Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 460: The Snow Continues to Fall

Chapter 460: Chapter 460: The Snow Continues to Fall

There was still a month left before the winter break, but the snow this year came exceptionally early. The news even reported that according to historical records, this should be the earliest snowfall on record.

Gu Ling woke up bright and early, excited by the sight of the thick flakes that were falling outside. Rushing into Gu Fan’s room, she shook the sleeping Gu Fan vigorously, "Brother, look outside! It’s snowing, we can have snowball fights and build snowmen now."

"Really?" Gu Fan poked his head out of his comforter, glimpsed at the snow-covered scene outside, and then ducked his head back in. "Stop fooling around, there isn’t enough snow yet for a snowball fight or a snowman. Let me sleep a bit more."

"Get up, you lazy older brother. Even if we don’t play in the snow, we still have school to attend." Gu Ling persisted and finally got Gu Fan out of bed, to his speechless exasperation. "Xiaoling, I understand your energy and enthusiasm, but surely, you must hate the cold too. This weather, this temperature...are you okay with leaving the warmth of the comforter?"

"Alright, lazy brother, enough chatting. Hurry up and freshen up. We have to start a brand new day." Under Gu Ling’s constant urging, Gu Fan reluctantly got up, washed up, donned his backpack with a lacklustre face, and rode off on his bike.

The snow was not heavy at first, and there were few pedestrians with umbrellas. Gu Fan had an easy and steady ride, allowing Gu Ling, who sat in the back seat of the bike, to enjoy the snow-laden scenery while eating breakfast, albeit, occasionally getting a mouthful of snowflakes.

By the time they were halfway to school, Gu Fan began to feel that something was off. The snow seemed denser. No, it was not just a feeling, it really was.

By the time they arrived at school, the snow was so heavy that Gu Fan and Gu Ling had to open their umbrellas and rush into the school building. Many other students were also using their umbrellas to shield against the snowflakes.

It seemed that the wind was also picking up. Frowning, Gu Fan gauged the situation. If this continued, he reckoned that there would be a thick blanket of snow on the roads by the time school ended. Riding back on his bike would then become inconvenient, with a likely increased risk of skidding.

Without giving it much thought, Gu Fan hurried into the classroom, spotting Lu Yi and Jie immediately brushing off snowflakes from their clothes. He approached them, asking, "Why didn’t you guys bring umbrellas?"

Lu Yi answered, "When we left home, it was barely snowing. We didn’t think we’d need umbrellas. Who could have predicted that the snowfall would intensify so suddenly?"

Jie couldn’t help but complain, "It’s all your fault. You dawdled over breakfast, and when a junior walked by, you couldn’t take your eyes off her. You even tried to strike up a conversation, which delayed us further. If not for that, how would we have been caught in this sudden heavy snow?"

"Is it really my fault? You couldn’t have predicted the heavy snowfall, could you? If you had known, you would have urged me to hurry up." Gu Fan and Jie could only express admiration for Lu Yi’s sophistry, too indolent to argue with him any further.

Suddenly, the wind howled, making everyone shudder, and the intensifying winds outside fused with the innumerable snowflakes in a great snowstorm. Everyone sighed inwardly, fearing a blizzard.

Soon enough, the students began streaming into the classroom, each shaking off snowflakes from their clothes. Almost everyone complained about the unpredictable weather, as it had transitioned from light snowfall to a blizzard in less than an hour.

Lin Xi arrived too. She hadn’t used her supernatural power to shield against the blizzard, so like everyone else, she too was blanketed by snowflakes.

Seeing an opportunity, Gu Fan hurried forward to help, asking, "How did you all end up like this? Didn’t you bring umbrellas?"

"In this blizzard weather, an umbrella is of no use." Lin Xi replied, while observing the conditions outside. Hearing the successive howls of the wind, it seemed like the blizzard was not going to subside anytime soon.

Gu Fan didn’t pay too much attention, treating it merely as a usual snowfall and then burying himself in the day’s studies.

However, Lu Yi checked the news on his phone, revealing that the city had never faced such a blizzard before. Regular heavy snowfall was already a rarity, let alone a blizzard, and this sudden blizzard was entirely unexpected, with no prior prediction by the meteorologists.

Lu Yi showed Gu Fan the news. Gu Fan found it odd, given that he had seen the weather forecast just the day before, which had predicted a sunny day. How had it changed into a blizzard? While weather forecasts can sometimes be inaccurate, the deviation from clear skies to a blizzard was too drastic.

Deciding to stop dwelling on it, Gu Fan inwardly prayed that the blizzard will have stopped by the time school ended.

However, to his disappointment, the blizzard continued unabated, leaving him with no choice but to leave his bike at school and take a cab home with Gu Ling.

As soon as Gu Fan and Gu Ling reached home, Su Hui walked in too. As she shrugged off her scarf, she complained, "What kind of lousy weather forecast is this? It’s one thing to be inaccurate, but the deviation is far too much. How could they have forecasted it?"

Hearing this, and seeing Su Hui covered in snow, Gu Fan couldn’t help but laugh. This promptly earned him a glare from Su Hui, "What’s so funny? Look at yourself. You are no better than me."

"Alright, alright. My bad." Just as Gu Fan finished, he noticed that Gu Ling was absorbed in something on her phone. It was rare to see her so serious.

Curious, Gu Fan asked, "What’s up, Xiaoling? What are you looking at?"

Gu Ling replied, "Lots of people online are criticizing the weather forecast, saying they messed up big time this time and should take responsibility. But the people in charge of weather forecasting argue that they couldn’t have predicted this strange blizzard as they base their forecasts on scientific methods. They claim that there were no signs of this abnormal weather; it just happened."

After listening to Gu Ling, Su Hui scoffed, "So they are blaming their mistakes on ’abnormal weather.’ Who would believe that?"

Gu Fan also expressed his skepticism, but the constant howling of the wind outside made his heart pound, giving him an ominous feeling.

Gazing out at the blizzard, Gu Fan thought, even though weather forecasts could go wrong, they couldn’t possibly be this off. Based on his past experiences, when the weather forecast said it would rain, it might not, but if it predicted clear skies, then it was sure to be a sunny day.

"But hopefully, I’m overthinking." Heaving a sigh, Gu Fan tightened his coat against the piercing cold.