Shi Ling stood above, and Xu Yiting turned his head slightly. "Do you know?"
Shi Ling tucked her hair behind her ear and tilted her head in greeting, "Hmm?"
"I watched a video the other day that said the London Underground is a cure for people who don't believe in love."
Shi Ling looked at him quietly, waiting for him to speak.
Xu Yiting continued, "The Mind the Gap announcements on the London Underground are all made by female voices, in a mechanical tone."
Shi Ling thought about it and realized that was indeed the case.
“However, there is one exception, Embankment, which is a warm male voice. It was recorded 40 years ago by a man who graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After he passed away, his wife would dress up carefully every day just to go to this station to hear her deceased husband’s voice.”
Shi Ling asked, "And then?"
"Later, the station's announcement was changed to a female voice, and this elegant old woman went to the subway authority, wanting to record her husband's voice as a keepsake. The subway staff listened to it and decided to change it back to the original voice. So this station is the only one in all of London with a male voice announcement, all for a woman who has been remembering her husband for many years."
Upon hearing this, Shi Ling's gaze darkened, and she rarely showed a hint of melancholy.
Xu Yiting smiled and said, "I'll take you to Embankment to listen to it next time."
Shi Ling nodded, "Okay."
London's transport system is complicated; it took a subway and a light rail to get to the station, but it was very close to Shi Ling's AL apartment, less than a ten-minute walk.
As soon as the two stepped outside, a few scattered raindrops began to fall.
This has always been the case in Britain, so the two didn't pay any attention and continued walking at a leisurely pace.
However, after turning a corner, the rain suddenly started falling like soybeans, turning into a downpour in an instant.
There are no tall buildings to block the view in this area; the roads are lined with low one- or two-story buildings.
Xu Yiting pointed to a small circular obstruction protruding from the front of a house, and Shi Ling followed him there.
In just a short while, she had gotten quite wet. Shi Ling's soft hair was now clinging gently to her face, making her flinch slightly.
Moreover, this obstruction is extremely narrow, only the width of a door, and it's curved, so it doesn't block the sides.
The two people stood below, but to avoid touching each other, they each had to lean a little to the side.
The rain showed no signs of letting up; instead, it blew in their direction with the wind, splashing raindrops onto their bodies and making their coats feel heavier and heavier.
Xu Yiting gave a wry smile, "I didn't expect to be so unlucky."
Shi Ling, enduring the chill, said, "I made you get soaked in the rain with me."
Xu Yiting could tell she was cold; Shi Ling's eyes were even slightly red from the cold.
After waiting for a while, Xu Yiting sighed, "It doesn't look like it'll stop anytime soon."
The rain continued unabated, and they became even more soaked over time, both shivering with cold.
Xu Yiting thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Why don't we rush back? It'll only take two or three minutes. You can change your clothes when we get back to your dorm. We don't know how long we'll have to hide here, and it's getting colder and colder, so we're bound to catch a cold."
Shi Ling's hands were already ice-cold. She was thinking about how much pain she would feel when her period came next time she caught a chill today.
She glanced helplessly at the rain, which was drifting in this direction like a continuous stream. Besides, this was someone else's doorstep, and she felt quite uncomfortable staying there.
Shi Ling nodded. "Okay."
Xu Yiting reached out and took off his coat, handing it to Shi Ling.
Shi Ling shook her head, "No need."
Both of them were cold, and Xu Yiting wasn't much better off.
Xu Yiting never forces anyone, but today staying a little longer means getting even wetter, and his gentlemanly manners wouldn't allow a lady to get wet like him.
He directly shoved the coat over Shi Ling's head, and when Shi Ling tried to push it away, he had already rushed into the rain.
Fortunately, the wool coat was thick and warm, and the inner layer wasn't soaked yet. Shi Ling draped it over her head, which almost covered her upper body and blocked a lot of wind and rain.
The two hurriedly ran towards AL. This journey was one of the most difficult they hadn't experienced in a long time. The puddles on the ground were slippery, and visibility was poor in the rainy night. They stumbled along, unsure of what they were stepping on, and kept running.
Every now and then, you have to push your wet hair to the sides so it doesn't block your eyes.
When the two rushed back to the apartment building, Shi Ling's hands were shaking as she searched for her keys.
The apartment was carpeted, and once inside, the wind and rain had finally stopped. The water from my clothes instantly darkened the carpet.
The two entered suite 203.
Shi Ling opened her room door and invited Xu Yiting in. Xu Yiting had come to pick her up so many times, but he had never overstepped his bounds.
However, there was no time to worry about that today. Shi Ling invited him in for a cup of hot water to calm down, and Xu Yiting nodded.
Shi Ling felt much better once she went inside. She had been wearing Xu Yiting's clothes the whole way and had been in the rain for a while. She was mostly cold, but now that she wasn't cold anymore, she didn't feel so uncomfortable.
She went into the bathroom to change into thick pajamas, grabbed a towel, handed a new one to Xu Yiting, and dried her hair.
Xu Yiting wasn't in such good shape. His clothes were soaked, and even someone who always paid attention to exercise couldn't keep up. He sneezed several times in a row.
Shi Ling rarely troubles others, and he apologized, blaming her for dragging him into this mess.
Xu Yiting smiled and said it was nothing.
Hearing the slight nasal tone in his voice, Shi Ling glanced outside. The pattering rain had stopped sometime earlier. She covered her cup and asked him, "Why don't you take a shower here before you go back, so you don't catch a cold?"
Shi Ling said this without any romantic intention, but it was already past ten o'clock at night, and the two of them were alone in a room. Because they were both damp and cold, their body temperature hadn't risen. If one of them took a shower, it would be a completely different story.
Xu Yiting looked at Shi Ling and smiled wryly, "If others knew, they would definitely say that I have blasphemed Goddess Shi."
Shi Ling knew that he had no intention of doing anything wrong, but was just taking care of him out of kindness, so she wasn't afraid that he would misunderstand or overthink things.
"It's okay. You're only making me feel guilty because I'm sick."
Her eyes and tone left no room for argument.
Seeing that Xu Yiting was still hesitating, Shi Ling added, "You know me, I'm very persistent and never care what others say."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yiting quickly understood, "Indeed, this is the true Goddess Shi."
There was a couple in my high school class. One evening during self-study, the homeroom teacher suddenly separated them and called them in for a talk, saying he wanted to break them up. Someone said they saw Shi Ling go to the homeroom teacher's office that afternoon. The girl came back crying and questioning Shi Ling about why she did this, saying she was jealous of others because she didn't want to be in a relationship.
Shi Ling refused to explain and simply said three words, "It wasn't me."
No matter what she says, that's how it is.
The following week, most of the students in the class who were close to that girl began to isolate Shi Ling, deliberately knocking over her pen, water cup, and other items, and making sarcastic remarks.
It wasn't until the boy admitted that his mother had accidentally found out he had put the girl's name on the keychain.
It was a coincidence that Shi Ling went to the office.
Everyone reluctantly returned to normal. The girl awkwardly apologized to Shi Ling, but Shi Ling remained indifferent and said it was nothing.
When someone asked her why she didn't explain, she said there was no need.
Shi Ling has always been like this, and sometimes she is surprisingly stubborn.
Thinking about high school made the strange atmosphere less awkward, and Shi Ling opened the door with a cup in her hand.
"Do as you please, I'll go boil some more water."
Xu Yiting grabbed a towel and stood up. "Then I won't be polite."
The room was only so big, and the bathroom was right there in front of you.
Shi Ling made ginger soup in the kitchen. When she returned, Xu Yiting had already finished washing up, which avoided the awkwardness of the two of them being alone in the same room.
However, Xu Yiting's upper body was completely soaked, and he was only wearing pants with a towel draped over his upper body.
He saw Shi Ling, smiled, and said, "Excuse me."
Shi Ling rarely joked with him, "No way, didn't we take swimming lessons together before?"
Back then, in response to the school's call for holistic education, we only attended a few classes before the college entrance examination subjects took back the focus.
Xu Yiting has a good physique, so there's really nothing to be embarrassed about.
Shi Ling put down the ginger soup. "You drink it first. I'll go find your roommate to borrow some clothes for you."
Xu Yiting recalled his several encounters with Chi Cheng, and Chi Cheng's hostility towards him was obvious.
He asked her, "Is your roommate pursuing you?"
Fearing she might be confused, he described her to her, "It's that guy with the earring, who's pretty good-looking. Last time I brought you milk tea from Chinatown, I asked him to give it to you."
Shi Ling knew immediately that he was talking about Chi Cheng, but she didn't know that it was Chi Cheng who answered the phone because the milk tea was hanging on the door when she came back.
She didn't know how to describe her relationship with Chi Cheng for a moment, so she gave a vague answer: "I guess so."
Xu Yiting laughed, "I can tell you wouldn't like someone like him."
Shi Ling was taken aback, glanced at him, and asked, "Why?"
Xu Yiting dried his hair without even looking at her. "It's not for any particular reason. We're obviously not the same kind of people. You're such a fairy, and him, well, how should I put it, he's obviously a playboy."
After a few seconds, Shi Ling replied, "That's right."
Xu Yiting replied to her, "So, if you need me to be your shield, I'm happy to oblige."
Shi Ling gave a perfunctory reply.
She sat for a moment before remembering what she had just said about borrowing clothes for Xu Yiting.
I found a hairdryer in the drawer next to him and gave it to him, then got up and went out.
Before I even reached the door, I heard a knock.
Shi Ling guessed it was Zhao Yongbin. He always asked her to borrow things, so this saved her the trouble of making the trip herself; she could just ask Zhao Yongbin for a set of clothes.
She was stunned when she opened the door.
Chi Cheng stood against the light at the doorway, and when the door opened, he didn't stand properly, leaning against the door frame with his long legs crossed.
Shi Ling opened half of the door, but the sound of a hairdryer came from inside.
Before Shi Ling could ask him what was wrong, Chi Cheng frowned. "Is someone in your room?"
Shi Ling was completely taken aback by it being him. He never took the initiative to contact her; he would always find an opportunity to avoid appearing passive. Shi Ling's attitude towards him was always the same, so he probably didn't want to constantly provoke her.
I don't know why they knocked on the door today.
When Shi Ling heard him ask that, she didn't even bother to answer, "What's it to you?"
Chi Cheng squinted at her, scrutinizing her. Shi Ling hadn't made many friends in England; the only one she associated with was that milk tea guy. Thinking about this made him feel a little annoyed.