet Yang Sijie today, but she appeared before him in such a disheveled state. She felt utterly embarrassed.
She lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry, I had something come up today and couldn't make it. I was supposed to meet Kangxi."
"It's alright. As long as we're destined, fate has arranged for us to meet now."
Gu Susu wanted to smile at him, but after being exposed to the cold wind and rain, she couldn't help but sneeze.
Yang Sijie quickly put an arm around her, saying, "Whatever it is, let's talk in the car. It's windy out here, and you'll get sick again."
After so many years, as Yang Sijie held her and hurried her into the car, she felt as if they had never been apart. He was still the caring Brother Sijie, as familiar and close as family.
Once inside the car, she still didn't feel warm. It was probably because she was soaked through and through, her wet clothes clinging to her skin and still feeling chilly.
She sneezed several more times, covering her mouth. Before she could even tell Yang Sijie her address, she felt dizzy, her vision blurring, and she was about to collapse to the side, unable to sit up straight.
Yang Sijie steadied her, letting her lean her head on his shoulder as she felt faint. He told the driver, Mark, "Take us back to Dan Gui Villa."
Although Mark was surprised that Yang Sijie was taking this woman home, he didn't dare to say anything.
In her daze, Gu Susu could feel that she was running a fever again.
Realizing she couldn't fall ill right after meeting Yang Sijie, she had so many things she wanted to say to him.
But due to the fever, her consciousness was a bit hazy, and she felt a strong urge to sleep, unable to keep her eyes open.
In her confusion, someone gently held her, gave her water, and held her hand, saying something.
The burning sensation throughout her body gradually subsided. After an unknown amount of time, she felt less uncomfortable and woke up from her deep sleep.
With great effort, she managed to pry her eyes open. In her blurry vision, she saw a man placing an ice pack on her forehead.
She immediately gripped the man's hand tightly and murmured, "Qin Tianyi... Qin Tianyi..."
Yang Sijie froze for a few seconds. He gently withdrew his hand, placed the ice pack steadily, and pulled the blanket up for her.
Her hazy eyes gradually cleared. Seeing Yang Sijie in front of her, she remembered that it was Yang Sijie she had met last night.
"Sijie, why am I here?"
"You developed a fever as soon as you got in the car, and I didn't know your address. So, I had to bring you back here."
"Thank you. I really owe you for last night. Otherwise, I would have fainted on the street or on the bus." Gu Susu felt that she owed him a great favor and would repay it when she had the chance.
Yang Sijie looked at her with his deep, dark eyes and smiled, "Susu, you don't have to be so polite with me. Don't you remember our relationship?"
Gu Susu felt a little uneasy under his gaze and asked, "How have you been all these years? Did your adoptive parents in foreign countries treat you well? Kangxi mentioned that you returned to the orphanage once."
"Yes, but you weren't at the orphanage then, so I didn't see you. I actually wanted to pick you up and take you abroad that time."
Gu Susu didn't know what to say. If they hadn't missed each other that time, perhaps her life would have been different.
Yang Sijie said, "Don't you remember? When I left the orphanage, I promised you that I would come back for you one day, that we would be together forever and never separate again."
"I remember. I haven't forgotten what you said back then." Gu Susu smiled and said, "You don't have to take it too seriously. You can consider it a childhood joke. We've all grown up and have our own lives now, so we can't be like we were when we were kids."
Yang Sijie didn't say anything further. He removed the ice pack from her forehead and felt her temperature with his palm. "It's better now, the fever has subsided. Don't talk too much, rest first. I'll go make something to eat."
With that, he got up and left. Gu Susu lay there, closed her eyes, and fell asleep again before she knew it.
When she woke up again, she found herself in darkness. Habitually, she reached out to find her phone by the bedside but found nothing.
However, she accidentally touched the sensor light by the bed, and the room was illuminated. Only then did she remember that she was at Yang Sijie's place.
She saw that the blanket covering her was dark blue and smelled faintly of cologne. She realized that the bed she was lying on might have been slept in by Yang Sijie, and that this room was his room.
Using the light from the sensor light, she sat up and turned on the main light by the bed. She scanned every item and every corner of the room. Suddenly, she noticed a photo frame on the cabinet not far from the bed.
Inside was a photo of them as children. She was wearing her favorite pink princess dress, striking a pose she thought was like a little princess, though it looked quite funny now.
Yang Sijie stood beside her, his hand resting on her shoulder, trying hard to look cool. In reality, his face couldn't hide his innocence; a child was still a child.
Gu Susu couldn't help but smile. She lifted the blanket, put on her jacket, got out of bed, and walked to the cabinet to pick up the photo and look at it repeatedly.