Self-Perception - Chapter 3

“Yu Nian, what’s wrong? You’re swearing up a storm,” Xu Yuanyuan leaned against the corner of the desk.

“I saw Zhang Qi on my way here,” Yu Nian saw Wen Jinyan and greeted her.

Wen Jinyan nodded in acknowledgment and continued to adjust her Bluetooth earphones.

“What about Zhang Qi?” Xie Ming also put down his work, lightly pushed his chair with his foot until it was in front of Yu Nian, ready to gossip.

“She actually joined Yingyue Magazine!”

“Damn it, no wonder she left after only a few months. She was poached by the competitor.” Xu Yuanyuan was a bit angry and slammed the table. She then cried “Ouch” and rubbed her reddened hand.

Even Wen Jinyan was startled by her action, but her own movements didn’t show much change.

“Yingyue Magazine has always been at odds with us. I bet Zhang Qi going there is thanks to their efforts,” Xu Yuanyuan snatched the sunflower seeds from Xie Ming’s hand.

“Exactly. One day we will definitely crush Yingyue Magazine,” Xie Ming said, pushing himself back to continue editing his picture.

The topic seemed to have passed. Wen Jinyan put on her headphones, listened carefully to the interview recording, and began to write her article.

Three hours later, she finished the draft and handed it to Xu Yuanyuan.

“Jinyan, you’re so efficient. Do you have any plans to work for our magazine? You’re so close to Sister Su, she’d definitely agree,” Xu Yuanyuan checked the draft, seeing that all the main points were written perfectly, not a single word missed.

“I don’t have that plan right now,” Wen Jinyan replied gently.

“Holy cow, look at Weibo. Gu Meiren’s award winning video is out!”

“Let me see, let me see,” Yu Nian squeezed beside Xu Yuanyuan.

Gu…

It seems that person’s WeChat name also has the surname Gu.

Wen Jinyan, as if possessed, also leaned closer.

On the phone screen,

Wearing a gorgeous couture gown, the woman’s hair was swept up. The camera swept past her, catching a subtle, perfect smile. She looked like she had been carefully selected, flawless from every angle.

“Who will be the winner of Best Actress!” The shot turned to the host on stage, who held the list, looked at it carefully, and then showed an enigmatic smile.

The camera focused again on the four nominees. The music stopped, and everyone held their breath. Except for Gu Wansheng, who still wore a smile, the other three nominees were visibly tense.

“Let’s congratulate Gu Wansheng on winning the Best Actress Award!!”

The angle of the woman’s smile on screen widened. She stood up, bowed to the people behind her, and then walked onto the stage to receive the award with a calm and elegant demeanor.

“Ahhhh!” Xu Yuanyuan grabbed Yu Nian’s hand and shook it wildly. “Gu Meiren is an international film queen now! She’s so beautiful!”

“Stop, stop! You’re going to break my hand!” Yu Nian cried out, being shaken by her.

Wen Jinyan watched the woman on the screen, who spoke her acceptance speech with confidence and dazzling radiance.

So she was actually such an accomplished person.

“What are you talking about?” Su Muqing walked in and heard Xu Yuanyuan and Yu Nian’s voices.

“Nothing, Sister Su.” Xu Yuanyuan put down her phone, and Yu Nian also sat back down in her seat.

“How’s the article coming along?” Su Muqing looked at Wen Jinyan, who was standing still.

Wen Jinyan paused for half a second, then snapped back, “It’s finished.”

“That fast?” Su Muqing sighed in relief, then looked at Xie Ming. “Xie Ming, can you finish editing the pictures before quitting time today?”

“No problem, Sister Su,” Xie Ming gave an OK gesture.

“Sister Su, I want to talk to you about something.” Xu Yuanyuan stood up.

“What is it?”

“Zhang Qi… she went to the competitor, Yingyue Magazine.”

The words were enough; Su Muqing generally understood.

“If the competitor always sees us as a rival, it means we are stronger than them. That’s why they feel pressured, so we must beat them down even more. Let’s see whose magazine sales are stronger this issue!”

“Okay!” Everyone was invigorated with fighting spirit.

Wen Jinyan picked up her phone and looked at Su Muqing. “Then I’ll head off first.”

“You’re tired again?” Su Muqing looked at her drooping eyelids.

“Mmm,” Wen Jinyan yawned lightly.

“Why don’t you rest in my office? I have a small bed there.”

Wen Jinyan had a habit of always taking a nap after finishing a writing assignment. The nap was short, only an hour or two.

Wen Jinyan recalled the feeling of sleeping on the small bed in Su Muqing’s office for the first time her legs couldn’t stretch out, and she couldn’t fall asleep.

“No, I’ll go home first.”

As a temporary assistant, Wen Jinyan was free to leave after completing her task. She wasn’t an official employee and wasn’t bound by the magazine’s rules.

“Alright, I’ll have someone take you,” Su Muqing quickly made a call to arrange for Wen Jinyan’s departure.

“Sister Su and Jinyan have such a good relationship,” Xu Yuanyuan mused.

Yu Nian and Xie Ming both looked at her at the same time.

“I mean a friendly relationship!”

“Neither of us said anything,” Yu Nian and Xie Ming said in unison.

Xu Yuanyuan “…”

Wen Jinyan returned home, took off her glasses, and placed them on the living room table.

She lay on the sofa, pulled the light blanket that was on the sofa over her waist. Before drifting off to sleep, she opened her phone and found the name Gu Wansheng.

Her phone fell into the sofa cushion, and Wen Jinyan drifted into a groggy sleep.

Far away in another country, Gu Wansheng was currently in her hotel. She had already changed out of her gown. Outside, the neon lights were blazing. Gu Wansheng stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the night view.

Skyscrapers stood tall, and traffic flowed like a river.

She withdrew her gaze and sat back down on the sofa.

“Sister Gu, I’ve replied to all the congratulatory messages on your work WeChat, but there’s one you just added, and I…” Meng Qiu held Gu Wansheng’s phone and looked at the woman sitting on the sofa.

The woman was reclining on the sofa, propping her chin with one hand, her legs crossed, revealing a small and delicate ankle.

Meng Qiu saw this. Although she harbored no improper thoughts about her own artist, beauty is appreciated by all. She admired it and said, “Sister Gu, please sit up properly.”

Hearing Meng Qiu’s voice, she maintained her posture and smiled. “What did I do?”

Her fingertip traced her calf, moving slowly upward, lifting the hem of the skirt and revealing a patch of white skin.

Meng Qiu put the phone on the table and slammed the door shut with a snap.

Gu Wansheng shook her head with a smile.

“Come in.”

She sat up, straightening her skirt.

Meng Qiu poked her head in from outside the door.

“If you don’t come in, your sneaky look might be saved by the surveillance camera.”

Meng Qiu closed the door and walked up to Gu Wansheng.

“Sister Gu, you’re making fun of me again.”

“You’ve been with me for so many years, why are you still so shy?” Gu Wansheng poured her a glass of water and handed it to her.

Anyone would be moved seeing Sister Gu in that captivating pose.

Meng Qiu took the water, only daring to think this in her mind.

“Give me the phone,” Gu Wansheng stopped teasing her and held out her hand.

Meng Qiu placed the phone in her palm. Gu Wansheng opened it, and a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.

It’s actually her…

[Gu Wansheng]: Thank you.

After sending it, she was inexplicably prompted to click on the other party’s profile picture, but unfortunately, the other party had set her Moments to be visible for only three days.

Gu Wansheng turned off her phone, supported herself by her knees to stand up, and tucked her hair behind her head. “Let’s go, Meng Qiu. I’m taking you out to eat.”

“But Sister Gu, Sister Shang warned you not to eat…”

“She’s not here,” Gu Wansheng interrupted her gently, winking at her playfully. “You don’t say anything, I don’t say anything. No one will know.”

Gu Wansheng put on a mask and a bucket hat and walked out.

Meng Qiu chased after her. “Wait for me, Sister Gu.”

Wen Jinyan was woken up by an aroma. She sat up, habitually picked up her glasses and put them on immediately. She looked toward the kitchen.

“You’re awake. Go wash your hands quickly, the last soup is almost ready,” Su Muqing came out wearing an apron and greeted her.

Wen Jinyan sat on the sofa, zoning out for three minutes. Then she padded in her slippers towards the kitchen.

“Do you need any help?” she asked, tilting her head after washing her hands.

“No need, you wouldn’t be much help anyway. Just go sit on the sofa,” Su Muqing “chased her out.”

Wen Jinyan, the “useless person,” quietly left the kitchen, returned to the sofa, and picked up her phone to see the message from Gu Wansheng.

[Gu Wansheng]: Thank you.

A polite reply.

Wen: There are 14 days left until your reply to me.

Gu Wansheng, who had just sat down at the dinner table, heard the WeChat notification and opened her phone.

Meng Qiu had just finished washing her hands when she heard her artist laugh.

“Sister, what’s wrong?”

“Xiao Qiu, what would you do if someone asked you to marry them after only meeting once?”

“Reject them. Who gets married after just one meeting? They’re either after your looks, or they want something else, or it’s love at first sight. Either way, they’re probably not good news.”

“Love at first sight?” Gu Wansheng repeated the phrase, her fingertip rubbing the side of the tea cup.

“Sister, why are you asking this?” A warning bell went off in Meng Qiu’s mind.

No way, no way. Who would be so shameless as to approach Sister Gu? Do they even deserve her?

“Just saw a joke online. What if both parties were only after the other’s looks? The kind where lust sparks immediately?”

Gu Wansheng sipped her tea, rotating her wrist to swirl the liquid in the cup. The tea at the bottom reflected her look one of casual indifference.

“Then it depends on what they both want,” Meng Qiu thought Sister Gu was acting strange tonight, very strange. She looked at her with suspicion before looking away.

After Wen Jinyan sent the reminder, she didn’t receive any more messages from Gu Wansheng. Hearing Su Muqing call her, she put away her phone and headed to the dinner table.

“Ah, I forgot to buy pork ribs. Otherwise, I would have made tomato and pork rib soup,” Su Muqing picked up her chopsticks, put a piece of meat in her mouth.

Wen Jinyan served a bowl of soup. The light aroma of tomato and the egg drops were neither too salty nor too bland.

“It’s good,” she said, drinking the soup in one go, then reaching for the vegetables.

“Of course! I’m capable in the living room and the kitchen; I can handle negotiations outside and manage the home inside,” Su Muqing said proudly.

“It’s a shame that a certain someone doesn’t know what’s good for them, made me angry, and hasn’t come to coax me yet,” she jabbed forcefully at the meat with her chopsticks, imagining the meat to be the other person as she vented.

“Didn’t Ji Yibai call you every day for the past two days?” She had heard the phone ring several times, but each time Su Muqing hung up, not giving the other person a chance to explain.

“Whose side are you on?” Su Muqing glared at her playfully, deliberately causing a disturbance while Wen Jinyan tried to pick up some vegetables.

Wen Jinyan’s chopsticks were held by another pair. She lifted her eyelids and sighed, “Aren’t you being childish?”

Su Muqing didn’t move and wasn’t provoked by her words, repeating her question, “Whose side are you on?”

“Your side,” Wen Jinyan spoke softly, finally getting a chance to put the vegetables into her own bowl.

“I’m not being completely unreasonable, but I need to save face. I’ll let her stew for three or four days before replying to her message.”

“I thought you were going to say you’d leave after making her stew for three or four days,” Wen Jinyan quipped.

“Wen, Jin, Yan,” Su Muqing put down her chopsticks a little loudly. Wen Jinyan just focused on eating her vegetables.

“Just eat your food. Someone without a girlfriend like you wouldn’t understand,” Su Muqing retorted, trying to elicit some kind of different emotion from Wen Jinyan. Unfortunately, there was none. The person merely uttered a shallow “Mmm” and said,

“I truly don’t understand.”

Not even her tone had any fluctuation.

Su Muqing “…”

It was like punching cotton; a feeling of powerlessness.

After they finished eating, Wen Jinyan cleaned up and washed the dishes. When she came out, she turned off the living room light and went to her room.

She took a quick shower. When she came out, she heard the phone ring. She picked it up. “Hello, Editor Gu.”

“Jinyan, let’s terminate the contract.” The voice on the other end was weak.

Wen Jinyan showed no great fluctuation in emotion, simply asking, “May I ask for the reason?”

“Jinyan, it’s been three years. I’ve been your editor for three years. In these three years, I’ve worked hard, if not wholeheartedly. Every one of your drafts has been reviewed, advised on, and revised by me. Your writing is good, but your novels lack emotional eruption and passion. It makes people feel that what you write…”

Wen Jinyan heard Editor Gu take a deep breath.

“What you write has a kind of indifference, no soul. It’s as if you’re only writing words, without the touch of a hidden soul beneath them. Readers can’t feel the emotion. Web novelists who started later than you have already achieved minor success; those who started around the same time have achieved great success. But you? You’re still treading water. If you can’t write emotion, if you can’t write romance, then you shouldn’t stay in the web novel circle.”

“The web novel circle needs emotion and needs love. Without these two keynotes hidden in the human core, no matter how many words you write, they will be pale. Find some time in the next few days to come and terminate the contract.”

Editor Gu hung up the phone. Only then did Wen Jinyan murmur to herself, “But, a long-flowing stream is also emotion, and details are also love.”

After staying abroad for two weeks, Gu Wansheng flew back. In the airport, fans holding placards had nearly flooded the entire area.

It was unknown who leaked the exact news of Gu Wansheng’s return, but as she exited the airport wearing a mask, someone shouted,

“Gu Meiren!!”

The crowd all rushed forward, and bodyguards formed a thirty-centimeter safe perimeter with their bodies.

“Thank you everyone, thank you everyone. Please try not to cause trouble for the airport security staff. I’m very touched that you came. Please ensure your own safety first. Don’t worry, I will stay for a few minutes.”

“Gu Meiren, I love you!!”

Gu Wansheng was true to her word, pausing for two minutes in front of the chauffeur car, then getting in, rolling down the window, and waving to the fans.

“Sister Gu, all the letters written by these fans have been placed in the bag.”

“Mmm,” Gu Wansheng acknowledged, then opened WeChat.

Wen: What have you decided?

[Gu Wansheng]: Are you free this afternoon? Bring your ID card, change your clothes, give me the location, and I’ll come pick you up.