Chapter 40
“Ran Qingqing!”
A thunderous shout came from upstairs.
Lin Mom looked up from the sofa. “What’s all this disrespect? What are you yelling about?”
“Are you—” Lin Yuewei rattled off a string of words so fast that Lin Mom could only catch fragments. Annoyed, her mother cut her off. “Come downstairs and say it. What are you muttering up there for? Do you think you’re a pigeon? It’s only a few steps; you’re not going to die from walking.”
Lin Yuewei came downstairs with her phone in hand and accused her mother of her “crime.” “How can you post something like that to Moments without asking me first?!”
Seeing how indignant she was, Lin Mom thought something serious had happened and took the phone to look. “…”
She beckoned to her. “Sit down first.”
Lin Yuewei was still fuming. “I’m not sitting.”
“Then stand.”
“…”
Lin Yuewei wouldn’t waste her own energy on pointless grievances, so she sat down and looked at her mother, waiting for an explanation.
“Did I post your photo?”
“No.”
“Did I post the Gu family daughter’s photo? No. And even if I had, she should be the one coming after me, not you. Or are you admitting that the legal relationship between you two is supposed to carry over into real life?”
“…”
Lin Mom continued, entirely in the right. “I only mentioned myself and my son-in-law. Legally speaking, what’s wrong with either of those terms?”
Lin Yuewei was speechless.
Lin Mom said, “My post has nothing wrong with it, and I didn’t post either of your photos. Besides, with the way things are now, in the eyes of outsiders, you really did get married because you love each other. What’s wrong with being a little affectionate?”
“I—”
Lin Mom ruffled her hair and answered easily, “Fine. If you don’t like seeing it, I won’t post it anymore.”
Lin Yuewei eyed her suspiciously. Such an easygoing mom definitely wasn’t her mother.
Sure enough, Lin Mom added, “Poor me, left all alone at home with my husband on a business trip and even my daughter looking down on me.”
“Since when did I look down on you? Can you not twist the facts?”
“Then just pretend you didn’t see it. What mother wouldn’t show off a little once she has a son-in-law? I don’t even post that often; it’s only been once in all this time.”
“That’s because she hasn’t come to our place.”
Lin Yuewei thought of how Gu Yanqiu wouldn’t be coming over often, and of how she was about to sign with an agency and debut, which would leave her with even less time to keep Lin Mom company. If her mother wanted to show off a little, then so be it; as long as Lin Mom was happy, Lin Yuewei could just not look and not be irritated.
“Forget it. Do whatever you want. I don’t have any objections anymore.”
If Lin Yuewei had known that Lin Mom and Gu Yanqiu had privately agreed on the matter of her coming over often, she probably never would have said that. But that was a story for later, so there was no need to mention it now.
After coming downstairs, Lin Yuewei never went back up. She stayed downstairs, watching TV while idly asking, “Is Dad coming home for dinner tonight?”
“He is.”
“Not going away on business?”
“There aren’t that many business trips to go on.” Lin Mom took an apple from the fruit plate on the coffee table, cut it in half, and handed Lin Yuewei one piece. “You leave the day after tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow. You remembered wrong.”
“Oh.”
“That was enough to make you unhappy?” Lin Yuewei bumped her shoulder lightly and smiled. “I have to go work eventually. You can’t tie me to you for life. I wasn’t only home once every month or two when I was at school, either.”
Lin Mom patted the back of her hand and let out a soft sigh. She seemed to want to say something, but didn’t know where to begin.
Lin Yuewei held the half apple in her mouth and hugged her.
Lin Mom pushed her shoulder away in disgust. “Alright already. So sentimental.”
“…” Lin Yuewei was practically defeated by her. “Hey, you’re the one who got emotional first. I comfort you and somehow I’m the one in the wrong?”
Lin Mom said matter-of-factly, “I didn’t; you just imagined it.”
“…” Lin Yuewei flopped back on the sofa and decided not to waste any more words sparring with her mother. Her mother had become sharper-tongued and more unreasonable lately; there was simply no reasoning with her.
Was she going through menopause? Lin Yuewei did the mental math; the age seemed about right. She should probably remind her dad sometime, in case one careless word set her off.
Lin Yuewei lay on the sofa and watched her mother stare at commercials for a full five minutes. She’d practically memorized the ad copy, and finally couldn’t help saying, “Mom, can you stop watching the TV channel itself? If you want to watch something, at least stream it online. What era is this?”
Lin Mom looked astonished. “Isn’t that what I’m doing right now?”
“Have you ever seen any on-demand service with five minutes of commercials?”
“Really? Then you can have the remote.”
Lin Yuewei stared at her without blinking.
“What?” Lin Mom plucked another bunch of grapes from the table and asked, “You want some?”
Lin Yuewei shook her head. “Why do you seem so out of it?”
“It’s too hot. I’m dizzy.”
“Are you getting heatstroke?”
“No, I don’t think so.” Lin Mom pinched the inside of her arm. The pain made her frown, but there was no purple mark on her skin. “See? Not heatstroke. I just haven’t gone out for afternoon tea with my girlfriends in a long time. I’m bored silly.”
“Why don’t you invite them over? There’s a pool and a pavilion at home. You can swim, play mahjong, whatever.”
“No.” Lin Mom still shook her head and flopped onto the sofa in the same posture as Lin Yuewei.
“Mom…”
“I’m watching TV. I’ll fall asleep in a bit.”
“The moment you do, Dad’ll be home, so go ahead and sleep.”
Ever since Lin Dad came back from his business trip that day, he hadn’t gone out for any evening social engagements. He came home to eat dinner on time every day; after dinner, Lin Yuewei would carry a plate of fruit upstairs and leave the middle-aged couple to their private world.
She ate grapes while browsing her own Weibo for a while, liking the posts she should like, sending the blessings she should send, replying to the comments she should reply to, and occasionally checking fan tags in the super topic. Then she logged off and opened her computer to play bridge.
Staring at the Stars was still not online. When Lin Yuewei had been training at the studio, she had once chatted with that person and thought they had grown closer, but it had all just been her illusion. The other party still ignored her when they wanted to; messages from last month still had no reply.
Lin Yuewei started a game at random. Just then, her phone rang beside her hand, and she glanced over—almost making the wrong play.
Gu Yanqiu was actually calling her?!
Lin Yuewei waited until the ring was almost about to stop on its own before answering, so calm that there wasn’t the slightest trace of anything unusual in her voice, even though her hand had unconsciously tightened.
“Miss Gu, is something wrong?”
“Miss Lin?”
Hearing her surprised tone, Lin Yuewei had a guess: that—
Gu Yanqiu apologized, “Sorry, I dialed the wrong number.”
Lin Yuewei: “…”
Was this person calling on purpose just to tease her?
Her first instinct was to hang up. In the past, she would have ended calls very quickly. For some reason, she hesitated first today; and it was that hesitation that made her hear Gu Yanqiu say, right after her apology, “Don’t hang up yet.”
Lin Yuewei withdrew the hand that had been about to press the end-call button. “Anything else?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Someone recommended a massage chair to me today. It’s especially suitable for Auntie; I wanted to buy one and have it delivered to your home.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Send me the link; I’ll buy it.”
Gu Yanqiu clarified specifically, “Miss Lin, I’m the one buying it to give to Auntie.”
Lin Yuewei found that odd. “Why are you being so attentive to my mom for no reason?”
“We get along.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“The truth is that we get along. Why does Miss Lin always doubt what I say?”
“When have I ever doubted what you say?” Lin Yuewei muttered to herself. We’ve only spoken a few times.
“I won’t keep Miss Lin any longer. I’ll have the chair sent over. Good night.”
“Good night.” Lin Yuewei answered naturally.
“Night.” Gu Yanqiu seemed to laugh once, and the call ended.
Lin Yuewei’s heartbeat skipped at that low, clear laugh, muffled as it was.
She propped her chin on one hand, unable to help imagining Gu Yanqiu’s expression at that moment. When Gu Yanqiu smiled, Lin Yuewei usually felt there was more politeness than sincerity, like a flawless work of art, even the curve of her smile drawn with exquisite precision; but that voice just now was different from her usual self.
Would her eyes curve first, or the corners of her lips? Would they look like crescent moons too?
Lin Yuewei felt as if a tiny worm were crawling around inside her heart, making it itch unbearably.
By the time she came to her senses, she had already lost the game so badly it was a complete rout. Fortunately, there was no chat function in this game; otherwise her private message box would definitely be full of curses by now. She only didn’t know whether the other side would go post her on the forum, but even if they did, Lin Yuewei wouldn’t see it. She hadn’t been on the forum in a very long time.
Sitting in her chair, Lin Yuewei thought back to her daydreaming just now and felt a little afraid. What on earth was she thinking about all day? Was she like her mother, just too idle?
Her thoughts drifted back to Lin Mom, and after thinking it over, Lin Yuewei called one of the aunties her mother usually got along well with.
“Auntie Wu, it’s Lin Yuewei.”
“Oh, yes, yes.”
“I have something I’d like to trouble you with,” Lin Yuewei said. “My mom’s probably been cooped up at home for too long lately; she’s getting a little listless. Next time you ladies get together, please call her along.”
“You didn’t invite her yourself?”
“She hasn’t really gone out these past few months? Only twice, okay.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll ask her. It should be fine. Thank you, Auntie Wu.”
“Goodbye, Auntie Wu.”
Lin Yuewei set the already disconnected phone aside, one question after another filling her mind. Her mother used to love going out with her girlfriends to eat and shop; why had she suddenly stopped going out much for several months and started living so properly and quietly?
Lin Yuewei kept the matter in mind and planned to ask her mother about it when she got up tomorrow.
She glanced at the time in the lower right corner of the computer. It was almost ten already; if nothing unexpected happened, she would soon be thrown into a high-intensity workload. These few days at home, she needed to preserve her energy and should avoid staying up late.
So Lin Yuewei decided to sleep. She moved the mouse over the “X” in the game window and habitually checked the screen one more time.
Lin Yuewei: “!!”
She hurriedly let go of the mouse and sent “Staring at the Stars” a game invitation.
Then her QQ window flashed once. The familiar online greeting from Staring at the Stars appeared: 【[smile]】
Staring at the Stars: 【I’ve been busy lately and didn’t see your messages. Sorry】
Reed: 【It’s fine. Want to play?】
Staring at the Stars: 【[Okay]】
Lin Yuewei had always worked very well with the other player. Her focus was at its peak, but today was the first time she had lost concentration. Even so, she still won in the end; she just didn’t manage to secure the full sweep the other side wanted.
Staring at the Stars: 【You?】
The other party had always been terse. If Lin Yuewei hadn’t known them long enough, or if her sixth sense hadn’t firmly told her this wasn’t criticism, anyone else might have taken offense.
Lin Yuewei typed: 【Sorry, I’m a bit distracted】
Staring at the Stars: 【Oh】
That signature reply carried no follow-up and no concern at all, inexplicably making Lin Yuewei feel irritated. They had known each other for several years; she had always been the one to initiate contact, and the other person had never once shown her anything, not even a single extra sentence.
Her keyboard clacked furiously. 【Aren’t you even curious why?】
Staring at the Stars: 【Not curious. Everyone has their own troubles; asking someone else to solve yours is worse than solving your own】
By Lin Yuewei’s usual temperament, she should have been angry. Just then, however, she suddenly had a subtle feeling.
Reed: 【Do you believe in Buddhism?】
Gu Yanqiu looked at the other party’s question and didn’t know how to answer. She didn’t like exposing too much information on social media; over the past two or three years, the most she had revealed was that she had been abroad. Even her gender and age were kept private, so she replied: 【There is Buddha in my heart】
Lin Yuewei: “…”
As expected, exactly the same temperament as Gu Yanqiu. Did everyone who could make her angry have this trait? What kind of sin had she committed in a past life to meet two such natural nemeses?
Gu Yanqiu didn’t see a reply for a long time, so she left a goodnight and logged off first.
Lin Yuewei: “…”
Gu Yanqiu sat at her desk and felt that this netizen was a little strange. Since two years ago, the other side had found all kinds of topics to chat about with her. Even if her responses were cold, they still persevered. They were probably not very old; likely still in the stage of being curious about people on the internet. Gu Yanqiu began to consider whether she should draw a line with this person. What if they had some kind of ideas about her? But this person really was a rare and excellent partner; after several years of acquaintance, it wasn’t easy to just cut things off, and doing so would be impolite. And what if all of this was merely her own wild guess?
Gu Yanqiu switched off the desk lamp and fell asleep.
Before drifting off, Lin Yuewei had already overlaid Staring at the Stars’ face with Gu Yanqiu’s once, with no sense of incongruity at all.
***
“Little Gu, your coffee; no milk, no sugar.” After several months, Lin Zhi had already mastered the coffee Gu Yanqiu liked best; even the temperature was just right after cooling.
He set the coffee beside Gu Yanqiu. There were still a few minutes before work started, and the office door was closed. Lin Zhi chatted with Gu Yanqiu about news he had heard secondhand.
“Little Gu, I heard a huge piece of news when I came in this morning.”
“What huge news?” Gu Yanqiu lifted the porcelain-white coffee cup with her slender fingers, took a graceful sip, and looked at him with a half-smile.
Lin Zhi was startled by her gaze and said, “You already know?”
“Know what? I don’t know anything.”
“The company is holding a shareholders’ meeting today, and Chairman Gu’s daughter is coming too!” Lin Zhi dropped the bombshell.
“Hm.”
Lin Zhi didn’t see the slightest surprise on her face and deflated. “I knew it. You knew already. Even a little secretary like me heard about it.”
“No. I only found out a few days before you did.”
Gu Yanqiu asked, “When does the shareholders’ meeting start?”
“Seems like 9:30.”
Gu Yanqiu raised a brow. “Still an hour away.”
“Right.” Lin Zhi said, “Do you want to see what Chairman Gu’s daughter looks like?”
“No need.” Gu Yanqiu smiled faintly. “Work comes first.”
“Then I won’t look either.”
“Nothing worth seeing.”
“Oh.” Lin Zhi answered. But that wasn’t really what he was thinking. That was the chairman’s daughter, the conglomerate’s future heir, a big shot, mysterious as could be. Even if she weren’t pretty, she’d still be “pretty.”
Since she’d said so, Lin Zhi gave up on the idea of going to see the young heiress and sat down at his own place obediently.
At 9:15, Gu Yanqiu straightened her clothes, opened the office door, and headed toward the top floor of the group with her head held high.
Most people in the company didn’t recognize her. She didn’t go looking for Gu Huai either, instead going to the meeting room with Young Master Wu. The room was packed with people; everyone else looked familiar, and she alone was a stranger.
The elder and younger Wus introduced her. “This is Gu Yanqiu, current manager of XX Department; she’s Chairman Gu’s daughter.”
The others exchanged glances. Why would Chairman Gu’s daughter be with the Wu faction?
Gu Huai came in last. The moment he saw Gu Yanqiu sitting beside Young Master Wu, his expression changed. Gu Yanqiu lifted her brows in a provocative arch and looked back at him with her chin held high.
Gu Huai suddenly began coughing violently.
His assistant quickly took a bottle of medicine from his coat pocket, handed him a glass of water, and rubbed his chest while helping him swallow the pills.
Gu Yanqiu narrowed her eyes; a trace of doubt flashed through them.
Gu Huai’s coughing slowly subsided.
The others exchanged looks in private. Ever since the late Madam Gu passed away, Gu Huai’s temples had gone increasingly white, his health had declined, and he had become less and less capable of managing the company. The elder and younger Wu faction had grown more and more arrogant; if not for Gu Huai’s advantage in holding the shares, they might already have been unable to hold on.
Last week, they had heard that Chairman Gu’s daughter was coming and assumed Gu Huai had gained an ally. Now it seemed she had stood with the elder and younger Wu faction instead, which was enough to make people sigh in sympathy while also quietly tilting the scales in their hearts toward the Wu faction’s listing camp.
As expected, this meeting began in quarrels and ended in quarrels. Gu Huai was already fighting a losing battle; with his own biological daughter added to the opposing camp this time, he was even more furious and nearly fainted on the spot.
Gu Yanqiu returned downstairs. Lin Zhi had been waiting for a while, and there were several calls she needed to return personally.
Gu Yanqiu nodded and went back to the office to make the calls.
Within a single day, the news spread like wildfire throughout the company that Gu Yanqiu was Chairman Gu Huai’s daughter and that she had openly argued with her father at the shareholders’ meeting.
Lin Zhi’s jaw dropped again and again. The next time he saw Gu Yanqiu, he looked as though he’d seen a ghost. He came in to deliver a document and pretended to be casual while staring fixedly at her, as if there were flowers blooming on her face.
Gu Yanqiu couldn’t help frowning and set down her pen. “What is it?”
Lin Zhi had been holding it in all day and was close to bursting. “You’re really Chairman Gu’s daughter?”
“Do I not look like it?”
“No, no, I’m just shocked.”
“Had enough shock? Go back to work.”
“Yes.”
Lin Zhi sat in his chair, unable to tear his thoughts away from this earth-shattering news. He rested his chin in both hands and stared at the darkened screen in front of him, thinking: A tiny department manager suddenly becomes the young heiress? Even novels wouldn’t dare write it like this. Too unbelievable.
The young heiress herself wasn’t affected in the slightest. Even now, if she walked out of the office, everyone in the company who recognized her would look at her very differently.
Gu Yanqiu closed the pen cap with a heavy heart, took out her phone, and sent her father a message: 【What medicine did you take today?】
Gu Huai replied quickly: 【Health supplements; don’t worry about me】
Gu Yanqiu was still typing when Gu Huai sent back a smiling emoji.
【Your health matters most】 Gu Yanqiu edited the message for a long time, but in the end she still only sent those few words.
Gu Huai: 【Thank you】
Gu Yanqiu pressed her sore eyes. It was undeniable that there was now an enormous divide between her and Gu Huai. Even though Gu Huai had told her his entire meticulously planned strategy, even if Gu Yanqiu weren’t there, it would only have taken more time for Gu Huai to succeed. Yet he had willingly handed the most important link over to her.
Gu Yanqiu had the intuition that the source of it all was her mother, who had already passed away. But Gu Huai never mentioned her at all.
“Chairman Gu... you should rest for a bit.”
“Cough, cough, cough, a little longer.” Gu Huai’s coughing still hadn’t stopped. He pressed a handkerchief to his lips, looked at his phone, which had no further reply, then flipped the screen over and laid it face down on the desk. He asked the secretary at his side, who was full of concern, “When is the follow-up checkup?”
“The eighteenth of this month.”
“Good.” Gu Huai coughed hard once, wrapped a mouthful of thick phlegm that wouldn’t come up in a tissue, and tossed it into the trash. Clearing his throat, he said, “Read out my schedule for the past few days.”
***
With a backpack on her shoulders and a suitcase in hand, Lin Yuewei waved goodbye to her parents outside the waiting hall and set off on the first leg of her journey to stardom.
She sat in a business-class seat with no one around her, so she safely took off her hat and mask, ran a hand through her long hair, propped her elbows on her knees, and scrolled on her phone. The trip was boring, so she first opened WeChat to pester Jiang Congbi. As a newly minted office worker, Jiang Congbi absolutely could not get up on a weekend morning, so there was no reply.
For some reason, Lin Yuewei opened her contacts. Nowadays, communication software was so advanced and common that very few people still used traditional phone calls. Aside from two spam calls, the next thing that caught her eye was Gu Yanqiu’s call from last night.
Lin Yuewei silently told herself three times: I’m just bored and looking for some fun; I’m not really trying to call her.
Her finger lightly tapped the call entry; she immediately closed her eyes, squinting as she looked, and the call had already gone through smoothly.
Gu Yanqiu’s weekends were very regular: get up in the morning, go for a run, eat breakfast, then work. Rigidly regular.
She wore a Bluetooth earbud in one ear and listened to music. The instant the incoming call came through, she raised a hand and answered it, her eyes never leaving the computer. Her red lips parted coolly. “Hello.”
Lin Yuewei felt that she must have eaten too much this morning; otherwise why would she think the voice of someone with such a cold, almost sexless face actually sounded a little sexy?
Lin Yuewei had long since prepared to use the same trick against her, but she still couldn’t avoid getting nervous. “I-I dialed the wrong number.”
Gu Yanqiu froze and looked at her phone screen.
“Miss Lin?”
“I said I dialed the wrong number.”
“I heard you.” Gu Yanqiu’s hand left the keyboard; she pushed her chair back slightly and adjusted into a more comfortable sitting position. Curving her lips, she smiled and said, “Mm... so are you about to hang up now?”
Author’s note:
I saw everyone’s guesses; they were even wilder than my imagination ﹁_﹁
Anyway, it’ll all be explained. Our motto is fluffy sweetness, so don’t panic, mwah