Little Moon × Pei Turtle
It was late August, the tail end of summer. The heat still hadn’t faded, and it wasn’t until nightfall that the temperature finally dropped a little.
Shen Fangyue sat lazily in her air-conditioned room, all ten fingers buried in her dark hair as she clutched her head and stared blankly at the problem in front of her, as though she could burn a hole straight through the workbook just by looking at it.
She stayed like that for another few minutes before finally reaching the end of her patience.
Grabbing her phone, she tapped the profile picture at the top of her WeChat—
**Little Moon:** [Stinky Turtle, did you lie to me?]
Three seconds passed.
No response.
Shen Fangyue continued.
**Little Moon:** [What? I caught you, so now you don’t dare reply?]
**Little Moon:** [Anyone who doesn’t reply is a pig.]
**Little Moon:** [Anyone who doesn’t reply is a turtle.]
**Little Moon:** [I’m telling the teacher you smoke.]
Still no reply?
Was he really not there?
Shen Fangyue leaned back against her chair and turned to glance at the window next door, which directly faced hers.
It was completely dark inside.
She looked back down at her phone and continued typing.
Fine. Very good.
He tricked her into sitting here doing questions beyond the syllabus while he went out to have fun—
The screen suddenly changed.
A reply appeared.
**Pei Turtle:** [?]
**Pei Turtle:** [Are you sick?]
**Pei Turtle:** [What did I lie to you about?]
**Little Moon:** [The workbook you bought me is definitely for Year Three. I can’t understand a single question.]
**Pei Turtle:** […]
**Pei Turtle:** [Look at the cover.]
The workbook had already been open when she brought it back, flipped to the few questions Pei Qi had marked out for her. She really hadn’t looked at the cover.
Shen Fangyue flipped to the front.
Several large yellow words were printed across the purple cover—
**Basic Mathematics Exercises for Senior Year One.**
A certain soon-to-be second-year high school student: “…”
[Little Moon recalled a message.]
**Pei Turtle:** [Idiot.]
**Little Moon:** [Right back at you.]
Shen Fangyue had completely lost the will to continue working on the questions.
She flopped lazily onto her bed and held her phone above her face.
**Little Moon:** [Where did you go? Why aren’t you home yet?]
**Pei Turtle:** [None of your business.]
**Little Moon:** [?]
**Little Moon:** [With our relationship, I’m not even allowed to ask where you are?]
**Pei Turtle:** [What relationship do we have?]
**Little Moon:** [Childhood sweethearts who’ve been neighbours for fifteen years.]
**Pei Turtle:** [Even the dog back in my hometown that’s been with me for sixteen years doesn’t ask where I’m going.]
“…”
Shen Fangyue’s beautifully manicured finger hovered over the **Delete Friend** button for a very long time.
In the end, she gritted her teeth and cancelled.
**Little Moon:** [I’m bored. Come home and play games with me.]
**Pei Turtle:** [What happened to studying?]
**Little Moon:** [I’ll study after we play.]
**Little Moon:** [Besides, I thought about it. I can keep this workbook and take it to school when term starts so I can ask Gu Feibai about the questions. Hehe.]
**Little Moon:** [I’m seriously a little genius when it comes to pursuing love.]
The other side went silent again.
**Little Moon:** [?? Where’d you go?!]
Shen Fangyue sent more than ten stickers in a row before the other person finally deigned to reply.
**Pei Turtle:** [Not coming back. No time to chat. Study by yourself.]
Oh, really?
Shen Fangyue immediately decided she was going to march over to the neighbour’s house and wait for him there.
She sent him two vicious-looking stickers and was just about to get up when her phone suddenly vibrated again.
It was Qian Fei, the vice-class monitor.
**Qian Fei:** [Fangyue, is your brain feeling any better?]
?
Shen Fangyue stared at the message in confusion and sent back a question mark.
**Qian Fei:** [Didn’t you injure your brain? Is it serious? School starts the day after tomorrow. Can you still come?]
The tone didn’t seem like she was insulting her.
**Little Moon:** [Who said I injured my brain?]
**Qian Fei:** [Pei Qi.]
Of course!!!
**Little Moon:** [I’m fine. He has a death wish!]
**Qian Fei:** […Oh, okay. Good that you’re fine. I thought it was true. Then why didn’t you come tonight?]
Shen Fangyue had already been about to switch chats and curse someone out, but she paused when she saw the second half of the message.
**Little Moon:** [Come where?]
**Qian Fei:** [Melody. It’s Gu Feibai’s birthday today. He invited everyone from class out to sing karaoke. Loads of people came.]
**Qian Fei:** [He even asked Pei Qi just now why you weren’t here, and Pei Qi said… (laughing-crying.jpg)]
Shen Fangyue practically sprang off the bed.
She pulled out the little dress her father had just brought back for her from Hong Kong two days ago, quickly put on some makeup, and by the time she was fixing her hair, she finally managed to get “Pei Turtle” to pick up her voice call.
“Hello.”
The boy sounded lazy.
There was very faint music in the background. It was hard to hear, but if she listened carefully, she could just make it out.
“Pei Qi! Gu Feibai invited everyone out for his birthday and you didn’t tell me?!”
“…”
“You did it on purpose.” Shen Fangyue combed her hair in front of the mirror, her voice full of grievance. “You’re deliberately trying to become an obstacle in the path of my love.”
There was silence on the other end for several seconds.
“Don’t come.”
Shen Fangyue completely ignored him.
“I haven’t even prepared a present. What am I supposed to say when I get there later?”
“I said don’t come.” Pei Qi’s voice was indifferent. “It’s boring. There’s nothing fun here. I’ll come back later and play games with you.”
“Are you okay, Pei Qi? You want me to skip Gu Feibai’s birthday and go to your house to play games?” Shen Fangyue thought for a moment. “Wait. I remember there’s a LEGO shop outside Melody, right? Maybe I’ll buy him some LEGO?”
“Shen Fangyue…” Pei Qi was clearly getting impatient.
Shen Fangyue said, “Hanging up!”
Before ending the call, she quickly added,
“And you told everyone there was something wrong with my brain, didn’t you? Pei Qi, just you wait.”
&&
Despite its tacky name, Melody was the liveliest entertainment venue in Mountain City.
The road became congested every night, and Shen Fangyue had also wasted some time at the LEGO shop, so by the time she arrived, the lights inside the private room had already been dimmed and everyone was singing “Happy Birthday.”
The birthday boy stood in the middle surrounded by everyone else. The speakers were loud, and nobody noticed someone pushing open the door.
Shen Fangyue cooperatively sang along for a couple of lines while her eyes wandered around the room.
Actually, there was no need to deliberately search.
Everyone was either standing or sitting upright on the sofas, their faces full of excitement from having fun.
Only one person sat in a corner, looking completely uninterested in the lively atmosphere around him, his eyes lowered as he casually tapped at his phone.
Even sitting down, it was obvious that he was tall and slender.
The space between the low table and the sofa seemed too cramped for him, so he could only casually cross one long leg over the other, his back sunk into the black sofa.
The faint glow from his phone illuminated his face, outlining his sharp, aloof features.
Shen Fangyue crouched down and crept over while still singing along to the birthday song.
When she finally squeezed up beside him, Shen Fangyue cleared her throat.
Then she abruptly bent down and slammed both palms against his shoulders.
“Pei Qi!”
She had intended to scare him and had practically thrown all her strength into it.
Pei Qi remained firmly seated.
He didn’t even look up.
His fingers didn’t stop moving across his phone either.
He merely shifted slightly to the side as though doing her a great favour, leaving a small space for her.
“…”
Shen Fangyue dropped the bag in her hand onto the floor and sat down heavily with a sour expression, deliberately knocking her shoulder against Pei Qi’s arm.
She was the one who ended up hurting.
“Do you have eyes on top of your head?” Shen Fangyue complained while rubbing her shoulder.
“You sing so badly I knew it was you without looking.”
Pei Qi’s voice was naturally cold and slightly deep.
The surroundings were unbearably noisy, yet Shen Fangyue still heard every word clearly.
“Heh.”
Shen Fangyue sneered.
“I wonder who cried because he was so moved by my birthday song when he was seven. Ungrateful brat.”
“This is the eight hundred and twentieth time I’ve clarified this,” Pei Qi said. “I cried because the cheap candles you bought were giving off black smoke.”
“I don’t believe you. You cried.”
For the eight hundred and twentieth time, Shen Fangyue rejected his explanation.
Pei Qi stopped paying attention to her.
Shen Fangyue adjusted her little dress, intending to go wish Gu Feibai a happy birthday, when her gaze landed on Qian Fei sitting not far away.
So Pei Qi’s arm received another soft smack.
“Right. Who did you say had something wrong with their brain?!”
Shen Fangyue had only been there a few minutes, and Pei Qi’s arm had already been hit several times.
He was long used to it.
Shen Fangyue was weak, so when she hit someone, it was practically a massage.
Pei Qi continued stacking blocks in his Tetris game.
Before he could speak, a faint camellia fragrance drifted toward him.
The person beside him leaned closer.
Shen Fangyue brought her face near him and sniffed.
Once.
Then again.
Finally, she confirmed,
“You smoked again.”
She raised her brows smugly.
“I’m telling Auntie as soon as we get home. Just wait until she scolds you.”
Shen Fangyue was practically leaning her entire body against him.
Today, she was wearing a white spaghetti-strap dress. The skin pressed against his arm was soft and cool.
Pei Qi’s fingers paused.
The perfectly arranged structure on his screen went wrong, and a horizontal block landed directly across the empty gap he had been saving.
“Go ahead.”
Pei Qi couldn’t be bothered explaining that someone beside him had been smoking earlier and the smell had simply clung to his clothes.
“Get up, tattletale.”
Shen Fangyue deliberately leaned against him even harder.
Pei Qi breathed in her scent.
Just as he was about to reach over and pull her away, the music suddenly stopped.
The room brightened.
The birthday song was over, and the lights had been switched back on.
The crowd dispersed, revealing the birthday boy who had been standing in the centre.
“Shen Fangyue?”
A clear male voice came through the speakers.
Gu Feibai was still holding the microphone, looking surprised.
“Why are you here? Is your head feeling better?”
The weight pressing against Pei Qi’s arm disappeared instantly.
The wrist he had just lifted paused for half a second before falling back down.
Shen Fangyue stood up.
Now that the lights were on again, everyone around them instinctively looked toward her.
Even though she was wearing a white dress, the exposed skin outside the fabric seemed even whiter.
Her long black hair fell over her shoulders like expensive, smooth silk.
Shen Fangyue was beautiful.
But her beauty was different from that of most girls her age.
Most sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girls looked innocent and cute.
Shen Fangyue was different.
Her beauty could already be described as striking—
Full, rounded lips.
A delicate, straight nose.
Long eyes with slightly upturned corners.
Together, they formed a face as sharp and aloof as a cat’s.
It was because of this face that, when Year One had first started, hardly anyone had dared approach her.
“I’m fine. He’s the one with something wrong with him.”
Shen Fangyue smiled without warmth and stepped hard on Pei Qi’s foot where nobody else could see.
A faint “tsk” sounded behind her.
“That’s good. I was just about to message you and ask how you were doing.”
Gu Feibai smiled.
“Perfect timing. I’m ordering drinks for the girls. What do you want? Juice, soda, or alcohol?”
Shen Fangyue immediately became obedient.
“Juice. I don’t drink.”
Another cold laugh came from behind her.
Shen Fangyue immediately stretched out her leg to step on him again, but he expertly dodged.
“Oh, right.”
Shen Fangyue picked up the gift bag beside her feet and handed it to Gu Feibai.
“I was in a bit of a rush, so I didn’t have time to prepare much… Happy birthday.”
“You didn’t need to prepare anything. It’s enough that you came.”
Gu Feibai glanced at the design on the bag.
“LEGO? I’ve never tried building one before. I’ll give it a go when I get home. Thanks.”
A waiter pushed open the door.
Gu Feibai looked at the menu handed to him and said,
“One jug of watermelon juice, one crate of beer, and…”
He suddenly asked,
“Do you want a fruit platter?”
Shen Fangyue was just about to shake her head.
“No need.”
A soft female voice sounded.
“I already ate a lot at dinner.”
Only then did Shen Fangyue notice that there was a girl standing behind Gu Feibai.
The girl was so thin that Gu Feibai’s body had almost completely hidden her.
Gu Feibai turned around and asked gently,
“Then should I buy you some yoghurt?”
“Where would you even get yoghurt here?”
“I’ll go out and buy it for you.”
“Forget it.”
The girl looped her arm around Gu Feibai’s wrist and leaned intimately against him.
“It’s your birthday. I don’t want to order you around.”
“Sis Yue? Why are you here? Didn’t Pei Qi say you weren’t coming tonight?”
A voice snapped Shen Fangyue out of the daze she had been sitting in for several minutes.
The newcomer was tall and somewhat skinny, looking as though he had just returned from the bathroom.
He sat behind her in class and was also Pei Qi’s deskmate.
His name was Song Zhe.
Song Zhe followed her gaze and saw the two people singing *Little Dimples* together nearby.
He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Couples really are disgustingly clingy.”
“Couple?”
Shen Fangyue stared blankly.
Only then did she remember to ask,
“Who’s that girl?”
“She’s from the class next door. You’ve never seen her before?”
Song Zhe opened two cans of beer and placed one in front of Pei Qi.
“Oh, right, you probably don’t know yet. When we went out to eat this afternoon, that girl called Gu Feibai out by himself. She probably confessed to him or something. When they came back, they were already holding hands. Heh.”
“…”
“You really can’t tell, huh? Gu Feibai usually looks so innocent. That girl too.”
Song Zhe lifted his chin.
“Right, Pei Qi?”
The person whose name had been called merely lowered his head and continued looking at his phone.
He ignored him.
“Who ordered *You’re Ruthless*?”
“Me, me, me!”
Song Zhe stood up.
“Me!”
The song began playing with what could only be described as ghostly wailing.
Shen Fangyue stared blankly at the couple on the sofa opposite them, their heads leaning together as they talked.
Before she even had time to properly process the blank confusion filling her mind, something suddenly landed heavily on her hair.
The brim of a baseball cap blocked her vision.
At the same time, a faint clean scent of soap surrounded her.
It was Pei Qi’s scent.
“I told you not to come.”
Pei Qi pulled the brim of the cap even lower.
His cool, indifferent voice sounded beside her ear.
“Idiot.”
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