"Like the Moon in the Sky" - Chapter 2
When Zhu Jinyue returned, a group of girls had gathered near the entrance, huddled together and chatting about gossip.
This was the second piece of gossip Zhu Jinyue had stumbled upon tonight—the first had been witnessing it firsthand. But it wasn’t surprising; gossiping was second nature to most people.
—Though it would’ve been better if this particular gossip hadn’t involved her.
“I heard Fu Zhiwang’s ex-girlfriend, Lu Jiayin, is coming back,” said the pink-haired girl at the center of the discussion.
Someone next to her asked, “Fu Zhiwang has an ex-girlfriend?”
Pink Hair, “Yeah, they were collegemates. They were together for three or four years. Back then, everyone in our study abroad circle saw them as the golden couple.”
“Then why did they break up?” another asked.
Pink Hair, “No one knows for sure. Fu Zhiwang graduated and returned to China to start his own business, while Lu Jiayin stayed in the U.S. and joined an investment bank. Her family background is decent compared to ordinary people, but it’s nowhere near the Fu family’s level. My guess is that Fu Zhiwang’s family didn’t approve.”
“That’s what I figured too. Now Fu Zhiwang is dating Zhu Jinyue, right? Rumor has it it’s a family arrangement—probably an upcoming marriage alliance.”
“If family pressure broke them up, then she’s definitely his white moonlight. If she’s returning now, won’t that cause problems?”
“Who knows,” Pink Hair mused. “White moonlight versus current girlfriend—I wonder if they’ll end up fighting.”
There happened to be an empty spot in their circle, right next to Pink Hair. Zhu Jinyue walked over and interjected, “They won’t fight.”
“How do you know they won’t—” Pink Hair turned toward the voice and was met with an incredibly delicate and harmless face.
It was beautiful but unfamiliar.
Pink Hair looked puzzled, “Who are you?”
Zhu Jinyue had completed both her undergraduate and graduate studies abroad.
Among everyone in the room tonight, aside from Fu Zhiwang and his friends, only the few girls she had chatted with earlier actually knew her—or had seen her in person.
Zhu Jinyue smiled and introduced herself, “Hello, I’m Zhu Jinyue.”
“Hello,” Pink Hair replied, following suit. “I’m Jiang—”
Before she could finish her name, she suddenly froze, stammering.
“Zhu… Zhu… You’re Zhu…? S-sorry, I didn’t—”
Zhu Jinyue waved her hand dismissively. “It’s fine. Keep talking about Fu Zhiwang’s white moonlight.”
Pink Hair looked like she was about to cry.
The girl in front of her seemed harmless and beautiful, but whether she was easy to deal with remained to be seen. What was certain, however, was that her older sister was absolutely not someone to mess with—a true force to be reckoned with.
None of the Zhu family members were easy to handle.
“Um… I don’t really know much. I’m not close with any of them—it’s all just hearsay. It might not even be accurate.”
Zhu Jinyue, “…”
How boring. I should’ve just kept eavesdropping.
Pink Hair tentatively asked, “Well… if you’re interested, I could try to find out more for you?”
“No need,” Zhu Jinyue said. “That’s too much trouble. I’ll just ask Fu Zhiwang directly.”
Pink Hair, “…?”
Zhu Jinyue slowly made her way back to where Fu Zhiwang was. Out of the corner of her eye, she could still see that familiar snow-white turtleneck sweater.
The man wasn’t participating in the card game with Fu Zhiwang and the others. Instead, he was sitting in the farthest corner of the sofa, head bowed as he looked at his phone. Most of his face remained hidden in shadow, giving off an inexplicable sense of solitude.
But Zhu Jinyue still remembered how he had rejected someone earlier.
She withdrew her gaze and stopped beside Fu Zhiwang.
Fu Zhiwang was still playing cards. When he noticed her approach, he glanced up briefly. “Bored?”
Zhu Jinyue shook her head. “Can you come out with me? There’s something I want to ask you.”
“What’s up?” Fu Zhiwang leaned back lazily in his chair, his attention returning to the cards. “Can’t you say it here?”
If he didn’t mind discussing it here, Zhu Jinyue certainly didn’t either, “It’s nothing major. I just heard you have a white moonlight ex-girlfriend. Is that true?”
The card table fell silent.
Fu Zhiwang raised an eyebrow and glanced at her with a smile. “That’s all? Why are you suddenly asking about this? You never said I had to disclose my romantic history when we agreed to meet.”
Zhu Jinyue wasn’t particularly bothered by the idea of him having an ex-girlfriend.
Fu Zhiwang was two years older than her, twenty-seven this year. While it would’ve been ideal if he had no romantic history at that age, it was still normal if he did. She had mentally prepared herself for this possibility before agreeing to “meet” him. Right now, she just wanted to clarify what exactly the situation was with this ex-girlfriend.
But she didn’t like his dismissive and unserious attitude.
“Can’t I want to know now?”
Fu Zhiwang smiled and ruffled her hair, treating her like a child. “Sure. Go play for a bit longer, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know later.”
Zhu Jinyue had already been stood up by her sister earlier in the evening, so her mood wasn’t great to begin with. His patronizing tone only irritated her further. “Suit yourself. Tell me or don’t.”
She turned and walked away.
It wasn’t until she stepped out of the club and was hit by the biting cold wind that she remembered she’d given her driver the night off and had come here in Fu Zhiwang’s car.
It was the depths of winter, and Pingcheng had just seen snowfall the previous week. Although the snow had melted, the temperature hadn’t risen.
Zhu Jinyue buried her face deeper into her scarf, frowning as she considered her options.
Go back and apologize to Fu Zhiwang?
Not in this lifetime. Pass.
Calling her driver to pick her up was an option, but this place was remote. Without knowing her exact location, it would take at least half an hour for him to arrive.
She could also ask the club to arrange a car for her, but she hadn’t notified them in advance. There was no telling what kind of people the temporarily arranged vehicle had transported before—she refused to ride in it.
Maybe she should just call her driver after all.
Just as Zhu Jinyue pulled out her phone, a black Bentley Mulsanne glided to a stop in front of her.
The window slowly rolled down, revealing the driver wearing a charcoal-black vicuña wool coat that made the snow-white turtleneck underneath appear even brighter. His skin seemed paler than the fabric itself.
The interior lighting was dim, and most of his face remained shadowed, but the lower half of his jawline was clearly visible—smooth yet not sharp, carrying a gentleness that matched his demeanor.
Through the window, his gaze seemed to settle on her. His voice and tone were just as gentle as when they had met in the hallway earlier.
“Heading down the mountain? Need a ride?”
Zhu Jinyue still didn’t know his name, so she didn’t respond immediately.
Perhaps sensing her hesitation, he chuckled softly and spoke unhurriedly, “If you’re concerned, I can hand over my ID to you—”
He paused, his voice lowering slightly, returning to that coaxing tone he’d used in the hallway.
“It’s very cold out. Don’t catch a chill.”
If Zhu Jinyue hadn’t known he used a similarly gentle tone to reject others, she might have thought the man had fallen in love with her at first sight.
But it was indeed freezing.
Fu Zhiwang had been personally selected by her grandfather. Regardless of whether he had a white moonlight ex-girlfriend, anyone deemed suitable for a matchmaking meeting with her would have been vetted for character. His friends had likely been screened as well—no dubious acquaintances among them. And this man—
Zhu Jinyue’s gaze lingered on his defined jawline before drifting downward to his hand resting casually on the window.
A black wristwatch was half-hidden under his coat sleeve, his fingers long and distinct, nails neatly trimmed.
Another gust of icy wind swept through.
Remembering how he had rejected the woman earlier with words that, though sharp, still preserved her dignity, Zhu Jinyue finally nodded.
Once she settled into the passenger seat, an unfamiliar scent wafted around her—clean, just as she had expected.
Since she was here, she might as well make herself comfortable. She fastened her seatbelt and leaned back against the seat.
The man in the driver’s seat seemed entirely at ease in his own space. One hand rested on the steering wheel while the other reached across the center console. His slender fingers flipped open the storage compartment with a light tap.
“My ID is in there. Help yourself if you want it.”
Zhu Jinyue held her phone and quipped casually, “No need. I already memorized your license plate number and drafted a text to the police. I can send it anytime.”
“Good habit,” he replied, unbothered. Instead, he chuckled, his tone relaxed and unhurried. “Care for some music?”
Zhu Jinyue: “Sure.”
After all, they weren’t even acquaintances.
Given that this was just a casual ride, forcing conversation seemed unnecessary.
“Any preferences, or shall I just play something?” he asked.
Zhu Jinyue glanced at his coat and knitted sweater. “Just play whatever you like.”
Given his style, his music taste probably isn’t bad, right?
The man lowered his head, likely connecting to Bluetooth. Soft music soon filled the car—an English song.
Zhu Jinyue didn’t speak again.
Neither did he.
She opened her phone’s photo album and selected a few pictures of Xuan Jin’s works she had taken over the past few days, posting them on Weibo.
Some of her followers recognized the craftsmanship and left questions in the comments.
Zhu Jinyue replied to a few.
She really shouldn’t have.
But whether it was the soothing music or the man’s inexplicably calming presence, Zhu Jinyue found herself dozing off in the passenger seat after scrolling through her phone for a while.
When she woke up, they were already in the city.
The car was parked by the side of a road.
For a moment, Zhu Jinyue felt disoriented, unsure of where she was. Then it slowly came back to her—she was in the car of a man who was practically a stranger.
She jolted awake and turned to look, her eyes instantly meeting a pair of deep, unreadable ones.
It felt as though countless emotions were hidden within those eyes.
For a fleeting moment, Zhu Jinyue felt an indescribable palpitation.
But it lasted only a second.
The next moment, the man in the driver’s seat smiled, still wearing that gentle expression.
“Awake? I wasn’t sure where to take you, so I pulled over for now.”
Maybe I was just seeing things because I wasn’t fully awake, Zhu Jinyue thought, brushing off the strange feeling. She looked outside.
Since returning to China, she had mostly been staying at her family’s villa—though the workaholics in her family were probably away twenty-nine days out of thirty.
But she also had her own apartment in the city center, which happened to be nearby.
Having already troubled him this far, she didn’t mind asking him to take her a little further. She pointed ahead. “Just drive a bit farther.”
“Alright.”
The Bentley turned onto a smaller road and soon stopped where she had indicated.
Zhu Jinyue yawned, unbuckled her seatbelt, and turned to thank him when her gaze suddenly froze.
The lighting in the city center was much better than on the mountain.
Neon lights illuminated the streets, brightening the car’s interior significantly.
For the first time that night, Zhu Jinyue got a clear look at the man’s profile.
It was startlingly familiar.
“Have we met before?”
The man in the driver’s seat turned slightly. “If you attended Xingnan No. 1 High School during your second year, then yes, we have.”
Zhu Jinyue’s grip tightened on the seatbelt she hadn’t yet set aside.
Then, for the first time that night, she carefully and thoroughly studied the man beside her.
Beneath his straight brows were slightly narrow eyes with double eyelids and a hint of under-eye puffiness. His nose was tall and straight, and his lips curved slightly upward. It was a handsome face, yet it carried a unique gentleness.
It was like a spring breeze sweeping across the land, awakening long-dormant seeds—
A slightly youthful face from her memories, along with the black-and-white school uniform he wore and his faded sneakers, slowly grew clearer in her mind.
Zhu Jinyue was filled with disbelief, yet also an unshakable certainty.
Some people were hard to forget, even after ten years.
She finally understood why his voice had felt familiar earlier that night. Word by word, she uttered his full name, “Shen Qinghuai.”
“It’s me.” Shen Qinghuai paused, his gaze lingering on her for a long moment before he offered a gentle smile. “Long time no see.”