HD Chapter 31

“I’ve said it many times—I wasn’t ready at that time!” Xu Zhi reiterated this statement countless times.

As he spoke, his lips were pressed flat, his cheeks slightly puffed, and his round eyes widened, resembling an upset big cat.

In contrast, Zhou Mu had a radiant expression on his face, and the radiance made Xu Zhi want to immediately rush forward, pounce on him, and have a playful fight.

That’s what he thought, and that’s what he did.

The expression on Zhou Mu’s face remained unchanged, and he hugged Xu Zhi when he rushed up to him, but due to the impact, the two of them fell backwards on the bed.

The dozen or so photos spread out on the bed were scattered in all directions, and a few fell to the floor.

“Do you want to crush me to death?” Zhou Mu smiled, stretched out his hand, and patted Xu Zhi’s lower back.

Xu Zhi’s eyes widened angrily, and he opened his mouth to bite his shoulder. Zhou Mu took a breath of pain and said, “I know, you’re not ready.”

Zhou Mu seemed to have a hard time holding back his laughter. His voice trembled when he spoke. Xu Zhi got up from him angrily and complained loudly, “Then why are you laughing!”

Zhou Mu felt a bit guilty and rubbed his nose. “I didn’t laugh at anything.”

So Xu Zhi ignored him and continued to wrestle with the several thick professional books.

When this seaside hotel was built, Zhou Mu couldn’t imagine that Xu Zhi would one day give up the beach and waves, staying in the room reading books for half a day.

Of course, Xu Zhi also couldn’t anticipate that one day he would be worrying about the System Analyst exam in a beautiful sea-view room.

Originally, when Zhou Mu proposed to take him on a trip, the two of them were very happy.

The problem arose when the exam results inquiry system was opened today. Xu Zhi confidently logged in and boasted as the webpage was loading.

“I can definitely make it,” Xu Zhi said proudly, “I want a gift.”

“Okay,” Zhou Mu agreed, “What do you want?”

“I want the moon in the sky!” Xu Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly and raised the corner of his mouth in a very flattering and arrogant arc.

“It’s yours.” Zhou Mu always followed him and agreed immediately.

Love makes people blind, and Zhou Mu has no idea how to give the moon to him, but he doesn’t feel that Xu Zhi’s asking for the moon is excessive at all.

However, God may have thought this request was too much, and he did not let Xu Zhi pass the exam.

Xu Zhi failed by one point.

Zhou Mu had never seen Xu Zhi’s expression like this before.

Xu Zhi’s mouth was slightly open, his eyes were a little out of focus, and his fingers were motionless on the keyboard. It was obvious that he was genuinely confused.

Zhou Mu was the first to react, but he didn’t make the reaction Xu Zhi expected.

He couldn’t help laughing.

Xu Zhi suddenly came back to his senses and said in a tight voice, “Why are you laughing?”

Zhou Mu said with a strong desire to survive, “I didn’t laugh; you heard wrong!”

“You just laughed!” Xu Zhi stood up immediately, walked back and forth in the room, and said shamelessly, “It must be a mistake in correcting the paper!”

“Yes!” Zhou Mu nodded heavily in agreement.

However, Xu Zhi quickly calmed down. Finding fault in others isn’t a solution. After careful consideration, he declared, “I wasn’t ready at that time.”

As he said these words, his expression showed a mix of disappointment and distress, lacking the usual insight and ease.

Zhou Mu thought Xu Zhi was cute like this, so he couldn’t help but laugh again.

Xu Zhi was angry and reiterated that sentence all afternoon, “I was not ready at the time.”

Zhou Mu looked at Xu Zhi, who was immersed in reading again, and expressed his sincere admiration for the fact that he didn’t forget to bring his textbook with him when traveling.

But in fact, he brought textbooks only because the noise of the plane made him unable to sleep well.

Zhou Mu adjusted the camera and took a picture of Xu Zhi sitting at the table reading a book.

Xu Zhi’s attention was obviously not very focused. When the shutter sound sounded, he looked back at Zhou Mu, his eyes full of sadness.

“The next exam is less than a year away.” Zhou Mu put away the camera and walked behind him, “Let’s change our mood first and look at it again when we go back.”

Xu Zhi struggled for two seconds and quickly closed the book, “Okay.”

It’s currently the peak season for travel, and the beach is crowded. If it weren’t for the fact that Zhou Mu is the owner of this hotel, they might not have been able to book a room.

Xu Zhi was very satisfied with his privileged room. When he heard a young couple complain that the hotel they were staying in was too far away, he smiled proudly at Zhou Mu.

It was getting a little dark now; the weather was very good; there was no clouds at all; and the moon was very round and bright.

Xu Zhi walked barefoot on the beach, and from time to time his fingers would hook Zhou Mu’s palm, as if to confirm that Zhou Mu was always by his side.

“Next year,” Xu Zhi said suddenly.

“Hmm?” Zhou Mu didn’t realize what he was talking about.

“My gift,” Xu Zhi said, “If I pass the exam next year, you must give it to me.”

Zhou Mu looked up at the moon hanging in the sky and belatedly started to worry.

Given his current financial situation, he definitely couldn’t afford the entire moon. He wondered if the moon could be paid for in installments or if it could be cut and sold.

Alternatively, he wondered if his parents could provide some financial support. However, he hadn’t asked his parents for economic assistance in a long time and felt a bit embarrassed about bringing it up.

But since Xu Zhi wants it, he still has to speak up.

At this time, Zhou Mu had not realized that no matter how much money he had, the idea of buying the moon was just a dream.

“What are you thinking about?” Xu Zhi didn’t get a response after he finished speaking, so he turned his head to look at him.

“Well,” Zhou Mu said seriously, “I was wondering how much the moon would cost.”

Xu Zhi blinked and couldn’t help but smile, “Have I infected you?”

Xu Zhi is a big dreamer, and it seems like he’s rubbing off on Zhou Mu too.

Zhou Mu came back to his senses, smiled too, and said nothing more.

The beach at the resort is very clean. Many people sit on the ground when they are tired from walking. The surrounding area is very lively, which is an experience that Xu Zhi has rarely had before.

The last time he saw such a lively place was at the mental hospital.

Xu Zhi sighed lowly, pulled Zhou Mu to a cleaner place, and followed their example of sitting relaxed on the beach.

This side of the beach has very fine sand, and a lot of it stuck to Xu Zhi’s feet. He didn’t quite like the feeling, so he wiped it all on Zhou Mu’s shorts.

“I used to always think,” Xu Zhi said, “about what’s on the back of the moon.”

The moon is Earth’s natural satellite, orbiting and rotating at the same time. Strictly speaking, it doesn’t have a “back side.”

“How long ago?” Zhou Mu asked.

“I don’t really remember,” Xu Zhi raised his head, frowning slightly, and seemed to be trying to remember, “It must have been when I was young, when I was still living at my parents’ house.”

At that time, there was a very long carpet on the balcony of his bedroom, and he liked to sit on it and be in a daze.

From the sunset to the moonrise.

During that time, he heard many legends about the moon and even tried to find that friend who was always cutting down trees, but he was never successful.

Young Xu Zhi never doubted the authenticity of this story; he felt that everything should have a glimpse of evidence.

Since there was this legend, there must be some truth to it.

So he reached a rather astonishing conclusion: the friend who cut down trees lived on the back side of the moon!

To be honest, at that time, Xu Zhi was even somewhat upset because there was no one there to share this significant conclusion with.

But later, he learned that ancient people had an imagination even richer than his.

“Chang’e may not be there,” Zhou Mu also tilted his head slightly, saying in a serious tone, “but I suspect there’s a Jade Rabbit.”

“The legs should be as thick as an elephant’s,” Zhou Mu said, “so they leave craters all over the moon, constantly running at high speed, and when they reach the side facing the Earth, they run to the back.”

Xu Zhi looked at him without blinking.

Zhou Mu pointed at the moon, “Did you see that black shadow? This one is running a little slow.”

This is a story that even a child would not believe. It would make him laugh out loud when told, but Xu Zhi did not laugh. His eyes turned red for a moment.

Zhou Mu was always using the clumsiest way to maintain the weird and unnecessary synchronicity with him.

This time, Zhou Mu asked for a week’s leave from the company, but because Xu Zhi had a fever on the fourth day at the beach, the two ended the trip early.

Zhou Mu collected forty or fifty photos from this trip. Zhou Mu spread them all out on the bed and took Xu Zhi to look at them together.

Taking photos was Xu Zhi’s suggestion. He believed that some memories cannot be remembered by the human brain, and it is necessary to use a camera to freeze all the happy and unhappy times.

The streets where he and Zhou Mu walked together and the people he met were all presented in small photos. In this way, even if he forgot himself, he wouldn’t have no memories for reference.

The fever on Xu Zhi’s forehead subsided, but the cold medicine made him a little groggy, so he left the packing to Zhou Mu.

“Xu Zhi,” Zhou Mu took out two professional books from the box, “Put them away for you first, or put them on the table?”

Xu Zhi read the two books while holding on to his frail body and said with dissatisfaction, “Throw it away; no more exams.”

Zhou Mu smiled, came over and hugged him, and laid down, “You’ll make it next time.”

“Yeah,” Xu Zhi responded nonchalantly and confirmed with Zhou Mu again, “then you must prepare gifts in advance.”

Unexpectedly, Zhou Mu said, “I can give it to you now.”

“Huh?” Xu Zhi was stunned, “What do you mean?”

Zhou Mu stood up and took out a cardboard box from a drawer, about the size of a deck of playing cards. However, when he took it out, it turned out to be filled with blank cards.

“What is this?” Xu Zhi took it and looked over it.

“I bought a commemorative card at the scenic spot,” Zhou Mu said, “but I don’t plan to use it.”

“I thought about it carefully,” said Zhou Mu, drawing out a card. “There should be plenty of space on the back of the moon, so I want to entrust everything I promised you to the moon.”

“What do you mean?” Xu Zhi asked.

“For example, you can write on this one,” Zhou Mu said, holding the card, “Zhou Mu will always love Xu Zhi.”

“Maybe we can’t deliver it now,” Zhou Mu said, “but there will definitely be a chance in the future.”

“Why should it be handed over to the moon for safekeeping?” Xu Zhi didn’t quite understand.

“Because the moon will exist for many years,” Zhou Mu said seriously, “longer than our two lives combined. As long as the moon is still there, the things I promised you will always count.”

“For example, I will always love you.”

Zhou Mu is really not a very imaginative person. He is even boring sometimes.

Moreover, Xu Zhi is not a particularly normal person either. He has many peculiar thoughts, but because he is Xu Zhi, Zhou Mu is willing to change for him.

Zhou Mu began to think about issues that normal people would not consider.

For example, the possibility of buying the moon, whether the moon has a back side, why there are always so many jade rabbits running very slowly, and how to send these promise cards.

It is said that the moon may have formed around 4.5 billion years ago. To be more precise, it’s hard to say, but universally acknowledged is that it has existed and will continue to exist for many years to come.

Throughout the ages, as long as the moon endures, spanning vast spans of time, as long as the moon is still there, Zhou Mu will always keep his promises.

In reality, Zhou Mu can only promise for a few decades, as people living for several hundred years have not appeared yet.

But as long as he lives, he will always love Xu Zhi.

“Then what is the first promise you want to give to the moon for safekeeping?” Xu Zhi’s eyes were a little red, but his voice was still steady.

“Secret,” Zhou Mu said with a smile, “I won’t show it to you for now.”

He turned over and laid on his back on the bed, with half of Xu Zhi’s body pressed against him. The two of them occupied a small corner of the big bed and were close to each other.

“Okay then,” Xu Zhi reached out and hugged Zhou Mu’s waist, “Tell me the story of the Jade Rabbit again.”

“Hmm,” Zhou Mu pondered for a few seconds, then said slowly, “They might be the indigenous inhabitants of the moon, maybe not called Jade Rabbit.”

“Maybe called…” Zhou Mu really couldn’t come up with a name for the indigenous inhabitants in just a few seconds, so he fell silent.

“Whatever the name is,” Xu Zhi whispered, “Show me, the first promise.”

Zhou Mu thought for a moment and pulled out the card that was to be sent to the back of the moon from the bottom of the box:

“Xu Zhi should be like this.”

 

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t/n: Hi guys, I don’t know if there will be an update tomorrow, hopefully, because I’m tired right now. We’ll see. I’ll try my best. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and have a good day ^^