The Moon Shines on Me (GL) - Chapter 22

After hanging up the phone, Gu Shiwei dialed the internal line: “Assistant Chen, come in.”

Gu Shiwei downloaded the exclusive interview video, then quickly closed the web page.

A minute later, Assistant Chen knocked and entered, “CEO Gu, you called for me?”

Gu Shiwei looked up at Assistant Chen, then continued to look down at the documents in her hand: “Go to Fan Qi, the head of the art department, and have her copy all the art projects Shen Yuan has been involved in for me.”

Assistant Chen was stunned for a moment, then responded, “Yes, CEO Gu.”

Shen Yuan hadn’t been working there long, and was only a probationary employee, so she hadn’t participated in many projects. The drafts she drew were also minor images used only for private domain promotion.

Gu Shiwei frowned after receiving Shen Yuan’s work. S.Y.’s paintings were light, bright, and vividly colored; the sense of layers and the character dynamics were handled exceptionally well. In contrast, Shen Yuan’s works were a stark black-and-white ink wash style (水墨風 – shuǐmòfēng). While it couldn’t be denied that these ink wash paintings were also very outstanding, the change in style was too dramatic, making it difficult to connect them as the work of the same person. If Gu Shiwei hadn’t seen Shen Yuan’s resume and confirmed that she was indeed S.Y., who had left Qiuyu Group three years ago, no one would have linked these two completely different styles of painting.

What was the reason for Shen Yuan’s massive change in painting style?

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In the office, Shen Yuan stretched at her desk.

She had already completed the sketch for her assessment piece.

Next came inking, coloring, and detailing.

Based on Shen Yuan’s preliminary judgment, it would probably take another week to fully complete the artwork.

Shen Yuan had been at Zhaoyang for two weeks, leaving her about half a month total to prepare.

“Yuan-Yuan Jie, you’ve already designed the scene and actions so quickly! That’s amazing!” Lu Qingwan moved her chair over and plopped down next to Shen Yuan, pointing at the sketch on the screen and lavishing praise.

Shen Yuan rubbed her forehead: “…It’s only a rough sketch for now.”

“That’s still impressive,” Lu Qingwan said. “The sketch is already so beautiful, I can’t imagine how stunning the final image will be.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Shen Yuan’s assessment task was to draw a concept art piece for a new character in Ask the Sword Jianghu. Most of the scene Shen Yuan designed was in the ink wash style, using only black and white.

It wasn’t exactly ‘beautiful,’ but it was full of dynamism.

“Shen Yuan, is this the sketch for your assessment piece?”

Without knowing when, someone had suddenly stopped behind Shen Yuan and Lu Qingwan. They turned around and saw it was Bai Yu.

Ever since they had angered Bai Yu last time, she hadn’t come to Shen Yuan’s workspace again. It was unexpected that she would show up this time and happen to see Shen Yuan’s fresh sketch.

Shen Yuan nodded: “Yes.”

Bai Yu stared at it for a while, her brows furrowing and then relaxing repeatedly. After a few repetitions, she asked, “The ink wash style again?”

Shen Yuan detected something odd in Bai Yu’s tone. She said naturally, “Yes, Bai Jie. I’m most proficient in this style, and the new sect for this assessment has this style.”

“Hmm, that’s good.”

Bai Yu left after saying that, and Lu Qingwan stared blankly at her retreating back, confused about what she was thinking.

“Yuan-Yuan Jie, you’re definitely going to become a full-time employee. I saw that the other interns haven’t even started drawing yet; they’re stuck just trying to design the scenes.”

“Thank you. I hope your words are true.”

Perhaps because she had gradually adapted to the working atmosphere at Zhaoyang, Shen Yuan felt the next half-month passed extremely quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the transfer to full-time status.

Shen Yuan had already submitted her work the day before the deadline. She heard the results, confirming the full-time candidates, would be announced this afternoon.

At noon, Lu Qingwan had wanted to treat Shen Yuan to a meal to celebrate her expected success, but unexpectedly, Shen Yuan was “snatched away” by CEO Gu as soon as work finished. Lu Qingwan only managed to catch a glimpse of their car’s tail lights.

Lu Qingwan couldn’t help but sigh: CEO Gu’s possessiveness is a bit too strong!

Yuan-Yuan Jie is so pitiful, she belongs to CEO Gu during work hours, and she still belongs to CEO Gu after work hours.

Having to see your boss after work—how painful that must be!

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Zhaoyang, 3:00 PM

Lu Qingwan gasped in the office: “Yuan-Yuan Jie, your name is on the list of full-time employees!”

Shen Yuan looked up from her drawing tablet. She glanced at the phone Lu Qingwan held out and indeed found her name on the list.

Shen Yuan wasn’t surprised by the result. After all, three years ago, she had already reached the level of a senior concept artist, just one step away from being the main artist for a project team. If she hadn’t been framed for plagiarism, she might have gone much further by now.

“Yuan-Yuan Jie, why aren’t you excited at all? Becoming a full-time employee is such a happy thing!” Lu Qingwan rapidly typed her congratulations in the group chat, and then invited Shen Yuan into the main group for formal employees.

“What’s so great about becoming a qualified workhorse? Yuan-Yuan Jie is going to start serving a prison sentence just like us,” the person opposite Shen Yuan leaned over and said.

Lu Qingwan’s face fell, and she nodded in agreement: “That’s true.”

“Whether it’s happy or not, thank you for taking care of me during this time. I’ll treat you all to dinner tonight.” Shen Yuan had already received her probationary salary and had some left over after paying rent.

Lu Qingwan: “Yay! I know a restaurant that’s both affordable and delicious. I’ll recommend it to you later.”

“Sounds good.”

Shen Yuan opened WeChat and sent a message to Gu Shiwei, telling her she had a dinner party tonight and wouldn’t be returning to Yunjin Villa for dinner.

The moment the message was sent, Gu Shiwei replied instantly.

Zhaoyang: “Will you still come back to sleep?”

Shen Yuan suddenly remembered that she had agreed with Gu Shiwei to stay at her place during the probationary period. Now that she had successfully been transferred to full-time, she naturally couldn’t keep staying at Gu Shiwei’s house.

Y: “I’ll go back to my rented apartment.”

Gu Shiwei only replied with an emoji after this message. Shen Yuan pursed her lips, closed the chat, and put her phone into her bag.

Because Shen Yuan was treating the office staff to dinner, none of them worked overtime, and they all left earlier than usual.

After arriving at the restaurant Lu Qingwan mentioned, Shen Yuan called Fu Yao and told her she was moving back to her rented apartment tonight.

On the other end, an excited Fu Yao mopped the floor three times after hanging up.

After dinner, the other colleagues gradually left by taxi, leaving only Lu Qingwan and Shen Yuan waiting for a ride on the street.

“Yuan-Yuan Jie, my taxi is almost here. What about you?”

No sooner had Lu Qingwan spoken than a black Maybach stopped in front of her.

Just as she was about to lament that even a taxi driver was richer than her, the car window slowly rolled down, revealing a familiar side profile.

“CEO Gu?? What are you… doing in this line of work?”

Gu Shiwei had eaten with Lu Qingwan a few times and was used to her baffling thought process. She nodded at Lu Qingwan, then looked at Shen Yuan: “Get in, let’s go home.”

Lu Qingwan: “???”

What? CEO Gu came specifically to pick Yuan-Yuan Jie up to go home?

Are they living together?

Before Lu Qingwan could fully process this, her own taxi arrived.

Lu Qingwan looked back three times at Shen Yuan on the roadside and Gu Shiwei in the car, silently shedding tears for their love in her heart.

The junior employee X the CEO.

This is simply too shippable.

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Under the streetlamp, Shen Yuan looked at Gu Shiwei in the car and asked in confusion, “How did you know I was here?”

Gu Shiwei pointed at Shen Yuan’s watch, then got out of the car, opened the passenger door, and ushered her into the front seat.

Gu Shiwei closed the door and said, “Stay at my place from now on, Shen Yuan.”

Shen Yuan: “?”

“Just consider my place the employee dormitory,” Gu Shiwei said without looking at Shen Yuan.

What kind of company arranged such good living conditions for an employee, and with the big boss no less? Shen Yuan declined without hesitation: “I’ll go back to my rented apartment, Miss Gu. Thank you for taking care of me these past weeks.”

Gu Shiwei took a deep breath, then suddenly faced Shen Yuan:

“I like you.”

Shen Yuan: “?”

“Shen Yuan, I like you. I am going to pursue you.”

Gu Shiwei used the word ‘going to’  rather than ‘want to’ or ‘may I.’ Her meaning was that regardless of whether Shen Yuan agreed, she was going to pursue her.

Upon hearing Gu Shiwei’s words, a rare complex expression appeared on Shen Yuan’s face.

“I intentionally got close to you this past month to understand your preferences, habits, and orientation. Starting now, I am officially pursuing you.”

Shen Yuan’s lips moved, and she whispered: “We might not be compatible.”

“The only way to know if we’re compatible is to try.” Gu Shiwei blinked, her light-colored eyes fixed on her: “Shen Yuan, just tell me if you’ll let me pursue you?”

Shen Yuan was stared at until she couldn’t speak.

“Not speaking means you agree to be pursued.”

Shen Yuan suddenly opened her mouth to object, but Gu Shiwei was startled and quickly reached out to cover her mouth.

Shen Yuan: “???”

“The deliberation time is over. From now on, we are in a pursuer and pursued relationship.”

Shen Yuan felt that Gu Shiwei was actually quite interesting at times.

But she was so excellent, why would she take an interest in herself?

“Are you wondering why I would want to pursue you?”

Shen Yuan: “Yes.”

Gu Shiwei said: “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

“Love at first sight?”

“That’s right. I fell in love with you at first sight on the bus a month ago. Although it was the first time we met, I felt you were very familiar, like a long-awaited reunion. I can’t even describe the feeling—I was so excited, my heart was pounding, accompanied by a sudden flutter that made me feel strange all over, like someone had plucked a string in my heart. Even after you left, my heart wouldn’t settle down.”

Listening to Gu Shiwei’s description, Shen Yuan recalled their first meeting on the bus. At the time, she was having stomach discomfort and was only focused on eating her bun to feel better, so she hadn’t noticed any strangeness from Gu Shiwei.

The car fell silent. After five minutes of quiet, Shen Yuan lowered her head and said, “I may not be as good as you think.”

“Even if you were an onion, I would like you. I can’t help it, you made me fall in love at first sight.”

In fact, it wasn’t just love at first sight. Through this past month of getting along, Gu Shiwei’s affection for Shen Yuan had grown even stronger—it was likely a mix of falling in love over time as well.

Shen Yuan: “…It’s not as bad as being an onion.”

Gu Shiwei: “If I can win your heart, I’m willing to cry every time I peel a layer.”

Shen Yuan was speechless at Gu Shiwei’s strange metaphor.

Because of Gu Shiwei’s sudden confession, Shen Yuan didn’t end up returning to her rented apartment.

She sent a message to Fu Yao saying she had an urgent matter and couldn’t come back.

Upon arriving at Yunjin Villa, Gu Shiwei got out of the car first. She took a bouquet of flowers from the back seat and placed it into Shen Yuan’s arms: “For you.”

A floral scent wafted past her nose. Shen Yuan was startled and looked up at Gu Shiwei’s face.

It was a little red.