It started raining in the middle of the afternoon.
Not heavy rain.
Just steady rain that made the campus look quieter and slower, like someone had turned the volume of the world down.
Su Ran stood under the building entrance, watching the rain fall onto the pavement. Students ran past with bags over their heads, some laughing, some complaining.
She checked her phone.
Jiang Chen: Still in the library. Wait for me. We'll walk back together.
She smiled slightly and replied:
Su Ran: Okay.
A few minutes later, Zhao Ming and Lin Yue appeared, both slightly wet.
"You're still here?" Zhao Ming asked.
"I'm waiting," Su Ran said.
"For Jiang Chen?" he asked.
"Yes."
Zhao Ming looked at Lin Yue dramatically.
"Look at this loyalty."
Lin Yue ignored him and stood next to Su Ran, watching the rain.
"I like rainy days," Lin Yue said quietly.
"Why?" Su Ran asked.
"It makes everything slower," Lin Yue replied.
Zhao Ming shook his head.
"I don't like rain. My shoes are wet."
"You only like sunny days and food," Lin Yue said.
"That is correct," Zhao Ming replied proudly.
---
Jiang Chen Arrives
After about ten minutes, Jiang Chen ran across the courtyard holding a notebook over his head.
He stopped in front of them, slightly out of breath.
"You ran?" Su Ran asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"You could have walked," she said.
"It was raining," he replied simply.
Zhao Ming looked at him and said,
"Romantic."
Jiang Chen ignored him.
---
One Umbrella
Lin Yue opened her umbrella.
Zhao Ming immediately stood under it with her.
"This umbrella is small," Lin Yue said.
"Then walk closer," Zhao Ming replied.
Su Ran looked at Jiang Chen.
"You don't have an umbrella?"
"No," he said.
She opened her umbrella.
"Then we share," she said.
They started walking.
The umbrella was a little small, so they had to walk close together.
Very close.
After a minute, Su Ran noticed his shoulder was getting wet.
"You're getting wet," she said.
"It's fine," he replied.
"It's not fine," she said, and moved the umbrella more toward him.
Then her own shoulder got wet.
He noticed and gently pushed the umbrella back toward her.
Now both of them were slightly getting wet.
They looked at each other.
Neither moved the umbrella again.
---
Walking Slowly
They walked slowly across campus while the rain fell softly around them.
In front, Zhao Ming and Lin Yue were arguing about something again.
Behind them, Su Ran and Jiang Chen were quiet.
"I like rainy days too," Jiang Chen said suddenly.
Su Ran looked surprised.
"You do?"
"Yeah," he said.
"Because everything becomes quiet."
She nodded.
They walked a few more steps.
Then he said quietly,
"And people walk slower. So I can walk with you longer."
She looked at him but didn't say anything.
She just smiled and kept walking.
---
The Cafeteria Again
They ended up in the cafeteria again, a little wet, a little cold.
Zhao Ming immediately went to buy hot drinks for everyone.
When he came back, he handed them out dramatically.
"Hot drinks for my favorite people," he said.
"You say that every time," Lin Yue replied.
"Because it's always true," he said.
They sat at their usual table again, rain tapping softly against the windows.
Su Ran held the warm cup in her hands and said,
"Do you guys realize we sit here almost every day?"
"Yes," Zhao Ming said.
"This is our territory."
Lin Yue nodded slightly.
"It really is."
Jiang Chen looked around the cafeteria.
"Maybe after we graduate, someone else will sit here every day," he said.
Su Ran looked at the table.
"Then they should know this used to be our table," she said.
Zhao Ming leaned forward and said,
"We should write something under the table."
Lin Yue immediately said,
"No."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because that is vandalism," she replied.
"It is history," Zhao Ming said.
---
Under the Table
Ten minutes later, Zhao Ming was under the table anyway.
Lin Yue sighed.
"I knew this would happen."
He came back up and said proudly,
"I wrote something."
"What did you write?" Su Ran asked.
He grinned.
"You'll see someday."
"What did you write?" Lin Yue repeated.
Zhao Ming leaned back in his chair and said,
"I wrote:
Last Row Trio was here."
Su Ran laughed.
"That's actually kind of nice," she said.
Jiang Chen smiled slightly.
Lin Yue shook her head, but she was smiling too.
---
Walking Back After Rain
By the time they left the cafeteria, the rain had almost stopped.
The ground was still wet, reflecting the street lights and buildings like mirrors.
They walked slowly again, the four of them in a line.
Zhao Ming suddenly turned around and started walking backwards.
"One day," he said,
"We're all going to be very busy adults."
"Probably," Lin Yue said.
"And we won't see each other every day like this," he continued.
Su Ran said quietly,
"Probably."
Zhao Ming pointed at all of them.
"So remember this," he said.
"Rainy day. Cafeteria. Hot drinks. Us walking back together."
Lin Yue looked at him.
"You're being very serious again," she said.
"I can be serious," he replied.
Jiang Chen said quietly,
"I'll remember."
Su Ran nodded.
"Me too," she said.
They kept walking slowly across the wet campus, their reflections moving along the ground with them.
Four university students.
Four friends.
Four people who met because of a classroom seat years ago.
They didn't know where they would be in the future.
But at least on that rainy day,
they were all walking the same path,
side by side.