"Like the Moon in the Sky" - Chapter 14

“Choosing the right trend on the internet can be quite profitable.” Zhu Jinyue tapped her toe, spinning her chair halfway back to face Ming Chan. “What, are you regretting going into fashion now? It’s not too late to switch to internet ventures.”

“Then I’d rather not.” Ming Chan shook her head. “Even if you choose the right trend, you need the skill to withstand it. I’d prefer to steadily and honestly pay the price for my own dreams.”

Zhu Jinyue could still glimpse the skyscraper towering into the sky across the street out of the corner of her eye. The image of a figure, tall and straight like a lone pine tree, flashed through her mind.

She wasn’t surprised that Shen Qinghuai had this capability.

What did surprise her slightly was that the Weizhi Building was actually right opposite Ming Chan’s studio.

Back when Ming Chan’s studio was relocating and deciding on a site, she was hesitating between several locations. It was Zhu Jinyue who helped finalize Yuanjiang International.

“By the way, what would you like for breakfast tomorrow morning?” Ming Chan suddenly asked her.

Zhu Jinyue snapped back to attention, “Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for your mom?”

“Not at all, the old lady has been bored lately with nothing to do.” Ming Chan said with a complaining tone. “Having something to keep her busy is good, so she won’t pester me about marriage every day.”

Zhu Jinyue thought for a moment, “Then dumplings it is. I haven’t had them in a long time.”

Ming Chan nodded.

“Also,” Zhu Jinyue asked her, “Do I have any work scheduled for me this morning?”

Ming Chan laughed, “You’re really planning to seriously be my assistant?”

“Can’t be slacking off the entire time either,” Zhu Jinyue said. “Got to at least pretend a little bit, right?”

“No rush, feel free to slack off to your heart’s content this morning.” Ming Chan glanced at her watch. “The computer allocated for you hasn’t arrived yet.”

Everything on Zhu Jinyue’s desk was bought new by Ming Chan.

Although she estimated Zhu Jinyue wouldn’t be staying long, and all these things would lie idle once she left, Zhu Jinyue was used to good quality stuff elsewhere, so of course she should have the best here too.

Zhu Jinyue took her time with breakfast, spending nearly half an hour.

After finishing breakfast and coming out of the office, Ming Chan formally introduced her to the four assistants.

Perhaps still adjusting to Zhu Jinyue’s new role, Ming Chan introduced them as if presenting them to an inspecting superior. She didn’t call them over, just pointed them out one by one while standing.

Since she was here to play the part of the connected insider, Zhu Jinyue didn’t point it out.

During their last meal, Zhu Jinyue had already gotten a general idea from Ming Chan about these four assistants’ educational backgrounds, majors, technical skills, and other objective information.

She hadn’t asked much about their personalities, worried Ming Chan might inject too much personal bias.

This time was mainly to put faces to names.

Though Ming Chan joked that compared to the guy across the street who built an empire occupying a whole building, she, after years of hard work, only managed to rent one floor, her business was small and specialized. The number of employees wasn’t large, and the space was more than sufficient.

The four assistants shared a separate, open-plan workspace.

A long, rectangular wooden table held four computers. Because the space was ample enough, there were no partitions in the middle.

Now, with Zhu Jinyue, it would be five people. But adding her workstation to either side would look out of place and asymmetrical—and besides, she wouldn’t be staying long.

Ming Chan placed her seat at the narrow end of the long table, which coincidentally was also the best position for observing the other four.

The computer hadn’t arrived yet, but a brand-new chair was already at the workstation, with a plush eggplant placed on it.

Probably bought by Ming Chan for her to use as a hug pillow.

Zhu Jinyue sat down in her spot and openly took out her phone to slack off.

She had rushed over in a hurry this morning and hadn’t had time to log into the game yet.

Logging into “You Yi Cun”(Another Village), Zhu Jinyue spent ten minutes clearing her daily tasks, another ten minutes progressing through a new story segment, and then ten more minutes playing with the panda.

Half an hour flew by quickly. During this time, Ming Chan’s four assistants, busy in various places, returned to their workstations one after another.

These four assistants happened to be two men and two women, all visually around her age, mid-twenties.

The two women were one tall and one short.

The taller one was about 170cm, named Pei Xi. She seemed like a cool, aloof type. When she returned to her workstation and made eye contact with Zhu Jinyue, she just gave a neutral nod before continuing with her own work.

The slightly shorter one seemed to be under 160cm, named Fang Zhiwei. When she returned to her workstation, she sneakily glanced at Zhu Jinyue. As soon as Zhu Jinyue looked up, she quickly averted her gaze and hurried away.

The two men were also one tall and one short, though the height difference wasn’t as pronounced.

The taller one was probably around 180cm, named Jiang Rui. His gaze held a somewhat unfriendly scrutiny when he looked at Zhu Jinyue.

The shorter one was about 175cm, named Chu Fankai, and seemed to be the friendliest of the four—he was the only one who smiled at Zhu Jinyue.

With nothing else to do, Zhu Jinyue clicked into the standard card pool and did some pulls for animals and buildings.

Just as she finished, Fang Zhiwei returned to her workstation—her seat was opposite Chu Fankai’s, both closer to Zhu Jinyue’s side.

Fang Zhiwei had probably come back to look something up, and this time she sat directly in front of her computer.

While searching, she continued to sneak glances at Zhu Jinyue.

Zhu Jinyue played with the new little rabbit she had just pulled, then retrieved the little fox that had sneaked off to the chicken coop. When the other girl looked over for the third time, Zhu Jinyue finally lifted her head from her phone—

Fang Zhiwei couldn’t avoid it this time; their eyes met directly, and her face instantly flushed red.

“Can I help you?” Zhu Jinyue asked her.

“N-no, nothing,” Fang Zhiwei stammered, her face red as she pointed beneath Zhu Jinyue’s phone. “I just wanted to ask if the charm hanging from your phone is merchandise from ‘Another Village’?”

Zhu Jinyue looked down where she was pointing.

She had gotten a new red phone case yesterday and thought it matched the little fox charm Shen Qinghuai gave her last time, so she had attached it.

“Yes, it is,” Zhu Jinyue asked her. “Do you play this game too?”

Fang Zhiwei nodded. Probably because she had found a fellow fan, her attitude noticeably warmed, and she wasn’t as shy as before, “All my friends play those big AAA games. This is the first time I’ve met someone in real life who plays our little village game. When this merch box was released, I was still quite far from the spending threshold. I hesitated and didn’t go for it. I never expected the physical quality to be so good. Now the prices on the second-hand market are ridiculously high! Did you reach the spending threshold, or did you buy it resale?”

The little fox in the game was still being held by her player avatar, its tail swaying gently just like the little fox charm on her phone. Zhu Jinyue thought for a moment and said, “A friend gave it to me.”

Fang Zhiwei, “Wuwuwu, why don’t I have a magical friend like that!”

Zhu Jinyue: “?”

The “magical friend” was back to lying dormant on her friends list.

It’s his company’s merchandise; he probably just casually gave her a box.

“He probably has quite a few. I think he just casually gave me one.”

Fang Zhiwei, “…”

The friends of rich people are indeed also rich people.

How annoying!

There are so many rich people in the world, why can’t I be one!

Not far away, the plush little fox’s tail kept swaying.

Fang Zhiwei asked longingly, “Can I take a closer look?”

If she wanted to touch it, Zhu Jinyue definitely wouldn’t allow it—Fang Zhiwei had clearly just been busy elsewhere and hadn’t washed her hands.

But just taking a closer look was fine.

Zhu Jinyue held her phone out a little.

Fang Zhiwei moved her chair closer to Zhu Jinyue’s, resisted the urge to reach out and touch it, and examined it carefully, “Wuwuwu, it’s so cute. Weizhi‘s merch quality is really good this time. By the way, you pulled on the New Year’s pool, right? The little tiger and panda are both so adorable, especially the panda. I wonder if they’ll release merch for them. If they do, I’ll definitely buy like crazy.”

Zhu Jinyue retrieved her phone, “They will.”

“Eh?” Fang Zhiwei said, surprised. “Really? Isn’t Weizhi right across from us? I added a girl from their team before—not close, just a name on my list. The other day I risked my life to ask her, and she said they have no plans for that right now. Who did you hear it from—”

Fang Zhiwei glimpsed the bag the other woman had casually placed to the side, thinking the other’s connections were probably different. “Is it someone high up in their company?”

Zhu Jinyue blinked slowly.

Does the boss count as high up?

“Yeah.”

Fang Zhiwei said excitedly, “Great! Best if they release plush little charms like this again. I’ll definitely buy multiples when they do and line them up at home!”

****

It was nearly 12 p.m. when Zhu Jinyue’s computer finally arrived.

It was almost lunchtime, and these assistants, who had been busy in the pattern room, sample garment room, and other places, were finally all back at their workstations.

A female employee from the studio with her hair in a bun led the delivery person in to install the computer.

After the installation was complete and the delivery person had just left, Jiang Rui suddenly pointed at the computer on Zhu Jinyue’s desk and asked the girl with the bun, “Why is her computer different from ours?”

Ming Chan, having just heard the computer had arrived, pushed the door open. Before she even stepped out, she heard this. She was just thinking of an excuse to handle it when she saw Zhu Jinyue, leaning back in her chair playing on her phone, look up unhurriedly and respond, “I paid extra for it myself.”

Jiang Rui’s eyes swept over the obviously brand-new ergonomic chair behind her, which was also different from theirs.

—On that chair was a brand-new plush eggplant toy. Xiao Song, who had led the delivery person in, had even placed two vases with fresh cut flowers on her desk, along with a bunch of other miscellaneous little things.

He couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh. “Makes you think she’s here on vacation. What’s a young lady from a wealthy family like her doing coming to work here?”

Zhu Jinyue pinched the fox’s tail. “What, are young ladies not allowed to have career aspirations and dreams? It’s not your money anyway. And don’t you have any personal items on your own desk?”

Jiang Rui, “I didn’t move my entire house here.”

Zhu Jinyue blinked. “This counts as moving my house here? If I really moved my house here, this studio of yours probably wouldn’t have enough space.”

Ming Chan, “…”

Her Yue Bao really had a talent for annoying people.

Chu Fankai stepped in to smooth things over, “Hey, it’s not a big deal. We’re all colleagues, no need to argue. It’s almost lunchtime. What do you all want to order for takeout today? I can order for everyone. Zhiwei, what about you?”

Fang Zhiwei shook her head, “I don’t want takeout anymore, I’m sick of it. I’m going out for something good today.”

“Pei Xi?” Chu Fankai looked at Pei Xi.

Pei Xi, “Bao Ji.”

“Jiang Rui?”

“Bao Ji.”

Chu Fankai then turned to Zhu Jinyue, “You’re Zhu Jinyue, right? What do you want to eat? Do you want to try—”

Jiang Rui interrupted with a sneer, “How could a rich young lady like her possibly deign to eat our cheap takeout?”

Pei Xi coldly interjected, “Haven’t you had enough? Is your work done?”

Jiang Rui snorted, turned around, and seemed to head back to the pattern room.

Chu Fankai gave Zhu Jinyue an awkward smile.

Fang Zhiwei said quietly, “Um… Zhu Jinyue, do you want to come out to eat with me? We can get to know the area around here at the same time?”

After saying this, she seemed to realize that Zhu Jinyue might also look down on the nearby restaurants and looked at her nervously.

Zhu Jinyue closed the game and nodded at her. “Sure.”

Fang Zhiwei instantly let out a huge sigh of relief.

Zhu Jinyue stood up, putting her phone in her coat pocket. “Is it time to clock out? Shall we go now?”

Fang Zhiwei also stood up. “Let’s go, let’s go.”

After walking a few steps with Zhu Jinyue, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Zhu Jinyue seemed empty-handed. She unconsciously glanced back at Zhu Jinyue’s workstation—

The bag that they had discussed a little after Zhu Jinyue entered Ming Chan’s office was still casually placed on her desk.

“You forgot your bag?” Fang Zhiwei reminded her.

Zhu Jinyue didn’t even turn her head. “Didn’t forget. Just can’t be bothered to carry it. It’s too small to hold anything anyway, it’s a hassle.”

Fang Zhiwei, “?”

Can’t be bothered to carry a bag worth 7 figures on the second-hand market?

It’s a hassle???

So, she just leaves it casually on her desk? At a new company she’s been at for less than half a day??

Even though their studio has surveillance, money tempts people. Isn’t she worried at all that someone might steal it???

As it turned out, this new colleague really wasn’t worried at all. She didn’t look back once until they were out of the studio door.

The unconcerned Zhu Jinyue received a message from Ming Chan after exiting the studio.

Ming Chan: 【Where are you? They said you went out with Fang Zhiwei?】
Zhu Jinyue: 【Yeah, she said she’d take me out to eat?】
Ming Chan: 【And you just went with her?】
Zhu Jinyue: 【You sound as worried as Sister Yan. She came over from the hospital today too. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.】
Ming Chan: 【Cheng Yan is here, you should have said so earlier.】

Fang Zhiwei probably recognized Ming Chan’s avatar, so Zhu Jinyue didn’t reply further, just stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

But even after exiting the main doors of Yuanjiang International Tower A, Fang Zhiwei still seemed to be in a bit of a daze.

Zhu Jinyue asked her, “Which way are we going?”

Fang Zhiwei snapped out of it, glanced at her, her expression seeming a bit conflicted and apologetic. “The place I want to go is just a pretty ordinary, affordable restaurant. There are one or two more expensive ones nearby, but I can’t afford them.”

“What kind of restaurant?” Zhu Jinyue asked her. “Is the food good?”

Fang Zhiwei said hurriedly, “It’s a Xingnan cuisine restaurant. Super delicious. Besides being a bit spicy, it has no other flaws.”

Zhu Jinyue’s requirement for restaurants prioritized taste over ambiance.

After all, if the food isn’t good, a nice environment is useless.

In that regard, she could make do.

“If it’s delicious, that’s fine. Which way do we go?”

Fang Zhiwei breathed another huge sigh of relief and pointed. “On the street across the way. We need to hurry, or we probably won’t get a seat.”

Across the way was the Weizhi Building.

The familiar logo glittered with a beautiful golden light under the sun.

Zhu Jinyue nodded. “Let’s go.”

As they crossed the pedestrian walkway and passed a basement garage entrance in front of the Weizhi Building, a white car suddenly came speeding towards them.

Zhu Jinyue hadn’t expected someone to not slow down before entering a garage. Before she could react, her wrist was suddenly grabbed—

She thought it was Cheng Yan, who was following nearby, but as the force pulled her backward, she stumbled into a embrace that smelled fresh and clean.

A deep grey notch lapel suit jacket, without a single wrinkle.

Zhu Jinyue looked up, her gaze meeting a pair of eyes with unusually light-colored pupils.

These eyes usually seemed veiled in a light mist, making it hard to read his emotions, but at this moment, they seemed to carry a hint of visible panic.

Zhu Jinyue couldn’t help but blink. When she looked again, the owner of the eyes seemed to have returned to his usual composed and calm demeanor.

“Are you okay?”

Zhu Jinyue shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Was it an illusion?

Maybe it wasn’t. His parents had died in a car accident, so he might have a bit of a stress response to similar situations.

Although that car probably wouldn’t have actually hit her.

Shen Qinghuai released his grip on her wrist and took a step back, returning to a safe distance. He asked gently, “What brings you here?”

When Zhu Jinyue saw the Weizhi Building across the street, she had guessed she might run into him, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so quickly.

She pointed towards Yuanjiang International Tower A across the street. “I work over there.”

A rare look of surprise flickered across the man’s face. “You work here?”

Fang Zhiwei was still beside her, so Zhu Jinyue couldn’t explain in detail. She just said vaguely, “I’ll tell you about it next time I have a chance.”

Shen Qinghuai was always smart and knew his boundaries. True to form, he didn’t press further.

“Coming down at this time,” he changed the subject. “Are you going out for lunch?”

Zhu Jinyue nodded.

Shen Qinghuai said, “Have you picked a restaurant? Do you need me to recommend one?”

“My colleague picked a Xingnan cuisine place.” Zhu Jinyue turned her head towards Fang Zhiwei. “What’s it called again?”

Fang Zhiwei seemed to be spacing out again. She paused for a moment before replying, “Ah… it’s called Chef Yang.”

Shen Qinghuai raised an eyebrow, letting out what seemed like a very soft laugh. “You can still handle spicy food now?”

Zhu Jinyue lifted her chin. “Of course.”

“Did you make a reservation? I hear their business is pretty good,” Shen Qinghuai asked her quietly. “My colleague is friends with the owner. If you didn’t reserve, I can have him help get you a private room?”

Judging by what Fang Zhiwei said earlier, they probably didn’t have a reservation.

“Would it be too much trouble?”

Shen Qinghuai said, “No trouble at all. Just a word.”

For a small matter like this, Zhu Jinyue didn’t stand on ceremony. “Thanks, then.”

“Mm.” Shen Qinghuai took out his phone. “You go ahead. I’ll message you later.”

Zhu Jinyue waved at him. “Okay, I’m off then.”

After walking a stretch, Zhu Jinyue heard Fang Zhiwei speak.

“Holy crap, he’s so handsome.” Fang Zhiwei turned back excitedly. “Is he your friend? I just saw him come out from the Weizhi side. Is he a Weizhi employee?”

Zhu Jinyue, “…”

Does the boss count as an employee?

“You could say that.”

Fang Zhiwei said sighing, “I’ve never heard that Weizhi has employees handsome enough to debut! I’ve only heard their boss is quite good-looking. What does he do at Weizhi ? Is he the high-up you mentioned?”

Zhu Jinyue, “…”

Is it possible that the man just now is the boss of Weizhi?

But the man is truly low-key. Weizhi is right across the street, yet Fang Zhiwei, a player of their company’s game, doesn’t even recognize him.

Since he’s so low-key, Zhu Jinyue didn’t broadcast his identity either and said casually, “Yes. I’m not really sure what he does specifically. We just recently got back in touch.”

****

As they neared the restaurant entrance, Zhu Jinyue received a message from Shen Qinghuai.

Shen Qinghuai: 【Just give the staff the last four digits of my phone number when you arrive.】

It was followed by an 11-digit number, presumably his phone number.

He probably should have left her number, but that day at Ruirui, they had only added each other on WeChat and hadn’t exchanged other contact details.

Zhu Jinyue sent back a little “ok” emoji.

There were no further messages from him. Zhu Jinyue put her phone back in her pocket.

The private room wasn’t large, but it was much cleaner than Zhu Jinyue had expected, and the food was quite good.

The room was quieter than the main dining area. Fang Zhiwei wasn’t used to eating in such silence; she usually either chatted with someone or watched shows while eating.

Right now, being with a new colleague, it felt impolite to take out her phone and watch something, so she found another topic.

“By the way, can I ask which school you graduated from?”

Zhu Jinyue picked up a bite of finely chopped beef and named her university.

“Hey, you graduated from the same school as our boss?” Fang Zhiwei’s tone noticeably perked up with excitement. “Then do you know ZHU? I didn’t dare ask the boss if she knows her.”

Zhu Jinyue looked up, “Who are you talking about?”

Fang Zhiwei said excitedly, “That super famous jewelry designer. She graduated from the same place as you. You don’t know her?”

Zhu Jinyue blinked slowly, thought for a moment, and said, “You could say I know her.”

“Wuwuwu, I’m so jealous! I love her work. It’s a shame she only makes art jewelry. Her few pieces either sell for sky-high prices at auctions or are collected in museums. She’s also super low-key—not only doesn’t show her face, but hasn’t even publicly revealed her full name, just her surname—” Fang Zhiwei paused, “—Oh, and it’s the same surname as you! I saw an interview she did abroad before. The reporter asked her why she named her brand directly with her surname instead of choosing a nicer-sounding English name. She said her surname already sounds great, why did she need an English name? She said the character ‘Zhu’  in Chinese means ‘to wish,’ and like jewelry, it carries many people’s hopes and dreams.”

Fang Zhiwei cupped her face in her hands and looked at Zhu Jinyue, “Since you know her, do you know if she has any plans to hold an exhibition back in China?”

Zhu Jinyue said after thinking, “She probably does.”

“That’s great!” Fang Zhiwei said excitedly. “I’ll definitely buy a ticket to go see it then. It would be best if I could run into her in person and ask for an autograph!”

****

After the meal, Zhu Jinyue called the server in to pay the bill, only to be told that someone had already settled it for them.

The heating inside the restaurant was very strong, making one feel a bit lightheaded. Zhu Jinyue was stunned for a moment before she understood. She nodded to the server to indicate she understood.

Perhaps acting on instructions, the server didn’t rush to clear the table immediately but silently withdrew from the room first.

Zhu Jinyue picked up her coat and put it on.

Fang Zhiwei, putting on her own coat, came over and asked, “Was it that friend of yours from earlier who paid?”

Zhu Jinyue wrapped her scarf around her neck and nodded. “Probably him.”

Besides him, no one else knew she was in this private room.

Fang Zhiwei scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed. “Then… should I transfer my half to you?”

“No need,” Zhu Jinyue said casually, smoothing her hair. “Just consider it my treat.”

“Okay, then I’ll treat you next time.” After saying this, Fang Zhiwei’s gaze inadvertently fell on the vicuña wool scarf around the other’s neck and added without much confidence, “But I can’t afford anything too expensive, okay?”

Zhu Jinyue was amused by her, “It has to be delicious.”

Fang Zhiwei paused before understanding, “I guarantee it will be.”

Back at the studio, Zhu Jinyue placed the fluffy eggplant on her desk, rested her delicate chin on it, and lay there sending a message to Shen Qinghuai.

Zhu Jinyue: 【Are you free any day? Let me treat you to a meal?】

The reply came quickly again.

Shen Qinghuai: 【Why suddenly want to treat me to a meal?】

Zhu Jinyue: 【Didn’t you pay for the meal just now?】

Zhu Jinyue: 【And also my brother-in-law’s matter before, plus I’ve hitched a ride with you twice. I haven’t thanked you for any of it yet.】

Actually, she had planned to treat him to a meal back at Ruirui.

But since this reunion, she always felt Shen Qinghuai’s attitude towards her was a bit strange, or perhaps contradictory.

Every time they met, he seemed as gentle and considerate as before, as if they were still friends.

But when they didn’t meet, aside from necessary matters, mis-sent messages, or mass New Year’s greetings, it seemed like he never initiated a conversation with her.

Even though she had a boyfriend now.

But they’ve known each other for ten years. Whether in the past or now, their relationship has been completely clear and innocent without any ambiguity. Her boyfriend is also his good friend. Even if avoiding impropriety, it shouldn’t mean avoiding even a couple of casual chats, right?

For once, he didn’t reply instantly.

Zhu Jinyue frowned slightly and added another message: 【You’re not planning to turn me down again, are you?】

She was no longer the willful and spoiled young girl she used to be.

Although she still disliked owing favors, she probably wouldn’t do something like tossing a lunchbox in front of him anymore.

The chat box was quiet for a few seconds.

A new message popped up.

Shen Qinghuai: 【How could I ??】