Chapter 61

Lin Yuewei: “……”

She was just about to quietly wipe away her tears and pretend this dream had never happened when a wash of white light flooded her vision, exactly as it had in the dream.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Gu Yanqiu’s voice, rough with sleep, rang in her ear.

The noise from the punch she’d just thrown at the bed had woken Gu Yanqiu.

Lin Yuewei: “!!!”

Without another thought, Lin Yuewei yanked the blanket over her head and buried herself under it so Gu Yanqiu couldn’t see her eyes. Ever since meeting Gu Yanqiu, the number of Lin Yuewei’s most embarrassing moments had been climbing nonstop.

If Gu Yanqiu had still been a little hazy from just waking up a moment ago, she was fully awake now. Thinking Lin Yuewei had had a nightmare, she gently patted her back through the blanket.

The last time Lin Yuewei had been comforted after a nightmare was probably ten years ago. Gu Yanqiu’s touch felt strangely out of place, yet some odd warmth of closeness welled up from the bottom of her heart; she didn’t want that hand leaving her back.

Because it was summer and the blanket was thin, every touch came through clearly. Lin Yuewei clenched her teeth and pretended to tremble inside the blanket.

Gu Yanqiu became even more certain that she’d had a nightmare. She reached an arm around her and drew Lin Yuewei into her embrace. “Don’t be scared. I’m here.”

Nestled in that warm embrace, Lin Yuewei hesitated for a moment. Very quickly, though, she subtly struggled to pull away. Gu Yanqiu had a girlfriend; she couldn’t be this shameless.

Gu Yanqiu sensed the movement. Her fingers tightened almost imperceptibly, then she let go at once.

The moisture in Lin Yuewei’s eyes was already gone. She poked her head out from under the blanket and picked up her phone to check the time; only a little over ten minutes had passed since she’d fallen asleep. Lin Yuewei: “……”

A dream this ridiculous in just ten minutes was honestly impressive.

Lin Yuewei said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Lin Yuewei turned her head to look at her. Gu Yanqiu was propped on one elbow against the pillow; her black hair spilled around her face, and in the warm light her phoenix eyes and red lips made her look breathtakingly beautiful, her skin pale as jade.

Lin Yuewei had long since had her heart shaken and her breath stolen by her. She struggled to look away, yawned, turned her face aside, and closed her eyes. “I really am going to sleep.”

“Okay. Good night.”

Even with the light off, Lin Yuewei could still feel Gu Yanqiu’s gaze linger on her face for a moment before it faded away.

Steady breathing came from beside her. Lin Yuewei was clearly exhausted, but she simply couldn’t fall asleep. Afraid of waking Gu Yanqiu, she forced herself to lie still, resisting the urge to toss and turn, pinning herself in place like a nail driven deep into the ground.

Half an hour later, the sleeping Gu Yanqiu slipped into her old habit. Since Lin Yuewei still hadn’t fallen asleep, she turned on the light and followed Gu Yanqiu around the room so she wouldn’t fall or wander off somewhere else. Perhaps because this wasn’t the room Gu Yanqiu was used to sleeping in, she couldn’t find her way downstairs. After wandering around for a bit, she sat back down on the bed.

Lin Yuewei suddenly remembered something. The first time she’d gone to the Gu residence, she had stayed in the same room as Gu Yanqiu. Gu Yanqiu had clearly been lying in the recliner before bed, yet when she woke up in the morning, she was already in bed with Lin Yuewei. At the time, Gu Yanqiu had looked surprised; she probably had realized she might be sleepwalking.

Thinking of the Gu residence, Lin Yuewei inevitably thought of that night, and of the so-called repayment agreement she and Gu Yanqiu had reached. That should have been the closest they’d ever been.

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Lin Yuewei watched the sleepwalking Gu Yanqiu with her head lowered, her lips moving as if she were saying something.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, Lin Yuewei laid her back down on the bed. Inside, she was torn apart. She stared at Gu Yanqiu’s lips, so close they seemed within reach, for a full two minutes, swallowed, and lowered her head. The instant she was about to touch down, Gu Yanqiu suddenly opened her eyes.

Lin Yuewei jerked back. If she hadn’t reflexively grabbed the foot of the bed, she would have toppled backward. She caught her breath and looked at Gu Yanqiu, only to find that the other woman had already fallen completely asleep again, head tilted to one side, sleeping quite soundly, utterly unaware of the disaster she had almost unwittingly caused.

Lin Yuewei wiped the sweat beading on her forehead with the back of her hand and angrily pinched Gu Yanqiu’s red lips very lightly. She’d scared the hell out of her.

Whatever little improper thoughts Lin Yuewei had been nursing were completely smothered by that interruption. She thought this was probably heaven warning her to keep her distance from Gu Yanqiu. Lin Yuewei’s personality was decisive and forceful; if she wanted something, she would go after it and take hold of it. But love wasn’t like that. It was like wind, like rain; it could affect you profoundly, yet it was never something human effort could truly control.

Ever since she had fallen for Gu Yanqiu, her mind had gone around and around in endless circles, full of questions she could never quite guess. Rather than saying that every time she struggled, she was thinking about whether Gu Yanqiu liked her or whether anything between them was possible, it would be more accurate to say she was thinking: should I even keep liking her?

Lin Yuewei hated having her emotions and even her thoughts steered by someone else. Gu Yanqiu’s trip abroad could have meant many things; it didn’t necessarily have anything to do with a girlfriend. But in the back of Lin Yuewei’s mind, a voice kept hinting that Gu Yanqiu already had a girlfriend, that she couldn’t be with you, that she should give up and go back to being herself.

Yet, just as Jiang Congbi had said, every time, Lin Yuewei was absolutely determined and firmly believed she could do it. And the next second, as long as Gu Yanqiu appeared in front of her, even if it was only the sound of her voice, it could make the defensive wall she had painstakingly built crumble to nothing and let Gu Yanqiu step straight into her heart with effortless ease.

She was completely bewitched, watching helplessly as an invisible thread in Gu Yanqiu’s hand drew her along, stumbling yet unhesitating, straight toward her.

This couldn’t go on.

Gu Yanqiu had never been part of Lin Yuewei’s life plan. Even if she had been, it should have been ten years later, not now. People called Gu Yanqiu an old-fashioned workaholic, but Lin Yuewei was really the same; she liked everything in order and felt anxious and at a loss over anything that threw her plans into chaos.

In the dark, Lin Yuewei made up her mind once again.

Gu Yanqiu was sleeping soundly, as if she were having some beautiful dream, and made a soft, very cute sound through her nose.

Lin Yuewei heard it and felt her own emotional defenses clearly starting to collapse: “……”

She took a deep breath. Gu Yanqiu was about to kill her with cuteness again; she absolutely had to hold on.

***

“Did I sleepwalk last night?” Gu Yanqiu asked as soon as she got up in the morning, as she always did.

“You did.”

Gu Yanqiu stared at Lin Yuewei’s completely normal lips for a moment and finally let out a breath of relief. As long as there had been no random nibbling, everything was fine.

“What did I do while sleepwalking?”

“You walked around the house a few times, then went back to bed. Nothing else.”

“Then I’ll go back to my room to wash up.”

“Okay.” Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu spoke without Lin Yuewei once looking into her eyes.

Gu Yanqiu reached the door and glanced back, seeming puzzled. Frowning, she asked, “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Anything. I’m not picky.”

“Okay.”

Their early-morning conversation seemed to have returned to square one, yet if you listened closely, it also seemed a little different. Gu Yanqiu carried a belly full of questions while making breakfast and, distracted, burned her finger on the oven.

By the time Lin Yuewei finished getting ready and came downstairs, Gu Yanqiu was rinsing her hand under the tap, a faint flash of pain passing through her handsome brows and eyes.

Lin Yuewei looked at Gu Yanqiu, who had stood with her back to her in the kitchen for quite a while, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I accidentally burned myself. It’s nothing.” Gu Yanqiu bit her lip.

Lin Yuewei heard her sharp intake of breath. Her resolve not to go over there wavered, and in the end she still couldn’t hold back. She walked over. “Let me see.”

Gu Yanqiu had fair, delicate skin; even the slightest touch left a mark. This burn was worse. The back of her finger was red and swollen, with signs that a blister might form. Lin Yuewei touched it lightly, and before she could even ask whether it hurt, Gu Yanqiu’s tightly furrowed brows answered for her.

Lin Yuewei understood and gently blew on her finger. “I’m guessing you’ll need ointment. Where’s the first-aid kit?”

Gu Yanqiu’s lips curved at the word home, which Lin Yuewei had said so naturally.

When Lin Yuewei looked up, she saw that Gu Yanqiu was smiling at her softly, almost teasingly. Her heart skipped a beat, but she still scolded her, “What are you smiling at? Where’s the first-aid kit?”

Gu Yanqiu, delighted at being scolded by her, couldn’t help smiling even more. “In the living room, on the TV cabinet. The one with a magazine on top.” She lifted her hand and pointed it out for Lin Yuewei.

Lin Yuewei set the magazine aside and picked up the first-aid kit. Turning back to look for Gu Yanqiu, she didn’t see her.

“I’m here.” Gu Yanqiu had already taken the initiative to sit down on the sofa, her two burned fingers held up as she waited for Lin Yuewei to apply the medicine.

“……” For a moment, Lin Yuewei honestly didn’t know what to say. Why did it feel like Gu Yanqiu had a different vibe every day? Today she even seemed a bit like... Lin Yuewei hadn’t yet found the right words when Gu Yanqiu drew in a breath through her teeth. “Hiss—”

Lin Yuewei immediately put her thoughts aside and crouched in front of her to apply the ointment.

Gu Yanqiu turned her head and pressed down the smile at the corners of her mouth.

After Lin Yuewei put the first-aid kit away, she asked, “Is breakfast done?”

“Almost.”

“I’ll do it. Take off your apron and give it to me.”

Gu Yanqiu struggled to take it off with one hand. Her usually long, nimble fingers had somehow turned traitorous, and her movements were especially clumsy. Lin Yuewei couldn’t watch anymore. “I’ll do it.”

Gu Yanqiu gave an apologetic smile.

Lin Yuewei was only a little shorter than her; when they stood together, their eyes were almost level. Lin Yuewei looked into her eyes as she stepped forward, reaching behind her neck to unfasten the apron ties, then around her waist to undo the knot as well. It was the posture of an embrace. Gu Yanqiu rested her chin on Lin Yuewei’s shoulder, and from an angle Lin Yuewei couldn’t see, she carefully breathed in the scent at her neck.

Everyone had their own unique smell, not body odor and not something acquired later by exposure; it was said only the most intimate lovers could smell it.

Lin Yuewei clenched both hands into fists at her sides, not daring to move a muscle. “Did you not sleep well last night? Are you that tired?”

“A little.”

“Then do you want to sleep a bit longer?”

“I thought you were going to tell me to lean on you a little longer.”

“Huh?”

“The bed isn’t as soft as you are.” Gu Yanqiu said it lightly. Her voice was clear and cool as spring water; even when she said something so improper, she remained perfectly serious, as if she were no different from discussing whether the cloud in the sky today looked better than that one.

Lin Yuewei: “……”

Soft? What soft? Soft what? Was she supposed to take that the wrong way or not?

Gu Yanqiu used her one undamaged hand to hug her, rubbed her cheek against Lin Yuewei’s neck, and settled into a comfortable position. “I’ll nap for a bit.”

Lin Yuewei stood rooted in place, completely at a loss; her entire mind was in disarray.

Author’s note:

Gu Yanqiu: I may look calm, but I’m panicking like crazy; did none of you notice my hand is shaking?

Lin Yuewei: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? I was just saying last night that I absolutely could not fall in love, heavens above, my wife just flirted with me on her own, aaaaah, pew, I’m dead.

Today is a day when Lin is on the back foot; let’s cheer her on, too. You’ve got to charge ahead as well!