When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Here?

In bed?

In bed?!

Yun Li was no child; all the scenarios that naturally came with that thought flashed through her mind. She gave the matter serious consideration, only to conclude that they simply hadn't been together long enough. With an absolute, non-negotiable tone, she declared, "Let's host properly some other time."

"..."

Fu Shize had already closed his eyes, but at her words, he opened them again, burying his face in her hair. "It's not just about hosting. From now on, I'm going to treat you well."

He held her close in his arms, while his mind continuously replayed the scene of her confronting danger—an indescribable sense of suffocation.

Despite being overwhelmingly tired, Fu Shize couldn't fall asleep. He simply got up to take a shower. As the hot water poured over his body, he thought of the gift Fu Dongsheng had gone out of his way to buy for Yun Li.

It was a completely ordinary thing; when meeting a partner's parents for the first time, people often exchanged greeting gifts.

Yet this simple occurrence made him realize that such utterly normal, everyday gestures were things he wouldn't have been capable of offering Yun Li given his previous state.

He might have repeatedly hurt her, making him fundamentally no different from that pervert.

After finishing his shower, Fu Shize realized he hadn't brought any clothes inside. Frowning, he wrapped a bath towel around his waist.

When he returned to the room, Yun Li was still there, closely examining the aromatherapy diffuser on the bedside table.

"..."

He had completely forgotten about that.

"You're done showering? This diffuser..." Yun Li turned around, only to freeze at the sight of his bare chest. Water droplets were still trickling from his hair down his body and onto the floor. The man's brows and eyes were tinged with moisture, adding a touch of softness to his usual aloofness.

"The guy got caught by the police, so I took the opportunity to ask for it back," Fu Shize said with absolute composure, walking over to the wardrobe to grab a set of pajamas.

Yun Li stood dazed for a long time, staring fixedly at Fu Shize's back. Water beads clung to his excessively pale skin. As he turned his head slightly, a damp lock of hair clung to his cheek. Yun Li watched unblinkingly as a single droplet slid down his neck to the edge of his collarbone, continued further down his chest and abdomen, and finally came to a halt at the white bath towel.

"Haven't you seen enough?" Holding his pajamas, he spoke in a voice laced with temptation. "Come closer and look."

Flustered, Yun Li quickly blocked her eyes with her hands. "I'll go outside right now."

Covering her eyes only after she had finished looking.

That was something only she would do.

"No need." At his words, Yun Li froze in place, merely turning around while the sound of him changing clothes drifted from behind her.

Her heart hammered against her ribs like a beating drum. A moment later, he handed her a towel and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Help me dry my hair?"

Yun Li stood right behind him, her elevated vantage point allowing her to see down into his open collar. As she gently dried his hair, she maintained the air of a proper upstanding citizen. "Your buttons aren't buttoned properly."

"Today at 5:17 PM, someone said they wanted to be the person who understands me best." Fu Shize calmly repeated her words, pulling her hand down to rest against his collar. "Don't you need to understand me now?"

"..."

Acting even more composed than him, Yun Li neatly buttoned up his top button from behind.

She carefully dried his hair with light, gentle movements. Blocked by the towel, Fu Shize could only feel the warmth radiating from her behind him. In the quiet room, the lingering romantic tension of moments before transformed into a cozy domestic warmth.

Lowering his head, he reached up to catch her hand, pulling it to his lips to press a kiss against it.

Yun Li was in a good mood as well. Once she finished drying his hair, she pointed at the drones and asked, "Are all of these models?"

"No, they're all real." Seeing the interest in her eyes, he granted her permission with an indulgent tone. "You can take them to play."

Every single one of them looked rather expensive, and Yun Li didn't dare touch them. Remembering how her robot video had been labeled as comedic content, she realized her online profile now included the tag of a comedy creator.

Having studied a science and engineering major, Yun Li still occasionally liked to brainstorm science and technology-themed videos, so she asked, "Can I borrow these drones to make a video? I might need a bit of your help."

"Mn." Fu Shize brushed his thumb against her lower lip. "Is there payment?"

He truly never missed any opportunity. Feeling awkward, Yun Li retorted, "I might not even need your help."

The corners of his lips twitched upward as he acted like he hadn't heard her. Understanding his implication, Yun Li struggled for a moment before offering, "I don't even pay my younger brother when he appears in my videos..."

It wasn't as if he hadn't witnessed Yun Li's domineering side when dealing with her brother. Fu Shize couldn't help pointing out, "He wouldn't dare ask for it."

"..."

"So, is there payment?"

"..."

They had already shared plenty of intimate moments. Weighing her options and realizing she wouldn't lose out, Yun Li casually agreed, "Fine, alright."

"Can you pay in advance?" He pointed to his lips. "Kiss here."

"..."

After lingering in that sweet atmosphere for a long while, Yun Li recalled what he had said earlier and tried to salvage her reputation. "I'm not that tyrannical with my brother."

Fu Shize played with a strand of her hair. "You aren't tyrannical." Recalling their conversation at the hospital that afternoon, he remembered how Yun Li had repeatedly second-guessed herself before asking him anything—a completely different attitude from how she treated Yun Ye.

Feeling that it was a bit unfair to her, he paused for a moment before saying, "Lili, no matter what you do or what you say, my feelings for you will never change because of it."

Yun Li looked up at him.

"You can be as tyrannical with me as you want."

His gaze was steady and calm, offering Yun Li boundless encouragement. After waiting a moment, she asked tentatively, "That student ID card I asked you about last time... whose was it?"

"..."

Fu Shize's fingers froze mid-motion as he played with her hair.

The atmosphere seemed to instantly freeze solid.

Yun Li acutely sensed that she had stepped into forbidden territory and brought up something she shouldn't have.

"It belonged to my childhood friend. He passed away." His tone remained entirely level as he resumed playing with her hair, trying to distract himself. "That's why I don't really like talking about him."

Hearing this, Yun Li froze as well. Straightening her back immediately, she stammered, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect... I shouldn't have..."

"Lili." Fu Shize cut her off, pulling her hand gently. "You don't need to apologize."

He continued, "You were supposed to know about it anyway."

Feeling that she had rudely ripped open his old scars, Yun Li lowered her head and stayed silent. A warm hand came down to comfortingly ruffle her hair; having just showered, his hand felt much hotter than usual.

Yet Yun Li's eyes grew red.

...

Trapped in an unfamiliar environment, Yun Li found it difficult to fall asleep, tossing and turning for a long time. She reflected on her own personality flaws: her fear of dealing with strangers, her hesitation, and her tendency to overanalyze everyone's words and actions.

It wasn't necessarily a terrible way to be, seeing as she had survived all these years like this. It was just that, most of the time, it never led to a good outcome.

Especially tonight.

As tears slipped down onto her pillow, she felt as though she had hurt Fu Shize.

Refusing to wallow too deeply in self-pity, Yun Li decided to start a livestream late at night.

Quite a few night owls among her followers tuned in, and the viewer count quickly climbed to several hundred. She picked out a few comments to address.

"Why are you streaming in the middle of the night? — Missing my family members."

"Salted fish hasn't updated in ten thousand years — Well, since it's already a salted fish, let's wait for a chance to flip over."

"Did you make up with the coffee shop brother? — We're dating, don't worry about it."

This single sentence stirred up a massive uproar. The barrage exploded with a sea of Ahhhhh my wife is gone. Finding it amusing, Yun Li chuckled, "Don't worry, the streamer is still everyone's wife for now." She paused. "After that, it's hard to say."

Not losing sight of her original purpose, Yun Li cleared her throat. "Family members, I want to ask a favor of you all—"

"The streamer wants to train her social skills, so come chat with the streamer, everyone."

The setup for this interaction was rather bizarre, but quite a few fans bravely volunteered to jump on the audio chat. The fans ended up sounding even more timid than she was, forcing Yun Li to reluctantly take on the role of conversation starter.

After an hour, having unexpectedly gained a shred of accomplishment in the realm of socializing, Yun Li finally drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

...

Fu Shize's insomnia remained virtually unchanged. Waking up at two in the morning, he found himself unable to fall back asleep. He pulled open a drawer where several types of sleeping pills rested. Thinking of Yun Li, he silently pushed the drawer shut.

Knowing sleep wouldn't come, he headed out to the balcony to clean up the cigarette butts and wine bottles left over from previous days.

His parents had sent numerous messages, mostly advising him to eat well and take care of himself. Only the most recent one read: Now that you have a girlfriend, you have to take care of yourself properly so you can take care of her.

His decadent lifestyle had lasted for nearly two years—so long that he had nearly forgotten what a normal life looked like.

Only by spending the past month with Yun Li, cooking for her and staying by her side around the clock, had he realized that his life could actually return to a normal track.

He wanted to take care of her properly, too.

He wanted to give her a normal life.

As if giving an answer to himself, he picked up his phone and replied to his father with a simple acknowledgement.

His relationship with his parents had always been distant, and while mutual affection existed deep down, Fu Shize had never developed the habit of communicating with them.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he sent them a photo of himself and Yun Li together.

Just past six in the morning, Fu Shize went down to the 24-hour convenience store to buy breakfast.

When Yun Li woke up, Fu Shize was already sitting in the living room, the table laid out with milk, toast, and freshly fried sunny-side-up eggs.

The balcony curtains and floor-to-ceiling windows were pulled wide open, letting the sunlight flood through and leaving the balcony bright and clean.

Checking the clock, she saw it was already eight-thirty.

"I kept saying I was going to take care of your three daily meals..."

Fu Shize reheated the fried egg in the microwave and placed it in front of her. "Who takes care of whom is all the same."

"Oh right, the gift your uncle and aunt gave me is a necklace," Yun Li took a sip of milk. "It's a bit too precious, I feel a bit embarrassed accepting it."

"My parents like you, just keep it." Fu Shize tore her toast into small pieces for her. Feeling like a giant infant, Yun Li resisted slightly. "I can do it myself—"

"What did your uncle and aunt say?" Securing the approval of her partner's parents still made Yun Li rather happy inside. Fu Shize replied, "They just said you're great and told me to take good care of you."

Then, as if afraid someone might steal his credit, he added, "Though I want to take care of you regardless of what they think."

After breakfast, Fu Shize took Yun Li for a stroll around the neighborhood near Jiangnan Garden. Having grown up here since he was a child, he was intimately familiar with what every shop had looked like over a decade ago.

Following lunch outside, the two returned to Jiangnan Garden to relax. Her phone vibrated, and Yun Li picked it up to take a look.

Yin Yucheng: [Yun Li, I'll go pick up your brother this afternoon.]

Yin Yucheng: [I happen to have two movie tickets for seven o'clock tonight. Yun Yi has tutoring tonight anyway, so it would be a waste not to use them.]

Guessing that he wanted to gauge Yun Li and Yun Ye's situation in person, she replied: [Let me ask Yun Yi if he wants to go.]

Yin Yucheng: [I've been wanting to see this movie for a while. Would you be willing to come along too?]

Yun Li froze.

This implication... As Yun Li re-read the message, she became increasingly certain that he meant that kind of implication.

She carefully searched her memory and confirmed that he had indeed seen her and Fu Shize together last year.

Staring blankly at the screen for a moment, Yun Li caught Fu Shize watching her. She proactively handed him her phone. He glanced over it twice and flatly remarked, "Trying to poach my corner?"

"I'll reply and turn him down." Yun Li took back her phone, typed out [No thanks], and paused.

"Wait." Fu Shize stopped her from hitting send, took the phone back, tapped the screen a few times, and tapped send himself.

[My boyfriend doesn't want me going out alone with other guys, sorry.]

[You met my boyfriend last time.]

Looking at the chat interface, Yun Li felt a profound sense of awkwardness.

She had previously deleted all male contacts who had shown any ambiguous tendencies toward her, yet when it came to Yin Yucheng, she found herself hesitating.

She asked Fu Shize, "Should I delete him? This feels so awkward."

Fu Shize shot her a sideways glance. "Delete him."

Just as her finger hovered over the delete button, she pressed cancel instead and turned back to ask Fu Shize.

"But Yun Yi has a secret crush on his younger sister. If I just delete him like this, will they think I'm hard to get along with?"

"..."

"And if it backfires on Yun Yi, wouldn't I be ruining his lifelong happiness?"

"..."

"Besides, he might not even mean anything by it. Maybe he was just looking for someone to keep him company at the movie."

"..."

Yin Yucheng didn't reply right away. Yun Li sat in place agonizing for quite a while, rattling off several plausible justifications all at once.

While she was rambling to herself, Fu Shize leaned back against the sofa, watching her lazily before suddenly letting out a soft laugh, his tone carrying little warmth: "Sure."

Yun Li looked up. "?"

"You deleted my WeChat without a second thought."

"..."

With ancient history suddenly dragged back into the light, Yun Li fell into a state of bewilderment. Feigning composure, she took a sip of water and offered a sheepish explanation, "So you knew all along? Why didn't you ever mention it?"

Fu Shize threw her an unsparing sideways glare.

So, he had known, chosen not to expose her, and was now feeling emotionally unbalanced about it.

"I didn't do it that impulsively either," Yun Li explained dryly. Fu Shize crossed his arms and waited for her to continue.

Recalling the event carefully, she offered, "I actually hesitated for quite a while before deleting you..."

"..."

Fu Shize was nearly laughed out of his anger.

At that moment, Yin Yucheng replied: [Sorry, I misunderstood some things. Then I'll let Fu Shize take you to pick up Yun Ye instead. You guys can keep the movie tickets.]

"Quite generous of him," Fu Shize remarked.

Still on high alert, Yun Li carefully probed, "So... should I still delete this WeChat contact?"

Though he said nothing, Fu Shize didn't look angry. "No need."

Despite those words, throughout the entire afternoon, Fu Shize barely spoke—though their interactions otherwise seemed no different from usual.

Yun Ye arrived in Nanwu at three in the afternoon, nearly turning to stone when he was greeted by the two of them at arrivals.

His mental image of Yun Li's relationship status was still stuck in the phase of her failed pursuit; how on earth had she managed to get a boyfriend over a single winter break?

Yun Li chatted with Yun Ye the entire way back, while Fu Shize played the role of the dependable chauffeur. After arriving at the apartment, Yun Li used the projector to put on a movie for Yun Ye, then headed to the kitchen to slice some apples.

Yun Ye followed her in, finally seizing a moment of private sibling time to grumble unhappily, "Why didn't you tell me when you started dating?"

"Mind your own business as a kid."

Yun Ye: "Did you spend New Year's Eve with him?"

Yun Li shot him a look. "So what if I did?"

"You prioritize romance over your brother!" Furious, Yun Ye lunged to snatch her phone. "Give me my New Year's red envelope back."

"In your dreams."

The two bickered as they wrestled in the kitchen. Hearing the commotion from outside, Fu Shize walked over and leaned against the kitchen doorway.

"Big bro." Collecting himself, Yun Ye called out politely before bolting back to the living room.

She was wearing an apron. For a long stretch of time, cooking had been Fu Shize's domain; seeing this view of her brought back memories of just a few weeks ago.

Fu Shize pulled the kitchen door shut and closed the distance to Yun Li. Enveloped by his abruptly close body heat—with the sound of the TV playing in the living room and Yun Li worrying he might walk in—she whispered, "I..."

His arms wrapped around her waist, and as a form of mild punishment, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "What is it?"

Yun Li: "...Nothing." She clamped her mouth shut and continued slicing apples on the cutting board.

"You deleted me," he muttered, still nursing a teasing, aggrieved chuckle from being left out in the cold all afternoon, "and yet you're still so unproactive.”