Chapter 41

Lin Qimian tapped open that animated GIF and then tapped it again. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the cat firing off hearts was Xu Yueliang herself.

She had those same big eyes, petite nose and mouth, and delightfully round cheeks that just begged to be pinched.

Lin Qimian’s WeChat was practically devoid of emoji packs, and certainly nothing this adorable.

She scrolled back through their chat history, digging up a treasure trove of stickers from their earliest exchanges and saving them all to her own collection.

After some careful selection, she picked the perfect one and sent it over.

【Cat clutching its heart after being struck.gif】

Xu Yueliang’s reply popped up almost immediately:

【Doctor Lin, drive safely~】

【Doctor Lin, text me when you get home~~】

【Cat covering face in anticipation.gif】

Lin Qimian smiled and typed back: 【Okay.】

She started the car, turned the wheel, and pulled out of the parking lot.

If Xu Yueliang’s place was truly nearby, it was still a good distance from her own home.

It was peak weekend rush hour, and Lin Qimian sat stuck in traffic for half a street before a notification pinged on her backup phone.

The streamer you’re specially following, “Little Moon,” has gone live.

She was streaming again already.

Lin Qimian slipped into the live stream room and popped in one earbud.

Xu Yueliang had changed back into her earlier outfit, but with heavier makeup.

Whatever the chat had asked, she laughed and replied, “No need to change; I really like this one.”

“Yeah, I haven’t tried this style much before~”

“Because my face is round—it’s cuter that way, heehee… I can’t really pull it off. You need real poise to make it look good.”

“I’m no good at it, seriously—you haven’t seen…”

She trailed off for a beat, cleared her throat with a fake cough, and picked up: “Some people just look amazing in it.”

Some people look amazing in it. Lin Qimian glanced down at her own clothes.

Some people… Did that include her?

It probably did.

After all, Xu Yueliang had complimented her looks more than once or twice. She really seemed to like this face of hers.

The corners of Lin Qimian’s mouth curved up. She resolved to give her skin some extra care that night.

Once she’d pulled into her neighborhood’s parking lot, Lin Qimian unbuckled her seatbelt and watched the stream more closely.

Xu Yueliang had just finished a dance and was reading off the list of thanks, but her gaze kept flicking to the bottom right corner of the screen. She kept tripping over her words, even mangling fans’ usernames.

Xu Yueliang clutched at her chest and apologized profusely to her viewers, her eyes turning red at the corners. She looked utterly pitiful.

The fans didn’t give her a hard time. Instead, one comment popped up: 【Streamer, are you checking your phone?】

Xu Yueliang froze. “Ah…”

After her abrupt disappearance that afternoon, the chat exploded:

【If you’ve got family stuff going on, handle it first—streaming can wait.】

【Yeah, you’ve seemed off lately.】

【If Moon wants to check her phone, just let her. Half the people in chat are on theirs anyway.】

【Watching her make out with her boyfriend? Dog food much?】

The admin swiftly deleted that last one.

But the quicker the deletion, the more suspicious it seemed. Soon the screen was awash in white text, all demanding to know if Moon was in a relationship.

“No, no…” Xu Yueliang waved her hands vigorously, her denial firm and absolute. “I’m not dating anyone.”

“No boyfriend. None.”

“Not planning to anytime soon, anyway. These things depend on fate, right?”

“I’ve been tied up with personal stuff lately, which has kept me from work. I’m really sorry—sorry about that. Tonight, I’ll dance a few extra songs for you all…”

Her words did the trick, soothing the fans. The chat cleared right up.

They also sent Lin Qimian’s heart on a little rollercoaster of its own.

She’d never asked Xu Yueliang if she was single, nor tasked Huang Xiaoyi with finding out.

On principle, they weren’t close enough for such personal prying.

The more honest reason? She didn’t want to know.

There was a fifty-fifty shot. If Xu Yueliang wasn’t single, then what? Could she resist drawing near, resist gazing at her, resist drawing that unique energy only Xu Yueliang could provide?

Lin Qimian knew she couldn’t.

Better to let the question slide.

Now Xu Yueliang had answered it outright.

No dating. No boyfriend. Not even thinking about it for the time being.

It made Lin Qimian feel safe.

After that, Xu Yueliang snuck another glance at the bottom of her screen.

She looked away fast enough, but in front of the camera, nothing stayed hidden.

Lin Qimian suddenly realized—was Xu Yueliang waiting for her to say she’d gotten home safely?

Her heart pounded fiercely a couple of times. Lin Qimian grabbed her other phone, typed rapidly, and hit send.

【I’ve arrived.】

This time, Xu Yueliang watched without a shred of subtlety.

A brilliant smile even bloomed across her face the moment her eyes landed on it.

But after her earlier blunder, she didn’t dare reply right away. Instead, she abruptly stood and announced, “Tonight’s late-night show—I’ll treat everyone to it early!”

Lin Qimian was reaping all the benefits.

She’d held Xu Yueliang up by meeting her, and now she lurked among the livestream viewers, soaking up the makeup perks.

Once Xu Yueliang finished her dance and the vibe was electric, Lin Qimian showered the stream with several hefty gifts.

Not a single bullet comment, though.

That night, Xu Yueliang’s sweet voice filling her ears, Lin Qimian tinkered with her new astronomical telescope and captured a pretty decent shot of the moon.

After Xu Yueliang signed off, Lin Qimian gazed at the photo for ages before posting it to Moments.

A post shielded from everyone but Jiaojiao.

Nothing fancy in the caption: 【Tonight’s moon.】

A stark, cool-toned image of the cratered orb, half veiled in shadow.

The moment it went live, a red notification dot popped up.

Xu Yueliang liked it instantly. And as Lin Qimian checked it out, a comment dropped in.

【Did Doctor Lin take this? It’s so pretty!!!】

Lin Qimian flipped back to their chat and took a bold step forward.

No excuses, no beating around the bush—in the hush of midnight, she fired off some utterly pointless chit-chat to Xu Yueliang.

【Not asleep yet?】

The reply zipped back: 【Mm!】

Lin Qimian sounded like some dull middle-aged auntie: 【Staying up late’s bad for you, you know.】

Xu Yueliang, though, was all enthusiasm:

【Yes yes yes!】

【Washing my face now—bedtime any second!】

【Doctor Lin shouldn’t pull all-nighters either!】

Lin Qimian:

【Mm.】

【Just felt like gazing at the moon tonight.】

On the other end: typing… deleted. Typing… deleted.

At last, a reply so candid it seemed to blush pink through the chat bubble.

【Doctor Lin saying that has me all embarrassed~】

【Hehe, blame my silly name~~~】

【Doctor Lin’s moon pic is gorgeous! Pro gear?】

Lin Qimian snapped a pic of the telescope and sent it over.

Xu Yueliang gushed with envy, peppering her with telescope questions.

Lin Qimian parroted back the fresh facts she’d picked up that very night, somehow nailing the vibe of a dedicated stargazer.

They chatted effortlessly, like any run-of-the-mill friends in the most everyday sort of bond.

Before goodnights, maybe it was the night’s profound quiet or the mood’s gentle glow, but Lin Qimian felt a itch and let her fingers wander to the keys. She asked Xu Yueliang:

【Want the video from behind B Gate yesterday?】

Want it?

That clip of you, panicked, burrowing into my arms.

Proof of your frantic heartbeat.

A beat later, Xu Yueliang typed back: 【Yes.】

Yes.

One plain word. No softening emojis. No cutesy stickers for flair.

Off went the video, now tucked away on both their phones.

Its harrowing scene slipped back into Lin Qimian’s dreams once more, somehow softened by her into a tender spring zephyr.

The next day, Lin Qimian unlocked her phone to a fresh message from Jiaojiao.

No deadlines, no urgencies—just a weekend morning hello, picking up where last night left off.

【Doctor Lin, morning!】

【Up yet after that late night?】

Five minutes on:

【Bet Doctor Lin sleeps till the sun warms her butt!】

【Little duck quack quack quack ha ha ha.gif】

Lin Qimian smiled. The morning felt as yielding as her dreams, soft enough to claim her whole heart, unscarred and true.

They slipped right into easy talk.

A bit in the morning. When Xu Yueliang headed to work, Lin Qimian reined in her texting fingers and found chores to fill the time.

A few more messages that afternoon, during Xu Yueliang’s break.

Xu Yueliang adored telescopes. Loved Lin Qimian’s moon shots.

So Lin Qimian snapped one that night, another the next—even on iffy weather nights when the pics turned out meh. In the wee hours, she’d post a Moments just for Xu Yueliang’s eyes.

Always something to pick up the thread.

They just didn’t burn the midnight oil like that again.

Xu Yueliang had work that evening, while Lin Qimian’s job required her to rise early.

Lin Qimian didn’t want to disrupt Xu Yueliang’s schedule, and Xu Yueliang was equally anxious about holding Lin Qimian back at the wrong moments.

The two women naturally voiced their concerns for each other and shared glimpses of their daily lives.

As for the food Lin Qimian had given her, Xu Yueliang quickly finished anything with a short shelf life, while she savored the longer-lasting treats at her leisure, sneaking a few bites whenever she had a free moment.

She never failed to give Lin Qimian feedback afterward, which soon had Lin Qimian feeling the same quiet joy about food that Xu Yueliang did.

These few days—endless in their sweetness, fleeting in their passage—slipped by until the day You Weiwei came in to replace her dental crown.

It was another Friday, bathed in the same gentle sunlight, but this time their reunion carried no trace of hesitation.

Xu Yueliang had let Lin Qimian know early on that she would be accompanying Weiwei, and Lin Qimian had promptly replied that she would be waiting in the clinic room.

And so, that ordinary clinic room—indistinguishable from any other—transformed into something singular and luminous.

Lin Qimian was in the middle of examining a patient when a small head poked around the door.

The girl’s light golden hair had been dyed a warm honey-tea brown, falling in soft, gentle curls.

Her eyes held the hue of rich honey, and when her pursed lips met Lin Qimian’s gaze, they curved into a shimmering crescent moon rippling across a tranquil pond.

“Come on in,” Lin Qimian said to her.

Xu Yueliang shuffled inside in tiny steps, staying silent with the patient still there.

“Zhenzhen, brew Moon a cup of that tea I brought,” Lin Qimian instructed.

“Got it!” Zhenzhen replied brightly.

Lin Qimian gestured to the extra seat beside her desk. “Have a seat for now.”

Xu Yueliang hurried over and settled in quietly.

Lin Qimian gave her a smile. “There’s a booklet on the desk—take a look.”

Xu Yueliang obediently picked up the blue travel brochure and began leafing through it.

Lin Qimian returned to her work, and after a long moment, she asked casually, “National Day’s almost here. Got any travel plans?”