Self-Perception - Chapter 7

After she said this, Gu Wansheng paused and looked at her fingers.

Using a steamroller to crack a nut (Literal meaning: using great talent for a trivial task)…

Is she hinting at something?

Gu Wansheng looked up, her eyes asking for confirmation, but saw Wen Jinyan looking completely candid, her eyes clean and clear.

A blush spread through Gu Wansheng’s heart.

She had been the one with the dirty mind, filled with nothing but “yellow waste material.”

“Gu Wansheng, why are your ears red?” Wen Jinyan asked in a serious tone.

“Maybe I just moved a bit and got hot. I’m going to take a shower first.” Gu Wansheng finished tidying up and bypassed Wen Jinyan, heading straight for the second floor.

Wen Jinyan didn’t suspect anything and followed her.

“You… what are you doing?” Gu Wansheng grabbed a conservative nightgown from the walk-in closet and turned her head, coming face to face with Wen Jinyan.

“I need to take a shower too,” Wen Jinyan blinked.

Is she saying she wants to shower with me?! Although I don’t mind, isn’t this a little too fast?

“There’s an en-suite bathroom in this room. I’ll go to the common bathroom,” the words were practically squeezed out of her throat.

Every word implied they should shower separately.

Her nails hadn’t been trimmed today; she might hurt her.

“…I need to get my pajamas,” Wen Jinyan pointed to the closet further inside.

Gu Wansheng had moved her own clothes to the left side, closer to the door, while the inner side was where Wen Jinyan kept her clothes.

My heart is impure…

“Then I’ll go shower first,” Gu Wansheng moved swiftly, going to the common bathroom across the hall.

Wen Jinyan came out before Gu Wansheng, her gaze following her. She watched Gu Wansheng, dressed in her nightgown, enter the room and pick up the hairdryer from the bedside table.

The sound of the hairdryer echoed in the room. Wen Jinyan’s eyes stayed on her for as long as she was drying her hair. In the end, Gu Wansheng felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and only dried her hair about 70-80 percent.

She put the hair dryer away and sat on the edge of the bed. Their eyes met.

Rather than saying she was kissing her, it was more like she was pecking, completely without technique. When Wen Jinyan’s breath drew close again, Gu Wansheng gently pushed her away.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” Wen Jinyan asked carefully.

“No,” Gu Wansheng shook her head.

“That’s not how you kiss.”

“Then how should it be?” Wen Jinyan asked almost instantly.

Gu Wansheng stared at her lips, then slowly moved her gaze up to meet her eyes.

“I’ll teach you.”

This kiss was much more passionate and intense than the previous ones. It swept over them like a tempest. Gu Wansheng cupped the back of Wen Jinyan’s head, forcing her to raise it. Their lips and tongues intertwined, moving deeply and shallowly. The moist, ambiguous sounds of their contact resonated in the space, leaving Wen Jinyan dizzy from the kiss. As she pulled away, Gu Wansheng bit her lip, a tingling, delicious sensation.

Wen Jinyan took a deep, gasping breath, her face flushed from the kiss.

This time, she had a different kind of understanding about kissing. The description in her memo needed to be revised.

“Do you want more?” Gu Wansheng, having tasted the sweetness, didn’t want to let go. Coincidentally, Wen Jinyan felt the same way. Granted permission, Gu Wansheng leaned in again, her thumb resting on Wen Jinyan’s lower jaw, tilting it up. She slid her tongue in, hooking and teasing.

Later, the two lay in bed. Wen Jinyan pursed her lips.

My lips feel a little sore…

She fumbled for her phone on the bedside table, dimmed the light to the lowest setting, and typed.

Gu Wansheng had her back to her and didn’t know what she was doing.

Wen Jinyan turned off the screen and put the phone back exactly where it was. She turned onto her side, facing Gu Wansheng.

In the dark, Wen Jinyan listened to Gu Wansheng’s steady breathing to determine her general position.

As her eyes focused on the darkness for a long time, they slowly adjusted.

The next day, when Wen Jinyan woke up, Gu Wansheng was no longer in bed. She checked her phone; it was only 7:20 am.

Gu Wansheng was up even earlier than her.

Wen Jinyan got out of bed, shuffled in her slippers, and quickly washed up. The moment she opened the door, she saw Gu Wansheng stepping out of the room diagonally across the hall.

She was holding an A4-sized piece of paper in her hand.

“You’re awake?” Gu Wansheng’s voice was gentle, like the first ray of light in the morning, soft and warm.

“Mhm.” Wen Jinyan greeted her simply, her eyes briefly falling on the A4 paper before quickly looking away.

She was very mindful not to ask.

Gu Wansheng, however, noticed her small action. “I was just reading lines in the study.”

She proactively brought up the topic, and Wen Jinyan, not wanting to be impolite, asked, “Do you read lines every day?”

“Mhm. There’s one day a month I don’t, but I do the rest of the time.”

“That’s very dedicated,” Wen Jinyan genuinely admired her.

Wen Jinyan’s voice naturally possessed a cool, aloof quality. When she spoke, it carried a faint sense of detachment, and her tone was flat, making it sound like she was being perfunctory.

If anyone else had said that, Gu Wansheng would have thought they were just humoring her, but somehow, when Wen Jinyan spoke, she knew she was telling the truth.

“I am an actress, after all,” Gu Wansheng gave her a faint smile.

“You’re different from other actors.”

Gu Wansheng, who was descending the stairs, stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart skipped a beat.

She turned her head. Due to the height of the stairs, there was a difference in elevation. She slightly raised her chin, her gaze falling into the woman’s amber eyes. Those gem-like eyes were clean and clear, like a reflection in a lake, a unique and distinct color.

Her tongue pressed against the roof of her mouth, and her voice finally emerged. “How am I different?”

“At least in my opinion, you’re more dedicated.”

Wen Jinyan gave her an affirming look sincere, unmixed with any pretense or flattering pleasantries.

Does this count as being special in her eyes?

A brief but profound joy blossomed in Gu Wansheng’s heart.

“You follow that kind of thing?”

Lost in her joy, Gu Wansheng didn’t notice Wen Jinyan’s eyelashes flutter down slightly when she heard this, casting a small shadow.

“I looked into it before.”

Gu Wansheng realized belatedly that her voice sounded a bit low and quickly moved past the topic.

“Let’s go, let’s go downstairs and have breakfast.”

Wen Jinyan focused on the words “we go.” Usually, this kind of intimate, closeness inducing word would make her uncomfortable, but not now. Is it because they are legally married?

“Okay.”

Wen Jinyan followed closely behind her. The doorbell rang just then. Gu Wansheng waited a few minutes before going to the door to pick up their order.

“Perfect, breakfast is here,” Gu Wansheng placed the food on the dining table and went to the kitchen for bowls and chopsticks, pouring every drop of the congee from the disposable container into a porcelain bowl.

The soft, white congee was steaming, carrying the scent of rice, and a small dish of pickles had been thoughtfully included.

Wen Jinyan noticed there was only one serving. Her gaze drifted over to Gu Wansheng, who was tidying up the takeaway bag.

“Aren’t you eating breakfast?”

“I don’t eat carbs; I have to maintain my figure,” Gu Wansheng finished tidying the bag.

“Then what do you usually eat in the morning?” Wen Jinyan asked.

“Milk and eggs.” She walked into the kitchen and returned with two eggs and a bottle of milk.

Wen Jinyan mentally calculated whether the food in Gu Wansheng’s hands would be enough for her to feel full, but then she remembered that celebrities need to restrict their diet and dismissed the thought.

She lowered her eyebrows, picked up the bowl, and sipped along the rim, drinking in small amounts. The bowl blocked most of her view. When she set the bowl down, a pair of pale, slender hands appeared before her eyes.

A perfectly peeled egg, glistening and clear, was held steady between the thumb and forefinger.

“Take it,” Gu Wansheng added when she didn’t immediately accept it.

“Isn’t this your breakfast?” Wen Jinyan asked, slightly confused.

There were only two eggs to begin with. Giving her one would she be full?

Is she worried about me?

“My breakfast is one egg and a bottle of milk. This is for you,” Gu Wansheng’s brows smoothed out, and her hand remained outstretched.

Wen Jinyan took it and said thank you.

“Do you have any plans for today?” Gu Wansheng peeled an egg for herself, took a small bite, swallowed, and then asked.

Wen Jinyan was currently eating the egg. Her face was small, and her cheeks were moving. Gu Wansheng stared at her, finding it oddly cute.

Only after Wen Jinyan swallowed did she open her mouth to reply, “Yes.”

Gu Wansheng let out a soft “oh,” swallowing the plan she had been about to propose.

Wen Jinyan finished the entire egg and congee and headed to the kitchen with her bowl.

She had watched how Gu Wansheng operated the dishwasher, so she mimicked her movements, placing the bowl inside and pressing the button.

Turning around, she saw Gu Wansheng standing by the doorway, having witnessed her actions entirely. She felt relieved and stepped out.

When Wen Jinyan came out of the kitchen, Gu Wansheng was still drinking milk, biting the straw with her teeth slightly exposed. The straw, unfortunately, was being chewed out of shape.

Wen Jinyan withdrew her gaze and went upstairs to the second floor. She changed into a clean, simple outfit: a straight, smoke green long sleeved shirt neatly worn, with white slim fit shorts on the bottom. The shirt buttons were undone halfway, and one side of the lower hem was tucked into her shorts.

Gu Wansheng finished her milk and threw the carton into the trash. Just as she stepped onto the first stair, her eyes met with Wen Jinyan, who was descending from the top step.

In her vision, the misty blue-green color of the outfit was like an ink wash painting, outlining the clouds and mist swirling among the mountains.

“Going out now?” Gu Wansheng slowly walked up the stairs, her eyes following Wen Jinyan’s figure, asking softly.

“Mhm.” Being stared at so directly, Wen Jinyan raised a hand to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear, her fingertip resting at the back of her ear.

“I’ll wait for you at home. Come back early,” the tender sweetness in Gu Wansheng’s words and the softness in her eyes took on a different meaning to Wen Jinyan.

Does she want me to come back early so I can kiss her?

The temperature of last night seemed to still linger on her lips. Wen Jinyan grew even more certain.

“Gu Wansheng.” The distance between Wen Jinyan and Gu Wansheng was only one step. Standing higher than Gu Wansheng, she looked down, her eyes half-closed.

Gu Wansheng couldn’t see the expression in her eyes and made a soft “oh” sound.

Wen Jinyan reached out, her palm resting on the side of Gu Wansheng’s neck.

The warm pulse beat against her cool palm. Wen Jinyan lowered her head, opened her lips, and mimicked a certain person’s action from last night, enveloping the softness of Gu Wansheng’s mouth.

Gu Wansheng’s pupils widened, then a smile began to play in her eyes.

Wen Jinyan pulled back, taking shallow breaths. She hadn’t yet mastered the technique and had only imitated the surface.

Just as her palm left the side of Gu Wansheng’s neck, her wrist was seized. In the few seconds it took Wen Jinyan to lightly blink, Gu Wansheng used some force to pull her onto the same step, pressing her up against the wall.

Wen Jinyan’s back was against the cold wall, and Gu Wansheng’s warm breath was close to her. She tilted her head up, and the one syllable that started to escape her lips was swallowed deep into the other’s mouth.

“Gu… mngh.”

The hand holding her wrist slowly moved up, gently yet dominantly squeezing between her fingers, tightening its grip. Wen Jinyan felt the heat and moisture lingering on her lips. As if by telepathy, she opened her mouth as Gu Wansheng’s tongue delved deeper. The moist warmth slid in, intertwining and lingering with hers.