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Shi Guang watched in silent as the gentle rain fell onto his open palm. The pelting of raindrops drowned out the noises of the bustling street. Some people scurried away to find shelters the instant the cold rain dropped from the pregnant cloud above while some made haste to open up their umbrellas. Only Shi Guang stood still by the lamp post to greet the falling rain.
The umbrellas. The colourful, unchanging umbrellas. The constant point in this world of rapidly changing realities. The everlasting.
His heart grew heavy at the sight of the umbrellas around him. For a split second, he wished his life was like the umbrella. The design might change in accordance with the era, but its form would always remain the same.
It'd been a year, but the storm inside his chest still raged from time to time. He still felt lonely, and lost on different occassions. Clueless as to what he should do when he got stuck and which way to go when he reached the crossroads. Constantly calling out for Chu Ying and asking for the man's thoughts about things small or big had become a habit for him, hence it was extremely hard to have to stop and change it.
His clothes and shoes were slowly getting wet, yet Shi Guang didn't even budge. Gazing up absentmindedly at the overcast sky, he let the raindrops fell onto his face, to replace the dried-up tears that would no longer spill from his eyes.
Nothing could fill in the void Chu Ying left behind.
Shi Guang closed his eyes and focused on the gentle drumming of raindrops falling onto the earth ground, on the coldness that began to gnaw at his skin. He cracked open his eyes only when the rain suspiciously stopped hitting his face and was now drumming on a waterproof fabric. Instead of the greying sky, he saw the serene blue.
“You'll catch a cold,” said Yu Liang in response to his inquiring gaze, one hand currently holding a blue umbrella that was sheltering both of them from the rain.
Right. Shi Guang almost forgot it again. Forgot that if there was one thing that still remained the same in his life after all the storm and blizzard, it would be him. Yu Liang. The unchanging umbrella. The everlasting one. Shi Guang felt his heart grew warm at the sight of the boy currently standing by his side.
A genuine smile graced his features. He knew Yu Liang had something in his mind right now, questions he wanted to ask, but instead of saying it aloud the boy kindly returned the smile and handed him a handkerchief. Shi Guang took it without a word and wiped his wet face.
Before long, they began to move again and walk side by side, quietly heading over to the bus stop.
Nothing could fill in the void Chu Ying left behind. And maybe it's fine for him to leave it be, at least, for now.