Stealing the Moon - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When I opened my eyes again, blinding lights filled my vision.

I instinctively covered my eyes and had only just groaned a couple of times when I heard my colleague, Xiao Li, whispering a reminder beside me. “Xia Zhi, stop dozing off. You’re up next.”

“What?” I answered reflexively. Then, when I opened my eyes again, I saw every gaze in the conference room turn toward me.

Xiao Li, sitting beside me, helplessly covered his face. “You’re dead.”

The manager, who had been in the middle of spinning grand promises, looked rather displeased at being interrupted by me. “Xiao Xia from the Budget Department, right? What is it? Do you have some feedback you’d like to share?”

Almost on instinct, I wanted to say, “No.”

But out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the glaring line of text on the projector screen-April 2022 Monthly Meeting.

But it was clearly 2023 right now!

Under the manager’s dissatisfied stare, I blankly looked around at the colleagues in the conference room.

Wasn’t the person sitting across from me Xiao Xiao, who had resigned half a year ago?

Then I looked down at the computer screen in front of me. The date displayed on it was April 8, 2022.

So… I had transmigrated back to a year ago?

“Xia Zhi? What are you spacing out for? The manager is waiting for your answer!” Seeing that I hadn’t made a sound for ages, Xiao Li frantically poked me from the side.

Screech-

As I abruptly stood up, the chair beneath me made a harsh noise. The manager’s expression turned even uglier.

But-

“I’m sorry, sir. I suddenly remembered I have something urgent to deal with. Let’s end today’s meeting here.”

After saying that, I didn’t even take the laptop on the table. I grabbed my phone, turned around, and sprinted out of the conference room.

Screw this stupid job. Whoever wants it can have it. I’m going to save my moon!

Chapter 4

I still remembered this day from last year.

I had sat in the conference room for three hours, listening to the manager make empty promises while secretly slacking off and scrolling through Weibo.

Just as the meeting was about to end, right after the manager finished speaking, I saw that trending topic-

#Wen Yuan Apologizes#

This was a day every one of Wen Yuan’s fans remembered.

The popular idol Wen Yuan had been surrounded by sasaeng fans in a mall bathroom. Because the mall had a massive flow of people, the situation had nearly caused an accident.

In the end, it was Wen Yuan’s manager who arrived with the police and the mall security guards, finally putting a stop to that farce.

But the one who came forward to apologize in the end was Wen Yuan-the person who had been trapped in the bathroom by sasaeng fans for a full three hours.

At this very moment, there were still a few hours before Wen Yuan would post that apology on Weibo in my previous life.

In other words, right now, Wen Yuan was being trapped by sasaeng fans inside a mall bathroom.

And that mall was only one street away from the office building where I worked.

God, did you do this on purpose?

I sprinted the whole way.

I still remembered that night, lying on the bed in my rented apartment, feeling wronged on Wen Yuan’s behalf while watching videos from the scene.

I remembered where that bathroom was. It was in a corner on the third floor of the mall.

Because the mall was near the company, I often came here with my colleagues for meals.

So now, I charged all the way to the third floor of the mall. The moment I saw the bathroom entrance packed with a noisy crowd-and some people shouting Wen Yuan’s name at the top of their lungs-I yelled, “Everyone, get out of my way!”

As I shouted, I grabbed the mop by the bathroom entrance.

Excellent. It was even wet.

Like a warrior, I bulldozed through the crowd. Wherever the mop in my hand swept, cries of misery followed.

“What kind of water just splashed on my face?!”

“Ah! My brand-new white dress!”

“Why are you shoving? Are you rushing to reincarnate or something?!”

It wasn’t until I forced my way to the bathroom entrance that everyone finally reacted.

“Nobody move!” I casually swung the mop in a circle, and the crowd immediately backed up several steps.

After all, it was a mop from outside the bathroom. Who knew what it had been used to clean?

Seeing this, I finally gave a satisfied snort. Then I turned to look at the tightly shut bathroom door. At that point, I couldn’t care less about my image and shouted, “Hello! Do you need help?”

There were a few seconds of silence on the other side of the door.

Then, along with the sound of the lock turning, the tightly shut bathroom door opened a crack.

I seized the opportunity and immediately squeezed inside.

Bang!

I swiftly shut the door, cutting off the clamor outside.

Then, when I looked up, I came face-to-face with Wen Yuan.

Counting from the last time we graduated high school until now, he and I hadn’t seen each other in five years.

But the Wen Yuan before me still looked just like the boy in my memories.

He wore a clean white shirt. Since this was a private outing, he also had on a cap and mask. There was no styling done to his hair; his bangs simply fell over his forehead, making him look fresh and obedient.

When he saw me rush in, he seemed a little surprised, his eyes widening slightly.

“Th-this is the men’s bathroom…”

Damn it. I forgot about that.

“There’s no time to explain!”

I held the mop in one hand and took his right hand with the other. Ignoring the surprise on his face, I said quickly and seriously, “Come with me. I’m here to save you.”

Later on, whenever I thought back to those words, I felt so embarrassed I wanted to die.

Where on earth had I gotten the confidence to say something so painfully chuuni? And where had I gotten the confidence to think Wen Yuan would believe me?

But against all odds, Wen Yuan did believe me.

“Okay.” He didn’t ask why. He simply held my hand back.

The instant I met his trusting gaze, I felt a sudden, intense surge of excitement in my chest.

The next second, amid the uproar outside, I kicked open the bathroom door.

Then, under the stares of everyone outside, I held Wen Yuan’s hand and charged through the crowd.

I thought, since God had given me a chance to do this all over again…

Then this time, let me be the one to save you.