Chapter 108

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

Lin Yuewei glanced at Gu Yanqiu, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Gu Yanqiu mouthed, Why are you looking at me? Speak.

Lin Yuewei: “..."

Lin Yuewei wanted to say she was busy, but Qu Xuesong was different from Shao Yasi. She didn’t look particularly serious at first glance, but she was dependable and had a way of putting people at ease.

Under Gu Yanqiu’s pressure-like stare, Lin Yuewei forced herself to ask, “What’s up?”

The temperature inside the car seemed to drop several degrees at once.

Qu Xuesong said, “Are you cold?”

Lin Yuewei said, “I’m not cold.”

She turned the air conditioner up a little, then took Gu Yanqiu’s hand and kissed it, looking at her with pleading eyes.

Qu Xuesong said, “Is there someone beside you?”

Lin Yuewei stiffened. She thought, Does she have a pinhole camera on me or something? How does she know that?

Lin Yuewei said, “No.”

Qu Xuesong said, “Then why are you on speakerphone, and why is there so much echo?”

Gu Yanqiu gave Lin Yuewei a faint side glance.

Lin Yuewei held on to her with one hand, swallowed, and said, “I’m at home. My hands are busy, so it’s not convenient to hold the phone.”

Qu Xuesong said, “Use your earbuds.”

Lin Yuewei said, “Teacher Qu, wait a moment.”

She pulled over, took a pair of wireless earbuds out of her bag, handed one to Gu Yanqiu first, then put the other in her own ear. As she listened to Qu Xuesong through the earbud, Gu Yanqiu’s expression eased slightly.

Lin Yuewei said, “Teacher Qu, I’m ready.”

Qu Xuesong got straight to the point. “There’s a little gathering tomorrow night with a lot of people in the industry. Want to come?”

***

Gu Yanqiu got out of the car and walked fast; Lin Yuewei chased after her just as quickly, carrying two huge supermarket bags.

Gu Yanqiu deliberately shortened her steps, then stopped all of a sudden, and Lin Yuewei ran straight into her back.

Gu Yanqiu took one of the bags from her and kept walking without looking back.

Lin Yuewei sighed where she stood, then hurried after her.

It had already been said before: Qu Xuesong wasn’t the kind of person who would use business to tease Lin Yuewei. An industry gathering with an invitation extended to her was obviously a way of helping her network. It was a rare chance for her to meet people in the circle and widen her connections. It might not land her a role right away or suddenly make a brand or magazine favor her, but being able to show up at an event like this was absolutely an opportunity Lin Yuewei couldn’t easily get at her current stage.

She couldn’t refuse. First, Qu Xuesong had made a special phone call, which was already a huge show of respect; if Lin Yuewei turned it down, it would mean she didn’t know how to appreciate it and had wasted the other party’s goodwill. Second, if she refused this first invitation, would Qu Xuesong end up with a bad impression of her and never recommend her again? The risk was too great.

So Lin Yuewei agreed.

She could go to the Lin house another time, but social obligations couldn’t be refused. People in the entertainment industry who didn’t want to socialize would never amount to much; unless they were showered from start to finish with endless good resources, and that would be more realistic in a dream.

“Mad at me?” After Lin Yuewei had explained herself from every angle, Gu Yanqiu was still sitting stiff-faced on the sofa.

“No.”

Lin Yuewei tapped Gu Yanqiu’s lips, teasing, “You say you’re not mad, but your mouth could hang an oil bottle from it.”

Gu Yanqiu abruptly turned her head away.

Lin Yuewei’s hand stopped in midair. She withdrew it awkwardly, hesitated, then went over and put her arms around Gu Yanqiu’s shoulders. Gu Yanqiu struggled twice but couldn’t break free, so she sat rigidly in place.

Lin Yuewei softened her voice. “I’m only going tonight. I’ll be back very soon.”

Gu Yanqiu said coldly, “Do you believe that yourself?”

Lin Yuewei: “..."

Of course she didn’t. She had never attended this kind of gathering before; how would she know how long it would last or what kind of people she would meet? It was just words to coax Gu Yanqiu.

If this had been a few days ago, she would have thought it was already pretty good if she could coax a few words out of Gu Yanqiu. But now she was still speaking so humbly because they had agreed to go to the Lin house together the next night, and her last-minute change had broken the promise first. On top of that, their recent argument was still fresh in her mind, and she didn’t want to see Gu Yanqiu crying in front of her again.

Lin Yuewei felt that her patience and temper were probably going to make a dramatic leap in the short term. For example, right now. She glanced up at the wall clock, and fifteen minutes had already passed. Lin Yuewei talked herself hoarse, then finally got up to pour some water.

An idea flashed through her mind. She found the couple’s cups in the bag, washed them in the kitchen, poured two glasses of water, and deliberately set them side by side on the coffee table.

She asked the sulking Gu Yanqiu, “Do they match or not?”

“..."

Lin Yuewei said, “Want some water?”

Gu Yanqiu swallowed.

Lin Yuewei took a sip, then passed it mouth to mouth to her.

Only then did Gu Yanqiu speak the first words since entering the room without any gunpowder in them: “What if Qu Xuesong is a fraud?”

Lin Yuewei: “Huh?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “What if the gathering she promised doesn’t even exist? What if she’s deliberately tricking you out of the house and means you harm?”

Her expression was serious and earnest, as if she were genuinely concerned about Qu Xuesong’s character.

To be honest, Lin Yuewei was a little amused. Qu Xuesong wasn’t about to use such low-level tricks on her, but she had learned her lesson: she couldn’t tell the truth in front of Gu Yanqiu, especially not if it meant saying nice things about another woman Gu Yanqiu thought might threaten her. That would be asking for disaster.

So Lin Yuewei said, “How about you come with me tomorrow?”

Gu Yanqiu clearly hadn’t expected that option; she froze for a moment, then said, “Can I?”

Lin Yuewei nodded. “I think so. You can pose as my assistant.” It wasn’t the first time she’d done that.

Gu Yanqiu looked thoughtful. “Would that be bad?”

Lin Yuewei said, “As long as you want to go, I’ll take you.” First, Gu Yanqiu was too beautiful and would steal the spotlight. Second, in front of someone like Qu Xuesong, a real old hand at this, if she saw the way the two of them interacted she would surely read their relationship clearly. The risks of bringing Gu Yanqiu were not small. But at this moment, Lin Yuewei couldn’t say anything else; she could only take a gamble and bet on Gu Yanqiu.

Sure enough, Gu Yanqiu refused. “I’m not going.”

Her reason was even simpler. Beyond Lin Yuewei’s concerns, she had one more: she didn’t want to become someone in Lin Yuewei’s heart who could offer her no trust at all, a jealous shrew.

Lin Yuewei let that tension go and coaxed her a few more times before Gu Yanqiu finally showed a faint smile.

“I’ll definitely make it up to you.” Lin Yuewei pressed her three fingers together. “I swear.”

“Don’t swear. I’m never making promises in advance with you again.” Gu Yanqiu went to the kitchen to carry out Schrodinger and headed upstairs.

Her anger still hadn’t completely subsided, but she wasn’t being sarcastic anymore. Lin Yuewei thought: Fine, let her say a few things if she wants; it isn’t sincere anyway. So she didn’t argue further.

After Lin Yuewei finished showering and came out, Gu Yanqiu was sitting on the bed with Schrodinger lying beside her. Lin Yuewei saw through the little scheme and wanted to move the cat away. The moment she reached out, Gu Yanqiu stopped her with a look and said in a low voice, “It’s asleep.”

Lin Yuewei answered with her eyes: I know it’s asleep. That’s exactly why it’s easier to move.

Gu Yanqiu shook her head.

Lin Yuewei tried again, and Gu Yanqiu shook her head even more firmly.

Lin Yuewei knew then that tonight would probably be spent slowly coaxing Gu Yanqiu’s temper down. When would her petty streak ever get any better? She wasn’t even asking for a full resolution; even a couple of kisses or some touching would do.

In a low voice, Lin Yuewei asked, “Sleeping?”

Gu Yanqiu still wore that calm, unruffled expression. She turned another page in her book without hurry and said lightly, “You go to sleep first. I’ll read a while.”

Lin Yuewei: “..."

Read a while my foot; she was just sulking at her.

Lin Yuewei considered that she had already said everything she could. If she put herself in Gu Yanqiu’s shoes, and it had been Gu Yanqiu who had to break an appointment for work, she would have raised both hands and feet in support. She’d been sulking long enough, hadn’t she? What was she even doing using the cat as a barrier when it was time to sleep?

Her remaining patience ran out. Lin Yuewei lay down with her back to Gu Yanqiu and said flatly, “Good night,” then closed her eyes.

She had spent the whole evening walking around the supermarket, and now her waist ached and her legs hurt. She’d even promised to get a massage for her waist when she got back, but that promise had gone up in smoke too. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She was tired enough that she fell asleep quickly. Half-asleep, a hand struck her shoulder, and it hit with no small force. Lin Yuewei sprang up at once. “Gu Yanqiu, you—” Have you had enough?

Gu Yanqiu was holding a book; her gaze as she looked over was calm and deep, and there was still a fair bit of distance between them.

Clearly it wasn’t her. Lin Yuewei felt awkward. Looking down, she saw that Schrodinger was awake, and the culprit even had its tool of crime raised—its paw.

Schrodinger was under Gu Yanqiu’s protection now. Lin Yuewei didn’t dare touch it, so she simply pulled the blanket over her head. Not just her shoulder; even her head disappeared from sight.

She didn’t see that outside the blanket, Schrodinger was picked up by Gu Yanqiu and placed all the way on the outer side. Gu Yanqiu switched places with it, then lay down as well.

This time, Lin Yuewei again just drifted into sleep, but it wasn’t a stray paw from the sky that woke her. Instead, a soft voice kept reminding her by her ear: “Sleep a little farther out, or you’ll feel stuffy. Be good; move out a bit.”

Lin Yuewei slowly scooted upward. Then a familiar soft touch pressed against her lips; relying on instinct, she kissed the other person back. She turned onto her side, lifted a hand to hook around Gu Yanqiu’s waist, and closed her eyes as if speaking to herself. “You’re not mad at me anymore?”

Gu Yanqiu looked at her tightly shut eyes, unable to tell whether she was truly asleep or talking in her sleep. In the end, Gu Yanqiu gave a soft sigh and pulled Lin Yuewei into her arms.

***

Gu Yanqiu got up very early and fed cat food to Schrodinger in every corner of the living room. Schrodinger’s light, nimble figure darted back and forth through the room; its limbs had grown stronger and stronger, and of course its looks were getting better and better too. It absolutely deserved the title of the cat version of Yau Chingmy.

Lin Yuewei came downstairs groggily, and Gu Yanqiu was washing her hands in the washroom. Hearing her, she dried her hands and came out. “I’ll go with you to tonight’s gathering after all.”

Gu Yanqiu had struggled with this for at least two hours last night. Even in her dreams, she had dreamed that Qu Xuesong meant ill to Lin Yuewei. She really couldn’t rest easy letting Lin Yuewei go alone to some so-called gathering with industry people.

The entertainment industry was pretty much the same as half the business world; the underhanded tricks in it were probably all much of a muchness. Besides Qu Xuesong, there were others who could be a threat.

Gu Yanqiu felt very conflicted. On the one hand, she thought she should trust Lin Yuewei. Adults had their own world; she couldn’t possibly keep watch over her forever, and that wasn’t the Lin Yuewei she wanted to see. On the other hand, she couldn’t stop her mind from wandering. At the very least, for the first time, she wanted to help keep an eye on things.

Lin Yuewei didn’t catch it clearly. “What did you say?”

Gu Yanqiu repeated it.

Lin Yuewei smiled. “Sure, then let’s go together.”

Out of Gu Yanqiu’s line of sight, her expression carried a hint of hesitation. Why would Gu Yanqiu change her mind at the last minute? But since Gu Yanqiu had said so, she couldn’t go back on her word.

The atmosphere through the morning was fairly harmonious. Gu Yanqiu worked in the study; she had received a client email at short notice. Lin Yuewei sat on the sofa on the side with an iPad, listening to a class. Schrodinger lay on Lin Yuewei’s lap, because no one in the iron wok was warmer than a human body.

In the afternoon, they still made a trip to the Lin residence. Lin Yuewei had told her mother in advance that the two of them wouldn’t be eating at home that night, and got a scolding from Lin’s mother in return. But as soon as Lin Yuewei said they were going out to socialize, Lin’s mother did a one-eighty and immediately turned into a worried face, repeatedly telling her to be careful. As she spoke, her eyes actually grew moist, and she sighed emotionally that Lin Yuewei had once been such a child who didn’t understand anything, raised in an ivory tower, but in the blink of an eye she was already going to attend the adult social circuit.

Lin Yuewei took the tissues Gu Yanqiu handed her and wiped away her tears, grumbling, “Mom, can’t you hold it together lately? You start crying at the drop of a hat.”

Ran Qingqing’s eyes were red as she said, “Am I not allowed to be sentimental?”

Lin Yuewei hurriedly begged for mercy. “Allowed, allowed. I was just curious, okay?”

Ran Qingqing glared. “Keep being curious and I’ll have a menopausal episode.”

Lin Yuewei laughed. “Can that thing just go off whenever you tell it to?”

Ran Qingqing drew a breath from deep in her abdomen; Lin Yuewei fled with her head in her hands.

Ran Qingqing said reservedly to Gu Yanqiu, who was standing nearby with a faint smile, “Don’t laugh at me, Xiaoqiu.”

Gu Yanqiu was polite. “It’s fine, Auntie.”

“Tsk, you’ve been saying Auntie for so long,” Ran Qingqing teased her. “Aren’t you going to change how you address me and call me Mom?”

Lin Yuewei also looked at Gu Yanqiu, clearly watching the show.

She thought Gu Yanqiu might feel shy and embarrassed, but Gu Yanqiu met Ran Qingqing’s eyes calmly with her bright gaze and said apologetically, “Auntie, I still haven’t found out what happened with my mother, so maybe..."

Ran Qingqing immediately understood and quickly said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Auntie was too abrupt.”

Gu Yanqiu said, “Thank you for understanding, Auntie.”

Speaking of Shen Huaiyu, whom no one had mentioned for a long time, the lac Yu in Ran Qingqing’s heart, Ran Qingqing couldn’t help asking, “How much have you found out now?”

Gu Yanqiu pressed her lips together. What should she do? This question wasn’t convenient to answer. She looked at Ran Qingqing deeply, not knowing just how much the other woman knew.

Lin Yuewei also remembered her own suspicions. She glanced at Ran Qingqing, then turned to look at Gu Yanqiu.

For a moment, the atmosphere between the three of them became very strange.

Ran Qingqing, who had no idea what was going on at all: “???” What was happening?

Lin Yuewei pulled Gu Yanqiu aside. Gu Yanqiu said, “Auntie, excuse us for a moment.”

The two of them went mysteriously to Lin Yuewei’s room on the second floor.

“Should we tell your mom about this?” Gu Yanqiu asked.

“Let’s tell her. What if she knows some clue?” Lin Yuewei volunteered, “I’ll go tell her myself. If you’re there, she might hold back, after all you’re your mother’s daughter.”

Gu Yanqiu felt that this suggestion sounded a little strange, but after thinking it over roughly, it didn’t seem to have a problem.

Lin Yuewei added, “I’ll ask her first. If she does know something, then I’ll call you in. Wouldn’t that be safer?”

After a moment’s thought, Gu Yanqiu nodded.

“Then stay here and wait for my news.” Lin Yuewei opened the door, hesitated for a second with one foot already outside, then continued downstairs. Gu Yanqiu watched her back with a thoughtful expression.

Of course Lin Yuewei had her own selfish reasons. She wanted to confirm with her mother whether the girlfriend who had gone home with Shen Huaiyu was actually her. She couldn’t let Gu Yanqiu know about this; at least not now.

Ran Qingqing waited in the living room for a while, an ominous feeling rising in her chest. She drank all the water on the coffee table, kept glancing upstairs from time to time, and finally saw Lin Yuewei coming down.

Ran Qingqing stood up. “My goodness, at last you’re coming down. You’ve got secrets from your mother now too? What are you sneaking around upstairs for?”

With the stone of suspicion weighing on her heart, Lin Yuewei had no mind for banter with her mother. “It’s very important. Let’s go talk in your room.”

Ran Qingqing said, “What is it?”

Her unease grew stronger.

Lin Yuewei went into Ran Qingqing’s bedroom, poked her head out to check the outside first, then locked the door behind them. Ran Qingqing watched her whole sequence of actions and only felt a chill run through her. Her voice even started to tremble. “What on earth is going on?”

“Mom, please sit.” Lin Yuewei pressed her mother’s shoulders and made her sit on the bedroom sofa.

Lin Yuewei took a deep breath, looked at her mother seriously, and dropped a bombshell without warning: “Gu Yanqiu’s mother, Shen Huaiyu, is a lesbian.”

Ran Qingqing went blank for a moment. Shen Huaiyu? Who? Then she remembered the prefix; Gu Yanqiu’s mother.

Ran Qingqing: “!!!”

She said in shock, “Her original name was Shen Huaiyu? Then where did Lac Yu come from?”

Lin Yuewei asked, “You really don’t know?”

Ran Qingqing shot back, “Should I know?”

Lin Yuewei said, “I thought you knew.”

“But I really don’t.” Ran Qingqing stared right back at her.

Lin Yuewei crouched down, resting both hands on her knees, and looked up at her with a bit of indulgence in her eyes. “Mom, just tell me. No matter what the truth is, I won’t blame you. It was all in the past; you just need to live well in the future, I..."

The more Ran Qingqing listened, the more absurd it sounded. She couldn’t help flicking Lin Yuewei on the forehead with a bent finger and said, “What nonsense are you talking about? I really don’t know.”

Lin Yuewei blurted out, “Then who was her girlfriend?”

Ran Qingqing answered just as fast, “How am I supposed to know? Out of nowhere.”

Lin Yuewei looked at her suspiciously. “It really wasn’t you?”

Ran Qingqing finally understood what all that nonsense and those complicated looks were about. She immediately gave Lin Yuewei a hard thump on the head and stood up indignantly. “If you’re going to make things up about your mother, at least have a reason. Your mother here is a rock-solid straight woman. I was straight before, I’ll be straight in the future, and I’ll always be straight. Thank you.”

It sounded too much like an acceptance speech. Lin Yuewei reflexively froze, then clapped for her dumbly.

Ran Qingqing grabbed the book beside her and was about to hit her with it. “What are you applauding for?”

Lin Yuewei quickly dodged around. “No, no, I wasn’t doubting you. Now that the suspicion’s cleared up, that’s good, isn’t it?”

“You still dared to doubt me?” Ran Qingqing was furious; if she’d been joking before, now she genuinely wanted to beat her daughter up. “You’re supposed to be studying properly. What are you thinking about all this for? Who taught you this?”

“You.” Lin Yuewei fearlessly spat out one word, then bolted for the door. She yanked it open, but it didn’t budge.

She had locked it herself moments ago; now she was trapped by her own doing.

Just as Ran Qingqing’s book was about to hit her forehead, Lin Yuewei had a flash of inspiration and blurted, “Then why were you so strange after Shen Huaiyu died? Why were you crying all the time? Anyone would misunderstand!”

“You—” The book still landed on her shoulder, but by then there was no force left behind it. “I’m menopausal, so what? Is that not allowed?”

“It is, it is.” Lin Yuewei muttered, “I’m just worried about you.” She led the furious Ran Qingqing back to the sofa and said, “One night, I called both you and Dad at the same time; it was the night I told you I was with Gu Yanqiu. You said he was on a business trip, and Dad said he was at home. Do you remember that?”

Ran Qingqing shrugged shamelessly. “Don’t remember.”

Lin Yuewei: “..."

Lin Yuewei pressed her shoulders and said gently, “Mom, I’m not a child anymore. If there’s anything going on, you can tell me. I can be your support.”

The smile on Ran Qingqing’s face finally faded little by little, until it became a silent, solemn expression; she even looked somewhat mournful.

Lin Yuewei said softly, “Mom?”

Ran Qingqing waved a hand. “It’s nothing. It’s my own business, and for now it’s not convenient to tell you.”

Lin Yuewei had no choice but to say, “All right. If anything comes up, call me anytime.”

Ran Qingqing struck back with a precise jab of sarcasm. “Can you answer it? Busy little thing?”

Lin Yuewei’s eyes suddenly reddened. She lowered her head. “I’ll try my best, Mom.”

Ran Qingqing knew she’d misspoken. She touched her daughter’s hair and said softly, “I’m not blaming you. Your mother is a grown woman; I can take care of myself. Besides, there are servants at home, and a dog. However you look at it, it’s much easier than being out there.”

Ran Qingqing no longer gave Lin Yuewei a chance to continue the topic. “What else have you found out? You can tell me everything. Maybe I can remember some old things.”

Lin Yuewei said, “I’ll go get Gu Yanqiu.”

Ran Qingqing said, “Why go up there to get her? That’s too much trouble. Call her and have her come down; we’ll talk in the living room. The room’s stuffy as hell.” As she spoke, she got up to open the door she had just locked. When she turned back and saw Lin Yuewei still standing there dazedly, she said with disgust, “Call her already. You’re in your twenties and you drag your feet like a seventy- or eighty-year-old lady. Even a grandma doing square dance is faster than you.”

Lin Yuewei walked out while calling Gu Yanqiu.

Gu Yanqiu came downstairs and exchanged a look with Lin Yuewei. Lin Yuewei said, “Tell her everything. My mom says she’ll think about whether there are any clues.”

A trace of suspicion flickered through Gu Yanqiu’s eyes. She didn’t know what Lin Yuewei had been discussing with her mother for so long, but she still laid everything out from beginning to end. It was a long story; even if no one knew the truth from thirty years ago, just the parts involving Gu Feiquan and Gu Yanqiu were enough to form a huge, tangled web of a tale.

Gu Yanqiu drank two glasses of water halfway through before she finished, then looked at Ran Qingqing with the same anticipation as Lin Yuewei.

Ran Qingqing: “..."

Lin Yuewei & Gu Yanqiu: “..."

Ran Qingqing set down the pen she had been using to take notes and closed the notebook, saying speechlessly, “You two children should at least give me some time. I’m not a god. I can’t just go *biu* and call up the old memories.”

Lin Yuewei said, “Okay, okay.”

Gu Yanqiu’s line had been stolen by Lin Yuewei, so she simply gave Ran Qingqing a grateful look and said, “It’s fine if you don’t remember. I’ve already asked the private investigator I hired to keep checking piece by piece. The circle is getting smaller and smaller now.”

Ran Qingqing clenched a fist in encouragement. “Looks like I need to work harder and come up with some key details to save you two some time.”

Both younger women laughed.

Ran Qingqing was clearly extremely invested in Shen Huaiyu’s matter. She even stopped caring about her own daughter and daughter-in-law, diving headfirst into her room to sift through what little old memories she had left.

It was already time for Lin Yuewei to leave. She went to the room to let Ran Qingqing know, then left the Lin house together with Gu Yanqiu.

Halfway there, Gu Yanqiu changed her mind again. “How about I just take you to the hotel entrance? I’ll find somewhere random to eat, and if anything happens, contact me anytime.”

Lin Yuewei asked, “So this time it’s settled?”

Gu Yanqiu nodded, utterly certain. “Settled.”

She still couldn’t tolerate the idea of becoming someone who supervised her lover at every moment; it would be enough to provide protection at the right times. Besides, Lin Yuewei’s skills were no worse than hers, and ordinary people really couldn’t do much to her.

As for Qu Xuesong... she trusted Lin Yuewei.

Gu Yanqiu dropped her off at the destination; by coincidence, just then Qu Xuesong called to ask whether Lin Yuewei had arrived. Lin Yuewei exchanged a brief kiss with Gu Yanqiu, then got out of the car.

Qu Xuesong was very considerate of Lin Yuewei’s face. After Lin Yuewei had only taken a few steps inside, Qu Xuesong came down the oak spiral staircase. She wasn’t wearing an elaborate gown, only a loose, fashionable outfit and delicate light makeup. She greeted Lin Yuewei, looked her over first, and said, “Not bad. Neither good nor bad.”

A lake-blue shirt, a scarf, and a classic-cut trench coat were always versatile for places that didn’t have particularly strict dress codes.

Lin Yuewei smiled politely.

Qu Xuesong led her upstairs, saying as they walked, “This is a small private gathering. There are quite a few big shots here. Even if you catch one person’s eye, it’s a win. Don’t be afraid; they’re all old hands who’ve seen every kind of person. Newcomers like you are actually pretty popular sometimes because your face is fresh. Later just follow me; I do have a bit of face in these circles.”

Lin Yuewei hurriedly said, “Okay.”

Qu Xuesong smiled. “Feeling especially grateful to me?”

That smile was the kind she wore when teasing Lin Yuewei for being a little silly; it looked especially friendly. Lin Yuewei couldn’t help smiling too. “Very grateful. Thank you, Teacher Qu.”

Qu Xuesong patted her shoulder. “Don’t be the kind who crosses the river and then tears down the bridge later.”

Lin Yuewei laughed. “I won’t.”

They were both wearing hats and masks, afraid of being recognized. Qu Xuesong walked on the outside, shielding Lin Yuewei as they stayed to the inner side. Two people came toward them, one man and one woman. The man was tall and straight in a tailored suit; the woman had a graceful figure and carried a faint cloud of perfume. The staircase was wide, and they passed each other without incident.

Lin Yuewei immediately frowned and couldn’t help glancing back. The man among them just happened to turn around too, meeting the eyes hidden beneath Lin Yuewei’s hat brim.

Lin Yuewei’s gaze fell on the woman beside him; her whole body jolted, and surprise flashed through her eyes. Her lips, hidden behind the mask, formed a silent word—

Dad?

Author’s Note:

The Lin family matter will be revealed in the next chapter~