Chapter 47

Lin Yuewei’s heart lurched; her fingers curled without her meaning to.

Tonight, she’d come downstairs in a short-sleeved shirt. Gu Yanqiu’s palm wasn’t especially warm, but the moment it rested against her wrist, it felt like she’d been branded with a hot iron.

Lin Yuewei barely managed to force out a single syllable. “Gu…”

Gu Yanqiu spread her fingers and slowly let go of her wrist.

The move had been purely instinctive on Gu Yanqiu’s part, but she didn’t regret it at all.

“Can you hug me?”

Lin Yuewei: “!!!”

Gu Yanqiu opened her arms toward her, her bright eyes soft as water, silently inviting her closer.

Lin Yuewei hugged her tight.

How she got out of Gu Yanqiu’s room, Lin Yuewei had already forgotten. When she came to, she was sitting on the bed in her own room, her facial muscles stiff. She rubbed her aching cheeks and got up to head for the bathroom, planning to wash her face and go to sleep. One look in the mirror nearly sent her flat on her back.

Who was the idiot grinning at her from the glass? And why did that person look exactly like her?

Lin Yuewei puckered her lips; the person in the mirror puckered hers too. Lin Yuewei stepped left, and the person in the mirror moved with her, like a shadow.

Oh no.

Had she really gone stupid? Had Gu Yanqiu slipped her some kind of drug while they were hugging?

Lin Yuewei splashed cold water on her face and finally banished the fool in the mirror. She shook out her hair, only for wet strands to slap against her face before she remembered she hadn’t blown it dry.

The more she thought about what she had done tonight, the more panicked she became.

Why had she pushed her routine all the way to one in the morning, even carrying her phone into the bathroom? Why had she replied to Gu Yanqiu’s messages faster than anyone else’s? She’d even thrown on clothes at random, tied her hair up, and rushed downstairs just to bring someone a bucket of instant noodles. When she came back, the back of her shirt had been soaked.

She either had a sickness, or she had a sickness.

And Gu Yanqiu was the one who’d made her sick. Lin Yuewei instinctively came up with a name for it: lovesickness.

Could it be…

Probably not. Lin Yuewei cranked the hair dryer to its highest setting; thankfully, the hotel’s dryer was awful, and the roar drowned out all her thoughts. She called Jiang Congbi and harassed her over the phone. Jiang Congbi, that night owl, still wasn’t asleep. Lin Yuewei could hear the tap-tap-tap of keys in the background.

After Jiang Congbi answered with a “hello,” there was no further sound.

“What are you doing?”

“Playing a game. There’s a new one in open beta lately, and lots of people are playing it. It’s called XXX; want to play with me? I’ll whale for you.”

“No. You know I don’t like that kind of game.”

“Right, right, you only like playing cards. Wait a sec.” There was a burst of Jiang Congbi’s yelling, “Ahhh!”; mixed in were plenty of curses like “idiot” and “moron.” Lin Yuewei held the phone a little farther away so the indiscriminate attack wouldn’t land on her. No matter whether they were boys or girls, once they got hooked on online games, they all turned into foul-mouthed maniacs.

Jiang Congbi slammed at the keyboard for a while and met an untimely death. She flung down her mouse, kicked off the floor, and let her swivel chair slide more than a meter back. Then she grabbed her phone, pressed it to her ear, and said, “Dead now. Go on; what do you want?”

“How did you know I wanted something?”

“You have to sleep before twelve every day, don’t you? Except when you’re recording.” Jiang Congbi glanced at her phone and said, “It’s already two. If I didn’t know that much, I’d be a fake friend. But you probably won’t have many chances like this in the future; I hear people in the entertainment industry have really chaotic schedules.”

“That’s true,” Lin Yuewei said.

“Mm, go on.” Jiang Congbi made a listening gesture.

“…I’m heading back tomorrow. Buy me a meal.”

“…?” Jiang Congbi thought she’d misheard. “That’s it?” She’d waited two whole hours, even waiting for herself to finish the game she was playing. If it had been anyone else, she’d have hung up after the first sentence. Based on her understanding of Lin Yuewei, that was absolutely impossible; she was hiding something.

“What else?” Lin Yuewei said, pretending to be calm. She was starting to regret making the call. Jiang Congbi wasn’t sensitive about much, but when it came to gossip, she was razor-sharp. Give her the slightest clue, and she could peel a secret open.

Jiang Congbi rolled her eyes. “Fine. Then what do you want to eat tomorrow?”

Lin Yuewei was a little surprised. Jiang Congbi was just letting her off that easily? Or had she been gaming so long that her brain had gone sluggish?

To make the call seem even more convincing, as though it really was only about arranging a meal, Lin Yuewei spent half an hour talking food with Jiang Congbi. In the end, she talked herself hungry, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Her phone slipped from her hand, and she fell asleep.

In a sense, her goal had been achieved; for the rest of the night, Gu Yanqiu never appeared in her mind again.

Lin Yuewei fell into deep self-doubt, while Gu Yanqiu, several floors below, was calmly eating the junk food she had always opposed in her heart.

Even with the filter effect of the person she liked delivering it in person, Gu Yanqiu still couldn’t bring herself to say it tasted good. After she finished, she took another shower to wash off the overly pungent instant-noodle smell on her body. Then she lay in bed and texted Lin Yuewei. After a few minutes without a reply, Gu Yanqiu turned off her phone and put it on the bedside table.

They hadn’t asked each other about their train times, but the next day was Saturday. Lin Yuewei wasn’t officially going to the agency until next Monday, and Gu Yanqiu didn’t need to work on Saturday either. They both slept in a little, so they didn’t run into each other; they left the hotel half an hour apart, and their trains were half an hour apart as well.

Lin Yuewei first went back to her own home. She carried her suitcase upstairs; her mother’s pink suitcase was left in the living room, and her mother let out a long sigh at the sight.

Lin’s mother crouched down and opened the suitcase. The contents were untouched.

Lin’s mother: “…”

Lin Yuewei changed into home clothes and came downstairs. Meeting her mother’s resentful gaze, she raised a hand first and said, “I ate a small bag of beef jerky. You can check if you don’t believe me.”

Lin’s mother opened her mouth, but Lin Yuewei beat her to it. “Mom, I understand you mean well, but I’m really not a child anymore. I’ll buy what I want to eat and wear myself; you don’t need to worry so much all the time.”

“You think I want to worry?” Lin’s mother huffed and took out the only opened bag of beef jerky from inside, tossing it onto the sofa with a bad-tempered flick.

“You’re my own mother.” Lin Yuewei darted over and kissed her mother on the cheek.

“Get off, get off.” Lin’s mother scolded in mock anger. “You’re not even as good to me as the Gu family’s daughter…”

“Mom!” Lin Yuewei cut her off sharply, like a cat stepping on an electric wire.

Lin’s mother was startled by the sudden shout and patted her chest. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you yelling like that?”

“Nothing.” Lin Yuewei shook her head and swallowed. She wanted to tell her mother not to bring up Gu Yanqiu, but if she said that, her mother would definitely ask questions until she got to the bottom of it. Lin Yuewei’s mind raced, and she decided to head off to her appointment with Jiang Congbi early. “I just remembered Jiang Congbi invited me to lunch. I’m not eating at home at noon.”

“You’re not eating at home? Gu Yanqiu specifically had someone send over lobster; it’s genuine XX lobster. I looked at it; they’re pretty big, and especially lively, so the meat’s definitely firm. Don’t you like eating it? Why don’t you just call Jiang Congbi over too? Anyway, you two are always eating that dirty stuff outside.”

Lin’s mother really had no sense of timing. Lin Yuewei silently prayed for her to stop, but she kept bringing up Gu Yanqiu in every other sentence.

“They said one of their family’s former drivers had a breeding farm in XX County; they sell all over the country and overseas. These were picked out for their own family to taste; they’re all the best ones.”

Lin Yuewei had been about to plug her ears and refuse to listen to her mother, but the moment she heard the county’s name, something suddenly flashed through her mind. “What city is XX County in?”

“I don’t know the city; I know the province. It’s in J Province.”

Lin Yuewei looked it up online and found that XX County was in H City, J Province. Last night, Gu Yanqiu had said she was going to meet an elder she hadn’t seen in a long time. Could it be their family’s former driver?

The thought only lingered for a moment. Compared with Gu Yanqiu, who herself was groping around in the dark, Lin Yuewei knew even less. She went to the balcony to look at the crayfish being kept in water, then hurried upstairs and said to her mother, “If you cook them at noon, leave me some.”

“I’ll eat them all.”

“Fine, then eat them all.” Lin Yuewei smiled; she knew her mother would leave her some anyway.

She changed clothes, called Jiang Congbi to tell her she was on the way to her place, and found Jiang Congbi still curled up in bed from last night’s all-nighter, face buried in a pillow. Jiang Congbi groaned, “Why are you so energetic now? Weren’t you just home not long ago?”

Lin Yuewei held the phone in one hand as she stepped into the walk-in closet. Her fingers tapped along a long row of neatly arranged bags while she thought about which one matched her outfit. “My mom’s nagging me at home. I can’t take it.”

“You’re grown; what’s wrong with her nagging you a little?” Jiang Congbi clicked her tongue.

“Sure, because your mom isn’t at home. If she nagged in your ear every day, you’d be annoyed too.” And this wasn’t ordinary nagging; it was matchmaker-style nagging. Lin Yuewei was already irritated and couldn’t stand it.

“But my mom really isn’t home, hahaha.” Jiang Congbi laughed shamelessly.

“How shameless.” Lin Yuewei picked up a clutch and headed for the door. “Your empress is about to descend, so hurry up and serve me.”

“I’m not getting up. You still need almost half an hour to drive over; I can nap a bit longer.”

“Jiang… Mom?”

Lin Yuewei was caught off guard when the phone was snatched away by Lin’s mother out of nowhere. Lin’s mother said into the phone to Jiang Congbi, “Xiao Jiang, come eat crayfish?”

Jiang Congbi, who had been squinting her eyes shut while talking to Lin Yuewei, suddenly opened them.

More than ten seconds later, Lin’s mother returned the phone to Lin Yuewei. “Jiang Congbi said she’s coming to eat at our place, so you don’t need to go over. She’ll be here in a bit.”

Lin Yuewei stared in disbelief.

Lin’s mother swept her up and down and said with disgust, “You’ve changed clothes back and forth how many times since you got home? Go change back again already.”

Lin Yuewei: “…And who caused all this?”

Lin’s mother shot her a look like a knife.

Lin Yuewei clasped her hands in surrender. “My fault.” With her back to her mother, she went upstairs, making crackling noises as she clenched both fists.

***

“You sold me out for just two jin of crayfish? What happened to our childhood sisters-in-arms bond?”

Jiang Congbi sat on the small sofa in Lin Yuewei’s bedroom, head lowered as she took the scolding, only occasionally trying to defend herself weakly. “Auntie said there were over ten jin, not just two.”

“You still want to argue?”

Jiang Congbi obediently shut her mouth, her eyes rolling around. Lin Yuewei didn’t notice and, seeing her silent, forgave her. Lin’s mother didn’t know Jiang Congbi knew Gu Yanqiu, and she didn’t know about the mess of a relationship among the three of them. Lin’s mother was a little naggy, but she wouldn’t talk nonsense regardless of the setting. Ever since Jiang Congbi had arrived, she hadn’t brought up Gu Yanqiu again, and by sheer accident, Lin Yuewei finally got some peace and quiet.

Just as that thought flashed through Lin Yuewei’s mind, a headache stabbed through her. Why was she thinking about Gu Yanqiu again?

Jiang Congbi watched expressions, and when she saw Lin Yuewei occasionally look troubled, her brain turned several corners without making a sound. Lin Yuewei didn’t often show that kind of expression. Jiang Congbi narrowed her eyes and searched her gossip-filled mind for the last time she’d looked like this.

After a long while, her eyes lit up.

It had been in freshman year. Lin Yuewei had gone to school to report in and met a senior girl; the senior was in the same college as her and usually looked after her a lot. They had similar interests, and Jiang Congbi had complained to Lin Yuewei before that ever since she’d gotten a senior, she hardly played with her anymore. Was she dating someone? Come clean already. Lin Yuewei had rolled her eyes and told her there was nothing of the sort; they were just pure friends.

Then, just a week after that, Lin Yuewei had appeared in front of Jiang Congbi with a complicated expression, wearing this same worried look, and told her that the senior had confessed to her. Jiang Congbi had asked if she liked the other girl; if she did, then accept her. The two of them had analyzed Lin Yuewei’s feelings in detail, and the final result was that Lin Yuewei didn’t like her.

After that, Lin Yuewei cut things off with that senior cleanly; they couldn’t be lovers, and they couldn’t even be friends.

Jiang Congbi felt this expression deserved a private name: lovestruck troubles.

The people Lin Yuewei had been in contact with lately were all within Jiang Congbi’s grasp. There were only two possibilities: Shao Yasi and Gu Yanqiu. By Jiang Congbi’s intuition, Gu Yanqiu was more likely. Of course, it was also possible that Lin Yuewei’s good friend Shao Yasi was following in the footsteps of that senior from back then and had somehow lost her mind enough to confess.

If Lin Yuewei knew that Jiang Congbi had pieced together most of her worries just from her expression alone, she didn’t know whether she would praise Jiang Congbi for truly being a good sister, or tell her that with gossip instincts like that, she should go become an entertainment reporter.

Jiang Congbi decided to probe her a bit.

Clearing her throat, Jiang Congbi said, “I saw some gossip a couple of days ago saying that X Chocolate’s advertiser was looking for Shao Yasi to shoot a commercial endorsement. Is it true? You’re so familiar with her, you must know.”

“False.” Lin Yuewei answered without hesitation, looking at her like she was an idiot. “Have you been working yourself stupid? How do you not even have basic judgment anymore? Would your company spend several million on an endorsement for a newcomer who just debuted through a talent show?”

Jiang Congbi wasn’t the least bit offended by her mockery. Instead, she rubbed her hands together excitedly in her heart. Based on this reaction, it probably wasn’t Shao Yasi. Then could it be Gu Yanqiu?

“Our company wouldn’t, but Tianrui would. I also heard some gossip saying Gu Yanqiu is negotiating with Shao Yasi’s agency, saying she wants to hire her to endorse a new product.”

Lin Yuewei said, “That’s even less possible. She never even mentioned it to me. Who would be so bored as to spread news like that?”

Jiang Congbi caught the key point in her words. “Why would she mention it to you? What’s your relationship? Wait!”

Lin Yuewei turned to leave, and Jiang Congbi pounced on her like a tiger, knocking her to the floor. The clean-freak Lin Yuewei yanked her off herself. “What are you doing?!”

Jiang Congbi pressed her advantage and shoved her back onto the sofa, looking down at her as her hands gripped the fabric at her shoulders. “Are we friends or not? Is this how a real friend hides things from me? Don’t you know friends’ wives aren’t to be touched?”

Lin Yuewei: “…”

Jiang Congbi froze for a moment, then fully threw herself into her role as the “pursuer” and argued shamelessly, “You said before that you didn’t feel anything for her. I’m already chasing her now; what do you mean by trying to snatch her away from me?”

As a person who had a legal marriage certificate with Gu Yanqiu, and therefore held the legal identity of a spouse, Lin Yuewei felt a reflexive stir of resistance when she heard the phrase “snatch her away.” With a blank face, she said, “She hasn’t fallen for you yet. How can that count as snatching her away?”

Jiang Congbi was ecstatic inside; her conviction only deepened, though she kept fanning the flames outwardly. “She may not like me now, but she’ll definitely like me sooner or later. Who goes after someone without setting a deadline? Especially for a woman like that, it’d be a shame not to spend two or three years on her.”

“Are you a little too confident in yourself?” Lin Yuewei didn’t know Gu Yanqiu well, but from what she had observed, Gu Yanqiu probably wouldn’t like someone like Jiang Congbi, a spoiled rich kid.

“Nonsense. If I don’t believe in myself, how is anyone else supposed to believe in me?” Jiang Congbi gazed deeply into the empty air ahead. “Especially my Qiuqiu. My feelings are as clear as the sun and moon.”

“Give it a rest. I haven’t seen you seriously pursue her for that long anyway. Better to give up early.” No matter how light Jiang Congbi was, she still weighed close to a hundred jin. After being pinned under her for so long, Lin Yuewei propped herself up on her elbows and nudged Jiang Congbi’s shoulder. “Get off already. My bones are about to break.”

Jiang Congbi took the opportunity to bounce twice more on top of her before finally getting down with a grin. She knew how good Lin Yuewei’s physical condition was; never mind one of her, even two of her wouldn’t be a problem.

Jiang Congbi was just smiling to herself when Lin Yuewei bumped her shoulder. “Did you hear what I just told you? I’m saying this for your own good.”

“What did you say? Give up on Qiuqiu? Impossible.” Jiang Congbi slipped fully into character and declared to the heavens, “The mountains may lose their peaks, the heavens and earth may merge; only then will I dare to part from you. You should be the boulder; I should be the reed. The reed is tough as silk, and the boulder will not be moved…”

“Have you developed a delusion disorder or burned your brain out? Who’s your boulder and reed? There’s only you here; you’re both the boulder and the reed.” Lin Yuewei reached toward her forehead, but Jiang Congbi tilted her head to dodge and said, “My mind is made up. Don’t try to persuade me again.”

Lin Yuewei: “…”

Just as she was figuring out how to make Jiang Congbi back away from the cliff, Jiang Congbi suddenly dropped the act and looked at her seriously. “Why are you so invested in my love life, or rather…”

Lin Yuewei could guess what she was about to say and cut her off at once. “Of course it’s because I care about you.”

“Then why didn’t I ever see you care this much when I was dating before? Why did you go to such lengths to make up all kinds of reasons to ruin my relationships? Like saying I was sexually cold.”

Lin Yuewei’s face darkened. That was one of the top ten most embarrassing moments of her life.

“If the person I’m chasing wasn’t Gu Yanqiu, would you still be this painstaking about stopping me?”

“I…” Lin Yuewei instinctively wanted to deny it.

“Think carefully before you answer.” Jiang Congbi pressed on her shoulder and said earnestly, “I know you’ve never been in love, so take your time. No need to rush. Relationships can’t be rushed either; you and I are different kinds of people. Take it slow.”

She pushed Lin Yuewei back onto the sofa, then lowered her head to play on her phone. Lin Yuewei thought she was either gaming or scrolling Weibo. After a while, she heard Jiang Congbi go, “Ah.” “I looked up the N different signs of liking someone for you; want to hear them?”

Lin Yuewei didn’t say anything.

Jiang Congbi said, “Fine, then I won’t read them.”

Lin Yuewei: “Hey.”

Jiang Congbi snickered, only to have Lin Yuewei pinch her waist. She yelped and jumped up, dragging a chair over to sit one meter away, out of reach. “First, you want to see her and hear her talk. She doesn’t even have to talk; as long as you’re in the same space, or even not in the same space… What kind of garbage is this? Wait, let me find you another one.”

Lin Yuewei: “…Can you be a little more reliable?”

“I am reliable. Just wait a few seconds.” This time Jiang Congbi learned her lesson. After finding an answer, she previewed it first. Feeling it was decent enough, she cleared her throat and read, “First, you search for the other person’s figure in a crowd. Even in a packed place where you can’t tell who’s who at all, you’ll still refuse to give up and search over and over for that person. If you can’t find them, you’ll stay distracted and uneasy until you do.”

Barely a moment after she finished, Lin Yuewei decisively shook her head. “I don’t.”

Jiang Congbi gave her a sidelong look and reminded her, “At the Actor Trainees finale last time, didn’t you see Gu Yanqiu? There were tens of thousands of people there. Just how good were your eyes to spot her?”

“That was because of the light sign.”

“She wasn’t holding one.”

“Later, when I didn’t see her, I didn’t keep looking either.” As soon as Jiang Congbi opened her mouth, Lin Yuewei cut in, “Next. Stop ranting.”

Jiang Congbi: “Second, building on the first point, if you can’t find the person, you’ll feel anxious and uneasy. But once you finally see them, you’ll become nervous, your heart will race, and you won’t know what to say; your usual sharp tongue and silver tongue will all go to the dogs, leaving only a stupid grin or a daze.”

Lin Yuewei: “Logical issue. The first point says you feel at ease when you find them; the second says you’re uneasy when you see them. What kind of logically dead person wrote this answer?”

Jiang Congbi was completely convinced by her. “Then can’t you just ignore that sentence? If you’re so good at nitpicking, why not go play mahjong? China’s mahjong future is all riding on you. There are still so many more; answer the later ones instead.”

“I don’t have those either. When I see her, I’m not nervous. If I’m nervous, it’s because I’m afraid someone else will take pictures and write nonsense, exposing my identity. Stupid grinning and dazing is even more impossible; wouldn’t that make me an idiot? I’ve only heard that liking someone can lower your IQ, but I’ve never heard of it turning you into a retard.” Lin Yuewei said, “All right, next one.”

Jiang Congbi held back the strong urge to complain and read on in a flat tone, “You’ll think of every possible way to do something for the other person. For example, when she’s crying, you offer a warm embrace and wipe away her tears. Ugh, too sappy; skip these lines. If you see the other person become relaxed and happy because of your help, you’ll feel even happier.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Congbi had basically given up on training this stubborn mule. Seeing her now wearing a thoughtful expression was like someone long trapped in darkness suddenly seeing the heavens open. Her eyes lit up as she looked over. “What did you think of?”

Lin Yuewei said, “I wonder if my mom’s lobster is ready yet?”

Jiang Congbi: “Get lost.”

Lin Yuewei straightened up. “I don’t remember ever helping her.” Sending instant noodles probably didn’t count. That stuff wasn’t exactly good anyway; maybe Gu Yanqiu had only forced it down because it was from her, and she was that rigid.

Jiang Congbi said, “Fourth, frequently look for opportunities to get close to the other person and create chance encounters.”

Lin Yuewei said, “That one really doesn’t apply. I swear; every time I run into her, it’s a coincidence.”

Jiang Congbi teased with exaggerated brows and eyes, “The world is so big; how come all those coincidences only happen to the two of you?”

Lin Yuewei shrugged. “Maybe it’s a karmic bad match.”

A spark of possibility flashed through her mind, and she suppressed it. That possibility was even smaller than the chance that she liked Gu Yanqiu.

Jiang Congbi said expressionlessly, “Fifth, your personality changes dramatically in front of the other person.”

“I’m fine. I only change drastically in front of cameras.”

“Sixth, secretly stare at them while spacing out?”

“No. I look openly.”

“Seventh.” Jiang Congbi, already exhausted and slumped in the chair, suddenly sat straight up and raised her voice. “If you deny this one again, I’ll take your surname!”

“What?”

“You ask about the other person’s news from someone else.” Jiang Congbi interrogated her loudly before Lin Yuewei could speak. “Dare to say you’ve never sneaked around asking me for news about your wife, tsk, Gu Yanqiu?!”

Lin Yuewei clicked her tongue. “Speak properly. Why are you tsking at my wife? I mean, tsk, no, I mean Gu Yanqiu.”

Jiang Congbi: “Hahahahaha.”

Lin Yuewei laughed along, trying to throw the enemy off balance and slip by unnoticed.

Jiang Congbi promptly snatched the conversation back, her eyes as sharp as a hawk’s as she stared at her. “Did you ask me about her?”

Lin Yuewei said, “I just casually asked.”

Jiang Congbi burst out laughing. “Haha, didn’t expect that, did you? There’s actually another line after this: when others press you about why you’re asking all this, you’ll act totally indifferent. Classic line: ‘I just casually asked.’”

Lin Yuewei: “…”

You only hit on one after all this time; what was there to be smug about? While Jiang Congbi was laughing with her hands on her hips, Lin Yuewei silently took her phone and flipped to the last item, the one about giving gifts. That one was even less likely; she had never given the other person any gifts, nor had she ever thought about doing so.

Right, Gu Yanqiu’s birthday seemed to be on Arbor Day. Should she make a polite gesture? Forget it; Arbor Day had passed ages ago…

Lin Yuewei suddenly threw the phone back and said, “All of this is nonsense, and it even has the intent to deliberately mislead people. Rather than treating this like a relationship textbook, it’s better to just let things take their course.”

Jiang Congbi said, “How is it nonsense?”

Lin Yuewei said, “First, you search for the other person’s figure in a crowd; if you can’t find them, you get uneasy. Every time you go somewhere unfamiliar with lots of people, you do the same thing with me; you hold my hand and won’t let go, like you’ve got paranoia, and if you can’t find me for a moment you call me nonstop.”

“…"

“Quietly doing things for the other person? When I had no money, you treated me to meals and bought me clothes and bags. I only asked you to buy some paid boost posts, but you ended up throwing yourself into the whole fan-chasing journey. Haven’t you done enough? Looking for opportunities to get close to the other person? You were already doing it openly, calling me every few days to make plans. Back in freshman year, when I got a little close to a senior, you were so jealous you nearly drowned me. Personality changes? No need to say it; you definitely have it, and I do too. Staring at the other person in a daze? You’ve done that while looking at me like I’m pretty more than once or twice. Asking around from other people? Your scope of ‘other people’ is pretty broad; you’ve met plenty of front-line fans and fan-site people, haven’t you? Giving gifts? From childhood to now, how many gifts have you given me, and how many have I given you?”

With every sentence Lin Yuewei said, Jiang Congbi replied with one “…” face after another. In the end, Jiang Congbi silently took out her phone, opened an interface, and started typing.

Lin Yuewei caught her breath and asked, “What are you doing?”

Jiang Congbi showed her the screen. The nickname she had set for Lin Yuewei on WeChat, originally “Little Fairy,” had become “Queen of Counterattacks.” Jiang Congbi waved her hand wearily. “Don’t talk to me for now. I’m afraid I won’t be able to resist hitting you.”

Lin Yuewei patted her on the shoulder in consolation.

After Lin Yuewei had argued Jiang Congbi into submission from every direction, the turbulent feelings in her own heart were finally eased; she felt physically and mentally refreshed, and even politely served the “victim” tea, water, waist rubs, and leg massages. Jiang Congbi closed her eyes and refused to look at her.

That was the scene Lin’s mother saw when she came upstairs: “What are you two doing?”

Jiang Congbi sat up and said, “Nothing. We’re just fooling around.”

Lin’s mother went, “Oh,” and said, “Come downstairs to eat. It’s ready. I made garlic and spicy flavors, try them.”

Jiang Congbi was sweet-tongued; she immediately wrapped an arm around Lin’s mother’s neck and said, “Auntie’s cooking is especially delicious. I’ve been thinking about it for ages. It’s all Lin Yuewei’s fault for not letting me come over to mooch a meal.”

Lin’s mother loved this kind of affectionate child and immediately said, “Mooch whenever you want. Come anytime. Anyway, there aren’t many people in our family, and we can never finish the food each time. It’s just that I don’t cook often, so you should tell me before you come.”

“That would be too much trouble, Auntie.”

“It’s no trouble, no trouble. Our little brat’s going to act in the future; she won’t be back for a year or two, and the house will be empty. We’d welcome you even more.”

“Auntie, you’re so nice.”

“You’re nice too; obedient and well-behaved.”

The two of them held hands and went downstairs while showering each other with commercial praise. Lin Yuewei sighed and followed behind.

The three of them ate ten jin of large crayfish, not even sparing the claws. Jiang Congbi was covered in grease and asked Lin’s mother, “Where did you buy these crayfish? They’re so good. I’m going to have our housekeeper buy some too.”

Lin Yuewei called out, “Mom—” trying to stop her, but Lin’s mother had already said it, looking a little proud. “They were sent over by my son-in-law. You can’t buy these at the market over here.”

Only then did Lin’s mother turn to look at Lin Yuewei. “Why are you calling me? You’ve been weird all day, jumping at every little thing. Don’t scare your mother into a heart attack.”

“Gu Yanqiu…” Jiang Congbi looked at Lin Yuewei meaningfully, and an idea struck her. She wanted to see how long Lin Yuewei could keep up the act.

Author’s Note:

The signs of liking someone—Miss Lin has only hit one or two here and there, while Miss Gu has already hit every single one. The one who falls first always has to act a little more pitiful. [Hey]

Jiang Congbi rolled up her sleeves; at a time like this, it’s my turn to provide strong support.

Lin Yuewei: I don’t like her, don’t say nonsense. Even if we’ve been to bed, I still don’t like her; it was all a moment of impulse! [Did I just reveal something? [Huh?]]