Abandoned White Moonlight Chapter 69

At that moment, all the strength drained from his body, as if he had been holding on with sheer willpower just to get through these past few days. Now that the energy was gone, he felt like a weak shrimp, limp in someone else’s arms, taking a while to react.

Huo Youqing blinked wearily. “Let go of me.”

Qiu Wenfei heard him and reflexively loosened his grip, but for some reason, he gritted his teeth and tightened his arms again, even calling him by the name he used in college. “Youqing, I need to talk to you.”

Afraid of being rejected, he spoke quickly, with a hint of stammering. “Everything I did before, it wasn’t my intention, really! That Dai Yuan… He’s strange. During that time, I felt like I was under a spell. Whatever he said, I believed it. I even suspect he… hypnotized me.”

Pain flickered in his eyes as he continued, “My whole life was ruined by Dai Yuan!”

Another victim?

Huo Youqing almost wanted to laugh, but the timing was inappropriate. He didn’t take what Qiu Wenfei said seriously. If hypnosis could confuse love and hate, Dai Yixin would’ve come to hypnotize him first.

“Let go,” he said coldly.

Qiu Wenfei frowned and opened his mouth to say more, but Huo Youqing cut him off. He was clearly uninterested, and his tone revealed his impatience. “I don’t care if you’re here to apologize or whatever. I’m not interested. Now, let go.”

This indifferent attitude pierced Qiu Wenfei’s heart. He had approached impulsively, driven by the sudden sight of Huo Youqing, overwhelmed with emotions, and had embraced him recklessly. He was ready to take whatever punishment came, whether Huo Youqing hit or cursed him. It was his fault, and he deserved it.

It was his fault for being bewitched by that person named Dai Yuan and inexplicably bullying Huo Youqing.

But now, looking into Huo Youqing’s cold eyes, strange memories began to surface in Qiu Wenfei’s mind.

A stinking bathroom in a school laboratory building, a recently dead rabbit, and him loosening his belt—then, a sudden scream made him turn around, too late to hide what he was doing.

On the day he left campus, he didn’t see Huo Youqing, and his roommates avoided him. Everyone treated him like a freak.

He never graduated, only managing to drop out. Back home, his parents fought constantly, eventually turning their anger on him with insults and beatings, blaming him for ruining the family’s reputation.

Huo Youqing must have despised him too.

Why should he despise him?

Everyone has their dark secrets. Was it his fault that he found pleasure in the sight of wounds and blood? His only mistake was not hiding it well.

Thinking this, Qiu Wenfei refocused on Huo Youqing’s face. He had grown thinner but was still as beautiful as ever. Otherwise, Qiu Wenfei wouldn’t have spotted him so easily among the crowd.

Who wouldn’t be drawn to something so beautiful?

He loved it to death.

When Qiu Wenfei leaned in suddenly, Huo Youqing was shocked and furious. He turned his head away, but not before Qiu Wenfei managed to kiss his forehead. Before he could feel fully repulsed, Qiu Wenfei continued trying to kiss his face. Enraged, Huo Youqing elbowed him in the stomach.

Qiu Wenfei winced in pain but still wouldn’t let go, muttering incoherently, “Youqing, forgive me, I—”

This time, before Huo Youqing could retaliate, several well-dressed bodyguards appeared out of nowhere. Clearly trained professionals, they swiftly subdued Qiu Wenfei, forcing him to kneel.

Huo Youqing was startled. “Who are you people?”

The bodyguards didn’t answer, merely nodding to him before preparing to take Qiu Wenfei away. If it were Gong Lang, Huo Youqing might have assumed these were people from the Gong family, but Qiu Wenfei’s background was far from wealthy—he couldn’t possibly afford bodyguards.

Blocking their path, Huo Youqing voiced his suspicion. “You’re working for him, aren’t you?”

Though he didn’t say the name directly, the bodyguards understood. One of them nodded and asked, “Mr. Huo, are you injured? Should we take you to the hospital?”

“I’m not hurt. I just want to know when he hired you and what his intentions are.”

The bodyguards had been hired six months ago. They had been following him ever since, contracted for a period of twenty years. Additionally, Dai Yixin had arranged for another group of younger bodyguards, currently still in training, to take over once their term ended, covering the next twenty years of Huo Youqing’s life.

Their families received regular payments from a mysterious institution. The bodyguards had only seen Dai Yixin once—on the day they signed the contract. Their instructions were clear: they were not to interfere with Huo Youqing’s life unless someone harmed him and he explicitly resisted. Only then could they step in.

In other words, if Huo Youqing hadn’t struggled when Qiu Wenfei tried to kiss him earlier, the bodyguards wouldn’t have appeared.

After hearing this, Huo Youqing fell silent for a long time, then got into his car without another word. He didn’t ask what the bodyguards would do with Qiu Wenfei. After driving for about ten minutes, he suddenly let out a laugh. It started as a low chuckle, but soon turned into full-blown laughter.

He made a turn at an intersection, heading straight for the outskirts.

By the time he reached the nursing home, it was past eight in the evening. After getting out of the car and walking for a few minutes, the cold wind had turned his nose red. He buried half his face in his scarf and walked into the building, ignoring the surprised looks from the staff.

Everyone there recognized Huo Youqing, even though it was his first time meeting most of them. He guessed Dai Yixin must have shown them his picture in advance.

Here, there was no such thing as restricted visiting hours. As soon as Huo Youqing arrived, the staff smiled and led him to Dai Yixin’s room.

When he entered the room, Dai Yixin wasn’t asleep. He was sitting in his wheelchair, looking similar to the last time Huo Youqing saw him, only now appearing even thinner, with his cheeks sunken in.

This was the first time Huo Youqing had looked at Dai Yixin so intently. He slowly approached him and finally crouched down in front of the wheelchair. It used to be Dai Yixin squatting in front of him, but now their positions were reversed.

“Dai Yixin.”

He softly called out his name.

“In this life, I’ve never met anyone more of a scoundrel, more calculating than you. You gave me wealth, handed me a ring, let me see you in this state, and then suddenly granted me freedom. After giving me freedom, you found a way to make sure I knew that you’re still protecting me.” Huo Youqing tilted his head up, the warm yellow light flickering in his eyes. “You’re doing all this just to force me to admit that I can’t live without you, aren’t you? You want to prove that all the things I said before were just empty words, that when truly given freedom, I couldn’t get used to it, right?”

He gently clenched his teeth. “But I won’t give in to you, Dai Yixin. I’ll prove that I can live just fine without you, without the love of a madman like you.”

Huo Youqing stood up and continued in a low voice, “The one who’s going to lose is you, Dai Yixin. I will prove that your kind of love is wrong, that it can’t bind a person, nor make someone love you.”

No matter what he said, the person in front of him remained unresponsive. Huo Youqing blinked and took something from his pocket, slipping it onto the ring finger of Dai Yixin’s left hand.

There was already a ring there. Now, with a second ring, the two were joined, becoming a pair.

He stared at the Hercules wedding bands as water dripped on them—one drop, two drops, three drops… not only was the tip of his nose red, but his eyes also started to swell with moisture.

“I won’t be coming again, and I won’t sign the euthanasia consent form. Goodbye.”

Huo Youqing turned around, just like he did at the airport years ago, walking away step by step without pausing or looking back, leaving the room’s light behind him as he walked toward another source of light.