Chapter 9

“Where’s our daughter-in-law?” Lin’s mother held a pair of gardening shears upside down and kept craning her neck to look behind Lin Yuewei. “Didn’t she come back with you?”

By the time Lin Yuewei got home in the taxi, her anger had already faded. She’d even found an explanation for her sudden temper: she’d wanted to look at the wedding photos, but Gu Yanqiu hadn’t, and somehow that had already put her at a point of disadvantage. Lin Yuewei was the sort of person who had to be the best at everything. She had to win at everything. If Gu Yanqiu was cold to her, then she would be even colder in return.

From that angle, Gu Yanqiu hadn’t been wrong about her. A child just out of the ivory tower still carried a certain innocence about the world, and being a wealthy heiress had only made her more willful. Not everything could be divided into better and worse; feelings, for one, and many other things too.

One day, she would understand that.

In any case, Lin Yuewei had now completely slipped out of the role of a newlywed wife, so she ignored Lin’s mother’s obviously loaded question. Her fingers idly hooked the chain of her handbag as she walked toward the door without even glancing sideways.

Lin’s mother said, “Stop right there.”

Lin Yuewei stepped one foot into the house.

Lin’s mother: “……”

She tossed the gardening shears aside and hurried in after her.

“I’m talking to you. Why aren’t you answering me?” Lin’s mother asked. She looked quite young, and she wasn’t actually very old either—just over forty. Before she married, her family had spoiled her rotten; after marriage, she was still doted on by both husband and daughter—though Lin Yuewei had no say in that arrangement. She ranked at the very bottom of the family food chain. If she didn’t listen to her mother, then her father would sit her down and lecture her in endless earnest detail.

Lin Yuewei’s father and mother were cut from the same cloth when it came to nagging, except her father’s nagging came with both reason and emotion; his side hustle might as well have been public speaking, and he was especially good at stirring people up. Every time Lin Yuewei resolved not to give in, Lin’s father would have her dizzy with his one-two punch, and she’d end up sincerely reflecting on herself.

For years, Lin Yuewei had lived in the middle of two chatterboxes tormenting her from every angle. Fortunately, the more formidable one was away on a business trip, leaving only the lesser chatterbox, against whom Lin Yuewei had already developed immunity.

“I didn’t hear you,” Lin Yuewei replied in mock surprise. Her mother didn’t have her ears; if she said she hadn’t heard, then she hadn’t heard.

“Where’s my daughter-in-law?” Lin’s mother pressed.

“You have a daughter-in-law? Who’s your daughter-in-law? How would I know?” Lin Yuewei dealt with her mother with ease. She tossed her bag onto the sofa, took a bottle of drink from the fridge, and sat down. There were little teacups on the table, and the only water glass held water. The kitchen was too far away; she couldn’t be bothered to get up again, so she leaned over and took a stemmed glass from the coffee table—probably something her mother had left there for a little alcohol. But it was hers now. Lin Yuewei poured lime juice into it until it nearly reached the rim.

Lin’s mother lightly scolded her, “Do you have no manners at all?”

“I’m dying of thirst. We can talk later.” Lin Yuewei lifted the glass and gulped down more than half of it, then let out a long breath. She looked thoroughly at ease, one eyebrow arched in a lazy, unrestrained curve. “What manners are you talking about at home? Last time I saw Dad drinking milk out of a stemmed glass. Why didn’t you yell at him?”

Lin’s mother lost that round of nagging and choked for a moment; soon she found another opening. She reached out and gave Lin Yuewei’s casually swinging calf a light kick. “Do you know what good posture is?”

Lin Yuewei said, “On that front, I inherited Dad’s genes perfectly. Last time, he just lay down.”

Lin’s mother said, “That was lying down. Is that what you’re doing? Your father lies down and still looks majestic and imposing—”

Lin Yuewei immediately lay down, without even a second’s hesitation.

“Mom, do you know what ‘teaching by example’ means? If you’ve got time to lecture me, why not go lecture Dad instead? He set a terrible example for me first; I’m best at copying what I see.”

Lin’s mother: “You—”

Lin Yuewei blew gently on her neatly trimmed nails. She didn’t do manicures like her mother; she didn’t like that. She looked down on her mother lightly and said, “Come on, Mom, how much are you really worth? At best, you can launch a few long-distance attacks when I’m off guard; once Dad’s not home, you’re just a coleslaw snake with its teeth pulled. You’re no threat to me at all.”

Lin’s mother was so irritated by her comeback that she rolled her eyes.

Lin Yuewei finished the remaining lime juice, stood up, and gave her a once-over before saying, “Your acting still hasn’t improved. At this rate, it’s a good thing you never went into show business, or the Golden Broom Award would’ve been waiting for you.”

She patted Lin’s mother on the shoulder. “Save your energy. When Dad gets back, then you can show off your power.”

With that, she turned to go upstairs, only for Lin’s mother to suddenly wrap her from behind.

Lin Yuewei jumped. “No physical attacks. We agreed this would be a fair and square showdown.”

Lin’s mother drew in a deep breath, gathering herself for a moment; then, on the verge of tears, she said, “So what if your father doesn’t love me? Now even you treat me like this. I say something and you have to argue with every sentence. I don’t want to live anymore.”

Lin Yuewei reached out with her fingertips and tapped her eyelashes. Sure enough, she felt a bit of moisture. She was astonished. What exactly had happened to make her mother, such an acting disaster, improve so dramatically overnight?!

But the fact remained that Lin Yuewei really couldn’t resist Lin’s mother’s tear attack. She sat back down at once, pulled tissues out for her, and wiped her tears away, her attitude clearly saying she could do whatever she wanted with her.

Lin’s mother sniffled and said, “Where’s my daughter-in-law?”

Lin Yuewei didn’t want to talk about that, but when Lin’s mother looked at her with those tear-bright eyes, she lost all resistance in an instant and answered obediently, “I don’t know. After the wedding photos were taken, I came straight home. She probably went back to her own place too.”

Lin’s mother said, “Don’t you ask her?”

Lin Yuewei found that absurd. “Ask her for what? I’m not even familiar with her. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten we only met two days ago.”

Lin’s mother said, “So what if it’s only been two days? Yanqiu is so beautiful; I don’t believe you wouldn’t be moved. Back then your father and I fell in love at first sight, and look where we are now.”

As she spoke, her tears started again. Her acting could be called masterful!

Lin Yuewei felt a flicker of alarm at her mother’s rapidly improving skills. At this rate, wouldn’t she be completely helpless in front of her mother?

Lin Yuewei said, “She’s good-looking; am I ugly, then? Why should I be moved if she isn’t?”

Lin’s mother’s eyes lit up. “So that means if she’s moved, you’ll be moved too?”

Lin Yuewei: “……”

No, when had she said that? How had it turned into her saying it?

“I’m not. I didn’t. I’m warning you, Comrade Ran Qingqing, don’t you dare add fuel to the fire for me. Especially if you say anything stupid in front of Gu Yanqiu, then don’t blame me for falling out with you!”

Lin’s mother had an epiphany. “Right, I can go tell little Gu.”

Lin Yuewei: “……” She shouldn’t have reminded her mother. But why had a strange, subtle sense of anticipation suddenly risen in her heart?

“In any case…” Lin Yuewei darted her eyes away. “In any case, you’re not allowed to say that. I’m warning you, very, very, very seriously.”

At that moment, Lin’s mother suddenly noticed something was off. Lin Yuewei was her biological daughter; there was nothing she had ever been able to hide from her since childhood. The way she looked right now, no matter how you saw it, seemed like she was trying to cover something up. Could it be…

Lin’s mother was both startled and delighted. No way. Was there already progress this fast?

The line about telling Gu Yanqiu had originally just been a joke to tease her, but now she changed her mind. Why not try it and test the other woman’s attitude?

As for Gu Yanqiu, Lin’s mother was indeed not very familiar with her. That included Gu Yanqiu’s mother, the former Mrs. Gu; she wasn’t very familiar with her either. The former Mrs. Gu kept to herself. Lin’s mother had only seen her a few times, one of which had been when she saved Lin Yuewei’s life, but she had left too deep an impression. In Lin’s mother’s memory, she was a woman so beautiful she didn’t seem to belong to this world.

After her death, her husband, Gu Huai, swiftly remarried. That new wife’s son was even several years older than Gu Yanqiu. To outsiders, it was either jaw-dropping or a bit of scandalous gossip over tea; Lin’s mother only felt anger. She even formed a horrifying suspicion: could Gu Huai, in order to remarry, or perhaps He Songjun—the current Mrs. Gu—in order to take the position of Mrs. Gu, or even the two of them together, have harmed Gu Yanqiu’s mother?

She was already furious; needless to say, Gu Yanqiu, the former Mrs. Gu’s daughter, would be even more so. Rumor had it that she kept vigil in the mourning hall without eating, drinking, or sleeping for three days and three nights, after which she seemed to accept reality. The former Mrs. Gu rarely met people; no one knew who her parents were, and she was never heard to have any close girlfriends. In the end, even in death, no one had stood up to demand justice for her. Gu Yanqiu was her only daughter, and also the only person with the rightful standing to find out the truth. But she had just returned to the country, the household had been occupied by squatters, and she was too weak to stand on her own; she could hardly protect herself, let alone uncover the truth and take back what was rightfully hers.

Lin’s mother always considered herself a friend of the former Mrs. Gu, even if the other woman might not have thought so. It was Lin’s mother who had taken the initiative to contact Gu Yanqiu and say she was willing to help. At first, Gu Yanqiu hadn’t believed her. When Lin’s mother first invited her out to meet, she had been full of wariness too. It was only after repeated contact that Gu Yanqiu gradually lowered her guard. At the same time, Lin’s mother had also been observing her, trying to see through what she truly thought.

In the end, the two of them spoke frankly, and Lin’s mother formally made her proposal.

That had been in a café one afternoon, with a violinist playing with her eyes closed, drawing out a soft, lingering melody.

“I plan to have you marry my daughter. With the support of the Lin family, it’ll be enough for you to gain a foothold in the Gu family.” Lin’s mother interlaced her fingers and rested them on the edge of the table. “Of course, it won’t be a real marriage; it’s only a contract. As soon as you find the truth and get what you want, you’ll dissolve the engagement peacefully. If you still haven’t done so within five years, then the engagement will also be dissolved.”

Lin’s mother couldn’t gamble away any more of Lin Yuewei’s youth.

The Gu Yanqiu sitting opposite her did not disappoint her. Instead of asking whether it was good or not, she first asked, “Then what does Miss Lin want?”

Lin’s mother said, “She’s already agreed.”

Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyes for a moment. The fingers holding the Buddhist beads maintained the same steady rhythm from beginning to end. After a while, she looked up and said, “All right, I agree. If Miss Lin has any additional conditions, add them whenever you like; as long as they’re not too much, I can agree to them.”

Lin’s mother said, “We can discuss the specific terms later.”

Her gaze fell on the young woman’s string of beads, and a nostalgic look surfaced in her eyes. She reached out slightly, then seemed to realize that might be rude and drew her hand back, asking carefully in a tentative tone, “May I take a look at those prayer beads?”

Gu Yanqiu looked hesitant.

Lin’s mother said, “It’s all right; I’m not insisting.”

But Gu Yanqiu then handed over the beads she almost never let out of her hand. “It’s fine; Auntie can look if she wants.”

Lin’s mother’s fingers gently traced the sutras engraved on the beads, the kind of writing you could only clearly feel by touch. Her fingertips trembled slightly, and a thin veil of tears quickly welled in her eyes. In a low voice, she said, “This is…”

“My mother’s memento,” Gu Yanqiu said. “If my mother knew, beneath the earth, that someone still remembered her, she would surely be happy.”

Businesspeople were the best at reading people and acting according to the audience. Since Gu Yanqiu had returned to the country, Lin’s mother was the only person who had contacted her, expressing grief and wanting to reach out a helping hand. But her mother hadn’t had many friends to begin with. In daily life, apart from Gu Huai and Gu Yanqiu, no one else ever entered her field of vision. Sometimes Gu Yanqiu even had the illusion that her mother cared about nothing at all, including her husband and daughter. And yet in the Gu household, everyone liked her, just as Lin’s mother had said. She really was too beautiful, unlike anyone from the mortal world. Simply looking at her was enough to prevent anyone from feeling dislike.

Lin’s mother quickly returned the beads, wiping the corner of her eye with her finger. “How rude of me.”

Gu Yanqiu put the beads back on and gently shook her head, indicating it was fine.

Lin’s mother said, “Then I’ll go arrange the wedding for you two.”

Gu Yanqiu said without either humility or arrogance, “Thank you for your trouble, Aunt Ran.”

That was the origin of everything. It could be said that without Lin’s mother, those two would never have crossed paths in a hundred generations.

***

Lin’s mother closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a long sigh.

Lin Yuewei said, “Are you thinking about your fairy sister again?”

Lin’s mother sighed for many reasons, but in recent months, every sigh had been for the same reason: the late Gu Yanqiu’s mother.

Whenever Lin’s mother thought about it, she felt heavy-hearted and couldn’t be bothered to argue with Lin Yuewei. “You’re so smart. Go back to your room.”

Lin Yuewei grabbed an apple from the fruit plate and held it in her hand. She never held her tongue and was always talking nonsense. “Mom, you like fairy sister so much that you can sigh three or four times for her even after she’s been gone just one day, and you even fought with Dad and married your own biological daughter off to her daughter. Don’t tell me you fell for her?”

Lin’s mother stared at her with wide eyes. Neither of them spoke for quite a while.

Lin Yuewei’s mouth slowly fell open, and the apple in her hand rolled with a thud onto the living room carpet.

Author’s note: Lin Yuewei: Did I just ask something I shouldn’t have? ⊙▽⊙

[Note] Golden Broom Award: Annual Worst Film