The old professor wasn't in a hurry, knowing that his prized student was just making up an excuse to fob him off. He muttered meaningfully, "You're my prized student, and that girl is also my prized student, so why don't you... take a look?"
Chu Mu fell silent. The old professor, hearing his steady breathing on the other end, was about to offer another word of advice when Chu Mu suddenly responded, "I don't want to think about this yet."
He was now subconsciously resisting his feelings. Although a year had passed and his feelings for Tao Yunjia, whether love or hate, were no longer as intense, he was still hurt and couldn't be as at ease. When he heard the old professor's suggestion, what made Chu Mu most flustered was that he actually considered it seriously for a moment, and he didn't feel indifferent towards the name Shu Yi'an.
The old professor sighed softly. This child must have been hurt too deeply by Tao Yunjia… He had taught for decades and seen countless students, including many who had married and started families. When he learned that Chu Mu and Tao Yunjia were together, the old professor had remarked on this.
"Arrogance should not be indulged, desires should not be unrestrained, pleasure should not be excessive, and ambition should not be excessive."
Two equally proud people are bound to cause trouble in the future.
In the afternoon, I went back to handle some official business. Facing the choice of being stationed abroad or staying in Beijing, everything seemed especially important to Chu Mu at that moment. I quickly got back into work mode, forgetting the little incident from the morning. After finishing a meeting, I came out to find it was raining heavily. The sky was incredibly gloomy, and lightning flashed accompanied by deafening thunder. Looking out the office window, I had a vague sense of impending doom.
The secretary looked at the rain outside, somewhat worried. "This rain is probably quite heavy. Boss, let's leave early, lest we get stuck in traffic and something happens."
After all... the underground drainage system in Beijing is really worrying.
Author's Note: I originally wanted to finish writing the part about Mr. Chu's rainstorm proposal that I wrote earlier, but I ended up writing too much of a rant, which is annoying (~_~;)
So damn it, I'm going all out and updating again tomorrow!!! Are you guys going to watch?!
Chapter 50 Awakening from a Dream
Just as predicted, the weather changed drastically in less than an hour. The sky, which had been somewhat gloomy, suddenly turned into a deep gray, and the damp, cold air, mixed with torrential rain, swept through the city.
The rainfall was exceptionally heavy, a rare occurrence in Beijing in decades. The average rainfall reached a staggering 170 millimeters, and the entire city's radio, media, and news outlets were abuzz with reports of the torrential downpour. Due to numerous water conservancy and underground engineering projects, severe surface seepage and flooding occurred, forcing even buses over two meters tall to become stuck on the roadside, completely paralyzing the city's transportation system.
The entire city of Beijing was suddenly gripped by a sense of impending disaster.
Chu Mu's car was stuck on the elevated highway, stagnant along with the slow, long line of traffic. Sui Qing called him several times, reminding him to be careful. It was six o'clock in the evening, the peak of rush hour, and Chu Mu sat in his car, feeling anxious and lost. The radio kept broadcasting the latest reports on the rainfall: landslides, destroyed houses, cars stuck in manholes, and people suffering from flooding…
Jiang Beichen and Ji Hengdong, who were also stuck in Beijing, were also stuck on the road. Since the three of them were in traffic anyway, they started calling each other and gloating. They discussed which route would be easier to take, and Ji Hengdong even rescued a mother and daughter on the road.
Jiang Beichen chuckled, his mind becoming even more distracted as he thought of the woman living in the old house in the east of the city. "Your rescue is a pretense; your true intentions are obvious. Just because you can't have children doesn't mean you're in such a hurry to become a father!"
The car was on speakerphone. Ji Hengdong covered the receiver with a start, glancing nervously at the mother and daughter in the back seat, and yelled into the phone, "Are you brain-dead?!"
Chu Mu had nothing to worry about except for his younger sister, whose whereabouts were unknown. However, after calling Chu Weiyuan and learning that she was having a huge fight with Sui Qing at home, he felt relieved and sat idly in his car smoking.
The latest traffic updates came over the radio: the CBD area around the North Ring Road was jammed with white-collar workers heading home, and the subway station was completely overwhelmed. Chu Mu listened half-heartedly, his hand unconsciously pausing as he chewed on his cigarette. He vaguely remembered… that was where he'd taken Shu Yi'an at noon…
He couldn't help but turn up the radio volume. The report said that many people were standing on the streets near the shopping district, taking shelter from the rain. Kind private cars were giving rides to many fellow countrymen going in the same direction, but the situation was still difficult. Chu Mu glanced down at his watch. It was 6:30... The heavy rain had been going on for almost three hours. That girl... she should have been back at school long ago after her interview, right?
In fact, just as the radio broadcast said, Shu Yi'an was stuck on the road with a large number of people who couldn't go home. The interview ended close to four o'clock; because Anya'er was a large corporation, the number of interviewees was staggering. It wasn't until several hours later that it was her turn. When she came out of the building, it was raining quite heavily. She thought that getting soaked and running quickly to the subway station might help, but the usually optimistic Ms. Shu misjudged the situation.
The rain intensified, and within minutes, her sweater was soaked through. She eventually had to take shelter in front of a bookstore on a street corner. More and more people arrived, and the rain threatened to flood the street. Because the bookstore sold expensive paper products, the owner had to close early, apologizing and asking those seeking shelter to move under the eaves. She stood there for two hours. Under the eaves were middle managers from foreign companies, students leaving school, mothers with babies, and housewives rushing home to cook… They all took out their phones, answering or making calls to inquire about each other's situations. Yet, at this moment, they were all labeled as disaster victims. Looking at the blurred street, Shu Yi'an felt a pessimistic and lonely thought: in this unfamiliar city, a city where she felt no belonging, who would remember her?
People around her were constantly being picked up by their families and relatives, and as they came and went, only Shu Yi'an remained.
Chu Mu stubbed out his cigarette with a hint of irritation, glancing at the time one last time. She was dressed so lightly, having just left the hospital that morning. He knew her home wasn't here; in this vast city of Beijing, she had no relatives, all alone… The traffic began to pick up, slowly moving forward. Watching the pedestrians rushing past, Chu Mu suddenly turned the car in the opposite direction from his home. Fragments of her that he had previously ignored now surfaced clearly again.
He thought this was the last time; he was only taking this gamble. If he didn't meet her, he would completely forget about Shu Yi'an, returning to his old ways like he had for so many days and nights, continuing his solitary life, a life that was calm and uneventful. If he met her, he would take over Shu Yi'an's life from then on, whether she wanted it or not. Because he deluded himself into thinking it must be fate.
Turning back to find Shu Yi'an was probably the most uncertain and absurd thing Chu Mu had ever done in his life, something entirely dependent on chance and luck. He drove slowly along the North Ring Road, carefully observing every place to take shelter from the rain along the roadside. Maybe she had already returned to school... maybe she had been picked up by someone else... maybe... So many "maybes" made Chu Mu inexplicably uneasy, while at the same time secretly mocking himself for this.
Sometimes, whether you believe in fate or not, it always seems to coincidentally and appropriately arrange for you to appear in your life.
When Chu Mu saw Shu Yi'an, he almost sighed resignedly, but at the same time, he was also a little happy. Even through the fogged-up car window, he could clearly see her slender figure.
In this time of fear and uncertainty, she stood there quietly and calmly, sheltering herself from the sudden storm, exuding an air of detachment from the world. An umbrella was always kept in the car—a large, formal, business-like umbrella with a pure black canopy and silver handle, befitting Chu Mu's consistently cool and refined style.
Actually, he did have some hesitation, but seeing her shivering in the cold wind, all those emotions were thrown to the back of his mind. At that moment, all he wanted was to take her home.
Shu Yi'an had been looking up at the rain, but when she looked down again, she saw Chu Mu standing just a few steps away from the car. He was wearing a coat, his face calm, holding a black umbrella, and walking slowly towards her. For a moment, Shu Yi'an almost forgot to breathe.
Their eyes were fixed on each other, neither looking away. Shu Yi'an didn't know where she got the courage to stand there dumbly, waiting for him to get closer, without flinching as he drew nearer.
The umbrella above her head was easily brought under her control. Chu Mu looked at the few clear, cool drops of water on her face and suddenly spoke in a somewhat stiff but straightforward manner.
Will you marry me?
There were the rumbles of cars passing by, the intermittent patter of rain on the ground, the hurried footsteps of pedestrians, and... his deep and calm... proposal.
Shu Yi'an had never imagined such a scene would unfold on her long road ahead, or rather, she held no hope whatsoever. Without any warning, or perhaps because she had so many feelings for Chu Mu, on this cold and chaotic rainy night, with Shu Yi'an only an arm's length away from him, tears suddenly streamed down her face.
She didn't know how to answer, and her nails were digging into her palms with nervousness.
Chu Mu watched the tears welling up in her eyes and sighed softly. He placed the umbrella in her hand, took off his coat and wrapped her up tightly, then reached out and gently wiped away her tears.
"I know it might be inappropriate to say this now, but I'm serious."
"Shu Yi'an, I don't want you to live like this anymore. Will you marry me?"
He didn't want to see her live alone without any support anymore. They had only met a handful of times, but not once had he felt that this girl lived with a sense of entitlement and recklessness. She was polite, humble, and gentle, and could face anything with calm optimism, even blatant hurt, she could just laugh it off.
In Chu Mu's mind, girls should be as spoiled as Chu Weiyuan, who can cry and shout to go shopping when they are unhappy, and can throw tantrums as they please, instead of being as fearful and non-aggressive as Shu Yi'an.
When Shu Yi'an heard him say those words, her heart felt like it was being gripped tightly, and her mind couldn't react in time. She did something that she would never know whether to regret or be grateful for in the future.
She nodded gently, and then made the most important decision of her life.
"I do."
On the way back, neither of them spoke. Shu Yi'an let him put her in the car, fasten her seatbelt, and carry her upstairs. Chu Mu took her directly to his apartment where he lived when he was single, a fully furnished 150-square-meter high-rise. Even after Shu Yi'an had showered and changed into his oversized clothes, she was still completely dazed.
Chu Mu handed her the boiled ginger water and silently used a large towel to dry her slightly damp hair.
"Why...why me?" Shu Yi'an turned around, somewhat stubbornly. "Chu Mu, you clearly had more choices. Won't you regret it?"