When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Passing by West Science and Technology University and driving for another ten minutes, she was home.

Her trip to check out EAW had been at the end of August, and by now, three months had passed without her returning home. Yang Fang had cleaned her room in advance, and it was already spotless.

Stepping through the front door, Yun Li tossed her luggage aside, headed straight to her room, and collapsed heavily onto the bed.

Catching a familiar scent, the family dog came trotting over with pattering steps and hopped up onto Yun Li's bed.

Yun Li rubbed the dog's head and called out, "Duidui."

Duidui was a Shiba Inu who was not particularly fat. After Yun Ye finished his junior high school graduation exams, Yun Yongchang asked him what he wanted, and he replied that he wanted a dog, which happened to coincide with Yun Li's love for dogs.

Yun Yongchang had consistently refused, only to bring home a little Shiba Inu himself one day.

From outside came Yun Yongchang's reprimanding voice: "The moment she gets home, all she knows is to lie in bed. What kind of behavior is that?"

Yang Fang pulled him back: "The moment our Lili comes home, you start scolding her. How long has she been on a plane? Can't you even let her rest for a bit?"

Yun Li let go of the dog and raised her arm to cover her eyes. Once released, Duidui assumed the reunion was over, turned around, and hopped off the bed.

So noisy.

Ever since she was rejected, Yun Li had been suffering from insomnia, but the sudden relaxation caused wave after wave of sleepiness to wash over her.

When she woke up, it was already eleven o'clock at night.

Rubbing her eyes, Yun Li walked out into the living room, still half-asleep.

Glancing toward the sofa, she saw her younger brother lying there playing on his phone, resting his chin on a pillow, entirely unresponsive to her appearance.

Yun Li: "Want a midnight snack?"

Yun Ye didn't even raise his head: "Yeah."

Yun Li was somewhat speechless; whenever she wasn't home, Yun Ye would ask her when she was coming back every time they called. The moment she actually arrived, he adopted this indifferent, none-of-my-business attitude.

Walking into the kitchen, Yun Li took two scallion pancakes out of the refrigerator, poured a little oil into a frying pan, and dropped one in. While waiting, she picked up her phone to check WeChat.

He Jiameng: [Yun Li~ Where in Xifu is your family home?]

Seeing the message, Yun Li replied directly: [Over by Xinhua Street. What's up?]

He Jiameng: [Isn't that not far from Xifu University of Science and Technology? The company is sending people there on a business trip next week, and the boss asked me to arrange an assistant to accompany them.]

He Jiameng: [I remembered you just happened to go to Xifu, so do you want to consider it? It counts as attendance! Even if it's less than three days, it still counts as three!]

Yun Li thought about it for a moment. Yun Ye wouldn't be around during the weekdays next week, and her parents would both be off at work, meaning staying by herself would be boring anyway, so she agreed.

[I love you so much!!!!!]

[I asked several people, and as soon as they heard it involved being in charge, none of them wanted to go.]

[But you shouldn't mind it!]

[You'll probably love it!!!!]

[Super handsome guy!!!]

"..."

She had a sudden feeling of being deceived.

Seeing the words "super handsome guy," Yun Li could already guess who was coming.

Several days had already passed since the day of the rejection. Yun Li lowered her eyelids and drifted into a daze.

The oil in the pan crackled with a sharp pop, reminding her of the unfinished food inside.

She hurriedly flipped the scallion pancake over, only to see that the side previously being fried had already turned a deep coffee brown.

As expected of the non-stick pan she chose, it burned with such uniform consistency.

Yun Li poked it with a spatula and muttered to herself: "It should probably still be edible for Yun Ye."

Yun Ye, who had just stepped out to get a glass of water: "..."

"Yun Li," Yun Ye said eerily.

Startled, Yun Li felt a twinge of guilt: "This... it's just that we shouldn't waste food."

Yun Ye wore a completely expressionless face.

With no other choice, she conceded and said slowly, "This probably really can't be eaten anymore. This is food waste driven by absolute helplessness, and heaven will surely understand."

After re-making two fresh portions, Yun Li carried both plates to Yun Ye's room and gave the door a kick: "Yun Ye, open up."

Placing his portion on his desk, Yun Li sat down on the edge of the bed and ate from her plate: "Someone from the company I'm interning at is coming over on a business trip. They asked me to help out."

Yun Ye tilted his head: "When?"

"Next Monday to Tuesday," Yun Li mumbled around a mouthful of food.

"Do you know the person coming over? Do you know where they're going?"

"Right at West Science and Technology University—"

Yun Ye called out her name a few times: "Why'd you stop halfway through your sentence?"

Faltering and stammering, Yun Li managed to squeeze out: "I probably know the person coming over too."

Noticing that her reaction was out of the ordinary, Yun Ye suddenly asked: "Your boyfriend?"

Yun Li shook her head.

"The person you like?"

Yun Li shook her head again and gave Yun Ye a gentle shove: "Stop guessing wildly. What would an adult's matters mean to you?"

He Jiameng quickly sent over the relevant materials. A research center had recently been established at West Science and Technology University a few days prior, and they were considering ordering some virtual reality products for their research. If it worked out, it would count as quite a substantial order.

The research center was established by the School of Control, where Fu Shize was based, so Xu Qingsong had sent him over. His flight was booked for Saturday afternoon, and the presentation was scheduled for the following Monday and Tuesday.

He Jiameng sent her a few documents and asked her to print out a hundred copies before heading to West Science and Technology University, specifying that the promotional brochures needed to use better-quality coated paper, and there weren't any suitable print shops near her home.

On Saturday noon, Yun Li changed her clothes, grabbed her car keys, and headed out.

Yun Yongchang managed a small driving school, and for daily travel, he always drove a training car. Yang Fang's company was relatively close to home, so she generally commuted on an electric scooter. Now that Yun Li was back, they simply left the car at home for her to drive, making it convenient for her to run errands.

Yun Li drove to the print shop opposite West Science and Technology University. The brochures wouldn't be ready for pickup until the next day, so she returned to her car, recalling what He Jiameng had said.

Fu Shize's flight was this afternoon.

She had no idea what time he would arrive.

Opening a flight-booking app, Yun Li checked and found five or six flights from Nanwu to Xifu in the afternoon time slot. After sitting in a daze in her car for a while, she directly pulled up the GPS navigation to the Xifu Airport.

The female GPS voice announced: "Navigating to Xifu Airport, total distance 30 kilometers, estimated duration 59 minutes."

Acting purely on a sudden impulse, Yun Li drove toward the airport.

She hadn't told Fu Shize about this; after all, she was just going to try her luck.

Along the way, her heart was filled with anxiety, and she nearly committed several traffic violations.

There was only one arrival gate at Xifu Airport, and quite a few people were waiting at the exit to pick up passengers. Fearing she might miss Fu Shize, Yun Li found a spot directly facing the exit and stood there.

Every single time a flight from Nanwu appeared on the arrival screen, Yun Li summoned all twelve points of her focus to search for that figure.

Fortunately, after waiting for two or three hours, she saw Fu Shize pulling his suitcase as he walked out. Having not seen him for a few days, he seemed a bit leaner, his deep-set eye sockets filled with fatigue, exuding a sense of aloof detachment that made him completely out of place with the surrounding crowd.

Upon spotting her, Fu Shize paused in his tracks for a moment, then walked over to her.

Yun Li feigned casualness as she delivered the excuse she had prepared in advance: "Didn't Sister Jiamei tell you? I'm going to be your assistant for the presentation. I came to pick you up today."

Fu Shize let out an "Mn."

"Let's go."

He rolled his suitcase and followed beside her.

This encounter wasn't nearly as awkward as Yun Li had imagined.

Fu Shize remained as aloof as ever, walking beside her without uttering a single word, until the two of them reached the entrance of the parking garage, where he suddenly spoke: "I didn't tell Assistant He my flight number."

Yun Li: "..."

Having lied only to be caught by the other person, Yun Li felt her face burn with heat.

Fortunately, Fu Shize showed no intention of digging any deeper. After stowing his luggage, he opened the front passenger door.

Once the door was open, instead of getting in, he walked around to the driver's side: "You sit in the passenger seat, I'll drive."

After they both got in the car, Yun Li noticed that gauze was wrapped around his hand.

"What happened to your hand?"

Lowering his gaze to glance at the center console, Fu Shize turned on the air conditioning: "Scraped it, it's nothing."

He punched the destination directly into the GPS for West Science and Technology University.

Yun Li: "Aren't we going to the hotel?"

The hand Fu Shize had on the steering wheel froze for a split second.

"Not going."

Yun Li originally wanted to talk to him a bit more, but after the car started up and entered a long tunnel, the repetitive lights and scenery had a potent hypnotic effect. By the time she opened her eyes again, the car had already come to a stop.

The vehicle was parked in a secluded corner, and the world outside the windows was pitch black.

After the engine was killed, the air conditioning automatically shut off, and the temperature inside the car had dropped quite a bit; it had probably been parked there for a fair amount of time. Turning her head, Yun Li saw Fu Shize leaning against the driver's seat playing on his phone. The screen brightness was set very low, and combined with the extremely dim lighting of the parking spot, she had fallen into a deep sleep for quite a while in this environment.

"Awake?"

Just as she was stealing a glance at him, Fu Shize spoke up out of the blue.

His gaze remained fixed on his phone screen. Having no time to wonder how he knew she had woken up, Yun Li straightened her posture: "Did we arrive at West Science and Technology University?"

"Mn."

Yun Li checked her phone; more than two hours had passed since they left the airport. Blinking in confusion, she thought she had misread the time: "After we got to West Science and Technology University, did I sleep for another hour right beside you? Why didn't you wake me?"

Fu Shize glanced sideways at her: "Traffic jam on the way."

With that, he started the engine. Pulling out of this corner and driving another two or three hundred meters brought them onto the main road. After driving through the campus for a few minutes, the car stopped in front of the School of Control.

"You go straight home."

Unbuckling his seatbelt, Fu Shize retrieved his luggage from the trunk and walked straight toward the School of Control building.

Hearing this, Yun Li—who had originally been following behind him—came to a halt and returned to the car. A cardholder now lay on the driver's seat, and right on top of the stack was Fu Shize's identity card.

Yun Li stared at the ID card, where the young man in the photo smiled unrestrainedly at the camera. Hesitating for a moment, she reached out and touched the face on the card.

She felt a bit like a stalker, yet deep down, a sense of satisfaction bloomed.

19940209

He was only a month older than her. Yun Li opened her phone calendar and discovered that Fu Shize's birthday fell on New Year's Eve that year.

He was someone born amidst fireworks.

And he ought to have a life as brilliant and dazzling as fireworks as well.

Without flipping through the rest of the cards, she found a parking space to park the car properly, took the cardholder, and headed inside in the direction where Fu Shize had just disappeared.

She gave Fu Shize a few calls and sent WeChat messages, but he didn't reply to any of them.

Unfamiliar with the layout of the building, Yun Li simply followed the lobby and long corridors.

After walking around for a bit, she realized that Fu Shize had left a profound mark in this place.

Whether it was the posters by the entrance or the promotional video playing in the main lobby, his shadow was everywhere.

After pacing around the first floor a few times, she stationed herself by the school entrance to wait for him, finding that she could easily pass the time by staring at the poster of Fu Shize pasted right in front of her.

The temperature difference between day and night in Xifu was drastic, and Yun Li had only worn a thin outer jacket when she left home. With the chilly wind sweeping right through the entrance hall of the college, she buttoned up every single button, wrapped her arms around herself, and paced back and forth in place to keep warm.

"Classmate, which university are you from?" Suddenly addressed by someone, Yun Li paused.

Looking toward the voice, she saw a young man walking up to her, wearing glasses and looking scholarly.

Yun Li didn't answer his question directly: "How do you know I'm from another school?"

The bespectacled guy chuckled lightly and said, "I've been studying here for eight years, from my freshman year all the way to my fifth year of PhD studies. There isn't a single pretty girl around here that I don't recognize." His tone was brimming with absolute confidence.

"..."

He aggressively displayed his QR code toward Yun Li: "Classmate, can I get your WeChat? Good to make connections for the future."

Feeling a bit awkward, Yun Li took a step back and said, "No thanks, I have a boyfriend." Seeing the skeptical look on the guy's face, she pointed at the picture of the model student on the bulletin board and said, "This person."

"Fu Shize?" The bespectacled man's expression was laced with doubt.

Not expecting the other person to actually recognize him, Yun Li felt an instant surge of guilt: "What's wrong?"

She was starting to regret her spur-of-the-moment nonsense.

"Hard to believe," the bespectacled man stated bluntly.

"..."

"Besides, he's been on a leave of absence for over a year now. If you're going to reject someone, at least come up with a better excuse."

"..."

Yun Li froze, completely failing to process what he had just said about Fu Shize being on a leave of absence.

The bespectacled man's gaze made her uncomfortable. Saying nothing, she turned around, intending to just walk away, but right then she caught sight of Fu Shize coming down the stairs. Feeling as though she had spotted her savior, she quickly trotted over.

The bespectacled man still hadn't given up, wanting to call out to Yun Li again, but upon seeing the person on the stairs gazing coldly in his direction, he choked back his words and muttered in sheer disbelief: "Holy crap, it's actually true."

Fu Shize looked somewhat dazed, his pupils lacking focus. He stood in place for quite a while before finally shifting his gaze onto Yun Li.

Just like when she had seen him off earlier, Yun Li was wearing a camel-colored long coat, and had every single button fastened up tight at the moment. Her slightly wavy hair fell down, scattering across her shoulders. On her lower half, she wore thermal leggings that hugged her two straight, slender legs.

Her hair had grown longer.

Lifting her gaze to meet Fu Shize, Yun Li blinked brightly, her eyes sparkling like tiny stars. Her cheeks were flushed red from the cold wind, and the tips of her ears were frozen scarlet as well.

"You left your cardholder in the car. I was worried you wouldn't be able to check into your hotel, so I waited here for you."

Yun Li held up her phone and gave it a little shake. "I called you a few times, but you probably didn't notice..."

The biting cold wind sneaked in through her collar. Looking at her, Fu Shize asked, "Have you been waiting here this whole time?"

Feeling rather self-conscious under his steady gaze, Yun Li rubbed the tip of her ear and said, "Yeah, because I didn't know where you were... But I didn't wait very long either, and you didn't come out too late."

She pulled the cardholder out of her bag: "Here you go."

Silently, Fu Shize took the cardholder and slipped it into his pocket. He picked up his luggage and walked over to the roadside.

"It's getting so late, and the weather is still this cold. If you don't have plans with anyone else—" Yun Li trailed behind him, speaking in a soft voice only after he had stopped: "Should we grab dinner together?"

"..."

Fu Shize turned his head to look at her. Stray locks of hair drifted with the wind; he was wearing a dark trench coat layered over a white shirt, his cold, striking elegance blending seamlessly with the blue-toned streetlights, making him look as though he had belonged to the night sky from the very beginning.

Yun Li waited with a heart full of nervous apprehension.

Parting his thin lips, Fu Shize uttered only two words: "No need."

"Oh, alright..." Faced with such a direct rejection, Yun Li stood rooted to the spot, feeling a bit awkward: "Then let me drive you to the hotel. It's inconvenient for you to carry all that luggage."

"Thanks. No need." His tone remained distant as he pulled out his phone to hail a ride.

Staring at his downcast gaze—his pitch-black pupils cold and detached, his entire being radiating an aura of absolute exclusion—Yun Li felt a pang of despair. If she had previously labored under the illusion that his coldness was thawing, right now she felt like her very presence was utterly superfluous.

She had been rejected far too many times.

It wasn't a surprise anymore, yet it happened so often that she was left completely at a loss.

Glancing at her, Fu Shize suddenly said, "Step over here. There's a car coming up behind."

"Oh..."

His words interrupted Yun Li's train of thought.

Stepping close to his side under the dim streetlight, she could see the pale glow of his phone screen illuminating one side of his face, his expression completely bland.

He kept his eyes fixed on the countdown timer for the driver to accept the order. Feeling awkwardly out of place standing right next to him, Yun Li also pulled out her phone, peeked at his screen, and upon seeing the destination, hailed a ride to the exact same hotel where he was staying.

Fu Shize: "..."

Fu Shize: "Are you planning to tag along?”