Chapter 64

When Assistant Li knocked and entered, Yu Zhezhi was on the phone.

Li only caught the last few sentences, but she knew that Yu Zhezhi’s efforts to find the “White Moonlight” were still yielding unsatisfactory results. The photos Zhou Junyao had were obtained by chance; they only knew the locations where they were taken.

But what name the person was using now, where she lived, or what she did for a living remained entirely unknown. Yu Zhezhi had immediately sent people to inquire in those locations and later expanded the search to the surrounding areas, but she had come up empty-handed.

Having waited so many years without news, she didn’t mind waiting a few more days. Simply knowing that the person was still alive and well in this world was already a surprise to her.

Assistant Li was there for work, so she waited until Yu Zhezhi hung up to discuss business. Once they finished, Yu Zhezhi proactively asked about Hua Luoyue: “How has she been lately?”

Yu Zhezhi had been busy recently and hadn’t had time to go to City X, nor had she looked into things there. Assistant Li had been keeping an eye on it, and she had indeed noticed something.

“It seems she’s broken off her friendship with that classmate,” Assistant Li said.

The fallout between Hua Luoyue and Cai Xinyue had recently become a widely circulated piece of gossip at the school. The two of them had made quite an impression at the New Year’s gala, and many people knew them; the prevailing impression was that they were very close and inseparable. For two such close friends to suddenly cut ties was indeed strange.

With the parties involved refusing to reveal a single detail, all sorts of rumors had cropped up. Assistant Li bailiantales.comrecounted a few that sounded like they might be based on facts.

“They basically don’t see each other except during class. I heard Hua Luoyue has been getting close to a student from another class lately. But they aren’t ‘glued’ together like before; there haven’t been any public fights. As for the confession matter, no one really mentions it, so they probably don’t know…”

In short, aside from seemingly switching friends, Hua Luoyue’s campus life hadn’t faced any major upheavals.

On one hand, Assistant Li was relieved, but on the other, she couldn’t help but sigh: “In some ways, Hua Luoyue is truly quite heartless.”

When the relationship was good, she was practically a permanent fixture at the other’s side. But when it’s time to turn away, she doesn’t hesitate for a second, never even looking back.

Yu Zhezhi didn’t take the sigh to heart, commenting nonchalantly: “Isn’t that good? At least she’s clear-headed.”

Assistant Li looked at her with words caught in her throat and finally sighed: “You’re right.”

Yu Zhezhi’s gaze shifted to a certain spot, and she suddenly asked: “Is Hua Luoyue’s birthday coming up soon?”

Assistant Li froze, then took out her phone to check Hua Luoyue’s file: “In half a month.”

Yu Zhezhi gave a non-committal “Oh,” appearing as if she’d only asked in passing.

Assistant Li followed her gaze and saw the gift bag that had been sitting in a corner of the office for a long time—the one Rosa had sent from abroad. Because Rosa didn’t have Hua Luoyue’s school address and wanted to surprise her, she had asked Yu Zhezhi to deliver it. Unfortunately, due to the interruption of the confession scene and Yu Zhezhi being exceptionally busy, the gift hadn’t been delivered yet.

Apparently, Rosa had been kind enough not to scold or pressure her.

Assistant Li, assuming Yu Zhezhi had simply forgotten out of busyness, suggested: “Should I just send it to City X via courier?”

Yu Zhezhi flipped through her calendar and circled a date: “I’ll bring it over the day after tomorrow.”

Assistant Li was surprised: “You’re going to City X?”

Yu Zhezhi hummed: “Isn’t everything here in City A mostly settled?”

Assistant Li wanted to say that nothing was particularly pressing in City X either; the branch office was slowly getting back on track and was arguably more stable than the main office. But then she looked at the gift again and realized: Yu Zhezhi was going specifically to see Hua Luoyue.

So why be in such a rush to find the White Moonlight while being unable to let go of Hua Luoyue? Li wondered inwardly.

She knew that even if she asked, Yu Zhezhi would give an answer about “protecting a child” or claim she couldn’t rush things for the sake of her reputation. If Yu Zhezhi wanted to divorce, she could think ​unauthorized copy​of dozens of ways to do it immediately; if Assistant Li asked or suggested anything, Yu Zhezhi could find dozens of excuses to shut her down. Li had learned this long ago.

Fortunately, Hua Luoyue hadn’t meddled in company affairs at all, so Li didn’t have to worry about the company’s future. Recalling moments when Yu Zhezhi acted like a tyrant and seeing her current hesitation, Li felt a bit of schadenfreude.

If she keeps being “soft-hearted” like this, she’s going to crash and burn eventually.

But… as long as it didn’t affect work, who cared? Regarding Hua Luoyue, Assistant Li had learned to keep her mouth shut at the appropriate times. So she swallowed her words and dutifully took on the task of booking the tickets and arranging the schedule.

If she had pressed, Yu Zhezhi would have likely said she was “curious about what gift Rosa sent.” As for exactly how curious she was, only she knew.

Hua Luoyue, of course, generously satisfied that curiosity.

Over the weekend, Yu Zhezhi brought Rosa’s gift and knocked on her door. Hua Luoyue opened it in front of her.

Rosa had sent a scarf. It was a light gray and deep blue color scheme, with a crescent moon and a full moon pattern on either end—like the moon falling into the deep sea.

Yu Zhezhi lost interest after one look. To her, this gift sent from halfway across the world was somewhat ordinary. Besides, it was already spring; a scarf this thick was hardly necessary.

Inside the box was a small note written in Chinese that only Hua Luoyue could read.

“It seems she knitted this herself,” Hua Luoyue summarized briefly for Yu Zhezhi. “There’s an invitation inside the lining; she’s inviting me to see her art exhibition this summer.”

The latter, of course, depended on Yu Zhezhi’s permission.

“Are you two still in contact?” Yu Zhezhi asked.

“We exchange emails occasionally,” Hua Luoyue replied. “But she’s been busy with the exhibition lately; her last reply was two weeks ago.”

“When is the exhibition?”

“It seems to be in August.” Hua Luoyue handed her the note and found the invitation to check the dates. “It says tentatively around August 15th.”

“That’s right before your exchange starts,” Yu Zhezhi noted. “Country G and Country Z aren’t far apart. If you want to go, just head over early.”

This was a sign of approval. Yu Zhezhi had checked the school Hua Luoyue applied to for her exchange. Although it was in a different country than Rosa, the distance was much shorter than traveling from home—a little over two hours by car according to Mr. Cheng. If any accidents happened, they could at least provide some backup. So, maintaining a good relationship with Rosa was not a bad thing.

“It’s apparently still snowing over there,” Yu Zhezhi remarked, looking at the scarf. Finally remembering the context and seeing the patterns, she felt it ​read the original at bailiantales.com​was indeed a thoughtful gift. It seemed Rosa liked Hua Luoyue a bit more than she had imagined.

It wasn’t a bad thing. Yu Zhezhi looked at Hua Luoyue and pointed to the mirror: “Try it on?”

The scarf was quite long. It looked ordinary when folded, but the color contrast was beautiful when unfolded, giving off a steady, gentle feeling. It suited Hua Luoyue quite well.

Yu Zhezhi toyed with the small note in her hand. She froze when she flipped it over; there was a line of text on the back: Happy Birthday in English.

Only then did Yu Zhezhi remember. As Hua Luoyue unwrapped the scarf, she heard Yu Zhezhi ask: “Is your birthday coming up?”

Hua Luoyue thought about it carefully before saying uncertainly: “I think so.” The original host’s birthday was apparently the same as hers, in early May.

Yu Zhezhi was puzzled: “You don’t even remember your own birthday?”

“I don’t really celebrate it,” Hua Luoyue said.

Yu Zhezhi went silent, her heart feeling another sharp pang. Last year, Hua Luoyue turned twenty—an age that should be celebrated with a banquet. Yet at that time, Mother Hua was already in a hospital bed, and the girl was worrying about her newly arrested father and the medical bills. Under those circumstances, it was impossible for Hua Luoyue to have the luxury of celebrating.

Seeing Yu Zhezhi silent, Hua Luoyue continued unwrapping the scarf. As Read on BaiLianTalesshe was taking it off, she stiffened and let out a small hiss of pain.

Yu Zhezhi looked over: “What is it?”

Hua Luoyue was tilting her head to touch her ear: “It got caught.”

A few strands of the scarf’s fine fringe had knotted and caught on her earring. Seeing that she couldn’t get it off after a while, Yu Zhezhi couldn’t just stand there and watch, so she stepped up to help.

Brushing the hair away from her ear, Yu Zhezhi saw Hua Luoyue’s slightly red and swollen earlobe and the stud. She froze for a moment: “When did you get your ears pierced?”

“About a month ago,” Hua Luoyue said.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t healing well. Sometimes she’d accidentally press on it while sleeping or snag it on something, and it would start bleeding again. She didn’t want to stain the scarf, but with Yu Zhezhi’s help, it was soon removed.

Yu Zhezhi put the scarf back in the box and turned to see Hua Luoyue letting her hair down, exactly covering her ears. No wonder she hadn’t noticed the new piercings until now.

Hua Luoyue seemed a bit uneasy. Yu Zhezhi said instinctively: “It looks good.”

It was just that the earrings looked a bit cheap; they didn’t quite match that face.

Hua Luoyue gave an embarrassed smile. She was just afraid the swollen, red look would make Yu Zhezhi uncomfortable. Since the New Year, Yu Zhezhi had become increasingly “parental,” and Hua Luoyue instinctively felt she might be lectured.

I should bring some alcohol swabs back next time I go out; the current batch is almost gone, Hua Luoyue thought distractedly. Fortunately, Yu Zhezhi didn’t dwell on it; she even helped tidy the scarf, closed the box, and reminded her to bring a gift when she went to see Rosa.

That was a given. Hua Luoyue stood up, saying she would prepare dinner.

Yu Zhezhi did a quick round of the bathroom and her own room. By the time Hua Luoyue had the rice cooking and the vegetables washed, Yu Zhezhi entered the kitchen again.

Hua Luoyue looked at her quizzically: “President Yu?”

Yu Zhezhi stopped beside her, reached out to tuck her hair back, and said: “Don’t move…”

Hua Luoyue stood obediently. Yu Zhezhi lifted the hair falling near her cheek and used two small wooden clips—originally used for wall decorations—to pin her hair up. It wasn’t ideal, but since there were no proper clips in the house, these would have to do.

“Doesn’t it bother you, having your hair fall in your face constantly?”

“It’s fine…” Hua Luoyue instinctively [unauthorized copy]took a step back to escape Yu Zhezhi’s breath and see her expression clearly.

Yu Zhezhi was frowning, looking at her one pathetic ear. She looked more uncomfortable than Hua Luoyue herself. Likely driven by this obsessive-compulsive impulse, after finding the clips, she started looking for disinfectant.

“Where is the alcohol?”

Terrified that Yu Zhezhi would try to do it herself again, Hua Luoyue quickly set down the vegetables and said: “I can do it myself.”

Finally, a phone call saved her from this awkward, subtle situation. Hua Luoyue wiped the water from her hands and found her phone under the coffee table. It was an unknown number.

It might be a marketing call, but she hesitated only for a second before answering. On the other end was Cai Xinyue’s roommate, Lin Weiwei.

Lin Weiwei cut straight to the chase: “Xinyue was in a car accident. She’s in the hospital now. Can you come and see her?”