Our Relationship Is Our Business
You Can Explain It in the Underworld1
The opening ceremony followed the usual tradition of burning incense and taking photos. As the female lead, Lin Sifei stood beside Director Chen, looking sharp and capable in a white blouse and black trousers.
During the photoshoot, Director Chen spotted Luo Ke and waved enthusiastically. “President Luo, as the biggest investor in this film, you should join us for a group photo!”
“I don’t think that would be appropriate,” Luo Ke replied with a light chuckle.
Director Chen persisted, reaching out to pull her over. “Come on, come on, just stand right behind Lin Sifei.”
Lin Sifei bit her lip and smiled, shifting to the side to make room for her. Luo Ke was about the same height as Lin Sifei, and by standing slightly offset, her entire face was perfectly visible.
She looked toward the camera, her expression as cool as ever.
Suddenly, a hand seized the one she had hanging at her side, enveloping it firmly. She glanced down and saw Lin Sifei’s hand, hidden behind her back, playfully fiddling with her fingers. A small smile crept onto her face.
“Get ready, we’re taking the picture.”
Standing in the front row, Lin Sifei broke into a wide grin.
The flash went off, freezing the moment in time. In the photo, Luo Ke was smiling faintly, her eyes fixed on Lin Sifei, who stood just in front of her.
“Alright, we’ll officially start filming tomorrow. The schedule for the day will be sent out this afternoon, so keep an eye out for it.”
Lin Sifei nodded emphatically, her hand still clutching Luo Ke’s. “Well, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be heading out.”
Director Chen glanced at their clasped hands but said nothing.
Lin Sifei waved goodbye and happily linked her arm through Luo Ke’s. “So, we’ll go meet your grandmother and the others in a bit. Did you book a private room at a restaurant yet?”
“Not yet. What do you feel like eating?”
“Let me think…”
In their wake, Chen Qiyuan was looking over the newly revised script. Feng Xiao, sitting beside her, shot her a look and let out a long sigh. To think she had fallen so far as to be acting alongside this sort of eighteenth-tier2 nobody.
Technically, Feng Xiao had far more scenes than Chen Qiyuan, but in Director Chen’s eyes, they were treated as equals. And since Feng Xiao was only the second female lead, she wasn’t given any special treatment. It was only natural that she felt resentful. Chen Qiyuan, on the other hand, had only ever played supporting roles, so she didn’t feel a thing.
“Um, Senior Feng Xiao, all my scenes are with you. Should we maybe run our lines together first?”
Feng Xiao fanned herself with her script, leaning back in her chair with a dismissive air. “We aren’t the main characters, so there’s no point in rehearsing now. Didn’t you see how close the star is with the investor? Our scenes could be changed at any moment. Let’s not waste our time.”
Chen Qiyuan felt a little awkward at the rejection. The other woman was gossiping behind people’s backs, and she had no idea how to respond, so she could only sit back down and quietly read her script.
Getting no reply, Feng Xiao huffed in annoyance and fanned herself more vigorously. This C-lister had the nerve to ignore her!
“Who do you think you are, Lin Sifei? If you don’t have her talent for conquering a CEO, then don’t throw that kind of tantrum. If you had an investor as your backer, you could ignore whomever you pleased. But you don’t, so know your place.”
Feng Xiao shot her a glare, threw her script down, and stalked off in her high heels.
Chen Qiyuan stared at her retreating back in shock. “Is she sick in the head?”
Luo Ke drove up to the restaurant, and Lin Sifei put on her wristwatch. “Remember to keep track of the time for me. Otherwise, I won’t be able to film tomorrow, and Director Chen will have a fit.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it,” Luo Ke said with a smile.
Lin Sifei opened the car door, adjusted her sunglasses, and walked inside with her arm linked through Luo Ke’s.
The private room was empty. Lin Sifei thought for a moment, then pulled Luo Ke to a seat near the door.
“This way, if they try to pull anything, we can make a quick getaway.”
“Why do I feel like being with you is like acting in Young and Dangerous3 every day? Or do you spirits just start fighting at the slightest disagreement?”
“We do not fight,” Lin Sifei said, giving her a gentle push. “I just think that since your aunts and uncles have always relied on you for money, they’ll lose their minds when they realize that without you, the money’s gone.”
A look of confusion crossed Luo Ke’s face. She hesitated, then asked, “Is money… that important? You can just earn more.”
“…” Lin Sifei stared at her in silence, then let out a breath and pushed her face away. “Don’t let me see your face, or I might not be able to stop myself from hitting you.”
“It seems you spirits really do like to fight,” Luo Ke teased her, deadpan.
Lin Sifei felt she was a lost cause. She took a deep breath and began silently reciting Buddhist scriptures in her head.
Don’t get angry, don’t get angry. Anger gives you wrinkles. There will be more infuriating things later, so this is just a small scene.
Once she had calmed down, she turned to shoot Luo Ke a glare and ordered herself some ice cream.
“You have to film soon. Aren’t you afraid of gaining weight from eating like this?”
“This character is so pampered and never exercises. It’s perfectly normal for her to be a little chubby,” Lin Sifei said, scooping out a piece of yellow peach and squinting in satisfaction.
The fruit ice cream at this place was amazing.
“This is delicious, you should try some. It’s sweet but not cloying. It should be to your taste.” Lin Sifei dug up a heaping spoonful and held it to Luo Ke’s lips.
Luo Ke leaned forward and ate the whole spoonful, her face scrunching up from the cold. “So cold.”
Her little prank a success, Lin Sifei leaned back in her chair, grinning. “Is it sweet?”
“It’s okay.”
Lin Sifei pouted. “This isn’t sweet enough for you? But you don’t even like sweets.”
As she spoke, she scooped up another spoonful for herself. Just as she opened her mouth, a shadow fell over her.
Luo Ke leaned in and captured her lips. Taking advantage of her parted mouth, she pressed forward, sweeping her tongue inside to taste the sweetness all over again.
After a long moment, Lin Sifei was out of breath and began kicking her legs frantically.
Luo Ke released her and licked her own lips. “This way is sweeter.”
Lin Sifei’s face flushed bright red. “Shameless! We’re in a restaurant!”
Luo Ke grinned like a fox that had stolen the fish4. She had discovered that whenever they were in public, Lin Sifei was burdened by her celebrity image and became easily flustered and shy. But back at home, she was bold and open, daring to say or do anything.
It was also a matter of initiative. When she was the one starting things, she was prepared and had no inhibitions, but she couldn’t handle it when Luo Ke took the lead.
Luo Ke decided to tease her, leaning closer. “How am I shameless? Just the other day at home, you…”
“AAH! STOP TALKING!” Lin Sifei clapped a hand over her mouth, smearing melted ice cream all over Luo Ke’s face.
Luo Ke squeezed her eyes shut and quickly pulled out a napkin. Lin Sifei hurriedly grabbed one as well to help wipe her face. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“It’s fine, I’ll go wash up.” Luo Ke opened her eyes and glanced down, noticing a matching smudge on Lin Sifei’s black skirt. “How did you get that?”
Lin Sifei looked down and saw the stain. She pouted. “Well, it’s your fault for insisting on kissing me! I dropped my ice cream, and now it’s all over my hands.”
Luo Ke couldn’t help but laugh. She pecked her on the lips again. “Come on, let’s go clean up together. And while we’re at it… we can touch up our makeup.”
She nuzzled Lin Sifei’s lips, making her blush an even deeper shade of red.
Lin Sifei scrunched her nose and trotted to the restroom with her. Luo Ke washed her face first, then helped Lin Sifei dab at her skirt.
“Okay, okay, that’s good enough,” Lin Sifei said, drying it with a clean paper towel. “There’s still a little mark. It looks weird.”
Luo Ke used her hand to fan the spot dry. Lin Sifei looked at the top of her head, the corners of her lips turning up uncontrollably. “Alright, alright, let’s just leave it.”
She used her purse to cover the spot. “This will do.”
Lin Sifei touched up her makeup in the mirror, then redid Luo Ke’s. Looking at their two flawless reflections, she capped her lipstick. “Perfect.”
She linked her arm through Luo Ke’s and they swayed their way back to the private room.
When they pushed the door open, Second Aunt and her husband had already arrived, seated with an empty chair between them.
“Well, well, Xiao Ke. Why are you so late? You invited your elders, but you’re the one who’s tardy. That’s not a good look.”
Lin Sifei felt Luo Ke’s body tense, as if she were about to bow out of reflex. Lin Sifei raised an eyebrow and gave her a sharp pinch on the waist.
Luo Ke snapped back to reality and shot her a helpless look. That hurt.
Seeing her pitiful expression, Lin Sifei relented and gently rubbed the spot.
She kept her arm linked with Luo Ke’s as they sat down. “You must be Second Aunt. Is your eyesight poor? Can’t you see the bowl of ice cream on the table? Obviously, someone was here. Luo Ke’s purse was right here, too. Don’t you even recognize her bag?”
Luo Ke was usually completely deferential to her elders, and outsiders didn’t dare to be disrespectful because of her status. Luo Chunhai was accustomed to this treatment, and being contradicted so suddenly made her blood boil.
“Who are you? This is a private family dinner. What are you doing here?”
Lin Sifei gave her a brilliant smile, tightening her arm around Luo Ke and leaning on her shoulder. “Luo Ke, why don’t you tell them who I am?”
Luo Ke sighed at this display of a fox borrowing a tiger’s might5, this swaggering bully. Squeezing the back of Lin Sifei’s hand, she said, “Second Aunt, this is my girlfriend. I plan to marry her.”
“Marry? A girlfriend?”
Luo Chunhai shot to her feet, pointing a finger at Luo Ke. “Luo Ke, what has gotten into you? This is a mental illness! Have you thought about our family, have you thought about your grandmother?”
Luo Ke’s expression darkened at her words. “Second Aunt, homosexuality is not a mental illness. Feifei and I being together is our business. It has nothing to do with the Luo family or with Grandma.”
Luo Chunhai’s neck flushed with rage. “You! What if your parents knew? After your younger brother and sister-in-law6 passed away, we raised you, and this is how you turn out? How am I supposed to explain this to them?!”
With that, she covered her mouth and began to sob.
Luo Ke’s brow twitched, and she averted her gaze.
Noticing her hesitation, alarm bells went off in Lin Sifei’s head. She slammed her hand on the table and stood up. “Second Aunt, why are you acting like it’s the end of the world? Luo Ke’s parents would be my parents-in-law, and I plan on visiting their graves in a couple of days. We will tell them about us directly, and we’ll make it clear that Luo Ke is with me because she loves me, and that has absolutely nothing to do with any of you.”
She crossed her arms. “As for you, once you’re in the underworld, you won’t have to worry about not being able to explain.”
“You!” Luo Chunhai pointed a trembling finger at her nose.
Lin Sifei calmly smoothed her sleeves, then bent down to whine playfully at Luo Ke. “Luo Ke, look at the time! Are they coming or not? I’m hungry. So, so, so hungry!”
She pouted, looking at her with an aggrieved expression.
Luo Ke checked the time. They were indeed well past the appointed hour. She wasn’t particularly surprised that her family was late; her first thought was of Lin Sifei’s time limit. She had to film tomorrow. If they wasted too much time now, what if she turned into a cat during the shoot?
She tapped her fingers anxiously on the table. “I’ll call and hurry them along.”
The call was only answered on the third try. Luo Bihua’s unhurried voice came through the line. “Luo Ke, what is it?”
Luo Ke took a deep breath. “First Aunt, where are you?”
“Oh, we’re almost there.”
“Where is ‘there’? Give me a location so I can estimate a time and have the restaurant start on the food.”
Luo Ke was insistent, so Luo Bihua had no choice but to say, “We’re about to leave the house. You see, Grandma wasn’t feeling well today, so we got a bit delayed.”
“Grandma’s not feeling well?” Luo Ke frowned. “Then we should take her to the hospital first. We’ll come over and see her. We can reschedule dinner.”
“No, no, that’s not necessary,” Luo Bihua quickly refused.
Luo Ke’s frown deepened. Just then, Old Mrs. Luo’s7 voice carried over the phone. “Bihua, what do you think of this outfit? Does the necklace not match? It looks a little tacky.”
Luo Bihua hastily covered the phone’s receiver. “Mom, it looks lovely.”
Luo Ke listened to the commotion on the other end and closed her eyes with a weary sigh. They were busy dressing up; she wasn’t unwell at all.
Sitting beside her, Lin Sifei had heard everything crystal clear. She snatched the phone from Luo Ke. “If Grandma isn’t feeling well, then she shouldn’t come. It’s not an important occasion, anyway. We don’t want her ending up in the hospital only to have you all blame our Luo Ke for it.”
Lin Sifei stroked Luo Ke’s hair, her fingers moving down to press against her lips, silencing her.
Hearing her voice, Luo Bihua asked the same question as her sister: “And who are you?”
“Tsk.” Lin Sifei happily held the phone to Luo Ke’s mouth, her face full of expectation. “Go on. Confess your love again.”
The author has something to say:
Feifei (tilting her head back and chugging water): Bring it on, I’m not about to back down. Luo Ke, come on! Profess your love!
President Luo: ……Am I a broken record?
There will be a second update. If a chapter isn’t six thousand characters, we’ll do two updates, it’s all the same, all the same 【don’t hit me】
✨ Unlock Early Access to Chapters! ✨
Choose your perfect membership at bamboopandatl.net:
📚 Full Access ($4.99)
• Advanced chapters of ALL ongoing novels
• Access to complete finished novels
• Ad-free reading experience
📖 Single Novel Access ($1.49)
• Advanced chapters of ONE specific novel
• Ad-free reading for chosen novel
PayPal is the only current payment option!