The Moon Shines Upon Me - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Forgotten

Once the food arrived, the dining table fell silent. Shen Yuan lowered her head to eat her black bean spare ribs when a black truffle butterfly shrimp ball suddenly appeared in her bowl. She tilted her head toward Gu Shiwei and met a gaze that hadn’t had time to pull away.

“Eat more, you’re too thin,” Gu Shiwei said, then smiled as she picked up the teapot to refill Shen Yuan’s tea.

Assistant Chen was currently playing dead with her head down when she suddenly realized her own cup had been filled too.

Crap. The boss had actually poured tea for her as well.

Assistant Chen looked at Shen Yuan’s face and found that, compared to her own panicked state, Shen Yuan was as calm as an alien.

Why is she not panicked at all despite being a fellow probationary employee getting tea poured by the big boss! Is this even logical?

Chen Ping absentmindedly turned the glass Lazy Susan, wanting to grab the chicken further away.

But it wouldn’t budge.

Huh?

She applied a bit of force, and it finally turned. But before she could grab the meat, Chen Ping suddenly froze. She turned her head stiffly toward Gu Shiwei. Upon seeing Gu Shiwei’s chopsticks frozen in mid-air and her finger pressed against the glass turntable, Chen Ping’s heart finally died.

What did I just do? The boss was grabbing food and I turned the table…

Even if she were fired tomorrow because her left foot entered the company first, Chen Ping wouldn’t have a single word of complaint.

Really.

Waaaah.

“Pfft.”

“Sorry.”

Shen Yuan looked up to see this scene and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“I’m sorry, President Gu! I didn’t mean it! I didn’t notice you wanted to grab food!” Assistant Chen stood up immediately, her face flushing as she bowed.

Gu Shiwei stared at the curve of Shen Yuan’s lips for a few seconds before saying casually, “It’s fine, Assistant Chen. Sit down.”

Chen Ping peeked at Gu Shiwei, and after confirming she wasn’t angry but actually seemed to be in a good mood, she finally sat back down in total despair.

Maybe I should just call my mom crying later and say I got fired. 

Maybe Mom will tell me there are billions in family assets waiting for me to inherit.

Chen Ping ate the rest of the meal in fear. By the time they finished, both Gu Shiwei and Shen Yuan had put down their chopsticks.

Chen Ping looked down at the half-bowl of rice left in her bowl, and once again, a faint feeling of wanting to die rose in her heart.

“It’s okay, no rush. Take your time, there’s still a bowl of sweet soup coming,” Shen Yuan said considerately.

“Okay.”

Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, Assistant Chen shoveled her rice even faster.

Fortunately, she managed to finish the remaining rice before Shen Yuan finished her sweet soup; otherwise, she truly would have felt hopeless.

After returning to the company, Gu Shiwei directly hooked her arm around Shen Yuan’s shoulder and led her into her office. Assistant Chen stood outside staring at the closed door, a long string of question marks floating in her head.

What is the situation?

It’s one thing for President Gu to eat lunch with Shen Yuan, but why spend the lunch break together too? What exactly is their relationship?

Assistant Chen racked her brain but couldn’t figure it out, so she simply went back to the assistant’s office to nap. Since she hadn’t been fired yet, she might as well enjoy the company’s free air conditioning.

CEO’s Office

Gu Shiwei led Shen Yuan into an inner chamber. Passing through the partition, there was actually a two-bedroom, one-living-room suite. Not only was there a bed, a sofa, and a balcony, but there was even a small bar.

“Shen Yuan, take your nap here for lunch.” Gu Shiwei led her inside. “It’s quiet here, no one will disturb you. I’ll wake you up at 2:30 to clock in.”

Shen Yuan stared at Gu Shiwei’s face with a dazed expression. “What about you?”

“I have some matters to handle in the outer office. You rest first.”

Gu Shiwei didn’t have a habit of napping, and she had a lot to deal with, so she turned and left after showing Shen Yuan in.

Once Gu Shiwei left, Shen Yuan found the smaller bedroom and entered. After setting her alarm, she crawled into bed. The bedding was clean and fresh, likely a newly changed set.

Shen Yuan was a bit physically depleted; the moment she lay down, she couldn’t stop herself from falling asleep.

An hour later, Shen Yuan opened her eyes in a daze. She sat up in bed and hugged the quilt for a moment to clear her head. As her consciousness returned, she scanned the unfamiliar surroundings. She froze for a few seconds before remembering she was sleeping in Gu Shiwei’s lounge.

Shen Yuan sat in bed for a while longer until the alarm went off, then slowly began to get up.

When she walked out of the lounge, Gu Shiwei was still busy working at her computer. Seeing Shen Yuan emerge, Gu Shiwei immediately stood up and walked over. “How are you awake so soon? There’s still thirty minutes before work. Do you want to go back in and sleep a bit more?”

An hour was long enough; Shen Yuan’s head felt a bit foggy from sleep. She shook her head and said, “Thank you, no. I’m going back to the office.”

“Wait.”

Gu Shiwei suddenly took a step forward. She raised her hand to smooth Shen Yuan’s hair, pressing down a few stray tufts.

“Your hair is messy.”

Shen Yuan: “Oh, thanks.”

Perhaps because she had just woken up, Shen Yuan’s cheeks were slightly flushed. The rosiness spread along the fine peach fuzz on her cheeks to the back of her ears.

Gu Shiwei stared at her face for a moment and couldn’t resist brushing it with her knuckle. “Why is your face so red?”

Shen Yuan was stunned. “Maybe… the air conditioning was too warm while I was sleeping.”

As she spoke, her eyelashes fluttered and lowered.

Gu Shiwei tested the temperature of the back of Shen Yuan’s neck. “Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

Gu Shiwei’s hand on her skin felt a bit cold, making Shen Yuan shrink back slightly.

“No.”

“Mm, as long as you don’t have a fever.” Gu Shiwei retracted her hand. “What do you want for dinner?”

Shen Yuan’s brain was still moving slowly. She tilted her head and thought for a few seconds before saying, “I want braised tofu.”

Gu Shiwei: “Anything else? I’ll call the housekeeper to prepare it in advance.”

Shen Yuan: “That’s all.”

Gu Shiwei: “Alright, go on then.”

Shen Yuan: “Mm.”

Back at her desk, Shen Yuan pulled out her memo and recorded today’s approximate expenses.

In the afternoon, she received an internal department assessment task. The completion of this task would determine whether she could successfully pass her probation in a month. Several other probationary employees and interns also had to undergo the assessment.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many permanent slots. According to Lu Qingwan, their department had only one opening. Yet, between probationary staff and interns, there were four people in total.

Shen Yuan looked back at the intern, Luoluo, in the corner and saw that her face was indeed pale; she must have received the notice as well.

The assessment period was one month. Without affecting their daily work, they needed to independently complete a piece of concept art within that time.

Shen Yuan had three years of experience as a concept artist, plus her graduation from the top-tier Jinghai Academy of Fine Arts, so completing an independent piece wasn’t overly difficult for her.

After receiving the theme, she spent the afternoon brainstorming character settings and scene designs. However, due to the abrupt change in art style, her previous techniques were somewhat inapplicable.

During her three years at the big tech firm, the images she drew were brightly colored with an overall sunny and warm style. But since leaving that firm, Shen Yuan had never drawn in that style again.

Shen Yuan was now more adept at black-and-white ink wash style, and she planned to use that for the assessment.

She was busy with the task all afternoon, only realizing it was 6:10 PM when she finally looked up. Glancing around the office, she saw everyone still hunched over their computers, focused intensely on their work with no sign of leaving.

Shen Yuan expressionlessly checked her phone screen to confirm the time again. It was indeed 6:10 PM. They were already ten minutes past the end of the workday.

Just as she was about to lock her screen, a WeChat notification popped up.

Zhao: “Message me when you’re finished.”

Shen Yuan walked out of the office, pulling her ID badge off and putting it in her bag. Once in the corridor, she held down the chat input box and sent back a voice message in a low volume.

Y: “I’m done. I’ll wait for you in the garage.”

In the CEO’s office, Gu Shiwei had just shut down her computer when her phone lit up. She picked it up and saw the voice message from Shen Yuan. Touching the screen, she unlocked it and listened.

A low but very pleasant voice came through the speaker. Not only that, but Gu Shiwei felt the voice was vaguely familiar.

In the depths of her memory, there seemed to be a voice just like this, whispering in her ear through a receiver calm and indifferent.

Gu Shiwei frowned, trying to grasp that distant voice, but a knock sounded on the office door the next moment.

“Come in.”

An assistant walked in carrying a stack of files. “President Gu, these are the documents submitted from below.”

Gu Shiwei gestured with her chin. “Put them there.”

“Yes, President Gu.”

With the interruption, it became even harder for Gu Shiwei to capture that trace of familiarity. She pondered for a moment but couldn’t figure it out, so she left the office and took the private elevator straight to the underground garage.

Stepping out of the elevator, Gu Shiwei saw a slender back wearing a “New Chinese style” shirt. Even leaning against a pillar, Shen Yuan’s spine was straight. Her waist was incredibly thin, loosely draped by the semi-sheer white shirt tucked into well-fitted narrow jeans. Below were two straight, long legs, so thin they barely filled the jeans.

“Shen Yuan, have you been waiting long?” Gu Shiwei walked over and patted her shoulder.

Seeing Gu Shiwei, Shen Yuan put her phone away. “Not long. You came very quickly, Miss Gu.”

“Get in.”

Gu Shiwei happily hooked her arm around Shen Yuan’s thin shoulder and tucked her into the Rolls-Royce passenger seat. As she was about to turn back after closing the door, she caught sight of a familiar figure staring blankly at them.

Chen Ping had things to do today so she hadn’t worked overtime. Upon reaching the garage, she had spotted Shen Yuan first. Just as she was about to say hello, she saw her own CEO walk up to Shen Yuan with a smile, whisper something, and then Shen Yuan was guided into the car by Gu Shiwei personally.

Chen Ping was dazed, an even greater question rising in her mind. What on earth is the background of a probationary employee who gets their car door personally opened by the CEO?

Noticing her staring, Gu Shiwei arched an eyebrow. “Assistant Chen, is something wrong?”

Chen Ping waved her hands hurriedly. “No… nothing! Have a safe trip, President Gu.”

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