The White Moonlight Clings to His Secret Identity - Chapter 4

The tall, long-legged man quickly disappeared around the corner.

Yun Xiaoyan clutched his phone, staring blankly in the direction he’d gone, his long eyelashes blinking slowly.

What could have made the usually stoic and expressionless Ji Chenlin hurry away like that? Had his company gone bankrupt? Or had rumors of him having a contagious disease scared him off?

Yun Xiaoyan scratched his head, unsure whether to feel relieved or to chase after him and find out.

Before he could decide, he found himself in a crisis of his own.

Because… his ex-boyfriend was calling him!

As the voice call notification suddenly popped up on his screen, Yun Xiaoyan’s panic was beyond mere fluster.

The phone vibrated insistently in his hand, its cute, high-pitched Japanese ringtone echoing through the solemn, official room of the civil affairs bureau.

Instantly, all eyes in the office turned to him.

Frantically, Yun Xiaoyan pressed the volume button all the way down, staring helplessly at the still-vibrating phone. After a moment, he remembered to press and hold the lock button to end the call.

He breathed a sigh of relief, but his peace lasted less than five seconds before another voice call came through. His phone began vibrating again.

Yun Xiaoyan: “……”

After several more attempts, the young man, feeling the immense pressure of all eyes on him, finally came to his senses. He long-pressed the power button and turned his phone off.

As his phone fell silent, the entire office plunged into a deathly hush.

“A harassing call,” the young man said, his ears turning bright red as he gave the staff a apologetic smile.

His smile was faint, and a blush had spread across his pale cheeks. The large, deer-like eyes in his eyes held both shyness and apology, making it impossible for anyone to criticize him. Instead, they felt an urge to comfort him.

“These harassing calls really have no limits these days. They won’t stop even after calling so many times. Isn’t this basically trying to force a sale?”

“Exactly. The person on the other end must have no manners.”

“Ugh, shameless.”

Yun Xiaoyan’s lips twitched, and he forced a smile. “Right? It’s too much.”

His agreement only emboldened the staff, who soon launched into a full-blown tirade against the caller, cursing them to the high heavens.

Five minutes later, Ji Chenlin finally returned.

The staff immediately fell silent, suppressing their personal emotions and resuming their professional, bureaucratic demeanor as Civil Affairs Bureau NPCs, busying themselves with the documents on the desk.

Yun Xiaoyan, however, stole a glance at the man’s face—

It was darker than the bottom of a pot, uglier than a math problem, and more terrifying than Voldemort.

How many billions did he lose?

While the others could pretend to be NPCs, the supervisor had no choice but to steel himself and step forward. “President Ji, are you still proceeding with the marriage certificate?”

Yun Xiaoyan’s heart leaped. He turned to look at the supervisor, his clear eyes brimming with grateful tears, then turned to look at Ji Chenlin with hopeful anticipation.

The supervisor met the young man’s gaze and subtly glanced at his moist eyes. His heart was squeezed tightly by a hand called “guilt,” leaving him breathless.

The air froze for a few seconds.

Just as the supervisor was about to throw caution to the wind and persuade Ji Chenlin not to miss the auspicious time for the ceremony, Ji Chenlin finally pursed his thin lips and icily uttered two words: “Continue.”

Yun Xiaoyan’s heart, which had been hanging by a thread, finally died.

At his command, the manager breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully presented the organized files.

Yun Xiaoyan frowned as he took them.

No wonder it had taken so many people so long to compile these documents; all the information on the forms had been filled out for them, and… there was also a rather substantial prenuptial agreement.

Yun Xiaoyan nodded in understanding and immediately flipped to the last page of the prenuptial agreement, signing his name with a flourish.

“Aren’t you going to read it?” The man’s deep voice came from above, tinged with a hint of malice and darkness, clearly indicating he wasn’t in a good mood.

Yun Xiaoyan forced a tearful expression, bit his lower lip, and looked up at the man’s dark eyes. “No need,” he said softly. “I trust you won’t mistreat me.”

As expected, the An Clan’s second strategy for winning over the man—”feigning weakness”—had worked. The man actually frowned at his words.

Yun Xiaoyan’s heart leaped, and he was about to follow up with more saccharine words while the moment was hot, when Ji Chenlin grunted and said, “Our marriage is merely a business alliance. This agreement details all the benefits I can offer you.”

“Don’t expect anything more,” Ji Chenlin said, his words shutting down Yun Xiaoyan completely.

After the young man signed the documents and pressed his handprint, the two entered the adjacent photo studio and stood before a white backdrop.

The photographer, holding a large professional camera, gestured to them with a smile. “Alright, let’s get your ID photos. Newcomers, stand a bit closer.”

Yun Xiaoyan nodded and obediently shifted closer to Ji Chenlin. But his movement was slightly off, and he accidentally bumped into the man’s shoulder and arm. The sharp, rich scent of pine suddenly awakened his senses.

Ji Chenlin, who worked out regularly, had arms with well-defined muscles and firm hardness even without consciously flexing. This contrasted sharply with Yun Xiaoyan’s pale, delicate skin.

Yun Xiaoyan let out a soft “Ouch” in pain and couldn’t help but glance up at Ji Chenlin.

Since they rarely stood side-by-side, Yun Xiaoyan only now realized he was almost a head shorter than Ji Chenlin.

From his eye level, he could clearly see the man’s prominent Adam’s apple.

That unique sex characteristic, radiating an overwhelming mature charm, made Yun Xiaoyan forget the apology he had planned to say. He inexplicably felt his throat grow dry, and his fingers suddenly felt awkward and unsure of what to do…

“Look at the camera.”

It wasn’t until he saw that alluring Adam’s apple move up and down in his vision that the man’s deep, low voice fell from above that Yun Xiaoyan realized what he had done!

He hurriedly turned his head to look at the photographer, who had already hinted at him countless times with his eyes. His ears, which had just cooled down, flushed uncontrollably once more.

“Come on, smile,” the photographer said, changing the subject.

After taking the double passport photos, editing, pasting them, and receiving their marriage certificate… the entire process was completed in a flash.

When the little red book was placed in his hands, Yun Xiaoyan still felt like it wasn’t real.

He… had just gotten married? In the year he turned twenty?

“Y-you go ahead and get busy. I’ll move my stuff back myself,” Yun Xiaoyan said, his face flushed as he kept his head down. The embarrassing blunder during the photo shoot made him too ashamed to look at the man again.

Ji Chenlin’s voice was as cold and distant as ever: “Have the driver take you.”

Yun Xiaoyan obediently agreed.

To distract himself and cool his ears, Yun Xiaoyan turned on his phone and opened WeChat, where he saw over twenty unread messages.

Most of the messages were from his ex-boyfriend, “Rainforest,” including voice calls and video invitations, all of which went unanswered, displaying the cold, impersonal “No Response” message.

Ex-boyfriend: What’s wrong?

Ex-boyfriend: Did something happen?

Ex-boyfriend: ?

Ex-boyfriend: Answer the phone, baby.

Seeing that intimate and embarrassing nickname, Yun Xiaoyan couldn’t help but imagine his ex-boyfriend’s deep, husky voice whispering it in his ear. If that “baby” had traveled through the electric current to his headphones, it probably would have made his knees go weak on the spot.

As it turned out, even the mere thought was enough to make Yun Xiaoyan slip on the steps in front of the civil affairs bureau, stumbling forward.

Fortunately, just as he was flailing wildly, a hot, strong hand grabbed his slender arm, providing the crucial support he needed to regain his balance.

The boy, now steady, clutched his phone tightly, his pale pink lips parted slightly as he caught his breath. The cowlick on his head stood up in a flustered mess, and he looked still somewhat shaken.

“Don’t play on your phone while walking,” the man’s cold, indifferent voice came from beside him.

The boy instinctively pressed his lips together, lowering his head and twisting his fingers like a schoolchild being scolded by a teacher. “I’m sorry.”

Ji Chenlin surveyed the boy’s slender frame, then glanced at the low steps at the entrance to the Civil Affairs Bureau. His brow furrowed. “Forget it. I’ll take you.”

Yun Xiaoyan looked up in surprise. “You’re not busy this afternoon?”

The man strode toward the all-black Mercedes G500 parked outside, his thin lips pressed into an impatient line. He tossed over his shoulder, “Get moving.”

He clearly wasn’t giving the boy any room to refuse.

Yun Xiaoyan hurried after him.

The man’s driving style was as decisive as his personality, like a black blade slicing through traffic. In ten minutes, they were at Yun Xiaoyan’s door.

“I’ll get the luggage. Just wait here,” the boy said, hopping out of the car.

Since the man had deigned to personally help with the move, Yun Xiaoyan felt he couldn’t ask him to run up and down the stairs. Besides, the rolling suitcases were easy to manage.

Ji Chenlin stepped out of the car, his long legs carrying him with ease. He glanced at the opulent, gold-trimmed elevator in the lobby and gave a noncommittal “Mm.”

That day at the blind date, Yun Xiaoyan’s description of Ji Chenlin as a “spoiled brat” hadn’t been baseless. For this move, he’d packed five suitcases, plus a mattress and snacks, all absolute necessities he couldn’t live without.

As Father and Mother Yun helped him push his suitcase into the elevator, they fussed over him like any worried parents.

“Take good care of yourself out there,” they said. “If anything happens, tell us right away. You can always come home to stay if you miss us…”

“I know, I know, that’s enough! Just see me off here~” Yun Xiaoyan, dragging a suitcase almost as tall as he was, strode toward the elevator with the swagger of a young warrior about to embark on a campaign.

He pressed the button for the first floor and glanced at the circle of luggage surrounding them. He was grateful Ji Chenlin had driven his large SUV to pick them up, otherwise, they might not have fit everything.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened on the first floor. Just as Yun Xiaoyan was about to burst out like a cannonball to get Ji Chenlin to help with the suitcases, he spotted someone he didn’t want to see standing by the elevator door—

His second aunt’s eldest son, Yun Haojun.

A conceited, arrogant young man who measured a person’s worth by their wealth. Relying on his family’s ill-gotten gains, he loudly bragged at school about having a different fair-skinned, beautiful girlfriend every week, proudly presenting it as proof of his personal charm.

The woman who had threatened to ruin him through the media was his mother.

Yun Xiaoyan frowned, about to bypass Yun Haojun and head straight for Ji Chenlin outside. But Yun Haojun called out first, his smile sharp and insincere, “That’s a lot of luggage. Can you manage it alone?”

“No,” Yun Xiaoyan replied, stopping and feigning innocence. “Need some help?”

“You want my help?” Yun Haojun scoffed as if he’d heard the most ridiculous joke. “You’re the one desperate to marry into a wealthy family, not me. Why should I suffer for you?”

“Suffer from being unwelcome, unvalued, and having to drag all this luggage into an empty house all by yourself?”

“But…” Yun Xiaoyan blinked his innocent eyes. “Some people would give anything to have this.”

“You!” Yun Haojun snapped, his true motives exposed.

When he learned about the ancestral connection between the Yun and Ji families, the bisexual Yun Haojun had always wanted to marry Ji Chenlin on behalf of the Yun Family. But his parents had forbidden it, warning that Ji Chenlin was moody and unpredictable, and that marrying him might even lead to domestic abuse.

For this reason, Yun Haojun, who cared only about money and status, had even had a huge fight with his parents during Yun Xiaoyan and Ji Chenlin’s arranged meeting.

Yun Haojun chuckled coldly, “Heh, don’t put on a brave face. Just ‘alone’ move these damn things and get out of the way. You’re blocking my elevator.”

“Who said I was alone?” Yun Xiaoyan retorted, refusing to back down, though his eyes darted around in search of help.

Ji Chenlin wasn’t much help. The lobby was vast, and standing at the entrance, he was too far away to communicate without shouting, which would be undignified. Besides, if the man refused to get involved in a dispute between Ji Chenlin and his own relatives, Ji Chenlin would be completely humiliated.

Going upstairs to find his parents was even worse, that would just confirm the rumors that he needed his family’s indulgence to get by.

Finally, Yun Xiaoyan’s gaze settled on the security guards at the first-floor desk.

He took a couple of steps toward the desk and reached out, but before he could speak, the two guards slung arms around each other’s shoulders, twirling their keychains as they chatted and headed out for lunch.

So it was already lunchtime, and the guards were off for their break.

A cold snort came from behind Yun Xiaoyan. “Oh dear, even heaven won’t help you. The guards are gone. Let’s see how you manage now, all alone and helpless, you poor thing.”

Ignoring his taunts, Yun Xiaoyan walked steadily to the service counter and began pushing the cart the residents used for deliveries toward the elevator. “Move aside,” he said calmly. “Who said I was going to call security? I have hands, don’t I? Can’t I handle my own business?”

Yun Haojun, who was obsessed with his image, magnified the unspoken implications in Yun Xiaoyan’s words.

Watching Yun Xiaoyan effortlessly stack three suitcases onto the cart, Yun Haojun gnashed his teeth in anger.

He said sarcastically, “Go ahead, hurry up. I need to go tell Aunt and Uncle how our little Yan is so independent and strong, hauling five suitcases all by himself. And if I have time, I’ll casually mention how wonderful your future life in the wealthy elite will be.”

Yun Xiaoyan froze mid-motion.

First, the bottom of the cart was full, and the fourth suitcase had to be stacked on top, making it too heavy to lift. Second, Yun Haojun’s words had really struck a nerve.

He loathed anything that involved making trouble for his parents, making the people who loved him more than life itself worry.

Yun Xiaoyan slowly straightened up, staring at his luggage, mentally calculating how to beat the man senseless. Suddenly, a familiar deep voice came from nearby: “Need a hand?”

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