Moonlight Left Behind chapter 37

After Dou Xiaohua left, Qin Yue obediently prepared to take a shower and go to bed, but Lin Qinzhou stayed in his room, watching him like a hawk. When Qin Yue drank water, he followed; when Qin Yue grabbed a change of clothes, he followed; when Qin Yue entered the bathroom, he still followed.

Qin Yue was left speechless. Leaning against the glass sliding door of the bathroom with half his body sticking out, he used one hand to gently push Lin Qinzhuo’s chest, with an amused look, asking, “Young master, I’m going to take a shower now. Do you want to join me?”

Of course not. Although they were both boys, Lin Qinzhou didn’t have the habit of showering with others, and he was shy.

So, despite his reluctance, he stepped back out of the bathroom.

Before long, the sound of rushing water echoed from inside, but Lin Qinzhou still felt uneasy.

He was a bit afraid, as if Qin Yue might suddenly disappear while showering. After sitting on the edge of the bed anxiously for a while, Lin Qinzhou decided to walk back into the bathroom, sitting cross-legged at the door, peering through the frosted glass at the blurry silhouette inside.

Now, every move the person made inside was visible to him, and Lin Qinzhou finally felt satisfied.

Meanwhile, Qin Yue, lost in thought, didn’t notice the person who had secretly slipped in. When he finished his shower and stepped out, he was startled to see Lin Qinzhou’s smudged face staring up at him. “When did you come in…”

Lin Qinzhou was still sitting on the floor, looking up at the young man in front of him, too embarrassed to admit he had been watching him shower the whole time. He awkwardly replied, “Just now…”

Fortunately, Qin Yue didn’t press further, just nodded toward him. “Do you want to go in and wash up, or go back to your room?”

“I’m not going back.” Lin Qinzhou’s legs felt a bit numb from sitting, and he bared his teeth, struggling to stand up. Qin Yue saw this and pulled him gently, looking at him with a bit of helplessness. “You don’t need to worry. I’m not going to run away.”

But Lin Qinzhao clearly didn’t believe him. “I’m not leaving. I want to sleep here tonight.”

Now, Qin Yue really laughed. “Okay, then sleep. But aren’t you going to wash up? I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but you’ve got some snot on your face.”

Lin Qinzhou, who had originally looked a bit stubborn and fierce, trembled at the words, seemingly unable to believe and accept it. His face turned bright red, and he hastily rubbed his hands across his face. “Y-you… Why didn’t you tell me before!”

Qin Yue couldn’t stop laughing. “Sorry, I just didn’t want you to feel awkward.”

But now it was even more awkward!

Lin Qinzhou was almost about to explode with anger. All afternoon, he had been overwhelmed by feelings of anger, fear, and frustration. Even though his grandmother had agreed to let Qin Yue stay, his heart was still heavy. But the moment Qin Yue said, “There’s snot on your face,” all those emotions scattered.

At this point, he felt only awkwardness—so much that he wished he could disappear on the spot or make Qin Yue vanish instead.

“Get me some clothes, I’m going to take a shower. And you, stay by the door! Don’t go anywhere!” He barked orders at Qin Yue, thinking he sounded fierce.

Qin Yue was still laughing. “Alright, Young Master, whatever you say…”

“You—Qin Yue, you damn dog—I’m never dealing with you again!” Lin Qinzhou slammed the bathroom’s glass door shut, but with such force that it bounced back a little.

Qin Yue helped him close the door properly. “I’ll go get your clothes. Be right back. Do you want the pajamas from last night?”

Lin Qinzhou replied sullenly, “Yeah.”

“Alright.” Qin Yue’s smile faded as he left the bathroom, and his expression darkened with an unresolved gloom.

….

After the emotional rollercoaster of the day, Lin Qinzhou started feeling exhausted once he relaxed after the shower. But he didn’t dare to sleep. He fought against his fatigue, staring at Qin Yue with tired eyes.

They had shacha noodles for dinner. Lin Qinzhou refused to go out of the room and eat at the same table with that hypocrite Zhou Zhengze, so he also wouldn’t let Qin Yue go out. Dou Xiaohua had no choice but to bring dinner for the two troublemakers into the room.

Now, the two bowls of noodles sat on the desk, both completely finished. Qin Yue lay on his side, his gaze falling on the bowls.

He could feel the stare from behind. At first, he pretended not to notice, thinking that the Young Master would eventually get tired and fall asleep. But an hour passed, and although Qin Yue himself was tired, the Young Master still hadn’t fallen asleep, watching him like he was testing his patience.

Qin Yue couldn’t take it anymore. He turned to face Lin Qinzhou. “Go to sleep. I really won’t leave, I promise.”

Lin Qinzhou yawned. “I’m not sleepy.”

Qin Yue: “…” You’re just lying with your eyes wide open.

“I swear, I won’t leave.”

Lin Qinzhou, still upset about the snot incident, retorted, “You’re already a dog.”

Making him lose face like that—he had to be a dog.

Qin Yue chuckled and sighed after a moment. “But I’m tired. Can we turn off the lights and sleep?”

“Then you sleep,” Lin Qinzhou said, “I’m not tired.”

Qin Yue really turned off the lights. In the dark, all their senses seemed amplified. With his eyes closed, Qin Yue could hear the faint rustling next to him and the soft yawns, one after another.

The Young Master was truly tired.

How could he not be, after crying all afternoon without much of a break? Qin Yue couldn’t help but wonder how one person’s body could hold so many tears—he cried even more than a little kid.

As Qin Yue’s thoughts wandered, the breathing next to him gradually became shallow, as if the Young Master had finally succumbed to sleep. But less than two minutes later, he suddenly woke up, whispering Qin Yue’s name: “Qin Yue—”

Qin Yue wanted to open his eyes and look at him but resisted, deliberately adjusting his breathing to make it seem like he was already asleep.

“Qin Yue?” “Qin Yue?” “Qin Yue, are you asleep?”

Lin Qinzhou quietly called out his name, his fingers carefully probing near Qin Yue’s nose. Qin Yue felt frustrated, thinking, You’re checking if I’m dead, not if I’m asleep.

After calling his name five or six times, Lin Qinzhou finally seemed convinced that Qin Yue was asleep. He let out a long sigh of relief and moved closer, whispering softly right next to Qin Yue’s ear, “Goodnight, Ge.”

This wasn’t the first time Lin Qinzhou had called him that. Before, at the shaved ice shop, the Young Master had cried and called him “Ge,” saying, “Ge, Qin Ge…”

It had been filled with helplessness and fear.

A pitiful plea, desperate to keep him from leaving, mixed with wet tears.

But this time, when Lin Qinzhou called him “Ge,” it carried the faint scent of freshly used shower gel. It was sweet, soft.

Qin Yue’s heart, tightly wrapped in armor, trembled at this “Ge.” The little hedgehog finally used its soft spines to completely break through his defenses, melting even the hardest iron into a fiery, molten state.

In this dark, cramped room, Qin Yue seemed to see a glimmer of light—so bright, so soft—that he wanted to hold onto it and never let go.

But he knew he should leave.

Even if Grandma Dou really had a way to keep him here.

He would only bring trouble to the guesthouse. Zhou Zhengze wouldn’t let him go so easily.

On one side was a stable, comfortable life, and on the other was the torment of the devil and an uncertain future. Qin Yue felt like he was being torn in two—one part urging him to stay, and the other telling him to be grateful and leave quickly…

But just then, Lin Qinzhou suddenly clung to him, like he had on previous nights when they shared a bed, entangling Qin Yue’s legs and wrapping his arms around his neck, pressing him down so he couldn’t move at all.

Qin Yue: “…”

“Ge.” Lin Qinzhou’s breath brushed against his ear as the Young Master murmured restlessly in his sleep, “Don’t leave. I’ll protect you in the future…”

Qin Yue looked at his severely swollen eyelids and let go of the last bit of doubt in his heart.

“Alright, I won’t leave.”

—As long as you don’t kick me out, I’ll never leave.