Chapter 32

“Do you think you look like a wife checking whether her husband is cheating?”

Lin Yuewei: “……”

Jiang Congbi paused for two seconds. Seeing no sign that Lin Yuewei was about to blow up, she got bolder and teased her again. “Come on, haven’t you realized? A wife goes out of town to make a living and leaves behind her gorgeous newlywed husband at home. Worried he’ll start fooling around, she asks a friend to confirm whether he’s been spotted coming and going from some place or other.”

Lin Yuewei: “...I’m hanging up.”

Jiang Congbi: “Hey.”

Beep, beep, beep——

Jiang Congbi laughed at the phone after the call ended. She planted her toes on the floor, shoved the office chair hard, spun around once, then sat back down and cheerfully started looking for someone to check.

It wasn’t a secret; plenty of people in Gu Yanqiu’s department knew where she had gone. Jiang Congbi had a lot of friends, and after the news had gone around a few times, she found out that Gu Yanqiu had indeed gone to the Broadcasting Center that morning and hadn’t returned to the company at noon.

Jiang Congbi played a little trick and held off on telling Lin Yuewei right away, planning to wait until Lin Yuewei came asking again on her own, or else wait a day or two and pretend she’d only just found out.

Lin Yuewei left the Broadcasting Center for H City after lunch. The drive took several hours; she dozed for two of them and spent the rest studying the lines for the new script. Only the last two episodes of the show were left.

She was completely focused on work. Jiang Congbi waited and waited but never got another call asking, and in the end she grew impatient herself and told her.

“Oh.” Lin Yuewei said coolly, “Got it. I’m going back to rehearsal now.”

“Just like that?”

“What else did you want?”

“You sounded so worked up when you called me about Gu Yanqiu’s whereabouts, like you thought she was cheating on you...”

“Hold on.” Lin Yuewei realized she was twisting the facts. “When was I ever worked up? When did I suspect her of cheating?” She glanced at the other contestants rehearsing a new scene, took a few more steps away, and lowered her voice. “Jiang Congbi, are you getting itchy? Haven’t been beaten in three days and now you think you can climb onto the roof and rip the tiles off?”

Lin Yuewei didn’t usually hit people, and she rarely said things like that either.

Jiang Congbi found it immensely entertaining. “Aha, so you’re embarrassed because I saw through you?”

“...” Lin Yuewei had no words left for her.

Looking at the phone screen after the call ended, Jiang Congbi wore a smug smile. Lately she’d been getting hung up on a lot. Every time Gu Yanqiu came up, Lin Yuewei would hang up; her quick tongue seemed to shut down all at once.

Considering that she was still effectively “in prison,” Jiang Congbi decided to let her off for now. Once she debuted, she’d surely get a few days off. By then... heh heh.

Lin Yuewei tossed the phone back into her bag and went into the rehearsal hall.

***

Lin Yuewei shook her groggy head and focused her gaze on Shao Yasi’s face, which was close enough to touch. Shao Yasi reached out toward her forehead and asked, “Are you okay? Why do you look so terrible?”

“I’m fine.”

“Hiss, why are you so hot?” Shao Yasi pulled her aside and said, “You’ve got a fever.”

“How could that be? It’s not winter.”

“Feel for yourself?” Shao Yasi took her hand and pressed it to her own forehead.

Lin Yuewei did so; sure enough, the temperature was unusually high. She had only felt unwell and a little dizzy. She’d thought it was because she’d been too busy lately; she hadn’t expected to be sick.

She still wanted to keep rehearsing. The live broadcast for the grand finale was in three days; she didn’t have much time left. They were already working overtime, and her fundamentals weren’t as solid as someone like Shao Yasi, who came from a formal background. How could she afford to waste time?

Shao Yasi tried to persuade her, but Lin Yuewei refused to listen. Shao Yasi said, “Wait here.”

She used a method every student knew well from school days and called for the teacher. Lin Yuewei had no choice but to be sent back to rest.

Lin Yuewei took fever medicine and lay down on the dormitory bed. The air conditioner blew hard overhead; she was alone in the room, and the only sounds were her occasional muffled coughs.

Once the medicine kicked in, Lin Yuewei closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she woke, it was already afternoon. A sliver of pale light came through the window, and the glass separated the hot air outside from the cool dorm room. Lin Yuewei’s eyelashes trembled; her body was still heavy, and a fine sheen of sweat clouded her vision, making everything in front of her flicker in a hazy blur.

A slightly cool palm covered her forehead, and a familiar voice said, “How did you suddenly get a fever? Are you too tired?”

Lin Yuewei jolted. If her body hadn’t been as heavy as lead, she would have sat straight up on the spot. Instead, she propped herself up on one elbow and shrank back toward the corner of the bed, squinting at the person in front of her. “How are you here?”

She looked toward the door again; the dormitory door was firmly shut.

Gu Yanqiu was holding a towel. Lin Yuewei touched her own forehead; it was damp and cool, no doubt just taken off her. Gu Yanqiu ignored the question and went into the bathroom with the towel. From the sound of it, she was washing it; a little while later, she came back out.

There was no smile on her face, nor any other expression. Her features were calm and composed as she walked up, bent down, and reached out.

Lin Yuewei turned her head away, avoiding the towel she brought toward her. Gu Yanqiu tilted her head slightly, a small smile curving at the corner of her mouth. “Don’t make trouble.”

Lin Yuewei heard a hint of unnatural gentleness in her tone; goosebumps rose all over her instantly, and her heavy body didn’t feel heavy at all anymore. She sat up and asked, “How are you here?”

“I’m here, aren’t I? What’s with all the why?”

“You...”

“Be good.”

Her voice was soft and light, yet carried an undeniable pressure. Lin Yuewei froze, and only reacted after the towel pressed to her forehead. The bed was too small, so she simply jumped down. “Gu Yanqiu.”

“Yes.”

Lin Yuewei looked at her warily as if facing a snake or scorpion. “How exactly did you get in here?”

“Didn’t I say it? I just came in.” Gu Yanqiu smiled.

“Is anyone there? Someone’s trespassing here——” Lin Yuewei somehow found her voice and shouted out the door.

Gu Yanqiu sighed.

Lin Yuewei pointed at the doorway. “We’ve got security here. You’d better leave right now.”

Gu Yanqiu asked, “Why should I leave?”

Lin Yuewei said, “Hey, you came in without permission. Why wouldn’t you leave? You want security to haul you off to the police station and make you happy, is that it?”

Gu Yanqiu wore a puzzled expression. “When did I trespass? Isn’t this my home?”

Lin Yuewei: “!!!”

Her eyes flew wide open, and when she looked again, it was no longer that cramped dormitory. It was spacious and bright, and the bed beside her had changed from a ninety-centimeter single bed to a two-meter-wide bed.

“You were sick over there, and it was pretty serious, so the production team sent you home.”

“No.” Lin Yuewei blurted instinctively.

“What’s wrong?”

“How would they know I live here?”

“I came to pick you up.”

Lin Yuewei: “...” What the hell?

Her mind was getting foggier and foggier, and her vision more and more blurred. She felt like something was wrong, her feet floating beneath her so that she could hardly stand steady.

A soft, warm arm wrapped around her waist, then drew her whole body into an embrace and guided her toward the bed. Gu Yanqiu said gently, “Rest well. Don’t keep thinking about nonsense.”

Lin Yuewei dug her fingers into Gu Yanqiu’s arm. Gu Yanqiu didn’t even change expression. Lin Yuewei shoved her hard, and Gu Yanqiu fell backward...

Sweat soaked Lin Yuewei’s hair as she woke with a gasp.

The bed board of the upper bunk was right in front of her. Of course it was a dream. What kind of nonsense had she dreamed up?

She swallowed against her dry throat. The sun had already shifted westward, and orange-gold light streamed in through the blinds.

After sweating through the night, Lin Yuewei felt much fresher. She threw off the blanket, got out of bed, and took out her pajamas, planning to take a shower. But when she reached the bathroom door, she stopped and glanced back nervously, afraid Gu Yanqiu might suddenly emerge from the room.

Maybe people were more fragile psychologically when they were sick. Lin Yuewei sat on the bed, unable to muster any energy. She knew she should go rehearse, but there was always a voice in her head urging her to rest a little longer.

She wrapped herself in the blanket and picked up her phone to call her mother. She’d already decided that if no one answered after two rings, she’d send a message saying she’d dialed the wrong number.

Her mother answered after one ring.

“Hello.”

“I dialed the wrong number.” Lin Yuewei blurted it out immediately.

Lin’s mother gave a cold snort. “If you dialed the wrong number, why didn’t you hang up?”

Lin Yuewei rubbed at the blanket beneath her with her fingers and said nothing.

“I know you too well.” Lin’s mother sounded triumphant; then came the sarcasm. “Didn’t you say whoever contacts the other first is a dog? So who’s the dog now?”

“It’s me.” Lin Yuewei sniffled and said hoarsely, “Mom, I’m sick.”

“Serves you right. That’s what you get for not listening to me. Did you take your medicine?”

“Yes.”

“Drink more hot water,” Lin’s mother said.

“Mom, why are you so straight-man about this?”

“Straight-man? Your mother is a bona fide straight woman. Otherwise where would you have come from? Telling you to drink more hot water is already generous enough; what, you want a carriage and horses too? Just honestly listen to me, that’s better than anything else. I think you’re just worn out. You’re a perfectly good young lady from a wealthy family; why insist on putting yourself through all that suffering?”

Although Lin’s mother didn’t approve of her entering the entertainment industry, she was still her biological daughter. No one knew her movements better. She even had access to all of Lin Yuewei’s schedules, so of course she knew how busy she was. And the comeback photos made her look more haggard one after another, which broke her heart.

Lin Yuewei knew her mother had a sharp tongue and a soft heart, so she acted spoiled. “Aren’t there only a few more days left until it’s over? I’ll be home soon.”

Lin’s mother snorted. “May you absolutely not debut.”

Lin Yuewei: “Mom—”

Lin’s mother: “Don’t ‘Mom’ me. That’s my attitude. Work yourself to death if you want; it won’t tire me out.”

Lin Yuewei was thick-skinned and already immune to this. She grinned shamelessly. “I’ll drink more hot water. Don’t worry about me.”

Lin’s mother said, “Who’s worrying about you—utter nonsense.”

“I’m worrying about myself, then, okay?” Lin Yuewei was a little afraid of her mother; she couldn’t win a verbal fight. Remembering what her mother had secretly done, she couldn’t help saying, “Thanks, Mom.”

Lin’s mother was baffled by the thanks. “Thank me for what?”

Lin Yuewei clicked her tongue. “If I said it, you definitely wouldn’t admit it; why ask?” She was acting so stubbornly cute it was ridiculous.

Lin’s mother: “No, if you don’t say it, how would I know I wouldn’t admit it?”

“Then I’ll say it.”

“Go on.”

Lin Yuewei got chatting with her mother and felt much better. The idea of quietly repaying her mother as she’d originally planned was pushed to the back of her mind; she said smugly, almost like she was showing off, “About the water army company you hired for me. To avoid being recognized, you even said your surname was Lin. Why use your husband’s surname for something like that? You could’ve made up anything. Zhang, Wang, anything. But Lin? I guessed it was you right away.”

Lin’s mother flatly denied it. “It wasn’t me.”

She hadn’t done such a thing at all; she hadn’t even casually told the production team to look after Lin Yuewei more carefully. How could she have gone to such lengths to hire a water army for her?

Lin Yuewei didn’t believe her. “See, I knew you wouldn’t admit it.”

Lin’s mother said, “It really wasn’t me. If I had money, wouldn’t I buy myself a bag? Have the people of Africa already prospered and grown strong, or has the country already moved toward communism? Why would it ever come down to spending money on you? Who do you think you are?”

Lin Yuewei’s face darkened. “Mom, if you’re not admitting it, you don’t have to mock me like this, do you? Am I really your biological daughter?”

“If I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it. Stop trying to pin a high hat on my head.”

“But this is a good thing.”

“Even if it’s a good thing, I don’t want it. Who knows whether you’ve got some hidden scheme.” Lin’s mother’s denial was extremely firm.

“Then was it Dad?” Since she was so certain, Lin Yuewei’s own confidence began to waver. Had her original guess been wrong?

“Your dad didn’t do it either.”

“Then who was it?” Lin Yuewei was completely lost.

“You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?”

“Jiang Congbi told me it was a woman with the surname Lin.”

“There are plenty of women surnamed Lin in this world; they can’t all be your mother. Besides, you said it might be an alias. Maybe she originally had the surname Zhang or Wang and thought Wang sounded nicer,” Lin’s mother said. “Oh, right, isn’t your surname Lin? That person could even be trying to frame you by buying the water army for yourself.”

Lin Yuewei: “...”

Lin’s mother sighed. “You really need to be more careful.”

Lin Yuewei said meekly, “Mom, I know I was wrong.”

Lin’s mother said, “With your brain, it’s a miracle you’ve made it this far.”

Lin Yuewei angrily threatened to hang up, and Lin’s mother hung up even faster than she did, not lingering for a second.

Lin Yuewei: “...”

She lay back down and started thinking again about the person who had bought her the water army. Surnamed Lin... no, not necessarily Lin; it could have been some other surname. Either they had another purpose, or they were truly a fan. Fans these days were unbelievable; they could even hire a water army company.

There was too little information. Lin Yuewei didn’t waste brain cells on it. She still had time to investigate slowly after the show ended.

When Shao Yasi saw Lin Yuewei in the rehearsal hall, she was startled. “Why are you back again?”

Lin Yuewei smiled. “What, not welcome?”

“Welcome, welcome.” Shao Yasi smiled and touched her forehead. It was still a little hot. “Your fever...”

Lin Yuewei put her hands together and gave her a helpless little bow, cutting her off. “It’s mostly gone. Can you please stop reporting me to the teacher?”

Shao Yasi had no way of dealing with her. “Fine, fine. If you feel bad, you have to tell me.”

“Definitely.”

Just like that, Lin Yuewei plunged back into rehearsal. There were fewer than three days left until the grand finale of Actor Trainees. Three days later, the fate of some of the people on that stage might change beyond recognition; just thinking about it was enough to make one’s blood boil. What did a little low fever amount to?

***

At the beginning of July, the phenomenon-level variety show Actor Trainees, which had drawn everyone’s attention, finally arrived at the moment the whole world had been waiting for. At the live finale, ten trainees would be selected and officially debut as actors.

Gu Yanqiu spent a high price buying two tickets from someone else. She was used to going out with Lin Zhi. Final tickets were especially hard to get, and the resale prices were outrageous; Lin Zhi’s experienced fangirl girlfriend hadn’t even managed to get one, so the Lin Zhi who came with Gu Yanqiu, benefiting from her light, was even beaten by his girlfriend for it.

The finale was on Saturday. On Friday night, Gu Yanqiu took Lin Zhi with her on the high-speed rail to H City and stayed one night at a local hotel. The next day they went early to queue. It was Gu Yanqiu’s first time at a live recording, and she didn’t know any of the tricks and hidden complications inside. They stood in line from morning until three in the afternoon before they finally began verifying identities and entering the venue one after another. They couldn’t bring water or food, and phones had to be surrendered. They stood there for a full five or six hours, almost like the night she had waited for Lin Yuewei to finish work.

Gu Yanqiu’s looks were outstanding, and Lin Zhi was tall, long-legged, and fairly handsome, so they drew a lot of attention. They both looked like first-timers at an event like this, and before long someone came up to talk to them.

“Who are you guys fans of?”

Gu Yanqiu looked at Lin Zhi, and Lin Zhi answered, “Lin Yuewei.”

The person gave them a very disdainful look and walked away.

Lin Zhi: “???” Damn, that temper of his.

He turned his head. “Ms. Gu...”

Gu Yanqiu said, “Forget it.”

She hadn’t expected to encounter people targeting Lin Yuewei even at the venue. Gu Yanqiu had thought some people were only vicious online and would at least keep up a pretense of decency in real life. It seemed she had underestimated them.

Gu Yanqiu said, “If a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back?”

Lin Zhi joked, “I could just hit it back with a stick.” He flexed the muscles in his arm; they were firm and strong.

Gu Yanqiu said flatly, “I think you’re just asking to be thrown out by security.”

Lin Zhi laughed.

Gu Yanqiu looked around and said, “These people here seem to be organized into groups. Go ask where Lin Yuewei’s fan group is; we’ll stand there. We can cheer together during the live broadcast tonight.”

“Okay.”

Lin Zhi took a couple of steps away, then turned back and stretched out his hand. “I’ll hold onto you. If we get separated, we won’t be able to find each other. Sleeve.”

Through her clothes, Lin Zhi held onto Gu Yanqiu’s wrist and kept saying, “Excuse us, excuse us,” as they headed toward every little cluster of people. There were twenty male and female contestants in the final, which showed how mixed the fan groups inside were.

They were also unlucky. They asked three or four groups in a row, and none of them were Lin Yuewei’s fans. Gu Yanqiu asked a girl, “Then do you know where the reeds are?”

Reeds was Lin Yuewei’s fandom name.

After saying the name, Gu Yanqiu paused, and her lips curved slightly before she could stop herself. It happened to be the same as her game friend’s screen name.

The girl actually did know. She pointed in a direction. “I think they’re over there.”

Gu Yanqiu confirmed it, then took Lin Zhi by the back of the hand and led him over.

The closer they got, the wider Lin Zhi’s eyes grew. In a low voice he said, “Ms. Gu, Lin Yuewei’s fans are all so good-looking. There are so many pretty girls.”

Gu Yanqiu said, “I think you want your girlfriend to beat you again.”

Lin Zhi hurriedly looked straight ahead and put on a serious display of loyalty to his girlfriend.

It wasn’t quite as exaggerated as Lin Zhi said, but Lin Yuewei’s fan group did visibly have a higher average level of looks than the other fandoms, especially the women; they were all beauties, tall and long-legged. The moment Gu Yanqiu walked in, she single-handedly pushed the overall appearance level even higher.

“Wow, miss, are you a reed too?” a fan came over to greet her.

Gu Yanqiu nodded.

Today she wore casual clothes: wide-leg pants, a batwing top, and a bucket hat. She had light makeup on; her features were delicate, and her skin was so fair it seemed to glow. Immediately, several people crowded around her, eyes shining as they sized her up. Lin Zhi sidestepped and shielded Gu Yanqiu behind him.

A bold girl sighed, “Taken already? What a loss.”

Gu Yanqiu: “...”

Lin Zhi: “I..."

Gu Yanqiu tugged at Lin Zhi’s sleeve, and Lin Zhi understood. He temporarily took on the role of her boyfriend. Gu Yanqiu could tell from the way the people around them looked her over that some of them probably had other intentions, just like hers toward Lin Yuewei. Better to avoid trouble than invite it.

The internet said Lin Yuewei had attracted a lot of lesbian fans. Now that she’d seen it for herself, the rumors were well-founded. After this finale, there was probably going to be a couple formed right there in the venue.

While they were sizing Gu Yanqiu up, Gu Yanqiu also took a few more looks at the crowd. She slipped into the fan group, and someone handed her a hand banner of Lin Yuewei. Gu Yanqiu accepted it and passed it to Lin Zhi.

Lin Zhi stood beside her with a slight smile, acting the part of a model boyfriend.

The person teased them again, saying they were a perfect match and wishing them everlasting happiness.

Only Gu Yanqiu knew that she didn’t want Lin Yuewei to possibly see her in the audience holding up her banner and get startled.

Bound by three rules, Gu Yanqiu found her hands tied. For a moment, she actually didn’t know where to begin. She could only watch in silence and look for opportunities to see Lin Yuewei more often.

Worried, she lowered her eyes; then, out of nowhere, a voice sounded in her ear.

“Isn’t this Ms. Gu? You came too?”

Gu Yanqiu looked up and met a bright, smiling face.

“Sister Jiang knows her?” the girl beside her asked with a giggle.

“Stop calling me Sister Jiang. Just call me by my name.” Jiang Congbi poked the girl’s forehead with a finger. “You don’t know her? She’s the guest who did the onstage interaction game with Yuewei last time.”

Jiang Congbi had not only been helping Lin Yuewei operate behind the scenes, but later in the show’s run she also entered the fray in person, spending money like water. Within a single month, she had become one of the big names in the reeds fandom. Once fan leader Jiang Congbi spoke, everyone recognized her.

“So it was her.”

“I didn’t recognize her because she changed her hairstyle.”

“She’s so pretty and I still didn’t recognize her; I’m guilty.”

Someone raised a question. “Wait, didn’t they say last time she was just passing by? She wasn’t a fan. But just now she said she was Yuewei’s fan.”

Jiang Congbi took the trouble to help Gu Yanqiu out. “What’s wrong with someone changing fandoms? Even our Yuewei can turn black fans into loyal stans; a mere passerby is nothing.”

Everyone laughed and joked together.

Jiang Congbi hadn’t expected to run into Gu Yanqiu here. For her, it was an unexpected delight; however, there were too many eyes and ears around, so she couldn’t pull Gu Yanqiu aside for a private conversation. She only moved a few steps away from the other fans. Lin Zhi was still standing there like a post beside Gu Yanqiu; Jiang Congbi made eye contact with him several times, but he didn’t react at all. If Gu Yanqiu didn’t give the word, he wouldn’t move.

Jiang Congbi gave up and turned to Gu Yanqiu with a smile. “Didn’t expect to run into you here.”

Gu Yanqiu hadn’t expected to run into someone she knew either. The tips of her ears were hot, and she felt as though the little thoughts she’d been hiding were about to be seen through by this best friend of Lin Yuewei’s, who was three years younger than her. She said, “A friend gave me two tickets.”

Jiang Congbi gave a meaningful “oh” and deliberately asked, “What friend gave you the tickets?”

Gu Yanqiu kept a straight face. “Someone Miss Jiang doesn’t know.”

Jiang Congbi brought up the very thing that touched a raw nerve. “I watched that interaction-game video from last time. When did Ms. Gu become a fan?”

Gu Yanqiu coughed. “A while ago.”

Jiang Congbi tilted her head and looked at her. If Gu Yanqiu was avoiding the question now, that meant she was guilty; so Jiang Congbi looked her straight in the eye. “What is Miss Jiang looking at?”

“Nothing.” Jiang Congbi suddenly said, “I was looking at your boyfriend. He’s pretty handsome.”

Gu Yanqiu lowered her voice. “Miss Jiang is joking.”

“Ah, so I misunderstood.” Good thing he wasn’t her boyfriend. Jiang Congbi thought to herself; otherwise her stubborn, dead-duck-mouth best friend would probably cry herself silly in bed.

“We really do seem to have a lot of fate between us,” Jiang Congbi said.

“We do,” Gu Yanqiu replied. If she meant running into each other here, then yes.

“Liking the same person.” Jiang Congbi lifted the hand banner in her hand; it bore Lin Yuewei’s portrait and name.

Gu Yanqiu’s heart gave a hard thump. She couldn’t tell what Jiang Congbi meant and stayed silent.

Jiang Congbi smiled and continued, “Although your liking is the liking of a fan; or rather, a polite sort of liking, while mine is the liking of a best friend.”

Gu Yanqiu’s heart settled back down from her throat into her stomach.

Lin Zhi, who had caught a bit of the conversation from the side, was first shocked that this Ms. Jiang, the fan leader, was actually Lin Yuewei’s best friend. When had his boss met her best friend? Then he started mentally complaining about the way she’d described fan liking. His boss’s feelings were not ordinary fan feelings, and certainly not some polite, cursory liking; it was the insane devotion of a girlfriend fan, the kind that wanted to marry the person and have children with her, with the names of the children already picked out.

Lin Zhi suddenly caught his breath. He thought of something crucial. Since Gu Yanqiu knew Lin Yuewei’s best friend, she could totally meet Lin Yuewei through her. Then, using her own looks and figure, she could build up a presence bit by bit. And if they happened to click... following that line of thought, turning an idol into a wife was entirely possible.

Lin Zhi: “!!!”

He was the one who was actually going to ship something real!!!

Author’s note: Congratulations to Lin Zhi for becoming the CP fan leader of Lin and Gu. This time, it’s really going to become real ╰(*°▽°*)╯

Tomorrow the survival show will be over, and then they can do this and that, and that and this ╰(*°▽°*)╯