Long Time No See (GL) - Chapter 9
All the alcohol fumes were dispersed by the night wind, and Gu Weirán returned home, exhausted to the point of collapse.
Not physically tired, but emotionally drained.
The endless entanglement with Yún Shū was like a ceaseless tug-of-war, with no end in sight.
The image of that “young master” constantly leaning against Yún Shū kept flashing in her mind, making her scalp tingle with disgust; she was being tormented to the point of madness by this scene.
Lying on the sofa, Gu Weirán buried her head in a cushion, desperately wanting to drive Yún Shū out of her mind.
But her voice kept echoing in her ears.
To be her life assistant, work assistant, live with her, travel with her on business, work with her… wouldn’t that make her a “three-in-one escort” (三陪)? It was already this upsetting without living together; what would happen if they did?
What if they argued? What if she saw something else eye-catching? What if she inexplicably lost control again?
Gu Weirán didn’t dare to think about it, feeling that an abyss was waiting for her ahead.
But if she didn’t agree, she would truly suffer a miserable fate…
Or should she just handle it professionally? Treat it as merely a client-supplier relationship, not overthinking anything, and just count the days.
Just be roommates?
Gu Weirán was actually afraid of the unknown. Years ago, she had always used cold indifference toward Yún Shū, with communication almost at zero.
After so many years apart, both of them had changed to some extent. She no longer understood Yún Shū’s temperament, and Yún Shū wasn’t as familiar with hers either.
Who knew how many bumps and scrapes there would be? Living together wasn’t that easy.
Gu Weirán worried it would be counterproductive.
She really didn’t understand why Yún Shū insisted on demanding compensation in this way.
Gu Weirán sighed deeply and started scrolling through her phone. With a casual flip through her Moments (social media feed), she saw many colleagues reposting the same link.
The title was: Míngdé Real Estate’s XX Project Foundation in A City Collapsed, Suspected Casualties!
This title shocked Gu Weirán, and she sat up with a jolt. She clicked on the article and looked closely, and indeed, there were photos of the on-site collapse. When she checked Weibo’s trending topics, it was absent.
Had Míngdé suppressed it?
The article specifically stated that Míngdé Group initially refused to negotiate with the foundation material supplier, Líng Ruì Group. After repeated requests from Líng Ruì Group, Míngdé sent a group representative to handle the matter fully.
That person was precisely Yún Shū.
Gu Weirán realized she must have been too busy to notice such a huge incident. It seemed someone had indeed been suppressing the trending topics and removing reports. Now, a simple search showed several public accounts’ articles had been deleted.
So, the main reason Yún Shū traveled back and forth between A City and Xuān’ān was to deal with this matter.
Then, that social engagement… was it with people from Líng Ruì Group?
Gu Weirán furrowed her brow, thinking of a more troublesome issue. Míngdé’s reputation had been severely damaged. Their work would be very difficult to push forward now. With Míngdé’s construction quality being questioned, homebuyers would inevitably resist buying Míngdé’s properties.
If houses became hard to sell, the industries in their supply chain wouldn’t have an easy time either.
She had to plan ahead and devise counter-strategies.
At the same time, she also worried if Yún Shū would run into trouble taking on this hot potato.
No wonder she had two bodyguards following her. If there were truly casualties, A City must be in chaos, and Yún Shū, being on the frontline of Míngdé’s public opinion, would inevitably become the target of public criticism.
She wondered if it was someone internal to Míngdé Group deliberately pushing Yún Shū into the spotlight.
As Gu Weirán thought, she couldn’t help but worry about her.
Should she ask? After all, it was already circulating within the industry; this counted as a scandal, and Míngdé must be having a tough time.
She picked up her phone, then put it back down, repeating the action several times.
Mind your own business! Míngdé Group’s fault had nothing to do with her, and the trouble Yún Shū faced was even less her concern. How could she even consider picking up the phone to check on her?
However, she did have to give Yún Shū an answer. What was the difference between giving it now and giving it tomorrow morning?
Thinking of this, she opened the chat box and typed a line: “I’ve thought it over, I agree to your condition.”
After sending the message, she waited quietly for a reply.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes… half an hour passed, and Yún Shū still hadn’t replied.
Gu Weirán smiled and shook her head. She had been too neurotic lately, even expecting a reply after sending Yún Shū a message.
She stayed awake all night and didn’t receive a reply from Yún Shū until morning.
She felt utterly self-indulgent!
With no time to dwell on it, she immediately led her team to Míngdé for the first meeting. The meeting’s focus was on how to salvage the corporate image through advertising and promotion, given the damage to Míngdé Group’s reputation.
Gu Weirán didn’t know if she was lucky or unlucky to encounter this problem right after taking on the project. She and her team spent a full four hours meeting with the Míngdé team. After returning to Fēng Qǐ (her company), they immediately started drafting internal proposals and writing promotion reports.
Being busy helped her avoid thinking about those messy things, but just as she was about to forget Yún Shū, she received a phone call.
“Manager Gu, I’ve booked a flight ticket for you. Please come to the airport immediately.”
“Who is this?”
“Oh, I apologize, I’m CEO Yún’s assistant. She’s waiting for you. Please hurry and leave now, or you’ll miss the flight.”
“Understood.” Gu Weirán initially wanted to protest, but remembering her promise, she had no choice but to comply.
Not calling herself but sending an assistant to notify her, huh, this ‘boss’ had certainly started putting on airs.
Time was tight. Gu Weirán didn’t know how many days she would be gone, so she quickly went home, grabbed a couple of outfits, and then rushed to the airport by taxi.
She thought she might be late, but Gu Weirán sprinted forward and luckily made it just before the gate closed.
She entered the cabin, breathless. Her fair, delicate face was slightly flushed from the rush, and her wavy long hair was a bit messy.
Yún Shū, sitting in first class, watched her with a smile of amusement.
Gu Weirán swept a cold glance at her, filled with resentment.
“Miss Gu, you finally made it,” the purser said with a respectful smile.
“Sorry,” Gu Weirán handed her suitcase to the purser and sat down next to Yún Shū.
Yún Shū wore a faint smile and found Gu Weirán’s flushed and pale face particularly lovely at that moment. “It’s good you made it.”
Gu Weirán didn’t respond, only looking around. She happened to meet the gaze of a fellow passenger—wasn’t that Sister Hóng, the owner of that popular internet-famous bar?
The place she and Sū Qīng often visited. The legendary Sister Hóng was actually here.
She politely greeted her, “Sister Hóng…”
Sister Hóng nodded and smiled back.
How was Sister Hóng traveling with Yún Shū? A coincidence? Was she in the private room that night? Gu Weirán rubbed her temple, trying hard to recall.
Were the two of them acquainted?
“Hey, Weirán, I’m talking to you.” Yún Shū gently tugged her arm, full of tenderness, her voice soft and making one’s heart melt.
Sure enough, she was unpredictable. She was domineering and unreasonable when setting conditions, but now she was acting like this!
She was truly a hateful vixen!
Gu Weirán raised her elbow to avoid the closeness. This wasn’t disgust, nor was it aversion to physical touch, but rather an aversion to the lack of aversion she felt. She should hate Yún Shū more than anyone.
“CEO Yún, please notify me in advance next time you need to go on a business trip. Even if you cancel a ticket and book a new one for me, you should at least inform me first. Being summoned here out of the blue, really…” She had intended to ignore Yún Shū before coming, but she couldn’t help but complain.
“Okay~ It was my blunder. Next time I’ll notify you in advance so you don’t have to rush and get all sweaty.” Yún Shū wanted to wipe the sweat from her face but was again avoided by Gu Weirán.
Yún Shū smiled, unbothered. She activated the massage chair function for Gu Weirán.
“Lean your neck here.”
“What are you doing?” Gu Weirán watched her cautiously, as if Yún Shū might play a trick. She was constantly resisting everything from Yún Shū, trying to prevent her defensive wall from breaking down, but it always backfired.
Yún Shū smiled, pressing her down so her neck fit perfectly into the headrest’s groove. She adjusted it to the localized massage function, with moderate pressure.
“You work at a computer for long periods, so your cervical spine must be uncomfortable. A 20-minute massage will help a lot. Pay attention to exercise regularly—badminton and swimming both help relieve cervical spine issues. Don’t fall into ill health so young.” Yún Shū was very close, and Gu Weirán could feel the gentle puff of air from her words near her ear. For a moment, she forgot to feel the comfort of the massage chair, only feeling complex emotions. In the end, she just said “Oh” and didn’t reply again.
She understood this woman less and less. Sometimes she was sharp-tongued and unforgiving, to the point of deliberate provocation, and other times she played the role of being gentle and considerate.
Truly an enigma of human behavior.
The two chatted sporadically. Seeing Gu Weirán’s obvious exhaustion, Yún Shū told her to get some rest and didn’t bother her anymore.
Meanwhile, another incident occurred in A City. Míngdé had initially claimed publicly that there were no fatalities, and many reports only said “suspected.” Later, it was confirmed that one person had been buried alive, and the body had just been excavated. Míngdé had managed to suppress this news, intending to resolve it privately with money, but it was leaked and was now gaining momentum.
When Yún Shū received the email, she felt the trouble escalating. She forwarded the news to her other traveling companion—Líng Qiān-yù, the representative of Líng Ruì Group and the second daughter of the Líng family.
They were actually close friends, but they couldn’t publicly acknowledge this relationship. The matter concerned Yún Shū’s position at Míngdé and the second Miss Líng’s plan for advancement.
Not a single mistake could be made.
This turbulent business war had only just begun.
Throughout the journey, Gu Weirán was either sleeping or rushing to complete reports, while Yún Shū was preoccupied, and the atmosphere around her was distinctly subdued.
Xuān’ān to A City was almost a cross-country journey from north to south, taking nearly three hours by plane.
The pre-arranged pickup was delayed due to traffic control. Yún Shū consequently lost her temper at the person responsible for the pickup.
The arrival area grew crowded, becoming congested and chaotic. Police and security jointly maintained order. Gu Weirán stood next to Yún Shū, waiting for the driver.
She looked around and felt uneasy seeing the dense crowd.
She also noticed a few migrant workers who seemed to be glaring aggressively at them.
Was it her imagination?
There was no construction at the airport, so why were there migrant workers? Picking someone up? It was strange…
Gu Weirán felt uncomfortable staring, so she didn’t pay much attention.
Just as she relaxed and let her guard down, she heard someone shout, “Yún Shū, watch out!”
It was Sister Hóng’s voice, coming from the other side. Gu Weirán was facing Yún Shū. Looking up, she saw a migrant worker pulling a sledgehammer from his clothes!
In a flash of lightning, before Gu Weirán could react, Sister Hóng hurled her phone, stopping the fatal blow.
The man, disregarding his head injury, lunged toward Yún Shū relentlessly. Gu Weirán panicked and rushed forward, blocking Yún Shū.
She thought she was dead for sure, but as the hammer descended, the man was restrained by Sister Hóng. She grabbed the migrant worker’s wrist and twisted it backward forcefully, simultaneously kicking his back knee. The man dropped to his knees from the impact. Sister Hóng then used her elbow to strike his temple, forcing his hand behind his back, pinning him to the ground like a police officer apprehending a criminal, half-kneeling on him.
Subsequently, the man was seized by security and on-site police. Lying on the ground in a pitiful state, he cursed at Yún Shū: “You woman will die a terrible death! Míngdé Group, give me back my brother, give me back my brother!! The substandard construction collapsed, my brother was buried, and you even used money to bribe the media to suppress the trending topics! Are you even human? Are you human?!” The man roared like a madman, his eyes bloodshot, wailing loudly. He only regretted not succeeding, not having avenged his brother.
Gu Weirán was terrified, severely shocked. If that blow had landed, she would have been dead or permanently disabled.
Thinking of this, Gu Weirán began to tremble uncontrollably. She had been this way since childhood: a severe fright would cause her to cramp or even develop a fever.
Her fingers were already starting to cramp, but she couldn’t let Yún Shū find out.
“Who told you to run over? Do you know how dangerous that was??” Yún Shū ignored the man, her eyes filled with worry.
“I…” Gu Weirán couldn’t find the strength to answer. She tried hard to control her breathing and stay calm.
This accursed instinct, this accursed physical reaction, was beyond her control.
Yún Shū held her shoulders, gently took her hand, and asked tenderly, “Weirán, were you scared?”
It turned out, Yún Shū still remembered her old issue.
Gu Weirán shook her head. “No.”
How could she admit that she was scared because Yún Shū was in danger? How could she let Yún Shū see her embarrassment again?
“Don’t do that again, understand? If anything happened to you, how could I explain it to Teacher Lín?”
“If something happened to you, I couldn’t explain it to her either.”
Yún Shū’s heart skipped a beat, ripples of long-lost warmth and emotion washing over her.
This accursed tenderness, this accursed instinct, wipes away tears
Those who have read Red Rose know what’s going on here; in this book, it’s an interlude.
This piece is relatively simple; I just wanted to write about the relationship, keeping it a bit closer to everyday life, so it’s not as thrilling and physically torturous as the previous one.
The emotional torture will be minor, very slight.