When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Yun Li stood in place, dazed for a brief moment.

Originally, she had assumed that Fu Shize would remain up in the clouds and out of reach even when in a relationship, but she had never expected him to have such an adorable side to him either.

She wasn't entirely sure if the word adorable was quite appropriate.

When another staff member called Yun Li over to help out, she cupped her cheeks, forced herself out of her lingering trance, and casually sent a sticker back to Fu Shize.

The high school students in the experience were from Nanwu No. 1 High School. Word was that they had adjusted their information technology class schedule so the students could visit the nearest virtual reality experience for a hands-on feel. For the next few days, students from Nanwu No. 1 High School would be coming to EAW.

Near the end of the workday, Yin Yucheng tracked Yun Li down to say his itinerary had changed and he had returned to Nanwu ahead of schedule. He wanted to meet up with her tonight.

When she arrived at the café, Yin Yucheng was already waiting. He was visibly far more attentive to Yin Yunyi than Yun Li was to Yun Ye.

The chair she was meant to sit in had already been pulled out in advance. Once she sat down, Yin Yucheng spoke politely: "Did calling you out on a workday put you out?"

Yun Li shook her head: "It's fine. I can just head back to work after we finish talking."

Eager to jump straight into the main topic, Yun Li cut to the chase: "Did Yun Ye say in the postcard that he's coming during the winter break?"

"Yes," Yin Yucheng took a sip of his black tea, "Yunyi saw the postcard and brought it up to me, asking for my opinion."

Yin Yucheng continued: "Actually, I'd rather not get involved, but my parents saw the postcard." He wore a headache-induced expression: "In short, letting the two of them go out on a one-on-one outing is practically encouraging puppy love, so I'll be tagging along with them when the time comes."

"..."

Imagining the scene of the three of them traveling together, Yun Li felt a genuine sense of sympathy for Yun Ye.

Yin Yucheng went on: "But if I go insert myself into their meetup alone, I'll just look like a massive lightbulb. Would you mind coming along with us as well when the time comes?"

Yun Li didn't process it immediately: "What?"

Her instinct was to refuse, but she couldn't tell right away whether doing so was appropriate or not, so she didn't agree on the spot: "I'll go back and discuss it with my brother."

Hearing her reply, Yin Yucheng lowered his gaze and chuckled. He opened his bag, pulled out a box, and placed it in front of Yun Li: "You helped bring Yunyi's gift over last time. When we went out to play a while ago, she prepared a gift for you."

It was a dark purple box. Feeling like she hadn't really done anything, Yun Li hesitated and said, "Why don't you take it back to her? It wasn't really a big deal."

Yin Yucheng smiled: "It's nothing expensive, just accept it. Hope you like it."

He didn't delay her any further, and the black tea he had ordered for her was even in a to-go cup. Yun Li took the box, stood up, and bid him farewell.

Having her routine disrupted by Yun Ye's antics yet again, Yun Li only wanted to chew Yun Ye out the moment she got back.

She opened Yun Ye's chat window and typed: [How old are you, and you still need your older sister to clean up your messes.]

Yun Ye: [[Question mark]]

Left with no choice, Yun Li had to patiently vent about the whole ordeal to him.

Yun Ye: [He actually said he's coming with us?]

Yun Li: [Do you think I made it up?]

Yun Ye fell silent for a moment: [...]

Young people really do adapt quickly. A few minutes later, Yun Ye chimed back in: [Yun Li, come with us.]

Yun Li didn't understand.

Yun Ye: [Come on, come on] He even attached a "please-I-beg-you" sticker.

Yun Li: [What for?]

Yun Ye felt a bit awkward: [If you come with us, you can help pull her older brother away when the time comes.]

Yun Li gave a flat, decisive refusal: [No.]

Yun Ye: [I'm begging you.]

Yun Li: [No.]

She didn't reply to Yun Ye anymore. Upon returning to EAW, Yun Li opened the box to take a look; it was a light blue crystal bracelet. Tossing it back into the box, she thought of the Christmas gift she had given to Fu Shize.

It felt a bit too crude in comparison.

She couldn't shake the persistent feeling that she owed Fu Shize something.

"Teacher Xianyun, how are you spending New Year's Eve?" He Jiameng asked her out of boredom.

New Year's Eve was already upon them.

In past years, she usually just went home and played video games with Yun Ye all night.

Remembering her conversation with Fu Shize yesterday, Yun Li answered without much avoidance: "I should be spending it with my boyfriend."

Hearing her words, He Jiameng went quiet for a few seconds before her eyes widened in shock: "Teacher Xianyun, you have a boyfriend?" A realization seemed to dawn on her, and she looked somewhat remorseful: "Then when I tried to set you up with Fu Shize before, wasn't I inadvertently helping someone poach a relationship?"

Yun Li: "Not really..."

He Jiameng nudged her with her shoulder, a mischievous smirk on her face: "Teacher Xianyun, that's not good, you have to be faithful when you have a boyfriend."

Yun Li: "I am dating him..."

He Jiameng didn't catch it clearly and asked with curiosity: "Dating who?"

"Fu Shize."

"..."

The shock on He Jiameng's face grew increasingly exaggerated. She drew in a sharp breath and said in sheer disbelief: "Is it the Fu Shize I know?"

Yun Li smiled: "Mn."

He Jiameng's reaction actually made Yun Li feel a little...

Delighted?

Her expression practically seemed to say, Teacher Xianyun, you're a legend, you actually plucked this high-altitude snow lotus! Whether it was because she had suffered too many setbacks while pursuing Fu Shize earlier, Yun Li felt herself floating on air.

Just a moment ago, He Jiameng had said she didn't think Yun Li had a boyfriend.

Ever since learning that Fu Shize didn't mind her telling others, Yun Li inexplicably wanted the entire world to know they were a couple. She opened their couple selfie taken on Christmas Day, where he wore her scarf and looked at the camera with a relaxed expression.

Yun Li forwarded the photo to Fu Shize: [I've set it as my lock screen.]

Staring at the scarf in the photo, Yun Li realized she could knit one for him herself as a make-up gift for Christmas. After getting off work, she headed out to buy some cotton yarn. Calculating the time, if she knitted day and night, it would be ready just around the time he returned.

She was a complete novice who had never knitted before. Starting that very night, Yun Li poured all her energy into knitting the scarf. With hardly any spare time to talk to Fu Shize, she would often look up only to realize three or four hours had passed, at which point she would hurriedly send back a random sticker.

This state lasted for a day and a half before Fu Shize finally placed a video call to her.

He was leaning against the headboard of his bed, wearing pajamas with the top two buttons undone. A glass of water was pressed against his lips as he took a slow sip.

Yun Li gave a quick glance before lowering her head back to her knitting, leaving him completely sidelined.

Fu Shize: "..."

Keeping his composure, Fu Shize asked: "Very busy?"

The girl on the screen only revealed her lowered head, everything below her neck cut off from the camera view. Her attention wasn't on the video call at all, and she didn't even acknowledge his question.

Fu Shize tapped his finger against the cup in thought. Without pressing further, he moved his phone back a bit and placed it to the side.

He picked up a book from the side to read—a volume detailing Yihe's development experience over the past two decades. He flipped through it for a while, occasionally looking up at Yun Li.

She was completely engrossed, her lips pressed into a thin line as she fiddled with something or other.

After an hour or two, Fu Shize had read through the entire book. He stared at the screen for quite a while, but seeing no reaction from Yun Li, he swapped it for another book.

After reading a few lines, his mind felt unsettled.

Fu Shize closed the book and watched Yun Li for a long while. He got up on his own accord to pour a glass of water, took a couple of sips after sitting back down, and opened the book again.

Then closed it once more.

Lying flat on the bed, Fu Shize picked up his phone and brought his face close to the lens: "Lili."

Yun Li started, lifting her head to look at the camera with the dazed look of someone startled out of a trance. Having been given the cold shoulder by her for the past day and a half, Fu Shize leaned back against the headboard to enjoy her attention now that he finally had it, flipping open his book to read again.

With Fu Shize's focus anchored on the screen outside his book, Yun Li lowered her head again within seconds. Amused and exasperated, Fu Shize said: "Say something."

Without even lifting her head, Yun Li bluntly replied: "I don't have time today, can we do it next time?"

Fu Shize: "..."

Having been cast aside by her for so long, Fu Shize pondered for a moment before suddenly asking: "What are you preparing for me?"

"..."

Yun Li's movements paused as she looked up at the screen: "N-no, nothing." Wanting to give him a surprise, Yun Li didn't tell the truth: "Winter's here, so I'm knitting a scarf for Yun Ye. That's why I'm busy."

Fu Shize stared at her for a long beat before letting out a soft hum, unsure whether he believed her or not.

After a moment, he spoke: "Coming back to Nanwu tomorrow."

He hadn't given her advance notice of his return date.

"Why so suddenly?" Thinking an emergency had occurred, Yun Li paused her needlework. On the screen, Fu Shize tapped on his phone, and flight details simultaneously popped up on her end.

Fu Shize's tone was as casual as could be: "Coming back to see the snow."

...

At 3:00 AM, Nanwu welcomed the heaviest snowfall of recent years, though it was only slated to last for two days. When Yun Li woke up the next morning, the rooftops outside were already a vast expanse of white, with three or four centimeters of snow piled even along the edges of her windowsill.

Yun Li ran downstairs to snap a flurry of photos and excitedly sent them to Fu Shize.

She forwarded the pictures to Yun Ye as well. Even at this hour he was still glued to his phone, his shock bleeding straight through his text: [Holy crap, is this actual snow?]

Spending an hour or two running downstairs to record plenty of snow-day footage, Yun Li returned indoors to crank up the heater. As she sat by the window knitting her scarf while the snowflakes drifted down in soft flurries, she reminded herself that Fu Shize would be coming back today.

Staring at the snow piling on the windowsill, a subtle flutter of emotions washed over her.

Though they had only been apart for a few days, the prospect of seeing him again filled her with boundless anticipation.

Fu Shize's flight was scheduled to arrive a little after 6:00 PM, and he had messaged her beforehand.

[Lili, head out twenty minutes later]

[It'll take a bit of time to reach the arrival gate after landing]

[Cold]

The plane had already taken off by the time she received the message. Staring at the texts, Yun Li bolted to her bedroom to rifle through her closet for tonight's outfit, finally settling on a tailored camel-colored overcoat. While putting on her makeup, Yun Li caught sight of the mother-of-pearl box on her desk, gazed into the mirror, and solemnly fastened her earrings.

Yun Li used an umbrella to sweep the accumulated snow off her car's hood and windshield.

Navigating toward Nanwu Airport, which was over twenty kilometers away from where she lived, she found the roads on both sides blanketed in ten centimeters of snow, forcing her past several snowplows along the way.

When she had picked up Fu Shize at the Xifu airport last time, she had been a bundle of nerves, waiting blindly for hours.

She would never have to rely on blind luck again.

By the time she reached the arrival gate, his flight had already landed a while ago. Yun Li waited in place until a tide of people streamed out, among whom she spotted him. In a short while, he broke away from the crowd and stopped right in front of her.

Upon seeing her, Fu Shize's expression didn't undergo any dramatic shift.

Sensing that she was getting a little too excited, Yun Li slightly reined in the smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the man before her suddenly raised his hand. Brushing past her with a faint breeze of his presence, his fingers stopped beside her hair.

A second later, leaning in close, he gently brushed a snowflake off her locks.