Chapter 29

Lin Yuewei thought she’d have sweet dreams, so she ended up having a nightmare. When she thought she’d have a nightmare, the exact opposite happened.

Last night, Shao Yasi had drunk too much water before bed. In the middle of the night, she woke with a desperate need to pee. She curled up on the bed, clutching her bladder and rolling over twice, until she had no choice but to use her phone as a flashlight and go to the bathroom. After she washed her hands and came back feeling much lighter, she heard laughter from the bed across from hers.

Very soft laughter; the kind that came from a good dream, dazed and silly.

Shao Yasi covered part of the flashlight with her fingers and aimed it toward Lin Yuewei’s bed.

The next morning, Shao Yasi came out of the bathroom splashing water off her face and asked Lin Yuewei, “What did you dream about last night?”

Lin Yuewei was sitting on the edge of the bed packing her backpack. “Dream? I didn’t dream anything.”

She didn’t remember anything. When she woke up, she only felt refreshed, much more relaxed than usual.

Shao Yasi said, “You laughed for almost half an hour last night, and you were talking in your sleep.”

Lin Yuewei: “……”

Shao Yasi’s curiosity flared. “Hey, what exactly did you dream about? Don’t tell me it was—”

Lin Yuewei: “Don’t make things up.”

Shao Yasi said aggrievedly, “I haven’t even said anything yet.”

Lin Yuewei shook her backpack open and stood up, slinging it on. “Then don’t say anything. Hurry up and finish getting ready; we’re going to be late.”

Shao Yasi’s blazing curiosity was forcefully suppressed just like that, but she wasn’t about to give up. She kept pestering Lin Yuewei on the way to work, and only stopped talking about the dream after the fans had swarmed around them. She pouted.

A fan asked, “Shao Shao doesn’t seem very happy today.”

“No, no.” As she spoke, Shao Yasi glanced at Lin Yuewei.

Lin Yuewei raised an eyebrow. “Why are you looking at me?”

Shao Yasi and she exchanged a look; it said, Isn’t it because you won’t tell me the truth and have me all restless?

Lin Yuewei shot her a warning glare.

Shao Yasi immediately caved. “Nothing.”

The fans’ eyes lit up; cameras clicked nonstop.

As expected, Lin-Shao was the real thing! We’ve shipped the real deal!

***

The eighth replacement nib wasn’t as good as the ones before it. When Gu Yanqiu signed her name, the tip dragged across the paper so badly that she almost tore through the A4 sheet.

Lin Zhi knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Gu Yanqiu said.

Lin Zhi came in carrying a box of ballpoint pens and black refills. “Ms. Gu, I bought what you asked for.”

Gu Yanqiu put the fountain pen away in her drawer. To prolong its life, she decided she’d use an ordinary pen every morning while watching the video of her commute to work.

“Leave it there.”

“Okay.”

Just after Gu Yanqiu switched to a ballpoint pen, she tested the unfamiliar but oddly familiar feel by pulling out a sheet of white paper and writing on it. Before Lin Zhi backed out of the office, he glanced at the paper and saw, stark and unmistakable, a single character: “Lin.”

Lin Zhi: “……”

Fandom makes people crazy; even a fairy can’t avoid it. In his opinion, Gu Yanqiu was practically losing her mind. She was so immersed in the role of a jealous girlfriend that as long as Lin Yuewei had even the slightest physical contact with Shao Yasi, Gu Yanqiu would get furious. Right now it was only a female celebrity—no, a civilian—being paired up in a niche fandom. If she was this mad already, what would happen when Lin Yuewei got famous and scandal rumors with male celebrities flooded the internet, with her name trending every day? Would Gu Yanqiu be driven to suicide? Or murder?

Too terrifying.

Lin Zhi felt that his boss was a little abnormal. He wondered whether he should tactfully remind her not to get too emotionally invested; after all, the other party was just an idol who had no real connection to her. Oh, they’d played a game together once—so what? She wasn’t even that popular yet, so having some interaction was normal. Once she became a flying star, she’d be surrounded by bodyguards wherever she went; there would be no chance at all. It wasn’t a novel. In novels, the people who ended up with celebrities were either other celebrities or the sons and daughters of rich families. Gu Yanqiu was just a company manager; could her methods reach the heavens?

Sigh. The more Lin Zhi thought about it, the more worried he became. Rarely loafing on company time, he sent a message to his experienced girlfriend.

[My boss has been really off lately]

His girlfriend asked: [How off?]

The blinds weren’t closed properly today. Through the gap, Lin Zhi saw the blurred figure moving inside and mentally pictured Gu Yanqiu locking herself in her office and pacing around in anxious madness. Horrified, he typed: [Off in every way. When you chase stars, do you ever imagine the celebrity as your boyfriend or girlfriend? I don’t mean ordinary fantasy; I mean genuinely projecting yourself onto them, getting furious when you see them interacting closely with someone else. I mean getting so, so angry]

His girlfriend said: [Yes, and if they really announce a relationship, I’d stop stanning them]

Lin Zhi felt they weren’t talking about the same thing, so he laboriously explained Gu Yanqiu’s current state.

His girlfriend’s opinion was roughly the same as his. She said: [It is a little serious. Maybe you should give her a tactful reminder. Don’t say it too bluntly; you still have to keep working for her]

Backed by his girlfriend’s support, Lin Zhi immediately felt emboldened and started making plans based on her advice.

At ten in the morning, Gu Yanqiu went to a meeting room for a conference. Lin Zhi didn’t need to follow her, and by the time he came back it was already time to get off work. Most of the people in the office had left, and Lin Zhi was no exception.

He didn’t think much of it, ordered takeout, and while waiting for it, reviewed the meeting notes and considered the projects they would be starting next.

“Ms. Gu.” There was a knock at the already open door, and Lin Zhi’s smiling face appeared in the doorway, especially radiant.

“Mm?” Gu Yanqiu said.

“I’ve got something I want to ask you. May I come in?” Lin Zhi was holding something that looked like a rolled-up poster.

“Come in.”

Lin Zhi unrolled the thing in his hands. Sure enough, it was a poster; more specifically, a poster of a female celebrity. In the upper left corner was the actress’s surname: Guan. Gu Yanqiu had gone abroad when she was young; she hadn’t paid much attention to the entertainment industry even before that, and after studying overseas she knew nothing about the newcomers of recent years.

Lin Zhi asked, “Is she pretty?”

Gu Yanqiu studied the actress’s features carefully and nodded. “Pretty.”

Lin Zhi said, “I’ve also got a fan edit of her.”

Without caring about Gu Yanqiu’s puzzled expression, he opened a mixed-edit MV he’d prepared in advance on his phone and held it in front of her. Gu Yanqiu was a little cold, but she was usually easy to get along with. Lin Zhi was her secretary, and it wasn’t working hours now, so she went along with him.

The MV was edited extremely well, very striking; the actress surnamed Guan was gorgeous enough to topple kingdoms.

Lin Zhi watched Gu Yanqiu. “What do you think?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “Good.” Then she used one finger to push Lin Zhi’s hand aside and said, “Is this the celebrity you like recently? Didn’t you say your girlfriend would get jealous? And yet you’re still stanning people.”

“It’s not that,” Lin Zhi said. “I’m showing this to you.”

This actress had won the dual approval of Lin Zhi, the straight-man representative, and his girlfriend, who liked anyone pretty. Online, she was universally recognized as the most beautiful rising star. Lin Yuewei’s first selling point had been her looks; the actress surnamed Guan was no less beautiful than Lin Yuewei, and with celebrity packaging, her aura was even different.

Lin Zhi smiled. “I thought you seemed to like beautiful actresses. This one’s an actress, surname Guan, called Guan—”

“Wait.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not interested.” Gu Yanqiu put on a stern face and said seriously, “You don’t need to cater to my preferences. Just do your work properly; your work attitude matters more than anything.”

Lin Zhi: “……”

Gu Yanqiu: “This is the first and last time. Get out.”

Lin Zhi left and sat in his office chair, feeling wronged enough to turn into a ball.

Gu Yanqiu pinched the bridge of her nose. Lin Zhi had been infected by the company’s bad atmosphere too. Tianrui looked glamorous on the surface, but the atmosphere inside was honestly hard to praise. Flattery had become more important than hard work; people got promoted as long as they had a good relationship with their superiors. Departments were bloated with useless staff, too big and unwieldy, and no one knew how many idle people they were supporting.

Gu Yanqiu’s department was one of the clearest examples. Her predecessor had resigned, leaving a huge mess behind. When Gu Yanqiu had first joined the company, the people under her had been itching to make trouble, but after a warning from her, they had barely settled down. Gu Yanqiu intended to cut staff, but the larger the company, the more complicated the procedures. Plenty of the people idling around in her department had been shoved in through connections, and if she wanted to move anyone, she’d have to consider who was backing them. It was a real headache.

Lin Zhi still didn’t know he’d meant well and done the wrong thing. His impression in Gu Yanqiu’s eyes had taken a serious hit.

After that, Gu Yanqiu’s attitude toward him became noticeably colder, and she even stopped asking him about the star-chasing business. Lin Zhi panicked. He didn’t know what he’d done wrong. One afternoon, after everyone else had left work, he went into Gu Yanqiu’s office and spoke to her frankly.

After hearing what he’d been thinking, Gu Yanqiu’s expression turned subtle for a full ten seconds. Then, in bafflement, she said, “What, has this affected my normal life? Or my daily work?”

Lin Zhi lowered his head and answered honestly, “No.”

Lin Zhi had disappointed Gu Yanqiu for days. Every time she thought about it, she felt a tight blockage in her chest. Now that the truth was out, she got angry again. She yanked a ballpoint pen out of the pen holder and threw it at Lin Zhi, cursing, “You’re fussing over things that have nothing to do with you.”

“I was wrong.” Lin Zhi picked up the pen and put it back in the holder for her.

Gu Yanqiu pointed at the door. “Get off work now.”

Lin Zhi sneaked a glance up at her; seeing what seemed to be a smile on her face, he tucked his tail between his legs and fled. Even when he reached the door, he looked back and said, “Ms. Gu, you’re magnanimous. If I ever get the chance, I’ll definitely repay you.”

Gu Yanqiu said darkly, “If you show me any more indecent junk—”

Lin Zhi said, “Absolutely not. You only love Lin Yuewei, I get it. Unwavering devotion.”

Gu Yanqiu threw another ballpoint pen at the door panel, and Lin Zhi vanished without a trace.

Gu Yanqiu stood up, walked to the door, and picked up the pen. Opening the cap, she bent over her desk and wrote down several names she knew by heart; they were all the people currently in the department who took money and did nothing.

Resting her chin on one hand, Gu Yanqiu stared blankly at those names.

She hadn’t taken Lin Zhi’s promise to repay her seriously; she’d heard it and forgotten it. She hadn’t expected his repayment to come so quickly, or to suit her wishes so perfectly.

Even if it had been a deliberate attempt to curry favor, Gu Yanqiu had to admit it had landed right in the middle of her heart.

That Friday, Gu Yanqiu had to go with the company leadership to the broadcasting center to discuss placing an advertisement for their product, and naturally Lin Zhi had to go too. While arranging the itinerary, he looked at the address and felt a strange sense of familiarity.

Gu Yanqiu noticed him frowning and asked lightly, “What is it?”

“I remember now.” Lin Zhi suddenly widened his eyes and said excitedly, “My girlfriend told me a few days ago that Lin Yuewei has a magazine interview booked for this Friday. That magazine is under the broadcasting center too, and the address is exactly the same as ours.”

Author’s Note:

Gu Yanqiu: Why didn’t you say so earlier? I haven’t even bought a new outfit! I’m going to buy one right now!

In the next chapter, they run into each other by accident again. Next episode preview: Can Miss Gu get a kiss?