When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The edge of the bar counter was equipped with high stools, and Yun Li had used quite a bit of effort just to climb onto one. Looking down, she couldn't help wondering why she had to step on the footrest while Fu Shize could so easily rest his shoes flat on the floor.

Unable to hold back her thoughts, Yun Li asked, “Why did you let me sit here?”

Fu Shize didn't raise his head. “You were the first.”

Yun Li frantically searched her memory of the conversation just then, hitting upon a terrifying possibility. “Do you mean I’m the very first person to ever hit on you?”

Fu Shize’s tone carried an air of detachment, as if the matter had nothing to do with him, as he countered, “Isn’t that right?”

“...”

These words were neither an affirmation nor a denial. Having only recently cast herself in the role of a "pursuer," Yun Li found herself reading a hidden agenda into every single thing Fu Shize said.

She and Deng Chuqi had witnessed too many people who, because they made their affections blindingly obvious and went to great lengths to convey their feelings, ended up getting flat-out rejected.

Yun Li was terrified of winding up as one of them.

She took out her phone, pretending to browse it. “I am not.”

While scrolling through a ACG website, she made sure to clarify her motives: “I just came over to order another drink, and as soon as I get it, I’m going back.”

“Besides,” Yun Li struggled further, “if you didn’t want me to sit here, I wouldn’t be sitting here. You’re the one who wanted me to sit here.”

Just then, the drink was served. Fu Shize downed it in one go and casually remarked, “Then help me block them.”

Yun Li: “Will a lot of people be coming over to hit on you later?”

Fu Shize thought about it and said, “Quite a few.”

Hearing this, Yun Li looked at the empty seat to his right. “You could have Fu Zhengchu come over and sit on your right. After all, the people coming over to hit on you aren't necessarily all women, either.”

“...”

Yun Li had heard before that some people came to bars simply to seek cheap thrills. Looking closely, she noticed that the skin on Fu Shize’s face and neck was quite fair. Bathed in the bar's purple-pink lighting, his complexion possessed an almost ascetic pallor, while his thin lips added a vibrant contrast.

He was probably the target of many people's romantic advances.

Judging by his demeanor, he also seemed like someone who frequented bars.

“I heard Qiqi say before that some people come to bars looking for a partner.” Yun Li used a more subtle phrasing, but given her hesitant tone, Fu Shize could probably guess what she meant and waited for her to finish.

Yun Li asked, “Are you guys like that too?”

Surely she hadn't been too direct, right? Yun Li watched Fu Shize’s expression carefully. He lowered his gaze to play with his dice and asked her, “Did you come over because you listened to what Deng Chuqi said?”

Yun Li stammered, caught off guard.

Fu Shize continued pressing her: “Do you want to find a partner?”

“...”

“I don’t.” Finding herself once again led around by the nose, Yun Li protested, “You can't answer a question with a question.”

Fu Shize asked calmly, “Why not?”

Yun Li explained earnestly, “Because the moment you ask me something, I have to focus entirely on figuring out how to answer your question, and the conversation can’t move forward.”

Fu Shize let out an affirmative hum, though it was impossible to tell if he had actually taken it in.

“Well, you still haven't answered my question.” Yun Li put on an aggrieved look.

Fu Shize: “...”

“I don’t.”

Hearing this response, Yun Li felt a great deal more at ease.

With the two of them sitting so close, Yun Li caught the heavy scent of alcohol on him. From the moment he entered until now, Fu Shize had only finished a single small glass of whiskey, so he must have already downed quite a bit before arriving.

Seeing him still rolling the dice, Yun Li asked, “What are you playing here?”

Fu Shize: “Starting from two dice, you roll them and multiply the results.”

“...”

Yun Li couldn't really wrap her head around an honor student’s idea of entertainment, so she just sat on the side and watched him play.

After a good while, the bartender handed the drink menu to Yun Li. Desperate to avoid repeating the choking incident from earlier, she scanned back and forth across the unfamiliar names.

Before she could make up her mind, Fu Shize reached out, took the menu directly from her hands, and handed it back to the bartender. “Make her a soft drink.”

Clearly not expecting Fu Shize to notice that she didn't want to drink, Yun Li hesitated for a long moment before murmuring a thank you.

The soft drink was prepared quickly—it was a glass of mixed fruit juice. True to what she had said earlier, this was around the time she should have been heading back.

Yun Li picked up her drink and glanced back toward the booth, only to see that two strangers had somehow joined them. A bucket of beer had been ordered for the table, and the group was deeply engrossed in a dice game where the losers had to chug half a glass of beer.

“...”

She sat right back down.

Drinks continued to be served one after another like a bottomless pit. Fu Shize would toss the dice a few times and then take a drink, paying no attention to her sitting beside him.

Yun Li felt this wasn't a very good sign. Moreover, she noticed that while Fu Shize had started out shaking over a dozen dice at once, he was now only managing to roll six or seven.

“Would you... like to drink a little less?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Whether it was the alcohol talking or not, Fu Shize spoke more than usual, admitting honestly, “I'm in a bad mood.”

Yun Li swallowed hard and clinked her glass against his.

“I'll keep you company for a bit.”

Fu Shize glanced at her, picked up his own glass, and gently tapped it against hers.

“If you're in a bad mood, should we find something to play with for a while?” Fearing her intentions would show too clearly, Yun Li added, “I'll go get the others, wait a second.”

To her surprise, Fu Shize agreed with a soft hum.

The rest of the group quickly came downstairs, each pulling out the three phones with the largest screens to download a two-player game. Deng Chuqi announced smugly that she and Xia Congsheng would form a team, leaving the remaining four people with a matching problem.

Yun Li thought carefully: she wasn't close with Xu Qingsong, so there was a high probability she would end up paired with Fu Zhengchu.

Taking advantage of the others being busy downloading the game, she scooted closer to Fu Shize and lowered her voice: “Qiqi said she wants to be with Xiaoxia. Can I avoid being paired with Fu Zhengchu later?”

She couldn't let him figure out that she actually wanted to team up with him.

Yun Li could only apologize to Fu Zhengchu in her heart and forcefully tell a white lie: “Fu Zhengchu seems to like me...”

Fu Shize: “...”

This excuse was one Yun Li had carefully deliberated over. As long as she gave this reason, it would explain why she refused the drinks Fu Zhengchu offered, why she didn't want to stay in the booth with him but chose to sit with Fu Shize instead, and why she wanted nothing to do with him for the gaming session.

However, to Fu Shize's ears, these words sounded rather bizarre and utterly absurd.

He knew Fu Zhengchu inside and out and had never once suspected him in that direction. Besides, ever since they were kids, Fu Zhengchu had been fixated on a girl named Sang Zhi, and even after going through a few relationships, he still hadn't moved on.

Recalling the several times Fu Zhengchu had praised Yun Li for being pretty, along with how he had lunged toward Yun Li right before leaving when he was drunk last time, those actions certainly made it easy for others to misunderstand.

Fu Shize had no interest in gossiping about Fu Zhengchu with Yun Li; he simply resolved to remind Fu Zhengchu to watch his behavior later.

With the software successfully downloaded, the group moved over to a long table. The app featured dozens of mini two-player games where a single screen had to be operated cooperatively by two people facing each other. Most of the games were quite simple, such as racing to see who could solve arithmetic problems faster.

Once everyone took their seats, Fu Zhengchu tried to sit opposite Yun Li, but was shoved aside by Fu Shize as he approached the long table.

Fu Shize: “Move over.”

Fu Zhengchu didn't understand, but having had too much to drink during the dice games, he could only passively accept the information and shuffle to the side.

Fu Shize sat down directly across from Yun Li. The sharp chill usually present in his eyes was replaced by something resembling a hazy layer of moisture. He tapped his phone screen and rasped out in a low voice, “Start.”

“...”

Yun Li obediently opened the gaming software, which split the screen down the middle so each person controlled one half. The first mini-game was arithmetic.

Right from the start of the game, she found herself utterly crushed by Fu Shize. Nearby, Fu Zhengchu and Xu Qingsong were locked in a back-and-forth battle, and Yun Li had already heard Fu Zhengchu shout out in shock several times.

Yun Li was starting to regret pairing herself up with Fu Shize.

What if he thought she was a complete idiot the moment she started pursuing him?

Her grades weren't exceptionally top-tier, but they weren't bad either. Besides, this was just arithmetic, right? Could simple math really create such a massive gap?

After playing for a little while, Fu Shize rested his arm on the long table, propping up his chin with one hand while his other hand tapped away on the screen.

752 + 288 = ?

Just as Yun Li punched in her answer, the other side of the screen had already declared victory. Dozens of rounds had passed, and she hadn't won a single one.

Her composure was starting to crack: “Can’t you go easy on me?”

Fu Shize paused for a second. Having previously looked utterly indifferent, he now seemed completely focused, making sure to wait until Yun Li won each round before making his move.

Winning several rounds in a row brought Yun Li no joy, only a deep sense of humiliation. She drawled slowly toward the person across the table, “Fu Shize, please leave me a shred of dignity.”

“...”

After cycling through almost all the mini-games in the app, more than an hour had flown by. Fu Zhengchu asked Yun Li if a woman had tried to hit on Fu Shize earlier.

She told him the honest truth.

By this point, Fu Zhengchu was completely drunk. He curled his lip and muttered, “Overestimating her capabilities. Little Uncle’s money can only be spent on younger relatives.” Realizing that this might exclude the other two, he quickly added, “Spending it on Sister Lili is fine too.”

Finding it hilarious, Deng Chuqi asked, “Why didn't you say it could be spent on me? Are you discriminating against me?”

Fu Zhengchu looked at Deng Chuqi, then glanced back at Yun Li, and stated earnestly, “Sister Lili is so pretty, if she grew out her long hair...” Before he could finish his sentence, a peanut shell pelted him straight on the head.

Before he could figure out where it came from, he saw Fu Shize reach out, grab Fu Zhengchu by the hair, give it a rough tug, and say coolly, “Rein it in.”

With that, he told the others to keep playing themselves, stood up, and walked out the door.

At the drink table, Fu Zhengchu was already dead drunk, leaning against his chair and fast asleep. Xia Congsheng and Deng Chuqi, who both had high alcohol tolerances, were deep in conversation about company matters.

After waiting in place for a long time without Fu Shize returning, Yun Li stood up under the pretext of going to the restroom and slipped out through a back door.

It was early autumn, and a chilly breeze swept through the alleys and streets, carrying the faint, lingering scent of osmanthus all over Nanwu.

Silhouettes of people dotted the roadside. Yun Li pulled her jacket tighter around herself and looked all around, but couldn't spot Fu Shize anywhere. She walked forward with her arms crossed; at this hour, the bars lining her path were brightly lit.

She reached the bridge and walked in circles for a bit without finding anyone. Across the bridge, there wasn't even a single street lamp turned on.

After hesitating for a moment, Yun Li turned around to retrace her steps.

“Yun Lili.”

She hadn't taken more than a few paces when she suddenly heard Fu Shize’s voice. Before she could react and turn around, she spotted a small red ember glowing under the shade of a tree.

Fu Shize walked out from the shadows.

Yun Li looked down at the ground. Though the lighting was dim, she could see a small pile of cigarette butts gathered there.

Wondering when exactly he had noticed her, Yun Li asked quizzically, “Have you been here the whole time?”

“Mhm.”

Yun Li couldn't believe it: “How come I didn't see you?”

Fu Shize wasn't wearing a jacket; he had only a thin shirt on, yet he didn't seem to feel the cold at all.

He stubbed out his cigarette butt with his shoe and replied, “Were you looking for me?”