Chapter 159
Ran Qingqing had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, and Lin Yuewei knew she could never bear to let her daughter go hungry. After planting a sweet kiss on Ran Qingqing’s cheek, she fluttered away like a lively little swallow.
“Don’t put in too much salt, Mom.”
“I’ll salt you to death!”
A quarter of an hour later, Ran Qingqing brought a bowl of noodles to the dining table. Lin Yuewei was already seated, chopsticks in hand, waiting. She took a bite. Not too bland, not too salty—exactly the way she liked it. She let out a delighted cheer. “Thanks, Mom!”
Ran Qingqing sat down across from her.
Lin Yuewei ate a few more bites, but Ran Qingqing’s gaze was impossible to ignore.
Lin Yuewei set down her chopsticks. “Mom, I know you missed me a lot while I was out filming, but can you wait until I’m done eating before you admire me slowly? You’re looking at me like that, and I can’t keep eating.”
Ran Qingqing rubbed the prayer beads on her wrist, stood up, and said, “You eat first. I’m going to play with Schrödinger for a bit.”
“How much does Schrödinger weigh now?”
“Not much. Didn’t you tell me not to feed Gu Yanqiu so much a while back? When she was losing weight, I had Schrödinger lose some too.”
“That’s good. I was worried Schrödinger’s stomach couldn’t take being overfed all the time.”
“She’s my own granddaughter. If I don’t spoil her, who will?” Ran Qingqing picked up a wand toy and was already playing with Schrödinger.
Lin Yuewei wolfed down the entire bowl of noodles in no time. She had been keeping her diet under control while filming, and in those two months her stomach had shrunk. She clutched her full belly and sprawled ungracefully on the sofa to digest.
Ran Qingqing glanced at her and chatted casually, “How was filming on set?”
“Just average.” Lin Yuewei felt that answer was a little perfunctory, so after thinking it over she added more detail. “The crew wasn’t very serious. The leads were both traffic stars chasing quick money; the female lead was especially awful. A few of the supporting actors had pretty solid experience, and I got along all right with them. I learned a lot from watching.”
“Acting isn’t easy these days.”
“It really isn’t.” Lin Yuewei patted her stomach in agreement.
“And yet you still want to act?” Ran Qingqing still hadn’t given up on the idea of her daughter coming home to run the family business.
“It’s because I like acting. I get to play different people every time; how fun is that?”
“Do you still remember our agreement?”
“Hm?” Lin Yuewei’s career was finally on somewhat solid footing now, and as for love, that was even less of an issue; she was practically soaking in a honeypot every day. Puzzled, she asked, “What agreement?”
“Before you went to record Actor Trainees, what did you say?” Ran Qingqing prompted.
What had she said?
Lin Yuewei remembered.
She smiled brightly. “I said that if I still hadn’t made a name for myself in five years, I’d come home and inherit the company.”
“Right. And not just make a name for yourself; you said you’d become hugely famous.”
Lin Yuewei was full of confidence. “Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll definitely get famous.” If she still couldn’t make it in five years, that would only mean she simply wasn’t cut out for this circle. Back then, she had used five years to bet on her future path. Even though things had changed a lot since then, and she and Gu Yanqiu had gone from a fake marriage to a real relationship, she still remembered that agreement.
Ran Qingqing wagged her head. “It’s already been a year and a half. More than a quarter of the time is gone.”
Lin Yuewei smiled and patted her mother’s shoulder. “You might as well give up on that idea, okay?”
Ran Qingqing snorted and teased her, “Last weekend I went shopping with Qiuqiu, and she got recognized. The store manager insisted on giving us a discount; it took forever to turn it down.”
Lin Yuewei said, “You can get recognized when you go out with me too. Want to try?”
“No. Shopping with you is boring.”
Lin Yuewei had to ask, “Then what’s the fun in shopping with Qiuqiu?”
Ran Qingqing said, “She has good taste. She’s incredibly patient when I try things on, and then she helps me match each outfit piece by piece. Do you have that kind of patience? Every time you go out and try on three things, you’re already done. This hurts, that hurts, always complaining.”
Lin Yuewei rubbed her nose. “Fine. Then let her keep you company when you go shopping from now on.”
Ran Qingqing said, “I wasn’t counting on you to begin with.”
Lin Yuewei was used to Ran Qingqing favoring Gu Yanqiu and didn’t get upset at all; in fact, she was rather proud. “What does Gu Yanqiu do at home? Does she ever mention me to you? Say she misses me or anything?”
Ran Qingqing rolled up her sleeves. “You’re calling me here to feed me dog food on top of the fact that you call each other all day long being all lovey-dovey? I think you’ve gotten too full of yourself lately. I need to loosen you up a bit.”
Lin Yuewei leaned back. “Mom, I was wrong. We can talk this out. I was just talking without thinking.”
Ran Qingqing grinned menacingly. “Too late!”
***
That night, Lin Yuewei went to complain to Gu Yanqiu. There was a time difference between them; it was just dawn on Gu Yanqiu’s side. She wore a silk camisole nightgown, propped her tablet horizontally on the table, and sat in front of a Western breakfast with a knife in one hand and a fork in the other, video-calling Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei said, “I think my mom’s going through menopause. Today I just asked her one thing…”
Gu Yanqiu listened quietly while eating breakfast. After a while, there was no sound on the other end; she looked up from her plate in confusion. “Why did you stop talking?”
Lin Yuewei was staring straight at her.
Gu Yanqiu’s fingers moved, but she didn’t pull at the neckline of her nightgown. Instead she feigned confusion. “Mm?”
Lin Yuewei coughed lightly. “The sun where you are looks nice.”
Gu Yanqiu nodded. “The weather’s all right today.”
She lifted the glass of milk beside her and took a sip, the line from her chin to her collarbone beautiful. Warm orange sunlight touched her straight collarbones; below that, the outline wrapped in the nightgown was obvious. The fabric was thin and sheer, and the shape beneath it was faintly visible.
Lin Yuewei swallowed soundlessly, thinking uncertainly: Is it really bigger?
Gu Yanqiu’s ears turned faintly red. “I have a meeting to attend later.”
Lin Yuewei blurted out, “Remember to change clothes.”
Gu Yanqiu: “……”
Lin Yuewei hurriedly said, “I mean, I…”
Gu Yanqiu pressed her glossy lips, still stained with a ring of milk, together and said softly, “I wasn’t wearing this when I went to sleep last night. I changed into it specially this morning for you.”
“I…” Lin Yuewei started to get nervous too. “When you come back to the country, will you still wear it?”
“If you like it…”
Lin Yuewei blurted out again, “I like it!”
Gu Yanqiu: “……”
“I-I’m glad you like it.” Her face and neck were completely red, like a boiled crab. She hurriedly hung up the video. “I’m going to change clothes and head to the meeting. Talk later.”
The screen went black briefly, then turned into the chat interface.
Lin Yuewei’s mood followed her and surged wildly; it took her a long time before she calmed down.
Once she came to her senses, she didn’t even know what she’d gotten so worked up about. They had already rolled around in the sheets plenty of times; they had seen each other naked clearly enough. It was just a thin, sheer nightgown. A little appetizer before the main course.
But after eating the main course so often, having this sort of side dish once in a while was fresh. The more Lin Yuewei thought about that scene, the less she could let it go.
Gu Yanqiu probably had some kind of magic. As long as she revealed even a little something Lin Yuewei had never seen before, Lin Yuewei went completely mad.
It had already been half a month since they last saw each other. Lin Yuewei lay alone in the empty bed late at night, thinking of all the things Gu Yanqiu had done to her, then of the video image from not long ago, and gradually she couldn’t control herself.
Gu Yanqiu sat upright in her seat. The phone in her hand lit up; she glanced at it and nearly lost her composure: “!!”
The person beside her noticed her odd expression and asked considerately, “What’s wrong, President Gu?”
Gu Yanqiu turned the phone screen face down on her lap and shook her head. “Nothing. Please continue.”
[Two Trees: I miss you so much. I miss you until I’m soaked]
The phone vibrated again.
Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyes. After barely calming the waves Lin Yuewei had stirred up in her heart, she wrapped one hand around the phone, unlocked it, and looked at the message.
[Two Trees: Wife, when are you coming back to take me? I feel so bad]
Gu Yanqiu: “……”
Gu Yanqiu was getting driven crazy by her flirting.
Her fingers tightened on the fabric of her pants. She took a quiet breath, then slowly typed back:
[West Gu: Don’t be naughty. I’m dealing with something serious]
Lin Yuewei obediently replied with two words:
[Okay]
[Two Trees: Then go ahead and work. I was just talking to myself. You can ignore it if you want; even if you see it, just pretend you didn’t]
Gu Yanqiu thought to herself: You say something like that, and you still expect me to pretend I didn’t see it?
[West Gu: Wait for me to come home]
[Two Trees: But what if I want it right now?]
Gu Yanqiu choked.
The person seated next to her who had just asked about her earlier cast a surprised glance in her direction.
Gu Yanqiu straightened up, sitting properly, and sent a message while glancing sideways at the screen: [West Gu: I don’t know either]
After checking it quickly to make sure there were no typos, she sent it.
[Two Trees: Can I handle it myself?]
Gu Yanqiu asked, genuinely surprised: [How would you do that?]
[Two Trees: Doesn’t home have the lingerie and underwear you’ve worn? And other things you’ve used. I still have your photos on my phone; I can just… use those, you know]
[West Gu: ……]
Lin Yuewei could practically imagine Gu Yanqiu’s wonderfully expressive face on the other end and couldn’t help laughing out loud.
A while later, Gu Yanqiu replied.
[West Gu: I thought about it, and that’s a little too much, but if you really want to, then do whatever]
Lin Yuewei rolled over on the bed laughing.
After she finished laughing, she lay on the pillow, grinning as she replied: [Then can I do a live broadcast for you?]
Live, live, live broadcast?
Gu Yanqiu stuttered in her mind.
[West Gu: How would you broadcast it?]
[Two Trees: Just a text live broadcast. What I say to myself when I’m doing it]
Gu Yanqiu seemed to have suffered quite a shock. Lin Yuewei waited a full five minutes this time before she finally got a reply.
[West Gu: If you want to, then go ahead and broadcast]
Gu Yanqiu didn’t dare admit that when she saw that message, a trace of excitement rose in her. A very shameful kind of excitement.
[Two Trees: Then I’m going to start broadcasting]
Gu Yanqiu held her breath.
[West Gu: Go ahead]
She focused on two things at once, staring straight ahead at the podium while occasionally checking the text live broadcast from her wife across the ocean.
Two minutes later, Lin Yuewei seemed to have prepared herself.
[Two Trees: Mm…]
Gu Yanqiu’s heart tightened too. A scene had already formed in her mind.
[Two Trees: Kiss my neck. Yes, right here, and my ear… baby…]
Gu Yanqiu decisively put the phone away in her pocket. Her chest rose and fell a little faster.
On Lin Yuewei’s end, she was soaking in the bathtub, and after text-broadcasting more than ten lines, she couldn’t keep going. She guessed Gu Yanqiu probably couldn’t keep watching either, so she ended the broadcast.
She scrolled back through every message in her chat history with Gu Yanqiu and shuddered all over.
Tch. She was so shameless even she couldn’t stand herself.
If Gu Yanqiu could occasionally prepare an appetizer, how could she lose? A full restorative tonic would be arranged immediately.
It was just that this soup was a little too heating.
Gu Yanqiu touched her burning ears and quietly waited for the meeting to end. After eating with the other attendees, she returned to the hotel where she was staying, took her phone out of her pocket, and looked at the chat interface full of suggestive text. She typed several times, but her gaze kept catching on those words, and she simply couldn’t concentrate.
She sent a long string of stickers, pushing those messages down, then steadied herself and prepared to say something serious.
A new message came in from the other side.
[Two Trees: I really can’t do it by myself [crying]]
Gu Yanqiu stiffened and took the topic up with difficulty. [How can you not?]
[Two Trees: I can’t get there]
Gu Yanqiu’s hand was almost shaking. [Can we stop talking about this for a bit?]
[Two Trees: But you still have so long before you’re back [so pitiful]]
[West Gu: Isn’t there only three days left?]
[Two Trees: Three days is so long [wailing]]
Ran Qingqing nudged Lin Yuewei’s shoulder. “What are you doing? Laughing like you’ve lost your mind; the whole sofa’s shaking.”
Lin Yuewei temporarily reined in her outrageous laughter and waved it off. “Chatting with your daughter-in-law. She’s just too funny.”
“She’s the son-in-law.”
“...Whatever you say.”
Gu Yanqiu, face red, coaxed Lin Yuewei, who wasn’t actually crying. The messages from Lin Yuewei became bolder and bolder, more and more explicit. Gu Yanqiu gritted her teeth and replied: [Bear with it a little longer. I’ll be back very soon]
[Two Trees: I am bearing with it. I’m about to burst. Especially after reading those comments online, it’s even worse]
[West Gu: What comments?]
[Two Trees: Those screaming netizens, all of them shouting that they can do it, they can do it. I really can do it too, but now I can’t either]
Lin Yuewei wanted to hear her voice, so she typed: [Are you free to take a call right now?]
Gu Yanqiu’s call came through the next second.
Lin Yuewei got up and took the phone to the side.
“Qiuqiu.” She copied Ran Qingqing and called her that.
“I’m here.” Gu Yanqiu actually answered too, and said, “My parents used to call me that too.”
“A nickname?”
“Something like that.”
“Then I’ll call you that from now on.”
“Okay.”
Lin Yuewei began acting in front of her. In a sorrowful tone, she said, “Qiuqiu, what should I do? I really miss you. I’ve been like this all night. If it goes on for another two or three nights, will I burn to death from desire?”
Gu Yanqiu was both nervous and shy. “No, you won’t. Don’t talk nonsense.”
Sure enough, voice chat was even funnier. Lin Yuewei kept teasing her. “Really, you don’t know how uncomfortable I feel.”
“How, how, how uncomfortable?”
“I’m about to catch fire.” Lin Yuewei exaggerated a bit.
“Huh?”
“You know, that hot feeling at the very end every time we do it.”
“It can’t be that bad, right?”
“It is.” Lin Yuewei said in a tone of unbearable suffering, “I’m really hot right now.”
“You have a fever?”
“No, I checked. My temperature’s normal.”
“Is it really that serious?”
“Yeah.”
Gu Yanqiu narrowed her eyes and said thoughtfully, “Weewei, I don’t think this is normal. Should you see a doctor?”
“……” Lin Yuewei ground her teeth; right now she wanted nothing more than to split Gu Yanqiu’s brain open and see what was in it.
Gu Yanqiu couldn’t hear her answer, and her tone immediately turned serious. “Really, don’t not believe me. From your description, this is beyond your usual normal behavior, and the text live broadcast too… you never did that before, and now you even started in broad daylight. I just looked it up online; there’s something called hypersexuality. Should you go to the hospital, or wait until I get back and I’ll go with you?”
Lin Yuewei: “……”
Gu Yanqiu: “Weewei?”
Lin Yuewei said through gritted teeth, “What Weewei? I’m fine!”
Gu Yanqiu: “Huh?”
Lin Yuewei: “Huh what? You think you’re so clever, looking things up on Google and everything.”
Gu Yanqiu: “I’m worried about you.”
Lin Yuewei: “Let’s talk about it when you get back.”
Gu Yanqiu: “What if it really is that illness? Won’t you have drained me dry by the time I get back?” Gu Yanqiu made what she thought was a humorous joke.
“……” Lin Yuewei was so angry she didn’t even know what to say, and went straight to: “I have something to do, I’m hanging up first.”
Gu Yanqiu listened to the busy tone from the other end, completely baffled.
Where had she upset her this time?
For the next three days, Lin Yuewei never flirted with Gu Yanqiu again. She obediently rested at home for a while. Over on Chen Xuan’s side, the audition time for Fatal Jade was set: next Monday, the second day after Gu Yanqiu returned to the country.
Lin Yuewei rarely got to go to the airport to pick up Gu Yanqiu.
She wore a mask and cap. At the terminal exit, she didn’t dare hold up a sign, and she didn’t even dare shout Gu Yanqiu’s name; who told Gu Yanqiu she was even more famous than her now? Gu Yanqiu wore a hoodie, baseball cap, oversized sunglasses, and a mask; she was wrapped up tightly from head to toe. If Lin Yuewei weren’t so familiar with her, she wouldn’t have dared to recognize her even when she walked right up.
Lin Yuewei stepped forward and hooked her arm through Gu Yanqiu’s. The two of them walked in silence all the way to the parking lot.
Only after getting into the car did Gu Yanqiu remove her disguise and let out a soft sigh.
Lin Yuewei sat in the driver’s seat, clicked her seat belt into place, and turned her head to look at her. “Tired?”
Gu Yanqiu nodded. “A little.”
Lin Yuewei grinned. “Nice and impressive. Last time you went to see Yin Lingxi, you told me you wanted to buy up all the airport billboards with my name on them, cover the ground with flowers, then stand in the middle of the heart-shaped flowers holding a sign with my name on it and shout, ‘Mom loves you.’ President Gu, do you still dare now?”
Gu Yanqiu laughed for a while and said, “I don’t dare anymore.”
Lin Yuewei laughed too and tipped her chin. “Drive safely and properly. Fasten your seat belt. We’re going home.”
Recently, Gu Yanqiu had apparently read something and said, “Hey, in novels, doesn’t the driver in my position usually fasten the other person’s seat belt? Then we’d look at each other and naturally start kissing.”
Lin Yuewei was amused. “You know those are novels, right? Only novels take such a big detour just to fasten a seat belt. It’s not practical at all. What if the person’s arms are short and they can’t reach? Wouldn’t that be awkward?”
Gu Yanqiu looked at her.
Lin Yuewei held her gaze for three seconds.
With a soft click, Lin Yuewei’s hand left the seat-belt slot. She leaned over, lifted her left arm around Gu Yanqiu’s right shoulder, pulled the seat belt from the door side, switched it to her right hand, and buckled it in. Her left hand pressed against the edge of the car window on Gu Yanqiu’s side.
Good thing her arms were long and nimble.
Lin Yuewei lowered her eyes.
Gu Yanqiu tilted her face up and closed her eyes.
Lin Yuewei parted her lips and took Gu Yanqiu’s mouth. It was only a light touch at first, then the tip of her tongue traced her lip line, not rushing to go deeper.
Gu Yanqiu lifted a hand to the back of her neck, while the other found Lin Yuewei’s right hand resting in the seat-belt slot, threading into her fingers and applying a little pressure at the base of them.
Gu Yanqiu had been a little alluring lately.
Lin Yuewei’s heart leapt upward with the movement of her fingers; her tongue followed into Gu Yanqiu’s already parted lips, deeply tasting her.
The atmosphere in the car kept heating up. It was impossible to tell whose breathing was more urgent, whose gasps were louder.
Lin Yuewei withdrew just in time and ended the long kiss.
Gu Yanqiu looked at her with dazed eyes, misty and soft.
Lin Yuewei took out two tissues, handing one to herself and one to Gu Yanqiu. “Mom’s still waiting for us to go home and eat.”
Gu Yanqiu wiped her mouth and gave a low, “Mm.”
Thinking of the “grudge” from three days ago, Lin Yuewei slowly backed the car out and said casually, “President Gu, I think being this thirsty in the car isn’t very normal either. Why don’t the two of us see a doctor together? What was that illness called again?”
Gu Yanqiu: “……”
This was normal desire! How could that be the same?
Over these few days, comparing Lin Yuewei’s reactions before and after, Gu Yanqiu had finally figured it out: Lin Yuewei was deliberately exaggerating to tease her, tricking her into taking it seriously and even looking up information online, only to make a fool of her again.
Gu Yanqiu said softly, “If you want to do text live broadcasts next time, just keep doing them. I promise I won’t overthink it.”
Lin Yuewei tapped open the navigation app on her phone, and the warm voice of the navigation assistant spoke out.
Lin Yuewei said, “If you don’t overthink it, then what am I broadcasting for? To entertain you?”
Gu Yanqiu blushed and, even softer, said, “That’s not what I meant.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Don’t ‘that’ and ‘this’ me. Just say whether you’d have a reaction if I broadcast for you.”
Gu Yanqiu nodded.
“Fine. Then I’ll keep broadcasting for you in the future.” Lin Yuewei smiled. For now, she’d leave it at that; when she got bored and thought of other tricks, she’d deal with it then.
“Can I ask you something?”
“What?”
Gu Yanqiu made a tiny plea. “Can you not choose to do it while I’m in a meeting?”
Lin Yuewei said matter-of-factly, “You can look at it after the meeting’s over. I didn’t force you to read it when I sent it.”
Gu Yanqiu murmured, “Then…”
Lin Yuewei glanced at her and was amused by that pitiful expression. She stopped teasing her and said seriously, “It won’t happen often. It’s just for fun. I still have to film; I don’t have that much time. Besides, when I broadcast for you, I also…”
She looked ahead at the road, both hands steady on the steering wheel, and her voice was so low it was almost inaudible. “…don’t exactly have an easy time either.” Especially when they were apart. She probably had to be looking for trouble if she went and live-broadcasted for Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu caught that last sentence.
She lowered her head and laughed softly.
Maybe… she should try live-broadcasting for Lin Yuewei next time too?
Gu Yanqiu’s brows slowly drew together.
That might not work. She barely made any noise when she did it; at most, when she couldn’t hold back at the end, she’d make a couple of soft sounds. She wasn’t as uninhibited as Lin Yuewei, and she could take it so openly and confidently. She was also proactive; she would guide Gu Yanqiu too, doing whatever felt best.
Gu Yanqiu thought with disappointment: That trick won’t work on me.
Ran Qingqing had waited and waited and finally got the two of them back home. The car was still far from the door when she came out, craning her neck to look.
“Why are you so late?”
Since they couldn’t admit they’d been delayed by flirting, Lin Yuewei put the suitcase against the wall and said, “There was a bit of traffic.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “It’s my fault for not choosing a better flight time.”
Ran Qingqing said, “How could that be your fault? It’s her driving that’s the problem.” She pointed at Lin Yuewei beside her.
Lin Yuewei was used to taking the blame and laughed. “Right, my driving’s not great.”
Gu Yanqiu couldn’t help but read into that. With layered meaning in her voice, she said, “No, it’s pretty good.”
Lin Yuewei shot her a flirtatious look.
Gu Yanqiu couldn’t help laughing.
Ran Qingqing got goosebumps and asked Lin Yuewei, “Why are you being so coquettish now?”
Lin Yuewei pinched up an orchid-finger pose and said in a shrill, affected voice, “I’ve always been coquettish; how much more manly do you want me to be?”
Ran Qingqing shuddered all over and went to the kitchen to check the soup, unable to stand it.
Lin Yuewei herself shuddered too, then turned and met Gu Yanqiu’s smiling eyes. She took advantage of the moment to lean into Gu Yanqiu’s arms and said in a sugary voice, “Wifey, do you like me like this?”
Gu Yanqiu was laughing so hard she couldn’t speak.
Lin Yuewei had had her fun and planted a quick kiss on her cheek, returning to her normal self. She strode into the kitchen and called out in full voice, “Mom, when are we eating?”
“Now. I’ll serve the soup; you go call Qiuqiu to eat.”
One foot in the kitchen and one foot out, Lin Yuewei leaned her head out conveniently. “Qiuqiu, dinner’s ready.”
Gu Yanqiu came over after washing her hands and helped carry the dishes. The three of them brought the food to the table one after another. Lin Yuewei took one look at the spread and clicked her tongue, then whispered to Gu Yanqiu, “When I came back that day, my mom only made me a bowl of shredded pork noodles, and that was even after I asked for it. Look at how differently you're treated.”
“You only know how to pick the bad parts. Didn’t Auntie make you delicious food every meal afterward?” Ran Qingqing came out just in time to hear her complaining about her.
“That was Auntie making it, not you.”
“Auntie was paid with my money.”
“You’re rich, so of course you’re amazing.”
Lin Yuewei pouted. Gu Yanqiu looked at her, then at Ran Qingqing, her eyes flickering.
After the meal, Lin Yuewei was assigned to clear the bowls and table. Gu Yanqiu and Ran Qingqing sat in the living room. Gu Yanqiu glanced toward the kitchen and lowered her voice to Ran Qingqing. “Mom.”
“Hm? What is it?” Ran Qingqing picked up a freshly cut pear and, with a toothpick, handed her the softest piece. “Have some fruit. This pear is really sweet.”
“Thank you, Mom.” Gu Yanqiu got to the point. “Mom, do you maybe treat Lin Yuewei a little…”
“Treat her a little what?”
Gu Yanqiu hesitated, then said, “A little differently. I know you’re good to me, but Weiwei is your biological daughter.” Ran Qingqing’s favoritism was obvious enough; but toward Lin Yuewei, she seemed… If it was because of her that Lin Yuewei had developed a bit of resentment toward Ran Qingqing, and if that led to a rift between mother and daughter, then the sin would be huge.
Ran Qingqing frowned. “What do you mean?”
Gu Yanqiu explained it plainly and seriously. “Mom, shouldn’t you be a little better to Weiwei?”
Ran Qingqing stared at her for a long moment before finally understanding what Gu Yanqiu meant. She seemed to have heard something absurd, and her expression even looked a bit comical.
Then Ran Qingqing couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Hahahahahaha.”
Gu Yanqiu: “???”
Ran Qingqing patted her shoulder, laughing until she couldn’t straighten up.
This was too funny. Ran Qingqing absolutely had to share it with Lin Yuewei. She called Lin Yuewei out loudly. Lin Yuewei had just wiped down the counter and was still wearing an apron, her hands wet. “What? What is it?”
Gu Yanqiu was starting to vaguely feel that she had just done something extremely ridiculous.
Ran Qingqing said, “I have a few questions for you. Answer seriously; it’s important.”
Lin Yuewei nodded. “Go ahead.”
Ran Qingqing asked, “Do I treat you badly?”
Lin Yuewei answered without even thinking, “No.”
Ran Qingqing asked again, “Do I treat you better, or do I treat Gu Yanqiu better?”
This time Lin Yuewei thought for a second. “About the same?”
Ran Qingqing continued, “Would you be unhappy if I treated her better than I treat you?”
Lin Yuewei answered immediately, “No. I’d be happy you were good to her.”
Ran Qingqing waved her hand like some old empress dowager. “You may go.”
“Yes, ma’am.” After answering, Lin Yuewei looked at the two women who were speaking in riddles and laughed. “What are you two doing?”
Gu Yanqiu’s face turned bright red.
Lin Yuewei became even more curious. “What exactly happened?”
Ran Qingqing made room for the young couple and strolled back to her bedroom leisurely. “I’m going back. You two chat slowly; keep the noise down.”
Lin Yuewei shouted after her retreating figure, “You old rascal, what kind of noise could we possibly make just talking?”
Ran Qingqing laughed out loud.
Lin Yuewei turned to Gu Yanqiu and asked gently, “What did you and Mom talk about? Why is she so happy?”
Gu Yanqiu was too embarrassed to say it and shook her head.
Lin Yuewei wiped her hands, lifted Gu Yanqiu’s chin, and kissed her flushed face. “If you won’t tell me now, you’re still going to have to tell me later when we go back to the room.”
Her kiss slid to Gu Yanqiu’s lips. “Tell me or not?”
Gu Yanqiu still shook her head.
“All right.” Lin Yuewei hadn’t finished cleaning the kitchen yet. Her fingers slipped down and pinched Gu Yanqiu’s slightly fleshy chin. “Then we’ll talk later. I’m going to finish cleaning up first. Do you want to go upstairs first, or stay with me?”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t dare meet her eyes and said softly, “I’ll stay with you.”
Lin Yuewei tossed out casually, “Kitchen play, huh?”
Gu Yanqiu immediately lifted her eyes to look at her, her gaze bright as snow.
Lin Yuewei, who had recently developed a whole new level of shamelessness, was looked at like that and even she couldn’t help blushing a little. “You get shy when we talk about other things; how come you get all fired up as soon as I mention this?”
Gu Yanqiu instantly switched into bashful mode.
Seeing her like that made Lin Yuewei itchy all over. Aside from the itch, there was one more question: why was Gu Yanqiu so submissive and so soft in everyday life, blushing at the slightest teasing, but once they were in bed, she became so dominant it was terrifying, pinning her down in the palm of her hand with ease?
Lin Yuewei looked at Gu Yanqiu for a long time.
After meeting her gaze, Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyes.
Lin Yuewei gritted her teeth silently. There it was again; who wouldn’t think Gu Yanqiu was the perfect seductive bottom?
Kitchen play was out of the question. If they were back at their own place, maybe. But with Ran Qingqing here, even if you gave Lin Yuewei ten times her courage, she still wouldn’t dare.
“All right.” Lin Yuewei laid the washed dishcloth on the counter. “Let’s go upstairs.”
Gu Yanqiu glanced at the marble countertop in front of her. For some reason, Lin Yuewei felt she caught a trace of regret in that glance.
Author’s note: And there goes the promised main plot and side-couple follow-up; instead, I ended up shamelessly sprinkling sugar all over the entire chapter…
TL Note:
Sprinkling sugar (撒糖) = showing sweet, romantic moments