Moonlit Palace

When Chu Yiqi woke up, Xi Ai had already left.

The incense by the bed was still burning, its comforting scent perfectly matching Chu Yiqi's personal preference when she was blending the perfume—it smelled very similar to the incense scent that Xi Ai wore when she first met her.

"Sister Luo, where's Xi Ai?" Chu Yiqi glanced at the time and, seeing that it wasn't time to meet up yet, sent a message to Su Luojian to ask.

It's strange, really. Even though we've only spent a little over half a month together, the initial awkwardness has completely disappeared. Instead, he's become overly dependent on Xi Ai.

I always hope to find a pretty outline in my field of vision—just to see it is enough.

Su Luo seemed to have anticipated this message and replied quickly.

Almost the instant the message was sent, Chu Yiqi saw a reply from someone with a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) avatar.

[Short Cake: She went back to the north of the city; she probably left around 3 PM.]

Chu Yiqi didn't reply to the message again, and it wasn't until a while later that he realized he had actually gone back upstairs.

Some details about what happened after drinking suddenly surfaced.

For example, when she recognized the word "love" that Qi Ai said, she closed her eyes and the next moment she felt a shadow approaching.

But Xi Ai simply loosened her grip and wiped away a single tear that had fallen from her hand.

Seemingly noticing that Chu Yiqi subconsciously raised his hand to stop her, Xi Ai paused, and finally brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen on Chu Yiqi's cheek.

Why not a kiss?

For a fleeting moment, Chu Yiqi felt a pang of regret as she touched the corner of Xi Ai's eye. So she continued to pretend to be drunk and leaned in to kiss the corner of Xi Ai's lips.

A kiss finally fulfilled my wish.

Chu Yiqi's voice was somewhat muffled, as if it were hoarse from drinking, and tinged with grievance: "Xi Ai."

"Um."

Chu Yiqi raised his hand, his index finger landing on Xi Ai's face, from between her eyebrows, inch by inch, down to the corner of her eye, and finally removing an ear clip shaped like an artemisia leaf.

"Don't be upset."

Xi Ai didn't respond and remained silent for a long time. Then Chu Yiqi said again, "Give me a kiss, okay?"

They really grant every request.

"But I just feel unhappy, what can I do?" Xi Ai looked directly into Chu Yiqi's eyes.

Chu Yiqi knew the answer, but avoided answering: "But you could have easily pushed me away."

Okay, okay, then I won't ask anymore.

Xi Ai said, "If you hug me, maybe I'll feel better."

Chu Yiqi raised his hand, as if testing the waters, and hugged Xi Ai's waist, without any barrier between them and Xi Ai's loose and baggy nightgown.

She looks like she's lost weight.

Perhaps it was the aftereffects of the alcohol, but Chu Yiqi felt his thoughts becoming somewhat scattered and aimless.

Xi Ai finally smiled, but it was so faint and brief that Chu Yiqi thought he must have misread it.

In her last moments of consciousness, she heard Xi Ai say, "Goodnight, darling."

All told, Xi Ai only got a maximum of one hour of rest.

At this moment, Mr. Xi, who had just caught up on two hours of sleep, sat in the conference room, going over the afternoon's tasks one last time. He showed no signs of fatigue, but his fingertips kept hovering over the iced Americano in front of him, hesitating for a moment before silently withdrawing them.

So when she returned to her office, she saw a cup of hot cocoa and a chocolate mille-feuille. Gu Yu, who had kept his achievements hidden, sat in the assistant's seat, his fingers moving swiftly as he sent a message.

The recipient of this message is Chu Yiqi.

The message included a small cake and hot coffee on the corner of the desk, as well as a fair and well-defined hand of Xiao Xi, with a stroke of red ink on the fingertip of his index finger.

The first rule for being a good assistant, and one who also has a good relationship with the boss: guess what the boss likes and promptly fulfill the awkward requests of the boss's lover.

Chu Yiqi received the reply, put down the note in his hand, saved the photo, and categorized it into a special album.

She stood by Xi Ai's bed for a while, then picked up the note and put it into a hidden compartment in her backpack.

Along with a hand-drawn fluorescent butterfly.

The old and the new are clearly distinguished.

The photograph in between acts like a dividing line between years, separating the past and the present.

—That was a picture that Su Luo sent her. She didn't know when or from what angle it was taken; it was a picture of two people who shouldn't exist.

It was the early morning when she left. A figure stood silently on the covered bridge, gazing at the few travelers below, appearing exceptionally lonely.

At that moment, Chu Yiqi raised his chin, but could only see the white wall that obscured his figure.

In such a fleeting moment, the person involved is unaware, but someone always remembers it and leaves some evidence.

This proves that some of them are being hypocritical.

They said they wouldn't send it, but they went back on their word and couldn't bear to part with it.

They were so resolute when they said they were leaving, yet they hesitated for a long time, wanting to see a touch of spring that shouldn't have appeared.

Just like on the stage yesterday.

Chu Yiqi looked down at the audience and saw Xi Ai, who looked like any ordinary audience member, also looking over. In her mind, she recalled the concerts Xi Ai had held abroad in the past two years.

At every concert, someone among their acquaintances would always receive two tickets, so Xi Ai would always end up with one as well.

These were all seats chosen by Chu Yiqi after scouting the venue in advance, demonstrating a precise understanding of Xi Ai's psychology. The seats were a bit far away, but the view was excellent, allowing Chu Yiqi to see her from the stage.

Like that farewell at the airport back then, a gaze that one thought no one knew...

Two years later, on stage, he finally became at ease.

There's always been something between them.

Like a rare full moon, one person on this shore looks up and sees the Jade Rabbit embracing the snow and the golden osmanthus swaying; the other person on the opposite shore looks down and sees the Moon Palace sinking into the heart of the lake, its shadow indistinct.

The moment they looked up and met each other's gazes, the moon waxed and waned, another misalignment, the positions reversed.

Chu Yiqi rubbed his fingertips together, picked up his phone, and saw the message Lina had sent.

—A few pictures dug out from a videotape that's been there for an unknown amount of time.

Just then, Xi Ai was in the audience, looking up at the gentle stage lights. Through the interplay of light and shadow, through the shifting light and time, their voices overlapped once more.

I don't know if it's the afterimage of a shooting star from many years ago, or the fulfillment of their stage fantasies in the past two years.

Xi Ai also received the message, because the lab members made eye contact once again.

For the next whole week, Chu Yiqi barely saw Xi Ai. To be precise, apart from the afternoon they watched the previous episode together, they didn't see each other at all.

When Xi Ai returned to the villa, it was lunchtime at the restaurant, and only Xi Ai was particularly happy to see that it was time to eat.

"My God!" Yu Nianxi was extremely surprised to see Xi Ai take the initiative to sit down with her bowl and chopsticks. She put down a small cookie and started chattering: "Tell me quickly, who is it that won't let our young lady eat!"

Xi Ai glanced at her, then looked at Shi Yunshan, and finally said, "At the recent financial summit, I spent half the morning with a bunch of old foxes."

“Isn’t that right? Who would have thought that one day our Best Actress, our business tycoon, and the Financial Summit would appear in the unified news?” Shi Yunshan smiled, naturally taking Nie Chuiying’s watermelon juice. Her gaze swept over the straw that had been bitten into a square, and she still took a sip.

Chu Yiqi was scrolling through Weibo when he heard this. He simply looked up at Xi Ai and then looked away.

Upon noticing a glance from the corner of her eye, Xi Ai knew that Chu Yiqi must have seen the Weibo post about her and then came to see the person in question.

This afternoon was free time for the attendees, and Xi Ai came without even changing her clothes.

The formal attire was very elaborate, completely lacking the casualness that Xi Ai usually exuded when casually wearing a shirt. The cufflinks on her wrists were also unusually heavily made, and the waist belt was cinched, making it seem as if one hand could easily wrap around her.

Chu Yiqi took a few more glances and suddenly realized what was really wrong with Xi Ai—Little Xi had gotten herself a pair of half-rimmed glasses, and half of the chain swayed with each step, occasionally falling into her loose long hair, faintly visible.

As if sensing something, Xi Ai adjusted her glasses and said, "To make sure the clothes I ordered in advance fit perfectly, I haven't had a proper meal lately."

Chu Yiqi said, "Xi Ai is still eating spicy food there. Is she planning to change into something else later?"

Xi Ai pursed her lips, and when she looked up at Chu Yiqi, she already had a smile on her face. Then she keenly noticed Chu Yiqi's unusual behavior, but changed her tone before speaking: "Of course, that's fine too. At worst, a marketing account can post something saying, 'I wonder if this Xi Ai is going to a fashion show or a meeting. It's so nice to be the princess of the business circle. Who are you putting on a show for every day?'"

After a brief pause, Xi Ai abruptly returned to her initial question: "Are you going out today?"

Chu Yiqi didn't expect the topic to change so quickly. Her smile froze on her lips as she quickly wiped it away, but a hint of happiness still lingered in the corners of her eyes: "No."

"Oh, I was just saying that Teacher Chu looked especially beautiful today. I thought she was going out with her friends." Xi Ai smiled and pondered how to get the video from Lina today and then take a few screenshots of Chu Yiqi.

The champagne pink satin dress has an irregular hem that falls to the ankles, and the waist-cinching design makes the wearer look slender and graceful. The white shirt sits perfectly at the waist.

The pearl necklaces were layered and reached down to the collarbone.

A half-tassel earring dangles down, and strings of tiny golden butterflies swirl around her hair.

While Chu Yiqi was chatting with her, he sat on the edge of the island counter. When he raised his hand to turn the pages of a book, half of his bracelet was visible. He was wearing two bracelets stacked on top of each other, and his wrists seemed to glow softly under the dim light.

Xi Ai glanced over discreetly, then looked away and said, "Dear... dear Teacher Chu, I'm very curious who cooked today's meal."

Chu Yiqi raised her eyes, blinked very slowly, as if just realizing what was happening, and said, "Me, and our all-powerful captain."

Xi Ai smiled, reached for a plate of spicy dishes with her chopsticks, and deliberately asked the only person besides herself who ate even a little bit of spice, "Little Xi Xi, why aren't you eating?"

Yu Nianxi lowered her eyes and looked over expressionlessly. It wasn't that she couldn't eat spicy food, but she had always thought that spicy chicken was not tasty—a particularly bad dish.

Yu Nianxi looked up again, glanced silently at the captain, then silently looked at Chu Yiqi who was pretending to be nonchalant, and finally stared at Xi Ai who was pretending not to remember anything, and said, "Maybe I offended Yiqi and tore off a piece of the money string she was raising."

So, instead of the spicy dishes that Yu Nianxi and Xi Ai both love, they made a plate of spicy chicken and placed it opposite Yu Nianxi.

They really hold grudges.

Chu Yiqi coughed lightly, looked up to glare at Xi Ai, and casually picked up a hairpin to tie up her hair, gathering a long section of it to one side.

She said, "If you talk again, you're not allowed to eat."

Xi Ai couldn't suppress the smile in her eyes. She put down her chopsticks and raised her hand to make an X with her lips.

It wasn't until after dinner that Chu Yiqi, along with Xi Ai and the others, jumped off the island platform and walked to the sofa.

"Today's show is a live broadcast, it'll probably be like watching it live. There are just twenty minutes left before it goes on, so hurry up and touch up your makeup." Meng Yike pursed her lipstick, tidying her already thin bangs, which didn't really need styling, while giving Yu Nianxi a meaningful look.

Yu Nianxi sat cross-legged on the ground, accepting Meng Yike's gaze with composure, and said, "I think I only need this light makeup right now, otherwise I'll look out of character."

Meng Yike: "..."

"And look," Yu Nianxi continued, "the storefront naturally has to hold its own. Yiqi looked absolutely stunning today, and Yunying and the others are just as exquisite. There has to be some level of sophistication, right?"

Is this how hierarchical levels are determined?

Meng Yike had nothing to say. She turned around and saw Xi Ai and Chu Yiqi sitting together. She didn't have anything to say either, so she sat down and checked her phone.

Xi Ai sat next to Chu Yiqi, and for some reason, this man's temperament could always be switched at will.

She was wearing the same outfit as the one trending on social media this morning, yet she went from a business elite to a spoiled rich girl.