It Might Rain Sunshine Today

A gentle yet resolute architectural designer VS a laid-back, somewhat inept guesthouse owner

🌦️ Travelogue along a scenic highway | Dual ensemble storylines | Slow-burn healing

1) The year Shi Mi turned 27, she received the news that her grandmother had died. Later, among her grandmother's belongings, she found letter after letter, handwritten and sent from Jiamishan.

The letters spanned a long period, from twelve years ago right up until the day before her grandmother died. The two had kept in touch all that time, and the sender had signed her name Xu Ruojin, her grandmother's old friend.

Under the strain of a major crisis at work and the loss of a loved one, Shi Mi quit her job, shouldered her backpack, and headed to Jiamishan to clear her head. She also wanted to visit her grandmother's old friend on her behalf.

2) The day she climbed Jiamishan, the morning sun was blazing.

Shi Mi pushed open the door of a guesthouse.

Behind it, a young man in a white sleeveless undershirt was bent over on a little stool in the courtyard, leisurely sorting vegetables.

The sun shone through a break in the clouds. He squinted and drawled in the lazy cadence of the local dialect, "Looks like we're getting a golden rain today."

When he noticed someone had come up the mountain, he didn't even look up. He turned toward the interior and called, "Someone's here."

When Shi Mi stood there without moving, he casually pointed inside and greeted her in standard Mandarin. "There are rooms available inside. Just go in and check in."

Shi Mi nodded at him, but just as she was about to enter, she turned around again, a puzzled look in her eyes, and asked, "What was that first thing you said?"

The man froze, then belatedly responded. He pointed up at the sky, then smiled with a mischievous, unserious look and teased her in a corny way. "I said it's going to rain today."

"So, miss, if you're going out today..."

He nodded toward her. "Remember to bring an umbrella."

Shi Mi looked up at the glaring sunshine and fell silent. She studied the man in front of her for a few more moments, then quietly pulled her bag closer and hurried into the guesthouse.

Behind her, Xu Zhijie noticed the wariness and suspicion in her eyes. He gave a snort of amusement and didn't think much of it.

3) That afternoon, Shi Mi stood under the eaves, drenched like a drowned rat, staring at the bright sunshine outside and the fine drizzle falling beneath it. She fell silent again.

She hadn't expected that unreliable-looking man to say something that actually came true.

And now he was standing outside, completely at ease beneath an umbrella, watching her take shelter from the rain. Amused, he said, "Well? I told you there'd be a sunshower today. You can't blame me for getting you soaked."

Then he paused, smiled at her, and added,

"Why not come share my umbrella?"

Later, Shi Mi learned that the man in front of her was named Xu Zhijie,

Zhijie, as in "the rain comes in its season."

He was also the owner of the guesthouse where she was staying.

But the local farming families who lived there called him the weatherman,

because his forecasts were usually more accurate than the weather report.

But the only thing Shi Mi cared about was this:

Xu Ruojin was his grandmother, and Grandma Xu had died five years ago.

So who had been writing to her grandmother all this time?

[That afternoon, when I met you, it was 27 degrees Celsius. There was no wind, and a sunshower was on its way.]

My bestie’s novel, Afraid of Men, but My Male Roommate Thinks I Have a Crush on Him, is about to launch!

Short-tempered, soft-hearted, completely straight girl VS cocky, childish peacock of a man

It's an adorable, fluffy read. Don't miss it!

Reading notes:

1. The story contains plenty of dialect. Most buildings and scenic spots are based on real places, but some details are fictional. Please don't take them as fact.

2. Chapters with "Rain" in the title follow the present-day story of the male and female leads; chapters with "Letter" follow the grandparents' story in the 1970s.

3. The male lead appears in Chapter 4. Please don't read if that bothers you.

Theme: Work hard and strive forward.