When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 72

Chapter 72

He paused. "If you want to, you can accept it."

"..."

Fu Shize's skin was so thick that it practically refreshed Yun Li's understanding of him, and she shifted to the side. "I didn't mean that."

The mango crepe wasn't large. After finishing every last bite, Yun Li re-thought the possibility.

"My dad and I might frequently reach an impasse, so I'm seriously considering it. Because in moments like those, I'll probably wish you were by my side."

"Mm, I will be."

He was concise and to the point, playing with a strand of her hair.

Yun Li curled the corners of her lips, stood up, and looked around the small single room. "Then where do I sleep?"

Fu Shize answered directly, "You sleep on the bed, and I'll make a floor pallet."

"What will you use to make a floor pallet?" Yun Li didn't see any other bedding in the room, and the remaining space in this small room wasn't enough to fit another set.

"You can share a sheet with me." Fu Shize proposed a solution.

Yun Li looked at his build and directly ruled out that option. "Aren't you in somewhat poor health? I'm afraid you'll catch a cold sleeping on the floor."

"..."

Seeing her staring at his body, Fu Shize took a calm sip of water. After putting the cup down, he reached out and grabbed Yun Li's waist.

Both of them had originally been sitting on the edge of the bed. At this moment, Yun Li pressed against the side of his body. Unlike usual, he used a bit of strength, and the five fingers clasping her sank into her waist.

The moment she raised her head, she bumped into his chin, locking eyes with his deep, pitch-black pupils. Yun Li's mind went blank.

The pressure on her waist grew heavier and heavier.

Knowing that something would happen if this continued, she still stared straight at him, her slightly parted lips carrying a trace of allure.

Fu Shize said softly, "Even if my health isn't good, the bed is still yours."

Although his words completely yielded to her, his hand movements seemed to repeatedly prove to her—don't worry, my health is very good.

By nearly eleven o'clock, Fu Shize walked Yun Li down to the downstairs of her apartment complex. Walking near the iron gate, Fu Shize took a small red paper-folded rose out of his pocket and placed it in the palm of his hand.

Yun Li was stunned. "For me?"

He lowered his head, a few soft strands of hair slightly dangling before his eyes. After pondering for a moment, he replied, "No. How does the folding look?"

Seeing him stubborn with his words, Yun Li gave a thoroughly stiff evaluation. "So-so."

"Then I'll put it back." With that, Fu Shize moved to put the paper rose back into his pocket, and Yun Li quickly grabbed his hand. "Don't crush it."

Yun Li stroked the smooth paper. "How do you have time to fold this in the office?"

"When I think of you and can't work, I fold these," Fu Shize answered casually.

Yun Li tilted her head and asked him, "Then you only folded one?"

"..."

"One is fine." Before he could reply, she hooked the corners of her lips, holding the paper rose loosely in her hand against her chest as she walked backward into the building. Their eyes remained locked until her eyes disappeared into the crack of the door.

It was nearly twelve when Yun Li arrived home. She kicked off her shoes; the living room lights were still blazing bright, Yun Yongchang was sitting at the dining table, and Yang芳 [Yang Fang] had already gone to sleep.

Two plates of stir-fried rice noodles lumped into balls sat on the table, and one could tell they had been sitting out for a while.

"Come eat some." Yun Yongchang's tone was rigid as he stood up and took the rice noodles to the kitchen.

Hearing the sound of the microwave, Yun Li felt somewhat reluctant, but she more or less read a meaning of compromise in Yun Yongchang's act of waiting for her to eat a midnight snack.

Putting her belongings back in her room, she listlessly walked over to the dining table and sat down.

Hearing the commotion, Yun Ye also came out of his room. Wearing only a tank top and short pajamas, he sat cross-legged on a stool, scrutinizing her expression.

Yun Ye asked, "Where did you go? You didn't reply to my messages."

Yun Li glanced sideways at him. "What is it?"

When she was with Fu Shize, she hardly looked at her phone. Turning it on now, she discovered Yun Ye had sent her over a dozen messages.

She tapped open the chat interface, and without even scrolling up, she returned to the previous screen.

Yun Ye had worried about her all night and felt somewhat burning with irritation at the moment. "You didn't even finish reading my messages?"

"I'm not in the mood right now." Yun Li face-downed her phone onto the table. "After I finish my midnight snack, I'll go back to my room and properly appreciate the things you sent."

"..."

Just as her words fell, Yun Yongchang came out with the heated rice noodles. Yun Li went to get the bowl and chopsticks, and the atmosphere among the three of them fell silent.

The father and daughter ate the rice noodles on the table expressionlessly, leaving only Yun Ye looking like an outsider.

Silence was never a good thing in the Yun family. After a few minutes of quiet, Yun Yongchang's words carried a bit of accusation about not being understood: "I'm doing this for your own good, too."

Yun Ye hadn't expected his old man to sit at the dining table all night just to squeeze out this fight-provoking sentence.

The generation gap in their thoughts was far too vast. Yun Ye's hackles rose, and he kicked Yun Li, signaling her not to blurt out any impulsive words in a fit of anger.

With an unkind expression, Yun Li glared at him, still controlling her voice to remain calm. "I know."

"Then you should know that everything Dad does is for your sake. With your temper and personality, if you get wronged at someone else's house and stubbornly say nothing..."

She had actually tried many times to make Yun Yongchang believe that she was capable of protecting and taking care of herself.

Yun Li raised her head, but she didn't see the expected depreciation on Yun Yongchang's dark, dry face.

Instead, she saw Yun Yongchang's refusal to back down. Actually, Fu Shize was right: Yun Yongchang had a narrowness in his thinking, but his original intentions were never bad.

Rather than believing in her, he preferred to believe in his own ability to protect his daughter.

Yun Li was silent for a moment, then said, "I'm already in a relationship. Don't ask me to go on blind dates with other people anymore; this isn't good."

Yun Ye widened his eyes and kicked Yun Li under the table again, and Yun Li kicked him back without a shred of mercy.

Yun Yongchang wasn't surprised at all. His true nature exposed, he began investigating her background: "What kind of person?"

Yun Li calmly ate a mouthful of noodles. "Yun Ye's class teaching assistant, a Ph.D. student at Western Science and Technology University, about to graduate."

Yun Yongchang looked at Yun Ye. "Is that true?"

"..."

Seeming to feel that what Yun Li said lacked credibility, Yun Yongchang asked Yun Ye directly, "You've interacted with him before, what kind of person is he?"

"He's pretty good..." Yun Ye gave Yun Li a weird look.

"If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have had to invite this little Yin over, nor would I have had to talk to him about your affairs." Yun Yongchang felt that what he said today wasn't right, but after fumbling for a long time, he couldn't clearly express his meaning.

After self-reflecting for a few seconds, he resumed his usual domineering style. "Bring him home for me to see."

Yun Li kicked Yun Ye under the table.

Yun Ye immediately raised his head. "Dad, stop worrying about so much. What if you scare her boyfriend away?"

"Besides, that teaching assistant of ours is amazing. He went to Western Science and Technology for his undergraduate degree, wins national scholarships every year, frequently takes first place in competitions, and he's very nice to people with a great temper." Yun Ye rattled off a string of points that Yun Yongchang liked to hear.

Yun Yongchang's expression softened a bit, but he still picked faults. "Since this boy is so outstanding, has he never dated a girl before?"

Yun Ye blanked for a moment, looked at Yun Li, and blurted out, "He's never dated anyone else before."

Yun Li glanced at him.

That phrasing was truly awesome.

He had never dated anyone else before.

Because he had only ever dated her.

Seeing that Yun Li had no desire to speak, Yun Yongchang didn't continue to pressure her. After finishing her midnight snack, she returned to her room, lay on the bed, and sent a message to Fu Shize: [Did you arrive?]

A few seconds later, Fu Shize sent back a voice message—a single "Mm."

The clear, light voice didn't cut off abruptly; the ending of the word dragged out for a beat, sounding as if he were too exhausted yet still mustered the energy to reply to her message.

Yun Li's mood instantly brightened: [I don't have anything going on tomorrow.]

In fact, she had nothing going on for the entire weekend and could go out to play with Fu Shize.

Fu Shize's tone carried a hint of faint regret: [Tomorrow I need to write my doctoral dissertation.]

Yun Li's hand paused: [Alright then]

Her phone buzzed once more. Yun Li felt a tiny shred of disappointment, only to hear him say: [But there's an empty seat next to me.]

Her heart relaxed. She grabbed her clothes and went to take a shower.

When she came back, she discovered that after his previous message, Fu Shize had sent another one: [Not coming?]

Seeming uncertain because she hadn't replied, he had invited her again.

Yun Li wiped her hair, twirling the paper rose under the light, and replied: [Okay.]

Rolling over and collapsing onto the bed, Yun Li used her hand to block the light as sleepiness crept up on her. In her daze, she remembered the look Yun Yongchang had given Fu Shize last time and woke up with a start.

Moving her hand away, she saw Yun Ye, who had sneaked into her room.

"Why didn't you tell me when you started dating?" Yun Ye's voice was resentful. "I was just..."

"Just what?" Yun Li showed utter disdain for his grievance and grabbed his head to rub it twice.

"Nothing... stop messing with my hair." He unhappily swatted her hand away. Seeing herself rejected, Yun Li simply fell back down to sleep.

Noticing her brow tails were flat and the space between her eyebrows was relaxed, she was probably enjoying this relationship quite a bit.

Then whether he was told or not didn't really matter.

Yun Ye sat at Yun Li's desk for a bit, stood up and paced around the room a couple of times, and then flipped through her bookshelves.

Extremely sleepy, Yun Li urged him, "If you have something to say, spit it out."

"After exams next semester, I want to develop my relationship with YY." Yun Ye's gaze wandered around, his fingers lightly tapping the seam of his pants, looking quite unnatural.

Developing a relationship—such a euphemistic phrase was something only Yun Ye could say.

Yun Li: "Oh."

Yun Ye: "Aren't you going to offer some thoughts?"

Yun Li looked confused. "Weren't you dating under the guise of being classmates? Finally willing to take responsibility?"

Yun Ye: "..."

Having a favor to ask, Yun Ye swallowed his pride. "Can you have your boyfriend lend a drone to me?"

"Don't you have his WeChat?" Yun Li pulled the quilt over herself, the intention to chase him away fully apparent as she patiently and gently advised, "Yun Ye, you're already an adult; don't make your older sister step forward for everything."

Yun Ye stammered, "Just make it convenient for you to speak up, have him lend me a cool one."

Yun Li simply ignored him. Yun Ye lingered by her side for a moment and poked her through the quilt.

She was already asleep.

"..."

Yun Ye paused for a while, turned off the light, and went to grab his own phone. He roughly expressed what he wanted to do to Fu Shize. Even though it was late at night, he had zero sleepiness, his mind completely occupied by thoughts of confessing his feelings.

Tossing and turning in anxiety for half an hour, Fu Shize finally replied.

[I'll buy you one.]