Chapter 68

[Xigu: S Province, Wushi City, Gaoshan County. Message me when you get there; I’ll come pick you up.]

[Xigu: [Location]]

Gu Yanqiu wasn’t actually all that afraid of Lin Yuewei’s threat. She had a feeling—in fact, she was almost certain—that Lin Yuewei was bluffing. She wasn’t the type to really go through with it; all bark and no bite. But she still agreed.

Lin Yuewei checked the earliest flight to the address Gu Yanqiu had sent her, then looked up the train from Wushi to Gaoshan County; she nearly despaired. It was the same one Gu Yanqiu had taken yesterday, and by the time they arrived, it would already be dark.

No matter what, she hailed a cab and headed straight for the airport without a second thought.

***

By the time Director Fang returned to the office, Gu Yanqiu had already composed herself. There was no trace of tears on her face; even the slap mark didn’t seem nearly as obvious against her calm expression.

Gu Yanqiu noticed that when Director Fang first saw her face, she hadn’t looked surprised at all, as if she were already used to it.

Sure enough, Director Fang said, “When Ms. Shen came before—your mother—she was hit from time to time too. The old lady wasn’t in her right mind, so I never knew what it was about. Maybe there was some old grudge between them. When she was in a good mood, she was very, very good; she’d hug her and call her Yu’er.”

Gu Yanqiu: “…”

Director Fang glanced at her and said, “You just had the bad luck to catch her on a bad day.”

Gu Yanqiu: “So they used to have a very good relationship, and then they fell out over something?” If it had come to a mother slapping her own daughter like that, the hatred must have been enormous. That definitely wasn’t something trivial.

Director Fang: “Sigh.” She let out a long breath.

Gu Yanqiu: “When she was lucid, or when she could still talk, did she ever say anything?”

Without hesitation, Director Fang said, “No.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Nothing.”

Gu Yanqiu leaned back in the chair behind her, folded her arms, and stretched one leg out idly as she tilted her head to look at Director Fang.

Under her gaze, Director Fang finally looked away, as if she had been seen through.

“Director Fang, let’s be straight.”

At that, Director Fang gave a start and looked at her uncertainly, not knowing whether Gu Yanqiu was trying to bluff her or whether she already knew.

Gu Yanqiu smiled at her and said with complete confidence, “Gu Huai—the man in that photo I just showed you—what exactly did he tell you? How much did he give you? I can double it.”

Director Fang: “I…”

“Don’t rush to answer.” Gu Yanqiu pressed the tip of her index finger lightly to her lips and made a soft shushing sound. “You’re a public nursing home, aren’t you? Wouldn’t that count as taking a bribe and hiding the truth? Legally speaking, I’m Gao Laotai’s biological granddaughter. Gu Huai is only the husband of her daughter; what right does he have to make decisions for my grandmother and me? Also, after I left, were you planning to tip Gu Huai off? Or had you already told him before I came today?”

Director Fang: “…”

Gu Yanqiu had said everything there was to say.

She straightened in her chair, sat up properly, and gave Director Fang a polite nod. “Director Fang, you can speak now.”

Director Fang took a tissue and wiped the sweat from her temples.

“I did say something, but not much,” she finally admitted. “The old lady was already quite old when she was sent here, and her condition was very unstable. The first time your mother came, she cried miserably. The old lady hugged her and cried with her; after that, she started acting off and on, sometimes good, sometimes bad. She hit people and cursed people too. When she was in a good state, she really was good. The old lady wasn’t in good health, you know; she forced herself to cook for her daughter, but before she even finished, she got so angry she smashed the bowl. From your mother’s attitude alone, I could tell she was very guilty.”

Gu Yanqiu set her notebook on her knees and lowered her head to take notes. Since she was being so serious, Director Fang did her best to recall everything carefully too.

“I’m really not sure, though,” Director Fang said. “When Gao Laotai was scolding your mother, she said things like, ‘Your father and I would absolutely never agree to you being with him,’ ‘Go on, get out; if you leave, don’t come back,’ ‘Get lost.’ Mostly she just told her to get lost; it was exactly the same attitude she showed you just now. She even told us to throw your mother out.”

They didn’t agree to her being with him? Could it be that her parents had eloped back then? That didn’t quite match what Jiao Chunsheng had said. When Gu Huai met Shen Huaiyu, he was already at the stage of developing his career. By the time they got married, he was even more established—a young, handsome, promising man with a successful business. She couldn’t imagine what kind of parents would reject a son-in-law like that. Unless Gu Huai’s affairs with He Songjun and Gu Feiquan outside the marriage had been discovered by the elders? Maybe that was why they had adamantly refused to let Shen Huaiyu marry Gu Huai.

Gu Yanqiu narrowed her eyes. “Why didn’t Gu Huai come in?”

Director Fang: “I don’t know.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. I can swear to heaven.”

“Anything else?”

“No more.” Director Fang shook her head.

Gu Yanqiu wrote a string of numbers on the paper, tore off the sheet, and set it on the desk. “This is my phone number. If you remember anything else, call me anytime.”

She took the bag beside her, pulled out a stack of fresh bills straight from the bank, and tucked the notebook and pen into the side pocket of her bag before zipping it shut and slinging it over her shoulder. Director Fang stood up to see her out. When they reached the door, Gu Yanqiu turned back and said, “By the way, Director Fang, if you’re going to call Gu Huai or if he comes asking, please pass him a message for me: there’s no such thing as an impenetrable wall. If he wants to drag this out, I’ll drag it out with him for life.”

Director Fang gave a stiff, awkward laugh.

“No need to see me out. Stay here.”

As soon as Gu Yanqiu stepped out of the nursing home, she looked over at Mr. Liu beside her. “Arrange a meeting with Gao Laotai’s neighbor. I want to see her this afternoon.”

“Your face…”

“I’m fine. I’ll put something on it when I get back. The sooner I set it up, the sooner I can relax.” She didn’t believe for a second that Gu Huai’s hand could reach those neighbors too. Gu Yanqiu frowned and asked, “Mr. Liu, there’s something else. Can you help me look into it?”

“What is it?”

“Check my father Gu Huai’s background before he got married, especially the part involving He Songjun.”

“Anything else besides the name?” Mr. Liu had already been thoroughly shaken by investigating Shen Huaiyu.

Gu Yanqiu smiled. “Of course. He has a name, a company, a school he graduated from, and his own network of contacts. I’ll sort out a file and send it to you when I get back.”

“Okay.”

Gu Yanqiu got into the car, lowered the window, and looked back at the nursing home gate, her gaze deep and unreadable.

“Let’s go.”

Lin Yuewei arrived at Wushi Airport in the afternoon and rushed straight to the high-speed rail station. At that moment, she was especially thankful that she’d been cooled off for more than a month and her popularity had dropped quite a bit. As long as she wore a mask, even if she ran full tilt through the station, nobody would recognize her.

She swept onto the platform like a gust of wind just before ticket inspection closed. Only after she sat down on the train did she finally let out the breath she’d been holding all the way from home, then sent Gu Yanqiu a message to say she was safe.

[Two Trees: I’m on the train to Gaoshan County.]

[Xigu: I’ll come pick you up later.]

[Two Trees: What are you doing right now?]

[Xigu: Drinking tea with relatives.]

The “relative” in front of Gu Yanqiu this time was a typical woman from a county town; ordinary-looking, a little on the heavy side, with every inch of her screaming plainness. Faced with someone like Gu Yanqiu, who clearly didn’t belong in a place like this, she kept rubbing her hands together under the table, her eyes darting around nervously.

Gu Yanqiu asked, “You used to be neighbors with Gao Limei?” Gao Limei was Gao Laotai’s name.

The woman answered, “Yes.”

Gu Yanqiu opened the notebook in front of her, and the woman grew even more tense, swallowing again and again. Gu Yanqiu set down her pen and lifted the kettle on the table to pour her another cup of water. “I’m just asking a few questions. I’m not a police officer, and I’m not here in any other capacity. Gao Limei is my grandmother.”

“I know. Mr. Liu already told me that.” The woman clutched the cup in her hands and turned it over on the tablecloth, but her tension didn’t ease.

Gu Yanqiu let her be and went straight to the point. “Have you ever seen Gao Limei’s daughter? Her name is Shen Huaiyu. She looks a little like me now.”

Gu Yanqiu showed her a photo of her mother.

The woman glanced at Mr. Liu, and only after he nodded did she say, “No, I’ve never seen her. I didn’t even know she had a daughter.”

“You didn’t know?”

“Yeah. When she moved here, she was alone. Not to mention a daughter, she didn’t even have a husband. I asked her about it, and she said they were all dead.”

Gu Yanqiu’s expression changed. “What did you say?”

The woman said, “I said, when she moved here, she was a widow. No husband, no children.”

Gu Yanqiu: “When did she move here?”

The woman tilted her head back, thinking. “I can’t remember the exact year. It was a long time ago—more than ten, maybe twenty years. When she came, my son was still crawling on the floor, and now he’s already in college.”

Gu Yanqiu asked, “So by then, her husband was already gone?”

The woman nodded. “Yeah. I never saw him.”

Mr. Liu lowered his head and said softly in Gu Yanqiu’s ear, “He was probably dead before that. I asked all the neighbors, and none of them had seen him. But one person did see your mother, Shen Huaiyu; that’s how I found Gao Limei.”

The person who had seen Shen Huaiyu was a man in his thirties, a somewhat well-known local entrepreneur in the county. He and Gu Yanqiu arranged to meet at a fairly upscale tea restaurant.

The man’s surname was Cheng; his name was Cheng Yong. He wore a suit and tie, and as soon as he arrived, he straightened his lapels and shook hands with Gu Yanqiu. “President Gu.”

“President Cheng.”

The two sat facing each other. Cheng Yong took the photo Gu Yanqiu handed over and confirmed it again. “Yes, this is the one I saw.”

When Cheng Yong was in school, his parents often worked overtime, and Gao Limei was an old woman living alone. Gao Limei was very fond of him, so she often invited him over to play. Cheng Yong ate many a meal at her house, and the grandmother-grandson pair had a pretty good relationship. Later, after Cheng Yong went to college and started working, they still kept in touch and would sometimes visit Gao Limei.

Cheng Yong recalled, “Several years ago—six or seven years ago, I think—the woman in the photo, your mother, came by. I was at Old Lady Gao’s place watching TV, getting ready to eat dinner there that night. After Grandma saw her, her expression changed drastically, and she told me to go home first. I was worried about her, so I didn’t leave. I hid by the door and listened, and I heard arguing and crying inside. Not long after, your mother was driven out by Grandma with tears all over her face.”

Shen Huaiyu was stunningly beautiful; even more so than Gu Yanqiu was now. No man who saw such a beauty in tears could remain unmoved. After she left crying, Cheng Yong went back into Gao Limei’s house to find out what had happened between the two of them. Gao Limei flew into a rage at him and said that if he brought up Shen Huaiyu again, he should never come back there.

Cheng Yong said, “After that, I never asked again. I was busy with work anyway, so I wasn’t at Grandma’s house every day. I don’t know whether she came again after that. About a year later, Grandma’s mental state deteriorated rapidly; all of a sudden, she just stopped being clear-headed. The doctor said it was Alzheimer’s disease. I wanted to send Grandma to a nursing home, but your mother beat me to it.”

“I heard it was a grown man who sent her there?”

“Yes, that’s what the nursing home director told me too.”

“Then how are you so sure it was arranged by her?”

“To be honest, I later ran into her once. We met at the nursing home. Your father had also helped me out in business; otherwise I wouldn’t have made it to where I am now. And besides, Grandma didn’t have any relatives or friends here; I was the closest person to her. Apart from me and your mother, I can’t think of anyone else.”

Gu Yanqiu’s mind was a tangled mess. She had already met several neighbors in succession that afternoon, and what they said was basically the same: when Gao Limei arrived, she was alone, without a husband, and she never mentioned having a daughter. Putting all the information together, Gao Limei and Shen Huaiyu had a major conflict; mother and daughter had fallen out completely, perhaps with something to do with her grandfather’s death. Otherwise, Gu Yanqiu couldn’t imagine what kind of conflict could make blood relatives like a mother and daughter end up in such a state.

Also, Shen Huaiyu’s love life had once been firmly opposed by her family. That may have been the spark that lit the fuse for everything that followed; otherwise, Gao Limei wouldn’t still be muttering about those things even now, all these years later, in her confused state.

Cheng Yong said, “Actually… I did see a photo of your mother at Grandma’s house. She hid it very carefully. I used to be greedy, always rummaging around looking for food, and I found a very old album in the corner cupboard. There were a lot of photos inside; the last few looked a lot like you. They should have been your mother.”

“Can you still find that album now?”

“I’m not sure whether it was taken to the nursing home.”

……

“Thank you.” When they finally parted, Gu Yanqiu firmly shook Cheng Yong’s hand. She had learned a great deal of valuable information from him.

“It was the least I could do.” Cheng Yong sighed. “Grandma’s life was really not easy. If you have time, come visit her more often. I know about your mother’s death; she still doesn’t know. If it’s not absolutely necessary, I hope you won’t tell her. Mothers always love their children. No matter how much hatred there is, I’m afraid she won’t be able to take hearing that, especially since her mind isn’t clear anymore. Let her spend her old age peacefully.”

“I understand.”

“No need to see me out. If you have any questions, call me anytime. Mr. Liu has my number.” Cheng Yong bowed slightly to Gu Yanqiu and turned to leave.

Gu Yanqiu sat back down at the table, closed her eyes for a while, and though the truth was still hidden in the fog, she had already begun to feel fear. Gao Limei, her grandfather whose death she didn’t even know how had happened, Shen Huaiyu, Gu Huai, and even He Songjun and Gu Feiquan—all of them were tangled together, weaving a huge net. She didn’t know what kind of truth would be revealed if the veil on its surface were ripped away, and whether she truly wanted to see it.

Even the things right before her eyes already made her heart ache.

After Mr. Liu waited for her emotions to settle, he came over and asked, “President Gu, are we going back to the hotel now?”

Gu Yanqiu opened her eyes. “No, to the train station.”

“Huh?”

“You leave the car with me. I’m going to pick someone up.”

“Okay.”

Lin Yuewei followed the crowd out of the station. Outside, the square was alive with dialect she could barely understand, voices moving at breakneck speed as they called out tourist spots and hotel names. Some people came straight up to grab her arm; from their movements, it looked like they were trying to pull her into a car. Lin Yuewei rarely saw this kind of scene. Her reaction was extreme; she shook the person off and ran a few steps away, all the while looking into the crowd of people waiting to pick others up while warily fishing out her phone to make a call.

Gu Yanqiu had spotted Lin Yuewei long ago, but she didn’t have the nerve to call out to her the way everyone else did. Fortunately, Lin Yuewei’s call came through quickly. Gu Yanqiu gave her directions over the phone, and after Lin Yuewei turned one hundred degrees to the right, she finally saw the tall woman.

Lin Yuewei didn’t bring luggage; she only had a backpack, with one or two days’ worth of clothes inside. She walked lightly over to Gu Yanqiu.

“The car’s over there.” Gu Yanqiu pointed and naturally reached for the bag on Lin Yuewei’s back. Lin Yuewei didn’t dodge; she let her take it and hang it over one shoulder before leading the way.

Gu Yanqiu put her backpack in the back seat, and Lin Yuewei was already in the passenger seat, seat belt fastened. She secretly felt that she had strong wifely awareness and was very quietly pleased with herself.

Only after Lin Yuewei arrived did she remember something awkward.

Gu Yanqiu had come to visit relatives; then where was she supposed to stay tonight? Was she going to follow Gu Yanqiu and stay at her maternal grandparents’ place? If you thought about it that way, wouldn’t that count as meeting the parents? Maybe there’d even be a whole mess of aunts, uncles, and other relatives; she’d end up meeting the entire family.

Lin Yuewei gripped her seat belt, not sure how to bring it up. Maybe she should just stay at a hotel.

Lin Yuewei said, “Take me to a hotel.”

Gu Yanqiu clipped her phone into place, turned on the Li Zhi-ling voice navigation, and said, “That was always the plan.”

Lin Yuewei felt a little uncomfortable. It was one thing for her to suggest the hotel herself; it was another for Gu Yanqiu to proactively drive her there. Was she trying not to let her meet her relatives? She quickly supplied a reason for Gu Yanqiu on her own: first, when they’d first gotten married, they had agreed that Lin Yuewei wouldn’t appear with her as a married couple at business or private events; Gu Yanqiu was just keeping her promise. Second, Lin Yuewei was a public figure, and the Gu relatives were numerous and gossipy. One loose word would be hard to avoid, so it was better not to meet them.

Lin Yuewei understood all the reasoning, but her mood still inexplicably sank along with it.

The place was small, and it took only a little over ten minutes to reach the hotel. With too much on her mind, Gu Yanqiu didn’t notice Lin Yuewei’s shifting thoughts. Now that Lin Yuewei was here, she still hadn’t figured out how to explain the whole mess at home to her. As for visiting relatives, that was all made up.

Gu Yanqiu parked the car, and the two of them went into the hotel one after the other. She held out her hand to Lin Yuewei. “Give me your ID card.”

Lin Yuewei handed it over, and Gu Yanqiu passed it to the front desk. “Room 302, one queen bed; add one person.”

Gu Yanqiu had originally booked a queen room for herself. Now that Lin Yuewei was here, of course they would stay together. She sleepwalked; with Lin Yuewei beside her, Gu Yanqiu would feel more at ease.

Lin Yuewei was baffled. “???”

What did she mean, one queen room with one extra person? What was that supposed to mean?

She kept all her doubts bottled up until Gu Yanqiu took the key card and opened the room door. In the corner stood a familiar suitcase—the one Lin Yuewei had accidentally left in her car yesterday morning. Only then did Lin Yuewei understand. Oh, this room was originally Gu Yanqiu’s, and now an extra person had been added; the two of them were sharing a queen room.

She was sharing a room with Gu Yanqiu! Although this kind of room-sharing was not that kind of room-sharing, it was still a milestone-level leap forward! In a roundabout way, this was basically a bridal chamber!

Lin Yuewei’s mind was left with only that one thought.

A silent scream spun and leaped and danced in her head, with her eyes closed.

After the excitement wore off, other questions came rushing in.

Wasn’t Gu Yanqiu supposed to be here visiting her maternal grandparents? If so, why couldn’t they spare even one room for her to stay in, forcing her to sleep at a hotel? Or was Gu Yanqiu a clean freak? If she was a clean freak, then she really shouldn’t be staying in a hotel; her own home should, at the very least, be cleaner than a hotel.

She didn’t say anything, but the question marks on her forehead were obvious enough. Gu Yanqiu pressed at her brow and felt a faint pain in her temples. “I’ll explain to you tonight. You’ve been on the road this long; you must be hungry. What do you want to eat?”

“I don’t eat dinner. Did you forget?” Lin Yuewei looked at her.

“…” Gu Yanqiu really had forgotten. There was too much going on; her brain was completely clogged. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have forgotten anything related to Lin Yuewei.

Gu Yanqiu pressed her temples again, closed her eyes for a moment, and let out a quiet breath, forcing herself to regain her composure.

“Forget it. If you’re upset, don’t put on an act.” Lin Yuewei mercilessly exposed her on the spot. “What’s there to hide from me? You were crying that badly, twice. What haven’t I seen?”

Gu Yanqiu: “…”

How was she crying like that?!

Gu Yanqiu said seriously, “I think I need to explain this.” Her image could not be that of a crybaby.

Lin Yuewei nodded and sat down on the sofa beside her. “Mm, explain. I’m listening.”

Gu Yanqiu was silent for a moment. “I usually don’t cry. The last time I cried, you know about it. This time I cried because I ran into something upsetting—very, very upsetting. And I didn’t cry out loud. There was nobody around. When you called me, I hadn’t even shed any tears.”

Lin Yuewei was practically dying of laughter inside. If that wasn’t being a crybaby, then what was? Who cried because they were happy? Tears of joy didn’t count; weren’t all tears caused by unhappiness?

Of course, she looked completely convinced on the surface. When dealing with a baby, you couldn’t contradict her; she wore an expression that said, You’re absolutely right, I was being shallow.

Gu Yanqiu let out a breath of relief in her heart. This time, Lin Yuewei shouldn’t think she was a crybaby anymore, right?

Lin Yuewei sat on the sofa and studied Gu Yanqiu for a moment, then stood and walked toward her, stopping in front of her.

Gu Yanqiu: “???”

Lin Yuewei asked her, “Are you still upset?”

Gu Yanqiu honestly admitted, “...Yes.”

With a smile at the corner of her lips, Lin Yuewei opened her arms wide and asked, “Want a hug?”

Gu Yanqiu looked hesitant.

“There’s nobody else here.”

Gu Yanqiu pressed her lips together and slowly blinked once.

Lin Yuewei made as if to withdraw her arms.

Gu Yanqiu immediately stepped forward and hugged her, burying her face in the crook of her neck.