Chapter 32- They are a perfect match

The moment Song Shiyue flew toward him was without any thought. Her body reacted before her brain could. Her feet moved uncontrollably as she ran toward the figure under the tree.

Until that face became gradually clear. Zhu Xingyan was standing right there, one hand holding his phone, his gaze fixed tightly on her, the corners of his lips carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smile.

She suddenly felt a wave of belated embarrassment. Unconsciously slowing her steps, she walked over slowly and stopped a few steps away from him. Pressing her lips together, she gave him a soft, shallow smile.

“Why did you come?” Song Shiyue tried to greet him as normally as possible. “When I saw the message I thought I had read it wrong. It was so sudden.”

“I have an awards ceremony to attend tomorrow, so I flew over a day early.”

Zhu Xingyan’s gaze lingered greedily on her, staring for a long time. The person who had flown toward him in the night suddenly became reserved again when she got closer, stopping a few steps away with restraint.

He took two steps closer, his figure stepping out from under the tree.

Song Shiyue could not help feeling flustered. She looked left and right. By the moonlight, she could see the silhouettes of her two roommates in the distance. Although they were walking arm in arm toward the dormitory, they kept turning their heads to stare tightly this way, moving even slower than ants.

Song Shiyue’s scalp tingled. For some reason her brain short-circuited. Looking at Zhu Xingyan’s face — which had no mask or any cover — she instinctively stepped forward and raised her hand to cover his face.

The person in front of her froze. Zhu Xingyan did not move, letting her palm quietly cover him.

Under her palm, his breath was warm. The heat transferred over. Song Shiyue suddenly came to her senses. Staring at the eyes so close to her, she felt they were even darker and brighter than before, as if filled with tonight’s moonlight.

She swallowed unconsciously and whispered pleadingly, “Wait a moment. My roommates are still behind us.”

Zhu Xingyan raised his eyes and looked behind her. In the distance downstairs at the dormitory building, there were indeed two slowly moving figures. From far away in the dim night, their faces could not be seen clearly — only blurry outlines.

“Should I go say hello?”

After the people left, Song Shiyue let out a big sigh of relief and finally lowered her hand.

A flash of regret crossed Zhu Xingyan’s heart, but he still asked her in a normal tone.

Song Shiyue shook her head repeatedly in fright.

“They… they are both your fans.” She hesitated for a second, then lowered her voice to tell him, her expression full of worry.

“Oh.” After a few seconds of silence, he spoke again, this time with guilt and apology in his tone. “Sorry. Will this cause you any trouble?”

“No, no!” Song Shiyue hurriedly waved her hands. After a moment she added softly, “I’m worried it will affect you.”

“Of course it doesn’t matter.” He paused. “I don’t care about these things.”

Under the tree, moonlight cast several shadows. Because of the little interlude earlier, they stood very close — so close they could almost feel each other’s breath.

Song Shiyue unconsciously lowered her breathing. The surroundings were quiet, with only occasional faint sounds drifting down from the dormitory building.

“Did you eat hotpot tonight?” Zhu Xingyan suddenly asked softly. Song Shiyue’s face heated up at once. She could not help lifting her sleeve to sniff it.

“Does it smell strong?” she asked in a small voice.

“No.” He chuckled as if he had only asked casually. “Was the hotpot good?”

“It was okay at that place.” After speaking, Song Shiyue thought of something and looked up to ask, “What did you eat tonight?”

“I just got off the plane and haven’t had time to eat yet.” He spoke as if it were nothing important, his expression calm. The moment Song Shiyue heard it, she immediately became anxious.

“It’s already so late.” She unconsciously raised her hand to check the time. It was almost nine at night.

“Then you should go eat something quickly. It’s not good for your stomach otherwise.” She urged him worriedly.

Zhu Xingyan did not move. He simply looked at her quietly, his clear black-and-white eyes carrying a faint smile.

He seemed to be waiting silently for something.

Song Shiyue thought for a moment and realized. She asked softly and tentatively, “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Is it convenient?” Before she could answer, he added with a smile, “I will send you back before the dormitory curfew.”

—

Even at night, Zhu Xingyan could not simply wander the streets like ordinary people, casually picking a roadside shop the way they did.

The back seat remained quiet. The car glided silently through the darkness.

The place they went for dinner was an upscale private restaurant. Apart from the two of them, there were no other customers.

The chef prepared the dishes in an open kitchen area. The waiter showed no surprise upon seeing them, as if he had received them countless times before. With perfect courtesy, he led them up to the third floor.

Through the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, one could see the courtyard’s green bamboo and a small pond. Even in the cold of winter, the plants and flowers remained lush, and fish played in the water.

The restaurant’s lighting was gentle and warm, and the decor felt comfortable.

“Is this where you usually eat?” Song Shiyue looked around, seeming unable to relax fully ever since they had walked in.

“Most of the time I eat at home. This place is… run by a friend. They don’t really take outside guests.” He thought for a moment before answering. Song Shiyue nodded. The waiter soon brought up the dishes on plates — all light, home-style cooking.

Three dishes and one soup, served in white porcelain, rested quietly under the lamp with a warm, refined touch.

At the very end, the waiter placed a small dessert in front of Song Shiyue.

“This is their signature sugar water. Try it.”

When the lid of the white porcelain bowl was lifted, inside was stewed soft tremella, dotted with rose petals and golden orange segments. The colors were crystal clear and beautiful.

She picked up a spoon and took a taste. The sweetness was just right; the orange pieces brought a fresh, sweet-tart note that perfectly balanced the slight richness of the tremella. The fragrance of flowers and fruit lingered between her lips and teeth.

“Mmm, it’s delicious,” Song Shiyue nodded in praise.

On the other side of the table, Zhu Xingyan smiled at her, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat.

He ate at an even pace. Even the sound of his chopsticks and bowl was soft and quiet as he dined in silence.

Back in high school, there had been a few rare times they ran into each other in the school cafeteria. He would always sit alone in a corner, eating slowly like this.

The students around would sneak glances at him. More than once Song Shiyue had heard people beside her say that even the way he ate was good-looking.

At the time she had agreed in her heart, yet she remained reserved and restrained, unable to say it out loud the way the others did.

Now, in the silent night, she sat beside him, waiting as they finished their meal together.

The entire space belonged only to the two of them.

The scene felt dreamlike and unreal.

On the way back after dinner, the car passed through the bustling central area. The large building that appeared ahead was exactly the cinema she had been to that one time.

It was there that she had witnessed his first premiere.

“Last October, I went with my roommates to watch your newly released movie.” Song Shiyue sat by the window and could not help pointing toward the building. “It was right there.”

“What?” Zhu Xingyan looked in the direction she was pointing. The car sped along the street and quickly turned into the next intersection. At the end of the long straight road was the subway station for this stop.

Zhu Xingyan suddenly found the street scenery on both sides familiar. On that rainy day last year after the movie screening ended, he had been sitting in the car and, through the window, saw a familiar figure walking on the street outside.

He abruptly turned his head to look at her. “Was it the premiere of The Cliff?”

“Yes…” Song Shiyue felt unconsciously nervous from his expression and answered hesitantly.

“I saw you.”

This time, it was Song Shiyue who was shocked. She looked at him with slightly parted lips, unable to recover for a long moment.

“It was right here.” Zhu Xingyan gestured to the street outside, his voice low and deep, his eyes seemingly clouded with darkness. “On a rainy day, you were holding a black umbrella, walking alone down the road.”

“I thought I had seen wrong. I told the driver to turn around, but by the time we came back, you were already gone.”

He gazed at her deeply, his eyes complex and difficult to read. “So it really was you.”

“You came to my premiere. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Clearly, as long as she stood in front of him, he would never let her leave again.

Song Shiyue’s lips moved, but no sound came out for a long time. Her gaze sank into his deep eyes, as if falling into a dense, dark sea.

“At that time…” She wanted to explain. There were too many people, or perhaps because they had not been in contact for such a long time. She had thought he might not need to have anything more to do with her anymore.

She was just an ordinary class monitor who had helped him once during high school.

“But none of that matters anymore.” A relieved voice suddenly came from above. The dark clouds in Zhu Xingyan’s eyes dispersed, leaving only clear wind and bright moonlight. A gentle, light smile appeared on his face.

“You came to see me. I’m very happy.”

“No matter how long we are apart, I will always find you, Song Shiyue.”

—

By the time they returned to school, it was almost curfew time.

Before Song Shiyue could get out of the car, Bai Jia and the others called anxiously, concernedly asking where she was.

The girl’s loud and energetic voice came through the speaker so clearly that it could be heard throughout the entire car.

“Shiyue! When are you coming back? The dorm auntie is about to do the room check!”

“I’m already outside the school.” As Song Shiyue spoke, she pushed the car door. In her nervousness she fumbled and could not open it. Zhu Xingyan leaned over, reached past her, and opened the door for her.

“Thank you.” She mouthed silently. Just as she stepped out of the car, she heard movement behind her. Zhu Xingyan had gotten out with her.

She quickly gave a few absent-minded replies on the phone, hung up, then looked at him and began scanning their surroundings again.

Fortunately, there was no one around at night.

“You should head back. I’m already here,” she said hurriedly.

“I’ll walk you to the dormitory,” he replied firmly.

“There’s no need. Our school is really small — it’s just a few steps away.” Anxiety crept into Song Shiyue’s voice.

“I’m not at ease.”

Zhu Xingyan took the lead and walked forward. Song Shiyue followed behind him, not daring to voice the words in her heart.

He was probably the biggest danger of all.

The two of them registered at the gate guard station and entered. When the black pen wrote down the names on the paper, Song Shiyue clearly felt the security guard uncle glancing at him several times. Thanks to his good professional conduct, he suppressed his gossip instinct and only put on a serious expression to remind them.

“Outside visitors cannot stay long. After sending her back, come out quickly.”

“Okay, uncle.” Song Shiyue answered quickly before Zhu Xingyan could speak.

In the quiet night campus, the two walked side by side. Just as Song Shiyue had said, Foreign Affairs College’s campus area was indeed not large. They had not walked far before they saw the lit-up lights of the dormitory building ahead.

“You can stop here,” Song Shiyue stopped and said. If they went any farther, they might run into other people.

“Alright.” This time he did not insist and remained where he was.

“Be careful on your way back,” Song Shiyue said after a moment of hesitation.

“Song Shiyue.” He suddenly called her name again.

She looked up curiously, listening attentively for what would come next.

“I heard your roommate call you by your name earlier.”

“Ah.” She was stunned for a second, then nodded blankly. “Yes.”

“They call you Shiyue,” Zhu Xingyan repeated the name with emphasis.

Song Shiyue nodded in confusion. “Yes, they do.”

“Then what does your best friend call you?”

Her mind went to Dali and all her messy nicknames. She tentatively replied, “Moon?”

“What about your closest family?”

“My parents call me Yueyue.”

“Then how should I call you? I feel like we’re too distant with each other.” Zhu Xingyan calmly continued, catching Song Shiyue completely off guard. She fell into a daze, her breathing disordered for a long moment before she slowly answered.

“You… can call me whatever you want.”

“Little Moon?”

“…Okay.”

“Then from today onward, you also have to change how you address me.”

“Change to what…” Song Shiyue’s ears were still filled with the sound of “Little Moon” he had just said. The pleasant voice coming from the boy’s lips suddenly carried endless intimacy and tenderness to her.

She felt her face quietly growing hot, her heart trembling lightly. She had no attention left to carefully listen to the rest of his words.

“Little Star.” Zhu Xingyan said the name seriously, his dark eyes sincere.

“One star, one moon.”

“It sounds very well-matched. Perfectly a pair.”

The moment his words fell, Song Shiyue’s face burned bright red. The fluttering feeling she had been suppressing could no longer be held back as waves of heat surged over her.

“Zhu Xingyan…” She wanted to speak but stopped herself. The words kept turning over and over between her teeth. In the end, she still couldn’t restrain herself. Helplessly closing her eyes, she asked,

“That QQ name you had back then… did you change it on purpose—?”