Moonlight Left Behind chapter 9

The music festival lasted for three days, starting at 4:30 PM and going until 11 PM each day, with different bands performing. Many people would leave after watching their favorite bands, while others brought tents to camp out until the end of the night. Lin Qinzhou pushed Qin Yue to a spot a bit away from the crowd.

There was a large rock in that area. Qin Yue sat in his wheelchair, while Lin Qinzhou sat on the nearby rock. The two looked toward the stage in front of them.

From Lin Qinzhou’s angle, he could clearly see the long, thick eyelashes on Qin Yue’s face, his high nose bridge, and his long, jet-black hair.

He seemed to prefer wearing his hair down. After staying at “Fubai” for so many days, he had never seen him try another hairstyle.

But Lin Qinzhou had to admit that this hairstyle suited him very well—especially, exceptionally good-looking. The salty sea breeze blew against them, and Qin Yue’s long hair was tousled, with a small tuft lifted high, brushing against Lin Qinzhou’s nose.

Gently, it felt ticklish.

Like a butterfly flitting past in the warm summer evening breeze, it carried a faint, delicate scent.

This made Lin Qinzhou involuntarily raise his hand, wanting to catch it.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the hair, Qin Yue suddenly turned his head and raised an eyebrow at him: “Mr. Lin, do you want to eat oyster pancakes?”

Lin Qinzhou’s hand was still suspended in the air, and because of Qin Yue’s turn, it bumped right into his face.

Lin Qinzhou: “…”

—What should I do now? Can I pretend nothing happened and quickly pull my hand back in time?

—Or should I just find some excuse, like saying I wanted to swat a mosquito for him?

—Or would it be better to say a butterfly landed on his hair?

Lin Qinzhou froze for a moment, his face starting to heat up. He gently averted his gaze and saw the little cart selling oyster pancakes that Qin Yue mentioned.

“I just… actually wanted to ask you that too.” He withdrew his hand and let it fall to his side.

Qin Yue, however, remained still, looking at him: “Is that so?”

Yes, yes, yes, but could you please stop looking at me? Lin Qinzhou thought; the more you look at me, the more I want to…

What do I want?

I want to kiss him.

—He wanted to kiss Qin Yue.

He had developed feelings for this man he had only spent a few days with, and even had desires.

He wanted to kiss him, wanted to touch him.

In the past, this was something he would never have dared to imagine.

Actually, foreign countries are relatively open regarding this. If dating is too much trouble, you could just look for a one-night stand.

Everyone’s willing, and no one has any burdens; some of his classmates often went to bars to find “kindred spirits.” But Lin Qinzhou had never done that.

On one hand, it was because the medication had left him with little demand in that regard, and he rarely took matters into his own hands. On the other hand, he had a cleanliness obsession when it came to feelings and couldn’t accept a release without love.

All these years, he had never encountered someone he wanted to give his heart and body to, so he had never had any experience in that area.

But now, on this beach, amidst the explosive music of the band, he felt the most primal desire.

He actually wanted to kiss Qin Yue so much.

He wanted this person.

“Yes.” He looked at the small mole under the man’s eye, his voice hoarse as he said, “I’ll go buy some.”

His retreating figure was a bit flustered, stumbling as he walked, almost falling over. The skin behind his ears was very red, redder than the slanting sun in the sky at that moment.

Qin Yue’s gaze followed him, almost sticking to him, heavy and intense, yet Lin Qinzhou remained completely unaware.

The food cart was doing a good business. After two songs, Lin Qinzhou returned, holding two containers, and handed one to Qin Yue: “Here, this one has extra spicy sauce and soy sauce, no green onions.”

Qin Yue had already grabbed the container but suddenly looked up, his breath becoming heavy: “You—”

Lin Qinzhou had never seen him display such emotions before and couldn’t help but feel confused: “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you know my preference?” It was a very short sentence, yet he spoke with great difficulty, pausing between almost every word.

Lin Qinzhou was also stumped by the question. Yes, why did he know?

He hadn’t thought about this at all when ordering from the food cart; he just blurted out the flavor. When handing it to Qin Yue, he also didn’t realize anything was off, as if it was a habit formed after doing it a thousand times.

So natural, it didn’t require any thought.

“I…” He looked at the container he ordered without any specifics and then at Qin Yue’s, feeling as if he had grown a hundred mouths but couldn’t explain.

Finally, he resigned himself and said, “I don’t know either.”

“Sorry, I just asked casually; you don’t need to take it to heart.” Qin Yue finally realized he had overreacted, lowered his head, picked up his chopsticks, and began to eat quietly.

But how could Lin Qinzhou not take it to heart? “Did I… know you before?”

Qin Yue looked up again: “What do you mean by that, Mr. Lin?”

“Nothing. I just… can’t remember some things from the past, but I always feel like I know you.”

“No.” Qin Yue answered without hesitation. “If I had seen someone like you, I would definitely remember.”

While saying this, he kept his eyes fixed on Lin Qinzhou, honest and straightforward. He truly had never seen him before, truly did not know him.

Lin Qinzhou deflated, chewing on his food with an indescribable feeling. “Hmm, maybe I thought too much.”

After that, neither of them spoke again, each eating what they had in hand. Qin Yue always chewed slowly and carefully; by the time Lin Qinzhou finished, he had only eaten half, taking small bites very seriously.

“Lin Qinzhou, why did you hide here? It took me forever to find you! I called you for a long time; why didn’t you pick up?” When Tang Jingyu came over, Lin Qinzhou was just about to throw their meal containers into a nearby trash can.

No wonder he had the feeling of forgetting something; it turned out he had forgotten a person…

Lin Qinzhou felt a little guilty. “Sorry, you know, my brain doesn’t work very well.”

Tang Jingyu: “…” His complaints were all blocked by that one comment about Lin Qinzhou’s brain not working, but what did it mean that his brain didn’t work? How can someone who can get into a prestigious school for a PhD not have a functioning brain?

“Forget it, forget it. I just thought you were taken away by the local natives to be a groom.”

This was originally a joke, but after saying it, he remembered there was a local native nearby, and Tang Jingyu felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

“Um, Boss Qin, please don’t misunderstand, that’s not what I meant. I learned some local customs before coming to the island, and I heard that in the past, it was popular to kidnap brides, right?”

“It’s okay; there is indeed such a saying. Here….” He seemed to recall something funny and laughed to himself, “If you see someone you like on the road, you can just take them home as a wife.”

“But that was a long time ago. You can’t do that now; the law doesn’t allow it. Mr. Tang, you don’t have to worry.”

“Haha, haha,” the teasing tone was too obvious, and Tang Jingyu’s face turned red. He chuckled awkwardly, “Boss Qin, you really have a good sense of humor.”

As the sky darkened, more and more people gathered on the beach; many tourists only arrived after having dinner. The local vendors naturally would not miss such a great opportunity, with some pushing snack carts, others carrying baskets, selling snacks, flowers, and essential glow sticks for the music festival. Especially after it got dark, almost everyone had one.

Lin Qinzhou also bought a few. The glow sticks could be bent at both ends to become bracelets; he put one yellow one on his wrist and bent a purple one, walking over to put it on Qin Yue’s wrist.

“Boss Qin, it’s a music festival after all; let’s add some atmosphere.”

Qin Yue seemed a little dazed, staring at his wrist for a long time without saying a word.

Tang Jingyu laughed beside him: “What’s wrong, boss? Do you think this silly thing doesn’t match your style?”

Only then did Qin Yue raise his head: “Mr. Tang is joking; I’m just an ordinary person, what kind of style do I have?”

“No, no, no, Boss Qin, don’t be modest,” Tang Jingyu waved the glow stick in his hand exaggeratedly, “In my eyes, you’re the kind of extraordinary person, radiating an aura from your hair to your toes.”

Qin Yue couldn’t help but laugh. His brows and eyes curved, and the little mole under his eye sparkled, looking particularly attractive. Lin Qinzhou’s breathing unconsciously quickened.

The thought of wanting to kiss Qin Yue surged up again, like the sea around Coral Island rushing into his chest.

“Speaking of which, what do you two gentlemen do for a living? You really do have an air about you.”

“Ah, why are we praising each other in business? We’re just teachers at Dongcheng Music Academy; I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

Tang Jingyu proudly wrapped an arm around Lin Qinzhou’s neck, boasting, “Our Lin Qinzhou just returned from studying abroad for his PhD. He’ll be an associate professor as soon as school starts. We came to the island to seek inspiration this time.”

“Is that so? No wonder Mr. Lin plays the guitar so well and sings so beautifully.” Qin Yue’s tone was very polite, but for some reason, Lin Qinzhou always felt that he didn’t seem very happy.

Lin Qinzhou’s mother was a famous pianist both domestically and internationally. Influenced by her, he began learning various instruments from a young age. During holidays and festivals, he was often pulled out to perform in front of elders, and he always participated in school performances, so he had been praised since childhood and had long been immune to various compliments.

But now, when Qin Yue simply complimented him, he felt shy and embarrassed, unable to find the words.

“Don’t call me Mr. anymore; just use my name.” He finally said.

Tang Jingyu also agreed: “Oh, right! We’re so familiar now; no need to be so polite.”

“Is that okay?” Qin Yue unconsciously pinched his leg. Lin Qinzhou noticed and asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Is your leg hurting?”

Qin Yue looked a little helpless: “A bit. It hurts when the wind blows at night, but it’s okay; I’m used to it.”

That’s why he always had a fleece blanket covering his knees, even on summer nights. Lin Qinzhou felt a sting in his heart, a little hurt.

He pushed Tang Jingyu’s arm off his neck and asked Qin Yue, “Shall we head back?”

“Sure.” Qin Yue nodded, “But I can go back by myself. You two rarely come to the island; just enjoy yourselves, don’t let me interrupt your fun.”

After saying that, he nodded to the two and turned his wheelchair to leave.

“But…” Lin Qinzhou instinctively wanted to refute, chased after him for a few steps, then stopped. — Qin Yue was a big man; he wouldn’t be happy about being treated differently.

“What’s wrong, Lin Qinzhou? Let’s go!”

Lin Qinzhou’s shoulders drooped in defeat: “Let’s go.”