Yun Chuji was so busy comforting someone that she almost got carried away herself.
If Tang Jianxi hadn’t mercifully reminded her, she would have likely been more than half an hour late.
Although she was already over ten minutes late as it was.
But thankfully, she and her elder brother hadn’t set a fixed time. Yun Chuji had originally planned to make the plum blossom cakes, feed a few to Tang Jianxi, coax her to wash up and go to sleep, and then leave. She estimated she would head out around a quarter past nine.
But now it was almost nine-forty.
Yun Chuji blushed, desperately wanting to forget the words Tang Jianxi had used to wake her.
“Young one, your self-control is lacking.”
“……”
“Tsk, did you forget you have to go see the moon with your brother?”
The alpha raised her hands, her long, warm fingers covering her entire face.
She let out a low whimper.
So embarrassing.
I think I’ve really been corrupted.
Yun Chuji arrived at Yun Xuan’s residence, feeling uneasy. The heat in her face had been extinguished by the cold wind blowing in through the car window, leaving only a faint pink tinge on her ears.
This house wasn’t too luxurious compared to the villa owned by Yun Xuan’s parents. It lacked that overbearing golden aura. Although it didn’t look cheap, it didn’t stand out in the innermost ring. It was quiet, brick-red with a slightly faded look, and a few vines climbed the corners. They had been deliberately planted and looked quite abrupt, with no other plants around, standing there like a seal stamped on the wall.
Yun Chuji stood at the entrance, holding the still-warm plum blossom cakes in her left hand. She glanced at the door, and it opened.
An AI servant waiting nearby said, “Miss Yun, the master is waiting for you upstairs.”
Yun Chuji followed the AI into the elevator. Yun Xuan had already prepared the venue.
Houses in the Empire’s inner ring usually had some clever mechanisms. Just like the levitating floors in the house of Yun Xuan’s parents, or the retractable swimming pool on the roof of Tang Jianxi’s home, the house Yun Xuan now lived in had an extendable balcony.
The balcony had been extended to nearly the size of a reception hall. Fortunately, few cars passed by this area, so it wasn’t blocking anyone’s way.
Yun Xuan had set up a small table on the balcony, lit lanterns, warmed wine, and placed a zither beside it.
That’s right, her elder brother was also an excellent zither player.
Yun Chuji knelt opposite Yun Xuan, placing the plum blossom cakes one by one onto a porcelain plate the color of warm jade.
The moon in this world wasn’t very beautiful. It was no longer the sole, striking light in the dark night, made to look mediocre by the glow of the city lights below.
Yun Xuan tilted his head back, gazing at the moon in the sky. He seemed to have gained some weight, and his skin was no longer as frighteningly pale as it had been a few months ago. Paired with his softened features, he undoubtedly looked like a beautiful, jade-like young man.
Yun Chuji blinked, her long, thick lashes brushing away the moisture in her eyes. She picked up a cup of wine and drained it in one gulp.
It was aged liquor, burning her throat as it went down. With slightly red eyes, Yun Chuji poured another cup.
“Chuji, you’ve certainly become much more bold since coming here.” Yun Xuan shifted his gaze from the sky back to the world of mortals. He noticed that his younger sister, who used to only take small sips of fruit wine, could now drink strong liquor cup after cup with a frown.
Indeed, it wasn’t just the moon that had changed; people had changed even more drastically.
And wasn’t he the same?
Yun Xuan let out a sneer, also raising his wine cup. “Enjoying the moon with wine—one of life’s great pleasures.”
Yun Chuji subconsciously glanced at his stomach, and her peripheral vision caught the zither beside him. She swallowed the words of caution she was about to say. Holding the cup with both hands, she drank her third cup of wine.
By now, her face was beginning to burn. Spurred by the heat, the sorrow buried in her heart unknowingly poured out. “Elder Brother, are you… are you all right?”
Hearing this, Yun Xuan’s hand paused as he was pouring wine. The clear liquid hovered at the lip of the bottle for a few seconds before he continued to fill the cup.
“I’m fine,” he answered faintly.
Yun Chuji’s eyes reddened, and she choked out, “But Elder Brother, you, a proud man, were humiliated like that by the Third Princess…”
Listening to her pitiful tone, anyone who didn’t know better would think she was the one who had suffered. Yun Xuan took a sip of wine and suddenly felt a sense of languor.
Why talk about this?
He waved his hand, his dark eyes shining like stars. Yun Xuan placed the zither on his lap and smiled. “Chuji, tonight we only admire the moon.”
With that, he plucked the strings. These were not his original hands; they hadn’t undergone training for the zither. And he was an omega. After just a few notes, red marks began to appear on Yun Xuan’s fingertips.
The music was fluid. Even if it couldn’t compare to his former standard, it was much better than he had imagined.
He had thought the strings would snap under his filthy, defiled hands.
Yun Chuji sat upright and listened to the zither, saying no more. She had sobered up a little and realized she was doing something absurd. What good would it do to say it all out loud? It was all in the past. Since she hadn’t been able to save him then, she shouldn’t reopen his wounds now.
Yun Xuan played half a piece before passing the zither to Yun Chuji. He seemed to be in a much better mood, the usual smile on his lips now holding a bit more genuine warmth. “My hands lack strength. You play.”
“If you play well, I’ll tell you whether I’m doing well or not.”
Yun Chuji’s expression grew serious. She looked at the gentle young man opposite her. He raised his wine cup with his reddened fingertips, drank, and then picked up a plum blossom cake, taking a large bite.
Her fingertips flew across the zither strings, her technique incredibly fast. She had been playing in her spare time recently, and with this body’s natural talent, her skill was already nearly on par with her past life. Surpassing her former self was just a matter of time.
Yun Xuan squinted, his head swaying gently. The half-eaten plum blossom cake was suspended in the air, the nut topping trembling precariously before falling just as the song ended.
After the music finished, Yun Xuan finished the rest of the plum blossom cake bite by bite. He wiped his fingers with a damp handkerchief, his eyes curving into a smile. “For a moment just now, I was truly in a daze. I thought we were still in my Green Bamboo Courtyard.”
Yun Chuji replied hastily, “Elder Brother, if you want to leave, I can build a Green Bamboo Courtyard for you.”
Yun Xuan poured her a cup of wine, then another for himself. He didn’t speak, but raised his cup.
The cups clinked, the crisp sound echoing in the quiet, bright night.
After a moment, Yun Xuan said, “We can’t go back, and I can’t leave.”
Yun Chuji pressed her lips together, glanced at the dull moon overhead, and asked, “The Third Princess won’t let you leave?”
Yun Xuan shook his head. “I am the one who is unwilling.”
“…Why?”
Yun Xuan raised an eyebrow. “Chuji, you’ve asked me too many questions tonight. How about I ask you one?”
“Do you like being an alpha?”
Yun Chuji’s immediate instinct was to say no, but then the image of Tang Jianxi appeared in her mind.
She hesitated.
She knew that although her love for Tang Jianxi stemmed from a fascination with her soul and a fondness for their time together, she had to admit one thing: the opportunity to meet Tang Jianxi had been brought about by her alpha identity. Many of the moments that allowed their love to blossom were also because she was an alpha with a high compatibility match.
If she were an omega or a beta, would they have fallen in love?
Yes, they would have. Yun Chuji was certain she would have fallen in love with Tang Jianxi, and Tang Jianxi would have fallen in love with her.
But it would have happened much later, and Tang Jianxi would have had to endure the torment of her illness. Theirs would have been a more painful love.
Yun Xuan drank another cup of wine, his face still holding a gentle smile, as if he could tolerate and understand everything. He said, “You see, Chuji, you’re not as detached from worldly desires as you appear. You just already have what you want.”
“But it can also be lost. The assassination attempt a while ago should have made you understand that this world isn’t actually safe. No matter what it is you want, you must at least have the ability to protect it.”
“Then what about you?” Yun Chuji pressed her fingers tightly against the zither strings until a thin red line appeared. Her face was also flushed, but her tone was fiercer than ever before. “Elder Brother, what is it that you want?”
Yun Xuan watched her quietly. The warm yellow light of the lantern illuminated his profile, making him look as profound as a statue.
Then, his expression relaxed, and a roguish smile appeared on his face. He pointed to the sky and said with a wild air, “I want the moon.”
Yun Chuji froze for a moment, then also started to laugh. She picked out a plum blossom cake and began to chew it slowly. The cake had gone cold, and this type of pastry was always best eaten warm, but it wasn’t too cold. The sweet, soft red bean paste still melted in her mouth.
The sweet fragrance filled Yun Chuji’s mouth, and for a moment, it was as if she were back home at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
After finishing the cake, she began to play the zither again.
The melody was leisurely. Yun Xuan listened with his head propped on his hand, occasionally eating a piece of cake or drinking a cup of wine.
His eyes were hazy, as if he were drunk.
After a few pieces, Yun Chuji stopped and also looked up at the moon.
She wondered how many times, in the time that had already passed, her mother, father, sister-in-law, Song-ge’er, and Nanny Li had looked at the moon just as she was now.
Unfortunately, what separated them was time. They were destined never to see the same moon.
In this world, perhaps only her elder brother could share this feeling of gazing at the moon to entrust his sorrows.
Just then, Yun Xuan suddenly spoke. “We haven’t finished our conversation.”
Yun Chuji was confused. “Hm?”
“Chuji, you still haven’t told me. What method do you plan to use to protect what you want?”
Yun Chuji thought for a moment, then shook her head. “I can’t imagine the possibility of losing it.”
Yun Xuan’s brows furrowed at her words. He thought his naive sister was about to preach her naive principles again, but Yun Chuji simply said, sweetly and shyly, “Jianxi will never leave me, and there’s no possibility that I would ever leave her. Even if… even if I weren’t an alpha, I think, as long as she loves me, I would overcome all difficulties.”
Even if it’s a painful love, as long as there is love, that’s enough.
“You love her?” Yun Xuan looked incredulous. “But she’s a woman!”
He had thought their connection was just because of those disgusting pheromones, like his and the Third Princess’s, only that Yun Chuji’s being an alpha gave it the false appearance of happiness.
But, love???
Had she truly integrated into this disgusting, terrifying world?
Yun Chuji was startled by his reaction. She had never seen her elder brother look so angry.
She defended herself, “Weren’t there many men in the Great Liang Dynasty who had a preference for other men? Perhaps I just happen to like women.”
“No, you like men.” Yun Xuan stood up. His round belly was exposed to Yun Chuji’s view, looking as if he were carrying a large bomb. “Mother wrote to me. You once fancied the young master of the Li family. It was only because he was not a suitable match that you chose our cousin.”
“But, in that situation, how could I have known what love was?” Yun Chuji couldn’t help but retort.
Yun Xuan looked down at her and asked softly, “That situation, what kind of situation was it?”
Yun Chuji understood the divergence between her and her elder brother, but she didn’t want to deny her own beliefs just to appease him. “Elder Brother, you know this. The way they raised a high-born lady was no different from raising a pet.”
“Oh, is that so?” Yun Xuan replied.
And then he said no more. He remained silent even when Yun Chuji quietly bid her farewell and left.
He stood there with his round belly, looking at the moon, an empty wine pot in his hand.
He thought, A gentleman seeks it in himself; a petty man seeks it in others.
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