Chapter 69
Lin Yuewei gently stroked Gu Yanqiu’s long hair with one hand and patted her back softly with the other.
Gu Yanqiu rested her chin on Lin Yuewei’s shoulder instead, staring unblinkingly over her shoulder at a spot on the hotel wall.
They held each other in silence for a while. Then Gu Yanqiu lowered the arm around her shoulders, signaling the end of the hug.
“You want to eat…” Gu Yanqiu began out of habit, only to stop after the first three words and laugh despite herself.
“You were going to ask me what I want for dinner again, weren’t you?” Lin Yuewei said, pulling her back into her arms. “Looks like that wasn’t a long enough hug. Your brain still isn’t clear.”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She waved a hand and said, “No need. Let me think about what I want for dinner. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Something local.”
“Hot pot?”
“Sure. I just don’t know if the local version is authentic.”
They asked the hotel front desk and got the name of the city’s most famous hot pot place. It wasn’t far—only a few minutes by car, less than twenty minutes on foot—so they decided to walk. Side by side, they made their way through the streets. In a small city after dark, apart from the fixed places where people gathered, there really weren’t many people left on the roads. Now and then they passed married couples out for a post-dinner stroll, as well as pairs of young lovers and girlfriends wandering aimlessly together.
A couple came toward them, one man and one woman. They looked like they had only just gotten together, or were about to; there was just a slight distance between them. The boy kept looking at the girl, while the girl kept her eyes on the road ahead. Even from far away, there was a faint, restless tension between them.
After Lin Yuewei saw them, she glanced at Gu Yanqiu. Gu Yanqiu followed her earlier gaze ahead, then turned to look at Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei froze. She hadn’t even known what to say in the first place, and now she was even more at a loss, staring blankly.
Gu Yanqiu: “?”
“Nothing.” Lin Yuewei turned her head away and took a breath of fresh air.
The young couple passed by them. Lin Yuewei couldn’t help looking back; by the time the two reached the end of the road, their hands had finally joined. Lin Yuewei was filled with satisfaction, as though she and Gu Yanqiu had successfully held hands herself.
Then her palm went cold, and she flinched, thinking for a second that she had mistaken an illusion for reality.
“Careful.” Gu Yanqiu took her hand and guided her a little farther in from the roadside; a car roared past, missing Lin Yuewei by barely a meter.
Lin Yuewei looked down at the hands clasped together, confirming that this wasn’t her imagination.
To her surprise, Gu Yanqiu didn’t let go after that. Lin Yuewei’s hand was held in hers, and she didn’t dare move, afraid Gu Yanqiu would suddenly remember she had forgotten to let go. Gu Yanqiu held on for a while, then realized Lin Yuewei showed no sign of struggling or any other intention and simply shifted into a more proper hand-holding position.
Lin Yuewei’s mind was buzzing into chaos; a thousand random thoughts exploded like fireworks.
She got greedy and rubbed the back of Gu Yanqiu’s smooth hand with her thumb, taking the initiative and seizing the advantage. She was just about to press her luck...
“Is it this way? How long have we been walking?” Gu Yanqiu asked abruptly. The route was short, and after asking the hotel front desk there had only been a few turns, so neither of them had bothered to use navigation. By now, with her mind on other things, Gu Yanqiu had forgotten which traffic light they were even on.
Lin Yuewei’s thoughts were all on holding hands; she no longer remembered where they were going either.
“Let me check.” Lin Yuewei pulled her phone from her pocket with her free hand, looked at the map, and confirmed, “This way. Turn right at the next intersection.”
She spoke a little faster than usual. As soon as she finished, she hurried forward, not giving Gu Yanqiu time to react slowly, trying to erase the fact of the hand-holding from her memory if possible, or at least make her unable to remember it.
The heavens were not on her side. She had only taken one step before she felt a pull backward; then her hand went empty as Gu Yanqiu let go.
Lin Yuewei: “…”
Gu Yanqiu tugged at her sleeve, bringing Lin Yuewei to her other side, farther from the road, then took her hand again. “Walk on this side. You keep spacing out; it’s not safe.”
This sudden turn, from a dark road to a bright opening, left Lin Yuewei feeling completely at ease as she held Gu Yanqiu’s hand all the way to their destination. Only at the entrance to the hot pot restaurant did Gu Yanqiu finally let go.
Business was good, but since it was only a county-level city, there was still no need to wait for a table. A server led them into a private room.
Lin Yuewei wasn’t eating, but once inside she naturally spread the menu out in front of herself, picked up a pen, and looked up at Gu Yanqiu. “Can you eat spicy food?”
“A little.”
“Medium spicy or mildly spicy? Yuanyang pot?”
“Yuanyang.”
“Beef tallow spicy broth and mixed seafood? Or spicy broth and mixed seafood; or we can switch the mixed seafood for mushrooms or bone broth. Which one?”
“Spicy broth and mushrooms.”
“Okay.” Lin Yuewei checked the box for the soup base.
The menu was divided into meat, vegetables, seafood, staples, snacks, barbecue, and more; one whole page packed with options. Luckily the server retreated after bringing the tea, or else she would have found it strange that one of these two seemed to be reporting every single dish on the menu item by item, asking the other person for her opinion on each one, while the other smiled so gently that she didn’t seem to mind the slightest bit.
“Bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, or shiitake?”
“Bamboo shoots.”
“Do you want dumplings?”
“No.”
“Do you want sausage?”
“No.”
“Brown sugar mochi?”
“Yes.”
“One order?”
“Would I be able to finish two orders? You’re not eating with me.”
...
Lin Yuewei picked up the tea beside her and took a sip. There wasn’t much chance a small place like this would have any truly good tea, but somehow she still felt this tea was better than most of what she had drunk at high-end venues. Clearing her throat, she went on, “Okay, now we’re at drinks.”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t like beverages. After Lin Yuewei finished naming all the drinks on the menu, Gu Yanqiu nodded and smilingly asked for a pot of boiling water instead.
The server came and went several times. The two of them were still in there reciting dishes; the server suspected they might be here to stir up trouble, but their clothes and bearing made them look either rich or powerful, so that didn’t seem likely either. When she came in again, she saw the beautiful woman in the hat lift the menu and wave it at her. “We’re done ordering.”
The server finally relaxed. At last. She hurried over, took the pen, circled the items on the menu, and confirmed the order with her: “A yuanyang pot with spicy oil broth and mixed seafood, right? Lamb rolls, sliced beef, red-oil skewers... bamboo shoots; anything else?”
Lin Yuewei smiled. “Can we get a pot of boiling water too? Not tea, just water. Do you have that?”
“Yes, yes, of course. Please wait a moment; I’ll bring it right away.”
Just as the server was about to leave, her gaze suddenly fixed on Lin Yuewei’s face for a couple of seconds. Amused, she said, “I think you look a lot like someone.”
In a small town like this, everybody was related within a few households. Unlike in a big city, the staff weren’t stiff or impersonal; once things had settled, they could chat with guests a bit.
“Like who?” Lin Yuewei’s heartbeat picked up. There weren’t many people in a small place who watched shows, but that didn’t mean there were none. She hadn’t worn makeup today, only lipstick, so her bare face was still a little different from how she looked on the show. She wondered, too, what excuse she would use if she got recognized.
“Like this person.” The server showed her the lock screen on her phone. “My little sister set it as my wallpaper; she said it was some celebrity.” The server looked about twenty-something, about the same age as Lin Yuewei.
And there it was: Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei said without changing expression, “You really do look a little like me. No wonder people say I’ve got a celebrity face.”
Gu Yanqiu, standing nearby, bit back a smile and took a sip from the tea in front of her.
Lin Yuewei shot her a completely nonthreatening glance. Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyelids slightly and smiled soundlessly.
The server read the room and lowered her voice. “You two are that kind of relationship, right?”
Lin Yuewei: “...”
What kind of relationship? No matter what kind, it wasn’t exactly some shameful, unmentionable thing, was it? Did she really need to be this sneaky about it?
The server made two fists in the air, hooked her thumbs toward each other, meaning a pair. “This kind of relationship.”
Lin Yuewei was still figuring out how to answer when Gu Yanqiu had already parted her lips and said, “Yes, we’ve registered.”
While Lin Yuewei’s heart sped up, she also thought to herself that this wasn’t wrong; the two of them were legal spouses.
The server’s face immediately lit up with envy. “I have a girlfriend too, but my family doesn’t agree with us being together.”
Lin Yuewei asked, “Why not?”
She had expected something like a mismatch in background or social status, but the server sighed, anger threaded through the sound. “Because she’s also a woman. Same-sex marriage has been legal for two years already, and they’re still stuck in the old ways, saying men and women are only natural, that women with women go against everything proper, that it ruins human ethics, and that even after death they’d be too ashamed to face our ancestors.”
Lin Yuewei said, “If you really like her and think she’s someone you can trust, then you can always quietly go get your marriage certificate. The country already protects you. At worst, run away from home. You’re young, you’ve got hands and feet; you won’t starve to death out there.”
The server said, “That’s what I think too; I’m just still torn. Anyway, enough about that. If I keep talking, you two won’t get dinner. I’ll head down now.”
Hearing the server’s words, Lin Yuewei felt a little moved. She was just about to turn to say something to Gu Yanqiu when she noticed Gu Yanqiu’s beautiful brows were tightly knit, her eyes slightly narrowed, as though she had suddenly remembered something important.
Lin Yuewei waited patiently until Gu Yanqiu came back to herself, then asked, “What are you thinking about?”
“I don’t know. Something just flashed through my head; I want to figure it out, but after thinking for so long, I’ve forgotten it all.” Gu Yanqiu pressed a finger to her brow. She had been doing that too often lately; she was practically wearing a groove there.
“Something related to what’s bothering you?”
“Maybe.”
“It’ll work itself out. You can’t force these things.”
“I know.” But Gu Yanqiu still couldn’t stop thinking about it.
Lin Yuewei changed the subject. “Did you hear what that girl just said? Her parents don’t agree with her being with her girlfriend.”
“I heard. I also heard you telling her to run away with her girlfriend.”
“Hahaha.” Lin Yuewei laughed.
“Same-sex marriage only became legal in the last couple of years. The smaller the place, the more closed-off the information, and the longer it takes for people’s views to change. If her parents keep using that reason to stop them, then forget the present, when it’s already legal; even back then, when it wasn’t, they should still have run away when it was time to run.”
“I didn’t know you were such a rebel,” Lin Yuewei said with a smile. She had thought Gu Yanqiu would be a good girl, just like the image she presented.
“Don’t I seem like it?” Gu Yanqiu curved her lips.
“You really don’t.”
“Then I suppose I can only say you can’t judge a book by its cover.” Gu Yanqiu raised her teacup to Lin Yuewei and smiled. “Time reveals people’s hearts.”
Lin Yuewei suddenly thought of this in the wrong direction again; her expression became very subtle.
Gu Yanqiu asked, puzzled, “What is it?”
Lin Yuewei shook her head. “Nothing. I was still thinking about that server, wondering whether her girlfriend is pretty.”
Gu Yanqiu tried to hold it in, but in the end she couldn’t. She asked, “Do you usually like asking about whether other people’s girlfriends are pretty?”
Lin Yuewei: “Huh?”
When had she ever liked asking whether other people’s girlfriends were pretty?
Gu Yanqiu reminded her, “Before, you asked me whether Lin Zhi’s girlfriend was pretty.”
“I was just asking casually.” Lin Yuewei lowered her head, a little embarrassed.
Gu Yanqiu muttered something under her breath. Lin Yuewei didn’t catch it and looked up. “What did you say?”
Gu Yanqiu also said, “Nothing.”
What she had said was, “Anyway, she’s not as pretty as you.” But to avoid being lumped into the category of “forced flirting,” she didn’t repeat it for Lin Yuewei to hear a second time.
The one who brought the food back wasn’t the same server. She pushed all the dishes in on a small cart, set them on the table, and bowed to the two of them before leaving on her own. Lin Yuewei had very strong self-control; even if she was starving at night and her chest felt glued to her back, she could still endure without taking a single bite. But strong self-control did not mean she could watch someone eating hot pot in front of her and smell the aroma without feeling anything at all.
God knew how many times she had fled in spirit, but between “watching Gu Yanqiu but having to endure not eating hot pot” and “being able to starve in peace but not getting to look at Gu Yanqiu,” she had decisively chosen the former.
Even Gu Yanqiu couldn’t bear it anymore and tried to persuade her. “Why don’t you eat some vegetables? Just dip them in the non-spicy broth; they won’t make you fat.”
Lin Yuewei shook her head.
Gu Yanqiu wanted to keep persuading her, but Lin Yuewei held up a hand in front of herself and said righteously, “This is a test of my self-control. If I can eat a bite of vegetables because of hot pot today, then tomorrow I’ll be able to eat a whole hot pot meal for some other reason. How am I supposed to lose weight then?”
“...Fine.”
Gu Yanqiu had said a long time ago that her appetite changed from time to time, sometimes big, sometimes small, so tonight she quickly finished a few bites and said she was full, then went out to settle the bill.
Lin Yuewei turned back to the half-finished spread of meat on the table, swallowed, and left while resisting heartache.
The server they had been joking with earlier had run to the front desk and was chatting with a girl wearing a T-shirt and shorts; the two of them were exchanging glances, and their relationship was clearly far from ordinary.
The server gave them a shy smile and tucked herself a little into the girl’s arms.
Just before they left, Lin Yuewei made a small fist toward her in encouragement; the server immediately smiled brightly. Her girlfriend saw her smiling so happily and, curious, followed her gaze, only to see two long, slender backs.
***
“You’re not busy lately? When does filming start for that role you wanted?” Back at the hotel, after each of them had showered, they sat on opposite sides of the bed as they would at home; Gu Yanqiu was replying to emails on her tablet while asking Lin Yuewei a question.
“I’m busy no matter where I am; same as you. I brought the script with me. Filming should start in about half a month, I think. The official announcement is probably coming next week.”
“Have you hired any water armies?”
“No.”
“Hm?”
“I thought of another way.”
Gu Yanqiu hit send and looked up with a smile. “I’m all ears.”
Talking about this sort of topic in a hotel room under soft, ambiguous lighting was rather strange, but neither of them felt the slightest bit awkward. If there was anyone Lin Yuewei trusted most in this area, it was definitely Gu Yanqiu; not even Jiang Congbi knew more than that she was working on something, with no idea what exactly.
From the night Gu Yanqiu learned about Lin Yuewei’s “plan,” it had been decided that she would be Lin Yuewei’s listener for a very long time to come.
Lin Yuewei smiled and explained at length.
Fang Xiaoxiao; the perennial second female lead. Her current tier was somewhere above third-tier and infinitely close to second-tier. If she could make one more push, she could stabilize herself in second-tier. Earlier this year, with the broadcast of a costume romance drama, Fang Xiaoxiao had quickly accumulated a wave of popularity thanks to a sharply characterized villainous second female lead. She was very well-liked by viewers, her public recognition had risen, she had gained quite a few fans, and she was starting to get a little hot; the resources within reach had improved compared with before.
But the hierarchy in the entertainment industry was very clear in private: what kind of star got what level of resources; the competitors at the top were basically fixed, with only a limited number of positions open. So once a newcomer started to rise, they had to claw meat out of someone else’s mouth and inevitably lose a layer of skin in the process. Much of the blackwave that followed people inexplicably when they got hot was done by rival teams, because you were moving into their territory. The higher you climbed, the more smears you received, unless you reached the top and became so far out of everyone else’s league that no one could look down on you; otherwise, someone would always be ready to dump a bucket of filth over your head behind your back. Even when you were already standing on the summit, shameless media outlets trying to ride the traffic would still repeatedly use your name, making things up out of thin air, calling a deer a horse, using every trick they could. Once you were in the circle, you would never know peace.
Even if you had no dirt, they could invent dirt. If you did have some, that was even more needless to say. And if it was the kind of dirt that could finish someone off in one blow, that artist might be crippled from then on and never recover.
Some PR teams were capable enough to turn the tide and make black into white. Others were incompetent and could only rely on the artist themselves to hold on through sheer force. Fang Xiaoxiao’s team had Chen Xuan behind it; whether they would go all out to save her, or whether they could save her at all, Lin Yuewei didn’t know. What she wanted was time.
“Fang Xiaoxiao is currently in negotiations for an endorsement with Brand M. Last year, Brand M’s spokesperson was a certain second-tier actress, and this year she’s already stepped into first-tier status, so the contract ended when it expired. Others currently vying for Brand M’s endorsement include Yang XX and Liu XX.” The two names Lin Yuewei mentioned were completely unfamiliar to Gu Yanqiu, who looked blank. Lin Yuewei summarized broadly, “They’re both second-tier actresses; they debuted earlier than Fang Xiaoxiao, and they’re more popular than she is.”
Gu Yanqiu nodded.
Lin Yuewei said, “Originally it was the two of them competing. As far as I know, their fanbases, led by the larger fan accounts, have been tearing each other apart very fiercely lately; it’s been going on for half a month already. Fang Xiaoxiao barged in halfway through like an unexpected wild card, and with one drama she soared straight into the second-tier camp, becoming the third competitor.”
“You mean...”
They spoke at the same time: “Sell the dirt to the two of them.” One was a declarative statement, the other a question.
Gu Yanqiu asked, “I don’t understand one thing. Hiring water armies to promote yourself costs money, right? So hiring water armies to smear someone else also costs money. If they think the dirt isn’t worth exposing, or that it isn’t worth spending money on, what then?”
“It’s solid dirt. If they can land a blow on her, why wouldn’t they expose it?” Lin Yuewei had already spent a great deal of money and effort just digging this up.
“What’s the benefit of smearing someone else?” Gu Yanqiu, as a comparatively traditional businessperson, truly couldn’t understand this kind of frenzied mutual blackening. When she had previously been watching Actor Trainees, she had been unintentionally exposed to some fan circles and was simply astonished. She had joined a fan group for less than a day before leaving, then contentedly went back to looking at photos and videos.
Lin Yuewei spread her hands. “Everybody does it. It’s either you smear me or I smear you. If you don’t smear others, someone else will smear you. It’s about interests; this is standard procedure.”
Gu Yanqiu lifted an eyebrow, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
“Do you think I’m especially despicable for doing this?” Lin Yuewei looked at her for a while, then suddenly asked. For the sake of her own chance, she was willing to take action and scheme against an artist under the same agency.
“No.” Gu Yanqiu answered without hesitation.
“Really?” Lin Yuewei knew her methods weren’t exactly honorable. But if Gu Yanqiu thought that too, she thought she would probably be very upset.
“Really not.” Gu Yanqiu considered her words and said, “I think you’re especially charismatic like this; like the kind of ambitious warlord you see on television, willing to stop at nothing to achieve your goal. History is always written by the victors; who would care what was on his hands?”
Lin Yuewei: “...”
However she heard it, that didn’t sound like praise. Wasn’t that still just saying she was willing to stop at nothing to achieve her goals?
Gu Yanqiu looked at her intently and said very sincerely, “Besides, there’s no blood on your hands. The dirt you expose is stuff she really did herself. If you don’t expose it today, someone else will in the future. Heaven’s cycle is just retribution; if you haven’t done anything to feel guilty about, you won’t be afraid when ghosts come knocking. That’s what the old sayings say, isn’t it?”
Lin Yuewei: “...”
Whether there was retribution or not, Lin Yuewei didn’t know. She only knew that Gu Yanqiu’s filter was probably ten thousand feet thick.
But the heaviness in her heart really did vanish without a trace. Lin Yuewei let out an “ah” and suddenly asked, “I’m really curious about something. If, and I mean if, one day you saw me kill someone, would you clap beside me and say, ‘Good kill, great kill, amazing kill; serves him right for walking into my blade’?”
“Probably not.” Gu Yanqiu shook her head.
“Oh?”
Gu Yanqiu thought seriously for a moment. “I’d look at what you wanted. If you wanted to run, I’d help deal with the body. If you couldn’t bear the weight of a life, I’d help you call 110, turn yourself in, and then wait for you to get out of prison.”
Lin Yuewei: “………………”
Gu Yanqiu blinked and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yuewei was speechless.
After a long pause, Gu Yanqiu suddenly laughed out loud and teased, “Do you know why I answered that way?”
“Why?”
Gu Yanqiu beckoned to her, and Lin Yuewei leaned in close.
Gu Yanqiu laughed softly in her ear. “You would never kill anyone. You’re only saying it; words don’t require responsibility, so of course I can say whatever I want.”
“You!”
Then Gu Yanqiu said, “But I meant it.”
“...”
Lin Yuewei turned her head, and when her gaze lifted, it landed right in Gu Yanqiu’s beautiful, deep eyes; within them seemed to be hidden something she understood, yet somehow didn’t quite understand... a secret.
Gu Yanqiu’s red lips were right there before her. Lin Yuewei’s eyes followed them, and she saw those thin lips part to speak tender words that were miles away from any real softness:
“So if you ever really kill someone, remember to call me. I can be trusted one hundred percent.”
“................”
All the messy thoughts in Lin Yuewei’s head vanished in an instant and snapped back into their original shape.
Gu Yanqiu was straight, right? She had to be straight, right? Straight, right... right...
Lin Yuewei at least managed to suppress her urge to complain. She lay back under the covers and yawned. “I’m getting a little sleepy.”
“Are you going to sleep?” Gu Yanqiu was a little reluctant; she still hadn’t had many words with Lin Yuewei yet, and now she was already going to sleep.
Her confidence was really running wild.
Lin Yuewei forced her voice into a gentle tone despite the fire in her chest. “Yes, I’m going to sleep.”
Gu Yanqiu glanced at her. Although she wanted to talk more, she also didn’t want to disturb her sleep. Lin Yuewei usually went to bed late, and today she had even made the long trip over after being jostled all the way here.
After a long silence, she finally spoke under Lin Yuewei’s expectant gaze: “Then sleep. Good night.”
“...” Lin Yuewei really had nothing to say. She turned over, giving her back to Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu frowned slightly, with the intuition that Lin Yuewei was angry. What was she angry about? Because she said she killed someone? Hadn’t she already said it was only if? Besides, Lin Yuewei could absolutely trust her completely, even if she really did kill someone.
Lin Yuewei fell asleep carrying a belly full of anger.
After finishing most of her work arrangements, Gu Yanqiu turned off the lights and took the initiative to curl into Lin Yuewei’s arms. Even asleep, Lin Yuewei’s body still remembered the habit; she had once held a stuffed toy, and now she held Gu Yanqiu, all by reflex.
A soft kiss was pressed to her forehead. At the height of Gu Yanqiu’s turmoil, she heard a murmur fall from above her head: “Good little bunny.”
Gu Yanqiu, the little bunny, had her back patted twice as Lin Yuewei coaxed her.
...So excited for nothing.
Gu Yanqiu put aside her thoughts, adjusted herself into a comfortable position, and closed her eyes.
The next morning, Gu Yanqiu took Lin Yuewei out for breakfast and told her everything about the Gu family without hiding a single thing. First, there was no way to hide it anyway; the clues were already fragmented, and it was precisely because she wanted Lin Yuewei to help her come up with ideas that she needed to know what should be concealed and what shouldn’t. Second, the moment she agreed to let Lin Yuewei come over yesterday, she had granted her the right to step fully into her life. This was her greatest secret.
From that point on, she was completely unreserved with Lin Yuewei.
Lin Yuewei listened in awe.
Gu Yanqiu stuffed a cooled soup dumpling into her mouth and said, “Close your mouth first.”
Lin Yuewei chewed the soup dumpling, drank a mouthful of soy milk, and the information in her head still hadn’t finished digesting. “So today you’re still going to the nursing home?”
“Once we’re done with breakfast.”
“I think you were a little too aggressive yesterday. Elderly people can’t handle that kind of shock. Yesterday, was it because she recognized the photo before hitting you?”
“No. After she finished looking at the photo and then looked at me, I guess I didn’t look exactly like the young version of my mother in the photo. Since I look like my mother, that’s why she hit me.”
Lin Yuewei reached out to touch her face. Gu Yanqiu didn’t dodge. Lin Yuewei forced herself to trace the five finger marks on her now-restored face and said in distress, “Does it still hurt?”
Gu Yanqiu shook her head.
When Lin Yuewei came yesterday, it was already night; the finger mark on Gu Yanqiu’s face had looked frightening, but she had applied ice right away. Her recovery was strong, and by evening it had mostly faded. On top of that, the lighting was poor, so Lin Yuewei hadn’t noticed it. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have thought of it as a slap; she’d assumed it was some insect bite she had scratched red. After all, who would dare slap Gu Yanqiu’s face?
Lin Yuewei took the opportunity to touch it again. Gu Yanqiu’s skin was so good that it wasn’t every day one could casually feel her face like this.
Gu Yanqiu had a smile at the corners of her mouth and looked at her without blinking, obediently letting her do as she pleased.
It was Lin Yuewei who got embarrassed first; she withdrew her hand and smiled.
“Do you have any plan for when we go see your grandma at the nursing home later?” Lin Yuewei cleared her throat.
“Today we won’t stimulate her anymore. The old lady isn’t well; she was just upset yesterday.” Gu Yanqiu sighed, then perked up again. “The photo album Cheng Yong mentioned might be in the nursing home. I’m planning to look for it. Maybe there’ll be some clues on it.”
“Then—” Lin Yuewei hadn’t even finished asking when Gu Yanqiu cut in, “You’re coming with me. I’m not comfortable leaving you alone at the hotel.”
Lin Yuewei had still been drifting after the first half of that sentence, but the second half left her with nothing to even complain about.
She was a grown adult; what was there not to be comfortable about? Lin Yuewei felt that between the two of them, the one who was more worrying should be Gu Yanqiu. She was still just a baby.
Lin Yuewei suspected that if she tried to argue with Gu Yanqiu, one day she would really be angered to death. So she learned to listen selectively and nodded gently. “Okay.”
After breakfast, the two of them headed back. Gu Yanqiu introduced Lin Yuewei to Mr. Liu, saying she was a friend and could be trusted. Mr. Liu shook her hand and said, “I know you, Miss Lin. While I’ve been on the road, I watch a bit of variety shows every night before sleeping in the hotel.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Don’t mention anything about her.”
Mr. Liu said, “I wouldn’t even if you didn’t say so.”
The three of them went to the nursing home together. Mr. Liu drove in front. He glanced up at Gu Yanqiu in the rearview mirror and said, “President Gu, I checked the house where Gao Limei used to live. There are many villages around this little county, and a lot of people come into town for work; the population moves around a lot. The place has changed tenants several times over the past few years, and then the family living below Gao Limei moved away. It’s hard to track down now. If that photo album wasn’t taken to the nursing home back then, it must be gone by now.”
A shabby old photo album; whichever family took over the old house wouldn’t have kept it carefully. More likely, it had been tossed into a trash can and, over years and years, turned into a handful of rotten mud and dust.
Gu Yanqiu gave a soft “mm.”
Lin Yuewei wasn’t usually a particularly sentimental person, but she especially couldn’t stand seeing old people suffer. If Gao Limei’s photo album was really gone, then where was the last thing she had to cling to in life? She was muddled, yes, but there were always moments of clarity. Even the photographs of her deceased husband and daughter were gone; how could she bear that?
Gu Yanqiu turned her head and saw shimmering moisture in Lin Yuewei’s eyes. She covered Lin Yuewei’s hand with her own and patted the back of it lightly.
Lin Yuewei turned her hand over and held hers back.
Their hands stayed clasped together, drawing strength from each other.
It was Director Fang who came out to meet them again. She said, “Old Lady Gao is in pretty good shape; there’s nothing serious. But... don’t upset her again today.”
“We know.”
“And this is...” Director Fang’s gaze landed on Lin Yuewei, who was wearing sunglasses and a mask.
“My wife.” Gu Yanqiu introduced her.
Director Fang clearly froze for a moment. “Then... Mrs. Gu, please come in as well.”
Lin Yuewei was even more bewildered than she was, and went in a daze all the way to the back courtyard. Once there were no other people nearby, Gu Yanqiu apologized, “Sorry. It was easier to introduce you that way, so I just...”
“It’s fine.” Lin Yuewei still felt dazed.
Today, Old Lady Gao was moved to a different spot to bask in the sun, and her mood was pretty good. The caregiver called Xiaofang was speaking softly to her, and the old lady would laugh from time to time.
From a distance, Lin Yuewei looked at her and said to Gu Yanqiu, “You go in and look. I’ll wait outside.”
Gu Yanqiu: “Hmm?”
Lin Yuewei took a deep breath and smiled, a bright glimmer in her eyes. “My grandma also has Alzheimer’s. It’s been more than ten years, and I know how to get along with patients like this.”
Since Gu Yanqiu said she was her wife, then Gu Yanqiu’s grandmother was her grandmother too.
Before Gu Yanqiu entered Old Lady Gao’s room, she looked back once. Lin Yuewei was crouched in front of the old lady, chatting with her, her expression gentler than Gu Yanqiu had ever seen it, as if she really were treating her like family.
Gu Yanqiu had been inside for about half an hour. When she came out, she saw Lin Yuewei pushing Old Lady Gao’s wheelchair around the courtyard. No one knew what she had done, but the old lady was even happier than when the caregiver had been with her earlier; her laughter rang out loud and clear.
Lin Yuewei saw her and mouthed, Did you find it?
Gu Yanqiu nodded.
Lin Yuewei continued pushing Old Lady Gao around for a while before stopping. She said, “Mom, I’m going to school now. I’ll come back after class to keep you company.”
Old Lady Gao smiled so broadly her mouth wouldn’t close. “Okay.” She fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a piece of candy, probably one given out by the nursing home. Elderly people with diabetes were common here, so sweets were rationed; this was probably her only piece. Old Lady Gao shakily stuffed the only candy into Lin Yuewei’s hand, murmuring something under her breath. It was probably for her to take it to school as a snack.
Lin Yuewei accepted it, stepped forward, and hugged her. “Then I’m off.”
Old Lady Gao smiled and waved at her, slurring, “B-bye...”
“Bye-bye.” Lin Yuewei smiled with crinkled eyes and waved back.
Gu Yanqiu looked at the warm scene before her and couldn’t help feeling her eyes prickle with tears as well. She stepped toward Lin Yuewei, and Lin Yuewei smiled at her and walked toward her too.
At this moment, Gu Yanqiu had no idea what terrible thing would happen here just a few seconds later.
“No...” Old Lady Gao looked at her “daughter” and Gu Yanqiu walking together, smiling at each other. Her whole body shook; her expression twisted. Her withered hand clamped deathly onto the wheelchair armrest, digging in as though she were trying to tear out blood, as if she had seen the most horrifying nightmare of her life.
“No—”
Old Lady Gao let out a horrified scream and toppled out of the wheelchair.