The Moonlight Never Falls

Part 1

01

So many years after graduation, I never thought I would reunite with Yang Jing Zhi in this way.

When serving fruit plates, I kept my head down, afraid he would see my face.

Xu Wan Xing sat beside him.

A perfect match, handsome and beautiful.

"Waitress," Yang Jing Zhi called me, "slice the orange."

I turned my back to him and sliced the orange.

A long time ago, when I liked eating oranges, Yang Jing Zhi would always slice them for me.

He was skilled with the knife, cutting each slice evenly.

Back then, I thought he loved me.

Later I realized it was just his habit; when he sliced oranges, he thought of everything except me.

After not seeing him for four years, it felt like half a lifetime had passed.

Somehow, the guests started talking about romances from their student days.

Someone said, "I heard that Mr. Yang had a girlfriend in university for four years."

My hand paused.

Yang Jing Zhi just "hmmed."

"How wonderful, four years, a complete university period."

Yang Jing Zhi didn't continue the topic.

The person felt awkward and tried to continue the conversation, "Four years, must be hard to forget, right?"

Silence flowed like a tranquil river.

After a long while, Yang Jing Zhi chuckled lightly.

"Not really."

02

"Jing Zhi is being generous for not hating her."

Xu Wan Xing explained gracefully.

"I went to the same school as Jing Zhi, back then it was really... well, it was tough on him. If not for his ex-girlfriend getting in the way, would it have taken so long for me and Jing Zhi to get together?"

"Right, right, Miss Xu is a big star, no matter how good the ex-girlfriend is, can she be better than a star?"

The atmosphere warmed up again.

I pressed down my hat, just wanting to leave quickly.

The fruit knife cut my hand, and I hissed, drawing the guests' attention.

"What's the matter? Can't even cut a fruit properly?" Xu Wan Xing complained.

"Sorry, I'll get a clean plate."

I was about to run with the plate.

"Wait."

Yang Jing Zhi suddenly stopped me.

"Turn around."

03

My body seemed nailed in place.

One second, two seconds.

The shift manager came over at the right time.

"Sorry, this waitress is new, still not skilled, today's fruit plates are free for you."

The manager winked at me: "Why don't you go get a new one?"

I managed to escape.

Later, the shift manager told me.

"Be smarter next time, we all started as newbies, if you get complained about, you'd have worked for nothing tonight."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, especially be careful with that VIP room, it's full of important guests, especially the youngest and most handsome one in the middle, he's the boss of an innovative tech company, we can't afford to offend him."

"Sister, I'm a bit scared, can you help me deliver the oranges?"

"Sure."

I sighed in relief.

If there's anyone in this world who has thoroughly offended Yang Jing Zhi, it can only be me.

I'm that annoying ex he talks about.

04

I remember, during my freshman year.

Yang Jing Zhi wore faded old clothes, standing out of place among the new students.

He was visibly poor.

But also visibly tall.

I liked his cold tone when he spoke.

And the way his thin eyelids drooped when he looked at me.

Yang Jing Zhi was very short of money, and the quota for poor students' aid was snatched by someone with connections.

So one evening after class, I boldly took his tender hand.

"Yang Jing Zhi, I like you, be with me, I'm quite rich, we can share the living expenses. If not, I'll even pay you for a kiss."

Of course, he refused.

But at that time, my life was smooth sailing, I didn't understand what defeat was, the more he refused, the more I clung.

Until his grandfather who raised him was critically ill, I paid off his medical bills without blinking.

Yang Jing Zhi finally bowed his head to me.

I foolishly thought I had done a great favor.

Much later I realized—

I got him, but I also broke him.

After we got together, he still worked every day to earn living expenses.

He didn't use much of my money, but things got worse.

Rumors about Yang Jing Zhi spread at school.

Saying he sold his body for money.

People's gazes at him changed, someone gave him an ugly nickname.

At that time I was still optimistic and naive, pulling his hand and saying, "Ignore them, they're just jealous."

...

I lived in my own ivory tower, never realizing that Yang Jing Zhi was fighting alone.

In our senior year, my family went bankrupt.

I didn't tell Yang Jing Zhi.

I just called him out and said, "Let's break up."

"Why?"

"I am tired of you."

"Okay."

That's how we broke up.

I guess he was happy then because he finally regained his freedom.

On the day we broke up, I snapped my SIM card, cancelled WeChat, and took a train to another city to work and pay off debts.

Until three months ago, I returned here.

Yang Jing Zhi seemed to be doing well.

He was always a top student, a super genius who easily topped our department in college. Only four years after graduation, he was already a tech magnate who could be featured in finance magazines.

Xu Wan Xing was the class beauty of our class, who debuted in her junior year.

I didn't expect they'd end up together.

That's good, that's good.

I covered my chest, suppressing the sourness.

At four in the morning, I finished work.

I was the last to leave, my colleagues thought no one was there, they had turned off the lights early, and the elevator was stopped.

I pressed the elevator button irritably, hoping to light it up.

"Make a call."

Yang Jing Zhi's voice suddenly sounded behind me.