On the Wedding Night, I Transmigrated to After the Divorce – Chapter 49
by Little PandaThe Plan to Go Home with Director An
Teacher Fu is waiting for you outside.
【Are you asleep?】
Late at night, sitting at the bar sipping mulled wine, An Qiu couldn’t resist sending Yu Yan a message.
Yu Yan hadn’t livestreamed today, nor had she posted any videos. She hadn’t revealed a single thing about her life, and An Qiu felt a slight desire to peek in, to know more.
Yu Yan’s reply was swift: 【About to sleep, just scrolling on my phone for a little bit longer～】
An Qiu hadn’t really thought about what to say, and ending the conversation so suddenly felt too abrupt. She quickly organized an impromptu gathering: 【The team is having a get-together in a couple of days. Want me to bring you along so you can meet everyone?】
To put her at ease, An Qiu added: 【We haven’t decided on a place yet. If you have anywhere suitable in mind, you can let me know.】
Yu Yan: 【Teacher An, I have a bit of social anxiety1.】
Social anxiety? An Qiu raised an eyebrow. 【For real?】 She had never once associated this kid with social anxiety.
Yu Yan: 【It’s fake.】
“…” An Qiu waited for her to continue, curious what kind of stunt she was trying to pull.
Yu Yan: 【I just wanted to be coaxed by Director An.】
Yu Yan: 【Like last time.】
So it wasn’t just An Qiu who had been replaying their last encounter. An Qiu indulged her: 【Then let me coax you.】
Yu Yan: 【So perfunctory!】
An Qiu: 【You can think of it as just meeting some friends for a drink. We won’t talk about work, don’t worry. I’ll send you the script as soon as it’s finalized.】
Yu Yan asked again: 【Then if I get drunk, can I be personally escorted home by Teacher An?】
An Qiu: 【I can do that even if you don’t get drunk.】
【But last time, Teacher An said she wanted to carry me home.】 When that message popped up, An Qiu froze—she makes people want to carry her home.
That was the comment An Qiu had left the very first time she’d seen one of her videos.
The next second, the message was retracted.
An Qiu wanted to say something, typing and deleting, but then Yu Yan sent: 【I’m going to sleep!】
An Qiu chuckled.
Early to bed, early to rise, makes one healthy? An Qiu wasn’t quite sure what kind of praise to use for her. Yu Yan’s mind was so lively, and being more than a decade older, An Qiu felt there were several generation gaps between them. It was inevitable that she had to be more deliberate. She was getting old, unable to keep up with the youth anymore.
Through the screen, An Qiu pictured a scene from a movie: a girl tossing her phone aside, shyly pulling the covers over her head. Was Yu Yan exactly like that?
“Lu Yu.”
“Hm?”
Yu Yan, who wasn’t actually sleeping, hugged a throw pillow and sighed. “I saw Fu Yunqing a few days ago.”
Lu Yu hit the pause button and turned her head. “Where did you see her?”
“I was with Teacher An at a coffee shop. I saw her just as we were about to leave.”
“So, what happened?”
“She scared me so badly I ran away.”
“She scared you so badly you ran away?” Lu Yu was just lifting a glass of water to her lips. “What did she do to you?”
“We had just finished our discussion and were leaving when we ran into her coming down from the second floor. You have no idea, the way she looked at me was so, so gloomy. I just grabbed Teacher An and bolted.” Yu Yan said with exaggeration, then sighed again. “I don’t know why, but I feel strangely suffocated.”
Staring at the TV, where the paused frame showed the main character tilting her head back to exhale a plume of smoke, Yu Yan felt a sudden urge to have a couple of drags herself, even though she couldn’t smoke and hated the smell. She must be too depressed.
“Is it because you have a guilty conscience?”
Yu Yan furrowed her brow in thought. “Hmm…”
“Maybe it’s because, subconsciously, you still feel like she’s your…” Lu Yu paused, unsure of what term to use.
Yu Yan knew what she wanted to say. To put it bluntly, that was exactly how she felt. Seeing Fu Yunqing was like seeing her master; she was afraid of being scolded, terrified of her anger. It must be because Fu Yunqing’s possessiveness2 was too strong, her control too strict. Even with amnesia, that fear was etched into her bones. Fu Yunqing was just too terrifying!
And if she was so terrifying, why had Yu Yan dreamed of her again last night? She heaved her third melancholy sigh of the day.
Lu Yu grew wary. “You want to go find her again? You didn’t secretly unblock her without telling me, did you?”
“Of course not. I’m going out for drinks with Teacher An in a couple of days.”
“You’re really going?”
“Mhm.” What lesbian could possibly refuse an invitation from Director An?
“So what’s your angle? Do you actually want to get into the entertainment industry? Or are you just unable to refuse An Qiu and want to go have fun with her?”
Just want to go have fun with her?
Yu Yan liked the sound of that.
But in truth, there was another very, very important reason—she was out of money again, and she was truly sick of it.
She had endured two months of this life, worrying about money every day, selling her talents and pandering to women on livestreams. She’d had enough. She looked at her bank account, which was again nearing zero after a few days without streaming, and then at the small, dim living room with no balcony. Here she was, curled up on the sofa under a thick blanket. Was she really going to spend the rest of her life squeezed into a place like this with Lu Yu? Even if she streamed every single day, the best she could do was move into a slightly better apartment. When would she ever get back to the huge villa, the big house she used to have?
Every time she went out to eat or shop with friends, walking through places like Nanjing Road or Huaihai Road, seeing the luxury cars on the streets and the drivers and bodyguards holding shopping bags for young misses outside the designer stores, the gap between her past and present felt enormous.
She used to live a life just like that.
But now, if she went to Hermès, the only thing she could afford was a silk scarf.
She missed her old life so desperately that her desire to be kept3 by a rich woman and escape her predicament had reached a new peak.
Her craving made An Qiu’s appearance feel like perfect timing. This was an excellent opportunity, and Yu Yan had to seize it.
Speaking of An Qiu, Yu Yan’s mournful expression brightened with excitement. “Did you know? Teacher An is so cute. She really looks like one of those bad women with a rich romantic history, but I never expected she’d get hooked with just a little flirting. And she’s super rich! Directing is just her side gig; she has several companies to her name. She’s a super rich lady. If I were kept by her…” Yu Yan began to calculate with glee.
Lu Yu: “…”
Sigh… Lu Yu let out a long, deep sigh.
Because it was their first time meeting up and Yu Yan was coming alone, An Qiu didn’t choose some mysterious high-end club. To help her relax and feel at ease, she picked a lounge bar4 with a good atmosphere and nice decor.
At 7:50 p.m., Yu Yan took a taxi to the bar’s entrance and lowered her head to text Teacher An: 【I’m here.】
Teacher An: 【Okay, you’ll see us as soon as you come in.】
Yu Yan’s eyes curved into a smile.
The soft, lazy music and warm, orange lighting inside created a mellow ambiance. She glanced around for a moment before spotting An Qiu waving at her. She walked over quickly, and An Qiu rose to meet her gaze, walking toward her.
The heating inside was strong, and Teacher An was wearing only a blouse, the sleeves rolled up to reveal fair, strong forearms. Her long hair was down, and she still wasn’t wearing any makeup, looking as relaxed and sexy as ever.
“Good evening, Teacher An～” Yu Yan’s eyes were bright, and her smile was always captivating. Pinned by that direct gaze, An Qiu’s heart softened. She took her by the wrist and said softly, “Don’t be too formal. Everyone’s really easygoing.”
Yu Yan followed behind her, greeting the others before sitting down by her side. It wasn’t a large gathering; including Yu Yan, there were only eight people. An Qiu was indeed an ‘e’ person5—humorous, easygoing, and great at commanding a room. Yu Yan was also good at adapting to these kinds of situations. She was open and at ease, quickly fitting in and laughing with the other women.
There were drinks and snacks on the table, all expensive liquors. Yu Yan eyed them greedily, but An Qiu had probably spoken to everyone beforehand, because no one offered her a drink. Instead, she poured a glass for herself. Seeing this, An Qiu leaned toward her and asked in a low voice, “Did you eat dinner?”
“You should have something to line your stomach if you haven’t.”
“I’ve eaten,” Yu Yan replied.
With that, she lifted the glass, took a sip, swallowed, and took another. Then she looked at An Qiu proudly, as if to show off what a great drinker she was.
An Qiu, of course, knew that Yu Yan liked to drink. The streamer had bragged about her heroic deeds at bars more than once during her livestreams. She couldn’t help but chide her. “What are you so proud of?”
The person next to them laughed. “So Yanyan can drink! Director An specifically told us not to let you drink before you got here. She said if you really wanted something, we should just give you milk or juice. Looks like she was worrying for nothing.”
“Director An is so thoughtful,” Yu Yan said.
“Hahahaha, you’re too sweet! ‘Director An is so thoughtful~’” The friend knew An Qiu well and mimicked Yu Yan’s cloying tone. Was it really that cloying? Yu Yan’s face flushed red, and she lowered her head to take a big gulp of her drink.
“Do you know how to play any games?” An Qiu asked her.
Face still red, Yu Yan said, “Of course I do.”
Her mission for the night was to get herself drunk.
So naturally, she joined the game. By deliberately losing, her downing of drink after drink seemed completely natural, even a little pitiful. No one suspected her true intentions. After two or three rounds, Yu Yan was already starting to feel a little drunk.
What was going on? Her alcohol tolerance was terrible.
“Mmm…” She tilted her head back, draining the last drop into her mouth. A wave of heat rushed through her. Her head began to burn, her body went soft, and after putting down her glass, she couldn’t stop herself from leaning against An Qiu. Her nose pressed against the other woman’s shoulder; Teacher An smelled faintly of sandalwood, much nicer than the alcohol. An Qiu reached out to steady her, but just as she did, Yu Yan slipped away again and sat up straight, leaving An Qiu’s arm to grasp at empty air.
Yu Yan was immensely proud, having felt An Qiu’s body stiffen when she’d gotten close.
“Are you drunk?” An Qiu’s hand, having missed its target, rested flat on the sofa. Yu Yan shook her head. “No, not drunk.” In reality, her voice was already slurring with intoxication.
An Qiu was much taller than her. She turned her head and looked down at Yu Yan, an angle from which she could only see her profile. Yu Yan had her hair in a braid today, draped over her shoulder. Beneath the soft, fluffy strands, her cheeks were pale and flushed, and half of one ear was visible, also bright red.
Drunks were usually stubborn, especially one like her who always proclaimed what a great drinker she was.
Just as she expected, a stubborn and tipsy Yu Yan only became more uninhibited. She had a great time playing with the group and, after a few more drinks, her consciousness started to fade. She began to fantasize: two more drinks and she wouldn’t be able to take it anymore. When she was completely wasted, Teacher An would surely see it and stop her. A drunk person has no strength, so Yu Yan would just follow her lead and collapse limply into her arms.
Teacher An would want to take her home. She would ask her, Do you still remember where you live?
—Do you still remember where you live?
Of course she did! Her home was Lu Yu’s home, in that shabby but somewhat cozy little apartment. Although the brilliant Young Miss Yu wouldn’t forget where she lived just because of a few drinks, she had to play dumb to complete her mission. When asked for her address, she would act confused and give nonsensical6 answers, saying Pudong one moment and Xuhui the next.
She wasn’t going to be sent home by Teacher An. She was going home with Teacher An.
Go home with Teacher An, seduce Teacher An, be kept by Teacher An, and return to a high-end life of luxury and opulence7…
A flawless plan. A plan to ascend to heaven in one step8. A plan to never have to livestream again for the rest of her life.
“Alright, stop drinking.” Sure enough, the next time she was penalized with a drink, An Qiu couldn’t watch any longer. She reached out and pressed down on the hand lifting the glass. “Look how drunk you are. Don’t drink anymore…”
“Can you still remember where your home is?”
…Excellent. Her plan was proceeding smoothly. It was starting. She was asking. Now it was time for Yu Yan to start her act. She would be going home with Teacher An very soon, she thought. She never expected—
The glass door of the lounge bar was pushed open, and a tall woman in a suit walked in. In Yu Yan’s blurry, double-visioned sight, the woman gradually approached.
Yu Yan watched dazedly as she came to a stop in front of her.
What a cool jiejie… Yu Yan marveled. Is she here for me? Yu Yan’s eyes instantly lit up, a little nervous with anticipation.
“Ms. An, hello. My name is Dan Lin. I am Ms. Fu Yunqing’s driver, here to take Miss Yu home.” Then, Dan Lin bent down and said softly to Yu Yan, “Yanyan, it’s time to go home. Teacher Fu is waiting for you outside.”
Footnotes
- 'Shè kǒng' (social fear) is modern Chinese internet slang for social anxiety disorder or being extremely shy in social situations.
- 'Zhànyǒuyù' (possessive desire) is a common term used to describe a strong, often excessive, desire to control or possess a partner in a relationship.
- 'Bāoyǎng' means to keep a mistress or sugar baby, providing financial support in exchange for companionship or romance.
- A 'qīngbā' (clear bar) is a quieter, more upscale lounge-style bar focused on cocktails and conversation rather than loud music or dancing.
- In modern Chinese internet slang, 'e' refers to the 'Extrovert' (E) personality type in the MBTI assessment. It describes someone highly outgoing and social.
- 'Niú tóu bù duì mǎ zuǐ' (a cow's head doesn't fit a horse's mouth) is an idiom for something that is completely illogical, incongruous, or doesn't match up.
- 'Jǐn yī yù shí' (brocade clothes and jade food) is an idiom describing a life of extreme wealth and luxury.
- 'Yī bù dēng tiān' (ascend to heaven in one step) is an idiom for achieving meteoric success overnight.
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