Chapter 122

“Should I call you trendy or old-fashioned?” Cheng Guiyuan nudged the water glass in front of her a little farther forward.

For other people, running away from home was old-fashioned. For Gu Yanqiu, it was trendy.

Yesterday, Gu Yanqiu and Lin Yuewei had left one after the other during the day. Cheng Guiyuan, on the other hand, had gone out to join the nightlife, partying with that group of privileged second-generation heirs until past midnight before coming back. She wasn’t like the well-behaved girls such as Gu Yanqiu; she had always liked having fun and felt right at home in that sort of setting.

By the time she’d gotten home, showered, and gone to bed, it was already three in the morning. She felt like she’d only just touched the pillow when a phone call woke her up.

Gu Yanqiu said she was at the entrance to Cheng Guiyuan’s neighborhood. Cheng Guiyuan thought she was dreaming, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Then after a moment, she suddenly realized what she’d heard, checked her phone, and saw that it really was Gu Yanqiu calling. She woke up at once, didn’t even change clothes, just threw on a thick robe and drove out to pick her up.

Gu Yanqiu seemed to have come out in a hurry. Forget about driving; she’d only put on a thin autumn coat. At the neighborhood gate, her lips were pale from the cold, and she looked like a homeless stray dog.

After Cheng Guiyuan brought her back, Cheng Dad and Cheng Mom were already awake. Cheng Dad had met Gu Yanqiu before, at that banquet last time, but Cheng Mom hadn’t. Still, she knew her daughter’s sexuality and assumed this was her girlfriend, so she immediately swept Gu Yanqiu from head to toe with those 24K pure gold laser eyes of hers, nodding again and again.

This one looked much more reliable than the ones her daughter had dated before.

Cheng Mom didn’t care whether Cheng Guiyuan liked men or women, but she was very worried about her inability to settle down. She still hoped her daughter would have a partner she could depend on, so she was extremely enthusiastic toward Gu Yanqiu and even handed over a huge red envelope the moment they met.

Embarrassed, Cheng Guiyuan snatched Gu Yanqiu back from her mother and hurried her into her own room.

Once they were in the heated room, Gu Yanqiu warmed up the arms and legs that had gone stiff from the cold outside and took a sip of warm water. With a bitter smile, she said, “You don’t have to make fun of me.”

“You two fought?” Cheng Guiyuan hit the nail on the head.

Gu Yanqiu nodded.

“Worse than a fight?” Cheng Guiyuan felt that a simple argument wouldn’t be enough to make someone run away from home. Gu Yanqiu wasn’t that kind of person.

Gu Yanqiu hesitated, then nodded again.

Cheng Guiyuan looked at her and surprisingly didn’t ask further.

As said before, Gu Yanqiu and she weren’t the kind of friends who told each other everything. They each had their own secrets and kept proper boundaries between them. She could tell that although Gu Yanqiu had come to her, she was still hesitating over whether to spill everything.

It seemed Gu Yanqiu didn’t really have any friends in China, Cheng Guiyuan thought.

She never forced people. Whether lover or friend, she respected boundaries. Tugging the belt of her robe into place, she pulled over her laptop, opened it, set it on the coffee table, and clicked on a little game: Minesweeper.

Her luck wasn’t good today. One click and boom—the mine exploded, and the game ended instantly.

Cheng Guiyuan kept failing and starting again, stubbornly “dying” over and over until she finally heard Gu Yanqiu speak.

Gu Yanqiu twisted her hands together, fatigue plain between her brows and eyes, and said slowly, “I don’t know how to face her. I sleepwalked again last night.”

Gu Yanqiu knew her own mental state very well. She’d had that premonition before going to bed last night, that she might sleepwalk, so she’d made some arrangements in advance. When she woke up and went downstairs, she saw the tissue-filled trash can in the living room and immediately confirmed it.

“So you ran?” Cheng Guiyuan pinched the bridge of her nose.

If she’d once thought Gu Yanqiu was like a middle schooler when it came to dating, she took it back. Gu Yanqiu was probably in death mode and didn’t even realize it. First love really was a pain. Her experience over the years told her that people with no relationship experience were best left untouched at all costs. The last lesson had been that American high school student.

“I didn’t run.” Gu Yanqiu denied it.

“You told anyone before you left?”

“No.”

“Then isn’t that running away?” Cheng Guiyuan pointed it out without the slightest mercy.

“……”

“You’d better send her a message before she wakes up, tell her you’re here with me, or say you went out to clear your head.” Cheng Guiyuan made the suggestion.

Gu Yanqiu took her phone out of her coat pocket.

Cheng Guiyuan lifted her chin. “Hurry up and send it. You don’t need me to do it for you this time, do you?”

Gu Yanqiu suddenly remembered something. “Actually... the last time you sent the message for me, I took it back after you left.”

Cheng Guiyuan: “……”

She made a dramatic vomiting motion.

Fine. Useless.

Gu Yanqiu curved her lips slightly and smiled.

Cheng Guiyuan rarely got annoyed. She raised a brow. “You’re still smiling?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “I’m not smiling at you.”

She had just thought of something else. That time, because she’d retracted the message Cheng Guiyuan had sent for her, she and Lin Yuewei had been in a cold war for several days; even after Lin Yuewei came back, the two of them were still at odds. In the end, they made up, and Lin Yuewei even took her to see Shao Yasi, showed her their marriage certificate, and announced their relationship openly and without the slightest hesitation.

Lin Yuewei liked her. She shouldn’t have doubted that.

Cheng Guiyuan tapped her knuckles against the coffee table. “Come back to yourself. Come back to yourself.”

Women in love really did get strange. When Cheng Guiyuan asked her a few times whether she still needed her, Gu Yanqiu gave her a negative answer, and Cheng Guiyuan went off to sleep on her own.

Nothing under heaven was bigger than sleep.

With her back turned, Cheng Guiyuan closed her eyes.

Gu Yanqiu: “About last time, the two of us...”

Cheng Guiyuan, eyes still closed: “Mm?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “Nothing.”

Her finger hovering over her phone screen hesitated. Last time they made up, it seemed she had cried. Lin Yuewei was very afraid of her tears; once she saw her cry, she would immediately apologize, regardless of whether she was in the wrong.

Like her? Not like her?

***

While taking slow breaths to calm herself, Lin Yuewei found Gu Yanqiu’s contact in her phone and jabbed at it hard enough that if the screen quality hadn’t been so good, she might have cracked it.

The call went through. Beep—beep—beep—

The sound dragged on.

Lin Yuewei paced around the room anxiously.

“Hello.” The other side picked up.

“Gu Yanqiu!” Lin Yuewei roared.

“Mm.” Gu Yanqiu’s voice was faintly cool, sharply contrasting with Lin Yuewei’s anger. Gu Yanqiu thought bleakly, Why do I keep making her angry? But I can’t do anything about it.

“Where the hell did you go?!” Lin Yuewei continued shouting, loud enough to shake the whole house. Ran Qingqing, downstairs, looked up and started toward the stairs.

“I’m at Cheng Guiyuan’s place.”

“What are you doing at her place?!” If Lin Yuewei’s anger had started at fifty, then with every sentence from Gu Yanqiu it had climbed to eighty and was still rising.

“I just wanted to come over.” Gu Yanqiu was telling the truth. She didn’t dare face Lin Yuewei, and she didn’t have any other friends, so she could only come here.

Lin Yuewei’s fury was about to reach its peak. Gu Yanqiu always knew how to make her angry, and only she had that talent. “So you just don’t want to be with me, is that it?”

“No...” Gu Yanqiu opened her mouth slightly.

Lin Yuewei said, “What exactly did I do to offend you? Or what did I do to let you down, that you hate me this much?”

Gu Yanqiu shut her mouth and listened in silence.

Lin Yuewei was shaking with rage. She gripped the edge of the windowsill so hard her knuckles hurt, and only then did she stop harsher words from spilling out. “Put your hand on your heart and ask yourself honestly: was yesterday all my fault? Didn’t you do anything wrong? It’s not like I never gave you a proper chance to talk things through, but every time, you were the one who refused. What, did I owe you in my past life? Do I have to kneel in front of you and admit fault before you’ll forgive me?”

“I’m not...” Gu Yanqiu felt utterly helpless. She wasn’t like Lin Yuewei said at all.

“Then tell me, what am I supposed to do before you’ll come back?”

“I’ll go back. Just not now.”

“You’re going to stay with Cheng Guiyuan?”

“...Yes.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want.” Lin Yuewei hung up decisively.

Ran Qingqing pushed open the door and saw her daughter hurling the phone onto the bed.

Ran Qingqing frowned. “I could hear you shouting from downstairs. Were you making a phone call, or competing to see who has the loudest voice?”

Lin Yuewei glared at her.

Ran Qingqing said, “Keep glaring. Like you’re the only one with a pair of ox eyes.”

Lin Yuewei glared for a while longer, then suddenly looked away and wiped at her eyes, not letting her mother see her.

Ran Qingqing sighed. The criticism she’d been about to deliver went back down her throat for the moment, and she comforted her instead. “What are you crying for? You may not have a wife, but you still have your mother.”

Lin Yuewei curled up on the bed, arms wrapped around her knees, face buried between them. Her voice came out muffled and teary from below. “Mom, can you please leave for a bit?”

Ran Qingqing said, “I’m not leaving. If I leave, who knows how long you’ll cry for? I’m staying right here; then you won’t be able to cry much longer.”

Lin Yuewei lifted her tear-soaked face, both angry and wronged. “Are you really my mother?”

“Of course I’m your mother. Who else could understand you this well?”

“Get out, get out.” Lin Yuewei shoved and pushed her mother out the door. Ran Qingqing stood at the doorway and counted: one, two, three, four, five... By the time she got to the three-hundredth second, Lin Yuewei opened the door and invited her in.

“Can you talk properly now?” Ran Qingqing glanced at her.

“Go ahead,” Lin Yuewei said gloomily, throwing caution to the wind. “I know my attitude was bad just now. I just couldn’t hold it in; whatever came to mind, I threw right back at her. If I didn’t say it, I felt awful.”

“Did you really feel any better after saying it?” Ran Qingqing asked.

“If I really felt better, would I be like this?” Lin Yuewei pressed a tissue to the corner of her eye, then couldn’t help muttering a curse under her breath. “I’ve cried more in these few months of dating than I did in my first twenty years combined. I’m really done with this.”

“Done with whom?”

“Cupid. Who else?” Lin Yuewei said irritably.

Ran Qingqing snorted. “Still in the mood to joke at a time like this? Looks like it’s not a big problem after all.”

Lin Yuewei gave a cold laugh. “What big problem could there be? What, is it like no one can live without anyone else? At worst, we split up. It was a contract to begin with; when the term’s up, we go our separate ways.”

Ran Qingqing said nothing, only looked at her quietly.

Lin Yuewei said, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Ran Qingqing said, “You’ve got the guts to say that to her face?”

Lin Yuewei: “Hmph. I don’t.”

Ran Qingqing: “……”

Lin Yuewei took a deep breath and looked at her mother. “Now I’m better. You can start, dear advisor.”

Ran Qingqing then appropriately took on the role of a confidante and pressed her on it. “Do you remember what happened with her sleepwalking last night? Didn’t we say we’d talk it through properly this morning and take her to see a psychologist? Her nerves are so fragile; can’t you be a little gentler? Every time you talk, it sounds like a gun going off, like you’re determined to die together with her.”

Lin Yuewei had forgotten that under her anger just now, and hearing Ran Qingqing bring it up made her feel remorseful as well, though she still insisted, “What? Because she’s weak, does that mean she’s always right? Because she’s fragile, I have to accommodate her? She’s fragile, not crazy. What kind of habit is running away from home? Do I still have to indulge that?”

Last night before sleep, Lin Yuewei had indeed planned to indulge Gu Yanqiu for a while, straighten out her issues first, be frank with each other, and walk together toward a harmonious and beautiful future.

Ran Qingqing said tactfully, “Other people don’t have to put up with her, but you’re her wife.”

Lin Yuewei exploded the moment she heard the word wife. “Did even her own father manage to do what I’m doing? He’s living happily under the same roof with his mistress and illegitimate son, isn’t he? Did he take care of her? Who was the one looking after her when she sleepwalked? Who thought of her first whenever there was something good to eat or fun to do? I’ve planned my travel itinerary all the way to eighty years old. I’m a proper young lady, and I’m lowering myself to coax her, and that still isn’t enough accommodation? And her? The moment something happens, she just hides. She doesn’t say anything. If I ask her, I’m afraid she’ll cry; if I don’t ask, I’m afraid she’ll cry anyway. Is she made of water or am I made of iron?”

Ran Qingqing slowly knit her brows, finally sensing where the deep discomfort was coming from.

“Are you putting yourself too high up?”

“What do you mean, ‘too high up’?”

“I feel like there’s a kind of condescension in the way you’re acting, as if you’re too focused on your own compromise.”

“Do I?”

“You do.” Ran Qingqing said. “Last night you said you were yielding to her, and this morning you’re still saying the same thing. It sounds like this relationship is being maintained entirely because you keep giving in?”

“I am giving in to her.” Lin Yuewei said. Otherwise the two of them could have argued until the sky split open and the earth collapsed, and that was with her already restraining herself. Even then, they’d still ended up like this.

“No, you don’t understand what I mean. Is your yielding something that comes from the instinct of love, or a choice you’re forced into because you don’t want things to get worse?”

“What’s the difference?”

“Of course there’s a difference. The first is a healthy result naturally reached through mutual living. The second lets the conflict pile up, and the relationship starts to turn into a matter of keeping score. Don’t you keep thinking you’ve already yielded so many times, done more than enough, so why is she still not satisfied?”

“I...” Lin Yuewei was at a loss for words. It was both, but if she had to choose, the second was more true. She hated trouble and had learned from the stories of the people around her, as well as from novels and films, that romance was one of the most troublesome things in the world. Her original plan had been not to date for the next ten years. Then she met Gu Yanqiu, and after several failed attempts at resistance, she could only throw herself into it without regard for the consequences. She was competitive about everything and valued this relationship even more. If she hadn’t figured out that apologizing first could stop things from escalating, she would never have taken the initiative to admit fault. That was why she placed such weight on every single concession she made.

Ran Qingqing worriedly said, “That’s no good.”

The greatest taboo in a relationship was keeping score. Who loved more, who loved less; I yielded more, you yielded less. There wasn’t a single romance in the world that was perfectly equal. Constantly tallying things up would only drag this love into the abyss.

She started to wonder how the two of them had even ended up together in the first place. But after a moment’s thought, it was easy to understand: distance lends charm, familiarity breeds contempt. From the outside, the two of them looked perfectly matched; they had the right social standing, they were educated, and Gu Yanqiu especially seemed impeccable. Two such people together should have been a match made in heaven. Who would have thought that once they really got together, there would be so many problems?

Even Ran Qingqing had misjudged them.

Lin Yuewei said, “How am I not good?”

Ran Qingqing rubbed her temples. “Let me think.” She looked at Lin Yuewei, then said indignantly, “Why did I have to give birth to a daughter like you? You’re nothing like your father.”

This, Lin Yuewei admitted. “Right, I’m like you. You should say Gu Yanqiu isn’t like my dad.”

Ran Qingqing was speechless.

***

Gu Yanqiu splashed a handful of winter-cold water onto her face. In the mirror, the person looking back had damp, misted cheeks, pale lips, and a listless expression.

Cheng Guiyuan, who’d slept enough, leaned in the doorway. “Did you send the message or not?”

Gu Yanqiu looked at the face in the mirror. If Lin Yuewei saw her like this, she would definitely say she was pulling the same old pity play again. Thankfully, Lin Yuewei wasn’t here right now. Gu Yanqiu dried the water from her hands before calmly answering Cheng Guiyuan, “No. She called me.”

Cheng Guiyuan asked with interest, “Then...”

Gu Yanqiu cut her off coolly. “We fought again.”

Cheng Guiyuan: “……”

Gu Yanqiu passed by her and went back into the room. “To be exact, she vented at me unilaterally.”

“Because of the running-away-from-home thing?”

“Mm.”

“Your girlfriend’s temper is pretty explosive.” Cheng Guiyuan laughed.

She hadn’t seen such a chaotic, bickering love in a long time, whether in herself or around her. Young people these days all seemed to prefer fast-food lives and fast-food love; as soon as things didn’t work out, they split cleanly, endlessly consuming themselves in love until there was nothing left. A relationship like Gu Yanqiu and Lin Yuewei’s, where they clearly hurt each other yet still wanted to love each other, was truly rare.

Cheng Guiyuan licked her lips, increasingly curious whether they could actually make it.

Watching two sharp-edged people willing to grind down their edges for each other, becoming the people most suited to one another, meant that once they got through the most agonizing stage, their love would be firmer than those seemingly compatible romances full of hidden currents that might explode at any moment. If they couldn’t get through it, then it only meant they really weren’t suited for each other. But at least they’d given everything they had to protect it.

In a relationship, the most important thing isn’t love itself, but learning how to love someone.

“Mm.” Gu Yanqiu didn’t notice Cheng Guiyuan’s thoughts. “She’s good. I’m not. I made her angry.”

Cheng Guiyuan sighed with feeling. “Your filter is way too thick, isn’t it?” From her point of view, that Miss Lin wasn’t exactly without problems either. Just that temper alone was enough to make very few people able to stand her.

Gu Yanqiu tucked the hair behind her ear, the faint upward curve of her lips very soft. “Her filter is thick too. When we’re not fighting, she says every day that I’m very cute. I don’t think I’m cute at all, but she kept saying it for so long that even I’m starting to believe it.”

Cheng Guiyuan clutched her chest dramatically. “Ah, my heart hurts. This single dog is in pain.”

Gu Yanqiu lowered her lashes, her hand tightening slightly into a fist. “So I need to get better quickly.”

In her heart, Cheng Guiyuan thought she was too naive, but she only said with a half-smile, “You think everything will be fine once you get better?”

“Ah?”

Some problems had to be experienced firsthand before they could truly be understood. Cheng Guiyuan chose not to puncture the bubble and only smiled. “Nothing. I wish you two a happy union. I wasn’t even at your last wedding. When are you going to hold another one to make it up?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “She wants to become a star now. I’m afraid she won’t make our relationship public anytime soon, so it’ll probably be a long time.”

“A star?” Cheng Guiyuan remembered and raised a brow, nearly unable to contain her eagerness to see how this would end.

“Mm. I went to the stables because I was afraid those second-generation heirs would take a liking to her and play some dirty trick. It’s hard to guard against that.”

Cheng Guiyuan twirled a lock of her long hair and braided it with her head lowered. “That worry makes sense, but your method was off. You shouldn’t have been so impulsive. You could have told her ahead of time and, after you got there, just observed quietly. Don’t disturb her.”

“I know.” Gu Yanqiu sighed.

“But you couldn’t control yourself.” Cheng Guiyuan filled in the rest for her.

Gu Yanqiu nodded.

Cheng Guiyuan said, “It’s almost lunchtime. Let’s go downstairs to eat. What time’s the psychologist appointment?”

“Three in the afternoon.”

“Good. After lunch, you can even take a nap.”

Gu Yanqiu looked preoccupied.

“Thinking about your girlfriend again?”

“I’m afraid she’ll keep waiting for a reply and...” Gu Yanqiu didn’t finish.

Cheng Guiyuan opened the door and gestured for her to go first, soothing her. “Only one day. From what you’ve described, your relationship isn’t that fragile. You’re still in the honeymoon phase, aren’t you? It’s not so easy to say that kind of thing. Relax.”

Gu Yanqiu swallowed back the sigh that had risen to her lips. It was never good to feel sorry for oneself in front of others, and especially not when she’d come over early in the morning and disturbed someone’s sleep; she shouldn’t act like this.

“Guiyuan.” Gu Yanqiu turned back and called her.

Cheng Guiyuan jumped. “What? Calling me so emotionally—I thought you’d fallen for me. I’ll say this first: I like experienced people. I don’t like troublesome dating rookies like you.” The only thing Gu Yanqiu had that could make her look at her as more than a friend was her face. Watching other people stumble through love and work things out was interesting; if it were her own turn, she’d rather not. She was still sticking to her own philosophy of going with the flow.

“……” Gu Yanqiu had been serious, but after being interrupted, she finally gave a laugh that was half helpless and half amused. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

Cheng Guiyuan said, “That’s how it should be.” She suddenly fixed her gaze on Gu Yanqiu.

Gu Yanqiu looked herself over and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“A Buddha illuminated all over in gold,” Cheng Guiyuan intoned solemnly, then recited a line of Buddhist praise. “Namo Amitabha Buddha.”

Gu Yanqiu said, “Get lost.”

But Cheng Guiyuan was delighted by that reaction. “That’s better. Don’t keep acting so stiff. You don’t feel tired, but other people do.”

“Am I acting stiffly?”

“Yep. And pretty badly.” Cheng Guiyuan said. “Before I knew you, I thought you were the sort of person who was especially cold; the type people should keep at arm’s length.”

“And now?”

“A rookie in love, trapped by feelings.” Having said that, Cheng Guiyuan immediately slipped away like grease on a pan.

“You!”

Gu Yanqiu stood there for a moment, then helplessly shook her head with a soft smile.

Cheng Guiyuan watched from afar. Seeing that Gu Yanqiu had no reaction after the “you,” she sighed. “Gu Yanqiu, you’re really so dull.”

The dull Gu Yanqiu smiled.

At three in the afternoon, outside the psychologist’s office, the interesting Cheng Guiyuan waved at the dull Gu Yanqiu and looked at her encouragingly. “For the sake of your love life, cooperate with the doctor properly.”

Gu Yanqiu gave her a confident smile in return.

After returning to the country, Gu Yanqiu had received psychological counseling several times because of severe mental pressure. But she’d also minored in psychology herself and had almost taken the certification exam. She knew all the routines psychologists used, and had always only cooperated on the surface, never willing to speak her real thoughts. The doctor had prescribed her medication, but since psychiatric drugs tended to have heavy side effects, and her sleepwalking hadn’t been severe enough to warrant it, she’d stopped taking them and just tried to pull herself through on her own. The effect had been slow, but she was gradually getting better. Later, Lin Yuewei appeared, and by shifting all her focus onto the other woman, she seemed to “recover” very quickly. In truth, the underlying problem had never been solved, so when the defenses finally collapsed this time, the rebound was especially fierce.

There was nothing else for it. Whatever the doctor asked, she answered. She underwent a deep treatment session.

When she came out, it was already dark. Cheng Guiyuan, who had been waiting outside, stood up to greet her. “How was it?”

Gu Yanqiu smiled. “Did you think it would work that fast?”

Cheng Guiyuan said, “If you’re smiling, then it’s already working.”

Gu Yanqiu looked out at the night sky and said, “I’m going home.”

Cheng Guiyuan said, “Going back to kneel on durians?”

Gu Yanqiu laughed again. “Then should I go buy two durians right now?”

Cheng Guiyuan laughed along with her.

The two of them parted at the hospital entrance and went home separately.

Of course, no durians were bought. Gu Yanqiu thought it wasn’t very elegant for both of them to kneel on durians while talking, so she gave up on that plan. But she did buy something else.

After she entered, she didn’t dare call out. Gu Yanqiu had left without saying goodbye, which was bad for both Lin Yuewei and Ran Qingqing. But when Ran Qingqing saw her, she came up with a face full of affection. “You’re back; that’s good.”

Gu Yanqiu apologized to Ran Qingqing first, then looked around and asked, “Where’s Yuewei?”

Ran Qingqing’s eyes flickered away.

Gu Yanqiu walked upstairs as she asked, “What happened to her?”

Ran Qingqing said, “She’s not home.”

Gu Yanqiu: “What?”

Ran Qingqing said, “This afternoon she got a last-minute notice from the company. There was some event, and a celebrity couldn’t make it, so they needed her to step in. She left in a hurry.”

Gu Yanqiu was silent for a moment, then curved her lips. “I see.”

Ran Qingqing said, “Don’t be mad at her.”

Gu Yanqiu smiled. “Auntie, you misunderstand. I’m not mad at her.”

Ran Qingqing: “Then this is...”

Gu Yanqiu said, “Have you made dinner? I’ll do the cooking tonight. Would you like to try my cooking?”

Ran Qingqing: “???”

Then Gu Yanqiu acted as if nothing had happened, went into the kitchen, and brought out a table full of dishes that looked and smelled wonderful. Ran Qingqing was completely baffled. After Gu Yanqiu finished eating, she pressed a tissue to the corner of her mouth, waited until Ran Qingqing had also finished, then cleared away the bowls and chopsticks and went upstairs.

***

Lin Yuewei had been filling in for someone on short notice. The celebrity she replaced was more famous than she was, and because of a personal matter couldn’t come. Chen Xuan had no choice but to shove Lin Yuewei in as backup. She wore an impeccable smile and stood on impossibly high heels all night. To make matters worse, on the way back to the hotel where she was staying, she accidentally twisted her ankle.

It was all Gu Yanqiu’s fault. If not for her, she wouldn’t have been so distracted.

Lin Yuewei pulled out her phone, which hadn’t received a single message from Gu Yanqiu all day and night, opened the chat window, typed furiously, and hit send.

[Two Wood: If you still don’t contact me after today, I really won’t talk to you anymore! Two hours left until midnight!]

A video call request came through at the same time.

Lin Yuewei tapped accept at lightning speed, then covered the camera.

The other side was black too. There was a rustling sound for a while before the image finally appeared: a dumb-looking plush rabbit was kneeling in the center of the screen, holding an A4 sheet of paper in its arms.

Several large words were written on the sign in black marker. It was too far away to read clearly, but the neat handwriting was unmistakably Gu Yanqiu’s.

Lin Yuewei said, “Bring it closer. I can’t read it.”

The camera obediently moved closer.

At last, Lin Yuewei could see clearly what it said: [Wifey, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have run away from home.] The plush rabbit, manipulated by Gu Yanqiu, cooperated by putting its hands together in a gesture of apology.

Lin Yuewei: “……”

What kind of trick was this now?

The A4 paper was quickly snatched away by a hand and replaced with another one: [Can you read it now?]

Recalling the blur of that hand, Lin Yuewei said, “I can read it.”

Another sheet: [I think you’re probably still angry with me, so let’s talk like this for now.] At the end of the sentence, there was even a cute little smiling face.