Hao Jian naturally didn't tell Xiaohai that Liang Yuwei was coming because since Liang Yuwei had already mentioned it to him and decided to come, she would definitely tell her cousin Xiaohai as well. So, there was no need for him to repeat it again; Xiaohai might even know it before him.

After finishing breakfast, Xiaohai curled up in her room, and who knows what she was doing alone in there. Naturally, Hao Jian wasn't interested in finding out.

In the meantime, when Hao Jian checked his phone, he discovered several missed calls from yesterday. Realizing he hadn't noticed them before, he saw that Li Weiwei had called him two or three times yesterday around noon. She must have come around for a home visit but no one answered, hence why she called.

Thinking about this, Hao Jian imagined Li Weiwei must have been both angry and embarrassed yesterday, but since she couldn't do anything about it, she had to call him. But of course, he didn't even see the calls, and even if he had, he wouldn't have answered. Only an idiot picks up the teacher's call, where's the sense in inviting trouble?

Luckily, Li Weiwei didn't find him yesterday after getting no answer at the door and today's noon had already passed without her showing up. Even though, if she showed up, Hao Jian was planning to pretend he wasn't home, not answer the door or the phone, having her not come saved him some hassle.

Thus, a boring afternoon passed just like that, and in the evening, Xiaohai originally suggested they go out shopping together later. He agreed since staying home was boring anyway. But, unexpectedly, around six or seven in the evening, a gust of wind blew and heavy rain began pouring down.

Xiaohai had even done her makeup, ready to go out, but the heavy rain and fierce wind, combined with lightning and thunder, instantly wiped away her joyful mood. She no longer felt like going out for fun, so she ate a bit of something and then lay back in her room, seeming quite disappointed and not knowing what to do.

Hao Jian, however, was unbothered, rain or shine, it didn't affect his mood much. He just lazed on the couch watching TV. A movie that recently caught his attention was on, but he hadn't had time to see it in theaters when it was released, so he grabbed this opportunity to watch it now that it was airing on TV.

As he watched the movie, the wind and rain outside showed no signs of stopping, rather it seemed to intensify. The flashing lightning and thunder were quite intimidating, affecting the mood for enjoying a movie, so Hao Jian pulled the curtains closed, yet he was still somewhat affected by the lightning outside.

He couldn't understand why a sudden storm of this scale erupted today when the past few days had been pretty good weather-wise. It's true when people say the weather changes in the blink of an eye.

While engrossed in the movie, Hao Jian's phone suddenly rang. Someone was calling. Without thinking, he glanced at the phone and saw it was a call from Zhang Danlin. His brows furrowed instantly.

It wasn't too late, yet not that early either, and with classes the next day, what was she calling him for at this hour? Although thinking like this, he somewhat paused but eventually got up, picked up the phone, and answered it.

"What's up?" Hao Jian asked.

There was silence from the other end of the phone. Hao Jian paused, but before he could speak, he said, "If there's nothing, I'm going to hang up."

"I..." Before Hao Jian finished speaking, Zhang Danlin's voice emerged.

It was evident that she became anxious when Hao Jian mentioned hanging up, quickly blurting what she was too shy to say, "It's just... I'm so scared. It's raining heavily outside with wild winds, and there's thunder and lightning. I'm alone at home and I'm afraid, Hao Jian, can you come keep me company?"

Normally, Zhang Danlin was lively and outgoing, yet at this moment, her voice sounded frail and introverted—her fear was detectable in her voice, a fact evident upon hearing.

Upon hearing this, Hao Jian immediately associated it with her usually being alone at home without her parents around. People who seem very outgoing often harbor hidden fears they seldom reveal to others, like Zhang Danlin right now.

Hao Jian seemed able to sense how scared Zhang Danlin was. Looking at the lightning and pouring rain outside, it indeed seemed intimidating. Though he ought to refuse Zhang Danlin, he inexplicably felt tenderness towards her at that moment.

He felt it would be heartless to refuse, given that a girl alone at home feeling scared is normal, and she reached out for his comfort. If he refused, wouldn't he make her feel even worse?

So, for some reason unknown to him, when he heard her say those words, Hao Jian unhesitatingly replied, "Alright, I'm coming over right away."

Saying this, he hung up the phone. He'd been to Zhang Danlin's place several times, so there was no need to ask for the address. He simply hailed a cab to head straight there. Meanwhile, Zhang Danlin, expecting him to refuse, was overjoyed when he accepted. A smile immediately blossomed on her face upon hearing his affirmative response.

It was simply the happiest thing that had happened to her in days.

After ending the call, Hao Jian quietly got up, checked on Xiaohai, whose room light was already off, indicating she had likely fallen asleep. Thus, he quietly changed into clothes suitable for heading out, took an umbrella, and stepped outside. The rain was pouring so heavily that hailing a cab posed a challenge. After waiting downstairs for about ten or so minutes, he finally caught a ride.

About half an hour later, holding an umbrella, he got off at Zhang Danlin's house entrance and knocked on the door. It seemed almost like she knew exactly when he would arrive or that she had been waiting by the door the whole time because the door opened promptly with his knock.

Upon the door opening, Zhang Danlin blinked at him, her eyes full of warmth.

And Hao Jian's gaze lingered on her; she wore pajamas, which made her appear less lively than she did at school yet seemed more approachable. The key aspect was that this girl now wore a look as vulnerable as a frightened kitten, indicating just how scared the lightning and thunder made her.

Despite the large umbrella, the heavy rain and fierce wind had still managed to wet Hao Jian's clothes a bit. Upon entering, he shut the door and turned on the lights as Zhang Danlin hurriedly fetched a dry towel for him to dry off his hair.

Hao Jian intended to take the towel and dry himself, but Zhang Danlin insisted on helping, "The back's hard to reach; why don't you sit, and I'll dry your hair for you."

Hearing this, Hao Jian quietly sat as Zhang Danlin gently dried his hair and damp back with the towel. After a short while, she was finished and then sat down herself.

"Thank you for coming!" Zhang Danlin said gratefully.

With a smile, Hao Jian joked, "If you keep saying that, I might just leave."

Instantly, Zhang Danlin burst into laughter, saying, "Okay, I won't say it anymore."

Initially, an inexplicable tension lay between them—perhaps the tension unique to a lone male and female spending a night together. However, with Hao Jian's joke, the tension vanished in an instant, leaving only laughter between them, closing the gap.

It wasn't late, yet Zhang Danlin's stomach audibly grumbled—a result of missing dinner due to the storm's onset. Seeing the rain, she hadn't gone out or had dinner, and it being late, her hunger was natural.

Hao Jian instantly noticed her hunger, albeit her reluctance to admit it. Upon understanding this, he stood up, asking, "Got the ingredients for noodles in your kitchen?"

Momentarily confused by his question, Zhang Danlin quickly gathered her thoughts and replied, "There should be all kinds of food stocked at home, noodle ingredients included."

Hearing this, Hao Jian said, "Alright then, seems you've missed dinner. I'll whip up some noodles to fill your stomach."

With that, Hao Jian headed into the kitchen alone.

"Okay!" Surprised by Hao Jian's understanding of her needs, Zhang Danlin hadn't expected he'd take action to help.

As she processed the situation, Hao Jian was already busy in the kitchen.

Growing up in a household affluent enough to hire help, Zhang Danlin never cooked, her delicate hands never touched kitchen chores. Thus, seeing Hao Jian in action, she felt helpless and unable to assist.

All she could do was watch him work, unable to do much else.

Soon, a delicious aroma wafted through, and feeling somewhat hungry, the smell certainly intensified her hunger.

"It's done," Hao Jian announced.