Chapter 5

“Sorry, Miss Lin. Earlier you told me not to keep doing little favors, so I didn’t make your meal.”

Lin Yuewei felt that her expression had actually been managed pretty well in that instant; her response came out naturally enough. “You misunderstood, Miss Gu. I was just going to get a glass of water.”

“Oh, I see.” Gu Yanqiu gave an understanding look and still asked, knowingly, “Then are you hungry?”

Lin Yuewei: “..."

She was practically one step away from holding a loudspeaker up to her own stomach.

Lin Yuewei curved one corner of her mouth into a fake smile. “Not hungry, thanks.”

Her instincts told her Gu Yanqiu was not a good person, and she didn’t want to talk to her any longer. With a polite nod, she passed by her, went back into the kitchen, and poured herself a full glass of water to take the edge off her hunger.

Over the rim of the glass, Lin Yuewei’s eyes widened slightly.

Gu Yanqiu walked in empty-handed. She took a spotless bowl from the cabinet, scooped in a serving of rice, and then, without saying a word, carried the bowl back out.

Lin Yuewei swallowed.

Then a wave of anger rushed straight to the top of her head. This person—if she was going to eat, fine, but why had she to make a show of eating one bowl while looking at another? Wasn’t she clearly doing this on purpose to make things difficult for her? Lin Yuewei had seen the Buddhist beads in her hand and thought she was truly some kind of saint, but it turned out her mind was smaller than a needle’s eye. What a waste of that pretty face.

Lin Yuewei endured her hunger while mentally ripping her apart in every way she could think of.

“Miss Lin.”

“What?”

Gu Yanqiu didn’t mind the irritation in her tone. She looked over with a smile, her voice warm and gentle. “I was joking earlier. I’ve already served your rice; come and have lunch.”

“You’re messing with me?” Lin Yuewei pressed her lips together, looking even angrier.

“No. I’m sincerely inviting you to lunch.” Gu Yanqiu stood up and walked over on her own.

“What are you doing?” Lin Yuewei folded her arms and took a step back, her spine hitting the edge of the counter.

“Miss Lin has a deep misunderstanding of me.”

“What misunderstanding? I don’t misunderstand you.” Lin Yuewei felt that her current posture made it look like she was afraid of her; it was embarrassing. So she straightened her back, skirted around her, and headed for the kitchen door. “I’m not hungry. Thank you for your kindness, Miss Gu.”

A faint scent of agarwood brushed close to her nose from the corner of her eye.

Lin Yuewei stopped abruptly. Her brows followed suit, knitting together as she lowered her gaze to the hand that had caught her wrist.

“What is this supposed to mean?” she asked unhappily.

“Miss Lin dislikes me?” Gu Yanqiu let go at once and naturally stepped back half a pace.

“No.” Lin Yuewei wasn’t the type to hold grudges. She could usually get over unpleasant things quickly by herself; as for really coming to dislike someone, that was even rarer. If she didn’t like someone, she wouldn’t even look at them a second time; she would simply ignore them.

“Then why refuse my invitation?” Gu Yanqiu tilted her chin toward the dining table. “If we don’t eat soon, the food will get cold.”

“I really am not hungry.”

Her stomach let out a loud growl.

Lin Yuewei’s face turned red, then white. “..."

Gu Yanqiu seized the moment and pulled her to the table. Lin Yuewei had just opened her mouth when Gu Yanqiu cut her off. Wrapped in a soft, harmless air, with the Buddhist beads around her wrist lending her an air of convincing steadiness and composure, she said, “Whatever you want to say, tell me after you finish eating.”

Food was right in front of her; Lin Yuewei hesitated for only a second before surrendering decisively. She just didn’t make eye contact with Gu Yanqiu the entire time.

Gu Yanqiu truly didn’t understand where Lin Yuewei’s faint hostility toward her came from. They would be living under the same roof in the future, seeing each other every day. It was fine if they couldn’t be good friends; if they couldn’t even be ordinary friends, that would be exhausting.

After getting married, Gu Yanqiu had moved out of the Gu family home for good. This place would be her home for the next few years, and she didn’t want to have to remain on guard in her own house, tense all the time. Lin Yuewei had no conflict of interest with her; setting aside any other feelings, just for the huge favor Lin Yuewei had done her, Gu Yanqiu would try her best to look after her. That was why, even though she had seen through Lin’s mother’s intentions and refused her outright in words, she had kept Lin Yuewei’s preferences in mind. She hadn’t expected it to cause such a misunderstanding.

Lin Yuewei tried hard to look like she was concentrating on her meal, but her eyes kept drifting sideways.

In her eyes, Gu Yanqiu was idly rolling the Buddhist beads in her palm, head bowed in thought over some unknown matter. Her long lashes hung slightly lower; a strand or two of black hair had slipped loose from behind her ear and fallen over her narrow shoulder.

Gu Yanqiu was wearing a finely tailored black shirt underneath. The cut was excellent, outlining the lines of her upper body perfectly. Lin Yuewei rarely saw a woman wear a shirt this beautifully; any fuller and it would look bulky, any less and it wouldn’t hold the shape. Gu Yanqiu wore it just right, her bearing clean and cool.

Even with the top two buttons undone, revealing delicate skin and a pale collarbone, there was nothing frivolous about her. The line of her neck rose beautifully to an ice-and-jade chin, a straight nose bridge, and a slightly lowered gaze, giving her an especially cold, ascetic air.

Gu Yanqiu’s fingers slowed on the beads; her train of thought had already been interrupted by a long, lingering stare.

With her eyes down, Gu Yanqiu thought: how much longer was she going to look at me?

When Lin Yuewei realized she had once again become helplessly absorbed in the other woman’s beauty, she quickly pulled her gaze back and pretended nothing had happened. She stuffed a few quick mouthfuls of rice into herself, then stole another glance to confirm that Gu Yanqiu hadn’t even changed posture; she must have been in some kind of meditative state and hadn’t noticed how long she’d been staring.

Lin Yuewei let out a breath and reined in her scattered thoughts, focusing on the food in front of her.

After the meal, Lin Yuewei took the initiative to do the dishes. Gu Yanqiu didn’t fight her for it and instead took a cloth to wipe down the dining table. Lin Yuewei put the bowls and chopsticks into the dishwasher, washed her hands, and sat down on the living room sofa—directly across from Gu Yanqiu.

“What were you going to say to me before we ate?” Lin Yuewei hadn’t forgotten the main point.

“Last night, you and I set three rules..."

“You want to go back on them?” Lin Yuewei interrupted before she could finish.

“Of course not. I’ve thought of one more point and wanted to discuss it with Miss Lin.”

“Go on.”

“I think the atmosphere between us is a little strange. What do you think?”

Lin Yuewei felt it too, but she was determined to be stubborn to the end. “No, it isn’t.”

“Miss Lin.” Gu Yanqiu looked at her steadily. There was less of her usual calm in those beautiful black eyes and more seriousness now; the pressure radiating from the thin body in front of her was impossible to ignore, and Lin Yuewei unconsciously restrained herself, sitting up straighter.

Gu Yanqiu said, “I’m having a very serious conversation with you about this. I hope Miss Lin can respond with the same attitude.”

Lin Yuewei wasn’t someone who backed down easily. When had she ever been bullied into losing her edge? She shot back without yielding, “I don’t think my attitude is in any way rude.” It wasn’t as if there was anything between them to begin with. Gu Yanqiu insisted on making her breakfast, writing notes, sticking them on the wall, and looking after her as if she were a child. Wasn’t that the kind of plot you only saw in novels? And she had even waited until Lin Yuewei had digested breakfast before making lunch. Why be so attentive and considerate?

Contract spouses should have the best relationship of all: no relationship at all.

The atmosphere grew a little rigid.

Even a Bodhisattva would be furious seeing Lin Yuewei’s oil-and-water, impossible-to-talk-to attitude; let alone Gu Yanqiu, who was proud and self-possessed and had endured being met with coldness after repeatedly offering kindness.

Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyes, the beads moving quickly through her fingers. In a flat, emotionless voice, she said, “Then I have nothing else to say.”

Lin Yuewei replied just as stiffly, “I’m going upstairs.”

The two of them parted on bad terms.

Lin Yuewei pulled her bedroom door shut, sat down at her desk, opened her computer, and randomly clicked through two webpages. After fumbling aimlessly for a while, Gu Yanqiu’s cold face finally faded completely from her mind.

Lin Yuewei logged into QQ. A window was flashing in the lower right corner. She recognized the avatar and instantly lit up, hurrying to tap the keyboard. A chat box popped open.

[Looking Up at the Stars: I only saw your message now. I’ve been busy lately and just got two quiet days. Sorry. Do you have time for a round? I’m in a bad mood.]

[Reed: I do.]

Lin Yuewei was long used to the other person’s mysterious comings and goings. She thought to herself that she was in a bad mood too, and was about to reply immediately when her fingers were too quick and typed the wrong letter. She deleted it, entered it again, and hit send.

[Reed: Shouldn’t it be three in the morning where you are? Don’t you sleep? [smiley]]

[Looking Up at the Stars: I came back to the country a while ago, so there’s no time difference now [smile]]

[Looking Up at the Stars: I’ll invite you.]

Before Lin Yuewei had even fully processed the fact that the other person had returned to the country, her hand had already opened the bridge software almost on reflex. Looking Up at the Stars pulled her into a room; they formed a team, two against two, and the game began.

Lin Yuewei liked computer games, but not the kind many people played online. She liked cards and chess; there weren’t many people in real life with those interests, so she turned to the internet. Her favorite was bridge, because it tested intelligence. She loved the rush of winning after using her brain.

She had been playing bridge since high school, so by now it had been six or seven years. Two years ago, she had accidentally met this netizen called “Looking Up at the Stars.” They were evenly matched, and later became fixed partners. Once she had teamed up with a true expert, she no longer liked pairing with the computer or with other people. Over the past few months, the other person had been busy with their own affairs and hadn’t logged on even once. She had been itching to play.

Lin Yuewei rubbed her hands together and stared at the computer screen with shining eyes.

Even after months without logging on, their tacit understanding hadn’t faded at all.

A little more than twenty minutes later, the match ended; the other side had been utterly crushed.

[Reed: [thumbs up]]

[Looking Up at the Stars: [thumbs up]]

Looking at the two identical “middle-aged person” emojis on the screen, Lin Yuewei wasn’t usually the kind of person who had such a square, old-guard style, but for some reason the vibe always shifted when she was talking to Looking Up at the Stars. She propped her chin on her hand and couldn’t help laughing out loud.

There was a mirror on the desk. Lin Yuewei accidentally saw her reflection and pressed both hands against the corners of her mouth, which kept lifting. Only after a moment did she calm down. Her hands returned to the keyboard, and she was about to ask why the other person had suddenly come back to the country when she saw a message pop up:

[Looking Up at the Stars: I just remembered I still have something to do. I’m logging off first.]

Lin Yuewei: “..."

Knock, knock, knock—

“Miss Lin.”

After hesitating for a long while, Lin Yuewei had just typed a few characters into the input box when she heard knocking at the door, along with Gu Yanqiu’s voice greeting her.

She glanced at the chat box, wavered for a bit, then gritted her teeth and got up to open the door first.

“What is it?”

“I came to apologize for my attitude earlier.” Gu Yanqiu slipped her phone into her pocket. “Also, I wanted to ask if you’re free this afternoon. Could we go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and get our marriage certificate?”

“I’m free. Wait a moment.” Lin Yuewei hurried back. Looking Up at the Stars’ avatar was already grayed out.

Gu Yanqiu watched as she slammed a hand against the desk, looking terribly annoyed, then shut the door and changed clothes. A few minutes later, Lin Yuewei came out carrying a handbag, chin slightly lifted as she looked at her. With a polite and distant nod, she said, “Let’s go.”

Author’s note:

Right now the two of them are still at the stage of liking each other’s looks; it’ll take a little more time before they really start to fall for each other. No need to rush. There’s more to look forward to later; you’ll never guess what Grape is thinking (￣?￣)