The White Moonlight of Three Male Leads - Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Yi Xiangsui

(Learning Level Up: LV1)

(Learning Level Up: LV2)

…

(Learning Level Up: LV85)

—That was just what Song Yuyan imagined in his head, not what actually happened.

But in reality, as time passed, his grades steadily improved. By the time he reached his second year of high school, he was firmly in the top ten of his year.

He hovered somewhere around rank [□□], never quite advancing further.

Song Yuyan studied hard, but so did the top students in front of him. Everyone was improving, which meant he wasn’t actually progressing in comparison.

Well, not quite true—he hadn’t fallen behind either. Holding his position was still an achievement.

Still, his enthusiasm had dulled a bit.

He had already tasted the pain of hard studying. Now when he looked at Yi Xiangsui, he thought, When will it be his turn to suffer the pain of love?

Even with his eyes closed, Yi Xiangsui could feel Song Yuyan’s gaze falling on him from time to time whenever the other turned his head.

His heart beat violently, and he couldn’t even pretend to sleep during the break anymore—his eyelashes kept fluttering uncontrollably.

He adjusted his posture to expose the best angle of his face.

Sunlight spilled like gold over his sharply defined features.

Song Yuyan admired him for a while, savoring the visual feast, until he noticed Yi Xiangsui’s fluttering lashes—and couldn’t help but smile.

The corners of his lips lifted, and a mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes. He reached out and lightly brushed Yi Xiangsui’s lashes up and down with his fingertip.

Yi Xiangsui had no choice but to open his eyes. Before doing so, he instinctively grabbed Song Yuyan’s mischievous hand.

Their hands were now clasped.

The sensation of skin-on-skin contact blanked Yi Xiangsui’s mind.

His lashes blinked unconsciously again. Just then, the bell rang. Pressing down his voice, he said softly, “Class is starting.”

As soon as he finished, the hand in his grasp slipped away.

Song Yuyan turned back around and caught Huo Enlin’s curious look. He coughed lightly and said, “Hey, class is starting.”

Same words, different tones.

Song Yuyan suddenly thought that although they said the same thing, when he said it, it sounded lively and casual. But when Yi Xiangsui said it, it carried a strange… undertone.

It sounded great—too great, in fact. It left him wanting more.

It almost felt like Yi Xiangsui was flirting with him or something.

Must be a hallucination, Song Yuyan thought uncertainly.

While he was lost in thought, the golden sun sank in the west, the silver moon rose in the east, and another day passed quietly.

That evening, during the self-study break, Song Yuyan and Yi Xiangsui walked out of the classroom together.

This wasn’t their first run.

Song Yuyan never had much perseverance when it came to exercise. He didn’t think he could stick with it, but with Yi Xiangsui running beside him, he somehow managed to hang in there.

Song Yuyan casually stretched his legs.

Yi Xiangsui tried to control himself, but his eyes inevitably drifted to Song Yuyan again.

Song Yuyan had a perfect build—broad shoulders, long legs, and a slender waist hidden beneath his oversized school uniform.

Bathed in moonlight, with his lips lightly pressed together, Song Yuyan’s face was so captivating Yi Xiangsui couldn’t look away.

But he knew he shouldn’t keep staring.

He did a few warm-ups. When Song Yuyan finished stretching, they started jogging slowly side by side.

There was no need to rush the first lap. Yi Xiangsui didn’t care about winning. Some people exercised for competition, for victory—but to him, that missed the joy of it all.

Others passed them along the track.

They weren’t the only two running, but somehow, to Yi Xiangsui, the world felt vast and quiet—and it was just the two of them.

He was utterly enchanted by the feeling.

Song Yuyan liked it too. He enjoyed this kind of time.

When he felt like he couldn’t keep going, seeing Yi Xiangsui still running beside him gave him the strength to continue.

When they finally slowed down, Song Yuyan caught his breath and glanced at Yi Xiangsui.

Yi Xiangsui pressed his lips together, hesitating to speak.

Song Yuyan raised an eyebrow, grinning. “What’s wrong? You hiding a secret?”

Then he lowered his voice and teased, “Wanna share? If not, I’ll pretend I didn’t see your lips moving.”

As he mentioned lips, his gaze fell on Yi Xiangsui’s mouth—plump, glossy, perfectly shaped. A little on the fuller side… the kind that were said to be perfect for kissing.

Was Yi Xiangsui about to confess just now?

Yi Xiangsui had just hesitated, and now Song Yuyan was bringing it up again—not because of the 10 billion, no, not just because of that—but because he really wanted to share the pain of love with Yi Xiangsui.

His thoughts wandered. If Yi Xiangsui did confess, would it count as underage dating?

He kept staring blankly at Yi Xiangsui’s lips.

Yi Xiangsui’s face flushed with heat. He forced himself to look away and pretended to focus on the group of runners in the distance.

The stars spun overhead, and the Milky Way poured across the sky.

Yi Xiangsui turned back to Song Yuyan. Suddenly, what he wanted to say no longer felt so embarrassing.

“I want to study seriously now,” he said.

Song Yuyan’s reaction was… off.

He had psyched himself up for a love confession—and the “main character” had blindsided him with studying instead.

System: “The entertainment-industry male lead wants to study? That never happened in the original storyline!”

Song Yuyan perked up with excitement.

This had to be a butterfly effect! His presence must be changing the world. He craved change, craved for things to be different because of him. That’s what gave his existence meaning.

He studied Yi Xiangsui closely.

For the first time, he truly realized—this wasn’t a fake world. For him, this was real. Yi Xiangsui wasn’t just a character in a script. He was someone really here, someone who existed in his youth.

Yi Xiangsui said, “I just don’t want to keep being so aimless. Is it too late to start trying now?”

Song Yuyan shook his head, looked him straight in the eyes, and said seriously, “Believe me—years from now, you’ll thank yourself for starting now.”

At the very least, Yi Xiangsui wouldn’t have that “high school slacker” black mark dragged up in the future.

Yi Xiangsui relaxed and smiled slightly. “I believe you.”

But Yi Xiangsui had a lot of ground to make up. Starting in second year, his workload would be heavy.

He was different from Song Yuyan too. Yi Xiangsui had a rich inner world—he loved writing songs, painting, could find inspiration in mountains, rivers, and moonlight. Making him sit with boring textbooks all day… even getting him not to daydream would be a challenge.

So Song Yuyan thought he’d want to make use of every spare moment—he was already preparing himself for weekend cram sessions.

But then, Yi Xiangsui invited him to the gymnasium.

“I thought you were going to suggest the library,” Song Yuyan blinked, surprised.

“I told you I’d exercise with you,” Yi Xiangsui tilted his chin. “People can only concentrate for so long each day. I don’t recommend sitting at a desk all day.”

Song Yuyan frowned. “Dude, don’t tell me those rumors about me studying until 2 a.m. every night got to your head too?”

God knows what Yi Xiangsui had imagined. His pretty lashes fluttered—but just because they were beautiful didn’t mean Song Yuyan didn’t notice the guilty conscience behind them.

Then suddenly, Yi Xiangsui stopped blinking and looked directly at him.

In a serious tone, he asked, “Do you always stare at people like that?”

Their eyes locked. Song Yuyan suddenly realized—Yi Xiangsui really could be made to blush by his gaze!

“You really…” Song Yuyan was flustered for a moment before saying, “Don’t blame others for your nerves. Learn to look at yourself more.”

“Come on. Weren’t we going to play basketball?” Song Yuyan slung an arm around Yi Xiangsui’s shoulder and pulled him along.

Yi Xiangsui’s eyes sparkled.

He liked this so much.

Too bad Song Yuyan rarely got this close to him. The thought made Yi Xiangsui purse his lips.

…

Yi Xiangsui wasn’t into studying. He didn’t like talking to people either. So Song Yuyan was surprised he’d actually managed to gather people to play basketball.

“I just called a few I usually hang out with. We’re still short a couple, so you’ll have to bring your own,” Yi Xiangsui said.

Song Yuyan knew plenty of classmates.

While he went off to call for reinforcements, Yi Xiangsui blinked slowly.

Playing with unfamiliar people might make Song Yuyan uncomfortable. But if he mixed in some familiar faces, maybe he’d be happier—more relaxed.

At the gym—Yi Xiangsui’s group turned out to be students from another school, the one they often did joint exams with.

It didn’t take long for Song Yuyan to get familiar with them.

But once the game actually started, that’s when Song Yuyan truly felt it—this was passion.

Basketball gave a totally different thrill compared to running.

During halftime, Song Yuyan was panting, but his eyes sparkled. A white towel was suddenly handed to him from the side.

Not far away, Huo Enlin was wiping his sweat with his shirt. He elbowed Zhang Yuan beside him.

He gestured subtly toward Yi Xiangsui’s direction and said, “Don’t you think there’s something fishy between those two?”

“What do you mean?” Zhang Yuan saw Yi Xiangsui hand Song Yuyan a towel. It did seem a little odd—but he wasn’t sure.

“I mean, Yi Xiangsui’s not his cheerleader or something. Why’s he handing him towels and water?” The more Huo Enlin thought about it, the more suspicious he got.

But seeing how no one else around them seemed to think anything of it, he started doubting himself.

Maybe I’m just overthinking it because I want to date so badly… now I see a little closeness and start imagining drama?