Under the moonlight

People helped each other into the lobby on the first floor. Today, the kitchen had prepared extra food. The lobby was packed with people. They didn't exchange many words or make any false politeness, but they silently cared for and helped each other.

The more seriously injured were handed over to Lao Huang. He didn't even have time for dinner as he cleaned their wounds and fed them medicine. He couldn't guarantee that they would fully recover, since some of their injuries were too deep and they had persistent high fevers, which would still cause some damage to their bodies. However, their lives were not in danger.

Xu Ao and Jiang Ying were busy until evening before they finally settled everyone in.

When Huang Meng found him, he was in Lao Huang's room checking on the situation of those people. With Lao Huang's help, Xu Ao felt much more at ease. Seeing Huang Meng standing at the door, he greeted Lao Huang and went out.

"What's wrong? Why are you standing at the door without going in?" Xu Ao asked Huang Meng.

"Yes, Yuri and Lin Hanshuang just found me and told me something. They asked me to pass it on to you."

"what's up?"

“They packed up and went back to the city after dinner. Now that the situation in the city has stabilized, they have no reason to stay here any longer.”

Xu Ao nodded after listening and said, "Hmm, that's fine, but Lin Hanshuang..."

Xu Ao looked at Huang Meng, who saw the question in his eyes. She sighed and said, "Well, I asked her. It's her choice. She wants to stay with Yuri. As for whether she goes back or stays after the flights start, that's not something we can worry about." Huang Meng pouted at Xu Ao as she spoke.

Xu Ao looked at him seriously and said, "Once aviation resumes, are you going back too?"

"Of course, of course..."

Huang Meng blurted it out without thinking, but stopped speaking after seeing Xu Ao's somewhat resentful look.

Not knowing what to say next, she said somewhat guiltily in a low voice, "But, but, we can still, we can still keep in touch."

The more she spoke, the more guilty she felt, until she finally fell silent. She lowered her head, not daring to meet Xu Ao's eyes, but the intense heat emanating from him made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

She reached up and scratched the back of her neck, trying to break the awkward silence. Xu Ao saw through her little scheme and chuckled, saying, "What are you doing? Have you grown thorns? Are you going to turn into a hedgehog?" Xu Ao looked at Huang Meng with a smile on his lips. Huang Meng was interrupted by him and stopped talking about the previous topic. She punched him in the waist and stomach and then turned and left.

After Huang Meng left, Xu Ao's smile turned cold. He sighed deeply and reached out to rub the spot where Huang Meng had hit him.

In the following days, the embassy was in a flurry of activity. Huang Meng could hardly see Xu Ao, only seeing him during mealtimes, and even then, it was just a brief chat.

He ate very quickly and returned to his office after finishing. Huang Meng initially thought they were really busy with something, until one afternoon when she went to visit a patient and saw Chen Che.

He was leisurely leaning against Lao Huang's table chatting with him. He was clearly surprised to see Huang Meng come in, but only for a moment. Huang Meng asked him, "Are you all done with your work?"

Chen Che looked up at Huang Meng, then turned away somewhat awkwardly, saying to her side, "Yeah, oh, almost done, almost done."

He wasn't very good at lying, and he panicked so much that he didn't know what to do with his hands. Old Huang saw through his act and lifted his eyelids through his glasses to cover for him: "You brat, you're almost done but not done yet. Hurry up and get to work, instead of slacking off here!"

Upon hearing Lao Huang's words, Chen Che seemed to suddenly realize something and said loudly, "Oh, hey, I just came to see the patient, I'll be going now." As he passed by Huang Meng, he forced an extremely unnatural smile.

Huang Meng watched his retreating figure as if he were running away, and then looked at Old Huang who was busy preparing medicine. How could she not understand what was going on? He was obviously deliberately avoiding her, and so was Xu Ao.

Huang Meng recalled the past few days. Every time she asked him what he was busy with, he would give vague answers or change the subject. She had some doubts but couldn't confirm them. However, from Chen Che, she realized that not only Xu Ao, but also the people around him were deliberately avoiding her.

Huang Meng strolled back to her room from Lao Huang's place, and as soon as she sat down, there was a knock on the door.

She went to open the door, and there stood Li Linlin. With something on her mind, Huang Meng forced a smile: "Why did you suddenly decide to look for me? Why not go find your Chen Che?"

Li Linlin chuckled and slipped into Huang Meng's room. Huang Meng turned and closed the door. Li Linlin sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her with a smile. Huang Meng sat down beside her, puzzled, and said, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Did you and Xu Ao have a fight?" She was straightforward and asked directly.

"Huh? No, why are you suddenly asking this?" Huang Meng recalled what had happened in the past few days. She hadn't even had a chance to talk to him, let alone argue.

"Really not? I heard Chen Che tell me yesterday that Xu Ao has been in a bad mood these past few days. He's always standing alone on the rooftop, lost in thought, and drinking by himself."

After Li Linlin finished speaking, she looked at Huang Meng seriously, carefully observing her expression. As far as she knew, Huang Meng was definitely not the kind of woman who would play games, but if the two of them had argued, how come one of them was drowning her sorrows in alcohol while the other acted as if nothing had happened?

After listening to what she said, Huang Meng ignored everything else but grasped the key points of those few sentences. She looked at Li Linlin and asked in confusion, "Chen Che and the others said that Xu Ao has been drinking for several days in a row because of me?"

Huang Meng wondered several times if she had misheard. She had been looking for him these past few days, but he always seemed busy and didn't look like he was heartbroken!

Seeing Huang Meng's bewildered expression, Li Linlin widened her eyes and said, "You...you don't know, do you?" Huang Meng looked at Li Linlin seriously and shook her head.

Li Linlin turned her head and thought about it carefully. Suddenly, she realized that she had said the wrong thing. She quickly covered her mouth and stammered, "Um, Sister Huang Meng, I, I suddenly remembered that I have something to do. I'll go first."

Li Linlin jumped up from the bedside as if her pants were on fire, looking flustered.

She was with Chen Che yesterday, and when Chen Ming came to see Chen Che, she overheard them talking about it. They described Xu Ao as a classic example of someone heartbroken. But she hadn't seen Huang Meng show any signs of sadness or distress these past few days, so she wondered if Xu Ao had been dumped by her, and wanted to gossip about it!

Unexpectedly, while he looked heartbroken, the person in question was completely unaware that he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol every day!

As she walked past Huang Meng, she remembered Chen Che's serious words to her before leaving last night: "Don't tell anyone about this. Senior brother is very proud, so you can't let anyone know, especially Huang Meng." At this moment, she regretted having a mouth and just wanted to slip away as fast as she could!

"Wait a moment."

Li Linlin had just raised her hand to the doorknob when she heard Huang Meng call her from behind. Annoyed, she closed her eyes tightly, then after a moment, put on a smiling expression and said, "Hehe, Sister Huang Meng, is there anything else?"

"It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you for a favor." Li Linlin felt relieved when she saw that she didn't mention Xu Ao, and asked.

"Well, I was so busy rescuing people the other day that I forgot. My birthday is in a couple of days, and I'd like to ask you and Chen Che to help me organize a get-together so we can all get together and have some fun, how about that?"

Li Linlin listened attentively to her, her mind racing. Wasn't this clearly a direct confrontation with Xu Ao? Li Linlin suddenly realized that this matter wasn't as easy as it seemed; it appeared rather tricky. She hesitated and said, "Well, how about I discuss this with Chen Che first, and see if he's busy these days?"

"Alright, thank you for your help."

Seeing her troubled expression, Huang Meng didn't press her. After saying a few simple words, Li Linlin left Huang Meng's room as if fleeing, and then pushed open the door to Chen Che's room.

"Why are you here? What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?" Chen Che was sitting at the table writing something when he was startled by the sudden sound of the door opening behind him. Seeing that it was Li Linlin, he put down his pen, walked to her side, and closed the door.

"That was terrifying, I just walked right into the line of fire." Li Linlin patted her chest as she walked to the bedside and sat down.

"what?"

Seeing that she looked genuinely flustered, Chen Che's expression immediately turned tense. He was still shaken by the commotion that had just subsided a few days ago.

"Oh, I'm fine. I mean, I just went to see Sister Huang Meng. I, I accidentally revealed that Xu Ao was drinking because he was upset about her."

Her voice trailed off, sounding a little guilty, and she looked at Chen Che expectantly. But Chen Che chuckled and said slowly, "Well, she'll find out about this sooner or later. So what if she says it? It's fine. I thought it was something important."

Chen Che pinched her cheek and looked at her with a smile. Seeing that he looked so calm and collected, Li Linlin raised her arm and hugged his neck, saying, "Then tell me, why is Xu Ao avoiding Sister Huang Meng and hiding away to be sad? Wouldn't it be better to just talk things out?"

Chen Che put his arm around Li Linlin's waist, looked into her eyes, and said seriously, "You may not know Xu Ao. He is indeed arrogant, just like his name. I heard that he has not yet publicly confessed his feelings to Sister Huang Meng!"

"what?"

“I asked him that too, but he said that if two people are in love, what difference does it make whether they confess or not?”

As Chen Che spoke, he gently pecked Li Linlin on the cheek and continued, "Just like the two of us, didn't we both keep quiet? You just need to know how I feel, right?"

Looking into his eyes, filled with tenderness, and seeing her own delicate face reflected in his dark pupils, Li Linlin happily buried her face in his chest, swaying gently as she said sweetly, "I know, of course I know your feelings, hehe~"

"Hmm, that person used to pay a lot of attention to Xu Ao, always coming to me to ask about him. Ah, be gentle, sweetie~"

Before Chen Ming could finish speaking, Li Linlin grabbed his ear and twisted it. The girl, who had been shy just moments before, now stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed with a fierce glint, and she gritted her teeth as she said, "Chen Che, can't this matter be left alone?"

Chen Che, a wise man who wouldn't fight a losing battle, said repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I won't mention it again. Let's pretend it never happened! No, it never happened at all!"

Li Linlin was very satisfied with his answer and said with a smile, "That's more like it."

After saying that, she turned around and lay down on Chen Che's bed. He gently rubbed his ears, looking at the lovely girl on the bed, and couldn't understand why she could change her expression like a gust of wind, coming and going as she pleased.

He lay down next to Li Linlin, but Li Linlin suddenly sat up, which startled him so much that he quickly sat up as well.

Li Linlin told Chen Che about Huang Meng's request, and soon Chen Che also learned that Huang Meng's plan to organize a birthday party was just an excuse.

However, she had helped them a lot and risked her life to find someone. Moreover, Xu Ao's constant low spirits were also because of her. In any case, she couldn't ignore her request.

After taking Li Linlin to her room, Chen Che came to the office door with some difficulty. Through the crack in the door, he saw Xu Ao with his back to the door, leaning against the window, holding a bottle of beer in his hand.

Chen Che stood behind the door, silently counting on his fingers the amount he had consumed over the past few days. He couldn't help but feel frustrated and regretful. The warehouse only had so much liquor, and he was almost finished with it. If this matter wasn't resolved soon, he wouldn't get a single drop left.

Chen Che took a deep breath and squeezed through the crack in the door. Xu Ao didn't turn around and said in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing here?"

"Hey boss, there's something I want to discuss with you." Chen Che said cautiously as he walked away, rubbing his hands together.

"What is it? Speak quickly."

After Xu Ao finished speaking, he looked up and took a swig of wine. He knew that he had already finished what he needed to do, and there was nothing important that he absolutely needed to know.

"That's Sister Huang Meng. She said her birthday is in a couple of days and she asked me to help her organize a party to celebrate. What do you think about this..."

When Xu Ao heard her name, his raised wrist paused slightly. After downing the last mouthful of wine, he turned to Chen Che and said quietly, "Is it necessary to ask me for permission to do this? Aren't you the best at this kind of thing? You can handle it yourself."

Looking at Xu Ao's cold expression, Chen Che suddenly felt lost. What did this mean?

He said he would let me handle it, but when he looked at me with those sinister eyes, it seemed like he was asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Chen Che swallowed hard and tentatively asked, "Then, shall we do it her way?"

He stared at Xu Ao's face, watching his expression change. After a while, Xu Ao looked up at him and said, "Chen Che, she told you about this, so it's your decision, understand?"

Chen Che staggered out of the office, Xu Ao's last words still echoing in his mind. As he walked, he pondered them, and when he reached the top of the stairs on the second floor, he suddenly realized what was happening. He slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "He's complaining about Sister Huang Meng!"