The Moon Shines on Me (GL) - Chapter 26

“Then that Shen Yuan is quite the purist.”

The Gu family, after all, was the richest in Jinghai. Coupled with Gu Shiwei being beautiful, smart, and Gu Qingfeng viewing her daughter as perfect in every way, a person who her daughter couldn’t even catch up to must certainly be a purist.

Madam Gu Qingfeng hadn’t looked closely earlier. She only remembered that the little girl named ‘Shen Yuan’ had a quite aloof temperament. Although she was very good-looking, she was also surrounded by a faint sickly aura, suggesting her health might not be great.

Thinking of this, Madam Gu Qingfeng smacked her thigh and hurriedly instructed the nanny to make a bowl of brown sugar ginger soup: “Your friend clearly isn’t well. It’s cold at night, and she fell into the water. She’s bound to get sick. She should just take a sick leave for the next few days and rest at home instead of going to work.”

Gu Shiwei mumbled an agreement but didn’t stop, continuing up the stairs.

Shen Yuan had just finished eating when Gu Shiwei knocked and entered. She looked at the half-bowl of millet porridge she had left and tentatively asked Gu Shiwei, “Are you hungry?”

Gu Shiwei hadn’t eaten much that night, only drinking a few glasses of wine. She walked over, glanced at the millet porridge Shen Yuan had saved for her, her eyes curving into a smile. She picked up the bowl and drank it down without a second thought.

Gu Shiwei finished and put the bowl down, looking down at Shen Yuan as she said, “This porridge is much tastier than usual.”

Shen Yuan’s hand, holding the spoon, froze mid-air, her expression one of utter disbelief.

Gu Shiwei called someone in to clear the bowls and chopsticks. Once only the two of them were left in the room, she moved a little closer to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan hadn’t brought a change of clothes and was wearing Gu Shiwei’s silk pajamas after her bath. Her frame was a bit smaller than Gu Shiwei’s, so the pajamas didn’t fit quite right and kept slipping off her shoulder. Gu Shiwei looked at the blindingly white curve of her shoulder, her eyelids twitching, and felt a sudden, inexplicable thirst.

“This is the room I always stayed in before I went abroad.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Gu Shiwei was taken aback.

Her voice was a little hoarse.

Shen Yuan also noticed, glanced at Gu Shiwei, and asked if she wanted some water.

Gu Shiwei, of course, wouldn’t pass up any chance for intimate contact with Shen Yuan. She took a few sips of warm water from Shen Yuan’s hand.

“You should take some cold medicine, too.” After all, Gu Shiwei had jumped into the lake to save her. The night was so cold, and it wouldn’t be good if she caused her to catch a cold tomorrow.

Gu Shiwei didn’t explicitly say whether she would take it or not. Shen Yuan poked out two pills and placed them in her palm. Gu Shiwei didn’t even look, just supported Shen Yuan’s wrist and lowered her head to take the two pills into her mouth.

First drinking her leftover porridge, then drinking her water—Shen Yuan increasingly felt that her way of getting along with Gu Shiwei was not right. When had they become so unconsciously intimate?

“Yuan Yuan, have you thought about what I said last time?” Gu Shiwei suddenly leaned close to Shen Yuan, brushed the cold medicine from her hand, tossed it aside, and firmly intertwined their fingers.

“I’ve thought about it.” Shen Yuan squeezed her hand back. Gu Shiwei’s fingers were warm, long, and well-defined, feeling like a piece of warm jade to hold. Shen Yuan applied a little pressure with her fingertips until their palms were tightly pressed together before she was satisfied and relaxed her grip.

Gu Shiwei’s heart was pounding fast, thumping as if it would leap out of her chest: “Then you…”

“I’m willing. I like you, too.”

Gu Shiwei froze on the spot, her mouth slightly open, unable to utter a single word, seemingly not expecting such a pleasantly surprising answer.

Seeing her like this, Shen Yuan said with a slight laugh: “Why, Gu Shiwei? I’m not oblivious to your liking for me and how good you are to me. Did you really think I was a block of wood?”

“No, I… I’m too happy.” Gu Shiwei immediately picked up Shen Yuan and spun her around a few times. She only put Shen Yuan down when she was nearly dizzy.

Shen Yuan lay on the bed, her expression blank for a moment. Then, she felt Gu Shiwei hold her hand, and a chilly sensation came from her knuckle.

“What is this… a ring?”

“I designed it myself. It’s been ready for a long time. I was just waiting for this day, for you to say yes, so I could put it on you myself.” Gu Shiwei had kept the ring with her, just waiting for this moment.

Shen Yuan rubbed the platinum plain band on her right ring finger, feeling a little lost as she said, “Who gives a ring right after a confession? Gu Shiwei, you’re taking advantage of me.”

“Yuan Yuan, I was aiming for marriage with you from the start.” Gu Shiwei’s expression was serious, with no hint of falsehood. She added, a little nervously, “But all the necessary steps will be followed; it’s just that I couldn’t wait, so I’m marking you a little first.”

Shen Yuan was confused by the ‘necessary steps,’ but thinking about how Gu Shiwei even insisted on hand-holding and kissing step-by-step to confirm if she was a lesbian, she didn’t say anything more.

The Gu family old residence covered a vast area, like a grand manor. At night, the whole house was silent, as if it were a village far from the hustle and bustle. The moonlight outside the window shone through the glass into the room, and looking up, you could see a few shimmering stars.

Shen Yuan lay on the bed, and Gu Shiwei leaned over her, supporting herself on the bed. Her long hair brushed Shen Yuan’s collarbone, tickling her slightly.

Shen Yuan lifted her hand to trace the outline of Gu Shiwei’s face, then suddenly smiled, her dimples deepening on her cheeks.

“Gu Shiwei, you look good even when you’re nervous.”

“Not as good as you.” Since they had confirmed their relationship, Gu Shiwei had no more reservations. After saying that, she kissed the corner of Shen Yuan’s mouth a few times. She intended to deepen the kiss, but Shen Yuan turned her head away: “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

Shen Yuan said this and, without waiting for the stunned Gu Shiwei, slipped out from under her arm. A few seconds later, the bathroom door softly clicked shut, followed by the sound of running water.

The bedroom bathroom was occupied by Shen Yuan, so Gu Shiwei had to go to the one down the hall. When she returned, Shen Yuan had already finished her washing and was standing in front of her bookshelf, leaning in, concentrating on an ornament.

“Gu Shiwei, where did you get this?” Shen Yuan reached out a finger to touch the ornament. The next moment, a familiar melody rang out in the room.

“This is… a battle song?”

This inspiring tune, with its wild and unrestrained lyrics, wasn’t this the ridiculously cool battle song of her sect in Ask the Sword?

“You play this game, too?” Gu Shiwei’s eyes suddenly became calm when she heard the battle song. She walked over, reached her arm over Shen Yuan’s head, and took down an old photograph. The photo clearly showed three game characters carrying swords. The three characters were deliberately dressed as martial artists and looked a little… pretentious.

Shen Yuan was suddenly startled when she saw the photo, and her whole body froze instantly.

She once had a screenshot just like this.

“This is a friend I met in the game… this is Lin Qinghuan.” Gu Shiwei’s fingertip tapped the quirky pigtails in the middle, then moved to the high ponytail on the right posing in a ridiculous manner.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath, then widened her eyes: “Say that again, who is this to you?”

Gu Shiwei moved her lips: “A friend.”

Shen Yuan frowned: “Wasn’t I your Master???”

Gu Shiwei looked down at Shen Yuan in disbelief.

Shen Yuan also pretended to be angry, looking up at Gu Shiwei: “Ungrateful disciple, I’m going to expel you from the sect today.”

“I can’t believe the friend I called Zhaozhao turned out to be you.”

“It makes sense, it’s your family’s game. How could you not have played it? I just didn’t expect us to be so destined, to play together even though we were separated by half the country.”

“You called me Master so cheerfully in the game back then. Why am I your friend now? You don’t want to acknowledge me as your Master anymore?”

“No wonder I felt a strange sense of familiarity with both you and Lin Qinghuan. We knew each other long ago.”

Shen Yuan spoke relentlessly, as if possessed by her eight-year-old self, expressing her feelings about the photograph.

But Gu Shiwei’s thoughts had already drifted far away.

In that instant, Gu Shiwei’s memory flashed back to the summer eight years ago.

The summer heat of July and August was stifling even after nightfall. Eight years ago, she sat quietly in this room, listening to the sound of cicadas and the wind outside the window, chatting happily with the person on the other side of the computer screen.

The voice on the other side was aloof but tender in tone. She seemed never to get angry, always able to solve problems. No matter how difficult the level, as long as she was there, they could always rush through it.

Her heartstrings were plucked by the voice coming through the headphones, her palms sweating from nervousness on the mouse, her heart pounding almost out of her chest—everything resurfaced in her mind with such clarity.

She had thought that after so many years, it would have faded, but now the memory slowly merged with the figure in front of her. All the excitement of that summer came from the person right here, and the obsession she had wrestled with now vanished into thin air.

It turned out their encounter on the bus wasn’t a first meeting, but a reunion after a long separation.

Eight years ago, Shen Yuan controlled her character and leaped into her world. Eight years later, Gu Shiwei stepped onto the bus where Shen Yuan was. The destinies of the two, after years of divergence, were gradually converging again.

The meeting they had promised all those years ago had finally come true many years later.

“Bright Moon?”

“It’s me.”

Just two words, yet they echoed in Gu Shiwei’s ears. Her hand tightly gripped the ornament. Finally, she held Shen Yuan tightly in her arms.

She didn’t ask Shen Yuan why she had suddenly disappeared that year. The joy of having her back was forcefully pounding in her brain. Gu Shiwei was momentarily lost in thought until the person in her arms moved. Gu Shiwei lowered her head to look at her.

“Gu Shiwei, it’s a pleasure to know you, both eight years ago and eight years later.” Shen Yuan finished speaking, then proactively stood on tiptoe and kissed the corner of Gu Shiwei’s lips.

Gu Shiwei took a step forward the instant she pulled back. The scent of lemon mouthwash spread between their lips and teeth.

Shen Yuan’s lips parted slightly. Without a single action or word, she had bewitched Gu Shiwei. Her eyes held only Shen Yuan, and her mind thought only of Shen Yuan: the twenty-year-old Shen Yuan, the spirited Shen Yuan, the cheerful Shen Yuan, and the Shen Yuan now kissing her with her eyes closed.

“Me too.”