When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Perhaps also not expecting Fu Shize to be so cooperative, Yun Li was quite pleased. A smile playing on her lips, she continued watching the match.

Compared to the beginning, when it felt like standing next to an ice cave, Yun Li now felt that the atmosphere around her had warmed up considerably. Leaning back in his chair, Fu Shize would occasionally pick up his clapper and give it a wave.

Just as Yun Li was secretly glancing at Fu Shize, the atmosphere in the stadium was ignited once more. Busy following the fans in the white zone, Yun Li shook her clapper furiously as the broadcaster's voice grew louder and higher over the speakers: "The match is entering a tense state. As long as they score another goal—just one more goal basically guarantees victory! We can now see the white team's forward breaking through the defense, this is..."

The broadcaster's speaking speed grew faster and faster, followed by an outbreak of cheers and screams across the stadium. Yun Li didn't understand football, but she could easily comprehend the meaning of that "2-0" on the field.

The field camera zoomed in on the players. The giant screen on the field and the LCD screens in the stands rapidly cut between the cheering, embracing players, and then panned over to the nearly frenzied fans in the white-clothing section, who excitedly waved at the lens whenever they were caught on camera.

The broadcaster was still passionately commentating. Yun Li looked toward Fu Shize, who was leaning boredly against his chair, slowly waving his clapper a couple of times.

Until the camera came to a halt on the two of them.

Exposed before thousands of spectators, Yun Li abruptly stopped frantically shaking her clapper, her smile instantly fading as she awkwardly lowered it. Beside her, Fu Shize stirred as well, crossing his arms and staring directly, defiantly, and coldly into the lens.

The camera seemed as though it were broken, showing no intention of panning away.

At that exact moment, the broadcaster provided live commentary for the shot: "Simply incredible, the fans are so excited by the goal that they're standing completely frozen..."

"......"

Fortunately, this suffocating situation didn't last long. Once the camera finally moved away, Yun Li felt as though she had been granted a new lease on life.

Realizing how she had just performed in front of the camera, Yun Li understood that her social-awkwardness attribute had just leveled up.

For the next few minutes, Yun Li simply sat there in a daze.

Noticing the sudden silence beside him, Fu Shize glanced at her. Yun Li was staring wide-eyed at the clapper in her hand, drooping like a withered eggplant.

Fu Shize turned his gaze back to the pitch. He shifted, resting his elbows on his knees, leaning his upper body forward with the clapper gripped in his hand. After a moment—as if making up his mind after overcoming numerous obstacles—he suddenly began clapping furiously.

Hearing the sound beside her, Yun Li looked over in surprise.

Fu Shize slanted a look at her: "Didn't they just score?"

Surprised, Yun Li hadn't noticed when another goal had been scored. She immediately joined Fu Shize in clapping frantically, saying, "This team is amazing." Afterward, she glanced over at the black team's seating area and smilingly sent a message to Fu Zhengchu.

[Fu Zhengchu, you should switch which team you're supporting.]

Taking a break at the homestay: [My god, wuwuwu, I am filled with regret.]

Yun Li reverted to her initial state, joyfully waving along with the fans in the white zone like an unbothered child.

Seeing this, Fu Shize rubbed his weary eyes and leaned back into his chair once more.

Ten minutes later, the match ended with the white team winning three to one. Nearly all the fans around Yun Li hugged one another in excitement, cheering for their first championship victory in years.

This atmosphere brought a swell of emotion to the corners of Yun Li's eyes. Perhaps this was the supreme pride one felt when the things you truly loved finally reaped honor.

Until her line of sight met Fu Shize's once again.

He already looked somewhat sleepy.

Yun Li snapped back to reality instantly, giving a couple of light coughs to cover up her previous "loss of self."

Sitting on the outer edge, Fu Shize stood up first, moving outward with the flow of the crowd. Viewed from Yun Li's angle, his figure was as slender and upright as a pen shaft, his hands tucked into his trouser pockets, revealing only his sharply articulated wrists.

Ever since she was little, Yun Li had always belonged to the fairer-skinned group in any crowd.

Yet compared to her, he was pale to the point of looking sickly and bewitching. In his oversized white jacket, his frame seemed as though it could topple over with a single gust of wind.

Wait.

What was she thinking—topple him over?

Banishing her messy thoughts, Yun Li guiltily maintained a two-pace distance behind Fu Shize.

The people behind her gave no opportunity for space. As soon as the match ended, they surged forward as if rushing to be reincarnated. Unsteady on her feet for a split second, Yun Li accidentally slammed her forehead straight into Fu Shize's scapula.

His slender frame made his bones feel as hard as a subterranean shell, sending a piercing jolt of pain straight through Yun Li.

It hurt so much that tears welled up in her eyes.

Seeing Fu Shize turn back to look at her—assuming he was checking because she had bumped into him—Yun Li fought through the pain and offered an apology.

Pressing her hands against her head, Yun Li felt as though the people behind her were pushing with murderous intent. Showing no emotion whatsoever, Fu Shize unceremoniously reached out and shoved the person right in front of him backward.

"Step back."

"What the hell!" the pushed man shouted out of reflex.

He instantly lost all his fire the moment he locked eyes with Fu Shize.

Clearly, the man before him was tall without being bulky, and his speech had nothing to do with looking fierce or menacing, yet he inexplicably caused a shiver to run down the man's spine. Pouting in dissatisfaction, the man who had been pushing forward could only take a single step back to show weakness.

Lowering his gaze, Fu Shize turned sideways, signaling for Yun Li to walk ahead of him.

When they were still sitting in their seats earlier, no matter how engrossed Yun Li was in the match, she had not forgotten to preserve some space to avoid any physical contact between them.

The aisle was narrow. As she walked forward brushing past him, even though her body deliberately leaned outward, contact with him remained completely unavoidable.

When their clothes brushed together, it felt like flint striking stone.

Keeping her head down, Yun Li pretended not to notice anything at all.

Once Yun Li reached the front, Fu Shize maintained a one-pace distance behind her. Compared to the post-match commotion all around them, Fu Shize was so quiet he felt almost nonexistent.

Ever since she was a child, Yun Li had disliked strangers touching her.

Whether in primary school, middle school, or her undergraduate years, plenty of overly familiar boys would stand very close to her, directly grab the earphones she was wearing, tap her shoulder with their hands when they got excited, or pull on her clothes directly when trying to get her attention.

Those behaviors had scared her to varying degrees.

Yet from the moment she met Fu Shize until now, he had always remained polite and proper, consciously avoiding physical contact with others.

From these tiny details, Yun Li could tell that he was someone with an excellent upbringing, never losing his temper and never overstepping boundaries.

Except for not talking much.

And not smiling much either.

Outside the gymnasium, Fu Zhengchu was already waiting by the entrance, having removed his black outer shirt to leave only a campus short-sleeve.

Fu Shize asked: "Where's your jacket?"

Moping and grumbling, Fu Zhengchu muttered, "Threw it away." He let out a couple of mournful wails, "I'll never love again."

His unhappy mood vanished completely after just a few minutes. Just as they were planning to head back, a few medium-built guys standing at the gymnasium entrance came over to greet him.

After exchanging a few words, Fu Zhengchu came back over: "I haven't seen them in ages. Let's play a game of football before heading back."

Yun Li looked at Fu Shize: "Are you going?"

Fu Shize admitted without any hesitation: "I don't play."

"Then do you usually—" The moment the words slipped out, Yun Li felt it wasn't quite right. Maybe Fu Shize didn't play any ball games at all, so she abruptly changed her phrasing: "—don't you play sports?"

Fu Zhengchu, who had just been handed a Snickers bar by Fu Shize, answered on his behalf: "Little Uncle doesn't play football, he plays badminton. I'm all-terrain though, let's play badminton together next time, Sister Lili."

"Ah, sure." Yun Li glanced at Fu Shize; he didn't say anything, prompting Fu Zhengchu to nudge him with his elbow in dissatisfaction, "Little Uncle, Sister Lili is talking to you."

Yun Li: "?"

Fu Zhengchu: "Sister Lili is asking if you want to play sports together."

Yun Li instantly felt awkward. Fortunately, Fu Shize didn't mind, simply giving a nod.

His friends at the entrance were urging him on, so Fu Zhengchu waved goodbye to them and headed over.

Yun Li followed Fu Shize toward the parking lot in total silence.

If everything hadn't unfolded so naturally, Yun Li would have suspected that Fu Zhengchu was an assist sent straight from the heavens.

Autumn had arrived, and the breeze in Nanhu already carried hints of chilliness. A few low-power lamps hung high above the surface parking lot, casting human shadows and murmuring whispers into the pitch-black night.

Fu Shize opened the front passenger door for Yun Li.

"Get in first."

Closing the door after she seated herself, Fu Shize didn't immediately return to the driver's seat, instead leaning against the front-left of the car. Yun Li saw his shoulders tilt as he searched around in his pocket for a moment.

He lowered his head. For a fleeting instant of micro-light, a cloud of grayish-white mist diffused through the air.

The first cigarette did not bring an end to things.

His lonely figure seemed swallowed by boundless darkness, while that faint spark of fire served as the antidote to the long, lingering night.

When Fu Shize returned, he rolled down the driver's side window, and the rushing night breeze carrying a trace of tobacco drifted into Yun Li's space. He started the car and drove toward Qilixiangdu based on his memory.

Midway through the drive, Fu Zhengchu sent a voice message over. Fu Shize glanced at it briefly before keeping his hands on the steering wheel.

As the car entered a secluded stretch of the road, Fu Shize switched on the headlights, keeping his gaze fixed on the road ahead. He said softly: "Help me check it."

This was their first sentence spoken since getting into the car. Fu Shize's voice seemed right beside Yun Li's ear, his vocal cords so soft that Yun Li inexplicably felt a stirring of romance. She picked up Fu Shize's phone, unlocked it, and opened WeChat.

She hadn't expected him to allow her to use his phone.

The WeChat home screen showed several chat windows. Yun Li didn't want to pry, but she inevitably caught sight of the top few chats; the second one was labeled "Lin Wanyin," with over a hundred unread messages. The beginning of the most recent message read: [Aze, my mom wrapped some rice dumplings for you and asked me to bring them over].

What it said after that, Yun Li couldn't see, but she could easily deduce that it was a girl's name.

For some reason, a slight discomfort stirred in her heart.

Opening Fu Zhengchu's chat window, she played the voice message. The quiet car cabin was filled with Fu Zhengchu's panting breaths, likely because he was messaging them right in the middle of a football match.

"It's so late, Little Uncle, you have to make sure you drop Lili off downstairs. Remember," Fu Zhengchu emphasized his tone, "you cannot go upstairs."

Yun Li's face flushed red, and she put the phone down.

As a car overtook them from behind, Fu Shize checked the rearview mirror and said indifferently: "Ignore him, he's just loud."

"Yeah..." Yun Li replied in a small voice. Suddenly remembering something, she asked: "Oh, are Xia Congsheng and Fu Zhengchu full siblings? Their last names seem different."

"Fu Zhengchu takes my sister's last name."

"Oh, okay."

Unsure how to push the conversation further, Yun Li acknowledged it and fell silent.

The scenery outside the window flowed past like a waterfall. Just as she assumed the rest of the journey would remain silent, Fu Shize spoke up on his own: "I originally planned to let Xia Congsheng take my sister's last name as well."

Yun Li gave a slow "oh" and asked: "Then did Fu Zhengchu take his father's last name originally?"

"No, my brother-in-law is quite afraid of my sister."

Yun Li asked naturally: "Are you afraid of her too?"

The air grew quiet in an instant.

Coming back to her senses, Yun Li explained: "I meant do you fear your sister, I wasn't asking if you fear... uh... a wife..."

This time, the silence was so profound that even the sound of breathing vanished.

The journey was short. Ten minutes later, the car came to a smooth halt at the residential area entrance. Yun Li thanked Fu Shize out of habit, but the moment she pushed the car door open, the cabin heating clashed with the cold external air, causing Yun Li to pull her collar tight.

"I'll head up first, drive safely."

"Wait."

Stopping her motion of closing the door, Yun Li leaned her upper body back in. Fu Shize turned sideways and nodded toward the bag of snacks sitting in the backseat.

"Take them up to eat."

Unlike that previous night, the car body quickly compressed into a single dot within the darkness, drawing a straight line that left two fading specks of red light at the very end.

Back home, Yun Li first placed the large bag of snacks onto the coffee table. Pulling the bag of biscuits out of her canvas tote, a rich aroma of butter filled the air.

Thinking of Fu Shize's silhouette while standing in line that evening, its contours had already blurred into the boundaries of the gorgeous sunset glow.

Emptying the biscuits into a glass jar, Yun Li sealed it shut and placed it in the corner of her computer desk.

Turning on the computer, she typed the three characters "Fu Shize" one by one into the search bar, and related information popped up on the webpage almost immediately. Unsurprisingly, multiple dense pages were piled high with records of his academic awards, stretching endlessly from elementary school all the way through his doctoral studies.

The drone video from earlier was already news from several years ago. The most recent information dated back to March of last year, detailing how his research group had published in a top-tier journal, making a major breakthrough in a specific field.

"The research was completed by Professor Shi Xiangzhe's team, with Fu Shize, a 2012 direct-doctoral student at our university, serving as the first author..."

Yun Li recited the passage silently in her mind. Today was October 10, 2016. A direct Ph.D. program followed a five-year system, meaning that in principle, with just eight more months left, Fu Shize would be graduating with his doctorate.

For quite a long time, Yun Li had assumed he had already graduated. But looking at it now, things weren't quite as she imagined. Fu Zhengchu had also mentioned today at the convenience store that Fu Shize was still lingering in Nanhu.

Swiping single-handedly across the trackpad, webpage information flickered onto her retina like barrages of bullet comments, showing photos of Fu Shize across different periods of his life.

Yun Li's thoughts drifted.

Regardless of which phase of his life he was in, none of them matched his current self—living beneath the sunlight, yet carrying a gloomy, overcast shadow.

She harbored a few suspicions that something unfortunate must have happened over the past two years. At this thought, Yun Li instantly felt a heavy blockage in her chest.

By the time Yun Li finished showering, it was already half-past twelve. The notification bar on her phone showed that 'Taking a Break at the Homestay' had sent a message containing two photos.

Opening the first one, she saw it was a snapshot of her and Fu Shize captured on the big screen. The two of them were sitting rigidly upright; the lens had caught her in the exact moment she had nervously placed her hands folded on her lap, looking blankly ahead. Meanwhile, beside her, Fu Shize sat with his arms crossed in an arrogant, unruly posture, his lips pressed tightly together as his gaze pointed directly toward her.

Neither of them wore any other expression, making them look remarkably like a young couple who had just finished squabbling.

The second photo was a screenshot of a chat between Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize. Fu Zhengchu had asked him: [Little Uncle, why were you staring secretly at Sister Lili?]

Fu Shize's reply came half an hour later, omitting even punctuation marks: [Looking openly]

Yun Li swallowed hard. No matter which angle one interpreted that sentence from, it didn't seem entirely appropriate. Touching her face, she found it burning hot. Fu Zhengchu had also messaged her directly, questioning: [Sister Lili, look at Little Uncle!! Doesn't he look like a peeping stalker?!]

Yun Li curved the corners of her lips; Fu Zhengchu genuinely had a great personality. After casually replying with an emoji, Yun Li enlarged the first photo so that only the two of them remained in frame.

This was their very first photograph together.

She liked it so much, so much.

The other notification came from He Jiameng, informing her that she had received an offer from EAW.

The wording was quite tactful, stating that the technical department had interviewed many people over the past period, so it was a pity she hadn't made it to the second round of interviews. If she was willing, she could intern in the human resources department without needing a second interview, requiring three days of attendance per week, and asking her to reply as soon as possible.

She hadn't expected the results to come out this fast.

Yun Li's tense nerves finally relaxed a little. She lay down in bed with Teacher Meow propped underneath her chin, and sent a WeChat message to Deng Chuqi: [EAW officially sent me an offer! They assigned me to HR.]

Deng Chuqi: [Why aren't you jumping for joy?]

Yun Li: [I'm still a bit torn qaq I originally applied for the tech department and got reassigned; this doesn't really match my major.]

Deng Chuqi: [Did you apply anywhere else then?]

Yun Li: [I turned all the others down...]

From a personal career development standpoint, the position offered by EAW wasn't a stellar choice, but EAW was undeniably a great platform—after all, its parent company backing it was YouSheng Technology.

Deng Chuqi teased her: [But EAW has Xia's little uncle, isn't that sweet? Isn't it?]

She added: [Tell me, did you rent a place that close right from the start because you had alternative motives?]

Even though she hadn't done any of this because of Fu Shize, Yun Li felt as though her true intentions had been pierced through, and she threw out an indignant, long-distance fit of embarrassment.

Throwing her phone aside, she prepared for bed.

After tossing and turning back and forth across the mattress for quite a while, Yun Li let out a heavy sigh, got up, and directly replied to Fang Yuning via text message.

[Alright, I can come in to work the day after tomorrow ^_^]

As soon as she arrived at the company, Yun Li ran into He Jiameng, who was dropping by to help out in the human resources department.

Being naturally outgoing, He Jiameng lost no time familiarizing Yun Li with the company environment and detailing the operations of each department.

EAW Tech City was a subsidiary of YouSheng Technology, primarily dealing in VR experience venues and the custom manufacturing and retail of related hardware equipment. Because the products were initially developed by YouSheng Technology, employees here generally referred to YouSheng's main headquarters simply as "the main branch."

The manager of the HR and Administrative Department where Yun Li worked was Fang Yuning, the interviewer who had tested her back then. Since EAW had only been established a few months ago, the total number of formal employees in the department including Fang Yuning was only six people.

"Teacher Xianyun, I didn't expect you to come to our company." Looking delighted, He Jiameng asked mysteriously, "Is it because our boss's charm is so irresistible that Teacher Xianyun couldn't say no?"

As usual, she couldn't go three sentences without mentioning a handsome guy.

Yun Li smiled awkwardly. Being a newcomer, running into He Jiameng again made the nervous tension of her first day of work dissipate significantly.

After He Jiameng gave her a brief overview of EAW's main operations, she led Yun Li over to her workstation and cleared away some leftover plastic wrapping on the desk.

As a new employee, Yun Li wanted to appear as proactive as possible, so she took the initiative to ask: "Sister Jiameng, what should I do right now?"

He Jiameng pondered for a moment, looking as if she had encountered a massive dilemma: "Teacher Xianyun, you're actually the very first intern we've ever hired. So, honestly, I'm not entirely sure either."

"Then should I go ask that interviewer from last time?"

"Uh... she's not too sure either. Probably just odd jobs around the place."

Yun Li instantly felt as though she had stepped into yet another pitfall.

Noticing the change in her expression, He Jiameng tried to comfort her: "Don't worry too much. Remember that relative of the boss? The one named Fu Shize—I heard he was originally supposed to go to the R&D department at headquarters, but somehow ended up here as a..."

Realizing her phrasing was off, she immediately corrected herself: "No, an equipment maintenance worker."

"The boss arranged for him to work at the experience center, but those are mostly brand-new machines anyway and rarely break down. So he mostly just does odd jobs around there too, nothing too bad."

"But I heard his academic background is quite impressive, he should be pretty capable." Yun Li instinctively defended Fu Shize.

"That may be true, but he's just too difficult to collaborate with on the job." He Jiameng furrowed her delicate brows. "He wears a cold face talking to anyone, even I can't stand it. Only our boss can tolerate his temper."

Mentioning Xu Qingsong caused He Jiameng's expression to execute a complete one-eighty into pure adoration: "He's really nice to the boss too."

"Manager Yu is still conducting interviews right now, so there probably won't be anything else this morning. You can just take some time to familiarize yourself with the environment," He Jiameng said, glancing at the time.

"Okay, then I'll look over some more documents myself."

"The company doesn't have a cafeteria, we always order boxed meals, but they can only be delivered to the entrance so we have to go pick them up. Don't say I never look out for you, I'm about to assign people to fetch the boxed meals, and it's always two people going together." He Jiameng stared smilingly at Yun Li, looking mischievous no matter how one looked at it.

"So, any preferred candidates coming to mind?"

Yun Li thought for a moment before answering: "No."

He Jiameng became even more direct: "What about Fu Shize?”