Abandoned White Moonlight Chapter 49

The person ringing the doorbell was a staff member from the apartment complex, holding a basket of fruit to check on Huo Youqing’s condition. After learning that nothing serious had happened, the property manager sighed in relief and said, “I was on duty last night, and I was startled when I saw the ambulance arrive. Fortunately, you left a spare key with us. Otherwise, we would have had to call a locksmith in the middle of the night.”

As the property manager spoke, Huo Youqing’s eyelids lifted suddenly, catching an important detail in their words. In his mixed-up memories from switching between two timelines, a new recollection surfaced. When he moved into this apartment complex, he had left a key with the property management because he had a scheduling conflict when his new bed and toilet were being delivered. He had asked the staff to help him with it.

Later, the property manager had called to ask about the key, and he had said he would pick it up next time. But he had completely forgotten about it.

So, last night, it was likely that he really had called 120, but due to his illness, he had no memory of it.

“Sorry for the trouble,” Huo Youqing said politely, declining the fruit they offered. Instead, he ordered three days’ worth of deliveries to be sent to the property management as a token of gratitude.

In the other timeline, Huo Youqing’s life suddenly became relatively calm. “Calm” meant that Gong Lang and Qiu Wenfei hadn’t come to bother him, and “relatively” referred to Dai Yixin. Dai Yixin hadn’t completed his studies in the U.S., but it seemed as though he had taken an extended leave to stay in the country.

Not only had Dai Yixin stayed in the country, but he also accompanied Huo Youqing to his classes. Within just a few days, he had become quite famous in the foreign language department. Male students were already rare in the department, and Dai Yixin’s height and looks were eye-catching. On top of that, he was always with Huo Youqing, who was well-known in the department.

Several people had tried to strike up a conversation with him, but they were all coldly rejected. After a couple of weeks, rumors began to circulate. Even someone like Huo Youqing, who was usually oblivious to external matters, noticed something was off. Finding Dai Yixin’s behavior extremely annoying, he eventually drove him away.

The day after Dai Yixin left, Huo Youqing ran into his former roommate. The roommate was excited to greet him and ask where he was going, then, with a strange look in his eyes, asked if Huo Youqing had heard about what happened.

“What happened?” Huo Youqing asked.

His roommate was surprised that he didn’t know. His eyes lit up, and the urge to share gossip, which he had been suppressing, finally burst out. “Qiu Wenfei… has taken a leave of absence.”

The completely unexpected news stunned Huo Youqing.

Although he didn’t care about Qiu Wenfei’s fate, he distinctly remembered that Qiu Wenfei had never taken a leave of absence. “Why did he take a leave?”

The roommate, growing more excited, leaned in. “You’ll never guess. I always said that guy was weird, but I didn’t expect him to be this twisted.”

The roommate glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, before continuing boldly, “You know how medical students dissect animals like mice and rabbits? Well, apparently, one time after a class, a teacher noticed a dissected rabbit was missing. Thinking a student had stolen it, the teacher got worried since the rabbit was diseased and could cause problems if eaten. So they started looking for the rabbit. Guess where they found it!”

Huo Youqing had a bad feeling about where this was going, but when his roommate finally said it out loud, he frowned in disgust.

“They found it in the men’s bathroom! Qiu Wenfei was there with the rabbit. Apparently, he was… masturbating. One of the students who was helping to look for the rabbit walked in on him.”

The roommate clapped his hands excitedly. “I’ve never heard of anything so bizarre in my life! The very next day, Qiu Wenfei took a leave of absence. Honestly, if I were him, I wouldn’t be able to stick around either. The whole medical department is buzzing with the story.”

“It’s so twisted, man. The rabbit was gutted, intestines hanging out and all. It’s disgusting, and he was still able to… well, you know,” the roommate said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head in disbelief, clearly still shocked by the event.

Huo Youqing was just as repulsed, feeling nauseated by the story. But at the same time, something about it felt off. After parting ways with his roommate, he walked down the road lined with towering camphor trees, the sunlight filtering through the leaves to form circles of light on the pavement.

Why did Qiu Wenfei take a leave of absence?

Was it the butterfly effect?

Or—

Did someone make it happen?

Stopping in his tracks, Huo Youqing searched online for news about Gong Lang’s family business but found nothing negative. He then opened a social media app. Although he had already blocked Gong Lang, they still shared mutual friends and classmates.

Earlier, someone had come over to try to reconcile things, though for reasons unknown.

Huo Youqing scrolled through the avatars of his classmates who had tried to mediate, and clicked on one of them, sending a message: “Do you have time to meet up?”

As soon as he sent the message, he received another one. It was from Dai Yixin. Dai Yixin had already sent a message half an hour ago, saying he had reserved a restaurant and was waiting for him by the fountain near the Ninth Building.

He had initially wanted to wait downstairs at the teaching building, but Huo Youqing refused, so Dai Yixin had settled for waiting by the long-abandoned fountain.

Huo Youqing had just walked with his roommate for a while and had completely forgotten about Dai Yixin. He initially thought about just letting Dai Yixin eat alone, but remembering Qiu Wenfei’s situation, he changed direction and replied to Dai Yixin’s message: “Something came up. Wait for me a bit longer.”

While eating, the phone on the table lit up. It was a reply from the classmate on the social app. Huo Youqing picked up his phone, quickly arranged a meeting time, and put the phone back down, noticing Dai Yixin’s gaze.

Dai Yixin’s eyes were locked onto him, unblinking, until Huo Youqing looked at him, causing Dai Yixin to look away.

This odd reaction made Huo Youqing pause. He took a sip of tea and, in the private room with just the two of them, asked, “Is there something you want to say?”

As soon as Dai Yixin heard him speak, he put down his chopsticks, even wiping his mouth with a napkin, sitting up straight, and said, “Yes.”

“Go ahead.”

“Can I accompany you to class tomorrow?”

The words weren’t what Huo Youqing was expecting to hear. He stared at the person across from him for a few seconds. “Every time you come, the teacher calls names. I don’t want to draw that much attention.” After a pause, he added, “You’ve been staying in the country for quite a while now. Hasn’t your father urged you to go back?”

Dai Yixin shook his head, “No.”

Huo Youqing gave a slight smile in response, his attitude growing colder.

On the day of the scheduled meeting with the classmate, Huo Youqing waited at the restaurant for a long time, but the classmate didn’t show up. He tried calling, but there was no answer. Instead, an unknown number called his phone.

He ignored the first call, but the caller immediately dialed again.

When he answered, a voice came through the line, “Your classmate isn’t coming.”

It was Dai Yuan’s voice.

Huo Youqing’s expression cooled. “What did you do?”

Dai Yuan responded with something completely unrelated, “Youyou, do you have a favorite fairy tale character? When I was little, I loved the knights in fairy tales. Knights slay dragons and save princesses. It’s so cool.”

“If you’re just calling to talk about that, I’ll hang up now.”

Huo Youqing’s tone turned even colder, and the person on the other end chuckled softly. “Don’t be so impatient. I really am trying to help you.” His tone then became serious. “My brother never fails to get what he wants. Likewise, when he wants to destroy something, he always succeeds. Do you want to know why Gong Lang hasn’t come to find you?”

Dai Yuan wasn’t someone to be trusted, but after thinking for a moment, Huo Youqing still asked, “Why?”

“Because he’s been sent to the hospital, busy getting treated, with no time to bother you. It’s quite frightening—his grandfather, upon learning his grandson was gay, sent him to the hospital without hesitation.”

Dai Yuan’s voice then became soft and slow, “Would you like to guess who took action against Gong Lang and Qiu Wenfei?”

Huo Youqing had suspected it might be Dai Yixin, but he wasn’t entirely sure. After all, in the timeline where Dai was twenty-seven, he hadn’t done such things to Gong Lang or Qiu Wenfei. But if it wasn’t Dai Yixin, could it have been Dai Yuan?

“Are you saying it was him?” he asked.

“Who else could it be? It’s not me—how could I kick those two out just to create a two-person world for you and my brother? I’m not that dumb.”

After a long silence, Huo Youqing changed the subject. “You should be well aware of your brother’s past.”

“You want to know? Sure, come to M Country to find me. I can hold my brother back for a while and tell you everything he won’t say. Don’t worry, I don’t help for free—all I want is a kiss from you. That’s it for now. Remember to keep this conversation between us, and contact me if you make up your mind.”

With that, Dai Yuan hung up.