Chapter 159: Rainy Day

The bustling and lively birthday banquet of the Jin family lasted until late into the night.

Yet, it seemed everyone had forgotten about Jiang Yao.

Silently, Jiang Yao sat alone in her wheelchair, made her way to the small elevator, and stepped inside.

Inopportunely, the elevator doors closed automatically, striking her elbow and causing the phone in her hand to slip away.

"Oh!" Jiang Yao frowned, turned back, and stretched out her arm to retrieve the phone. As she lifted her gaze, she saw He Yunqing walking straight toward her from the opposite direction.

Panicked, Jiang Yao didn't even bother to pick up her phone. She hurriedly closed the elevator doors and slipped away as if fleeing in defeat.

He Yunqing had seen the phone drop to the floor from a distance. He strode forward, picked it up, and looked up at the back of the woman in the elevator, raising the phone. "Miss, you dropped your phone."

The elevator descended, leaving He Yunqing's voice far behind.

Helplessly, He Yunqing looked at the phone in his hand and pressed the elevator button as well. But when he finally came back out of the elevator, there was no trace left of the woman in the wheelchair.

The man looked around in all directions, then lit up the phone screen, hoping to find some clues about its owner.

The very second the screen illuminated, He Yunqing froze.

The woman on the screen was smiling softly, resembling a water lily just waking from slumber.

It was Jiang Yao.

This was Jiang Yao's phone!

"What are you looking at?" Jin Nana appeared out of nowhere, poking her head over with a curious expression.

Instinctively, He Yunqing turned off the screen. "Nothing. I picked up a phone. It's probably one of the guests here today."

Indifferently, Jin Nana said, "That's nothing. Whoever lost it will be back to look for it in a bit. Just leave it with the nanny."

However, He Yunqing had already casually slipped the phone into his pocket.

Jin Nana didn't give it another thought. Catching sight of her two former best friends waving at her from afar, she walked away cheerfully.

Right at that moment, the phone in He Yunqing's pocket suddenly vibrated.

He Yunqing took out the phone.

It was a call from Ye Yiyi.

"A-Yao, is the birthday banquet over? My work here might go on until very late, so I'm afraid I won't be able to pick you up. Can you call a cab to go back yourself? Is that OK?"

"Hello? A-Yao?" Not hearing Jiang Yao's response, Ye Yiyi asked again.

"Ms. Ye," He Yunqing said calmly.

Startled, Ye Yiyi nearly hurled the phone out of her hand.

Gathering her wits after a moment, she asked cautiously, "He... Yunqing?"

"It's me," He Yunqing answered matter-of-factly.

"You're back from abroad? Why is A-Yao's phone with you? Did you meet up with A-Yao? Where are you two right now?"

Faced with Ye Yiyi's rapid-fire barrage of questions, He Yunqing had no intention of answering any of them. "I found her phone. Where is she living now?"

Ye Yiyi stammered, "A-Yao's intention was... not to let you know about her whereabouts."

"You said yourself that you couldn't pick her up tonight. It's already so late, she's all alone, and she's lost her phone. What if something dangerous happens to her?" He Yunqing struck right at the heart of the matter.

Ye Yiyi was dumbfounded.

He Yunqing might not know Jiang Yao's current condition, but Ye Yiyi knew it all too well.

Jiang Yao's illness was growing increasingly severe, and now she had to rely on a wheelchair. With it being so late, having lost her phone without the ability to hail a taxi, and being utterly terrible with directions, what would she do all alone outside?

What if she suffered another sudden relapse?

"I'll go pick her up right now," Ye Yiyi said, hardening her heart.

"I can get there faster. Tell me where she is."

Jiang Yao sat alone in her wheelchair, gazing at the surrounding streets, feeling somewhat bewildered.

Which way was she supposed to go? Was this even the right street?

The way back home was simply too far for her.

She rubbed her temples, trying to piece it together in her mind, constantly encouraging herself, "Jiang Yao, don't panic. Calm down and think carefully, you'll find your way back."

The wheelchair let out a series of beeping sounds.

Jiang Yao looked down at the wheelchair. There was only one bar of battery left; the wheelchair was about to quit on her as well.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, signaling an impending heavy downpour.

There were already few pedestrians on the streets at this late hour, and those present were hurrying along with preoccupied expressions.

With great difficulty, Jiang Yao managed to stop a middle-aged woman and, biting the bullet, asked, "Excuse me, I've lost my phone. Could you please lend me yours to make a quick phone call?"

The middle-aged woman looked at her as if she were a weirdo and coldly rejected her, "Sorry, I lost my phone too."

Helplessly, Jiang Yao scratched her head, watching the woman walk away while listening to her mutterings.

"The tricks of scammers these days are endless. There are even people pretending to be disabled in wheelchairs just to con others."

A few seconds later, a torrential rain unmercifully poured down.

The electric wheelchair completely gave up, sitting motionless in the rain.

There were virtually no pedestrians left on the road, leaving Jiang Yao all alone between the vast earth and sky.

"Hey, move! Please, just move!" Jiang Yao slapped the wheelchair with her hand, and as she hit it, her tears uncooperatively began to fall.

Today was truly such an unlucky day.

No, she couldn't call it unlucky.

After all, He Yunqing was back.

She had finally seen the person she longed for day and night, even though he no longer belonged to her.

Still, she ought to be happy.

"Right, Jiang Yao, there's nothing to cry about. You should be happy. Smile, smile..."

As she spoke, she forced the corners of her mouth apart, trying to wear a smile, while tears continued to stream uncontrollably from her eyes.

For a moment, even she couldn't tell whether she was crying or laughing.

Above her head, at some unknown point, the rain stopped falling.

Jiang Yao paused and abruptly looked up.

He Yunqing was standing right beside her, holding a large black umbrella. The handle was tilted slightly toward her, blocking every drop of rain that would have fallen on her.

She gazed at the man in astonishment.

Raindrops gently brushed against his shoulders and moistened the corners of his eyes and brows, making the man in the nocturnal veil appear exceptionally tall.

"Smiling so happily, it seems you really love rainy weather."

The man looked out at the curtain of rain and spoke slowly. As his magnetic voice sounded once again, the doors to Jiang Yao's memories were quietly unlatched.

Before her eyes, fragments of her past moments with He Yunqing continually surfaced.

"Yes, I love it very much."

"I don't," He Yunqing's voice, mingling with the sound of the rain, sounded exceptionally enchanting. "Because some people always cry on rainy days."

From what point in time, she didn't know, but Jiang Yao had grown to love rainy days.

Because rainy days meant she could see the person she wanted to see.

This was something she had never said aloud in the past, and she would never be able to say it in the future.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"Get in my car, I'll take you back," He Yunqing's lips curved upward. "Of course, you can refuse, if you'd rather keep sitting here enjoying the rainy weather you love so much."