Moonlight Left Behind chapter 32

In the heat of midday, with temperatures over thirty degrees, the two boys ran to the beach to collect seashells without any sun protection. In just a few minutes, they were drenched in sweat and dizzy from the heat.

“Qin Yue, we look like two fools,” Lin Qinzhou said, having caught only a small crab barely bigger than his thumbnail instead of any nice shells.

The little crab pinched at his fingers with its tiny claws, but it was so small that its attack was basically harmless. Lin Qinzhou found it amusing.

Qin Yue wiped the sweat that had dripped into his eyes and said with a smile, “Yeah, we do.”

The blood on his hand was washed away by the seawater. The skin around the wound turned pale from being soaked for so long.

Lin Qinzhou was terrified when he saw what Qin Yue was doing, but Qin Yue himself didn’t seem to feel any pain. He didn’t even frown.

“Let’s stop collecting shells and go get some shaved ice.” Lin Qinzhou’s face was even redder now, especially around his nose.

That area had just peeled recently, and the skin was more delicate than the rest. If it got any more sun, it wouldn’t heal for a while. Qin Yue didn’t want him to suffer because of him.

Lin Qinzhou was already dying from the heat and had been waiting for this suggestion. As soon as he heard it, he tossed the crab aside and cheered, “Yes, let’s go! Ice is on me!”

Since it was midday, the shaved ice shop wasn’t very crowded. They picked a spot in the back corner, each ordering a bowl of ice. Qin Yue got mango flavor, while Lin Qinzhou chose strawberry.

Leaning over the table with a spoon in his mouth, Lin Qinzhou looked up and asked Qin Yue, “Why didn’t you get watermelon flavor?”

Qin Yue scooped up a piece of mango and asked back, “Why didn’t you get it?”

“I don’t know,” Lin Qinzhou said. Qin Yue raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Well, I don’t know either.”

“You’re sick,” Lin Qinzhou said. Qin Yue nodded, “Yeah, I’m sick.”

Then, out of nowhere, they both started laughing uncontrollably again, just like on Lin Qinzhou’s birthday, laughing until their faces ached.

Their laughter attracted the attention of several other customers in the shop, who looked at them as if they were crazy.

After they finally stopped, Qin Yue called his name again, “Lin Qinzhou.” Lin Qinzhou smiled, “Hmm?”

“I really am sick,” Qin Yue said. Lin Qinzhou didn’t believe him, “Yeah, yeah, you’re sick—mentally ill.”

Qin Yue chuckled a few times, gazing into Lin Qinzhou’s clear eyes. “Young master, let me tell you a story. It’s a dirty story, but… I want to tell someone.”

Lin Qinzhou had heard “interesting stories,” “boring stories,” “scary stories,” and “absurd stories,” but he had never heard of a “dirty story.” He thought Qin Yue’s description was strange, and his expression even stranger.

Just like when Lin Qinzhou felt that the invisible barrier around him disappeared while collecting seashells, it now seemed to have reappeared, but this time it was thicker and stronger, isolating Qin Yue inside. Lin Qinzhou felt… out of reach.

He shared a strawberry with Qin Yue, saying, “Then go ahead, tell me.”

Everyone says that eating something sweet can lift your spirits when you’re feeling down, and Lin Qinzhou hoped that this very sweet strawberry would make Qin Yue smile.

But Qin Yue didn’t touch the strawberry. He even put down the spoon he was holding, sitting there a bit awkwardly, his long hair cascading down, obscuring half of his face.

—He was trembling again.

—He seemed very scared.

—But why?

—What was he afraid of?

Lin Qinzhou reached out and took hold of the hand that was hanging down on Qin Yue’s thigh, gently shaking it. “Actually, if you don’t want to talk, then don’t.”

Qin Yue’s fingers visibly twitched, as if he wanted to push Lin Qinzhou away, but at the last moment he realized who was holding him and didn’t move.

He took a deep breath, lifting his gaze to meet Lin Qinzhou’s. “I want to talk.”

It was clear his voice was trembling, which made Lin Qinzhou feel even stranger. He placed his other hand over Qin Yue’s cool, slightly trembling palm, holding it tightly. “Qin Yue, don’t be afraid.”

Qin Yue didn’t move for a long time, just looking at him. Their position was so unusual that even passing waitstaff couldn’t help but glance over. Suddenly, Qin Yue smiled, exhaling a breath from his chest, and said, “Young master, haven’t you always wanted to know where I came from?”

Lin Qinzhou opened his mouth. Ever since Qin Yue arrived at Fubai, Lin Qinzhou had tried to indirectly inquire about his background. Qin Yue had always been evasive, but just now he learned from that man that Qin Yue was a child from the orphanage.

“I came from the orphanage. I escaped from there.” Qin Yue finally admitted, “Ten years ago, when I was six, my dad abandoned me at the door of an orphanage in S City…”

Because his gambling addict father had amassed a huge debt, loan sharks were constantly coming to collect. His father couldn’t repay even a single cent, and they threatened to break his hands and feet or to take him as payment.

Although his father was a scumbag, he couldn’t bring himself to do something as insane as trading his son for money. So, before he ran away himself, he left Qin Yue at the orphanage.

That day, his father told him, “Son, I’m sorry, but it’s better for you to be here than with me. Here, you won’t have to worry about food or clothes, and you can go to school.”

Even though Qin Yue was young, he was more perceptive than his peers; he knew that his father didn’t really want him anymore.

Before his stepmother ran away with his younger brother, he was just an outcast at home, someone everyone could take their anger out on—even his little brother, who had just learned to walk, would ride on his back and pee on him.

He really did ride him and really did pee.

So, Qin Yue didn’t express any opposition to his father’s arrangement. —There wasn’t much difference between home and the orphanage. At least in the orphanage, he wouldn’t get beaten up, and he might even make some friends.

After his father left, Qin Yue waited at the entrance of Sunshine Orphanage until dark, when a middle-aged man in his fifties came out, took his hand, and led him inside.

After learning about his situation, the man squeezed his hand and told him, “Don’t be afraid, child. From now on, everyone here will be your family. You have many brothers and sisters.”

It was then that Qin Yue realized this man was the director of the orphanage, Zhou Zhengze.

Qin Yue was good-looking, and all the older and younger children in the orphanage liked to play with him. There were even two dorms that got into a fight over him, and both were punished by standing for an hour.

But in the end, Qin Yue didn’t stay in either dorm; instead, the director arranged for him to go to another room.

It was a six-person dorm, but only two children lived there, both younger than Qin Yue. One was a five-year-old blind child, and the other was a tiny four-year-old who had been abandoned by his parents due to a congenital heart defect.

In the orphanage, all the children had some physical or personality flaws; Qin Yue was the only “normal” one.

The old director loved the children. Each week, the best-performing kids would be taken to his room and rewarded with snacks.

The director’s room was far from the children’s dorms, independent and small, but fairly well-equipped. It had a little refrigerator stocked with various snacks and drinks that Qin Yue had only seen in store displays.

His family was perpetually in debt due to gambling, and it was already a blessing that he wasn’t starving. The idea of having snacks and toys was utterly fanciful, so when he first saw all those treats, he was shocked, like a beggar looking at a room full of treasures, completely unable to believe his eyes.

He nervously pressed his lips together.

But the director lovingly patted his head and said, “Child, take whatever you want. Everything here is for you.”

Qin Yue picked up a box of vanilla ice cream. The ice cream was sweet and fragrant, and he ate it with great satisfaction while the director watched with gentle smiles in his eyes.

Qin Yue thought the old director resembled his grandfather. His grandfather had passed away a year ago, driven to death by his gambling father. His grandfather had treated Qin Yue very well, and while he was alive, he protected Qin Yue. Once he was gone, Qin Yue was thrown out of the house.

But this place was truly nice, like heaven. Little Qin Yue thought naively. Compared to his family, he liked it here much more. His father finally didn’t lie to him about everything.

He gradually became good friends with the little blind boy and the tiny one, sometimes bringing back snacks he had earned as rewards to share with them.

Among the children, there were also hierarchies and groups. The blind boy and the tiny one were at the bottom due to their physical conditions and often faced exclusion from the others, making their lives in the orphanage quite difficult.

But things changed with Qin Yue. He fiercely protected the little blind boy and the tiny one. Anyone who bullied them, he would fight back against, regardless of whether the bully was a cripple or mute.

He was skilled at fighting, and no one could beat him. Over time, the old director stood by his side, and slowly, the other children began to distance themselves from the three of them in that dorm. Where they once wanted to be friends with Qin Yue, they now loathed him.

Qin Yue didn’t care, continuing to protect the little blind boy and the tiny one.

However, while he could shield the tiny one from the other kids, he couldn’t protect him from what fate had in store.

Just a few months ago, the tiny one couldn’t survive the sudden heart failure and died—right in front of Qin Yue.