Chapter 26: The Moon in the Room

On a golden autumn night in September, the evening breeze was gentle, and the street food stalls buzzed with lively activity.

Most of those training under Master Wen were adults, burly men who naturally couldn’t enjoy a late-night snack without raising their glasses. As for He Tianran, still a student and a youth who didn’t drink, he found that his bill had already been settled by a senior colleague who was working. Fortunately, no one made things difficult for him; otherwise, his small allowance wouldn’t have covered the drinks for this rowdy bunch.

Back at the table, He Tianran faced Wen Liang with a hint of awkwardness. Xue Yong had already been pulled away by the seniors to accompany them in drinking and was momentarily unavailable. Because He Tianran couldn’t drink and Wen Liang disliked the smell of smoke, the two distanced themselves slightly from the rest.

The girl, now wearing a sports jacket, nibbled on her barbecue somewhat absentmindedly, waiting for the boy to initiate conversation.

Had the person beside him been another girl, He Tianran would definitely have kept silent—after all, if he didn’t speak, there would be no awkward chatter. But with Wen Liang, he could muster the courage to say something.

“Although I know you’re busy, are we still going ahead with our plan…” he decided to cut to the chase.

Wen Liang put down the skewer, looked at He Tianran, paused for two seconds, and asked knowingly, “What plan?”

“The transformation plan!”

“Oh, the transformation plan will slow down your progress in chasing girls. After all, chasing girls is the top priority. The transformation plan can be put on hold for now; it’s not that important.”

Wen Liang feigned casualness, but He Tianran grew anxious.

“It is important! Didn’t you just tell me we’re going to attend the welcome party together? And…”

He faltered, and the girl pressed, “And what?”

He Tianran glanced at Wen Liang’s sly expression—she really did resemble a little fox.

“A few days ago, I showed the recorded video to Boss Park. He wasn’t very satisfied and said my video style needed to change, otherwise, the fans wouldn’t grow. So I wanted to ask your opinion, since you two are now my shareholders.”

He habitually came up with a reasonable excuse.

“You…” Wen Liang sighed and slowly said, “I’m the moon in your room. When you’re bored, you borrow my light. When you close your eyes, it feels like I’m dazzling you.”

“No… it’s not like that…”

“Then why don’t you come to me more often?”

“I sent you messages… but you didn’t reply…”

“You only sent messages for one day! Why don’t you keep sending? You could call me! Your home is just two streets away! If you can’t see me, why don’t you come to the boxing gym to find me?”

Faced with Wen Liang’s barrage of questions, He Tianran could only say miserably, “I… I was afraid I’d annoy you…”

How to put it—Tianran was like dough in some ways; a punch would shake him twice and dissipate all his strength. That was his weakness, but sometimes also his advantage.

Wen Liang was a little exasperated and tapped her forehead with a small fist. She changed her approach:

“Then do you want to chase girls, or do you want our plan to continue?”

“Isn’t that a conflict?”

“No conflict. I’m just asking.”

Wen Liang looked He Tianran straight in the eye, offering no excuses and no room for evasion.

He took it seriously. He was used to thinking rationally: these two things weren’t contradictory but had different levels of importance. It was rare to have a chance to change and see results—like playing a game, you have to level up to challenge a high-level boss.

Cao Aiqing was the final boss, and he was like a warrior fresh out of the novice village. Although this was important, there was no rush—improving his strength was paramount.

Besides… the matter hadn’t even begun yet.

One shouldn’t act on wishful thinking; steady progress yields the best returns.

“Then of course our plan is more important.”

He Tianran answered.

Wen Liang finally smiled. “If you put as much energy into messaging Cao Aiqing today as you did now, we wouldn’t have wasted a whole week.”

It seemed the girl had finally calmed down.

“You… do you care a lot about me interacting with Cao Aiqing?”

He Tianran thought about this for a long time. Instead of beating around the bush, it was better to ask directly. Though somewhat indecisive by nature, if he didn’t resolve this, the same situation would surely recur.

He didn’t want to annoy a friend with a careless word or action.

Yes, he now regarded Wen Liang as his most important “friend.”

Spending ten thousand yuan to buy a piano, buying things for him, training him in boxing, even getting him to join the welcome party—these were things He Tianran had never experienced before.

He could feel that Wen Liang genuinely cared for him.

So what was it to sacrifice or do something for her?

Faced with He Tianran’s sudden seriousness, Wen Liang shyly turned her face away.

This was the first time she had lost in a gaze shared between them.

“You can make friends with whoever you want… I won’t stop you… it’s your freedom…”

Wen Liang took a sip of juice from the table, sounding somewhat unnatural.

“So, Cao is okay then?”

“She’s not!” Wen Liang held the paper cup with both hands, then quickly lowered her head, sipping the juice in small sips, softly adding, “At least during the transformation period… no…”

Seeing Wen Liang’s rare girlish demeanor, He Tianran’s heart began to pound like a drum.

Then, do you… like me?

He Tianran dared not speak those words out loud.

He was afraid—no matter what her answer was, he was afraid.

So he asked another question instead:

“Why?”

After a few seconds of silence, Wen Liang put down the cup, closed her eyes to compose herself, and when she opened them again, she had returned to normal.

“If I told you… your future death was related to her, would you believe me?”

“…”

He Tianran was stunned. This was the second time since Wen Liang’s rebirth she had spoken to him about the future.

“I… believe you!”

Hearing his firm reply, Wen Liang was somewhat surprised.

“You don’t want to ask me the details?”

He tilted his head and said, “You said it’s related to her, but you didn’t say she would directly harm me. Besides, before you were reborn, I probably hadn’t undergone your transformation yet. That my death is connected to Cao really surprises me, but as for that, I don’t want to know anything.”

“You…”

“Have you heard of the butterfly effect?”

Before Wen Liang could speak, He Tianran asked, then continued, “A tiny change can cause a huge chain reaction. Someone like you who’s been reborn should be more cautious. Anyway, with you around, I probably won’t die.”

After saying that, He Tianran felt a bit hungry again. He picked up a skewer from the table, placed it in front of Wen Liang first, then began eating his own.

“I’ve always had a question for you,” Wen Liang said.

“Go ahead,” He Tianran replied as he devoured the food before him.

“Why don’t you doubt that I’m a reborn person? Why can you believe someone so easily?”

“…”

He swallowed his food and smiled, saying matter-of-factly:

“Because you’re good to me! If that liar were that good to me, I’d wish he’d lie to me forever.”

The lively music from the roadside stalls changed repeatedly, and at that moment, Wen Liang’s earlier words drifted through the air—lyrics from a song:

“I’m the moon in your room, lending light when you’re bored.
Closing your eyes, you find me dazzling.
When the sun rises, I still can’t be forgotten.
The cherished moments I wasted are stored away,
You write your dreams on her hands.
I have only one past to tell, and you have a future that comes too suddenly…”