Long Time No See (GL) - Chapter 16

It turned out that a hidden concern for Yun Shu had always been tucked away in her heart. The reason she had tightly closed the door of her heart for so many years, not letting anyone get close, was simply because Yun Shu had left.

A cup of hot milk awakened the true feelings in her heart.

Yun Shu owed her an explanation. To this day, Gu Weiran still didn’t understand why Yun Shu had to become her “stepmother.”

She didn’t want this identity, she truly didn’t!

Her rebelliousness, sharp words, and emotional stonewalling were nothing more than anger—anger at Yun Shu’s choice, anger at her ruining her own future, and anger at her allowing their relationship to become contaminated.

Gu Weiran lightly sniffed a few times; the corners of her eyes felt sore, and she wanted to cry.

The door was ajar. Yun Shu stood there quietly, a rarely seen melancholy in her eyes. She bowed her head, gave a bitter smile, and quietly left.

Only Yun Shu herself knew whether the past years had been good or not. Perhaps only Gu Weiran’s deceased father, Gu Lin, knew of Yun Shu’s painstakingly careful intentions.

She had been pointed at and talked about for so many years and was long accustomed to it. Being misunderstood was the norm. She disdained to explain and didn’t want to waste her breath.

For her, after Teacher Lin passed away, the world lost its color, and everything became bleak.

Back then, Lin Yun’s death was sudden. Yun Shu became an angel with broken wings, and her dream was shattered.

To make matters worse, the sickly Gu Lin was soon diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for Gu Weiran, who had just lost her mother.

Both of Gu Weiran’s parents were only children. The older generation lived in the countryside, and some had already passed away. They had very little contact with distant relatives.

Gu Lin and Lin Yun had long been involved in charity and rural teaching. They only had the house they lived in and had no savings. Gu Lin’s liver cancer could only prolong his life; it could not be cured. He concealed his illness from everyone except Yun Shu.

He couldn’t let go of Gu Weiran. The child was still so young; what would happen to her in the future?

During that time, Gu Lin was physically and mentally exhausted and grew thinner by the day. Finally, his body failed him, and he was admitted to the hospital.

At that time, Yun Shu gave up her dream of dancing, resigned from her job, and stayed home to take care of Gu Lin. At the same time, rumors began to spread in the school, all saying that Teacher Lin had passed away less than half a year ago, and Teacher Gu had already found a young and beautiful woman.

Some who knew Yun Shu was Lin Yun’s student spoke even more harshly. They said things like she “took over her teacher’s husband,” “got a daughter for free,” and “for the sake of the Xuan’an household registration, she preyed on her own benefactor…”

Some said that Yun Shu was born beautiful and was a seductive vixen who took advantage of the vulnerability of the Gu family, hoping to inherit the house.

Lin Yun was a person of noble character. Her accident was regrettable and was widely praised. Yet, the result of sacrificing her life was that her own student seized the opportunity.

What a cynical fact.

Yun Shu lived her life amidst these criticisms, and Gu Weiran was also ridiculed by her classmates because of these matters.

But even so, she chose to believe in Yun Shu.

Later, Yun Shu came up with an idea, which Gu Lin opposed.

“No, this will ruin your reputation. How will you ever get married in the future?”

Yun Shu smiled calmly: “I don’t care about that. I want to take care of you and Weiran. This is the best way.”

“Yun Shu, don’t be foolish. Don’t sacrifice your future for the sake of repaying kindness. Your life has just begun.” Gu Lin couldn’t bear it. They had never expected repayment for helping Yun Shu.

“What about Weiran? Do you have a better method or a better person for the job? You know very well that I am the most suitable person. I can take care of her.”

“But…”

“Are you concerned about the rumors or about Weiran?”

Gu Lin’s eyes reddened. He thought of his deceased wife and only regretted his failing health. Besides Yun Shu, he didn’t feel comfortable entrusting his daughter to anyone. “But Weiran will treat you…”

He was full of concerns, but Yun Shu remained firm: “Whether she accepts it or not, I will take good care of her. She is still young. She just needs to study hard and get into college. There’s no need for her to understand me.”

“Alas~”

Just like that, Yun Shu and Gu Lin reached an agreement. Gu Lin added her name to the property deed, and Yun Shu also applied to become Gu Weiran’s guardian.

They did not publicly claim any specific relationship, but when asked, they stopped explaining, as if tacitly agreeing. The change in identity was difficult for Gu Weiran to accept and brought many more responsibilities for Yun Shu.

Gu Lin’s hospital stay and treatment costs were expensive. The family had no savings, so Yun Shu secretly mortgaged the house and took out a loan of 200,000 yuan. Two months later, Gu Lin passed away. While taking care of Gu Weiran alone, she also worked in sales at a property development.

She repaid the debt in one year.

However, Gu Weiran knew nothing about these things.

Even at every parent-teacher conference, she felt humiliated by Yun Shu’s presence. She was afraid of her classmates’ strange looks and afraid of hearing people say to her: “Gu Weiran, your stepmother is so beautiful and young.”

That almost became the nightmare of her student days.

Everyone discussed Yun Shu’s motives. Although the Gu family had no money, they had a house. Wasn’t Yun Shu just after the house and the Xuan’an household registration?

She endured cold sarcasm, and even Gu Weiran spoke coldly to her. At work, she had to face the derision and harshness of clients. After work, she accepted Gu Weiran’s aloofness. Even so, she continued to smile in the face of life.

She rose through the ranks at Mingde through hard work and ability, but because of her beauty, she once again attracted unsavory rumors.

But Yun Shu didn’t care; she always just smiled it off.

Since Lin Yun’s death, she had often suffered from insomnia. Sometimes, when she finally managed to fall asleep, she would wake up to find her pillow wet. She never knew when she had shed tears.

Later, insomnia turned into the inability to sleep in unfamiliar beds. She couldn’t sleep whenever she traveled for work, and for the past two years, she had relied on sleeping pills to fall asleep.

Every year on this day, she found it hard to sleep. The grief over Lin Yun’s death would be infinitely magnified today, tearing her heart apart.

She poured a glass of red wine and half-lay on the beanbag chair, looking up. The sky was filled with countless stars, vast and boundless. Xuan’an’s charming starry sky held her deepest affection.

Soft music played from the speaker. Fearing she might disturb Gu Weiran, Yun Shu closed the balcony door and retreated into her own world.

They say people reminisce about the past because the present is not good enough. Yun Shu’s years had not been easy. Teacher Lin left too suddenly, taking a piece of her heart with her.

Yun Shu’s calm and detached demeanor was sometimes nothing more than emotional numbness.

Her only annual pleasure was returning to Xuan’an to secretly look at Gu Weiran.

Gu Weiran didn’t know that Yun Shu had been silently watching over her from behind, watching her grow up little by little until she could stand on her own.

It had been five years since she left. Even in a brand-new environment, the moment Gu Weiran walked in, it gave Yun Shu the feeling of home.

Today felt calmer than previous years.

Perhaps from exhaustion or other reasons, Yun Shu drank some wine and fell asleep without taking her medication.

After a bout of sadness, Gu Weiran really wanted to see Yun Shu. The hot milk made her recall all of Yun Shu’s kindness, and it even made her a little greedy for more.

But it was late at night, and Yun Shu must have been asleep already. She should keep this emotion to herself.

Gu Weiran habitually got up to wash her mug and brush her teeth when she faintly heard music coming from the balcony.

She rubbed her eyes and walked over. Yun Shu was lying peacefully. The moonlight poured through the glass onto her face, like a peony flower about to bloom, beautiful without being seductive, and bright without being vulgar.

Gu Weiran’s gaze froze, and she felt as if she were under a spell.

How could anyone look so beautiful asleep? She had known Yun Shu for so long and had seen her before. Why was she always infatuated, unable to look away?

Gu Weiran, wake up! She patted her head, ready to go back to her room and sleep, but then she thought, if Yun Shu was sleeping on the balcony with the door closed, the heat wouldn’t get in. Wouldn’t she catch a cold?

She’s a grown-up, yet she’s still so careless with her life!

Gu Weiran complained in her heart. She went to get a blanket and slowly covered Yun Shu with it.

She didn’t dare to breathe. If Yun Shu woke up now, she would definitely be very, very embarrassed.

Please don’t wake up, don’t wake up, don’t wake up!

Yun Shu seemed to be in a deep sleep, not even turning over. Gu Weiran secretly rejoiced. But after tucking her in, she suddenly felt reluctant to retreat.

Even one more glance at her made her feel good inside.

Gu Weiran stared at her, lost in thought. Her body involuntarily leaned forward, getting closer and closer to Yun Shu, until she heard Yun Shu’s steady breathing. She suddenly looked up, startled.

She quickly stood up and hurriedly fled the balcony.

What was she trying to do just now? Was she crazy? Did she want to kiss her???

She was cursed, she was cursed. Yun Shu must have put a hex on her!

She rushed back to her room, tightly closed the door, and buried her head under the covers. She decided not to think about anything!

I was so creepy just now! Conclusion reached!

As soon as Gu Weiran slipped away, Yun Shu opened her eyes. She gently touched the blanket, looked in the direction Gu Weiran had left, and the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

That night, Gu Weiran dreamed of Yun Shu. It was like continuing the unfinished action: she kissed Yun Shu.

She woke up startled by the dream, afraid to leave her room. How was she supposed to face Yun Shu?? After a long internal struggle, she went out and found that Yun Shu was already gone.

Why let her join Mingde but not wait for her to go to work together? What kind of move was this?

One resignation form was enough to make Gu Weiran a Mingde employee. Yun Shu’s power was evident.

She assumed Yun Shu was at the company and went straight to Mingde. As soon as she arrived at the door, the administrative staff warmly greeted her, processed her onboarding procedures, and led her to a private office.

Her position was: Assistant to the General Manager, with a monthly salary of 9,000, and a three-month probation period.

It was said that Mingde Xuan’an company did not have a General Manager. Wang Sen had served as acting general manager, but his actual position was Marketing Manager for the branch company, overseeing several projects in Xuan’an.

Yun Shu’s parachuting in made Wang Sen’s position precarious. No one knew if she would seize the opportunity to oust Wang Sen and replace him with one of her confidantes.

A new sovereign, a new set of officials. She had just arrived and was already poaching a person from the client side. Her intentions were clear.

Gu Weiran’s office was next to the General Manager’s office, with a connecting side door between the two rooms, which was very convenient.

It was strange that Yun Shu was not at the company. Gu Weiran didn’t know what she was supposed to do.

Yun Shu’s current actions were too strange; Gu Weiran couldn’t figure her out.

Didn’t she say she needed her to accompany her for work, social engagements, and business trips? Now she was nowhere to be found.

Just as she was thinking, someone walked into her office. It was Wang Sen.

Gu Weiran stood up and politely greeted him: “General Manager Wang.”

“Miss Gu, I trust you’re well. I didn’t expect to have the chance to be colleagues one day.” Wang Sen took advantage of Yun Shu’s absence to try and cozy up to Gu Weiran.

This person had bad intentions. Gu Weiran was polite and humble on the surface, but she had already built a defensive line in her heart.

“It’s an honor to have the chance to learn from you, General Manager Wang.”

“No, no, no, you’re here to learn from General Manager Yun, I wouldn’t presume.” Wang Sen stared intently at Gu Weiran, leaning closer to her and smiling slyly: “General Manager Yun is only here in Xuan’an temporarily and won’t be staying long.”

“Oh? Is that so? I really didn’t know that,” Gu Weiran replied.

“I heard that General Manager Yun was your mother’s student?”

“General Manager Wang is very well-informed. Yes, that’s correct, but we haven’t seen each other for a long time.”

Wang Sen smiled: “I also heard she’s your stepmother?”

Upon hearing the two words “stepmother,” Gu Weiran felt a wave of disgust. How did this man named Wang know about Yun Shu’s relationship with her?

“Don’t wonder how I know. This is General Manager Yun’s privacy and yours, so I won’t speak carelessly. But you need to think clearly. General Manager Yun won’t be in Xuan’an often. Although she’s temporarily promoting you, it’s not a long-term plan after all.”

“I don’t know exactly what you’re trying to say, General Manager Wang?”

“She signed a ‘gambling agreement’ with the Group, requiring her to increase Xuan’an’s performance by 200% in three months. If she completes it, she can get a high commission. If she fails, she’ll be demoted and transferred. In short, she will definitely leave here.”

Gu Weiran understood. Wang Sen meant that Yun Shu could only give her temporary protection, and she would eventually leave, perhaps even being negatively affected by this agreement. Whereas he, a person protected by the Chairman’s wife, was the most reliable choice.

“An increase in performance by 200%, do you know what that means? Hehe, Miss Gu is a smart person. You can take your time to think it over. When you’ve made up your mind, feel free to come find me. We can talk in depth.” Wang Sen tried to reach out and pat her shoulder. Gu Weiran took a step back and smiled: “Thank you for the advice, General Manager Wang. I will consider it carefully.”

Inside a potted plant in the office, a pinhole camera captured these scenes.

Yun Shu, who had just finished meeting with an important client, was on her way back to Mingde. In the car, Lü Xin saw the surveillance footage and handed the phone to Yun Shu.

“This Wang Sen is indeed lustful and restless. Miss Gu just arrived, and he’s already daring to put his paws on her.”

Yun Shu looked at the screen, a cold light flashing in her eyes. “No one knows you installed surveillance, right?”

“No, everything in Miss Gu’s office was arranged by me personally. General Manager Yun, this Wang Sen cannot be kept. He is secretly coordinating with the project leaders to create obstacles for you, which is probably what the Group’s representative also wants.”

Yun Shu chuckled, “Take it easy. We’re still missing an opportune moment to deal with him.”

This moment was initially something she needed to wait for, but now it seemed it would arrive soon. Yun Shu showed a meaningful smile. How would Weiran handle this kind of workplace executive’s sexual harassment?