Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 15.1

To avoid misunderstanding, Lu Zhi swiftly pressed the buttons a few times and tossed the item into the drawer.

Her mind was still in the process of rebooting. She parted her lips and managed to ask a pointless, harmless question: “Are you done showering?”

“Mm,” he replied, his expression so calm it was as if he had seen nothing. “You can go now.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly said okay, gathered her clothes, and rushed into the bathroom, finally relaxing.

Out of caution, she searched the bathroom again. Fortunately, there were no more “surprises” here. Life was just like this, every hotel arranged by her grandfather felt like opening a blind box.

She couldn’t help but wonder: Did her relationship with Fu Yanshang really seem that bad? Did they need to provide so many toys to “enhance intimacy”?

After all the time they’d spent together, it should be… okay, right?

Lu Zhi pursed her lips, completely dismissing the dolphin incident from her mind.  After all, she had already put it away.

Exhausted from the long day, her desire to sleep was overwhelming. The moment her head touched the pillow, drowsiness washed over her.

The room had its feeding window closed, and with the curtains drawn, it looked no different from an ordinary hotel. Only the indicator light on the TV blinked rhythmically in the darkness, and a pale fire alarm was installed on the ceiling.

Tilting her head, she thought she heard something starting and stopping intermittently, but assuming it was some setup from the zoo, she paid it no mind.

Half a minute later, Fu Yanshang opened the drawer, turned on the desk lamp again, and retrieved the small dolphin she had hidden in the corner. He pressed the button twice.

The vibrations finally ceased.

Lu Zhi: “………………”

Perhaps sensing her gaze, he calmly explained, “You didn’t turn it off.”

“Impossible,” she insisted, her entire brain feeling like it was on fire, as if she were moments away from turning into a pile of ashes. “I pressed all the buttons.”

She didn’t know which part of her words had given the impression that she wanted to continue the conversation or had shown even a hint of curiosity, but the next second, Fu Yanshang kindly flipped the device over to show her. In an inconspicuous spot, four lines of text were printed.

He briefly explained, “There are four modes.”

“Oh…” she said, “It would’ve been better if it were labeled in English. I didn’t study German.”

He paused again. Lu Zhi had no idea what he was thinking during that half-second of silence, but after his deliberation, he still patiently elaborated: “Gentle vibration, intensified, timed, suction.”

…???

You really didn’t have to explain that to me. Seriously.

She could already vividly picture her ashes scattering into the sky. The embarrassment had peaked at this moment. Though she wanted to say something to respond, every word was stuck in her throat, swelling until she couldn’t utter a single syllable.

At this moment, she wished the universe would just explode.

Perhaps sensing her silence, Fu Yanshang spoke again.  Whether to smooth things over or not, she couldn’t tell: “You’re still too…” He paused, unable to find the right adjective, and skipped it, continuing, “It’s better not to play with this for now.”

She closed her eyes in despair.

Countless explanations rose to the tip of her tongue, but she had already explained herself so many times lately that it felt utterly pointless to speak again. He wouldn’t believe her anyway.

Forget it.

Lu Zhi tugged the blanket over herself, deciding to throw caution to the wind and end the conversation with the simplest, most straightforward sentence: “Fine.”

Fu Yanshang: ?

…

The next day’s itinerary naturally turned into a day trip to the zoo.

Lu Zhi behaved perfectly normally all morning, though it was a feigned normalcy. During the half-hour break, she escaped to the restroom and spent the entire time on the phone with Li Siyi, pouring out her heart about the tragedy sparked by a single bet.

After venting, she felt much calmer.

When she returned to the group and downed half a bottle of water, Fu Yanshang finally asked, “Why is your voice hoarse?”

Without batting an eye, she made up an excuse: “I shouted myself hoarse from cheering earlier.”

The man in front of her studied her for a long moment. Suddenly, the tour guide ahead turned around and asked, “Is the lady here? We’re about to start the next tour.”

She instinctively turned to him. “What’s next?”

Fu Yanshang paused briefly before replying, “Dolphin feeding.”

A certain unpleasant memory resurfaced, and her throat began to ache faintly again. Lu Zhi quickly said, “Oh, I just remembered I have something to take care of. Bye!”

“…”

True to her word, she fled immediately, heading alone and carefree to the back hill. She had seen dolphins plenty of times before, up close, from afar, during feedings and otherwise, so there was nothing novel about it. But the zoo had another famous attraction: “We refuse animal performances, but we can’t refuse animals insisting on performing.”

Rumor had it that a zookeeper in the back hill had picked up a few stray cats. After fattening them up, one particularly assertive tabby cat had voluntarily and forcefully taken over a performing animal’s role, securing itself a stable, worry-free job.

However, since cats are creatures of whimsy, the tabby only performed when it felt like it. As a result, there was no fixed schedule for the show. Occasionally, after eating and drinking its fill, the tabby would simply want to rest. The zoo could only announce performances in advance, unable to confirm specific times.

Lu Zhi waited on a lounge chair in the back hill. The afternoon sunlight was just right, and she drifted in and out of sleep, idling away the hours until it was past six o’clock.

Seemed like there’d be no show today.

The wilderness darkened quickly. By the time Fu Yanshang called her, it was only a little past six, but the sky was already pitch black.

A few wolf howls echoed through the air, growing in number as others joined in. Soon, the surrounding wolves were all raising their voices in a chorus. She realized the staff had clocked out, but she wasn’t sure if the wolves had been securely locked away.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared. She pursed her lips and finally caught a glimmer of light at the corner. Fu Yanshang approached with a flashlight. “What were you watching that kept you out so late?”

“I accidentally fell asleep,” she said, rushing over in a few steps and grabbing his sleeve. Seeking reassurance, she asked, “Those wolves… they’ve all been returned to their enclosures, right?”

Fu Yanshang shot her an amused glance and deliberately said, “Hard to say.”

“…”

The direct consequence of his words was that Lu Zhi absolutely refused to take the main path, opting instead for a smaller trail that led away from the wolves.

The wolf howls were finally left behind, but as she listened to the rustling sounds around her, who knew what they were from.  She instinctively moved closer to him.

Ahead lay a stretch of mountain path.

She saw the beam from Fu Yanshang’s flashlight sweep over her feet. She was wearing heels, which weren’t ideal for walking, but they only had a short distance left. Turning back was clearly not the best option.

Lu Zhi wasn’t sure if her proximity had given him the wrong idea. The flashlight beam quickly straightened to illuminate the path ahead as he asked, “Want me to carry you on my back?”

Without a second thought, she waved her hand dismissively. “No, no need.”

“Alright,” he acquiesced smoothly, tilting his chin upward. “Then take off your shoes or tie your jacket around your legs so you don’t slide straight to the hotel entrance.”

Lu Zhi nodded seriously and extended her arm. “On second thought, I think I’ll take you up on that piggyback ride.”

“…”