Moonlight Left Behind chapter 1

“Ugh—” As soon as the ferry docked, Lin Qinzhou clung to the railing and threw up continuously.

He had only drunk a cup of coffee and eaten half a slice of toast on the plane that morning, and now it was all expelled into the rolling sea. After a while, there was nothing left but a series of acid refluxes. His face was devoid of color, pale as a ghost. “Ugh—ugh—”

Tang Jingyu crouched beside him, offering him water, but Lin Qinzhou waved him off. He couldn’t drink anything; if he did, he’d just throw it up again.

“What’s wrong with you? Didn’t you say you grew up on this island? How can you get seasick just from a boat ride? I’m fine, and this is my first time on a ferry,” Tang Jingyu said, exasperated.

“People like you who grew up on the island should be able to cross rivers and lakes without any trouble, right?”

Lin Qinzhou could tell that his friend was teasing him, but he felt too miserable to respond, only able to let him poke fun.

It took him nearly ten minutes to recover from the seasickness, and he could barely manage to speak: “I haven’t been back here in almost ten years.”

Implying that it was normal to feel seasick after not being on a boat for over a decade.

However, Tang Jingyu retorted, “What’s so special about ten years? I’ve never been on a boat since I was born!”

At that moment, Lin Qinzhou felt weak all over, his head still spinning, and he had no mood to argue with his friend about such trivial matters.

He weakly gave a thumbs up: “Alright then, you’re impressive.”

Coral Island was a well-known tourist destination in the country, attracting thousands of visitors every year. To exaggerate a bit, it was a place that every Chinese person had heard of.

But over twenty years ago, it was an obscure little island. Lin Qinzhou was born here and lived for seven years, only going to Dongcheng with his mother, Lin Long, when he reached school age. Nevertheless, he was sent back here every summer and winter vacation to stay with his grandparents.

His grandparents had no high expectations for their only grandson; they only hoped he would be healthy and happy. Thus, Lin Qinzhou’s life on the island could be described as carefree. He either followed his grandfather up the mountains to catch birds, went fishing, or picked fruits and walnuts—whatever was fun, he did.

As his grandfather would say, he was as wild as a monkey.

He didn’t like his home in Dongcheng, but he loved this place.

“Hey, this place is really beautiful, especially the sea breeze; it feels especially nice. I always wanted to come but never had the chance. If I’d known it was this beautiful, I would have come much earlier.”

Lin Qinzhou replied, “Yeah, it’s beautiful all year round, but I like this time the best.”

The two didn’t take any transportation but slowly strolled toward the booked guesthouse.

After ten years away, Coral Island had changed a lot from the little island in his memories. He didn’t know when they built the wide coastal road lined with colorful flowers, mostly bougainvillea common to the island, as well as other varieties that Lin Qinzhou didn’t recognize.

Every few meters, there were coconut trees and mango trees. While they were chatting, a large mango fell from the sky, splattering “mango mud” all over Tang Jingyu’s legs. Startled, he jumped up, shouting, “Holy crap—”

Lin Qinzhou finally felt a little better, standing beside him, holding his stomach and laughing.

“You’re lucky it didn’t hit you on the head, and it’s not a coconut; otherwise, you’d have to go to the hospital on your first day on the island.”

Tang Jingyu was still shaken and stood far from the tree: “That was too scary.”

“It’s normal. You haven’t seen anything scarier. Sometimes, a big coconut falls and can dent the roof of a car parked underneath the tree,” Lin Qinzhou said. “Didn’t you notice there are no parked cars under these trees?”

Now that he mentioned it, it was true. “Looks like people living on the island must practice their iron heads; otherwise, it’s dangerous everywhere,” Tang Jingyu joked.

Lin Qinzhou chuckled, “It’s not that exaggerated. I was hit once when I was a kid—a small coconut knocked two dents in my forehead, and you can still see a bit of the scar.”

“Is that true?” Tang Jingyu was intrigued, turning to ruffle his hair. “Wow, you really do have a scar.”

“I was reckless as a kid and loved to eat. Whenever I saw a coconut by the roadside, I would get greedy and try to shake it down, only to end up hitting myself on the head. Luckily, it wasn’t big; otherwise, I might have been knocked silly,” Lin Qinzhou said, pushing his disheveled hair back and gazing at a nearby coconut tree nostalgically.

“What happened next?”

What happened next? Lin Qinzhou frowned, trying to think. He realized he couldn’t remember much; it seemed that only the memory of being hit remained. He couldn’t recall whether he was alone or with playmates, or whether he went to the hospital afterward or went straight home; it was all a blur.

This was a side effect of his long-term treatment and medication after he fell ill; his past memories were always hazy, and he had forgotten many of them.

“Sorry, I seem to have forgotten,” Lin Qinzhou suppressed his smile.

Tang Jingyu somewhat knew his situation. Hearing this, he hooked his arm around Lin Qinzhou’s neck and pulled him toward him: “Hey, if you don’t remember, then just forget it. There’s no need to apologize; it’s not a big deal.”

After that, the two walked for almost half an hour and stopped in front of a guesthouse called [Fubai].

The guesthouse was a three-story small building with a dark gray roof and white stone exterior walls. On the left side, there was a unique spiral staircase that led directly to a small terrace on the second floor.

The terrace was filled with various greenery, including flowers and grasses, as well as climbing ivy winding down the wall. Even from a distance, a faint floral fragrance could be smelled.

In the small courtyard at the entrance, there were many bougainvillea flowers commonly seen on the island, along with several small round tables and chairs made of rattan, and a large banyan tree.

A young couple was taking pictures under the tree. The girl seemed to think her boyfriend’s photography skills were lacking, playfully hitting his arm, then running back to the tree like a little bird, striking a pretty pose again.

This place was exactly as Lin Qinzhou remembered, as if time had frozen in the happiest moments of his past, and he was just out for school. Now it was summer vacation, and he was back.

If he shouted, his silver-haired grandmother would come out with a beaming smile, take his suitcase, and lead him to the yard to eat chilled watermelon.

“Lin Qinzhou, is this your grandmother’s guesthouse?”

Tang Jingyu’s words pulled Lin Qinzhou from his distant memories. “Yes, but don’t mention this when we go in.”

The year he went abroad coincided with his grandmother’s passing. Later, he heard from his mother, Lin Long, that his grandmother had sold the guesthouse to someone else on her deathbed, so this place no longer belonged to him.

He used to be the young master here, but now he had to stay as a guest and pay.

His feelings were quite complex.

“Don’t worry, I know my limits. But it’s really not a big deal. If the owner is still the same one, perhaps in honor of our grandmother, we might even get a discount.”

This was just a joke, meant to cheer Lin Qinzhou up.

Revisiting old places, with things unchanged but people different, it was inevitable to feel emotional. Lin Qinzhou smiled.

“Welcome! Do you have a reservation?” The receptionist was a girl in her twenties, wearing a light yellow floral dress, her hair braided into a pretty twist down to her waist. Her skin was slightly tanned, and she had adorable dimples when she smiled, looking sunny and cheerful.

Tang Jingyu was mesmerized, stuttering, “Ah, yes, we have a reservation.”

“Could you please give me the phone number you used for the reservation? I need to verify it.”

The room was booked by Lin Qinzhou, and he gave his phone number. The receptionist found their reservation record and took out two keys from the drawer under the computer.

“Your rooms are on the second floor on the east side, one is 202, and the other is 203. Here are your keys; please take care of them.”

“Hot water is available 24 hours, but if possible, it’s best to use it before 11 PM. After that, the water pressure might be unstable, and there could be times when the water doesn’t come out.”

“Also, although we don’t provide three meals, if you need them, we can offer them. Just let me know in advance.”

Lin Qinzhou took the two keys and handed one to his friend, politely thanking the receptionist. “Alright, thank you.”

“You’re welcome!” The receptionist smiled even sweeter. “You can go upstairs to check the rooms first. I won’t go up. Have a great time!”

Author’s Note:

It’s happening! The full manuscript is ready; I really like this story, and I hope everyone else will enjoy it too.