The Moon Shines on Me (GL) - Chapter 7

After logging off that day, Gu Shiwei had been preparing the things she would bring for her meeting with Mingyue: flowers, a standee of Mingyue’s game character, and a twenty-year-old version of herself.

But what she hadn’t expected was that Mingyue’s avatar never lit up again after logging off that day. Gu Shiwei waited for a month, two months, a year, two years, but there was no news of Mingyue.

Gu Shiwei had guessed many possibilities: maybe Mingyue didn’t want to get involved with a third party; maybe something had happened to Mingyue; maybe Mingyue didn’t want to see her, so she was hiding. In short, from that day on, Mingyue completely disappeared, and even her account permanently remained at the spot where she had logged off the day before, never to come online again.

Later, Gu Shiwei started grad school and barely played the game. Lin Qinghuan also played less frequently after graduation. Gu Shiwei completely went AFK (Away From Keyboard) because she went to study abroad. She didn’t open 《Ask the Sword》 for those two years.

“What are you thinking? So lost in thought.”

Outside the bar, Lin Qinghuan patted Gu Shiwei on the shoulder.

“I’m not waiting anymore.”

Gu Shiwei’s voice was very soft, dissolving immediately in the wind.

Lin Qinghuan: “Huh?”

Gu Shiwei said it again.

She said: “I’m not waiting anymore.”

“What do you mean? Miss Gu, do you have someone you like?”

Lin Qinghuan’s drunkenness instantly vanished. She looked at Gu Shiwei’s slender back in shock, a look of hesitation on her face.

“What’s going on? Gu Shiwei, you have someone you like and you didn’t tell me?”

Lin Qinghuan was puzzled. Hadn’t Gu Shiwei just returned to the country? Where did this person she liked come from? Could it be a mutual friend? Then why weren’t they together earlier?

“No.”

Gu Shiwei dropped the two words and got into the car. She had already messaged her driver to pick her up, so the driver had already parked outside.

Gu Shiwei waved to Lin Qinghuan from the back seat, and then the car window slowly rolled up until Gu Shiwei’s face was no longer visible. Only then did Lin Qinghuan turn around and walk back into the bar.

Gu Shiwei leaned back in the seat, eyes closed to rest. As they approached the next intersection, she suddenly opened her eyes and asked the driver to take her back to Zhaoyang.

“Miss, going to the company to work overtime this late? And you’ve been drinking…”

The driver’s worried voice rang out.

“Not for overtime, I left something behind.”

Gu Shiwei finished speaking, then raised a hand to rub her temples. She had drunk a bit too much tonight.

Fortunately, the drive from the bar to Zhaoyang took more than half an hour, and Gu Shiwei dozed off in the car for a while.

It was almost ten o’clock at night when Gu Shiwei arrived at Zhaoyang. At this time, several offices on the eighteenth floor were still lit up. Gu Shiwei frowned and walked toward the end of the corridor after leaving the elevator.

As she passed the restroom in the corridor, Gu Shiwei suddenly heard a familiar voice.

“Yuan-jie, are you alright?” Lu Qingwan helped pat Shen Yuan’s back while turning on the faucet to flush away what Shen Yuan had vomited. She helped Shen Yuan move to the sink, but before she could breathe a sigh of relief, Shen Yuan started dry heaving again, gripping the sink.

The usually quiet restroom was filled with the sound of running water, Shen Yuan’s uncomfortable groans, and Lu Qingwan’s anxious inquiries. They didn’t even notice when Gu Shiwei entered.

“What’s wrong with her?”

The sight of that figure immediately sobered Gu Shiwei.

She quickly walked over and asked Lu Qingwan.

Lu Qingwan: “Wei… Little President Gu!”

Lu Qingwan: “I don’t know, Yuan-jie said her stomach hurt just now, and she came to the restroom alone. When I followed her, she had already thrown up once.”

Lu Qingwan’s eyes were red, and she looked close to tears. When she saw Gu Shiwei, it was as if she had seen a savior.

“Shen Yuan, what did you eat?”

Gu Shiwei squeezed past Lu Qingwan and took hold of one of Shen Yuan’s arms.

“I’m fine.” Shen Yuan took a few quick breaths, suppressing the sourness rising in her throat, and continued: “It’s an old problem, it’ll pass if I just endure it.”

Shen Yuan’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and her temples were also damp. Black strands of hair clung to her face, making her skin look even paler.

“Your face is completely white. Come on, I’m taking you to the hospital.”

Gu Shiwei said, half-hugging and half-carrying Shen Yuan, trying to lead her out. But the next moment, Shen Yuan suddenly bent over again and began to dry heave violently. Her fingers tightly gripped the edge of the sink, knuckles white, seemingly using all her strength.

Gu Shiwei immediately gave up on trying to take her away and quickly freed a hand to pat Shen Yuan’s back.

When her palm made contact, Gu Shiwei suddenly paused. Shen Yuan’s back was thin and bony, a little sharp to the touch. Although Gu Shiwei had known Shen Yuan was very thin, when she touched her in person, she realized Shen Yuan was even more frail than she had imagined.

Shen Yuan’s back was still faintly trembling from the intense retching. Gu Shiwei’s hand moving up and down brought some relief. Shen Yuan finally found a gap to speak. She tilted her head slightly and said to Gu Shiwei beside her: “It’s very dirty in here.”

“You should go out first.”

Gu Shiwei was almost amused by her words. She stared at Shen Yuan’s lips, which were rosy and glistening with moisture from the vomiting, and slowly said: “You’re throwing up like this, and your mouth is still so stubborn.”

Shen Yuan was about to speak, but the sudden surge of acid water hurt the root of her tongue. Her stomach began to cramp violently again.

Shen Yuan’s muffled groans became low and hoarse. The corners of her eyes and the tip of her nose turned red, and involuntary tears dropped one by one into the sink, flowing towards the center and disappearing.

Seeing her like this, Gu Shiwei forcefully carried her out of the restroom.

“I’m taking Shen Yuan to the hospital now. Go get her bag and phone. Hurry up, I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

After instructing Lu Qingwan, Gu Shiwei, still half-holding Shen Yuan, pressed the elevator’s down button.

“Okay, I’ll go right away.”

Lu Qingwan immediately ran back to the office.

Just then, the elevator doors opened. Gu Shiwei walked into the elevator, holding Shen Yuan by the waist with one hand.

Shen Yuan’s stomach was still in great pain. Both her hands were tightly clutching Gu Shiwei’s clothes, and she leaned weakly against Gu Shiwei’s body.

She smelled the strong scent of alcohol on Gu Shiwei, which stimulated her and made her want to throw up even more.

“If you need to throw up, just do it. I can just get rid of this shirt.”

Gu Shiwei seemed to read Shen Yuan’s mind. She looked down at Shen Yuan in her arms and said.

Hearing this, Shen Yuan was even more afraid to throw up. She tightly bit her teeth, preventing the sensation from rising.

They soon reached the ground floor. Gu Shiwei put Shen Yuan into a black Bentley, then made a phone call, said a few words, and hung up.

As soon as Gu Shiwei hung up, Lu Qingwan rushed out of the office building. She was holding Shen Yuan’s bag and a phone. Gu Shiwei took them, then got into the car.

Gu Shiwei said to Lu Qingwan: “You go home. I’ll take her to the hospital.”

Lu Qingwan: “…Okay, thank you, Little President Gu.”

As the car started, Shen Yuan bent over again. Gu Shiwei quickly took a bag from the storage compartment, inflated it, and held it out to Shen Yuan. But Shen Yuan didn’t throw up anything; she had already emptied her stomach. Now, she was just uncomfortable and kept dry heaving.

“Is your ID card in the bag?”

Gu Shiwei asked Shen Yuan, still holding the bag open.

“I’m not going to the hospital. Please take me home, Little President Gu.”

Shen Yuan’s health insurance had lapsed for three years. She only had a few hundred yuan on her, and a trip to the hospital would cost a lot of money. She couldn’t afford it.

“I have medicine for stomach problems in my bag. I’ll be fine after taking the medicine and sleeping.”

Shen Yuan finished speaking and looked at the bag resting on Gu Shiwei’s lap.

“The medicine is in the second compartment, the blue bottle.”

“Take it.”

Gu Shiwei let go of the bag, took out her phone, and made another call, this time to Lin Qinghuan.

Gu Shiwei: “Get to Yun Jin Villa right away. Bring your gear.” (Meaning, bring her medical equipment/skills).

Lin Qinghuan’s gathering had just ended, and she was walking out. “What’s wrong? Are you drunk or sick?”

“Sick.” Gu Shiwei glanced sideways at Shen Yuan and added, “Gastrointestinal illness.”

Gu Shiwei hung up the phone with a snap, leaving Lin Qinghuan on the other side staring blankly at the three characters of Gu Shiwei’s name on the screen.

Lin Qinghuan muttered: “Is she drunk and acting out, or does her stomach really hurt? Does she even have a stomach problem? Did she slack off on exercise for two years abroad and get so unhealthy?”

Despite her thoughts, Lin Qinghuan ultimately went.

“Where are you taking me?”

Shen Yuan asked Gu Shiwei, gasping as she bent over.

Gu Shiwei: “Taking you back to my place. You’ll stay at my house for the night, and I’ll have my friend check on you.”

After Gu Shiwei finished, Shen Yuan’s expression, which had just relaxed slightly, crumpled again. Gu Shiwei ignored her protest, held up one finger, and continued: “One, go to the hospital; two, come to my house and let my friend examine you; three, there is no three.”

Shen Yuan stopped talking. She was struggling to decide, but before she could deliberate for too long, her ‘glass stomach’ revolted again. Shen Yuan was in too much pain to say a word. She rested half her face against the car window, both hands pressing tightly on her stomach through the plastic bag to alleviate some of the pain from the cramping.

“There’s no hot water in the car, and cold water is bad for your stomach. If you take the medicine, you’ll just throw it up. Bear with it for a bit. When we get home, I’ll boil some hot water to warm your stomach.” Gu Shiwei then reached out, squeezed her hand into the space between Shen Yuan’s stomach and hands, and slowly massaged her painfully twitching abdomen.

“Hiss…”

Gu Shiwei’s grip was a little strong. Shen Yuan couldn’t help but gasp in a sharp breath.

“Sorry, I’ll be gentler.”

Shen Yuan was very thin, and her skin and flesh were delicate. Gu Shiwei had already tried to be very careful not to press too hard, but she hadn’t expected Shen Yuan to still gasp in pain.

Gu Shiwei raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat from Shen Yuan’s forehead and smoothed her wet hair behind her ear. After doing this, she simply raised her arm and pulled Shen Yuan into her embrace.

“Don’t move, lean on me. This way, my hand won’t get so tired from massaging.”

Shen Yuan’s struggle immediately ceased. She bit her lip, desperately trying to suppress the urge to vomit all over Gu Shiwei.

Gu Shiwei had been drinking, and her palm was very warm. When pressed against Shen Yuan’s stomach, it felt comforting, like a hot pack. The tight crease in Shen Yuan’s brow loosened a little, and she was so tired leaning against Gu Shiwei’s body that she couldn’t keep her eyes open.

“Thank you, Gu Shiwei.”