Chapter 41: Boarding the Plane

Gu Shuang and Lin Shixia really looked too similar.

Gu Liuguang had already vaguely sensed that this world’s operations followed normal logic—actions led to chain reactions.

There were unreasonable aspects too, but they were just instances where Gu Liuguang felt someone didn’t match the character setup provided by the plot. That boiled down to just one person: Zhang Xibai.

Many things made Gu Liuguang feel that, rather than a novel world, it was actually more like the real world. She stopped viewing it through the lens of a novel world and instead made reasonable guesses. Gu Shuang and Lin Shixia were relatives, so their usual interactions were probably quite close.

Otherwise, no one would call relatives in the middle of the night.

She already paid extra attention to Gu Shuang, and with this coincidental shared family breakfast spot, it felt even stranger.

Despite the questions in her mind, Gu Liuguang didn’t delay packing. By the time she messaged Gu Shuang, she had already finished and was ready to head out.

Gu Liuguang had originally planned to take a cab to the airport herself. If not for wanting to ensure nothing unexpected happened, she actually didn’t want much to do with Ye Qingying or Zhang Xibai. But Ye Qingying insisted on picking her up.

Ye Qingying was hard to shake off. Her attitude wasn’t forceful, but she would keep pestering with soft, half-insistent words to express her desire to go together.

Ground down until she had no choice, Gu Liuguang could only agree.

She took the elevator down to the building entrance. Gu Shuang messaged her, her tone completely natural and impossible to fault. It was a voice message too.

-Gu Shuang: “This one had the best reviews. You don’t like it?”

It came with a screenshot of the shop’s ratings, timestamp in the upper right corner showing it was just taken.

Gu Liuguang frowned. “Did I tell you the address too?”

-Gu Shuang: “There’s a delivery cabinet near the neighborhood. I can have it left there for you.”

No extra explanations, and her tone showed no guilt at all. Was she really overthinking it?

Aside from both having “Shuang” in their names, the two didn’t share many other similarities.

Gu Liuguang was still mulling it over when Gu Shuang messaged again, this time with delivery info. It would arrive in just a few minutes.

This time, Gu Liuguang didn’t reply with voice. She had wanted to type that she was already at the company, but worried the other side might change the address to send it there instead—she’d done that before.

But if it really got delivered, Gu Liuguang didn’t want Ye Qingying to know Gu Shuang had ordered her breakfast. She felt it wouldn’t sit well if Ye Qingying found out.

In the end, she called the delivery person herself, told them to handle their own breakfast, and then messaged Gu Shuang that she’d received it.

At the neighborhood entrance, Ye Qingying’s car was already parked outside. Not sure if it was Gu Shuang’s influence, but today she had even hired a driver.

Gu Liuguang pulled open the door and got in. Ye Qingying glanced at her. “Just one bag?”

Gu Liuguang nodded and flashed a cute smile. “I figured I wouldn’t be gone long, so I didn’t pack much.”

Ye Qingying looked like she hadn’t slept enough. She wasn’t wearing makeup, and under the bright light, her skin glowed white with few blemishes. Her under-eyes were a bit red, her hair casually loose. She ran her hand from the top of her head to the ends. She wore a bohemian-style spaghetti-strap maxi dress over thin long pants, the fringed hem swaying over the pants.

“Liuguang Little Baby, there’s so much fun to be had in B City. You won’t get through it all in just a few days,” Ye Qingying said lazily, her head against the seatback as she turned to look at Gu Liuguang, her pale lips curving slightly. “But no worries. You can wear my clothes too.”

She winked her left eye. “These are all designer brands. Help yourself to sis’s closet.”

Gu Liuguang kept her expression neutral but deliberately put on a surprised look. “Sis, you mean I should stay at your place? That wouldn’t be right…”

She had no intention of staying at Ye Qingying’s. Lin Shixia’s would be okay. She carefully watched Ye Qingying’s expression. The other woman stayed all smiley, looking even more relaxed now.

After hearing her words, if it was a rejection, there would be a frown, but Ye Qingying didn’t. Her smile grew more obvious instead. Gu Liuguang’s instincts screamed bad vibes. Before the other could speak, she preempted with feigned difficulty. “On second thought, maybe not. It’d be bad if someone snapped a photo. Ye Sis has already helped me out so much. I don’t want to trouble you more.”

Ye Qingying frowned, her mouth opening, but Gu Liuguang cut her off again, babbling nonstop. “Perfect timing—I have a friend I know in B City. I can stay with her. No need to trouble Ye Sis.”

Ye Qingying’s brows furrowed deep enough to form a crease. She was about to point out that Gu Liuguang came from a small place and couldn’t possibly have friends in B City, but then remembered Gu Liuguang had never mentioned it to her. If she asked outright, Gu Liuguang would question how she knew.

Thinking that, Ye Qingying irritably put on her sunglasses and said unhappily, “Don’t call me Ye Sis anymore. Sounds awful.”

Gu Liuguang switched seamlessly. “Got it, Qingying Sis.”

Ye Qingying’s lips twitched like she wanted to say something, but she held back in the end.

Gu Liuguang figured she’d unknowingly offended Ye Qingying somewhere along the way. From the airport to boarding, Ye Qingying didn’t speak to her the whole trip.

Seeing her all geared up, Gu Liuguang didn’t disturb her further.

When they got out and the driver pulled three suitcases from the trunk, Gu Liuguang finally understood why Ye Qingying had been so shocked by her single backpack. She was pretty shocked herself.

Gu Liuguang had never flown before and found everything novel along the way. They were in first class. Gu Liuguang kept peering out the window. She’d thought planes were small, but up close, she saw how huge they were.

Beside her, Ye Qingying couldn’t hold back. “We haven’t even taken off yet. What are you staring at outside?”

Gu Liuguang rolled her eyes without turning her head. “Just thinking of my mom, dad, little sister, and little brother. None of them have ever flown…”

Ye Qingying swallowed and fell silent.

After a bit, she casually asked if Gu Liuguang was thirsty, if she wanted a drink. She even thoughtfully reminded her that phones needed airplane mode after takeoff and to handle any messages first.

Gu Liuguang didn’t think she had any messages to handle. Her family messaged daily, and she’d reply when she remembered. Lately, she’d replied less, so they messaged less frequently to avoid bothering her.

Prompted by Ye Qingying, she still checked her phone. She only replied to the Liuguang WeChat Account at night and just glanced in the morning to see if Lin Shixia had messaged.

Coincidentally, Lin Shixia had sent a bunch today, completely different from the looping messages before. They were pleasant to read, and she even sent photos.

That was Gu Liuguang’s spur-of-the-moment idea this morning. Lin Shixia had sent a photo of herself waiting for makeup. Gu Liuguang jokingly tested the waters by asking for a selfie, and Lin Shixia actually sent one.

She saved the photo, logged into the Super Topic on Weibo, and saw Lin Shixia’s fans going wild like it was New Year’s.

Looking closer, Lin Shixia had just posted a nine-grid selfie—the same series as the one she’d sent Gu Liuguang, padded with older photos to fill the grid.

Gu Liuguang had thought it was exclusive to her. Turned out she’d overthought it.

She didn’t show any displeasure, since she hadn’t even sneakily probed yet before Lin Shixia had to go film. Now she’d have to wait hours again, so Gu Liuguang let it go.

With Ye Qingying right there, Gu Liuguang couldn’t switch to the Liuguang Account outright. She logged into her usual Guangzai Account instead.

After unpinning the top message, it was bombarded daily with notifications. She couldn’t find the key ones amid the sea of red badges.

Gu Liuguang skimmed names first to decide whether to open. In those few minutes, new messages popped up.

She spotted one from Gu Shuang. She hesitated for a moment and pretended not to see it. She’d already told Gu Shuang she was at the company—normal not to see messages while working.

With nothing important, Gu Liuguang was about to put her phone away when a message from fox topped the list.

Gu Liuguang didn’t pay it much mind at first, but the latest visible message mentioned the blue diamond stud earrings fox had said she’d send. Gu Liuguang couldn’t resist clicking in.

Fox asked if today was convenient for pickup. The blue diamond stud earrings were arriving in A City today.

Scrolling up, there were messages from minutes ago asking why she’d taken leave today—was she unwell or something?

Gu Liuguang hadn’t replied yet when fox followed up about the earrings.

Only company folks knew about the leave so far. Gu Liuguang knew Zhang Ze had her boss’s WeChat, but hadn’t expected him to spread it so fast.

Gu Liuguang thought for a moment. Fox didn’t know her anyway, but she couldn’t outright say she was heading to B City for Lin Shixia.

Fox had just wired her some fan-chasing funds, but Gu Liuguang instinctively felt it best not to tell unrelated people about going to B City for Lin Shixia.

She simply copied the excuse she’d given Zhang Xibai and sent it to fox.

After sending, Gu Liuguang added that her phone was low on battery, she’d find a spot to charge, and reply later.

Fox didn’t push, just said she’d coordinate with the gem company to delay the blue diamond stud earrings delivery. Since it required personal signature, that was fine.

-fox: When are you coming back to B City?

Gu Liuguang typed a pretend reply: After heading home, I’ll see. Not sure when I’ll return.

Gu Liuguang hadn’t planned to return to B City at all. She’d figured once she and Lin Shixia got together, she’d skip plot to other platforms for gaming streams, follow the story until she got taken out, then back to her rural hometown—if she could.

Now, for these blue diamond stud earrings, Gu Liuguang changed her mind. She could come back once more, at least to grab her blue sapphire necklace too.