Self-Perception - Chapter 15

To others, Wen Jinyan was like a block of ice cold, unapproachable, and sending a bone chilling coldness to anyone standing near her. But Gu Wansheng felt Wen Jinyan was very gentle, gentle in her actions and gentle in her speech. She would thank the staff member who handed her a chair and would tell Xiao Qiu not to constantly hover around her. Her kindness wasn’t visible from the outside, or rather, others simply lacked the courage to get to know her in depth; she was just outwardly cold. Gu Wansheng felt very lucky that she was the only one who could see past the surface and the true essence of the “iced over warm water.”

“Done.” Wen Jinyan turned off the hairdryer and habitually picked up the strands of hair that had fallen onto the carpet, rolling them into a small ball.

Gu Wansheng watched her figure as she went to toss the garbage, then raised her leg. Wen Jinyan felt a soft pressure on her back, and a pair of hands gently wrapped around her waist. A warm, steady breath landed on her neck.

“Gu Wansheng.”

“Mhm.” A low, shallow breath escaped from her neck.

“You promised me we’d only do it once every two days,” Wen Jinyan murmured.

If Gu Wansheng really wanted to, she wouldn’t refuse, especially since tomorrow morning was a rest day. But her back was still a bit sore from last night; if they did it again, her back would hurt even more tomorrow.

Gu Wansheng recalled how she had also been holding Wen Jinyan like this yesterday, which led to…

No wonder she asked that.

“I just wanted to hug you, that’s all.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she could feel the woman’s shoulder line relax for a moment.

Does she really not want to do it that much?

The breathing next to her neck moved away, and Gu Wansheng changed to resting her cheek on the woman’s back shoulder.

They hugged for a while before moving to the bedroom.

Gu Wansheng lay down under the air-conditioned quilt, resting on her side. Wen Jinyan had her back to her.

Gu Wansheng looked at the slender figure and spoke, “Jinyan, can you face me?”

The sound of the quilt shifting was heard, and strands of hair flew in the air.

“Good night,” Gu Wansheng looked at the woman’s eyes and brow as she fell asleep.

But she couldn’t fall asleep because of the person across from her.

In the darkness, Gu Wansheng focused on a faint outline and spoke, her voice husky, “Can’t sleep?”

The sounds of turning stopped, and a hushed voice replied, “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I wasn’t asleep either. Are you having insomnia?”

In the darkness, Wen Jinyan pressed her waistline, her fingers rubbing in circles. “No, my back hurts.”

Gu Wansheng immediately grew anxious, feeling the cold air outside the quilt rush in.

“Is it a chronic back problem, or did it suddenly start hurting?”

“No, it’s because you were too rough last night.” Gu Wansheng was very excited last night, holding onto her and not letting go. She had cried out many times, but Gu Wansheng wouldn’t stop.

The low voice subtly revealed the intimate matter in the cover of night. Gu Wansheng rubbed her ears in the darkness.

“So… you said we should only do it once every two days because of this?” Gu Wansheng whispered the question.

“Mhm.” Even in the dark, Gu Wansheng could sense Wen Jinyan nodding lightly.

Oh my god, this made her seem like a person with insatiable desire.

Gu Wansheng cleared her throat, “Then… I’ll give you a massage, you should feel a little better.”

Wen Jinyan gently took a breath, “Okay.”

Her fingertips, through the silk pajamas, were placed on the woman’s waistline, turning counterclockwise. “Is it here?”

A muffled affirmation came from the face buried under the pillow.

“Gently.”

“Okay.” Gu Wansheng lightened her pressure, feeling a bit guilty. “Jinyan, we’ll wait until your back doesn’t hurt before we do it again. I don’t necessarily need to… do it every two days.” Gu Wansheng managed to squeeze out the last word, then pricked up her ears to listen for Wen Jinyan’s reply.

“I promised you two days, so two days it is.” Even if her back hurt, she wouldn’t break her promise.

This was not the time to be a stickler for promises, but Wen Jinyan’s stubbornness was also endearingly cute.

Wen Jinyan let out a soft moan when her painful spot was pressed, and this sound instantly brought back Gu Wansheng’s memories of last night.

Wen Jinyan had made this sound last night too. She had moved Wen Jinyan’s hand away from her face and used her thumb to gently release her lower lip, which she was biting hard with her teeth. She wanted her to stop biting and wanted to hear her voice.

Later, she got her wish and heard the beautiful singing in the night, which lasted until midnight.

Right now, her hand was placed below the dimple of her back, and even through the clothing, she knew that captivating small mole was beneath her fingertips. Gu Wansheng’s already dark eyes grew deeper, filled with the entire night’s darkness.

“Gu Wansheng.”

The gentle voice pulled Gu Wansheng back. Startled, Gu Wansheng quickly withdrew her hand.

“Be gentle, it hurts there.”

“Okay.”

She had actually just… she was truly insane.

After massaging for an hour, Wen Jinyan asked her to stop.

“That’s enough.”

“I’ll buy you some medicated patches tomorrow, they should help relieve it.”

Gu Wansheng pulled the quilt over them again. This time, they were facing each other. She held Wen Jinyan’s hand and softly said, “Good night.”

“Good night.”

The next day, Gu Wansheng got up first. Meng Qiu saw Gu Wansheng open the door, rubbing her hand, and asked, “Sister Gu, what’s wrong with your hand?”

“It’s a bit sore from moving it for a long time,” Gu Wansheng took the breakfast. “Oh, right, help me buy some medicated patches for back pain later.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Qiu seemed to understand something and asked for confirmation, “Sister Gu, is your back hurting?”

“Jinyan’s back hurts,” Gu Wansheng answered her question and closed the door.

No way, no way, what did the couple do last night that was so intense? She opened WeChat and sent a message to Gu Wansheng.

[Meng Qiu]: Sister Gu, ask Sister Jinyan if her back pain is an old injury or if it suddenly started hurting.

[Gu Wansheng]: Over exertion.

Ah ah ah ah ah ah, Sister Gu is too amazing.

Gu Wansheng had just closed WeChat when Shang Yi called. “Wansheng, did you buy a spot on the trending list? Your and your wife’s photos are on Weibo.”

“Sister Shang, what do you mean?”

Shang Yi’s voice was a bit loud, “You didn’t buy the trending spot? Your photos are now number one on the hot search.”

Gu Wansheng quickly checked Weibo. The photos of her and Wen Jinyan getting into the car one after the other last night had been taken. Gu Wansheng looked closely both were wearing masks, and Wen Jinyan’s face wasn’t clearly photographed.

Shang Yi’s voice continuously came through the phone, “I thought you took the liberty of spending money to buy a trending spot.”

“It wasn’t me, I didn’t spend money,” Gu Wansheng sat on the sofa.

“That’s strange. Someone spent money to buy a trending spot, promoting you two showing affection for free. This clearly has no negative impact on you. What kind of move is this?”

Gu Wansheng looked at the Weibo title again: “Gu Wansheng & Her Wife” [Hot].

It wasn’t titled “Gu Wansheng and a Stranger Getting into a Car.”

Gu Wansheng couldn’t figure it out immediately. “Are there any recent scandals about other artists?”

“None that I’ve found, but who would use your publicly known matter as a shield when they have a scandal? That would be a complete idiot.”

“It could be a rich playboy, or a young lady, using themselves as a shield. Let’s just observe first.” Anyway, it wouldn’t affect them much.

Just as Gu Wansheng hung up the phone, the discussion on the other side of Weibo was already heating up.

[Floor 1]: What’s going on? Our beautiful Gu and her wife getting into a car is being photographed as a scoop. Is it because there’s no other material to publish?

[Floor 2]: Which rich young master or lady’s scandal doesn’t want to be seen, giving our beautiful Gu a free opportunity to show affection?

[Floor 3]: Using our beautiful Gu as a shield to attract attention, do they think we, the fans, don’t exist?

[Floor 4]: Well said, Floor 3.

[Floor 5]: Agreed, Floor 4.

Gu Wansheng scrolled down the comments and only relaxed after not seeing any extreme remarks. The bedroom door opened. Wen Jinyan was still in her pajamas, looking a bit groggy from just waking up.

“Come and eat breakfast,” Gu Wansheng turned off her phone and called Wen Jinyan over.

“Do you have any plans today?” Gu Wansheng unwrapped her meal container.

“I need to write my novel,” Wen Jinyan took the meal box, then asked as an afterthought, “Are you going out?”

“No, I’ll be staying in the room this morning too.” Perfect for keeping you company.

Wen Jinyan finished her meal, neatly packed the dishes, and tossed them into the trash can.

She thought for a moment before saying to Gu Wansheng, “Gu Wansheng, I’m going to write my novel now.”

She was reporting her whereabouts.

Gu Wansheng felt a soft spot in her heart. She nodded, “Go write at the desk in the room, it’s quiet there. I might be reading a script out here, and I’m afraid I’ll disturb you.”

Wen Jinyan said ‘good’ and then walked into the room. Gu Wansheng only recovered her thoughts after hearing the door close.

“Jinyan, your and Gu Wansheng’s picture is trending,” Su Muqing called. She then sent a picture and a Weibo screenshot.

Wen Jinyan zoomed in and looked at the picture. Both were wearing masks, and her face was blurry.

“Did Gu Wansheng buy this trending spot? Tsk tsk tsk, is Teacher Gu showing affection to this extent?”

“I don’t know,” Wen Jinyan said truthfully. “If she bought this trending spot, what’s the point for her? What’s the benefit?”

“Not every effort needs a return. She’s willing to buy a trending spot, which means she wants to show affection publicly; she loves you.”

“You don’t know, when she posted on Weibo announcing her marriage last time, there were no photos, only a marriage certificate. Even then, some people deliberately attacked her, saying the marriage certificate might be Photo shopped, or that she might have married some ugly, fat woman, so she didn’t dare to post a picture, trying to set up a good image to gain fans. They even said the spouse must be ugly and fat. You didn’t know all this?”

Wen Jinyan’s hand, which was on the computer, dropped, and her eyes were half-lowered. “I didn’t know.”

Moreover, Gu Wansheng had never told her any of this.

“That’s right, you haven’t been on Weibo for years.”

“Did Gu Wansheng refute those comments?”

“No, before Gu Wansheng could even speak, those netizens were drowned out by her fans’ spit. Netizens nowadays are truly resourceful; they can find out anything.”

Su Muqing continued, “Given that, it really could have been your Teacher Gu who posted it.”

My Teacher Gu? Unfortunately, we are only using each other for our own needs.

Wen Jinyan didn’t pay much attention to Su Muqing’s words, only checking again with Su Muqing to confirm whether Gu Wansheng had been harmed.