Chapter 107

Following the address Lin Yuewei had given her, Shao Yasi found the residential complex and was let inside by Lin Yuewei, who was disguised just as thoroughly as she was.

All the way there, Shao Yasi kept exclaiming, “How much is housing here?”

Lin Yuewei gave her a number. Shao Yasi nearly dropped her jaw, then silently pulled up a calculator on her phone to do the math. “How big is your place?”

“Three hundred square meters? Not including the yard.” Lin Yuewei wasn’t too sure herself. She’d signed too many house-purchase contracts with her own hand, and this house had been bought only because her mother, Ran Qingqing, had insisted on it, so she hadn’t paid much attention. She’d never really measured it.

Shao Yasi let out a wail that seemed to come from the depths of her soul, then lunged at Lin Yuewei and clamped her hands around her neck. “Vile capitalism!”

Lin Yuewei lifted a hand and peeled her off with little effort, then calmly dumped the blame on Gu Yanqiu. “The house isn’t mine. It’s my wife’s.” Hers was Gu Yanqiu’s; perfectly logical.

Shao Yasi felt a little better after that. Lin Yuewei immediately showed off some more affection. “How about it? Jealous? My wife is rich and beautiful.”

Shao Yasi gritted her teeth and called her by name.

The two of them, with no idol image to worry about at all, ran and tussled their way into the house.

Shao Yasi’s legs were sore from walking; the moment she got inside, she collapsed onto the sofa. “Got any water? Let me have a drink.”

Lin Yuewei brought her a glass and lectured her, “Has your physical fitness really gotten this bad? We barely walked any distance.”

Shao Yasi downed the warm water in one go like she was drinking from a bowl, then, after catching her breath, finally had the energy to inspect the house. Her whole vibe was one of criticizing Lin Yuewei’s extravagance before she began looking everywhere for the cat.

Lin Yuewei folded her arms and tilted her chin toward the kitchen. “Over there.”

Schrödinger, as always, was crouched in the soup pot, still not tired of his little act.

Shao Yasi wasn’t one of those online cat owners who just watched from afar; she had really raised cats before, back when it was possible at home, before entering the entertainment industry made it inconvenient to keep them with her. Schrödinger, shy around strangers, melted in her arms with the comfortable brushing. His eyes even narrowed, the whole cat looking languid beyond belief.

Lin Yuewei reached out to scratch Schrödinger under the chin, and Schrödinger couldn’t be bothered to react to her either.

Shao Yasi looked so blissed out she was practically about to ascend. She was only missing a bit of dry ice beside her to create the effect of floating on clouds. Lin Yuewei had planned to wait until she was done petting the cat before talking to her, but Shao Yasi asked during that lull, “Where are the wedding photos? Let me see.”

Wedding photos?

Lin Yuewei’s expression went blank for a moment.

Shao Yasi said, “You didn’t take any, did you?”

Lin Yuewei: “We did, we did.”

Shao Yasi: “Then why do you look like you’ve got something hard to say?”

Lin Yuewei tucked her hair behind her ear. “There should be some.”

Shao Yasi stared at her in disbelief. “...You don’t even know whether there are any? Or was the person who got married back then not you at all?”

“It was me, it really was me.” Lin Yuewei stood up. “I’ll go ask.”

“Ask who?”

“Gu Yanqiu.”

“...”

Shao Yasi held Schrödinger in both hands and looked at this little married couple with deep suspicion.

Gu Yanqiu was dressed in sportswear and wearing a baseball cap. From a distance, she watched the golf ball land on the green lawn; beside her, a client shaded his eyes from the sun, took a look, and gave her a thumbs-up.

Gu Yanqiu was exchanging a few polite commercial compliments with the client when Lin Zhi jogged over quietly, holding her phone. “Miss Gu, your call.”

Gu Yanqiu glanced at the incoming caller ID: Girlfriend.

She gave Lin Zhi a cool look; Lin Zhi kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, pretending the one who’d been running over just now wasn’t him. He knew that Gu Yanqiu had been quarreling with her girlfriend lately, so he was especially attentive when he saw her call, terrified this might be a signal of reconciliation that he’d delayed.

Gu Yanqiu said to the client, “Excuse me for a moment; I need to take this call.”

She answered and walked off to the side.

“Wedding photos?” Gu Yanqiu braced one hand on her golf club and looked down at the grass beneath her sneakers, slightly turning her face. Her features were exquisite in profile; she was tall and slender, and the warm sunlight suited her snow-white athletic clothes perfectly, outlining her in a soft golden edge.

Lin Zhi quietly took out his phone and snapped a picture of Gu Yanqiu. Nothing personal about it; he just thought she looked good.

The day they took the wedding photos, Lin Yuewei had been in a terrible mood and left in a hurry. It was later Gu Yanqiu who negotiated with the photographer; seeing that neither of them cared much, the photographer shot them to ordinary standards. To avoid losing money on his end, he hadn’t even dared use a large frame. Thinking of it now, it really was a pity.

Gu Yanqiu said, “The framed ones are packed in cardboard boxes in the storage room. There are two albums in the cabinet under the TV; they’re in boxes too. Just pull open the drawer and you’ll see them.”

Lin Yuewei asked, “Why’d you put them in storage?” No wonder she always felt there was something missing compared with other couples’ homes. So it was the wedding photos. Something that important, and if Shao Yasi hadn’t asked, when would she have remembered?

Gu Yanqiu answered, “They’ve been there a long time. I forgot about them a little too. I remembered a while ago, but you weren’t home, so I wanted to wait until you came back to take them out and hang them up. Then I forgot again.”

Lin Yuewei: “Hahaha.”

Gu Yanqiu said, “We’ll find someone to hang them up in the next two days. Do you want to look at the photos?”

Lin Yuewei answered, “Yeah.”

Gu Yanqiu smiled. “Then perfect. When you look through them, pick out the ones you like best; we’ll have them enlarged again and hang them at home.”

Lin Yuewei said happily, “Okay, okay.”

“Anything else? I need to keep accompanying the client.”

“Nope.” Lin Yuewei glanced at Shao Yasi, who was sitting on the sofa not far away, and lowered her voice. “I miss you.”

Gu Yanqiu replied, “I miss you too.”

***

Under Gu Yanqiu’s directions, Lin Yuewei found the albums in the TV cabinet, then ran to the storage room and carried out the two cardboard boxes. Shao Yasi stared at her, dumbfounded. “You two...” You keep your wedding photos in a storage room to gather dust?

Lin Yuewei waved a hand to cut her off, saying casually, “Don’t worry about the details.”

Shao Yasi: “...Fine.”

Shao Yasi looked at the larger photos first, especially the ones meant to be hung on the wall of the master bedroom. Her eyes practically stuck to them. “They’re so pretty,” she exclaimed. But then she immediately pointed out a flaw. “By the way, your wife is so rich. Why were the wedding photos taken in a studio?”

Lin Yuewei: “This...” Was she supposed to say that when they took the wedding photos, they didn’t even have feelings for each other yet, and wanted to save themselves the trouble, so they’d just taken them casually in a studio?

She found an excuse. “She was... busy with work. Right, busy with work, so she didn’t have time.”

Shao Yasi said unhappily, “No matter how busy work is, you can’t be so perfunctory about something like this. Seriously, you only get married once in a lifetime, and even the wedding photos are this casual.”

From Lin Yuewei’s perspective, that made her a very good best friend.

Shao Yasi said, “Does she really like you? Could she be a scammer? After your looks.” Lin Yuewei still hadn’t told her her true identity was that she was the daughter of the Lin family, a business giant; Shao Yasi thought she was just an ordinary girl who’d somehow ended up with a rich woman like Gu Yanqiu. Her imagination immediately ran wild and headed in an increasingly bizarre direction. “Oh my god, could she be a bigamist? Maybe she’s actually keeping another one somewhere else.”

Lin Yuewei: “...”

Shao Yasi went even further. “Is that marriage certificate real? Did you and she go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and do it yourselves? Counterfeit certificates are really good these days; maybe they can even copy the official seal.”

What was all this nonsense.

Lin Yuewei interrupted her. “It’s real! I watched the staff stamp it myself.”

Shao Yasi said, “Wedding photos can be handled casually, but what about a honeymoon? Did you two at least go on one?”

Lin Yuewei was speechless again.

They really hadn’t.

Shao Yasi let out a shriek. “Wedding photos taken casually in a studio, no honeymoon either; how did you get married so muddled?”

Lin Yuewei discovered she still couldn’t refute that.

This marriage had indeed been muddled. She’d only met Gu Yanqiu face-to-face for the first time on their wedding day.

Shao Yasi became deeply worried for Lin Yuewei, frowning tightly as though she still had a lot more to say in earnest. Lin Yuewei seized the moment to cut her off. “All right, we’re doing fine now, aren’t we? We’ll make up for the wedding photos and honeymoon later. I remembered it now; back then she really had planned to go on a honeymoon and retake the wedding photos properly somewhere more scenic, but I was busy filming a show, so there was no time. It got delayed.”

Shao Yasi gave her a long look, then patted her shoulder. “Be more careful.”

Lin Yuewei was both amused and exasperated. She never imagined she’d have a day when Shao Yasi was the one reminding her to be careful. The last person who’d told her that was Qu Xuesong, but Qu Xuesong and Shao Yasi weren’t in the same league; there was at least a hundred of her own self between them. Thinking of Qu Xuesong, Lin Yuewei suddenly remembered the time Shao Yasi had come by to visit the set, when Wang Yuanyuan had said Qu Xuesong’s gaze toward Shao Yasi’s agent, Ji Han, was very complicated. Did that count as some sort of connection between the two of them?

The two of them sat down to look at the wedding photos, one album each. With a photographer as reliable as the one they’d hired, and two people who both looked good, the photos naturally couldn’t have turned out badly. But ever since Shao Yasi had complained that the wedding photos were taken in a studio instead of outdoors, Lin Yuewei had felt a trace of regret lingering in her heart; it didn’t sit right.

Gu Yanqiu had told her to choose the pretty ones. She saw quite a few she liked, but once she remembered that the backgrounds behind them were fake, and that she didn’t even have a clear memory of the day those photos were taken, she crossed out all the options in her heart.

I should go abroad and retake them someday, Lin Yuewei thought. I’ll tell Gu Yanqiu when I get back. And the honeymoon, too; that needs to be arranged. Other couples have it, and she and Gu Yanqiu couldn’t be missing any of it. In fact, they should have more.

Shao Yasi stayed there for nearly three hours. By the time five o’clock was almost here, she reluctantly let go of Schrödinger’s fur. Lin Yuewei glanced over and said, “Oh no, he’s going bald.”

For some reason, whether Schrödinger understood her words or her expression, he let out a mournful meow and jumped down from Shao Yasi’s lap.

Lin Yuewei: “Hahaha.”

Shao Yasi sighed. “You’re such a bear mom.”

Lin Yuewei kept laughing. “Hahahaha.”

As it was nearly time for Shao Yasi to head back, she didn’t keep holding Schrödinger. Instead, she took out her phone and snapped a few pictures of him to enjoy later. She opened WeChat, long-pressed the button in the center at the bottom of the screen, and Lin Yuewei saw her send off a ten-second video. She asked alertly, “Who did you send that to?”

Shao Yasi said, “Hanhan. Don’t worry, I only filmed Schrödinger and nothing else.”

Lin Yuewei thought, Do I look worried about that? She asked, “Why’d you send it to her?”

Shao Yasi replied, “Hanhan likes cats too. She told me that if I ran into anything fun, I should film it and show her. She also said that if I wanted to bring the cat home with me, she could help take care of him, but I thought about it and it seemed too much trouble. She’s really busy too, so she probably wouldn’t have time to look after him.”

Lin Yuewei: “...”

Wasn’t this kind of conversation basically flirting 101? Back and forth like this, Shao Yasi was automatically walking straight into Ji Han’s trap. If Lin Yuewei had originally thought it was just Shao Yasi’s personality, that she liked to rely on others while Ji Han was simply especially indulgent toward her, then looking at it now, this Ji Han also seemed to have feelings for Shao Yasi. Maybe she’d deliberately set a trap and let Shao Yasi walk right into it; Shao Yasi hadn’t been this dependent on her before.

Lin Yuewei hinted at it vaguely. “Your manager...”

Shao Yasi’s eyes lit up instantly. “What about Hanhan?”

The moment Lin Yuewei saw that reaction, she knew it was over. “Does your manager have any other artists under her?”

Shao Yasi said, “There’s one more, seems like she’s two years older than me, that one...”

She named someone, and Lin Yuewei found the name familiar. It was a woman, and she seemed to be quite good-looking, but she couldn’t quite remember what works she’d been in. Shao Yasi said, “She’s got a really hot variety show lately, a regular cast member; it’s called Can’t Think of a Name.”

“Oh, oh, oh.” Lin Yuewei nodded. Can’t Think of a Name was one of the more popular satellite TV variety shows in recent years. In an era where uneven web variety shows flooded the market, Can’t Think of a Name had already outpaced most of them. On top of its high production quality and reliable team, it had led the ratings for several seasons in a row and turned several celebrities into variety-show stars.

Shao Yasi transformed once again into a Ji Han fan. “Hanhan is amazing. Last year, one of the regular cast members on that show left, and so many people wanted to stuff their company’s starlets into the slot, but only Hanhan succeeded.”

On that point, Lin Yuewei really admired Ji Han. She seemed to have many avenues other people didn’t, like that regular cast slot for the starlet, or the TV drama lead that would never have been Shao Yasi’s turn. She could really make it happen. But strong personal ability didn’t mean she was also someone worth entrusting with your feelings. Lin Yuewei tried to probe again. “Does your manager have a boyfriend or girlfriend?”

Shao Yasi shook her head. “No. She’s too busy to date.”

Lin Yuewei said, “Then how does she still have time to keep hanging out with you?”

Shao Yasi said, “Huh?”

Lin Yuewei brightened for a moment, but then Shao Yasi said, “Maybe she just happened to have time? And she only has two artists under her. She’s either accompanying her senior or accompanying me.”

Lin Yuewei: “...”

Shao Yasi’s sluggish nerves finally reacted a beat late. “Are you trying to hint at something?”

Thank goodness. Lin Yuewei said, “I’m telling you to be a little guarded. Don’t end up getting sold off in the end.”

After thinking it over carefully, she still decided not to tell her that Ji Han might like her. Given Shao Yasi’s personality, she might not only fail to be cautious around the other woman, she might start wildly overthinking things herself and then run over to confess to her. If that happened, the whole matter would head even more toward a direction Lin Yuewei didn’t want to see.

Lin Yuewei was eighty percent sure Shao Yasi could do that.

A dilemma either way.

When she sent Shao Yasi back, Lin Yuewei couldn’t help saying again, “When you’re usually... forget it. Just be more careful.”

Shao Yasi laughed. “Who exactly should be more careful here?”

Fine, then go ahead and die angry. Lin Yuewei rubbed her head in exasperation and sent her into the car. “Hurry up and go.”

“See you next time.” Shao Yasi waved at her and closed the car door.

After seeing her off, Lin Yuewei had only just stepped into the house when she heard the familiar creak of the iron gate opening outside. Gu Yanqiu was back. She was still wearing the same sportswear she’d left in, with a bit of dust on the cuffs of her pants; she patted it off at the entryway before changing into indoor shoes and coming in.

“I’m home.”

“Want some water?”

“Yes.”

Gu Yanqiu sat on the sofa with the cup Lin Yuewei handed her in one hand and the wedding photo album in the other. As she flipped through it, she asked, “Did you find any pretty ones?”

Lin Yuewei’s mood was subdued as she said, “Mm.”

Gu Yanqiu set down the cup, raised her eyes, and looked at Lin Yuewei. “Ran into something upsetting, hmm?”

“It’s not exactly something upsetting,” Lin Yuewei said. She came over to sit next to Gu Yanqiu and took one of her hands in her palm, absently playing with it as she said thoughtfully, “Don’t you think our wedding photos are missing something?”

“Missing what?” Gu Yanqiu looked down at them. “You’re not missing, I’m not missing; nothing’s missing.”

“Look more carefully.”

“Oh,” Gu Yanqiu said. “Did they not get a full-body shot, then? You’re missing a hand.”

“...”

Gu Yanqiu’s attempt at humor failed miserably. She touched her nose; Lin Yuewei got straight to the point. “The backgrounds behind these are all fake.” She flipped two pages and pointed to a photo with a beach in the background.

This time Gu Yanqiu understood. “So that’s what you mean. Then when we have time, should we go somewhere and shoot them for real? Where do you like? Hawaii, Bali, the Maldives? Santorini? Prague? Are you free this New Year? We can set aside a week and go.”

Lin Yuewei looped her arms around Gu Yanqiu’s neck and pretended to be reserved. “Actually, it’s not that urgent.” After saying that, she immediately added, “Then let’s do it this New Year.”

Gu Yanqiu almost laughed out loud.

Just like that, the two of them settled their New Year’s plan.

With one thing off her mind, Lin Yuewei felt much more relaxed. Gu Yanqiu pointed to the large frame in the living room that they hadn’t yet put away and asked, “Do you still want this hung up?”

Lin Yuewei said, “Hang it up. Of course we should. It’ll be a long time before the next batch of wedding photos comes out; better to hang this one a day earlier.”

Gu Yanqiu tried not to smile. “Then I’ll have someone come by tomorrow.”

Lin Yuewei asked, “Don’t you have any social engagements tomorrow?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “I did.”

“Did?”

“Yes. I pushed them aside to keep you company.” Gu Yanqiu smiled.

Lin Yuewei was struck right in the heart by President Gu’s flirting. She threw her arms around Gu Yanqiu and gave her a French kiss.

Gu Yanqiu was kissing her deeply when she felt something furry pressing on her foot. Without even thinking, she kicked it away.

Schrödinger: “...”

It was another day of being disliked by Dad.

Their lips parted, and Lin Yuewei kissed Gu Yanqiu’s forehead, then trailed down to the bridge of her nose. Pleased, she gave the tip of her nose a gentle bite. Gu Yanqiu let out a sharp breath of pain.

Lin Yuewei realized she was actually a little excited by that sound; she wanted to hear it on the bed too. Steam-whistle thoughts were already chugging away in her head.

The two of them lingered affectionately at home for a while before heading out to the supermarket, where they had agreed to buy couple items.

Lin Yuewei was especially talkative today. In the car she kept chatting with Gu Yanqiu, reading the list on her phone: “Slippers, cups, towels, toothbrush cups, toothbrushes, toothpaste..."

“Toothpaste?”

“We already have a green-tea one at home. I was thinking of buying a mint one too, so they make a pair.”

“Are green tea and mint a pair?” Gu Yanqiu asked in surprise.

“They’re both green, aren’t they? Pretty much.”

You don’t know until you read it; when you do, it’s a shock. Gu Yanqiu discovered that Lin Yuewei had also listed couple tablet cases and couple phone cases. Gu Yanqiu teased her, “Should we buy couple charging cables too? One red, one blue; red and blue are always a CP.”

“Good, good.” Lin Yuewei agreed happily.

By the time they reached the supermarket, Lin Yuewei was obviously very excited. She took the initiative to get a cart; she pushed it in front while Gu Yanqiu followed beside her. They passed a mother with a child; the child was sitting in the cart, and Lin Yuewei made faces at Gu Yanqiu.

Gu Yanqiu asked, “What are you doing?”

Lin Yuewei said, “You get in. I’ll push you.”

Gu Yanqiu gave her a look of disgust and quickened her pace by two steps.

Lin Yuewei laughed and chased after her from behind. “Why are you running?”

The two of them weaved back and forth through the aisles, drawing the attention of people nearby. Lin Yuewei stopped and called out, “I want this.”

Gu Yanqiu backed up and looked at the shelf in front of her. “Which one?”

“You guess.”

“...”

Lin Yuewei burst out laughing.

A glint of mischief flashed in Gu Yanqiu’s eyes. She rolled up the sleeve on her right arm and, from one end of the shelf to the other, began putting items into the cart one by one; one of them was always the one Lin Yuewei wanted. Watching her smooth, fluid movements, Lin Yuewei was dumbfounded.

Gu Yanqiu had already filled half the cart. She lifted one eyebrow and asked, “Touched?”

Lin Yuewei pretended to shiver. “Don’t move, don’t move.”

They laughed at the same time.

Lin Yuewei pointed at the things in the cart. “Put them back. I don’t want to eat this.”

Gu Yanqiu probably thought it was too much trouble and said, “I’ll eat it.”

Lin Yuewei said bluntly, “Stop talking nonsense. If you said Schrödinger eats it, I’d believe you more. When have you ever eaten snacks?”

Gu Yanqiu: “Mm.”

Lin Yuewei: “Hurry up and put them back.”

Gu Yanqiu could only put them back one by one. A girl nearby who was also picking snacks watched Gu Yanqiu’s entire routine and gave her a look as if she were looking at an idiot. Lin Yuewei glared back at her.

The girl, unwilling to offend, retreated.

Lin Yuewei helped put the snacks back. In the end, only one bag of tom yum-flavored chips remained. Gu Yanqiu silently noted the brand and flavor of that bag.

Lin Yuewei smiled. “Childish, aren’t we?”

Gu Yanqiu stared at her without blinking, her eyes carrying a trace of mischief.

Lin Yuewei said, “What?” That look definitely had a scheme behind it.

A soft, familiar sensation touched her cheek. Lin Yuewei froze. Gu Yanqiu had already tucked both hands behind her back and turned her gaze elsewhere.

A beat later, Lin Yuewei: “!!”

Gu Yanqiu had actually stolen a kiss in a place like this!

Then she saw Gu Yanqiu’s shoulders shaking slightly; she seemed quite pleased with herself.

Lin Yuewei thought about it and smiled, lightly poking Gu Yanqiu’s hidden hand with a finger. Her voice lifted brightly. “Come on, let’s go buy the rest.”

They cleared out everything on the list and bought ingredients for tomorrow as well. By the time the supermarket was closing, their cart had piled up into a little mountain as they went to pay. Lin Yuewei had been full of enthusiasm while shopping, but once they were done, she became lazy in every possible way; while waiting in line, she clung to Gu Yanqiu and didn’t want to move.

She felt like lifting weights hadn’t even been this tiring. Resting against Gu Yanqiu’s ear, she hummed softly, “My waist hurts.”

Gu Yanqiu rubbed her hand around her waist. “I’ll massage it for you when we get back.”

As New Year’s approached, the supermarket was running promotions every day, and the discounts were especially heavy. The checkout counters were packed with people. Lin Yuewei lifted her head from Gu Yanqiu’s shoulder and couldn’t see the end of the line; everyone else’s carts were filled to the brim too. Her head swam with it all, and she drooped back down again.

By now, Gu Yanqiu had more or less figured out the style of the young miss riding on her back and quietly served as a human tree stump, providing a place for the young miss to rest.

“It’s our turn.”

The moment Lin Yuewei heard Gu Yanqiu’s voice, she stood up as if someone had unsealed her acupoints.

The big bags went into the back seat, and Lin Yuewei volunteered to drive home, reasoning that Gu Yanqiu had taken on most of the work at the supermarket and was tired, so she’d drive on the way back.

The two of them chatted cheerfully about tomorrow’s plans: lunch at home, then in the afternoon they’d go to the Lin residence. Ran Qingqing might not say it, but she definitely missed them. Lin Yuewei had been thinking since filming that there was something she wanted to ask her mother, and now she’d finally found the time.

It was only interrupted by a ringing phone.

Lin Yuewei hadn’t connected to the car’s Bluetooth, so she called to Gu Yanqiu directly, “Help me see who it is.”

Gu Yanqiu picked up the phone and fell unusually silent.

Lin Yuewei was driving and couldn’t look over, so her nerves tightened along with the silence. “Who is it?”

Gu Yanqiu drew out the words meaningfully. “Qu... teacher.”

Lin Yuewei: “...”

Gu Yanqiu asked her, “Answer it?”

Lin Yuewei said, “Answer it.” If she didn’t answer, that would be something. Not only did she need to answer it; she added, “Put it on speaker.”

She had nothing to hide.

Gu Yanqiu picked up and turned on speakerphone. Lin Yuewei stumbled slightly before greeting, “Teacher Qu.” Her tone was extremely respectful and polite, with clear boundaries.

Qu Xuesong said warmly, “Silly little thing, are you free tomorrow?”

Lin Yuewei went dark around the edges.

Author’s Note:

Now President Gu is already daring to steal kisses; later she’ll be daring to make out in the parking lot too ﹁_﹁

Everything above is already in the synopsis.

What is Teacher Qu coming for? It’s a good thing ╰(*°▽°*)╯