Chapter 119

Lin Yuewei shifted her shoulder, trying to shake off the hand Gu Yanqiu had draped over it, but she couldn’t budge it.

There were people all around them; she couldn’t afford to clash with Gu Yanqiu and make a scene. But Gu Yanqiu’s behavior had already made the others misunderstand. She wasn’t here to fish for a rich husband like the flirtatious girls on the bleachers.

When Young Master Chen saw Gu Yanqiu pull her aside, he looked at her in surprise; clearly, in his mind, Lin Yuewei shouldn’t be the sort of woman who’d do this.

Respect started with yourself. Only if you respected yourself could other people respect you too. What did Gu Yanqiu take her for—her pet?

On the third try, Lin Yuewei finally broke free of Gu Yanqiu’s hold and returned to where she had been standing before; that was, behind Young Master Chen.

Gu Yanqiu narrowed her eyes, her face icy.

Young Master Chen raised a curious brow at Lin Yuewei. “Oh?”

Lin Yuewei shook her head. “Nothing.”

Young Master Chen glanced at Gu Yanqiu in the crowd, then stepped slightly to the side and subtly positioned himself between Lin Yuewei and her, putting her behind him.

A fragile woman was easiest to win over with a man’s protectiveness. Although Lin Yuewei didn’t look fragile, this situation clearly made it seem as if she had been targeted by some “bad guy,” and Young Master Chen was more than willing to show off his masculine charm at a time like this.

After all, Gu Yanqiu wasn’t from the same circle as them, even if many families used brands produced by her company. Even if she were from the same circle, she would still have to respectfully call him Young Master Chen. He was the invisible leader of this group; on his turf, anything anyone did should first be approved by him.

Lin Yuewei took one look at the situation and knew it was bad.

She hadn’t meant to put Gu Yanqiu and Young Master Chen in opposition, especially not because of her. She couldn’t help blaming herself for acting on impulse; of all places to come, why had she come here?

Gu Yanqiu’s face darkened. She strode forward, but Cheng Guiyuan promptly grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing?”

“You tell me?” Gu Yanqiu said with her eyes lowered. “Let go.”

Seeing her condition, Cheng Guiyuan didn’t dare let go; instead, she held on tighter and forcibly dragged Gu Yanqiu out of the room. Outside the platform, the wind was wild. Gu Yanqiu pressed one hand to the loose hair whipping around her ear and shook off Cheng Guiyuan with the other, snapping, “What are you doing?”

Cheng Guiyuan blocked her at the entrance. “What do you think I’m doing? Forget barging over here without anyone’s permission; you even had to go and put on this domineering CEO act. Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?” Since Gu Yanqiu was her best friend, she was only restraining herself. If it had been anyone else, she wouldn’t just sit there and watch them “die”; she’d be applauding their “wisdom” from the sidelines too.

Gu Yanqiu shot back, “Your brain’s been kicked by a donkey.”

Cheng Guiyuan, fed up with having her good intentions treated like dog’s liver and lungs, said irritably, “Fine, mine’s been kicked by a donkey. Then go on and keep acting. Better yet, pin Lin Yuewei firmly in your arms so no one else can look at her even once; happy now?” She stepped aside, leaving enough room for one person to pass, and jerked her chin inward. “Go on.”

Gu Yanqiu: “……”

After a long while, Gu Yanqiu folded her arms and leaned against the railing. She had recovered a little sense, but irritation still lingered in her features as she said impatiently, “Then tell me what I’m supposed to do.”

Cheng Guiyuan dodged the question and lifted her chin. “Recite the sutras two more times.”

Gu Yanqiu: “...I’m not reciting.”

Cheng Guiyuan: “Then don’t expect me to say a single useful word.”

Gu Yanqiu had no choice but to close her eyes and recite. As she did, her expression slowly eased, only for her brows to suddenly knot again at intervals. Her eyelids and eyes shifted restlessly, and both hands clenched around the Buddhist prayer beads, as if she were trying to strangle them apart.

Cheng Guiyuan’s brow furrowed as she watched.

Gu Yanqiu had never been this irritable before; she seemed even more emotionally unstable than she had at the shooting range last time. Cheng Guiyuan watched the beads in alarm, fearing that if the string snapped, there would truly be nothing left to hold her down.

Three minutes later, Gu Yanqiu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and looked at her with clear eyes. “Now you can say it.”

Cheng Guiyuan didn’t dare delay and said bluntly, “What you just did caused Lin Yuewei a lot of trouble. Didn’t you notice the balance she’d struck with that Young Master Chen was broken?”

Gu Yanqiu looked like she was about to flare up again, but she held back and said in a low voice, “My balance with her was broken too. She came out today to meet a bunch of shady people. Look at that Young Master Chen; his eyes were practically glowing green when he stared at her.”

Cheng Guiyuan’s face darkened. “Watch your words.”

Gu Yanqiu moved her lips, gave a cold huff, and said no more.

“What do you mean, shady people? Don’t lump everyone together as idle rich brats who do nothing but tease cats and dogs just because of your personal prejudice. I know some of the people in there. There are several young heirs who are quite promising. Take that Young Master Chen, for example..."

Gu Yanqiu glared at her.

Cheng Guiyuan tactfully avoided this imaginary rival of Gu Yanqiu’s. “Take Zou Heng, who loves having fun the most; he’s already taken over his father’s business. When he was in university, his father gave him two hundred million to invest in film and television. He put it into five or six movies and made back eight hundred million after graduation. Can you really call him some lazy, good-for-nothing rich kid?”

“……”

Cheng Guiyuan went on, “Then there’s Qiu Yu’an, the quiet one. His father is the famous director Qiu Zhen; so many people want a role from his hands. Aside from that one Qu XX, none of them are easy to deal with. I think she’s pretty impressive, actually, to be able to get to know all these people without revealing her identity.”

Cheng Guiyuan looked at her. “By your logic, I’m part of this circle too; why are you still friends with someone like me, someone ‘shady’?”

Gu Yanqiu’s chest rose and fell rapidly. “If she’s socializing with other people, then what am I supposed to do?”

“You just cheer her on from behind. Don’t get involved in everything, or you’ll end up making things worse.”

Gu Yanqiu frowned and was about to speak when the phone in her bag buzzed. She lowered her head and pulled it out from the side.

[Two Planks: Where did you go? I can’t see you]

Cheng Guiyuan leaned over to look and smiled. “See? She’s not exactly unconcerned about you, is she? She can’t see you and still sends you a message. Ah, this is dog abuse, pure and simple. Don’t keep tensing up like that. If something’s yours, it’s yours; if it isn’t, no one can stop it.”

Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyes, her expression unreadable. “And if I insist on stopping it?”

Cheng Guiyuan: “Huh?”

Gu Yanqiu replied to Lin Yuewei’s message. “Nothing.” She put away her phone and walked back in. “Let’s go.”

Lin Yuewei had probably explained something to Young Master Chen, because his attitude toward Gu Yanqiu wasn’t quite so hostile anymore. Since they hadn’t introduced themselves earlier, he now took the initiative to come over, smiling warmly as he introduced himself.

Gu Yanqiu shook his hand, her expression as indifferent as ever. Seeing her lack of warmth, Young Master Chen said no more and went off to busy himself with his own things.

Lin Yuewei was caught between Gu Yanqiu and the others, torn in every direction. If she were too intimate, Gu Yanqiu would get jealous. Gu Yanqiu was such a sour jar of vinegar that even something not intimate could look intimate to her; but if Lin Yuewei did nothing, wouldn’t she have come all this way for nothing? She’d come out on her weekend to try horseback riding, a thing she couldn’t even do, for heaven’s sake. She wasn’t just idling around.

She wanted to send Gu Yanqiu a message, tell her to go home early and wait. But Lin Yuewei knew if she sent that, Gu Yanqiu would explode on the spot.

Annoying.

Without realizing it, Lin Yuewei’s brows knitted together. No one on the field noticed, except Gu Yanqiu. As soon as she saw it, she said to Cheng Guiyuan, “Look at her; she doesn’t like this kind of setting at all. Why force herself?”

Cheng Guiyuan didn’t want to get involved in the little couple’s business, but she had no choice. Helplessly, she said, “You don’t like drinking either. Why do you go out every day to keep some old men company while they drink?”

“I’m doing it for the company.”

“She’s doing it for work.”

“I agree with her mother; she shouldn’t have entered this circle in the first place.”

“You mean the entertainment industry? I think it’s fine. It’s challenging.” Cheng Guiyuan was more easygoing than Gu Yanqiu. She yawned lightly and said, “This is hardly a big deal. You’re making too much of it. It’s just going out to have fun together. If you can build a relationship by having fun, that’s much better than one cup of white liquor after another at the dinner table.”

“What if someone has bad intentions?”

“You say ‘what if,’ but when she’s out eating, why doesn’t she worry you’ll run into danger?”

“Why?” Gu Yanqiu murmured, then thought: Yes. Why? Why was she the only one acting so anxious, while Lin Yuewei could trust her completely? Was it real trust, or...

Her mother had been like this too. And in the end, her mother didn’t love her at all. She had been deceived for so many years.

Cheng Guiyuan had gone a while without hearing her answer and thought she had walked off. Turning her head, she saw Gu Yanqiu was still standing there, only her eyes unfocused, lost in some unknown thought. The prayer beads in her hand were being spun so quickly that the rattling, rapid clacking made one feel a chill.

Cheng Guiyuan pushed her arm. “What are you thinking about?”

Gu Yanqiu came back to herself, the corners of her mouth lifting in a faint smile. Her voice sounded as if it came from very far away, faint and distant. “Nothing.”

Cheng Guiyuan instinctively sensed something was wrong and wanted to drag her out to talk more. When she pulled, Gu Yanqiu didn’t move. Cheng Guiyuan put in all her strength, finally tugging her a step, and warned in a low voice, “What are you doing?”

Gu Yanqiu still wore that smile. “I want to ride.”

After thinking it over, Cheng Guiyuan felt uneasy and hurriedly agreed. “Ride, then. Let’s go downstairs.”

“I want to go with her.” Gu Yanqiu pointed at Lin Yuewei in the crowd.

Cheng Guiyuan: “My ancestor, do you still think you’re not causing enough trouble?”

Gu Yanqiu was silent for two seconds, then gave a self-mocking smile and said almost inaudibly, “That’s true. I only ever cause trouble.”

Cheng Guiyuan could tell that something was off everywhere, but she couldn’t identify the source of it. And Gu Yanqiu seemed to mutter something under her breath; Cheng Guiyuan didn’t catch it. She only pulled Gu Yanqiu along as they went downstairs.

Lin Yuewei was chatting with a young girl in front of her. The girl was a literary sort, sitting quietly on her own. As soon as Lin Yuewei opened her mouth, the girl floated out a soft, eerie line: “Life has no purpose, only process. The so-called ultimate purpose is nothingness.” Lin Yuewei raised a brow. “Thus Spoke Zarathustra?”

The girl’s eyes immediately lit up, and she began talking to Lin Yuewei on her own initiative. They started with Nietzsche, moved on to ancient Greek philosophy, from Thales to Pythagoras, then on to Eastern philosophy, Laozi, and the modern writer Wang Xiaobo. Lin Yuewei liked to read widely but not deeply; this girl, however, had a proper philosophy background and was a master’s student. She spoke with great clarity and never looked down on Lin Yuewei’s half-baked knowledge; instead, the conversation grew increasingly pleasant and mutually engaging.

Lin Yuewei would occasionally glance into the field and found that Gu Yanqiu was missing again.

An ominous feeling rose in her heart, and a thin sheen of sweat formed in her palm. After taking a sip of water, she interrupted the girl’s endless chatter and said she had something to do. The girl reluctantly stopped, and the two of them exchanged contact information, agreeing to talk again next time.

Lin Yuewei sent Gu Yanqiu a message, but there was no reply.

Then she heard a burst of cheers outside and turned in confusion. The people on the bleachers were waving toward this side.

“Come look! Who’s that on the field? Good lord, she’s even better than Zou Heng.”

“Damn, she’s not even using a saddle or stirrups. Is she trying to die or what?”

“Don’t let anything happen and have her thrown off.”

“Who is it, anyway?”

“No idea. Do you know? Do we have someone like that among us?”

Some inexplicable instinct made Lin Yuewei stand up and head to the bleachers with the spectators.

There, in the middle of the field, a tall white horse was racing at full speed; its four hooves thundered over the ground, kicking up clouds of dust behind it like a flowing sheet of snow, the only dazzling color in the entire riding arena.

Gu Yanqiu gripped the reins with one hand, her legs tight against the horse’s belly, her body lowered as she guided the steed over one obstacle after another.

Suit, riding boots, helmet. The helmet’s brim blocked all prying eyes from above; from the figure alone, it was obvious she was a woman. She had a narrow waist and long legs, graceful yet powerful, rising and falling with the horse’s jumps as smoothly as flowing water.

A whole line of riders was chasing behind her, trying their hardest to catch up; instead, they only fell farther and farther behind.

That elegant, noble figure left everyone in the dust. At the final obstacle, she soared several meters into the air; Lin Yuewei’s heart seemed to stop for an instant. Then horse and rider landed steadily and crossed the finish line.

The woman reined in sharply. The white horse reared, its front hooves lifting almost ninety degrees from the ground. The woman drove force through her legs and kept her upper body close, holding herself firmly in the saddle. The white horse lowered its front hooves and planted them on the ground, panting hard. Sweat had broken out all over its body; it had run with unmistakable exhilaration.

After Gu Yanqiu let it settle, she lightly squeezed its belly with her boots, and the horse broke into a little trot across the field, its snow-white mane shaking. After a small lap, she dismounted and led it back to the edge of the arena, handed the reins to a staff member, and took off her helmet. A head of long, glossy black hair fell down. She lifted a hand to sweep it back behind her head, revealing a face beneath her full forehead that was almost offensively beautiful.

The bleachers erupted in gasps at once. This time, unlike with Zou Heng earlier, the surprise was genuine.

“Isn’t that... the friend Cheng Guiyuan brought just now?”

“Her surname’s Gu, or something.”

“Holy crap, that was incredible. Does she have a boyfriend? Don’t fight me for her.”

“Need a girlfriend? I’m available.”

No one noticed that one person had already disappeared from the bleachers.

***

It wasn’t the first time Cheng Guiyuan had seen Gu Yanqiu ride, and every time she did, her heart still sped up. Of course, her racing pulse had nothing to do with any romantic feeling; it was pure admiration and nerves. On horseback, Gu Yanqiu was like a completely different person from the one on the ground. If there had been a trace of restraint at the shooting range, then at the stables she was utterly unbound. Sometimes Cheng Guiyuan felt that this unrestrained, arrogant figure riding with all her might was the real Gu Yanqiu; or perhaps both versions were real.

“Thanks.” Gu Yanqiu took the towel Cheng Guiyuan had prepared in advance and wiped the sweat from herself as she walked toward the changing room.

Cheng Guiyuan watched her, clutching her chest. “You scared me to death just now.”

“Did I?” Gu Yanqiu smiled faintly, unconcerned. “I scare you to death every time.”

Cheng Guiyuan: “Hahahaha.”

Gu Yanqiu felt heat rising off her whole body; it was wonderfully comfortable. She stretched, then called over a staff member. “That horse from just now didn’t have an owner, did it?”

“No.”

“I’m buying it.” Gu Yanqiu felt a strong affinity with that horse. During the selection earlier, she had taken one look and liked it immediately. Although it wasn’t a purebred, she was fond of that wild streak in it.

Cheng Guiyuan said, “I’ll pay.”

Gu Yanqiu smiled at her. “What are you doing? Can’t I even afford this little bit of money?”

Cheng Guiyuan looked past her and blinked with a smile.

Lin Yuewei was standing at the changing room door.

Gu Yanqiu’s expression froze for a moment before she slowly let a smile appear. She glanced at Cheng Guiyuan. Cheng Guiyuan looked back and forth between them deliberately and dragged things out on purpose. “Oh, someone can’t even afford the money for a horse anymore.”

Gu Yanqiu clicked her tongue.

Cheng Guiyuan waved a hand very understandingly. “Yes, ma’am. This lowly one will roll away right now.”

As she passed Lin Yuewei, she even patted her shoulder and gave wild hints, then closed the door for them.

Lin Yuewei walked step by step toward Gu Yanqiu. Gu Yanqiu kept imagining what Lin Yuewei would say, what she would do. She had shown off on purpose just now so Lin Yuewei could see it; she didn’t believe Lin Yuewei wouldn’t come down after that, after all the nagging she’d done to those people.

Would Lin Yuewei praise her? Or rush over to her enthusiastically? Or even more enthusiastically?

Gu Yanqiu calmly glanced around and thought: I need a large stall, preferably soundproof. Too bad there isn’t one.

The closer Lin Yuewei came, the colder her expression grew. Gu Yanqiu also grew serious, straightening up as she asked, “What is it?”

“Why didn’t you tell me when you came down?” Lin Yuewei said coldly.

That wasn’t actually what Lin Yuewei had wanted to say; at least, it wasn’t the first line she had prepared. She had come down after Gu Yanqiu finished that lap, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst out of her throat, and she had almost fallen on the stairs. Thankfully, Gu Yanqiu had been fine. Once she saw Gu Yanqiu safe and sound, her heartbeat settled, and the only thing left on the tip of her tongue was a reproach.

If Gu Yanqiu were a little smarter, she’d know this was another kind of concern between lovers; the deeper the love, the sharper the blame. She only needed one good word, not even two, to get past it.

But all she saw was Lin Yuewei’s anger. Since Lin Yuewei had come here today, hadn’t she given her a single pleasant expression? No.

Couldn’t she have a temper too?

“You didn’t tell me either when you were talking to that ponytail lady,” Gu Yanqiu shot back, choosing to clash head-on.

Lin Yuewei thought for a moment about who the ponytail lady was, then matched the title to the philosophy girl. “Didn’t you have eyes? Couldn’t you see? Besides, she’s a woman.”

“So what if she’s a woman? Same-sex marriage is legal now. Even before it was legal, weren’t there plenty of girls who liked women?”

“Why are you dragging that into this again? It can’t be that everybody likes me, can it?”

“That Young Master Chen likes you. I can see that much.”

“……”

“Ponytail maybe doesn’t know yet, but in a few days she might like you too.”

“……”

“And also...” Gu Yanqiu wanted to bring up Qu Xuesong, but this person was too dangerous; she was afraid things would spiral out of control, so she cut herself off at what she considered the last appropriate second. Then she lifted her eyes and looked steadily at Lin Yuewei with an expression that said, You tell me whether I’m right or not.

“What else? Go on and say it all.” Lin Yuewei laughed in anger, wanting very much to see how much more drama Gu Yanqiu could pile onto her.

“Why did Zou Heng invite you? You spent the last two weekends running publicity appearances, so how come it happened to be such a coincidence that you just happened to be free, and just happened to get his invitation? I saw it all just now. He has a whole crowd of female admirers; maybe he wanted to make you one of them too.”

“Mm, continue.” Lin Yuewei smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes.

“There are a few others whose names I don’t remember. I think you’d better keep your distance from all of them.”

“Mm. Then tell me their features and I’ll write them down.” Lin Yuewei took out her phone with exaggerated seriousness and opened her notes, looking as if she were truly taking a record.

“The tall one in blue clothes, with a mole on his nose.”

“Ke XX, got it.”

“And that guy as tall as you, the one in a pink sweatshirt...”

“Ma XX, noted.”

“And then...”

“Got it.” Lin Yuewei lowered her head and typed furiously; the keyboard clicks came so fast they sounded suspicious.

Gu Yanqiu licked her dry lips and looked at Lin Yuewei’s hands as she typed. “That’s all; for now it’s just these few.”

Lin Yuewei held up her phone in front of her. The notes page was clearly blank. She had typed a string of gibberish and deleted it over and over, and the moment Gu Yanqiu finished speaking, she erased the whole thing clean.

Gu Yanqiu frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Guess what I mean.” Lin Yuewei smiled. She hooked one hand around Gu Yanqiu’s neck and leaned in close, her lips brushing Gu Yanqiu’s ear as she spoke. Her words, however, were anything but tender; they were cold to the bone. “Why don’t you go buy a dog leash and tie me right next to you?”

Gu Yanqiu: “That’s not what I meant.”

Lin Yuewei: “Then what did you mean?”

Gu Yanqiu: “I...”

With immense patience, Lin Yuewei said softly, “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

Gu Yanqiu’s hand behind her back curled into a fist. “I’m doing this for your own good. You never needed to appear in a place like this in the first place. Most of them look down on you.”

“The person who looks down on me the most isn’t them. It’s you,” Lin Yuewei said, looking at her. After a moment, she added, “If that’s really what you think, then I’ve got things to do. I’m going up.”

“Stop right there!” Gu Yanqiu called after her from behind.

Lin Yuewei took two more steps forward before stopping and looking back. “Oh, and one more thing. Did I ever tell you that I hate it most when people speak to me in a commanding tone?”

Gu Yanqiu had completely focused on the wrong thing. “Am I someone else?”

Lin Yuewei ground her teeth and gave a cold laugh. “You’re utterly unreasonable.”

Then she slammed the door and left.

Gu Yanqiu slammed the towel hard against the shut door.

After signing the contract, Cheng Guiyuan checked the time and deliberately came over ten minutes late. She had just raised her hand to knock on the changing room door when she realized it was slightly ajar. She silently thought that the two of them were far too careless, knocked once anyway, and only pushed the door open cautiously after hearing a reply from inside.

Only Gu Yanqiu was there, fully dressed. Cheng Guiyuan looked outside and said, “She’s gone?”

Gu Yanqiu gave a low “Mm,” seeming to be in poor spirits.

An ominous guess rose in Cheng Guiyuan’s mind. “You two fought?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “No.” By the standards of their last round of sharp-tongued, louder-and-louder shouting followed by hanging up on each other, this didn’t count as fighting. She couldn’t even be bothered to speak to herself anymore; at best this was... what was it?

She didn’t know. Her head was a mess.

It seemed she had done something wrong again.

Cheng Guiyuan: “If you didn’t fight, why do you look like this?” She suddenly lifted a brow, looking intrigued. “Don’t tell me you two did something in here and now you’re in that... post-time state?”

Gu Yanqiu tugged at the corners of her mouth and gave a forced smile.

Cheng Guiyuan saw that it wasn’t that either.

“Did you buy my horse yet?” Gu Yanqiu didn’t want to talk about this and changed the subject.

“Bought it.”

“I’m going to ride.”

“Again?”

“Yes.”

Gu Yanqiu put on her riding helmet and white gloves, took a deep breath, and strode out. But when she reached the door, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and Cheng Guiyuan was startled by the sorrow that had abruptly surfaced in her eyes.

Gu Yanqiu asked softly, “Do you think she really loves me?”

Author’s Note:

Cheng Guiyuan: I can’t carry this. I really can’t carry this.

The little couple has to work through their own problems; President Gu still has this hurdle to get past _(:з」∠)_