Chapter Ninety-Seven: Moonlight Fell Upon Him

The man's chest was broad and firm, rising and falling with the forceful beat of his heart, burning and powerful. Lu Qingyue had never felt such heat and strength from him before. He seemed to be using all his strength, his arms taut, the veins faintly visible beneath his skin. Held stiffly in his embrace, Lu Qingyue's mind went blank for a moment. Her ears buzzed, and her heartbeat quickened. But she could feel that the heart pressed so closely against hers was beating even more fiercely than her own.

The air around them seemed to ignite from the heat of their breaths. Lu Qingyue felt hot all over—her neck, the tips of her ears, her cheeks. Yet he had no intention of letting go; noticing her attempt to break free, he only tightened his hold, as if he had found some lost treasure and was loath to part with it. On this stifling night, even the moonlight seemed about to melt from the warmth.

She did not know how long she had been held like this. Her waist felt as though it might snap from his grip, and she could only try to regulate her breathing. Suddenly, the large hand pressed against her back rose slowly, trembling slightly as it touched the back of her head. Sensing the subtle tremor in his movement, Lu Qingyue lifted her head in confusion to look at him. But he turned away, refusing to let her see his eyes.

She was uneasy and puzzled, unsure what had happened, so she asked softly from within his embrace, "Are you crying?"

He paused slightly, his breathing grew rapid and silent, as if tacitly admitting it.

Lu Qingyue was even more confused. She had no idea what could make him so sad; comforting him felt impossible. She remembered how he had kept staring at her bracelet since last night—was it something about that trinket that triggered such painful memories? Still, she tried to soothe him, "It's just a bracelet. If you like it, I'll give it to you."

It wasn't worth much, after all. She couldn't understand why this billionaire young master was so fixated on an ordinary bracelet. Still, he remained silent, his hand gently caressing the back of her head, as if cherishing her dearly yet also amused and helpless at her reaction.

Lu Qingyue was at a complete loss. She could only imitate the way he used to comfort her, raising her small hand to pat his back lightly.

"Cheng Xingye?"

Cheng Xingye didn't reply. His chest burned as if torn, yet in every fresh wound, he felt an unprecedented clarity and fortune.

So, the "Y" wasn't for Ye Zixuan's "Ye," but for Lu Qingyue's "Yue."

He had gazed at the night sky for so long, and at last, his moonlight had fallen upon him.

...

She didn't know how long the embrace lasted. Eventually, Cheng Xingye loosened his hold slightly, his warm hand sliding down to grasp hers with firm, burning conviction.

"Lu Qingyue."

He rarely called her name so formally. After all these years, he usually preferred to call her gently and affectionately by her nickname, "Diandian."

Lu Qingyue looked up in a daze. Against the hazy glow of the streetlamp behind him, she saw something sparkling clinging to his eyelashes. The depths of his dark eyes were tinged with red.

She stared at him, bewildered, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Before her words settled, warm breath brushed her lips. Then a cool kiss touched her lips gently. The clean, fresh scent lingered at the tip of her nose, but he didn't deepen the kiss—he only brushed her lips lightly, then withdrew a little.

He pressed his nose to hers, his lips curving in the dim light, and as he spoke, his breath fell gently on her chin, "Last time, you got it wrong."

Lu Qingyue was utterly confused, not even thinking about what he meant. Her heart raced so fast it felt as if it might leap from her throat, her cheeks burning.

Yet the man before her tilted his head leisurely, changed his angle, and planted a kiss on her chin.

Cheng Xingye looked at the dazed girl and laughed softly. His fingers brushed her palm, absentmindedly stroking it, then locked his gaze on her eyes, speaking seriously in a low, husky voice, "I still owe you too much to ever let things end between us."

...

When Lu Qingyue was released, her mind remained in a half-dazed state.

She recalled the long embrace, the fleeting kiss, and the meaningful words he had spoken, feeling as if she were a puppet with strings, stiff and beyond her own control.

Only after entering the house and leaving the suffocating heat behind did she feel herself settle, like a petal fluttering in the summer night breeze, finally touching the ground.

But as soon as she entered, she saw Lu Yi lurking behind the curtains. As she came in, he coughed awkwardly, turned away, and sat on the sofa pretending nothing had happened.

Lu Qingyue knew he had been spying, but couldn't be bothered to argue, weighed down by her thoughts as she sat on the carpet.

Suppressing the palpitations in her heart, she finally looked up in confusion and said, "Brother, I found my pendant."

Lu Yi, having feigned nonchalance for so long, finally seized the opportunity to look at her. "Hmm? How did you find it?"

Lu Qingyue replied absentmindedly, "Cheng Xingye picked it up."

Lu Yi clicked his tongue, thinking, I knew it.

No wonder, in the darkness, he'd seen that rascal Cheng Xingye holding some little trinket, coaxing the girl into his arms.

He scoffed, not quite believing it, and said teasingly, "Did he give you a fake one to fool you?"

Lu Qingyue's trust and patience with him had long worn thin. So she didn't fall into the trap he set with his words, but followed her own train of thought, slowly piecing things together.

"It's not the main point. But if my pendant ended up in his hands, then the boy Dad rescued at the seaside all those years ago must have been him."

That explained why the silver pendant she'd lost at age three had appeared in his possession. Thinking this through, Lu Qingyue suddenly had a flash of insight.

"If that's true, then I'm his savior!"

No wonder he said earlier he could never repay what he owed her... Was that what he meant?

Lu Qingyue suddenly felt as if, after all her jealousy, she was only jealous of herself.

A subtle, strange feeling slowly crept into her heart. Everything she had minded before seemed to vanish in an instant. The Ye family, who had meddled in their affairs, was gone, and there would never be another like them.

Yet it all happened so suddenly that even when Cheng Xingye embraced her, it felt unreal, and she couldn't connect herself to the "white moonlight" his friends so often mentioned.

Lu Yi's thoughts were even more whimsical; hearing her say this, he looked her up and down, then raised his eyebrows with amusement.

"Savior?"

He savored the word, as if finding it absurd and unbelievable, so he didn't take it seriously and said jokingly, "His family runs a listed company. Have you decided how much you're going to extort from him?"

Lu Qingyue: "???"

Was she the kind to be blinded by money?!

She protested immediately, "Why would I extort him? A few tens of thousands can't buy my integrity!"

Lu Yi glanced at her calmly and corrected, "It's a few hundred million."

"A few... hundred million?"

The person unmoved by money was instantly stunned.

All thoughts of embraces, kisses, and white moonlight were thrown out the window.

"Damn! Are listed companies really that profitable?!"

No wonder he drove luxury cars and lived in mansions despite barely being in his twenties. Lu Qingyue had always thought, since he and Lu Yi used to play together so well, their family conditions must be about the same as hers.

She had never seen what a hundred million looked like.

After a moment's contemplation, she pursed her lips and replied seriously, "Thinking it over, keeping my integrity doesn't seem all that useful. Maybe I should sell it to him after all."

Lu Yi: "...."