Chapter 105

Gu Yanqiu opened the door and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why did you come downstairs?"

Lin Yuewei looked at her oddly. Shouldn’t she have been the one asking Gu Yanqiu that question?

"I got out of the shower and you weren’t there. The light downstairs was on, so..." Lin Yuewei lowered her eyes to the main screen of the phone in Gu Yanqiu’s palm. Worried that Gu Yanqiu might take her tone as accusatory, she softened her voice and asked, "Were you on the phone?"

Gu Yanqiu nodded.

"With who?"

"Cheng Guiyuan," Gu Yanqiu said honestly.

Lin Yuewei froze slightly at the name, which had been turning up far too often in their lives lately. "What did you two talk about?"

Gu Yanqiu lied without batting an eye. "She asked if I was free tomorrow."

Lin Yuewei asked, "And you said yes or no?"

Gu Yanqiu shook her head. "No. I have to go out and accompany a client tomorrow."

Lin Yuewei hadn’t heard her mention that before. She knew Gu Yanqiu had been busy lately, but she hadn’t realized it was this bad; even Saturdays had become social obligations. She asked, "When?"

Come to think of it, if she hadn’t had plans for the weekend, there would’ve been no reason she couldn’t have cleared a full two-day break to visit the filming site.

"In the afternoon," Gu Yanqiu said.

Lin Yuewei let out a soft breath, and relief lingered in it.

She looked so obviously relieved that Gu Yanqiu immediately thought of what she had just said in the car.

Lin Yuewei felt awkward under her gaze and no longer cared what Cheng Guiyuan had called for, or why Gu Yanqiu had looked so flustered.

Aside from the matter they were both too shy to mention right now, when had Gu Yanqiu ever been flustered? No, she hadn’t.

Lin Yuewei held out a hand, amusement tugging at the corners of her eyes. Like a gentleman, she said, "Upstairs?"

Gu Yanqiu placed her hand in hers and stepped out from the balcony. She felt the phone in her palm vibrate; it was probably Cheng Guiyuan messaging her with follow-up questions.

An idea struck Gu Yanqiu. "Didn’t Shao Yasi say she wanted gossip from you? Did you reply to her later?"

Lin Yuewei said, "No, I forgot."

Gu Yanqiu said, "Then should you reply to her?"

Lin Yuewei pouted. "Forget it. If I start a conversation with her, she’ll definitely send back a whole pile of messages, and then when am I supposed to sleep tonight?"

Gu Yanqiu looked mildly disapproving. "Isn’t that a little rude?"

Lin Yuewei was in such a good mood she felt like she could fly. No matter what Gu Yanqiu said, she nodded along. She caught Gu Yanqiu’s hand and kissed her fingertips, smiling as she answered, "Fine. I’ll reply to her later."

Gu Yanqiu pressed her lips together, then smiled too.

After they had taken a few steps, Lin Yuewei suddenly stopped. The smile at the corner of her mouth deepened before she could stop it. She turned to look at Gu Yanqiu. "Were you deliberately stalling for time?"

Gu Yanqiu was as calm as ever. "How could I?"

...She was stalling for time.

Lin Yuewei stared at her for a few seconds without blinking, then wrapped both arms around her waist and kissed her. It was a light kiss, with no hint of desire, her eyelashes trembling faintly as her cool skin brushed Gu Yanqiu’s nose. It was full of tenderness.

After the kiss, Lin Yuewei kept holding her like that, forehead against forehead. "If you’re not ready, we can wait a little longer."

Gu Yanqiu gave a slight shake of her head.

Lin Yuewei’s blood rushed to her head, and she scooped Gu Yanqiu up in a princess carry... and failed to lift her. It wasn’t because she was weak, nor because Gu Yanqiu was too heavy; it was because Gu Yanqiu reacted too quickly and slipped out of her arms the moment Lin Yuewei bent down.

Lin Yuewei: "..."

Could they please have a normal novel scene for once?!

What kind of heroine dodges a princess carry when her girlfriend is trying to pick her up?!

Gu Yanqiu asked, "What are you doing?"

Lin Yuewei sighed in exhaustion. "Nothing."

The two of them went upstairs one after the other. Lin Yuewei went in last and closed the door behind them. Even though there was no one else in the house, she still wasn’t at ease and locked the door.

Gu Yanqiu sat on the bed, tapping at her phone.

Cheng Guiyuan had sent her a string of question marks.

[Big Kite: You’ve really piqued my curiosity. Not planning to say anything?]

[Big Kite: Is there something you want to ask me? I know absolutely everything and can tell you everything]

Gu Yanqiu looked at the messages with a headache and replied perfunctorily: [I’m going to sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow]

Cheng Guiyuan wasn’t the type to cling and demand gossip; she preferred for gossip to come to her on its own. So after seeing Gu Yanqiu’s reply, she went back to sleep.

As for Lin Yuewei, who had promised to reply to Shao Yasi, she was driven half-mad by the other woman’s barrage of messages and finally just turned off vibration and put her phone on silent.

Lin Yuewei turned to complain to Gu Yanqiu. "Look, I say one thing and she can say ten. It’s all your fault."

Gu Yanqiu said good-naturedly, "Fine, fine, it’s all my fault."

Lin Yuewei added, "No, it’s not your fault. It’s all her problem."

Gu Yanqiu smiled. "Then keep replying."

She lowered her head and opened the browser search bar on her phone, typing word by word: women and women how to...

Lin Yuewei was right beside her, so Gu Yanqiu didn’t dare look too closely. She just skimmed the page quickly, grasped the general idea, and closed it. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

...It didn’t seem that difficult.

Lin Yuewei and Shao Yasi chatted until she was almost falling asleep, but Gu Yanqiu still showed no sign of going to bed; she had even started reading. Lin Yuewei had no choice but to keep forcing the conversation with Shao Yasi.

At twelve-thirty, Lin Yuewei couldn’t take it anymore. She poked one of the hands holding Gu Yanqiu’s book, her cheeks a little red, whether from shyness or nerves. "Sleep?"

Gu Yanqiu closed the book and nodded faintly. "Let’s sleep."

Lin Yuewei instantly perked up. "I’m going to wash my hands."

Gu Yanqiu’s mind turned. "I’ll wash mine too."

Lin Yuewei: "Huh?"

Then she thought about it and decided clean was better after all, so she got up with Gu Yanqiu and went to wash their hands together. They lathered on the hand soap and rubbed the foam over their hands, when Gu Yanqiu’s hand was suddenly caught by hers. Fingers spread, wrist to wrist, the crooks of their thumbs pressed together.

Gu Yanqiu raised her brows in confusion. "Mm?"

Lin Yuewei explained solemnly, "I’m checking whose fingers are longer."

Both of their hands were slim and long, very fair, with distinct knuckles; when slightly tensed, they looked quite strong. Lin Yuewei compared them. They were about the same; the difference was negligible.

Gu Yanqiu gave her a meaningful look.

Meeting that gaze, Lin Yuewei looked away first. She took a dry towel from the side and wiped the water from the gaps between their fingers.

"Done."

Lin Yuewei took her hand and led her back. After holding back for so long, their feelings burst out in just those few steps. She wrapped an arm around Gu Yanqiu’s waist and half-pushed, half-led her down onto the bed.

Bed; the word represented a certain kind of behavior. It was the classic and most practical venue of all. Otherwise, why not do it in the car or on the sofa? The meaning was different.

Lin Yuewei felt that the moment she kissed Gu Yanqiu, she hadn’t been gentle at all. Her lips bumped against Gu Yanqiu’s teeth. She wanted to apologize, but she didn’t want to lose that warm sensation for even a second.

Gu Yanqiu had her eyes open. Lin Yuewei saw that Gu Yanqiu had her eyes open.

Eyes... open???

Lin Yuewei snapped out of her one-sided daze. "What’s wrong?"

Gu Yanqiu gestured for her to look down. Lin Yuewei followed her line of sight and saw that, from the waist down, Gu Yanqiu was completely outside the bed, using both legs to keep herself balanced like a stool. That had to be tiring; no wonder she wasn’t in the mood to close her eyes and kiss.

Lin Yuewei said awkwardly, "Did I not lift you up just now?"

Gu Yanqiu looked at her helplessly. "What do you think?"

Lin Yuewei: "..."

Her brain had already raced through the entire sequence in full heat; only after opening her eyes did she realize they were still at the very beginning of the kiss.

Lin Yuewei moved to carry her up again, but Gu Yanqiu grabbed her shoulder and stood on her own, very self-reliant indeed. Lin Yuewei was speechless for a few seconds, raked a hand through her hair, and said, "Continue?"

Gu Yanqiu lay back on the bed. "Fine."

Lin Yuewei crawled over. After thinking about it, she turned off the light.

The room was plunged into darkness.

No one noticed that in the dark, a pair of eyes was glimmering faintly.

Lin Yuewei braced her hands on either side of Gu Yanqiu’s neck. In the silent room, their breathing was especially clear. Gu Yanqiu wasn’t used to being hemmed in by such a narrow space, but she really didn’t have Lin Yuewei’s wealth of theory, so she had no choice but to stay beneath her for now and build experience.

Lin Yuewei’s fingers traced the fine down on Gu Yanqiu’s face, from her forehead to her eyes, then over her lashes to the tip of her nose. It was gentle and a little ticklish. Thinking that the night was still long and that she ought to give Gu Yanqiu a perfect experience, she deliberately slowed down, creating a complete contrast to her earlier haste.

Gu Yanqiu suddenly said, "I’m going to fall asleep."

"Wha—" Before Lin Yuewei could figure out what that meant, Gu Yanqiu had already tilted her head and kissed her. In just a few seconds, she made both of their breathing turn hot.

Lin Yuewei reacted a beat too slowly; Gu Yanqiu decisively broke free from her restraint, propped herself up with one hand, and wrapped the other around the side of Lin Yuewei’s neck, taking the lead without the slightest politeness.

Everything that followed completely exceeded Lin Yuewei’s expectations; it all fell apart. Gu Yanqiu hooked her tongue and sucked on it, the shallow bite marks nearly not missing a single corner of her jaw.

Bitten until she was sore and numb, Lin Yuewei felt the heat rising higher and still had enough mental space left to think that Gu Yanqiu didn’t seem to be a dog.

When had she learned to bite like this?

No, why was she still thinking about something so irrelevant? Wasn’t the fact that she was being thoroughly overpowered by Gu Yanqiu right now more important? Hadn’t they agreed she hadn’t even looked at the materials?

Lin Yuewei retreated a little, half-resting against the headboard to catch her breath from the frighteningly high temperature.

Gu Yanqiu came after her, panting, both hands braced beside her, her breath brushing the side of Lin Yuewei’s neck with every exhale.

She said, "It doesn’t seem like it takes much studying."

Lin Yuewei couldn’t see her expression, but she could hear the proud smile in her voice. She thought resentfully: Yes, yes, you don’t need to learn, you’re the best. If I hadn’t let you have your way, how could you have turned the tables like this?

Lin Yuewei lifted a hand and touched Gu Yanqiu’s face, her fingers gently wiping the sweat from her temple.

She thought: I’m going to get serious.

Gu Yanqiu kissed the slender line of her neck in tiny, gentle pecks, with no aggression at all. Lin Yuewei felt deeply cherished and enjoyed that unhurried rhythm, putting her plan to "get serious" on hold.

Just as she was about to lose herself in it completely, Gu Yanqiu suddenly took her earlobe into her mouth. Her voice, rough and husky, was nothing like her usual clear tone. "Weiwei, I want to make you happy."

Lin Yuewei: "!!!"

Gu Yanqiu gave her no time to react; a storm of attacks crashed down. Lin Yuewei lost the initiative. Once she fell one step behind, she stayed behind every step after that, until all that remained was passive resistance.

Rustle, rustle. Rustle, rustle.

It was as if something was moving in the room.

Lin Yuewei’s ears twitched; she jolted awake and asked, "What was that sound?"

"There’s a sound?"

"Yes."

A shadow flashed through the darkness and leapt lightly onto the bed. Lin Yuewei’s hand touched something furry; the soft little thing radiating body heat nearly made her scream in shock.

Then her eyes met a pair of eerie blue pupils.

As someone who was only ever a cat fan in theory, Lin Yuewei really did scream this time.

Gu Yanqiu naturally saw it too. "..."

"It’s Schrödinger." She soothed Lin Yuewei, then went to the bedside and turned on the light. The room was bright again. The snow-white, fluffy Schrödinger was crouched on the blanket, its stout hindquarters pinning Lin Yuewei’s hand beneath it.

Lin Yuewei’s soul had just returned to her body. She pulled her hand free and said in lingering fear, "Didn’t I send it back to sleep?"

Gu Yanqiu got out of bed, picked up the pajamas from the floor, put one on herself, and tossed one to Lin Yuewei. "Maybe it woke up again."

"How did it get in?"

"When you went downstairs." Gu Yanqiu opened the wardrobe and looked inside, frowning. "It must have been hiding in here just now."

"..."

Lin Yuewei put on her pajamas, poked Schrödinger’s little head, and muttered something. Schrödinger tilted its head, then went off to curl up on the bed by itself.

Lin Yuewei: "..."

Gu Yanqiu stood with her arms folded for a while, then grabbed Schrödinger and decisively threw it out of the bedroom before closing the door behind it.

Outside, Schrödinger let out a heartbreaking howl.

Lin Yuewei: ".................."

Gu Yanqiu said guiltily, "When you weren’t here, it got used to sleeping with me. It was my fault; I forgot about that and didn’t check the room carefully enough. I ended up ruining your chance to—"

Lin Yuewei, her ears red, cut her off. "I’m fine."

Gu Yanqiu asked, "Continue?"

Lin Yuewei glanced at the time and was just about to answer when scratching sounds came from the door, rasp, rasp.

Lin Yuewei said, "Is that Schrödinger again?"

Gu Yanqiu nodded.

She said, "Ignore it. If we don’t open the door, it’ll go back to sleep on its own."

Lin Yuewei hesitated. "All right."

Gu Yanqiu licked her moist red lips. "Continue?"

It was still early, so continue they did. Lin Yuewei threw back the blanket; Gu Yanqiu sat on top of her, and after only a short while, Gu Yanqiu realized Lin Yuewei was distracted.

Lin Yuewei glanced toward the door. The scratching still hadn’t stopped, and she worriedly said, "Will it really go back to sleep? What if it sleeps by the door? What if it catches a chill?"

Gu Yanqiu let out a sigh.

Lin Yuewei said, "How about we—"

Gu Yanqiu got up, pulled the door open, and Schrödinger swiped a paw at her bare calf, instantly leaving three bloody lines. Gu Yanqiu was used to such injuries. The last time she gave Schrödinger a bath, it had scratched six lines across her forearm, perfectly symmetrical on both sides.

Schrödinger was lifted away from the door and tossed back onto the bed. Lin Yuewei took it into her arms, and Gu Yanqiu looked at her and said, "Yuewei, a doting mother ruins her child."

Lin Yuewei: ".................."

Gu Yanqiu walked over and kissed her forehead. "I’m going downstairs to deal with the wound."

Only then did Lin Yuewei worry. "You’re hurt? Where?"

Gu Yanqiu smiled. "Just scratched a couple of times. It’s nothing serious; I just need some medicine."

Lin Yuewei put the cat down and followed her downstairs, busily helping her treat the wounds. In the end, Gu Yanqiu held her on the sofa and let out a faint sigh. "Schrödinger is a big problem."

If it kept sneaking into the bedroom from time to time and interrupting at the crucial moment, even the most passionate person would be scared into frigidity.

Lin Yuewei softened. "It was used to sleeping with you before. Wouldn’t it be bad to suddenly change that?"

Gu Yanqiu raised a brow, noncommittal. "You decide. I’m fine with anything."

Lin Yuewei hesitated. "I’ll think about it some more."

Gu Yanqiu warned her again, "Remember: a doting mother ruins her child."

She kept bringing up that phrase; it was funny, but it also felt like she was deliberately needling her. Lin Yuewei got so angry she yanked open Gu Yanqiu’s collar, pressed her lips to the skin there, and sucked hard. Gu Yanqiu winced and hurriedly said, "I still have to meet a client tomorrow."

Lin Yuewei looked at the bright red hickey and said sheepishly, "...It’s too late already."

Gu Yanqiu looked at her. "Are you going out tomorrow?"

"I—" Lin Yuewei caught her gaze and changed her answer. "Yes. Going out. I’m going out."

Gu Yanqiu gave a soft laugh and moved closer. "Too late."

Lin Yuewei shrieked and covered her own neck with both hands, laughing as she fled in disarray. Gu Yanqiu chased after her, and in the end pressed her down on the marble dining table and paid her back threefold.

Lin Yuewei looked in the mirror. When she turned back and saw Gu Yanqiu smiling with unusual brightness, she glared at her. "Do you want to fight?"

Gu Yanqiu said, "Yeah."

Lin Yuewei said, "Just wait. I’ll beat you until you’re missing teeth."

Gu Yanqiu laughed arrogantly. "Hahahaha."

The two of them made a racket downstairs for a while and actually found it hard to go back up. Lin Yuewei seriously considered moving the bedroom downstairs, and Gu Yanqiu cut through her fantasy with one pointed sentence. "Useless. Schrödinger recognizes people."

Lin Yuewei insisted, "I’ll teach it well."

"Good luck." Gu Yanqiu shrugged. "A doting mother ruins her child."

Lin Yuewei lunged at her. "Ahhh, Gu Yanqiu, I’m fighting you to the end!"

Gu Yanqiu nimbly dodged her chaotic attacks. In the end, both of them were exhausted and slumped sideways on the sofa. Lin Yuewei said, "Why are you so wild today? What happened to your calm, Buddhist CEO vibe?"

"I’m not some calm, Buddhist CEO; that was the persona you gave me yourself," Gu Yanqiu said, feeling a little excited. She didn’t feel sleepy at all. She nodded toward the coffee table. "I took off my prayer beads early today. If you like the Buddhist type, I can be that too."

"Forget it. Let’s keep it like this," Lin Yuewei said, poking the bridge of her elegant nose. "You’re cuter like this."

Gu Yanqiu blinked. "Was I not cute before?"

Lin Yuewei took a direct hit and immediately confessed, "Cute, cute; you’re so cute I could die."

Gu Yanqiu laughed, looking beautiful as she did, and even showed a bit of the shyness Lin Yuewei was familiar with. "No one ever said I was cute before."

"What about your parents?"

"Dad said I was smart; Mom said I looked good." That was how it was in Gu Yanqiu’s memory. She said to Lin Yuewei, "You’re the first person to say I’m cute. Really."

Gu Huai was probably not good at expressing himself. As for Shen Huaiyu, maybe she had never loved her at all. Lin Yuewei felt a sour ache in her heart and hugged Gu Yanqiu tighter in sympathy. "Then I’ll praise you for being cute every day from now on. Cute, cute, so cute."

Gu Yanqiu said shyly, "Won’t that make me seem very thick-skinned?"

Lin Yuewei said, "No. You’re not praising yourself."

Gu Yanqiu said, "If you praise me too much, I’ll start thinking I really am cute. Wouldn’t that make me thick-skinned?"

For a moment, Lin Yuewei couldn’t think of a way to argue with her, so she forced an explanation. "Anyway, just be cute in front of me. Whether I say it or you think it yourself, only the two of us will know; how could that count as being thick-skinned?"

Gu Yanqiu nestled happily into her arms. "All right."

The two of them leaned against each other on the sofa and whispered sweet nothings. The atmosphere made all the things they usually couldn’t say come out easily. There was no moon tonight; if the moon had heard them, it would surely have blushed in shame. The wall clock ticked to two in the morning. Reluctantly, Lin Yuewei tugged Gu Yanqiu up. "Sleep? Don’t you still have to meet a client tomorrow?"

Gu Yanqiu yawned. "Okay."

Lin Yuewei went upstairs and rolled the cat hair off the bed. The two of them slept together, with Schrödinger placed on the other side; the two women and the cat all fell into sleep peacefully.

Early the next morning, Lin Yuewei was awakened by Schrödinger stepping on her, from her stomach all the way up to her face. It was already a pretty big cat; if Lin Yuewei hadn’t trained regularly, that step would’ve been enough to hurt. Cats also bullied the weak and feared the strong; knowing Gu Yanqiu was a cold and merciless father, it had stretched its claws toward the mother instead.

Lin Yuewei opened her sleepy eyes and looked at Schrödinger, who was having the time of its life trampling over her, then looked at Gu Yanqiu, who was sleeping soundly beside her, and instantly woke up.

She covered the cat’s mouth and carried it out of bed, then tiptoed out and closed the door behind her before going to the guest room to educate Schrödinger.

"Do you know how hard Dad works outside? She still has to go see a client on the weekend. And why is she doing all this? Isn’t it just so the two of us can have a stable, peaceful life? Look at you, eating and sleeping all day, putting on weight on schedule. What have you contributed to this family? Don’t you feel ashamed?"

Schrödinger meowed twice and looked up at her with its round little head.

"It’s one thing to disturb Mom and Dad trying to make a second child at night, but look at what time it is now. It’s not even six in the morning, do you know that? Mom and Dad didn’t go to sleep until after two last night; that’s only three hours of sleep so far. Even iron bodies can’t take that. I’m fine; I have a good temper. But if you wake Dad up, you won’t get any breakfast today."

Schrödinger shook out its fluffy fur and sat down primly.

"Mind your attitude." Lin Yuewei poked it upright. Schrödinger turned its head away in a huff and refused to look at her. Lin Yuewei said, "I only said a couple of things and you already don’t like hearing it? Turn around."

Schrödinger: "..."

Lin Yuewei held the cat’s face in both hands and forced it to look at her. "I know you can’t understand human speech..."

"Pfft—" A low laugh came from behind her.

Lin Yuewei turned around and saw Gu Yanqiu standing there in her pajamas. She immediately abandoned her cat daughter, clapped her hands, and stood up. "Why are you awake?"

Gu Yanqiu smiled gently. "I came to watch you educate the child."

Lin Yuewei said, "Quit teasing me. Didn’t you say I’m a doting mother who ruins her child?"

Gu Yanqiu took her hand and led her back. "No need to worry about it. I’ll educate it later."

Lin Yuewei asked curiously, "How are you going to educate it?"

"I have my own methods," Gu Yanqiu said, yawning. Her eyes were full of sleepy tears, which slid down from the corners as she casually wiped them away. She half-wrapped her arm around Lin Yuewei and rested her chin affectionately on Lin Yuewei’s shoulder, speaking right by her ear. Her tone was soft and lightly rising at the end. "Come sleep with me."

Half of Lin Yuewei’s body instantly went numb, and she had to steady herself against the wall.

Gu Yanqiu, the culprit who had no idea what she’d done, blinked. "What’s wrong?"

Lin Yuewei took a deep breath. "Nothing."

If Gu Yanqiu spoke to her in that tone while in bed, she would probably have surrendered long ago without the slightest ability to resist.

Author’s Note:

The Palace faction, don’t give up; charge!

Schrödinger: Okay, I know you all want to hit me, but that’s not fair. I’m just a little kitty _(:з」∠)_