The White Moonlight is Both Competitive and Predatory - Chapter 4

“Next time there is an opportunity, would you like to meet her?”

“Yan Chi.”

The private room was very quiet, so much so that even though Yan Chi did not have his speakerphone on, the voice still carried slightly.

“Who is it? Calling you at this hour?” Liu Muqing squinted and asked in a low whisper.

As soon as the words were out, Yan Chi found himself in a difficult position. He did not have the chance to answer Liu Muqing. “It is me.”

He did not ask how Ji Yueting had obtained his phone number; the timing was not quite right for that.

Upon hearing him, Ji Yueting gave a light chuckle. “Are you back from your business trip?”

“I landed not long ago,” Yan Chi answered primly, like a little robot.

Liu Muqing listened from the side, his eyes fixed on them. He found it quite novel to see Yan Chi in such a frozen state. Yan Chi usually appeared gentle and slow, but he was actually quite efficient in speech and action. When had he ever been like this?

His curiosity piqued, Liu Muqing instinctively went to turn his fork, but it accidentally scraped across the porcelain plate holding the food.

“Screech—” The noise was ear-piercing.

Yan Chi shrunk his neck slightly. He heard Ji Yueting ask naturally, “Is that your friend beside you?”

“It is Liu Muqing. He went to Haijing High School as well. I remember… you were in a club together during high school.” Since the other party had asked, Yan Chi mentioned it out of politeness.

Ji Yueting gave an “Mhm” in response, then moved past it entirely. “The business trip must have been exhausting.”

Why did he jump back to this topic? Yan Chi was confused.

“It was alright, not too tiring.”

“Then do you have time later? Shall I come find you?”

Yan Chi said he was not tired, but in reality, he had been so busy during the trip that his feet had barely touched the ground. Now that Ji Yueting suddenly mentioned coming to find him, he remembered the cufflink that had been left on the back seat of the car.

Yan Chi replied, “I am free. My car is parked at home. If you are at the office, it should not be far to get there, but it will take me a while to get home.”

“You did not drive this time?” Ji Yueting caught the key point and said directly, “Send me your location; I will come pick you up.”

After saying this, Ji Yueting did not speak again. He simply waited quietly for Yan Chi’s answer. His breathing was not loud, yet it became exceptionally clear in Yan Chi’s ear.

Having held the phone for so long, Yan Chi’s wrist felt stiff. His heart skipped a beat or two, and he finally said helplessly, “…Alright.”

After hanging up, Liu Muqing cast an inquiring look, his eyes full of teasing. “Xiao Chi, I must say, could this be another one of your suitors?”

“No, do not talk nonsense,” Yan Chi denied. His hands did not stop moving as he sent the restaurant’s location to Ji Yueting.

A few seconds later, Ji Yueting replied:

[Wait fifteen minutes for me. I will be there soon.]

“So who exactly is it? Your expression changed just now.”

Considering that if he were to be completely honest now, the “no more interactions” flag he had set a few minutes ago would be overturned, Yan Chi mischievously chose to remain silent. “It is no one, just some studio business.”

Liu Muqing wanted to ask more, but he suddenly received a message. He glanced at it, and his face instantly fell. “Xiao Chi, terrible news. There is a problem with a program running at the company. The higher-ups are calling me back to work overtime now.”

Liu Muqing was a manager at a major internet company. He spent every day buried in programs; it was common for him to have sudden overtime whenever an unsolvable bug appeared.

“Then go quickly. Try to finish early so you can rest,” Yan Chi said as he gestured for a waiter. “I will pack the food for you. If you get hungry tonight, you can reheat it; the taste should still be good.”

“Oh, okay, Xiao Chi.” Liu Muqing dejectedly packed his things and took his leave, not even having the time to ask another question about who the caller was. Yan Chi, on the other hand, unhurriedly finished the remaining chicken breast on the table, only heading out when the time was right.

Dragging his suitcase used for the business trip to the roadside, he saw that Ji Yueting had not yet arrived.

It was only now, having finally found a moment of peace, that Yan Chi had the time to carefully observe Ji Yueting’s new WeChat profile.

His Moments were set to be visible for only three days, and the inside was completely blank. His pinned post was the same. However, Yan Chi did not find it strange. After all, Ji Yueting was now a successful businessman; he likely would not post personal photos on Moments. That would be too private.

It was just this profile picture… Yan Chi slid his index and middle fingers across the screen to enlarge the square photo. He was stunned to find that Ji Yueting’s profile picture was actually a small white cat. It was curled up on a gray soft cushion, a tiny ball with fluffy fur on its back. If one did not enlarge it, one really could not see it clearly.

“Beep.”

The car lights illuminated the road. The Bentley stopped in front of Yan Chi, and the window rolled down to reveal a face with sharp features.

“Your car is repaired?” Yan Chi looked at the familiar license plate and spoke without thinking.

Ji Yueting got out of the car. “It was fixed two days ago. There was just a small problem with the engine; it was not serious.”

Yan Chi nodded. His pale face was tinged with orange light from the streetlights, making him look very vivid. Ji Yueting’s gaze swept over him and was quickly withdrawn.

Having been unable to resist eating some of Liu Muqing’s fried rice at dinner, Yan Chi was currently experiencing a carb crash. Before he could wonder why Ji Yueting had gotten out of the car, the suitcase in his hand was naturally taken from him.

Ji Yueting’s hands were large, with long fingers and prominent knuckles. His temperature was also very high. At the moment they touched, Yan Chi flinched from the heat. By the time he regained his composure, the suitcase—which was packed so full it was as heavy as a lead weight—had been easily lifted into the trunk by Ji Yueting.

“There are some things in the back. Is it okay if you sit in the passenger seat?” Ji Yueting asked.

Yan Chi naturally had no objection and obediently got into the car. However, it seemed that few people ever sat in this passenger seat; the backrest was bolt upright. Yan Chi felt uncomfortable leaning against it and reached down, searching for the button to adjust the seat.

He was not very familiar with the interior of a Bentley and could not find it immediately. He tilted his head, and the back of his neck became taut. Perhaps because the skin was so thin, the neck bone protruded slightly.

Where is it? Yan Chi wondered to himself.

In the next instant, without warning, Ji Yueting’s presence suddenly drew near. “It is here… a little further down.”

Yan Chi’s eyes widened. He felt a warmth on the back of his hand—it was Ji Yueting’s palm. There were a few centimeters between them, yet the broad shadow cast by the Alpha’s shoulders almost entirely covered him.

It was too close.

Soon, after a mechanical whirring sound, the backrest lowered.

The interior of the Bentley was quite spacious, enough to allow an Alpha to rise slightly. When Yan Chi hurriedly turned his head, Ji Yueting had already sat back in his original position, though a few faint creases could be seen on his suit trousers.

“Thank you,” Yan Chi’s earlobes felt a bit hot. He rarely found himself at a loss for words. “I am sorry to trouble you to make a trip so late.”

“It was my item that was lost in the first place,” Ji Yueting smiled. “Naturally, I must take full responsibility.”

On the way to Yan Chi’s home, the two did not speak much. Only the car media played a radio broadcast on the same frequency as the one on that rainy night; coincidentally, even the host was the same as that night.

Yan Chi lowered his head and scrolled through his phone aimlessly, but his thoughts had already flown far away to an unknown place.

The skyscrapers were brilliantly lit. The car moved forward as shadows of the lights flickered. Ji Yueting’s hand moved across the center console. Yan Chi noticed it and reacted quickly, leaning away like a sensitive cat.

Ji Yueting’s hand paused.

“…” Sensing that the atmosphere was a bit awkward, Yan Chi asked to compensate, “What is wrong?”

“Nothing. There are two boxes of blueberries over there. Could you help me grab them?”

Upon hearing this, Yan Chi acted immediately. Sure enough, he felt two boxes of blueberries on the side. He did not know what Ji Yueting wanted to do, so he held them up and asked him seriously, “Do you want to eat them now?”

Looking at his expression, Ji Yueting could not help but chuckle. “It is not for me to eat. I got these for you.”

“For me?” Yan Chi was surprised.

“The company’s fruit portion for today,” Ji Yueting did not explain much. “Will you eat them? The assistant said they are very sweet.”

Yan Chi and the two boxes of blueberries in his hands stared at each other. After a while, he did not refuse and said in a muffled voice, “I will eat them.”

No one could refuse a harmless request from their White Moonlight, especially when it involved two boxes of blueberries that looked very delicious.

Now, the sound inside the car was no longer monotonous. Aside from the female voice on the radio, there was a tiny, rustling sound of fruit bursting with juice.

“…”

Ji Yueting seemed a bit lost in thought.

“What is wrong?” Yan Chi’s cheeks were moving. He noticed that Ji Yueting had not started the car immediately after the traffic light turned green, so he asked out of traffic politeness.

“It is nothing.” The Alpha composed his thoughts, appearing gentle and dignified. “We will be there soon, right?”

“Yes, it is just at the next turn.” Yan Chi gestured, pointing out the destination a step ahead of the navigation.

After entering the residential area, the Bentley stopped beside the white Aston Martin. Yan Chi did not waste time and immediately went to the back seat to look for the cufflink. The seat was spacious. Yan Chi knelt on it with one knee and turned on the interior light, but he did not see it on the seat at first glance.

“Why is it not here?” Yan Chi muttered. he leaned down further to look. The light did not reach that area, so he had to turn on his flashlight to check carefully.

Ji Yueting had also gotten out of the car at some point. He looked down at the protruding spine beneath Yan Chi’s white shirt and approached silently.

“Did you not find it?” the Alpha asked.

Yan Chi moved another inch inward. “Wait a moment. I think I see it. It rolled further inside.”

Ji Yueting stood behind him and asked, “Can you reach it?” His voice was a bit hoarse.

“Yes, just… just a little bit more.” Yan Chi stretched out his hand, his fingertips already touching the edge of the cufflink. He hooked it back gently. At the same time the cufflink landed in his palm, the balance he had maintained with his knee and elbow was disrupted.

However, the expected fall did not happen. At the moment his balance was lost, Ji Yueting’s hand gave a very light support to Yan Chi’s waist, steadying him.

Afterward, he withdrew his hand, being gentlemanly and restrained.

The summer evening was already sweltering. This few-minute battle with the cufflink had caused Yan Chi to sweat. The stray hairs on his forehead had fallen and were sticking to his skin, but he did not mind. He simply raised his shoulder slightly to brush away the hair at his temples, opened his palm, and asked the Alpha with a smile, “Ji Yueting, is it this one?”

After receiving no response for a long time, Yan Chi looked up blankly.

He wondered if it was because the sky was too dark, but he actually felt that Ji Yueting’s gaze at this moment was a bit too… deep?

“…Yes,” Ji Yueting finally spoke. “Thank you for finding it for me.”

It must be my imagination.

Yan Chi dismissed the illusion he had just experienced.

The cufflink had been retrieved, and he had arrived home. It was time to say goodbye.

Yan Chi did not think too much. He only felt that they finally had no reason to meet again. For him, such a thing brought a sense of relief, yet also a sense of regret.

The luggage was taken out. With one hand pulling the handle and the other holding the remaining box of blueberries, Yan Chi took another look at Ji Yueting. “Then I am leaving?”

“Yes,” Ji Yueting said. Although it was late, he did not seem to be in a hurry to get into the car. “The business trip was hard work. You should rest early.”

This level of concern did not make Yan Chi too uncomfortable. He smiled, his gaze quickly sweeping over him. In the final few seconds of that last look, he suddenly saw something white on the front of Ji Yueting’s suit.

Social etiquette was important, so he pointed to his own chest and said, “It looks like you have some dust there.”

Ji Yueting looked down, said “Ah,” and then reached out to pick the “dust” off completely.

He can pick it off? Yan Chi then noticed that it was not dust, but the fur of some animal.

“It was likely left behind when I was holding the cat,” Ji Yueting pinched the white cat hair with his fingertips and carelessly blew it away. “The seasons are changing between spring and summer, so she is shedding a lot. It is like a dandelion.”

“You actually have a cat?” Yan Chi did not know if he was asking something he already knew.

“A little white cat. I have had her for a few years.” Ji Yueting’s tone was like he was making small talk. “Her name is Chi Chi. The ‘Chi’ from the word ‘eat’.”

Chi Chi.

This sound coming from Ji Yueting’s mouth made Yan Chi feel strangely uncomfortable.

“…Alright, then say hello to her for me. If there is nothing else, I will head back.”

“Yan Chi,” Ji Yueting interrupted his farewell and looked over directly. “Next time there is an opportunity, would you like to meet her?”