"Like the Moon in the Sky" - Chapter 26
Zhu Yuanshan hadn’t fully recovered his health yet and wasn’t in the best spirits. Every night, he would fall asleep by 9:30 at the latest.
Zhu Jinyue didn’t play cards for too long; she put them down shortly before 8 p.m. and got ready to leave.
Since she was leaving, Fu Zhiwang naturally offered to see her out.
Ye Qian, aware of the situation, didn’t press her to stay, simply smiling and asking her to join them again next time.
The minor incident from earlier hadn’t truly angered Zhu Jinyue, and even if it had, her outburst at the card table would have long since dissipated any irritation. Hearing this, she gave him a casual nod.
Shen Qinghuai remained seated in the position opposite where she had been, not looking up at her. His long legs were casually crossed, his eyelashes lowered as he held his uncased phone. The slim, black device made his hands appear even colder and paler, like jade. His posture was relaxed and at ease, seemingly back to how he was when he first arrived, perhaps dealing with work matters.
But Zhu Jinyue felt her phone vibrate softly in her coat pocket.
She slowly finished wrapping her scarf before taking out her phone to look.
Sure enough, the message was from him.
Shen Qinghuai: 【Be careful on your way.】
The tips of Zhu Jinyue’s ears, half-hidden by her scarf, grew slightly warm. She pressed her lips together, stuffed the phone back into her pocket, and ignored him.
After arriving at the hospital, Zhu Jinyue didn’t let Fu Zhiwang escort her upstairs.
Firstly, she didn’t want to trouble him too much now, and secondly, even if Zhu Yuanshan wasn’t asleep yet, he was probably somewhat tired by this hour. If Fu Zhiwang went up, her grandfather would feel obliged to muster his energy to chat with him for a bit.
Upstairs, Zhu Jinyue first greeted her grandfather from a distance outside his room, then ducked into her own room. She changed out of all the clothes she had worn outside, pinned up her loose hair with a claw clip, washed her hands thoroughly, and only then entered Zhu Yuanshan’s hospital room.
Zhu Yuanshan, “Why didn’t Xiao Fu see you upstairs?”
Zhu Jinyue pulled up a chair and sat down beside him, “I was afraid you were already asleep, so I didn’t let him come up.”
Zhu Yuanshan made an “oh” sound, then frowned and said, “Didn’t I tell you to come back later? It’s not even nine yet.”
Zhu Jinyue deliberately frowned back, “What do you mean ‘not even nine’? Experts say you should be asleep by ten for restorative rest. This is what I call a healthy sleep schedule, okay?”
Zhu Yuanshan looked at her with a skeptical smile, “Do you actually believe that yourself?”
Zhu Jinyue lied without a hint of guilt, “Of course I do.”
Zhu Yuanshan couldn’t be bothered to argue with her and changed the subject, “Did you have fun tonight?”
“It was alright.”
No sooner had she said these three words than she saw him yawn. He was probably already quite sleepy. Although he was stubbornly refusing to admit it, he had likely been forcing himself to stay awake waiting for her return.
She casually mentioned a few of the foods she had eaten tonight and told him about the three of them teaming up to trick Ye Qian, omitting the part where Shen Qinghuai confessed his feelings to her.
“I won quite a bit of money tonight. I’ll buy you a new tie after you’re discharged.”
The corners of Zhu Yuanshan’s mouth twitched upwards before he suppressed it, “You should keep your little earnings for yourself.”
He was truly low on energy. After Zhu Jinyue chatted with him for a few more sentences, the old man unknowingly drifted off to sleep.
Zhu Jinyue sat quietly in the chair for a while longer, waiting until he was sound asleep before reaching out to turn off the light.
No matter how good the hospital room conditions were, they were still limited, and the soundproofing certainly couldn’t compare to home. After returning to the adjacent room, Zhu Jinyue moved quietly and did everything slowly as she finished washing up, then finally burrowed under the covers.
What she had told Zhu Yuanshan earlier wasn’t entirely a lie.
At least during these past few days in the hospital, trying to synchronize her schedule with his as much as possible to spend more time with him, her recent routine could indeed be considered very healthy.
But tonight, after lying in bed, she simply couldn’t fall asleep.
Her mind kept circling back to Shen Qinghuai’s gaze in the fire escape at Mirror Blossoms, and the serious, earnest words he used to confess his feelings.
But.
How could Shen Qinghuai like her?
If he hadn’t solemnly promised not to joke with her about something like this, she probably still wouldn’t be able to believe it even now.
And when did he start liking her?
It seemed like less than two months since they reunited, and the number of times they’d met was far from frequent. Before she broke up with Fu Zhiwang, even the number of times they contacted each other on WeChat could be counted on one hand.
Could it really be, as Fu Shuyu said, that he had liked her since high school?
That was simply impossible.
Or was it that she was much more beautiful now than before, and he experienced ‘love at first sight’ when they met again?
But she had been beautiful since she was little, okay.
Zhu Jinyue really couldn’t figure it out.
She tossed and turned for a long time, still wide awake.
Irritated, Zhu Jinyue ruffled her hair, simply turned the light back on, unlocked her phone, and tapped open the chat dialog with Fu Shuyu.
Zhu Yuanshan was in the next room, so she didn’t call this time and sent a text message instead.
Zhu Jinyue: 【Still working on your thesis?】
Fu Shuyu: 【Yeah】
Fu Shuyu: 【Aren’t you adjusting your schedule lately to spend time with your grandpa? Why are you texting me in the middle of the night all of a sudden?】
Zhu Jinyue typed gloomily: 【I have two things to tell you】
Fu Shuyu: 【Go ahead】
Zhu Jinyue: 【Fu Zhiwang confessed to me tonight】
Fu Shuyu: 【Oh】
Zhu Jinyue: 【?】
Zhu Jinyue: 【Do you even want to hear this? Why are you reacting like that again?】
Fu Shuyu: 【Him confessing to you just proves his taste and judgment are normal. Last time you said he cheated, I almost wanted to refer him to the best ophthalmologist】
Zhu Jinyue couldn’t help but curl the corners of her lips upward.
Zhu Jinyue: 【I already told you, it wasn’t really cheating】
Zhu Jinyue remembered the conversation she accidentally overheard tonight: 【His ex-girlfriend doesn’t seem like that kind of person either. I guess she was just frantic and not thinking straight that day】
That night, when she got the call saying her grandfather had fainted, her mind went completely blank for a long time too. Thinking back now, she could hardly remember how she even got to the hospital.
Fu Shuyu: 【Otherwise, why do you think I didn’t actually give him a referral?】
Fu Shuyu: 【Wasn’t there another thing?】
Zhu Jinyue’s fingers hovered over the phone for a long time this time.
So long that Fu Shuyu started getting impatient and urged her.
Fu Shuyu: 【?】
Fu Shuyu: 【You still there?】
Zhu Jinyue let out a soft sigh, her slender, pale fingers finally landing on the screen and typing out that short line: 【Shen Qinghuai also confessed to me tonight】
Fu Shuyu: 【？？】
Fu Shuyu: 【？？？？？？？？】
Zhu Jinyue felt like she was getting pelted in the face with question marks.
Before she could say anything, Fu Shuyu directly called her.
Luckily, Zhu Jinyue had already put her phone on silent.
She declined the call and continued typing: 【Grandpa’s asleep】
Fu Shuyu: 【Then tell me quickly】
Fu Shuyu: 【What on earth happened??】
Zhu Jiyue: 【That’s what happened】
Fu Shuyu: 【Didn’t you say it was impossible for him to like you?】
Zhu Jinyue: 【Even after he confessed, I still felt that way】
Fu Shuyu: 【Were you guys playing Truth or Dare?】
Zhu Jinyue smiled.
Truly a friend who grew up with her; Fu Shuyu was on the same wavelength.
Zhu Jinyue: 【No】
Fu Shuyu: 【Then what’s the situation?】
Zhu Jinyue: 【I don’t know either. Anyway, he said he wouldn’t joke about something like this with me】
It went quiet on the other end of the phone for a moment, probably as Fu Shuyu was processing this information.
After a short while, new messages finally popped up.
Fu Shuyu: 【Wait, if I remember correctly, didn’t you tell me he and Fu Zhiwang are long-time close friends?】
Zhu Jinyue: 【You remember correctly.】
Fu Shuyu: 【Hahahaha, their tastes are so similar, no wonder they get along.】
Zhu Jinyue: 【?】
Zhu Jinyue: 【I’m asking for your opinion, not for you to tease me, okay?】
Fu Shuyu: 【Asking for my opinion, huh?】
Fu Shuyu: 【Well, my opinion is that you should sleep with both of them. Their other qualities are top-notch anyway, so just pick whichever one is better in bed.】
Zhu Jinyue, “??”
Fu Shuyu added: 【Wait, no.】
Fu Shuyu: 【Forget about Fu Zhiwang. Even though he didn’t technically cheat, my impression of him dropped after that last incident.】
Fu Shuyu: 【Just try sleeping with the other one. You must have a good impression of him anyway, otherwise, no matter how angry or impulsive you were that day, you probably couldn’t have kissed him.】
Zhu Jinyue, “…”
Was there some truth to the second half of that last message?
But were the first few sentences even human talk?
Fu Shuyu: 【Oh, and one more thing.】
Fu Shuyu: 【Remember to ask him for his latest physical examination report before you sleep with him.】
Forget it.
She must have been out of her mind to ask Fu Shuyu for advice.
Zhu Jinyue: 【Bye.】
Zhu Jinyue: 【Go back to writing your thesis.】
Zhu Jinyue herself had no idea how late she finally fell asleep that night. All she knew was that when the alarm woke her the next morning, it felt like she had only slept for a few minutes.
Dragging herself out of bed with a gloomy, sleep-deprived aura, she finished washing up. Although she was short on time, she still went to check on Zhu Yuanshan next door first.
The old man was clearly wide awake. The moment he saw her, he said, “If this were a proper job, you’d have been fired eight hundred times over by now.”
Zhu Jinyue retorted righteously, “Well, I’m not here for a proper job anyway.”
Zhu Yuanshan obviously didn’t mean it seriously at all, “If it’s not a proper job, then just have breakfast before you go.”
Zhu Jinyue asked him, “Have you eaten yet?”
Zhu Yuanshan, “Ate ages ago. Just look at what time it is. Don’t come crying to us later if you mess up your stomach.”
Hearing that he had already eaten, Zhu Jinyue decided not to stay, “Since you’ve already eaten, I won’t eat here. Mingchan will bring me something. I’ll head over early so I can come back early this afternoon.”
Zhu Yuanshan laughed, “Are you going to work or to enjoy yourself?”
“To work, of course,” Zhu Jinyue instructed him. “Make sure you eat properly here at the hospital. I’ll be checking with the nurse aides. My sister is coming today too, and she’s not as easygoing as I am.”
Zhu Yuanshan waved his hand, “Go on, get out of here.”
Arriving at Mingchan’s studio, Zhu Jinyue found her workstation as empty as ever; the others were probably busy elsewhere as usual.
She first went into Mingchan’s office to eat breakfast. After coming out and returning to her desk, she habitually hugged her eggplant plushie, logged into the game, and started slacking off.
Her brain was sluggish from lack of sleep. It wasn’t until she saw the familiar Weizhi logo on the login screen that Zhu Jinyue suddenly remembered the events of last night.
She almost quit the game right then.
But on second thought, if she didn’t play the game, she had nothing else to do for the moment.
After all, even if the boss was bad, the game was good.
Why take it out on the game? The game hadn’t done anything wrong.
Having rationalized it to herself, Zhu Jinyue logged into the game with a clear conscience and began slowly clearing tasks and playing with the pandas.
She hadn’t been playing long when Jiang Rui passed by her desk carrying a pile of fabrics. His eyes swept over her phone screen, and he sneered, “Don’t come to work for a week, and the moment you’re back, you’re back to playing games. So, this is how the young lady chases her dreams, huh?”
Everything Zhu Jinyue did was originally to provoke “that person” into making a mistake, so she usually didn’t bother arguing with them. On the contrary, when she was in a good mood, she would ramp it up a notch to irritate them further.
But her morning grumpiness hadn’t fully dissipated yet, and her absence this past week truly hadn’t been her choice.
If it could ensure Zhu Yuanshan made a full and complete recovery, she would willingly come to work diligently for a week—no, even for ten years straight.
Zhu Jinyue looked up and gave him a cold glance. “What, your family members never get sick?”
Jiang Rui seemed to choke on his words.
Zhu Jinyue ignored him and went back to playing her game.
The sound of footsteps soon faded away; Jiang Rui had probably gone back to his own work.
But she really hadn’t slept well. After finishing the first round of tasks, Zhu Jinyue was so drowsy she simply quit the game, placed the eggplant plushie on the desk, and lay her head down to catch up on sleep.
She didn’t know how long she slept, but she woke up because someone was gently shaking her shoulder.
She stirred awake drowsily and turned her blurry eyes to see the receptionist standing behind her, holding a bouquet of flowers.
As soon as she saw Zhu Jinyue was awake, the receptionist shoved the bouquet directly into her arms.
“Someone sent these for you.”
“?”
Zhu Jinyue blinked slowly.
It was only after the receptionist walked away that she gradually became fully alert.
Who sent her flowers?
The number of people who knew she “worked” here could probably be counted on one hand.
Two guesses crossed Zhu Jinyue’s mind—
Fu Zhiwang?
Or… Shen Qinghuai?
She looked down at the bouquet nestled in her arms.
It was a mixed arrangement of several types of flowers in a pink and white color scheme, put together in a fresh and beautiful way. At a glance, she could see out-of-season imported white peonies, Ecuadorian white roses, lily of the valley, and pink-and-white gloriosa lilies. But whether intentional or not, several of the filler flowers had names containing the character “Yue”, like the filler flower ‘Gladiolus White Moonlight’.
It didn’t really seem like Fu Zhiwang’s style.
The bouquet wasn’t large; she could hold it in one hand. It was expensive, but not ostentatiously so. You’d need to know a bit about flowers to recognize the value of most of the blooms inside.
That young master tended to be more flamboyant.
So, then it was…
Shen Qinghuai?
A small card was tucked into the bouquet.
Zhu Jinyue pulled out the card and placed the bouquet on her desk.
Unfolding it, she found just a simple sentence.
It wasn’t printed text; it was likely handwritten by the sender. Just four simple characters—
“To be more formal.”
Below it was a boldly and powerfully written signature: “Shen”, the final hook of the character sweeping out in a long, free and easy stroke.
Zhu Jinyue suddenly remembered back at Xingnan No.1 High School, he used to sign just this single character “Shen” on all his textbooks. She didn’t know if it was because he was the only one in class with that surname, or just to save time.
Zhu Jinyue felt a complex mix of emotions for a moment.
Mainly, she genuinely never expected to receive flowers from him one day.
And those four words, obviously, corresponded to something he had said last night.
The phone on the desk vibrated softly.
Zhu Jinyue put down the card and picked up her phone.
The message was indeed from a certain classmate surnamed Shen.
Shen Qinghuai: 【Did you get the flowers?】
Zhu Jinyue pressed her lips together, still feeling a bit incredulous: 【Who said you could send me flowers?】
Shen Qinghuai: 【Then I won’t send any tomorrow.】
Zhu Jinyue: “?”
Was his persistence in pursuing someone really this flimsy?
The “typing…” indicator was still showing above the chat.
She didn’t rush to reply, waiting a moment. Shortly after, his second message came through.
Shen Qinghuai: 【But please keep today’s bouquet, okay? They’re already sent, no point wasting them.】
Zhu Jinyue: “……?”
What a classic tactic of advancing by retreating.
Zhu Jinyue: 【What was your major in university?】
The person on the other end didn’t ask why she suddenly changed the subject but directly answered her question.
Shen Qinghuai: 【Computer Science.】
Zhu Jinyue: 【Really? I feel like it was the Thirty-Six Stratagems.】
He was quite skilled at using both advancing by retreating and the tactic of provocation.
The phone vibrated softly again, and a new message popped up—
Shen Qinghuai: 【Then let’s call it the Thirty-Six Stratagems.】