Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 15.2

It was a wise decision that he’d worn sneakers today, Lu Zhi thought as she leaned against his back, watching the tips of his shoes.

Holding the flashlight, she began feeling drowsy and tilted her head to speak, trying to fight off the sleepiness. “What’s our schedule for tomorrow? Do we still have to wake up at five in the morning?”

The person beneath her paused for a moment.

“Lu Zhi, stop breathing into my ear.”

“…”

She pouted and straightened her face forward. Just as she was about to ask again, he spoke up.

“Probably at the zoo again,” he said after a brief pause. “Probably not necessary… let’s make it 5:30.”

Lu Zhi thought to herself, Is there even a difference??

The thought made her even sleepier. She rummaged through her small bag for something to keep her awake, but unfortunately, she seemed to have nothing suitable. The only thing remotely related was her mint-flavored lip gloss.

She took it out to touch up her lip color, hoping the slight chill of the mint would wake her up a bit. As she opened her phone’s front camera to check her reflection, the person carrying her spoke again.

Fu Yanshang remarked, “You look quite relaxed.”

She put the lip gloss away, her mind already foggy with exhaustion, and her chin drooped slightly. “A little, I guess.”

Her last shred of consciousness faded at the intersection where the streetlights flickered back on, and she completely passed out.

Lu Zhi slept for a long time, only waking around midnight to take a shower before immediately collapsing back into bed. At 5:30 sharp, she received a call from her grandfather, who had already returned from his morning run.

She couldn’t help but feel that her grandfather was in better shape than she was.

Fortunately, this time her grandfather didn’t insist they come down for breakfast, instead having Fu Yanshang bring the food up to the room. He was delayed briefly when he left but returned quickly.

Still groggy, Lu Zhi asked vaguely, “Why didn’t Grandpa give you a hard time today?”

Standing in front of the mirror, he seemed to be pondering the peculiarity of the situation as well. After a moment, his gaze settled, and he hinted meaningfully, “He probably thinks I have something to attend to.”

Leaning against the headboard with teary eyes, she asked, “What thing?”

At that moment, Fu Yanshang turned around, revealing a faint, ambiguous mark on his pale neck, a clear, unmistakable watery red.

Just as she was about to ask, it dawned on her: Could it be from when she fell asleep leaning on his shoulder last night, with her lips pressed against his neck?

She jolted awake. “Why did you go out like that?”

“I thought it had rubbed off.”

Remembering something, she said, “It might be because this lip gloss sets into a film. It probably transferred onto your neck before it fully set. It’s hard to wash off.  You need a special eye and lip makeup remover. Hold on a second.”

With the sink occupied, she turned on the shower at a low flow and had Fu Yanshang stand to the side. She squeezed two pumps of the makeup remover oil and carefully applied it to the side of his neck.

The long-wearing, film-forming lip gloss was stubborn to remove. Leaning against the wall for support, Lu Zhi found him standing too far away, so she beckoned and said, “Come a little closer.”

The shadow in front of her drew near.

She patiently massaged for a while, then added a bit of water to emulsify it. Afraid he might think it was over, she explained, “We need to massage a little longer before rinsing it off.”

Fu Yanshang hummed in acknowledgment, his Adam’s apple pressed against her palm, rolling slightly.

He could clearly feel the pressure of her fingertips as they kneaded, smooth and even, not too forceful. After rubbing for so long, that patch of skin began to feel somewhat numb, as if losing sensation, yet occasionally a sharp pain would return when her fingertips lightly scraped over it, as if checking whether it was completely cleared.

When she inspected it, she leaned in very close, her breath spraying against the hollow of his neck, a hazy coolness.

The bathroom was quiet; the curtain drawn during last night’s shower hadn’t been opened. Only the sound of water droplets hitting the floor tiles echoed, an almost excessive silence.

Lu Zhi noticed the atmosphere was a bit off and cleared her throat, trying to make conversation. “So, in a moment, we…”

But because she was multitasking, she didn’t control her strength when adjusting the faucet and accidentally turned the showerhead on full blast. Fortunately, he dodged in time, but still got half-soaked. Guiltily, Lu Zhi looked up and met his gaze. His black shirt, drenched, grew even darker. His damp bangs fell across his brow, and droplets clung to his eyelashes, rolling down onto her cheek.

Caught off guard by the drip, she shivered involuntarily.

They were too close, breaching a safe distance. She tried to find her voice. “Um, I’ll go get you a towel.”

“A towel won’t help,” he said. “I’ll have to shower again.”

She nodded blankly, intending to step aside and give him space. But as soon as she made a move forward, she was pressed back against the tiles. The surface still held her residual warmth, but it was slightly misaligned, the cold edge of the tile dug into the butterfly bones on her back.

“What… are you doing?”

His grip didn’t loosen as he leaned in, with an air of righteous justification.

“Retaliation.”

Even though she hadn’t looked up, her lips were sealed by his. The warm bathroom light clung to her lashes in fine, dense specks. She blinked, taking a moment to realize she should close her eyes. The moment her vision was cut off, all her senses amplified. She could hear his breathing, close and restrained, ambiguous and slightly disordered. They kissed like that for a while before the hem of her clothes was lifted. His fingers, unimpeded, wrapped around her waist, pressing firmly into the hollows. His kisses strayed to the back of her neck, exactly where she had marked him last night. He returned the gesture without deviation, sucking and nipping, his tongue sweeping over before showering her with dense, light bites.

A faint sting emerged, and her thoughts snapped back into place. She turned her head to avoid him. “This will leave a mark!”

“Your hair will cover it; no one will see.” He paused, glancing down. “…It’s already there.”

“…”

Since it was a done deal, Lu Zhi had no choice but to let him bite a while longer. The direct consequence was that this morning’s first activity nearly saw them locked out for being late.

The whole way there, she felt guilty, constantly checking to make sure the hair covering the mark was still in place.

Fu Yanshang watched her futile attempts at concealment. “If your hair covers it, it’ll be fine.”

By the time they were seated, only the lights in the first row remained on. It was a 5D immersive experience of the animal world, where the seats would continuously sway and rotate, one of the must-do attractions.

A staff member smiled at her, giving a final reminder: “Alright, one last reminder: gentlemen, please put on your blindfolds. Ladies, use the elastic bands to tie up your hair to prevent it from getting caught in the machinery during the experience, as there will be strong winds.”

…

What?

Lu Zhi’s thoughts came to a halt, and she looked up in a daze.

If it’s tied up… wouldn’t everything be seen?

The only lit light hung right above her head, like a reckless spotlight.

The smile that had formed on Lu Zhi’s lips from anticipation froze. Before she could ask him to repeat himself, the staff member in front of her considerately handed a rubber band over and asked with a smile, “Would you like your husband to help you tie it up?”

In that very instant, Fu Yanshang felt a sudden tightness around his pant leg, Lu Zhi had grabbed hold of it.