Chapter 151

“Mom.” Gu Feiquan chased after her, calling out twice.

He Songjun ignored him. After he called a few more times, she suddenly stopped. The tall young man halted beside her and looked at her worriedly. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

He Songjun tilted her head up and stared at her son without blinking.

Gu Feiquan’s scalp prickled.

“……” Gu Feiquan said, “Fine, I won’t ask anymore, okay? Stop looking at me like that.”

He Songjun still stared.

Gu Feiquan looked at her for a while and realized her gaze wasn’t really on him. It seemed to be passing through him, fixed on something far away, as if she were reaching for a memory.

“Why so much nonsense.” The first thing He Songjun said when she came back to herself was impatience. “Let’s go.”

Gu Feiquan felt aggrieved to death. He’d only called out a few times and asked one question; fine if she didn’t answer him, but after spacing out for a bit, she still lectured him. Still...

Gu Feiquan narrowed his eyes at his mother’s back. The fact that she knew the stars in the sky had to be a secret she couldn’t tell him; it very likely involved some unhappy past.

By the time things were drawing to a close, Gu Feiquan gradually understood what Gu Huai had said before: there was no point in dwelling on who was right or wrong. By the end of this investigation, all that would remain was pain; that was the real meaning.

If Shen Huaiyu hadn’t deceived his mother back then, Gu Feiquan didn’t know what her motive had been, but the objective fact was that she had hurt He Songjun and, indirectly, left her mired in it for more than thirty years, unable to let go even now. If she had never given birth to him, He Songjun might already have left Yanning; even if she hadn’t, she would at least have had a life of her own.

Gu Feiquan himself could accept this. After all, the first twenty-nine years of his life had been hard; he had never enjoyed ordinary family affection. When he found out he’d been born from a lie, the shock hit him hard, but after going home and getting himself drunk for one night, he’d mostly accepted it. What he cared about more was the present.

But Gu Yanqiu was different. Gu Feiquan couldn’t bear to tell her the truth, especially since her birth was so... unsightly.

This matter would end with him; it must never leak from his mouth.

Gu Feiquan made up his mind.

***

Gu Yanqiu had been busy to the point of seeing stars these past few days. The Lin family’s scale was even larger than she had imagined; taking it over consumed a staggering amount of energy. She had to split one minute into eight just to barely keep up.

Lin Dad had arranged to meet her twice and brought her along to see clients. Some project managers cared about recognizing the person in charge; they wouldn’t accept it if just anyone replaced the previous lead. Lin Dad had to personally take her along and slowly hand over the projects in his hands.

That day, after they met with a client, they went out for a meal together.

Lin Dad had been communicating with her a lot recently; the two of them were now quite familiar, no longer standing on ceremony. He had ordered the dishes and was pouring her a cup of tea from the pot beside him. “How did it feel today?” he asked considerately.

Gu Yanqiu knew he meant work, and she didn’t hedge. She brought up all the points she had questions about. She had only had a superficial understanding before; naturally she couldn’t compare with Lin Dad, who had spent years immersed in the industry. Lin Dad answered each of her questions one by one, and even gave her a few cases to look over when she got back.

Once the business talk was over, it was time for personal matters.

“Vi...” Lin Dad started.

Gu Yanqiu naturally continued for him. “She’s in acting classes. She’ll finish soon, and in a while she’ll be going onto a set to shoot a fantasy drama. At home she usually just teases the cat and reads. Very serious.”

“She told me that already.” Lin Dad’s mouth curved with amusement. Before, Lin Yuewei rarely contacted Lin Dad on her own. She felt that since the two of them were together anyway, it was usually enough to talk to Ran Qingqing. But after her parents divorced, she actually spoke more often with Lin Dad, mentioning when it got cold, when to add or remove clothes, to watch out for catching a cold, what she was usually doing. Both sides were taking care of each other.

“I originally thought I had done something wrong and that she’d resent me, that there’d be a rift.”

“She’s pretty open-minded.” Gu Yanqiu couldn’t help the slight curve of her eyes. “Maybe because she grew up surrounded by love, so her heart’s just big. She told me the divorce was between the two of you; it had nothing to do with her.”

“Yes, she’s always been like that.” Lin Dad seemed to remember something amusing and couldn’t help smiling.

Seeing his expression, Gu Yanqiu asked, “What was she like when she was little?”

“Who?” Lin Dad reacted for a moment, then said, “You mean Weiwei?”

“Mm.”

Lin Dad opened up at once. “Weiwei was very quick-witted as a child, but a little precocious. She chose her friends very carefully. Most kids her age looked down on her, and she wanted to play with the older boys and girls, but the older kids didn’t like little children; they thought bringing along a small tagalong was too inconvenient...”

Gu Yanqiu listened with interest.

Lin Dad took a sip of water and said with a smile, “She was especially popular at school. How popular, you ask? When I went to her parent-teacher conferences, the class officers would prepare fruit and the like for the parents. When it was my turn, whether it was peaches, pears, or apples, it was always the biggest one. And there were also little classmates who would secretly stuff gifts into my hands before or after the meeting—candies, milk, chocolate, you name it.”

“She’s very popular now too.” Thinking of how Lin Yuewei seemed to attract a peach blossom every time she went out, Gu Yanqiu lifted a brow slightly.

Lin Dad’s smile deepened. “The key is, it wasn’t just the boys. There were girls too; in fact, there were even more girls than boys.”

Gu Yanqiu silently gritted her teeth, but on the surface she smiled and said, “That’s still true now.”

Lin Dad hadn’t expected that and was rather surprised. “Is that so? There are no parent-teacher conferences after university, so I wouldn’t know.”

Gu Yanqiu asked, “Wasn’t she always kind of solitary?”

Lin Dad said, “Yes, and that’s what made it even stranger. Maybe it was her mystery?”

Gu Yanqiu thought about what kind of mystery Lin Yuewei could possibly have. On the day they were married, Gu Yanqiu had probably first been drawn to her face. The makeup made her almost unrecognizable, but the sharpness faintly revealed in her features was impossible to ignore; later, when she finally saw her true appearance, she looked like a rose blooming in a thicket of thorns, telling the world in the most flamboyant color that she was poisonous.

Gu Yanqiu had cultivated her temperament and self-discipline for so many years, and even she couldn’t help wanting to pluck her and take a look; much less anyone else.

And now this flower was about to go out and attract more people. Just thinking about it gave Gu Yanqiu a headache.

The flower herself was completely unaware and was rolling around on the carpet with Schrödinger in a race. When she heard the door open, Lin Yuewei sat up and looked toward the entrance. “You’re back.”

“I’m back.” Gu Yanqiu bent down to change her shoes.

“Do you want water?”

“Yes.”

Lin Yuewei poured her a glass of water and set it on the coffee table, then scooped up Schrödinger from the side and held the cat in her arms, stroking its mussed long fur. “What were you talking about with my dad? It’s so late now.”

“You.” Gu Yanqiu told the truth.

“What’s there to talk about me?” Lin Yuewei smiled. Her sharp features turned dazzling, and Schrödinger seemed to echo her, lifting its head and meowing once at her leg.

Gu Yanqiu let out a sigh.

Lin Yuewei set the cat down and stood up to hug her, coaxing gently, “What’s wrong? Why do you look so down?”

Gu Yanqiu wrapped both arms around her waist and buried her face against her lower abdomen. In a muffled voice, she said, “You’re going to start filming again.”

“You can’t bear to part with me?” Lin Yuewei stroked her long hair.

“Mm.”

“This drama isn’t long. I’ll be done in two months and back.” Lin Yuewei comforted her.

“Two months is so long.” Gu Yanqiu only felt her vision go dark. Forget two months; she’d be thinking about it like crazy after just one week. These days of being glued together had spoiled her.

The woman in her arms was even clingier than Schrödinger. Lin Yuewei was helpless, but also amused. She shifted from standing to sitting, held Gu Yanqiu’s face in her hands, and gave her a light peck now and then, coaxing softly, “We can video call every night, okay?”

Gu Yanqiu drooped her ears; it had no effect at all.

Video and the real person were a little too different. The real person could be kissed, hugged, held, and could also promote all kinds of harmony; video could only be looked at, and when Lin Yuewei got busy, she wouldn’t have time to video call at all, much less chat. There had already been enough precedent for that.

Lin Yuewei said, “Then how about you visit me on set?”

Gu Yanqiu’s eyes lit up. She lifted her eyelids, then quickly lowered them again. “No. Someone might find out.”

“Be careful and they won’t. You can wait for me at the hotel, and I’ll come find you after I’m done filming. Okay?”

Gu Yanqiu managed to regain a little spirit. “Okay.”

Having coaxed half of her into cheering up, Lin Yuewei pressed on. “And if you still aren’t happy, you can ask me for one favor. As long as it isn’t too outrageous, I’ll agree to it.”

“Anything?”

“Mm.” Lin Yuewei swore solemnly.

Gu Yanqiu actually didn’t have any requests. The one about not flirting around had already been handled very conscientiously by Lin Yuewei, but there were still wildflowers and weeds coming to provoke her; there was no way to guard against that. Not letting her act was absolutely impossible. After ruling out one possibility after another...

Gu Yanqiu leaned close and whispered something in her ear.

Lin Yuewei: “……”

Schrödinger padded across the carpet on cat feet, its two sapphire-blue eyes blinking. A cushion rolled off the sofa.

Schrödinger meowed twice.

On the sofa, Lin Yuewei’s fingers tightened, and she also let out two sounds like a cat.

Gu Yanqiu then picked up a blanket, shook it open with both hands, and threw it over Schrödinger, covering it precisely. Schrödinger kept wriggling out, but after burrowing free, it churned its short legs and darted swiftly up to the second floor in a flash.

...

“What did you and my dad talk about?” Lin Yuewei leaned into Gu Yanqiu’s arms, took the hair tie off Gu Yanqiu’s wrist, and used her fingers as a comb to gather her messy long hair and tie it back at the nape of her neck.

“Thirsty?” Gu Yanqiu asked something completely unrelated first.

Lin Yuewei glared at her. “...Yes.”

Gu Yanqiu had one arm around her shoulders and used the other to bring her a glass of water; it was the same cup Lin Yuewei had personally poured earlier and hadn’t finished.

Gu Yanqiu watched her finish it, then set the glass back down and raised one eyebrow. “Do you really want to hear?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Lin Yuewei considered herself open and aboveboard, a model student with no black history whatsoever. Her dad doted on her so much; he had definitely showered her with praise in all kinds of creative ways, and she wanted to hear Gu Yanqiu praise her too.

“All right, then I’ll say it.”

“Go on, go on.”

At this moment, Lin Yuewei had no idea that her loving good father had told Gu Yanqiu nothing but gossip, including hearsay and things with no evidence at all.

Gu Yanqiu cleared her throat and said, “When you were in second grade, there was a little boy in your class who liked you. He followed you home, and ended up being stopped by the security guard at the entrance to the residential complex.”

Lin Yuewei’s smile froze.

“That little boy then watched tearfully as your back gradually shrank in his field of vision until it disappeared, and then he turned around and vanished into the crowd.”

Lin Yuewei: “...What kind of nonsense is this?”

Gu Yanqiu: “Your dad said it.”

“I know he said it. I’m going to find him!” As she spoke, Lin Yuewei was about to reach for her phone.

That male classmate, whose identity Lin Yuewei still had no idea of from start to finish, following her home happened to be seen in full by Lin Dad. Since then, it had become one of Lin Dad’s favorite ways to tease Lin Yuewei, and now he had handed this weapon over to Gu Yanqiu.

Lin Yuewei was furious beyond reason.

Gu Yanqiu finally managed to hold her down. “Isn’t that just proof you were well liked?”

“What well liked? It was obviously because I had way too many rotten peach blossoms. What else did my dad tell you? Don’t tell me you prepared a whole basket of stories about boy classmates and girl classmates just to laugh at me.”

Gu Yanqiu had been exposed, but how could she dare admit it now? She hurriedly shook her head. “No, your dad only said that one.”

“Really?” Lin Yuewei looked utterly unconvinced.

“Really. I swear.”

“All right, swear then.” Lin Yuewei pointed at herself. “Swear on me. If even one word you say is false, then let me—”

Gu Yanqiu covered Lin Yuewei’s mouth in one swift motion.

Lin Yuewei peeled her hand away and clicked her tongue. “I knew it. My dad must’ve spilled everything to you. That old man can ramble more than an old woman once he gets going.”

“Old man?” Gu Yanqiu was confused. Lin Dad wasn’t even fifty yet, and he looked even younger.

“It’s just a random way of calling him. Don’t mind that kind of detail.” Lin Yuewei said carelessly, then turned back and poked her shoulder, saying one sentence with each poke. “And you—you already have a small heart to begin with, yet you still had to hear my dad tell you about my peach blossom luck. Aren’t you just bored enough to go looking for suffering?”

Gu Yanqiu: “……” She hesitated, “I just thought it would be fun to hear.”

“Fun?” Lin Yuewei gave a cold laugh.

“...Not fun.”

“So you really are a vinegar jar that got knocked over?”

“Mm.” Gu Yanqiu was lectured into lowering her head obediently.

“If you want to know, ask me yourself. What kind of hero are you, going to my dad for information?” Lin Yuewei patted her head, then gathered the collar of her clothes and stood up. She looked down at Gu Yanqiu and said lazily, “I’m going upstairs to take a shower. I’m all sweaty.”

She moved her arms; a wave of soreness seeped out from the cracks in her bones. After a pause, she scolded her again, embarrassed and annoyed: “Are you a dog?”

Gu Yanqiu looked up. “Ah?”

Lin Yuewei was already far away.

Gu Yanqiu savored her words, then chased after her with a smile. “I’ll be gentler next time.”

Lin Yuewei’s voice, full of gritted teeth, came down from the middle of the stairs. “There won’t be a next time!”

Gu Yanqiu slipped inside before Lin Yuewei could shut the door.

Lin Yuewei gave her a sharp look, took her pajamas, and went into the bathroom to shower. Gu Yanqiu sniffed at the smell on herself and laughed quietly to herself; she wasn’t any better off than Lin Yuewei. But the bathroom was occupied by Lin Yuewei, so she had to wait outside for a bit.

Strangely enough, after making such a mess with Lin Yuewei for so long, no one had sent her a single message. Now, all of them decided to arrive at once.

First was Yin Lingxi, who was on a business trip and asked her out to dinner; probably wanting to discuss the contract. Gu Yanqiu arranged to meet her on the weekend.

Then Cheng Guiyuan sent her a rather baffling message: [You said, how should someone who’s had an ex and changed temperament, the relatively cold kind, be approached?]

Gu Yanqiu thought to herself, I’ve never had an ex. You have so many exes; if you don’t know, how would I know?

[Xi Gu: Who do you want to approach?]

[Big Kite: No one. When are you free to go out for a meal?]

[Xi Gu: I already have plans with Yin Lingxi this weekend.]

[Big Kite: Who’s that?]

[Xi Gu: I told you before. A girl with good looks and good character.]

[Big Kite: Are you introducing me to a date?]

[Xi Gu: Otherwise? I’ve looked into her pretty well. She’s single, and her personality should fit your preferences quite well; cold and commanding.]

Seeing those few words Gu Yanqiu had sent, Cheng Guiyuan’s mind naturally conjured up one person’s face.

She didn’t know whether this was Murphy’s Law, but after Cheng Guiyuan decided that day to keep her distance from Qu Xuesong completely, she kept running into her over and over again. She went to a magazine for an exclusive interview and found Qu Xuesong filming a cover shoot in the neighboring studio; she went to a film premiere and Qu Xuesong was also a guest invited by the main cast; she represented Chimo Media at a large event and Qu Xuesong was performing onstage—why was a fine actor singing in the first place, and somehow singing quite well at that. Even at a private gathering, she could spot Qu Xuesong among the laughing figures talking to other people.

It had made Cheng Guiyuan so nervous recently that she was imagining shadows wherever she looked. Whenever there was any job, she had to check whether Qu Xuesong would be attending. Cheng Guiyuan was rather high-profile by nature; she was especially popular with the same-sex crowd in the company, and every young lady liked her. Over time, the rumors about her sexual orientation spread wildly through the office and became an open secret.

Her previous assistant, because of her “attention” to Qu Xuesong, misunderstood and thought she was pursuing her. In a misguided attempt to be helpful, she patted the wrong horse, and Cheng Guiyuan fired her after learning about it and replaced her with someone new. She originally wanted to sternly tell the new assistant not to arrange for her and Qu Xuesong to appear together, but after thinking it over she decided to forget it and let nature take its course.

Once she let nature take its course, the number of times she saw the other woman really did drop. Yet when she couldn’t see her, she would think of her from time to time; in a moment of madness, she even sent this message that was basically a cry for help to novice-in-love Gu Yanqiu.

Cheng Guiyuan was flustered and restless. She collapsed into the sofa and typed to Gu Yanqiu: [Sure. Ask her whether she’s interested. I’ll set a time with her. Do you need a photo from me?]

[Xi Gu: I’ve got one here.]

[Big Kite: Fine. My happiness depends on you.]

Gu Yanqiu sent her a sticker, indicating that she would keep it in mind.

There was one more message, from Gu Feiquan.

His message was simple: [Call me back when you see this.]

Gu Yanqiu found Gu Feiquan in her recent calls and dialed back. “What is it?”

Gu Feiquan said, “I managed to pry more out of Gu Huai.”

Gu Yanqiu moved to a quieter window. “What did he say?”

In righteous indignation, Gu Feiquan said, “That scumbag; back then he knew about the existence of me and my mom, but still married your mom while hiding it from her, and only confessed later. Your mom didn’t love him at all; not only did she not mind, she even stepped forward to fund my mom so she could raise me. My mom was stupid too—she thought it was all because Gu Huai still had some conscience left and wanted her to do those things! She’s hated the wrong person all these years!”

“What did you say?” Gu Yanqiu didn’t quite react in time.

“I said Gu Huai is a fucking—” Gu Feiquan considered Gu Yanqiu and swallowed it back in time, changing it to, “Everything was because of him; your mom knew nothing from start to finish.”

Gu Feiquan was dark and grave. He absolutely could not let Gu Yanqiu know that her mother had harmed their mother and son.

Gu Yanqiu should have felt a huge weight drop from her heart after hearing that, but strangely, she didn’t. Following Gu Feiquan’s logic, she reasoned backward. “So it was Dad who made your mom give birth to you?”

“Then who else could it be?” Gu Feiquan let out a cold laugh.

“If he was already going to marry someone else, how could he still do something like that?”

“How could he not do something like that?!” Gu Feiquan snapped. “You still don’t understand? Your mom, my mom, me, and you; we’re all victims. The current situation was created entirely by Gu Huai!”

“Calm down.”

“I can’t calm down! If it weren’t for him, my mom would’ve gotten out long ago; she never would’ve ended up in such a state!” Gu Feiquan yelled, forcing his emotions to stay at full volume.

Gu Yanqiu frowned. “Do you have any water nearby right now? Drink some water?”

“I’m not drinking!” Gu Feiquan was afraid that if he drank water, he wouldn’t be able to keep acting, and even more afraid that Gu Yanqiu would see through his bluff.

“All right, then let’s not talk about this topic for now.”

Taking advantage of the fake anger he’d whipped up, Gu Feiquan pressed on. “We were all fooled by him. He put on the face of a gentleman, but behind that face, just think how many people he cheated. Stop being so stubborn—he’s just a rotten person, a total piece of trash!” The last two lines were the truth, and Gu Feiquan cursed with genuine feeling, forceful and ringing.

“Gu Feiquan!” Gu Yanqiu cut him off.

Gu Feiquan said in a tone of anger and grievance, “You’re yelling at me for him?”

Gu Yanqiu: “……”

What was with this sudden wronged-wife energy?

Then the line went busy; Gu Feiquan had hung up.

Gu Yanqiu: “……”

Lin Yuewei came out with her hair loose and saw Gu Yanqiu holding her phone, frowning with an expression that was a little funny. She walked over. “What’s wrong? Who were you talking to?”

“Gu Feiquan.”

“What did he say this time?” Thinking of her expression just now, most of Lin Yuewei’s hackles rose. “Did he sell you cute again?!”

Gu Yanqiu gave a quiet “Mm.”

Did the last line count?

“You hesitated!” Lin Yuewei said with certainty, all her fur standing on end. “I knew Gu Feiquan isn’t some good straight guy; he’s all gay vibes. How did he sell cute, and how did you answer?”

Gu Yanqiu smoothed her down a little and stuffed the phone into her hands. “I’m going to take a shower first. I’ll tell you when I get back.”

She lowered her eyes and went into the bathroom thoughtfully.

Lin Yuewei casually tapped through the chat history. There was nothing much worth seeing, though her mood brightened a little after seeing that Gu Yanqiu was planning to introduce Yin Lingxi to Cheng Guiyuan.

After that she dried her hair and sat quietly waiting for Gu Yanqiu to come out.

“Gu Feiquan said your mom knew nothing from start to finish?” Lin Yuewei asked in surprise.

Gu Yanqiu nodded.

Lin Yuewei wanted to breathe a sigh of relief for her, but she still couldn’t quite get it out; it was stuck in her throat. And yet this outcome was a good one for Gu Yanqiu, so she didn’t know whether she should voice the doubts in her mind.

Seeing her expression, Gu Yanqiu let out a soft sigh. “Don’t you think it’s strange?”

“What’s strange?” It was much better coming from Gu Yanqiu than from herself.

“Gu Feiquan said my mom and his mom had crossed paths before, that the two of them knew each other. Then he said my dad was heartless and unjust, that after tricking He Songjun into giving birth to his child he abandoned her, and that He Songjun, grateful to my mom for helping her, put all of that debt on my dad instead and hated my mom to the bone? He Songjun is... she is...” Gu Yanqiu hesitated for a long while before saying the word, “...mentally challenged?”

Lin Yuewei burst out laughing. “Hahahahaha.”

Gu Yanqiu looked helpless.

Lin Yuewei patted her shoulder sympathetically. “If you can’t bring yourself to say it, you can use ‘silly person’ instead.”

Gu Yanqiu shook her head and said solemnly, “That won’t do. ‘Silly person’ has a lighter tone, and in some contexts it can be affectionate or a nickname. Like little fool, little silly.”

Lin Yuewei doubled over laughing and fell straight back onto the bed.

Gu Yanqiu waited three minutes, and Lin Yuewei was still laughing. She reached out one hand to pull her up. “Have you laughed enough?”

“Enough.” Lin Yuewei took her hand and sat up, coughing twice. “May I ask something a little rude? What did you get on your college entrance exam for Chinese? Was it full marks?”

Gu Yanqiu remained serious. “I didn’t take the gaokao. I applied to schools overseas.”

Lin Yuewei froze for a moment, then laughed herself back onto the bed again. She really couldn’t take it anymore and pointed at Gu Yanqiu. “Y-you, stop talking.”

Gu Yanqiu obediently pressed her lips together.

After catching her breath, Lin Yuewei returned to the previous topic. “What if He Songjun really is mentally challenged? You can’t rule that possibility out, right? And you know there are some women whose thinking is really scary; if their husbands cheat, they blame the mistress and completely cut off the bastard husband. He Songjun might very well be that kind of person.”

“What you’re saying makes sense.” Gu Yanqiu nodded, though her brow was still furrowed. “But I don’t think my dad is that kind of irresponsible person.”

“You can’t judge a book by its cover.”

Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyes and thought for a while, but still shook her head. “I don’t believe it. I’ve known my dad for so many years; he’s always taught me that whether man or woman, you have to be responsible and stand tall.”

“My dad taught me to be loyal in love. And what happened? He cheated himself. Hah, men.”

Gu Yanqiu looked at Lin Yuewei. Lin Yuewei blinked.

Gu Yanqiu conceded, “You’re right.”

“But I still think something’s off.” Not long after admitting defeat, Gu Yanqiu brought it up again. “If everything’s really like this, and my dad was a completely rotten scumbag, then why did he go to such lengths to stop me from investigating my mother’s affairs?”

“To keep you from finding out he was a scumbag, obviously.” Lin Yuewei answered without hesitation.

“……”

Gu Yanqiu stared at Lin Yuewei in shock. “This is the first time I’ve realized your logic is this fast.”

Lin Yuewei said shamelessly, “I was holding back before, in case you felt inferior.”

“……” Gu Yanqiu laughed and bit her.

After being interrupted by her several times, Gu Yanqiu had already lost the thread of thought and couldn’t think any further. She frowned for a while, came up with nothing, and for the moment let it go. Lin Yuewei coaxed her to sleep. “You finally get to rest a bit today. Go to sleep early.”

“You stay with me.” Gu Yanqiu lay on the pillow, looking up at her, her eyes soft.

“I’ll stay with you.” Lin Yuewei also lay down. Gu Yanqiu turned onto her side, pressed her forehead against Lin Yuewei’s, and closed her eyes.

She had truly been too tired recently. As soon as her head touched the pillow, she fell asleep not long after.

Lin Yuewei listened to Gu Yanqiu’s even breathing, slowly opened her eyes in the dark, and tiptoed out of bed. The bedroom door made almost no sound; the light from the corridor outside spread across the floor, then quickly gathered into a line and fell back into darkness.

Lin Yuewei went to the study and took down the birthday gift Gu Huai had sent last time from the antique shelf. A letter was tucked at the bottom of the box.

Sitting under the lamp, Lin Yuewei read Gu Huai’s letter carefully. It was written with genuine feeling; when she’d read it back then, she’d even been moved, especially by the line: No matter what your mother is like, Dad loves you, more than anyone else in the world.

“No matter what your mother is like...” Lin Yuewei read aloud. This letter had been written before Gu Yanqiu’s birthday; at that time, what sort of image did Gu Huai have in Gu Yanqiu’s heart? Back then, Gu Yanqiu had just learned about Shen Huaiyu’s identity as her mother’s ex-girlfriend and was about to dig deeper, and she had already confirmed that Shen Huaiyu did not love her. Gu Huai knew this all too well, which was why he wrote such a letter.

As a person, Gu Huai had always been impossible for Lin Yuewei to see through. First, they had too little contact, so she could only judge him through Gu Yanqiu; second, he was too contradictory, as though he was changing at any moment. From the beginning until now, Gu Huai’s image had never formed a complete whole in Lin Yuewei’s mind. If you said he was affectionate and righteous, he could heartlessly abandon He Songjun and her son for nearly thirty years without a word. If you said he was cold and heartless, he was deeply devoted to Shen Huaiyu; even marrying He Songjun had been because of one sentence from Shen Huaiyu, and he had no bad conduct at all toward Gu Yanqiu. Of course this could be explained as the difference between loving and not loving, with nothing to do with character. But Lin Yuewei always felt it wasn’t that simple.

He Songjun was even more mysterious. This woman had gotten pregnant after breaking up with Gu Huai, kept the child for reasons unknown, and for some reason despised Shen Huaiyu to the bone. Was it really because Shen Huaiyu had become “the other woman”? To hate a “mistress” stubbornly for so many years, and after her death extend that hatred to the other woman’s daughter as well—just how intense did that hatred have to be? Or rather, how mentally challenged did He Songjun have to be?

As for Shen Huaiyu, combining the investigation and Xia Zhifei’s diary, her whole life seemed as though it had already been written on paper; but how large was the gap between those cold written accounts and the real Shen Huaiyu? Most importantly, between Gu Huai and He Songjun’s breakup and the time before Shen Huaiyu gave birth to Gu Yanqiu, what exactly happened? And what role did those events play in all this?

Only the people involved knew these things. One of the people involved, Shen Huaiyu, was already dead; there was no way to investigate.

Gu Huai and He Songjun; one was like gazing at flowers through mist, the other seemed simple on the surface but might be hiding who knew how many secrets. Gu Feiquan had once said that she always seemed to want to speak but stop herself when it came to Shen Huaiyu—did that have anything to do with thirty years ago? What exactly was the relationship between those two women?

Lin Yuewei took an A4 sheet from the drawer and drew a simple relationship diagram on it. In the end, she circled the names Shen Huaiyu and He Songjun. Gu Huai was too shrouded in fog; she couldn’t pry much out of him, or if she did, it might very well be a lie. He Songjun looked much better.

They would still need Gu Feiquan to handle this.

Lin Yuewei drew a line under Gu Feiquan’s name and remembered with some alarm that she had interrupted Gu Yanqiu’s train of thought several times today before it could go in a certain direction.

Gu Huai was heartless and unjust, abandoning his family and children; he married Shen Huaiyu. After marriage, Shen Huaiyu learned about it, and because she didn’t love him, she accepted it gladly and even funded He Songjun and her son. Regardless of whether the facts were true or false, there was one massive, unavoidable doubt: why did Shen Huaiyu give birth to Gu Yanqiu? How did she get pregnant? A person so fierce, someone who had lived her entire life for Xia Zhifei, how could she have been willing to bear Gu Huai’s child? Softened her heart? Decided to live with Gu Huai? Or was there some other reason?

Lin Yuewei didn’t dare let Gu Yanqiu think about it, at least not now. The longer she could delay it, the better.

She sat in the study for a long time. In the end, she tore that A4 sheet into pieces, found a packaging bag from the trash can, put the pieces inside, flipped it upside down into the trash, and quietly slipped back into the bedroom.

After she returned, she checked Gu Yanqiu’s sleeping position. It hadn’t changed. She also reached out to feel the temperature of her palm and the back of her neck; she had stayed buried under the blanket the whole time, warm and soft, confirming that she hadn’t gotten up in the middle of the night. Only then did Lin Yuewei close her eyes and fall asleep.

She had something on her mind and didn’t sleep well. The next morning, when the alarm woke her, she was dazed. She saw a vague silhouette by the bedside; the silhouette’s hand was pressing the phone while a gentle voice said, “I hit snooze a little slowly.”

Lin Yuewei shook her head before she could make out that the silhouette was Gu Yanqiu.

While Gu Yanqiu was washing up, Lin Yuewei sat on the bed yawning, tears filling her eyes. When Gu Yanqiu came out, she brought her clothes and smiled. “What were you doing last night? Why are you so sleepy? Didn’t you go to bed pretty early?”

“I went to bed early, but I had dreams all night.”

“What kind of dreams?”

“Wet dreams.” Lin Yuewei lifted the corner of her mouth in a mischievous smile.

“Still talking nonsense first thing in the morning.” Gu Yanqiu was clearly delighted by the tease, but she still forced a straight face and said, “Lift your arm.”

Lin Yuewei lifted her arm. Gu Yanqiu helped her put on her clothes and pulled her up from the bed. Lin Yuewei still clung to her and wouldn’t let go. “I’m so sleepy.”

“Then don’t have... dreams.” Gu Yanqiu mumbled through the middle word.

“What dream? Tell me.”

“I’m not telling you. Go brush your teeth.”

After bickering with her for a bit, Gu Yanqiu still refused to say. Lin Yuewei pretended to be bored and pouted as she walked into the washroom. While squeezing toothpaste onto the brush, she stuck her head out. “President Gu, when you tease me, you’re so shameless you’re practically flying; when I tease you, it’s all ‘can’t say this, can’t do that.’ Isn’t that a little unfair?”

Gu Yanqiu answered, “That’s different.”

“How is it different? This is the powerful blocking the people’s lamps.”

“Did you block less?” Gu Yanqiu looked at her righteous face and had no idea where she got the nerve.

Lin Yuewei laughed. “I’m brushing my teeth.”

Gu Yanqiu said, “I’m going downstairs to make breakfast. What do you want to eat?”

Lin Yuewei had toothpaste foam all over her mouth; a string of fluctuating syllables poured out of her lips: “Mm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm.”

Gu Yanqiu understood immediately. “Garlic pumpkin cakes, century egg and lean pork congee, got it.”

Lin Yuewei’s eyes widened so much they were bigger than copper bells. “Mm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm.”

Gu Yanqiu’s hearing was perfect. She smiled. “How would I know what you’re saying? Of course I know.”

Lin Yuewei was completely convinced. With the electric toothbrush in her mouth, she gave her a thumbs-up.

This was probably what tacit understanding meant, Lin Yuewei realized with wonder, and then she grinned stupidly at the mirror.

The two wives, who had begun to develop tacit understanding, ate breakfast together. When it was time to go to work, Lin Yuewei helped Gu Yanqiu put on her coat, straightened the hem, looked her over, and nodded with satisfaction. “All right, off to work.”

At the door they exchanged a light kiss, and Gu Yanqiu drove away.

After the car disappeared from view, Lin Yuewei narrowed her eyes, went back to change clothes, and drove in the same direction as Gu Yanqiu.

***

After Gu Feiquan finished the call with Gu Yanqiu, a cold sweat broke out across his back. He was afraid he might slip up at any moment. Ever since he learned the truth from Gu Huai last time, he had thought about it for a long time before coming up with this set of words, dumping all the blame on Gu Huai; after all, that man had always been trash.

He tossed and turned all night and couldn’t fall asleep for a long time, repeatedly going over where the holes in his story might be, what questions Gu Yanqiu might ask, and how he should patch up the lie. What if He Songjun got flustered and told the old stories... No, impossible. His mom had hidden it for so long, hadn’t even told him; she wouldn’t tell Gu Yanqiu.

He relaxed a little. Gu Huai was a bit of a scumbag, but he had still been decent enough to Gu Yanqiu; he wouldn’t spout nonsense. His mom didn’t need to worry either. The Liu-something guy on Gu Yanqiu’s side couldn’t possibly be that omnipotent as to uncover things from thirty years ago. How round or square this story was; wasn’t that entirely up to him to say? Gu Yanqiu trusted him. As long as she believed him, that was enough.

In the dead of night, the screen of the phone on the bedside table lit up. Gu Feiquan jolted, his half-open eyes snapping wide. He grabbed the phone.

A message from an unknown number:

[I’m Lin Yuewei. Set a time to meet. I have something to ask you. Don’t tell Gu Yanqiu. I’m asleep; reply after 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.]

Gu Feiquan: “!!”

He typed into the reply box: You know what

When he saw the last line, he deleted it character by character. That night, he was completely unable to sleep. He lay awake until dawn, bloodshot-eyed, arrived at the company early, and as soon as nine o’clock came, immediately replied: [Do you know something?]

Lin Yuewei called him back.

This was the first time Gu Feiquan had ever dealt with Lin Yuewei alone. In his impression, whenever Lin Yuewei appeared together with Gu Yanqiu, she was quiet and unobtrusive; if not for her striking looks, her presence would have been very low.

But now the woman on the other end of the line had a voice colder and sharper than he had ever heard before. “I know you’re lying.”

Gu Feiquan almost immediately retorted, “I didn’t lie.”

Lin Yuewei had never been patient with anyone else and said coldly, “Or I can go get Gu Yanqiu. You can repeat what you told her last night in front of her.”

Gu Feiquan: “You...”

Lin Yuewei cut him off. “You know Gu Yanqiu isn’t stupid. She’ll catch on very quickly. Time is short; how long can you keep this up?”

“I...” Gu Feiquan couldn’t hold out for even three seconds before folding. “When are you free?”

“I’m free anytime. I’m in the building across from your company right now; third floor, private room XXX, Liuyue Residence.”

“Okay, then I’ll come over rig—”

Beep, beep, beep—

Lin Yuewei had already hung up.

Author’s Note:

Lin Yuewei: Me, Lin Yingluo, born with a fiery temper. Not someone you want to mess with.

Big Brother Gu: Shaking in fear. You’re not like this in front of my sister at all o(╥﹏╥)o