The Moon Shines on Me (GL) - Chapter 25

Lin Qinghuan left, and Shen Yuan quietly sat in the pavilion, scooping cake spoonful by spoonful.

As she ate, she opened WeChat and casually scanned her unread messages.

Just then, she heard footsteps approaching her from behind.

“Shen Yuan?”

Hearing the voice, Shen Yuan turned and saw that the person was Ji Xiao. One hand was holding up her exquisite dress hem, and the other clutched a stemmed glass.

Shen Yuan swallowed the cake in her mouth and greeted her calmly, “Miss Ji, good evening.”

“Why are you here all alone?” Ji Xiao smiled after speaking, bending down to sit in the chair opposite Shen Yuan.

“I’m not too used to noisy environments, so I hid here. How did Miss Ji know I was here?” This place was so secluded; no one would come unless they had been following them.

“I saw Miss Shen earlier, but I hadn’t found a chance to talk to you.” In fact, Ji Xiao had noticed Shen Yuan the moment she walked in, but because Gu Shiwei had been by her side, Ji Xiao hadn’t gone over.

“Talk to me? What did you want to say?” Shen Yuan put down her fork and pulled out a napkin to wipe her fingers.

“Do you know? Shiwei-Jie (Sister Shiwei) and I grew up together. When I was little, I was often ill, and she always took great care of me. Whenever she found something delicious or fun, she’d offer it to me first.”

“In my heart, she’s a very good person.”

Ji Xiao seemed lost in memory. A naive smile spread across her face, and her eyes sparkled under the moonlight.

Shen Yuan frowned upon hearing this. What was Ji Xiao telling her this for? She wouldn’t have followed them all this way just to boast about how kind Gu Shiwei was to her when she was a child, would she?

“But ever since she came back from abroad, she become increasingly distant towards me. She never initiates contact. Your relationship with her is so good—do you know why that is?” Ji Xiao suddenly changed the subject, dropping the smile, and looking at Shen Yuan emotionlessly.

Shen Yuan’s expression was even more blank than hers. She shook her head and said, “I don’t know. I’ve only known Gu Shiwei for less than three months.”

Ji Xiao’s eyes fixed on Shen Yuan, mixed with a trace of subtle resentment and unwillingness: “Oh, then how did you two meet?”

Shen Yuan slightly frowned upon encountering her strange gaze. She subtly rotated her watch and replied, “I work at Zhaoyang.”

“So, it’s a superior-subordinate relationship.” Ji Xiao’s eyes suddenly became playful. “Actually, I came here because I wanted to know: are you two together?”

How was Shen Yuan supposed to answer that? She and Gu Shiwei had kissed and hugged, but they weren’t actually “together.” First, because she hadn’t prepared herself for a relationship; second, because Gu Shiwei hadn’t brought up the topic since her last confession. So, even though they lived together, their relationship was still simply one of pursuit and being pursued.

“Not yet, temporarily.”

Hearing the words “not yet, temporarily,” Ji Xiao’s face tightened again. What did “not yet” mean? It meant they would be together soon?

That absolutely couldn’t happen. Shen Yuan was not worthy of Shiwei-Jie, neither by family background nor appearance. Ji Xiao had loved Gu Shiwei for so many years; she absolutely would not surrender her to anyone else.

Ji Xiao slammed down her wine glass, then suddenly stood up agitatedly: “Shen Yuan, do you know I’ve loved Gu Shiwei for a whole twenty years?”

Shen Yuan: “…”

Shen Yuan sensed that Ji Xiao’s expression was off. She was about to stand up and leave the pavilion, but Ji Xiao tightly grasped her wrist, preventing her from moving.

Ji Xiao suddenly leaned closer and whispered, “Shen Yuan, blame yourself for stealing Shiwei-Jie.”

“Bang—”

“Help—”

Ji Xiao jumped into the lake.

Staring at Ji Xiao shouting for help in the water, Shen Yuan’s mind went blank.

It took a full ten seconds for Shen Yuan to react and jump in to save her.

She plunged in without hesitation. The night-chilly, bone-piercing lake water instantly swallowed her whole. Although Shen Yuan could swim, she was pulling a very uncooperative Ji Xiao, so their speed to reach the shore was very slow.

Before she could even touch the rocks by the bank, footsteps and a sudden rush of noise came from afar, followed by beams of light shining on them.

“Someone fell in the water—”

“Quick, save them—”

“Shen Yuan—”

Shen Yuan was already shivering violently from the cold. Coupled with Ji Xiao’s constant, frantic struggling, she lost strength and her vision faded to black, causing her to pass out before anyone could pull her from the lake.

Gu Shiwei, who had rushed over, saw the figure suddenly beginning to sink and jumped in without a second thought.

Fortunately, it was only an artificial lake and not very deep, and the sludge at the bottom was regularly cleaned. So, less than a second after Shen Yuan sank, Gu Shiwei grabbed and lifted her with one hand.

“Shiwei-Jie—”

“Save me—”

“It’s Shen Yuan, she’s the one who pushed me in—”

Gu Shiwei suddenly swept a cold glance at her. Ji Xiao was so terrified by her eyes, which seemed to be frosted with ice, that she couldn’t speak, only allowing people to reluctantly drag her ashore while her body remained limp.

“Hurry, call a doctor.”

“Shen Yuan, wake up—”

Pulled ashore by Gu Shiwei, Shen Yuan’s face was pale, her skin clear like washed porcelain. Her eyebrows were tightly furrowed, as if she were enduring immense suffering.

Gu Shiwei’s eyes narrowed. She immediately laid her down on the lawn. Shen Yuan’s chin was turned to the side by Gu Shiwei, and then Gu Shiwei pressed her hands, one over the other, onto Shen Yuan’s chest. While pressing, she repeatedly leaned down to give Shen Yuan mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“What happened here?” When Lin Qinghuan returned, she saw a large crowd gathered by the pavilion. She was so scared her soul almost flew out—had something happened to Shen Yuan?

Lin Qinghuan pushed through the crowd to the center. When she saw the soaking-wet Ji Xiao, her face instantly turned ashen. Why was she here? And had she fallen in the water?

“Shen Yuan—” The sharp-eyed Lin Qinghuan then saw Gu Shiwei on the other side of the lawn. Her expression was cold, her brow furrowed, and her hands were relentlessly pressing on Shen Yuan’s chest. At the same time, she was bending over to perform artificial respiration on Shen Yuan.

Lin Qinghuan’s mind went blank. How did Shen Yuan fall into the water too? And pass out?

Lin Qinghuan plopped down onto the grass. At the same time, Shen Yuan suddenly choked out a large amount of water.

“Cough, cough, cough—”

Lin Qinghuan: “She’s awake! Where is the doctor—”

“Hurry, call the doctor—”

Shen Yuan was shivering violently from the cold. Before she could clearly assess the situation, she was enveloped in a cold embrace. Gu Shiwei held Shen Yuan and walked towards another small path. She never glanced back at the crowd behind Lin Qinghuan.

“Cough, cough—”

Shen Yuan’s vision blurred again. Held in Gu Shiwei’s arms, from this angle, she could only see a portion of her neck and chin. Gu Shiwei’s jawline was very tense, and upon closer look, it was trembling slightly. Shen Yuan coughed a few more times before opening her mouth hoarsely: “Gu Shiwei, are you very cold? Put me down, I can walk myself.”

Gu Shiwei tilted her head back further, her neck seemingly stretched into a straight line. The next second, Shen Yuan felt a drop of hot liquid land on her face, followed by more hot liquid, dripping one after another down Gu Shiwei’s chin onto Shen Yuan’s eyelids and the corner of her mouth.

“I’m sorry, I failed to protect you.”

Tasting the salty bitterness on her lips, Shen Yuan suddenly felt a little flustered: “…I jumped in myself. Don’t blame yourself.”

Although Ji Xiao was quite… something, Shen Yuan couldn’t bear to watch her drown right in front of her. So, when Ji Xiao screamed for help, she jumped in too.

No matter how you look at it, this matter couldn’t be blamed on Gu Shiwei.

.

After Gu Shiwei brought Shen Yuan back to the room, the doctor came to examine her. Shen Yuan was fine aside from having inhaled some water. The doctor only prescribed a few boxes of cold medicine and then left.

Although she had changed out of her wet clothes, Shen Yuan was still shivering. Gu Shiwei turned the room’s air conditioner to the highest temperature and ran a bath. After soaking, Shen Yuan finally felt warm.

“Drink some ginger soup to dispel the cold.”

Shen Yuan frowned but chugged the entire bowl. Her stomach finally felt a little more comfortable.

“I’ll have the housekeeper send in some food for you. Just stay in the room and wait for me to return.”

“Mhm.”

Gu Shiwei took the bowl from Shen Yuan’s hand and left the room.

Gu Shiwei came down to the main hall. The surveillance footage had already been pulled up. Ji Xiao’s claim that Shen Yuan had pushed her was contradicted by the video. Although it was dark, the footage clearly showed that one person jumped in first, and the other person paused on the shore for a few seconds before jumping in after them.

Gu Shiwei looked coldly at Ji Xiao: “From now on, the Gu family does not welcome anyone from the Ji family. Steward, please escort Miss Ji out.”

Ji Xiao seemed to have expected this outcome. Wrapped in a man’s coat, tears still on her face, the corners of her mouth turned up in a self-mocking smile.

From the moment Gu Shiwei didn’t even look at her while she was drowning, she understood: she had completely lost. From the time she jumped into the lake until she was dragged onto the shore, apart from that cold, warning glance, Gu Shiwei’s eyes had never left Shen Yuan.

Ji Xiao had never seen Gu Shiwei so distraught. When Gu Shiwei performed CPR on Shen Yuan, her eyes bloodshot, Ji Xiao desperately wished she was the one lying there.

“Miss Ji, please.”

Ji Xiao was escorted out of the Gu house. Lin Qinghuan then cautiously stepped forward. She glanced at the ice-cold Gu Shiwei and stammered, “I… I just went to the… to the restroom… and when I came back, I found Shen Yuan drowning.”

Gu Shiwei rubbed her temples and gave her a chilling look.

“I really know I was wrong. You asked me to watch Shen Yuan, and I failed. I deserve to die. How about I go up and apologize to her personally?” Lin Qinghuan said, moving to go upstairs, but the next second, Gu Shiwei’s long arm blocked her.

“Yuan Yuan caught a chill and is not seeing guests. You can meet another day.”

Lin Qinghuan: “?”

Under Gu Shiwei’s intimidating gaze, Lin Qinghuan changed her wording: “Fine, another day is fine.”

“Lin Qinghuan—”

“This has nothing to do with you. I failed to watch her myself.”

Lin Qinghuan’s foot, which was about to step out, paused. The weight on her heart finally lifted. She turned and smiled at Gu Shiwei, revealing a blindingly white set of teeth.

The night’s chaos was mostly over, and the banquet was nearly dispersed. Madam Gu Qingfeng walked in, arm-in-arm with a middle-aged man.

As soon as she saw Gu Shiwei, Mother Gu shook off the arm and rushed over. She had already heard about Gu Shiwei jumping into the lake to save someone, but was told Gu Shiwei was fine. Since the banquet was ending, they saw off the guests before rushing over.

“Zhao Zhao (昭昭, Mother Gu’s nickname for Gu Shiwei), what exactly happened?”

“Mom, Dad, I’m fine. You can watch the surveillance footage for the rest. I’m going upstairs now.”

Gu Shiwei put down the tablet. After only a few steps, her mother pulled her back, pointing at Shen Yuan on the monitor and asking, “Isn’t this the friend you brought tonight? Why did that little girl Ji Xiao hurt her?”

Gu Shiwei glanced at the monitor and said calmly, “She’s sick.”

Gu Qingfeng: “???”

David Smith: “???”

What? Their well-behaved daughter, who never swore, just swore?

Both husband and wife were extremely shocked by this.

Was this Shen Yuan merely just a “friend” to Gu Shiwei?

The old fox, Madam Gu Qingfeng, instantly sensed something was amiss.

Madam Gu Qingfeng asked directly, “Do you like this Shen Yuan?”

Gu Shiwei paused, then frankly nodded: “Mhm, I’m pursuing her.”

Gu Qingfeng: “???”

David Smith: “???”

Madam Gu Qingfeng delivered a soul-searching question: “Is there someone you can’t manage to pursue?”

Gu Shiwei: “???”

“Is that strange?”