When I Meet the Moon - Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Yun Li felt that Fu Shize had truly become an absolute mess of a drunkard.

He released Yun Li, switched to the other side to hook his arm around her neck, and once again rubbed against her right ear in a pleading manner: "What I told you just now—don't always push me away."

"When do I ever always do that?" Yun Li immediately retorted. Knowing that he had consumed a fair bit of alcohol with Yun Yongchang tonight, she stood in place, let out a sigh, and turned to look at him. She asked, "Is your stomach uncomfortable? Stop talking for now, let me walk you back to your dorm."

"I'm not uncomfortable," Fu Shize said, his expression calm and entirely normal.

If not for the faint flush lingering on his neck, Yun Li wouldn't even have been able to tell he had been drinking.

"You were fierce to me just now."

Yun Li: "..."

Ah, right, there was also that nonsense he had spouted earlier.

Coaxing him like a child, Yun Li said, "How could I ever be fierce to you?"

Fu Shize stared at her for a long while before slowly asking, "How are you going to prove it?"

"..."

Speechless, Yun Li tried to reason with him patiently: "There's simply no way to prove something like what you just said. It's the exact same logic as asking me to prove that I ate yesterday."

She rattled off a long string of words, but Fu Shize didn't take any of it in. He answered her previous question on his own accord: "A kiss and you won't be fierce anymore."

"..."

They had already reached the car, and Yun Li wanted to shove him into the passenger seat, but Fu Shize wouldn't let up. Pinning her against the outside of the passenger door, he murmured in a low voice, "Then let me help Lili prove it."

Her hands were pinned against the car door by his grip, and before she could react, his warm tip of a tongue licked her lower lip, instantly slipping past her lips. Yun Li was forced to tilt her head back to return the kiss.

Yun Li drove Fu Shize to pick up some liver-protecting medication. While they were still outside, Fu Shize had tried hard to maintain his sobriety, but the moment they reached the dormitory, he collapsed onto the bed with every intention of going straight to sleep.

"Get up first," Yun Li urged, tugging at his arm. In a soft voice, Fu Shize murmured, "Lili, stop messing around." Pulling the blanket straight up to his shoulders like an obedient child in kindergarten getting ready for bed, he said, "I need to sleep for a bit."

"This is the last time you're ever drinking, do you hear me?" Yun Li sat down beside him, her heart aching slightly as she spoke. "Tonight, I seriously wanted to go head-to-head with my dad."

He let out a drowsy hum of acknowledgment.

Yun Li sat there in silence for a few minutes; Fu Shize seemed to have truly fallen asleep.

The drawer wasn't fully closed. Pulling it open, she saw the boxes of sleeping pills resting inside, two rows of which were already three-quarters empty.

She sat quietly for a moment before standing up to fetch hot water from the water boiler. Mixing it with cold water until it reached the right temperature, she carried the basin back into the room.

First, she moistened a paper towel to wipe his face, her hand tracing from his long, slender eyelashes across the high bridge of his nose down to his thin lips.

Pulling back the blanket, Yun Li stared at his collar. Hesitating for a moment, she still reached out close.

As she unbuttoned the second button, her gaze drifted back up to his face. Recalling the events of tonight, she knew in her heart that although Yun Yongchang kept his emotions hidden behind a poker face, he must have actually liked Fu Shize quite a bit.

Their relationship had taken another step forward just like that, giving her an unreal feeling.

Yun Li kissed the corner of his lips, single-mindedly unbuttoning his shirt and using the damp towel to wipe down his upper body.

When it came to his lower half, Yun Li poked him: "Take off your pants before you go to sleep."

Fu Shize didn't answer.

Thinking he had fallen asleep, Yun Li struggled internally for a moment, but ultimately lacking the courage, she simply pulled the blanket back over him.

The person on the bed let out a low chuckle and opened his eyes: "Not going to continue?"

"..."

Yun Li just wanted to drag him off the bed and beat him up. Wearing a stern expression, she demanded, "You've been awake the whole time?"

Seeing her darkened expression, Fu Shize—perhaps emboldened by the alcohol—showed no fear at all and simply hummed a yes.

"..."

Fuming with anger, Yun Li marched right up to him. Fu Shize rolled onto his side, resting his right hand beneath his head. Looking down from above, Yun Li saw the lamplight reflected in his hazy eyes.

Fu Shize patted the space beside him. When Yun Li refused to budge, he smiled and called out softly, "Come here."

The tender, lingering tone chased away Yun Li's anger. She sat back down beside him, kicking her legs back and forth near the edge of the bed.

Lying on his side, Fu Shize reached out to wrap an arm around her waist from behind, asking softly, "Why did you even bother wiping me down?"

Yun Li answered honestly, "You were all sticky, and I wanted you to sleep better."

His arm tightened slightly, pulling the two of them closer together as the corners of his eyes curved upward.

Yun Li lowered her gaze, her fingertips lightly tracing the back of his hand.

Behind her came his deeply attached voice.

"I love you."

...

When she returned home, Yun Li peeked into Yunye's room; his entire face was buried straight into the pillow. Poking him twice, Yun Li asked in bewilderment, "How are you even breathing like this?"

At that moment, Yun Li realized that Yunye's alcohol tolerance was probably right around the same level as hers.

After prodding him twice with no response, she bent down and used a bit of strength to roll Yunye onto his side so he could breathe more comfortably.

She didn't turn on the light, relying solely on the ambient glow from the living room to make out Yunye's profile.

Yun Li used a wet wipe to clean Yunye's face. Frowning, he swatted her hand away, rolled over, and pulled the blanket directly over his head.

Yun Li didn't lose her temper as she usually might have.

Probably because Yunye had blocked those drinks for Fu Shize entirely for her sake.

...

The end of the year flew by at breakneck speed, and Yun Li found herself swamped with work. Aside from drafting her graduation thesis, she started interning at a company ahead of schedule.

Her department was responsible for game development. The entire team was small, with each member juggling several projects simultaneously, and Yun Li was assigned right away to learn alongside a few ongoing projects.

Yun Li's workload primarily revolved around game implementation code, and the specific project she joined was tasked with developing a VR game proposed by EAW.

On her very first day at the office, Zhou Tuo came over to check in on her.

With a smile, Zhou Tuo asked, "Are you adjusting well to the work?"

Not wanting anyone to think she was pulling strings through personal connections, Yun Li thanked him politely and formally for his concern.

"Yanyan, why don't you show her the ropes? Among all of us here, you're easily the most capable when it comes to training newcomers," Zhou Tuo said, nodding toward Zhang Yanyan, who sat nearby.

As a leader, Zhou Tuo never hesitated to express praise for his employees, and Zhang Yanyan gave a shy nod in response.

Suddenly, Yun Li understood why Zhang Yanyan hadn't sent her Zhou Tuo's contact card previously.

She never liked getting mixed up in such office dynamics, but remembering that she would be sharing a team with Zhang Yanyan for a long time, she took the initiative to explain after Zhou Tuo left: "My boyfriend is a friend of our team leader's from back in his university days, so I hope you won't misunderstand."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yanyan's attitude toward her underwent a complete one-eighty.

Not only did she take meticulous care of her in daily work matters, but when heading to EAW for a business trip at the end of the year, she made sure to bring Yun Li along.

Yun Li had already planned to make a trip to Nanwu to visit Jiang Yuan's parents anyway. Seizing this opportunity, she booked a weekend flight to Nanwu, while her colleague Zhang Yanyan wouldn't arrive until Monday.

When she mentioned going to Nanwu to Fu Shize, he simply sent back an image—his flight itinerary.

[Going together.]

Yun Li froze. Her trip this purpose was to see Jiang Yuan's parents, so after a moment of hesitation, she replied: [What are you going there for? You haven't even finished your doctoral thesis yet, and I'm going over there on official business.]

Perhaps Yun Li's refusal was a bit too obvious, as Fu Shize replied: [I can't go?]

Those five characters somehow managed to look rather aggrieved.

With no other choice, Yun Li texted back: [I'm going to be extremely busy, you know.]

[Mn. I'll wait for you at home.]

Staring at the message, Yun Li finally realized that his words implied they would both be staying at Jiangnan Garden.

This business trip involved two regular employees plus herself, making three people in total. Since she had her own accommodations lined up, the other two could simply stay in standard hotel rooms.

Mulling this over, Yun Li casually pulled some changes of clothes from her wardrobe and tossed them into her small suitcase along with her makeup pouch.

Squatting in front of her suitcase for a moment, she stealthily stood up, retrieved three small packets from her locked drawer, and tucked them cautiously into the inner lining of her makeup pouch.

A moment later, she took all the clothes back out, picked through her wardrobe, and held various outfits against herself to compare.

During this process, Fu Shize called her via video chat. He had propped his phone by the bed while sitting in a chair, leaning forward with his elbows propped on his knees to look straight into the camera.

"Did you finish packing?" Yun Li asked with a guilty conscience, her tone unnatural.

Fu Shize: "No need to pack, there are clothes over there."

Still buried inside her wardrobe, Yun Li mumbled in response, "Oh... I'm still picking out clothes."

After a quiet few seconds, his voice came through her earphones: "Why are you picking them out?"

Though his natural tone was cool and detached, the way he spoke those words made her face burn red.

"..."

Yun Li fell silent for a long stretch, completely unable to fathom what was going on inside Fu Shize's head.

Noticing Yun Li staying quiet, Fu Shize continued: "Which clothes are you picking out?"

Which... clothes...

Yun Li glared at the camera lens, and Fu Shize consciously clamped his mouth shut.

Their flight was early Saturday morning. Fu Shize picked Yun Li up downstairs, and the two took a taxi together to the airport.

After a two-and-a-half-hour flight, Yun Li found herself once again standing inside the bright, spacious Nanwu Airport.

Fu Shize was pulling his small suitcase slightly ahead to her right. Winter had already settled over Nanwu, turning the air bone-chillingly cold. He wore a long black windbreaker; though he looked slender, it gave off an air of forbidding distance that made people hesitate to approach him.

Lost in thought for a moment, she recalled the night she first met Fu Shize—back then, the man had been deathly pale, looking frail, vulnerable, and enveloped in an intense aura of alienation.

Noticing that she was lagging two steps behind him, Fu Shize stopped and turned his head sideways to look at her.

He held out his hand toward her.

Placing her hand obediently into his palm, she asked, "Do you still remember when you came to pick me up at the airport back then?"

"Mn," Fu Shize answered.

"I think," Yun Li mused, her tone certain, "you were a lot cooler back then."

"..."

"Even though you seemed completely out of reach, maybe it was precisely that sense of distance that made you so attractive."

"What you just said sounds like you're telling me," Fu Shize looked at her with a completely expressionless face, "that right now, you don't find me very attractive anymore."

"..."

Flustered, Yun Li stammered in explanation, "I probably didn't mean that..."

"Probably?" Fu Shize picked up on the keyword and repeated it.

Thinking he was genuinely upset by this, Yun Li felt a flutter of unease as she hurried to keep pace with him.

He hadn't let go of her hand. After walking a few more steps, Yun Li stole a sideways glance at Fu Shize and noticed he was rubbing his own cheek, seemingly adjusting his facial expression. A few seconds later, he cast an icy, indifferent gaze down at her and asked emotionlessly, "Better like this?"

"..."

Seeing her speechlessness, Fu Shize frowned: "Doesn't it look like it?"

"..."

Throughout the entire journey, Fu Shize maintained his cold-treatment persona. Even after getting into the taxi, he sat on the outer edge, keeping a considerable distance from Yun Li while staring blankly out the window.

Thinking his behavior resembled that of a little kid, Yun Li fought hard to suppress her laughter.

Fu Shize lowered his head and tapped his phone twice: [Cool?]

Yun Li: [Cool as ice!!!!!!!!]

A few seconds later—

Yun Li: [However, I feel like you have the potential for cold violence. For the past half hour, you've been giving me the cold shoulder. qaq]

Fu Shize almost laughed in exasperation. Seeing this message made him clam up even more, leaning against the corner like a cold stone statue.

When the taxi pulled up outside the gates of Jiangnan Garden, Fu Shize was busy paying the fare.

Hesitating for a moment, the driver seemed to make up his mind, turned around, and told Yun Li, "Young lady, if something's wrong, make sure you remember to call the police."

"..."

Fu Shize pulled Yun Li out of the car. His expression remained faint, betraying nothing of what he was thinking inside.

The interior furnishings of the apartment at Jiangnan Garden had barely changed since she last left. The rooms were dim, with a thin layer of dust floating in the air. The moment they stepped inside, Fu Shize reached into the shoe cabinet and pulled out the matching couple slippers they had bought back then.

While Yun Li was changing her shoes, he went over to open the curtains.

He hadn't thrown away a single thing belonging to her, nor had he even packed them away; he had simply left everything right where it was.

It was as if she had never left at all.

As if she had simply been away from home for a long time.

Clearing away the dust covers from the sofa, Fu Shize used a damp wipe to clean the surface.

Yun Li helped out nearby. Once wiped clean, before the sofa had even dried, Fu Shize pinned Yun Li right against it, her hands pressing down against the cool leather. Raising her eyes, she saw the cold detachment on his face fracture into a trace of a smile as he slowly drawled, "You think I have the potential for cold violence."

"Even the cab driver thought I was giving you the cold treatment and told you to call the police." Figuring that since she had already made the accusation, he might as well act on it, Fu Shize asked her, "Should I be a bit violent right now?"

Laughter danced in the corners of Yun Li's eyes.

Fu Shize looked down at her, ultimately unable to bring himself to use any real force. He simply pinched her chin gently, and as their eyes locked for a moment, Yun Li wrapped her arms around his neck. "Ah Ze, you're so good to me."

"Not talking about cold violence anymore?"

"I know you wouldn't." Yun Li's tone was filled with absolute conviction. Looking around the space—she had originally assumed this place had nothing more to do with her, yet Fu Shize had never wiped away her traces—she asked, "How come you kept all my things here?"

"Couldn't think of a reason to throw them out."

Or perhaps simply because, when it came to anything connected to her, no matter how many reasons he could find, he never wanted them to vanish from his world.