The Moon Shines on Me (GL) - Chapter 28

Shen Yuan went to see Bai Yu and explained the situation to her. Bai Yu let out a faint sigh.

Actually, when Bai Yu saw Shen Yuan’s assessment piece last time, she noticed that Shen Yuan’s painting style was particularly limited. While her technique was refined, it wasn’t extensive, at least according to what Bai Yu currently understood.

For example, Shen Yuan couldn’t complete the task that had just been assigned.

Their company had recently been squeezed by the neighboring Sun and Moon. Bai Yu didn’t know what was going on with Sun and Moon, who dared to be so aggressive in Jinghai shortly after arriving, even challenging the local bosses.

Sun and Moon’s game, Bright Moon at This Time, had been competing with Asking the Sword  for resources, which had put the entire company on edge. All sorts of tasks were continuously flowing in. Whether it was in-game gifts or discounted fashion, accessories, and items, everything needed to be redesigned.

The task Shen Yuan received this time was considered relatively simple, yet she couldn’t even manage that.

Bai Yu’s expression was troubled, but she still said, “I will report this to the management.”

Shen Yuan politely nodded and left.

After a few more busy days of work, Shen Yuan suddenly received a text message one afternoon.

The text was from Xie Tingxin. She said she wanted to find some time to talk with Shen Yuan.

Seeing the words on the screen, the color drained from Shen Yuan’s face. She tensed her fingers and tapped the back button.

Just as she was about to turn off the screen, Gu Shiwei’s profile picture dropped down from the top of the screen.

Zhao (昭): Kitty poke.jpg

Seeing the familiar profile picture, Shen Yuan subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, feeling an unexplainable sense of calm. She looked down and typed a reply:

Y: What’s wrong?

Zhao (昭): I miss you QAQ

Seeing Gu Shiwei’s reply, Shen Yuan glanced at the top right corner and tapped out letters below:

Y: Miss Gu, we only separated less than an hour ago.

Zhao (昭): Every minute I can’t see Miss Shen is agony.

Gu Shiwei had recently become busy. Firstly, because she had officially taken over Zhaoyang, and secondly, because she had just taken office and was being targeted by competitors. She had been dealing with the obstacles Sun and Moon had put in her way these past few days, even handling work after hours.

That Xie Tingxin, Bai Yu didn’t know what her issue was. She would rather the game lose money than mess with her from a distance, like a lunatic.

The thought that Xie Tingxin might still be eyeing Shen Yuan made Gu Shiwei even angrier, so Gu Shiwei didn’t hold back and directly fought back against Sun and Moon.

In this business war, Bright Moon gave players many in-game gifts to curry favor, but Asking the Sword gave even more, even releasing several sets of limited-edition fashion that could be obtained for free.

Business War X Stuffing players with gifts

On a certain day when Zhaoyang and Sun and Moon were fighting tooth and nail, Shen Yuan unexpectedly received a phone call from Xie Tingxin.

Although Shen Yuan didn’t know where she kept getting so many numbers, Shen Yuan’s speed of blocking them couldn’t keep up with Xie Tingxin’s speed of changing numbers.

But Shen Yuan didn’t say a word. The moment she heard the voice, she directly hung up the phone.

Shen Yuan was just about to block her when a text message jumped out a second faster than her hand could move.

Xie Tingxin : Ming Yue ), I have something I want to talk to you about. It’s concerning Mom. Let’s meet.

This text message was followed by a time and location.

Shen Yuan’s eyes lingered on the word Mom for a long time, but she ultimately pressed the screen off and ignored it.

It wasn’t until just before getting off work that Shen Yuan opened her phone again. She tapped into WeChat and saw that Gu Shiwei had sent her a message half an hour before closing time, asking her to follow the driver back to Yunjin Villa first.

Gu Shiwei had to work overtime today and might be home a little late.

Shen Yuan replied with ‘Okay.’

Downstairs, the driver was indeed waiting for her. Shen Yuan got into the car and casually scrolled through her phone in the back seat.

While scrolling, Shen Yuan found that Xie Tingxin had sent another text message, but this time she said nothing, only sending an image.

Shen Yuan hesitated for a few seconds, but still tapped on the image to look.

The next second, Shen Yuan’s expression changed drastically.

“Xiao Chen, change the route to this place.” Shen Yuan trembled as she forwarded the address Xie Tingxin had sent her this afternoon to the driver, Xiao Chen, and then clutched her phone, looking at that picture carefully from beginning to end, several times.

What Xie Tingxin had just sent her was her mother’s critical illness notice.

Shen Yuan hadn’t been back to the Shen family home in a full eight years. In her memory, her mom and dad had always been in good health and had regular annual checkups.

How could it be late-stage cancer?

But Shen Yuan knew that no matter how much Xie Tingxin hated her, she wouldn’t joke about something like this.

Shen Yuan’s heart suddenly panicked.

She hadn’t had the chance to repay the twenty years of nurture from the Shen couple.

They were still so young, how could they have gotten such a disease?

Why was she only being told now?

Confused thoughts constantly intertwined in her mind. Shen Yuan had a splitting headache, wishing she could fly back to Jiangcheng  immediately.

“Miss Shen, we’ve arrived. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Shen Yuan opened the car door herself without waiting for the driver to get out. The moment her feet hit the ground, Shen Yuan’s knees went soft, and she nearly fell.

Someone next to her suddenly reached out a hand and gripped her wrist. Shen Yuan was pulled along by her for a few steps.

Shen Yuan looked up, only able to see a back.

Thick, long hair was spread across her back. The person was wearing only a white shirt on her upper body and slacks on the lower, with fine high heels on her feet. Even while pulling Shen Yuan with one hand, her steps were very steady.

It was Xie Tingxin.

“What exactly happened to Auntie? How could she have cancer?” Shen Yuan said while forcefully pulling her hand away, but Xie Tingxin held on too tightly. No matter how much she pulled, she couldn’t get free.

“Let’s talk inside.” Xie Tingxin glanced back, her feet moving without stopping as she continued to pull Shen Yuan inside.

Shen Yuan was led by her to a restaurant.

Once they reached the private room, Xie Tingxin finally released Shen Yuan.

A waiter was still serving dishes after they arrived.

Shen Yuan pressed her lips together, not saying a word.

It wasn’t until the waiter left that Shen Yuan urgently spoke, “What exactly is going on? How did Auntie get cancer?”

“Ming Yue, your complexion isn’t good.” Xie Tingxin unhurriedly scooped a bowl of rice and placed it in front of Shen Yuan. She said gently, “Eat first, then we can talk after you finish, okay?”

“I don’t have an appetite. I just want to know what’s going on right now.” Shen Yuan’s stomach was still cramping. She couldn’t eat anything at the moment, and even if she could, she didn’t want to sit and eat with Xie Tingxin.

“How can you not eat?”

Though the tone was reproachful, Xie Tingxin spoke very softly.

“Then drink the soup first. I’ll tell you after you drink it.” Xie Tingxin scooped half a bowl of tea tree mushroom and pork rib soup and slowly pushed it towards her, her fingers resting against the bowl.

Shen Yuan didn’t move.

Xie Tingxin rested a hand on her chin and watched her quietly, as if they would remain in this stalemate until Shen Yuan ate.

A minute later, Shen Yuan forced herself to drink the bowl of soup in a few quick gulps, enduring the discomfort. She frowned, looking at Xie Tingxin, indicating she could speak now.

A hint of warmth appeared in Xie Tingxin’s eyes. She seemed very satisfied with Shen Yuan’s current appearance.

She finally spoke.

“Ming Yue, actually, not long after you left the Shen family, Mom’s health got worse and worse. She would often stare blankly at the door and cry while looking at the traces you left behind. I guess… she was missing you…”

…

After Ming Yue left the Shen family, Shen Mu initially didn’t feel much, as they had just found their long-lost biological daughter and were still immersed in joy. But as time went by, Shen Mu became sad more often. Sometimes, just mentioning Ming Yue’s name would make her eyes turn red, and she would hide in her room and cry secretly.

Xie Tingxin later considered bringing Ming Yue back, but perhaps because her refusal that night was too definitive, Ming Yue showed great resistance to returning to the Shen family afterward.

Xie Tingxin had no choice but to truthfully tell Shen Mu that Ming Yue was unwilling to return.

Later, Shen Mu’s body gradually weakened, and she even began to show signs of confusion, often mistaking Xie Tingxin for Ming Yue and subsequently asking about her well-being.

Xie Tingxin hadn’t expected that a single sentence from her would cause such a great impact. She hadn’t wanted Ming Yue to be an adopted daughter of the Shen family; she was just resistant to being on the same household register as Ming Yue. She thought this way, there might be a possibility of being together with Ming Yue someday, but she hadn’t expected Ming Yue to leave the Shen family for so many years just because of one sentence from her.

“When was it discovered?”

“A year ago.”

Something that happened a year ago, Xie Tingxin was only telling her now.

Shen Yuan couldn’t help but think, if she had known sooner, would things not have escalated to this point?

“The doctor said there’s less than a month left.” Xie Tingxin asked Shen Yuan in a gentle tone, “Do you want to go back and see her?”

Shen Yuan felt a sudden boom in her head. Her face was ashen, completely drained of color. If she wasn’t sitting on a chair right now, she probably would have already collapsed to the floor, her legs weak.

“Auntie is like this, why aren’t you with her at the hospital?” Shen Yuan’s eyes were red. She stared intently at Xie Tingxin, her brow furrowed.

Xie Tingxin wasn’t annoyed by Shen Yuan’s questioning. Instead, she smiled, “Because Mom said she wants to see you one last time, so I came to take you home.”

Hearing her say this, Shen Yuan wanted to rush back to Jiangcheng immediately, but the words were suddenly swallowed before she could utter them.

Xie Tingxin continued, “Ming Yue, I’ve already booked the flight for tonight. Sleep on the plane, and we’ll be in Jiangcheng—”

Shen Yuan interrupted her, “Can you change the ticket to tomorrow?”

Xie Tingxin gave her a questioning look.

Shen Yuan calmed her anxious feelings and said, “I need to ask my boss for leave. I can only go once she agrees.”

Xie Tingxin didn’t expose Shen Yuan’s clumsy excuse. She nodded and replied, “Alright.”

Shen Yuan didn’t know how she ended up getting into Xiao Chen’s car later, nor how she got back to Yunjin Villa. When she arrived home, the room was completely dark. It looked like Gu Shiwei was still working overtime at the company.

Shen Yuan sent a message asking her when she would be back, but Gu Shiwei was probably in a meeting and didn’t reply to Shen Yuan’s message immediately.

After taking a shower, Shen Yuan curled up on the sofa. She opened the image Xie Tingxin had sent her, looking at it over and over until she was too sleepy to keep her eyes open, then she fell asleep leaning against the armrest of the sofa.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already nine o’clock at night. Shen Yuan looked down at the blanket on her body and realized she had fallen asleep on the sofa earlier.

“Yuan Yuan, you’re awake. Are you hungry?” Gu Shiwei just came out after showering, her hair still wet. She got off work a little late today, and Shen Yuan was already asleep when she got home.

Shen Yuan shook her head. Her stomach was still throbbing faintly. She had no appetite now.

“Why is your complexion so poor? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?” Gu Shiwei walked over and put an arm around Shen Yuan’s waist.

Shen Yuan didn’t say where she was uncomfortable. She leaned over and hugged her.

“Gu Shiwei, I want to go back to Jiangcheng.”