Chapter 134
Does a crush count as love?
Different people draw the line differently.
Lin Yuewei could have brushed this off and decided that a crush was not love, but she could not get past it in her own heart. She had once truly liked someone before Gu Yanqiu. Though she had never met that person and did not know their name, the feeling they gave her was one of a racing heartbeat. If that person had not been so cold to her, if they had drawn a clear line outside the game and kept everything separate, if they had not decisively pulled away the moment she tried to get closer, then the person she was entangled with now might have been someone else.
Maybe once they met, that person would not have been what she had imagined. But life does not leave room for that many maybes.
That was her past; she had no need to hide it, and no intention of hiding it.
Gu Yanqiu had never asked before. Because of the slightly embarrassing way she and that person had gotten to know each other, and because it was a little too middle-school-heroine for her taste, Lin Yuewei had not brought it up on her own either. Besides, who would bring up an ex in front of their current girlfriend for no reason?
And that was how the misunderstanding came about: Gu Yanqiu was Lin Yuewei’s first love, and Lin Yuewei had never said she wasn’t Gu Yanqiu’s first love, so Gu Yanqiu had simply assumed she was. Hearing this all of a sudden, it was no exaggeration to say she was shocked—and even angry.
“No.”
The atmosphere dropped to freezing after Lin Yuewei said that.
For a few seconds, it felt as if time had stopped. Then Gu Yanqiu let go of the wrist she had been pinning down, lowered her eyes, and gave a relaxed smile. “All right, we can continue.”
Young Master Fang had flattered the wrong horse and now wished he could crawl into a hole. His eyes darted between Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu when Jiang Congbi suddenly reached back over her shoulder and swatted him. “Hurry up and start; what are you spacing out for?”
Young Master Fang read the room quickly, exchanged a look with the others, and the people across from them made room. He stood up and, trembling, fled the center of the storm.
Lin Yuewei took the initiative to move closer to Gu Yanqiu, shoulder to shoulder with her. Not telling her in advance was, no matter how you looked at it, mostly her fault.
Gu Yanqiu did not avoid her; instead, she leaned in a little and tightened her grip on Lin Yuewei’s hand.
Lin Yuewei was a little surprised, then squeezed back. Gu Yanqiu’s hand was very cold. Thinking she must be chilly, Lin Yuewei asked Young Master Fang for a blanket and covered Gu Yanqiu’s legs with it.
Young Master Fang, eager to make amends, immediately said with exaggerated emphasis, “Public display of affection! Public display of affection!”
The others chimed in one after another.
Lin Yuewei: “Shut up.”
The mood seemed to ease a little.
Lin Yuewei turned to glance at Gu Yanqiu. Her expression was calm; whether it was truly calm or only an act, Lin Yuewei couldn’t tell. She frowned slightly.
It was Lin Yuewei’s turn to roll the dice. She threw two twos and a six, getting through safely. Gu Yanqiu, meanwhile, was once again possessed by the god of bad luck and rolled a three and two ones, landing at the bottom.
Lin Yuewei drank the punitive cup of alcohol for her first.
No one objected.
This time, Jiang Congbi had the highest roll. Following custom, she asked, “Truth or dare?”
“I choose dare.” Gu Yanqiu gave the unexpected answer, brushing her long hair behind her ear with her fingers and smiling.
“Oh?” Jiang Congbi rubbed her hands together, suddenly interested. “Dare, huh.”
She looked at Lin Yuewei, the corner of her mouth lifting in a mischievous smile. “How about—”
Lin Yuewei: “I object.”
Jiang Congbi: “Objection overruled.”
Gu Yanqiu soothed Lin Yuewei, “It’s fine.”
Lin Yuewei glanced at Jiang Congbi with a warning in her eyes. Jiang Congbi answered with a look that said trust me.
After a brief pause, Jiang Congbi said, “Let’s do the simplest punishment: eat a chocolate stick mouth-to-mouth. Just the two of you.”
For some reason, Young Master Fang produced the prop from nowhere, tore open a bag of chocolate sticks, and spread them on the table. “How many sticks?”
Jiang Congbi: “Three, I guess.”
Gu Yanqiu took a chocolate stick from the packet, held one end in her mouth, and slowly leaned toward Lin Yuewei. Lin Yuewei naturally cooperated, biting onto the other end and nibbling her way forward until she had eaten it down.
Then Lin Yuewei’s gaze accidentally met Gu Yanqiu’s.
Gu Yanqiu’s eyes were dark and clear, as if stars had been gathered in them.
Time seemed to return to when they first met, to that stunning glance on their wedding day when they each lifted the other’s veil.
The chocolate stick reached its end; their soft lips touched lightly and did not separate.
Lin Yuewei’s heart gave a hard thump. She tightened her hand around Gu Yanqiu’s and suddenly leaned forward. Gu Yanqiu answered at once, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into her embrace; then her palm pressed firmly against Lin Yuewei’s back, as if she wanted to fuse her into her own blood and bone.
The two of them kissed with earth-shattering intensity, as though nothing else existed.
The scene went completely out of control.
The friends exchanged looks. They were all people who had seen plenty of storms in their time, but faced with this scene, even they awkwardly looked away.
When they finally separated, both of them were still breathing too hard to settle, staring deeply into each other’s eyes.
Their feelings were so full they seemed ready to spill over, just like on the day they had officially become girlfriends, just as hot and fierce.
Lin Yuewei rested her chin on Gu Yanqiu’s shoulder, tilted her head, and leaned close to her ear. In a voice only the two of them could hear, she said softly, word by word, “I love you.”
Gu Yanqiu smiled faintly, her ear affectionately brushing Lin Yuewei’s face.
Seeing that things were about enough, Jiang Congbi interrupted, “To save time, let’s skip the remaining two sticks. Continue the game.”
Lin Yuewei sat back in her seat and exchanged a glance with Gu Yanqiu beside her; the smile on her face deepened.
A flicker of warmth showed in Jiang Congbi’s eyes before she quickly reined it in and kept rolling the dice.
Everyone eventually got a turn to ask. Gu Yanqiu and Lin Yuewei were both asked later as well, and both times they chose truth. The atmosphere gradually returned to normal, then turned boozy and reckless; Young Master Fang got bolder and started asking filthy questions, to the point that Lin Yuewei was furiously recording every offense in her notes app.
By eleven at night, everyone was drunk and swaying, clinging to the table and slurring their words before the party was finally declared a complete success.
Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu had to catch a flight abroad the next day, so they left first. The clubhouse had a dedicated driver, who took them back to the Lin residence.
Lin Yuewei’s alcohol tolerance was not as good as Gu Yanqiu’s, and all of Gu Yanqiu’s drinks had been drunk by her. In the private room, she had barely managed to keep herself from doing anything rude; the moment the two of them were alone, she showed her true colors.
She wasn’t throwing a drunken tantrum; she just kept saying she was dizzy. Lying on Gu Yanqiu’s lap, she grabbed Gu Yanqiu’s hand and pressed it to her face. “Am I hot?”
Gu Yanqiu touched her forehead. “...Not hot.”
“Hot!” Lin Yuewei said, not allowing any argument.
“All right, all right. Hot.”
The drunk, misty-eyed Lin Yuewei smiled in satisfaction. She held Gu Yanqiu’s wrist and covered her own face with Gu Yanqiu’s hand as if blocking out the light, then closed her eyes and muttered, “Wake me when we get home.”
“Mm.” Gu Yanqiu held one side of her body steady so she wouldn’t thrash around and fall.
Gu Yanqiu combed through the long hair that had fallen to one side and squinted out at the rushing scenery beyond the window, feeling a little wistful.
Lin Yuewei had a past; that was normal. She was so beautiful, and she was from a wealthy family. It was only because Gu Yanqiu had never asked before that she had assumed Lin Yuewei was the same as her. She had been too impulsive just now and far too rude, embarrassing Lin Yuewei in front of everyone. She should apologize when Lin Yuewei sobered up.
Gu Yanqiu’s thoughts drifted farther and farther away.
What kind of person had Lin Yuewei liked in the past?
If Lin Yuewei hadn’t married her, they probably wouldn’t have been possible. Lin Yuewei needed someone who would hold her in the palm of their hand, someone utterly accommodating; not someone like Gu Yanqiu, who liked to overthink, butt heads with her at every turn, and then needed Lin Yuewei to compromise instead.
Gu Yanqiu thought: sigh.
Half-asleep, Lin Yuewei felt very comfortable with her hair being smoothed so gently. She couldn’t help leaning closer. Gu Yanqiu lowered her head to look at her, then let go of the hand covering her cheek and brushed the hair back from her forehead, her gaze tender.
The moment Lin Yuewei’s body lifted into the air, she woke up. Seeing that Gu Yanqiu had thought she was asleep and was preparing to carry her out, she happened to open her eyes just as they reached the car door.
Lin Yuewei patted Gu Yanqiu’s right shoulder, and Gu Yanqiu set her down. “Sober now?”
Lin Yuewei pressed her temple. “Yeah, a little headache.” She reached up to rub her eyes again.
“Not hygienic.” Gu Yanqiu caught her hand and said, “I’ll make you some hangover soup when we get back. Go to bed early tonight.”
Lin Yuewei wrapped both arms around her neck, kissed her, and looked up at her with curved, smiling eyes. “You’re so nice.”
She never acted like this normally; if she did, she certainly wasn’t this lively. She was probably still a little drunk. In that posture, Gu Yanqiu half-held and half-carried her through the front door.
Madam Ran Qingqing had already gone to sleep, but the living room lights were still on.
Gu Yanqiu switched on the ceiling light in the entryway, bent down to change her shoes, then changed into slippers for the sluggish Lin Yuewei leaning against the shoe cabinet as well. She took off both of their coats, pressed Lin Yuewei down onto the sofa, and carried the ingredients into the kitchen to make hangover soup.
Gu Yanqiu rolled up her sleeves, washed and drained the bean sprouts under running water, then unhurriedly took out a kitchen knife and cutting board and minced the garlic cloves and scallion whites into fine bits.
She poured cold water into the pot and turned on the gas; a blue flame leapt up.
The prayer beads wound twice around her wrist were removed, and she flicked one bead after another between her fingers to pass the time.
Not long after, steam began to rise from the pot, and the boiling water made a gurgling sound. Gu Yanqiu lifted the lid with one hand, added the bean sprouts and garlic, stepped back a few paces, and rested one hand on the counter while looking toward the doorway.
Lin Yuewei blinked. “Hello there; are you the Girl from the Gourd?”
Gu Yanqiu smiled. Lin Yuewei walked inside and stood in front of her. The two of them were about the same height, so their eyes were almost level.
Gu Yanqiu glanced at the pot before looking back at her. “What is it?”
Lin Yuewei said, “Don’t you think this scene feels familiar?”
“Familiar?” Gu Yanqiu searched her memory.
Lin Yuewei reminded her, “The first night we got married.”
Gu Yanqiu showed an understanding expression.
On the first night of their marriage, Gu Yanqiu had also made her hangover tea. Back then...
Lin Yuewei suddenly smiled slyly. “I’ll tell you a secret. Want to know?”
Gu Yanqiu smiled. “What secret?”
Lin Yuewei clasped both hands behind her back, swaying slightly with smug delight. “On our wedding day, I drank water. I didn’t touch a drop of alcohol.”
“Oh.” Gu Yanqiu lifted her brows. “I know.”
“You knew?” Lin Yuewei was surprised.
“I could smell that your cup didn’t have any alcohol in it.”
“Then why did you still make me hangover soup?”
Gu Yanqiu looked at her quietly, then tilted her head with a smile. “You guess.”
“Hey.” Lin Yuewei called after Gu Yanqiu, who had gone back to check the heat. Gu Yanqiu had her back to her. “It’s easy to guess.”
Lin Yuewei lowered her head in thought. She wasn’t being narcissistic, but thinking back on that scene, there didn’t seem to be any other reason besides one.
Step by step, Lin Yuewei edged closer and hugged Gu Yanqiu from behind. “You already had feelings for me back then?”
“More or less.” Gu Yanqiu gave a soft hum, her tone casual.
Lin Yuewei said unhappily, “What do you mean, more or less?”
Gu Yanqiu lifted the lid with one hand, added some seasoning, switched to a long spoon, and stirred as she raised a brow. “Love at first sight?”
Lin Yuewei snorted. “People say love at first sight is just lust at first sight.”
“Who said that?”
Lin Yuewei thought Gu Yanqiu was about to refute her. She was already preparing a whole basketful of arguments, but Gu Yanqiu continued, “Makes a lot of sense.”
Lin Yuewei: “I thought you saw my interesting soul through my pretty face. I didn’t expect...” She clicked her tongue twice.
Gu Yanqiu laughed softly and asked in return, “Aren’t you the same? You spaced out looking at me several times on our wedding day. I saw it.”
Lin Yuewei laughed too, then asked, “If I weren’t good-looking, would you still be with me?”
Gu Yanqiu answered without hesitation, “No.”
Lin Yuewei bit her.
Gu Yanqiu touched the spot on her face where it hurt from the bite and asked the same question back. “Then if I weren’t good-looking, would you still be with me?”
Lin Yuewei laughed out loud. “No.”
Gu Yanqiu turned around and opened her mouth to bite her, but Lin Yuewei dodged away.
Gu Yanqiu said, “That’s unfair.”
Lin Yuewei stuck out her tongue at her. “Survival of the fittest.”
The soup was about done. Gu Yanqiu tasted it, wrinkled her nose, turned off the heat, set the spoon aside, and ladled it into two bowls. At the end, she sprinkled a little scallion over the top and called to the runaway Lin Yuewei, “Come drink your soup.”
Lin Yuewei had been spoiled beyond reason and started acting petty. “No, it’s hot.”
Gu Yanqiu bent down and blew on it, then sighed helplessly. “Drink it while it’s hot; it works better.”
Lin Yuewei still refused. Gu Yanqiu came out to catch her, and the two of them chased each other around the living room. In the end, Gu Yanqiu pinned Lin Yuewei to the sofa, and they tussled for a while. Gu Yanqiu pulled her up and straightened her hair. “Drink it or not?”
Lin Yuewei panted, “Drink.”
Gu Yanqiu went back to the kitchen and brought out the hangover soup. It had cooled for a bit and was now warm on the tongue. Lin Yuewei tilted her head back and gulped down a bowl in just a few mouthfuls, then handed the bowl back. Gu Yanqiu was about to take it away when Lin Yuewei stopped her and made her sit facing her.
Lin Yuewei said, “I have something to tell you.”
Her expression was serious, completely unlike the careless, playful look from before.
Gu Yanqiu said, “I know what you’re going to say; wash up first and then tell me.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Okay.”
She absolutely had to explain the first-love thing clearly. If Qu Xuesong, who didn’t even have a proper clue, was already this jealous, then what about this person who had almost had the whole thing written in the ledger? She really had liked someone before.
Putting herself in Gu Yanqiu’s shoes, if her girlfriend had silently dated her for more than half a year, making her think she was her first love, only to discover there had been someone before her all along, hidden and kept secret, she would be ready to pin the other person down and give them a good scolding right now; anyone who didn’t know better might think the old feelings had never ended.
Now they were a couple—no, a married couple. Past emotional experiences had to be honest too.
Yes, honest.
Sitting on the sofa, Lin Yuewei thought this to herself and suddenly jolted as if struck by lightning; she nearly jumped up. When had she started putting herself in Gu Yanqiu’s position? Was this still her?
Since she could do that, then she might as well keep thinking.
Why was Gu Yanqiu jealous of Qu Xuesong?
Lin Yuewei thought about it carefully, but couldn’t come up with an answer. It was probably the same as with Shao Yasi: a woman’s intuition. But the way she handled Qu Xuesong couldn’t be copied from the way she handled Shao Yasi. Qu Xuesong wasn’t that close to her; she couldn’t expose Gu Yanqiu in front of her.
Lin Yuewei was at a loss. In the end, she decided to give up on Qu Xuesong and just mention her as little as possible in front of her.
She sat on the sofa contemplating like an enlightened monk, so absorbed that she didn’t even realize Gu Yanqiu had already finished and come over.
Gu Yanqiu tapped her head lightly. Lin Yuewei came back to herself just in time to see Gu Yanqiu pulling down her sleeves; she hurried to remove the prayer beads for her and set them on the coffee table. Gu Yanqiu: “......”
Lin Yuewei looked up. “Didn’t you leave them downstairs?”
Gu Yanqiu: “...Yes.”
It was just that Lin Yuewei had moved too fast, with a kind of hungry eagerness.
The moon was bright and the stars sparse outside the window.
After taking their showers, the two of them sat side by side on the bed. Lin Yuewei cleared her throat and was preparing to confess first. But before she could, another question occurred to her. She scratched her head and asked, “Why didn’t you fight with me?”
Gu Yanqiu looked a little speechless. “Were you hoping I would fight with you?”
Lin Yuewei: “No, I was just a little curious.”
Gu Yanqiu: “Why would I be angry? Having an ex is a perfectly normal thing.” Normal people shouldn’t be angry about that.
Lin Yuewei said, “That’s true, but I didn’t tell you in advance.”
Gu Yanqiu held one of her hands in her palm, rubbing the back of it as she looked at her warmly. “I didn’t ask you either.”
Lin Yuewei let out an “ah” and didn’t even know why she had said it. Her heart was warm and full. After a pause, she said, “I used to have a crush on someone, a year or two ago, but they didn’t like me back. It ended before it began.”
Gu Yanqiu paused. “Oh.” So it was just a crush.
She hadn’t even brought up online dating, and this was still a one-sided crush across the internet. Lin Yuewei felt rather embarrassed; it damaged her lifelong reputation, and there was really nothing more to say, so she fell silent.
Instead, Gu Yanqiu asked, “What kind of person were they?”
Lin Yuewei answered based on her own imagination: “Very smart, very cold, very heartless.” Brilliant at bridge, and icy cold the moment the game was over.
Gu Yanqiu asked again, “Were they good-looking?”
Lin Yuewei thought: how would I know whether he or she was good-looking if I never even saw them? But she swallowed that back before it reached her lips and said vaguely, “Depends on personal taste.”
“In your eyes?”
“Ugly as hell. I was really blind back then.” Lin Yuewei didn’t hide her dislike at all. She no longer liked that person, so whether they were beautiful or ugly did not matter; in her imagination now, they were just some sleazy middle-aged uncle.
That answer pleased Gu Yanqiu. She lifted a brow slightly. “Didn’t they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder?”
Lin Yuewei pointed at her, blinked, endured the goosebumps on her arms, and blushed a little. “You’re my beauty.”
That kind of love talk was terribly corny, but if it could make Gu Yanqiu smile like that, then it was worth it no matter what.
As expected, Gu Yanqiu smiled. “Then my beauty wants to have you.”
Lin Yuewei: “O... huh?”
Had the topic changed too fast? What about the prayer beads? Right, they had already been put downstairs.
Then let’s do it.
***
A storm was strangled in the cradle. Gu Yanqiu stretched in front of the sunlit window and looked back at Lin Yuewei sleeping soundly on the bed; she had been exhausted last night. Glad she hadn’t thrown a tantrum, she thought. Some things only needed a little patience and a little trust, and one would eventually get the answer they wanted.
Their flight was at two in the afternoon, and the plan was to eat lunch at home before leaving at eleven thirty.
It was only nine in the morning. After the night’s antics had dragged on until three, Gu Yanqiu, who had slept six hours, didn’t feel tired at all. On the contrary, she was full of energy, so much so that even the world before her seemed brighter than usual.
“Good morning, Auntie.”
“Good morning.”
Gu Yanqiu greeted Ran Qingqing in the living room, went into the prayer hall to offer three sticks of incense, then picked up the prayer beads from the coffee table and began to roll them.
Ran Qingqing looked at the freshly worn prayer beads, her gaze deep and meaningful.
Gu Yanqiu pretended not to notice, and her eyes fell on Schrödinger curled up on the sofa cushion, looking drowsy and blissfully satisfied.
Gu Yanqiu narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Auntie, did Schrödinger get a reduced portion of cat food this morning?”
Ran Qingqing stared straight ahead at the television. “It was reduced.”
Gu Yanqiu: “Really?”
Ran Qingqing: “Really.”
Gu Yanqiu scooped up Schrödinger and pressed on its belly, looking directly into Ran Qingqing’s eyes. “Auntie, did you give it extra?”
Ran Qingqing looked away guiltily, thinking that even this could be felt out.
Of course Gu Yanqiu couldn’t tell exactly how much Schrödinger had eaten, but with Ran Qingqing’s expression right now, it was obvious the cat had been overfed. Gu Yanqiu sighed. “Auntie, you really can’t keep indulging it.”
Older people raising pets always had a habit of thinking the more they ate, the better; they could turn anything into a pig. Schrödinger had gained several pounds in just over half a month; even a pig wouldn’t bulk up this fast.
“Ah,” Ran Qingqing said. “What can I do? If I don’t feed it, it meows at me, and once it meows, I soften up. Once I soften up, I...” Ran Qingqing was also in despair.
Gu Yanqiu: “......”
Lin Yuewei really was her mother’s daughter; exactly the same kind of indulgence.
But Gu Yanqiu could say Lin Yuewei spoiled the child too much; she couldn’t criticize Ran Qingqing. All she could do was set Schrödinger on the floor and urge it to exercise. Schrödinger was most afraid of Gu Yanqiu alone. It didn’t need to be thrown outside to suffer the cold wind today; it quickly trotted off on its little legs.
Gu Yanqiu went to the fridge and took out several pieces of meat.
Ran Qingqing said, “Eh? What are you doing?”
Gu Yanqiu replied, “I’ll cook lunch today.”
Ran Qingqing already treated her like family and didn’t stand on ceremony. “Do you want me to help?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “No need; you can rest.”
But Ran Qingqing still came over. “Why did you suddenly feel like cooking?”
Gu Yanqiu glanced upstairs. After a pause of a few seconds, she smiled and said, “It just occurred to me.”
Ran Qingqing pretended to cover her face. “A loving lunch.”
Gu Yanqiu dragged out the tone in a rare show of coyness. “Auntie~”
Ran Qingqing replied with an even longer “Aaaah~”
Gu Yanqiu’s ears went completely red.
“Go cook; I won’t tease you anymore.” Ran Qingqing shook off the goosebumps on her arms and left with a sweet smile. Young people in love really did have passion, and what’s more, a specially defined kind of loving lunch.
Gu Yanqiu went into the kitchen and stayed there for an hour.
When Lin Yuewei woke up, got up, washed up, and cleared her throat again, she decisively took a Dragon’s Secret herb tablet after speaking, to ease the hoarseness and sting in her throat, then held onto the stair railing and went downstairs slowly.
Ran Qingqing had spotted her long ago and greeted her, “Well, our top is up.”
Lin Yuewei: “......”
Ran Qingqing folded her arms, clearly enjoying the show. “Little Lin top, your build doesn’t look great. Why do you seem so weak?”
Lin Yuewei ignored her mother’s teasing. Not seeing the familiar second figure anywhere, she asked, “Where’s Gu Yanqiu?”
The moment she spoke, Ran Qingqing immediately laughed. “Little Lin top, what happened to your voice? Did you scream yourself hoarse last night? Ran Qingqing is so smart; she had only been briefly blinded by Lin Yuewei before. Now she could see what was going on perfectly clearly, and teased her, “Did a thief come in last night? Did you scream for help?”
Lin Yuewei made no sound and collapsed onto the sofa, waiting for her mother’s ridicule to finish.
Her lower back was still sore.
Gu Yanqiu somehow had boundless energy and had come up with all sorts of new tricks.
After finishing her teasing, Ran Qingqing jerked her chin toward the kitchen. “Your Gu Yanqiu is in the kitchen making lunch.”
Lin Yuewei grinned and forgot all about her backache, heading straight for the kitchen. She yanked the door open, and Gu Yanqiu looked back at her. The pale golden light outside the window landed just right on her body and in her hair, gilding her in a layer of gentle warmth.
Lin Yuewei stood at the doorway and opened her arms toward her, her brows and eyes full of the tenderness of someone deeply in love.
More than ten hours had passed. The caution and testing their argument had tormented them with were gone without a trace; from the inside out, they had been replaced by a new kind of love, more inclusive, more mature, and carrying a far stronger vitality.
Gu Yanqiu set down the spatula, turned the heat to low, and walked over quickly to pull Lin Yuewei into her arms. Her chin brushed the hair near Lin Yuewei’s ear as her voice softened. “Why did you wake up so early?”
“Early? It’s already past ten.” Lin Yuewei rested her cheek against the warm skin of Gu Yanqiu’s neck.
“That’s early. I thought you’d sleep until I called you for lunch.”
“You underestimated me, didn’t you?”
“Mm, I did.”
“Ah.” Lin Yuewei suddenly sighed.
“What is it?”
“I don’t want you to go cook.”
“......”
“Will you think I’m being unreasonable?” Lin Yuewei lifted one hand and poked Gu Yanqiu’s shoulder with the back of her fingers.
“No. I can hold you while I cook; everything’s already been cut. I just need to stir-fry it.”
“...Can you have even a little bit of romance in you?”
“What’s the correct answer?”
“You figure it out yourself.”
“I can’t figure it out; besides, the pot’s about to burn.”
Lin Yuewei pushed Gu Yanqiu once. “Then why aren’t you hurrying up and taking it off the heat?”
Gu Yanqiu sounded faintly wronged. “You’re the one who told me to come over and hug you.”
Lin Yuewei shot her a glare. “And you still have the nerve to argue?”
Gu Yanqiu pouted. Lin Yuewei kissed her on the lips, then laughed despite herself. “Fine, go on.”
Gu Yanqiu went back to cooking. Lin Yuewei stood beside her and watched; watching and watching, she met Gu Yanqiu’s gaze again and clicked her tongue. “You’re cooking. Why do you keep looking at me?”
Gu Yanqiu pressed her lips together. “You’re so...”
“I know I’m good-looking. Can good looks feed you? Hurry up and cook.”
“Oh.”
After a while, Lin Yuewei took the initiative and sneaked up behind Gu Yanqiu. She bent down and kissed the back of Gu Yanqiu’s neck lightly, then quickly stepped away as if nothing had happened.
Gu Yanqiu could not suppress the curve of her mouth.
When the dish in her hands was plated, she turned off the heat and walked toward Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei retreated until her back hit the counter. Her eyes were clearly full of expectation, yet her mouth called out fearfully, “Don’t come over here. If you come any closer, I’m going to scream.”
Gu Yanqiu found the line oddly familiar, but acting like a lecherous man was a little beyond her. She tried hard to adjust her expression, only to see that Lin Yuewei was struggling not to laugh, so she gave up and strode over directly, placing both hands on the counter to cage her in, then domineeringly kissed Lin Yuewei’s lips.
She kissed her for a very long time.
When their lips finally parted, all of Lin Yuewei’s weight had fallen against her, her breathing a mess. Gu Yanqiu lowered her head and kissed her misty eyes, then drew in a light breath and said, “So you really do like the CEO type.”
In broad daylight, doing something like this...
Since Lin Yuewei and she were already at the point where they had no real shame left, Lin Yuewei admitted frankly, “Yes.”
Gu Yanqiu narrowed her eyes. “We can wait until we get abroad and then...”
Lin Yuewei immediately made a disgusted sound. “I can’t believe you’re that kind of Gu-zong.”
Gu Yanqiu was used to being falsely accused by her, so she admitted it with a smile. “Yes, I am that kind of Gu-zong.”
Lin Yuewei tilted her head, flicked back the long hair that had been mussed by their earlier antics, and laughed like a rat fallen into a rice jar. She tugged on Gu-zong’s sweater collar, looked into her eyes, and said, “I am just way too fond of this kind of Gu-zong.”
The two of them had just entered a wonderfully strange new stage; they flirted endlessly, unable to stop, never seeming to run out of things to say. If Ran Qingqing had not come over to remind them, the two of them could have chatted all the way until the plane took off.
Ran Qingqing and Schrödinger stood at the doorway, one human and one cat, silently watching the two of them being lovey-dovey.
Lin Yuewei had just heard Gu Yanqiu say something very interesting and liked it so much that she was about to cup Gu Yanqiu’s face and kiss her when two lines of sight shot toward them like arrows.
Lin Yuewei awkwardly lowered her hands. “Go cook.”
A meal that should have taken less than an hour ended up taking nearly two, squeezing their originally ample time down to the bare minimum. Gu Yanqiu finished eating first and went upstairs to check whether the luggage had been properly packed and whether all the documents were complete. By the time Lin Yuewei came upstairs, she was just zipping the suitcase shut.
Lin Yuewei asked, “Is everything done?”
Gu Yanqiu replied, “Yes.”
A honeymoon abroad was not something to take lightly. Lin Yuewei said, “How about I check again?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “The luggage is fine; check the documents. They’re in that little yellow backpack.”
Lin Yuewei checked her ID, passport, and everything else; nothing was missing. At the end, she even checked all the electronic devices again. Everything was in order, but she did not notice the relieved expression Gu Yanqiu made after she walked away.
Before leaving, Gu Yanqiu repeatedly reminded Ran Qingqing not to feed Schrödinger so much cat food anymore, and Ran Qingqing agreed repeatedly. Gu Yanqiu glanced at Schrödinger squatting at Ran Qingqing’s feet and shot it a warning look.
Relying on Ran Qingqing was not as good as relying on a cat’s self-discipline, and yet this human and cat pair were both utterly unreliable.
The driver came over to invite them into the car. Gu Yanqiu finally looked back once more at the front door, her face full of worry. Lin Yuewei pinched her chin and turned her face back. “All right, look at that little face of yours. Worst case, we can video call Schrödinger every day and supervise its exercise remotely, okay?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “I’m not...” She trailed off.
Lin Yuewei asked, “You’re not what?”
Gu Yanqiu shook her head. “Nothing.”
Lin Yuewei pressed, “Then what can’t you say?”
“Ah.” Gu Yanqiu let out a long sigh. “All right, I’ll say it.”
Lin Yuewei looked at her expectantly.
Gu Yanqiu looked into her eyes, her face full of conflicted emotion. In the end, she made up her mind and said plainly, “I’m a little nervous.”
Lin Yuewei: “...Huh?” No, Lin Yuewei asked, “You’re scared of going abroad? Didn’t you live overseas for several years?”
Gu Yanqiu: “......” She said, “Where did your thoughts go? I’m not nervous about going abroad. I’m nervous about the honeymoon; this is my first time.”
“So is it mine,” Lin Yuewei said with a laugh. “What is there to be nervous about?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “I don’t know either.” When she had been abroad before, she had traveled across Europe, and even America and the Arctic had not been left untouched. She had never been as nervous as she was now, and ... mixed in with that, a trace of anticipation.
To ease her tension, Lin Yuewei changed the subject. “Have you ever been to Bali before?”
Gu Yanqiu: “No. I only traveled around Europe and America.”
Lin Yuewei asked, “With who?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Sometimes alone, sometimes with friends; friends from abroad.”
“Cheng Guiyuan?” Lin Yuewei only knew her.
“Yes,” Gu Yanqiu said. “And some others. They were all people I met in college, but they were all overseas.”
“You didn’t make any friends in China?” Lin Yuewei caught the key point in her words.
“I only studied in China until high school. I had some closer friends, but after I went abroad, we drifted apart. Now that I’m back in the country, aside from Cheng Guiyuan, those people will probably gradually drift away too.”
“Do you just not like making friends?”
“Not really. It depends on fate,” Gu Yanqiu said.
“Then your fate must be pretty picky.”
“About average.” Gu Yanqiu thought about it and said, “Not that picky, maybe it’s my personality. I probably seem a little unapproachable on the surface, so people don’t dare come close.”
“That’s good.” Lin Yuewei curved her lips.
“How is that good?”
“It keeps away bad peach blossoms.” Lin Yuewei cupped her face and studied her closely, then lowered her head to pinch her palm too, sighing theatrically. “You’re so good-looking. There must be lots of people eyeing you, trying to dig into my wall.”
“They won’t.” Gu Yanqiu smiled. “I don’t like other people.”
“I know.”
“Then...” Gu Yanqiu didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t possibly tell everyone, I’m married, don’t get any ideas.
“No need for that ‘then.’ I believe you; you won’t fall for someone else.” Lin Yuewei turned her palm over to the back of her hand and pinched it a couple more times. It was cool and smooth, and she seemed to be rather reluctant to let go. “If you really wanted to leave, no one could stop you. Even if I threw a tantrum, rolled on the ground, and cried my eyes out, it would be useless.”
“I...” Gu Yanqiu was just about to swear loyalty when Lin Yuewei put one index finger against her lips to stop her.
“I’m not finished yet. I’m the same. You have to believe in your own charm; no one is better than you, and no one can take me away from your side. I know you’ve been off lately and tend to overthink. Maybe I’m a little thick-headed and can’t notice everything all the time. I want you to remember what I said when you start thinking too much.”
Lin Yuewei lifted the hand she was holding in her palm and pressed it against her own chest, saying solemnly, word by word, “I, Lin Yuewei, love, you, Gu Yanqiu. I only love you, Gu Yanqiu, and no one else.”
Beneath her palm, the heartbeat was steady and strong; with each word she spoke, the chest beneath her hand trembled slightly, carrying that direct, forceful conviction straight into Gu Yanqiu’s heart.
Gu Yanqiu was visibly moved.
Lin Yuewei stared into her eyes. “Please believe me, okay?”
Gu Yanqiu’s eyes suddenly grew hot. “I believe you.”
Lin Yuewei smiled, tears gathering in her own eyes too. She let out a soft sigh in her heart, reached out to rub Gu Yanqiu’s head, and pulled her into her embrace. “You can believe me. I’m not like them.”
By “them,” Lin Yuewei meant Gu Yanqiu’s parents. She had only figured out last night before sleep why Gu Yanqiu had become the way she was now; so cautious, so suspicious, as if walking on thin ice over a deep abyss. From now on, she would be Gu Yanqiu’s support, and she would love her wife honestly forever.
Gu Yanqiu nodded hard in her arms, tears falling onto Lin Yuewei’s shoulder.
Author’s note: The emotional line in this book is different from the sweet romances I’ve written before, so it may spark some controversy; that’s understandable. I had a lot I wanted to say about this pair and about love itself, but after thinking about it carefully, I realized it’s all already written into the story, so there’s no need to add more here.
May lovers never be separated, and may all of them grow old together.