Chapter 146
“Did she ever mention having this diary before?” Lin Yuewei asked warily.
“No.”
“Could she be lying to you?”
“Why would a perfectly normal person lie to me about something like this?”
“What if she’s setting you up on purpose, trying to lure you out?” The moment anything like this came up, Lin Yuewei’s mind ran wild. In her eyes, Yin Lingxi was basically a robber with a knife in hand, ready to snatch Gu Yanqiu away at any moment.
“We’re meeting somewhere safe, right in the city center.”
“In the city center, with so many people around, what if she slips something into your drink and secretly takes you away?” Lin Yuewei immediately recalled a whole string of social news stories. “Like hallucinogens. Like knockout drugs. Worse, that kind of drug!”
“She won’t.”
“What if?”
“There is no what if. I promise.” Gu Yanqiu sounded helpless; she even started to suspect that Lin Yuewei had too much free time lately, which was why her imagination had gotten so active.
“You can’t promise that.”
“Then what do you suggest we do?” Gu Yanqiu seemed to have caught on to something.
A smile spread across Lin Yuewei’s lips. “I’ll go with you.”
“Weren’t you...” Gu Yanqiu was surprised. Wasn’t she the one who said they shouldn’t appear together in public, for fear Yin Lingxi would notice the relationship between the two of them? Something this important, and she was just going to bring along someone she called a friend? Yin Lingxi would never believe that.
Lin Yuewei said, “I never said I’d sit with you guys. I’ll wait outside, or in the private room next door.”
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
Lin Yuewei: “What’s with that look? You’ve got something to hide, don’t you?”
She suddenly leaned in, both hands braced against Gu Yanqiu’s sides, her nose almost touching Gu Yanqiu’s, their eyes locked. Under Lin Yuewei’s glare, Gu Yanqiu blinked and put a little distance between them, and only then did Lin Yuewei’s face come back into clear focus.
“Fine, fine, you can go with me,” Gu Yanqiu said with a smile. “Happy now?”
“What do you mean, ‘fine, fine, fine’? Are you reluctant?” Lin Yuewei pressed her advantage.
“...”
“Look at you, you’re not saying anything. You used to love talking to me, and now you can barely get a few words out.”
“...”
Lin Yuewei took out an imaginary handkerchief and pressed it to the corner of her eye, fake-crying. “Back when you used to watch the stars and the moon with me, you called me your sweetie pie. Now that there’s a new love, the old one’s...”
“Mmph!”
Lin Yuewei was just too quick with her mouth; Gu Yanqiu couldn’t outtalk her at all, so she could only seal her lips with a kiss, a move that never failed.
Lin Yuewei leaned against her chest, idly twirling a lock of her hair around her finger. “What day is it today?”
“Wednesday.” Gu Yanqiu lowered her head and kissed her forehead.
“Gu Yanqiu.” Lin Yuewei let go of the hair, planted one hand on her shoulder, and sat up. She looked at Gu Yanqiu with both exasperation and amusement. “Do you think I haven’t been filming lately, and after spending all day in class, my brain’s gone mushy?”
“No, of course not.”
“Today is clearly Thursday.”
“Is it?” Gu Yanqiu put on a surprised face and took out her phone to check. “Oh my, it really is Thursday.”
“Your acting is terrible.”
Gu Yanqiu couldn’t help laughing.
Lin Yuewei glanced between her and the bedside, then ordered, “Lie down.”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t move, trying to bargain. “You worked hard in class today. How about I take care of you instead?”
Lin Yuewei crossed her arms and said lightly, “I’m not tired.”
Gu Yanqiu: “Your hand must be sore from taking notes.”
Lin Yuewei: “It isn’t.”
Gu Yanqiu was about to keep going when Lin Yuewei took a deep breath and started counting down. “Three... two... one.”
Gu Yanqiu flopped down at once.
They had originally agreed to take turns on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, with Sundays depending on who had the better skills; but Gu Yanqiu had used her superior ability to slowly get Lin Yuewei used to letting her take the lead. Most of the time, Lin Yuewei was very cooperative; she could be kneaded into a circle or flattened into a sheet however one liked. But on some occasions, Lin Yuewei would still remember the dignity she had once insisted on as the top.
To avoid fighting, Gu Yanqiu was always very cooperative whenever Lin Yuewei remembered this. A businessperson’s most important quality was integrity.
Last time, the galaxy had been printed; this time, the famous artist Lin Yuewei focused on fine detail. Some planets were guarded by satellites, making them particularly difficult to carve. Lin Yuewei ran into trouble while building Saturn, because it had far too many satellites, and in the end they had to stretch that night out especially long.
Gu Yanqiu woke to the smell of food in the bedroom. Her stomach gave a hungry growl, and on the bedside table was already a bowl of seafood congee that looked, smelled, and surely tasted wonderful. Lin Yuewei was carrying a wrung-out hot towel and walking over from the washroom.
“What are you...” Gu Yanqiu propped herself up on her elbows and sat against the headboard, looking at her with obvious confusion.
“To wipe your face.”
“I-I don’t need it.”
“Why are you stuttering? Is it so strange that I’m wiping your face?” Lin Yuewei spread out the towel; steam rose off it in wisps. “Close your eyes.”
Gu Yanqiu obediently closed her eyes.
Lin Yuewei carefully wiped her face, then straightened up and studied her as if admiring some flawless work of art.
With her eyes still closed, Gu Yanqiu asked, “Done?”
“Done.” After a moment, Lin Yuewei brought over a toothbrush already loaded with toothpaste, along with a toothbrush cup and a disposable cup meant specifically for her to spit out her mouthwash. “Brush your teeth.”
Gu Yanqiu threw back the blanket and got out of bed. “I can do this myself.”
She took the toothpaste and cup back to the washroom. Not long after, she finished tidying herself up and came out, only to be met head-on by Lin Yuewei’s smile. It wasn’t the kind she was used to seeing from her every day; this one carried a touch of infatuation, her gaze fixed on Gu Yanqiu and unwilling to look away for even a second.
Gu Yanqiu’s skin prickled.
Lin Yuewei smiled brightly. “Have some congee.”
“Have you eaten breakfast?” Gu Yanqiu asked.
“I have.” Lin Yuewei rested her cheek on one hand, looking even more like a woman helplessly sunk in love. Which she was, of course, but they had been in such a deep honeymoon phase for so long that suddenly playing this sort of game still made Gu Yanqiu a little unaccustomed.
Gu Yanqiu picked up the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, opened her lips, brought it to the edge of her mouth, then set the bowl down again and looked at Lin Yuewei, awkwardly saying, “Can you... not look at me like that?”
Lin Yuewei pressed her lips together in a smile. “No.”
Gu Yanqiu turned around and gave her back to her.
Lin Yuewei: “...”
She walked around to stand in front of Gu Yanqiu again. Gu Yanqiu closed her eyes and drank the congee; it had sat long enough that it was no longer hot, so she had no hesitation. Lin Yuewei lost patience. “I’m not looking at you anymore.”
Gu Yanqiu opened one eye a sliver and saw that Lin Yuewei had indeed returned to normal, so she relaxed and finished the congee at ease, remembering at the end to praise it for being delicious.
Lin Yuewei said coolly, “I had the hotel send it up.”
Gu Yanqiu calmly changed her wording. “That still means you have good taste. You picked the right place on the first try.”
Lin Yuewei looked at her for several seconds and said, “Why did you look like you’d seen a ghost just now?”
Gu Yanqiu was wronged. “I didn’t.”
“You didn’t? Then why couldn’t you even eat when I was watching you?”
“Because you’re too beautiful. A feast for the eyes; looking at you leaves me unable to eat anything else.”
“...”
The room fell quiet again for a few seconds.
Lin Yuewei drew a breath from deep in her abdomen. “Gu Yanqiu! Can you stop throwing out sweet talk no matter the occasion?” As soon as she finished, even she couldn’t help laughing. “You’re so annoying, do you know that? I’m trying to talk to you seriously.”
“I am talking seriously.”
“You’re at it again.” Lin Yuewei laughed until she could barely stand it. “Keep this up and I won’t talk business with you anymore.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t.” Gu Yanqiu sobered at once. “Go on.”
“Answer me honestly: why couldn’t you eat while looking at me?”
“If I answer honestly, you can’t hold it against me later.” Gu Yanqiu wanted a get-out-of-jail-free card.
“Fine, I won’t hold it against you later.” Lin Yuewei’s lips curved with a faint, barely there smile.
“The way you’re smiling like that means you’ll definitely settle accounts with me.” As it turned out, married life changed people enormously; for example, it could turn Gu Yanqiu from someone who valued fairness and reason above all else into someone who learned to read faces and developed an extreme will to survive.
“...” Lin Yuewei said, “I swear on Schrödinger that I absolutely won’t settle accounts.”
Only then did Gu Yanqiu tell the truth. “The way you smiled was a little creepy, like in a Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio TV adaptation, where there was a fox spirit trying to harm people; it would hide and watch humans with exactly that kind of smile.”
“Aren’t the fox spirits in Strange Tales all with poor scholar lads? Since when were there bad fox spirits?”
“Then maybe I remembered wrong. It looked like the smile of someone up to no good.”
“You—” Gu Yanqiu saw her furious expression and subconsciously wanted to retreat, but held back. Lin Yuewei pinched her cheek lightly, then changed tack, smiling broadly. “That was too vivid. I was looking for inspiration; my next drama is a slightly bad character.”
“Why is it another bad person?”
“She reforms later.” Lin Yuewei pinched her cheek again. “All right, time’s about right. Change clothes and get ready for work. I’m going back to the study to look over the script; I just had an idea and need to jot it down before I forget.”
“When did you get up?” Gu Yanqiu called after her.
Lin Yuewei was already striding out, pulling the door shut behind her.
Leaving Gu Yanqiu alone in the bedroom.
So after Lin Yuewei had tormented her all night last night, there was no good-morning kiss, no good-morning anything this morning; she had just come to play-act a scene and leave? She wouldn’t even see her off?
Gu Yanqiu pouted, a little dejected.
Last night, Lin Yuewei had even teased her with “back when you used to watch the stars and moon with me, you called me your sweetie pie.” Lin Yuewei wasn’t the Wife of Niulang; she was the Wife of Niulang.
In the study, Lin Yuewei wrote furiously, first jotting her idea down on paper. After confirming she hadn’t missed anything, she checked the time and found it was just right. She went to push open the bedroom door; the room was empty. Lin Yuewei went downstairs along the staircase, but there was no one downstairs either. She searched inside and out, but couldn’t find Gu Yanqiu anywhere.
She called Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu was unhappy and didn’t make a sound when she answered.
Lin Yuewei said in confusion, “Where are you?”
Gu Yanqiu replied in a not-so-great tone, “On my way to work, driving. What do you want?”
Lin Yuewei was even more puzzled. “Why didn’t you call me when you left for work?”
Gu Yanqiu shot back, “Why would I call you? Didn’t you go to the study and tell me not to disturb you?”
Lin Yuewei thought, what is all this nonsense? She said, “When did I tell you not to disturb me? I told you to change clothes and come find me in the study, and I’d go downstairs to see you off to work. Isn’t it always like that? You just left on your own without saying a word; what was that supposed to be?”
“You meant that?”
“What did you think I meant?”
“What I thought...” Gu Yanqiu had misunderstood her and been upset for quite a while, feeling like the Wife of Niulang whose beauty had faded and love had grown cold. Her face instantly couldn’t hold up, and she pressed her lips together before saying, “Nothing. You should study hard. I’m driving.”
She was about to hang up when Lin Yuewei stopped her. “Hold on. What exactly did you make up in your head? Tell me the truth.”
The moment she let her guard down, Gu Yanqiu would start imagining all kinds of things; if Lin Yuewei didn’t notice, fine, but now that she had, there was no way she’d let her get away with glossing over it.
“Well... it’s nothing.” Gu Yanqiu’s cheeks were slightly hot, and she couldn’t get the words out.
“Say it.”
“There are a lot of cars on the road. I’ll tell you when I get to the company.”
Lin Yuewei thought about it and agreed. “Fine, then tell me when you get to the company. Don’t try to drag this out.”
Gu Yanqiu’s scheme had been exposed in advance, and she hurriedly agreed twice. “I won’t.”
Lin Yuewei: “It’d better be that way.”
Lin Yuewei watched the script while keeping an eye on the time. Just as Gu Yanqiu finished parking and took the elevator upstairs, her phone buzzed in her palm. Lin Yuewei had sent her a message: [Got there? You can tell me now. There are still twenty minutes before work. Call me once you’re in the office]
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
Lin Zhi greeted Gu Yanqiu as usual. “Good morning, President Gu.”
“Good morning.” Gu Yanqiu was uncharacteristically listless.
“Are you... all right?”
“Nothing.” Gu Yanqiu managed a strained curve of her lips.
Lin Zhi assumed she was under too much pressure because of the company’s personnel changes and noticed faint shadows under her eyes. “Remember to rest on time.”
Gu Yanqiu gave a quiet mm before going into her office. She delayed another two minutes before finally calling Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei had one arm folded across her chest. “All right, tell the truth.”
Gu Yanqiu sighed. “It’s like this, this morning you...”
Lin Zhi knocked on the door twice with a cup of coffee in hand as usual, then pushed the door open, only to see Gu Yanqiu’s slender, upright back facing the floor-to-ceiling window, her phone in hand as if she were calling someone.
Lin Zhi silently sighed: being a boss is truly hard. Even this early, the phone never gets a chance to rest.
Then he heard Gu Yanqiu speak to the person on the other end in a voice so gentle and soft he had never heard before.
Gu Yanqiu: “I know I was wrong.”
Lin Zhi: “!!!”
“I didn’t keep thinking nonsense; I just thought about it a little.”
“I won’t dare again next time... There won’t be a next time.”
“I’ll definitely ask you.”
“Oh, oh, okay. Then be careful on the road.”
“Mmwah.”
And at the end, she even blew a kiss; a loud MUA~
Lin Zhi had heard too much and suspected he might have to be silenced. He shrank his neck and was just about to leave quietly when Gu Yanqiu hung up and turned around. The instant she saw him, her gaze turned icy.
Lin Zhi froze in place, hands and feet going cold, his mind scrambling through dozens of murder-and-dismemberment methods he’d seen in crime novels; of course, he was the “body.”
Gu Yanqiu raised an eyebrow. “Hm?” Her trailing tone lifted in a pleasant arc, signaling that she was in a good mood.
The blood rushed back into Lin Zhi’s limbs, warmth returning to his hands and feet. “President Gu, I put your coffee on the table. Do you have any other instructions?”
“No.”
“Then I’ll go first.”
“Stop.”
“President Gu.” Lin Zhi forced out a smile.
“Don’t tell anyone.” Gu Yanqiu meant the conversation he had just overheard by accident.
“Mission guaranteed.” Lin Zhi snapped his heels together and gave a military salute.
Gu Yanqiu waved a hand and said lightly, “Go back.”
Lin Zhi felt as if he’d just survived a disaster; sweat soaked his back. From now on, when delivering coffee, he’d have to knock until someone answered from inside. If he kept running into situations like this, his life really wouldn’t last long. Of course, Gu Yanqiu would never actually do anything to him, but just thinking about the look she’d given him earlier made him feel as if he’d fallen into an ice cellar. His heart couldn’t take that kind of shock.
Sitting at his desk, Lin Zhi replayed what he’d just heard. The person on the other end of the phone had to be her mysterious girlfriend; he didn’t know her surname or given name, and to this day she hadn’t even revealed a single strand of hair.
Protected that well, even someone like Lin Zhi, who wasn’t normally the curious type, was itching with curiosity.
That afternoon, Gu Yanqiu again got off work right on the dot. It wasn’t because she was anxious to keep her appointment with Yin Lingxi; they had agreed to meet at 6:30, and there was still an hour left, so there was no need to rush.
The reason, of course, was that Lin Yuewei was waiting downstairs. She had gotten off class early today and came to the company to pick her up.
After Lin Zhi’s careful observation, Gu Yanqiu still kept a straight face, but there was an air of impatience about her; even the distance of each step she took was three centimeters longer than usual.
Lin Zhi grabbed his briefcase and ran, hurrying to catch the same elevator as Gu Yanqiu.
“President Gu.” Lin Zhi smiled.
“Mm.” Gu Yanqiu gave a faint nod.
This elevator was for the upper floors only, and right now it was just the two of them. Lin Zhi stood near the elevator doors and pressed the button for the first floor; Gu Yanqiu didn’t move, since she usually went to the basement level.
Lin Zhi was practically quivering with excitement. He knew it; something was up!
Ding.
The two of them stepped out of the elevator together. Hearing the steady click of leather shoes keeping pace behind her, Gu Yanqiu took the initiative to sidestep twice. “You go first.”
Lin Zhi: “No, no, no, you go first.”
Gu Yanqiu looked at him suspiciously, then started walking.
Lin Yuewei was basically in a semi-retired-from-public-view state these days, and she hadn’t specially brought her old Volkswagen as a disguise, since it wasn’t as comfortable as other cars. She had picked a convertible sports car from the garage; this car exposed that Gu Yanqiu wasn’t as proper as she looked on the surface, and Lin Yuewei had fallen for it at first sight.
Gu Yanqiu recognized her own car, and even if she hadn’t, the one parked by the roadside would have instantly caught her eye. In fact, it caught everyone’s eye on the whole street, and some people even specially raised their phones to take pictures.
A flashy pink Lamborghini; very rare.
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
Lin Zhi, who came out after her: “...”
Lin Yuewei put on her mask and sunglasses, then opened the scissor door in front of Gu Yanqiu, smiling. “What, you don’t recognize your own car?”
The car really was one Gu Yanqiu had bought, and she had driven it before. But when she drove it, it didn’t feel like this... like the eyes of the entire street were fixed on her. Gu Yanqiu’s ears heated up; she quickly got into the car and urged in a low voice, “Let’s go.”
Lin Yuewei, on the other hand, was still perfectly parked in the space and made no move to leave.
Once the door was shut, no one outside could see anything. Lin Yuewei loosely formed a fist with her hand, pretending it was a microphone as she held it to Gu Yanqiu’s mouth. “Let’s do a quick interview, President Gu. What made you choose this color back then?”
Gu Yanqiu cleared her throat and said, “I just wanted to be the prettiest guy on this street.”
“Okay, okay, perfect answer.” Lin Yuewei was delighted, lowering her hand and starting the car.
Gu Yanqiu was just this kind of person, always giving her surprises in the most unexpected places.
This morning, when she had honestly confessed to Lin Yuewei, Gu Yanqiu had even said she was afraid Lin Yuewei would grow tired of her, and had gone on about being afraid she’d “fall for something new and grow tired of the old,” or “stop cherishing what she’d already gotten,” and so on; it was simply ridiculous. She still hadn’t even started worrying that Gu Yanqiu might get tired of her. Aside from being pretty, she had almost nothing to show for herself; her flaws were endless, and she turned into a hot-tempered fire-breathing dragon at the drop of a hat. She had no idea how many people were waiting to pry her away, yet only Gu Yanqiu thought she was unpopular.
Thinking of that made Lin Yuewei think of Yin Lingxi, the one who had invited Gu Yanqiu this time; her wolfish intent was plain as day.
She really wanted to see just what kind of person this was.
Lin Yuewei parked the car in the ground-level lot. Gu Yanqiu got out first; after five minutes, Lin Yuewei got out and headed in. Gu Yanqiu had already sent her the private room number. Lin Yuewei went in to recon the terrain and sat at an elegant table directly across from the private room door, first ordering a pot of tea.
[Westly Gu:] This time is a little strange. She still hasn’t arrived. She used to come half an hour early.
[Two Trees:] See, that’s exactly how clever she is. By arriving really early every time, she creates a good impression and leaves a deep one in your mind. Then when she’s only late by a few minutes, you can’t stop thinking about her.
[Westly Gu:] What do you mean, can’t stop thinking? I just said it casually.
[Two Trees:] Then why don’t you say something casually about me?
[Westly Gu:] Say what about you?
[Two Trees:] Anything. Just don’t say her.
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
She simply opened the private room door and met Lin Yuewei’s eyes in the tea house. Seeing her, Lin Yuewei was no longer sour, no longer tsundere; she lifted her brows and smiled, then gestured for her to go back into the private room.
The message followed right behind her as soon as Gu Yanqiu returned inside:
[Yin Lingxi:] I’m here.
[Westly Gu:] Weren’t you already there all along?
The other side sent back three question marks.
Gu Yanqiu belatedly realized that she hadn’t paid attention to the sender and had mistaken Yin Lingxi’s message for Lin Yuewei’s, causing an embarrassing mix-up. But by now, it was too late to retract it.
[Westly Gu:] Sent to the wrong person, sorry.
Lin Yuewei absentmindedly held a teacup in one hand, the cup resting against her lips; the tea inside had long since been finished. She half-lidded her eyes, her unfriendly gaze studying the woman who had just entered and was looking down at her phone while typing.
She was shorter than she was, and with heels on, she looked to be no more than 170 centimeters.
She herself was taller than 170 even in flats.
Lin Yuewei gave a contemptuous snort.
Her skin was not as fair, and her skin age was nowhere near as good; she had to be almost thirty by now. How could she compare to Lin Yuewei, who was as smooth and delicate as a peeled egg, brimming with collagen.
This time, Lin Yuewei’s eyebrows lifted in smug satisfaction.
Yin Lingxi picked up the phone. “Yanqiu.”
Lin Yuewei: “!!!”
The eyebrows Lin Yuewei had just raised instantly dropped.
Who gave her permission to sound that intimate? Besides, wasn’t this place chosen by her? If she was already here, why was she calling? Couldn’t she just find a server and ask? Was she mute, or did she lack a brain?
She might lack a brain, but Gu Yanqiu would never lack one. Gu Yanqiu would tell her to ask a server.
Lin Yuewei was utterly certain of that.
Then she watched the private room door in front of her open, and Gu Yanqiu came out from inside, passing her tea table without looking sideways. Yin Lingxi’s eyes lit up; she stepped toward her and smiled slightly. “Long time no see.”
Lin Yuewei heard every word clearly and thought this person was far too hypocritical. It had been less than half a month since she last treated Gu Yanqiu to a meal; who was she trying to fool with this three-years-apart act?
“Long time no see.” Gu Yanqiu responded politely. Yin Lingxi was very perceptive, so she didn’t even dare let her peripheral vision brush over Lin Yuewei.
Yin Lingxi familiarly took Gu Yanqiu’s hand. “Let’s go in and talk slowly.”
Lin Yuewei watched the two of them walk into the private room hand in hand, intimately.
The gaze boring into the back of her head was too hot to ignore; even after Gu Yanqiu closed the private room door, she felt somewhat unsettled. Yin Lingxi took off her coat and hung it over the back of a chair, rolled up her sleeves, and sat down before asking in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Gu Yanqiu shook her head. “Nothing.”
Outside the private room, the server asked the beautiful young female customer in fright, “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Lin Yuewei calmly moved the chipped teacup away from her lips and smiled gently at the server. “Sorry to trouble you, could you please bring me a new cup?”