Chapter 73
Since he had already lost his biggest trump card, Gu Feiquan might as well go all in. He reached for his phone, tapped the screen twice, and set it flat on the table. Then he drummed two fingers on the tablecloth, folded his arms across his chest, and leaned back in his chair, letting out a breath through his nose. Even seated lower than the two people standing, he didn’t look at a disadvantage in the slightest.
Lin Yuewei glanced at Gu Yanqiu and stepped forward herself to pick up the phone.
She didn’t trust him.
The screen showed a photograph: a string of Buddhist prayer beads, long enough to wrap around three or four times, resting on a yellow pearwood desk.
It was her mother’s belongings; Gu Yanqiu naturally recognized them at a glance.
Gu Yanqiu asked him, “Where did you get this?”
Gu Feiquan said, “Is that enough sincerity from me now?”
Gu Yanqiu studied him thoughtfully. He seemed a little different today, and even the way he said that carried a hint of resentment.
Gu Yanqiu nodded. “It is.”
Just as Gu Feiquan was about to speak, Gu Yanqiu said, “However... ”
“However what?”
“However, Yuewei and I really do need to hurry off to the movies. Tomorrow night, I’ll invite you, and we can talk in detail then.” Gu Yanqiu had no intention of sitting down again. She gave him another nod. “Excuse us.”
Gu Feiquan’s expression darkened; the smile on his face vanished. “You’re playing me?”
“Of course not. Otherwise, why would I have come here today? It really is something urgent; you know Yuewei is very busy, and it wasn’t easy for me to get her out. I’m truly sorry.”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t give Gu Feiquan a chance to keep talking, and his own pride also kept him from forcing her to stay in public.
Only after they had left the restaurant did Lin Yuewei, who had played along with Gu Yanqiu the whole way, finally ask her question: “Why did you set it for tomorrow?” If she didn’t want to cooperate, she could have said so today. If she did have an interest, why take such an attitude? Wasn’t she afraid Gu Feiquan would change his mind?
Gu Yanqiu took her phone from the side pocket of her bag, opened the ticketing app, and asked as though nothing had happened, “What movie do you want to watch?”
“Gu Yanqiu!” Lin Yuewei raised her hand and covered the phone screen in front of her.
Gu Yanqiu looked at her and smiled. “He’s the one looking for cooperation, not me. We’ve had bad blood for a long time; if he really had sincerity, he wouldn’t be unable to wait a single day.”
“Was the photo on his phone real?”
“The prayer beads really were my mother’s, but I’m not sure where the photo came from.” That was one of Gu Yanqiu’s concerns as well. Gu Feiquan was a man with depth; who knew what motive he had for coming to her at such a critical time? Gu Yanqiu couldn’t figure it out, so she needed to go back and think it over carefully.
“You mean it could have been taken while she was still alive?”
“That’s possible.”
Lin Yuewei considered it. If it was taken before her death, then the matter would be even more complicated. Suddenly she thought of a crucial point and slowly furrowed her brow as she looked at Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu: “Mm?”
Lin Yuewei said a little awkwardly, “Have you ever thought of another possibility?”
“What possibility?”
“That is...” Lin Yuewei glanced at her. “...your mother knew about He Songjun and her son while she was still alive, and there was contact between them.”
Gu Yanqiu blurted out, “Impossible.”
Lin Yuewei hurried to say, “Don’t get excited.” For a child raised in a normal, loving family, such a guess would be hard to accept; Lin Yuewei understood that completely.
“I’m not excited.”
“Fine, you’re not excited.”
Gu Yanqiu put her phone back into her bag, then took it out again and held it in her hand. She stressed once more, “It really is impossible.”
“I don’t know your family; I was just speaking offhand. Forget I said anything.”
“Mm.”
Gu Yanqiu answered and led her into the elevator that had just stopped in front of them, then asked again, “What movie do you want to watch?”
“We’re really watching a movie?”
“Since we’re already out, we might as well watch one and then grab a meal afterward.”
Lin Yuewei looked at her. Gu Yanqiu said, “I’ll eat; you can watch.”
Lin Yuewei: “...”
She asked, “What movies are there?”
Gu Yanqiu scrolled from front to back on the ticketing app’s homepage, naming them one by one. When she got to an arthouse film, Lin Yuewei, who had been shaking her head, suddenly paused. Gu Yanqiu bought the tickets directly. Lin Yuewei said, “I haven’t decided yet.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “I like arthouse films too. Perfect.”
The two of them checked their tickets and entered the theater, taking the best seats in the center. The film was a little obscure, and both the director and the cast were famous. Coincidentally, the female lead was Bai Hua, the very boss above Lin Yuewei’s head. This film had been nominated for the main competition section of an international Class A film festival, and Bai Hua had been nominated for Best Actress for her lead role, adding another brilliant stroke to her resume; that drew in part of the audience. But because it really wasn’t something just anyone could appreciate, the two people in front of Lin Yuewei fell asleep. She turned to look at Gu Yanqiu.
The light from the giant screen reflected off Gu Yanqiu’s face, leaving her cold and pale, her eyes fixed on the screen, though her mind might not have been there.
The two of them exchanged no words throughout. They remained silent until the auditorium lights came on, when the two female audience members in front stood up, rubbed their eyes, and left arm in arm. Gu Yanqiu seemed to come back to herself only then. “Shall we go too?”
“Wait until the ending song is over; I want to see if there’s any extra footage.”
“Okay.”
“I think Bai Hua was at her best in that scene where she sat motionless in front of the mirror; she told the story of a whole life with just one face. What do you think?”
“Mm, that part was indeed good.”
Lin Yuewei immediately knew Gu Yanqiu hadn’t really watched. There hadn’t been such a scene at all; it was from a different film.
When the ending song finally ended, there was no extra footage, not even a behind-the-scenes clip. The staff were waiting at the door for them to leave. The two of them took the elevator down to the underground parking garage, and Gu Yanqiu drove them home.
Lin Yuewei was an outsider looking in; she could see more clearly than Gu Yanqiu and was less affected by subjective feelings.
Based on what Gu Yanqiu had said—that Gu Feiquan’s photo might have been taken while Shen Huaiyu was still alive—this was Lin Yuewei’s most straightforward conclusion. Yet after saying “impossible” twice, Gu Yanqiu’s heart inevitably began to waver.
Shen Huaiyu had been an extraordinarily detached person. From childhood until now, Gu Yanqiu had never once seen her flush with anger over anything. When Gu Yanqiu was very small, there had even been a time when she played in mud until she was filthy. She once fought with a classmate and made the classmate cry; the classmate’s parents came to the house and cursed into the phone. Shen Huaiyu only apologized softly and gently, then took Gu Yanqiu’s hand and wiped her clean. The discipline was always handled by Gu Huai. And that wasn’t all; there were too many other things to count.
If Shen Huaiyu knew that Gu Huai had another person outside and even had a son with her, would she also say nothing and maintain a peaceful relationship with that person? Gu Yanqiu found, to her own surprise, that she could picture such a scene perfectly.
Gu Yanqiu drove absentmindedly, while Lin Yuewei watched her expression from the passenger seat. The streetlights outside flickered on and off, somehow adding a layer of gloom to her.
The branches overhead rustled. Lin Yuewei opened the back door, took out both their bags—one in each hand—and followed Gu Yanqiu into the house. After changing her shoes, Gu Yanqiu said to her, “You sleep first tonight. I need to think about some things.”
Lin Yuewei didn’t ask whether she could tell her. She already knew the answer. “Then I’m going upstairs.”
“Good night,” Gu Yanqiu said.
“Good night.”
At one in the morning, Lin Yuewei brought a glass of milk to Gu Yanqiu in the study. Gu Yanqiu had her hand over the desk; beneath it were several sheets of A4 paper covered in writing. “Thank you.”
Lin Yuewei lay on the bed, tossing and turning. Ever since she had started sleeping with Gu Yanqiu, she hadn’t turned over in bed for a long time, afraid of waking her. Lin Yuewei stretched herself out in a big star shape and suddenly opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling. She stared until her eyes ached, and only after tears slipped out on their own did she close them, struggling to sink into sleep.
When she woke up in the morning, there was still no one beside her. Lin Yuewei ran a hand through her hair and first went to the study, then to the kitchen on the first floor. Gu Yanqiu was inside making breakfast, her hair damp and hanging down her back.
“Did you sleep last night?”
“I dozed for a while.” Gu Yanqiu turned around, then continued facing the pot. “We’re about to eat; bring me two plates.”
Lin Yuewei found two plates and set them beside her, watching her transfer the eggs onto the plate before suddenly saying, “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Gu Yanqiu kept her eyes down as she arranged the cut fruit on top.
“For talking nonsense.”
“It wasn’t nonsense.” Gu Yanqiu looked at her, her gaze calm. “You really brought up something I hadn’t thought of, and it was a very enlightening point.”
“I...”
Gu Yanqiu put the plate into her hands and interrupted her. “Eat breakfast.”
Lin Yuewei had no choice but to swallow the rest of her words.
Nothing special happened today. Gu Yanqiu went to the company as usual, and happened to run into Gu Feiquan in the elevator. The two of them stood face to face, like strangers, ignoring each other completely; by the time it reached the company, it had become another item for gossip.
Half an hour before work ended, Gu Yanqiu called Gu Feiquan and arranged to meet at six at XX Restaurant. Gu Feiquan was quite surprised to receive the call and shot back with some sarcasm, “I thought you’d want me to come with a sedan chair and formally invite you.”
Gu Yanqiu smiled without smiling into the phone. “You’ve shown sincerity, so I should show some sincerity too.”
Gu Feiquan snorted. “See you tonight.”
***
After work.
In the private room of the restaurant, a server led Gu Yanqiu inside. Gu Feiquan stared at the space behind Gu Yanqiu. After she sat down, Gu Yanqiu said, “She didn’t come; no need to keep looking.”
Gu Feiquan’s brow lifted slightly, but he gave no comment.
He wanted to talk business with Gu Yanqiu. Whether Lin Yuewei was there or not didn’t matter; if she were, he’d only find it awkward anyway, since this was their family’s business.
“Where did you take this photo?” Gu Yanqiu asked bluntly.
“Gu Huai’s study.” Gu Feiquan didn’t beat around the bush either. Since the other party treated him like an enemy, there was no need for him to keep smiling and flattering her.
Gu Yanqiu noticed that he had called Gu Huai by his name directly.
Gu Feiquan described what he had accidentally seen of Gu Huai in the study that night. His words were flat and matter-of-fact, devoid of any emotion. He went on, “After that, I kept looking for a chance. Finally, one day when Gu Huai wasn’t home, I snuck into the study and found the other belongings your mother left behind. They should be hers.”
Gu Feiquan opened the album and pushed his phone toward Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Feiquan said, “They were all kept very well. I didn’t dare move them randomly; I was afraid Gu Huai would find out afterward.”
Gu Yanqiu flipped through the photos. Besides the prayer beads, there were handwritten Buddhist scriptures and jewelry. In one photo, Gu Feiquan had pinched open a page and photographed Shen Huaiyu’s handwritten signature. The name had been changed later; two characters: Luo Yu.
Gu Feiquan: “Do you believe me now?”
Gu Yanqiu: “The reason.”
Gu Feiquan was a little angry now. “I already told you twice yesterday. I just want to uncover the truth of what happened back then; to know where I came from, why I exist, what role my mother played in that relationship, and to clear all of us of our innocence.”
Gu Yanqiu said nothing.
Gu Feiquan sneered. “You think you’re the only one who’s angry? Me—even if I was born earlier than you, I’m still the son of a mistress. My mother suffered for so many years and ended up with the label of ‘mistress.’ Don’t think everyone covets the Gu family fortune; in my eyes, it isn’t worth a single cent. If it weren’t for my mother, I would never have set foot in the Gu family home!”
Gu Yanqiu pushed his phone back and looked up. “Have you ever met my mother?”
Gu Feiquan froze. “What?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Have you ever met my mother over the years? My mother’s name was Luo Yu.”
Gu Feiquan nodded, then shook his head.
“I saw her from a distance once or twice in middle school. That probably doesn’t count as meeting her, right?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “It doesn’t count.”
She took a sip of tea with her head down and asked, “Did your mother ever meet her?”
Gu Feiquan frowned. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Exactly what I said. Growing up, did you ever feel like there was anything suspicious?”
Gu Feiquan was an astute man. As soon as she asked, he narrowed his eyes and thought it over. “My mother didn’t work for long, and her salary wasn’t high, but I always lived pretty comfortably. From childhood to adulthood, whatever other people had, I had too. I didn’t think much of it when I was young, but after I grew up, I asked. My mother said Gu Huai had been sending her money regularly all along; as long as she didn’t make trouble, she could keep living a good life.”
He Songjun was a timid woman who also adored vanity. Since Gu Huai said so, she did so. That was why, all these years, he and He Songjun had been able to live quietly in a dark corner.
Gu Feiquan said, “I haven’t met your mother, and I haven’t met Gu Huai either. Aside from school, my mother spent most of her time with me, and she really hated your mother. She probably wouldn’t have met her.”
“You hate me too. Why are you meeting me?”
“...” Gu Feiquan lost the ability to retort for a second.
Gu Yanqiu didn’t notice anything odd and said, “Because you and I have common interests. Then do my mother and your mother have common interests?”
Gu Feiquan shook his head.
He considered the series of things Gu Yanqiu had said since entering, and sensed something unusual in them. “Are you suspecting that your mother knew my mother existed, and that the two of them had contact?”
Gu Yanqiu nodded.
Gu Feiquan said firmly, “Impossible!”
Gu Yanqiu looked at him in silence.
Gu Feiquan explained, “You don’t know this, but my mother wasn’t the scheming type. She couldn’t keep things bottled up in her heart; if she could keep something from outsiders, there’s no way she’d hide it from me. Whatever happened, she’d tell me right away. There is absolutely no way she and your mother would have any—”
Gu Feiquan suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his brow knotting hard.
“What did you remember?” Gu Yanqiu pressed her fingertips against the table as she held the teacup.
“Nothing. Just a vague memory. It was too long ago; I’m not sure.”
“Tell me.”
“Back in middle school, for some reason, I once wanted to see what your mother and you—the person who stole my father—actually looked like. I followed you at an amusement park.” Gu Feiquan glanced at Gu Yanqiu and, seeing no displeasure on her face, continued. “I sat on a bench along the path you had to pass. When your mother came by, she glanced at me, and stared for quite a while.”
At the time, Gu Feiquan’s heart had pounded like a drum. He thought she had recognized him; that she had discovered his thoughts of “revenge.”
“Later, when you and your father went to ride the pirate ship, your mother sat on the bench right next to the one I was sitting on. She didn’t say anything to me, but I always had the feeling I’d been seen through. Or maybe I just looked a bit like Gu Huai, so she looked at me twice.”
Gu Yanqiu’s expression grew heavy.
Gu Feiquan couldn’t help being led in her direction of thought as well. The more he thought about it, the more startled he became. “What exactly are you...” still aware of?
Gu Yanqiu gently cut him off. “It’s all just speculation without evidence. Go back and ask your mother whether she ever had private contact with my mother, and whether my mother knew about her existence.”
Gu Feiquan: “We came here to talk about cooperation; you won’t say anything and just make me provide information unilaterally?”
Gu Yanqiu: “If I get definite evidence, I’ll tell you first thing.”
Gu Feiquan: “You—”
“I really can’t say anything for now. I hope you’ll trust me once.” Gu Yanqiu stood and gave him a sincere bow.
Gu Feiquan: “...”
Gu Feiquan: “Forget it.”
He said, “We’ve been drinking tea for this long already; let’s order.”
Gu Yanqiu looked at him. “Thank you.”
Gu Feiquan didn’t answer and called the server over.
***
When Gu Yanqiu drove home and entered the house, she found the living room light on. Lin Yuewei was sitting on the sofa; the moment she heard the door open, she looked over, her hand tightening awkwardly on the cushion.
“You’re back.”
“Mm, I’m back.” Gu Yanqiu bent to change her shoes and placed her bag on the single sofa.
“How did it go with Gu Feiquan?”
“Not bad.”
“I don’t know how to tell you.” Gu Yanqiu found Lin Yuewei’s hand and held it, showing as much gentleness as she could so Lin Yuewei wouldn’t misunderstand her. “When I’ve thought it through, or when there’s some progress, I’ll tell you.”
“I know.” Lin Yuewei covered her hand with hers and patted it lightly twice.
She knew how much impact her words yesterday had caused. Gu Yanqiu’s trust in her was real, but when it came to matters involving her family, there would always be a wall between them. If the roles were reversed, she wouldn’t casually talk in front of Gu Yanqiu about possible cracks in her parents’ relationship, let alone bring up such a sensitive topic as a “mistress.”
Gu Yanqiu poked Lin Yuewei’s arm twice with her finger, then opened her arms slightly, hinting, “I’m a little tired.”
Lin Yuewei said, “Then let’s go upstairs, take a shower, and sleep.”
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
Lin Yuewei laughed and gave her a hug.
During those days in Gaoshan County, Lin Yuewei had discovered one of Gu Yanqiu’s little habits; whether it was something she’d always had or something that had developed recently, once she got used to it that night, whenever something upset her or made her feel tired, she would ask Lin Yuewei for a hug.
Gu Yanqiu rested her chin on Lin Yuewei’s shoulder and sighed, each one more exaggerated than the last, until all the air was gone and all her worries had been chased away.
Lin Yuewei couldn’t help laughing when she heard it.
That night, sitting on the bed, Gu Yanqiu finally remembered to ask about Lin Yuewei’s work: “Has that crew officially announced it yet? Fang Xiaoxiao’s role.”
“They have.” Lin Yuewei said very calmly, her gaze still on the tablet.
“When did they announce it?” Gu Yanqiu said. “Should I throw my more than one million yuan into the water or not?”
Lin Yuewei raised her eyes to look at her, looking a little speechless.
“Oh, what you just said was that they already announced it.” Gu Yanqiu froze, then laughed at herself. “How did I hear it as not announced? Is something wrong with my ears?”
“Yeah, maybe they’re blind too,” Lin Yuewei said, and then she laughed as well.
The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing together.
After laughing for a while, Gu Yanqiu stopped. The smile at the corners of her eyes and brows hadn’t fully faded yet as she asked, “Any movement? Those two second-tier actresses—you said they were selling dirty material.”
“Not yet. Probably tomorrow. The role was announced at night; it’s about right.”
“What if they don’t explode?”
“Then I’ll throw your more than one million yuan into the water.” Lin Yuewei made a fierce clawing gesture at her and said menacingly, “How about it? Scared?”
“Not scared.” Gu Yanqiu lifted her chin and straightened her chest, looking like she was ready to make a noble sacrifice.
Lin Yuewei’s gaze dropped and refused to move away.
Gu Yanqiu hugged herself and cleared her throat. “Study. What are you staring at?!”
Lin Yuewei put on her headphones, and despite herself, she glanced again in Gu Yanqiu’s direction.
Gu Yanqiu had picked up her book.
Listening to the lesson in her headphones, Lin Yuewei drifted off in a way that was unprecedented for her. She would occasionally glance at Gu Yanqiu from the corner of her eye; Gu Yanqiu’s page-turning speed remained normal. Lin Yuewei stole several more looks before finally gathering back the soul that had wandered off to the heavens.
What she didn’t know was that after Gu Yanqiu said that sentence, she had regretted it to the point that her intestines were practically green.
If Gu Yanqiu hadn’t said it, Lin Yuewei might have kept watching, naturally and without any awkwardness, and then something delightfully anticipated might have happened. Why had she stopped her?
Gu Yanqiu flipped through the book at an unhurried pace, not a single word entering her eyes. She read for about ten minutes before she simply couldn’t calm down any longer and lay down to sleep.
Lin Yuewei felt the movement beside her and looked at the clock on the nightstand; it was only 10:30 p.m.
Her gaze toward Gu Yanqiu gradually turned thoughtful.
The next day, just as Lin Yuewei had expected, the dirty material she had sent out was exposed. Fang Xiaoxiao’s evidence was fairly solid, and the scandal blew up big—“seducing a married man.” And this “husband” wasn’t just anyone; he was the husband of one of the most popular female stars in the entertainment industry. The two of them had been selling an image of loving, devoted spouses for a long time, trending every so often, and they even had a child. Borrowing the traffic from that top star, the scandal exploded onto the hot search in one shot.
Afraid that the two second-tier actresses wouldn’t work hard enough, Lin Yuewei added fuel to the fire from behind, and this whole affair was stirred up until it was blazing hot. Fang Xiaoxiao’s newly announced drama was bought onto the trending list and, before it had even started filming, was cursed out of its skin.
Lin Yuewei called Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan barely got through two and a half sentences with her before hanging up in a hurry, presumably busy to the point her feet barely touched the ground.
When one problem was pressed down, another popped up. On the third day after the “adulterous man and woman” Fang Xiaoxiao scandal broke, the heat was still high. Just as Chen Xuan was at the end of her rope, she received a call from the drama’s director, who tactfully requested a replacement. Chen Xuan asked who he wanted to replace her with, and the director said, “The artist under Manager Liu at your company. Manager Liu called me yesterday already, but I was hoping to wait a bit. We’re about to start filming now, and I really value this role, so you see...”
Chen Xuan’s eyes practically dropped ice shards. “Please don’t rush. I’m handling it. Besides, I already have another candidate here, and you’re very satisfied with her too. There’s no need for Manager Liu to come in and meddle; his artist has already taken on a new project. If she keeps filming yours, she’ll be either abandoning one or overlapping schedules.”
“You mean Lin Yuewei?”
“Yes. She doesn’t have any engagements; she can start anytime.”
“All right then, I’ll wait two days.”
Just as Chen Xuan was hesitating over whether to replace her, something even more absurd happened. On the evening of the third day, at eight o’clock, the popular female star who had been cheated on issued a divorce statement and attached the divorce agreement, declaring in no uncertain terms that she and the “adulterous man” would from then on walk their separate roads, each on their own side of the bridge. She would take the bright road; let the shameless pair take their single-log bridge, and be careful not to fall to their deaths one day.
The afternoon of the following day, Lin Yuewei received another call from Chen Xuan.
“For the new drama by Director Yang that you auditioned for last time, the second female lead. The company has decided to give it to you.”
“What about Sister Xiaoxiao?” Lin Yuewei had felt a vague unease since seeing the top female star’s statement last night. Hearing this, she didn’t feel the expected joy; instead, the unease grew stronger.
“Fang Xiaoxiao? The company has shelved her.” Chen Xuan seemed unwilling to say more. “Come to the company tomorrow. I’ll take you to sign the contract. As for all her follow-up bookings, I’ll see if there’s anything suitable for you. You can come take a look yourself too.”
At some point, the phone on the other end had gone dead.
Lin Yuewei lowered her phone and realized that her fingers were actually trembling slightly. She took a step back and sank into the soft sofa.
She had never imagined that the first step into the entertainment industry would be taken like this.
Author’s note: I’ve calculated with my fingers; they should be getting together soon. Anyway, you can’t guess how they’ll get together ﹁_﹁