Chapter 120

“Do you think she really loves me?”

Gu Yanqiu seemed to be asking Cheng Guiyuan, and yet also asking herself. In the end, she didn’t wait for Cheng Guiyuan to answer. She turned and walked out.

Cheng Guiyuan watched her retreating figure and sighed.

She and Gu Yanqiu were very good friends, but not the sort who told each other everything. Their relationship was closer to the old saying that a true gentleman’s friendship is as light as water. After returning to the country, because of Lin Yuewei, the two of them had grown much closer; Cheng Guiyuan had also taken on the role of troubleshooter.

But Cheng Guiyuan knew that Gu Yanqiu still kept a lot bottled up. She wouldn’t say it, and didn’t want to say it.

Everyone had their own life; she wouldn’t interfere too much. It was just that Gu Yanqiu like this now made her very worried.

Gu Yanqiu took the reins from a staff member. Her gloved hand gently stroked the horse’s back, and she leaned close to its ear and murmured something. She stood there in the sunlight with the horse, but there was no warmth around her at all; the cold wind swept over her, and even her skin looked pale and chilled.

The noise from the grandstand outside the track seemed like another world entirely, separated from her.

After finishing speaking to the horse, Gu Yanqiu swung herself neatly into the saddle. She seemed to have anticipated something; this time she was properly seated with the saddle and stirrups in place. Her riding boot slipped into the stirrup, and with a soft metallic clink, the white horse started galloping briskly across the arena.

There were other riders in the arena as well. A few of the second-generation heirs from upstairs had come down, each on their own mount, and rode toward Gu Yanqiu. Seeing that her expression was anything but good, they wisely abandoned any scripted attempts at flirting and simply suggested a race: two laps, see who was faster.

Judging from how recklessly she had just ridden, she probably wouldn’t refuse.

Gu Yanqiu was carrying emotions she didn’t even understand herself; with no outlet in sight, she agreed on the spot. Her voice was cool and clear. “Fine.”

The young masters and misses were used to the familiar faces in their circle. Seeing someone like her all of a sudden felt novel; whether they were hoping to make a friend or find a date, they all smiled, tugged their reins, turned their horses around, and said, “Then we’ll start now.”

In the stands.

Young Master Chen realized that Lin Yuewei had somehow disappeared and was looking for her when he saw her come in from another entrance. He stepped up and asked, “Where did you go?”

“Too many people; I went out for a bit of air. Sorry.”

Young Master Chen smiled. “You came back just in time. A match is about to start.”

Lin Yuewei shoved aside all the hundred and thousand Gu Yanqiu’s her mind had split into and put on an interested smile. “Oh? Who’s racing this time?”

“A few of ours, plus Gu Yanqiu from just now.” Young Master Chen deliberately separated her from Gu Yanqiu, clearly drawing a line between close and distant. That should have been a good thing, but Lin Yuewei didn’t feel comfortable hearing it at all.

Afraid that Chen would see the expression she could no longer keep perfectly calm, she walked straight toward the stands. “Interesting. I’ll go watch.”

***

At the signal, the horses surged forward.

A lot of novels like to write that second-generation rich kids are mostly good-for-nothings, but the truth was that most people in the world were ordinary; some just happened to be born into wealth. Those rich second-generation heirs had top-tier material and educational resources in the world, and with a little cultivation, they could easily leave ordinary people far behind.

People of a feather flocked together. Most of the people here today were heirs to family businesses, and among the few who had come down there really was a master rider; he and Gu Yanqiu’s white horse were neck and neck, refusing to let up.

Lin Yuewei gripped the railing tightly.

Young Master Chen was still in the mood to joke. “Who do you think will win?”

All Lin Yuewei could see was that streak of movement flying across the horse’s back; she couldn’t hear anything else.

Young Master Chen rubbed his nose and also turned his gaze toward the arena.

Gu Yanqiu had already driven the white horse beneath her to its maximum speed, but in the corner of her eye that black flash of movement still flickered in and out of view, shadowing her relentlessly. In the howling wind, that person actually flashed Gu Yanqiu a smile; the mole on the bridge of his nose was extremely conspicuous.

Gu Yanqiu’s eyes turned completely cold.

Young Master Chen said, “Ke Bin is really good. If nothing goes wrong, he should win. After all, it’s a purebred horse. He chose that horse himself and raised it himself; they’re especially in sync.”

Lin Yuewei, who had been watching the arena intently, suddenly caught a sliver of that conversation and turned sharply. “Who did you say?”

Young Master Chen said, “Ke Bin.”

Lin Yuewei’s heart sank.

The person Gu Yanqiu had just wildly and jealously named earlier was Ke Bin.

The situation on the track changed in an instant. With three obstacles left before the finish line, Gu Yanqiu began to fall behind.

In Lin Yuewei’s eyes, the horse that had already been running so fast seemed to go even faster. For a moment she thought it was only her nerves playing tricks on her; then she heard Young Master Chen cry out, and only after Gu Yanqiu cleared the second-to-last obstacle did she realize that Gu Yanqiu had actually regained the lead.

Young Master Chen rarely showed anger; he snapped, “Does she not want her life?”

Lin Yuewei knew nothing at all about horseback riding. She only knew that in that instant Gu Yanqiu seemed about to fly off the horse’s back; if she hadn’t hooked her feet hard against the stirrups, she would have been thrown off long ago. Only after Young Master Chen explained did she understand that when Gu Yanqiu’s horse leaped the obstacles, she hadn’t used the usual practiced techniques at all; she had basically forced it through by brute strength. Fortunately, it landed safely.

The person had gone mad; even the horse had gone mad.

After crossing the finish line first, Gu Yanqiu’s white horse continued to charge forward several steps. Gu Yanqiu was thrown backward with the motion, tightened the reins, and the white horse reared up, letting out a long whinny before its front legs suddenly softened and it nearly collapsed to its knees.

Gu Yanqiu swayed in the saddle, bent down to press close to its ear and soothe it with a few words, then simply dismounted and handed it over to the groom. “It’s exhausted. Take good care of it.”

The groom had seen all kinds of things before, but he was still surprised by how reckless such a young girl was. Ke Bin, who came in shortly after, was even sitting in the saddle as he gave her a thumbs-up. “Awesome.”

Gu Yanqiu gave a faint nod.

Ke Bin also dismounted and caught up, asking with a smile, “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Gu Yanqiu turned back.

Ke Bin tilted his head, eyebrows raised. “Or a girlfriend?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “I’m married. Sorry.”

Then she left without looking back.

Ke Bin stood frozen in place. “…”

Married?

No, that didn’t make sense. If she was married, why had she been flirting with that young lady just now?

Ke Bin was full of confusion. His friends, who had caught up from behind, quickly surrounded him. Seeing his defeated expression, they roughly guessed what had happened and deliberately teased, “Young Master Ke makes a move and it counts for two, huh?”

One friend glanced in the direction Gu Yanqiu had left and laughed. “Young Master Ke, where’s the person?”

Ke Bin slapped one of them on the arm. “Go on. She’s already married.”

A burst of laughter erupted from the group. “Young Master Ke, can’t you be serious? Can’t you chase someone and still have to make up an excuse to fool us?”

Ke Bin took off his gloves and tossed them to the staff member holding out both hands, then smiled. “She said it herself. Why would I lie to you?”

A friend finally believed him after he repeated it yet again, then said in surprise, “She’s really married? She looks about our age. Why did she get married so early?”

Ke Bin said, “How should I know?”

His friend sighed. “What a pity.”

Ke Bin curled his lips. “What’s a pity? Just because she’s married doesn’t mean you can’t pursue her.”

The friend froze, then laughed and patted his shoulder. “Good luck.”

A girl in the group joined in the fun. “Hey, then I’ll chase her too.”

The others immediately started chiming in one after another, almost like a competition. “Why don’t we all chase her and see who gets the beauty first?”

They were all the type who played around without much restraint. Some of them were serious; some were just joking offhand. What they were really thinking, only they themselves knew.

***

Gu Yanqiu had already disappeared from view. Only then did Lin Yuewei let go of the railing. Her palm hurt faintly from how tightly she had been gripping it.

Young Master Chen asked with concern, “Why do you look so awful?”

Lin Yuewei shook her head. “Nothing.”

“Is it because the wind’s too strong outside? Go inside and rest for a bit first?”

“Alright.”

Young Master Chen wanted to escort her in, but Lin Yuewei politely refused. “I can manage on my own. You’ve been entertaining me for so long; what would the others say? Besides, don’t you want to go ride a few laps too?”

Young Master Chen didn’t insist.

Back inside, Lin Yuewei poured herself a glass of water and stared blankly at her phone screen while drinking.

After all this time, Gu Yanqiu still hadn’t sent her even a single message. Didn’t she know Lin Yuewei was worried about her? Thinking of that made Lin Yuewei burn with irritation. It was just a casual sparring race; was there any need to gamble so recklessly? Who was she trying to show off for, or scare?

If Gu Yanqiu had deliberately made such dangerous moves to lure her back down there again, then she had miscalculated. It would only make Lin Yuewei even angrier.

“We can keep talking about Kant?”

Just as Lin Yuewei was being driven by some inexplicable intuition and hesitating over whether to take the initiative to soften first and make up with Gu Yanqiu again, a young girl’s voice sounded above her. The ponytailed philosophy student sat down on the sofa beside her and even brought over a plate of fruit.

Lin Yuewei put away her phone and smiled. “Sure.”

Why did she have to be the one to soften first again? No way.

***

Cheng Guiyuan was no longer just having a racing heartbeat; she was almost scared out of her pulse by Gu Yanqiu. Even her usual composed image had broken. Once Gu Yanqiu reached the trackside, Cheng Guiyuan grabbed her with one hand and then punched her hard in the shoulder. Furious, she said, “Do you not want your life anymore?”

Gu Yanqiu rubbed her shoulder, found a seat, and sat down with a faint smile. “Wasn’t nothing wrong? You’re worrying over nothing.”

“What if something had happened?”

“You care about me?”

“Nonsense. If I don’t care about you, who would I care about?”

“So only you care about me.” Gu Yanqiu stretched out her long legs in the light brown riding outfit, bent down, and gently massaged the aching muscles in her legs.

“What did you say?”

Gu Yanqiu shrugged indifferently and still didn’t look at her. “I said, aside from you, I probably don’t have anyone who cares about me.”

Cheng Guiyuan said, “What about Lin…”

Gu Yanqiu said, “She can’t be bothered with me; she thinks I’m a lunatic.”

Cheng Guiyuan shot to her feet. “She really said that?” Though Gu Yanqiu was indeed a little off right now, calling her a lunatic was too much, wasn’t it?

Gu Yanqiu stopped her. “No. That’s just what I think; she’s only too lazy to bother with me.”

Cheng Guiyuan sat back down and leaned a little closer to her, speaking gently. “Why?”

“Mm…” Gu Yanqiu was silent for quite a while. “Because I think I’m jealous indiscriminately. Too possessive.” She shook her head. “Maybe there are other problems too. I don’t know.”

Cheng Guiyuan gently patted her shoulder.

“Actually…” Gu Yanqiu kept her head lowered, her fingers unconsciously rubbing at the fabric on her leg. “I think I’m sick too. I might really be sick. You reminded me several times today already; every time something involves her, I can’t keep my head.”

A drop of moisture darkened the light brown fabric, slowly spreading.

Gu Yanqiu opened her eyes wide. After waiting a moment and regaining clarity in her vision, she looked up and met Cheng Guiyuan’s gaze head-on. “Tomorrow, come with me to see a psychologist.”

Cheng Guiyuan was a little puzzled. “Why don’t you tell all of this to Lin… to her?”

Gu Yanqiu shook her head lightly. “She doesn’t want to hear me talk.”

“If you don’t say it, how do you know she doesn’t want to hear it?”

“I don’t want her to know I’m sick.”

“I’m telling you to tell her,” Cheng Guiyuan said. “Of course, if you really won’t say it, I can’t do anything. I can only give advice.”

Gu Yanqiu looked up at the sky and sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

Cheng Guiyuan sighed too.

She wondered, baffled, how Gu Yanqiu had never found dating this exhausting before.

The two of them still couldn’t get any peace even sitting there. Ke Bin and the others came over on their own initiative. Gu Yanqiu immediately stood up and said, “I’m going home first. Help me tell them.”

She didn’t even leave time for Ke Bin and the others to say anything.

***

There was still another gathering at Young Master Chen’s place that night, but Lin Yuewei declined. On the one hand, the evening setting didn’t seem quite appropriate; on the other, she heard that Gu Yanqiu had left early, and she couldn’t settle down. After chatting a bit more, she left too.

The two of them returned home one after the other.

Lin Yuewei changed her shoes and came in, then asked in a low voice, “Where is she?”

Ran Qingqing shouted from inside, “What are you sneaking around for in your own house? Afraid of thieves or something?”

Upstairs, a door creaked open.

Lin Yuewei glanced up, then sat beside her mother and lowered her voice to something normal and restrained. “When did she come back?”

Ran Qingqing gave her a sideways look. “An hour before you did. Did you fight?”

Lin Yuewei said, “No.” She lowered her head to pet the cat. Schrödinger rested its chin in her palm and rubbed against her, and Lin Yuewei casually picked it up and sat cross-legged on the sofa.

Ran Qingqing said, “Oh? Then why aren’t you upstairs looking for your wife?”

Lin Yuewei rested her head on her mother’s shoulder and acted coquettishly. “Can’t I just keep you company?”

Ran Qingqing said, “Go on.”

Lin Yuewei said, “Mom, I want fruit.”

Ran Qingqing said, “Want to eat your o—”

Lin Yuewei cut her off, set the cat down, and detoured toward the kitchen. “I’ll cut it myself; I know. Where’s Auntie?”

Ran Qingqing said, “She’s on leave. It’s almost New Year, and I figured there wasn’t much going on at home, so I let her go back this afternoon. We’ll just make noodles ourselves tonight.”

“Okay.” Lin Yuewei’s voice came from the kitchen. “Mom, do you want an apple, a pear, or dragon fruit?”

Ran Qingqing raised her voice. “All of them.”

Lin Yuewei said, “Wow, your appetite really is big.”

Both of them were speaking loudly, and their voices drifted into the half-open door upstairs. Gu Yanqiu was sitting on the small sofa, and the tablet in her hand was paused on Lin Yuewei’s Weibo page. It hadn’t been scrolled in a long time.

After a while, the noise downstairs disappeared. Gu Yanqiu shifted her feet and walked to the door, crouching behind the railing to look down.

In the living room, mother and daughter sat together eating fruit with their backs to her, so she couldn’t see their expressions; they must be getting along very happily.

“I’m taking this plate upstairs to Gu Yanqiu. Wait for me, don’t finish it all.”

“Got it, got it.” Ran Qingqing ate three skewers in one go.

Lin Yuewei turned and went upstairs. Gu Yanqiu immediately returned to her room and closed the door. Only after closing it did she realize belatedly that this was Lin Yuewei’s bedroom. She had only stayed here for a few short days, yet she had gotten used to it so quickly; she had treated it like her home.

Lin Yuewei stopped at the door, her hand raised in midair. After waiting a few seconds, she knocked softly.

“Who is it?” Gu Yanqiu’s voice carried the familiar reserve and low steadiness, no different from how she spoke to outsiders in the office.

Lin Yuewei frowned in displeasure. “Me.”

“Come in.”

Lin Yuewei grasped the doorknob, made a downward motion with her hand, and before she could even use any force, the door was pulled open from inside. One of them stood outside, the other inside; they looked at each other.

Silence stretched between them.

Lin Yuewei said, “Excuse me.”

Gu Yanqiu mechanically stepped aside.

Lin Yuewei looked over and saw the tablet with its screen lit on the coffee table, so she set the fruit plate on top of it as well. “For you,” she said flatly.

Then she turned to leave.

But the gaze behind her was so intense it almost seemed to burn straight through her. Lin Yuewei turned back and met the look Gu Yanqiu hadn’t managed to withdraw in time. Annoyed and aching for her at once, she said, “Alright, who are you trying to fool with that pitiful look?”

Gu Yanqiu almost blurted out: You.

The words reached the tip of her tongue, then were swallowed back down.

She stared silently at Lin Yuewei, her eyes soft and pleading, making Lin Yuewei feel that if she so much as turned and walked out right now, Gu Yanqiu would probably secretly cry in there immediately.

So she didn’t manage to leave. Her feet turned back on their own, and she casually shut the door behind her.

She walked up to Gu Yanqiu and stood face to face with her. With one hand, she took Gu Yanqiu’s clenched fist; then she lowered her head and, finger by finger, pried it open, revealing the reddened palm beneath. She touched it, then blew lightly over it. “Does our little sulky dumpling hurt?”

“No.”

Lin Yuewei kissed her palm, then held it in both hands. Her attitude softened a little. “I haven’t even lost my temper yet, and you’re already giving me attitude? Hm?”

“I didn’t give you attitude.” Gu Yanqiu argued softly.

“You’re still making excuses?” Lin Yuewei couldn’t hold it in anymore and let out all her anger at once. She said bluntly, “Were you riding a horse today at the track, or were you trying to throw your life away? First you didn’t use the saddle or stirrups, and then you went and did that race. I don’t know the technical details, but people said it was dangerous; one wrong move and both the rider and the horse could be done for. Do you think you’re some nine-tailed fox with one tail, one life, so you can recklessly go around wasting it?”

“…"

“Talk.” Lin Yuewei clicked her tongue at her.

“...I didn’t think that much about it at the time.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Gu Yanqiu lied, nodding lightly.

Lin Yuewei genuinely didn’t know much about horseback riding, and horse racing probably counted as an athletic competition anyway; situations changed in the blink of an eye on the track. Seeing Gu Yanqiu’s expression, she didn’t seem to be lying, so she said, “Don’t do that again next time. It was too dangerous. Don’t you know how worried I was watching from above?”

Gu Yanqiu looked troubled.

Lin Yuewei’s anger began to surge back up. “You still want to do what you did today?”

Gu Yanqiu said in a low voice, “I can’t control it. When I see you with those people, I get angry.” She couldn’t promise things she couldn’t guarantee; even if she promised, she wouldn’t be able to do it.

“That’s easy then; just don’t go next time. Out of sight, out of mind. When you interfere with me like this no matter the occasion, I really find it very troublesome.”

Gu Yanqiu bit her lip, clearly falling into difficulty again.

“I promise you I absolutely won’t let anyone take advantage of me, and I’ll definitely stay away from anyone who has designs on me. Okay?” Lin Yuewei held up three fingers in oath. If that still wasn’t enough, she really had no other way.

Gu Yanqiu pursed her lips and said softly, “Some people you can’t tell just by looking, like that Young Master Chen. He stayed with you the whole time today. And Ke Bin; was it Ke Bin…”

“Are you done or not?” Lin Yuewei interrupted her, utterly exasperated. “I already said Young Master Chen aside. As for Ke Bin, he was obviously interested in you; why are you trying to pin that on me too?”

“If Ke Bin doesn’t count, then…” Gu Yanqiu realized this scene was exactly the same as the one they’d acted out in the changing room before, and finally learned a little something; she stopped bringing up the topic.

Lin Yuewei couldn’t talk to her any further. She pushed Gu Yanqiu back down onto the sofa and fed her a few bites of pear, then kissed her forehead. “First get the water in your head under control. When you can speak properly, then we’ll talk again. Be good.”

Gu Yanqiu wanted to stand up, but Lin Yuewei pushed her back down again.

“I’m going downstairs to talk to my mom for a bit.” Lin Yuewei didn’t want to stay here another second and left in a hurry.

“Do you love me?” Gu Yanqiu’s voice came from behind her, pinning the half-stepped foot Lin Yuewei had already lifted.

She turned back slowly, her face full of shock. “What did you say?”

Gu Yanqiu repeated it, looking at her. “Do you love me?”

Lin Yuewei couldn’t quite describe what she felt in that moment. Sadness, hurt, disbelief… and after her calm had returned, disappointment. Just because she hadn’t unconditionally gone along with her, because this was a quarrel that could hardly even be called a quarrel, she was already questioning even this?

Lin Yuewei looked at her with the faintest trace of a smile at the corner of her mouth, but her eyes were utterly cold. “What do you think?”

“I think…” Reason told Gu Yanqiu that she shouldn’t continue, but emotion forced the words out of her, one by one, with great difficulty. “You don’t love me.”

Lin Yuewei was struck hard. Her chest rose and fell violently several times, then after a long silence she said, “So that’s what you think. I only know now.” She paused, took a deep breath, and bowed to Gu Yanqiu at the doorway. “I’m sorry.”

Her chest suddenly felt empty. Gu Yanqiu sensed an unprecedented fear. “I didn’t…”

Lin Yuewei had already slammed the door shut with a bang.

The moment she closed it, she finally couldn’t hold back her tears. But she wiped them away at once with the back of her hand.

Don’t cry. You’re not allowed to cry.

Lin Yuewei forced her eyes wide open and wouldn’t let the tears fall. She went to Schrödinger’s room and sat blankly on the cat’s usual bay-window perch, thinking aimlessly: What is this supposed to be?

The lock on the bedroom door depressed slightly; someone outside tried to open it, but Lin Yuewei had locked it from the inside, so they couldn’t get in.

Then the sound vanished.

Lin Yuewei hugged her knees tightly and covered her feet with Schrödinger’s sleeping blanket.

In a daze, someone knocked on the door.

“Dinner’s ready. Where are you? Cultivating immortality in there?” It was Ran Qingqing.

Lin Yuewei jolted, jumped down from the bay window, and said, “Coming. I’ll be down right away.”

Lin Yuewei went downstairs in her slippers. After she saw who was sitting on the sofa, she immediately turned around and headed for the kitchen, raising her voice. “Mom, do you want to help me out?”

Gu Yanqiu’s eyes darkened. Schrödinger, curled up on the sofa, licked her wrist with its soft pink tongue and let out a faint mew.

Ran Qingqing lightly kicked Lin Yuewei’s calf and glanced outside. “What’s wrong with you two? Did you really fight?”

“We didn’t fight. It’s boring.”

“Boring?”

“Dating is boring.” Lin Yuewei pressed a scallion on the cutting board with one hand and held the kitchen knife in the other, expertly slicing it into fine green bits. When she and Gu Yanqiu had lived alone together before, Gu Yanqiu cooked and she handled prep work, so she had long since picked up knife skills.

“How is it boring?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Heh, talk if you want, don’t if you don’t. As if I’m dying to hear it.”

Ran Qingqing said she didn’t want to hear it, but Lin Yuewei suddenly wanted to talk again. “When you dated before, was Dad strict with you?”

“What do you mean, strict?”

“Like not letting you hang out with this person, not letting you hang out with that person.”

“I don’t think so. Your dad—well, I mean back then—was too outstanding. Nobody else could compare to him, so I never worried at all about anyone trying to pick me up; I knew I wouldn’t look at them twice.”

“See? You two were so normal. I don’t even know what she’s worrying about all day. Is she not confident in herself, or not confident in me?”

Ran Qingqing hadn’t caught the second half clearly. “What did you say?”

Lin Yuewei said, “Nothing. I just think people are really different from each other.”

Ran Qingqing connected the dots and had a sudden thought. “Could it be because she’s too strict with you?”

Lin Yuewei gave a fake smile and huffed twice.

Ran Qingqing said, “Scallions.”

Lin Yuewei scraped the chopped scallions onto the blade and tipped them into the steaming soup bowl. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it myself. Keep giving me bad advice and I’ll turn out exactly like these scallions.” She flicked the last bit of scallion off the knife into the trash can.

Ran Qingqing snorted. “Like I’m that bored, meddling in your business. I just got divorced, and I’m very heartbroken too, okay?”

Lin Yuewei rinsed the knife under the tap.

Ran Qingqing said, “Hurry up and bring the noodles out.”

Lin Yuewei said, “Got it, just wait until I’m done washing.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Yanqiu came in. The two of them looked at each other. Gu Yanqiu said, “Auntie told me to come in and bring out the noodles.”

Lin Yuewei wiped the knife clean and put it away. When she turned back, Gu Yanqiu was still standing motionless. She couldn’t help frowning. “Then hurry up and carry them.”

“They’re hot.”

“If they’re hot, why don’t you use a dishcloth underneath?”

“It’s on your side.”

“…” Lin Yuewei thought: You’re really going to drive me mad.

She waved a hand and shooed Gu Yanqiu aside, then carried one bowl out first with both hands and set it in front of Ran Qingqing’s seat. The remaining two bowls were one for her and one for Gu Yanqiu; they sat facing each other.

To ease the awkwardness, Lin Yuewei called out to her mother, “Ran Qingqing, are you still eating?”

Ran Qingqing’s voice came from the downstairs bedroom. “You eat first; I’ve got something to do.”

Gu Yanqiu was blowing on her hand, her brows furrowing from time to time.

Lin Yuewei glanced at her. “What’s wrong? Did you get burned?”

Gu Yanqiu said nothing.

Lin Yuewei couldn’t sit still. “Let me see.”

Gu Yanqiu hid her hand behind her back.

Lin Yuewei’s temper flared. “Are you giving it or not?”

Only then did Gu Yanqiu reluctantly extend one hand. All five fingers were bright red.

Lin Yuewei was on the verge of exploding. So angry her own eyes turned red too, she shouted in a strained voice, “Didn’t I tell you to use a dishcloth underneath?!”

Gu Yanqiu looked at her steadily. “I forgot.”

Who would believe something that basic could be forgotten? Lin Yuewei thought bitterly: A pity ploy; good, she was putting on a pitiful act for herself again. Did she think she’d still fall for that?

Half a minute later, Lin Yuewei came back with burn ointment.

She pulled the chair beside Gu Yanqiu out and sat down. Holding two clean cotton swabs in one hand, she squeezed a little ointment out of the tube with the other, her tone hard. “Hand.”

Gu Yanqiu extended her hand and spread it open in front of her.

Lin Yuewei lowered her head and carefully applied the medicine. Every time she dabbed a little on, she asked once, “Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“If it hurts, speak up.”

“It really doesn’t hurt.”

Gu Yanqiu stared at her lowered eyelashes and, at that very moment, realized how hurtful her impulsive self-righteousness had just been.

“I…” Gu Yanqiu opened her mouth slightly.

Lin Yuewei pushed her chair back and stood up. The chair legs scraped sharply against the tile floor, interrupting the words that had barely risen to a whisper. “Miss Gu Yanqiu, I’m now formally reminding you not to use pity tactics on me again. Sooner or later, I’ll get sick of it.”