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Abandoned White Moonlight Chapter 67

As he stepped outside this morning, the sudden rush of cold air made Huo Youqing realize that winter had truly arrived. The hospital he was in gave off an even stronger sense of winter—cold and sterile.

Actually, it wasn’t quite accurate to call it a hospital. It felt more like an expensive sanatorium. As he walked through, he didn’t see any other patients; it seemed as though Dai Yixin was the only one staying there.

And at this moment, that patient was lying in bed.

Through the transparent glass, Huo Youqing could easily observe the situation inside the ward. Dai Yixin’s hands and feet were bound by blue-and-white restraints, which would be unsettling for any normal person, but he seemed oblivious. His eyes were open, fixed on the stark white ceiling—or perhaps not fixed on anything at all.

His hair had been shaved off, revealing a pale scalp with a scar from a recent surgery. The stitches had already been removed, but the incision twisted like a small snake coiled on his head.

Huo Youqing didn’t look for long before turning and walking away. Dai Yixin’s assistant caught up with him. “Mr. Huo, I’ll drive you home.”

“No need, I can catch a cab myself,” Huo Youqing coldly declined.

The assistant insisted, “This place is quite remote, and it’s hard to get a cab here.” He glanced at the large three-meter-high window on the left. “It looks like it’s about to rain. Let me take you home.”

This assistant was the same Assistant Gui from before. He had accompanied Dai Yixin on a trip to a freezing destination. During that trip, Huo Youqing had fallen ill with a high fever, and when he woke up in the hospital, it was Assistant Gui who had spoken kindly on Dai Yixin’s behalf.

The exact words escaped him, but the gist was that Dai Yixin had done something risky for him.

Huo Youqing’s gaze lingered on Assistant Gui’s face for a few seconds before he finally agreed. He expected the assistant to talk about Dai Yixin on the ride back, but he didn’t. After dropping him off, the assistant simply nodded and left.

Standing at the entrance of his apartment complex, Huo Youqing looked up at the sky. It was dull and heavy, like a mass of food that had gone bad and grown mold.

Back at home, he took a shower, changed clothes, did some work, and made himself a cup of coffee. He asked his cousin if he had seen one of his discs.

He went about doing small things, and outside, it finally started to rain. The window kept the cold rain out, and with the sound of the rain in the background, Huo Youqing collapsed onto the couch, hugging a pillow and closing his eyes without thinking about anything.

This state lasted for an entire week. Late one night, after closing his translation work, he finally opened a browser and typed a term he had heard earlier into the search bar.

Lobotomy.

***

Two days later, Huo Youqing called Assistant Gui.

Returning to the sanatorium, he still couldn’t stand the atmosphere inside. Though the design had clearly been intended to evoke warmth, once he associated it with real illnesses, that feeling of warmth vanished entirely.

This time, Dai Yixin wasn’t lying in bed. He was sitting in a wheelchair, his foot sticking out from his pants leg, exposing a bony ankle. One glance, and the words “skin and bones” came to mind.

He wasn’t sure when Dai Yixin had gotten so thin, but upon reflection, it seemed that he had started losing weight back when he had forcibly moved in to live with him.

The wheelchair was parked by the large window. A blanket covered Dai Yixin’s legs, and his eyes were staring outside at the courtyard. Or rather, it wasn’t right to say he was staring. The wheelchair faced the courtyard, so his face was turned toward it, but there was no actual focus in his gaze.

His hands were still bound by the restraints. The restraints seemed to have become a part of him, growing from his body, coexisting with him, something he’d never be rid of.

Huo Youqing stood in front of him, making enough noise to attract the attention of any normal person. If Dai Yixin were normal, he would have immediately shifted his gaze to meet Huo Youqing’s face—because it was him, after all.

But Dai Yixin didn’t.

He didn’t see him at all. Even though Huo Youqing blocked his view of the courtyard, his gaze remained unchanged.

In the past, when he looked at Dai Yixin’s brows and eyes, they always seemed shadowed, but now they were empty, as if his amber eyes could no longer hold anything.

Huo Youqing lowered his head and scrutinized Dai Yixin with a sharp, almost cruel look, searching for any sign of deceit. He refused to believe that Dai Yixin had undergone a lobotomy—a procedure that had been abolished decades ago.

A lobotomy, a surgery once believed to treat mental illness. But in reality, it couldn’t cure anything. In fact, the side effects were severe. Some patients became more violent, while others lost all cognitive function, becoming shells of their former selves. They couldn’t remember, couldn’t feel—basically, they were barely alive.

How could he believe that Dai Yixin had undergone such a procedure? He thought it must be some kind of ploy—cutting into his head as a performance, hoping to elicit sympathy?

Dream on!

What he had gone through was far beyond what any pitiful act could atone for.

Huo Youqing’s lips curled into a cold smile. Standing in the sunlight, he loosened the scarf around his neck and unbuttoned his coat.

He did all of this while standing right in front of Dai Yixin. In no time, he had stripped down to his undershirt. The sunlight today wasn’t particularly bright, but Huo Youqing was so pale—a near-pearl, milky white—that it was enough to dazzle the eyes.

The room had the heat on, but goosebumps still appeared on his skin. He didn’t care. He lowered his long neck, drawing close to Dai Yixin’s face, ready to mock his pretense and uselessness.

But he couldn’t find any emotions on Dai Yixin’s face.

There was no sign of him, or anything else, in Dai Yixin’s eyes.

For some reason, Huo Youqing paused. His lips pressed tightly together as he sat forcefully down on the wheelchair. Two grown men crowded into a single wheelchair—awkward and difficult. Despite the blanket cushioning them, Huo Youqing could still feel Dai Yixin’s legs, thin as bones, poking into him.

He grabbed Dai Yixin’s hand, intending to undo the restraints, but suddenly noticed the ring on his left ring finger.

The ring with the Hercules Knot.

The ring sat quietly on Dai Yixin’s hand, seeming a bit loose, as if he had lost weight. Thin silk threads were wrapped around the ring. 

The metal snake ring intertwined with the transparent threads, creating an illusion of light and shadow—gorgeous and strange. Huo Youqing reached out and touched it, then in the next second, yanked the ring off Dai Yixin’s ring finger and tossed it away. After throwing it, he provocatively stared back at Dai Yixin.

Stared back?

No, it wasn’t a stare back.

Dai Yixin wasn’t even looking at him.

Not even when Huo Youqing threw his ring away.

Huo Youqing’s brow furrowed even tighter. He undid one of the straps restraining Dai Yixin’s hand and placed it on himself. Though he didn’t want to admit it, he was far too familiar with Dai Yixin’s hands—so familiar that the mere touch of his skin caused a faint tremor and brought back memories that should have stayed buried.

Dai Yixin had always had poor patience in such matters, yet sometimes his patience was too good, forcing Huo Youqing to say things he wanted to hear.

But never had Dai Yixin reacted like this. No reaction at all, as if Huo Youqing wasn’t touching skin but a blanket, or air.

Suddenly, Huo Youqing let out a long-held breath from deep in his chest. He dropped Dai Yixin’s hand and stood up, dressing himself one piece of clothing at a time. The first thing he did after dressing was slap Dai Yixin hard across the face, with no mercy whatsoever.

“Do you think I’ll forgive you just like this?” Huo Youqing’s voice was sharp with coldness. After saying that, he slapped him again. “Do you think I’ll fall for your pitiful little act? I don’t believe it at all. If you’re so good at pretending, why not play the fool for the rest of your life?”

A third slap.

Dai Yixin’s face turned to the side from the force of the blow and stayed that way. The slaps left his face flushed red, and blood trickled from his nose. He laid there motionless, like a puppet, as the blood from his high-bridged nose flowed down his lips, dripped along his delicate chin, and stained his clothes.

Huo Youqing watched this scene, his fury boiling over, and he slapped him once more. This time, the force was so strong that Dai Yixin was knocked to the ground, falling with his wheelchair.

The loud noise attracted attention from outside, and someone knocked on the door. After calming his breathing, Huo Youqing strode to open it.

Standing outside was a medical staff member responsible for taking care of Dai Yixin. Seeing the state of the room, they gasped in shock and hurriedly took two steps forward, only to stop again, looking at Huo Youqing with a complicated expression.

“Sir, you shouldn’t treat a patient like this. He just had brain surgery not long ago. If you keep treating him like this, something could go terribly wrong.”

Huo Youqing’s face still held the faint flush from his anger, and his slanted eyes gleamed sharply, as if there was fire burning inside.

“He’s already had the surgery, so what does it matter how I treat him now? A fool who can’t take care of himself, who can’t think—what’s the point of him living in this world? Wouldn’t it be better if he died?”

The medical staff’s lips moved, but they didn’t rebut him or respond. Their eyes carried silent reproach, though it wasn’t obvious.

Huo Youqing didn’t care in the least. He had always been a harsh person, especially when it came to Dai Yixin.

“Does Mr. Huo want Mr. Dai to end this state?”

A sudden voice interrupted the tense atmosphere in the room.

Huo Youqing turned around and saw a foreign doctor in a white coat. The man looked to be in his forties, slightly balding, and smiling at him. Huo Youqing noticed the name tag on the doctor’s chest and realized something. “Are you his attending physician?”

The foreign doctor nodded. “You can call me Lucien. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Huo. Unfortunately, when you visited last time, I was away.”

He was clearly Dai Yixin’s attending doctor, yet he seemed completely indifferent to Dai Yixin, who was now pitifully lying on the ground.

Huo Youqing squinted slightly. “What do you mean by ending this state? How would you end it?”

The doctor’s smile deepened. “Have you ever heard of euthanasia, Mr. Huo?”

Huo Youqing’s eyes narrowed sharply. Instead of answering, he asked, “Do you know the surgery you performed is banned?”

“I do.”

“Then whyh did you dare do it?”

“Mr. Dai entrusted me and my team to perform the surgery. We signed a liability waiver in full compliance with regulations,” the foreign doctor explained. “Of course, if Mr. Huo wishes to sue us, we may face some consequences. However, Mr. Dai’s payment was quite substantial.”

Huo Youqing picked up on the subtext—the doctor didn’t fear losing his license or going to prison. He turned to look behind him, where Dai Yixin was still lying on the ground, his legs twisted in an awkward position under the wheelchair. Yet, Dai Yixin showed no reaction.

“Will he stay like this forever?” Huo Youqing suddenly asked.

“Yes, Mr. Huo.”

Huo Youqing looked back at the foreign doctor. “Why did he want to have this surgery?”

The doctor let out a sigh, a mix of reluctance and admiration. “I’ve never seen such a selfish yet selfless love, Mr. Huo. Do you know? When Mr. Dai first came to me, I refused to perform the surgery. But he said something that stopped me. Forgetting someone can be achieved through other surgeries. But Mr. Dai not only chose to erase his memories, he insisted on giving up the ability to create new ones. He said he didn’t want to risk falling in love with anyone else but you, even after losing his memories.”

***

“Mr. Dai, do you really want to erase your memories? From what I’ve heard, you love him deeply. Why not try other solutions?” Lucien had once asked Dai Yixin.

Mr. Dai had stroked the ring in his hand, his amber eyes ashen as if a fire had passed through. “Because my love only causes him pain.”

His tone was calm, but when he mentioned “him,” his long lashes fluttered slightly, and his eyes curved faintly.

All chapter links should work perfectly now! If there is any errors, please a drop a comment so we can fix it asap!
Abandoned White Moonlight

Abandoned White Moonlight

Status: Ongoing
18-year-old Huo Youqing unexpectedly woke up in the body of his 27-year-old self, having crossed nine years into the future. Everything around him has changed. His best childhood friend grabbed him by the neck, punched him in the face, and cursed his ancestors. His usually caring and attentive college roommate now looked at him with disgust. From their conversations, Huo Youqing learned a name: "Dai Yuan." They all despise him because of Dai Yuan. But Huo Youqing doesn't know who Dai Yuan is. Believing he has lost his memory, Huo Youqing calmly accepted the change in everyone's attitude toward him. Then, after falling asleep, he wakes up once again—but this time back in his 18-year-old body. The childhood friend who had been ready to kill him in defense of Dai Yuan now bent down gently, caressed his cheek, and softly coaxed him: "Why sleep here? It's so cold. Youyou, I'll take you home." The college roommate who had foretold his downfall was now kneeling at his feet, carefully applying a bandage, saying, "Youqing, you have a small wound on your foot." From then on, Huo Youqing started traveling between two different timelines.

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