"Like the Moon in the Sky" - Chapter 16

Zhu Jinyue’s face darkened as she stepped forward to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Young masters like Fu Zhiwang, raised in the lap of luxury, were hard to imitate—even with similar builds and heights, that aura of effortless ease was unique. The tall man in the courtyard held a cigarette between his fingers, listening calmly as the girl across from him spoke, the crimson glow at his fingertips flickering intermittently.

It was a side of him she had never seen before.

Well, well.

So much for claiming he had to entertain some elders on behalf of his grandfather.

Now he had time to chat under the moonlight with another girl.

If Zhu Jinyue were a balloon, she would have burst by now.

Footsteps sounded beside her, followed by a refreshing scent wafting into her nostrils.

—It must be Shen Qinghuai approaching.

Zhu Jinyue turned her head, about to ask if he knew the girl downstairs, but this glance revealed the man beside her with a face as dark as storm clouds, his entire aura oppressive. The usually gentle lines of his profile, often softened by a smile, were now taut with a sharp intensity.

She couldn’t help but pause in surprise.

In Zhu Jinyue’s understanding, Shen Qinghuai’s emotions were always terrifyingly stable.

Perhaps it was because he had experienced family misfortune too early—losing his father, supporting a broken household on his own, caring for his ill mother, all while managing his studies. A teenager with still-frail shoulders had borne three burdens that would crush many adults.

In the face of life, death, and serious illness, many trivial matters seemed insignificant, hardly stirring any emotional reaction in him.

Back when a classmate had slandered him, Zhu Jinyue hadn’t seen a hint of anger from him—he remained rational and composed from start to finish. Even the slight frown he had offered upon entering earlier was a rare display of emotion for him.

This was the first time Zhu Jinyue had seen him angry.

But—

It was her boyfriend who had stood her up to romance another girl under the moonlight.

Her anger was justified. Why was Shen Qinghuai angry? And why did he seem even angrier than she was?

Could it be that the girl with Fu Zhiwang was his ex-girlfriend, someone he liked, or even his current girlfriend?

After all, he had never explicitly told her he was single.

Zhu Jinyue turned back to get a better look at the girl across from Fu Zhiwang.

That was a mistake.

Just as she turned, she saw the girl rise on her tiptoes and kiss Fu Zhiwang.

Before Zhu Jinyue’s rising anger could peak, she suddenly heard the man beside her speak—

“Do you want to get back at him?”

His voice still sounded almost gentle.

Zhu Jinyue’s anger meter halted for a moment. She tilted her head and saw that Shen Qinghuai’s expression seemed even colder than before.

“Get back at him how?”

Shen Qinghuai gestured toward the courtyard below with his chin. “Given your personality, if you don’t vent this anger, you probably won’t sleep tonight.”

He paused, turning to look at her. His face was still cold, but his tone remained gentle. “Do you need my help?”

What was going on?

Zhu Jinyue was still trying to make sense of it. She pointed at the girl downstairs. “Is she your girlfriend? Or someone you like?”

Shen Qinghuai was taken aback for a rare moment.

Then he tilted his head and chuckled. When he turned back, his expression seemed less cold. He lowered his gaze slightly, and the obvious anger from moments ago seemed to vanish almost instantly.

“What are you thinking?” He paused. “That’s Fu Zhiwang’s ex-girlfriend.”

Zhu Jinyue let out a soft “Ah.”

So, this was Fu Zhiwang’s ex-girlfriend.

But that still didn’t make sense.

If she was Fu Zhiwang’s ex-girlfriend, why was Shen Qinghuai angry?

He hadn’t been in contact with her for ten years, while Fu Zhiwang was his long-time close friend. The difference in importance was clear as day, wasn’t it?

At a time like this, shouldn’t he be secretly tipping off Fu Zhiwang while also taking his side, telling her there might be some misunderstanding and not to overthink it?

Zhu Jinyue couldn’t make sense of it, “Aren’t you friends with him?”

The man across from her had concealed all his emotions in that moment of lowered gaze, returning to his usual gentle and inscrutable demeanor.

“Frenemies, you could say.”

Zhu Jinyue recalled Fu Zhiwang mentioning they “started as rivals before becoming friends.” She also remembered that when she looked up his information online, it mentioned that Weizhi had been investing in new ventures over the past two years, including artificial intelligence.

Fu Zhiwang’s own company was also in AI.

“Did he steal a project from you?”

Shen Qinghuai looked at her steadily for a few seconds. “You could say that.”

Zhu Jinyue blinked.

So, could it be that Fu Zhiwang wasn’t just here for a romantic moonlit chat with another girl but also to entertain those elders—elders related to the project they were competing for?

Whatever.

She couldn’t even be bothered with her own family’s business, let alone someone else’s.

“Then how do you plan to help me?”

Shen Qinghuai continued to watch her, his tone gentle and amused, as if both serious and joking, “However you want me to. Use me, treat me as a tool—do whatever you like.”

Zhu Jinyue, “…”

What could she possibly use him for?

If Fu Zhiwang was cheating, should she use him to stage her own cheating scene?

Zhu Jinyue stifled her anger, “Forget it. He’s willing to stoop so low, but I’m not.”

Shen Qinghuai lowered his gaze, still unreadable. “Alright, then how do you want to handle this?”

Zhu Jinyue turned back to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The two downstairs had already separated, but the image from earlier was still burned into her mind.

Although her anger meter had been interrupted, it was still the difference between being angry and being furious—

Over the past two months, Zhu Jinyue had genuinely tried to build a relationship with Fu Zhiwang. She never expected her sincerity to lead to this.

“What else can I do? Break up, of course.”

With that, she picked up her phone, opened the camera, adjusted the focus, took a relatively clear photo, and sent it to Fu Zhiwang via WeChat.

Then she added three words: 【Let’s break up.】

After sending the message, Zhu Jinyue clutched her phone, her face cold as she stood by the window, waiting to see Fu Zhiwang’s reaction.

Three seconds passed—Fu Zhiwang didn’t take out his phone and was still chatting with his ex-girlfriend.

Thirty seconds passed—still chatting.

Two minutes passed…

What?

Was he so engrossed in conversation with his ex that he didn’t even have time to check his phone???

Zhu Jinyue’s previously stalled anger meter suddenly skyrocketed again. This time, without Shen Qinghuai interrupting, it shot straight to the top.

She gripped her phone tightly—

Shen Qinghuai was wrong. Given her temper, if she didn’t vent this anger, she wouldn’t just lose sleep tonight—she’d be restless for the next month.

She had never been treated like this in her life.

Zhu Jinyue turned to Shen Qinghuai, “Is that offer you made earlier still valid?”

Shen Qinghuai seemed unusually stunned, as if he hadn’t expected her to circle back so suddenly. For once, the incredibly sharp-minded man failed to guess her intentions, “Which offer?”

Zhu Jinyue said sternly, “The one where I can do whatever I want.”

After all, breaking up wasn’t like divorce—it didn’t require the other party’s consent.

Whether Fu Zhiwang saw it or not, the moment she sent that message, she was done with him.

Her rationality had been completely overrun by fury. Almost the instant he nodded, Zhu Jinyue raised her free hand, hooked it around the man’s neck, and pulled him down—

She seemed to encounter no resistance at all throughout; Shen Qinghuai indulged her completely, lowering his head in accordance with her slight force.

Then Zhu Jinyue rose onto her toes and kissed him.