Chapter 150

Lin Yuewei was half carried, half led all the way to the airport terminal exit. That night, the two of them went back without a single piece of luggage, light and airy as could be.

Lin Yuewei had resisted a little at first. The moment she noticed Yin Lingxi’s gaze land on them, she wished she could turn into 502 glue on the spot and cling to Gu Yanqiu so tightly that no one would ever get any ideas about her again.

When Gu Yanqiu was a few steps away from Yin Lingxi, she released Lin Yuewei’s waist. Basic courtesy still had to be observed. Lin Yuewei lowered her head and puffed out her lips in mild dissatisfaction.

It was the weekend, and Yin Lingxi was dressed casually, but since she was going to the cemetery to pay her respects, she wore a black trench coat. She looked tall and slender, a style that suited her temperament perfectly.

Lin Yuewei glanced at her feet and, sure enough, she was in high heels again. This person would never be able to compare height with the two of them without them; thinking of that, Lin Yuewei felt a little better, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.

Gu Yanqiu introduced Yin Lingxi to Lin Yuewei first, her tone calm and even. Lin Yuewei hooked her arm through Gu Yanqiu’s and gave Yin Lingxi a faint nod. “Hello.”

“This is my wife. Her surname is Lin.”

“I’ve heard of her,” Yin Lingxi said with a nod.

She had made a point of finding out about Gu Yanqiu, so of course she knew about her marriage to the Lin family’s daughter. It was just that this newlywed wife was far too mysterious and never appeared in public with her, so Yin Lingxi couldn’t help looking a few extra times. She hadn’t gotten a good look at her last time in the restaurant.

Gu Yanqiu suddenly said, “Maybe we shouldn’t stand here.”

Yin Lingxi smiled inwardly and withdrew her gaze from Lin Yuewei. Last time, she had thought this Lin family young lady was possessive enough; she hadn’t expected Gu Yanqiu to be no less so, calling it out immediately even when someone only looked twice.

“The driver’s car is waiting outside,” Yin Lingxi said as she led the way. The Lin and Gu pair followed at an unhurried distance.

“This way, please.” Yin Lingxi personally opened the back door and made an inviting gesture.

The three of them had lunch together before heading to the cemetery.

***

“My mother bought her own burial plot very early in life; it’s in the highest part of this cemetery,” Yin Lingxi said, looking up and pointing toward the farthest spot. “I never understood why before. Later I found out that direction faces Yanning City.”

Gu Yanqiu followed the line of her finger and looked over without saying anything.

“Actually, when I first saw the diary, I sent people to look into your mother’s situation. I found out she had a happy family, and dragging all that old mess back up didn’t mean anything. Who would have thought she’d be gone not long after that…” Yin Lingxi paused. “Mr. Liu also came looking for me. You’re more stubborn about this than I am.” S City was in the south, and it was spring rain season; by today, a fine drizzle had already started to fall.

Gu Yanqiu brushed away the damp strands of hair at her forehead and walked up a few steps before saying, “My mom might have followed your mother.”

Yin Lingxi: “…” She froze for a moment, then said softly, “I’m sorry.”

Lin Yuewei walked beside Gu Yanqiu with a worried expression. Gu Yanqiu curved her lips and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m fine.”

Lin Yuewei held her arm.

Gu Yanqiu sighed helplessly. “I can walk by myself.”

Lin Yuewei was firm. “No. I’m not reassured.”

Gu Yanqiu had no choice but to let her hold her wrist. Yin Lingxi quickened her pace and walked a few steps ahead; she had no intention of being fed dog food from behind all the way up. The drizzle continued without letting up, and the higher they climbed, the heavier the rain seemed to get. Lin Yuewei opened the long-handled black umbrella they had rented at the entrance and held it over the two of them. The three of them wore solemn dark clothes as they climbed the steps. From a distance, their figures grew smaller and smaller, like drifting ghosts.

“This is it.” Yin Lingxi crouched and placed the flowers she was holding in front of the grave.

A woman’s photo was affixed to the tombstone, blurred by a film of rainwater so it was hard to make out at first glance. What stood out first instead was the name beside it: Xia Zhifei.

Zhifei.

Gu Yanqiu didn’t know what Shen Huaiyu had called her all those years. In her heart, she silently tried out a few possible forms of address, as if she could catch a glimpse of the bright, living days her mother had once known.

Gu Yanqiu stepped forward two paces and took off the prayer beads from her wrist, placing them together with the calla lilies Yin Lingxi had brought.

Lin Yuewei held the umbrella over her head.

“Ma’am,” Gu Yanqiu said softly, drawing a breath. Her voice was rough. “I…”

The woman in the photo had delicate, graceful features, as though she were looking at the child before her with gentle eyes.

Gu Yanqiu’s eyes burned with tears. “I came with Xiaoyu to see you.”

A thunderclap suddenly split the sky, and torrential rain came pouring down.

Leaves swayed wildly in the wind. For some reason, Yin Lingxi felt a sudden ache in her chest. As if sensing something, she turned her head to look at the photo on the tombstone. Rainwater ran down her face, and the Xia Zhifei in the picture seemed almost as if she were crying.

The rain did not last long. After roaring through with great force, the sky actually cleared almost at once, and a rainbow hung over the valley.

Yin Lingxi wiped away the water from the photo and spoke to her mother in a low voice about something. Gu Yanqiu picked up the prayer beads from the ground and wrapped them back around her wrist. Only after Yin Lingxi finished speaking did she say, “Let’s go.”

“Mm.”

The three of them came quietly and left quietly. A mountain wind blew over the dust on the grave, and Xia Zhifei slept peacefully, forever gazing toward Yanning City.

***

By dinnertime, the heavy atmosphere between the three of them had finally eased a little. Yin Lingxi still treated them as guests and took them out for local specialties. The restaurant was busy and the dishes took a long time to arrive, so they ended up chatting.

Gu Yanqiu asked, “How’s your family doing?”

Yin Lingxi naturally understood what she meant and answered, “More or less the same. My dad doesn’t interfere much with my mom, but he’s decent to me. Those outside women never came home. Illegitimate is illegitimate; I’m the one who’ll inherit the Yin family. My dad has no objections.” As she said this, she thought of the Gu family’s whole string of headaches and couldn’t help sympathizing. “What about you and your stepbrother?”

If this had been before, Gu Yanqiu wouldn’t have minded continuing to play along in front of her. But now they were friends, more or less, and it didn’t feel right to keep talking nonsense with a straight face. Besides, the company matter was already under control; Yin Lingxi wasn’t the kind to gossip indiscriminately, and the two of them lived half a country apart, so there was no immediate overlap.

Gu Yanqiu hesitated and said, “There’s something I need to tell you honestly.”

Yin Lingxi: “What is it?”

“About last time, when your dress got stepped on…”

“Mm?”

“It was me who told Gu Feiquan to do it,” Gu Yanqiu said slowly, looking at Yin Lingxi. She had always been proper since childhood and didn’t usually do things that deliberately harmed others, so saying it made her feel a little hot-faced.

Yin Lingxi: “…”

She stood up and said in feigned anger, “Well, I’m not eating this meal anymore.”

Gu Yanqiu hurried to stop her. “It was only a stopgap at the time. I’m apologizing to you, and if you have any demands, just tell me.”

Lin Yuewei, sitting beside them, cleared her throat. She coughed once, then again.

Gu Yanqiu looked down at her hand and immediately reacted, letting go as if shocked.

Yin Lingxi’s gaze moved between the two of them. She had originally said the meal couldn’t be eaten, pretending to be angry, but now it really did seem hard to eat. There was simply too much dog food.

She sat back down and said, “Actually, I do have a request.”

Both pairs of eyes fixed on her.

Yin Lingxi rubbed the teacup on the table with her fingers and said to Gu Yanqiu unhurriedly, “I want to cooperate with your company. You know I’ve been trying to open up the Yanning market lately, but I haven’t found a reliable business partner. Besides, you owe me a favor.”

Gu Yanqiu: “…”

She had seen calculating people before, but not many as calculating as Yin Lingxi.

“Of course you’re welcome, but…” Gu Yanqiu did not forget to warn her about the risks. “Our company will have a very big personnel shake-up in the near future, so it may not be very stable…”

Before she could finish, Yin Lingxi waved a hand. “It’s fine. I believe you can handle it.”

Since she had said that much, Gu Yanqiu could only agree happily.

Gu Yanqiu sent her a business card on WeChat. “I’m pretty busy usually. A portion of the outside projects are currently handled by Gu Feiquan. Contact him first; he’s very thorough. If you have any more questions, come to me.”

“Gu Feiquan?” Yin Lingxi repeated the name, then smiled. “The rumors out there really aren’t reliable. May I be nosy and ask about your family’s story?”

“No.” Gu Yanqiu answered with complete ruthlessness.

“All right.” Yin Lingxi shrugged. “Looks like I’ll never get to know. I won’t be curious about it starting now.”

She lowered her head, scanned Gu Feiquan’s QR code, and sent a verification message over, then set the phone aside and looked up to ask Gu Yanqiu, “How close are you and Gu Feiquan, exactly?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I want to get a sense of the right way to speak.”

“Very close.”

“Got it.” Yin Lingxi raised an eyebrow.

Gu Yanqiu didn’t know why a business cooperation needed that kind of thing, but that was between Yin Lingxi and Gu Feiquan; it had nothing to do with her.

The server brought the food. Yin Lingxi turned her attention to Lin Yuewei, who had been quietly silent the entire time, and took a few more looks while Gu Yanqiu lowered her head to eat. After looking once, she looked again, then again, and the more she looked, the more familiar Lin Yuewei seemed. She couldn’t help asking, “Miss Lin, have I seen you somewhere before?”

Gu Yanqiu choked.

Yin Lingxi met her wary gaze and quickly clarified, “I’m not trying to flirt. I really feel like I’ve seen you before. Maybe I’m remembering wrong.”

Gu Yanqiu said coldly, “You’re remembering wrong.”

Yin Lingxi: “Oh.”

She narrowed her eyes, still turning the question over in her mind. Where exactly had she seen this face before? Where?

She didn’t remember until the meal was over. Many days later, when Actor Trainees was about to launch its second season, she received a news push on her computer. It was a small pop-up in the lower right corner; she had originally been about to close it, but the person in the middle of the image gave her a strong sense of familiarity, so before moving the mouse to the X, she clicked into the details.

The debut photo from the first season of Actor Trainees appeared before her. As the season’s breakout traffic star, Lin Yuewei naturally took up a great deal of space. Yin Lingxi scanned down line by line, then lifted her gaze to the other woman’s large close-up, that distant and detached face.

The show had exploded the year before. Yin Lingxi hadn’t watched it, but a lot of people around her had, especially the younger employees at the company, who were always following it during lunch breaks. She had glanced at it a couple of times and left a deep impression of Lin Yuewei: dazzlingly beautiful, unmistakably distinctive. She was exactly the type she could appreciate. No wonder that after nearly a year, seeing her face still felt familiar.

So it was her.

Yin Lingxi curled her lips into a smile.

Gu Yanqiu really was interesting. On the surface, the step-siblings were at each other’s throats, but in reality they were as close as could be; and the rich young lady she had married, who never appeared in public, was actually a star in the entertainment industry.

Yin Lingxi lowered her head and unlocked her phone, typing a few words into the input box: [Manager Gu, I’m going to Yanning in a couple of days.]

Gu Feiquan replied almost immediately: [Okay. Let me know once you’ve confirmed your flight, and I’ll pick you up.]

Yin Lingxi pressed the tip of her tongue against the roof of her mouth and rolled it around once, a look of keen interest appearing on her face.

***

“Mom, I’m heading out.” That weekend, Yin Lingxi came to visit, and Gu Feiquan stayed at the hospital with Gu Huai and He Songjun until eleven in the morning before planning to leave for the airport to pick someone up.

“Heading out where?” He Songjun asked.

“I’m going to pick someone up.”

“Who?” He Songjun pressed, her eyes taking him in from head to toe. Full suit, hair slicked neatly back, revealing a broad forehead, straight nose bridge, and upright features; he wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked extremely polished. “Someone surnamed Yin?”

Gu Feiquan was inwardly miserable. Since the last time he had blurted out nonsense and said he liked that Miss Yin, He Songjun had started saying “surnamed Yin” this and “surnamed Yin” that, practically every other sentence. The moment he dressed up a little, she thought he was going on a date; and not just any date, but one with a Miss Yin.

He was picking up an important client. Wasn’t it basic courtesy to look presentable? But He Songjun just loved overthinking.

The worst part was, this time it really was someone surnamed Yin.

Gu Feiquan said, “I’m picking up a client.” That was true enough; it didn’t count as lying.

He Songjun didn’t buy it this time. Her intuition was sharp. “It’s that person surnamed Yin, isn’t it?”

Gu Feiquan: “…”

After three minutes of interrogation from He Songjun, Gu Feiquan finally couldn’t take it anymore and nodded in admission, while trying to clear Miss Yin’s name. “Mom, I was just talking nonsense last time. I don’t like her. I said it to placate you.”

He Songjun didn’t believe him and shooed him off. “Go, go on your date, hurry up or you’ll be late.”

“It’s not a date.”

“Then it’s a tryst, all right?” He Songjun pushed him all the way to the door, glaring at him with wide eyes, as if if he dared say another word she would come at him with a knife.

Gu Feiquan had no choice but to leave.

Gu Huai had heard their conversation, and after Gu Feiquan left, he smiled and asked, “What’s going on with Feiquan?”

He Songjun was all smiles. “He’s gone on a date.”

If Gu Feiquan had been there, he probably would have spat blood on the spot.

Gu Huai grew interested. “A date?” He had already handed everything over to Gu Yanqiu, and aside from recuperating in the hospital, there was nothing else to do. He didn’t have deep feelings for Gu Feiquan, but hearing that his son’s life was settling down still made him happy.

“Yes, a young lady surnamed Yin, from out of town.” He Songjun couldn’t help but chatter in delight. “I heard her family also runs a company, so she’s a good match for Feiquan. I just don’t know if her personality is good.”

“Surnamed Yin?” Gu Huai’s expression shifted subtly.

“Yes.” He Songjun looked at him in confusion. “You don’t like that surname?”

“No.” Gu Huai shook his head slightly and put away his strange reaction. “Marriage is a big matter. When you have time, ask Feiquan what this girl’s background is.”

“I did ask, but he wouldn’t tell me. He’s hiding it all away,” He Songjun said with feeling. “Kids grow up and no longer listen to their mothers. When he was little, he told me everything, but now…”

He Songjun didn’t know whether Gu Feiquan and Gu Yanqiu had already cut ties; in any case, she hadn’t seen any open interaction between them.

“Now he doesn’t tell me anything. If you have time, ask him?”

Gu Huai gave a bitter smile. “You know he isn’t very close to me.”

He Songjun worked hard to build her son’s image up in front of Gu Huai and said, “Don’t be fooled by how Feiquan is. He’s actually cold on the outside but warm on the inside. If he really weren’t close to you, why would he dutifully take care of you in the hospital for so long?”

Gu Huai smiled and responded, “I know.”

If he didn’t know what kind of person Gu Feiquan was, he wouldn’t have cultivated him as Gu Yanqiu’s assistant, and he wouldn’t have told Gu Feiquan those things. Gu Feiquan was cold outside but warm within, very reliable; he would know how to handle it.

He Songjun thought his “I know” meant the same thing she had said, and she smiled with satisfaction, not forgetting to stoke the flames subtly. “Hasn’t Yanqiu not come for quite a while?”

Gu Huai’s gaze darkened.

He Songjun sighed and continued, “Yanqiu really is something. Our family’s in this state, and whatever grudge she’s carrying, she’s still so angry with you that she won’t even come look once. Even if she just brought a word of concern and put on a show, that would still be something.”

Gu Huai didn’t answer.

Thinking she had hit his sore spot, He Songjun poured more oil on the fire. “Have you heard about the personnel shake-up at the company?”

Gu Huai gave a quiet mm and nodded.

He Songjun said worriedly, “Is she trying to hollow you out?”

During this time, Gu Huai had been recuperating; all his energy had gone into hiding the past. Facing He Songjun, he couldn’t help but relax a little. In his eyes, He Songjun was the least threatening person there. He smiled faintly and said, “The company is hers no matter what. What does hollowing me out even mean? Why talk about that?”

He Songjun’s pupils trembled. Her fingernails dug into her palm as she forced out a smile. “Yes, Yanqiu is quite capable.”

A look of relief appeared at the corners of Gu Huai’s mouth.

He Songjun looked at him, and just when she was about to lose control of her emotions, she forced herself to look away, picked up the apple on the table, took a light breath, and asked, “Want an apple?”

“Sure.”

Gu Huai noticed that the hand she was using to peel the apple was shaking a little. “What’s wrong with your hand?”

He Songjun kept her head down and said, “Maybe I’m getting old. I’m not very steady anymore. It’ll be fine in a bit.”

Gu Huai said, “Get it checked. Don’t brush it off.”

He Songjun: “N—”

Gu Huai cut her off. “It’s necessary. We still have decades ahead of us, so we can’t be careless. When the doctor comes to examine me later, I’ll have him take you for an X-ray.”

He Songjun still kept her head down and answered softly.

Gu Huai took her hand and turned it over, covering the back of her hand with his own and patting it lightly.

If not for the fact that He Songjun knew full well that Gu Huai’s feelings for her were nothing but false pretenses, and that everything he did was only because of one sentence from Shen Huaiyu, she might almost have believed the person performing before her now truly loved her.

All He Songjun felt was cold mockery.

Luo Yu, oh Luo Yu, what incredible ability you have. You toyed with me for thirty years, and even after death you still won’t let me go.

Gu Huai said, “Why is your hand so cold?”

He Songjun pulled her hand away. “I’m fine.”

Gu Huai had just opened his mouth when He Songjun seemed to guess he was about to urge her to see a doctor again. She really didn’t want to hear his hypocritical concern, so she changed the subject. “What if Feiquan really ends up with that Yin girl?”

“What about it?”

He Songjun still held onto a sliver of hope. “The bride price, for one. And Feiquan only has a two-bedroom apartment he’s still paying a mortgage on. If the Yin family daughter marries in, where are the two of them supposed to live?”

He Songjun had roughly looked into it. Just the properties under Gu Yanqiu’s name in the local area numbered no fewer than five, each one a mansion worth every inch in gold; that wasn’t even counting the other assets.

She had brought Gu Feiquan into the family for so long. Materially, he lacked nothing; branded goods were bought in whole sets and piles. But aside from a car, he hadn’t gotten anything else. A car and a house; how could they compare?

“Aren’t you thinking too far ahead?” Gu Huai said. “Aren’t they just starting to date?”

“They need to start planning now. Young people these days can go from dating to a flash marriage in no time. What if he proposes today and says he wants to get married tomorrow? We can’t be caught off guard.”

Gu Huai thought it over. “You have a point.”

“And the house?”

“We’ll have to buy one,” Gu Huai said. “I still have some money on hand. If we pool it together, we should be able to pay in full. Tell Feiquan to pick a place he likes, and then tell me.”

As though remembering it casually, He Songjun said, “Feiquan is the man. He can’t be too far below the woman, right?”

Gu Huai: “Hm?”

He Songjun said, “I heard the woman is the sole heir of the family company, and it’s a pretty big company…” She didn’t know Yin Lingxi at all; this whole part was fabricated, yet somehow it hit the mark by accident. “Our Feiquan is only a department head. In the future, if the woman is strong and the man is weak, then I’m afraid…”

Gu Huai found this odd. “What’s the problem with that? There are so many capable women these days. If Feiquan really likes her, he won’t care about that. Besides, Feiquan is capable. He may not be without prospects in the future.”

He Songjun felt a chill in her heart and probed further. “What if we give Feiquan some shares, let him be a director on the board, hang a title on him? That would sound more compatible, wouldn’t it?”

Gu Huai frowned.

A property or two could be given out appropriately, but the company could not be handed over; at least, not with him here. In the future, if Gu Yanqiu came to trust Gu Feiquan completely and transferred him some shares at a low price, that would be Gu Yanqiu’s business. Everything he had would have to be left entirely to his daughter.

He Songjun waited a long time before Gu Huai’s tightly knit brows finally eased slightly. “We’ll talk about it later.”

He Songjun didn’t respond.

The room was quiet for a while.

Just then the doctor came in to examine Gu Huai. Gu Huai mentioned the problem with He Songjun’s hand and asked that she be taken for a checkup. He Songjun followed the doctor out. Once she stepped out of the ward, the smile on her face vanished without a trace.

The doctor happened to glance back at her and was startled by the cold, sinister look in her eyes. “Mrs. He?”

He Songjun said, “Let’s go. Do I register first?”

“Yes,” the doctor said.

“I know where it is. I’ll go myself. Sorry to trouble you.”

“No trouble at all.”

The doctor watched her figure disappear and, for no reason she could explain, felt a chill run up the back of her neck. She couldn’t help touching the nape of her neck.

He Songjun got her number and sat in the waiting area, her mind blank, not knowing what she was thinking. When the call system announced her name several times, she didn’t hear it. Only when someone beside her leaned over, looked at the number in her hand, and patted her shoulder did she come to herself.

“It’s your turn.”

He Songjun said mechanically, “Thank you.” She stood and mechanically walked toward the consultation room, but halfway there that same person reminded her, “Hey, you’re going the wrong way.”

The kind stranger even sent He Songjun into the correct department. The doctor on duty asked her for her medical record and card; He Songjun handed them over blankly and sat across from him. Only when the doctor began asking about her main symptoms did He Songjun belatedly remember that her hand wasn’t injured at all. She bowed to the doctor, said nothing, and walked back out, leaving everything behind.

“Hey?”

He Songjun ignored it and wandered around in a daze for the entire afternoon. By nightfall, Gu Feiquan finally came back. Seeing that her face was completely white, he was shocked. “Mom, what are you doing?”

He Songjun grabbed her son’s wrist, fixed him with a hard stare, and said bitterly, “Your father didn’t plan to leave you anything. Do you know that?”

Gu Feiquan didn’t look surprised. He guessed He Songjun must have asked Gu Huai and gotten this reaction. The key now was to soothe her. “Mom.”

He called her several times before He Songjun finally answered.

Gu Feiquan cupped her face in both hands and looked her straight in the eye. “Mom, we’re not depending on the Gu family. I can earn money. I can let you live a good life all by myself. Mom, you have to believe me.”

“I believe you.” He Songjun repeated after him very slowly, her eyes full of confusion.

“Right, you have to believe me. I’m your son, your only biological son. If you can’t believe me, who can you believe?”

“My son, only one, biological.” He Songjun still spoke slowly, but a glimmer of clarity returned to her face.

“Mom, have you eaten?”

He Songjun shook her head.

Gu Feiquan took her hand and slowly led her outside. “I’ll take you to eat. We’ll have a feast. I’ve got money now, let me tell you.”

“Eat a feast.”

“Mom, stop copying everything I say.” Gu Feiquan laughed.

He Songjun punched his arm. “I didn’t copy you. You think you talk so well?”

At last, she seemed normal again. Gu Feiquan let out a breath. “Fine, my speaking isn’t that nice, then say something nice to me. Mom, Mom, look up. You can actually see the stars tonight.”

He Songjun looked up, and the sky was full of stars.

“That one is the Cowherd Star, and that one is the Weaver Girl Star,” He Songjun suddenly said, pointing at the sky.

Gu Feiquan said in surprise, “I can’t even tell which stars are which. How do you know that, Mom? I’ve never heard you mention it before.”

He Songjun said nothing, only lowered her head and kept walking.

Someone had taught her to recognize them.

Author’s Note: He Huafei is turning black.

We’ll be wrapping things up soon and then starting the sugar rush storyline right away, especially President Gu’s storyline. You definitely won’t guess what it is ¬_¬ And there’s the supporting CP line too. President Gu’s hidden identity—wait for me to dig it out [brandishing a knife]