Abandoned White Moonlight Chapter 63

The moment Dai Yuan finished speaking, Dai Yixin’s gaze shot toward the upper corner of the room, directly at the surveillance camera. At that moment, it felt as though Hou Youqing was staring straight back at him, face to face.

Even though the camera couldn’t fully capture a person’s microexpressions, it somehow managed to convey Dai Yixin’s emotions entirely.

Instead of showing sorrow or grief, Dai Yixin smiled carefully at the camera. Then, as if realizing how he might look, worried he’d scare Hou Youqing, he tried to wipe the blood from his face.

But with both arms dislocated and held down, he awkwardly rubbed his face against the floor in an attempt to clean it.

Hou Youqing watched this scene unfold, his tablet slipping from his hands and landing softly on the carpet. He didn’t pick it up. Instead, he sat stiffly on the sofa.

He didn’t know how much time passed before he shut the tablet off and stood up, heading to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face.

What exactly was Dai Yixin so stubborn about?

Even after learning about their limited childhood interactions, Hou Youqing couldn’t understand Dai Yixin’s thoughts. He couldn’t grasp how Dai Yixin could remember someone from so few childhood encounters, let alone devote so-called love over the years that followed.

Hou Youqing lifted his head, staring at his own damp reflection in the mirror. For a moment, he felt like a stranger. He could see rage, violence, and even fear in his own eyes—emotions the old Hou Youqing would never have shown.

But soon, he wiped his face dry and stepped out of the bathroom.

He called Dai Yuan, who answered after a brief pause, letting out a hiss as if applying medicine.

“Older Brother, I’m in so much pain,” Dai Yuan whined on the other end.

Hou Youqing didn’t respond to that, simply asking, “Did you send Christian to the hospital?”

“Why are you asking about him right away? He’s not going to die,” Dai Yuan grumbled.

“And neither will you.”

That shut Dai Yuan up for a moment before he continued, “Older Brother, you’re so heartless. But don’t worry, he’s already at the hospital. He won’t dare talk about what happened.” Then, after a pause, his tone shifted. “But aren’t you worried about my brother?”

Hou Youqing didn’t even hesitate. “Why should I worry about him?”

Dai Yuan laughed again. “I’ve got the speaker on, he can hear you. Want to change your answer? Maybe at least say something to make him feel better?” Footsteps sounded faintly from the other end, and it seemed like Dai Yuan was talking to someone else.

After a moment, Dai Yuan’s voice returned. “Older Brother.”

“Are you done with this nonsense?” Hou Youqing asked coldly.

Dai Yuan protested, sounding hurt. “I’m not being nonsensical! I’m only doing this for you. Didn’t you say you hated my brother, that he made you feel sick? Wouldn’t it be better to just tell him that?”

From the other side of the line came a weak, muffled voice: “Youyou…”

After that, there was only silence.

Hou Youqing pressed his lips together, ignoring the voice. He told Dai Yuan, “You handle it.”

Then, he hung up the phone.

That night, Dai Yuan didn’t come back, and Hou Youqing didn’t call him again. He laid in bed for a long time before he finally fell asleep. He figured it was because witnessing such violent, bloody scenes would unsettle anyone.

His sleep remained fitful, and in the middle of the night, he woke up abruptly, realizing he had shifted back to the timeline when he was twenty-seven. Just as he was about to get out of bed to get some water, he noticed a shadow by the side of his bed.

Almost immediately, he sat up. In the moonlight, he could just make out the figure’s face, and although he managed to suppress his fear, other emotions crept in, ones he couldn’t quite name. He felt something was off.

“What are you doing standing by my bed in the middle of the night?” Halfway through his question, Hou Youqing realized the door had been locked. “How did you get in?”

He distinctly remembered locking the door. Even if Dai Yixin had the key, it wouldn’t open. And if he had dismantled the lock, it would’ve woken Hou Youqing up.

Dai Yixin’s face appeared especially pale in the moonlight, but his eyes were intense. “I climbed through the window.”

Hearing that answer, Hou Youqing was stunned. The past few days had been stuffy, so he’d been sleeping with the balcony door half-open. But the balcony wasn’t connected to the living room’s, with at least two or three air conditioning units separating them. The apartment was also over thirty floors up—a fall from that height would mean certain death.

“Are you insane?” Hou Youqing snapped, his voice sharp with frustration. “If you want to kill yourself, don’t do it in front of me!”

Dai Yixin bent down, staring intently at Hou Youqing. “If I die, would you be sad?”

Huo Youqing held back from flinching. He narrowed his eyes and, realizing that Dai Yixin had likely regained more memories, forced a smile. “Of course not.”

The Dai Yixin in front of him wasn’t the eighteen-year-old version, nor would he smile cautiously or ingratiatingly like the twenty-year-old Dai Yixin. Hearing these piercing words, Dai Yixin also smiled—a soft and gentle smile. “That’s good.”

Huo Youqing suddenly found it hard to gauge Dai Yixin’s thoughts. He felt that the previous, half-dead and silent Dai Yixin was much easier to understand.

Since he couldn’t guess Dai Yixin’s thoughts, Huo Youqing stayed silent. They gazed at each other wordlessly until Huo Youqing noticed that Dai Yixin’s face was getting closer and closer. His expression turned cold. “Get out.”

But his hand was caught. Dai Yixin forcibly pried open each of Huo Youqing’s tightly clenched fingers. “Youyou, what are you afraid of? I won’t hurt you.”

Up until now, Huo Youqing had tried to remain calm when speaking with Dai Yixin. But now, he couldn’t anymore. He tried to yank his hand back, but when he couldn’t, the anger inside him grew. “What nonsense are you talking about? You won’t hurt me? Everything you’ve done—hasn’t it all been to hurt me?!”

Dai Yixin didn’t blink. “That was before. I’ve changed.” He appeared to be deep in thought. “Are you upset about Gong Lang and the others? Gong Lang’s kneeling photos have been spread everywhere, and Qiu Wenfei’s medical license has been revoked. Ah, as for that photographer, Hyde, his studio is closed now. Youyou, what else are you upset about?”

If Dai Yixin hadn’t mentioned Hyde, Huo Youqing would have almost forgotten about him. He had briefly worked for the photographer before quitting. He also remembered that Dai Yixin and Hyde were once close, like senior and junior brothers.

Seeing that Huo Youqing wasn’t speaking, Dai Yixin sat down beside him on the bed. His gaze was more tender and accommodating than ever before, as though he were comforting a child. “Who else don’t you like? My father?”

Huo Youqing snapped out of it, his response firm. “You.”

He continued, “The person I dislike the most, the one I care about the most, is you, Dai Yixin. Haven’t you realized? All of my misfortunes were brought by you. If it weren’t for you, my aunt and uncle might still be alive. At the very least, I could have answered that call. It was you who stopped me from picking it up.”

He paused, trying to steady his ragged breathing, but found he couldn’t. His emotions suddenly collapsed in the middle of the night.

“Why do you love me?” he asked Dai Yixin. “What did I do wrong? Out of all the people in the world, why did you have to choose me? Why can’t you just love those who love you?”

Huo Youqing hadn’t cried in front of Dai Yixin in a long time. He thought crying made him weak. But when emotions rise, they are difficult to hold back. Feeling embarrassed, he wiped his face and, with a voice full of frustration, continued, “What do I have to do to get some peace? Do I have to die to escape from you? Dai Yixin, tell me the truth—is it only if I die that you’ll be satisfied?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that one of his hands was still held by Dai Yixin. Ignoring the pain, he tried to pull it back again. His almond-shaped eyes filled with tears, stubborn and angry.

Dai Yixin tried to wipe away Huo Youqing’s tears, but his hand was slapped away. For a moment, he looked slightly hurt, but then the emotion faded. Facing Huo Youqing’s breakdown and hysteria, he softly said, “I can’t.”

“Youyou, I can’t stop loving you, and I could never accept anyone else. I won’t allow anyone else to be by your side.” Dai Yixin paused for a moment, then made a chilling suggestion. “How about you kill me, Youyou? Turn my flesh into meat sauce to eat when you’re hungry. My bones can be put in flowerpots, and my blood can be used to water the flowers. That way, I can be with you forever. Don’t worry—no one will ever find out.”

Seeing Huo Youqing’s face turn pale, Dai Yixin smirked. “I really scared you, didn’t I? I was just joking.” He leaned in and lightly brushed his lips against Huo Youqing’s.