Self-Perception - Chapter 19

Gu Wansheng grabbed the glasses first. Wen Jinyan tried to reach for them, but the woman gently held her hand with the other, saying, “Don’t move, I’ll help you put them on.”

Holding the edge of the glasses with her fingertip, she gently pushed them into place.

Wen Jinyan quickly blinked to adjust, then tidied her clothes and followed Gu Wansheng out.

Wen Jinyan and Gu Wansheng returned to their hotel room. Seeing that Wen Jinyan had been listless and unenthusiastic the entire way, Gu Wansheng told her to take a shower as soon as they were back.

Wen Jinyan agreed, and soon the sound of running water filled the bathroom. Gu Wansheng needed to pass the bathroom door to get a set of pajamas. The door was frosted, and with the steam clinging to it, Gu Wansheng could vaguely make out a hazy, graceful figure a scene of “half-concealed like a pipa behind a veil,” or even more evocative.

Gu Wansheng’s throat subtly convulsed. She forced herself to look away, the tips of her ears flushing red. She twisted open a bottle of mineral water, trying to calm the sudden surge of excitement. The water continued to run in the bathroom, and she drank the water gulp after gulp.

The sound of the water stopped. Gu Wansheng looked over and saw Wen Jinyan seemingly bending over, putting on…

The final two words completed in her mind, Gu Wansheng immediately chugged a large glass of water.

When Wen Jinyan came out, she saw two empty bottles of mineral water on the table.

“You drank so much water? Aren’t you uncomfortable?” Wen Jinyan asked in confusion, casually tossing the empty bottles into the trash can.

“Thirsty.” As soon as the word was uttered, both were startled, as Gu Wansheng’s voice was astonishingly hoarse.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Gu Wansheng said, picking up her pajamas and passing by Wen Jinyan.

The sound of water resumed in the bathroom. Wen Jinyan went back to bed and looked at the faint figure visible through the bathroom door. She suddenly realized:

So, she might have seen me, too.

Combining this with Gu Wansheng’s unusual actions and hoarse voice:

So, she became like that because she saw me?

Wen Jinyan found her deduction quite reasonable. She took the prescribed medication out of her pajama pocket, hesitating whether to take it. What if it made her recall those words again…? She glanced at the bathroom, clenched the pill bottle in her hand, and put it back in the drawer.

As long as I’m tired from making love, I won’t think about it.

When Gu Wansheng came out, Wen Jinyan was sitting up in bed, leaning against the headboard, looking down at her phone.

Noticing the mattress beside her sink down, she put away her phone and looked at Gu Wansheng.

Gu Wansheng tucked in the duvet. Her peripheral vision caught a gaze fixed on her. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you going to get out of bed again later?” she heard Wen Jinyan ask.

“No, I’m staying in bed.”

Clap! Wen Jinyan turned off the light.

In the darkness, Gu Wansheng felt a rustling sound beside her. Wen Jinyan was slowly inching closer. Then, her hand was grasped by another warm hand, pulled, and guided to a soft, raised fabric.

It was warm to the touch.

Wen Jinyan’s breathing was steady, her soft exhales close to Gu Wansheng’s ear. Gu Wansheng heard her gently ask, “Gu Wansheng, shall we make love?”

Upon hearing this, Gu Wansheng took a deep breath, took hold of the hand that was gripping hers, and slowly suppressed the flame and desire that Wen Jinyan had reignited. Instinctively, she cupped Wen Jinyan’s face and gave her a light peck on the lips.

Her voice was low and husky, “I didn’t bring any extra disposable fitted sheets this time. I can’t put you through that.”

The implication was clear. Wen Jinyan understood what Gu Wansheng meant. In the darkness, she withdrew her hand and softly hummed in acknowledgment, indicating she understood.

Gu Wansheng couldn’t see Wen Jinyan’s expression and couldn’t tell anything from that almost imperceptible sound. She wanted to turn on the light, she wanted to see Wen Jinyan.

The light once again filled the room. Gu Wansheng looked at Wen Jinyan, who remained calm and showed no change in expression.

“What’s wrong?” This time, Wen Jinyan asked her.

“I thought you might be angry,” Gu Wansheng admitted.

Wen Jinyan knew what she was referring to. She shook her head, her tone certain, “Gu Wansheng, I won’t be angry with you over this.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Wansheng’s eyes slowly curved into a smile. She kissed Wen Jinyan’s cheek again. “Time to sleep.”

The light was turned off again.

Later in the middle of the night, when the person next to her was breathing steadily, Wen Jinyan opened the drawer, took out a pill, and swallowed it whole with a tight throat.

The Next Day

The following day, Gu Wansheng woke up before Wen Jinyan. She checked the materials Meng Qiu had sent her.

Xin Yan had a collaboration with Yongmeng Jewelry, but it hadn’t been finalized yet.

Gu Wansheng sent a voice message to Meng Qiu, “Leak the news that I want to collaborate with Yongmeng Jewelry, and also help me contact the brand side.”

“Sister Gu, the prestige of Yongmeng Jewelry doesn’t match your star power. Plus, your schedule is fully booked later, you don’t have the time,” Meng Qiu messaged back, his tone full of confusion.

“Just do as I say. If Sister Shang asks, tell her I’ll take full responsibility for the consequences.” Meng Qiu complied.

Gu Wansheng closed the WeChat interface and turned off her phone screen, which reflected her cold, glamorous face. Her fingers tapped rhythmically on her thigh.

She needed to let Xin Yan know that she wasn’t a pushover.

Breakfast was delivered by the hotel. After thanking the staff, Gu Wansheng placed her breakfast container on top of Wen Jinyan’s to maximize heat retention.

She checked her phone. It was 8 o’clock, and Wen Jinyan hadn’t woken up yet. Usually, Wen Jinyan was already awake by eight. Ten minutes passed, and the bedroom door remained tightly shut. Gu Wansheng touched the food container with the back of her hand it was still slightly warm. Although cold food might be more refreshing in the height of summer, Gu Wansheng still wanted Wen Jinyan to eat something hot.

She picked up the food container, put on a mask, and asked a hotel staff member to help reheat it.

When she returned, Wen Jinyan was sitting on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought. Their room was on the sixteenth floor. The sunlight slanted in through the floor to ceiling window, hitting the glass table and then reflecting onto the sofa, resting quietly on Wen Jinyan’s hand braced on the couch.

“Awake?” Gu Wansheng took off her mask, took out the breakfast items one by one, opened them, and set them out.

Hearing the sound, Wen Jinyan turned her head slowly, her eyes unfocused, as if she hadn’t fully come to her senses.

It wasn’t until Gu Wansheng walked up to her that she instinctively looked up, her gaze meeting the pair of peach blossom eyes. The owner of those eyes smiled. “Come and have breakfast.”

After Wen Jinyan and Gu Wansheng finished breakfast, Gu Wansheng asked if Wen Jinyan wanted to visit the film studio. Wen Jinyan declined, saying she needed to write her novel. Gu Wansheng didn’t press her. She left the small table in the bedroom for Wen Jinyan’s use, while she herself sat on the sofa with her script, highlighting lines with a marker and occasionally reciting them softly to ponder the tone.

A WeChat message came in. Gu Wansheng opened it and saw a contact request from Xin Yan.

I wonder how she got my WeChat so quickly.

Gu Wansheng let out a small scoff, turned off her phone, and ignored her.

She only picked up her phone to accept Xin Yan’s request after she finished reading two pages of the script.

The other person seemed to be guarding her phone, as a message quickly came through after the acceptance:

[Xin Yan]: Gu Wansheng, what do you mean?!

Gu Wansheng typed unhurriedly: What do you mean by that? I don’t understand.

[Xin Yan]: The prestige of Yongmeng Jewelry clearly doesn’t match your star power, does it? Do you really have to fight me for it?

[Gu Wansheng]: Yongmeng Jewelry hasn’t signed a contract with any artist yet. I should have the right to compete, right? The final decision on who to work with is up to the brand. If you thought you were guaranteed the contract, would you be arguing with me here?

The other side didn’t reply. Gu Wansheng wasn’t in a hurry, so she leaned back on the sofa. Xin Yan would definitely want this brand because it was the one with the highest prestige for her, and she wouldn’t let this fat deal slip away.

[Xin Yan]: What do you want?

[Gu Wansheng]: Take down that post that’s still on Weibo and destroy the photo. Then, I won’t pursue this brand endorsement.

[Xin Yan]: Gu Wansheng, can’t you tell whether this news is good or bad? It hasn’t had any negative impact on you, and your follower count has even increased, hasn’t it?

[Gu Wansheng]: Are you taking it down or not?

[Xin Yan]: I’ll take it down immediately.

Ten minutes later, WeChat buzzed again. Gu Wansheng thought it was Xin Yan, but it was Meng Qiu.

[Meng Qiu]: Sister Gu, Xin Yan took down that post.

[Gu Wansheng]: Good. Post my schedule for the next half-year on Weibo. Then, send a message to the Yongmeng Jewelry liaison saying that I deeply apologize for delaying their staff’s work due to my own unreasonable work time arrangement.

[Meng Qiu]: Sister Gu, this might attract some criticism.

[Gu Wansheng]: I haven’t signed a contract with Yongmeng Jewelry, so it’s not a breach of contract; at most, it will leave a bad impression with them. Plus, the news I asked you to leak had no strong evidence that I was collaborating with Yongmeng Jewelry, so to netizens, it was just speculation.

[Meng Qiu]: Okay, I’ll go post it now.

Gu Wansheng turned off her phone and poured herself a glass of water. Checking Weibo, the topic had been taken down, and netizens were all discussing it:

[Floor 1]: Was this taken down by the beautiful Gu? [Floor 3]: How could that be? If the beautiful Gu wanted to take it down, she would have done it on the first day, why wait until now? [Floor 4]: Go quickly and check the beautiful Gu’s official Weibo account.

Everyone went to Gu Wansheng’s official Weibo:

[Floor 1]: Does this mean that the beautiful Gu is not collaborating with Yongmeng Jewelry? [Floor 2]: Definitely. Who was the one who posted the news before? [Floor 3]: Don’t you think it’s a bit of a coincidence? The news was taken down, and the next second Gu Wansheng posted on Weibo. [Floor 4]: Actually, I also think something is off. Alas, does anyone know who Yongmeng Jewelry will collaborate with?

A phone call came in. Gu Wansheng saw the two big characters “Aunt” on the caller ID, and with a slightly guilty conscience, she answered, “Aunt.”

Her voice was soft and respectful.

“You’ve grown some guts, haven’t you?”

Gu Wansheng knew what she was referring to and answered honestly, “No. I’m just being pragmatic.”

“Pragmatic? You wouldn’t have done something so self-defeating before. Let me guess, it’s because of your wife.”

“Aunt, it has nothing to do with her.”

“I didn’t even say anything, why are you getting so agitated?” The woman on the other end chuckled softly. “You got married behind the family’s back. You know your father was furious when he heard, almost ending up in the hospital.”

“He has always looked down on my profession. I’m the one who married a wife, not him.”

“Alright, Aunt didn’t call to criticize you. Just next time you post on Weibo, give me a heads-up so I can get the water army moving. Your Aunt is getting old and can’t handle surprises.”