After Confessing To My Childhood Friend - Chapter 19

Chapter 19:  Power Outage

◎With you here, I’m not afraid of anything◎

In coastal regions, summer is often marked by heavy rains. Yonghuai City had seen two consecutive days of downpours, and before the water on the ground could be drained, Yonghuai No.1 High School experienced a blackout.

Shrieks and teachers’ instinctive curses echoed through the quiet academic building. Grade 12 was already a race against time, and now the school had to lose power at such a critical hour.

The teacher on duty tonight was Zhu Ling. After calming the class down and confirming everyone was safe and quiet, she left for the disciplinary office to discuss follow-up measures with the year head.

No sooner had Zhu Ling left than the classroom buzzed with students chattering excitedly. Power outages were almost a tradition at Yonghuai No.1 during summer, especially on rainy nights. The school’s outdated electrical system simply couldn’t keep up and often failed.

Still, this year’s blackout and typhoons had come later than usual, so the sudden darkness startled everyone.

“The AC’s off. I’m opening the window,” said a student near the hallway, pulling the window open. A damp, chilly wind rushed in, rustling the pages of books on desks.

A worksheet tucked inside a textbook was blown to the floor. The student squatted down, cursing the wind while feeling around in the dark for the paper.

In the darkness, Chen Mengyin paused from doing exercises and gently nudged Xie Zhirou’s arm with her elbow. The next second, Xie Zhirou’s cold hand clasped hers, fingers interlocking.

Chen Mengyin’s first thought: So cold.

She frowned with concern and wrapped both of Xie Zhirou’s hands in hers, rubbing them softly to warm them with her body heat. “Why didn’t you tell me your hands were this cold? I’ll bring an extra jacket next time for you to wear during evening study.”

Chen Mengyin’s hands were naturally warm—years of playing basketball had left a few calluses, and those rough patches gently brushed against the back of Xie Zhirou’s hands, sending little shivers through her.

To Xie Zhirou, it felt like her hands were wrapped in a warm spring. Her cheeks began to burn.

The classroom was pitch black. Some students were wary of Zhu Ling possibly returning unexpectedly, so no one dared to use their phones for light. In the dark, Xie Zhirou couldn’t see Chen Mengyin’s face, but she knew her childhood friend must be frowning in disapproval.

In a whisper, Xie Zhirou said, “Whatever you say.”

One sentence, and Chen Mengyin was already melting. She muttered about how Xie Zhirou always knew just the right thing to say, but the grin tugging at her lips nearly reached her ears.

Xie Zhirou’s hands were no longer freezing. Chen Mengyin let go, opened her arms, and asked softly, “Wanna cuddle?”

Xie Zhirou stared quietly at Chen Mengyin. Did the power come back on? she wondered. How else could I be seeing those sparkling, warm eyes in the dark?

She smiled. “Okay.” Then she leaned into Chen Mengyin’s warm, dependable embrace, arms wrapping around her slender waist, eyes closed, listening to the steady, strong heartbeat.

There was no moon tonight. Rain replaced moonlight and blanketed the sky above Yonghuai No.1. Raindrops pattered on windows and leaves, falling steadily to the ground.

Chen Mengyin slowed her breathing. The person in her arms was light as a cloud, impossibly soft. She felt her heart dissolve into rain—falling and falling with no end.

They held each other tightly. Chen Mengyin lowered her head and took in the intoxicating lily-of-the-valley scent from Xie Zhirou.

Her heartbeat sped up—loud, fast, and wild. She half-joked to herself that it might just leap from her chest, dance the samba in front of Xie Zhirou, and kneel to propose.

Trying to mask the pounding in her chest, she whispered, “Remember that night when we were kids? It was raining just like this, and the power went out.”

Of course Xie Zhirou remembered. She nodded slightly and whispered, “Yeah.”

That night had poured just as hard. Her parents had left after she’d fallen asleep, called away by an emergency at work. Shortly after they left, the entire residential complex lost power.

The property management team quickly warned residents not to go out during the storm. They had already contacted electricians to fix the issue.

Xie Zhirou woke up in darkness. She was only seven. Her parents were gone. The power was out. She was terrified.

“I remember my mom called to comfort me and told me she’d asked your mom to pick me up. I didn’t expect you to come, too.”

“Of course I did. My mom was super mad—she scolded your parents for leaving a kid home alone. She was going out to get you, and I insisted on going with her. She had no choice but to let me come, wearing a raincoat and all.”

“Weren’t you scared?”

“Of course I was. But I knew you’d be even more scared. If you saw me right away, maybe you wouldn’t be as frightened.”

Turned out she’d been right.

Li Ran, Chen Mengyin’s mom, only knew where the gate key was at Xie Zhirou’s house. She didn’t have a key to the front door. If she had gone alone, she would’ve had to call Xie Zhirou to come open the door.

But at the time, Xie Zhirou was curled up in bed, too afraid to come out.

Luckily, Chen Mengyin’s fingerprint could open the door. She ran inside and found her.

“I’m so glad I went to your house that night,” Chen Mengyin said, holding her tighter.

Eleven years later, she still vividly remembered that scene—Xie Zhirou hugging her and crying, saying how scared she was. The image burned in her mind. She couldn’t bear the thought of what would’ve happened if she hadn’t gone. The idea of Xie Zhirou trembling under the covers, alone, was too painful.

Xie Zhirou stayed silent. The truth was, she no longer feared thunderstorms or blackouts. Especially not when Chen Mengyin was by her side. There was nothing left to fear.

In the noisy, dark classroom, the two quietly enjoyed a tender hug—one full of warmth, not the slightest bit ambiguous.

Zhu Ling hadn’t returned yet. Over time, some brave students finally couldn’t resist. They pulled out their phones, using flashlights to play pranks and scare people.

The classroom began to light up. Though their seats were in the back, it wasn’t safe to keep hugging. Xie Zhirou gave Chen Mengyin a small pat, signaling her to let go.

Chen Mengyin released her with regret, already missing the warmth. She even kicked herself for not sneaking a kiss while the mood was perfect. Seven-year-old her had comforted Xie Zhirou with a kiss—how had eighteen-year-old her regressed?

Students were now speculating that this power outage had lasted longer than usual. Fifteen minutes had passed, and not a flicker from the ceiling lights.

A student in front was already fantasizing that the school’s generator had broken too, meaning they could all go home.

“If evening study gets canceled, wanna come to my place to do homework?” Chen Mengyin asked. What she really wanted to say was come over and hang out, but they hadn’t finished their assignments, and Xie Zhirou wasn’t the type to slack off.

“Sure. But does your place have power?”

“I’ll ask my mom.” Chen Mengyin texted her mother. A few moments later, her mom replied that their home had electricity.

She sent a few more texts, then said, “Still good. No outage at home—guess the school’s ancient wiring couldn’t handle the summer load plus all this rain. Completely fried.”

“Mm.” Xie Zhirou nodded. Then she asked, “Don’t you think Ms. Zhu’s been gone a while?”

Chen Mengyin thought for a second. “Yeah. I wonder what’s going on.”

With no teacher around, their class stayed surprisingly well-behaved. But the other classes? Students were wandering the halls with phones, saying it was technically break time and walking around wasn’t a crime.

“Want to go out for some fresh air?” The classroom was stuffy and damp, the air thick and hard to breathe.

Xie Zhirou glanced at the crowd in the hallway and shook her head.

Chen Mengyin didn’t push. She pulled a small fan from her desk—no idea who she’d borrowed it from—and started fanning Xie Zhirou. She scooted her chair closer until they were practically touching. “Let’s sit close and share the breeze.”

“Okay,” Xie Zhirou whispered.

Warmth radiated from their touching arms. The fan helped clear the humid air, but not the heat rising in her cheeks.

The more the fan blew, the hotter it felt.

It was probably time for the next period. Students in the hallway began filtering back into classrooms. The blackout clearly made studying difficult. Chen Mengyin and Xie Zhirou settled into the hazy, ambiguous atmosphere, whispering and giggling quietly.

At that moment, Ye Siying crept over, phone flashlight in hand.

“Seriously? Do you two have to be this clingy?” she rolled her eyes. “Wanna come play something with us?”

“You’re just jealous of me and Zhirou being close.” Chen Mengyin grinned and wrapped an arm around Xie Zhirou. “Anyway, what are you playing?”

To get revenge for being fed so much PDA, Ye Siying raised the flashlight to her face, making a spooky grin. “Telling… ghost… stories…”

Chen Mengyin nearly smacked her with the fan. “Nope. You guys go ahead.”

Ye Siying tried to grab her hand and beg, but ran straight into Xie Zhirou’s icy glare and immediately backed off.

Coming here was just to get bullied by a couple, she thought with a pout before storming off.

“What did I say?” Chen Mengyin asked, confused. “Why does she look mad?”

“She’s not. You probably just couldn’t see clearly in this light,” Xie Zhirou replied innocently.

“Yeah, probably.” Chen Mengyin scratched her head.

A few more minutes passed, and finally Zhu Ling returned—with not one, but two pieces of good news.