When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Her heartbeat skipped half a beat as Yun Li looked up, her gaze meeting his.

For a few seconds, his restrained and calm expression shifted slightly. The hand that had been brushing the snow flakes from her hair paused before gently pressing against the back of her head.

Before Yun Li could react, she was softly pulled into his embrace.

The air was damp and biting, the chill seeping into her exposed skin until her cheeks had already lost all feeling. Yet at this moment, Yun Li felt as though she were standing beside a warm, crackling hearth, the heat radiating over from their closely pressed bodies.

Lifting her chin, she could make out the clean lines of his ear.

Right beside her ear was the sound of his heartbeat.

It seemed... quite fast as well.

Yun Li buried her face into his chest and hugged him back. Feeling her response, Fu Shize's arm tightened slightly, as if he were holding a most precious treasure.

Without noticing how much time had passed, when they finally parted, the frozen red flush on Yun Li's cheeks seemed to have spread all the way to the back of her ears.

Fu Shize lowered his gaze to look at her, his hand naturally sliding down her arm.

Even through her thick coat, Yun Li could feel the movement of his fingers before her right hand was caught and held by his.

He was familiar with the Nanwu Airport, leading Yun Li by the hand straight to the parking lot and opening the front passenger door for her. He climbed back into the driver's seat and, as naturally as breathing, leaned in close to fasten her seatbelt.

"Are you heading straight home?"

Fu Shize spoke up: "It's still early."

It sounded like he planned to spend some time with her. In quite a pleasant mood, she sat in the passenger seat scrolling through her phone. A good number of people on her Moments were posting videos of Nanwu's first snow, mostly filmed from their own windows.

She asked offhandedly: "Where do your parents live?"

Fu Shize: "My parents live in Beishan Maple Woods, and I usually stay at Jiangnan Garden."

Beishan Maple Woods?

Yun Li had seen housing reviews of Beishan Maple Woods while browsing Bilibili; it was a notoriously high-end residential complex in Nanwu City. Quietly opening her phone, she searched for Jiangnan Garden. Located in downtown Nanwu, it consisted of older 1990s apartment buildings, but its extraordinary geographical location and access to educational and medical resources also made it extraordinarily valuable.

"..."

She fell silent for a moment, thinking of her own family. Her family's financial situation hadn't been great when she was little, and things only became much more comfortable after Yun Yongchang opened his driving school.

Even so, that apartment in Xifu had only had its mortgage paid off in the last few years.

Yun Li didn't feel the thrill of landing a wealthy second-generation heir; instead, the economic gap between their two families gave her a slight sense of pressure.

She didn't want too wide a chasm to exist between them.

Yet this seemed unavoidable.

She began calculating her income as an Up主 over the past few years. Although it wasn't a massive amount, following her current trajectory, she would be able to save up a fair sum by graduation. Working for another two years after graduation should give her barely enough for a portion of a down payment. It probably wasn't much, but it wouldn't be a drop in the bucket either.

...

The airport was situated in a relatively remote area, with both sides of the road blanketed entirely in white snow. Snow pellets pelted the windshield before being swept away by the wipers. Keeping his eyes fixed on the road ahead, Fu Shize placed his phone down beside Yun Li's thigh.

"Check tomorrow's temperature."

Yun Li tapped open the weather app on her own phone. Fu Shize: "Use my phone."

"?"

Feeling a bit puzzled yet not questioning what he said, she picked up his phone and lit up the screen.

The lock screen was a photo of the two of them together.

So the weather forecast wasn't what he wanted her to look at after all.

The corners of her lips curved upward as she unlocked the phone.

The car parked downstairs at the apartment, and Fu Shize went upstairs with her, a wave of warmth rushing out to greet them the moment the door opened.

Before leaving, worried that Fu Shize might feel cold when he arrived, Yun Li had left the air conditioning running. Now she felt stifled herself, loosening her scarf and hanging it on the coat rack.

She stripped off her fitted coat, leaving behind a form-fitting black turtleneck dress underneath. She had bought this right when she first arrived in Nanwu; her waist was slim, and the dress had fit her silhouette perfectly when she tried it on, so she had purchased it.

The person beside her watched her quietly.

Yun Li walked over to the window, intending to crack it open an inch for some fresh air. Before her fingers even touched the window latch, a source of heat enveloped her from behind. Fu Shize pressed against her back, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

He had taken off his coat as well, leaving only a single layer of clothing. Compared to their previous two embraces, Yun Li felt as though the thick barriers between them had melted away here, and she could almost directly feel the contours of his muscles.

Not daring to move, she stared blankly out the window, letting her heartbeat accelerate of its own accord.

The glass reflected their translucent silhouettes. Snowflakes fell slantwise in the direction of the wind, while the distant vault of the sky was pitch black. Shifting her gaze downward, Yun Li finally noticed the two miniature snowmen she had meticulously built before leaving.

Right on the windowsill, huddled closely against each other. She had braided two pieces of red string to serve as the snowmen's scarves, and snow that had fallen afterward had piled up around their lower halves. Following her gaze, Fu Shize's expression softened as his grip around her tightened just a fraction.

He rested his chin on her shoulder, his cheek lightly brushing against hers.

Yun Li felt as though the point of contact had been struck by lightning—tingly and itchy. Just as she tried to pull away, the face beside hers gently nuzzled against her.

At an agonizingly slow pace.

Up, down, up, down.

The snow never stopped, and neither did the surging tide of affection.

Clearly, not a single word had been spoken since entering the apartment, yet at that exact moment, Yun Li understood. He had come back just to accompany her to watch this first snow—Nanwu's first snow, and the very first snow of her life.

This motion continued for several minutes. Once the silent reunion concluded, Fu Shize moved over to the couch. The fish tank he had left behind when he departed still sat on the coffee table; Yun Li had bought an additional oxygen pump and decorative lights, and several fish were darting about with immense vitality.

Yun Li hadn't forgotten the strawberries he had specifically reminded her of the previous night. She washed them, arranged them on a plate, and placed them in front of him.

"I bought these from a street vendor who supposedly has their own strawberry patch, so they should be very fresh." Yun Li sat down beside him.

He didn't seem particularly eager to eat them either, observing them unhurriedly for a moment before reaching out to pick one up—only to set it aside on top of another.

It wasn't until he had shifted all the strawberries on the top layer that Yun Li realized he was inspecting the layer underneath.

After his inspection, he fell silent.

"Are you looking for something?" Yun Li asked in bewilderment, picking one up to eat. The texture was crisp and sweet. Fu Shize closed his eyes for a second, abandoned his stubbornness, and casually picked one up to pop into his mouth.

Troubled by something uncharacteristic for him, he suddenly asked: "Where's the scarf?"

Yun Li blinked. Having rushed through it over the past two days, she thought it turned out too ugly, so she had hastily finished it off as a short scarf, intending to bring it back for Yun Ye later and take her time knitting a proper replacement for Fu Shize.

"It's finished, but it looks a bit ugly, so I took a photo and showed it to Yun Ye." Yun Li went to her bedroom and retrieved the scarf. It was solid gray, with uneven tension in the stitches. She handed it to Fu Shize, who glanced at it twice before setting it aside.

Her tone was entirely unsurprised: "He definitely said it was ugly."

Yun Li didn't forget to show Fu Shize the chat history between the siblings. His dark eyes scanned up and down for a moment before he averted his gaze.

He hadn't eaten many strawberries, but he picked up two more, attempting to distract himself.

Receiving several consecutive phone calls from home, Fu Shize didn't linger long at Yun Li's place. Just as he was getting ready to leave, he suddenly said to her: "I'd like to pack up some strawberries to take back."

Yun Li got up to fetch a sealed plastic bag from the kitchen, vaguely hearing the sound of Fu Shize tidying up his things.

Over half a box of strawberries remained. Once she packed them up, she placed them in his bag.

I

After he left, Yun Li received a message from Yun Ye, his tone still somewhat begrudging: [Fine, even if it looks a bit ugly, you better bring it back for me anyway. I'll reluctantly accept.]

Yun Li: [Take it or leave it.]

The scarf she had stayed up all night knitting hadn't hit the mark, and Yun Ye had looked at it with total disdain. Feeling somewhat deflated, Yun Li considered simply throwing it in the trash. She stood up to look for the scarf, only to find no trace of it in sight.

Unsure where she had stashed it just now, Yun Li rummaged through her boxes and cabinets all over again.

A few minutes later, her phone buzzed with a message from Fu Shize—

[Accidentally packed the scarf into my bag.]

Yun Li: "..."

...

The next day marked the final workday of 2016. Upon arriving at EAW, Yun Li found the experience center once again swarming with groups of students from Nanwu No. 1 High School—presumably marking their final experience day.

The youthful, unfledged high schoolers infused the venue with boundless vitality, completely drowning out the background music usually played across the rooms with their clamor.

Assigned to help out at the experience center as usual, Yun Li stood by the fifth-floor glass railing and looked down. A dense sea of students swarmed below like pixel blocks moving in random patterns.

As her gaze shifted, Yun Li spotted a girl in the crowd with a high ponytail. Taller than her peers and wearing zero makeup, her fair complexion still stood out remarkably. Chatting with a group of female students, she spoke with a serious, focused attitude, coming across as gentle and polite.

Yun Li stared for a moment, feeling she could finally understand what had driven Yun Ye's heart to flutter. She covertly snapped a photo and sent it to Yun Ye.

It was still broad daylight, so Yun Ye probably couldn't check his phone just yet.

Before she had watched for long, a voice suddenly sounded behind her: "What a coincidence."

Turning around, Yun Li discovered it was Yin Yucheng.

She paused: "Are you here to check out the place?"

Yin Yucheng walked up beside her, following the direction of her previous gaze: "My sister's grade is visiting on a field trip, so I came along to join in the lively atmosphere."

Looking closer, Yin Yucheng spotted the cluster of people around Yin Yunyi: "Are you looking at my sister?"

Not wanting to admit it, Yun Li replied: "No."

Without calling out her lie, Yin Yucheng pointed in a specific direction: "Right over there."

"She really is a very cute girl," Yun Li said sincerely.

Yin Yucheng smiled: "She's alright." Pondering for a moment, he added, "Yun Ye must be pretty great too, seeing as you're quite good-looking yourself."

"..."

Being complimented face-to-face by a guy she wasn't particularly close with for the first time, Yun Li felt entirely out of her depth. Seeking to make polite conversational back-and-forth, she awkwardly babbled: "I saw your sister helping carry things and waiting in line earlier; she seemed extremely enthusiastic."

Yin Yucheng didn't deny it: "My parents taught us from a young age to be helpful people, so I'm like that too."

Vaguely sensing that the other party was low-key praising himself, Yun Li chimed in: "It looks like your parents raised you well."

Yin Yucheng: "Since we've run into each other, why don't you come over and say hi to Yunyi?"

Fearing she wouldn't know what to say upon meeting, Yun Li was just about to refuse when Yin Yucheng persuaded her: "It's fine, let's go say hi. She'd definitely love to see you too."

"Alright." Yun Li had no choice but to agree.

Walking downstairs with him to see Yin Yunyi, they found she had shed her outer coat, leaving only a sweater and a base-layer shirt. Spotting Yun Li, Yin Yunyi smiled and nodded politely: "Hello, older sister." The corners of her lips curved upward, "Yun Ye looks a lot like you."

Yun Li: "A lot of people say we look alike."

Noticing her thin outfit, Yin Yucheng asked, "Why aren't you wearing a coat?"

Glancing around to confirm none of her classmates were nearby, Yin Yunyi lowered her voice and said: "I lent it to a classmate."

He furrowed his brows: "With only two layers on, won't you be cold?"

Yin Yunyi: "There are a lot of people indoors here, so it's not too cold."

Having accepted the crystal bracelet from her last time, and considering the girl was the object of Yun Ye's affection, Yun Li couldn't just stand by and ignore it. She proactively offered: "I have a spare coat in the staff lounge. If you don't mind, would you like to put it on for now?"

"No need, older sister," Yin Yunyi smiled politely, "I don't mind, but you're not wearing much either, so make sure you don't catch a cold."

"It's fine, I just keep it in the lounge as a backup anyway." Unaccustomed to such exchanges, Yun Li waved a hand, "I'll go grab it for you."

Returning to the staff lounge, Yun Li opened her locker to pull out the coat, checking it carefully to ensure it was clean.

Turning around with the intention of heading back to the experience center, she found Fu Shize standing right behind her.

He said calmly: "Where are you going?"

"Yun Ye's crush is a student at Nanwu No. 1 High School, and she's here today." Yun Li shook the coat in her hand. "She lent her jacket to someone else, and since I was worried she'd be cold, I'm bringing her one."

"Mn," Fu Shize leaned against the doorframe, "Is she by herself?"

"No, her brother's here too. I ran into her brother first before going over to say hi to her."

"Mn."

Seeing him blocking the doorway like an immovable pillar, Yun Li smiled and tugged on his hand: "If there's nothing else, I'll head over first?"

"Mn." Fu Shize stepped aside.

Just as Yun Li walked past him, she heard his voice drift from behind: "I'm coming with you.”