Chapter 48

“Where does Gu Yanqiu live?” Jiang Congbi asked Lin’s mother.

Lin Yuewei frowned. “Why do you want to know that?”

Jiang Congbi clicked her tongue. “Did I ask you? What’s it got to do with you? What does this have to do with you and her?”

Lin’s mother also asked, “Right. Why do you want her address?”

Jiang Congbi wiped her mouth with a tissue and said with a smile, “I was thinking of asking her for some crayfish, wasn’t I? Visiting in person would show more sincerity.” Then Jiang Congbi suddenly remembered that when Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu had first gotten together, they had stayed there for two days. Yet even now, she still didn’t know Gu Yanqiu’s address. Lin Yuewei had never told her, not even the neighborhood. At that thought, Jiang Congbi gave Lin Yuewei a long look. She suspected Lin Yuewei had been head over heels at first sight, and only now had the tiniest seed of feeling begun to sprout. Even then, she still refused to admit that seed had already taken root. How had she never realized this woman could be so stubbornly tight-lipped?

Jiang Congbi deliberately said it for Lin Yuewei’s ears: “Besides, Gu Yanqiu and I are about the same age. Maybe we’ll hit it off. She just got back to the country and doesn’t have many friends; I like making friends.”

Lin’s mother blinked and looked at Lin Yuewei.

Lin Yuewei said innocently, “Why are you looking at me? You decide.” Just don’t give it to her!

Lin’s mother figured that, after all, it was Lin Yuewei’s marital home, so she ought to ask for her opinion. But seeing how unconcerned she looked, and considering that the neighborhood had excellent security, Jiang Congbi didn’t seem like a bad person either.

After a moment’s thought, Lin’s mother said, “She lives at No. XX, Yulan Garden.”

Lin Yuewei: “……”

“Okay, Auntie, I’ll definitely visit on time. Maybe tonight; we might even manage dinner together.” Jiang Congbi smiled sweetly at Lin’s mother, though her eyes were on Lin Yuewei.

Lin’s mother found that wording a little strange, but Jiang Congbi had always been a lively, unpredictable girl, so she didn’t think much of it. Lin Yuewei ignored Jiang Congbi’s blatant threat and answered with a look that mocked her immaturity.

Lin’s mother carried the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen. Lin Yuewei took a tea set from the cabinet and set up a small table on the living room balcony, calmly brewing tea.

Jiang Congbi wandered around her side, and if Lin Yuewei hadn’t known she wasn’t interested in tea at all, she might have thought Jiang Congbi wanted to learn from her. She was just trying to bait her into talking and drag her into trouble. Lin Yuewei refused to fall for it; she ignored her as much as she could and poured the boiling tea into the delicate cups.

Jiang Congbi knew her too well. The calmer Lin Yuewei looked, the more it meant she had something to hide.

For a while, neither of them said anything.

When Lin Yuewei had inhaled enough of the aroma, she picked up a cup and took a small sip, reminding her, “If you don’t drink it now, it’ll get cold.”

Jiang Congbi tested the temperature and downed it in one gulp.

Lin Yuewei gave her a cool sidelong glance.

What a waste.

This was genuine Golden Junmei, not like those restaurant versions, nine and a half out of ten of which were fake.

After finishing, Jiang Congbi even commented, “Not good. Do you have anything to drink? Milk is fine too.”

Lin Yuewei lifted a foot as if to kick her. “There’s some in the fridge. Go get it yourself.”

Jiang Congbi burst out laughing and ran off.

Lin Yuewei’s phone was on the coffee table in the living room. Jiang Congbi took a bottle of drink from the fridge, and as she passed by, the phone suddenly buzzed on the table. Jiang Congbi bent down to look; the caller ID read: Pikaqiu.

Jiang Congbi: “???” What kind of weirdo was this!

Lin Yuewei naturally heard the ringtone too. “Who is it?”

Jiang Congbi said, “Ten thousand volts.”

Lin Yuewei didn’t react. “Huh?”

“The nickname you set yourself. I don’t know who it is.” Jiang Congbi casually picked up the phone and handed it to Lin Yuewei. Lin Yuewei saw the caller ID. What followed was a look so complicated that no words could fully describe it.

Lin Yuewei awkwardly tugged at the corner of her mouth. “I’m going to take this call.”

Then she answered the phone, said nothing, and slipped into one of the first-floor guest rooms, shutting the door behind her.

Jiang Congbi: “???”

This Ten Thousand Volts, no, Pikaqiu, was no ordinary person.

Inside the guest room, Lin Yuewei checked the lock before speaking her first words: “Pi— no, Miss Gu, why did you suddenly call me?”

“Didn’t we agree you wouldn’t call me that?”

“I still haven’t thought of a good one yet.”

“When did you get home?” Gu Yanqiu didn’t answer her first question.

“About ten or so this morning.” Lin Yuewei returned the courtesy. “You?”

“Eleven. Traffic was a little bad.”

“Oh.”

The moment Lin Yuewei heard her voice now, she thought of last night’s hug, and of why Gu Yanqiu had suddenly made that request in the first place.

“You..."

“Mm?”

“Nothing.” Lin Yuewei shook her head and thought that everyone had fragile moments. Gu Yanqiu had come back so late last night; maybe she had run into something. A hug was just a hug. If she went off overthinking it, that was just her imagination acting up; she needed treatment.

Lin Yuewei decided not to make small talk and went straight to the point. “Why did you suddenly think of calling me?”

Gu Yanqiu wanted to say a little more, but Lin Yuewei gave her no chance at all. She sighed inwardly and used the excuse she had already prepared: “I had someone send some crayfish to your home. Auntie said they arrived last night, and now that you’re back, she’ll cook them for you. I just wanted to ask how they taste; do you need me to send more? It’s still peak season. There’s plenty of crayfish.”

Lin Yuewei narrowed her eyes.

Wasn’t Gu Yanqiu usually very busy? Why was she calling her house over something this small, going so far as to take charge of even the crayfish? She was more attentive than an actual son-in-law in an ordinary family.

“I ate them at noon. They were pretty good.” Lin Yuewei rolled her eyes and said, “Jiang Congbi said she wants some too, and that she’d personally come ask you. I said there’s no need; it’d be too much trouble for you.”

Having said that, no matter how Gu Yanqiu answered—whether she agreed or not—Lin Yuewei now had a reason to brush Jiang Congbi off and keep her from going to Gu Yanqiu’s place.

“It’s no trouble. What’s her address? I’ll have someone send it.” Gu Yanqiu didn’t like to get personally involved in matters big or small, but Jiang Congbi was Lin Yuewei’s best friend, which made the meaning completely different. She agreed readily. And if she remembered correctly, this was the first time Lin Yuewei had taken the initiative to hint, in front of her, that she wanted help; it meant she wasn’t being formal with her. Gu Yanqiu was delighted, and her voice rose unconsciously.

Lin Yuewei’s heart started drumming. Why had Gu Yanqiu sounded so normal when talking to her before, but the moment Jiang Congbi came up, her tone changed? Could it really be, as Jiang Congbi said, that the two of them were bound to have something happen between them sooner or later?

“Lin... Yuewei?” The second character in her name was level-toned, but when Gu Yanqiu called her, there was a questioning lilt to it, and the ending rose in a lovely arc, bright and clear like a bell hanging under the eaves.

Lin Yuewei was snapped back to her senses; a spot in her chest kept itching and warming, as though a feather were lightly brushing across it.

“Why aren’t you speaking? What is Miss Jiang’s address?”

She called Jiang Congbi “Miss Jiang” and called her by name instead—although that form of address had only been settled a few days ago, Lin Yuewei still felt subtly pleased by it. “I’ll text it to you later.”

“Okay.”

Lin Yuewei had nothing else to say. Gu Yanqiu wasn’t very talkative, but neither of them wanted to hang up.

“You..."

“I..."

They spoke at the same time.

Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu: “You go first.”

Gu Yanqiu: “You go first. I’m listening.”

Lin Yuewei said, “Are you living alone right now? Don’t you have a housekeeper or something at home?”

Gu Yanqiu answered, “Yes, I’m alone.” She emphasized the word “alone,” pausing for a few seconds in a subtle way. Lin Yuewei even mulled over the meaning of that pause, but still failed to catch the other woman’s invitation.

“...” Gu Yanqiu didn’t know whether she was pretending not to understand or simply hadn’t caught on at all. She gave up on hinting and continued, “I don’t have a housekeeper. A cleaning service comes once a week for a full clean. I’m used to it from living abroad.”

“Isn’t the house too big to handle?”

“It’s fine.”

“I think it’d still be better to have a housekeeper. Someone to cook for you and so on; then you wouldn’t have to do everything yourself.”

“Sure,” Gu Yanqiu said. “Do you have any recommendations? I’m pretty busy, so I might not have time to hire one myself.”

Without hesitation, Lin Yuewei said, “You can have your secretary hire one for you.”

Gu Yanqiu went, “Oh.”

Lin Yuewei heard a hint of grievance in that little oh and couldn’t help laughing. She said, “What were you about to say just now?”

Gu Yanqiu said, “I...”

Knock, knock, knock—

Jiang Congbi knocked on the door, pressing her ear against it to listen to what was going on inside. Before she could react, the door was pulled open and she slammed straight into the unhappy-looking Lin Yuewei.

Jiang Congbi looked at her phone screen; the call had already ended.

She pointed at the phone. “Is Pikaqiu Gu Yanqiu?”

“No, stop guessing.”

“If it’s not her, why would you have to hide in a room to talk?”

“It was a TV station staffer from before. He called me because...” Seeing her stubborn expression, Lin Yuewei knew any lie she made up would be useless. She wisely gave up the argument. “Fine, it is.”

Jiang Congbi shouted, “And you still say there’s nothing going on between you two! You’ve even given each other nicknames now, and such nice-sounding ones at that!” Lin Yuewei’s talent for nicknaming was frankly questionable. Jiang Congbi thought her own name was excellent in both appearance and sound, yet Lin Yuewei insisted on calling her Big Scallion. Was that a nickname a normal person would give a beautiful young woman? Little Scallion would have been better than that!

“Hey, I can’t explain this to you.” Lin Yuewei rubbed her forehead, exasperated.

“Even if you can’t explain it, you still have to.”

In the end, Jiang Congbi wore Lin Yuewei down until Lin Yuewei could no longer take it and was forced to agree to three conditions.

Jiang Congbi’s father had come back from out of town and called her home for dinner, or else Jiang Congbi might have stayed for another meal. Sitting in the driver’s seat of her Lamborghini, she waved at Lin Yuewei. “I’ll definitely go find Gu Yanqiu tonight. Don’t worry.”

Lin Yuewei: “！！！”

Lin Yuewei said, “I already gave her your address. Why are you still going to find her?”

Jiang Congbi said, “The crayfish were just an excuse, hahaha. Tonight I’m going to find her carrying a huge bouquet of roses. If that doesn’t work, I’ll use my feminine wiles. Your sister here is this pretty; if I show up at her doorstep, I don’t believe she won’t be moved.”

Lin Yuewei: “You dare—”

Jiang Congbi blasted her with exhaust and her arrogant laughter drifted back on the wind. “You can see whether I dare or not.”

Lin Yuewei: “……”

She absolutely dared.

At nine that night, Jiang Congbi got out of the back seat of her family car, patting her round belly as she swayed toward the Jiang residence’s front door. Then she abruptly stopped, and Jiang’s father, walking behind her, nearly ran into her.

“What now? You’re grown already and still so careless.” Jiang’s father chided her.

“I just remembered something important.” She had nearly eaten so much she forgot. Jiang Congbi hurriedly called Lin Yuewei and announced grandly, “I’m setting out now! Wait for my triumphant return!”

After saying that, she hung up without caring how Lin Yuewei reacted.

Jiang’s father asked, “Setting out where?”

Jiang Congbi said, “Setting out for home. I’m stuffed tonight.”

Jiang’s father laughed and patted her head. “I told you not to eat so much, but you insisted.”

Jiang Congbi smiled mysteriously. “Dad, you don’t know; I’m celebrating in advance.”

***

“Ask you to watch TV with me, and you act like there are nails in your butt or something. Why are you so restless?” Lin’s mother shot Lin Yuewei a sidelong glance. She had been unable to sit still all evening.

Lin Yuewei suddenly stood up, strode to the entryway, changed her shoes, grabbed her bag and keys.

“What are you doing?”

“Something urgent. Go to sleep first; don’t wait up.” Lin Yuewei took the car from the garage, slammed the accelerator, and with a roar of the engine, the car shot out like an arrow released from a bow.