Chapter 124
When Lin Zhi found a vase for Gu Yanqiu, she was in the middle of counting the bouquet, one flower at a time. There were only ninety-nine, so the count went quickly, but she couldn’t resist counting them over and over again.
“President Gu, your vase.”
Lin Zhi had been Gu Yanqiu’s secretary for almost a year now, and after a year of workplace training, he’d become quite adept at handling things. When he went to find a vase, he discovered that aside from the office’s public property, the only vase available in the entire department belonged to a female coworker in the middle of a passionate romance. It had a narrow neck, could barely hold two or three stems, and already had flowers in it, so borrowing it wouldn’t have been appropriate. In the end, he simply went to another department and bought two from a colleague, washed them clean, and brought them over. At first glance, they looked brand new.
“Put it on the desk?”
In her head, Gu Yanqiu was silently counting: “Thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four…” She looked up at him, said nothing, and continued, “Thirty-six, thirty-seven…”
Lin Zhi had excellent arm strength and patiently stood there holding the vases until she finished counting, though he didn’t understand what she was doing. Clearly, something was off.
Gu Yanqiu counted ninety-nine flowers as one hundred. She didn’t know where she’d gone wrong, so she set it aside for the moment and said, “Put it on the desk.”
Lin Zhi carefully set the vase down on the desk. “President Gu, there are too many flowers. No vase, no matter how big, can fit them all, so I got two; this one has a narrow neck, and this one has a wide mouth. You can take the rest home after work.”
“If I take them home after work, won’t they wilt?”
“Of course they’ll wilt. Even if you keep them in water, they’ll still wilt. Flowers are delicate; you need to change them every day.”
“Oh.” Gu Yanqiu answered absentmindedly. “Then let’s leave it like this for now. I’ll pick out a few to keep in water.” She just didn’t know whether there would be any new ones tomorrow. Why had Lin Yuewei suddenly sent her flowers?
Especially that card…
The more she thought about it, the less she could sit still. She pressed her thumb against the joint of her index finger and said, “That’s fine for now, Lin Zhi. You can go back to work.”
“Okay, President Gu.”
“How much were the vases? I’ll transfer you the money.”
“It wasn’t much. No need.” One of the things Lin Zhi liked most about this boss was how clearly she kept accounts. Whenever she asked him to do something and he had to buy anything, she always settled the bill promptly. At his current salary, of course he didn’t care about the small change his boss gave him, but her attitude made him very comfortable.
Since he was declining, Gu Yanqiu didn’t allow any argument. “Then I’ll treat you to lunch today.”
This was one of Gu Yanqiu’s usual methods. Lin Zhi was just about to agree when Gu Yanqiu changed her mind. “Forget it, let’s count that meal for later. I have something to do at noon.”
“Huh?” After a pause, Lin Zhi said, “Okay.”
Gu Yanqiu looked at him; her desire to see him out was written all over her face.
“I’m going back to work.” Lin Zhi slipped out quickly.
Gu Yanqiu lifted the corner of a document on her desk, revealing the card tucked underneath. Her gaze stayed fixed on the last four characters for a long time, her mind drifting uncontrollably.
Not only the front; the back, the side, the top, the bottom, she should do it all. Lin Yuewei had delivered herself to her lips.
There were still seven or eight hours until she got home. How was Gu Yanqiu supposed to sit still? So she decided to go back at noon. The company had a one-and-a-half-hour lunch break; if traffic wasn’t bad, there would be more than ten minutes for them to meet.
With a pen in hand, Gu Yanqiu stared at the file in front of her, which had only been flipped open to the first page. She glanced at the time on her phone and, thinking it was at least eleven, discovered it was only 9:30 a.m.; every second felt like a year.
Ding-dong——
A notification appeared at the top of the screen, from “Two Trees.”
Lin Yuewei had received a call from the flower shop saying the flowers had been personally delivered to the recipient. She’d been nervous for half the day, and only before takeoff did she send a message over.
[Two Trees: [shy]]
[West Gu: I want to fuck you]
Lin Yuewei suddenly coughed in her seat, and Wang Yuanyuan called a flight attendant over to bring her a glass of water. “What’s wrong? Are you coming down with something?”
Lin Yuewei lowered her phone to hide it and feigned composure. “Nothing.”
Wang Yuanyuan stared at her. “Why is your face so red?”
Lin Yuewei lifted one hand to cover her face. “Am I blushing?”
Wang Yuanyuan said, “You are.” Then she glanced at Lin Yuewei’s phone and showed a knowing expression. “Go on. I’ll keep watch for you.” She very consciously turned her face away.
Lin Yuewei was left flushed and helpless by Gu Yanqiu’s raging Honghu waters, and couldn’t help but be swept up by some memories. Although she still wanted to be the one taking the initiative, some things, once you got used to them, eventually became enjoyable.
She calmed herself down a little, then flipped her phone back over.
[System message: West Gu recalled a message]
Lin Yuewei: “……”
That familiar, suffocating move.
[Two Trees: Darling, some things, once they’ve been said, have been said even if you recall them. You know that, right?]
[West Gu: I know]
[Two Trees: Then why did you recall it?]
Lin Yuewei thought to herself: Don’t let yourself keep getting worked up. You have to know, a sultry Gu Yanqiu like this was rare even in bed.
[West Gu: shy]
[Two Trees: Why weren’t you shy when you said it?]
[West Gu: heeheehee]
Lin Yuewei: “!!!”
This was bad. Had Gu Yanqiu gone crazy?
[System message: West Gu recalled a message]
Lin Yuewei: “……”
Fine. Still the same familiar Gu Yanqiu.
Lin Yuewei’s urge to complain had gone beyond words, so she simply held down the center bottom of the screen and spoke aloud. “President Gu, how about you just say everything you want to say in one go, then recall it sentence by sentence? I’ll watch you finish.”
Gu Yanqiu sent her a voice message, simple and brutal: “No.”
“Ah, I’m really finding you interesting,” Lin Yuewei said, laughing so hard she practically blossomed all over.
Seated on the aisle side, Wang Yuanyuan shifted over a little to block the intermittently deranged Lin Yuewei from view so the flight attendant wouldn’t notice this “epilepsy patient.”
The two of them went back to typing. Nobody knew exactly what was said, but Lin Yuewei’s seat was shaking the entire time. The in-flight announcement said the plane was about to take off and passengers needed to cooperate by turning on airplane mode or powering off their devices. Only then did Lin Yuewei reluctantly send a voice reply: “I’m taking off now. See you tonight.”
Gu Yanqiu had wanted to surprise her, so she concealed the fact that she was coming home at noon and said, “Okay. See you tonight.”
Lin Yuewei quickly typed: [Hahaha, come fuck me!]
Utterly wanton.
Gu Yanqiu: “!!!”
[System message: Two Trees recalled a message]
After teasing her, Lin Yuewei ran. She switched to airplane mode completely; the person who had just moments ago been full of energy immediately slumped over, asked Wang Yuanyuan for a steam eye mask, and began to sleep.
As for Gu Yanqiu, she was restless and suffering even more.
At 11:30 a.m., with fifteen minutes left until getting off work, Lin Zhi came in to report. Gu Yanqiu had cleaned off her desk so thoroughly that it was spotless; she herself sat behind it, hands folded under her chin.
“Go ahead. I’m listening.”
Lin Zhi: “……”
Gu Yanqiu kept looking at her phone. In her distraction, Lin Zhi handed over a revised report. Gu Yanqiu casually set it aside. “Anything else?”
Lin Zhi: “...No.”
Gu Yanqiu suddenly stood up.
Lin Zhi: “President Gu?”
The next second, Gu Yanqiu was almost at the door. “It’s quitting time. Help me lock the door. See you this afternoon.”
Lin Zhi watched her disappearing figure in a daze. “...See you this afternoon.”
Traffic in Yanning at noon was fairly normal. Gu Yanqiu stepped through the front door at 12:15. Lin Yuewei’s flight was less than two hours long; normally, she should already have been home.
She had indeed arrived, fifteen minutes earlier than Gu Yanqiu. She’d left in a hurry and hadn’t even brought a suitcase; she’d only grabbed a backpack and packed a few close-fitting clothes, and when she got back she didn’t need to unpack anything. She tossed the bag aside and flopped onto the sofa like a corpse.
Ran Qingqing, with nothing to do, was making lunch in the kitchen.
No one heard the sound of the front door opening. Gu Yanqiu raised a finger to the servant who was about to speak, signaling for silence, and tiptoed toward Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei had overused her brain the night before; with her level of intelligence, it wasn’t easy for her to come up with the idea of sending Gu Yanqiu flowers. Even though she had slept on the plane, she was still deeply asleep when she got off it. Usually she was irritable when awake, but while asleep she was obedient, her long limbs wrapped in a thin blanket, the outline of her hands clasped together resting above her stomach clearly visible.
Gu Yanqiu’s second secret kiss had happened under circumstances much like this, except now there was no need to sneak.
Her plan had been to wake the Sleeping Beauty with a kiss. But the moment Gu Yanqiu touched her beloved’s soft lips, all rationality went out the window. She easily parted Lin Yuewei’s teeth with her tongue, slipped inside, and wrapped both arms around her to pull her into her embrace.
Lin Yuewei was dreaming that she was walking happily down the road when she suddenly drowned. Worse still, when she tried to struggle her way out of the water, both her arms wouldn’t move.
She opened her eyes abruptly and saw a face enlarged to the extreme; the long lashes were lowered, the cool tip of a nose pressed against her cheek, and her lips were being sucked at, bringing a pleasantly soothing sensation.
Her heart gave a hard throb, and she reached up to wrap her arms around Gu Yanqiu’s neck.
Gu Yanqiu’s hand slipped into her sweater, feeling the warmth of her body through the lining. The kiss moved from her lips to her earlobe, where she lightly bit and tugged.
Lin Yuewei shivered, then eagerly reached for her clothes.
Gu Yanqiu felt like she’d forgotten something; it was very important, but Lin Yuewei’s enthusiasm left her no time to think. She could only continue obediently, the air filled with restrained breaths.
“Ding-dong, your mom’s online.”
At the sudden human notification, the two of them finally remembered what they’d forgotten.
Ran Qingqing came rushing out of the kitchen, one hand holding a spatula, the other wiping her apron. She seemed to have run out in a hurry, and clicked her tongue three or four times. “Young people really do know how to let loose.”
“A-Auntie.” Gu Yanqiu was mortified. She pulled the blanket over Lin Yuewei’s disheveled clothes and then straightened her own sweater, which had been tugged into a mess. Lin Yuewei, who was lying in her arms and couldn’t move easily, spent ages only managing to hike her sweater up a little.
Lin Yuewei, on the other hand, looked completely shameless. “How about it? Jealous?”
Ran Qingqing raised the spatula as if to swat her across the face.
Lin Yuewei ducked into Gu Yanqiu’s arms.
Ran Qingqing said, “Your mom is offline again. You can continue.”
Since they’d been caught red-handed, how could they possibly continue? Gu Yanqiu and Lin Yuewei looked at each other, both with red ears. Lin Yuewei lay back down, straightened her collar inside the blanket, and nestled halfway into Gu Yanqiu’s arms. “See? Living with an elder is inconvenient. If this were our own little home, we could do it wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted.”
Gu Yanqiu answered dazedly, “Mm.”
Lin Yuewei poked her shoulder and looked up at her. “What? Wasn’t I right?”
Only then did Gu Yanqiu lower her head and meet her gaze. “You’re right.”
Lin Yuewei eyed her suspiciously. “Then why do you look like that?” As if she had something she wanted to say but couldn’t.
Gu Yanqiu took a deep breath. Her voice actually sounded a little shaky. “I want to go upstairs for a bit.”
Lin Yuewei asked, “What for? There isn’t even enough time for one round before lunch.”
Gu Yanqiu stammered, “N-no, I’m going to change clothes.”
“What clothes?” Lin Yuewei gave her an up-and-down look. “Aren’t these fine? Beautiful and dominant.”
“Not the clothes I’m wearing outside.” Gu Yanqiu bit her lip lightly. Her lips were damp and red from the kiss. Lin Yuewei couldn’t help leaning in to kiss her again before she had time to think. Not the clothes she was wearing outside—that meant the clothes underneath. The clothes underneath…
Her eyes shifted faintly, and she looked down with a teasing expression.
Gu Yanqiu stood up, turned her back to her, and declared solemnly, “I’m going upstairs.” Then she strode away quickly.
Lin Yuewei laughed until she could hardly breathe, watching her back.
After Gu Yanqiu changed and came back downstairs, of course there was no visible difference from the outside. Lin Yuewei’s teasing gaze kept circling around her, and Gu Yanqiu’s ears were completely red. She picked up the bag on the side and slung it over her shoulder, forcing a serious expression. “I’m going to the company.”
Lin Yuewei couldn’t laugh anymore. She stood up. “Didn’t you just get back? And you haven’t eaten yet.”
Gu Yanqiu lifted her wrist to check the time. “I don’t have time. If I go any later, I’ll be late.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Then come back…”
Gu Yanqiu smiled softly, her gaze especially gentle as she looked at her. “I came back to see you.” She stepped forward quickly and pressed a hard kiss to Lin Yuewei’s forehead; not satisfied, she kissed her lips too. “I’ll be back very soon. Wait for me…”
The last two words were spoken very softly. As soon as she finished, her whole face turned red, and she hurried to leave.
Lin Yuewei grabbed her arm, and Gu Yanqiu frowned slightly.
“Tonight, should we try…” Lin Yuewei leaned close to her ear and named a new position.
Gu Yanqiu: “……”
Gu Yanqiu fled in panic.
Lin Yuewei laughed and called after her, “Do you want to take some underwear with you too?”
Gu Yanqiu drove away. Lin Yuewei still leaned against the doorway and laughed for a while before heading back inside. The moment she turned around, she let out a startled scream.
Lin Yuewei clutched her chest. “Mom, what good does scaring me do you?”
Ran Qingqing was still holding a spatula in one hand, but this time the other had a whisk. She said slowly, “There is one good thing. I’m happy.”
Lin Yuewei: “...Fine.”
Ran Qingqing stared at her unblinkingly. Lin Yuewei said impatiently, “Mom, being subtle really doesn’t suit you. If you have something to say, just say it.”
Ran Qingqing said, “Then I’ll ask.”
Lin Yuewei waved a hand. “Ask.”
Ran Qingqing: “You and Little Gu; who’s on top and who’s on the bottom?”
Lin Yuewei: “……” She cleared her throat. “Why are you suddenly asking that?”
Ran Qingqing: “I’m curious.”
“Then why weren’t you curious before?”
“I don’t know. I just suddenly became curious.” Ran Qingqing answered. Originally, she had been firmly on the side that Gu Yanqiu was her son-in-law; for some reason, now she was leaning more and more toward the daughter-in-law camp.
Lin Yuewei said, “Then of course…” She drew out the words, and Ran Qingqing stared at her.
Lin Yuewei pointed at herself with the back of her hand. “I’m on top.”
Ran Qingqing looked surprised. “Really?”
Lin Yuewei brought out her acting skills, lifted her chest, and held her head high. “Of course it’s true. You saw how every time she got teased she turned red all over, didn’t you? Is she or isn’t she?”
Ran Qingqing thought about it and, sure enough, nodded. Then she said, “Then why were you lying in her arms just now?”
Lin Yuewei waved a hand. “You have to spoil your wife. Every so often I have to indulge her a little; once we’re in bed, it’s not like that.”
Ran Qingqing was still shocked, but she really did seem to believe it. She muttered to herself and went back to the kitchen.
***
Lin Yuewei had originally said she’d go out at noon, but when she got home, Ran Qingqing was only halfway through making the dishes. So she and Jiang Congbi set a new time, turning lunch into afternoon tea. As long as Jiang Congbi could bring her girlfriend, she was truly free at any time.
“Mom, I’m heading out.”
“Go on, go on. Come back early.”
“Got it.” Lin Yuewei was already one foot out the door as she answered. Gu Yanqiu got off work at 5:30; how could she not come back early?
The masked Lin Yuewei was led into the private room. Jiang Congbi’s girlfriend jumped out of her arms and sat down on a chair nearby. She looked up shyly and greeted her in a soft voice, very obediently calling her “Sister Lin.”
Lin Yuewei said she didn’t like kids, but being called so softly like that made her feel comfortable from the inside out.
Suddenly, she thought without any relevance: if Gu Yanqiu called her that, what would she do? She imagined it for a moment and felt her legs go a little weak. Not good.
Jiang Congbi tapped the table with her fingers. “Heeheehee, still looking? Go look at your own girlfriend.”
Lin Yuewei withdrew her gaze. “I was thinking about something. Who wants to look at your girlfriend? If you don’t want other people looking at her, cover her up yourself. Don’t let her out.”
“If I really covered her up, wouldn’t you beat me up?” Jiang Congbi pretended to hug her little girlfriend. The girl was quite fierce; not only did she glare, she pinched too. Jiang Congbi knew when to stop while she was ahead, then turned back to smile at Lin Yuewei. “What do you want to drink?”
Lin Yuewei found their dynamic fascinating. If Jiang Congbi had spent time around green leaves before, then she’d definitely been a seasoned player; pampered and privileged, her nature was born with dominance and arrogance. Half of her ex-boyfriends couldn’t stand her temper, and the other half she’d lost interest in halfway through dating. No matter how you looked at it, nobody could have imagined that one day she’d be so obedient to a little girl.
Lin Yuewei said, “I’m full. Get me a pot of tea; Bi Luo Chun will do.”
Jiang Congbi clicked her tongue. “Look at you, living like some old cadre. What young person comes out for afternoon tea and drinks tea? You used to at least eat dessert and stuff. Did your wife drag you into this? Eating vegetarian and reciting sutras all day.”
Lin Yuewei smiled. “Don’t talk nonsense. She likes meat.”
The old hand immediately started making lewd train sounds; she waggled her eyebrows and said, “You?”
“What about me?” The newbie Lin Yuewei didn’t connect it at all.
Jiang Congbi said, “Why are you so innocent?”
Lin Yuewei: “……” Everyone here had a family now; especially her, since she was a married woman. Jiang Congbi had only a girlfriend. She couldn’t bring herself to lose face, and besides, by now she understood. She said proudly, “It’s me eating her, okay?”
Jiang Congbi applauded her. “Amazing.”
Lin Yuewei had lied so much she was almost believing it herself. “Just average, just average.”
Jiang Congbi handed the menu to her girlfriend, who poked Jiang Congbi’s arm twice and whispered something. Jiang Congbi then called over the waiter and placed the order: two cups of Hong Kong-style milk tea and a pot of Bi Luo Chun.
After the waiter left, Jiang Congbi asked, “So why did you ask me out today…”
Lin Yuewei glanced at her girlfriend. Jiang Congbi said, “Just pretend she’s not here.”
The little girl lowered her head and played with her phone, doing her best to reduce her own presence.
Lin Yuewei pushed aside the awkwardness in her heart and asked, “Well… I have a question. You know how I and… she are always arguing? And after arguing, we have to make up, right? When you make up, someone has to apologize first and soften up, don’t they…”
Jiang Congbi listened patiently to the end of her question; afterward, her expression remained exactly the same, which is to say, expressionless.
Lin Yuewei said, “Say something.”
Jiang Congbi pressed her temples. “Wait a sec.” After a while, as if she couldn’t hold back her complaint any longer, she said, “No, this counts as a question?”
Lin Yuewei asked back, “Then what else would it be?”
Jiang Congbi said, “You actually managed to fall in love and even get married?”
Lin Yuewei corrected her. “To clarify, I got married first, then fell in love.”
Jiang Congbi drily remarked, “If you’d fallen in love first, you probably wouldn’t have gotten married.”
Lin Yuewei: “……”
Jiang Congbi said, “I can’t explain this to you in words, so let me act out our daily life for you. I think there are some places where she’s a bit like your wife; she’s fairly lacking in a sense of security.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Go ahead.” After a pause, she asked, “Is this suitable for children?”
The little girlfriend’s cheeks turned bright red.
Jiang Congbi put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath, about to transform into an irritable fire-breathing dragon.
Lin Yuewei lowered her head to touch her nose and laughed. “Just kidding.”
Jiang Congbi whispered a few things to her little girlfriend. The little girl was rather resistant, but under Jiang Congbi’s persistent persuasion, she finally gave in. Ten minutes later, a little scene played out in front of Lin Yuewei.
Little girlfriend: “Do you love me?”
Jiang Congbi said with a smile, “I love you.”
Little girlfriend: “What do you love about me?”
Jiang Congbi answered in a poetic, recitation-like tone: “I love your body, I love your soul, I love everything about you.”
Little girlfriend: “Most love… can we not say that one?”
Jiang Congbi said, “Next set.”
Lin Yuewei rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. She couldn’t learn this.
Next set.
Little girlfriend: “Do you love me?”
Jiang Congbi wrapped an arm around her. “I love you.”
…
Lin Yuewei thought it would be different, but it was exactly the same as before. Jiang Congbi said, “This kind of conversation happens about twenty times a day on average; she’s the one who always asks me.”
Lin Yuewei raised an eyebrow. “So?”
Jiang Congbi said, “For sensitive people like that, you just need a little more patience. If you say it once, she won’t believe you; say it twice and she still won’t. It’s easy for her to start doubting herself. But when you’ve said it twenty times, she’ll believe you.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Wouldn’t that be tiring?”
Jiang Congbi took a sip of milk tea. “That’s the key question.”
Lin Yuewei still didn’t understand.
Jiang Congbi said, “If you want to tell whether it comes from love itself or from compromise, then look at how you feel at that moment. If you feel tired, that means you’re just completing a task, compromising. If you don’t, or even feel happy, then it comes from love itself; because every time I answer her, she’s happy, so why not?”
Lin Yuewei blinked, only half-understanding.
Jiang Congbi said, “I think in a relationship, once the word ‘compromise’ comes into play, it’s not far from ending. At that point, you’re already reluctant, do you understand? Every word I say, every thing I do, isn’t me swallowing my pride; it’s willingness.”
“Look at how well we get along. When we argue, you didn’t see it…” Jiang Congbi glanced at her girlfriend. “Baby, can I say this?”
The little girl stood up. “I’m going out for a walk.”
Jiang Congbi’s gaze followed her. “Walk slowly, watch out for people, and be safe, okay?”
The little girl pressed her lips together and left, unable to stop smiling.
The door closed.
Lin Yuewei said helplessly, “Do you have to do that?”
Jiang Congbi raised an eyebrow. “I’m willing. Didn’t you see how happy she was? It’s just moving my lips; why wouldn’t I do it?”
Author’s note:
Lin Yuewei is studying like crazy to be the dominant one; when she comes back, she’ll be Lin “Wu Zetian” Yuewei.
Congratulations to Ran Qingqing and Jiang Congbi for successfully reversing their CPs under Lin Yuewei’s guidance.
Let’s give President Gu a topic:
#The whole world knows I’m the bottom except me, since I actually think I’m the top_(:з」∠)_#