Self-Perception - Chapter 65

She found Meng Qiu. “Where is Gu Wansheng?”

Meng Qiu pointed in one direction. “Sister Gu headed toward the dressing room. I’m going to buy some water first.”

Meng Qiu slipped away quickly. Wen Jinyan walked in the direction indicated, reached the dressing room door, knocked politely, and then pushed it open.

The dressing room was empty. As Wen Jinyan looked around, she was suddenly pulled backward by a force. Immediately after, there was the crisp sound of a door locking and the scent of Jade Dragon Tea.

Wen Jinyan’s tense body relaxed the moment she smelled the familiar fragrance. Sensing this, Gu Wansheng released her arm and moved her hands to wrap around Wen Jinyan’s waist.

“Gu Wansheng.”

“Mm,” the woman responded in a low voice, burying her face in the crook of Wen Jinyan’s neck.

“What’s wrong?”

“Who was that person talking to you just now?” Gu Wansheng asked, her lips gradually moving upward to brush against Wen Jinyan’s earlobe.

The heat of her breath made Wen Jinyan feel itchy, but she didn’t reach out to scratch it.

“I don’t know her.”

“So she was hitting on you?” Gu Wansheng’s tone was unreadable, but her lips captured the small earlobe, nibbling and grinding gently.

Wen Jinyan’s breathing grew heavy. “Mhm,” she replied, her voice becoming fragmented. “But I told her I’m married.”

“So well-behaved.” Gu Wansheng turned her around to face her. She reached out, took off Wen Jinyan’s glasses, and placed them on the side table. Her palm stroked the corner of Wen Jinyan’s eye. “Why is the corner of your eye so red? Hmm?”

Wen Jinyan looked at her, thinking to herself, Isn’t it because of you?

“Gu Wansheng, you’ve turned bad.”

“If I’ve turned bad, will Yanyan still dote on me?” Gu Wansheng pulled Wen Jinyan’s hand and placed it against her own face, nuzzling it gently.

She was like a noble cat trying to please its master.

A cat…

Wen Jinyan’s ears flushed a deep crimson.

“Your ears are so hot. What ‘indecent’ things are you thinking about?” Gu Wansheng asked in a low voice, lightly kneading her ear.

“We’ve already done everything, do you even need to ask?” Wen Jinyan asked, her cheeks burning.

Gu Wansheng laughed. Her hand moved from the ear back to Wen Jinyan’s face. Her amber eyes, now without the barrier of glasses, looked even more enchanting. Gu Wansheng leaned in for a kiss. Wen Jinyan closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling.

When she opened them again, a layer of mist had surfaced in her eyes. The kisses moved to her nose, then her lips.

At first, Gu Wansheng gently teased the labial tubercle. Under this tender assault, Wen Jinyan’s body grew weak, her hands gripping Gu Wansheng’s clothes tightly.

“Gu Wansheng, Gu Wansheng…” Wen Jinyan called out softly in the gaps between kisses.

Gu Wansheng stopped, her breath shallow and hurried, her eyes fixed on her in inquiry.

“My legs can’t hold me up anymore.” Wen Jinyan’s legs were bent; she was half a head shorter than Gu Wansheng, and her trouser legs were pressed tightly against her.

Without a word, Gu Wansheng hooked her arms under Wen Jinyan’s knees and lifted her straight up.

Instinctively, Wen Jinyan wrapped her legs around Gu Wansheng’s waist. Her back was pressed against the door as she was met with a passionate, chasing kiss. She leaned her head down slightly to return the kiss.

The sounds of fragmented breathing and wet contact were exceptionally clear in the quiet room.

Half an hour later, Bai Jin came to knock on the door.

“Wansheng, how much longer are you two going to be in there?”

She said “you two,” not “you.”

The heat that hadn’t yet faded from Wen Jinyan’s face flared up again.

Gu Wansheng opened the door. Seeing Bai Jin’s “I knew it” expression, she said nothing.

Bai Jin looked the two of them up and down, specifically checking their necks and clothes.

There were no marks on the necks. As for the lipstick, well, it was practically gone. Their clothes, however, were quite tidy.

So, they just spent half an hour eating each other’s faces, she thought.

“Here, the water Meng Qiu bought.” Bai Jin handed each of them a bottle.

Wen Jinyan took it and thanked her. She happened to be quite thirsty.

“It’s just in time for dinner. I recently found a restaurant that makes amazing fish. Let’s go try it together.” Bai Jin put on her mask.

“Jinyan, do you like fish?”

Gu Wansheng took the mask Meng Qiu handed her and gave one to Wen Jinyan as well.

“It’s alright,” Wen Jinyan replied.

The group headed to the garage through the cinema’s back exit.

“Where’s your car?” Gu Wansheng asked.

“I had my assistant drive it away.” Bai Jin leaned in and whispered to Gu Wansheng, “After all, I didn’t know how long it would take for you to open that door.”

Gu Wansheng gave a low cough, her eyes flashing a warning. “Actually, you didn’t have to wait for us.”

“No way. This fish is delicious. I have to let you guys taste it. Besides, you’re so busy with work, now that you finally have some time, I have to seize the opportunity.”

Bai Jin waved her hand, sat in the passenger seat, and sent the address to Meng Qiu. Meng Qiu started the navigation.

Gu Wansheng and Wen Jinyan sat in the back, their hands held together.

Bai Jin glanced at them through the rearview mirror, then looked away and turned on the car music.

About half an hour later, they arrived at a somewhat secluded location.

“Don’t be fooled by how remote this place is. You have to book in advance to eat here. I’ve been on the waiting list for a week.”

Bai Jin led everyone inside. As soon as the door opened, the scent of tea filled the air.

The front desk greeted them warmly, and Bai Jin showed her reservation number. A server led them to a private room. Incense was burning inside, and light music was playing.

“The privacy here is excellent, people in the industry often come here. You might even find someone you know in the room next door.”

As Bai Jin rinsed the bowls and chopsticks with hot water, Gu Wansheng handed the sterilized set to Wen Jinyan.

The server handed over the menu. Bai Jin ordered vine pepper fish, Gu Wansheng ordered spicy crawfish, Wen Jinyan ordered sizzling squid, and Meng Qiu ordered poached fish in chili oil.

“You’re ordering such oily food, aren’t you afraid of your weight?” Bai Jin poured herself a cup of tea.

“I don’t get fat from eating,” Gu Wansheng said as if it were a matter of course.

Meng Qiu nodded from the side, adding, “Sister Shang also allows it in this case.”

“It must be nice to have that easy to thin physique. Unlike me, after this meal, I don’t even know how long I’ll have to spend on the treadmill.”

The group chatted and laughed. During the meal, Wen Jinyan stepped out to take a call.

It was from Zhang Wen.

“Hello,” Wen Jinyan answered after finding a quiet spot.

“Xiao She’s roadshow has ended too.”

“I know.”

“They’ve been calling quite frequently lately. Judging by their tone, the party on the other side is likely more powerful than him.”

“Has he made any moves recently?”

“He’s been writing very frequently. He often locks himself in his room.”

“Understood.”

Wen Jinyan hung up. By the time she returned to the room, the food was already on the table.

There were already several peeled shrimp in her bowl. Gu Wansheng still had her gloves on, meticulously peeling more.

“Come here, quickly.” Gu Wansheng looked up briefly. Wen Jinyan pulled out her chair and sat down.

“You eat too.” Wen Jinyan fed a piece of shrimp from her bowl to Gu Wansheng.

Bai Jin clicked her tongue internally. “That’s enough, you two. I’m going to get full just from the ‘dog food’ (public displays of affection).”

“Have you considered Meng Qiu’s feelings?”

Meng Qiu stopped mid-shrimp and looked up. She pointed at herself, sounding confused. “Me?”

I’m involved in this?

Being used as a shield, Meng Qiu kindly used the serving chopsticks to put some fish in Bai Jin’s bowl. “Director Bai, have some fish.”

Bai Jin pressed a hand to her forehead, watching Meng Qiu keep piling fish in her bowl until she finally spoke up. “You eat too, stop just giving it to me.”

After they finished eating, Meng Qiu dropped Bai Jin off at home first, then drove Gu Wansheng and Wen Jinyan back.

“Then I’ll head out, Sister Gu.”

Gu Wansheng closed the door and reminded her, “Drive safely.”

Once they were home, Wen Jinyan went to shower first while Gu Wansheng checked Weibo.

When Gu Wansheng came out after her shower, she found Wen Jinyan sitting at the desk, typing away. She walked over slowly and noticed a small bell on the desk.

The bell was tiny, threaded onto a string.

Gu Wansheng picked it up curiously. The bell emitted a crisp ringing sound with the movement.

“When did you buy this?” Gu Wansheng fiddled with it in her hand.

Seeing her playing with it, the tips of Wen Jinyan’s ears hidden beneath her hair turned scalding hot. She stood up and took it back. “Su Muqing brought it for me… as a gift.”

She whispered the word “gift” very softly, but in the quiet room, it reached Gu Wansheng’s ears perfectly.

“This is quite a unique gift.”

Gu Wansheng set it down, her eyes catching the unfinished draft on Wen Jinyan’s computer screen.

She saw the words “the sound of the bell” and kept reading. Her eyes widened.

Wen Jinyan belatedly stood up and “thwack” closed the laptop. She gave a symbolic cough. “I’m going to get a glass of water.”

Wen Jinyan went to the kitchen and poured some warm water to soothe her throat. Leaning her back against the black marble countertop, she comforted herself: What if she didn’t finish reading?

Forget it, it’s not a big deal. We’ve done much more ‘in-depth’ things anyway. After counting to a few minutes in her head, she slowly walked back into the room.

To her surprise, Gu Wansheng was already sitting at the head of the bed, holding the bell and shaking it gently. The bell let out a crisp ting-ling.

To Wen Jinyan’s ears, that sound was as scorching as fire.

Gu Wansheng had a beaming smile, her eyes narrowed. She leaned back slightly, supporting herself with one hand.

“Yanyan, come here.” Her words were light as a feather.

Wen Jinyan rubbed her ear and walked over slowly.

“This is the gift Su Muqing sent.”

“Mm,” Wen Jinyan said, instinctively feeling that something was about to happen.

“Then we definitely shouldn’t let her kind intentions go to waste,” Gu Wansheng said. With the hand holding the bell, she pulled Wen Jinyan toward her. Wen Jinyan lost her balance and tumbled down.

“Where is this bell supposed to be worn?” Gu Wansheng asked with a smile, sliding the bell along Wen Jinyan’s arm before pausing.

“On… on the hand?” Wen Jinyan sat up halfway, her body gradually leaning back.

“Wrong.” Gu Wansheng shook her head gently. She grabbed Wen Jinyan’s slender, fair ankle, pulled it closer, and put the bell on.

“Clearly, it looks better here.” The red string of the bell was now circled around her white ankle.

Gu Wansheng’s hand moved slowly up from the ankle. The skin she touched felt as if it were being scorched by flames.

“I’ve heard that most art comes from life. Do you feel the same way, Yanyan?”

Her fingertips brushed against the calf muscle and stopped.

“Half and half, I suppose.” Wen Jinyan’s speech was nearly broken; her heart was racing.

“Then if I gave you this bell, how would you write about it?”

“This is just material. I was only holding it to hear its texture.”

She hadn’t planned on using it on herself.

Gu Wansheng stood up and walked toward the window. Wen Jinyan’s tense legs finally got a moment of rest, but the second she moved even slightly, the crisp sound of the bell echoed through the room.

“It’s still early before it gets dark,” Gu Wansheng murmured to herself, then drew the curtains shut.

“I don’t have to go to the office until tomorrow afternoon.”

Wen Jinyan: “?”

What did that mean?

“It’s also quite early for dinner. Why don’t we get some exercise first?”

As she spoke, she gripped Wen Jinyan’s bell-adorned ankle. “And while we’re at it, let’s test out the ‘texture’ of the gift Su Muqing sent.”