Chapter 55

“About what happened last night, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you, and I even left you looking like this.”

Lin Yuewei slowly lifted the blanket. “???”

Had she heard that right?

Gu Yanqiu had no idea what that indescribable expression on her face meant, but at any rate, while Lin Yuewei was dying of embarrassment, Gu Yanqiu not only took the blame, she did it so smoothly there wasn’t the slightest flaw in it.

“...It’s fine.” Lin Yuewei answered awkwardly; from there, it was only natural that the whole giant mess be pinned on Gu Yanqiu.

Gu Yanqiu sighed and looked at Lin Yuewei apologetically again.

Lin Yuewei was about to be driven crazy by that soft, plaintive look. She hurriedly said, “Hurry up and wash up. Let’s think about how to bring the swelling down on your lips. Would an ice pack help?”

“I don’t know.” Gu Yanqiu had never had her lips kissed swollen before, and she had no theoretical experience with this either. She had spent twenty-five years with a clean and restrained heart; this was the first time she had ever liked someone.

“I’ll go find you an ice pack.” Lin Yuewei got out of bed and put on her slippers. The moment she stood up, she nearly tripped over them; she staggered, steadied herself, and fled out the door like she was being chased.

Gu Yanqiu watched her back and sighed again. It really was all because of her. Look at how badly she had scared Lin Yuewei; she definitely didn’t want to see her now.

...

Gu Yanqiu took the ice pack off her lips and looked in the mirror; there didn’t seem to be much effect. Lin Yuewei was standing by the door, her fingers idly picking at the door panel. The rasping sound startled her; she immediately snatched her hand back, her face full of worry.

The ice pack was set aside. Gu Yanqiu seemed to have made up her mind and said, “Let’s leave it at that.”

“My mom...” It was summer, and daylight came early. The two of them had been up for more than half an hour, but Lin Yuewei’s mother still hadn’t gotten out of bed. Lin Yuewei had been moving back and forth in the living room without being seen. If her mother got up now and caught sight of them, their home would probably explode.

Gu Yanqiu looked at her quietly for a while, then said guiltily, “I’ve put you in a difficult spot.”

Lin Yuewei opened her mouth and only managed an empty syllable: “Ah.”

If Gu Yanqiu kept talking to her like that, she really would die of guilt.

Actually, Lin Yuewei did have a solution. The last time Gu Yanqiu had stayed over at her place, she hadn’t brought a change of clothes and left early. But yesterday, Gu Yanqiu had prepared clothes in the car; once she confirmed she was staying the night, she had calmly opened the trunk and taken them out. They could do exactly the same thing today. If the one who had “committed the act” last night had been Gu Yanqiu, Lin Yuewei would absolutely have had the nerve to bring it up. But now...

Lin Yuewei surrendered to fate. If her mother wanted to tease someone, then let her take the whole thing on herself.

“Hm?” Lin Yuewei suddenly had an idea.

“What is it?” Gu Yanqiu looked over.

“I’ve got a way.”

“What way?”

***

Lin Yuewei’s mother had been excited all night. Her daughter had finally, as expected, taken the initiative and made a move; her daughter was so outstanding that whoever she set her sights on would surely be within easy reach. Lin Yuewei’s mother had spent hours paging through the Kangxi Dictionary, planning to give her future grandchild a wonderful name.

So she slept far too long. Normally she woke before the alarm, but today she only opened her eyes when it rang. It was 7:30. After washing up and changing clothes, Lin Yuewei’s mother came out.

“Good morning, Mom.”

“Good morning, Auntie.”

Her well-behaved daughter and well-behaved daughter-in-law were already seated at the table, greeting her together. Lin Yuewei’s mother was so moved her heart practically melted; the carefully maintained lines on her face immediately crinkled into several wrinkles, every single one spelling happiness.

She didn’t notice the two of them glancing at each other across the table before both lowered their heads and sipped the porridge from their spoons.

Lin Yuewei’s mother also went to the kitchen to scoop herself a bowl of porridge and sat down at the head of the table.

The moment she sat down, she heard Lin Yuewei remind her, “Mom, this porridge is very hot. Be careful.”

Lin Yuewei’s mother blinked. “Huh?”

Lin Yuewei pointed at Gu Yanqiu. “Look, her lips are burned swollen.”

“!!!”

Her mother asked, “What happened?”

Gu Yanqiu raised her head and showed Lin Yuewei’s mother her red, swollen lips, then shook her head. “It’s nothing. I just drank too fast and got burned.”

Lin Yuewei’s lips were only a small matter; they were just darker in color, so it would be easy to brush off. But Gu Yanqiu had no suitable excuse. She really couldn’t hide it, and this was exactly the idea Lin Yuewei had come up with: strike first and call it a burn. Since they were both red and swollen, there was no problem at all.

Lin Yuewei’s mother asked with concern, “Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you put on burn ointment? What if it blisters?” Lin Yuewei’s mother said anxiously, then turned to glare at Lin Yuewei. “How did you take care of her?”

Lin Yuewei set down her spoon. “I was going to put it on for her. We just hadn’t finished breakfast yet.”

Gu Yanqiu quickly echoed, “Yes, Auntie, I said I wanted to wait a bit.”

Lin Yuewei’s mother said, “You’re both going to drive me crazy.”

She set down her bowl and chopsticks and went to find burn ointment.

“The burn ointment and cotton swabs are on the coffee table. Lin Yuewei, remember to put it on Yanqiu later,” her mother said when she came back empty-handed.

“Got it, got it. Mission guaranteed completed.” Lin Yuewei saluted, and earned an unsparing flick to the forehead from her mother, who counted Gu Yanqiu’s burned lips against her too.

Lin Yuewei was actually quite happy. As long as her mother didn’t tease Gu Yanqiu, she was happy. Anyway, this wasn’t the first time she’d been flicked on the forehead; one more time wasn’t much, and one less time wasn’t much either.

Gu Yanqiu looked at Lin Yuewei with some emotion.

Not only had Lin Yuewei forgiven her reckless behavior, she had generously taken all the responsibility onto herself. Although Gu Yanqiu had liked Lin Yuewei from the beginning, she had to admit that, in her impression, Lin Yuewei had been someone with a faintly spoiled streak in private; her personality couldn’t exactly be called very good. But after today, Gu Yanqiu felt that was all her own misunderstanding.

Lin Yuewei was clearly a person of extreme gentleness.

How could she be this good?

Lin Yuewei caught that look from Gu Yanqiu and got goose bumps along her arm. What was with that moved expression? You’ve got the wrong idea, hey. I’m really not a good person; wake up.

After breakfast, Lin Yuewei used a cotton swab to apply the burn ointment to Gu Yanqiu, lowering her voice. “If you don’t put any burn cream on this, will it be a problem?”

“I don’t think so. As long as it doesn’t get in your mouth, it should be fine.”

“Then I’ll put on less.”

The two of them spoke softly while Lin Yuewei focused intently on applying the medicine. From Lin Yuewei’s mother’s point of view, they were just a pair of immortal lovers; those names she’d spent all night thinking of were about time for Lin Yuewei to pick one. Maybe she should pick two, in case they had twins? Three would be fine too; triplets would be even better. Then they wouldn’t need to have any more children later; so much more trouble-free.

After Gu Yanqiu finished applying the ointment, she said goodbye to the Lin mother and daughter and drove off to work.

At last, it was over. Lin Yuewei let out a breath of relief and smiled. “Mom, I’m going upstairs.”

“Wait.”

“Anything else?”

The moment Lin Yuewei spoke, she saw her mother’s smile become even more exaggerated than when she had first come out and seen her eating breakfast with Gu Yanqiu. Lin Yuewei’s mother said, “Tell me the truth. What happened to the Gu family’s daughter’s mouth?”

Lin Yuewei’s heart gave a small thump. She stiffened and said, “It’s... because of the porridge burn.”

“You think I’ve never seen the world?”

“...”

More than twenty years ago, Lin Yuewei’s mother had also been deeply in love, and she had seen her own lips swelling red and puffy in the mirror countless times. Lin Yuewei had no idea her mother had this kind of experience.

Lin Yuewei’s mother clicked her tongue. “You’re really an animal, sucking her like that. How is she supposed to show her face at work today?”

Lin Yuewei’s mouth twitched. “...”

Lin Yuewei’s mother said, “Why are you running? You dare do it but not take responsibility. What kind of woman are you!”

Lin Yuewei vanished up the stairs in a flash.

***

“Little Gu.” Lin Zhi set down the coffee but still didn’t leave.

Gu Yanqiu saw that he looked like he wanted to say something and didn’t, and lifted one brow slightly. “What is it?”

“Nothing.” Lin Zhi lowered his head and went out.

If he hadn’t mistaken it, Gu Yanqiu’s lips should be marks left by intense kissing. Hadn’t she just been pretending to be Lin Yuewei’s girlfriend fan a while ago? And she’d found a new love so quickly?

That change of heart was way too fast. Also, her new partner was a little too fierce, almost as fierce as his own girlfriend.

Gu Yanqiu had come in early today, so aside from Lin Zhi, basically no one had seen her. After thinking it over, Lin Zhi sent her a message to remind her:

[Little Gu, if you don’t have anything important today, stay in the office for now and don’t come out]

[Xi Gu: ???]

Lin Zhi: [It’s too obvious. Wait two hours and it’ll go down]

[Xi Gu: ...]

Lin Zhi had wanted to ask her about the gossip too, but it was work hours, and this was a private matter. If he asked, he might get scolded, so he swallowed the words back down.

Gu Yanqiu took out a makeup mirror from her bag and looked at herself, her brows lightly knitting. Was it really that obvious? Why did she think it was okay?

At eleven in the morning, Guoshi Entertainment’s official Weibo posted a statement announcing that Lin Yuewei had signed with them. Lin Zhi stared at the message his girlfriend had forwarded him and found himself in a dilemma: should he send it to Gu Yanqiu or not?

After wavering for a while, Lin Zhi still forwarded it. Whether or not she continued being a fan was Gu Yanqiu’s own business; he was only responsible for passing along the information.

[Xi Gu: Received [smile]]

She even used an emoji.

Lin Zhi shook his head, sighed, and went back to work.

After replying to Lin Zhi, Gu Yanqiu saw a tiny “1” in the upper-left corner of her screen.

[Liangmu: Sold herself off; sold for five years]

[Xi Gu: ???]

[Liangmu: The contract’s signed]

[Xi Gu: Okay]

Lin Yuewei was sitting on the sofa. Her new, and also first, agent, Chen Xuan, was behind the desk taking a phone call and told her to wait a moment. Seeing that the call didn’t seem like it would end anytime soon, Lin Yuewei took out her phone and quietly chatted with Gu Yanqiu on WeChat.

When she heard signs that her agent was about done with the call, she put her phone away in advance and sat up straight.

“You’re Lin Yuewei, right?”

Lin Yuewei nodded.

Her contract had been signed with the artist management department. Afterward, she had been assigned to Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan was in her forties, a woman who looked very capable; she didn’t talk much and was usually blunt and direct.

“From now on, you’ll be following me. Be obedient; before you do anything, ask for my approval first. If I don’t let you do something, then absolutely don’t do it.”

“Understood.”

Chen Xuan still had several other artists under her, some very popular, some middling, and others basically left to fend for themselves. The company was full of mixed talent, and the scouts were extremely active. Over the years they kept signing newcomers, so there was never any shortage of people trying to stand out. But just like university expansions, the more students a school recruited, the more perpetually short-staffed the artist management department became. A single agent often handled a huge roster. Artists weren’t the same as students a school nurtured; each person had their own development path, and a one-size-fits-all meal plan simply didn’t work. Some of the less outstanding or not-yet-shining newcomers would inevitably be overlooked.

At that moment, Lin Yuewei had become the one who was overlooked. She had made a splash thanks to Actor Trainees, but that had only been a brief burst of visibility. After the program ended, she wasn’t even considered a second-tier traffic star. The company had plenty of impressive people: rising actors and actresses who were constantly being offered roles as freshmen in college; overnight sensations that dominated the rankings; veteran actors who had been famous for years; and award-winning kings and queens everywhere you looked. Even the studio’s top boss was one of the biggest names in the country. Throwing Lin Yuewei into that mix wouldn’t even stir up a ripple.

Chen Xuan casually flipped through Lin Yuewei’s basic profile and set it aside, planning to continue later when she had time. “Go back first. Under normal circumstances, don’t come to the company. If anything comes up, I’ll contact you by phone, all right?”

Lin Yuewei nodded obediently and didn’t ask why no work had been assigned to her.

Chen Xuan saw that she was pretty well-behaved, so her impression of her improved a little; but only a little, insignificant really. She had seen plenty of people like this. A little artist like her; someone who dared to put on a face with their agent was the rarity.

Just as Lin Yuewei was about to leave, Chen Xuan called her back. “Oh, right.”

Lin Yuewei stopped and looked at her, waiting patiently for her to continue.

Chen Xuan smiled a little more gently. “The company will arrange an assistant for you. Wait for the notice.”

“Okay, thank you, Sister Chen.”

Chen Xuan waved a hand. “All right, go on. Get some rest.”

When Lin Yuewei closed the door, she caught a glimpse through the crack of Chen Xuan pinching her brow in fatigue and taking a big gulp from the coffee beside her.

A flash of light passed through Lin Yuewei’s eyes; she lowered her lashes.

This was different from what she had imagined. During filming, everything had been uncontrollable. No matter how clever Lin Yuewei was, all she could fight for was the chance to debut smoothly. As for which company she would end up at, that was left to fate.

After confirming in S City that she would be going to Bai Hua’s studio, Lin Yuewei had looked up information about it. Bai Hua Studio was named after the boss’s own name. Though it was called a studio, it was actually a large-scale operation; in practice, it was a mature management company. Externally it used another name: Guoshi Entertainment, currently one of the largest talent agencies in the country. Bai Hua Studio and Guoshi Entertainment were essentially one and the same, with the same person behind both. Outsiders who didn’t know better often lumped them together, but Bai Hua Studio, as the boss’s inner circle and the company’s core division, shared resources with the company while operating independently from it. When Lin Yuewei arrived, the promise had sounded attractive; she was told she was signing with the studio, but in truth she had signed with the company.

Lin Yuewei had once imagined what her life in the industry would look like. This was the worst possible outcome; it meant she wouldn’t be able to rise up in the short term, and might even waste the popularity she’d built at the start for nothing, becoming completely obscure.

Especially compared with Shao Yasi, her situation looked especially bleak.

Shao Yasi had signed with another company. Its scale couldn’t compare to Guoshi Entertainment’s, but it wasn’t small either. A few of its agents had some name recognition in the industry, and the company followed a specialized, refined path. The deputy general manager of artist management had personally chosen Shao Yasi to work under her and had already drawn up a whole series of career plans for her.

“My agent said there’s a supporting female lead in a project; she’s taking me to audition for it tomorrow. It’s called Mirror within the Palm. Have you heard of it?” Shao Yasi had just finished talking with her agent and heard that the other side had wanted her for a long time and had already planned out her future path. Her heart was still brimming with excitement. Once she found a place with no one around, she specifically reported the good news to Lin Yuewei.

Mirror within the Palm was one of the most watched projects of the year, a comeback work from a major director. Although wuxia had been declining in popularity domestically, the timing was lucky; just this year, a wuxia drama had suddenly become a huge hit and received rave reviews. If Mirror within the Palm was made well, riding that wave of buzz might be enough to give it a modest breakout.

No matter what, for an actor, as long as there was work to shoot, even a bad drama was better than staying home.

“Congrats,” Lin Yuewei said. “But if you tell me something like this, aren’t you afraid I’ll steal your role?”

“Fair competition, right?” Shao Yasi laughed.

Lin Yuewei’s tone turned grave. “You really need to be more careful. Do you know there are a lot of people in this circle with bad intentions? Even a role already in someone’s hands can be snatched away, let alone something that’s not even concrete yet.”

“Is it that scary?” Shao Yasi was her usual innocent self.

Lin Yuewei said helplessly, “What do you think? How many times have I told you not to trust people so easily?”

“You’re not other people.” Shao Yasi answered without thinking. “I haven’t told anyone else, and I won’t tell anyone except you. Don’t worry.”

“Best not to tell me either.”

“Why?”

“So there won’t be unnecessary misunderstandings in the future.”

“What misunderstandings?”

“How would I know about things that haven’t happened? Better safe than sorry.”

“Oh.” Shao Yasi agreed, though who knew if she had actually taken it in. She didn’t want to talk about such a serious topic; all she wanted was to chat with Lin Yuewei. “How’s your agency? Do people at a big company really look that impressive?”

“They are impressive,” Lin Yuewei said, glancing at the people around her; some were hurrying past, others were quietly working with their heads down, all too busy to spare her a look.

“My agent’s impressive too. So are you going to get busy?”

Lin Yuewei gave an indistinct “Mm,” which Shao Yasi interpreted as confirmation. She said regretfully, “Then won’t we have time to eat together anymore?”

“We will.”

“Huh???”

“Time and place; you choose. I’ll be there on time.” Lin Yuewei had entered the industry and immediately run into something like this, caught off guard and needing someone to talk to. Even if it was just sitting across from her as a mascot, it would help her sort out her thoughts a bit.

And there were requirements for choosing that mascot. She could talk to Jiang Congbi about other things, but not this one. Jiang Congbi wasn’t from the industry and didn’t understand a lot of it; she would joke around and throw off Lin Yuewei’s train of thought. There was another candidate who had stayed in Lin Yuewei’s mind for a long time: Gu Yanqiu. Gu Yanqiu gave her a very steady, mature feeling. She believed that even if Gu Yanqiu didn’t understand, she would still be a very good person to talk to and might even offer reasonable, workable advice. But for some reason, Lin Yuewei simply didn’t want to go to her; she didn’t want Gu Yanqiu to see her vulnerable side.

Lin Yuewei chose Shao Yasi; a harmless, clueless sweetheart who understood the circle to a certain extent, didn’t talk nonsense, ate little, and saved money.

Shao Yasi didn’t think that much. After hanging up, she happily booked a table.

The person sitting across from her was her agent. They were having lunch together today, and seeing her like this, the agent grew a bit wary and asked, “Let me ask you something. Answer honestly.”

“What?” Shao Yasi widened her eyes.

“Do you have a boyfriend or girlfriend?” the agent asked, after all Shao Yasi looked far too suspiciously happy.

Shao Yasi shook her head.

The agent said, “Oh, I’ve got one more question. You’re not married, are you?”

Shao Yasi: “............”

The agent confirmed, “Married or not?”

Shao Yasi: “...No.”

The agent breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

Shao Yasi: “............”

The agent said, “Don’t blame me for suspecting you. There’s just too much secret dating and hidden marriage in this circle. If one of those blows up, it has a huge impact on an artist’s career. I’m just being cautious.”

Shao Yasi nodded to show she didn’t mind.

So that’s why Lin Yuewei said the entertainment industry was such a mess.

The agent asked her again, “Who were you talking to on the phone just now?”

Shao Yasi said, “A friend. We met on the show.” She proactively added the gender. “A girl.” In this day and age, although same-sex marriage was legal, in a society still dominated by heterosexuality, saying it was a female friend was still a little more reassuring.

The agent pushed up her glasses and said, “Lin Yuewei?”

“You know her?”

“I watched the show too.” The agent smiled. “I thought it was all promotional hype, but I didn’t expect your relationship with her to be real. The two of you don’t really look like the same type.”

Shao Yasi felt a little unhappy at that and poked at her rice moodily.

The agent had wanted to say something else; her mouth opened, but in the end she didn’t.

Lin Yuewei put away her phone and headed for the elevator. A stylish woman wearing sunglasses walked toward her, exuding an unusual air; behind her followed a short girl clutching a pile of things, flustered and scrambling. Lin Yuewei was just about to sidestep to let them pass when the woman called out, “Hey.”

Lin Yuewei stopped and looked at her.

The woman jerked her chin toward the assistant behind her and said arrogantly, “Give us a hand.”

Then she strode away.

Lin Yuewei: “...”

Lin Yuewei helped the assistant carry the things to a room. The assistant thanked her and asked casually, “You’re really pretty. Which department are you in? Or are you one of the celebrities’ assistants?”

“I just signed here.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Lin Yuewei nodded at her and turned to leave. The assistant stood there for a moment before remembering that the person she had just seen looked a little familiar; she seemed to have seen her on TV. Who was it again?

Lin Yuewei had just come to the company and was already heading home to rest. She didn’t have the face to go back to the Lin house, so she found a park and sat there all afternoon. At sunset, she took a taxi to the place Shao Yasi had arranged.

Shao Yasi had chosen a good place; it was a teahouse, with a private room. There was a front hall, a backyard garden, and a corridor connecting them, with rockeries and running water, very quiet and very private. Once the curtains by the window were drawn, nothing could be seen.

Shao Yasi had still been at the company in the afternoon and got delayed by something urgent. Lin Yuewei sat in the private room and, when the time came, saw a message from Shao Yasi saying it would still be a while longer and telling her to eat first if she was hungry.

Lin Yuewei wasn’t hungry and didn’t feel like eating. She ordered a pot of tea and drank it slowly, then rolled up part of the curtain herself and looked out, treating it like appreciating the many faces of the world.

At the very end of her field of vision, however, a familiar figure appeared, walking this way.

Lin Yuewei quickly and flusteredly dropped the curtain; her heart was pounding wildly.

After a while, Lin Yuewei thought in confusion: Why do I look like I’ve been caught cheating?

There was nothing to be afraid of. She was upright and righteous. Lin Yuewei cheered herself on and slowly rolled the curtain up again.

Gu Yanqiu was there to talk business. Her partner liked tea, and she was more than happy to keep them company; tea was much better than drinking.

Just as the partner was telling her about the varieties of tea, Gu Yanqiu smiled and said, “I have a friend who’s also very knowledgeable about this. The last time I went out to eat with her, the restaurant brought out a pot of Jin Junmei..."

She had only just gotten that far when she saw, three or four meters ahead, the curtain on a waterside pavilion roll up. Before she could make out what was there, the curtain dropped back down again just as quickly.

“President Gu.”

“President Gu?”

Hearing her partner call her, Gu Yanqiu came back to herself and continued speaking, but her heart gave a small tug. Why did that face she had only glimpsed look so much like Lin Yuewei’s?

Author’s note:

Miss Lin is going to be stuck at home picking her feet now. She can’t go back to the Lin house, and she has to save money, so there’s only one choice left, and that is——

Say the answer out loud, everyone!