Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 14.1

His fingers, which had been intermittently tapping on the keyboard, finally stilled.

Under the warm glow of the pendant lamp casting a soft light, Fu Yanshang tilted his head and repeated her words: “That kind of room?”

He said leisurely, “What kind?”

Lu Zhi: “…”

“You know, the one with handcuffs. Have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t,” he said with a relaxed expression. “But as I recall, you seemed to like it quite a bit.”

“I accidentally cuffed myself!” Lu Zhi retorted. “I was just curious. And besides, there’s a mirror on the ceiling too. Didn’t you notice?”

“No,” he replied. “What mirror?”

Lu Zhi found it difficult to explain, worried he might ask how she knew so much about such things. She evaded the question vaguely and said, “Then you should look into it yourself.”

“…”

A moment later, she saw Fu Yanshang raise his hand. Just as she was wondering what he was about to do, she watched as he pressed his finger on the voice message button, brought the phone close to his lips, and said bluntly, “Lu Zhi said not to book that kind of room full of adult toys.”

In the next second, Lu Zhi sprang up and covered his mouth, then swiped to cancel the voice message.

How could he say it like that? What would Grandpa think of her?

After a brief struggle, she waved her hand dismissively. “Forget it, forget it. Just let him book it.”

“…”

Since she had no choice but to wake up early, didn’t that give her some leverage to negotiate?

Lu Zhi pursed her lips and asked, “Did you tell Grandpa I’m going?”

She added tactfully, “But I haven’t agreed to it yet, have I?”

Fu Yanshang looked up at her.

Lu Zhi began listing her points one by one: “Look, I’m someone who really hates waking up early. Every time I have to, it feels like a betrayal of my body and my biological clock. You know, for almost half a year now, I’ve been getting up around nine. Suddenly changing my sleep schedule would be pure torture and damage to my physical well-being.”

“Mm,” Fu Yanshang acknowledged. “So, what do you want to negotiate?”

Lu Zhi cleared her throat and knelt up. “Remember that dating game project Hua Ya had that fell through? The one you vetoed. Now that there’s a gap, it needs to be filled. A gaming company as big as Hua Ya can’t afford to miss out on such a lucrative market, right?”

“Instead of handing the opportunity to someone else, why not give it to me? What do you think?”

He thought for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on the laptop lid. “You don’t strike me as the type to sit obediently in a cubicle and work a nine-to-five.”

Lu Zhi nodded in agreement. “That’s why I want to propose a collaboration. Allocate some of Hua Ya’s promotional resources to me. You don’t have to worry about anything else, and we can split the profits at the end of the year.”

His eyebrow twitched slightly, and just as he was about to speak, Lu Zhi raised a hand to stop him.

“Wait, let me convince you first.”

“…”

She had carefully prepared her argument. “I’ve done my research. The games Hua Ya currently produces are generally average in reputation but highly profitable. However, their lifespan tends to be short, largely due to their mediocre reviews. If you hired me as a regular employee, I’d probably just coast along. After all, who wants to work hard for a boss? Bosses don’t care about my dreams. Talking about dreams in a big corporation is almost laughable.”

The boss himself: “…”

“But if we collaborate, every bit of glory in my work belongs to me, of course I’ll be motivated. I’ll ensure every detail is polished to perfection. Although you’ll earn less, someone as smart as you should understand that a gaming company needs a title with stellar word-of-mouth, right? That’s not something money can measure.  It’s about healthy development, long-term goals, and corporate culture. You’ve already acquired Hua Ya; don’t you want to make it even better?”

“Then,” the boss himself spoke again, “Ms. Lu Zhi, who values virtue over money, what’s your proposed profit split?”

“…”

She nervously licked her lips and held up a number. “Fifty-fifty… my final offer.”

He glanced at his phone and paused for only a few seconds. “Thirty-seventy.”

“Are you even human?” Lu Zhi blurted out, once again rising in protest. “I work hard too, you know! I often work overtime when I get home. After slaving away for a year, I only get 30%?”

“Me 30%, you 70%.”

…

The ten thousand accusations she had ready turned to dust the moment she heard those words. Did the overhead light suddenly get brighter? Otherwise, why did she suddenly notice how astonishingly handsome and impressive her plastic husband was?

The next second, he picked up his phone and showed it to her.  It was Fu Cheng’s newly revised travel itinerary.

Fu Yanshang: “But we have to wake up at five tomorrow morning.”

Lu Zhi: “…”

Lu Zhi: “……”

–

At ten in the evening, the room plunged into brief darkness after the lights went out, but soon, Lu Zhi’s phone screen lit up.

She tapped out a message to Li Siyi: Seems like it worked.

A few minutes later, Li Siyi replied: What? The collaboration with your husband??

Yeah, she replied mournfully. But it cost me seven days of early mornings.

Before she could revel in her success for long, she saw the detailed itinerary sent by the old man, seven days in a row, each morning starting earlier than the last.

Now, the agony of waking up early was enough to swallow all her joy.

Lying on her back, she told Li Siyi she’d be working remotely for the next week and to contact her anytime if anything came up.

Soon, a voice sounded beside her.

Fu Yanshang: “If you don’t sleep now, it’ll be even harder to wake up tomorrow.”

She sniffled, obediently put down her phone, and went to sleep.

But falling asleep so early was a sudden change, and her body hadn’t adjusted. She tossed and turned until past two in the morning before finally dozing off, only to feel like she’d barely slept when the person beside her got up.

Shortly after, the sound of running water came from the bathroom. A few minutes later, footsteps approached, and she caught the scent of minty shaving cream. A cool fingertip pinched her chin. “Time to get up.”

She clung to the bed, eyes shut, playing dead. Honestly, she thought waking up at this hour was completely unnecessary, maybe the scenic spot wasn’t even open yet.

The next moment, she was rolled over twice like a dumpling, completely wrapped up in the blanket. Fu Yanshang lifted the two corners. “Then sleep like this. We’ll just carry you to the car like this.”

As her body left the bed and hung in the air, she felt like a trash bag being hauled away. She couldn’t tell if he was serious or messing with her. Lu Zhi shuddered, instantly reclaiming control of her body.

“I’m awake,” she flailed. “I’m really awake. I can get down right now, do a full set of military exercises, and be ready in five minutes. Seriously.”

“Sure?”

“Sure.”

The next second, she was set down, and she angrily stomped on his slipper before realizing something was off.

Lu Zhi slowly looked up and saw him raise an eyebrow. Her mind began racing to find the right words.

“…It just occurred to me that I don’t seem to have slippers,” she cautiously lightened the pressure of her foot, switching to a tentative poke, and smiled with utmost innocence. “Could I borrow your slippers?”

“…”

–

The grueling morning exercise finally ended. She caught a bit of sleep in the car, and by the time she got out, it was just past seven. A sliver of golden-edged sunlight peeked out from beyond the clouds.

She yawned, gazing at the towering mountain that stretched from the horizon straight into the sky, her heart sinking inch by inch.

“You haven’t eaten anything.  Aren’t you hungry?” Fu Yanshang handed her a piece of bread. “Climbing on an empty stomach will make your blood sugar drop.”

Clutching at her last shred of hope, she asked, “Do we really have to climb?”

He paused. “If you can drive up, that’s fine too.”

“…”

She dawdled in place, ate a slice of bread, and was then made to drink half a bottle of electrolyte water to prevent exhaustion. Just as she was about to try negotiating with Fu Yanshang again..

The old man, already in his hiking gear, came jogging over, urging them to keep up.

Some people were just born to be leaders. She had originally thought that with Fu Yanshang in front, she could lag behind, walking slowly and taking breaks without being noticed.

Who knew Fu Yanshang would position himself right behind her, observing her every move, leaving her no room to escape.