When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Having just rejected Chen Renran, the person in question was still standing right here.

Yun Li hadn't wanted to rob him of his dignity, but upon locking eyes with Fu Shize, she felt the guilty twinge of someone caught red-handed, and nodded without a second thought.

Fu Shize angled his body backward: "Come over."

With his arms crossed, Xu Qingsong stared at the dazed Chen Renran standing behind the door and said, unable to bear it, "Can we keep the fruit platter?"

"..."

With a dark expression, Chen Renran handed the fruit platter over to him, and Xu Qingsong offered a polite, "Thanks."

The room belonging to the two men was clean and bright, with their bed covers neatly tucked and spread across the mattress. There were no other personal belongings in sight, leaving only books, an audio system, and a glass teapot sitting on the table.

Xu Qingsong said casually, "Take a seat on the sofa."

He swapped out the previous tea bag for fruit-and-flower tea, dropped in two pieces of rock sugar, and the room instantly filled with a delicate floral fragrance.

Yun Li sat down on the corner of the sofa. Fu Shize picked up two brand-new transparent teacups, placed them on the table, and Xu Qingsong leisurely poured out the rose-red fruit tea. After waiting a moment for the temperature to drop to a comfortable level, he pushed a cup toward her.

"Have a taste."

Yun Li murmured a word of thanks. The fruit tea was still hot enough to tingle against her tongue, and she took a small sip; the taste on entry was a delightful sweet-and-sour.

Having finished hosting his guest, Xu Qingsong sensibly stood up: "Should I step out for a bit?"

It was only then that Yun Li noticed he was wearing a pair of white dress trousers beneath his lake-blue sweater. Yun Li had browsed through plenty of fashion bloggers' outfit pairings, but it was genuinely rare to find someone who could exude such a fitting blend of gentleness and noble elegance.

"No need," Yun Li said hastily.

Yun Li didn't want Xu Qingsong to feel the need to avoid the room on account of her arrival. Since he seemed to be one of Fu Shize's close friends, she wanted to try getting along with his friends as well.

Hearing her say that, Xu Qingsong gracefully sat back down right beside Fu Shize.

Far from the awkwardness Yun Li had imagined, Xu Qingsong pulled out a tablet containing a selection of documentaries. After asking for her opinion, he picked a documentary about bread-making.

There was a projector in the room, and Xu Qingsong cast the documentary straight onto the wall.

The three of them sat quietly on the sofa.

After about ten minutes, Xu Qingsong nudged the fruit platter in Fu Shize's direction. Fu Shize glanced down at it, then seamlessly slid it over toward Yun Li without a word.

Yun Li used a fruit fork to pick up a piece.

Fu Shize pushed the fruit platter back to Xu Qingsong.

Xu Qingsong forked a piece as well.

The room's lights were switched off, leaving only the enlarged images projecting clearly against the wall. Yun Li's mind was elsewhere; almost none of her attention was on the documentary.

Using her peripheral vision, she stole glances at the two men beside her. Fu Shize's expression was clear and bright, entirely devoid of any residual drunkenness, while Xu Qingsong had his right leg bent up, leaning back against the sofa in a lazy posture.

Both of them were watching with exceptional focus.

Yun Li didn't want to ruin their enjoyment.

Fiercely holding out for half an hour as waves of sleepiness repeatedly crashed over her, Yun Li forced her eyes open, only to see the kneaded lump of dough on the screen repeatedly slamming down onto the cutting board, every single thud acting like a hypnotic lullaby.

Fu Shize tilted his head to look at Yun Li.

Catching this scene from the corner of his eye, Xu Qingsong propped his chin in his hand with a teasing, amused smile. Lasting barely a flash, he shifted his gaze back to the screen: "It's getting pretty late, let's watch the rest another time."

Overwhelmed by exhaustion, Yun Li didn't insist on staying. When her leg pressed against the hard, bulky hand warmer, she stood up, scooped up the hand warmer, and said, "I'm heading back then. Can I take this with me?"

Xu Qingsong couldn't help letting out a chuckle.

Fu Shize: "..."

That burst of laughter prompted Yun Li to glance down at the item in her hand with guarded hesitation; it was, after all, a hand warmer she had bought herself. Without quite understanding what had just transpired, Yun Li bade the two of them good night and hurried back to her own room.

It was already past midnight.

Not long after she finished washing up, Deng Chuqi and Xiaxia returned to the room as well. Taking advantage of the moment Xiaxia was in the bathroom, Deng Chuqi pulled Yun Li into a small corner.

Her tone was filled with shock: "Chen Renran just told me that Xiaxia's little uncle invited you to his room to watch a movie? And you actually went?"

"Xu Qingsong was there too. It wasn't just the two of us alone in a room," Yun Li explained hastily.

"I knew it. Xiaxia's little uncle couldn't possibly be that kind of scumbag." Deng Chuqi looked visibly relieved.

Hesitating for a moment, Yun Li said, "I want to tell you something."

Deng Chuqi: "Is it about Chen Renran?"

"Yes. Thank you for your good intentions," Yun Li said straightforwardly, "but I have no intention of pursuing anything with Chen Renran. I didn't get a chance to make things clear to him earlier. Could you please help me pass the message along?"

Deng Chuqi: "I should've guessed the moment you and Xiaxia's little uncle walked back together. I only meant well, but I ended up making a mess of things. Once he sobers up tomorrow, I'll make it crystal clear to him." Shifting the tone of her voice, she pivoted: "So what happened between you and Xiaxia's little uncle tonight?"

Yun Li recounted the events of the evening in a few brief sentences.

"Holy crap!" Deng Chuqi's jaw dropped in sheer astonishment, and fearing that Xiaxia might overhear, she lowered her voice: "He touched your hand?"

Yun Li: "Mhm..."

Deng Chuqi: "Damn, what a smooth operator."

With her cheeks flushing red, Yun Li couldn't help muttering, "It was actually pretty nice..."

Deng Chuqi: "..."

Deng Chuqi: "That little uncle of Xiaxia's always looks so icy and aloof. I never expected his game to be this high-level."

Yun Li defended him: "Maybe he just couldn't help himself..."

Teasing her, Deng Chuqi said, "Protecting him like this already? Have you guys picked out names for the kids yet?"

Yun Li laughed: "I've already thought of two."

After a brief pause, Yun Li asked with lingering insecurity: "Do you think he likes me?"

Deng Chuqi rolled her eyes: "Based on everything you just described, how could it possibly be anything else?"

Yun Li lowered her gaze: "He was drinking tonight, but when I looked at him earlier, he seemed pretty sober."

Deng Chuqi: "It's still better to clear things up once he's fully sober. But aren't you mad?"

Yun Li blinked in surprise: "Not at all. That whole thing was just a misunderstanding."

Deng Chuqi: "I'm talking about the fact that you chased him for so long and he never gave you an answer."

Yun Li had already completely pushed that thought out of her mind: "I was actually planning on spending a year or two chasing him, so even now, I still feel like I'm dreaming."

Licking her lips, she added, "It feels like achieving a major milestone ahead of schedule, and it's honestly pretty great. But now I'm kind of worried he's going to wake up tomorrow and say, 'Sorry, I was drunk last night.'"

Yun Li muttered to herself: "I really should have recorded it tonight so he wouldn't be able to go back on his word."

Deng Chuqi: "..."-

Falling asleep caught between a seven-tenths sense of elation and a three-tenths sense of lingering anxiety, Yun Li drifted into a dream. She was back in the lounge at EAW; Fu Shize was sitting on the sofa wearing an icy, indifferent expression. When Yun Li tried to speak, he cut her off directly—Sorry, I was drunk last night.

At the break of dawn, Yun Li snapped awake from her dream. The room was dim, filled with the steady, synchronized breathing of Deng Chuqi and Xiaxia. Glancing at her phone, she saw it was barely past five-thirty. Yun Li opened her chat window with Fu Shize, and the conversation remained exactly where they had left it last night.

A sense of settling peace washed over her.

Having slept with the heater on all night, her throat felt dry and parched. Yun Li blinked in the darkness for a moment before slipping quietly to the bathroom to wash up.

She pulled her bedroom door shut behind her with absolute gentleness.

The hallway was pitch black. Clutching her phone, she crept quietly downstairs, and the moment she reached the first floor, she spotted a figure seated on the sofa.

The scene from her dream rushed back to her.

Yun Li froze in her tracks, not daring to step forward.

Fu Shize had already noticed her the moment she reached the corner. Seeing her halt, he leaned back against the sofa, his voice raspy and low: "Lili."

The typically cold tone was laced with a smuggled-in softness. That single summons completely wiped away the remaining hesitations Yun Li had carried out of her dream, and she walked over to sit down just a meter away from him.

Though she could barely make out his facial features in the dim gloom, his presence remained entirely unaffected by the lack of light.

Fixing her gaze on his face, Yun Li murmured softly, "Say it again."

Fu Shize: "?"

Yun Li repeated: "Say it again."

Turning his head to look at her, Fu Shize relaxed his brow and resumed his low, quiet call: "Lili."

Only his gentle, clear voice remained in the silent, unmoving living room.

Suppressing the impulse to leap forward and throw her arms around him, Yun Li asked with deep contentment, "Did you just wake up?"

Fu Shize pondered for a moment, his words carrying a double meaning: "I'm sober now."

Catching his drift, Yun Li's lips curved upward uncontrollably.

Fu Shize: "Come closer."

Shifting herself along the cushion, Yun Li moved closer to his side, feeling her leg brush lightly against the outer edge of his thigh, radiating a faint warmth.

His voice sounded somewhat fatigued: "Keep me company for a bit."

"I want to go pour a glass of water first..." Yun Li felt like she was dampening the romantic mood.

"I'll get it." Unfazed, Fu Shize stood up and headed to the kitchen. Yun Li heard the sound of water boiling, and a few minutes later, he returned to his original spot and handed her a cup of warm water.

Yun Li took a sip. Seeing that Fu Shize kept his eyes fixed entirely on her—fully aware that he couldn't possibly see clearly in this darkness—she still nearly choked on her water anyway.

Embarrassed, she set the cup back down on the table.

With the indoor heater running, Yun Li felt a wave of stuffy heat and shed her outer coat. Hearing the rustling sounds of her stripping off her clothes in the pitch dark, the inability to see only served to amplify his imagination.

Unnaturally, he reached out and took a sip from the very same cup of water she had just used.

Yun Li reminded him: "That cup is mine. You grabbed the wrong one."

Fu Shize let out a soft hum, stood up, and went to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of cold water. The kitchen had no heater running, and the low temperature helped clear the last remnants of sleep from his sluggish mind.

Yet, he was still terribly sleepy.

Placing the glass back down in front of Yun Li, Fu Shize hadn't been back in the darkness for long before drowsiness overtook him, crashing him directly into shutdown mode as he fell fast asleep.

When Yun Li felt the sudden weight drop onto her shoulder, Fu Shize was already sound asleep—barely a minute or two after he had set the cup down.

For a moment, Yun Li didn't dare make a single sudden movement.

With her entire focus locked onto the person beside her, she still found the whole situation surreal—this was the person she had coveted for so very long.

Recalling his characteristically tired eyes, Yun Li figured he must have suffered another bout of insomnia last night.

Unable to fall back asleep, and not daring to play on her phone, Yun Li had no choice but to sit frozen on the sofa and zone out.

Fu Shize slept for nearly two hours straight. Even the glaring sunlight streaming in wasn't enough to jolt him awake until he stirred on his own, frowning slightly before slowly fluttering his eyes open.

Noticing his movement, Yun Li turned her head just as Fu Shize lifted his—their motions interrupted when his forehead bumped softly against her cheek.

"..."

Experiencing such close-range contact in broad daylight for the very first time, Fu Shize stiffened for a split second before slowly straightening his posture.

Still heavy with sleep, his voice asked, "What time is it?"

Glancing at her phone, Yun Li answered, "Eight o'clock."

"Breakfast?" He turned his head. Only now did Yun Li get a proper chance to examine him closely; dressed in light-blue silk pajamas with his eyelids drooping low, his sleepy state gave him a somewhat world-weary, disheveled charm.

Nodding, Yun Li stood up. Having sat completely motionless for two hours, her limbs felt stiff and foreign.

Returning to her room, Yun Li grabbed her makeup bag and headed to the shared bathroom. After spending over half an hour applying her makeup, she clipped on her green gemstone earrings, staring at the reflection of herself in the mirror where the eager anticipation shining in her eyes was unlike anything she had ever expected to see.

Changing into a high-necked sweater, Yun Li paused to think before stepping out, ultimately deciding to grab a scarf as well.

Fu Shize was already waiting by the doorway. The moment they stepped outside, his gaze dropped downward, coming to rest on the scarf in her hand.

That lingering look sent a blush burning straight to the tips of Yun Li's ears.

Taking a step forward, she lifted the scarf, her movement stalling halfway. Fu Shize didn't move, watching her quietly. After a moment of dead silence, Yun Li suddenly lost her nerve and turned to wrap it around her own neck instead.

Fu Shize: "..."

Fu Shize: "I'm a bit cold."

Yun Li's hands froze in place, and she turned back robotically toward Fu Shize. Cooperating fully, he lowered his head and leaned in close to her, waiting for Yun Li to wind the scarf around him, circle by circle.

Burying her face deep into her sweater collar, she muttered, "That should do it."

Just as they reached the entrance of the restaurant, Yun Li's phone lit up with a string of consecutive video calls from Yun Ye. Yun Li hung up instantly. Undeterred, Yun Ye kept calling right back, making her suspect something might be wrong on Yin Yunyi's end.

Fu Shize prompted: "Answer it."

Once the video connected, Yun Ye's well-behaved face blocked the entire screen. Unconsciously taking a few steps forward, Yun Li put some distance between herself and Fu Shize.

"Sis, where are you celebrating New Year's?"

Hearing the word "Sis," Yun Li grew instantly guarded: "No idea."

Yun Ye piped up in his most agreeable voice: "Sis, can I come to Nanwu for New Year's? Dec 30th is a Friday, I can catch the evening flight."

Yun Li: "What are you coming here for?"

The teenager answered with an air of absolute entitlement: "To keep you company for the New Year, obviously."

Treating it as none of her business, Yun Li said: "Your ID is on you, and I can't tie your legs down. Go wherever you want, I didn't hear a word."

"Plane tickets are so expensive..." Seeing her unyielding stance, Yun Ye's face crumpled into a miserable knot. "Please."

Knowing his true intentions, Yun Li stated bluntly: "No money."

"New Year's Day doesn't work, then winter break is fine too. Can I have money by winter break? Or how about you spot me the cash, and I'll pay you back with my Lunar New Year red envelope money, deal?"

Remembering his two-dollar-and-fifty-cent installment plan from last time, Yun Li didn't even bat an eyelash: "Installment payments, huh? Are you paying me back once a year?"

Yun Ye swore on his life: "I definitely won't do installments this time!"

"How about this? Remember that action figure on your bookshelf that I always liked? I'll trade you that for my plane ticket money!"

Calculating the price in her head, Yun Li replied: "Sounds like you're getting the short end of the stick on that one."

Yun Ye: "Is that a yes?"

Yun Li: "Still no."

Yun Ye rattled off a few more ideas, but Yun Li remained completely unmoved. Growing anxious, he tried a new angle: "Can I just stream into the broadcast room remotely as a guest appearance?"

"Cut it out. Messing around with weird schemes all day—if your grades slip, Dad's going to beat me to death." Suddenly remembering her duty as an older sister, Yun Li asked offhandedly, "What place did you get on your last exam?"

"Eighth in our grade."

"..."

Attending the exact same Xifu Experimental High School, Yun Li's monthly exam scores used to hover perpetually between the 200th and 300th rank.

Taking a sip of water to steady herself, Yun Li feigned calmness: "If you maintain this ranking on your final exams, I'll begrudgingly figure out a way to earn your plane ticket money."

Yun Ye's eyes lit up: "I promise I'll keep this rank on the finals. Can you send me the plane ticket money in advance?"

"..."

"No."

Yun Ye reverted to his usual tone: "Yun Li, you're so stingy."

Speechless, Yun Li retorted: "Don't come crying to me next month."

"Fat chance of that happening."

Without dragging the conversation out any further, Yun Li hung up the call directly.

Fu Shize hadn't intended to eavesdrop on her phone call. Standing right where he was, he had kept his eyes fixed on her the entire time, so the moment she pivoted around, their gazes locked instantly.