It wasn't really surprising that Dàxióng was so shocked.
After all, he had been classmates with Jìngxiāng for several years before their relationship became this comfortable and friendly.
But this international transfer student, Lin Feng, had only reported to the class today.
Yet, he was already so close to Jìngxiāng?
He was even helping Jìngxiāng put on a hairpin, a gesture of intimacy.
How could Dàxióng not be taken aback? However, after the initial shock, Dàxióng's jealousy towards Lin Feng intensified.
"Jìngxiāng... how could you..."
"That wretched transfer student, Lin Feng, what does he have that I don't...!"
Even though it seemed like Shizuka was the one being more proactive in this situation, as Dàxióng's favorite girl, he wouldn't blame her.
So naturally, Lin Feng became the biggest obstacle in Dàxióng's mind, ruining his fun with Shizuka.
Now that he'd found Shizuka and the others, it was time to put his plan into action.
"Rain Shower Cloud, come out!"
Dàxióng couldn't wait to see the new transfer student, Lin Feng, drenched like a drowned rat. He immediately opened the transparent, cylindrical container and released the Rain Shower Cloud.
The small cloud drifted upwards after being released.
In an instant, the clear blue sky began to change rapidly. The afternoon sun disappeared behind the clouds.
And in the distance, dark clouds began to gather, moving towards them. Suddenly, a light drizzle began, quickly escalating into a downpour.
Everything happened quickly, leaving hardly any time to prepare.
"That's strange. I checked the weather forecast at noon, and it said there shouldn't be any rain this afternoon..."
The owner of the trinket stall muttered to himself, putting up his umbrella to shield his wares.
Vendors like them, who set up stalls in the Shopping Street, usually prepared for rain. After all, if their goods got wet, they couldn't sell them.
In fact, not just the trinket vendor, but also the food vendors were scrambling to take rain precautions.
"Why did it suddenly start raining?"
Shizuka was also puzzled. She usually checked the weather forecast. It had predicted a sunny day all day today.
Because of this, she hadn't brought any rain gear. Now, she and Lin Feng could only shelter from the rain at the trinket vendor's stall.
Because he had just bought something from her shop, it wasn't a problem to take shelter from the rain there for a while.
Lin Feng was also curious about the sudden downpour.
Logically, the weather just moments ago shouldn't have been conducive to such a rapid gathering of dark clouds or such a heavy rain.
There was something a bit odd about this rain.
"Doraemon's gadgets are really amazing. But this is perfect. Now, I can naturally ask Shizuka to share an umbrella with me and walk home together."
Watching the torrential rain suddenly begin to fall, Nobita marveled at the power of Doraemon's gadgets. He opened up his Matching Umbrella and ran towards Shizuka and the others.
Besides its somewhat pink appearance, the umbrella was no different from a normal one.
And the effect of the gadget wouldn't activate if used by a single person. It only worked when two people shared it.
"Shizuka~! I'm here to pick... "
Dàxióng (Nobita) had already crossed the street, approaching the accessory stall where Shizuka and Lin Feng were sheltering from the rain, intending to use his umbrella to take Shizuka home.
However, as soon as he started to speak, before the words had even fully left his mouth, a somewhat burly figure unceremoniously squeezed under his umbrella.
"Isn't this Dàxióng? I didn't expect you to be so prepared when you went out. It's perfect, I didn't bring an umbrella. Just let me borrow yours for a bit."
The person who had come was none other than Gian, who was coincidentally passing by while buying something for his mother.
He had originally been looking for a place to shelter from the rain. Because he was in a hurry when he left home, and because it looked like it wouldn't rain at all, he hadn't brought an umbrella.
Unexpectedly, as he was passing by after buying things, a torrential downpour started.
By a stroke of bad luck, Gian happened to see Dàxióng running along the road with an umbrella, so he immediately set his sights on Dàxióng's umbrella.
It was already a common occurrence for Gian to strong-arm Nobita out of his belongings.
From comic books and toys to pencils and erasers.
Although these things didn't have much value, Gian saw Nobita's things as his own, while his own things remained his own.
Snatching the umbrella as they passed by was just something he did on a whim.
"Uh? Gian? What are you doing here...?"
"No, wait, you can't have this umbrella yet!"
"Please... hey, get out of the way...!"
If they were just walking down the street and Gian snatched a regular umbrella, it wouldn't be a big deal, they might just get rained on.
But today's operation was something Dàxióng had painstakingly planned, hoping to win Jìngxiāng's heart.
He absolutely didn't want his efforts to be wasted because of Pàng Hǔ's sudden intrusion.
"What? What did you say?"
"Dàxióng, do you dare to repeat what you just said to me?"
"Damn it, you stinky Dàxióng! Looks like I have to teach you a lesson today, so you know your place."
Pàng Hǔ also noticed that Dàxióng seemed unusually tough today, actually daring to talk back to him.
But the habit of bullying Dàxióng for so long had made Pàng Hǔ somewhat ashamed and angry, so he didn't want to hear Dàxióng's explanations. He directly swung his arm and threw a friendly punch onto Dàxióng's head.
"Bang!"
The dull thud of a fist meeting a head, though muffled by the rain, still carried to Lin Feng and Shizuka, who were nearby.
However, because Gian and Nobita had their backs to them, and the rain was also obscuring their view, plus Gian had his arm around Nobita's neck, pulling him close as he lectured him.
So, all they could see through the rain were the blurred silhouettes of the two under the umbrella.