The Moon Shines Upon Me - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Not Dating

The meal had been perfectly harmonious. Tonight, even Shen Yuan had rarely finished an extra half-bowl of rice.

After dinner, as usual, Shen Yuan was gently coaxed and prodded by Gu Shiwei into drinking a bowl of chicken soup brewed with traditional Chinese medicine.

Auntie Wang stood to the side, watching them with a smile. Seeing Shen Yuan be so obedient to Gu Shiwei filled her with a sense of relief.

She had watched the Eldest Miss grow up. Although Gu Shiwei appeared gentle and polite on the surface, she was actually a serious person with strict principles. She had always kept her private life clean, and in over twenty years, she had never brought an outsider home. Before Miss Shen arrived, this house never had such a warm atmosphere.

Auntie Wang didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt that the Eldest Miss had gained a bit more of the “human touch” someone her age should have.

This Miss Shen was quiet and refined, clearly a kind-hearted soul. No wonder the Eldest Miss was willing to bring her home.

Gu Shiwei: “Auntie Wang, you don’t need to come tomorrow for lunch. I’m taking Miss Shen out to eat.”

Auntie Wang nodded with a smile.

After drinking the soup, Shen Yuan was pulled downstairs by Gu Shiwei again to continue the run they hadn’t finished earlier.

Building fitness isn’t an overnight task. Shen Yuan went out with her usual expressionless face and returned panting for breath. Gu Shiwei, by contrast, was completely at ease. She even took the opportunity while Shen Yuan was resting on a bench to run several more laps around the neighborhood, returning without showing the slightest hint of exhaustion.

“Once you’re back in your room, relax your muscles for half an hour. Don’t drink ice water. Shower after thirty minutes, then go to bed early. Don’t stay up late,” Gu Shiwei instructed Shen Yuan upon returning home.

Shen Yuan pursed her lips and nodded before returning to her room. Gu Shiwei watched her back for a moment, then turned and twisted open the door to her own room.

The next day.

Shen Yuan struggled to drag her two nearly-crippled legs out of bed. Looking like she had lost all will to live, she finished washing up and then hobbled out, leaning against the doorframe step by step.

In the living room, Gu Shiwei looked like she had just returned from a morning run. She was clad in a tight-fitting athletic set, exposing a section of her pale, slender waist and straight, long legs. Her abdominal muscles showed clear definition.

When Gu Shiwei saw Shen Yuan clutching the doorframe, she froze.

Apparently not expecting Shen Yuan to appear in such a strange posture, the expression on Gu Shiwei’s face momentarily stalled.

Gu Shiwei: “Your legs…”

Shen Yuan: “I’m fine.”

The two voices rang out simultaneously in the spacious living room.

Shen Yuan took a deep breath, as if to prove something. She walked quickly to Gu Shiwei, poured herself a glass of warm water, and drank it slowly.

Gu Shiwei, holding her sweat-dampened jacket, took a step back to create some distance from Shen Yuan. After a moment, she said, “I’m going to take a shower.”

Shen Yuan looked up at her from her glass, gave an “Mm,” and lowered her head again.

Gu Shiwei’s physique was perfect. The muscles formed from years of exercise were balanced and lean; the lines weren’t easily noticed under clothes, but when inadvertently revealed, she looked like a supermodel. Even as a woman herself, Shen Yuan felt a bit flustered watching her.

Once Gu Shiwei entered her room, Shen Yuan retracted her gaze.

She sat down on the sofa. Just as she was about to turn on the TV, the doorbell rang.

Through the video intercom, Shen Yuan saw a woman standing outside. She wore black, had long “wolf-cut” hair, and several large bags of items sat by her feet. She looked like someone visiting relatives for the New Year.

Shen Yuan went to Gu Shiwei’s bedroom and knocked on the bathroom door. “Miss Gu, there’s a girl with a wolf-cut in black ringing the doorbell. Should I let her in?”

The sound of the shower was loud, swallowing Shen Yuan’s voice. She was forced to knock loudly on the door again. In that instant, the rushing water stopped. After waiting about ten seconds, the bathroom door clicked open, and Gu Shiwei’s exquisite face appeared.

Her pale face was slightly flushed from the steam. Her light-colored eyes, clean and pure like agate, looked directly at Shen Yuan.

Gu Shiwei must have opened the door in a hurry; she hadn’t even had time to dress, only wrapping herself in a white bath towel that covered the essentials. Droplets of water from her hair were still “pit-a-patter” falling, sliding into her collarbone and flowing toward the edge of the towel.

Shen Yuan’s eyelids twitched.

She took only one glance before turning her back, closing her eyes, and repeating what she had just said in a calm voice.

“Oh, that’s Lin Qinghuan, my friend. Let her in,” Gu Shiwei said.

Shen Yuan: “Mm.”

Shen Yuan walked quickly out of the room. She took a deep breath, waiting for the heat that had surged through her body to dissipate before opening the door to welcome the visitor.

Lin Qinghuan had been waiting outside for several minutes and had planned to complain, but the moment she saw Shen Yuan’s face, she instantly put on a polite smile: “Good morning, Miss Shen.”

Shen Yuan: “Good morning.”

Shen Yuan stepped aside to let Lin Qinghuan bring her things in. Lin seemed to visit often, walking straight to the living room to set the bags down with practiced ease.

Shen Yuan followed her with a few hobbling steps, then suddenly remembered to pour her a cup of tea.

Bending over too sharply, Shen Yuan let out a soft hiss of pain as she straightened up with the teapot. She then rubbed her waist and limped over to sit opposite Lin Qinghuan.

Lin Qinghuan: “???”

What is the situation here???

I couldn’t tell, but Gu Shiwei’s progress is this fast?

This much of a rush? She just got over being sick and they’re already doing such “strenuous exercise”?

Where is she? Don’t tell me she’s still lost in the “gentle village” of love and hasn’t woken up?

Lin Qinghuan’s mouth hung open with a complex expression. Finally, she couldn’t resist asking: “Miss Shen, where is Gu Shiwei?”

“She just finished exercising… she’s in the shower.”

Shen Yuan touched her ear after speaking; it still felt a bit hot.

Hearing this, Lin Qinghuan felt like the sky was falling.

Could it be… that I rang the damn doorbell at the most intimate moment for this couple and damn well interrupted their “cuddling”?

I deserve to die!

Lin Qinghuan suddenly didn’t dare look at Shen Yuan, who was sitting across from her taking small sips of tea. She hadn’t expected them to move this fast. If she remembered correctly, Gu Shiwei had only been back in the country for a week, right?

This pace was legendary.

“Cough… Miss Shen, I’m so sorry. Dropping in so suddenly, I must have disturbed your… rest.” For the first time in her life, Lin Qinghuan was so embarrassed her toes were curling into the floor; she didn’t even dare look up.

“You didn’t disturb me. I’m just staying here temporarily,” Shen Yuan said, putting down her tea.

Lin Qinghuan was puzzled: “Huh? What do you mean ‘staying’? Aren’t you two cohabitating?”

“Cohabitating?”

Did her situation with Gu Shiwei count as cohabitating?

“Aren’t you two dating?” Lin Qinghuan pressed.

Shen Yuan: “No… we aren’t…”

“No? If you aren’t dating, why are you living together?”

Wait, Lin Qinghuan suddenly thought, could it be that Gu Shiwei, that scumbag, slept with Miss Shen and won’t even give her an official title?

Had Gu Shiwei become such a jerk after two years?

Just as the two of them fell into an eerie silence, Gu Shiwei walked out of her room: “Why are you asking so much? Did you bring the things?”

“What, I can’t ask? I spent a lot of effort begging my grandpa for all these high-quality herbs for you, and this is the attitude you use for your benefactor?” Lin Qinghuan said with a look of disappointment.

Gu Shiwei didn’t answer her. Lin Qinghuan suddenly leaned in closer, pushing her luck: “Are you two seriously not dating?”

Gu Shiwei used one finger to push her away: “No. Miss Shen is just staying at my place during her probation period.”

“Probation period? You’re actually boss and subordinate in the same company?” Lin Qinghuan’s face was full of gossip, her eyes darting between Shen Yuan and Gu Shiwei.

Gu Shiwei nodded: “Mm.”

Lin Qinghuan’s mind whirled. After a long pause, she suddenly said: “That’s even more exciting! Boss and subordinate!”

Gu Shiwei: “?”

Shen Yuan: “?”

“Then do you actually like Miss Shen or not?”

After Lin Qinghuan asked this, her gossiping soul stared intently at Gu Shiwei, refusing to miss a single micro-expression.

Shen Yuan also suddenly looked up at Gu Shiwei, but she looked completely bewildered.

Why on earth would Gu Shiwei like me? What basis does this friend have for asking such a question?

Lin Qinghuan: “Gu Shiwei, why aren’t you answering me?”

Gu Shiwei first refilled Shen Yuan’s cup with hot water, then turned to Lin Qinghuan: “You can ask, but I have no obligation to answer.”

“You’re doing it again. Oh, whatever, it’s your business anyway. Why am I, an outsider, worrying so much?” After her self-criticism, Lin Qinghuan took out the large bag of items and laid them on the table: Chinese medicine, Western medicine, supplements, incense there was a wide variety, clearly chosen with great care.

“Thank you,” Gu Shiwei said. “And thank Grandpa for me too.”

Mentioning this made Lin Qinghuan annoyed. She said indignantly: “He’s closer to you than he is to me. As soon as I said it was for you, he picked out the best in the clinic.”

Gu Shiwei: “I’ll visit him personally another day.”

Lin Qinghuan: “Suit yourself. I’ll pass on the word from ‘The! Other! People’s! Child!’ anyway.”

Lin Qinghuan was ready to leave after delivering the goods, but the moment she stepped toward the door, she suddenly doubled back.

She leaned in mysteriously close to Shen Yuan and whispered: “Almost forgot to tell you Gu Shiwei and I are childhood friends. Don’t overthink it; our ‘roles’ clash. We could never be together in this lifetime.”

Shen Yuan nodded thoughtfully: “I see…”

Seeing Shen Yuan’s calm face, Lin Qinghuan suddenly held her hand up in front of Shen Yuan like a show-off: “Is it that hard to tell? I’m a ‘Big Top’.”

Shen Yuan ignored Lin Qinghuan’s hand and tilted her head slightly, looking at Gu Shiwei’s profile with a very subtle expression.

Lin Qinghuan: “Stop looking. She is too.”

After being caught peeking, Shen Yuan didn’t look embarrassed at all; instead, she gave a little smile.

Lin Qinghuan made a final conclusion: “So rest easy. I won’t be an obstacle between you two.”

Shen Yuan: “Okay.”

After a few more words, Lin Qinghuan finally left. Shen Yuan sat back on the sofa, staring blankly while holding her teacup.

“Shen Yuan, don’t listen to her nonsense,” Gu Shiwei said after watching her calm face for a while. “Lin Qinghuan is just like that. That’s why she still can’t find a partner.”

Shen Yuan: “Mm. I didn’t mind what she said. You don’t need to explain.”

“Shen Yuan.”

Gu Shiwei suddenly stood up from the sofa, walked to Shen Yuan’s side, and lifted her chin: “Why is your face so pale? Is it low blood sugar?”

Shen Yuan: “A little.”

Gu Shiwei quickly squatted down, pulled a box of candy from a drawer, and placed it in front of Shen Yuan. She unwrapped one and fed it to her, then immediately ladled out a bowl of seafood congee from the pot. She had brewed it before her morning run, and it was perfect to eat now.

“Do you often get low blood sugar in the mornings?” Gu Shiwei asked while blowing on the congee.

“If I don’t eat breakfast, I do.”

Seeing Gu Shiwei’s brow furrow, Shen Yuan added as if possessed by some spirit, “It’s okay. I’m used to it.”

Upon hearing that last sentence, Gu Shiwei’s expression became very serious: “How can you be ‘used to’ something like this? It’s dangerous. From now on, you must eat breakfast on time every day, understood?”

Shen Yuan didn’t speak. Sitting on the sofa, she looked calmly into the eyes of Gu Shiwei, who was crouching by the coffee table.

Staring at Shen Yuan’s expressionless face, Gu Shiwei’s tone suddenly softened: “What’s wrong? Was I too harsh just now?”

“No,” Shen Yuan said. “It’s just… it’s been a long time since anyone spoke to me like that.”

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