When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 70

Chapter 70

The irritation that rarely surfaced in his heart gradually eroded his peace of mind. Fu Shize glanced at Lin Jingran and asked, "Have you ever been in a relationship?"

"Huh? Yeah, I have." Lin Jingran easily deduced that Fu Shize had run into some sort of romantic roadblock. "Senior brother, what is it you want to know?"

"Normally on WeChat, is the communication frequent?"

"Mhm, when you're bored, you just pick it up to spam some stickers. Especially right at the beginning of a relationship—you practically wish you could stick together 24/7." Lin Jingran fell into nostalgia, but didn't forget to remind Fu Shize: "Of course, every couple's dynamic is different. You and senior sister should just find the rhythm that feels most comfortable for the two of you."

The most comfortable one?

Fu Shize looked back over his chat history with Yun Li. The messages they sent back and forth were sparse.

He looked at Lin Jingran. "Send me some stickers."

...

"Senior brother, these stickers are commonly used between couples, though this one is a bit too clingy. Don't use that one right off the bat, it might scare people off. You can start with this milder one. Then, you can send the same sticker a few times consecutively to make the emotional intensity feel stronger."

In the laboratory, it was usually Fu Shize guiding his junior fellow and sister apprentices through experiments and writing papers. Finding himself with a rare opportunity to be of help to Fu Shize, Lin Jingran pulled out all the stops to search through a massive pile of stickers for him.

Fu Shize saved them one by one, raised his eyes, and said to him, "Thanks."

His finger swiped up and down, and following Lin Jingran's instructions, he first sent a sticker of a cat peering out from beneath a table to test the waters.

A short while later.

Yun Li: [[Confusion]]

Fu Shize sent that exact same sticker three times in a row.

Yun Li: [[Confusion]]

Yun Li seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was just trying to establish a presence, and concluded that Lin Jingran's advice was entirely unreliable. After pondering for a moment, Fu Shize selected a different sticker.

Fu Shize: [[Miss You]]

Fu Shize: [[Miss You]]

Fu Shize: [[Miss You]]

After waiting a little while, Yun Li replied to him.

[[Miss You]]

Tossing his phone to the side, Fu Shize moved his mouse to unlock his computer screen. Before he could type more than a few words, recalling Yun Li's response, he propped his chin in his hand and let his lips curve upward in an uncontrollable smile.

...

Before setting off to pick up Fu Zhengchu, Yun Li and Fu Shize grabbed an early dinner at the campus cafeteria.

It was already late October, but Xivil was still searingly hot. Clusters of students in light, breezy clothes walked around campus holding ice cream cones.

Sweat beaded on Yun Li's forehead. Watching a girl walking past her holding an ice cream cone, she licked her lips.

"Want some?" Fu Shize turned his head to ask her, and Yun Li nodded.

"Wait here a moment."

There was a convenience store right beside them. Yun Li paused outside the glass doors. She watched through the glass as he paid and exchanged a couple of words with the female cashier, who handed him the ice cream cone with a radiant smile.

As soon as he stepped outside, Fu Shize handed the cone to Yun Li. It had been swirled exceptionally high, and she took it quietly.

Noticing that she seemed a bit sullen, Fu Shize took her hand and asked, "Did I buy the wrong flavor?"

"No."

Yun Li hadn't originally planned to say anything, figuring it would pass if she just bottled it up for a bit.

But remembering that the main reason for their massive fallout last time was poor communication between them, she hesitated, then muttered under her breath, "You said quite a few words to that girl just now."

Normally, Fu Shize wouldn't waste extra words on other girls.

The cashier just now had fair skin, bright eyes, and pearly teeth. The more she thought about it, the more gloomy she felt, making her lose her appetite for the ice cream in her hand entirely.

Fu Shize chuckled softly beside her and asked, "Do you know what I said?"

Yun Li didn't speak.

Fu Shize hooked his arm around her neck, pulling her toward him. The back of Yun Li's head bumped lightly against his collarbone.

Right out in the open on the main street, their affectionate display made Yun Li feel rather self-conscious.

Fu Shize leaned close to her ear. "I told her to make my girlfriend's ice cream cone a little taller."

Realizing she had completely misunderstood him—and flustered by the words he murmured right next to her ear—Yun Li lowered her head and sped up the rate at which she ate her ice cream.

Fu Shize smiled, drawling lazily, "Such a little vinegar jar."

The blazing sunlight almost felt hot enough to melt her away. Her face burned fiercely, and she wanted to hurry and get into the car. But Fu Shize refused to cooperate, hooking his arm around her neck and making her stroll lazily down the street with him.

Yun Li had no choice but to lean her upper body forward, forcibly accelerating Fu Shize's pace.

Once they ducked into the car, she immediately blasted the air conditioning, slowly cooling down the stuffy, heated air.

"We'll go pick up Fu Zhengchu first; Tang Lin is hanging out with him." Yun Li had called Tang Lin beforehand; her job hunt had landed her a place right near Xivil University of Technology.

Fu Shize didn't have much of an impression of Tang Lin, but he gave a simple hum of acknowledgment. Out of the blue, he mentioned to her, "My junior fellow apprentice said today that in a relationship, you need to find a comfortable dynamic that works for both people."

Yun Li was still eating her ice cream, but froze at those words. Flustered, she asked, "Do you think our dynamic isn't comfortable right now?"

"Mhm," Fu Shize replied.

Yun Li blankly took a couple of bites of her ice cream, pondering for a moment.

She raised her eyes and asked softly, "Why?"

Could it be because she had thrown a little temper tantrum earlier?

Fu Shize looked at her. Seeing her tense expression, he leaned forward, gently pushed aside the hand holding the ice cream cone, and pressed his lips to hers.

As the tip of his tongue pushed deeper, the sweetness shifted from rich to faint. He cupped the back of Yun Li's head. For a moment, the sunlight felt blindingly bright. The pressure on her lips transitioned from gentle to deep, accompanied by a faint, tingling ache, and her breath was practically stolen away entirely.

When Fu Shize finally released her, Yun Li looked at him, catching her breath. He used his finger to wipe away a speck of melted ice cream from the corner of her lips and slowly said, "We spend way too little time together."

That was why he always felt unsatisfied and unsettled.

He wanted to spend more time side by side with her.

Coming back to her senses, Yun Li looked out the car window. They were parked right along the main road with plenty of students passing by, and she hadn't noticed a thing while they were caught up in such a heated kiss.

At that moment, Yun Li desperately wished she had a mask to shield her face.

She glared at Fu Shize for a moment, but he felt zero psychological burden and even reminded her, "It's melting."

The melted ice cream had pooled at the bottom of the waffle cone and was about to drip onto the car interior.

Panicking, Yun Li pushed the car door open, held the cone outside, and muttered under her breath, "You can't do that next time. You have to finish eating before you kiss—it's too easy to make a mess in the car."

"Alright, noted," Fu Shize answered lazily.

Yun Li shot him a look. Seeing that Fu Shize was still staring right at her, she asked, clueless, "What?"

He urged her softly, "Eat faster."

"How did Fu Zhengchu end up looping us in?" Once the car had arrived at Xivil University of Technology, Fu Shize finally brought up their trip to the pet kennel today.

"Oh, Tang Lin is my roommate. She's chasing Fu Zhengchu, so we decided to all hang out together," Yun Li explained. "Fu Zhengchu probably felt too awkward hanging out with Tang Lin by himself."

She thought for a second and added, "Or maybe he was trying to play matchmaker for the two of us."

Yun Li still remembered the night they went out for skewers, when Fu Shize had already been re-added to the group chat by Fu Zhengchu.

Fu Shize shifted his gaze to the center of the road. Fu Zhengchu and a tall, slender girl were standing by the roadside. Yun Li parked the car, and the girl eagerly scrambled into the backseat first.

"Yun Li, it's been over a year since I last saw you. I never expected this reunion would still be because of Fu Zhengchu..." As soon as she climbed in, Tang Lin draped herself over the back of the seat, glancing sideways. Spotting Fu Shize, whose facial features bore a slight resemblance to Fu Zhengchu's, she blurted out in astonishment, "You and your boyfriend made it all the way to Xivil?"

Yun Li gave a soft affirmative. Tang Lin slumped back into her seat looking somewhat dejected, and unceremoniously poked Fu Zhengchu. "Look at my roommate. She and your uncle have already been dating for two years. Can't you hurry up and let our relationship start already?"

Fu Zhengchu didn't make a peep, shuffling a bit closer to the edge. Tang Lin acted like she hadn't noticed and edged right back toward him.

The pet kennel was opened by a friend of Tang Lin's parents, located just a dozen minutes' drive from Xivil University of Technology. The owner knew they were coming ahead of time and had reserved a spot for them.

A quarter of the shop space featured a café area surrounded by several Corgis. Once they all sat down, a staff member handed over the menus.

After the others placed their orders, Fu Shize pointed to the black tea on the menu.

Fu Zhengchu hurriedly intervened, "He doesn't need that, just pour him a cup of water." The interruption and the words were entirely natural, as if this scenario had played out countless times before.

Fu Shize: "..."

Fu Zhengchu turned to explain to Yun Li, "After my uncle's surgery back then, my grandparents said he couldn't have stimulants like tea or coffee anymore."

"Oh..." Yun Li replied softly.

Even though she was his girlfriend, it was Fu Zhengchu who had to step in to remind her of these things.

An indescribable feeling settled in Yun Li's chest. She picked up a Corgi plush pillow from the side and fiddled with it for a while.

Sensing her subtle, lingering dejection, Fu Shize gently hooked his finger around hers.

That casual finger-hooking left Fu Zhengchu staring in absolute bewilderment. He stuttered, "Uh, Lili-jie, Uncle, you guys..."

Ignoring him, Fu Shize told Yun Li, "Let's go tease the dogs."

A few Corgis were roaming freely in the café section of the kennel. Fu Shize squatted down and scratched one behind the ears; the Corgi blissfully lifted its head, letting him stroke its neck.

Yun Li was reminded of the first time she went to the overtime bar, right across from the late-night snack stall, where Fu Shize had been poking at fishballs while teasing stray dogs on the street.

Compared to back then, his demeanor was much gentler now, yet his lean, slender back inexplicably brought that exact image flooding back into her mind.

Hesitating for a moment, Yun Li walked over to stand next to Fu Zhengchu while Tang Lin was dragged off by the owner to catch up.

With no particular starting point in mind, she watched as Fu Zhengchu—who had instantly accepted the news of their reconciliation—swung his legs back and forth on his chair and sighed, "Lili-jie, people who are meant to be together will end up together in the end."

"What about you and Tang Lin?" Yun Li curved the corners of her lips and threw the question right back at him. Fu Zhengchu's face instantly flared red, and he stammered for a good long while without coming up with an answer.

After a brief casual chat, Yun Li asked him, "Fu Shize's stomach perforation surgery before—was it really serious? He never told me the details."

"My uncle's maternal grandmother passed away around that time. He was probably grieving too deeply, ran a high fever for several days, and didn't eat anything, so it was pretty serious."

Seeing Yun Li stare blankly for a long moment, Fu Zhengchu comforted her, "Lili-jie, don't worry too much. He's pretty much recovered by now, he just has to avoid stimulants."

"Mhm." Yun Li smiled, her gaze lingering on Fu Shize.

It felt as though several heavy stones were sitting inside Yun Li's heart. She shuffled over to his side. Seeing her approach, Fu Shize nudged the Corgi closer to her, wanting her to pet it.

As she stroked the Corgi's neck, her hand slowly drifted to the side, hooking one of Fu Shize's fingers before sliding down to cover the back of his hand.

"Are you happy right now?" she asked him.

Fu Shize turned his hand over to interlace his fingers with hers, gently scratching her palm. "Mhm."

The tight tension in Yun Li's nerves relaxed significantly.

She couldn't change what happened in the past, but at the very least, in all the days to come, Yun Li could stay right by his side.

Before leaving, Yun Li noticed a wish wall in the café. She lingered for a long time in front of the sea of sticky notes, picked up a blank slip of paper, and neatly wrote down her wish.

"You write a wish, too." She handed a piece of paper and a pen to the person still teasing the dog beside her.

Fu Shize had zero interest in this kind of thing. Straightening up, he tried to peek at what Yun Li had written. She quickly blocked him, a hint of warning in her tone: "You're not allowed to look."

"Fine," Fu Shize glanced at her. "Then you won't look at mine either?"

"Nope." Yun Li stepped a bit further away from him to signal that she would never peek. Tilting her head, she said, "Once both of our wishes come true, we'll come back here together."

Fu Shize lowered his gaze and proactively handed his sticky note over to her: "You can look at mine."

"I'm not looking." Yun Li knew he wanted to see hers. She walked all the way to the front door, staring fixedly at Fu Shize with a gaze full of warning.

In short, it was a clear message telling him not to sneak a peek at hers.

Looking somewhat amused, Fu Shize found a high spot on the wall and stuck his note up there.

After dropping Fu Zhengchu and Tang Lin back off, Yun Li noticed that as they got out of the car, Tang Lin was still dragging Fu Zhengchu forward by his sleeve. Although Fu Zhengchu looked thoroughly reluctant, he obediently followed along anyway.

The two of them would most likely work out.

...

The next day was Friday. True to routine, Yun Li headed to the university to pick up Yun Ye and bring him home. Once the two of them stepped through the front door, they headed straight for their respective rooms, only to be stopped short by Yun Yongchang's voice.

Yun Li turned back around. Aside from Yun Yongchang and Yang芳, Yin Yusheng was sitting on the sofa as well, greeting her with a gentle smile.

Startled, she assumed something had happened between Yin Yunyi and Yun Ye again. After dropping her bag, she hurried over to sit in the living room.

Yun Yongchang: "Xiao Yin, although I lack much formal education, I'm quite proud of the kids I've raised."

Yin Yusheng: "You're being too modest, Uncle."

Yun Li was completely baffled, shooting a bewildered look at Yun Ye, who was sitting silently nearby.

Yun Yongchang: "Lili, go wash some fruit."

Seizing the opportunity, Yun Li dragged Yun Ye into the kitchen. Grabbing some fruit from the fridge, she whispered, "Didn't you say you hadn't confessed yet? How are you already locking things down with Yin Yunyi this fast?"

Yun Ye answered with a blank look: "I don't think so..."

"Looks like your future sister-in-law has strict family rules, Yun Ye. You better mentally prepare yourself—dating you two is probably going to be just about identical to getting straight married." Yun Li nudged Yun Ye with her elbow. "Who knows, by the time you actually confess, Dad might set up ten or eight banquet tables for you."

"..."

With almost zero internal struggle, Yun Ye accepted his fate and nodded. "That wouldn't be the worst thing."

Yun Li chuckled. "In your dreams. You chased her for so long, and yet it turns out the biggest MVP is Yin Yunyi's parents."

Yun Ye whipped out his phone and messaged Yin Yunyi: [YY, is your older brother in Xivil?]

Yin Yunyi: [Mhm, he said he came to Xivil for a blind date. My parents set it up for him.]

Yun Ye blinked, glancing over at Yun Li, who was humming a little tune, and found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

He hadn't mentally prepared himself to break this piece of terrible news to Yun Li yet.

Yun Li finished cutting the fruit and, seeing his constipated expression, shot him a sideways glance. "What's wrong with you?"

"Uh..."

With nothing better to do, Yun Li leaned over to peek at his screen.

Upon seeing Yin Yunyi's reply, her expression instantly froze.

The siblings cooperated in tossing the melon rinds from the cutting board into the trash can.

Following the silence before the storm, Yun Li grabbed Yun Ye by the collar and lowered her voice: "Give it to me straight, did you know about this or not?"

This was entirely, insanely absurd.

Yun Li had thought of a million possibilities, but she never imagined it would be this one.

Yun Ye: "What the hell, how could I possibly know?"

Yun Li eyed him suspiciously, already viewing him as an accomplice: "Was your fight with Yin Yunyi last time because of this?"

Yun Ye: "Nothing can shake the relationship between me and her, okay? Hurry up and figure out how you're going to deal with YY's brother."

"Lili, is the fruit cut yet?" Yun Yongchang called out from the living room.

Yun Li pinched the edge of the fruit platter as a surge of anger flared up inside her. She had emphasized to Yun Yongchang more than once not to pull this stuff. Previously, he had reined it in a bit, but this time he had dragged someone all the way from Nanwu to Xivil.

Anyone else would have been fine, but this time it was Yin Yunyi's older brother—a situation that put Yun Ye in an extremely awkward spot as well.

Carrying the fruit platter out, Yun Li found that Yun Yongchang had vacated his spot, gesturing for her to sit right next to Yin Yusheng.

With an outsider present, no matter how displeased Yun Li was, she had to swallow it down. Putting on a polite face, she declined: "My work isn't finished yet, I need to rush back and work on it. You guys chat."

With that, she didn't wait for Yun Yongchang to speak again, turning on her heel to head straight back to her room.

After fuming in her room for a little while, Yun Li heard the front door open and close, guessing that Yin Yusheng had left.

Yun Yongchang hollered from the living room: "Yun Li."

Yun Li didn't reply.

A moment later, heavy thumping footsteps echoed down the hallway, and Yun Yongchang pushed her bedroom door open. "How did I raise you? Where are your manners?"

"People even brought gifts over, what kind of attitude is that?" Yun Yongchang's face was dark. Yun Li glanced out and finally noticed the fruit and tea sitting on the living room table.

"Dad, next time you dig up some guy, why don't you go date him yourself?" Yun Li reached her breaking point, suppressing her rage as she said, "I've told you more than once, I don't want to go on blind dates, and I don't need to go on blind dates."

"Why wouldn't you need someone with your personality? Do you have any idea how high his education is and how good his job is? He's a local right here in Xivil, and on top of that, he doesn't mind your hearing loss at all."

"Dad!" Hearing those words, Yun Ye couldn't help shouting out. Yun Yongchang froze for a second. Realizing he had crossed a line, he awkwardly defended himself, "The other party's background..."

Yun Li interrupted him with a completely expressionless face: "The other party's background is great, and your daughter is single-sidedly deaf, so she's not a match."

Swallowing down the tears threatening to well up, she said calmly, "Stop trying to arrange these things. I won't make you look bad this time—I'll go tell him clearly myself."

As she walked toward the doorway, her steps slowed, her voice choked with unshed tears: "Dad, next time, can you actually take my feelings into consideration?”