Chapter 92
Gu Yanqiu took quite a long shower.
Lin Yuewei had already dried her hair outside. After glancing around the room and noticing that the sound of running water still hadn’t stopped, she got bored, lowered her head, and started scrolling through Weibo on her phone.
Her last post had been about the drama’s start-up ceremony, which had only been a few days ago. After posting it, she had skimmed a few comments like “Mom loves you” and then stopped looking, including Shao Yasi’s repost in support; she had only replied before closing the app.
This time, though, the comments she saw were different.
【晓镜但愁云鬓改：Bah, shameless.】
【晓你风和雨：Trash, disgusting [vomit]】
【fajdkafjsk：Heh, blacklisted for life.】
【雕刻机房o：What’s so great about dragging someone down just to step on them and climb over her? Using underhanded tactics?】
…
Seeing the first two IDs, Lin Yuewei vaguely remembered one person: Fang Xiaoxiao. After clicking into the four accounts, she confirmed they were Fang Xiaoxiao’s fans. Ever since Fang Xiaoxiao’s affair with a certain married male star came to light, her reputation had fallen off a cliff; shortly after that, her company had quietly shelved her, and she hadn’t appeared at any events lately.
But even drug addicts could have brainless fans cleaning up their image these days, so what was a mere messy private life worth? It was only a stain on her character, not a flaw in her professionalism. That was why Fang Xiaoxiao still had fans defending her; Lin Yuewei could understand that completely.
Normally, if an actor or celebrity she liked or admired turned out to have character flaws, as long as their professional skill was still solid, as long as they took work seriously and could deliver one convincing role after another, Lin Yuewei wouldn’t really think much of it. Looking at people through the fog from the outside, it was hard to tell what was true and what wasn’t; what got exposed might not be real, and someone with a good public image might not actually be good at all. Maybe they were just good at hiding it; she would still mind her own business.
But when it came to boycotting certain people, aside from the mindless abuse, she could understand the rest too. Public figures, especially those with large numbers of underage fans, inevitably set an example in subtle ways. A rotten private moral code could have a bad influence on minors.
One of the roles Fang Xiaoxiao had once played had been very popular. With the character filter on top of that, and with some people simply not caring about flaws in private conduct, after Fang Xiaoxiao lost the role, Lin Yuewei, who had somehow come out of nowhere to replace her as the second female lead in Mist City, naturally became the first target.
Lin Yuewei didn’t care at all about these comments. She even felt sorry for Fang Xiaoxiao’s fans. Most people still didn’t know that Fang Xiaoxiao had already been shelved by her company. Her contract still had two or three years left, and the rest of that time was bound to be spent in total silence. The entertainment industry changed so fast; for a female artist to go two or three years without new work or public appearances and still make a comeback was hard enough. Let alone one with a stain on her record. Lin Yuewei hoped that in a few years, when Fang Xiaoxiao tried to return, the fans who remained would still support her as they always had.
Lin Yuewei’s sudden rise as the dark horse who took over Mist City had stirred some discussion on the forums a while back, but because she wasn’t actually popular yet and couldn’t bring much traffic once her show ended, it hadn’t led to much widespread debate.
Some people had wildly speculated that Lin Yuewei had schemed to pull Fang Xiaoxiao down and seize the spot for herself, but others shot that down. First, she was an insignificant nobody with no connections in the industry. Second, she and Fang Xiaoxiao shared the same agent, so stepping in to save the situation was only natural. Although, given her current status and popularity, taking on such a role really did seem a bit forced. Third, there were leaks from certain “inside” sources—those insiders were actually high-end paid trolls that Lin Yuewei had Jiang Congbi hire, specifically to watch the gossip forums—saying that a lot of news was copied from the forums over to Weibo and then fermented again there. Whenever some kind of buzz started up, you could see the signs by checking Douban groups and the X district forums. The insiders had leaked part of the real story: Fang Xiaoxiao had been competing with two other female stars for endorsements. That matter was well-founded, and there had been plenty of earlier gossip to back it up, successfully diverting the blame. All of Fang Xiaoxiao’s lost resources were pinned on the teams of those two other actresses; after that, the thread veered off course, everyone began guessing which team was more suspicious, and the discussion became lively enough that, in the end, they forgot about Lin Yuewei, the one at the center of it all.
It was only because Lin Yuewei still wasn’t famous. If she had the kind of traffic power that Qu Xuesong or Tang Xinyuan had, there would already be several massive threads dissecting the infighting among those young actresses’ teams. And if one day Lin Yuewei did become popular, all the old stories about how she had “made it” would be dug up and brought out again. Starting from the very first episode of the program she had appeared on, every last detail would be picked apart by netizens.
Thinking of Qu Xuesong, Lin Yuewei inevitably drifted off for a moment. She scrolled through a well-known gossip forum and found two pages mentioning Qu Xuesong; the topic was that she had gained weight. There were lots of pictures, all from commercial events, and in camera shots her figure did look different. If Lin Yuewei hadn’t seen the real Qu Xuesong herself and knew that she was actually so thin a gust of wind could blow her over, she might have believed it.
When female celebrities got dragged online, it was always about the same things: private life, body shape, looks, age, and so on. Her private life had already been dragged countless times, but without hard evidence, even passersby didn’t believe it. Body and appearance were the most obvious things. This thread was full of fan wars and anti-fan fights, and the scale was far bigger than Lin Yuewei’s own post.
While the forum was talking about this, a Weibo hashtag about Tang Xinyuan looking haggard and aged began trending again. Tang Xinyuan had previously spent two days on the hot search after divorcing her ex-husband, earning herself a lot of goodwill; by now, a month or two later, a wave of “chance encounter” photos from some passersby had taken over the hot search instead. Eight hundred marketing accounts acted in concert, all saying her face had collapsed. Tang Xinyuan’s enormous army of hardcore fans ran around everywhere, saying the marketing accounts were spreading lies, and the comments section was handled thoroughly and decisively.
Because Tang Xinyuan had been so straightforward and decisive before, kicking her cheating ex-husband to the curb, her Weibo fanbase among ordinary passersby had surged, and the situation where the front row was half fans and half antis had improved greatly. Basically, most people were on Tang Xinyuan’s side now.
Qu Xuesong had once told her that the rumors circulating about her outside were black material released by Tang Xinyuan’s rival team. The more it was spread, the longer it lingered, and the more it became accepted as black material. And with Qu Xuesong being called fat and Tang Xinyuan being said to have a collapsed face happening so close together, Lin Yuewei naturally began to wonder whether the two teams were secretly smearing each other. Both women had debuted more than ten years ago; they were both traffic queens from the post-85 generation, active in the industry, and always used for comparison. As soon as marketing accounts linked the two names together, it was guaranteed to turn into a storm of blood and chaos, with fans tearing each other apart at the slightest provocation.
Was it really all rumor?
Lin Yuewei was so absorbed in thought that she didn’t even notice when the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.
“What are you thinking about?”
Only after smelling the scent of body wash did Lin Yuewei look up at Gu Yanqiu standing in front of her. Gu Yanqiu was wearing a blue pajama set with a turtle pattern on the front; it was probably a matching set with the one Lin Yuewei had on.
Sneakily preparing matching pajamas and not telling her. Lin Yuewei clicked her tongue inwardly and lifted a hand to wrap around Gu Yanqiu’s waist. Gu Yanqiu dodged back and said, “I haven’t dried my hair yet.”
“I’ll do it for you.” Lin Yuewei’s blow-dryer was right beside her; she reached for it casually.
Gu Yanqiu got there first and picked it up. “I’ll do it myself.”
Lin Yuewei glared at her.
Gu Yanqiu: “...You do it.” She sat down.
Lin Yuewei ran her fingers through her hair and couldn’t help pinching her on the shoulder. Gu Yanqiu winced in pain but didn’t dare make a sound. Lin Yuewei said, “Can you stop acting like the sky’s falling? I’m not some sex maniac, okay?”
“I didn’t say you were...” Gu Yanqiu couldn’t bring herself to say the last two words.
“Then why are you hiding from me?”
“I’m not hiding from you.”
“Say that again.”
“I really am not hiding from you. I’m just afraid you...” Gu Yanqiu’s voice was so soft and small that Lin Yuewei couldn’t catch it. She leaned in until her ear was right beside Gu Yanqiu’s lips. “What did you say?”
This time, Lin Yuewei finally heard it clearly.
“Afraid you won’t be able to control yourself.”
Lin Yuewei: “...”
What did she mean, “won’t be able to control yourself”? Wasn’t she just saying Lin Yuewei was a sex maniac?
Lin Yuewei was practically furious, but she didn’t want to hurt her for real, so she just swallowed it and sulked in silence.
Gu Yanqiu explained, “That’s not what you think. In TV shows, or in novels, they always say that after a shower, things like that happen more easily, so I thought we should both calm down during this period.”
“Then if we don’t sleep together, wouldn’t it be even harder for anything to happen? I might as well just go upstairs.” Lin Yuewei shot back.
“No way, absolutely not. Mom doesn’t allow it.” Gu Yanqiu threw out a firm triple rejection.
This time, Gu Yanqiu’s attitude was very resolute indeed. Lin Yuewei asked, “What was that last line you said?”
Gu Yanqiu: “Nothing. I take it back.”
Lin Yuewei ignored that and let her temper rise again. “I’m going upstairs. I’ll blow-dry your hair and then go right away. If I sleep here, then I’m... a mouse.”
“You’re already born in the Year of the Rat.” Gu Yanqiu exposed her.
Lin Yuewei huffed and turned the blow-dryer to the highest setting, blowing her hair into a lion’s mane before easing some of her anger.
Once it was done, Gu Yanqiu smoothed down her own long hair, exposing her face again. Smiling, she said, “You’re better off. Washing and drying your hair is much easier now.”
In the drama, Lin Yuewei played a female detective. For the role, she had cut her hair short; it fell a little below the ears and a little above the neck, neat and capable with a touch of androgynous charm, bringing out the very best of her face, which was hard to pin down as either masculine or feminine. When the styled photos came out, Chen Xuan had bought her a hot search. Most passersby who didn’t know her praised her, though of course there were also those who knew her and went all out to tear her down. The fixed impression she’d brought from that survival show still hadn’t been shaken off; in many people’s eyes, Lin Yuewei was still just a pretty face.
Lin Yuewei lifted her lips and blew at her bangs, saying nothing.
She was angry; she couldn’t talk to Gu Yanqiu.
Gu Yanqiu kissed her forehead, then gazed into her eyes and smiled gently. “You’re really beautiful.”
Lin Yuewei: “...”
Oh no, she was about to lose her grip. She couldn’t look into Gu Yanqiu’s deep black eyes; the moment she did, she was defeated before the battle even started, dizzy and light-headed, and then she had no idea where north was anymore.
Gu Yanqiu then rubbed her cheek against hers; her young, collagen-plump face was cool and smooth.
Lin Yuewei’s heart trembled.
Gu Yanqiu lowered her eyes and reached for Lin Yuewei’s hand, with a hint of coaxing.
Lin Yuewei said gloomily, “Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn into a sex maniac?”
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
She instantly pulled back the hand she’d only half reached out.
Lin Yuewei was struggling hard not to laugh, but her acting had improved a great deal lately; she actually managed to hold it in and flicked the back of Gu Yanqiu’s hand with a bent finger, expressionless, saying solemnly, “Woman, you’re playing with fire.”
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
That line sounded a little familiar.
Ah, right. When Gu Yanqiu was in middle school, some domineering CEO-style novels had been sweeping the streets. Even at her elite school, many girls passed them around and sometimes even did role-play. Gu Yanqiu had once been “forced” to read two of them, and the dreadful values in them had shocked her enough to keep her far away from the genre ever since. And this line seemed to be one of the most frequently appearing ones in those novels.
“What else is there?”
“What do you mean, what else?”
“What other lines are in this series?”
“Like, ‘You’ve successfully caught my attention,’ or ‘Here’s a million, leave my son,’ those kinds of things?”
“Yes.” Gu Yanqiu looked at her with a complicated expression; her gaze clearly said, I can’t believe you used to read this stuff too.
Lin Yuewei hurriedly threw Jiang Congbi under the bus. “These were all things Jiang Congbi read, and then she told me about them. It has nothing to do with me.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “I didn’t say you read them.”
Lin Yuewei said, “That’s good.”
Gu Yanqiu added, “But shouldn’t I be the CEO?”
Lin Yuewei was just about to refute that she wasn’t the CEO yet, only the future CEO, when a thought flashed through her mind; she answered very naturally, “Right, you’re the CEO, so you should be responsible for me—”
Gu Yanqiu looked thoughtful.
Lin Yuewei wrapped one arm around her neck, licked her lips with obvious implication, and twirled a finger at the collar of her pajama top. “—what should your hot little sweetheart do?”
Gu Yanqiu: “!!!”
What the hell? Hot little sweetheart?!
President Gu was so startled by Lin Sweetheart that she stumbled back three steps; in an instant, she no longer looked very presidential.
Lin Yuewei laughed uproariously.
Gu Yanqiu was still shaken.
Lin Yuewei beckoned to her. “Sweetheart, come here.”
Gu Yanqiu didn’t move. Lin Yuewei took the initiative, wrapped her arms around her waist, and pulled her onto her lap, looking every inch the domineering CEO Gu Yanqiu could never quite manage to be. Kissing her hair, she said intoxicatedly, “I just love the way you get shy.”
Gu Yanqiu said, “How many minutes?”
Lin Yuewei: “Hm? How many minutes what?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Isn’t it our turn? It’s 10:22.” She fished out her phone from the side and glanced at it.
“Ten minutes.” Lin Yuewei bit her slender neck. “Don’t ruin the mood.”
“Oh.”
The Gu Yanqiu who didn’t ruin the mood obediently stayed in her lap for ten minutes, then got down and prepared to return the favor. Lin Yuewei moved lightning-fast and burrowed into the blanket. “I’m so sleepy. I’m going to sleep now.”
She was trying to weasel out of it.
How could Gu Yanqiu let her get away with that? She could sleep, but she had to lie in her arms and sleep for ten minutes first.
Lin Yuewei pushed at the hand under her neck and complained, “Can you not be so petty? We haven’t seen each other in so long; can’t you give me a break?”
“I’ve already given you several breaks from just now until now. This time you’re cheating; people can’t break their word.”
“Is there any couple out there who gets along the way we do?”
“Other people have nothing to do with us.”
The Gu Yanqiu Lin Yuewei knew from the beginning had returned; the Gu Yanqiu who adhered to relationship principles and insisted on equal treatment in everything, serious to the point of being old-fashioned.
Lin Yuewei sighed and nestled obediently in her arms. She still couldn’t fall asleep because she felt uncomfortable, so just like before at home, she chatted with Gu Yanqiu before bed.
“What do you think of Qu Xuesong?” Lin Yuewei asked. The moment she asked, she regretted it. Gu Yanqiu was an outsider; her opinion was probably no different from what Lin Yuewei herself had thought before entering the industry.
“The actress you’re working with this time?”
“You know?”
“You think I don’t pay attention to you at all? I’m your girlfriend.” Gu Yanqiu said very seriously, “I’ve almost memorized the company investing in this film, and I know every actor who’s in it with you.”
“Ah.” Lin Yuewei was made a little shy and fluttery by her straightforward concern. After calming down for a bit, she said, “That Qu Xuesong—what’s your impression of her?”
“She used to star in a very popular TV drama, right? I watched it when I was little; she acted really well. After I found out she was in this drama too, I looked her up online, and her reputation seemed pretty good.”
“My agent said she’s a collector.”
Gu Yanqiu looked blank, and Lin Yuewei explained what “collector” meant. Gu Yanqiu immediately said, “Keep your distance from her.”
“I’m already keeping my distance. I’m just afraid that if I have even a little contact with her, she’ll set her sights on me. But two things happened recently.”
Lin Yuewei also told her about the two times Qu Xuesong had accidentally helped her.
“You suspect she’s helping you?”
“Yeah.” Lin Yuewei nodded.
“If she wants to help you, why is she being so sarcastic?”
“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking you.” Lin Yuewei shifted position in her lap, moving from resting on her arm to resting on her shoulder, and finally got a bit more comfortable. She tapped Gu Yanqiu’s shoulder and said, “When we go to the set tomorrow, help me take a look at her. My judgment on people may not be as good as yours.”
“Okay, I’ll take a look for you.” Gu Yanqiu tightened her arms, newly delighted by this feeling of being needed.
“Go to sleep.”
“Good night.”
“Put your clothes back on. Be careful of a sex maniac sneaking around in the middle of the night.” Lin Yuewei joked on purpose.
“No one would call themselves a sex maniac.” By the last two exchanges, Gu Yanqiu had already seen through her bluff; it was all talk, no action.
Lin Yuewei bared her teeth at her in mock threat, then lay flat and closed her eyes, letting out a long, comfortable sigh. “Good night, cutie.”
“Good night, big... sex maniac.” Gu Yanqiu thought for quite a while before squeezing out those words.
Lin Yuewei was about to burst out laughing. For the sake of sleep, she held it in and said, “Annoying, stop teasing me. I have to get up early for the set tomorrow.”
“Okay, I really am sleeping this time.”
Lin Yuewei held Gu Yanqiu’s hand, their fingers interlocked and resting on her waist. Sleepiness washed over her, and she quickly fell asleep.
In the morning, she was woken by her alarm a little earlier than usual. She called Wang Yuanyuan, who was upstairs, and had her sneak down to get her room card and bring her a fresh set of clothes.
Wang Yuanyuan came downstairs after getting the message. Gu Yanqiu opened the door and politely handed over the room card. This was Wang Yuanyuan’s second time seeing her, and she was still dazzled; she stared at Gu Yanqiu’s face for several seconds before finally looking away.
Lin Yuewei was lying in bed and saw the whole thing. She said sourly, “President Gu really is beloved by everyone wherever she goes.”
Lin Yuewei herself was also very pretty, but Wang Yuanyuan had never once looked at her with that kind of infatuation. First, because she was in the industry, there was an implicit assumption that people in the industry were supposed to be good-looking. Second, because her looks weren’t gentle and soft; they were more like a bright, thorny bramble rose. Beautiful, yes, but always keeping a layer of distance between herself and others, nowhere near as approachable as Gu Yanqiu.
Not just Wang Yuanyuan; even Lin Yuewei would sometimes stare blankly at Gu Yanqiu’s face. Whether it was the cold, aloof Little Gu President outside or the adorable Gu who showed another side of herself at home, she was beautiful either way.
At Lin Yuewei’s jealousy, Gu Yanqiu just smiled. “So what? I don’t like them.”
Lin Yuewei was utterly susceptible to that line. She immediately pulled both hands out from under the blanket. Gu Yanqiu walked over and hugged her once, then asked, “Aren’t you getting up?”
“I am.” Lin Yuewei said so, but her body was dragging its feet.
Strange to say, ever since she was little, Lin Yuewei had always had excellent self-discipline. Other kids loved to laze in bed, but she never did. She would only occasionally choose one planned day to sleep in a little later, and when filming there was no need to mention it; she was always one of the earliest people to arrive on set. But once Gu Yanqiu came along, all the lazy bones she’d suppressed for twenty years started coming out.
She rested her forehead on Gu Yanqiu’s shoulder and, though she clearly wasn’t sleepy, said, “Sleepy...”
“If you’re sleepy, then sleep a little more. Tell me a time, and I’ll wake you later.”
“No, I have to go film.”
“Then get up.”
“I won’t.”
“...” Gu Yanqiu was out of options.
Sometimes, when a woman acts conflicted and cutesy toward you, it doesn’t necessarily mean she wants you to make a choice; she may just be enjoying the atmosphere. Lin Yuewei had tormented herself enough and finally got out of bed with satisfaction. Gu Yanqiu stared at her blankly. “Didn’t you just say you weren’t getting up?”
Lin Yuewei pinched her cheek. “That was then; this is now.”
“...Fine.” Gu Yanqiu didn’t understand the joy of this sort of fussing. Just then Lin Yuewei needed to change clothes, so she went into the washroom to brush her teeth and wash her face, and also took the clothes she’d be wearing that day.
After Lin Yuewei changed, Gu Yanqiu came out just as she finished washing up. She was wearing a white T-shirt, the water still glistening on her cheeks, making her look bright and fresh, tender as a seventeen- or eighteen-year-old high school student.
Lin Yuewei looked at her several times, pleased to the eye, yet also felt that something was off.
A white T-shirt, slim-cut pants, both ankles exposed.
Lin Yuewei said, “Don’t you have anything more conservative?”
Gu Yanqiu: “...”
“Forget it.” Lin Yuewei went straight to rummaging through her suitcase.
Gu Yanqiu: “Wait.”
“What’s this?” Lin Yuewei had already spotted a box tucked into one corner of the suitcase and picked it up. It wasn’t her fault her eyes were sharp; the box itself was simply too eye-catching. Among all the clothes and skincare products, it was the only thing made of wood.
“Can I open it?” Lin Yuewei asked.
Gu Yanqiu seemed a little reluctant, but in the end she still nodded.
Lin Yuewei said, “I won’t look anymore.”
She put the box back exactly where it had been and resumed digging through the clothes. She was curious, but she wouldn’t do anything that would make Gu Yanqiu uncomfortable. The most important thing in a relationship was trust.
She found Gu Yanqiu a long sweater and jeans. “Wear this.”
She glanced back at the box one last time. She really wanted to know what was inside, but to show her trust, she could only suppress her curiosity.
Gu Yanqiu changed into what Lin Yuewei picked out and put on a hat and mask. After Lin Yuewei studied her for a while, she looked exactly like the Gu Yanqiu who had once stood downstairs at her commercial appearance event.
Lin Yuewei raised an eyebrow. “Before, you said you were just a passerby...”
Gu Yanqiu said frankly, “I was pretending. I went specifically to see you.”
Lin Yuewei took a sharp breath.
Another round of Gu-style love talk, simple and brutal, had arrived. Lin Yuewei’s heart was pounding so hard it was a mess; she pounced on Gu Yanqiu and smudged all the lipstick she’d just applied.
Wang Yuanyuan called to hurry them along. Lin Yuewei opened her mouth and let Gu Yanqiu touch up her lipstick, speaking muffledly, “Coming right away.”
Lin Yuewei’s mouth opened and closed. “Done yet?”
Gu Yanqiu said, “Almost. It’s because of you; we were clearly about to leave, and then...” And then she pounced like a hungry tiger. Not only did the lipstick need fixing, but the stuff that had smeared onto her face had to be wiped off too.
Lin Yuewei said in a tone full of complaint and happiness, “I didn’t do it on purpose. Who told you to seduce me?”
Wang Yuanyuan immediately felt like she was no longer fit to live.
Wang Yuanyuan: “Hurry up, then. Don’t leave any marks. I’m hanging up now.”
Lin Yuewei and Gu Yanqiu looked at each other, both wearing the same question in their eyes: What is she talking about?
Author’s Note: The wooden box contains Little Lou’s 8 TB ╰(*°▽°*)╯
TL Note:
I left the usernames in Chinese, as they are a bit long
晓镜但愁云鬓改 = At the morning mirror, I grieve to see my darkness fading.
晓你风和雨 = Knowing wind and rain is with you
雕刻机房o = Engraving Machine Room