Chapter 72
Gu Yanqiu glanced at the thermometer. Thirty-nine point two degrees—a high fever.
“I told you, I’m perfectly healthy. Go to work already—cough, cough, cough… go.” Illness hit like a mountain collapsing. Lin Yuewei had barely managed to sit up in bed before a wave of weakness forced her to lie back down.
“You’ve already taken two days off. What if that cheap little brother of yours whispers in your father’s ear and says you’re not taking your job seriously? Wouldn’t that be a loss?”
“I’m really fine. I can even get up and do a whole set of boxing moves.”
Gu Yanqiu pulled two tissues from the box and pressed them into her hands so she could cover her nose, then looked down at her and said, “Come on. Get up and do it for me.”
Lin Yuewei: “…”
Lin Yuewei hated to lose. She had only been saying it casually, but Gu Yanqiu provoked her, and she actually sat up. At first glance, she looked full of energy, as if she weren’t sick at all. Lin Yuewei glanced toward the edge of the bed. “Where are my shoes?”
Gu Yanqiu pushed her back down and said sternly, “Lie down properly.”
“You go to work, and I’ll lie down properly.”
“I’m not going to work. I already took leave.”
“Then I’ll get up and box.” Lin Yuewei spread her hands with deliberate nonchalance.
Gu Yanqiu stared at her for a moment without saying anything or moving. The second Lin Yuewei tried to get up, she pushed her back down. On a normal day, Lin Yuewei would still have had some ability to resist her; now she was weak and pliant, easy to press back into place, and it was almost unbearable to look at.
Lin Yuewei tried again and failed again, and again; at last she gave up and snapped a little desperately, “Why are you so gangster-like?”
Gu Yanqiu smiled faintly and repeated, “Sleep.”
Lin Yuewei said angrily, “I’m not sleeping. I want breakfast.”
She was listless and feverish to the point that she didn’t even feel hungry anymore. She was just being obstinate; when had Lin the eldest miss ever been treated like this? Gu Yanqiu asked gently, “What do you want to eat?”
“You’ll buy whatever I want?” Lin Yuewei lifted the corners of her mouth in a wicked smile.
Gu Yanqiu’s heart skipped. After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded.
“Listen carefully. I want…” Lin Yuewei took a deep breath and rattled off, “steamed lamb, steamed bear paws, steamed deer tail, roast duck, roast chick, roast goose, braised pork, braised duck, sauced chicken, cured meat, pine-nut small sausage, dried meat, sausage, assorted Suzhou cold platter, smoked chicken, white belly, steamed eight-treasure pig, glutinous rice stuffed duck… pressed duck, cylinder chicken!”
Lin Yuewei swallowed to moisten her throat and said blandly, “Go buy it.”
As a casual crosstalk fan and a professional actress, practicing that kind of rapid-fire routine was basic training. She didn’t believe Gu Yanqiu could remember it.
Sure enough, Gu Yanqiu fell silent for a moment.
Lin Yuewei was secretly pleased. She lifted her chin. “Hurry up and go to work.”
Gu Yanqiu picked up Lin Yuewei’s phone from the nightstand, typed a few words into the search bar, then held it up for her to see. “Are these the dishes you meant? I’ll order them now.”
Lin Yuewei looked: “…”
Large black letters filled the search bar: Fast-talking Dish List Recitation.
If you have a plan, I have a countermeasure. Lin Yuewei shook her head. “No, there are a few that are different from what I said.”
“What’s different?” Gu Yanqiu took the phone back.
Lin Yuewei recited it again, swapping in a few dishes, and said, “Just those. Go get ready.”
Gu Yanqiu smiled at her, tapped the screen with one finger, and Lin Yuewei’s own voice came out of the phone. Gu Yanqiu shook the phone slightly, looking pleased with herself. “I recorded it this time.”
Lin Yuewei pulled the blanket over her face and shouted from underneath, “I want porridge!”
“I’ll make it for you.” Gu Yanqiu patted her head through the blanket.
The sound of the door closing came from beside her ear. Only after quite a while did Lin Yuewei peek out from under the blanket, lifting a corner to look at her room through the gap; Gu Yanqiu had already gone downstairs. Lin Yuewei pulled the blanket off and suddenly curved her lips.
She hadn’t even smiled for long when, whether it was from holding her breath too hard or from the fever itself, she started to feel awful again. Dizzy and heavy-headed, she drifted off in a groggy haze.
Gu Yanqiu wrung out a wet towel to cool Lin Yuewei down, wiped the sweat from her hands and feet, and finally laid it on her forehead.
“Drink some water.” She helped Lin Yuewei sit up against her chest and held the cup to her lips.
It was obvious Lin Yuewei wasn’t used to being cared for by someone; perhaps she simply hadn’t been sick much since childhood. The moment she half-opened her sleepy eyes, she reached out to take the cup herself. “I’ll do it.”
Gu Yanqiu moved the cup back. Lin Yuewei reflexively leaned forward again, and in the end still managed to take it back.
She tilted her head and drank a full cup of warm water, then lay back down.
Gu Yanqiu checked her temperature again. Thirty-nine point three degrees; it had gone up by one-tenth.
“I’ll take you to the hospital for an IV,” Gu Yanqiu said after thinking it over, worry showing on her face.
Lin Yuewei opened her eyes abruptly as if she’d heard something out of a fairy tale. “What do you mean, go to the hospital? It’s just a fever. Why would I go to the hospital?”
“This is a high fever.”
“How high?”
Gu Yanqiu showed her the thermometer. Lin Yuewei squinted laboriously to see it clearly, then turned her face away in exasperation. “If it gets to forty degrees, then we’ll talk. I’ll sleep a bit and I’ll be fine.”
“If it hasn’t gone down after another two hours, I’m taking you to the hospital.”
“No need.”
“Absolutely.”
“I used to get fevers too; I’d sleep for a day and be fine.”
“No.” Gu Yanqiu’s attitude was extremely firm.
“Fine, fine, go. Whatever you say.” Lin Yuewei couldn’t out-stubborn her. She had never realized Gu Yanqiu could be this nagging. She agreed for now; if it still hadn’t gone down later, she’d think of another solution. What hospital? She wasn’t going to the hospital.
Then Lin Yuewei fell asleep again. Curled up under the blanket, she was sweating all over. Every ten minutes, Gu Yanqiu checked her temperature, her gaze nearly burning a hole through the thermometer display.
If it went up, she thought about how to drag Lin Yuewei to the hospital whether she liked it or not; if it dipped even a little, she silently prayed the next reading would drop more. Back and forth, the temperature kept hovering around thirty-nine degrees, with almost all the movement going upward and none downward.
The porridge downstairs was ready. Gu Yanqiu wiped Lin Yuewei’s sweat, asked in her ear whether she wanted some, and when Lin Yuewei said yes, she brought a bowl upstairs. Lin Yuewei still refused to let her feed her, leaning against the headboard and eating slowly by herself.
Her complexion had improved a little. She turned around and comforted Gu Yanqiu, who looked calm on the outside but was actually panicking inside, saying with a smile, “See? I’m a lot better now, right? It’s just a cold. You’re so nervous it’s like I’m about to die.”
Gu Yanqiu’s expression changed. “Bad omen. Spit twice.”
Lin Yuewei: “…”
The last time she’d heard that line had been from her mother.
Gu Yanqiu glared at her.
Lin Yuewei softened and symbolically spat twice. Only then did Gu Yanqiu’s expression ease a little.
“Gu Yanqiu.” Lin Yuewei looked up at her, and in that instant many things she wanted to say flashed through her mind.
“What is it?” Gu Yanqiu looked back at her.
“You’re very different from how I used to imagine you.” After thinking it over, Lin Yuewei still said it aloud.
“How did you imagine me?” Gu Yanqiu didn’t stop moving as she spoke; she held the ear thermometer to Lin Yuewei’s ear. Lin Yuewei dodged and said impatiently, “Can you do it or not? You just took my temperature three minutes ago. How much can it change in three minutes?”
“It’s already been five minutes.”
“…”
“Measure it or not?”
“Measure, measure.” Lin Yuewei treated her as if she didn’t exist and completely ignored what she was doing, continuing on her own, “The first time I saw you, on our wedding day, I thought you were really putting on airs. You were even clutching a Buddhist bead bracelet at the wedding; if someone didn’t know better, they’d have thought I’d dragged a little nun out of a convent and forced her to marry me. And then after you came off the stage, you got my clothes for me, helped me block the alcohol, and handled the banquet with ease. When someone touched your shoulder you didn’t even react, and there wasn’t the slightest bit of enthusiasm in your eyes. That’s when I knew you and I were cut from the same cloth.”
“I thought you were going to say we weren’t.” Gu Yanqiu glanced at the thermometer. Thirty-eight point nine. Where was this no change? Lin Yuewei was just talking nonsense; it had clearly dropped by two-tenths.
“Of course not. Maybe it was precisely because I thought you were like me that I had a vague hostility toward you.”
Gu Yanqiu gave a thoughtful “mm,” signaling her to continue.
“I do a lot of things, and most of the time they’re not purely for the sake of doing them; I have a purpose. If someone didn’t grow up with me, being around a person like me would probably be exhausting. At the very least, I wouldn’t want to make a friend of myself again. Not being able to tell whether something is sincere or fake is tiring.”
“Is that so? I think it’s fine.” Gu Yanqiu saw things differently from Lin Yuewei. Lin Yuewei didn’t think of herself as a good person, but Gu Yanqiu thought she was the very, very best person in the world; without any filter, she was still the best.
“This Miss Gu.” The sudden change in tone made Gu Yanqiu glance over slightly, and she smiled. “What’s wrong?”
“On the day we got our marriage certificate, you said ‘boring’ to me several times in a row. Do you remember that? You call that fine?” Lin Yuewei had finished her porridge and put the bowl down. She gave her a sidelong look and “kindly” reminded her.
Gu Yanqiu shamelessly replied, “I don’t remember.”
Lin Yuewei: “Hey.” Gu Yanqiu was becoming more and more shameless lately.
Gu Yanqiu came over again holding the thermometer. “Time to take your temperature.”
“Again?” Lin Yuewei practically sprang up from the bed. It absolutely hadn’t been three minutes since the last reading; she’d been counting. At most it had been a minute and a half.
“It’s already been five minutes.”
“You really can lie without even blinking.” Lin Yuewei had finally figured it out. Gu Yanqiu’s claim about five minutes earlier had probably been a lie too; there was no way it had even been three.
Gu Yanqiu just stood by the bedside with the thermometer, waiting for Lin Yuewei to obediently lean her ear over.
The two of them stared each other down for five seconds before Lin Yuewei gave in, lunged forward, and flopped onto the bed with an air of resigned martyrdom.
Gu Yanqiu took the thermometer down.
Lin Yuewei asked eagerly, “Didn’t change, did it?”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t answer; instead she said, “Sleep. There’s still one hour and five minutes until the two hours you said you’d have a fever for are up.”
Lin Yuewei said, “When did I ever say I’d have a fever for two hours? And does the time spent eating porridge count toward the two hours too?”
Gu Yanqiu replied succinctly, “What I said counts.”
She lifted her wrist to look at her watch. “There’s one hour, four minutes, and forty-two seconds left.”
Lin Yuewei said, “I’m warning you. Don’t even think about bossing me around. My mother wouldn’t dare talk to me like that.”
Gu Yanqiu picked up the bowl from the nightstand, glanced at her, said nothing, and left.
Lin Yuewei: “???”
What was that reaction? Was she angry at herself?
Lin Yuewei reflected on herself at once. Whatever else, Gu Yanqiu was doing it for her own good. If she didn’t care, she wouldn’t have been checking her temperature every few minutes, making porridge, and pouring water. Her attitude had been a little forceful, but when it came to someone she liked, she ought to be given a little leeway.
Fine, boss her around then. There’d be plenty of time for that in the future.
Lin Yuewei got out of bed, put on her shoes, and hurried after her to apologize.
“Angry? I’m not angry?” Gu Yanqiu lifted her hand. “I’m just going to wash the bowl. Also, a reminder: one hour and two minutes left.”
Lin Yuewei: “…”
Gu Yanqiu gave a soft tsk. “Why aren’t you going back?”
Lin Yuewei’s back was practically written with frustration. Gu Yanqiu smiled.
Lin Yuewei suddenly turned around. The smile at the corner of Gu Yanqiu’s lips hadn’t yet faded, and Lin Yuewei caught it exactly.
Gu Yanqiu: “…”
Lin Yuewei: “…”
For some reason, Lin Yuewei’s mood abruptly lifted. Willingly, she went back to her room and lay down on the bed, the corners of her mouth still stuck in an upward curve. Gu Yanqiu had smiled; why had she smiled? Because Lin Yuewei had listened.
She wanted to see Gu Yanqiu smile more, so she should be more obedient. Gu Yanqiu smiled, and she was happy too; by that logic, the two of them were basically already together.
After Gu Yanqiu finished washing the bowl in the kitchen, she came back to Lin Yuewei’s bedside with a book in hand so she wouldn’t get trapped in pointless anxiety. She read while keeping watch over her.
Lin Yuewei’s body really was unusually strong. She had said two hours, and it was two hours. During the hour she slept deeply, Gu Yanqiu kept checking her temperature, which gradually went down and, just before the deadline, finally fell below thirty-eight degrees.
Gu Yanqiu breathed a sigh of relief, but Lin Yuewei was still asleep; she changed the interval between temperature checks to once every twenty minutes.
By noon, aside from her throat still hurting a little, Lin Yuewei was already full of life. After finishing two bowls of the porridge left over from the morning, she started urging Gu Yanqiu to go to work.
“If you won’t go, I’ll go out for an audition. There happens to be a web drama audition today, and I can still catch the tail end of it.” Lin Yuewei hung her bag over her shoulder and pushed her toward the entryway, looking as if she’d walk out the door immediately if Gu Yanqiu didn’t go.
Gu Yanqiu said, “I already took leave. There’s no reason to suddenly run off to work halfway through, and they won’t give me a salary for pretending either.”
Lin Yuewei thought about it. That made sense. But she’d already pushed the person to the entryway; letting her go back now would make her look very awkward, so she stood frozen in place.
Whether Gu Yanqiu saw her awkwardness or not, she suggested, “How about we go shopping this afternoon?”
“Buy clothes?”
“We can also buy shoes and things like that.”
“No interest.” Under normal circumstances, Lin Yuewei might have agreed; but she’d had a fever that morning, and shopping held no appeal whatsoever. There was also the risk of being recognized when they went out, though after being quiet for so long, the odds of that had dropped a lot.
Gu Yanqiu took the bag off her shoulder and put it back on the sofa, giving Lin Yuewei a way to step down.
Gu Yanqiu said, “Watch TV?”
“Don’t want to.” Watch another cheesy show and discuss why the real person didn’t match the stills? Watching something serious required thinking, and Lin Yuewei now only wanted to do things that didn’t require her brain.
“Play games?” Gu Yanqiu continued offering suggestions.
“Tetris? Or 4399?”
“… ”
Lin Yuewei flashed her snow-white teeth and smiled.
Two minutes later, she couldn’t smile anymore.
Silently, Gu Yanqiu pulled a whole set of gaming equipment out of the drawer under the TV cabinet. There was the console from a famous brand, of course, but there were also others that Lin Yuewei couldn’t even recognize.
She didn’t play games. Jiang Congbi liked games, but not handhelds; she only liked online games, so Lin Yuewei was completely clueless about them.
Lin Yuewei closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, Gu Yanqiu was still there, and so was the console.
Why did Gu Yanqiu always surprise her? Was a game console really something that belonged on Gu Yanqiu along with Buddhist prayer beads? The facts told her: yes.
Just as she was deeply reflecting on her own narrow-mindedness, Gu Yanqiu crouched on the floor, pointed at the game console’s packaging, and asked, “Can you play this? I bought it, but I’m not very good at it.”
Gu Yanqiu was exactly as Lin Yuewei had expected; she really didn’t know how to play games. Rather than saying she disliked games, it was more accurate to say she disliked virtual worlds. If she wanted to do something, she preferred to experience it firsthand. Rock climbing, archery, shooting, and the like.
The reason she’d bought these was that this model had been very popular recently. At the company, she’d overheard Lin Zhi mention that his girlfriend was addicted to games, and she’d wondered whether Lin Yuewei might like them too, so she’d bought one in advance. While she was at it, she’d bought several others; surely one of them would suit her.
Lin Yuewei’s eyes lit up. What was this? When one road seemed blocked, another village appeared beyond the willows and flowers. A battle between two novices; what did she have to fear?
Lin Yuewei said frankly, “I don’t know how either.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Then how about we learn together?”
The two reached a consensus and crowded together to unwrap the packaging, read the instructions, and set up the game.
The game was easy to pick up. After they got past the initial awkwardness, the two of them stormed through the levels and were unstoppable.
When Gu Yanqiu was focused on something, she didn’t like talking; Lin Yuewei was the same. They pressed their controllers in silence, the characters on the screen cooperating with each other, their tacit understanding at its peak.
Lin Yuewei suddenly had a strange feeling. She’d had this feeling before, when she played bridge; there had also been one person who could understand what she was thinking without a single word exchanged.
Since the show ended, Lin Yuewei had slowly focused all her attention on Gu Yanqiu. She hadn’t thought of that person for a very long time, and she hadn’t played games again either.
She blanked out for a second; her move slipped, and Gu Yanqiu turned her head to glance at her.
Lin Yuewei averted her eyes a little awkwardly.
Gu Yanqiu also made a mistake next, and the game ended.
Gu Yanqiu poured two glasses of water, one for Lin Yuewei and one for herself. Lin Yuewei propped herself up on one elbow and sat on the sofa, holding the glass in both hands and drinking slowly.
She wasn’t still hung up on some previous person’s feelings; rather, she’d thought of that person at this moment and compared them to Gu Yanqiu, which inevitably made her feel a little guilty toward Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu’s eyelashes were lowered; nobody knew what she was thinking.
“Still want to play?” Lin Yuewei collected her emotions.
“Probably not.” Gu Yanqiu set down her cup. “It’s time to make dinner. What should I eat?”
Lin Yuewei: “…”
Here we go again.
Lin Yuewei said, “Don’t eat.”
Gu Yanqiu took her seriously. “All right, then I won’t eat.”
Just as Lin Yuewei was about to say she was joking, Gu Yanqiu lifted one finger at her and picked up the vibrating phone on the coffee table.
Lin Yuewei glanced over; it was Gu Feiquan.
Gu Yanqiu didn’t avoid her and answered right in front of her. “I’m at home… tonight… okay.”
She’d only said three sentences, and two of them were just two words and one word respectively. Extremely concise. Lin Yuewei had already deduced from her few words and asked, “Gu Feiquan asked you to meet?”
Gu Yanqiu nodded. “For dinner. No need to worry about what we’re eating tonight; I’ll save you the trouble.”
When she said the last line, Gu Yanqiu even smiled at her.
“What time is it?”
“Seven. Two hours left.”
“I’m going upstairs to sleep for a bit, then change clothes.”
“You’re still sleeping this late?” Gu Yanqiu said in surprise.
“For your safety,” Lin Yuewei said, waving a fist, “I need to get myself into my best condition.”
“All right. Then maybe I should sleep a little too?”
“Up to you. Oh, by the way, do you sleepwalk when you nap during the day?”
“Usually not.”
“Forget it. Come to my room. In case you do, I won’t feel at ease.” Lin Yuewei took Gu Yanqiu’s hand without further discussion. Gu Yanqiu pointed at the pile of packing boxes scattered on the floor. “We haven’t cleaned these up yet.”
“We’ll clean them after we wake up. If we clean them up now, we won’t feel sleepy anymore. Life should be enjoyed while you can; don’t let an empty cup face the moon.”
“But…” Gu Yanqiu was still in a daze, and her rationality only had time to process the literal meaning of those two lines of poetry, as well as confirm that they definitely weren’t being used that way.
“No more buts.”
In just a few sentences, Lin Yuewei had already dragged her upstairs and pushed her firmly into the room. “Change into pajamas and come find me.”
Lin Yuewei took a few big steps into her own room, changed clothes in a flurry, and slipped under the covers.
Movement sounded at her ear, and Gu Yanqiu turned the doorknob and came in.
Lin Yuewei patted the empty spot beside her.
After Gu Yanqiu got into bed, Lin Yuewei naturally pulled her into her arms. “Good night, Gu Cutie.”
“What did you just call me?!” Gu Yanqiu felt like something might be wrong with her ears.
Lin Yuewei had accidentally let it slip. She swallowed and said calmly, “Good night, Gu, fast. I mean, go to sleep quickly.” Thankfully, she’d said it quickly enough; some of the sounds were swallowed and couldn’t be heard clearly.
Gu Yanqiu slowly furrowed her brow. Was that it?
Lin Yuewei urged her on, “Hurry and sleep.”
“The alarm…”
“I set it. You can sleep for an hour.”
“… ” Gu Yanqiu thought about it and realized there wasn’t much else to say. She settled down and fell asleep against Lin Yuewei.
***
He Songjun dutifully called her son Gu Feiquan morning and evening to ask whether he had any engagements that night. As always, Gu Feiquan said yes; but on this day, he got off work and went home first.
When He Songjun saw Gu Feiquan hurrying around, acting furtive and suspicious, she followed him upstairs.
Not long after Gu Feiquan entered his room, He Songjun pushed the door open and came in.
“Mom! What are you doing—” Gu Feiquan, like a woman being “forced into prostitution,” quickly grabbed the suit jacket tossed over the back of a chair and held it in front of him. “Why don’t you knock before coming in?”
“I’m your mother. What secrets could you possibly have from me?” He Songjun narrowed her eyes at him. “Weren’t you going to some engagement? Why are you taking your clothes off?”
“I’m going to take a shower before I leave!” Gu Feiquan shouted.
“If you’re taking a shower, why are you being so fierce?”
“I was wrong,” Gu Feiquan said, returning his voice to normal. “Mom, go out. Do you have to watch me shower too?”
“When you were little, I even bathed you myself. What’s there to not watch?” He Songjun lifted her chin and said that, but she still went out.
Gu Feiquan took a shower and used more body wash than he ever had in his life. When he came out, he took every suit in the closet and spread them across the bed, trying each one on in front of the mirror while timing himself.
Just as he took off one outfit he didn’t like, He Songjun came again.
Gu Feiquan: “…”
He Songjun folded her arms and looked at him and the bed. “I knew something was off about you today. You came back home, took a shower, and changed clothes. Who exactly are you meeting?”
Gu Feiquan sighed.
He Songjun rolled her eyes, then brightened. “I know. Is it to see a girl?”
Gu Feiquan hesitated before nodding.
…That counted, probably.
He Songjun clasped her hands together and bowed toward some direction, overjoyed. “Thank the ancestors. Feiquan is finally going to get married and have children.”
Gu Feiquan: “………………”
If his mother knew he was going to see Gu Yanqiu, she’d probably annoy the ancestors so much they’d crawl out of their coffins. At that moment, Gu Feiquan also really wanted to ask her one thing: was she thanking the Gu family’s ancestors, or the He family’s ancestors?
Before Gu Feiquan could say anything, He Songjun was already bustling about, personally helping him try on clothes, and he treated her nagging as if he didn’t hear it.
In the end, they settled on one set both of them were satisfied with. He Songjun encouraged him enthusiastically: “Mom wishes you great success.”
Gu Feiquan curved his lips very slightly, looked back at her, and said softly, “I’m going, Mom.”
“Go, go.” He Songjun had no idea, and was simply happy that her precious son was finally going to settle his marriage.
Gu Feiquan had barely walked a few steps when He Songjun added from behind, “You don’t have to come back tonight.”
Gu Feiquan nearly backed out on the spot. He lowered his head and hurried a few steps forward, opened the car door, and got in with his head down. The car pulled out of the Gu residence in a smooth arc, until He Songjun’s figure could no longer be seen in the rearview mirror.
Only once his nerves relaxed did he realize how stiff and painful his back had become.
Under the guidance of the waiter, Gu Yanqiu and Lin Yuewei walked to a booth in the corner. Gu Feiquan stood up to greet them. Seeing that two people had come, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes, though it was not obvious. Gu Yanqiu nodded at him, meaning she had allowed it.
Gu Feiquan smiled warmly.
He had excellent looks. Today he wore black, which made his skin look especially fair, and his refined smile carried a natural warmth. “Please sit.”
The three of them sat down in order.
This was an upscale Western restaurant. Because the prices were expensive, there were only two or three scattered tables of guests. Sitting in a booth gave them almost the same effect as a private room; they didn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing them.
“What would you like to eat?” Gu Feiquan slid the menu over.
Gu Yanqiu and Lin Yuewei both looked wary.
Gu Feiquan felt a rush of frustration, but it didn’t show on his face. Instead, he said with a half-smile, “Since I asked you out, can’t we at least have some basic trust in each other?”
Gu and Lin exchanged a look. They understood each other perfectly; this was the familiar Gu Feiquan.
Gu Yanqiu pushed the menu to Lin Yuewei. “You always decide what I eat anyway. You order.”
Lin Yuewei looked at her. She hadn’t expected Gu Yanqiu to be this reckless even in public. Was she so sure Lin Yuewei would order for her?
“You two really do get along well.” Gu Feiquan smiled.
Neither of them smiled back. As they’d said before, ever since that time on the rooftop, after they had talked things through and even come to blows, Gu Yanqiu had long since stopped bothering to put on an act of sibling harmony in front of Gu Feiquan; now, she was the same.
Lin Yuewei ordered a lamb chop and cream of mushroom soup for Gu Yanqiu, then returned the menu.
Gu Yanqiu looked at him. “Say what you want to say. There’s no need to beat around the bush. I’m very busy.”
Gu Feiquan didn’t respond.
For the first time, Gu Yanqiu saw helplessness in his expression. In the next blink, he had already returned to his usual deep, scheming self, a familiar touch of mockery on his lips. “I already said it. I want to work with you to investigate what happened thirty years ago.”
“Why?”
“I want to know the truth too.”
“What can you offer?”
“I—” Gu Feiquan swallowed the words that had reached his throat and smiled at her. “Naturally, I know some things you don’t. Do you want to work with me?”
They had only just sat down at the table; the betting hadn’t even started yet. How could he reveal his hand already?
“Why?” Gu Yanqiu asked again.
“I said it. I want to know the truth too.”
“Oh, I don’t believe you.”
“You!” The veins on Gu Feiquan’s temple bulged.
Lin Yuewei sprang to her feet and shot him a fierce glare.
Gu Yanqiu: “…”
Gu Feiquan: “???”
Gu Yanqiu tugged at her sleeve under the table, signaling with her eyes: You’re overacting; there’s no such scene in the script.
With acting like this, Gu Yanqiu found herself deeply worried about Lin Yuewei’s career for the first time.
Lin Yuewei sat back down and lowered her voice by Gu Yanqiu’s ear. “I was afraid he’d hit you. Be careful; what if he goes crazy?”
Gu Yanqiu also spoke in the same low voice. “He won’t.”
Even if he did go crazy, it wasn’t certain he could beat her.
The two of them were whispering right in front of him so openly that Gu Feiquan didn’t know what expression he was supposed to wear. After a long while, he finally found his footing again and said, “I came with one hundred percent sincerity. Why can’t you trust me even a little? I’m not the same as my mother.”
Gu Yanqiu curved her lips upward.
That should count as a smile, but Gu Feiquan couldn’t feel anything in it that belonged to a smile.
He and Gu Yanqiu were locked in a stalemate at opposite ends of the table, both waiting to see who would lose patience first.
The waiter pushed a cart over. Sensing the strange atmosphere at the table, he set down the dishes, softly said, “Enjoy your meal,” and left. Lin Yuewei took the plate, playing the role of a perfect wife, and cut the lamb chops into small pieces for Gu Yanqiu before pushing them in front of her.
Gu Yanqiu seemed to have lost all patience. “Whether I have sincerity or not, you know it yourself. If you still can’t see it, then I can only say I’m sorry. Madam, let’s go.”
Lin Yuewei: “!!!”
The script didn’t say she had to be called “madam” either!
No matter. Lin Yuewei calmly picked up her bag for her, glanced at her watch, and chimed in smoothly, “The movie starts in half an hour. If we don’t leave now, we really won’t make it. Let’s go.”
“We’re leaving now; isn’t it just across the shopping mall? It’s not far, we won’t be late.”
Gu Yanqiu hooked one arm and glanced at Lin Yuewei with deep affection. Lin Yuewei slipped her hand into the crook of her arm and linked them together.
It could be said she was being very birdlike and dependent.
Gu Yanqiu gave Gu Feiquan a polite nod. “Excuse us.”
Gu Feiquan watched the two of them leave. His face had gone pale and then green; only when he loosened his grip on the cup did his hand unclench.
“Wait a minute.”
Gu Yanqiu turned back, one brow lifting in confusion. “Anything else?”
Gu Feiquan leaned back, looking at her coldly. “I know where your mother’s keepsakes are. Is that enough?”
Author’s note: Brother: miserable ﹁_﹁
There’s not even a tiny bit of brother-sister-romance implication here. There are still plenty of perfectly innocent brothers in this world; you people worry far too much every day ﹁_﹁
Today’s Lin is a birdlike, clingy top.
I’m firmly on your side. Go, Lin top!