COLD RAIN

CHAPTER 45

July and August were the hottest months in S City. Even though Pon was born with a cold body and experienced baking in the heat in the small southern town, continuing it in another place was still quite unbearable.

Pon never took the umbrella that was prepared at the door.

Once, the housekeeper stuffed it into his bag. When he came back in the evening, he put the umbrella back in place.

“Are you afraid of being laughed at by others for using an umbrella?” Auntie tried to persuade him, “The sun is so hot outside, so boys also should protect themselves from the sun. Be careful of heatstroke if you go on like this.”

Thanks to her kind words, the KFC closest to home was full that day. Pon walked two more streets under the scorching sun to find a coffee shop with empty seats.

While he stayed indoors, he felt dizzy and sweaty. He came out of the coffee shop at night and was stunned by the oncoming heat wave.

He got home and collapsed before he could eat.

Auntie’s working hours were from 9:00 in the morning to 7:00 in the evening.

She was afraid that Pon would have no one to take care of him, so she didn’t leave until nearly ten o’clock at night.

Heatstroke, coupled with sitting under the air conditioner and catching a cold, made him fall ill, and in confusion, Pon heard Auntie nagging while applying a wet towel to his forehead, “It’s too hot to run out all day, and you even refuse to take the umbrella? Ugh, a young couple having a conflict, but do you need to torture yourself like this?”

Pon wanted to deny and refute, but he was too sick and his mind was dim. He couldn’t say a complete word and fell asleep under the housekeeper’s muttering.

As if in a dream, a big, dry and warm palm held his hand soaked in cold sweat and the other hand touched his forehead, the fingers sliding slowly down his cheek.

The one squeezing his hand closed its five fingers and clenched tighter.

Pon wanted to open his eyes to see who it was, but his eyelids were so heavy that even a crack to let in some light could not be opened.

When he woke up, the sky was already bright, and he was the only one in the huge room.

By eight o’clock, Auntie was already busy in the kitchen. Before going downstairs, Pon glanced at the master bedroom next door on the second floor.

The door was open, he didn’t come back or had already left.

When he sat at the dining table, Auntie brought the hot porridge over, “Sweet porridge mix is the most suitable for patients to eat.”

Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen supply to the brain after being hungry for too long, but after picking up a spoon and swallowing a few mouthfuls, Pon suddenly remembered the details in his dream.

The man moved very lightly, gently wiping the sweat from his forehead with his hand, whispering in his ear: “Sorry, I’m late.”

Two days later, after receiving a message from Aonn, Pon took a photo and posted it on Weibo with the words; Classmate’s love touches the sky ❣️

Not long after it was sent out, he received a call from Aonn, “Look at my brain, I forgot to send you a mask and a sun cap!”

Pon smiled and said, “I can buy them myself.”
“Don’t, don’t, don’t go out, wait where you are.”

Pon was taken aback, “You are not already on the road, are you?”

Aonn didn’t sell himself short this time and grinned, “There’s a training session in S City this weekend, I just happened to come and find you to play.”