Sweet Gardenia - Chapter 17.2

The next day at 5 a.m., she once again greeted the yet-to-rise sun as she got out of bed.

This time, they made their way to a small town with beautiful scenery but underdeveloped facilities. Grandfather had come to visit an old painter friend of his.

When Lu Zhi entered, the old man was making a fish rubbing. She had been feeling drowsy, but the sight of this novel technique instantly perked her up. She watched intently from the side as he applied the colors. Only then did the old man notice their arrival and chuckled, “You’re early?”

Fu Cheng laughed heartily from behind, “Old Jiang!”

Jiang Ming pressed the paper onto the fish, carefully transferring the colors from the fins. Shaking his head with a smile, he said, “Your voice is still as robust as ever. What, finally willing to bring your precious grandson along today? Not busy anymore?”

Fu Yanshang greeted him, and Fu Cheng added, “He’s still busy. I dragged him out. They need to spend some time together and build their relationship.”

Fu Cheng clasped his hands behind his back, admiring the calligraphy and paintings covering the walls, muttering to himself, “Which ones should I take with me when I leave?” Lu Zhi was still engrossed in watching the painting process, applying pigment to the fish and then pressing the paper to create a vivid image. Just as she was captivated, she suddenly heard the old man in front of her ask quietly, “Are you… dating Old Fu’s precious grandson?”

“No, no,” she waved her hand dismissively. The wording wasn’t precise, but just as she was about to correct him, her attention was abruptly diverted by a warning. “Watch out for the cup…”

Fortunately, the cup was steadied the next second. Jiang Ming chuckled warmly, “I see you’re quite interested in fish rubbings. How about it? Want to give it a try?”

By the time she finished her own attempt, she had long forgotten what she was about to say before being interrupted.

After viewing the paintings, Fu Yanshang accompanied the two elders to go fishing. The sun was too intense, and Fu Cheng, considerate of the girl’s fear of tanning, suggested she return to her room to rest.

Finally having some time to herself, Lu Zhi collapsed onto the bed as soon as she reached the guest room, planning to catch up on her afternoon nap first.

She wasn’t sure how long she had slept when she was awakened by a knock on the door. As she cracked it open, a brown fox darted into her line of sight, followed by Uncle Zong’s voice, “Grandpa asked me to bring the fox over. We’ll take a photo together later.”

Her head was still foggy from sleep, and she didn’t think much about it. Mumbling a groggy “okay,” she closed the door and went right back to sleep.

She slept until a little past five in the afternoon.

In her daze, she felt something soft and furry burrow into her arms. When she opened her eyes, the little fox was sleeping soundly on her chest, a rare occasion without any destructive behavior.

She reached out and stroked it a couple of times before remembering that she had indeed opened the door once in the middle of her nap.  She had thought it was a dream.

Lu Zhi stretched her stiff shoulders and neck, then opened her phone to find a message from Li Siyi sent an hour earlier, asking about the collaboration and whether Fu Yanshang had gone through the contract with her.

Still feeling lazy from her nap, she simply copied Li Siyi’s question, tweaked a few words, and forwarded it to Fu Yanshang. Once he replied, she screenshotted the response and sent it to Li Siyi.

Li Siyi quickly caught on and video-called her, saying, “What’s up? You look exhausted.”

Rubbing her eyes, Lu Zhi sat up with the fox in her arms. “Just woke up.”

As soon as the camera focused on her, Li Siyi noticed immediately, “Hey, you brought the fox along? So cute.”

Lu Zhi lowered the camera slightly. The little fox’s ears twitched a couple of times, clearly able to hear them talking but not yet awake.

Noticing something, Li Siyi teased with a couple of suggestive clicks, “So, after a few days out, any progress between you and your husband?”

“He asked me if I was satisfied with him,” Lu Zhi slowly stroked the fox’s head. “He gives off the vibe that even an arranged marriage has to score an A+. Is this what top students are like?”

“Whether you’re satisfied or not, I don’t know, but he’s definitely not satisfied.”

“Why?”

On the screen, Lu Zhi had just taken off her cardigan over her slip dress because she felt too hot. Her figure had always been eye-catching, and nestled between her soft, snowy curves was the fox’s head. Li Siyi gestured with her lips: “He hasn’t gotten to bury his face there yet, but his ‘son’ beat him to it.”

“……”

Lu Zhi: “…………”

“Wait, let me confirm… he hasn’t done it yet, right?”

“He hasn’t!” Lu Zhi couldn’t take it anymore. “Can you watch something wholesome?”

“How is this not wholesome? It’s human nature!” Li Siyi said. “Is your husband not around? He’s not angry, is he?”

“Why?” Lu Zhi was puzzled. “He went fishing with the elders. Been at it for over four hours.”

“No, it’s just… my ex was a Gemini too. Every time he got angry, he’d add a period at the end of his messages. I noticed your husband did that today too. It’s fucking similar.”

Lu Zhi: ?

Lu Zhi ran through the messages in her mind before saying, “I haven’t done anything. How could he possibly be angry? Probably just a habit.”

“Alright then. Gotta go, I have another interview. Hanging up now. I’ll send you the revised card designs and the Qixi Festival event plan later.”

She said okay.

After hanging up, she switched back to Fu Yanshang’s chat window and noticed that his previous messages indeed had no punctuation at the end, except for the one from twenty minutes ago.

……

Was he really angry?

That couldn’t be. What did I even do?

Lost in thought, she exited the chat and opened the files Li Siyi sent. She spent over two hours carefully revising them. Just as she finished and was about to take a break, Mandian trotted over with his teaser wand in his mouth, signaling for her to play with him.

Playing with the fox was more exhausting than hiking. After going through every toy in the toy box, both human and fox collapsed onto the bed, utterly spent.

Fu Yanshang returned to the room exactly at nine. As he pushed the door open, the bright overhead light illuminated the young woman curled up fast asleep in the middle of the mattress. Her layered nightgown had been restlessly pushed up to her thighs, revealing her fair legs crossed over each other.

The shimmering light resembled rippling water. His gaze traveled upward and paused.

A fox was blatantly nestled in the center of her embrace, its neck arched upward, its raised snout buried in the soft curve of her chest.

……

…………

Quite the cozy spot it found for itself.

In a few swift motions, he lifted the fox away. Disturbed from her sweet dreams, Lu Zhi felt something swiftly retreat from her front. The stifling heat eased, replaced by a refreshing coolness.

But not long after, something nestled back into her arms.

This time, though, the sensation felt… different.

A straight, elegant nose, lips soft and barely touching. Her waist was pulled into an embrace that felt both like and unlike a hug. The empty space was filled, warm breaths grazing her trembling skin. Struggling against the remnants of sleep, it took her a long moment to finally open her eyes.

The sight before her struck her with such impact that it took several seconds before she thought to pull away. Unfortunately, she failed after a few attempts, her wrist held firmly in place.

His voice sounded muffled, as if behind a barrier, a blend of distant unreality and subtle bone conduction, lightly drifting up into her ears from below.

“…If it can bury itself there, why can’t I?”

Comparing Treatment with My Son.jpg

Slow down: Dad, as long as you’re happy, don’t worry about whether I live or die.

Hehehe, my sweet, soft little Zhi Zhi baby~