This time, Yan Luqing drank even more than at Little Black’s birthday, and was even more drunk. The feeling was truly too strange.
——Her soul still maintained the persona of someone who could drink a thousand cups without falling, thinking she was not drunk, but her body told her: no, you are drunk.
Very miraculous.
When Gu Ci carried her out of the private room, Yan Luqing vaguely heard the familiar voices of the twin sisters behind, drunkenly shouting in a mess, their mouths still hollering something like “CP! CP!”
Who?
Who CP’d with who?
Better not CP into a fracture.
Yan Luqing was concerned about the sisters, and as she thought so, without realizing it her head leaned onto Gu Ci’s shoulder. Probably because he walked too steadily, and his body seemed to emit a cool aura, and also smelled especially good, for her it was truly too comfortable—Yan Luqing directly half-fell asleep.
It wasn’t until a “ding” sounded in her ear that she was startled awake again—
Looking at the surrounding decorations, they had already returned to the hotel. Gu Ci, carrying her, stepped out of the elevator and soon arrived at the suite door.
He stopped, slightly turned his face to look at Yan Luqing: “Awake, then use the card to open the door.”
Yan Luqing rubbed her eyes: “Where’s the card?”
“Left pocket, by your hand.”
“Oh.” Yan Luqing reached to grope at her own left pocket.
Gu Ci: “…In my pocket.”
Thus opening the door wasted several more minutes.
When Gu Ci carried her into the room, walking straight toward her bed, Yan Luqing suddenly tightened her arms around him: “Gu Ci, since I was little, I have never begged anyone.”
“…” Gu Ci’s steps paused, “So?”
“So…” she said cautiously, “I beg you, help me run a bath?”
…
When the bath was ready and the water filled, Yan Luqing, using a very strange posture, crawled out of the bathtub, dried herself, and put on a bathrobe, spending all her strength.
She then loudly called out “Gu Ci,” and soon his voice came from outside.
“Put on clothes.”
“Already did.” Yan Luqing said, “But I can’t stand up—”
Gu Ci pushed the door open and came in, while walking toward her his tone cool:
“Not bad, still knew to put them on.”
“Of course,” familiar after the first time, Yan Luqing hooked his shoulder as he bent down, “My safety awareness is very strong, okay?”
Gu Ci also seemed just finished bathing, changed into a set of clothes, his hair damp and soft.
The two of them both smelled of the hotel shower gel, the same scent.
Gu Ci walked over, seeing that Yan Luqing’s bathrobe was at least worn properly, the belt barely tied, only revealing a pair of snow-white calves from the hem. They looked excessively slender, as if they could be snapped with one hand.
He carried Yan Luqing in his arms once more, saying with undisguised mockery: “Oh, so you do have safety awareness.”
“Of course,” Yan Luqing replied as if it were taken for granted, “for example, I would never allow a stranger to appear in my bedroom or my bathroom…” She emphasized her tone, “especially of the opposite sex.”
“…And then,” Gu Ci looked at her as if at some alien lifeform, “you called me over?”
“That’s because—” Yan Luqing suddenly got stuck, pondering for quite a while between “you are not the opposite sex” and “you are not a stranger,” before she figured it out and chose the latter, “that’s because you are not a stranger.”
Gu Ci let out a faint sneer, not replying.
And when he placed her onto the bed, he heard her blurt out the next line—
“Besides, we’ve already slept together, so familiar, what’s there for me to be afraid of?”
“……”
Familiarity after the first time, this phrase applied to many situations—for example, after experiencing a hangover once, the second time one became accustomed to the feeling.
The next morning, after Yan Luqing woke, she quickly adjusted to the headache and stomach discomfort. After washing up, she walked out of the room, just in time to see Big Black carrying breakfast, placing the food boxes one by one on the table.
Health soup, stomach-soothing porridge. Truly not bad.
She held a bowl, sat on the sofa, listening to his report: “The driver is downstairs at the hotel. Little Black went to walk the dog and hasn’t returned yet.”
Yan Luqing’s fingers paused: “Then… where’s Gu Ci?”
“I haven’t seen him since I came, he should still be asleep.”
“…”
Big Black gauged her intent and probed, “Miss Yan, do you need me to go call him to get up…?”
“No need, no need.” Yan Luqing immediately cut him off, a bit guilty, “Let’s wait for him. He probably didn’t sleep well last night, no rush.”
“Why didn’t he sleep well?”
Yan Luqing was just about to answer, when behind her came the “click” of a door opening.
Gu Ci strode over to the sofa, his legs long. Because his skin was too pale, the bluish color under his eyes was obvious. As he brushed past Big Black, he smiled and answered his question: “Because last night I did a good deed, taking care of a disabled person.”
Yan Luqing: “…”
Big Black let out an awkward “ah,” first greeted Gu Ci good morning, then couldn’t help inquiring: “Miss Yan, after you were drunk, you really couldn’t walk at all?”
“Mhm, and not only were her legs disabled.” Gu Ci still smiled with pursed lips, his tone gentle. “Her brain too.”
Yan Luqing: “…………”
It was as if a line of small characters appeared before her eyes: Princess Bamboo Shoot sends you fresh bamboo shoots.
Yan Luqing hypnotized herself: I didn’t hear, I didn’t hear, I didn’t hear.
As long as I’m not embarrassed, then no one else can embarrass me.
She fixed her eyes on her nose, her nose on her heart, drinking her porridge. When she felt the sofa cushion beside her sink down, saw Gu Ci’s hand opening his set of utensils, Yan Luqing finally spoke in a low voice.
“That… last night I troubled you, sorry about that.”
The voice of the person beside her was warmer than before.
“No problem.” Gu Ci said with a smile, “Anyway, since we’ve already slept together, so familiar, what’s there to be afraid of?”
“……”
What is owed when drunk, must be repaid when awake.
It was into such a harmonious atmosphere that Little Black entered, holding the Border Collie on its leash, his breath uneven as he reported: “Wolf can really run too much. I thought just a short walk would do, but it dragged me for thousands of meters before it was willing to turn back!”
“Not bad, Little Wolf,” Yan Luqing praised, “to tire out even the combat powerhouse like this.”
Wolf then joyfully bounded over, circling around her and Gu Ci, not stopping until both of them stretched out their hands to pat its head.
After breakfast, when saying goodbye to classmates downstairs, Yan Luqing and the twins were reluctant to part, staging a display of sisterly affection, nearly shedding tears on the spot.
Once in the car going home, Yan Luqing tapped open the group chat to continue reading the twins’ Bubbles.
Xia Yutian Bubble: Wuwuwu I like her so much, I don’t know when we’ll meet again next time…
Xia Xuetian Bubble: The saddest thing in the world is nothing more than just when you’ve started shipping a new CP, you already have to be separated from them…
Yan Luqing stared at her phone, her reddened eyes from earlier still not faded. To anyone unaware, this scene would seem like a heartbreak.
Gu Ci tugged at the corner of his lips, about to speak two words of comfort, but saw Yan Luqing exit WeChat, and instead open on her phone’s home screen… the black-and-white short video app.
“…” Instantly he lost the desire to speak.
As if the same as that day they first met—
Reusing the old trick.
An old dream reappearing.
It is said that short video apps pry into user preferences. Yan Luqing’s preferences were grasped completely and clearly; apart from the opening advertisement, out of ten recommended videos five were all beauties—not beauties doing transformations then beauties doing makeup, and if not that, then beauties filming skits.
With reddened eyes she kept watching, liking, and commenting for them. One was the old routine: 【Hi wife】, and another was the strategy of suppressing first then raising—
Runaway Saintess: 【Personally I think some of the comment section is too much. Let’s imagine, if this girl were your friend, your sister, your family, and others kept saying again and again she was their wife, how upset would you be? All the more since she is my wife, I hope everyone won’t make random guesses anymore.】
“…”
Anyway, every sentence never left “wife,” each one all about her wife.
Gu Ci once more pulled down the brim of his hat to cover half his face, closing his eyes to rest.
The return car was a seven-seater, with Big Black and Little Black sitting in the back row.
Yan Luqing’s sound was on speaker. Now that Little Black was familiar with the two of them, his courage grew greater. After listening to Yan Luqing’s stream of videos many times, he even dared to exclaim aloud: “Miss Yan, someone who doesn’t know would think this is some boy’s phone…” Pausing, he scratched his head with an awkward laugh, “Because when I open my phone, it’s the same kind of recommendations, hehe.”
“What do you know.” Yan Luqing curled her lips, “And besides, this can’t be blamed on me. Handsome guys and pretty girls, I like to watch them both. But after seeing Gu Ci’s face for so long, I don’t think they’re all that handsome anymore…”
Little Black thought for a while: “Seems like that’s true…”
No one noticed that because of this silly conversation, a certain big boss, who had been quite speechless, returned to his usual state.
——At that time, Yan Luqing still didn’t know what kind of surprise would be waiting for her at home.
The moment the villa reappeared in her sight, Yan Luqing actually had the illusion that she had been away traveling for a month. Although the trip to Dieye Mountain had been very enjoyable, in the end, the first base she arrived at after crossing over was this villa, and she still felt that this place was a bit more like “home.”
As soon as they got out of the car outside the courtyard and Yan Luqing stepped through the gate, she heard a burst of singing—
At first glance, she saw the auntie who usually swept the yard, now cleaning up the fallen leaves at the entrance.
But that was not the point.
The point was—the auntie was sweeping the leaves while twirling in circles, her expression delighted, her mouth singing a tune, alive like a character from an animated film.
Goodness, Disney behavior.
This auntie usually spoke the least, the most capable, and to think she had actually been suppressing her true nature all along.
Yan Luqing walked over, intending to praise her a few words, but the Disney Auntie, upon seeing her, reacted as if she had seen something shocking, immediately flustered and stood straight. Yan Luqing quickly comforted her: “It’s fine, Auntie. If singing while sweeping makes you happy, just sing whenever you like. With you singing, I even feel like my castle has turned into Disneyland.”
Behind her, Little Black was again trying to hold back laughter, while Disney Auntie instantly blushed, half-bowed to her, and said, “By the way, Miss Yan, just now an acquaintance of yours came looking for you. Since you weren’t here, he said he would come back later.”
“Oh, alright.”
Yan Luqing did not care at all, and after entering the villa, Gu Ci automatically turned right at the staircase, while she went upstairs back to her room. Climbing the stairs, she listened to Big Black beside her reporting: “Miss Yan, Old Master Yan—your grandfather—wants to see you in the coming days. Your father also wants to see you, and the psychologist also wants to see you…”
Yan Luqing: “……” Damn, coming home isn’t good at all.
Annoyed, she replied to each one: “Mhm… mhm… got it, I’ll go.”
After Big Black finally finished his report, Yan Luqing shut her bedroom door and immediately flung herself onto the soft big bed.
Lying on her stomach comfortably, she opened her phone—
【Runaway Saintess】: Grandpa, good morning, have you woken up?
【This Poor Daoist Is Not a Charlatan】: Morning, little girl.
As the exchange began, bubbles popped up over the old man’s head.
Yellow bubble: This girl finally came to find me. Sigh, I thought she was yet another child who mistook me for a swindler.
Pink bubble: I wonder what her aptitude is like?
Yan Luqing: …Steady!
A person couldn’t possibly be lying in their inner thoughts, right? This wave was definitely steady! This one was reliable!
She was just about to ask how to begin learning, how much the fee would be, when suddenly—a somewhat hurried knocking came from behind.
Yan Luqing: “Come in.”
The one who entered was Big Black, looking somewhat bewildered: “Miss Yan… downstairs, someone came claiming to be your ex-boyfriend?”
Yan Luqing: ?????
She shot up from the bed: “What did you say?”
Even as she spoke, she was rummaging through the original host’s memories.
“Said his surname is Zhang… seems to be that illegitimate son of the Zhang family, a young master who has always been raised outside.” Big Black finished, then nervously asked, “Is he really your ex-boyfriend?”
“…Ex-boyfriend my ass! Don’t slander me, I’m single!”
Although she said so, she was still trying hard to recall—yet with only a surname “Zhang,” she couldn’t find any related memory. Yan Luqing walked downstairs while thinking, until she heard a strange male voice coming from the living room—
“Miss Yan is so busy? This house has been empty for a week. Don’t tell me you’ve been deliberately avoiding me?”
The words were spoken with an exaggerated, affected tone. The man’s voice itself wasn’t bad, perhaps even decent, but with that intonation, it became awkward and grating.
Just as Yan Luqing stepped down the stairs, her eyes swept the living room and landed on the speaker.
That man had peach blossom eyes with overly hooked tails, a sharp chin, and lips red and moist. Though he indeed had a bit of attractiveness, his face looked very much like the Dou-something internet pretty boy Yan Luqing had recently mocked—while technically handsome, she hadn’t even wanted to give a like. After all, compared to Gu Ci, he was far inferior.
And at the instant she saw that face, memories related to him surfaced in her mind—
The original host had indeed helped him, given him money, eaten with him a few times—or in other words, even gone on a few “dates.” But they hadn’t done anything excessive. As for why he came seeking her now, it wasn’t clear whether he liked the original host, or just wanted to ask why she had stopped transferring him money.
And the reason the original Miss Yan, a pampered heiress, had taken a fancy to this illegitimate son was because…
She felt his brows and eyes resembled Gu Ci’s.
Yan Luqing thought the original was truly blind. Resemble what? This was the difference between Oreo and “Oli-give”—completely unrelated, alright???
Lowering her head, she gritted her teeth and quietly asked Big Black: “You didn’t know he was coming? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
Big Black looked innocent: “This kind of… uh… this level of ‘private matter’ is generally not something we would report to you.”
Beside them, Little Black’s eyes were wide like copper bells, yet he said nothing. Yan Luqing, inwardly flustered, still had her phone open to WeChat. She casually tapped into her chat with Little Black, and sure enough, saw the Bubbles gushing out one after another—
Yellow: Exciting! Too exciting!
Yellow: So Miss Yan only looks like she doesn’t love anymore, but in reality her obsession with Gu Ci is still this deep! I knew the materials I studied weren’t wrong!
Yellow: What’s this called again? My cousin told me once when she was reading novels… Ah! It’s “substitute”! This is a substitute!
Pink: But why not just pursue the real person directly? This is too stimulating!
Pink: So looking forward to it!
…
So active it was as if ten thoughts burst out per second.
As Yan Luqing walked past Little Black, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him: “Your expression management is doing pretty well right now, huh.”
After speaking, she slowly moved toward that Zhang-surnamed substitute, thinking to herself: she must cut off this relationship before Gu Ci saw him.
However, before she had time to decide what to say, the sound of a door opening came from behind.
Yan Luqing turned her head and saw Gu Ci walking out with an empty glass. He had taken off his outer coat, leaving only a plain white T-shirt, which set off his porcelain-like skin.
Apparently more interested in drinking water, Gu Ci walked straight to the table beside them, filled his cup, and tilted his head back to drink a few gulps. The movement of his Adam’s apple rising and falling carried an indescribable sensuality.
After finishing his drink, he then lifted his eyes faintly to glance over at them: “What’s going on?”
The living room fell into utter silence. Yan Luqing also, only then, managed to free herself from the beauty filter of his face.
Crap crap crap! It’s over—Gu Ci came out!
Didn’t this mean… the main subject had just seen the substitute——?!
And just as she was about to open her mouth to explain, the Zhang-surnamed substitute answered again.
“Oh… so this is Young Master Gu.” This Zhang substitute first looked Gu Ci up and down. After sizing him up, he then spoke in a tone as if he had eaten ten lemons: “I’ve always heard people say that Miss Yan helped me because this face of mine looks like the young master of the Gu family. Never thought, turns out we really do look quite alike.”
Yan Luqing, meanwhile, was thinking: Wait, brother, did you get the order wrong? Since when the hell does anyone say the grandfather looks like the grandson?
At the same time, she listened to this statement with horror, and then instantly turned her head toward Gu Ci: “No, I really didn’t—”
At this moment, Gu Ci’s gaze also withdrew from the Zhang substitute and fell back onto her face.
His eyes were subtle, with a faint smile hanging at his lips.
Yan Luqing instantly widened her eyes, “Listen to me explain!”
