Back to the Future 1999: Raining at the Same Time

"You...who are you?"

The rain was still falling, and Verdin turned around and stared at the woman who covered him with an umbrella.

Why, isn't she from the Foundation? Why does she look so sad...

Why, am I not their friend? Why can't I shed even a single tear...

"What... is Si Chen..."

Ms. Z closed her eyes. She couldn't bear to see the child being tortured anymore.

"When you are ready, come find me here... I will tell you the truth and... your mission..."

Folding her umbrella, Zhang Zhizhi retreated back to the air-raid tunnel. The sound of her departing footsteps plucked at Veldin's dead heartstrings one by one, but she could not make any sound.

Looking back at the rain, the insects and frogs are still chirping, and drops of rain are rising in the dark forest, so strange and so terrifying.

Rain curtain, forest, and Chenxi River...

Yes, and Chen Xi—he can stand here just like me...so at least let me go and apologize.

Walking towards the depths of the forest like a zombie, Verdin didn't know what he was looking for.

A word of forgiveness? A hug? Or perhaps the truth...

She didn't know, she didn't need to know, so now she just followed her instinct and moved forward.

……

Turning around and running deep into the forest, Chen Xi knew that it was not suitable for him to be exposed to the foundation at the moment.

Verdin... Anna...

Unaccustomed to running with one arm, Chen Xi lost his balance and fell to the ground. The necklace in his hand flew out and rolled a long way. He supported himself with one hand, but he couldn't stand up from his knees...

The feeling of heartache spread throughout his body, and now he couldn't even pound the ground helplessly. The only thing he could do was cry.

Raindrops go up, tears go down, one side is noble, the other side is lowly.

"what--!"

Why, why does this world always take away all kinds of people from him; why, why is this world unwilling to leave even one companion for him!

"king……"

A hoarse roar came from the rain. It was a wounded lion...

"I'm sorry, King. I failed to protect Miss Anna... Please punish me."

The broken lion king fell at Chen Xi's feet, lowered his proud head, and surrendered like an old minister.

Its golden body is no longer gorgeous, and its tall stature is no longer strong.

Just two words of apology had reduced its body to half, and it was still shrinking.

"profit……"

"Sword Dance!"

Loudly calling out to the family members who had been with him the longest, Chen Xi held the knife in his right hand and stabbed it into his empty left arm again.

With a "Puff", blood splattered on the spot and flowed like a column.

"Drink it!"

"king……"

"drink!"

Ignoring Li Chi's pleas, Chen Xi thrust his broken arm into its mouth. He didn't pull his shoulder out until its body stopped shrinking and its dull fur gradually regained its color.

"King...I don't deserve this."

Holding its broad lion head, the breath it exuded was warm, unruly, and loyal. A smile finally appeared on Chen Xi's lips.

"Don't talk, just get some rest now. We'll talk about it when you wake up again..."

The lion king closed his eyes, slowly turned into a kitten, and finally turned into a necklace, which was hung around Chen Xi's neck again.

"Mr. Chen Xi..."

Suddenly, a childish voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw it was little Veldin.

After an unknown amount of trekking, his clothes were already tattered, and his legs and arms were covered with countless scratches and bruises.

His messy hair was clinging to his face, without a trace of the elegant and calm look of Sir Wei in the future.

“Your hand…!”

Under the moonlight, Weilding finally saw the whole picture of Chen Xi who stood up - the sleeve of the missing arm was fluttering empty, and the blood dyed it into different colors. Even the rhythm of its dancing in the wind was stiff because of the blood.

The man's figure approached him step by step, but his back was facing the moonlight, so he couldn't see the expression on his face, but he must have been extremely angry...

Veldin raised his scarred arms, weakly protecting his head, waiting for the coming storm.

only……

A soft green light was the only thing she saw.

The injuries on his body healed quickly, and at the same time, the figure squatted down. In an instant, Verdin saw his expression -

It was a smile that was uglier than crying. The muscles on Chen Xi's face twisted together in pain and twitched faintly, but the upward curve of his lips told people that this was a smile.

"Little boy, are you... lost? Do you need a big brother to take you back home?"

Two lines of clear tears flowed down Chen Xi's cheeks again, dripping onto Veldin's dead heart.

Verdin touched his face and said, "Oh, am I... crying too?"

"Yes...I'm sorry, it's all because of me, Sister Anna...Sister Anna..."

The words of apology were choked in his throat, and Verdin tightly grasped the corner of his clothes, not wanting the tears to continue flowing.

"So you want to atone for your sins?"

Helping her wipe away her tears, Chen Xi gently asked:

"What should I do... What should I do! Chen Xi!"

The more they wiped away their tears, the more they cried, and the crying became louder and louder. One person stopped crying, while the other burst into tears.

Chen Xi hugged Veldin in his arms and tried his best to comfort the trembling body in his arms.

The only remaining hand patted Veldin's back from top to bottom, like a mother coaxing her child to sleep.

"Hold... I'm sorry."

Pushing Chen Xi away, Verdin kept wiping the tears from his face with his sleeves.

"Thank you... thank you."

The sobbing girl spoke her thanks in broken words.

Sister Anna, it’s really just as you said, Mr. Chen Xi, when you see him, his gentleness will come to you.

Taking a deep breath, Chen Xi reached out to smooth the hair off Verdin's face and said as gently as possible:

"Wildin, go and become Sichen."

"I know it's painful, but only you can do this."

Chen Xi gently stroked Veldin's head, using the same technique as Anna.

"What about Mr. Chen Xi?"

"I'm sorry, I can't go with you right now..."

Chen Xi shook his head with regret.

"Then you'll travel the world and meet a lot of people. You'll also have constant loss and heartache."

"But I'm always here. I can walk through the rainstorm just like you."

"It's just not the right time yet. One day, we will meet again."

"Then I will become your companion who will never leave you."

Finally, holding up her tear-stained face, Chen Xi pinched it hard as if playing a prank.

"Go ahead, don't hate. One day, you will know all the truth."

……