White Moonlight
The moment the auditorium door was pushed open, Xiao Zhang followed behind his boss, carrying a stack of documents.
Logically speaking, a boss should look the same no matter where he goes—steady steps, calm gaze, as if he has hidden his sharpness deep inside.
But today, something happened that Xiao Zhang still finds "against the laws of physics".
A young woman stood to the side of the stage; she appeared to be the moderator of the forum. Her profile was bathed in the 3:30 pm sunlight as she looked down to confirm her speech with the students. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and her movements were as serene as a painting.
The boss looked up. In that instant—he stopped.
Xiao Zhang almost dropped the documents in his hand.
The pause was extremely short, lasting only half a second.
But for someone as composed as the boss, that half second... felt like a full quarter of an hour to someone else.
What shocked Xiao Zhang even more was that the boss's expression changed in that half-second.
It was not a simple "accident".
It wasn't just a slight pause when "seeing an old friend".
Rather, it is a kind of very light, very deep tenderness.
A tender feeling of being reunited after a long separation, a gentle touch that is instantly struck by light.
Like a winter branch, suddenly—a spring flower blooms.
The line between his brows, which had always been taut, had loosened a little.
No one would notice, except for Xiao Zhang, who was standing closest.
Even... the boss's breathing slowed slightly at that moment, as if his chest had been gripped by a sudden, unexpected beat.
Xiao Zhang was stunned:
Who is this?
How could the boss do this?
Within a second, the boss regained complete composure, concealing all his emotions.
But in those two seconds when he looked at her, the depth and the gleam in his eyes... Xiao Zhang saw it very clearly—there was a story here!
It was pressed very deep.
Extremely still.
But it cannot be hidden.
For the first time, Xiao Zhang truly understood that industry rumor:
"Mr. Lin is the hardest to win over."
Perhaps the reason is simple—his heart already belongs to someone else.
At that moment, standing in the 3:30 light, that person looked up and smiled gently—with surprise, and with a natural intimacy after many years:
"Lin Yue."
Lin Yue's voice was steady, yet it carried a slight tremor from being touched:
"Longing for autumn."
The mere exchange of two names—yet Xiao Zhang felt that the spark that ignited was brighter than any light in the entire auditorium.
As the auditorium lights slowly came on for the third time, the title of this forum, "Youth and the Future," appeared on the backdrop screen in the center of the stage.
Pan Qiu stood to the side of the stage, holding a card in one hand and the microphone in the other. Her voice was gentle and steady:
"Next, let's welcome our third guest speaker – Mr. Lin Yue, founder of Yuyuan Technology."
Applause slowly spread through the auditorium.
When Lin Yue walked onto the stage, he was very quiet—a calm quiet that made the lights seem to be gently suppressed for a second.
Today he was wearing a dark blue shirt and a matching jacket, the lines clean and sharp, with the top two buttons casually undone. Just standing there, you could see the clean lines of his shoulders and back, a clean and powerful presence that only a young entrepreneur possesses.
When he looked up, the stage lights swept across his profile from the side—his brows and eyes were deeper and more composed than the boy Pan Qiu remembered; the light swept a calm and sharp arc across his jawline. Unassuming, yet extremely handsome.
The students who had been whispering among themselves below the stage gasped, "...So handsome." The voice wasn't loud, but those in the front row immediately echoed, "OMG, I'm totally into him!"
Xiao Zhang stood to the side, his ears turning red from listening, but he dared not laugh. He felt a little proud, though—his boss was indeed good-looking, but he never gave anyone a chance to notice him.
Lin Yue stopped and nodded slightly in the direction of the host. The light lingered on his profile, as if he had suddenly been drawn into the center of attention.
But the next second, he concealed all his sharpness, grasped the microphone, and his expression was calm and polite:
"Good afternoon, everyone. I am Lin Yue from Yuyuan Technology."
Clear, deep, and steady like a pebble falling on your chest.
Another silent wave of excitement swept through the audience.
Pan Qiu nodded to him, and Lin Yue returned a very faint smile that only she could see.
Sitting in the back row of the audience, Xiao Zhang could see it all clearly—the boss's smile that time was more sincere than when he usually smiled at clients.
Pan Qiu smiled and said, "President Lin, we've actually known each other for many years. But today is the first time I'm interviewing you as a host."
Lin Yue raised his eyes slightly and said in a calm tone, "It's an honor to be interviewed by you for the first time."
The students in the audience gave a slight jeer, which immediately brightened the atmosphere.
Pan Qiu quickly adjusted her approach and continued guiding the conversation: "Yuyuan Technology is a company that makes AI-powered medical assistance systems. Could you briefly introduce what you do?"
Lin Yue sat upright, and his professional tone silenced all the students in the room:
"We are developing an AI-powered diagnostic support system for primary healthcare institutions. When there is a shortage of doctors, AI can help improve diagnostic efficiency; in scenarios with high misdiagnosis rates, AI can provide an additional perspective."
Pan Qiu nodded: "So you're not trying to replace doctors, but to help them?"
Lin Yue: "Yes, we have never had any ambition to 'replace' anything. Medicine is not about technology, but about relationships. AI can turn information into an extra examination tool in the hands of doctors."
The students in the audience took notes.
Pan Qiu asked, "You studied and worked in North America, why did you decide to return to China to start your own business?"
Lin Yue paused slightly, his tone becoming a bit more subdued: "Because I saw a fact in North America—medical AI is not a technical problem, but a systemic problem."
You have to work with doctors, insurance companies, regulatory agencies, legal teams... to push this forward. If you see any progress in ten years, that's considered fast.
The auditorium fell silent.
He continued, "But when I got back, I ran the model for the first time in the CT room of a county hospital. Five minutes later, a radiologist said, 'If this technology holds up, we could potentially save dozens more patients each year.'"
Panqiu looked up at him.
That kind of tone, full of conviction, is something only someone who has truly staked their fate on one thing can say.
The students at the scene quieted down.
"What's your biggest takeaway from starting your business so far?"
Lin Yue looked ahead, his tone not deliberately softened, yet it sounded more like the "real him" than in all the previous paragraphs:
"The biggest takeaway is that you have to accept that you will feel fear, doubt, and want to run away. But you can't give up on your ideals because of that."
He turned his head slightly to look at Pan Qiu, as if there were more words in his eyes:
"Some roads you have to walk alone. But if you're lucky... there will always be someone behind you working hard together. But the purpose of a team is never to shield you from risks—but to stand behind you so you don't have to be attacked from all sides. You take a step forward, and they support you a step forward. I've been able to get to where I am today largely because of these partners."
A soft gasp of amazement rippled through the audience—it was so powerful.
Pan Qiu's heart tightened slightly. Not because his words were moving, but because—it was a side of Lin Yue she had never seen before.
He wasn't the boy who took her to eat roasted marshmallows and pulled her into his arms at the ice rink. Nor was he the boy whose eyes burned like the summer sun when he confessed his love.
He is a man who truly supports the team, shoulders responsibility, and has experienced setbacks but has not been defeated.
She even wondered—when he said, "There's someone behind you so you're not attacked from all sides," did he recall a past when he also carried all his emotions alone?
She took a soft breath. They had long since gone their separate ways. But seeing him standing so steadily on the stage, she couldn't help but feel...proud for him.
It wasn't about old feelings, nor was it about fleeting emotions. It was more like seeing a former friend finally grow into the person he was meant to be.
She felt a slight touch in her heart.
During the Q&A session, several students asked for advice on technology and starting a business.
When the third girl raised her hand, her tone was particularly bold:
"Mr. Lin, I...I want to ask a less serious question."
The whole audience burst into laughter.
The girl blushed: "It's said online that you're the hardest to pursue in the startup world... So... what kind of girl do you like?"
The audience erupted in cheers.
He held the microphone, bowed his head slightly, and smiled.
It wasn't a shy laugh from being teased, but rather the kind of laugh that felt like a familiar saying had gently touched the heart.
He didn't look at the girl who asked the question, but instead turned his head slightly, his gaze falling towards the podium and landing on Pan Qiu.
The light shone on his profile, revealing a calm and restrained expression.
He spoke slowly, as if recalling something, or perhaps answering a question whose origin only he knew:
"I like... independent, brave, and not easy to pursue."
He spoke calmly, yet his voice carried a warmth that seemed to be gently warmed by memories.
The audience immediately erupted in cheers:
"Wow--!"
"Mr. Lin, you can't do it this way!"
"Who's so hard to win over?!"
Pan Qiu was stunned for half a second.
The words "not easy to pursue" are like winds that have traveled through several years, lingering under the shade of a tree on a certain summer day—
Teacher Li crossed her arms, looked Lin Yue up and down, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously:
"Young man, keep it up! Pan Qiu is very hard to win over."
—Precise overlap.
Pan Qiu felt as if a gentle breeze had lightly bumped into her heart.
She quickly looked down at the script, pretending to confirm the next question, but the tips of her ears had already turned red.
The students in the audience screamed so loudly that they completely lost control.
Ms. Li, who was sitting in the third row of the audience, was taking a sip of water from her thermos when she heard the phrase "not easy to pursue," and her hand paused for a moment.
She looked up and then at the composed and outstanding young entrepreneur on the stage—she recognized him.
"No wonder it looked so familiar..."
She smiled inwardly.
It turned out to be the boy she caught walking around campus with that summer, whose face turned bright red.
It was him, just as I expected.
Teacher Li didn't give an exaggerated, doting smile; she simply smiled knowingly at the corners of her eyes—as if silently nodding to fate.
"Well, you two... you've finally run into each other again."
Xiao Zhang, sitting in the back, was also stunned, thinking to himself: "This is clearly a story. Is the boss about to find a girlfriend? Oh, not necessarily, she's hard to win over!"
The event ended, and the applause subsided.
Pan Qiu was backstage tidying up the microphone and checking the Q&A records. Lin Yue had just come down from the side of the stage, his jacket still unbuttoned.
The two stood facing each other.
The echoes of the enthusiastic atmosphere from the auditorium still lingered in the air, but here... it was as quiet as if only breathing remained.
Pan Qiu spoke first, trying to keep her tone light: "I never thought you would become... a domineering CEO in everyone's eyes."
She meant to lighten the mood with a joke, but after saying it, she felt a little embarrassed, and the tips of her ears felt slightly hot.
Lin Yue looked at her, paused for a moment, and then chuckled softly.
That smile seemed to have gently touched a soft spot.
"So how do you think you are in other people's eyes?" He asked in a very soft voice.
Pan Qiu was stumped by his question. The light fell on his profile, revealing a calm, mature demeanor, yet also a sharpness she had never seen before.
She hadn't had a chance to answer yet.
Lin Yue spoke first:
"You must be the unattainable white moonlight in the eyes of that domineering CEO."
Pan Qiu was stunned.
When those words were spoken, it was as if an old sentiment was being presented back to her—unassumingly, gently, and tenderly.
Pan Qiu's throat tightened slightly, and she could only pretend not to care as she lowered her head to organize the script in her hands: "...You're still the same as ever."
Lin Yue looked at her, his gaze deepening. If there were a parallel universe, and in that world he had never let go, would he have already won her over?
The backstage lights quietly illuminated the two of them. The laughter of the students outside was still audible, but here it was as if time had been gently paused.
Just then, Xiao Zhang passed by carrying two cups of coffee and witnessed this scene—
He was so frightened that his breathing became shallow, but he couldn't help thinking:
...Sure enough, there's a story between these two.
Then he quietly backed away, hid the coffee beside him, and slipped away like a startled hamster.
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