"He's back," a cold voice said over the phone.

Qiao Guangyu nervously swallowed, gripping his phone tightly. "So... what should I do? Throw a tantrum? Act jealous?"

“…”

Silence lingered on the other end of the line before the man's voice replied, "You don't need to do anything. Just continue to stay by the boss's side and don't let him know you already know about this."

"Hey, isn't this asking the impossible?" Qiao Guangyu complained. "You know I can't keep a secret. What if I slip up in front of your boss?"

The man seemed to reach his limit. "He's back now. Soon, it won't matter much if you're found out. The boss is not going to fall in love with you for real."

"Right, I see." Qiao Guangyu sighed in relief. "I'm just worried that if something goes awry, and Mr. Huo suddenly decides he doesn't like the White Moonlight but falls for me instead..."

"You're overthinking it," the man interjected.

"Quan-ge,  secretary Quan, what should I say if I meet Mr. Huo's White Moonlight?" Qiao Guangyu asked eagerly.

Quan's voice was rigid. "You can show a hint of realization, then act sad and disappointed, but don't overdo it to gain the boss's sympathy and pity."

"Wow, that sounds like some advanced acting skills!" Qiao Guangyu clenched his fists. "I need to practice in front of the mirror for a few days. So... can we skip the piano lessons for a while?"

"No," Quan replied sternly. "Don't forget, every time you have a piano lesson, the boss might reminisce about his Moonlight. You need to play your role until the very end."

"Okay..." Qiao Guangyu sounded disappointed.

"I'll come to pick you up tomorrow," Quan said. "Don't stay up late."

"Don't worry, Quan-ge. Staying up late would give me dark circles, affecting my resemblance to Mr. Huo's Moonlight. I know that!" Qiao Guangyu waved his hand, indicating he had managed nearly three years of this non-human life, so he could handle such small details.

Quan didn't say anything further. After exchanging goodnights, they hung up.

After hanging up, Qiao Guangyu sighed, tossed his phone aside, and undressed, walking to the mirror.

In the full-length mirror, a tall and slender young man stared at his own face, quite handsome with well-defined features, slender eyebrows, handsome eyes, a high nose bridge, and soft lips.

Fair skin, good physique, perky buttocks, and slim muscles—this body was quite attractive to those inclined to same-sex attractions.

Qiao Guangyu admired his body for a moment before heading to the bathroom, he took a shower, and then went to bed.

As he turned off the lights, the night view outside the floor-to-ceiling windows unfolded before him. Qiao Guangyu stared at the polluted night sky, smiled suddenly, and closed his eyes.

*

The next day, secretary Quan arrived on time and knocked on his door.

Qiao Guangyu opened the door sleepily. He lived in an apartment bought by Huo Zhou, with two bedrooms and one living room. He occupied the master bedroom, while the guest room was reserved for Huo Zhou, although Huo Zhou had never stayed overnight, nor had he touched him.

It was understandable. Qiao Guangyu played the role of Huo Zhou's White Moonlight, a role that couldn't be blasphemed. Moreover, since Huo Zhou didn't love him, he was still waiting for the return of his White Moonlight to resume their past relationship, so he had to maintain his purity like jade for the Moonlight.

So, the most intimate moments between him and Huo Zhou were limited to kisses and holding hands. Even if things heated up, Huo Zhou would restrain himself at the last moment.

—This kind of restraint made Qiao Guangyu wonder if Huo Zhou would suffocate himself.

But those weren't the things he needed to worry about. Those were matters for Huo Zhou's Moonlight to worry about. He was only responsible for playing his role and doing his job for money.

Secretary Quan frowned at him. "Show some restraint. Don't show this... side of yourself in front of the boss." He wanted to describe Qiao Guangyu as careless, but he found the word not severe enough to catch Qiao Guangyu's attention.

Because every time this guy wasn't in public, he looked like this. Loose clothes, flip-flops on the wrong feet, disheveled hair, no sense of appearance.

"I know. When have you seen me being unprofessional in front of Mr. Huo?" Qiao Guangyu yawned, opening the plastic bag Quan Quan brought him, pulling out the packaged breakfast inside, and exclaimed, "You bought me shrimp dumplings! I love shrimp dumplings the most!"

"Eat more," Quan Quan suddenly smirked. "Mr. Huo is allergic to seafood. You'll be with him almost the entire day today..."

Being with Huo Zhou meant no chance of eating seafood.

"Life is tough, Quan-ge," Qiao Guangyu sighed helplessly.

Quan Quan pulled the chair opposite him and sat down, moving his legs discreetly under the table due to his long legs. "I found out that Mr. Wu will go to Changfeng Island this weekend, he also arranged his schedule to go there only yesterday. Qian Tong will follow him there."

Qiao Guangyu swallowed a bite of shrimp dumpling, puzzled. "What about us?"

"Whatever you want. I have my own matters." Quan Quan said coldly.

"Oh..." Qiao Guangyu paused, then asked, "But usually, you don't give others the chance to handle things themselves. What kind of big matter made you step away from the boss?"

Quan Quan glanced at him, not saying anything.

"Hey, if you look at me like that, I'll think you've fallen for me." Qiao Guangyu shrank his neck, deliberately showing a timid expression.

"Get lost," Quan Quan said unkindly. "This month is your mother's anniversary. Don't you need to visit her grave?"

Qiao Guangyu was taken aback, then smiled. "Indeed, you're a good secretary. Your memory is impressive. I almost forgot..."

The year Qiao Guangyu graduated, he submitted his resume to Huo Zhou's company. The one responsible for screening resumes was Quan Quan. When he saw Qiao Guangyu, he thought he looked very similar to Wu Yu, Huo Zhou's lover, so he packaged him and presented him to Huo Zhou.

Huo Zhou indeed liked him, or rather, liked his face. He soon proposed to keep him, offering 5 million for three years and giving him a house.

The arrangement didn't include lovemaking; it only required special behavior and language from Qiao Guangyu. That year, Qiao Guangyu's mother was seriously ill and needed money, but just as she received the money, she passed away.

Quan Quan handled all the arrangements for Qiao Guangyu's mother's funeral and then sensibly analyzed the difficulties of finding a job for college graduates. With this money, he could relax for a few years.

Quan Quan was a very practical person. He also clearly told Qiao Guangyu that by discovering him as a stand-in, he could climb to the position of Huo Zhou's secretary. This was the benefit Qiao Guangyu brought him. He could also help Qiao Guangyu invest the 5 million, ensuring a return on investment, which was the benefit he could give Qiao Guangyu.

Their interests were tied together.

Qiao Guangyu actually admired Quan Quan a lot. Despite being only a few years older, Quan Quan was much more mature and stable than him. Without Quan Quan, Qiao Guangyu's role-playing wouldn't have been so smooth — over the years, there had been many seductive and cheap substitutes for the White Moonlight, but Huo Zhou always liked to keep him around.

Quan Quan, on the other hand, always managed to maintain a bottom line for Qiao Guangyu, preventing him from losing himself in the parasitic life of these three years.

In Secretary Quan's words, it was, "Since I discovered you, I am responsible for you," and he considered Qiao Guangyu his duty.

Quan was a good secretary. He had also trained Qiao Guangyu into a good actor. A good actor and a good secretary wouldn't keep the boss waiting for long. Qiao Guangyu quickly finished the breakfast Quan Quan brought and went down to the underground parking lot with Quan Quan, getting into one of Mr. Huo's cars.

Qiao Guangyu comfortably took the passenger seat, fastened his seatbelt, turned on the radio to listen to the news, and Quan Quan beside him glanced, "You should learn how to drive too."

"Can White Moonlight drive?" Qiao Guangyu shrugged. "I have a lot to learn, no time for this now. Maybe later."

Quan Quan focused on driving, "Your 'later' is coming soon."

Qiao Guangyu smirked; White Moonlight was back, and that 'later' was indeed approaching quickly, wasn't it?

He had thought it would be difficult to break free from Huo Zhou after three years. Graduating from college, being idle for three years, finding a job would be even harder, and even if he found one, he might not have the right mindset to start from scratch... However, he didn't expect that getting rid of Huo Zhou would make his heart so light. Like a canary seeing the door of the cage being opened, he couldn't wait to dedicate his most beautiful singing voice to that dawn of hope.

Qiao Guangyu leaned back, closing his eyes against the backrest.

"We're here."

Secretary Quan's voice brought him back from the verge of drowsiness.

"Hmm." Qiao Guangyu rubbed his forehead and opened his eyes. The lively and playful demeanor was all packed away into the Pandora's box in his heart, replaced by a faint aloofness and coldness. "Let's go, time for class."

The place where Qiao Guangyu learned piano was a music store called "Eternal Melodies." The store occupied three shopfronts, with the first floor selling pianos and the second floor dedicated to teaching. Since Qiao Guangyu used the back door, he had a fixed classroom.

The person teaching him piano was a gentle middle-aged female pianist who was somewhat famous domestically. However, she wasn't arrogant and was quite interesting.

Qin Li said, "Play the first section of the last lesson." After that, she sat on the sofa on one side, picked up a magazine and opened it.

After adjusting his sitting posture, estimating that the peeping Mr Huo had taken his position, Qiao Guangyu lifted his hands gracefully and placed them on the keys.

Elegant and melodious piano music flowed from his hands, occasionally failing to connect smoothly at some quick turns. If one listened carefully, there were some disharmonies, but Qiao Guangyu's expression was very serious, and even if there were flaws in his playing, they couldn't overshadow the saintly radiance emanating from his handsome face at this moment.

Quan Quan had said, in order to contrast with the White Moonlight, he couldn't play the piano too perfectly. Even if he could play well, he had to pretend to have flaws, so that the boss would always remember that only White Moonlight was the most beautiful and perfect.

Teacher Qin Li seemed accustomed to Qiao Guangyu's style, so she didn't say anything, seemingly immersed in his slightly disharmonious music.

Outside the door, Huo Zhou also looked earnestly at the elegant figure playing the piano, with a hint of obvious infatuation in his eyes.

Quan Quan stood behind Huo Zhou, staring at his watch the whole time, calculating the time for booking the restaurant for lunch.

In the presence of four people who understood music, they endured the flawed music for the entire morning for their respective goals, torturing their ears, and pretending to be deeply intoxicated. It was quite ridiculous.

--

Author's Note:

1V1, no aggression throughout! Even if there is, it won't be against the main characters, mwah mwah~

This is a practice short story that has been written back in 2010. It's already concluded and full of old clichés, so please ignore all the bugs and just enjoy the story with a relaxed mood~

 

Translator : DarNan