Impoverished Me Saving Love-Starved Rich Women

"Of course."

Xie Ci glanced at Miss Ye Li, whose face was full of excitement.

"I'm not some little kid anymore, so of course I want to play adult games."

The countdown kept ticking away. Ever since the system awakened this afternoon, there had been no signs of it going backward or stopping.

When it came down to it, why was he so obsessed with changing Miss Ye Li's fate of suicide?

According to what the system said, as long as he stood by and did nothing, he could obtain ten times Miss Ye Li's family fortune.

And saving Miss Ye Li would even come with a price to bear.

[Option One: Do nothing, inherit ten times her fortune in a few days]

[Option Two: Change her thoughts of giving up on life, but the price is... it will bind you for life]

Logically speaking, someone like him who was down and out, forced by daily survival concerns, would choose Option One ninety percent of the time.

But Xie Ci had thrown Option One into the trash from the very beginning.

"Little Ci is finally going to become an adult. I thought someone as withdrawn and closed-off as you would never come around in their entire life."

A blush spread across Miss Ye Li's fair, pretty face, and her tone carried a slightly dizzy quality. Autumn waves rippled in her enchanting amber-colored eyes.

Xie Ci quietly watched her display such a shy and bashful side.

Yes, someone like him was an insulator, completely disconnected from life's normal track. Yet Miss Ye Li was like a sudden splash of red, unexpectedly spilled into his gray existence.

It was during a rainy season, with dusk gradually settling.

Xie Ci leaned against the window, aimlessly looking down below.

Rain began pouring. Summer rain was always so unreasonable. Just moments ago it had been a fine, delicate dampness, but in the blink of an eye it had turned into large droplets.

Miss Ye Li stood silently in the open space in front of the teaching building, surrounded by fine droplets of rain. The rain gradually became continuous, soaking her dark hair and flowing along her face, gathering at her chin, down to her chest.

The rain grew heavier, and the entire world seemed to contain only the sound of pattering rain. The scattered crowd from moments before suddenly disappeared as if erased, like a drama that had abruptly ended.

Only that lonely touch of red remained in the rain.

Xie Ci was somewhat curious. At first just somewhat curious, curious that such a rich woman would actually have an interest in getting soaked in the rain.

The rain grew even heavier. Even the tapping sound of heels on the floor was drowned out by the rain outside the window. Xie Ci knew it was time to make his exit.

Going downstairs, the cold rain-scented air hit him in the face. Xie Ci opened his black umbrella, only to discover that within that thick curtain of rain, there still existed a blurred touch of red.

She lifted her head slightly, rain pattering down on her cheeks, nose, and eyebrows. Her jet-black hair clung to her ears, and her red dress also clung to her body.

If the sudden disappearance of the crowd was like the ending of a drama that had abruptly stopped, then she was like a silhouette frozen on the screen after the music ended and everyone had left.

She stood there just like that, surrounded by deep loneliness and alienation. This feeling was incredibly familiar to Xie Ci, like seeing another version of himself in the depths of the rain.

An inexplicable pull urged Xie Ci forward. He opened his umbrella. The canopy extended with a pop, creating a small patch of dryness above their heads as rain drummed dully against the umbrella surface.

She didn't turn around or make a sound, still silently gazing at the rain. This small umbrella seemed to shut out the noisy rain and the world, leaving just the two of them standing here in silence, briefly sharing a wordless understanding in this sudden downpour.

"Teacher Ye Li, you'll catch a cold."

Xie Ci couldn't help himself, it was really getting cold. Although final exams were over, he didn't want to start summer vacation with a cold.

Getting sick would be miserable enough, not to mention having to spend money on doctor visits and medicine, which would leave no time to earn money.

While standing here quietly watching the rain together was quite atmospheric, with an otherworldly, ethereal feeling.

But practical factors still had to be considered. He'd need to go back and change into dry clothes, and Xie Ci's shoes were already soaked through.

"Teacher Ye Li..."

"Just call me Ye Li." Miss Ye Li suddenly turned around and gave him a brilliant smile that was extremely beautiful.

Xie Ci was momentarily stunned, becoming somewhat incoherent.

"Ah... that, that wouldn't be appropriate, Teacher Ye Li..." Xie Ci saw Miss Ye Li's brow furrow slightly.

"Miss Ye Li..."

Her brow smoothed out. "That's more like it~"

"So, Miss Ye Li, why are you here getting rained on?" Xie Ci looked at the increasingly heavy rain and asked in confusion. "You'll catch cold like this."

Miss Ye Li pouted, seeming somewhat conflicted about how to answer.

After a moment, the corners of her mouth suddenly curved into a slight smile. She tilted her head slightly, looking at the umbrella in Xie Ci's hand, and her large amber eyes blinked mischievously.

She suddenly moved a little closer, carrying a faint, elusive fragrance, and spoke with a somewhat lazy tone: "Why indeed... Perhaps I was waiting for someone like you, who would hold an umbrella for a stranger... a 'fool’?"

Xie Ci frowned in confusion. "A stranger? Teacher Ye Li... Miss Ye Li, did getting rained on muddle your thinking?"

"I won't catch a cold. I love this kind of rainy weather most of all." After saying this, she laughed softly, her eyes sparkling.

She extended a finger and tapped the edge of Xie Ci's open umbrella. A water droplet happened to fall just then. "Besides, look. I'm under the umbrella now, which means you're the one I was waiting for." She blinked mischievously.

Xie Ci looked in surprise at this homeroom teacher displaying mystery and charm different from her classroom demeanor. He instinctively felt something had happened, but since Miss Ye Li usually returned to the office after finishing her lectures, he had no way to reach a conclusion.

Just a vague feeling.

Xie Ci felt somewhat helpless and could only accompany her standing in the rain, chatting about everything and nothing. At this moment she was just like a little girl. Sly smiles, light movements, unexpected words, and a touch of poetry.

The rain gradually lessened to only scattered droplets. Xie Ci still held the umbrella.

Just watch then, Xie Ci thought.

Miss Ye Li's eyes sparkled as she looked at Xie Ci, with a child-like stubbornness.

"Catch a cold? I'm not afraid! Look at this rain. How clean, how refreshing! Being cooped up indoors is so boring. I just love this feeling... feeling like the world is giving me a hug."

After speaking, a gust of wind blew through.

"Ah... achoo, so cold..." Miss Ye Li looked at Xie Ci pitifully, arms crossed over her chest, trembling slightly.

"Xie Ci... no, Little Ci, I'm living alone right now. Could you come take care of me..."

......

Coming back from his reverie, Xie Ci suddenly noticed that Miss Ye Li was wearing exactly the same outfit as that day.

Perhaps many things had shown signs from the very beginning.

"So, Little Ci, are we going somewhere nearby, or..."

At this point, some things had to be made clear, and some actions had to be taken.

"Let's go to your place." Xie Ci said this out of the blue.

"Eh? My... my place?" Miss Ye Li showed a rare display of bashfulness.

"Yes, um... we'll discuss the details in the car. Let's go."

......

The girl in black sat in the seat Xie Ci had just occupied, which still seemed to retain his body warmth. She bit her red lips, staring straight out the window. Seeing Xie Ci get into a black sedan with that woman, the expression on her face grew uncertain, seeming both dejected and puzzled.

A conjecture arose in her heart, like a sharp thorn cruelly piercing into it.

If that absolutely sacred, inviolable existence were to be contaminated...

Her phone's message notification sounded. She looked down to check.

"Spring City University, so this is your school now..."

"Dong Ye Li... homeroom teacher..."

She put away her phone and looked toward the gradually deepening night ahead. The figures in the car were no longer clearly visible.

"It won't be too long, just a few days.

"Xiao Han will come find you, along with our past."