White Moonlight Ch.5

Chapter 5 – Astray Youth (5)

It was as if he noticed the gaze from this side, and the good-looking person glanced over slightly, the light-colored pupils reflecting the light above their head, somewhat dazzling.

As a reflex, Zhou Kaiji waved his hand almost instinctively at the other person the moment their eyes met.

“…”

Deskmate cast a complex look, surprised expression, trembling pupils; he hadn’t expected his quiet and reserved deskmate to be so proactive and cool.

Even for someone as outgoing as him, it was difficult to greet a stranger so quickly after just meeting.

The person leaning on the railing lazily waved their hand as well, a hint of a smile hidden beneath the scarf covering their face.

Deskmate who witnessed everything commented sharply, “Holy shi…”

Zhou Kaiji looked at the person above, not hearing what they said.

Chen Luosong came down, holding a paper bag, and as he stood on the escalator, he couldn’t help but yawn slightly, opening his eyes a bit.

The warmth of the mall was enough to make one drowsy.

Work ended earlier than expected today, and there was a dinner party in the evening. He had originally planned to buy a scarf for Zhou Xiaoji during this break, but he didn’t expect to encounter this.

The line for the gashapon kept growing, and in the time it took to go downstairs, two high school students had moved from the back to the middle.

Seeing someone approach, Zhou Kaiji first lowered his head to put away his phone, then raised his head and called out, “Brother Chen.”

Seeing the paper bag in the other person’s hand, he took a step forward and instinctively reached out to take it.

Chen Luosong was delighted to see his hands empty, feeling relaxed.

Deskmate had been sneakily admiring the person, thinking he looked even better upon closer look. However, upon hearing the conversation around him, he finally realized what was going on.

He couldn’t help but hit his elbow again, his face full of shocked realization as he whispered, “So you know each other!”

Although his voice was low, the emotions behind it were clear, and the volume was enough for the three of them to hear.

Chen Luosong patted the person next to him and introduced himself as Classmate Zhou’s guardian.

Deskmate quickly and self-consciously greeted, “Hello, Brother Chen.”

Chen Luosong glanced at the person beside him and asked, “No introduction?”

“We’re classmates.” Zhou Kaiji pondered for a moment, then added, “Deskmates.”

“…”

That was quite an introduction, or rather, it barely counted as one since they didn’t even exchange names.

Deskmate fell into thought, then his eyes widened in disbelief as he said, “You don’t know my name, do you!”

Silence was the best response.

Deskmate clutched his chest.

Deskmate slowly and deliberately introduced himself as Li Hua, the Li Hua who often helps with writing letters, every word enunciated clearly.

In the most solemn introduction of his name in history, he still couldn’t immediately recover, patting his chest.

Broken-hearted Li Hua quickly cheered up.

Because there were three of them now, he would get three gashapon. The number of gashapon counted just now far exceeded the number of people, so he confidently went to the end of the line with the three of them.

Chen Luosong had some time, didn’t mind waiting in line with high school students, and even struck up a conversation. He only glanced at two messages midway through.

After Li Hua went through the not-so-long queue, he finally got three gashapon.

Since it wasn’t early after getting the gashapon, coupled with the very limited spending money of high school students, today’s shopping trip came to an end.

However, as he was leaving, Li Hua spotted a building block set again. He looked through the glass window several times, appearing very eager.

Zhou Kaiji glanced at the person standing beside him.

Chen Luosong was replying to a message. Noticing the gaze, he slightly turned his head and asked, “What do you want to eat tonight?”

The curvature of his eyelids at the corners of his eyes was special. When he glanced over, there was a sense of relaxation, without much emotion, yet inexplicably calming.

Zhou Kaiji looked away and said anything was fine, letting the kitchen aunt decide.

The building block set was destined not to be acquired by the person who had just bought the gashapon. After a passionate gaze, Li Hua could only leave with regret.

There was a bus stop next to the mall, and Li Hua’s home was in another direction. He could take a few stops on the bus, and when he arrived, a bus happened to be coming. So, he boarded the bus with his three gashapon, and even after sitting down, he didn’t forget to wave goodbye through the glass.

Li Hua left, Zhou Kaiji didn’t need to take the bus, as Chen Luosong had already contacted the driver earlier.

As the sky darkened and streetlights came on, a familiar car came from the end of the road and stopped steadily by the roadside.

After weaving through the traffic in the central lane, a deep red sports car also slowly stopped at the curb.

The wind had started to blow on the street, and as the car door opened, after the high schooler got on the car, Chen Luosong held the door with one hand, glanced up at the quiet car parked opposite, then bent down and got into the car.

The car’s heater was on, and after closing the door, it felt like two different worlds inside and outside the car.

After Chen Luosong sat down, Zhou Kaiji watched as he took out a scarf from a paper bag.

It was the scarf that he had asked for his opinion on the phone today.

Chen Luosong patted Zhou Xiaoji’s shoulder, and Zhou Xiaoji instinctively lowered his head before his brain could react.

He watched as the outside lights were partially blocked, feeling the soft touch of the scarf on his neck.

Objectively speaking, Chen Luosong wasn’t very good at tying scarves like this. Even when tying a scarf for himself, it always ended up looking like a mess, and when tying it for others, it didn’t look much better.

With his head lowered, only his eyes were left exposed to the air, the rest buried in the warm scarf. Zhou Kaiji let out a breath and blinked slowly, then suddenly asked, “Brother Chen, did you only buy things for me today?”

Chen Luosong played with the scarf and casually replied, “I’m not in the habit of buying things for others.”

With the job well done, he praised, “Looks good, makes you look even more handsome.”

“…”

The driver sitting in the driver’s seat looked at the unrecognizable lump in the rearview mirror and remained silent.

Although his neck felt slightly heavy, as if being choked a little, Zhou Kaiji lifted his face out of the scarf, his mouth twitching.

This was the first time Chen Luosong had seen Zhou Xiaoji smile, so he patted his shoulder and said, “You look good when you smile.”

After patting his shoulder, the driver in front timely reported the time.

It was almost time for the dinner appointment, so Chen Luosong finally said to go back and rest well after eating. He got up and opened the car door.

Returning to the windy street from the car, he waved his hand, indicating to the driver that they could leave.

The vehicle moved forward slowly, merging into the traffic. Zhou Kaiji sat by the rear window, his neck still wrapped in a lump of scarf, watching as the silhouette of the person standing on the roadside gradually receded, finally disappearing from sight.

…

As the traffic flowed away, Chen Luosong put his hands in his pockets, watching the deep red sports car parked opposite as its turn signal lit up, merging into the lane.

The car ahead made a U-turn and approached this side.

The deep red sports car stopped where the driver had originally parked, honking loudly.

The car window rolled down, and the person in the driver’s seat looked over, raising an eyebrow and saying, “It’s really Secretary Chen.”

He was wearing a crisp suit, but his tie was slightly loose, giving him a somewhat disheveled look.

Chen Luosong lowered his eyes, meeting the other’s gaze head-on and nodding slightly. “What a coincidence.”

“Who was that just now?”

The person in the car had one hand resting on the edge of the window, seemingly examining his watch carefully before saying, “Tonight’s collaborative dinner. Secretary Chen seems to have plenty of time, even playing with high school students.”

Chen Luosong didn’t argue or answer the question, just smiled and said, “Thanks for your concern, the hotel is right behind us.”

He wore a faint smile on his face, his voice calm, not even the cold wind could stir any emotion.

Directly behind them was a tall building, brightly lit. That was the hotel where the collaborative dinner was taking place tonight, less than a hundred meters away in a straight line.

The person in the car frowned at his smile, turned his head, and rolled up the car window again.

The car’s headlights came on, and the sports car revved like a burst of energy, emitting a roar as it drove away.

Chen Luosong took out his phone, making a call as he walked towards the hotel.

…

After the dinner gathering was over, well past the hour for rest, when Chen Luosong returned to the villa, the lights were still on inside.

Zhou Kaiji sat by the sofa reading a book, and upon hearing some movement, he turned his head and immediately spotted the person standing at the doorway.

Handing the scarf and coat to the butler, Chen Luosong walked closer to the living room and asked, “Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

Zhou Kaiji explained that there was a mini-test at school the following week, and there were some topics he hadn’t learned yet, so he wanted to study a bit more.

As the butler went to put away the clothes, he smiled and said, “Waiting for Secretary Chen.”

Some people didn’t talk much but were very easy to understand. Zhou Kaiji usually studied in his room, but when Secretary Chen came back late, he would study in the living room facing the main door. When Secretary Chen returned, he would then take his books back upstairs.

Chen Luosong also smiled and didn’t say whether he believed it or not. He went back to his room to take a shower and wash off the smell of alcohol from his body.

When he came out wearing different clothes, the high schooler was still sitting on the sofa, looking the same as before.

Chen Luosong sat down on the sofa as well, glanced at the test papers and the full page of draft writings on the table, casually used a towel to dry his half-dried hair, and asked, “Don’t understand?”

Zhou Kaiji nodded.

These types of questions required more complex formulas, but since he hadn’t attended the lectures and had no notes, he was struggling.

With the towel draped over his head, Chen Luosong leaned forward slightly, getting closer, and said, “Let me take a look.”

The distance between them suddenly shortened, and Zhou Kaiji lowered his eyes, handing over the test papers along with the pen.

Chen Luosong took the pen, lowered his head to look at the questions, and the pen spun slowly in his hand.

His hands were somewhat pale, with slender fingers, appearing to be hands very suitable for holding a pen.

Zhou Kaiji glanced sideways at his own hands.

His hands were not that pale; they were quite rough, with calluses from previous work still visible, along with new calluses from regularly gripping a pen.

“…This is how you solve it.”

As the pen tip turned back to the comfortable direction, Chen Luosong held onto the pen and wrote down a series of formulas on the draft paper.

Just as Zhou Kaiji snapped out of his daze, he heard this sentence and instantly became much more alert, finally shifting his gaze to the draft paper.

Secretary Chen seemed to be more accustomed to writing in cursive normally, but now, to make it clearer for him, he instinctively adjusted his writing style slightly, although the smooth pen strokes were still evident.

The person next to him always had a calm demeanor, with a gentle voice when explaining the problem. The closeness was such that Zhou Kaiji could even feel the vibrations every time he spoke or wrote, and he could faintly smell the scent.

He recognized this scent; it was probably the laundry detergent, the same scent on his own clothes.

Sharing the same scent, sitting on the same sofa, with a relaxed and casual posture.

Zhou Kaiji blinked slowly, and his hand by his side moved involuntarily.

…It felt like being with real family.

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