White Moonlight

The room was filled with a peach-colored ambiance, its enormous heart-shaped bed strewn with fresh flower petals. Ye Shuang and Chen Qin sat on the edge of the bed, stiff and motionless as if meeting for the first time.

Chen Qin: "OvO…"

Her mind had been clouded by impulse when she dragged him here. Now, she was utterly dazed—especially with Ye Shuang’s hand already wrapped around her waist.

"Um… Ye, maybe we should… reschedule?" Feeling a ticklish warmth in her abdomen, Chen Qin tentatively suggested, only to notice Ye Shuang silently studying her, as if deep in thought.

Suddenly, he asked, "Did we… break up?"

"Huh?"

"N-no, we didn’t… right?" Chen Qin whispered, but Ye Shuang’s eyes flickered with confusion. He pressed a hand to his forehead, struggling to recall something.

"Did I misremember?"

"Are you okay, Ye?!"

"I’m fine." Ye Shuang murmured, seeming to regain some clarity. "Let’s continue."

"Wait, wait, wait—no, forget it!" Chen Qin blurted out.

"What’s wrong?" Ye Shuang pinched her cheek playfully, grinning. "Weren’t you going to devour me?"

"N-not like that!"

Chen Qin suddenly felt like she was taking advantage of him.

"I—I was just blinded by desire earlier," she admitted, acknowledging she’d been craving Ye Shuang’s body. But now, cooled down, a wave of guilt washed over her.

What if something really happened, and Ye Shuang regained his memories? Would he think she’d gone too far?

"But… we’ve come close before…"

Her head spun.

"Stop. Enough." In the end, reason and pride won out. Chen Qin pulled Ye Shuang out of the room.

"We’ll talk next time!"

Ye Shuang, unfazed by her antics, chuckled. "Same old Chen Qin—always backing out at the last second. You never go through with it."

"Poor you, huh?" Chen Qin’s heart twinged with sympathy. After a brief struggle, she relented, "Fine, maybe I’ll just—"

But the next second, she shook her head vigorously.

"Ugh, what am I thinking?!"

Wiping imaginary drool from her lips, she steeled herself. "First, we fix your memory!"

"I told you, I’m not losing my memory," Ye Shuang sighed.

What was wrong with this world?

Had he crossed into a parallel universe? Out of nowhere, he’d somehow gained a so-called girlfriend named Zhao Mengyao.

His girlfriend had always been Chen Qin.

They’d been deeply in love, even planning to get engaged this year…

Engaged…

Ye Shuang’s thoughts blurred. Wait, hadn’t they already gotten engaged? Why did that memory feel so hazy?

Had it actually happened?

The ring…

He glanced at his hand—no engagement ring in sight. A ringing filled his ears.

"Ye?"

"..."

"Ye?"

"..."

"Ye?!"

Ye Shuang snapped back to reality, meeting Chen Qin’s worried gaze.

"Sorry, I spaced out."

"You’re pale." Chen Qin reached out, tenderly brushing his cheek—cold sweat dampened her fingertips. Guilt crept into her voice. "This is my fault for being so greedy earlier."

"Let’s just go back and rest."

"..."

They returned to the apartment. Though Ye Shuang insisted he was fine, Chen Qin forced him into bed as evening fell.

"Sleep a little. Maybe you’ll feel better after a nap," she said, tucking him in before climbing onto the bed herself, pretending to adjust the sheets in the corner.

But her position inadvertently smothered Ye Shuang’s face beneath her soft curves, rolling over him like waves.

"Can’t… breathe."

"Huh?"

"Tch."

...

Eventually, Chen Qin made sure Ye Shuang closed his eyes to sleep, watching over him quietly.

Her emotions were a tangled mess.

If Ye Shuang saw her as his girlfriend, she’d be overjoyed—but…

It wasn’t enough.

"Just a substitute…" Chen Qin propped her chin on her hand, lost in thought as she gazed at Ye Shuang.

The setting sun cast golden-orange light through the floor-to-ceiling windows, gilding her long lashes as they fluttered.

"..."

Beside her, Ye Shuang’s breathing steadied—he’d fallen asleep.

He must’ve been exhausted.

Out like a light the moment his head hit the pillow.

"If only Zhao Mengyao had never existed… Why did you fall for her?" Chen Qin had asked herself this countless times.

A memory surfaced. She pulled out her phone and logged into her cloud storage.

Crossing her legs, she scrolled through dated videos until she found one—a middle-school talent show.

"Next up, Class 2-2’s Zhao Mengyao with a dance performance!"

In the grainy footage, a proud girl in a pleated mini-skirt swayed to a K-pop beat, tossing her hair, biting her lip, and moving with a confidence that radiated youthful allure.

Back then, Zhao Mengyao had been extraordinary—her dance skills made her the school’s darling.

Maybe it was also because of the hideous, ill-fitting uniforms.

"Is this what they call a ‘white moonlight’?" Chen Qin mused. Compared to Zhao Mengyao’s vibrant performance, her own quiet violin recital must’ve seemed dull.

"Even so…"

Her whisper was cut off by the doorbell.

She headed downstairs, expecting a delivery—Bai Yuyou and the others had keycards, after all. But when she opened the door, the figure outside made her brows arch in surprise—

"Zhao Mengyao."

"Is Ye Shuang here?" Zhao Mengyao looked haggard, clearly having a rough time.

Her company had gone bankrupt, followed by Tang Hao vanishing abroad with all the money, leaving no trace.

No matter how she racked her brain, Zhao Mengyao couldn’t understand why Tang Hao would betray her like this.

After she’d given him everything.

"Ye isn’t here. Get lost," Chen Qin said flatly. With Ye Shuang asleep and his memories unstable, she didn’t want Zhao Mengyao stirring up more chaos.

"Liar! He lives here—I checked!" Zhao Mengyao shouted.

"Ye Shuang! Are you inside? Come out!"

"Ye Shuang!"

"Enough! What do you even want?!" Chen Qin snapped, slamming the door—

But Zhao Mengyao stuck her foot in the gap.