Chapter 133
“Can you try being reasonable?”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t look back. “Leave me alone.”
Lin Yuewei: “……” She walked around to stand in front of her and looked her in the eye. “What do you mean, leave you alone? At first, you were at least polite when we talked. What’s gotten into you now?”
A flash of irritation crossed Gu Yanqiu’s face, but it vanished almost immediately. “I mean it literally. I want to calm down by myself.”
“How long are you planning to calm down?” Lin Yuewei asked. To her, Gu Yanqiu’s “calm down” was basically a cold war. She went on, “Didn’t we agree to talk things through and not give each other the silent treatment?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “It’s not the silent treatment. I told you, leave me alone for now.” The last sentence came out with a burst of temper, crackling through the quiet air.
Lin Yuewei was speechless. She said angrily, “Why are you taking it out on me? What did I do to you? If you don’t dare raise your voice at my mom, don’t dump your anger on me.”
“When did I take it out on you? ...Forget it.” Gu Yanqiu took a light breath, tightened her hand, and tried her best to speak calmly. “Can you be quiet for a while?”
Don’t fight; they couldn’t fight.
Lin Yuewei said, “You think I’m noisy?”
Gu Yanqiu looked rattled and held back her temper as she gave a short reply. “No.”
Lin Yuewei looked at her for a long moment, then curved her lips. “Fine. I’ll go be quiet.”
She could roughly guess what would happen if they kept going head-to-head: a complete blowup, fireworks and all. It was New Year’s, and she didn’t want to make a scene that ugly.
Lin Yuewei took a set of pajamas from the closet; the sliding door slammed on purpose, banging loudly. Then she heard Gu Yanqiu click her tongue in displeasure, very clearly. Lin Yuewei gave a cold laugh to herself and slammed the bathroom door again.
Gu Yanqiu clicked her tongue once more, louder this time; Lin Yuewei inside couldn’t hear it anymore.
Lin Yuewei’s nonstop nagging beside her was annoying; when Lin Yuewei really left and let her cool off, that was even more annoying. That frustration was aimed less at Lin Yuewei than at herself.
How had she become like this? she thought.
What exactly did she want?
All the while showering, Lin Yuewei cursed Gu Yanqiu, even making the shampoo and body wash bottles clatter like she was in a battle. Then she felt it was especially pointless. Right now, she was just like a child who wasn’t getting enough attention—acting out and stirring up trouble to get Gu Yanqiu to notice her, begging for a piece of candy.
Why should she?
She hadn’t done anything. It was her mom who had insisted on bringing up Qu Xuesong. During these days off, Qu Xuesong hadn’t failed to contact her; she’d invited her out to shop and eat, and Lin Yuewei had turned her down because of Gu Yanqiu. She’d have to make that up someday. Wasn’t she the one having it rough?
Jealous at the drop of a hat, angry at the drop of a hat, refusing to speak properly, only knowing how to give the silent treatment. Last time she even ran away from home; she wanted to see whether she would run away again this time. Better not sleepwalk; if she did again, Lin Yuewei would wake her up no matter what. She meant every word.
Lin Yuewei stopped taking her anger out on the innocent items, finished her shower with a frown, and after coming out even looked in the mirror and smoothed away the little crease between her brows.
She couldn’t show how much she cared. Who was in the wrong here?
In the end, she hummed a tune as she opened the door; it was Madam Ran Qingqing’s latest classic from the Chinese songbook: “Good Fortune Comes.”
“Good fortune comes, I wish you good fortune comes, good fortune brings joy and love; good fortune comes, we have good fortune coming, riding the wind of good fortune to prosper across the four seas...” Lin Yuewei finished the last line and slipped under the covers.
There were fifteen minutes left until midnight; the new year was about to begin.
Lin Yuewei had imagined the two of them sitting on the carpet by the floor-to-ceiling window, listening to the distant chimes from the city and the faint cheers from the square as they welcomed the new year together.
That had all gone to waste.
Pretending to concentrate while doing nothing, Lin Yuewei kept scrolling Weibo with a secondary account. On the homepage, some people were complaining about the Spring Festival Gala, some about relatives and friends, some saying they missed home but couldn’t go back. She flicked through at random until she had scrolled all the way back to three days earlier. Five minutes had passed.
Gu Yanqiu was still in the same position as before, exactly as she’d been when Lin Yuewei went into the bathroom. Only her hands had changed; just now her left hand had been over her right, and now it was the right over the left.
When there were only five minutes left.
Lin Yuewei coughed and cleared her throat.
Gu Yanqiu seemed to tilt her head a little; her ear twitched.
Lin Yuewei asked, “Have you calmed down yet?”
Gu Yanqiu: “...No.”
In the space where Lin Yuewei was, all of Gu Yanqiu’s attention had been on listening for her movements, wondering what she was doing, what she would think, whether she’d think this or that about her. Then she would sink back into self-disgust. She really didn’t seem like a normal person anymore; she didn’t want to be like this either, but she couldn’t control it.
Lin Yuewei grabbed one of the pillows from the head of the bed and threw it at her, hitting Gu Yanqiu squarely in the back.
Gu Yanqiu stepped forward with her left foot, then stepped back, then took another step backward. She picked up the pillow and set it on the sofa without speaking.
Lin Yuewei wanted to throw another one, but if she did, she wouldn’t have a pillow left to sleep on and would have to go over and pick it up herself. “Gu Yanqiu, is this ever going to end? Are you planning to keep calming down until tomorrow morning?”
“Maybe.”
She didn’t manage to keep the second pillow either.
Gu Yanqiu bent to pick it up, looked at the sofa, and chose to bring it back to Lin Yuewei. The moment she stepped into Lin Yuewei’s space, Lin Yuewei, sitting on the bed, reached out and grabbed her wrist. One tug and one pull later, caught off guard, Gu Yanqiu lurched forward uncontrollably, both hands braced on either side of Lin Yuewei, her long hair falling and landing on Lin Yuewei’s knees.
The pillow slipped from her hands halfway through.
Gu Yanqiu paused for a second, looked up at Lin Yuewei, and then straightened.
Lin Yuewei didn’t stop her; Gu Yanqiu didn’t leave again.
Time ticked by second by second.
Midnight arrived. Along with the muffled New Year’s bells outside the window came the constant buzzing of Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu’s two phones; no one knew how many people had timed their New Year’s greetings to the second.
Lin Yuewei said, “Happy New Year.”
Gu Yanqiu gave a light “mm” and said just as flatly, “Happy New Year.”
Lin Yuewei was a little unhappy, but she had heard there was a custom: on the first day of the new year, it was best not to argue, or you’d spend the whole year arguing. Lin Yuewei pressed her lips together. Gu Yanqiu lowered her head and kissed her on the lips.
Lin Yuewei naturally wrapped her arms around Gu Yanqiu’s head and deepened the kiss.
Gu Yanqiu obediently kissed her for a while, then took the initiative to break away. “I’m going to take a shower.” With that, she hurried off.
Lin Yuewei: “......”
Lin Yuewei angrily picked up her phone and replied to the New Year’s messages one by one. Most were group texts. She used a template to reply to a few less important people, and some she answered more carefully.
For example Shao Yasi; for example her assistant Wang Yuanyuan; for example her agent; for example the friends she had agreed to go to a house party with tomorrow; and also... Qu Xuesong.
[Teacher Qu: Happy New Year, silly girl. Hope you make new progress in the new year, keep thriving, and let us see more of you on screen.]
Lin Yuewei politely replied, “Thank you, Teacher Qu.”
Qu Xuesong replied instantly: [No need to be so polite. What are you doing at home?]
This tone was clearly meant to keep chatting. Lin Yuewei hadn’t expected Qu Xuesong to still have time to talk to her at this hour. Did Qu Xuesong not have better friends? No, shouldn’t she be at the Spring Festival Gala?
[Two Trees: Sitting on the bed, planning to sleep later.]
[Teacher Qu: Any plans for New Year?]
[Two Trees: Yeah, going out with friends for a few days. Shouldn’t you be at the Spring Festival Gala?]
[Teacher Qu: It’s over. There are too many people; I’m waiting to leave.]
[Two Trees: Is it fun on site?]
[Teacher Qu: Extremely boring; I’d rather sleep at home. I’m exhausted right now.]
[Two Trees: Hahaha, everybody else wants to go and can’t get in.]
[Teacher Qu: Who said that? I’m telling you, I was dragged here as an extra pair of hands [wronged.jpg].]
[Two Trees: You’re really something.]
[Teacher Qu: Not as much as you.]
Lin Yuewei typed in the input box: Hahaha I—
A door opened beside her. Lin Yuewei quickly sent the unfinished message, returned to the chat interface, opened another friend’s conversation, and typed with a face as dark as water.
Gu Yanqiu lifted the blanket and got into bed, also opened her phone, and replied to New Year’s messages.
Lin Yuewei caught a brief glimpse; Gu Yanqiu mostly just cleared messages, replying very rarely, with the count on one hand.
There was still room for another person between them. Lin Yuewei quietly moved a little closer. Gu Yanqiu noticed and shifted over a bit as well. In the bathroom, she had calmed down; it really had been her fault for being jealous indiscriminately without considering the time or place. Earlier, while Lin Yuewei was showering, Ran Qingqing had knocked on the door once and asked if the two of them were going to fight again. Gu Yanqiu had said no and coaxed her back downstairs.
Ran Qingqing kept looking back at them with concern.
At last they were side by side. Lin Yuewei bumped her shoulder against Gu Yanqiu’s and looked straight ahead. “You’re not angry anymore?”
Gu Yanqiu gave a soft “mm.” It had all been the result of out-of-control emotions; given some time, she could adjust.
Lin Yuewei turned and kissed her profile.
Gu Yanqiu smiled.
“Next time...” Gu Yanqiu started, but was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.
Lin Yuewei said, “Your phone’s ringing.”
Gu Yanqiu shook her head. “It’s not mine. It’s yours.”
“Hm? Really?” Lin Yuewei tilted her head and grabbed her own phone. Seeing the caller ID, Teacher Qu, she went white and hit decline immediately.
Gu Yanqiu asked curiously, “Who was it?”
Lin Yuewei put her phone on silent and flipped it face down under the pillow. “Some spam number; don’t worry about it.” Then she sighed. “There really isn’t any privacy anymore. I only ever use this number for normal accounts and never sign up for random stuff, and I still got an ad call.”
“I keep getting calls about selling property too,” Gu Yanqiu said, and didn’t seem to suspect anything.
“Right? So annoying,” Lin Yuewei said. “By the way, what were you going to say just now?”
“Just now?”
“Mm.”
Gu Yanqiu thought about it and said, “I was going to say, next time you shouldn’t say that to me.”
“Which line?”
Gu Yanqiu: “The one where you said, ‘Can you try being reasonable?’ When you say that, I get even angrier.”
Lin Yuewei raised her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with being reasonable? Don’t you like being reasonable?” Lin Yuewei still remembered that during their first argument, Gu Yanqiu had said she was unreasonable and even argued with her over who had said the bad thing first; every sentence offset the next, and in the end she had even made Lin Yuewei apologize. Lin Yuewei helped Gu Yanqiu relive that memory.
Gu Yanqiu fell silent for a moment, buried her face in Lin Yuewei’s shoulder, and said in a low voice, “I was wrong.”
Lin Yuewei felt a little smug. “You and your constant need to reason with me.” Then she pulled Gu Yanqiu into her arms and patted her back gently. “Okay, I won’t say that next time either.”
Gu Yanqiu paused, then slowly explained, “I’m not deliberately trying to make you angry. I’m still in psychological treatment, so I’m not very stable. As soon as I hear that... name, I just blow up.”
With her attitude so good and those pitiful eyes looking up at her, what could Lin Yuewei say? Qu Xuesong obviously couldn’t compare to Gu Yanqiu in her heart. Lin Yuewei immediately said, “I’ll tell my mom tomorrow not to mention her in front of us.”
“Would that be bad?”
“What’s bad about it? You come first; your happiness is what matters most.” Lin Yuewei hugged her tighter and said softly, “You don’t know how much it hurts me when you get angry and just keep everything bottled up without saying a word.”
“I was wrong.” Gu Yanqiu said it again.
“I was wrong too. I shouldn’t have been careless and lost control of my mouth. But you need to change your habit of not speaking too; if you keep bottling things up, what if you make yourself sick?”
“I won’t.”
Lin Yuewei glared at her.
Gu Yanqiu said, “Fine, I’ll try to change.”
Lin Yuewei turned and lightly bit her cheek. “You’d better.”
Gu Yanqiu hissed from the sting.
“Did you remember that?” Lin Yuewei asked.
“...I remembered.”
They made up successfully, and the fight had been kept under an hour. Lin Yuewei relaxed; sleepiness hit her then, and she yawned before lying down. “Let’s sleep.”
After Gu Yanqiu turned off the light, she lay beside her and held one of her hands, closing her eyes as she said, “Sleep. Good night.”
Lin Yuewei touched the pillow and was out cold, breathing evenly.
Gu Yanqiu, lying beside her, opened her eyes after confirming that she was asleep. Her gaze was clear, with no trace of drowsiness. She released Lin Yuewei’s hand, bent her elbow to prop herself on the pillow, and reached over Lin Yuewei with her other hand toward the far side of the pillow.
She had already felt the outline of the phone. Gu Yanqiu paused, withdrew a little, and clenched her hand into a fist.
Lin Yuewei rolled over, mumbling something unintelligible in her sleep.
Gu Yanqiu leaned closer to listen. It was all broken fragments of words.
“Gu...” In her sleep, Lin Yuewei smacked her lips and nudged her face toward Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu slowly lay back down and closed her eyes.
She barely slept all night and only dozed a little before dawn.
The gathering with friends was set for the afternoon, and Lin Yuewei hadn’t set an alarm; she slept until she woke naturally.
Making sure Gu Yanqiu was still sound asleep, she squinted and pulled her phone out from under the pillow. Last night, to keep Gu Yanqiu from noticing her phone, she hadn’t even dared put it on the nightstand afterward.
She opened WeChat and, as expected, found a string of messages from Qu Xuesong.
[Teacher Qu: ???]
[Teacher Qu: Hahahaha, what do you mean, you?]
[Teacher Qu: Why did you hang up on me?]
[Teacher Qu: ?????]
The last one was from three in the morning, probably Qu Xuesong’s bedtime: [Teacher Qu: Lin big star?]
Lin Yuewei nearly lost her soul. She hurried to explain.
First she said that her mom had suddenly called her away to do something; her phone had been left in the room, and she hadn’t known about the call. Then she said it had been her cat being mischievous and hanging up; by the time she got back, she had been exhausted like a dog and had completely forgotten they were still chatting. She was practically on her knees, kowtowing and admitting fault.
Qu Xuesong slept late and woke early; after a few minutes, she replied: [Oh]
No matter how many messages Lin Yuewei sent after that, they sank without a trace.
Qu Xuesong was probably angry.
That made sense. The woman had spent the late hours after the Spring Festival Gala talking to her, only for Lin Yuewei to vanish halfway through the conversation. Not only was that rude, she had even hung up on her. If Lin Yuewei were Qu Xuesong, she’d be angry too. Besides, Qu Xuesong had helped her before; Lin Yuewei did have a bit of the flavor of biting the hand that fed her.
Lin Yuewei pressed a fingertip to her brow in distress, thinking over what gift she should buy as an apology.
Even worse, she had to buy it behind Gu Yanqiu’s back. If Gu Yanqiu found out, who knew how many more times that jar of old vinegar would explode.
Then Lin Yuewei thought of Jiang Congbi.
She slipped out of the room as quietly as possible, went to the room next door, and called Jiang Congbi, dragging her out of a warm bed.
“Hello.” She lowered her voice, one hand over her mouth.
Jiang Congbi’s little girlfriend had gone home, leaving her to guard an empty room by herself. She had played games until three in the morning and was so sleepy she could barely open her eyes. Hearing Lin Yuewei’s tone, like some secret meeting code, she immediately raised her voice. “The sky covers the tiger!”
“The chicken stewed with mushrooms,” Lin Yuewei answered.
Jiang Congbi: “Answer correct. What’s up? The gathering’s in the afternoon; why are you disturbing me now?”
Lin Yuewei was acting sneaky; she didn’t even know why, since she was at home and doing something perfectly proper, she still felt the need to be furtive. In any case, she kept her voice down. “What do women usually like? Do you know?”
Jiang Congbi answered with her eyes shut, humming lazily, “Houses, cars, money; good for both men and women.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Not that kind. The kind you give as a present. What should I buy?”
Jiang Congbi rolled over and lay spread-eagled, holding her phone on speaker because her arms ached. “A gift for a woman?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, so you’ve started giving your girlfriend gifts? Your emotional intelligence is improving, I see.” Jiang Congbi mentally marveled that youth really was formidable. Last time Lin Yuewei had come asking for advice, she had even been too embarrassed to say a single nice word. Now she was already planning gifts.
“It’s not that.” Lin Yuewei thought this was a mess; how had the conversation twisted back to Gu Yanqiu again? “Why would I give her a gift for no reason? I’m the best gift. Isn’t having me enough? I don’t need her to give me anything either; as long as we don’t fight, everything’s fine.”
Jiang Congbi said, “Too much dog food. Refused.”
Lin Yuewei snorted proudly and returned to the point. “I want to give a gift to an older sister. I upset her a little and made her angry.”
“Older sister? How much older?”
“About nine years, I think.”
“Where did you meet such an older sister? Is there even someone that old in our circle?”
“Not in our circle.”
“Oh...” Jiang Congbi drew out the sound. “The one thing I really admire about you is that you know all kinds of people who have absolutely nothing to do with us. Take that doctor, for example; a man in his forties. You just go in for a checkup and somehow become old friends. How does that even happen? And that bridge-playing—”
Lin Yuewei’s smile gradually stiffened. “Don’t bring that up. I don’t play cards anymore.”
“Why not?”
“No time.”
“Fair enough. No wonder I haven’t heard you mention it in ages. Better not play.” Jiang Congbi grabbed her phone and wrote a line in her reminders: Pick a gift for the big sister. Then she said, “Okay, I’ve noted it. When do you need the gift?”
Lin Yuewei answered, “The sooner the better... no, forget it, I’m not in a hurry. One week. I’ll buy it when I get back.” She was going out with friends tomorrow, and even if she got the gift, she wouldn’t be able to give it; it was better to do it in person.
Jiang Congbi said, “Got it. But I think some sense of ceremony is still necessary.”
“What sense of ceremony?”
“For example, giving a small gift and surprising your lover on a special day.”
Lin Yuewei was indifferent to that. She’d never been the type to care much about ceremony. She forgot her own birthday eight times out of ten. To set a specific date just to do certain things seemed rather limiting to her. If she wanted cake, she’d buy cake; no need to care whether it was her birthday. If she wanted flowers, she’d give flowers; no need to care whether it was Valentine’s Day. Wasn’t there a saying that for people in love, every day is Valentine’s Day?
She felt Gu Yanqiu was probably the same kind of person. Last year’s birthday... no, last year on Gu Yanqiu’s birthday, the two of them still hadn’t gotten their marriage certificate... but after that, as far as she remembered, they hadn’t really celebrated any day worth commemorating either.
Afraid Gu Yanqiu might wake up, Lin Yuewei hurried back after taking care of business. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Jiang Congbi said, “Hey?”
Lin Yuewei said, “Bye-bye.”
And hung up in a rush.
Jiang Congbi rested her cheek in one hand and looked at the already-ended call, the corners of her lips lifting into a smile. It felt like watching a straight man fall in love; that was really interesting.
***
When Lin Yuewei went back, Gu Yanqiu was still asleep. Her face, warmed pink by the room and the blankets, carried a faint flush. Lin Yuewei looked at her for a while, then bent down by the bed and kissed her cheeks and lips.
Gu Yanqiu’s lashes trembled slightly from the kiss, and both hands came out from under the covers to wrap around Lin Yuewei’s neck.
Lin Yuewei took the chance to lift her up and hold her half against her chest, asking softly, “Do you want to get up?”
“What time is it?” Gu Yanqiu murmured, half asleep and half awake.
“Nine fifty.” Lin Yuewei checked the time on her phone.
Gu Yanqiu didn’t say anything; she loosened her hand on her and just fell back down.
Lin Yuewei laughed, tucked the blanket around her properly, washed up on her own, and went downstairs to look for food.
The moment Ran Qingqing saw her, she let out a teasing “Oh?” The white cat Schrödinger on her lap jumped down and staggered to Lin Yuewei’s feet, then sat down hard. Schrödinger had been getting along quite well with Lin Yuewei lately and was very close to her.
Seeing that Schrödinger’s steps were no longer light, Lin Yuewei crouched down and picked her up. The weight was incomparable to before. She clicked her tongue. “Mom, you can’t keep feeding her so much. Look at this weight; she’s almost going to get high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high blood lipids.”
Lin Yuewei pinched Schrödinger’s soft belly. Before, the feel of fur had outweighed the flesh; now all she could feel was squishy meat. She held the cat and shook her up and down; the fat on her belly jigged along with it.
Schrödinger gave a pitiful “meow...”
Looking at the wrinkled face squeezed into a ball, Lin Yuewei had completely lost her sense of beauty: “......”
Ran Qingqing, who had just been about to defend Schrödinger and say she wasn’t fat, also fell silent at the sight of all that layered flesh: “......”
Originally, they had planned to wait until after the New Year, when Gu Yanqiu returned to their home, to put Schrödinger on a diet. But Schrödinger’s weight had increased too quickly; she was different every day. At this rate, in another week she’d be a genuine snowball. Forget the loss of beauty; the most important thing was that obesity was bad for health, whether for people or cats.
“As expected, Grandma really does spoil the children,” Lin Yuewei said, setting Schrödinger down and urging her, “Come on, run a couple of steps. If you don’t lose weight, no female cat will want you.”
Ran Qingqing heard something off. “Isn’t it female?”
Lin Yuewei said, “Yeah, which means she has to find a female cat partner.”
Ran Qingqing said, “Fine, you two do as you please.”
Schrödinger remained unmoved.
Lin Yuewei used her foot to nudge Schrödinger’s little belly and push her forward. Schrödinger flopped down and all of her weight landed on Lin Yuewei’s foot; on the second attempt, Lin Yuewei actually couldn’t lift her foot.
Lin Yuewei: “Hey.” She refused to believe it.
She crouched down and went “ahhh” at Schrödinger. Schrödinger perked up her ears, firmly clung to the slipper, and didn’t budge.
Lin Yuewei even got out the cat teaser, but after all her effort, she still couldn’t make Schrödinger move an inch.
Ran Qingqing rubbed her hands together. “Let me try.”
Lin Yuewei laboriously pulled her foot out from under Schrödinger’s belly, and Ran Qingqing took over. She sat down, reasoned with Schrödinger, appealed to her emotions, and in the end even began reciting the Sutra of Earth Store.
More than ten minutes later, Schrödinger was tired from squatting. She moved her limbs, and both women were delighted. Ran Qingqing said, “See? It works. Even a cat can be handled by a Bodhisattva.”
Then Schrödinger flopped down again. This time she was even better: she lay on her side, and just before her blue eyes closed, she gave the grandmother and mother in front of her a calm, indifferent glance, as if mocking their overestimation of themselves.
Schrödinger fell asleep right there.
Lin Yuewei & Ran Qingqing: “......”
When Gu Yanqiu woke and came downstairs, what she saw was the two of them at a loss before a cat. She smiled curiously. “What’s going on?”
Lin Yuewei said worriedly, “We’re trying to make Schrödinger lose weight.”
Ran Qingqing added, “But she just won’t move.”
Lin Yuewei sighed. “Look how fat she’s gotten.”
Ran Qingqing also sighed. “If she keeps eating like this, she’s really going to turn into a pig.”
Gu Yanqiu lowered her head; her gaze fell on Schrödinger, who was not far away with her eyes shut and pretending to nap. The corners of her mouth lifted, and she strolled over.
Schrödinger wasn’t asleep; she was only using sleep as a defense against the foolish humans trying to force her into losing weight. She instinctively sensed a chill aimed at her and opened her eyes. In front of her was a pair of feet in cartoon slippers.
Higher up...
The cat’s fur all over her body shuddered. She let out a soft, tender “meow,” as clingy as could be, and rubbed against Gu Yanqiu’s ankle.
Lin Yuewei and Ran Qingqing were dumbfounded. Usually Schrödinger was obedient enough, but when had they ever seen her act so fawning?
Gu Yanqiu lightly tapped Schrödinger’s belly with her toe and said coolly, “Run.”
Schrödinger meowed even more enthusiastically, trying to climb up along Gu Yanqiu’s ankle; her whole cat body clung to Gu Yanqiu’s leg and acted cute. Unfortunately, things did not go the cat’s way. Gu Yanqiu coldly withdrew her foot, her gaze turning even colder. “Run.”
Schrödinger rolled and thrashed on the carpet, meowing so miserably it sounded like running would kill her.
Gu Yanqiu seemed to have exhausted her patience. She simply picked Schrödinger up with one hand and walked to the front door, with Lin Yuewei and Ran Qingqing hurrying after her.
Gu Yanqiu changed shoes and put Schrödinger directly in the yard in front of the door, about ten meters from the entrance. There was no heating in the yard. Schrödinger shivered in the cold wind as she scuttled after Gu Yanqiu and ran toward the door.
Gu Yanqiu moved aside and let her in. Schrödinger stuck out her tongue and licked the fine rain clinging to her fur.
Gu Yanqiu said, “Run.”
Schrödinger didn’t move; her blue eyes stared at her.
Gu Yanqiu didn’t waste words. She picked Schrödinger up again and carried her outside. Startled, Schrödinger exploded into fluff and jumped from her arms, then ran circles around the living room, leaping up and down.
Gu Yanqiu stroked her head after each lap. Schrödinger didn’t look like she was enjoying it at all. Furious but unwilling to speak up, she resigned herself to exercising.
Gu Yanqiu went to wash her hands, and Lin Yuewei’s head kept turning to follow Schrödinger as she ran circles. Even after Gu Yanqiu returned, Lin Yuewei’s attention was still entirely on Schrödinger. Gu Yanqiu cleared her throat and sat beside her. Only then did Lin Yuewei turn her head to glance at her, smile a little, and continue watching Schrödinger.
Lin Yuewei said, “She’s so smart. One time and she gets it.”
Gu Yanqiu straightened a little and took the credit. “I trained her well.”
Lin Yuewei watched Schrödinger without blinking, her eyes full of laughter. “Yes, yes, yes. But she really is smart too.”
Gu Yanqiu was displeased. “She ignores both of you completely.”
Lin Yuewei turned back, the corners of her mouth carrying a half-smile. “What are you trying to say?”
Gu Yanqiu pressed her lips together.
Lin Yuewei raised a brow. “If you want something, just say it.”
Gu Yanqiu looked at her fixedly. After a long while, she pursed her lips and said very softly, “Praise me.”
Lin Yuewei burst out laughing.
Gu Yanqiu bit her lower lip and turned her face away.
Lin Yuewei hugged her and planted two hard kisses on her face. “Praise you! You’re amazing!”
A look of pleasure colored Gu Yanqiu’s eyes, but she stubbornly said, “Not sincere enough.”
Lin Yuewei looked at her. “Then what would be sincere enough?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Guess.”
Lin Yuewei had always hated guessing games, but this was clearly flirting, so she cooperatively guessed, “A kiss?”
Gu Yanqiu said nothing. Lin Yuewei kissed her directly on the lips, with a loud smack.
“...” Madam Ran Qingqing pretended not to see these two flirting openly in front of everyone.
Gu Yanqiu was a little carried away and said softly, “Still not enough.”
Not enough? Lin Yuewei thought about it; then her lips curved and she was about to drag her upstairs. Gu Yanqiu smiled and pressed her hand down. “Enough, enough.”
“Really enough?” Lin Yuewei asked on purpose.
“Enough.” Gu Yanqiu nodded with a red face. She’d make up the rest tonight.
Lin Yuewei leaned in and kissed her again, smiling. “See? Isn’t this much better? If you want something, just tell me. As long as it’s something I can do, I’ll definitely satisfy you. Whether it’s happy things or sad things, two people are better than one.”
Ran Qingqing sighed inwardly.
Lin Yuewei suddenly turned her head. “Mom, same for you, okay?”
Ran Qingqing put on a stern face and said coldly, “I don’t need it.”
Lin Yuewei laughed twice and ignored her mother’s stubbornness. Women were all like this, especially women who had been moved; they were the easiest to be stubborn in words and deny what they really meant.
The three of them, one cat, and one dog spent most of New Year’s Day curled up at home. At four in the afternoon, Lin Yuewei led Gu Yanqiu out to attend a gathering with friends. Before leaving, she deliberately wore both rings; together they looked especially well matched.
By her count, she was still the first person in her circle to get married. Back then, who knew how many people had been shocked; later, even after they learned it was a business marriage, they still teased her constantly. Now that she and Gu Yanqiu had turned the fake into real, who knew what kind of trouble those friends would stir up? They definitely wouldn’t be quiet.
Lin Yuewei sent a stern warning in the group chat: don’t go too far, especially don’t get any funny ideas about Gu Yanqiu.
Naturally, her friends all agreed in chorus, but that didn’t mean they would behave at the scene.
Lin Yuewei first gave Gu Yanqiu a heads-up: “You’re the newcomer, so they’re definitely going to tease you. Just follow behind me then; don’t talk to them too much.”
Gu Yanqiu smiled. “Is it really that scary? I’ve attended similar parties abroad too. Are you underestimating me?”
Lin Yuewei pressed her temples and inwardly admitted she had been confused, treating Gu Yanqiu like a pure little white rabbit. She smiled too. “That’s good. Anyway, just stay with me.”
Gu Yanqiu answered obediently, “Okay.” Then she lowered her head and looked at the wedding ring on her ring finger, turning it over and over in her hand.
Lin Yuewei could tell she was in a very good mood. Was it because she was taking her to meet her friends?
Gu Yanqiu really liked her.
Lin Yuewei said, “When the time comes, I’ll treat Cheng Guiyuan to a meal, okay?”
“Hm?” Gu Yanqiu looked up. “Why are you suddenly treating her to a meal?”
Lin Yuewei said, “Just... let her take a look at your family member? Isn’t that how it works?” Her gaze stayed fixed on the road ahead, and if one listened closely, there was a hint of nervousness in her voice.
Gu Yanqiu understood. Her eyes curved, visibly delighted. “Okay!”
Lin Yuewei loosened one hand from the steering wheel and reached toward the passenger seat, only to have Gu Yanqiu catch it halfway and hold on. Lin Yuewei gently rubbed the back of Gu Yanqiu’s smooth hand with her thumb, then drew back.
Neither of them spoke after that; only the music in the car sang on in a leisurely voice.
The gathering was set at a private club with excellent confidentiality; one of the friends’ families owned it. Lin Yuewei parked the car and led Gu Yanqiu down. They had a dedicated private room. Lin Yuewei took Gu Yanqiu upstairs and, as if she knew the place by heart, arrived at the door.
Lin Yuewei called one of her friends; the person inside said, “Just come in, the door’s not closed.”
So Lin Yuewei pushed open the heavy door. A sudden blast rang in her ears; on reflex, Lin Yuewei took a wide step to shield Gu Yanqiu. Colored paper strips and ribbons rained down from above, covering the two of them.
“Welcome to the grave of marriage!” one friend after another popped up. On the left and right of the doorway stood two people, each holding a handheld party cannon.
Lin Yuewei helped Gu Yanqiu remove the ribbons from her head and said, half laughing and half helpless, “Are you all poisoned?”
Her friends burst into laughter.
One of them said, “We missed your wedding, so we’re making up for it now.”
Another said, “Actually, we prepared wedding outfits too. Can you believe it? The traditional kind, with a first bow to heaven and earth.”
Another said, “Report: I killed that idea.”
Lin Yuewei gave perfunctory applause. “Give you a hand.”
The one claiming credit pouted.
There was too much paper confetti on her; Lin Yuewei’s neck was still itchy from it. She narrowed her eyes and looked around. “Who came up with this rotten idea?”
Everyone looked at each other, then together pushed out a young man. He was handsome, around 183 centimeters tall, in a shirt and slacks, one hand in his pocket. His brows were bold and lively, with a bit of rogue charm. He blew Lin Yuewei a kiss, though what he said had nothing to do with the manners he was showing at the moment. Smiling ingratiatingly, he said, “I swear, this time it really wasn’t me.”
Lin Yuewei reached out and caught the kiss out of the air, then stepped on it on the ground. “If you’re going to talk, then talk. Stop being disgusting.”
“Wow, I’m so hurt. Weiwei says I’m disgusting.” The man clutched his heart. Before Lin Yuewei could say anything else, the people beside him had already started jabbing him with fists and kicks.
“All right, stop fooling around,” Lin Yuewei said, and there was faintly a sense that she was the leader of this group. She took Gu Yanqiu’s hand and brought her forward. With a smile already in her voice, she said, “Let me formally introduce everyone. This is my wife, Gu Yanqiu.”
The few men and women immediately straightened up and started calling out all at once: “Sister-in-law,” “sister-in-law’s wife,” “little sister-in-law,” and the like.
Then Lin Yuewei introduced them to Gu Yanqiu. There were five in total, including Jiang Congbi; two men and three women. They were all from prominent wealthy families, but unlike idle second-generation rich kids, all of them clearly had been tempered by the world. Their clothing was tasteful, and every gesture carried an elite air.
The one named Fang, who had blown her a kiss earlier, was gay. After Lin Yuewei finished introducing them, Gu Yanqiu let out a breath of relief. Once the others dispersed, Lin Yuewei leaned close to her ear and asked, “Were you jealous again just now?”
Gu Yanqiu raised the glass in her hand and fed her a sip, saying faintly, “No.”
“Really not?”
“No.”
Lin Yuewei didn’t believe it at all, clicked her tongue, and didn’t expose her little vinegar jar.
“Weiwei, Weiwei’s wife.” Young Master Fang lifted a hand and called, “Come over here. What are you whispering about over there? Isn’t it enough for you to be intimate at home?”
Lin Yuewei said, “Coming.”
They arranged the drinks. They didn’t do any especially weird games; they just sat around chatting and drinking. Young Master Fang talked about the strange people he’d run into at the negotiating table, and the others immediately chimed in. Gu Yanqiu had things to say as well, but Lin Yuewei, who was now in the entertainment industry, had no common topic with them. That didn’t stop her from listening quietly.
Gu Yanqiu was only now discovering what Lin Yuewei was like in her friend circle: not at all as explosive as she seemed, her slender fingers rubbing the rim of a Bordeaux glass, composed and unreadable; unexpectedly, she was quite reserved and hard to read.
Occasionally, when someone turned their eyes toward her, she would lift her gaze with a faint smile, take a small sip of wine, and offer a couple of comments, often hitting the nail on the head.
After they’d gotten through the socializing, they switched the red wine for beer and started playing games, a few rounds of Werewolf.
Gu Yanqiu had never played before, but after hearing the rules once, she picked it up.
In the first round she drew the werewolf card and was voted out on the first day. She pressed a hand to her forehead, and Lin Yuewei patted her shoulder to comfort her.
Gu Yanqiu sat at the side and watched them continue, occasionally showing a thoughtful expression; in the end she narrowed her eyes, and her gaze returned to calm.
Starting from the second round, Gu Yanqiu was like she’d been cheating. Her fake and real, her surface and hidden layers; her psychological warfare was so strong it made people’s scalps tingle. None of the people present were stupid, and yet she still toyed with them in circles.
Young Master Fang drank a large glass of beer and waved surrender. “Enough, enough, I’m not playing anymore. Wolf-chosen daughter.”
Gu Yanqiu smiled faintly, then blinked at Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei thought she was mesmerizing to the point of absurdity and couldn’t help kissing her on the lips. “Praise you!”
Her friends all cried out about being assaulted by dog food and unable to look, then forcibly separated the two of them and made Young Master Fang sit in the middle.
Werewolf was no longer playable. Young Master Fang took two dice cups out of the drawer. “Let’s roll dice. This is pure luck, so we can’t possibly be crushed, right?”
Everyone agreed.
Jiang Congbi said, “Any rules for the point values?”
Young Master Fang said, “Truth or dare? The person with the highest points can make a demand of the one with the lowest points; the lowest one also has to drink a glass of alcohol.”
Jiang Congbi said, “Isn’t that way too old-fashioned?”
Young Master Fang said, “Playing or not?”
Jiang Congbi: “...Playing.” Old-fashioned was old-fashioned, but it was still pretty fun.
There was only one newcomer here, so the others all stared at Gu Yanqiu’s dice; unfortunately, her IQ was high and her luck was off the charts. She was never the lowest. The others had almost given up. Gu Yanqiu lifted the cup: three ones.
Young Master Fang: “Hahahahahaha.”
The next miracle of another three ones did not appear. Young Master Fang said, “Truth or dare?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Truth.”
Young Master Fang cleared his throat and, on behalf of all the gossip-hungry friends, asked, “Hehehe, which one of you is top and which one is bottom? You can’t answer mutual top.”
Lin Yuewei: “......”
Gu Yanqiu glanced at Lin Yuewei. Jiang Congbi immediately covered Lin Yuewei’s face with her hand. “No colluding to cheat.”
Gu Yanqiu: “......”
After a few seconds of silence, Gu Yanqiu said, “I’m the... top.”
Her friends: “Hahahahahaha.” They all exchanged knowing looks toward Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei looked blank, pretending she had amnesia for this entire segment.
Young Master Fang still had a pile of raunchy questions in his head, but he no longer managed to catch Gu Yanqiu when she had the lowest score. Instead, Lin Yuewei became the one at the bottom. Young Master Fang’s eyes lit up, and he was just about to ask a private question when Lin Yuewei shot him a glare.
A chill ran down the back of his neck. If he kept asking this question, he’d probably be settling accounts after the fact.
Forget it; it wasn’t worth risking his life for gossip. Young Master Fang asked a safe question, thinking this was an absolutely brilliant question, one that would be very good at pleasing Lin Yuewei.
Young Master Fang smiled. “Is your first love the one you’re with now?”
He had known Lin Yuewei for so many years and had never seen her take any man or woman seriously. The only person she had ever fallen for, she had actually ended up marrying. If the marriage partner was her first love, that was such a beautiful thing; he absolutely had to let her wife know.
Jiang Congbi jabbed Young Master Fang in the arm and shook her head wildly at him.
Young Master Fang: “???”
Then he saw that Lin Yuewei, who should have answered without hesitation, was actually falling silent.
Young Master Fang: “!!!”
What? It wasn’t? Had she secretly been dating someone at some point?! Why had no one told him?!
The smile on Gu Yanqiu’s face gradually stiffened. Her thin lips pressed into a sharp line as she looked at Lin Yuewei without saying a word.
Young Master Fang swallowed hard and tried to patch things over. “Let’s skip this question, then. We’ll continue.”
“Let her answer.” Gu Yanqiu pressed down on the wrist that held the dice cup. Her voice was very light and very cold, as if winter wind and snow were mixed inside it.
Lin Yuewei closed her eyes. Under everyone’s gaze, especially Gu Yanqiu’s exceptionally sharp stare, she struggled to lift her eyes and squeezed out two words between her teeth: “No.”