Long Time No See (GL) - Chapter 20

The moment the door closed, it blocked the curious onlookers outside.

Gu Weiran’s face was flushed with anger. Although she wanted to put on a show for Wang Sen, it was also true that Yun Shu was deliberately making things difficult for her.

“Have you argued enough?” Yun Shu lowered her intensity, her voice softening a little.

“I didn’t want to argue with you.”

“Well, I thought you were quite worked up.”

Gu Weiran couldn’t help but complain, “I stayed up for several nights; I’m starting to get dark circles under my eyes, and you casually deny it with one sentence. Every day, it’s revise, revise, revise, and there are always endless faults to pick! My confidence is almost completely shattered by you.”

Yun Shu’s lips curved into a slight, hidden smile. She didn’t say anything but returned to her own office.

Was that it? Gu Weiran glared at her angrily. She had just sat down, intending to take a short nap, when Yun Shu walked in again.

She walked to the desk, leaned over, and quietly asked, “Weiran, are you still angry?”

Feeling Yun Shu’s breath so close, Gu Weiran’s heart started to pound erratically again, and her speech became stammered. “Th-then what else? Should I be thrilled when my boss denies my work?”

“Open your mouth.”

“Ah?” As soon as Gu Weiran opened her mouth, Yun Shu put something inside.

She looked at Yun Shu blankly, her mouth moved, and it was sweet. “Chocolate?”

“You used to eat this whenever you were angry. It’s guaranteed to work.” Yun Shu smiled, squinting. “How is it? Is the anger gone a little?”

Yun Shu’s soft voice made her dizzy.

The sweet and bitter taste swirled on her tongue. Gu Weiran’s heart felt like melting chocolate, sweet and soft. Whenever she felt wronged or unhappy, Yun Shu would find chocolate to coax her.

She remembered these things, and Yun Shu remembered too.

Her anger towards Yun Shu never lasted more than ten seconds. It was true then, and it was true now.

It turned out that no matter how many years passed, the feeling in her heart hadn’t changed.

Yun Shu switched seamlessly between gentleness and strictness, but Gu Weiran couldn’t distinguish which one was the real her? Or perhaps every side was her, and Gu Weiran simply wasn’t used to this other side of Yun Shu yet.

“In the past few days, I have carefully reviewed the bidding proposal you wrote before and the revisions I asked you to make. Your current level is sufficient in your industry, but it’s still far from my requirements. Real estate advertising is just the tip of the iceberg in the advertising industry. It’s a tool to assist marketing, and it is also limited by marketing. So, your perspective cannot be confined to the immediate. I hope you can venture into brand advertising and broaden your thinking a bit more. I pushed you hard with Jing Yan’s matter, and you must have researched many case studies. This is also a process of accumulation, but you need to focus on methodology.”

Yun Shu finished her gentle analysis and took out a thick stack of printed papers, placing them on the desk. “These are my notes, summaries, and suggestions for the shortcomings in your work. Take what is useful, discard what is not. Finalize the proposal one last time and submit it directly to the Planning Department. Have a good rest this weekend. Thank you for your hard work.”

Gu Weiran took the stack blankly. It was the printed version of the PPT, hundreds of A4 pages bound together, like a thick book. A quick flip showed handwritten annotations everywhere. Each note had a source, referencing which case studies and which books to read, all written in detail.

Such a massive volume couldn’t be completed in less than one or two weeks. Was she also staying up late when Gu Weiran was staying up? And for even longer than her?

She wasn’t deliberately making things difficult for her; she wanted Gu Weiran to discover her own problems through repeated revisions.

Gu Weiran held the thick book of work suggestions, her heart once again ignited by Yun Shu. The one who made her feel utterly lost was her, and the one who moved her to speechlessness was also her.

Gu Weiran could no longer face the gains and losses in her work with composure, nor could she look at everything in her life with indifference.

She cared about Yun Shu. The slightest movement of Yun Shu’s finger could stir up huge waves in her heart.

“I have to go out now. I’ll be back late. Remember to eat and go to bed early.”

Yun Shu showed a gentle smile. Even the way her eyes crinkled made Gu Weiran intoxicated. It was this smile that had lingered in her heart for years, impossible to erase.

With Yun Shu like this, how could Gu Weiran still be angry? She felt unwilling to and couldn’t bear to be angry. Even if she had to revise it eight hundred more times, she would do it gladly.

Mingde without Yun Shu felt like an empty shell. Gu Weiran found it dull and uninteresting.

Even if she wanted to immerse herself in work, she couldn’t focus completely. She kept glancing at the door leading to the General Manager’s office, hoping to hear Yun Shu’s voice, wishing she would return.

Although they saw each other daily, the actual time they spent together was quite limited.

Yun Shu returned late and wasn’t often in the office.

Gu Weiran secretly set up a countdown, changing the number every day that passed. She hadn’t taken the college entrance examination this seriously. Sometimes, looking at the changing numbers, she found it ridiculous.

That was the taste of anticipation mixed with fear.

In the past, during her leisure time, she would read books or binge-watch shows. Now, with spare time, she couldn’t concentrate on anything.

Yun Shu kept running around in her mind, as if she were possessed.

On a listless night, Gu Weiran felt bored and called Su Qing.

“I was just about to look for you.”

“That’s rare. You’re busy with your new movie, and you have time for me?”

Su Qing was transitioning from screenwriter to producer. This was a critical period for her career, and it was also her first project getting closer to Lu Jing Yan, so she took it very seriously.

“I want you to introduce me to Sister Cen. I have some psychological matters I want to consult her about.”

Gu Weiran was surprised. “Are you alright? Why are you going there?”

“I’m fine. It’s Jing Yan.”

“I see. Let’s go tomorrow then. I’ll make an appointment with Sister Cen.”

“Okay.”

Gu Weiran hung up and sent a reservation request to Cen Shuya. Fortunately, Cen Shuya could spare some time to see them tomorrow.

Lu Jing Yan’s significance to Su Qing was more than just an idol. Although Gu Weiran couldn’t empathize completely, she understood the importance of faith.

Lu Jing Yan was Su Qing’s bai yueguang (the moonlight in her heart, meaning her unrequited love or unattainable dream) and the driving force of her ideal. What about herself? Compared to Su Qing, Gu Weiran’s life seemed quite aimless. She had no grand goals and nothing she absolutely had to accomplish.

If she still had any wishes, perhaps it was the hope of doing something more for Yun Shu to make up for her past disrespect and harm.

Just as she was thinking about Yun Shu, a message from her arrived: Not coming back tonight.

Gu Weiran held her phone, her heart sinking to the bottom.

She wasn’t coming back?

Where did she go? On a date? Sleeping in a hotel or at someone else’s house? She couldn’t help but let her mind wander. Had that old man named Ming come to Xuan’an, or was it…?

As her imagination amplified, sharp pains cut across Gu Weiran’s chest. It was like holding a knife while self-harming, stabbing herself every time she thought about it, leaving her body riddled with holes and bleeding profusely.

Without Yun Shu around, the house suddenly felt cold. The desolate night and the low air pressure suffocated her.

That night, Gu Weiran slept intermittently. She kept thinking that perhaps Yun Shu had drunk too much, perhaps her social engagement was running late, and maybe she would come back?

She usually provided a specific location, but this time she didn’t. Where did she go? Who was she with?

She pricked up her ears, waking up at the slightest disturbance. Even the rising night wind brushing against the branches made her think the door was opening.

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Gu Weiran finally gave up waiting at four in the morning and slowly drifted off to sleep.

The next day, she was listless, but she still braced herself to meet Su Qing, and the two went to Shuya’s psychological counseling office together.

In the high-end consultation room, a person was lying on the sofa chair, eyes slightly closed, looking very tired. Cen Shuya sat beside her, holding a pen and paper, seemingly taking notes.

“Have you still been dreaming about Teacher Lin recently?” she asked cautiously.

Yun Shu slowly opened her eyes, her gaze scattered. “It’s been less frequent in the last two years. I only dream about her around the anniversary of her passing.”

“That’s a good sign. Fewer dreams might mean you’re getting closer to letting go.”

“Letting go?” Yun Shu shook her head, lowered her eyes, and gave a bitter smile. “I don’t have the right to let go.”

She clearly remembered when she was preparing to visit Teacher Lin in the mountain area where she was teaching. She had planned to leave the next day, but the bad news came before the second day arrived.

She couldn’t forgive herself. If she had gone one day earlier, perhaps everything would have been different, perhaps Teacher Lin wouldn’t have died.

“Sister Shu, you can’t blame yourself for Teacher Lin’s accident. You need to learn to forgive yourself. Imagine if you were there, watching her get into trouble, wouldn’t the feeling of powerlessness be even more painful? And supposing you were there and also encountered the same danger, what would Teacher Lin do? She would also push you away and protect you without hesitation. In that case, how would you live with yourself?”

“I wouldn’t let that happen.”

“It has already happened, hasn’t it? Teacher Lin is gone, Sister Shu. More than anyone else, she wants you to live well, doesn’t she?” Cen Shuya gently pressed her shoulder. “Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting, right?”

Yun Shu’s eyes were full of sorrow, the rims turning red.

Cen Shuya’s place was her only outlet for expression and the only window for communication with herself. She had to peel open her inner wounds to face and release her emotions.

She always kept herself tightly controlled. That string was too fragile to touch. No one knew the loneliness and sadness behind her composure, where she showed neither joy nor sorrow.

She was inexplicably abandoned by her mother, the benefactor who raised her unexpectedly passed away, the child she watched grow up resented her, and she was labeled the “vixen,” the “ungrateful” one in the eyes of the world, and the “mistress,” the “underground lover” in the mouths of others.

She bore all the slanders. On the heavily burdened path she walked, she sometimes felt very lost.

She didn’t know what she was holding on to.

Only when she occasionally thought of Gu Weiran did she feel a glimmer of connection. At least, in this world, there was still someone who was intricately linked to her.

This invisible bond had become the sole thought in her life.

“Let’s talk about something else. How has your sleep been recently? What is the frequency of medication?” Cen Shuya changed the subject.

“Two or three times a week. When I take it, I sleep until dawn. If I don’t, I can’t fall asleep until two or three.” Yun Shu answered calmly.

“Mm.” Cen Shuya carefully recorded the data. “Have you experienced any instances of falling asleep naturally?”

Yun Shu lifted her eyelids, a hint of a smile appearing. “The day Weiran stayed with me, I fell asleep curled up on the balcony.”

“Really?” Cen Shuya was overjoyed. “That’s so rare. Oh, that reminds me, she’s coming over today.”

“You mean Weiran?” Yun Shu’s expression finally recovered somewhat.

“Yes, she said she was accompanying her best friend for some consultation.” Just as she was speaking, the assistant came in and informed her that Gu Weiran and Su Qing had arrived.

Cen Shuya had a dinner appointment with Yun Shu. If the other person hadn’t been Gu Weiran, she would have canceled this last-minute consultation.

“You go first. I’ll wait for you in the car in a bit.”

“Okay.”

Only Yun Shu was left in the room. She stood up and gently patted her face. It was time to return to normal.

She didn’t allow herself to be dejected, nor did she want to display any weakness.

She took out her phone. There was a message from Gu Weiran on the screen.

“I have something to go out for today. Are you coming home today?”

Yun Shu leaned lazily against the window. The sunlight shone all around her, making her feel warm.

She smiled and replied: Yes.

Adjusting her emotions, Yun Shu checked her appearance in the mirror and touched up her makeup. She smiled at herself, still stunning and beautiful.

She walked out of the high-end consultation room and found Gu Weiran asleep, slumped on the sofa in the waiting area.

Yun Shu subconsciously slowed her steps. She didn’t come back last night. Did she not sleep well? Yun Shu stopped, went back to get a blanket, and gently covered her.

She walked very lightly. Although she was wearing high heels, she made no sound. She bent down, tenderly brushing the hair from Gu Weiran’s face, and looked up to find Su Qing coming out, watching her.

“Shh,” Yun Shu put her finger to her lips and whispered gently, “Don’t say you saw me.” With that, she winked at Su Qing. Every gesture was full of tenderness. The light makeup made her alluring but not媚 (flirtatious/coquettish), stunning but not vulgar. Every frown and smile was captivating.

Su Qing nodded repeatedly and made an OK gesture in response.

Yun Shu was like a light, ethereal cloud, seemingly far yet near. Even up close, she possessed a hazy beauty. She was as beautiful as a poem. Only the elegant classical Chinese verses like “A light silk fan holds white magnolia flowers, a slender waist and jade belt dance under a heavenly veil,” and “The hibiscus cannot compare to the beauty’s makeup; the wind from the water pavilion carries the fragrance of jewels and pearls,” could describe her transcendent and unworldly nature.

Su Qing couldn’t use flowery language to describe Yun Shu, but she believed Yun Shu was absolutely not the kind of person Gu Weiran once described. Her kindness and beauty came from her core. Su Qing liked her temperament.

Yun Shu’s smile was warm like the sun. After waving goodbye to Su Qing, she left with Cen Shuya.

As soon as she left, Gu Weiran jolted up. “Susu, are you done? How long did I sleep?”

“Not long, just ten minutes or so.”

“That’s good.” She glanced at the blanket on her body but paid no attention to it. Instead, she noticed a message: Yun Shu’s one-word reply: Yes.

She was finally coming home tonight? Gu Weiran’s heart blossomed with joy. She pulled Su Qing and said, “Accompany me to the supermarket to buy groceries.”

“Buy groceries? Are you going to cook for me?”

“Dream on!”