69novels Chapter 87: Heart-to-Heart Talk Under the Moon
Chapter 87: Heart-to-Heart Talk Under the Moon
Nighttime, school rooftop. Yu Chen leaned quietly against the railing, gazing absently at the scattered lights below. Footsteps came from the stairwell, light and familiar.
"Chen, I went to your room but couldn't find you. How did you end up here?"
Gu Yue's voice came from behind him, carrying a hint of worry and inquiry.
Yu Chen didn't turn around immediately, but simply exhaled softly:
"It's you, Yue. It's nothing, I just... wanted to be alone for a while, um, to look at the night."
Gu Yue walked to his side, mimicked his gaze at the sky, and then smiled helplessly:
"At least make your lies believable! With such thick clouds tonight, what night view can you expect?"
"I wasn't lying," Yu Chen finally turned his head, his gaze falling on her delicate profile, his voice soft and gentle.
"For me, the most beautiful night view is already here."
Instead of leaning closer as usual, he turned his gaze back to the blurry outline in the distance.
Gu Yue's cheeks flushed slightly, but she keenly sensed the unusual distance and heaviness in his tone.
She stopped teasing him, sat down beside him, and put her arms around his.
"What happened? Is it because... Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi left?"
Yu Chen remained silent for a moment, neither admitting nor denying.
Although I had a premonition, when the separation actually became a reality, looking at the two empty seats in the classroom, the heavy sense of loss in my heart was still hard to shake off.
This feeling involuntarily reminded him of that previous parting.
"Not entirely."
He finally spoke in a low voice, as if to Gu Yue, yet also as if to himself.
"It's just... seeing familiar people leave always reminds me of the past."
Gu Yue watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
"When I was six years old, my parents left this world. For a long time afterward, I lived in a large, but empty and cold house, until..."
He paused, his voice growing even lower, "Until I met a little girl named Na'er."
"Na'er?"
Gu Yue repeated the name softly.
"Yes. She was all alone back then, like a lost kitten. I took her home."
Yu Chen's gaze became distant, as if piercing through time.
"That house slowly began to feel like a 'home' because of her. We lived together for two years, and those two years... were the warmest and brightest time in my memory."
His voice was filled with undisguised nostalgia and appreciation.
Gu Yue's heart stirred slightly; she could clearly feel the sincerity and depth of that emotion.
"And then?" she asked, her voice even softer.
Yu Chen's gaze dimmed:
"Later... she left too. It was one night, the weather was similar, the clouds were thick, the stars were not visible, and the wind was a bit chilly."
His description was understated, yet it evoked a dull ache in the listener, a pain that was deliberately suppressed.
"So, she's a very important family member to you?" Gu Yue asked tentatively, her gaze falling on his unconsciously clenched fist.
Relatives?
This word stabbed Yu Chen in the heart.
Is she family? Of course she is. In the years they've relied on each other, she has become a bond deeper than blood.
But are they just family?
Can the heart palpitations in the dead of night, the long emptiness after losing contact, and the obsession with searching be explained simply by "family"?
He suddenly felt a deep sense of self-loathing. What exactly was this feeling he was having as he looked at Gu Yue and reminisced about Na'er?
Even though she already has Yue by her side, who is willing to walk side by side and understands her heart, and she has already reserved a special place for Na'er in her heart.
But why is he so confused right now? Could it be something called greed and betrayal?
"I..." Yu Chen opened his mouth, but couldn't utter that simple word smoothly.
Admitting they are "family" feels like a desecration of certain feelings deep in his heart that he himself has not even dared to clarify; but if he admits anything else, how can he face Gu Yue's clear eyes beside him?
In the end, he only gave a vague reply, turned his face away to avoid Gu Yue's gaze, and also to avoid the torment in his own heart.
"And what about me?"
Gu Yue's voice suddenly rang out, not loud, but like a pebble thrown into a still lake, stirring up ripples in his heart, "Yu Chen, what am I to you?"
This problem is so direct, and so fatal.
Yu Chen's body stiffened slightly.
He turned his head and met Gu Yue's eyes, which were still bright in the night.
There was no questioning in it, only a calm inquiry, and a faint, almost imperceptible sadness, wounded by his current hesitation.
A feeling of guilt instantly gripped him.
See, you are such a terrible person, indecisive, greedy, and hurting the people you care about most.
"Of course you are..." He almost blurted out "the most important person," but the words caught in his throat.
Most important? What about Na'er?
What should be done with the girl who brought him the only light during the darkest moment of his life, but is now nowhere to be found?
This tug-of-war made it almost impossible for him to breathe, and he hated his own cowardice and confusion at that moment.
"She is someone I absolutely do not want to lose."
He finally said this, his voice hoarse with an almost resolute tone.
This was not the perfect answer he had envisioned; it even seemed somewhat weak and powerless. But it was the most authentic anchor point he could grasp in the current emotional vortex.
Gu Yue quietly observed the complex emotions churning in his eyes, and did not press him further about the question of "comparison".
As clever as she was, she understood from his reaction and unspoken words what a unique and irreplaceable place the girl named "Na'er" held in his heart.
Although no one understands "Na'er" better than herself, it was all expected that Na'er would fall in love with her and Na'er. She was prepared for this, so why does she feel so uncomfortable now?
"Greedy fellow."
She suddenly spoke softly, her tone unreadable, but she reached out and gently touched his clenched fist with her fingertips.
"Aren't you tired of carrying so many people in your heart?"
Yu Chen shook his head with a wry smile, loosened his fist, and grasped her slightly cool fingers with his other hand:
"I'm just a little greedy... I can't let go."
"if,"
Gu Yue let him hold her hand, gazing into the distant void, and asked another question.
"If one day, only one of us, her and me, can survive in this world, what would you do?"
This is a more acute, more realistic, and more devastating assumption than before.
Yu Chen's golden eyes suddenly lit up in the night, an instinctive reaction born from a deep-seated fear and resistance.
He suddenly tightened his fingers, leaving a series of fingerprints on the rooftop.
"That day will never come."
His voice was resolute, carrying an almost obsessive certainty.
"I possess Time Zero, the bug within that timeframe. I will risk everything to protect you all, and I will never let such a choice happen!"
He took a deep breath, a near-mad light burning in his eyes:
"If it really comes to that point, if we're in a desperate situation where we have to choose between two options to survive, then I'd rather find a third way."
"Even if it means reversing time, overturning the laws, or even... restarting this world, I will find a way to bring everyone back."
He turned to Gu Yue, his gaze intense, carrying an undeniable air of conviction:
"This is my promise. Your Majesty, you may hesitate, you may suffer, but you will never abandon anyone who is important to you."
These words were not empty boasts.
The mysteries of time reversal within the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy did indeed offer him a glimmer of hope and direction.
Despite the uncertainty of the future, this is the most extreme answer he can give at this moment, torn between emotion and responsibility.
Gu Yue looked into his eyes with an almost desperate determination and felt the slight tremor in his hand as he gripped hers tightly.
She understood that there might not be a perfect answer to this question.
She asked not to force him to make a choice, but to see his attitude when faced with a desperate situation, and to see if she was important enough to him to fight with all his might.
Clearly, he gave an answer that exceeded expectations.
"Hmph, you're quite good at talking big."
She finally let out a soft hum, her tone softening, but her other hand instinctively reached for the soft flesh of his waist and pinched it lightly.
"It's one thing to have someone else on your mind, but to say it so...so self-righteously. That Na'er must be a really good girl, right?"
Yu Chen gasped as she was being pinched, but relaxed slightly at the softening tone in her voice. With a hint of guilt, she whispered:
"Yes, she's very good. Quiet like moonlight, and persistent like a star."
He hesitated for a moment, then gently leaned his head against her shoulder. This time, he wasn't rejected. "Yue, I'm sorry. I..."
"Now you know you're sorry?"
Gu Yue interrupted him, her tone tinged with reproach, yet also with a hint of resigned helplessness.
"You got off easy, you greedy little devil. But let's make this clear: if you dare to mess with other girls again..."
"No more."
Yu Chen immediately assured her, burying his face in the hair at the side of her neck, his voice muffled.
"With you all... I already feel that this is the greatest blessing from God, and also the greatest test."
The pain of self-loathing still lingered in his heart, but the warmth of her presence gave him the courage to continue carrying this heavy burden.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly remembering something, Gu Yue asked, "Where is Na'er now?"
Yu Chen's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, then he hugged her even tighter, his voice filled with deep confusion and obsession:
"I don't know. Maybe she's somewhere on the mainland, or maybe she's gone to a faraway place. I must become stronger and go to higher places to have a greater chance... of finding her."
I could feel the warmth of his breath against my neck, and it tickled a little.
Gu Yue tilted her head slightly, her cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't push him away. She just muttered under her breath, "Rogue..."
As night deepened, the clouds quietly dispersed, revealing a pale, slender crescent moon.
The soft, silvery sunlight shone on the young couple nestled together on the rooftop, illuminating the complex, indescribable, yet tightly intertwined emotions in their eyes.
The road ahead may still be shrouded in mist, and choices may remain difficult, but at least for now, they have each other and the courage to face the future together.