Moonlight Left Behind chapter 24

Lin Qinzhou had an even worse impression of this person, feeling like the boy was cursed and always brought trouble. First, he stole his food, and now he had scared him half to death.

Judging from his grandmother’s tone, she wanted to let the boy in to take shelter from the rain. But how could that be allowed?

Lin Qinzhou’s territorial instincts flared up, and he dashed downstairs in his slippers.

He had to stop his grandmother—there was no way that dirty beggar could be let inside!

Otherwise, what if he stole his snacks next?

But it was too late. By the time Lin Qinzhou got downstairs, his grandmother had already invited the boy inside and was handing him a towel to dry his dripping hair.

The boy stood right at the doorway, except for the hand wiping the towel, the rest of his body didn’t move at all. It was as if he knew his situation and didn’t dare come in any further.

But Lin Qinzhou was still angry. He pointed at the boy and furiously asked Dou Xiaohua, “Grandma, why did you let him in? He’s so dirty! He even stole my stuff!”

The boy’s body visibly stiffened, even stopping the motion of wiping his hair. He looked cautiously at Dou Xiaohua, as if he knew that she was the one who could decide whether he could stay or leave.

So cunning! Lin Qinzhou was furious, rushing over to grab Dou Xiaohua’s arm. “Grandma, I don’t like him. You need to kick him out!”

To his surprise, his usually doting grandma didn’t take his side that day. Instead, she seriously scolded him, “Qinzhou, you’re being unreasonable today. Stop causing trouble.”

Then she turned to the boy, speaking kindly, “Child, come with me. Let’s get you cleaned up and into some fresh clothes, so you don’t catch a cold.”

The two of them went upstairs one after the other, with Lin Qinzhou pouting and following behind them. He realized they were going into his room and immediately became angry again. “Grandma, why are you letting him into my room? Now my floor is dirty!”

Dou Xiaohua ignored him, leading the boy in the bathroom, showing him how to adjust the hot and cold water, and then closing the bathroom door.

Lin Qinzhou stood at the bathroom door, puffing his cheeks like a pufferfish, eyes wide in anger. Wherever Dou Xiaohua went, he followed, grumbling in protest.

“Grandma, why are you taking my clothes? You can’t give my clothes to him! I don’t agree!”

Finally, Dou Xiaohua addressed him, “Qinzhou, he’s just a boy like you. If one day you were out there, hurt and homeless, I would hope someone would help you too. Can you understand that?”

Her expression was so serious that Lin Qinzhou, though aggrieved, thought to himself, I’d never end up like him. But he stopped protesting and grumpily kicked the wardrobe, saying, “Not this one, I like this one. Give him the green one.”

When the boy came out of the bathroom, Lin Qinzhou was sitting by the bed playing a video game. Hearing movement, he looked up and was immediately stunned. Is this really the dirty beggar who stole my oden? How did a bath turn him into this?

At that time, Lin Qinzhou was still quite innocent and didn’t have many compliments in his vocabulary. His only thought was that this boy looked beautiful, even prettier than the prettiest girl in their class!

Not just the class beauty—Lin Qinzhou had never seen anyone more attractive than this  boy, as beautiful as a movie star.

So, he stupidly asked, “A-are you a girl?”

The boy seemed to take offense at Lin Qinzhou’s question, a clear look of disgust appearing on his face. He pursed his lips and said, “No, I’m not.”

“Then why do you have long hair? Only girls have hair like that. I’ve never seen a boy with long hair. You’re weird.”

The boy’s face grew even darker, and he ignored Lin Qinzhou, walking straight out of the room. Lin Qinzhou was so furious he could explode. He stomped on his mattress like it was the boy’s face, muttering, “So what if you’re good-looking! So what if you’re cool! So what if you have long hair…”

Because of that annoying boy, Lin Qinzhou stayed in his room and didn’t come out. Outside, the wind and rain were even fiercer than before, and from time to time, voices drifted up from the hall downstairs. There was his grandma’s voice, along with the guests, talking and laughing, sounding lively.

Could that annoying boy be down there too?

What if grandma gave his snacks to that annoying boy?

The more Lin Qinzhou thought about it, the more upset he became. Why should the annoying boy take over his grandma, wear his clothes, and now eat his snacks while he had to stay hidden in his room? This was his house!

Thinking this, Lin Qinzhou couldn’t sit still anymore. He tossed aside his game console and rushed downstairs.

The annoying boy’s hair was now dry, long and straight, draped over his back. When he lifted his eyes to look at Lin Qinzhou, his dark pupils were like two beautiful black gemstones.

But no matter how beautiful he was, it didn’t change the fact that he was an annoying person. Lin Qinzhou pursed his lips and walked over to cling to Dou Xiaohua. “Grandma, I want watermelon shaved ice.”

Dou Xiaohua, who doted on him, knew he was feeling upset, so she agreed immediately. “Alright, alright, I’ll make it for you.”

“Okay!” Lin Qinzhou deliberately snuggled up to Dou Xiaohua, but his eyes were fixed on the annoying boy, flashing a challenging look.

However, the boy didn’t react at all. After giving Lin Qinzhou a glance, he lowered his head and continued eating a bowl of noodles. Lin Qinzhou noticed that all the boy’s injuries had been treated, with bandages almost covering him like a mummy.

Lin Qinzhou, who had always been pampered, had never been beaten, and even when he scraped his skin while playing, he would cling to his grandparents and whine for ages. He couldn’t even imagine what it was like to have as many injuries as the annoying boy.

Feeling a bit intimidated, Lin Qinzhou shrank back, sat in a chair, and quietly picked at his fingernails.

His grandma was taking longer than usual to make the shaved ice, and Lin Qinzhou got bored of waiting. His eyes wandered around the room—sometimes looking at the pouring rain outside, sometimes at the guests in the hall—but mostly, his gaze kept returning to the annoying boy sitting across from him.

How could someone be so good-looking and yet so annoying?

Lin Qinzhou couldn’t figure it out, no matter how hard he thought. Was this what they meant by not judging a book by its cover?

The annoying boy was eating too fast, practically burying his head in the noodle bowl, swallowing the noodles without even chewing. Several times, Lin Qinzhou saw him nearly choke but held back from coughing.

Finally, unable to resist, Lin Qinzhou spoke in a mocking tone. “It’s not like anyone’s going to steal your food. Why are you eating so fast?”

“Sorry.” To Lin Qinzhou’s surprise, the boy suddenly responded. Lin Qinzhou couldn’t believe his ears. “What…did you say?”

A bowl of plain noodles was eaten without even a drop of broth left. The annoying boy wiped his mouth and said once again to Lin Qinzhou, “I’m sorry.”

That day, he was just too hungry. If he didn’t eat something soon, he would have starved to death, but stealing from others was still wrong.

“Oh.” Lin Qinzhou hadn’t expected an apology at all. The biting sarcasm he had prepared was suddenly useless, leaving him speechless.

But he didn’t see himself as someone unreasonable. Since the other person had already apologized, he couldn’t hold on to it, or else he’d seem petty.

“Fine, seeing as you look so pitiful, I’ll forgive you.”

Just then, Dou Xiaohua came out, noticing the two kids talking, and smiled warmly, asking, “What are you two talking about?”

Lin Qinzhou turned his face away, his stubbornness flaring up again. “Nothing.”

Dou Xiaohua knew her grandson’s personality well and didn’t argue with him. Instead, she put two bowls of shaved ice on the table and said, “Alright, nothing is nothing. Come eat quickly. I cut up half a watermelon for this—it’s really sweet.”

Lin Qinzhou eagerly grabbed a bowl and took a few bites before realizing something was off. “Grandma, you don’t eat cold things, so why did you make two bowls?”

Dou Xiaohua had a weak stomach and couldn’t eat anything too cold.

“This one’s for him,” Dou Xiaohua smiled, then pushed the other bowl forward. “Here, child, eat up.”

“Grandma, you—” He wanted to say, “How can you make shaved ice for this annoying kid? That’s my watermelon!” But then he remembered what his grandma had told him earlier in the room, and swallowed his words. Instead, he glared at the annoying kid and muttered unhappily, “Fine.”

“Child, what’s your name? Where are you from?”

Unlike when he was wolfing down the noodles, the boy ate the shaved ice very slowly. By the time Lin Qinzhou finished his whole bowl, the boy had only eaten about a third, and the ice was already melting. But he was clumsy and didn’t know to eat the good parts first. Instead, he used the little spoon to slowly sip the melted water.

What a weirdo, Lin Qinzhou thought.

“I’m… I’m Qin Yue,” the boy said softly, lifting his head to reveal his name, but he remained silent about where he was from. Dou Xiaohua noticed his reluctance and didn’t press him, simply asking, “Do you have nowhere to go?”

Qin Yue hesitated, then nodded.

“Then stay here with Grandma,” Dou Xiaohua said.