Chapter 78

Chapter 78

This guess was such a cliché, but the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

Could it be that even a cold-hearted villain like Li Yanchuan had a White Moonlight he couldn't forget?

It seemed to fit his character... Yeah, right!

Frustrated by his own conclusion, Song Nian's mouth twitched, feeling deeply bitter.

He bit his lower lip, and his hand hidden under the table clenched quietly, knuckles were turning white.

His mind was in turmoil, and even Bai Yunyue's subsequent words, despite their obvious provocation, didn't even register.

"I'll head out now. Let's catch up later."

With these words, Bai Yunyue shot him a meaningful look before turning and walking away.

Only after the person had completely vanished from view did Song Nian slump back into his chair, exhausted.

His chest ached with a bitter, sour feeling, as if someone had squeezed a lemon inside it, an uncontrollable sourness flooding his senses.

For the rest of the party, he was distracted and barely remembered how he said goodbye to everyone and how he got home.

The bitter, uncomfortable feeling didn't ease up. His limbs felt like they were chained to heavy stones, making it hard to move, and even walking became difficult. As soon as he entered the house, Song Nian flopped onto the sofa, not even bothering to change clothes.

Bai Yunyue's words echoed in his mind, even forming mental images that showed a "close" past between him and Li Yanchuan.

A past that didn't include him, and happened before him.

The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Song Nian shook his head wildly in frustration, trying to drive those images away.

Come to think of it, having someone he liked wasn't that strange.

After all, Li Yanchuan was almost thirty, and having had a few teenage crushes in school was normal.

Besides, all that was so long ago. Having lived with Li Yanchuan for so long, he had never seen him contact Bai Yunyue.

Even if she was his White Moonlight, they had been out of touch for ages. What was the point?

No matter how much he tried to comfort himself, the thought of Bai Yunyue's existence and her suggestive words made him extremely upset.

Clearly, it was me who married him, me who stays by his side now, and me who loves him...

Rolling over, Song Nian grabbed a throw pillow and curled up on the sofa, feeling depressed.

The jealous young man, belatedly experiencing the troubles of adolescence, was torn between hope and fear and all tied up in knots. He wished he could blurt out his love immediately, but he was afraid of losing it.

Love had that kind of magic—it could turn a straightforward, expressive person into someone hesitant and indecisive.

In the past, on other matters, Song Nian always said what he thought, shared what he wanted to share, criticized what he wanted to criticize, without holding back.

Because first, once he said something, no matter what answer he got, it wouldn't have any other consequences. Second, at that time, he hadn't fallen in love yet.

For example, this matter—he could have simply confronted Li Yanchuan directly.

But now that he had fallen for him, his judgment was affected. And once emotional matters were spoken, if he didn't get the answer he wanted, it would only create cracks in their stable relationship.

Being straightforward in love requires the security of being loved, and clearly, he didn't have that now.

Even though Li Yanchuan's kindness to him was obvious, yet...

Feelings were so strange—small intimacies accumulated, forming a sea, piling into a tower. It seemed that this could prove the existence of love.

But with just a little something off, that sea and sand tower that had already taken shape would collapse.

It was an unfair exchange, yet it was normal. Even the most honest person would hesitate in front of love.

So Song Nian didn't dare to ask Li Yanchuan about this directly, like he used to.

Just as he was feeling down, his phone rang, pulling him back to reality.

He pulled out his phone and saw a message from Li Yanchuan.

In their chat window, the half-finished sentence he'd typed still sat there silently.

What else could he say? Wouldn't that just be asking to be humiliated? He sighed, silently deleting it.

Looking at the message content more carefully, he grew even angrier.

"Li Yanchuan: Sorry, I reserved a restaurant, but there's an emergency international meeting at 8 p.m. I can't have dinner with you tonight."

They had clearly agreed to have dinner together, and he actually dared to stand him up!

Double the crime!

Furious, Song Nian boldly decided not to reply, throwing his phone onto the coffee table.

But it wasn't good to just have a little tantrum like this, after all, today was Valentine's Day.

But if he didn't get angry and just went along with the holiday, wouldn't that be too frustrating?

Song Nian, who was big on rituals, thought for a long time and finally came up with a compromise.

Maybe he should still buy him a bouquet of flowers, as originally planned.

But he wasn't about to let this guy—who might have a White Moonlight—off the hook!

A mischievous smile curled the corner of his mouth as he pressed the order button.

—

Meanwhile, in the office of the Li Group building.

Seeing the "typing..." indicator that had been showing for a while, Li Yanchuan's eyes held a hint of a smile.

He wondered, "Is he thinking about dinner tonight?"

Of course, he knew what day it was. Whether for Valentine's Day or to celebrate the successful premiere, a romantic dinner was in order.

Pretending not to know, he'd secretly asked his assistant to book a restaurant famous as a romantic date spot, planning to surprise him tonight.

Just as Li Yanchuan was about to reply and send a candlelit dinner invitation, his secretary's report froze his smile.

"Can the meeting be rescheduled?" he asked with a frown.

"President Li, this requires coordinating with the foreign partner's schedule, so it's probably... not easy to change."

Sensing the shift in her boss's expression, the secretary instantly shuddered and said nervously.

Knowing there was no way out of it, Li Yanchuan rubbed his temples in frustration and could only wave his hand to dismiss the secretary.

It seemed he had no choice but to cancel tonight's date.

He pursed his lips, pulled out his phone, and prepared to break the bad news.

Sure enough, as soon as the message was sent, the typing indicator on the other end stopped, and there was no reply for a long time.

He was probably angry, and getting bolder too, even daring to read and not reply.

Despite thinking this, Li Yanchuan's face showed no displeasure; instead, a fond smile crept back.

He'd have to explain properly when he got back and make up for dinner tomorrow.

With that thought, he buried himself back in work.

Not long after, the secretary suddenly buzzed in on the intercom to say that the front desk had received a bouquet of flowers for him from Mr. Song.

It seemed his little darling wasn't angry—he'd even sent a gift ahead of time. How sweet and adorable.

At this thought, Li Yanchuan couldn't help but smirk.

"Alright, I understand. Send it up."

Smiling, he was about to end the call when the secretary quickly stopped him.

"Uh, um, the thing is, Chairman Li, you might need to come down to sign for it in person."

The secretary said awkwardly, hinting at the problem.

Hearing this, Li Yanchuan was puzzled—a question mark practically appeared over his head.

If he remembered right, no outsiders were allowed inside the Li Group building, and all deliveries are signed for and stored at the front desk by admin staff. There was no reason for him to have to go down himself.

When he questioned this, the secretary gritted her teeth and came clean:

"Because... because the flowers are cash on delivery!"

A bouquet worth four figures—there's no way we working folks can front that. Chairman Li, you'll have to come down and receive Mr. Song's heavy love yourself, *sobs*.

As soon as the secretary finished speaking, silence fell on both ends of the call.

Li Yanchuan: ...

The executive elevator went down to the first floor, and under the curious stares of the front desk staff, the vibrant, fragrant roses—cash on delivery—were silently carried off.

Staring at the heavy bouquet, Li Yanchuan was quiet for a long moment, then let out a mix of annoyed and amused laughter.

He took back what he'd said earlier. His little darling was definitely angry and had used this method to get back at him.

But it was still strangely adorable.

——

By the time Li Yanchuan finished his meeting and got home, it was already nine thirty. The first thing he saw was Song Nian sleeping on the couch.

He was sleeping deeply, but curled up, lips pressed tight, as if he were cold.

Setting the flowers down, Li Yanchuan crouched by the couch and gently pinched his nose.

"Mmph..."

Woken up by not being able to breathe, Song Nian grumbled in annoyance and slowly opened his eyes, only to see Li Yanchuan's face.

"You little ingrate—you send me cash‑on‑delivery flowers and then fall asleep here?"

Li Yanchuan asked, his eyes sparkling with laughter.

As his drowsy eyes cleared and he remembered the day's events, Song Nian's face immediately darkened.

Without mercy, he slapped Li Yanchuan's hand away, shoved him back, huffed, and padded upstairs in his slippers.

Seeing Song Nian's stony expression, Li Yanchuan figured he was still mad about the canceled date.

"You mad? Sorry, my bad."

Li Yanchuan followed close behind, apologizing over and over.

But Song Nian completely ignored him—bold as ever—and even slammed the bedroom door shut with a loud thud.

Locked out, Li Yanchuan rubbed his nose awkwardly, feeling guilty for the first time.

Hearing no movement from inside, he hesitated for a moment, then pushed the door open.

Song Nian hadn't locked it—maybe he forgot, or maybe he meant to leave it unlocked.

On the bed was a rounded lump under the covers—Song Nian had burrowed in and pulled the blanket over his head, refusing to show his face.

When he heard footsteps approaching, he even pulled the blanket higher.

"You'll suffocate under there,"

Li Yanchuan said with amusement, sitting on the edge of the bed and patting him gently.

But the person under the covers was still sulking, clutching the blanket and not letting him touch.

"I'm sorry, today was my fault. Tomorrow I'll definitely set work aside and have dinner with you, okay?"

He explained patiently.

He didn't expect that his explanation completely missed the point—his apology only added fuel to the fire. Song Nian threw off the covers and glared at him.

It was meant to be a fierce look, but with his messy bedhead and puffed‑out cheeks, Li Yanchuan couldn't help letting out a low laugh.

How dare he laugh!

Even angrier, Song Nian slapped the bed in frustration, about to give him a piece of his mind, when his stomach betrayed him first.

"Grr—"

The sound slowly echoed through the room.

For a moment, an awkward silence filled the air.

Song Nian blushed and instantly lowered his head, all his earlier bravado vanishing without a trace. Li Yanchuan, no longer holding back his laughter, snorted with laughter.

“Hungry? I’ll go make you some noodles.”

With that, he stood up, rolling up his sleeves as he headed out.

“Since when can you cook?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Song Nian asked.

Without mentioning that he’d specifically learned from his uncle, Li Yanchuan felt his cooking skills still weren’t presentable, so he just smiled without answering.

Watching him leave, Song Nian couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

The great Chairman Li, who never set foot in a kitchen, actually knew how to cook—and was willing to cook for me?

Does this mean I actually mean something to him?

The balance in his head wavered, like it was broken. They say the onlooker sees best, but he, being the one in the situation, grew more confused and couldn’t help reaching out for help.

“Song Nian: Teacher Qin, do you think Li Yanchuan really likes me?”

“Qin Xiao: If he doesn’t, I’ll wash my hair standing on my head.”

Seeing the affirmative reply, Song Nian actually hesitated.

True, all his previous actions proved that Li Yanchuan treated him as someone special—there’s no way he didn’t have at least some feelings.

I refuse to believe that Bai Yunyue, a character not even found in the plot, could outshine me, a supporting character with an actual name!

With renewed confidence, Song Nian felt a surge of determination.

Then, he suddenly realized another crucial point.

Wait, not found in the plot…

If there’s absolutely no mention of him in the plot, then could Bai Yunyue really have a connection with Li Yanchuan like he says?

In other words, could he truly be Li Yanchuan’s white moonlight?