Moon-Chasing Diary

“If the moon doesn’t sleep, then neither will I. Dream chasers never give up.”

— Moon-Chasing Diary

—

A few years ago, Zhou Yihong had bought a house outright with full payment, but for the sake of filming this movie, he had mortgaged it to the bank in exchange for funds. Not only that, even his car and the collectible figurines he had treasured for years had all been pawned or sold off.

Anything that could be mortgaged or resold had already been dealt with.

Now he was basically a commander without an army, so broke that his pockets were cleaner than his face.

He was so poor he could barely afford to eat, and with nowhere else to go, he shamelessly moved into Xie Yunchen’s place.

Xie Yunchen had long been used to living alone. His material desires were minimal, so the apartment inevitably felt cold and empty. After Zhou Yihong moved in, the place finally gained a bit of life and warmth.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yihong’s living habits were truly terrible.

During the two days Xie Yunchen had gone to Tong City, Zhou Yihong had practically destroyed the apartment. Clothes were scattered everywhere—on the sofa, on the coffee table. Shoes were strewn around randomly, socks tossed all over the floor. Empty takeout containers had piled up like mountains, and several days’ worth of garbage still hadn’t been taken downstairs.

Xie Yunchen returned unexpectedly, leaving Zhou Yihong no time to clean up. At that moment, he was holding a cup of instant noodles while watching a soccer match. Hearing the apartment door open, he froze for a second. Only when he saw Xie Yunchen walk in did he belatedly react and hurriedly shoved the clothes he hadn’t cleaned away beneath himself.

“You’re back already?” he asked. “Did you solve the problem?”

Xie Yunchen replied calmly, “I messed it up.”

The soccer match was loud, so Zhou Yihong didn’t hear clearly. Seeing how calm Xie Yunchen looked, he instinctively assumed the matter had been resolved and nodded.

“As long as it’s solved—wait, what did you just say?”

“Messed it up?” Zhou Yihong stared at him in disbelief.

If nothing else, he trusted Xie Yunchen’s capabilities completely. Sure, the man was aloof toward others, but when it came to work, his efficiency in handling problems was ridiculously high. Was there really something even he couldn’t solve?

Xie Yunchen casually placed a packaged takeaway box onto the coffee table. “For you.”

Zhou Yihong looked flattered. Following the aroma, he leaned over for a closer look.

“Damn. Didn’t you say things went badly? Then why are you still spending so lavishly? This is from Rongchun Pavilion. Their food isn’t cheap. And don’t you need reservations there? I heard they only serve VIP guests.”

Rongchun Pavilion’s reputation had mostly been hyped up through marketing anyway. As for whether it actually tasted good, opinions varied.

At least Zhou Yihong had never eaten there himself. He had only heard that the owner’s ancestors had once been imperial chefs, with their culinary skills passed down through generations. People said a single meal at Rongchun Pavilion cost as much as an ordinary person’s salary for two months.

Though Zhou Yihong was socially smooth and worldly, his mindset was still that of a typical ordinary citizen. He genuinely couldn’t understand the point of this kind of inflated luxury consumption.

Wasn’t food just food?

Generations of chefs remained chefs. Back then they served royalty and nobility, and now they simply served wealthy customers instead. It wasn’t exactly some glorious family achievement.

Of course, no matter how much he mocked it, people like him had never been Rongchun Pavilion’s target audience to begin with.

What puzzled Zhou Yihong more was that Xie Yunchen had always seemed uninterested in these kinds of extravagant services that relied entirely on wealth and status.

Xie Yunchen spoke lazily, his voice carrying faint exhaustion. “Someone asked me to bring it to you.”

“Someone?” Zhou Yihong blinked in surprise. “Who?”

Did he really have such good popularity that someone would treat him to an expensive meal for free?

Before he could ask more questions, Xie Yunchen had already returned to his room.

Just after showering, his phone buzzed twice.

Two new WeChat notifications appeared on the screen.

Qin Sang’s profile picture was completely different from the impression she gave in person. It was a simple doodle of a moon and a rabbit—minimalistic and adorable.

[“San You” poked “You”]

[Classmate Xie, are you home yet?]

Fresh from his shower, moisture still clung to Xie Yunchen’s body. Water droplets slid from the ends of his hair and disappeared into his collarbone.

He casually pulled a towel around himself and replied one-handed while holding the phone.

[I’m home.]

The other side immediately showed “typing…”

Then the phone he had casually placed on the table vibrated again, the screen lighting up.

[So? Did Director Zhou like the food you brought back?]

Xie Yunchen glanced at the message and paused slightly.

The noise from the living room was impossible to ignore. Faintly, he could hear Zhou Yihong praising the food between mouthfuls.

“You know, Rongchun Pavilion actually does taste pretty good. Maybe internet hype isn’t always a scam after all. This food’s amazing.”

Xie Yunchen got up and opened the door. One hand in his pocket, he leaned lazily against the frame and casually snapped a picture of the living room before sending it over.

[Image]

[Looks pretty good.]

After receiving the photo, the other side went silent for a long while before finally sending only a string of punctuation.

[…]

Honestly speaking, the photo was truly horrifying.

Zhou Yihong was wolfing down food like a starving man reincarnated, while the surrounding environment looked like a disaster zone. Takeout boxes littered every surface, and dirty clothes that clearly hadn’t been washed for days were piled everywhere.

The moment Qin Sang saw the picture, her brows instinctively furrowed in disgust.

She pursed her lips.

No matter how strong her filter for him might be, she simply couldn’t lie to herself and claim this looked like a place fit for human habitation.

After hesitating for a long while, she finally managed to squeeze out one sentence.

[That’s good, then.]

The corners of Xie Yunchen’s lips lifted slightly, faint amusement surfacing in his eyes.

…

Two hours earlier, while they were eating at Rongchun Pavilion, Zhou Yihong had happened to call and ask when Xie Yunchen would return to Jing City.

Rongchun Pavilion was elegant and quiet, the private rooms especially so. Qin Sang had been sitting nearby at the time and heard every word clearly.

Over the phone, Zhou Yihong wailed dramatically, “Junior Brother Xie, when are you coming back to Jing City? If you don’t return soon, I’m going to starve to death. You don’t seriously want to come home and find my corpse lying in your apartment ruining your feng shui, do you?”

Qin Sang looked surprised. “You and Director Zhou live together?”

Xie Yunchen explained calmly, “He mortgaged his house and has nowhere to stay, so he’s temporarily living with me.”

Qin Sang nodded thoughtfully. “I see. Director Zhou really sacrificed a lot for this movie. If the response ends up bad, wouldn’t he lose everything?”

“I honestly couldn’t tell before that Director Zhou is such a warrior,” she sighed emotionally.

Xie Yunchen looked at her meaningfully. “A warrior?”

“Well, not everyone can abandon everything and cast aside the shackles of reality to chase their dreams.”

She spoke softly, yet her eyes remained bright and clear, as if they contained endless energy impossible to ignore.

Then she turned her head slightly and casually remarked, almost as if speaking absentmindedly:

“I think everyone’s dreams are amazing. Anyone who has the courage to pursue their dreams deserves respect.”

“People struggle just to survive, and somewhere along the way, they often become completely different from the person they originally wanted to be. So their understanding of ‘success’ gradually narrows. But there will always be some people willing to push through thorns and obstacles, willing to sacrifice everything for their ideals.”

“Maybe they’re unrealistic idealists detached from reality. But can you really say they’re wrong?”

“They’re simply more determined and more courageous than ordinary people. And because of that, they accidentally become ‘strange’ in the eyes of ordinary people.”

“You know how people are. They always envy those they can never become themselves. So they slander them, resent them, and constantly try to crush them with malicious judgment. If they can’t have something, they want to destroy it.”

“The brave are the first to enjoy the world, while cowards remain forever trapped inside the fears they created for themselves. Life isn’t a predetermined track—it’s a wilderness filled with hope.”①

It was only a gentle knock.

Yet with that single touch, a crack appeared in the heavily fortified walls surrounding his heart. Then came countless intertwined fractures spreading rapidly outward, until the towering walls stood on the verge of collapse.

And then—

With a thunderous crash, the seemingly indestructible walls crumbled completely.

Xie Yunchen leaned naturally against the back of his chair, one long leg bent slightly.

Suddenly, he lowered his eyes and laughed softly, unable to suppress the amusement tugging at his lips.

Her thoughts always seemed so outrageously unconventional.

So different from everyone else.

…

Meanwhile, Zhou Yihong had absolutely no idea that his embarrassing state had already been fully exposed to someone else.

When he looked up and saw Xie Yunchen leaning against the doorframe, holding his phone and chatting with someone, he couldn’t help but feel something was off.

Xie Yunchen’s emotions still appeared faint and restrained as usual, yet somehow he felt different tonight.

Relaxed.

At ease.

The lines of his brows and eyes had softened, carrying a trace of sleepy laziness and quiet amusement.

What the hell was going on?

That smile looked suspiciously like a man in love.

Zhou Yihong immediately got goosebumps and shivered dramatically.

After eating and drinking his fill, he leaned against the sofa and lit a cigarette. Only after taking two puffs did he remember that although Xie Yunchen did smoke occasionally, he wasn’t heavily addicted to it.

Unless he was under extreme pressure and subconsciously sought nicotine to numb himself temporarily, he normally wouldn’t touch cigarettes at all.

Zhou Yihong lifted the cigarette slightly and pointed at it. “I’m only smoking one. I’ll air the place out afterward. I promise there won’t be any smell left.”

Honestly, Xie Yunchen was a contradictory person. Who smoked yet couldn’t stand the smell of smoke?

“Oh, right.” Zhou Yihong didn’t finish the cigarette. After taking two hard drags, he extinguished it. His voice sounded slightly hoarse. “I met with Rongxing a couple days ago. They agreed to invest, and the contract’s already signed. I’ll probably move out in a few days.”

“At that point, you’ll be all alone again.”

“What are you planning to do?” Zhou Yihong asked seriously. “You can’t return to the institute for now, and things with your father won’t be resolved anytime soon.”

“I’m honestly worried about you. Why not find somewhere quiet and take a break? Just treat it as a vacation.”

During the time he had stayed at Xie Yunchen’s apartment, he had often witnessed Xie Yunchen’s mother venting the family’s problems onto him.

Just yesterday, Zhou Wanqing had even come personally to block the door.

After learning Xie Yunchen wasn’t home, the pampered Madam Xie immediately redirected her anger toward Zhou Yihong instead.

She sized him up disdainfully before sneering arrogantly, “I’ve told him long ago not to associate with random low-class people. Otherwise he’ll end up infected with their poverty and bad habits.”

Zhou Yihong had been furious, but since she was Xie Yunchen’s mother, he couldn’t exactly curse her back.

Still, after meeting Zhou Wanqing, he finally understood why Xie Yunchen had severed ties with the Xie family.

If he had a mother like that, he wouldn’t want to go home either.

Xie Yunchen lifted a brow, quickly guessing the situation. “She came here?”

“Hm? Madam Xie?” Zhou Yihong laughed. “Yeah. She left after not finding you, but she told me to pass on a message—that you should visit the hospital once you’re back.”

“Oh right,” Zhou Yihong suddenly remembered something else. “I ran into Shen Yi at a gathering a few days ago. They’ve apparently been overwhelmed lately trying to find actors for a promotional film. He only just heard about your situation too. He asked me to see whether you have time to meet recently.”

Xie Yunchen’s gaze drifted casually across his phone.

After replying to one message, Qin Sang hadn’t sent anything else.

But her Moments feed had updated with a new post.

It was a selfie taken at the airport.

[If the moon doesn’t sleep, then neither will I. Dream chasers never give up 🌙🌙🌙]

Xie Yunchen lowered his eyes.

In the photo, her smile was radiant enough to disperse endless darkness.

His expression unreadable, his thumb lightly rubbed against the edge of the phone.

“That works,” he said quietly.

His eyes were dark as ink, yet unusually gentle.

“There are some things I wanted to discuss with him anyway.”