White Moonlight

“I’m sorry, I know this is abrupt,” Lu Chenyang’s voice pierced through the dust in the moonlight, “There are no flowers, no decent gifts. But this is definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

He stood still, never crossing the two steps Yu Sheng had drawn.

"The thought of marrying you has been in my heart for far too long. I've been forcing myself to hold it in and not say it out loud. Because I'm not sure if marriage is just another form of constraint in your eyes, or... just something dispensable, or even something that terrifies you. But now I really want you to know."

He paused, his gaze fixed on Yu Sheng, trying to discern any subtle reaction. "I understand that you don't like me getting close to you in public; you're considering my career. But I know better than anyone that what I want more is to stand openly by your side and tell everyone I love you, instead of using the guise of a business couple to put on a show that no one needs to take seriously."

“Ah Sheng,” he called to him, his voice urgent, “or you can marry me. It’s the same if I marry you.”

Yu Sheng stood frozen in place, like a doll whose batteries had been removed.

Marriage? Those two words had never appeared in his life plans. His initial approach to Lu Chenyang was merely for medical treatment, to seize upon this highly effective "catalyst."

He didn't leave even after recovering from his illness because of the dependence and deepening love he had unconsciously developed. He enjoyed being with Lu Chenyang, cherished that warmth, and if nothing unexpected happened, he was willing to stay by her side forever. He hadn't considered breaking up, but that didn't mean he had considered marriage.

In his heart, Lu Chenyang was very important, and he cherished the career that Lu Chenyang valued so much. Because of this, he dared not risk this career. Similarly, protecting himself was a principle ingrained in his genes. He was always ready to withdraw and eliminate any possible harm.

“Chenyang, I…” His throat tightened, his thoughts were in disarray, and the words of refusal or acceptance were stuck in his chest, difficult to utter.

"Crack—!"

A sudden shutter click, accompanied by a blinding flash, shattered the dim and quiet atmosphere of the small auditorium.

"Oh no! Why didn't you turn off the flash?!" "Oh no! Chenyang is coming, what should we do..." The two girls hiding behind the door were shocked and scared. They stomped their feet on the spot, their faces showing a mixture of panic from doing something wrong and excitement at seeing their idol, but they showed no regret whatsoever.

Lu Chenyang's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He strode over, remaining polite as ever, even bending down to be at eye level with the girls. His voice was clear and accusatory: "Excuse me, today is our private day. We can take photos and get autographs, but please don't post the photos online or tell anyone else we're here, okay?"

"Okay, okay! Thank you, thank you!" The two girls nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Yu Sheng was also pulled in for a photo and signed autographs as requested by the fans. After giving them several instructions, the two returned the way they came, leaving along the narrow path that could only accommodate one person at a time.

However, just a few hundred meters away from the school gate, a large number of students suddenly poured out of the previously sparse streets, and a crowd of people holding mobile phones rushed out from the direction of the auditorium.

Clearly, those two girls did not keep their promise.

When Lu Chenyang and Yu Sheng realized something was wrong and quickened their pace, the road ahead was already surrounded by fans who had rushed over after hearing the news and onlookers who didn't know the truth, and people kept pouring in from outside the school.

More and more people gathered, and the roads became completely blocked.

Yu Sheng even felt a phone camera shoved right up to his temple. He rarely appeared in public and had almost never experienced being surrounded by such enthusiastic fans.

He could handle the deceit and difficult clients in the business world with ease, but right now, the crowd, the heat, the piercing screams, the constant flashing lights, the occasional tugging at his clothes and the jolting against his back—all of these were rapidly building up his irritability. Most importantly, his rare romantic time alone with Lu Chenyang had been disrupted by the beatings, which he found unbearable.

He lacked Lu Chenyang's tactful experience in dealing with fans, and at this moment only two extreme thoughts remained in his mind: either immediately find a crack in the ground to crawl out and escape to a less crowded place to take a few deep breaths of cold air to calm his feverish mind; or... crush all the noise and return to silence.

"It's alright." Lu Chenyang's clear voice rang in his ear. He helped him put his mask on more tightly, then naturally put his arm around his shoulder, pulling him into his embrace and using his body to shield him from the pressure and collisions from the outside world.

Yu Sheng clearly felt the screams around him instantly rise in volume and become even more piercing because of Lu Chenyang's protective action. But Lu Chenyang's low but steady voice seemed to possess a magical quality, able to create a small, safe barrier around him, isolating him from everything he hated.

Lu Chenyang could clearly feel that Yu Sheng's breathing was uneven. He didn't know how much psychological pressure this extremely noisy and chaotic environment would put on Yu Sheng; he only knew that Yu Sheng didn't like it and he had to take him away immediately.

"Excuse me, everyone," Lu Chenyang raised his voice, maintaining his composure, "This is just a personal trip today. Could you please make way for me? Please don't push, or we might cause a stampede!"

He waved his phone at the people around him, "It's so cold, how about I treat everyone to milk tea or coffee?"

His eyes quickly searched the crowd and soon locked onto a familiar face: it was the girl who had sung folk songs at the party earlier, and also the president of his fan club.

The girl squeezed her way to Lu Chenyang's side and, together with several familiar fans, called out to the arriving security guards to help maintain order and clear a path.

Before leaving, Yu Sheng saw Lu Chenyang transfer some money to the girl using his phone and quietly instruct her to arrange hot drinks for everyone. Walking along the path cleared by security guards, he turned back and waved to the crowd, his face still bearing that professional smile: "Happy New Year everyone! Drink your hot drinks and head home early, and be careful."

Pulling Yu Sheng away from the noisy crowd, even after walking a few meters, some enthusiastic fans still tried to follow. Lu Chenyang simply held Yu Sheng's hand tightly, whispered "Come with me," and then led him to run in the snowy night.

Snowflakes, carried by the cold wind, pelted my burning cheeks, melting quickly and then turning into white mist with my rapid breathing. A thin layer of sweat beaded on my clasped palms, and the cold wind seeped between my fingers, sending a chill through me.

Yu Sheng instinctively gripped back, tightening her grip so that their skin was pressed tightly together without any gaps.

The snow crunched under his feet. Ahead lay the knight who would always lead him away from the vortex of right and wrong. Through their tightly clasped hands, he could feel two hearts pounding at the same high frequency, whether from the sudden running or from the unquenchable palpitations, he couldn't tell.

"Just this once, I'll indulge myself," Yu Sheng thought. Ignoring the gossip, she'd secretly mortgage a bit of future peace in exchange for a memory she could cherish for a long time. The price, she'd pay later.

...

Even though more than ten hours had passed, when Yu Sheng saw the video of him running that the fan had secretly recorded, he could still feel the icy coldness of the snowflakes hitting his face and the burning heat of Lu Chenyang's hand when he held it tightly.

He shifted his position on the bed, feeling a bit hot, and loosened a corner of the tightly wrapped blanket. He exited the trending topics page, intending to retweet the official Weibo post for "Dark Fire" as Zhou Jie had instructed, but his finger inexplicably clicked into his private message list.

After being stunned for a full minute, Yu Sheng was extremely grateful that she had seen Lu Chenyang's private message on Weibo first.

An account with the username "95****69" sent a large number of private messages. Unlike those trolls who simply vent their malice, this person's messages were filled with clear purpose and threats:

"—Lu Chenyang, you've become a big star and now you don't care about your dad anymore? If I hadn't fed you back then, you'd have starved to death long ago. You wouldn't be where you are today! Let me tell you, send me some money, or I have plenty of ways to deal with you."

My inbox was flooded with messages like these. The earliest started last night, and the last one stopped around 5 a.m. this morning.

Yu Sheng initially thought it was just some bored hater, but then a scene from a month ago flashed through her mind. That day, her grandmother called out of the blue, asking them with concern if they had encountered any "strange people" recently.

A chill ran down Yu Sheng's spine, and goosebumps rose all over his body. He quickly took a screenshot, saved it, and sent it to his own phone. Then, he immediately cleared all traces on Lu Chenyang's phone, deleted all private messages from that account, and pretended that nothing had happened.

Immediately afterwards, he sent all the intercepted information to Song Ciying: the proprietress of Veilde.

This woman has extensive connections, speaking to both the legitimate and underworld circles. Yu Sheng has known her for many years, and dealing with this kind of dirty business in the gutter is the safest option. The price to pay is nothing more than being teased and ridiculed by this woman, and then being drunk to a crisp.

After dealing with everything with a heavy heart, Yu Sheng still hadn't forgotten Sister Zhou's instructions. He used his own and Lu Chenyang's Weibo accounts to retweet the official Weibo post for "Dark Fire," and when he saw a related post for "Shattered Light," he retweeted it as well.

With this heavy burden on his mind, Yu Sheng felt uncomfortable no matter how he lay in bed. He decided to open the piano video that his fan had secretly recorded again, seeking solace in the faint, ancient music.

"Clatter".

The bathroom door lock clicked softly.

Warm, humid steam, carrying the fresh scent of shower gel, wafted out and filled the small room. Yu Sheng's heart skipped a beat.

I reflexively want to turn off the screen or exit the playback interface, pretending nothing happened.

But it was too late.

The sound of water stopped, and footsteps approached from behind. Lu Chenyang, still damp with sweat, stood by the bed. He looked down, his gaze falling on the video on Yu Sheng's phone screen.

"What are you looking at?" Lu Chenyang's voice was languid and husky, just after his shower, so sexy that it made Yu Sheng's throat tighten. He leaned down, his damp chest pressed against Yu Sheng's bare back, and his chin rested gently on his thin shoulder.

Lu Chenyang stretched out his finger and flicked the video progress bar. The picture was blurry, the sound was noisy, and the singing was indistinct, with only intermittent piano melodies.

Lu Chenyang chuckled softly, his breath like a feather, tickling Yu Sheng's sensitive eardrums: "You like listening to me play the piano so much? When we get back to Beijing, we'll buy one for the house. What brand do you like? Should we put it in the study or the living room? I'll play for you anytime you want."

He paused, then pressed his lips to Yu Sheng's earlobe, his voice deepening, "I also play the violin a little, would you like to hear me?"

While Lu Chenyang was earnestly planning for the future, his actions contradicted his words.

The quilt was peeled away layer by layer, as if Yu Sheng were being pulled out of a cocoon. Fresh, minty lips lingered and kissed his sensitive skin behind his ear without restraint, leaving a moist sensation.

"Damn it! Again?!" Young Master Yu was completely at his wit's end. He had been tossed and turned all night, and it wasn't until dawn that Lu Chenyang finally showed him mercy and let him rest.

This morning, I was forcibly woken up by this person again in some "different" way. I had just finished showering and caught my breath when this happened again?!

"Damn! Are you a Teddy?... Ugh..." Yu Sheng struggled and twisted, her words merciless, "I'll get you an appointment at the vet to cure this addiction!"

His shouts and resistance were to no avail; instead, his wrists were easily grabbed. In no time, his hands were cleverly tied to the headboard with a tie that appeared out of nowhere.

Over the past month, Yu Sheng has actively lost weight, reaching the frail and pale state required by the Lan Da Realm. Her current strength is not even in the same league as Lu Chenyang's.

"Damn it!" Yu Sheng was so angry that he raised his leg to kick Lu Chenyang in the stomach, but the other party easily dodged it. He struggled to break free of his restraints, and could only grit his teeth and say fiercely, "Lu Chenyang! You better... you can make me lose my memory... otherwise, the first thing I'll do when I'm free is castrate you!"

Lu Chenyang chuckled softly, leaned closer, and pressed his warm lips against his, silencing him. Then, he extended his tongue and patiently licked those crimson lips.

His dark, bright eyes were already stained red with intense desire, staring intently at the person beneath him as if scrutinizing a delicious meal powerless to resist on a chopping board.

His voice was deep and husky, full of seduction and mockery, as he replied, "...Yes, my master."