Chapter 100: The Shell Cracks Part 4

To avoid further awkwardness, Chun Liuyi kept the conversation going, saying she wouldn’t eat much but would keep them company. Siwang smiled and sat down, opening the bottles Chun Liuyi had brought. “Congratulations on the move.”

Gu Qingshuang felt a bit more at ease. At first, she was flustered and didn’t know what to say. Because Chun Liuyi’s words last time had been so harsh, she kept glancing at her, worried if she was still angry.

Irritated by the staring, Chun Liuyi said lazily, “If you want to look, just look. Why act like a thief? Are you secretly in love with me?”

“What are you saying…” Gu Qingshuang stammered. “That’s impossible.”

As they spoke, Gu Qingshuang downed a glass of wine. “It’s so good to have you both here,” she sighed.

Chun Liuyi squinted at her. “Are you going through a breakup?”

Gu Qingshuang let out a soft “Ah,” repeated the question, then nodded with a glazed look in her eyes. “I’m going through a breakup.”

Chun Liuyi rubbed her temples. “I forgot when I bought the wine.”

She should have bought something with a lower alcohol content. Years later, the eldest Young Miss of the Gu family still couldn’t handle strong liquor. But a drunk Gu Qingshuang was much more tolerable than the usual one. Chun Liuyi teased, “Did you even have a relationship to break up from?”

Gu Qingshuang wrinkled her nose and took another gulp. “I finally understand what you said before, Yiyi.”

“What?” Chun Liuyi asked.

“Friends and girlfriends are different,” Gu Qingshuang murmured, leaning her head on the table. “I didn’t understand before, but I do now.”

“What do you understand?”

“I thought having you both here would be enough, but I’m still so sad.”

Chun Liuyi: “?”

Liu Siwang wanted to cover her mouth. Just as Chun Liuyi was about to get angry, Gu Qingshuang continued, “In the past, you never came to me when you were sad. I thought it was because Siwang was easier to talk to, but I realize now it’s because it’s better to have a girlfriend by your side when you’re hurting.”

Even that night she spent waiting for Ming Li downstairs, her mood had improved significantly just by talking to her.

Hearing this, Chun Liuyi slapped her shoulder. “If you can’t talk, just shut up, Young Miss Gu!”

Gu Qingshuang didn’t get angry at the hit. Instead, she smiled. “Yiyi, have you forgiven me?”

“Shut up.”

After a while, Gu Qingshuang said gloomily, “Yiyi, you were right. I really am shameless. I did wrong by you both and then shamelessly insisted on being friends without even admitting my mistakes. I’m a bastard! An idiot!”

She started scolding herself. Chun Liuyi, who had been sinking into a sad mood, looked at Liu Siwang. “Have you ever drunk with her before?”

“She wasn’t drunk then,” Siwang replied. “Her drinking manners seemed fine.”

Chun Liuyi was incredulous—this was fine?

Fortunately, Gu Qingshuang didn’t act out for long. Except for when Siwang was tucking her into bed, she was still whimpering softly: “When I went to see Ming Li, she said I wasn’t worthy of eating breakfast with her… she said we weren’t in that kind of relationship anymore… but she went with someone else… and they were laughing together…”

She sounded incredibly aggrieved. Chun Liuyi lit a cigarette to the side and watched as Siwang patiently covered Gu Qingshuang with the quilt and patted her back. Only then did Gu Qingshuang stop talking, though she continued to weep silently.

By the time Siwang finished, Chun Liuyi’s cigarette was nearly out. The two stepped out of the room. Looking at the mess on the table, Chun Liuyi extinguished her cigarette, rolled up her sleeves, tied back her hair, and efficiently started cleaning.

Siwang was even more efficient. When it came to housework, neither of them could match her.

Once everything was spotless, Chun Liuyi spoke. “Maybe you should test the waters with Ming Li?”

Siwang was startled. “Ask what?”

“To see if she’s started a ‘second spring,’ of course.”

“I think you would be more suitable,” Siwang said calmly. “As far as I know, Zhu Hanxing is best friends with Ming Li.”

Upon hearing that name, Chun Liuyi’s brow furrowed. She stared at Siwang for a long time before sighing. “I’m not in contact with her.”

“The movie The Long Farewell is about to set a release date, isn’t it?” Siwang asked.

The Long Farewell was the film Chun Liuyi and Zhu Hanxing had made together. Filming finished at the beginning of the year, and as the end of the year approached, news of it passing censorship and being scheduled was trickling out. It would likely be a Lunar New Year release, which meant promotions would start a month before. Chun Liuyi’s manager had already cleared her schedule.

“Yes,” Chun Liuyi said. “But we only have a professional relationship.”

A smile touched Siwang’s eyes. “Yiyi, does this mean I still have a chance?”

The atmosphere froze. Chun Liuyi turned her back to Siwang to pour a glass of water. “What’s the point of repeating past mistakes?”

Siwang said softly, “Our beginning was so brief. How can it be considered a ‘past mistake’?”

They hadn’t even found a path to follow, so how could they be retracing their steps?

…

When Gu Qingshuang opened her eyes, the room was dark. She groped around for her phone but couldn’t find it. She tried to find the light switch from memory, but failed. She ended up bumping into a hard object before remembering she no longer lived at Gu Manor. The “hard object” was a structural pillar right next to the bed.

She finally found the switch by the door and found her phone in the living room. Looking around the empty apartment, she felt a hollow sensation in her chest. The post-drinking headache was unpleasant. There was a cup of honey water Siwang had thoughtfully left on the nightstand with a note: We’re leaving. Talk soon.

Gu Qingshuang sat on the edge of the bed, sipping the honey water. Her screen lit up: 04:05. In the past, she could have gone back to sleep because there was a source of warmth beside her. Now, this space felt desolate and cold.

A few minutes later, she simply got up to research for her professional title thesis. After half an hour of writing, scenes from the previous night began to flicker in her mind. Her memory had stopped at the point where she had one drink and Chun Liuyi asked if she was going through a breakup.

But now, certain words were jumping out of her brain. She sat at her desk, dazed. The fragmented memories couldn’t form a complete picture. So… what exactly had she done last night?

At 7:00 AM, a message came from Chun Liuyi: [I’ve checked. Ming Li is currently single. You still have a chance. But I advise you not to make pointless struggles. Let the past be the past.]

Gu Qingshuang: [Why did you check that?]