Moonlight Left Behind chapter 30

That day was overcast, and Lin Qinzhou had less than ten days before school started. After a whole summer of crazy fun, the young master was finally reminded by Qin Yue of his forgotten summer homework, and with tears in his eyes, he began a frantic last-minute rush.

But the guesthouse was too lively. Laughter and chatter often floated up to the second floor from the small courtyard. Lin Qinzhou couldn’t sit still, and after less than half an hour of writing, he’d run downstairs for a slice of watermelon, a mango, or to see what Qin Yue was up to.

He simply refused to focus on his homework. Dou Xiaohua was so anxious she almost had a heart attack.

Even Qin Yue couldn’t stand it. When Lin Qinzhou came down for the umpteenth time to drink ice-cold soda, he asked, “Are you really going to finish at this rate?”

Lin Qinzhou handed him a bottle too, wearing a bitter expression. “No, I won’t finish…”

“Then why are you running up and down like a monkey?” The soda was passion fruit flavored, a little sour. Qin Yue took two sips and wrinkled his face.

It was the first time Lin Qinzhou had seen him make such an expression, and he burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. “So you don’t like sour things, huh?”

“Yeah.” Qin Yue’s face was still scrunched up, looking a little puzzled. “When there’s sweet stuff to eat, why would anyone want to try all these strange flavors?”

Lin Qinzhou didn’t understand his deeper meaning at the time and replied casually, “What’s the point of only eating sweet stuff? It’s more fun to try different things! Wouldn’t you get tired of only eating sweet things?”

“I wouldn’t,” Qin Yue said straightforwardly.

He had been in the courtyard dealing with the seafood for dinner, a thin layer of sweat on his neck. For fun, Lin Qinzhou suddenly pressed the cold soda can against him.

Lin Qinzhou expected him to be startled, but he didn’t anticipate such a strong reaction—Qin Yue took several steps back in shock.

“Are you okay, young man?” Worse, a middle-aged male tourist happened to walk by at that moment, and Qin Yue’s retreat caused him to bump into the man. The man, out of kindness, instinctively caught him and asked if he was alright.

But instead of thanking him, Qin Yue pushed the man hard, nearly causing him to fall. Startled, the man cried out, “Whoa!”

There were quite a few tourists in the front hall at the time, and they all looked over at the commotion. “What’s going on?” “This kid is so rude! Someone helps him, and he pushes them?” “Isn’t that the kid from the guesthouse? How can he push a guest?”

Qin Yue stood there, pale as a sheet, his pupils contracting violently as if he were severely frightened. The surrounding voices grew louder, but it was as if he couldn’t hear any of it.

This whole thing was Lin Qinzhou’s fault. If he hadn’t startled Qin Yue, this wouldn’t have happened. So he hurriedly apologized to the guest:

“Uncle, I’m so sorry! It was my fault for scaring my friend. That’s why he reacted like that. I’m really sorry…”

The guest wasn’t unreasonable and waved it off. “I’m fine, but next time, be careful. If you bump into an older person, it could be a real problem.”

“Definitely, I promise!” Lin Qinzhou assured him.

After escorting the man upstairs, Lin Qinzhou returned to find Qin Yue, who seemed to have recovered from his shock, sitting at the reception desk, staring at the table, lost in thought.

Lin Qinzhou walked over, deliberately making his footsteps loud to avoid scaring him again. “Are you… okay?”

Qin Yue looked up briefly. “I’m fine.” Then he quickly looked down again.

“I’m sorry—”

“Sorry—”

Both of them apologized at the same time, which made Lin Qinzhou laugh. “What are you apologizing for? I was the one who scared you.”

Qin Yue, looking slightly embarrassed, pursed his lips and gave a faint smile. “I just pushed a guest. I must have caused trouble for the guesthouse.”

“You didn’t! That uncle wasn’t mad at all. You can just apologize later, and we’ll give him a discount or something,” Lin Qinzhou said. “Besides, if I hadn’t scared you, you wouldn’t have pushed him. If Grandma asks, just blame it on me!”

He patted his chest in assurance, his eyes sparkling with the fearless confidence of a young master.

Qin Yue, who had been so anxious his palms were sweating, had been forcing himself to appear calm. But in that moment, a piece of the cold, hard shell around his heart suddenly cracked, as if a little hedgehog had nuzzled its red nose inside.

“Why?”

Lin Qinzhou looked confused. “Why what?”

“Why are you covering for me? Don’t you always want to kick me out? Isn’t this a perfect chance?”

Lin Qinzhou’s face turned bright red. His eyes darted around as if searching for an excuse, but he couldn’t find one. Puffing out his cheeks, he muttered, “I’m going upstairs to do my homework!” and ran off in a fluster.

Qin Yue watched as the figure he could almost describe as “fleeing in panic” left, and slowly finished drinking the bottle of passion fruit soda.

He still didn’t really like the taste of passion fruit, but after a few more sips, he could indeed taste a hint of sweetness.

Of course, in the end, this matter made its way to Dou Xiaohua’s ears. While eating lunch, she casually mentioned it, and Lin Qinzhou immediately jumped in to explain, “It’s my fault, not Qin Yue’s!”

Dou Xiaohua hadn’t intended to blame anyone anyway. Seeing the two youngsters getting along so well made her even happier, so she just gave them a few reminders to behave and let the matter drop.

“Come on, Xiao Qin, don’t just eat the vegetables. Have some ribs. You’re still growing, and you need to eat more meat to get taller.”

“Grandma, he’s already tall enough! If he gets any taller, I’ll have to look up at him when we talk.”

“Nonsense,” Dou Xiaohua laughed heartily, putting a piece of meat on her grandson’s plate as well. “Then you eat too, both of you grow tall together!”

“Thank you, Grandma.” Lin Qinzhou chewed on a rib and noticed that Qin Yue hadn’t really touched his food. “Qin Yue, hurry up and eat! Grandma’s ribs are delicious, right, Grandma?”

Dou Xiaohua was all smiles. “Yes, yes, you sweet talker…”

The dining table hadn’t been this lively in a long time. The two kids could be said to have become friends after a rough start, and now that they were opening up, their relationship was growing more harmonious. This made Dou Xiaohua feel quite content.

“In the afternoon, I’m going to visit your Grandma Ying. Xiao Qin, watch the guesthouse, and Xiao Zhou, stay in your room and finish your homework. There’s only a few days left, and your homework—”

Dou Xiaohua, facing the door, stopped mid-sentence when she saw someone walk into the courtyard. Thinking it was a guest, she quickly stood up to greet them. “Hello—”

The two kids also turned around. Lin Qinzhou gave a quick glance and, seeing it was a man in his fifties or sixties, lost interest immediately.

Just as he was about to return to his ribs, he noticed that Qin Yue’s right hand was tightly gripping his chopsticks, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the man, his face pale, and his whole body trembling.

—Qin Yue was scared. He was scared of this man.

The man hurriedly nodded at Grandma and, looking excited, walked toward Qin Yue, reaching out to grab his hand.

“Xiao Qin, I’ve finally found you. Do you know how long Grandpa has been looking for you after you left without a word…”

Qin Yue trembled even more. He had been frozen in place, but just as the man was about to touch him, he suddenly shouted, “Don’t touch me!”

He kicked the chair away, turned, and rushed into the room, locking himself inside.

“What… what’s going on…” Dou Xiaohua’s eyes were filled with worry.

“I apologize, I was too emotional just now and couldn’t control my feelings,” the man bowed to Dou Xiaohua and introduced himself. “My name is Zhou Zhengze, I’m the director of the Sunshine Orphanage, and Qin Yue is one of our children.”

“A little over a month ago, he suddenly ran away from the orphanage. The staff and I have been searching for him ever since. Yesterday, the police informed us that he might be here, so I came right away. I’m really sorry to intrude…”

Dou Xiaohua was still full of doubts. “Why would he run away like that?”

“Well…” the man covered his face with his hand and sighed, “Xiao Qin is a bit eccentric and doesn’t get along well with others. He often sneaks out, but normally we find him quickly. This time, though, he took money from my room and ran all the way from S City to here. We all thought… well…”

S City was the neighboring city to the east, about a two- to three-hour drive away.

“Now that I see he’s safe and sound, I feel relieved. I really can’t thank you enough for taking him in and caring for him during this time. If anything had happened to him, I would have been heartbroken…”

The man was polite and expressed sincere guilt and concern, but something about him made Lin Qinzhou uncomfortable. He didn’t like this person.

“If he took your money, how come he ended up homeless and wandering outside?” Lin Qinzhou asked. His voice was soft, but his gaze was stubborn as he stared at Zhou Zhengze.

“Well… maybe the money ran out. There wasn’t much, after all…” Zhou Zhengze’s face showed a clear expression of difficulty and regret.

Lin Qinzhou didn’t quite believe him, but he couldn’t think of a way to argue, so he reluctantly said, “Oh.”

Dou Xiaohua asked, “So, are you here to take him back?”

This was an obvious question. If he wasn’t here to take Qin Yue back, why would he come all this way?

“Yes, he’s one of our kids at the orphanage. As the director, I’m responsible for him until he becomes an adult.”

“But he doesn’t want to go back with you.” Lin Qinzhou interrupted again.

“This is my fault. This poor child has had a tough life, so I’ve cared for him more than the others, which unfortunately led to him being excluded by his peers. Over the years, he’s grown more resentful and has been trying to leave the orphanage… sigh…”

Dou Xiaohua, as a senior herself, understood his situation. “Don’t say that. Kids at this age can be rebellious, but with more communication, they’ll eventually understand your good intentions…”

Zhou Zhengze remained in his sorrowful, guilt-ridden state and sighed again. “I hope so…” He then turned to Dou Xiaohua and said, “Do you think I could speak with him alone?”