Self-Perception - Chapter 60

“It’s not early, it’s already afternoon,” Wen Jinyan said, staring at the marks on her body as scenes from last night replayed in her mind.

“Afternoon already…” Gu Wansheng murmured, her voice trailing off. Wen Jinyan didn’t move, letting Gu Wansheng hold her. After a while, the strength around her waist relaxed. Gu Wansheng, her long eyes half-closed, reached for her clothes by the bed. Still in a daze, she started putting them on, but when she tried to do up the buttons, she realized she couldn’t. She focused her vision and found that the buttons of her shirt had disappeared at some point.

Wen Jinyan happened to witness this scene, and her face grew even more flushed.

Just how much force did I use last night?

“I’ll go get you a new one,” Wen Jinyan said, practically fleeing from the bed.

Gu Wansheng stared at Wen Jinyan’s trembling calves, her gaze moving upward. Wen Jinyan was only wearing a high-neck sweater. As she reached for the clothes, her arm pulled the sweater up, revealing a section of her waist and abdomen. Lower down, on her delicate, smooth skin, various bite marks and hickeys were visible, not a single patch of skin on her legs was unblemished.

Wen Jinyan turned around and saw Gu Wansheng staring at her thighs. Following her gaze downward, she saw the purple and green bruises on her white knees. She instinctively pulled Gu Wansheng’s clothes down to cover herself.

“I’ll get some medicine to apply for you in a bit,” Gu Wansheng said, her expression serious as she looked up.

“It only looks bad… it doesn’t hurt,” Wen Jinyan cleared her throat, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s hum.

“Do you hurt anywhere else?”

Wen Jinyan instinctively squeezed her legs together. “No, no.”

It didn’t just not hurt, it had actually been quite comfortable.

“If there’s any discomfort, you must tell me,” Wen Jinyan noted that Gu Wansheng’s ears were red. She heard her add, “I was quite… heavy-handed last night.”

When the two went out to wash up, there was no one else in the house. A check of their messages revealed that Bai Jin and Grandma had taken Xiao Mian to town to buy groceries, door couplets, and firecrackers. They planned to have a barbecue tonight and told them to just make some noodles for themselves once they woke up.

Gu Wansheng relayed the message to Wen Jinyan. One fried eggs while the other sliced tomatoes as they prepared tomato and egg noodles.

Not long after they finished eating, they heard the sound of a car. Bai Jin was back. She took a small trolley out of the trunk. Hearing the noise, Gu Wansheng and Wen Jinyan went out to help carry the ingredients.

Bai Jin looked at the high-neck sweaters they were both wearing, her expression clearly saying she had figured everything out.

“You bought so much?” Wen Jinyan started arranging the ingredients on the table.

There was chives, potatoes, lettuce, pork belly, beef, shiitake mushrooms, bean curd skin, and shrimp, everything one could want.

“It’s not just us, the neighbors are coming too,” Bai Jin explained. “A few families nearby are very close with Grandma. Every New Year’s Eve, several families celebrate together. It’s New Year’s Eve, after all, the atmosphere is better with more people.”

Xiao Mian ran into the main hall to watch TV. The group divided the work. Gu Wansheng sliced vegetables, Wen Jinyan washed them, and Bai Jin skewered them. When Grandma tried to help Bai Jin, she was gently refused.

“Grandma, you go sit inside and rest. When we’re ready to put up the couplets later, come and give us some guidance.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll go find the tape then,” Grandma said, walking away with a hunched back and staggering steps.

Wen Jinyan washed the vegetables quickly. Once she finished her part, she went to help Bai Jin with the skewers.

“Jinyan, you two were quite intense last night, huh?” Bai Jin looked at her with an inscrutable gaze.

Wen Jinyan’s hand paused. Could the noise last night have been loud enough for Bai Jin to hear?

“You might want to use a band-aid to cover that,” Bai Jin pointed to Wen Jinyan’s right arm. Wen Jinyan followed her gaze, turned her wrist, and saw a tooth mark on the outside.

Wen Jinyan’s first thought. I didn’t even notice that. Her second thought: Gu Wansheng has good teeth; the marks are so neat.

“Where are the band-aids?” Wen Jinyan asked.

Bai Jin put down the wooden skewer and stood up. “I’ll go get one for you.”

“Thanks.” Wen Jinyan applied the band-aid over the bite mark.

While Wen Jinyan was occupied with the band-aid, Bai Jin sent a message to Gu Wansheng.

[Bai Jin]: I didn’t expect this, Wansheng. (Followed by an “impressive” emoji.)

[Gu Wansheng]: ?

[Bai Jin]: Don’t bite in such an obvious place next time. It’s lucky I was the one who saw it. What if Xiao Mian saw? How would you explain that to her?

Gu Wansheng processed the information and replied: “We’ll be careful next time.”

Bai Jin turned off her phone and continued skewering. Halfway through, two or three women carrying gifts walked into the courtyard. Seeing Bai Jin and Wen Jinyan, they greeted them politely.

Wen Jinyan and Bai Jin stopped their work and returned the greeting.

“Hello, we are Grandma’s neighbors. My surname is Qi, I’m Qi Xin. This is Tian Li, and this is Li Jin.”

Bai Jin looked at them, they were unfamiliar faces. They looked to be around thirty-one or thirty-two. She figured they were students who had gone away for university.

“Hello, I’m Bai Jin, and this is Wen Jinyan. Grandma is inside. There’s one more friend in the kitchen.”

“Oh, okay.” The three went into the house, chatted for over ten minutes, and then came back out.

All three were quite outgoing and immediately looked for work to help with.

“Are you also Grandma’s relatives?” Qi Xin picked up a skewer.

“Yeah. You guys are still in school, right?” Bai Jin asked.

“Yes! Sister, how could you tell?” Qi Xin was observant; one look at Bai Jin and Wen Jinyan told her that temperament really does show. Some people just stand out by sitting there.

“The eyes,” Bai Jin smiled.

“Huh?”

The eyes?

The “innocent and clear eyes of a university student.”

Bai Jin didn’t say that out loud. After the initial greeting, Wen Jinyan didn’t join the conversation and focused on skewering the food.

With more hands, the work went much faster. Qi Xin kept glancing at Wen Jinyan. When Wen Jinyan noticed and looked back, Qi Xin immediately lowered her head.

Bai Jin noticed this and asked Qi Xin, “Is she pretty?”

Caught peeking at a beautiful woman, Qi Xin scratched her head sheepishly. “I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just that the sister’s eyes are so beautiful, I couldn’t help but look. Don’t worry, I’m not… a creep.”

Bai Jin was amused by the last word. “Good to know. Your Sister Wen is married. If you want to look at a beautiful sister, look at me. I’m quite pretty too.”

Wen Jinyan stood up and went into the kitchen. Qi Xin watched her leave, the idea of getting to know her flickering out in her mind.

Wen Jinyan returned a few minutes later with two plates of sliced vegetables and resumed skewering.

“Look at all this food!” a voice came from behind them. Bai Jin turned to greet them: “Auntie Qi, Auntie Tian, Auntie Li.”

Qi Xin greeted them too: “Mom, Auntie Tian, Auntie Li.”

The others also exchanged greetings.

“We brought the barbecue grill over,” Auntie Tian and Auntie Li said, placing the grill near the food before joining the skewering team.

“Little Gu is here!” At the greeting, everyone looked up. Gu Wansheng, having finished slicing, brought the rest of the food over. She was wearing a high-neck sweater with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Her hair was held up casually with a claw clip, with a few stray strands framing her face, effortlessly relaxed.

Hearing her name, she looked up, her gaze scanning the faces. “Auntie Qi, Auntie Tian, Auntie Li,” she greeted.

Tian Li squinted at the person approaching. As Gu Wansheng got closer, she took a sharp breath, her voice trembling with excitement. “Gu… Gu Wansheng!?”

Her voice wasn’t loud, but in the close proximity, everyone heard her clearly.

Auntie Tian asked, “Child, why are you so excited?”

“Mom! That’s Gu Wansheng!!” Tian Li excitedly grabbed her mother’s hand.

Auntie Tian was confused. “I know, it’s Little Gu.”

“She’s a celebrity! A very famous, incredibly talented actress!!” Tian Li grew more excited. “This is the first time I’ve seen a live celebrity! A live Gu Wansheng!”

Auntie Tian cut her off. “What are you saying, child?”

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Tian Li looked at Gu Wansheng quickly, wanting to clarify she didn’t mean it like that.

Gu Wansheng just smiled and admitted, “I am Gu Wansheng. A ‘live’ one.”

Qi Xin and Li Jin, hearing Tian Li, stared at Gu Wansheng, their brains failing to process the information.

Gu Wansheng? The Gu Wansheng who has won countless awards and became a Film Queen at such a young age?!!!

They never imagined they could have a “fan encounter” just by coming back to their hometown. If their classmates knew they were seeing Gu Wansheng this close, the jealousy would be unimaginable.

“Gu Wansheng… Sister, could we get an autograph?” Tian Li asked cautiously, her voice thick with excitement.

Whatever, fortune favors the bold.

“Of course. But if I sign, can you pretend you don’t know I’m here?”

“Yes, yes!” The three nodded vigorously.

Gu Wansheng went to her room and brought out a marker she carried with her. Qi Xin somehow produced a few photos of Gu Wansheng, and she signed them one by one.

“Thank you, Sister Wansheng!”

The three were overjoyed.

The matter was settled. Later, Wen Jinyan found an opportunity to ask her, “Why do you carry a pen with you? Did you expect this?”

“It happens every year, though usually not as much.” When she came back for the New Year, most of the people asking for signatures were young people working away from home.

“Grandma Qi, Grandma Tian, Grandma Li,” a sweet, milky voice called out from the hall as Xiao Mian ran out.

“Xiao Mian! Still as cute as ever.”

She wasn’t shy around the new faces, though her pace slowed as she leaned against Bai Jin, greeting the three younger women, “Hello, sisters.”

Qi Xin and the others, being extroverts, were charmed by the cute child and immediately introduced themselves, offering to take Xiao Mian to play.

Xiao Mian looked at Bai Jin for permission. Bai Jin nodded.

The “big kids” took the little kid out of sight.

“Kids will be kids,” the adults laughed.

Once the food was skewered, Gu Wansheng and the other two found Grandma resting in the house to help put up the couplets, while Auntie Qi and the others started the charcoal fire and prepared the seasonings. Everyone was busy with their respective tasks in an orderly fashion.

The three older girls played with “pop-its” with Xiao Mian nearby. When the adults called out, they quickly brought Xiao Mian back.

“Grill whatever you want to eat!” the adults announced.

“OK!” Qi Xin made a gesture.

In the courtyard, a small pavilion like structure had been set up with a rectangular table and several stools. As night fell, stars began to emerge in the dark sky. Bai Jin stood by the grill, while Xiao Mian stood beside her, staring intently at the meat on the grill.

“Don’t get too close, watch out for your hair,” Bai Jin said, lifting Xiao Mian up by her collar like a little chick.