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One of Su Heting’s silly but charming features was his obsessive desire to be the one who helps. In most cases, his attempts to satisfy this desire led to the fact that he became the one who was being helped, but it didn’t offend the cat at all. He was willing to try endlessly.
Therefore, when a fine rain started falling, Su Heting’s ears immediately stood up straight and his tail wagged so noticeably that it attracted the attention of Xie Zhenshu walking next to him.
The rain! The real rain! Isn’t it a great opportunity to take care of his companion and demonstrate how useful he can be?
The raindrops were so elusive that they didn’t even have time to settle on the warm skin, but Su Heting wasn’t confused by it. Water from the sky is water from the sky, at any second it can turn into a real downpour.
“Guess it started raining,” he said bowing his head. His cat ears amusingly followed this movement and tickled Xie Zhenshu’s cheek.
Xie Zhenshu chuckled and, catching such an obvious hint, raised the hand in which he was holding the umbrella... only to discover it was miraculously empty. The man on the right grinned smugly and with one deft movement opened the stolen umbrella, lifting it with such force as if he was trying to throw a bag of corpses over his shoulder.
Oh, the cat’s smile was even too smug.
The corners of Xie Zhenshu’s mouth twitched slightly, but this faint hint of a smile remained unnoticed because after a second the drizzling rain intensified, drumming on the surface of the umbrella with terrible force. The standing roar resembled the echoes of a distant firefight, but in case of real danger, Xie Zhenshu had a gun hidden.
He really had! He specifically checked the holster, fearing the desire to hold an umbrella would turn into a desire to shoot everyone in their path. That fear, of course, was absolutely irrational—the street was completely empty, except for them, the umbrella and myriad raindrops.
Su Heting’s tail swung from side to side without his owner’s knowledge, periodically brushing Xie Zhenshu’s ankles. Heterochromic eyes sparkled with the same enchanting brilliance. Straightened up, the cat was strutting through the puddles, looking absolutely happy.
Looking at his smile, Xie Zhenshu was in mixed feelings. On the one hand, there was—and could not be—anything in this world that was more important than Su Heting’s smile. On the other hand, “walking under an umbrella with someone” was very different from “walking under an umbrella alone”. Some people just didn’t have enough responsibility to be the one who holds an umbrella on joint walks. For example, it was worth considering the difference in height and the limited size of the umbrella itself. Very quickly, Xie Zhenshu’s left shoulder was completely soaked, but the cat was still under the illusion that he was saving lives.
Xie Zhenshu, however, remained a decent person. Even when the wet edge of the umbrella smeared on his face.
“Thanks.”
One short word, just a couple of syllables uttered close to his ear, and Su Heting smiled even wider. And even more smuger.
“You’re welcome,” he replied pleasantly, bowing jokingly. The bow was followed by his cat ears, an umbrella and the water accumulated on it, which poured onto Xie Zhenshu’s hopelessly wet shoulder.
When the cat straightened up, he didn’t see any signs of dissatisfaction or discomfort on his companion’s face—only the usual indifference and a slice of warmth in his gaze. In his heart, he couldn’t help but exult.
“Has anyone ever held an umbrella for you?” he asked slyly.
Xie Zhenshu shook his head, dodging the umbrella again.
“So I’m the first?”
“Yes.”
Something in such an answer should have added a couple of notes of sadness to the atmosphere, but there was no sadness in Xie Zhenshu’s tone, which means there was no point in feeling sorry for him.
When they reached the house, the downpour had already begun to subside. The sky, however, was still overcast and darkened even more from the impending night. Rainwater accumulated in the potholes on the road, and someone especially keen on the “holding an umbrella” mission fell into a puddle a couple of times, soaking his shoes. But his mood didn’t deteriorate at all.
There was only one light bulb burning in the entrance, and Xie Zhenshu tried very hard to stand the way the dark spot in half of his shirt was less noticeable. Su Heting folded the umbrella and shook it before entering. Coming inside, Xie Zhenshu just ran to the bathroom before his great savior had time to turn on the light and suspect something was wrong. When he came out after changing into dry house clothes, Su Heting was already waiting for him with an expression full of mock seriousness.
“From now on, we will hold an umbrella for each other in turn.”
Very pleased with how he coped with such a difficult task, he even added, “It will be right and fair.”
Xie Zhenshu could only smile helplessly with the corners of his lips. And nod.