Chapter 49

Jiang Congbi was the kind of person who never really had a plan, especially when it came to that mouth of hers. Most of the time, she was talking nonsense from one end to the other. So when she came back that afternoon and said she was going to Gu Yanqiu’s place that night, Lin Yuewei absolutely didn’t believe her, no matter how confidently and arrogantly she said it.

She had a feeling Jiang Congbi was setting a trap for her, waiting to see whether she’d walk right into it. Lin Yuewei had known her for so many years; how could she not know all those little tricks of hers? So she decided to sit tight and wait for the other side to make a move, and she was certain the enemy wouldn’t budge.

Then she spent the whole evening feeling uneasy.

She kept turning that possibility over and over in her mind. What if Jiang Congbi had been kicked in the head by a donkey and really went straight to Gu Yanqiu’s place? Worse, what if she actually used her beauty as bait? Gu Yanqiu always held a string of Buddhist prayer beads like some living bodhisattva, but based on everything Jiang Congbi had fed her over the years—that in novels, the more abstinent someone looked on the surface, the more unrestrained they were inside—Lin Yuewei couldn’t be sure Gu Yanqiu would hold the line.

And then there was the strange look Gu Yanqiu had on her face when Jiang Congbi came up today; maybe there was already the faintest hint of interest. If Jiang Congbi was going to use seduction, it definitely wouldn’t be as simple as stripping down and trying to seduce her with sex appeal. She might even bring wine and turn it into a drunken lapse.

The thought jolted Lin Yuewei so hard she stared at the remaining time on her navigation app and pressed the gas even harder, the car racing down the road like a bolt of lightning.

***

Gu Yanqiu hadn’t slept well last night. This morning, after getting up a little after eight and coming back to Yanning, she made up for it with a nap in the bedroom. She slept until three in the afternoon and woke feeling refreshed. Afterward, she called Lin Yuewei and talked to her for quite a while; satisfied, Gu Yanqiu began to enjoy her weekend.

She decided to treat herself, so she went to buy ingredients for a Western meal and methodically followed each step without finding it troublesome.

It took a long time, but she was content. She even opened a bottle of red wine for herself; at first she took out only one glass, then thought better of it, turned back, and got another. She set the pair across from herself, poured only a shallow layer into each, and pretended Lin Yuewei was there having a candlelit dinner with her. She amused herself that way. No one could see it anyway; no one would say a thing.

By the time Lin Yuewei rushed over, Gu Yanqiu had just finished dinner and was tidying the kitchen in an orderly fashion. She had always been meticulous, and now that she wasn’t in a hurry, she washed up slowly and unhurriedly.

Lin Yuewei panted as she unlocked the door with her key. The living room was empty; when she looked outside, there wasn’t a light on upstairs either. On the dining table sat two red wine glasses.

Her heart gave a heavy thump. A wave of anger, along with other emotions too tangled to sort through, surged up at once. In a flash of heat, Lin Yuewei shouted, “Jiang Congbi, get the hell out here!”

As she spoke, she kicked off her shoes, didn’t even bother changing into slippers, and ran barefoot upstairs. “Jiang Congbi!”

Gu Yanqiu, startled in the kitchen, looked up in confusion. “..."

She recognized Lin Yuewei’s voice, wiped her hands, and came out of the kitchen, only to see Lin Yuewei’s retreating figure charging upstairs while yelling Jiang Congbi’s name as if she had some deep, blood-feud-level hatred.

Weird. When had Jiang Congbi sneaked into her house?

Lin Yuewei rushed all the way to Gu Yanqiu’s bedroom door and twisted the handle. Luckily, it wasn’t locked. Just how bold were these two, leaving the door unlocked like that.

“Jiang Congbi! Are you even human!”

Lin Yuewei shoved the door open hard.

No need to turn on the light; the light from outside was enough to show that the bed was empty. Lin Yuewei switched on the wall lamp, and there really was no one there.

Lin Yuewei: “..."

A flush of heat rushed from the soles of her feet all the way to her face. Embarrassed, she drew in a breath and touched her burning cheeks, hoping no one had seen that wildly unhinged performance just now.

“Yuewei?” came Gu Yanqiu’s puzzled voice from behind her.

Lin Yuewei stiffly turned around and saw Gu Yanqiu standing in front of her in an apron, looking like she had just come out of the kitchen.

Lin Yuewei tugged at the corners of her mouth, raised a hand in greeting, and gave a dry laugh. “Good evening.”

Gu Yanqiu frowned. “Good evening.”

Lin Yuewei tried to slip away, but Gu Yanqiu caught her wrist. Once was acquaintance, twice was familiarity; this time her grip was even tighter than before. Lin Yuewei wasn’t in the mood to feel her heart flutter. She only wanted to get out of this place where she had utterly disgraced herself.

“I came here because of a small misunderstanding; now it’s been cleared up,” Lin Yuewei said, looking utterly defeated. “Just let me go.”

“You thought Jiang was here with me?”

Lin Yuewei didn’t want to say more and nodded heavily.

Gu Yanqiu still didn’t let go. She led Lin Yuewei to the sofa downstairs and poured her a glass of water. “Rest for a bit before you go. It must have been tiring driving over. I still haven’t finished cleaning up the table; I’ll be back soon.”

Lin Yuewei’s gaze landed on the two red wine glasses on the table that had caused all this misunderstanding, then she looked at Gu Yanqiu; that look clearly said: Why do you need two glasses if you’re drinking alone?

“Mmm,” Gu Yanqiu said. “I just felt like it today.”

Lin Yuewei glared at her.

Gu Yanqiu was baffled by the glare, but it didn’t stop her from finding Lin Yuewei adorable; her mood lifted at once, and she couldn’t help laughing.

It wasn’t her usual carefully polished smile, nor that faintly mocking laugh of hers; it was a real, simple, genuinely happy laugh.

If this had been any other day, Lin Yuewei might have spaced out for a while because Gu Yanqiu looked so good when she smiled. But today she had just suffered through the eleventh most embarrassing scene of her life, and she had no appreciation for beauty at all. She pouted and said, “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing. Wait for me here for a bit.” Gu Yanqiu lifted the hand hanging at her side and reached toward Lin Yuewei a little, as if she wanted to touch her face. Lin Yuewei eyed that hand warily, and Gu Yanqiu seemed to wake from a dream; very naturally, she changed course and picked up the cold-water pitcher on the table instead. “We’re almost out of water. I’ll go pour some more.”

Lin Yuewei watched her wash and put away the wine glasses, still questioning her own life choices. Why hadn’t she seen the person as soon as she walked in? Why had she just stormed straight upstairs without caring about anything? Impulsiveness was the devil; tomorrow she ought to have Gu Yanqiu teach her a sutra or something.

Gu Yanqiu was much faster than before. In just a few minutes, everything had been put away; she hung the apron back on the wall. Underneath was a loose T-shirt, white, thin, and somewhat sheer.

Lin Yuewei casually glanced at her chest and awkwardly looked away.

Gu Yanqiu wasn’t wearing a bra.

Most women didn’t wear bras at home; Gu Yanqiu was naturally no exception. Noticing the odd look on Lin Yuewei’s face, she followed her gaze downward, and her face instantly went red. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Wait for me a second.” Gu Yanqiu hurried upstairs toward the bedroom and nearly tripped.

Lin Yuewei rarely saw her this flustered, and she couldn’t stop laughing as she watched her back.

Once she put on a bra, Gu Yanqiu was once again the Gu Yanqiu who looked as if she could become a Buddha on the spot; she was a completely different person from the one who had just been scrambling around a moment ago. For some reason, Lin Yuewei even felt a little disappointed.

Gu Yanqiu held the glass with both hands and took a sip of water. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Huh? What would I need your help with?” Lin Yuewei was still thinking about the bra.

“I heard you calling Jiang’s name just now. Is there some connection to me here?” Gu Yanqiu asked with concern.

She would have been better off not asking. Lin Yuewei had almost forgotten about it, but now the memory came flooding back again, and she said, unable to bear recalling it, “No, it was just a small misunderstanding. Best not to bring it up.”

Lin Yuewei didn’t want to talk about it. Gu Yanqiu absentmindedly stroked the prayer beads on her wrist, quietly wondering what topic she should bring up next; ideally, she wanted to keep Lin Yuewei here tonight.

Lin Yuewei glanced at her phone. It was already ten at night. She was wavering between going home and not going home. Going home felt wasteful somehow; not going home, though, and she had no excuse to stay. Saying she wanted to spend the night all of a sudden would be too strange, wouldn’t it?

The two of them each had their own thoughts; their eyes met in the air, and they smiled at each other.

Lin Yuewei let out a long, long yawn, looking for all the world like she was about to fall asleep on the spot.

Gu Yanqiu seized the opportunity. Her movement was quick, but there was no trace of urgency in her voice; as steady and polite as ever, she said, “Why don’t you sleep here tonight? You don’t need to go to work tomorrow anyway. I have the maid clean that room every week, and the bedding and sheets are changed and aired out regularly. They were just changed yesterday.”

Lin Yuewei put on a thoughtful expression and half-reluctantly agreed. “Then I’ll be glad to accept.”

“It’s your house to begin with.” Gu Yanqiu smiled.

Only then did Lin Yuewei belatedly realize the house was under her name, and a strange thought popped into her head: Was Gu Yanqiu living here some legendary version of keeping a beauty hidden in a golden house?

In any case, Lin Yuewei successfully stayed the night. She sent Lin Mom a message saying she wasn’t coming home to sleep, and the very next second, Lin Mom called.

“You’re not coming home and you didn’t even tell me where you’re staying?” Lin Mom said.

“You already know me; it’s just Jiang Congbi’s place or a few friends’ places. You know all of them.” Lin Yuewei spoke vaguely, unwilling to let her mother know she had come to Gu Yanqiu’s place.

“I know a lot of people. Which one is it?” Lin Mom pressed.

“It’s just...” Lin Yuewei thought about whose name to use to bluff her way through. If she said Jiang Congbi, she was still angry at Jiang for messing with her. If she named one of the others, she’d have to explain even more. One lie needed ten thousand lies to patch it up.

Just then, Gu Yanqiu’s voice came from the stairs: “Yuewei, your room hasn’t been lived in for a long time. I just checked the water heater; there’s no problem.”

Her voice wasn’t too loud, just enough for Lin Mom on the phone to hear clearly.

Lin Yuewei: “..."

All she heard was Lin Mom cooing in delight, “You little rascal, going to see the Gu family’s daughter and still hiding it from me. A moment of spring night is worth a thousand pieces of gold; hurry up, go on, don’t let me disturb you.”

Lin Yuewei said urgently, “Mom, listen to me—”

Beep, beep, beep.

Lin Mom hung up faster than a rabbit running.

Lin Yuewei weakly finished the rest of the sentence: “...talk.”

Gu Yanqiu: “Was I not supposed to speak?”

Yes, absolutely yes! Lin Yuewei thought to herself; but when she looked up and saw Gu Yanqiu standing innocently on the stairs with a guilty expression, her heart softened. In a gentle voice, she comforted her, “It’s fine. It’s not your fault; my mom just has a vivid imagination. What were you saying?”

“The water heater is fine. You can take a shower now.”

“Okay, thank you.”

On the way upstairs, Lin Yuewei suddenly glanced at Gu Yanqiu’s back and remembered why Gu Yanqiu had mentioned the water heater. Last time she had visited the Lin house, the guest room had been unused for too long and the water heater had broken, so today Gu Yanqiu had specifically gone to check it for her.

She hadn’t expected her to be this considerate.

Lin Yuewei lowered her head and smiled.

Gu Yanqiu escorted Lin Yuewei all the way back to her room, but she still didn’t move away. Standing at the door, Lin Yuewei smiled at her. “Anything else?”

“Oh, the weather forecast says it might rain tonight. You should pay attention to—”

“Hmm?” Pay attention to what?

Rain was rare in Yanning, and when it did come, it was usually light. Gu Yanqiu hadn’t thought of a good excuse in the moment, so she came up with such a transparently obvious way to stall. She looked at Lin Yuewei and gave an embarrassed smile. “I’ve gotten confused. You should rest early.”

“Good night.”

“Good night.”

Gu Yanqiu closed the door. Only after Lin Yuewei could no longer see her did she close her own.

The two of them were separated by only one wall. As soon as Lin Yuewei entered the room, she started wondering what Gu Yanqiu was doing on the other side. Showering? Working? Or something else?

She realized she was becoming greedier and greedier; she wanted to see her, and once she did, she wanted to know everything about her.

Maybe Jiang Congbi was right. She might really be falling for her a little. Even though she had just argued with her like crazy today, she knew better than anyone which of those reasons actually held water.

Lin Yuewei sighed, took her clothes, and went into the bathroom to shower. The last time she had been here was four months ago; now, oddly enough, she didn’t feel unfamiliar at all, as if she had already recalled this place countless times in her mind when she wasn’t here.

Lin Yuewei pulled open a drawer and found her hair dryer missing. Wrapped in her dripping wet hair, she knocked on the door next door.

Gu Yanqiu was fully dressed and clearly hadn’t showered yet.

“My...” A strand of Lin Yuewei’s long hair slipped out of the towel. She reached to tuck it back, and her hand brushed against Gu Yanqiu’s outstretched one. Her fingertips were cool as they touched the side of her ear; Lin Yuewei froze as if shocked. “...hair dryer.”

Gu Yanqiu tucked her hair behind her ear and said, “Mine broke, so I borrowed yours without asking. I’ll go get it for you now.”

“Okay.” Lin Yuewei stood at her door and waited, feeling that the patch of skin behind her ear was heating up rapidly, its temperature far higher than anywhere else.

Gu Yanqiu handed the hair dryer to her.

Lin Yuewei’s lips moved, but in the end she said nothing and went back inside. After she finished using it, she brought it back to Gu Yanqiu as well; Gu Yanqiu was going to shower and wash her hair too, so she wouldn’t need to make another trip.

Both times Gu Yanqiu saw her appear at her door, that same simple, bright smile surfaced again.

Lin Yuewei’s heart went soft and fluttery. The second time, she practically fled in disgrace.

That night, Gu Yanqiu smiled at her so much that Lin Yuewei was nearly dazed senseless; when she finally went to bed, she was especially restless. She tossed and turned, and kept hearing something by her ear, making a ridiculous amount of noise.

Unable to stand it any longer, Lin Yuewei sat up and switched on the light. Listening carefully, she realized it wasn’t her imagination after all; there really was a sound. It seemed to be coming from next door—like the bed frame was shaking.

Jiang Congbi? What kind of nonsense was this? Lin Yuewei slapped herself on the forehead and slapped herself awake for real, got out of bed, put on her shoes, opened the door, and went over next door.

She pressed her ear against the neighboring door and listened to the heavy movement inside.

“Gu Yanqiu?” The more Lin Yuewei listened, the more wrong it sounded. She knocked and called her name.

No response.

Lin Yuewei called three times in a row, then reached for the doorknob and turned it downward; it didn’t budge at all. Gu Yanqiu had locked the bedroom door.

The sounds from inside grew louder and louder. Lin Yuewei clenched her fist and banged on the door. “Gu Yanqiu! Open the door! What are you doing in there?”

“Gu Yanqiu!”

“Gu, you surname Gu!”

Then, as if remembering something, Lin Yuewei hurried downstairs and found the spare key to Gu Yanqiu’s bedroom in the TV cabinet in the living room. The keys to this house had been given to Lin Yuewei by Lin Mom, including the keys to every room. Aside from the main door, all the spare keys were kept together. Luckily, Gu Yanqiu hadn’t moved them somewhere else.

Lin Yuewei opened Gu Yanqiu’s bedroom door with the spare key, and when she saw the scene inside, her eyes widened; she stepped back.

Gu Yanqiu’s hands were tied separately to the two corners of the bedframe by ropes. No one knew how she had managed to tie herself up like that; she was struggling nonstop on the bed.

“Have you lost your mind? Tying yourself up and then not being able to untie it afterward. Calling you stupid would be insulting stupid.” Lin Yuewei scolded her as she rushed over to help undo the rope. Halfway through, she felt a gust of cold wind at the back of her neck.

She stopped and slowly turned to look at Gu Yanqiu. Rather than struggling nonstop, Gu Yanqiu seemed to be making mechanical attempts to sit up; every time she got halfway up, the rope stopped her and she bounced back onto the mattress.

Because her attempts to rise were getting bigger and bigger, the noise she made grew louder and louder.

Lin Yuewei brushed the hair away from her face. Gu Yanqiu’s beautiful phoenix eyes were half-lidded, hiding all signs of awareness, and her face showed no expression at all. Lin Yuewei was so frightened her heart lurched. This couldn’t be sleepwalking, could it?

She tried carefully, speaking in a low voice. “Gu Yanqiu?”

“Mm.”

Gu Yanqiu’s answer was even scarier than no answer at all. Lin Yuewei nearly tumbled off the edge of the bed.

Sleepwalking didn’t show up infrequently in novels and films, but very few people had a complete and accurate understanding of it. Some people could even carry on brief conversations while sleepwalking, though they wouldn’t remember any of it afterward. Lin Yuewei was one of those who didn’t know much about it. Based on hearsay, she knew not to talk to sleepwalkers and not to wake them, or something bad could happen.

Gu Yanqiu was still making those rising motions. Lin Yuewei hadn’t noticed that the rope she had been undoing had actually turned a death knot into a slipknot. Now, with Gu Yanqiu’s movements, that loosened loop was coming undone fast and was about to break free.

Terrified and worried, Lin Yuewei watched Gu Yanqiu for a while, then went aside to call a doctor she knew.

After Lin Yuewei described Gu Yanqiu’s symptoms, the doctor said the best thing was to guide Gu Yanqiu back to bed and let her sleep. Between common sense she’d heard from somewhere and the doctor’s words, Lin Yuewei chose to believe the doctor. But...

Lin Yuewei looked toward the bed. “She’s right on the be—”

Her words cut off abruptly.

Gu Yanqiu was gone!

A corner of white clothing flashed past the doorway. Lin Yuewei chased after it with her phone in hand. Gu Yanqiu had gone downstairs without awareness and sat on the sofa, pouring herself a glass of water.

Lin Yuewei stood nearby watching her, quietly reporting everything she did to the doctor.

“She’s drinking water, her eyes are closed; she’s very elegant, very beautiful.”

Doctor: “..."

Lin Yuewei: “Sorry, just pretend you didn’t hear that.”

“She took something from the drawer... um... a toy? I don’t know what it is. It’s quite small; she’s playing with it between her fingers. Maybe it’s for dexterity training? Okay, she’s done playing with it and put it back.”

“She picked up another toy. I know this one; a Rubik’s Cube. Doctor, can sleepwalkers play Rubik’s Cubes too? Can they turn all six sides?”

“The cube’s done, too, and she’s put it back. She’s crying. What do I do, doctor? Should I wipe her tears? Will that scare her awake? Huh? Doctor? Say something? Doctor, doctor?”

The doctor had only just been woken up in the middle of the night and was still a little dazed. Taking a sip of water to clear his head, he listened to Lin Yuewei’s increasingly frantic voice and was speechless for a moment. “It’s fine. You can wipe them for her.”

Lin Yuewei pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped Gu Yanqiu’s tears. It was the first time she had realized that watching someone cry so quietly could make your heart ache like this. Unconsciously, she mimicked the way her mother coaxed children and murmured softly, “Don’t cry now, baby. Be good.”

It happened almost instantly; suddenly, there was a human-shaped object in Lin Yuewei’s arms.

Warm and soft.

Gu Yanqiu had squeezed herself into her embrace.

“Don’t go.”

Lin Yuewei: “!!!”

The doctor pinched the bridge of his nose, then heard Lin Yuewei sounding a little panicked. “Doctor, doctor, she hugged me. What do I do?”

“Then let her hug you. As long as she isn’t doing anything destructive, just go along with her as much as possible.”

“D-doc—doctohh! I think something’s not right. It seems like she’s not just trying to hug me; she’s trying to—”

“What now?”

“Doct—mmph!” The phone was swatted out of her hand and fell onto the carpet.

Author’s note: It’s sleepwalking. Some of you guessed right earlier; very smart. Reward: a pomegranate seed.

When I looked up sleepwalking for reference, I found that the manifestations are wildly varied. There really is all kinds of behavior out there.