Miss Assassin is heavily addicted

Chapter 84, Section 41: The Torrential Rain

"Cough cough cough, cough cough cough..."

The Ford G, with its engine off, was parked on the side of the street. Rain kept hitting the car, and the flashing white lights pierced through the rain, as if silently telling a story of pain—even the hood had popped open and was smoking.

Water was gushing out of the red fire hydrant next to it, which had been knocked askew. It merged with the torrential rainwater that flooded the street and eventually flowed back into the sewers.

The heavy rain, with its dense clouds overhead, seemed as if the gates of a reservoir had been opened in the sky. As the rain poured down, the ground was covered in a white expanse of splashing water.

The world was shrouded in rain.

"Cough cough cough, cough cough cough..."

He Ye staggered out of the passenger seat, his left hand gripping the rickety car door. He fanned away the unpleasant smell with his right hand, because he smelled a pungent odor—and the last image in his memory was of Loris shouting "No!" and swerving the steering wheel.

Thinking of this, the disheveled He Ye looked back.

The white car with its hood popped open was already smoking, seemingly from the smog caused by the damaged engine. Loris was struggling to get out of the driver's seat; she also opened the door, looking completely disoriented.

Clearly, Lolis wasn't much better off than He Ye. She waved her hand in front of her nose to clear away the pungent smell, then stumbled out of the car, coughing several times.

"Cough cough cough..."

The heavy rain soaked them both.

Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident; it seems only the fire hydrant and the vehicle were damaged. However, to be frank, the situation isn't good either, as this is only up to Northern Street.

"How could you drive like that... how could you drive like that? Even if I sing well, it doesn't have to be like this!" He Ye couldn't help but say, and quickly came to Lolis's side to put her coat on to shield her from the rain.

"Shut up...cough cough cough, do you think I want to!" Loris looked up in a disheveled state, feeling the rain on her head weaken instantly, followed by the sky being covered.

Stop arguing and come get out of the rain!

"Don't push me... Wait, stop, stop, stop!"

"what happened?"

"You hurt your foot!..."

Loris endured the pain and whispered, looking down with difficulty at her legs. She saw blood seeping through the thin layer of black stockings. The injury was on her ankle, probably from hitting it when she stepped on the brake while turning the steering wheel.

Upon seeing this, He Ye gasped.

"Cough cough cough..." He Ye coughed awkwardly and turned his head after inhaling the smoke from the engine next to him.

"Can you still walk?"

"..." Loris tried to lift her foot, then winced in pain, only managing a soft murmur, "It hurts a little..."

He Ye watched as her wound deepened, and the blood that seeped out was washed away by the rain and soaked into the ground. He couldn't hold back any longer and quickly reached out to help her up—why did she have to be so stubborn even when she was injured?

"Don't push yourself, the blood is seeping out more!"

"..." Loris was silent for a moment, then said, "It's nothing."

At this moment, the rain was washing the leaves and the ground, and the surging water was flowing into the sewers. Lights were on in the rooms of the buildings on both sides of the street, but no one seemed to care about the car accident and the heavy rain.

He Ye helped Lolis walk slowly to the eaves next to them to take shelter from the rain—even though they had taken off their coats to shield themselves from the rain, the two of them still inevitably got wet.

The girl's feet, unable to move, simply dragged on the ground until she reached the eaves where she was no longer getting wet in the rain.

The two people under the eaves temporarily escaped the rain.

Loris sat on the ground, took off her soaking wet shoes, and checked her wound.

The black stockings were taken off and tossed aside, revealing her fair skin, which was moist and flushed. Lolis bent her knees and pressed her thighs against her chest, pressing and sliding her fingers down her calves to confirm that the injury was only on her ankle.

He Ye also checked his body and found nothing wrong. He was not injured; at most, he bumped his chest against the passenger seat. He looked at Lolis, who was sitting on the ground, and she was also pursing her lips, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Undoubtedly, the feeling of relief and retribution after recovering from this near-miss car accident was mixed.

"I really won't dare ride in your car again next time..."

He Ye let out a long sigh, his expression dark. He took his suit jacket off Lolis's head, no longer letting her wear it because the suit was soaked and needed to be wrung out.

Standing next to her, wringing out the suit with both hands, no longer caring about damaging the fabric, He Ye could only sigh and say, "What is all this nonsense?"

“Who told you to suddenly start singing…” Loris muttered.

He Ye looked over, wondering what this had to do with singing. He wrung out his clothes as he retorted to Lolis, "Even if it sounds good, it shouldn't be enough to make you lose your grip on the steering wheel, right?"
Lolis blushed and finally spoke in a low voice, distorting the truth, saying that He Ye would start talking so rudely that she couldn't stand it, and so the two quarreled to no avail.

"Okay, okay, okay, okay." He Ye wrung out his suit jacket and threw it on her head. "You're the first person to say I sing badly."

"Don't blame me."

Loris impatiently pulled down her suit sleeve, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Seeing this, He Ye didn't say much, but glanced at her injured ankle, which was unbandaged and still bleeding silently.

He Ye glanced around again, thought for a moment, then reluctantly rushed into the rain with his coat draped over his head.

"Ouch, it's so cold!"

His voice, echoing through the rain, was somewhat comical.

Loris didn't know why he suddenly left, and her mind wandered with all sorts of thoughts. Finally, she lowered her eyes, feeling a little apologetic.

It wasn't until a few minutes later, when a soaking wet He Ye returned, panting and carrying an umbrella, bandages, and an iodine bottle, that Lolis understood his intention.

"You got this by spending some money and exchanging it with the citizens. You can bandage it yourself."

As He Ye spoke, he placed the things in front of her, then sat down on the ground, clutching his collar. He was soaked to the bone, and it was unclear whether the water or sweat dripping from his collar was from drowning.

Moved but silent, Loris took the bandage and treated her wound herself.

The place where the two took shelter from the rain was a study that had already been closed. Occasionally, raindrops would drift in from the eaves and hit the floor, but most of the place was still dry and rainless. It was a haven from the rain.

"What do we do now?" He Ye sat next to her, looking as dejected as a homeless person.

“Let’s wait until the rain subsides…” Loris’s eyes were uncertain.

"Alas... alas!"

He Ye couldn't help but sigh deeply, but he didn't say anything more. After all, they had already argued about this before, and besides, both of them were unlucky to have their cars crashed.

Loris remained silent for a while before turning her head. Knowing what he was sighing about, she spoke softly, as if apologizing:
"Hey, my question... I'm sorry."

yeah?
He Ye was speechless for a moment. He hadn't expected that she would actually apologize. Although he hadn't heard her clearly, he couldn't very well ask her again, could he? The fact that she was willing to lower her head and apologize was even more surprising than this heavy rain.

What more can be said.

"Good to know." He Ye blurted out.

Loris's face turned pale and then red, before she finally turned her head away, hugged her legs, and sat on the ground, letting the wind blow through her hair. The street was covered in a torrential downpour, the rain icy cold.

A moment of silence fell. Ke Heye had stopped complaining about her current predicament, after all, the guy had already bowed his head and apologized.

Loris remembered that after the ball, Nitil had been sitting next to her in the restaurant—Nitil had been by her side while she ate, and Nitil had happily told her that she knew everything and no longer needed to hide her feelings.

Lorice retorted irritably, asking her what she was hiding. She said she wouldn't have danced that dance if it weren't for Lorice's meddling... Although it wouldn't lead to everyone misunderstanding them as a couple, it still caused the trouble of rumors.

But Nettie told her it meant something else.

"you……"

A soft whisper, the passage of time unknown.

Recalling He Ye's actions just now, Lolis threw on her coat and rushed into the rain, saying with a heart full of emotion:

"Do you treat everyone like this?"

"What do you mean?" He Ye asked, arms crossed, having already decided to let bygones be bygones because of Lolis's apology.

He was watching the rain, waiting for it to stop.

Now that Loris has taken the initiative to speak to him, he turned his head with a bit of curiosity.

"Those actions," Loris whispered, glancing slowly over. Though she was curled up in a ball, hugging her legs, she seemed to be tentatively opening up, her lips moving slightly. "I thought you thought I was too annoying and left."

Their eye contact seemed to have no other intention.

When He Ye heard this, he realized that it referred to the incident of rushing into the rain. He thought to himself that he certainly didn't do that to everyone—once, Mark crashed his car into a tree. That mission was when they had just arrived in Greeley City. The car was carrying the entire spy team. Although no one was injured, he knelt on the floor for a long time that day.

Monica sat in front of him, legs crossed, interrogating him; Lawrence recounted the events with a blank expression; He Ye took away all of his treasured wines, ostensibly to prevent drunk driving; Xi Wu squatted down, examining the damaged hood of the car.

Even if it were a friend he'd recently met, if it were Brooke, he would probably be grumbling as he got off the bus.

"No, it's nothing."

He Ye snapped out of her daze and casually replied, "After all, you're injured, so we can't just ignore it. Besides, it's your car that's been damaged. Just don't make me pay for it."

He was still in the mood to joke at this point, and Loris was clearly trying to suppress a laugh, but at the same time she was even more nervous—she realized that what Nytil said seemed to be true.

It seems he really likes me.

Loris couldn't quite define what kind of emotion this was. She slowly looked away. No one had ever come so close to her before, not during her arduous police academy years or her lonely student days. Even when men with flowers lingered outside her closed doors and windows, Loris never felt that they were walking towards her.

Does your ankle still hurt?

But this guy really is...

"It's nothing," Loris whispered, as if trying to hide her head from view.

"It's good that you're alright. The rain seems to have lessened a bit. Should we try to leave this place?"

The silence lasted for what seemed like more than ten minutes. He Ye stood up and reached out to feel the raindrops outside the eaves. There was no reason for him to stay here any longer, after all, he had things to do tomorrow.

Take a look at what's at hand.

Lorice, who had borrowed an umbrella from a good citizen, sat on the ground with bandages and iodine in her arms. She spoke of the somewhat alluring feeling of being soaked, the wet stains on her clothes outlining her figure.

So He Ye averted her gaze, avoiding looking directly at him, and calmly said:
"Now that I have an umbrella, I can try walking home. I might even be able to get a ride home along the way. Otherwise, sitting here all the time is too cold and I might catch a cold."

Lorice didn't refute, she simply stood up slowly.
She looked at He Ye, only to find that He Ye was also a little surprised. When their eyes met, Loris chose to lower her head to avoid eye contact.

He Ye hesitated for a moment, then tentatively said:
"Uh, should I help you?"

“…” Loris did not refuse.

He Ye hesitated because it seemed that Lolis needed his support. Although her previous attitude was still denigrating him, now... something seemed a little off.
I don't seem to hate myself that much anymore.

Although she didn't quite understand what kind of inner change it was, He Ye suddenly realized that this was a good opportunity to get closer to her.

If I get along well with her, even if I don't stay in the intelligence department as an auxiliary police officer, I'll still have a way to know about the intelligence department. I can just ask her out for tea from time to time.

And a better relationship...

He Ye also remembered what Nitil had said, that this girl didn't have many friends—based on He Ye's experience at the police station, her interpersonal relationships were indeed quite bad.

What she lacks is friends. Her attitude towards herself is quite like that of a friend. As for any other feelings... He Ye doesn't think she looks like she likes him at all. How can someone be so calculating and petty towards someone they like?

In short, he helped Loris up.

She walked more smoothly than before.

The two had been under the eaves for over twenty minutes and were now trying to move. The wrecked white car would be handed over to the city government officials tomorrow, and their immediate priority was to take a hot shower.

The rain on the street had subsided, as if the sluice gates of a reservoir had been closed, and the dark clouds were still thick, but only a light drizzle was falling.

The umbrella was tilted slightly and held over the head.

He Ye held an umbrella in his left hand and supported Lolis on his right as they walked down the street.

The atmosphere was unintentionally a little hazy.

“Well, sir, there’s something I need to tell you—but before that, I need to ask what you think of me.”

He Ye spoke casually, his deep eyes fixed ahead. But this sudden question left Loris at a loss. She turned to look at He Ye beside her. This guy wasn't embarrassed at all, but his opening remarks were exactly what she had in mind.

He would undoubtedly refuse if he said something like that.

We've only known each other for a week, so even if we've slept together, it's not okay, right?
We should wait at least a year before we can start dating, right?
And how could I agree without receiving his love letter? At least I should write two hundred words in pen and put a forget-me-not inside, right?
A flurry of thoughts flashed through Loris's mind, then she asked in a low voice, "What... opinion?"

"Sir, I actually quite like you. I feel like we get along really well—although you're not very good at expressing your thoughts directly, I know you're a loyal person, so I really like you. If you don't mind..."

Before He Ye could finish speaking, Loris interrupted him, her face flushed, "No!"

"what happened?"

"I, I..." Loris clenched her fingers and said, "I only considered you a friend!"

He Ye raised an eyebrow, a little strangely, but this answer was exactly what he wanted to hear, so he continued:

"That's good."

He Ye continued casually, his voice extremely gentle:
"Since you consider me a friend, then I will consider you a friend in return. Although I've only worked here for a week and haven't gotten to know you very well, I can tell that those people don't like you, probably because of work-related jealousy. But luckily, I'm rather lazy and don't care. If you encounter any troubles or problems in your life later, you can come and chat with me."

"I would welcome you anytime."

He Ye smiled gently as he finished speaking, clearly having said his most important words, but for Lolis, it was a moment of sudden, heart-fluttering excitement followed by a belated realization…

I realized it too late.

Regret.

(End of this chapter)