Chapter 43
Gu Yanqiu was curious how Lin Yuewei had ended up coming to pick her up. That didn’t fit their current relationship at all.
The high-speed rail station was crowded and full of prying eyes. Lin Yuewei had timed her arrival to the minute and didn’t dare linger. She was a celebrity for the first time now; if a passerby glanced at her twice, she immediately wondered whether they’d recognized her and were already snapping photos, adding their own embellishments and making false claims. She’d put on makeup and changed the way she walked, but it was barely enough to disguise herself.
Gu Yanqiu only exchanged a single look with her and said, “Hello,” before being led outside and into the car.
Luckily, Gu Yanqiu hadn’t brought Lin Zhi on this business trip. Otherwise, if Lin Zhi had seen that Gu Yanqiu’s so-called “idol” had not only come to the high-speed rail station in person to pick her up, but had also let her into her car, with the two of them interacting back and forth in a way that seemed rather intimate, he would probably have invented a whole library’s worth of novels in his head.
After all, the marriage alliance between the Lin and Gu families was a matter of business circles. The matriarchs and patriarchs of the two families weren’t nationally famous figures; hearing a surname wouldn’t immediately bring a face to mind. Gu Yanqiu had always kept a low profile at the company, and she herself was extremely mysterious. She also didn’t wear a ring. How could Lin Zhi, an ordinary commoner, know anything about the affairs of high society? So in his mind, Gu Yanqiu was still single; single, and a future domineering CEO fantasizing about ending up with her idol one day.
Gu Yanqiu first took the rabbit plush from her bag and handed it to her. Lin Yuewei took it and put it into her shoulder bag. Gu Yanqiu said that the prayer beads she had given her were in the suitcase, and since the suitcase was in the trunk, it wasn’t convenient to take them out at the moment.
“No rush. Thank you for your trouble,” Lin Yuewei said to her.
“Miss Lin, you’re too polite. It was nothing.”
“Are you going somewhere now?”
“I booked a hotel, but I want to find somewhere to have dinner first before heading back.” Gu Yanqiu looked at her and smiled faintly.
Lin Yuewei didn’t know whether she had misunderstood Gu Yanqiu’s meaning or whether Gu Yanqiu really did want her to treat her to a meal, but just from the standpoint of etiquette, she should invite Gu Yanqiu to dinner.
“I know a private kitchen that’s pretty good. I wonder whether Miss Gu would be willing to grace me with her company?”
“Much appreciated.” Gu Yanqiu didn’t fuss about it at all.
Lin Yuewei then told the driver up front to drive to the address of the private restaurant.
When the two of them were together, they rarely talked. Most of the time, they were silent. Lin Yuewei thought she had already gotten used to this awkwardness. But today was different. Perhaps it was because they were in the cramped space of a car, where every movement of Gu Yanqiu’s fell into her eyes whether she meant it to or not; perhaps it was because the pleasant scent on Gu Yanqiu’s body drifted over as well, exactly like it had in one of Lin Yuewei’s dreams.
The temperature in the car seemed to rise several degrees without warning. Lin Yuewei pretended to look out the window, one hand naturally pressed to her cheek as she propped herself up, trying to cool the heat on her face.
Gu Yanqiu twirled her prayer beads and silently recited the Heart Sutra.
Lin Yuewei deliberately shifted her attention elsewhere.
She hadn’t come to pick up Gu Yanqiu of her own accord; at the very least, the idea wasn’t hers. It was Ran Qingqing’s.
At noon today, before it was even time to eat, Lin Yuewei had been holding Shao Yasi’s arm, planning to find somewhere for lunch when her mother called. Lin Yuewei stepped away from Shao Yasi and went to a quieter spot to answer.
“Mom.”
“Today the Gu family’s daughter is going to your place. You know that, right?”
“I know. What about it?”
“Do you know what time her train is?”
“I don’t know. I only know it’s today.” Lin Yuewei had wanted to ask when she called her on Sunday night, but she hadn’t found the right opening. Later the conversation had wandered all over the place, and she’d forgotten. Besides, even if she had asked, it would have been pointless; not knowing meant she thought about it less.
Ran Qingqing gave her a scolding. “She’s helping you bring all this and that, and you don’t even bother to take care of her? Don’t even contact her? The Gu daughter is somewhere unfamiliar. What if she gets lost? There are so many bad people these days; what if she gets kidnapped? There have been especially many social news reports about that this year, like…”
Lin Yuewei was stunned by the rapid-fire barrage of words.
“Mom, Mom, Mom,” Lin Yuewei kept moving farther away from Shao Yasi until she reached a quiet place. Raising her voice, she said, “Mom!”
“What?”
That finally interrupted Ran Qingqing’s endless lecture. Lin Yuewei thought to herself that the older her mother got, the more she resembled her father; only, her father had reasons and evidence, while her mother was all sophistry and bullying logic.
“First, she’s a grown adult. How can she be kidnapped just like that? Does she not have hands or feet? The high-speed rail station is only that big. She drove herself over, so she didn’t even run into a taxi or ride-hailing car. Second, navigation is so advanced now that even a hopeless road idiot can follow it in easy mode. Unless she’s an idiot, she’s not getting lost; and if she does get lost, doesn’t she have a mouth? Can’t she ask someone?” Lin Yuewei paused to catch her breath, then continued, “Third, and most important, didn’t I ask her to bring me a rabbit plush? Since when did she bring this and that? It’s not luggage. Is it going to exhaust her or something? There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If someone’s unusually attentive, they’re either up to no good or stealing.”
Ran Qingqing said, “She did bring you something; a suitcase.”
Lin Yuewei said, “What?!”
Ran Qingqing told her that she had asked Gu Yanqiu to bring a suitcase, filled with local specialties from home, snacks she liked, and clothes.
Lin Yuewei nearly coughed up blood.
The total time she would be staying in S City was at most a week, and she might not even need a full week. Two or three days had already passed, leaving three or four at most. Was she missing that much food, or lacking that one piece of clothing?
Ran Qingqing wasn’t reasoned with. “Anyway, she dragged a suitcase over for you. Do you still have the nerve not to go pick her up?”
Of course Lin Yuewei didn’t have the nerve, and she was almost certain this had all been arranged by her mother just to get her to the high-speed rail station.
Ran Qingqing told her Gu Yanqiu’s train number. Lin Yuewei went. She had thought she’d be full of resentment, but when she actually saw Gu Yanqiu herself, her mood couldn’t help but lift.
Looking at a beauty always brightened one’s mood, especially after one’s prejudice against that beauty had disappeared. The conversation from the night before yesterday was still fresh in her mind. Lin Yuewei realized that Gu Yanqiu was actually quite an interesting person; she just hid it beneath her steady, plain, almost rigid exterior, where it was not easily noticed.
On the day they got married, Lin Yuewei had actually felt a bit curious about Gu Yanqiu. For some reason, that curiosity later turned into prejudice and hostility. Thinking back on it now, it had been very strange.
Thinking of this, Lin Yuewei secretly turned her head and glanced at Gu Yanqiu. Gu Yanqiu was probably tired from sitting in the car and had closed her eyes to rest. Her slender fingers rested on the prayer beads, lightly pressed against her thigh.
Gu Yanqiu was extremely sensitive to outside gazes. The moment Lin Yuewei looked over, she noticed it, not even flicking her eyelashes. She intended to wait for the other woman to look away. She waited and waited, but Lin Yuewei still seemed to be staring at her in a daze.
“Miss Lin.”
Lin Yuewei jumped. She hurriedly straightened her waist and chest and sat up properly, every inch the model of upright morality, then turned her head politely and looked at her. “What is it?”
Gu Yanqiu’s gaze was fixed on her without blinking.
Lin Yuewei’s hair stood on end under that thoughtful look. “W-what are you doing?”
“Miss Lin... are you afraid of me?” Gu Yanqiu suddenly smiled. This smile was different from her usual carefully polished one that seemed pasted onto her face; it carried a hint of foxlike cunning and was utterly heart-stopping.
“Why would I be afraid of you for no reason?” Lin Yuewei suppressed the pounding in her chest and said calmly, looking straight back into her eyes.
“Have you gotten used to life in S City these past few days, Miss Lin?”
Lin Yuewei thought Gu Yanqiu was about to play some dirty trick. She was thinking about how to strike back without losing her composure when the other woman suddenly changed the subject and dissolved the tense atmosphere between them, chatting instead as if they were making ordinary small talk.
As if worried Lin Yuewei wouldn’t answer, Gu Yanqiu even invoked Ran Qingqing as a shield. “Your mother asked me to ask.”
“Why didn’t she ask me herself?”
Without changing expression, Gu Yanqiu lied, “Your mother said that every time you go away, whether it’s near or far, she nags you a lot; she was afraid you’d think she was annoying.”
That really did sound like something Ran Qingqing would do, and given Lin Yuewei’s personality, she would definitely not bring Gu Yanqiu up to Ran Qingqing on her own or ask for the truth. Gu Yanqiu’s lie was seamless.
Since it was her mother’s intention, Lin Yuewei answered, “It’s okay. It’s not like I went abroad. It’s only a few hours by car, and all the big cities in China look the same anyway. What’s there to be unaccustomed to?”
“Are you used to the food?”
“My mom asked that too?” Lin Yuewei asked Gu Yanqiu.
“She did.”
“At the company, I eat in the cafeteria. When I’m not at the company, I go out to eat with friends.”
“Which friend?”
“Just with...” Lin Yuewei abruptly cut herself off, looked up at Gu Yanqiu, and asked suspiciously, “My mom wouldn’t worry about even that, would she?”
“Miss Ran said the world is dangerous, and you can’t tell what people are really like from their faces. You’re still young; she was afraid you might not know how to judge people.” Gu Yanqiu looked at Lin Yuewei without the slightest hint of evasion. The way she spoke was so polished and persuasive that she could easily fool people.
Lin Yuewei pondered it for a moment, then looked at Gu Yanqiu for a while longer before saying, “Shao Yasi.”
Gu Yanqiu’s right hand, hidden on the side Lin Yuewei couldn’t see, dug lightly into the seat cushion. On her face, though, she only smiled faintly. “You and Miss Shao looked very close when you were doing the program together.”
“Yeah,” Lin Yuewei said deliberately in a sentimental tone. “Through thick and thin; supporting each other.”
Gu Yanqiu nearly failed to hide her emotions. After forcing herself to calm down, she slowly fingered her prayer beads and said, “It’s not easy to find a confidante in life. Is Miss Shao your confidante?”
“Which kind of confidante are you talking about?”
“Naturally, a female confidante.”
“Gu Yanqiu.” Lin Yuewei suddenly called her by both surname and given name. Her tone was colder than it had ever been before. A flash of confusion crossed Gu Yanqiu’s eyes as she looked at her closely. “What is it?”
A complicated emotion surged in Lin Yuewei’s eyes, like the calm before a storm. After a long moment, it settled back into stillness. She curved her lips into a smile and said, “Just calling your name. Nothing else.”
“Lin Yuewei.”
“What?”
“I’m just calling your name too. Nothing else.”
“Childish.” Lin Yuewei snorted.
“You started it.” Gu Yanqiu wanted to make this logic clear to her.
“That still makes you childish.” Lin Yuewei said with a huff. She hadn’t just called her name for nothing.
“Miss Lin, people can’t be unreasonable; when speaking, they can’t be unreasonable either.” The way Gu Yanqiu talked while slowly turning her prayer beads was very much like a female Tang Monk. Lin Yuewei didn’t know whether she was trying to shut up the female Tang Monk’s impending lecture or whether she had long since entertained this idea, but she reached out toward Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu’s eyes suddenly widened. Lin Yuewei’s warm palm pressed against her lips, sealing away every word she hadn’t yet spoken.
In that flash of lightning in Lin Yuewei’s mind, only one thought flashed through: so soft.
Author’s Note:
I don’t know why, but President Gu looks so much like the one getting pushed around, hahaha.
Gu: I want to speak.
Lin: No, you don’t.
Lin: Don’t say anything. You can only choose between kissing me, or being kissed by me [shouting]