Moonlight Left Behind chapter 34

“When the volunteer who was driving opened the trunk, I ran out. He was startled and didn’t have time to react, and by the time he thought of chasing me, I was already gone.”

“I used the little money I had to change buses. I didn’t know where those buses would take me, nor did I care; as long as I could leave the orphanage and not be caught again, that was enough.”

“The last bus stopped near the dock. I saw many people lining up to buy tickets to board a ship. I thought that if I could make it to the island, they would never catch me again.”

“But I didn’t have an ID and couldn’t buy a ticket, so I ended up deceiving an old lady. I told her I was from the island, that I had run away from home and had my phone and wallet stolen, but I still had some money. I could give her the money if she would help me buy a ticket to get home.”

“That kind-hearted grandma helped me without asking for money upfront, but once on the boat, I secretly slipped the money into her pocket.”

Qin Yue’s story ended there. He thought sharing this long-buried secret would be difficult and painful, and he might break down halfway through.

But it wasn’t. He remained calm throughout, with only the slightest tremor in his voice. After finishing, he even ate the large strawberry Lin Qinzhou had just scooped for him.

It was very sweet.

As sweet as the past month he had spent living on Coral Island.

On the other hand, Lin Qinzhou, the young master, was crying, his face covered in tears, struggling to call his name: “Qin, Qin Yue… Qin Yue…”

“Stop crying. Why are there so many tears, young master?” Qin Yue grabbed a tissue from the table to wipe his tears. “If you keep crying, the waiter will come over to check on us. She’s looked our way a hundred times already, probably thinking I’m bullying you.”

Lin Qinzhuo’s tears could not be contained at all; the more Qin Yue tried to comfort him, the more he cried. Qin Yue was genuinely worried about him. “Young Master, what can I do for you to stop crying?”

“Did I scare you? I’m sorry.”

He knew he shouldn’t tell Lin Qinzhuo, who was so innocent and naïve, about these dark and terrifying things; it would dirty his ears and surely frighten him.

But apart from this person in front of him, Qin Yue didn’t know who else he could confide in. He felt hopeless, but he didn’t want to carry these dirty things into the unknown. Even if there was only one person in this world who could hear his secrets, he would feel much better.

So it was just bad luck for the young master to run into such a selfish person like him.

“Please stop crying, okay? I actually have two very pretty stones hidden away. When you go back, you can find them in my room, just under my pillow.”

“As for what I said earlier, just pretend you heard a scary story, and once you leave this ice cream shop, forget all about it. I’m sorry.”

“Young Master, can you sing me a song again…”

“Sing, sing what?” Lin Qinzhuo’s eyes were almost crying blind, and the boy in his vision gradually became blurry. Even though Qin Yue was sitting very close to him, he felt like the other person was getting further away, as if if he didn’t hold on tightly, this person would disappear at any moment.

So he almost exerted all his strength to hold that hand, which was only slightly bigger than his own, so tightly that both of them felt pain.

He had always been protected too well and had never imagined that such evil could happen to those close to him.

Just hearing Qin Yue speak plainly, even without much emotion, he already felt like collapsing and suffocating. He could hardly bear to think about how Qin Yue had survived in that hellish place for the past few months.

When he was abandoned by his father, when his only companions died, when he was betrayed by the director, whom he had always trusted and regarded as family, at the most painful and desperate times…

In all those dark and cruel moments, how did Qin Yue manage to hold on?

He was only 16 years old, just two years older than Lin Qinzhuo. But even ten years from now, even if Lin Qinzhuo were 23 or older, if he were to face these things, he could never be as strong as Qin Yue.

It was at this moment that Lin Qinzhuo suddenly realized why Qin Yue was so resistant to the touch of strange men, why he said he wasn’t used to sleeping with others, and why he had to snatch a bowl of oden from him…

Yeah, why did he care so much about a bowl of oden back then…

It was just… a bowl of oden.

Thinking of this, Lin Qinzhuo became even sadder, nearly choking on his tears. “… Qin Yue, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have fought you for the oden…”

“Oh my, Young Master, why are you crying even more? Let me see, did the valve on your eyes get washed away, and that’s why you can’t stop? Besides, the person who snatched the oden was me, so why are you apologizing…”

Qin Yue got up from his seat, squatted down beside Lin Qinzhuo’s feet, and raised his hand to wipe his tears. “Stop, okay? Look, the wait staff is really coming over…”

This person is really strange, Lin Qinzhuo thought. He had experienced so much malice himself; why could he smile so casually and comfort others? Shouldn’t he be the one crying?

“Young Master, listen, I was wrong, okay?”

“It’s my fault; I shouldn’t have told you these things.”

“But don’t be afraid; no one will hurt you, trust me.”

His tone and actions were too gentle. He carefully embraced the weeping young master, gently patting his back.

When he was at the orphanage, every time the blind kid and the little Doudou were bullied, he comforted them this way, and it worked very well.

But with the young master, it didn’t help at all. Lin Qinzhuo tugged at his T-shirt until it was deformed, and his tears and snot smeared all over his chest, crying even harder as Qin Yue tried to comfort him.

Mentioning those painful pasts, no matter how much he pretended to be indifferent, Qin Yue still felt fear and sadness in his heart.

However, with the young master’s surging tears, those dark and damp emotions were suddenly washed away, leaving only helplessness and regret—regret for having told Lin Qinzhuo about these things. The young master was genuinely frightened.

“Hello, can I help you over here?” The waitstaff really came over and politely inquired. Lin Qinzhuo wiped his tears and choked out, “N-No, we don’t need anything.”

The waitstaff still didn’t seem reassured and hesitated, not leaving.

Lin Qinzhuo said somewhat sternly, “I’m fine; you can go!” Only then did the waitstaff leave.

With this distraction, Lin Qinzhuo’s tears finally began to subside, but his hands were still holding Qin Yue’s, looking at him with red eyes. “Are you going to leave?”

Unexpectedly, the young master was so clever that Qin Yue didn’t know how to respond for a moment. After a moment of silence, he finally admitted, “Yes, I can’t go back with him.”

“Then we can find the police.” Lin Qinzhuo was on the verge of crying again. Qin Yue bumped his forehead against Lin Qinzhuo’s, saying, “It won’t help; I have no evidence, and the police won’t believe me.”

He had sought help before, but no one had believed him.

Qin Yue’s first plea for help was with a volunteer who had come to the orphanage to help. That day, Zhou Zhengze locked him in a room, and he broke a window with a chair and sneaked out to find a lone volunteer.

That volunteer sister was particularly beautiful, and her smile was very gentle, so Qin Yue asked her for help, even exposing his shameful scars to her. He begged her to call the police.

But that sister took him to find the leader, who was happily chatting with the devil Zhou Zhengze.

Upon hearing the accusations against him, Zhou Zhengze acted heartbroken and guilty. He repeatedly apologized to the volunteers, claiming that he had failed to handle his relationship with the children properly, which had led the children to lie to them.

To this end, he called over several other children from the orphanage, having them testify to the volunteers that Qin Yue had a “strange personality,” was “not sociable,” and even had more serious psychological issues.

These kids had never gotten along with Qin Yue; they had been at odds since childhood. Given the opportunity to slander Qin Yue, how could they not take full advantage of it?

Qin Yue could do nothing but stand to the side, allowing them to push him into a deep abyss and watch him fall to pieces.

Even Aunt Weng, the caretaker who usually liked him, said he didn’t understand and criticized him for not being able to empathize with the director’s difficulties. No one chose to believe a rebellious teenager over Zhou Zhengze.

Zhou Zhengze was a “great benefactor” and “living Bodhisattva” who dedicated his life to charity, while Qin Yue was a “liar” and “king of fighting.”

In the eyes of the crowd, the lines of right and wrong were “clear-cut” and “distinct,” requiring no careful discernment.

No one could save him.

Qin Yue no longer held any hope.

Zhou Zhengze, this demon, understood this very well, which was why he dared to act so recklessly. He wasn’t afraid of Qin Yue seeking help from anyone because everyone would believe him, not Qin Yue.

He watched Qin Yue run away, watched him seek help in vain, like a cat toying with a mouse destined to be eaten, finding it amusing and mocking him for being a moth drawn to a flame, for not knowing his own limitations.

..

“Grandma… then let Grandma adopt you. You can be my brother, and then you won’t have to go back with him!” Lin Qinzou desperately and anxiously grabbed Qin Yue’s hand, which he had just freed.

The two boys, who had once been at odds with each other, now pressed close together, sharing a terrifying secret that no one would believe.

Tears, sweat, blood, scars… They seemed like two young beasts trapped on a deserted island, surrounded by despair.

Qin Yue looked at the boy in front of him, suddenly feeling soft inside. He thought of the little blind boy and the little one; on many nights, they too had clung tightly together, licking each other’s wounds.

But he also knew clearly that Lin Qinzou was different from them. Lin Qinzou was a precious young master, cherished and loved by others, and should always remain clean and pure. He had already harmed the other out of selfishness and absolutely could not drag him into this muddy water any further.

Qin Yue had never dared to imagine that there could be someone other than the little blind boy and the little one who cared for him and cried for him. Just having the precious tears of the young master was already enough for him.

No matter the outcome, he thought he would never forget Coral Island, never forget Grandma Dou, and he would never forget the young master.

That was truly enough.

“…Come back with me; Grandma will have a way…” Lin Qinzou was already in the midst of a new round of crying. Qin Yue reached out to catch his tears, quickly filling his palm.

He held those tears and leaned his forehead against Lin Qinzou’s again. “Why do you trust people so easily, young master? Aren’t you afraid I’m lying to you? What if what he said is true?”

“It’s not true.” Lin Qinzou cried even harder, but his expression was incredibly stubborn, unwilling to admit it. “I’m not that stupid.”

“And even if you’re lying to me, it doesn’t matter. As long as you don’t leave, don’t go. I’ll never fight you for food again…”

“Let’s go find Grandma now; she’ll definitely have a way. Or… or we can call my mom. She’s a great pianist; everyone knows her, and she’s amazing. She will definitely help us, okay? Qin Yue…”

His palm could no longer hold Lin Qinzou’s tears; the young master was crying incoherently, and Qin Yue gently squeezed the back of the young master’s neck with that hand, wanting to smile.

“Young master, with such a soft heart and being so easy to deceive, you’ll easily be bullied outside.”

Lin Qinzou: “Then you stay here. If you stay, no one will bully me. You protect me, please, Ge…”