Abandoned White Moonlight Chapter 21

– 18 years old.

“Please, come in,” Huo Youqing stepped aside to let the two guests in. Once they were seated in the living room, he politely said, “I’m Huo Youqing. Aunt Song made some desserts. Please try them.”

The two boys with identical faces sat across from Huo Youqing. The shorter one, Dai Yuan, seemed much more relaxed, quickly picking up a dessert and complimenting how delicious it was.

In contrast, the other boy had been sitting stiffly since he arrived, hands tightly clenched on his knees, his head lowered. Occasionally, he would glance up at Huo Youqing from under his long eyelashes.

Huo Youqing was curious about the relationship between the two brothers. He wondered if they were twins but held his tongue, knowing it wasn’t polite to ask.

To his surprise, Dai Yuan brought it up himself. “My brother and I look alike, don’t we?”

Huo Youqing glanced between the two and nodded honestly, “Are you twins?”

“No,” Dai Yuan’s response was unexpected. He seemed accustomed to people being surprised, his expression remaining unchanged. “It’s kind of amazing, right? My brother is two years older than me, but we look exactly the same—except for the height.”

Hearing this, Huo Youqing couldn’t help but study the two boys’ faces more carefully. Indeed, their faces were indistinguishable.

This was Huo Youqing’s first time meeting the Dai Family brothers.

As they spent more time together, often going out to have fun, they gradually became more comfortable with each other.

Dai Yuan would lie on Huo Youqing’s lap, holding a foreign language book that Huo Youqing had lent him. His foreign language skills weren’t great, so he often had to pause and ask Huo Youqing the meaning of certain sentences.

Huo Youqing, feeling a bit sleepy in the afternoon, leaned back against the sofa, sipping on some chilled watermelon juice with one hand while responding to messages from home with the other.

After finishing his first semester of university, he had come to spend the winter holidays with his uncle. The weather here, around 20°C, was perfect for a vacation.

“Brother, what does this sentence mean?” Dai Yuan suddenly pointed to a line in the book. Huo Youqing glanced at it. He had read the book several times and knew it well.

“Celestial movements should exist; they are by no means vessels of filth. In contrast, some gentlemen hide behind their tuxedos, concealing their own stinking desires.”

Dai Yuan’s face suddenly turned red. He closed the book and turned his head to look at Huo Youqing, who was holding his phone. “Is someone trying to reach you?”

“My childhood friend,” Huo Youqing replied, snapping a picture straight ahead with his phone and sending it to Gong Lang.

Gong Lang had originally planned to join them on vacation, but his company had kept him too busy, especially with his brother not letting up. Recently, Gong Lang had been complaining to Huo Youqing almost daily on social media about how work was overwhelming him. He kept asking Huo Youqing what he was up to, urging him to send more photos so he could enjoy a “virtual vacation.”

Hearing the words “childhood friend,” Dai Yuan placed the book on the coffee table, yawned lightly, then found a comfortable position on Huo Youqing’s lap and began to fall asleep.

Surprised, Huo Youqing glanced down, noticing Dai Yuan had already closed his eyes. Saying nothing, he carefully adjusted his movements to be quieter, even making a shushing gesture when he saw Dai Yixin coming out of the study.

Dai Yixin was holding a book. He first stared at Huo Youqing, then slowly shifted his gaze to his younger brother, who was asleep on Huo Youqing’s lap. Silently, he walked over and sat down on a nearby sofa.

Huo Youqing sipped his watermelon juice a few times and noticed that Dai Yixin hadn’t opened his book but was simply sitting there, his back straight. The atmosphere started to feel a bit awkward.

Huo Youqing knew that the Dai brothers’ father was a big client of his uncle’s, but he didn’t know how important. All he knew was that whenever his uncle came home early and saw the brothers there, he treated them far better than any of his other friends.

Huo Youqing wasn’t too concerned with how powerful the Dai family was; he simply saw the brothers as new friends. However, their personalities were drastically different. One was very outgoing, while the other…

Huo Youqing glanced at Dai Yixin, who remained motionless, and finally decided to break the silence. In a low voice, he asked, “Would you like something to eat?”

Dai Yixin’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. He had a pair of beautiful amber eyes, just like his brother.

Huo Youqing waited for a response but got none, so he refocused on his phone. After replying to a few more messages, he suddenly heard a voice.

“How’s the watermelon juice?”

Huh?

Huo Youqing looked up and met Dai Yixin’s gaze. It was only then that he realized Dai Yuan had spoken. However, as soon as their eyes met, Dai Yuan quickly turned his head, resuming his previous posture as if he hadn’t said anything.

Huo Youqing bit his lip and said, “It’s pretty good. Would you like a glass?”

Dai Yixin gave a small nod.

Huo Youqing texted Aunt Song, asking her to bring another glass of watermelon juice from the kitchen.

When Dai Yixin finally began sipping the juice, Huo Youqing felt a genuine sense of relief. He preferred spending time with the younger Dai brother.

Dai Yuan was a few months younger than Huo Youqing, not yet eighteen.

“I thought you were younger than me, but it turns out you’re actually older by a few months,” Dai Yuan said, leaning close to Huo Youqing’s face with a serious expression. “So, what should I call you?”

“Call me ‘brother’?” Huo Youqing teased.

For some reason, no one Huo Youqing had met in recent years, whether younger by a few months or even several years, ever wanted to call him “brother.” Instead, he always felt like he was more of a younger brother to them.

Now, with Dai Yuan, he decided to play a little trick.

Surprisingly, his trick worked.

Dai Yuan’s eyes curved into a smile, and he called out—

“Brother” 

The word “older brother” sounded like something close brothers would use. 

But “Brother,” when there’s no blood relation, somehow felt a bit… intimate.

Just as Huo Youqing was about to say he was only joking, Dai Yuan added, “If I call you brother, my brother will get confused, so you’ll be Older Brother*,’ and he’ll be Brother.’”
* older brother; writing it in chinese pinyin so you can see the change

He then turned to look at his brother. “Brother, don’t you think I’m right?”

Following Dai Yuan’s gaze, Huo Youqing saw that Dai Yixin had been staring over—who knows for how long—fixated on his younger brother.

Huo Youqing only glanced briefly, as his phone rang. Apologizing to the Dai brothers, he got up to take the call.

Left alone in the living room, both brothers quickly looked away. As Huo Youqing walked off, Dai Yuan suddenly said, “Brother, do you know what he told me the other day?”

It was as if he didn’t expect an answer because he continued speaking on his own. “He said he received two letters in the mail back in China. The sender’s name was exactly the same as yours, but that person was a total creep.”

When Dai Yuan said the words “total creep,” he rested his cheek in his hand, looking innocent. “Isn’t that scary? How could someone be such a creep, writing those kinds of letters to another guy and even signing their name? They must be really sick.”

As he spoke, his gaze briefly lingered on his brother before quickly shifting away, as if nothing had happened.

When Huo Youqing returned, Dai Yuan was the first to jump up. “Let’s go out! It’s still early, let’s go skydiving!”

“Skydiving?” Huo Youqing had only ever seen this dangerous sport in videos, and when Dai Yuan brought it up, he didn’t know how to react.

He should refuse, but…

Sensing his hesitation, Dai Yuan said, “Trust me, nothing will happen. I’m a certified skydiver, and even if something goes wrong, I won’t let anything happen to you. Come on, let’s go! I’ve already booked everything.”

He walked over to Huo Youqing, practically begging like a puppy, an invisible tail wagging behind him. “I’ve already made all the arrangements.”

In the end, impulse won over reason.

As Huo Youqing was being pushed upstairs to change clothes, he thought of their other guest. “Is your brother coming?”

Dai Yuan shook his head. “No, my brother’s health isn’t good.”

***

After returning from skydiving, Huo Youqing got a harsh scolding from his uncle, who was furious that he had participated in such a dangerous activity. His uncle grounded him for the next few days, forbidding him from going out and insisting he stay at home.

The Dai brothers, who were usually treated very well by his uncle, were also caught up in the punishment. However, for some reason, his uncle seemed to think that Dai Yixin was much more well-behaved than Dai Yuan, so he allowed Dai Yixin to come over and hang out with Huo Youqing.

Thus, the two of them found themselves sitting across from each other in an awkward situation.

But after the initial awkwardness, Huo Youqing started getting used to it. Dai Yixin was a very quiet person, so quiet that it was easy to forget he was even there.

One time, Huo Youqing genuinely forgot that Dai Yixin was still in the room. He was sitting by the floor-to-ceiling window, playing the piano. After playing five consecutive pieces, he suddenly realized someone was nearby.

At some point, Dai Yixin had moved to stand slightly behind him, and who knew how long he had been waiting there. Startled, Huo Youqing stopped playing and awkwardly said, “Um… do you want something to eat?”

Dai Yixin didn’t respond, just stared at him.

The long silence and direct gaze made Huo Youqing uncomfortable. He turned his face away, then back again after a moment. “I’m thinking of going to the glasshouse. Do you want to come?”

It was just an excuse to slip away, but surprisingly, Dai Yixin agreed. Huo Youqing had no choice but to take him to the glasshouse, where he cut a few roses that were about to bloom to decorate the living room.

After cutting the flowers, Huo Youqing was ready to leave. The young man beside him remained silent, and neither of them spoke until they were almost back inside the house. That’s when Dai Yixin finally moved.

He grabbed Huo Youqing’s arm, and when Huo Youqing looked at him in surprise, he quickly let go as if he had been burned.

Even though the weather was warm, Dai Yixin’s face was pale.

He started to say, “You…”

But before he could finish, Dai Yuan appeared. He had climbed over the wall and ran up to Huo Youqing, bursting with energy. “Older Brother, do you want to go scuba diving?”

Huo Youqing was tempted, but remembering his uncle’s attitude, he declined.

Dai Yuan didn’t look disappointed or upset at the refusal. Instead, he quickly suggested something else. “Then how about going to a musical? I’ve got tickets.”

He pulled two tickets out of his pocket and glanced at his brother. “Sorry, Brother, I only managed to get two tickets. But you don’t really like musicals anyway, right? I remember you fell asleep the last time we went.”

The two identical brothers faced off in silence. The younger one looked at his older brother with guilt. After a moment of tension, the older brother glanced at the third person in the room. Huo Youqing, focused on the tickets, didn’t notice the strange atmosphere between them.

***

That night.

After returning from the musical, Dai Yuan saw his brother sitting on the sofa. Startled, he asked, “Why didn’t you turn on the light?”

As he spoke, something shiny caught his eye.

It was a knife in his brother’s hand.