Whoosh whoosh…

A lightning strike awoke me from my slumber. It was raining heavily outside. A rhythmic rumbling also resounded from beside my feet—it was Gui Guzi leaning against the bottom side of the bed and snoring away with his thunder-like snores. I checked the time and saw that it was already evening, so I kicked him awake and said, "Wake up, drunkard. Are you going back to Suzhou today or what?"

Gui Guzi rubbed his nose sleepily before jolting awake all of a sudden. "Oh shit, what time is it? I haven’t missed today’s WEL, have I?"

I shook my head. "No, but did you bring your gaming helmet with you? If you left it back at Suzhou then you’re definitely missing today’s WEL."

He smiled. "Nah, I brought it with me just in case. It’s in the car right now. I’ll grab it, find a hotel around town and log in from there."

I nodded. "Good idea!"

……

Gui Guzi grimaced when he saw the dark clouds and terrible downpour outside the window. "The heavens just gotta rain when the roof is leaking[1]…"

I rolled my eyes at him. "It’s not leaking though, is it? Now cut the bullcrap and go check if there’s an umbrella or two around the corner. It’s highly unlikely the landlord will be able to buy the groceries necessary to cook our dinner tonight, so we should take him to a nearby restaurant instead."

"Yeah!"

There was a pair of old umbrellas in the house, but Gui Guzi still...