When The Snow Falls In Autumn Chapter 59

Chapter 59

The bell for the end of class is a long, monotonous electronic sound, dragging out a long tail in the empty lecture hall.The professor on the podium closed the lesson plan and announced that class was over.The originally stagnant air was instantly broken. The sound of chairs being dragged, books being closed, and the students whispering and talking were all heard together, and the crowd began to surge toward the door.

Ye Qiulan almost immediately wanted to take off his windbreaker and give it back to Ling Xuequing.The dark gray coat enveloped her completely, and the remaining body temperature and the strange and refreshing breath of her own body were like a warm cocoon, and also like an overly distinctive mark, making her feel uneasy about being exposed in this increasingly noisy environment.She held her collar with her fingers and was about to make a move——

“Dress.”

Ling Xueqing’s voice sounded nearby, not high, but clear, with the usual undisputed plainness.She had packed her things, put the dark canvas bag on one shoulder, and was standing up.Her eyes didn’t even fall on Ye Qiulan, she just looked at the surging crowd in front of her. Her profile was calm, except for the light red on her ears that had not completely faded away and still stubbornly remained.

Ye Qiulan’s movements froze, and the fingers holding his collar stopped in place.She raised her head and looked at Ling Xueqing.Ling Xueqing finally turned her head, and her eyes quickly passed over her looking a little overwhelmed in her large coat, and then quickly moved away, as if that glance was just to confirm whether she was still wearing it.

“The rain hasn’t stopped yet.” Ling Xueqing added as an explanation.The tone was still calm, but Ye Qiulan could hear a hint of refusal under those short words.She was not discussing, she was informing.

After saying that, Ling Xueqing turned around and walked towards the back door of the classroom, joining the leaving crowd.With steady steps and a straight back, he soon disappeared into the light and shadow of the corridor outside the door.Ye Qiulan was left alone, still sitting in his seat, wearing the coat that was obviously one size too big and belonged to another person. He was surrounded by the gradually empty classroom and the never-ending sound of rain outside the window.

The warmth still seeped in continuously from the shoulders, dispelling the chill in the body, but making the throbbing in the heart clearer.Ye Qiulan slowly stood up and wrapped Ling Xueqing’s coat tighter. The sleeves were very long and she had to roll them up several times.The subtle sound of fabric rubbing was mixed with her own drum-like heartbeat.

She packed up her books, hugged them, and walked out of the classroom.The corridor was crowded with students who had just finished class, and the voices were noisy. The moisture brought in by wet umbrellas and shoe soles made the air even more stuffy.Ye Qiulan subconsciously searched for the thin figure in the crowd, but all he could see were moving heads and blurry faces.

She didn’t go back to the dormitory immediately, nor did she go to the library.My heart was in a mess, and I needed some time and space to digest everything that was unexpected.She turned a corner and walked towards the path leading to the campus lake.The rain became lighter and turned into fine raindrops, floating diagonally.The lake surface was shrouded in a hazy gray-white vapor, and only the vague outlines of the teaching buildings and trees on the other side remained.The branches of the willow trees on the shore were wetted by the rain and hung heavily toward the water.

There was almost no one around the lake.She walked to a shore covered by a pavilion and sat down on a cold stone bench.Putting the book next to her, she folded her hands around the large windbreaker jacket, buried her face in the collar that smelled of Ling Xueqing, and took a deep breath.

It is crisp and slightly cool, like the first ray of sunlight penetrating the clouds in the pine forest after snow.There is also a very faint, calm smell of paper and ink from old library books.This breath enveloped her, isolating her from the damp and cold world outside, creating a private and warm corner that belonged only to her.

She thought of Ling Xueqing’s red ears, her seemingly calm but slightly tense profile, and her brief but powerful phrase “dress”.All this points to the fact that Ling Xueqing is not completely indifferent.She was also disturbed by some emotion, but she used stronger willpower to suppress and wrap it up, and expressed it with the simplest actions.

This knowledge made the sour mess in Ye Qiulan’s heart seem to be gently untangled by an invisible hand.The sourness still exists, because the gap between them is still clear – the physiological differences between Alpha and Beta, Ling Xueqing’s heavy burden and self-imprisonment, and the clearly delineated sense of distance that always follows them.But on this sour background, something is slowly but surely breaking through the ground.It was a trace of true warmth that accidentally leaked out from under Ling Xueqing’s silent shell. It was a clumsy concern that she still couldn’t completely let go of after instinctively avoiding it.

Like this coat.It is more than just a piece of clothing to keep out the cold, it is more like a silent declaration, a cautious temptation to break the icy deadlock of the past few days, or… a signal to get closer that even Ling Xueqing may not fully understand.

Ye Qiulan buried his face in his collar and closed his eyes.The rain beat on the tiled roof of the pavilion, making a pitter-pattering sound, and ripples continued on the lake.Time seems to flow a little slower here.

After an unknown period of time, the rain seemed to have stopped, and only the eaves were still dripping with drops of water.She raised her head and looked towards the lake.The water vapor has dispersed a bit, and the outlines of the buildings on the other side are clearer.The air was cold, but with my coat on, I didn’t feel uncomfortable.

It’s time for her to go back.There are classes in the afternoon.

He slowly stood up and stretched his numb legs.She hugged the book, tightened her coat, and walked out of the pavilion.The campus air after the rain is particularly fresh, with the moist smell of washed soil and vegetation.The water on the road reflected the gray sky and trees.

She did not go back to the dormitory to change clothes, but went directly to the teaching building where the afternoon classes were held wearing Ling Xueqing’s coat.Along the way, she could feel the occasional curious or appraising glances from classmates passing by – a dark gray men’s (or unisex) windbreaker that was obviously unfitting, simple in style but exquisite in material, was indeed eye-catching on her.But she didn’t pay attention, she just raised her collar higher, covering less than half of her face.

The afternoon class is a professional class in a small classroom.When she entered, several familiar classmates looked at her in surprise when they saw her outfit.

“Qiu Lan, these clothes of yours… are new? The style is different.” A girl came over and asked in a low voice.

“No,” Ye Qiulan responded vaguely and sat down at the back, “I borrowed it.”

“Oh -” the girl protracted her tone, with a knowing smile in her eyes, and turned her head back without asking any more questions.

Ye Qiulan lowered his head and pretended to organize the books, but his cheeks felt slightly warm.She knew that the coat on her body was like an invisible label, linking her to Ling Xueqing in a subtle way.This made her feel secretly, almost tremblingly happy, but also a little uneasy about being in the spotlight.

She was a little absent-minded throughout the afternoon class.The warmth and breath of the coat continued to wrap around her, making it impossible for her to ignore its existence, and she couldn’t stop thinking about the owner of the coat.What is Ling Xueqing doing now?In the library?In the lab?Or… somewhere, thinking about this coat and her wearing it?

I finally made it to the end of class. It was getting dark outside, and the dusk after the rain came very early.She followed the flow of people out of the teaching building, hesitating whether to go to the graduate student apartment to return her clothes now, or…

The phone vibrated in my pocket.

She took it out and read it. It was a message from Ling Xueqing. There was only one short line: “There is no rush for the coat. At seven o’clock in the evening, the same place in the library.”

He didn’t ask “Where are you” or “I’ll get it”, he just told a time and a place.It’s still Ling Xueqing’s style, concise, direct, and without room for negotiation.

Ye Qiulan stared at the line of words for a few seconds, and the thread in his heart that had just been sorted out seemed to tremble slightly again.She replied: “Okay.”

Putting away her phone, she stood there, looking at the teaching building that was gradually lit up in the dusk and the hazy outline of the library in the distance.The dark gray coat on her body still exudes warmth in the cool evening wind.

Seven o’clock in the evening, library, old place.

She knew it was more than just an agreement to return the coat.It is more like a silent invitation being picked up again, an effort to return to some kind of “normality” after the cold avoidance and awkward approach.As for the unspoken undercurrents surging under this “normality”, she didn’t know, and Ling Xueqing probably didn’t know either.

But she will go.

Holding the coat on her shoulders, she turned around and walked towards the canteen.Gotta eat something first.My stomach doesn’t seem to feel that bad anymore, but I still feel cold at night on an empty stomach.

The street lights came on one after another, casting a warm halo on the wet ground.Soft music began to play on the campus radio.At night after the rain, the air is crisp and clear, carrying a hint of hidden vitality like the revival of all things.