Brother! This is the adoption certificate. I don't want your sister-in-law!

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Not long after we left the supermarket, it gradually got dark, the wind picked up, and the air smelled like it was about to rain.

Su Xiao was puzzled. Was she having a run-in with Yu?

Damn it, this isn't "A Little Story After the Rain"!

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The two hadn't gone far when a few raindrops started to fall.

It hit the leaves on the leaves, the bicycle seat parked by the roadside, and Su Xiao's nose.

He looked up at the sky, then without saying a word, threw his schoolbag in front of him and started rummaging through it.

After turning the left side over, turn to the right side; after turning the inner compartments over, turn to the main pocket.

Aquarius, two notebooks, a set of keys—that's all.

He doesn't even know to put a plastic bag in his bag when he goes out, let alone use an umbrella.

Su Wanning glanced at him.

It wasn't the disdainful look of "Why didn't you bring an umbrella again?", but the calm of "I knew this would happen."

She pulled her backpack to the front, unzipped it, and took out a folding umbrella.

It's sky blue, with several little white rabbits printed on the surface, and it's folded neatly.

She opened the umbrella, held it up, and placed it between the two of them.

Throughout this process, Su Wan Ning remained calm, so calm that she was even somewhat indifferent, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

The umbrella wasn't big.

It's more than enough for one person, but a bit of a stretch for two.

Su Xiao looked up at Su Wan Ning's umbrella handle, which was held high, and reached out to tilt the umbrella towards her.

Su Wan Ning walked to his left, with a barely perceptible distance between her shoulder and his arm.

Raindrops pattered against the umbrella.

She moved half an inch to the side, and her shoulder was about to get wet in the rain.

"Come here, what are you doing walking in the rain?"

Su Xiao pulled her back again.

After I tugged at her twice, she stopped moving.

The two walked close together under the umbrella, and Su Xiao could smell the faint scent of shampoo in her hair.

This route, which usually takes ten minutes to walk, seemed unusually long today.

Rainwater slid down the umbrella ribs, splashing into tiny droplets at their feet.

Su Xiao's right shoulder was mostly wet, while Su Wan Ning's left shoulder was completely clean.

When they got home, Su Xiao put the groceries in the kitchen and the first thing she did was not to change her clothes, but to urge them to hurry up.

"Take a shower quickly, or you'll catch a cold."

Su Wan Ning glanced at him; water was still dripping from his shoulder.

He was the one who got caught in the rain, but he was still worried about catching a cold...

She wanted to say something, but Su Xiao had already turned and gone into the kitchen, where she took out a piece of old ginger from the refrigerator and half a bag of brown sugar.

She stood in the living room watching his flustered back for a few seconds, then grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.

The flame of the water heater crackled and popped.

After taking a shower, Su Wan Ning changed into a clean set of pajamas, her hair still wet and draped over her shoulders as she dried it with a towel.

She had just sat down on the sofa and hadn't even had a chance to turn on the fan to dry her hair when a bowl of hot ginger water was placed in front of her.

Brown sugar ginger tea, dark brown in color, with a few poorly cut ginger slices floating on top.

Su Xiao wore the floral apron his mother had left behind, the straps of which were casually tied in a knot at the back of his waist.

Drink it while it's hot.

Su Wanning glanced at him, then took the drink and took a sip.

His brow furrowed slightly.

Too much ginger was added, resulting in a bitter and spicy taste.

"What's wrong?" Su Xiao asked from the side.

She paused, didn't answer, and took another sip.

Then he picked up the bowl and drank it all in one go.

When she handed the bowl back, there was a little brown sugar water on the corner of her mouth, which she gently wiped off with the back of her hand.

"Is it too spicy?" Su Xiao took the bowl, noticing her frown earlier.

Su Wanning shook her head.

It's actually quite spicy.

A little spiciness is just right; it warms your stomach after drinking it.

Su Xiao took the bowl and walked towards the kitchen. Halfway there, the food in the pot boiled, and the lid rattled from the steam.

He rushed over and lifted the pot lid, only to have his hand burned by the steam, making him hiss.

Su Wan Ning sat on the sofa, tilting her head to look at the figure in the kitchen wearing a floral apron, jumping up and down from the steam, and couldn't help but smile.

I don't know if it was because of the ginger water I just drank, or something else, but my stomach felt warm, and so did my heart.

After dinner, it was completely dark.

In the evening, the coffee table transforms into a lecture platform.

With her math textbook open to Chapter Four, Su Wanning held a pen and drew function graphs on a draft paper.

Su Xiao sat opposite her, and unusually, she didn't say anything about wanting water, needing to use the restroom, or wanting to sleep.

He listened attentively, occasionally asking a question, though the questions were still quite silly, such as "Why is this graph a parabola and not a semicircle?"

But at least they were genuinely listening.

Su Wanning felt somewhat relieved.

It feels like finally being able to salvage something that's been ruined.

"Alright, that's all for now."

Su Wanning studied until 11:30 before closing her textbook and rubbing her eyes.

Su Xiao leaned back on the sofa, stretched, and her bones cracked.

Before going to bed, he wanted to chat with his sister a little longer, so he casually started a conversation.

"Oh, by the way, Wan Ning, are you going to that math competition?"

Su Wan Ning paused for a moment as she packed up her textbooks.

She put the pen in her pencil case, zipped it up, and placed it on top of her textbook.

Her voice was soft and her tone flat, as if she were talking about something trivial.

"I've already signed up, I'm just killing time anyway."

Su Xiao tilted her head and looked at her: "How many days is the exam?"

"Three days."

She stood up, hugged her textbooks and pencil case to her chest, and walked back to her room.

Su Xiao pressed on, asking, "It's been so long? You went so far alone, weren't you afraid?"

Su Wanning walked to the door of the room and paused for a moment.

She didn't turn around.

"What's there to be afraid of? I'm not a child."

Her voice remained the same, neither warm nor cold, without any emotion, "Don't slack off while I'm not home. Keep memorizing the formulas; I'll be checking them when I get back."

After saying that, she pushed open the door, put the textbook on the desk, and then gently closed the door.

Su Xiao scratched his head and sighed inwardly, thinking that his younger sister really didn't talk much.

When will that talkative little sister, that clingy little sister, that little tagalong sister, come back?

The task is arduous and the road ahead is long...

In the room, Su Wanning did not immediately lie down on the bed, but sat at the desk and opened the desk drawer.

At the very back of the drawer was a diary that hadn't been opened in a long time.

The cover is light pink, with the edges worn white, and a few small flowers printed on it.

She took out her diary and turned to the latest page.

I picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on it.

The handwriting is small, each stroke distinct.

As she was writing, she stopped.

The rain was still falling outside the window, a fine, dense patter that made a soft, rustling sound as it hit the glass.

She looked at the words she had written on the paper, her eyelashes drooping.

Her gaze fell on that line of text.

"2005.10.26

No, I won't let him drop out of school.

I need to earn more money. If I have money, he probably won't drop out of school, right?

She gently closed the diary, put it in the back of the drawer, and then turned off the desk lamp.