Moonlight Left Behind chapter 14

That night, there were guests dining, and when Xiao Yao came out after tidying the kitchen, Qin Yue was still the same as he was over half an hour ago, a book resting on his knees, seemingly reading it very seriously, though he hadn’t actually read a single word.

“Boss, you don’t look well these past few days; you seem distracted. Are you feeling unwell?” She was a bit worried.

Qin Yue insisted stubbornly, “I’m fine.”

Xiao Yao rolled her eyes at him without holding back: “Who would believe you? Please try to act a little more convincingly. The book is upside down; how could you still manage that?”

Qin Yue glanced at it and realized it was indeed true. But if he felt embarrassed about it, then he wouldn’t be Qin Yue. The boss squinted his beautiful eyes and stared at his employee: “Have you finished cleaning? The stairs are wiped down, and the guest rooms are tidied?”

Xiao Yao: “… not yet.”

Qin Yue sneered: “If you haven’t, why are you meddling in your boss’s business? Do you still want this month’s salary?”

Xiao Yao was almost infuriated. She really wanted to take a picture of the boss in this state and show it to those who thought he was a celestial being. Could someone like this really be a celestial being? What kind of celestial being acts like this?

He was clearly a hypocritical jerk! Qin scoundrel!

“Be brave enough to act like this in front of Mr. Lin,” Xiao Yao muttered as she picked up a broom from the corner and began sweeping.

The boss seemed not to have heard, placing the book back on the counter. He glanced at the time and coldly said, “Take your time, I’m going back to my room.”

Just then, a sound of rolling wheels echoed from outside. They were already familiar with this sound; it was the sound of luggage being dragged.

A guest had arrived.

Qin Yue was indifferent to this, as long as there was Xiao Yao around, so he pushed his wheelchair and was still preparing to head back to his room.

“Mr. Lin! You’re back!” Xiao Yao’s exclamation froze him in place. After a long time, he stiffly turned his head and met a pair of smiling eyes. “Yes, I’m back. So, is there a room for me?”

“Of course! And it’s quite coincidental; the room you stayed in before is available. Would you like to stay there again?”

“Sure,” Lin Qinzhou replied. Although he was responding to Xiao Yao, his gaze was fixed on Qin Yue. “Why does Boss Qin look like that? Am I not welcome?”

He stood by the door, one hand holding his suitcase, the other leaning against the doorframe. Behind him was the moonlight and the soft glow from the courtyard lights, half of his face covered in shadow, yet his curved smiling eyes were brighter than the descending moonlight.

Qin Yue’s Adam’s apple bobbed visibly, and the look of surprise on his face lingered for a long time.

“Boss Qin?” It wasn’t until he heard Lin Qinzhou call his name that he slowly blinked and said in a low, soft, somewhat hoarse voice, “How could that be?”

Lin Qinzhou observed all the changes in his expression, his heart racing. He thought, thankfully, I’m back; otherwise, I might never have had the chance to see such an out-of-character Boss Qin.

He felt a surge of affection for Qin Yue.

It seemed he was always moved by Qin Yue.

“But Mr. Lin, why are you alone? Where’s Mr. Tang?” Xiao Yao asked.

“Well, it’s just me. He went back first. We took a stroll to other places, and then we found that this place inspires me the most, so I came back.”

Xiao Yao looked pleased: “It’s not as good as you say; you’re exaggerating.”

“Not exaggerating,” Lin Qinzhou said as he walked over, squatting in front of Qin Yue’s wheelchair, adjusting the poorly laid out velvet blanket, and slightly tilting his head to look into those obscure eyes. “The scenery here is beautiful, and the people are beautiful. I really like it here.”

Since his arrival was sudden, Xiao Yao hadn’t prepared dinner for him. Fortunately, there was half a bowl of seafood porridge left in the kitchen, which Lin Qinzhou managed to eat.

During this time, Qin Yue sat at the front desk reading, seemingly indifferent to him, while Xiao Yao remained excited, chattering away.

After a long day of travel, Lin Qinzhou was indeed quite tired. He had just spent a long time holding onto a stone pier to vomit after getting off the boat. However, now sitting in the familiar lobby and looking at the person he longed for, all his fatigue vanished, and even his restless heart seemed to have settled back into place.

He was back.

He was supposed to be back.

“Isn’t Boss Qin going to rest?” He deliberately drank slowly, taking over ten minutes to finish half a bowl of porridge. Qin Yue glanced up at him and said expressionlessly, “I slept too much during the day; I’m not tired.”

Then he forgot that Xiao Yao was next to him, who had a knack for ruining the mood: “Oh right, Boss, didn’t you say you were going back to your room? Why haven’t you left yet? If you’re not feeling well, you don’t have to force yourself. Mr. Lin and I are so familiar; you don’t need to accompany us. I’m enough, right, Mr. Lin?”

With each word Xiao Yao spoke, Qin Yue’s expression grew darker, but she was oblivious, grinning broadly at Lin Qinzhou.

Seeing Qin Yue looking flustered yet unable to respond, Lin Qinzhou struggled to suppress his laughter, pressing his fist against his lips, and said, “Yeah, Boss Qin, don’t force yourself.”

Qin Yue’s expression grew even worse, but Lin Qinzhou had already noticed that in just a week, he had lost weight, looking listless and lacking in spirit.

“So, what’s wrong with you? Are you sick?”

“No.” Qin Yue replied. Lin Qinzhou didn’t believe him and turned to Xiao Yao for confirmation.

“He’s not sick, but he hasn’t been in good spirits, often zoning out. Sometimes he sits under the big banyan tree outside for half a day, and I don’t know what he’s thinking. I feel like his soul is somewhere else.”

Lin Qinzhou felt both sour and soft-hearted, unable to stop smiling. “I think so too. Maybe one day after going out, his soul will be abducted by someone.”

“Right, right, Mr. Lin, you think so too? Then should we find a master to help him, to call his soul back? There’s a very skilled old lady on our island,” Xiao Yao said, already pulling out her phone to look for numbers.

The people on Coral Island all believed in this. If a child had a nightmare at night or got scared outside, they would invite a woman to summon their souls back. Xiao Yao had been startled as a child and found it very effective.

“Well, that’s not necessary. I think your boss’s soul will return soon,” Lin Qinzhou said, lifting the corner of his lips.

Xiao Yao looked a bit skeptical: “Really?”

Lin Qinzhou placed his hand on Qin Yue’s slender knee and gazed into his murky eyes. “Really. Right, Boss Qin?”

Qin Yue’s face had darkened to the point of being ink-like, and he lost the battle in the eye contact with Lin Qinzhou. He shook his wheelchair and turned his back to them.

“I’m going to rest.”

He seemed to escape in a somewhat flustered manner.

Lin Qinzhou didn’t stand up, watching him leave all the way. “Alright.”

Until the person disappeared around the corner and was no longer visible, he stood up and said to Xiao Yao, “I’m a bit tired too. See you tomorrow.”

Xiao Yao was confused: “Huh?”

What’s going on? Suddenly, everyone’s sleepy. Can sleepiness be contagious?

While in Licheng, Lin Qinzhou stayed at an inn near the ancient city, which had more character compared to Fubai.

The inn was surrounded by winding streams and serene paths, and both floors were made of wood, with beautifully carved patterns and incomprehensible characters on the doors and windows. Once inside, it felt like entering an ancient, mysterious paradise. Online, the reviews for that inn were all positive.

Lin Qinzhou also admitted that he felt quite comfortable living there, but he still preferred Fubai. Only in Fubai did his heart seem to settle down.

That night, he thought about the brilliant expressions on Boss Qin’s face when they met again, and he slept soundly, waking up to find it was already past ten.

Due to the peak travel season, the island was filled with tourists. During the twenty minutes Lin Qinzhou spent eating breakfast downstairs, three groups of tourists came one after another. Xiao Yao was too busy to talk to him and only told him to help himself.

After he cleaned up his dishes and put them in the kitchen, there were three more tourists at the front desk.

“We really don’t have any rooms left. Would you like to check somewhere else?” Xiao Yao said apologetically. “But it’s best to look on the travel website first; during this time, all the guesthouses are tight on rooms. It’s better to book ahead.”

The three of them looked quite young and were dressed very stylishly. The leading boy even had a cool pair of headphones hanging around his neck, with three ear studs on one side and seven or eight on the other. He looked super cool, but he appeared dejected after hearing Xiao Yao’s words.

However, no room meant no room; no matter how cool they were, she couldn’t conjure up a room for them. They could only slowly drag their suitcases away.

“I noticed that there’s a room on the second floor on the east side whose door has been closed all this time. What’s wrong with that room? Can’t anyone stay in there?” While feeling lucky, Lin Qinzhou was also curious.

That room was right at the corner of the stairs, and Lin Qinzhou had to pass by its door every time he went up or down. Strangely, there was no room number on that door, and it had a large lock on it.