CH 039

TL: Moonlit

A week later, Qi Yuyu received the news that his work had been selected for the exhibition and would be sent to the capital for the finals. At the same time, Lin Hanchuan’s art gallery had completed its renovation.

It was truly a double happiness.

Qi Yuyu still couldn’t quite believe it.

After being ignored and suppressed in the Qi family for many years, even if Lin Hanchuan praised his art as being full of vitality, Qi Yuyu wouldn’t suddenly regain confidence in himself. He would only think that Lin Hanchuan was exaggerating for commercial purposes.

When he decided to participate in the Spring Breeze Art Exhibition, Qi Yuyu didn’t have high expectations for winning any awards. He just wanted to rebel against the situation.

When his father scolded him, saying he could never support himself with such a small hobby, Qi Yuyu found it difficult to argue. But now, he could stand tall and tell his father that there were people who could appreciate his art.

All these changes were brought about by Lin Hanchuan.

Encouraging him to break free from his constraints, giving him courage… and accompanying him, walking side by side, supporting each other. Qi Yuyu took a gentle breath, releasing all the restlessness in his chest.

“Are you happy?” Lin Hanchuan appeared beside Qi Yuyu at some point and handed him a beer.

Qi Yuyu and Lin Hanchuan sat side by side on the sofa in his home, just like a few days ago.

The droplets of water on the soda can were cold, just enough to cool down Qi Yuyu’s burning body temperature. He smiled and lowered his head. “I’m happy.”

After taking a sip of beer, Qi Yuyu repeated seriously, “I’ve never been this happy before.”

Qi Yuyu knew that if there was still someone in this world who genuinely felt happy for him, it was only the person in front of him.

Beer shouldn’t be intoxicating, and Qi Yuyu had a decent tolerance for alcohol. Yet, he felt a bit dizzy in his mind. He mused in a daze: Why doesn’t Qi Fenghua cherish someone like Lin Hanchuan?

What Qi Yuyu couldn’t understand the most was the inexplicable familiarity he felt towards Lin Hanchuan. It was as if they had known each other for a long time, even from a previous life.

It was precisely this baseless sense of familiarity that made it impossible for Qi Yuyu to be guarded against Lin Hanchuan. Even when he had a dispute with his own biological brother, he instinctively chose to stand on Lin Hanchuan’s side.

Enjoying this brief moment of leisure after completing all their tasks, Lin Hanchuan leaned back on the sofa, wearing a rarely seen content expression. After taking a sip of beer, he suddenly realized that Qi Yuyu had somehow gotten closer to him. The distance between them was surprisingly close.

Instinctively, Lin Hanchuan moved his eyebrows closer to the center, but as he was about to lean back a bit, he noticed that Qi Yuyu’s gaze was unfocused, and his face had a slight flush.

“You’re drunk,” Lin Hanchuan avoided Qi Yuyu’s hot breath and said.

“I’m not drunk. I have a good tolerance for alcohol,” Qi Yuyu refuted earnestly.

They say a person’s alcohol tolerance can change depending on their mood. Lin Hanchuan didn’t believe it before, but now he did. Placing a hand on Qi Yuyu’s shoulder, Lin Hanchuan pushed him away slightly and coaxed, “You’re not drunk, you’re just tired and want to sleep.”

“I don’t want to sleep either.” Qi Yuyu stared straight into Lin Hanchuan’s face, his gaze raw and direct, as if he wanted to peel back the surface and see into Lin Hanchuan’s innermost being. “Have I seen you before?”

Lin Hanchuan’s heart skipped a beat, then he realized that Qi Yuyu was probably referring to the original host, Yi Qinglou. After his momentarily stopped heartbeat quickly resumed, Lin Hanchuan nodded calmly. “Yes, you have.”

The relationship between the Qi family and the Yi family was not particularly close but not distant either. The children from both families knew each other. Yi Qinglou and Qi Yuyu had seen each other countless times since childhood. To put it seriously, they could be considered childhood friends.

“It feels like I’ve known you for a long time,” Qi Yuyu continued as if he hadn’t heard Lin Hanchuan’s words.

Qi Yuyu felt like he was drunk, yet also not drunk. His speech and behavior weren’t entirely under control, but his thoughts were clear. For example, at this moment, he could clearly see Lin Hanchuan’s slightly helpless expression, a helplessness tinged with indulgence.

Lin Hanchuan touched Qi Yuyu’s forehead and found his temperature to be normal. He rarely took care of drunk people and didn’t know what to do in this situation. He could only go along with Qi Yuyu’s intentions.

Uttering perfunctory words, Lin Hanchuan suddenly thought of Ran Xing from the previous world.

When Ran Xing was drugged by a director who intended to take advantage of him, he was in a similar state to Qi Yuyu now. Lin Hanchuan felt a lingering warmth on his neck, as if Ran Xing’s hot breath still remained.

His neck suddenly stung, and Lin Hanchuan snapped back to reality, meeting Qi Yuyu’s dissatisfied and accusing gaze. “Who are you looking at through me?”

Drunk people were unexpectedly sharp, and Lin Hanchuan stopped daydreaming. He explained, “I thought of a friend from the past.”

Friend? Male or female? What’s your relationship? Why do you have that expression when you think of them? Where are they now? Are you still in contact? Qi Yuyu had a flood of questions he wanted to ask, but he didn’t know where to start. Most importantly, Qi Yuyu realized that he had no right to ask these questions.

As if being hit hard on the head, Qi Yuyu finally regained control of his senses. He swallowed the words he didn’t say and forcibly suppressed them in his chest, wearing an awkward smile. “It seems like you have a good relationship.”

Neither of them had a good night’s rest.

The next day, a new day began, and the events of the previous night dissipated with the rising sun.

Lin Hanchuan’s small art gallery had been cleaned up, with its pristine white walls empty. Qi Yuyu had an idea and brought out his collection from his room, hanging them in the gallery.

“You don’t have to do this.” When Lin Hanchuan noticed, Qi Yuyu had already hung up half of his paintings.

Qi Yuyu smiled and said, “Just a collection. It doesn’t matter where they’re hung.”

As he spoke, Qi Yuyu’s gaze subtly swept over Lin Hanchuan without leaving a trace. Today, Lin Hanchuan was wearing a black turtleneck, and the collar covered the area on his neck that met his shoulder.

“If you have nothing to do, want to hang them together with me?” Qi Yuyu withdrew his gaze, casually inviting Lin Hanchuan as if nothing had happened.

Lin Hanchuan was not a pretentious person. He knew the new gallery needed artwork to warm it up, even if they wouldn’t actually be sold. Since Qi Yuyu had made up his mind, he calmly agreed, “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to do this.” Qi Yuyu returned the words to Lin Hanchuan and smirked triumphantly.

Lin Hanchuan’s gaze flickered slightly. Qi Yuyu’s appearance wasn’t exactly the same as Ran Xing’s, but they were unrelated. Qi Yuyu had a handsome and aloof appearance, with an outstanding temperament. But when he suddenly revealed that mischievous look, he was a perfect match for Ran Xing.

Before he had a chance to observe and compare carefully, Qi Yuyu quickly withdrew his expression under Lin Hanchuan’s gaze and returned to his usual coldness. He said expressionlessly, “Let’s hang them.”

Lin Hanchuan felt a bit regretful, but he thought it might have been his imagination and didn’t delve further.

As they arranged the gallery, they didn’t communicate with each other, but their movements were remarkably in sync. Qi Yuyu had been hanging paintings for several hours and had only completed half of them. With Lin Hanchuan’s help, they almost finished hanging them in a little over an hour.

When they were hanging the last few paintings, Qi Yuyu received a phone call and left Lin Hanchuan alone.

While he was busy, a voice interrupted Lin Hanchuan’s work. “Brother Yi.”

Qi Fenghua held a shopping bag in his hand, looking anxious and nervous.

Lin Hanchuan’s relaxed and content expression disappeared. He stood expressionless, keeping a distance, and coldly asked, “Why are you here?”

With such an obvious avoidance, Qi Fenghua clenched the bag in his hand, crumpling the part of the handle into a ball. He paused for a few seconds and answered, “I heard you were opening an art gallery and busy with the renovation. I was afraid you would be too busy to eat, so I came to bring you food.”

Lin Hanchuan couldn’t help but smile in exasperation. He didn’t know how Qi Fenghua still had the face to come to him after being exposed. “If I remember correctly, we’ve already divorced.”

“…Even if we’re divorced, we can still be friends, right?” Qi Fenghua took a few steps forward and stood in front of Lin Hanchuan. His tone was gentle, his expression tender, and his eyes carried a subtle sense of grievance and dependence, the attitude that Yi Qinglou, the original host, was most moved and fond of.

Every time they had a dispute, as long as Qi Fenghua showed this demeanor, Yi Qinglou always surrendered.

Unfortunately, this didn’t work on Lin Hanchuan. Even if Yi Qinglou knew his true identity, this strategy wouldn’t have any effect on the original host, Yi Qinglou.

Stepping back to maintain a distance from Qi Fenghua, Lin Hanchuan didn’t hide his aversion. “No need. I don’t lack friends.”

Hurt by the naked disgust, Qi Fenghua opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t speak. He froze.

Due to the process of taking paintings on and off the wall, Lin Hanchuan’s neatly folded turtleneck collar was stacked on his neck, partially obscuring and revealing an ambiguous bite mark.

Qi Yuyu had left that mark last night in a fit of anger. It wasn’t forceful, and it didn’t break the skin or leave any blood. It just left a faint mark that was neither light nor heavy, and after a night’s sleep, instead of fading, it showed a faint redness.

At first glance, it looked like a trace left behind by intimacy in bed. Qi Fenghua’s face turned dark.

Qi Fenghua realized that he couldn’t forget about Yi Qinglou. Whether it was because of Yi Wusheng or Yi Qinglou himself, he didn’t want to let go.

Information circulated within the industry, and when Qi Fenghua made some inquiries, he learned that Lin Hanchuan had opened a small art gallery. He wouldn’t miss the opportunity and took the initiative to come with something in hand.

On the way here, Qi Fenghua had thought about many things. He considered how he would be challenged and insulted, ignored, or even kicked out. But he never thought that after two years of being faithful and not being involved with anyone, Yi Qinglou would have marks left by someone else on his body.

Looking bewildered, Qi Fenghua’s mind raced, trying to figure out who had left this mark. His assistant, the members of the renovation team, the artists Lin Hanchuan was in contact with… Suddenly, Qi Fenghua blurted out, “Is it Qi Yuyu?”

Caught off guard by this sudden question, Lin Hanchuan’s expression froze for a moment.

It was really Qi Yuyu. Qi Fenghua’s mind went blank, and a flash of insight came to him. He blurted out, “You said you had someone you liked. Even if you were with me, you would look for his shadow in me… That person, is it Qi Yuyu?!”

“It’s him.” Lin Hanchuan admitted calmly.

Yi Qinglou had indeed referred to Qi Yuyu as the person he liked. He wasn’t shooting in the dark.

Behind them, Qi Yuyu, who had returned from his phone call, suddenly widened his eyes, his hands trembling involuntarily. His heart felt like it was about to leap out of his throat.