Another summer has arrived, and the rain is pouring heavily, as if to wash away all the sultriness of the summer.
Chloe is wearing a burgundy shirt with light blue shorts, revealing her slender, long, and excessively fair legs. Her curly hair is tied back, and as she trims the fresh flowers and listens to the sound of the rain, she glances outside.
Such heavy rain, he probably won't come today.
She lowers her head to trim the flowers and gets distracted, pricking her finger on a rose thorn. She puts her finger in her mouth and feels a sense of loss.
She places the rose in a vase and adds some pure white lilies.
The familiar sound of footsteps at the door catches her attention, and she looks back to see Grant, drenched like a drowned rat, at the entrance.
She drops the lily in her hand and says, "Are you crazy? Why would you rush out in such heavy rain?"
Grant, however, says, "The food is still warm."
"..."
Chloe takes out a clean towel, throws it to him, and says, "Dry yourself."
Grant dries his hair.
Chloe looks at his clothes, half-soaked, and gets up to fetch two pieces of clothing. She says, "There's a place to change clothes in the back."
Grant looks at the men's clothes in his hand, somewhat bewildered, and asks, "Why do you have men's clothes here?"
"You mean those? They were left by an ex-boyfriend; I forgot to throw them away," Chloe grins at him, her fox-like eyes smiling charmingly.
Grant goes to change clothes and sees the price tag on the clothes, knowing she must be lying to him.
He changes into the clothes, which fit him surprisingly well.
He watches Chloe eating, and he sits opposite her.
"Not busy lately?" Chloe lifts her eyes to look at him.
"Not too bad."
"I forgot, you're the boss." Chloe eats a few more mouthfuls of food, then stops.
"Is the food today tasty?"
"Delicious." Chloe cleans her mouth, and Grant hands her the lipstick beside her, holding a mirror for her to reapply her lipstick.
After finishing her lipstick, Chloe looks at him and says, "I forgot to ask, which restaurant is this from? It's quite tasty."
"I made it myself."
Chloe pauses, looks at him, and says, "It doesn't taste good."
"What would you like to eat tomorrow?"
"Anything is fine."
"How about sweet and sour pork ribs?"
"Okay."
"Braised crucian carp?"
"I don't want to eat that."
Grant asks a few more questions, then says, "I'll make these tomorrow."
Chloe looks at him and says, "Aren't you afraid that after working so hard, it will still be in vain in the end?"
"Pursuing you is my choice, cooking for you is also my choice. If I can't catch you, it only means you don't like me, or I haven't done enough. Love is mutual, it can't be forced."
"But I still don't understand, what is there about me that you like?"
Grant looks at her and says, "You just standing there, doing nothing, is enough to make my heart race."
Perhaps you have always been chasing sunlight and beauty.
But inadvertently, you have also become the moonlight that illuminates others.
He is a coward, carefully hiding his love, not daring to show any flaws.
He knows her past, deeply understands her aversion to men, her aversion to love and marriage, so he has always not known how to approach her without making her disgusted.
Seeing her injured, he still can't help but care for her, dressing her wounds.
Seeing her unable to move on from the death of the person she cared about the most, even having suicidal intentions, he feels he can't remain silent anymore.
At least he must be brave once.
Whether it's the girl with crookedly tied hair who told him he was cute, the bright girl who gestured to him to be quiet, or her now.
He likes every one of them, only more so.
Chloe looks at him and says, "But my character is inherently broken, incomplete, I'm not suitable for love."
"If we can be together, I would only feel lucky, all of you are mine."
Grant suddenly falls from the chair.
He falls unexpectedly, and before Chloe can react, he is lying on the ground.
Chloe helps him to the sofa in the back, touches his forehead, and it's scorching hot.
She thinks he must be crazy today.
...
Grant is a bit delirious from sleep, and when he opens his eyes, he sees himself lying on the sofa with a cold towel on his forehead.
Chloe is cooking porridge in a small pot nearby, and when she looks back at him and sees that he is awake, she says, "I couldn't move you, so you have to sleep on the sofa."
Grant smells the aroma of white porridge.
He sits up, still feeling a bit dizzy.
Chloe stirs the porridge in the pot a few times, then ladles a bowl out and says to him, "You came even with a fever; if it gets any higher, you'll become a fool."
"I didn't know, I just felt a bit dizzy," Grant says, holding the bowl of porridge and taking a few sips, suddenly feeling that having a fever isn't so bad.
Chloe suddenly comes over, reaches out to touch his forehead, then touches her own, and says, "It's not hot anymore; the fever has subsided."
Grant looks at her, his ears turning a little red.
Chloe watches him eat porridge and suddenly asks, "How many girlfriends have you had?"
Grant is stunned for a moment, then shakes his head, "None."
"Okay," Chloe says, leaning back on the sofa to play with her phone.
Grant finishes the bowl of porridge and earnestly says, "I really have never been in a relationship."
Chloe looks at him, "I know you've never been in a relationship; I didn't say you have."
Grant purses his lips, nervously tapping his fingers, and says, "Can I take care of you from now on?"
Chloe seems to recall something and says, "I hate marriage, only want to date for life, in name only, can you accept that?"
She will always remember that everyone said James was also very good to her mother before marriage, sending flowers, gifts, and buying food.
After marriage, he changed, became an alcoholic, beat, and verbally abused.
It almost became a daily occurrence in her childhood.
So she has always been somewhat resistant to marriage and love; she can see others in love, but not herself.
"Being able to date you is my honor."
"I'm not as good as you think."
"But in my eyes, you are the best."
"Then let's give it a try," Chloe says, looking at him.
In an instant, Grant is so excited that he is at a loss.
Chloe then says, "I can't promise I'll be a good girlfriend; I'll try my best to be a good girlfriend."
"You don't need to change; just be yourself. You don't need to change for anyone."
"Would your mother like a girl who didn't even finish high school?"
"My mom has known about you for a long time, and she has been urging me to hurry up and chase you. She even wanted to join in personally."
"What about your dad..."
"My dad and mom have the same idea."
Chloe wants to say more but looks at the card he hands over, squints her eyes slightly, and asks, "What does this mean?"
"Handing over the salary card."
(The end)