Chapter 90
Gu Yanqiu didn’t say anything and went off to make a call.
Gu Feiquan tucked his hands into his pockets and watched her, frowning in thought. Gu Yanqiu stood some distance away, and after a while, he crouched down nearby, resting his chin in one hand as he looked over.
Every so often, when Gu Yanqiu glanced his way, she’d catch sight of the big, dog-like man crouched there and pause for a moment before looking away.
“How did it go?”
Gu Feiquan stood up and looked at Gu Yanqiu, who had just finished the call and was walking back over.
Gu Yanqiu narrowed her eyes. “I’d asked him to help me with something before too, but this was more urgent, so I had him look into it first. He said it wasn’t too difficult.”
Gu Feiquan asked, “What was the thing you asked him about before?”
“An old matter from thirty years ago.”
Gu Feiquan nodded and didn’t press further. He glanced up at the sky and said, “It’s getting late. Let’s head down.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “You go first.”
“Hm?”
“Otherwise, if your mom sees the two of us going down together, she’ll go after you again.”
Gu Feiquan laughed brightly. “You really are a kind person.”
He stepped aside a couple of paces. “You go first.”
Gu Yanqiu asked, “Why?”
Gu Feiquan blinked. “I’m not comfortable leaving you alone on the rooftop at night.”
“……”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t stand on ceremony with him and left first.
***
He Songjun was so furious at her own son for betraying the family that she didn’t even bother opening the new clothes and shoes she’d bought. In the living room, she slammed her cup down with a loud bang. “Where’s my tea? Where’s the West Lake Longjing I said I wanted?”
The maid hurried to find the tea and brew it for her, only to be scolded again for moving too slowly.
Gu Feiquan had barely poked his head out at the stairwell when he immediately retreated; He Songjun caught sight of him with her sharp eyes and shouted, “Get down here!”
Gu Feiquan wasn’t stupid. There was no point charging straight into the line of fire. In a flash, he disappeared from the stairwell and locked himself in his room.
He picked up his phone and started playing a mobile game. Less than three minutes later, there was a knock at the door.
Gu Feiquan pretended not to hear it.
He Songjun kept knocking and cursing outside. “You think you can defy me now, do you? Open the door!”
“……”
“Did you hear me, Gu Feiquan!”
“……”
“If you don’t open it, I’m going to break it down.” He Songjun took two steps back, then heard the click of the lock from inside. Gu Feiquan’s irritated voice came through the door. “It’s open. Come in yourself.”
He Songjun shoved the door open and strode in, hands on her hips, incensed. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
“I was about to ask you what exactly I did.” Gu Feiquan again wondered if his mother was mentally unbalanced, or if she had some kind of bipolar disorder; she flew into a rage at the drop of a hat and yelled at him every chance she got.
“Stay away from that woman’s daughter!”
Gu Feiquan nearly laughed from anger. “Can you stop being unreasonable?”
“I’m not being unreasonable. She and her mother are both bad people.”
Gu Feiquan looked at his mother and shook his head, muttering, “She’s really gone mad.”
He pulled the blanket over his face and decided not to listen to another word He Songjun said.
He Songjun tried to yank the blanket off him, but a woman’s strength was no match for a man’s, especially a middle-aged woman against a young man. Unable to pull it away, she sat on the edge of his bed and began lecturing him. First she was indignant, but it got her nowhere; then she tried reasoning with him, but Gu Feiquan didn’t buy any of it.
It was the same old song and dance. He’d been hearing these things from He Songjun since he could remember; more than twenty years later, she was still saying the same things.
Seeing that he was utterly impervious, He Songjun finally snapped in exasperation. “Has pork fat blinded your heart? Did that woman fool you with her looks too? If she hadn’t told me back then—”
Her voice cut off abruptly. She patted Gu Feiquan’s broad back through the blanket and said earnestly, “Believe Mom. Everything I’ve done has been for your own good. There isn’t a soul in this world who treats you better than I do; I ask for nothing in return.”
Gu Feiquan threw off the thin blanket and sat up, fixing her with a sharp stare. “What did she tell you?”
“What what?”
“Luo Yu, Gu Yanqiu’s mother. If she told you something back then, what did she say?”
“You heard wrong.”
He Songjun’s eyes flickered as she got to her feet and turned to leave. Gu Feiquan was quick enough to catch her wrist. “I didn’t hear wrong. Mom, did you have any contact with Luo Yu after she got married?”
“I said you heard wrong.”
Gu Feiquan didn’t let go.
He Songjun said, “My hand hurts.”
Gu Feiquan loosened his grip a little, just enough to let her move. “What exactly did she say?”
“She said,” He Songjun gritted her teeth and shut her eyes, “that she told me from the start that she had nothing to do with Gu Huai and would absolutely never fall for Gu Huai, so I could rest easy. And then she turned around and seduced your father away from me.”
Gu Feiquan didn’t like the word seduced; his brows furrowed, but he said nothing. “Anything else?”
“Anything else?” He Songjun looked at him in surprise.
That was it?
Gu Feiquan was a little disappointed.
He didn’t believe a single word his mother said. Based on what Gu Yanqiu had told him, her mother liked women, and it was very likely that Gu Huai had been the one pining after her all these years. The possibility that Gu Yanqiu’s mother had seduced Gu Huai was virtually zero.
While he was distracted, He Songjun pulled her hand free and slapped his arm once before leaving the room. After she closed the door, she leaned against the wall by the doorway and let out a long breath, pressing a hand to her pounding heart. She composed her expression and went gracefully back downstairs.
Her son had been acting strangely lately, constantly trying to get at what happened thirty years ago. What was there to say about those thirty years? For her, it had been nothing but pain. Gu Feiquan was the only proof in all these years that her life hadn’t been a complete failure. She couldn’t even lose that proof.
After sorting out his emotions, Gu Huai came down from the study and joined the family for dinner.
Gu Yanqiu secretly watched Gu Huai’s expression. The fragile man from a moment ago seemed to have vanished in an instant; now he was clearly a different person. Gu Huai placed food into each family member’s bowl, treating everyone equally and showing no favoritism.
Gu Yanqiu finished first and set down her bowl. “Dad.”
Gu Huai looked over. “What is it?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “I have something I want to talk to you about.”
“All right.”
Gu Feiquan ignored the looks He Songjun kept shooting him. His mother was useless when it came to real business; she was only good at making trouble at times like this. The meaning of those glances was obvious: she wanted him to go talk to Gu Huai too. What was there for him to say to Gu Huai? They might as well make an appointment to go fishing together.
Besides, his relationship with Gu Yanqiu was no longer what it used to be. The two of them were on the same boat.
Gu Feiquan ate an extra bowl of rice that night and went upstairs after dinner, waiting in his room for news; he wasn’t sure he’d actually get any, but he had a feeling he would.
Sure enough, not long after Gu Yanqiu finished speaking with Gu Huai, he received a message from her.
Gu Feiquan wiped his hands with a tissue and opened their chat.
[Xi Gu: He’s still hiding a lot of things from me.]
[Xi Gu: I asked him why he put away all of my mother’s belongings. He said he didn’t want your mother to see them and feel upset; that it would be unfair to her.]
Gu Feiquan leaned back against the bed and typed back quickly with both hands:
[Jiabei: Then what was he doing thirty years ago? Why didn’t he say then that he was sorry to my mom? Now he suddenly remembers he owes her? Does he owe your mother anything?]
[Xi Gu: Why aren’t you standing up for your mom at all...?]
[Jiabei: Hmm... maybe it’s rebellion? She’s brainwashed me too badly all these years.]
Gu Yanqiu stared at the words on her phone screen for a long while, speechless, before replying:
[Xi Gu: I also asked him whether my mom asked him on her deathbed to marry He Songjun.]
[Jiabei: What did he say?]
[Xi Gu: He admitted it.]
[Jiabei: ......]
When Gu Yanqiu asked Gu Huai, he hardly argued at all. He admitted it frankly: it had indeed been Shen Huaiyu’s dying wish for him to marry He Songjun, and her request that he put away all her belongings had also come from her.
—Your mother only learned of He Songjun’s existence by chance later on. She was a woman who never fought with anyone, and my relationship with her wasn’t like that of an ordinary husband and wife. She didn’t care much about their existence; instead, she felt guilty and believed all of this tragedy had happened because of her. That was why, at the end of her life, she made such a request of me.
Gu Feiquan gave a bitter smile.
He wondered how his mother would feel if she learned all this. The person she had devoted herself to hating for so many years had, in the end, only received her status as Mrs. Gu because that person had actively asked for it.
[Xi Gu: I don’t know why, but I keep getting this weird feeling in my heart.]
[Jiabei: Weird how?]
[Xi Gu: This reason still isn’t enough to convince me. He hid it from me with so much effort; why did he answer as soon as I asked? It’s not even that hard to connect the dots.]
A flash of inspiration suddenly struck Gu Feiquan, as if he’d remembered something. He was just about to type it out and tell Gu Yanqiu when his hand touched the virtual keyboard, and he froze. The spark of insight he’d just had vanished without a trace.
Gu Feiquan tilted his head and replied:
[Jiabei: Take it slow. No rush.]
He held a tablet in one hand and his phone in the other, but after waiting for a long time, Gu Yanqiu still hadn’t replied.
Unable to help himself, Gu Feiquan sent over a few question marks.
[Xi Gu: My wife came looking for me. We can talk next time.]
Gu Feiquan: “......”
He nearly threw his phone away. Who was his wife again? Oh, right, Lin Yuewei.
To Gu Feiquan, Lin Yuewei was just an incidental presence, someone he’d seen twice and then forgotten. If Gu Yanqiu hadn’t suddenly brought her up, he would’ve nearly forgotten she existed altogether. Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu had been married for so long, yet she’d only come to the Gu family a handful of times.
***
“Why did you go quiet?” Lin Yuewei asked after several seconds passed without hearing Gu Yanqiu’s voice.
Gu Yanqiu, who had instantly forgotten her bargain brother thanks to the arrival of her wife, was wearing earbuds. “I was just replying to Gu Feiquan.”
“What do you have to reply to him about?” Lin Yuewei thought. Since when had Gu Yanqiu and Gu Feiquan gotten so close?
Gu Yanqiu didn’t know how to explain it. “Just a small thing; nothing important.”
“If it’s not important, why did you interrupt our conversation to reply?” Gu Yanqiu was only making things sound worse, and Lin Yuewei only got more confused.
“No, I...” Gu Yanqiu sighed.
She still couldn’t explain it clearly, so she used the same clumsy method as before and reported everything that had happened. After she finished, she took a sip of water and said, “Do you understand now?”
After a long silence, Lin Yuewei said something astonishing. “Are you sure you and Gu Feiquan are full siblings from the same father?”
Gu Yanqiu: “………………”
Lin Yuewei: “Does he maybe have some improper thoughts about you?”
Gu Yanqiu: “………………”
The more Lin Yuewei thought about it, the stranger it seemed. “Think about it; before this, he was always opposing you at every turn, smiling so obnoxiously. Then suddenly he not only decided to cooperate with you, but also started trying to please you...”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Stop.”
Lin Yuewei: “Oh.”
Gu Yanqiu pinched the bridge of her nose and said helplessly, “Are you overthinking this? Not everyone around me has to like me.”
“But you’re so pretty, and your personality is so good. Isn’t it normal for people to like you?”
“That’s Gu Feiquan.”
“That’s why I’m asking if you’re really related by blood.”
“...Should I find a chance to go get a paternity test next time?”
“I think that’s fine.”
“......” If Lin Yuewei were standing in front of her now, Gu Yanqiu would’ve pinched her cheek for talking nonsense. Instead, she shot back, “You’re one to talk. Everyone in your crew isn’t related to you by blood; does that mean they all like you?”
Lin Yuewei lay back on the bed, sinking into the blankets, and deliberately said with a hint of smugness, “Yeah, they all fell under the spell of my police uniform.”
Gu Yanqiu couldn’t possibly believe that, but she still played along and laughed. “I’ll check next time.”
“How are you going to check? I’m in the crew; they don’t let outsiders in.”
“I’ll get a work pass.”
“Huh?”
“Remember the best friend I told you about, Cheng Guiyuan?”
“Of course.” Lin Yuewei said, “Why bring her up all of a sudden?” Because of the last misunderstanding, Lin Yuewei always felt a strange twinge whenever she heard Cheng Guiyuan’s name.
“Her family runs an entertainment company.”
“……”
“Want to latch onto a powerful backer?” Gu Yanqiu said with a smile. “You can latch onto mine, and I’ll drag her over too.”
Lin Yuewei had indeed briefly had that thought a moment ago. “...What’s her company called?”
“Seems like Chimo Media.”
“……”
Chimo Media was a fairly long-established entertainment company in China and held a solid place in the industry; whenever people talked about notable entertainment companies, its name always came up.
Gu Yanqiu teased her, “So? Isn’t marrying me very worthwhile? You even get bonus surprises.”
Gu Yanqiu had met Cheng Guiyuan when she was studying abroad. She had only ever heard Cheng Guiyuan mention what her family did, and hadn’t paid much attention. The Gu family was in manufacturing; there was basically no overlap with Cheng Guiyuan’s family. It wasn’t until some time ago, when they were chatting about Lin Yuewei’s new drama, that Cheng Guiyuan had casually asked who was investing in it. Gu Yanqiu checked online and discovered that Cheng Guiyuan’s family company was not only on the list, but near the top.
Lin Yuewei: “...Worthwhile. But let’s hold off on the powerful-backer-latching for now.”
It wasn’t Gu Yanqiu’s own company; the leg was still one step removed, and Lin Yuewei didn’t really feel like latching onto it.
Gu Yanqiu returned to the main topic. “So getting a work pass shouldn’t be difficult for me.”
Lin Yuewei said, “No need, I can get one for you. Are you sure you want to come to my set?”
Gu Yanqiu paused. “Is that not okay? Or are you worried someone will see?”
“I don’t have much popularity yet. If they see me, so be it; it’s not like I’m not allowed to have friends,” Lin Yuewei said. “It’s not a big deal. I’m just worried you’ll get nervous watching me act.”
“Then I won’t watch. Just call me when you’re done.”
“……”
“Did I say something wrong again?”
“No.” Sometimes Lin Yuewei found it baffling. The Gu Yanqiu she knew as a lover was nothing like any of the ones she’d seen in films, TV dramas, or the few novels she’d read. Although she always claimed to be petty and vengeful with her words, most of the time she was generous and composed. Which version was the real her?
“When do you start studying?”
“Ten minutes from now.” Lin Yuewei checked the time.
“Then let’s talk a little longer. I’ll go next week?”
“Sure. I’ll give a heads-up.”
“Where will I stay?”
“The same hotel as me; just not on the same floor. I’ll come find you.” Lin Yuewei suddenly remembered an old incident and asked, “I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
“When I was in City S for a while, you were on a business trip and brought my rabbit plushie over for me. I went to the station to pick you up, and later found out you happened to be staying at the same hotel as me...”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t wait for her to finish. “I did it on purpose.”
“Why?”
“Because I’d already fallen for you then, a lot earlier than you thought.”
Lin Yuewei was hit square in the heart by those two direct blows, left dazed and dizzy. She pulled the blanket over her face and laughed silently.
“Yuewei?”
“I’m going to study.” Lin Yuewei quickly hung up, rolled around on the bed several times, and imitated Gu Yanqiu’s tone from before. “Because I’d already fallen for you then, a lot earlier than you thought.”
Lin Yuewei thought: Gu Yanqiu is way too straightforward. And I just happen to love that kind of straightforward confession. If this keeps up, the next time I see Gu Yanqiu, I might just melt on the spot.
She allowed herself to wallow in the rest of those ten minutes, spinning, leaping, and closing her eyes in the room as she imagined next week’s meeting.
First, she was going to pounce on her and give her a long, passionate kiss. It had been so long since they’d kissed; she kind of missed it. She wondered if Gu Yanqiu’s technique had improved, if her skin had thickened. Best of all, she wanted to say something sweet to her face to face; she’d even give her her life!
What else should she do?
Just as Lin Yuewei was thinking about it, the alarm reminding her to study went off. It took her two minutes to drag her mind back from its reverie and shift her attention to the script.
They’d be meeting next week... study... meet... no, she had to study... study... study...
Lin Yuewei studied until twelve, went to sleep on time, and dreamed only of Gu Yanqiu. When she woke up, she groped around the side of the bed for quite a while, thinking she was still dreaming, unable to understand why she couldn’t find Gu Yanqiu. She sat on the bed, dazed, for a long while before finally pulling herself out of the dream.
She was feeling a little down in the morning.
Wang Yuanyuan asked, “What’s wrong?”
Lin Yuewei rested her chin on her hand, her eyes half-lidded, stirring her congee with a spoon as she idly poked at the bowl. “Nothing. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Nightmare?”
“No. A sweet dream.”
“Then why are you still...”
Wang Yuanyuan knew Lin Yuewei had a partner. Lin Yuewei glanced at her, and Wang Yuanyuan immediately understood. She let out a long, drawn-out “Oh,” with an expression that said, I get it.
Lin Yuewei: “???”
What was that “oh” supposed to mean?
Wang Yuanyuan tactfully reminded her, “Take it easy.”
Lin Yuewei was even more confused and was just about to ask if there was some deeper meaning when she spotted Qu Xuesong in the distance and hurriedly fell silent and lowered her head. Today, she had come alone; Fang Wen had been fired.
Wang Yuanyuan also became quiet as a mouse.
The two of them ate breakfast in silence.
Speak of the devil; just as Lin Yuewei kept her head down, her peripheral vision caught a pair of feet stopping beside her. She waited a bit, but those feet still didn’t move, so she had no choice but to steel herself and look up.
Qu Xuesong said, “Do you mind if I sit here?”
Lin Yuewei’s table was for four people. She and Wang Yuanyuan occupied two seats, leaving two more; there was plenty of room. But when she looked around, the surrounding tables seemed even more open. Of all places, why did Qu Xuesong have to sit here?
Qu Xuesong asked again, “You don’t mind, do you?”
Lin Yuewei swallowed her frustration. “...I don’t mind.”
Qu Xuesong sat down.
Wang Yuanyuan across from her visibly trembled. Lin Yuewei thought, Look at you, scared stiff.
Qu Xuesong said, “Are you afraid of me?”
Lin Yuewei also couldn’t help but shiver.
She wasn’t afraid of Qu Xuesong, but for some reason she felt an inexplicable sense of danger from her; perhaps that danger came from not knowing her well enough, and from the “label” attached to Qu Xuesong.
Qu Xuesong said, “I don’t eat people. Besides, with so many people around, I couldn’t possibly do something like that in front of everyone.”
Lin Yuewei thought she might as well ignore her, so she lowered her head and took a sip of congee.
Qu Xuesong looked at her with a smile, as though she were looking at a pet. “That’s more like it; good girl.”
The hand Lin Yuewei had resting on the bowl tightened around the rim, then slowly loosened.
“I’m done eating, Teacher Qu.”
Lin Yuewei stood up and politely said goodbye to Qu Xuesong. Wang Yuanyuan stood as well and gave a bow.
The two of them were about to leave when Qu Xuesong leisurely took another bite of breakfast and said, “I’m almost done. Wait for me.”
Could Lin Yuewei possibly refuse to wait?
She waited with growing dread until Qu Xuesong finished eating. The three of them left together, and along the way they ran into other cast members and crew. When they saw Lin Yuewei and Qu Xuesong walking together in what looked like a close manner, they all flashed looks of surprise; Qin Li, in particular, seemed not only surprised but also a little sympathetic.
...So he did know some of the rumors in the circle.
Fortunately, Qu Xuesong didn’t insist on riding in the same car as Lin Yuewei, and Lin Yuewei was finally able to get away from her. After getting in the car, she reached back and touched her spine; she was actually covered in a layer of cold sweat.
Wang Yuanyuan was no better off than she was. She’d been terrified the whole way and only now relaxed slightly, her anger boiling over. “What exactly does she want?”
Lin Yuewei said irritably, “If I knew, I’d ask myself. Sister Yuan, you’ve been in the industry a few years longer than me; your eyes must be sharper than mine, right?”
Wang Yuanyuan instantly became all trembly again. “That shouldn’t be. I’m just a little assistant.”
Lin Yuewei: “……”
Couldn’t there be at least one reliable person around her!
Filming often didn’t follow the script in the normal order. Today, Lin Yuewei was shooting the middle portion of the first case: around the scene of the murder, the suspicion on Qu Xuesong’s character Duan Fei was growing heavier and heavier. Lin Yuewei’s character Bai Shu came to the door for the second time; based on the clues she’d gathered, Duan Fei was very likely an extremely dangerous person, so this time she had to be much more cautious than before.
Last night, while working through the lines, Lin Yuewei had rehearsed the scene several times and found that her acting still felt a little superficial. Today on set, before filming officially began, the moment she saw Qu Xuesong’s face and the faint curve of her smile, alarm bells rang in her mind at once: beep beep beep—warning, warning, extremely dangerous person.
She was instantly in character, as if aided by divine power.
One take; one pass.
Yang Xiao sprang to his feet and said excitedly, “Good, Yuewei acted amazingly! Let’s see who dares say your acting is bad now!”
The other actors watching all played along. Qin Li smiled and gave Lin Yuewei a thumbs-up, mouthing: Very good.
Lin Yuewei was mortified by Yang Xiao’s praise, and even the acting coach, Teacher Chi, came over to compliment her, full of praise. “That micro-expression just now was absolutely wonderful. Acting is all about true emotion, and you already reached that point. Remember that feeling; this is a very good start.”
Honestly, after that take passed, Lin Yuewei was still in a daze. She had somehow been praised by both the director and the coach; after politely thanking them both, she went off to rest nearby.
The only person who saw through the truth was her assistant, Wang Yuanyuan. In a low voice, Wang Yuanyuan said, “Was that basically a performance in your true colors?”
Lin Yuewei pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh. In a guilty whisper, she said, “Wasn’t it just.”
Author’s Note: There are two foreshadowings in this chapter.
Fish-memory reminder: Luo Yu is the alias of Shen Huaiyu, Gu Yanqiu’s mother.
Brother’s name: Jiabei = He