The Cold CEO Chases His White Moonlight - Chapter 22

Ji Zhiwei shuddered as if doused with cold water and instinctively tried to burrow deeper into the blankets.

Gu Yunhui stood up, swiftly crossing the distance in a few strides, pressing Ji Zhiwei’s hand down while simultaneously retrieving her phone.

Ji Zhiwei felt blood rush to her head, a suffocating sensation overwhelming her.

Yet she didn’t actually hold her breath her mind just grew increasingly hazy, her body feeling as though it were plummeting, or perhaps her soul had left her body, ascending into the sky.

Was she really going to answer the call like this?

Ji Zhiwei truly couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed the small object beneath her away, her eyes red as she looked at Gu Yunhui with a pleading gaze.

Ignoring Ji Zhiwei’s silent plea, Gu Yunhui kept her pinned down and answered the call.

Ji Zhiwei couldn’t make out what was being said on the other end of the line, but Gu Yunhui’s expression remained unchanged, though her voice carried a subtle shift.

What was even more unbearable was that Gu Yunhui was gently caressing Ji Zhiwei’s cheek.

Like a feather tracing the contours of her face, the touch was meticulous, tender.

Occasionally, there was a hint of pressure different sensations assaulting Ji Zhiwei’s mind.

Ji Zhiwei didn’t dare even breathe too loudly.

The excessive tension and silence only intensified her body’s reactions.

The feather-light strokes brought an overwhelming sensation, and combined with her already dizzying thoughts, her consciousness began to blur.

What was Gu Yunhui saying? Ji Zhiwei couldn’t hear clearly, but she could feel.

Gu Yunhui was really.

A sudden sensation choked Ji Zhiwei into tears. Clenching her fists, she faintly heard Gu Yunhui laughing and flirting with whoever was on the other end.

How humiliating no, downright degrading.

How could she do something like this?

Ji Zhiwei bit her lip so hard it nearly bled, yet Gu Yunhui still hadn’t hung up.

Who was it? Who could Gu Yunhui chat with on the phone while doing this to her?

Was it that unfamiliar woman from earlier, the one who had tied Gu Yunhui’s hair?

Were they openly flirting over the phone while she was pinned to the bed, forced to endure Gu Yunhui’s teasing?

All because she was Gu Yunhui’s canary, a secret lover who couldn’t see the light of day.

Gu Yunhui was even ashamed to introduce her to others.

When the waves of pleasure crested, Ji Zhiwei could no longer hold back, breaking into sobs.

Gu Yunhui paused in surprise, as if the person on the other end had heard as well. The air grew still, filled only with Ji Zhiwei’s stifled cries.

“You have someone there?” The voice on the phone asked casually, sounding indifferent.

“Mhm. Sorry, I’ll get back to you later.” Gu Yunhui hung up and tossed the phone aside.

Seizing the moment, Ji Zhiwei tried to scramble away.

But she had no strength left. Gu Yunhui caught her easily.

“Wasn’t this what you wanted?” Gu Yunhui looked at Ji Zhiwei as if she had no idea what she had just done, genuinely puzzled by Ji Zhiwei’s inexplicable reaction.

“Don’t go too far!” Ji Zhiwei was truly furious and hurt.

She thought she had mentally prepared herself, but now that she was being humiliated like this by her patron, she realized she couldn’t accept it after all.

Or perhaps she was just upset that Gu Yunhui didn’t care about her.

“What did I do? It’s not like I let her watch me play with you. She didn’t even hear anything.” Gu Yunhui nearly laughed in exasperation.

Since when did this little girl have such a temper?

So what if she answered a call while?

She was saving time. She had left a business partner behind just to come see Ji Zhiwei, only to be met with this attitude.

The blood vessels in Ji Zhiwei’s eyes were frighteningly red. She grabbed the blanket, wrapping it tightly around herself, and glared at Gu Yunhui.

“What are you to me, that you dare say I’ve gone too far?” That look in Ji Zhiwei’s eyes stung Gu Yunhui.

She took a deep breath, tore the blanket away, and dug her fingers fiercely into Ji Zhiwei’s shoulders.

Ji Zhiwei turned her head away, refusing to answer.

“Speak! What are you to me?” Gu Yunhui’s movements grew more violent. Hearing the question, Ji Zhiwei stopped resisting, only letting her tears fall uncontrollably.

“You’re still crying? What right do you have to feel wronged?” Gu Yunhui bit down on Ji Zhiwei’s face, wanting to exert force but then thinking a mark on the face wouldn’t look good, so she switched to the shoulder.

This time, she went all out. The pain was unbearable for Ji Zhiwei, yet she didn’t make a sound.

She even tried to hold back her tears, as if doing so could salvage the dignity Gu Yunhui had just trampled underfoot.

But she forgot from the night she first bowed her head to Gu Yunhui, she should have known dignity was never something she deserved.

“A deal worth hundreds of millions, and she wanted to discuss it with me. But I saw you were upset, so I skipped it to come comfort you. And this is how you repay me?”

One bite wasn’t enough. Gu Yunhui switched sides and bit again.

So, they were just business partners after all.

She had overthought things. Her fault. She had lost her temper and couldn’t hold back. Also her fault.

“I’ve been here since the afternoon, and you didn’t even notice me. I didn’t even bring that up, and now you’re saying I’m the one being unreasonable?”

Gu Yunhui had never been gentle, but today, she held nothing back. Ji Zhiwei trembled from the pain.

But what truly shattered her were Gu Yunhui’s words.

Gu Yunhui had done this for her, and yet she had thrown a tantrum.

Finally, when the chaotic emotions snapped the last thread of her composure, Ji Zhiwei broke down into loud sobs.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!” Ji Zhiwei stammered, her words reduced to nothing but apologies.

Hearing this, a corner of Gu Yunhui’s anger finally eased.

She calmed down for two minutes, then looked at the wounds on Ji Zhiwei’s body and felt a pang of discomfort. She had gone too far this time.

“Get out.” Gu Yunhui tossed a blanket at her to cover herself.

Ji Zhiwei trembled as she got up, barely able to walk steadily.

Watching this, Gu Yunhui felt her blood boil again.

She didn’t want to speak anymore. She grabbed Ji Zhiwei and pulled her back.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Gu Yunhui shoved Ji Zhiwei back into the chair and opened it.

“What do you want?” Gu Yunhui stared at Lu Peijiu standing outside.

“You! How did she get hurt like this?” Lu Peijiu spotted Ji Zhiwei in the room almost immediately, along with the wounds still bleeding.

“Hah. I did it. Got a problem with that?” Gu Yunhui adjusted her glasses and suddenly smiled.

“You two are lovers.” Lu Peijiu’s expression darkened.

This was the first time she had witnessed the cold cruelty buried deep in Gu Yunhui’s bones.

She had thought Gu Yunhui treated Ji Zhiwei so well because she genuinely cared.

“Yeah, the kind of lovers bound by flesh and money. Do you understand, Miss Lu?”

Gu Yunhui even had the composure to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

She smiled the same way she did during meals or when entertaining guests, yet Lu Peijiu couldn’t help but sense an icy chill.

Not to mention how freezingly cold the words “Miss Lu” sounded, a clear warning.

“Just a plaything.” Gu Yunhui even glanced at Ji Zhiwei, deliberately adding, “You’re from the Lu family. You’re not some college student being kept, are you?”

Lu Peijiu’s face paled.

“So, any more questions? If not, please leave.”

Without waiting for Lu Peijiu’s response, Gu Yunhui slammed the door shut.

Ji Zhiwei had heard everything.

Her heart froze over, colder than she had ever felt before.

But Gu Yunhui unexpectedly took out a first aid kit from who-knows-where and helped tend to her wounds.

“Just a plaything?” Ji Zhiwei looked at Gu Yunhui’s cold, stern brows and the gentle movements of her hands, speaking softly as if questioning no one in particular.

“Otherwise?” Gu Yunhui didn’t even lift her head, meticulously cleaning the excessive marks she had left earlier.

Then why are you doing this for me? Ji Zhiwei ultimately didn’t voice the question.

If she had asked, Gu Yunhui would probably just scold her for being stupid, incapable of applying medicine herself.

Just like before. She would never say she liked her.

“Sleep.” After finishing, Gu Yunhui lost all interest and got up to continue her work.

“I can leave, so I don’t disturb you.” Ji Zhiwei pressed her lips together, assuming Gu Yunhui was only letting her stay out of pity.

She shouldn’t linger here and annoy Gu Yunhui further.

“Then get out!” Gu Yunhui, who had been uncharacteristically kind, felt her goodwill thrown back in her face and nearly exploded with anger again, snapping at her.

The door closed softly.

Gu Yunhui didn’t even hear it.

Only after a long silence, when no movement came from the room and no one brought her milk to help her sleep, did she realize Ji Zhiwei had truly left.

Gu Yunhui took off her glasses, her brows furrowed in frustration.

Opening her phone, she found a message from Ji Zhiwei waiting for her.

[Gardenia: I’m sorry, Yun-jie. I shouldn’t have lost my temper and upset you today. Goodnight.]

Gu Yunhui’s expression softened.

She stared at the message for a long time before finally opening Ye Pingsheng’s chat.

At 1 a.m., Ye Pingsheng, still agonizing over storyboard details, received a message.

She picked up her phone, it was from Gu Yunhui.

Rare. The last time this woman contacted her was about little Ji.

She had initially thought the big shot was interested in her film, but when investors tried to force their own actors into the production, Gu Yunhui had acted as if she hadn’t noticed and didn’t lift a finger to help. This time…

Of course.

Ye Pingsheng frowned at the message, not quite understanding.

[Gu: Adjust the shooting schedule tomorrow. Ji Zhiwei can’t film.]

She was fine in the afternoon, how could she suddenly be unable to film?

But what could she say? She was just an ordinary little director trapped under the thumb of capital, and the person in front of her was her financial backer.

[Got it.] Ye Pingsheng replied quickly.

The next day, Ji Zhiwei was baffled to learn she had no scenes scheduled.

The costumes were thick, but she felt she could endure. Still, since Director Ye insisted, she stayed on set to observe and learn.

Gu Yunhui had already left.

But upon reflection, her day off was likely arranged by Gu Yunhui pulling strings for her.

What exactly did Gu Yunhui mean by this?

Did she dislike seeing her possessions bullied by others? Or did she also like her but just didn’t know how to express it?

Ji Zhiwei turned the question over and over in her mind but couldn’t make sense of it.

–

After filming for over half a month, Lu Peijiu had a schedule conflict, so the crew took half a day off.

“You’ve improved so much,” Zhang Shuyue said as she tidied her makeup, striking up a conversation with Ji Zhiwei.

“You too.” With daily guidance from an award-winning actress and a renowned director, how could they not improve?

Ye Pingsheng had a sharp eye for casting, the only potential issue during filming was the scenes featuring Song Jingying.

Ye Pingsheng had torn out quite a few hairs over it, considering discussing cuts to his scenes with the screenwriter.

“Are you free this afternoon? If so, want to study a film together?” Zhang Shuyue extended an invitation to Ji Zhiwei.

“I have to go home, sorry.” Although Gu Yunhui hadn’t called for her, over the past few years, Ji Zhiwei had come to regard the small villa as her own home. Going home during holidays what was the problem with that?

“Let’s study together next time, bye.” Ji Zhiwei walked briskly, her steps light.

Entering the house, Ji Zhiwei was in high spirits, humming the theme song of Li Li in her head as she moved with a spring in her step.

She wanted to take a shower, so she headed upstairs.

Little did she know, Gu Yunhui’s voice drifted out from the study.

Instinctively, Ji Zhiwei slowed her pace.

Logically, she shouldn’t disturb Gu Yunhui, but it had been over half a month since they’d last seen each other. Her injuries had completely healed, and Ji Zhiwei missed Gu Yunhui terribly.

Not only that, but she also wanted to ask Gu Yunhui about her true feelings and to confess her own.

She had loved her for nearly four years.

From the very first moment she saw her.

This affection had grown recklessly over the years, finally reaching a point where not speaking it aloud for even a single day made her heart ache unbearably.

Besides, they didn’t have much time left.

Only two months remained. If Gu Yunhui continued to treat her coldly as she had in recent months, would they even get to see each other one more time?

What if the sporadic kindness Gu Yunhui showed her was, as she hoped, also born of love?

Not confessing would be too great a regret.

At worst, she’d just be rejected.

Ji Zhiwei took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

There was nothing to fear. Her career was off to a strong start she might very well become a well-established actress in the future.

If Gu Yunhui rejected her Ji Zhiwei had already decided. Once she was worthy of standing by Gu Yunhui’s side, she could always try to win her back.

She crept toward the study door, listening as Gu Yunhui spoke again.

The first sentence made Ji Zhiwei freeze in place.

“That little lover of mine? Just someone I keep around for fun.”

Through the crack in the door, Gu Yunhui’s voice was muffled but dripping with mockery.

Ji Zhiwei pieced together her meaning from the casual tone.

Eavesdropping was wrong. But suddenly, Ji Zhiwei no longer had the courage to knock and enter.

Even though she had heard Gu Yunhui say something similar once before, hearing her say it to someone else still hurt.

Yet Gu Yunhui had even more chilling words to offer.

“You know what happened between our families back then. Being nice to her? That was all an act. The Ji family ruined me, of course, I’d want to toy with her, torment her a little, and then toss her aside. Otherwise, how could it be called revenge?”

At this, Gu Yunhui even chuckled. “Now that girl’s clinging to me so tightly, the timing’s perfect. If I push her away now. I bet her expression will be priceless.”

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