Chapter 79
Gu Yanqiu skimmed the material she’d memorized one more time, then went over it carefully in her mind before bookmarking the page and putting her phone away.
She got out of the car and walked slowly, blinking now and then as she reviewed the “knowledge” in her head. At the front gate, Gu Yanqiu clasped her hands tightly, took a deep breath, and unlocked the door.
She had already pictured the whole sequence of what would happen once she went inside. Lin Yuewei was most likely on the living room sofa; whether she was resting or working, she liked places with good sunlight. Lin Yuewei might greet her with something like, “You’re back.” Based on how she’d acted that morning, she would very likely come over to kiss her; even if she didn’t, that was fine. Gu Yanqiu would take the initiative and go to her, then put her newly learned theoretical knowledge into practice.
Gu Yanqiu stood in the doorway and looked toward the sofa.
A hint of surprise appeared on her face. It was empty.
Gu Yanqiu took off her shoes and walked toward the stairs, glancing upstairs as she went. She planned to check the study.
Just as she stepped onto the second stair, a loud crash made her jerk toward the source of the sound—downstairs, the bathroom.
Almost at the same time as the crash, Lin Yuewei’s terrified shout rang out: “What are you doing?!”
Lin Yuewei: “Put the gun down!”
Lin Yuewei: “Are you crazy—”
Another thud followed, the heavy sound of something hitting the floor.
Gu Yanqiu rushed over in three strides. She grabbed the bathroom door handle and pushed down hard, but it wouldn’t budge; the door had been locked from the inside.
Lin Yuewei was completely immersed in the scene and didn’t hear the faint sounds outside. She was curled up on the floor, her back still aching faintly from hitting the wall just now, and she was gritting her teeth as she tried to get up.
Before she could even stand, the door was smashed open from the outside with a bang. Gu Yanqiu’s face was backlit; her tall figure cast a shadow over Lin Yuewei as she lunged toward her.
“Where is he?” Gu Yanqiu asked urgently, fear and uncertainty written all over her face.
“Who?” Lin Yuewei sat up and rubbed her shoulder.
“The other person who was in the bathroom just now.” Gu Yanqiu looked around the bathroom. There were no signs of a struggle. She got up again and walked to the window; there were no footprints there, either.
Lin Yuewei finally understood. She wanted to laugh, but couldn’t quite manage it. Seriously, she explained to Gu Yanqiu, “There wasn’t another person. I got a new script, and I was trying out a scene.”
A clear look of relief appeared on Gu Yanqiu’s face. “...It’s good that nothing happened.”
Lin Yuewei was silent for a moment, then looked at her and said, “How did you open the door?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “I smashed it open.”
Lin Yuewei resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I know it was smashed open. How exactly did you smash it?” That loud bang—if it wasn’t smashed open, what, did she think someone had unlocked it with a key?
Gu Yanqiu understood. “Oh. First I used my foot, then my shoulder.”
“Which shoulder?”
“The right one.”
Lin Yuewei suddenly reached out and pressed down on Gu Yanqiu’s right shoulder. Gu Yanqiu flinched, pain flashing across her face. Lin Yuewei withdrew her hand. “Take your clothes off and let me look. Where did you hurt yourself?”
“No need, right?” Gu Yanqiu hesitated.
“You’re shy?”
“No.”
“Don’t make me do it myself.” Lin Yuewei threatened her. Whether Gu Yanqiu was scared by that threat or simply not shy anymore, after a moment she sat on the sofa, took off her coat, undid a few buttons of her shirt, and exposed her right shoulder for Lin Yuewei to see.
Lin Yuewei poked the bruised patch with her finger. “Does it hurt?”
“No.” Gu Yanqiu had learned her lesson this time.
“So you’ve even learned to say one thing and mean another?” Lin Yuewei said. “Hold still. I’ll rub some bruise medicine on it.”
Lin Yuewei poured a little of the medicinal liquid into her palm, then pressed her hand against the injured spot. Gu Yanqiu frowned and immediately sat up straighter. As Lin Yuewei rubbed the medicine in, she lectured, “You’re usually so thoughtful. Why smash the door so recklessly? Why didn’t you look for the key?”
“I couldn’t remember where the key was.”
“Then you could have knocked and asked. Why didn’t you even ask?”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t have time to answer. You said he had a gun.”
Lin Yuewei laughed. “Come on, this is the real world. Unless it’s a fugitive or some major case, who on earth is going to have a gun on them?”
Gu Yanqiu pressed her lips together and said nothing.
“You’re angry?” Lin Yuewei lowered her head to look at her face.
Gu Yanqiu met her eyes. Avoiding eye contact wasn’t her style.
She really was angry. After confirming that, Lin Yuewei poured more medicine into her hand and softened her voice. “I’m not blaming you. I just don’t want you to hurt yourself. Next time, could you not be so impulsive? Do you understand what I mean?”
“I understand.”
“Good girl.”
“But I don’t think that was impulsive.” Gu Yanqiu stood her ground.
“...”
“Next time I run into this kind of situation, I’ll consider the possibility that you’re trying out a scene,” Gu Yanqiu added.
“...” Okay. What else could Lin Yuewei say? Whether it had been impulsive or not, Gu Yanqiu had charged in without hesitation because she thought Lin Yuewei was in danger, just like in a novel. Of course Lin Yuewei wasn’t going to feel nothing at all.
After thinking it over, Lin Yuewei came up with the best of both worlds. “I’ll stick a sticky note on the door next time. You’ll know when you see it.”
“Okay.” Gu Yanqiu said, “I have one more suggestion.”
“Go ahead.”
“Can I ask first? What if a bad person takes advantage of that moment to come in?”
“...” First, the security in this neighborhood was among the best in the city. Second, the odds of someone arriving at just the right time were probably less than 0.001 percent, but Lin Yuewei still agreed. “Okay.”
You shouldn’t refuse kindness.
After that, neither of them spoke. The bruise medicine on Gu Yanqiu’s shoulder had been rubbed out by Lin Yuewei’s palm and slowly seeped into her skin, taking effect; it burned, then grew hot.
Gu Yanqiu couldn’t help shifting.
Lin Yuewei pressed her down. “Don’t move. It’s not finished yet.”
She could clearly feel Gu Yanqiu’s whole body go rigid, as if the thing she was applying medicine to wasn’t a person at all, but a block of wood.
She looked at the wood suspiciously. The wood returned her a blank look.
Lin Yuewei: “All right.”
Gu Yanqiu quickly pulled her clothes back into place. Moving her fingers, she realized her palm had broken out in a light sweat.
Lin Yuewei had been half-kneeling on the sofa all this time. She straightened up and stretched her legs, planning to put the medicine and first-aid kit back on the TV cabinet. There was a brief flash of confusion on Gu Yanqiu’s face again, then without warning she reached out, caught Lin Yuewei’s wrist, and pulled her into her arms.
Lin Yuewei stumbled down into her lap, and her heart couldn’t help but skip. Was this the beginning of their passionate romance?!
Gu Yanqiu and she were face-to-face, only a dozen centimeters apart; the other woman’s brows, eyes, nose bridge, lips—every tiny expression on her face—were rendered in exquisite detail.
There was actually a tiny mole at the outer edge of Gu Yanqiu’s right eyebrow, a shade darker than her brow color, so it could only be seen clearly up close.
When Gu Yanqiu leaned in, Lin Yuewei closed her eyes on her own.
Gu Yanqiu kissed her, slowly tracing the contours of her upper and lower lips with the tip of her tongue until they were fully wet; it lasted several minutes. Just as Gu Yanqiu was recalling the online tutorial, Lin Yuewei had already lost patience with her leisurely pace. She pinned Gu Yanqiu’s hand against the back of the sofa and took control, continuing her brisk, fiery kissing.
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
When they were done, Lin Yuewei licked her lips and said, “I’m going to get some water. Do you want some?”
“...Yes.”
Lin Yuewei went to the kitchen to pour water. When she came back, Gu Yanqiu was already lying on the sofa. She usually paid a lot of attention to her image and wouldn’t sprawl around carelessly at home, so this was rare. Lin Yuewei asked with concern, “Is your shoulder still uncomfortable?”
Gu Yanqiu fell strangely silent for a moment. “I guess so.”
“It either is or it isn’t. What do you mean, ‘I guess so’?” Lin Yuewei raised the glass that belonged to her and asked, “Can you drink by yourself?”
“Yes.” Gu Yanqiu sat up and took the glass.
Lin Yuewei drank two sips of water, leaned back on the sofa, and stared blankly ahead as if savoring something. Then she suddenly turned to Gu Yanqiu with a smile. “I think that kiss felt a lot better than yesterday’s.” Especially when their tongues had just touched; there had actually been a numbness in her heart, followed by a sinking feeling, beautiful beyond words.
“Mm.” Gu Yanqiu finished her water and lay back down again.
“Why are you so cold?”
“My shoulder hurts,” Gu Yanqiu said.
“Oh, then keep lying there. Want me to get you a blanket?”
“No need. I’m wearing plenty.” Gu Yanqiu closed her eyes.
She sighed inwardly. It could have been even better, but she had only just taken the first step and Lin Yuewei was already too impatient. It looked like the biggest problem wasn’t her learning; it was Lin Yuewei.
She’d have to think of a way.
“What do you want for dinner tonight?” The fact that they’d finally shared a kiss that actually resembled a kiss put Lin Yuewei in a much better mood. “I’ll make it for you.”
“I’m not that hungry yet.”
“Then we’ll talk when you are.”
Lin Yuewei looked at her for a while, then got up to turn on the living room light. When she came back, she thought it over and still draped a blanket over Gu Yanqiu. Gu Yanqiu opened her eyes. Lin Yuewei smiled and said, “It’s better to cover up than not. Just cover your stomach.”
Gu Yanqiu closed her eyes again.
Lin Yuewei flipped through the script. After two pages, she realized the rustle of a brand-new script was pretty loud, so she made to tiptoe upstairs. Even with her eyes closed, Gu Yanqiu knew exactly what she was doing and said, “Just read here. I’m not sleeping.”
“I need to memorize lines.”
“Then memorize them.”
“I’d better go upstairs. I’ll disturb you here.” Lin Yuewei shifted on the sofa, still sticking to her original decision. She wasn’t afraid of disturbing Gu Yanqiu; she was afraid of Gu Yanqiu disturbing her. Gu Yanqiu didn’t have to say or do anything; just appearing in her line of sight would distract her.
Lin Yuewei went upstairs to the study to memorize her lines. The soundproofing in the house was good, and with one floor between them, the study noise could basically not be heard. Gu Yanqiu rolled over and used her uninjured shoulder to support herself.
She stretched out a hand and pulled her phone over from the coffee table, then dialed an overseas number.
It was 6:30 a.m. in M Country.
“Awake yet?” Gu Yanqiu asked as soon as the call connected.
Instead, a completely unfamiliar female voice answered. In English, the woman apologized to her, then said, “Your call,” her voice moving farther away. Only then did Cheng Guiyuan’s sleep-heavy voice come on the line. “Mm? What is it?”
Gu Yanqiu said quickly, “Sorry to disturb you.”
Cheng Guiyuan scratched her hair. “Don’t rush to hang up. You already woke me up; if you’ve got something to say, say it.”
“When are you coming back to the country?”
“For New Year’s.”
“Then nothing.”
“What exactly is it?” Cheng Guiyuan said in bewilderment. “You’re being so hesitant; it’s obvious something’s up.”
“Is Schrodinger okay?”
“He’s fine.” Cheng Guiyuan called out, “Schrodinger, come say hi to your daddy. Schrodinger?”
“You brought someone home?”
“No. I now carry a cat and cat food with me at all times. I bought a cat bed and climbing frame at my girlfriend’s place, and Schrodinger comes here for a little trip now and then. He might not be awake yet, or he might just not want to deal with me.”
“Oh, I see.”
“And?”
“Is your girlfriend local?”
“Yes.”
“Got a picture?”
“I do. You want it? You know...” Cheng Guiyuan swallowed the rest of what she’d been about to say. It probably wouldn’t last long, and there was no point looking.
“Yes. I’m with the person I’m going to marry.” The last sentence was almost a whisper, so low it was barely audible.
“I’ll send it to you.” Cheng Guiyuan immediately snapped a photo of the person beside her pillow, found Gu Yanqiu’s WeChat, tapped send, then suddenly sat bolt upright in bed. “What did you just say the second time?!"
“Nothing.” Gu Yanqiu cleared her throat, a little embarrassed.
“Wait there. I’m going to buy two strings of firecrackers right now.”
“Do you have to be so dramatic?”
“Yes. If you weren’t my best friend, I’d have made my move on you already, I’m telling you. This week—no, next week, or the week after that—I’m taking leave and flying back to the country. I need to see who this pig is that’s trying to steal the cabbage from my family.”
“You’ve got time; she doesn’t. Don’t count on it.”
“Then when is she coming back to the country? No, when will she have time?”
“Probably around New Year’s too,” Gu Yanqiu said. Based on the schedule, filming should be wrapped up by then.
“Then I’ll go back for New Year’s too.” Cheng Guiyuan remembered the way Gu Yanqiu had just said she was going back for New Year’s and sensed something was off. “Are you hiding something?”
“No.”
“Then you are.”
“...”
“You answered too fast. That’s basically a confession. If you don’t tell me, I’m getting up for work.”
“Really nothing.”
“Fine, I’m hanging up. Call me again when you’re sure it’s something.”
“Mm, bye.”
“Bye.” Cheng Guiyuan hung up.
Their way of getting along wasn’t as sticky as other best friends’; Cheng Guiyuan firmly respected all of her choices, and never hounded her until she cracked.
She propped herself up and sat at the edge of the bed, tapping at her phone. Her girlfriend, seeing that she still wasn’t sleeping, also sat up and asked, “Can I look at your phone?”
Cheng Guiyuan showed her the screen; it displayed a flight home for next month.
“You’re going back to the country? Are you coming back?”
“I am. I’m only going back to take a look.” Cheng Guiyuan gently kissed her girlfriend’s lips. “Want to come with me? My country has lots of good food and fun things to do. I’ll take you around.”
“Can I?” her girlfriend asked in delight.
“Of course.” Cheng Guiyuan’s smile blossomed wide. In every relationship, she gave her all to the other person, putting endless thought into making them happy. To her, what mattered in love was quality; quantity had nothing to do with it. A commitment from start to finish was certainly nice to hear, but it might not be more worth cherishing than one of her brief romances.
Her girlfriend hugged and kissed her excitedly, a string of exclamations spilling from her lips.
They wreaked a little havoc before getting out of bed. Her girlfriend watched her get dressed from behind, her eyes full of unfiltered adoration.
Cheng Guiyuan was already famous in her own circle. Everyone knew that dating her was the most wonderful thing imaginable, even if it only lasted a single day; and yet no one could stay by her side forever. Every person believed they were the last one, but none of them ever were.
I hope I’m the last one.
***
When Lin Yuewei first went upstairs, she couldn’t sit still. After memorizing a few lines, she kept wondering how Gu Yanqiu was doing downstairs; whether she’d fallen asleep, and if she had, whether she’d kicked off the blanket. If she hadn’t, then what was she doing? Had she started cooking? What was she making? Questions like that kept floating through her head.
Only after she finished two pages did she gradually sink into it.
Lin Yuewei’s memory was a little better than average, so memorizing lines wasn’t difficult for her; the hard part was putting emotion into them. Otherwise, she was only reciting words. She divided up all the lines for the half-month before filming started and completed the quota each day.
She turned on the recorder, recorded every take of her lines, and played them back again and again to listen for flaws. The director hadn’t required all the actors to use their own voices; these days many TV dramas hired voice actors for post-production. But Lin Yuewei didn’t lower her standards just because someone else might dub her later.
It was hard to pick out one’s own faults. Lin Yuewei only had a general sense of where the problem lay; how to fix it was something she could only feel her way through.
At that moment, one person came to mind: Shao Yasi.
Shao Yasi’s mother was in a drama troupe, and her line delivery had been the best of everyone’s when they’d recorded the program before. She’d been praised by the mentors, and the line coach had also told the others to ask her for advice when they had time. Her ability was actually very strong; the reason she’d fallen so far behind in the rankings early on was partly due to editing, and partly due to her noncompetitive personality. Everyone else looked for opportunities to show off; she was the only one quietly sitting in a corner. If Lin Yuewei hadn’t brought her into everyone’s view, she would have been buried.
In a sense, Lin Yuewei was Shao Yasi’s lucky star. Whether emotionally or in terms of how much she’d helped her, it was only natural that Shao Yasi relied on her.
In the more than one month when Lin Yuewei had no assignments, Shao Yasi had already joined the cast of Mirror in the Palm. Shao Yasi was very busy, and that could be seen from how their contact with each other had gradually decreased in frequency. At first, Shao Yasi messaged her every day to talk about what she’d done that day, down to the smallest detail. Now, when Lin Yuewei opened their chat, she found that the last time she and Shao Yasi had spoken was late at night a week ago, and the closing line had been Lin Yuewei’s own goodnight.
Lin Yuewei fell silent at Shao Yasi’s name.
Are you free?
She deleted the words one by one.
Filming today.
Deleted.
Lin Yuewei reorganized her thoughts and sent: [Two Woods: Are you done for the day?]
After about five minutes, Shao Yasi replied: [Done. The female lead’s treating the director and the male lead and the rest of us to dinner; we’ll be finished soon]
[Two Woods: Okay]
[Shao Yasi: I’ll call you when I get back. Is it convenient for you to answer?]
[Two Woods: Yes]
This time, ten minutes later, Shao Yasi called.
Lin Yuewei asked in surprise, “That fast?”
Shao Yasi said, “I just saw the director off. I’m in the car.”
“You could have replied after you got back to the hotel.” Lin Yuewei smiled.
“I was anxious. You finally contacted me; I hadn’t talked to you in a whole week, which rounds up to ten years. One day apart feels like three autumns, and three autumns apart feels like heartbreak.”
“...”
Shao Yasi laughed and said, “I drank a little tonight, so I might be a bit muddled.”
“Then why don’t you sleep for a bit?”
“I’m not sleeping. I’m not tired. Just talk; I’m listening.”
“Talk about what?”
“Whatever. I just want to hear you talk.”
Lin Yuewei: “...” If Lin Yuewei hadn’t been certain that the little sprout of interest on Shao Yasi’s side had been nipped in the bud long ago, she would have definitely started overthinking right then. Feelings between girls were already delicate; once one side had any kind of thoughts, it was very easy to wonder if the other person liked her, or if she liked the other person. Thinking of that, Lin Yuewei drifted for a moment. Who had started things between her and Gu Yanqiu first?
Shao Yasi talked for a long time on the other end; Lin Yuewei didn’t catch what she said and only gave an “Mm?” after she finished. “What did you just say?”
Shao Yasi said, “...I said there aren’t really any people in this crew I can talk to. The female lead is so proud she’s practically a peacock; the male lead walks around with a constant scowl like someone owes him eight or ten million. Also, I think...”
She trailed off.
“Think what?”
“I don’t think either of them likes me. They’re kind of excluding me. I thought it was just my imagination, but my agent told me they really don’t like me. Right from the beginning, when I auditioned, the female lead even told the director she wanted to cut me, afraid I’d steal her spotlight. It was only because my agent had some tricks that she managed to keep me in.”
Shao Yasi’s role was the junior sister, but the junior sister didn’t like the male lead. She liked the character played by the female lead and died for the heroine in the end. Of course, the script didn’t make that liking clear; it was a kind of affection somewhere between family and romance. Liking the female lead was different from liking the male lead. Liking the male lead would get you torn apart by the female-lead shippers, the male-lead shippers, and the official-couple shippers alike; liking the female lead wouldn’t, and might even attract some curious attention. Besides, her affection wasn’t stated outright.
That role was a loyal little angel, and the part was very likable. There had been two TV dramas this year and last year that both had similar characters, and all of them had drawn in plenty of fans.
Shao Yasi’s agent really was thinking entirely for her, considering her looks, personality, and career path all at once. Shao Yasi had exactly the fresh, pure, girl-next-door kind of appearance, so playing a sincere junior sister in her first TV drama was perfect.
After hesitating for a while, Lin Yuewei said, “I also took a TV drama recently.”
Normally, Lin Yuewei wouldn’t have told her, but Shao Yasi had always held nothing back from her. If she didn’t say anything, it would feel like she was letting Shao Yasi down.
“Really?” Shao Yasi’s voice nearly cracked with excitement. “What drama? Modern or period?”
“Modern. It hasn’t been officially announced yet.”
“Got it, I won’t tell anyone.”
“It’s called Mist City.”
“Oh, oh, that sounds nice. Which director is it?” Shao Yasi clearly hadn’t heard of the drama. The recent scandal involving Fang Xiaoxiao had been all over the place; she must have been busy and hadn’t paid attention.
“Yang Xiao.”
“That sounds kind of familiar.”
“The director of The Han Empire.”
That had been a childhood staple for an entire generation. Even though Shao Yasi only knew the drama and not the director, she still said excitedly, “Amazing. You’re going to blow up.”
“Second female lead, not the heroine.”
“That’s still great. When you get famous, remember to take me with you.”
“Definitely.”
“Right now I’ve got a problem,” Lin Yuewei said, picking at the fabric of the sofa. “My lines are a bit bad, and that role is a police officer, so saying them feels kind of awkward. I can’t even hear what’s wrong with them myself; it just feels like I’m either not using enough force, or using too much. Maybe it’s something else.”
“Oh.” Shao Yasi paused. “Why don’t you record the lines and let me listen?”
“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble for you?”
“It’s fine, but you might need to send me the script for that section too, otherwise I can’t work out the emotion.”
Reading the script and working out the character’s emotional state was basically like understanding a brand-new character from scratch; it was too much work. Even if they were close, Lin Yuewei couldn’t bother her at such a crucial time in filming, in case it affected Shao Yasi’s own shooting.
After a pause, Lin Yuewei said, “Maybe forget it. I’ll study it myself a little more.”
“If you could figure it out on your own, you wouldn’t have come to me. I know. Send it to me; I’ll look at it in my spare moments.”
“I...”
“Stop talking nonsense. In the time you spent saying that, I’ve already listened to one segment.”
Lin Yuewei sent it to her.
After checking it, Shao Yasi said, “There are only this many lines? I finished reading them in one glance. Hurry up and send more.”
Lin Yuewei doubled the amount. Shao Yasi was still unsatisfied, but she didn’t say anything else. “I’ll go through it and send it back to you. By the way, what are the other two people in your crew called?”
Lin Yuewei gave her the names.
Shao Yasi wrote them down in her notes and gave her a heads-up in advance: “Once you’re in the crew, don’t say anything recklessly. Ask your agent and assistant more; they’re insiders, so they know more than you do.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll help you look at it now. Hang up first.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Thanks.” Shao Yasi laughed as she threw the words back at her and hung up.
Lin Yuewei smiled at the busy tone on the phone.
Only then did she remember to check the time, and she jumped; it was already after eleven. She tidied the script and placed it on the desk in the study. After looking around the room, she chose between “staying in the study permanently” and “finding another room specifically for practice,” then chose the latter and decided to leave the study to Gu Yanqiu.
Lin Yuewei stretched and opened the study door. Downstairs, the living room was pitch-black, with only the hallway light on upstairs. Lin Yuewei turned a corner and stopped in front of her own bedroom door.
This was the first time she had come back to her room later than Gu Yanqiu.
For some reason, Lin Yuewei felt a little nervous, as if she now understood how Gu Yanqiu felt every night when she opened the door and went in. She knocked on the door, not even knowing why she was knocking. A voice answered from inside: “Come in.”
Lin Yuewei pushed the door open halfway and stepped inside. Gu Yanqiu was reading under the lamp, her features clear and defined. She seemed to be hurrying to finish the page in her hands; only when Lin Yuewei came close did she finally lift her gaze from the book and look up at her, her eyes soft and warm.
Much later, Lin Yuewei would still remember this scene; this scene that would play out many times in her future. In that moment, she especially wanted to describe it with a line of poetry. She had just thought of the opening “Suddenly turning back,” when she felt that the line had been overused to death in recent years and stopped herself.
Lin Yuewei asked, “Have you showered?”
Gu Yanqiu lowered her head and looked at herself.
She was wearing pajamas; whether she had showered was obvious.
“Then I’m going to shower.”
“Mm.”
Lin Yuewei found her pajamas. Ever since that time when Gu Yanqiu had accidentally seen her come out wrapped in a towel, she had remembered to bring pajamas with her every time. Today, after putting the pajamas down, she suddenly stopped.
They were not just girlfriends; they were also married. Was this a little too distant?
But asking Lin Yuewei to take the pajamas back out again would also be awkward.
Lin Yuewei tilted her head back under the hot water. When she went to get the body wash, she noticed another bottle on the shelf that didn’t belong to her. There couldn’t possibly be anyone else in this house; it was either her or Gu Yanqiu. Had Gu Yanqiu come into her room to shower?
Lin Yuewei’s hand changed direction in midair, and she pressed down once on the pump of Gu Yanqiu’s body wash.
She squeezed a little into her palm and sniffed it. It smelled like milk; no wonder sometimes Gu Yanqiu smelled faintly milky too.
Lin Yuewei came out of the shower smelling faintly milky as well. She slid into the blankets, her hand brushing Gu Yanqiu’s waist. Gu Yanqiu closed her book, turned off the light, and lay down. After the two of them had discussed sleeping positions last night, they reasonably chose to lie side by side, shoulder to shoulder.
Lin Yuewei sniffed the air, then suddenly buried her face in Gu Yanqiu’s neck and rubbed against her twice hard. Lifting her head, she asked in surprise, “You used my body wash?”
Gu Yanqiu had smelled it before she had; her body had stiffened slightly, but she quickly relaxed and said flatly, “Didn’t you use mine too?”
Lin Yuewei smiled. “I like the way you smell.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “I like the way you smell too.”
Lin Yuewei lay on her side facing her, eyes open. Then she suddenly leaned toward her very quickly; unfortunately, she misjudged and only kissed her chin. Gu Yanqiu reached back and pinched her chin, then kissed her.
Lin Yuewei closed her eyes.
Gu Yanqiu brushed her lips once and said in advance, “Don’t move.”
“Why?”
“Don’t move if I say don’t move. You can move when I say you can.”
“Fine, I’ll try.”
Gu Yanqiu might have been under the blankets for too long; the temperature of her body and lips was absurdly high. Lin Yuewei obediently followed her wife’s instructions. It wasn’t that she was especially well-behaved; after that episode of Gu Yanqiu coming home, she vaguely felt that listening to Gu Yanqiu was never wrong.
Since Lin Yuewei couldn’t move, all she could feel was softness, nothing else. She even felt like she was about to be kissed to sleep before Gu Yanqiu whispered in her ear, “Move. Slowly, and with small movements.”
Only then did Lin Yuewei respond.
She selectively ignored the second half of the sentence and only heard the first word. Her kissing attacks had always been stormy and intense; just as she was about to let the storm break today, Gu Yanqiu pinched a soft piece of flesh at the side of her neck between two fingers and tugged. Lin Yuewei cried out in pain and almost shed tears from how much it hurt.
Gu Yanqiu had accidentally used too much force. She gently rubbed the spot and said, “...I meant for you to go slower.”
If she wanted slower, then slower it was. Why pinch her? Lin Yuewei’s temper flared. She simply flipped their positions over so Gu Yanqiu could try her signature downpour of kisses.
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
She was a little annoyed too. Who had been the one complaining that kissing had no feeling? She’d studied properly, and this was the attitude she got in return. So irritated she didn’t want to deal with her, Gu Yanqiu turned onto her side and faced away from her.
“You’re angry?” Lin Yuewei knew she was in the wrong, but she couldn’t control her temper. The time when her temper had been best was probably during the period when she secretly loved Gu Yanqiu. Before that and after they got together, she had the same rotten temper.
“I was wrong.” Lin Yuewei lightly, lightly, lightly poked her back with one finger.
Gu Yanqiu made a muffled sound through her nose.
The fact that she was willing to snort meant she wasn’t that angry. Lin Yuewei didn’t know how she knew that, but somehow she just did. Pressing on, she scooted over and hugged her from behind.
“I really was wrong. Do it again, and I promise I’ll be obedient,” Lin Yuewei coaxed. A woman should know when to yield and when to push. Apologizing to her wife was only natural.
Gu Yanqiu was silent for several seconds. “Your hand.”
My hand?
Only then did Lin Yuewei belatedly realize that her hand had touched something rather serious. She withdrew it and cleared her dry throat. “Sorry.”
Gu Yanqiu turned back. If the light had been on now, Lin Yuewei would have seen the indescribable look on Gu Yanqiu’s face.
Gu Yanqiu took the phone from the bedside table, opened the bookmark she had saved earlier, and handed it directly to Lin Yuewei, then closed her eyes and said, “You read it yourself. I’m going to sleep first.”
“What is this?” Lin Yuewei took the phone and read aloud word by word, “Un-miss-able—10 kissing techniques that will drive your girlfriend crazy, tech-tech-techniques?”
Gu Yanqiu pretended she hadn’t heard a thing. But then Lin Yuewei came over to nudge her shoulder, asking like a curious little child, “You’ve already read it?”
“...”
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? No wonder you suddenly seemed to know a little.”
“...”
“Fall asleep? You fell asleep that fast?”
“...”
“Then good night.” Lin Yuewei leaned one arm across to brace herself by Gu Yanqiu’s side and bent down to kiss her once.
Behind her, Gu Yanqiu finally couldn’t help but curve her lips.
Gu Yanqiu had always thought that she, so detached from worldly desires, was already lacking enough experience in this area. Everything had to be searched for and learned from scratch. She never expected that Lin Yuewei, who had never once included dating in her life plans, wouldn’t even know how to build up theoretical knowledge in this area.
Thinking it over carefully, this kind of romance was actually pretty interesting. It might not be as passionate and intense as Cheng Guiyuan’s, but it had its own flavor.
Had Cheng Guiyuan ever dated like this? Definitely not. Gu Yanqiu had called Cheng Guiyuan at night to ask her for advice, but now that she thought about it, she should still take things slowly with Lin Yuewei.
The very last second before she fell asleep, Gu Yanqiu saw that the phone screen beside them was still lit. In the screen’s faint glow, she could see Lin Yuewei occasionally sticking her tongue out, apparently practicing.
She hoped there would be some progress tomorrow.
Gu Yanqiu woke up under an unmistakably intense gaze. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at Lin Yuewei, who was resting her face on one hand and staring at her.
Lin Yuewei’s eyes were blazing. “I didn’t sleep all night last night. I also watched a lot of videos.”
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
Lin Yuewei eagerly pulled her up from under the blanket and moved her feet over. “Put on your shoes.”
As soon as Gu Yanqiu had her shoes on, Lin Yuewei had already rushed into the washroom, squeezed out toothpaste, and the very moment Gu Yanqiu walked through the door, presented it with both hands. “Please brush your teeth.”
Author’s Note: This will be the night the Forbidden City regrets most; she handed the top over with her own hands ﹁_﹁
Go, Lin top!