After Dumping the Scumbag, I Ended Up with His "White Moonlight” - Chapter 24

The residential complex where Shen Nian lived did not allow unfamiliar vehicles to enter.

Xiao Yang dropped them off at the gates and turned around. “Brother Shen, I’ll drive around the area. Contact me when you’re done.”

The security guard recognized Qiu Yuyi. Seeing him get out of the car, the guard hurried over to open the gate, greeting him with a beaming smile. “You’re back! Haven’t seen you in quite a while.” He glanced at Xia Di’an, who was wearing a face mask and remained unrecognized. “Is this your friend?”

Qiu Yuyi nodded awkwardly. “Yes. We’ll head in now.”

“Right, right. Busy as always!”

Qiu Yuyi quickly tugged Xia Di’an inside. Xia Di’an’s expression was slightly sour, but he allowed himself to be pulled along.

“Tsk. Even the security guard remembers you,” he teased.

The jealousy was palpable. Qiu Yuyi rubbed his nose, wisely choosing to stay silent. Xia Di’an let out a cold snort, and with a flick of his wrist, he caught the hand that was tugging at his sleeve and laced their fingers together.

“What are you doing? Someone might see us!” Qiu Yuyi gasped, frantically trying to pull his hand away.

Xia Di’an acted as if he hadn’t heard a word. No matter how much Qiu Yuyi struggled, he wouldn’t let go. Fortunately, Shen Nian’s building wasn’t far from the gate, and they arrived in no time. Since there were cameras in the elevator, Xia Di’an—seeing that Qiu Yuyi was genuinely anxious—reluctantly released his grip.

“Brother Xia, are you sure you want to go in with me?” Qiu Yuyi made one last desperate attempt to sway him. Just thinking about the impending “crematorium” scene made him feel like he was suffocating.

“Of course.” Xia Di’an stood beside him, the picture of composure in contrast to Qiu Yuyi’s nerves.

The elevator reached the floor with a soft ding.

The moment had come. Adopting the mindset of a man facing the gallows, Qiu Yuyi summoned his courage and pressed the doorbell. The door opened almost immediately.

“You know the passcode, why didn’t you just come in?” Shen Nian said as he opened the door. He paused when he saw Xia Di’an standing outside. “What are you doing here?”

His tone made it perfectly clear that Xia Di’an was not a welcome guest.

Qiu Yuyi looked at Shen Nian in confusion. Shouldn’t he be happy to see Xia Di’an? Or is he upset because he intended to lecture me and now he can’t with Xia Di’an here? At that thought, he pressed a little closer to Xia Di’an’s side.

Meeting Shen Nian’s unfriendly gaze, Xia Di’an offered a smile as warm as a spring breeze. “Xiao Yi insisted I accompany him, and since I happened to be free today, I agreed.”

Liar, Qiu Yuyi thought. You insisted on coming, and you’re actually swamped—you have to head straight to the recording studio after this.

Since the guests had arrived, Shen Nian couldn’t very well kick Xia Di’an out. Despite no longer being in love with him, they had known each other for over a decade. He said in a low voice, “Come in.”

Walking back into the place where he had lived for two years, Qiu Yuyi habitually opened the shoe cabinet. He hesitated for a moment, bypassed his own old slippers, and pulled out two pairs of disposable ones.

“Here.” Qiu Yuyi handed a pair to Xia Di’an.

Xia Di’an’s expression shifted, and he didn’t reach for them. Qiu Yuyi looked at him, puzzled.

Shen Nian chose that moment to interject with a smile. “Xiao Yi, why aren’t you wearing your own slippers?”

Looking at the disposables in his hand, Qiu Yuyi belatedly realized that Xia Di’an was sulking because of how familiar he was with this house. Ignoring Shen Nian, he turned to Xia Di’an with a pleading, conciliatory look, tugging at his sleeve and offering the slippers again. Xia Di’an stared at him for a beat, pursed his lips, and finally reached out to take them.

Shen Nian’s face darkened for a moment before he spoke again. “Xiao Yi, the housekeeper heard you were coming back today and made all your favorite dishes. Come and eat.”

He pointedly used the phrase “coming back.”

Qiu Yuyi didn’t miss the implication. He frowned, unable to understand why Shen Nian was going out of his way to act so intimate in front of Xia Di’an. After a moment’s thought, he concluded that Shen Nian was trying to make Xia Di’an jealous.

The previous night, after Qiu Yuyi had expressed he didn’t want Xia Di’an to come along, Xia Di’an’s face had clouded over. When he heard that Qiu Yuyi was worried about him “rekindling old flames” with Shen Nian, Xia Di’an had laughed in frustration. He then proceeded to prove with “actual actions” that he had no feelings for Shen Nian, let alone a desire to rekindle anything.

Recalling waking up in Xia Di’an’s room this morning and the marks on his skin, Qiu Yuyi’s ears turned red.

Shen Nian, who had been watching him closely, saw the blush and assumed he was shy because of his words. Elated, he reached out to take Qiu Yuyi’s hand, only to grab thin air. He looked at Xia Di’an, who had suddenly pulled Qiu Yuyi into his embrace. Noticing that Qiu Yuyi didn’t struggle against the hold, Shen Nian’s expression turned utterly grim.

“What exactly is the relationship between you two?” He stared at them intensely.

Qiu Yuyi remained silent. Xia Di’an pulled him even tighter and gave a shallow smile. “I’m pursuing him. He hasn’t said yes yet.”

Despite Xia Di’an saying he hadn’t “said yes,” Shen Nian wasn’t blind. Seeing how submissively Qiu Yuyi leaned into Xia Di’an, he knew this wasn’t one-sided. Bitterness flooded his chest; his heart felt as though it were being sliced by a blade, thumping with a sharp, raw pain.

“It’s only been a month and you’ve already fallen for him?” Shen Nian looked at Qiu Yuyi in disbelief. “Have you forgotten everything about our two years together?”

Qiu Yuyi looked at Shen Nian and felt dazed. He had never seen Shen Nian like this. In his presence, Shen Nian had always been cold, rational, and emotionally stagnant. Seeing him now, a possibility dawned on him.

He looked at Shen Nian with a complicated expression. It was truly ironic—he had stayed by this man’s side for two years only to be treated as a shadow. Now that they had broken up, Shen Nian had suddenly decided he was in love with him.

Noticing Qiu Yuyi was spacing out, Xia Di’an gave his arm a dissatisfied pinch. Qiu Yuyi snapped back to reality, and seeing the unhappiness in Xia Di’an’s beautiful “peach blossom” eyes, his own expression softened.

He turned back to Shen Nian. “Senior Shen, what’s in the past stays in the past. Those two years happened, and I won’t deny them, but if you’re asking if I still love you, I can answer you clearly: I don’t.” He met Shen Nian’s pained gaze.

“If there’s nothing else, Brother Xia and I will be going now.”

Seeing him lead Xia Di’an toward the door, Shen Nian frantically blocked their way. “Xiao Yi, at least eat before you go. The housekeeper worked hard on this.”

“No need, Senior Shen. Goodbye.”

Before they stepped into the elevator, Xia Di’an—who had been mostly quiet—suddenly cast a casual glance back at Shen Nian. The cold indifference and ruthlessness in that look made Shen Nian shudder. He stood frozen, watching helplessly as the elevator doors closed on them.

After leaving Shen Nian’s home, Xia Di’an called Xiao Miao. While waiting for the car, he looked at Qiu Yuyi with dissatisfaction. “You won’t be seeing Shen Nian again, right?”

Realizing he was still jealous, Qiu Yuyi stifled a laugh. Under that increasingly grumpy gaze, he said, “I certainly won’t see him in private, but if we run into each other at work, that’s beyond my control.”

He was telling the truth; the entertainment industry was small, and run-ins were inevitable. Xia Di’an said nothing. Xiao Miao arrived just then, and Xia Di’an opened the door. “Get in. I’ll drop you home first.”

Because Xia Di’an had to rush to the studio, they parted once they reached the gates of Qiu Yuyi’s complex.

Back home, Qiu Yuyi fed the rabbit a handful of grass and pellets. Then, he took out his phone and messaged Su Yichen to say he was home. His finger hovered over the video call log from Shen Nian; after a moment’s hesitation, he moved Shen Nian back into the blacklist. Since they had cleared the air, it was time for a total break from the past.

With that done, he pulled out his script. He was set to join the film crew in less than ten days, but the male lead still hadn’t been announced. Su Yichen had tried to dig for info, but could only find out that the lead was a newcomer to film who had previously only done TV dramas.

Qiu Yuyi wasn’t particularly surprised. While the script was excellent, the director was a newcomer; established stars with both talent and popularity were rarely willing to gamble on a debut director.

For the next few days, Qiu Yuyi stayed cooped up at home, focusing entirely on studying his script.

Xia Di’an was also incredibly busy lately. However, no matter how packed his schedule was, he always carved out time to contact Qiu Yuyi every day.

One afternoon, Qiu Yuyi received another call from him.

“Film an MV? Me?” Qiu Yuyi was taken aback.

“Yes,” Xia Di’an said softly. “Your image fits this song perfectly. Would you be willing to help me out, Xiao Yi?”

“What? Xia Di’an invited you to star in his new music video?” Su Yichen looked utterly incredulous.

Qiu Yuyi nodded. “Do you think I should accept?”

“Accept? Of course you should!” Su Yichen was visibly excited. “This is Xia Di’an we’re talking about! The man can post a random emoji on Weibo and get a million shares and likes!”

After the initial excitement, he turned a scrutinizing eye toward Qiu Yuyi. “Not bad, Xiao Yi. That variety show really paid off—you actually got on that well with him? But wait, isn’t he Shen Nian’s ‘White Moonlight’? You really don’t mind?”

Thinking about the complicated history between Shen Nian and Xia Di’an, Su Yichen hesitated.

Qiu Yuyi hadn’t told Su Yichen that Shen Nian had fallen for him; explaining that would inevitably expose his relationship with Xia Di’an.

“I don’t mind. I don’t like Shen Nian anymore,” Qiu Yuyi said in a low voice.

“That’s good to hear.” Su Yichen let out a breath of relief. “The MV shoot is tomorrow and will last two days. You’re scheduled to join your film crew the day after that. You can fly directly to S City once we’re finished—the timing works out perfectly.”