A Marshmallow: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Under the Umbrella

The ball goes into the basket, and the ground trembles with great force. 

Gu An's carefulness momentarily wavered, she started following the ball's bouncing rhythm, thudding heavily against her chest.

He stood behind her, helping her shoot the ball. Her mind had been blank just a moment ago, but now it played in a crystal-clear loop. 

"Gu An, are you being silly? Your legs are short, yet you're not running faster," Gu Zhen called out to her. 

The handsome guy in front of her turned to look as well. 

Jiang Yan's profile featured textbook-level perfection, with his thin lips curving coldly and evenly. 

Because of the recent basketball game with Gu Zhen, his collar was open, revealing a hint of his straight collarbone. The aura of restrained sensuality was intriguing. 

Gu An averted her gaze, looking at the sky, the ground, and the scenery, humming softly with her hands behind her back. 

Her sweaty palms clenched slightly.

-

The next day, Gu Zhen and Jiang Yan had a rare day off. 

Gu An got up early; her hair was almost down to her waist, and every time she tied it in a ponytail, it made her scalp hurt. 

She wore a bright yellow hoodie, beige pants, and white canvas shoes. "Brother, I'm going downstairs to get a haircut!" 

Gu Zhen frowned, "Downstairs? You dare go to a newly opened salon?" 

Gu An happily replied, "Oh, they have a big promotion, buy one, get one free!" 

"What's that?" 

"It means if I get a haircut, I can get one for you too. Do you want to join?" 

"No," Gu Zhen simply transferred the money to her. "If you mess up and become a guinea pig, no crying allowed." 

Hesitating after Gu Zhen's warning, Gu An finally reached the entrance of the hair salon. Tony, in a little suit, tight pants, and loafers, warmly led her inside. "You look so cute; you're perfect for the trendy anime bangs." 

Tony repeated like a broken record. Soon, another person, Kelvin, the design director, approached and offered to design a hairstyle for her personally. In the end, she didn't know how, but she found herself in the salon chair...

"Just trim a little for me, please," Gu An instructed. After that, he dozed off. After some time, Tony successfully completed his work and quietly exclaimed, "Perfect."

Gu An opened her eyes and saw herself in the mirror, with her hair ending at her collarbone, bangs just above her eyebrows, bearing a striking resemblance to the emojis she used in her messages, which made her laugh.

Only after laughing did she realize that this person seemed oddly familiar.

Gu An, clutching her poorly-cut bangs, silently prayed for a brief moment of invisibility. She returned to the attic without a sound. She reached for her keys, but then remembered that she had changed her clothes today, and the keys were in yesterday's clothes. She had no choice but to ring the doorbell, feeling extremely embarrassed.

The door opened, and the air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Oh my goodness! Hahaha..."

Gu An pursed her lips, extending her arm to pinch Gu Zhen's face to stop him from laughing, but Gu Zhen, being tall and a police officer, was completely unmatched against her.

He took a step back and ran away. "Gu An, even the police dogs in our unit do a better job than Tony downstairs. Hahaha..."

Gu An chased after him, covering her bangs with one hand and pulling on the corner of Gu Zhen's shirt with the other. Just then, Jiang Yan walked out of his room with a book, and Gu Zhen hid behind him, saying, "Jiang Sir! She's assaulting an officer!"

Jiang Yan: ...

Gu An accidentally bumped into the corner of the table, tears fell down in large drops, suddenly feeling aggrieved. "I didn't mean to be so funny, wuwuwu..."

Gu Zhen froze and didn't run away either. "Crying? Gu An, wasn't your childhood dream to be a strong man? Why are you like this now..."

Gu An's mouth drooped, wiped her tears on the back of her hand haphazardly, picked up the small backpack hanging in the hallway, and headed out. "I'm running away from home! To the library! Don't look for me!"

The sky was overcast, dark clouds were ready to brew a heavy rain.

After a few muffled thunders, a torrential rain suddenly arrived.

Young master Jiang sat on the couch without a care in the world, lazily leaning on the sofa after witnessing a family drama, his long legs spread out, reading a book titled "Crime Scene Investigation" with seriousness.

Gu Zhen sighed, "Go and give an umbrella to Gu An?"

Young master Jiang lifted an indifferent eyelid, "Is she your sister or my sister."

"Didn't I make her cry?"

Jiang Yan closed the book in his hand and threw it on the coffee table.

He realized he hadn't actually read a few words.

Gu An, who had just reached his shoulder, had red eyes, and her curled eyelashes were covered in a layer of moisture. She made sure to explain where she was going before leaving so that no one would worry.

Jiang Yan felt annoyed, got up impatiently, and took a black umbrella with him.

"Thank you, Jiang sir!"

- 

When Gu An arrived at the library, it still hadn't rained.

She borrowed a few math tutoring books, found a corner, and immersed herself in the sea of knowledge.

Thinking of something, she pulled the hood of her hoodie up, tightly tied the strings as if in defiance, making her little face resemble a sunflower.

"Is anyone sitting next to you, classmate?"

Gu An looked up to see an unfamiliar boy.

She didn't like sitting with strangers, especially when there were so many empty seats now.

"Yes."

A deep and pleasant male voice came from above, and Gu An turned her head to meet his gaze.

The person behind her wore a dark denim jacket, black pants, looking neat and slim, like a college student. However, his long-standing experience in criminal investigation gave him an aura of seriousness and solemnity.

He placed his book on the empty seat beside her, pulled out a chair, and sat down. The boy left sheepishly.

"Why are you here?"

Jiang Yan spun a pen in his hand, the book "Chinese Criminal Evidence" spread out in front of him, and he didn't look up. "I borrowed a few books. Gu Zhen is too noisy."

Gu An slightly curved her lips, "Oh."

"And you, are you here to read or to chat with the young boy?"

Gu An blinked her eyes, puzzled about what he meant. At that moment, a hand turned her head gently, and a finger tapped her forehead, saying, "Let's see if you can get a perfect score."

Jiang Yan, with his icy handsome face, lightly tapped her textbook with his slender fingers, making a crisp sound. "Study, if you don't know, ask me."

Several girls who had just entered the library suddenly stopped, one of them seeing something and pointing excitedly in Jiang Yan's direction.

"I'm going to ask that cute guy for his WeChat!"

"In my lifetime, I actually got to see a real celibate character, from now on, male novel protagonists all have faces..."

"Just this kind of cold and indifferent guy is the most attractive. Do you think if someone flirts with this little brother, would he turn red in the ears or forcefully kiss and unbutton his tie?"

"Here's the pen, you write!"

The girl was naturally beautiful, so beautiful that she exuded confidence. She approached Jiang Yan and bent down, asking, "Little brother, may I ask if there's anyone beside you?"

Gu An raised her head; she was sitting to the left of Jiang Yan, and there was no one to his right.

"No one."

He lowered his head to read, his profile cold and pale, without looking up at anyone.

The girl sat down, her gaze openly drifting toward the people around her.

From afar, this young man seemed aloof and reserved, but up close, his eyes seemed inviting.

"Young man, can I add you on WeChat? We can help each other save seats in the future."

"I don't have a phone."

The handsome guy's voice is clean and chilly, with a slight nasal tone, and just that voice alone feels like a flirtation.

However, handsome guys have always been hard to approach.

The girl smiled coyly and lifted her hand through her long hair. "So, without a phone, how do we normally keep in touch?"

This time, the 'little brother' finally showed her his full face.

He had a pair of excessively tender and affectionate eyes, but the corners of his eyes and eyebrows were restless and unapologetic, as if he were about to write 'I have a bit of a bad temper, stay away from me' on his face.

He looked at her and coldly, yet oddly, said a few words.

"Message in a bottle." 

-

By the time they left the library, it was already noon, and the rain had gradually subsided.

Gu An stood at the library's entrance with her small backpack. She had left in anger and hadn't checked the weather forecast, nor did she think to bring an umbrella.

And at that moment, a black umbrella opened by her side.

The hand holding the umbrella was slightly raised, and the face beneath the umbrella was so handsome that it left people staring.

"High school student, come over."

A pleasant yet cold voice, the next second, all the raindrops on my head disappeared.

A shallow shadow descended, it was a black umbrella with the police word in silver on it.

Following the umbrella top down, it was Jiang Yan's face, cold as snow.

"It's raining!"

"But I didn't bring an umbrella..."

"Everyone else has a boyfriend to give them an umbrella!"

"With looks, temperament, and height like that, he could be the leading man in an idol drama!"

Gu An looked up.

His pitch-black pupils looked even deeper under his long eyelashes. At this angle, he truly looked fair and beautiful...

If he hadn't attended the police academy but instead went to a comprehensive university or a technical college with few female students, the girls pursuing him would probably have to run laps around the track.

"Thank you..."

Both of them held the same umbrella, and the distance was too close.

Gu An felt a bit cold, she rubbed her arm and accidentally touched his elbow.

The cold north wind came, and she sneezed.

So cold...

Jiang Yan handed her the umbrella.

When he took the umbrella back, there was a black denim jacket on her shoulder.

He was wearing only a loose black short-sleeved shirt, and his cold white arms were covered with a layer of lean muscles, with sharp lines.

"I'm not cold." He noticed her gaze, and Jiang Yan lowered his eyes.

His jacket was too big for her, making her look like a kindergarten kid wearing an adult's clothes. The hem almost reached her knees, and she was currently folding the cuffs up one after another...

"Thank you." Gu An pursed her lips. She could smell his jacket, which had a cool and pleasant fragrance.

She looked up and happened to meet Jiang Yan's smiling eyes. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." Jiang Yan's lips, which had just curved up, returned to a straight line.

"Ah! I know! You're making fun of me for being short, right?" Gu An's eyebrows furrowed like small waves, muttering softly, "I'll grow taller! I'm still young! Even though I'm short, I can play basketball!"

Her mumbling was giving him a headache.

But... he found her pouting quite amusing.

"Are you not going to make fun of my new hairstyle like Gu Zhen did?" Gu An completely shut down, turning into a gloomy little mushroom.

"You just reminded me," in the next moment, Jiang Yan slightly leaned in, his flawless icy handsome face inches away, now showing genuine interest in her bangs. His lips curved shallowly, like a carefree youth.

"No peeking!" The little mushroom covered her face, her palms were burning hot.

She didn't look up, so she didn't see that the young police officer, rumored to have a bad temper and a sharp tongue, turned his head and smiled for the first time.

He led her to his side, and the umbrella quietly tilted towards her.

Then, she heard a very soft voice from above, with an undissolved smile.

"It looks good."

"Go home with the police uncle."

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