Chapter 28 – Haven’t seen you for a long time

Zhu Xingyan’s QQ had always remained logged in the background. For so many years, it had never gone offline, even though everyone’s main messaging app had already switched to something else.

He had set special notifications for that little moon.

Yet for all these years, that profile picture had never once lit up on his phone.

Until this night, when his world suddenly brightened.

The moment he received Song Shiyue’s reply, Zhu Xingyan was in the capital, listening to Liu Yan go over the Spring Festival Gala rehearsal schedule.

With the official performance less than a week away, the gala’s directing team was reviewing every detail again and again. This year he was part of the group chorus performance. Unlike the dance rehearsals of previous years, it required more coordination with others.

He treated it like a regular film-set job — heading out every morning and coming back at night for fixed rehearsal times. When he had nothing scheduled, he would rest on site.

That night after wrapping up, he was in the recording studio fine-tuning the melody of his latest single. The Spring Festival Gala directing team sent the newest notice in the work group chat. Liu Yan came in and explained the details to him.

Zhu Xingyan listened with his head lowered, absently flipping through the vocal score in his hands. The phone lying on the table suddenly lit up with a notification sound.

He sat up straight abruptly. The chair scraped against the floor with a sharp noise. Zhu Xingyan’s gaze locked onto the phone. His body froze. It took him several seconds before he dared to reach for it.

Seeing that moon reappear in his chat box, Zhu Xingyan did not even dare to blink, afraid that the slightest movement would reveal it was only a hallucination born from longing.

He unconsciously held his breath as he looked at the tentative message from the other side. It was like a long-parched tree suddenly sprouting a new bud, cautiously reaching its head toward him.

【Are you still there?】

He regained his senses, fingers moving across the keyboard as he instinctively replied.

【I am】

I have been waiting for you. I have waited for you for a very, very long time.

He did not know that things would coincide so perfectly, or that the other end of this account had gone unused for so many years.

Their last conversation had ended without warning. Her sudden offline status had felt like an unspoken conclusion.

After graduation, her duty was complete. The tie between them disappeared, and they became two strangers again with no reason to intersect.

She had her own friends and classmates. Their lives would not cross paths anymore, and there seemed to be no further need to stay in touch.

Zhu Xingyan had been afraid to trust his own intuition. Only on the day the college entrance exam scores were released did he find an excuse to message her again.

The other side of the chat box remained deathly silent, as if confirming his premonition.

In her heart, they really had only gone this far.

To her, he had only been a special classmate who needed extra care. Once their classmate relationship ended, so did everything between them.

Even later, when he could no longer restrain himself and indirectly learned which school she had been admitted to, Zhu Xingyan still did not dare to confirm her exact feelings. As long as there was no reply, he could still persuade himself that perhaps she simply had not seen it, or perhaps… he could still find countless reasons for himself.

What he feared most was the worst outcome — one day he would finally give in, go through all the trouble to get her other contact information, and receive only a polite, distant reply.

“Ah, Zhu Xingyan. Long time no see.”

“Why are you suddenly contacting me?”

Fortunately.

Before his hope could disappear, she responded to his signal again.

She had not deliberately cut off contact with him.

She said,

【I’m in Fan City】

【It’s convenient】

【Zhu Xingyan, I’m very happy you’re still here】

–

Liu Yan had tried several times to dissuade him from insisting on returning to Fan City at this time and booking a plane ticket overnight.

Zhu Xingyan paid him no attention. He packed his personal belongings, took his documents, and directly told the driver to take him to the airport.

The flight would take off in two hours.

Before dawn, he arrived back in Fan City. The moist cold air rushed toward him, yet he felt none of the chill. It was as if a fire was burning in his heart, scorching his body and making it hot all over.

The sky at five or six in the morning was still dim, just beginning to brighten. In winter, daylight came late, and everything around was still hazy and dark.

Some elderly people who had the habit of getting up early for walks and exercise saw a tall, slender young man standing outside the residential compound. He wore a mask and a hat, standing alone with his gaze fixed steadily toward the compound gate. There even seemed to be mist clinging to his black hair.

A very strange person.

The elderly people muttered among themselves but did not pay him much attention. They continued on their way with puzzled expressions.

Song Shiyue had insomnia the night before and slept restlessly. A little after six in the morning, when the sky outside had not yet fully brightened, her consciousness woke first in a daze. The moment she remembered what had happened before she fell asleep, she suddenly became wide awake.

She could not help grabbing her phone, afraid it was a dream. When she opened the screen, she saw new messages from two hours earlier, sent by Zhu Xingyan.

【When you wake up, come downstairs】

【I’m waiting for you outside your residential compound】

Seeming to feel it was too abrupt, he added another sentence afterward.

【No rush】

How could Song Shiyue not be anxious?

The instant she clearly saw the messages, all sleepiness vanished. She immediately jumped out of bed, sat up abruptly, pulled open the curtains and looked down. Only when she realized there were only rows of trees below did she feel annoyed — her window faced the back of the compound, with only the green belt visible.

Song Shiyue hurriedly got out of bed to wash up. While brushing her teeth, she picked out the clothes she would wear later, and at the same time hastily replied to him.

【Have you arrived already?】

Her palm vibrated. The reply came almost instantly.

【Yes】

【You woke up so early?】

Her heart immediately panicked. Her hands and feet felt clumsy. For a moment she could not be bothered with further grooming. She quickly washed her face, put on her coat, and headed downstairs with her phone.

Before leaving the house, Laifu in the living room keenly noticed her movement. In the quiet, misty living room, it let out two soft meows. Song Shiyue thought of something, picked it up, slipped on her fluffy rabbit-ear slippers, and hurried downstairs.

Zhu Xingyan stood out no matter where he was.

Song Shiyue had originally thought he would find somewhere to sit and wait for her first. As she approached the compound gate, she was even preparing to message him. Who knew that the moment she stepped out, that figure would directly enter her line of sight. Even under the dim tree shadows where the light was unclear, he was still the kind of person one noticed at a glance.

At this hour, although there were few people outside, him standing there so openly still made her heart race with nervousness.

Song Shiyue could not help glancing around a few times before carefully trotting toward him. She was still holding a cat in her arms, running like a little rabbit.

Zhu Xingyan would remember this scene for a very long time afterward.

In the dim early morning, after several hours of long waiting, he finally saw her figure at the compound gate.

The girl wore a loose knit cardigan that covered her calves, with the checked pajama hem faintly visible underneath. She held a sleepy, lazy cat in her arms and wore fluffy rabbit-ear slippers on her feet. The instant she saw him, her eyes brightened. Then, like a small animal, she looked left and right cautiously before trotting over to him.

Her hair was tied back casually, a few strands of black hair scattered across her cheeks, making those crescent-moon eyes appear even more moist and bright.

After several years.

She still looked exactly as she had the first time he saw her.

Hair tied low, snow-white cheeks, clear and bright black eyes that carried a special gentle clarity when they looked at someone.

Like gardenia flowers dampened by a rainy night, giving off a cool, faint fragrance.

Or like the moon in the distant sky — gentle, bright, and dazzling.

Song Shiyue stopped in front of him. The distance between them was now only a short step, close enough for them to see each other clearly. She suddenly felt a belated sense of awkwardness, as if shyness had crept in. She pressed her lips together, lowered her eyes uncomfortably, and was just about to say something to greet him when the person in front of her moved slightly.

He grasped her arm, leaned down, and drew closer. His breath covered her from above, carrying the slightly cool temperature of early morning.

“Song Shiyue, long time no see.”

It was an extremely light and gentle hug, as if they touched for only a moment before separating. Song Shiyue remained stiff, not knowing what to do. Laifu in her arms reacted first, sensing the stranger’s scent. It scratched her cardigan twice and meowed softly.

The young man in front of her bent down toward the cat, placed his hand on its head, and gently rubbed it. His voice was soft.

“Laifu, long time no see.”

This early morning when the sky had not yet brightened felt like a beautiful dream she had imagined for a long time — so unreal that her feet seemed to float and her brain felt slow and oxygen-deprived, as if she were still dreaming.

It took Song Shiyue quite a while to regain her senses. With a flushed face, she took comfort in the fact that the sky was still dim. She tried hard to lift her head and greet him as usual.

“Long time no see.” At the end she softly called his name. “Zhu Xingyan.”

–

Standing outside the residential compound like this was not very appropriate.

Zhu Xingyan asked her if there was anywhere nearby they could take a walk. Song Shiyue led him to the park beside the compound. In the early morning, many elderly people would exercise in the square first and then stroll through the park. The boardwalk at the front was quite lively, but the deeper they went, the denser the vegetation became and the dimmer the light. Few elderly people ventured this far for their walks.

Especially in the early morning, the area was exceptionally quiet. Song Shiyue walked with him along the path, passing through a small grove of trees. Soon a tiny lake and lawn appeared before them, with benches nearby.

“Let’s sit here for a while. There probably won’t be many people around,” she said. She had been carrying Laifu the whole way and her arms were starting to feel a little tired. The cat was rather wary of strangers and had already forgotten its former owner from years ago, so it refused to leave her side easily.

Once they reached the resting spot, Song Shiyue gently set Laifu down on the grass. It did not wander far and instead stayed obediently by her leg, occasionally pawing at the blades of grass.

“Is it really okay for you to be out like this?” Only after she had settled the cat did Song Shiyue lift her eyes and look directly at his uncovered face.

The face before her was even closer than every time she had seen it on screen. His brows and eyes were sharp and clear, so exquisitely beautiful that words could hardly describe them.

Even now, with no makeup or styling and dressed casually, he did not look like an ordinary handsome guy you might see anywhere. Back in school she had heard her female classmates say more than once that Zhu Xingyan’s handsomeness broke through dimensions.

That description made even more sense to her now.

Even if he walked down the street looking completely ordinary, he still did not seem like a person who belonged in reality. Anyone who glanced at him could not help staring again, momentarily lost in a daze.

All the way here, Song Shiyue had been nervous. Fortunately it was winter break and there were not many young people up early near the compound.

“I was wearing a mask while I was waiting for you,” he answered after her question. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile, as if he had not noticed her worry at all.

“Then…” Song Shiyue instinctively wanted to ask more, but she realized it was inappropriate and stopped herself.

“I wanted you to see me,” the person beside her continued her unfinished thought and answered directly and honestly.

“We haven’t seen each other for so many years. I couldn’t let the first time be one where you couldn’t even clearly see what I look like.”

“What if someone takes photos?” Her heart softened into a puddle. Even her question came out in a small, soft voice. She tilted her head slightly closer to him, as if sharing a secret.

“If they take photos, then we make it public.” He suddenly said something shocking that made Song Shiyue’s head snap up. She looked like a startled little rabbit.

Zhu Xingyan’s fingers twitched slightly in his palm. He wanted to stroke her hair but was afraid it would be too abrupt. In the end he simply smiled and suppressed the urge in his heart.

“I was teasing you.”

“Things are different now than before. No media dares to casually publish private gossip about celebrities anymore. Our legal team is very strong.”

“Besides.” Zhu Xingyan paused for a moment, then tried to keep his tone as natural as possible.

“I am no longer the same Zhu Xingyan as before.” He lowered his gaze to look at her. His eyelashes were very dark, calm and focused.

“I am allowed to date.”

—

Song Shiyue felt as though her heartbeat skipped several beats.

Her chest rose and fell quite violently. She instinctively avoided his gaze and secretly adjusted her breathing to calm her chaotic heart. However, her mind remained fixed on those dark eyes that had just looked at her.

She had a strong feeling that he had said those words to her.

For a moment, Song Shiyue felt panicked and at a loss, unsure how to respond. At that moment, a slight movement came from near her feet. She turned her head and saw Laifu, who had been idling on the ground, lazily stretching out its paw to tug at the hem of her pants.

“Laifu, what are you doing? Is the lawn not fun enough?” Song Shiyue squatted down to comfort it. Out of habit, she spoke to it in a soft murmur as she did at home.

“Don’t I often bring you here for walks? Is it too early today and you haven’t woken up properly yet?”

Laifu, sensing its owner’s presence, kept meowing and rubbed against her fluffy slippers coquettishly. Song Shiyue’s heart softened at the sight. She couldn’t help stroking its head and picked the little cat up from the ground.

It immediately settled quietly in her arms, squinting its eyes as if it was so comfortable it was about to fall asleep.

Song Shiyue smiled and lowered her head to focus on it, her gaze lingering for a long time without shifting away.

At that moment, a voice suddenly came from beside her.

“Cats don’t need to sleep at night.” She looked up in surprise and saw Zhu Xingyan with the corners of his mouth slightly curved, gazing at her with a gentle yet helpless plea.

“Don’t just look at Laifu. Look at me too.”