Shortly after Qin Li announced the end of the class, Huo Zhou eagerly pushed open the door of the piano classroom. When Qiao Guangyu, sitting next to the piano, saw him, his whole person seemed to light up. However, he remained somewhat reserved, sitting in place, with only his eyes showing joy and brightness. His tone was gentle as he said, "... You're here."

Huo Zhou nodded at Qin Li, who then consciously tidied up the music score and left. Only then did he approach Qiao Guangyu, lowering his head, almost kissing him.

Qiao Guangyu timely closed his eyes, lips slightly parted. The trembling of his eyelashes betrayed his nervous emotions.

Huo Zhou's gaze darkened for a moment, then he straightened up, smiling as he patted Qiao Guangyu's head. "How did you do today?"

... How did I do? You've seen it all, haven't you? Qiao Guangyu secretly muttered.

He wondered if Boss Huo, upon learning that White Moonlight had returned, had become even more restrained. Previously, in moments of excitement, he would occasionally give a kiss. Now, it seemed even kissing was too inconvenient. It was a good thing he hadn't, considering he had eaten quite a few shrimp dumplings in the morning. He was afraid Huo Zhou would notice the shrimp flavor all over his mouth.

Wearing an innocent and childish expression, he said, "It's okay. I've finished learning the second and third sections. Teacher Qin said I could finish this piece by next week at the earliest."

Huo Zhou seemed satisfied with his obedient performance, nodding and adding, "Play it for me when the time comes."

"Yeah." Qiao Guangyu blinked and smiled, "If I don't play it for you, who else would I play it for? You're my only audience."

Huo Zhou also smiled, holding his hand as they walked out of the music school. Quan Quan stood on the side of the car, waiting for them. Throughout the entire process, he didn't look at Qiao Guangyu once, maintaining an expressionless face.

Quan Quan drove, and Qiao Guangyu and Huo Zhou sat in the back seat. Huo Zhou held Qiao Guangyu's hand, placed it on his folded knee, and patted the back of his hand, gently caressing it. "Go to 'Black Rose.'"

"Yes, Mr Huo." Quan Quan drove towards the French restaurant where he had booked a seat early in the morning.

Qiao Guangyu's eyes twitched as he heard the name of the restaurant. He wasn't quite used to it every time he heard it. Back in the university dormitory, some classmates liked to tell dirty jokes. Some people liked to compare certain parts of the body to roses, and then black roses... well, the implications were quite clear.

He had also told Quan Quan about this dirty joke, but even if Quan Quan knew, he could still calmly mention such an ambiguous name. Qiao Guangyu glanced at Huo Zhou again. Well, the boss surely wouldn't understand the vulgar thoughts of ordinary people like them.

Huo Zhou didn't look like a thirty-year-old man. He often wore custom-made suits, avoiding pure black and opting for indigo or dark blue, or sometimes deep gray. His suit styles were almost never repeated.

Not only did he dress meticulously, but he also had refined taste in food. He was not bad-looking, successful in his career. If not for the fact that he was a pure gay, there would be a long line of people wanting to be his mother-in-law.

Even so, over these years, there was no shortage of men and women like moths to a flame. Along with them, Qiao Guangyu also received many envious and jealous glances.

Secretary Quan drove steadily. When he said, "We've arrived, please get out of the car," Qiao Guangyu hadn't reacted yet. In the end, it was Huo Zhou who pulled him out of the car, and only then did he realize that Huo Zhou had been holding his hand all along—how persistent he was with those hands that could play the piano just like White Moonlight’s!

Huo Zhou led Qiao Guangyu to a window-side booth, and Quan Quan tactfully left, calculating the time to return when the two finished eating.

A very formally dressed waiter came over and asked what they would like to order.

"What do you recommend?" Huo Zhou casually flipped through the menu.

"The recommended dish for today is French-style baked lobster..." the waiter said.

Qiao Guangyu secretly swallowed his saliva, thinking how good lobster would be, full of meat in every bite, so satisfying! However, he could only bleed inside while expressing regret, "Sorry, I'm allergic to seafood."

Quan Quan once said that you shouldn't wait for the boss to remember on his own; you should always subtly remind him of White Moonlight’s habits, which is the professionalism of a substitute.

The waiter immediately understood and recommended a few other dishes. Among them, escargot was not something that White Moonlight’s temperament would order. Scallops and mussels were out of the question. In the end, they could only order steak and duck breast, as French cuisine emphasizes delicacy, and the portions were not large enough to satisfy Qiao Guangyu's appetite.

But he could only smile and say, "These will do, and bring another bottle of red wine."

Then, during the meal, he restrained himself and took a few sips of low-alcohol red wine.

Qiao Guangyu was not allergic to seafood but was allergic to alcohol instead. His allergic reactions were not like others getting rashes; instead, he would have a low fever continuously. Basically, every time he drank, he would have a low fever for a week straight. It didn't seem serious, but the doctor warned him that if it continued for a long time, it would damage his organs and immune system.

So, every time he was with Huo Zhou, he would carry a small bottle of medicine with him containing pills made from herbs like Sophora, Chrysanthemum, Fructus Mume, Schisandra, Orange Peel, and Mulberry, which could effectively dispel the alcohol in his body.

This prescription was also provided by Quan Quan.

However, Huo Zhou didn't know about this. Qiao Guangyu had to avoid Huo Zhou's gaze when taking the medicine, so he made an excuse to go to the restroom.

Restrooms in upscale restaurants, of course, didn't require queuing. Just to be safe, Qiao Guangyu hid in a cubicle and took the medicine.

When he came out, he found another person in the restroom.

It was a quite young man, a bit pale, but with handsome features, standing in front of the sink, seemingly hesitant. Somehow, Qiao Guangyu felt like he had seen this young man somewhere before.

He had sharp eyes and noticed that the man's jacket sleeves were stained with some red wine.

Oh... he understood now. The man wanted to wash off the wine stains. Probably halfway through the meal, he couldn't leave yet and didn't want to attend gatherings with less-than-ideal appearance, but he was worried that the sleeves wouldn't be clean or dry. He was hesitating.

And of course, he was wearing a white suit, so the stains on the sleeves were quite noticeable.

"Um, do you need help?" Qiao Guangyu walked up to him.

The young man seemed surprised. He pointed at the stain on his sleeve, "This, can you handle it?"

"I can." Qiao Guangyu snapped his fingers, grinned triumphantly, and skillfully retrieved a disposable toothbrush from the cabinet under the sink, tore open the package, and shook out a small tube of toothpaste. "Haven't you learned any life hacks? Toothpaste works much better than laundry detergent."

He extended his hand to the young man, who, to Qiao Guangyu's surprise, handed over his jacket.

Qiao Guangyu squeezed toothpaste onto the red wine stain, gently brushed it with the wet toothbrush, and without looking back, said, "Pass me some tissues."

The young man complied, handing him the tissues, and watched as he carefully wiped away the pink foam. After a few repetitions, the wine stain on the sleeve was barely visible.

"Wrap it in a plastic bag; it'll dry faster." Qiao Guangyu then found an unused black plastic bag for garbage, poked a small hole in it, placed the white suit jacket inside, directed the hot air from the dryer onto it, and a whooshing sound of air began to blow into the bag. "Got it? Give it a try."

The young man curiously approached, mimicking Qiao Guangyu's actions, securely tying the plastic bag's opening around the dryer's air outlet, perplexed, "Will this really work?"

Two minutes later, the young man touched the completely dry sleeve and couldn't help but widen his beautiful eyes in amazement.

"Hehe, I didn't lie to you, did I?" Qiao Guangyu patted the man's shoulder, feeling wise and experienced, "A must-have trick for social occasions in the workplace, learn more, big brother!"

"..." It was probably the first time the young man had encountered someone like Qiao Guangyu. His mouth twitched, unsure of what to say, and finally, with dignity, he said two words, "Thank you."

"No need to be polite; we're all just trying to get by in this world." Qiao Guangyu waved his hand at him and left.

Exiting the restroom, Qiao Guangyu regained his noble and aloof demeanor and returned to the booth to "socialize" with Boss Huo.

Having smoothly passed through the dinner without incident, Qiao Guangyu had already forgotten about the little chaos in the restroom. But as he and Huo Zhou were leaving the restaurant, they encountered the young man in the white suit again.

Huo Zhou suddenly couldn't move.

Staring straight at the young man across from him, Huo Zhou's lips trembled slightly, choked up: "...Xiao Yu." (NT: Little Yu)

" Mr Huo?" Qiao Guangyu looked puzzled, his gaze shifting from Huo Zhou to the young man, which was understandable. ‘Yu(NT: 宇)’ and "Yu (NT: 羽)" sounded alike, and he thought Huo Zhou was calling him.

(NT: Same pronunciation but 2 different characters. Yu from Guangyu 宇 meaning universe and Yu from Wu Yu 羽 meaning Feather)

" "Mr. Wu."

Quan Quan, who appeared out of nowhere, broke the eerie silence among the three. Quan Quan seemed oblivious to Huo Zhou's nervousness and Wu Yu's mixed emotions, greeting them calmly and respectfully, then standing beside the bewildered Qiao Guangyu.

Qiao Guangyu suddenly widened his eyes—Wu Yu! He was Wu Yu! The White Moonlight with the cinnabar mole on Huo Zhou's heart!

Finally seeing the living White Moonlight!

Qiao Guangyu was about to start his surreptitious observation mode when Quan Quan pulled him from behind. So he quickly put on the acting he had practiced in front of the mirror, first pretending to have a sudden realization, then showing a melancholic expression, and said with a forced smile, " President Huo, you two talk first. I have something to do, I will..."

Before he could finish the word "go," Huo Zhou suddenly grabbed Qiao Guangyu's wrist. "I almost forgot; we need to go back to the company this afternoon."

Huo Zhou looked into Wu Yu's eyes, his gaze flickering with complex emotions. "You rarely come back to the country. Next time, let's find some time to get together properly."

Wu Yu stiffly nodded, casting a complex glance at Qiao Guangyu beside Huo Zhou. "Alright, you know how to reach me. My contact information hasn't changed over the years."

Huo Zhou hummed and, with an irresistible force, pulled Qiao Guangyu towards his vehicle. He opened the car door, stuffed Qiao Guangyu inside first, and then squeezed himself in.

Quan Quan, in a very secretary-like manner, exchanged formalities with Wu Yu and respectfully handed him Huo Zhou's business card.

Once inside the car, Huo Zhou released Qiao Guangyu's hand.

His breathing became erratic, and he lost his usual composure. Though they drove for some time, he had forgotten to ask Quan Quan where they were going. His gaze was unfocused, clearly still dwelling on the scene with Wu Yu.

Qiao Guangyu was relieved not to bother Huo Zhou, but he didn't abandon his professional demeanor as a stand-in. Silently, he tucked himself into the corner of the car, squeezing out a couple of crocodile tears, deliberately reddening his eyes.

When Huo Zhou regained his composure and glanced over, he saw Qiao Guangyu staring blankly at his knees, his eyes red, his complexion pale, exuding an unmistakable sense of loss.

Huo Zhou's breath stagnated, he felt an inexplicable pein in his heart.

--

Author's Note:

Qiao Guangyu: ... I may have overdone it.

Quan Quan: Hehe.

 

Translator : DarNan